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<DATE>03-13-07</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE
PARABLE
OF THE
TARES
<HI>EXPO&V;NDED &amp; APPLYED,</HI>
In TEN SERMONS
Preached before his late Maje&s;ty
KING CHARLES
The Second MONARCH of
Great <HI>BRITAIN.</HI></P>
<P>By <HI>Peter Heylin,</HI> D. D.</P>
<P>To which are added three other <HI>Sermons</HI>
of the &s;ame Author.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI>
Printed by <HI>J. G.</HI> for <HI>Humphrey Mo&s;eley,</HI> at the Prince's
Arms in St. <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard, 1659.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To his ever Honoured Cou&s;in
LA&V;RENCE BATH&V;RST
E&s;quire,
Elde&s;t Son of Sr. Edward Bathur&s;t of
Lerhlad in the County of Glouce&s;ter,
KNIGHT and BARRONET.</HEAD>
<P>_IT was the Saying of St. <HI>Gregory</HI>
&s;urnamed the Great, that the ho|ly
Scripture was nothing el&s;e but
an <HI>Epi&s;tle</HI> &s;ent from Almighty
God to his Creature man, by which he might
be rightly informed in all tho&s;e points which
were fit or nece&s;&s;ary to be known and train|ed
up in the practi&s;e of all tho&s;e duties which
were fit and nece&s;&s;ary to be done: <HI>Quid enim
e&s;t Scriptura &s;acra, ni&s;i epi&s;tola Omnipotentis Dei
ad creaturam &s;uam,</HI> as that Father hath it. Ac|cording
to which great example (though po&s;|&s;ibly
not in reference and relation to it) it
hath been the cu&s;tom of men in all times and
nations not extremely barbarous, when they
<PB REF="3">
could not per&s;onally expre&s;&s;e their minds to
one another, to mannage intelligence in
the way of Letters of Epi&s;tles; in which they
comprehend all &s;uch particulars as were ex|pedient
to be known to either party. <HI>Inventae
erant epi&s;tolae</HI> (as <HI>Tully</HI> tels us) <HI>ut certiores faceremus
ab&s;entes, &s;i quid e&s;&s;et quod eos &s;cire, aut no&s;trum, aut
ip&s;orum intere&s;&s;et.</HI> And to &s;ay truth they are our
ordinary Me&s;&s;engers of love and friend&s;hip,
our extraordinary Po&s;ts for di&s;patch of bu&s;i|ne&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.
By them we commonly receive advice &amp;
coun&s;el in our affairs of greate&s;t moment, and
to them we commit the clo&s;e conveyance of
&s;uch &s;ecrets, as cannot with like confidence
be tru&s;ted to friends or &s;ervants, <HI>His arcana
notis terra pelagoque feruntur,</HI> as <HI>Ovid</HI>'s pa&s;&s;ionate
Lady writeth to her dear <HI>Hippolitus.</HI> In which
re&s;pect, con&s;idering that God hath placed us
at a di&s;tance, &s;o that I cannot per&s;onally ac|quaint
you with &s;ome particulars touching
the publi&s;hing of the&s;e Sermons, which I
think fit for you to know, that you may
make them known to others, I am compelled
(in a manner) to expre&s;&s;e them in this pre|&s;ent
Epi&s;tle. In which I &s;hall fir&s;t pre&s;ent you
with tho&s;e <HI>impul&s;ives</HI> which have induced me
(contrary to my former cu&s;tom and re&s;oluti|ons
<PB REF="3">
to commit the&s;e Sermons to the Pre&s;s, and
then to let you know the rea&s;on why I have
made choice of your name in this Dedication.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t I mu&s;t needs &s;ay (and I may &s;ay
it very truly) that I never did any thing in this
kind, of which I found my &s;elf more obliged
to render a ju&s;t account, then of the publi&s;h|ing
the en&s;uing Sermons; which &s;eems like
the adding of fre&s;h leavs to a well grown tree
in the mid&s;t of Sommer, of &s;tars to a cleer fir|mament
in a Winter night, or finally, of wa|ter
to a full and unfathomed Ocean: and you
may ju&s;tly &s;ay to me in the Poets words,
<Q><L>Quid folia Arboribus, quid pleno &s;idera Coelo,</L>
<L>In Freta collectas alta quid addis aquas?</L></Q>
That is to &s;ay,
<Q><L>Why do&s;t thou adde fre&s;h leaves unto the Trees,</L>
<L>Stars to the Heavens, or Water to the Seas?</L></Q>
In an&s;wer to which objection, I can neither
plead the importunity of friends, the com|mand
of &s;uperiors, nor the preventing of fal&s;e
Copies from being brought unto the Pre&s;s,
which I ob&s;erve to be the common <HI>pretences</HI>
for printing Sermon upon Sermon; mo&s;t of
the which, without any &s;en&s;ible lo&s;&s;e to Lear|ning,
or di&s;advantage to the Church, might
have been buried in the Studies of them that
<PB REF="4">
made them. And yet I would not have it
thought but that I have &s;ome rea&s;on for what
I do, more then the vulgar de&s;ire of being in
print, there having been &s;o much of mine on
the Pre&s;s already, as might have &s;atisfied the
folly of that de&s;ire, were I guilty of it: and
therefore I &s;hall let you know (and in you all
others who &s;hall read them) thas the&s;e Ser|mons
are now publi&s;hed on the &s;ame occa&s;i|on
on which they were fir&s;t penned and
preached, which was briefly this.</P>
<P>It was about the Year 1636. in which the
Pre&s;s began to &s;warm with libellous and &s;e|ditious
Pamphlets, de&s;tructive of the publick
peace, and tending to a manife&s;t de&s;ertion
of the received Government and Formes of
Wor&s;hip by Law e&s;tabli&s;hed in this King|dom.
In mo&s;t of which the Bi&s;hops gene|rally
were accu&s;ed for having a de&s;ign to
bring in <HI>Popery,</HI> the regular <HI>Clergie</HI> of this
Church (my &s;elf more frequently then any of
my ranck and quality) traduced and defa|med
for &s;ub&s;ervient <HI>in&s;truments:</HI> I had before,
and &s;ometimes after, been ca&s;t upon the ma|naging
of &s;ome of the <HI>puritan</HI> Controver&s;ies,
(as they then called them) particularly in wri|ting
the <HI>Hi&s;tory of the Sabbath,</HI> the <HI>An&s;wer to the</HI>
<PB REF="4">
<HI>&s;editious Sermon and Apologie of Mr.</HI> H. B. <HI>of Friday|&s;treet,</HI>
the book entituled <HI>A Coal from the Altar,</HI> &amp;
the defence thereof called <HI>Antidotum Lincolnien&s;e,</HI>
touching the ancient &amp; mo&s;t convenient &s;citu|ation
of the <HI>holy Table,</HI> which &s;o exa&s;perated the
&s;pirits of tho&s;e bitter men, who then di&s;turbed
both <HI>Ch.</HI> and <HI>State</HI> with their venemous libels,
that hardly any of that numerous litter had
crept into the world in w^c^h I was not openly
accu&s;ed of <HI>Popery,</HI> or at the lea&s;t of being an <HI>Un|der-factor</HI>
unto tho&s;e who had the chief mana|ging
of that de&s;ign. For the decrying of which
&s;candal &s;o unju&s;tly rai&s;ed (for <HI>actu~ e&s;t de homine,
ubi actum e&s;t de nomine,</HI> as the old rule was) I fell
upon a re&s;olution of preaching the&s;e en&s;uing
Sermons before the King, (who&s;e <HI>Chaplain for
Ordinary</HI> I then was, and had been many years
before) upon the <HI>Parable</HI> of the <HI>Tares;</HI> and gi|ving
in them &s;uch an a&s;&s;urance of my <HI>Orthodo|xie</HI>
in Religion and aver&s;ene&s;s from <HI>Popery,</HI> as
might declare me for a true &s;on of the Church
of <HI>England.</HI> And this I did at &s;uch a time
when the <HI>inclinations</HI> unto <HI>Popery</HI> were thought
(but fal&s;ly thought) to be mo&s;t predominant
both in Court and Clergy: a cour&s;e which
gave &s;uch &s;atisfaction unto a great part of the
auditors, who before did &s;eem to be other|wi&s;e
<PB REF="5">
per&s;waded of me, that &s;ome of the more
moderate &s;ort did not &s;tick to &s;ay (not to
touch here on &s;ome comparative expre&s;&s;ions
which were u&s;ed by others) that in the third
and fourth of the&s;e Sermons <HI>I had pulled up Po|pery
by the very roots, and &s;ubverted the foundations
of it.</HI> Not much unlike to which was the ex|pre&s;&s;ion
of a great Peer of the Realm, who
being pre&s;ent at the &s;ixth Sermon, was plea|&s;ed
to &s;ay, that it was generally affirmed in the
Country, that no Sermons were preached be|fore
the King, but &s;uch as might be preached
in the <HI>Popes Chapel,</HI> but that if the Doctor had
preached the &s;aid <HI>Sermon</HI> before the Pope,
what breakfa&s;t &s;oever he had made for him|&s;elf,
he would have found but a &s;orry dinner.</P>
<P>This, as it was the occa&s;ion which moved
me at that time to make choice of this <HI>parable</HI>
for the con&s;tant argument of my Sermons be|fore
the King, &s;o on the like occa&s;ion I am
now induced (I may not unfitly &s;ay compel|led)
to make them publick unto others. For,
notwith&s;tanding that I have &s;o fully declared
my &s;elf again&s;t the errors and corruptions of
the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> in my late <HI>Comment</HI> on the
<HI>Creed,</HI> yet on a &s;udden (whither I will or no)
I mu&s;t be a Papi&s;t, a Je&s;uit, or &s;ome Agent for
<PB REF="5">
the See of <HI>Rome,</HI> &s;u&s;pected at the lea&s;t for &s;uch by Dr.
<HI>Bernard,</HI> and (as he tells us) by others, for which con&s;ult
the book entituled <HI>The Judgement of the late Lord</HI> Pri|mate,
<HI>&amp;c. pa.</HI> 115. The author of the Hi&s;tory of the
Life and Reign of King <HI>Charles</HI> ecchoeth the words of
Dr. <HI>Bernard,</HI> which, like an <HI>Eccho,</HI> he reiterateth (<HI>voce&s;|qu&egrave;
refert, iteratque quod audit,</HI> as it is in <HI>ovid</HI>) in his &s;cur|rilous
<HI>pamphlet</HI> called the <HI>Po&s;t-Ha&s;t Reply,</HI> &amp;c. It was ac|counted
for a prudent part in <HI>Sophocles</HI> (as indeed it was)
when he was once accu&s;ed of madne&s;s, to produce one
of his <HI>Tragedies</HI> then newly written, to read the &s;ame be|fore
the people of <HI>Athens,</HI> and then to ask his Judges,
<HI>Num illud carmen videretur e&s;&s;e hominis delirantis,</HI> whether
they thought it like to be the work of a man di&s;tracted?
And I hope it will be counted no imprudence in me,
being again accu&s;ed of <HI>popery,</HI> or at the lea&s;t <HI>&s;u&s;pected</HI> of
it to commit the&s;e Sermons to the Pre&s;s, to offer them to
the reading of the people of <HI>Engl.</HI> &amp; then to put this que|&s;tion
to them, Whether they think &s;uch Sermons could
proceed from the pen of a Papi&s;t, &s;om Je&s;uit, or Agent for
the See of <HI>Rom?</HI> Adde hereunto, that finding it wondred
at in print, <HI>that &s;o many of my books do &s;o little concern my pro|fe&s;sion</HI>
(though I know none that do &s;o little concern the
&s;ame as the Pamphlets hath it) I hope the printing of
the&s;e Sermons will take off the wonder, &amp; that they will
be looked upon as in which my <HI>profe&s;sion</HI> is <HI>concerned.</HI></P>
<P>Such being the rea&s;on of bringing the&s;e Sermons to
<PB REF="6">
the publick view, I &s;hall ob&s;erve in the next place with
what inju&s;tice the <HI>Court-Chaplains</HI> have been accu&s;ed for
<HI>flatterie</HI> and <HI>time &s;erving,</HI> for preaching up the Kings <HI>pre|rogative,</HI>
and <HI>derogating</HI> from the <HI>property</HI> and <HI>liberty</HI> of the
<HI>Engli&s;h</HI> &s;ubject; in which if one or two were faulty, it
&s;tands not with the rules of Ju&s;tice, and much le&s;s of E|quity,
that for the fault of one or two (<HI>unius ob culpam
&amp; furias</HI> in the Poets words) a general blemi&s;h &s;hould
be laid on all the re&s;t. Certain I am, no <HI>flatterie</HI> or <HI>time-&s;erving,</HI>
no preaching up the Kings <HI>prerogative,</HI> or <HI>deroga|ting</HI>
from the <HI>propertie</HI> of the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> &s;ubjects will be
found in the&s;e Sermons, nor could be found in any o|ther
of mine, had they been &s;ifted to the <HI>bran.</HI> In confi|dence
whereof, when &s;ome exceptions had been made
again&s;t &s;ome pa&s;&s;ages in one of my Sermons preached
at <HI>VVe&s;tmin&s;ter</HI> by a mi&s;take of &s;ome that heard it, I offered
the Committee for the Courts of <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> before whom
that exception had been &s;tarted, to put into their hands
all the Sermons, which I had either preached at <HI>Court</HI> or
in <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter Abbie,</HI> to the end that they might &s;ee how
free and innocent I was from broching any &s;uch new
Doctrines as might not be good <HI>Parliament</HI>-proof when
&s;oever they &s;hould come to be examined: and had they
took me at my offer, certain I am, it might have redoun|ded
very much to the clearing of my reputation in the
&s;ight of tho&s;e Gentlemen, and nothing to my hurt or
di&s;advantage at all.</P>
<P><PB REF="6">
In the dige&s;tion of the&s;e Sermons I made it my
chief care, rather to inform the under&s;tanding then to
work on the affections of them that heard me. For ha|ving
for &s;even or eight years before felt the <HI>pul&s;e</HI> of the
<HI>Court,</HI> and finding that many about the King were not
well principled in the con&s;titution of the Church of
<HI>England,</HI> and thereby gave occa&s;ion to others to think as
&s;ini&s;terly of it as they did them&s;elves, I thought that
cour&s;e mo&s;t fit to be followed in my preaching, which
was like to be mo&s;t profitable to them that heard me;
for the Under&s;tanding being well informed, and the
Judgement of men well &s;etled on &s;o &s;ure a bottom, I
doubted not but that their affections would be guided
by the light of their Under&s;tanding, and bring them to
be all of one mind and of one &s;oul, like the Chri&s;tians
in <HI>Acts</HI> 4. 32. <HI>Voluntas &s;equitur intellectum,</HI> is a <HI>maxime</HI> of
undoubted truth in the &s;chools of <HI>Philo&s;ophie,</HI> and holds
good in all the <HI>practical</HI> duties which concern Religion.
Which way of preaching, had it been more generally
followed, (as it might have been) I think it probable e|nough,
that we might better have kept <HI>the unity of the
&s;pirit in the bond <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">f peace,</HI> then by &s;triving to &s;tir up the af|fections
with little or no improvement to the under|&s;tanding.
Knowledg without Zeal may be re&s;embled
to a candle carried in a Dark-lanthorn or <HI>hid under a bu|&s;hel,</HI>
which wa&s;ts it &s;elf without giving light to others,
and is uuprofitably con&s;umed without any benefit to
<PB REF="7">
the publick; but on the other &s;ide, <HI>zeal</HI> without knowledg
or not <HI>according to knowledg,</HI> may be compared unto the
<HI>meteor</HI> which the <HI>Philo&s;ophers</HI> call an <HI>Ignis Fatuus,</HI> which
for the mo&s;t part leads men out of the way, and &s;ome|times
draws them on to dangerous <HI>precipices,</HI> or to a
bru&s;h-Bavine-faggot in a Country Cottage, more apt
to fire the hou&s;e then to warm the chimney.</P>
<P>So much being &s;aid as to the <HI>Motives</HI> which induc'd
me to print the&s;e Sermons upon the <HI>parable</HI> of the <HI>Tares,</HI>
and to my handling and accomodating that Parable to
the u&s;e of the Church, as then it &s;tood e&s;tabli&s;hed by the
Laws of the Land, I am in the next place to let you
know the rea&s;on why I have made choice of you name
in this <HI>Dedication.</HI> And herein I can make as little u&s;e of
tho&s;e common aims, which are &s;o frequent in Dedi|cations
of this nature, that is to &s;ay, <HI>protection, profit</HI> or
<HI>preferment,</HI> as I did before of tho&s;e common <HI>pretences</HI>
which are &s;o frequently alledged for publi&s;hing many
of tho&s;e books, which, without any lo&s;s to Learning or
di&s;advantage to the Ch. (as before was &s;aid) might have
been reprieved from the Pre&s;s. <HI>Protection</HI> I expect none
from you in the&s;e <HI>perilous times,</HI> in w^c^h, without a prudent
care of your life and actions, you will be hardly able to
protect your &s;elf: nor is this dedication made in the way
of gratitude for any <HI>benefit</HI> or profit formerly received
from you, (in which re&s;pect I dedicated my book called
<HI>Eccle&s;ia Vindicata</HI> to my kind and honoured Schoolma|&s;ter
<PB REF="7">
Mr. <HI>Edward Davies</HI>) or out of any covetous hopes of
being gratified by you with any profit or preferment in
the Church for time to come: of which if I were capable,
I might by the &s;ame capability return again unto my
own, and being made uncapable, can receive none from
you or from any other; &amp; though, my pre&s;ent condition
be not &s;uch as to make me the &s;ubject of any mans en|vy,
&s;o neither is it &s;o mean &amp; de&s;picable as to make me
the object of any mans charity. And yet I would not
have it thought but that I have &s;ome rea&s;on for this De|dication,
and if I had no other rea&s;on then to give a
publick te&s;timony of that dear affection which I
have to your per&s;on, it neither were without example,
for &s;uch as might not ju&s;tifie and endear the action.</P>
<P>But be&s;ides this I have another rea&s;on for it that con|cerns
my &s;elf, which is the leaving of my <HI>picture</HI> with
you, or rather the picture of my nobler part, my
mind; if when&s;oever it &s;hall plea&s;e God to gather me
unto my Fathers, you may be able to pre&s;erve &s;ome re|membrance
of me. <HI>Patricius</HI> telleth us that the daugh|ter
of <HI>Diaburranes</HI> the <HI>Scitionian,</HI> being to take leave of her
husband then going to war, drew the chief linea|ments
of his face with a coal on the wall, and this &s;he
did <HI>ne taedio de&s;iderii ejus contabe&s;ceret,</HI> for fear le&s;t &s;he
might otherwi&s;e langui&s;h for the want of his company
during his nece&s;&s;ary ab&s;ence. In imitation of which art
it was an ancient cu&s;tom of the <HI>Greeks</HI> and <HI>Romans</HI> to
<PB REF="8">
pre&s;erve the <HI>Images</HI> of their Ance&s;tors and neere&s;t kind|red,
and &s;ometimes to advance them in the publick
places of their Cities with an <HI>in&s;cription</HI> of their noble&s;t
actions, of their mo&s;t memorable atchievments, giving
thereby the rewards of vertue to the dead, and brave ex|amples
to the living, <HI>&s;ic et defunctis praemiu~, et po&s;teris dabatur
exemplum,</HI> as <HI>Minutius</HI> hath it Upon the like rea&s;on I have
&s;ent you the&s;e lineaments of my &s;oul, not drawn with a
<HI>coal upon the wall,</HI> but (which hath &s;om re&s;emblance to it)
with inke on paper: a portraiture not cut in bra&s;s or
<HI>Parian Marble,</HI> but ca&s;t into a mould of another mettal,
which po&s;&s;ibly may be as la&s;ting as either of them; and
I have &s;ent them unto you as (next to your Father) to
my neare&s;t and be&s;t beloved Kin&s;man by my Mothers
&s;ide, to the end that if any que&s;tion &s;hall be made in your
hearing concerning my &s;incerity in the true <HI>Prote&s;tant
Religion</HI> here by Law e&s;tabli&s;ht, when I &s;hall not be in a
capacity of advocating for my &s;elf, you need but bring
them to the &s;ight of this <HI>picture,</HI> which will &s;ufficiently
&s;erve to &s;catter any of tho&s;e fal&s;e <HI>reports</HI> which the un|charitablene&s;s
of &s;ome and the credulity of others may
have fa&s;tened on me.</P>
<P>It was my happine&s;s to be bred under &s;uch a father as
very well under&s;tood the con&s;titution of the Church of
<HI>England,</HI> and was a diligent <HI>ob&s;erver</HI> of all publick duties
which were required of him in his place and &s;tation.
And though my <HI>Tutor</HI> in <HI>Hart-Hall</HI> (of which Hou&s;e I
<PB REF="8">
was before I went to <HI>Magdalen Colledge</HI>) was <HI>bia&s;t</HI> on the
other &s;ide, and that I was then very young and capable
of any impre&s;sion which he might think fit to &s;tamp
upon me, yet I carried thence the &s;ame principles I
brought thither with me, &amp; which I had &s;uckt in as it
were with my mothers milk. Nor found I any thing in
all the cour&s;e of my following &s;tudies w^c^h might invite
me to a change of tho&s;e fir&s;t principles, but very much
which did incourage and confirme me in adhering to
them; according to the which, &s;econded by the be&s;t light
of my under&s;tanding, I have acted ever &s;ince, and on all
occa&s;ions, as ea&s;ily will appear to tho&s;e who have heard
any of my preachings and con&s;ulted any of my writings
from the fir&s;t to the la&s;t. In all which I have really done
my be&s;t eudeavours to &s;how my &s;elf a true &s;on of the
Church of <HI>England,</HI> not looking with one eye toward
<HI>Rome,</HI> or &s;quinting with the othr toward <HI>G<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">neva,</HI> but
keeping both upon the <HI>rules</HI> and <HI>dictates</HI> of the Church
alone, in which I have been bred &amp; have lived &s;o long,
and by the grace of God am re&s;olved to die. And there|fore
I mu&s;t needs think my &s;elf in a &s;orry condition in
being forced upon tho&s;e <HI>helps</HI> for pre&s;erving a fair me|mory
in the eyes of po&s;terity; which neither the impor|tunity
of friends (when the publi&s;hing of the&s;e Sermons
might have been more &s;ea&s;onable) nor any other pri|vate
con&s;iderations could have wre&s;ted from me.</P>
<P>I might here end, but that I am to give you an account
of a great <HI>hiatus</HI> which you will find betwixt the 6. &amp; 7.
<PB REF="9">
Sermons, the one being preached the 21. of <HI>Jan.</HI> 1639.
and the other not till the 26. of <HI>Sept.</HI> 1643. To give you
the rea&s;ons whereof I mu&s;t let you know that from the
beginning of the long Parliament <HI>Nov.</HI> 3. 1640. till his
Maje&s;ty retired to <HI>Wind&s;or</HI> on the 10. of <HI>Jan.</HI> 1641. the
Sundaies <HI>tu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ns</HI> before the K. were preached by &s;uch of my
Lords the Bi&s;hops as were attending on the &s;ervice of the
<HI>Ch.</HI> and <HI>State;</HI> and on the <HI>Tue&s;daies,</HI> not only all the Lords
of the Council, and the principal Officers of the Hou&s;e|hold,
but mo&s;t of the Gentlemen of worth &amp; quality a|bout
the Court followed the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Parl in their
&s;everal hou&s;es. So that I thought it not convenient to pur|&s;ue
the <HI>parable</HI> till I might have the happine&s;s of enjoying
my former <HI>auditory</HI> which was not, and as it plea&s;ed God
could not be till his Maje&s;ty and the Court had been &s;et|led
for &s;ome time at <HI>Oxon.</HI> There I re&s;umed my former
argument, becau&s;e I found there a great part of my for|mer
<HI>auditors,</HI> &amp; brought the&s;e Sermons to an end; which
have lain by me ever &s;ince (without the lea&s;t alteration in
words or matter) as they then were preached, and as they
then were preached &s;o they now are publi&s;h'd. Which
&s;aid, I have no more to do but de&s;ire your pardon for the
tediou&s;ne&s;s of this <HI>Addre&s;s,</HI> and that you would be plea&s;d
to accept that <HI>Portraiture</HI> or <HI>Picture</HI> which is herewith
&s;ent, to make &s;uch u&s;e of it as may &s;tand be&s;t with
your contentment, and thereby to pre&s;erve a fair e&s;teem
in your &s;elf and others of, Sir,</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Lacies Court in Abin|don,
<DATE><HI>Jan.</HI> 25. 1658.</DATE></DATELINE>
Your mo&s;t affectionate friend and Cou&s;in
to do you &s;ervice, <SIGNED>PET. HEYLIN.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="notice to the reader">
<PB REF="9">
<HEAD>An Adverti&s;ement to the Reader.</HEAD>
<P>THe Reader is to under&s;tand that of the three
la&s;t Sermons which are &s;ubjoyned to
tho&s;e of the <HI>Tares,</HI> the Fir&s;t was preached in
the Chappel of <HI>Lambeth</HI> Hou&s;e, at the Con&s;ecrati|on
of the Right Reverend Father in God Dr. <HI>John
Towers</HI> Lord Bi&s;hop of <HI>Peterburg, Jan.</HI> 13. 1638.
The Second in the Abby-Church of <HI>We&s;tminster,</HI>
on the fifth Sunday of <HI>Lent,</HI> commonly called <HI>Pa&s;|&s;ion
Sunday, Anno</HI> 1640. The Third in <HI>Wind&s;or
Ca&s;tle</HI> before the King, at &s;uch time as he had re|moved
from <HI>White-hall, Jan.</HI> 24. 1641. Which I
thought fit to &s;ignifie, in regard that the &s;aid Ser|mons,
the two fir&s;t e&s;pecially, are fitted to the parti|cular
times and occa&s;ions before remembred, and
not &s;o ea&s;ily applyable unto any other; Adver|ti&s;ement
whereof &s;hould have been given in the
Title of each of the &s;aid Sermons, but that it was
unhappily left out when they were at the Pre&s;&s;e.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="parable">
<PB REF="10">
<DIV2 LANG="grc" TYPE="version">
<HEAD>Parabola Zizaniorum.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">MAT. XIII. VERS. XXIV. &amp;c.</HEAD>
<P>24 <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>25 <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>26 <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>27 <GAP DESC="foreign">;</P>
<P>28 <GAP DESC="foreign">;</P>
<P>29 <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>30 <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 LANG="lat" TYPE="version">
<PB REF="10">
<HEAD>Ver&s;io Vulgaris.</HEAD>
<P>24 ALiam Parabolam propo&s;uit illis, dicens, Simile
factum e&s;t Regnum Coelorum homini, qui &s;e|minavit
bonum &s;emen in agro &s;uo.</P>
<P>25 Cum autem dormirent homines, venit inimicus
ejus, &amp; &s;uper &s;eminavit Zizania in medio Tritici, &amp;
abiit.</P>
<P>26 Cum autem crevi&s;&s;et herba, &amp; fructum feci&s;&s;et,
tunc apparuerunt &amp; zizania.</P>
<P>27 Accedentes autem &s;ervi patris-famili&acirc;s dixe|runt
ei: Domine, nonne bonum &s;emen &s;eminasti in
agro tuo? unde ergo habet zizania?</P>
<P>28 Et ait illis, inimicus homo hoc fecit: &s;ervi au|tem
dixerunt ei, vis imus, &amp; colligimus ea?</P>
<P>29 Et ait, non; ne fort&egrave; colligentes zizania, eradi|cetis
&s;imul cum iis triticum.</P>
<P>30 Sinite utraque cre&s;cere u&s;que ad me&s;&s;em, &amp; in
tempore me&s;sis dicam me&s;&s;oribus, colligite prim&ugrave;m zi|zania,
&amp; alligate ea in fa&s;ciculos ad comburendum,
triticumautem congregate in horreum meum.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 LANG="lat" TYPE="version">
<PB REF="11">
<HEAD>Ver&s;io Bezana.</HEAD>
<P>24 ALiam Parabolam propo&s;uit eis, dicens, Simile
e&s;t Regnum Coelorum homini &s;erenti bonum
&s;emen in agro &s;uo.</P>
<P>25 Quum autem dormirent homines, venit ejus
inimicus, &amp; &s;erit Zizania inter triticum, &amp; abiit.</P>
<P>26 Quum ver&ograve; germina&s;&s;et herba, &amp; fructum edi|di&s;&s;et,
tunc apparuerunt etiam zizania.</P>
<P>27 Accedentes autem &s;ervi patris-famili&acirc;s dixe|runt
ei, Domine nonne bonum &s;emen &s;evi&s;ti in agro tuo?
unde ergo habet zizania?</P>
<P>28 Ille vero dixit eis, inimicus qui&s;piam hoc fecit:
&s;ervi autem dixerunt ei, vis igitur abeamus &amp; colliga|mus
ea.</P>
<P>29 At ille dixit, non, ne colligendo zizania eradi|cetis
&s;imul cum eis triticum.</P>
<P>30 Sinite utraque &s;imul cre&s;cere u&s;que ad me&s;&s;em,
&amp; tempore me&s;sis dicam me&s;&s;oribus, colligite primum
zizania, &amp; ligate ea in fa&s;ciculos ad exurendum ea,
triticum vero colligite in horreum meum.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="11">
<HEAD>THE
PARABLE
OF
THE TARES
Expounded and Applyed.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At WHITE-HALL <DATE>Jan. 9. 1637.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. 24.</BIBL>
<Q>Another Parable put he forth unto them, &s;aying, The
Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a man which &s;owed
good &s;eed in his field.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_DEus quantum &s;atis e&s;&s;e judicavit locu|tus,
Scripturam condidit:</HI> God, &s;aith
St. <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> having manife&s;ted &s;o
much of his heavenly will as he
thought &s;ufficient for our u&s;e, com|po&s;ed
the body of the Scriptures:
And in compo&s;ing of it, he contri|ved
it &s;o, that it gives wi&s;dom to the &s;imple, and ex|erci&s;eth
the abilities of the greate&s;t Clerks. Now as
the Scripture is, which is <HI>verbum Dei,</HI> &s;uch al&s;o was
the Preacher, which is <HI>Deus verbum.</HI> In his mo&s;t
<PB N="2" REF="12">
heavenly Sermon made upon the Mount, he
taught the people plainly, without tropes or figures.
<GAP DESC="foreign">, <GAP DESC="foreign">: For, as St.
<HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> hath noted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Matth. 13. v. 3.</NOTE> tho&s;e unto whom he then
di&s;cour&s;ed were plain &s;imple men, uncapable of Pa|rables,
and Allegories, and &s;uch my&s;terious arts of
&s;peaking. But here we meet with men of another
mettle; the Scribes, the wi&s;e men of the World,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, together with the &s;ubtle Pha|ri&s;ees,
as <HI>Theophylact</HI> calls them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Matth. 13.</NOTE> The&s;e, as they
would believe no Go&s;pel, which did not come ac|companied
with &s;ignes and wonders, &s;o might they
judge all Doctrine to be poor and ba&s;e which was
not repre&s;ented to them in an hand&s;ome habit. There
are &s;ome men that are more taken with tho&s;e things
which they under&s;tand not, then &s;uch as are familiar
to their apprehen&s;ions. Others to whom no truth is
plea&s;ing, <HI>ni&s;i quod auditu &s;uave e&s;t,</HI> as <HI>Lactantius</HI>
hath it;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 5. c. 1.</NOTE> but that which is apparelled in a curious
dre&s;&s;e. In which regard our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, of
whom St. <HI>Paul</HI> learnt to be <GAP DESC="foreign">, did &s;ome|times,
as he had occa&s;ion, &s;peake in Parables; partly
to make his Auditors the more attent, partly to
grave the deeper and more firm impre&s;&s;ion in their
hearts and memories, but principally to excite them
to a more diligent enquiry after that which they un|der&s;tood
not. <HI>Per&s;picua ob&s;curis mi&s;cet, ut per ea quae
intelligunt provocentur ad eorum notitiam quae non in|telligunt;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In Mat. 13.</NOTE>
as St. <HI>Hierome</HI> hath it.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour hath compared him|&s;elfe
to a certain man which made a great &s;upper,
and bad many;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 14. 16.</NOTE> his Kingdom to a certain King,
which made a marriage for his Sonne.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 22. 2.</NOTE> Now to a
<PB N="3" REF="12">
great Supper, or a Wedding Fea&s;t, &s;ome come for
hunger, &s;ome for dainties; and others only out of
curio&s;ity, to ob&s;erve the order of the entertainment.
He therefore that would plea&s;e all commers, mu&s;t
provide accordingly, and furni&s;h out his Table with
that rich variety, that he hath wherewithall to con|tent
each palate, le&s;t el&s;e &s;ome one or other go a|way
un&s;atisfied. And &s;o it was with our Redeemer,
while&s;t being here upon the Earth, he was at once the
entertainer and the fea&s;t. Some flocked unto him
to partake of the bread of life, poor &s;ouls that hun|gred
after righteou&s;ne&s;s;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.</NOTE> others to prie into his
actions, and ob&s;erve his &s;ayings: and &s;ome out of a
curio&s;ity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Kings.</NOTE> as once the Queen of <HI>Sheba</HI> came to <HI>Solo|mon,</HI>
only to wonder at his wi&s;dom, and from whence
it came. One and the &s;ame continual manner of di&s;|cour&s;e
was never likely to have &s;orted to that vari|ety
of humours which re&s;orted to him. And there|fore
to poor &s;imple men he &s;pake home, but plainly;
<HI>Loe now thou &s;peake&s;t plainly,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 16. 29.</NOTE> <HI>and &s;peake&s;t no Parables.</HI>
But to the captious and the curious, to the wi&s;e and
learned, it plea&s;ed him to &s;peak &s;ometimes in dark
&s;peech and Parables, to &s;et an edge upon their appe|tites,
and keep them from a loathing of that Manna
which came down from Heaven: God &s;o &s;ets out his
word as men do their fea&s;ts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Doct. Ch. <HI>l.</HI> 2. <HI>c.</HI> 3.</NOTE> <HI>ut locis apertioribus fami
occurreret, ob&s;curioribus fa&s;tidia detergeret,</HI> in St. <HI>Au|&s;tines</HI>
Language: as well to quicken and revive our
appetites, as allay our hunger. Nor have we onely
here a Parable, but we have <HI>aliam parabolam,</HI> another
Parable; a Banquet &s;uperadded to the &s;econd cour&s;e.
The Lord, as <HI>Hi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rome</HI> hath ob&s;erved, provides his
gue&s;ts of &s;everal dainties,<NOTE PLACE="marg">in locum.</NOTE> <HI>ut unu&s;qui&s;que &s;ecundum na|turam
<PB N="4" REF="13">
&s;tomachi &s;ui varia &s;u&s;ciperet alimenta;</HI> that each
mans &s;tomach may be fitted with the meate he
likes.</P>
<P>Here then we have a Parable, and another Para|ble;
and we have rea&s;on al&s;o why our Saviour &s;pake
at this time in Parables, in matters which concerned
the Kingdom of Heaven: Some other rea&s;ons there
are of it, which we &s;hall meete withall hereafter. The
next thing here to be con&s;idered, is that very King|dom,
which in my Text, and other places of this
Chapter, is in &s;o dark a way pointed out unto us.
Which Kingdom, whether that it be the preaching
of Chri&s;ts Go&s;pel, or the imparting of his graces to
the &s;oul of man, it is re&s;embled very fitly unto the
work and travels of the Husband-man, who having
laboured and manured his field with his utmo&s;t care,
and &s;owed it with his choyce&s;t &s;eede, betakes him|&s;elfe
unto his re&s;t, in expectation of a plentiful and
joyful Harve&s;t: yet &s;o it hapneth many times, that
notwith&s;tanding all his co&s;t and travel, it brings forth
tares in&s;tead of Wheat, weedes in&s;tead of flowers:
<HI>Longique perit labor irritus Anni.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid. met. lib. 1.</NOTE> Gods field is many
times too like his Vineyard; when he had digged it,
and dre&s;&s;ed it, and that there could be nothing done
unto it which he had not done, yet when he came
and looked for grapes, it brought forth wilde grapes,
&s;uch as were only fitted for the Wine-pre&s;&s;e of his
indignation. So that at la&s;t the meaning of the Text
will be briefly this, That it &s;o falls out with our Savi|our
in the admini&s;tration of his heavenly Kingdom,
as with a man that &s;owed, and &s;owed good &s;eed, and
&s;owed it in a field of his own po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; but at the
comming on of harve&s;t, found it full of tares. <HI>And he
<PB N="5" REF="13">
put forth another Parable unto them, &s;aying, The
Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a man,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Hitherto have we gone in the way of preparation,
and &s;pake as much as was convenient touching the
&s;ubject of and in this Parable, the Kingdom of Hea|ven.
And in the Predicate thereof, wherein the &s;ub|&s;tance
of the Text doth con&s;i&s;t e&s;pecially, we have
the&s;e parts to be con&s;idered; <HI>The Hu&s;band-man, the
Seede, the S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">yle.</HI> Fir&s;t for the Husband-man, it &s;eemes
he was a man of action, for we finde him &s;owing; and
next a man of <HI>quality,</HI> as one that did not all his work
by him&s;elf immediately, but u&s;ed &s;ometimes the
<HI>ministery</HI> of his &s;ervants, as may appeare out of the
25. and the 27. Ver&s;e compared together. Then
for the Seed, that is to be con&s;idered al&s;o; fir&s;t, in
the &s;ub&s;tance, it was Wheat, the be&s;t kinde of grain,
for the Text tells us of the Tares, that they were
&s;owen <HI>in medio tritici,</HI> in the middle of the Wheat;
and &s;econdly, it was <HI>bonum &s;emen,</HI> a good &s;ort of
Wheat. La&s;t of all for the field, we will look on
that, fir&s;t in it &s;elfe, as it is <HI>ager,</HI> a place fit for til|lage;
and then in the <HI>Proprietarie,</HI> it was <HI>Ager &s;uus,</HI>
his own field, a field not hired nor rented, but his
own po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. Of the&s;e, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Prima Ceres ferro mortales verteret erram In&s;tituit.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Georgic. l. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE>
The art of Husbandry is of &s;uch antiquity, that it is
attributed by the Poets to the Gods them&s;elves,
That and the calling of the Shepheard coeval in a
&s;ort with the very world.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 4. 2.</NOTE> We read it of the Sonnes
of <HI>Adam,</HI> that <HI>Abel</HI> was a keeper of Sheep, and <HI>Cain</HI>
a tiller of the ground. Both Offices united in the
fir&s;t man <HI>Adam,</HI> till his Sonnes came to age to di&s;|charge
them for him: and both united al&s;o in the
<PB N="6" REF="14">
&s;econd <HI>Adam</HI> till he intru&s;ted them to his Apo&s;tles,
&amp; their &s;ucce&s;&s;ors in the Evangelical Pre&s;thood. <HI>Philo</HI>
hath noted to our hands, that the name of Shepheard
was antiently applyed unto Kings and Law-givers,
yet not to Kings and State&s;men only,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. de Agri|cultura.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
but that it is as ju&s;tly
attributed to the Lord Almighty. But behold, a
greater then <HI>Philo</HI> is here. For Chri&s;t hath told us
of him&s;elf that he is a Shepheard, <HI>Ego &s;um pa&s;tor
bonus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 10. 11.</NOTE> I am the good Shepheard, <HI>Joh.</HI> 10. And his
Apo&s;tle tells us of him, that he is <HI>Princeps Pa&s;torum,</HI>
the chief Shepheard; and <HI>Pastor animarum,</HI> the
Shepheard of our &s;ouls,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 5. 4. 2. 25.</NOTE> Even that good Shepheard
which did once lay down his life for his Sheep, and
doth &s;till feede them in the pa&s;tures of eternall
life.</P>
<P>But que&s;tionle&s;s, the Husband-man is of the two
the better Gentleman, de&s;cended, as we u&s;e to &s;ay,
of the Elder hou&s;e. And therefore <HI>Philo</HI> in his Book
<HI>de &s;acrificiis Cain &amp; Abel,</HI> conceives, that in the di&s;tri|bution
of their Fathers bu&s;ine&s;s, <HI>Cain</HI> having choyce
of both as the elder Brother, made choyce of Hu&s;|bandry.
<GAP DESC="foreign">,
<GAP DESC="foreign">,
as his words there are Indeed it was the fir&s;t imploy|ment
of our Father <HI>Adam:</HI> No &s;ooner was he fallen &amp;
ca&s;t out of Paradi&s;e, but he was put to till the Earth;
and that too <HI>in &s;u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">dore frontis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 4.</NOTE> with great care and
&s;orrow. So that being in the infancy of the world
the portion of the elder Brother, and before him,
the bu&s;ine&s;s of his Father <HI>Adam,</HI> &s;ole King and Mo|narch
of the world: it came in fine, to be the ex|erci&s;e
and delight of the greate&s;t Potentates; For it
<PB N="7" REF="14">
is written of <HI>Uzziah</HI> King of <HI>Judah,</HI> that he loved
Husbandry.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 26. 10. <HI>Hi&s;t.</HI> Rom. l. 1. c. 11.</NOTE> And <HI>Florus</HI> writes of <HI>Quinctius</HI> the
Dictator in the State of <HI>Rome,</HI> that being taken from
the Plough, to manage the affaires of that growing
Empire; after the Warres were ended, and his Tri|umphs
over, he returned back unto his labours; <HI>Re|diit
ad boves &s;uos triumphalis Agricola.</HI> But behold a
greater then either <HI>Quinctius</HI> or <HI>Uzziah</HI> is here al&s;o.
For Chri&s;t him&s;elf hath told us of his heavenly Fa|ther,
that he is an Husband-man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Joh.</HI> 15. <HI>I am the
true Vine, and my Father is the Husband-man.</HI> So that
the marvel is not much if having likened his mo&s;t
glorious Father to an Husband-man, he doth re|&s;emble
his mo&s;t heavenly Kingdom, and his admini|&s;tration
of and in the &s;ame, unto a man that &s;owed,
and that &s;owed good Seed. In this re&s;pect our Sa|viour
is as well the Husband-man as he is the Vine;
an Husband-man, who&s;e labour like the Countrey
Plough-mans is never at an end,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5. 17.</NOTE> but runs round
<HI>in circulo. My Father worketh hitherto,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t
our Saviour, <HI>and I al&s;o work.</HI> As if he had thus &s;aid
in more plain di&s;cour&s;e; Hitherto hath my Father
worked,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Augu&s;tine.</HI> J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">h. 5.</NOTE> from the beginning of the world to this very
time, <HI>nec ullum &s;ibi ce&s;sationis &s;tatui&s;se diem,</HI> and lo&s;t
no time, nor intermitted any opportunity of &s;owing
the cele&s;tial &s;eed of life eternall: And I his deare and
onely &s;onne work al&s;o, and am continually imployed
in doing the will of him that &s;ent me. For wot ye
not that I mu&s;t go about my Fathers bu&s;ine&s;s; and
that what ever thing he doth, he doth it in and by the
Sonne? <HI>Per me enim facit cum fecit, &amp; per me regit c&ugrave;m
regit.</HI> God made the world, but by the Sonne; for
by him all things were made, <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. And God in|&s;tructs
<PB N="8" REF="15">
the world in his holy my&s;teries,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 6 61.</NOTE> but it is only
by the Sonne, who is both God the word, and the
word of God. <HI>Ma&s;ter,</HI> &s;aid his Apo&s;tle to him, <HI>whi|ther
&s;hall we go? Thou only hast the words of eternall
life.</HI> Which in&s;titution, being, as it is here called, but
a kinde of &s;owing, hath been the care and labour of
the heavenly Husband-man from the fir&s;t fall of
<HI>Adam</HI> to this very day, and will &s;till be his care and
labour, from this day forwards to the end of all
things.</P>
<P>For, the fir&s;t man being fallen almo&s;t as &s;oon as
made, became the mo&s;t calamitous ruine of a goodly
fortune; His under&s;tanding darkened with the clouds
either of ignorance or error; his will corrupted, and
the affections of the &s;ame depraved, and his Con&s;ci|ence
hardned. So that the Earth and he were both
of the like condition: [Both pure and perfect in
them&s;elves at the fir&s;t creation; the one being fra|med
according to the Image of Almighty God, in
Ju&s;tice and Integrity; the other bringing forth of
its own accord whatever thing could plea&s;e the eye,
or delight the palate. But pre&s;ently upon the cur&s;e,
the Earth was fruitful only in thorns and thi&s;tles;
and &s;o was man upon the fall: tho&s;e thorny cares
and troubles which afflict the minde, tho&s;e thi&s;tles
of corruption which invaded his will and pa&s;&s;ions.]
That &s;tood in need of tillage, and &s;o did he: the
Plough to work and break the one, that &s;o it might
be fit to receive that &s;eed which by the careful Hu&s;|band-man
is de&s;igned unto it; the preaching of the
word to prepare the other&punc; for the reception of the
graces and gifts of God: That required &s;owing at
due &s;ea&s;ons, and &s;o did he; the Earth not bringing
<PB N="9" REF="15">
forth good fruit without pains and labour, yet yiel|ding
good Increa&s;e of the &s;eed allotted; nor man
producing any thing that is ju&s;t and righteous, out of
his own corrupted nature, yet &s;ometimes bringing
forth the fruits of plety, according to the &s;eed &s;owne
in him, [<HI>Si mod&ograve; culturae patientem commodet aurem,</HI>
as the Poet hath it.] Nay, as it &s;eemes, the&s;e &s;everal
kindes of &s;owing are of equal date; For when it fir&s;t
was laid as a cur&s;e on <HI>Adam, that in the &s;weat of his
browes he &s;hould eat his bread,</HI> it al&s;o was communi|cated
as a ble&s;&s;ing to him, that he &s;hould finde relief
in the promi&s;ed &s;eed.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3. 15.</NOTE> That the fir&s;t &s;eed of faith and
comfort that was &s;own in <HI>Adam,</HI> a &s;eed of &s;o divine
a nature, that it did quicken without dying, and dy|ing
did give life to all men; a &s;eed that &s;owed it &s;elf
in the Virgins womb, and &s;o became the Sonne of
man, that by his meanes poor man might be re|deemed
from &s;in and Satan, and &s;o become the
Sonne of God.</P>
<P>Nor did he only &s;owe in the heart of <HI>Adam</HI> the
comfort and a&s;&s;urance of the promi&s;ed &s;eed; but he
in&s;tructed him to typifie and prefigurate his death
and pa&s;&s;ion, for the redemption of the world, in the
way of &s;acrifice: For how&s;oever the fir&s;t bloody &s;a|crifice
we read of in the holy Scripture was that of
<HI>Abel,</HI> and that it generally is conceived that he was
taught it by his Father; yet there's no que&s;tion to
be made, but that <HI>Adam</HI> learnt it of the Lord. <HI>Deus
&s;olus docere potuit ut &s;e vellet orari,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul.</NOTE> as <HI>Tertullian</HI>
hath it. And for tho&s;e other &s;eeds of faith and piety,
by which, or they, or <HI>Seth</HI> or <HI>Enoch,</HI> or any of the
Patriarchs before the Flood, were quickned and ina|bled
to the works of righteou&s;ne&s;s, they were all
<PB N="10" REF="16">
of them &s;owne by the Lord our God, &s;ometimes
by Dreams and Vi&s;ions, as the Prophets tell us,
and &s;ometimes al&s;o <HI>viva voce,</HI> by a more evident and
per&s;onal manner of di&s;cour&s;e. Many and frequent
were the vi&s;its that God made to <HI>Abraham,</HI> after that
he had called him from his own Country, and his
Fathers hou&s;e; and there was none in which he did
not manife&s;t &s;omething to him of his will and plea|&s;ure:
Not to &s;ay any thing of <HI>I&s;aac, Jacob,</HI> and tho&s;e
other good and godly men, to whom the Lord ap|peared
and &s;pake face to face, thereby implanting in
their &s;ouls the &s;eeds of piety and vertue. But when
the hou&s;e of <HI>Abraham</HI> was grown great and nume|rous,
and had withall degenerated from the example
and integrity of their common Parent, then did the
Lord begin to commit this part of heavenly Hu&s;|bandry
to his menial Servants, Prophets, and Seers,
Prie&s;ts and Levites.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 21. 1.</NOTE> For it was he that &s;aid to <HI>Mo&s;es,
The&s;e are the judgements which thou &s;halt &s;et before the
people;</HI> the words and judgements of the Lord, as he
el&s;ewhere calls them: Which &s;aid unto his Servant
<HI>Jerem&iuml;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">cap. 1. v. 9. c. 3. v. 17.</NOTE> <HI>Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth;</HI> and
to <HI>Ezekiel, Heare therefore the word from my mouth,
and give them warning from me.</HI> Where we may &s;ee,
that how&s;oever God makes u&s;e of men to di&s;patch
this bu&s;ine&s;s, yet they are &s;till Gods words, Gods
judgements, the words of his mo&s;t &s;acred mouth,
which they impart unto the people. God &s;o di&s;po|&s;ed
of this imployment unto his Servants and Di&s;ci|ples,
that &s;till he kept unto him&s;elf the power and
reputation of the principal Workman.</P>
<P>Thus in the&s;e &s;everal wayes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 1. 1.</NOTE> <HI>&s;pake God in times
pa&s;t to our Fathers;</HI> and every &s;everal way of the&s;e
<PB N="11" REF="16">
was a &s;everal &s;owing:<NOTE PLACE="marg">2.</NOTE> <HI>but in the&s;e la&s;t times hath
he &s;poken to us by his onely Sonne, whom he ap|pointed
to be Heire of all things, and by whom al&s;o he
made the Worlds.</HI> Him&s;elf hath told us of him&s;elf,
in the Expo&s;ition of this Parable,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 37.</NOTE> <HI>that he that &s;oweth
the good Seed is the Sonne of man.</HI> And indeed, what
was all his life, but a continual &s;owing of the word of
God, at <HI>Nazareth, Hieru&s;alem, Capernaum,</HI> in <HI>Galilee,</HI>
in the Land of <HI>Judah,</HI> in the fields and Cities?
Hardly one &s;tep in all <HI>Judaea</HI> which he had not mea|&s;ured,
and in the which he did not punctually per|form
the Office of a faithful Seed&s;-man. He &s;owed
his Word among&s;t them, and it brought forth faith;
he &s;owed his Grace among them, and it brought
forth godline&s;s; he &s;owed miracles among them, and
they brought forth followers. And which is yet more
marvellous then all the re&s;t, he &s;owed Him&s;elf, the
Chri&s;t among them, and forthwith all the World,
<HI>ab ortu Solis ad occa&s;um,</HI> as <HI>Lactantius</HI> hath it, did in a
manner become Chri&s;tians: [he &s;owed the very King|dom
of Heaven among&s;t them; and every one of his
Di&s;ciples did pre&s;ently grow greater with Gods hea|venly
Kingdom; <HI>Behold, the Kingdom of God is with|in
you,</HI> Luke 17.] No miracle in all the Scripture
parallel to this, that he that was the Sower &s;hould
become the Seed; and the &s;ame per&s;on, at and in
the &s;elf-&s;ame in&s;tant, &s;hould be the Preacher and the
Go&s;pel. And though it plea&s;ed him for a time to
withdraw him&s;elf, and leave the pur&s;uit of his work
unto his Apo&s;tles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 28. v. 20. <HI>In locum.</HI></NOTE> yet did he promi&s;e <HI>to be with them
alwayes, even to the end of the World. Cum vobis &amp;
&s;ucce&s;&s;oribus ve&s;tris,</HI> alwayes with them and their &s;uc|ce&s;&s;ors,
as <HI>Denys</HI> the <HI>Carthu&s;ian</HI> notes it; Alwayes, in
<PB N="12" REF="17">
reference to his power and Spirit, by which he is for
ever with us; and alwayes, in relation to his care and
providence, by which his Servants and Di&s;ciples have
been &s;till among&s;t us: <HI>For &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">me he hath given Pro|phets,
and &s;ome Apo&s;tles,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4. v. 11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>and &s;ome Evangeli&s;ts, and
&s;ome <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;tors and Teachers; for the perfecting of the
Saints, for the work of the Mini&s;try, and for the edify|ing
of his body.</HI></P>
<P>So then the&s;e Teachers, Prophets, and Apo&s;tles
which Chri&s;t left behind him, are all of them the &s;er|vants
of that heavenly Husbandman whom we finde
mentioned in this Text: Not &s;ervants of &s;o mean
and poor a quality as the world would make them;
for St. <HI>Paul</HI> tells us of them, <HI>That they are Labou|rers
together with God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3. 9.</NOTE> <HI>the</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>and Fellow work|men
of the Lord.</HI> It is the priviledge of Princes, and
great Commanders, to &s;ay unto their Servants, <HI>do
this and they do it;</HI> but for the Husband-man, he is
alwayes one in every bu&s;ine&s;s that concerns him, and
doth not &s;ay unto his people, <HI>&s;ee that this be done,</HI> but
<HI>let us do it.</HI> So that God doth not work the le&s;&s;e, be|cau&s;e
he hath &s;o many Servants employed from time
to time in his holy Husbandry; He works not only
by them, but he labours with them: <HI>For how&s;oever
Paul may plant,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3. 6.</NOTE> <HI>and Apollos water, yet it is He alone that
gives increa&s;e.</HI> His Eye it is that doth direct them,
and his Hand that guides them, as well as that it is
his Word which is &s;owed by them. And &s;owe they
mu&s;t continually, in all times and places, in &s;ea&s;on, out
of &s;ea&s;on, without end or cea&s;ing; otherwi&s;e they
will fall full &s;hort of that glorious title of being
<GAP DESC="foreign">, and Labourers together with Almighty
God.</P>
<P><PB N="13" REF="17">
And on the other &s;ide, it is to be ob&s;erved with|all,
that as the Prie&s;t is called <GAP DESC="foreign">, a Fellow-Labourer
with God, &s;o are the people called
<GAP DESC="foreign">, Gods Husbandry, in that very Ver&s;e.
For we are Labourers together with God, and ye
Gods Husbandry: Not his field only, nor his V<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ne|yard
only, but his very Husbandry, his bu&s;ine&s;s, his
imployment, his ground ready tilled, about the which
he hath be&s;towed &s;o much care and travel. And be|ing
&s;o, it is expected at your hands, that you bring
forth the fruits of good living, that you be an&s;we|rable
to the vote and expectation of the heavenly
Husband-man. The Lord hath pretermitted neither
co&s;t nor pains, to make his field exceeding fruitful of
good works; for he hath fatned it with the blood
of his only Sonne, and with the blood of many and
mo&s;t glorious Martyrs.</P>
<LG>
<L>Luxuriat &s;acro Sanguine pinguis humus.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid.</NOTE></L>
</LG>
<P>He hath manured it with the hands of his holy Pro|phets,
which hath been &s;ince the World began; wa|tred
it with the dew of Heaven, and &s;owed it with
the Seed of his holy Word. What could he do more
to it that he hath not done? It after all this care and
co&s;t, in&s;tead of Grapes, you bring forth nothing but
wild grapes; if when he &s;owes among&s;t you his mo&s;t
&s;acred &s;eed, he findes his field over-run with thorns
and thi&s;tles, or that it brings forth Tares when he
looks for Wheat; it cannot po&s;&s;ibly be &s;aid, that
God is wanting unto us, but we are wanting unto
God. Nor can it be replyed, (were a man minded to
di&s;pute with Almighty God) that every man is as
the Lord hath made him, and that the fault is rather
in the &s;eed then in the &s;oyle: For what&s;oever God
<PB N="14" REF="18">
created, he looked upon it, <HI>and behold, it was good:</HI>
and what&s;oever &s;eed he &s;oweth, let us look upon it,
and we &s;hall finde it good al&s;o. Gods Kingdom is
here likened unto that man, not which &s;owed every
&s;ort of &s;eed, but the good &s;eed only; the next par|ticular,
and next in order to be handled.</P>
<P><HI>Nece&s;&s;e e&s;t &s;umptum facere qui quaerit lucrum;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Plautus.</NOTE> He that
intends to reap mu&s;t &s;owe. It is not now, as once in
the golden Age, when as the Earth brought forth its
fruit without &s;eed or ploughing;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Metam. l. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Mox etiam fruges
tellus inarata fer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">bat,</HI> as the Poet hath it. And he that
hopes to reap good fruit, mu&s;t al&s;o have a care that
he &s;owe good &s;eed; for no man is to look for Grapes
from thorns, or for Figs from thi&s;tles. The Hu&s;|bandman
in the pre&s;ent Parable was well experien|ced
in this rule, and did not only &s;owe his field, but
he &s;owed good &s;eed. Now for this &s;eed, the con|text
tells us it was wheat, the be&s;t kinde of grain,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, as <HI>Galen</HI> call's it.
And the Text tells us it was good, the be&s;t kind of
Wheat, as that of which the pure&s;t bread, the bread
of life was to be made, whereby the Children of the
Kingdom are begotten to a lively hope, to an incor|ruptible
inheritance.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ling.</NOTE> A Prote&s;tant writer of good
credit doth expound it &s;o; <HI>Semen,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>propri&egrave;
exponitur verbum Dei, unde enati filii regni.</HI> And this
with good congruity enough unto our Saviours Ex|po&s;ition,
who having &s;aid, <HI>that he that &s;oweth the good
&s;eed is the Sonne of man,</HI> adds, <HI>that the good &s;eed are
the Children of the Kingdom.</HI> The Children of the
Kingdom then, there's no doubt of that. And being
that Children of the Kingdom are begotten by the
cele&s;tial &s;eed of Gods holy Word, the Word of
<PB N="15" REF="18">
God may put in al&s;o for its part, and come within
the compa&s;&s;e of the &s;eed here mentioned.<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Matth. 13.</NOTE> <HI>Hierome</HI>
indeed hath given it to us for a rule, that, <HI>Ubicun&abque; Do|minus
exponit &s;ermones &s;uos, cavendum e&s;t ne vel a|liud,
nec plus velimus intelligere qu&agrave;m ab eo expo&s;itum
e&s;t.</HI> But this, I think, is to be under&s;tood of &s;uch ex|po&s;itions
as are repugnant to our Saviours, and not
&s;ub&s;ervient thereunto.</P>
<P>But yet to keep our &s;elves more neer unto our Sa|viours
Expo&s;ition, [the Children of the Kingdom
here, and the Children of the wicked one in the fol|lowing
words, are not to be interpreted of the men
them&s;elves: For, being it is &s;aid, that the enemy
&s;owed tares, and that the tares are the children of the
wicked one, it might then follow thereupon, that
wicked men, <HI>qu&agrave; men,</HI> are the Devils children, &s;eeds
of his &s;owing, and people of his own creating. And
that might &s;erve to u&s;her in the damnable impiety of
the <HI>Manichees,</HI> who had devi&s;ed two &s;everal Gods, the
one good, the other evil; the one the maker of good
men, the other the creator of wicked men; as
St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> hath informed us of them.] When it is
&s;aid, the good &s;eed are the Children of the King|dom,
it may be further under&s;tood, as of the men
them&s;elves adopted to eternal life, of tho&s;e &s;ancti|fied
thoughts, of tho&s;e cele&s;tial gifts and Graces, by
which a man is made a Child of the mo&s;t high God.
<HI>Quaecunque &s;unt in hominis animo bona,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Homil. in <HI>Matth.</HI> 3.</NOTE> <HI>condita &s;unt
&agrave; Verbo quod in principio erat apud Deum,</HI> as it is in
<HI>Origen.</HI> Whatever God &s;oweth in the heart of man
is mo&s;t pure and perfect; for being good him&s;elf, yea
mo&s;t infinite goodne&s;s, nothing can be &s;uppo&s;ed to
come from him but what is ab&s;olutely good. We
<PB N="16" REF="19">
may conjecture of the &s;eed by the fruit it yieldeth;
If that the fruit be good, then the &s;eed is &s;uch; <HI>for
an evill Tree bringeth not forth good fruit,</HI> as our
Saviour tells us: and then we may be &s;ure that it is
of God. But if the fruit prove evil, we may ea&s;ily
gue&s;&s;e from whence it commeth, both from what
Sower, and what Seed; even from that &s;eed of lu&s;t
and di&s;obedience which was fir&s;t &s;owen in <HI>Adam</HI> by
the Tempter, and hath &s;ince proved too fruitful in
all his progeny. The Devil &s;owed in man the fir&s;t
&s;eeds of Lu&s;t, and lu&s;t conceiving brought forth &s;in.
God had no hand therein at all, more then in execu|ting
ju&s;tice for the &s;inne committed, and impo&s;ing
death upon the &s;inner. <HI>Therefore let no man &s;ay when
he is tempted, I was tempted of God; for God cannot
be tempted with evill,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">James 1. v. 13, 14.</NOTE> <HI>neither tempteth he any man;
but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of
his own lu&s;t, and enticed.</HI> So the Apo&s;tle hath re|&s;olved
it.</P>
<P>And well it is, that it is &s;o re&s;olved by the A|po&s;tle;
otherwi&s;e one might happily have met with
&s;ome, who not con&s;idering that what&s;oever God
made was good, and that the Seed he &s;oweth is al&s;o
good, would take upon them to make him guilty
of all the &s;inne and mi&s;chief which lewd men com|mit.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eu&s;ebius Hi&s;t. 5. 19.</NOTE>
<HI>Florinus</HI> taught &s;o once in the primitive times,
one of the Scholars of <HI>Montanus,</HI> and the <HI>Cataphry|gians.</HI></P>
<P>Thereupon <HI>Irenaeus</HI> publi&s;hed a Di&s;cour&s;e, with
this In&s;cription, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
that God was not the Authour of &s;inne: And he gave
this In&s;cription to it, as the Story tells us, becau&s;e
<HI>Florinus</HI> with great violence and earne&s;tne&s;&s;e had
<PB N="17" REF="19">
taught the contrary opinion. It &s;eemes <HI>Florinus</HI> was
an Heretick of no common aimes, and would not &s;a|tisfie
him&s;elf with the&s;e vulgar follies which had
been taken up before him, but was re&s;olved <HI>ponere
os in coelum,</HI> to &s;trike at Heaven, and plant his battery
again&s;t the very Throne of Almighty God. And
therefore it is &s;aid of him by <HI>Irenaeus,</HI> that he had
&s;pread abroad tho&s;e bla&s;phemous tenets which ne|ver
any of the former Hereticks <GAP DESC="foreign">,
had once dared to broach. Yet bold and venturous
though he were we do not finde that he became the
head of any faction in the Church; or that his fol|lowers,
if he had any, ever attained unto the height
of their Ma&s;ters impudence. Some therefore of the
en&s;uing Hereticks, who in their hearts had entertain|ed
the &s;ame opinions, did in their writings recom|mend
them to the world in a different habit; for
they had cloaked and clothed this bla&s;phemy with
the more plau&s;ible and &s;pecious titles of de&s;tiny, and
of the Starres; the mo&s;t inevitable decrees of the
one, and unre&s;i&s;tible influence of the other, nece&s;&s;i|tating
men unto tho&s;e foule actions which they had
committed.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de haere&s;. <HI>c.</HI> 35.</NOTE> Thus are we told of <HI>Barde&s;anes, Qu&ograve;d
fato conver&s;ationes hominum a&s;criberet,</HI> that he a&s;cri|bed
all things to the power of fate. And thus it is
affirmed of <HI>Pri&s;cillianus, fatalibus a&s;tris homines alli|ga<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">os
e&s;se,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid.</HI> c. 70.</NOTE> that men were governed by the Starres:
which la&s;t St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> hath affirmed al&s;o of one <HI>Colar|bas,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid.</HI> c. 15.</NOTE>
&s;ave that he gave this power and influence to
the Planets only.</P>
<P>But the&s;e, if pondered as they ought, differ but
little, if at all, from the impiety of <HI>Florinus,</HI> before
remembred; only they were expre&s;&s;ed and pub|li&s;hed
<PB N="18" REF="20">
in a better Language, and &s;eemed to &s;avour
&s;omewhat of the Philo&s;opher; for if the Lord had
pa&s;&s;ed &s;uch an unevitable and irrever&s;ible Law of
Fate, that the&s;e and the&s;e men &s;hould be guilty of
tho&s;e foul tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions which they &s;o frequently
committed, it were all one in the true &s;en&s;e and
meaning of it, as if he were proclaimed the Author
of tho&s;e &s;ins which they had committed; and then
why might not every man take unto him&s;elf the ex|cu&s;e
and plea of <HI>Agamemnon,</HI>
<GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>it was not I that did it, but the
Gods and De&s;tiny:</HI> or if the Lord had given &s;o irre|fi&s;tible
a power unto the Starres, as to inforce men
to be wickedly and lewdly given, what differs this
from making God the Author of tho&s;e vicious acti|ons
to which by them we are inforced? and then
why might not every man return his &s;ins upon the
Lord, and &s;ay as did &s;ome &s;uch in St. <HI>Au&s;tines</HI> time,
<HI>accu&s;andum poti&ugrave;s authorem &s;yderum qu&agrave;m commi&s;&s;o|rem
&s;celerum:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De Gen. ad lit. l. 2. c. 17.</NOTE> which granted, we might pa&s;&s;e an
<HI>Index Expurgatorius</HI> on the holy Creed, and quite
raze out the 7th Article, that <HI>viz.</HI> of our Saviours
comming unto judgement; for how could God con|demn
his creatures to unquenchable flames, in ca&s;e
the &s;ins by them committed were not &s;o properly
and truly theirs, as his in them; or puni&s;h them for
that whereof he is Author, or unto which he doth
inforce them? So excellently true is that which <HI>Ful|gentius</HI>
tells us, <HI>Deus non e&s;t eorum ultor quorum e&s;t
autor.</HI></P>
<P>But were <HI>Florinus,</HI> and tho&s;e other Hereticks in
the former times, the only men that broached the&s;e
Doctrines? and have the&s;e latter dayes, think we,
<PB N="19" REF="20">
been free from &s;o great impiety? certainly I could
wi&s;h they were, though I dare not hope it, finding
the &s;ame bla&s;phemous follies charged upon the Li|bertines,
a late brood of Sectaries. The&s;e taught, as
did <HI>Florinus</HI> in the dayes of old,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Calv. In&s;truct. adv. Libertinos.</NOTE> <HI>Quicquid ego et tu fa|cimus
Deus efficit, nam in nobis e&s;t,</HI> and &s;o made
God the Author of tho&s;e wicked actions which
them&s;elves committed. The founders of the Sect,
<HI>Coppinus</HI> and <HI>Quintinus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In Quintino.</NOTE> Flemmings both, and the&s;e
<HI>Prateolus</HI> affirms for certain to be the Progenie of
<HI>Calvin,</HI> and other leading men of the Prote&s;tant
Churches. <HI>Bellarmine</HI> &s;omewhat more remi&s;&s;ely,
<HI>Omnino probabile e&s;teos ex Calvinianis promana&s;se,</HI> and
makes it only probable that it might be &s;o; but nei|ther
rightly; for <HI>Staphylus</HI> reckoning up the Sects
that &s;prung from <HI>Luther,</HI> however that in other
things he flies out too farre, yet makes no mention
of the&s;e fellows. <HI>Paraus</HI> on the other &s;ide, in his
corrections on the Cardinal, a&s;&s;ures us that they both
were Papi&s;ts, acquaints us with the place of their na|tivity,
and the proceedings had again&s;t them. <HI>Calvin,</HI>
who writ a tract again&s;t them, makes one <HI>Franci&s;cus
Poquinus,</HI> a <HI>Franci&s;can</HI> Frier, a principal &s;tickler in the
cau&s;e. And we may adde <HI>ex abundanti,</HI> that the &s;aid
Sect did take beginning <HI>Anno</HI> 529. when <HI>Calvin</HI> yet
was very young, and of no credit in the world, no
not among&s;t tho&s;e very men, who have &s;ince admired
him, and made his word the touch&s;tone of all Ortho|dox
Doctrine. So that for the reviving of this Here|&s;ie
in the&s;e latter Ages, &s;o farre forth as it is deliver|ed
po&s;itively, and in expre&s;&s;e termes, (which was the
bla&s;phemy of <HI>Florinus</HI>) we are beholding for it to
the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> or &s;ome that had been mem|bers
<PB N="20" REF="21">
of it, how willingly &s;oever they would charge
it on the Prote&s;tant Doctors.</P>
<P>Yet true it is, (for, <HI>magna veritas &amp; praevalebit</HI>) that
&s;ome, and tho&s;e of no &s;mall name in the&s;e forraign
Churches, which think them&s;elves a pattern unto all
the re&s;t, have given too ju&s;t a ground for &s;o great a
&s;candall. And well it were they had ob&s;erved that
caution in their publick writings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plutarch in Cae&s;are.</NOTE> which <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> look|ed
for from his Wife, and that is, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
that they had been as free from the &s;u&s;picion as the
crime it &s;elfe; for how&s;oever they affirm it not in
termes expre&s;t, which was the de&s;perate boldne&s;s
of <HI>Florinus,</HI> yet can it hardly be denyed that they
came too near it, to a tantamont, by way of nece&s;&s;a|ry
con&s;equence and deduction, which was the Arti|fice
of <HI>Barde&s;anes</HI> and <HI>Pri&s;cillian;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Calv. In&s;titut. <HI>l.</HI> 3. <HI>c.</HI> 23. Se. 7.</NOTE> for if that God
from before all eternity did purpo&s;e and decree the
fall of <HI>Adam, ut &s;ua defectione periret Adam,</HI> (as &s;ome
men have taught us,) there was in <HI>Adam</HI> a nece&s;&s;ity
of &s;inne, becau&s;e the Lord had &s;o decreed it: if
without con&s;ideration of the &s;inne of man, he hath
by his determinate &s;entence ordained &s;o many mil|lions
unto de&s;truction, and that too, <HI>nece&s;&s;ari&ograve; &amp; in|evitabiliter,</HI>
as they plea&s;e to phra&s;e it, he mu&s;t needs
preordain them al&s;o unto &s;in; becau&s;e, as they them|&s;elves
affirm, there is no way unto the end but by
the meanes: And then what can the wicked and im|penitent
do but a&s;cribe all their &s;ins unto the Lord,
by who&s;e inevitable and fatall will they were lo&s;t in
<HI>Adam;</HI> by whom they are particularly and per&s;onally
nece&s;&s;itated unto death, and therefore al&s;o unto &s;in:
for thus <HI>Lycomedes</HI> in <HI>Plautus</HI> pleaded for him&s;elf,
when he defloured old <HI>Euclio's</HI> daughter; <HI>Deus mih<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="21" REF="21">
impul&s;or fuit, is me ad illam illexit:</HI> it was Gods do|ing,
none of his, that he was &s;o vicious.</P>
<P>But let us not deceive our &s;elves, God, as he is not
mocked, &s;o he is no mocker: He tells us by his
Sonne, that his Seed is good; by his Apo&s;tle, that
men are tempted by their own lu&s;ts; by his Pro|phets,
that a mans de&s;truction is from him&s;elf, <HI>Perdi|tio
tua e&s;t ex te, O domus I&s;rael;</HI> for his part, he hath
planted in our mindes many &s;aving notions, poured
out upon our hearts the influence and dew of his hea|venly
graces, and kindled many times within us the
flames of an affectionate zeal to his holy &s;ervice. If
that we quench the&s;e flames, and expel the&s;e graces,
and root out the&s;e notions, or el&s;e permit the enemy
to &s;owe his fal&s;e and dangerous T<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">res, even in the
middle of Gods Wheat, is it not then our faults, ei|ther
to do the one, or permit the other? God can|not
po&s;&s;ibly be accu&s;ed of &s;owing other then good
Seed, who &s;oweth the good Seed and no other:
Should we think otherwi&s;e, the &s;malle&s;t error we
could fall into is that of <HI>Barde&s;anes</HI> and <HI>Pri&s;cillian,</HI>
who a&s;cribed all unto fatality, and the Starres and
Planets; of which St. <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> tells us plainly, that
it aimed principally at the ruine and &s;ubver&s;ion of
our whole Religion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Civit. <HI>l</HI> 5. <HI>c.</HI> 1.</NOTE> <HI>Nec aliud agit ni&s;i ut nullus om|nino
aut rogetur aut colatur Deus,</HI> as the Father hath
it. Well then, the &s;eed God &s;owes is good, he nei|ther
made man evil at his fir&s;t creation, nor &s;ugge&s;ts
evil thoughts unto him being once created; nor did
he preordain him unto &s;inne, or di&s;po&s;e him to it:
God is the God of peace, and &s;owes not di&s;&s;ention;
the God of order, and &s;owes not confu&s;ion; the
God of love, and &s;owes not debate; the God of
<PB N="22" REF="22">
truth, and &s;owes not error, or fal&s;e Doctrine; the
God of Ju&s;tice, and &s;owes not iniquity: Nor doth
God &s;owe his good Seed only in this man or that,
&s;ome cho&s;en Ve&s;&s;els of his mercy, &s;ome few &s;elected
ones of his own right hand, and neglect all the re&s;t,
as not worth the looking after; not in his Vineyard
only, or in his Garden, his Church, the Congregati|on
of his Saints, but univer&s;ally over all his field,
and every part and parcel of it; God is here likened
to the man that &s;owed good &s;eed, and &s;owed the
&s;ame <HI>in agro &s;uo,</HI> in his own field; my next particu|lar.</P>
<P><HI>Ager colendo fit bonus,</HI> a field is bettered by manu|ring;
and the more large the field, the greater cul|ture
it requires. How great then is the labour that
Gods field hath need of? how great a quantity of
&s;eed mu&s;t be &s;owen upon it? Him&s;elf hath told us
of this field, that it is the World, <HI>viz.</HI> the general
corporation, or bodie aggregate of mankind, the
World, and not the Church alone, <HI>&amp; mundus, non
tant&ugrave;m Eccle&s;ia,</HI> as it is in <HI>Origen.</HI> This va&s;t and u|niver&s;al
field the Lord hath dre&s;&s;ed and laboured
with his mighty hand, and fatned with his mo&s;t pre|cious
blood of his only Sonne; <HI>For God &s;o loved the
World,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 3. 16, 17. 1 Joh. 2. 2.</NOTE> as the Scriptures tell us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 2. 2.</NOTE> <HI>that he gave his onely
begotten Sonne to be a propitiation for our &s;innes, and
not for ours onely,</HI> [<HI>Gods &s;elected ones</HI>] <HI>but for the &s;innes
of all the World, that the World through him might be
&s;aved.</HI> It is the will of God the Father, as St. <HI>Paul</HI>
hath told us, <HI>that all men &s;hould be &s;aved, and come to
the knowledge of his holy truth.</HI> It is the will of God
the Sonne, <HI>that all men which are heavy laden &s;hould
come unto him,</HI> upon the promi&s;e &amp; a&s;&s;urance <HI>that he
<PB N="23" REF="22">
will ea&s;e them.</HI> It is the will of God the holy Gho&s;t,
<HI>that all men &s;hould be made partakers of tho&s;e meanes
that lead to happine&s;s eternal;</HI> who therefore fell on
the Apo&s;tles in the &s;imilitude of <HI>cloven tongues,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 2. 3, 11.</NOTE> <HI>that
every man might heare them &s;peak in his own Language
the wonderful works of God:</HI> which being the will and
plea&s;ure of the Godhead joyntly, and each per&s;on
&s;everally, could not be po&s;&s;ibly fulfilled, in ca&s;e the
ble&s;&s;ed word of God had been re&s;trained to any, either
place or people, and not proclaimed and publi&s;hed u|niver&s;ally
over all the World: and therefore when
our Saviour &s;ent forth his Apo&s;tles, he gave them a
Commi&s;&s;ion of a large extent, <HI>Ite in univer&s;um
mundum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark 16. 15.</NOTE> <HI>Go into all the world,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>and preach
the Go&s;pel unto every Creature:</HI> nor were they back|ward
in performance of the Lords Commandement,
&s;cattering them&s;elves abroad over all the Earth; and
where they could not go them&s;elves, &s;ending out o|thers
in their room; &s;o that they might have taken
up that &s;peech in <HI>Virgil,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Aene. l. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Quae regio in terris nostri non
plena laboris?</HI> as well as that which is reported of
them by St. <HI>Paul, Exivit &s;onus eorum in omnes ter|ras,</HI>
their &s;ound went forth into all Lands.</P>
<P>The World then is this field, not the Church a|lone;
and in this field, the Sonne of man, the hea|venly
Husbandman, hath &s;owen his good &s;eed, gene|rally
and univer&s;ally, no one part excepted, <HI>In toto
mundo filius hominis &s;eminavit bonum &s;emen,</HI> &s;o &s;aith
<HI>Origen;</HI> for there's no barbarous nation, either pa&s;t
or pre&s;ent, which may not in the book of nature read
the works of God, and &s;o attain to the fir&s;t princi|ple
of Religion, <HI>Deum e&s;&s;e,</HI> that a God there is. This
the Apo&s;tle hath ob&s;erved, that the invi&s;ible things
<PB N="24" REF="23">
of God from the Creation of the World, have been
plainly &s;een, <HI>i. e.</HI> as <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> doth expound it, <HI>Per vi&s;i|bilia
creaturae perveni&s;&s;e eos dicit ad intelligentiam invi|&s;ibilis
creatoris;</HI> and they were al&s;o well enough in|formed
of this, that God was to be wor&s;hipped by
them, <GAP DESC="foreign">, and that too in
the fir&s;t place, with a <GAP DESC="foreign">, as <HI>I&s;ocrates</HI> hath it:
nor did they know this only in the general notion,
which might be a remaining &s;park of the light of na|ture;
but &s;ome of them, as <HI>Ari&s;totle, Plato, Tully,</HI> have
written &s;o divinely touching the nature, attributes,
and works of God, that they may &s;eem to have con|&s;ulted
with the Scriptures: and yet God did not
leave them &s;o, as if he had done bountifully for
them in giving them this knowledge that there is
a God, and that this God is to be wor&s;hipped; but
he revealed &s;o much of his will unto them, as might
enable them to live in a vertuous manner, or leave
them utterly inexcu&s;able before God and man. <HI>The
Gentiles</HI> (&s;aith St. <HI>Paul</HI>) <HI>which know not the Law, do by
nature the things contained in the Law, which &s;hewe the
Law written in their hearts, their Con&s;cience al&s;o bearing
witne&s;&s;e.</HI> Hence it is, that the ancient <HI>Heroes</HI> attained
to &s;uch a height in all moral vertues, that for boun|ty,
valour, magnanimity, cha&s;tity, ju&s;tice, and the re&s;t,
they &s;tand ennobled on record unto all po&s;terity: &s;o
that God did his part among them, and &s;owed good
&s;eed, his &s;eeds of knowledge and Religion over all
his field. It was no want in him that they went no
further, that they proceeded not from morall to
&s;pirituall graces; the fault was only in them&s;elves,
who when they had received as much as might make
way for their ambition, or vain-glory, or e&s;teem with
<PB N="25" REF="23">
men, ca&s;t off all further progre&s;&s;e in the works of
piety, as an unnece&s;&s;ary burden, of no u&s;e at all: by
meanes whereof, as St. <HI>Paul</HI> chargeth it upon them,
they held the truth of God in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;o
became without excu&s;e.</P>
<P>Others there were who made no benefit at all of
the &s;eed &s;own in them, who&s;e hearts were waxed
gro&s;&s;e, their eares dull of hearing, &s;uch as had clo&s;ed
their eyes, as it were of purpo&s;e, that &s;o they might
not &s;ee the great works of God: whence, I be&s;eech
you, came this backwardne&s;s, this mo&s;t &s;tupid dul|ne&s;&s;e?
not from the Lord, who is <HI>natura naturans;</HI>
nor from the faulty error and defect of nature, which
is <HI>natura naturata;</HI> but it came meerly from them|&s;elves,
from their own evil wills, and corrupt affecti|ons,
their wilfulne&s;s, or negligence, or both together.
The Lord hath &s;o made man, that he hath naturally
in him&s;elf a power of &s;eeing: How comes it then to
pa&s;&s;e that &s;ome do not &s;ee? <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;o
&s;aith <HI>Theophylact;</HI> there's none &s;o blinde as they
that will not &s;ee, &s;o &s;aith the Proverb. God gives
men eares, that they may hear; and hearing, may
conceive his mo&s;t holy will: How comes it then to
pa&s;&s;e that they do not heare, or hearing do not un|der&s;tand?
<GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;aith mine Author, it
was their own fault only that they are &s;o wilful: And
being &s;o wilful as they were, and &s;o regardle&s;s of the
mercies and grace of God, no marvel if the Lord
withdrew from them his mo&s;t heavenly &s;eed, or
&s;owed it with a &s;paring and le&s;&s;e liberal hand. The
carele&s;&s;e &s;ervant in the Go&s;pel, that hid his talent in
a napkin, and neither did employ it to his own or his
Ma&s;ters benefit, not only was rebuked for &s;o great a
<PB N="26" REF="24">
negligence, but had his talent taken from him, and
it was given to one that knew how to u&s;e it. Gods
field is large, and like a large field it con&s;i&s;ts of &s;eve|rall
parts; &s;ome places full of &s;tones, and &s;ome full
of thorns, and many times a foot-path, or high-way,
that cro&s;&s;eth over it: God &s;oweth his good &s;eed e|very
where over all his Field; but more in &s;ome parts
then in others; more in the good &s;oyle, then in the
&s;tony or the thorny-ground, or the high-way &s;ide;
more in the Church, then in the Synagogue; more
in the Synagogue of the Jewes, then among&s;t the
Gentiles, according as it gives increa&s;e.</P>
<P>Of this we have a pregnant in&s;tance in the Jewes
them&s;elves: the Word of God had been long preach|ed
unto them, and hearing they did hear, but would
not perceive: the Sonne of God had been long con|ver&s;ant
among them, and they had &s;een tho&s;e won|ders
that he had performed; which &s;eeing they did
&s;ee, but would not believe. They had a&s;cribed the
one to <HI>Belzebub; he ca&s;ts out Devils by the help of
Belzebub the Prince of Devils:</HI> the other t as Dia|bolical
and impure a &s;pirit; <HI>Said we not that thou art a
Samaritan and ha&s;t a Devil?</HI> both of them &s;lighted
and contemned in that &s;cornful que&s;tion, <HI>whence hath
this man this wi&s;dom, and the&s;e mighty things?</HI> Such
men as the&s;e, that had &s;o vilified and abu&s;ed the grace
of God, could not but make them&s;elves unworthy of
a clearer light, then that which might &s;hine forth un|to
them, from a Cloud of darkne&s;s: <HI>therefore he
&s;pake unto them in a Parable, and without Parables &s;pake
he not unto them:</HI> not that the Lord envied them a
more perfect ray of his Divinity, he being that light
which lighteth every man that comes into the
<PB N="27" REF="24">
World: or that he was not willing to impart unto
them &s;ufficient meanes for their &s;alvation, who would
that all men &s;hould be &s;aved: not &s;o, but that he
found by their former actions, how his Go&s;pel
would be entertained, if it came among them; how
&s;trong a re&s;olution they had made, not to be con|verted:
he that had le&s;&s;oned his Di&s;ciples, <HI>not to
ca&s;t Pearles before the Swine,</HI> had very ill ob&s;erved his
own direction, had he layed open all the trea&s;ures of
&s;alvation to &s;uch ob&s;tinate Chapmen, as were re&s;ol|ved
to buy neither milk nor honey, though they
might buy them without money: yet that he might
not leave them de&s;titute of all outward meanes, by
which they might attain to the eternal life: he &s;peaks
unto them, though farre off, openeth his mouth to
them, though ob&s;curely, in dark &s;peech and Parables.
This &s;erved to intimate that he was not yet departed
from them, that he had &s;till a care of their pre&s;erva|tion;
that he would yet be found, if they plea&s;ed to
&s;eek; that even they al&s;o &s;hould finde favour, to un|der&s;tand
the Word of God, if they, as his Di&s;ciples
were, would be &s;ollicitious to enquire the meaning,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, as the Fa|ther
hath it: and he him&s;elf hath &s;aid, <HI>They that &s;eek
&s;hall finde, and unto them that aske, to them it &s;hall be
given, to know the My&s;terie of the Kingdom of Heaven.</HI>
Thus al&s;o is it with the Gentiles, with Gods Field in
general, God &s;owes it only with good &s;eed; but &s;o
di&s;po&s;eth that good &s;eed, as may be mo&s;t unto his
Glory.</P>
<P>God &s;owes his good &s;eed in his Field, over all the
World, although not over all in an equall mea&s;ure;
but the Church only brings forth fruit agreeable un|to
<PB N="28" REF="25">
the &s;eed &s;owne in her; and God rewards this
fruitfulne&s;s with a further favour, in &s;peaking to her
after a more evident and &s;ignificant manner, then un|to
tho&s;e that are without. In which regard, the holy
Prophet having &s;aid, <HI>that God had &s;hewn his word to</HI>
Jacob, <HI>his Statutes and his Ordinances unto</HI> I&s;rael,
exults with a <HI>non taliter,</HI> that &s;o he had not done unto
other Nations, nor had the Heathen &s;o exact a
knowledge of his holy Laws. God &s;owes his good
&s;eed in his Church, his be&s;t &s;eed in that, <HI>as being
not his Field only, but his Garden too,</HI> (for &s;o the Spirit
calls it in the Book of <HI>Canticles:</HI>) and men, we know,
are farre more curious in their Gardens, then about
their Fields: But in this Church, this Garden dre&s;&s;'d
with Gods own hand, there are &s;ome Plants that
thrive and pro&s;per more then others; and tho&s;e the
Lord hath cho&s;en to inoculate in the Tree of Life;
<HI>for every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth,</HI> as him|&s;elf
hath told us, <HI>that it may bring forth more fruit,
John</HI> 15. Let us all therefore have a care in our &s;eve|rall
places, that we amend our lives, and yield fruits
worthy of Repentance, that being fruitful of good
works in this pre&s;ent Nur&s;ery, we may be all of us
tran&s;planted into the glorious <HI>Eden</HI> of eternal life.</P>
<P>I &s;hould now &s;peak of Gods propriety in this Field,
and &s;hew that it is <HI>ager &s;uus,</HI> Gods own Field alone;
but I have &s;poken of it <HI>&s;par&s;im,</HI> through and in each
part of this di&s;cour&s;e, and cannot but per&s;wade my
&s;elfe, that you all know the Earth is his, becau&s;e he
made it; and the World his, becau&s;e he governeth
and directs it. And therefore here I will conclude,
be&s;eeching God, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="29" REF="25">
<HEAD>SERMON II.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At WHITE-HALL <DATE>Jan. 21. 1637.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. v. 25.</BIBL>
<Q>But while men &s;lept, his enemy came and &s;owed
Tares among the Wheat, and went his way.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_SPiritus i&s;ti in&s;inceri non de&s;inunt per|diti
jam perdere, &amp;c.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In Octav.</NOTE> It is the ob|&s;ervation
of <HI>Minutius,</HI> that the
Devil being alienated from the
love of God, endeavours nothing
more then mans de&s;truction. It is
too great a mi&s;ery, as he conceives
it, to be mi&s;erable by ones &s;elfe alone, and Hell too
hot to be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">dured, if none el&s;e &s;hould endure it but
the Devils: upon this ground, no &s;ooner had the
Lord made man, but Satan laboured to undo him. He
had before procured him&s;elf a party in the Heaven
of glories, and among&s;t the Angels, how much more
ea&s;ie was it for him to infect Paradi&s;e, and &s;educe a
woman? In which attempt, the i&s;&s;ue proved &s;o an|&s;werable
to his hopes, that man became deve&s;ted of
his chief indowments, his Ju&s;tice and Integrity. Nor
<PB N="30" REF="26">
was there any way to repair tho&s;e ruines, but by the
preaching of the word, which he hath laboured ever
&s;ince, either to hinder, that it be not preached at all,
or &s;o to practi&s;e on the hearers, that it be preached
with little profit. Three parts of that good &s;eed
which God had &s;own upon his Field, are by tho&s;e
arts made barren and unprofitable: and for the
fourth, <HI>that which did fall upon good ground, and took
root downward, and began to bear fruit upwards,</HI> even
that if po&s;&s;ible, &s;hall be corrupted in it &s;elf, or mingled
with a grain of different &amp; dangerous nature; for &s;in,
as <HI>Chry&s;o&s;t.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> hath noted; he neither could de&s;troy it in
the &s;eed, nor &s;corch it in the blade, nor choak it in
the &s;talks, as we are told he did in the former Para|ble,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, he is re&s;olved upon
another neat device, not like to fail: this was to
watch his opportunity: and when the &s;ervants of the
Husbandman were grown no le&s;&s;e careful of their
charge, to &s;catter tares among the wheat, and go his
way, <HI>Cum autem dormirent homines, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e words contain in them the two in&s;eparable
qualities of the old murderer, his malice and his
&s;ubtility; his malice fir&s;t expre&s;&s;'d in this that he is
<HI>inimicus ejus,</HI> Gods enemie; and &s;econdly, in his devi|li&s;h
plot to de&s;troy Gods harve&s;t, <HI>&s;evit zizania in me|dio
tritici,</HI> his &s;owing tares among the Wheat. His
&s;ubtlety de&s;cribed in this; fir&s;t, that he took his op|portunity,
when as the &s;ervants of the Husbandman
were fa&s;t a&s;leep, <HI>cum dormirent homines,</HI> while men
&s;lept: and la&s;tly, by his quick and crafty leaving of
the place, <HI>venit &amp; abiit,</HI> he came &s;ecretly, and de|parted
&s;uddenly. Of this his &s;peedy going thence,
and of the manner of his comming, we &s;hall &s;ay no|thing
<PB N="31" REF="26">
at this time. It is not for our benefit, to be too
zealous of his company, in a bu&s;ine&s;s of this nature,
and therefore <HI>abeat,</HI> let him go: as for the re&s;idue of
the Text, we &s;hall di&s;cour&s;e thereof in the&s;e &s;everal
Couplets. Fir&s;t, we &s;hall &s;peak unto you of the De|vill
and his diligence, <HI>&s;evit inimicus ejus,</HI> his enemy
&s;owed; next of the <HI>Seminary</HI> and the &s;eed, <HI>zizania
in medio tritici,</HI> tares in the middle of the Wheat;
and thirdly, of the &s;ervants and their &s;luggi&s;hne&s;s,
<HI>cum dormirent homines,</HI> while men &s;lept: of the&s;e in
their order.</P>
<P><HI>Victoria &s;ine certamine constare non pote&s;t, nec vir|tus
ip&s;a &s;ine ho&s;te,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ctant. de qu&s;ecio de <HI>c.</HI> 20.</NOTE> vertue is never made more amia|ble
then by oppo&s;ition; nor &s;hould the valiant man
be more remembred then the Coward, if he had no
Adver&s;ary: how little had we known of <HI>David,</HI> had
he con&s;umed his time in &s;loth, and payed perhaps
unto the Nations round about him, for a &s;ecure and
quiet bondage: for this cau&s;e God hath plea&s;ed to
let his enemy the Devil continue &s;till, and his crea|tures,
and to continue &s;till a Devil: had he but &s;aid
the word, he could have quickly made him nothing;
or had he plea&s;ed, he could have made him meerly
pa&s;&s;ive, and only capable of torments; but God did
leave him as he was, (&s;ave that he ca&s;t him down to
Hell,)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lact. ibid.</NOTE> <HI>ut eo &s;uperando vim &s;uam vel exerceat, vel o|&s;tendat,</HI>
that &s;o there might be &s;till &s;ome enemy, on
which to exerci&s;e his power, and expre&s;&s;e his great|ne&s;&s;e,
<HI>I will put enmity</HI> (&s;aith God) <HI>between thee and
the Woman, and between thy &s;eed and her &s;eed,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.</NOTE> not be|twixt
the Devil and us men, though we do all de|&s;cend
from her, who was the Mother of all living;
but between him and our Redeemer, the promi&s;ed
<PB N="32" REF="27">
&s;eed, the expectation of the Gentiles; he only is of
power to brui&s;e the head of the old Serpent; the
Devil therefore is at enmity with him alone: to him
an enemy <HI>ex profe&s;&s;o, inimicus ejus,</HI> his enemy, to us
an enemy no further then we have reference to him,
and are the children of his Kingdom, the &s;ervants of
his holy Hou&s;hold: with this St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;t.</HI> accords;
Satan (&s;aith he) doth bend his forces mo&s;t again&s;t us
men;<NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> but the occa&s;ion of his malice is not &s;o much
in hate to man, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as an in|veterate
hate to God, who&s;e badge and cognizance
we bear: ju&s;t &s;o the King of <HI>Ammon</HI> dealt with <HI>Da|vids</HI>
&s;ervants, not that he was di&s;plea&s;ed with them,
(for how could they poor men de&s;erve the anger of
&s;o great a Prince?) but that he bare no good affection
to the King their Ma&s;ter.</P>
<P>In ancient times, the Images of &s;uch as capitally
had offended, or otherwi&s;e were grown odious with
the common people, were broken down, and pub|lickly
defaced in the chief a&s;&s;emblies; on them the
people u&s;ed to expre&s;&s;e their fury, when &s;uch as they
di&s;ta&s;ted were above their reach, too high for them
to &s;trike at. Thus they of <HI>Rome, effigg<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 letter">es Pi&s;onis in
Gemonias traxerant,</HI> had drawn the Images of <HI>Pi&s;o</HI>
unto the place of execution,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tacit. Annal. <HI>l.</HI> 13.</NOTE> had not the Emperors
power with&s;tood it. Thus when <HI>Sejanus</HI> fell into
disfavour with his Prince, they threw down all his
Statues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. <HI>l.</HI> 58.</NOTE> and brake them every one in pieces, as if,
(&s;aith <HI>Dion</HI>) their fury had been executed on the man
him&s;elf. The like hath <HI>Ba&s;il</HI> noted of this enemy
the Devil; Immediately (&s;aith he) on his Apo&s;ta&s;ie
from God, he grew an open enemy unto his Crea|tor;
but &s;ince he could not reach at him, he turns
<PB N="33" REF="27">
his fury on us, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as be|ing
made after the Image of our Maker:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Homil. Qu&ograve;d Deus non &s;it au|tor peccati.</NOTE> yet with
this difference, that he is naturally and originally a
<GAP DESC="foreign">, and profe&s;t enemy to God; but a man-ha|ter,
a <GAP DESC="foreign">, onely in reference to this,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, becau&s;e
we are Gods Image, and do bear his character and
&s;uper&s;cription. So then the Devil is not properly
and principally our enemy, <HI>inimicus no&s;ter,</HI> but
Gods alone; and therefore <HI>inimicus ejus,</HI> his enemy,
as the Text here calls him.</P>
<P>But Satan, as he is Gods enemy, a <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;o
he is Gods Ape al&s;o, a <GAP DESC="foreign">; He is &s;till
haunted and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with his old ambition,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, to be great as God; and they that
aime at the &s;ame greatne&s;s take commonly the &s;ame
cour&s;es. Therefore if God, in the advancement of
his Kingdom, be as a man that &s;owed and manured
his field, his enemy will be very diligent in pra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">|&s;ing
the very &s;elf-&s;ame arts, &s;till &s;owing and &s;till
&s;owing as he findes occa&s;ion. As for example; it
plea&s;ed the Lord to make a Covenant with <HI>Abraham,</HI>
&amp; as a &s;ign thereof to in&s;titute the Sacrament of Cir|cumci&s;ion:
con&s;ult with <HI>Origen</HI> upon the 2^d to the <HI>Rom.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Origen.</NOTE>
&amp; there we find, <HI>non &s;ol&ugrave;m Aegyptiorum Hierophantas,</HI>
that not alone the Prie&s;ts of <HI>Egypt</HI> had been taught
the u&s;e of circumci&s;ion, but that it had been taken
up by the <HI>Phoenicians, Aethiopians</HI> and <HI>Arabians.</HI>
The Lord thought good to teach the Jewes, as in a
&s;hadow, that certain meates &s;hould be reputed as un|clean;
<GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>&amp;c.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Origen.</NOTE> We are infor|med
by the &s;ame Author in his di&s;putation again&s;t
<HI>Cel&s;us,</HI> that the <HI>Egyptians</HI> and the <HI>Pythagoreans</HI> did
<PB N="34" REF="28">
the like, though in divers kindes. But what needs
more? In many of the miracles which God wrought
by <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> we read that the <HI>Magicians</HI> did the like by
their Inchantments: And in the body of the Scri|pture,
we meet not oftner with the Prophets of the
Lord, then with tho&s;e of <HI>Baal.</HI></P>
<P>And what was all this but a kinde of &s;owing, a
&s;owing of &s;uch Ceremonies and religious Ordinan|ces,
(though in the object mi&s;applied, and in the
purpo&s;e ill-directed) which God had &s;owed upon his
field? But &s;ince the good &s;eed is interpreted of the
Word of God, whereby Gods Children are begot|ten,
we will re&s;train our &s;elves more punctually to
that kinde of &s;owing, which comes neere&s;t thereunto,
<HI>At &s;undry times, and divers manners,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 1.</NOTE> (&s;aith the A|po&s;tle)
<HI>&s;pake God in times pa&s;t to our Fathers, viz.</HI> in
dreames and vi&s;ions, and in the Sanctuaries of the
Temple. The Enemy &s;oon learnt this Order, and
will communicate his Coun&s;els al&s;o, either in dreams
and vi&s;ions, called by Philo&s;ophers <GAP DESC="foreign">;
or el&s;e by Oracles, delivered in the inmo&s;t <HI>Adyta,</HI>
and mo&s;t choyce reve&s;tries of his Temples. After,
when as the Lord vouch&s;afed to u&s;e the Mini&s;tery
of his Prophets in the compo&s;ing of the Scriptures,
and had ordained that they &s;hould openly be read in
the Congregation, his enemy al&s;o did the like: For
in an Api&s;h Imitation of Gods truth, (&s;aith <HI>Justin
Martyr</HI>) there were compo&s;ed not a few Books of
<HI>Pagan Theologie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Dial. cum Tryphone.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
which he procured by his &s;ugge&s;tions to be read pub|lickly
among&s;t the Gentiles: nay, to &s;uppre&s;s the Go|&s;pel
writ by the Evangeli&s;ts, and to eclip&s;e, as much
at lea&s;t as in him was, the glorious works of our Re|deemer,
<PB N="35" REF="28">
he &s;et on work too lewd and &s;hamele&s;s
wretches, <HI>Hierocles</HI> and <HI>Philo&s;tratus,</HI> to write the life
of <HI>Apollonius Tyanaeus</HI> the Magician. This the mo&s;t
divelli&s;h and malicious plot of all the re&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 5. c. 3.</NOTE> <HI>inventum
plan&egrave; diabolicum,</HI> as <HI>Lactantius</HI> calls it, a &s;tratagem in
which the enemy went beyond him&s;elf; for unto
this the project tended, <HI>ut o&s;tenderent Apollonium vel
paria vel majora feci&s;&s;e,</HI> that <HI>Apollonius</HI> had done more
and greater miracles then the <HI>Me&s;siah.</HI> When this
&s;ucceeded not aright, and that Gods holy truth did
notwith&s;tanding mightily prevail in every place, he
then took order to divulge a Go&s;pel, as I &s;o may
&s;ay, of his own enditing. This he entituled The true
Hi&s;tory of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> and <HI>Pilate,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eu&s;eb. hi&s;t. l. 9. c. 4.</NOTE> though full indeed of
dangerous, fal&s;e, and fooli&s;h fancies; and wonne &s;o
farre upon the Emperors then being, (men fit enough
for &s;uch a mi&s;chief,) that they gave order to all
Schoolma&s;ters throughout the Empire,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, that they &s;hould
catechi&s;e their Scholars according to the Story &s;o &s;et
out and fal&s;ified. So careful is the enemy not to be
wanting to his hopes, but &s;till to be in action, &s;till to
pur&s;ue tho&s;e Arts and Coun&s;els which may advance
him to his greatne&s;s. If God advance his Chri&s;t, the
enemy will have his Antichri&s;t; if God rai&s;e up his
Je&s;us, the enemy will have his Je&s;uites; if God be
as a man that &s;oweth, or a <HI>Seminator,</HI> will not the e|nemy
al&s;o have his <HI>Seminaries?</HI></P>
<P>I have pur&s;ued this Argument, the rather in this
manner, becau&s;e I would not have the enemy e&s;tima|ted
either by his diligence, or by his cunning: not
by his diligence, his con&s;tant following of the Plough,
his frequent &s;cattering of his &s;eed; for all his pains,
<PB N="36" REF="29">
his &s;owing in our Saviours field, and mingling with
the Sonnes of God, tends to this alone, to make
them <HI>filii nequam,</HI> the Children of the wicked one,
fit only for the fiery Furnace: nor by his cunning,
his &s;ubtile imitation of the wayes and paths of God;
for God him&s;elf hath told us of him, <HI>that Satan can
transform him&s;elf into an Angel of light, and that his
Mini&s;ters al&s;o are transformed as the Mini&s;ters of righ|teou&s;ne&s;s.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 11. 14, 15.</NOTE>
Diligence and a &s;eeming &s;anctity are not
the mo&s;t infallible &s;igns of the true Husbandman in|deed,
unle&s;s they be applyed to their proper end, the
furthering and promoting of Gods heavenly Hu&s;ban|dry.
There never was a more indu&s;trious and active
generation then the <HI>Arian</HI> Hereticks, either in work|ing
on the choice&s;t and mo&s;t excellent wits, or in in|&s;inuating
into the hearts and bo&s;omes of the greate&s;t
Princes. Never did any &s;ort of men bear greater &s;way
among&s;t the vulgar then did once the <HI>Donati&s;ts,</HI> by
meer appearances of their zeal and devout affections;
and yet both of them doubtle&s;s were the Devils A|gents.
No que&s;tion but it is a Trade more full of
gain then godline&s;s, to be continually &s;owing in the
fields of other men, to build upon anothers ground,
to range abroad and graze, and fat our &s;elves upon o|ther
mens inclo&s;ures. What then advi&s;e we to be
done? only that we would try the &s;pirits, whether
they be of God or not; that we con&s;ider of the fruits,
<HI>for by their fruits,</HI> as Chri&s;t hath told us, <HI>we &s;hall
know them.</HI> Of us it is expected that we re&s;t not &s;a|tisfied
with the outward &s;hew, that we e&s;teem not of
the &s;eed, becau&s;e the Husbandman is painful at his
Plough continually, and &s;eemes in face as was <HI>Na|thaniel</HI>
in his heart, an Husbandman that had no guile:
<PB N="37" REF="29">
Of us it is expected that we &s;ift the grain, to &s;ee if it
be Wheat indeed, or at be&s;t but tares. This we &s;hall
ea&s;ily di&s;cern, if we reflect a little upon the nature of
the&s;e tares, and take a ju&s;t view of the &s;ame, both in
the &s;eminary and the &s;eed; <HI>zizania in medio tritici,</HI>
tares among the wheat, my next Couplet.</P>
<P><HI>Naturale e&s;t odi&s;&s;e quem lae&s;eris,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Minut. Fe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> It is a natural vice
in man, having once wronged another, to re&s;olve to
hate him; and being once re&s;olved to hate him, to
&s;eek occa&s;ions how to wrong him. A vice derived o|riginally
from the Devil, in whom my Author fir&s;t
ob&s;erved it drawn into practi&s;e by them only whom
the old enemy of God hath in&s;tructed in it; for he
by his a&s;piring &s;ins having di&s;plea&s;ed his Lord and
Maker, conceived &s;o deep an hate again&s;t him, that
now it is not po&s;&s;ible he &s;hould de&s;i&s;t from doing the
effects of &s;pight and fury. In the expre&s;&s;ing of which
hate and fury, he deales with God as <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> with
the <HI>Phili&s;tins,</HI> when he could hurt him no way el&s;e,
he de&s;troyes his Harve&s;t. So much the Text affirms
for certain, <HI>&s;evit zizania in medio tritici, that he &s;owed
tares among the Wheat.</HI> And of the tares them&s;elves,
what they &s;hould be, and how the place mu&s;t be ex|pounded,
it re&s;olves &s;o clearly, that if we will, we
may with ea&s;e compo&s;e that difference of opinion
which &s;eemes to be betwixt the Fathers.<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Strom. <HI>l.</HI> 6.</NOTE> <HI>Clemens</HI>
of <HI>Alexander,</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> <HI>Origen,</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. Eccle. <HI>d.</HI> 3. <HI>c.</HI> 26.</NOTE> <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Tom. 2. <HI>p.</HI> 318. gl.</NOTE> <HI>Athana&s;i|us,</HI>
<NOTE N="eh" PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> St. <HI>Hierome,</HI> and <HI>Theophylact,</HI> conceive by
tares, the Devils Doctrine, <HI>haere&s;es, mala dogmata,</HI>
<GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>dogmata haereticorum. Beda</HI> will have
them to be generally vices, <HI>faeditates vitiorum;</HI> not
to de&s;cend to later writers. And on the other &s;ide,
<NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">Hexaem. hom. 5.</NOTE> St. <HI>Ba&s;il,</HI><NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> and <HI>Euthymius,</HI> interpret
it of Hereticks, of the men them&s;elves.<NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg">qu. Evang. in Matth.</NOTE> St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI>
<PB N="38" REF="30">
makes a que&s;tion whether the Schi&s;matick &s;hould
not be added to the other, and leave it in a manner
with a <HI>pote&s;t dubitari,</HI> as a matter doubtful. St. <HI>Cy|prian</HI>
<NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 3. l. 3.</NOTE> conceives it generally of the wicked men:
and <HI>Ju&s;tin</HI><NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg">qu. 22. ad Orthod.</NOTE> <HI>Martyr</HI> &s;eemes to me, to lean more
that way then the other. And unto the&s;e, the&s;e Fa|thers
that do &s;o expound it, our Saviours glo&s;&s;e upon
the Text gives mo&s;t advantage,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 38.</NOTE> who tells us, <HI>that
the Tares are the Children of the wicked one,</HI> i. e. of the
Devil.</P>
<P>To reconcile which difference, or rather to inter|pret
favourable of tho&s;e other Fathers, who &s;eem to
have departed from the letter of our Saviours Com|mentary,
we may thus re&s;olve it; that tho&s;e whom
fir&s;t we named apply the Text as in the morall, and
that the others keep them&s;elves unto the letter. Or
thus; the tares are &s;aid to be the Children of the
wicked one, not properly, but by a <HI>Metonymie ab ef|fectu,</HI>
that is, they are that &s;eed by which the Chil|dren
of the wicked one are all begotten.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hemingius in Po&s;till.</NOTE> A Prote|&s;tant
Writer of good note doth expound it thus, <HI>Quid
fecit inimicus? Seminavit in agro Domini haereticam
doctrinam, ex eo autem &s;emine na&s;cuntur zizania, i. e.
filii nequam:</HI> nor doth he &s;tand alone herein with|out
&s;ome to &s;econd him; for <HI>Origen</HI> among&s;t the an|cients
comes up clo&s;e unto him;<NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> <HI>In toto mundo &s;emi|navit
malus ille zizania, quae &s;unt &s;ermones pravi, ex
malitia orti, mali filii.</HI> Where plainly he makes wick|ed
and malicious Sermons, <HI>&s;ermones pravos,</HI> as he
calls them, to be the&s;e tares, the&s;e children of the
wicked one; which mu&s;t needes be, becau&s;e the chil|dren
of the wicked one are many times begotten by
them. So then, we draw to this atonement, that we
<PB N="39" REF="30">
may under&s;tand the&s;e tares not only of the Here|ticks,
and other children of the Dev<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">l, as in the let|ter;
but of their wicked Doctrine, as in the morall;
yea, and according to our Saviours garb of &s;peech,
which was by <HI>Allegories, Tropes</HI> and <HI>Parables,</HI> in the
true meaning of the figure.</P>
<P><HI>Sevit zizania inimicus,</HI> the enemy &s;owed tares:
And certainly, the Devil could not more cunningly
have expre&s;&s;'d his malice then in this particular, for
in it &s;elf the tare is of a dangerous and malignant na|ture;
and in particular,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid.</NOTE> it is noted by the <HI>Herbali&s;ts</HI> of
all times and ages, <HI>lolium oculis officere,</HI> that it hurts
the eyes. This <HI>Ovid</HI> al&s;o hath ob&s;erved in his book
<HI>de Fastis; Et careant loliis oculos vittantibus agri,</HI> as
his words there run. An ob&s;ervation &s;o exact, that
<HI>lolio victitare,</HI> to feed on tares, was grown into a com|mon
Proverb, applyed to tho&s;e which were dim|&s;ighted.
It is an excellent note of <HI>Aristotle,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">hico<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">um. l. 1. c. 7.</NOTE> that as the
eye is to the body, <GAP DESC="foreign">, that &s;o the
minde or under&s;tanding is to the &s;oul: it is that part
thereof which doth illuminate and direct the re&s;t, the
will and the affections; and if that eye be &s;ingle, the
whole body will be full of light; but if we feed
upon the&s;e tares, tares of the Devils &s;owing, and do|ctrines
of the Devils rai&s;ing, how great a darkne&s;s
will invade us, what a perpetual night confound us?
<HI>For if the light be darkne&s;s, ip&s;ae tenebrae quantae? how
great then is that darkne&s;s,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t our Saviour?
&s;hall we not then be like the Citizens of <HI>Sodom,</HI> blind
upon the &s;udden, enquiring for the Sun at noone,
wearying our &s;elves to finde that door that is &s;hut a|gain&s;t
us? or rather, &s;hall not that great mi&s;ery befall
us, which we finde mentioned in this Chapter, <HI>that
<PB N="40" REF="31">
&s;eeing we &s;hall &s;ee, but &s;hall not perceive?</HI> Error, and
Here&s;ie, and Schi&s;me, how plau&s;ible &s;oever they may
&s;eem in the outward &s;hew, are but unkind and trea|cherous
gue&s;ts. We may compare them to tho&s;e
&s;parrowes in the Book of <HI>T<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">bit,</HI> which roo&s;ted in his
walls, and made their ne&s;ts within his Courts; but
when he took his re&s;t, and did lea&s;t expect it, they
muted warm dung in his eyes, and a gro&s;&s;e whitene&s;&s;e
came upon them, that he could not &s;ee; nor knew his
Doctors how to help him. They are <HI>blinde leaders of
the blinde,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t our Saviout, <HI>i. e.</HI> as <HI>Lyra</HI> glo&s;|&s;eth
on it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> <HI>exaecant alios errore &s;uo,</HI> they make the
people blind with errors.</P>
<P>There is another dangerous quality in the tare as
great as this; for being mixt in bread it procureth
giddine&s;s.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nat. Hi&s;t. <HI>l.</HI> 18. <HI>c.</HI> 17.</NOTE> <HI>Aera</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Plinie</HI>) <HI>c&ugrave;m e&s;t in pane celerri|m&egrave;
vertigines facit. Rovillius</HI> a late <HI>Herbali&s;t</HI> ob|&s;erves,
that it is intoxicating al&s;o, <HI>et temulentiam
vini modo excitare,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">l. 4: c. 24.</NOTE> and that it makes men drunk as
it were with Wine. So farre avowed by <HI>Theophra|&s;tus,</HI>
that it is <GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. Plant. <HI>l.</HI> 9.</NOTE> &s;luggi&s;h and dull,
and breedes Di&s;ea&s;es in the head, the capitall and
chief fortre&s;&s;e of the I&s;le of man, which once &s;ur|prized
with ache and giddine&s;s, and di&s;temper, how
ea&s;ie will it be to &s;ubdue the re&s;t? Thus is it al&s;o with
fal&s;e Factions and Schi&s;matical Doctrines, if ming|led
with the bread of Life. The Word of God,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, how excellent is it in it &s;elf, how &s;weet
a nouri&s;hment unto life eternal? But if the tares of
Here&s;ie and Schi&s;me be mingled with it, then it be|comes,
as the wi&s;e man calls it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 4. 17. &amp; 20. 17. &amp; 23.</NOTE> <HI>panis impietatis,</HI> bread
of wickedne&s;s; <HI>panis mendacii,</HI> bread of lies; and
<HI>panis mendax,</HI> bread of fal&s;hood. Such as do eat
<PB N="41" REF="31">
thereof, however it may plea&s;e the palat, will finde
it gravel in their mouthes, and bitterne&s;s within the
&s;tomach, and giddine&s;s within the head. The Cup
of the New Te&s;tament, how plea&s;ant is it in it &s;elf,
how powerful to the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins? yet if the
juyce of the&s;e foule tares be mingled in it, then is it
<HI>vinum iniquitatis,</HI> the wine of wickedne&s;s, and <HI>vinum
pro&s;titutionis,</HI> the wine of fornication, as the Prophet
calls it: &s;uch as do drink thereof, how drunken will
they be with the Cup of abomination and filthine&s;s,
the wine of the wrath of God poured out in the Cup
of his indignation? We note it of this kind of men,
with what a giddine&s;s they are po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed in all their
wayes, how &s;trangely they are madded on their own
dear fancies, and as it were be&s;otted with the folly
of their own inventions. The Lord hath mingled
<HI>&s;piritum vertiginis,</HI> the &s;pirit of giddine&s;s and per|ver&s;ene&s;s
in the mid&s;t of <HI>Egypt, and made them erre in
every work thereof,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 19. 14.</NOTE> <HI>as a drunken man &s;taggereth in his
vomit.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Galen</HI> relates in his fir&s;t Book <HI>de facultate alimoniae,</HI>
how once,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. ult.</NOTE> the year being un&s;ea&s;onable and intempe|rate,
there &s;prung up an exceeding quantity of tares
among the wheat; the &s;tore of wheat in the mean
time, was very &s;mall; and therefore neither the
Husbandmen nor Bakers did &s;ift it, as they ought to
do, with skreenes and triers for that purpo&s;e, but
&s;old the wheat and tares together: hereupon many
of the people began to be di&s;ea&s;ed, and ill affected in
their heads; but at the comming on of Summer,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, they brake
out all of them into boyles and botches. On this the
wi&s;e Phy&s;itian gives this <HI>Caveat,</HI> that we do careful|ly
<PB N="42" REF="32">
pick out the&s;e tares, <GAP DESC="foreign"> (as
his words there are) and part them from our heaps
of Corn, le&s;t el&s;e we al&s;o fall into the &s;ame di&s;tem|pers
and inconveniences. Do we not note it al&s;o thus
in the condition of fal&s;e, &s;chi&s;matical, and factious
Doctrines, and the progre&s;s of them? The enemy
hath been diligent, there is no doubt of that, in
&s;owing tares among&s;t the wheat; and many of his
Bayl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ffs carele&s;s in the &s;ifting of them, becau&s;e their
&s;tore of wheat is &s;mall; and are not &s;ome of them,
which are (as were tho&s;e Bakers of whom <HI>Galen</HI>
&s;peaks) the makers, the dividers of this bread unto
the people, either on negligence or &s;et purpo&s;e,
guilty alike of this Impo&s;ture? That &s;uch there are,
fraudulent and deceitful Bakers of the bread of
life, is more then certain: the de&s;tiny of <HI>Pharaohs</HI>
Baker be upon them; for what can follow hereupon
but &s;trange di&s;tempers in the head, and foul di&s;ea&s;es
in the body, fallings away from God, breach of the
common bond of peace; and in the end, perhaps to|tall
Apo&s;ta&s;ies from the faith and Go&s;pel? And
then what next, but that, in the Apo&s;tles Language,
as they did not like to acknowledge God, &s;o doth
God give them over to a reprobate minde, to do
tho&s;e things which are not convenient.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1. 28.</NOTE> If <HI>Nicolas</HI> the
Deacon fall away from the holy truth, and over|throw
the faith of &s;ome, no que&s;tion but that he or
his will al&s;o do tho&s;e things which the Lord hateth:
and <HI>Simon Magus,</HI> if he have once the Gall of bitter|ne&s;s
within, what el&s;e can be expected from him, but
a promi&s;cuous and lawle&s;s liberty <HI>indifferenter utendi
foeminis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ugu&s;t. de <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ere&s;. <HI>c.</HI> 1.</NOTE> which came in fine to be his Doctrine? The
Shipwreck of the faith is commonly attended by as
<PB N="43" REF="32">
great a Shipwreck of the Con&s;cience; however, for
the mo&s;t part notably di&s;&s;embled: for remedy
whereof, we will apply the coun&s;el and advice of
<HI>Galen</HI> in our Saviours Language,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 16.</NOTE> <HI>Take heed of the
leaven of the Phari&s;ees and of the Sadduces:</HI> or in the
phra&s;e of the Apo&s;tles <HI>Purge therefore out the old
leaven,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 5. v. 8.</NOTE> <HI>the leaven of wickedne&s;s and malice, and let
us keep the fea&s;ts of God with the unleavened bread of
&s;incerity and truth.</HI></P>
<P>But yet the Devil &s;tayed not here, the Devil as in
malice he is <HI>inimicus,</HI> a malignant enemy, &s;o in his
cunning he is <HI>&s;erpens,</HI> as wi&s;e and &s;ubtile as a Serpent:
therefore he did not only &s;owe his tares <HI>in agro Domi|ni,</HI>
in the Lords field&punc; but even <HI>in medio tritici,</HI> in the
middle of the wheat it &s;elf; and in that act play'd both
his prizes: for it is generally noted of the tare, that
it is <HI>frugum pe&s;tis,</HI> the very bane and plague of all o|ther
grain, and for that rea&s;on called by <HI>Virgil,
infelix lolium:</HI> nor doth the name thereof in the
Greek Originalls a&s;&s;ure us of a better Omen; for
the <HI>zizanion</HI> of my Text is in the grand <HI>Etymolo|gicon</HI>
&s;o called, <HI>qua&s;i</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>vel</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, becau&s;e
it growes up with the wheat, and at la&s;t de&s;troyes it.
And <GAP DESC="foreign">, by which name the two great Doctors,
<HI>Galen</HI> and <HI>Theophra&s;tus,</HI> have given it to us, in the
&s;ame work is &s;aid to be derived by a <HI>Metathe&s;is</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
which &s;ignifies to vitiate, or to corrupt; the
tares corrupting the good &s;eed, by being mixed and
made up with it into bread, as I have told you out of
<HI>Galen;</HI> but that which is the greate&s;t danger, is, that
if not looked to in time, the wheat may chance to be
de&s;troyed, and all the field run over and pe&s;tred with
them; for <HI>Pliny</HI> tells us of a certain, <HI>triticum cir|cumligando
<PB N="44" REF="33">
en<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">care,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De cau&s;. Plan|tarum, <HI>l.</HI> 5. 22.</NOTE> that winding round about the
wheat, at the la&s;t it kills it; or if not &s;o as he deli|vers,
yet it devoures it in the end, by growing up
with it, and over&s;preading all the field in the which it
groweth, as <HI>Theophra&s;tus</HI> rather thinketh.</P>
<P>And have we not ob&s;erved it thus in Here&s;ie,
fal&s;e Doctrine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> Schi&s;me? Hath not St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI>
ob&s;erved, that Satan did forbeare his tares, when
there was nothing to be hurt; and that he &s;owed
them when the wheat had taken root, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
that &s;o he might de&s;troy the
hopes and whole endeavours of the heavenly Hu&s;|bandman?
And hath not <HI>Lyra</HI> noted well, that there|fore
did the enemy &s;owe his tares,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> even in the middle
of the wheat, <HI>ad ip&s;ius de&s;tructionem,</HI> only of pur|po&s;e
to de&s;troy it: de&s;troy it? how? either by
winding round about it, or over-running all the field
in which it is. By winding round about it fir&s;t, as doth
the Ivie with the Oak, till it hath &s;ucked out all
the juyce, and made it fit for nothing but the very
fire. Faction and error &s;o behave them&s;elves to the
Word of God, as <HI>Judas</HI> did to God the Word. They
are both of them cunning Traytors, killing &s;ome|times
in their embraces, and &s;ometimes betraying in
their ki&s;&s;es. Or if not thus, yet they de&s;troy it at the
la&s;t by over-&s;preading all the Church, and eating out
the truth of Doctrine; if not, tell me, if in the
Jewi&s;h Church the Phari&s;ees had not almo&s;t made
the Commandements of God of none effect by their
traditions. Tell me, if in the Chri&s;tian Church the
tares of errour and fal&s;e Doctrine had not even over|grown
the Go&s;pel; if the Popes Canon, and the
proud dictates of the Schoolmen, had not u&s;urped
<PB N="45" REF="33">
into the Chair and Throne of Scripture: certain I
am, that Frier <HI>Richard de Mans</HI> in the Trent-Councel
did publickly maintain, and with good applau&s;e,
that all the points of faith had been &s;o clearly hand|led
by tho&s;e Schoolmen, <HI>ut ea ex Scripturis di&s;cere nil
opus e&s;&s;et,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. Con. T<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">id.</NOTE> that now the word of God was no longer
&s;erviceable: &s;o truly was it Satans purpo&s;e, not only
by the &s;owing of his tares to corrupt Religion, but
by that cunning to &s;upplant it. And all this while,
what was become of tho&s;e to whom the Lord had
farmed his field, and lea&s;ed out his Vineyard? My
Text makes an&s;wer to this que&s;tion, and tells us that
they were a&s;leep, wherein we have the Servants and
their &s;luggi&s;hne&s;s, my la&s;t Couplet; <HI>c&ugrave;m dormirent
homines, while men &s;lept.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Invadunt urbem &s;omno vino&abque; &s;epultam.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Vi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">gil.</NOTE> Cities are
&s;ometimes &s;oone&s;t taken when the &s;iege is rai&s;ed,
and all the Watch-men made &s;ecure; for when the
enemy is neare, and a Trench ca&s;t about the Walls,
the Watch is doubled, and there are Centinels
and Scouts in every corner, to mark the motions of
the Enemy, and ob&s;erve his purpo&s;es: &s;o al&s;o was it
with the grand enemy of Gods Field in generall; but
more e&s;pecially in reference to that particular part
thereof which we call the Church. As long as he
e&s;&s;ay'd to batter down the Bulwarks in the Hou&s;e
of God, he was more clo&s;ely watched, and all mens
eyes were bent upon him; but having lulled it once
a&s;leep, drenched it in &s;en&s;uality, corrupted it with
ea&s;e and prohibited plea&s;ures, then was his time to
venture on it, and to &s;owe his tares; an opportunity
well watch'd. No &s;ooner did men &s;leep, no &s;ooner
were the &s;ervants drow&s;ie, and regardle&s;s of &s;o great a
<PB N="44" REF="34">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="45" REF="34">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="46" REF="35">
charge, but he was &s;traight about his bu&s;ine&s;s; no
&s;ooner did men &s;leep:<NOTE PLACE="marg">I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> locum.</NOTE> what men? <HI>Lyra</HI> makes an|&s;wer,
the Apo&s;tles: what of their negligence? no,
God forbid; but of the death, the la&s;t &s;leep and de|parture
of tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed &s;pirits.<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Qu. Evan|g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">. <HI>in Mat.</HI></NOTE> St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> and
<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> <HI>Euthymius</HI> do a little touch at this conceit, and
they only touch it: but<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Eu&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">b. hi&s;t. <HI>l.</HI> 3. <HI>c.</HI> 26.</NOTE> <HI>Ege&s;ippus</HI> with great con|fidence
affirms it, &s;aying, that after the Apo&s;tles
deaths, the Hereticks did then begin to lift up their
heads, and advance their errors, mingling their tares,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, their fal&s;e and commentitious
Doctrines, with the truth and Go&s;pel. This we
believe indeed, that then the Hereticks became
more in&s;olent and adventurous then before they
were, and did oppo&s;e the Go&s;pel, as he tells us
there, <GAP DESC="foreign">, with the greater impudence;
but yet I am not of opinion, that this &s;hould be the
&s;leep, and the&s;e the men intended in the pre&s;ent
Scripture.</P>
<P>With how much better rea&s;on doth the Glo&s;&s;e
expound it of a general negligence both in the Pa|&s;tor
and the people?<NOTE PLACE="marg">I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> locum.</NOTE> a negligence of private men,
<HI>circa cu&s;todiam &s;uae propriae per&s;onae,</HI> in the pre&s;erving
and defence of their &s;everal &s;ouls; a negligence of
the publick Pa&s;tors, <HI>circa cu&s;todiam gregis &s;ui,</HI> in the
ill tending of the flock committed to them. This
expo&s;ition of the Glo&s;&s;e confirmed by <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom,</HI>
where he informs us of a mi&s;ery of no mean quality,
like to befall tho&s;e &s;leepy &s;ouls to whom the Hu&s;|bandman
had left his field; yet not the Prie&s;t or
Prelate only, <GAP DESC="foreign">, but the people
al&s;o: otherwi&s;e, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aid, that if there were
no Re&s;urrection, then were the Chri&s;tians of all men
<PB N="47" REF="35">
mo&s;t mi&s;erable; &s;o were the Prie&s;t and Prelate the
mo&s;t mi&s;erable of all other Chri&s;tians, if all mens
&s;ins were rated only on their &s;cores; and they to
give up an account of every &s;oul in their &s;everal char|ges.<NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE>
Its true indeed, that both <HI>Euthymius</HI> and St.
<HI>Hierome</HI> under&s;tand here only <HI>magi&s;tros &amp; praecepto|res
eccle&s;iarum,</HI> the teachers and over&s;eers of the
Church. And &s;o far we may yeeld unto them, that it
is meant of them principally, and as publick Mini|&s;ters,
which are to have a care of the common &s;afety;
but &s;o, that every private man is included al&s;o in
the Parable. The Devil fir&s;t makes his advantage
of the negligence of private per&s;ons, and whiles
they &s;leep &s;ecure and carele&s;s, he &s;cattereth in their
hearts the &s;eeds of Here&s;ie and error, that &s;o they
may be able to infect their brethren. The enemy
never &s;ends out any of his Foxes to de&s;troy Gods
Harve&s;t, till he put fire-brands in their tails. This
done, he &s;eeks occa&s;ion to employ them in the de|&s;truction
of the wheat, in the infection of the
Church; and therein al&s;o makes advantage of the
&s;ecurity and negligence of their Superiours, of their
Rulers. The&s;e the Lords Bayliffs, as it were, to
whom he hath intru&s;ted his holy Husbandry: and if
they &s;leep, if once they grow remi&s;&s;e and carele&s;s,
what el&s;e can we expect, but that the&s;e tares take
root, and outgrow the Wheat, and in conclu&s;ion
overcome it?</P>
<P>Now in the Church we may ob&s;erve three &s;everall
kindes of &s;leepine&s;s, all of them in their cour&s;e pre|dominant,
and of ill effect; the &s;leep of negligence,
the &s;leep of ignorance, and the &s;leep of &s;en&s;uality.
The fir&s;t, the &s;leep of negligence; and &s;o St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI>
<PB N="48" REF="36">
doth expound it, <HI>but while men &s;lept, i. e.</HI> &s;aith he,
<HI>C&ugrave;m negligenti&ugrave;s agerent praepo&s;iti Eccle&s;iae,</HI> when as the
Rulers of Gods Hou&s;e grew dull and carele&s;s of their
Watch, and were not mindful of their duties. This
the di&s;ea&s;e, even of the be&s;t and pure&s;t Ages; for
which is there almo&s;t of the Angels of the &s;even
Churches, which is not branded with this mark, du|ring
the lives of the Apo&s;tles, the falling from the
love of Chri&s;t, the tolerating of the <HI>Nicolaitans,</HI> the
&s;uffering of the Woman <HI>Je&s;ebel</HI> to &s;educe Gods &s;er|vants;
the want of piety in one, zeal in another, and
that poor little &s;trength of faith which was remain|ing
in the third, what were they but the &s;ad effects
of dull and negligent &s;ecurity in the &s;everall Pa&s;tors?
But the Apo&s;tles being gone, tho&s;e which did over|&s;ee
the over&s;eers, there followed by degrees an in|fectious
drow&s;ine&s;s over all the Church, &s;till more
inclining to this &s;leep the more they were accu&s;tom|ed
to it.</P>
<P>The times of <HI>Nazianzen,</HI> how watchful were they
in re&s;pect of tho&s;e &s;ucceeding? yet he complains, in
his Epi&s;tle to <HI>Nectarius,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Orat. 46.</NOTE> as if the providence of God
had been quite wanting to his Church. The <HI>Arians</HI>
grown &s;o in&s;olent, that they made open profe&s;&s;ion of
their Here&s;ie, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as if they had been
authorized and licen&s;ed to it. The <HI>Macedonians</HI> &s;o
pre&s;umptuous, <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> that they
were formed into a Church, and had a titulary Bi|&s;hop
of their own Sect. The <HI>Apollinarians</HI> held
the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">r Conventicles, <GAP DESC="foreign">, with as much
&s;afety and e&s;teem as the Orthodox Chri&s;tians. And
for <HI>Eunomius,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, the bo&s;om-mi&s;chief
of tho&s;e times, he thought &s;o poorly of a
<PB N="49" REF="36">
general connivence, that at la&s;t nothing would con|tent
him but to have all men el&s;e to be his Di&s;ciples.
Of all which &s;candalls and di&s;orders, the &s;aid <HI>Necta|rius</HI>
then being Patriarch of <HI>Con&s;tantinople,</HI> the grea|te&s;t
Prelate of the <HI>Ea&s;t,</HI> is there affirmed to be the
cau&s;e: A man, as the Hi&s;torian &s;aith of him,
<GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Socrat. Hi&s;t. <HI>l.</HI> 5. <HI>c.</HI> 8.</NOTE> of an exceeding faire and plau&s;ible
demeanor, and very gracious with the people; one
that cho&s;e rather, as it &s;eemes, to give free way to all
mens fancies, and &s;uffer every mans proceedings,
then draw upon him&s;elf the envy of a &s;tubborn Cler|gy,
and a factious multitude. A pregnant evidence,
that po&s;&s;ibly there cannot be a greater mi&s;chief in a
Chri&s;tian Church then a popular Prelate: If &s;o, if
by the negligence &amp; connivence of one man alone &s;o
great a &s;poil was made in the Church of God, how
bu&s;ie think we was the enemy in &s;owing tares, when
as this negligence was epidemical, and in a manner
univer&s;al over the people?</P>
<P>The &s;econd kind of &s;leep which did invade the
Church of God, was the &s;leep of ignorance; a &s;leep
of &s;uch a generall latitude, that neither Prie&s;t nor
people were able to hold up, or to look abroad. The
Prie&s;ts lips de&s;titute of knowledge, the people &s;o
regardle&s;s, that they did not &s;eek it; both &s;o defe|ctive
in their duties, that at the la&s;t the Prie&s;t, like
tho&s;e in <HI>Irenaeus, veritatis ignorantiam cognitionem
vocant,</HI> taught, that the &s;afe&s;t knowledge was to know
nothing; and, as they preached, even &s;o the people
did believe: if not, tell me who can what was be|come
of the gift of tongues? is it not noted to our
hands, <HI>Qu&ograve;d Graec&egrave; no&s;&s;e &s;u&s;pectum foret, Hebraic&egrave; prop&egrave;
haereticum,</HI> that it was Here&s;ie almo&s;t to be &s;een in
<PB N="50" REF="37">
<HI>Hebrew,</HI> and a mi&s;pri&s;ion of Here&s;ie to be skilled in
<HI>Greek?</HI> And for the <HI>Latine,</HI> the Books &s;till extant of
tho&s;e times will inform us ea&s;ily, that there was no|thing
left of it, no not the words:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ennead. 9.</NOTE> Or of the Arts;
doth not <HI>Sabellicus</HI> complain how totally they were
forgotten in the middle Ages, <HI>Quanta bonarum arti|um
per id tempus oblivio invaluerit?</HI> Or of the Lawes;
do we not read how they were buried in a manner
with the great Emperour their Collector, till in the
latter dayes, <HI>Lotharius</HI> Emperour of <HI>Germany</HI> found
an old Copy of them at <HI>Amalphi</HI> in the Realm of
<HI>Naples?</HI> Or of the Scriptures; was not the Book
&s;ealed up for many Ages? and had not worldly po|licy
&s;o farre prevailed above true piety, that it was
made unlawful, if not capitall, to look into it? Nor
was this ignorance only in the people; but as the
Prophet &s;aid in another ca&s;e, <HI>A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> is the people &s;uch was
the Priest, and as the Prie&s;t was &s;uch were the people:</HI>
nay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Chronolog.</NOTE> even the Cardinal complaineth of an <HI>infelix &s;e|culum,</HI>
an unhappy age in which was neither famous
Scholar, nor Pope that cared much how Religion
went: which being &s;o, Divinity it &s;elf, and all the
Arts and helps unto it, layed to &s;o long and dead a
&s;leep, no que&s;tion but the enemy was exceeding di|ligent,
both in the ripening of his old tares, and in
&s;owing new.</P>
<P>There is a kinde of &s;leep yet left as hurtful <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">o
the Church as the other two, the &s;leep of &s;en&s;ua|lity,
and of immoderate ea&s;e and plea&s;ures; a &s;leep
like that de&s;cribed in the &s;ixth of <HI>Amos, They lie</HI>
(&s;aith he) <HI>upon benches of Ivory, and &s;tretch them|&s;elves
upon their couches; they carou&s;e wine in bowles,
and anoint them&s;elves with the chief oyntments.</HI> Did
<PB N="51" REF="37">
not the Prophet think you reflect a little on the la&s;t
Ages of the Church? or may not his de&s;cription
with good rea&s;on be applyed unto them? if not, why
did St. <HI>Bernard</HI> in a pious anger upbraid the Clergy
of tho&s;e times with their Stage-like ge&s;tures, their
meretricious neatne&s;s, their pompous habits and reti|nue?
<HI>Incedunt nitidi &amp; ornati,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rm. 33. &amp; 37. in Cant.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; circumamicti varie|tatibus,</HI>
more like (&s;aith he) unto a &s;pruce and
Court-like Bridegroom, then the &s;evere Guardians
of the Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t. Could it be thought that
men &s;o neat and complete as tho&s;e, drowned in effe|minacy
and ea&s;e, and &s;urfeited with too much full|ne&s;&s;e,
would leave the plea&s;ures of the world, to
minde the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Church; or &s;hake away
their plea&s;ant &s;lumbers, to entertain &s;o &s;owre a
Mi&s;tre&s;s as the perplexities of learning, and the &s;e|verities
of Di&s;cipline?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pluta<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ch.</NOTE> <HI>Nunquam putabam fore,</HI> I ne|ver
thought (&s;aid <HI>Cicero</HI>) that &s;uch a curious youth as
<HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> one that &s;o &s;moothly comb'd his hair, and rnb|bed
his head with his fore-finger, would either have
the happine&s;s or the heart to vanqui&s;h <HI>Pompey.</HI>
Though <HI>Tully</HI> was deceived in the event of that
great action, yet his conjecture had good grounds.
And we may well apply it to them; that &s;ure &s;uch
men as in tho&s;e dayes had the &s;ole managing of the
Church when as the&s;e tares were &s;owen, and had
brought forth fruit, were never like to cro&s;&s;e the e|nemy
in that purpo&s;e, or di&s;appoint him of his hopes,
or overcome him at the la&s;t in the main encounter:
not that the Prie&s;ts and Prelates were all &s;uch with|out
exception, (for the wor&s;t times have brought
forth brave and vertuous men, and &s;uch as &s;tand up|on
record for their eminent piety;) but that they
<PB N="52" REF="38">
were thus for the mo&s;t part, <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>Thus have I &s;hewn unto you three &s;everal kindes
of &s;leep, which had not only &s;eized the people, but
al&s;o had &s;urprized the Watchmen, and made blinde
the &s;eers, and laid up the Guardians; and hard it is
to &s;ay which of the three gave mo&s;t increa&s;e to the
Devils Harve&s;t. The Pa&s;tors, carele&s;s of their du|ties,
aimed at this e&s;pecially, that they them&s;elves
might live in peace, and die, if po&s;&s;ible, in the gene|rall
love and good opinion of their people. Here
were the tares fir&s;t &s;owen, and neither noted in the
&s;eed, nor in the blade; for either the opinion taken
up was but the fancy of &s;ome few, eminent like e|nough
in point of learning; or &s;ome &s;uch innovation
in the Churches orders, as &s;eemed not in it &s;elf to vi|olate
the &s;acred truth, or threaten any pre&s;ent danger
to the common quiet. And then what was it but a
vain and faulty curio&s;ity, either to quarrel with a
man &s;o much renowned in point of knowledge, or to
enquire into their meaning and intentions who loved
the Lord too well to di&s;turb his Church? By which
connivence, this plau&s;ible and popular beheaviour of
the Watchmen, the enemy fir&s;t entred upon Gods
inheritance; and having &s;owen his tares, departed,
went away in good a&s;&s;urance of &s;ucce&s;s. Afterwards,
when this negligence was lulled into an ignorance,
the tares were grown into a &s;talk, and began to
&s;prout; but who was able to di&s;cern them? <HI>Bellar|mine</HI>
counts it an e&s;pecial happine&s;s in tho&s;e dayes of
darkne&s;s, <HI>ut nullae novae &s;urgerent haere&s;es,</HI> that there
aro&s;e not in the Church any up&s;tart Here&s;ie.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chronol.</NOTE> And
why &s;o great an happine&s;s, but becau&s;e that wretched
Age neither afforded learned Scholar to confute
<PB N="53" REF="38">
them, nor publick Councel to condemn them? How
much more happy had it been had not tho&s;e &s;eeds of
error which were &s;owen before, then took advantage
to &s;pring up? had not the darkne&s;s been &s;o great,
like that of <HI>Egypt,</HI> that one &s;carce &s;aw another, nei|ther
ro&s;e any from his &s;eat, to look unto the publick
&s;afety? But in the end, when as the Prie&s;t and Pre|late
became luxurious and wanton, &s;tretched on their
beds of ca&s;e, and lulled a&s;leep with too much plenty,
then came the tares to bring forth fruit, and to ap|pear
in their own likene&s;s; yet was there then le&s;&s;e
hope then ever. Did tho&s;e that dwelt upon the
<HI>Nile,</HI> and were accu&s;tomed to the noi&s;e, ever ob&s;erve
the fall and roaring of the waters? Or grant we,
that they &s;aw the&s;e tares, and took notice of them,
&s;hall we conceive that men &s;o drowned in ea&s;e and
plea&s;ure would undertake a re&s;titution of the ancient
Di&s;cipline? Was any thing more odious to the Court
of <HI>Rome,</HI> then the attempts that &s;ome of the more
pious Popes had made of a Reformation? rather like
the <HI>Amyclae,</HI> an <HI>Italian</HI> people, they pa&s;&s;ed a Law, <HI>Ne
quis de ho&s;tium adventu famam &s;pargeret,</HI> that no man
&s;hould pre&s;ume from that time forwards to give
them notice of the&s;e tares, or of the neer approach
of the common enemy. Nay, at the la&s;t this Ba|&s;tards
Reign &s;hall be legitimated by the Common-Councel,
proclaimed to be good &s;eed of the Lords
own &s;owing; and then what man is he that dare call
them tares?</P>
<P>In which &s;o long a night of &s;everal and di&s;tracted
&s;leepes, in what a wretched &s;tate had the Church
been think we, had not the Lord awakened &s;ome to
have a care unto his field, and to take notice of the&s;e
<PB N="54" REF="39">
tares? Once the affaires of <HI>Rome</HI> were brought unto
&s;o low an ebbe, that there was nothing of the City
left them but the very Capitoll,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ivit. <HI>l.</HI> 2. 4.</NOTE> and that too in
a po&s;&s;ibility to have been &s;urprized, <HI>ni an&s;eres Diis
dormientibus vigila&s;&s;ent,</HI> had not their Gee&s;e been
better to them then their Gods. <HI>Hus,</HI> as my Books
inform me, in the <HI>Bohemian</HI> Language, of which
Land he was, doth &s;ignifie a Goo&s;e; had not this
<HI>Hus,</HI> this Goo&s;e, and &s;uch men as he, <HI>H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">erome</HI> of
<HI>Prague, W<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">clif</HI> and <HI>Luther,</HI> and the re&s;t, (though
men which had, I grant, their own &s;everal errors) di&s;|covered
by their noy&s;e and cackling the neere ap|proches
of the enemy, and &s;o awakened all the
World out of that dull &s;ecurity in the which it was,
how ea&s;ie had it been for Satan to have gained the
Capitoll; yea, to have rooted all the Wheat out of
the field of our Redeemer? But at the la&s;t the World
awakened, and being throughly awakened, &s;ome
di&s;cerned tho&s;e tares which had &s;o long been &s;owen
by this &s;ubtile enemy; and having once di&s;cerned
them, took a &s;peedy order in many places of Gods
field to weed them out: a thing of great offence to
the Court of <HI>Rome,</HI> which took it very ill to be &s;o a|wakened
and &s;tartled from their plea&s;ant &s;lumbers.
Marvel it is, that like unto the &s;en&s;ual <HI>Sibarites,</HI>
their <HI>Italian</HI> Neighbours too, they bani&s;hed not all
cocks the verge and territory of their Church, <HI>ut
moll&ugrave;s viz. cubarent, nullo&abque; illorum &s;trepitu interpella|rentur;</HI>
for fear their &s;leepes &s;hould be di&s;turbed, and
them&s;elves called on to repentance.</P>
<P>For our parts, as we are a parcel of this common
field, it cannot be denied by our greate&s;t adver&s;aries,
that from the &s;leep of ignorance and &s;en&s;uality we
<PB N="55" REF="39">
have been very well awakened; and we begin to be
awakened al&s;o from the &s;leep of negligence. And
certainly it is high time that it &s;hould be &s;o, &s;tanding
be&s;ieged as we do by two &s;everal enemies; both la|bouring
to &s;ubvert our Church, and to advance their
own in the ruines of it: For, to &s;peak truth, the pre|&s;ent
quality of our Church may with mo&s;t fitne&s;s be
re&s;embled unto that of the Primitive times,
when both the powerful <HI>Arians&punc;</HI> and the popular <HI>Do|nati&s;ts</HI>
were both at once in Arms again&s;t it: or if we
will, we may compare it no le&s;&s;e fitly to the State of
<HI>Rome,</HI> during the &s;econd Punick Warre. We have
the <HI>Macedonians</HI> upon all the skirts and quarters of
our Empire, calling to minde the Reputation of
their Ance&s;tors, the great Dominion they have lo&s;t;
and watching all advantages to enlarge their border.
And there is <HI>Annibal ad portas,</HI> a neerer enemy at
hand, at our very Gates, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as
the Father called <HI>Eunomius,</HI> a bo&s;om Traytor, which
grindeth upon our very entrails like <HI>Prometheus
vulture.</HI> One &s;ide a&s;&s;ailes openly, and profe&s;s their
enmity; and by a &s;igne di&s;tinctive, as they plea&s;e to
call it, give us to under&s;tand that they are but tares:
The&s;e, like the wild Bore in the <HI>P&s;alms,</HI> endeavour in
a publick way to de&s;troy our Vineyard. <HI>Secretior Pom|peius
Cae&s;are, non melior;</HI> The other, a more clo&s;e and
&s;ecret enemy, doth not &s;o much a&s;&s;ault the Church,
as undermine it; but they aim both of them at the
&s;ame mark, the &s;ubjugating of the Church, and
the chief Soveraignty of the State, and have the &s;ame
end of their journey, although they travel diver&s;e
wayes. Is this a time think we to &s;leep and &s;lumber,
and &s;tretch our hands in negligence and a carele&s;&s;e
<PB N="56" REF="40">
&s;loth? Did ever any Mariner permit his eyes to
&s;leep, or eye-lids to &s;lumber, &s;ailing betwixt <HI>Sylla</HI>
and <HI>Charibdis?</HI> Or can we think the <HI>Romans</HI> looked
not then about them, a&s;&s;ailed at once by <HI>Greece</HI> and
<HI>Carthage?</HI> or that the primitive Chri&s;tians &s;tood not
on their Guard, when both the &s;ubtile <HI>Arian</HI> and
Saint-&s;eeming <HI>Donati&s;t</HI> did oppo&s;e her Doctrine? A&s;|&s;uredly
when men are compa&s;&s;ed round with dan|gers,
and that they have not only forraign, but dome|&s;tick
enemies, they have good rea&s;on to be watch|full.</P>
<P>Thus, as we &s;ee, our dangers are alike on both &s;ides,
though we perhaps are not alike or equally affected
in apprehen&s;ion of tho&s;e dangers. On the one &s;ide, we
think there never can be watch enough, that all tho&s;e
Lawes and Proclamations which are out again&s;t
them are not &s;ufficient to &s;ecure us, and di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;s
us of our feares: And now that his mo&s;t &s;acred Ma|je&s;ty
hath given new life unto tho&s;e Lawes, and by
his royall Edict declared his plea&s;ure, that no man
&s;hall pre&s;ume hereafter to practi&s;e on his weak and
un&s;etled &s;ubjects, for the reduction of them unto the
&s;uper&s;tition of the Church of <HI>Rome;</HI> we think, as
true indeed it is, that he hath &s;hewn his zeal to the
Hou&s;e of God, and that we cannot magnifie him as
we ought to do. But on the other &s;ide, we think
there needs no watch at all, that tho&s;e few Lawes
and Canons which are now in force for pre&s;ervation
of the Churches peace and &s;afety, may very well be
&s;pared, and layed by for ever. And if his Maje&s;ty
vouch&s;afe to give command unto his Prelates, to
have an eye unto the unity and uniformity of their &s;e|verall
Churches, and to reduce them to her primi|tive
<PB N="57" REF="40">
lu&s;tre: he is not only &s;ure to hear of it in tho&s;e
&s;candalous Pamphlets which every day are offered
to the publick view, but &s;hall have many clo&s;e ill-wil|lers,
that &s;ecretly repine &amp; murmur at &s;o brave a pie|ty;
I wil not &s;ay from what bad humour this proceeds,
but &s;ure I am, to &s;ay the be&s;t, that it proceeds from
a mi&s;apprehen&s;ion of the Churches danger; and that
we would per&s;wade our &s;elves, that the intentions of
the&s;e men are harmle&s;s, and them&s;elves contemp|tible;
and that their wheat is pure and clean, not a|ny
dangerous tare among&s;t it; but I could tell you,
had I time, and may perhaps take time to do it in
pro&s;ecution of this Parable, that they have introdu|ced
into the Church the ancient Here&s;ies of the <HI>No|vatians,
Donati&s;ts, Aerians, Pri&s;cilliani&s;ts,</HI> and the
<HI>Apo&s;tolici;</HI> with tho&s;e of <HI>Barde&s;anes</HI> and <HI>Florinus;</HI>
which I &s;pake of lately: not to &s;ay any thing of tho&s;e
dangerous principles which they are known to hold
among them again&s;t peace and government. High
time a&s;&s;uredly both for Prince and Prelate to have
an eye upon them, and to watch their doings. <HI>Gird
then thy Sword upon thy thigh, O thou mo&s;t mighty man
of valour, ride on with Wor&s;hip and Renown becau&s;e of
Gods, thine and the Churches enemies.</HI> And may it be
thine happine&s;s, as it is thy care, to have thy Watch|men
vigilant, thy Servants faithful, and thy Councel
circum&s;pect, that &s;o no tare, either of error or
fal&s;e Doctrine, may ever grow upon tho&s;e Churches
under thy Dominion.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="58" REF="41">
<HEAD>SERMON III.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At WHITE-HALL <DATE>Jan. 28. 1638.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. v. 26.</BIBL>
<Q>But when the blade &s;prung up, and had brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares al&s;o.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_PRo&s;perum ac felix &s;celus virtus vocatur:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE>
Succesfull mi&s;chief is oft crowned
with the name of vertue; and he is
counted fortunate, who&s;e de&s;ignes
do pro&s;per, how wretched and unju&s;t
&s;oever. The wicked man is not a&s;ha|med
of doing ill, but of being detected; nor doth
he fear the &s;in but the di&s;covery: this makes them,
as they love to &s;in, &s;o to &s;in in &s;ecret, as if the dark|ne&s;s
would conceal their naughtine&s;s; or if it could
be hid from God, becau&s;e committed in a corner.
But God from Heaven looks down upon them, and
derides their follies, and brings them at the la&s;t to
the open light, that how&s;oever they have &s;inned in
&s;ecret, they may receive the wages and reward of
&s;inne in publick. And thus it was with Satan in the
pre&s;ent Parable, who&s;e foot-&s;teps and example his
<PB N="59" REF="41">
Di&s;ciples follow. When he intended to de&s;troy Gods
Harve&s;t, he did it in a time of darkne&s;s, <HI>C&ugrave;m dor|mirent
homines,</HI> when all the &s;ervants were a&s;leep.
And that he might be &s;ure to avoid di&s;covery, he
did the feat alone, in private, without any company;
<HI>Venit &amp; abiit,</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">aith the Text, his comming was in &s;e|cret,
his departure &s;udden, &s;o that no notice could
be taken of him when the deed was doing, and not
much neither being done: for he made choice of
&s;uch a &s;eed to &s;ow and &s;catter in Gods field, which
was &s;o like the wheat in an outward &s;hew, and pro|mi&s;ed
&s;uch a rich increa&s;e to the heavenly Harve&s;t,
that it was no &s;mall difficulty to di&s;tingui&s;h which
was Gods, which his. And all this while who could
have otherwi&s;e conceived but that he had been very
fortunate in his undertaking, and his tares good
wheat? but yet at la&s;t it fell out contrary to his ex|pectation,
God making a di&s;covery of his &s;ubtile
practices, and manife&s;ting to his Church the danger
in the which it &s;tood. And how&s;oever that men &s;lept
when the &s;eed was &s;owen, and that they looked not
after it when the blade &s;prung up; yet when it came
to bring forth fruit, then their eyes were opened,
and they were able to di&s;tingui&s;h between wheat and
tares. <HI>But when the blade &s;prung up, and had brought
forth fruit, C&ugrave;m autem crevi&s;set herba, &amp; fructum
feci&s;set, then appeared the tares al&s;o.</HI></P>
<P>In handling of the&s;e words, I &s;hall con&s;ider the&s;e
things following. Fir&s;t, Of what kinde tho&s;e Do|ctrines
were which were &s;owen by Satan, and are de|cipher'd
here by the name of tares. Secondly, That
there was no way to di&s;cern tho&s;e Doctrines, the
fal&s;hood and ill nature of them in the &s;eed or &s;talks,
<PB N="60" REF="42">
until they came to bring forth fruit. Thirdly, That
every Doctrine of what &s;ort &s;oever doth produce
&s;ome fruit, by which it may be known whether true
or fal&s;e: and Fourthly, That when the fruits ap|peared,
then it was ea&s;ie to di&s;cover of what &s;ort
they were. Of the&s;e, or of as many of them as the
time will &s;uffer, beginning with the nature of the&s;e
Doctrines which are here intended.</P>
<P><HI>Sapientis e&s;t mal&egrave; facere &s;i &amp; utile &s;it &amp; tutum.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lactan. <HI>l.</HI> 3. 17.</NOTE> It
was a maxime with the <HI>Epicures,</HI> that no wi&s;e man
forbears to pur&s;ue his mo&s;t wicked coun&s;els, in ca&s;e
they might conduce to profit, and be done with &s;afe|ty.
A dangerous and mo&s;t mi&s;chievous principle, if
once put in practice; and &s;uch as could proceed from
no other Fountain, then the fir&s;t Father of all
fal&s;hood. He indeed had been ver&s;ed therein from
the fir&s;t beginnings, even from the fir&s;t attempt that
he made on man; in which he took upon him&s;elf
the &s;hape and title of a Serpent, the mo&s;t &s;ubtile
bea&s;t, to work upon the weakne&s;s of a woman, the
mo&s;t feeble &s;ex. The profit that he aimed at in that
grand impo&s;ture, was to attain that Empire on the
earth over wretched man which he had failed of in
the Heavens, and among&s;t the Angels. And he con|ceived
him&s;elf &s;ecure in the undertaking, both in re|gard
of this di&s;gui&s;e, and the condition of the party
that he was to deal with. Thus was it then, and thus
it hath been ever &s;ince. For the old Serpent is no
changeling,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Horace.</NOTE> but &s;till keeps his own, <HI>qualis ab incoepto
proce&s;&s;erit,</HI> the &s;ame Serpent &s;till. God had no &s;ooner
&s;owen his field with cele&s;tiall &s;eed, but &s;traight the
Devil was at hand to di&s;per&s;e his tares: by doing
which he might not only &s;poyl Gods Harve&s;t, but
<PB N="61" REF="42">
increa&s;e his own. This was the profit that he aimed
at: which that he might be &s;ure to procure with
&s;afety, and not incurre the lea&s;t &s;u&s;picion of impo|&s;ture
till his croppe was ripe, he did not only watch
his opportunity whiles the &s;ervants &s;lept; but &s;owed
the field with &s;uch a grain that could not ea&s;ily be
di&s;cerned when they were awake.</P>
<P>For tares, <HI>zizania,</HI> if we con&s;ider them according
to the fir&s;t appearance, and in the manner of their
growth, are not much different from the wheat.
<HI>Folio oblongo &s;unt, &amp; culmo tritici graciliore,</HI> &s;o &s;ayes
<HI>Rovillius,</HI> and with him divers others of the modern
<HI>Herbali&s;ts.</HI> Nay many of the ancient writers have
ob&s;erved no le&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> <HI>Zizania tritico &s;imilia e&s;&s;e in arun|dine,
di&s;similia in fructu;</HI> the difference is not in
the blade or &s;talk, but the fruit alone: So &s;aith <HI>Eu|thymius
Zigabenus.</HI> Between the tares and wheat,
while&s;t they are yet in <HI>herba,</HI> in the blade or &s;talk,
<HI>grandis &s;imilitudo e&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In Matth. 13.</NOTE> there is no &s;mall &s;imilitude: So
<HI>Hierome.</HI> La&s;tly, To add no more, we are told by
<HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome,</HI> that it was Satans cunning to di&s;gui&s;e
his errors under the mask and veil of truth, that &s;o
he might more ea&s;ily &s;educe the &s;imple, and beguile
the ignorant. And for that very cau&s;e (&s;aith he) he
made choice of the&s;e tares, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
being &s;o like unto the wheat in the fir&s;t
appearing, that it was very hard to know which was
right. [<HI>Tostatus</HI> hath affirmed as much in his work
on <HI>Matthew; Nam herba tritici &amp; zizaniorum &s;imilis
est, &s;ed grana di&s;similia,</HI> the fruit, &s;aith he, is diffe|rent,
though the blades be like.] Lay the&s;e parti|culars
together, and they come to this, that the fal&s;e
Doctrines noted and intended in the pre&s;ent Para|ble
<PB N="62" REF="43">
were &s;uch as had a &s;hew of truth, and might be
ea&s;ily mi&s;took for &s;ound Orthodox Tenets; but be|ing
afterwards di&s;covered and examined, were di&s;|proved
as dangerous.</P>
<P>So then the errors and fal&s;e Doctrines which are
noted here, and &s;aid to have been &s;owen by Satan,
<HI>in medio tritici,</HI> even in the middle of the Church,
were not like tho&s;e of <HI>Arius,</HI> who denied the Deity,
or of the <HI>Valentinians,</HI> who denied the Manhood of
our Lord and Saviour; or of the <HI>Marcionites</HI> and <HI>Ma|niches,</HI>
which bla&s;phemed the very Maje&s;ty of God
the Father; or of the <HI>Macedonians,</HI> who quarrelled
the Divinity of the holy Gho&s;t: Nor were they, fi|nally,
like tho&s;e which had been &s;et on foot in the
primitive times by tho&s;e de&s;perate writers, who in
their &s;everall turns and cour&s;es had impiou&s;ly oppo|&s;ed
and quarelled every, or any Article of the Chri|&s;tian
faith. The&s;e we may rather liken unto briers &amp;
brambles, di&s;cerned as &s;oon as in the blade, or in the
very fir&s;t appearance. The Church &s;oon &s;pied tho&s;e
Here&s;ies, and as &s;oon condemned them; nor ever
were the &s;ervants eyes &s;o heavy, as not to note the
time, and ob&s;erve the Authors of tho&s;e wicked Do|ctrines,
leaving to us upon record the knowledge
and relation of the whole proceedings: &s;o that tho&s;e
wretched and bla&s;phemous Here&s;ies wherewith the
Church was exerci&s;ed in the Primitive times, were
generally but like <HI>Jonahs</HI> gourd,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In P&s;eudo lo.</NOTE> of a dayes continu|ance;
or the <HI>Sol&s;titial Herbe</HI> in <HI>Plautus, quae repen|tino
ortae &s;unt, repentino occidunt,</HI> almo&s;t as &s;oon &s;up|pre&s;t
as ri&s;en. Few of them, though they had been
&s;owen with all care and cunning, came to take deep
root; fewer to <HI>c&ugrave;m crevi&s;&s;et herba,</HI> to the blade or
<PB N="63" REF="43">
blo&s;&s;om; but none unto <HI>feci&s;&s;ent fructum,</HI> to bring
forth their fruit, before they were de&s;cried and cen|&s;ured.
And however &s;ome of them, as that of <HI>Arius,</HI>
became of univer&s;all latitude and long continuance,
&s;o that <HI>ingemuit orbis,</HI> as St. <HI>Hierome</HI> hath it, the
whole world groaned under the weight and burden
of &s;o foule an here&s;ie: yet did it never pa&s;&s;e for
Wheat, or was counted <HI>Orthodox,</HI> but &s;till pur&s;ued
and execrated as a wicked bla&s;phemy.</P>
<P>But for the&s;e tares, the Doctrines and erroneous
tenets of the pre&s;ent Parable, the ca&s;e was otherwi&s;e.
either the &s;ervants were not able to di&s;cern them at
fir&s;t peeping forth; or el&s;e conceived there was not
&s;o much danger in them as in truth there was; or
el&s;e were willing to believe that po&s;&s;ibly they might
prove wheat, and &s;o become a plentiful addition to
Gods holy Harve&s;t. For either the opinion taken
up was but the fancy of few, however had in admi|ration
for their parts and learning, and &s;o not
likely to prevail; or &s;ome &s;uch divi&s;ion from the
Churches tenets, as did not &s;eem to threaten any
pre&s;ent danger to the common quiet, and &s;o the
le&s;&s;e to be regarded. And this is that which is ob|&s;erved
by <HI>Lirinen&s;is,</HI> that many errors and fal&s;e Do|ctriens
had &s;ecretly been introduced into the
Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. 15.</NOTE> <HI>quos nec cito deprehendere valeas, nec facil
damnare fas ducis;</HI> which neither could be &s;oon di&s;|cerned,
nor were thought fit to be condemned on the
fir&s;t di&s;covery. By meanes whereof it came to pa&s;&s;e,
that the &s;aid new, but fal&s;e opinions, as they were
&s;cattered and di&s;per&s;ed when no man &s;aw them, &s;o
they took root when no man marked them. And
when they came to <HI>c&ugrave;m crevi&s;&s;et herba,</HI> when it came
<PB N="64" REF="44">
to that, and that <HI>the blade &s;prung up</HI> and had &s;hewn
it &s;elf, yet were they &s;till &s;o like the wheat, both
in &s;hape and colour, that few there were of &s;uch a
&s;earching and di&s;cerning eye, as to pronounce aright
from what &s;eed they &s;prung: nay when they came
unto the triall to <HI>feci&s;&s;ent fructum,</HI> and that their
fruit di&s;covered them to be but tares, yet then
they &s;hewed them&s;elves to the publick view with
&s;uch a Copy of old age, and reputation of Antiquity,
that they contended for priority with the wheat it
&s;elfe.</P>
<P>Such are the errors and fal&s;e Doctrines whereof
we challenge and accu&s;e the Church of <HI>Rome;</HI> &s;uch
as a long time pa&s;&s;ed for truth, and were not noted
either in the &s;eed or blade. Errors which being &s;et on
foot by &s;ome private men, and having gotten credit
by continuance and long tract of time, were fir&s;t de|bated
in the Schools as probable; afterwards enter|tained
in the Church as true; and la&s;t of all, im|po&s;ed
on mens &s;ouls as nece&s;&s;ary. Errors which at
their fir&s;t appearing did not directly, <HI>ex profe&s;&s;o,</HI> ei|ther
oppo&s;e the Churches Doctrine, or di&s;turb her
peace; but &s;uch as &s;eemed to have upon them the
character and &s;uper&s;cription of &s;acred verity, and
grew up <HI>&s;en&s;im &s;ine &s;en&s;u</HI> with Gods holy truth: we
charge them not with any of tho&s;e impious bla&s;phe|mies,
or wicked here&s;ies, derogatory to the honour
of our Lord and Saviour, or any other per&s;on of the
glorious Trinity, or any other common principle of
the Catholick faith, which <HI>Simon Magus,</HI> and the
re&s;t of that damned crew have oppo&s;ed and quarrel|led.
In that they have done bravely for the Church
of Chri&s;t, and publickly oppo&s;ed tho&s;e wretched
<PB N="65" REF="44">
here&s;ies which the <HI>Socinians</HI> have revived in the&s;e
latter dayes, <HI>Utinam &s;ic &s;emper erra&s;&s;ent,</HI> would they
had erred thus alwayes, had they erred no otherwi&s;e,
as once the Cardinal &s;aid of <HI>Calvin.</HI> That which we
have to &s;ay again&s;t them is, that they have for&s;aken
their fir&s;t love, like the Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> and ca&s;t
a &s;tumbling-block before the people, like to that of
<HI>Pergamus;</HI> and &s;uffered the woman <HI>Jezebel,</HI> which
calleth her &s;elf a Prophete&s;s, to &s;educe Gods &s;ervants
from the right way of his Commandements, like the
<HI>Thyatirians.</HI> So that the aberration from the Go|&s;pel
which we charge upon them, is not from the
profe&s;&s;ion, but the purity of the Chri&s;tian faith;
not from the outward &s;ignes and Sacraments, but the
&s;incerity and &s;oundne&s;s of Religion; not from the
Church of Chri&s;t, but in it.</P>
<P>And yet I would not be mi&s;taken, as if I thought
there were no Here&s;ie to be found in the Church of
<HI>Rome:</HI> or that their errors which they teach, were
neither po&s;itively dangerous in them&s;elves, nor po&s;|&s;ibly
pernicious and de&s;tructive to them that hold
them, without true repentance. That which was fir&s;t
an error only, when fir&s;t taken up, in them that taught
it, may by an ob&s;tinate pertinacy become an Here&s;ie
in them that hold it. Its true, that every deviation
from the truth, or oppo&s;ition made again&s;t it, doth
not denominate an Heretick: nor doth the volunta|ry
taking up of a fal&s;e opinion, create &s;uch mi&s;chief
to the Church, as the unwillingne&s;s to lay it down.
Were it not for <HI>pertinaciter defen&s;a, &s;ponte electa</HI>
would beare no great &s;troke in the definition of an
Here&s;ie. This was the ca&s;e between St. <HI>Cyprian</HI> and
the <HI>Donati&s;ts;</HI> S. <HI>Cyprian</HI> and &s;ome other holy Bi&s;hops
<PB N="66" REF="45">
of the <HI>African</HI> Churches, conceived rebaptization
to be nece&s;&s;ary in &s;ome certain ca&s;es; but mode&s;tly,
and with &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to the Church of God deter|mining
according to his word in Scripture. The <HI>Do|nati&s;ts</HI>
maintained the &s;ame opinion, but they did it
ob&s;tinately, refu&s;ed to hearken to the Church, or
to admit of any Judges but them&s;elves, to decide
the controver&s;ie. The error was the &s;ame in both,
the Doctrine fal&s;e alike in both; and yet the <HI>Do|nati&s;ts</HI>
&s;tand branded for it by the name of Here|ticks,
whereas St. <HI>Cyprian</HI> and his A&s;&s;ociates are
accounted Catholicks. Why &s;o? becau&s;e of <HI>perti|naciter
defen&s;a,</HI> becau&s;e the <HI>Donati&s;t</HI> maintained it
with &s;o great perver&s;ene&s;s, that there was no reclaim|ing
of him to the &s;ound Doctrines of the Church.
And this is that which <HI>Lerinen&s;is</HI> &s;peaks of with &s;uch
admiration,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap.</NOTE> <HI>O mira rerum conver&s;io! Authores opinio|nis
Catholici, &s;ectatores haeretici judicantur; ab&s;olvuntur
magi&s;tri, condemnantur di&s;cipuli.</HI></P>
<P>This al&s;o is the ca&s;e of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> the
enemy had &s;owen his tares <HI>in agro domini,</HI> and they
&s;prung up <HI>in medio tritici.</HI> When they were &s;owen
they were not noted; and having taken root, and
put forth the blade, they looked &s;o like the wheat,
with &s;o fair a &s;hew, that very few, if at all any, did
&s;u&s;pect them. And &s;o long the&s;e of <HI>Rome</HI> were in the
&s;ame condition and e&s;tate with the <HI>African</HI> Prelates:
either their ignorance or inadvertency might have
&s;alv'd the &s;ore; but when the fruit di&s;cover'd them to
be tares indeed, and that they notwith&s;tanding would
defend and countenance them, proclaim them
to be wheat of the Lords own &s;owing, &s;ell them for
&s;uch to &s;imple people in the open markets, and
<PB N="67" REF="45">
make them eat (as one may &s;ay) their own damna|tion,
then fell they into the condition of the de&s;pe|rate
<HI>Donati&s;t,</HI> and that which was an error only in the
fir&s;t broachers of the Doctrine, is in them made He|re&s;ie.
And here I may repeat that of <HI>Lirinen&s;is, Au|thores
opinionis Catholici, &s;ectatores haeretici.</HI> They
which fir&s;t &s;et on foot the opinion, what&s;oever they
were, might have no ill intention in it, conceiving
that which they delivered not to be contrary to the
Churches tendries, though perhaps be&s;ides them.
And &s;o it might be with them al&s;o which took
them upon tru&s;t, and a&s;&s;ented to them, not having
meanes or opportunity to come unto the knowledge
of the truth in tho&s;e particulars. But &s;o it is not
with our Ma&s;ters in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> who have
not only means to know them, and opportunity to
con&s;ider of the fruit they bear; but having been in|formed
of that long mi&s;take in which their Prede|ce&s;&s;ors
lived, and of the dangers which tho&s;e tares
do threaten to the Church of God, do ob&s;tinately
&s;hut their eyes again&s;t the &s;acred light of truth, and
will not &s;ee the beames thereof, &s;hine they never &s;o
brightly: In which e&s;tate, if they continue wilful
without true repentance, let them take heed le&s;t
that befall them which my Authour &s;peaks of, <HI>Ab&s;ol|vuntur
magi&s;tri, condemnantur di&s;cipuli:</HI> and &s;o I leave
them to Gods mercy, &amp; with them the fir&s;t point of
this Di&s;cour&s;e, <HI>viz.</HI> the kind or nature of the Doctr.
which are here intended, proceeding hence unto the
2d, the difficulty to di&s;cern them in the <HI>&s;eed or blade,
until they came to bring forth fruit,</HI> to <HI>feci&s;sent fructum.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Nil magis curant qu&agrave;m occultare quod praedicant.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 1. In initio.</NOTE>
<HI>Tertullian</HI> notes it of the <HI>Valentinians,</HI> that they did
<PB N="68" REF="46">
u&s;e to hide their tenets, and conceal their Doctrines.
A Le&s;&s;on taught them by their &s;ire the Devil, who
when he had a purpo&s;e to de&s;troy Gods Harve&s;t,
not only did it at a time when the &s;ervants &s;lept, and
in &s;o quick a manner that he was not noted, but
&s;owed Gods field with &s;uch a &s;eed, as could not ea&s;i|ly
be di&s;cerned from the wheat it &s;elf, until the ve|ry
fruits proclaimed it. In all his other projects to
&s;ubvert the Go&s;pel, the Watchmen of the Church
&s;o traced him, and kept &s;o vigilant an eye upon him,
that all his machinations were detected, and his hopes
made fru&s;trate: he is re&s;olved to cheat the very
Watchmen, and therefore &s;ets on foot &s;uch Do|ctrines
in which was no apparent danger, and much
le&s;&s;e any vi&s;ible impiety; that while&s;t the Watch|men
let them pa&s;&s;e, neither examining from whence
they came, nor to what they tended; he might by
them effect his purpo&s;e with the greater &s;afety, and
by degrees endanger and &s;ubvert Religion.</P>
<P>And certainly it is no marvel that they &s;hould
pa&s;&s;e without di&s;covery, and prevail &s;o farre, con&s;i|dering
how clo&s;ely the de&s;ign was carried, how little
noy&s;e it made abroad, and by what lei&s;ure and de|grees
it did gather &s;trength. For how&s;oever it be
true which the <HI>Cardinall</HI> tells us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bell<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rm. de Eccl <HI>l.</HI> 4. <HI>c.</HI> 5.</NOTE> that <HI>in omni in&s;ig|ni
mutatione religionis,</HI> in every notable change and
alteration of Religion, a man may ea&s;ily di&s;cern both
the change it &s;elf, and all the circum&s;tances that
pertain unto it; yet in the &s;owing of the&s;e tares it
was not &s;o. We neither know the Authors, time
or place, by whom, when, where, the &s;aid fal&s;e te|nets
were fir&s;t broached: nor finde we any that op|po&s;ed
them at their ri&s;ing up, or whether any did
<PB N="69" REF="46">
take notice of them when the blade &s;prung up. And
yet it is mo&s;t manife&s;t, that &s;uch tares there were,
and that they had almo&s;t corrupted and de&s;troyed
the wheat, before the &s;ervants had e&s;pied them.
The Cardinalls Rule holds good in all &s;udden chan|ges,
which are made publickly and profe&s;&s;edly, and
all at once, in publick and notorious Here&s;ies, which
come in with violence, and aim at the foundation of
the Hou&s;e of God. And any man of common
reading can tell as well as he, when, and by whom,
and where, the <HI>Macedonian, Arian, Valentinian</HI> Here|&s;ies,
or any of the re&s;t of &s;o high a nature did at fir&s;t
begin; but between tho&s;e and the&s;e in the body
my&s;tical, the difference is as great and &s;ignall, as be|tween
open Arms and Clande&s;tine con&s;piracy in the
body politique, whereof that may be ea&s;ily di&s;cer|ned,
this not: or an outragious burning Feaver,
and a dull Con&s;umption in the body naturall, of
which that comes with fury, this growes on in&s;en&s;i|bly:
it fares no otherwi&s;e with the tares in the pre|&s;ent
Parable, then with the good Seed in another of
our Saviours Parables: which is, <HI>as if a man &s;hould
ca&s;t his &s;eed into the ground,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark 4.</NOTE> <HI>and &s;hould &s;leep, and ri&s;e
night and day, and the &s;eed &s;hould &s;pring and grow up,
but he knoweth not how.</HI></P>
<P>Our Saviour tells us of his Kingdom,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 17. v. 20.</NOTE> <HI>non venire
cum ob&s;ervatione,</HI> that it commeth not with ob&s;er|vation,
but growes upon us, in us, with us, in&s;en&s;i|bly
and by degrees. And &s;o it is al&s;o in the King|dom
of <HI>Antichri&s;t,</HI> in the beginning, working and in|crea&s;e
thereof: which with the whole abominations
of it, was to be introduced into the Church, not o|penly
and <HI>ex profe&s;&s;o,</HI> &s;o that all might &s;ee it; but
<PB N="70" REF="47">
my&s;tically, covertly and &s;ilently, without noy&s;e or
clamour, &s;o that it might deceive even the very
Watch-men. They who advanced this bu&s;ine&s;s,
were &s;uch men as tho&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. 1.</NOTE> of whom St. <HI>Paul</HI> tells us in
the fir&s;t of <HI>Timothy,</HI> that they &s;hould &s;peak all fal|&s;hood
in hypocri&s;ie. The meaning is, that they
&s;hould &s;o di&s;per&s;e their Doctrines with &s;uch a &s;hew of
godline&s;s, and pretence of piety, that no man &s;hould
have cau&s;e to &s;u&s;pect their doings, untill the very
fruits bewrayed them; and &s;o it proved in the event.
That generall aberration from the power and purity
of Chri&s;ts glorious Go&s;pel, the &s;eeds whereof were
&s;owen by Satan, even in the lives of the Apo&s;tles,
was not di&s;covered fully till the&s;e latter dayes: St.
<HI>Paul,</HI> who diligently traced his foot-&s;teps, and found
by good conjecture, that he had been &s;owing, calls
it, <GAP DESC="foreign">, a very my&s;tery of iniquity.
A my&s;tery in the &s;eed, and in the blade; but in the
fruit thereof a plain iniquity. Had it not brought
forth wickedne&s;s, <HI>iniquitatem,</HI> it had not been of Sa|tans
&s;owing; and had the working of it been noto|rious,
and &s;en&s;ible to every eye, it had been no my|&s;tery;
but it was both, and both together made up
the true nature of it, <HI>my&s;terium iniquitatis.</HI> That
wicked one in the Apo&s;tles time did already work,
although he was not then revealed; but in our dayes,
my&s;tery, which before was written upon the forehead
of the woman, is quite vani&s;hed; and there is nothing
to be &s;een at all, but <HI>Babylon</HI> the Great, the Mother
of abominations.</P>
<P>And I &s;aid well, that my&s;tery was writ upon the
forehead, and not only in a my&s;tical, but a literal
&s;en&s;e; for <HI>Scaliger</HI> in his notes on the <HI>Revelation</HI> re|ports,
<PB N="71" REF="47">
that in the former times the word <HI>my&s;terium</HI>
was ingraven in Capitall Letters upon the front, or
fore-part of the Triple Crown; and that it &s;o con|tinued
till the Reign of <HI>Julius,</HI> who cau&s;ed the old
one to be broken, and a new one made, and his own
titles, <HI>Julius Pont. Max.</HI> to be incha&s;ed with Pearls
where the old word &s;tood. This he delivereth from
the mouth of D. <HI>Montmorency,</HI> who learnt the &s;ame
at <HI>Rome</HI> from men of good repute and quality who
had &s;een the &s;ame, upon who&s;e faith we mu&s;t relie
for the truth hereof. But to proceed:</P>
<P>They therefore much mi&s;take them&s;elves, and
the condition of the tares here &s;owen by Satan, who
either think they may be ea&s;ily di&s;cerned as &s;oon as
&s;owed, or that they will di&s;clo&s;e their malignant
nature upon the fir&s;t E&s;&s;ay and Triall. The Scri|pture
tells us of the&s;e tares, that they appeared not
to be tares, till the fruits proclaimed them. And <HI>Ga|len</HI>
notes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">D<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter"> facultate al. mon. <HI>l.</HI> 4.</NOTE> that when &s;ome covetous and carele&s;s
Husbandmen, not winnowing their Corn as they
ought to do, had &s;old both tares and wheat together,
tho&s;e which did feed thereon found no di&s;ea&s;e, nor
ill effect thereof, at the very in&s;tant; but that on
the approch of Summer, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
they broke out all of them into biles and &s;ores.
When therefore he pre&s;cribes this cour&s;e in the way
of diet, that we &s;hould carefully ca&s;t away the tares,
and &s;ift them from our heaps of Wheat, he gives
this rea&s;on of his coun&s;el; for though (&s;aith he)
the inconvenience be at fir&s;t &s;o &s;mall, that we &s;carce
feel it for the pre&s;ent, yet at the la&s;t, when the ill
humors and corruptions which do thence ari&s;e, are
grown full and pregnant, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<PB N="72" REF="48">
then the malignity of their nature doth at large ap|peare.
So is it with the juyce of tares, if we drink
thereof, (as &s;ometimes it is mingled with the Cup
of Life,) it doth not work upon the &s;udden: that
poy&s;oned Cup wherewith the Princes of the Earth,
and the Inhabiters thereof have been made drunk &s;o
long together, was of a &s;oft and gentle nature, not of
quick di&s;patch; tempered according to the neat <HI>Ita|lian</HI>
fa&s;hion: The venom of the &s;ame being in&s;en&s;i|bly
pernicious, brings on death at la&s;t, and yet we
never feel it working; which briefly we return for a
general An&s;wer unto tho&s;e Cavils of the <HI>Cardinall,</HI>
who therefore will allow no tares to have been &s;owen
at all in the Church of <HI>Rome, E&ograve; qu&ograve;d tempus cer|tum
de&s;ignare non po&s;&s;umus,</HI> becau&s;e we cannot tell
the circum&s;tances of time, place and per&s;ons, when,
and by whom, and where the Devil &s;owed them.
A more particular An&s;wer thereunto is neither po&s;|&s;ible
nor nece&s;&s;ary in the pre&s;ent ca&s;e.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t it is not po&s;&s;ible as unto the Author,
which is the fir&s;t and greate&s;t circum&s;tance by him
required. All that the Text informs us is, <HI>inimicus
&s;evit,</HI> that the enemy &s;owed them; and that this e|nemy
is the Devil; but by who&s;e hands the Devil
did it, what in&s;truments he u&s;ed to effect his purpo&s;e,
as Chri&s;t our Saviour hath not told us, &s;o are we
&s;till ignorant: we finde no further light here then a
<HI>venit, abiit,</HI> that he came &s;ecretly, and departed &s;ud|denly,
he &s;taid not long upon the place; and for
the little time he &s;tayed, he took his opportunity,
<HI>c&ugrave;m dormirent homines,</HI> when all the &s;ervants were
a&s;leep, and did not &s;ee him; and if they did not &s;ee
him, as tis plain they did not, I would fain know
<PB N="73" REF="48">
how they could po&s;&s;ibly produce him. Be&s;ides, it is
mo&s;t likely that he came di&s;gui&s;ed in the apparel of
&s;ome Hou&s;hold-&s;ervant belonging to the heavenly
Husbandman, having a form of godline&s;s, and a
&s;hew of zeal; &s;o that in ca&s;e the other &s;ervants had
not &s;lept, he might have pa&s;t away without di&s;cove|ry.
The Devil when he came to <HI>Eve,</HI> came not like
the Devil, but in the &s;hape of a <HI>Dome&s;tick,</HI> one of <HI>A|dams</HI>
Family; and of a <HI>Serpent,</HI> in who&s;e &s;hape he
came, <HI>Tertullian</HI> tells us, <HI>ab&s;condit &s;e &s;erpens quantum
pote&s;t, to tam&abque; prudentiam in latebrarum ambagibus tor|quet,</HI>
that he conceales him&s;elf as much as po&s;&s;ibly
he can, and &s;hews his wit in nothing more then in
finding lurking-holes: nay, &s;ometimes when he
hath a purpo&s;e to abu&s;e poor man, he doth tran&s;|form
him&s;elf into an Angel of Light, his Mini&s;ters
into the Mini&s;ters of Righteou&s;ne&s;s: and who could
po&s;&s;ibly &s;u&s;pect any hurt or danger from tho&s;e who
are accounted Mini&s;ters of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, or cele&s;tial
Angels? Nor is the Rule of <HI>Bellarmine</HI> &s;o generally
true in this particular of the Author, but that it will
admit of &s;ome exceptions; for there were very ma|ny
Here&s;ies in the primitive times, acknowledged
and avowed for &s;uch in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> as <HI>viz.</HI>
of the <HI>Gno&s;ticks, Nazarenes, Ophites, Cainites, Sethi|ans,
cum multis aliis,</HI> mentioned in <HI>Epiphanius, Au&s;tin,</HI>
and <HI>Theodoret,</HI> and many other antient Writers, of
which it would extremely puzzle <HI>Bellarmine,</HI> and all
his followers in that Church, to produce the Au|thors.</P>
<P>So is it al&s;o with the circum&s;tances of time and
place in which tho&s;e here&s;ies began, which neither he
nor any of the be&s;t <HI>Philologers</HI> in the <HI>Church</HI> of <HI>Rome,</HI>
<PB N="74" REF="49">
can a&s;&s;igne preci&s;ely, but wander up and down in the
&s;earch thereof, as their blinde fancies and con|jecture
lead them; and &s;o the wonder is the more,
that not being able to a&s;&s;igne the certainty of time
and place, in publick and notorious Here&s;ies, which
came in with clamor, they &s;hould expect the &s;ame
from us, in the detecting of tho&s;e errors which came
in by &s;tealth. In their authentick vulgar Latine, there
are many errors, corruptions, tran&s;po&s;itions, barba|ri&s;mes,
which are by <HI>Cajetan, Senen&s;is, Olea&s;ter,</HI> and
the <HI>Engli&s;h Rhemi&s;ts,</HI> ingenuou&s;ly confe&s;&s;ed &amp; pub|li&s;hed.
<HI>I&s;idore Clarius,</HI> a <HI>Spani&s;h Monke,</HI> profe&s;&s;eth that
he found no fewer then 8000 errors, &s;ome of them
very gro&s;&s;e and palpable. And &s;hould we turn the
&s;cale, and demand of <HI>Bellarmine,</HI> when, in who&s;e
time, by who&s;e neglect, all the &s;aid errors and cor|ruptions
crept into the Text: I trow he would be
fain to an&s;wer, <HI>cum dormirent homines,</HI> that it was
done when as the Watchmen were a&s;leep, and look|ed
not to the publick &s;afety of the Church of
God.</P>
<P>So for the circum&s;tance of place, all that we know,
or po&s;&s;ibly can know, at &s;o farre a di&s;tance is, that
the&s;e tares were &s;owen <HI>in agro domini,</HI> not in this part
alone, or that; but <HI>in medio tritici,</HI> even in the mid|dle
of the Wheat, as well in one place as another.
<HI>Dic quibus in terris,</HI> were too hard a ta&s;te for the
be&s;t <HI>Apollo</HI> in the <HI>Conclave;</HI> and we may &s;ay, <HI>Qua
terra patet,</HI> when they ask that que&s;tion. A more
particular de&s;ignation of the&s;e two la&s;t circum&s;tan|ces,
in all the points debated between them and us,
is a thing impo&s;&s;ible. The Text informs us, that
the&s;e tares were &s;owen, <HI>c&ugrave;m dormirent homines,</HI> when
<PB N="75" REF="49">
all the &s;ervants were a&s;leep; and would you have
them give accompt of time and place, in matters
which were done when they were a&s;leep? Such an
accompt indeed they might ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e given, as did the
Souldiers in the Go&s;pel of our Saviours body, who
gave it out, and &s;tood to it, like brave men of arms,
that his Di&s;ciples came by night, and &s;tole it whil&s;t
they were a&s;leep. A very likely tale I promi&s;e you;
for if they were a&s;leep, as they &s;aid they were, how
could they tell, that either any body came to
&s;teal him, or that the Lords Di&s;ciples were
the men that did it? <HI>Adeo mendaci rum natura
e&s;t, ut cohaerere non po&s;sunt,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Lactantius</HI> tru|ly.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, tho&s;e errors which we note in the Church
of <HI>Rome,</HI> as they came in privily, &s;o they grew up in|&s;en&s;ibly.
And fir&s;t of all they came in privily, there
being not only many errors, but even damnable he|re&s;ies,
which came in privily and by &s;tealth, as St.
<HI>Peter</HI> tells us. <HI>There &s;hall ari&s;e</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>fal&s;e Teach|ers
in tho&s;e dayes, that privily &s;hall bring in damnable
Here&s;ies, &s;ectas perditionis,</HI> as the <HI>Latine</HI> reads it. The
Devil in this point is like the <HI>Peacock;</HI> as he is <HI>An|gelus
in penna,</HI> and can transform him&s;elf into an An|gel
of light, when he thinks it nece&s;&s;ary: &s;o is he
<HI>pede latro</HI> too, a creature of a &s;ilent and a theevi&s;h
gate, when he &s;ees occa&s;ion. It is no ea&s;ie tracing of
him in his private paths. Secondly, tho&s;e errors as
they came in privily, &s;o they grew in&s;en&s;ibly, like to
the finger of a Diall, which we finde varied from the
place where before it was, and yet we do not &s;ee it
vary; for &s;o do private mens opinions, if they be but
probable, gain by degrees we know not how, on the
<PB N="76" REF="50">
affection and good liking of particular per&s;ons, and
after on the approbation of the Church it &s;elf, till
in the end of <HI>Paradoxes,</HI> they became to be counted
<HI>School-points,</HI> then taken, or mi&s;taken rather, for the
traditions of the Church; and finally received as
Articles of the Chri&s;tian faith. The holy Gho&s;t
hath &s;aid of Chri&s;t, that he is a Rock, <HI>Petra autem e|rat
Chri&s;tus,</HI> in St. <HI>Pauls</HI> Epi&s;tles; and Chri&s;t hath
told us of the Confe&s;&s;ion of his faith, that it is a
Rock, <HI>&s;uper hanc petram,</HI> in St. <HI>Matthews</HI> Go&s;pel.
Now one of tho&s;e four things which &s;eemed &s;o
wonderful and un&s;earchable in the eyes of <HI>Solomon,</HI> is
<HI>via &s;erpentis &s;uper petram,</HI> that of a Serpent on a
Rock; or, if you like the Application, that of the
Devil, in &s;ubverting the faith of Chri&s;t: nor is it
thus only in the points of faith, but in that of Cere|monies,
which by degrees, in&s;en&s;ibly, and without
ob&s;ervation, have very much declined and varied in
the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> from what they were in their
original in&s;titution, there being many things or|dained
of a good intent, as one among&s;t them&s;elves
complaineth, <HI>quae nunc videmus partim in abu&s;um,
partim in &s;uper&s;titionem verti,</HI> which are now
changed into abu&s;e, and altered into &s;uper&s;ti|tion.</P>
<P>But yet the <HI>Cardinal</HI> &s;tayes not here, we mu&s;t
enquire, <HI>quis eam oppugnaverit,</HI> what men oppo|&s;ed
the&s;e new opinions, and made head again&s;t them
at their fir&s;t appearance, or el&s;e all is lo&s;t. A Quere
not more capable of re&s;olution than the others
were; for if the Authors were not known, the opi|nions
private, and that there is no <HI>Con&s;tat</HI> of the
time or place, when, and wherein the &s;eeds were
<PB N="77" REF="50">
&s;owen, then certainly, to look for an opponent,
were an excellent folly. And it is plain, that in the
<HI>&s;evit,</HI> no man &s;aw them, they were all a&s;leep; in the
<HI>crevi&s;&s;et</HI> no m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">n knew them, they looked &s;o like un|to
the Wheat; but when they came to fructifie, to
<HI>feci&s;&s;ent fructum,</HI> and that the fruits did yield the
lea&s;t &s;u&s;picion to the vigilant &s;ervants of an en&s;uing
mi&s;chief to the Church of God, then did God &s;tir
up &s;ome to take notice of them, and to give warn|ing
to the re&s;t of the common danger: if not, tell
me what <HI>Caveats</HI> had been entred in the Churches
name, by <HI>Gregory</HI> the Great, again&s;t the Doctrine of
the <HI>Popes</HI> &s;upremacy; by <HI>Berengarius,</HI> again&s;t that of
the carnall pre&s;ence; by <HI>Charles</HI> the Great, and all
his <HI>Clergy</HI> in the <HI>Synod</HI> of <HI>Frankford,</HI> again&s;t the
wor&s;hipping of Images; by <HI>Huldrich</HI> B. of <HI>Au&s;burg,</HI>
in defence of the married <HI>Clergy;</HI> by the <HI>Walden&s;es,
Pauperes de Lugduno, Clemanges, Petrus de Alliaco,
Wiclif, Hus,</HI> and others, (though men that had, I
grant their own per&s;onal errors) again&s;t the &s;eve|rall
corruptions of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> both in
faith &amp; manners? Nay, if we thought that that would
plea&s;e him, we could tell the <HI>Cardinall,</HI> out of <HI>Rai|nerius,</HI>
one of the <HI>Popes</HI> Inqui&s;itors, that there have
never wanted &s;ome &s;ince the time of <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI>
that have oppo&s;ed the errors of the Church
of <HI>Rome;</HI> the names of whom who li&s;t to &s;ee, may
finde them in <HI>Catalogus te&s;tium veritatis,</HI> with their
times and qualities: &s;o that the <HI>Cardinall</HI> might
well have &s;pared this bold expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>non &s;olum pa|&s;tores
&s;ed et Deum valde dormivi&s;&s;e,</HI> that God, not
men alone, had been fa&s;t a&s;leep, had he not in &s;o
many ages &s;tirred up one or other to make re&s;i&s;tance
<PB N="78" REF="51">
to tho&s;e errors which were &s;owen by Satan. A
&s;peech, which in another man might be called a
Bla&s;phemy; but comming from the mouth of &s;o
grave a Father, may pa&s;&s;e among the Oracles of the
<HI>Roman Conclave.</HI></P>
<P>But &s;ince tho&s;e circum&s;tances of time, place and
per&s;on, are pre&s;&s;ed &s;o frequently by the adver&s;ary,
and that the <HI>Cardinall</HI> in&s;i&s;ts &s;o much upon it,
<HI>quod nullum horum in nobis po&s;&s;unt ostendere,</HI> that we
can finde none of them in the Church of <HI>Rome:</HI> we
mu&s;t an&s;wer further, that as the &s;atisfaction of the&s;e
Queres is not po&s;&s;ible, &s;o it is not nece&s;&s;ary. Shall
not my Doctor think me &s;ick, although he finde a
general decay over all my body, not one &s;ound part
from head to foot, unle&s;s I can inform him punctu|ally,
both when, and where, and in who&s;e company
I &s;ickoned? or &s;hould we conceive him a &s;ory <HI>Ar|chitect,</HI>
that being called to view an old ruinous Buil|ding,
would not believe it wanted any thing, or was
out of order, unle&s;s I could acquaint him where it
fir&s;t took wet, and in what part it fir&s;t decayed, and
who then dwelt in it? Do not corruptions creep
into the &s;tricte&s;t Governments, <HI>labente paulatim di&s;|ciplina,</HI>
the rigour and &s;everity of Di&s;cipline, day
by day declining? And &s;hould we not repute him a
mo&s;t excellent State&s;man, that would think nothing
fit for a Reformation, unle&s;s &s;ome wi&s;er then him|&s;elf
could tell him, when and by whom, and in who&s;e
Government the abu&s;e crept in? But to re&s;train our
&s;elves to matters that concern Religion,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Antiqu.</HI> l. 13. c. 18.</NOTE> <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI>
tells us of the <HI>Phari&s;ees,</HI> what innovations they had
made in the <HI>Jewi&s;h Church,</HI> and that they pub|li&s;hed
many things as the traditions of the Fa|thers,
<PB N="79" REF="51">
<GAP DESC="foreign">, which
were not to be found in the Books of <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI> Our Sa|viour
al&s;o tells us of them, that they had made the
Word of God of none effect by their traditions. But
for the time when they began, and from what Au|thour
they de&s;cended, <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> could not tell us,
and our Saviour did not, which &s;hewes our Saviour
did not think it nece&s;&s;ary, nor <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> po&s;&s;ible. Our
Saviour looked not on the root, but upon the fruit,
and by the fruit gave judgement of the Tree it &s;elf,
there being no Doctrine of what &s;ort &s;oever, but it
beares &s;ome fruit, by which it may be known whe|ther
true or fal&s;e: my next particular, and next in
order to be handled.</P>
<P><HI>Nemo non in vitia pronus e&s;t.</HI> There are few men
but are addicted to &s;ome vice, either by the corrup|tion
of their nature, or the iniquity of their educati|on.
We are all &s;inners from the womb, but are then
mo&s;t &s;inful, when we are &s;ea&s;oned with ill Princi|ples;
and that the poy&s;on of our education is &s;uper|added
to the venom of our di&s;po&s;itions. And this is
that which <HI>Tully</HI> charged upon Mr. <HI>Anthony,</HI> that he
had took great pains, and &s;tudied mo&s;t extreamly
hard to be lewd and vitious, <HI>ac &s;i putaret &s;e natura tam
improbum non potui&s;&s;e evadere, ni&s;i acce&s;&s;i&s;&s;et etiam di&s;|ciplina.</HI>
But on the other &s;ide, the benefit of a ver|tuous
in&s;titution is &s;o great and excellent, that it cor|recteth
in us our mo&s;t prevalent frailties, and rectifi|eth
the obliquities of our affections, which made the
wi&s;e man give this te&s;timony of, and to <HI>Philo&s;ophy,</HI>
that by his knowledge in the &s;ame he could live up|rightly,
and exerci&s;e tho&s;e vertuous actions of his
own accord, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<PB N="80" REF="52">
which others did upon compul&s;ion, and for fear of
law. How much more operation think we have tho&s;e
Doctrines on us, which come apparalled in the habit
of Religion, and the Cloak of piety? on a confor|mity
to the which we are per&s;waded, that all our
comforts do depend for the pre&s;ent life, and all our
hopes for that to come. A&s;&s;uredly the&s;e precepts
and in&s;tructions which we take from them, who&s;e
words and dictates we imbrace as cele&s;tial Oracles,
are of power incredible, either to make us fit for
mi&s;chief, or to inable and prepare us for the works
of goodne&s;s: &s;o that in ca&s;e there were no other
way to know what leaders we have followed, and
what in&s;tructions have been given us, the fruits of
our affections would at full declare it.</P>
<P>The rea&s;on is, becau&s;e of that dependence which
the affections have on the under&s;tanding, that which
the under&s;tanding apprehends as true, being re|commended
to the will as good, and forthwith by
the will de&s;ired and followed: &s;o that as often as
the under&s;tanding is deceived in its proper object,
and entertaineth fal&s;hood in&s;tead of truth, &s;o often is
the will mi&s;guided, in courting tho&s;e things which
indeed are wicked, but yet are clothed in the ha|bit
of di&s;&s;embled vertue: upon this ground St. <HI>Paul</HI>
hath told us of the Gentiles, that having their under|&s;tanding
darkned through the ignorance which was
in them, <HI>they gave them&s;elves over unto la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;s,
to work all manner of uncleanne&s;s with greedine&s;s.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4. 19.</NOTE> If &s;o,
if that &s;o &s;ad effects did follow upon the darkne&s;s of
the under&s;tanding, no que&s;tion but the mi&s;per&s;wa&s;ion
wherewith &s;ometimes it is effected, produce more
wretched con&s;equents in our outward actions; for if
<PB N="81" REF="52">
the under&s;tanding be depraved with fal&s;e opinions,
the will mo&s;t commonly is led a&s;ide by vain affecti|ons;
the errors of the &s;ame being farre more dange|rous,
becau&s;e more active. Now there is nothing
entertained in the under&s;tanding which is not re|commended
to it by the outward &s;en&s;es, <HI>Nil e&s;t
in intellectu quod non pri&ugrave;s fuit in &s;en&s;ibus,</HI> &s;ay
the old <HI>Philo&s;ophers.</HI> And of all outward &s;en&s;es,
there is none more &s;erviceable to the under&s;tanding
then the &s;en&s;e of hearing; for <HI>Fides ex auditu,
Faith is by hearing,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle. By meanes
whereof it comes to pa&s;&s;e, that as we preach, even
&s;o the people do believe; and as they do believe,
even &s;o they practi&s;e. Take we heed therefore what
we preach, and that we &s;owe not tares among
&s;imple men, who cannot know them from the
Wheat.</P>
<P>Now of the tares I told you in my la&s;t Di&s;cour&s;e
from <HI>Galen, Plinie, Theophra&s;tus,</HI> and many of the
be&s;t of our modern <HI>Herbalists,</HI> that they affect the
&s;ight with dimne&s;s, and the head with giddine&s;s, and
the whole body with Di&s;ea&s;es: And &s;o it is al&s;o
with the fal&s;e opinions, tho&s;e dangerous and errone|ous
Tenets intended in the pre&s;ent Parable; for in
our eyes, (conceive we of our under&s;tanding) they do
occa&s;ion &s;uch a dimne&s;s, that either we cannot &s;ee
the way that leads to happine&s;s, or &s;eeing, &s;ee the
&s;ame, but will not perceive it. And in our heads it
doth produce &s;o great a giddine&s;s, that we are con|&s;tant
unto nothing, halting, as once the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI>
between two opinions, divided betwixt God and
Mammon, in great di&s;traction with our &s;elves, whe|ther
we &s;hall adhere to Chri&s;t, or follow Antichri&s;t;
<PB N="82" REF="53">
continue in old <HI>England,</HI> or hoy&s;t &s;ail for <HI>New.</HI>
And for the &s;ores upon the body, the blemi&s;hes of
our behaviour, the &s;tains and &s;candalls of our con|ver&s;ation,
by which we grieve the Spirit, and di&s;|grace
Religion, what are they but the frequent,
though mo&s;t lewd effects of a perverted under&s;tan|ding,
and a poy&s;oned will?</P>
<P>The Here&s;ies of the <HI>Gnosticks</HI> and the <HI>Carpocrati|ans,</HI>
what vile and wretched things they were! A
man might ea&s;ily conjecture what fine points they
held, by the condition of their lives, which were &s;o
filthy and ob&s;cene, that for their &s;akes the name of
Chri&s;tian fir&s;t grew odious to the &s;ober Gentile. <HI>Vide
Chri&s;tianos quid agunt, In illis patitur lex Chri&s;tiana
maledictum,</HI> as devout <HI>Salvian</HI> oft complained. The
errors of the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> in point of judgement
have they not bred as grievous errors in the points of
practice? Whence el&s;e proceeds it that the Prie&s;ts
are debarred from Marriage, and permitted Concu|bines;
that open Stewes are &s;uffered and allowed of,
&s;o they pay rent unto the <HI>Pope,</HI> and &s;upply his Cof|fers;
that Princes may have di&s;pen&s;ation to for&s;wear
them&s;elves, and break tho&s;e Covenants which they
have &s;olemnly contracted with their confederates;
that &s;ubjects may take arms again&s;t, and depo&s;e
their Princes, if the <HI>Pope</HI> do but &s;ay the word, and
free them from the Oath of their Allegeance? And
on the other &s;ide, when we behold men factiou&s;ly
bent to oppo&s;e the Church, &s;editiou&s;ly inclined to
di&s;turb the State, di&s;loyally re&s;olved to re&s;i&s;t their
Soveraign, rebelliou&s;ly di&s;po&s;ed to excite the people;
when men refu&s;e to pay the King his lawful tributes,
and yet con&s;ume them on their lu&s;ts; when they let
<PB N="83" REF="53">
loo&s;e &s;uch rogues as <HI>Barrabas,</HI> that they may crucifie
their Lord and Ma&s;ter; may we not certainly affirm,
that they have hearkened to the Doctrines of <HI>Knox</HI>
and <HI>Cartwright,</HI> and their &s;ucce&s;&s;ors in the cau&s;e? Such
as the Doctrines are which the eare takes in, &s;uch al|&s;o
are the lives which are framed thereafter. <HI>Cavete
itaque quid auditis,</HI> take you heed therefore what
ye hear, le&s;t while&s;t you lend an eare to tho&s;e
fal&s;e Apo&s;tles, you partake with them of their
&s;ins.</P>
<P>And certainly there is good rea&s;on why we &s;hould
take heed. The Devil never was more bu&s;ied in
&s;owing of his tares, then now; nor ever had he bet|ter
opportunity to effect his purpo&s;e. So dull and
&s;leepy are men grown <HI>circa cu&s;todiam propriae per&s;onae
&s;uae,</HI> in reference to them&s;elves and their private &s;afe|ty,
that they are angry with the <HI>Prelates</HI> for being
&s;o vigilant and careful <HI>circa cu&s;todiam gregis &s;ui,</HI> and
having more care of them then they have them|&s;elves:
&s;o that if Satan be but diligent, as no doubt
he is, and &s;end his in&s;truments abroad, as no doubt
he doth, he may di&s;per&s;e his tares &s;ecurely, and bring
them to <HI>feci&s;&s;ent fructum,</HI> ere they be di&s;covered.
And how comes this to pa&s;&s;e, but for want of heed,
for want of taking heed what it is we hear, and unto
whom it is we hearken, Fal&s;e? factious and &s;ch&s;ma|tical
Doctrines are the &s;eeds of Satan; and many in|&s;truments
he hath, both in the Pulpit and the Parlor,
to di&s;per&s;e tho&s;e &s;eeds: &s;ome &s;peaking evil of Au|thority,
and de&s;pi&s;ing Dignities; others perverting
of the people, and forbidding to pay tribute unto
<HI>Cae&s;ar:</HI> &s;ome taking up provi&s;ion of the choice&s;t
wits, and per&s;ons of mo&s;t power and quality for the
<PB N="84" REF="54">
Church of <HI>Rome;</HI> and others leading out whole Fa|milies
to &s;eek the Go&s;pel in the De&s;ert. He that
doth look for better fruit from &s;uch dangerous Do|ctrines,
then di&s;content and murmuring again&s;t their
Rulers, a&s;&s;ociations and con&s;piracies again&s;t law|ful
Government, and finally, a flat Apo&s;ta&s;ie from
the &s;incerity of that Religion which is here profe&s;t,
may as well look for Grapes from Thorns, or Figs
from thi&s;tles. <HI>A good Tree bringeth forth good fruit;</HI> but
for the&s;e evil Trees which bear evil fruit, what are
they profitable for but for the fire? that as they are
the cau&s;e of combu&s;tions here, they may adde fuel
to the fire hereafter.</P>
<P>Thus have I brought you at the length to that
which did occa&s;ion the di&s;covery of the Devills
practi&s;e. The &s;owing of the&s;e Tares, the <HI>Sevit</HI> we
had &s;een before: We have now took a brief view of
them in <HI>crevi&s;set herba,</HI> and brought them to <HI>feci&s;|&s;ent
fructum.</HI> There remains nothing further but
<HI>apparuerunt,</HI> that they appeared, and how they were
di&s;covered; but that mu&s;t be the work of another
day.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="85" REF="54">
<HEAD>SERMON IV.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At WHITE-HALL <DATE>Jan. 27. 1638.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. v. 26.</BIBL>
<Q><P>Tunc apparuerunt &amp; Zizania.</P></Q>
<Q><P>Then appeared the tares al&s;o.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_LAtet anguis in herba:</HI> The <HI>Snake</HI> or
Serpent doth delight to hide him&s;elf
under the covert of the gra&s;&s;e, &s;o that
we hardly can di&s;cern them till we
tread upon them; and treading on
them unawares, when we think not
of it, are in danger to be bitten by them when we
cannot help it. <HI>Et &s;ic palleat, ut nudis qui pre&s;sit
calcibus anguem:</HI> &s;o is it al&s;o in the Text. Here is
a Serpent in the gra&s;&s;e, <HI>anguis in herba,</HI> in the tares,
when they fir&s;t peeped out, and <HI>anguis</HI> in <HI>crevi&s;set,</HI>
when the blade grew up. Yet all this while the e|nemy
was either in his <HI>latitat,</HI> and &s;o was not &s;een; or
el&s;e di&s;gui&s;ed and veiled with an <HI>alias dictus,</HI> and &s;o
pa&s;&s;ed unknown. And had he not been found in <HI>fe|ci&s;&s;ent
fructum,</HI> when the fruit was ripe, and men
were able to di&s;cern him, we might have bin wor&s;e
<PB N="86" REF="55">
bitten, and more &s;hrewly puni&s;hed then were the
<HI>I&s;raelites</HI> in the De&s;ert by the fiery Serpents. But
God was plea&s;ed to deal more mercifully with his
Church then &s;o. And though it &s;eemed good unto
him for &s;ome certain &s;pace to let the enemy rejoyce,
and admire him&s;elf in the &s;ucce&s;s of his de&s;ignes, yet
it held not long; for when his hopes were highe&s;t,
and his tares well grown, &s;o that they &s;eemed to
have preeminence of the wheat it &s;elf, then did
the Heavenly Husbandman awake his &s;ervants, and
let them look upon the tares in <HI>feci&s;sent fructum,</HI>
when they appeared to be what indeed they were,
<HI>infelix &s;olium, frugum pe&s;tis,</HI> and what&s;oever other
name the Poets and Philo&s;ophers have be&s;towed up|on
them. <HI>But when the blade &s;prung up, and had
brought forth fruit, tunc apparuerunt &amp; zizania, then
appeared the tares al&s;o.</HI></P>
<P>The words you &s;ee are very few, and &s;o the parts
not like to be very many. We will ob&s;erve only
the&s;e two particulars. 1. That the tares appeared
at la&s;t, <HI>apparuerunt &amp; zizania;</HI> when, or how they
were di&s;covered, and that we finde in the word <HI>tunc,</HI>
then when the blade had brought forth fruit. Of
the&s;e in order, begining what the <HI>Quod &s;it</HI> fir&s;t, and &s;o
proceeding to the <HI>Quando.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Veritas non quaerit angulos,</HI> Truth &s;eeks no corners,
&s;aith the Proverb: And therefore Chri&s;t our Savi|our
hath compared it unto a Candle &s;et upon an hill,
which &s;hewes it &s;elf unto the eye of each beholder.
We may affirm thereof, as doth St. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> of the
Sun, <HI>deficere videtur, &s;ed non deficit;</HI> the light there|of
cannot be po&s;&s;ibly extingui&s;hed, although &s;ome|times
darkened: Oppre&s;t &s;ometimes it is, as it hath
<PB N="87" REF="55">
been formerly, by errors, Here&s;ies, and fal&s;e opini|ons;
&s;uppre&s;t it cannot be for ever. For <HI>magna
veritas,</HI> great is the truth, and it prevaileth at the
la&s;t, however for a while ob&s;cured by mens &s;ubtile
practi&s;es. That Here&s;ies &s;hall ari&s;e St. <HI>Paul</HI> hath told
us, and he hath brought it in with an <HI>oportet, oportet
e&s;&s;e haere&s;es,</HI> in the Epi&s;tle. And that there mu&s;t be
&s;candalls Chri&s;t him&s;elf hath told us, and he hath
told it too with a <HI>nece&s;&s;e e&s;t ut &s;candala veniant,</HI> in the
holy Go&s;pel. The rea&s;ons both of the <HI>oport<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">t</HI> and <HI>ne|ce&s;&s;e,</HI>
we &s;hall &s;ee hereafter, when we &s;hall come to
&s;can tho&s;e motives which might induce the Lord to
permit the&s;e tares; <HI>Sinite utraque cre&s;cere, u&s;que ad
me&s;&s;em,</HI> v. 30. Mean while it doth concern us to take
&s;pecial notice, that as it plea&s;ed the Lord to give
way to error, and &s;uffer &s;ometimes here&s;ies of an
higher nature, and &s;ometimes fal&s;e opinions of an
inferior quality to take fa&s;t footing in his Church;
yet he did never &s;uffer them to de&s;troy his harve&s;t,
but brought them at the la&s;t to <HI>apparuerunt.</HI> The
comfortable beams of truth di&s;per&s;ed and &s;coured
away tho&s;e Clouds of error wherewith the Church
before was darkened, and by the light thereof the
foulne&s;s and deformity of fal&s;hood was made more
notorious: &s;o that from hence two &s;pecial Queres
may be rai&s;ed, fir&s;t, why the&s;e tares or errors were
&s;o long concealed; and &s;econdly, how they were at
la&s;t revealed.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t they were concealed as it were of pur|po&s;e
to let the Church take notice of her own con|dition,
how carele&s;s and how blinde &s;he is in the
things of God, did not the eye of God watch over
her, and direct her goings. Her carele&s;ne&s;s we had
<PB N="88" REF="56">
before in <HI>dormirent homines,</HI> when as we found her
&s;leeping, and regardle&s;s of the common enemy; that
time the tares were in their <HI>Sevit,</HI> and no man would
hold up his head to look unto the publick &s;afety.
Her blindne&s;s we may note in this, that being left
unto her &s;elf, &s;he could not &s;ee them in <HI>crevi&s;&s;et,</HI>
when they put forth the leaf, and the blade &s;prung
up, and that they did begin to &s;pread abroad, and
ju&s;tle with the truth for the preeminence. If either
no fal&s;e Doctrines had been &s;owen at all, or had they
all been noted at the fir&s;t peeping forth, the Church
might po&s;&s;ibly impute it to her own great watchful|ne&s;s,
pleaded &s;ome &s;pecial priviledge of infallibility,
and &s;o in time have fallen into pre&s;umption. God
therefore left her to her &s;elf, that falling into &s;in and
error, and &s;uffering both to grow upon her by her
own remi&s;&s;ene&s;s, &s;he might a&s;cribe her &s;afety unto
God alone, who&s;e eyes do neither &s;leep nor &s;lumber.
The Church is then in mo&s;t &s;ecurity when God
watcheth over her; when he that keepeth <HI>I&s;rael</HI>
hath his eye upon her; Gods eye, he being <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">culus in|finitus,</HI>
as the learned Gentile, and <HI>totus oculus,</HI> as
the learned Father, is her be&s;t defence. Which if it
be averted from her, &s;he walketh forthwith in dark|ne&s;s
and the &s;hadow of death, &s;ubject to every ri&s;ing
error, obnoxious to the practi&s;es of her &s;ubtile ene|mies.
And in this &s;tate &s;he &s;tands, in this wretched
&s;tate, till he be plea&s;ed to &s;hine upon her, and ble&s;&s;e
her with the light of his holy countenance, the
beames whereof di&s;cover every crooked way,
and bring them to <HI>apparuerunt,</HI> to the publick view.</P>
<P>And to <HI>apparuerunt</HI> all mu&s;t come, every fal&s;e
Doctrine what&s;oever, there's no doubt of that; for
<PB N="89" REF="56">
<HI>Idem e&s;t non e&s;&s;e &amp; non apparere.</HI> No Tenet is erro|neous
in re&s;pect of us, till it appear to us to be &s;o;
and till it doth appear to be &s;o, we may mi&s;take it
for a truth, imbrace it for a tendry of the Catholick
Church, endeavour to promote it with our be&s;t af|fections,
and yet conceive our &s;elves to be excu&s;able,
in that it is <HI>amoris error,</HI> not <HI>erroris amor.</HI> In th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s re|gard
our Fathers might be &s;afe in the Church of
<HI>Rome,</HI> and may be now triumphant in the Church of
Heaven, though they believed tho&s;e Doctrines
which were therein taught, or po&s;&s;ibly maintained
them with their be&s;t affections. The errors of that
Church were not then di&s;covered, nor brought to
their <HI>apparuerunt;</HI> and being taken or mi&s;taken for
&s;ound Orthodox Tenets, were by them followed
and defended in their &s;everal &s;tations. So that we
may affirm of them as once St. <HI>Peter</HI> of the Jewes,
<HI>novimus quia per ignorantiam fecerint,</HI> we know that
through ignorance they did it: or if we know it not
&s;o clearly as St. <HI>Peter</HI> did, yet we may charitably
hope that it was no otherwi&s;e, in tho&s;e particular
points and pa&s;&s;ages wherein we know not any thing
unto the contrary. He that makes any doubt of this,
what faith &s;oever he pretends to, &s;hewes but little
charity, and makes no difference between an acci|dentall
and a wilful blindne&s;s. There are &s;ome errors
in the Church, like &s;ome Di&s;ea&s;es in the body; when
they are ea&s;ie to be cured, they are hard to be known;
&amp; when they are ea&s;ie to be known, they are hard to
cured; but every error &amp; di&s;ea&s;e is of that condition
that it mu&s;t fir&s;t be known, &amp; the true quality there|of
di&s;covered, or el&s;e it is impo&s;&s;ible to pre&s;cribe a
remedy.</P>
<P><PB N="90" REF="57">
But &s;o it is not now with us, nor any of our Ma|&s;ters
in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> as it was anciently with
our fore-fathers in and of that Church. Tho&s;e er|rors
which in former times were accounted truths, or
not accounted of as errors, are now in the <HI>apparue|runt,</HI>
we &s;ee them plainly as they are; and by com|paring
them with Scripture, the true rule of faith, are
able to demon&s;trate the obliquity of tho&s;e opinions
and fal&s;e Doctrines which they have thru&s;t upon the
Church in the&s;e latter ages. And we may &s;ay of
them in <HI>Tertullians</HI> Language, <HI>Ip&s;a Doctrina eorum
cum Apo&s;tolica comparata, ex diver&s;itate &amp; contrarieta|te
&s;ua pronunciabit neque Apo&s;toli alicujus e&s;s<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">, ne|que
Apo&s;tolici.</HI> The difference which appeares be|tween
the Doctrines of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> deli|vered
in the new Creed of Pope <HI>Pius quartus,</HI> and
tho&s;e which were delivered once unto the Saints in
the old Creed of the Apo&s;tles, &s;hewes plainly that
they neither came from the Apo&s;tles, nor any Apo|&s;tolical
Spirit: &s;o that in ca&s;e we &s;hut our eyes again&s;t
the &s;acred beames of truth which now &s;hine upon us;
or if they &s;o long after the <HI>apparuerunt</HI> will not &s;ee
tho&s;e tares which are di&s;covered to their hands&punc; both
we and they are all <GAP DESC="foreign">, utterly uncapable
of excu&s;e in the &s;ight of God. If any man will be
&s;o ob&s;tinately wedded to his own opinion, as to take
up his Lodging in a Pe&s;t-hou&s;e, after he hath been
made acquainted with the pre&s;ent danger, however
we in charity may &s;ay, Lord have mercy upon him;
yet he hath rea&s;on to believe, that God in ju&s;tice will
inflict that judgement on him which u&s;ually doth
befall tho&s;e men which do wilfully and perver&s;ly
tempt the Lord their God.</P>
<P><PB N="91" REF="57">
Nor was it only nece&s;&s;ary in regard of us, of pri|vate
and particular men, that the tares &s;hould come
to their <HI>Epiphanie,</HI> their <HI>apparuerunt;</HI> God did it
mo&s;t e&s;pecially for his Churches &s;ake, whom he had
promi&s;ed to conduct in the wayes of truth, and to be
with her alwayes to the end of the world. The tare
is in it &s;elf, as the Poet calls it, <HI>infelix lolium,</HI> a
wretched and unlucky weed, and <HI>frugum pe&s;tis,</HI>
the bane and plague of other grains, as the
learned <HI>Herbali&s;t.</HI> And of the mi&s;chief which it brings
to Gods holy Husbandry, either by eating up the
wheat, the Lords own good &s;eed, or over-running
all the field in the which it growes, I have at large
di&s;cour&s;ed already. Suffice it that the Devil &s;owed
them with a devilli&s;h purpo&s;e, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
that &s;o he might de&s;troy the labour of the
Heavenly Husbandman. And doubt we not but that
he had in fine effected his malicious ends, had not
God brought them in due time to <HI>apparuerunt;</HI> had
he not made a plain di&s;covery of their noxious na|ture,
and called upon his &s;ervants to take notice of
them. We may conceive what reputation they had
gained by a longer &s;ufferance, how ill it would have
gone with the Church of God in the attempt of re|formation,
in that being &s;o long &s;ince detected, and
brought to their <HI>apparuerunt,</HI> &s;o many in the world
are not yet per&s;waded that there was any thing in
point of Doctrine fit to be reformed. It is with er|rors
now, as with temples anciently; the more anti|quity
they have the greater &s;anctity, <HI>Tantumque
&s;anctitatis tribuerunt quantum vetu&s;tatis,</HI> as <HI>Minu|tius
Felix.</HI> God therefore took his time to detect
the&s;e errors, and to give notice to the world, that
<PB N="92" REF="58">
they were but tares, before they could pre&s;cribe to
truth, or challenge &s;uch an intere&s;t in antiquity, as
was not po&s;&s;ible to be di&s;proved.</P>
<P>And this the Lord did partly for his own &s;ake too,
that &s;o he might acquit him&s;elf of tho&s;e gracious
promi&s;es which he had made unto his Churches,
and by that meanes became her debtor. He promi|&s;ed
to be with her alwayes, and therefore could not
po&s;&s;ibly for&s;ake her in her greate&s;t need: He promi|&s;ed
to conduct her in the wayes of truth; and there|fore
could not leave her as a prey to error. He promi|&s;ed
that the gates of Hell &s;hould not prevail again&s;t
her, and therefore could not give her over to the
&s;nares of Satan. God never doth for&s;ake his Church,
though he &s;ometimes leaves her to her &s;elf for her
further trial; nor turn away his face, though he look
a&s;ide, for her correction and cha&s;ti&s;ement; for
&s;hould he utterly de&s;ert it, and leave it as a prey un|to
&s;in and error, the Church indeed were in a very
&s;ory taking; but in the mean time, where were all
Gods promi&s;es? Might not the enemy rejoyce, and
advance his head, and &s;ay that either God did not
&s;ee his practi&s;es, or was not able to prevent them?
that he was only rich in promi&s;es, <HI>promi&s;sis dives,</HI>
but when it came to the performance, then <HI>Quid dig|num
tanto?</HI> And might not his mo&s;t tru&s;ty &s;ervants
have complained with <HI>David, Ut quid Deus repuli&s;ti
in finem. O God wherefore art thou ab&s;ent from us &s;o
long? we &s;ee not our tokens, there is not one Prophet
more, no not one is there among us that understandeth a|ny
more.</HI> This the Lord heard, but would not &s;uffer.
And therefore when he had made trial of his
Church, and let her &s;ee her own infirmities, he
<PB N="93" REF="58">
brought tho&s;e errors and fal&s;e Doctrines which did
&s;eem to threaten it, to their <HI>apparuerunt,</HI> to the open
light. And of fal&s;e Doctrines, many are of that con|dition,
that being once di&s;covered, they are &s;oon con|futed,
<HI>majorque aliquanto labor e&s;t invenire qu&agrave;m vin|cere,</HI>
How this was done, and when, we mu&s;t next
con&s;ider, which for the time thereof was <HI>tunc,</HI> and
for the manner of it, in <HI>feci&s;&s;ent fructum;</HI> my next
particular, and next in order to be handled.</P>
<P><HI>Rectum e&s;t &s;ui index &amp; obliqui.</HI> There is no bet|ter
way to di&s;cern any thing thats crooked then by
laying it to a right line; or to di&s;cover errors and er|roneous
Tenets, then to compare them with the
truth. Truth doth not only ju&s;tifie it &s;elf, but by the
light thereof we are made more able then before to
judge of fal&s;hood. And how&s;oever many fal&s;e opi|nions
have pa&s;&s;ed, and &s;till may pa&s;&s;e for currant, in
the conceit of tho&s;e which have took them up; yet
by comparing them with Scripture, which is truth it
&s;elf, or with the Catholique tendries of Gods holy
Church, the be&s;t Expo&s;itor of Scripture, their fol|ly
and their fal&s;hood will at once appear. Thus was
it with the tares in the pre&s;ent Parable; They &s;eem|ed
&s;o lovely to the eye in the blade or &s;talk, that
few were able to di&s;cern them. Mo&s;t took them to
be Wheat of the Lords own &s;owing, a very excel|lent
piece of Wheat, and &s;uch as might have re|compenced
the labour of the heavenly Husband|man;
but when they came unto <HI>feci&s;&s;ent fructum,</HI>
when both the Wheat and tares came to bring forth
fruit, and that the fruits of each were balanced in the
&s;cale of the holy Sanctuary, then was it no great
difficulty to determine of them, to &s;ay that this was
<PB N="94" REF="59">
Wheat, and that the&s;e were tares; that this was
truth, and that was error; that this was &s;eed of Gods
own &s;owing, the <HI>bonum &s;emen</HI> mentioned in the 24.
and for the others, <HI>unde haec?</HI> they could proceed
from none but <HI>ab inimico.</HI> So true is that which
Chri&s;t our Saviour tells us in another ca&s;e, <HI>igitur ex
fructibus eorum cogno&s;cetis eos,</HI> by their fruits you
&s;hall know them. As for example;</P>
<P>The Doctrine of the Popes &s;upremacy, as it is re|pre&s;ented
to us in the faire&s;t colours, how &s;pecious
&s;eemes it to the eye, how nece&s;&s;ary for the pre&s;er|vation
of peace and unity in the Church of God?
how excellent a piece of Wheat would a man &s;up|po&s;e
it at fir&s;t looking on? Nature pleads for it, in
regard that all living Creatures, as Bees and Birds,
and Sheep and all other Cattel love to have &s;ome
chief, by which the re&s;t may be directed. <HI>Rex unus
apibus, dux unus gregibus, &amp; in armentis rector unus,</HI>
as St. <HI>Cyprian</HI> hath it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian.</NOTE> St. <HI>Hierome</HI> adds, <HI>&amp; grues u|num
&s;equuntur literato ordine,</HI> that the Cranes al&s;o
have &s;ome Prince whom they love to follow. The
Politicks &s;tand up in defence of Monarchy, as the
mo&s;t excellent form of Government,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ethicorum</HI> l. 8. c. 10.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
&s;aith our Ma&s;ter <HI>Ari&s;totle.</HI> And
that they may not &s;tand alone again&s;t tho&s;e popular
E&s;tates which the world then cheri&s;hed, they bring
the Poets in for &s;econds; for whom, &amp; in the name of
all the re&s;t it is &s;aid by <HI>Homer,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
that there is never any unity
without one &s;upreme. The <HI>Theologues</HI> or <HI>Divines</HI>
have affirmed as much, in that the monarchie of all
forms of government comes neere&s;t to the Govern|ment
of Almighty God, who as he hath alone cre|ated
<PB N="95" REF="59">
all things by his Almighty hand, &s;o he alone
doth govern all things by his mighty power. <HI>Multo&abque;
facilius ab uno regi pote&s;t quod e&s;t ab uno con&s;titutum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lactant.</NOTE>
&s;aid <HI>Lactantius</HI> truly; which being &s;o, as &s;o it is, and
that the Church is the mo&s;t glorious State of all bo|dies
aggregate, good rea&s;on that it &s;hould be order|ed
according to the mo&s;t complete and be&s;t kind of
Government, and be obedient to the voyce of one
&s;upreme Judge.</P>
<P>This being taken <HI>pro confe&s;&s;o,</HI> what can follow
next, but that this &s;upreme Government ought to
have been in &s;ome one or other of the Lords Apo|&s;tles?
And of that glorious company who &s;o proper
for it as divine St. <HI>Peter?</HI> whom the <HI>Evangeli&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> al|wayes
make the Mar&s;hall in one con&s;tant place, and
that is <HI>primus Simon Petrus,</HI> to whom our Saviour
&s;aid, <HI>T<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">bi dabo claves, &s;uper hanc petram, pa&s;ce oves;</HI>
and what&s;oever el&s;e might &s;eem to intimate that he
de&s;igned him for a Chief over all the re&s;t. Now be|ing
that the&s;e priviledges and prerogatives were not
conferred on <HI>Peters</HI> per&s;on, but upon him and his
Succe&s;&s;ors, as 'tis &s;aid they were; where &s;hould we
look to finde them but in <HI>Peters See,</HI> the Renowned
City of <HI>Rome,</HI> the Imperial Seat, the Queen and
Lady of all Nations? Good rea&s;on that the Bi&s;hops
of that mo&s;t famous Church, who&s;e faith was &s;po|ken
of through all the world, <HI>Et quae domina<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">i in
caetera po&s;sit,</HI> and had &s;ufficient power to command
the re&s;t, &s;hould &s;it chief among&s;t them, chief Pre&s;i|dent
in all general Councels, chief Ju&s;tice in all pub|lick
controver&s;ies, yea, and Lord Trea&s;urer too to
di&s;pen&s;e all indulgences, and other graces of the
Church. Nay, the commodities which the Chri&s;tian
<PB N="96" REF="60">
world enjoyes by the &s;ole benefit of the <HI>Popes</HI> Supre|macie,
are &s;aid to be &s;o great and weighty, that they
are able to bear down all cavils and objections which
are made again&s;t it; for what a &s;ignal ble&s;&s;ing is it
to have one common Father over all the Church, to
whom as to a Catholick Moderator, and indifferent
Umpire, all Chri&s;tian Kings and Princes may refer
their quarrels; one &s;upreme head, to whom as to a
vi&s;ible and infallible Judge, the Prelates of the
Church, and other learned men may refer their con|trover&s;ies:
unity mu&s;t begin from one; and who
more fit to be this one, then he that can derive unto
him&s;elf &s;o faire a title?</P>
<P>And a faire title tis indeed, and hath been &s;o well
pleaded by the Advocates of the Court of <HI>Rome,</HI> that
for long time together there was no &s;u&s;picion that
it would ever come in que&s;tion whether true or
fal&s;e. So fair a field could bring forth nothing but
the pure&s;t Wheat, the bread of life, even manchet
for the Lords own Table. He that had thought or
given it out that there was any tare among&s;t it, much
le&s;&s;e, tares all over, might po&s;&s;ibly have had &s;ome
hearers, but few believers. The rea&s;on was, becau&s;e
that all this while the Doctrine was but in <HI>crevi&s;&s;et
herba,</HI> in the blade or &s;talk; not come unto the
height, to <HI>feci&s;&s;ent fructum.</HI> But when it came to
that, and that the fruits thereof appeared in their
proper likene&s;s, it proved to be &s;o gro&s;&s;e a tare, &s;uch
an <HI>infelix lolium,</HI> &s;uch a <HI>frugum pestis,</HI> that a more
dangerous was never &s;owen by Satan in the Church
of God. For then it was di&s;covered plainly, that the
Popes in a manner had for&s;ook the claim of being
&s;ucce&s;&s;ors to <HI>Peter,</HI> and would be Vicars unto Chri&s;t;
<PB N="97" REF="60">
that they had changed <HI>Quodcunque ligaveris in terra,</HI>
into <HI>Omnis pote&s;tas data e&s;t mihi in coelis;</HI> the Prie&s;tly
and Prophetical power into the Kingly; and built
their ri&s;e not on the priviledges which Chri&s;t gave
to <HI>Peter,</HI> but upon tho&s;e which God the Father gave
his Chri&s;t; and what did follow thereupon, but that
his Courtiers honoured him with the title of <HI>Vice-God,</HI>
or <HI>Vice-Deus?</HI> as in the In&s;cription of <HI>Paulo
Quarto Vice-Deo:</HI> others with that of <HI>Dominus no&s;ter
Deus <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">apa,</HI> our Lord God the Pope: &s;ome giving
him authority to make vertue vice, and vice vertue,
as did <HI>Card. Bellarmine;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De R. P. l. 4. c. 5.</NOTE> others, to make a new
Creed, and coin new Articles of Faith, as did <HI>Thomas
Aquinas:</HI> and finally &s;ome of them having gone &s;o
farre, as to condemn our Saviour Chri&s;t of great in|di&s;cretion,
<HI>ni&s;i unum post &s;e talem vicarium reliqui&s;&s;et,</HI>
had he not left behind him &s;uch a Vicar, &s;o ab&s;olute|ly
endowed with all manner of power, as did <HI>Peter
Berhardus.</HI></P>
<P>So for the Popes them&s;elves,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Jurisd. Eccl. c. 7.</NOTE> when they had lay|ed
the foundation of their Grandeur on tho&s;e words
of Chri&s;t, <HI>Omnis pote&s;tas data e&s;t mihi,</HI> how quickly
did they turn that primacy which before they had in
point of order, into a &s;overaignty or &s;upremacy in
point of power? with what &s;ubtile bla&s;phemy did
they &s;hift the Scriptures, to make them &s;erviceable
to their wicked and ambitious ends? In&s;tead of <HI>Tibi
dabo claves,</HI> one findes out <HI>ecce duos gladios,</HI> behold
here two &s;words, the one &s;piritual, the other tempo|rall.
And thereupon Pope <HI>Julius</HI> pa&s;&s;ing over <HI>Tiber,</HI>
drew out his &s;word, and threw his keyes into the Ri|ver;
affirming openly, that &s;ince St. <HI>Peters</HI> keyes
would not &s;erve his turn, St. <HI>Pauls</HI> Sword &s;hould. In|&s;tead
<PB N="98" REF="61">
of <HI>&s;uper petram hane,</HI> a &s;econd brings in <HI>&s;uper a&s;|pidem
&amp; ba&s;ili&s;cum:</HI> and that Pope <HI>Alexander</HI> u&s;eth,
to ju&s;tifie his treading on the neck of the Emperor
<HI>Frederick.</HI> In&s;tead of <HI>Pa&s;ce oves meas,</HI> a third hath
found out <HI>Surge Petre occide &amp; manduca, Ari&s;e Peter,
kill and eat:</HI> and this Pope <HI>Paul</HI> the Fifth alledged
for an Authority that he might kill, a&s;&s;a&s;&s;inate, and
murder di&s;obedient Princes; and by the &s;ame Au|thority,
for ought I can &s;ee, he may eat them too.
And finally to mend the matter, the Popes Supre|macy
thus founded and promoted by &s;uch wretched
&s;hifts, mn&s;t be reputed as an Article of the Chri&s;tian
Faith; and that too <HI>primus &amp; praecipus Romanen&s;ium
fidei articulus,</HI> the fir&s;t and principal Article of the
Church of <HI>Rome:</HI> certain I am, that &s;o it was defen|ded
in the time of Pope <HI>Clement</HI> the Eighth, &amp; hath
been &s;ince &s;o ranked and mar&s;halled in the new
Creed of <HI>Pius Quartus.</HI> Add unto the&s;e their practi&s;e
in the points afore&s;aid, proclaiming errors to be truth,
and publickly condemning truth for errors; making
new Articles of Faith, and mi&s;interpreting the old;
depo&s;ing Kings, di&s;po&s;ing of their Kingdoms, and
bringing them to be at their devotion; and tell me
if the ordinary fruits of the Supremacy do not di&s;co|ver
it mo&s;t manife&s;tly for a dangerous tare.</P>
<P>Next for the &s;ingle life of Prie&s;ts, when it fir&s;t
&s;prung up, how lovely &s;eemed it to the eye? how
few had rea&s;on to &s;u&s;pect that it was a tare? <HI>Paul</HI>
&s;eemes to advocate the cau&s;e, wi&s;hing that all men
were as he; affirming al&s;o, that for the pre&s;ent di|&s;tre&s;&s;e
it were good for all men &s;o to be;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 7. 7.</NOTE> that the
unmarried cares more for the things belonging to
the Lord, how he may plea&s;e the Lord, then the
<PB N="99" REF="61">
married doth. The Fathers many of them are ex|ceeding
copious, if not hyperbolicall, in commen|dation
of Virginity; e&s;pecially after that <HI>Jovinian</HI>
&s;eemed to undervalue it, <HI>fideliumque matrimoniorum
meritis adaequabat,</HI> and made it of no greater merit
then a vertuous Wedlock. Which general Rules of
the Apo&s;tle became appropriated to the Clergy,
fir&s;t, by conforming thereunto of their own accord,
as a matter voluntary: next, by the Authority of
the Fathers, who recommended it unto them for a
more perfect &s;tate of life then that of marriage;
but left it how&s;oever as a matter arbitrary. But af|ter-ages
finding out further motives to endure the
bu&s;ine&s;s, as <HI>viz.</HI> that being freed from dome&s;tick
cares they might more readily attend Gods &s;ervice,
more con&s;tantly pur&s;ue their &s;tudies, more bounti|fully
cheri&s;h and relieve the poor, but &s;pecially that
they might more chearfully infeoffe the Church
with their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, it came at la&s;t, in&s;en&s;ibly and
by degrees, to be impo&s;ed upon them as a matter
nece&s;&s;ary. By meanes whereof the &s;ingle life being
generally imbraced by Clergymen in the&s;e We&s;tern
parts, it grew in time to be di&s;puted whether ever it
had been otherwi&s;e in the Church of God. And in
conclu&s;ion it was determined, that however in &s;ome
ca&s;es the Clergy were permitted to retain tho&s;e
Wives which they had taken before Orders, yet that
the Examples of men married after Orders were
exceeding few, if at all any could be found.</P>
<P>Thus was it in the blade or &s;talk, &amp; no fault found
with it. But when it came to bring forth fruit, to <HI>fe|ci&s;&s;ent
&s;ructum,</HI> then the ca&s;e was otherwi&s;e; and it
appeared, that how&s;oever continency and virginity
<PB N="100" REF="62">
were the gifts of God, yet the re&s;traint of marri|age
was a tare of Satans; for what did follow here|upon,
but that the Clergy grew infamous by their
frequent lu&s;ts? <HI>Panormitan</HI> complaining, <HI>plero&s;que coitu
illi cito commaculari; Ca&s;&s;ander</HI> publickly affirming,
<HI>ut vix cente&s;imum invenias,</HI> that hardly one among&s;t
a hundred did contain him&s;elf within the limits of
his Vow: the <HI>Canoni&s;ts</HI> withall maintaining, that
Clerks were not to be deprived for their inconti|nency,
<HI>c&ugrave;m pauci &s;ine illo vitio inveniantur,</HI> the mi&s;|chief
being grown &s;o univer&s;al that it was thought
uncapable of any remedy. I willingly pa&s;&s;e by their
unnatural lu&s;ts, for which they &s;tand accu&s;ed in the
Poet <HI>Mantuan; venerabilis ara cynaedis &s;ervit,</HI> and
that which followeth after; nor will I tell you of
the Fi&s;h-pond in Pope <HI>Gregories</HI> time, wherein were
found the skulls of 6000 Infants, <HI>ex occultis fornica|tionibus
&amp; adulteriis &s;acerdotum,</HI> conceived to be the
tragical effects of their loo&s;e affections. And not|with&s;tanding
that the&s;e things were known, and bit|terly
complained of by &s;uch devout and con&s;cienci|ous
men as ob&s;erved the &s;ame, yet to &s;o high an im|pudencie
did they come at la&s;t, that <HI>John</HI> the Car|dinal
of <HI>Cova</HI> preaching at noon again&s;t the marriage
of Prie&s;ts, was the night following taken in adultery;
and Cardinal <HI>Campegius</HI> in the Diet of <HI>Norimberg</HI> did
not &s;hame to &s;ay, that it was more lawful for a Prie&s;t
to have many Concubines, <HI>qu&agrave;m vel uxorem unam
ducere,</HI> then one lawful Wife. And why was all this
&s;uffered think you? upon grounds of piety? no, but
in point of policy, to uphold the Popedom. For
when this matter was debated in the Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ncel of
<HI>Trent,</HI> and that the Prelates there did not &s;eem un|willing
<PB N="101" REF="62">
to ea&s;e the Clergy of that heavy, but more
&s;candalous yoke; the Pope returned his ab&s;olute
Negative, and was much offended that they had &s;uf|fered
it to come in que&s;tion. Why &s;o? becau&s;e
that Church-men having Wives and Children, to be
as Ho&s;tages or pledges for their good beheaviour,
would become more obnoxious to the &s;ecular pow|ers,
and more obedient to the plea&s;ure and Com|mand
of their natural Princes; <HI>adeoque Pontificem
redigere ad &s;olius Romae Epi&s;copatum,</HI> which would
in fine prove prejudicial to the Popes Supre|macy,
and limit his Authority to the Walls of
<HI>Rome.</HI></P>
<P>The fruits thus palpably di&s;covering the true
condition of the Doctrine, begat withall a &s;hrewd
&s;u&s;picion that po&s;&s;ibly the rea&s;ons commonly al|ledged
in defence thereof might be weak and wre&s;t|ed.
And upon &s;earch it did appear that the directi|ons
of St. <HI>Paul</HI> were general, and did no more con|cern
the Clergy then all people el&s;e; &s;ome of them
being only fitted to the pre&s;ent time, and therefore
not to make a rule for all future Ages: that though
the Fathers magnified and extolled the &s;ingle life,
they impo&s;ed it not; or if they did, it was not more
upon the Clergy then upon the Laicks: and final|ly,
that Pope <HI>Siricius,</HI> who impo&s;ed it fir&s;t, could
find no Text in Scripture whereupon to ground it,
and therefore mo&s;t prophanely wre&s;ted and abu&s;ed
that place, <HI>Qui in carne &s;unt non po&s;&s;unt placere Deo,</HI>
to make it &s;erviceable to his wretched ends. And it
was al&s;o found on further &s;earch into antiquity, that
this re&s;traint of marriage being propo&s;ed unto the
Fathers of the Council of <HI>Nice,</HI> was by <HI>Paphnutius</HI>
<PB N="102" REF="63">
and the &s;ounder part of that great Synod openly re|jected;
that it was neither new nor &s;trange to marry
after holy Orders, <HI>Eup&s;ychius</HI> a Bi&s;hop of the <HI>Cappa|docians,</HI>
whom <HI>Althana&s;ius</HI> highly prai&s;eth, taking a
Wife after he was advanced unto a Bi&s;hoprick; and
of a Bridegroom in&s;tantly become a Martyr, <HI>dum
adhuc qua&s;i &s;pon&s;us e&s;&s;e videretur,</HI> &s;aith the <HI>Tripar|tite</HI>
Hi&s;tory. The like, as to the point of marrying
after holy orders, <HI>Vincentius</HI> tells us of one <HI>Phileus,</HI> an
<HI>Egyptian</HI> Prelate. The &s;ame may al&s;o be made good
not only in the Ea&s;tern Church, where the Prie&s;ts
are not yet debarred from marriage after Orders
taken, as it is noted on the Glo&s;&s;e on <HI>Gratian;</HI> but
for 1000 years together in the&s;e We&s;tern parts. So
lately it was before the Clergy were generally min|ded
to yield to that &s;lavi&s;h tyranny: nor was it ma|nife&s;t
on more mature deliberation, that marriage in
and of it &s;elf did any way di&s;able men from Gods
publick &s;ervice, the &s;tudying of the holy Scriptures,
o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> the works of charity; <HI>Greg. Nazianzen</HI> affirm|ing
of &s;ome friends of his, which lived in Wedlock,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> That they
were every way as eminent in all acts of godline&s;s
as tho&s;e that did profe&s;&s;e virginity.</P>
<P>Which, with the wretched con&s;equents before re|membred,
being taken into con&s;ideration by our
fir&s;t Reformers; and being it was ob&s;erved withall
that the re&s;traint depended upon po&s;itive Lawes, no
Divine Commandement; the wi&s;dom of this State
thought fit to take away tho&s;e po&s;itive lawes on the
which it &s;tood, and leave it arbitrary as at fir&s;t. And
this they were the rather induced to do, by rea&s;on
that the rigorous nece&s;&s;ity of a &s;ingle life had for|merly
<PB N="103" REF="63">
affrighted many a man of parts and learning
from entring into holy Orders, and filled the Church
with ignorant and infamous per&s;ons. By meanes
of which indulgence granted as before, the gift of
continency is become more eminent in them that
have it, &amp; without reproch to them that want it. The
freedom which the Church hath given in the u&s;e of
cha&s;tity, makes the vertue greater; no vertuous action
being commendable if it be not voluntary. And
&s;ince the granting of this liberty in the point of mar|riage,
how many of each order hath this Church
produced, <HI>Bi&s;hops, Prie&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Deacons,</HI> that have em|braced
the &s;ingle life out of choyce, not force? with
far more honour to them&s;elves, and greater lu&s;tre to
the Church, and a more gracious acceptance with
Almighty God, then if it were impo&s;ed upon them
by a po&s;itive Law. Of whom we may affirm with
&s;afety, as did <HI>Minutius</HI> of &s;ome Chri&s;tians in the pri|mitive
times, <HI>perpetua virginitate fruuntur poti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s
qu&agrave;m glori<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ntur.</HI></P>
<P>But of this <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">are enough; what is that comes next?
let it be the religious Wor&s;hip a&s;cribed unto the
ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, which by a name di&s;tinct is in the
Schools entituled <HI>hyperdulia,</HI> being a kind of vene|ration
inferior unto that of God, but greater then
may be communicated to the other Saints. The
Church in the beginning had been exerci&s;ed with
many Here&s;ies touching the incarnation of our Lord
and Saviour: The <HI>Valentinians</HI> hold that he took
not from her his humane nature, but brought it with
him from the Heavens; with whom concurred <HI>A|pollinaris,</HI>
and the <HI>Secundiani. Ne&s;torius</HI> on the other
&s;ide affirmed, that he who was born of her was the
<PB N="140" REF="64">
Sonne of <HI>Mary,</HI> but by no meanes the Sonne of
God: and therefore he allowed not that &s;he &s;hould
be called <GAP DESC="foreign">, the Mother of God, but only
<GAP DESC="foreign">, or the Mother of Chri&s;t. <HI>Helvidius</HI> and
the <HI>Antidico-Maritan</HI> had a further reach, and en|vied
her the glorious title of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> af|firming
with like impudence and ignorance, <HI>eam po&s;t
Chri&s;tum natum viro &s;uo fui&s;se commixtam,</HI> that
after our Redeemers birth &s;he was known by <HI>Jo&s;eph.</HI>
In which re&s;pects, both to re&s;tore her to her rights,
and to depre&s;s tho&s;e Hereticks that had &s;o deba&s;ed
her, the Fathers have conferred upon her many glo|rious
attributes; but yet no more then &s;he de&s;er|ved.
Hence is it that we finde the Titles of
<GAP DESC="foreign"> and <GAP DESC="foreign">, Mother of God, perpetual
Virgin. Hence is it that St. <HI>Cyril,</HI> a mo&s;t zealous
per&s;ecutor of the <HI>Ne&s;torian</HI> faction, calls her <HI>preti|o&s;um
totius orbis the&s;aurum, &amp;c.</HI> the mo&s;t rich Trea|&s;ure
of the World, a Lamp that cannot be put
out, the Crown of Cha&s;tity, and very Scepter of true
Doctrine; <HI>&s;ceptrum rectae Doctrinae,</HI> and not the
Scepter of the Catholick Faith, as our <HI>Rhemists</HI>
render it. Which honorarie attributes not being
given, (nor po&s;&s;ibly appliable) to any of the other
Saints in true antiquity, as they proceeded then
from a ju&s;t nece&s;&s;ity, &s;o were they afterwards con|tinued
without ju&s;t offence. For who could rea&s;ona|bly
conceive but that a greater reverence mu&s;t be
due to her then any other of the Saints, whom God
had &s;anctified and &s;et apart for &s;o great a ble&s;&s;ing,
as to be the Mother of her Saviour?</P>
<P>Hitherto <HI>omnia bene,</HI> for what hurt in this? what
&s;oul &s;o dull in her devotions, &s;o cold in her affecti|ons
<PB N="105" REF="64">
to our Lord and Saviour, as not to magnifie the
Womb which bare him, and ble&s;&s;e tho&s;e papps that
gave him &s;uck? Who could &s;u&s;pect that po&s;&s;ibly
there &s;hould be any tare in &s;o fair a Field? who could
&s;uppo&s;e that any warrantable honor done or tendred
unto the Mother of our Lord (as <HI>Elizabeth</HI> &s;tyled
her) did not redound unto the Sonne? And certainly,
as long as tho&s;e of <HI>Rome</HI> contained them&s;elves with|in
the limits of the ancient Fathers, and that <HI>O qu&agrave;m
te memorem virgo!</HI> their pious flouri&s;hes, Rhetorical
Apo&s;trophes, and devout Meditations went no
higher then a Religious commemoration of her life
and piety, they did not more then what had warrant
from the Scripture and the Angel <HI>Gabriel; Benedicta
tu mulieribus</HI> would have born all that: nor had it
done much hurt, had they ventured further, even
to <HI>nec vox hominem &s;onat,</HI> and made her &s;ome|what
more then mortal, had they tarried there. But
when they could not &s;top in the full careire, and
would needs hold it out to the <HI>D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">a cert&egrave;,</HI> as <HI>Mantuan</HI>
and <HI>Antonius</HI> in plain termes have done, and to cre|ate
her Queen of Heaven, and call her by the name
of <HI>Regina Coeli,</HI> then drew they very neere to the
old Idolaters mentioned in the Prophet <HI>Jeremy,</HI> in
ca&s;e they did not go beyond them.</P>
<P>This that we may the better &s;ee, and &s;o di&s;cern
withall what a tare it proved, let us look next up|on
the fruits, and we &s;hall finde that there is nothing
le&s;&s;e in this <GAP DESC="foreign">, this Virgin-Wor&s;hip, if I
may &s;o call it, then true Wheat indeed. Let us but
look upon the fruits, and we &s;hall &s;ee that <HI>An&s;elm</HI>
gives this rea&s;on, why Chri&s;t when he a&s;cended into
Heaven left his Mother here,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Excel. V. c. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Ne curiae coele&s;ti ve|niret
<PB N="106" REF="65">
in dubium, &amp;c.</HI> for fear the Court of Hea|ven
might have been di&s;tracted, whom they &s;hould
fir&s;t go out to meet, their Lord or their Lady, that
<HI>Bernardin Senen&s;is,</HI> one of her e&s;pecial votaries, doth
not fear to &s;ay, <HI>Mariam plura feci&s;&s;e Deo qu&agrave;m fe|cit
Deus toti generi humano,</HI> that &s;he did more to
Chri&s;t in being his Mother, then Chri&s;t hath done
to all Mankind in being their Saviour: That <HI>Gabriel
Biel,</HI> a School-man of good note and credit, hath
&s;hared the Government of the World betwixt God
and her, God keeping ju&s;tice to him&s;elf, <HI>mi&s;cricordia
matri virgini conce&s;&s;a,</HI> and left to her the free di&s;|pen&s;ing
of his mercies. That <HI>Petrus Damian</HI> tells us,
that when &s;he mediates for any of her Supplicants
with our Saviour Chri&s;t, <HI>non rogat ut ancilla, &s;ed im|perat
ut domina,</HI> &s;he begs not of him as an Hand|maid,
but commands as a Mi&s;tre&s;s: that <HI>Bonaven|ture,</HI>
in compo&s;ing of our Ladies <HI>P&s;alter,</HI> hath ap|plyed
to her what ever was intended by the Holy
Gho&s;t for the advancement of the honour of our
Lord and Saviour: and finally, that <HI>Bellarmine</HI> hath
made no difference between the veneration due to
her, and that which doth of right belong unto Chri&s;t
as man. Add unto the&s;e their u&s;age of the vulgar
&s;ort in point of practi&s;e, &s;aying &s;o many <HI>Ave Ma|ries</HI>
for one &s;ingle <HI>Pater No&s;ter,</HI> hearing &s;o many
Ma&s;&s;es of our Lady, and not one of Chri&s;ts; deck|ing
her Images with all co&s;t and cunning that mans
wit can reach, when his poor Statues &s;tand neglected,
as not worth the looking after. The&s;e, and the re&s;t
if we &s;hould add, what could be imagined but that
the Apo&s;tles were mi&s;taken when they made the
<HI>Creed;</HI> and that it was not <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> but the Virgin-Mother
<PB N="107" REF="65">
that &s;uffered under <HI>Pontius Pilate,</HI> was cru|cified,
dead and buried for the &s;in of man?</P>
<P>You &s;ee then what mo&s;t mon&s;trous tares have
grown up in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> under the new de|vi&s;e
of <HI>Hyperdulia.</HI> Let us next &s;ee what their
<GAP DESC="foreign"> carrieth with it, what a &s;trange multitude of
tares that one word doth carry. The <HI>Cardinall</HI> makes
this difference between the termes, <HI>hanc &s;anctis cae|teris,</HI>
that that belongs indifferently to all the
Saints, <HI>illam humanitati Chri&s;ti &amp; matri ejus;</HI> but
this alone to Chri&s;ts humane nature only, and his
ble&s;&s;ed Mother. The ground of the di&s;tinction, and
how they differ from <GAP DESC="foreign">, or indeed rather how
they differ not, we &s;hall not canva&s;&s;e for the pre&s;ent.
Suffice it that in this <GAP DESC="foreign"> they comprehend both
prayers to Saints, and adoration of their Images. And
fir&s;t for prayers unto the Saints, the Fathers taught,
according to the word of God, that the Saints de|parted
pray for us, as fellow-members with them of
that my&s;tical body whereof Chri&s;t Je&s;us is the head.
Which as it is unque&s;tionably true of the Saints in
general, &s;o was it thought by <HI>Maximus Taurinen&s;is,</HI>
and that not improbably, that of the Saints none
were more con&s;tant in it then the holy Martyrs, <HI>qui
&amp; &s;upplicia pro nobis pertulere,</HI> who &s;uffered death for
our incouragement and confirmation. In this regard
the faithful of the primitive times u&s;ed to repair un|to
their Tombs, and did there offer up their &s;uppli|cations
to the Lord their God; next, ventured to
implore the Lord to grant them their de&s;ires and
prayers, even for the ble&s;&s;ed &s;ake of tho&s;e Saints
and Martyrs at who&s;e Tombs they kneeled; and
in the end began to implore the Martyrs to recom|mend
<PB N="108" REF="66">
their prayers to the Lord Almighty, for their
more quick di&s;patch in the Court of Heaven. By
which degrees came in the invocation of the Saints,
and ther with that <GAP DESC="foreign">, that Religious wor&s;hip of
them which the Schools maintain, and is defended
for good Doctrine in the Church of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
<P>This Doctrine, of what &s;ort it is, whether wheat
or tare, mu&s;t be determined by the fruits: and if we
bring it once to <HI>feci&s;&s;ent fructum,</HI> the true condition
of this Doctrine will at full appear. For what did
follow hereupon, but that the Saints were made our
Mediators at the Throne of Grace? every man
choo&s;ing &s;ome or other of tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Spirits to
be his Advocate and Interce&s;&s;or with Almighty
God; our Saviour Chri&s;t meanwhile neglected, or
but little thought of&punc; Nay, they went &s;o far at the
la&s;t, that Chri&s;t was fain to mediate with the Saints,
as if their pa&s;&s;ions, and not his, had been the merito|rious
cau&s;es of Redemption: as in that prayer of the
Portuice touching <HI>Thomas Becket, Chri&s;te Je&s;u per
Thomae vulnera quae nos ligant relaxa &s;celera.</HI> Nor
&s;tayed they there, but as they made their prayers
unto them, &s;o did they come at la&s;t to make their
vowes, not by but to the Saints departed; and fi|nally,
to dedicate unto their proper and immediate
&s;ervice, Temples, and Fe&s;tivalls, and Altars, and &s;et
forms of wor&s;hip; which being all materiall parts and
circum&s;tances of religious adoration, and &s;o confe&s;|&s;ed
to be even by tho&s;e of <HI>Rome,</HI> hath &s;o plunged
poor ignorant people into gro&s;&s;e and palpable Idola|try;
it having been the con&s;tant Doctrine of Anti|quity,
that all religious wor&s;hip, of what &s;ort &s;oever,
is &s;o peculiar unto God, that without manife&s;t Ido|latry
<PB N="109" REF="66">
it cannot be communicated unto any creature.
And how&s;oever tho&s;e of wit and learning have
found a mentall re&s;ervation to deceive them&s;elves,
yet that will prove no pla&s;ter for the general &s;ore, nor
&s;ave the common people from the down<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> right &s;ins.
The <HI>Cardinall</HI> indeed thus re&s;olves the ca&s;e&punc; <HI>Licet di|cere,
S. Petre mi&s;erere mei, &amp;c.</HI> that it is lawful for
us men to pray unto S. <HI>Peter</HI> to have mercy upon
us, to &s;ave us, and &s;et open to us the Gates of Hea|ven,
to grant us health and patience, and what el&s;e
we want, <HI>mod&ograve; intelligamus his precibus &amp; meritis,</HI> if
&s;o we under&s;tand it thus, Do all the&s;e things that I
reque&s;t by thy prayers and merits. But this I would
fain know of <HI>Bellarmine,</HI> with all his wit, how many
of the vulgar &s;ort have ever learnt or practi&s;ed &s;uch
a re&s;ervation; or if they have, how farre it may ex|tenuate
and excu&s;e the &s;in.</P>
<P>So it is al&s;o in the point of Images, fir&s;t introdu|ced
into the Church for Ornament, hi&s;tory and imi|tation.
<HI>Sic &amp; defunctis praemium, &amp; po&s;teris dabatur
exemplum,</HI> as <HI>Minutius</HI> hath it. Had they &s;tayed
there, it had been well, and no fault found with
them. They might have u&s;ed them &s;o <HI>&s;ans que&s;tion,</HI>
and therewithall have given them that re&s;pect and
reverence which properly belongs to the &s;imilitude
and repre&s;entations of cele&s;tiall things. Po&s;terity
had never que&s;tioned them or their proceed<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ngs in
the point, had they gone no further. But when the
Schools began to &s;tate it, that <HI>idem honor debetur
imagini &amp; exemplari,</HI> that the &s;ame veneration
was to be afforded to the Type and Prototype,
then came the Doctrine to the growth, to <HI>feci&s;&s;et
fructum.</HI> When, and by whom, and where it was
<PB N="110" REF="67">
fir&s;t &s;o &s;tated, it is not ea&s;ie to determine, and indeed
not nece&s;&s;ary. It is enough that we behold it in the
fruits. And what fruits think you could it beare, but
mo&s;t gro&s;&s;e Idolatry, greater then which was ne|ver
known among&s;t the Gentiles? witne&s;s their
praying, not before, but to the Crucifix, and cal|ling
on the very Cro&s;&s;e, the wooden and materiall
Cro&s;&s;e, both to increa&s;e their righteou&s;ne&s;s, and re|mit
their &s;ins. <HI>Auge piis ju&s;titiam, &amp; reis dona ve|niam,</HI>
as the <HI>Porte&s;st</HI> had it. Nor could we look for
better fruit from &s;o lewd a Tenet, it being defended
in the Schools, that the Image of Chri&s;t is to be
wor&s;hipped with <GAP DESC="foreign">, the highe&s;t kind of wor|&s;hip
in their own opinion, <HI>cum Chri&s;tus adoretur ado|ratione
latriae,</HI> becau&s;e that kind of Adoration doth
properly belong to Chri&s;t our Lord. And for the I|mages
of the Saints, they that ob&s;erve with what
laborious Pilgrimages, magnificent proce&s;&s;ions, &s;o|lemn
offerings; and in a word, with what affections,
prayers, and humble bendings of the body, they have
been &amp; are wor&s;hipped in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> might
very ea&s;ily conceive that &s;he was once again relap&s;ed
to her ancient Pagani&s;me.</P>
<P>Its true, the better to relieve them&s;elves in this
de&s;perate plunge, they have excogitated many fine
di&s;tinctions, as terminative and objective, <HI>propri&egrave; &amp;
impropri&egrave;, per &s;e &amp; per accidens;</HI> which how&s;oever they
may &s;atisfie the more learned &s;ort, are not intelligi|ble
to poor &s;imple people. What &s;aid I, that perhaps
they may give &s;atisfaction to the learned? No &s;uch
matter verily; for <HI>Bellarmine</HI> him&s;elf confe&s;&s;eth, that
tho&s;e who hold that any of the Images of Chri&s;t our
Saviour are to be honoured with that kind of wor|&s;hip,
<PB N="111" REF="67">
which they call <GAP DESC="foreign">, are fain to find out ma|ny
a nice di&s;tinction, <HI>quas vix ip&s;i intelligunt, nedum
populus imperitus,</HI> which they them&s;elves, much le&s;&s;e
poor ignorant people, could not under&s;tand: which
makes me think, that &s;ure the <HI>Cardinall</HI> was infatua|ted
with the &s;pirit of dotage, him&s;elf defining po&s;i|tively
in the &s;elf-&s;ame page, <HI>Imagines Chri&s;ti impro|pri&egrave;
&amp; per accidens po&s;se honorari cultu latriae,</HI> that by
the help of a di&s;tinction, our Saviours Images may
be adored with <GAP DESC="foreign">. And this I may account for
another fruit of this Image-wor&s;hip, that it drawes
down on them that u&s;e it that cur&s;e recited in the
<HI>P&s;alms, viz. That &s;uch as wor&s;hip them are like
unto them.</HI> Add unto the&s;e the &s;candall which is
hereby given unto <HI>Jewes</HI> and <HI>Turks,</HI> and the great
hindrance which it doth occa&s;ion unto their conver|&s;ion,
who do abominate nothing more in all Chri|&s;tianity
then this profane and impious adoration of
Images. In which re&s;pect we may affirm that of the
pre&s;ent <HI>Romans,</HI> which St. <HI>Paul</HI> tells us of the ancient,
<HI>nomen Dei per vos bla&s;phematnr inter gentes,</HI> that by
their meanes God is bla&s;phemed among the Gen|tiles.</P>
<P><HI>In<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">initum e&s;t ire per &s;ingula;</HI> To run through all
particulars in this manner were an infinite bu&s;ine&s;s.
Suffice it that there is no point in difference between
them and us, the fal&s;hood and ab&s;urdity whereof is
not di&s;covered in the fruits, in <HI>feci&s;&s;et fructum,</HI> how|ever
it lay hid in <HI>crevi&s;&s;et herba.</HI> The Doctrine of
indulgences and merchantable pardons to be bought
for money, what fruit doth it produce but licenti|ous
living, when for &s;o &s;mall a trifle one might pur|cha&s;e
pardon, <HI>non &s;olum pro praeteritis, ver&ugrave;metiam pro
<PB N="112" REF="68">
futuris,</HI> not only for &s;ins pa&s;t, but for tho&s;e to come.
The holding back of Scripture from the common
people, and celebrating Gods divine &s;ervice in an un|known
Tongue, what fruits do they afford but igno|rance
of Gods holy plea&s;ure, and blind obedience to
the precepts of &s;inful men, and coldne&s;s in the ex|erci&s;e
of devotion; and finally, contempt of
Gods word, and whole Commandements? The e|qualizing
of their own Traditions with Gods holy
word, according to the Canon of the late <HI>Trent</HI>-Councel,
what fruits doth it afford but contempt of
Scripture? The Doctrine of that Church in the
point of merit, what fruits doth it produce but high
pre&s;umption? or that of tran&s;ub&s;tantiation, but mo&s;t
gro&s;&s;e Idolatry? or that of half Communion, but
mo&s;t horrible Sacriledge? Such fruits, if all meanes
el&s;e &s;hould fail us, would &s;erve &s;ufficiently to mani|fe&s;t
and declare their noxious nature, and thereby
make us able to determine of them, though none at
all ob&s;erved them when they were in <HI>&s;emine,</HI> and
few were able to di&s;tingui&s;h them, when they were
in <HI>herba: Nam quod latebat in herba manife&s;tatur
in &s;pica, &amp; quod celatur in germine aperitur in
fructu,</HI> as &s;aith <HI>Pa&s;cha&s;ius</HI> on the Text.</P>
<P>You &s;ee by this that hath been &s;poken that there
are other meanes &s;till left us by Gods infinite mercy,
to know Gods Seed from Satans, the good Wheat
from tares; be&s;ides the ob&s;ervation of time, place
and per&s;ons, <HI>Ex &s;ructibus corum cogno&s;cetis eos,</HI> by
their fruits ye &s;hall know them, &s;aith our Saviour.
And yet the triall of the&s;e tares is not made only
by the fruits; the fruits fir&s;t brought them to <HI>appa|ruerunt,</HI>
made them plain and vi&s;ible, and brought
<PB N="113" REF="68">
them to appear in the open Court. But having en|tred
their appearance, they were to be examined,
tried and judged by the word of God. The Lord
hath given it for a Rule, <HI>ad legem &amp; te&s;timonium</HI>&punc; that
in all doubtful controver&s;ies, we &s;hould have re|cour&s;e
to the law and te&s;timonies. And Chri&s;t our
Saviour being asked his judgement touching the bu|&s;ine&s;s
of Divorce, refers him&s;elf to the fir&s;t In&s;titu|tion,
&s;aying, <HI>Ab initio non fuit &s;ic,</HI> it was not &s;o in the
beginning. So that whoever can demon&s;trate from
the Book of God, that either the Doctrine or the
practice of the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> differeth from that
which was fir&s;t preached and publi&s;hed by our ble&s;&s;ed
Saviour, and the holy Apo&s;tles, doth manife&s;tly
prove a change therein; nay prove as forcibly
that they have departed from the rule of Faith,
which was once given to the Saints, as if he could,
or did demon&s;trate all the circum&s;tances, when, and
by whom, and in what Country, every particular de|viation
and corruption did at fir&s;t creep in. <HI>Quid
verba audiam, c&ugrave;m facta videam?</HI> what need we &s;earch
for circum&s;tances, when we have the &s;ub&s;tance; or
look into the root, when we &s;ee the fruit?</P>
<P>But here may tho&s;e of <HI>Rome</HI> reply and &s;ay, Are
there no <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ares at all in your reformation? are all your
Gee&s;e Swans? and your Grain good Wheat? Did
Satan never take you &s;leeping? Whence is it then
we &s;ee among&s;t you &s;uch oppo&s;ition to all publick
Orders, &s;uch a neglect of fa&s;ting, &s;uch contempt of
holy dayes, though both of Apo&s;tolical in&s;titution?
&s;uch practi&s;es and attempts again&s;t Epi&s;copacy,
though ordained by Chri&s;t? &s;uch quarrelling again&s;t
tho&s;e &s;acred Ceremonies in Gods publick &s;ervice,
<PB N="114" REF="69">
which you pretend to be derived from mo&s;t pure an|tiquity?
Whence is it that we have ob&s;erved &s;uch
Covenants and Combinations again&s;t lawful Go|vernment;
&s;uch ob&s;tinate and &s;trong, if not perver&s;e
re&s;i&s;tance again&s;t ju&s;t Authority of your &s;upreme
Lord, as well in temporal matters as Eccle&s;ia&s;tical;
&s;uch common &s;tocks and contributions to &s;upport
your factions, and relieve tho&s;e that are condemned
for their di&s;obedience? Whence is it that there are
maintained among&s;t you &s;uch bla&s;phemies, in lay|ing
upon God the blame of &s;in; &s;uch Stoici&s;me in
nece&s;&s;itating all mens actions by the fatality of Gods
Decrees; &s;uch Donati&s;me in appropriating to &s;ome
few among&s;t you the names of Saints and true Pro|fe&s;&s;ors?
<HI>Qui alterum incu&s;at probri, &amp;c.</HI> you that have
found &s;o many tares in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> had be&s;t
be &s;ure that your own floore be very throughly pur|ged,
and your wheat well winnowed; and that you
&s;earch not our wounds with too &s;harp an hand, till
you have clean&s;ed and cured your own.</P>
<P>This they object; and what &s;hall we return for an|&s;wer?
We will be more ingenious, then they are to
us, and confe&s;s the action, and &s;o not put them to
the needle&s;s trouble of looking after the particulars
of time, place and per&s;ons. Too true it is, that &s;ome
among&s;t us, though not of us, have &s;et on foot tho&s;e
Doctrines, and pur&s;ued tho&s;e practi&s;es, which are be|come
a &s;candal to our Reformation and further will
di&s;honour it, and in time &s;ubvert it, if care and order
be not taken to prevent the mi&s;chief. We &s;ee them
in their fruits already, and that hath brought them
at the la&s;t to <HI>apparuerunt.</HI> But what they are, and
who&s;e, and what fruits they bear, and what is aimed
<PB N="115" REF="69">
at in tho&s;e innovations which they have thru&s;t upon
this Church, and yet cry out of innovations, as if
the&s;e were none, I cannot &s;hew you for the pre&s;ent.
The time is too far &s;pent, and the &s;ea&s;on pa&s;t, to
venture on a new Di&s;covery; but what is wanting
now, &s;hall be made good hereafter at next &s;etting
out, when I &s;hall come to the <HI>unde haec zizania,</HI> in the
following ver&s;e. Have patience but till then, I
will pay you all: which that I may the better look
for, I &s;hall not tire your patience further at this pre|&s;ent
time; and therefore here I will conclude.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="116" REF="70">
<HEAD>SERMON V.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At WHITE-HALL <DATE>Jan. 12. 1639.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. v. 27.</BIBL>
<Q>So the Servants of the Hou&s;holder came, and &s;aid
unto him, Sir, did&s;t not thou &s;owe good Seed in
thy Field? from whence then hath it tares?</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_PRimus felicitatis gradus e&s;t non peccare,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">yprian.</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
The fir&s;t degree of happine&s;s is not to
&s;in: The &s;econd, to be &s;en&s;ible of a
fault committed. It had been well done
of the &s;ervants in the pre&s;ent Parable,
to have been careful in their Ma&s;ters bu&s;ine&s;s, and
not have given the enemy advantage by their dull
&s;ecurity, for the di&s;per&s;ing of his tares. And it was
well done, although not &s;o well, that they di&s;cerned
them in good time, before they had de&s;troyed Gods
Harve&s;t, and devoured his Wheat. A fault had been
committed by their &s;loth and drow&s;ine&s;s, that they
&s;aw too well; but every man was willing to excu&s;e
him&s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vill. Pater|culque.</NOTE> and ca&s;t the blame upon his fellow. <HI>Propri|um
est humano ingenio omnia &s;ibi remittere, nihil aliis,</HI>
&s;aid <HI>Velleius</HI> rightly. And tares they &s;aw &s;prung up
<PB N="117" REF="70">
which they had not &s;owen; but how they came
there, that they could not tell: certain they were,
that they had &s;owen good &s;eed in their Ma&s;ters
Field, and that the Field was well manured, and fit|ted
for &s;o great a ble&s;&s;ing. To &s;ee this Field &s;o dre&s;|&s;ed
and cultivated, overgrown with tares, and to be
ignorant withall what malicious hand had plotted
and performed &s;o great a mi&s;chief, mu&s;t needs pro|duce
both wonder and amazement in their doubtful
mindes: therefore as well to &s;atisfie their Ma&s;ter,
that they had &s;owen good &s;eed in his ble&s;&s;ed Field,
according unto his appointment; and to be &s;atisfi|ed
them&s;elves, whence tho&s;e tares &s;hould come, they
came unto the Hou&s;holder, and &s;aid unto him, <HI>Domi|ne,
nonne &s;emina&s;ti bonum &s;emen?</HI> Sir, <HI>Did&s;t not thou &s;owe
good Seed in thy Field? whence then hath it
tares?</HI></P>
<P>In our di&s;cour&s;e upon this Text, I &s;hall pre&s;ent
you with an Explication, and an Application: an
Explication for the Text, an Application for the
time. In the fir&s;t general, the Explication, we &s;hall
behold the &s;ervants of this Parable in their addre&s;&s;e
unto their Ma&s;ter, and their conference with him. In
the next general, the Application, we &s;hall endea|vour
a di&s;covery of tho&s;e tares and errors which have
been &s;owen by Satan in this Field of God. And fir&s;t,
we mu&s;t begin with the Explication, and therein
with the matter of addre&s;s. <HI>Sic accedentes &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rvi patris-familias,</HI>
&s;o the &s;ervants of the Hou&s;holder came,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fru&s;tra quaeritur quod per viam &s;uam non quaeritur.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Lact.</HI> l. 3. c. 28.</NOTE>
There is but one way leading to the truth, which
they that mi&s;&s;e do rather wander then travel, and
<PB N="118" REF="71">
&s;hall finde their journey at the la&s;t, without end or
profit. The &s;ervants of the Heavenly Husbandman
were at a lo&s;&s;e among them&s;elves touching the <HI>unde</HI>
of the&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ares; That there they were, even ripe and
ready for the Harve&s;t, that they &s;aw too plainly; but
how they came there,&punc; who it was that &s;owed them,
was not yet di&s;covered; nor was it probable, that
they who had committed &s;o great a villany would
confe&s;s the action. The taking of their opportuni|ty,
<HI>c&ugrave;m dormirent homines,</HI> when as the &s;ervants
were a&s;leep, did manife&s;tly &s;hew, that by whomever
it was done, it was intended for a work of darkne&s;s;
and therefore very little hope, that they them&s;elves
would bring it to the open light. In this uncertain|ty,
there could be found no better way to inform
them&s;elves,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 121.</NOTE> then to repair unto the Lord, the cele|&s;tiall
Hou&s;holder, <HI>who&s;e eyes do neither &s;leep nor &s;lum|ber.</HI>
Gods eye is alwayes open, though his &s;ervants
&s;leep;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Minut. Felix.</NOTE> <HI>Intere&s;t tenebris,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Minutius,</HI> no darkne&s;&s;e
is &s;o gro&s;&s;e which he cannot penetrate, nor fact &s;o
&s;ecret and ob&s;cure which he di&s;cerns not. The Lord
is <HI>totus oculus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierenaeus.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; totum lumen,</HI> as the Father hath it;
and therefore cannot be kept ignorant of mens pri|vate
practi&s;es, how clo&s;e &s;oever they are carried.
<HI>Can any man hide him&s;elf in &s;ecret places, &s;o that I &s;hall
not &s;ee him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerem.</NOTE> <HI>&s;aith the Lord Almighty?</HI></P>
<P>Be&s;ides, there was a ruled ca&s;e in the point before,
it was the Cu&s;tom of the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Church, in all doubt|ful
ca&s;es, as long as they continued in Gods grace
and favour, to ask for coun&s;el of the Lord. No re&s;o|lution
&s;o per&s;picuous, as that which came from God
in his holy Tabernacle, or was delivered by his <HI>Seers.</HI>
Our Saviour Chri&s;t, as he is <HI>Deus de Deo,</HI> God of God;
<PB N="119" REF="71">
&s;o he is al&s;o <HI>lumen de lumine,</HI> light of light. His pro|vidence
as watchful, and his eye as piercing as that
of his Almighty Father. No better re&s;olution of a
doubtful ca&s;e, then that which might be had from
him, <HI>Domine qu&ograve; eamus? Lord,</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>Peter, whi|ther
&s;hall we go?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">c. 6. 68.</NOTE> <HI>thou ha&s;t the words of everlasting life.</HI>
Him&s;elf, our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, gives them more in|couragement
to have recour&s;e to him in their doubts
and difficulties. <HI>Ego &s;um via, veritas &amp; vita, I am
the way, the truth, and the life,</HI> John 14. The &s;ervants
of my Text need not make a que&s;tion, either of
finding out the truth, which they were in &s;earch of,
or gaining life eternal, which they &s;ought by truth:
when he which was the Journies end, was the way
al&s;o. And therefore in my minde St. <HI>Bernard</HI> de|&s;cants
very pretily on that Text of Scripture; <HI>Ea|mus
ergo post Chri&s;tum, quia e&s;t veritas, per Chri&s;tum,
quia e&s;t via; ad Chri&s;tum, quia e&s;t vita.</HI> Let us walk
after Chri&s;t, becau&s;e he is the truth; by Chri&s;t, be|cau&s;e
he is the way; to Chri&s;t, becau&s;e he is life.
St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> al&s;o gives us a good hint for our direction
in this journey, both for truth and life; <HI>Non e&s;t qu&ograve;
eamus ni&s;i ad te, non e&s;t qu&agrave; eamus ni&s;i per te; Whither
O Lord &s;hall we repair but to thee? and which way &s;hall
we come unto thee, if we come not by thee?</HI> The Servants
here were well acquainted with this way, they knew
none better, that how&s;oever God inhabits <HI>in luce in|acce&s;sibili,</HI>
in light inacce&s;&s;ible, yet he was ea&s;ie of
acce&s;s unto them that fear him; and therefore <HI>ac|cedentes,</HI>
they came unto him.</P>
<P><HI>Accedentes autem &s;ervi,</HI> So the Servants came.
The &s;ervants in the plural number, they came not
one by one to make their own excu&s;e apart, they
<PB N="120" REF="72">
came all together. They had been faulty all alike,
and therefore if a check were feared, good rea&s;on
they &s;hould be all partakers of it. The <HI>Heathen Orator</HI>
thought it an equitable point,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tull. pro Mar|cello.</NOTE> <HI>ut qui in eadem cau&s;a
fuerunt, in eadem item e&s;sent fortuna,</HI> that they who
had been intere&s;&s;ed in the &s;elf-&s;ame bu&s;ine&s;s, &s;hould
beare their equal &s;hares in the &s;elf &s;ame fortune; but
this was not the bu&s;ine&s;s that they were in que&s;t of.
Their errand was, not only to be &s;atisfied upon the
<HI>unde haec zizania,</HI> whence the tares &s;hould come; but
to enquire their Ma&s;ters plea&s;ure, what he thought
&s;itting to be done on the di&s;covery, <HI>vis i|mus &amp; colligimus ea?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 28.</NOTE> as it follows after: this
was indeed a weighty bu&s;ine&s;s, &s;uch as required a ge|nerall
unanimity, and a joynt a&s;&s;i&s;tance. The refor|mation
of the Church is no ea&s;ie work, nor to be
undertaken by a &s;ingle man. It is a bu&s;ine&s;s that re|quires
much help, and many hands, and all tho&s;e
hands to work together to one end, God ble&s;&s;ing
their endeavours by his Grace and Spirit. <HI>Tacitus</HI>
tells us of the <HI>Britains,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> vita Agricolae.</NOTE> that though a very valiant
Nation, yet they were very ea&s;ily made a thrall to
<HI>Rome, qu&ograve;d in commune non con&s;ul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">bant,</HI> becau&s;e
they never held together, never communicating for
the common &s;afety either their coun&s;els or their
pur&s;es. I hope we never &s;hall again commit that er|ror,
though there be dangerous Symptoms of it,
the &s;ervants of my Text may in&s;truct us better: who
how&s;oever they had done ami&s;&s;e by their former
drow&s;ine&s;s, in giving Satan opportunity to &s;owe his
tares, yet now they are re&s;olved to combine toge|ther,
for the preventing of all further mi&s;chief. <HI>Acce|dentes
autem &s;ervi,</HI> &s;o the &s;ervants came.</P>
<P><PB N="121" REF="72">
Well, they are come, and well come, what comes
after next? <HI>Dixerunt ei,</HI> they &s;ay unto him, it
&s;eemes they &s;tood not mute not fearful,</P>
<LG>
<L>&mdash;Alter in alterius jactantes lumina vultus,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid.</NOTE></L>
</LG>
<P>looking on one another who &s;hould fir&s;t begin. They
&s;aw the Church in no &s;mall danger of approching
ruine, by the quick &s;preading of tho&s;e tares; and
con&s;equently, thought it fit to know truly how the
matter &s;tood: not that he needed to be told, but
that he looked that they &s;hould tell him. The Lord
knowes our nece&s;&s;ities before we ask, yet he ex|pects
that we &s;hould call upon him in our &s;ervent
prayers. He knowes more of our &s;ins and frailties
then we do our &s;elves, and yet he hath enjoyned us
to confe&s;&s;ion. And this he doth, to keep on foot an
intercour&s;e between Heaven and Earth, to rouze
our &s;pirits, and inflame our zeal, and quicken our de|votions.
<HI>Dixerunt ei,</HI> they &s;aid unto him, and that
too in the plural number; What, &s;pake they all to|gether,
as they came together? I believe not &s;o:
God is the God of order, not of confu&s;ion. They
therefore which repair unto him, mu&s;t come unto
him in an orderly and decent way: &s;o that it is mo&s;t
likely that they had &s;ome Speaker, who had in
charge the repre&s;enting of the common bu&s;ine&s;&s;e;
or that they &s;pake by turns, as occa&s;ion &s;erved. And
yet they are all joyned <HI>in dixerunt</HI> here, to &s;hew that
how&s;oever they had many tongues, they had all one
voyce; or that whoever &s;pake, &s;pake the mindes of
all. Such unity of hearts and tongues is to God mo&s;t
grateful, being the be&s;t expre&s;&s;ion of the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t not re&s;t upon the <HI>quod &s;it,</HI> that they
<PB N="122" REF="73">
came and &s;aid, we mu&s;t examine next what it was
they &s;aid. They craved acce&s;s upon no other ground
and motive, but to come to conference. That was
the thing mo&s;t aimed at in the <HI>accedentes,</HI> in their
coming to him. Now in the Proeme to this confe|rence,
they propo&s;e two que&s;tions: fir&s;t, <HI>Domine, nonne
&s;emina&s;ti bonum &s;emen? Sir, did&s;t not thou &s;owe good
Seed in thy Field?</HI> next, <HI>unde haec zizania? whence
then hath it tares?</HI> In one of the&s;e there was no &s;a|tisfaction
needful; for none knew better then them|&s;elves,
that God had &s;owen it with his choy&s;e&s;t Seed,
&s;o picked and clean&s;ed, and fit for his &s;acred Field,
that there was neither weed nor tare among&s;t it.
Them&s;elves had laboured and manured it, and &s;owed
and harrowed it, according to the rules of that ho|ly
Husbandry. In which re&s;pect, St. <HI>Paul</HI> not only
calls them Labourers, but <GAP DESC="foreign">, and fellow-La|bourers
with God. God looking on, ble&s;&s;ing the
piety of their endeavours, and giving his increa&s;e
unto it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Matth. 13.</NOTE> Its true indeed, St. <HI>Hierome</HI> makes the &s;er|vants
here to be the Angels; <HI>Servos Dei non alios ac|cipias
qu&agrave;m Angelos.</HI> So doth <HI>Theophylact,</HI> and o|thers
of the Fathers al&s;o; but this can no way
&s;tand with our Saviours Comment, who in his
Comment on this Parable hath made the
reaping of the Corn, not the &s;owing of it, for the
work of Angels. This que&s;tion therefore being
asked by tho&s;e that knew how to an&s;wer it, may
pa&s;&s;e among&s;t tho&s;e <HI>data,</HI> matters of conce&s;&s;ion,
which are required in many Sciences. Que&s;tions or
Interrogatories in the Book of God are oftentimes
equivalent to affirmations, not propo&s;ed as
doubts.</P>
<P><PB N="123" REF="73">
But for the other que&s;tion, <HI>unde haec Zizani<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> that
was indeed a true <HI>quae&s;itum,</HI> a doubt con&s;iderately
propo&s;ed, in hope of &s;atisfaction or &s;olution. And
in this que&s;tion there are two things to be con&s;ider|ed,
the &s;ub&s;tance of it, and the circum&s;tances. The
&s;ub&s;tance or the matter of it doth concern the tares,
what kind of grain they were, who &s;owed them, and
from whence they came. The&s;e have been touched
upon before, in our Di&s;cour&s;es upon the 25. ver&s;e,
upon the <HI>Sevit,</HI> and &s;hall be yet more throughly
canva&s;&s;ed in the following An&s;wer, when we are
come to the <HI>&s;ive fecit inimicus.</HI> But for the circum|&s;tances
of the que&s;tion, who asked it, and of whom
they asked it, tho&s;e come in fitly here to be con&s;i|dered.
And fir&s;t, the men that asked it were the
&s;ervants of the Heavenly Husbandman, who ha|ving
&s;owen no other &s;eeds then the &s;eeds of piety
and true Religion, could not but wonder at the tares.
Next, being full of doubt and wonder, they made
repair for re&s;olution to their Lord and Ma&s;ter, who&s;e
<GAP DESC="foreign"> and fellow-Labourers they were. They
knew not of the Enemy, nor his &s;ubtile practi|&s;es,
and therefore took the &s;peedie&s;t cour&s;e that
could be for the removing of their doubts; and put
the que&s;tion unto him who knew how to &s;alve it.
Not one among&s;t them but he might have &s;aid, <HI>Da|vus
&s;um, non Oedipus.</HI> We have more need to be
re&s;olved of you, and come you to us?</P>
<P>The &s;tating of this point might make the inju|&s;tice
of our <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Adver&s;aries the more inexcu&s;a|ble.
We challenge them of &s;everal errors and cor|ruptions
in the Church of <HI>Rome:</HI> we tell them what
they are, how many, wherein they differ from Gods
<PB N="124" REF="74">
word, and from the tendries of the Church in the
pure&s;t Ages. They make reply unto us with an <HI>unde
haec,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Bellar.</HI> l. 4. c. 5.</NOTE> <HI>quo tempore, quo loco, quo autore?</HI> Shew us, &s;ay they,
when, and by whom, and where your &s;aid tares were
&s;owen, or el&s;e they &s;hall not pa&s;&s;e for tares. We have
replyed to all the&s;e Queries in a former Sermon; not
on con&s;traint, as forced unto it by the equity of the
demand, but <HI>gratis,</HI> to demon&s;trate the ab&s;urdities
and the follies of it. But now we an&s;wer more re&s;ol|vedly,
that this is not to make, but mi&s;take the que|&s;tion,
to change at once both &s;cene and Actors.
The &s;ervants of the Hou&s;holder askt the que&s;tion
here; there they that askt it are the &s;ervants of the
very enemy. He who is asked the que&s;tion here is
the heavenly Husbandman, who&s;e eyes are alwayes
open for his Churches &s;afety, and who beheld the
enemy through all his vizards, even while&s;t he was
about this deed of darkne&s;s. By them a que&s;tion is
demanded of poor ignorant &s;ervants, who either
weary of their labour, or inclined to ea&s;e, or carele&s;s
of their Ma&s;ters bu&s;ine&s;s, had been fa&s;t a&s;leep, and
knew not what was done till they were well waken|ed.
If they mu&s;t needs be further &s;atisfied in the&s;e
curious cavills, let them repair to their own Ma&s;ter,
and enquire of him, who being con&s;cious to him&s;elf
of his own lewd acts, can give them a more punctu|all
an&s;wer. We are no &s;ervants of the enemy, nor
ever were imployed in &s;ins dark de&s;igns, and there|fore
unacquainted with his plots and coun&s;els. To us,
according to this Parable, the asking of the que&s;tion
appertains, not to the an&s;wer of it.</P>
<P>But put the ca&s;e the wor&s;t that may be, and let it
pa&s;&s;e for granted, that our adver&s;aries may pervert
<PB N="125" REF="74">
and change the que&s;tion as they li&s;t them&s;elves; yet
why &s;hould we return them any other An&s;wer then
the Lord made unto his &s;ervants? Why may not we
make this reply to all their Queries, <HI>inimicus homo
hoc fecit,</HI> that the enemy did it? The Lord out of his
infinite wi&s;dom thought it not improper to give a
general an&s;wer to a particular demand. And why
&s;hould we be wi&s;er then our Ma&s;ter? The &s;ervants
ask in &s;pecial, <HI>unde haec zizania?</HI> the Lord returns in
generall, <HI>inimicus fecit.</HI> But as for the particulars of
time, place and per&s;ons, wherewith our Adver&s;aries
pre&s;&s;e and charge us again&s;t right and rea&s;on, tho&s;e he
re&s;erves unto him&s;elf, and conceales from us. And
'tis a learned ignorance not to know tho&s;e things
which God endeavours to keep &s;ecret. <HI>Ea ne&s;cire quae
magi&s;ter optimus non vult docere, erudita e&s;t in&s;citia,</HI> as
mine Authour hath it. Some things the Lord re|&s;erves
to the day of judgement, when all hearts &s;hall
be open, all de&s;ires made known, and no &s;ecrets hid:
And then we &s;hall be &s;ure to know, what times the
enemy made choyce of to &s;owe his tares; what in|&s;truments
he u&s;ed in the doing of it; what place or
Country he &s;elected for their fir&s;t appearance; with
all the other curious circum&s;tances which are &s;o
much in&s;i&s;ted on by the common Adver&s;ary. If this
&s;uffice not, we mu&s;t finally return that An&s;wer
which once <HI>Arnobius</HI> made to &s;ome fooli&s;h que&s;tions
propounded by the enemies of the Chri&s;tian faith;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>l.</HI> 2. cont. gentes.</NOTE>
<HI>Nec &s;i nequivero cau&s;as vobis exponere cur aliquid fiat
illo vel illo modo, &s;equitur ut infecta &s;int quae jam facta
&s;unt.</HI> In ca&s;e we are not able to declare unto them,
when, by what per&s;ons, in what Countries, the Do|ctrines
by us que&s;tioned were fir&s;t &s;et on foot, it fol|loweth
<PB N="126" REF="75">
not, that therefore none of them are tares of
the enemies &s;owing.</P>
<P>I have no more to &s;ay for the Explication, mo&s;t of
the points having bin treated of before in our former
di&s;cour&s;es on this Argument. And for the Applica|tion,
I mu&s;t give you notice, that it relates not to the
matter only at this time delivered, but to the whole
intent and purpo&s;e of the pre&s;ent Parable. I have al|ready
layed before you tho&s;e tares and errors which
have been noted and ob&s;erved in the Church of
<HI>Rome.</HI> Our own turn is next, and it comes in agreea|bly
to the Text it &s;elf; in which it is &s;uppo&s;ed as
granted, that there was good feed &s;owen by the
Heavenly Husbandman, however afterwards the
field became full of tares. According unto which
Propo&s;all, I &s;hall fir&s;t &s;hew you in the The&s;is, what
&s;peciall care was taken in our Reformation, that all
things might be fitted to the word of God, and the
be&s;t ages of the Church. Next, I &s;hall make a true
di&s;covery of tho&s;e &s;everal tares wherewith this
Field is over-grown, and Gods &s;eed indangered. So
doing, I am &s;ure I &s;hall not be accu&s;ed of partiality,
or re&s;pect of per&s;ons. And therefore <GAP DESC="foreign">,
encouraged by your Chri&s;tian patience, let us
on in Gods name.</P>
<P><HI>Si de interpretatione legis quaeritur,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De legib. &amp; longa con&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ctud.</NOTE> <HI>in&s;piciendum e&s;t
inprimis, quo jure civitas retro in eju&s;modi ca&s;ibus u&s;a
&s;uit.</HI> It is a Maxime in the Lawes, that if a que&s;tion
do ari&s;e about the &s;en&s;e and meaning of &s;ome Law or
Statute, the be&s;t way is to have recour&s;e to the de|ci&s;ions
of the State in the &s;elf-&s;ame ca&s;e. An Axiome
no le&s;&s;e profitable in Divinity, then it is in Law. The
State Eccle&s;ia&s;tical hath her doubts and changes, as
<PB N="127" REF="75">
great and frequent as the civill: the body my&s;tical
as &s;ubject to corruptions as the body politick. In
which condition, either of di&s;tractions or of di&s;tem|pers,
no better way to &s;et her right, to bring her to
her perfect con&s;titution, then to look back upon her
primitive and ancient principles. <HI>Ad legem &amp; te&s;timo|nium,</HI>
was the rule of old: And this the Church of
Chri&s;t hath thought fit to follow, when &s;he hath
found her &s;elf di&s;ea&s;ed with plain and manife&s;t cor|ruptions,
or otherwi&s;e di&s;tracted with debates and
doubtful di&s;putations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13. v. 1.</NOTE> as St. <HI>Paul</HI> calls them. The
Law of God, the Go&s;pel of our Saviour Chri&s;t, for
points of Doctrine; the u&s;age and te&s;timony of the
primitive Church, for points of practice, hath al|wayes
been her rule and Canon in &s;uch de&s;perate
plunges. In the ob&s;ervance of which rule, as gene|rally
the Church of God hath di&s;charged her duty,
as may appear by the in&s;pection of her ancient
Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ncels, and other Monuments and Records of her
acts and doings;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Livie.</NOTE> &s;o, <HI>aut me amor &s;u&s;cepti negotii fallit,</HI>
either I erre through too much filiall piety to the
Church my Mother, or el&s;e there never was a Na|tional
Church, in what Age &s;oever, that hath more
punctually ob&s;erved this rule then this Church of
<HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>For in that great bu&s;ine&s;s of the Reformation, tho&s;e
Worthies here, whom God had rai&s;ed and fitted for
the undertaking, were not po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, for ought we
finde, with any &s;pirit of contradiction, or humour of
affecting contrarieties. That which they found be|fore
e&s;tabli&s;hed, which either was agreeable to the
word of God, in point of Doctrine, or to the u&s;age
of the primitive Church, in point of order and devo|tion,
<PB N="128" REF="76">
they retained as formerly: &s;o farre endeavouring
a conformity with the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> that where
&s;he left not Chri&s;t and the Primitive Church, there
they left not her. <HI>Luther</HI> and <HI>Calvin,</HI> however ho|noured
and admired in the World abroad, were here
no otherwi&s;e con&s;idered then as learned men, who&s;e
works and writings po&s;&s;ibly might be counted u&s;e|ful,
but not thought Authentick. Our Prelates
here that were engaged in this great bu&s;ine&s;s, <HI>Cran|mer</HI>
and <HI>Ridley,</HI> and the re&s;t of the&s;e brave <HI>Heroes,</HI>
were of as able parts as they, but more moderate
&s;pirits. They knew the Church had fir&s;t been foun|ded
upon the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, our Saviour
Chri&s;t being the Corner-&s;tone; and therefore would
not build their reformation on the names of men.
<HI>Chri&s;tianus mihi nomen e&s;t, Catholicus cognomen,</HI> was
<HI>Pacianus</HI>'s Speech of old;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pacian.</NOTE> but they made it theirs,
and &s;till we keep it as our own. But what need more?
The fair &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of the Bi&s;hops, and the vocation
of the Mini&s;try, according to the ancient Canons;
the dignity of the Clergy in &s;ome &s;ort pre&s;erved; the
honour and &s;olemnity of Gods publick wor&s;hip re|&s;tored
unto its original lu&s;tre; the Doctrines of Re|ligion
vindicated to their primitive purity, &s;hew
manife&s;tly that they kept them&s;elves to that &s;acred
rule, <HI>Ad legem &amp; te&s;timonium,</HI> to the Law and
Te&s;timony.</P>
<P>Two things there are e&s;pecially con&s;iderable in
the Church of Chri&s;t; matters of Doctrine, and of
wor&s;hip. The fir&s;t of the&s;e we find comprized in
the Book of <HI>Articles;</HI> the other in the Book of
<HI>Common Prayer,</HI> and other Rites and Ceremonies of
the Church of <HI>England.</HI> In both of which the Fa|thers
<PB N="129" REF="76">
of this Church proceeded with a temperate
hand, having one eye upon the Scriptures, the other
on the practice of the Church of God in her pure&s;t
Ages; but none at all, either on <HI>Saxonie</HI> or <HI>Ge|neva.</HI>
Its true indeed, that <HI>Calvin</HI> offered his a&s;&s;i|&s;tance
to Archbi&s;hop <HI>Cranmer,</HI> for the compo&s;ing
of our Articles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">00.</NOTE> <HI>&s;i quis mei u&s;us fore videbitur,</HI> if
his a&s;&s;i&s;tance were thought nece&s;&s;ary; and would
have cro&s;&s;ed the Seas about it. But the Archbi&s;hop
knew the man, and how he had been practi&s;ing with
the Duke of <HI>Somer&s;et,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t Calv. ad Bulling. fol. 98.</NOTE> <HI>ut Hoppero manum porrigeret,</HI>
to countenance Bi&s;hop <HI>Hooper</HI> in his oppo&s;ition to
the Churches Ordinances, and thereupon refu&s;ed
the offer. <HI>Latimer</HI> al&s;o tells us, in a Sermon preached
before King <HI>Edward,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lat. p. 47.</NOTE> <HI>Anno</HI> 1549. That there was a
Speech touching <HI>Melanchthons</HI> comming over; but
it went no further then the Speech.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mel. Epi&s;t. Anno 1553.</NOTE> And he him|&s;elf,
<HI>Melancthon,</HI> writes to <HI>Camerarius, Regiis literis in
Angliam vocor,</HI> that he was &s;ent for into <HI>England;</HI>
but this was not till 53. as his Letters te&s;tifie: the
Articles of this Church being pa&s;&s;ed the year before
in Convocation, and the Doctrine &s;etled. God cer|tainly
had &s;o di&s;po&s;ed it in his heavenly wi&s;dom, that
&s;o this Church depending upon neither party, might
in &s;ucceeding times be a judge between them, as
more inclinable to compo&s;e, then e&s;pou&s;e their quar|rells.
And for this Doctrine what it is, how corre|&s;pondent
to the word of God, and to the ancient ten|dries
of the Catholick Church, the Challenge and
Apology of Bi&s;hop <HI>Jewel,</HI> never yet throughly an|&s;wered
by the adver&s;e party, may be proof &s;uffici|ent.
But we have further proof then that; for the
Archbi&s;hop of <HI>Spalato</HI> at his going hence profe&s;&s;ed
<PB N="130" REF="77">
openly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Spalat.</HI> &s;hift|ing, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> p. 90. &amp; pag 41.</NOTE> that he would ju&s;tifie and defend the Church
of <HI>England</HI> for an Orthodox Church in all the e&s;|&s;entiall
points of Chri&s;tianity; and that he held the
Articles thereof to be true and profitable, and none
of them at all heretical. And he that calls him&s;elf
<HI>Franci&s;cus, &agrave; S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> Clara</HI> in his <HI>Examen</HI> of tho&s;e Ar|ticles
denies not, but that being rightly under&s;tood,
they do contain &s;ound Catholick Doctrine. <HI>Ade&ograve; ve|ri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">as
ab invitis etiam pectoribus erumpet,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Lactan|tius</HI>
truly.</P>
<P>Now, as the Church of <HI>England</HI> did not <GAP DESC="foreign">
(as once the Orator affirmed of the <HI>Grecian</HI> Ora|cles,)
in the points of Doctrine: &s;o neither did it
<HI>Calvinize</HI> in matter of exterior order, and Gods
publick Wor&s;hip. The Liturgy of this Church was
&s;o framed and fitted, out of tho&s;e common princi|ples
of Religion, wherein all parties did agree, that
it was generally applauded and approved by tho&s;e,
who &s;ince have laboured to oppo&s;e it. <HI>Alexander A|le&s;ius</HI>
a learned Scot did fir&s;t tran&s;late it into <HI>Latine;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In Epi&s;t. ad Buceri cen|&s;aram.</NOTE>
and that, as he him&s;elf affirms, both for the com|fort
and example of all other Churches which did
endeavour Reformation, and increa&s;e of piety. The
<HI>Scots</HI> in their fir&s;t Reformation divers years together
u&s;ed the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Liturgy: the fancy of extemporary
prayers not being then took up not cheri&s;hed, as
<HI>Knox</HI> him&s;elf confe&s;&s;eth in his own dear Hi&s;tory.
And how&s;oever now of late they have divulged a
factious and prohibited Pamphlet again&s;t the <HI>Eng|li&s;h</HI>
Popi&s;h Ceremonies, as they plea&s;e to call them;
yet in the &s;tructure of their Reformation, they bound
them&s;elves by Oath and by Covenant too, to adhere
only to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of
<PB N="131" REF="77">
<HI>England; Religionis cultui, &amp; ritibus cum Anglis
communibus &s;ub&s;crip&s;erunt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. Scot. lib. 19.</NOTE> as it is in <HI>Buchan|nan.</HI></P>
<P>So for the other oppo&s;ite party, tho&s;e of <HI>Rome,</HI>
they made at fir&s;t no doubt nor &s;cruple of coming
to our publick Service, or joyning with us in the
wor&s;hip of one common Saviour. Sir <HI>Edward Coke,</HI>
a man who both for age and ob&s;ervation was very
well able to avow it, both in his pleadings again&s;t
<HI>Garnet,</HI> and his Charge given at the A&s;&s;izes held in
<HI>Norwich,</HI> and the &s;ixth part of his Reports, in <HI>Caw|dries</HI>
ca&s;e, doth affirm expre&s;ly, that for the ten fir&s;t
years of Queen <HI>Elizabeths</HI> Reign, there was no Re|cu&s;ant
known in <HI>England:</HI> who&s;e te&s;timony, le&s;t it
&s;hould &s;tand &s;ingle, and &s;o become obnoxious to
tho&s;e &s;corns and cavils which <HI>Par&s;ons</HI> in his An&s;wer
unto that Report hath be&s;towed upon it, <HI>Sanders</HI>
him&s;elf, in his &s;editious Book <HI>de Schi&s;mate,</HI> &s;hall come
in for &s;econd. <HI>Frequentabant haereticorum Synagogas,
intererant eorum concionibus, ad ea&s;&abque; audiendas filios
&amp; familiam &s;uam compellebant.</HI> So he; but not to
&s;tand upon his te&s;timony, or build &s;o great an edifice
on &s;o weak a ground,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ari&s;t. Eth.</NOTE> as the <GAP DESC="foreign">,
the &s;uffrage and con&s;ent of the vulgar Meinie; the
<HI>Pope</HI> him&s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ann. Eliz. Anno 1561.</NOTE> as <HI>Cambden</HI> doth relate the Story, made
offer to confirm our Liturgie, the better to make up
the breaches of the Hou&s;e of God; which &s;ince, the
<HI>Prie&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Je&s;uites</HI> have di&s;&s;waded from, out of a
wretched policy to make them wider. A point
which verily that <HI>Pope</HI> had not yielded to, being a
very &s;tiffe and rigorous <HI>Prelate,</HI> but that he found
the Liturgie to be &s;o compo&s;ed, as it could no wayes
be offen&s;ive unto Catholick eares. Either the <HI>Pope</HI>
<PB N="132" REF="78">
mu&s;t lo&s;e his infallibility, and become &s;ubject unto
error, like to other men; or el&s;e there is no error
to be found in the Engli&s;h Liturgie.</P>
<P>Thus have we &s;een a Church reformed, according
to the pre&s;cript of the Word of God, by the Law
and Te&s;timony. A Church that &s;eemes to have
been cultivated by the Lords own hand, planted by
<HI>Paul,</HI> and watred by <HI>Apollos,</HI> God him&s;elf giving the
increa&s;e. A Church that grew up in the middle of
two contrary factions, as did the Primitive Church
between <HI>Jew</HI> and <HI>Gentile,</HI> and was the better &s;treng|thened
and con&s;olidated by the oppo&s;ition. Gods
Field was no where better husbanded, the good
&s;eed no where &s;owen with a clearer hand, then it was
in this. <HI>O faciles dare &s;umma Deos!</HI> But as it fared
at fir&s;t with the Primitive Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lucan:</NOTE> &s;o it hapned here.
We mu&s;t not &s;o far flatter and abu&s;e our &s;elves, as
to conceive there are no tares at all in our Reforma|tion,
becau&s;e it was fir&s;t &s;owen with the Lords good
Seed. The Devil as he &s;tayed his time, <HI>donec dor|mirent
homines,</HI> till the &s;ervants &s;lept, &s;o he made
u&s;e of &s;uch a grain, and u&s;ed &s;uch &s;ubtile in&s;truments
to effect his purpo&s;e, that many will not think them
to be tares of the enemies &s;owing now they are a|wake.
But being they are come at le&s;t to <HI>feci&s;&s;ent
fructum,</HI> unto the bringing forth of fruit, we mu&s;t
needs challenge them for tares, and &s;o pronounce
them.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t it was accounted in <HI>Aerius</HI> for a capitall
Here&s;ie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Haere&s;. 75. n. 3.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, that
Prie&s;ts and Bi&s;hops were all one, no difference at all
between them. This <HI>Epiphanius</HI> who records it calls
<GAP DESC="foreign">, a frantick dotage, and &s;uch as could
<PB N="133" REF="78">
not then obtain belief or credit. Nor did it other|wi&s;e
&s;ucceed in the world abroad; <HI>Aerius</HI> and all his
followers being exiled from the &s;ociety of mankind,
<GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> flying to Woods and Precipi|ces,
and to de&s;olate places. I hope it cannot be de|nied,
but that this tare hath taken a deep root a|mong&s;t
us. The Bi&s;hop is not only in the&s;e dayes
put below the Prie&s;t, but thought to be at all no Or|der
in the Church of God. <HI>Aerius</HI> was too gentle
to a&s;cribe them any thing; nor was he &s;o well &s;tu|died
in the controver&s;ie as we have been &s;ince. And
here methinks we may re&s;ume, as well the wonder
as the words of <HI>Lyrinen&s;is:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cont. haer: cap. 9.</NOTE> Here we have <HI>miram re|rum
conver&s;ionem,</HI> a &s;trange turn indeed. The world
is finely brought about; It is the Bi&s;hop in our times,
and not the Heretick, that is turned out of Hou&s;e
and home, pronounced to be an <HI>Alien</HI> to the Tribes
of <HI>I&s;rael;</HI> and cur&s;ed are they that give them room
or entertainment. It was &s;o ordered in <HI>Geneva,</HI> when
in their Reformation, if I &s;o may call it, they expel|led
their Bi&s;hop: and they that &s;ince that time have
imbraced their principles, have ever &s;ince pur&s;ued
their practi&s;es. Nor is this Doctrine thus di&s;&s;emina|ted,
a deviation only from Antiquity, no hereticall
Tenet; or made to be an Here&s;ie by the Bi&s;hops
only, <HI>ab epi&s;copis,</HI> as <HI>Danaeus</HI> hath it, &s;uch as were
<HI>Epiphanius</HI> and St. <HI>Austin,</HI> who do &s;o define it: The
learned <HI>Cracanthorp,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">cap. 41. num. 3.</NOTE> who if he did decline in any
thing from the Church of <HI>England,</HI> it was in favour
of that party, calls it in plain termes <HI>Puritanorum
haere&s;in,</HI> or the <HI>Puritan Here&s;ie,</HI> in his defence a|gain&s;t
<HI>Spalato.</HI></P>
<P>But yet <HI>Aerius</HI> &s;tayed not here. He had before
<PB N="134" REF="79">
blown down the Bi&s;hops, as he thought him&s;elf, and
mu&s;t now have a blow at the civil State. He could
by no meanes like of fa&s;ting, e&s;pecially of fa&s;ting
on &s;et dayes and times; but would by all meanes have
it left to mens Chri&s;tian liberty, to be omitted or
performed as men li&s;t them&s;elves. <HI>Non celebranda
e&s;se &s;tatura jejunia,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De haere&s;. cap. 53.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ed c&ugrave;m qui&s;que voluerit jeju|nandum,</HI>
&s;aith St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> of him. Where we may &s;ee
what kind of fa&s;tings they were that the man di&s;li|ked,
<HI>viz. Statuta jejunia,</HI> fa&s;tings ordained by Law,
and impo&s;ed by Statute: An arbitrary fa&s;t of his
own appointment no man liked better then him&s;elf.
Nay, he was &s;o aver&s;e from all publick order, that
whereas antiently tho&s;e Ea&s;tern Churches did u&s;e to
fa&s;t the <HI>Wedne&s;day</HI> and the <HI>Friday,</HI> and fea&s;t it al|wayes
on the <HI>Sunday;</HI> this man and his Di&s;ciples
mu&s;t needs fa&s;t the <HI>Sunday,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">phan. hae<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;. 75. n. 3.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
and revel it, who&s;oever &s;aid nay, upon the
<HI>Wedne&s;day</HI> and the <HI>Friday.</HI> I mu&s;t needs follow this
fine fellow a little further in his cour&s;es. The Church
in tho&s;e mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed times did u&s;e to &s;pend the
week which preceded <HI>Easter,</HI> the holy week, as
pure antiquity did call it, in watching, fa&s;ting, prayer,
and other exerci&s;es of humiliation; on no day more
then on good <HI>Fryday. Aerius</HI> on the contrary and his
Di&s;ciples, u&s;ed not alone to pamper and inflame the
fle&s;h in that holy time, but to deride all tho&s;e
that carefully and religiou&s;ly ob&s;erved the &s;ame,
<GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> as the Father. I put it
to the Con&s;ciences of tho&s;e who this day hear me,
whether they have not eaten of this tare too liberal|ly.
Certain I am, that many a pious man among&s;t
us may complain with <HI>David, I humbled my
<PB N="135" REF="79">
&s;elf with fa&s;ting, and that was turned to my re|proof.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Arius</HI> comes &s;omewhat neer in &s;ound unto <HI>Aerius;</HI>
and they agreed in other matters of their Here&s;ie,
though not in the&s;e. What <HI>Arius</HI> and <HI>Aerius</HI> taught
in derogation of the honour of our Lord and Savi|our,
we all know &s;ufficiently. And though I will not
&s;ay with &s;ome <HI>Lutheran</HI> Doctors,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dieter. con&punc; Lam. p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">d.</NOTE> <HI>Calvini anam reli|gionem
eju&s;modi principia continere, ex quibus fa|cilis
e&s;t prolap&s;us ad Ariani&s;mum,</HI> yet one might
&s;ay, I doubt too ju&s;tly, that &s;ome among&s;t us of that
party come too neer the <HI>Arians</HI> in their expre&s;&s;ions
and behaviour. In their expre&s;&s;ions, making <HI>Chri&s;t</HI>
our Saviour no better then an elder Brother, the
fir&s;t begotten of the Saints, and no more then &s;o. So
that in ca&s;e the&s;e men &s;hould hold in Heaven by
Burgh Engli&s;h, (as doubtle&s;s where&s;oever they come,
they will &s;tart new tenures) their &s;hare in the eternal
glories, for ought I conceive, may be the greater of
the two: for their behaviour, that is fitted unto
their expre&s;&s;ions. For if our Saviour be but in the
&s;tate of an elder Brother, why may they not be ho|noured
when they &s;tand before him, talk with him as
familiarly as with one another, and &s;it down with
him at his Table? A ge&s;ture at the holy Supper,
however much de&s;ired both here and el&s;e-where,
which in three &s;everall Synods of the <HI>Poli&s;h</HI>
Churches, &s;tands condemn'd of <HI>Ariani&s;m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">, Ritum &s;e|dendi
ad men&s;am dominicam,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;en&s;. Eccl. Pol:</NOTE> <HI>profectum e&s;&s;e ab A|rianis
tran fugis.</HI> It came, &s;ay they, expre&s;ly from
the <HI>Arian</HI> Hereticks; and to them I leave it: I
only note it as a tare of the Enemies &s;owing, you
may di&s;cern it by the fruits.</P>
<P><PB N="136" REF="80">
And now I am fallen upon the point of ge&s;ture
in the holy Sacrament, I mu&s;t needs &s;peak a little of
the point of ge&s;ture in the act of prayer. Pious and
pure Antiquity u&s;ed in the time and act of prayer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apologer:</NOTE>
<HI>ad orientis regionem precari,</HI> in <HI>Tertullians</HI> Lan|guage,
to turn their faces towards the <HI>Ea&s;t.</HI> A Cu|&s;tom
of &s;uch univer&s;al latitude, that <HI>Epiphanius</HI>
reckoneth it among&s;t the Here&s;ies, or follies rather
of the <HI>O&s;&s;eni,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Haere&s;. 19: n. 3.</NOTE> a &s;ort of Hereticks mixt of <HI>Jew</HI> &amp; <HI>Chri|&s;tian,</HI>
that they prohibited their followers to ob|&s;erve
the &s;ame, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as the
Father hath it. How much we have of the&s;e <HI>O&s;&s;eni,</HI>
and how this Church hath been traduced in the&s;e
latter dayes, need not now be &s;aid. Or were it need|full,
I &s;hould &s;ay no more then this, that <HI>Cartwright</HI>
fir&s;t began the cry in the late Queens Reign. <HI>Burton</HI>
with his A&s;&s;ociates have &s;ince took it up; the Au|thour
of the <HI>Holy Table</HI> opening as wide as any of
the re&s;t to make up the Con&s;ort.</P>
<P>But to proceed; <HI>Optatus</HI> tells us of the <HI>Donati&s;ts,</HI>
that they confined the Church to their private Con|venticles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De &s;chi&s;m. Donati&s;t. lib. 1.</NOTE>
making that part of <HI>Africk</HI> wherein they re|&s;ided
to be the Catholick Church of <HI>Christ,</HI> the re&s;i|due
of all the world being quite excluded. And this
they did, &s;aith he, <HI>quia &s;pecialem &s;anctitatem &s;ibi
vendicabant,</HI> becau&s;e they challenged to them&s;elves
a peculiar &s;anctity, not incident to other people. In
confidence of this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">lib. 4. Id. p. 122.</NOTE> they did not only think all Chri|&s;tians
el&s;e unworthy of their &s;alutation, and of the
common courte&s;ies between man and man; but
taught their followers and Di&s;ciples, <HI>ne ave dicant
cuiquam no&s;trum,</HI> not to be&s;tow an <HI>Ave</HI> or <HI>All hail</HI>
upon them. And more then &s;o, <HI>&s;candala contra nos
<PB N="137" REF="80">
ponitis,</HI> they rai&s;ed fal&s;e clamors, &s;candalous reports
again&s;t their Brethren: nor was there one of all the
Sect, <HI>qui non convitia no&s;tra &s;uis tractatibus mi&s;ceat,</HI>
who&s;e Pamphlets were not full of opprob<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ious rail|ings
again&s;t the Orthodox profe&s;&s;ors.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. ibid. p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> 522.</NOTE> Nay, they
went &s;o farre at the la&s;t, as violently to a&s;&s;ault and
kill their oppo&s;ites; as did <HI>Purpurius Lerinen&s;is,</HI> who
with his own hands killed his own Si&s;ters Sonne:
and being asked the rea&s;on of it, returned this an|&s;wer,
<HI>Et occidi,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. l. 1.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; occido non eos &s;olos, &s;ed &amp; qui|cunque
contra me fecerit,</HI> that he had done it, and
would do the like to any he who dur&s;t oppo&s;e him.
How came they &s;hall we think to this dangerous
height? why certainly, becau&s;e they had di&s;cl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">im|ed
the juri&s;diction and authority of the civill Magi|&s;trate
thinking them&s;elves exempt from all hum<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ne
Ordinances; and that not only in &s;uch matters
which concern the Church, according to that fre|quent
dictate of <HI>Donatus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. l. 3.</NOTE> <HI>quid imperatori cum Eccle&s;ia?</HI>
No, they were better &s;tudied in the point then &s;o,
and thought the King, or &s;upreme Magi&s;trate, a mo&s;t
unnece&s;&s;ary calling in a Chri&s;tian State. <HI>Quid Chri&s;ti|anis
cum Regibus?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. l. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> What need have Chri&s;tians of a
King, was their common &s;aying, and that went very
high indeed.</P>
<P>Other particular notes and characters of this de|&s;perate
Here&s;ie I omit of purpo&s;e. The&s;e are enough,
if not too many, to make plain &amp; manife&s;t how deep
a root this dangerous tare hath gotten in our Re|formation:
for he knowes not any thing who knowes
not this, that &s;ome among&s;t us have appropriated
to their &s;ecret Conventicles the name and title of
the Church; and to them&s;elves, the names of Chri|&s;tians
<PB N="138" REF="81">
and Profe&s;&s;ors; that they be&s;tow no better at|tributes
on &s;uch as are conformable to the publick
Government, both in their Pamphlets and their
prattles, then &s;uch as are not fit for the eares of
Chri&s;tians; that out of an opinion of their own dear
&s;anctity, they will have no commerce, and much
le&s;&s;e humanity, with &s;uch as they conceive not to like
their cour&s;es. The&s;e things are <HI>notiora qu&agrave;m ut &s;tylo
egeant.</HI> There are &s;ome other points and circum&s;tan|ces,
in which they come more near the <HI>Donati&s;t:</HI> one
<HI>Burchet,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cambd: in Annal. Anno 1573.</NOTE> a great zelot of the former times, being
come at la&s;t to be of this opinion with them, <HI>Lici|tum
e&s;&s;e Evangelicae veritati adver&s;antes occidere,</HI> that
it was lawful to de&s;troy all tho&s;e which oppo&s;ed
the Go&s;pel. How the &s;aid <HI>Burchet</HI> put in executi|on
his own divelli&s;h Principles, and what effects they
wrought on that furious <HI>Welchman,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P: <HI>Studley</HI> looking-gl. of Schi&s;me.</NOTE> in that mo&s;t bar|barous
A&s;&s;a&s;&s;inate on his innocent Mother, is not now
my bu&s;ine&s;s. All I &s;hall &s;ay is briefly this, that men
are principally led into the&s;e extremities, on this
mi&s;per&s;wa&s;ion, that Kings have no Authority in &s;a|cred
matters; and con&s;equently, every man, of what
&s;ort &s;oever, in matters which concern Religion
may be a King unto him&s;elf. Which if it once be
took for granted, if once they come to ask this Que|&s;tion,
<HI>quid imperatori cum Eccle&s;ia?</HI> a&s;&s;uredly in little,
very little time, they will make bold to alter and in|vert
the other, and ask, <HI>quid regibus cum Chri&s;tianis?</HI>
what right have Kings to Lord it over Gods Inheri|tance?</P>
<P><HI>Occultior Pompeius Cae&s;are,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. l. 1:</NOTE> <HI>non melior. Pompey,</HI>
&s;aith <HI>Tacitus,</HI> was &s;omething &s;ecreter then <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> in
his proceedings, though nothing &s;ounder in his pur|po&s;es
<PB N="139" REF="81">
to the Common-wealth. So &s;tood the ca&s;e
between <HI>Pri&s;cillian</HI> and the <HI>Donati&s;t: Pri&s;cillian</HI> was
the warier of the two, but perhaps more wicked: his
Doctrine and his practi&s;e too, tending to the &s;ub|ver&s;ion
of all publick Government and humane &s;o|ciety.
His Doctrine was,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de hae|re&s;. c. 10&punc;</NOTE> <HI>fatalibus a&s;tris homines alli|gatos
e&s;&s;e,</HI> that all mens actions were nece&s;&s;itated by
the Starres above. A Paradox by him derived from
<HI>Barde&s;anes,</HI> who a&s;cribed all things unto <HI>Fate;</HI> by
<HI>Barde&s;anes</HI> from the <HI>Stoicks.</HI> And for their practi&s;e
what it was, we may conjecture at it by their &s;o ce|lebrated
Maxime, which St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> &s;peaks of, <HI>Jura,
perjura,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. ibid:</NOTE> <HI>&s;ecretum prodere noli,</HI> That &s;wearing, for&s;wea|ring,
any thing was lawful which did conduce to the
concealing of their coun&s;els, and the promoting of
their Sect. The Doctrine of Prede&s;tination, as by
&s;ome delivered, comes home unto the dreames and
dotages of <HI>Barde&s;anes</HI> and <HI>Pri&s;cillian,</HI> nece&s;&s;itating
all mens actions by the fatality of Gods Decrees:
By which we are informed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Calv: In&s;tit.</NOTE> <HI>decretum e&s;&s;e &agrave; Deo ut &s;ua
defectione periret Adam,</HI> that God decreed the
fall of <HI>Adam</HI> before all eternity; and that the acti|ons
of the Sonnes of <HI>Adam</HI> are &s;o pre&s;cribed and li|mited
by the like Decrees,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pi&s;cat. ad Vor&s;tium.</NOTE> <HI>ut nec plus boni faciant,
nec plus mali omittant,</HI> that they can neither do more
works of piety, nor commit fewer deeds of darkne&s;s
then their &s;tint or mea&s;ure. But for the Maxime of
<HI>Pri&s;cillian,</HI> and the great u&s;e is made of that, whe|ther
for the concealing of their purpo&s;es, or the ad|vancement
of their projects,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Baner. of l. 3. c 9.</NOTE> <HI>Cartwright</HI> him&s;elf &s;hall
come to give in evidence: who being cited to ap|pear
in a Court of Judicature, indicted an A&s;&s;embly
of his Church in <HI>London,</HI> and there propo&s;ed this
<PB N="140" REF="82">
que&s;tion to them, Whether or not it were convenient
for him, being to be examined upon Oath, to reveal
any of the matters which had pa&s;&s;ed among&s;t them?
A very tender ca&s;e of con&s;cience, &s;uch as I tru&s;t is
neither to be found nor parallel'd in all the Ca&s;ui&s;ts
and School-men from <HI>Bonaventure</HI> down to <HI>Bonaci|na.</HI>
I only add this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sulpit. Sever. hi&s;t. l. 1.</NOTE> and &s;o leave <HI>Pri&s;cillian;</HI> and that
is, how <HI>Ju&s;tantius,</HI> one of his A&s;&s;ociates, and a chief
&s;tickler in the Sect, was for his factious and &s;editi|ous
cariage bani&s;hed for ever to the I&s;les of <HI>Scilly,
Ad Sillinam in&s;ulam ultra Britanniam deportatus,</HI> as
<HI>Sulpitius</HI> hath it.</P>
<P>But Popery and Pelagiani&s;me are the darling er|rors,
the <GAP DESC="foreign">, the bo&s;om-mi&s;chiefs of
the time, as &s;ome men conceive it. Are none of the&s;e
crept up in our Reformation? <HI>Pelagiani&s;me</HI> &s;ome,
that's certain: and that no otherwi&s;e e&s;teemed and
cheri&s;hed, than if it were a part of our Saviours Go|&s;pel.
St. <HI>Hierome</HI> tells us of <HI>Pelagius,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Adv. Pelag. l. 1.</NOTE> how general|ly
he was offended with the Surplice, how much it
went unto his heart, <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticum ordinem in candi|da
ve&s;te procedere,</HI> to &s;ee the Prie&s;t admini&s;ter the
ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament in a white Ve&s;ture. <HI>Pelagians</HI>
of this kinde we have too too many; &s;uch as not
only hate the Surplice, and refu&s;e to wear it, but
think the Go&s;pel of our Saviour to be unprofitable
and of none effect, if preach'd by one that doth ap|prove
it. A learned man who once was of that par|ty,
<HI>&amp; pars magna</HI> too,<NOTE PLACE="marg">D. <HI>Burges.</HI></NOTE> hath &s;o informed me
in his Books, and I dare take it on his cre|dit.</P>
<P>For Popery, that is grown among&s;t us to the ve|ry
height; and in the points and parts thereof, in
<PB N="141" REF="82">
which the life and e&s;&s;ence of Popedom doth con&s;i&s;t
e&s;pecially. The time was, when as Kings and Empe|rors
had the &s;ole power of calling Councils, of mode|rating
or pre&s;iding in them by them&s;elves or Depu|ties;
and finally, of confirming their Acts and Canons.
This power the Popes have long u&s;urped, and think
it a great favour unto &s;ecular Princes, if they vouch|&s;afe
to give them notice of their purpo&s;es, or tru&s;t
them with the execution of their Lawes and Ordi|nances.
The time was too when Princes thought
them&s;elves &s;upreme in their own Dominions, ac|comptable
to none but God. But now the Popes
have challenged a di&s;po&s;ing power, both of their Per|&s;ons
and E&s;tates: as being the Vice-gerents of Al|mighty
God, the Vicars general of Chri&s;t our Savi|our.
To produce Authors for the proof of &s;uch evi|dent
truths, e&s;pecially in &s;uch a knowing and di&s;|cerning
audience, were a foul impertinency, and
indeed <HI>&s;en&s;ibile &s;uper &s;en&s;orium ponere,</HI> to light a
Candle to the Sun.</P>
<P>In the&s;e two points, which are the very life and
e&s;&s;ence of the Popedom, as before I &s;aid, the Puri|tan
is no le&s;&s;e Popi&s;h then the Pope him&s;elf. The
power of calling the A&s;&s;embly, that appertains no
longer unto Kings and Princes; it belongs only to
the Church, that is, them&s;elves. God was mi&s;taken
&s;ure when he &s;aid to <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. 10. 1, 2.</NOTE> <HI>Fac tibi duas tubas ar|genteas,</HI>
that he &s;hould make to, or for, him&s;elf two
&s;ilver Trumpets; tis well if <HI>Dathan, Corah</HI> and
<HI>Abiram</HI> will allow him one. And for the civill power,
to command that one, according to the Doctrine
now, it is originally in the people too, and in the
King by way of derivation only: and that too
<PB N="142" REF="83">
<HI>cumulativ&egrave;,</HI> not <HI>privativ&egrave;,</HI> as they plea&s;e to word it;
the people having &s;till a liberty inherent in them to
rea&s;&s;ume the Government, as they &s;ee occa&s;ion.
There is much talk indeed of <HI>Solomon,</HI> and all his
wi&s;dom: think we, he was not out when he broach|ed
this Doctrine, <HI>per me Reges regnant,</HI> by me
Kings reign; or &s;peaking as he did, in Parables and
Proverbs, which are hard to con&s;true, his words
may brook &s;ome other meaning then they &s;eem to
&s;ignifie?<NOTE PLACE="marg">De Jure Regni.</NOTE> <HI>Buchanan</HI> was a learned man too, but &s;peaks
plainer farre; <HI>Populo jus e&s;t imperum cui velit
deferat.</HI> The people have a power, &s;aith he, to di&s;|po&s;e
of Kingdoms, from man to man, and line to
line, as they li&s;t them&s;elves. Nor &s;tood he &s;ingle in
it neither. <HI>Goodman</HI> and <HI>Knox,</HI> the two Apo&s;tles of
the Sect, led the way to him, and they fir&s;t brought
it to <HI>Geneva;</HI> The Kings and Princes of the Earth
mu&s;t change their &s;tyles and tenures, if this Doctrine
hold: It is no longer <HI>Dei Gratia</HI> that they hold their
Scepters, but <HI>Populi clementia,</HI> by the peoples
courte&s;ie. And <HI>Tenant</HI> at the will of another man is
the wor&s;t tenure or e&s;tate in all my <HI>Littleton.</HI> The
greate&s;t Kings and Princes, by their opinion, are but
as Bayliffs and &s;worn Officers of the Common|wealth,
and therefore to be called to a publick rec|koning,
either upon pretence of mal-admini&s;tration,
or any popular di&s;like or di&s;gu&s;t what&s;oever: nor
will there want &s;ome Tribunitial Spirit, when occa|&s;ion
&s;erves, to take them by the throat, and &s;ay unto
them, <HI>Redde rationem villicationis tace,</HI> that is to
&s;ay, as our la&s;t Tran&s;lations read, Give an account of
thy Steward&s;hip, for thou &s;halt be no longer Stew|ard.
This is indeed the Doctrine proper to the Sect,
<PB N="143" REF="83">
for which they have no precedent nor pattern in the
former times; and is withall the true foundation of
that di&s;obedience and de&s;ire of liberty, which is be|come
&s;o Epidemical among&s;t us. There are none
&s;o blind but may di&s;cern this for a tare of the
enemies &s;owing. It is already come to <HI>feci&s;&s;ent
fructum.</HI></P>
<P>I could now to the&s;e points of Popery add a
point of Judai&s;me, in the impo&s;ing of a Sabbath on
the Church of Chri&s;t; and that to be ob&s;erved with
&s;o great &s;everity, that they have gone beyond the
Jewes, and &s;hewed them&s;elves more Phari&s;aical then
the very Phari&s;ees. But hereof I have &s;poken more
at large el&s;ewhere, and cannot now contract it in a
narrower compa&s;&s;e. I could &s;ay &s;omewhat al&s;o of
tho&s;e Phari&s;ees, both for their Doctrine and their
practi&s;e: their Doctrine, in maintaining Fate and De|&s;tiny
as the <HI>Stoicks</HI> did, and &s;etting up their own tra|ditions
above the word of God and the Churches
Ordinances: their practi&s;es, in the compa&s;&s;ing of Sea
and Land to increa&s;e their Pro&s;elytes, the o&s;tentati|on
of their zeal and piety to the publick view; the
ab&s;olute command they attained unto both on the
pur&s;es and the con&s;ciences of the common people;
and on the &s;trength thereof, their di&s;obedience and
contempt of all Authority: but the&s;e I only glance
at, and &s;o pa&s;&s;e them over. Nor &s;hall I now in&s;i&s;t on
the <HI>Nazaraei,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epiph. haere&s;s. 29. n. 6. Id. haere&s;. 76. n. 4.</NOTE> excluding the nece&s;&s;ity of good works
out of the Covenant of grace: nor on the Here&s;ie
of the <HI>Anomaei,</HI> or <HI>Eunomians,</HI> who for them&s;elves
and their Di&s;ciples had cancelled the Obligation of
the morall Law; nor of the <HI>Apo&s;tolici,</HI> who had all
things common, or rather common &s;tocks and con|tributions,
<PB N="144" REF="84">
for the promoting of the Sect.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. de haere<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. c. 40.</NOTE> I &s;hould
be endle&s;s in this tedious and ungrateful &s;earch,
&s;hould I pre&s;ent you all tho&s;e tares which have been
&s;cattered in Gods Field &s;ince the Reformation.</P>
<P>Tares then there are we &s;ee in our Churches too,
not only in the Church of <HI>Rome:</HI> tho&s;e I di&s;covered
to you at my la&s;t being here; the&s;e I re&s;erved un|till
this pre&s;ent, with promi&s;e then, that if you
would have patience, I would pay you all; and now
I hope I have di&s;charged my &s;elf of that Obligation.
And in this way I went the rather, for the perfor|mance
of my duty to Almighty God, and to your
&s;acred Maje&s;ty, as Gods Vice-gerent in the&s;e King|doms;
and unto tho&s;e who under God and you
have the chief ordering of this Church. The&s;e tares
I &s;aw not in the <HI>Sevit,</HI> I was then unborn; nor in
<HI>crevi&s;&s;et herba,</HI> when the blade &s;prung up; for if born
then, I was then too young. But being now a &s;er|vant,
though the meane&s;t of the heavenly Husband|man,
and having noted and ob&s;erved them in <HI>feci&s;&s;ent
fructum,</HI> I have made bold to come before you, as
did the &s;ervants of my Text, &s;aying, <HI>Sirs, There was
good &s;eed &s;ow<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">n in the Field of God&punc; but unde haec
zizania? but behold the&s;e Tares.</HI> And having &s;aid
this, I have done my duty. God &s;o direct your royall
Coun&s;els, and the avi&s;o's of your P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">elates for the
Churches peace, for the averting of tho&s;e mi&s;chiefs
which the&s;e tares do threaten, that &s;o not any of
them, no nor all together may either prove infecti|ous
to the Wheat, the Lords own good Seed, or any
way de&s;tructive to the Field it &s;elf. And let all good
Chri&s;tians &s;ay, Amen.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="6" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="145" REF="84">
<HEAD>SERMON VI.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At WHITE-HALL <DATE>Jan. 21. 1639.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. v. 28.</BIBL>
<Q><P>Et ait illis, Inimicus homo hoc fecit.</P></Q>
<Q><P>He &s;aid unto them, An enemy hath done this.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_FAcilius e&s;t in contubernalibus di&s;putare
qu&agrave;m con&s;erere &s;apientiam.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Minut. Felix.</NOTE> It is ob&s;er|ved
exceeding well by <HI>Minutius Fe|lix,</HI>
that men of equall parts and
power may farre more ea&s;ily debate
then defend a que&s;tion. Di&s;putes are
&s;ooner rai&s;ed then they are determined: and every
one that knowes how to &s;tart a que&s;tion knowes
not how to lay it. Determinations and Deci&s;ions are
matters of Authority and Judgement, which how|&s;oever
they were agitated and prepared in Schools,
are pronounced <HI>ex Cathedra.</HI> If the Di&s;pute be|come
&s;o vehement, and the point &s;o intricate, that
neither the Ma&s;ter of the Schools, nor Doctors of
the Chaire do determine of it, then <HI>Dic Eccle&s;iae</HI>
comes in next, devolve the bu&s;ine&s;s to the Church,
and hearken with obedience to her re&s;olutions. The
<PB N="146" REF="85">
Church is furni&s;hed by our Lord and Saviour with
&s;ufficient power to &s;ettle and compo&s;e &s;uch que&s;ti|ons
as are rai&s;ed within her: nor wants &s;he the a&s;&s;i|&s;tance
of Gods Spirit to direct that power for the
appea&s;ing of the &s;ame; yet if the Church be wa|vering
and un&s;etled in her re&s;olutions, or that the
point in que&s;tion be <HI>de &s;umma rerum,</HI> the &s;afety and
&s;ub&s;i&s;tence of the Church it &s;elf, then mu&s;t we do
as did the &s;ervants of my Text, make our addre&s;&s;e
unto the Lord, who keeps unto him&s;elf the <HI>dernier
re&s;ort.</HI> The &s;ervants came, but how? in the &s;pirit of
prayer. <HI>Acce&s;serunt ad Deum per orationem,</HI> as it is
in <HI>Lyra:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> <HI>Corde &amp; mentis de&s;iderio,</HI> in purity of heart,
and fervency of &s;pirit, as <HI>Remigius</HI> hath it. And he
who&s;e eares are alwayes open to the affectionate de|&s;ires
of his faithful &s;ervants, lets them know the
truth, <HI>Diaboli calliditate hoc factum,</HI> that that
which they enquired about was of Satans doing.
They came unto him with an <HI>unde,</HI> and he makes
an&s;wer with an <HI>ait,</HI> He &s;aid unto them, <HI>inimicus
homo hoc fecit,</HI> the enemy hath done this.</P>
<P>The&s;e words contain in them the&s;e two generall
parts, a <HI>quis re&s;pondet,</HI> and a <HI>quia re&s;pondet:</HI> fir&s;t,
who it is that an&s;wers; and then, what he an&s;wereth.
The <HI>quis re&s;pondet</HI> in the fir&s;t words, <HI>&amp; ait illis,</HI> he
&s;aid unto them; the <HI>quid re&s;pondet</HI> in the la&s;t, <HI>inimi|cus
homo hoc fecit,</HI> an enemy hath done this. In
this la&s;t generall, the <HI>quid re&s;pondet,</HI> we have the&s;e
particulars; fir&s;t, who it was that did this mi&s;chief,
an enemy, <HI>inimicus homo;</HI> next, by what practi&s;es
and arts he did it; which we may ea&s;ily finde, if we
look well for them, in the <HI>fecit hoc.</HI> I &s;hall &s;peak
fir&s;t unto you of the <HI>quis re&s;pondet,</HI> who it
<PB N="147" REF="85">
is that an&s;wereth, <HI>Et ait illis,</HI> he &s;aid unto
them.</P>
<P><HI>Nec Deus inter&s;it ni&s;i dignus vindice nodus Inciderit.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De Art Poet.</NOTE>
It is pre&s;cribed by <HI>Horace,</HI> in his Art of Poe&s;ie, not to
bring in the Gods to bear a part in any of their
&s;cenes and Comedies, but where &s;ome &s;peciall diffi|culty
did ari&s;e, which of nece&s;&s;ity might &s;eem to re|quire
their pre&s;ence. The Parables in Scripture are
a kinde of Poe&s;ie, fitted and framed to our capacity,
and for our in&s;truction. And we may take it for a
rule, that in what Parable &s;oever God comes in di&s;|cour&s;ing,
there is &s;ome weighty point in agitation,
which could not be determined of but by him alone.
God we finde here di&s;cour&s;ing with his Hou&s;hold-&s;ervants,
though not here as God: The Parable holds
in this al&s;o a true decorum with the Rules of Poe&s;ie,
and &s;hewes us God pre&s;ented in the &s;hape of man,
<HI>Et Deus humana &s;ub imagine,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">tam. lib. 1.</NOTE> as it is in <HI>Ovid.</HI> God
here appeares unto us like an Hou&s;holder, or an
Husbandman, the <HI>homo &s;eminans</HI> of the Text, con|ferring
with his &s;ervants, his &s;ubordinate Mini&s;ters,
about the quality and &s;ucce&s;s of their employment.
<HI>He</HI> in this place, as <GAP DESC="foreign"> and <HI>ille</HI> in the <HI>Greek</HI> and <HI>Latine,</HI>
is not demon&s;trative, but relative, and doth relate
unto the Hou&s;holder of the former ver&s;e, the <HI>Pater-familias,</HI>
as the <HI>Latine;</HI> the <GAP DESC="foreign">, or Ma&s;ter of
the Hou&s;e, as the <HI>Greek</HI> calls it.</P>
<P>And indeed, call him by which name you will, it
comes all to one: Each of them doth expre&s;s &s;uffi|ciently
both his power and greatne&s;s. The whole
world, the united body of all mankind is but one
great Family; and who the <HI>Pater-familias,</HI> the Fa|ther
of this Family, but the Father Almighty? His
<PB N="148" REF="86">
Sonnes we are, if we behold our &s;elves in the fir&s;t
Creation; not only as the Father of the fir&s;t man <HI>A|dam,</HI>
from who&s;e loynes we come, but even of all
and every one in his particular. The very bodies of
us men are too too excellent a &s;tructure for man and
nature to erect: And therefore &s;aid <HI>Lactantius</HI> tru|ly,
<HI>hominem non patrem e&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 5. c. 19.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ed generandi mini&s;trum,</HI>
Man only is the In&s;trument which the Lord doth
u&s;e to rai&s;e that goodly edifice of fle&s;h and blood,
which he contemplates in his Children. His &s;ervants
we are too in our &s;everal functions; the King, as the
chief Steward of his Family, to go in and out before
his people; the Bi&s;hop and the Prie&s;t, to in&s;truct
and teach them; the Peeres, to countenance and
protect them; the Judge, to regulate and defend
them. Some in one place, and &s;ome in another, all
&s;ervants, all Dome&s;ticks in that numerous family.
And he, as Father of the Family, doth not he take
care that every one according to his place and qua|lity
receive his portion of meat in due &s;ea&s;on? Doth
not he fea&s;t the rich with dainty, and the poor with
plenty? Doth not he heal the &s;ick, and cure the
wounded, and comfort the afflicted, and &s;upport the
weak? <HI>Sic curat unumquemque tanquam &s;olum curet,
&s;ic omnes tanquam &s;ingulos,</HI> as my Authour hath it.
Never did Father of a Family &s;o di&s;charge his duty.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Minu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE></P>
<P>Next, let us look upon the world as it is an Hou&s;e,
the generall habitation of mankind, and of all Gods
creatures; and who &s;hould be the <GAP DESC="foreign">, the
Lord and Ma&s;ter of this Hou&s;e, but the Lord Al|mighty?
<HI>Deo una domus est totus hic mundus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. ibid.</NOTE>
as &s;aith <HI>Octavius</HI> in the Dialogue. An Hou&s;e &s;o
orderly di&s;po&s;ed, &s;o well contrived, &s;o richly furni&s;h|ed,
<PB N="149" REF="86">
that one may very well conjecture that certain|ly
it hath &s;ome Lord and Ma&s;ter of great power and
wi&s;dom. They &s;ay, the model of an Hou&s;e is fa&s;hio|ned
according to his brain that builds it: Then &s;ure,
the builder of this Hou&s;e is of infinite wi&s;dom, who
hath contrived and ordered it in &s;uch an excellent
manner, as well for &s;tate and entertainment as infe|riour
Offices. And when we come into an Hou&s;e
wherein we &s;ee the &s;ervants vigilant and laborious in
their &s;everall &s;tations, neither omitting their own
duties, nor intermedling in tho&s;e Offices which be|long
to others, we u&s;e to &s;ay, that &s;uch an Hou&s;e is
prudently and wi&s;ely ordered. <HI>Crederes univer&s;itatis
e&s;&s;e dominum;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Minut.</NOTE> The Lord of all this Univer&s;e hath
his Hou&s;e &s;o fitted, alotting every man unto &s;ome
employment, as a barre to idlene&s;s; and limiting
each man to his own employment, to avoid confu&s;i|on.
They which will needs be medling in anothers
office, either the affaires of Church or State, which
they are not called to, d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;turb the order of Gods
Hou&s;e, and &s;ubvert the Di&s;cipline thereof, and &s;o
become unworthy to be counted &s;ervants to &s;o wi&s;e
an Hou&s;holder.</P>
<P>But God is not an Hou&s;holder only, and no more
then &s;o, though &s;o tran&s;lated in my Text: The Lord
is <GAP DESC="foreign"> as well as <GAP DESC="foreign">, Lord of the
&s;oyle, as well as Ma&s;ter of the Hou&s;e; the Hou&s;e
being &s;uch as hath good &s;tore of Land, and a fair
deme&s;ne belonging to it. <HI>Ager e&s;t mundus totus, non
eccle&s;ia;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Origen. in Mat. 13.</NOTE> The whole World is the Field of God, and
therefore called <HI>Ager &s;uus,</HI> his Field. <HI>v.</HI> 24. and <HI>Ager
tuus,</HI> thy field, the &s;ervants &s;peaking to their Ma&s;ter,
<HI>v.</HI> 27. <HI>The Earth is the Lords, and the fulne&s;s of it; the
<PB N="150" REF="87">
whole World, and all that dwell therein,</HI> as the Royal
P&s;almi&s;t hath it. Satan was but a &s;illy braggard, when
he &s;aid to Chri&s;t, <HI>Haec omnia tibi dabo,</HI> all the&s;e will
I give thee. The Kingdoms of the Earth, and the
glories of them are of Gods di&s;po&s;ing: And all the
Princes of the World, even the <HI>Mahometan</HI> and Hea|then,
hold their Crowns of God, though they do
&s;ervice for them to the Devil. The enemy is &s;o far
from being Lord in chief of all the Univer&s;e, that he
hath no propriety in the &s;malle&s;t part: No Field, no
not the corner of a Field, which he can challenge to
him&s;elf, or &s;ay to any of his &s;ervants, that's mine
own, go plough, and fallow, and manure it, and
then &s;owe my &s;eed. If he be &s;o inclined at any time
as to be &s;owing of his tares, it mu&s;t be done in <HI>agro
Domini,</HI> &s;ome part or other of the Lords Field. And
then he comes but on the <HI>post fact</HI> neither, after
the Field was &s;owen with good &s;eed before. For
how&s;oever Here&s;ies may be <HI>antiqua,</HI> yet they are
not <HI>prima;</HI> Here&s;ie may be very ancient, but never
primitive. Truth was fir&s;t &s;owen, though many times
it hapneth by the Devils practi&s;es that Here&s;ie doth
overcome it. <GAP DESC="foreign">, whol&s;om Doctrines, had
fir&s;t of all been planted in the Church of Chri&s;t;
<GAP DESC="foreign">, other Doctrines, as the Apo&s;tle
calls them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">cap. 6. v. 3.</NOTE> 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> they came in after, as the fruits
of a latter &s;owing.</P>
<P>So much of <HI>ille,</HI> he, the relative, as it &s;tands mar|&s;halled
in my Text: and what did he? <HI>Et ait illis;</HI>
He &s;aid unto them. And it was no &s;mall grace to his
poor &s;ervants that he vouch&s;afed to look &s;o low as
to hold conference with them, and admit of parlies
in matters which him&s;elf alone knew how to reme|dy.
<PB N="151" REF="87">
But being it was a matter which concerned his
Church, and in the which the &s;ervants did addre&s;s
them&s;elves unto him with &s;o great affection, he
thought it no di&s;paragement to hearken to their in|formation,
and return an an&s;wer. Nor &s;tops he here,
as if he had done too much for them; but he per|mits
them al&s;o to propo&s;e their coun&s;els, <HI>vis imus &amp;
colligimus ea?</HI> in the words next following: and to
that al&s;o he replies: Such conferences between the
heavenly Husbandman and his Hou&s;hold-&s;ervants,
God and the Prophets, Chri&s;t and his Di&s;ciples, are
no rare matters in the Scripture. Not that God ei|ther
&s;tood in need of their intelligence, or was made
wi&s;er by their coun&s;els; but leaving thereby an ex|ample
unto Kings and Princes, and &s;uch as are in au|thority
from and under them, not to de&s;pi&s;e the in|formation,
or undervalue the advice, of the meane&s;t
per&s;on, how much &s;oever ranked below them both
in place and power. Such men as are inqui&s;itive in
asking que&s;tions, or prompt in giving their advi&s;e in
emergent difficulties, however they may &s;eem un|&s;ea&s;onable,
yet if they do it on good grounds, as the
&s;ervants here, are not to be rejected as un&s;erviceable.
Certain I am my Hou&s;holder conceived it &s;o; He
neither blames his &s;ervants for their curio&s;ity, with
<HI>nolo nimi&ugrave;m curio&s;os;</HI> nor taxeth them of indi&s;cre|tion
in the delivering of their opinions, with <HI>nolo|nimi&ugrave;m
diligentes.</HI> For how&s;oever to their coun&s;el
he returns a <HI>non,</HI> yet he acquaints them fully with
tho&s;e weighty rea&s;ons which did incline him there|unto.
And as unto the <HI>unde,</HI> to the point propo&s;ed,
to that he makes &s;uch an&s;wer as removed the doubt;
which is the <HI>quid re&s;pondet,</HI> and my &s;econd general,
<PB N="152" REF="88">
<HI>inimicus homo hoc fecit.</HI> Where fir&s;t we mu&s;t con&s;i|der
who it was that did this mi&s;chief; and that was
<HI>inimicus,</HI> an enemy.</P>
<P><HI>Dicuntur in Scripturis inimici Dei qui non natur&acirc; &s;ed
vitiis ejus imperio adver&s;antur.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De civitar. Dei. l. 12. c. 3.</NOTE> It is a Maxime of St.
<HI>Au&s;tins,</HI> That tho&s;e are called Gods enemies in holy
Scripture, which are not &s;uch by nature, in their fir&s;t
creation, but only by their own corrupt affections.
His rea&s;on is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. ibid.</NOTE> <HI>naturam non e&s;&s;e contrariam Deo, &s;ed vi|tium,</HI>
becau&s;e that nature of it &s;elf is not contrariant
unto God, but &s;ub&s;ervient rather. Sin is the in&s;tru|ment
which fir&s;t made the breach between God Al|mighty,
and tho&s;e who in the Book of God are cal|led
his enemies. So was it al&s;o with the enemy which
is mentioned here, God made him good, though
not unchangeably good. By nature he created him
a living and immaculate &s;pirit, inferior unto none
but to God him&s;elf. But he would needs a&s;pire be|yond
his nature; and &s;o, as many times it hapneth
unto proud u&s;urpers, lo&s;t both the Crown he aimed
at, and his own Inheritance. For whereas God pro|fe&s;&s;eth
of the Angels, that they are <GAP DESC="foreign">,
and were by him created to be mini&s;tring Spirits,
<HI>Lucifer,</HI> &s;o the Scriptures call him, did not like of
that: He thought him&s;elf a creature of too glorious
a compo&s;ition to be &s;ent on errands, or to be ready
at command,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aiah 14. v. 4.</NOTE> and therefore aimed at higher matters,
<HI>et ero &s;imilis Alti&s;simo,</HI> &s;aid the proud A&s;pirer; He
mu&s;t be equall to the Almighty, both in place and
power. This pride and blind ambition ca&s;t him out
of Heaven, and made him of an Angel, and a Friend
of God, to become an enemy, an enemy unto the
Lord and to all his Saints.</P>
<P><PB N="153" REF="88">
This is the enemy which I am to &s;peak of, the e|nemy
that took &s;uch pains to de&s;troy Gods Harve&s;t.
We met with him before in the 25. but there we
found him with his clogge. There he is &s;tyled
<GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>inimicus ejus,</HI> his enemy; the enemy
of God alone, and there we did con&s;ider him accor|dingly.
To God an enemy <HI>ex profe&s;&s;o,</HI> on the anci|ent
qua<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rel, upon the &s;entence pa&s;&s;ed again&s;t him for
his fir&s;t a&s;pirings. To man an enemy no further then
he weares Gods Livery, and retains unto him: and
therefore in that place, <HI>inimicus ejus,</HI> Gods enemy.
But here we finde him more at large, an enemy; or
<HI>inimicus qui&s;piam,</HI> &s;ome enemy, as <HI>Beza</HI> reads it. An
enemy to God, and to Man, Gods Image, and the
Church, Gods Spou&s;e: to each of the&s;e an enemy in
their &s;everal places. In the fir&s;t, to God; to God
indeed an enemy, but an harmle&s;s enemy. His ma|lice
unto God doth con&s;i&s;t much more in a continual
purpo&s;e to re&s;i&s;t his will, then a power to hurt him:
<HI>non pote&s;tate laedendi,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. de civ vit. l. 12. c. 3.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ed voluntate re&s;i&s;tendi,</HI> as the
Father hath it. The mi&s;chiefs which he meanes to
God, are but like Arrowes &s;hot again&s;t a Rock of A|damant,
which rebound back on him that &s;hot them,
<HI>nihil illi valentes nocere, &s;ed &s;ibi.</HI> The hurt he
doth is to him&s;elf, in filling up the mea&s;ure of his
own iniquities, and thereby adding to the weight of
his ju&s;t damnation.</P>
<P>Things not &s;ucceeding to his wi&s;h with Almighty
God, his next de&s;ign is upon man. With him he had
a quarrel too at his fir&s;t Creation: It grieved him at
the very heart to &s;ee poor man, compo&s;ed of &s;uch
vile matter as du&s;t and a&s;hes, adopted unto tho&s;e ce|le&s;tiall
glories,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3:</NOTE> whence him&s;elf was fallen: and there|fore
<PB N="154" REF="89">
he re&s;olves to work him to the like Apo&s;ta&s;ie.
This on&s;et he then gave, and hath &s;ince continued,
endeavouring nothing more then the fall of man,
that he might triumph on his ruines. For being alie|nated
from the love of God, he hath been labouring
ever &s;ince the World began to fill mens mindes
with fal&s;e opinions touching God, and to bring in
&s;trange forms of wor&s;hip, which the Lord abhors.
<HI>Et alienati &agrave; Deo,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Minut. Fel.</NOTE> <HI>inductis pravis religionibus, non de|&s;inunt
homines &agrave; Deo &s;egregare;</HI> as mine Author hath
it. Hence came the mon&s;trous dotages of the anti|ent
Gentiles concerning God; the infinite and in|numerable
multitude of the Gods them&s;elves, their
mo&s;t ridiculous, and &s;ometimes mo&s;t ob&s;cene and
filthy ceremonies at many of their publick Fe&s;tivals:
their barbarous and unnatural &s;acrifices, not of the
fle&s;h of &s;trangers only, as in <HI>Gaul, Pontus, Egypt,</HI> yea
and <HI>Rome</HI> it &s;elf; but making their own Children
pa&s;&s;e through the fire to <HI>Moloch,</HI> as among&s;t the <HI>I&s;|raelites.</HI>
If <HI>Socrates,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Diog. Laert. in vir. Socrat.</NOTE> or any of the Learned and more
noble &s;ouls, oppo&s;e the&s;e manife&s;t impieties, and
&s;eek to vindicate and re&s;tore the true knowledge of
God, him he will fir&s;t di&s;grace with the common
people, deprive him of his fame and &s;ub&s;tance, and
at la&s;t his life.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job c. 1. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> If <HI>Job,</HI> or any pious and religious &s;pi|rit,
live not according to the will of Satan, and the
wicked multitude, him he will labour to accu&s;e be|fore
God him&s;elf; that getting him into his hands,
to &s;poyl and plague him to the utmo&s;t, he may in|force
him in the end to cur&s;e God and die. So then
we &s;ee the difference of the Devils enmity unto God
and man. To God he is an enemy <HI>affectu</HI> only, in
his minde and purpo&s;e; to man an enemy <HI>affectu</HI> and
<PB N="155" REF="89">
<HI>effectu</HI> too; not only &s;eeking whom he may devoure,
but devouring many.</P>
<P>Thus deales he al&s;o with the Church, with the u|nited
body of Gods cho&s;en &s;ervants. Chri&s;t had no
&s;ooner rai&s;ed him&s;elf from the bonds of death, and
placed him&s;elf at the right hand of God in the hea|venly
places,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apocal. c. 12. 1: <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> but pre&s;ently the Woman, the Church
of God, however cloathed with the Sunne, and
crowned with Starres, was by the Great Dragon
brought into di&s;tre&s;s, and forced to flie into the Wil|derne&s;s.
Nor was it long before there was a Warre
in Heaven, <HI>Michael</HI> and his Angels again&s;t the De|vill
and his angels.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apocal. c. 12: v. 7. 9.</NOTE> And how&s;oever the Arch-angel
had the better then, and that the Dragon was ca&s;t
out and vanqui&s;hed, to the great comfort of the
Saints, yet hath he never left to per&s;ecute and af|flict
the Church. The ca&s;e &s;tands &s;o between the
Devil and the Church of God, as it was once 'twixt
<HI>Rome</HI> and <HI>Carthage.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Patercul. hi&s;t. l. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Semper inter eos populos aut bel|lum,
aut belli praeparatio, aut infida pax fuit,</HI> as the Sto|ry
hath it. Either they were in open Warre, or pre|paring
for it; or if at any time in peace, it was a
peace more dangerous then the Warre it &s;elf. For
in the infancy of the Church, what per&s;ecutions did
he rai&s;e again&s;t her? what mon&s;trous Here&s;ies did
he rai&s;e within her? what havock did he make of the
Saints of God? what a red Sea did he create of the
blood of Martyrs? If that at any time his wretched
In&s;truments grew weary of their own tyranny, as
&s;ometimes they did, he then prepares the way unto
new afflictions, by charging tho&s;e poor innocent
&s;ouls with ince&s;tuous mixtures, and drinking the
warm blood of a new &s;lain Infant: which were
<PB N="156" REF="90">
tho&s;e <GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ju&s;t. Martyr. Apol.</NOTE> &s;o oft con|futed
and retorted by the antient Fathers. Nay,
when the Church was &s;etled in a perfect peace by
the hand of <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> yet was it &s;till <HI>infida pax,</HI>
a peace but ill ob&s;erved by the treacherous enemie,
intent on all occa&s;ions, watching all advantages, if
not to cut it down at once by open violence, yet to
&s;upplant it at the la&s;t by his &s;ubtile practi&s;es.</P>
<P>This to perform, he was to deal in other manner,
and by other in&s;truments then before he did; more
like a cunning practi&s;er then an open enemy. Before
we finde him &s;tyled <HI>inimicus</HI> &s;imply, or <HI>inimicus qui&s;|piam,</HI>
as <HI>Beza</HI> here. But in this place he comes in with
a &s;peciall adjunct, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as in the <HI>Greek,</HI>
or <HI>inimicus homo,</HI> in the vulgar Latine: wherewith
agree <HI>Ca&s;tellio</HI> and <HI>Era&s;mus,</HI> in their tran&s;lations of
the Text. Our Engli&s;h ver&s;ions do &s;omewhat differ
in the point. The Bi&s;hops Bible, as they call it, reads
it a malicious man; that of <HI>Geneva,</HI> an envious man&punc;
the <HI>Rhemi&s;ts</HI> literally, an enemy man. All of them
keep them&s;elves unto the <HI>homo</HI> as well as to the <HI>ini|micus;</HI>
except our la&s;t Tran&s;lation, therein follow|ing
<HI>Beza.</HI> But what the rea&s;on is why <HI>Homo</HI> &s;hould
be &s;uperadded unto <HI>inimicus,</HI> that's not yet agreed
on.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">n Mat. 13.</NOTE> St. <HI>Hierome</HI> is of this opinion, <HI>Diabolum propte|rea
inimicum hominem appellari, quod Deus e&s;&s;e de|&s;iit,</HI>
that Satan is here called <HI>inimicus homo,</HI> becau&s;e
he left off to be God. But this I can by no meanes
like of: the Devil in the height of his ambition a&s;|pired
not to be God, but like him. It was not <HI>ero
Deus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">cap. 64.</NOTE> but <HI>ero Deo &s;imilis,</HI> that procured his down|fall.
<HI>Lupoldus</HI> in his Book <HI>de vita Chri&s;ti,</HI> tells us,
that <HI>homo</HI> is here joyned to <HI>inimicus,</HI> as <HI>Africanus</HI>
<PB N="157" REF="90">
was to <HI>Scipio;</HI> to denotate that Conque&s;t which he
gains on man, when he &s;ubjects him to his will. O|thers
conceit, that he is therefore called <HI>inimicus ho|mo,</HI>
to &s;hew that corre&s;pondence and affinity which
is between the Devil and the wicked man: the De|vill
in this place being called a man, and <HI>Judas</HI> in
the &s;ixth of <HI>John</HI> being called a Devil; but the&s;e,
as I conceive it, are but tricks of fancy, and come not
home unto the point.</P>
<P>For my part, I &s;hould rather think that Satan is
here called <HI>inimicus homo,</HI> becau&s;e in &s;owing of his
tares he u&s;ed the help of envious and malicious men,
whom he had fitted for that purpo&s;e. When he
fir&s;t &s;et upon the Church by violent and bloody
per&s;ecutions, he made u&s;e of Bea&s;ts. The Ty|rants
all from <HI>Nero</HI> down to <HI>Diocle&s;ian,</HI> what were
they el&s;e but Beares, and Wolves, and Pards, and Ly|ons;
creatures that never &s;ucked the milk of Wo|men?
Certain I am, as mo&s;t Interpreters agree, that
by the name of Lyon,<NOTE PLACE="marg">c: 4. v. 18.</NOTE> in the 2d of <HI>Tim.</HI> St. <HI>Paul</HI> de|&s;ignes
the Emperor <HI>Nero; I was delivered,</HI> &s;aith
the Apo&s;tle, <HI>out of the mouth of the Lyon, Ex ore
leonis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> <HI>i. e. per&s;ecutoris,</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>Hierome; i. e. Nero|nis,</HI>
&s;aith <HI>Lyranus.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;o &s;aith
St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome;</HI> with whom accord <HI>Theophylact</HI> and
<HI>Oecumenius.</HI> And when he laboured to envenom it
by &s;candalous and noy&s;om Hereticks, he made
u&s;e of Serpents, that by the poy&s;on of their impious
Doctrine, &s;he might be brought unto de&s;truction.
Certain I am that <HI>Epiphanius</HI> re&s;embleth every
&s;everall Hereticks unto &s;ome &s;peciall &s;ort of Ser|pent.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epiphan.</NOTE>
But in the &s;owing of the&s;e tares, in bringing
in that deviation from the true Religion which is in|tended
<PB N="158" REF="91">
in this Parable; he then thought it his be&s;t
way to make u&s;e of men, men who knew how to
time it, and to watch advantages, and to make u&s;e of
all occa&s;ions; and &s;o with more a&s;&s;urance might ef|fect
his purpo&s;e, becau&s;e lea&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;u&s;pected. The Devill
never went beyond him&s;elf but in this invention, in
putting on the &s;hape of man when he did this feat,
that he might pa&s;&s;e un&s;een by the hou&s;hold-&s;ervants.
This is the true cau&s;e as I conceive it, why Sa|tan
is here called <HI>inimicus homo,</HI> the envious and ma|licious
man; or if you will, the enemy-man, as the
<HI>Rhemi&s;ts</HI> read it. What kinde of men the enemy
made u&s;e of to effect his purpo&s;e, and how he makes
the lu&s;ts and pa&s;&s;ions of his &s;everal in&s;truments &s;ub|&s;ervient
to his wretched purpo&s;es, we &s;hall &s;ee in the
<HI>hoc fecit,</HI> my la&s;t particular.</P>
<P><HI>Aetatis cuju&s;que notandi &s;unt tibi mores.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Horar: de arte.</NOTE> He that
de&s;ires to be e&s;teemed a Ma&s;ter in the Art of man,
mu&s;t be well skilled in all the humors and affections,
which are peculiar to his nature, and incident unto
his age. Nay, he mu&s;t be well read in mens wants
and weakne&s;&s;es, their imperfections and defects:
which if applied with cunning, and employed with
care, may prove exceeding &s;erviceable to the aims
and projects of the cunning practi&s;er. And as the
thrifty man that de&s;ires to pro&s;per, turns every thing
unto his profit, and makes no &s;mall commodity
out of toyes and trifles; &s;o he that trades in men, and
hath the art of diving into their affections, may hu&s;|band
and improve the meane&s;t pa&s;&s;ion to his great
advantage. The Devil, the old enemy, is a cunning
man, a &s;ubtle practi&s;er, and is not now to learn
this le&s;&s;on. When he was once re&s;olved on the <HI>fecit
<PB N="159" REF="91">
hoc,</HI> to &s;owe his tares, his dangerous and hereticall
Doctrines in the Church of God, he was not to be
taught how to deal with men, how to make u&s;e of
their affections, of their lu&s;ts and pa&s;&s;ions, for the
promoting of his purpo&s;e; or how to u&s;e their weak|ne&s;&s;e
and deficiencies, as an help unto it. Whether
men be voluptuous, arrogant, or vain-glorious, whe|ther
they pine with envy, or are &s;tirred with choler;
or be they ra&s;h, or head-&s;trong, tis all one to him.
He knowes full well his opportunities, how to apply
him&s;elf unto them, as the humour takes: and by
their meanes to do that bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, which he dur&s;t ne|ver
undertake without them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epiphan. hae|re&s;. 75. num. 1.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">.
Not that the Devil hath a
power, as the Father notes it, to thru&s;t men into his
employments whether they will or not; but that
he makes &s;uch u&s;e of their lu&s;ts and pa&s;&s;ions as may
be&s;t &s;uit with his intendments. The enemy in this
bu&s;ine&s;s deales by craft, not force.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t, if we begin with the ambitious man, (as
certainly he would take it ill, if we &s;hould do other|wi&s;e,)
how much hath Satan wrought upon this af|fection
from the beginning of the world? What was
it but ambition in our Father <HI>Adam,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.</NOTE> <HI>when he de&s;ired
to be as God, knowing good and evill?</HI> And did not
Satan work upon that humour, to the undoing of
that wretched up&s;tart, and his whole po&s;terity?
What was it but ambition in <HI>Simon Magus,</HI>
<GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ep<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">. ad.</NOTE> the fir&s;t-begotten of the Devil,
as <HI>Ignatius</HI> calls him, which made him love to be en|tituled
the great power of God?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 8. v. 10.</NOTE> And did not Satan
work upon that humour, for the promoting and di|vulging
of tho&s;e de&s;perate bla&s;phemies, with which
<PB N="160" REF="92">
the Church was long tormented? What was it but
ambition in the <HI>Popes</HI> that moved them to affect the
Title of Univer&s;all Bi&s;hop in the Church of Chri&s;t?
And hath not Satan wrought upon that humour, to
the di&s;traction of the Church, if not the totall ruine
of it? This Doctrine of the Cardinall, <HI>Si Papa do|ceret
virtutes e&s;&s;e vitia, &amp;c.</HI> that if the Pope deter|mine
vertue to be vice, all men are to believe &s;o, with|out
more ado: that of <HI>Aquinas</HI> and the Schools, that
he may make new Articles of faith; which <HI>Pius
Quartus</HI> put in practi&s;e: that of the <HI>Canoni&s;ts</HI> in ge|nerall,
that as the Vicar-generall of our Saviour
Chri&s;t, he is Lord of all, and con&s;equently hath a
power to do what he li&s;t; as al&s;o to di&s;pen&s;e what,
and how he li&s;t, in matters which concern the
Church, with Oaths and Vowes, and Leagues and
Mariages; yea, with the very Law of nature: the&s;e
and the re&s;t what are they but the fruits of the
Popes &s;upremacy? and what produced the Popes
&s;upremacy but the Popes ambition? I fear a &s;pice
of this ambition, and a &s;hrewd one too, is &s;till left a|mong&s;t
us: in them mo&s;t vi&s;ible, who would be
every one a Pope in their &s;everall Pari&s;hes. The
Fathers of the Con&s;i&s;tory claim as great Authority,
as ever Pope did in the Conclave; and at their feet,
according to their own dear principles, the P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">inces
of the Earth mu&s;t lay down their Scepters. <HI>Huic
di&s;ciplinae omnes orbis principes fa&s;ces &s;uos &s;ubmittere,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De Di&s;cip. Eccl. p. 141, 143.</NOTE>
<HI>&amp; parere nece&s;&s;e e&s;t,</HI> as <HI>Travers</HI> hath re&s;olved it in his
Book of Di&s;cipline.</P>
<P>Vain-glory may come next ambition, and many
times they go together. This was the motive that
incited <HI>Theudas</HI> to take upon him&s;elf the name of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 4:</NOTE>
<PB N="161" REF="92">
&s;ome doughty Prophet,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epl. cont: Fundan. Manicha. cap. 6. Se<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">m. 65. in Cantu.</NOTE> that he might draw away
much people after him, and be counted &s;omebody.
This <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> notes to be the fountain of all Here&s;ies;
<HI>Superbia mater here&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">on,</HI> as the Father hath it. St.
<HI>Bernard</HI> &s;peaks it out more fully, <HI>captare gloriam de
&s;ingularitate &s;cientiae,</HI> to get him&s;elf a name for a
man of eminency. Somewhat they needs mu&s;t teach
which is not ordinary, to gain them&s;elves opinion,
and increa&s;e their followers. St. <HI>Dominick,</HI> St.
<HI>Francis,</HI> and all the re&s;t which have &s;o &s;urfeited the
Church with their &s;everal Orders, what aimed they
at in all their in&s;titutions, but the vain-glory of a new
Invention, and to have their followers called by
their own names? So fared it al&s;o with the School|men,
<HI>Lombard, Aquinas, Bonaventure,</HI> and the re&s;t
that followed; every one &s;uperadding &s;ome new ni|ceties
unto tho&s;e before them. Tho&s;e intricate de|bates
fir&s;t rai&s;ed among&s;t them touching Prede&s;tina|tion,
Grace, Free-will, the Merit of good works, as
well <HI>excongruo,</HI> as <HI>condigno;</HI> the number and nature of
the Sacraments, <GAP DESC="foreign">, <GAP DESC="foreign">, and the like per|plexities;
Their new di&s;tinctions, and new termes of
Art, new notions, or indeed new nothings, what
&s;erved they for, but the o&s;tentation of their &s;ingula|rities
in point of learning, to the no &s;mall
increa&s;e of di&s;putations, and decrea&s;e of pi|ety?</P>
<P>Nor hath it fared much better with the Chutch
in the&s;e latter times; She is, and hath been long,
afflicted with this <HI>New Di&s;ea&s;e.</HI> New Doctrines now
are no le&s;&s;e plea&s;ing to the people,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17&punc; 21<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> then once newes
at <HI>Athens;</HI> and many a man we have, as there, that
&s;pends his time for nothing el&s;e then to hear new
<PB N="162" REF="93">
things, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as in the <HI>Greek,</HI> &s;ome Doctrine of
the newe&s;t fa&s;hion.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid. v. 18.</NOTE> In ca&s;e they have not what they
look for, then pre&s;ently what would this babler
have? &s;ay &s;ome: he &s;eemes to be a &s;etter forth of
&s;trange Gods, &s;ay others; becau&s;e perhaps he
preached unto them touching obedience, and con|formity
to the publick Government. Such being the
humour of the people, <HI>Sermonibus opinantium faciles
praebere aures,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tacit.</NOTE> to hearken greedily to &s;uch Sermons
as are fraught with fancies: whoever hath the art to
feed that humor, &s;hall have many followers. And
who I pray you would not buy a company at &s;o cheap
a rate, for fear of hazarding &s;o poor a trifle as the
Churches peace?</P>
<P>De&s;ire of glory leads the way to de&s;ire of gain,
or indeed cannot go without it. He that doth feed
upon the aire of popular applau&s;e, and live upon the
breath of acclamation, may carry all his dinner in an
empty belly. <GAP DESC="foreign">, Tis money makes the
man, &s;aid the old Greek Proverb. And therefore
they that are vain-glorious, and hunt for popular
applau&s;e among&s;t their followers, are for the mo&s;t
part al&s;o covetous, and &s;uck no &s;mall advantage
from them too. Wer't not for <HI>&s;pes dolo&s;i afful&s;erit
nummi,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ius.</NOTE> the flattering hopes of filthy lucre, <HI>digito
mon&s;trari</HI> would not &s;erve the turn. De&s;ire of
gain, and love of money, are the predominant affe|ctions
that the enemy works on. <HI>The love of money,</HI>
&s;aith the Apo&s;tle,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. c. 6. v. 10.</NOTE> <HI>is the root of all evill;</HI> the which
while&s;t &s;ome have coveted after, <HI>&agrave; fide erraverunt,</HI>
they have erred from the faith. And if that men
&s;ubvert whole hou&s;es, and teach things they &s;hould
not, do we not finde it by experience that it is <HI>tur|pis
<PB N="163" REF="93">
lueri grati&acirc;,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Titus. c. 1. v. 11:</NOTE> even for the &s;ake of filthy lucre?
Certain it is, the pro&s;ecution of the&s;e covetous
hopes hath given the enemy no &s;mall advantage
in the di&s;&s;eminating of his tares in the field of God.
It hath been <HI>magnus laqueus diaboli,</HI> a great &s;nare of
Satans, who no &s;ooner found that Clergy-men were
covetous, and intent on riches, but &s;treight he layed
before them, many opportunities to feed that hu|mour.
As for example;</P>
<P>The Church was u&s;ed, according to the rigor of
the primitive times, to enjoyne &s;trict and tedious
penance on the party criminall: why might not this
be turned to money? Hence came the preaching,
and the prizing too, of Indulgences and the year of
<HI>Jubile;</HI> no &s;mall Revenue of the Popedom. Chri&s;t
had left power unto his Mini&s;ters to ab&s;olve the pe|nitent,
and to remit the &s;ins of a contrite per&s;on:
may not &s;ome gain be made of that? may not a par|don
be obtained for money, as a thing of cour&s;e? yes
que&s;tionle&s;s, &amp; that not for the pre&s;ent only, but ma|ny
thou&s;and years to come; not for poor trifles only,
or peccadillos; but &s;uch as a religious ear would abhor
to think of,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chemnit. Exam. C. Tr.</NOTE> <HI>non pro praeteritis tant&ugrave;m, &s;ed &amp; pro futuris;</HI>
not for &s;ins pa&s;t only, but for tho&s;e to come: the gates
of Heaven are never opened with more &s;peed to the
formall penitent, then by &s;ilver keyes. Some of
the Fathers &s;peak of a fire of Purgatory, though
doubtingly, and as a matter not agreed on: might
not that fire be made to warm their Kitchins, and
prepare all them in a readine&s;s for the common Re|fectory?
The Pa&s;&s;ion of our Lord and Saviour was
a &s;ufficient &s;acrifice both for quick and dead: Might
not the Ma&s;&s;e, or the commemoration of that &s;a|crifice
<PB N="164" REF="94">
be taught to be of equall value? And having
taught the people &s;o, might they not &s;ell their Ma&s;|&s;es
at a dearer rate then the fal&s;e traytor &s;old his
Ma&s;ter, whom the Ma&s;&s;e commemorates? The times
began to be exceedingly inclined to &s;uper&s;tition:
Wer't not an excellent piece of cunning to feed that
humour, and put the people to the charge of the en|tertainment?
From hence came &s;hrines, and vowes
to Saints, and Pilgrimages; and, which was wor&s;t of
all, fal&s;e and feigned miracles, only to gain greater re|putation
to their &s;hrines and temples, and the more
profit to them&s;elves. I could hunt further on this
&s;ent, but that I have more game to follow; and for
the re&s;t, refer it to the Poet <HI>Mantuan.</HI></P>
<P>Now as ambition, and vain-glory, and the love of
money have prevailed on &s;ome, and made them fit
and ready for the Devils &s;ervice; &s;o di&s;content and
envy have per&s;waded as much with others. <HI>Florinus</HI>
never had been &s;o ungracious as to make God the
Authour of &s;in,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eu&s;eb. hi&s;t. 1. 5.</NOTE> or &s;tained the peoples eares with &s;o
lewd a bla&s;phemy, but that he had been formerly
degraded from the holy Prie&s;thood; <GAP DESC="foreign">,
as <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> hath it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">cap. 14.</NOTE> The
di&s;content he took upon that di&s;grace made him apt
to mi&s;chief; and Satan took the opportunity to
make him u&s;eful for his purpo&s;e. Nor ever had
<HI>Aerius</HI> broached this fooli&s;h fancy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. de haere&s;. 53.</NOTE> <HI>Epi&s;copum nulla
ratione debere di&s;cerni,</HI> that Prie&s;ts and Bi&s;hops were
all one, but that he &s;aw <HI>Eu&s;tathius,</HI> his companion
on<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e, advanced unto a Bi&s;hoprick before him. Him|&s;elf,
as <HI>Epiphanius</HI> doth relate the Story,<NOTE PLACE="marg">haere&s;. 74. n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> 1.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
did very earne&s;tly affect that dignity; but
he could not get it. <HI>Eu&s;tathius</HI> was preferred before
<PB N="165" REF="94">
him;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid:</NOTE> hence began the quarrel, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
as the Father hath it. This envy at the fortunes and
preferment of another man made him fir&s;t quarrel
with <HI>Eu&s;tathius,</HI> though his very Friend; and after
with the Calling, with the very dignity. Ju&s;t &s;o
the Fox complained that the Grapes were &s;owre,
becau&s;e he &s;aw he could not reach them. Whether
this folly, or this frenzy rather (for <HI>Epiphanius</HI> calls
it in plain termes <GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. ibid.</NOTE> a frantick here&s;ie)
be not revived again on the &s;elf-&s;ame grounds; whe|ther
Epi&s;copacy be not now cryed down by tho&s;e e|&s;pecially
who either look with envious eyes on the
preferment of their betters, or el&s;e are di&s;content|ed
at their own misfortune, in not attaining to that e|minency
in the Church of God, is no hard matter to
determine. This I am &s;ure, and &s;peak it upon good
Authority, that if &s;ome men had been advanced un|to
tho&s;e honours which they laboured for, and o|thers
had attained tho&s;e Bi&s;hopricks which they
were in que&s;t of, we had not been di&s;quieted with
tho&s;e Schi&s;mes and ruptures wherewith the Church
of God is now torn in pieces.</P>
<P>Envy and ignorance &s;ometimes go together. Sure
I am <HI>ignoratio recti &amp; invidia</HI> are &s;o placed in <HI>Taci|tus;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In vita Agric.</NOTE>
This we account not as a pa&s;&s;ion or affection in
the minde of man, unle&s;s it be a voluntary and affe|cted
ignorance, but as weakne&s;s or defect. And yet
of this the enemy hath rai&s;ed him&s;elf a greater for|tune
then out of any of the re&s;t. There was a time
when ignorance was in reque&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ap<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">cal. c. 20. v. 2.</NOTE> the tenth Age from
Chri&s;t, the very next to that wherein hell brake
loo&s;e; a dark and &s;ullen night of ignorance, in which
the &s;ervants of the Husbandman did not only &s;lum|ber,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Annls. Anno 900. 1.</NOTE>
<PB N="166" REF="95">
but &s;lept and &s;norted. A <HI>&s;eculum ob&s;curum,</HI> as
<HI>Baronius;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In Chronolog. In Chron.</NOTE> a <HI>&s;eculum infelix,</HI> an unhappy Age, where|in
was little reading, and le&s;&s;e writing, &s;aith the Car|dinall
<HI>Bellarmine:</HI> An age quite de&s;titute of eminent
men, both for wit and learning, as their Bi&s;hop <HI>Ge|nebrard.</HI>
Can we conceive the enemy let &s;lip the op|portunity
of &s;o dark a night, and &s;lept for company?
or that he would not husband it to his be&s;t advan|tage,
when there was either none &s;o vigilant as to
watch his doings, or &s;o indu&s;trious as to commit to
writing what they had ob&s;erved? What fitter time
then this, to &s;owe the &s;eeds of tran&s;ub&s;tantiation, and
adoration of the Ho&s;t; with all tho&s;e &s;everall
points and Articles, tho&s;e uncouth Ceremonies and
ge&s;ticulations which depend upon it, when all divine
and humane learning were laid up in &s;ilence? What
fitter time then this to &s;eal up the Bible, and take
the Scriptures from the Laity, when there was &s;uch
a fair pretence, that few or none could under&s;tand it?
What fitter time then this, to captivate mens under|&s;tandings
to the Churches dictates, and to advance
their own traditions into the Chair and Throne of
the Word of God, when men were taught, to the
great obloquy and contempt of learning, that igno|rance
was the mother of devotion? And in a word,
what fitter time then this, to open and bring forth
the tares of Image-wor&s;hip, and invocation of the
Saints, and prayer for the dead, and re&s;traint from
marriage; (the &s;eeds whereof were &s;owen in tho&s;e
&s;lumbring times which u&s;her'd in this Epidemicall
and di&s;mall darkne&s;s) when men had wilfully &s;ealed
up their eyes, and profe&s;&s;ed blinde obedience to the
Popes decrees? Here was a &s;ea&s;on for the nonce to
<PB N="167" REF="95">
&s;pread abroad fal&s;e Doctrines, and un&s;ound opini|ons.
The <HI>Devill</HI> had been an <HI>A&s;&s;e</HI> indeed, if he had
not &s;pyed it.</P>
<P>And yet it is not ea&s;ie to determine neither, whe|ther
the negligence both of Prie&s;t and people did
not as much promote the purpo&s;e of the enemy, as
did their ignorance.</P>
<P>Now for this double kind of negligence, that
which we charge upon the people is <HI>circa cu&s;to|diam
per&s;onae &s;uae,</HI> touching the looking to them|&s;elves;
that which we charge upon the Prie&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Glo&s;&s;. ord. in Mat. 13. v. 25.</NOTE> <HI>circa
cu&s;todiam gregis &s;ui,</HI> touching the looking to his
Flock. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> The people I find faulty in the&s;e two re|&s;pects;
1. In not doing of their duties, and 2dly, In
not claiming of their dues. The Church in the fir&s;t
Ages of it u&s;ed every day to celebrate the ble&s;&s;ed
Sacrament, which thereupon St. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> calls <HI>quoti|dianum
cibum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">de Sacrament. l. 6. c. 4.</NOTE> our daily bread. The times were
then &s;evere and quick, the people pious and de|vout;
and few there were that failed to be pre&s;ent
at it. But when the Sun of peace and liberty &s;hined
upon the Church, the people grew remi&s;&s;e and care|le&s;s,
took cold in their devotions, and forbare the
Church, and left the Prie&s;t, who by the ancient Ca|nons
was to do this Office, to &s;ay his le&s;&s;on to him|&s;elf.
By this meanes and no other came in private
Ma&s;&s;es, wherein the Prie&s;t participates by him&s;elf a|lone;
not upon any po&s;itive con&s;titution, which de|barres
the people, but for defect of piety and devo|tion
in them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Again&s;t Jewel. Art. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. S. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Harding</HI> &amp; other learned men in the
Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> &s;o excu&s;e the matter; and not per|haps
without ju&s;t rea&s;on. But certainly the Prie&s;t was
to blame the while, who either did not call upon
<PB N="168" REF="96">
them to attend their duties, or in default thereof did
not proceed again&s;t them, as he &s;hould have done,
according to the ancient Di&s;cipline. But more to
blame no doubt was the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Syn. Trid. Se&s;&s;. 22. Can. 8.</NOTE> who on
complaint of the abu&s;e, not only hath ordained no
remedy for the recalling of the people to the primi|tive
cu&s;tom, but hath e&s;tabli&s;hed and confirmed
the&s;e private Ma&s;&s;es maugre all oppo&s;ition and re&s;i|&s;tance,
inflicting an <HI>Anathema</HI> upon every one that
dares d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;prove them.</P>
<P>As then the people were fir&s;t faulty in the not
doing of their duties, &s;o we &s;hall finde them as de|ficient
in the &s;econd point, for the not claiming of
their dues. For if the que&s;tion &s;hould be asked, how
and by whom the Laity were fir&s;t denied the Cup in
the ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament: It mu&s;t be an&s;wered, the
People lo&s;t it by degrees, for want of putting in their
claim to a&s;&s;ert the title; for not demanding the per|formance
of our Saviours will delivered and decla|red
in his holy Te&s;tament.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Art. 2. S. 8.</NOTE> That it was in&s;tituted
in both kinds by Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid. S. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">8.</NOTE> admini&s;tred by St. <HI>Paul</HI> in
both kindes at <HI>Corinth,</HI> and that it was &s;o u&s;ed in o|ther
places during 600 years and upwards, is confe&s;|&s;ed
by <HI>Harding</HI> in his reply to <HI>B. Jewell.</HI> When, and
upon what Motives, and by who&s;e Authority, this
innovation was fir&s;t made, is not yet agreed upon a|mong
them&s;elves.<NOTE PLACE="marg">De legit. u&s;u. Euchari&s;t. l. 10</NOTE> <HI>Greg. de Valentia,</HI> who took
much pains in the examination of this bu&s;ine&s;s, re|turns
an <HI>Ignoramus,</HI> or a <HI>minim&egrave; con&s;tat,</HI> unto all
the&s;e Queries; and at la&s;t is fain to father it upon
the u&s;age of the Church, and con&s;ent of the faith|full.
For the con&s;ent, or at the lea&s;t the not gain|&s;aying
of the faithful, there is no doubt of that, for
<PB N="169" REF="96">
ought I can finde, and that's the point we now com|plain
of. But for the u&s;age of the Church, which al|&s;o
he pretends, to make up the matter, that came in
of late. <HI>Thomas Aquinas,</HI> who lived about 300
years ago, no more, hath delivered plainly, <HI>calicem in
quibusdam locis populo non dari,</HI> that the Cup was
not then admini&s;tred unto the people in &s;ome certain
places. An undeniable Argument that it was univer|&s;ally
received then in all places el&s;e. Nor was it e|ver
otherwi&s;e determined that I can hear of, till the
A&s;&s;embly held at <HI>Con&s;tance</HI> (for I can hardly think
that it was a Councel) decreed it, again&s;t Chri&s;t him|&s;elf,
with a <HI>non ob&s;tante;</HI> which after was confirmed
and ratified in that of <HI>Trent.</HI></P>
<P>Now, as the Prophet once complained, as was the
People then, &s;uch was the Prie&s;t; and as the Prie&s;t was
then, &s;uch were the People; both ignorant alike, and
both alike negligent: The negligence incumbent on
the Prie&s;ts was of two &s;orts al&s;o; fir&s;t, in not teach|ing
of the People as they ought to do; and 2dly, in
not applying &s;peedy and peculiar remedies to emer|gent
mi&s;chiefs. The Prie&s;ts lips, by the Lords ap|pointment,
were to pre&s;erve knowledge, and at their
mouthes the people were to &s;eek the &s;ame: &s;o the
Prophet <HI>Malachi.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Malach<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> But when the Prie&s;t became quite
de&s;titute of knowledge, through affected ignorance;
or had his lips &s;ealed up, through affected idlene&s;s;
they fed the People with dumb &s;hewes and Images,
the Lay-mens Bible, and with the pomp and cere|monies
of the Ma&s;&s;e, the Lay-mens Idoll; or with
the counting of their Beades, the poor peoples <HI>Pater|no&s;ter:
Quae non officio mentis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Div. In&s;t: l. 4. c. 3.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ed mini&s;terio corpo|ris
con&s;i&s;tunt,</HI> as once <HI>Lactantius</HI> &s;coffed it of the an|cient
<PB N="170" REF="97">
Gentiles. By meanes whereof the rites and ce|remonies
of the Church were grown &s;o numerous,
that they became a burden to the Church of God;
and being fir&s;t ordained as helps and acce&s;&s;ories to
Gods publick wor&s;hip, came in the end to be ac|counted
the meritorious and e&s;&s;ential parts thereof:
and having in their In&s;titution fir&s;t no more then
<HI>u&s;um &s;ignificandi,</HI> a power to &s;ignifie, attained at
la&s;t to <HI>u&s;us efficiendi,</HI> a power to dignifie, in the pro|duction
of the works and effects of Grace.</P>
<P>As for the fault in not applying &s;peedy remedies
to emergent mi&s;chiefs, that relates chiefly to the
Prelates, as tho&s;e who are intru&s;ted by our Saviour
with the powers of Government. For if at fir&s;t, up|on
the broching of &s;ome new opinions which &s;ee|med
to tend to any alteration in the things of God,
the Prelates had be&s;tirred them&s;elves, tryed and ex|amined
it by the holy Scriptures, or by the tendries
and expre&s;&s;ions of the Primitive Church, we had not
now been troubled to decry tho&s;e Doctrines which
are obtruded on the Church for Catholick: Or if
they had compelled the People to ob&s;erve tho&s;e Ce|remonies
which had been recommended to them
from mo&s;t pure Antiquity, and not have &s;uffered o|thers
to be thru&s;t upon them, either by practi&s;e or
connivence we had not been troubled to di&s;card
tho&s;e u&s;ages, which had defiled, if not prophaned
the whole Wor&s;hip of God. So when the Latine
Tongue in the&s;e We&s;tern parts, by rea&s;on of the in|termixture
of <HI>Gohes, Hunnes</HI> and <HI>Vandalls,</HI> and other
Nations of the North, began to alter and degenerate
from its ancient purity, if then the Prelates of the
Church had al&s;o changed the Language of the pub|lick
<PB N="171" REF="97">
Liturgy, and fitted it to the under&s;tanding of the
common people, the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> had never
been accu&s;ed of &s;o foul a crime, as to inforce poor
people to a Latine Service, to which they cannot &s;ay
Amen.</P>
<P>For &s;ure it is an excellent rule of him in <HI>Gellius,</HI>
that men mu&s;t &s;peak according to the times in which
they live, and live according to the times which
old Stories &s;peak of:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Noct. Att.</NOTE> <HI>Moribus antiquis, prae&s;entibus
utere verbis,</HI> as that Author hath it. Agreeably to
which good Rule, tho&s;e in the Church of <HI>Rome</HI>
might have kept together the ancient Piety and Di&s;|cipline
with the modern Languages.</P>
<P>Hitherto we have noted and &s;urveyed the Devils
practi&s;es upon the nobler<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ex of man: Think we he
holds &s;o wretched an opinion of the other, though
the weaker Ve&s;&s;el, as to conceive them utterly un|&s;erviceable
for the improving of his Harve&s;t? If we
ob&s;erve his doings, we &s;hall finde it otherwi&s;e. He
had &s;o good &s;ucce&s;s with <HI>Eve,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3:</NOTE> in his fir&s;t attempt,
that he had &s;hewn him&s;elf at once ingrateful and un|provident
to have left them &s;o. He knew that by
the con&s;titution of their &s;ex, they were weak, but
wilful; ea&s;ily won to entertain new fancies and opi|nions,
but not &s;o ea&s;ily to forgo them. He al&s;o
knew, that by the eagerne&s;s of their affections, and
the in&s;inuating powers which they have by nature,
they are mo&s;t diligent and indu&s;trious in draw<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ng
their Husbands, Children, friends and &s;ervants, to
entertain that cau&s;e which them&s;elves affect: Upon
this ground he would not &s;end out <HI>Simon Magus</HI>
without an <HI>Helena;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">S. Augu&s;t. de haere&s;. c. 1. Id. c. 27.</NOTE> nor would <HI>Montanus</HI> venture on
the Stage alone to di&s;per&s;e his Here&s;ies, but mu&s;t
<PB N="172" REF="98">
have <HI>Maximilla</HI> and <HI>Pri&s;cilla</HI> joyned A&s;&s;i&s;tants with
him. And if <HI>Pri&s;cillian</HI> have a mind to pervert the
People, and rai&s;e a faction to him&s;elf in the Church
of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sulpitius Se|ver. l. 2.</NOTE> he will not fail to court the Women, and
make them fa&s;t unto his party. <HI>Sulpitius</HI> &s;o a&s;&s;ures us
of him, that he was much admired and followed by
the female &s;ex, who loving novelties, and being of
un&s;etled judgement, <HI>catervatim ad eum conflue|bant,</HI>
re&s;orted to him by whole flocks and multi|tudes.</P>
<P>So for the &s;owing of his tares in the middle Ages,
what u&s;e the enemy made of <HI>Maud</HI> the Counte&s;&s;e, in
the advancing of the Popes &s;upremacy; what of St.
<HI>Briget</HI> and St. <HI>Clare,</HI> (if I may &s;o call them) in laying
the burden of profe&s;&s;ed virginity upon the necks of
tender Maidens, which they can neither carry as they
&s;hould, nor ca&s;t down when they li&s;t, the Story of
tho&s;e times can witne&s;s, and the&s;e Ages feel. The
enemy is &s;till the &s;ame, <HI>qualis ab incoe ep<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">o proce&s;&s;erit,</HI>
the &s;ame Satan &s;till,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Horat. de Arte.</NOTE> and will not &s;uffer this poor &s;ex
to remain in quiet; but works upon them by his E|mi&s;&s;aries,
and practi&s;eth upon them by his Agents,
as knowing what fit In&s;truments they are to advance
a party. Not that he doth employ them often in the
&s;etting, but in the &s;elling of his tares; their bu&s;ine&s;s
lies not in the Field, but in the Market, to pa&s;&s;e them
up and down, and from hand to hand, and rai&s;e the
price of the Commodity. St. <HI>Paul</HI> foretells us of a
&s;ort of men that &s;hould creep into Hou&s;es,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. v. 6<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>and lead
captive &s;illy women laden with &s;in, and driven about
with divers lu&s;ts.</HI> Now we finde it verified; where we
may note, (and I but note it by the way) that tho&s;e
who are led captive &s;o, in the Apo&s;tles Judgement,
<PB N="173" REF="98">
are but &s;illy women, or <GAP DESC="foreign">, as he calls them,
laden with &s;in, and therefore ea&s;ie to be wrought on,
and &s;o not walking in the wayes of Gods Com|mandements;
and driven about with divers lu&s;ts&punc;
therefore not rightly grounded in the rules of con|&s;tancy.
Such women as are there de&s;cribed by the
Apo&s;tle, &s;illy and &s;inful, and uncon&s;tant too, let them
for me be &s;till led captive; tis a gain to lo&s;e
them.</P>
<P>Thus have I repre&s;ented to you a di&s;covery of the
enemies practi&s;es; 1. the u&s;e he makes of the af|fections,
pa&s;&s;ions and deficiencies of his &s;everall in|&s;truments,
to bring about the <HI>fecit hoc</HI> which my
Text here &s;peaks of. And though it be a matter of
no &s;mall difficulty to trace the Prince of darkne&s;s in
his deeds of darkne&s;s, yet I have done the be&s;t I
could, directed by the light of Scripture, and by the
Candle of antiquity, to ob&s;erve his goings. The u&s;e
we make of all is this, that we avoid tho&s;e humors
and deficiencies in our &s;everall &s;tations which Satan
is &s;o apt to work on; that we be neither puffed up
with ambition, nor tickled with vain-glory, nor filled
with covetous de&s;ires, nor pined with di&s;content
and envy, nor dulled with ignorance, nor finally be|&s;otted
with a lazie negligence. The&s;e pa&s;&s;ions and
defects if we yield not to, we need not fear the ene|my,
no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> his <HI>fecit hoc:</HI> For God, even our own God,
&s;hall give us his ble&s;&s;ing, and &s;trengthen us in every
good, both word and work. To whom be glory, <HI>&amp;c.
Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="174" REF="99">
<HEAD>SERMON I.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At CHRIST-CHURCH <DATE>Septemb. 26. 1643.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. v. 28. part. ult.</BIBL>
<Q><P>Vis imus &amp; colligimus ea?</P></Q>
<Q><P>The Servants &s;aid unto him, Wilt thou that we go
and gather them up?</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_TAm vari &s;e ge&s;sit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Velleius Pa|ter<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. l. 2.</NOTE> <HI>ut nec lauda|turum
magna, nec vituperatu|rum
mediocris materia deficeret:</HI>
It is affirmed by the Hi&s;torian of
<HI>Caius Cae&s;ar,</HI> how he behaved
him&s;elf in &s;uch different manner,
that there wanted not forcible
rea&s;ons to condemn, yet excu&s;e &s;ufficient to com|mend
him. The like may we affirm of our Servants
here; he that doth look upon them in their &s;leep and
negligence, and findes them <HI>ut dormirent homines,</HI>
cannot but think them acce&s;&s;ary to &s;o great a mi&s;|chief
as Satan brought upon the Church in &s;owing
Tares. The opportunity they gave him by their dull
&s;ecurity, or at the lea&s;t their &s;upine carele&s;ne&s;s,
makes them parcel-guilty. And he that undertakes
<PB N="175" REF="99">
to defend them in it, will que&s;tionle&s;s as much betray
his Client, as they their Cau&s;e. But look upon them
when they were awakened, when they had &s;een their
own error, and the Churches danger, and then how
many things are there worthy at once of our ap|plau&s;e
and imitation? <HI>In &s;ervis habemus tam quod
laudemus qu&agrave;m quod imitemur,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gorran: in locum.</NOTE> as my Author hath
it. Fir&s;t, their fidelity, <HI>qu&ograve;d acce&s;&s;erunt,</HI> in that they
came unto their Ma&s;ter,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 27.</NOTE> made him acquainted with
the accident, and &s;o prepared him for the Remedy.
Their coming was an Argument of their good
intentions, and that they had not willingly betrayed
the tru&s;t repo&s;ed in them; they did not fly on the
di&s;covery. And next we have their care, <HI>qu&ograve;d quae&s;ie|runt,</HI>
that they could never be at quiet till they were
&s;atisfied in the Original and In&s;trument of &s;o great a
mi&s;chief, till they had learnt the <HI>unde,</HI> whence the
tares &s;hould come. And when their Ma&s;ter had in|formed
them in the <HI>fecit hoc,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 28.</NOTE> and told them that the
Enemy had done it, yet they &s;tayed not here, as if
the que&s;tion had been made out of curio&s;ity, more to
inform their under&s;tandings, then reform the matter.
They thought it did concern them to redeem the
time, becau&s;e their former fact was evill. And as the
enemy had entred by their &s;loth and negligence, and
thereby took occa&s;ion to de&s;troy Gods Harve&s;t; &s;o
they conceived it did belong to them e&s;pecially to
labour in the Reformation, and to reduce Gods
Field to its primitive lu&s;tre by their zeal and cou|rage.
This was the thing mo&s;t aimed at in the <HI>Acce&s;|cerunt,</HI>
this the chief rea&s;on of their coming. No
&s;ooner had they heard that the enemy did it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lyran. in locum.</NOTE> and
that this enemy was the Devil, (<HI>Diaboli calliditate
<PB N="176" REF="100">
factum e&s;&s;e,</HI> as it is in <HI>Lyra;</HI>) but pre&s;ently they make
an offer of their &s;ervice to redre&s;s the mi&s;chief, and
by their joynt endeavours to root out tho&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ares by
which Gods Field was &s;o indangered. The &s;ervants
&s;aid unto him, <HI>Vis imus &amp; colligimus ea, Wilt thou
that we go and gather them up?</HI></P>
<P>This is the la&s;t part which the Servants have to act
in this pre&s;ent Dialogue; and in this part they give
a fair expre&s;&s;ion of their zeal and wi&s;dom. He that
will take their Picture right, &s;hall finde that it con|&s;i&s;teth
of the&s;e five Lineaments: For fir&s;t, we have
a noble courage, <HI>vis imus?</HI> Sir, <HI>Wilt thou that we go
and give the on&s;et?</HI> Tis not the Devil whom we fear,
nor any of his wretched In&s;truments, how great &s;o|ever
they may be, both in power and malice. <HI>Vis
imus?</HI> Say but the word only, and thy &s;ervants go.
And next, we finde an hone&s;t zeal to rectifie what
was ami&s;&s;e in the Field of God. <HI>Vis imus &amp; colligi|mus
ea?</HI> Is it your plea&s;ure that tho&s;e Tares &s;hall be
rooted up? Tis not the Tares we are in love with,
how fair &s;oever to the eye, how plau&s;ible &s;oever they
may &s;eem in the opinion and e&s;teem of &s;educed
people. Say thou but <HI>faciat is hoc,</HI> and thy &s;ervants
will do it. In each we have their readine&s;s and unani|mity.
Fir&s;t, <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> we go and gather, in
the plural number; then <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> we go
and gather, in the pre&s;ent ten&s;e; and la&s;t of all, we
have their temper and obedience, guiding their coun|&s;els
by their Ma&s;ters will, and governing their zeal
by his direction, <HI>Vis imus &amp; colligimus ea?</HI> This we
are ready to perform, if you plea&s;e to have it &s;o; if
otherwi&s;e, we neither are &s;o in love with danger, nor
&s;o ambitious of imployment, as not to take your
<PB N="177" REF="100">
Warrant and Commi&s;&s;ion with us for our ju&s;tifica|tion.
And therefore <HI>fiat voluntas tua,</HI> not our will,
but thy will be done; <HI>Vis imus &amp; colligimus ea?</HI> Wilt
thou that we go and gather them up? The&s;e are the
features which I am to draw, though I confe&s;s with
an ignorant and unskilful pencil; leaving them to
be better limmed and poli&s;hed by your more &s;ea&s;o|nable
meditations. And fir&s;t I am to lay before you
their heroick courage; <HI>vis imus?</HI> wilt thou that
we go?</P>
<P><HI>Scientia parum e&s;t ni&s;i accedat &amp; virtus;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Lactant.</HI> l. 3. c 8.</NOTE> Knowledge
is little worth when it comes alone, when it is nei|ther
joyned nor &s;econded with vertuous purpo&s;es.
Some de&s;ire knowledge only that they may be
known, and this is vanity: &s;ome only for the thing it
&s;elf, to know, and this is curio&s;ity: others, that they
may edifie therewith, and this is charity. This la&s;t
kinde was the de&s;ire of knowledge which the&s;e &s;er|vants
brought, when they repaired unto their Ma|&s;ter
with an <HI>unde haec?</HI> They only laboured to di&s;cern
whence the Tares &s;hould come, that &s;o they might
bethink them&s;elves of &s;ome pre&s;ent Remedy. And
having found out what they &s;ought for, a man would
ea&s;ily have thought they had found enough to &s;ave
them any further trouble: To tell them that the e|nemy
was abroad, and that by his fal&s;e Arts and
Practi&s;es he had &s;owen tho&s;e Tares, might well have
been a <HI>Super&s;edeas</HI> to all further care; for who would
willingly provoke an enemy, e&s;pecially in matters
which concern the publick, when by declining of
the bu&s;ine&s;s, &amp; quitting an employment of &s;uch dan|gerous
nature, he may pre&s;erve him&s;elf both in peace
and quietne&s;s? But when this Enemy is di&s;covered
<PB N="178" REF="101">
further, to be an enemy of no common rank, but even
the very Prince of darkne&s;s, <HI>qui tot Legionibus impe|ritat,</HI>
one that commands &s;o many Legions; I trow
it were no part of wi&s;dom to incur his anger, when by
a plau&s;ible and di&s;creet connivence we may hold
fair with him.</P>
<P>To go again&s;t an enemy of &s;uch power and quali|ty
were a de&s;perate madne&s;s, &s;uch as no man of or|dinary
brains would be guilty of, when he may &s;afely
&s;it at home, and take &s;uch fortune as the &s;ucce&s;s and
i&s;&s;ue of affaires &s;hould offer: yet &s;uch was the un|daunted
courage of the &s;ervants here, that none of all
the&s;e cautions or con&s;iderations could preponderate
with them, or hinder them from venturing in
their Ma&s;ters cau&s;e; <HI>vis imus? Wilt thou that we
go?</HI></P>
<P>And 'twas no mean note of a noble courage that
they would be going: It &s;eemes they thought it not
becomming to &s;it &s;till at home, and &s;pend their time
in con&s;ultations, how, and by what clo&s;e meanes,
without the open hazard of their lives and fortunes,
&s;o great a bu&s;ine&s;s as that was might be be&s;t effe|cted.
The mi&s;chief which they feared was imminent,
not capable of long debates, of &s;low and lingring de|liberations.
<HI>Dum quid &s;is dubitas,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Martial.</NOTE> <HI>j am potes e&s;se nihil.</HI>
And while&s;t they &s;pent the time in Di&s;putes and
Que&s;tions, ca&s;ting of doubts, and rai&s;ing ca&s;uall or
emergent &s;cruples, the mi&s;chief which they feared
might have fallen upon them. 'Tis true, the enter|pri&s;e
was great, and full of danger; and therefore
was to be encountred with an equall courage, both
in the on&s;et and pur&s;uit. The greater the attempt
was conceived to be, the braver re&s;olutions were re|quired
<PB N="179" REF="101">
in them that dur&s;t undertake it. Poor are the
&s;pirits of tho&s;e men who in a time of common dan|ger,
when the whole Church is threatned, and the
State oppre&s;&s;ed, dare not go forth to meet an ap|proching
mi&s;chief. To &s;ink under the burden of ca|lamitous
fortune, and not to &s;truggle with adver&s;ity,
is the next way to tempt and invite it to us. When
troubles are at hand go forth to meet them;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid:</NOTE> <HI>Tu ne
cede malis, &s;ed contra audenti&ugrave;s ito,</HI> was a brave old
Rule, both given and practi&s;ed by the Heathens in
matters of farre le&s;&s;e concernment then the pre&s;ent
bu&s;ine&s;s. And 'twas a gallant &s;peech of <HI>Pompey,</HI> wor|thy
the Reputation and Renown of &s;o great a &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plutarch. <HI>in</HI> Pomp.</NOTE>
<HI>Nece&s;&s;e e&s;t ut eam, non ut vivam.</HI> He was imployed
by his Country, the State of <HI>Rome,</HI> to &s;coure the
Seas, and bring in &s;uch provi&s;ions of Corn and Victu|all
as the Town then wante<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">: from which when &s;ome
who &s;eemed to be his friends di&s;&s;waded him, urging
the difficulty of the action, and the apparent hazards
he was like to run; he an&s;wered, that his going was
more nece&s;&s;ary then his life could be; <HI>Nece&s;&s;e e&s;t ut
eam, non ut vivam.</HI> No life could be &s;o precious to
him as his Countries &s;afety; and therefore go he
would, though the windes &s;aid nay, and all the forces
of the World had been rai&s;ed again&s;t him.</P>
<P>But <HI>Pompey</HI> &s;hall not go alone; the Church of
Chri&s;t can yield him Equals, though <HI>Rome</HI> yielded
none. <HI>Pompeju&s;que parem,</HI> which was there a Para|dox,
is here the ordinary practi&s;e of Gods Saints and
Servants. More then &s;o, <HI>major hic Pompeio,</HI> what
&s;peciall Servant is there of the Lord our God who
hath not &s;hewen a braver and more noble courage?
When <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was imployed by God on &s;o &s;owre a
<PB N="180" REF="102">
Me&s;&s;age, as to &s;olicit <HI>Pharaoh</HI> the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Tyrant
for the di&s;mi&s;&s;ion of the Hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> what dan|gers
might not he have feared? what rea&s;ons might
not fairly have been pretended to excu&s;e the Jour|ney?
And when he was re&s;olved upon it, what diffi|culties
did he meet with? how many times was he
repul&s;ed with threats and terrors? yet God no oft|ner
&s;aid to <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> though he &s;aid it often, <HI>Ingredere
ad Pharaonem,</HI> Go unto <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> that bloody Butcher
of my Children, that mercile&s;s oppre&s;&s;or of my
people <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and tell him that he &s;hall no longer
keep them in that hou&s;e of bondage; but <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>
went immediatly upon the errand. It was no need
to bid him ha&s;t, when the afflictions of his people, and
the nece&s;&s;ities of that poor Church did require his
going. <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> though celebrated in the Scripture for
a man of meekne&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. 12. 3.</NOTE> <HI>miti&s;simus &s;uper omnes homines,</HI>
as the Vulgar reads it, wanted not courage to go on
when the Lord commanded. But this perhaps
&s;hewed more of his obedience then his re&s;olution;
and <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did no more in this then the other Pro|phets,
none of which &s;tayed behind, or put off the
&s;ervice (excepting once the Prophet <HI>Jonah</HI>) when
God bad them go.</P>
<P>Let us next therefore look on the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay,</HI>
who when God wanted one to reform his Church,
and &s;eemed thus to proclaim his wants, <HI>Quem mit|tam,
&amp; quis ibit nobis?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay c. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. v. 8.</NOTE> <HI>Whom &s;hall I &s;end? who will
go forth for us on this de&s;perate and ungrateful &s;ervice?</HI>
made offer on his own accord to undertake it, <HI>Ecce
ego! mitte me;</HI> Here am I, (&s;aith the Prophet) let
me be &s;ent, and &s;ee if I decline the bu&s;ine&s;s, or dare
not put my &s;elf on the undertaking. The Prophet
<PB N="181" REF="102">
was re&s;olved upon the <HI>imus,</HI> to go, as &s;oon as he per|ceived
the Churches dangers. He &s;tayed but for his
Mi&s;&s;ion &amp; Commi&s;&s;ion; <HI>Vis imus? Wilt thou that we go?</HI></P>
<P>And yet we are not come to the be&s;t examples
which the Church yields us in this ca&s;e. The Pro|phets,
though they were imployed by the Lord their
God, in matters of this thankle&s;s and invidious na|ture,
yet were they &s;eldom &s;ent abroad beyond the
bounds and limits of their native Countrey, where
they were countenanced and backed with their
friends and kindred. It was not &s;o with the Apo&s;tles,
their <HI>Ite</HI> was of a more large, almo&s;t an infinite ex|tent;
<HI>Ite in omnes gentes, Go into all the World and
preach the Go&s;pel.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 28.</NOTE> And they were told before they
undertook the bu&s;ine&s;s, <HI>Ecce mitto vos, Behold I
&s;end you forth as &s;heep among&s;t the Wolves;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. cap. 10.</NOTE> <HI>and needs
mu&s;t tell you beforehand, that you &s;hall be convented be|fore
Kings and Councels, the Rulers of the Synagogue,
and the Court of Sanhedrim of the Elders, by whom
ye &s;hall be buffeted and reviled, condemned and ex|ecuted.</HI>
More then &s;o yet; <HI>Satanas expetivit,</HI> Satan
him&s;elf de&s;ires to &s;ift and winnow you. And though
I give you power to ca&s;t out Devils,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 22:</NOTE> yet do not think
that Satan will &s;o ea&s;ily forgo his hold, or lo&s;e the
Kingdom which he hath &s;o long po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed in the
&s;ouls of men. Tis neither again&s;t Principalities and
Powers, nor only again&s;t fle&s;h and blood that you
are to wre&s;tle; but again&s;t the Devil and his Angels,
again&s;t the Rulers of the darkne&s;s of this pre&s;ent
world: yet finde we not that any of tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed
Spirits was therewith di&s;couraged, or did not think
them&s;elves obliged the rather to fulfill their Mini|&s;try,
becau&s;e it &s;eemed &s;o full of danger. Which of
<PB N="182" REF="103">
them did not travel both Lands and Seas, when once
the <HI>Ite</HI> was pronounced? Which of them might not
well have &s;aid in the Poets Language, <HI>Quae regio
in terris no&s;tri non plena laboris?</HI> What corner was
there of the Earth which they went not to, in which
they did not cultivate the Field of God; and in
&s;o doing bid defiance to the powers of darkne&s;&s;e?</P>
<P>We mu&s;t not look to finde a Parallel to the A|po&s;tles
in the Ages following. And yet the &s;ervants
of my Text, in point of courage, came not much be|hind;
whom neither the report of &s;o great an Ene|my
as had been practi&s;ing of late in the Field of
God, could terrifie from going forth to &s;ecure the
Harve&s;t; nor the complexion of the Tares, which
was fair and &s;pecious, could hinder or divert from of|fering
their endeavours to root them out. He that
had &s;een the Fathers of the Primitive times grap|ling
with Hereticks, pleading the Churches cau&s;e in
their Apologeticks, refu&s;ing to comply with tho&s;e
impieties which were obtruded on them by the &s;e|cular
powers; and &s;inally, in going to the Scaffold
with no le&s;&s;e a bravery then if &s;ome Actor had been
hired to mount the Theater, would &s;urely have con|ceived
them to be men of courage: and 'twas no
wonder if the Church did then thrive and flou|ri&s;h
when men of courage had the conduct of
her chief Affaires. The like may be ob&s;erved of
the times &s;ucceeding, though &s;omewhat colder in
their love to the Lord our Saviour, as &s;omething fur|ther
off from the dayes he lived in. The renowned
<HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> would not &s;toop to <HI>Arius,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>S<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">crat.</HI> hi&s;t. <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">lccl.</NOTE> though patro|nized
for a time by the famous <HI>Constantine;</HI> nor
yield a Temple to the <HI>Arians,</HI> although required by
<PB N="183" REF="103">
<HI>Constantius</HI> to give way unto it. St. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> was
re&s;olved not to &s;ubmit his judgement in a point of
faith to the deci&s;ions and decrees of a Lay-Tribunal,
though nothing but apparent ruine was to be ex|pected
on his refu&s;al of the &s;ame.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. Ep. 32.</NOTE> <HI>Non tanti e&s;t Am|bro&s;ius
ut propter &s;e deijciat &s;acerdotium.</HI> And when
he was commanded to de&s;ert his charge, and leave it
to <HI>Auxentius,</HI> an <HI>Arian</HI> Heretick; rather then to be|tray
his tru&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Id O<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">. 5.</NOTE> he would lo&s;e his life. <HI>Prius e&s;t ut ani|mam
mihi qu&agrave;m fidem auferant.</HI> An equal courage
unto which we finde in <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom,</HI> conte&s;ting openly
with <HI>Gainus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Socr.</HI> hi&s;t. l. 6. c. 5.</NOTE> who then commanded all both in
Camp &amp; Coun&s;el, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
though he required but one Church only within the
City, wherein the <HI>Arians</HI> whom he favoured might
have leave to meet. Nor might the&s;e latter and de|generate
Ages wanted examples of this kind: Wit|ne&s;s
that &s;tout and noble courage which appeared in
<HI>Luther,</HI> who being &s;ent for unto <HI>Wormes</HI> by <HI>Charles</HI>
the Emperor, to render an account of his Faith and
Doctrine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. Conc. <HI>Trid.</HI> l. 1.</NOTE> and much di&s;&s;waded by his Friends from
that de&s;perate journey; returned this gallant and cou|ragious
An&s;wer, that go he would, <HI>lic&egrave;t contra &s;e
tot in&s;urrecturi e&s;&s;ent daemones quot in tectis aedium
cernerentur tegulae,</HI> though all the Hou&s;es in the
Town were tiled with Devils.</P>
<P>It is a &s;aying of <HI>Paterculus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Patercul.</HI> hi&s;t. l. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Eminentes viros mag|nis
adjutoribus u&s;os e&s;&s;e,</HI> that the mo&s;t eminent &s;ort
of men have commonly the able&s;t &s;ervants. And it
concerns them &s;o to have; they could not el&s;e go
through with tho&s;e great affaires which are incum|bent
on their places. <HI>Jo&s;uah</HI> and <HI>Caleb, Mo&s;es</HI> Mini|&s;ters,
were they not men of faith and courage? What
<PB N="184" REF="104">
notable exploit could <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> have atcheived again&s;t
his Enemies, or in the conduct of Gods People to
the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> if not &s;o &s;econded and a&s;&s;i&s;ted?
And if we finde &s;o many famous Victories obtained
by <HI>David,</HI> was it not that he was well &s;erved and fol|lowed
by men of Valour and Renown, his migh|ty
men, as they are called in holy Scripture? Men of
weak &s;pirits are not fit for great undertakings, as
being neither con&s;tant to their principles, nor re&s;olute
in their conclu&s;ions. And therefore 'tis to be ob&s;er|ved
in Almighty God, that when he &s;ent out any of
his &s;ervants on &s;ome great de&s;ign, he u&s;ed this
<HI>Item</HI> mo&s;t an end, <HI>viriliter agite &amp; confortamini,
i. e. Be &s;trong and of a good courage,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 31. 6. 2 Chron. 32. 7.</NOTE> as the Engli&s;h
reads it.</P>
<P>It &s;eemes God doth not think him&s;elf well &s;er|ved
when he findes it otherwi&s;e; when tho&s;e whom
he employeth in his publick &s;ervice had rather flie
to <HI>Tar&s;hi&s;h</HI> then go on to <HI>Ninive.</HI> And being he is
the Husbandman intended in the pre&s;ent Parable, he
could not chu&s;e but take it kindly from his Servants,
that they expre&s;&s;ed &s;o great a courage, as to make
offer of their be&s;t endeavours for the promoting of
his bu&s;ine&s;s; <HI>vis imus? Wilt thou that we go?</HI> This
&s;heweth that they were re&s;olved upon the <HI>imus,</HI> to
go forth couragiou&s;ly, and not to &s;it down idly in a
time of danger. But to what end they would be go|ing,
and what they did re&s;olve to do when they
were going forth that we &s;hall finde in the <HI>Colligi|mus.</HI>
We had their courage in the <HI>imus;</HI> their zeal
comes next in the <HI>Colligimus; vis imus &amp; colligi|mus
ea? Wilt <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">hou that we go and gather them up?</HI> my
next particular.</P>
<PB N="185" REF="104">
<P><HI>Qui non zelat non amat.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Augu&s;tin.</HI> Contr. Ada|mant. c. 13.</NOTE> Where there's no zeal,
there is no love, no &s;incere affection. A truth &s;o
clear and evident in St. <HI>Au&s;tins</HI> time, that it was
grown into a Proverb; however afterwards di&s;pu|ted
among&s;t the Schoolmen.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tho. A qu. 1, 2. qu. 8. S. 4.</NOTE> In vain do they pretend
to love, who are not zealous in behalf of the thing be|loved:
they love not God, who are not zealous of his
glory; nor cordially affect the Church, who have no
zeal unto her peace: K. <HI>David</HI> rightly under&s;tood the
nature of it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 119. v. 139.</NOTE> when he affirmed it of him&s;elf, in regard
of God, <HI>Tabe&s;cere me fecit zelus meus, My zeal hath
even con&s;umed me, becau&s;e mine enemies have forgotten
thy words;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 39. v. 9.</NOTE> and in relation to Gods Church, <HI>quoniam
zelus domus tuae comedit me, The <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">eal of thi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e hou&s;e
hath eaten me.</HI> This la&s;t kind of zeal (I mu&s;t needs
&s;ay that) either hath been much mi&s;taken,
or not rightly practi&s;ed: the times being &s;uch where|in
the zeal of &s;ome Reformers hath eaten up many
of the Hou&s;es of Almighty God; and doubtle&s;s,
will devoure the remnant of Gods dwelling-places, if
not &s;topped in time: therefore to &s;et the matter
right, that both the Text may be re&s;trained to its
proper meaning, and zeal be regulated &amp; directed by
the holy Text, we will explain tho&s;e words of <HI>David</HI>
by the&s;e words of <HI>Au&s;tin:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tract. 10. in Joh.</NOTE> <HI>What is the man,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>who
is devou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ed or eaten by a zeal to the Hou&s;e of God?</HI> Even
he, <HI>qui omnia quae fort&egrave; ibi videt perver&s;a &s;atagit emen|dare,
cupit corrigere,</HI> who &s;tudieth to amend and
rectifie whatever &s;tands inneed of a Reformation: the
ordinary glo&s;&s;e makes the &s;ame glo&s;&s;e on it, but with
&s;ome little alteration of the words and Phra&s;e.</P>
<P>Such was the zeal expre&s;&s;ed by the Servants here.
No &s;ooner had they &s;een the tares in <HI>feci&s;&s;ent fru|ctum,</HI>
<PB N="186" REF="105">
and by their Ma&s;ters an&s;wer found from what
&s;eed they came, but they were vehemently zea|lous
to root them out. They knew full well what
mi&s;chief would en&s;ue, if it were not looked to, both
in relation to the Field, in danger to be overgrown
and ma&s;tered by them; and to the Children of the
Church, who when they tru&s;ted to be fed with the
bread of life, might unawares be poy&s;oned with
the bread of wickedne&s;s. In both re&s;pects, no cour&s;e
more proper as they thought, than <HI>ire &amp; colligere,</HI> to
go and gather them, before they had de&s;troyed the
Wheat, or by that Gods people. This they re&s;ol|ved
to do, there's no doubt of that. Their <HI>imus &amp;
colligimus</HI> make that plain enough; but in what way
they meant to do it, hath been made a que&s;tion.</P>
<P><HI>Lyra</HI> conceives their purpo&s;e was to gather them
to root them up,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Lyran.</HI> in Mat. 13.</NOTE> in &s;uch a way as was peculiar to the
Church, <HI>&s;eparando eos &agrave; communione Eccle&s;iae,</HI> by
&s;evering them from the Communion of the faithful.
The like &s;aith <HI>Gorran</HI> al&s;o,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gorran in locum.</NOTE> and &s;ome latter Writers;
others, and tho&s;e of more Antiquity, but farre more
eminency in the Church, think rather that their
meaning was to cut them off, not only from the bo|dy
of the Church, but of all mankind; to go again&s;t
them with the Sword; and de&s;troy them utterly.</P>
<P><HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI> &s;o conceives it,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chry&s;o&s;t.</HI> in Matth.</NOTE> &s;aying, that if they had
gone on as they were re&s;olved, in pro&s;ecuting of the
Heretick with fire and &s;word, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
blood-&s;hed and warre
mu&s;t needs have followed over all the World.</P>
<P><HI>Theophylact</HI> goes to work more plainly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Theophyl. in cund.</NOTE> and tells
us, that the &s;ervants being offended at the growth
of Here&s;ies, by con&s;equence incen&s;ed again&s;t the He|reticks
<PB N="187" REF="105">
them&s;elves, <GAP DESC="foreign">, were
of a minde to make quick work with them, to rid
them of the troubles of this wretched life, and &s;o to
&s;ave the trouble of more tedious proce&s;s.</P>
<P>To which of the&s;e two cour&s;es their zeal might
bend them, is in the next place to be con&s;idered; I
conceive the la&s;t. And this I am induced to think by
the Ma&s;ters An&s;wer; who on the hearing of the
Propo&s;ition returned a <HI>non,</HI> (for it is plain, he had a
negative voyce, of which more hereafter.) He did
not like of the intention: and to di&s;like their pur|po&s;e
there had been no rea&s;on, had their de&s;ign been
to proceed only by the Churches cen&s;ures. He that
committed to the Church in St. <HI>Peters</HI> name,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 16.</NOTE> the
power and di&s;pen&s;ation of the keyes, intended not
that they &s;hould &s;erve for nothing but a dumb
&s;hew, a &s;ign and token only of a powerle&s;s Mini&s;tery.
And when he gave to his Apo&s;tles &s;o direct a power
of binding and retaining &s;ins, and giving over unto
Satan the impenitent per&s;on, think you, his mean|ing
was they &s;honld never u&s;e it?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">0. v. 23.</NOTE> If &s;o, St. <HI>Panl</HI>
mu&s;t needs be guilty of no &s;mall offence, in dealing
&s;o &s;everely with the man of <HI>Corinth:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. c. 5. v. 5.</NOTE> and wonder
'twas, there was no relaxation &s;ued for from the
Court of Heaven, in ca&s;e of &s;o &s;evere and ju&s;t a &s;en|tence.
And to what end &s;erves <HI>Dic Eccle&s;iae,</HI> if the
poor Church have power to hear,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 18.</NOTE> but not to cen|&s;ure?
or if upon the Churches cen&s;ures, none be &s;o
fit to be accounted either an Heathen or Publican,
as he who is intru&s;ted by the Church to inflict the
&s;ame? A&s;&s;uredly God would not di&s;allow the
cour&s;e which him&s;elf pre&s;cribed; or by removing
from the Church the power of cen&s;ure, open
<PB N="188" REF="106">
a gapp to all impurity both of life and do|ctrine.</P>
<P><HI>There was a time once in the Church of</HI> England,
(<HI>I do not &s;ay it is &s;o now) wherein the cen&s;ures of
the Church, under pretence or colour of &s;ome civill
&s;anctions, were either quite aboli&s;hed, or of no effect;
to the no &s;mall increa&s;e of vice, becau&s;e it nouri&s;hed
a pre&s;umption of impunity in vicious per&s;ons. Of this
old Father</HI> Latimer <HI>doth thus complain in a Sermon
preached before King</HI> Edward:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Serm. 2.</NOTE> Lechery (&s;aith he)
is u&s;ed in <HI>England,</HI> and &s;uch lechery as is u&s;ed in no o|ther
place of the World. And yet it is made a matter of
&s;port, a matter of nothing, a laughing matter, a trifle, not
to be pa&s;&s;ed on nor reformed. Well, I tru&s;t it will be a|mended
one day, and I hope to live to &s;ee it mended as
old as I am. And here I will make a &s;uit to your High|ne&s;&s;e,
to re&s;tore unto the Church the Di&s;cipline of
Chri&s;t, in excommunicating &s;uch as be notable offen|ders.
Nor never devi&s;e any other way; for no man is
able to devi&s;e any better then that God hath done, with
excommunication to put them from the Congregation,
till they be confounded. Therefore re&s;tore Chri&s;ts Di&s;|cipline
for Excommunication, and that &s;hall be a meane,
both to pacifie Gods wrath and indignation; and al&s;o
that le&s;&s;e abomination &s;hall be u&s;ed then in times pa&s;t
hath been, and is at this day. I &s;peak this of a Con&s;ci|ence,
and I mean to move it of a will to your Grace, and
your Realm. Bring into the Church of <HI>England</HI> the o|pen
Di&s;cipline of Excommunication, that open &s;inners
may be &s;tricken withall. <HI>So farre the very words of
Father</HI> Latimer. <HI>Let every one con&s;ider of them
as he thinks mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary: perhaps the Sermon
may be more effectuall with &s;ome kinde of men,
<PB N="189" REF="106">
when one is rai&s;ed up from the dead to preach unto
them.</HI></P>
<P>Be&s;ides, this could not be the way which was in|tended
by tho&s;e &s;ervants, if either we con&s;ider their
<HI>Colligimus,</HI> or the <HI>eradicetis</HI> of their Ma&s;ter in the
following words. The &s;ervants, or the Church in them
might have gone on to excommunication of the
Heretick, and the condemning of the Here&s;ie, with|out
the lea&s;t fear or imagination, that by &s;o doing,
<HI>eradicetur &s;imul cum eis triticum,</HI> the wheat, the Lords
good &s;eed would be pulled up with them. The cen|&s;ure
of an Heretick doth rather &s;trengthen then de|&s;troy
the truth of Doctrine, and he that doth correct
a &s;tubborn and impenitent &s;inner, hindreth not, but
confirms the vertuous per&s;on in the way of godline&s;s.
And for <HI>Colligimus,</HI> that is we know a compound
word, as is <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Original, and doth not
&s;o much &s;ignifie a &s;ingle gathering, as a gathering up
of all together: and &s;o the word is u&s;ed in the fol|lowing
Ver&s;es. It &s;eemes the &s;ervants of my Text
would have made &s;hort work, and &s;wept away the&s;e
tares at once, without more ado: which how&s;oever
it may be done &s;ometimes <HI>in ore gladii,</HI> which de|voures
all things where it is permitted to range at li|berty:
yet is it &s;eldom done, if ever, <HI>in gladio oris,</HI>
by Admonitions, Excommunications, or any other
kind of &s;piritual puni&s;hments, <HI>Non excommunican|dam
multitudinem,</HI> was the rule of old&punc; The cen&s;ures
of the Church do only <HI>legere,</HI> pick here and there a
man out of many &s;inners, by who&s;e exemplary cor|rections
others may beware of the like offences. <HI>Tor|menta
paucorum &s;unt exempla omnium,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Stapleton.</HI> in Promp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> as my Au|thour
hath it. <HI>Colligere</HI> is none of hers in this &s;en&s;e
<PB N="190" REF="107">
and meaning. And therefore here was no &s;uch mean|ing,
as to proceed by excommunication, to bring
the&s;e tares to be arraigned and tryed at the Churches
Barre.</P>
<P>And being their meaning was not &s;o, their zeal
though more remarkable, was yet le&s;&s;e warrantable.
A zeal like that of <HI>James</HI> and <HI>John,</HI> the two Sonnes
of Thunder,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. v. 54.</NOTE> <HI>Vis dicimus ut de&s;cendat ignis? Wilt thou
that fire come down from Heaven to de&s;troy the&s;e mi&s;|creants?</HI>
No dealing with &s;ome zelots of both &s;ides,
but by fire and faggot, by the &s;word at lea&s;t; for
which they have no warrant I am &s;ure from either
Text. Neither indeed do they which &s;tand mo&s;t on
it fetch their grounds from hence; or if they did, how
wretchedly would tho&s;e grounds deceive them? nei|ther
the Brethren there, nor the &s;ervants here, had a|ny
calling from the Lord, to be the in&s;truments of
his vengeance. The Apo&s;tles were ordained by
Chri&s;t, among&s;t other things, to offer unto God the
&s;acrifice of prayer for the &s;ins of the people; but not
to &s;acrifice the people for their &s;ins to God. No &s;uch
burnt-offering to be found (Iam &s;ure of that) in all
the Go&s;pels. And 'twas the duty of the&s;e &s;ervants,
not to confound the Heretick, but to confute the
Here&s;ie; rather to pray for the conver&s;ion, then
practi&s;e the &s;ubver&s;ion of the wicked man. Our Sa|viour
Chri&s;t rebuked the two Brethren for their fiery
zeal,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 55:</NOTE> <HI>ne&s;citis cujus &s;piritus e&s;tis, Ye know not of what
&s;pirit you are.</HI> Nor fared it otherwi&s;e in effect with
the &s;ervants here, although the rea&s;on of their indig|nation
was more ju&s;t and vi&s;ible. For though we do
not finde that this zeal of theirs was openly repro|ved
by their Lord and Ma&s;ter; yet it was tacitly di&s;|proved,
<PB N="191" REF="107">
becau&s;e not &s;uffered to proceed unto execu|tion.
The goodne&s;s of our God winks at the
errors of an hone&s;t zeal, and doth &s;o love the &s;trength
of our good affections, that it pa&s;&s;eth over their infir|mities.
If it tran&s;port us, as it doth &s;ometimes, be|yond
our limits and due bounds, he rather pardon|eth
the exiliencies of our heat and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ervency, then the
indifferences of our lukewarmne&s;s. How highly
would the Lord e&s;teem a well-governed zeal, when
as his mercy crowns it many times even with all its
faults?</P>
<P>And yet this zeal of theirs, if con&s;idered rightly,
was neither faulty nor ill-governed, although mi&s;ta|ken
in the meanes and in&s;truments which God inten|ded
to make u&s;e of in &s;o great a work as the eradi|cation
of the&s;e tares, the finall condemnation of
them. God purpo&s;ed to bring them to de&s;truction,
but not by their hands, not by their endeavours; and
thoroughly to purge his field of a &s;eed &s;o dangerous,
though not &s;o &s;oon as they expected, not till the ve|ry
coming on of Harve&s;t. The error of their zeal was
but in the circum&s;tances, not in the &s;ub&s;tance of the
work. The work was to be done, but not by them;
and at another time, not then when they made the
offer: but this was more then God had formerly
revealed unto them. So as the wor&s;t which can be
&s;aid of this act of theirs, was, that they had a zeal to
the glory of God, but not according unto know|ledge,
I mean the knowledge of all points and cir|cum&s;tances
which God did purpo&s;e to ob&s;erve in &s;o
great a bu&s;ine&s;s. Which zeal of theirs, how infi|nitely
may it condemn the coldne&s;s and &s;tupidity of
this pre&s;ent Age, in which there are &s;o few, if any,
<PB N="192" REF="108">
that are affected zealou&s;ly in the cau&s;e of God? How
few made offer of their &s;ervice, when occa&s;ion was;
I &s;ay not to root out, but &s;uppre&s;s tho&s;e tares which
threatned then &s;uch imminent dangers, and have &s;ince
brought &s;o &s;ad a de&s;olation on this Church of Chri&s;t?
And now that they are come &s;o fully to <HI>feci&s;&s;ent fru|ctum,</HI>
how few pre&s;ent them&s;elves to their Lord and
Ma&s;ter, &s;aying, <HI>vis imus &amp; colligimus <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">a?</HI> is it your
plea&s;ure that we go and gather? <HI>Huju&s;modi &s;i zelus
&s;ingulorum e&s;&s;et non &s;ic abundarent zizania,</HI> as mine
Author hath it. Were there more zeal among&s;t the
&s;ervants of the Hou&s;hold, there would not be &s;o ma|ny
tares in the field of God. There's no doubt of
that; e&s;pecially if this zeal be armed with courage,
and both the&s;e &s;econded with readine&s;s and unani|mity
in the promoting of the work, according as we
finde it in the &s;ervants here.</P>
<P>For, as was formerly ob&s;erved, they did not only
come before their Ma&s;ter with zeal and courage, but
&s;hewed in both their readine&s;s and unanimity. Fir&s;t,
<HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> we go and gather, in the plural
number; then <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> we go and gather,
in the pre&s;ent ten&s;e. Fir&s;t, <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> in the
plural number. And it was wi&s;ely done that they
went together, they might have otherwi&s;e been
foiled in the undertaking. The enemy again&s;t whom
they re&s;olved to go, was &s;trong, and his Army nu|merous,
a Legion of them in one man; how many
Legions then were they to meet withall in the pre|&s;ent
enterpri&s;e, in which &s;o many men were ingaged
and intere&s;&s;ed? Had they gone &s;everally one by one,
as in di&s;tracted times men do u&s;e mo&s;t commonly,
how ea&s;ily had they been made a prey to the roaring
<PB N="193" REF="108">
Lion? how little good had they been able to effect,
had they &s;caped his Clawes?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tacitus in vit. Agric.</NOTE> We know who &s;aid it
well enough, and on what occa&s;ion, <HI>Dum &s;inguli pug|nabant
univer&s;i vincebantur:</HI> Our Ance&s;tors the <HI>Bri|tains</HI>
when they fought one by one were all quick|ly
vanqui&s;hed; when they joyned hearts and hands
together, they were then impregnable. If therefore
we will go and gather, as becomes men of courage
in a time of danger, let it be <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> in
the plural number, as becomes men of wi&s;dom in a
common cau&s;e. Let not zeal make us incon&s;iderate,
nor too much <HI>gait&egrave; de coeur,</HI> prompt us to be fool|hardy,
as they u&s;e to call it. The Servants of my
Text had as much zeal and courage as the work re|quired,
(and 'twas a great and weighty work, if we
mark it well:) yet they re&s;olved to joyn together,
not only for their own &s;ecurity, but to a&s;&s;ure them|&s;elves
of a &s;peedier Conque&s;t. United forces are no
le&s;&s;e nece&s;&s;ary in the field of God for the &s;uppre&s;&s;ing
of his enemies, then are united prayers in the Con|gregation,
for the obtaining of his mercies:
therefore <HI>vis imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> in the plurall
number.</P>
<P>Next it is <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> in the pre&s;ent ten&s;e.
They were not only on a re&s;olution to go and gather,
but to do it pre&s;ently. Their courage was too great
to delay the action, their zeal too fervent to pro|cra&s;tinate
&s;o de&s;ired a &s;ervice.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Stapleton in Prompt.</NOTE> <HI>Non aiunt ibimus, &s;ed
imus,</HI> as mine Author hath it. They &s;ay not, we will
go hereafter, on more mature deliberation; but were
ready to advance as the word was &s;poken. They did
not only &s;peak of going, but were even going while&s;t
they &s;pake. The &s;ervants of my Text were too full
<PB N="194" REF="109">
of courage to trifle and delay the time in their Ma|&s;ters
bu&s;ine&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Augu&s;t.</HI> Confe&s;&s;. l. 8. c. 5.</NOTE> as did the Father in the work of his
own conver&s;ion, with <HI>mod&ograve;, ecce mod&ograve;,</HI> and <HI>&s;in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> paulu|lum:</HI>
they cryed not with the &s;luggard in the Book
of <HI>Proverbs, A little more &s;leep, a little more &s;lumber, a
little more folding of the hands.</HI> The Father tells us
of him&s;elf, that <HI>mod&ograve; &amp; mod&ograve; non habebant modum,</HI>
and <HI>&s;ine paululum in longum ibat,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. Ibid.</NOTE> how one delay be|gat
another, till he had almo&s;t lo&s;t the opportunity
which had been offered to him by the Lord his God.
And one inferior unto <HI>Solomon</HI> in all parts of wi&s;|dom
could &s;ay unto his Generall, <HI>tolle moras,</HI> that
to delay the on&s;et,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lucan. <HI>l.</HI> 1.</NOTE> was to lo&s;e his Victory. The I|ron
mu&s;t be &s;truck when it is at hotte&s;t; he that
works on it when tis cold, doth but beat the Anvil.
And tis an excellent Rule in Phy&s;ick, though a Poet
gave it, <HI>Principiis ob&s;tare,</HI> to have an eye to a Di&s;|ea&s;e
when it fir&s;t breaks forth. The Medicine comes
too late to remove a malady, which is confirmed and
&s;etled by a long delay. And &s;o tis al&s;o in this ca&s;e
with the Churches Doctors: He that doth undertake
the cure of a crazie Church, mu&s;t be in&s;tant in it, not
put it off until the morrow. <HI>Hodie &s;i vocem ejus, To
day if you will hear his voyce,</HI> &s;aith the Prophet <HI>Da|vid;</HI>
and <HI>operamini c&ugrave;m vocatur <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">odie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 95.</NOTE> <HI>Work while&s;t
tis called to day,</HI> &s;aith the Sonne of <HI>David.</HI> No ten&s;e
&s;o proper as the pre&s;ent for this weighty work. If
they intend to go and gather, either by labouring in
his Vineyard, or by &s;etting forth again&s;t the ene|mies,
it mu&s;t be <HI>imus</HI> and <HI>colligimus</HI> in the pre&s;ent
ten&s;e, before their courage is grown cold, and thei<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">
zeal abated. Sure I am, &s;o it was with my &s;ervants
here: and yet they were not &s;o intent on the pre&s;ent
<PB N="195" REF="109">
&s;ervice, as not to take their Ma&s;ters leave and in|&s;tructions
with them, guiding their courage by his
will, and governing their zeal by his directions. This
&s;hewes their temper and obedience, as before I no|ted.
<HI>Vis imus &amp; colligimus ea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> Wilt thou that we go and
gather them up?</HI></P>
<P><HI>Turpe e&s;t in extremo actu deficere.</HI> To fail in the
la&s;t Act in the clo&s;e of bu&s;ine&s;s, is a foul reproch; and
derogates not only from the Agent, but from the en|terpri&s;e.
The &s;ervants had done all things well &s;ince
they were awakened, both in their coming and en|quiry,
the re&s;olute expre&s;&s;ions of their zeal and cou|rage,
their readine&s;s and unanimity in the promoting
of their Ma&s;ters bu&s;ine&s;s: There wanted nothing
now to di&s;patch the work but a Commi&s;&s;ion from
their Ma&s;ter. And certainly it &s;tood with rea&s;on, that
in a bu&s;ine&s;s wherein their Ma&s;ter was concerned in
&s;o high a manner, they &s;hould do nothing ra&s;hly
without his con&s;ent. Had they gone otherwi&s;e to
work, they had not merited &s;o much for their zeal
and courage, as they had forfeited and lo&s;t for want
of wi&s;dom. <HI>Saepe hone&s;tas rerum cau&s;as, ni judicium
adhibeatur, pernicio&s;i exitus con&s;equuntur,</HI> as he in
<HI>Tacitus.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Tacitus.</HI> hi&s;t. l. 1.</NOTE> Zeal without judgement and advice may be
compared to a bru&s;h-Bavin-Faggot in a Country-Cottage,
more likely farre to fire the Hou&s;e then
to warm the Chimney. And zeal and courage de&s;ti|tute
of con&s;ent and coun&s;el is but like <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> in
the Story, when as his hair was grown, and his eyes
put out; and &s;eldom &s;erves to other purpo&s;e then
to pull the Hou&s;e upon our heads. But here zeal
yielded to obedience, and courage thought it no di&s;|paragement
to &s;ubmit to temper. Here was both
<PB N="196" REF="110">
<HI>modus caritatis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. Ibid.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; temperamentum fortitudinis.</HI> This
made them fir&s;t con&s;ult their Ma&s;ter, before they
went to execute their own de&s;ires; and it did well
with them: the bit of re&s;pect being oftentimes as
u&s;eful as the &s;pur of courage. Di&s;cretion is a &s;ure
guide to zeal, and only that which keeps it that it
breaks not out into open fury. If good directions do
not hold the reins, our good intentions many times
may chance to break their own neck, and the Riders
too: and which is yet mo&s;t &s;trange of all, without
&s;uch guidance and in&s;truction our zeal to God may
lead us from him.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, the bu&s;ine&s;s which they came about, was
their Ma&s;ters chiefly: the field of which they were
&s;o zealous, did belong to him, as the &s;ole owner and
Proprietary; and therefore <HI>Ager &s;uus,</HI> his field, <HI>v.</HI> 24.
The enemy again&s;t whom they re&s;olved to go was
not theirs, but his; or theirs no otherwi&s;e then as
they did retain to him, and weare his Livery: and
therefore <HI>inimicus ejus,</HI> his enemy, <HI>v.</HI> 25. Men might
have &s;aid they had bin de&s;perately bold, and perver&s;e|ly
zealous, if they had entred on his field, and a|gain&s;t
his enemies, without his liking and con&s;ent. It
had been little to the pray&s;e of their di&s;cretion, of
their duty le&s;&s;e; how much &s;oever they might have
been admired by unknowing men for great underta|kers.
And though they had returned with &s;ucce&s;s
and victory, yet who can tell but that in&s;tead of be|ing
made welcom with an <HI>Euge,</HI> Well done my good
and faithful Servant, they might have been repro|ved
at their coming home with a <HI>quis haec quae&s;ivit,</HI>
who required the&s;e things at your hands? It is the
approbation of Authority which makes courage u&s;e|full;
<PB N="167" REF="110">
and zeal, if it be publick, warrantable. With|out
that both become unprofitable, in &s;ome ca&s;es
dangerous. We may affirm of them as we &s;ay com|monly
of fire and water, that they are excellent Ser|vants,
but ill Ma&s;ters:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ambro&s;e.</NOTE> or as St. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> of the Sun,
that it is <HI>melior in mini&s;terio qu&agrave;m imperio;</HI> never
more u&s;eful to us men then when the beames there|of
are mo&s;t meek and gentle, and &s;o the more apply|able
to our nece&s;&s;ities. In the&s;e regards the &s;ervants
had too much neglected both them&s;elves and him,
had they been all for <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> and a&s;|cribed
nothing unto <HI>vis,</HI> to the Ma&s;ters plea|&s;ure.</P>
<P><HI>Solomon</HI> in the Book of <HI>Canticles</HI> compares the
Church unto an Army, an Army terrible with ban|ners.
And tis indeed an Army mo&s;t exactly ordered.
<GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t.</NOTE> never was
Army better mar&s;halled in the words of <HI>Chry&s;ostom.</HI>
Now tis well known that an Army is a gallant &s;ight,
when it hath all one motion, and that &s;o many thou|&s;and
bodies &s;eeme to be guided by one &s;oul; and e|very
one ob&s;erveth that rank and &s;tation in which he
hath been placed by the chief Commander, or other
Officers of the field. The poor <HI>Centurion</HI> in the Go|&s;pel,
was &s;o far &s;en&s;ible of his own Authority,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 8. v. 9.</NOTE> as to
appoint the Souldiers under his Command not only
what they were to do, but when it was fit to go, and
when fit to come. Had they been doing of their own
accord, without his <HI>Fiat,</HI> or going upon any action
without his <HI>vade,</HI> or appointment, no que&s;tion but
they &s;hould have felt their error, though they would
not &s;ee it. And he affirms it of him&s;elf, that he was
<HI>&s;ub potestate con&s;titutus,</HI> a man under the Authori|ty
<PB N="198" REF="111">
and command of others&punc; implying this, that as he
did expect obedience from the common Souldier, &s;o
he did yield it to his Colonel, or his Serjeant Major,
or who&s;oever el&s;e was in place above him. The Di&s;|cipline
of Warre could not el&s;e be kept. <HI>Ita &s;e du|cum
autoritas, &s;ic rigor Di&s;ciplinae habet.</HI> And if
that be not kept as it ought to be,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Taci<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">us</HI> hi&s;t. l. 1&punc;</NOTE> <HI>confu&s;i Equites p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">|dite&s;que
in exitium ruunt,</HI> the whole will &s;oon run on
to a &s;wift de&s;truction. Thus is it al&s;o with the Church,
with the Camp of God, that <HI>Acies ca&s;trorum ordinata,</HI>
as the Scripture calls it. If there be no &s;ubordination
in it, if every one might do what he li&s;t him&s;elf, (as
did Gods people in tho&s;e dayes, in which there was
no King in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI>) what a confu&s;ion would en&s;ue,
how &s;peedy a calamity mu&s;t needs fall upon
it?</P>
<P>The &s;ervants of my Text under&s;tood this rightly,
and therefore though they came provided, and de&s;i|red
nothing more then to give the on&s;et, yet thought
they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">it to hear how their Ma&s;ter liked it, and to ap|ply
them&s;elves to his re&s;olution.
<GAP DESC="foreign">, as it is
in <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chry&s;o&s;t.</HI> in Matth.</NOTE> They dur&s;t not tru&s;t, &s;aith he, to
their own opinion, in a matter of &s;o great concern|ment,
but referred all unto their Ma&s;ter. Courage and
zeal do never &s;hew more amiably then when they are
&s;ubordinate to good directions: e&s;pecially, when they
take direction from the right hand, from their Ma|&s;ter
only, not from the intere&s;t and pa&s;&s;ion of their
fellow-&s;ervants. Though it be <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> in
the plural number, yet tis <HI>vis</HI> only in the &s;ingular.
One to command, and many to obey, makes the
&s;weete&s;t government. 'Twas pray&s;e and commenda|tion
<PB N="199" REF="111">
enough for them, that they came fitted and
prepared to pur&s;ue the action. It was the Ma&s;ters
office to direct, and theirs to execute. <HI>Vobis arma &amp;
animus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Tacitus</HI> hi&s;t. l. 1.</NOTE> <HI>mihi con&s;ilium &amp; virtutis ve&s;trae regimen re|linquite,</HI>
as he in <HI>Tacitus.</HI> Nor were the two Bre|thren,
tho&s;e Sonnes of Thunder which I &s;pake of, to
be taught this le&s;&s;on, however they may &s;eem tran|&s;ported
with zeal or pa&s;&s;ion. Though the <HI>Samari|tans</HI>
had incen&s;ed them in an high degree,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 9.</NOTE> and that
they long'd for nothing more, then to inflict &s;ome
grievous puni&s;hment upon them yet they &s;ubmit|ted
their affections to their Ma&s;ters judgement. They
fell not pre&s;ently on the affront to their imprecati|ons,
nor called for fire from Heaven to con&s;ume
them utterly, as on the bla&s;ting of the breath of
their di&s;plea&s;ure: As vehement as their zeal and di&s;|plea&s;ure
was, yet they propo&s;ed the bu&s;ine&s;s to their
Ma&s;ter fir&s;t. It is not <HI>dicimus ut de&s;cendat ignis,</HI> it is
our plea&s;ure to command that fire come down from
Heaven, to de&s;troy the&s;e wretches; but it is <HI>vis di|cimus,</HI>
is it your plea&s;ure that we &s;hall? <HI>Vis imus &amp;
colligimus</HI> here, <HI>&amp; vis dicimus</HI> there. In both the Ma|&s;ters
leave and liking, is the thing mo&s;t &s;ought
for.</P>
<P>And 'twas no newes this in the Church of God,
that they who were in any publick place or Mini&s;try
&s;hould fit their zeal and courage to the will of God,
and to the guidance of &s;uch per&s;ons, who under him,
and by his appointment, had the chief ordering of the
Church. <HI>I&s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ah,</HI> though both bold and zealous in
the cau&s;e of God, and that his lips were touched with
a Coal from the Altar, yet dur&s;t not meddle in Gods
matters, before he had both Mi&s;&s;ion and Commi&s;&s;i|on
<PB N="100" REF="112">
too. God had fir&s;t &s;aid, <HI>Vade &amp; dices huic populo,</HI>
Go and tell this people, before he undertook the bu|&s;ine&s;s,
or put him&s;elf upon the work of reformation.
And which is there of all the Prophets that went up|on
Gods errands without his con&s;ent, and &s;tood not
more on <HI>dixit Dominus,</HI> then on <HI>dicam populo?</HI> I trow,
the times were then corrupt, and the people &s;inful.
The whole contexture of their &s;everal Prophecies
make that plain enough: yet finde we none of them
&s;o ha&s;ty in rebuking either, as not to take a &s;peciall
Warrant and Commi&s;&s;ion from the hand of God. No
<HI>imus &amp; colligimus</HI> in the dayes of old, in point of ex|traordinary
mi&s;&s;ion and employment; but &s;till there
was a <HI>vis</HI> expre&s;&s;ed, &s;ome warrant looked for from
the Lord, to make way unto it.</P>
<P>So for the way of ordinary Reformation, when the
fabrick of the Church was out of order, &amp; the whole
wor&s;hip of the Lord either defiled with &s;uper&s;titions,
or intermingled with Idolatries, as it was too often;
did not Gods &s;ervants tarry and await his lei&s;ure, till
tho&s;e who were &s;upreme both in place and power,
were by him prompted and inflamed to a Reforma|tion?
How many years had that whole people made
an Idol of the Brazen Serpent, and burnt incen&s;e to
it, before it was defaced by King <HI>Hezekiah?</HI> How
many more might it have longer &s;tood undefaced,
untouched by any of the common people, had not
the King given order to demoli&s;h it? How many
Ages had the &s;educed <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> adored before the
Altar of <HI>Bethel,</HI> before it was hewen down and cut in
pieces by the good King <HI>Jo&s;iah?</HI> Where can we finde
that any of Gods faithful Servants, any of tho&s;e 7000
&s;ouls which had not bowed the knee to <HI>Baal,</HI> did
<PB N="201" REF="112">
ever go about to de&s;troy the &s;ame? or that <HI>Elijah</HI> or
<HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> two men as extraordinary for their Calling as
their zeal and courage, did excite them to it, or told
them it was lawful for them &s;o to do, without the
<HI>Fiat</HI> of Authority to make good the work? Where
&s;hall we read in the whole cour&s;e and current of the
Book of God, that the common people in and by
their own authority removed the high places, or de|&s;troyed
the Images, or cut down the Groves, tho&s;e
excellent In&s;truments of &s;uper&s;tition and Idolatry;
that they appointed Fa&s;ts, and ordained Fe&s;tivals;
or that they did &s;o much as attempt &s;uch matters,
without this <HI>vis,</HI> the power and approbation of the
&s;upreme Magi&s;trate?</P>
<P>This was the Doctrine and practi&s;e both of the
former times, &s;o far forth as Gods Book directs us
in the &s;earch thereof: nor ever was it preached or
printed till now of late that it &s;hould be otherwi&s;e;
or that the work of Reformation belonged unto the
common people, in what capacity &s;oever they were
clothed and ve&s;ted. Of late indeed I finde it to be
&s;o determined, it being affirmed by <HI>Gle&s;&s;elius,</HI> one of
the <HI>Contra-Remon&s;trants</HI> of <HI>Roterdam,</HI> that if the
Prince and Clergy did neglect their duties in the re|forming
of the Church, <HI>nece&s;&s;e e&s;&s;e tum id facere ple|beios
I&s;raelitas,</HI> that then it did belong to the com|mon
people. And tis with a <HI>nece&s;&s;e,</HI> if you mark it
well; they might not only do it, but they mu&s;t be
doing. Do it, but how? what? in the way of treaty,
by mediation and petition, and &s;uch humble meanes
by which the dignity of the &s;upreme Magi&s;trate may
be kept indemnified? not &s;o, but even by force and
violence, <HI>lic&egrave;t ad &s;anguinem u&s;que pro eo pugnent,</HI> even
<PB N="202" REF="113">
to the &s;hedding of their own and their Brethrens
blood. In which it is mo&s;t &s;trange to &s;ee how &s;oon
this de&s;perate Doctrine found as lewd an u&s;e; how
&s;oon the people put in practi&s;e what the Preacher
taught them; but farre more &s;trange to &s;ee, (and who
can chu&s;e but &s;ee it, if he be not blinde?) how infi|nitely
their Scholars in this I&s;land, both for the theo|ry
and the practi&s;e, have out-gone their Ma&s;ters. And
wonder tis in all this time they made it not an Arti|cle
of their Chri&s;tian Faith, and put it not into the
place of &s;ome one or other of the twelve which they
think le&s;&s;e nece&s;&s;ary. Here is a <HI>vis</HI> indeed, they &s;ay
true in that; but no &s;uch <HI>vis</HI> as is intended in the
Text. The &s;ervants of my Parable knew no other
<HI>vis,</HI> then that of Propo&s;ition only, it being not their
intent nor cu&s;tom, either to run before or again&s;t Au|thority.
And having made the Propo&s;ition, they
did with patience and humility attend the An&s;wer of
their Ma&s;ter, which they were faithfully re&s;olved to
conform unto, however it might cro&s;&s;e their own
dear de&s;ignes; but what that an&s;wer was you may
&s;ee hereafter. For though the Ma&s;ter took no time
to con&s;ider of it, who comprehendeth all things in
one generall view; yet being it is a bu&s;ine&s;s of &s;uch
weight and moment, and that your patience hath
been tired too much already, I &s;hall defer the &s;ame
till another time. And therefore here I will conclude,
de&s;iring God, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="203" REF="113">
<HEAD>SERMON II.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At CHRIST-CHURCH <DATE>Jan. 28. 1643.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. v. 29.</BIBL>
<Q>But he &s;aid, nay; le&s;t while ye gather up the Tares,
ye root up al&s;o the Wheat with them.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_SPernit coele&s;tis animus humana con&s;ilia:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Velleius Patercul.</NOTE>
The divine wi&s;dom is not &s;wayed
nor balanced by humane advice. God
doth &s;ometimes make u&s;e of Man as a
meanes and In&s;trument whereby to
compa&s;s his intents; but he takes coun&s;el of
him&s;elf alone.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 2. v. 16:</NOTE> For who hath known the mind of the
Lord that he might in&s;truct him? <HI>aut quis con&s;iliarius
ejus fuit,</HI> or who hath been his Coun&s;ellor? &s;aith the
Apo&s;tle. How incon&s;iderable and impertinent are our
opinions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11. 34.</NOTE> in matters which pertain to his heavenly
judgement? how blind in points above, or beyond
our &s;ight? The Servants of my Text, no doubt,
thought them&s;elves fit and able to advi&s;e their Ma|&s;ter,
and did not make a proffer of their help and &s;er|vice,
but that they thought it likely to be entertain|ed.
And though they do not take upon them po&s;i|tively
<PB N="204" REF="114">
to pre&s;cribe a cour&s;e for the pre&s;erving of the
Wheat which was then in danger; yet by the tender
of them&s;elves to root out the Tares, they declare
expre&s;ly that they conceived that way mo&s;t pro|per
to effect the bu&s;ine&s;s. In which, if they exceeded
their accu&s;tomed duty, or went beyond the mode&s;ty
of dome&s;tick Servants, yet made they fair amends
in that humble reverence wherewith they did &s;ub|mit
to his re&s;olution.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cicurella in Sixto. Qu.</NOTE> <HI>Non mult&ugrave;m pugnabant ut &s;ua
vinceret &s;ententia,</HI> as a late Writer hath ob&s;erved
of a Pope of <HI>Rome:</HI> They were not &s;o much wed|ded
to their own opinion, but that a clearer judge|ment
might divorce them from it. And therefore, as
before was noted, <HI>Fiat voluntas tua,</HI> not their will,
but his will be done. They offered their advi&s;e and
a&s;&s;i&s;tance in it, <HI>vis imus &amp; colligimus ea? Wilt thou
that we go and gather them up?</HI> which having done,
they did expect his re&s;olution, to which they were in
duty and di&s;cretion to conform them&s;elves. And
hereto he returns his <HI>non,</HI> a plain refu&s;al of their &s;er|vice,
grounded upon a plain di&s;like of their intenti|ons.
<HI>Et ait non, But he &s;aid, nay; le&s;t while ye gather
up the Tares, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e words contain the Ma&s;ters an&s;wer to the
Propo&s;ition which by the &s;ervants was pre&s;ented in
the former ver&s;e. We may behold therein the&s;e two
general parts, His Power, His Providence. His Power
fir&s;t, that he was not bound to give obedience to
their coun&s;els, or to &s;ubmit his judgement unto their
opinions: His Providence, in having &s;uch a tender
care of his own good &s;eed, as not to yield unto the
gathering of the Tares in the way propo&s;ed, for fear
the Wheat might have incurred &s;ome danger by it.
<PB N="205" REF="114">
His Power we finde no otherwi&s;e &s;et forth unto us
then in a bare di&s;&s;ent, a plain negative voice, <HI>&amp; ait
non,</HI> but he &s;aid nay: he did not like of their Pro|po&s;ition,
and therefore was not bound to a&s;&s;ent unto
it. His Providence, fir&s;t that he left them not un&s;atis|fied,
but layd them down a rea&s;on of his Re&s;olution;
and then in giving &s;uch a rea&s;on as counterballanced
their de&s;ires of a quick di&s;patch, and made them &s;ee
the error of their former ha&s;t; <HI>Ne fort&egrave; colligentes
Zizania,</HI> le&s;t while ye gather up the Tares, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Which
rea&s;on, though but one in &s;hew, that is to &s;ay, the pre|&s;ervation
of the Wheat, the good Seed it &s;elf, doth
yet contain as many rea&s;ons as there are &s;everall
wayes and meanes, by which in gathering the Tares
they might have rooted up the Wheat al&s;o. For go|ing
the way by them&s;elves intended, which was in
<HI>ere gladii,</HI> as before was told you, either in the
violence of their proceedings they might have
rooted up the Tares and the Wheat together; or
el&s;e by prejudice or inadvertency have taken that
for Tares which indeed was Wheat; or finally, by
too much ha&s;t and precipitation have de&s;troyed
&s;ome Tares which might in time have proved good
Wheat, and &s;o become a plentiful addition to the
Lords Harve&s;t. And therefore <HI>non,</HI> he did not like
of their intention, nor would give way unto the Pro|po&s;ition
which they brought unto him, <HI>ne fort&egrave;,</HI> le&s;t
under colour and pretence of gathering the Tares in
the way propounded, <HI>eradicetur &s;imul cum eis triticum,</HI>
the Wheat, the Lords own Seed, might be rooted
up. The&s;e are the points to be ob&s;erved, and the&s;e I
&s;hall run over as they lie before me, beginning with
the Ma&s;ters power; <HI>&amp; ait non, But he &s;aid nay.</HI></P>
<PB N="206" REF="115">
<P><HI>Magna negotia magnis egent adjutoribus:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Velleius Patere.</NOTE> Great
Honours are great burdens, and therefore do require
more &s;houlders to &s;upport the weight, then tho&s;e that
re&s;t under the quiet and protection of a private for|tune:
the man that travelleth in affaires of high and
generall concernment, is ill advi&s;ed, if he tru&s;t only
to him&s;elf and his own abilities, and u&s;e not the a&s;&s;i|&s;tance
of &s;uch friends and &s;ervants who&s;e wi&s;dom
and fidelity he is well a&s;&s;ured of. <HI>Plus vident oculi
qu&agrave;m oculus,</HI> Two eyes &s;ee more then one, was the
ancient Proverb: And therefore he &s;hall follow but
a blinde direction, who puts out any of the light
which is offered to him, &amp; will &s;ee only by the blaze
of his own Candle. And on the other &s;ide, tho&s;e
whom great per&s;ons do make u&s;e of for advice and
coun&s;el, &s;hould do well to ponder with them&s;elves,
that they are only <HI>Adjutores,</HI> not Governours them|&s;elves,
but helps in Government; that they are Mi|ni&s;ters,
not Ma&s;ters; and Coun&s;ellors, but not Con|trollers.
He that de&s;ires to have an Adjutant to ea&s;e
him of &s;ome part of the care and trouble which is in|cumbent
on his office; or to in&s;truct and coun&s;el him
in di&s;charge thereof, would yet be loth to have him
in the nature of a Coadjutor, to give him any &s;ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e in
the publick Government, or to &s;ubmit him&s;elf with
a blind obedience to all his dictates and pre&s;cripti|ons.
That were to alter and invert the whole cour&s;e
of nature, if the head could not choo&s;e but be &s;way|ed
that way which the feet would carry it; and make
&s;o foul a Mon&s;ter of the Body Politick, as either to
have too many heads, or el&s;e none at all. The &s;er|vant
may do well to advi&s;e his Ma&s;ter for the be&s;t,
when his opinion is required; and he &s;hould ill di&s;|charge
<PB N="207" REF="115">
his duty, if he did not do it: but 'twere an
high degree of Arrogance in the able&s;t &s;ervant, to
think that his advi&s;e mu&s;t needs be followed; and as
great weakne&s;s in the Ma&s;ter, &s;hould he &s;ubmit to
every propo&s;ition which is tendered him by
tho&s;e who&s;e Coun&s;el he requires in his great
affaires.</P>
<P>The Ma&s;ter in my Text did better under&s;tand
him&s;elf and his place then &s;o: And therefore though
the propo&s;ition which was made unto him was both
fair and &s;pecious, and &s;eemed mo&s;t clearly to con|duce
to the advancement of his &s;ervice, and the pub|lick
good; yet he rejects it with a <HI>non,</HI> he refu&s;ed it
utterly. He neither liked their <HI>imus,</HI> though they
came with courage; nor their <HI>Colligimus,</HI> although it
were accompanied with zeal and chearfulne&s;s; nor
indeed any thing at all in the Propo&s;ition, but that
they clo&s;ed it with a <HI>vis,</HI> and did refer it wholly unto
his di&s;cretion. And he accordingly made u&s;e of that
power and priviledge which properly and naturally
was inherent in him; not putting out his own eyes,
in hope to &s;ee the better by their Spectacles; much
le&s;&s;e denying the u&s;e of his own rea&s;on, that they
might the more abound in their own &s;en&s;e. But as a
negative voyce had been ve&s;ted in him, both by the
Lawes of nature, and the rules of <HI>Occonomy,</HI> &s;o he is
re&s;olved to let them &s;ee, that as well now when he
was compa&s;&s;ed round with dangers, and his field in
&s;uch a way to ruine, as formerly in the be&s;t and &s;e|cure&s;t
times, he knew how to u&s;e it, and when 'twas
fit to &s;tand upon it. Nay though the Propo&s;ition
was of no le&s;&s;e moment then the pre&s;ervation of the
Church, and they that moved it to him of no lower
<PB N="208" REF="116">
rank then <HI>Magi&s;tri &amp; praeceptores Eccle&s;iae,</HI> the Ru|lers
and in&s;tructers of the Church, as St. <HI>Hierome</HI>
tells us, yet he &s;till kept him&s;elf to his own con|clu&s;ions,
<HI>Et ait non,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Hieron.</HI> in Matth:</NOTE> <HI>But he &s;aid nay.</HI> He would not
put the Sword into their hands when they went a
gathering, though they much de&s;ired it, and that
they thought no way to be &s;o effectual for the &s;ecu|ring
of the Harve&s;t.</P>
<P>Nor was this any new Authority which the Ma|&s;ter
had u&s;urped again&s;t former precedents, but &s;uch
as he had u&s;ed and practi&s;ed upon all occa&s;ions. For
if our Saviour be the Ma&s;ter in the pre&s;ent Parable,
(as no doubt he was) it was no newes in him to pro|ceed
this way, and &s;tand upon his own Prerogative,
when either his own Honour, or the Churches &s;afety
did depend upon it. St. <HI>Peter</HI> doubtle&s;s did con|ceive
that it concerned his Ma&s;ter in point of &s;afety
not to go down unto <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 16. v. 21.</NOTE> where he was like
to be de&s;pitefully intreated by the Prie&s;ts and Phari|&s;ees;
and therefore laboured to di&s;&s;wade him from
that dangerous journey. And this mo&s;t probably he
did, with the con&s;ent, and on the motion of all the
re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles, who&s;e mouth he was, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
as the Father calls him.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chry&s;o&s;t.</HI> in Matth.</NOTE> But whether it
were &s;o or no, no que&s;tion but the coun&s;el did
proceed from that true affection which the Apo&s;tle
carried towards his Lord and Ma&s;ter, and the re|&s;pect
he had to the little Flock, who&s;e pre&s;ervation
and &s;upport depended, as he thought, on the Shep|herds
&s;afety. And yet our Saviour did not only di&s;|approve
the coun&s;el,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 23.</NOTE> but told him plainly to his face,
<HI>quia non &s;apis ca quae Dei &s;unt,</HI> that it did too much
&s;avor of the World, and of God too little. And the
<PB N="209" REF="116">
two Sonnes of <HI>Zebedee</HI> did believe as &s;trongly, that
it as much concerned him in point of honour not to
put up that foul affront which had been offered him
by the <HI>Samaritans;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 9&punc; v. 54.</NOTE> and therefore made this motion
to him, <HI>vis dicamus ut de&s;cendat ignis?</HI> &s;hall we com|mand
that fire come down from Heaven to con|&s;ume
the&s;e wretches? Which motion, though it
aro&s;e from a ju&s;t re&s;entment of that indignity and
wrong which had been done unto their Ma&s;ter, yet
did their Ma&s;ter ab&s;olutely reject the &s;ame,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 55.</NOTE> not with|out
&s;ome di&s;like of their fervor in it; <HI>Ne&s;citis cujus
&s;piritus e&s;tis,</HI> in the words next after. In both it is to
be ob&s;erved, that the Lord did not put them off with
any dilatory An&s;wer, as if he either wanted time to
con&s;ider of it, or were afraid to &s;tand upon his ju&s;t
prerogative; but gave them a refu&s;al in plain termes,
and gave it with a check to boot, to let them &s;ee
how &s;en&s;ible he was of his own Authority.</P>
<P>Nor was it otherwi&s;e in this ca&s;e with the Sonne
of <HI>David,</HI> then with <HI>David</HI> formerly; who though
he had a patient ear, and was content to heare
his Servants, (and in matters of the highe&s;t points,
both of life and Soveraignty,) yet he conceived him|&s;elf
to be left at liberty either to di&s;&s;ent or a&s;&s;ent,
as he thought mo&s;t fit. Upon which principle of
power,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 24. v. 4.</NOTE> and point of liberty, he ab&s;olutely refu&s;ed
to hearken to the coun&s;el of his Men of Warre, when
they advi&s;ed him to make u&s;e of the opportunity
which the Lord had given him in delivering <HI>Saul</HI>
into his hands. And though he found by many clear
&s;ignes and apparent circum&s;tances,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 19. 21. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> that the Sonnes
of <HI>Zerviah</HI> were &s;o potent among&s;t the Military men,
and &s;o re&s;pected of the people, that it was not &s;afe
<PB N="210" REF="117">
for him, as the ca&s;e the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;tood, to oppo&s;e their do|ings;
yet he conceived him&s;elf not bound to em|brace
their coun&s;els, or to a&s;&s;ent to every propo&s;iti|on
which they made unto him. And therefore when
they pre&s;&s;ed him for the death of <HI>Shimei,</HI> who had
&s;o utterly reviled him in the day of his tribulation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 19. v. 21, 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE>
that nothing more could have been acceptable to the
common people then &s;uch a gratefull piece of ju|&s;tice,
he had re&s;ort unto his negative, &amp; refu&s;ed ab&s;o|lutely
to give way unto it. The rea&s;ons which indu|ced
him to di&s;&s;ent, I regard not here: Tis plain, he
thought him&s;elf at liberty to a&s;&s;ent, or not; and tis
as plain, that he made u&s;e thereof when he &s;aw occa|&s;ion;
and yet was never quarrelled for it, or thought
to have u&s;urped a power which belonged not to him.
<HI>David</HI> had bin in a wor&s;e condition then the meane&s;t
Subject, if he had been nothing but a State-Eccho,
nece&s;&s;itated to repeat tho&s;e words which his &s;ervants
did pre&s;cribe and dictate to him; if <HI>ait, aio, negat,
nego,</HI> which was the <HI>Para&s;ites</HI> part in the Roman
Theatre, had been all the part he was to act on the
Stage of Government.</P>
<P>But to return unto my Parable; It &s;eemes the &s;er|vants
were as well per&s;waded of their Ma&s;ters Power
in this particular, as the Ma&s;ter was; and thereupon
&s;ubmitted without more di&s;pute to his will and plea|&s;ure.
They came not to him out of Complement, or
<HI>tentandi cau&s;&acirc;,</HI> to try what metall he was made of,
whether he would give way or not unto their de&s;ires;
and if not, then to carve them&s;elves, and to proceed
in their own way, to the contempt and &s;corn of his
Authority. Tis true, that &s;ome of the Di&s;ciples had
&s;o &s;erved him once, in the great ca&s;e of the Militia:
<PB N="211" REF="117">
They came unto him with a Que&s;tion, <HI>Domine, &s;i per|cutimus
eos gladio,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 22. v. 49:</NOTE> <HI>Lord, &s;hall we &s;trike them with the
&s;word?</HI> &s;hall we betake our &s;elves unto our weapons
in this dangerous time, in which we have not a bare
ground only of feares and jealou&s;ies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Grotius Annotat.</NOTE> but &s;ee too e|vidently
that many of our enemies are in Arms a|gain&s;t
us? But without tarrying for an An&s;wer, <HI>non
expectato Domini re&s;pon&s;o,</HI> as my Author hath it, one
of them puts him&s;elf into a po&s;ture of Warre, and
drawes his Sword, and gives the on&s;et, as if they had
&s;ufficiently complied with the Obligation wherein
they &s;tood bound to their Lord and Ma&s;ter, by tel|ling
him before hand what they meant to do. But &s;o
it was not with the Servants of my pre&s;ent Text; all
which they did, and all they thought they had to do
was to make the motion; and having made the mo|tion,
to expect his An&s;wer: which as in duty they
were bound to conform unto, &s;o in compliance with
that duty, they de&s;i&s;ted pre&s;ently from pro&s;ecuting
their own projects. No &s;ooner had they found by
their Ma&s;ters An&s;wer, that they had been mi&s;taken
in the time and in&s;truments in and by which &s;o great
a bu&s;ine&s;s was to be effected, but they gave over the
pur&s;uit, and left the work to be performed by the
Heavenly Angel, to whom their Ma&s;ter had re&s;er|ved
it. No further &s;peech of <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> after
their Lord and Ma&s;ter had returned a <HI>non.</HI></P>
<P>And certainly this moderation and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion of
them&s;elves to their Ma&s;ters plea&s;ure &s;hewed excee|ding
lowly, and tends not more unto the commen|dation
of their mode&s;ty, then of their piety. In vain
it is for man to di&s;pute with God, to &s;tand as 'twere
on equall termes, and expo&s;tulate with him, if our
<PB N="212" REF="118">
de&s;ires and coun&s;els do not take effect: <HI>O homo, tu
quis es qui re&s;pondeas Deo?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9. 20.</NOTE> <HI>For who art thou O man
that di&s;pute&s;t with God?</HI> &s;aith the great Apo&s;tle. It
carrieth &s;omething in it of that mon&s;trous Warre
which rhe Giants made again&s;t the Gods in ancient
Fables;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovidii Metam. l. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Altaque conge&s;tos &s;truxi&s;&s;e ad &s;ydera montes,</HI>
when they heaped hills on hills to come neerer to
them, to fight it out upon even ground. And tis as
vain to &s;et our &s;elves again&s;t tho&s;e Powers, to whom
God hath not only plea&s;ed to impart &s;ome branch of
his Authority, but to communicate his name; to
think that we can binde them by our votes or wi&s;hes,
or circum&s;cribe them by our Coun&s;els.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13: 2.</NOTE> It is no Ar|gument
of weakne&s;s to give way to them who are
too &s;trong to be re&s;i&s;ted, or by re&s;i&s;ting whom we
&s;hall but agravate our own guilt and ruine. <HI>Non turpe
e&s;t ab eo vinci quem vincere e&s;t nefas;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Velleius</HI> hi&s;t. l. 2.</NOTE> It is no &s;hame,
&s;aid the Hi&s;torian, to yield to him whom it were &s;in
to overcome: nor is it a di&s;honour to &s;ubmit to tho&s;e
whom Fortune, or the Gods rather, have advanced a|bove
us. And therefore they who plunge whole
States in Warres, and them&s;elves in mi&s;eries, be|cau&s;e
their propo&s;itions may not pa&s;&s;e for Lawes, are
but like <HI>Achitophel,</HI> of whom it is recorded that he
hanged him&s;elf becau&s;e his coun&s;el was not fol|lowed.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 King. 17. 23.</NOTE></P>
<P>It is well &s;aid by him in <HI>Tacitus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Hi&s;tor.</HI> l. 4.</NOTE> <HI>Suadere Principi
quod oportet multi laboris est,</HI> that to give good coun|&s;el
to a Prince is a work of difficulty; and he that
doth it well, hath di&s;charged his duty: The i&s;&s;ue and
&s;ucce&s;s thereof he mu&s;t leave to God, who hath
committed to his Sub&s;titutes the &s;upreme power of
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">udging what is fitte&s;t for them to con&s;ent unto. The
<PB N="213" REF="118">
vertue of obedience is the Subjects glory: And he
may well per&s;wade him&s;elf, that as he had &s;ome rea|&s;ons
which induced him to advi&s;e one way, &s;o there
were others no le&s;&s;e weighty which might incline
his Ma&s;ter to pur&s;ue another. Which rea&s;ons, if
they be made known unto him, he may then &s;atisfie
him&s;elf and others whom it doth concern: If not,
he hath no rea&s;on to complain at all; Princes being
<GAP DESC="foreign">, as the Stati&s;ts terme it, not bound to
render an account of their words or actions, further
then as they &s;hall be plea&s;ed of their own accord to
impart the &s;ame unto their &s;ervants, for the remo|ving
of &s;uch umbrages and di&s;contentments as the
rejecting of their Coun&s;els might occa&s;ion other|wi&s;e.
This leades from the Ma&s;ters power unto his
Providence, in that he did not leave his &s;ervants
without &s;atisfaction, but layed them down a rea&s;on
of his refu&s;all, and &s;uch a rea&s;on as came home to the
point propo&s;ed: <HI>But he &s;aid, nay, ne fort&egrave; colligentes
zizania,</HI> for fear le&s;t while ye gather up the Tares
ye root the Wheat up al&s;o with them: My &s;econd
Generall.</P>
<P><HI>Majoribus no&s;tris nulla reddita ratione rationis e&s;t
credere,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tullius.</NOTE> &s;aid the Heathen Orator. It was the ea&s;i|ne&s;s
and flexibility of &s;ome former times to give
belief to any thing which was commended to them
by their Ancients, without examining the grounds
and rea&s;ons. Which though it was a cour&s;e that did
not much conduce to the advancement of know|ledge,
&s;erved notwith&s;tanding very well to train the
people up in the Schools of obedience. But then
withall it was ob&s;erved, that though &s;ome tendries
were &s;o ancient that they grew i refragable, &s;ome
<PB N="214" REF="119">
Authors &s;o e&s;teemed of that they grew Authenti|call;
yet to di&s;cerning men, men of abilities and
parts in the wayes of learning, neither the Antiquity
of the Tenet, nor the Authority of the Teacher, car|ried
&s;o much &s;way, as did the rea&s;on which appeared
in the&s;e points and tendries. <HI>Et quanquam in Autore
&s;atis rationis e&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Velleiu.</HI> l. 2.</NOTE> <HI>ratio tamen quemlibet magnum Autho|rem
facit.</HI> In which regard, tho&s;e who have took up|on
them to be Guides to others, and to in&s;truct them
in the Arts of life or learning, found a nece&s;&s;ity at
la&s;t of making them acquainted with the grounds
and rea&s;ons of that which they did dictate and pre|&s;cribe
unto them. Men being of a rea&s;onable &s;oul by
nature, are be&s;t ruled by rea&s;on, and then mo&s;t ap<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">
to yield obedience, when they perceive there is &s;ome
rea&s;on in the point commended to them, &s;ome rea|&s;on
for the impo&s;ition or command which is laid up|on
them. And &s;o it al&s;o holds in the Arts of Go|vernment,
the actions of the &s;upreme Powers being
then mo&s;t acceptable, when they are plea&s;ed to give
a rea&s;on of tho&s;e Acts and Re&s;ults of State in
which the Subjects are concerned.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tacitus Annal. <HI>l.</HI> 6.</NOTE> Tis true indeed
which the wi&s;e State&s;man hath ob&s;erved, <HI>abditos
Principis &s;en&s;us,</HI> that the thoughts of Soveraign
Princes are mo&s;t dark and hidden; and that to prie
into them with too curious eyes, is not unlawful only,
but exceeding dangerous. But then withall, it is as
true, that <HI>&s;ic volo &s;ic jubeo</HI> is but a &s;orry piece of Rhe|torick
to per&s;wade obedience;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid.</NOTE> and that the Sub|ject
yields but a dull conformity to the Commands
of his Superiour, when the imperiou&s;ne&s;s of tho&s;e
Commands is not backed by Rea&s;on, but founded
only upon Will.</P>
<PB N="215" REF="119">
<P>The Ma&s;ter in my Text under&s;tood this rightly;
and therefore when he was re&s;olved (upon mature
con&s;ideration of the Servants offer) not to give way
to their <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> yet he thought fit to
make &s;ome an&s;wer to the <HI>vis,</HI> to let them &s;ee the
rea&s;on why he differed or di&s;&s;ented from them. In
this we have the Servants mode&s;ty, and the Ma&s;ters
goodne&s;s. The Servants were too mode&s;t to demand
the rea&s;on why he refu&s;ed to hearken to the Pro|po&s;ition
which they brought unto him: They knew
that he was <HI>liber agens,</HI> not bound to tell them any
more of his re&s;olutions then he had a minde to; and
that it was a &s;peciall favour, if he told them any thing
which he might lawfully have kept within the Cabi|net
of his own bo&s;om. The Ma&s;ter of a Family is a
Petit-Prince, e&s;pecially as the paternal power &s;tood
fortified in our Saviours time, the Father having
then <HI>pote&s;tatem vitae &amp; necis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Min&s;iner. in In&s;titut. lib. 1. tit. 9.</NOTE> the power of life and
death over all the Hou&s;hold. And for the exerci&s;e
thereof, <HI>He &s;aith to this man, Go, he goeth; and to ano|ther,
Come,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 8. v. 9.</NOTE> <HI>he cometh; and to a third, Do this, he doth it:</HI>
In no ca&s;e bound to give a rea&s;on for any of tho&s;e
&s;everall Commands he layes upon them, or to &s;et
out a Declaration of tho&s;e grounds and motives
which might induce him to di&s;&s;ent in opinion from
them. But if he plea&s;e to let them &s;ee &s;o farre into
him of his own accord, it is to be interpreted for an
act of Grace, as it relates unto them&s;elves; though
po&s;&s;ibly it be an act of e&s;pecial providence, is it re|flects
upon the &s;ervice. The &s;ervant is then mo&s;t o|bedient
to the Ma&s;ters plea&s;ure, and takes mo&s;t pa|tiently
the refu&s;al of his profered &s;ervice, when it
is &s;weetned by &s;ome plau&s;ible prevailing rea&s;ons.</P>
<PB N="216" REF="120">
<P>And &s;o we finde it in this ca&s;e; The Servants of the
Text had performed their duty, in making a di&s;cove|ry
of the Tares, and in the offer which they made to
go and gather them before they had de&s;troyed the
Harve&s;t. An offer not to have been &s;lighted, or pa&s;|&s;ed
lightly over, but that the Ma&s;ter &s;aw more in it
then the &s;ervants did, and found it could not be ac|cepted
without greater danger to his field then the
Tares did threaten. Which being vi&s;ible to him,
though un&s;een by them, he thought it not ami&s;&s;e to
acquaint them with it, and let them &s;ee the error
they were fallen upon, in offering &s;uch a remedy to
remove the mi&s;chief as would have been more mi&s;|chievous
then the Tares them&s;elves which they
made offer to remove. A mi&s;chief which the &s;ervants
did not think of when they came before him, being
tran&s;ported then by their zeal and courage; and per|haps
might not have di&s;cerned it upon &s;econd
thoughts. Though they were men of excellent and
di&s;cerning Spirits, yet they were but men, and could
not look &s;o farre into the i&s;&s;ue and &s;ucce&s;s of things
as the more penetrating eye of Almighty God. <HI>Nil
inter Deum hominemque di&s;taret,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Lactant.</HI> l. 1. c. 1&punc;</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c.</HI> There were no
difference, &s;aid <HI>Lactantius</HI> truly, between God and
man, were not men &s;ubject unto error, and might
not &s;ometime lo&s;e them&s;elves as well in the fallibi|lity
of their own coun&s;els, as the un&s;earchablene&s;s of
his. Therefore to let the &s;ervants under&s;tand more
clearly how infinitely &s;hort they were of his hea|venly
wi&s;dom, that all their wit was folly, and their
coun&s;els fooli&s;hne&s;s, he doth not only an&s;wer <HI>nay,</HI>
which had been &s;ufficient, but adds <HI>ne fort&egrave;</HI> to his
<HI>non,</HI> and lets them know the rea&s;on of his di&s;allow|ance,
<PB N="217" REF="120">
that &s;o they might perceive the danger of their
ra&s;h de&s;ign.</P>
<P>A rea&s;on then was given, but what rea&s;on was it?
A rea&s;on certainly which counterbalanced their de|&s;ires
of a quick di&s;patch, and made them &s;ee the er|ror
of their former ha&s;te. The way in which they
meant to go was <HI>in ore gladii,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ph. in locum.</NOTE> to go again&s;t them
with the Sword, and de&s;troy them utterly, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
to cut them off not only from the
body of the Church, but of all mankind, as <HI>Theophy|lact</HI>
hath it; to rai&s;e an holy Warre (if I may &s;o call
it) which &s;hould have had &s;ome influence <GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chry&s;o&s;t.</HI> in Matth.</NOTE>
over all the Quarters of the World, as
we finde in <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom.</HI> And had they gone this way
to work, as they meant to do, no doubt but in the
violence of their proceedings, they would have root|ed
up the Wheat and the Tares together. The
Sword, though never &s;o well &s;harpned, is but an ill
di&s;tingui&s;her between Tares and Wheat: and Warre
the mo&s;t improper Judge that was ever thought of
to determine Controver&s;ies in Religion. Where the
Sword &s;trikes, it &s;trikes on both &s;ides; it is <HI>gladius
Delphicus,</HI> and makes as little difference between
the Doctrines, as between the Teachers. And when
Warre rageth in a Nation, it beares all before it:
Hallowed places and prophane, the innocent per&s;on
and the guilty are all alike involved in the &s;ame ca|lamity.
We may affirm of them, as the good Wri|ter
doth of the dreadful Thunder-bolts, <HI>Sine delectu
tangunt loca &s;acra &amp; profana; homines noxios feriunt,
&s;aepe &amp; religio&s;os.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Minut. Fel. Apol.</NOTE> But <HI>&s;aepe</HI> will not &s;erve our turn, it
mu&s;t be <HI>Saepius,</HI> or el&s;e nothing; and &s;o indeed it
proves mo&s;t commonly. For when the Sword and
<PB N="218" REF="121">
Warre are to act their Tragedies, the be&s;t and holi|e&s;t
men &s;peed wor&s;t, as they who lea&s;t know how to
time it, and to comply with the iniquities of the
place they live in. And therefore <HI>&s;aeviente ardore
belli meliores potius occumbere,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. ibid.</NOTE> &s;aith mine Au|thor
rightly. But never is the Sword more fatally,
nor more unhappily imployed, then when tis mana|ged
by tho&s;e men who ought to know no other
Weapons then the Sword of the Spirit: no Warre
more cruel and unnatural, then when the bellows of
&s;edition which inflames the State, are blown by tho&s;e
who &s;hould be Mini&s;ters of peace. <HI>Ne fort&egrave;</HI> is good
coun&s;el here: No <HI>imus &amp; colligimus</HI> in the way pro|po&s;ed,
for fear of rooting up more Wheat then
Tares in the pro&s;ecution.</P>
<P>The dangerou&s;ne&s;s of this de&s;ign we &s;hall further
&s;ee, if we look fir&s;t upon the Tares, what is meant
by them; and then upon the Servants, of what rank
they were, who were &s;o hot upon the &s;ervice, upon
the <HI>imus &amp; colligimus</HI> of the former ver&s;e. Fir&s;t,
for the Tares,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. the 2d Sermon on this Parable.</NOTE> be&s;ides that many, if not mo&s;t of the
ancient Fathers interpret them of fal&s;e opinions, of
<HI>haere&s;es &amp; mala dogmata;</HI> St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI> and others
do expound them of the Hereticks, of the men
them&s;elves. St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> &s;eemes to make a que&s;tion,
whether the Schi&s;matick be not al&s;o comprehended
in them; and <HI>Cyprian</HI> conceives it of the wicked ge|nerally,
as do al&s;o others. But be it which it will, it
comes all to one. Warre and the Sword are but of
little u&s;e God knowes in the confuting of the Here|tick,
or the converting of the &s;inner, or the reducti|on
of the Schi&s;matick to the Fold of Chri&s;t. <HI>Non
tali auxilio:</HI> the Lord hath cho&s;en other meanes, and
<PB N="219" REF="121">
other Mini&s;ters for the performance of the&s;e &s;ervi|ces,
and needs no &s;uch helps. How farre, and in who&s;e
hands they may be &s;erviceable for the correction of
the wicked, we &s;hall &s;ee anon. In the mean time we
mu&s;t take notice, that by the Servants in this Para|ble
are meant the Rulers of Chri&s;ts Church, <HI>Magi|&s;tri
&amp; Praeceptores Eccle&s;iae,</HI> as before I told you
out of <HI>Hierome;</HI> to whom our Saviour gave the
keyes, and the Church afterwards the <HI>Crozier,</HI> or
the Pa&s;toralls Staffe, the badge and emblem of their
Office. But neither our Saviour nor the Church gave
them any power to take the Sword into their hands,
or to proceed <HI>in ore gladii,</HI> when they found any
thing ami&s;&s;e in life or Doctrine which &s;tood in need
of Reformation.</P>
<P>Look upon which of the&s;e you will, either upon
the Servants or upon the Tares, and we &s;hall quickly
finde that the Sword and Warre are never more un|fitly
u&s;ed, then by &s;uch men, and in &s;uch ca&s;es. For
the Tares being &s;owen <HI>in medio tritici,</HI> among&s;t the
Wheat, <HI>v.</HI> 25. and growing intermingled with it
in the blade or &s;talk, <HI>v.</HI> 26. if the Sword chance to
mow them down, down go both alike. And &s;hould
the Field be weeded by the hand of Warre, impo&s;&s;i|ble
it is but that in gathering up the Tares <HI>eradice|tur
&s;imul cum eis triticum,</HI> the Wheat mu&s;t needes
be rooted up at the &s;elf-&s;ame time. <HI>Bonorum malo|rumque
fata mixta,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Min. Fel.</NOTE> <HI>merita confu&s;a.</HI> The wicked and
the righteous per&s;on, the Schi&s;matick and confor|mable
man, the Heretick and Orthodox Profe&s;&s;or&punc;
are all alike &s;ubject unto tho&s;e calamities which the
Warre brings upon a Nation; their Per&s;ons, their
E&s;tates, their Families, all comprehended in the
<PB N="220" REF="122">
ma&s;&s;e of the &s;ame perdition: which as they are the
ordinary con&s;equents of the Sword and Warre, &s;o do
they fall mo&s;t heavily on the Church of Chri&s;t;
when the Sword is put into unskilful hands, who
neither have a right unto it, nor the Art to u&s;e it; or
when the Warre is undertaken and pur&s;ued under the
mask and colour of Religion. When once the Suc|ce&s;&s;ors
of St. <HI>Peter,</HI> as they claim to be, laid a&s;ide the
keyes, and betook them&s;elves unto the Sword, what
havock did they make in the Chri&s;tian Church? how
often have they died their Robes in the blood of the
Saints? And when the Warre begun by the Chri&s;ti|an
Princes on the <HI>Turks</HI> and <HI>Saracens,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;tor. Albigen&s;.</NOTE> was turned
upon the <HI>Albigen&s;es</HI> by the Popes of <HI>Rome;</HI> and that
the <HI>Cruciata</HI> was proclaimed again&s;t tho&s;e poor &s;ouls,
only becau&s;e they differed in &s;ome points of Do|ctrine
from the opinions of that Church; how many
hundred thou&s;ands of well-meaning men, who made
a con&s;cience of their wayes, and erred not, (if they
erred at all) out of pride, but ignorance, were rooted
up, and made a &s;acrifice to the offended Deities of
the Roman Conclave?</P>
<P>The mi&s;eries of tho&s;e Warres, and the nature of
them, are but a Gla&s;&s;e, wherein we may behold the
troubles and di&s;tractions of the&s;e latter times, in
which the Sword hath been &s;o often made the Judge
of controver&s;ies;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nece&s;&s;ar. Re&s;pon&s;.</NOTE> &amp; almo&s;t all the States in Chri&s;ten|dom
have been imbroiled in Warres, under pretence
of Reformation. That Maxime of <HI>Illyricus,</HI> the Fa|ther
of the rigid <HI>Lutherans,</HI> as they u&s;e to call them,
<HI>terrendos Principes metu &s;editionum,</HI> that Princes mu&s;t
be frighted into Reformation by the fear and threat|ning
of &s;editions: that of <HI>Ge&s;&s;elius,</HI> a more rigid <HI>Cal|vini&s;t,</HI>
<PB N="221" REF="122">
that if the Prince and Clergy did neglect their
duties in the reforming of the Church, the people
then mu&s;t undertake it, <HI>lic&egrave;t ad &s;anguinem u&s;que pro
eo pugnent,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> although they have no other way to ef|fect
the &s;ame, then by rai&s;ing Warres, and &s;tirring up
the Subjects again&s;t their Soveraigns: that of &s;ome
zelots of our own,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo. Durant.</NOTE> who now the Sword is drawn,
would not have it &s;heathed, till it be fully glutted in
the blood of Malignants: what ruine and de&s;tructi|on
hath it brought on the Church of God, defiled
the Sanctuaries of the Lord, and defaced his Tem|ples,
laid de&s;olate the beauties of our dwelling-pla|ces,
and made us Chri&s;tians both a deri&s;ion and a
prey to the Turks and Gentiles?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lucan.</NOTE> <HI>Tantum religio po|tuit
&s;uadere malorum.</HI> Such mi&s;chiefs have the Sword
and the Warre produced, under pretence of <HI>imus &amp;
colligimus,</HI> of gathering up &s;uch Tares as have been
thought to grow in the Field of God; and rectify|ing
&s;uch abu&s;es as in long tract of time had ri&s;en in
his publick wor&s;hip. With how much better judge|ment
was the Que&s;tion &s;tated in the Heroick times
of Chri&s;tianity? when as it was both taught and
practi&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Lactant.</HI> lib. 5. c. 20.</NOTE> <HI>Defendendam e&s;&s;e Religionem non occidendo
&s;ed moriendo,</HI> that the Go&s;pel was to be defended
not by blood and &s;laughter, nor by de&s;troying tho&s;e
who oppo&s;ed the &s;ame, or harboured any Tenets
which agreed not with it; but by &s;ubmitting our
own lives to the hand of death, in te&s;timony of the
truth and a good con&s;cience, when&s;oever the nece&s;&s;i|ties
of the Church &s;hall require it of us. With how
much greater love to the Church of Chri&s;t, did the
good Father give this Comment on the pre&s;ent text?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Theophy<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">act. in locum.</NOTE>
<GAP DESC="foreign">,
<PB N="222" REF="123">
God, &s;aith he, would not let the Hereticks be de&s;troy|ed
by Warres, for fear the righteous per&s;on and the
true believer &s;hould al&s;o &s;uffer with them in the &s;ame
de&s;truction.</P>
<P>But what will &s;ome men &s;ay? Is there no u&s;e of
the Sword at all in the confounding of the Heretick,
or the reclaiming of the Schi&s;matick, or the cor|rection
of the wicked and flagitious per&s;on? I &s;ay not
&s;o; the Sword may have its u&s;e in all the&s;e particu|lars,
and Warres be &s;erviceable in &s;ome of them: But
then the Sword mu&s;t be committed to the hands of
the proper Mini&s;ter, not to the Servants of my Text,
or any Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel of what rank &s;oever;
and Warres mu&s;t be denounced and pur&s;ued by tho&s;e
in whom the &s;upreme Government of the State is
ve&s;ted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Virgil.</NOTE> to whom it appertains of right, <HI>Parcere &s;ub|jectis
&amp; debellare &s;uperbos,</HI> to be indulgent to the
quiet and obedient &s;ubject, but to pull down the &s;to|mach
of the proud and rebellious per&s;on. Each of
them hath their &s;everal way, and their &s;everall wea|pons
in the effecting of this work; but each of them
mu&s;t &s;tay the time. The Heretick is fir&s;t to be at|tempted
by the power of the word, by which <HI>Apol|los</HI>
mightily convinced the Jewes; and which St.
<HI>Paul</HI> a&s;&s;ures us is exceeding profitable,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 18.</NOTE> not onely for
Doctrine, but reproof. It is the faithful word, as he
el&s;ewhere tells us, by which the Prelate is inabled not
only to exhort,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 1. 9.</NOTE> but convince gain&s;ayers. The &s;ame
cour&s;e mu&s;t be al&s;o taken in the recovery of the
Schi&s;matick, in reduction of the &s;tray-&s;heep to the
Fold of Chri&s;t: it being the duty of the diligent and
careful Shepherd to &s;eek out that which was lo&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 34.</NOTE>
and bring back that which was driven away. Which
<PB N="223" REF="123">
meanes, if they &s;hould prove to be ineffectual, and that
the word and Doctrine will not work the cure, it then
pertains unto the Pa&s;tor to have recour&s;e unto the
cen&s;ures of the Church, <HI>Et flagellorum terroribus vel
etiam doloribus revocare,</HI> to fetch them back again by
the Rod of Di&s;cipline; and if that faile, to excom|municate
them,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Augu&s;t.</HI> Eph. 50.</NOTE> and deliver them to the hands of
Satan. Further then this they may not go, tis be|yond
their bounds: what may be done upon Certifi|cate
hereof by the Civil Magi&s;trate, and how farre
he may u&s;e the Sword in cutting off the ob&s;tinate
Heretick, and the perver&s;e Schi&s;matick, we &s;hall &s;ee
hereafter, when we are come to look upon the <HI>Si|nite</HI>
in the following ver&s;e: in which it was appoin|ted
by the heavenly Husbandman, that both the
Tares and Wheat &s;hould be permitted to grow up
together till the Harve&s;t.</P>
<P>In the mean time there is no que&s;tion to be made,
but that notorious offenders, (&amp; &s;uch S. <HI>Cyprian</HI> takes
to be the Tares which are here intended) are mo&s;t
immediately &s;ubject to the &s;word of the Civil Magi|&s;trate,
if &s;ingle per&s;ons; and to be rooted up by the
hand of Warre, if they unite them&s;elves together, &amp;
by their wretched ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">hinations do imbroyl the State:
God gave the Sword into the hands of the higher
powers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ro<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. 3. v. 2. 4.</NOTE> for no other purpo&s;e, but that they &s;hould be
his avengers, <HI>vindices in iram,</HI> &s;aith the vulgar, to
execute wrath and judgement upon tho&s;e that do e|vill,
and among&s;t other evill that do re&s;i&s;t the pow|ers.
He that imployes it not to that end and purpo&s;e,
and doth not make him&s;elf a terror unto tho&s;e which
do evill works, beares the Sword in vain, and gives
&s;ome countenance unto, the error &s;hall I call it, or the
<PB N="224" REF="124">
frenzie rather?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sleidan Comment. 1.</NOTE> of the fooli&s;h Anabapti&s;ts, who do
affirm expre&s;ly, and in <HI>terminis,</HI> That the Sword
is not to be u&s;ed by the Civill Magi&s;trate: which
were it &s;o, in ca&s;e the Magi&s;trate might not u&s;e
the Sword when he &s;aw occa&s;ion, or will not u&s;e
the &s;ame when he may and ought, God needed
not have put the Sword into his hands. A Scabbard
and a pair of Hilts would have &s;erved the turn. And
as for Warre, it is the la&s;t remedy which a Prince
can u&s;e for the correction of a &s;tubborn and rebelli|ous
people; not to be thought on, nor imbraced, but
in great extremities. Warre is then only ju&s;t when it
is nece&s;&s;ary, and can no longer be avoided; and then
too to be u&s;ed with alloyes and temperaments, as
Poy&s;ons are &s;ometimes in a Cour&s;e of Phy&s;ick. That
Prince, as wittily and tartly the <HI>Italians</HI> tell us, who
upon every &s;light occa&s;ion doth take up Arms a|gain&s;t
his Subjects, may be compared unto the m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">n
which &s;ets his Hou&s;e on fire for to ro&s;t his Eggs.
But if the Prince hath tryed all other cour&s;es, and can
&s;peed in none; if when he &s;peaks of peace they
prepare for Warre; if they refu&s;e to hear his Charms,
charm he never &s;o &s;weetly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luc.</NOTE> <HI>Viribus utendum e&s;t quas
fecimus,</HI> God and the Sword mu&s;t end the quarrel.
<HI>Let him then gird his &s;word upon his thigh,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 45:</NOTE> <HI>like a migh|ty
man, according to his Wor&s;hip and Renown: Let him
ride on couragiou&s;ly against them that hate him; let his
right hand teach him terrible things;</HI> and finally, <HI>let
his Arrowes he &s;harp in the hearts of his enemies, till the
people be &s;ubdued unto him; and that he be anointed with
the Oyl of gladne&s;s above all his fellows.</HI> No Phy&s;ick
better then Phlebotomy for corrupted bodies, when
as the &s;pirits are inflamed, and the blood boyles high.</P>
<PB N="225" REF="124">
<P>But of this Argument enough. There is another
thing to be con&s;idered in this pre&s;ent An&s;wer, in the
<HI>ne fort&egrave;</HI> of the Ma&s;ter, and that was this; for fear
le&s;t out of prejudice or inadvertency they might have
taken that for Tares which indeed was Wheat; and
&s;o have done more hurt to the Field of God then
the Tares them&s;elves. For as I have ob&s;erved be|fore
on the 26. the Tares are very like the Wheat
in the blade or &s;talk,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> as both <HI>Euthymius; Zygabenus,</HI>
and St. <HI>Hierome</HI> tell us. So like they are to one ano|ther,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;aith St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom,</HI> according
to the outward &s;hew, that he mu&s;t have di&s;cerning
eyes who can di&s;tingui&s;h them aright till their fruits
be ripe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Athana&s;. Homil. de Semente.</NOTE> who on the fir&s;t di&s;covery can expre&s;ly &s;ay,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, that the&s;e be Tares, and
this is Wheat, &s;aith <HI>Athana&s;ius.</HI> And this he doth
illu&s;trate and exemplifie by the &s;imilitude and re|&s;emblance
which &s;eemes to be betwixt the Hypo|crite
and the righteous man: Both of them come
unto the Church and receive the word, and &s;eem to
entertain the &s;ame with &s;uch equal joy, that the &s;pi|rituall
Husbandman him&s;elf is many times deceived
in them, not being able to determine by the outward
view; but when the Doctrine which they heard
comes to bring forth fruit, then, &s;aith he, it is ea&s;ily
&s;een, <GAP DESC="foreign">, who is the true Believer, and
who the Hypocrite. By meanes of which &s;imilitude
and re&s;emblance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Id ibid.</NOTE> as many counterfeit Chri&s;tians
have been taken for right hone&s;t men, and divers
dangerous and un&s;ound opinions found entertainment
in the Church for true Orthodox Tenets; &s;o tis not
only po&s;&s;ible, but al&s;o probable, that either through
prejudice or inadvertency, &s;ome hone&s;t and religious
<PB N="226" REF="125">
men may be condemned for lewd and reprobate;
&s;ome Orthodox and true opinions rejected as un|&s;ound
and dangerous.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, for the men them&s;elves, let us look on them,
and we &s;hall finde that tis not only probable, as before
tis &s;aid, but even of ordinary cour&s;e for the be&s;t men
to be traduced, and to be branded with &s;ome Cha|racter
of reproach and infamy. Our Saviour Chri&s;t
him&s;elf did not &s;cape &s;o well but that he was ac|counted
a Samaritan, a Wine bibber and a glutton, a
friend of Publicans and &s;inners. St. <HI>Peter</HI> &s;tands ac|cu&s;ed
by the <HI>Magdeburgians</HI> for a forward fellow, a
ra&s;h and incon&s;iderate per&s;on:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cent. 1.</NOTE> St. <HI>Paul</HI> by the <HI>Athe|nians</HI>
for an idle prater, a &s;etter forth of &s;trange
Gods,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17. 18.</NOTE> a babler. And who is he of all the gallant
Spirits in the Primitive times, who is not branded on
record for ince&s;tuous mixtures, tho&s;e <GAP DESC="foreign">,
remembred and confuted in
the works of our Chri&s;tian Advocates?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ju&s;tin M.</NOTE> Prejudice
blindes the eyes as much as malice, and inadverten|cy
betrayes the judgement to an error with as great
facility as either. If we be bia&s;&s;ed with the one, ver|tue
will be accounted vice, obedience trea&s;on, loyal|ty
rebellion; and upon tho&s;e whom we finde guilty
of tho&s;e crimes an <HI>imus &amp; colligimus</HI> &s;hall be pa&s;&s;ed
immediately. If we are governed by the other, and
judge of men according to the Character which the
World gives of them, each light report or fooli&s;h
fear, or &s;light &s;u&s;picion, &s;hall &s;erve for a &s;ufficient
ground to condemn the innocent; and though he be
right Wheat indeed of the Lords own &s;owing, vote
him to be a Tare, and the work is done, the <HI>imus &amp;
colligimus</HI> will come after as a thing of cour&s;e. Good
<PB N="227" REF="125">
rea&s;on therefore had the Ma&s;ter to re&s;train his Ser|vants,
to check them in the mid&s;t of their hot pur&s;uit,
and not to let them go and gather, <HI>qu&ograve;d multi fal&s;o
deferuntur qui &s;anctimoniam &amp; pietatem in occulto co|lunt,</HI>
con&s;idering how ea&s;ie a thing it is for the be&s;t
men to be mi&s;reported, and &s;o accordingly de&s;troy|ed.
And what he &s;aid to them he &s;aies to us and o|thers
on the like occa&s;ions; there's no &s;uch need of
<HI>imus &amp; colligimus</HI> as we think there is.</P>
<P>So is it al&s;o with opinions, with &s;ome points of
Doctrine, which if beheld with prejudice, or inad|vertently
looked over, will be counted Tares, though
in them&s;elves of that good &s;eed wherewith Gods
Field was &s;owed from the fir&s;t beginning. There is
&s;o &s;pecious a re&s;emblance, &s;uch a fair &s;imilitude be|tween
the merit of good works, and the reward that's
due unto them according to the will and plea&s;ure of
Almighty God; between the efficacy of good life
in the point of ju&s;tification, and the nece&s;&s;ity thereof
in the way of &s;alvation; between the influence of <HI>Gods</HI>
grace on the will of man, &amp; the cooperation of mans
will with the grace of God; between the con&s;cientious
confe&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins to tho&s;e from whom we may
receive the benefit of ab&s;olution, and that auricular
Confe&s;&s;ion which hath been &s;o abu&s;ed of late by
&s;ome Prie&s;ts and Je&s;uites; between the reverence
required at the receiving of the Sacrament in the
Church of <HI>England,</HI> and that unju&s;tifiable Adoration
of it which is obtruded on the people in the Church
of <HI>Rome;</HI> between the dedicating of &s;ome dayes to
the honour of God, with a relation to the creature,
and a devoting of them to the creature with &s;ome re|lation
unto God; that the true Tenet in tho&s;e points,
<PB N="228" REF="126">
as in many others, commended to us in the writings
of the ancient Fathers, if eithe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> looked upon with
the eye of prejudice, or through the fal&s;e lights of
inadvertence, may be took for Tares. And what can
follow thereupon but an eradication of the Tenet
and the Teachers too, if every man may go and ga|ther
when and where he li&s;teth, and that <HI>ne fort&egrave;</HI> be
not laid as a barre before them by their Lord and
M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ter? Indeed there is no rea&s;on we &s;hould look for
other, or that the Doctrines of the Fathers may not
pa&s;&s;e for Tares, when the Apo&s;tles Creed it &s;elf is
&s;ubject to the &s;ame mi&s;pri&s;ion; one of the Articles
whereof hath been already noted with a <HI>Deleatur,</HI> and
all the re&s;t obnoxious to the like calamity, on the
next <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> upon the &s;etting out of the
<HI>Expurgatorius Index</HI> which is now in hand.</P>
<P>Therefore to &s;et the matter right, that neither zeal
may be di&s;heartned, nor the edge of courage taken
off, and yet that <HI>imus &amp; colligimus</HI> may both be regu|lated,
and re&s;trained to its proper bounds; there's a
<HI>ne fort&egrave;</HI> in the way, which &s;hewes how farre it is fit
to go, and when fit to &s;top. We mu&s;t &s;o cheri&s;h zeal,
and give way to courage, that the Lords work may
be promoted, and his Field pre&s;erved; and yet &s;o
curb and keep them in when they grow irregular,
that they tran&s;port us not beyond our limits, or
make us run upon mi&s;takes. Zeal many times is full
of prejudice, and an exce&s;s of courage makes us in|con&s;iderate.
In both the&s;e ca&s;es, (and they are &s;uch
ca&s;es as do happen often) we are not governed by
truth, but by appearances; and he that is good
Wheat indeed is looked upon as a Tare, and con|demned
accordingly. He that beholds his Brother
<PB N="229" REF="126">
with the eye of prejudice, either looks on him
through a Multiplying Gla&s;&s;e, which makes his faults
&s;eem greater then indeed they be; or by &s;ome new
invented Optick, which repre&s;ents things contrary
to what they are.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 12. 2, 3.</NOTE> And he that doth condemn a man
on no other grounds then the opinion and e&s;teem
which the world hath of him, is but like <HI>Herod</HI> in the
<HI>Acts,</HI> who when he &s;tretched out his hands to vex
the Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">h. 7. v. 34.</NOTE> killed <HI>James</HI> and then impri&s;oned <HI>Peter,
videns quia placeret Judaeis,</HI> becau&s;e he &s;aw it plea|&s;ed
the people.] Our Saviour therefore gives this
Caveat unto his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Nolite judicare &s;ecundum
faci<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">m, Judge not according to the appearance, but
judge righteous judgement.</HI> If we took notice of this
Caveat as we ought to do, zeal &s;hould not &s;wallow
up our charity, or inadvertency put out the eyes of
our under&s;tanding: nor &s;hould we be &s;o hot and ur|gent
upon the <HI>imus &amp; colligimus</HI> as we have been
lately, without reflecting on <HI>ne fort<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> tho&s;e inconve|niencies
and dangers which the Church of Chri&s;t
might &s;uffer by it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 13.</NOTE> Now tis a property of charity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE>
as St. <HI>Paul</HI> hath told us, that it thinketh no evill; and
tis a rule in charity, as St. <HI>Bernard</HI> tells us, <HI>non temer&egrave;
de fratre mali aliquid credendum e&s;&s;e,</HI> not ea&s;ily to
entertain an ill opinion of our Brother, nor lend too
credulous an eare unto tho&s;e reports which the world
makes of him. And as for Doctrinalls, which are the
proper &s;ubject of the under&s;tanding,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Whitak. Contr.</HI> 2. qu. 5. c. 8.</NOTE> he who doth
take them upon tru&s;t without further &s;earch, &s;hall run
upon received opinions, as <HI>Calderinus</HI> in <HI>Ludovicus
Vives</HI> went to Ma&s;&s;e, <HI>Eamus ergo quia &s;ic placet in
communes errores;</HI> And in defence of the&s;e opinions,
&s;hall condemn for Tares, whoever doth oppo&s;e, or
<PB N="230" REF="127">
opine the contrary. <HI>Ne fort&egrave;</HI> is a good caution here,
as in mo&s;t things el&s;e; which had it been regarded
as it &s;hould have been, &s;o many points of Prote&s;tant
Doctrine had not been rooted up for Tares, under
the odious name of Popery; nor had Epi&s;copacy been
&s;o often and &s;o blindly &s;truck at, under pretence of
being but a &s;tep to the Throne of Antichri&s;t; nor
Monarchy &s;o openly undermined as incon&s;i&s;tent with
the liberty of the Sonnes of God: therefore no <HI>imus
&amp; colligimus,</HI> but <HI>ne fort&egrave;</HI> fir&s;t.</P>
<P>This further ju&s;tifieth the <HI>non,</HI> the wi&s;e Ma&s;ters
Negative; but there is one thing yet to come which
indeares it further, and was a &s;ea&s;onable fear, le&s;t that
by too much ha&s;t and precipitation they had gone
and gathered up &s;ome Tares, which might in fine
have proved good Wheat, and &s;o become a plentiful
addition to the Harve&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ba&s;il in H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">xan. 4.</NOTE> For &s;uch is the nature of the
Tare, that though it generally ari&s;eth <GAP DESC="foreign">,
from its own proper &s;eed, as St. <HI>Ba&s;il</HI> tells us;
yet,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aretius.</NOTE> as good Authors do ob&s;erve, they do often
&s;pring, <HI>ex corrupto tritici &s;emine,</HI> from &s;ome cor|rupted
corns of Wheat, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
&s;aith <HI>Theophra&s;tus.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. de Plantis. <HI>l.</HI> 8. <HI>c.</HI> 8.</NOTE> The Greek <HI>Etymologians</HI> &s;eem
to look this way,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aretius in locum. De facult. Aliment. <HI>l.</HI> 1. <HI>c.</HI> ult.</NOTE> who tell us of tho&s;e Tares,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, that not being
&s;owen, nor coming from their proper &s;eed, they took
root together with the Wheat, and grew up with it.
Of the &s;ame minde is <HI>Galen</HI> al&s;o, who ju&s;tifieth this
<GAP DESC="foreign">, or tran&s;mutation of the Wheat to Tares,
by his own ob&s;ervation and experience.<NOTE PLACE="marg">De cau&s;is Plant. <HI>l.</HI> 2. <HI>c.</HI> 21.</NOTE> Which tran&s;|mutation
or corruption, as it hapneth often, &s;o is it
then mo&s;t frequent and apparent when the Wheat
takes wet, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as in <HI>Theophra&s;tus,</HI> ei|ther
<PB N="231" REF="127">
by &s;ome great glut of rain, or from the moori&s;h|ne&s;s
of the ground in which tis &s;owen. <HI>Galen</HI> affirms
it more expre&s;ly, who in his fir&s;t <HI>de facultate alimen|torum</HI>
relates a pa&s;&s;age,<NOTE PLACE="marg">D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> facult. Aliment. <HI>l.</HI> 1. <HI>c.</HI> ult.</NOTE> that once the con&s;titution
of the year being un&s;ea&s;onable and intemperate,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, as his words
there are; there &s;prung up an exceeding quantity of
Tares among&s;t the Wheat, mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e then had ever been
ob&s;erved in the years foregoing. And hereunto as
other good Authors do agree, &s;o is it further verified
and confirmed by tho&s;e who are habituated and ex|perienced
in the Arts of Husbandry.</P>
<P>Which being &s;o, con&s;idering that the Wheat, the
good &s;eed it &s;elf degenerates &s;ometimes into Tares,
there is no que&s;tion to be made but that the Tares
by care and husbandry may be re&s;tored in time to
their fir&s;t perfection, and prove Wheat again. The
Fathers do re&s;olve it &s;o, e&s;pecially as they behold it
in the Morall, and look on the condition of &s;uch
mortall men as in the Tares are repre&s;ented. For if
by Tares we mean the Heretick, <HI>Fieri pote&s;t ut ille
qui noxio dogmate depravatus e&s;t, cras re&s;ipi&s;cat, &amp;
defendere incipiat veritatem:</HI> Tis not impo&s;&s;ible,
&s;aith St. <HI>Hierome,</HI> but that the man who is infected
with un&s;ound opinions, may repent thereof, and
prove a zealous Champion of the Truth and Go|&s;pel.
Witne&s;s St. <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> once a <HI>Manichee,</HI> but af|ter
<HI>malleus Haereticorum,</HI> the greate&s;t Champion of
the Church again&s;t Sects and Here&s;ies. If by the
Tares we mean the wicked, who makes no con&s;ci|ence
of his wayes,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Quae&s;t. Evan.</HI> l. 3. c. 12.</NOTE> &s;o he may enjoy the plea&s;ures of
&s;in for a &s;ea&s;on, <HI>multi prim&ograve; zizania &s;unt, &amp; po&s;tea
triticum fiunt,</HI> many at fir&s;t are Tares which at la&s;t
<PB N="232" REF="128">
prove Wheat, as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> tells us. Witne&s;s St.
<HI>Paul,</HI> a per&s;ecutor fir&s;t, and a Martyr afterwards. St.
<HI>Matthew</HI> fir&s;t a <HI>Publican,</HI> an <HI>Evangeli&s;t</HI> after. <HI>Zachaeus</HI>
an oppre&s;&s;or of the poor, but in fine a Confe&s;&s;or; and
<HI>Mary Magdalen,</HI> of an Harlot made a famous Con|vert.
Or finally, if by the Tares we mean the Schi&s;|matick,
who out of pride and arrogancy doth divide
him&s;elf from the main body of the Church;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul&punc;</NOTE> <HI>Prode|ant
ip&s;ae picturae calicum,</HI> as <HI>Tertullian</HI> hath it: The ve|ry
Chalices of the Church, in which they u&s;ed to
carve the figure of a Shepherd bringing home the
&s;tragling &s;heep upon his &s;houlders, is Argument e|nough
that po&s;&s;ibly the Separati&s;t may be gained up|on,
and reunited to the Church. Witne&s;s - And yet to
&s;ay the truth, examples of this kind are more hard to
finde, then either of converted &s;inners, or reclaimed
Hereticks, by how much the perver&s;ene&s;s of the will
is more hard to cure then any error of our judge|ments,
or the obliquities and defects of our conver|&s;ation.</P>
<P>This being premi&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Stapl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ton.</NOTE> we may more fully &s;ee the
rea&s;on of the Ma&s;ters Negative; for had the Servants
gone the way which them&s;elves propounded, they
had wronged the Harve&s;t. How &s;o? in rooting up
the Wheat:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gorran.</NOTE> what Wheat? <HI>futurum triticum,</HI> that
which in fine would have proved Wheat, as one Au|thor
hath it, <HI>quod pia prae&s;umptione,</HI> which we may
charitably pre&s;ume would prove Wheat in time; <HI>quod
fieri pote&s;t triticum,</HI> which by the diligence and care
of the &s;piritual Husbandman, may be made Wheat
at la&s;t, though it now be none, as &s;ome others tell us.
The Fathers generally do incline this way: <HI>Monemur
non cit&ograve; amputare fratrem;</HI> By this we are advi&s;ed,
<PB N="233" REF="128">
&s;aith <HI>Hierome,</HI> not to be too ha&s;ty with our Brethren,
nor to cut them off without great care and expectati|on;
for he that is to day infected with un<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ound opi|nions,
may prove another man to morrow. Many
at fir&s;t are tares, as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> notes, but afterwards
become good wheat; who&s;e reformation and amend|ment
had not God patiently expected when man in|tended
to de&s;troy them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Que&s;tion. Evangel.</NOTE> <HI>ad laudabilem mutationem
non perveni&s;&s;ent,</HI> they never had attained to &s;uch a
ble&s;&s;ed change.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chry&s;ol.</HI> Ser. 97.</NOTE> Had not Gods patience, &s;aith <HI>Chry&s;o|logus,</HI>
pre&s;erved the tares from extirpation, from be|ing
rooted up on the fir&s;t di&s;covery, <HI>nec Matthaeum de
Publicano Evangeli&s;tam, Matthew</HI> the Publican had
not lived to be an Evangeli&s;t, nor <HI>Saul</HI> the per&s;ecu|tor
to be an Apo&s;tle. And certainly, had not God
&s;een more into this la&s;t then <HI>Ananias</HI> did, who was
&s;ent unto him, no notice had been taken of the &s;er|vice
which he was to do unto the Church for the
time to come, but of the &s;poyl and havock he had
made thereof for the time preceding; and then the
Church had lo&s;t the benefit of his pains and preach|ing,
the notable Examples which he left behind him
of his zeal and con&s;tancy. And therefore very well
&s;aith a modern Author,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Stapleton in Prompt.</NOTE> <HI>Si Deus eradica&s;set Paulum per|&s;equentem
eccle&s;ia non haberet Saulum praedicantem:</HI> If
God had rooted up <HI>Saul</HI> the Per&s;ecutor, the Church
had wanted <HI>Paul</HI> the Preacher. <HI>Ne fort&egrave;</HI> is mo&s;t u&s;e|full
here; There's no &s;uch ha&s;t of <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI>
but that we may defer it till a further time.</P>
<P>Here then we &s;ee the patience of Almighty God
towards &s;inful men; and here we &s;ee the rea&s;ons of
it: God beares with men in expectation of their con|ver&s;ion
and amendment; there being none &s;o de&s;pe|rately
<PB N="234" REF="129">
ingaged in a cour&s;e of &s;in, but by Gods grace
he may draw back and turn again, and &s;eriou&s;ly re|pent
him of his former wickedne&s;s. <HI>Datur ergo lo|cus
poenitentiae,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hierom.</NOTE> &s;aith an ancient Father, there's al|wayes
place left for repentance: And God hath pro|mi&s;ed
for his part, that <HI>when the wicked man turneth
away from the wickedne&s;se which he hath commit|ted,
and doth that which is lawfull and right,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 28. 27.</NOTE> <HI>he &s;hall
&s;ave his &s;oul alive.</HI> Tis to this end, and on this ex|pectation,
that God &s;heweth &s;uch a &s;trong and un|wearied
patience towards &s;inful man, notwith&s;tanding
all his provocations. <HI>Patientia Dei ad poenitentiam in|vitat
malos,</HI> as the Father hath it; God doth as well
invite them to repentance by his love and patience,
as &s;courge them to it by his puni&s;hments. And this
St. <HI>Paul</HI> doth al&s;o witne&s;s, where he tells us, &s;aying,
that <HI>God endured with much long-&s;uffering the ve&s;|&s;els
of wrath fitted to de&s;truction.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9. v. 22.</NOTE> Endure them,
why? To the intent that <HI>being purged from all their
evill wayes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 2. 21.</NOTE> <HI>they may be made ve&s;&s;els of mercy, &s;anctified
and meet for the Ma&s;ters u&s;e, and prepared for every
good work,</HI> as in that to <HI>Timothy.</HI> St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> by com|paring
both the Texts together doth expound it &s;o;
<HI>Inde dicitur Deus tolerare va&s;a irae formaliter talia, ut
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">iant va&s;a mi&s;ericordiae.</HI> The &s;hewing of his wrath, and
making of his power to be known upon them, which
the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of in the former place, is but at
&s;uch times, and in &s;uch ca&s;es, when neither his pro|mi&s;es
can wooe them, nor his threats reclaim them,
nor his patience win &s;o farre upon them, but that they
will run headlong on their own de&s;truction.</P>
<P>This patience of Almighty God mu&s;t be our in|&s;truction,
and teach us not to be too forward in the
<PB N="235" REF="129">
condemning of our Brethren.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2. v. 4.</NOTE> Shall God be rich in
goodne&s;s, full of forbearance and long-&s;uffering to|wards
&s;inful man, in expectation of his repentance
and amendment; and &s;hall not men, being all alike
obnoxious to the wrath of God, conceive &s;ome hopes
of one another? Doth God forbear to &s;trike us with
the Sword of Ju&s;tice, and cut us off even in the middle
of our &s;ins; and &s;hall we wre&s;t the Sword out of his
hands, to execute judgement on our &s;elves? Doth
he expect the reformation and conver&s;ion of the
&s;inner, till the eleventh houre of the day; and will
not we tarry for him till the &s;ixth or ninth? Is God
&s;o patient towards the tares, as to expect whether
they will prove wheat, or not, to lay <HI>ne fort&egrave;</HI> as a barre
in the way of tho&s;e who came prepared to go and
gather them up without more delay; and are we men
&s;o incon&s;iderate of their ca&s;e, and our own condition,
as to be all for <HI>imus &amp; colligimus,</HI> for <HI>ne fort<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> no|thing?
May we not &s;ay in this ca&s;e with the great A|po&s;tle,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2. v. 1, 2.</NOTE>
<HI>inexcu&s;abilis es O homo,</HI> Thou art inexcu&s;able O
man who&s;oever thou art that judge&s;t another, thou
condemne&s;t thy &s;elf? or if thou wilt be judg|ing,
take this rule along which the Apo&s;tle gives
thee in another place, <HI>Nolite judicare ante tempus,</HI>
Judge nothing before the time, till the Lord cometh,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. 4. A&s;&s;uredly it argues little Chri|&s;tianity,
but farre le&s;&s;e charity, to condemn them to
death whom God meanes to &s;ave; to go about to
cut them off, and bring them unto execution, whom
God is purpo&s;ed to reprieve to a further triall; to ca&s;t
them out of the hou&s;e as Ve&s;&s;els of wrath, who in
due time, though not &s;o &s;oon as thou expecte&s;t, may
be ve&s;&s;els of mercy. Therefore take heed of <HI>imus &amp;
<PB N="236" REF="130">
colligimus;</HI> be not too ha&s;ty and precipitate in acting
thine own Coun&s;els, or in pur&s;uit of tho&s;e de&s;ignes
which thou ha&s;t in hand towards the reformation of
the Church of God, the extirpation of tho&s;e tares
which thou ha&s;t an eye on, and by the which thou
thinke&s;t Gods Field to be &s;o indangered; but let <HI>ne
forte</HI> hold the reines, and make thee look with care
and circum&s;pection on the work before thee. At lea&s;t
refer it all to <HI>Vis,</HI> to the Ma&s;ters plea&s;ure, and then
proceed according unto his directions. So doing, thou
&s;halt more promote thy Ma&s;ters bu&s;ine&s;s, then by
following the devices and de&s;ires of thine own heart;
for &s;o doing thou &s;halt be entertained in the Court of
Heaven with <HI>Euge bone &s;erve, Well done thou good
and faithful Servant, enter into thy Ma&s;ters joy.</HI> Which
Chri&s;tian care and moderation God of his goodne&s;s
grant us all, that we may all be made partakers of the
like reception in Gods glorious Kingdom. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="237" REF="130">
<HEAD>SERMON III.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At CHRIST-CHURCH <DATE>Jan. 5th. 1644.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. v. 30.</BIBL>
<Q><P>Sinite utraque &s;imul cre&s;cere u&s;que ad me&s;&s;em.</P></Q>
<Q><P>Let both grow together till the Harve&s;t.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_QUantum inter opera divina &amp; humana in|tere&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In&s;titut. div:</HI> l. 7. c. 4.</NOTE>
<HI>tantum nece&s;&s;e e&s;t di&s;tare inter
Dei homini&s;que &s;apientiam:</HI> It was the
ob&s;ervation of <HI>Lactantius</HI> an ancient
Writer, That look how great the dif|ference
was between the vi&s;ible works of Almighty
God, and the poor undertakings of us mortall men,
&s;o great or greater was the difference between his
Heavenly Wi&s;dom and our deepe&s;t Coun&s;els. Which
rule if it be true, as no doubt it is, how infinitely &s;hort
mu&s;t we needes conceive that <HI>Solomons</HI> wi&s;dom,
though the wi&s;e&s;t of the Sonnes of <HI>Adam;</HI> or <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>
knowledge, though well trained in all the learning of
the <HI>Egyptians;</HI> or the Prophetick &s;pirits of <HI>I&s;aiah,
Daniel,</HI> and the re&s;t of the ancient Seers, was of the
wi&s;dom, knowledge, fore&s;ight of Almighty God?
For alas, what proportion hold the Worlds &s;even
<PB N="238" REF="131">
Wonders, &s;o celebrated in the Writings of the elder
dayes, or any of the mo&s;t heroical achievements of
the greate&s;t Potentates, with the Creation of the
World, nay, with the compo&s;ition of the meane&s;t
creature, in which there is not any thing but what
may breed both wonder and a&s;toni&s;hment in the
mightie&s;t Monarch? <HI>The wi&s;dom of the wi&s;e is it not foo|li&s;hne&s;s
with God?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 1. 20.</NOTE> &s;aith the great Apo&s;tle. Doth not
the &s;ame Apo&s;tle tell us, that our knowledge is im|perfect
and our fore-&s;ight blinde; &s;eeing no more
then in <HI>Aenigmate,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 13. 12.</NOTE> <HI>through a dark Gla&s;&s;e, or a broken
Per&s;pective? We know,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>in part, and in part we
prophe&s;ie.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 13. 9.</NOTE> And if in part onely, then is neither per|fect.</P>
<P>A clearer in&s;tance of this truth we can hardly finde,
then in the proce&s;s of this Parable, comparing the ad|vice
of the Hou&s;hold-&s;ervants with the decree and fi|nall
re&s;olution of their heavenly Ma&s;ter. The &s;er|vants
thought there was no &s;afer way to &s;ecure the
Harve&s;t, then an eradication of tho&s;e dangerous tares
which had been &s;owen during their negligence and
&s;ecurity by the crafty enemy. To this end they made
offer of their help and &s;ervice, <HI>vis imus &amp; colligimus
ea? Wilt thou that we go and gather them up?</HI> v. 28.
and they expected thanks at lea&s;t for the propo&s;ition,
if not an approbation of their cour&s;e and Coun&s;el.
But contrary, their Ma&s;ter &s;eeing further then the
&s;ervants could, and being apprehen&s;ive of the dan|gers
which might follow on it, had their advice been
entertained, fir&s;t countermands their offer with an
ab&s;olute Negative,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 29.</NOTE> <HI>Et ait Non, but he &s;aid Nay,</HI> he did
not like of their intention: the gathering of the tares
in the way propo&s;ed would have procured more mi&s;|chief
<PB N="239" REF="131">
to the Field of God, then the tares them&s;elves
did &s;eem to threaten. And more then &s;o, he lets them
&s;ee, (which all the wi&s;dom of the world would have
never thought of) that the be&s;t way to &s;ave the Har|ve&s;t,
and pre&s;erve the Wheat, was to permit the tares
and wheat to grow up together till they were ready
for the Reapers; and then to gather them and di&s;|po&s;e
them in their proper places, according to the
will and plea&s;ure of the Lord their God. This the co|herence
of the Text with the former pa&s;&s;ages, this
the Text it &s;elf, <HI>Sinite utraque, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>In the&s;e words we have the&s;e two general parts to
be con&s;idered; the &s;ufferance of Almighty God, and
the &s;ea&s;on of it: 2ly. the condition of the Church, and
the cau&s;es of it: the &s;ufferance of Almighty God to|wards
&s;inful man, in the fir&s;t word <HI>Sinite,</HI> &s;uffer them
both to grow together; the &s;ea&s;on of it in the la&s;t,
<HI>u&s;que ad me&s;&s;em,</HI> till the Harve&s;t. The condition of the
Church repre&s;ented to us in the intermixture of the
Wheat and Tares, both which are here permitted
<HI>&s;imul cre&s;cere,</HI> to grow up together till the Harve&s;t:
the cau&s;es of this intermixture not expre&s;&s;ed <HI>in ter|minis,</HI>
but to be found, if &s;ought for, without much a|doe.
In the fir&s;t generall we &s;hall examine the&s;e
three points; 1. What is meant by <HI>me&s;sis,</HI> the ap|proching
Harve&s;t, and the u&s;e thereof. 2. What in|duces
the Heavenly Husbandman to give &s;o long a
<HI>&s;inite</HI> to the Tares, when meanes and opportunity was
offered for their extirpation. And 3. Whether the
<HI>&s;inite</HI> of the Text delivered in the Imperative mood,
be &s;o &s;trong and binding, that in no ca&s;e the tares are
to be rooted out till the Harve&s;t come. In the next
generall we &s;hall &s;hew you, 1. That the Church here
<PB N="240" REF="132">
militant is of &s;uch condition, that good and bad, the
Orthodox Profe&s;&s;or and the Heretick, are &s;o inter|mingled,
that there is no perfection to be looked for
here: and 2. That there want not great and weighty
rea&s;ons why it &s;hould &s;o be; of which &s;ome relate
unto the Tares, &s;ome unto the Wheat, &s;ome to God
him&s;elf, who&s;e glory is mo&s;t chiefly aimed at. The&s;e
are the points to be con&s;idered: and of the&s;e I &s;hall
di&s;cour&s;e in order, beginning with Gods &s;ufferance,
and the &s;ea&s;on of it, and therein with the fir&s;t enqui|ry,
What is here meant by <HI>me&s;sis,</HI> the approching
Harve&s;t; and what u&s;e we may make thereof for our
own advantage.</P>
<P><HI>Pri&ugrave;s dividendum qu&agrave;m definiendum;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tull.</NOTE> It was the O|rators
Rule of old, Fir&s;t to di&s;tingui&s;h of the termes,
before we take upon us to &s;tate the que&s;tion. A Rule
exceeding nece&s;&s;ary in the pre&s;ent bu&s;ine&s;s, and
much conducing to the Explication of the points in
hand. For the word <HI>me&s;sis</HI> is <GAP DESC="foreign">, a word of
various &s;ignifications, according to the &s;cope of the
&s;everall places where it doth occur. And fir&s;t, not ta|king
notice of it in the literall &s;en&s;e in the 9th Chap|ter
of St. <HI>Matthew,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 7.</NOTE> it &s;ignifieth the times and &s;ea&s;ons
fit for the preaching of the Go&s;pel. There read we
<HI>me&s;&s;em e&s;&s;e multam,</HI> that the Harve&s;t was great, <HI>i. e.</HI>
that there were many people who&s;e mindes were
cheerfully prepared to receive the word. And there's
another Harve&s;t which the Bapti&s;t &s;peaks of,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 3.</NOTE> the
bringing forth of fruits meet for repentance, fruits
worthy of the Preachers pains, and the hearers dili|gence;
the <GAP DESC="foreign">, the Harve&s;t of good
works which we finde in <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In locum.</NOTE> But we have o|ther
Corn to thre&s;h, and therefore mu&s;t look out for
<PB N="241" REF="132">
another Harve&s;t; an Harve&s;t not of hearing, nor of
fructifying, but of receiving the reward of our &s;eve|rall
labours; an Harve&s;t in the which each workman
&s;hall receive his wages, according to the works which
he hath wrought in the fle&s;h, whether good or evill.
And this again is either taken for the day of Gods
temporall judgements upon particular Men, or Sects,
or Collective bodies; or for the day of generall judge|ment,
when all fle&s;h &s;hall appear before the Lord to
receive its &s;entence. In this la&s;t &s;en&s;e the word is ta|ken
in the 14 of the <HI>Revelation,</HI> where the Angel
&s;aid to him that &s;ate upon the Throne, <HI>mitte falcem
&amp; mete, Thru&s;t in thy &s;ickle and reap, for the time is
come,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 14.</NOTE> <HI>and the Harve&s;t of the Earth is ripe, i. e.</HI> all Na|tions
were now ready to receive that judgement
which God in his ju&s;t anger &s;hould pronounce again&s;t
them. And in the other &s;en&s;e it is &s;aid by the Pro|phet
<HI>Jeremy,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">c. 51. v. 30.</NOTE> <HI>The Daughter of</HI> Babylon <HI>is a thre&s;hing-floore,
the time of her thre&s;hing is come, yet a little while
and the time of her Harve&s;t will come. Tempus me&s;sio|nis
ejus veniet;</HI> and what time was that? even that
wherein &s;he had made up the mea&s;ure of her iniqui|ties
and abominations, and was to be given up for a
prey to the <HI>Medes</HI> and <HI>Per&s;ians.</HI></P>
<P>I know that mo&s;t Interpreters, as well old as new,
do take the Harve&s;t in my Text for the generall
judgement, that which our Saviour doth de&s;cribe in
the 25. of this Go&s;pel: And they expound it thus for
this rea&s;on chiefly, becau&s;e our Saviour gives this de|&s;cant
on his own plain &s;ong, v. 39. <HI>Me&s;sis e&s;t con&s;um|matio
&s;eculi,</HI> the Harve&s;t is the end of the World.
A man would think the &s;en&s;e mu&s;t be very obvious,
even to the vulgar wits, when he that writ the Text
<PB N="242" REF="133">
made the comment al&s;o. But then a que&s;tion may be
made what our Redeemer meanes by <HI>con&s;ummatio
&s;eculi,</HI> or the end of the World, or the <GAP DESC="foreign">,
as the Greek Text hath it. A&s;&s;uredly not
alwayes the la&s;t day preci&s;ely, but the la&s;t times ge|nerally,
or the particular time appointed by Almigh|ty
God for the effecting of &s;ome &s;peciall and particu|lar
purpo&s;e. For in the 9 Chapter to the <HI>Hebrews</HI>
the &s;ame words occur, where the Apo&s;tle treating of
the pa&s;&s;ion of our Lord and Saviour, &s;aith it was
done <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>in con&s;ummatione &s;eculi,</HI>
in the end of the World.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Beza</HI> in Heb. 9.</NOTE> Ask <HI>Beza</HI> what is meant
there by the end of the World, by the <GAP DESC="foreign">,
and he will tell you that it is the &s;ame which
the Apo&s;tle calls in another place <HI>plenitudinem tem|poris,</HI>
or the fulne&s;s of time, <HI>i. e.</HI> &s;aith he, and &s;o
both <HI>Caietan</HI> and <HI>Ribera</HI> do expound the Text, <HI>Secu|lorum
perfectionem &amp; complementum,</HI> the full perfecti|on
and accompli&s;hment of &s;ome time appointed.</P>
<P>So then upon this di&s;qui&s;ition we have gained thus
much, that though the Harve&s;t in my Text be for
the mo&s;t part under&s;tood of the general judgement,
of which hereafter in the next; yet may it al&s;o mean
the time of Gods temporal puni&s;hments upon parti|cular
men, or Sects, or Collective bodies: Whom
though God &s;uffereth for a while till their &s;ins be
ripe, and lets them flouri&s;h and grow mighty both in
power and wickedne&s;s, yet have they all their &s;eve|rall
Harve&s;ts, in which they &s;hall be mowed, and
thre&s;hed, and winnowed, to his greater glory. The
&s;ickle of the Lord is alwayes ready,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 3.</NOTE> and his van al|wayes
in his hand. And when his Harve&s;t-time is
come, and the fruits of wicked men be ripe, he &s;hall
<PB N="243" REF="133">
not only mowe them down,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 17. 5.</NOTE> <HI>as when the Harve&s;t-man
gathereth the corn, and reapeth down the eares with his
arme,</HI> in the Prophets language; but he will
throughly purge his floore, and make them like the
chaffe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 2.</NOTE> in the P&s;almi&s;ts words, which the wind drives
away before it. But for the ju&s;t and righteous per&s;on,
he either &s;hall be &s;aved from the day of trouble, or
pre&s;erved in it: Or if he fall, as fall he may &s;ome|times
into the hand of the Reapers, like a good eare
of corn well grown, or Grapes fully ripe, he &s;hall be
<HI>congregatus in horreum,</HI> gathered into the barn of the
heavenly Husbandman. In execution of which acts
of his will and ju&s;tice he many times makes u&s;e of
Angels, literally and properly &s;o called, which are the
Reapers of this ver&s;e and the 39, and many times
of other Mini&s;ters who do &s;upply the place of An|gels,
and may be called &s;o in a borrowed, meta|phoricall
&s;en&s;e; as <HI>Attila</HI> the <HI>Hun,</HI> the &s;courge of the
impenitent We&s;tern Chri&s;tians, was in the Stories
of tho&s;e times called <HI>Flagellum Dei.</HI></P>
<P>That there have been &s;uch Harve&s;ts in former
times, and that &s;uch Harve&s;ts are in the compa&s;s of
our Saviours meaning, the Stories of Gods Book,
and all the Monuments of the Church do mo&s;t clear|ly
evidence. And to &s;ay truth, did not the Text ad|mit
&s;uch Harve&s;ts, all the &s;editious aggregations of
unquiet men; all the Idolatries of <HI>Rome</HI> Heathen, and
&s;uper&s;titions of <HI>Rome</HI> Chri&s;tian; the Pride of <HI>Baby|lon,</HI>
and the filths of <HI>Sodom,</HI> with all the rabblement
of pernicious Hereticks, and factious Sectaries, which
have di&s;turbed the Church in foregoing Ages, mu&s;t
be &s;till extant and unpuni&s;hed to this very day. But
they have had their &s;everall Harve&s;ts, and the Lord
<PB N="244" REF="134">
hath reaped them, re&s;erving them with the Apo&s;tate
Angels,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. v. 4&punc;</NOTE> in eternall chains, to the judgement of the
great and terrible day. And though this be a truth &s;o
clear that it needes no proofs, yet we will in&s;tance in
&s;ome few, the better to &s;et forth the nece&s;&s;ary truth
of this, together with the longanimity and ju&s;tice
of Almighty God. In the old World, the &s;innes
of men were very great,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 6. v. 2, 5.</NOTE> all the imaginations of
their hearts corrupt and evill, &s;o that the very Sonnes
of God were tempted to go in to the Daughters of
men; and yet God &s;pared them a long time, and ad|ded
120 yeeres unto the dayes of their repentance.
But when their &s;ins were grown &s;o ripe that God re|pented
him at la&s;t of Mans creation, he brought the
flood upon them, and de&s;troyed them all; but &s;a|ved
righteous <HI>Noah,</HI> and his Hou&s;hold with him. The
Citizens of <HI>Sodom</HI> had long &s;welled in pride,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 7.</NOTE> and &s;ur|feited
on fulne&s;s of bread, and abundance of idlene&s;s,
as the Prophet tells us;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 16.</NOTE> and yet God &s;uffered them
to live, and fulfill their lu&s;ts. But when the voyce of
their &s;ins became &s;o loud, as to cry unto the Heavens
for vengeance, and to occa&s;ion God him&s;elf to come
down and &s;ee <HI>majorne infamia vero,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid.</NOTE> whether their &s;ins
were an&s;werable to the cry which was come unto
him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 18. 21.</NOTE> then were they ready for the &s;ickle, 'twas high
Harve&s;t then; and the Lord &s;ent his Angels to con|&s;ume
their City,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 19.</NOTE> and rained down fire from Heaven
upon them; but delivered <HI>Lot</HI> and his &s;mall Family,
like a fire-brand &s;natched out of the flames.</P>
<P>Pa&s;&s;e we on forwards into <HI>Egypt,</HI> and we &s;hall finde
how patiently the Lord expected that the proud <HI>E|gyptians</HI>
would at the la&s;t di&s;mi&s;&s;e his people with
peace and &s;afety;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 14.</NOTE> but when that did no good upon
<PB N="245" REF="134">
them, when they had added tyranny unto oppre&s;&s;ion,
and unto both a proud contempt of his Word and
Me&s;&s;engers, he brought his people out with a mighty
hand; the Angel of the Lord going before the Camp
of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> but overwhelming <HI>Pharaoh</HI> and his Ho&s;t in
a &s;econd deluge. And if God did not pre&s;ently inve&s;t
his people in the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Land &s;o often pro|mi&s;ed,
it was not only for their di&s;obedience, or their
unbelief, nor for their murmuring again&s;t God, and
groundle&s;s exclamations again&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron;</HI>
though the&s;e did all concur to retard their entrance:
The Scriptures give another rea&s;on, and que&s;tionle&s;s
the true rea&s;on of that long &s;u&s;pen&s;ion;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 15. 16.</NOTE> <HI>nondum com|pleta
e&s;t iniquitas Amorrhaeorum,</HI> the wickedne&s;s
of the <HI>Amorites</HI> was not yet full, 'twas not Harve&s;t
yet, and therefore God had not given order to the
Land to &s;pew out her Inhabitants. Thus do we read
in holy Scripture of the Harve&s;t of <HI>Babylon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 17. 5. &amp; 51. 33.</NOTE> and of the
Harve&s;t of <HI>Dama&s;cus, i. e.</HI> of tho&s;e appointed times,
in which for their Idolatries and abominations they
were to be delivered over to the hands of their &s;eve|rall
enemies. And for tho&s;e very Jewes them&s;elves,
though God &s;pared them long, notwith&s;tanding all
their provocations, and only vi&s;ited them &s;ometimes
with Warre or thraldom, yet he &s;tayed not there; for
when they had made up the mea&s;ure of their Fathers
&s;ins, and added to the &s;ame the blood of the Sonne
of God, more precious then the blood of <HI>Abel</HI> and
of all the Prophets, then did the Lord de&s;troy their
City, and di&s;per&s;e their people, making them that
they were no longer to be called a Nation, but a
poor &s;cattered remnant of what once they were. But
for the per&s;ecuted Saints of Chri&s;t which lived a|mong&s;t
<PB N="246" REF="135">
them,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eu&s;eb.</HI> hi&s;t. l. 3. c. 5.</NOTE> the Lord withdrew them from that
plague, warning them <GAP DESC="foreign">, by a Dream
or Oracle, to remove thence to <HI>Pella,</HI> a &s;mall Town
of <HI>Syria,</HI> before the fir&s;t approch of the Roman
Armies.</P>
<P>Thus was it al&s;o with the Church &s;ince the time
of the Go&s;pel; The Princes of the Earth &s;ometimes
raged again&s;t it, and harried it with fire and &s;word,
and all kinde of torments: And though the &s;ouls of
them which were &s;lain for the word of the Lord had
cryed unto their God for vengeance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. 9, 10, 11.</NOTE> yet was it &s;aid
to them from above, <HI>ut requie&s;cerent adhuc modicum
tempus,</HI> that they &s;hould re&s;t yet for a &s;ea&s;on, and
tarry till their Brethrens blood was ca&s;t into the bal|lance
al&s;o to make up the weight. Which time being
come, the Lord did plague the per&s;ecutors with &s;uch
grievous plagues, that in the angui&s;h of their &s;ouls,
and guilt of con&s;cience, they cryed unto the Rocks
to fall upon them, &amp; on the hills to hide them. Ne|ver
Dog barked again&s;t the Cro&s;&s;e but he grew mad
after it,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fox</HI> in the Acts &amp; Mon.</NOTE> &s;aith the Author of the Book of <HI>Martyrs.</HI>
So for tho&s;e vile and wretched mi&s;creants which did
afflict the Church of Chri&s;t with Schi&s;mes and He|re&s;ies,
they did exalt their horns a while, and bare all
before them;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vincent. Lerinen&s;.</NOTE> the <HI>Arians</HI> e&s;pecially being &s;o predo|minant,
<HI>ut jam non portiunculam quandam,</HI> that they
thought &s;corn to be confined to one Church or Na|tion,
but like a generall &s;cab or Lepro&s;ie, had invaded
almo&s;t all the parts of the body my&s;ticall: yet when
their pride was greate&s;t, and their power mo&s;t for|midable;
when their impieties and bla&s;phemies were
&s;o &s;trongly backed, that the&s;e few Orthodox Profe&s;|&s;ors
which were left untainted did tremble at the
<PB N="247" REF="135">
apprehen&s;ion of the pre&s;ent danger, God then con|ceived
them fit for vengeance, and put in his &s;ickle,
the time being come for him to reap, and the Har|ve&s;t
ready; &s;o that of all tho&s;e Sects and Here&s;ies
which did afflict the Church in her pure&s;t Ages, there
is &s;carce any thing remaining but the name and infa|my.
And though the Chri&s;tians of tho&s;e times be|ing
delivered from the fear of their deadly enemies,
had &s;urfeited on peace and prohibited plea&s;ures, yet
God reprieved them a long time from the hand of
puni&s;hment; but when their &s;ins were grown &s;o
publick, and &s;o full of &s;candall, <HI>ut pateretur lex Chri|&s;tiana
maledictum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Calvin.</NOTE> that even the Go&s;pel grew to be
ill reported of by the Jew and Gentile, then poured
he out the Nations of the North upon them, who
&s;acked their Cities, and laid wa&s;te their Palaces, and
in conclu&s;ion di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed them of their Countries
al&s;o.</P>
<P>Now by this Standard we may take the mea&s;ure
both of Gods patience and his ju&s;tice, in all parallel
Ca&s;es: If we &s;ee Sects and Here&s;ies ri&s;e up to di&s;turb
the Church, and not to ri&s;e up only, but grow &s;trong
and prevalent, and in a way like <HI>Pharaohs</HI> &s;even lean
Kine to devoure the fat; if we &s;ee wickedne&s;s grow
&s;ucce&s;sful, and rebellion pro&s;perous, and the be&s;t men
become a prey to the cruel &s;poylers, we mu&s;t not
think that God is all this while a&s;leep, and regards it
not;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 122.</NOTE> not &s;o, <HI>the Lord that keepeth</HI> I&s;rael <HI>neither
&s;leepes nor &s;lumbereth.</HI> But when the &s;ins of men
be ripe, and the time of wrath is come that they
&s;hould be judged, the God that dwelleth in the Hea|vens
&s;hall &s;courge them with a whip of Scorpions, <HI>and
break them into pieces like a Potters ve&s;&s;el.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 2.</NOTE> And though
<PB N="248" REF="136">
&s;ome of them have the hap, or the &s;eeming happi|ne&s;s,
to go down into the grave in peace, yet God
will finde them at the la&s;t, and meet with the&s;e &s;owre
grapes in his general vintage, and tread them in the
wine-pre&s;&s;e of his indignation. And to &s;ay truth,
there are as great and weighty rea&s;ons why &s;ome
mens puni&s;hments &s;hould follow after them, as that
the re&s;t &s;hould have a trial and e&s;&s;ay of their future
mi&s;eries by tho&s;e which they endure in this pre&s;ent
life; for, as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> well ob&s;erves, &s;hould all mens
&s;ins be puni&s;hed in this pre&s;ent life, <HI>nihil ultimo judi|cio
re&s;ervari putaretur,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De Civit. D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">i <HI>l.</HI> 1. <HI>c.</HI> 8.</NOTE> it would occa&s;ion &s;ome to think
that there were no nece&s;&s;ity nor u&s;e of the generall
judgement: as on the other &s;ide, if none, <HI>nulla e&s;&s;e di|vina
providentia crederetur,</HI> others would be too apt
to think that there were no God; or at lea&s;t rob him
of his Providence, and &s;ay with him in <HI>Davids</HI> P&s;alms,
<HI>Tu&s;h, God doth not &s;ee it.</HI> If therefore God permit the
Tares to grow up together with the Wheat, it is to
&s;hew his patience and longanimity in expectation of
their conver&s;ion and amendment; but that he brings
them to the Harve&s;t, and moweth them down at la&s;t,
is to &s;hew his ju&s;tice. And doubt we not, but that the
Lord in his ju&s;t judgement will de&s;troy tho&s;e Tares
which at this pre&s;ent threaten ruine to his ble&s;&s;ed
Field, when they once be ripe, and that we are &s;uf|ficiently
awakened out of that dull &s;ecurity which
had &s;eized upon us; God dealing &s;till with wicked
and &s;editious men, as heretofore with <HI>Haman, Ab&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">|lom,
Achitophel,</HI> and &s;uch other in&s;truments; when
they have &s;erved his turn then he hangs them
up.</P>
<P>But I mu&s;t tell you this withall, that if we do ex|expect
<PB N="249" REF="136">
an Harve&s;t of Gods temporall judgements
upon the heads of tho&s;e that lay wa&s;t his Church; we
mu&s;t fir&s;t put away tho&s;e cu&s;tomary unrepented &s;ins,
which have drawn them down upon our &s;elves.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Horat. de Arte Poet.</NOTE> <HI>Si
vis me flere dolendum e&s;t prim&ugrave;m ip&s;i tibi.</HI> If we de&s;ire
that God be pittiful to us, in freeing us from tho&s;e
which do play the Tyrants over our bodies and
e&s;tates, we mu&s;t be pittiful to our &s;elves, in labou|ring
to free our &s;ouls from a greater tyranny, that of
&s;in and Satan. We mu&s;t fir&s;t repent us of the pu|ni&s;hment
that is due unto them. But I &s;ee little hopes
of &s;o great a change; or indeed any hopes at all,
either great or little, except it be unto the wor&s;e, in
the corrupting of tho&s;e meanes which &s;hould work
our peace. For tell me I be&s;eech you, is not our fa|&s;ting
grown &s;o formall, and our humiliation mixt with
&s;o much hypocri&s;ie, that we are &s;icker of repentance
then before of &s;in? Is not our common talk &s;o over|grown
with oaths and prodigious cur&s;ings, as if we
meant to bid defiance to the Ho&s;t of Heaven? and
our devotions in Gods Hou&s;e &s;o cold and carele&s;s, as
if we thought as poorly of the Lord him&s;elf, as of the
Preacher, or the Prayers? And can we look for ble&s;|&s;ings
from the hands of God, when we &s;end cur&s;es to
his eares? or that the Lord &s;hould work a double
miracle upon us, whether we will or not; one in re|moving
from us a de&s;erved puni&s;hment, the other in
forgiving unrepented &s;ins? A&s;&s;uredly, unle&s;s we make
our peace with God, and wre&s;t deliverance from him
by our prayers and penitence, the Lord in his ju&s;t
anger will afflict us further, and give us over for a
prey unto tho&s;e that hate us. God is not bound to
bring upon the wicked and &s;editious per&s;on, the He|retick
<PB N="250" REF="137">
and Schi&s;matical man, the Harve&s;t of his tem|poral
judgements, though &s;ometimes he do it: &s;ome|times
he lets them pa&s;&s;e till the general Harve&s;t, and
calls them not unto account untill he bring them at
the la&s;t to the finall reckoning. But whether it be
fir&s;t or la&s;t, it plea&s;eth him to give the Tares a longer
<HI>Sinite</HI> then his &s;ervants did de&s;ire he &s;hould, and &s;uf|fered
them to grow in his holy Field, when meanes
and opportunity was offered for their extirpation.
What might incline him thereunto, and how farre we
are bound by this pre&s;ent <HI>Sinite,</HI> are the next enqui|ries.</P>
<P><HI>Expert&acirc; morbi mole&s;ti&acirc; evidentior fit jucunditas
&s;anitatis.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De Civit. Dei, <HI>l.</HI> 14. <HI>c.</HI> 17.</NOTE> No man can judge &s;o well of health, as they
that have been long afflicted with a wounded body,
or vi&s;ited with &s;ome grievous &s;ickne&s;s: nor &s;et &s;o
high a price on the light of Heaven, as he who hath
been lodged in a dolefull Dungeon. Now that which
darkne&s;s is in the Aire or Firmament, and wounds
and &s;ickne&s;s in the body, the &s;ame are errors and cor|ruptions
in life and Doctrine, (or <HI>&s;candala, &amp; qui fa|ciunt
iniquitatem,</HI> as our Saviour tells us of the&s;e tares,
v. 38.) in the Church of Chri&s;t: darkne&s;s be&s;t &s;ets off
light, wounds and &s;ickne&s;s health; and &s;o doth error
truth, and corruption purity. God therefore doth
&s;ometimes permit the ungodly man to have his ha|bitation
with the ju&s;t and righteous, that &s;o the ju&s;tice
of the righteous might be made more eminent: of
which we &s;hall &s;ay more anon in the <HI>Simul cre&s;cere.</HI>
And &s;ometimes he permits his People to walk in
darkne&s;s, &amp; wander in the crooked lanes of deceit &amp;
error, that when they come into the light, and to the
&s;aving wayes of truth, they may imbrace the &s;ame
<PB N="251" REF="137">
with the greater fervour: were it not for this rea&s;on,
and in this re&s;pect, it is not probable that God who
is the God of truth, and the Father of lights, would
&s;uffer any Here&s;ie, or erroneous Tenet to be &s;owen
or rooted in his field; but either would di&s;cover
them on the fir&s;t appearing, or cau&s;e them to be roo|ted
up on the fir&s;t di&s;covery; at lea&s;t he would have
harkened to the Propo&s;ition, to the <HI>vis imus &amp; col|ligimus</HI>
of the former ver&s;e, were it not that the
light of truth would appear more brightly, after it
had been long eclip&s;ed with the Clouds of error;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tacit. Annal. <HI>l.</HI> 1.</NOTE> <HI>Et
&s;ic deterrima comparatione gloriam &s;ibi compararet.</HI> For
contraries when they are looked upon together, do
appear mo&s;t vi&s;ibly.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, <HI>Oportet e&s;&s;e haere&s;es,</HI> there is a farther u&s;e of
Here&s;ies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11. 19.</NOTE> which brings them in with an <HI>Oportet,</HI> as we
read of in the 18. of St. <HI>Matthew, nece&s;&s;e e&s;t ut veni|ant
&s;candala.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Scandala</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>Matthew, haere&s;es</HI>
&s;aith S. <HI>Paul;</HI> but in both Texts the &s;ame, &s;aith the
Learned <HI>Scholia&s;t;</HI> and both attended or brought in
by the &s;ame <HI>nece&s;&s;e.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>G<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">otius</HI> in Matth. 13.</NOTE> Not a nece&s;&s;ity <HI>&s;impliciter dicta,</HI>
an ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity that &s;o it mu&s;t be, as if truth
could not &s;tand without them; but an <HI>Oportet,</HI> a ne|ce&s;&s;ity
<HI>&s;ecundum quid,</HI> it being expedient that &s;o it
&s;hould be, becau&s;e truth &s;tands the better by them.
How many excellent tractates, grave di&s;cour&s;es,
learned and pious writings had the&s;e Ages wanted,
had not the Primitive Church been exerci&s;ed with &s;o
many Here&s;ies? In what an ignorance had we lived in
matters which concern the glorious Trinity, the
powers of Grace, the influences of the holy Spirit;
had not the <HI>Arians</HI> and <HI>Pelagians</HI> &s;tartled tho&s;e opi|nions
which put the Church to a nece&s;&s;ity of &s;etting
<PB N="252" REF="138">
learned men on work to confute and cru&s;h them? And
doubt we not but that Po&s;terity will fare the better
for tho&s;e mon&s;trous Paradoxes in Divinity which
have been vented &s;ince the meeting of this new A&s;|&s;embly,
and penetrate more throughly into &s;ome
deep que&s;tions which now di&s;turb the peace both of
Church and State, then any of the former Ages. <HI>Fir|mior
mult&ograve; fides e&s;t quam reponit poenitentia.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> Faith, &s;aith
the Father, &s;tands more firmly when it is built upon
repentance; as doubtle&s;s <HI>Peters</HI> faith was mo&s;t &s;trong|ly
&s;etled, after he had denyed his Ma&s;ter. And 'tis
no otherwi&s;e with truth then it is with &s;aith, be&s;t
&s;etled, and confirmed and planted, when &s;trugling
long with error or heretical Doctrines, it hath got the
victory. God, as before I &s;aid, is the God of truth,
and they that wilfully oppo&s;e the lea&s;t truth of
Gods, are Rebels again&s;t God, and again&s;t his truth.
And 'twas known to be an experiment in the School
of Politicks,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tacit. Annal.</NOTE> <HI>conatus &s;ubditorum irritos imperium &s;em|per
promovere,</HI> that the rebellion of a people when
it is &s;uppre&s;t, doth make a Prince more &s;trong and ab|&s;olute
then he was before.</P>
<P>But the <HI>Oportet</HI> goes yet further; it reacheth not
to the truth alone, but to all tho&s;e who do defend it.
There mu&s;t be here&s;ies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11. 19.</NOTE> &s;aith St. <HI>Paul, ut qui probati
&s;int,</HI> that tho&s;e who are approved among&s;t you may
be known and manife&s;ted. St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> tells us of two
&s;orts of enemies which do afflict the Church of
Chri&s;t:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> whereof the one is blinde with error, and the
other with malice. And then he adds, That if the&s;e
enemies have leave to afflict it corporally with any
kinde of per&s;ecution, <HI>exercent ejus patientiam,</HI> they
give the Church occa&s;ion to &s;hew forth her patience;
<PB N="253" REF="138">
but if they do a&s;&s;ault the &s;ame with Sects and Here|&s;ies,
or <HI>mal&egrave; &s;entiendo,</HI> with their fal&s;e opinions, <HI>exer|cent
ejus &s;apientiam,</HI> they give her opportunity to de|clare
her wi&s;dom. There were no need of Champi|ons
to defend the truth, &s;hould there be none that
did oppo&s;e it: nor could we know by any meanes
who would take part with Chri&s;t, and who &s;ight a|gain&s;t
him, were it not brought unto the triall. <HI>Hecto|ra
quis no&s;&s;et felix &s;i Troja fui&s;&s;et? Hector</HI> had never
been &s;o famed for his feats of Arms, had not <HI>Troy</HI>
been beleaguered by the powers of <HI>Greece:</HI> Nor had
the valour and fidelity of <HI>Joab,</HI> the wi&s;dom and fide|lity
of <HI>Cu&s;hai,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam c. 17, 18.</NOTE> the bounty and fidelity of <HI>Barzillai,</HI> the
piety and fidelity of the <HI>Prie&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Levites;</HI> no not
&s;o much as <HI>Shimeis</HI> &s;landerous tongue, or the incon|&s;tant
mutability of the vulgar herd been manife&s;ted
and made known to <HI>David,</HI> had not <HI>Achitophel</HI> con|trived,
<HI>Ab&s;olom</HI> actually rai&s;ed, a Warre again&s;t him.
What had we known of <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> had not the <HI>Arian</HI>
faction joyned them&s;elves together in a League
again&s;t him, and &s;pent their whole united forces on
his &s;ingle per&s;on?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lucan. Phar&s;.</NOTE> <HI>Parque novum fortuna videt concur|rere
bellum, Atque virum.</HI> As if that holy Patriarch had
been born unto <HI>I&s;hmaels</HI> de&s;tiny, to have his hand a|gain&s;t
every man, and every mans hand again&s;t him.
How little had been left unto us of <HI>Irenaeus, Ba&s;il,
Hierome, Au&s;tin,</HI> and all the brave Heroes of the Pri|mitive
times, had not the <HI>Gno&s;ticks, Valentinians, A|rians,
Donati&s;ts,</HI> afforded them occa&s;ion to expre&s;&s;e
their piety, and manife&s;t their zeal to the cau&s;e of
Chri&s;t? And to come neerer to our &s;elves; where had
been all the glories of renowned <HI>Jewel,</HI> or of incom|parable
<HI>Whitgift,</HI> had not this Church been crucifi|ed
<PB N="254" REF="139">
from the fir&s;t beginning, between the Popi&s;h &s;u|per&s;titions
and the Puritan frenzies? All men are apt
enough to profe&s;&s;e the Go&s;pel in a time of peace, and
to declare them&s;elves for truth, when there are no
here&s;ies: therefore <HI>Oportet e&s;se haere&s;es,</HI> that &s;o it may
be known more clearly, as <HI>Tertullian</HI> notes it, <HI>tam qui
in per&s;ecutionibus &s;teterint qu&agrave;m qui ad haere&s;es non exor|bitaverint,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">De prae&s;cript. adver&s;. haere&s;.</NOTE>
as well who dare &s;tand bravely out again&s;t
per&s;ecutions, as who dare bid defiance unto Sects and
Here&s;ies.</P>
<P>So then there are &s;ome notable rea&s;ons for the
pre&s;ent <HI>Sinite,</HI> and &s;uffering of the Tares and Wheat
to grow up together till the Harve&s;t, be&s;ides the
dangers mentioned in the former ver&s;e. But then a
que&s;tion will be made, whether the <HI>Sinite</HI> in this place
be &s;o &s;trong and binding, that in no ca&s;e the Tares
are to be rooted up till the Harve&s;t come. Where
fir&s;t we take it for a truth unque&s;tionable, which we
finde in <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">in Matth. 13.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp;c.
It is not here forbidden, &s;aith that learned Father, ei|ther
to curb the Heretick, or &s;ilence him, or &s;uppre&s;s
his in&s;olencies, or to prohibit their A&s;&s;emblies, or di|&s;per&s;e
their Conventicles. God hath not &s;o di&s;armed
his Church, as to lay it open to the a&s;&s;aults and vio|lence
of malicious enemies, and left her with no
other weapons then defen&s;ive only. In the &s;pirituall
Armorie which St. <HI>Paul</HI> de&s;cribes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 6.</NOTE> there is as well the
&s;word of the &s;pirit, as the &s;hield of faith; and truth
appointed for a Girdle, as well as righteou&s;ne&s;s for a
Bre&s;t plate. Gods Church is furni&s;hed with a power
to convince gain&s;ayers, as well as to exhort, or re|buke
the &s;inner; and may employ the pen, though
<PB N="255" REF="139">
not to&s;&s;e the Pike. El&s;e not the Heretick, but the
true Profe&s;&s;or would be put to &s;ilence, and God
&s;hould &s;end out men to fight, and yet binde their
hands. And more then &s;o, the Lord hath given his
Church Authority to deal with ob&s;tinate Hereticks,
and with perver&s;e Schi&s;maticks, as St. <HI>Paul</HI> did with
<HI>Hymenaeus</HI> and <HI>Alexander,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 1. v. 19, 20.</NOTE> <HI>who having made &s;hipwrack
of the faith, were by him cut off from the &s;ociety of the
faithfull.</HI> For though &s;ome men of eminency in point
of learning, out of their love to that <HI>libertas Prophe|tandi</HI>
now &s;o much in fa&s;hion, would have the
Church be very wary in exerci&s;ing this authority;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Grotius</HI> in Matth. 13.</NOTE>
yet they profe&s;s they have no purpo&s;e utterly to de|prive
her of that power and priviledge, <HI>&s;egregandi
eos &agrave; &s;uis coetibus qui doctrinam adulterant,</HI> of excom|municating
tho&s;e who corrupt her Doctrines.</P>
<P>What then is that which is denied the Church in
the pre&s;ent <HI>Sinite?</HI> A&s;&s;uredly not to re&s;train the He|retick,
or confute the Here&s;ie, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
but to kill and &s;lay them.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Chry&s;o&s;t.</HI> in Mat. 13.</NOTE> The Servants, as
we told you formerly, were much &s;candalized to &s;ee
Gods Field indangered by tho&s;e wretched Tares:
errors in Doctrine, and corruptions in point of man|ners
being grown &s;o prevalent, that there was little
hope to pre&s;erve the Church, but by a &s;udden extir|pation
of them, of what &s;ort &s;oever: and thereupon
they purpo&s;ed as before I told you, to go again&s;t
them with the Sword, to rai&s;e an holy Warre, and
de&s;troy them utterly. Which how unfit a way it was,
either to plant the Go&s;pel, or reform Religion, I
then told you al&s;o: Warre being a Tragedy of &s;uch
a nature, as commonly de&s;troyes the Stage whereup|on
tis acted; and no &s;uch Weapon as the Sword,
<PB N="256" REF="140">
(except it be the &s;word of the Spirit) committed to
the Mini&s;ters of the Word and Sacraments, which
are the Servants aimed at in our Saviours Parable. It
is the Civill Magi&s;trate, and tis he alone which hath
<HI>jus gladii materialis,</HI> as our Lawyers call it, the power
of the materiall Sword, and the right to u&s;e it. And
if he u&s;e it not as occa&s;ion &s;erves,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bract<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">on.</NOTE> in cutting off no|torious
Malefactors, and puni&s;hing &s;editious or rebel|lious
per&s;ons, <HI>fru&s;tra gladium gerit,</HI> he beares the
Sword in vain,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.</NOTE> as the Scriptures tell us. But how farre
he may u&s;e the &s;ame in cutting off the ob&s;tinate He|retick,
and the perver&s;e Schi&s;matick, after the
Church hath done her part, and that Certificate be
returned of her whole proceedings, is a point worthy
of a further and more punctuall &s;earch. At this we
only touched before, referring the full di&s;qui&s;ition of
it to the pre&s;ent <HI>Sinite,</HI> as a place more proper for
that purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t perhaps it will be thought but an ea&s;ie
Controver&s;ie, and of no great difficulty to deter|mine,
in which the di&s;agreeing parties are &s;o well
agreed. The practi&s;e of the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> makes it
clear enough what they do hold in point of Do|ctrine;
although they have not yet improved it (for
ought I can tell) into an Article of the faith, as many
of their School-points were in the <HI>Tridentine</HI> Coun|cil.
<HI>Bellarmine</HI> gives it for a Maxime, or a ruled ca&s;e
rather in the Divinity of that Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>De Laicis</HI> l. 3. c. 21.</NOTE> <HI>Po&s;&s;e haereticos
ab Eccle&s;ia damnatos temporalibus poenis &amp; etiam mor|te
mulctari,</HI> that Hereticks condemned at the
Churches barre are to be executed on the Scaffold
of the Civil Magi&s;trate. And this he laboureth to
make good, as his Cu&s;tom is, both by Authority of
<PB N="257" REF="140">
Scripture, and con&s;ent of Fathers, though he bring
&s;ome &s;ory proof from either. Our Saviour tells us of
fal&s;e Prophets, that they &s;hould come in Sheeps
Clothing, but inwardly were ravenous Wolves; and
that whoever comes not into the fold by the ordina|ry
doore, but climbs in at the Window, is a Thief
and a Robber. <HI>At Lupi rapaces optimo jure occiduntur;</HI>
But Wolves, &s;aith he, are ju&s;tly killed, and tis well
known what puni&s;hment belongs to Theeves; and
thereupon concludes without more adoe, that Here|ticks
are to be puni&s;hed like Wolves and Robbers.
Would any man believe that &s;o great a Clerk could
be &s;o &s;eriou&s;ly fooli&s;h in a matter of &s;uch main con|cernment
as the life of his poor Chri&s;tian Brother; or
that he meant good earne&s;t when he urged tho&s;e
Texts? Might not a man conclude with as good a
Con&s;cience (I am &s;ure he may with as much equity
and Logick as the Cardinall doth) that Chri&s;t our Sa|viour
ought to be crucified again at his &s;econd com|ming,
becau&s;e he tells us of that comming, that it
will be <HI>Sicut fur in nocte,</HI> like a Thief in the night?
and we well know what puni&s;hment belongs to Bur|glarers:
or, that prophane and wicked per&s;ons are to
be cheri&s;hed in their riotous and licentious cour&s;es,
becau&s;e the Scripture likeneth them to a dogg which
returneth to the vomit?<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. 22</NOTE> and yet &s;uch doggs are oft
times cheri&s;hed by their Ma&s;ters. The Cardinall
had never &s;et &s;o light a price on the life of his Bro|ther,
had he con&s;idered at how great a price it was
bought by Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>So al&s;o for the Prote&s;tant Doctors, though at the
fir&s;t they did unanimou&s;ly dete&s;t both the opinion
and the practice of the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> in this parti|cular,
<PB N="258" REF="141">
(and certainly they had good rea&s;on &s;o to do,
as the ca&s;e then &s;tood) yet they &s;oon altered their
opinion; for after that <HI>Servetus</HI> had been burnt at
<HI>Geneva</HI> by the in&s;tigation of <HI>Calvin,</HI> and <HI>Valentine
Gentilis</HI> executed at <HI>Bra&s;il</HI> by the Command of the
<HI>Switzers,</HI> the <HI>Allobrogian</HI> party &s;et their wits on work
to defend the action, and after drew in many others
of the Prote&s;tant Churches to concur with them in
that point. <HI>Calvin</HI> fir&s;t &s;ets it down <HI>in the&s;i, haereticos
jure gladii coercendos,</HI> that Hereticks were to be
re&s;trained by the Sword of the temporal Magi&s;trate;
which though it was in generalls only, yet did he
make it &s;erve the turn for the pre&s;ent &s;hift. But <HI>Beza,</HI>
building a large Tract upon his foundation, entituled,
<HI>De haereticis &agrave; Magi&s;tratu puniendis,</HI> &s;ets up this Po&s;i|tion,
almo&s;t the &s;ame in termes with that of <HI>Bellar|mine,
viz. haereticos interdum capitali etiam &s;upplicio
&agrave; magi&s;tratu coercendos,</HI> that Hereticks &s;ometimes
are to be puni&s;hed by death. For which, though he
produce no evidence from the Evangeli&s;ts or A|po&s;tles,
which are the be&s;t Judges in this ca&s;e, but
that of <HI>Ananias</HI> and his Wife <HI>Saphira,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 5.</NOTE> both whom
St. <HI>Peter</HI> mo&s;t miraculou&s;ly condemned and execu|ted
by a word of his mouth; yet he confe&s;&s;eth of
this in&s;tance, <HI>non po&s;&s;e in exemplum trahi,</HI> that it is not
to be drawn into example.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bez. ibid.</NOTE> And if not to be drawn
into example, as he &s;aith it is not, then certainly no
&s;uch proof to confirm the point as he thinks it is: yet
that we might not think him &s;ingular, or to &s;tand
alone, he brings in <HI>Bullinger, Melancthon,</HI> and <HI>Wolf|gangus
Capito,</HI> as being of the &s;ame judgement with
him; to whom <HI>Aretius</HI> might be added, in his de|fence
of the proceedings again&s;t <HI>Valentine Gentile,</HI> and
<PB N="259" REF="141">
&s;ome others &s;ince: &s;o incident it is to our humane
frailty to &s;quare our judgement by the rule of our
private intere&s;ts; and not &s;o much to ponder what we
ought to do, as to finde Pleas and Arguments to de|fend
our doings.</P>
<P>But notwith&s;tanding this agreement of the adver&s;e
parties, we may re&s;olve upon the que&s;tion, as our
Redeemer did in another ca&s;e, <HI>qu&ograve;d ab initio non fuit
&s;ic,</HI> it was not &s;o from the beginning. The Primitive
Fathers knew of no &s;uch meanes for the confuting of
an Heretick, or the &s;uppre&s;&s;ing of an Here&s;ie, as the
fire and faggot. St. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tomes</HI> judgement in the
point you have heard already, take St. <HI>Au&s;tins</HI> now;
who tells us of him&s;elf, that he was once per&s;waded,
<HI>neminem ad unitatem Chri&s;ti cogendum e&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. in Ep. <HI>l.</HI> 48.</NOTE> that no
man was to be compelled by force and puni&s;hments
to joyn him&s;elf unto the Church. But afterwards,
upon experience of the peace and benefit which did
mo&s;t commonly redound to the Church thereby, he
&s;o farre altered his opinion, as to allow of bani&s;hment,
or fine and ran&s;om, in ca&s;e of ob&s;tinate perver&s;ene&s;s;
but by no meanes of death in what ca&s;e &s;oever. And
this the Cardinall confe&s;&s;eth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bellarm. de Laic. <HI>l.</HI> 3. <HI>c.</HI> 21.</NOTE> though again&s;t him&s;elf,
ingeniou&s;ly affirming of that holy Father, <HI>&s;emper ex|cepero
&s;upplicium mortis,</HI> that alwayes he excepted
death as too &s;harp a remedy, and incon&s;i&s;tent with
the meekne&s;s of our Saviours Go&s;pel. Tis true, that
<HI>Valentinian, Martian,</HI> and other of the following Em|perours,
when they could finde no other way to re|&s;train
their in&s;olencies, have added al&s;o <HI>poenam &s;an|guinis</HI>
in their publick Edicts: But this was only <HI>in
terrorem.</HI> No execution done upon them in a long
time after, and then but by &s;ome Arian Kings of the
<PB N="260" REF="142">
<HI>Gothes</HI> and <HI>Vandalls,</HI> in the declining times of the
Chri&s;tian purity.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sulpit. Sever. hi&s;t. &s;acr. <HI>l.</HI> 2.</NOTE> Onely the Tyrant <HI>Maximus,</HI> who
u&s;urped the Empire, though otherwi&s;e an Orthodox
Prince, cau&s;ed the Arch-Heretick <HI>Pri&s;cillian,</HI> and
&s;ome of his A&s;&s;ociates to be put to death, at the in|&s;tigation
of <HI>Ithacius,</HI> a Catholick Bi&s;hop, whom the
impieties of the man had extremely &s;tirred. Con|cerning
which <HI>Sulpitius Serverus</HI> tells us, that though
they were <HI>homines luce indigni&s;simi,</HI> men mo&s;t un|worthy
of the light, yet they were <HI>pe&s;simo exemplo
necati,</HI> and that their execution was of dangerous
con&s;equence to &s;ucceeding Ages. And as it &s;eemes,
the <HI>French</HI> and <HI>German</HI> Prelates did conceive &s;o of
it, by whom <HI>Ithacius</HI> was deprived of the Commu|nion,
for no other rea&s;on, then that he had been a
chief Actor in that woful Tragedy. Thus al&s;o when
<HI>Alexius</HI> of <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> had cau&s;ed <HI>Ba&s;ilius</HI> and o|thers
of the <HI>Bongomili</HI> to be burnt to a&s;hes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zonar.</NOTE> (Here|ticks
lewd enough of con&s;cience, if their Opinions
have been tran&s;mitted to us by ingenious hands) the
<HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Prelates generally di&s;allowed the fact. But
what need further &s;earch be made in this particular,
when we have <HI>confitentem reum?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Annal. Eccl.</NOTE> For even <HI>Baronius</HI>
doth acknowledge, though otherwi&s;e a profe&s;&s;ed
Champion both of the cu&s;toms and corruptions of
the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> that anciently it was the u&s;age
of the Chri&s;tian Bi&s;hops, when they addre&s;&s;ed them|&s;elves
to the &s;ecular powers in matters of this pre&s;ent
nature, &s;o to in&s;i&s;t on the correction of the Heretick,
<HI>ut tamen &agrave; capitali &s;upplicio inferendo dehortati &s;unt,</HI>
that they di&s;&s;waded them by all meanes imaginable
not to &s;hed their bloods. From which &s;weet modera|tion
of the Primitive Prelates, how mi&s;erably the
<PB N="261" REF="142">
Church hath deviated in the&s;e latter dayes, the pub|lick
Martyrologies of both &s;ides do declare too evi|dently.</P>
<P>What then, may &s;ome men chance to &s;ay, &s;hall
Theeves and Murderers die the death, which onely
rob us of our goods, or de&s;troy our bodies, and &s;hall
the Heretick which robs us of our precious faith, and
damn both &s;oul and body to the pit of hell, either
e&s;cape unpuni&s;hed, or be puni&s;hed onely with &s;ome
light pecuniary mulct, or &s;hort impri&s;onment? Is
there no ca&s;e in which the de&s;perate Heretick may
be rooted up, and &s;uch vile tares be liable to an ex|tirpation?
I &s;ay not &s;o. The Lord him&s;elf decreed
in his holy Law, (and cau&s;ed execution to be done
upon it) <HI>That who&s;oever did bla&s;pheme the name of
the Lord &s;hould be &s;toned to death;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Levit. 24. v. 16.</NOTE> <HI>and that if a Pro|phet
did ari&s;e which did entice the people after other
Gods,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 13. v. 1. &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>they &s;hould al&s;o &s;lay him, without either pity or delay.</HI>
The Jewes, though they tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed in the &s;econd
ca&s;e, were alwayes zealous in the fir&s;t; and how&s;oever
they connived at &s;ome gro&s;&s;e Idolatries, would not
&s;pare a bla&s;phemy. This made them when they &s;ate
in judgement on our Saviour Chri&s;t, to balk all other
Accu&s;ations, and lay hold on this; interpreting &s;ome
words of his,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">6. v. 65, 66.</NOTE> in which he called him&s;elf mo&s;t tru|ly
the Sonne of God, for bla&s;phemous pa&s;&s;ages. And
then the high Prie&s;t &s;aid (with great joy no que&s;tion)
<HI>what need we any further witne&s;&s;es? we have heard
his bla&s;phemy:</HI> and thereupon they all concluded he
is guilty of death. In which the ground was true and
ju&s;tifiable, it was Gods own Rule; but the judge|ment
wicked and erroneous, as being utterly per|verted
in the Application. Now though the&s;e Lawes
<PB N="262" REF="143">
were given particularly to the Jewes for their &s;quare
and mea&s;ure, by which they were to puni&s;h malefa|ctors
of that odious nature; yet in the equity there|of
they relate to us, to whom the honour of Al|mighty
God ought to be as precious as ever it was
among the Jewes, and all bla&s;phemers of his name
to be held as execrable as in the Commonwealth of
<HI>I&s;rael.</HI> If therefore there ari&s;e an Heretick which
belcheth his bla&s;phemous follies again&s;t the Maje&s;ty
of God, or any per&s;on of the holy undivided Trini|ty;
or &s;eeks to draw the people after other Gods, or
add the Jewi&s;h Ceremonies, or the heatheni&s;h &s;acri|fices
to the pure wor&s;hip of the Lord, as did the
<HI>Manichees</HI> of old,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nic. hor. hi&s;t. Eccl.</NOTE> and <HI>Anatolius</HI> in the clo&s;e of the
&s;ixth Centurie; let the Sword in Gods name pa&s;&s;e
upon him. My eye &s;hall neither pity him, nor my
hou&s;e conceal him. There are &s;ome Here&s;ies as well
as &s;ins, which if unretracted, are neither pardoned in
this World, nor in that to come. Such wretch|ed
mi&s;creants as the&s;e in the body my&s;tical are like
a gangrened member in the body natural, and mu&s;t
be cut off in due time, or el&s;e will &s;uddenly infect
and de&s;troy the whole:<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Metam.</HI> l. 1.</NOTE> &s;o true a Rule is that in the
Poet <HI>Ovid,</HI>
<Q><L>&mdash;Nam&abque; immedicabile vulnus</L>
<L>En&s;e re&s;cindendume&s;t ne pars &s;incera trahatur.</L></Q></P>
<P>Next to the Maje&s;ty of God is that of Kings and
Soveraign Princes; to whom God hath not onely
plea&s;ed to impart his name, but delegated a great
part of his royall power: And therefore if an Here|tick
&s;et on foot &s;uch Doctrines as tend to the de|&s;truction
of the Princes per&s;on, or the &s;educing of his
Subjects from their due allegiance; or otherwi&s;e
<PB N="263" REF="143">
grow practical, and embroyl the State, for the pro|moting
of their dreams and dotages, though of
lower quality, let them receive the wages due to
their lewd attempts. There are as well &s;editious Do|ctrines
as &s;editious practi&s;es, both dangerous alike,
and therefore to be puni&s;hed with the like &s;everity:
and this have the chief Prie&s;ts of the Jewes un|der&s;tood
full well, when having brought our Saviour
to the Judgement-hall, and fearing <HI>Pilate</HI> would be
little moved with the noy&s;e of bla&s;phemy, they ca&s;t
their accu&s;ation in another mould; We found (&s;ay
they) this fellow perverting our Nation, forbidding
to pay tribute unto <HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> and calling him&s;elf Chri&s;t
a King: &amp; then if <HI>Pilate</HI> will not ha&s;ten to his condem|nation,
he &s;hall be in&s;tantly proclaimed for no friend
of <HI>Cae&s;ars.</HI> In which, although they &s;hewed them|&s;elves
to be fal&s;e accu&s;ers, yet they declared &s;uffici|ently,
that in their opinion, and in the opinion of
a vigilant and careful Magi&s;trate, all Doctrines which
may tend to perturb the State, or rather that all
&s;uch, whoever, which have rai&s;ed factions in the
State to promote their Doctrines, were worthy of a
<HI>Crucifige.</HI> And &s;o farre we may take St. <HI>Paul</HI> along
for Company, who tells us of <HI>coitiones in Syna|gogis,</HI>
&s;editions rai&s;ed in the Synagogues as well
as in the &s;treets or Citie, <HI>Acts</HI> 24. Of either of the
which if his malicious enemies could have proved
him guilty, he had de&s;erved to die, as him&s;elf doth
intimate, <HI>Acts</HI> 25. v. 11. And this no que&s;tion was
the rea&s;on why &s;ome <HI>Roman</HI> Emperors proceeded
more &s;everely again&s;t the <HI>Donati&s;ts,</HI> then again&s;t ma|ny
other Here&s;ies of an higher nature; becau&s;e they
were an active &s;ect, and cared not to di&s;tract or &s;ub|vert
<PB N="264" REF="144">
a Province, &s;o they might &s;ettle their opinions,
and increa&s;e their Pro&s;elytes: though, to &s;ay truth
in this and all &s;uch parallel ca&s;es, it was their faction
not their faith, not their Religion, but rebellion
which was puni&s;hed in them. In the&s;e two ca&s;es, and
the&s;e onely, dare I &s;et any edge on the temporal
Sword, though even in the&s;e it be a remedy to be
la&s;t applied; and more to be commended where
it may not, then where it may po&s;&s;ibly be
&s;pared.</P>
<P>In other ca&s;es where the error lieth in the under|&s;tanding,
although mo&s;t commonly backed with ob|&s;tinacy
and perver&s;ene&s;s in the will and affections,
the adver&s;e parties in the Church have been too farre
tran&s;ported beyond their bounds, and drawn too
much blood from one another, though both pretend
the Lawes for their ju&s;tification. For who &s;eeth not
how little it doth &s;avour of the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, to
hale young boyes, and &s;illy women, and poor igno|rant
Trade&s;men to the Funeral-Pile, becau&s;e they
could not fathom the deep My&s;tery of tran&s;ub&s;tanti|ation;
or thought it not an acceptable &s;acrifice to
devoure their God; or found not Purgatory in the
Scriptures; or did not think it fit to invocate the
Saints their Brethren, when as the way lay open unto
God their Father; or dur&s;t not give that honour to
a painted Crucifix, which properly belonged to their
crucified Saviour? And on the other &s;ide, it wants
not reprehen&s;ion among&s;t moderate men, that Chri|&s;tians
&s;hould be dragged unto the Scaffold for no o|ther
rea&s;on, then taking &s;acred Orders from a forreign
hand, or treading on prohibited ground; not being
otherwi&s;e convicted by &s;ufficient evidence, either
<PB N="265" REF="144">
of practi&s;ing again&s;t the State, or labouring to &s;e|duce
the Subjects from their natural duties. The
Chri&s;tians of the Primitive Ages had lo&s;t the mo&s;t
effectual part of their Apologies, if difference in Re|ligion
only had been a crime &s;ufficient, without fur|ther
guilt, to draw tho&s;e fiery &s;torms upon them un|der
which they &s;uffered. And though I &s;ay not of
the&s;e Lawes, to which each parties do pretend for
their ju&s;tification,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plutarch. in Solo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> that they are <GAP DESC="foreign">, like
unto <HI>Draco</HI>'s Lawes of old, which were written in
blood; yet one might &s;ay, and &s;ay it without ju&s;t
offence, that they were neither made nor executed
within the&s;e Dominions, but either when the Dra|gon
was a chief Supporter of the Arms Imperiall; or
el&s;e on tho&s;e unfortunate wretches, who have &s;ince
fallen <HI>in regionem Draconum,</HI> into the place of Dra|gons,
as the P&s;almi&s;t calls it. Certain it is, that by
tho&s;e bloody executions both &s;ides have rather been
confirmed then weakned, and both have given ad|vantage
to the growth of Here&s;ies. Ju&s;t as <HI>Sulpiti|us</HI>
hath ob&s;erved,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. Sacr. <HI>l.</HI> 2.</NOTE> that by the execution of <HI>Pri&s;cilli|an,</HI>
which before I &s;poke of, <HI>non tant&ugrave;m non re|pre&s;&s;a
est ejus haere&s;is, &s;ed &amp; propagata,</HI> his Here&s;ie
was &s;o farre from being &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, that it grew the
fa&s;ter for the cutting. Chri&s;ts <HI>Sinite</HI> &s;tands not here
for nothing; but &s;hewes, that till the time of the
general Harve&s;t, there will be tares among&s;t the
Wheat, do we what we can: Which leads me to
my la&s;t particular, to the condition of the Church
here militant, delivered in the <HI>Simul cre&s;cere,</HI> in that
the tares and Wheat are ordered to grow up toge|ther.
Of which, and of the rea&s;ons of that inter|mixture,
<PB N="266" REF="145">
I &s;hall crave leave to in&s;i&s;t a little, and &s;o
commend you unto God.</P>
<P><HI>Perplexae &s;unt i&s;tae duae Civitates in hoc &s;eculo,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de Civit. <HI>l.</HI> 1.</NOTE> <HI>in|vicem&abque;
permistae:</HI> It was the &s;aying of St. <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI>
that the two Cities which he was to write of, the Ci|ty
of the Lord, and the City of Satan, were &s;o in|termingled,
that there was little hope to &s;ee them
&s;eparated till the day of Judgement: The &s;ame may
we affirm of the Church of Chri&s;t; it is of &s;uch a
mixt condition, compounded &s;o proportionably of
the good and evil, the Heretick and true Profe&s;&s;or,
that neither of the two is likely to &s;uppre&s;s the o|ther,
till God take up the controver&s;ie in the day of
doom. And therefore not without good rea&s;on is
the Church compared to a thre&s;hing-floore,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 3. 12.</NOTE> on
which there is both wheat and chaffe; and to a Fold,
wherein there are both Sheep and Goats;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 25. 33.</NOTE> and to a
ca&s;ting-net, which being thrown into the Sea, drew
up all kind of Fi&s;hes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 13. 47.</NOTE> whether good or bad; and to
an Hou&s;e, in which there are not only ve&s;&s;els of ho|nour,
as of gold and &s;ilver, but al&s;o of di&s;honour,
and for unclean u&s;es;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 2. 20.</NOTE> and in my Parable, to a field,
wherein be&s;ides the good &s;eed which the Lord had
&s;owen, <HI>Infelix lolium &amp; &s;teriles dominantur ave|nae,</HI>
the enemy had &s;owed his tares. And this is
thought by &s;ome of good note and learning to be
the chief intention of our Saviours Parable, who
tells us, that he meant not by the <HI>Sinite</HI> &s;o farre to
patronize the Heretick, or protect the wicked, as to
re&s;pit either of them from the cen&s;ure of the Church
or State, under pretence of calling them to an ac|count
at the general Audit; but to &s;et forth the true
<PB N="267" REF="145">
condition of the Church here militant, in which the
wicked per&s;on and the righteous man are &s;o inter|mingled,
that there is no perfection to be looked
for in this pre&s;ent World:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Beauxamis in locum.</NOTE> and therefore very well
&s;aid a modern Authour, <HI>Docetur hic non quale &s;it of|ficium
no&s;trum, aut magi&s;tratus, aut Pa&s;torum, &s;ed tan|t&ugrave;m
quae futura &s;it Eccle&s;iae conditio:</HI> Chri&s;t doth not
here inform the Mini&s;ter, or the Civil Magi&s;trate, or
any private per&s;on, what they are to do, but onely
repre&s;ents unto his Di&s;ciples the true condition of
his Church till the end of the World; which can be
never &s;o reformed and purified, but that &s;ome errors
and corruptions will continue in it.</P>
<P>But whether it be &s;o or not, certain it is, that &s;uch
is the condition of the Church in this pre&s;ent World,
that it is &s;ubject to corruptions, and never ab&s;olutely
free from &s;in and error. There is much dro&s;&s;e among&s;t
her gold;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 3. 12.</NOTE> and although that her foundations be of
precious &s;tones, yet there is wood and hay, and &s;tub|ble
in the &s;uper&s;tructure; which are &s;o intermin|gled
&amp; made up together, that nothing but a general
fire can exactly part them, I mean the fire of con|flagration,
not of Popi&s;h Purgatory. Were it not
thus, we need not pray for the Church militant, but
glory as in the triumphant. And yet the Church
is counted holy, and called Catholick &s;till, this inter|mixture
notwith&s;tanding; Catholick in regard of
time, place and per&s;ons, in and by which the Go&s;pel
of our Saviour is profe&s;&s;ed and propagated: Holy,
<HI>&s;ecundum nobiliores ejus partes,</HI> in reference to the
Saints departed, and tho&s;e who are mo&s;t eminent in
grace and piety: And it is al&s;o called <HI>Eccle&s;ia una,</HI>
one holy, Catholick and Apo&s;tolick Church, though
<PB N="268" REF="146">
part thereof be militant here upon the earth, and part
triumphant in the Heavens; the &s;ame one Church
both now and in the world to come. The difference
is, that here it is imperfect, mixt of good and bad;
there perfect, and con&s;i&s;ting of the righteous onely,
according to this determination of St. <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In Collat. cont<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&punc; Donati&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>ean|dam
ip&s;am unam &amp; &s;anctam Eccle&s;iam nunc habere ma|los
mixtos, tunc non habituram.</HI> For then, and not till
then, as <HI>Hierome, Augu&s;tine,</HI> and others do expound
the place,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6. 27.</NOTE> &s;hall Chri&s;t pre&s;ent her to him&s;elf a mo&s;t
glorious Church, without &s;pot or wrinkle, and mar|ry
her to him&s;elf for ever. Till that day come, it is
not to be hoped or looked for, but that many Hypo|crites,
fal&s;e Teachers and licentious livers will couch
them&s;elves under the &s;helter of the Church, and
pa&s;&s;e for members of it in the eye of men, though
not accounted &s;uch in the &s;ight of God. The eye of
man can po&s;&s;ibly di&s;cern no further then the outward
&s;hew, and mark who joyn them&s;elves to the Con|gregation
to hear the Word of God, and receive
his Sacraments;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 2. 19.</NOTE> <HI>Dominus novit qui &s;unt &s;ui,</HI> the
Lord knowes only who are his, and who are tho&s;e
<HI>occulti intus</HI> who&s;e hearts &s;tand fa&s;t in his Com|mandements,
and carefully po&s;&s;e&s;s their &s;ouls in truth
and holine&s;s.</P>
<P>And yet &s;ome men there are, as here hath been
formerly, who fancy to them&s;elves a Church with|out
&s;pot or blemi&s;h, and dream of &s;uch a field as
contains no tares; of &s;uch a hou&s;e as hath no ve&s;&s;els
but of honour, &s;anctified and prepared for the Ma|&s;ters
u&s;e: And where they finde not &s;uch a Church,
they de&s;ert it in&s;tantly, and cry, <HI>Go out of her my
people,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word">. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">8. v. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word">.</NOTE> <HI>be not partakers of her &s;ins.</HI> The <HI>Cathari</HI> in
<PB N="269" REF="146">
the Ea&s;t, the <HI>Donati&s;ts</HI> in the South, &amp; the <HI>Novatians</HI>
in the We&s;t, which made one faction only, though of
&s;everal names, were anciently of this opinion, and
&s;et up Churches of their own of the new Edition; for
flattering them&s;elves with a conceit of their own
dear &s;anctity, they thought them&s;elves too pure and
pious to joyn in any act of wor&s;hip with more &s;ober
Chri&s;tians; and pre&s;ently confined the Church,
which before was Catholick, to their own private
Conventicles, and to them alone; or <HI>intra partem
Donati,</HI> as they phra&s;ed it then. Who have &s;uc|ceeded
them of late, both in their factions and their
follies, we all know too well: The pre&s;ent ruptures
in this State do declare mo&s;t evidently, that here is
<HI>pars Donati</HI> now, as before in <HI>Africa.</HI> A frenzy
which gave great offence to the ancient Fathers, who
laboured both by &s;peech and pen to correct their in|&s;olencies;
and of &s;uch &s;candall to the Churches of
the Reformation, that <HI>Calvin,</HI> though a rigid man,
did confute their dotages, and publickly expo&s;e
them to contempt and &s;corn.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In&s;ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</HI> l. 4. c. 1.</NOTE> The Ancients and the
Moderns both have agreed on this, that though the
Church of Chri&s;t be imperfect alwayes, and may
&s;ometimes be faulty al&s;o, yet are not men ra&s;hly to
&s;eparate them&s;elves from her Communion, and
make a rupture for poor trifles in the Body my&s;tical.
It argues little faith, le&s;&s;e charity, &s;aith renowned
<HI>Cyprian,</HI> if when we &s;ee &s;ome tares in the Church of
God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epla. 3. l. 3&punc;</NOTE> <HI>de Eccle&s;ia ip&s;a recedamus,</HI> we pre&s;ently with|draw
our &s;elves, and for&s;ake her fellow&s;hip. And
here we might bring in St. <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> and almo&s;t all the
ancient Writers to confirm this point; but that they
are of no authority with the captious Schi&s;ma|tick,
<PB N="270" REF="147">
and now of late di&s;claimed by our neater
Wits.</P>
<P>Therefore for further &s;atisfaction to the &s;tubborn
<HI>Donati&s;t,</HI> let us behold the con&s;titution of the Church
in the Book of God, and take a view of the chief
types and fortunes of it, to &s;ee if we can &s;inde &s;uch
a &s;potle&s;s Church as they vainly dream of. In <HI>Adams</HI>
Family, which was the fir&s;t, both type and Semina|ry
of the Church of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 4. 8.</NOTE> there was one <HI>Cain,</HI> a mur|derer,
that &s;lew his Brother: and in the Ark, the next,
and perhaps the greate&s;t, a <HI>Cham,</HI> which wretchedly
betrayed the nakedne&s;s of his aged Father.<NOTE PLACE="marg">9. 22.</NOTE> In <HI>A|brahams</HI>
hou&s;e there was an <HI>I&s;hmael,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">21 9</NOTE> which mocked
at <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> though the Heire, and the Heire of promi&s;e.
In <HI>I&s;aac</HI>'s,<NOTE PLACE="marg">25. 31.</NOTE> a prophane <HI>E&s;au,</HI> who made his belly his
God, and &s;old Heaven for a break-fa&s;t. In <HI>Jacob</HI>'s,
there was <HI>Simeon</HI> and <HI>Levi,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">49. 4, 5.</NOTE> Brethren in evill, be&s;ides
a <HI>Reuben,</HI> who defiled <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">is old Fathers bed. And
in the Church of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> when more large and popu|lous,
how many were mad upon the wor&s;hip of the
golden Calf, more mad in offering up their Children
to the Idol <HI>Moloch;</HI> thou&s;ands that bowed the knee
to <HI>Baal;</HI> ten thou&s;ands which did &s;acrifice in the
Groves and prohibited places? yet all this while a
Church, a true vi&s;ible Church, with which the Saints
and Prophets joyned in Gods publick wor&s;hip. Let
us next look upon the Go&s;pel, and we &s;hall find that
when the bounds thereof were &s;o &s;trait and narrow,
that there were few more vi&s;ible members of it then
the twelve Apo&s;tles, yet among&s;t them there was
a <HI>Judas</HI> which betrayed his Ma&s;ter. When it began
to &s;pread and inlarge it &s;elf to the number of one
hundred and twenty, there were among them &s;ome
<PB N="271" REF="147">
half-Chri&s;tians,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 1.</NOTE> &s;uch as <HI>Nicodemus,</HI> who dur&s;t not
openly profe&s;s the Go&s;pel, but came unto the Lord
by night;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 19. 39.</NOTE> and &s;ome fal&s;e Chri&s;tians,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 4 10.</NOTE> &s;uch as <HI>Demas,</HI>
who out of an affection to the pre&s;ent world, for&s;ook
both the Apo&s;tle and the Go&s;pel too. See them in|crea&s;ed
to &s;uch a multitude, that they were fain to
choo&s;e &s;even Deacons to a&s;&s;i&s;t the work;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 6. 5.</NOTE> and one of
them will be that <HI>Nicolas</HI> the founder of the <HI>Nicolai|tans,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 2. 15.</NOTE>
whom the Lord abhorred. Follow it out of
<HI>Jewrie</HI> to <HI>Samaria,</HI> and there we find a <HI>Simon Magus,</HI>
as formall a Profe&s;&s;or as the be&s;t among&s;t them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 8. v. 13, 15.</NOTE> yet
full of the gall of bitterne&s;s within. Trace it in all
its progre&s;s through <HI>Greece</HI> and <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> and we &s;hall &s;ee
the factiou&s;ne&s;s of the <HI>Corinthians,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. c. 2. &amp; 3.</NOTE> the fooli&s;hne&s;s of
the <HI>Galatians,</HI> and &s;ix of the &s;even <HI>A&s;ian</HI> Churches
taxed with deadly &s;inne. Good God! into what cor|ner
of the Earth can the <HI>Donati&s;t</HI> run, to finde a
Church without corruption, free from &s;in and er|ror?
It mu&s;t be &s;ure into the old <HI>Utopia,</HI> or the new
<HI>Atlantis,</HI> or &s;ome fools Paradi&s;e <HI>in Terra incognita,</HI>
which no Mapp takes notice of; unle&s;s (as <HI>Con&s;tan|tine</HI>
once &s;aid unto <HI>Ace&s;ius</HI> a <HI>Novatian</HI> Bi&s;hop)
<GAP DESC="foreign">, they can erect a Lad|der
of their own devi&s;ing,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Sozomen.</HI> l. 1. c. 21.</NOTE> and &s;o climb up unto the
Heavens; while&s;t they are here upon the Earth,
they have no &s;uch hopes. God better knowes then
we what he hath to do; and he already hath deter|mined
of a <HI>Simul cre&s;cere,</HI> that both the Tares and
Wheat &s;hall grow up together.</P>
<P>Nor wanted his eternal wi&s;dom &s;ome e&s;pecial rea|&s;ons
which might incline him thereunto: Fir&s;t, in re|lation
to the wicked, who owe their pre&s;ervation
chiefly to this intermixture; For certainly, the note
<PB N="272" REF="148">
is true,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Stapleton in locum.</NOTE> <HI>Deum propter bonos &s;u&s;tinere malos;</HI> That God
gives many temporal ble&s;&s;ings to ungodly men, be|cau&s;e
they live &s;o intermingled with his faithful &s;er|vants;
and re&s;pites them &s;ometimes from the hand of
puni&s;hment, not for their own, but for the righte|ous
per&s;ons &s;ake among&s;t whom they dwell. The
Lord,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 30. 27.</NOTE> we know, ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Laban</HI> for the &s;ake of <HI>Jacob,</HI>
and pro&s;pered the whole hou&s;e of <HI>Potiphar,</HI> out of the
love he bare to <HI>Jo&s;eph.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">39. 5.</NOTE> If <HI>Sodom</HI> &s;tood &s;o long un|puni&s;hed,
it was in part becau&s;e of righteous <HI>Lot,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">18. 32.</NOTE> who
&s;ojourned with them: and po&s;&s;ibly it might have
&s;tood to this very day, but certainly have &s;caped that
fiery &s;torm which fell upon it, had it contained no
more then ten righteous per&s;ons. Farre is it from the
Lord our God to &s;lay the righteous with the wicked,
the Judge of all the World is more ju&s;t then &s;o.
When God rains vengeance from above on the wick|ed
man, it cannot be but that the righteous mu&s;t par|take
of the common mi&s;eries which do befall the
State or Nation in the which he lives; as <HI>Abraham,
I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Jacob</HI> did of the &s;everal famines which God
had &s;ent upon their Neighbours.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 12. 10. 3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. &amp; 42.</NOTE> There are not al|wayes
&s;uch di&s;tinctions as was between the Land of
<HI>Go&s;hen</HI> and the re&s;t of <HI>Egypt:</HI> God therefore &s;ome|times
holds his hands,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 8. 22.</NOTE> when the &s;ins of wicked men
cry loud for puni&s;hment, out of his favour and com|pa&s;&s;ion
on the righteous per&s;on; or el&s;e abbreviates
the time of their tribulation, out of regard to his E|lect:
or,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">4. 22.</NOTE> if they both partake alike of the common mi|&s;eries
of Famine, Pe&s;tilence and Warre, as &s;ometimes
they do, it is becau&s;e that even the be&s;t men have
their imperfections, and ever and anon commit &s;ome
foul &s;ins which God thinks fit to expiate with a tem|porall
Purgatory.</P>
<PB N="273" REF="148">
<P>Now as the righteous do this &s;ervice to the wick|ed
man, in reference unto his temporal con&s;ervati|on;
&s;o he receives in lieu thereof a farre greater be|nefit,
in reference to his own &s;piritual conver&s;ation:
For fir&s;t, the filthy lives of ungodly per&s;ons are as a
gla&s;&s;e wherein Gods Children &s;ee the foul face of
&s;in, and thereby learn to frame their lives by a bet|ter
rule.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Glo&s;&s;. Ord.</NOTE> <HI>Permixti bonis mali &s;unt, ut eorum compa|ratione
ad melius nitantur,</HI> as mine Authour hath it.
Ju&s;t &s;o the <HI>Spartans</HI> u&s;ed to &s;hew their drunken
&s;laves to their Sonnes and Nephews, that they might
bring them to a loathing of that bea&s;tly vice. And
then they make them farre more careful of their
lives and actions, yea of their words and &s;peeches
al&s;o: <HI>David</HI> re&s;olved, and 'twas a nece&s;&s;ary re&s;o|lution
if you mark it well, to &s;et a bridle on his
mouth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 39.</NOTE> for fear of offending with his Tongue; but
it was only for <HI>quamdiu, quamdiu impius in con&s;pectu,</HI>
as long as the ungodly was in his &s;ight, who hearken|ed
unto his di&s;cour&s;es, as the Jewes did unto our Sa|viours,
only of purpo&s;e to betray him. And this
was it which made the Primitive Chri&s;tians &s;o &s;evere
in their conver&s;ations, and keep &s;o diligent a watch
upon all their actions, becau&s;e the inqui&s;itive and ma|licious
Gentiles among&s;t whom they lived, were as
&s;o many &s;pies upon them to ob&s;erve their doings.
They dur&s;t not el&s;e have &s;tood &s;o &s;toutly on their ju|&s;tification,
defied the favour of their Judges, and
openly profe&s;&s;ed before all the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul. Apolog. <HI>c.</HI> 2.</NOTE> <HI>non &s;celus ali|quod,
&s;ed nomen,</HI> that there was nothing in them
which de&s;erved either bonds or death,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Glo&s;&s;. O<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">d.</NOTE> but only the
bare name of Chri&s;tian. And la&s;t of all, they &s;erve as
meanes and in&s;truments, <HI>per quos exerceantur boni,</HI>
<PB N="274" REF="149">
by which the Saints have opportunity to manife&s;t
their faith in Gods gracious promi&s;es, and to &s;et
forth their patience in the time of trouble. The <HI>I&s;|raelites</HI>
had never cryed &s;o fervently to the Lord
their God, had not the <HI>Canaanites,</HI> like pricks in their
&s;ides, &s;purred them on unto it: and where had been
the &s;tory of <HI>Jobs</HI> memorable patience, had not the
<HI>Chaldees</HI> and wild <HI>Arabs</HI> been neer neighbours to
him? So that in this re&s;pect we may cro&s;&s;e the Pro|verb,
<HI>E&s;t aliquod bonum propter vicinum malum,</HI>
There comes much good a&s;&s;uredly from an evill
neighbour. In each of the&s;e re&s;pects, or in all to|gether,
the Lord permits the wicked man to live and
tarry out his time in this pre&s;ent world, as being ve|ry
u&s;eful to his faithful &s;ervants, which grow the bet|ter
for them, and the wi&s;er by them.</P>
<P>And yet the Lord hath other rea&s;ons which in|cline
him to it, and &s;uch as do relate to him&s;elf a|lone,
<HI>viz.</HI> to &s;hew his grace and goodne&s;s over all his
creatures, whether they be the &s;heep of his Pa&s;ture,
or the work only of his hands. This makes him &s;end
his rain promi&s;cuou&s;ly on the ju&s;t and wicked,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5. 45.</NOTE> and
cau&s;e his Sunne to &s;hine alike on the &s;inner and the
righteous per&s;on;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145. 16.</NOTE> opening his hands, and filling all
things living with plenty. And more then &s;o, he
gives them &s;uch a general hint towards their &s;alvati|on,
that by the book of Nature, and general notions
of the Spirit, they may attain this principle of the &s;a|ving
faith, <GAP DESC="foreign">, that God is, and that he
is a rewarder al&s;o of all them that &s;eek him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11. 6.</NOTE> By
meanes whereof, he doth not only &s;hew his grace
in their great unworthine&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de civit. <HI>l.</HI> 22.</NOTE> <HI>melius &amp; potentius e&s;&s;e
judicans etiam malis bene facere,</HI> by doing well
<PB N="275" REF="149">
to tho&s;e who de&s;erve ill of him; but makes them
all <GAP DESC="foreign">, or without excu&s;e, in matters
which relate unto life eternal. Finally, as they are
the Objects of his power and goodne&s;s in this pre&s;ent
world, &s;o by ill u&s;ing of his gifts, and by neg|lecting
of the meanes which is offered to them, &s;hall
they become the objects of his wrath and ju&s;tice, and
&s;erve as &s;pecial in&s;truments to &s;et forth his glory in
the world to come; when he &s;hall &s;ay unto his An|gels,
(which are the Reapers mentioned in the fol|lowing
words) <HI>Gather the Tares together, and binde
them in bundles to burn them; but gather the Wheat
into <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">y Barn.</HI> Which as it is to be the work of a
further time, and the la&s;t act of ju&s;tice which the Lord
&s;hall execute <HI>in con&s;ummatione &s;eculi,</HI> in the clo&s;e or
con&s;ummation of the world pre&s;ent; &s;o &s;hall the
handling of it be the bu&s;ine&s;s of another day, in the
conclu&s;ion of my Meditations on this pre&s;ent
Parable.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="276" REF="150">
<HEAD>SERMON IV.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At CHRIST-CHURCH, <DATE>March 12th. 1634.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 13. v. 30.</BIBL>
<Q>And in the time of Harve&s;t I will &s;ay to the Reapers,
Gather ye together fir&s;t the Tares, and binde
them in bundles to burn them; but gather the
Wheat into my Barn.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_RUmpit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Vellcius hi&s;t. <HI>l.</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> <HI>interdum moratur propo&s;ita homi|num
Fortuna,</HI> The projects and de|&s;ignes
of us mortall men are many
times delayed, and &s;ometimes over|thrown
by higher Power. Which
power, though the Hi&s;torian being a Courtier, (who
a&s;cribes all things to good luck) entituled by the
name of Fortune; yet the Philo&s;opher, or contem|plative
man, who had been &s;tudied in the Govern|ment
of humane affaires, would have called it Pro|vidence.
That divine Axiom, <HI>Proponit homo, di&s;|ponit
Deus,</HI> Man purpo&s;es, and God di&s;po&s;eth, was
the Rule of this; the Rule by which it was fir&s;t &s;qua|red
and fitted to the u&s;e of men; the Rule by which
we are in&s;tructed to &s;ubmit our &s;elves, our Coun|&s;els,
<PB N="277" REF="150">
our de&s;ires, our actions to the will of God. And
this we finde exemplified and made clear unto us in
the de&s;ign and purpo&s;e of the Hou&s;hold-&s;ervants,
touching the extirpation of the Tares &s;o often men|tioned;
which God delayed as to the time, and ut|terly
overthrew, as for the hopes they had conceived
of their dealing in it, and con&s;equently of the cour&s;e
which they meant to take. The &s;ervants were hot
upon the &s;pur, had not patience to defer the action
till a fitter time, but would have fallen upon it in|&s;tantly,
with more ha&s;t then &s;peed; <HI>Vis imus &amp; col|ligimus?</HI>
in the pre&s;ent Ten&s;e, without deliberation
or delay at all. And they intended to have gone in
&s;o &s;harp a way, which in the heat and violence of un|governed
zeal mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity have been dangerous
to the Lords good Seed, and pulled up many a man
for &s;u&s;pected Tares, which either were right Wheat
of the Lords own &s;owing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t. in <HI>Mat.</HI> 13.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
or in due time, according to the cour&s;e and
&s;ea&s;ons of the heavenly Husbandry, might have been
changed unto the better, and become good grain.
How did the Lord approve this project? What com|fort
did he give them to pur&s;ue their Coun&s;els? No,
&s;aith the Lord, as to the time, there is no &s;uch ha&s;t,
<HI>Sinite utraque &s;imul cre&s;cere,</HI> let both grow toge|ther
till the Harve&s;t, till their fruits be ripe, until
they may be gathered up in a &s;afer way, more to
the glory of the Lord, and le&s;&s;e unto the hurt of his
faithful people. If they de&s;ired to have the&s;e Tares
de&s;troyed, (as no doubt they did) and to de&s;troy
them in a way which &s;hould bring neither wrong nor
danger to the Wheat it &s;elf (as was fit they &s;hould,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. ibid.</NOTE>)
<GAP DESC="foreign">, they mu&s;t expect a fit|ter
<PB N="278" REF="151">
and more proper time, which the Lord had not
yet bin plea&s;ed to make known unto them. And No,
&s;aith he, as to them&s;elves, whom he intended not to
u&s;e in &s;o great a bu&s;ine&s;s; knowing full well, that if
they did go on according to the propo&s;ition which
they made unto him, how much they would be bi|a&s;&s;ed
by their own affections? what dammage might
redound to his Church thereby? We mu&s;t (&s;aith he)
have care and patience towards the&s;e Tares, of
which you have complained in &s;uch &s;en&s;ible termes,
and let them grow until the Harve&s;t, in hope they
may prove better then you are aware of. But if this
do no good upon them, if they make no more u&s;e of
this longanimity, then to bring forth the fruits of
cu&s;tomary unrepented &s;ins, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
vengeance and Hell &s;hall overtake them
at the la&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. ibid.</NOTE> there's no other remedy: For then in the
conjuncture of tho&s;e circum&s;tances, in the time of
Harve&s;t, I will cau&s;e the Mini&s;ters whom I mean to
u&s;e, to appear before me, and &s;ay unto them being
come, My Reapers, <HI>Colligite primum zizania, Ga|ther
ye together fir&s;t the Tares, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e words contain the full and finall re&s;olution
of the heavenly Husbandman, in the di&s;po&s;ing of the
Tares, &s;o much, &s;o earne&s;tly complained of. In which
we mu&s;t behold him in the quality of a Judge or
Magi&s;trate, pronouncing his determinate &s;entence
in an open Court, upon the pleadings and debate of
the point before him. And here we have two gene|nerall
parts to be con&s;idered, the Judgement and the
Executioners: The Executioners, the Mini&s;ters ra|ther
of the Court, are the Heavenly Angels (though
here repre&s;ented to us by the name of Reapers) to
<PB N="279" REF="151">
whom it appertaineth to bring forth the Pri&s;oners,
and to &s;ee ju&s;tice done upon them in the form pro|nounced.
The Judgement doth con&s;i&s;t e&s;pecially of
the&s;e two Acts, t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters"> condemnation of the wicked, the
exaltation of the ju&s;t: The condemnation of the
wicked, the &s;entencing of the Tares to the f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">re of
Hell, we finde delivered briefly in the&s;e three par|ticulars;
<HI>Colligite, colligate, comburite:</HI> Gather them
fir&s;t, for they &s;hall be no longer &s;uffered in the field
of God. 2. Binde them, and binde them in the
chains of eternal darkne&s;s, to let them know there
is no hope, no po&s;&s;ibility to e&s;cape their puni&s;hment.
3. And having bound, then ca&s;t them pre&s;ently in|to
the everla&s;ting flames, to fire unquenchable. This
is the Judgement of the Tares, of the wicked man.
In that which doth concern the Wheat, we have
the&s;e two parts, an Action fir&s;t, and that is <HI>congre|gate,</HI>
gather; Gather the &s;everal corns thereof in a
Body or a Congregation: next, the Repo&s;itory, the
place it &s;elf in which they are to be di&s;po&s;ed of,
<HI>Horreum meum,</HI> the Lords Barn, the Hou&s;e or Ha|bitation
of his Heavenly glories: There's the con|dition
of the Wheat, of the righteous &s;oul. Of the&s;e
I <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">hall di&s;cour&s;e in order, as they lie before me; be|ginning
with the Executioners, or the Mini&s;ters ra|ther
of the Court, the Angels: <HI>And in the time of
Harve&s;t I will &s;ay unto the Reapers, Dicam me&s;&s;ort|bus,</HI>
that's the fir&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Eminentes viri magnis adjutoribus u&s;i &s;unt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Patercul. hi&s;t. <HI>l.</HI> 2.</NOTE> The
greate&s;t per&s;ons have commonly the mo&s;t able Mi|ni&s;ters,
whether it is in point of Coun&s;el or of exe|cution.
And he that is well &s;tudied in the art of men,
will &s;o imploy his Mini&s;ters and their abilities, as
<PB N="280" REF="152">
may be fitte&s;t to advance the bu&s;ine&s;s which he hath
in hand. Every mans Talent lieth not in the Camp
or Senate; &s;ome are for the Mini&s;terial or more &s;er|vile
Offices, but yet as u&s;eful to the publick in
their &s;everal places, though not &s;o honourable in
them&s;elves; and the&s;e too have their proper and di|&s;tinct
Activities, beyond the bounds whereof if
they be commanded, they become dull and &s;lug|gi&s;h,
and unprofitable, and rather do incumber then
promote the &s;ervice. Thus it is al&s;o in the Oecono|my
of the Heavenly Husbandman; The Lord hath
&s;everal &s;orts of Mini&s;ters, &s;ome for cultivating and
manuring of his holy Field, others for bringing in
the harve&s;t: That the imployment of the Prelates and
inferior Clergy; this of the holy Angels, of the Ho&s;ts
of Heaven; <HI>Me&s;&s;ores autem Angeli &s;unt,</HI> the Reapers
are the Angels, <HI>v.</HI> 39. And 'tis an excellent Rule
which St. <HI>Hierome</HI> gives us in this bu&s;ine&s;s, <HI>Quae expo|&s;ita
&s;unt &agrave; Domino his debeo accommodare fidem,</HI>
That in tho&s;e things which are expounded by our Sa|viour,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>in</HI> Mat. c. 13.</NOTE>
it were ab&s;urd to look for any clearer Com|mentary.
Which makes me wonder by the
way, that <HI>Hierome</HI> &s;hould &s;o ea&s;ily forget him|&s;elf
and his own good rule, as to expound the
Servants of the 27. of the Angels al&s;o. A&s;|&s;uredly
the Servants of the 27. with whom
the Ma&s;ter doth di&s;cour&s;e throughout this Pa|rable,
mu&s;t needs be different from the Reapers of
this pre&s;ent Text, of whom he &s;peaks unto tho&s;e
Servants, as di&s;tinct Mini&s;ters de&s;igned to their &s;e|verall
Offices.</P>
<P>So then the Reapers are the Angels, there's no
doubt of that. And they we know are <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<PB N="281" REF="152">
mini&s;tring &s;pirits, &s;aith the Scripture,
imployed by God, as often as he &s;ees occa&s;ion, in
his affaires of greate&s;t moment; in none more fre|quently
then &s;uch as do relate to the Sonnes of men,
either in point of puni&s;hment or pre&s;ervation. We
told you not long &s;ince of a double Harve&s;t, within
the compa&s;&s;e and intention of the pre&s;ent ver&s;e; an
Harve&s;t of Gods temporal judgements upon particu|lar
men and Nations, and collective bodies: an Har|ve&s;t
of Gods general judgement, when all fle&s;h &s;hall
appear before him to receive their &s;entence. And in
both the&s;e the Angels are the Mini&s;ters of that dread|full
Court; the ordinary Officers or <GAP DESC="foreign"> of
the Almighty Judge, and bound to execute the
mandates which are i&s;&s;ued thence, whether mens
&s;ins be ripe for vengeance, or that affliction and re|pentance
make them fit for mercy. Fir&s;t, in the
wayes of temporal puni&s;hment, it is mo&s;t clear and e|vident
in holy Scripture,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 19. v. 13.</NOTE> that God &s;ent down his An|gels
with a full Commi&s;&s;ion to de&s;troy <HI>Sodom</HI> and
<HI>Gomorrah,</HI> two rich populous Cities, after they had &s;o
long abu&s;ed his patience, and their own pro&s;perities;
and that he &s;ent his evil Angels among&s;t the <HI>Egypti|ans,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 78. 49, 50.</NOTE>
when neither &s;ignes nor wonders could prevail
upon them; by whom he gave their life over to the
Pe&s;tilence, &s;lew the fir&s;t-born in all their dwellings,
and finally overwhelmed them in the red Sea. Where
note,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bellar. &amp; Lorin: <HI>in P&s;.</HI> 77.</NOTE> that they are there called <HI>mali angeli,</HI> or evill
Angels, not that they were &s;o in them&s;elves, but <HI>ab
effectu,</HI> by rea&s;on of the &s;everal evils which they did
inflict on that peri&s;hing and wretched people, by the
Lords appointment. Thus do we al&s;o read of a de|&s;troying
Angel, by whom, according to the Word
<PB N="282" REF="153">
and Command of God, no fewer then 7000. of the
Jewes were con&s;umed in an in&s;tant, when once they
boa&s;ted in their numbers, and did pre&s;ume too farre
in the arm of fle&s;h:<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 King. 19. v. 35.</NOTE> and of another which went out
and &s;mote in the Camp of the <HI>A&s;syrians</HI> no le&s;&s;e then
185000. men, after they had bla&s;phemed the Lord,
and put a &s;corn upon the holy one of <HI>I&s;rael:</HI> not to
&s;ay any thing of <HI>Herod,</HI> who when he had beheaded
<HI>James,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 12. 2, 3. 23.</NOTE> impri&s;oned <HI>Peter,</HI> and troubled certain of the
Church, was mi&s;erably &s;mitten by an Angel, and
con&s;umed by worms. It plea&s;ed God to imploy them
in the&s;e acts of vengeance, though well affected in
them&s;elves to the good of mankind; and a nece&s;&s;ity
was layd upon them to obey his plea&s;ure. <HI>Nec quic|quam
est in Angelis ni&s;i parendi nece&s;sitas,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">l. 2. c. 17.</NOTE> &s;aid
<HI>Lactantius</HI> truly.</P>
<P>So farre the point is clear from the Book of God;
and if we will believe the Learned (as I think we
may) there is no &s;ignall puni&s;hment of ungodly
people a&s;cribed to God in holy Scripture but what
was executed by the Mini&s;try of the&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Spi|rits,
except &s;ome other meanes and Mini&s;ters be ex|pre&s;ly
named. That great and univer&s;all deluge in
the time of <HI>Noah</HI> was que&s;tionle&s;s the work of God;
<HI>Behold I,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 6. v. 17.</NOTE> <HI>even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the
Earth:</HI> But this was done <HI>Mini&s;terio Angelorum,</HI>
by the Mini&s;try and &s;ervice of the holy Angels, whom
God employed in breaking up the Fountain of the
great deep, and opening the Cataracts of Heaven,
for the de&s;truction of that wicked unrepenting
people.<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 24, 27.</NOTE> Thus when it is affirmed in the 14. of <HI>Exod.
That the Lord looked into the Ho&s;t of the Egyptians
through the pillar of fire, and overthrew them in the
<PB N="283" REF="153">
mid&s;t of the Sea: non intelligendum e&s;t de Deo, &s;ed de
Angelo qui erat in nube,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>To&s;tat.</HI> in Exod. 14.</NOTE> we mu&s;t not under&s;tand it of
the Lord him&s;elf, but only of the Angel, or that
mini&s;tring &s;pirit, of who&s;e being in the Cloud we had
heard before. And when we read, that in the Battel
of the five Kings again&s;t the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> the Lord ca&s;t
down great &s;tones from Heaven upon them, in the
10. of <HI>Jo&s;uah,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Id.</HI> in Jo&s;. 10. qu. 8.</NOTE> it is not to be thought, as <HI>Tostatus</HI>
notes it, <HI>qu&ograve;d Deus mitteret, &s;ed Angeli jubente Deo,</HI>
that this was done by Gods own hand, but by the
holy Angels at the Lords appointment. The like
may be ob&s;erved of tho&s;e other acts of power and
puni&s;hment, whereof we find &s;uch frequent men|tion
in the holy Scripture, that though they be a&s;|cribed
to God as the principal agent, yet were they
generally effected by his heavenly Angels, as the
meanes and in&s;trument.</P>
<P>But the mo&s;t proper office of the holy Angels is
not for puni&s;hment, but pre&s;ervation; not for cor|rection
of the wicked, but for the protection of the
ju&s;t and righteous; not for the rooting up of the
Tares, but for the &s;afety of the Wheat; <HI>for they
are mini&s;tring Spirits</HI> (&s;aith St. <HI>Paul</HI>) <HI>&s;ent out to mi|ni&s;ter
unto them who &s;hall be heirs of &s;alvation.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">H. b. 1. v. 14.</NOTE> That's
the chief part of their imployment, the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e
which they mo&s;t delight in; and God accordingly
both hath and doth employ them from time to time.
For, by the Mini&s;try of his Angels did he deliver
<HI>I&s;hmael</HI> from the extremities of thir&s;t, and <HI>Daniel</HI>
from the fury of hunger, <HI>Lot</HI> from the fire, and
trembling <HI>I&s;aac</HI> from the Sword; our Infant-Saviour
from one <HI>Herod,</HI> his chief Apo&s;tle from another; all
of them from the common pri&s;on, into the which
<PB N="284" REF="154">
they had been ca&s;t by the Prie&s;ts and Sadduces. But
the&s;e were only per&s;onal and particular Graces: Look
we on tho&s;e which were more publick; and &s;uch as
did concern his whole people generally, and we &s;hall
find an Angel of the Lord encamping between the
Ho&s;t of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> and the Ho&s;t of <HI>Egypt,</HI> to make
good the pa&s;&s;age at their backs, till they were got|ten
&s;afe to the other &s;ide of the Sea: Another An|gel
marching in the front of their Armies; as &s;oon as
they had entred the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and he the
Captain of the Lords Ho&s;t;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;. 5. 15.</NOTE> <HI>Princeps Exercitus Do|mini,</HI>
the vulgar reads it; &s;ome great and eminent
Angel doubtle&s;s, but whether <HI>Michael, Gabriel,</HI> or
who el&s;e it was, the <HI>Rabbins</HI> may di&s;pute at lei&s;ure,
and to them I leave it; More then &s;o yet; <HI>That wall
of waters which they had both on the right hand and
upon the left,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 14. v. 22.</NOTE> <HI>when they pa&s;&s;ed thorow the Sea as upon
dry ground,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>To&s;tat.</HI> in in Exod 14.</NOTE> <HI>facta e&s;t &agrave; Deo per Angelos exequentes,</HI>
as learned <HI>Abulen&s;is</HI> hath it, was the work of Angels,
directed and employed by Almighty God. Which
al&s;o is affirmed by the Jewi&s;h Doctors of the divi|ding
of the waters of <HI>Jordan,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Id.</HI> in Jo&s;. 3.</NOTE> to make the like &s;afe
pa&s;&s;age for them into the promi&s;ed Land which the
Lord had given them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P. Mart.</NOTE> The like &s;aith <HI>Peter Martyr</HI>
of the rai&s;ing of the <HI>Syrians</HI> from before <HI>Samaria,
when the Lord made them hear the noy&s;e of Charets,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 King. 7. v. 6.</NOTE>
<HI>and the noy&s;e of Hor&s;men,</HI> that this was <HI>Mini&s;terio An|gelorum,</HI>
effected by the Mini&s;try of the holy An|gels,
whom he employed in &s;aving that di&s;tre&s;&s;ed
City from the hands of their enemies. And by an
Angel,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eu&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">b. hi&s;t.</HI> l. 3. c. 5.</NOTE> or at lea&s;t an Angelical vi&s;ion, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
by a Dream or Oracle delivered unto them in their
&s;leep, as <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> tells us, did he forewarn the Chri|&s;tians
<PB N="285" REF="154">
dwelling in the Land of <HI>Pale&s;tine,</HI> to remove
thence to <HI>Pella,</HI> a &s;mall Town of <HI>Syria;</HI> and &s;o pre|&s;erved
them from the &s;poyl and fury of the Roman
Armies.</P>
<P>This was Gods way of pre&s;ervation in the times
before us; and for his way of pre&s;ervation in all Ages
&s;ince, God is the &s;ame God now as then, his holy
Angels no le&s;&s;e diligent in their attendance on our
per&s;ons, then they have been formerly. Let us but
make our &s;elves by our faith and piety worthy to be
accounted the Sonnes of God, and the Heires of &s;al|vation,
and doubt we not of the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of tho&s;e
mini&s;tring Spirits in all the times of per&s;onal or pub|lick
dangers. It's true, the apparition of the
Angels in the&s;e latter times hath been very rare, and
God dealt very graciou&s;ly with the &s;onnes of men,
that they come &s;o &s;eldom; for, being too many are
&s;o prone to give divine honours to the Images of the
Saints departed, how ea&s;ily might they deceive
them&s;elves of their reward in a voluntary humility
and wor&s;hipping of Angels (which was the fault of
the <HI>Colo&s;sians,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Col. 15.</NOTE> and after the Here&s;ie of tho&s;e whom
<HI>Epiphanius</HI> and St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> call <HI>Angelici</HI>) did they ap|pear
unto us ordinarily in &s;ome vi&s;ible glorious form.
But then it is as true withall, &amp; one of the mo&s;t eter|nal
truths of holy Scripture, <HI>That the Angel of the Lord
encampeth about them that fear him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 34 7.</NOTE> <HI>and delivereth
them.</HI> Whether we &s;ee, or &s;ee them not, it comes all
to one; and &s;o re&s;olved by <HI>Clemens</HI> of <HI>Alexandria,</HI>
an old Chri&s;tian Writer, <GAP DESC="foreign">:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Stromat: lib. 6.</NOTE> The Lord
&s;aith he, doth &s;till pre&s;erve us by the Mini&s;try of his
holy Angels, though we behold them not in any vi|&s;ible
<PB N="286" REF="155">
&s;hape, as the Antients did. When therefore
and as often as we fall into any danger, let us addre&s;s
our prayers to the Lord our God, that he would
plea&s;e to give command unto his Angels to come
in to help us; that he would make our enemies <HI>like
the chaffe before the wind, and the Angel of the Lord
&s;cattering them;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 35. 5.</NOTE> and having &s;o made known our de|&s;ires
unto him, to look for their a&s;&s;i&s;tance according|ly.
This is warranted unto us in the words of <HI>Calvin,
Ut in periculis con&s;tituti &agrave; Deo petamus protectionem An|gelorum,
&amp; confidamus eos ex mandato Dei prae&s;t&ograve; fore.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In&s;titut<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> l. 1. c. 14.</NOTE>
But behold a greater then <HI>Calvin</HI> here; for we are
warranted as much both by the Doctrine and the
practice of the Church of <HI>England,</HI> who teacheth us
to pray, and we pray accordingly, <HI>That God who hath
ordained and con&s;tituted the &s;ervice of Angels and men
in a wonderful order, would mercifully grant that they
which do him &s;ervice in Heaven, may by his appoint|m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">nt,
&s;uccour and defend us upon the Ea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">th;</HI> as in
the Collect for the day of St. <HI>Michael</HI> the Arch|angel.</P>
<P>But this is but a <GAP DESC="foreign"> to the main de&s;ign; for
though the&s;e temporal judgements and deliverances
may come within the compa&s;s of the Harve&s;t which
is here mentioned, yet is the Harve&s;t chiefly meant
of the general Judgement, when all fle&s;h &s;hall be
brought before Gods Tribunal, and brought before
it by the Mini&s;try of the holy Angels, who are the
Reapers of my Text, the Mini&s;ters or <GAP DESC="foreign"> of that
dreadful Court. For proof whereof, we need but look
into the proce&s;s of St. <HI>Matthewes</HI> Go&s;pel,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 24. v. 30.</NOTE> in which we
find, <HI>That the Lord &s;hall come to judgement, riding on
the Clouds with great power and glory,</HI> accompanied
<PB N="287" REF="155">
with Angels and Archangels, and the &s;ound of the
Trumpet. So great a Judge coming to hold his grand
A&s;&s;i&s;es, cannot be u&s;hered in with le&s;&s;e Pomp and
Maje&s;ty. And to what purpo&s;e &s;erve tho&s;e Angels?
A&s;&s;uredly, not only to fill up the Train, to make the
manner of his coming the more brave and glorious,
but for &s;ome other &s;pecial and more weighty u&s;e. And
therefore when our Saviour hath informed us this,
<HI>That the Sonne of man &s;hall come in his glory,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15. v. 30.</NOTE> <HI>and all
the holy Angels with him;</HI> he tells us in the following
words, <HI>That before him &s;hall all the Nations of the
World be gathered.</HI> Gathered together, but by whom?
by the&s;e very Angels. <HI>Then,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>&s;hall he &s;end
his Angels with a great &s;ound of a Trumpet,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">24. 31.</NOTE> <HI>and they
&s;hall gather together the Elect from the four winds, from
one end of Heaven unto the other.</HI> What the Elect, and
none but they? Not &s;o. The&s;e Reapers mu&s;t root
up the Tares as well as gather in the Wheat. Our
Saviours Expo&s;ition of the Text makes that clear
enough, where we &s;hall find, that at the end of the
world, <HI>the Sonne of man &s;hall &s;end forth his Angels,
and they &s;hall gather out of his Kingdom all things that
offend,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 40. &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>and them that do iniquity.</HI> And in the Para|ble
of the ca&s;ting Net, <HI>That the Angels &s;hall come
forth at the end of the World,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 49:</NOTE> <HI>and &s;ever the wicked from
the ju&s;t.</HI> There are two &s;orts of men to be brought
together, the Elect and Reprobate; two &s;orts of
Grain which mu&s;t be gathered by the&s;e Reapers; but
how they mu&s;t be ordered, being brought together,
and what the Angels have to do in execution of tho&s;e
orders, we &s;hall &s;oon find by looking over the parti|culars
of the &s;econd generall: where we have, fir&s;t,
the condemnation of the wicked repre&s;ented to us in
<PB N="288" REF="156">
three words, <HI>Colligite, Colligate, Comburite, Gather
ye together fir&s;t the Tares, and bind them in bundles to
burn them.</HI> Of this next in order.</P>
<P><HI>In Patrefamilias habemus qu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">d amemus &amp; imitemur.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gorran. in locum.</NOTE>
There are four things remarkable in the Heavenly
Husbandman, as he is repre&s;ented to us in this pre|&s;ent
Parable, worthy of our applau&s;e and imitation:
His goodne&s;s fir&s;t, <HI>Seminando bona,</HI> in that he &s;owed
his field with the good &s;eed only; his patience next,
<HI>tolerando mala,</HI> in &s;uffering the Tares, though other|wi&s;e
a corrupt and adulterate &s;eed, to remain unga|thered
till the Harve&s;t came. In the next place, we
have his wi&s;dom, <HI>praecavendo pericula,</HI> in taking &s;uch
e&s;pecial care to pre&s;erve his Wheat, which doubt|le&s;s
had been &s;ubject to &s;ome notable mi&s;chief, had
he imbraced the other which his Servants made, the
<HI>imus &amp; colligimus</HI> of the 28. And la&s;t of all, we have
his ju&s;tice, <HI>reddendo &s;ecundum merita,</HI> in giving unto
every one as he had de&s;erved, according to the works
which he hath wrought in the fle&s;h, whether good or
bad. <HI>Praemium &amp; Poena,</HI> Reward and puni&s;hment
have in all Ages been e&s;teemed the Rule and mea|&s;ure,
not only of all Earthly Governments, but the
Heavenly al&s;o. Who would endeavour piety and the
works of vertue, were there not &s;ome reward to al|lure
him to it? or rob his Genius of the dalliances of
this pre&s;ent life, and not give way unto the &s;en&s;ua|lity
of his lu&s;ts and Appetite, were there not puni&s;h|ments
in &s;tore to affright him from it; were not the
puni&s;hments &s;o grievous, and of &s;uch eternity, as farre
&s;urmount the &s;weetne&s;s of the&s;e &s;inful plea&s;ures,
which in them&s;elves are &s;hort and momentany, and
enjoyed only for a &s;ea&s;on? The fear of puni&s;hment
<PB N="289" REF="156">
and Hell are of greate&s;t efficacy to affright many a
man from &s;in, (whom the love of God and godline&s;&s;e
will hardly work on;) and well it were if the con&s;i|deration
of it would prevail &s;o farre.</P>
<P>Of this, the condemnation of the wicked, I am fir&s;t
to &s;peak, the method of my Text doth invite me to
it; and the fir&s;t word we meet with is <HI>Colligite, ga|ther
ye together,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, as the Greek Text hath
it; and that doth &s;ignifie &s;uch a kind of gathering
as intimates a plucking up by the roots withall.
We had it in this &s;en&s;e in the former ver&s;e, where
the Servants having made an offer to go and gather
up the Tares, were ab&s;olutely refu&s;ed, on this rea&s;on
chiefly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 29.</NOTE> <HI>ne fort&egrave; colligentes zizania, le&s;t while ye ga|ther
up the Tares, ye root up the Wheat.</HI> Certainly, had
the Tares been gathered, either by pulling off the
eares, as the Apo&s;tles did the Corn on the Sabbath|day;
or breaking off the &s;talk in the very mid&s;t (each
of which wayes they might have gone) they might
have gathered in the Tares, and not hurt the Wheat,
at lea&s;t as to the rooting up, the totall eradication of
it. <GAP DESC="foreign"> then is not to gather only, but to gather
up; <GAP DESC="foreign">, to gather up the Tares by
the very roots; which &s;hewes the de&s;perate and re|medile&s;s
condition of the wicked man, if once deli|vered
over unto condemnation; for where there is
a gathering or a rooting up, there is no hope that e|ver
it &s;hall grow again: weeds which are only mowed
may &s;pring up again; and Tares that have their eares
pulled off, and no more then &s;o, cumber the ground
at lea&s;t, if they do not wor&s;e; they have &s;till place
and footing in the Field of God, and take up &s;o much
room therein, that they permit not Gods Seed to in|large
<PB N="290" REF="157">
large and &s;pread it &s;elf, and yield &s;uch fair increa&s;e
to the Heavenly Husbandman as it would do other|wi&s;e;
but if they once be gathered up, or pulled up
by the Roots, which comes all to one, they are then
pa&s;t growing any more; they &s;hall be able from
thenceforth to do no more hurt, or work unto the
Wheat any further dammage.</P>
<P>But then <GAP DESC="foreign"> is withall a compound word, and
doth not only &s;ignifie a gathering up, but a gathering
up of all together: <HI>Gather ye the Tares together,</HI> &s;o
the Engli&s;h. All of them, not a Tare excepted; nei|ther
the Heretick nor the Schi&s;matick, the formall,
nor the fal&s;e Profe&s;&s;or; neither the counterfeit not
the fal&s;e-faced Prote&s;tant, the open nor the &s;ecret
&s;inner, &s;hall e&s;cape the gathering. Though they pro|cure
the Rocks to fall upon them, and the hills to
hide them, yet &s;hall the&s;e Reapers find them out, and
gather them from every corner of the Earth, be they
where they will. And we may &s;ay of them, as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>
of the Herds and Cattel of the Hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael, ne
ungulam e&s;&s;e relinquendam,</HI> that not an hoof of all
the&s;e unclean bea&s;ts &s;hall be left behind. Though
they have flattered their poor &s;ouls, and &s;aid, Tu&s;h,
God will not &s;ee it; or have di&s;gui&s;ed them&s;elves
with fig leaves, out of a &s;illy hope to conceal their
nakedne&s;s; or wiped their lips &s;o cunningly, with the
Harlot in the Book of <HI>Proverbs,</HI> that no men can di&s;|cern
a &s;tolen ki&s;&s;e upon them, yet all this will not
&s;erve the turn: God for all this will bring them eve|ry
one to judgement, and apprehend them by his
Angels, the Mini&s;ters of the mighty Judge, when
they go a gathering. There &s;hall not one of them
e&s;cape the hands of the&s;e diligent Serjeants, <HI>ne u|nus
<PB N="291" REF="157">
quidem,</HI> not &s;o much as one. It is <HI>colligite</HI> in the
Text, a gathering up of all together. And yet this
is not all contained in this gathering neither; it is a
gathering in which implies a &s;evering, or a &s;eparation,
and then it is <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>i. e.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, gather them
up, that is to &s;ay, &s;ever them, &s;et them by them&s;elves
to receive their &s;entence.<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 49.</NOTE> For in the following Pa|rable
of the ca&s;ting-Net, the gathering of every kind
of fi&s;h had a &s;evering with it. The Angels &s;hall come
forth, <GAP DESC="foreign">, and &s;hall &s;ever the wicked from
the ju&s;t. And in that of the Sheep and of the Goats,
in the 25.<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 31.</NOTE> the gathering of all Nations before the
Lord, brings in a &s;eparation, or <GAP DESC="foreign">, of the one
from the other.</P>
<P>So then <HI>Colligite</HI> in this place mu&s;t be <HI>&s;eparate,</HI> Se|ver
them from the Wheat, from the Lords good
grain, that their impieties and iniquities may appear
more evidently; and &s;eparate them from the pre|&s;ence
of the Lord their God, of who&s;e mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed
vi&s;ion they de&s;erve not to be made partakers. Fir&s;t,
&s;ever, or part them from the Wheat, let them &s;tand
alone. Though in this World the Lord doth &s;ome|times
&s;pare the wicked and ungodly man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Stapleton.</NOTE> <HI>propter prae|&s;entiam
ju&s;torum,</HI> as my Authour hath it, out of his
love to the Elect; or in <HI>profectum humanae &s;alutis,</HI> for
the &s;alvation of his Saints,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hilarius.</NOTE> to whom they &s;erve for an
increa&s;e both of faith and patience, as we read in
<HI>Hilary;</HI> yet in the day of judgement they &s;hall find
it otherwi&s;e. In that day they &s;hall neither be parta|kers
of Gods ble&s;&s;ings with them, nor receive any
benefit or protection by them; and much le&s;&s;e bor|row
any of their Oyl to trim their Lamps, or enter
with the Bridegroom by that borrowed light. The
<PB N="292" REF="158">
ungodly &s;hall not then &s;tand in the judgement with
them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 1. 5.</NOTE> nor &s;inners in that Congregation of the righ|teous,
as the P&s;almi&s;t hath it. And next, they &s;hall
be &s;eparated from the pre&s;ence of the Lord their
God, of who&s;e mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed and beatifical vi&s;ion they
de&s;erve not to be made partakers; for being &s;ever|ed
from the ju&s;t, and &s;tanding before God in their
own uncleanne&s;s, without the light of faith, and the
robes of charity, there followeth a <HI>Di&s;cedite &agrave; me,
Depart from me ye cur&s;ed,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gorran. in locum.</NOTE> <HI>get you farre from hence.</HI>
And this is <HI>dira &amp; infelix di&s;ce&s;sio,</HI> a mi&s;erable and
mo&s;t wretched ca&s;e, in ca&s;e it went no further then a
<HI>poena damni,</HI> a lo&s;&s;e of tho&s;e in&s;eparable comforts
which do ari&s;e unto the Saints upon the &s;ight of God.
<HI>Di&s;cedite &agrave; me, Depart from me:</HI> O the mo&s;t terri|ble
&s;entence of a mo&s;t ju&s;t Judge, which neither the
guilty can e&s;cape, nor the condemned man with&s;tand;
again&s;t which no &s;inner can except, &amp; from which the
damned cannot appeal! Depart from thee! why, whi|ther
&s;hall we go, O God, being driven from thee?
whither, but from the Paradi&s;e of glories to a
world of &s;hame, from the Father of lights unto ut|ter
darkne&s;s, from the fulne&s;s of joy to howling
and perpetual lamentation, from plea&s;ures unto
weeping and gna&s;hing of teeth?</P>
<P>The gathering being fini&s;hed, next comes in the
binding: It is <HI>Colligite</HI> fir&s;t, and <HI>Colligite prim&ugrave;m,</HI>
before we come to <HI>alligate;</HI> Fir&s;t gather, and then
binde them fa&s;t. I know that &s;ome Interpreters re|fer
this <HI>primum</HI> to the order of the &s;everal judge|ments;
fir&s;t, gather up the Tares, then bring in the
Wheat. But this doth ill agree with our Saviours
method u&s;ed in other places; for in the Parable of
<PB N="293" REF="158">
the Net ca&s;t into the Sea, the good fi&s;h were fir&s;t ga|thered
into Ve&s;&s;els,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 48.</NOTE> before the bad were thrown a|way:
and in the other, of the Sheep and of the
Goats,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 25.</NOTE> <HI>Venite</HI> hath precedence of <HI>di&s;cedite;</HI> the
ble&s;&s;ed of the Father were fir&s;t ab&s;olved, before the
cur&s;ed were condemned to the pit of torments. Nor
will it &s;erve the turn which is &s;aid by &s;ome,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gorran. in locum.</NOTE> that
though the merits of the ju&s;t are <HI>pri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s in di&s;cu&s;sione,</HI>
fir&s;t taken into con&s;ideration and inquired into, yet
&s;hall the puni&s;hment of the wicked and ungodly man
be <HI>pri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s in executione,</HI> fir&s;t put in execution, and in|flicted
on them;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> 19. v. 28.</NOTE> for this as ill agrees with tho&s;e
Texts of Scripture, where it is &s;aid, not only in parti|cular
of the twelve Apo&s;tles, <HI>that they &s;hall &s;it on twelve
Thrones, judging the twelve Tribes of I&s;rael;</HI> but al&s;o
of the Saints in generall,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 6. v. 2: <HI>E&s;tius in</HI> 1 Cor. 6.</NOTE> <HI>Do ye not know that the
Saints &s;hall judge the World?</HI> and that not only <HI>&s;ola
comparatione,</HI> by upbraiding their impieties and im|penitencies,
in which re&s;pect the <HI>Ninevites</HI> and the
Queen of the South are in the Go&s;pel &s;aid to con|demn
the Jewes; but <HI>approbatione divinae &s;ententiae,</HI>
by approving and applauding that mo&s;t righteous
judgement which Chri&s;t the &s;upreme Judge &s;hall
pronounce again&s;t them: which could not be, in ca&s;e
the wicked did receive their finall &s;entence before
the righteous were admitted into &s;ome participation
of the heavenly glories. The gathering of the Tares
is here fir&s;t propounded, not becau&s;e fir&s;t in order of
the &s;everal judgements, but becau&s;e they gave occa|&s;ion
unto this di&s;cour&s;e betwixt the heavenly Hu&s;|bandman
and his hou&s;hold-Servants, for no other
rea&s;on. <HI>Colligite primum,</HI> fir&s;t gather, in that &s;en&s;e, but
in no &s;en&s;e el&s;e; <HI>alligate</HI> next.</P>
<PB N="294" REF="159">
<P>Fir&s;t gather, and then bind. And binding is a
terme derived or borrowed from the Courts of
&s;ecular Judges, according to the cour&s;e whereof the
condemned Pri&s;oners are led bound to their executi|on,
&s;o to prevent all hope and po&s;&s;ibility of their e|&s;cape,
and make them yield unto their puni&s;hment
with the le&s;&s;e re&s;i&s;tance. <HI>I Lictor, liga manus, verberato,
infeliciarbori &s;u&s;pendito:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Livius pa&s;sim.</NOTE> Here <HI>Lictor,</HI> binde the
Pri&s;oner, &s;courge him, or hang him on the Gallow-Tree,
as the &s;entence varied. But whether <HI>verberato,</HI>
or <HI>&s;u&s;pendito,</HI> there was &s;till <HI>Liga manus,</HI> as a part of
the puni&s;hment. Thus when the great Tyrant <HI>Ne|buchadnezzar</HI>
had condemned the three Hebrew
Children to the fiery Furnace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 3.</NOTE> he fir&s;t commanded
them to be bound, and then to be ca&s;t in the mid&s;t
of the flames. And when the Prie&s;ts and Phari&s;ees
had voted our Redeemer to be guilty of death, they
led him bound to <HI>Pontius Pilate,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 27.</NOTE> (<HI>vinctum adduxe|runt,</HI>
&s;aith the Text) to have their bloody &s;entence
put in execution. This binding of the wicked after
condemnation is the fir&s;t <HI>poena &s;en&s;us,</HI> the fir&s;t part
of the &s;en&s;ible torments which they are damned un|to
by the righteous Judge: and a great aggravation
of their torments 'tis, if you mark it well; it takes a|way
all hope and po&s;&s;ibility of e&s;cape, as before was
&s;aid; letting them &s;ee, that how intolerable and ex|treme
&s;oever their damnation be, they mu&s;t endure
it to the utmo&s;t, there's no after-remedy. And there|fore
<HI>alligate ut non po&s;sint evadere,</HI> &s;aith my Author
well.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gorran.</NOTE> The Chains in which they are here bound are
everla&s;ting Chains, <HI>aeterna vincula,</HI> as St. <HI>Jude</HI> calls
them: and therefore they which are thus bound, are
bound for aye and everla&s;tingly, without expectati|on
<PB N="295" REF="159">
on of relea&s;e. There is no &s;aying in this ca&s;e, <HI>rum|pamus
vincula,</HI> let us break their bonds in &s;under,
and ca&s;t their cords from us;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 2, 3.</NOTE> they are <HI>aeterna vincula,</HI>
everla&s;ting the&s;e.</P>
<P>Next, it deprives them of all ea&s;e, of all meanes
and help, of le&s;&s;ening any part of tho&s;e terrible tor|ments
which the mo&s;t righteous Judge hath in|flicted
on them. It is a great refre&s;hing unto one that
langui&s;heth under the rage and tyranny of a burning
Feaver, that he can &s;ometimes &s;hift his &s;ide, and
tumble from one part of the bed to another; no
&s;mall comfort to a Pri&s;oner, if he have liberty to walk
or &s;tir up and down, in the mid&s;t of all the torments
which are laid upon them: But they which are tor|mented
in the flames of Hell, and laid up in that
dreadful Dungeon, have not the liberty to move, and
to change their places, further then as it &s;hall &s;eem
good unto their tormentors, for the multiplication
and increa&s;e of their pains and mi&s;eries. And this
we may be &s;ure of al&s;o, that the greater Libertines we
are here, the more licentiou&s;ly we live in this pre&s;ent
world, the greater &s;hall our thraldom be, the more
&s;trict our bonds, in the e&s;tate of condemnation in the
world to come. Too many which profe&s;s the Go|&s;pel
have been loo&s;ly given, addicted unto all un|cleanne&s;s
and la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;s; and therefore <HI>alligate,</HI>
binde them, make them fa&s;t enough. A binding to
the good behaviour to the purpo&s;e this: others have
had their feet &s;wift to &s;hed innocent blood,
and lifted up rebellious hands again&s;t Gods anointed.
<HI>I Lictor, lig a manus,</HI> Hold Satan, take him hence,
binde him hands and feet, in the eternal chains of
darkne&s;s, never to &s;tir a foot in the way of peace, or
<PB N="296" REF="160">
lift up a repenting hand to the God of mercy; never
to be re&s;tored to liberty, nor relea&s;ed from mi&s;ery:
the Fable of <HI>Prometheus</HI> being bound in the mountain
<HI>Cauca&s;us</HI> for a perpetual prey to devouring Vul|tures,
hath &s;ome re&s;emblance unto this: but that
was but a Fable, this a mo&s;t &s;ad truth; never
were known &s;uch bonds as the&s;e, &s;uch a binding
never.</P>
<P>And yet the binding is the wor&s;e, and the tor|ment
greater, in regard they are not &s;everally bound,
every one by him&s;elf in his own Irons, but <HI>in fa&s;|ciculos,</HI>
in bundles, every man with his fellows and
A&s;&s;ociates which were guilty of the &s;ame &s;in with
him; that &s;in I mean which either was mo&s;t grie|vous
in the &s;ight of God, or mo&s;t predominant in
the heart of the &s;inful man. It is not <HI>alligate</HI> &s;im|ply,
but <HI>alligate in fa&s;ciculos,</HI> binde them in bundles,
&s;o the Engli&s;h; or into Fagots rather, as the words
do &s;ignifie; and Fagots are the fitte&s;t fewel for the
fire of Hell. This &s;hewes that God doth puni&s;h &s;in|ners
in the world to come, <HI>non &s;ecundum &s;tatum
quem in hoc &s;eculo habuerunt, &s;ed &s;ecundum delicta;</HI>
according to the nature of their &s;everal crimes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Stapleton.</NOTE> not of
their qualities or degrees; and that as men confede|rate
together in the acts of &s;in, &s;o they &s;hall burn to|gether
in the fires of horror; for be&s;ides what is
&s;aid to confirm the &s;ame by <HI>Gregory</HI> and <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> two
old Catholick Bi&s;hops,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Greg<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">n</HI> Job. l. 9. c. 47.</NOTE> who &s;pake herein according
to the light of Scripture; the Heathen Orator,
though guided by no other rule then the common
Principles of Ju&s;tice, hath re&s;olved it &s;o; by whom
it is affirmed as a thing mo&s;t equitable,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word">. 30. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> de <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word">.</NOTE> <HI>ut qui in ea|dem
cau&s;a &s;int in eadem item e&s;&s;ent fortuna,</HI> that
<PB N="297" REF="160">
they who were partakers in the &s;weets of &s;in &s;hould
be made partners al&s;o in the &s;marts of puni&s;hment.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tull. pro Lig<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">io.</NOTE>
They then that have defiled them&s;elves in the &s;elf|&s;ame
filth, how different &s;oever in e&s;tate and quality,
mu&s;t be bound up together in the &s;elf-&s;ame Fagot.
<HI>Facinus quos inquinat aequat,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lucan.</NOTE> &s;aid the Poet rightly:
The Murderers, and &s;uch as kill without the Sword
of Authority, &s;hall make one Fagot, the &s;ecret and
the open Traytors another; the Adulterers and Adul|tere&s;&s;es
&s;hall make one Fagot, and the Fornicators
another; the Hereticks &s;hall make up one Fagot,
the Schi&s;maticks and Sectaries &s;hall be bound up in
another; the Idolaters &s;hall make one Fagot, they
that commit &s;acriledge to pull down Idolatry, &s;hall
make up another; the Glutton, who&s;e belly is his
God, &s;hall make one Fagot, the Drunkard who&s;e
glory is his &s;hame, another: The Thief, that knowes
no other Trade to maintain him&s;elf but by undoing
of his Neighbour; the cunning Hypocrite, who
makes a gain of godline&s;s, and puts his Religion unto
u&s;ury; and they who ba&s;ely and perfidiou&s;ly invert
the publick money to their private profit, &s;hall each
make up their &s;everal Fagots. <HI>Pares cum paribus,</HI>
&s;aith St. <HI>Au&s;tin;</HI> every man &s;hall be puni&s;hed in the
world to come, according to the &s;in which he hath
committed, and in the company of tho&s;e with whom
he hath mo&s;t offended. And though it be an old &s;aid
Saw, <HI>Solamen mi&s;eris,</HI> that it is a comfort to tho&s;e in
mi&s;ery to have others bear a &s;hare in their griefs and
&s;orrows, (a mi&s;erable comfort at the be&s;t, there's
no doubt of that;) yet it is nothing &s;o in the pre&s;ent
ca&s;e; for of that nature are the puni&s;hments which
attend this binding, that the pains thereof are nothing
<PB N="298" REF="161">
le&s;&s;ened by being communicated, but are then mul|tiplied
when divided.</P>
<P>Well, being bound, and bound in bundles, what
comes after next? <HI>Ad comburendum,</HI> &s;aith the Text,
binde them in bundles for to burn them. And here
the ca&s;e is &s;omewhat altered, as it relates unto the
Mini&s;ters, though &s;till the &s;ame as it hath reference to
the Malefactors. It was before <HI>colligite &amp; alligate;</HI>
here, not <HI>comburite,</HI> but <HI>ad comburendum.</HI> The holy
Angels were the Mini&s;ters to attach the &s;inner, to
bring him before Gods Tribunal; and after &s;entence
was pronounced to lay hands upon him, and make
him ready for the puni&s;hment which he is condemn'd
to; but that being done, they give him over to the
fiends of Hell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 34.</NOTE> to the tormenters, <GAP DESC="foreign">, as our
Redeemer calls them in the 18 Chap. The Officers
of the Court, or the <GAP DESC="foreign">, which he &s;peaks of in the
7 of <HI>Matth.</HI> differ from the&s;e tormenters, from the&s;e
<GAP DESC="foreign">, of which he tells us in the 18. as the U&s;her
or Cryer of a Court from the Executioner, or the
Under-Sheriff from the Hangman. The Angels then,
I mean the holy and good Angels, they only do <HI>colli|gere
&amp; alligare,</HI> and having &s;o gathered and bound
them up, deliver them <HI>ad comburendum,</HI> a&s;&s;ign them
over by Indenture to the Executioners, to &s;ee them
puni&s;hed and tormented according to the will and
&s;entence of the dreadful Judge. The holy Angels
are the Mini&s;ters, the Devil and his Angels are the
Executioners, who bearing an old grudge to man, as
being adopted by the Lord unto tho&s;e felicities from
which he mi&s;erably fell, will doubtle&s;s execute his
office on him with the mo&s;t extremity: <HI>Non de&s;inunt
perditi jam perdere,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Min. Fel&punc;</NOTE> &s;aid <HI>Minutius</HI> truly. It hath been
<PB N="299" REF="161">
his chief work to tempt man to &s;in, out of an hope to
have him at his mercy one day; and be we &s;ure he
will not &s;pare him when he hath him there. The De|vills
chief delight is in mans calamity: And could we
fancy &s;uch a thing as an Heaven in Hell, the Devill
would enjoy it in this opportunity of tyrannizing o|ver
tho&s;e whom he hath &s;educed and brought into
that pit of torments.</P>
<P><HI>Ad comburendum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 41, 42.</NOTE> to be burnt; for that's the
puni&s;hment appointed to the wicked in the Book of
God. Here, in the Expo&s;ition of this Parable, it is
&s;aid by Chri&s;t, <HI>that the Angels &s;hall gather out of his
Kingdom all things which offend,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 50.</NOTE> <HI>and them that do ini|quity,
and &s;hall ca&s;t them in caminum ignis,</HI> into a furnace
of fire. And in the Parable of the Net,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 16. v. 24.</NOTE> we have it in
the very &s;elf-&s;ame words, <HI>in caminum ignis.</HI> Thus the
rich Glutton in St. <HI>Luke,</HI> is &s;aid to be tormented in
the flames: And in the 20th. of the <HI>Revelation</HI> it is
called expre&s;ly <HI>Stagnum ignis &amp; &s;ulphuris,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 10.</NOTE> a Lake of
fire and brim&s;ton, a mo&s;t dreadful Lake. A truth
communicated to and by the Prophets of the former
times,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 30. 35.</NOTE> who give us this de&s;cription of <HI>Tophet,</HI> or the
Vallie of <HI>Gehinnon, that the Pile thereof is fire and
much wood,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">34. 10.</NOTE> <HI>that the breath of the Lord is like a &s;tream
of Brim&s;tone to kindle it; and that the &s;tream thereof
&s;hall be turned to Pitch,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">c. 4. v. 1.</NOTE> <HI>and the du&s;t into Brim&s;tone.</HI> And
<HI>Malachi</HI> &s;peaking of the day of Judgement, telleth
us, <HI>that it &s;hall burn like an Oven, and that all which do
wickedly &s;hall be as the &s;tubble, Et inflammabit eos
dies veniens,</HI> whom the day that commeth &s;hall burn
up. A truth &s;o known among&s;t the Gentiles, whe|ther
by tradition from their Ance&s;tors, or conver&s;a|tion
with the Jewes, need not now be argued; that,
by the ver&s;es of the Poets, and the works of the
<PB N="300" REF="162">
mo&s;t learned Philo&s;ophers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Min. Fel. in Octav.</NOTE> <HI>illius ignei fluminis ad|monentur
homines,</HI> men were admoni&s;hed to beware
of that burning Lake. And unto tho&s;e it were imper|tinent
to add the te&s;timony of the ancient Fathers,
by &s;ome of which it is called <HI>Divinus ignis, poenale in|cendium</HI>
by another,<NOTE PLACE="marg">L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ctant. Minut. Au&s;tin.</NOTE> <HI>ardor poenarum</HI> by a third, <HI>aeternus
ignis</HI> by a fourth, <HI>Et &s;ic de caeteris.</HI> And though a que|&s;tion
hath been made, (as all things have been que&s;ti|oned
in the&s;e captious times) whether this fire be
true and reall, or only metaphorically called &s;o in the
Book of God: yet by all &s;ound Interpreters, it is
thus agreed on (as a learned Je&s;uite hath ob&s;erved)
<HI>metaphoram e&s;&s;e non po&s;&s;e quae &s;it tam perpetua,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Maldonat. in Marc. 9.</NOTE> that &s;uch
a con&s;tancy of expre&s;&s;ion doth exclude a Metaphor.</P>
<P>Now as it is a fire, a devouring fire, &s;o is it <HI>ignis
inextinguibilis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 12.</NOTE> a fire unquenchable, in the third; <HI>ignis
aeternus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 41. I&s;a. 34. 10.</NOTE> an everla&s;ting fire, in the 25. of St. <HI>Matthew,
the &s;moak whereof goeth up for ever,</HI> in the Prophet
<HI>E&s;ay;</HI> a fire which feeds both on the body and the
&s;oul, yet &s;hall never con&s;ume them: and &s;uch a fire
as breeds a kind of worm within it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 9. v. 48.</NOTE> which &s;hall never
die, but alwayes gnaw upon the con&s;cience of the
man condemned, and create farre more angui&s;h to
him then all bodily torments. And to this truth all
the old Catholick Doctors do atte&s;t unanimou&s;ly,
whether <HI>Greeks</HI> or <HI>Latines:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tatian. adv. gent.</NOTE> <HI>Tatianus,</HI> one of the mo&s;t
ancient of the <HI>Greeks,</HI> calls the e&s;tate of the damned
in Hell, <GAP DESC="foreign">, a death which never
dieth, an immortal mi&s;ery. <HI>Tertullian,</HI> the mo&s;t anci|ent
Latine, <HI>cruciatum non diuturnum &s;ed &s;empiter|num,</HI>
not only a long and tedious torment, but an e|verla&s;ting
one. St. <HI>Austin</HI> an&s;werably unto that of
<HI>Tatianus,</HI> doth call it <HI>mortem &s;ine morte;</HI> adding
moreover of tho&s;e fires, <HI>punire, non finire corpora,</HI> that
<PB N="301" REF="162">
they torment the body, but de&s;troy it not:
he goeth further, and &s;aith, that it burns the
body, but repaires it al&s;o, and calls it <HI>flammam nu|tricem,</HI>
a fire which &s;o devoures, as it al&s;o nouri&s;heth;
with whom <HI>Lactantius</HI> doth con&s;ent; &s;o al&s;o doth
<HI>Minutius Fel. Prudentius, Ca&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">iodorus,</HI> and indeed
who not? And why &s;hould this be thought a
wonder &s;o farre beyond the rea&s;on and belief of a
meer natural man, or &s;uch who taking on them&s;elves
the name of Chri&s;tians, will yet believe no more
then may &s;tand with rea&s;on?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 3.</NOTE> Doth not the Scripture
tell us of a burning bu&s;h, a bu&s;h that burned with the
fire, and was not con&s;umed? and the Hi&s;torians of
the Hills of <HI>Aetna</HI> and <HI>Ve&s;uvius,</HI> which do almo&s;t con|tinually
&s;end out dreadful flames, and yet never wa&s;t&punc;
and the Philo&s;ophers of a Worm, or Bea&s;t, which
they call the <HI>Salamander,</HI> who&s;e natural Habitation
is in the mid&s;t of the fire? and the Poets of <HI>Prome|theus</HI>
and <HI>Titius</HI> Vultures, which having fed &s;o many
hundreds of yeers upon their bowels, had not yet de|voured
them? Doth not experience tell us daily, that
the lightning glanceth on our bodies often, but doth
&s;eldom hurt us? and doth not <HI>Ovid</HI> &s;ay expre&s;ly,
<HI>Nec mortis poenas mors altera finiet hujus,</HI> that
there's a &s;econd death which &s;hall never end? yet
I confe&s;s, that the prevailing Here&s;ie which pretends
to &s;uch wit &amp; piety, hath no &s;mall rea&s;on to declare,
<HI>interire po&s;&s;e animas,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid. in Ibin. Ap. Grot. <HI>in Matth.</HI> 25.</NOTE> <HI>aut ab exitio liberari,</HI> that the
&s;ouls of wicked and impenitent men &s;hall either be
annihilated, or in fine relea&s;ed; for we may &s;afely &s;ay
of tho&s;e new pretenders,<NOTE PLACE="marg">in Octav.</NOTE> as once <HI>Minutius</HI> did of the
old Philo&s;ophers, <HI>malunt extingui penitus, qu&agrave;m ad
&s;upplicia revocari;</HI> Con&s;idering how they have &s;ub|verted
<PB N="302" REF="163">
all the fundamentals of the Chri&s;tian faith,
'tis all the rea&s;on in the world that they &s;hould rather
wi&s;h the &s;oul annihilated, then &s;urvive to torments,
&s;uch torments as do know neither end nor mea&s;ure.</P>
<P>O the mo&s;t &s;ad condition of the &s;oul condemned!
which being ca&s;t into the lake of fire and brim&s;ton
&s;hall be alwayes burning, and yet never con&s;umed;
continually falling, yet never come to the bottom;
perpetually dying, and yet never dead: where he
&s;hall hear no noy&s;e, but <HI>weeping, howling, and gna&s;hing
of teeth;</HI> nor voyces, but of bla&s;phemy and execra|tions;
nor mu&s;ick, but the woful tune of lamentati|on:
where he &s;hall &s;ee no light but the fire which
burns him; nor company, but that of the Devil and
his Angels, which take a plea&s;ure to torment him:
where he &s;hall have no other food then hot burning
coals; nor drink, but from a &s;tream of fire and brim|&s;ton;
nor comforts, but variety and change of tor|ments,
which how&s;oever they be dre&s;&s;ed in &s;everal
fa&s;hions, yet are they &s;till but torments, everla&s;ting
torments; <HI>tormenta quibus nec modus ullus nec termi|nus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Min. Fe<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">. in Octav.</NOTE>
torments which never know any ea&s;e of pain,
nor ever &s;hall admit any end of time: of which the
lea&s;t which can be &s;aid is this, that they are un&s;uffe|rable,
and the mo&s;t this, that they are un&s;peak|able.
And yet unto this mi&s;erable and calamitous
end come the Tares at la&s;t, after &s;o long a flouri&s;hing
in the field of God. They had been cunningly &s;owen
at fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 25.</NOTE> <HI>c&ugrave;m dormirent homines,</HI> while&s;t the &s;ervants
were &s;upine and carele&s;s, and looked not to their
Ma&s;ters bu&s;ine&s;s as they ought to do. Being &s;owen,
they pa&s;&s;ed a long time undi&s;covered, and went for
very good Wheat,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 26.</NOTE> even with knowing men, till they
<PB N="303" REF="163">
came unto <HI>feci&s;sent fructum,</HI> till their fruits betrayed
them, and that they neither would nor could be con|cealed
longer, and by this time were grown to &s;o
great an height, and threatned &s;o much danger to
Gods &s;acred Field, that the awakened &s;ervants
thought there was no other way to &s;ecure the &s;ame,
then by a quick and general extirpation of them all
together.<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 28.</NOTE> Which though the Lord refu&s;ed to give
eare unto,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 30.</NOTE> but was re&s;olved to &s;uffer them to grow
till the Harve&s;t came; yet, when their time was come,
and their fruits were ripe, he brought &s;ome of them
to the Harve&s;t of his temporal judgements; and for
the re&s;t, condems them (as we &s;ee) to everla&s;ting and
unquenchable flames. Farre otherwi&s;e is it with the
Wheat, with the Lords good &s;eed, which though it
do endure &s;ome danger and oppre&s;&s;ions here, &s;ome|times
in fear to be de&s;troyed and brought to nothing,
by the growth and &s;preading of the&s;e Tares, yet in
the end &s;hall be pre&s;erved, and layd up &s;afely in the
barn of the heavenly husbandman: which is the ex|altation
of the ju&s;t, and my next particular, <HI>Congre|gate
triticum in horreum meum, Gather ye the Wheat
into my Barn.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Deus adver&s;us impios recti&s;simus Judex,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ia&s;titut.</HI> l. 1. c. 1.</NOTE> <HI>ita erga
pios indulgenti&s;simus Pater.</HI> God (&s;aith <HI>Lactantius</HI>)
as he is a ju&s;t and terrible Judge towards the wicked
and ungodly, &s;o towards his conformable and vertu|ous
Children, a mo&s;t gracious and indulgent Father.
And if a Father, a gracious and indulgent Father, as
no doubt he is, no que&s;tion but he will provide his
Children of all things nece&s;&s;ary in this life, and &s;ettle
them in an inheritance immortal, undefiled, and
which never fadeth in the life to come.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.</NOTE> Though he
<PB N="304" REF="164">
do &s;ometimes feed them with the bread of &s;orrows,
cha&s;tning tho&s;e mo&s;t frequently whom he loves mo&s;t
fervently; expo&s;e them unto many dangers, and &s;uf|fer
them to be affronted and de&s;pi&s;ed by the worldly
wicked: yet by tho&s;e wayes, though they may &s;eem
to lead to the vale of mi&s;ery, doth he conduct them
at the la&s;t to the hill of mercy; and lets them &s;ee,
there is no readier way to the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> then
thorow a Wilderne&s;s of trouble,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Virgil.</NOTE> and a Land of ene|mies,
<HI>Per varios ca&s;us &amp; tot di&s;crimina rerum,</HI> as
<HI>Aeneas</HI> travelled into <HI>Italy.</HI> In pro&s;ecution of which
Journey as he vouch&s;afes them the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of
his holy Angels, whom he hath given in charge to
encamp about them, and to defend them in all their
wayes; &s;o when the time is come that they mu&s;t be
gathered to their Fathers, they &s;hall be carried on the
wings of Angels into <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo&s;om, and layd up
&s;afely at the la&s;t in the Lords Repo&s;itory, in the Hea|ven
of Glories, whether we look on <HI>Congregate,</HI> or on
<HI>horreum meum,</HI> they both &s;ay the &s;ame.</P>
<P><HI>Congregate,</HI> that's the action here, and the fir&s;t
word to be con&s;idered, which though our Engli&s;h
rendreth <HI>Gather,</HI> yet is it a farre different gathering
from that which did occur before. Before it was
<HI>colligite, congregate</HI> here, gather them into a Church
or a Congregation; Before it was <GAP DESC="foreign">, pluck
them up together; but here 'tis <GAP DESC="foreign">, draw
them into a Synagogue, a place of general A&s;&s;embly.
This is the old word by which the Fathers u&s;ed to
denote the Church of God among&s;t the Jews, before
the coming of our Saviour; and that the new, by
which they many times expre&s;s the Church of God
among&s;t us Chri&s;tians &s;ince our Saviours pa&s;&s;ion.
<PB N="305" REF="164">
Both of them words of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical u&s;e and notion,
and both do &s;ignifie the &s;ame, though in diver&s;e Lan|guages.
They which be true and faithful members of
the Church of God, whether it be under the Law,
or under the Go&s;pel, &s;hall all be drawn into one Syna|gogue
or Congregation in the day of the Lord; and
all, together with the holy Patriarchs before <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>
time, &s;hall make up that one glorious Church which
is entituled in the Scriptures <HI>Univer&s;alem Congregati|onem,</HI>
the general A&s;&s;embly, <HI>the Church of the
first-born who&s;e names are written in the Heavens.</HI>
We have the word thus u&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.</NOTE> as in other places, &s;o in
the 24. of St. <HI>Matthews</HI> Go&s;pel, where it is told us of
the&s;e Angels, <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>congregabunt
electos,</HI> that they &s;hall gather the Elect out of every
corner of the world, <HI>i. e.</HI> that they &s;hall gather them
<HI>in &s;acram Synaxin, in &s;anctam congregationem,</HI> into an
holy Congregation, a religious A&s;&s;embly. So that
the gathering of the Saints together in the day of
Judgement is but a Tran&s;lation of them from one
Church to another; or rather from that part of the
&s;ame one Church which is here militant on the
Earth, to that which is triumphant in the Heaven of
glories. The Saints both here and there make but
one Communion; we prai&s;ing God for manife&s;ting
his great power and Grace on them, they praying
unto God to &s;end his choyce&s;t ble&s;&s;ings of grace and
mercy upon us. The difference is no more then this,
that here it is expo&s;ed to di&s;grace and ignominy; &s;or|rows
&amp; age have ploughed deep wrinkles on her face;
too many &s;pots there are in her fea&s;ts of charity; and
&s;ometimes &s;he takes cold in her affections, like the
Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> &s;tarting a&s;ide from her Redeemer
<PB N="306" REF="165">
like a broken bow;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 6.</NOTE> but there &s;hall Chri&s;t pre&s;ent her
to him&s;elf a mo&s;t <HI>glorious Church without &s;pot or
wrinkle,</HI> and marry her to him&s;elf for ever: Here
we have Tares among&s;t the Wheat, more Tares per|haps
then Wheat in too many places; but there
&s;hall be no place in Heaven but for Wheat alone; no
unclean thing &s;hall enter into the new <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI> no
Tares into the Barn of the heavenly Husbandman;
that was provided for the Wheat only, and for none
but that.</P>
<P>For &s;o it followeth in the Text, <HI>Congregate triticum
in horreum meum,</HI> Gather the Wheat into my Barn,
the place de&s;igned by all good Husbands for the
di&s;po&s;ing of the Wheat, their be&s;t &s;ort of grain. Not
in a Barn, according to the literal &s;en&s;e, (we &s;hall have
too many Congregations held in Barns, if this world
go on) but according to the my&s;tical meaning. In
<HI>horreum meum,</HI> into my Barn, <HI>i. e.</HI> as he expounds
him&s;elf in the 25. in <HI>gaudium Domini,</HI> into the joy of
the Lord;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.</NOTE> <HI>regnum &agrave; con&s;titutione mundi paratum,</HI> the
Kingdom prepared for the righteous from the foun|dations
of the World,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 12.</NOTE> <HI>i. e.</HI> as the Apo&s;tle tells us, <HI>in
requiem Domini,</HI> into the re&s;t of the Lord; <HI>in civi|tatem
Dei viventis,</HI> the City of the living God. So
then it is a re&s;t, a joy, a glorious City, an eternall
Kingdom; and all of the&s;e may &s;erve in part to &s;et
forth the condition of this heavenly dwelling: A re&s;t
for them which die in the Lord, in which they re&s;t
from all their labours. And this sit of which St. <HI>Paul</HI>
&s;peaks in the 4th to the <HI>Hebrews,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">c. 4.</NOTE> <HI>There remains
therefore a re&s;t for the people of God:</HI> a joy of &s;o
divine and &s;ublime a nature, that no tongue is able to
expre&s;s it, nor heart &s;o large as to conceive it; for, <HI>in
<PB N="307" REF="165">
his pre&s;ence is the fulne&s;se of joy, and at his right
hand there is plea&s;ure for evermore; Et nunquam
turbata quies, &amp; gaudia fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ma.</HI> A City of pure Gold,
and as clear as Chry&s;tal; the Walls of Ja&s;per-&s;tone,
and the Gates of Pearl; watered with the mo&s;t plea|&s;ant
Rivers of the waters of life, according as it is de|&s;cribed
in the <HI>Revelation:</HI> the man of God de&s;cri|bing
the full glories of the new <HI>Hieru&s;alem</HI> in &s;uch a
manner, and by &s;uch materials, as he conceived to be
mo&s;t e&s;timable in the &s;ight of men. And finally, a
Kingdom, an eternall Kingdom, <GAP DESC="foreign">, the
Kingdom, as it is called by way of excellency; in
which each true believer &s;hall receive his Crown, ac|cording
to the eminency of his faith and piety; a
Crown of martyrdom for tho&s;e who patiently &s;ub|mit
them&s;elves to the hands of the per&s;ecutors, in
maintenance of Gods Church and the true Religion;
a Crown of Virginity for tho&s;e who &s;ubdue concu|pi&s;cence,
and give no entertainment to prohibited
lu&s;ts; a Crown of cha&s;tity and fidelity for tho&s;e who
have faithfully kept the vow of wedlock, and the bed
of Marriage undefiled; a Crown of charity for tho&s;e
who have exhau&s;ted their e&s;tates in the works of
mercy, and the acts of piety, in founding Temples
for the Lord, or Ho&s;pitals for relief of the poor and
needy; and finally, a Crown of righteou&s;ne&s;s for all
tho&s;e who walk unblameably in their Conver&s;ation
before God and man. When all the Monarchs of the
Earth have laid down their Scepters at the feet of
Chri&s;t, God &s;hall be &s;till a King of Kings, a King (to
&s;peak the truth) of none but Kings; <HI>Rex Regum, Do|minus
dominantium,</HI> alwayes, but mo&s;t amply then.
Never was corn &s;o hou&s;ed, &s;o laid up before.</P>
<PB N="308" REF="166">
<P>Thus, as before we brought the Tares, the wor&s;t
&s;ort of weeds, unto the fire of condemnation; &s;o have
we brought the Wheat, the be&s;t kind of grain,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, as <HI>Galen</HI> calls it,
to the barn of glory: A grain, which as it doth re|quire
a ground well tilled and cultivated, &s;o lieth it
longe&s;t buried in the earth of any, before it &s;pring
into a blade; and being &s;prung into a Blade, doth en|dure
much hardne&s;s, congealed &s;ometimes with
&s;now, &s;ometimes nipped with Fro&s;t, before it grow
into a &s;talk; and when the &s;talk is grown, the ear
is formed, it is expo&s;ed to many hazards, drencht
with un&s;ea&s;onable &s;howres, and &s;corched with as in|temperate
heats; laid flat upon the ground by tem|pe&s;tuous
winds, &s;ome of the grains thereof being
&s;cattered by tho&s;e bla&s;ts over all the field, before tis
brought into the Barn. <HI>Ecce jam &s;eges cana imbre
corrumpitur, grandine caeditur,</HI> as <HI>Cecilius</HI> noted in
the Dialogue. And &s;o tis al&s;o with the ju&s;t, with the
righteous per&s;on; He doth require much Husban|dry,
great care and Tillage, in fitting him to receive
the &s;eeds of faith and piety; and lyeth long &s;trug|ling
in the womb of regeneration, before he doth
come forth a &s;piritual man, and is <HI>renatus,</HI> born again,
advanced unto the &s;tate of a man regenerate. <HI>Multa
tulit fecit&abque; puer,</HI> Much mu&s;t be &s;uffered, and much
done, before it come to that, there's no que&s;tion of
it. Suppo&s;e him brought &s;o farre in his way to Hea|ven,
as that he hath received the Seal of his regene|ration
and adoption, the te&s;timony of the Spirit,
that he endeavoureth nothing more then the ad|vancement
of Gods glory and increa&s;e of piety, &s;hall
he not be reviled and howted at like the Owl among
<PB N="309" REF="166">
the wanton birds, for&s;aken by his old acquaintance
and familiar friends, like a Pellican in the de&s;ert Wil|derne&s;s?
Shall not he pre&s;ently be expo&s;ed unto
the heats of per&s;ecution, and colds of poverty, and
drowned in the Waves of cruel and unpro&s;perous
fortune? Shall not the &s;torms of trouble and afflicti|on
&s;hew their fury on him, till they have laid him
flat on his very back, and &s;cattered his di&s;per&s;ed and
mangled members over all the Earth? yet &s;hall this
man, this faithful and religious man, that hath en|dured
&s;o great a mea&s;ure of affliction, &s;uch a &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">m of
tyranny, be gathered at the la&s;t in <HI>horreum Domini,</HI>
into the Barn, the &s;afe Repo&s;itory of the Heavenly
Husbandman. Not one of all tho&s;e &s;cattered limbs,
not a broken bone, but &s;hall be recollected by the
Angels when they go a gathering, made up into the
&s;ame one body which before it was, and laid up in
the Lords Barn with joy and triumph; that the body
which fell in di&s;honour may be rai&s;ed in honour, and
the bones which have been broken may rejoyce to|gether.</P>
<P>Come then thou ble&s;&s;ed Soul into the place of thy
re&s;t; Thou ha&s;t been long a wearied Pilgrim on the
face of the earth, to&s;&s;ed from one &s;tation to another,
&s;pent with continual travel, and worn out with la|bours,
yet all this while could&s;t find no re&s;t for the
&s;ole of thy foot: Here is an everla&s;ting re&s;t provided
for thee, Enter thou good and faithful Servant into
the joy of the Lord; Thou ha&s;t been faithful in a lit|tle,
employed thy Ma&s;ters Talent to the be&s;t advan|tage,
and for &s;o doing ha&s;t been reviled and beaten
by thy fellow-&s;ervants, wounded and &s;hamefully in|treated
by tho&s;e Husbandmen to whom the Lord
<PB N="310" REF="167">
let forth his Vineyard; and &s;lain in fine, in hope the
Lords Inheritance would be &s;hared among them.
Here is a joy, a perfect everla&s;ting joy, made ready
for thine entertainment. Welcom thou glorious Ci|tizen
of the new <HI>Hieru&s;alem</HI> to the continuing City
thou ha&s;t &s;o long looked for; in which thou &s;halt en|joy,
after all thy troubles, the Beatifical vi&s;ion of Al|mighty
God, the goodly fellow&s;hip of Prophets, the
glorious company of the Apo&s;tles, the noble Army
of the Martyrs, the dear &s;ociety of tho&s;e who have
died before thee in and for the Lord. Mount, mount
victorious Soul&punc; into the Throne prepared for thee;
where thou &s;halt pre&s;ently receive the immarce&s;&s;ible
Crown of glory, which Chri&s;t the righteous Judge
&s;hall give thee in that joyful day with great pomp
and triumph; millions of the cele&s;tial &s;pirits atten|ding
on the &s;olemnities of thy Coronation, and the
harmonious quire of Angels &s;inging with thee, and
with the re&s;idue of the Saints departed, <HI>Allelujah,
Gloria in excel&s;is Deo,</HI> and all the holy Anthems ex|tant
in the Book of God. And for our parts, although
we are not worthy in this humane frailty to &s;ing in
quire and con&s;ort with tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed &s;pirits, yet let
us bear the burden of tho&s;e heavenly ditties which
are chanted there; &s;inging with heart and voice all
with one accord, All honour, prai&s;e, and power, and
glory, be unto him that &s;itteth in the highe&s;t Throne,
and to the Lamb, and to the ble&s;&s;ed and eternal Spi|rit,
now and evermore. And let all the people &s;ay
<HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="311" REF="167">
<HEAD>SERMON I.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At LAMBETH, <DATE>Jan. 13. 1638.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>ACTS 20. 30, 31.</BIBL>
<Q>Al&s;o of your own &s;elves &s;hall men ari&s;e &s;peaking
perver&s;e things, to draw away Di&s;ciples af|ter
them; Watch therefore.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_I Might here &s;hut the Book and end, and
&s;ay as did our Saviour in another ca&s;e,
<HI>Impleta in no&s;tris haec e&s;t Scriptura di|ebus;</HI>
this day is this Scripture ful|filled
in our eyes; So many are there
of our &s;elves that ri&s;e up continual|ly,
who&s;e lips &s;peak proud words, and pervert good
meanings, that &s;o they may be followed and cryed
up, and draw away much people after them. St. <HI>Paul</HI>
fore&s;aw this mi&s;chief, and forewarns us of it; and of
a Preacher in&s;tantly becomes a Prophet: He doth
begin his charge with an <HI>Attendite,</HI> Take heed unto
your &s;elves, and to all the flock; and he concludes
the &s;ame with a <HI>vigilate, Watch therefore, and remem|ber
that you have been warned.</HI> Rea&s;on enough there
was for both, as well for the <HI>attendite</HI> as the <HI>vigilate:</HI>
<PB N="312" REF="168">
Wolves, grievous Wolves were entring in, and &s;uch
as would not &s;pare the Flock; that follows clo&s;e on
the <HI>attendite:</HI> and perver&s;e Fellows ri&s;ing up to make
a rupture in the Church, <HI>and draw away Di&s;ciples after
them;</HI> that goes immediately before the <HI>Vigilate&punc;
Attendite &amp; vigilate</HI> are two good Caveats, and en|tred
here by the Apo&s;tle in the name of Chri&s;t, that
&s;o he might pre&s;erve that intere&s;t in the Church of
God, which he had purcha&s;ed to him&s;elf with his
own dear blood. In one of the&s;e he arms his Prelates
<HI>contra &s;aevitiam per&s;ecutorum,</HI> again&s;t the fury of the
per&s;ecutors, which a&s;&s;ault without; and in the other
he prepares them <HI>contra fraudulentiam deceptorum,</HI>
again&s;t the fraud of the perverters; and other &s;ecret
&s;ickne&s;&s;es which infect within. In both he layes before
them the Churches dangers, that &s;o they may be|think
them&s;elves of convenient remedies.</P>
<P>As for the words now read unto you we may con|&s;ider
in them the&s;e two generals; the &s;ickne&s;s of the
Church, and the cure thereof. The &s;ickne&s;s is a &s;wel|ling,
or a ri&s;ing up of certain ill-affected humours in
the body my&s;tical: which we &s;hall fir&s;t con&s;ider in
the thing it &s;elf, <HI>Exurgent viri,</HI> then &s;hall men ari&s;e.
Secondly, in the <HI>unde,</HI> from what part or place, <HI>Ex
vobis ip&s;is,</HI> from our &s;elves. Thirdly, in the effect,
what they do being ri&s;en; <HI>loquuntur perver&s;a,</HI> &s;peak|ing
perver&s;e things: And la&s;tly, what it is they aim
at; <HI>ut abducant di&s;cipulos po&s;t &s;e,</HI> to draw away Di&s;|ciples
after them. In the next general, the Cure, we
have the&s;e particulars: 1. The Phy&s;ician, that's the
Prelate, to whom the charge promi&s;ed is given.
And 2. The Medicine here pre&s;cribed, which is the
care and vigilancy of the Prelates, <HI>Vigilate igitur,
Watch therefore.</HI> Of the&s;e, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<PB N="313" REF="168">
<P><HI>Exurgent viri,</HI> that's the fir&s;t. And &s;ure it might
be well &s;uppo&s;ed, comparing the&s;e two dangers with
one another, that the poor Church were in no mean
degree of &s;afety, having e&s;caped tho&s;e grievous
Wolves, to fall into the hands of men; for <HI>homo
homini fit Deus,</HI> as the Proverb hath it. But, if con&s;i|dered
as it ought, the danger is no le&s;&s;e then before it
was; for <HI>homo homini fit lupus,</HI> is a Proverb too. There
we had men who for their rage and cruelty were en|tituled
Wolves; here Wolves, who for their &s;ee|ming
gentlene&s;s and humanity are entituled men.
But here and there their purpo&s;e is the &s;ame to &s;ub|vert
the Church; there openly by force and vio|lence,
here &s;ecretly by fraud and cunning: and
therefore here the danger greater, becau&s;e le&s;&s;e &s;u|&s;pected,
as undermining is more dangerous to be|leaguered
Cities then an open battery. As long as
Satan had no other in&s;truments to &s;ubvert the
Church then tho&s;e grievous Wolves, he took great
pains to lo&s;e his labour: The Tyrants all from
<HI>Nero</HI> down to <HI>Diocle&s;ian,</HI> when they made havock
of the faithful, what did they but confirm them in
their re&s;olutions, and increa&s;e their numbers? <HI>Nec
quicquam proficit exqui&s;itior crudelitas ve&s;tra, illecebra
&s;ectae e&s;t,</HI> as <HI>Tertullian</HI> hath it. The Hereticks all
from <HI>Simon Magus</HI> to <HI>Pri&s;cillian,</HI> the la&s;t that &s;tands
upon the Regi&s;ter in St. <HI>Au&s;tins</HI> Catalogue, when
they did openly a&s;&s;ault the faith it &s;elf, and &s;truck at
the foundations of it, what did they but occa&s;ion
only that the faith became the better &s;etled, and that
all tho&s;e which were approved were made more ma|nife&s;t?
In which regard that of <HI>Euagrius</HI> is mo&s;t true,
that from tho&s;e very men and matters which made
<PB N="314" REF="169">
&s;o many ruptures in the Church of God, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
by tho&s;e the Doctrine of the
Church was confirmed and &s;etled.</P>
<P>This when the Devil had perceived, he called in
his Wolves, and exerci&s;ed the Church no more with
Here&s;ies and per&s;ecutions: He found it more expe|dient
to make u&s;e of men, who knew how to time it,
to watch their opportunities, and e&s;py advantages;
and &s;o with more a&s;&s;urance might effect his purpo&s;e,
becau&s;e le&s;&s;e &s;u&s;pected. The Serpent never had be|guiled
poor <HI>Eve,</HI> had he not u&s;ed the voyce of man;
nor had the <HI>Syren<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> captivated and bewitched &s;o many
pa&s;&s;engers, had they not had the face of Women;
<HI>Virginei vultus, &amp; vox humana reman&s;it,</HI> as the Poet
hath it. Of all the in&s;truments of mi&s;chief which
the world hath bred, there's none like man, the
Ma&s;ter workman, who&s;e winding wit, and &s;ubtile
reaches make him mo&s;t fit for all imployments.
<HI>Xerxes,</HI> when as with all his forces, his mo&s;t numerous
forces, he could not force an entry through the walls
of <HI>Babylon,</HI> met with a man, <HI>Zopyrus,</HI> by who&s;e craft
and cunning he found the gates &s;et open to him;
which made him oftentimes affirm, <HI>malle &s;e Zopyrum
integrum qu&agrave;m viginti Babylonas,</HI> that he preferred
<HI>Zopyrus</HI> before twenty <HI>Babylons.</HI> No battery doth a&s;|&s;ault
&s;o forcibly, nor mine work &s;o &s;urely, as the wit
of man; which if it be once &s;et on mi&s;chief, is in|deed
mo&s;t mi&s;chievous. Our Saviour Chri&s;t, when he
was led by Satan into the Wilderne&s;s, found neither
Bear nor Wolf, nor Lion, that dur&s;t &s;et upon him;
but when he came into the open Country, and con|ver&s;ed
with men, then was he a&s;&s;aulted on the one
&s;ide by the Scribes and Phari&s;ees, and on the other
<PB N="315" REF="169">
&s;ide by the <HI>Herodians,</HI> all of them lying in wait how
they might betray him. And therefore when he &s;ent
out his Di&s;ciples, he arms them with this whol&s;om
Caveat, <HI>Cavete ita&abque; ab hominibus,</HI> beware of men;
<HI>Ab ip&s;is poti&ugrave;s hominibus quam &agrave; feris timendum,</HI> as
<HI>Beza</HI> glo&s;&s;eth on the place.</P>
<P>And yet there is no fear of men, if they would be
quiet; the danger is not in the men, but in their ri|&s;ing,
it is the <GAP DESC="foreign"> that works all the trouble.
And indeed <GAP DESC="foreign"> in this place is an active word,
or <HI>verbum operativum,</HI> as the Lawyers call it. This
aggravates the Churches dangers; for when the
Wolves came in, they came in with <HI>intrabunt,</HI> at the
common entrance: The whole Church &s;aw it, and
ob&s;erved it, and knew how to trace them; but for
the&s;e ri&s;ings, it is hard to &s;ay whence they take be|ginning,
or to what they tend, or who it is that doth
&s;upport them. When <HI>Jupiter</HI> had transformed his
<HI>Io</HI> into an Heifer, and was demanded whence &s;he
came; the crafty God returned this an&s;wer, that &s;he
did ri&s;e immediately from the very earth; <HI>ut autor
de&s;inat inquiri,</HI> that &s;o there might no further &s;earch
be made of what herd &s;he was. And &s;o it is in all
the&s;e ri&s;ings, <HI>Jupiter &egrave; terra genitam mentitur;</HI> there's
no man will confe&s;s from what root they came, or
own them till they grow into a body, and are made
ready for an head. And when tis come to that, tis a
ri&s;ing &s;till; a popular, &s;editious, and tumultuous ri|&s;ing.
The word &s;o u&s;ed twice for failing in the 5th
Chapter of the <HI>Acts,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
Before tho&s;e dayes aro&s;e up one <HI>Judas,</HI>
<GAP DESC="foreign">, (that's the word,) boa&s;ting him&s;elf to be
&s;omebody, to whom a number of men joyned them|&s;elves.
<PB N="316" REF="170">
In the next ver&s;e, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
After this man ro&s;e up <HI>Judas</HI> of <HI>Galilee,</HI>
<GAP DESC="foreign">, that's the word again, in the dayes of tax|ing,
and drew away much people after him. Here
have we ri&s;ings, popular and &s;editious ri&s;ings; the
one again&s;t the civil Magi&s;trate, in the point of tax|ing,
the other again&s;t the peace and polity of the
Church in matters which concern Religion; both
of them layd before us in that very word which my
Text makes u&s;e of; which &s;hewes us that the ri&s;ing
mentioned in my Text is like that of <HI>Theudas,</HI> or of
<HI>Judas,</HI> a &s;udden &amp; tumultuous ri&s;ing of unquiet men.</P>
<P>Yet were this but a ri&s;ing &s;imply, and no more
then &s;o, the danger were not great, if any; for men
may &s;ometimes ri&s;e and &s;it down again, ri&s;e, and re|pent
them of their ri&s;ing upon better thoughts; and
having &s;o repented, &s;et them down without more
hurt done. Such was the ri&s;ing of the holy Pilgrims
in King <HI>Henries</HI> time, who bound them&s;elves by &s;o|lemn
Covenant to defend Religion, although then
changing to the better; but on the fir&s;t report of the
Kings approch disbanded and went home again; e|very
man to his Hou&s;e O <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> But this we mu&s;t
not look for alwayes. The <GAP DESC="foreign"> of my Text, as
it doth &s;ignifie to ri&s;e, &s;o it doth intimate unto us
&s;uch a ri&s;ing as brings de&s;truction with it, and de&s;o|lation
after it. The word &s;o u&s;ed oftentimes in the
be&s;t Greek Authours; as <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>ever&s;a e&s;t ci|vitas,</HI>
and <GAP DESC="foreign">, to rai&s;e a City. Such ri|&s;ings
as tho&s;e are which St. <HI>Paul</HI> here mentioneth,
however they may hap to &s;peed, aim at the utter ru|ine
of that State again&s;t which they ri&s;e; nor do the
ri&s;ers think them&s;elves in &s;afety while&s;t there are a|ny
<PB N="317" REF="170">
to re&s;i&s;t: They never u&s;e to talk of peace till a
de&s;olation, <HI>Et ubi &s;olitudinem faciunt pacem appel|lant,</HI>
as he in <HI>Tacitus.</HI></P>
<P>And yet we do not &s;ee the bottom of our danger
neither; Some ri&s;ings have been ea&s;ily &s;uppre&s;&s;ed by
art and wi&s;dom, and other &s;ome di&s;&s;olved by force
and power: But this is &s;uch a kind of ri&s;ing, that
though it be &s;uppre&s;t a while it will up again; and,
like <HI>Antaeus</HI> in the Poet, ri&s;e up with greater &s;trength
then before it had, <HI>majorque accepto robore &s;urgit,</HI> as
it is in <HI>Lucan.</HI> The word in the Original doth &s;ig|nifie
<HI>re&s;urgere</HI> as well as <HI>&s;urgere;</HI> and then we have
an in&s;urrection with a re&s;urrection, a ri&s;ing that will
&s;till be ri&s;ing, if compo&s;ed only for a while, or &s;et|led
only for the pre&s;ent. The Church is never
&s;afe in &s;uch &s;torms as the&s;e, until it happen to the&s;e
ri&s;ers as unto <HI>Theudas</HI> and his followers, of whom
the Story &s;aith, that both him&s;elf and as many as be|lieved
on him <GAP DESC="foreign">, were
&s;cattered and confounded, and brought to nothing;
<HI>Redacti &s;unt ad nihilum,</HI> as the Latine hath it. And
when we once come to annihilation there's no re|&s;urrection.</P>
<P>You &s;ee here's ground enough for a <HI>Vigilate,</HI> and
that as well <HI>&agrave; parte ante,</HI> to prevent the&s;e ri&s;ings, as
afterwards <HI>&agrave; parte po&s;t,</HI> to quiet and appea&s;e them
when they once are up: Both nece&s;&s;ary, though the
fir&s;t more &s;afe; as commonly preventing Phy&s;ick
&s;tirs the humors le&s;&s;e, then when the &s;ickne&s;s is con|firmed
by &s;ome long delay. And yet though this be
ground enough for a <HI>vigilate,</HI> the duty is farre more
nece&s;&s;ary in reference to the <HI>unde</HI> whence the danger
ri&s;eth, which is <HI>ex vobis ip&s;is,</HI> from among&s;t your
<PB N="318" REF="171">
&s;elve. As long as Chri&s;t our Saviour did foretell his
followers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark 13. 8.</NOTE> <HI>Exurget gens contra gentem, That Na|tion
&s;hould ri&s;e up again&s;t Nation, and Kingdom a|gain&s;t
Kingdom in the latter dayes,</HI> the matter &s;ee|med
not very great, the World had long been u|&s;ed
to the like ho&s;tilities; and therefore it is &s;aid of
tho&s;e warres and troubles, that they were <HI>initium do|lorum,</HI>
the beginnings of &s;orrows: But when it came
to this, <HI>exurgent filii in parentes,</HI> that Children
&s;hould ri&s;e up again&s;t their Parents, and Brother
&s;hould betray his Brother, then could not any thing
be added to the Churches mi&s;eries but the abomina|tion
of de&s;olation, &s;poken of by the Prophet <HI>Da|niel.</HI>
It was not <HI>bella per Emathios</HI> that made <HI>Rome</HI>
complain;<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 14.</NOTE> &s;he had before advanced her Standards in
the field of <HI>Macedon</HI> with &s;ucce&s;s and honour: <HI>plus
qu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">m civilia</HI> was the thing which did all the mi&s;|chief;
the cruelty and the unnaturalne&s;s of the civill
Warres which con&s;umed her forces, and at la&s;t
brought her unto bondage. The damage which the
Church hath &s;u&s;tained by Wolves hath indeed been
great, yet not to be compared unto tho&s;e calami|ties
which &s;he hath drawn upon her &s;elf by her own
di&s;&s;entions. And this St. <HI>Chry&s;tome</HI> confe&s;&s;eth,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, that the danger here is greater
then it was before; <GAP DESC="foreign">, in that
it was a civill Warre which is here fore&s;poke
of.</P>
<P><HI>Ex vobis ip&s;is,</HI> from your &s;elves, from men of
holy Church, that do partake with you in the &s;ame
profe&s;&s;ion, and have given up their names to Chri&s;t,
and do wear his Livery. Were it not for <HI>ex vobis
ip&s;is,</HI> the danger were not great from <HI>exurgent viri.</HI>
<PB N="319" REF="171">
The time was <HI>when the Kings of the Earth ro&s;e up,
and the Rulers took coun&s;el together again&s;t the Lord and
again&s;t his anointed:</HI> But what became of them and
their machinations?<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 2. v. 2.</NOTE> <HI>He that dwelleth on high laughed
them to &s;corn, and the Lord had them in deri&s;ion:
bru&iuml;&s;ing them with a rod of iron, and breaking them in
pieces like a Potters Ve&s;&s;el. Non po&s;&s;e Romanos ni&s;i &s;uis
armis vinci,</HI> The Church was never overcome but
by the Church, nor Chri&s;t betrayed by any but his
own Di&s;ciples. Our Saviour read his own and the
Churches de&s;tiny, in that general &s;peech, <HI>inimici ho|minis
&s;unt dome&s;tici ejus,</HI> that a mans enemies are
tho&s;e of his own hou&s;e. That this hath alwayes been
the de&s;tiny of the Church of God is St. <HI>Cyprians</HI>
note, <HI>Inter initia mundi Abel ju&s;tum non ni&s;i frater
occidit, &amp;c. Abel,</HI> &s;aith he, had none to kill him,
<HI>Jacob</HI> none to per&s;ecute him, nor <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> any to make
&s;ale of him, but their Fathers Children. Which
&s;aid, he adds, how Chri&s;t foretold us in that generall
Maxime before delivered, <HI>ip&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s qui &s;acramento uni|tatis
copulati fuerint, &s;e ip&s;os invicem tradituros,</HI> that
tho&s;e who had been joyned together in the holy Sa|craments
&s;hould betray each other. So that as well
in this regard, as in that of &s;in, we may take up the
&s;aying and complaint of the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay, Perditio
tua ex te e&s;t, Thy destruction is from thy &s;elf O Hou&s;e
of I&s;rael.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ex vobis ip&s;is,</HI> from your &s;elves. What, from the
Elders of the Church, the Over&s;eers of the flock,
&s;hould men ari&s;e from them to pervert the people?
No que&s;tion but it was &s;o meant by the Apo&s;tle; For
to the Elders, to the Over&s;eers, did St. <HI>Paul</HI> give
this charge, and direct this Caveat, <HI>Attendite vobis
<PB N="320" REF="172">
ip&s;is &amp; univer&s;o gregi,</HI> Take heed unto your &s;elves
and to all the flock. There have we <HI>vobis ip&s;is, vobis
ip&s;is</HI> here; which makes it manife&s;t and apparent
that even from them <HI>&s;hould men ari&s;e &s;peaking per|ver&s;e
things, to draw away much people after them.</HI> The
Elders here were Prie&s;ts, there's no doubt of that;
Pa&s;tors and Teachers of the people: Nor is it any
miracle that &s;uch men as tho&s;e &s;hould have their
hands or heads in tho&s;e publick quarrels wherewith
the Church hath been di&s;tracted. The fir&s;t di&s;tur|bance
which befel the Church was by certain men
which came down from <HI>Judaea,</HI> and taught the
people; And what did &s;ollow thereupon but di&s;pu|tations
and di&s;&s;entions, as the Text informs us; and
tho&s;e &s;o great, and followed with &s;uch heat and vio|lence,
that the Apo&s;tles had no &s;mall adoe to com|po&s;e
the bu&s;ine&s;s? Our Saviour Chri&s;t fore&s;aw this
mi&s;chief, and therefore hath repeated no one caution
more then, <HI>Cavete &agrave; P&s;eudoprophetis, Beware of fal&s;e
Prophets and of fal&s;e Apo&s;tles:</HI> For they, and &s;uch as
they, as they teach fal&s;e Doctrines, &s;o are they too
indulgent to their own affections, too ea&s;ily incli|ned
to foment a party, and contribute their utmo&s;t
to tho&s;e frequent quarrels which have afflicted and
di&s;quieted the Church of God. Examples of which
I could &s;hew you many, both in our dayes, and in the
dayes which were before us, did I conceive the El|ders
mentioned here were but &s;imply Prie&s;ts.</P>
<P>But &s;ure, (as I &s;hall &s;hew anon) the Elders which
a&s;&s;embled here were of an higher rank, a &s;uperior
order; Bi&s;hops, or Over&s;eers, call them which you
will. And &s;hall we think that any of the holy Hie|rarchy
could take &s;o little heed unto them&s;elves and
<PB N="321" REF="172">
to the flock, as either openly or covertly to foment
a faction, and to hunt counter to the Church, and her
publick Ordinances; I would be very loth they
&s;hould. And yet I cannot chu&s;e but tell you, that I
have met in my &s;mall reading with &s;ome of them:
<HI>Meletius</HI> had his name from <GAP DESC="foreign">, a Greek word
&s;ignifying care: but he was not <HI>Epi&s;copus &s;ui nominis,</HI>
not a true <HI>Meletius;</HI> for he &s;hewed little care of
the Churches peace, but his whole de&s;ignes were to
increa&s;e his party, to draw Di&s;ciples after him; as
dangerous for the time, but not of &s;uch a long conti|nuance,
as that of the <HI>Novatians</HI> before remembred:
<HI>Novatus</HI> had no &s;ooner received the <HI>Epi&s;copal Order,</HI>
but pre&s;ently he &s;et him&s;elf upon <HI>Cornelius,</HI> his chief
Bi&s;hop, the Patriarch at the lea&s;t of the <HI>Roman</HI> pre|fecture;
profe&s;&s;ing a more rigid kind of piety then the
Church allowed of, making him&s;elf the head of a
<HI>Schi&s;matical</HI> faction, <HI>and drawing many Di&s;ciples after
him,</HI> not only in <HI>Italy</HI> it &s;elf, but in <HI>Greece</HI> and
<HI>A&s;ia.</HI> But as <HI>Novatus</HI> was his name, &s;o <HI>Innovation</HI>
was to be his bu&s;ine&s;s; and he plyed it well, being
the founder of the <HI>Cathari,</HI> as they (in &s;ome re|&s;pects)
of our Engli&s;h Puritans. The like may be af|firmed
of <HI>Meletius</HI> al&s;o, an <HI>Egyptian</HI> Bi&s;hop, rai&s;ing a
long and tedious Schi&s;me again&s;t the Patriarch of <HI>A|lexandria,</HI>
to whom the <HI>Canons</HI> of the Church had
made him &s;ubject. The like of many of the <HI>African,</HI>
or Southern Prelates, &s;o wedded to the cau&s;e and fa|ction
of the ancient <HI>Donati&s;ts,</HI> that they confined the
whole Church <HI>intra partem Donati,</HI> within the pale
and limits of the faction of the&s;e <HI>Donati&s;ts</HI> only; and
in &s;ome points were not unlike the Anabapti&s;ts of
the&s;e latter times, <HI>drawing &s;o many Di&s;ciples after</HI>
<PB N="322" REF="173">
them, that in the end they grew a terror to the Or|thodox
party. A&s;&s;uredly the Church was mo&s;t un|happy
in the&s;e <HI>popular Prelates,</HI> how fortunate &s;o|ever
they conceived them&s;elves in the multitude of
their Di&s;ciples, in being countenanced and abetted
by the common people. And &s;o &s;he is in tho&s;e who
pur&s;ue their cour&s;es; who being placed as Over&s;eers
in the Church of God, do not alone neglect their du|ties
in the <HI>attendite</HI> and the <HI>vigilate</HI> which are here
pre&s;cribed, but have their part in the <HI>exurgunt,</HI> a
principal and leading part in the ri&s;ing up. Great pity
'tis that either they, or any other of the flock of
Chri&s;t, that ought to &s;peak peace to the Church,
&s;hould ri&s;e up again&s;t it; and being ri&s;en up in &s;o &s;oul
a manner, &s;hould &s;pend their tongues and talents to
&s;o lewd a purpo&s;e as &s;peaking perver&s;e things,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, to draw away much people after
them, and be the leaders of a party. Yet this the hu|mour
and the aim of the&s;e ri&s;ing men, <HI>loquuntur per|ver&s;a
ut abducant di&s;cipulos post &s;e;</HI> my next particu|lar,
and next in order to be handled.</P>
<P><HI>David</HI> complains of a vexatious people in his
dayes, which u&s;ed to &s;ay that with their tongues they
would prevail, and that they were the men which
ought to &s;peak, without regard to any power that was
above them; <HI>Quis no&s;ter dominus e&s;t?</HI> Who is Lord
over us, &s;ay they, or &s;hall command us not to &s;peak
when opportunity is given us to advance our &s;elves,
and draw away Di&s;ciples after us? Such lawle&s;s
Tongues as the&s;e doth St. <HI>Paul</HI> here &s;peak of, who
that they might be &s;ure to po&s;&s;e&s;s the people, cared
not what they &s;aid, who&s;e actions they traduced,
who&s;e good name they &s;landered, or who&s;e good
<PB N="323" REF="173">
meaning they perverted. The word <GAP DESC="foreign"> u&s;ed
in the Original, doth &s;ignifie perver&s;e or froward, as
in the 17th of <HI>Matthew,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<HI>O faithle&s;se and perver&s;e Generation.</HI> And in the 2d to
the <HI>Philippians,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<HI>in the middle of a froward and perver&s;e Generation.</HI>
This &s;hewes us that the&s;e <HI>exurgentes</HI> are a perver&s;e
and froward people, very hard to plea&s;e, and &s;uch as
will take nothing in good part, how real and &s;incere
&s;oever: A &s;ullen and un&s;ociable race of men, <HI>quo|rum
&s;uperbiam fru&s;tra per ob&s;equium &amp; mode&s;tiam effu|geris,</HI>
whom when we &s;trive to plea&s;e we lo&s;e them,
being &s;till further off the more &s;ought after: A
&s;tubborn and untractable Generation, <HI>quos nunquam
per&s;uadebis etiam&s;i per&s;ua&s;eris,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tacit. in Agric.</NOTE> that will adhere to the
conclu&s;ion, though they be beaten off the premi|&s;es;
and will not yield to rea&s;on, although vanqui&s;ht
by it.</P>
<P>And yet this &s;ad and froward humour would not
hurt any but them&s;elves, did they keep it in; but
here is a <GAP DESC="foreign"> that brings all to nought: This fro|ward
humour mu&s;t be vented and break wind in
&s;peech, and having broken out in &s;peech, is as full of
frowardne&s;s as was the &s;tomach whence it came.
The perver&s;e humour which affects them would el&s;e
eat them up, and gnaw upon their entralls like <HI>Pro|metheus</HI>
vulture. This makes them &s;eek out &s;uch as
are like them&s;elves, or ea&s;ily inclined to give eare
unto them; to whom they powre out their com|plaints,
and bemoan the times, as if the Church were
like to fall, did not they &s;upport it. St. <HI>Paul</HI> and they
&s;o equal in their jurisdiction, that it is very hard to
&s;ay which of them hath the greate&s;t care of all the
<PB N="324" REF="174">
Churches; Hence is it that they fill the heads of
poor ignorant people with mo&s;t groundle&s;s feares of
innovation in Religion, and changes in Gods publick
wor&s;hip; the Church continually traduced, as if &s;he
were un&s;ound in her intentions towards Chri&s;t; the
Prelates generally accu&s;ed as Factors for the my&s;tical
&s;trumpet; and the inferior Clergy which &s;ubmit
them&s;elves to the Commands of their &s;uperiors in
the Lord, what are they counted but the wretched
in&s;truments to u&s;her in tho&s;e innovations which are
&s;o much feared?</P>
<P>And certainly this is <HI>perver&s;a loqui,</HI> in the proper
&s;en&s;e, in the true meaning of the word; when men
are grown to &s;uch a mea&s;ure of perver&s;ene&s;s, that we
pervert the words and purpo&s;es of all publick per|&s;ons,
and wre&s;t them to a meaning which they never
dreamt of. For <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Greek is proper|ly
and truly to di&s;tort and wre&s;t; as <GAP DESC="foreign">,
to wre&s;t a matter from the truth, in the famous Ora|tor:
A thing not &s;eldom u&s;ed by the&s;e perver&s;e
&s;peakers, who, to &s;et off their projects, and promote
their cau&s;e, not only wre&s;t the words and actions of
their innocent Brethren beyond their true intent
and meaning, but too too often wre&s;t the Scripture,
even the mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed Word of God, to make it &s;er|viceable
to their factious and &s;editious ends. The
Scribes and Phari&s;ees of old, when they watched our
Saviour, &s;eeking occa&s;ion to betray him, what did
they el&s;e but wre&s;t and pervert his actions? report|ing
that he ca&s;t out Devils by the help of Devils, that
all his miracles were forged, and his Doctrine fal&s;e,
tending to introduce a new Religion, and annul the
old. And what, conceit you, was their aim, but to ani|mate
<PB N="325" REF="174">
the people by tho&s;e perver&s;e &s;peeches, that in
a zeal unto the pre&s;ervation of Religion they might
combine together with them, unite them&s;elves in
&s;ome &s;trict Covenant again&s;t the Lord and his a|nointed,
and cry out <HI>nolumus hunc regnare</HI> with the
better &s;tomach?</P>
<P>This is indeed the utmo&s;t mi&s;chief which <GAP DESC="foreign">
carries with it; the word not onely &s;ignifying to di|&s;tort
or wre&s;t, but by &s;o doing to &s;educe and
pervert poor people. Thus read we <HI>Luke</HI> 22.
<GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 13.</NOTE> <HI>We found this
fellow perverting our Nation;</HI> and &s;o of <HI>Elymas</HI> the
Sorcerer, <GAP DESC="foreign">, that
that he endeavoured to pervert the Deputy, and turn
him from the faith of Chri&s;t. This is the thing they
aim at in their perver&s;e &s;peakings, to captivate, &s;e|duce
and bewitch the people, and make them fit for
any mi&s;chievous attempt which they &s;hall plea&s;e to
animate and excite them to&punc; We find in <HI>Ovid,</HI> that
when <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">allas</HI> had commanded <HI>Cadmus</HI> to &s;owe Vipers
teeth, <HI>motae &s;upponere terrae vipereos dentes,</HI> as the
Poet hath it, there pre&s;ently ro&s;e up an Army very
well appointed, <HI>cre&s;cit&abque; &s;eges clypeata virorum.</HI> Nor
have we rea&s;on to expect any better Harve&s;t, when
the&s;e men &s;owe their Vipers Tongues; when by
calumniating and traducing both the Church and
State, they do not onely &s;tir up envy and great
thoughts of heart, which were the wonted &s;trifes of
<HI>Reuben,</HI> but lay a ground-work al&s;o for &s;edition,
which is the ordinary con&s;equent of the gain-&s;aying
of <HI>Corah.</HI> The holy Leagues, Covenants and A&s;&s;o|ciations
which this age hath bred, and the like combi|nations
again&s;t lawful Government, and lineall &s;uc|ce&s;&s;ion
<PB N="326" REF="175">
unto Crowns and Scepters, what are they but
the natural, though &s;ad, effects of the&s;e perver&s;e
&s;peakers? Certain I am, that by the&s;e male-con|tented
and &s;editious artifices they augment their
numbers, and increa&s;e their followers, and draw a|way
Di&s;ciples after them; which is the only thing
they aim at.</P>
<P><HI>To draw away Di&s;ciples after them.</HI> This is &s;trange
indeed: Hath there been any age &s;o happy in which
the people need be drawn to imbrace new fancies, to
hearken after factious ri&s;ers, and lend too credulous
an ear to their perver&s;e &s;peeches? I cannot tell, I
would be loth to brand all preceding times; though
in my &s;lender reading I have met with none of &s;o
compo&s;ed and fine a temper, no Age wherein men
were not prone enough to hearken to perver&s;e and
&s;editious talkers: <HI>Sponte &s;ua properant,</HI> the people
commonly are too hot of their own accord to follow
after &s;uch pur&s;uits, and need little drawing. But
drawing in this place is no word of force, unle&s;s it be
of forcible and &s;trong per&s;wa&s;ions; as when it is af|firmed
in Scripture, <HI>That no man commeth unto the
Sonne, except the Father plea&s;e to draw: Except the
Father draw him;</HI> how? not by compelling of the
will, or forcing men to Heaven whether they will or
not; or drawing them <HI>velut inanimatum quoddam,</HI>
as men draw after them a Log or Stone, as &s;ome|times
<HI>Luther</HI> plea&s;ed to phra&s;e it: Not &s;o, but by in|viting
men to their &s;alvation, calling upon them to
accept it by his holy word, and working on them by
the operations of his holy Spirit. So the word <HI>traho</HI>
hath been u&s;ed in be&s;t Latine Authours; <HI>Trahit &s;ua
quemque voluptas,</HI> in the Poet <HI>Virgil; me trahit
<PB N="327" REF="175">
invitam nova vis,</HI> in the Poet <HI>Ovid.</HI> What? by
applying any outward violence? No, but by hear|kening
to the motions of our own de&s;ires, and giving
way to our affections; for &s;o it followeth in the Poet,
<HI>aliud&abque; cupido, mens aliud &s;uadet;</HI> Our under&s;tanding
and our lu&s;ts draw two &s;everal wayes: and we may
properly be &s;aid to be drawn by either, when either
we &s;ubmit our &s;elves to the rule of Rea&s;on, or follow
the <HI>dictamen</HI> of our lu&s;ts and pa&s;&s;ions. And &s;uch, and
none but &s;uch, is the pre&s;ent drawing, the drawing of
weak men by more &s;ubtile wits, to hearken to their
perver&s;e &s;peakings, and thereby to become their fol|lowers
and be accounted their Di&s;ciples.</P>
<P>Nor do they only <HI>ducere,</HI> but they do <HI>abducere,</HI>
not only draw, but draw away: the <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the
Original mu&s;t be &s;o interpreted, and is &s;o u&s;ed in o|ther
Texts of holy Scripture. <HI>Drawes them away?</HI>
from whence? from the main body of the Church,
the Congregation of Gods cho&s;en. The Church is
often called in Scripture the body of Chri&s;t, of
which each faithful Chri&s;tian is a &s;peciall member.
Now ye are the body of Chri&s;t, and members in par|ticular,
as &s;aid St. <HI>Paul</HI> to tho&s;e of <HI>Corinth.</HI> They
therefore which withdraw a Chri&s;tian from the
Church of Chri&s;t, not only pierce his &s;ide, as the
Souldiers did, but teare a member from his body,
which the Souldiers dur&s;t not. And therefore <HI>Beza</HI>
reads the word, <HI>ut ab&s;trahant;</HI> and gives this rea&s;on
why he doth &s;o read it, <HI>Loquitur Luca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> ut de mem|bris
crudeliter corpore &s;uo avul&s;is.</HI> But it would little
profit the&s;e perver&s;e &s;peakers to draw poor people
from the Church, to make them di&s;affected to the
pre&s;ent Government, and &s;o give them off; what
<PB N="328" REF="176">
&s;hould they get, if any, or if every man were &s;o
mi&s;per&s;waded? There's a <HI>po&s;t eos</HI> in the Text which
they chiefly aim at, to make men &s;o leave the
Church as to follow them. Not one among&s;t them
but will be a leader, and mu&s;t have followers of his
own, &s;ome fair retinue to come after him, for the
greater &s;tate. Such men as the&s;e &s;tand more upon
<HI>post eos,</HI> then upon <HI>abducunt;</HI> and be their Pro&s;elytes
what they will, noble, ignoble, rich or poor, they
mu&s;t come behind. <HI>Post nos bonus mos,</HI> is the be&s;t
rule in all their Ethicks; and, <HI>primus ibi ante omnes
magna comitante caterva,</HI> accounted by them the
mo&s;t heroick ver&s;e in all <HI>Virgils</HI> works. The Scholar
mu&s;t not be above his Ma&s;ter; there's no &s;en&s;e in
that: And therefore that they may be &s;ure not to
lo&s;e <HI>po&s;t eos,</HI> their Scholars &s;hall be Scholars &s;till, &s;till
learning, like St. <HI>Paul</HI>s old women, but never com|ming
unto the knowledge of the truth.</P>
<P>And certainly there is good rea&s;on why the holy
Spirit doth not entitle tho&s;e which are drawn away by
the name of followers, or dependents, but by that
of <GAP DESC="foreign">, Di&s;ciples. Men commonly reward their
followers, but they take pay of their Di&s;ciples; and
&s;omething hath &s;ome favour, as the &s;aying is. <HI>Dignus
e&s;t operarius mercede &s;ua, The Labourer is worthy of his
wages:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 6. 6.</NOTE> And he that is taught ought to communi|cate
unto him that teacheth in all good things, &s;o
&s;aith the holy Scripture. Admini&s;ter in all good
things that's true, but in what proportion? <HI>In om|nibus
bonis,</HI> in all his good things, &s;aith the true
Apo&s;tle; <HI>omnia bona &s;ua,</HI> even all his goods, &s;ay the&s;e
fal&s;e Apo&s;tles. The better pay, the better Scholars
while you live; A matter out of which the Phari&s;ees
<PB N="329" REF="176">
&s;ucked no &s;mall advantage, becoming &s;o much
ma&s;ter of the peoples pur&s;es, that being once fined by
<HI>Herod</HI> for their di&s;obedience, a principal Lady of
their faction mu&s;tred up her &s;tore,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo&s;eph.</HI> l. 17: c. 3.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
and payd the fine down for them
without more adoe. Be&s;ides, the Di&s;ciple is obliged
to believe his Ma&s;ter; <HI>oportet di&s;centem credere,</HI> as the
old rule is, and if he yield up his belief to his Ma|&s;ters
dictates, his Ma&s;ter may di&s;po&s;e of him as his
own creation. Hence is it that the&s;e <HI>exurgentes</HI> have
attained &s;uch credit, that their words pa&s;&s;e for Ora|cles
with their credulous followers: And when they
once have mi&s;per&s;waded them of their &s;uperiors in
the Lord, whether Prince or Prelate, it is not in the
power of men or Angels to bring them to a right o|pinion.
<HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> tells us of the Phari&s;ees,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Antiqu.</HI> l. 13. c. 18.</NOTE> that they
had gotten much footing in the affections of their
followers, <GAP DESC="foreign">, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
&amp;c. that what&s;oever they plea&s;ed to &s;ay either of
the high Prie&s;t, or the King him&s;elf, how fal&s;e and
&s;candalous &s;oever, it was received for truth with|out
further que&s;tion.</P>
<P>And now I am fallen upon the Phari&s;ees, I &s;hall
add this further, that the great pains they took in
compa&s;&s;ing both Sea and Land to increa&s;e their Pro|&s;elytes,
and add unto the number of their dear Di&s;|ciples,
&s;hewed plainly that they aimed at more then
obedient greatne&s;s. The power and &s;way they had
with the common people had &s;o farre inabled them,
<GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid.</HI> l. 13. c: 23.</NOTE> to hurt their ene|mies,
and promote their friends; that happy was the
man could be favoured by them. Nay, more then
this, they would have Kings and Princes &s;tand at
<PB N="330" REF="177">
their devotion, and be directed by them in all mat|ters
both of Church and State, or el&s;e controll and
terrifie them with their numerous followers, the mul|titude
of their Di&s;ciples. Which le&s;t I may be
thought to report without book, we need but look
into <HI>Jo&s;ephus,</HI> where we &s;hall finde that <HI>Alexandra</HI>
dur&s;t not enter on the Government in her Childrens
non-age, until &s;he had permitted all things unto
their di&s;po&s;ing;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp;c.
and promi&s;ed to do nothing without their directions.
What was the rea&s;on, think ye, why that excellent
Lady humbled her &s;elf &s;o lowly to &s;o proud a Sect?
marry &s;he did it by advice of her dying Husband,
who&s;e Government proved not &s;o &s;ucce&s;sful as the
Prince de&s;erved, <GAP DESC="foreign">, in that
he had offended that prevailing faction. We need
not doubt but that all &s;uch as have pur&s;ued the cour|&s;es
of the&s;e Phari&s;ees do propo&s;e their aims, lay|ing
the foundation of their greatne&s;s upon the backs
of their Di&s;ciples; whom if they have infected with
their dangerous principles, there is no man &s;o &s;afe,
whom they may not mi&s;chief, nor any e&s;tate &s;o &s;ure
which they may not ruine. Examples of the which,
in the Prie&s;ts of <HI>Meroe,</HI> and that command they held
on the <HI>Aethiopians,</HI> I could tell you &s;ome, but de&s;ire
rather to refer you to <HI>Diodorus Siculus</HI> for your &s;atis|faction.
So true is that of <HI>Quintus Curtius, Multitudi|nem
vana religione captam meli&ugrave;s vatibus &s;uis qu&agrave;m
ducibus parere,</HI> The common people once po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed
with a fal&s;e Religion are more obedient to their
Prie&s;ts then unto their Princes. Thus have I brought
the Churches &s;ickne&s;s to the pitch or <GAP DESC="foreign">, the ut|mo&s;t
extremity of this &s;trange Di&s;ea&s;e. Pity it
<PB N="331" REF="177">
were to leave her in this de&s;perate &s;tate; and there|fore
I make ha&s;t, all the ha&s;t I can, to call in the Phy|&s;ician,
and attend the cure, <HI>Vigilate igitur, Watch
therefore.</HI></P>
<P>There is a great &s;imilitude between the body na|tural
and the body my&s;tical, the bodies of us men,
and the Church of Chri&s;t: each of them hath their
infancy, their youth, their age; each of them their
peculiar maladies, and their proper cures. And as in
bodily Di&s;ea&s;es, no &s;ooner we begin to be ill-di&s;po|&s;ed,
but pre&s;ently we look out for the Phy&s;ician; &s;o
in the&s;e griefs and &s;ickne&s;&s;es which befall the
Church, it is not &s;afe to trifle or delay the time, but
have recour&s;e to the Phy&s;ician with all &s;peed that
may be. Now the Phy&s;icians in this ca&s;e, the Churches
Doctors, are tho&s;e to whom this charge was given by
the Apo&s;tle, and they are &s;aid to be the Elders of the
Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us.</HI> What the Lay-Elders of the
City, men of &s;hops and Trades; this day a bencher
in the Con&s;i&s;tory, the next a botcher on the &s;tall?
Not &s;o, though &s;ome have &s;o delivered; but &s;uch as
were at lea&s;t <HI>in &s;acris ordinibus con&s;tituti,</HI> men in holy
orders, &s;uch as had parts to feed the flock, and power
to rule it. The word <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the 28. will admit
both duties, and &s;o exclude Lay-Elders from being
any way concerned in the pre&s;ent bu&s;ine&s;s. Tho&s;e of
the Laity mu&s;t either lo&s;e the name of Elders in the
pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e, or el&s;e take the office; and if they un|dertake
the charge, they mu&s;t be Pa&s;tors, and not
Lay-men. The Office proper to the&s;e Presbyters
was that which Chri&s;t commended to St. <HI>Peter,</HI> and
that was <HI>pa&s;cere greg<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">m Dei:</HI> If they did this, then
were they Pa&s;tors; if they did not, they were no
<PB N="332" REF="178">
Presbyters, the name and Office here mu&s;t needs go
together. And though in our Tran&s;lation both here
and el&s;ewhere, we render the word <HI>Presbyter</HI> by that
of <HI>Elder,</HI> yet when we finde it &s;o tran&s;lated, we mu&s;t
take it thus, that how&s;oever for their age they were
called Elders, yet by their Office they were Mini|&s;ters
of Gods Word and Sacraments, &s;uch as had
<HI>&s;enectutem cordis,</HI> though not <HI>corporis,</HI> in St. <HI>Gregories</HI>
language. Prie&s;ts they were then that here a&s;&s;embled,
<GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Church-con&s;truction; and yet not
&s;imply Prie&s;ts, and no more then &s;o, but &s;uch as
were above the re&s;t both in place and power, the Bi|&s;hops
and chief Rulers both of that and the neighbor-Churches.
The Text is plain, <HI>in quo vos Sp. S. po&s;uit
Epi&s;copos,</HI> that the holy Gho&s;t had made them Bi|&s;hops,
or Over&s;eers, as we read in the la&s;t Tran&s;lati|on.
And I &s;aid well, that &s;o we read it in the la&s;t; for
<HI>ab initio non fuit &s;ic,</HI> it was not &s;o in the beginning. An
ancient M. S. Tran&s;lation, which by the Character
and Language I gue&s;&s;e to be as old as <HI>Wiclif,</HI> reads
it plainly <HI>Bi&s;hops.</HI> So doth that al&s;o of <HI>Miles Cover|dale,</HI>
a fervent Prote&s;tant in King <HI>Henries</HI> dayes, and
no great friend unto the calling, although one him|&s;elf.
<HI>Beza,</HI> though he di&s;like the Hierarchy, and
makes it a device of man, if not of Satan, yet
renders it <HI>Epi&s;copos,</HI> as the vulgar doth. And &s;o do the
Divines of the <HI>Lutheran</HI> Churches, though generally
in common &s;peech they rather do affect the Title of
a Superintendent; and &s;o <HI>ex Graecis bonis Latinas fe|cere
non bonas,</HI> as the Poet hath it. Only our la&s;t
Tran&s;lators, of all people el&s;e, when as they might
have kept them&s;elves with &s;afety to the Greek Ori|ginals,
have brought us in an Over&s;eer for a Bi&s;hop.
<PB N="333" REF="178">
Which if it were not done <HI>ut placerent populo,</HI> to
plea&s;e the people, yet po&s;&s;ibly it might be done <HI>quia
timebant &s;ibi &agrave; populo,</HI> becau&s;e they were afraid to
offend the people. A vein of which timidity one may
ea&s;ily finde in many places of the Acts and Writings
of the holy Apo&s;tles.</P>
<P>But Over&s;eers let them be, the Over&s;eers, if you
plea&s;e, of Chri&s;ts Will &amp; Te&s;tament, the over&s;eers of
the Clergy, which are the Executors of that Will &amp;
Te&s;tament, appointed to admini&s;ter the Word and
Sacraments, which are the Legacies Chri&s;t left be|hind
him unto all the people. And Over&s;eers let
them be in name and dignity as well as Office; For
being that the Prie&s;t may be called a Seer, according
to that meaning of that notion, in the fir&s;t of <HI>Samuel,
(He that is now called a Prophet was before called a
Seer,)</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. cap. 9. v. 9.</NOTE> then certainly, the Bi&s;hop being over and a|bove
the Prie&s;t may well be called an Over&s;eer. And
&s;o all circum&s;tances pondered and compared toge|ther,
we have gained thus much; that tho&s;e to whom
this charge was given were Bi&s;hops, or Over&s;eers if
you will, &s;uch unto whom the over&s;ight of the flock
was tru&s;ted; &s;uch unto whom St. <HI>Peter</HI> &s;peaks in his
fir&s;t Epi&s;tle, <HI>Pa&s;cite gregem Dei qui in vobis e&s;t,</HI> Feed
you the flock of Chri&s;t which is among&s;t you,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;aith the Text, playing the Bi&s;hops in
the &s;ame, or taking the over&s;ight thereof, as the
Engli&s;h reads it. Nor doth it any way contradict this
Tenet, that tho&s;e who are entituled Bi&s;hops, or
<GAP DESC="foreign"> in the 28. are called <GAP DESC="foreign">, Prie&s;ts or
Elders only in the 17th ver&s;e; For <HI>Beza</HI> tells us in
his Notes on the fir&s;t of <HI>Peter, Generale nomen e&s;t
Presbyteri,</HI> that the word Presbyter is &s;o general in
<PB N="334" REF="179">
&s;ome Texts and places, <HI>ut ip&s;i quo&abque; Apo&s;toli hoc no|mine
comprehendantur,</HI> that even the holy Apo&s;tles
are comprized therein. If &s;o, as &s;o it is, and that the
Apo&s;tles may be comprehended in the name of Pres|byters,
then certainly it is no ab&s;urdity or incon|gruity
to &s;ay, that the Presbytery in the 17th ver&s;e,
whom St. <HI>Paul</HI> called from <HI>Ephe&s;us</HI> and the Neigh|bour-Cities,
(<HI>ab Ephe&s;o &amp; &agrave; reliquis proximis civitati|bus,</HI>
as in <HI>Irenaeus,</HI>) were not &s;imply Presbyters, but
&s;uch as had preeminence above the re&s;t, whom the
Text honoured in the 28. with the name of Bi&s;hops.
The Bi&s;hop of <HI>Ephe&s;us</HI> was anciently a Metropolitan,
and had many Suffragans; which po&s;&s;ibly may be the
rea&s;on why <HI>Ephe&s;us</HI> is only named in the relation of
this Story.</P>
<P>Having thus found out the Phy&s;ician, I need not
dwell upon the remedy, but leave that to them;
<HI>credendum e&s;t artifici in arte &s;ua.</HI> We have had many
<HI>Phormio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s</HI> lately which take upon them to in&s;truct
their betters, and teach the Bi&s;hops how to govern.
All that I have to &s;ay is but <HI>vigilate,</HI> that it concern|eth
the Prelate to be very watchful; and that not
only in regard of Wolves, Hereticks, and all &s;uch as
are counted Hereticks, as &s;ome men would have
them; but in relation unto &s;ubtile practi&s;ers, and
&s;uch as would fain ri&s;e in the Churches fall. Not
only heterodox and heretical teachers, but facti|ous
and perver&s;e Preachers are brought within the
compa&s;s of this <HI>vigilate;</HI> and that by the direction of
St. <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf, who had his Warrant from above,
and knew how to u&s;e it. And indeed <HI>vigilate</HI> is the
&s;afe&s;t Phy&s;ick in the pre&s;ent ca&s;e, not only to pre|vent,
but remove the &s;ickne&s;s. If <HI>vigilate</HI> be well fol|lowed,
<PB N="335" REF="179">
either men will not ri&s;e at all, or being ri&s;en,
dare not talk perver&s;ly; or if they do, it mu&s;t be
clo&s;ly and in corners; and that will draw away but
few Di&s;ciples to follow after and admire them. O|ther
the Mini&s;ters of God and his holy Church are
Watchmen in their &s;everal places over the little
flocks committed to them, the Bi&s;hop is <HI>Praefectus
vigilum,</HI> the Captain of the Watch, the common
Centinel, who by his Office is to walk the round,
and &s;ee that the inferior Watchmen do di&s;charge
their duties. The tidings of our Saviours birth was
fir&s;t proclaimed unto a company of Shepherds keep|ing
watch over their flocks by night; their care and
vigilance de&s;erved that comfort which the Angels
gave them, <HI>Nolite timere,</HI> Fear not, I bring you ti|dings
of great joy. The Watchmen which expect
the like grace and favour mu&s;t not be &s;hort of them
in their pains and travell; if they expect from God
or his holy Angels at Chri&s;ts &s;econd comming, <HI>E|vangelizo
vobis gaudium magnum,</HI> they mu&s;t be <HI>vi|gilantes
&s;uper gregem &s;uum.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ezekiel</HI> tells us of the living Creatures which he
beheld as in a vi&s;ion, <HI>totum corpus plenum oculis in cir|cuitu,</HI>
that they were full of eyes round about them:
the perfect Emblem of a vigilant and careful Prelate,
who mu&s;t not only &s;ee before him, but have his eyes
in every corner of his Dioce&s;s, in every member of
his body: Eyes in his head, to under&s;tand his place and
function, that he be able to perform what belongs
unto him: Eyes in his feet, to have a care unto his
goings, that he give no offence or &s;candall in &s;o high
a calling: Eyes in his hand, or <HI>Oculatus manus,</HI> as he
in <HI>Plautus,</HI> that he ordain no man unworthily: Nay,
<PB N="336" REF="180">
even his Crozier he mu&s;t have eyes, he mu&s;t have <HI>ocu|latum
baculum,</HI> as <HI>Antiochus</HI> hath it, that &s;o he pu|ni&s;h
none but tho&s;e that de&s;erve correction. In a word,
as the good Father <HI>Iraeneus</HI> &s;aid of God Almighty,
that he is <HI>totus oculus, &amp; totum lumen;</HI> &s;o &s;hould it
be reported of a careful Prelate, that he is eye all o|ver,
and &s;ees round about him. Which if he do, how|ever
he may wink at &s;ome things out of humane fra|ilty,
and po&s;&s;ibly connive at others out of ju&s;t ne|ce&s;&s;ity,
yet will he &s;till have one eye open to have a
care upon the main.</P>
<P>The Tale of <HI>Argus</HI> with his hundred eyes, how they
did watch and &s;leep by turns when the guarded <HI>lo,</HI>
how he was <HI>voce nova captus,</HI> and <HI>virga medicata
tactus,</HI> won with a &s;ong, and blinded with a touch of
a charmed rod, is a pretty fable, but very u&s;eful in the
morall: And it doth plainly &s;hew the Prelate this,
that if fine words can win him, and corruption blind
him, he will become a prey to every <HI>Mercury,</HI> and in
conclu&s;ion, lo&s;e him&s;elf and the Church together.
<HI>Vigilate igitur,</HI> watch therefore, you that are this day
advanced to &s;o high a dignity: And what I &s;ay to you
I &s;ay to all the re&s;t in their &s;everal &s;tations, <HI>Vigilate,
Watch.</HI></P>
<P>Now unto God the Father who keepeth <HI>I&s;rael,</HI>
who&s;e eyes do neither &s;leep nor &s;lumber; to God the
Sonne, the chief Shepherd, and Bi&s;hop of our &s;ouls;
and unto God the holy Gho&s;t, which hath made you
Bi&s;hops to feed and rule the Church of God, let us
a&s;cribe all honour, prai&s;e, and power, and glory, now
and for evermore. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="337" REF="180">
<HEAD>A SERMON
PREACHED
At WESTMINSTER.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>JOHN 10. v. 11.</BIBL>
<Q>I am the good Shepherd, The good Shepherd giveth
his life for the Sheep.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_AMong&s;t tho&s;e &s;everall Allegories
which are u&s;ed in Scripture to &s;ig|nifie
the &s;tate of the Church of
God, there is not any one which
doth more lively repre&s;ent the
&s;ame unto us then that of the Shep|herd
and the Sheep: The Shepherd vigilant and in|tent,
not only in the feeding, but the pre&s;ervation
of the flock committed to him: the Sheep obedient
to the voyce of the careful Shepherd, and apt to fol|low
in the way which he leads before them. The Of|fice
of this heavenly Shepherd, as it relates unto the
feeding of his flock, we finde mo&s;t punctually ex|pre&s;&s;ed
in the 23. P&s;alm of <HI>David;</HI> but as it doth
concern them in their pre&s;ervation, we finde it no
where more exactly then in this whole Chapter of
St. <HI>John.</HI> His life he laid down for his Sheep, for their
<PB N="338" REF="181">
Redemption,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 17.</NOTE> that he might take it up again for their
ju&s;tification. This made him take unto him&s;elf that
glorious attribute of <HI>Pa&s;tor ille bonus,</HI> that good Shep|herd;
good ab&s;olutely in him&s;elf as the Sonne of
God, and good re&s;pectively to us as he is a Shepherd;
e&s;pecially if we reflect upon the hireling and the
Thief, which here he &s;peaks of; for if we mark the
&s;ituation of the Text, we finde it crucified in a man|ner
between two Malefactors, the Thief upon the
one hand, and the hireling on the other. The Thief
we finde in the 10th ver&s;e, who comes into the Fold
to no other end, <HI>ni&s;i ut furetur, &amp; mactet &amp; perdat,</HI>
but to &s;teal, and kill, and to de&s;troy. And this doth
manife&s;t the more our Saviours goodne&s;s, who came
not to <HI>de&s;troy, but to &s;ave the Flock.</HI> The hireling he
comes after, <HI>v.</HI> 12. who undertakes the charge with
no other purpo&s;e then that of <HI>Balaam</HI> the &s;onne of
<HI>Bo&s;or,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2&punc; Pet. 2. 15.</NOTE> <HI>amans mercedem iniquitatis,</HI> even for the wa|ges
of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s. And therefore when he &s;ees
the Wolf, he takes care for one; not for his &s;heep,
(for the Text tells us, <HI>v.</HI> 13. that he cares not for
them) but for him&s;elf: He leaves the &s;heep and fli|eth,
and the Wolf catcheth them, and &s;cattereth
them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 12.</NOTE> This doth the more advance the reputation
of the good Shepherd of my Text, who knoweth the
&s;heep, and loves them as his own; and for a Pledge
and Te&s;timony of his great affection, cho&s;e rather to
expo&s;e his own life to a certain ruine, then that his
flock &s;hould run the hazard of a di&s;&s;ipation. And &s;o
we briefly fall on the words them&s;elves, <HI>Ego &s;um Pa|&s;tor
ille bonus, I am the good Shepherd,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>The&s;e words contain in them the&s;e two generall
parts, a Po&s;ition and an Expo&s;ition: the Po&s;ition in
<PB N="339" REF="181">
the fir&s;t, <HI>Ego &s;um Pa&s;tor ille bonus, I am the good Shep|herd;</HI>
the Expo&s;ition in the la&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 11. v. 3.</NOTE> <HI>Bonus pa&s;tor animam
&s;uam dat proovibus &s;uis, The good Shepherd giveth his
life for the Sheep.</HI> We may re&s;olve them both into
this Propo&s;ition; Our Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t is that
good Shepherd which layeth down his life for his
Sheep. Now in this Propo&s;ition we have the&s;e three
parts; the Per&s;on fir&s;t, and that is Chri&s;t him&s;elf who
&s;peaks it, <HI>Ego &s;um,</HI> I am. 2. The office; and that's a
Shepherd, <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Greek, that Shepherd; and
la&s;t of all his eminent piety in the di&s;charge of that
imployment, he is <HI>Pa&s;tor bonus, the good Shepherd.</HI>
Where in the Greek, as we had <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>ille Pa|&s;tor,</HI>
&s;o have we <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>ille bonus</HI> too. And &s;o our
Saviour is that Shepherd al&s;o, the be&s;t no doubt that
ever was, none ever laying down his life for his
&s;heep but he. The&s;e are the parts, and the&s;e I &s;hall
di&s;cour&s;e of as they lie in order, beginning with the
Per&s;on fir&s;t, which is <HI>Ego,</HI> I.</P>
<P><HI>Ego &s;um,</HI> I am; So the Text expre&s;ly: But who
this <HI>Ego</HI> is, that we finde not here. This mu&s;t be
looked for in the 7th ver&s;e. <HI>Dixit eis iterum Je&s;us,</HI>
then &s;aid Je&s;us unto them again: And having found
this we need &s;eek no further, nor ask with <HI>Johns</HI>
Di&s;ciples, <HI>art thou he, or &s;hall we look for another?</HI> This
<HI>Ego</HI> is that <GAP DESC="foreign">, he that was to come, whom
St. <HI>John</HI> asked after, that Je&s;us whom the other
<HI>John,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 7.</NOTE> St. <HI>John</HI> the <HI>Evangeli&s;t,</HI> in the beginning of this
period, doth call <HI>o&s;tium ovium,</HI> the door of the Sheep:
the door there, and the Shepherd here; but both <HI>&s;e|cundum
&s;imilitudines, non &s;ecundum proprietates,</HI> &s;aith
St. <HI>Au&s;tin;</HI> A door in a &s;imilitude, a Shepherd in a
Parable, but in propriety of &s;peech a Saviour, a true
<PB N="340" REF="182">
Je&s;us verily, &s;o called before his birth by the holy
Angel;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 1. v. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> Je&s;us by name, the Sonne of God by nature
and propriety, <HI>filius unicus de patre in aeternum ab aeter|no
genitus,</HI> begotten by his Father before all worlds,
God of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Augu&s;tin</HI> in Joh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> light of light, very God of very God,
as the Creed in&s;tructs us. And yet a Shepherd and a
door, a Rock, a Vine, the Lion of the Tribe of Ju|dah;
be&s;ides tho&s;e many other Attributes which are
accumulated on him in the Scripture, <HI>&s;ecundum ali|quam
&s;imilitudinem,</HI> according to the trope or allego|ry.</P>
<P>But of all adjuncts given unto him, tho&s;e of the
Sheep and Lamb, do &s;eem mo&s;t incompetible; for
if he be a Sheep, who is then the Shepherd? and if
he be a Lamb, who takes care to feed him? And
yet a Lamb he is, even that <HI>Agnus Dei,</HI> that Lamb of
God that takes away the &s;ins of the World, as was
vouched of him by St. <HI>John:</HI> the holy Lamb, the
very Pa&s;chall Lamb indeed, who&s;e blood being
&s;prinkled on our doores, keeps away the de&s;troying
Angel that he come not near us. And yet a &s;heep
he is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 53.</NOTE> even that harmle&s;s &s;heep whereof <HI>E&s;ay</HI> &s;peaks,
which being afflicted and oppre&s;&s;ed opened not his
mouth, but like the &s;heep before the Shearer he
was dumb and &s;ilent. And this the &s;acred name of
Je&s;us, if there be any faith to be had in Anagrams,
doth either intimate or pre&s;uppo&s;e; for out of that
mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed name, as it is written in the Greek, the
original Tongue, tho&s;e which have traded in that art,
have found this Anagram (and a mo&s;t excellent one
it is indeed) <GAP DESC="foreign">, thou art that Sheep, that name|ly
whereof <HI>E&s;ay</HI> prophecied, and in who&s;e name
(according to the tran&s;po&s;ition of the Elements) the
<PB N="341" REF="182">
Eunuch was baptized by the Evangeli&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 8. v. 38.</NOTE> So then this
<HI>Ego</HI> of my Text hath &s;omewhat in him more then
ordinary, being both the Shepherd and the Sheep;
<HI>Ille &amp; Pastor e&s;t &amp; Ovis,</HI> as the Father hath it.</P>
<P>But all this, as before I &s;aid, <HI>&s;ecundum &s;imilitudines,</HI>
as in a figure or re&s;emblance. Would you be plea&s;ed
to know what he is indeed, in his own nature and con|dition,
as he is <HI>Ego,</HI> I, one of the per&s;ons in the Syntax
of the ble&s;&s;ed Trinity? <HI>Si quaeras &agrave; me proprietatem,</HI>
as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> hath it;<NOTE PLACE="marg">In <HI>Joh.</HI></NOTE> would you be &s;atisfied in that?
then know a&s;&s;uredly, that he is <HI>filius hominis &amp; filius
Dei,</HI> the Sonne of God and man, even the man Chri&s;t
Je&s;us;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sym<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ol. A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> God of the &s;ub&s;tance of the Father, begotten
before all worlds, man of the &s;ub&s;tance of his Mo|ther,
born in the world: As God, the &s;econd Per&s;on
in the glorious Trinity, begotten by his Father be|fore
all time, <HI>generatione,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, in an
un&s;peakable manner, without any concurrence or act
of woman: As man, the fir&s;t per&s;on of the Sonnes of
<HI>Adam,</HI> born of his Mother in the fulne&s;s of time, <HI>ge|neratione</HI>
<GAP DESC="foreign">, in a mo&s;t &s;upernatu|rall
way, without help of man. The very true <HI>Mel|chi&s;edeck</HI>
which the Scriptures &s;peak of, who in the u|nity
of his per&s;on, being God and man, is without
Father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 7. v. 3.</NOTE> without Mother, without de&s;cent, having
neither beginning of dayes nor end of life: Without
a Father as the Sonne of man, without a Mother as
the Sonne of God; in both re&s;pects without de&s;cent,
<HI>nam generationem ejus quis enarret?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 53. v&punc; 8.</NOTE> for who can tell
the manner of his Generation, or derive his Pedigre?
Without a Father, yet the Sonne of God; without
a Mother, yet the Sonne of the Virgin <HI>Mary;</HI> here
without Father, without Mother there. <HI>In terris &s;ine
<PB N="342" REF="183">
Patre, in coelis ver&ograve; &s;ine matre,</HI> as it is in <HI>Origen.</HI> Shall
we explain this Riddle by another? Know then, that
in de&s;pite of Grammar and the Rules of Accidence,
<HI>Ego</HI> is here the &s;econd per&s;on, and yet as worthy as
the fir&s;t.</P>
<P>That God by his meanes would repaire the ruines
of our mortall nature, him&s;elf had frequently fore|told
in holy Scripture: It was the fir&s;t promi&s;e made
to <HI>Adam,</HI> to comfort and revive him after his defecti|on,
<HI>that the &s;eed of the woman &s;hould brui&s;e the
Serpents head;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3. 15.</NOTE> that he &s;hould cru&s;h the &s;ting of
death, and &s;wallow up the grave in victory. It was
the fir&s;t promi&s;e which God made to <HI>Abraham,</HI> when
he commanded him to leave his own Country and
his Fathers Hou&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 12. v. 3.</NOTE> <HI>that in his &s;eed &s;hould all the Nati|ons
of the World be ble&s;&s;ed.</HI> Promi&s;es not to be fulfilled
but in him that made them, never to be accompli&s;hed
till God de&s;cended &s;o much beneath him&s;elf, as to
come down from Heaven, and be incarnate in the
womb of the Virgin <HI>Mary.</HI> This the great my&s;tery
of godline&s;s which St. <HI>Paul</HI> inculcates, <HI>God mani|fested
in the fle&s;h;</HI> the <HI>Verbum caro factum,</HI> which
St. <HI>John</HI> remembreth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1. 14.</NOTE> For who but he that is the
Word could by his words procure this te&s;timony
from his enemies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 7. 48.</NOTE> <HI>nec vox hominem &s;onat,</HI> never man
&s;pake as this man &s;peaketh? Who but God manife|&s;ted
in the fle&s;h could by his works extort this true
Confe&s;&s;ion from his executioners?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 27. v. 54.</NOTE> Surely this was no
other then the Sonne of God. <HI>Adeo veritas ab invi|tis
etiam pectoribus erumpit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In&s;titut.</NOTE> &s;aid <HI>Lactantius</HI> truly.</P>
<P>And yet be&s;ides Gods gracious plea&s;ure, and the
nece&s;&s;ity of mans e&s;tate that &s;o it mu&s;t be, it &s;tood
with mo&s;t convenience that &s;o it &s;hould be. <HI>Qui al|terum
<PB N="343" REF="183">
erigit &s;eip&s;um incurvat,</HI> He that lifts up ano|ther
mu&s;t fir&s;t &s;toop him&s;elf, and bow down his own
body fir&s;t, before he can rai&s;e up a man that's fallen.
And this was it for which the &s;econd per&s;on in the
glorious Trinity became the fir&s;t in the con&s;truction
of my Text; He made him&s;elf the Sonne of man,
that &s;o we might be made the Sonnes of God. He for
a time did bow down the Heavens, and remained
with us on the Earth for a certain &s;ea&s;on, that man
created of the Earth, might be taken with him up to
Heaven, and there live for ever. His incorruptible
did put on our corruption, that &s;o our mortall might
be clothed with his immortality. And this in the
good Fathers Language,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Augu&s;tin</HI> in Joh.</NOTE> <HI>non &s;imilitudo, &s;ed res ip&s;a e&s;t,</HI>
is neither Allegory, Trope nor Figure, but a mo&s;t
&s;acred nece&s;&s;ary truth, and of all men to be believed
who have not forfeited their faith to advance their
wits; or rather have not forfeited tho&s;e great wits
they boa&s;t of, in bringing all the Principles of the
Chri&s;tian faith to be indicted and arraigned at the
Barre of Rea&s;on.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lactant.</NOTE> <HI>Id fides credat, intelligentia non requi|rat,</HI>
was the Fathers Rule, but thrown a&s;ide in this
unlucky Age, wherein men are &s;o apt to di&s;pute
them&s;elves out of all Religion, and &s;et up a new
Creed of their own devi&s;ing.</P>
<P>So then this <HI>Ego</HI> of my Text relates to Je&s;us,
<HI>v.</HI> 1. and that unto the fir&s;t of <HI>Matthew,</HI> where he
had his name, and where he was proclaimed by the
heavenly Herald to be conceived of the holy Gho&s;t
by the Virgin <HI>Mary. Ego</HI> here, <HI>Je&s;us</HI> there; in both
Texts a Saviour, a per&s;on of a mixt condition be|tween
God and man, &s;uch as a Saviour ought to be;
For being &s;en&s;ible of our infirmities as a man, and a|ble
<PB N="344" REF="184">
to relieve us in them as our God, as God and
man he mediates for us, that being freed of tho&s;e in|firmities
which are inherent in our fle&s;h, we may
hereafter reign with him in his endle&s;s glories. We
read in <HI>Livie,</HI> that when the <HI>Romans</HI> had violently
&s;urprized the <HI>Sabine</HI> Women, and taken them to
their Wives, the angry <HI>Sabines</HI> took up Arms to re|venge
the injury. The Armies being ready for the
fight, the Women &s;eriou&s;ly taking into con&s;iderati|on,
that as they were begotten by the one, &s;o they
are now as fle&s;h with the other people, ru&s;h in be|tween
them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;t. Rom. Dec. 1. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</HI> 1.</NOTE> <HI>Hinc viros, inde Patres orabant,</HI> Some|times
they pray unto their Fathers to remit the
wrong, and &s;ometimes call unto their Husbands to
admit a Parley; never de&s;i&s;ting from that pious of|fice,
till both the Armies were made friends, and an
eternall League was &s;worn between them. The Ap|plication
is &s;o ea&s;ie and familiar that I need not pre&s;s
it: Only I note, that this great work of our Reconci|liation
could not be wrought by any but a Saviour,
and &s;uch as had relation to both parties, both to God
and man; that being jealous of the honour of the
one, and zealous for the pre&s;ervation of the other,
he might make up that peace betwixt us which all
the powers of Hell &s;hould not interrupt. Which work
of reconciliation, being a &s;pecial part of that Pa&s;torall
charge which he hath taken to him&s;elf, leads me on
fairly to my &s;econd generall, which is the Office of
our Saviour; <HI>Ego &s;um ille Pa&s;tor,</HI> I am that Shep|herd.</P>
<P>And here perhaps it may be &s;aid, that we have
took great pains to a little purpo&s;e: Have we endea|voured
all this while to prove our Saviour to be the
<PB N="345" REF="184">
Sonne of the eternall ever-living God, and do we
now &s;o much deba&s;e him as to make him a Shep|herd?
Have we advanced him up on high, and &s;et
him at the right hand of God in the heavenly places,
<HI>ut lap&s;u graviore ruat,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Claudian.</NOTE> only to make his fall the grea|ter?
Or with the Tempter in the Go&s;pel, have we
advanced him to the top of the highe&s;t Pinacle, and
told him that he was the Sonne of God, and then
come out with <HI>mitte te deor&s;um,</HI> ca&s;t thy &s;elf down
as farre as poverty and contempt can make thee?
This were a cunning peece of malice, if it were &s;o
meant, in ca&s;e the office of a Shepherd were &s;o con|temptible
and incon&s;iderable as &s;ome men have
made it. But if we look upon it well, we &s;hall finde
the contrary; there being no inferior place of charge
or Government, more like unto the Kingly Office
then the Shepherds is: Upon which ground <HI>Homer</HI>
calls <HI>Agamemnon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">de Agricultura.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, the Shepherd of his
People. And <HI>Philo</HI> gives it for a Rule, that not <HI>Homer</HI>
only, <GAP DESC="foreign">, but the whole Tribe
of Poets al&s;o have honoured good Princes with
the &s;ame Attribute. Nay, in his Book of the life of
<HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> he gives this note, that the be&s;t Shepherd
makes the be&s;t King: and in his Tract <HI>de vita Mo&s;is</HI>
doth affirm expre&s;ly, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
that the be&s;t preparation to the Kingly
Office is to be a Shepherd. In which regard St. <HI>Ba&s;il</HI>
tells us, <GAP DESC="foreign">, that the Pa|&s;toral
and Imperial Offices were near of kin; the one
being but a <GAP DESC="foreign">, or preparation to the other.
But behold a greater then <HI>Philo</HI> or St. <HI>Ba&s;il</HI> here: For
God him&s;elf hath &s;aid of <HI>Cyrus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 44. v. 28:</NOTE> that he was his
Shepherd; and purpo&s;ely exalted <HI>David</HI> from the
<PB N="346" REF="185">
Sheep-fold to the regall Throne, that he might
know the better <HI>how to feed</HI> Jacob <HI>his people, and</HI> I&s;|rael
<HI>his Inheritance,</HI> P&s;al. 78. v. 70.</P>
<P>Nor hath the name of Shepherd been accounted
anciently an honorary adjunct only to the greate&s;t
Princes, <GAP DESC="foreign">, but to God him|&s;elf,
as <HI>Philo</HI> hath ob&s;erved in his Book of Husban|dry.
An ob&s;ervation not &s;o &s;trange in <HI>Philo,</HI> by birth
a Jew, and &s;o acquainted with the Scripture, as it
may &s;eem to be in <HI>Plato,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Plato de Reg<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">o.</NOTE> who was a meer &s;tranger to
the Covenant: And yet in <HI>Plato</HI> do we finde it, and
that in termes no le&s;&s;e expre&s;&s;ive then in tho&s;e of
<HI>Philo;</HI> for &s;peaking of the peaceable and happy
lives which men are &s;aid to lead in the fir&s;t Ages, he
gives this rea&s;on for it in his Book <HI>de Regno,</HI>
<GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> God, &s;aith he, was their <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">hep|herd,
and he did lead them and conduct them as now
Princes do; whom therefore we are bound to honour
in the next degree to the Gods immortal. A Speech
&s;o excellent and divine, that nothing but the written
word can go beyond it. But behold a greater then
<HI>Plato</HI> is here al&s;o; for God hath told us by the mouth
of his Servant <HI>David,</HI> that he is a Shepherd; <HI>Dominus
Pa&s;tor meus, the Lord is my Shepherd,</HI> P&s;al. 23. and
<HI>hear O thou Shepherd of I&s;rael,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 1. v. 1.</NOTE> P&s;al. 80.</P>
<P>If therefore God may, without diminution of his
power and greatne&s;s, a&s;&s;ume unto him&s;elf the name
of a Shepherd, a&s;&s;uredly the Sonne of God will think
it no di&s;paragement to be called &s;o too. Or if it were,
what poor and low condition would not he gladly un|dergo
for the &s;ake of man, who&s;e bowels yerned &s;o
oft within him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 9. v. 36.</NOTE> when as he &s;aw his wretched and neg|lected
people wandring like &s;heep without a Shep|herd?
<PB N="347" REF="185">
And certainly, if we con&s;ult the Scriptures, we
&s;hall there finde that God de&s;igned him to this Of|fice,
long time before his incarnation, the taking of
our fle&s;h upon him;<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 23.</NOTE> for in the 34. of <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> thus
&s;aith the Lord about his flock, <HI>I will &s;et up one Shep|herd
over them, and he &s;hall feed them, &amp; ip&s;e erit eis
in Pa&s;torem,</HI> and &s;hall be their Shepherd. A Prophe|cie
accompli&s;hed by our Lord and Saviou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the
whole work and bu&s;ine&s;s of his life among&s;t us&punc; for
being appointed by Almighty God to be the Shep|herd
of his people,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 2. 8. 12.</NOTE> he cau&s;ed the fir&s;t tidings of his
Birth to be proclaimed to a company of &s;hepherds; &amp;
cho&s;e a &s;table, or a &s;heep-coat rather, (as mo&s;t Fathers
think) to be the place of his Nativity. Conver&s;ing
here among&s;t us men, he took unto him&s;elf the name
of a Shepherd,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 11. 14.</NOTE> being &s;tyled &s;o in this Chapter twice,
and talking of his Sheep throughout the whole. After
all this, being to take his farewel of us, (for as much
as did concern his bodily pre&s;ence) he left no greater
charge unto his Di&s;ciples,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 21. v. 16, 17.</NOTE> then, <HI>Pa&s;cite oves meas,</HI> to
feed his &s;heep. One further evidence to this purpo&s;e
we will make bold to borrow out of <HI>Plutarchs</HI> works,
who tells a Story of one <HI>Thames,</HI> that as he &s;ailed to|wards
<HI>Greece,</HI> was by a &s;trange voyce, but from whence
he knew not, commanded to make known when he
came on Land, that <HI>Pan</HI> the Shepherds God was dead.
This <HI>Pan</HI> the Authour takes to be the &s;onne of <HI>Mer|cury</HI>
and <HI>Penelope,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Plutarch de Oracul. ce&s;&s;at.</NOTE> when the Gentiles wor&s;hipped: But
they which looked with more advice into the mat|ter,
conceive it rather to be meant of the Sonne of
God, and the Virgin <HI>Mary;</HI> who much about the
time which that Authour &s;peaks of, did &s;uffer death
upon the Cro&s;&s;e for our redemption, and was indeed
<PB N="348" REF="186">
the true God <HI>Pan,</HI> chief Shepherd of the &s;oul of
man.</P>
<P>A Shepherd then our Saviour was, there's no
doubt of that; we might have took it ab&s;olutely on
his <HI>Ip&s;e dixit.</HI> But how he doth di&s;charge the office,
is in the next place to be con&s;idered. And this we
&s;hall the better &s;ee, by looking for a while on the
Country-&s;hepherd, who&s;e duty doth con&s;i&s;t in three
points e&s;pecially; 1. In the feeding, 2. In the order|ing,
And 3. In the guarding of the &s;heep committed
to him. For feeding fir&s;t, there is no que&s;tion to be
made but that it is a part of the &s;hepherds office. The
very name doth intimate &s;o much unto us; for <HI>Pa|&s;tor
&agrave; pa&s;cendo,</HI> a &s;hepherd is &s;o called from feeding,
and that not in the Language of the Latines only, but
in Greek and Hebrew. This duty mentioned in the
<HI>Georgicks, Luciferi primo cum &s;ydere frigida rura carpa|mus:</HI>
in which he doth advi&s;e his &s;hepherd, that at the
dawning of the day he unfold his &s;heep, and drive
them out into their Pa&s;ture. And this exemplified in
<HI>Jacob,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 30, 31.</NOTE> and the &s;onnes of <HI>Jacob,</HI> hone&s;t &s;hepherds all;
it being &s;aid of <HI>Jacob</HI> in the Book of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">37. 12.</NOTE> <HI>that he did
feed the Sheep of Laban;</HI> of <HI>Jacob's</HI> &s;onnes, <HI>that they
did feed their Fathers flocks in Sichem.</HI> And finally,
this took for granted in Almighty God, in his expo|&s;tulation
with the Prie&s;ts and Prophets of the Hou&s;e
of <HI>I&s;ra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">l,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ez<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">k. 34. v. 2.</NOTE> <HI>nonne greges &agrave; Pa&s;toribus pa&s;cuntur? &s;hould
not the Shepherds feed the Flocks?</HI></P>
<P>That Chri&s;t doth punctually di&s;charge this duty,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 25&punc;</NOTE>
is pa&s;t all controver&s;ie: The Prophet hath fore&s;ig|nified
that he &s;hould &s;o do; <HI>I will &s;et up one Shepherd
over them:</HI> and the <HI>Evangeli&s;ts</HI> declare that he did &s;o
do, For what were all tho&s;e heavenly Sermons, tho&s;e
<PB N="349" REF="186">
frequent exhortations unto faith and piety which he
&s;o often made unto them, but a &s;pirituall feeding of
the inward man, a &s;weet refection of the &s;oul, a ce|le&s;tiall
nouri&s;hment? His feeding of &s;o many thou|&s;ands
by a few Loaves of Bread, and two &s;mall fi&s;hes,
what was it, though a &s;ignall miracle, compared with
tho&s;e many millions which he doth feed continually
with the bread of life? We need not doubt of the
&s;ucce&s;s, when he that fed them with the Word was
the Word it &s;elf; or of the &s;preading of the Go&s;pel,
when he that was the Preacher was the Go&s;pel too;
or of the nouri&s;hment of the Gue&s;ts in the fruits of
godline&s;s, when he that carved unto them the life of
bread was of him&s;elf the bread of life. For he indeed
was <HI>magnus ille panis qui mentem replet,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;tin.</NOTE> <HI>non ventrem,</HI>
that holy bread which feedes the &s;oul, and not the bo|dy,
as the Father hath it; the living bread (as him|&s;elf
tells us of him&s;elf) which came down from Hea|ven,
<HI>of which who&s;oever eateth he &s;hall live for ever.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 6. 51.</NOTE>
Which bread, if it be meant of Chri&s;t, who is God
the Word, we then partake it principally in the Sa|craments;
but if we under&s;tand it of the Word of
God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">in P&s;al. 1. 47.</NOTE> (as St. <HI>Hierome</HI> doth) we mu&s;t then look for it
in the Scriptures. By the&s;e two meanes, the preach|ing
of Gods holy Word, and the admini&s;tration of
his Sacraments, are we &s;till fed and nouri&s;hed unto
life eternal;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 5.</NOTE> if not by Chri&s;t him&s;elf, the <GAP DESC="foreign">,
or chief Shepherd, as St. <HI>Peter</HI> calls him, yet by
tho&s;e under-Officers, tho&s;e inferior Mini&s;ters to
whom he hath intru&s;ted that mo&s;t weighty duty.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, for the preaching of the Word, that be|longs
equally to all his Mini&s;ters; to whom he grant|ed
a Commi&s;&s;ion to this end and purpo&s;e, when he
<PB N="350" REF="187">
commanded his Apo&s;tles, and in them all other Mi|ni&s;ters
of his holy Go&s;pel,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 28. 28.</NOTE> <HI>to teach all Nations;</HI> or,
as St. <HI>Mark</HI> doth change the Phra&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark 16.</NOTE> <HI>to preach the Go|&s;pel.</HI>
This the mo&s;t excellent kinde of feeding, and
mo&s;t peculiar to our Saviour in his Pa&s;toral Office;
the feeding of our bodies appertaining rather unto
God the Father, who on the opening of his hand
<HI>filleth all things living with plenteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145.</NOTE> In which
re&s;pect, our Saviour tells us in his Go&s;pel, <HI>that man
liveth not by bread alone, but by every word proceeding
from the mouth of God.</HI> This is that part of heavenly
nouri&s;hment from which we are at no time barred;
from which no age, no &s;ex, no quality is to be repel|led.
<HI>Univer&s;os homines,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">ct. <HI>l.</HI> 1. M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">n. Fel.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ine di&s;crimine &s;exus vel aetatis,
(Minutius</HI> adds <HI>vel dignitatis) ad coele&s;te pabulum con|vocamus.</HI>
This bread is offered unto all, of what con|dition
or e&s;tate &s;oever; and being offered unto all
requireth the more hands to make tender of it. And
therefore all the Mini&s;ters of the Church in their Or|dination
have this authority intru&s;ted to them, that
they &s;hould preach the Go&s;pel, where and when&s;oe|ver
they are appointed thereunto.</P>
<P>For the admini&s;tration of the Sacraments, e&s;peci|ally
the holy <HI>Euchari&s;t,</HI> that belongs only to the
Prie&s;ts, who hath power to con&s;ecrate and ble&s;&s;e the
creatures, which are appointed by the Lord our Savi|our
for the commemoration of his death and pa&s;&s;ion.
<HI>Hoc facite</HI> is there the Prie&s;ts Commi&s;&s;ion, to take
the bread, and ble&s;&s;e and break it? <HI>hoc edite, hoc bi|bite,</HI>
take, eat and drink, are a Commi&s;&s;ion to the
people to partake thereof: And certainly, never was
Table better furni&s;hed then that of our Redeemer
in the ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament; a Banquet of all others
<PB N="351" REF="187">
the mo&s;t rich and nouri&s;hing, where Je&s;us Chri&s;t is
&s;et before us, and he him&s;elf is both the Entertainer
and the Fea&s;t. If any hunger, here is the bread of
life,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 8. 51.</NOTE> &s;piritual <HI>Mannah,</HI> farre better then the food of
Angels; <HI>whoever eateth of this Bread he &s;hall live for
ever.</HI> Is any thir&s;ty, here is the well of life eternal,
farre better then the well of <HI>Jacob,</HI> or the waters of
<HI>Jordan; Whoever drinketh of the&s;e waters he &s;hall never
thir&s;t.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 4. 14.</NOTE> Will you have more? and in that more the
proof and rea&s;on of the whole; he telleth us, that his
fle&s;h is meat indeed, and that his blood is drink in|deed,
in St. <HI>Johns</HI> Go&s;pel. A bountiful and liberal
fea&s;t, and &s;uch whereof our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour is no nig|gard;
we may participate of it monethly, weekly,
daily, as our &s;piritual nece&s;&s;ities and e&s;tates require:
<HI>Panem hunc dat quotidie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">in P&s;al. 18.</NOTE> <HI>dat omnibus, dat &s;emper,</HI> as
<HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> hath it.</P>
<P>The &s;econd duty of the Shepherd is, that he order
and direct the Flock committed to him: &s;o to direct
them that they do not wander; or if they do, that he
reduce them back to the Fold again; to order them,
both when they are in &s;tate of health, and when they
chance to fall into tho&s;e Di&s;ea&s;es to which they na|turally
are inclined. The word <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Greek
doth imply a Government; the Poet el&s;e had not
called <HI>Agamemnon</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, the Prince or &s;hep|herd
of his people. And &s;o we finde it al&s;o in the
Book of God, in which <GAP DESC="foreign"> is interpreted to rule
or govern;<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 6.</NOTE> as in the 2d of St. <HI>Matthew, for out of
thee &s;hall come a Governour,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<HI>which &s;hall rule my people I&s;rael.</HI> Now for the exer|ci&s;e
of this part of his Office, the &s;hepherd hath not
only his Oyls and waters, and other implements of
<PB N="352" REF="188">
Chirurgery, <HI>Scyllam&abque; helleboro&s;&abque; graves, nigrum&abque;
bitumen,</HI> as the Poet hath it; but he is armed al&s;o
with his Shepherds Crook, which is the Scepter of
his Empire; called therefore <HI>Pedum</HI> in the Latine, <HI>e&ograve;
qu&ograve;d retineat pecudum pedes,</HI> as <HI>Servius</HI> notes it upon
<HI>Virgil.</HI> In this regard the &s;hepherds in the Book of
<HI>Jeremy</HI> are called <HI>Optimates gregis,</HI> the Princes, or
the principalls of the Flock,<NOTE PLACE="marg">25: 34.</NOTE> as the Engli&s;h reads it,
as having principal authority in ordering and di&s;po|&s;ing
of them. And <HI>David,</HI> when he kept his Fathers
&s;heep in <HI>Bethlehem,</HI> is repre&s;ented to us with his Shep|herds
&s;taffe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 17. v. 40.</NOTE> <HI>Et tulit ba<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ulum &s;uum in manibus &s;uis,</HI> He
took his &s;taffe in his hand, as the Text informs us, <HI>i. e.</HI>
the &s;taffe or Shepherds Crook wherewith he u&s;ed to
order and direct his flock, and pull them in as often as
they went a&s;tray.</P>
<P>Thus al&s;o deals our Lord and Saviour with the
&s;heep of his Pa&s;ture: Did any of them prove un|&s;ound?
he then applyed him&s;elf unto the cure, <HI>Et
medicas adhibere manus ad vulnera,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Virgil:</NOTE> and to the &s;alving
of their &s;ores. Witne&s;s that heavenly &s;peech of his,
when being taxed for keeping company with Publi|cans
and &s;inners, he returned this an&s;wer, <HI>that the
whole had no need of the Phy&s;ician,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 9. v. 12.</NOTE> <HI>but the &s;ick.</HI> Did any
of them go a&s;tray? he tells us of him&s;elf by his ho|ly
Prophet, <HI>that he would &s;eek that which was lost, and
bring back that again which was driven away;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 34.</NOTE> and tells
us by him&s;elf in his holy Go&s;pel, <HI>that the Sonne of
man was come to &s;eek and &s;ave that which was lo&s;t;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 19. 10. &amp;c.</NOTE>
which in the Parable of the lo&s;t &s;heep is at large ex|emplified.
Were they grown wanton and unruly?
we finde him armed with power to de&s;troy the fat
and the &s;trong, <HI>&amp; pa&s;cere illos in judicio,</HI> and to
<PB N="353" REF="188">
feed them with judgement, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 34. to feed the
flock of his inheritance with a rod,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 10.</NOTE> <HI>Micah</HI> 7. and fi|nally
the Prophet <HI>David</HI> doth repre&s;ent the Lord
his Shepherd,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 14.</NOTE> with a rod and a &s;taffe, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 23. <HI>i. e.</HI>
as <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> doth expound it, with a corrective power,
with the Rod of Di&s;cipline, according to the quality
of the offence,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Augu&s;t.</HI> in P&s;al. 23.</NOTE> and the condition of the offender.
<HI>Di&s;ciplina tua tanquam virga ad gregem ovium, &amp; tan|quam
Baculus ad grandiores filios,</HI> as he &s;tates the bu&s;i|ne&s;s.</P>
<P>This power of Government, the Lord when he
withdrew him&s;elf from the &s;ight of man, tran&s;mitted
over to the Church, and the Mini&s;ters of it. Whether
indifferently to all alike, that's the point in que&s;tion.
<HI>Bellarmine</HI> looking through the Spectacles of the
Popes Ambition, a&s;cribes this &s;olely to St. <HI>Peter,</HI> and
to his Succe&s;&s;ors in the See of <HI>Rome.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">de R. Pont. <HI>l.</HI> 1. <HI>c.</HI></NOTE> His rea&s;on is,
becau&s;e the charge of <HI>Pa&s;ce oves meas, Pa&s;ce agnos
meos,</HI> was given peculiarly to <HI>Peter,</HI> and to him alone:
But herein he and tho&s;e of his opinion, are de&s;titute
of that antiquity and con&s;ent of Fathers, which u&s;ual|ly
they do pretend to. In this the Fathers leave them
to them&s;elves to make good the cau&s;e, and run a ve|ry
different opinion from them. A Jury of them at
the lea&s;t might be here impanneled, which opine the
contrary. And if St. <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> were the fore-man, he
would find it thus;<NOTE PLACE="marg">de Agon. Chr. <HI>c.</HI> 40:</NOTE> that <HI>P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ter</HI> oftentimes in the holy
Scripture, &s;u&s;tained the per&s;on of the Church, <HI>Et
cum ci dicitur, ad omnes dicitur, pa&s;ce oves meas.</HI> And
therefore when our Saviour &s;aid unto him, <HI>feed my
Sheep,</HI> he &s;aid the &s;ame in him, unto all the re&s;t. So
then the re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles have as much intere&s;t
in this weighty charge, as St. <HI>P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ter</HI> had, they being
<PB N="354" REF="189">
all equally inve&s;ted <HI>pari con&s;ortio pote&s;tatis &amp; honoris,</HI>
with an equall mea&s;ure both of power and honour&punc;
as <HI>Cyprian,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cypr.</NOTE> and generally all the Fathers tell us.</P>
<P>The next enquiry will be this, whether that all the
Mini&s;ters of our Saviours Go&s;pel be equally intru|&s;ted
with a power of feeding, and may all equally
take upon them&s;elves the name of Pa&s;tors. Some
would fain have it &s;o indeed; for &s;eeing that the word
of God is the food of the &s;oul,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Moulin ad Winton.</NOTE> <HI>non video cur Pa&s;tor non
dicatur, qui pabulum hoc &s;ubmini&s;trat,</HI> we &s;ee no cau&s;e
&s;ay they, that tho&s;e who preach the Word of God,
&s;hould not be honoured al&s;o with the name of Pa|&s;tors.
And Pa&s;tors let them be, if the name will
plea&s;e them, though <HI>ab initio non fuit &s;ic,</HI> it was not &s;o
from the beginning; for anciently the Prelates only
had the name of Pa&s;tors. St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> knew no other
Pa&s;tors in the Church of God, then the Apo&s;tles and
the Bi&s;hops, in the 47. Tract on <HI>John.</HI> Our learned
<HI>Andrews</HI> is re&s;olute upon the point,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">nton. ad Moul.</NOTE> <HI>neminem veterum
&s;ic locutum,</HI> that the Antients never otherwi&s;e under|&s;tood
the word. And <HI>Binius</HI> in his notes upon the
Councils, excepts again&s;t a fragment of the Council
of <HI>Rhemes,</HI> as being not of that Antiquity which is
there pretended:<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Tom.</HI> 3. part. 2.</NOTE> <HI>quod titulum Pa&s;toris tribuat Par<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">|cho,</HI>
becau&s;e the name of Pa&s;tor is communicated to
the Pari&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">Prie&s;t, contrary to the u&s;age of tho&s;e el|der
times: But Pa&s;tors let them be in Gods name, if
the name will plea&s;e them, &s;o they u&s;urp not on the
power: Pa&s;tors, as <HI>Pa&s;co</HI> is derived from <GAP DESC="foreign">, which
&s;ignifieth to feed, but not to govern,</P>
<P>For whereas there are divers acts of the Pa&s;toral
charge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 5. 14.</NOTE> as <HI>viz.</HI> to beat down the body of &s;in, <HI>to warn
the unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, &s;upport the weak,
<PB N="355" REF="189">
to infu&s;e balm into the &s;ick and wounded &s;oul,</HI> and with
all care and indu&s;try to call the &s;inner to repentance:
all the&s;e do equally belong to tho&s;e, who are inve|&s;ted
by the Church with holy Orders. The Pari&s;h-Presbyter
would very ill be called a Rector, did we
not grant him this authority, And for the power
corrective, let him take that too, &s;o farre as he may
do it with the &s;word of the &s;pirit, <HI>Et virga oris &s;ui,</HI> and
with the rod of his mouth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 11.</NOTE> as the Prophet calls it.
But for the power of correction, by the Rod of D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;|cipline,
or the &s;taffe of puni&s;hment, or by the cen|&s;ures
of the Church, that pertains only to the Pre|late,
the &s;uperior Pa&s;tor; and it concerneth him high|ly,
that he u&s;e it well. For many times it hapneth,
that the &s;tragling &s;heep will not be brought into the
Fold by fair per&s;wa&s;ions, or by the Mini&s;tery of the
Word. What then? <HI>Ad diligentiam Pa&s;toralem per|tinet,</HI>
it then belongs unto the Pa&s;tor, <HI>Flagellorum ter|roribus
vel etiam doloribus revocare,</HI> to fetch him back
again by the &s;tripes of D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;cipline,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. E<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. 50.</NOTE> by the coercions of
the Church. Which power, were it committed to
the hands of each &s;everal Mini&s;ter, would doubtle&s;s
prove the greate&s;t tyranny, that ever the poor Church
of Chri&s;t did &s;uffer under. This is not <GAP DESC="foreign">, but
<GAP DESC="foreign">, and pertains &s;olely to the Prelate, as an act
of Government; Who therefore anciently was arm|ed
with his Crozier, or Pa&s;toral &s;taffe, (and by the
Law of <HI>England</HI> he may u&s;e it &s;till) that by the &s;ame
he might reduce the &s;tragler, and correct the &s;tub|born,
and rouze up the affections of the &s;luggi&s;h per|&s;on.
According to the good old ver&s;e,</P>
<P>&mdash;<HI>Attrahe per primum, medio rege punge per imum;</HI>
A perfect Embleme of his duty: for how&s;oever that
<PB N="356" REF="190">
of <HI>Nazianzen</HI> be exceeding true,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nazianz.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
that the good Shepherd &s;hould oft|ner
u&s;e his Pipe then his. Shepherds-&s;taffe: yet the
Sheep become unruly, and will not hear the Shep|herds-pipe,
pipe he never &s;o &s;weetly; he mu&s;t needs
take his &s;taffe in hand, there's no other remedy. But
I touch onely on the&s;e Controver&s;ies, and &s;o pa&s;&s;e
them by.</P>
<P>The third and la&s;t duty which pertains unto the
Shepherd is, that he guard his &s;heep, and keep them
&s;afe, from the devouring malice of the enemy. In
which regard, it is the Cu&s;tom of tho&s;e Countries
which are plagued with Wolves, to lodge their &s;heep
at night in <HI>defo&s;sis &s;pecubus,</HI> in &s;ome &s;trong Caverns
under ground, and free from violence. In which re|gard,
the Poet <HI>Virgil</HI> doth advi&s;e his &s;hepherd to pro|vide
him&s;elf of &s;ome fierce Ma&s;tives, <HI>acres molo&s;&s;os,</HI>
as he calls them, by whom the flock may be defen|ded,
during his own nece&s;&s;ary ab&s;ence. And finally,
in this regard the faithful Shepherd doth expo&s;e his
per&s;on unto much peril, many inconveniences, and
&s;everal a&s;&s;aults of enemies. Thus <HI>Jacob</HI> tells us of
him&s;elf, that when he kept the &s;heep of <HI>Laban, the
drought con&s;umed him by day,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 31. v. 40.</NOTE> <HI>and the Fro&s;t by night, and
that &s;leep departed from his eyes.</HI> And in the Story of
Gods Book we are told of <HI>David,</HI> that when he kept
his Fathers &s;heep, and that a Bear and a Lion had &s;ur|prized
a Lamb,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 30, 35.</NOTE> he &s;et him&s;elf again&s;t the fury of
tho&s;e ravenous Bea&s;ts, and delivered the poor Lamb
out of their pawes, and in a &s;ingle combat &s;lew them
both.</P>
<P>So is it with our Saviour Chri&s;t in the protection
of his Church, in the defence of tho&s;e who are the
<PB N="357" REF="190">
&s;heep of his Pa&s;ture. It was his glory, as it was his
comfort,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John.</NOTE> that of all tho&s;e whom God had given him,
he had lo&s;t not one. And 'twas his comfort as it was
his care, that he had lodged them in a place of &s;uch
&s;trength and &s;afety, even in his &s;tronge&s;t hold, his
holy Tabernacle; again&s;t the which the Gates of
Hell &s;hall never be able to prevail. A place in which
if we continue, we need not fear the violence of Sa|tan
that roaring Lion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet.</NOTE> who walks about the Fold con|tinually,
<HI>&s;eeking out whom he may devoure.</HI> And it is
well &s;aid that he walks about; for get into the Fold
he cannot: and therefore doth he walk about it, that
&s;o if any of the flock do for&s;ake the Fold, him he
may make his prey, and ravi&s;h him into his Den. Tis
true, that Chri&s;t <HI>hath &s;ent us out like &s;heep among the
Wolves,</HI> as him&s;elf hath told us. But then it is as true
withall, that he hath furni&s;hed us with doggs, and pla|ced
them round about his Church, in each corner of
it; that by their fiercene&s;s, and their watchfulne&s;s,
and continual barking, they may keep farre aloof
the common enemy, by whom the &s;traglers are en|dangered.
<HI>Vigilant enim &amp; latrant boni Canes, &amp; pro
Pa&s;tore,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 59.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; pro Grege,</HI> as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> hath it. The Wolf
and other enemies of the flock, know this well e|nough,
and indeed labour all they can to de&s;troy the&s;e
Ma&s;tives. Which when they could not do by vio|lence,
they treated with the &s;heep, as the Fable hath it,
to deliver them up into their hands; but mark what
followed thereupon. <HI>Oves pre&s;idio Canum de&s;titutas la|niant,</HI>
the doggs being gone, <HI>they fell upon the &s;heep
and worried them, and brought them to a &s;wift de|&s;truction.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, He hath &s;upplied his Church from time
<PB N="358" REF="191">
to time with faithful Pa&s;tors, for the defence and cu|&s;tody
thereof from the common enemy: &s;uch as have
evermore expo&s;ed their per&s;ons to apparent dangers,
their good names to the calumnies of malicious
tongues, their fortunes many times to apparent ruine;
all for the &s;afety of the flock, for the defence of
Chri&s;ts and the Churches cau&s;e. Witne&s;s tho&s;e ma|ny
&s;ufferings of the Apo&s;tles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 4. 12, 13.</NOTE> as St. <HI>Paul</HI> de&s;cribes
them, <HI>reviled, yet ble&s;sing; per&s;ecuted, yet &s;till &s;uffer|ing;
defamed, and yet intreating:</HI> and in a word, <HI>ut
mundi purgamenta facti,</HI> accounted as the filth of the
world, and the off-&s;couring of all things to this very
day.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 11. 24, 25.</NOTE> And more then &s;o, <HI>in perils of waters, in perils of
robbers, in perils by their own Countreymen, in perils by
the Heathen, in perils in the City, in perils in the Wil|derne&s;s,
in perils by Sea, in perils amongst fal&s;e Bre|thren.</HI>
And to make up the total &s;umme of their af|flictions,
<HI>in &s;tripes above mea&s;ure, in pri&s;ons more fre|quent,
in deaths oft.</HI> The Devil knew how much the
&s;afety of the Flock depended on the care and vigilan|cy
of the Shepherd, and therefore he aims mo&s;t at
them. <HI>Percutiam Pa&s;torem &amp; di&s;pergam gregem,</HI> is the
be&s;t Text in his Divinity. This he hath practi&s;ed in
all times and ag<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s, upon the Prophets, the Apo&s;tles,
Prelates, Pa&s;tors; the Shepherds of all ages many,
of all places &s;ome; but upon none more vi&s;ibly then
our Saviour Chri&s;t, who was not only <HI>il Pa&s;tor fido,</HI>
the faithful Shepherd, <HI>who&s;e eyes do neither &s;leep nor
&s;lumber,</HI> that &s;o his &s;heep might feed in &s;afety on the
Hills and Mountains; but <HI>Pastor ille bonus,</HI> the good
Shepherd too, even that good Shepherd of my Text.
Not onely willing to expo&s;e his per&s;on to contempt
a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">d &s;corn, as many of his followers &s;ince have done;
<PB N="359" REF="191">
but al&s;o to lay down his<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> life to &s;ave his &s;heep, which
never any did in this world but he. And &s;o I come
unto the eminent piety of our Saviour, in the di&s;|charge
of this imployment; being not only <HI>ille Pa&s;tor,</HI>
that Shepherd, but <HI>ille bonus Pa&s;tor,</HI> that good Shep|herd
al&s;o; my la&s;t particular, and now in order to be
handled.</P>
<P><HI>Ego &s;um Pa&s;tor ille bonus, I am the good Shepherd.</HI>
And fir&s;t this goodne&s;s of the Lord, though indivi&s;i|ble
in it &s;elf, hath been divided by the Schoolmen,
with good propriety both of words and meaning, into
two kindes or &s;pecies. The fir&s;t they call <GAP DESC="foreign">,
Original, the other <GAP DESC="foreign">, exemplified. <HI>Illa in Deo
exi&s;tens, haec in creatur is expre&s;&s;a:</HI> the fir&s;t exi&s;ting
&s;olely on the Lord our God; the other copied out&punc;
and manife&s;ted in his creatures. That which they call
<GAP DESC="foreign">, or original, we may define to be an everla|&s;ting
and unalterable quality in Almighty God, <HI>qua
modis omnibus &amp; &s;umm&egrave; bonus e&s;t,</HI> whereby he is &s;u|premely
and entirely good. In which regard <HI>Plato</HI> hath
&s;aid of God, that he is <GAP DESC="foreign">, good only in and of
him&s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rian. E<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">ctet.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, the only&punc; &s;aving good, as
others of the Heathen call'd him. And he that knew
him be&s;t, our mo&s;t gracious Saviour, hath given this
to us for a Maxime, <HI>That there is none good but onely
God.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 19. v. 17.</NOTE> So good, that the mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed Vi&s;ion of the
Almighty is the mo&s;t excellent good, the <HI>&s;ummum
bonum,</HI> which any of the Saints or Angels can a&s;pire
unto. Philo&s;ophers may wrangle and di&s;pute among&s;t
them&s;elves, of mans chief felicity, and may a&s;cribe
it, if they plea&s;e, to plea&s;ure, or riches; or as the
wi&s;er &s;ort have done, to the works of vertue. But we
that are the &s;heep of our Saviours Pa&s;ture, look for
<PB N="360" REF="192">
this <HI>&s;ummum bonum,</HI> only in the Lord our God, and
there we &s;hall be &s;ure to finde it.</P>
<P>The other kind of goodne&s;s call'd by the School|men
<GAP DESC="foreign">, or exemplified, is that which God hath
mani<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;ted on his creatures, and imparted to them.
This they divide again into general and &s;pecial, that
being extended unto all his Creatures, this more par|ticularly
re&s;trained to his cho&s;en &s;ervants. This gene|rall
goodne&s;s clearly manife&s;ted in the Creation of
the World, (<HI>quid enim aliud e&s;t Mundus quam Deus
explicatus,</HI> &s;aid the old Philo&s;opher) and in pre&s;er|ving
of the &s;ame created, cloathing the Lillies, and
feeding the young Ravens when they call upon him;
making his Sun to &s;hine as well upon the &s;inner, as
the righteous per&s;on;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145.</NOTE> and in a word, <HI>opening his hand,
and filling all things living with his plentiou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> In
which re&s;pect, <HI>David</HI> mo&s;t truly tells us of him, <HI>re|pleta
e&s;t terra bonitate Domini,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 32. 5.</NOTE> <HI>the Earth is full of the
goodne&s;s of the Lord.</HI> But that which mo&s;t e&s;pecially
doth concern this bu&s;ine&s;s, is his &s;pecial goodne&s;s, re|&s;trained
unto his cho&s;en &s;ervants, to &s;uch as fear his
name, and ob&s;erve his precepts. The Lord is good to
<HI>I&s;rael,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 73.</NOTE> (&s;aith the royal P&s;almi&s;t) <HI>his qui recto &s;unt corde,</HI>
even unto all &s;uch as are of a clean heart. And the
Book of <HI>Lamentations, The Lord is good to them that
wait for him, to the &s;oul that &s;eeks him.</HI> This goodne&s;s is
manife&s;ted &amp; declared in delivering them from evil,
the evil both of &s;in and puni&s;hment; and in accu|mulating
on them his mo&s;t &s;acred ble&s;&s;ings both of
grace and glory. For if an earthly Father, (as our Sa|viour
urgeth) though full of evil in him&s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth.</NOTE> knoweth
how to provide good things for his natural Children:
how much more &s;hall our Father which is in Heaven,
<PB N="361" REF="192">
be&s;tow good things on tho&s;e whom he hath adopted.
This is enough to make us &s;en&s;ible of Gods goodne&s;s
to us. And yet the way by which this goodne&s;s is
procured for us is far more admirable:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8. 32.</NOTE> the Lord not
&s;paring his own Sonne, but delivering him up for us
all, that with him he might al&s;o freely give us all
things, as St. <HI>Paul</HI> in&s;tructs us.</P>
<P>This is indeed the highe&s;t point of heavenly good|ne&s;s.
And very hard it is to &s;ay, whether de&s;erve
more of our admiration, either that God the Father
&s;hould appoint it &s;o, or God the Sonne con&s;idered in
our fle&s;h, &s;hould act the Tragedy. I &s;hall no longer
wonder at the &s;trange Command which God once
layd upon our Father <HI>Abraham. Abraham take now
thy Sonne,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 22. 2.</NOTE> <HI>thine only Sonne I&s;aac, whom thou love&s;t, and
offer him for a burnt Offering to the Lord thy God.</HI> Here
finde we God the Father really performing what he
impo&s;ed on <HI>Abraham, tentandi cau&s;a,</HI> only for triall
of his faith, and his obedience. Nor &s;hall I much ad|mire
at the zeal of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> de&s;iring in a pious ferven|cy,
that he him&s;elf might <HI>be blotted out of the Book of
God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 3. 32<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> upon condition that the peoples &s;ins might be
forgiven them. Here finde we God the Sonne actu|ally
laying down his mo&s;t precious life, not only for
his own people and the &s;heep of his hands, but even
for tho&s;e which were not of his Fold, and did never
know him. <HI>Alias enim Oves habeo. For other &s;heep I
have which are not of this Fold,</HI> as in the 16. of this
Chapter. An action beyond all example; and &s;uch
wherein our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour went beyond him&s;elf.
Him&s;elf had given it for a Maxime,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 15. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> that greater love
could no man &s;hew then this, that a man lay down his
life for his friend. And yet behold how willingly he
<PB N="362" REF="193">
gave his life for tho&s;e who either were fal&s;e friends,
or apparent enemies, Never did Sheepherd act &s;uch a
part of goodne&s;s, never were &s;heep &s;o much obliged
unto the goodne&s;s of their Sheepherd.</P>
<P>O the un&s;earchablene&s;s of Gods mercy! the mo&s;t
unlimited extent of his grace and goodne&s;s to morta|lity!
It had been farre above the po&s;&s;ibility, either of
our merit or requital, had he but only bowed the
Heavens and come down to vi&s;it us. It had been &s;uch
a prodigie as would have &s;tartled the mo&s;t &s;etled
mindes of the &s;onnes of nature, to have heard only
this, that for a good mans &s;ake, &s;ome peradventure
would yet dare to die. <HI>But God</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle)
<HI>commends his love to us in this, in that while&s;t we were
yet &s;inners,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5. 8.</NOTE> <HI>Chri&s;t di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">d for us.</HI> The Lord and giver of
life, &s;ubmits him&s;elf unto the death; <HI>mortem autem
Crucis,</HI> to the reproachful death of the accur&s;ed
Cro&s;&s;e. He yields him&s;elf to the mo&s;t &s;hameful of
all deaths, the accur&s;ed Cro&s;&s;e for the mo&s;t wretched
and unworthy of all his Creatures, rebellious man.
Rebellious man, which had &s;o often provoked his
God to anger, and crucified as it were the Lord of
Glory, before his comming in the fle&s;h. And wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ch
doth add unto the miracle of his goodne&s;s to us, <HI>di|vinitatem
dat in proemium,</HI> he died for us that we
might live with him for ever;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> and therefore put on
our corruption, that we might all be cloathed with
his immortality. Good God! how gladly could I
wi&s;h unto my &s;elf, the tongues of men and Angels at
this pre&s;ent time, that I might &s;peak a little of thy
Grace and mercy. And yet O Lord, the tongues of
men and Angels would fall &s;o &s;hort of true expre&s;&s;i|on,
that they would &s;eem no better then <HI>a &s;ounding
<PB N="363" REF="193">
bra&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 13.</NOTE> <HI>or a tinckling Cymball.</HI> Thou only ha&s;t ability
to relate the hi&s;tory of thine own great mercies, who
had&s;t alone the power to do them. The &s;tory of thy
&s;ufferings will be then be&s;t told, when we &s;hall &s;ee
thee face to face; and thou which wert the Argu|ment,
art the Authour too.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t died then. <HI>Animam &s;uam po&s;uit pro Ovibus
&s;uis,</HI> and laid down his mo&s;t precious life to pre&s;erve
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">is flock. Be&s;ides his gracious plea&s;ure that &s;o it
&s;hould be, there was in a manner a nece&s;&s;ity that &s;o it
mu&s;t be.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 9&punc;</NOTE> Without the <HI>&s;hedding of blood</HI> (&s;aith the A|po&s;tle)
<HI>there is no remi&s;sion;</HI> and what blood el&s;e could
have that efficacy, but his that &s;peaks farre better
things unto us, then the blood of <HI>Abel.</HI> No &s;aving of
the &s;heep, but by the blood of the Shepherd: no
rai&s;ing of the &s;onnes of men to the life of righteou&s;|ne&s;s,
but by &s;ubjecting the Sonne of God to the
death of nature.<NOTE PLACE="marg">c. 53. v. 5.</NOTE> <HI>For our tran&s;gre&s;sions was he wounded,
for our iniquities was he brui&s;ed, the cha&s;ti&s;ement of our
peace was upon him, and by his &s;tripes we are healed,</HI>
&s;aith the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay. Percutiam Pa&s;torem</HI> is &s;alva|tion
here. Be&s;ides, the enemy again&s;t whom he
fought, had been el&s;e invincible. For as upon &s;ome
&s;odain exigents, the &s;ure&s;t way to conquer is to flee;
&s;o here, the readie&s;t way for him to get the victory,
was to lo&s;e his life. <HI>Novum ad victoriam iter &s;angui|nis
&s;ui &s;emita aperuit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Florus hi&s;t&punc; Rom. l. 1.</NOTE> as the Hi&s;torian &s;aid of <HI>Decius.</HI>
This was indeed a battel of a &s;trange condition, in
which the Conqueror mu&s;t fir&s;t lo&s;e his life, before
he could obtain the victory, and live again before he
could enjoy it. No other way to &s;ubjugate the pow|ers
of death, and ran&s;om his di&s;tre&s;&s;ed &s;heep from the
hands of Satan,<NOTE PLACE="marg">c. 2. v. 14.</NOTE> but by his death to overthrow him
<PB N="364" REF="194">
which had the power of death, which is the Devil. So
the Apo&s;tle to the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> A miracle &s;aith the <HI>Glo&s;&s;e</HI>
indeed, that the Devil &s;hould be beaten at his own
weapon; and being the fir&s;t that brought in death,
&s;hould be conquered by it. <HI>Mors enim erat arma per
quae vincebat diabolus, &amp; per en victus e&s;t &agrave; Chri&s;to.</HI> So
the <HI>Glo&s;&s;e</HI> expounds it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Closs. O<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">dinar</NOTE></P>
<P>Thus punctually hath the Lord our Saviour di&s;|charged
the duty of the good Sheepherd unto us; and
&s;omewhat we mu&s;t do reciprocally in the corre&s;pon|dence
thereunto. But what that is, will be too long a
bu&s;ine&s;s, to be di&s;cour&s;ed of at this pre&s;ent. The 27.
of this Chapter will be a more convenient Theme,
whereupon to build an Application of the pre&s;ent
Doctrine; as it relates unto the Pa&s;toral charge of
Chri&s;t our Saviour, in feeding of our &s;ouls with the
bread of life, curing our wounded con&s;ciences with
the Phy&s;ick of the Word, correcting out obliquities
with the rod of Di&s;cipline; and lodging us in a mo&s;t
&s;afe and &s;ecure place, while&s;t we are made partakers
of his heavenly comforts. But as our pre&s;ent Text re|lates
to the Sheepherds goodne&s;s, the Application
will be here more proper then it can be there: the
hearing of his voyce, and the requital of his good|ne&s;s
in a mutual &s;uffering, being of very different na|tures.
For que&s;tionle<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s, as Chri&s;t out of his infinite
goodne&s;s did will<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ngly lay down his life for us; &s;o
may <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e well expect a mutual readine&s;s in us, not only
to die with him, but to die for him<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> al&s;o, when our
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">piritual nece&s;&s;ities&punc; and the extremities of his Church
&s;hall &s;o require. The fir&s;t of the&s;e two wayes, is by
dying with him, cruc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">ying our &s;ins upon his Cro&s;&s;e,
burying our corrupt affections in his Grave, mortify|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ng
<PB N="365" REF="194">
our earthly members, and killing in our &s;elves the
whole body of &s;in. This to be done by cha&s;ti&s;ing of
our &s;ouls with watchings, fa&s;tings, labours, patience,
afflictions, &s;ufferings. Duties &s;o throughly practi&s;ed
in the former times, by many of the Primitive Chri|&s;tians,
that their very fle&s;h was rarified into &s;pirit; and
the whole man &s;o fitted for eternal glories, as if they
did not look to die, but to be tran&s;lated. Which du|ties,
as they are at all times to be practi&s;ed by us, &s;o
mo&s;t e&s;pecially on tho&s;e dayes and times, which are
de&s;igned according to the pattern of pure Antiquity,
for fa&s;ting, prayer, and &s;uch like acts of Chri&s;tian hu|miliation:
though now not only generally neglected
by mo&s;t &s;orts of men, as if there were no difference
between Chri&s;tian libertie and antichri&s;tian licenti|ou&s;ne&s;s;
but branded and defamed as &s;uper&s;titious,
if not &s;omewhat wor&s;e. So that I fear we may too
truly take up the complaint of the Royal P&s;almi&s;t <HI>I
humbled my &s;elf and fasted, and put on Sackcloth, and it
was turned to my reproof.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;econd way of mutual &s;uffering with our Sa|viour,
is by dying for him. This was the &s;alt where|with
he &s;ea&s;oned his Di&s;ciples, and<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> it pre&s;erves their
memories mo&s;t &s;weet and fragrant to this very day.
A matter not &s;o gracious I confe&s;s unto fle&s;h and
blood, but &s;uch as may be entertained without great
difficulty, in any heart that is truly Chri&s;tian; by a|ny
one who &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;iders how much the mo&s;t
that he can &s;uffer for the &s;ake of Chri&s;t, comes &s;hort
of that which Chri&s;t hath &s;uffered for the &s;ake of
man: he being immortal, and not &s;ubject unto death,
unle&s;s he would; we mortal, &amp; of nece&s;&s;ity to die, how
much &s;oever w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> decline it. Death is a &s;leep, which
<PB N="366" REF="195">
fir&s;t or la&s;t mu&s;t bind up all our &s;en&s;es; and in the
bottom of the Grave we &s;hall all be lodged. This all
the difference, that &s;ome of us may be &s;ooner had to
bed, and not laid down &s;o ea&s;ily as the others are. Add
unto this the comfortable words of Chri&s;t our Savi|our,
in St. <HI>Matthews</HI> Go&s;pel, <HI>qui perdiderit animam
&s;uam propter me,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10. 39</NOTE> <HI>he that lo&s;eth his life for my
&s;ake, &s;hall be &s;ure to finde it.</HI> And tell me then if thus
to die, be not the readie&s;t way to live for ever: if
thus to venture all for the &s;ake of Chri&s;t, be not the
&s;ure&s;t way to keep all from hazard, and to receive
our own with u&s;ury. Thus mu&s;t we be re&s;olved, if
ever, as God knowes how &s;oon, there &s;hould be oc|ca&s;ion:
and though there never be occa&s;ion, (as God
grant there be not) yet mu&s;t we all be thus affected,
at the lea&s;t in <HI>voto.</HI> So doing, we are Martyrs though
we do not &s;uffer, and &s;hall die while&s;t we live. And
dying for him, while&s;t we live in our earthly Taber|nacles;
we &s;hall live with him when we die in his end|le&s;s
Glories. Which God of his great mercy vouch|&s;afe
unto us all. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="367" REF="195">
<HEAD>A SERMON
PREACHED
At WINDSOR, <DATE>Jan. 25. 1641.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>JOHN 10. v. 27.</BIBL>
<Q>My Sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THe Sheepherd and the Sheep are a kind
of relatives, and there are mutual and
reciprocal Offices to be done be|tween
them. The Sheepherd calls the
Sheep by name, and they hear his
voice; he leads them in the way, and they follow
him. This Sheepherd who it is we have &s;een already;
it is Chri&s;t our Saviour, the great Sheepherd of the
Sheep as St. <HI>Paul;</HI> the <GAP DESC="foreign">, or chief Sheep|herd,
as St. <HI>Peter</HI> calls him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 13. 1 Pet. 5.</NOTE> But what need more be
&s;aid of this, then what our Saviour hath affirmed in
that kind before, who did not only take upon him&s;elf
the name and office of a Sheepherd, but chalenged to
him&s;elf the title of the good Sheepherd too, the be&s;t
without all que&s;tion that was ever known; none e|ver
laying down his life for the &s;heep but he. So
<PB N="368" REF="196">
for the &s;heep, look we but on our &s;elves, we &s;hall
quickly finde them:<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 95.</NOTE> we being all of us, <HI>oves manuum
ejus,</HI> the &s;heep of his Hands, the workman&s;hip of his
Creation, &amp; <HI>oves pa&s;cuae ejus</HI> the &s;heep of his pa&s;tures,
fed and brought up by him in the works of godline&s;s.
And this the good Father <HI>Greg. N<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;.</HI> doth reckon as a
principal part of our felicity, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
that Chri&s;t doth cau&s;e us to be called
his &s;heep, and feed us with the viands of eternal life.</P>
<P>How farre our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour hath di&s;charged his
Office, not only as a Sheepherd, but the good Sheep|herd
too, we have &s;hewn already. <HI>Superat pars altera
curae lanigeros agitare greges;</HI> That which remains
behind, doth concern our &s;elves, the duties wherein
we &s;tand bound by the Lord our Sheepherd. For cer|tainly,
it is to be expected, that if he &s;peak unto us,
we &s;hould al&s;o hearken; if he preach to us, we &s;hould
practi&s;e. More then this he requires not of us; and
le&s;&s;e then this we could not do, did he not require it.
The hearing of his voyce when he &s;peaks unto us, is
an ea&s;ie piety: and we &s;hould ill de&s;erve the benefit
even of outward &s;en&s;e, did we not hearken unto him
who made the eare; or lend an eare to him, who
fir&s;t gave it us. The following of his &s;teps in the way
of godline&s;s, may perhaps &s;eem an harder duty; and
yet of no &s;uch difficulty, if con&s;idered rightly, when
he which leads the way doth &s;upport us in it. We
&s;hall ill finde the way to immortality, if we were left
unto our &s;elves; who ca&s;t &s;uch doubts, and make &s;uch
poor excu&s;es to delay the journey, having &s;o &s;ure a
Guide, &s;uch a brave Conductor, not only to direct us
that we do not erre, but to &s;u&s;tain us al&s;o that we do
not fall. The&s;e the chief duties which he looks for
<PB N="369" REF="196">
from us; and the&s;e he gives us in the words now read
unto you. <HI>Oves meae vocem meam audiunt, My Sheep
hear my voyce, and follow me.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e words, as they relate unto our &s;elves, pre|&s;ent
unto us the&s;e three things to be con&s;idered.
1. The condition of Gods people, as they are repre|&s;ented
to us in the name of &s;heep: fir&s;t <HI>Oves,</HI> and
then <HI>Oves meae,</HI> Chri&s;ts Sheep, the &s;heep of his mo&s;t
ble&s;&s;ed Pa&s;tures. 2. The duties here expected from
them, which are <HI>audire &amp; &s;equi,</HI> to hear and to fol|low;
or rather &s;o to hear that we may follow the
better. 3. We have the object of this duty, which is
twofold al&s;o, <HI>vocem meam, me;</HI> not my voice only,
but my foot-&s;teps too. The&s;e are the points to be
con&s;idered&punc; beginning fir&s;t with the condition of Gods
people, as they are repre&s;ented to us in the name of
&s;heep: fir&s;t &s;ingle in them&s;elves as <HI>Oves,</HI> then as uni|ted
in one fold, under one chief Shepherd, <HI>oves meae,</HI>
my &s;heep, the whole flock together. Fir&s;t then,</P>
<P><HI>Ovis e&s;t molle pecus, corpore inerme, animo placidum.</HI>
The &s;heep is &s;aid by <HI>I&s;idore,</HI> to be a creature of a very
meek and quiet nature, of great, both innocency and
&s;implicity: di&s;armed, and &s;o by con&s;equence di&s;abled
from doing the lea&s;t hurt or injury to any other. In
this regard, our Saviour Chri&s;t was likened by the
Prophet <HI>E&s;ay,</HI> unto a &s;heep before the Shearer. Who
though he was not only &s;horn,<NOTE PLACE="marg">53. 7.</NOTE> but fleeced; nay both
oppre&s;&s;ed and afflicted, as the Text informs us: yet
he indured it all with patience. He opened not his
mouth, but was dumb before them; reviling not a|gain
when he was reviled, nor u&s;ing threatning words
when he &s;uffered wrongfully; but withall, meekne&s;s
and humility committed his whole cau&s;e to him who<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2. 23.</NOTE>
<PB N="370" REF="197">
judgeth righteou&s;ly. In this regard, our Saviour be|ing
to warn his followers of tho&s;e fal&s;e Prophets,
which the Devil did intend to &s;end among&s;t them, he
lets them know that they &s;hould come in Sheeps
cloathing, <HI>i. e.</HI> that they &s;hould be apparelled with
all &s;hewes of meekne&s;s, innocency and humility, and
&s;uch like amiable qualities, &s;uch as win mo&s;t on the
affections of mi&s;guided men. Nay it is noted by <HI>A|quinas,
in nomine Ovis innocentiam &amp; &s;implicitatem
per totam &s;cripturam de&s;ignari;</HI> that through the whole
body of the Scripture, innocency and &s;implicity are
expre&s;&s;ed unto us under the notion of the &s;heep.
Which though perhaps it be not univer&s;ally true (as
perhaps it may be) yet doth it very well agree with
the condition of the &s;heep, which is not only <HI>molle
pecus,</HI> a creature of a mild and tender nature; but for
the mo&s;t part white of color, <HI>quam dives nivei pecoris,</HI>
as he in <HI>Virgil,</HI> which is the &s;ign or robe of innocence.</P>
<P>Such al&s;o are the &s;heep of our Saviours Pa&s;ture,
walking in their vocation, as St. <HI>Paul</HI> advi&s;eth, with
all lowline&s;s and meekne&s;s; wa&s;hing their hands in
innocence with the&punc; Prophet <HI>David;</HI> putting away
high mindedne&s;s and pride, and arrogance, as things
which are not competible with their Chri&s;tian Cal|ling.
Our Saviour Chri&s;t hath not only taught us to
be <HI>wi&s;e as Serpents, but to be innocent as Doves al&s;o.</HI>
Nor hath he called upon us only that we be <HI>holy as he
is holy,</HI> and per<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ect, <HI>as our Father in Heaven is perfect:</HI>
but he would have us learn of him, how to be meek
and lowly of heart, <HI>ut requiem inveniamus animabus
nostris,</HI> that we may finde re&s;t unto our &s;ouls. Humi|lity
is the fir&s;t &s;tep in that &s;acred ladder which reach|eth
up from Earth to Heaven; and there we mu&s;t be|gin
<PB N="371" REF="197">
our ri&s;e, if ever we intend to attain the top. And
for the Gates of Heaven, they are &s;trait and narrow,
and can be entred only by the <HI>meek in heart, by the poor
in &s;pirit.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 1.</NOTE> It was the lowline&s;s of the Virgin <HI>Mary</HI> that
the Lord regarded; <HI>the humble and the meek that he
exalteth.</HI> The wi&s;e man <HI>Chilo,</HI> though an Heathen,
could have taught us this. Who being asked what
<HI>Jupiter</HI> did u&s;e to do,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Laert in chil.</NOTE> returned this an&s;wer, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
&amp;c. the very &s;ame with that of the
Magnificat. <HI>Depo&s;uit potentes de &s;ede &s;ua, He doth put
down the mighty from their Seat, and doth exalt the
humble and meek.</HI> Exalt them then he will, for him|&s;elf
hath &s;aid it; and that not only in this world above
their Brethren, but in the world to come among&s;t
the Angels.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. 5. 5.</NOTE> That Chri&s;t who hath a&s;&s;ured us this, <HI>that
ble&s;&s;ed are the meek in heart, for they &s;hall inherit the
Earth;</HI> he al&s;o hath affirmed, <HI>that ble&s;&s;ed are the poor
in &s;pirit, quoniam ip&s;orum e&s;t Regnum coelorum, for theirs
is the Kingdom of Heaven.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e qualities of lowline&s;s, meekne&s;s and humi|lity,
as they are at all times very nece&s;&s;ary; &s;o
mo&s;t e&s;pecially at that time, when we come to hear,
to exerci&s;e that Office, and perform that duty which
is here required. The proud man hates to be in&s;truct|ed,
and the impatient will not brook a reprehen&s;ion.
The one thinks no man good enough to be his re|membrancer;
the other &s;torms and flies out into fu|ry
on the lea&s;t reproof. The one thinks &s;corn to come
to Chri&s;t, wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">le&s;t he is preaching in the Temple, and
&s;uch publick places; They expect rather, and King
<HI>Herod</HI> did in the holy Go&s;pel,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 23.</NOTE> till he be brought unto
their Hou&s;es: and then too, if they be not &s;atisfied
in their curio&s;ities, they &s;et him at naught, laugh at
<PB N="372" REF="198">
him to his very face, <HI>&amp; ve&s;te alb<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> indutum illudunt,</HI>
put the fools coat upon him, and &s;o &s;end him going.
The other come about him like the Scribes and Pha|ri&s;ees,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23.</NOTE>
and hearken greedily to his words. But if he
touch upon their vices, if he denounce a woe again&s;t
them for their pride and arrogance, their covetou&s;|n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;s,
hypocri&s;ie, and de&s;ire of glory, they then take
coun&s;el pre&s;ently, how they may de&s;troy him. Nei|ther
of the&s;e are in a fit condition to repair to Chri&s;t;
or if they do, are like to get but little by their com|ing
to him. <HI>Dirigit man&s;uetos in judicio;</HI> they are the
meek only whom God guides in judgement, the
meek whom he in&s;tructeth in his holy wayes. In vain
do they re&s;ort unto him to hear his voyce, who u&s;e to
come with hardned, not with humbled hearts.</P>
<P>But there's another quality of the &s;heep, as nece&s;|&s;ary
to the work of hearing on the <HI>Po&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">fact,</HI> as meek|ne&s;s
and humility in the preparation, or <HI>a parte ante:</HI>
which is the chewing of the Cud, as we u&s;e to call it.
The <HI>Latines</HI> call it rumination. <HI>Illice &s;ub nigra&punc; pallen|tes
ruminat herb as,</HI> as the Poet hath it. And they de|rive
that terme from the old word <HI>rumen,</HI> which &s;ig|nifies
that little bag or ventricle, into the which it is
conveyed before the &s;econd chewing of it; or el&s;e
as <HI>Servius</HI> hath it in his notes on <HI>Virgil,</HI> from the mo&s;t
prominent part of the throat, called <HI>Ruma, per quam
demi&s;&s;us cibus revocatur,</HI> by which they do recall that
food into their mouthes, which they had lodged with|in
their &s;tomacks. The rea&s;on of this rumination I re|gard
not here, <GAP DESC="foreign">. It properly
belongs to the Philo&s;opher, and to him we leave it.
All I &s;hall note from hence is this, that <HI>ruminare</HI> by a
Metaphor, is &s;ometimes taken for <HI>in memoriam revo|care,</HI>
<PB N="373" REF="198">
to call again to our remembrance: the recalling
of &s;uch things into our memories, which either have
been lo&s;t out of them, or mi&s;laid in them, being much
of the &s;ame nature in a man, as is the other in a Bea&s;t.
The &s;heep comes ha&s;tily to feed, and in that ha&s;t, doth
not &s;o thorowly chew and prepare their food, and fit
it for dige&s;tion, as do other creatures: but when the
fury of their Appetite is a little &s;lackned, they be|&s;tow
upon it as it were a &s;econd eating, that it may be
more perfectly concocted, and made fit for nouri&s;h|ment.
<HI>Atque iterum pa&s;to pa&s;citur ante cibo,</HI> as it is in
<HI>Ovid.</HI> And this no que&s;tion is required in every one
who doth de&s;ire to be accounted for a &s;heep of our
Saviours Pa&s;ture, and comes with ha&s;t and hunger to
hear his voyce. It was the Precept given by <HI>David</HI>
to the great Kings Daughter, not to hear only, but
to con&s;ider: <HI>hearken O Daughter and con&s;ider,</HI> P&s;al. 45.
And '<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">was the greate&s;t commendation of the Virgin
<HI>Mary,</HI> a Daughter of the great King al&s;o, that &s;he did
keep the &s;ayings of her Lord and Saviour, <HI>conferens in
corde &s;uo,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 2. 19.</NOTE> and pondered them duly in her heart. This is
that commanded by the Lord to his people <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that
they &s;hould lay up his words in their hearts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 11. 18.</NOTE> and me|ditate
on the &s;ame both day and night; commended
by St. <HI>Luke</HI> in the <HI>Beroeans,</HI> who did not only re|ceive
the Word with all readine&s;s of mind, but care|fully
compared it with the holy Scriptures:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 17. 11.</NOTE> and is in|deed
an excellent chewing of the cud, a profitable art
of benefiting by the word revealed. For they who
thus do chew the cud, are of all others the mo&s;t like|ly,
not only to pre&s;erve the word in their hearts and
memories, but to ob&s;erve it al&s;o in their words and
actions.</P>
<PB N="374" REF="199">
<P>This is indeed the principal end both of our preach|ing
and your hearing,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">ra.</NOTE> <HI>ut <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">a retineatis in mente, imple|at
is in opere,</HI> that you do keep it in your mindes, and
manife&s;t the &s;ame in your conver&s;ations. And happy
were it with us all, did we imploy our memories to &s;o
good a purpo&s;e; could we take coun&s;el of the &s;heep,
and learn this excellent art of chewing the cud as we
ought to do; for as it hapneth too too often, the &s;oul
hath never le&s;&s;e command upon the memory, then in
tho&s;e things which appertain to its own &s;alvation.
Trifles and toyes, conceits and plea&s;ant pa&s;&s;ages of
wit float on the top thereof, and are &s;till at hand.
<HI>Po&s;co &amp; ad&s;unt illico,</HI> as St. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> hath it. But &s;uch
things as concern Chri&s;ts Kingdom and his holy
words,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Confe&s;&s;.</NOTE> the&s;e either are quite lo&s;t, and we look not
after them, or &s;o mi&s;laid, we cannot find them. Such
is the common frailty of us mortal men, that the be&s;t
things are la&s;t learnt, and fir&s;t forgotten. A frailty no
way to be rectified, but by a frequent pondering of
the word of God, a due revolving of it in our thoughts
and memories: whether we read it in the Scrip<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ures,
or hear it publi&s;hed in our Churches. By doing where|of,
we &s;hall not only hear Gods Word, nor peru&s;e it
onely, nor onely keep it in our memories, as a tale or
Story; but turn the words thereof to works: and
thereby verifie that good note of <HI>Bernard,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Is legit
rect&egrave; &s;cripturas &s;anctas qui verba vertit in opera.</HI></P>
<P>This if we do, we &s;hall come nearer to the conditi|on
of the &s;heep then before we were: which is a ve|ry
profitable creature and exceeding fruitful of good
works. For whereas it was either profit or plea&s;ure
which fir&s;t brought Bea&s;ts into the &s;ervice and ac|quaintance
of man; the &s;heep hath the preheminence
<PB N="375" REF="199">
of them all in the point of profit. <HI>Quadrupedum qua<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">
utilitatis cau&s;a homines inclu&s;erunt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi&s;tor. Animal.</NOTE> <HI>primas fui&s;se oves,</HI>
&s;aith <HI>Conradus Ge&s;ner.</HI> And certainly from that little
creature, we have not only all things nece&s;&s;ary for the
life of man, but many things which are for plea&s;ure
and convenience. Thus have we Cloaths of cour&s;er
wearing from their Skins, of finer from their Wooll;
meat from their fle&s;h, medicine from their blood, and
Mu&s;ick from their Bowels. And when the Sun with|drawes
his comfortable beames from the &s;ight of
man, we make our &s;elves an artificial day by their
fat and Tallow. Nay, they afford us an increa&s;e al&s;o,
both of Bread and Beere; and in &s;ome parts are be|neficial
to their Ma&s;ters, in all the bounties of a
Dairy.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Varro de re Ru&s;tic&acirc;.</NOTE> <HI>Ad cibum lac &amp; ca&s;eum praebent.</HI> So <HI>Varro,</HI> and
&s;uch others who have written of the arts of Husban|dry.
For further proof, con&s;ult the 25. of St.
<HI>Matthews</HI> Go&s;pel, where our Redeemer gives the
&s;heep this commendation.<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 35, 36.</NOTE> <HI>I was</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>an hungry,
and you gave me meat; thir&s;ty, and you gave me drink;
naked, and you cloathed me; a &s;tranger, and you took me
in; &s;ick and in pri&s;on, and you came to vi&s;it me.</HI> Which
as it doth expre&s;s mo&s;t fully the bountiful condition
of the &s;heep, (which que&s;tionle&s;s, is the mo&s;t plenti|full
and liberal Hou&s;e-keeper of all creatures el&s;e:) &s;o
doth it al&s;o &s;hew, what kind of men they ought to be
which are the &s;heep of our Redeemer, that mo&s;t glo|rious
Shepherd; free in imparting all tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ings
wherewith by his great mercies we have been inrich|ed.</P>
<P>But here &s;ome men may chance to &s;ay, what means
have we of yielding any profit to our Lord and Ma|&s;ter,
the great Shepherd of our &s;ouls,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2.</NOTE> as St. <HI>Peter</HI>
<PB N="376" REF="200">
calls him. He dwells not near us, that we &s;hould in|vite
him to our Fea&s;ts or Banquets; nor can we &s;ee
him face to face, to make him partaker of our &s;ub|&s;tance.
But this, although it be a common, is a fal&s;e
pretence. God dwells among&s;t us in his poor, and in
his Prophets; and he expects that we be bountiful to
them whom he hath &s;ub&s;tituted in his place, either
as in&s;truments of our edification, or objects of our li|berality.
The Prophet or the Prie&s;t, call him which
you will, is in the Scriptures called a Sheepherd; and
all that are committed to his charge and care are his
Sheep, his Flock. And doth not equity require and
the Scriptures dictate,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 9.</NOTE> <HI>that he which feed&egrave;th the Flock,
&s;hould al&s;o feed him&s;elf with the milk of the Flock,</HI> and
&s;ometimes cloath him&s;elf with the Fleece thereof?
The Law of nature and of Nations have re&s;olved this
ca&s;e. And he mu&s;t needs rebel again&s;t both of them,
who grudgeth the poor Prie&s;t that maintenance
which the Law allowes him; or &s;hall compel him to
make up his full tale of bricks, and take away the
&s;traw and &s;tubble which before he had. So for the
poor, they al&s;o have a warrant <HI>dormant;</HI> or if you will,
a general Letter of Atturney, to receive our boun|ties;
and to receive them al&s;o in the name of God.
Verily &s;aith our Lord and Saviour to his ble&s;&s;ed
&s;heep,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 25.</NOTE> <HI>in as much as you have done the&s;e works of mercy
unto the lea&s;t of the&s;e my Brethren, ye have done them al|&s;o
unto me.</HI> An excellent motive unto bounty and
the works of charity.</P>
<P>There is another quality in the &s;heep, which <HI>Alber|tus</HI>
&s;peaks of, <HI>viz.</HI> that mutual love and corre&s;pon|dency
which is between them. <HI>Oves &s;e mutu&ograve; amant, &amp;
una condolet alteri,</HI> as he tells us of them. Some al&s;o
<PB N="377" REF="200">
have ob&s;erved&punc; that if a &s;heep that's &s;trong and
healthy do &s;ee another of the &s;ame Fold &s;ick and
fainting, <HI>Soli pro eadem &s;e objicit, &amp; umbram ei obtendit,</HI>
he will &s;tand betwixt him and the Sun, and keep him
from the fury and the heats thereof. Which if it be
&s;o, as I have no rea&s;on to &s;u&s;pect the Authours, it is a
&s;ympathy full of &s;candal to the &s;onnes of men; who
for the mo&s;t part, are &s;o farre from making &s;hade to
the afflicted and oppre&s;&s;ed, that if their ruine and de|&s;truction
will any way conduce unto our advantage,
we u&s;e to lay them in the Sun. Such mi&s;erable com|forters
were the friends of <HI>Job,</HI> who when they &s;hould
have laboured to revive his &s;pirits, endeavoured to
afflict his con&s;cience: and &s;uch the <HI>Ziphites</HI> unto <HI>Da|vid,</HI>
in&s;tead of being a comfort to him in the time of
his exile, they practi&s;e to deliver him into the hands
of <HI>Saul.</HI> We are all of us apt enough to comply with
one part of St. <HI>Pauls</HI> injunction, which is <HI>gaudere cum
gaudentibus,</HI> to rejoyce with them that do rejoyce, to
&s;hare with men in their pro&s;perities, and be partakers
of their glories; and do it, though we be not bidden.
But for the other part thereof, which is <HI>dolere cum
dolentibus,</HI> to weep with them that weep, and bear a
part in their affliction; we will by no means yield to
that, though we be intreated. In that quite contrary
to the coun&s;el of the wi&s;e Philo&s;opher, who would
have no man come uncalled to a friend or neighbour,
<GAP DESC="foreign">, but in the times of his af|fliction
and his adver&s;ity.</P>
<P>Next, let us look upon the &s;heep, as they are a
flock; as they are <HI>Oves</HI> fir&s;t in the plural number, and
&s;econdly, as <HI>Oves meae,</HI> my &s;heep, the &s;heep of Chri&s;t,
a multitude, or number, under the command of one
<PB N="378" REF="201">
&s;upreme Sheepherd. Fir&s;t, <HI>Oves</HI> in the plural number,
otherwi&s;e Chri&s;t could have no Church, and the great
Sheepherd would have never a Flock. One &s;heep can
no more properly be called a Flock, then one Swal|low
may be &s;aid to make a Summer; and on the o|ther
&s;ide, a multitude of &s;heep without rule or Go|vernment,
is no more a flock, then &s;everal &s;hreds of
Cloth may be called a Garment. So is it al&s;o with
the Church, one man though never &s;o repleni&s;hed
with cele&s;tial Graces, cannot &s;o properly be called a
Church, as a Chappel of Ea&s;e: and multitudes of
men that live not under one Lord, one Faith, one
Bapti&s;me, cannot with &s;uch propriety be termed a
Church, as a confu&s;ion of opinions. To the making
therefore of a Church, a Flock; there is a number
fir&s;t required, and next an union or con&s;olidation
of tho&s;e numbers. Its true, this number hath not been
at all times eminent, nor equally con&s;picuous in all
places; and yet there have been &s;till a number. Seven
thou&s;and knees there were in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> which <HI>Elijah</HI>
knew not, that had not bowed them&s;elves to <HI>Baal,</HI>
and infinite numbers in the Realm of <HI>Judah,</HI> who ne|ver
offered &s;acrifice to that wretched Idol; vi&s;ible
Profe&s;&s;ors of Gods &s;aving truths and devout wor|&s;hippers
of his holy name. Nor ever was the Church
&s;o de&s;titu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e of the grace of God, as not to hold tho&s;e
nece&s;&s;ary fundamental Doctrines which are required
unto &s;alvation: and tho&s;e profe&s;&s;ed and taught in
&s;ome place or other according to the will and plea|&s;ure
of Almighty God. Since God fir&s;t had a Church,
there have &s;till been numbers of Profe&s;&s;ors; though
more or le&s;&s;e, according unto times and &s;ea&s;ons, more
in &s;ome places then in others, although not alwayes
<PB N="379" REF="201">
in &s;uch whole and &s;ound condition, &s;o free from erro<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">
and corruptions as it ought to be.</P>
<P>But number &s;imply, is not &s;o great a &s;trength to
the Church of God, as is the unity thereof. For as
the holy Gho&s;t in the Book of P&s;alms,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 122.</NOTE> compares the
Church not unto men,<NOTE PLACE="marg">c. 6. v. 4.</NOTE> but to a City, <HI>a City at unity
in it &s;elf,</HI> and in the <HI>Canticles,</HI> not unto Souldiers, but
an Army,<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 6.</NOTE> <HI>an Army terrible with banners;</HI> &s;o doth he
liken it not unto &s;heep, but to a flock, a flock new
come from wa&s;hing, in the &s;ame Song of <HI>Solomon;</HI> a
little flock,<NOTE PLACE="marg">c. 12.</NOTE> as him&s;elf calls it in St. <HI>Luke.</HI> And if a
flock, it mu&s;t be then united and collected into one
Fold, under the leading and command of the &s;ame
one Sheepherd: <HI>unum <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">vile,</HI> and <HI>unus Pa&s;tor,</HI> being
joyned together in this Chapter, v. 16. To finde this
one Sheepherd who it is, we need &s;eek no further then
my Text, it is Chri&s;t our Saviour; who therefore
calleth them <HI>oves meas,</HI> his own &s;heep; his as the chief
&s;heepherd and proprietary, the Lord and owner of the
flock. And this &s;upreme and univer&s;al &s;heepherd we
acknowledge gladly, and &s;hould account our &s;elves in
an ill condition were we not under his command, fed
by his ble&s;&s;ed Word and Sacraments, and &s;afely &s;hel|tered
under the wings of his protection. There is in|deed
another who pretends to this, this univer&s;al Em|pire
over all the Flock: one who cries out with <HI>Po|lyphemus</HI>
in the Poet,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid. Met. 1. 13.</NOTE> <HI>Hoc p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">cus omne meum e&s;t,</HI> that
all the &s;heep upon the Downs are his; or like the
&s;heepherd in the Eclogue, <HI>Mille meae Siculis errant in
montibus Agnae,</HI> and &s;o are all the Lambs on a thou|&s;and
Hills.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Virg. 2.</NOTE> And whereas antiently it was conceived
to be a perfect definition of the Church of Chri&s;t,
<HI>viz.</HI> that it was a body of men profe&s;&s;ing one Lord,
<PB N="380" REF="202">
one Faith, one Bapti&s;me: our Ma&s;ters in the Church
of <HI>Rome,</HI> have now added this, <HI>&s;ub unius Chri&s;ti in ter|ris
Vicarii,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Bellarm. de Eccle&s;. l. 3. c. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Romani Pont.</HI> that this collected body mu&s;t
be under the command of the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome.</HI> A
patch &s;ubjoyned to the old definition of a Church,
much like the piece of new Cloth put to an old Gar|ment,
which our Saviour &s;peaketh of. That which is
added to it to make up the rent,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 9. 17.</NOTE> takes from the beau|ty
of the Garment; <HI>Et &s;ci&s;&s;ura fit pejor,</HI> &s;aith the
Text, the Schi&s;me or rupture is made wor&s;e then be|fore
it was. For by this patch, this new addition, the
Churches of the Ea&s;t which are large and numerous;
tho&s;e of the <HI>Mo&s;covites</HI> and <HI>A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">thiopians,</HI> which are
farre more entire, though not &s;o populous; and all
the Churches al&s;o of the Reformation are cut off for
ever from having any part in <HI>David,</HI> or hope of an in|heritance
in the &s;onne of <HI>Je&s;&s;e.</HI> But with this new
Divinity we have nought to do. We know but one
chief Sheepherd onely, even the Lord Chri&s;t Je&s;us,
who&s;e voyce we are to hear, whom we ought to fol|low.</P>
<P>If it be asked, whether the number or the unity of
the flock, be the more con&s;iderable; no que&s;tion but
we mu&s;t determine it in behalf of unity. A &s;mall
flock if it hold together, are le&s;&s;e obnoxious to the
Wolf, then multitudes of &s;heep di&s;per&s;ed and &s;catter|ed
without rule and order. <HI>Luporum in&s;idiis oves mi|nus
patent, quod ita catervatim incedant, &amp; &agrave; reliquis
non aberrent,</HI> as mine Authour hath it. When the
&s;heep keep together in a flock, a Body, the Wolf dare
hardly meddle with them; for it were madne&s;s in
him to attempt a flock. But if he meet them &s;ingle,
or in &s;cattered Companies, divided from the main
<PB N="381" REF="202">
Body of their fellows; or otherwi&s;e &s;tragling from
the Fold: then takes he his advantage of them, and
de&s;troyes them utterly. As long as <HI>Dinah</HI> kept her
&s;elf within the Sanctuary of her Fathers Hou&s;e, fen|ced
by the valour of her Brethren, and guided by the
coun&s;els of a careful Parent; it went well with her,
&s;he pre&s;erved her honour.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 34.</NOTE> But when the gadding hu|mour
took her, and &s;he mu&s;t needs abroad to &s;ee the
Daughters of the Land; &s;he forthwith met with <HI>Si|chem</HI>
the Sonne of <HI>Hamor,</HI> who &s;eized upon her and
defiled her. And &s;o it al&s;o is with the &s;tragling Chri|&s;tian,
&s;uch as do peevi&s;hly divide them&s;elves from the
Communion of the Church, and wander from the
re&s;t of that &s;acred Body; <HI>They either fall into the jawes
of the roaring Lion,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet.</NOTE> who walkes about in expectation
of his prey, <HI>&s;eeking out whom he may devoure;</HI> or el&s;e
by hearkening to the voice of &s;trangers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 10.</NOTE> whom they
&s;hould not follow, they make them&s;elves a &s;poyl
unto <HI>Theeves and Robbers.</HI> Keep we then all together
in one Fold, one Flock; and &s;o we need not fear the
violence of Satan, nor the power of Hell, nor any mi&s;|chievous
de&s;ign of malicious men. And if we would
pre&s;erve the &s;pirit of unity in the bond of peace, we
cannot do it with le&s;&s;e hazard, nor with more a&s;&s;u|rance,
then if we hearken diligently to the voyce of
Chri&s;t, and tread with patience in his &s;teps, which are
the duties to be done, and come next in order to be
handled.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">, the &s;en&s;e of
hearing (&s;aith our Ma&s;ter <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI>) is the &s;en&s;e of Di&s;|cipline,<NOTE PLACE="marg">de &s;en&s;. &amp; &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">n|&s;ibil.</NOTE>
that &s;en&s;e whereby we are made capable of
learning; and thereby gain unto our &s;elves that
knowledge, which could not be begotten with us by
<PB N="382" REF="203">
our Parents. We may upon the &s;ame grounds, call
it the &s;en&s;e of &s;alvation.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom.</NOTE> For <HI>Fides ex auditu, Faith
comes by hearing,</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>Paul.</HI> And without faith, it
is impo&s;&s;ible we &s;hould be &s;aved, becau&s;e it is impo&s;|&s;ible
that without faith we &s;hould plea&s;e the Lord.
Now no man brings this knowledge of, or this faith
in Chri&s;t, into the World along with him; nor can a
man believe in the Sonne of God, into who&s;e &s;oul the
Doctrine of belief is not di&s;tilled and infu&s;ed through
the outward &s;en&s;es. Faith, though an habit principal|ly
of the Lords infu&s;ing, yet requires &s;omewhat on
our parts to be done and acted, as hearing, reading,
conference, and &s;uch like preparatives; whereby our
under&s;tandings are informed, and our mindes en|lightned,
and &s;o prepared to entertain it. Be&s;ides, it
is the ob&s;ervation of an ancient Father, that many faculties
of the &s;oul,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ba&s;il. in P&s;al. 33.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
are likened and re&s;embled to the outward
members. Upon which ground, the eare may not
improperly be called <GAP DESC="foreign">, the &s;pirituall
mouth, by which we do receive both food and Phy|&s;ick
for the langui&s;hing &s;oul. It hath been noted of
the &s;heep that it is naturally &s;ubject to the rot. <HI>O&s;sa
minutatim morbo collap&s;a trahebat,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Georgic. 3.</NOTE> as the Poet hath it.
Which as it naturally doth ari&s;e from the moy&s;t and
flegmatick con&s;titution of their bodies; &s;o is it then
mo&s;t frequent and predominant in them, when to the
natural moy&s;ture of their bodies is added al&s;o the cor|rupt
moy&s;ture of their Pa&s;tures. No way to help it
or prevent it, but to change their Pa&s;tures, to lead
them up unto the Mountains, to places of a &s;weet,
but more whol&s;om Herbage. So is it al&s;o with us
men, with our Saviours &s;heep. We are all rotten
<PB N="383" REF="203">
from the womb: in &s;in our Mothers have conceived
us, &s;aith the Royal P&s;almi&s;t: but then mo&s;t dange|rou&s;ly
affected with it, when to the natural corrupt|ne&s;s
of our di&s;po&s;ition are added al&s;o the di&s;ea&s;es of
our education:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tully in Phil. 2</NOTE> <HI>Crederes nos natur&acirc; non tam improbos
e&s;&s;e, ni&s;i accederet etiam di&s;ciplina.</HI> But being thus
di&s;ea&s;ed and ill-affected, what means is left us for the
cure? &s;urely there is no other way to remedy the di&s;|ea&s;es
of our conver&s;ation, but by the phy&s;ick of the
Word; nor other way to make that phy&s;ick effica|cious,
but by applying it to the ear, That is the
mouth wherewith we mu&s;t take down tho&s;e potions
which the Phy&s;itians of our &s;ouls have pre&s;cribed
unto us.</P>
<P>Next let us look upon the Word as it is our food,
<HI>man living not by bread alone, but by every word procee|ding
from the mouth of God;</HI> food fitted for all Ages
and for all conditions. Are we but Novices in the
things of God, but Babes of ye&s;terday? then it goes
for milk. <HI>As new-born babes de&s;ire ye the &s;incere milk
of the Word, that ye may grow thereby,</HI> &s;o St. <HI>Peter</HI> hath
it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2</NOTE> Are ye of riper years and more &s;etled judgments?
then it &s;tands for meat. <HI>Strong meat belongs to them
that are of full age, who have their &s;en&s;es exerci&s;ed to
di&s;cern both good and evil,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 5. 12.</NOTE> &s;o St. <HI>Paul hath told us.</HI>
Are ye of curious ta&s;ts and affected palates? then it
is a banquet, a banquet of all others the mo&s;t rich and
nouri&s;hing. A banquet full of all Varieties; in which
there are both Sweet-meats to delight the Ta&s;t, Sal|&s;ado's
to revive the Palate, Tart &s;tuff to &s;et an edge
upon the Appetite, Lenitives to open and unknit
Ob&s;tructions, Cordials to heighten and advance our
Spirits. And by what means do we become partakers
<PB N="384" REF="204">
of tho&s;e heavenly Viands, but onely by the mouth
of our Under&s;tanding;<NOTE PLACE="marg">de re&s;ur. carnis.</NOTE> <HI>auditu devorandus e&s;t hic pa|nis,
Intellectu devorandus, Fide digerendus.</HI> This &s;a|cred
and cele&s;tial food mu&s;t be fir&s;t &s;wallowed with
our Ears, chewed with our Intellect or Under&s;tand|ing,
and finally dige&s;ted by our Faith, as <HI>Tertullian</HI>
hath it: &s;o that in each of tho&s;e re&s;pects and in all
together, <HI>Qui habet aures audire, audiat, He that hath
ears to hear let him hear:</HI> and yet that's not all.</P>
<P>Not all a&s;&s;uredly, there's no thought of that; the
way to Heaven were very ea&s;ie if it &s;hould be &s;o.
There's not a Scribe or Phari&s;ee in all the Go&s;pel but
had been Sainted long before this time, if hearing
onely in it &s;elf, <HI>ex opere operato,</HI> as the Schoolmen
phra&s;e it, could have brought them thither. They
heard the voice of Chri&s;t, none oftner, but they one|ly
heard it; and in this place <HI>audire</HI> goes a little fur|ther.
The hearing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Servius in Aeneid. 3.</NOTE> as it is the &s;en&s;e of di&s;cipline, &s;o
was the ear (the in&s;trument of hearing) of old times
con&s;ecrated to the memory. <HI>Phy&s;ici dicunt &s;ingulas
corporis partes Numinibus con&s;ecratas e&s;&s;e, ut aurem
Memoriae,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Guil. in Joh.</NOTE> <HI>frontem Genio,</HI> as <HI>Servius</HI> notes it upon <HI>Vir|gil.</HI>
We mu&s;t &s;o hear then that we do remember,
not make our ears a thorough-fare, and no more then
&s;o: and yet this is not all we mu&s;t look to neither.
<HI>Audire e&s;t credere &amp; obedire,</HI> as mine author tells me.
To hear is to believe and practi&s;e; fir&s;t to believe
that what we heare delivered in the Word is true, and
then to practi&s;e it as fit and nece&s;&s;ary to be done: this
is the hearing we mu&s;t tru&s;t too if we look for Hea|ven.
'Tis not the &s;hutting of our eyes, and turning
all the body into an ear that will &s;ave our &s;oules;
there's &s;omewhat el&s;e which mu&s;t be thought of. Fir&s;t
<PB N="385" REF="204">
to commit to memory tho&s;e &s;aving Doctrines which
we have heard delivered from the Word of God,
and next to expre&s;s the power thereof in our lives and
actions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">in 2 Pet.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, as in <HI>Oecumenius,</HI> with
all alacrity of mind and &s;pirit; for not the hearers of
the Word, but the doers of it &s;hall be ju&s;tified, &s;o
the Apo&s;tle to the Romans.</P>
<P>Nor is it &s;trange that hearing in the Book of God
&s;hould be interpreted Obedience. It was the fir&s;t
quarrel which God had with <HI>Adam,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.</NOTE> <HI>quia audii&s;ti vo|cem
uxoris tuae,</HI> becau&s;e he had hearkened to the voice
of his wife. What, had God given her to him for a
comfort, and doth he now find fault that he heard her
&s;peak? what comfort can there be in a &s;ullen wo|man?
in a dumb woman none at all. Not &s;o: 'twas
not the hearing of <HI>Eves</HI> voice that the Lord con|demned,
but his obeying of the &s;ame, his yielding to
her wanton motions, and attributing more unto her
de&s;ires then to Gods Commandements. <HI>Audi&s;ti,</HI> i. e.
<HI>adimple&s;ti,</HI> to hearken there is to obey; becau&s;e
thou ha&s;t obeyed the voice of thy wife, and willfully
tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed the precepts of the Lord thy God,
therefore the Lord &s;hall cur&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> the earth, and make
thee labour for thy living;<NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 22.</NOTE> &s;o in the 1 of <HI>Samuel</HI> and
the 15th Chapter, <HI>Melior e&s;t obedientia qu&agrave;m victimae,
to obey is better then &s;acrifice, and to hearken then the
fat of Rams.</HI> Where <HI>au&s;cultare &amp; obedire</HI> to hearken
and obey are plainly u&s;ed as words of the &s;ame &s;ig|nification,
the &s;ame in &s;en&s;e though not in &s;ound;
and therefore when Almighty God did give this te|&s;timony
of our Saviour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 3.</NOTE> <HI>This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well plea&s;ed,</HI> and then immediately &s;ub|joyned
<HI>audite ip&s;um, hear ye him,</HI> it is not to be
<PB N="386" REF="205">
thought that he required no more then their outward
ears: That had been to invite his followers to that
very fault which he blamed in others, which was <HI>au|dientes
non audiunt,</HI> the people heard his word, and
yet heard it not: <HI>i. e.</HI> they heard the Word but did
not do it. They onely hear his Word aright, which
do hear with profit: which if we do, we &s;hall not
onely hear his word as is here commanded, but &s;hall
&s;o hear his voice as to follow him, which is mo&s;t
chiefly here intended; but of this we &s;hall &s;peak
more anon.</P>
<P>In the mean time we mu&s;t take notice of the ob|ject
which we are to hear. <HI>Audite ip&s;um, hear ye him,</HI> &s;o
&s;aith God the Father&punc; <HI>audite voce~ meam, hear my voice,</HI>
&s;o &s;aith God the Son, and both the&s;e are one. <HI>Ip&s;e</HI>
there, which is God the word, is here <HI>vox mea,</HI> or
the word of God, both mo&s;t apparently the &s;ame.
Indeed it is not to be thought, that he which is the
Word &s;hould more conveniently expre&s;s him&s;elf in
any other way then by his voice: for how&s;oever
that of the Apo&s;tle be mo&s;t unque&s;tionably true,
that God at &s;undry times and in divers manners
&s;pake in times pa&s;t unto our Fathers by the Pro|phets,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 1. 1.</NOTE>
yet &s;till we are at <HI>locutus e&s;t Deus,</HI> that God
&s;pake unto them, &amp; &s;peak he could not properly but
by a voice; nay, if we look upon it well, we &s;hall
&s;urely find that the fir&s;t external action a&s;cribed to
God in holy Scripture is <HI>dixit Dominus,</HI> the Lord
&s;pake;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 1.</NOTE> and that was a miraculous kind of &s;peech in|deed,
he &s;pake not onely words but works. He &s;pake
the word and it was made, he &s;aid the word onely
and they were created.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al.</NOTE> From that time forwards un|to
this&punc; God never did expre&s;s him&s;elf in a cleerer
<PB N="387" REF="205">
way then by that of &s;peaking, either in dreams and
vi&s;ions as unto the Patriarcks, or <HI>Angelorum atque ho|minum
mini&s;terio,</HI> by the tongues of holy men and An|gels,
as unto the Jews, till in the la&s;t dayes <HI>locutus e&s;t
nobis in filio,</HI> he &s;pake unto us by his Son the heir of
all things. This is that He, and his that Voice which
we are to hear; and well it is, and mo&s;t agreeable to
our infirmities that he &s;hould &s;peak to us by a voice.
For &s;hould he &s;peak unto us now as at the giving of
the Law in <HI>Sinai,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 19.</NOTE> in thunder and lightning, what fle&s;h
were able to abide it? Or &s;hould he &s;peak unto us in a
cloud of darkne&s;s, <HI>&amp; cum clangore Tubae,</HI> and with
the &s;ound of a Trumpet, what ear were able to en|dure
it?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 20.</NOTE> <HI>Speak thou unto us</HI> (&s;aid the Jews to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>)
<HI>and we will hear, but let not God &s;peak to us le&s;t we die,
i. e.</HI> let not the Lord &s;o &s;peak unto us that we dare not
hear, or &s;hew him&s;elf in &s;uch a terrible way unto us,
that we dare not approch unto him. Indeed it is not
often that God &s;peaks otherwi&s;e unto us, then in a
&s;till and gentle voice, &s;uch as the Jews call <HI>Bath-col,
filia vocis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">4 v. 16.</NOTE> a &s;mall &s;lender voice; &s;uch as <HI>Job</HI> calleth
<HI>vocem aurae lenis,</HI> a &s;till &s;ilent voice; &s;uch as may
charme but not a&s;toni&s;h, and which is fitter to invite
attention then to excite our fears.</P>
<P>Now of this truth we find a very pregnant in&s;tance
in the hi&s;tory of <HI>Elijah,</HI> as it is repre&s;ented to us in the
Book of <HI>Kings,</HI> God called upon him to go forth and
&s;tand upon the Mount before him, &amp; then it follows,
<HI>And behold the Lord pa&s;&s;ed by, and a great &s;trong wind
rent the Mountains,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Kings 19. 11, &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>and broke in peeces the Rocks before
the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after
the wind an Earthquake, but the Lord was not in the
Earthquake; and after the Earthquake a Fire, but the
<PB N="388" REF="206">
Lord was not in the Fire; and after the Fire a &s;till &s;mall
Voice, &s;ibilus aurae tenuis,</HI> as the vulgar hath it, and
in that voice the Lord appeared unto the Prophet,
and &s;ignified his will unto him. Which, as it doth
mo&s;t excellently expre&s;&s;e the manner of Gods &s;peak|ing
to his people in the former times, &s;o is it, as it
were, as hi&s;tory of tho&s;e wayes and means by which
the Lord hath &s;poke to us (to us particularly of this
Nation) in the&s;e latter dayes. The time was when
the Lord pa&s;&s;ed by us in a mighty wind, a wind that
blew down violently before it tho&s;e maje&s;tick &s;tru|ctures
which had been con&s;ecrated anciently to reli|gious
u&s;es and the &s;ervice of God, but &s;ure God was
not in that wind; next he pa&s;&s;ed by us in an Earth|quake
in King <HI>Edwards</HI> dayes, an Earthquake or
Commotion as the vulgar reads it, by which the very
foundations of the State were almo&s;t utterly &s;ubver|ted
by rebellions, and the whole fabrick of the Go|vernment
di&s;&s;olved by potent factions, <HI>At non in
Commotione Dominus,</HI> but the Lord was not in that
Earthquake. <HI>Po&s;t commotionem Ignis,</HI> after the Earth|quake
came a Fire, a cruel and devouring Fire, a Fire
more raging then the Babylonian Furnace, not heat|ed
for three onely but for thrice three hundred; a
Fire intended for the utter ruine of Gods Saints and
Servants, though it proved rather in the event a fie|ry
Chariot, &s;uch as was that provided for <HI>Elijah,</HI> for
their conveyance into Heaven, <HI>At non in igne Domi|nus,</HI>
I am &s;ure God was not in that Fire. At la&s;t he
&s;hewed him&s;elf unto us <HI>in &s;ibilo aurae tenuis,</HI> in a &s;till
&s;mall voice; a voice of comfort and of con&s;olation,
a voice which for the&s;e eighty years hath &s;poken far
better things unto us then the blood of <HI>Abel:</HI> a voice
<PB N="389" REF="206">
which we mu&s;t hearken to with fear and reverence,
as did <HI>Elijah</HI> to that &s;till &s;mall voice which appeared
unto him, as being <HI>vox Dei</HI> there, and <HI>vox mea</HI> here,
no difference at all between them.</P>
<P>But what may &s;ome men chance to &s;ay, How &s;hall
we know whether the voice that &s;peaks unto us, and
which we go &s;o greedily to hear, be the <HI>vox mea</HI> of
the Text, &s;ince every one pretends to the like Com|mi&s;&s;ion,
and hath a <HI>dixit Dominus</HI> in his mouth, be
he who he will? The readie&s;t way to &s;atisfie this
doubt, is to look back upon the &s;tory of <HI>Elijah,</HI> and
re&s;olve our &s;elves: for if the Preacher &s;peak unto you
in a &s;till &s;mall voice, if he deliver nothing to you but
the truth with &s;oberne&s;s,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 26.</NOTE> <HI>verba veritatis &amp; &s;obrietatis</HI>
as the Apo&s;tle calls them, then doubt you not but
God is pre&s;ent in that voice, and tis your Chri&s;tian
duty to give ear unto it: but if he &s;peak unto you in
Fires and Earthquakes, in Storms and Tempe&s;ts, or
like the &s;ons of <HI>Boanerges</HI> call for fire from Heaven,
it is a &s;hrewd conjecture that God is not there. Tho&s;e
voices &s;avour of a different &s;pirit from the Lord our
Sheepherd, who&s;e lips dropped Myrrhe, who &s;pake
unto his people in &s;o mild a way, that his reproofs
were gentle, his corrections &s;weet. No Fire, nor
Storm, nor Earthquake in that &s;acred voice wherein
he &s;peaks unto his Flocks, nor can it &s;tand indeed with
his pa&s;toral Office, or with the &s;afety of his &s;heep that
it &s;hould be otherwi&s;e. The &s;heep is naturally of a ti|morous
and weak condition, ea&s;ily frighted from
their food &s;hould they be terrified with the cries of
Wolves, though fal&s;e and counterfeit; or the conti|nual
barking of the dogs, though perhaps their own.
In which regard the Poets often repre&s;ent the
<PB N="390" REF="207">
Sheepherd with his pipe and &s;ongs, and his flocks
feeding round about him, <HI>Stant &amp; oves circum, &amp;c.</HI>
Such is the voice we are to hear, a &s;till &s;ilent voice,
<HI>vox aurae lenis,</HI> or <HI>&s;ib<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">lus aurae tenuis,</HI> a &s;till &s;mall
voice, a voice proceeding from a meek and humble
&s;pirit: and yet it is not <HI>vox &amp; preterea nihil,</HI> not a
bare voice onely which we are to hear, but there's a
guide al&s;o whom we are to follow; <HI>audire vocem ejus</HI>
will not &s;erve the turn, if we do not <HI>&s;equi.</HI> The voice
but leads us on to him whom we ought to follow,
and we are bound to hear his voice for no other rea|&s;on,
but that we may the better know how to follow
him, my next particular and very briefly to be hand|led.</P>
<P><HI>Oves meae vocem meam audiunt, &amp; &s;equuntur me,
my &s;heep hear my voice and they follow me, i. e.</HI> they do
&s;o hear his voice as to follow him. They &s;tand not
gazing after him like men a&s;toni&s;hed, as did the men
of <HI>Galilee</HI> at his a&s;cention, or as <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> did upon <HI>Eli|jah</HI>
at his a&s;&s;umption, but are &s;till going and in mo|tion,
if they follow him. And if we follow him as we
ought to do, in all the paths of piety and vertue
which he hath plea&s;ed to lead before us, we &s;hall be
hearers of his voice, there's no doubt of that, and
hearers of it to the purpo&s;e. And I &s;aid well, if we do
follow him through all the paths of piety and vertue
which he hath plea&s;ed to lead before us: for many
things our Saviour did, in which it is impo&s;&s;ible we
&s;hould follow him; or el&s;e not nece&s;&s;ary if we could.
Miracles, and &s;uch works of wonder as he wrought
daily by the power of his Divinity, are objects of our
Faith onely and our admiration; and in the&s;e we can|not
follow him. Particular actions, whether of Cere|monie,
<PB N="391" REF="207">
as his &s;itting whil&s;t he taught the people; or
Circum&s;tance, as his admini&s;tring the Sacrament in
an upper Chamber, are left arbitrary; and in the&s;e
we need not follow him. But in all Morall duties
what&s;oever, as Prayer, and Fa&s;ting, and Alms-deeds,
in pardoning &s;uch offences as are done unto us, and
humbling our &s;elves under the mighty hand of God;
in the&s;e he hath commanded an obedient imitation,
and in all tho&s;e we ought to follow him.</P>
<P>If therefore Chri&s;t hath taken up his Cro&s;&s;e, and
is gone before us, it is no &s;mall part of our obedience
to take up our Cro&s;&s;es al&s;o,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 24.</NOTE> and to follow after. <HI>Opor|tet
primum haec pati, we must fir&s;t &s;uffer all the&s;e things,
Afflictions, Per&s;ecutions, Buffetings, Revilings, yea and
Death it &s;elf before we enter into glory.</HI> As he hath led
the way before us in all the works of Godline&s;s and
the fruits of Mercy, what better can become us then
to do &s;o too? to tread in his mo&s;t &s;acred &s;teps as he
makes us able: Him&s;elf hath &s;o commanded, and we
mu&s;t obey,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Be ye followers of God as dear children,</HI>
&s;aith the great Apo&s;tle, <HI>i. e.</HI> as children love to imi|tate
the ge&s;tures, &s;peech, and other actions of their
Parents, &s;o mu&s;t we follow the example of our hea|venly
Father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Virgil.</NOTE> <HI>&s;equimurque patrem non pa&s;sibus aequis.</HI>
St. <HI>Peter</HI> to the &s;elf &s;ame purpo&s;e, that Chri&s;t hath
left us an example,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2. 21.</NOTE> <HI>ut &s;equamur ve&s;tigia ejus,</HI> that we
&s;hould follow his &s;teps. And though St. <HI>Paul</HI> doth
in another place exhort tho&s;e of <HI>Corinth</HI> that they
&s;hould be followers of him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11. 1.</NOTE> yet he &s;ubjoyned this li|mitation,
<HI>&s;icut ego Chri&s;ti, as I am of Chri&s;t.</HI> Were it
not for this tie, <HI>&s;icut ego Christi,</HI> we might be Phari|&s;ees
in our youth, and Per&s;ecutors in our age, (as too
many have been) and ju&s;tifie our &s;elves in both by
<PB N="392" REF="208">
St. <HI>Pauls</HI> example. So that however that of the Po|et
be exceeding true,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Claudum.</NOTE> <HI>vivitur exemplo melius,</HI> that
men are guided ea&s;ier by example then they are by
precept, yet it concerns us all to be very careful in
choo&s;ing of the patterns which we mean to imitate;
and not to follow any man how great &s;oever, further
then he doth follow Chri&s;t the chief Lord of all.</P>
<P>And certainly our Saviour did not limit and re|&s;train
this duty, and tie it to him&s;elf alone without
&s;pecial rea&s;on. He knew, none better, the faulty hu|mour
of the &s;heep; how apt they are (out of their na|tural
inclination) to run that way which &s;ome of their
unruly fellows have fir&s;t led before them, though con|trary
to the direction of their Sheepherd, and many
times to their own ruine and de&s;truction. <HI>Ubi mares
viam ducunt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ari&s;totle in Hi&s;t. Animal.</NOTE> <HI>reliquus grex facil&egrave; &s;equetur. Ari&s;totle</HI>
long ago did ob&s;erve this in them, in his <HI>Hi&s;toria Ani|malium,</HI>
and it holds good &s;till in our own ob&s;ervati|on.
Thus is it al&s;o with us men, we are all apt to fol|low
bad example, e&s;pecially the example of &s;ome no|ted
Bell-wether; and few there are which are not
very much in love with the faults and errors of their
betters: which as it may advi&s;e all tho&s;e of more e|minent
ranck, to have a &s;pecial care of their wayes
and actions, becau&s;e their actions many times are
made exemplary, &s;o may it le&s;&s;en tho&s;e of the lower
&s;ort, that to be governed by the example of frail &s;in|ful
men, is at the be&s;t a &s;imple and &s;heepi&s;h quality.
<HI>O Imitatores &s;tultum pecus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Horat.</NOTE> &s;aid the Poet truely, the
rea&s;on is becau&s;e the be&s;t men have been guilty of
notorious crimes, and therefore &s;hould we make their
lives a general pattern unto ours, we may be drunk
with <HI>Noah,</HI> and ince&s;tuous with <HI>Lot,</HI> &s;wearers with
<PB N="393" REF="208">
<HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> Murderers with <HI>David,</HI> Idolaters with <HI>Solo|mon,</HI>
Per&s;ecutors with <HI>Paul,</HI> Deniers of the Lord
with <HI>Peter,</HI> and indeed what not. 'Tis not <HI>&s;equuntur</HI>
then which is here commanded, an art of Imitation
onely which is here required, for then our Saviour
had not told us in their commendation, <HI>Alienum au|tem
non &s;equuntur,</HI> that they would not follow after
&s;trangers. 'Tis the word <HI>me</HI> that makes all &s;ure, the
following of the Lord our Sheepherd, and of none
but him, which in the end will bring us unto life e|ternal.
He is the carka&s;e which is gone before us, and
we the Eagles that mu&s;t follow after him, and follow
after him to that place where our reward is gone be|fore,
and provided for us: For doubt we not but if we
follow our mo&s;t gracious Sheepherd in all tho&s;e paths
of grace and godline&s;s which he hath gone before us
in this pre&s;ent world, but we &s;hall al&s;o follow the
Lamb whether &s;oever he &s;hall go in the world to
come.</P>
<P>And yet I mu&s;t not leave my Text: there is one
word more to be con&s;idered, and &s;uch a word as is of
&s;pecial u&s;e and efficacy to move vs to the following
of our Saviour, and of none but him, and this is <HI>Et
cogno&s;co eas,</HI> and I know the &s;heep. A knowledge
not in general onely, how many and how fat they
are, of what &s;ize and colour, which every one may
quickly know as well as he, but a particular know|ledge
of their &s;everal &s;tates, of their &s;trength or fee|blene&s;&s;e,
how they have pro&s;pered in his pa&s;tures, to
what infirmities they are &s;ubject, and the way to
cure them. A knowledge &s;o exact and punctual, as
to know them every one by name, <HI>&amp; proprias oves
vocat nominatim,</HI> he calls them every one by name,
<PB N="394" REF="209">
in the third of this Chapter; &s;uch as a&s;certains
them of his favour here and his glories hereafter.
For <HI>Dominus novit qui &s;unt &s;ui, The Lord knows who
are his,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim 2. 19.</NOTE> &s;aith the great Apo&s;tle; and this he terms
<HI>fundamentum firmum &amp; &s;ignaculum,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,
as the Greek text hath it, the &s;ure founda|tion
and the &s;eal of our Chri&s;tian hope; the &s;heep|mark
if I may &s;o call it, of the heavenly &s;heepherd:
more then this yet: It is a knowledg which begets a
mutual confidence and acquaintance in and with one
another: <HI>I am the good &s;heepherd and know my &s;heep,
and am known of mine,</HI> ver. 14. He knows them &s;o
as to take &s;pecial notice of them, and to ob&s;erve
whether they follow him or not, as they ought to
do. Not one of them can go a&s;tray but his eye is
on him, nor hide him&s;elf &s;o clo&s;ely that he cannot
find him; and having found him at the la&s;t, will ei|ther
bring him back to the fold in triumph, or leave
him if he find no hope of his reduction, with
&s;ome brand or other that all the re&s;t may be admo|ni&s;hed
to forbear his company. And they &s;o
know him on the other &s;ide as to re&s;t a&s;&s;ur'd that he
will lead them in no other paths then the <HI>paths of
righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> nor conduct them unto any other pa|&s;tures
then the green <HI>pa&s;tures of the Word,</HI> or drive
them to any other waters then the <HI>waters of comfort,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alme 24.</NOTE>
whereof <HI>David</HI> &s;peaks. No Vallie of the &s;hadow of
Death, no dreadful Precipice, no dangerous or un|comfortable
walk to be feared at all, if we take care
to follow him: they are all &s;ure enough of that,
and this a&s;&s;urance doth proceed from <HI>cogno&s;co eas,</HI>
that knowledg which he is plea&s;ed to take of his
&s;heep particularly, and to vouch&s;afe them of him|&s;elf
<PB N="395" REF="209">
and his favours towards them. Follow him then
we may with &s;afety, for he will lead us onely in the
way to Heaven; and follow him we mu&s;t with
care, for he takes notice of our wandrings, of going
a&s;tray; and follow him we mu&s;t both with hope and
confidence, for he knows our frailty, and will pro|vide
us of all nece&s;&s;aries for &s;o long a journey. And
then we may be &s;ure of this, that as we do our be&s;t
to follow him in the paths of righteou&s;ne&s;s, &s;o he
will do his part (for he knows our hearts) that Grace
and Mercy &s;hall attend us in the cour&s;e of this life,
and bring us in conclu&s;ion to the hou&s;e of the Lord
our God, where we &s;hall dwell for evermore: and to
this hou&s;e God of his grace and mer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">y bring us all
even for Chri&s;t his &s;ake; to whom with God the
Father and the Holy Gho&s;t, be a&s;cribed all Honor,
Prai&s;e and Glory, now and ever more, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<PB REF="210">
<HEAD>ERRATA.</HEAD>
<P>PAg. 6. l. 28. for &s;urdore r. &s;udore. p. 15. l. 22. for of tho&s;e
r. &s;o of tho&s;e. p. 24. l. 23. for witne&s;s r. witne&s;&s;es, &amp;c. p.
30. l. 19. <HI>dele</HI> no. p. 31. l. 20. for and r. among&s;t. p. 35. l. 11.
for as r. it. p. 38. l. 13. for pre&s;ipus r. praecipuus. p. 99. l. 13.
for endures r. endeare. p. 123. l. 12. <HI>de.</HI> &s;ive. p. 124. l. 31.
<HI>de.</HI> lo. p. 140. l. 8. for Ju&s;tantius r. In&s;tantius. p. 142. l. 17.
for <HI>Geneva</HI> r. from <HI>Geneva.</HI> p. ib. l. 30. for tare r. tuae. p.
146. l. 25. for quia r. quae. p. 183. l. 16. for might r. have. p.
210. l. 6. for utterly r. bitterly. p. 211. l. 30. for lowly r. lov|ly.
p. 315. l. 29. for is r. as. p. 223. l. 22. for evil r. tho&s;e e|vils.
p. 235. l. 21. for another r. wherein thou judge&s;t ano|ther.
p. 236. l. 13. for for r. and for. p. 257. l. 2. for &s;ome r.
but. p. 262. l. 26. for Re&s;cindendum r. Recidendum. p.
268. l 26. for here r. there. p. 272. l. 1. for 7000 r. 70000. p.
290. l. 14. for fal&s;e r. half. p. 312. l. 31. for promi&s;ed r. pre|mi&s;ed.
p. 314. l. 13. for faces r. faces and tongues. p. 327. l.
17. for much r. &s;o much. p. 344. l. 11. for as fle&s;h r. as one
fle&s;h. p. 347. l. 23. for Thumes r. Thamus. Ibid. l. 28. for
when r. whom. p. 356. for yet r. yet if the.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="210">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THou ha&s;t here a few <HI>Que&s;tions</HI> propo&s;ed
by one, who de&s;ires to lye lowe in his own
eyes: and after all his Reading, rather
to <HI>doubt, (doubting</HI> is no more the way to er|rour,
than to <HI>truth</HI>) than to <HI>a&s;&s;ert.</HI> I know not
how long thou maye&s;t be in peru&s;ing them, I am
certain they were not long in penning: yet this
thou maye&s;t be &s;ecured of, tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> the <HI>citations</HI> here
are not <HI>obtruded</HI> upon thee a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>&s;econd hand,</HI> being
not tran&s;cribed out of men that <HI>mi&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">lledged</HI> them,
but fetched from their Originall <HI>Authors.</HI> H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="3 letters">ho
<HI>queried,</HI> did not &s;o much as tru&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 span">,
or <HI>juvenile collection,</HI> but brought all <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 span">
by a <HI>faithfull</HI> reveiw. The <HI>interrogatories</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> of
&s;uch <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">men<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">, that he thought they might de&s;erve
a &s;atisfactory an&s;wer: and he had ob&s;erved that
neither the <HI>P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">lpiteers,</HI> nor <HI>VVriters</HI> of the&s;e tim<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s
did contribute by their labours any thing towards
<PB REF="211">
&s;uch con&s;cience-work, though the po&s;ture of their
Affairs require it. He thought fit in his <HI>que&s;tions,</HI>
to produce &s;uch <HI>te&s;timonines</HI> as made for the <HI>Ne|gative</HI>
and <HI>Heterodoxe</HI> part. &V;nto which proce&s;s
he was enclined by &s;everall rea&s;ons: One is, be|cau&s;e
that the generall prejudices of many in this
age, are &s;uch, that if he had not done this, they
would not have thought <HI>the&s;e things que&s;tionable.</HI>
Secondly, he had a tender regard to tho&s;e who
have made the &s;ubject of the&s;e <HI>queries</HI> to be their
<HI>A&s;&s;ertions:</HI> in the behalf of the&s;e, he did &s;et
down what you &s;ee, that their <HI>Opponents</HI> (though
they pride them&s;elves with the conceipt of <HI>learning</HI>
and e&s;teem of others as <HI>illiterate</HI>) may at la&s;t own
them for le&s;s than <HI>fanaticall</HI> and groundle&s;s <HI>Opini|oni&s;ts.</HI>
He did not alledge any proofes for the
other part&punc; both becau&s;e he knew that o|thers
would do that for him; as al&s;o becau&s;e he
had not that e&s;teem for <HI>quotations</HI> to the contrary,
which he had for the&s;e: not that he is much pre|po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed
through <HI>prejudice,</HI> but upon an <HI>old pro|te&s;tant
con&s;ideration,</HI> that <HI>records</HI> and <HI>pre&s;idents</HI>
differing from the <HI>received ways</HI> and <HI>intere&s;ts</HI> of
men, are more to be regarded from any that make
for them; &s;ince the <HI>forgeryes</HI> and <HI>fal&s;ifications</HI> of
precedent Ages make it propable, that <HI>&s;uch pa&s;&s;ages</HI>
<PB REF="211">
might be <HI>in&s;erted and foy&s;ted in,</HI> but <HI>why</HI> or <HI>how</HI>
the&s;e &s;hould be <HI>adulterated</HI> he did not &s;ee. Even in
matters of common tran&s;action, in our <HI>Engli&s;h
Courts</HI> of judicature, he thought he had been told,
that one <HI>precedent</HI> or <HI>verdict</HI> again&s;t the <HI>juri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">dicti|on</HI>
of a <HI>Court</HI> is of more <HI>validity</HI> than a <HI>thou&s;and</HI>
for it: becau&s;e it is &s;uppo&s;ed that none will, con|trary
to right and equity, infringe their own power.
Further; if any &s;hould oppo&s;e the <HI>&s;ayings</HI> of others
in the behalf of <HI>humane learning,</HI> to what he had
<HI>vouched,</HI> he hoped they would produce them out
of Authors <HI>contemporaries</HI> with his, or el&s;e they
&s;hould not imagine that he would think any &s;uch
<HI>averrements</HI> to be <HI>contradictory</HI> to what his <HI>query</HI>
may <HI>&s;eemingly a&s;&s;ert,</HI> nor yet <HI>&s;atisfactory</HI> to the
<HI>que&s;tion,</HI> nor doth he think (and. <HI>Heraldus, Ou|zelius</HI>
and others concurr with him herein) that
out of <HI>Antiquty</HI> they can alledg any &s;uch quotati|ons.
If they <HI>oppo&s;e</HI> his <HI>query</HI> with the practi&s;e
and u&s;e of <HI>humane learning</HI> which is found in
<HI>Clem. Alexandr. Orig. Tertullian, Lactantius,
Arnobius, Minucius Felix, &amp;c.</HI> He &s;hall not
think &s;uch dealing to be fair: &s;ince the que&s;tion is
<HI>what was their judgment?</HI> not <HI>what they did
practi&s;e?</HI> Of the latter no man will &s;uppo&s;e the
<HI>queri&s;t</HI> to be ignorant; and if any &s;hould, yet
<PB REF="212">
would the <HI>Objection</HI> be of no value, untill they
&s;hall evince that every man did in tho&s;e times
<HI>live up to the light he had;</HI> and <HI>acted as he &s;pake.</HI>
He thinks it may have been with the <HI>Ancients</HI> as
with [<HI>Vega</HI>] that excellent <HI>methode&s;t in Phy&s;ick,</HI>
who being &s;ick of a feavour, a friend vi&s;ited him, &amp;
found him drinking <HI>wine;</HI> whereupon he charged
him with having formerly prohibited the u&s;e there|of
in feavours by his writings: The <HI>infirme</HI> reply|ed,
<HI>in my books you &s;ee the practi&s;e of Phy&s;ick,
but in me the practi&s;e of Phy&s;icians.</HI> He &s;uppo&s;es
that after per&s;ons have been brought over from
<HI>Pagani&s;me</HI> to <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> &s;omething may &s;tick by
them, as an ill &s;cent may when one comes out of a
<HI>jakes,</HI> yet that is their <HI>failing,</HI> not their <HI>ju&s;tification.</HI>
If <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> learnt the <HI>Egyptian skill,</HI> it was whil&s;t
he remained in <HI>Pharaoh's Court:</HI> And &s;o <HI>Paul</HI> was
learned in <HI>Heathen Authors,</HI> but it was before he
came to the <HI>School</HI> of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> he hath u&s;ed them
but <HI>three</HI> or <HI>four</HI> times in his works, whereas now
they are more frequent than <HI>Texts</HI> of <HI>Scripture. A|thana&s;ius</HI>
again&s;t the Gentiles, &s;aith <HI>the Scriptures
are &s;ufficient to declare the truth of them&s;elves;</HI>
and that if his friend <HI>Macarius</HI> did read other <HI>Re|ligious</HI>
writers, It was but <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>as a lover
of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">legance,</HI> not <HI>as a lover of Chri&s;t.</HI> Other
<PB REF="212">
things there were which he &s;aw might be objected,
which he will not now in&s;i&s;t upon, having weigh|ed
them in the ballances and found them light. A|bout
the <HI>call of the Mini&s;try</HI> and the <HI>fir&s;t Refor|mers,</HI>
he hopes not to be oppo&s;ed with the after|judgment
of <HI>Luther,</HI> or the re&s;t. He is not of their
<HI>Opinion,</HI> who thinke the fir&s;t <HI>reformers</HI> did u&s;e
that <HI>Artifice</HI> of bending a crooked &s;tick, as much
the other way, that &s;o it may at lea&s;t become <HI>&s;traight.</HI>
Such dealings are not to be admitted in the &s;ervice
of our <HI>God,</HI> who is a <HI>con&s;uming fire:</HI> It is to
charge them with a great <HI>hypocri&s;ie</HI> (&s;ince they ne|ver
owned any <HI>&s;uch actions,</HI> but delivered all as
precious and glorious Truths) and to make them
guilty of the ruine of tho&s;e <HI>poor &s;ouls,</HI> who dyed
in the profe&s;&s;ion of a belief their teachers did not in|tend
them. In fine, it is to make the <HI>fir&s;t Refor|mation</HI>
as bad (or not much better) a way as th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">t
of Popery, and all that embraces it, and adhere
thereunto, to be in a different only, and <HI>&s;infull e|&s;tate.</HI>
It is a &s;lur to the greate&s;t wonder God hath
produced after the <HI>Churches</HI> being 1200. years in
the <HI>Wilderne&s;s:</HI> How much more ought we to pre|judge
all <HI>&s;ucceeding times</HI> from their Doctrines?
and having &s;uch pregnant motives to believe they
were <HI>&s;pirited</HI> by God, let us impute their after|change
<PB REF="213">
to failings upon carnall con&s;iderations,
when <HI>Luther</HI> went to &s;ettle him&s;elf <HI>Pope</HI> in <HI>Ger|many,</HI>
and his <HI>writings</HI> were advanced as the
<HI>te&s;t</HI> of <HI>truth;</HI> and an <HI>Oligarchy</HI> of <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI>
&s;etled el&s;ewhere. Let us owe our <HI>Reformation</HI> to
God and not <HI>Belial</HI> or Antichri&s;t, to the <HI>call</HI> and
<HI>excitement</HI> of the <HI>former,</HI> not <HI>con&s;ecration</HI> of the
<HI>latter.</HI> Let us acknowledge their <HI>zeal,</HI> their <HI>cha|tity</HI>
&amp; tho&s;e more glorious principles of <HI>&s;pirituall
graces,</HI> rather than <HI>prudentiall contrivements.</HI> Are
not tho&s;e there <HI>fir&s;t works</HI> which are here <HI>quoted?</HI>
are not tho&s;e the works by which <HI>Luther</HI> &s;aid he
would have men and Angels tryed? If you &s;ay, that
there is a difference betwixt a <HI>Church</HI> &s;etled and
un&s;etled: a que&s;tion will ari&s;e (if that can be que&s;ti|oned)
<HI>whether the Papi&s;ts did not &s;ay their</HI> church
<HI>was then &s;etled?</HI> and whether any &s;ettlement poli|ticall
will &s;uffice to debarr tho&s;e actings? for then
the fir&s;t Reformers, yea, fir&s;t Chri&s;tians, and Chri&s;t
him&s;elf, all are ca&s;t. If only what is a &s;ettlement of
<HI>truth,</HI> or <HI>Go&s;pel</HI>-&s;ettlement be intended, doth not
this re&s;olve all into a tryall of doctrines? &amp; a proof
that the pre&s;ent way is the &s;ole Go&s;pel-way? Which
who&s;oever &s;hall avow, he need not want employment
for his thoughts from the &s;everall writings of <HI>Pa|pi&s;ts,
Epi&s;coparians, Presbyterians, Independents,</HI>
&amp;c. however the <HI>Que&s;tioni&s;t &s;hould re&s;t.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
