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<DATE>2012-12-02</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>MEDITATIONS AND Di&s;qui&s;itions UPON THE CREED.</P>
<P>BY S^r. RICHARD BAKER <HI>Knight.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by IOHN DAVVSON, for <HI>Francis Egles&s;ield</HI> at the <HI>Mari|gold</HI> in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard, 1646.</P>
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<HEAD>TO THE GENEROVS, and worthy of much ho|nour, THOMAS BAKER of FREZINGFIELD, in the County of <HI>Suffolke,</HI> ESQVIRE.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Mo&s;t honoured Co&s;in:</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_IT is not the propinquity of bloud that is between us; It is not the great Obligation, in which I &s;tand bound unto you; which yet, were cau&s;es of them&s;elves &s;ufficient: but it is the
<PB REF="3">generou&s;ne&s;&s;e of your minde, that make me de&s;irous, to con&s;ecrate &s;omething t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the memory of your Name; for thoug<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> your owne vertue will pre&s;erve it &s;uffi|ciently, yet my affection is not &s;atisfied without bearing a part in it: that be|ing my &s;elfe but a whithered bough; may expre&s;&s;e my joy, in &s;o flouri&s;hing branch of our Family, as your &s;elfe is&punc; And now, I know not whether I ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> account you young, in regard of your fer yeares: or Old, in regard of your muc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> experience: having &s;pent Twelve year together, (a longer time then <HI>Vly&s;&s;es</HI> in travelling over the mo&s;t flouri&s;hing parts of <HI>Chri&s;tendome;</HI> where ha|ving &s;pent your time, in &s;o noble <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> manner as Report delivers; you can|not chu&s;e but be returned home, <HI>Vir pau<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> corum hominum;</HI> more compleat in good parts, then to have man Peeres. But to leave this <GAP DESC="foreign"> Having heretofore written <HI>Meditati|ons
<PB REF="3">upon the Lords Prayer:</HI> J have now adventured to doe the like upon the <HI>Creede;</HI> which <HI>Treati&s;e,</HI> as J Dedicate to your Name; &s;o my &s;elfe, to your Service; and remaine</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>Devoted to you, in all true Love and Affection,</SALUTE>
<SIGNED>Richard Baker.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<HEAD>MEDITATIONS AND DISQVISITIONS <HI>Vpon the</HI> CREEDE.</HEAD>
<P>_IT &s;eemes, that in laying the Founda|tion of CHRISTS Church, where ma|ny Pro&s;elytes were to be admitted; this forme of <HI>Beliefe</HI> was fir&s;t penned: to the end, that they which would be admitted into the Church, &s;hould
<PB N="2" REF="7">fir&s;t profe&s;&s;e the <HI>Beliefe</HI> of the&s;e Ar|ticles; and the&s;e being beleeved, were thought to bee &s;ufficient, to &s;hew the profe&s;&s;ed Faith of an Or|thodoxe Chri&s;tian. But whether the Apo&s;tles them&s;elves were the Penners of it, as &s;ome have thought: or whether &s;ome other, out of the Apo&s;tles Doctrine, as the mo&s;t conceive; is not much materiall to be examined: It is &s;ufficient for us, to know, that it is received by a Generall con&s;ent of the whole Church.</P>
<P>And although the Article of Chri&s;ts <HI>De&s;cending into Hell;</HI> hath for &s;ome time, in &s;ome Churches, not been received; yet this is no more then hath befallen &s;ome parts of the holy Scripture it &s;elfe. For, the <HI>Epistle to the Hebrewes,</HI> and the <HI>E|pi&s;tle of Saint Iude,</HI> and &s;ome other, now generally received; have for
<PB N="3" REF="7">&s;ome time, in &s;ome Churches, not beene admitted. But how&s;oever, former times, have had &s;ome &s;cruple about this Article; yet wee mu&s;t admit it now without &s;cruple; un|le&s;&s;e we will make &s;cruple al&s;o, to admit the Article of beleeving <HI>the Holy Catholike Church;</HI> &s;eeing the <HI>Holy Catholike Church,</HI> hath long &s;ince admitted it into our <HI>Creede,</HI> as an Article nece&s;&s;ary to be beleeved of every Chri&s;tian man.</P>
<P>And it &s;eems to containe a Brevi|ate of tho&s;e things, which of a Chri|&s;tian man are <HI>Credenda,</HI> to be Belee|ved: as the <HI>Ten Commandements,</HI> a Breviate of things that are <HI>Agenda,</HI> to be done; and the <HI>Lords Prayer,</HI> a Breviat of things, that are <HI>Oranda</HI> to be Prayed for: which Three, as they differ not much in the number of their Articles: &s;o they &s;eeme to have a great coherence, one with an|other:
<PB N="4" REF="8">For, what wee <HI>Beleeve,</HI> that wee have rea&s;on to doe; and what we are to doe; that we have ju&s;t cau&s;e to Pray for, to be enabled to doe; That whil&s;t our Beleeving is manife&s;ted by our doing; and our doing pro&s;pered by our Pray|ing: <HI>The man of God may bee made perfect in every good worke.</HI> If wee &s;hould doe as much as wee are com|manded to doe; and not beleeve as much, as we are taught to beleeve; that doing would doe us little good: and if wee &s;hould beleeve as much as wee are taught to beleeve, and not doe as much as wee are com|manded to doe; that beleeving would doe us le&s;&s;e good: Then onely will the benefit of both of them accrew unto us, when <HI>Beleefe</HI> is joyned with <HI>Action;</HI> and <HI>Faith</HI> with <HI>good Workes:</HI> without which conjunction, there may be Leaves,
<PB N="5" REF="8">but there will bee no Fruit. For if we &s;hould do the Commandements, and not beleeve this <HI>Creed,</HI> our Pro|fe&s;&s;ion would want the <HI>Ba&s;is;</HI> and if beleeve this <HI>Creede,</HI> and not doe the Commandements, it would want the <HI>Coronis.</HI> And &s;o the&s;e Ar|ticles are the fundamentals, of that which is to be beleeved of a Chri|&s;tian; but the fundamentals of that which is to be done of a Chri&s;tian, are the Commandements in the Law, and in the Go&s;pell. Both which Fundamentals mu&s;t be joy|ned together, to make up the buil|ding of our &s;alvation.</P>
<P>And this &s;umme or Breviate of beliefe, which wee call our <HI>Creede;</HI> con&s;i&s;ts of two parts, <HI>Per&s;onae &amp; Res:</HI> Fir&s;t, the Per&s;ons in whom wee mu&s;t beleeve; and then the things which we mu&s;t beleeve. The per&s;ons in whom to beleeve are
<PB N="6" REF="9">three; <HI>God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Gho&s;t: Three Per|&s;ons and one God; Ble&s;&s;ed for ever.</HI> The things which we are to beleeve are five: of which the two fir&s;t, which are, <HI>The holy Catholique Church, and the Communion of Saints,</HI> as they heere &s;tand next to the <HI>Ho|ly Gho&s;t:</HI> &s;o mo&s;t properly they relate to the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t:</HI> He being the fountaine of Sanctification, of which the&s;e two are &s;treames. The next two, which are <HI>the Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes, and the Re&s;urrection of the Body,</HI> &s;eeme properly to referre to God the Sonne: in who&s;e merits, as Man, all &s;innes are forgiven: and by the power of who&s;e Ri&s;ing, as God and man, &s;hall be our Re&s;ur|rection. And then the la&s;t, which is <HI>the Life Everla&s;ting,</HI> mo&s;t proper|ly relates to God the Father: He being the Author of Life; <HI>In whom
<PB N="7" REF="9">we al live, &amp; move, and have our being, &amp; &s;hal have our eternal being.</HI> And this is the Coherence, <HI>Per&s;onarum &amp; Reru~,</HI> of the Per&s;ons in whom to beleeve, and of the Things, which we are to beleeve. If wee &s;hould know in whom to beleeve, and not know what to beleeve; we &s;hould want our le&s;&s;on: and if we &s;hould know what to beleeve, and not know in whom to beleeve, we &s;hould want our Teacher: and therefore to make both perfect, both are heere expre&s;t; and expre&s;t &s;o punctually, that nothing can be added, either to make it plainer, or to make it fuller.</P>
<P>And heere it may not be ami&s;&s;e, for the credit of our Creede; (be|fore we goe further) to &s;hew that all the Articles of it, are contained in the holy Scripture; and to bring &s;ome place of Scripture, for a Te|&s;timoniall
<PB N="8" REF="10">of each of them: that it may appeare, wee ground not our Beliefe upon Quagmires of uncer|tainetie, but that wee have firme ground to &s;tand upon, and it will be a worke not long in doing. The fir&s;t Article, is the &s;ubject of the whole Bible, all tending to make us beleeve in God. The next Ar|ticle is the &s;ubject of the whole Go|&s;pell, all tending to make us beleeve in Chri&s;t. The next two Articles, of Chri&s;ts Conception and his Birth; are declared by the Angell to <HI>Jo&s;eph: Feare not Jo&s;eph, to take Mary thy wife; for that which is con|ceived in her, is of the Holy Gho&s;t: and &s;he &s;hall bring forth a Sonne, and thou &s;halt call his Name je&s;us.</HI> Then the next Article of Chri&s;ts &s;uffe|ring under <HI>Pontius Pilate;</HI> is &s;uffi|ciently te&s;tified in <HI>Pontius Pilate,</HI> who gave &s;entence to have <HI>Barra|bas</HI>
<PB N="9" REF="10">relea&s;ed, and Chri&s;t to be &s;cour|ged: and then his being Crucified, Dead, and Buryed; are for more &s;urety recorded with their circum|&s;tances: That he was Crucified be|tweene two Theeves; and when his Legges &s;hould have beene broken, he was found to bee Dead before: and then was Buried, and laid in a Sepulchre, where never man had been laid before, by <HI>Jo&s;eph of Ari|mathea,</HI> as all the Evangeli&s;ts te&s;ti|fie. But now the Article of Chri&s;ts <HI>De&s;cending into Hell,</HI> makes us at a &s;tand; For none of all the Evange|li&s;ts bring Chri&s;t any further then his Grave; there they leave him, and &s;ay not a word more of him, till his Ri&s;ing from the Dead; that for any thing appeares yet, this Article is like to be lo&s;t, for want of a Te&s;timoniall. It may &s;eeme indeed &s;trange, that this Article
<PB N="10" REF="11">&s;hould be in the Creed, and not b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> found in the Go&s;pel; &s;eeing th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Go&s;pell &s;eemes to bee the ground from which the Creed is taken. B<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> is it not, that the ground of ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Creed is not onely the Go&s;pell: bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> all the whole Scripture? For th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Go&s;pell &s;eemes to deliver no mor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of Chri&s;t, then what was vi&s;ible, and done in his body: and lea&s;t wee &s;hould bee doubtfull, what be|came of his Soule, when his body was dead; therefore this Article, <HI>[Hee de&s;cended into Hell]</HI> is added: For wee may ob&s;erve that in the&s;e Articles concerning Chri&s;t; this word <HI>[Hee]</HI> per&s;onates three E&s;tates, as when it is &s;aid, <HI>Hee was Crucified, Dead, and Buried;</HI> here the Word, <HI>Hee,</HI> Intends but onely his Body; as when it is &s;aid, <HI>Hee De&s;cended into Hell,</HI> heere <HI>Hee,</HI> intends but on|ly his Soule; and when it is &s;aid,
<PB N="11" REF="11"><HI>He ro&s;e againe from the Dead;</HI> heere the word <HI>Hee,</HI> intends both his Bo|dy and Soule together; and &s;o con|tinues in all the Articles following: <HI>He a&s;cended into Heaven, He &s;itteth at the right hand of his Father, He &s;hall come to Iudge the Quick and the Dead;</HI> &s;till the Word <HI>Hee,</HI> intends both his Body and Soule together. From whence wee may gather, how it is like to be with us al&s;o; that though our &s;oules and bodies be parted for a time, yet when in the Re&s;urrecti|on they once meet againe, they &s;hall never afterward be parted any more.</P>
<P>But though this Article &s;eeme to have no ground in the Evangeli&s;ts; yet in the Apo&s;tles and Prophets it hath: at le&s;t the Prophet <HI>David</HI> long before had &s;aid in the per&s;on of Chri&s;t: <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oule in Hell;</HI> by which it appeares
<PB N="12" REF="12">that his &s;oule was in Hell: and the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> what time &s;o fit for the being there<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> as while his Body was lying in the Grave? and Saint <HI>Paul</HI> al&s;o &s;eeme to &s;ay as much, where hee &s;aith<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>He De&s;cended into the lowe&s;t parts of the Earth:</HI> which mu&s;t needes bee certainely a lower place then the Grave. And &s;o between the Pro|phet <HI>David,</HI> and the Apo&s;tle Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> we &s;hall be able to make this Article, a good Te&s;timoniall, ha|ving from the one, the Place; from the other, the Motion; <HI>David,</HI> naming <HI>Hell;</HI> and Saint <HI>Paul, de|&s;cending.</HI></P>
<P>After the &s;top of this Article, wee come againe into the Roade: For the Article of Chri&s;ts <HI>Ri&s;ing from the Dead;</HI> hath not onely the Voyces of all the Evangeli&s;ts; but it hath a clowde of Witne&s;&s;es be|&s;ides. Saint <HI>Paul</HI> affirming, <HI>that more
<PB N="13" REF="12">then five hundred brethren at once, &s;aw him being Ri&s;en from the dead.</HI> Then he next Articles, (whether two or one) of his <HI>A&s;cending into heaven, and &s;itting at the Right hand of God,</HI> are in &s;uch manner te&s;tified by Saint <HI>Marke,</HI> that the words of the Creed are but the very Tran&s;cript of his Text. Then the Article of Chri&s;ts comming to <HI>Iudge the Quick and the Dead,</HI> is Proclaimed as from Chri&s;t him&s;elfe; that it is Hee, which was ordained of God, to be Judge both of quicke and dead. And then the Article of <HI>Beleeving in the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> is made good by Chri&s;ts la&s;t charge to his Apo&s;tles: <HI>Goe teach all Nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Gho&s;t;</HI> and in who&s;e Name wee are Baptized, in Him certainly we have ju&s;t cau&s;e to be|leeve. But then the Article of be|leeving
<PB N="14" REF="13"><HI>the Holy Catholique Church</HI> makes us at a &s;tand againe; Fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> what place of Holy Scripture ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> bee brought for a Te&s;timony, o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Beleeving the Catholick Church:</HI> whe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> not &s;o much as the word <HI>Catholick<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> is to be found in any place of Ho|ly Scripture. For though &s;ome E|pi&s;tles of &s;ome Apo&s;tles, be In&s;cri|bed <HI>Catholicke,</HI> yet In&s;cription of Epi&s;tles is no part of the Scripture, no more then part of the Epi&s;tles, But is it not? that though the word <HI>Catholicke</HI> be not directly expre&s;t, yet it may be directly inferr'd; &s;ee|ing many places of Scripture binde us to Beleeve the Church, but no particular Church: and therefore the Catholicke, or Univer&s;all Church. Then the Article of the <HI>Communion of Saints,</HI> Is it not fully expre&s;t by Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> where hee &s;aith, <HI>There is one Body, and one Spi|rit,
<PB N="15" REF="13">one Lord, one Faith, one Bapti&s;me, one God and Father of all; who is above all, and through all, and in us all.</HI> Then for the Article of <HI>Remi&s;sion of &s;innes,</HI> We have as many Te&s;timonies of Scripture, as there are words: but it may bee Te&s;timoniall enough which Saint <HI>Iohn</HI> giveth; where he &s;aith, <HI>The bloud of Je&s;us Chri&s;t clen&s;eth us from all our &s;innes.</HI> Then the Article of the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the Body,</HI> though it might pa&s;&s;e under the Article of Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrecti|on, without any other Te&s;timony; <HI>(For if Chri&s;t be ri&s;en from the Dead, we al&s;o &s;hall ri&s;e from the Dead.)</HI> Yet it hath a Te&s;timony by it &s;elf, where it is &s;aid, <HI>God that rai&s;ed up Chri&s;t from the Dead, &s;hall al&s;o quicken our mortall Bodies, by his Spirit that dwel|leth in us.</HI> And la&s;tly, the Article of <HI>Everla&s;ting Life,</HI> is Te&s;tified by Saint <HI>John,</HI> as it were in Red Let|ters,
<PB N="16" REF="14">where hee &s;aith, <HI>God &s;o love<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the World, that hee gave his onely b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+gotten Sonne; that who&s;oever beleeve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> in him, &s;hould not peri&s;h but have li<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> Everla&s;ting.</HI></P>
<P>And now having &s;hewed, that a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Articles are contained in th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Scripture: It remaines to &s;hew<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> what it is they containe.</P>
<P><HI>I</HI>] Where, fir&s;t it may be de|manded, that as in &s;aying the Lord<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Prayer, we &s;ay, <HI>Our Father,</HI> taking others along with us, and not go|ing our &s;elves alone: So in &s;ay|ing the <HI>Creede,</HI> why we doe not as well &s;ay, <HI>Wee Beleeve,</HI> that &s;o wee may not goe alone, but take others along with us? Is it not that Be|liefe is Per&s;onall; but Prayer be|longs to the Communion of Saints: Prayer proceeds from Charity, and therefore is Communicative; but
<PB N="17" REF="14">Beliefe proceeds from Faith, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">erefore is re&s;erved. Another may <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ray for mee, but another cannot <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eleeve for me, I mu&s;t beleeve for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y &s;elfe, another cannot: (I &s;peak <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ot of Infants, but of <HI>Adulti.</HI>) It <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s not here, that <HI>Per alium</HI> is as good <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s <HI>Per &s;e,</HI> and therefore no &s;uch Tye, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">or &s;aying <HI>Wee Beleeve,</HI> in making <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">his Profe&s;&s;ion; as for &s;aying <HI>Our Father,</HI> in making that Prayer.</P>
<P><HI>I Beleeve:</HI>] But when I &s;ay, <HI>I Beleeve:</HI> Doe I well con&s;ider, what it is I &s;ay? a word indeed &s;oone &s;poken, but not a worke &s;o ea&s;ily done; for, we mu&s;t not thinke, to put it off with God, as he did with men, who &s;aid, <HI>Iuravilingua, men|tem injuratam gero:</HI> I &s;wore with my tongue, but I kept my heart un|&s;worne. For God is a &s;earcher of the heart, and lookes after that; and as &s;oone as wee &s;ay to him, <HI>I
<PB N="18" REF="15">Beleeve,</HI> he &s;eemes pre&s;ently to &s;ay to us; Then give me your heart, for unle&s;&s;e you give me your heart, I will never beleeve, you &s;peake as you meane. And thus my &s;oule, thou &s;ee&s;t, how deepely thou ha&s;t engaged thy &s;elfe, by &s;aying, <HI>I be|leeve,</HI> and yet thy engagement not &s;o great, but thy undertaking is greater. For to Beleeve is no &s;uch ea&s;ie matter, as the World accounts it: It is indeed, more then of our &s;elves we are able to doe; For it is a worke of Faith, and <HI>Faith is the gift of God;</HI> and &s;o we undertake to doe that to God, which without Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance we cannot doe; as though wee had Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance at command; No my &s;oule, but wee mu&s;t bee faine to helpe our &s;elves with &s;aying, <HI>I beleeve, O God; helpe my unbeliefe.</HI></P>
<P>But why am I &s;o forward to Be|leeve,
<PB N="19" REF="15">and doe not rather make a &s;tand, and doubt? Seeing doub|ting is commonly &s;afe; where cre|dulity runs headlong into danger? Is it not that Beleeving is accepta|ble, and hath reward; For <HI>Abraham beleeved, and it was counted to him for Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e;</HI> where Not-Belee|ving is di&s;tru&s;tfull, and hath not &s;o much as Hope: and againe, Belee|ving may make me of the number of the Faithfull; where Not-Belee|ving may make me an Infidell: and though Beleeving may have le&s;&s;e worldly providence; yet certaine|ly, It may have more &s;pirituall wi&s;|dome, then Not-Beleeving: and the&s;e are Rea&s;ons that make me &s;o forward to Beleeve.</P>
<P>But what rea&s;on can I have to make me beleeve; when I mu&s;t not beleeve rea&s;on? No doubt in mat|ters of the world; the Rule is good,
<PB N="20" REF="16">to beleeve no more then wee &s;ee good rea&s;on for; and thereupon is the coun&s;ell given, <GAP DESC="foreign">: Becarefull to bee mi&s;tru&s;tfull: but in matters Divine, and belonging to God, hee that beleeves no more then Rea&s;on warrants, may ju&s;tly be &s;aid, not to Beleeve at all; &s;ee|ing Beliefe is a worke of Faith; and Faith properly beginnes not her worke, but when the Rea&s;on hath given over working.</P>
<P>There &s;eeme to bee many induce|ments of Beliefe, but &s;pecially two: Fir&s;t, the Te&s;timony of the Sen&s;e; For who will not beleeve that, which hee &s;ees with his eyes; but this beliefe will not &s;erve the turne. For <HI>Faith is an evidence of things not &s;eene;</HI> and therefore wee mu&s;t be|leeve, though wee doe not &s;ee. Then the Te&s;timony of Rea&s;on; for, who will not beleeve that, for
<PB N="21" REF="16">which hee &s;ees apparent rea&s;on? but neither will this Beliefe &s;erve the turne, for Faith is above Rea|&s;on; and <HI>Ni&s;i Credideritis, non Intel|ligetis:</HI> Unle&s;&s;e yee Beleeve, yee &s;hall not under&s;tand, and &s;o Be|liefe mu&s;t not alwaies &s;tay for un|der&s;tanding; but we mu&s;t be faine to have recour&s;e to this &s;til; <HI>I beleeve, O God, helpe my unbeliefe.</HI></P>
<P>Beliefe, indeed, is two fold; <HI>Hu|mane</HI> and <HI>Divine:</HI> Humane Beliefe is alwaies grounded upon Sen&s;e or Rea&s;on: but Divine Beliefe hath other grounds to &s;tand upon; ei|ther the ground of <HI>Abraham, Qui in &s;pe contra &s;pem credidit:</HI> Who con|trary to hope Beleeved in hope: or the ground of tho&s;e whom Chri&s;t calls Ble&s;&s;ed; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that have not &s;eene, and yet have beleeved:</HI> For, we mu&s;t not alwaies looke for the favour of Saint <HI>Thomas,</HI> to bee
<PB N="22" REF="17">allowed to put our hands into Chri&s;ts &s;ides before wee beleeve; but we mu&s;t &s;ometimes come with Faith, without the concurrence of eternall Evidence, and then indeed is Beliefe mo&s;t kindly, when it &s;tands not upon the Prop of Sen&s;e and Rea&s;on: which may be prepa|ratives to Beliefe, but it is Faith that gives the confirmation.</P>
<P>And as there are certaine induce|ments of Beliefe; &s;o there are cer|taine properties in Beliefe. It mu&s;t be &s;teadfa&s;t without wavering, a&s;|&s;ured without doubting, confident without pre&s;uming; but above all, it mu&s;t bee rightly applyed; for without right application, Beliefe is no better then Infidelity: and then onely is Beliefe rightly apply|ed, when it is applyed to God: and this brings me to &s;ay, <HI>[I beleeve in God:]</HI> For now I am &s;ure, I take
<PB N="23" REF="17">my ayme right, and apply my Be|liefe to the right Object. If I &s;hould apply it to any but God, it mu&s;t be to &s;ome Creature; and &s;eeing eve|ry Creature is &s;ubject to a Higher Power, what hope could I have to Beleeve in &s;uch a one, who mu&s;t him&s;elfe Beleeve in another? But when I apply my Beliefe to God, not onely I may ju&s;tly hope, but I may &s;ecurely be a&s;&s;ured, &s;eeing God is a Power Supreme, and hath no E|quall to conte&s;t with him, much le&s;&s;e any Superiour to controule him. If I &s;hould Beleeve in man, I might feare that which <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, that <HI>All men are lyers:</HI> but when <HI>I be|leeve in God,</HI> I am out of that feare, &s;eeing <HI>God is the Truth it &s;elfe, and cannot lye.</HI> If I &s;hould Beleeve in Angels, I know the Angels did once fall, and what they did once, they might doe againe, if they were
<PB N="24" REF="18">not upheld by a &s;tronger Power; and can it bee &s;afe Beleeving in them, who &s;tand by the power of another, and not by their owne? But when <HI>I beleeve in God,</HI> my Be|liefe is built upon a &s;ure Foundati|on; &s;eeing <HI>Heaven is Gods Throne, and the Earth his Foot-&s;toole:</HI> that he is neither capable of Ri&s;ing, nor &s;ub|ject to falling. <HI>David</HI> would not put his tru&s;t in man, pronouncing him accur&s;ed that &s;hould doe it; and why &s;hould I? <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> would not tru&s;t an Angell to be his guide, though God him&s;elfe offered him one; and why &s;hould I? No, my &s;oule, but <HI>Adhaerere Deo bonum est,</HI> It is good &s;ticking to God; and no a&s;&s;urance indeed of any good, but onely in &s;ticking to him, and de|pending wholly upon him.</P>
<P>And as there are certaine pro|perties of Beliefe, to make it bee
<PB N="25" REF="18">right; &s;o there are certaine degrees of Beliefe, to make it perfect. The fir&s;t Degree, is to Beleeve, <HI>There is a God;</HI> and this Degree is &s;o &s;en&s;ible and plaine, that he mu&s;t be a Natu|rall foole that beleeves it not: as <HI>David</HI> calls him; <HI>The Foole hath &s;aid in his heart, There is no God.</HI> An|other Degree, is to Beleeve him in all he &s;aith, or promi&s;eth; which is in effect, but to account him an O|racle. Another Degree, is to beleeve him to be a Rewarder of them that &s;erve him; an effect of his Ju&s;tice: and all the&s;e Degrees of Beliefe may be in a man, and yet no true beleeving in God: For, the&s;e doe but amount to <HI>Credere Deum,</HI> or <HI>Cre|dere Deo;</HI> which a man may doe as a &s;tander by, and as onely a looker on; though he make him&s;elfe no party in the matter. The true Be|leeving in God indeed, is <HI>Credere
<PB N="26" REF="19">in Deum,</HI> to intere&s;t our &s;elves in him, to depend wholly upon him, to put all our tru&s;t and confidence in him; to account him not one|ly our Oracle to Direct us, but our Sanctuary to Protect us; to make him not onely our Hope, but our A&s;&s;urance, and both in life and death, to &s;ay that to him, which Chri&s;t &s;aid at his death: <HI>In manus tuas Domine, commendo &s;piritum meum,</HI> Into thy hands, O Lord, I com|mend my &s;pirit.</P>
<P>I therefore beleeve in God in|deed, but not in Gods; and there|fore not in Gods, becau&s;e there are no Gods to beleeve in: For if there were more Gods then One, there &s;hould be none at all, &s;eeing it is again&s;t the nature of God to bee more then One. Neither indeed, will Time or Place allow any more. For of Place, it is true
<PB N="27" REF="19">which God &s;aith of him&s;elfe; <HI>Cae|lum &amp; Terram ego impleo,</HI> Heaven and Earth I fill: and if One God fill all places, what roome can there be for any other? And of Time, it is true al&s;o, that God is <HI>Primum Ens,</HI> the Fir&s;t Being; but there can be but One Fir&s;t, and therefore but One God. And as One multiplyed by One, can never make any more then One: &s;o God being Unity it &s;elfe, can never be multiplied into a number; but it is mo&s;t true which the Jewes &s;ay of him: <HI>Hu a'chad ue aein &s;hen&igrave;;</HI> He is One, and there is not a Second: and yet perhaps not true in their meaning: For they may meane it of the Per&s;ons in the Deity; of which here is both a Second, and a Third, and yet all Three, but One God. And if there were more Gods then One, there could bee no Beliefe; at lea&s;t, but di&s;tracted
<PB N="28" REF="20">Beliefe; and di&s;traction is de&s;tru|ction to beliefe: For if it be not Fixt and Intentive upon One and the &s;ame power &s;till, it may bee Opi|nion, but it cannot be Beliefe.</P>
<P>But what is God, or who is the Lord, that I &s;hould beleeve in him? For to Beleeve in God, and not know what God is, were to Beleeve in I know not what, and were like to make but a blind Beliefe. Is it then, that there is &s;omething which is &s;eene by being invi&s;ible, which is known by being Incomprehen&s;ible: and that, my Soule is God? Or is it, there is &s;omething, who&s;e Cen|ter is every where, and Circumfe|rence no where, who&s;e Power is Infinite, and in who&s;e hands are all the corners of the Earth, and that my Soule is God? Or is it, there is &s;omething, which cannot be &s;aid, It was; and yet hath alwaies been;
<PB N="29" REF="20">Nor cannot be &s;aid, It wil be, &amp; yet &s;hal be for ever, and that my Soule is God? Or is it, ther is &s;omthing, who&s;e Being cannot be conceived, and yet who&s;e Being onely is conceivable, which exceeds the Sun in brightnes, yet is no quality; the World in great|nes, yet is no quantity, and that, My Soule is God? But indeed God is He, who brought the Ten great Plagues upon <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> for pre&s;uming to aske this Que&s;tion. For who can be excu|&s;ed, that takes not notice of his <HI>Being,</HI> who is the Author of al <HI>Being?</HI> Who can be excu&s;ed, that knows not, who Hee is, that onely is? And therefore when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> asked God his Name, he an&s;wered, <HI>I am that I am:</HI> meaning, that his Being was his Name: For as a name is proper to the thing named, &s;o Being is proper only to God: all other things rather &s;eeme to be, then are: Or if they bee indeed, yet it
<PB N="30" REF="21">is but a Being which they have from him; &s;eeing in Him, <HI>we all live, and move, and have our being.</HI> And this <HI>I am</HI> of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> is my <HI>I am too:</HI> For it is true, which God &s;aith of him&s;elfe, <HI>Ego Deus, &amp; non mutor;</HI> I am God, and there is none to change for me; and therefore in Be|leeving in this <HI>I am;</HI> I am, (I am &s;ure) in a a right Beliefe, which makes me to beginne my Creede with this, <HI>I beleeve in God.</HI></P>
<P>But thought the Beliefe, no doubt, be true; Yet it is but a truth which Jewes and Turkes beleeve as well as we; For, they al&s;o Beleeve in God, and in one God; and &s;hall a Chri&s;tians Belief go no further then theirs? Yes, my Soule; For, <HI>I be|leeve in God the Father,</HI> the fir&s;t Per|&s;on in the Trinity, and this, no Jew nor Turke beleeves. For they have alwaies &s;tuck at One, and could ne|ver
<PB N="31" REF="21">bee gotten to come to Three; when yet without knowing this Three, that One can never be true|ly knowne. Although to &s;ay the truth, this My&s;tery of Three in One, is a Truth not &s;o much to be known, as to be Beleeved; For if it could be perfectly knowne, It would not perhaps bee &s;o fit for a Creede, which con&s;i&s;ts in Believing, as for &s;ome Art, that con&s;i&s;ts in knowing. But though I cannot perfectly know this My&s;tery, yet I Beleeve it; becau&s;e I &s;ubmit my under&s;tanding to Faith; which though I cannot make to goe along with Beliefe, as a Companion; yet I make it to wait upon Beliefe as a Servant: and this, neither Jew, nor Turke will be gotten to doe: They like not to make their Under&s;tan|ding a Servant; though they can be content to be &s;ervile them&s;elves,
<PB N="32" REF="22">yet they will have their under&s;tan|ding to be Free; and therefore what they comprehend not, they beleeve not; Fooli&s;h men, that would bring downe Heaven to Earth, and bound the profound My&s;teries of God, within the &s;hallow lymits of their owne braines.</P>
<P>But what is meant by a Per&s;on in the Trinitie, which is nece&s;&s;ary to be known; that when wee &s;ay, there bee Three per&s;ons; It may not bee thought, we meane Three Gods. Indeed humane Infirmity is apt to fall into &s;uch errour. Wee mu&s;t therefore know, that a Per&s;on in the Trinity, is a Name of Di|&s;tinction, but not of Diver&s;itie: It makes <HI>Alium &amp; Alium,</HI> but not <HI>A|liud &amp; Aliud;</HI> and it is an Appel|lation proper onely to the nature of the Deity; and not to be found in any Creature what&s;oever. The Per&s;on
<PB N="33" REF="22">of the Father is di&s;tinct from the Per&s;on of the Sonne; and the Per|&s;on of the Sonne from the Per&s;on of the Holy Gho&s;t, but Di&s;tinct in Relation, not in Sub&s;tance; and all Three Per&s;ons are but One God. And to make it plainer, we may &s;ay, that God con&s;idered as Beget|ting, is the Per&s;on of the Father; con&s;idered as Begotten, is the Per|&s;on of the Sonne; and con&s;idered as proceeding from the Father and the Sonne, is the Per&s;on of the Ho|ly Gho&s;t; In the&s;e onely di&s;tin|gui&s;hed; in all other points of Dei|ty, One. The Father is not more God then the Sonne; nor the Son then the Holy Gho&s;t: They are Three in Sub&s;i&s;tence, but one in Sub&s;tance; the Sub&s;i&s;tence makes the Trinitie; the Sub&s;tance, the Dei|tie; an Ineffable My&s;tery; which we may Beleeve, but cannot Com|prehend.
<PB N="34" REF="23">O my Soule, how much <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">re wee bound to God, for revea|ling this My&s;tery of the Ble&s;&s;ed Trinity to us; and more, for ma|king us capable to Beleeve it; For, as without revealing, wee &s;hould never have knowne it: So with|out Grace, wee could never have Beleeved it; But now by the Eye of Faith; and by the Light of Grace, we come to &s;ee, as it were a glymp&s;e of that glorious Appea|ring; when wee &s;hall &s;ee God, not in <HI>Idaeas,</HI> repre&s;ented by the Fancie; but in the miraculous Verity of his owne Being; which as none can &s;ee now and live; &s;o there &s;hall be then, no life, but in &s;eeing it; no joy, but in beholding it.</P>
<P>But though the Per&s;ons in the Trinity, be all equall in Deity; yet not all Equall in all re&s;pects: For how then &s;hould it be true; which
<PB N="35" REF="23">Chri&s;t &s;aith of him&s;elfe, <HI>Pater ma|jor e&s;t me;</HI> The Father is greater then I: Not greater then Hee, onely as Man; For, this were no great mat|ter; nor greater then He, as God: for this were no po&s;&s;ible matter: but greater then He, as Sonne; for the Sonne is of the Father, the Fa|ther is of None: and in that re&s;pect is greater then the Sonne; Not as God, but as Father; and there|fore in the &s;en&s;e, in which Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>The Father is greater then I;</HI> in that &s;en&s;e doe I place the Father fir&s;t in my Creede, and &s;ay fir&s;t, <HI>I Beleeve in God the Father.</HI></P>
<P>And though I cannot apprehend, how God being but One, &s;hould be Three; yet I beleeve it, and be|leeving it, I Adore it; and though I cannot apprehend, how <HI>[Al|mighty]</HI> One &s;hould be Almighty, where Three be Equall; yet I be|leeve
<PB N="36" REF="24">it, and beleeving it, I admire it. Indeed if God were not Al|mighty, he could not be God; &s;ee|ing his power &s;hould bee limited; and a limited Power, implies a grea|ter Power that limits it, which &s;hould be God, rather then Hee; and therefore not Almighty, no God. And againe, if hee were not Almighty, our Beliefe in him might be fru&s;trate: For his want of Might, might be in that, for which wee de|pend upon him; and if no depen|ding upon him, then no beleeving in him neither; but now being God, and being Almighty: we Be|leeve in him, not onely ju&s;tly as God; but &s;ecurely, as Almighty: &s;eeing what&s;oever our want be; yet he being Almighty, can &s;upply it; how great &s;oever our Danger be, yet he being Almighty can De|fend us: how &s;trong &s;oever our
<PB N="37" REF="24">Enemies be, yet he being Almigh|tie can Protect us: and as wee are a&s;&s;ured, that he can; &s;o wee doubt not, but he will: &s;eeing there is in him, no le&s;&s;e readine&s;&s;e to doe it, as being a Father; then Power to bee able to doe it, as being Almighty.</P>
<P>Here the Athei&s;t inferres, that God cannot truely be &s;aid to bee <HI>Almighty,</HI> &s;eeing there are many things which he cannot doe: as he cannot Dye; he cannot lye, he can|not deny him&s;elfe; and if hee can|not doe the&s;e things, then he can|not doe all things; and If hee can|not doe all things, then can hee not truely be &s;aid to be <HI>Almighty.</HI> But who &s;ees not the gro&s;ene&s;&s;e of this &s;ubtilty, &s;eeing theve are not Acti|ons of Power, but Infirmities; and not to be able to doe things, which it is not Ability to doe, but Infir|mity; what prejudice can this be
<PB N="38" REF="25">to Almightine&s;&s;e? And yet, it cannot &s;o properly be &s;aid of God neither, that hee is not able to doe the&s;e things, as that hee is able not to doe them; and &s;o his not being able, is indeed an Ability, and an effect of Power; and therefore no cau&s;e for this to deny his Almigh|tine&s;&s;e, but to affirme it rather.</P>
<P>But what is more frequent with Heathen Writers, then to call their fained God <HI>Jupiter, Pater Omnipo|tens,</HI> The Almighty Father: and what doe we then Beleeve more in this, then the Heathen doe? Wee therefore Adde: <HI>[Maker of Hea|ven and Earth;]</HI> and this no Hea|then man did ever beleeve: For &s;ome of them thought the World to be made by chance, and by the ca&s;uall concour&s;e of <HI>Atomes.</HI> Some againe, thought it to bee Eternall, and not to have beene made at all:
<PB N="39" REF="25">None of them ever a&s;cribed the making it to God, and therefore in our Creede we ju&s;tly &s;ay, <HI>God the Father,</HI> as again&s;t the Jew and Turk; we &s;ay, <HI>Almighty,</HI> as again&s;t the <HI>A|thei&s;t;</HI> and we &s;ay, <HI>Maker of Hea|ven and Earth,</HI> as again&s;t the Hea|then.</P>
<P>Indeed, nothing doth &s;o mani|fe&s;tly demon&s;trate the Almighti|ne&s;&s;e of <HI>God,</HI> as the making of Hea|ven and Earth; becau&s;e hee made them when there was no matter to make them off: as it is &s;aid, <HI>In the beginning, God made Heaven and Earth:</HI> and againe, <HI>In the beginning there was no Time;</HI> &s;o before Hea|ven and Earth, there was no mat|ter, and to make them when there was no matter to make them off, was to make Something of No|thing, the mo&s;t ab&s;olute Character of Almightine&s;&s;e that can bee. If
<PB N="40" REF="26">we &s;hould &s;ay, Maker of Man and Bea&s;t: this would not &s;erve to &s;hew Almightine&s;&s;e, &s;eeing there was matter, whereof they were made, for of Earth they were made both: But to &s;ay, <HI>Maker of Heaven and Earth,</HI> is &s;o evident an argu|ment of Almightine&s;&s;e, that the Heathen them&s;elves could not chu&s;e but have acknowledged it: if they had not beene blinded with their fal&s;e Principle, <HI>Ex Nihilo Nihil fit,</HI> of Nothing is made Nothing: a Principle, true indeed in relation to Nature, but fal&s;e in relation to the Power of God, to whom, Nothing is as much as Matter, and Matter is no more then Nothing, &s;eeing Mat|ter and Nothing are all One to him.</P>
<P>Neither yet is the Almightine&s;&s;e of God, more evidently &s;eene in making the Heaven and the Earth
<PB N="41" REF="26">of Nothing, &s;o contrary to the cour&s;e of Nature; then it is &s;eene in making them in a Frame, &s;o contra|ry to the cour&s;e of Art: For where in all Artificial Buildings, the Roofe is alwaies contiguous, by mediate Joynts unto the Foundation. In this Frame, the Heaven which is the Roofe, is &s;o farre from being conti|guous to the Earth, that there is <HI>Magnum Inane,</HI> an Infinite exten&s;i|on of empty Ayre betweene them. And where the Foundation in all Artificiall Structures, is alwaies laid upon firme ground, that it may &s;u&s;taine and beare it up: In this Frame, the Earth which is the Foundation, is laid upon nothing but thinne Ayre, &s;o farre from any firmene&s;&s;e, that it is alwaies in mo|tion; and yet the Earth it &s;elfe ne|ver moving. And if wee take the Sea, as a part of the Earths Globe,
<PB N="42" REF="27">Is there not as great a wonder in that al&s;o: &s;eeing, where all liquid things doe naturally overflow all that is under them; here the liquid Sea is above the Earth, and yet overflowes it not. And now &s;tand and won|der, all yee Heathen, acknowledge and admire the <HI>Almightine&s;&s;e of God, that is the Maker of Heaven and Earth.</HI></P>
<P>But is God the Father the onely <HI>Maker of Heaven and Earth.</HI> Is it not &s;aid in Saint <HI>John: In the Be|ginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: all things were made by him, and with|out him was nothing made that was made.</HI> It is true indeed, all <HI>Opera ad Extra,</HI> all exteriour works are com|mon to all the Per&s;ons in the Deity: but yet in &s;ome re&s;pects, they are &s;ometimes appropriated more to One then to another: heere there|fore in &s;peaking of Heaven and
<PB N="43" REF="27">Earth; the Originall of Creatures: the making them is ju&s;tly attribu|ted to <HI>God the Father,</HI> the originall Creator: for otherwi&s;e it is &s;o true, that they all had a hand in making them; that it is &s;aid of the Holy Gho&s;t al&s;o, that <HI>Spiritus Dei Incubabat,</HI> the Spirit of <HI>God</HI> moved upon the face of the waters, and what was this but a Fomenting the worke of the Father and the Sonne, by the Bond of Concord: the pro|per worke of the Holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P>From hence we may learne, that the World hath not been from Ever|la&s;ting: For if <HI>God be Maker of Heaven and Earth,</HI> then Heaven and Earth were made; and if made, then made in time: and if made in time, then there was a time when they were not made. But how could this bee, &s;eeing there was no time, till they were made. But yet there was a &s;pace
<PB N="44" REF="28">of Duration, and that &s;pace had beene from Everla&s;ting: and be|ing from Everla&s;ting, how could it ever come to have an ende? and an End it mu&s;t have, before Time could come to have a Beginning. <HI>O my Soule, The&s;e are no Thoughts for thee, thy wings are too weake to fly &s;o high a pitch: Thy Plummets are too &s;hort, to &s;ound &s;o great a depth: It may bee &s;ufficient for thee to know, that although, God made not the World from Everla&s;ting; yet hee made it then when from Everla&s;ting hee had Decreed to make it: but how hee brought Time out of Eternity is a my&s;tery, thou &s;halt never attaine to know, till thou come thy &s;elfe to attaine Eternity.</HI></P>
<P>Thus farre wee are brought by Belee|ving in God the Fa|ther,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">And in his onely Sonne, Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</NOTE> but &s;eeing Fa|ther
<PB N="45" REF="28">is a Relative: and every Rela|tive, imples a Correlative, and the Correlative to Father is Sonne, this brings my Beliefe a degree further; to Beleeve <HI>in his onely Sonne, Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord:</HI> Not his Sonne by Adoption, as we are; nor his Son by Creation and Grace, as Angels are: but his Sonne by Generati|on, as onely him&s;elfe is; and &s;uch a Sonne, as the Father Proclaimes to be His; and tels the day when he begot him; <HI>Hodie genui te,</HI> This day have I begotten thee. But what day was this day? Not &s;uch a day, as our dayes are, which follow one after another: but a day, in which there is nothing Before nor after; but the Pa&s;t and the Pre&s;ent are both at once; the Pa&s;t, in <HI>Genui;</HI> the Pre&s;ent, in <HI>Hodie:</HI> indeed a day, Not of Time, but of Eternity; which makes him Co-eternall with
<PB N="46" REF="29">his Father, One good degree of E|quality: And as the day of his Begetting is not like ours: So nei|ther is the manner of his Begetting like ours; For where our Beget|ting is a Third from Two; his Be|getting is a Second from One, and therefore mu&s;t needs bee of One &s;ub&s;tance Both, and this makes him Con&s;ub&s;tantiall with the Father: another good degree of Equality: which kind of Begetting though it exceede our capacity, yet it ex|ceeds not our Beliefe: and there|fore, though our Inqui&s;itive Thoughts would faine bee making further <HI>Querees</HI> about it, yet Faith makes us contented to take this for an An&s;wer: <HI>Generationem ejus quis enarrabit? Who &s;hall declare his Ge|neration?</HI> If then the day of his Begetting, make him Co-eternall with the Father, and the manner of
<PB N="47" REF="29">his Begetting, make him Con&s;ub|&s;tantiall with the Father: have we not as good ground, for our Belie|ving in him, as in the Father? And though it may be thought, no Pow|er is left for the Sonne, the Father being Almighty: yet all Power is given to the Sonne, both in Hea|ven and Earth: for though the Fa|ther bee Almighty, yet Almighty but as God; and therefore Al|mighty as due to the Sonne, who is God with the Father: and as ju&s;t cau&s;e wee have to &s;ay to the Sonne, as to the Father, <HI>Wee prai&s;e thee O God, wee knowledge thee to bee the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>But how can the Sonne that is begotten, be Co-eternall with the Father who Begets? Seeing that which Begets, is alwaies before that which is Begotten? But is not this a fallacie? They being Rela|tives?
<PB N="48" REF="30">Seeing nothing can Beget, but there mu&s;t bee &s;omething Be|gotten: there cannot bee a Father, till there bee a Sonne: and there|fore if the Father bee from Ever|la&s;ting, the Sonne al&s;o is from E|verla&s;ting, and &s;o are Co-eternall.</P>
<P>But though the Sonne may bee Co-eternall with the Father; yet how can he be Con&s;ub&s;tantiall with the Father? Seeing the Sub&s;tance of every thing is proper to it &s;elfe, and cannot bee communicated to another. This indeed were true, if the Father and the Sonne, were <HI>Aliud &amp; Aliud,</HI> and not onely <HI>Ali|us &amp; Alius;</HI> but now being Both One God, and onely Two Per|&s;ons: Seeing the difference of Per|&s;ons makes no difference of Sub|&s;tance; they remaine of One Sub|&s;tance Both, and &s;o are Con&s;ub&s;tan|tiall.</P>
<PB N="49" REF="30">
<P>Thus farre reacheth our Beliefe in the Divinity of the Son; but &s;ee|ing we beleeve him to be both per|fect <HI>God</HI> and perfect <HI>Man,</HI> this leades our Beliefe a degree further: <HI>To Beleeve in Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord;</HI> Termes belonging to his Humani|ty; <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> a Name given him by an Angel, when hee was yet in his Mothers womb; <HI>Becau&s;e hee &s;hould &s;ave his people from their &s;innes: Chri&s;t,</HI> a Name given him from his Office, <HI>As being a Prie&s;t after the Or|der of Melchi&s;edech, annointed with the oyle of gladne&s;&s;e above his fellowes: Lord,</HI> a Name given him from his Dominion, <HI>For of his Kingdome there &s;hall be no end.</HI> O Ble&s;&s;ed Son of God, Let mee enjoy the benefit of thy Name <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> that I may bee &s;aved from my &s;innes: Let me enjoy the benefit of thy Name <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> that I may bee partaker of the oyle of
<PB N="50" REF="31">gladne&s;&s;e, with which thou wert Annointed. Let me enjoy the be|nefit of thy being my <HI>Lord;</HI> that being thy Servant, I may have thy Protection, and Thou my Obedi|ence.</P>
<P>But how happens it, that ha|ving &s;aid in the beginning of my Creede; <HI>I Beleeve:</HI> I now come to &s;ay, <HI>Our Lord:</HI> and &s;o where I went &s;ingle out; am now &s;udden|ly fallen into company: It is true indeed; I &s;ayd, <HI>I Beleeve,</HI> when I &s;pake but as regarding my owne per&s;on; but now that I &s;peake, as regarding the Communion of Saints; I &s;ay, <HI>Our Lord.</HI> For, though Saint <HI>Thomas</HI> &s;aid, <HI>My God, and my Lord,</HI> as though hee would claime CHRIST wholly to him&s;elfe; yet that &s;eemes &s;po|ken but in pa&s;&s;ion, and to make a|mends for his former doubting.</P>
<PB N="51" REF="31">
<P>But now that I &s;peak deliberatly; I can &s;ay no le&s;&s;e, then <HI>Our Lord;</HI> &s;eeing as Chri&s;t is a Saviour not of me onely, but of all mankinde; &s;o he is the Lord, not of me onely, but of all that &s;erve him: and thus Chri&s;t is that Lord, in whom is ex|pounded the Riddle of <HI>David, The Lord &s;aid unto my Lord;</HI> For if hee be <HI>Davids</HI> Lord, how is hee his Sonne? and if he bee his Sonne, how is he his Lord? Indeed Both; his Son as concerning the Fle&s;h, but his Lord concerning Divine Gene|ration: and if <HI>Davids</HI> Lord, then al&s;o of us all; &s;eeing of his King|dome, as there &s;hall be no End; &s;o neither is there any limitation; but it is as Univer&s;all, as Eternall.</P>
<P>But though Chri&s;t bee the Sonne of <HI>God,</HI> by Generation, concerning his Divinity; yet not by generati|on concerning his Humanity: but
<PB N="52" REF="32">I Beleeve,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>He was con|ceived by the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> Not that the Holy Gho&s;t was his Father: For the Father contributes matter to the be|ing of a Sonne: but the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t</HI> contributes no matter to the being of Chri&s;t; doth nothing to <HI>&s;upple|re vicem Patris,</HI> but onely to be <HI>&s;up|plementum Matris;</HI> Indeed a Concep|tion which pa&s;&s;eth our conceiving: That if <HI>Mary</HI> doubted, how this &s;hould be, &s;eeing &s;he knew not man; we as well may doubt it, &s;eeing we know not the manner, nor ever can know it: but the an&s;wer which the Angels gave to &s;atisfie <HI>Mary,</HI> mu&s;t &s;erve al&s;o to &s;atisfie us: <HI>The Holy Gho&s;t &s;hall come upon thee: and the Power of the Highe&s;t &s;hall over&s;hadow thee.</HI></P>
<P>And here now comes in, the great My&s;tery of the Incarnation of
<PB N="53" REF="32">the Sonne of God; to the Jewes a Scandall, and a &s;tumbling Blocke to the Gentiles; and yet the My|&s;tery, not more hard to Beleeve, then nece&s;&s;ary to be Beleeved: in|deed &s;o nece&s;&s;ary, that there is pro|perly no Antichri&s;tian, but hee that denyes it, as Saint <HI>John</HI> &s;aith; <HI>Who is the Antichri&s;t, but hee that denies Chri&s;t to be come in the fle&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>But why was it nece&s;&s;ary that the Sonne of God &s;hould bee Incar|nate? Indeed for many great rea|&s;ons: For his being Incarnate, makes him the more to commi&s;erate our infirmities; his being Incarnate brings our Fle&s;h againe within the Verge of Sanctification: but chief|ly, his being Incarnate makes him fit to be a Mediator betweene God and us: makes him fit to bee a Sa|crifice for our &s;ins; and if it were not for his being Incarnate, we &s;hould
<PB N="54" REF="33">never have Acce&s;&s;e to the Throne of God. O ble&s;&s;ed Ie&s;us, what Infi|nite benefits doe we receive by thy being Incarnate; but what benefit do&s;t thou receive by it thy &s;elfe? Alas, onely to make a purcha&s;e of a number of ungratefull wretches; who little con&s;ider, what great things thou ha&s;t done for us: little con&s;ider, what great &s;ufferings thou ha&s;t endured for us; little con&s;ider thy Love, thy Patience, thy Humi|litie, in taking our Fle&s;h upon thee; when yet but for thy ta|king it upon thee, our Fle&s;h &s;hould never have come to Inherit Heaven.</P>
<P>But why was the Sonne Incar|nate, and not as well the Father, or the Holy Gho&s;t? Indeede for ju&s;t cau&s;e: For, it was not fit the Father &s;hould bee Incarnate; becau&s;e the Incarnation was to pacifie the Fa|ther:
<PB N="55" REF="33">Nor was it not fit the Holy Gho&s;t &s;hould be Incarnate; becau&s;e the Incarnation was to be the worke of the Holy Gho&s;t: onely the Son was fit to bee Incarnate; becau&s;e it was congruous that being the Sonne in the Trinitie, hee &s;hould al&s;o bee the Sonne of the Woman; So to make us the Sonnes of God, without remooving out of his Spheare of Sonne-&s;hip at all.</P>
<P>And heere begins the difference betweene the Humane nature of Chri&s;t and Ours. For wee are all of us conceived in &s;inne: as <HI>David</HI> &s;aith of him&s;elfe, <HI>That he was concei|ved in &s;inne:</HI> and as <HI>David,</HI> &s;o wee all; but Chri&s;t was conceived by the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> and therefore with|out &s;inne. And as all the pa&s;&s;ages of our time e&s;teemed, are like our Beginning: Conceived in &s;inne, Borne in &s;inne, Living in &s;inne, and
<PB N="56" REF="34">Dying in &s;inne: So all the pa&s;&s;ages of Chri&s;ts time afterward, are like his Beginning: Conceived without &s;inne, Borne without &s;inne, Living without &s;inne, and Dying without &s;inne; by which it was wrought, that though he tooke upon him our whole nature, &amp; became in al things like to us; yet &s;inne was excepted.</P>
<P>And that which was conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t, did not prove (we may be &s;ure) a fal&s;e conception; but pro&s;pered and proceeded to a perfect Birth; &amp; therfore, as I Beleeve, <HI>he was conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t:</HI> So, I Be|leeve,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Borne of the Virgine</HI> MARIE.</NOTE> hee was <HI>Borne of the Virgin Mary;</HI> Con|ceived altogether Su|pernaturally in her, but borne for the mo&s;t part Naturally of her; was nouri&s;hed in her Wombe; lay nine moneths enclo&s;ed in her Wombe; came forth of her Wombe
<PB N="57" REF="34">after the cour&s;e of Nature, and yet Borne Supernaturally of her too; Supernaturally, as of a Virgine, though naturally as of a Woman: For he was <HI>Natus ex Virgine, Borne of a Virgine:</HI> So he was <HI>Factus ex muliere, made of a Woman;</HI> Not made in her, but made of her; was Fle&s;h of her Fle&s;h, and Bone of her Bone, as truly as <HI>Eve</HI> of <HI>Adams.</HI></P>
<P>It may well bee &s;aid; hee was Borne Supernaturally of her: For who ever heard of &s;uch a thing be|fore; a Virgine to bee the mother of a Childe? But though it were never heard off before, that &s;uch a thing was; Yet it was heard before that &s;uch a thing &s;hould bee: For the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay,</HI> long before had foretold, <HI>A Virgin &s;hall be with Childe, and &s;hall bring forth a Sonne:</HI> and what marvell, if there never were &s;uch a Mother before, when there
<PB N="58" REF="35">never was &s;uch a Childe before? For this is that Childe, of whom it is &s;aid, <HI>This day is borne to you a Sa|viour, which is Chri&s;t the Lord:</HI> and a Saviour of whom? No le&s;&s;e then of all mankinde; and this no le&s;&s;e &s;trange then his Birth: A child to be a Saviour of men; and One Childe of all mankinde, fully as &s;trange, as to be Borne of a Virgin; Indeed &s;trange Both, or rather Wonderfull Both; yet as &s;trange or wonderfull as they Both are; we Beleeve them Both, though but One of them be delivered heere for an Article of our Creede.</P>
<P>It is Recorded of many, that they were Sanctified in their Mothers Wombe; as among&s;t others, of <HI>Jeremy</HI> the Prophet, but never Re|corded of any, that he was Concei|ved by the Holy Gho&s;t, but onely of Chri&s;t; and between being San|ctified:
<PB N="59" REF="35">and being conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t, there is very great oddes: For to be Sanctified, is on|ly to have a mea&s;ure of Holine&s;&s;e; but to bee conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t, is to have the whole Sub|&s;tance made Holy: To be &s;ancti|fied, is onely to have Grace infu&s;ed in the Soule; but to be conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t, is to have both Body and Soule bee altogether Grace it &s;elfe.</P>
<P>But though Chri&s;t were concei|ved without &s;inne, becau&s;e con|ceived by the Holy Gho&s;t; yet how could hee bee borne without &s;inne, being borne of a &s;innefull woman? For though <HI>Mary</HI> were a Virgin, yet, no doubt, &s;hee was a &s;inner; For why el&s;e &s;hould &s;he need a Saviour? as &s;hee &s;aith her &s;elfe, <HI>My &s;pirit rejoyceth in God my Sa|viour:</HI> and could Chri&s;t take fle&s;h
<PB N="60" REF="36">of a &s;inner, and not with that fle&s;h take &s;inne? But is it not that the Ho|ly Gho&s;t is the Sanctifier, and could a&s;well &s;anctifie the Fle&s;h it &s;elfe, as the motions of the Fle&s;h: and therefore make him as well borne without &s;inne, as conceived with|out &s;inne: &s;inne not being able to enter, where the Holy Gho&s;t keeps po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>But why is there mention made of the Virgin <HI>Mary?</HI> Is it not enough to beleeve that Chri&s;t was borne of a Virgin: but there mu&s;t be added, the Virgin <HI>Mary;</HI> Indeed it is added very ju&s;tly; for by this it appeares, that Chri&s;t was De&s;cended of the Lynage of <HI>David,</HI> (his Mother be|ing of the &s;ame Lynage) as the Pro|phets had foretold, the true Chri&s;t &s;hould bee, and this is no &s;mall &s;trengthening to our Beliefe, that Chri&s;t is the true Me&s;&s;ias.</P>
<PB N="61" REF="36">
<P>But how is it like, that <HI>Mary</HI> was a Virgine, when &s;hee had a Hu&s;|band? at lea&s;t, how can wee be|leeve &s;hee was a Virgin, when &s;hee had a Child? Is it not that her Marriage was Inchoate indeed, but not Con&s;ummate; &s;hee was <HI>De|&s;pon&s;ata,</HI> but not <HI>Nupta;</HI> &s;hee was not Married. And therefore E&s;pou|&s;ed, that there might bee One to take care of her, and her Childe when it &s;hould be borne.</P>
<P>But why &s;hould her Husband take care of a Childe that was none of his owne? might he not rather ju&s;tly &s;u&s;pect her, to have played fal&s;e with him, and therefore ra|ther put her to &s;hame, at lea&s;t put her from him, then to take her to him? It is indeed a hard matter to make one beleeve, that a woman &s;hould have a Childe, and not accompa|ny with man: but as it was the
<PB N="62" REF="37">Holy Gho&s;t, that wrought the conception of Chri&s;t in his Mothers Wombe; &s;o it was the Holy Gho&s;t that wrought this Beliefe in the minde of her husband <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> that the Angell told him true, when he &s;aid unto him; <HI>Feare not Jo|&s;eph to take Mary thy wife: For that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And though &s;hee were the Mo|ther of a Childe, yet &s;he continued a Virgin &s;till; For neither the con|ception of Chri&s;t, nor the Birth of Chri&s;t, did abrogate her Virgini|tie; but rather made her, if not a more Virgin; at lea&s;t, a pure<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Vir|gin then &s;hee was before. For &s;uch is the purity of Chri&s;ts Body, that it makes all pa&s;&s;ages the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">urer by which it pa&s;&s;eth: and therefore it may bee piou&s;l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> beleeved, and without <HI>Hyperbole,</HI> that as &s;he was
<PB N="63" REF="37"><HI>Virgo ante partum,</HI> &s;o &s;hee was <HI>Virgo in partu,</HI> and <HI>Virgo po&s;t partum;</HI> a Virgin before the Birth, and in the Birth, and after the Birth; for though &s;hee had Purification, yet that perhaps, was but as Chri&s;t had Bapti&s;me, to fulfill all righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>And as Chri&s;t was conceived of <HI>Mary</HI> without &s;inne; &s;o <HI>Mary</HI> was Delivered of Chri&s;t without paine; for it was but ju&s;t, that &s;he who brought him forth, that Freed mankind from the generall Cur&s;e, &s;hould in bringing him forth, bee Freed her &s;elfe, from the particu|lar Cur&s;e laid upon Woman-kind; which was, <HI>That in &s;orrow they &s;hould bring forth Children.</HI></P>
<P>But if Je&s;us Chri&s;t were Borne of the Virgin <HI>Mary:</HI> how could he be the Sonne of the Virgin, fore|told by the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay,</HI> For the
<PB N="64" REF="38">Sonne of that Virgin, was to be cal|led <HI>Immanuell,</HI> and not <HI>Je&s;us:</HI> where this Sonne of the Virgin <HI>Marie,</HI> was called <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> and not <HI>Immanuell?</HI> But is it not, that <HI>Immanuell</HI> was not properly meant a Name of Ap|pellation but of Act; and then was the Name Acted, when the Sonne of God tooke Fle&s;h, and was Incarnate: For being the Son of God, and taking our nature up|on him, he was God with us; and to be God with Us, was to be <HI>Im|manuell.</HI></P>
<P>Ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Marie!</HI> what Tongue can expre&s;&s;e thy Happine&s;&s;e in thy &s;elfe! thy glory in the world! to have thy Body nine moneths toge|ther, be made a Heaven for the Son of God to dwell in! to have thy Wombe bee the &s;acred Bed for the Holy Gho&s;t to over&s;hadow! and more then both the&s;e, to have the
<PB N="65" REF="38">Sonne of God to bee thy Sonne; and take Fle&s;h of thy Fle&s;h, and Bone of thy Bone; that all our Af|finitie now to Heaven, mu&s;t be attri|buted to thee; that our fle&s;h which was never before without &s;inne, is now made as pure, as when it was fir&s;t made, mu&s;t bee attributed to thee; and more then Both the&s;e; that our Fle&s;h is now exalted up to Heaven, mu&s;t bee attributed to thee; that Chri&s;t &s;itteth at the Right hand of his Father, to bee our Advocate, mu&s;t be attributed to thee; and therefore all Gene|rations &s;hall ju&s;tly call thee Ble&s;&s;ed; ju&s;tly thou maye&s;t &s;ay, <HI>Thy Soule doth magnifie the Lord, and thy Spirit rejoyceth in God thy Saviour:</HI> For if ever Soule had cau&s;e to Magnifie the Lord; If ever Spirit had cau&s;e to rejoyce in God: It is Thine, It is Thine, mo&s;t Ble&s;&s;ed, mo&s;t Glori|ous,
<PB N="66" REF="39">and mo&s;t to bee Admired <HI>Marie.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Suffered under Pon|tius Pilate.</NOTE></P>
<P>After we have Be|leeved that <HI>Chri&s;t was Borne of the Virgin Ma|rie:</HI> It followes next, that we Be|leeve <HI>Hee &s;uffered under Pontius Pi|late.</HI> But what? Suffered as &s;oone as hee was borne? Indeed, as all of us beginne our life with Crying, which is an effect of Suffering; and bring this <HI>Omen</HI> with us into the world, of the mi&s;eries that are to follow: So Chri&s;t was more like to doe it then any other, who was <HI>Vir Dolorum,</HI> a man of &s;or|rowes all his life long: but yet this is not the &s;uffering that is here meant: For the &s;uffering heere &s;poken of, was under <HI>Pontius Pilate,</HI> which was not till many yeares af|ter the time of Chri&s;ts birth. Was it then, that hee was &s;mitten and
<PB N="67" REF="39">buffeted, had a Crown of Thornes platted upon his Head, was mocked and &s;courged under <HI>Pontius Pilate?</HI> Great &s;uffrings all; yet neither were the&s;e the Suffering that is heere meant: but as we u&s;e to &s;ay, when men are Executed, and put to death, that then they &s;uffer: &s;o the &s;uffe|ring here meant, was his Execu|ting, and putting to Death; as Chri&s;t him&s;elfe calleth it, where he &s;aith, <HI>I have de&s;ired to eate this Pa&s;&s;e|over with you before I &s;uffer:</HI> which was done al&s;o under <HI>Pontius Pilate,</HI> at that time Governour for the <HI>Ro|manes</HI> in <HI>Hieru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>But though it bee nece&s;&s;ary to beleeve that Chri&s;t &s;uffered; yet why is it nece&s;&s;ary to beleeve that he &s;uffered under <HI>Pontius Pilate?</HI> In|deede, becau&s;e there were many af|terwards that tooke upon them to be Chri&s;t; as Chri&s;t had fore-told,
<PB N="68" REF="40"><HI>that many &s;hould come in his Name, &s;aying, I am Chri&s;t:</HI> But wee ac|knowledge none of them to be the true Chri&s;t, but Him onely that &s;uffered under <HI>Pontius Pilate.</HI></P>
<P>We have here an Example what little good there is in good Intenti|ons, if they bee not followed home to their full period; for a good Intention in <HI>Pilate,</HI> for want of pur|&s;uing, co&s;t Chri&s;t a &s;courging more then otherwi&s;e, perhaps, hee &s;hould have had; for out of a de&s;ire to &s;ave his life, he cau&s;ed him to bee &s;courged; hoping, in a good inten|tion, it would have pa&s;&s;ed with the Jewes for a &s;atisfying puni&s;hment: but when his &s;courging would not &s;erve their turnes, nor pacifie their malice; he then left pur&s;uing his good intention, and delivered him into their hands to be put to death. Unhappy <HI>Pilate!</HI> that &s;eeking to doe
<PB N="69" REF="40">him good, did&s;t him hurt; and thinking to &s;ave his life, did&s;t adde a &s;courging to his death. What ill lucke had&s;t thou to bee a Go|vernour at this time, thereby to be made a Mini&s;ter of &s;o fowle a Fact? What ill hap had&s;t thou that hee &s;hould &s;uffer under thee, who &s;uf|fered for thee? Yet when thou had&s;t &s;hed his bloud, and that hee had &s;uffered under thee; If thou had&s;t made good u&s;e of &s;hedding it, or good u&s;e of his &s;uffering; it might perhaps have beene happy for thee; but to &s;hed his bloud, and then to wa&s;h thy hands in wa|ter: as though water could clen&s;e the guiltine&s;&s;e of blood, or as though thy hands could make a|mends for the fault of thy tongue: This, if le&s;&s;e impiou&s;ly done, was yet more fooli&s;hly done, then that thou did&s;t before.</P>
<PB N="70" REF="41">
<P>But, O my Soule, what a &s;udden change is this? Wee have hitherto thought, that the time was now come of our long de&s;ired expecta|tion: His being <HI>Conceived of the Holy Gho&s;t, and borne of the Virgine Mary;</HI> &s;eemed certaine &s;ignes unto us of our expected <HI>Me&s;sias:</HI> but now his &s;uffering under <HI>Pontius Pi|late,</HI> puts us cleane out of heart: and takes away al hope, that this can po&s;&s;ibly be the Me&s;&s;ias we expect. But do we forget, that the Prophet which told us; <HI>A Virgin &s;hall bee with Childe: and &s;hall bring forth a Sonne;</HI> the &s;ame Prophet tels us al&s;o; that <HI>He &s;hould beare our Infir|mities; and by his &s;tripes we &s;hould bee healed:</HI> Let the&s;e then bee laid to|gether, and it will bee found, that his &s;uffering, is as true a &s;igne of his being the true <HI>Me&s;sias</HI> as either his Birth, or his Conception.</P>
<PB N="71" REF="41">
<P>But how happens this great gap to be in our Creed, betweene the Birth, and the Suffering of Chri&s;t? Is there nothing to be beleeved of Chri&s;t; from the time he was borne, till the time he &s;uffered under <HI>Pontius Pilate?</HI> which was more then thir|ty yeares? If there be, why is it not here delivered? No doubt, there are many memorable things of Chri&s;t, between his Birth and his Death, and mo&s;t worthy of our be|leeving; as, that he was Circum|ci&s;ed the Eighth day; that he was wor&s;hipped of the Wi&s;e men of the Ea&s;t; that at Twelve yeares old, he Di&s;puted in the Temple with the Doctors; that at Thirty yeares old, hee was Baptized of <HI>John</HI> in Jorden; that pre&s;ently after, he was led into the Wilderne&s;&s;e, to bee Tempted of the Devill; that Hee turned Water into Wine at a Ma|riage
<PB N="72" REF="42">in <HI>Canaa;</HI> and many other mo&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> memorable things, but are not ex|pre&s;t in this our Creede; becau&s;e no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Works efficient of our &s;alvation For without any of the&s;e, he migh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> have been our perfect Saviour: bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> not &s;o, without the&s;e expre&s;t in ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Creed: For if he had not taken up|on him our fle&s;h, which was his being borne of the Virgin <HI>Mary;</HI> and if he had not dyed for our &s;innes, which was his &s;uffering under <HI>Pon|tius Pilate:</HI> and if he had not ri&s;en againe from the Dead, and A&s;cended into heaven; neither could we have had any Salvation by him; neither could hee have beene a Saviour to us; and therefore, the&s;e onely are expre&s;t in our Creed, and not the other; though the other no le&s;&s;e memorable then the&s;e, and as wor|thy otherwi&s;e of our Beliefe.</P>
<P>Or is it, that the Articles delive|red
<PB N="73" REF="42">here concerning Chri&s;t; are all of them in oppo&s;ition to &s;ome He|re&s;ie; from which in this Creed, we profe&s;&s;e our &s;elves to be free? as, <HI>Conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t;</HI> in op|po&s;ition to the Here&s;ie of the <HI>Pro|dianitae;</HI> who held that Chri&s;t took fle&s;h from the Elements; and to the Elements, at his Ri&s;ing, re&s;to|&s;tored it againe. <HI>Borne of the Virgin Mary;</HI> in oppo&s;ition to the Here&s;ie of <HI>Valentinus;</HI> who held that <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> tooke not fle&s;h of the Virgin; but onely pa&s;&s;ed through her Body, as Water through a Pipe. <HI>Suffered under Pontius Pilate,</HI> in oppo&s;ition to the Here&s;ie of <HI>Cerdonius;</HI> who held, that Chri&s;ts Body was im|pa&s;&s;ible, and not &s;ubject to payne, but in appearance. <HI>Crucified,</HI> in op|po&s;ition to the Here&s;ie of <HI>Ba&s;ilides;</HI> who held that Chri&s;t him&s;elfe was was not Crucified, but <HI>Simon</HI> of
<PB N="74" REF="43"><HI>Cyrene,</HI> wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> bo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e his Cro&s;&s;e. <HI>Was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"></HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">n oppo&s;ition to the Here&s;ie <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> the <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="4 letters">chees;</HI> who held that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">yed not, but onely made a &s;hew of D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ing. <HI>De&s;cended into Hell,</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">, whom <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">, to deny his de&s;cen|ding into Hell <HI>R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e againe from the Dea;</HI> in oppo&s;ition to the Here&s;ie of <HI>Cerintius,</HI> who held, that Chri&s;t is not yet ri&s;en, but that he &s;hall ri&s;e hereafter. <HI>The third Day;</HI> in oppo|&s;ition to the Here&s;ie of the <HI>Arme|nians,</HI> who held, that Chri&s;t ro&s;e on the Sabbath day; and &s;o on the Second Day, and not on the Third. <HI>A&s;cended into Heaven;</HI> in oppo&s;ition to the H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;ie of tho&s;e; who be|cau&s;e it is &s;aid, <HI>In Sole po&s;uit Taber|nac<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lum &s;uum:</HI> were therefore of opinion, that hee went no higher then the Sunne. <HI>Shall come to Judge the Quicke and the Dead;</HI> in oppo&s;i|tion
<PB N="75" REF="43">to the Here&s;ie of tho&s;e; who held, that there &s;hall bee no Ge|nerall Judgement, but every one to bee Judged at the time of his death, and not otherwi&s;e. And this perhaps might be a rea&s;on, why onely the&s;e Articles are delivered in our Creede, concerning Chri&s;t; though in other re&s;pects, many o|ther might a&s;well have been con|ceived, and as well Beleeved.</P>
<P><HI>Crucified,]</HI> But now wee are come to the &s;uffering of Chri&s;t, and who can chu&s;e but &s;uffer him|&s;elfe in comming to it? For what was his &s;uffering, but his putting to death? And to what Death; but the mo&s;t painefell, and the mo&s;t Ignominious death of all, the death of the Cro&s;&s;e? <HI>John Bapti&s;t,</HI> when in <HI>Herods</HI> di&s;plea&s;ure he was put to death; had yet a faire death; was onely Beheaded; a kind of death
<PB N="76" REF="44">that &s;eemes to hold good quarte<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> with a Delinquent; no Terrour no Ignominy, no Lingring; as &s;oot ended, as begunne; and in which the Sen&s;e hath no lei&s;ure to feele Paine; but the death of the Cro&s;&s;e which Chri&s;t &s;uffered, had in it all the parts of a cruell death; painefull and lingring: and which, to a generous minde, is more grie|vous then both the&s;e; full of Ig|nominy and Shame; and that, no|thing might bee wanting to the mea&s;ure of the Ignominie, Cru|cified betweene two Malefactors; and to increa&s;e the Ignominy yet more, put in the mid&s;t, as the grea|te&s;t Malefactor of all the three.</P>
<P>And what was it to bee Cruci|fied? What, alas! but to have his Handes and his Feet nayled to the Cro&s;&s;e, and there left hanging till hee &s;hould bee dead; which
<PB N="77" REF="44">could not chu&s;e, but bee a long time, there being nothing to cau&s;e his death, but Paine and Bleeding; and Paine, though intollerable, is &s;eldome deadly; Bleading though immea&s;urably, is oftentimes health|full.</P>
<P>But how then happened it, that with being nayled onely to the Cro&s;&s;e, he &s;hould be dead &s;o &s;oone? For after &s;ix houres he gave up the Gho&s;t. No doubt, it made him &s;hed blood in abundance; and therefore, in that &s;pace of time, he might well bleed to death. But &s;o did the two Malefactors, who yet lived a longer time: was it then, that his death was ha&s;tened, by ha|ving a Speare thru&s;t into his &s;ide? But that was not done, till after hee was dead. Although one <HI>Peter Iohn</HI> an Hereticke, would needes, again&s;t plainete&s;timony of Scripture, main|taine
<PB N="78" REF="45">this Opinion, that it was done while hee was yet alive. Was i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> then perhaps, that his Fa&s;ting, and Watching, and Scourging the night before, had &s;o exceedingly weake|ned him; that he that could beare the burthen of our &s;inne, yet could not heare the burthen of his Cro&s;&s;e, but was faine to have <HI>Symon of Cy|rene</HI> to beare it for him; and there|fore was little better then dead al|ready. Or, if the&s;e were not e|nough to ha&s;ten his death; was it not perhaps, his own doing; who had power to lay downe his life, and to take it up againe at his plea|&s;ure, and therefore dyed the &s;oo|ner, that it might be verified, which was Prophe&s;ied: <HI>There &s;hall not a bone of him bee broken.</HI> For, if hee had not dyed when hee did, his legges &s;hould have beene broken, as the two Malefactors were to ha|&s;ten
<PB N="79" REF="45">their death, that they might be dead before the Sabbath. O deare Je&s;us, what &s;uch ha&s;te was there for thy death, who onely wert wor|thy never to dye? but that by thy death thou ha&s;t given us life; though all our lives were not worth the ha&s;tening it; but that thy infinite love never thought it to be ha&s;te enough.</P>
<P>It is an olde Here&s;ie of &s;ome; that Chri&s;t him&s;elfe was not Cru|cified, but <HI>Symon of Cyrene</HI> in his &s;tead; but the Temple and the Sunne make this knowne to bee a Fable. For would the Temple have rent in twaine? Would the Sunne have beene darkened &s;o long toge|ther for <HI>Symon of Cyrene?</HI> No a|las, too true it is, that Chri&s;t him|&s;elfe was Crucified; and woe to us that true it is; and yet more woe to us, if it were not true; but woe
<PB N="80" REF="46">of all Woes, that true it is; in that for us, and for our &s;innes, it was that he was Crucified. O my Soule that thou could&s;t bee alwaies me|ditating upon this Crucifying of Chri&s;t: Not, that it could be any plea&s;ure to thinke of his being Cru|cified, but the better to make thee apprehend; Fir&s;t the great cau&s;es of it, thy own &s;inne, and his love: and then the great effect of it, thy Everla&s;ting Redemption: for which thou can&s;t never bee enough grate|full, if thou bee never &s;o little un|mindefull.</P>
<P><HI>Dead.]</HI> And now having Be|leeved, that Chri&s;t was Crucified; our next Beliefe is, that hee was <HI>Dead:</HI> and yet how can we Beleeve, that hee could Dye? For, is not Death the Wages of Sinne: and could hee receive the Wages, that had not done the Service? Had
<PB N="81" REF="46">committed no &s;inne? But is it not, that hee dyed not for any &s;inne he committed him&s;elfe, but for the &s;innes of others which he tooke up|on him? Even as a Surety payes the Penaltie of a Debt that was none of his owne. And this rea|&s;on the Prophet <HI>Daniel</HI> gives, where hee &s;aith, <HI>Me&s;siah &s;hall bee &s;laine, not for him&s;elfe, but for his people: to make reconciliation for their Iniquities, and to bring in Everla&s;ting Salvation.</HI> And here appeares ano|ther rea&s;on, why Chri&s;t <HI>&s;uffered under Pontius Pilate:</HI> For the &s;ame Prophet <HI>Daniel</HI> fore-&s;heweth, <HI>That after &s;even weekes, and three&s;core and two weekes, from the going forth of the Commandem at to re&s;tore and build Hier<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;alem; Me&s;siah &s;hall bee &s;laine:</HI> Which being computed according to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> Prophets &s;en&s;e, agreeth ju&s;t with the time, that <HI>Pontius Pilate</HI>
<PB N="82" REF="47">was Governour in <HI>Judea.</HI> And thus as in the Article before, the Virgin <HI>Mary</HI> was ju&s;tly mentioned, to &s;hew that Chri&s;t was the true Me&s;&s;iah, by the circum&s;tance of his Di&s;|cent: So in this Article, <HI>Pontius Pilate</HI> is ju&s;tly mentioned, to &s;hew that Chri&s;t is the true Me&s;&s;iah, by the circum&s;tance of the time.</P>
<P>And for who&s;e &s;inne was it then, that Chri&s;t dyed? O my Soule, this Que&s;tion reflects upon thee; for among&s;t others, even for thine: Thy &s;innes were the cau&s;e that Chri&s;t was Crucified; Thy &s;innes the cau&s;e that Chri&s;t Dyed; and Alas, will be the cau&s;e to make him Dye continually, if continued: that if there bee any &s;parke of Grace, if any life of the Spirit at all in thee, thou wilt now at la&s;t dye to tho&s;e &s;innes, that made him to Dye: and every nayle that fa&s;tned him
<PB N="83" REF="47">to his Cro&s;&s;e, will bee a nayle to peirce thy heart.</P>
<P>But if wee Beleeve that Chri&s;t was Dead; will wee fix our Be|liefe upon a Dead man? Can we hope for Life from him, who was Dead him&s;elfe? Indeed, therefore we hope for life from him, becau&s;e he was dead him&s;elfe: For if hee had not Dyed, we could not have Lived; &s;eeing hee therefore Dyed, that hee might Redeeme us from Death; as it is &s;aid of him: <HI>Thou wa&s;t &s;laine, and ha&s;t redeemed us to God by thy bloud.</HI> For, though hee were now dead; yet hee continued not dead long; but after three dayes, wee &s;hall heare of his ri&s;ing to life againe; and then wee &s;hall heare him &s;ay: <HI>I am hee that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore.</HI></P>
<P>But how&s;oever, now dead he is,
<PB N="84" REF="48">and with him is dead all our joy, and all our comfort; but where is the Lamentation that is made for his death? <HI>David,</HI> when he heard <HI>Ab&s;olon</HI> was dead; cryed out, <HI>O<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Ab&s;olon my Sonne! would to God, I had dyed for thee, my &s;onne Ab&s;olon:</HI> but where is any now he heares Chri&s;t is dead, that crieth out: O deare Je|&s;us, would to God I had dyed for thee, mo&s;t deare Je&s;us? And is it not a grievous thing, that <HI>David</HI> &s;hould more lament the death of a wicked Sonne, then we &s;hould la|ment the death of the Sonne of God; and by whom we are made the Sonnes of God? Is it not a &s;hame, that a Heathen &s;hould &s;ay of a Heathen, <HI>In ignem po&s;ita e&s;t, fletur:</HI> and that we hearing <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> to be dead, &s;hould not affoord him &s;o much as a teare? Alas, it were well, if we would floore him but
<PB N="85" REF="48">the common office of Humanity, to &s;ee him <HI>[Buried:]</HI> but where are they &s;hould doe it? His friends have all for&s;aken him: Not an Apo&s;tle now that will be &s;een about him; e|ven <HI>Peter</HI> him&s;elf that had made &s;uch Prote&s;tations, what great matters he would doe for his &s;ake, is &s;lunke away and gone; perhaps, to looke after the Sheepe committed to his charge: never regarding what be|came of the Shepherd; and if it had not beene for one good man, the ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Jo&s;eph of Arimathea:</HI> God knowes what Indignities they might have offered to his Sacred Body being dead, who had &s;o vile|ly abu&s;ed it being alive. But thou ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> had&s;t the b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">e&s;&s;e to begge his Body of <HI>Pilate,</HI> Tho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> tooke&s;t it downe from the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">re&s;&s;e, Thou w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ap'd&s;t it Linnen Cloathes, and laid'&s;t it in a Sepulchre, where
<PB N="86" REF="49">never man was laid, that as his Bo|die at fir&s;t came out of a Virgins Wombe: &s;o now at la&s;t, it is laid in a Virgine Tombe; thereby per|haps in my&s;terie, to honour Virgi|nity, both in Life and Death. And thou ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> for this thy pi|ous Fact, &s;halt live in the memo|ries of men, as long as there &s;hall be memories in men; and thy name &s;hall bee had in everla&s;ting remem|brance.</P>
<P>It may be thought no great mat|ter, what becomes of the Body, when the Soule is out of it; For lay it where you will, or lay it how you will, it turnes to Du&s;t: and yet, I know not how, there &s;eemes to be a kind of Honour in being fairely Buried: and perhaps, be&s;ides the Honour, a further my|&s;tery in it, in what place the Body is laid: For why el&s;e &s;hould <HI>Jo|&s;eph</HI>
<PB N="87" REF="49">be &s;o earne&s;t, to have his Bones carried out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and be brought to <HI>Canaan,</HI> to be buried there.</P>
<P>But what needes expre&s;&s;ing in our Creed, that hee was <HI>Buried:</HI> &s;eeing what needes beleeving that he was Buried? Our &s;alvation had &s;ufficiently beene wrought by his death, though he had not been buri|ed at all: and is it not then &s;ufficient, that I Beleeve he was Dead, unle&s;&s;e I beleeve al&s;o that hee was Buried? But &s;eeing our &s;alvation was wrought by his Death; It was fit to make the Opinion of his death undoubted; and to leave no &s;cru|ple in the minde about it; which could not well bee done, but by adding, that he was <HI>Buried:</HI> For if he had not beene <HI>Buried,</HI> it might bee thought, hee was but in a Traunce; and then no great matter to revive againe: and &s;o his Re|&s;urrection
<PB N="88" REF="50">have been &s;leighted; but Buriall is a thing that con&s;ummates death, and makes men dead, though they were not dead before: as it is reported of the &s;ubtile Schoole|man <HI>Scotus,</HI> that falling into a Trance, by &s;ome Fit of Infirmity, he was, whether out of Officious, or Malitious ha&s;tine&s;&s;e, &s;uddenly buried; and found afterwards, by evident Signes, that he was buried alive. And therefore, to leave no &s;cruple for doubting of the true Death of Chri&s;t, it was nece&s;&s;ary to be added, that he was <HI>Buried.</HI></P>
<P>And now that wee have &s;eene Chri&s;t Dead and Buried: One would thinke, there were an end of Articles of Beliefe concerning him; and yet there are other be|h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">de, that mu&s;t bee Beleeved no le&s;&s;e then thefe: and happy it is for us, that there are other behind:
<PB N="89" REF="50">for Alas, if our Beliefe &s;hould end in his Death and Buriall, what hope could we have of benefit by belee|ving in him? But now Chri&s;ts hu|mane nature con&s;i&s;ting of a Body and a Soule: and they being by death parted, as that Article tels, what being dead became of his Bo|dy; <HI>[That it was Buried:]</HI> So this next Article tels what became of his Soule: <HI>[That it De&s;cended into Hell.]</HI> For his Soule is all the He now, that in this Article is in|tended.</P>
<P>But is this an Article to make us be glad off? had we not beene better, to have left him at his be|ing dead, and lying quietly in his Grave, then to bring him after|ward to <HI>De&s;cend into Hell?</HI> Not at all: For marke the con&s;equence of this Article; that if notwith&s;tan|ding his Buriall, wee &s;hould bee
<PB N="90" REF="51">doubtfull &s;till of the death of Chri&s;t; (For one may bee buried for dead, and yet revive againe as <HI>Scotus</HI> did:) Yet this Article that now comes in, will &s;tricke the mat|ter dead: and indeed, if there were nothing el&s;e in the Article, but that it makes us infallibly certaine of his Death; It were cau&s;e enough for giving it a place in this our <HI>Creede,</HI> &s;eeing there is nothing that requires &s;o great a confirmation, as the death of Chri&s;t: becau&s;e upon his death it is, that the maine work of our Sal|vation depends: and certainely a greater confirmation of his death, there cannot bee then this; that while his Body was lying in the Grave, his Soule de&s;cended into Hell. For to have the Body in one place, and the Soule in another, both at once, is manife&s;tly and infallibly to bee dead: Seeing Death is no|thing
<PB N="91" REF="51">el&s;e, but to have the &s;oule and body to be divided.</P>
<P>But now concerning his de&s;cent into Hell; It is wonderfull, what diver&s;ity of opinions there is at this day about it; Partly, concerning the place, and partly, concerning the motion. Fir&s;t, what is meant by <HI>Hell,</HI> and then what is meant by <HI>De&s;cending;</HI> &s;o differing all in the under&s;tanding of the words, as if they were not all of one language; at lea&s;t, had a taint of <HI>Babell</HI> remain|ing &s;til in them. Some have thought that by <HI>de&s;cending into Hell;</HI> is meant nothing but the extreame &s;orrowes, and torments of &s;oule, which Chri&s;t &s;uffered in the <HI>Garden,</HI> and on the <HI>Cro&s;&s;e;</HI> but this, the time, and order of the Articles, which hath hi|therto been preci&s;ely ob&s;erved, will not allow; For hee <HI>de&s;cended</HI> not into <HI>Hell,</HI> till after he was <HI>dead</HI> and
<PB N="92" REF="52"><HI>buried.</HI> And be&s;ides, if this were &s;o; it &s;hould rather bee &s;aid, that <HI>Hell</HI> a&s;cended up to him, then that he <HI>de&s;cended into Hell;</HI> e&s;peci|ally, &s;eeing tho&s;e agonies were vio|lent; this <HI>de&s;cending,</HI> voluntary; tho&s;e were &s;ufferings, this an acti|on. Some againe have thought, that by <HI>Hell,</HI> is meant the <HI>Grave;</HI> and by <HI>de&s;cending into Hell,</HI> his being held under the power of death; but this, the &s;oule will not allow: for, the <HI>grave</HI> is a place but for the body, no place for the &s;oule; and the &s;oule mu&s;t have a place to bee in, a&s;well as the body; and it is the &s;oule onely, that in this Article is intended. Some others have thought, that by <HI>de&s;cending into Hell,</HI> is meant the going of his &s;oule to the place of all ju&s;t &s;oules after death, which is to Paradi&s;e: but this, the manner of the motion, will
<PB N="93" REF="52">not allow; for to Paradi&s;e cer|tainly is an a&s;cent, and not a de|&s;cent; and therefore mo&s;t unlike|ly, that a&s;cending into Paradi&s;e, &s;hould bee expre&s;t by de&s;cending into Hell.</P>
<P>For though the Poet <HI>Virgil</HI> maks
<Q><L>&mdash;amaena vireta</L>
<L>Fortunatorum Nemorum, &s;edes&abque; beatas.</L></Q> to be a part of Hell, yet this is but a Poeticall fixion, and not worthy to have place in Divinity: which makes it more plaine; Chri&s;t told <HI>Mary Magdalene</HI> at his ri&s;ing, that he was not yet a&s;cended to his Fa|ther. But to go about to meet with Errour in every corner, would bee both trouble&s;ome and tedious, and perhaps, not worth the labour: It may be &s;ufficient for us, to &s;ee the truth by it &s;elfe; and <HI>Rectum est Index &s;ui &amp; Obliqui;</HI> by viewing
<PB N="94" REF="53">the <HI>right,</HI> wee &s;hall the better di&s;|cerne the <HI>fal&s;ehood.</HI> The truth <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hen in this Article &s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">mes to bee this: That the &s;oule of Chri&s;t being p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rted from his body <HI>de&s;cended</HI> lo|cally into <HI>Hell,</HI> properly &s;o called; though it may &s;eeme &s;trange, that having promi&s;ed the good Thiefe, to be this day with him in Paradi&s;e, he &s;hould be this day with the bad Thiefe in Hell; and yet not &s;trange, &s;eeing the &s;oule is no &s;uch &s;low mover, but that it might bee in Hell and Paradi&s;e, both in one day; and le&s;&s;e &s;trange if it bee true, that he meant it, perhaps, of his Deity, and not of his &s;oule.</P>
<P>And that the &s;oule of Chri&s;t did locally <HI>de&s;cend into Hell</HI> may thus appeare; The &s;oule, though a &s;pi|rit, mu&s;t yet have a place after its kind to be in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> if not <HI>Circum&s;crip|tive,</HI> at lea&s;t <HI>Definitive;</HI> and the &s;oule
<PB N="95" REF="53">of Chri&s;t &s;tayed not with his body, for then his body &s;hould not have been dead; no it a&s;cended not up to heaven; for, this is a contrary motion to <HI>de&s;cending;</HI> nor it ho|vered not about in the ayre, for, this is but a Ficti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n of Poets, when they &s;peake of &s;oules departed; and what place then remained but one|ly Hell? And if it were not the true Hell, into which his &s;oule <HI>de|&s;cended,</HI> then mu&s;t the &s;peech bee Metap<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oricall and Figurative; and is a Figurative &s;peech fit to make the Article of a Creede? What though to &s;it at the right hand of God, be a Figurative &s;peech, and in the Creed; Is it not a Figura|tive &s;peech, which cu&s;tome hath made Litterall? And is <HI>de&s;cending into Hell,</HI> a &s;peech made literall by any cu&s;tome? And if any man be doubtfull &s;till, whether this Ar|ticle
<PB N="96" REF="54">ought to be expounded literal|ly, or no: he may doe well to aske coun&s;ell of the Article which &s;aith; <HI>He a&s;cended into Heaven:</HI> For, both the Articles being expre&s;t in a like phra&s;e, there &s;eemes great rea&s;on to take them both in a like &s;en&s;e; and &s;eeing his <HI>A&s;cending into Heaven</HI> is certainly meant literally: there|fore certainely al&s;o meant literal|ly, his <HI>De&s;cending into Hell.</HI></P>
<P>But what Authorities have wee for this Interpretation? Indeed, Authorities mo&s;t irrefragable. Fir&s;t, a generall con&s;ent of all the An|cient Fathers; Then, of all the learned Writers in the Ages fol|lowing: Then in our owne time, of an infinite number wee may name the&s;e; <HI>Alexander Gyll, John Mayer, Alexander Nowell,</HI> the reve|rend Deane of <HI>Pauls,</HI> and chiefely, the learned Bi&s;hop of <HI>Winche&s;ter,
<PB N="97" REF="54">Thomas Bil&s;on:</HI> and which is more then all the&s;e, and not &s;lightly to be accounted of, in the directing of our opinions, <HI>The Tenet of our Church of England,</HI> as Deane <HI>No|well</HI> writeth in his Catechi&s;me.</P>
<P>And as there hath been, and &s;till is, great diver&s;ity of Opinions a|bout his <HI>de&s;cending</HI> it &s;elfe; &s;o there hath been, and &s;till is, as great di|ver&s;itie of opinions about the cau&s;e of his <HI>de&s;cending.</HI> But though his <HI>de&s;cending into Hell</HI> be an Article of our Creed, yet the cau&s;e for which he <HI>de&s;cended</HI> is none: and therefore though we be tyed of nece&s;&s;ity to beleeve that; yet we are at our li|berty for beleeving of this, and need to beleeve no more of it, then we &s;ee good rea&s;on to make it pro|bable. And why then &s;hould wee trouble our &s;elves with debating of circum&s;tances, which doe but
<PB N="98" REF="55">&s;erve to breed debate? Can wee not beleeve that Chri&s;t <HI>de&s;cended into Hell:</HI> unle&s;&s;e wee know the cau&s;e why he <HI>De&s;cended?</HI> Should the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> have done well, to forbeare the obeying of Gods Commandement, for wearing cloathes mixt of linnen and wollen: untill they might know the cau&s;e, why they &s;hould not weare them? and doth any man know the true cau&s;e of it to this day?</P>
<P>Some indeed, and of the highe&s;t ranke, hold this opinion; that the cau&s;e of Chri&s;ts <HI>de&s;cending into Hell,</HI> was onely to <HI>triumph;</HI> but are there not other, and tho&s;e no meane ones neither, that are of opinion; he <HI>de|&s;cended</HI> as wel to <HI>&s;uffer</HI> as to <HI>triumph?</HI> Fir&s;t, to &s;uffer to perfect our redemp|tion; and then to triumph, to e&s;ta|bli&s;h our &s;ecurity? Fir&s;t, to &s;uffer, if not the paines of hell, at lea&s;t,
<PB N="99" REF="55">&s;ome paines in hell; thereby to pay the uttermo&s;t farthing that was due by us: and then to triumph, to receive the fir&s;t earne&s;t of reward that was due to him&s;elfe? If his <HI>de&s;cending into Hell</HI> (&s;ay they) were onely to &s;ubdue Satan, and to tri|umph over him; why is it &s;po|ken by <HI>David</HI> in the per&s;on of Chri&s;t, as a favour of God unto him; <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oule in Hell.</HI> For what favour was it not to leave his &s;oule there, where it was in triumph? It had beene certainly more favour to leave it there, then to take it from thence. It &s;eemes therefore, there was &s;ome|thing which he &s;uffered in Hell; in which it was a favour of God, not to leave him; and might have been as mi&s;chieuous to his &s;oule, as cor|ruption to his body, if God &s;hould have left him in it. They adde, if
<PB N="100" REF="56">Chri&s;t had <HI>de&s;cended into Hell,</HI> and had not &s;uffered &s;ome paines in Hell; he had left undone his mo&s;t merito|rious worke, and had given over meriting, before it came to perfe|ction. For to be in Hell, and not de|&s;pair of Gods mercy: to &s;uffer paines in hell, and perhaps of hell, and not murmure at Gods ju&s;tice; are works which in making perfection of me|rit, &s;hew perfection of grace; and as without Divine a&s;&s;i&s;tance, they could not be &s;uffered: &s;o without &s;uffering, they could not be done. They adde farther, it is true, he was not thru&s;t into Hell, as the dam|ned are; who if they were not thru&s;t into it, would never come there: but he <HI>de&s;cended</HI> into it, and <HI>de&s;cending</HI> is a voluntary action, he might have cho&s;en: but as he wil|lingly &s;ubmitted him&s;elfe to the death of the Cro&s;&s;e, in his bodie;
<PB N="101" REF="56">&s;o he willingly &s;ubmitted him&s;elfe, to the <HI>de&s;cent into Hell,</HI> in his &s;oule. For, till his &s;oule <HI>de&s;cended into Hell,</HI> it came not to the lowe&s;t degree of humiliation: and till it came to the lowe&s;t degree of humiliation; it could not come to the highe&s;t of perfection; and to the highe&s;t of perfection, it was to come; before he could come to a&s;cend on high, and to lead Captivity captive. And the&s;e &s;eeme to bee their rea&s;ons, who are of opinion, that Chri&s;t <HI>de&s;cended into Hell,</HI> a&s;well to <HI>&s;uffer,</HI> as to <HI>triumph.</HI></P>
<P>But may not the&s;e rea&s;ons bee ea&s;ily made appeare, to bee unrea|&s;onable? For when <HI>David</HI> makes Chri&s;t to &s;ay; <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oule in Hell;</HI> was it becau&s;e he &s;uffered in Hell; or was it not rather, that though hee onely tri|umphed in Hell; yet his joy of
<PB N="102" REF="57">triumphing was not &s;o great, to make him forget, by who&s;e a&s;&s;i|&s;tance hee triumphed; and there|fore to acknowledge, that if God &s;hould leave him in Hell; he &s;hould haue cau&s;e to leave triumphing. And to &s;ay, that if he had not &s;uffe|red in Hell, he had left undone, his mo&s;t meritorious worke; Is it not directly to cro&s;&s;e Saint <HI>Paul</HI> where he &s;aith, <HI>That Chri&s;t pacified all things by the blood of his cro&s;&s;e;</HI> by which it appeares, that Chri&s;t &s;uffered as much as was nece&s;&s;ary for our &s;alvation upon the Cro&s;&s;e; and what need then of any more &s;uf|fering, by <HI>de&s;cending into Hell?</HI> And for degrees of humiliation; doe we reade of any lower: can wee thinke of any lower then this; that <HI>Exinanivit &s;eip&s;um,</HI> he emptied him|&s;elfe of all glory; became of no reputation, and humbled him&s;elfe
<PB N="103" REF="57">to the &s;hamefull death of the bit|ter Cro&s;&s;e? But be&s;ides the&s;e an&s;wers, wee may not omit, to ob&s;erve heere a di&s;tinction which offers it &s;elfe, in the Ar|ticles concerning Chri&s;t, and may &s;eeme to give &s;ome light to the clearing of this Controver&s;ie. For the five fir&s;t Articles &s;eeme to concerne Chri&s;t, as onely a pati|ent: <HI>(Conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t: Borne of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate: was Crucified, Dead, and Buried:)</HI> all Articles, concerning him as a patient; And in which he did nothing, but onely &s;uffered: But the five later Arti|cles concerne him onely as an agent: <HI>(He de&s;cended into Hell; Hee ro&s;e the third day from the Dead; Hee a&s;cen|ded into Heaven; He &s;itteth at the right hand of his Father; Hee &s;hall come from thence, to judge the quicke and
<PB N="104" REF="58">the Dead:)</HI> all Articles concerning him, as an agent; and as in tho&s;e of his &s;uffering, there is a plenitude of merit: &s;o in the&s;e of his action, there is a plenitude of reward. And now if wee keepe us well to this di&s;tinction, it will keepe us right in the true under&s;tanding of this Article: For if hee <HI>de&s;cended into Hell,</HI> as an Agent, then not as a Patient; and if not as a Patient, then not to Suffer, but onely to Triumph. La&s;tly, if Chri&s;t <HI>de&s;cen|ded into Hell</HI> to &s;uffer, why did not then his body de&s;cend a&s;well as his &s;oule; &s;eeing our bodies a&s;well as our &s;oules &s;hould have &s;uffered the paines of Hell? Which cannot be objected, if wee hold hee <HI>de&s;cended into Hell,</HI> but only to Triumph: For as it was a &s;ufficient and proper tri|umph for the &s;oule to triumph over Hell; &s;o it was a &s;ufficient and pro|per
<PB N="105" REF="58">Triumph for the body, to tri|umph over death; which it did by ri&s;ing the third day, as it followes in the next Article. Indeed, for his <HI>de&s;cending into Hell,</HI> to triumph over Satan, there was great rea&s;on; &s;eeing hee it was, that had offered him &s;o many great indignities here on earth: He it was, that had tem|pted him in the Wilderne&s;&s;e: Hee it was, that put it into <HI>Judas</HI> heart, to betrary him. It was therefore very expedient, that the fir&s;t thing he &s;hould doe, when hee came to be an Agent, &s;hould be to goe into Hell, to be revenged upon him as it were in hot bloud; and for his greater di&s;grace, to triumph over him, within his owne Kingdome.</P>
<P>Now which of the&s;e opinions is the more probable, perhaps wee may; but which is the truer, who can bee &s;ure? Seing probability
<PB N="106" REF="59">and truth doe not alwaies goe to|gether; and &s;ometimes the more true, is the le&s;&s;e probable; there being fallacies, a&s;well in Rea&s;on as in Sen&s;e: and indeed, in matters ob|&s;cure, and not recalled in Scripture; we may &s;ooner mi&s;take all, then take any at all right; and never know in any of them, when we be right, or wrong: and therefore of &s;uch poynts, though it may be to|lerated to make Di&s;qui&s;itions; yet it is not &s;afe to make conclu&s;ions. <HI>Sapere ad &s;obrietatem,</HI> is an excellent rule in all ca&s;es; but where the truth is but conjecturall, (as in this ca&s;e) mo&s;t of all; and it was ju&s;tly &s;aid of Chri&s;t: <HI>Yee erre not knowing the Scriptures:</HI> For if our know|ledge be grounded, and not upon Scriptures; not onely Errour is ea&s;ily let in, but it is hardly kept out. What the Scripture de|livers
<PB N="107" REF="59">in plaine termes, we may be bold to build upon: but inferences and deductions, are for the mo&s;t part fallacious; &s;eldome &s;o cleare, to induce a beliefe; &s;eldome &s;o certaine to breed a knowledge: and therefore in this poynt, our &s;afe&s;t cour&s;e is, to content our &s;elves with that which our Creed delivers, that Chri&s;t de&s;cended into hell: and not be too curious in examining, much le&s;&s;e too peremptory in concluding, either the manner or the cau&s;es of his <HI>de&s;cending.</HI></P>
<P>But if Chri&s;t de&s;cended locally into Hell; How could he ever come from thence againe? Seeing it is &s;aid, and truly &s;aid, <HI>Omnia te advor&s;um &s;pe|ctantia, nulla retror&s;um:</HI> That from Hel there is no returning. No return|ing indeede for tho&s;e that are dam|ned; and are brought thither to live and die there; but for him,
<PB N="108" REF="60">who <HI>de&s;cended into Hell,</HI> to overcome Hell; for him who by <HI>de&s;cending in|to Hell,</HI> merited <HI>a&s;cending into Hea|ven:</HI> It was not onely po&s;&s;ible that he &s;hould returne, but impo&s;|&s;ible he &s;hould be there detained.</P>
<P>There have beene Hereticks of old, at lea&s;t, if they were Hereticks: (called <HI>P&s;ychopanichitae</HI>) who held this opinion, that when the body dyes, then the &s;oule falls a&s;leepe, and that there is an <HI>Inter&s;titium</HI> of li|ving as wel in the &s;oule, as in the bo|dy; the &s;oule lying a&s;leep, and not waking till the body at the la&s;t day ri&s;e againe: becau&s;e it hath beene &s;aid of men when they dyed, <HI>that they &s;lept with their Fathers:</HI> and Saint <HI>Paul</HI> al&s;o expre&s;&s;eth death by &s;leeping: where he &s;aith, <HI>For this cau&s;e, many of you are weake, and ma|ny &s;leepe:</HI> and by this meanes, it may bee ju&s;tly &s;aid, that when a
<PB N="109" REF="60">mandies, he knowes his judgement pre&s;ently: For though there bee a million of yeares, betweene his death and the day of Judgement; yet the &s;oule lying all the while a&s;leep, they are to him as contiguous And this &s;eemes to bee no impro|bable opinion, and by which many difficult places in Scripture may be cleared; for if it were not thus, how could it be &s;aid, that <HI>where the tree falleth, there it lyeth:</HI> for if the &s;oule be in action, while the body is dead; how will the Tree lye, where it falleth? Seeing the good &s;oules will alwaies be doing of good, and the evill &s;oules of evill. But if not|with&s;tanding the&s;e rea&s;ons, this o|pinion bee not &s;uffered to pa&s;&s;e: Can it better bee confuted, then by that which is &s;aid here, <HI>(Hee de&s;cen|ded into Hell:)</HI> for, what Hee but his &s;oule? If then his &s;oule <HI>de&s;cen|ded,</HI>
<PB N="110" REF="61">and <HI>de&s;cending</HI> bee a voluntary action: and no voluntary action but of that which is awake; then certainely, was Chri&s;ts &s;oule awake after death, and not a&s;leep; and if his &s;oule, then ours a&s;well; &s;eeing there is no difference, that we know off, betweene his &s;oule and ours, but propen&s;ion to &s;inne.</P>
<P>But what a kind of per&s;wading is this? to &s;eeke to per&s;wade us to beleeve in Chri&s;t, by hearing hee was &s;courged and crucified, and hanged among&s;t common Malefa|ctors; and after all this to <HI>de&s;cend into Hell?</HI> Is he like to be a Saviour to us, that could not &s;ave him&s;elfe? For if he had &s;aved him&s;elfe, and come downe from the Cro&s;&s;e, the Jewes (pretended at lea&s;t) they would have beleeved in him. But when he did not this, upon &s;o ju&s;t a Motive; what rea&s;on had they
<PB N="111" REF="61">but to thinke he could not doe it: and then what rea&s;on had they to thinke him a Saviour? This indeed was the mi&s;t, that blinded the Jewes eyes: they could never be brought to think him the true Chri&s;t, becau&s;e he came in &s;uch meanne&s;&s;e &amp; humi|lity: where they looked for a Me&s;|&s;ias that &s;hould come in &s;tate; one that &s;hould domineere in the world, and re&s;tore the temporall King|dome to the Hebrew Nation. And yet is this one of the maine rea|&s;ons which makes us know and beleeve him to be the true Chri&s;t; becau&s;e it is mo&s;t agreeable to all the ancient Prophecies, that &s;uch a one the true Chri&s;t &s;hould bee. And indeed &s;eeing hee came into the world to bee a Redeemer; and Redeeming con&s;i&s;ted no le&s;&s;e in &s;uf|fering then in doing: It was nece&s;|&s;ary hee &s;hould come in &s;uch an
<PB N="112" REF="62">E&s;tate, as might be fitte&s;t for &s;uf|fering, &s;o to pay for us the utter|mo&s;t farthing of our debt; not onely by Active, but a&s;well al&s;o by Pa&s;&s;ive obedience, which hee could not have done; at lea&s;t, not made appeare to have done, if hee had come in &s;uch &s;tate as the Jewes expected.</P>
<P>But though he <HI>de&s;cended into Hell,</HI> and no doubt,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third day hee ro&s;e againe.</NOTE> did great matters at his being there; yet it &s;eemes he was not long about it; for the <HI>Third day he ro&s;e againe;</HI> Not &s;ooner then the <HI>third day,</HI> that it might appeare, hee had beene cer|tainly dead: Nor later, that he might not leave his Di&s;ciples too long in di&s;comfort: Not &s;ooner then the <HI>third day,</HI> that there might be time &s;ufficient for his &s;oules triumphing; Nor latter, that there might not be
<PB N="113" REF="62">time &s;ufficient for his bodies cor|rupting: Not &s;ooner, then the <HI>third day,</HI> that hee might not aboli&s;h the old Sabbath upon the old Sabbath; Nor later, that he might not leave the world without a Sabbath; for if hee had not ri&s;en till the fourth day, then had the <HI>third day,</HI> beene neither Sabbath-day, nor working-day; Not a Sabbath, becau&s;e hee was not then ri&s;en, who&s;e onely ri&s;ing made the new Sabbath; not a working-day, becau&s;e but one day by it &s;elfe, and none of the &s;ix, that were at fir&s;t ordained to bee working-dayes.</P>
<P>And now is performed the thing &s;ignified, of which, <HI>Jonas</HI> was the &s;igne; for as <HI>Jonas</HI> went down in|to the Whales belly, and after three dayes was ca&s;t out &s;afe upon the &s;hoare: So Chri&s;t having de&s;cended into the Whales belly, of Hell, was
<PB N="114" REF="63">the <HI>third day</HI> &s;et a &s;hore on the <HI>earth,</HI> and <HI>ro&s;e from the dead.</HI> Now is ve|rified the &s;aying of Chri&s;t, at which the Jewes tooke &s;uch &s;candall; <HI>De&s;troy yee the Temple, and in three dayes I will build it up againe:</HI> For when the Jewes had de&s;troyed the &s;acred Temple of his Body, by put|ting him to death upon the Cro&s;&s;e, in three dayes he built it up againe, and ro&s;e from the dead. And now was verified the Prophecie, <HI>That the glory of the &s;econd Temple &s;hould bee greater then that of the former:</HI> For &s;o was Chri&s;ts body being ri&s;en from the dead; farre more glorious, then the body in which he dyed.</P>
<P>And now the <HI>third day</HI> being come, <HI>hee ro&s;e from the dead;</HI> but why from the dead? For onely his body from the dead; his &s;oule from Hell: and why then from the dead, rather then from Hell?
<PB N="115" REF="63">Is not the ri&s;ing of his &s;oule as wor|thy of our beliefe, as the ri&s;ing of his body? And why then, not as well mentioned, as the ri&s;ing of his body? But is it not, that to &s;ay, <HI>he ro&s;e from the dead,</HI> includes them both; &s;eeing his body could not ri&s;e without his &s;oule: be&s;ides, it more concernes us to &s;ay, <HI>hee ro&s;e from the dead,</HI> then to ri&s;e from <HI>hell;</HI> becau&s;e to ri&s;e from the dead, is our owne ca&s;e; but to ri&s;e from Hell, is never like to be the ca&s;e of any, but onely of him&s;elfe. Neither indeed, can it properly be &s;aid, <HI>He ro&s;e from Hell,</HI> &s;eeing there can bee no <HI>ri&s;ing,</HI> where there was not a <HI>falling</HI> fir&s;t; but though his &s;oule <HI>de&s;cended into Hell;</HI> yet it fell not in Hell, as his body did by death; and therefore proper onely to &s;ay, <HI>Hee ro&s;e from the Dead, and not from Hell.</HI></P>
<P>Never Cordiall was more com|fortable
<PB N="116" REF="64">to a fainting &s;pirit; then this Article is to us: The Article before, put us almo&s;t cleane out of heart: For if his being <HI>dead and buried,</HI> touched us &s;o very neerely; how could his <HI>de&s;cending into Hell,</HI> but touch us to the very quick? But now, this Article of his <HI>ri&s;ing from the dead,</HI> puts new life into us; &s;ee|ing by this, we are a&s;&s;ured, not on|ly of the greatne&s;&s;e of his power, that could &s;o ea&s;ily vanqui&s;h <HI>Death</HI> and <HI>Hell:</HI> but of the greatne&s;&s;e of his love, that as hee did it for our &s;akes: &s;o for our comfort, he would come againe, to let us know it. And indeed, though Chri&s;t did well enough him&s;elfe, with his <HI>de&s;cen|ding into Hell;</HI> yet we for our parts could never well brooke this Arti|cle, for two unplea&s;ing words that are in it; <HI>Hell</HI> and <HI>De&s;cending,</HI> ex|treamely di&s;ta&s;tfull, both. For <HI>Hell</HI>
<PB N="117" REF="64">is a terrour; and <HI>De&s;cending,</HI> a di&s;|grace: but now, this Article of his <HI>Ri&s;ing,</HI> cheeres us up againe; for <HI>Hell</HI> is no terrour, to him that can vanqui&s;h it; and <HI>De&s;cending,</HI> is no di&s;|grace to him that can ri&s;e againe, and indeed, there is nothing that more plea&s;eth us then <HI>ri&s;ing.</HI> For, as long as we be <HI>ri&s;ing,</HI> wee can never doe ami&s;&s;e: as the word never gives of|fence; &s;o the action never takes hurt: and &s;pecially, if wee ri&s;e, as Chri&s;t did from the <HI>dead.</HI> For how much the place from which wee ri&s;e, is more hatefull; &s;o much the <HI>ri&s;ing</HI> it &s;elfe is more gratefull; and &s;eeing nothing is more hatefull, then <HI>death:</HI> therefore, nothing is more gratefull, then <HI>ri&s;ing from the Dead.</HI></P>
<P>But though Chri&s;t continued longer dead, then his Di&s;ciples could have wi&s;hed; yet hee ro&s;e
<PB N="118" REF="65">&s;ooner from the Dead; then per|haps they expected: and perhaps they expected not he &s;hould ri&s;e at all: For, if <HI>Mary Magdalene</HI> had beleeved that <HI>Chri&s;t &s;hould ri&s;e a|gaine,</HI> would &s;hee have come to the Sepulchre with Spices to Embalme him?</P>
<P>But how is it true, that Chri&s;t did ri&s;e the <HI>third day,</HI> when it appeares he ro&s;e before it was day? For the Sunne was not ri&s;en, when Chri&s;t ro&s;e; and it is the ri&s;ing of the Sunne, that makes it day. But though the Sunne were not ri&s;en, yet it was upon ri&s;ing, and that was enough to denominate it day. And be&s;ides, before the Sun ri&s;eth, there is alwaies a <HI>Diluculum,</HI> a <HI>day-breake;</HI> and that certainely e|nough, to make it bee called, <HI>Day.</HI> But it &s;eems, it is meant in the Go&s;|pell, to expre&s;&s;e, not only that it was
<PB N="119" REF="65">the <HI>third day;</HI> but what time of the <HI>third day</HI> it was, when Chri&s;t aro&s;e. And indeed, whether wee take the day, after the account of the Jewes, who begin their day at Sun &s;etting; or after the account of the Romans, who begin their day at Midnight, as we do; in both the accounts, it was the <HI>third day,</HI> and then the Sun ri&s;ing was the time of the day, in which he ro&s;e.</P>
<P>But why then would <HI>Mary Mag|dalene</HI> come no &s;ooner with her Spices; &s;eeing by this account, the Sabbath day that had hindred her, was ended long before? Was it not, that if &s;hee had gone &s;ooner, &s;hee mu&s;t have gone by darke: and could &s;hee in the darke, have done the worke &s;hee went about? And to have gone by candle-light, would have bred &s;u&s;pition. The Watchmen then might ju&s;tly have
<PB N="120" REF="66">&s;aid, <HI>His Di&s;ciples came by night, and &s;tole him away:</HI> but now &s;hee tooke advantage of the fir&s;t light, to bee <HI>going to the Sepulchre;</HI> as Chri&s;t may be thought at the &s;ame time, to bee <HI>ri&s;ing from the Sepulchre:</HI> and per|haps, it was but the di&s;tance of place, that made the difference of time, betweene her <HI>comming,</HI> and his <HI>ri&s;ing;</HI> and it was well, there was that difference of time; For, if &s;hee had come &s;ooner, &s;hee had found Chri&s;t lying dead in his <HI>grave</HI> &s;till; and to have Em|balmed him then with her Spices, might have brought imputation upon his <HI>Re&s;urrection;</HI> have made it be thought, that the vertue of her Spices had revived him; and there|fore to prevent this &s;candall, Chri&s;t was up before <HI>Mary Magdalen</HI> came: and as &s;oone as the <HI>third day</HI> affoorded but any dawning of
<PB N="121" REF="66">light; (for where Saint <HI>John</HI> &s;aith, <HI>While it was yet darke,</HI> is but a phra&s;e of expre&s;&s;ing, <HI>It was not broad day|light;) He ro&s;e from the Dead.</HI></P>
<P>And is there not in this a My|&s;tery? May we not &s;ay, that Chri&s;t would not ri&s;e, but with the ri&s;ing of the Sunne, becau&s;e the Sunne could not ri&s;e, but with the ri&s;ing of Chri&s;t. For, as when Chri&s;t left his life, the Sunne left his light, and was covered with darkene&s;&s;e: &s;o now, that Chri&s;t ri&s;eth from the Dead; the Sunne ri&s;eth from the darke, and makes <HI>the day &s;pring from on high</HI> againe with his light. Was it ever heard before, that two Suns did ri&s;e, both together? And why was it &s;o now, but to &s;hew, that <HI>he is the true light, that lighteth every one that commeth into the world: and that in his light, we &s;hall &s;ee light.</HI> O ble&s;&s;ed Sunne of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,
<PB N="122" REF="67">as thou did&s;t then ri&s;e and appeare to thy Apo&s;tles, with beames of comfort, to remove from them all darknes of &s;orrow; &s;o vouch&s;afe now to ri&s;e in my heart, with beames of <HI>grace,</HI> to di&s;pell from mee all clouds of <HI>errour;</HI> that I may not take thee for a <HI>Cardiner,</HI> as <HI>Mary Magdalen</HI> did; but that calling me by my name; I may an&s;wer thee with <HI>Rabboni,</HI> as <HI>Mary Magdalen</HI> did; who though &s;hee came too late, to annoint thee with her Spices, <HI>dead:</HI> yet &s;he came time enough, to be the fir&s;t me&s;&s;enger of thy <HI>ri&s;ing from the dead;</HI> and to have the honour to bee <HI>Apo&s;tola Apo&s;tolis,</HI> the Apo&s;tle to thy Apo&s;tles; who, but for her ince&s;&s;ant diligence, might have lan|gui&s;hed longer in the ignorance of thy ri&s;ing.</P>
<P>But is it true indeed, that Chri&s;t did ri&s;e from the dead, and that it
<PB N="123" REF="67">is not a tricke put upon us? Seeing he appeared not to all the people, but onely to &s;ome few men, and are a few men &s;ufficient witne&s;&s;es, to make &s;o incredible a thing to be cre|dited? But though he appeared not to all the people, yet he appeared to all the Apo&s;tles, that their holine&s;&s;e might well &s;upply their number; and to all the Apo&s;tles at diver&s;e times, that the frequencie might well cleare them from mi&s;taking: and if incredulity, notwith&s;tanding all this, will &s;till bee excepting a|gain&s;t their witne&s;&s;e; have we not then, more then five hundred bre|thren at once, that &s;aw him being ri&s;en from the dead; that if we be|leeve it not now, having &s;o many witne&s;&s;es, and &s;uch witne&s;&s;es to confirme it; neither would wee beleeve it though an Angel &s;hould come and tell it us, from Hea|ven;
<PB N="124" REF="68">and indeede, an Angell did come from heaven, and tell it to <HI>Mary Magdalen; He is ri&s;en, he is not here.</HI></P>
<P>But why would not Chri&s;t be|ing ri&s;en from the <HI>dead;</HI> &s;uffer him|&s;elfe to be &s;eene of the Jewes: was he affraid, they would Crucifie him againe, as they had done before? but there needed bee no &s;uch feare, &s;eeing his body was now impa&s;&s;i|ble, and not &s;ubject any more to &s;uch indignities. But indeede to what ende &s;hould the Jewes have &s;eene him? For, it would but have moved them to more bla&s;phemy; they would but have &s;aid, as they had &s;aid before, <HI>that he was a Magcian, and had a devill;</HI> and though they had beeue allowed the favour of Saint <HI>Thomas, to put their hands into his &s;ides:</HI> yet they would never have beleeved him to bee the &s;ame man,
<PB N="125" REF="68">whom they had put to death; but ra|ther &s;ome Devil that appeared in his likene&s;&s;e: And were the&s;e fit men to have the favour to &s;ee Chri&s;t? The penitent <HI>Mary Magdalen</HI> could not be allowed to touch him: and &s;hould &s;uch reprobate Jewes be al|lowed to doe it? even to the Di&s;|ciples them&s;elves, he appeared but at times, and in &s;hort fits; rather to confirme their beliefe of his re|&s;urrection; then to keep them com|pany with his conver&s;ation. So as there was cau&s;e enough why he was not &s;eene of the Jewes; but why, after he was ri&s;en, he &s;tayed forty daies upon the earth, before he A&s;cended; and in tho&s;e forty daies, appeared nine times, and but nine times to his Di&s;ciples. This indeed is a My&s;tery; whereof, without divine Revelation, wee &s;hall never come to under&s;tand the rea&s;on.</P>
<PB N="126" REF="69">
<P>But though Chri&s;ts body might ri&s;e from the dead, yet how could it come forth of the Sepulchre; &s;ee|ing a great &s;tone was rowled again&s;t it, to keep him in? Was it, that the Angel came from heaven, of pur|pole to let him out? In this in|deed, the Doctors of the Church are much divided; &s;ome of them holding that the Angel came direct|ly for that purpo&s;e; as among&s;t o|thers of the Authors, Pope <HI>Leo,</HI> (I thinke) the &s;econd: and of the la|ter among&s;t us, Ma&s;ter <HI>Perkins.</HI> Some againe holding, that the Angel row|led away the &s;tone indeed, but not to any &s;uch purpo&s;e, as among&s;t o|thers; of the Ancients, Saint <HI>Hie|rome;</HI> and of the latter, Bi&s;hop <HI>An|drewes,</HI> who in his &s;eventeenth Prin|ted Sermon, &s;aith thus: <HI>The An|gel indeed rowled away the &s;tone, but Chri&s;t was ri&s;en fir&s;t: and the &s;tone
<PB N="127" REF="69">rowled away after.</HI> But &s;eeing <HI>Mary Magdalen</HI> asked not this que&s;tion, why &s;hould we? Was it not more, that Chri&s;ts body &s;hould ri&s;e at all; then that ri&s;ing, it &s;hould make its way through any ob&s;tacle? And why more, to come out of the Se|pulchre, while the &s;tone lay there: then to come in, among&s;t his Apo|&s;tles, when the doores were &s;hut? For indeed, who knowes, or is able to define: what the abilities and priviledges of a glorified body are?</P>
<P>But how are we &s;ure, that it was the true body of Chri&s;t that appea|red; and not rather a phanta&s;me or gho&s;t; &s;eeing a phanta&s;me &s;eems al&s;o to be a body: as the <HI>Samuel,</HI> which the Witch of <HI>Endor</HI> rai&s;ed up to <HI>Saul?</HI> Indeed for this, we are be|holding to Saint <HI>Thomas;</HI> for, his doubting, hath made this out of doubt: For, <HI>putting his hand into his
<PB N="128" REF="70">&s;ide,</HI> without which he would not be|leeve, hee found it to bee fle&s;h and bone, of which, a phanta&s;me or gho&s;t hath none; and therefore, though it may deceive the <HI>&s;eeing:</HI> yet it cannot deceive the <HI>touching.</HI></P>
<P>And here, be&s;ides the litterall &s;en&s;e, there may not unfitly bee drawne a good Morall ob&s;ervation: that as Chri&s;t did not ri&s;e from the dead; till he had fir&s;t de&s;cended in|to Hell; &s;o the be&s;t meanes, to ri&s;e from the death of &s;inne, is to de|&s;cend into the Hell and torment of Con&s;cience, by penitent contrition; and indeed, he that truely feeles the compunction of &s;oule for his &s;inne; may ju&s;tly be &s;aid, to be in hell for the time, &s;eeing no hell can mini|&s;ter greater torment, but yet with this difference: that where in the torment of Hell, there is utter de|&s;paire; in this torment of Com|punction,
<PB N="129" REF="70">there is a&s;&s;ured hope. <HI>O gracious God, &s;o frame mee to de&s;cend into this Hell of Compunction, by peni|tent contrition; that I may never come to feele the torments of that Hell; where there is nothing but weeping and gna&s;hing of teeth.</HI></P>
<P>But by what power was it, that Chri&s;t ro&s;e from the dead? For there is great difference betweene <HI>ri&s;ing,</HI> and being <HI>ray&s;ed:</HI> to <HI>ri&s;e,</HI> is properly by ones owne power: to be <HI>rai&s;ed,</HI> is properly by the power of another; and they cannot bee both true: and why then are they both &s;aid? For as it is &s;aid here, that he <HI>ro&s;e;</HI> &s;o in another place, it is &s;aid, that he was <HI>rai&s;ed.</HI> Is it not that his <HI>ri&s;ing</HI> was as his <HI>dying;</HI> vo|luntary and yet impo&s;ed; he <HI>dyed,</HI> becau&s;e he would <HI>dye:</HI> and he <HI>dyed,</HI> becau&s;e his Father decreed him to <HI>dye;</HI> and in this, there is no incon|guitie;
<PB N="130" REF="71">&s;eeing all, <HI>Opera ad extra;</HI> all exteriour workes; and all are exteriour works that are not per&s;o|nall: as they be common to all the per&s;ons in the Deitie, &s;o they may be affirmed of the whole Deity.</P>
<P>After the Article of beliefe,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">He a&s;cended into Heaven.</NOTE> that Chri&s;t ro&s;e from the dead: our next Beliefe is, that <HI>he a&s;cended into Heaven;</HI> and indeed it followes well: For, as when he came downe from <HI>heaven,</HI> he never left de&s;cending, till hee <HI>de&s;cended into hell;</HI> &s;o now that he is <HI>ri&s;en,</HI> he never leaves <HI>ri&s;ing,</HI> till he <HI>a&s;cend up to Heaven.</HI> And &s;o my &s;oule, &s;hould&s;t thou doe, not thinke it enough to ri&s;e up from &s;inne, and there &s;tay; but never leave ri&s;ing, till thou a&s;cend up to Heaven as Chri&s;t did.</P>
<P>But what? <HI>A&s;cend</HI> as &s;oone as he was <HI>ri&s;en?</HI> What time was there
<PB N="131" REF="71">then, for <HI>Thomas</HI> to put his hand in|to his &s;ide? What time for <HI>Peter</HI> to take charge of his Sheepe? Hee therefore <HI>a&s;cended</HI> not pre&s;ently af|ter his up-ri&s;ing; but &s;tayed forty dayes upon earth before he <HI>a&s;cended;</HI> in which time, hee appeared nine times to his Apo&s;tles and Di&s;ci|ples. But what needed he to have &s;tayed fortie dayes, if hee appea|red but nine times? Or why ap|peared hee but nine times, if hee &s;tayed fortie dayes? Indeed, to give the rea&s;on of the number of his times of appearing; and why at other times hee concealed him&s;elfe: is perhaps a &s;ecret be|yond our capacitie: Onely in ge|nerall, wee may conceive, that hee appeared &s;ometimes, to make his Di&s;ciples a&s;&s;ured of his <HI>Re|&s;urrection;</HI> and he forbore appea|ring &s;ometimes, to weane them
<PB N="132" REF="72">from their carnall de&s;ire of his pre|&s;ence. He appeared &s;ometimes, to in&s;truct them in many things which they knew not before; and he for|bore appearing &s;ometimes, to pre|pare their mindes for his <HI>a&s;cending.</HI></P>
<P>But how&s;oever, by the&s;e his ap|pearings, hee manife&s;ted foure fa|culties of a <HI>glorified body;</HI> that it can vani&s;h away at plea&s;ure; that it can eate or fa&s;t at plea&s;ure; that it can alter &s;hape at plea&s;ure; that it can enter, where the doores are &s;hut: For all the&s;e Chri&s;t did after his <HI>ri&s;ing,</HI> by vertue of his <HI>glorified body:</HI> But that his <HI>Body,</HI> though <HI>glorified,</HI> was at any time in more places then one at once, is no where to be found in the holy Scriptures, and can never bee proved by the Word of God.</P>
<P>But to what Heaven was it that <HI>Chri&s;t a&s;cended?</HI> Not as &s;ome foo|li&s;hly
<PB N="133" REF="72">interpret tho&s;e words of <HI>Da|vid; In Sole po&s;uit tabernaculum &s;uum,</HI> as though hee placed his Taber|nacle in the Sunne, and went no higher: For, if this were &s;o, how could he come to &s;it at the <HI>right hand of his Father,</HI> who&s;e throne is in the highe&s;t heavens.</P>
<P>This <HI>a&s;cending of Chri&s;t into hea|ven,</HI> makes ju&s;tly a high Fe&s;tivall a|mong us, which wee call <HI>A&s;cen&s;ion day;</HI> but &s;hould we not rather call it <HI>A&s;cen&s;ion yeare,</HI> or &s;ome longer time then a <HI>yeare;</HI> at lea&s;t, if wee meane it as long as the time hee &s;pent in <HI>a&s;cending.</HI> For if it were le&s;&s;e then yeares, it may be written for a Wonder: &s;eeing <HI>Alpharabius,</HI> a great A&s;trologer among&s;t the <HI>A|rabians,</HI> affirmes for certaine, the <HI>Starry-Heaven</HI> to be &s;o high above the Earth, that a man with rea&s;ona|ble journeyes, could hardly goe it
<PB N="134" REF="73">in eight thou&s;and yeares: and o|ther A&s;tronomers affirme, the di|&s;tance from the Earth to the ne|thermo&s;t Heaven, to bee no le&s;&s;e then foure&s;core Millions of miles: And another expre&s;&s;eth the di&s;tance thus, that if a Mill-&s;tone were fal|ling downe from Heaven, it would be neere a hundred yeares in falling, before it came to the Earth. And if wee wonder at the&s;e things (as indeed they are mo&s;t wonderfull) wee may con&s;ider what ju&s;t cau&s;e there is, to have this Attribute gi|ven to God, to be the <HI>Maker of hea|ven and earth.</HI> But though the di|&s;tance of place be &s;o great, and the motion of a naturall body bee &s;o &s;low; yet what is this to a glorifi|ed body, that makes no reckoning of di&s;tance of place; but <HI>in&s;tar ful|guris,</HI> like Lightning, is able to move from any part of the world
<PB N="135" REF="73">to another in an in&s;tant; that if we mea&s;ure the length of the <HI>Fe&s;tivall,</HI> by the length of the time which Chri&s;t &s;pent in <HI>A&s;cending;</HI> we need not call it <HI>A&s;cen&s;ion day,</HI> but <HI>A&s;cen|&s;ion minute:</HI> &s;eeing his <HI>glorified body</HI> was able in a minute, to pa&s;&s;e from the Earth to the highe&s;t Heavens. And though, when hee began his <HI>A&s;cent from Mount Olivet,</HI> hee &s;et out at fir&s;t &s;o &s;lowly, that if he went no fa&s;ter, he was not like to get to Heaven in many yeares: yet that was done, but <HI>ad pa&s;cendos Di&s;cipulorum oculos;</HI> as it were to feed his Di&s;ciples eyes: to the end, they might the better ob&s;erve his <HI>A&s;cending,</HI> and be the more &s;en&s;ible of it; and perhaps, to &s;hew how unwilling hee was to leave them. For afterward, no doubt, hee men|ded his pace, and made u&s;e of the agility of his <HI>glorified Body;</HI> and
<PB N="136" REF="74">perhaps, was arrived in Heaven, while the Angel &s;tood blaming the Apo&s;tles, for gazing up after him.</P>
<P>But if he had been <HI>A&s;cended into Heaven</HI> &s;ooner, why did he not &s;end the Holy Gho&s;t downe upon his Apo&s;tles; till after fifty daies, that he began his <HI>A&s;cending:</HI> that &s;o hee might have kept his promi&s;e: <HI>And loe, I am with you alwayes to the ende of the world:</HI> meaning, either by him&s;elfe, or by the Holy Gho&s;t: where now there were fifty dayes; in which, they neither had Chri&s;t, nor the Holy Gho&s;t among&s;t them? <HI>O my &s;oule, what pre&s;umption is this: to inquire into My&s;teries that are hidden from us, and will be &s;till, till wee come our &s;elves to heaven, from whence the Holy Gho&s;t was &s;ent.</HI></P>
<P>But what ground have wee for it, that Chri&s;t indeed <HI>a&s;cended into Heaven?</HI> Seeing Saint <HI>Mathew</HI> and
<PB N="137" REF="74">Saint <HI>John,</HI> who were likely to have &s;eene it, &s;peake nothing at all of it; onely Saint <HI>Marke</HI> and Saint <HI>Luke,</HI> who &s;aw it not, and had it but at the &s;econd hand; record it to us; and is it rea&s;on, to beleeve them that &s;peake but by heare-&s;ay; when eye witne&s;&s;es, if any &s;uch thing were, are &s;ilent; e&s;pecially, in a matter of &s;o great con&s;equence as his <HI>A&s;cen|&s;ion</HI> is? It is true indeed, Saint <HI>Ma|thew,</HI> for what cau&s;e I know not, breaks off his Go&s;pel before Chri&s;ts <HI>A&s;cending;</HI> but Saint <HI>John,</HI> though hee &s;peake not of it, in the place, where the other doe; yet hee had delivered it, at lea&s;t, intimated it, before in his Go&s;pel, where hee mentions Chri&s;t to &s;ay, <HI>What, and if yee &s;hall &s;ee the Sonne of man a&s;cend up, where he was before?</HI> And Saint <HI>Paul</HI> a Witne&s;&s;e without exception, af|firmes plainely, <HI>That more then five
<PB N="138" REF="75">hundred brethren at once &s;aw him A&s;|cending;</HI> and him&s;elfe al&s;o, though he &s;aw him not <HI>A&s;cend,</HI> yet he &s;aw him being <HI>A&s;cended:</HI> that nothing can have a more &s;ure ground of Beleeving: nothing bee more cer|taine, then Chri&s;ts <HI>A&s;cending</HI> into Heaven.</P>
<P>And of his <HI>A&s;cention,</HI> wee may ea&s;ily conceive, two &s;peciall ef|fects: One, which we are &s;ure off; the other, which wee hope: the fir&s;t, his owne glory; that having received indignities on earth, hee might receive the reward of them in Heaven: the other, our com|fort; <HI>that where he is, we may be al&s;o.</HI> O ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, I know not whether more to grieve, for thy <HI>De|&s;cending into Hell;</HI> or more to joy, for thy <HI>A&s;cending up to Heaven:</HI> yet I mu&s;t confe&s;&s;e, there is advantage on the joyes part: For, though one of
<PB N="139" REF="75">them was to thee mo&s;t prejudiciall: yet both of them are to mee mo&s;t beneficiall.</P>
<P>There are many that a&s;cend: (for we are all of a climbing nature) but not into Heaven: They a&s;cend but with <HI>Symon Magus,</HI> up into the Ayre; the popular ayre of Am|bition, and glory of the World: and alas, they pre&s;ently fall downe againe, becau&s;e the thin Ayre is not able to beare them up; and <HI>the end of the&s;e men is wor&s;e then the beginning.</HI> There is no A&s;cending good, but into Heaven: For, once come thi|ther, there will be no falling down againe; For though <HI>Lucifer</HI> did &s;o once; yet it is never like, to bee done &s;o any more.</P>
<P>It was never heard, that any <HI>A&s;cended up to Heaven</HI> till now, but onely <HI>Elias</HI> the Prophet: a type perhaps of Chri&s;ts <HI>A&s;cending,</HI> who
<PB N="140" REF="76">a&s;cended up in a <HI>fiery Chariot;</HI> and wee may marvell, how hee could ever get to Heaven, and not bee burnt by the way; but indeed, the fire of his Chariot, was perhaps, the ardour and burning love of <HI>Se|raphins:</HI> which like the fire that appeared in the Bu&s;h to <HI>Mo&s;es, though it burnes, it never con&s;umes.</HI> And thou my &s;oule, if with this ardour and burning love of God, thou could&s;t enflame thy heart; thou al&s;o might'&s;t A&s;cend up to Heaven in a <HI>fiery Chariot,</HI> as <HI>Elias</HI> did.</P>
<P>But though <HI>Elias</HI> went up into Heaven; yet it cannot properly be &s;aid; that he <HI>A&s;cended into heaven:</HI> For he was taken up in a <HI>Fiery Cha|riot,</HI> and to bee taken up, is by the power of another; to <HI>A&s;cend,</HI> is by his owne power; and this, <HI>Elias</HI> did not, nor ever any, but onely Chri&s;t.</P>
<PB N="141" REF="76">
<P>But though Chri&s;t <HI>a&s;cended into Heaven;</HI> yet he <HI>a&s;cended</HI> not as the &s;oules of the Saints doe:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">He fitteth at the right hand of God.</NOTE> to lye under the Altar, when they come there: but he A&s;cended, <HI>to &s;it at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:</HI> For, who indeed, is fit to &s;it at the right hand of the Father, but his onely Sonne? And now, by his <HI>A&s;cending,</HI> a great alteration is made, in the order of taking place in Heaven. For where before, the Cherubins, or Seraphins; or what other Order, is the highe&s;t, in the Hierarchy of Angels, tooke their places next to God. Now the hu|mane Nature of Chri&s;t, takes place before them all: that if <HI>Lucifer</HI> were now in Heaven, he might have ju&s;ter cau&s;e, to murmur at Gods par|tiality, as he would call it, then e|ver he bad, when he fir&s;t revolted.</P>
<PB N="142" REF="77">
<P>But we mu&s;t not here bee ledde with the weake conceit of fle&s;h, or with the vaine conceit of errour; as though God were a body, and had a right hand and a left hand, like to us; who is <HI>purus Spiritus,</HI> a pure and &s;im|ple Spirit; but as we make account, that to fit at our right hand, is to have the highe&s;t place, next our &s;elves, &s;o when Chri&s;t is &s;aid to &s;it at the Right hand of his Father; it is meant, that all power is given him both in Heaven and Earth; at lea&s;t, a power far &s;upreme then any crea|ture; a &s;overaigne power over all creatures. And this, my &s;oule, makes well for thee, and for us all; for we may bee &s;ure, hee &s;its not there for his owne glory onely, but as well al&s;o for the good of his Church; that by &s;itting there, he may bee the readier to make conti|nuall Interce&s;&s;ion for us: for alas
<PB N="143" REF="77">if it were not by this benefit, how were it po&s;&s;ible, his <HI>little Flocke</HI> &s;hould have been able to with&s;tand &s;o many A&s;&s;aults, as have mo&s;t vi|olently beene made upon it in all Ages.</P>
<P>O Ble&s;&s;ed Je&s;us; thou well de|&s;erved&s;t to &s;it at the right hand of the Father, who did&s;t offer up thy &s;elfe, a perfect &s;acrifice of obedi|ence to thy Father; Thou well de|&s;erve&s;t to have the highe&s;t place in Heaven, who did&s;t humble, thy &s;elfe to the lowe&s;t place in Hell: Thou art worthy to have all knees bow to thee both in Heaven and Earth; who did&s;t drinke the bitter Cup of thy Fathers wrath; to re|concile all things unto him, both in Earth and Heaven. And though in the time of thy Pilgrimage upon Earth, thou wert faine to flee out of <HI>Judea</HI> into <HI>Egypt;</HI> and faine to &s;tand
<PB N="144" REF="78">as a Pri&s;oner at the Barre of <HI>Pilate,</HI> and faine to hang nailed on the ac|cur&s;ed Tree; and faine after all, to lie buried in a Grave: (all Po&s;tures of mi&s;ery) yet now at la&s;t, thou art come to a Po&s;ture of re&s;t; For <HI>thou &s;itte&s;t:</HI> and to a &s;eat of glory; For <HI>thou &s;itte&s;t at the right hand of thy Fa|ther:</HI> and there &s;halt &s;it in re&s;t and glory, till the time come, that thou come to give ju&s;t &s;entence upon them, who gave unju&s;t &s;entence up|on thee, and to bee avenged of all thine enemies. For as we beleeve that <HI>Chri&s;t &s;itteth at the right hand of his Father;</HI> So we beleeve <HI>hee &s;hall come from thence, to judge both the quicke and the dead.</HI></P>
<P>But how can wee beleeve that <HI>Chri&s;t &s;hall come to judge the quicke and the dead,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">From thence he &s;hall come to judge, &amp;c.</NOTE> when he pro|fe&s;&s;eth him&s;elfe that hee <HI>Judgeth no
<PB N="145" REF="78">man.</HI> It is true indeed, he judged no man while he was here upon earth, to be judged him&s;elfe: but now that all power is given him both in heaven and earth; wee beleeve, it is a part of that power; <HI>that he &s;hall come to jduge both the quicke and the dead.</HI></P>
<P>But when will the time of his comming bee? O my &s;oule, thou mai&s;t well re&s;t &s;atisfied, with that an&s;wer of Chri&s;t to his Apo&s;tles; <HI>It is not for you to know the times and &s;ea&s;ons, which God hath lockt up in his owne brea&s;t.</HI> Yet &s;ee the vaine in|qui&s;itivene&s;&s;e of mans nature, that would know that, which is hidden from the Angels; and more then this, from the Sonne of man him|&s;elfe; although it may &s;eem &s;trange, that he &s;hould not know the day of Judgement: who is him&s;elfe, to be the Judge? and yet not &s;trange,
<PB N="146" REF="79">&s;eeing to appoint the day of judge|ment, belongs to him that appoints the Judge; and is perhaps one of the things, which makes God &s;ay; <HI>Secretum meum mihi,</HI> My &s;ecret to my &s;elfe: but mo&s;t of all, my &s;oule, it may be enough for thee, that thou art &s;ure to heare newes of thy own judgement &s;oone enough; even as &s;oone as thou leave&s;t this &s;innefull body: and as for the generall Judg|ment, thou neede&s;t not trouble thy &s;elfe, when, or how long, it &s;hall be a comming: &s;eeing, though it may perhaps encrea&s;e thy particu|lar judgement, yet it &s;hall not al|ter it.</P>
<P>And as wee are uncertaine of the time; &s;o wee are no le&s;&s;e un|certaine of the place: For though we beleeve from whence he &s;hall come; yet wee have no beliefe, whither he &s;hall come. It hath bene
<PB N="147" REF="79">a received opinion by &s;ome, that he &s;hall come into the Valley of <HI>Jeho&s;ophat,</HI> and keepe his Se&s;&s;ions there: but alas, what is the Val|ley of <HI>Jeho&s;ophat,</HI> to receive the innumerable number of per&s;ons, that mu&s;t make their appearance there; &s;car&s;e the whole earth, would be roome enough to make a Se&s;&s;ions-hou&s;e for &s;uch a compa|ny: unle&s;&s;e perhaps, by the like miracle, as is &s;aid to have beene u|&s;uall in the Jewi&s;h Synagogue; that when the people kneeled downe, there was roome enough in the Temple to hold them all; but when they &s;tood up, they were fain, many of them to goe out of the Temple, for want of roome; when yet kneeling downe mu&s;t needs take up more roome, then &s;tanding up.</P>
<P>But though we know not, either at what time, or to what place hee
<PB N="148" REF="80">&s;hall come; yet we beleeve to what purpo&s;e hee &s;hall come; For; <HI>hee &s;hall come to judge the quicke and the dead: The quick,</HI> tho&s;e whom hee &s;hall finde alive at his comming; and <HI>the dead,</HI> tho&s;e who dyed before his comming: Or <HI>the quicke,</HI> tho&s;e that are alive in grace: and <HI>the dead,</HI> them that are dead in &s;in. But not to judge the dead, while they are dead; for &s;o, they &s;hould not bee able to an&s;wer for them&s;elves; which cannot &s;tand with the ju&s;tice of &s;o righteous a Judge; but at his comming, at the &s;ound of a Trum|pet; <HI>The Sea and the Earth &s;hall give up their dead, and they &s;hall all ari&s;e, and &s;tand at his Tribunall, to receive their &s;entence, of pardon or condemna|tion, according to their works.</HI> And oh! how terrible will that day be? For if the day were terrible in which the Law was given; &s;o terrible,
<PB N="149" REF="80">that <HI>Mount Sinai</HI> was all of a &s;moake; how terrible will that day bee, in which the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors of the Law, &s;hall all be brought to receiue their Triall? If the day were terrible which was a day of grace; how terrible will the day be, which &s;hall be a day of puni&s;hment? O my &s;oule, let the remembrance of this Article be never out of thy minde; and if at any time thou find in thy &s;elfe, either &s;ugge&s;tions of Satan, or motions to &s;inne; then thinke upon this Article; and when thou thinke&s;t upon it, beleeve it; and be mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured, that there &s;hall mo&s;t certainly bee a day of judgement; in which all thoughts of the heart, though never brought forth in words, &s;hall bee di&s;covered; all actions of life, though never &s;o &s;e|cretly done, &s;hall all be laid open; and judgement &s;hall be given upon
<PB N="150" REF="81">them all, without favour, or parti|alitie. And let us not flatter our &s;elves in &s;ecurity, becau&s;e he who is now our Advocate, &s;hall be then our Judge; but rather con&s;ider, that though hee be now a Lambe, he will then be found to be a Lyon; <HI>Demon&s;travit potentiam, qui demon|&s;travit patientiam;</HI> and let us pre|pare our &s;elves again&s;t that day in feare and trembling; and let us &s;end up &s;trong cries to him; that as the good Thiefe, obtained to be remembred of him, when he came into his kingdome: &s;o wee may obtaine of him, to be remem|bred in mercy, when he comes to judgement.</P>
<P>Before wee leave this Article; there is one ob&s;ervation which may not be omitted; that this Article is of a different making from all the re&s;t: all the other might bee
<PB N="151" REF="81">made by Apo&s;tles; but this &s;eemes rather to bee made by a Prophet: For our beliefe in it is Propheticall, and tells what Chri&s;t will doe in time to come. Indeed, none of the Articles concerning Chri&s;t; are in the Future ten&s;e but onely this; as none of them is in the Pre&s;ent ten&s;e, but onely the next before, <HI>He fitteth at the right hand of his Fa|ther:</HI> all the other Articles are in the Preter perfect ten&s;e, and &s;peake of the time pa&s;t: even from his con|ception, to his <HI>a&s;cending into Hea|ven,</HI> in the Preterperfect ten&s;e, all: but once <HI>a&s;cended into Heaven,</HI> where all time is Pre&s;ent; no more Pre|terperfect ten&s;e then, no more men|tion of time pa&s;t, and therefore our Article turnes Pre&s;ent too, <HI>He &s;itteth at the right hand of his Father;</HI> and there &s;hould &s;it and enjoy his Pre|&s;ent ten&s;e, and time for ever, if
<PB N="152" REF="82">it were not for us: but as once before, for our &s;akes hee left Hea|ven and came downe to redeeme us: &s;o once againe, for our &s;akes hee will leave Heaven, and come downe to judge us. For without judging, he could not come to re|warding. No comming to <HI>Venite benedicti Patris, Come yee ble&s;&s;ed of my Father;</HI> untill hee have judged fir&s;t: and without comming to this <HI>Venite,</HI> all that went before, would come to nothing. And therefore all the benefit of the&s;e Preterper|fect ten&s;es, con&s;i&s;ts in this Future; all the harve&s;t I may &s;ay, of the o|ther Articles, is reaped in this la&s;t; that <HI>Chri&s;t &s;hall come to judge the quick and the dead;</HI> O therefore my &s;oule, be carefull to lead thy life &s;o in this pre&s;ent world, that thou mai&s;t not bee afraid of his comming to judgement; becau&s;e of <HI>Ite maledicti
<PB N="153" REF="82">in ignem aeternum, Goe yee cur&s;ed into e|verla&s;ting fire;</HI> but mai&s;t rather re|joyce at his comming, becau&s;e of <HI>Venite benedicti Patris, Come yee ble&s;|&s;ed of my Father:</HI> For, as that <HI>Ite,</HI> will pay them home for all the plea&s;ures of a wicked life; So this <HI>Venite,</HI> will make amends for all the pre&s;&s;ures of a wretched life: and indeed without the benefit of this <HI>Venite,</HI> all the delights and plea&s;ures, the world can afford; will prove but as <HI>Naboths</HI> Vineyard to <HI>Ahab,</HI> Coro&s;ives in the end.</P>
<P>And now having beleeved in the fir&s;t and &s;econd Per&s;on of the Trinity,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I beleeve in the Ho|ly Gho&s;t.</NOTE> the <HI>Father</HI> and the <HI>Son:</HI> if wee &s;hould not beleeve in the third Per&s;on, the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t;</HI> wee &s;hould doe him great wrong, and our &s;elves more: &s;eeing it hath been through him, and by his a&s;&s;i|&s;tance,
<PB N="154" REF="83">that we have beleeved in the~. For, as it is true, that the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t proceeds from the Father and the Son:</HI> &s;o it is true, that beleeving in the <HI>Father &amp; the Son, proceeds from the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> For beleeving being a work of <HI>Faith;</HI> and Faith a worke of Sanctification, and Sanctification a worke of one|ly the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t;</HI> how &s;hould wee come to beleeving, but by the <HI>Ho|ly Gho&s;t?</HI> And it is indeed for this, that he hath his Name to be called the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> or <HI>Spirit.</HI> Not but that the Father and the Sonne, are both Holy and Spirits, as well as he; but becau&s;e it is properly <HI>Hee,</HI> that in&s;pires our mindes with all good thoughts, and holy de&s;ires. And now, my &s;oule, while I be|leeve in the <HI>Father,</HI> as the author of my Creation; and in the <HI>Sonne,</HI> as the author of my Redemption; and in the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> as the author
<PB N="155" REF="83">of my Regeneration; that all the Per&s;ons in the Deity, may have their &s;everall operations in me, and be&s;tow their &s;everall gifts upon me; will there not be cau&s;e of my thankefulne&s;&s;e to every one of them; and of returning to every one of them, all prai&s;e and glory, who are all of them but one.</P>
<P>But why is there &s;o much &s;po|ken of Chri&s;t, and &s;o little of the Holy Gho&s;t; being a Per&s;on in the Trinity, as well as hee? Is it not, that there is more &s;poken of the Sonne then of the Holy Gho&s;t, in regard of the Sonnes being In|carnate, and taking our nature up|on him: For, this indeed, brings in many points to bee beleeved; whereof, con&s;idered onely as the &s;econd per&s;on in the Trinity, there &s;hould be no need. So as the two Natures in Chri&s;t mu&s;t needs give
<PB N="156" REF="84">cau&s;e to have more &s;poken of him, then of the holy Gho&s;t, that hath but one nature.</P>
<P>The Doctrine concerning the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> hath in all Ages beene mo&s;t ob&s;cure; &s;o much, that in &s;ome Churches it was &s;ome time before it was beleeved at all; or &s;o much as knowne, <HI>whether there were a Holy Gho&s;t, or no:</HI> even in the&s;e pre&s;ent times, the <HI>Greeke</HI> Church, a Church of great extent, differs thus from us; that where we beleeve the Holy Gho&s;t, to pro|ceede from the Father and the Son; that Church beleeves the Holy Gho&s;t to proceed from the Father by the Sonne; a nice difference in &s;o Incomprehen&s;ible a My&s;tery, that there &s;eemes no ju&s;t cau&s;e to lay &s;uch <HI>Anathemaes,</HI> as &s;ome doe: upon that Church for &s;o beleeving.</P>
<P>If wee &s;hould beleeve in the Fa|ther,
<PB N="157" REF="84">and in the Sonne, and not be|leeve in the Holy Gho&s;t, this be|liefe would never be &s;anctified, &s;ee|ing the Holy Gho&s;t onely is the Sanctifier; and &s;anctifies none, that beleeve not in him: and the beliefe not being &s;anctified, would never bee acceptable to the Father him|&s;elfe, notwith&s;tanding our beliefe in him. And this perhaps, was the cau&s;e, why the Offering of <HI>Cain</HI> was not accepted: becau&s;e, though a Sacrifice, yet it wanted a devotion &s;anctified by the Holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P>There is a &s;inne which is proper|ly called, <HI>The &s;inne again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> and for them that commit this &s;inne, we are forbidden to pray: a grievous &s;inne, no doubt; which &s;tops the current of Charity, who&s;e nature is wont to overflow al banks: but what the &s;inne is, and by what marks it may certainly be known;
<PB N="158" REF="85">though a Que&s;tion much agitated, is not yet &s;o fully explicated, but that it leaves &s;cruples: but what|&s;oever it is, or may be; we may be &s;ure, that the Not-beleeving in the Holy Gho&s;t, is one principall in|gredient in it; Or rather, where a true beleeving in the Holy Gho&s;t is, this &s;inne properly can never bee committed. And therefore in ma|king profe&s;&s;ion of our Faith, there is none of all the Articles in the whole Creed, that &s;eemes more nece&s;&s;ary to be &s;aid then this: For by &s;ay|ing this Article, we make it appeare there can bee no danger in praying for us; as not being likely to com|mit the &s;in again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, who beleeve in the Holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P>But why is it, that &s;innes com|mitted again&s;t the Father, or the Sonne, &s;hall bee forgiven: but a &s;inne committed again&s;t the Holy
<PB N="159" REF="85">Gho&s;t, &s;hall never bee forgiven; neither in this world, nor in the world to come? Is it not, that if a &s;inne bee committed again&s;t the Father, or the Sonne; the Holy Gho&s;t being the Sanctifier, can &s;an|ctifie that &s;inne, and make it par|donable; but if a &s;inne bee com|mitted again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, there is none to &s;anctifie it; and not being &s;anctified, it ju&s;tly exceeds all bounds of Remi&s;&s;ion. O therefore thou ble&s;&s;ed God the Holy Gho&s;t: Vouch&s;afe to endue me with a Spi|rit of &s;anctification, that what o|ther &s;innes &s;oever I may happily unhappily commit; yet I may ne|ver be &s;o unhappy to commit this dreadfull &s;inne, of &s;inning again&s;t thee.</P>
<P>When we read the order of the Per&s;ons in the Trinitie; the Father placed fir&s;t; the Sonne, &s;econd;
<PB N="160" REF="86">the Holy Gho&s;t la&s;t: wee mu&s;t not conceive it, as though there were any Priority betweene them in time; who are all Go-eternall: or any di&s;parity betweene them in dignitie, who are all Con&s;ub&s;tan|tiall; but that it is an expre&s;&s;ing of Order onely to our capacities; &s;ee|ing although they be Three Per|&s;ons, yet they are all but One God: All but One in Sub&s;tance, though Three in Sub&s;i&s;tence. The Incom|prehen&s;iblene&s;&s;e of which My&s;te|rie, though it exceed our capacities; yet not our Beliefe; Or therefore the fitter for beliefe, becau&s;e it ex|ceeds our capacities.</P>
<P>And now having profe&s;&s;ed our Beliefe, in <HI>God the Father, God the Sonne,</HI> and <HI>God the Holy Gho&s;t;</HI> wee may ju&s;tly conclude, and &s;ay, <HI>O Holy, Ble&s;&s;ed, and glorious Trinity; Three Per&s;ons, and One God, have
<PB N="161" REF="86">mercy upon us mi&s;erable &s;inners.</HI></P>
<P>And thus is fini&s;hed the fir&s;t part of our Creed, <HI>In whom it is we Beleeve:</HI> the other part remaines, containing <HI>What it is we Beleeve:</HI> For to know <HI>In whom to beleeve,</HI> and not know <HI>what to beleeve,</HI> were to &s;tand at a gaze, and bee to &s;eeke, when wee come to our le&s;&s;on. Indeede, the things wee beleeve, have depen|dance upon the Per&s;ons in whom we beleeve; and &s;uch dependance, as without beleeving in tho&s;e, wee cannot truely beleeve the&s;e. If wee did not beleeve in the Holy Gho&s;t, we could not beleeve the <HI>Holy Ca|tholike Church,</HI> nor the <HI>Communion of Saints;</HI> for the&s;e are benefits, that come by the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t;</HI> And if we did not beleeve in the Son of God, <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> we could not beleeve the <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes,</HI> nor the <HI>Re|&s;urrection
<PB N="162" REF="87">of the body,</HI> for the&s;e are be|nefits that accrue unto us, by the Sonne of God Chri&s;t Je&s;us: And if we did not beleeve in <HI>God the Fa|ther,</HI> we could not beleeve <HI>the life Everla&s;ting;</HI> &s;eeing by him onely it is, that we live, and have our pre|&s;ent being, and &s;hall have our eter|nall being.</P>
<P>And the fir&s;t Ar|ticle of this kinde is this:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I beleeve the holy Catholike Church.</NOTE> <HI>I beleeve the Holy Catholike Church.</HI> I beleeve it in deed, but not in it, as I doe in God: For this is a Priviledge due onely to him; and be&s;ides, if I &s;hould beleeve in it, I &s;hould beleeve partly in my &s;elfe, as being a Mem|ber of it: but I beleeve, there is a <HI>Holy Catholike Church. Holy,</HI> as in which are the Elect of God, and <HI>Catholike,</HI> as in which are of all Nations under heaven: and this is
<PB N="163" REF="87">not the Church of the <HI>Jewes,</HI> for that Church, though at &s;ome time, it were <HI>Holy,</HI> yet it was never <HI>Ca|tholike,</HI> as being bounded within <HI>Canaan:</HI> but now as the Holy Gho&s;t hath made the Church <HI>Holy,</HI> by &s;anctifying it; &s;o Chri&s;t hath made it <HI>Catholike,</HI> by enlarging it: for at his comming, at lea&s;t, at his go|ing away, he broke downe the <HI>Par|tition wall,</HI> by his la&s;t Warrant to the Apo&s;tles: <HI>Goe teach all Nations, Baptizing them in the Name of the Fa|ther, and of the Sonne, and of the Ho|ly Gho&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>But though Chri&s;t &s;et his Church at large, yet not long after his time, a Sect of Hereticks would needs re|&s;traine it againe: For <HI>Donatus</HI> and his followers, would per&s;wade the world, that as before the true <HI>Church</HI> was onely in <HI>Canaan:</HI> &s;o now, the true Church was onely in <HI>Africa:</HI>
<PB N="164" REF="88">but by beleeving the <HI>Holy Catholike Church:</HI> I now di&s;claime both the&s;e Churches, the Church of the Jewes, as not being <HI>Catholike,</HI> and the Church of the <HI>Donati&s;ts,</HI> as being neither <HI>Catholike</HI> nor <HI>Holy.</HI></P>
<P>But what u&s;e is there of this Ar|ticle? May not a Chri&s;tian man doe well enough, and yet leave this Article out of his Creed? Indeed, there is not onely great u&s;e of it, but even nece&s;&s;itie. For &s;eeing there is no &s;alvation out of the Catholike Church; what a&s;&s;urance could I have of my &s;alvation, if I did not beleeve, that there is a <HI>Catholike Church?</HI> How can I beleeve my &s;elfe to be a member of that Body, which I doe not beleeve to bee? For this <HI>Holy Catholike Church,</HI> is the number of all tho&s;e, who~ God hath <HI>Prede&s;tinated and Elected:</HI> and though the Catholike Church may have in
<PB N="165" REF="88">it errours, and perhaps Here&s;ies: yet the <HI>Holy Catholike Church</HI> can have none in it, but Orthodoxe and true beleevers. For it is as the Arke of <HI>Noah,</HI> to &s;ave all that be|leeve the comming of the Flood: but unbeleevers are all excluded from entring into it; It is as the Corporation of the Citizens of the <HI>New Hieru&s;alem,</HI> in which, <HI>who&s;e names are not Enrolled:</HI> (and none are <HI>Enrolled, that beleeve not,) they can bee no partakers of the Heavenly Priviled|ges;</HI> of which, <HI>Salvation is the chief|e&s;t.</HI> If there were not a <HI>Holy Catho|tholike Church;</HI> then <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> &s;hould be a Shepherd without a Flocke; then <HI>God the Father,</HI> &s;hould bee a King without a People; then the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t</HI> &s;hould bee a guide, and have none to lead: but the Two fir&s;t of the&s;e, are a&s;&s;ured us by <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> where he &s;aith, <HI>Feare not little Flock, For it
<PB N="166" REF="89">is your Fathers plea&s;ure to give you a kingdome:</HI> and the la&s;t, where hee &s;aith, <HI>Hee will &s;end the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth.</HI> Therefore there is an <HI>Holy Catholike Church;</HI> which, he that beleeves not is not of it; and not being of it, can have no hope of &s;alvation by it.</P>
<P>To be <HI>Holy</HI> and <HI>Catholike,</HI> are in|deed the proper Caracters of a Chri|&s;tian Church; the fir&s;t repre&s;enta|tion whereof, was then, when at Penteco&s;t, there met at <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI> of all Nations under heaven: <HI>Par|thyans, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Me&s;opotamia and Judea, in Cappadocia, Pontus, and A&s;ia, Phry|gia, and Pamphylia, in Aegypt, and in the parts of Lybia; and &s;irangers of Rome, Jewes and Pro&s;elites, Creetes and Arabians:</HI> For here was no boun|ding within <HI>Canaan,</HI> no bounding within <HI>Africa,</HI> but the Church was
<PB N="167" REF="89">made apparent by plurality of Nations, to bee Catholike, and by vi&s;ible graces to be Holy.</P>
<P>This Church therefore, I beleeve to be holy, yet not holy in perfecti|on, but tending to perfection; and ju&s;tly called holy, for its Inchoati|on; and I beleeve it to bee Catho|like, but Catholike in doctrine, not in di&s;cipline; and therefore the rule of it as concerning doctrine is this, <HI>Quod ab omnibus, Quod ubique, Quod &s;emper:</HI> For if it be not <HI>ab Omnibus,</HI> It is not Catholike in Per&s;ons: if not <HI>Vbique,</HI> not Catholike in place; if not <HI>Semper,</HI> not Catholike in time; and all the&s;e mu&s;t concurre, to make the Church be Catholik in Doctrin: In Di&s;cipline, not &s;o; for there, neither <HI>ab omnibus,</HI> nor <HI>ubique,</HI> nor <HI>&s;emper</HI> is required: but it may be va|rious, and diver&s;e, according to the diver&s;ity of Time and Place; and
<PB N="168" REF="90">yet in doctrine bee the Catholike Church: For Di&s;cipline is but one|ly Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, where Doctrine is divine.</P>
<P>This Article bindes my beliefe to no particular Church, as it is a particular, but as it is a Member of the Catholike: For take it by it &s;elfe, without con&s;idering it, as a Member of the Catholike Church: and it is not &s;o properly a Church, as a Conventicle; which though I cannot deny, but it may be Holy, at lea&s;t in a Morall holi|ne&s;&s;e: yet I can deny, that I am bound to beleeve it to be holy, be|cau&s;e I am bound to beleeve no true holine&s;&s;e to bee out of the Catho|like Church.</P>
<P>This Catholike Church is a Schoole of in&s;truction, to teach us as much as we are bound to know, and a Rule of direction, to informe
<PB N="169" REF="90">us as much as wee are bound to be|leeve: if it were but onely what Saint <HI>Thomas</HI> &s;aith: this might make us doubt of Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection: or if it were but onely, what Saint <HI>Pe|ter</HI> &s;aith, this might make us incline, to comply with the Jewes: but when it is that, which all the Apo&s;tles with one con&s;ent &s;ay, this is the voice of the Catholike Church, and can ne|ver make us to goe a&s;tray. And ther|fore to this Church, I &s;ubmit all my faculties, both my under&s;tanding to her decrees; and my will to her coun&s;els; and make account, that if I know any thing, and not of her in&s;truction, it will prove but fal&s;e|hood; if doe any thing, and not by her direction, it will prove but fol|ly: For, this that Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t, of which it is &s;aid, <HI>Thou art all faire, and there is no &s;pot in thee.</HI> Oh then, let not me beginne to make any &s;pot
<PB N="170" REF="91">in the face of thy Spou&s;e, O Lord, but &s;o purge me with Hy&s;ope, that though I be not pure, yet I may bee cleane; at lea&s;t not &s;o foule, to de|file others; nor de&s;erve with <HI>Miri|am</HI> to be put out of the campe of thy Militant Church, but may come to thy Triumphant. As therefore this Article is the fir&s;t of all we have to beleeve, &s;o let it have the honor that is due to the fir&s;t, and have the high|e&s;t place in our beliefe; For indeed, all the Articles that follow, are but as flowres that grow in the garden of this Catholike Church: <HI>The Com|munion of Saints,</HI> as the flowre of Charitie. <HI>The forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes,</HI> as the flowre of Faith: <HI>The re&s;urre|ction of the body,</HI> as the flowre of Hope; <HI>and the life everla&s;ting,</HI> as the flowre of reward: if I may not ra|ther &s;ay, as the whole no&s;egay of all the other flowres together; &s;eeing
<PB N="171" REF="91">in this, they have all their &s;mels u|nited into one fragrant odour; Cha|rity rai&s;ed to perfection, Faith tur|ned into love, and Hope into en|joying.</P>
<P>But what &s;hould be the cau&s;e, why among&s;t the&s;e Articles that are to be beleeved, there is no mention at all made of the Scriptures? For, &s;eeing we are commanded to &s;earch the Scriptures; No doubt, it is requi|red wee &s;hould beleeve the Scrip|tures; and if we &s;hould beleeve them, why are they left out in the Article of our beliefe? Is it not that the&s;e were Articles of Beliefe for a Chri&s;tian man, before any Go&s;pell of Chri&s;t was written? and how then could they have any place in the Creed; when they had not as yet any being in the world? For the life and doctrine of Chri&s;t, was publi&s;hed by word, before it
<PB N="172" REF="92">was recorded by writing; and the Apo&s;tles preached it, before the E|vangeli&s;ts writ it: and this Creede being a Breviate and &s;umme of that which was preached; who can tell but it may bee more antient then that which is written? at lea&s;t being the &s;ub&s;tance of them both: what more is it to beleeve the Scripture, then the Creed? And then what neede is there to have them named, when they are expre&s;t? And as for the words of Chri&s;t, <HI>Scrutamini Scripturas,</HI> Search the Scriptures: or, yee &s;earch the Scriptures; if we extend them no further, then Chri&s;t &s;pake them, we may be farre enough off from beleeving the Go&s;pel. For Chri&s;t &s;pake then but of the Olde Te&s;tament, and not of the New, which at that time was none. For the fir&s;t Go&s;pell that was written of Chri&s;t, was that of Saint <HI>Matthew,</HI>
<PB N="173" REF="92">which was not writte~, til eight years after Chri&s;ts death; the other, much later; e&s;pecially that of Saint <HI>John,</HI> which was not written till thirty yeares after, and therefore the Creede, no doubt, was delivered, if not in forme, as now it is; at lea&s;t in &s;ub&s;tance, as now it is; long be|fore any Go&s;pell was written.</P>
<P>And may it not bee further &s;aid, that this Creed &s;eemes to have been penned, when Religion was fir&s;t tran&s;lated from Judai&s;me to Chri|&s;tianitie: and therefore that there are no other Articles in it, then &s;uch as are in oppo&s;ition to the doctrine of the Jewes; by introducing in their place, the Chri&s;tian beliefe: For by the Article of beleeving in <HI>God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> we utterly renounce the doctrine of the Jewes, who acknow|ledge no Trinity of Per&s;ons in the
<PB N="174" REF="93">Deity. By beleeving the Incarnati|on of the Sonne of God, Chri&s;t Je|&s;us, and his pa&s;&s;ion under <HI>Pontius Pilate,</HI> we renounce the doctrine of the Jewes, who teach, that the true Me&s;&s;ias is not yet come. By be|leeving the <HI>Holy Catholike Church,</HI> wee renounce the opinion of the Jewes, who thought that the Church of God was bounded onely within <HI>Canaan,</HI> and that no Church could be holy, but that of I&s;rael. By be|leeving the <HI>Communion of Saints,</HI> we renounce the doctrine of the Jewes, by which, a Jew indeed would take no u&s;ury for money of a Jew; but to any of another Nation, they would u&s;e oppre&s;&s;ion, to the very grinding of their faces. By belee|ving the <HI>forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes,</HI> we re|nounce the Phari&s;ees Ju&s;tification by workes; and &s;ticke onely to the Publicanes Ju&s;tification by Faith, <HI>O
<PB N="175" REF="93">God be mercifull to me a &s;inner.</HI> By be|leeving the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the Body,</HI> we renounce the errour of the Sad|duces, whom Chri&s;t confuted by this argument, <HI>Have ye not read that which was &s;poken to you by God, &s;aying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of I|&s;aak, and the God of Jakob: God is not the God of the dead, but of the li|ving.</HI> By beleeving the <HI>life everla|&s;ting,</HI> we renounce the opinion of the Jewes, who depended onely up|on temporall benefits, and the ble&s;|&s;ings of this life; and as for the life to come, were as carele&s;&s;e of it, as ignorant. And now, &s;eeing all the Articles of this Creed, are in op|po&s;ition to the doctrin of the Jewes; what marveile, that in it there is no Article for beleeving the Scrip|tures; whe~, as concerning the Scrip|tures that were then, there was no oppo&s;ition beweene the Chri&s;tians and them.</P>
<PB N="176" REF="94">
<P>It may with more rea&s;on bee de|manded, why in the&s;e Articles of beliefe; there is no mention made of the Sacraments: &s;eeing Bapti&s;m and the Lords Supper were ordain|ed by Chri&s;t him&s;elf, and are things &s;o nece&s;&s;ary to be beleeved? But is it not, that of Bapti&s;me Chri&s;t &s;aid; <HI>Goe teach all Nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Sonne and of the holy Gho&s;t:</HI> and of the Euchari&s;t he &s;aid, <HI>Doe this in remem|brance of me;</HI> and &s;o both the&s;e are things of Action, which wee mu&s;t not onely beleeve, but doe; and therefore fitter placed, <HI>Inter agenda,</HI> among&s;t the records of things to be done; then <HI>Inter credenda,</HI> among&s;t the Articles of things to be belee|ved.</P>
<P>The <HI>Catholike Church</HI> is no &s;ooner founded,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Commu|nion of Saints.</NOTE> but the <HI>Communion of Saints</HI>
<PB N="177" REF="94">followes pre&s;ently upon it; as was &s;eene at the <HI>Penteco&s;t,</HI> after Ch<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;ts A&s;cending, when the Holy Gho&s;t de&s;cended upon the Apo&s;tles in clo|ven Tongues; for then were pre|&s;ent of all Nations under Heaven, who it &s;eemes, made the repre&s;en|tative body of the Catholike Church: and then being all of one accord, and having all things in common and di&s;tributing to every one as they had need, they acted the Article we here beleeve.</P>
<P>If there were not a <HI>Communion of</HI> S^t^s, the wicked &s;hould be more chari|table then the godly: for among the wicked there are leagues and confe|deracies, and they hold together for the common good; and often|times their lives are engaged for one another: and if the wicked doe this, the godly certainely, will doe it much more; and this makes me to
<PB N="178" REF="95">beleeve a&s;&s;uredly, <HI>The Communion of Saints.</HI></P>
<P>But are there Saints then on earth? Are not all men living, &s;inners? and can &s;inners be Saints? Indeed, not Saints by Canonization of men, but by the Canonization of the Ho|ly Spirit: Not Saints in perfection, but in Inchoation; called Saints, as Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith; <HI>becau&s;e called to be Saints, as having their Names written in the Booke of God in Heaven.</HI></P>
<P>But we mu&s;t here take heed of the <HI>Anabapti&s;ts</HI> Communion of Saints: For by their Communion, no man &s;hould have any thing in private; but all &s;hould be in common; and &s;o, none &s;hould be richer or poorer then another: which would make Chri&s;ts Praediction directly fal&s;e; where hee &s;aith, <HI>The poore yee &s;hall have alwaies with you:</HI> and would make all the&s;e exhortations voide:
<PB N="179" REF="95"><HI>Let your light &s;o &s;hine before men, that they may &s;ee your good works, and glo|rifie your Father which is in Heaven. Charge them which are rich in this world, that they be ready to give, and glad to de&s;tribute. Give Alme, of thy goods, and never turne thy face from any poore man.</HI> But indeed, this Communion is in part expre&s;t by Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> where he &s;aith, <HI>Doe good to all men, but e&s;pecially to tho&s;e of the hou&s;hold of Faith.</HI> For the being of one hou&s;hold, implies plainely a common provi&s;ion for al the hou&s;e, but implies withall, a di&s;parity of e&s;tates.</P>
<P>Indeede, the fir&s;t flowre that growes in the Garden of the <HI>Catho|like Church,</HI> is the <HI>Communion of Saints;</HI> which as it begins in the Militant, &s;o it continues in the Tri|umphant Church: Continues there when the other flowres are withe|red
<PB N="180" REF="96">and gone: For when <HI>Faith and Hope &s;hall be no more, yet Charity &s;hall continue;</HI> and not onely continue, but be then mo&s;t flouri&s;hing: and if we did not beleeve <HI>the Communi|on of Saints,</HI> wee could not truely &s;ay, <HI>Our Father</HI> in the Lords Prayer: for in &s;aying <HI>Our Father,</HI> wee pro|fe&s;&s;e this Communion.</P>
<P>But for the better under&s;tanding of this Article; It may bee con|ceived, that there are Saints on Earth, and Saints in Heaven; and this Article containes the Commu|nion of them both; both of the Saints on earth between them&s;elves, and of the Saints in Earth and Hea|ven with one another. What though they bee farre di&s;tant and a&s;under? Are not the feet &s;o from the head: are not the hands &s;o from the heart? Yet if there were not a relation and corre&s;pondencie betweene them:
<PB N="181" REF="96">neither the feet would bee able to move, nor the hands to &s;tirre, and perhaps not the head in many things to doe his Office.</P>
<P>And this Communion con&s;i&s;ts, either in A&s;&s;i&s;tance, or in Love; but in A&s;&s;i&s;tance, for a time; in Love, for ever. For as the Saints in Hea|ven a&s;&s;i&s;t us, by praying, that wee may &s;o leade our lives in this life, that we may come to bee admitted into their Societie in the next: So we a&s;&s;i&s;t the Saints in Heaven, by praying, that the &s;uite which they make, lying under the Altar, may be heard and accompli&s;hed. They pray for us, that we may be parta|kers of the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes; and wee pray for them, that they may be partakers of the Re&s;urrecti|on of the body. But as this Com|munion of A&s;&s;i&s;tance is but for a time; &s;o the Communion of Love
<PB N="182" REF="97">will be for ever: For we &s;hall love one another, and bee loved of one another, as Members of one Body, as Inhabitants of one Citie, and as Fellow-labourers in the worke of exalting Gods glory; a work, which becau&s;e it &s;hall never end, there &s;hall therefore, never be end of this Com|munion.</P>
<P>If the Communion bee of the Saints on earth betweene them|&s;elves, this is vi&s;ible charity; as it is &s;aid, <HI>If yee love not your brother, whom yee &s;ee; how can yee love God, whom yee doe not &s;ee.</HI> And it con&s;i&s;ts in &s;upplying what wants &s;oever we &s;ee in a brother, as farre as wee are able; and in doing to others, as we would be done unto our &s;elves. If the Communion bee of the Saints in Heaven between them&s;elves, this is Intellectuall Charitie; and it con&s;i&s;ts in a reciprocall love they
<PB N="183" REF="97">beare one to another, in regard of the love they beare all to God. If the Communion be of the Saints in Heaven, towards the Saints on Earth; this is condoling charity, and it con&s;i&s;ts in a griefe they take at any &s;innes, we commit; lea&s;t wee &s;hould not be found blamele&s;&s;e, at the great day of the Lords appea|ring. If the Communion be of the Saints on Earth, towards them in Heaven; this is a congratulating charity, and it con&s;i&s;ts in a pious re|joycing, at the happine&s;&s;e wee con|ceive they enjoy, in the fruition of God, and of his ble&s;&s;ed Angels.</P>
<P>This Communion of Saints, is a <HI>Gazophylacium,</HI> or Trea&s;urie, where there is receiving indeed, but not without contributing: we mu&s;t do our parts to it, or never looke for any part in it; and it is to be doub|ted, there are many Hereticks a|mong&s;t
<PB N="184" REF="98">us, concerning this Article, that either under&s;tand it not; or at lea&s;t, beleeve it not: For if they did truely beleeve <HI>the Communion of Saints,</HI> were it po&s;&s;ible, they &s;hould pa&s;&s;e by the man lying wounded in the way, and not doe as much as the <HI>Samaritan</HI> did; take care of his curing? It is, no doubt, good to ob&s;erve the Rule, that <HI>Charitie begins at home:</HI> but it is good al&s;o to under&s;tand the Rule; and to know what is meant by <HI>home;</HI> for the <HI>Home of Charitie,</HI> is included in the <HI>Communion of Saints;</HI> and ex|tends as farre, as the releeving of a needy brother. But alas, becau&s;e <HI>Charity &s;eekes not her owne,</HI> therefore &s;he her &s;elfe is not much &s;ought af|ter; and while Charity is negle|cted: this Article &s;tands in our Creed, but as a Cypher; and as well we may forbeare to fay <HI>we Be|leeve
<PB N="185" REF="98">it;</HI> as forbeare to &s;hew by our actions that <HI>we Beleeve it:</HI> Or rather, better indeed to leave it out of our Profe&s;&s;ion, then not to take it into our Practi&s;e. And this Communi|on is therefore nece&s;&s;ary to be be|leeved, becau&s;e it is the flowre of <HI>Charitie,</HI> and mu&s;t be &s;et in our hearts betimes: that it may take the dee|per root, as that which &s;hall conti|nue, when the flowres of <HI>Faith</HI> and <HI>Hope</HI> &s;hall be faded and gone.</P>
<P>And now having &s;poken of the two Articles,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;innes.</NOTE> that pro|perly relate to the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> It followes to &s;peake of the two next Articles, which properly relate to the Sonne of God, <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us;</HI> whereof this is the fir&s;t, <HI>I beleeve the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes.</HI> And indeed, after the <HI>Communion of Saints;</HI> this Article followes very fitly, &s;eeing
<PB N="186" REF="99">there is &s;eldome any mention made of <HI>Forgiving of &s;innes;</HI> but that there is mention made of <HI>Charity</HI> al&s;o; as in the Prayer taught us by Chri&s;t, we &s;ay not, <HI>Forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es,</HI> but &s;ay withall, <HI>as we forgive them that tre&s;pas again&s;t us:</HI> For, <HI>Love co|vers the multitude of &s;innes;</HI> and the &s;innes being covered, they are the more ea&s;ily forgiven afterward.</P>
<P>But whether the connexion of this Article to the former, bee for this rea&s;on, or no; there are certain|ly of this Article many great rea|&s;ons: For, if there were not <HI>For|givene&s;&s;e of &s;innes,</HI> the whole world &s;hould bee damned. For, all the World being guilty of &s;ins, and the <HI>Wages of &s;inne being death:</HI> if that wa|ges be not forgiven, how &s;hall any man be &s;aved? But &s;eeing there are which are <HI>Elect, and ordained to &s;alva|tion;</HI> this makes me a&s;&s;uredly to be|leeve
<PB N="187" REF="99">the <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes.</HI></P>
<P>If we &s;hould not beleeve the <HI>For|givene&s;&s;e of &s;innes;</HI> Why have wee Beleeved, that Chri&s;t was Crucifi|ed? For, why was hee Crucified but to pay the penalty of our &s;ins? And the penalty being paid, how can the &s;innes but bee forgiven? To what end was all the &s;uffering of Chri&s;t, but to &s;atisfie his Fa|thers ju&s;tice; That laying the &s;e|verity of his ju&s;tice upon him, hee might conferre the benefit of his mercy upon us; and how is his mercy conferr'd, but by <HI>Forgiving of &s;ins?</HI> If we &s;hould not Beleeve the <HI>For|givene&s;&s;e of &s;innes;</HI> how could wee beleeve that God were merciful? &s;ee|ing the chiefe&s;t act of Mercy, con|&s;i&s;ts in <HI>Forgiving?</HI> And to deny God to be mercifull; what were it, but to deny him the mo&s;t glorious, and the mo&s;t eminent of all his At|tributes?
<PB N="188" REF="100">&s;eeing his mercy is above all his workes. Alas, if we did not beleeve the <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes;</HI> in what mi&s;erable affliction &s;hould our mindes be? For knowing fir&s;t, that we cannot but commit &s;innes day|ly; and then knowing, how grie|vou&s;ly our &s;innes provoke the wrath of God again&s;t us: and la&s;tly know|ing, how fearefull a thing it is, to fall into the hands of the living God; in what a mi&s;erable condi|tion &s;hould we be, if we did not be|leeve the <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes?</HI> If I &s;hould not beleeve the <HI>Forgivenes of &s;innes;</HI> what hope could I have they &s;hould ever be <HI>forgiven?</HI> &s;ee|ing all the meanes I have in my &s;elfe, to procure their <HI>forgiving,</HI> is onely my beliefe, that they &s;hall be <HI>Forgiven.</HI></P>
<P>O how comfortable an Article is this; which makes it be truly &s;aid
<PB N="189" REF="100">of Chri&s;t: <HI>In odore vnguentorum tu|orum curremus po&s;t te;</HI> In the &s;avour of thy &s;weet Ointments wee will run after thee. For with this Oynt|ment hee healeth all our &s;ores, he makes us whole in all our di&s;ea&s;es; he makes us &s;trong in all our Infir|mities. O my &s;oule, if at any time, thou either by infirmity, fall; or by allurements, be enti&s;ed to com|mit &s;inne; then have recour&s;e to this Article: <HI>I beleeve the forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;innes,</HI> and thou &s;halt certain|ly find in it, both re&s;t and refre&s;hing to thy fainting &s;pirits.</P>
<P>And of what &s;ins is it then, that <HI>I beleeve the forgivene&s;&s;e?</HI> Indeede of all &s;innes, how great or many &s;oe|ver they bee; for &s;eeing there are no limits of Gods mercy, neither is there any bound of his <HI>forgiving.</HI> And therefore, though m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;innes be more then the haires of my head,
<PB N="188" REF="101">though a burden farre greater then I can beare; yet I beleeve the <HI>For|givene&s;&s;e</HI> of them all.</P>
<P>But if I beleeve the Forgivene&s;&s;e of all &s;innes, doe I not then beleeve the Forgivene&s;&s;e of a &s;inne <HI>which &s;hall never be forgiven?</HI> For is there not a &s;inne again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>which &s;hall never bee forgiven either in this world, or in the world to come:</HI> and &s;o my Beleeving will prove a fal&s;e Beliefe, and deceive mee in the end. It is true indeed, that &s;uch a Sinne there is; but is it not that the chiefe&s;t Ingredient of that &s;inne, is the not-beleeving the <HI>Forgivenes of &s;innes?</HI> And therefore hee that truely beleeves this Article, is never likely to commit that &s;inne; &s;eeing the beleeving being from the Holy Gho&s;t, the &s;inne again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t can never be committed.</P>
<P>But is this the uttermo&s;t of our
<PB N="189" REF="101">beliefe, to Beleeve the <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes?</HI> Is there no place for be|leeving the <HI>Merit of Workes?</HI> If there be, why hath it not here a place in our Creed? Indeede, in the <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> Creed, it might perhaps have a place: but in the <HI>Penitent Publicanes</HI> Creed, &s;uch as wee profe&s;&s;e our &s;elves to be, what place can it have? &s;eeing all his beliefe is terminated in this, <HI>O God be mercifull to me a &s;in|ner.</HI> Indeed, as <HI>Solon,</HI> among&s;t all his Lawes, made no Law again&s;t Parricides; not, that hee did not thinke them worthy of Puni&s;hment; but becau&s;e he thought, there would never bee any &s;o unnaturall, and therefore thought it not needfull to make a Law again&s;t a <HI>Non futurum,</HI> again&s;t a fault that was never like to be committed: So in our Creede, there is no Article, of the Merit of good works: Not that good works
<PB N="192" REF="102">may not Merit; but becau&s;e &s;uch Meritorious works are never like to be done by any; and therefore not fit to make an Article of a <HI>Non futu|rum,</HI> of a thing, though po&s;&s;ible, yet not likely: or rather, &s;o farre from being likely, as not being po&s;&s;ible. And indeed, which of the Apo&s;tles can we thinke, &s;hould have been the Author of &s;uch an Article? Saint <HI>John,</HI> we may be &s;ure would not; For he &s;aith plainely; <HI>If we &s;ay wee have no &s;inne, there is no truth in us;</HI> and where there is &s;inne, there can be no Merit. Saint <HI>Peter,</HI> we may be &s;ure, would not: for, though there was a time, when hee thought hee could doe wonders of good works, and even dye with Chri&s;t; yet when it cam to the point, he was glad to bewaile his infirmitie with teares: and to &s;ay to Chri&s;t, when time was, <HI>Depart from me, for I am a &s;in|full
<PB N="193" REF="102">man.</HI> And Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> wee may well thinke, would not; For hee profe&s;&s;eth directly, <HI>To glory and re|joyce in nothing, but in the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t crucified:</HI> And for what &s;erves the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, but for the <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes?</HI> And by the judgement of the&s;e Apo&s;tles, wee may judge of the re&s;t; and there|fore no defect of our Creed in this, but the uttermo&s;t bounds of our Beliefe in this point; beyond which there is no <HI>Plus ultra,</HI> goes no far|ther then this, to Beleeve the <HI>Remi&s;|&s;ion and forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins.</HI> We may indeed labour, &amp; we mu&s;t labour to do good works, the be&s;t we can; but all the Merit of it, is but this, and it is a great Merit too; that we cannot rightly beleeve the <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e of our &s;innes;</HI> if wee doe not labour, not to &s;inne, and doe our endea|vour, to doe good works. O my
<PB N="194" REF="103">&s;oule, all we have to tru&s;t too, all we have to hold by, is the <HI>Forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;innes:</HI> For, the&s;e are they that make God angry with us: and the&s;e <HI>forgiven,</HI> will reconcile him. The&s;e are the cau&s;es why he turnes away his <HI>ble&s;&s;ed face from us:</HI> and the&s;e, <HI>forgiven,</HI> will make his <HI>couu|tenance to &s;hine upon us:</HI> all Merit mu&s;t be a&s;cribed to him onely, in whom they are <HI>forgiven:</HI> between who&s;e Merit, and his Fathers mercy; I know not how to di&s;tingui&s;h; and therefore take them both but as one motive, to make me <HI>Beleeve</HI> the <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes:</HI> All of us, have onely &s;inne, Chri&s;t onely hath Merit, his Father onely hath <HI>For|givene&s;&s;e; For with him there is mer|cy, and plentious redemption.</HI></P>
<P>But may not a &s;inne be <HI>forgiven;</HI> and yet the Penalty be &s;till in arere? Was not the &s;inne of <HI>David</HI> with
<PB N="195" REF="103"><HI>Bath&s;heba forgiven,</HI> and yet puni&s;hed afterward by the death of the child, that was begotten of her? It is true indeed, the life of the Child was ta|ken away indeed, but this was not properly a puni&s;hment for the &s;inne, but a ca&s;tigation of the &s;inner, to make him the better to re&s;ent his &s;in, and to bee the more wary after|ward of committing the like. Be|&s;ides, it may be thought rather a fa|vour, then a puni&s;hment to <HI>David;</HI> for in taking away the life of the Childe, there was that taken from him, which upon his repen|tance, would have beene a perpetu|all eye-&s;ore to him, if it had lived; according to that of S^t. <HI>Paul, What fruit have yee of tho&s;e things, where|of yee are now a&s;hamed?</HI> Withall, it was not perhaps without My&s;tery; to &s;hew, that the plea&s;ures of &s;inne never beare but bla&s;ted fruits, which
<PB N="196" REF="104">fall off the tree, before they come to ripene&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>But at what time is it, we beleeve that &s;innes may bee forgiven? In|deed at all times, as long as &s;innes may be committed; which is all the time, that wee are living in this world: but if once we be dead, as there will be then no more commit|ting of &s;inne; &s;o neither will there be any more <HI>forgiving</HI> of &s;inne: <HI>but where the tree falleth, there it will lye.</HI></P>
<P>But is there not a &s;inne, of which it is &s;aid, <HI>It &s;hall never bee forgiven, either in this world, or in the world to come?</HI> And why is this &s;aid, but becau&s;e a &s;inne may bee forgiven, in the world to come, though it be not forgiven in this world; and this perhaps, is a cau&s;e, why &s;ome have conceived, that in the world to come, even the Divels them|&s;elves &s;hall bee forgiven. But is it
<PB N="197" REF="104">not that the Not-forgiving of &s;ins in the world to come, is therefore mentioned; becau&s;e in the world to come, &s;hall be pronounced the &s;en|tence of Not-forgiving: and &s;o it is but as to &s;ay, it &s;hall never be for|given in this world, upon private conviction; nor in the world to come, upon publicke condemnati|on. For otherwi&s;e, it is mo&s;t evi|dent, if ab&s;olutely a &s;inne bee not <HI>forgiven in this world, neither &s;hall it ever bee forgiven in the world to come.</HI></P>
<P>It is no &s;mall impediment to the beliefe of this Article, that there are few, who thinke they &s;inne at all; but are of the Phari&s;ees mind, and their Con&s;ciences are as cleare as Chry&s;tall: and of tho&s;e againe, that thinke they &s;inne, there are few that know the greatne&s;&s;e of their &s;inne; but they judge of their &s;in,
<PB N="198" REF="105">as of the Moone: this little becau&s;e farre from their &s;ight; that little, becau&s;e farre from their thought. And of tho&s;e againe, that know the greatne&s;&s;e of their &s;inne, there are few that &s;ay with <HI>David, I acknow|ledge my iniquity, and my &s;inne is ever before me.</HI> For &s;inne being an unplea|&s;ing &s;ight, they love not to look up|on it, more then needs they mu&s;t, &amp; while they looke not upon the di&s;|ca&s;e, they looke not after the reme|dy; and &s;o between the little know|ing of &s;inne, and the little acknow|ledging of &s;inne: the beliefe of this Article is in no little danger to be very little; only Faith &s;tands in the breach: and &s;upplies all de|fects, and it is the worke of Faith; and indeed of a great Faith, that can truly &s;ay, <HI>I beleeve the forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;innes.</HI></P>
<P>There have been Hereticks of old,
<PB N="199" REF="105">who held this opinion; that no fins &s;hould be forgiven, that were com|mitted after Bapti&s;me; and they grounded their opinion upon the &s;aying of Saint <HI>Paul; If wee &s;inne wilfully after we have received know|ledge of the truth, there remaineth no more Sacrifice for &s;innes;</HI> and ground|ing them&s;elves upon this Text, they would neither Bapti&s;e others, nor be Baptized them&s;elves, till in their old age; making account that Age having repul&s;ed in them inordinate de&s;ires; they might &s;afely then bee Baptized, without feare of com|mitting any wilfull &s;innes after|ward. But would any man beleeve, that men of common &s;en&s;e, could ever fall into &s;o gro&s;&s;e an errour; e&s;pecially, having heard it &s;aid, <HI>At what time &s;oever a &s;inner repenteth him of his &s;innes, I will put all his wicked|ne&s;&s;e out of my remembrance, &s;aith the
<PB N="200" REF="106">Lord.</HI> That we may &s;ee, it is not time that prejudiceth Gods <HI>forgivene&s;&s;e;</HI> whether before Bapti&s;me, or after; whether &s;ooner, or latter: but come at any time, and bring <HI>Repentance,</HI> and God at no time will be wanting to <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e.</HI> For as it is mercy in God, which is the motive to us, to <HI>Beleeve the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes;</HI> &s;o it is <HI>Repentance</HI> in us, that is the mo|tive to God, to <HI>Forgive us our &s;innes.</HI></P>
<P>But why is the <HI>Forgivenes of &s;ins,</HI> put here <HI>inter Credenda,</HI> among&s;t things to be Beleeved; and not ra|ther, <HI>inter Agenda,</HI> among&s;t things to be done: &s;eeing to Remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, there belongs Repentance, a thing to bee done; and without <HI>Repentance,</HI> no <HI>forgivene&s;&s;e.</HI> Is it not that <HI>forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes,</HI> is an effect of <HI>Faith;</HI> and therefore ju&s;tly pla|ced among&s;t things to be Beleeved; and though <HI>Repentance</HI> be nece&s;&s;ary
<PB N="201" REF="106">to come in the <HI>Recre,</HI> yet <HI>Faith</HI> mu&s;t lead the <HI>Vant-gaurd,</HI> and have the Preceedence: For if <HI>Faith</HI> goe not before, <HI>Repentance</HI> will not follow; indeed, cannot follow, &s;eeing with|out Faith, <HI>It is impo&s;sible to plea&s;e God.</HI></P>
<P>And now my &s;oule; ob&s;erve the great extent of this Article, it keeps mee from &s;inning again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, whil&s;t <HI>I beleeve the forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;innes,</HI> by his in&s;piring; it appea&s;eth the wrath of God the Father, whil&s;t <HI>I beleeve the forgive|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> in onely his mercy: It glori|fies his Sonne Chri&s;t Je&s;us, whil&s;t I beleeve Gods mercy, through onely his Merits; that &s;eeing this Article is reguardant to all the Per|&s;ons in the Trinity, I may hope that by beleeving it, all the Per|&s;ons in the Trinity, will be reguar|dant upon me; and &s;pecially, the Sonne. For indeed, this Article,
<PB N="202" REF="107">and the next that followes, are two flowres I may &s;ay, that grow up|on the very Grave of Chri&s;t. For as there is no <HI>Forgivenes of &s;innes,</HI> but onely by the vertue of his death: &s;o there is no <HI>Re&s;urrection of the body,</HI> but onely by the operation of his <HI>Ri&s;ing from the Dead.</HI></P>
<P>And thus farre wee are brought by this flower of Faith: <HI>I beleeve the Forgivenes of &s;innes:</HI> The next is the flower of Hope,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Re&s;urrecti|on of the Body.</NOTE> by which wee <HI>Beleeve the Re&s;ur|rection of the Body;</HI> and it followes indeed, very fitly; for &s;eeing the bo|dy dyed not at fir&s;t, but by rea&s;on of &s;inne; what &s;hould hinder, if &s;inne bee forgiven, but that the bodie &s;hould ri&s;e againe, and returne to life? This indeed, is a flower &s;ome|thing hard of growing; but <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> growne, &s;ends forth a mo&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">
<PB N="203" REF="107">&s;avour: and as, of all the Articles in the Creed, there is none more hard to be beleeved; &s;o once beleeved, there is none that mini&s;ters greater comfort. For, what need I care, though my body bee laid in the grave, and bee turned to du&s;t; &s;o long as I am &s;ure, and undoubtedly beleeve, that hereafter it &s;hall <HI>ri&s;e againe,</HI> and bee in the &s;ame, but a better &s;tate then now it is: In the &s;ame for &s;ub&s;tance, but in a better for quallities and endowments.</P>
<P>If there were no Re&s;urrection of the body; then neither the god|ly &s;hould have Reward in their Bo|dies, nor the wicked, Puni&s;hed; but &s;eeing both the godly &s;hall bee Rewarded in their Bodies, and the wicked, Puni&s;hed; therefore there &s;hall bee a Re&s;urrection of the Body.</P>
<P>This Article, no doubt is hard to
<PB N="204" REF="108">be beleeved; For, who would be|leeve, there &s;hould be <HI>Regre&s;&s;us a cor|ruptione ad generationem, a privatio|ne ad habitum:</HI> a going backe from Corruption to Generation; from Privation to Habit; a thing impo&s;|&s;ible in Nature, and improbable in Rea&s;on; yet this impo&s;&s;ibility in Nature, this improbality in Rea&s;on mu&s;t be beleeved; before wee can beleeve the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the Body.</HI> Who would beleeve, that a Body con&s;umed to du&s;t, and that du&s;t &s;cat|tered by the wind into a thou&s;and places, &s;hould ever be brought to|gether againe, to be the &s;ame body it was before? who would believe that a Body devoured, perhaps, by wild bea&s;ts; perhaps, eaten by Fi|&s;hes; and by dige&s;tion become a part of tho&s;e Bea&s;ts or Fi&s;hes; &s;hould ever returne to be the Body of a man againe; as it had beene
<PB N="205" REF="108">before? Indeed, none would beleeve it, that looked only upon the power of Nature, as were ledde only with the light of Rea&s;on; but when we looke upon a Power that is &s;tronger then Nature, and are led by a Light that is brighter then Rea&s;on: what &s;hould hinder, why we &s;hould not beleeve it? Shall we not beleeve the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the body,</HI> becau&s;e we know not by what wayes it &s;hall bee ray&s;ed? Is it not enough, that we know the power of Gods wayes; but that we mu&s;t al&s;o know the waies of his Power? Doe we know, how the body at fir&s;t is for|med in the Mothers wombe; and would we looke to know, how it &s;hall bee formed the &s;econd time, in the wombe of the Earth? Have wee profe&s;&s;ed by the fir&s;t Article of our Creed, that God is <HI>Almigh|ty;</HI> and will we not allow him to do
<PB N="206" REF="109">the works of an Almighty? Doe we beleeve that nothing is impo&s;&s;i|ble for God to doe, and yet thinke, there is this thing, which he cannot doe? Looke upon the Corne, when it is ca&s;t into the earth; and after a few daies, you &s;hall &s;ee it to bee nothing but as a kind of corruption; and yet of that corruption, doth God make the &s;ame Corne to &s;pring up againe; and to bee as flouri&s;hing, as it had beene before: and if God doe this in the Corne, &s;hall hee not as well doe it in our bodies?</P>
<P>But, it is not perhaps, that wee doubt of his Power, but of his Will; &s;eeing his Will is not al|waies to doe all hee can. And can we doubt of his Will; his Will &s;o often revealed to us in his Word: &s;o firmely a&s;&s;ured to us by his Word; <HI>This is the Fathers Will,
<PB N="207" REF="109">which hath &s;ent me; that of all which he hath given mee, I &s;hould loo&s;e no|thing; but &s;hould rai&s;e it up againe at the la&s;t day.</HI> And in another place, <HI>This is the Will of him that &s;ent mee; that every one that &s;eeth the Sonne, and beleeveth on him, may have everla&s;ting life; and I will rai&s;e him up at the la&s;t day.</HI></P>
<P>And now if we be &s;atisfied of his Will; &s;hall we fall back againe into a relap&s;e of doubting his Power? But alas, is it any hard matter, for God to make the &s;ame body again, which hee had made once before? Or is it harder for him, to make a Body the &s;ame it was before; then it was to make it at fir&s;t, when it was not at all? Is it not ea&s;ier for God, to make a Body out of &s;ome|thing; then it was at fir&s;t, to make it out of nothing? Is it any hard mat|ter for God, to reduce all Bodies to
<PB N="208" REF="110">their fir&s;t Elements; and then to mixe and compound them againe, as he did at fir&s;t? When our Bodies were fir&s;t made, they were made but of du&s;t; and when they are dead, they &s;hall but be turned into du&s;t; and cannot God take the &s;ame du&s;t, to make the &s;ame body againe, as well now, as hee did then? What though it bee &s;cattered about in a thou&s;and places: is di&s;tance of place any thing to God, who is equally in all places at once? Is it hard for God to know, which is the proper du&s;t of every particular Body, and to give to every one their own du&s;t; who&s;e knowledge extends to count the ju&s;t number of the &s;and, and to call all the &s;tars of Heaven by their names? Is there any du&s;t upon the Earth, any mote in the Sun, which God hath not made? And if hee have made them all by his power,
<PB N="209" REF="110">&s;hall he not di&s;po&s;e of them all at his plea&s;ure? If by onely &s;aying, <HI>Con|gregentur Aquae:</HI> God made the great Ocean, which we cannot look upon without wonder; Can he not as well, by onely &s;aying, <HI>Congrege|tur Pulvis,</HI> make the du&s;t of all Bo|dies come together again; that every Body may be the very &s;ame Bodie, it was before? Say a Body be devou|red of Bea&s;ts; be eaten of Fi&s;hes: &s;o as by dige&s;tion, it become a part of their Bodies, &s;ay it &s;uffer never &s;o many alterations; yet all tho&s;e al|terations &s;hall be re&s;olved at la&s;t, into the &s;ame du&s;t it was at fir&s;t: and cannot God of the &s;ame du&s;t, make the &s;ame Body againe; as well now as he did before? God of nothing made the du&s;t of the Earth; and of that du&s;t, the Body of man; and though the du&s;t which was made of nothing, &s;hall returne againe to no|thing;
<PB N="210" REF="111">yet the Body of man, that was made of du&s;t, &s;hall never re|turne to le&s;&s;e then du&s;t; and to &s;o little, &s;hould never have returned neither, if God for mans tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ion had not denounced again&s;t him, <HI>Pulvis es &amp; in pulverem reverteris:</HI> If then Gods &s;aying, <HI>Du&s;t thou art, and to du&s;t thou &s;halt returne;</HI> have been the cau&s;e of the Bodies retur|ning to du&s;t: why &s;hall not his &s;ay|ing, <HI>A Body thou art, and a Body thou &s;halt ri&s;e againe;</HI> be as well a cau&s;e of the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the body?</HI></P>
<P>And now, if we be &s;atisfied of his power; &s;hall wee fall back againe into a relap&s;e of doubting his Will? But why did God make the Body of man of du&s;t; where he made the bodies of Bea&s;ts of nothing; but be|cau&s;e, the bodies of Bea&s;ts, &s;hall re|turne againe to nothing: where the Body of man &s;hall never returne but
<PB N="211" REF="111">into du&s;t, that out of that du&s;t; it may ri&s;e againe, to be the &s;ame Bo|dy it was before? Why did God make the Body of man him&s;elfe; where he commanded the Earth to bring forth the Bodies of other Creatures; but becau&s;e he meant it a further pre&s;ervation, then hee meant other creatures; and what further pre&s;ervation, if the body did not ri&s;e againe?</P>
<P>And if now againe we bee &s;ati&s;|fied of his Will; &s;hall wee fall backe into another relap&s;e of doubt|ing his power? Cannot God doe as much upon a &s;udden, as Nature can doe with Time? Though Na|ture mu&s;t have nine Moneths lying in the Mothers wombe, before it can make a mans Body perfit; yet God made <HI>Adam</HI> a perfect Body in an In&s;tant; and could he tran&s;cend Nature then, and can he not now?
<PB N="212" REF="112">Is he growne to bee as impotent as Nature: able to doe no more, then what naturally may be done? What though the world doubt it, and <HI>Sad|ducees</HI> deny it; &s;hall we rather a&s;&s;ent to them, then &s;ay with <HI>Job, Though wormes de&s;troy this Body, yet I &s;hall &s;ee God in my Fle&s;h:</HI> And if &s;ee God in his Fle&s;h, then mu&s;t his Body ri&s;e againe, that hee may have Eyes to &s;ee him.</P>
<P>And as the&s;e be &s;ome rea&s;ons of many, to &s;hew, that the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the body;</HI> may be. So there are other rea&s;ons as &s;trong, to &s;hew that it &s;hall and mu&s;t be. When <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> met <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> on the Mount; how came hee by his Body againe, which had beene dead and buried many hundred yeares before? How came tho&s;e men by their bodies againe, who having beene dead and buried, a|ro&s;e at the time of Chri&s;ts ri&s;ing;
<PB N="213" REF="112">and appeared unto many in the Ho|ly Citie? When Chri&s;t at the la&s;t day &s;hall &s;ay, <HI>Venite Benedicti Patris, Come yee Ble&s;&s;ed of my Father;</HI> hee &s;hal not &s;ay it to the &s;oule alone, nor to the body alone, but to the whole man; and if to the whole man, then mu&s;t the body bee joyned to the &s;oule againe, that it may be a whole man; but no &s;uch conjunction, if no <HI>Re&s;urrection of the Body.</HI> Is not Chri&s;t our head, and we his mem|bers; and if hee A&s;cended up to Heaven in body and &s;oule, mu&s;t not we that are his members doe the like? But no &s;uch <HI>A&s;cen&s;ion,</HI> if no <HI>Re&s;urrection of the body.</HI> Hath not Chri&s;t promi&s;ed, <HI>That wee &s;hall &s;it with him at his Table, and eate and drinke with him in his Fathers King|dome?</HI> But no &s;uch Eating and Drinking, if no <HI>Re&s;urrection of the Body.</HI></P>
<PB N="214" REF="113">
<P>When Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pel, meant to confute the <HI>Sadducees,</HI> de|nying <HI>the Re&s;urrection,</HI> hee u&s;ed this Argument: Have ye not read, what God &s;aid to <HI>Mo&s;es in the Bu&s;h: I am the God of Abraham, the God of I&s;aak, and the God of Jakob: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living:</HI> and with this Argument he put them to &s;ilence. But how their Errour is confuted by this Argument: or how this Argument proves the <HI>Re&s;urre|ction of the Body,</HI> is not ea&s;ie to bee perceived. It &s;eemes, the Argu|ment is not &s;o much <HI>ad Rem,</HI> as <HI>ad Hominem;</HI> though it prove not di|rectly the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the body,</HI> yet it proves it &s;ufficiently again&s;t the <HI>Sadduces,</HI> who therefore denyed the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the body,</HI> becau&s;e they beleeved not the <HI>immortality of the &s;oule:</HI> and this Argument pro|ving directly the <HI>immortality of the
<PB N="215" REF="113">&s;oule,</HI> proves &s;ufficiently again&s;t them, <HI>the Re&s;urrection of the body.</HI> Or is it, perhaps, meant thus; God is the God of <HI>Abraham;</HI> but <HI>Abraham</HI> is not the &s;oule onely, but the whole man: and therefore the Bo|dy of <HI>Abraham,</HI> though now dead, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity bee rai&s;ed to life againe; &s;eeing, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. In|deed, all Morall rea&s;ons, that can be brought to prove the <HI>Immortalitie of the &s;oule,</HI> may &s;erve as well, to prove the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the body:</HI> For if there bee reward for the godly in another life; certainely, that re|ward &s;hall not bee to the &s;oule onely, but as well to the bodie; and if to the body, then mu&s;t the body of nece&s;&s;ity ri&s;e againe, that it may be capable to receive the re|ward? But what capacitie, as long as it is lying in the du&s;t? And as
<PB N="216" REF="114">this rea&s;on is of force, to prove <HI>the Re&s;urrection of the body,</HI> in the god|ly: &s;o the puni&s;hment due to &s;inne, makes it of no le&s;&s;e force, to prove it in the wicked.</P>
<P>All that hath been &s;aid, and all that can be &s;aid in this matter; are as &s;o many links, that may be made into a chaine, and will nece&s;&s;arily draw us on, to this beliefe: For will you except again&s;t the body, that it is not worthy to bee rai&s;ed from the dead? Or will yee except again&s;t God, that he is not able to rai&s;e it from the dead. Or will yee except again&s;t the cau&s;e, that it ought not to bee rai&s;ed from the dead; and when all the&s;e Excep|tions are proved unju&s;t; what doubt can there bee, of its <HI>ri&s;ing from the dead?</HI> For fir&s;t, is not the body worthy to ri&s;e againe; which is, <HI>Vagina afflatus Divini,</HI> the receptacle
<PB N="217" REF="114">and &s;heath, as it were, of the Divine breath; and is not our Fle&s;h, as one cals it <HI>&s;oror Chri&s;ti,</HI> the &s;i&s;ter of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> that if, of it &s;elf it be not; at lea&s;t, by this Con&s;anguinitie, it is mo&s;t wor|thy. Is not God able to rai&s;e it againe out of du&s;t, who at fir&s;t made it of du&s;t, and du&s;t of nothing? Is there not ju&s;t cau&s;e, it &s;hould be rai&s;ed againe; indeed &s;o ju&s;t, that it is of nece&s;&s;itie, if God be ju&s;t. For if the body be not rai&s;ed again, how can it appeare in judgement? And if it appeare not in judgement, how can it receive the &s;entence of <HI>Ab&s;olution,</HI> or <HI>Con|demnation;</HI> and if it receive not &s;uch &s;entence, how can it be <HI>Puni&s;hed,</HI> or <HI>Rewarded,</HI> and if it be not <HI>Puni&s;hed</HI> or <HI>Rewarded:</HI> how can God bee ju&s;t, that neither puni&s;heth nor reward|eth, the good or evill it hath done in this life? And &s;eeing God is mo&s;t Ju&s;t, even Ju&s;tice it &s;e fe. It
<PB N="218" REF="115">followes of nece&s;&s;itie, that the Body &s;hall be rai&s;ed againe to life: which though it be here made an Article of our Beliefe, for the difficultie; yet it falls within the compa&s;&s;e of our knowledge, for the certainty.</P>
<P>To doubt of the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the Body,</HI> is to doubt, (as hath been &s;aid) of either Gods Power, or of his Will: and to doubt of his Power, is to make him no God: and to doubt of his Will, is to make him not good; For how &s;hould he be good, to de&s;troy our Bodies, which are <HI>Temples of the Holy Gho&s;t;</HI> if hee &s;hould not rai&s;e them up a|gaine, that they may bee Temples for his &s;ervice? O my &s;oule, let this be thy joy for the re&s;urrection of thy Bodie; Not, that it &s;hall ri&s;e againe, to be &s;inneful fle&s;h and bloud as now it is, but that it &s;hall ri&s;e to be a Temple for the Holy Gho&s;t;
<PB N="219" REF="115">fitted to bee taken into the Quire of Angels, to &s;ing the prai&s;es of God, and of his Chri&s;t for ever. And in|deed, if I thought my Body &s;hould ri&s;e againe, to bee in the &s;tate that now it is; though with enjoying as much happine&s;&s;e as the world can affoord: yet I would make it my humble &s;uit to God, rather to let it lye in the du&s;t &s;till, then to rai&s;e it up to &s;uch a life. For alas, O Lord, what do the plea&s;ures of the World, but di&s;tract mee from thee; and what is my hope, but to enjoy thy pre&s;ence? What is the World, but a barre to keepe thee from me: and what contentment can I have, while I am without thee? No my &s;oule, thou &s;hould&s;t do mo&s;t unkindly, to wi&s;h my Bodies ri&s;ing againe; if it were not to bee with God, and to &s;erve him as a Temple of his glo|rie. For without this, no <HI>Re&s;urrection
<PB N="220" REF="116">of the body</HI> &s;hall be welcome to me; Alas, not &s;o good as lying quickly in the du&s;t.</P>
<P>But if it were meant, that our Bodies indeed &s;hould ri&s;e againe, and be the &s;ame hereafter, as now they are; why would God &s;uffer them to dye at all? and not rather con|tinue them alive &s;till? For &s;o hee might have &s;aved him&s;elfe the trou|ble of new making them; and us the mi&s;ery, of &s;o long mi&s;&s;ing them. But now, &s;eeing the &s;oule hath beene without its body, &s;o many hundred yeares already, and is like to bee without it, God knowes, how many hundred yeares more; why may it not be contented, to be without it altogether, and never &s;tand expecting this impo&s;&s;ible <HI>Re&s;urrection?</HI> But, O my &s;oule, how vaine are the&s;e thoughts? For what are we, that we &s;hould enter into Gods &s;ecrets? as
<PB N="121" REF="116">though wee could comprehend that which is Incomprehen&s;ible; and &s;earch out that, which is Un&s;earch|able? As for Gods &s;uffering the bo|die to die, and not continuing it a|live &s;till; who &s;ees not the rea&s;on, that knowes the &s;entence, pronoun|ced by God upon <HI>Adams</HI> tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ion? And as for the Soules wan|ting the Body &s;o long, who can thinke it long, that con&s;iders Eter|nity?</P>
<P>If we did but know, or would but con&s;ider, the admirable won|derfulne&s;&s;e of the frame of Mans body; we would much more wonder at the Formation of it, then at the Re&s;urrection of it: and <HI>David</HI> &s;hew|ed him&s;elfe well &s;eene in <HI>Anatomie,</HI> when he &s;aid, <HI>I am wonderfully and fearefully made.</HI> Fearefully made in|deed; For, hee that &s;hould looke into the frame of Mans body, and
<PB N="222" REF="117">&s;ee upon what wonderfull tickle points our life &s;tands, might well be afraid; it were not po&s;&s;ible, wee could live one minute. If then we &s;ee before our eyes, the great won|derfulne&s;&s;e of the formation of the body: why &s;hould we doubt of the le&s;&s;e wonderfulne&s;&s;e, the <HI>Re&s;urre|ction of the body?</HI></P>
<P>There is a place in one of <HI>Davids</HI> P&s;almes, where he &s;aith, <HI>The Lord keepeth the bones of the ju&s;t; one of them &s;hall not bee con&s;umed;</HI> from which place, the <HI>Jewes</HI> conceive an opinion, that <HI>In Spina dor&s;i,</HI> in the ridge of a mans backe there is a little bone, which will never de|cay, how long &s;oever it lye in the earth; and this little bone, to be as it were, <HI>Semen Re&s;urrecturi Corporis,</HI> the &s;eed out of which the Body &s;hall ri&s;e againe: and as God made <HI>Eve</HI> of onely a bone of <HI>Adam,</HI> yet of
<PB N="123" REF="117">that bone, he made her bone of his bone, and fle&s;h of his fle&s;h: So of this little backe bone, God will rai&s;e the Body againe, to bee the &s;ame bones and fle&s;h it was before. But what need we looke after any &s;uch bone; when the lea&s;t crumme of du&s;t, is Seed &s;ufficient for God, to rai&s;e it up the &s;ame body it was before. And indeed, we have &s;urer ground for our beliefe, then <HI>Jewi&s;h Fables:</HI> For if wee Beleeve that <HI>Chri&s;t is ri&s;en from the dead,</HI> we can|not doubt of our owne ri&s;ing; &s;ee|ing hee therefore did ri&s;e, that hee might be <HI>Primitiae re&s;urgentium, The fir&s;t fruits of them that ri&s;e;</HI> but the fir&s;t Fruits he could not be, if others did not ri&s;e as well as hee. And therefore having beleeved in an Ar|ticle before, that Chri&s;t ro&s;e from the dead; this Article of our own ri&s;ing, is but <HI>Ex Abundanti,</HI> more
<PB N="224" REF="118">then needed; but that the difficulty of beleeving it, requires, as it were, a double Buttre&s;&s;e to &s;trengthen our Faith.</P>
<P>There are &s;ome perhaps, that look for Naturall rea&s;ons to prove De|mon&s;tratively, <HI>the Re&s;urrection of the body;</HI> but is not their expectation very unju&s;t, to expect Naturall rea|&s;ons, to prove a thing that is not Naturall? If Naturall rea&s;ons could be given of it, it &s;hould be fitter for the <HI>Metaphy&s;icks,</HI> then a Creed; and as able to breed a Knowledge, as Beliefe: Our Rea&s;on onely helps us thus farre, to make us know, there is &s;omething left for Beliefe, which Rea&s;on cannot reach to, and of this nature is the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the body:</HI> our. Beliefe &s;hall then be turned into knowledge, when we &s;hall come to have experience of it; in the meane time, wee mu&s;t content our &s;elves
<PB N="225" REF="118">with Beleeving it: And, O my Soule, doe thou beleeve it indeed; and be mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured, that though thy Body leave thee for a time, and bee laid in du&s;t, and bee turned to du&s;t: yet it will not bee long, ere it &s;hall ri&s;e, and bee joyned with thee a|gaine, as now it is; but in a far hap|pier condition then now it is: Not &s;tubborne and re&s;tiffe then, but tra|ctable and ob&s;equious: not earthly and lumpi&s;h then, but Aery and light; and indeed, &s;uch a body it &s;hall be, as thou would&s;t wi&s;h it to be: Not &s;ubject to di&s;ea&s;es, Not weary with labours: Not itching with lu&s;t: Not drow&s;ie with &s;leep: Not hungring after meat; and which is mo&s;t of all, where now it takes upon it to be thy Ma&s;ter, It &s;hall then be content to be thy &s;er|vant; but &s;uch a &s;ervant, as &s;hall therefore &s;erve thee, becau&s;e thou
<PB N="226" REF="119">&s;erve&s;t God: <HI>For it is &s;owne a Naturall body, it &s;hall bee rai&s;ed up a &s;pirituall Body: It is &s;owne in corruption, it &s;hall be ray&s;ed in incorruption;</HI> the &s;ame body in &s;ub&s;tance that now it is, but endued with Spirituall and better qualities.</P>
<P>Many que&s;tions are here moved by the Schoolmen; as whether the bodies of Abortives, which were never borne, but dyed in their Mo|thers wombes, &s;hall be partakers of <HI>the Re&s;urrection;</HI> &s;eeing, though they never came to &s;ee the light, yet they had beene once alive and quicke? Then, whether bodies &s;hall ari&s;e, of the &s;ame age and &s;tature, at which they died: as Infants, at the &s;tature and age of Infants: and o|thers, at their &s;everall &s;tatures and ages; Or el&s;e &s;hall all ri&s;e at a per|fect age and &s;tature; becau&s;e of the words of Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> in his Epi&s;tle
<PB N="227" REF="119">to the <HI>Ephe&s;ians, Till we all come unto a perfect man, to the mea&s;ure of the &s;ta|ture of the fulnes of Chri&s;t.</HI> Then, whe|ther bodies &s;hall ari&s;e, with the &s;ame deformities and defects, which they had living: as, Crooked, Lame, Blinde; or otherwi&s;e, mutilation of Members: &s;eeing Chri&s;t aro&s;e, with the &s;ame wounds which he re|ceived, when his body was pierced with the Speare? And many &s;uch que&s;tions moved more out of vaine curio&s;ity, then tending to Edificati|on: and which perhaps may pro|babably be argued, as having cou|lours on both &s;ides: but can never directly be defined, as having war|rant on either &s;ide: Rea&s;on may make conjectures of it; but Faith will build no certainty on it. It may bee &s;ufficient for us to beleeve, that the bodies of all men, &s;hall ri&s;e at the la&s;t day, and &s;tand at the Tribu|nall
<PB N="228" REF="120">of Chri&s;t, who &s;hall come from Heaven, <HI>to judge the Quick and the Dead.</HI></P>
<P>And now having beleeved the two Articles, that properly relate to the Sonne of God, Chri&s;t Je&s;us: <HI>[the Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes, and the Re&s;urrection of the Bodie.]</HI> It fol|lowes fitly, to beleeve the Article, that properly relates to God the Father; <HI>[The life Everla&s;ting,]</HI> and it followes not onely fitly, but ve|ry nece&s;&s;arily: For, if we &s;hould not adde, <HI>the life Everla&s;ting,</HI> it might be thought, that our Re&s;urrection were but like theirs, who ro&s;e at the time of Chri&s;ts ri&s;ing: and appeared to many in the Holy City, who ro&s;e indeede, but then died againe: at lea&s;t, who can tell what became of them, and &s;o our Beliefe &s;hould ca&s;t Anchor in a very un&s;afe har|bour: but now by adding the <HI>life
<PB N="229" REF="120">Everla&s;ting,</HI> we make the Re&s;ur|rection of our Bodies, a perpetuity; and beleeve they &s;hall ri&s;e againe, never any more to dy. And indeed how can it be otherwi&s;e? &s;eeing there never was but one &s;entence of death denounced again&s;t man: and that &s;entence once executed, by his dying once: there is no new &s;entence of dying any more; and therefore the Body being beleeved, to be rai&s;ed from the dead; the <HI>life Everla&s;ting</HI> will bee beleeved of cour&s;e. Death indeede is a debt due to nature, and a debt that nature lookes to have payd; but yet na|ture is not &s;o unju&s;t, to looke that a debt &s;hould be payd her more then once: and therefore the body having payd the debt once, by dying once: if it can get to ri&s;e a|gaine, and live; it will not be then in natures debt any more, and there|fore
<PB N="230" REF="121">cannot naturally dy any more, but &s;hall live for ever.</P>
<P>But why is there no mention made in our Creed, of the Immor|tality of the &s;oule? that of this poynt, there might be left no &s;cru|ple; for as long as this is in &s;uf|pence, wee &s;hall nece&s;&s;arily fall into the errour of the <HI>Sadduces;</HI> and ne|ver beleeve the Re&s;urrection of the body. Is it not, that the Immorta|litie of the &s;oule, is therefore not made an Article of our Creed; becau&s;e it is not &s;o properly credi|ble, <HI>Per fidem,</HI> as demon&s;trable <HI>per artem:</HI> there being &s;o apparent rea|&s;ons for it, that even the Heathen them&s;elves have not denyed it; and one of their owne Poets could &s;ay:
<Q><HI>Parte tamen meliore mei, &s;uper acta perennis A&s;tra forar;</HI></Q> meaning his &s;oule. Be&s;ides, what
<PB N="231" REF="121">need is there of mentioning it, when it is &s;ufficiently intimated, or in|cluded rather, in the&s;e two la&s;t Articles. For if we beleeve the re|&s;urrection of the body, we cannot doubt of the Immortality of the &s;oule; &s;eeing the body cannot ri&s;e, without the &s;oule: and if we be|leeve the <HI>life Everla&s;ting,</HI> we can|not but beleeve the &s;oule to bee Immortall; &s;eeing without the &s;oule, there can be no life at all.</P>
<P>And now wee are come to the la&s;t Article of our Creed, which may well bee the la&s;t; &s;eeing it brings us to that which is <HI>Everla&s;t|ing.</HI> And here it may not be unfit, to examine a little the extent of this <HI>Everla&s;ting life:</HI> &s;eeing it is not momentary, and fading, as our pre|&s;ent life is; but continuing and la&s;t|ing, without having any l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t: that if we &s;ay, it &s;hall la&s;t a Thou&s;and
<PB N="232" REF="122">years, if a million of thou&s;and years, if &s;o many millions of thou&s;and yeares, as there are &s;ands in the &s;ea: although an infinite incomprehen|&s;ible extent of time; yet wee &s;hall expre&s;&s;e but a very &s;mall part, or rather indeed, no part at all of it; &s;eeing, of tho&s;e, how many &s;oever, yet they will have an end at la&s;t; Everla&s;tingne&s;&s;e, never. It may be&s;t bee expre&s;t by number <HI>In ab|&s;tracto,</HI> of which, when never &s;o many have bin preceding; yet never the fewer will bee left behind. O the wonderfulne&s;&s;e of everla&s;ting|ne&s;&s;e! enough to amaze our appre|hen&s;ion: &s;o wonderfull, that when wee have wondred as much as we can, wee may begin and wonder a|gaine; and he that &s;hall &s;tand won|dring all his life long: yet cannot be thought to have wondred e|nough. Iu&s;tly therefore is it made
<PB N="233" REF="122">an Article of our Creede; &s;eeing it exceeds our capacity, it pa&s;&s;eth our under&s;tanding, it tran&s;cends our rea|&s;on; onely Faith is apprehen&s;ive of it.</P>
<P>And where is it then, that this E|verla&s;ting life &s;hall bee led? Is it not, that of the fir&s;t thou&s;and years, we may perhaps give &s;ome account: that it &s;hall be led, where wee &s;hall reigne with Chri&s;t; for &s;o Saint <HI>John</HI> the Evangeli&s;t, in plaine termes delivers it: and <HI>Papias</HI> a Bi&s;hop, and a Scholler of Saint <HI>Johns,</HI> who was likely to have learned the meaning of his words, affirmes more; that it &s;hall be led heere upon earth, in all delights and plea&s;ures both of body and minde: and indeede, mo&s;t of the ancient Fathers of that Primi|tive time, runne together by a line in this Expo&s;ition; and yet by the later Fathers, is this Opinion cleane
<PB N="234" REF="123">exploded: and the words of Saint <HI>John</HI> expounded in a farre differing &s;en&s;e, and not without cau&s;e: for &s;ee|ing it is truely &s;aid, that <HI>fle&s;h and bloud &s;hal not enter into the kingdom of heaven,</HI> there is no likelihood, that bodily or fle&s;hly plea&s;ures &s;hall ever be allow|ed to have place in that kingdome.</P>
<P>Is it then, that there &s;hall be a <HI>new heaven, and a new earth;</HI> and then this life Everla&s;ting &s;hall be led? And it is indeed mo&s;t likely, that as our bodies &s;hall ri&s;e, though in their old &s;ub&s;tance; yet endued with new qua|lities: So heaven and earth, where they are to abide, &s;hall &s;uffer the like alteration; that &s;o there may bee a corre&s;pondence between our bodies and them; which could not be, if the qualities of heaven and earth, were not a&s;well altered, as of our bodies.</P>
<P>But when is it that this life Everla|&s;ting &s;hall beginne? Indeed as &s;oone
<PB N="235" REF="123">as this momentary life &s;hall end; but yet, but in part: and therefore we be|leeve <HI>the re&s;urrection of the body,</HI> fir&s;t; and then <HI>the life everla&s;ting,</HI> after: be|cau&s;e, although the &s;oule in its kind, be living &s;till; yet till the body ri&s;e againe, there will be no perfect life; and it is not intended, that our life &s;hould be <HI>everla&s;ting,</HI> in the imperfe|ction of it, which is the &s;eparation of the &s;oule from the body; but that the body ri&s;ing againe, and joyning with the &s;oule, it &s;hall then bee <HI>everla&s;ting.</HI> And now my &s;oule, con&s;ider the dif|ference of our future life, from this that is pre&s;ent; which &s;hal be &s;o much longer then this, as eternity, then a moment; and &s;o much better then this, as happine&s;&s;e then mi&s;ery.</P>
<P>But wherein &s;hall the happine&s;&s;e of our future life con&s;i&s;t? For if bo|dily plea&s;ures be re&s;trained, there will want a great part of that, which wee
<PB N="236" REF="124">now count happine&s;&s;e. Indeed bodi|ly plea&s;ures will be re&s;tained, but not plea&s;ures of the body: but <HI>the body be|ing rai&s;ed up a &s;pirituall body,</HI> the plea|&s;ures al&s;o of the body, &s;hal be &s;piritu|all plea&s;ures. And how much the &s;oul is better then the body: how much the rea&s;on is better then the &s;en&s;e; &s;o much &s;hall the plea&s;ures of our future life, bee better then the plea&s;ures of our pre&s;ent life; and if this doe not &s;ufficiently expre&s;&s;e the difference; Remember then how Chri&s;t hath ex|pre&s;t it, that the plea&s;ures of our fu|ture life &s;hall bee &s;uch, as <HI>neither eye hath &s;eene, nor eare heard, neither hath it entred into the heart of man:</HI> and by this, certainely we may well con|ceive the infinitene&s;s of the difference.</P>
<P>But what are the&s;e plea&s;ures, <HI>which eye hath not &s;eene, nor eare hath heard?</HI> Indeed, if wee could tell, vvee &s;hould make Chri&s;ts vvords but vaine; yet in
<PB N="237" REF="124">&s;ome &s;ort, perhaps, vvee may con|ceive them: For vvhat eye hath &s;eene the faces of <HI>Cherubins</HI> in their brightne&s;&s;e? What eare hath heard the melody of Angels in their &s;weet|ne&s;&s;e? But which is mo&s;t of all, into what heart of man hath it entred, what the glory of the Almighty God is; and what joy it will be to us, to be admitted into his ble&s;&s;ed pre&s;ence? O my &s;oule, the&s;e are plea&s;ures, which if we could appre|hend, would drive us into exta&s;ie, at lea&s;t, would rai&s;e up our minds from groveling in the ba&s;e plea&s;ures of this vaine world.</P>
<P>And who are they that &s;hall bee partakers of this life Everla&s;ting? are they onely the godly; or as well al&s;o the wicked? Indeed, as well the wicked, as the godly; but not the wicked, &s;o well as the godly. For alas, the wicked &s;hall live <HI>everla&s;ting|ly</HI>
<PB N="238" REF="125">indeed; if it may bee called life, which is infinitely wor&s;e then any death, to bee in perpetuall torment, and paine in&s;ufferable: Onely the godly &s;hall live everla&s;tingly; the life which is onely worthy to bee called life; in perpetuall joy, and happine&s;&s;e un&s;peakable.</P>
<P>Oh then, if our lives &s;hall nece&s;|&s;arily bee <HI>everla&s;ting,</HI> and that the happine&s;&s;e of the everla&s;tingne&s;&s;e depends upon this moment we now live. Let us endeavour to &s;pend our &s;hort time &s;o; that our everla&s;ting|ne&s;&s;e, may be in joy, and not in mi|&s;ery. O my &s;oule, be alwaies think|ing of this word <HI>Never:</HI> Never &s;hall the torments of the wicked have an end; Never &s;hall the joyes of the godly have an end: not after a thou|&s;and yeares, not after a million of yeares, not after a million of milli|ons of Ages; but <HI>Never, Never;</HI>
<PB N="239" REF="125">which if wee could apprehend, or would but con&s;ider; it would cer|tainely be a <HI>Remora</HI> to us; and give a &s;top to all our vaine cour&s;es.</P>
<P>And now having briefly run over the&s;e Articles of our Creed; we may doe well to con&s;ider, how happy the Church of <HI>God</HI> &s;hould be, if it would content it &s;elfe with the&s;e Articles, as once it did: For then the little Barke of Chri&s;t &s;hould not bee to&s;&s;ed with &s;o many tempe&s;ts of <HI>Schi&s;mes;</HI> &s;hould not be torn with &s;o many rents of Di|vi&s;ion as now it is: but &s;hould enjoy the unity of faith in the bond of peace: where now, while new Ar|ticles are dayly obtruded upon our Con&s;ciences, we &s;eem to be in wor&s;e ca&s;e with Articles of faith, then the old <HI>Jewes</HI> were, with the Ceremonies of the Law: they overwhelmed with number, we with novelty, or rather indeed with both.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
