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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE DOCTRINE OF FAITH.</P>
<P>OR, The prime and principall Points which a Chri&s;tian is to know and believe.</P>
<P>Handled in &s;undry SERMONS upon Texts of Scripture &s;elected and cho&s;en for the purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>Wherein the Method of the CREED, (Commonly called <HI>The Apo&s;tles Creed</HI>) is ob&s;erved; and the Articles thereof are confirmed, explained and applied, for the in&s;tructing of the ignorant, and the e&s;tabli&s;hing of all in the TRUTH.</P>
<P>BY <HI>CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Word at <HI>York.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>R. A.</HI> for RICHARD LOVVNDES at the Unicorn on <HI>Lud-gate Hill</HI> over again&s;t <HI>Bell-Savage.</HI> 1649.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To the Chri&s;tian Reader.</HEAD>
<P>_WHat hereticall, bla&s;phemous and damna|ble opinions have of late years been vented and publi&s;hed among&s;t us in this Land, is over-notorious, and but too well knowne both at home and abroad: For both the reformed <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Their words are pre&s;ently after cited.</NOTE> Churches in forraigne parts have complained of it, and al&s;o we our &s;elves by publike order and appointment have profe&s;&s;ed <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">March 10. 1646.</NOTE> &s;olemne humiliation for it: &punc;Surely it is a very &s;ad thing and much to be deplored, that Prote&s;tants who have abandoned communion with the Romi&s;h Babylon, becau&s;e of tho&s;e impious and Antichri&s;tian Doctrines, that are maintained in it, &s;hould fall them&s;elves to imbrace opinions no le&s;&s;e erroneous, yea, indeed more mon&s;trous then tho&s;e of the Papi&s;ts, Yea, and that a Nation &s;hould even then be mo&s;t gro&s;&s;ely infected in this kind, when it hath but newly in a mo&s;t &s;acred manner promi&s;ed and pro|fe&s;&s;ed Reformation: Divers years ago when things were nothing &s;o bad in this re&s;pect, as &s;ince they have been, the Walachrian Churches in an Epi&s;tle &s;ent to the A&s;&s;embly of Divines at We&s;tmin&s;ter, &s;et forth the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the crime that we are guilty of: and have not we great rea&s;on now to be &s;en&s;ible of it, and affected with it? <HI>Let your con&s;ciences judge</HI> (&s;ay they) <HI>how all kind of here&s;ies can pa&s;&s;e un|puni&s;hed,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Judicent con&s;cientiae ve&s;tra, quo|modo omne haerc&s;ium genus in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l|tum permitti, multifaria &s;chi&s;ma|tum &s;emina &s;pargi, &amp; profana er|rorum dogmata pa&s;&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> in vulg<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s proferri po&s;&s;int in illa civita<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e, quae tam expre&s;&s;o, &s;ancto &amp; &s;ever<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> juramento &s;e&s;c devinxit ad omnes errores, haere&s;es, &s;chi&s;mata &egrave; dom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Dei ejicienda. <HI>Ep. praefix. Apoll<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</HI></NOTE> <HI>manifold &s;eeds of Schi&s;mes be &s;owne, and prophane Doctrines of errors be commonly vented abroad in that City</HI> (yea, in that Nation) <HI>which by &s;o ex|pre&s;&s;e, &s;acred and &s;evere an oath hath bound it &s;elfe before God to ca&s;t out all errors, here&s;ies and &s;chi&s;ms from the hou&s;e of God.</HI>
<PB REF="3"> The con&s;ideration of the growth and &s;preading of &s;uch pernicious errors, moved me in the cour&s;e of my Mini&s;tery to &s;pend &s;ome time in handling the <HI>fir&s;t principles of the Oracles of God,</HI> (as they are called, <HI>Heb.</HI> 5. 12.) the prin|cipall and fundamentall points of Religion, according to the method and order of the Creed, called the Apo&s;tles Creed, wherein they are comprized. This I conceived very requi|&s;ite and needfull, as a chief means, if not to recover tho&s;e that are infected, yet to pre&s;erve others from infection: For (as one well ob&s;erves) a principall way of fortifying our<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Vines</HI> Serm. on the day of humiliati|on for the growth of errors, he|re&s;ies, &amp;c. pag. 57.</NOTE> &s;elves again&s;t the allurements and a&s;&s;aults of fal&s;e Teachers, is <HI>to be grounded in the principles, of the Doctrines of Chri&s;t, or el&s;e we &s;hall ea&s;ily be tumbled up and downe like loo&s;e &s;tones that lie not fa&s;t in the building upon the foun|dation.</HI> The Apo&s;tle him&s;elf doth &s;hew, that &s;uch as are <HI>children</HI> (to wit, <HI>in under&s;tanding,</HI> either altogether igno|rant of the Doctrine of Faith, or not well grounded in it, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14. 20.) are ready to be <HI>to&s;&s;ed to and fro, and carried away with every wind of Doctrine, by the &s;leight of men and cunning craftine&s;&s;e, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;</HI> Ephe&s;. 4. 14. And that &s;uch are &s;oon <HI>led captive,</HI> who are <HI>ever learning, but never able to come to the know|ledge of the truth,</HI> to wit, a thorough and well-grounded knowledge of it, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3. 6, 7. This knowledge is (as wofull experience &s;hewes) much wanting in many: And hence it is, that errors and here&s;ies have &s;o prevailed among&s;t us, while&s;t &s;ome through ignorance are circumvented, &s;e|duced and drawne away, and others (though perhaps full of invectives again&s;t Sects, yet) have nothing to alledge in defence of truth, or onely that which is to little purpo&s;e, cu&s;tome, example, and the like; whereby it comes to pa&s;&s;e, that the Authors and abettors of error do the more tri|umph, and &s;uch as are in&s;nared by them, are the mo&s;t fa&s;t|ened unto them.</P>
<P>I grant indeed, that it is not Chri&s;t in the head, but Chri&s;t in the heart; not a bare notionall knowledge of Chri&s;t, but a &s;pirituall knowledge of him, that will &s;erve the turne. But yet neverthele&s;&s;e Chri&s;t mu&s;t be in the head, or els he cannot be in the heart; (I &s;peak in re&s;pect of &s;uch as are of years) there mu&s;t be a notionall knowledge of Chri&s;t, or el&s;e there cannot be a &s;pirituall knowledge of
<PB REF="3"> him: As the Athenians were far wrong, who thought to wor&s;hip an <HI>unknowne God,</HI> Acts 17. 23. &s;o are they, who think to believe in an unknown Chri&s;t; <HI>That ye may know and believe,</HI> &s;aid he, Joh. 10. 38. fir&s;t know, and then believe. It's true, (as <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> &s;aith) <HI>not the quickne&s;&s;e of under|&s;tanding, but the &s;implicity of be|lieving doth make many &s;afe:</HI> Yet<NOTE PLACE="marg">Caeteram. turbam non intelligendi vivacitas, &s;ed credendi &s;implici|tas tutos facit. <HI>Aug. contra Epi&s;t. Fundam. cap. 4.</HI> Quaenam e&s;t i&s;ta, quae&s;o, &s;implici|tas, ne&s;cire quod credas? <HI>Hieron. adver&s;us Luciferian.</HI></NOTE> that of <HI>Hierome</HI> is no le&s;&s;e true, <HI>What &s;implicity, I praey you, is this, to believe you know not what? Belfarmine</HI> him&s;elf though in the heat of contention, and carried away with a &s;pirit of contradicti|on, he &s;ticks not to &s;ay, that <HI>Faith</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Fides meli&ugrave;s definitur per igno|rantiam, qu&agrave;m per notitiam. <HI>Bel. de Ju&s;tif. lib. 1. cap. 7.</HI> &sect;. Judicium autem. Cognitio apprehen&s;iva praeexigi|tur quidem ad fidem, &s;ed non e&s;t ip&s;a propri&egrave; fides. <HI>Bel. de Ju&s;tif. lib. 1. cap. 16.</HI> &sect;. Re&s;tat caput. <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> <HI>is better defined by ignorance then by knowledge:</HI> yet afterwards being in a more calme temper, he confe&s;&s;eth, that <HI>an apprehen&s;ive knowledge is pre-required unto faith, though it be not faith it &s;elf.</HI> Therefore not to &s;peak now of the impiety of the Church of Rome, that &s;eeks by all means that may be, to nuzzle people in ignorance, dealing with them as the Phili&s;tines dealt with <HI>Samp&s;on,</HI> who fir&s;t put out<NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 16.</NOTE> his eyes and made him blind, and then made a &s;lave of him, and abu&s;ed him at their plea&s;ure: Not to &s;peak, I &s;ay, of this; others there be, who are worthy to be abhorred of all Chri&s;tians, in that they &s;o flie unto the My&s;tery of the Go&s;|pell, as that they quite aboli&s;h and annull the Hi&s;tory of it; they turne all that the Scripture doth record of Chri&s;t into a meer Allegory. And &s;ome again, though perhaps they be Orthodox, and deliver nothing but what is &s;ound and true, yet are faulty in this, that they think it a &s;ufficient, yea a more then ordinary preaching of Chri&s;t, to have his Name fre|quently in their mouthes, and in a generall way to &s;peake much of him, when as yet they never &s;hew what he is, or what he hath done and &s;uffered, nor &s;carce e|ver handle any one Article of FAITH concerning Chri&s;t, as if this were too triviall for them to trouble them&s;elves about, &s;o that many poor &s;ouls, though they hear
<PB REF="4"> Chri&s;t mentioned a thou&s;and times, yet &s;till remain as igno|rant of him, and &s;o as apt to entertain any fal&s;e opinion con|cerning him, as ever they were. For the in&s;tructing of &s;uch, as al&s;o for the confirming and further edifying of tho&s;e, who have more knowledge, the&s;e Sermons here pre&s;ented to publike view, may (thorough Gods ble&s;&s;ing) be u&s;efull and profitable. This is that, which I aimed at in the preaching, neither have I any other de&s;ign in the publi&s;hing of them. I know, the&s;e times afford but &s;mall incouragement to the Writers, and publi&s;hers of books of this nature. For though we may &s;eem to cro&s;&s;e the Pro|verb, <HI>What have the Mu&s;es to do</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quid Mu&s;is cum Marte? <GAP DESC="foreign"> Si literae, non arma; &s;i arma, non literae. <HI>Sic Hebraei te&s;te</HI> Buxtorfio <HI>in praefat. More Neb.</HI></NOTE> <HI>with Mars?</HI> The pen and the pike &s;eldome find room in one place, Yet (alas) &s;o it is, either new Oc|currences, or new Opinions are the things, which now mo&s;t look af|ter: that which is &s;ober, &s;erious and &s;olid, will find but few that will regard it. But he, who is wi&s;dome it &s;elfe, doth tell us that <HI>wi&s;dome is ju&s;tified of her children,</HI> Mat. 11. 19. And he, who was as wi&s;e as any meer mortall, &s;aith, <HI>A wi&s;e man will hear, and will increa&s;e learning,</HI> Prov. 1. 5. And again, <HI>Give in&s;truction to a wi&s;e man, and he will be yet wi&s;er: teach a ju&s;t man, and he will increa&s;e learning,</HI> Prov. 9. 9. Some are apt to mind not &s;o much the matter, as the man, not &s;o much what it is that is &s;poken, as who it is that &s;peaks it. What ever proceeds from &s;ome, &s;hall be applauded; and what ever proceeds from o|thers &s;hall be &s;leighted. But as the Jewi&s;h Doctours &s;ay well, <HI>Look not on the canne, but on that which is in it.</HI> A prepo&s;terous<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> Ex per&s;onis probamus fidem, an ex fide per&s;onas? <HI>Tertul. de Prae|&s;cript. cap. 3.</HI></NOTE> and perver&s;e cour&s;e it is, in &s;tead of judging the authour by the work, to judge the work by the Authour. But (I fear) I exceed the bounds of an Epi&s;tle; I will adde no more but, The Lord, who is <HI>the God of truth,</HI> I&s;ai. 65. 16. and <HI>the God of a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> grace,</HI> 1 Pet. 5. 10. by his word and Spirit lead us into, &amp; keep us in all &s;anctifying and &s;aving truth. So I re&s;t, Thine to &s;erve thee in the Lord,</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE>Febr. 22. 1649.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Chr. Cartwright.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="4">
<HEAD>THE FIRST SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>HEB. 11. 6.</BIBL> He that cometh unto God, mu&s;t believe that God is.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_FAith and a good con&s;cience are two things which it concerns every one to have, and to hold, <HI>Holding faith and a good con&s;cience, 1 Tim.</HI> 1. 19. Faith hath the precedency that mu&s;t go be|fore, without a right and &s;ound faith there can be no good con&s;cience, <HI>Male vivitur, &s;i de Deo</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de Civ. De<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, lib. 5. cap. 10.</NOTE> <HI>no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">en&egrave;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">reditur,</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Augu&s;tine) Where there is not a right faith concerning God, there will be exor|bitancy in the conver&s;ation.</HI></P>
<P>In this Chapter, out of which the Text is ta|ken, we have a large <HI>Encomium,</HI> or commenda|tion of faith, and a clear demon&s;tration both of the nece&s;&s;ity, and of the efficacy of it: that no|thing can be done without it, <HI>Without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God,</HI> v. 6. that nothing but
<PB N="2" REF="5"> may be done by it; this is proved by a cloud of witne&s;&s;es throughout the Chapter.</P>
<P>Faith is taken two wayes: 1. There is <HI>fides quae creditur,</HI> faith which we believe, the object and matter of Faith; thus is faith to be under|&s;tood, <HI>Jude v. 3. That you &s;hould earne&s;tly contend for the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints. 2. Fides qu&acirc; creditur,</HI> Faith whereby we believe, the grace of faith inherent in the &s;oule, the act whereof is to believe; thus is the word taken, <HI>Rom. 1. 17. The ju&s;t &s;hall live by Faith,</HI> and <HI>Jam. 1. 6. Let him ask in Faith;</HI> and &s;o in many o|ther places this is the proper acception of the word, though the other acception be not un|u&s;uall.</P>
<P>The object of Faith is God, and what&s;oever is revealed by God; <HI>Secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but things revealed unto us, &amp;c. Deut.</HI> 29. 29. The fir&s;t thing concerning. God to be believed, is as the Text doth tell us, that God is, <HI>He that cometh unto God, mu&s;t believe that God is;</HI> it followes, <HI>and that he is a rewarder of tho&s;e that diligently &s;eek him:</HI> this mu&s;t al&s;o be believed, but the other fir&s;t, and then this; fir&s;t that God is, and then that he is a rewarder of tho&s;e that dili|gently &s;eek him.</P>
<P>I &s;hall now by Gods help in&s;i&s;t upon this fir&s;t principle of Religion, that God is, or that there<NOTE PLACE="marg">That there is a God.</NOTE> is a God.</P>
<P>Let none think that this is a &s;uperfluous and needle&s;&s;e labour, to go about to demon&s;trate a thing &s;o plain and evident as this is.</P>
<P>For, 1. If this be a truth nece&s;&s;ary for all to
<PB N="3" REF="5"> know and believe, then it is not unnece&s;&s;ary to in&s;i&s;t upon it, and to confirm it, that we may &s;ee we have ju&s;t rea&s;on to believe as we do.</P>
<P>2. The Scripture tells us of &s;uch <HI>fools as &s;ay in</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 14. 1.</NOTE> <HI>their heart, there is no God:</HI> And we read of &s;ome, though but few, who have denyed it not onely in their hearts, but with their mouths al&s;o.</P>
<P>3. This is a corrupt age into which we are fallen, mo&s;t of the fundamentall truths are either denied, or doubted of; and though I doe not read or hear of any, that yet &s;eeks to &s;hake this <HI>ba&s;is</HI> of Religion, yet &s;eeing (as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith) <HI>evill men and &s;educers will wax wor&s;e and wor&s;e,</HI> it<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. 13.</NOTE> is good to be fore-armed, and to prevent the wor&s;t.</P>
<P>4. This being the main foundation of all Re|ligion, it mu&s;t be laid &s;ure, that &s;o the &s;uper&s;tru|cture may be the more firm.</P>
<P>The&s;e things premi&s;ed, I come to the proof of the point, <HI>viz.</HI> that there is a God.</P>
<P>And 1. We have in this the generall con&s;ent even of the Heathens, although <HI>Diagoras</HI> (they &s;ay) denied it, and <HI>Protagoras</HI> doubted of it, yet generally the Heathens did acknowledge it: yea, it's &s;aid, that <HI>Protagoras</HI> was bani&s;hed by his Countrey-men the Athenians, becau&s;e he pre&s;u|med to que&s;tion &s;uch a truth as this. <HI>Tullie</HI> a<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tul. de Nat. De|or. lib. 2.</NOTE> Heathen man &s;aith, <HI>Nulla gens tam effera ac bar|bara, quae non cogno&s;cit e&s;&s;e Deum. There is no Na|tion &s;o rude and barbarous, but it knowes that there is a God:</HI> It's ob&s;erved, that even &s;uch as are <HI>&s;ine Rege, &s;ine Lege,</HI> without Magi&s;trates, and without Lawes, yet are not <HI>&s;ine Religione,</HI> altogether with|out
<PB N="4" REF="6"> Religion. Idolaters that wor&s;hip a fal&s;e God, &s;hew that they believe there is a God; they are ignorant indeed of the onely true God, and therefore they wor&s;hip a fal&s;e God in&s;tead of him, yet this they a&s;&s;ure them&s;elves of, that there is a God, or el&s;e they would wor&s;hip none at all: So that (as <HI>Calvin</HI> well ob&s;erves) even Idolatry it &s;elfe is <HI>hujus conceptionis amplum documentum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Calv. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;t. l 1. c. 3.</NOTE> an ample token and te&s;timony of this conception, that there is a God.</P>
<P>2. There are many wayes, whereby the Hea|thens, having only the light of nature, did yet<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tul. de Nat. De|or.</NOTE> &s;ee this, that there is a God. <HI>Tullie</HI> mentioneth four wayes, by which they came to be convinced of this, and (which is ob&s;ervable) I find all tho&s;e mentioned in Scripture as &s;o many evictions of a Deity. 1. The fore-knowledge of things to come, <HI>viz.</HI> things that have no nece&s;&s;ary depen|dence upon &s;econdary cau&s;es, but in that re&s;pect are altogether contingent, though the predicti|ons of the Heathens were generally &s;uch as did not argue a divine power, yet the argument in it &s;elfe is good, and &s;ufficient to convince an A|thie&s;t: It is certain, that things in re&s;pect of in|feriour cau&s;es meerly contingent, have been fore|&s;hewed long before they came to pa&s;&s;e. The Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> prophecied of <HI>Cyrus</HI> by name, though he died long before <HI>Cyrus</HI> was borne; &s;o<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 44. 28. &amp; 45. 1. 1 King. 13 2.</NOTE> did another Prophet in like manner of <HI>Jo&s;iah.</HI> Now this knowledge of things to come is pecu|liar unto God, neither can any have it, but as in|&s;pired by God. By this argument God proves him&s;elfe to be the true God, and the gods of the
<PB N="5" REF="6"> Heathens to be Idolls, vanity, and nothing. <HI>Pro|duce your cau&s;e</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>bring forth your &s;trong rea&s;ons, &s;aith the King of</HI> Jacob. <HI>Let them bring forth, and &s;hew us what &s;hall happen; let them &s;hew the former things what they be, that we may con&s;ider them, and know the latter end of them, or declare us things to come: &s;hew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are Gods,</HI> I&s;a. 41. 21, 22, 23. And again, <HI>I&s;a. 43. 9. Let all the Nations be gathered together, and let the people be a&s;&s;embled: who among them can declare this, and &s;hew us former things? viz.</HI> before they happen, as God &s;hewed them by his Prophets, as <HI>Kimchi</HI> a Jewi&s;h Rabbin upon the place doth<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> Kimchi ad loc.</NOTE> well expound it. Men and Devils may ghe&s;&s;e at things to come, but not certainly and infallibly know them: The Chaldeans were famous for A&s;trologie and divination, yet the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> derides them, and tho&s;e that gave credit to them; <HI>Stand now</HI> (&s;aith he to Babylon) <HI>with thine in|chantments, and with the multitude of thy Sorce|ries, wherein thou ha&s;t laboured from thy youth, if &s;o be thou &s;halt be able to profit, if &s;o be thou maye&s;t prevaile: Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy coun&s;ells, let now the A&s;trologers, the &s;tar-gazers, the monethly Prognosticators &s;tand up and &s;ave thee from the&s;e things that &s;hall come upon thee: Be|hold they &s;hall be as &s;tubble, the fire &s;hall burn them, they &s;hall not deliver them&s;elves from the power of the flame,</HI> I&s;a. 47. 12, 13, 14. and v. 11. it's &s;aid, that evill &s;hould come &s;uddenly upon Babylon, that &s;he &s;hould not know of before it came upon her; &s;o that her Diviners could not only not pre|vent
<PB N="6" REF="7"> her, and their own de&s;truction, but not &s;o much as fore-&s;ee it.</P>
<P>2. The great benefits which accrue unto men by the temperature of the &s;ea&s;ons, and the fruitful|ne&s;&s;e of the earth, and the abundance of many o|ther commodities; and the Scripture &s;hewes this al&s;o to be a good argument to prove that there is a God: The Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that when God did not vouch&s;afe his Word unto men, <HI>yet never|thele&s;&s;e he left not him&s;elf without witne&s;&s;e, in that</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>he did good, giving us rain from heaven, and fruitfull &s;ea&s;ons, filling our hearts with food and gladne&s;&s;e,</HI> Acts 14. 17.</P>
<P>3. Thunder, pe&s;tilence, earthquake, and &s;uch like terrifying and de&s;troying accidents; &s;o the Scripture al&s;o notes this as one means whereby God doth make him&s;elfe known, <HI>The God of glory thundereth,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 29. 3. and di|vers times in that P&s;alme he calleth thunder Gods voice, by it God &s;peaks unto men, and proclaimes unto them that there is a God. It's &s;aid of <HI>Caligula</HI> the Romane Emperour, that though he were otherwi&s;e mo&s;t mon&s;trous, and would needs make him&s;elf a God, yet he were &s;o affrighted with thunder, that he would run under a bed to hide him&s;elf; this voice of the Lord did make him know, that there is one who is not a meer titular God, or a God only by u&s;ur|pation and pre&s;umption, but a God indeed: So all the fearfull judgements that are in the world demon&s;trate that there is a God. <HI>The Lord is knowne by the judgement that he executeth,</HI> &s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 9. 16.</P>
<PB N="7" REF="7">
<P>4. The con&s;tant and uniform motion of the cele&s;tiall bodies, the variety, beauty, and order of the&s;e and other things in the world. <HI>If</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Tullie) thou &s;hould&s;t come into a &s;tately and beau|tifull</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tul. ubi &s;upra.</NOTE> <HI>Palace, curiou&s;ly compo&s;ed, exqui&s;itly ador|ned, and richly furni&s;hed and &s;hould&s;t &s;ee nothing in it but cats or weazells, or the like, thou wouldst never imagine that it was framed and fa&s;hioned by tho&s;e creatures, but wouldst a&s;&s;ure thy &s;elf that there was &s;ome man, by whom it was built and put into that form that it is in:</HI> So all mu&s;t needs acknow|ledge that there is a God, who made this great and glorious hou&s;e the world, man could never do it. No, (as one &s;aith) man could never rai&s;e &s;uch a roof as heaven, nor lay &s;uch a floore as earth. Thus al&s;o <HI>David</HI> tells us, that <HI>the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament &s;heweth his handie worke,</HI> P&s;al. 19. 1. and <HI>Paul, that the in|vi&s;ible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly &s;een, being under&s;tood by the things that are made, even his eternall power and Godhead,</HI> Rom. 1. 20.</P>
<P>To the&s;e arguments I will adde but one more, and that is drawn from mans con&s;cience: There is a con&s;cience in man, which upon occa&s;ion will accu&s;e, or excu&s;e; <HI>Their con&s;cience al&s;o bearing wit|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>and their thoughts in the mean while accu&s;ing, or el&s;e excu&s;ing one anonher,</HI> Rom. 2. 15. though no man els be able to accu&s;e a man, yet con&s;cience will do it. A notable exam|ple to this purpo&s;e is that of <HI>Jo&s;ephs</HI> brethren, who&s;e con&s;ciences a long time after accu&s;ed them of &s;elling their brother, when none be&s;ides
<PB N="8" REF="8"> them&s;elves and <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> (whom they then little imagined to be within hearing) knew of it, <HI>Gen. 42. 21, 22. Seneca</HI> therefore &s;aith excellently, <HI>Quid refert neminem &s;cire, c&ugrave;m tu &s;eias? What matter is it, though no man el&s;e know what thou ha&s;t done, when as thou thy &s;elf dost know it?</HI> So on the o|ther &s;ide, though all the world bear witne&s;&s;e a|gain&s;t a man, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">et if his con&s;cience be cleare, it will te&s;tifie for him, and this is enough to com|fort him: <HI>Th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> is our rejoycing, even the testimony of our con&s;cience,</HI> &s;aith S. <HI>Paul,</HI> 2 Cor. 1. 12. and &s;o the Heathens could &s;ay, that a good con&s;cience<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Hic murus aheneus esio, Nil con &s;cire &s;ibi.</HI> Juven.</NOTE> is <HI>murus aheneus,</HI> a wall of bra&s;&s;e, a mo&s;t &s;ure de|fence again&s;t all calumny, and all oppo&s;ition. Now this con&s;cience is the <HI>Candle of the Lord,</HI> as <HI>Soloman</HI> calls it, <HI>Prov.</HI> 20. 27. it &s;hewes plain|ly that there is a God, from whom nothing is hid, and by whom all &s;hall be rewarded.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But it may be objected, if there be a God who made the world and governs the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>C&ugrave;m rapi|ani mala fata bonos, igno&s;cite fa&s;&s;o; Sollicitor nullos e&s;&s;e putare de|os.</HI> Pro|pert.</NOTE> who is mo&s;t great, and mo&s;t good, mo&s;t wi&s;e and mo&s;t holy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> how then comes it to pa&s;&s;e, that there is &s;o much evill, &s;o much ataxie, and con|fu&s;ion in the world?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer: God therefore &s;uffers evill, becau&s;e he knowes how to bring good out of e|vill: A skilfull Phy&s;itian can &s;o temper poy&s;on, as to make a Soveraigne medicine of it; and &s;o God can cau&s;e &s;in it &s;elf to be &s;ub&s;ervient to his glory, and the good of tho&s;e whom he hath cho|&s;en: if there were no &s;in, the glory of Gods grace in the pardoning of &s;in could not appeare as it doth, <HI>Eph. 1. 6, 7. Mic.</HI> 7. 18. nor on the other&s;ide,
<PB N="9" REF="8"> the glory of Gods ju&s;tice in puni&s;hing &s;in, <HI>P&s;al. 119. 120. Aben Ezra</HI> therefore a learned Rabbin<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> &s;aith well, <HI>It doth not belong to the &s;upreme wi&s;|dome, becau&s;e of a little evill to hinder much good.</HI></P>
<P>This is the only objection that I find worth the an&s;wering; for that is a mo&s;t &s;illy and &s;otti&s;h one that &s;ome are &s;aid to make, that they &s;ee no God, and therefore have no rea&s;on to believe that there is any: By the &s;ame rea&s;on they may de|ny that there is a &s;oul in man; for neither do a|ny &s;ee it otherwi&s;e then by the operations and effects of it, and thus al&s;o they mu&s;t needs &s;ee God, who are not altogether blind and bruti&s;h.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 1. This then may let us &s;ee the wonderful per|ver&s;ene&s;&s;e of mans heart, that will rebell again&s;t &s;o clear light, either denying, or doubting of &s;o manife&s;t a truth as this, that there is a God: though their con&s;ciences convince them of this truth, yet they do what they can to &s;uppre&s;&s;e and extingui&s;h it, <HI>they with-hold the truth in un|righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1. 18. Mens actions outwardly declare what their hearts inwardly think: How did <HI>David</HI> know that wic|ked <HI>fools &s;ay in their heart, that there is no God?</HI> He knew it by their wayes and doings, <HI>they are corrupt</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>and have done abominable things,</HI> P&s;al. 14. 1. &s;o P&s;al. 10. 4. &s;peaking of the wicked, he &s;aith, <HI>God is not in all his thoughts,</HI> or as the Marginall reading hath it, <HI>all his thoughts are there is no God.</HI> This Athei&s;me is that root from whence doth proceed all &s;in deliberately and wilfully committed. Did men indeed believe
<PB N="10" REF="9"> that there is a God, who &s;ees all, and will judge and recompence for all, they dur&s;t not be &s;o e|normous and abominable as they are: <HI>They pro|fe&s;&s;e that they know God,</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Paul) but in their works they deny him, being abominable and di&s;obe|dient, and to every good work reprobate.</HI> This root of bitterne&s;&s;e doth naturally grow in all, even Athei&s;m it &s;elf, a denying that there is a God, is a part of that in-bred corruption, that we are infected with; that the regenerate are not whol|ly free from an evill heart of unbeliefe even in this particular, appears both by the thoughts that &s;omtimes ari&s;e in their hearts, and al&s;o by tho&s;e enormities that they &s;ometimes fall into. We are therefore to take notice of this vile and cur&s;ed nature that is in us, and to be humbled for it, and to labour that it may be changed and renewed more and more.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Againe, if there be a God, we mu&s;t be carefull to know him, and to glorifie him as God.</P>
<P>1. To know him; for to what purpo&s;e is it to know that there is a God, except we al&s;o know what he is, &s;o farre forth as he is plea&s;ed to make him&s;elf known both by his works, and by his Word? <HI>Thou Solomon my &s;on, know thou the God of thy father,</HI> &s;aid <HI>David, 1 Chron. 28. 9. Some have not the knowledge of God, I &s;peak this to your &s;hame,</HI> &s;aid the Apo&s;tle to the <HI>Corinthians, 1 Cor.</HI> 15. 34. And &s;urely it is a great &s;hame for &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e them&s;elves Chri&s;tians, to be &s;o ignorant of God, as many are. The Booke of Nature may afford &s;ome knowledge of God, but much more the Book of Scripture; <HI>In Judah is God knowne,</HI> &s;aith
<PB N="11" REF="9"> the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 76. 1. Why in Judah more then el&s;e-where? becau&s;e to them there <HI>were commit|ted the Oracles of God,</HI> Rom. 3. 2. they had the Scriptures which others wanted, of whom there|fore it is &s;aid, (not &s;imply, but comparatively) that <HI>they knew not God,</HI> 1 The&s;. 4. 5. Study both the&s;e books therefore, but e&s;pecially the later, the Scriptures, <HI>which are able to make us wi&s;e un|to &s;alvation,</HI> 2 Tim. 3. 15.</P>
<P>But, 2. So know God, as to glorifie him al&s;o; <HI>Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his Name,</HI> P&s;al. 29. 2. <HI>Know thou the God of thy Father, and &s;erve him,</HI> 1 Chron. 28. 9. Fir&s;t know him, but then al&s;o &s;erve him: The Gentiles were without ex|cu&s;e, <HI>becau&s;e when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,</HI> Rom. 1. 20, 21. How much more &s;hall Chri&s;tians be without excu&s;e, if they doe not glorifie God as they ought, they having a farre more excellent knowledge of God, then the Gentiles had, or el&s;e it is a &s;hame for them? Let us remember that of our Saviour, <HI>To whom|&s;oever much is given, of him &s;hall much be required,</HI> Luk. 12. 48.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="12" REF="10">
<HEAD>THE SECOND SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>JOH. 4. 24.</BIBL> God is a Spirit.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe true knowledge of God is that which e|very one ought to &s;eek and labour for: <HI>Let not the wi&s;e man</HI> (the worldly wi&s;e man) <HI>glory in his wi&s;dome, nor the mighty man glory in his might: let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me,</HI> (&s;aith God) <HI>Jer.</HI> 9. 23, 24. Now the knowledge of God is:</P>
<P N="1">1. That he is; <HI>Heb. 11. 6. He that cometh un|to God, mu&s;t believe that God is.</HI> Which words I have already in&s;i&s;ted on, and have handled this point, <HI>That God is,</HI> or <HI>That there is a God.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. What he is: For, (as I al&s;o before touched) it availes little to know that God is, except we al&s;o in &s;ome competent mea&s;ure know what God is; we &s;hall but be like the Heathens, of whom it's &s;aid, that <HI>they were vain in their imaginations,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1. 21</NOTE> <HI>and their fooli&s;h heart was darkned.</HI></P>
<P>True it is, the nature of God is of that infinite perfection, that it is incomprehen&s;ible, we can ne|ver attain to the full knowledge of it: It's re|ported
<PB N="13" REF="10"> of a Philo&s;opher called <HI>Symonides,</HI> that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cic. de Nat. De|or.</NOTE> being asked what God is, he de&s;ired a daies time to deliberate and con&s;ider what to an&s;wer, after that he de&s;ired two dayes, and then four, and &s;o &s;till he doubled the time, confe&s;&s;ing, that the more he did inquire into the nature of God, the further he found him&s;elfe from attaining to the knowledge of it: And &s;o it will be with us, al|though we have a far clearer light to &s;earch by then he had; <HI>Can&s;t thou by &s;earching find out God? Can&s;t thou find out the Almighty to perfe|ction?</HI> Job 11. 7. No, it cannot be, the adequate and comprehen&s;ive knowledge of God, to know him to the very utmo&s;t of his perfection, is pecu|liar to God him&s;elf, none but God can thus know God, neither men nor Angels are capable of this knowledge: For, God is infinite, and every crea|ture is finite, and nothing that is finite can ade|quately and fully comprehend that which is in|finite; be&s;ides, our knowledge of God here in this life, is very weak and imperfect, in compari|&s;on of what it &s;hall be hereafter in the world to come. <HI>Thou canst not &s;ee my face; for there &s;hall no man &s;ee me and live,</HI> &s;aid God to <HI>Mo&s;es, Exod. 33. 20. Now</HI> (&s;aith S. <HI>Paul) we &s;ee through a gla&s;&s;e darkly, but then face to face; now know I in part, but then &s;hall I know even as</HI> (in the &s;ame manner, but not in the &s;ame mea&s;ure) <HI>al&s;o I am knowne,</HI> 1 Cor. 13. 12. we mu&s;t not therefore as<NOTE PLACE="marg">Oecumen. in Heb. 11 6.</NOTE> one &s;aith, <GAP DESC="foreign">, curiou&s;ly bu|&s;ie our &s;elves about Gods e&s;&s;ence, but we mu&s;t be wi&s;e unto &s;obriety, <HI>Scrutator Majestatis op|primetur &agrave; gloria, He that will be over pre&s;umptu|ous
<PB N="14" REF="11"> to prie into Gods Maje&s;ty, &s;hall be overwhelmed with his glory;</HI> but yet &s;o far forth as God hath been plea&s;ed to reveal him&s;elfe, we mu&s;t &s;tudy and indeavour to know him, and this we may and mu&s;t know concerning God, that (as the Text doth tell us) <HI>he is a Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>The words were &s;poken by our Saviour, and that upon this occa&s;ion, he was di&s;cour&s;ing with a woman of Samaria, who by what he had alrea|dy &s;aid unto her, perceived him to be &s;ome ex|traordinary per&s;on, and therefore &s;he propoun|ded a ca&s;e of con&s;cience unto him, and de&s;ired to be re&s;olved by him, <HI>viz.</HI> which was the right and true place of Gods wor&s;hip; for about this the Samaritans had a controver&s;ie with the Jewes, they wor&s;hipping God in a certaine mountaine which they had, as their Fathers had done before them; the Jewes on the other&s;ide affirming that Jeru&s;alem was the place where men ought to wor&s;hip: Our Saviour fir&s;t let her know, that the Jewes were in the right, they having Gods VVord for their warrant, for that God in his VVord had appointed Jeru&s;alem for the time then pre&s;ent to be the place of his VVor&s;hip; but withall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e told her, that the hour was at hand when &s;uch difference of places &s;hould cea&s;e, and in&s;tead of that ceremoniall and carnall VVor&s;hip that was then in u&s;e, there &s;hould be a more pure and &s;pi|rituall Wor&s;hip con&s;i&s;ting not &s;o much in out|ward performances as before, but more in the in|ward devotion of the heart and &s;pirit: and he gives a rea&s;on why God requires &s;uch a Wor&s;hip, <HI>viz.</HI> becau&s;e it is mo&s;t agreeable to his nature,
<PB N="15" REF="11"> God is a Spirit, and they that wor&s;hip him, mu&s;t wor&s;hip him in &s;pirit and in truth.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But may &s;ome &s;ay, this rea&s;on is of no more force for the time of the Go&s;pell, then for the time before: For Gods nature was the &s;ame before, he was then a &s;pirit as much as now he is, therefore no more rea&s;on to wor&s;hip God in &s;pi|rit now then before.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Yes, &s;ome more rea&s;on there is: for, though God were the &s;ame before that he is now, yet he did not &s;o clearly and fully make him&s;elfe knowne before as now he doth: and therefore though before he did require to be wor&s;hipped in &s;pirit, (divers places there are to this purpo&s;e in the Old Te&s;tament, &s;ome of which I &s;hall al|ledge anon) yet now he requires it much more.</P>
<P>Thus having &s;hewed the coherence of the Text, I will propound the Doctrine in no other termes, then the Text it &s;elf doth contain in it, <HI>viz. That</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> <HI>God is a Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>But what is meant by Spirit? The word &s;pirit is <GAP DESC="foreign">, it hath many &s;ignifications, and is very variou&s;ly taken. The Greek word <GAP DESC="foreign">, and &s;o the Hebrew <HI>ruach,</HI> which &s;ignifie &s;pirit, are &s;omtimes u&s;ed for breath, <HI>Ezek. 37. 5. I will cau&s;e breath to enter into you:</HI> in the Originall the word is that which in that language u&s;ually &s;ig|nifieth &s;pirit, <HI>viz. ruach,</HI> &s;o <HI>Iam. 2. 26. The body without the &s;pirit is dead,</HI> in the Margent for &s;pi|rit is put <HI>breath,</HI> &s;o <HI>Job 33. 4. The Spirit of the Lord hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Elihu:</HI> there <HI>the Spirit of the
<PB N="16" REF="12"> Lord,</HI> and <HI>the breath of the Almighty,</HI> are <GAP DESC="foreign">, termes <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">q<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">table one to the other.</P>
<P>Againe, &s;omtimes the&s;e Greek and Hebrew words which &s;ignifie &s;pirit, are u&s;ed for the wind, <HI>Joh, 3. 8. The wind bloweth where it li&s;teth,</HI> the word tran&s;lated wind is the &s;ame with this in the Text, whereas u&s;ually el&s;e-where it is tran&s;lated &s;pirit, <HI>viz.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">: and &s;o the Hebrew <HI>ruach</HI> in the Old Te&s;tament is often thus u&s;ed, <HI>viz.</HI> for the wind.</P>
<P>But thirdly, the word &s;pirit is after a &s;ort ap|propriated to an incorporeall &s;ub&s;tance, when Chri&s;t after his Re&s;urrection appeared to his Di&s;|ciples, and they thought that they had &s;een a &s;pi|rit, <HI>Behold my hands and my feet</HI> (&s;aid he unto them) <HI>that it is I my &s;elfe, handle me and &s;ee: for a &s;pirit hath not fle&s;h and bones, as ye &s;ee me have,</HI> Luk. 24. 37, 39. and thus by &s;pirit is &s;ometimes meant the &s;oule of man, 1 <HI>Cor. 6. 20. Glorifie God in your bodie, and in your &s;pirit,</HI> that is, your &s;oul&punc; &s;o <HI>Heb.</HI> 12. 23. the &s;oules of the godly &s;eparated from their bodies, are called, <HI>the &s;pirits of ju&s;t men made perfect:</HI> &s;omtimes by &s;pirit is meant an Angell, the good Angells are called &s;pirits, Heb. 1. 14. <HI>Are they not all ministring Spirits?</HI> and &s;o the evill Angells the Devills, when the &s;eventy Di&s;ciples came unto Chri&s;t, &s;aying, <HI>Lord even the Devills are &s;ubject unto us through thy Name,</HI> Chri&s;t an|&s;wered, <HI>Notwith&s;tanding in this rejoyce not, that the &s;pirits are &s;ubject unto you: but rather rejoyce, be|cau&s;e your names are written in Heaven,</HI> Luk. 10. 17. 20. tho&s;e whom the Di&s;ciples called Devills, Chri&s;t called Spirits: And in this &s;en&s;e, <HI>viz.</HI> as by
<PB N="17" REF="12"> &s;pirit is meant an incorporeall &s;ub&s;tance, it is at|tributed to God, and he is called a Spirit; the name of &s;pirit, the &s;pirit, the holy &s;pirit, is appro|priated to the third Per&s;on of the Trinity, but the other Per&s;ons are a &s;pirit too, they are indeed all one and the &s;ame &s;pirit, having all one and the &s;ame e&s;&s;ence and nature: the divine nature of Chri&s;t is called the &s;pirit, 1 <HI>Pet. 3. 18. Being put to death in the fle&s;h,</HI> (that is, his humane nature) <HI>but quickned in the &s;pirit,</HI> that is, by his divine nature: And our Saviour here in the Text having imme|diately before &s;poken of the Father, the fir&s;t Per&s;on of the Trinity, &s;aith, <HI>God (viz.</HI> the Father, yet not excluding, but including the Son and the Holy Gho&s;t) <HI>is a Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>That God is a &s;pirit, may be further proved by the&s;e Arguments:</P>
<P N="1">1. That which is of mo&s;t excellency mu&s;t needs belong unto God, <HI>O Lord, how excellent is thy Name?</HI> &s;aith <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 8. 1. 9. <HI>His Name only is excellent,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 148. 13. Now as a|mong&s;t all things, &s;ub&s;tances, &s;o among&s;t all &s;ub|&s;tances &s;pirits are mo&s;t excellent: As &s;ub&s;tances are of more excellency then accidents, &s;o are &s;pirits of more excellency then bodily &s;ub&s;tan|ces; the &s;oul is more excellent then the body, and Angels being meer &s;pirits, are more excellent then men, who are not incorporeall as the An|gels are. God therefore being mo&s;t excellent, mu&s;t needs be as a &s;ub&s;tance not an accident, &s;o a &s;pirit, not a bodily &s;ub&s;tance: Indeed God is &s;o excellent that no names can be found out, whereby &s;ufficiently to expre&s;&s;e his nature, he
<PB N="18" REF="13"> infinitely tran&s;cends all other &s;ub&s;tances, and all other &s;pirits; but yet apprehending God as we are able, we cannot but attribute the names of &s;ub&s;tance, and of &s;pirit unto him.</P>
<P N="2">2. Invi&s;ible &s;ub&s;tances are called &s;pirits: by this our Saviour proved that he was not a &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 34. 29.</NOTE> as the Di&s;ciples &s;uppo&s;ed, becau&s;e he was a vi&s;ible &s;ub&s;tance. The &s;oul of man being a &s;pirit, is not vi&s;ible, &s;o neither the Angells, as being &s;pirits: They have indeed &s;ometimes appeared unto men, but that was only in re&s;pect of tho&s;e bodies, which for the time they a&s;&s;umed: and after this manner hath God him&s;elfe al&s;o appeared, as we find in <HI>Gen.</HI> 18. and <HI>Gen.</HI> 32. and thus more e&s;pecially by the Incarnation God (<HI>viz.</HI> the &s;econd Per&s;on of the Trinity, the Son, one and the &s;ame God with the Father, and the Holy Gho&s;t) was made vi&s;i|ble; by this means <HI>God was manife&s;ted in the fle&s;h,</HI> 1 Tim. 3. 15. <HI>The Word was made fle&s;h</HI> (that is, the Son of God, God the Son, was made man) <HI>and dwelt among us, and we beh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ld his glory, &amp;c.</HI> Joh. 1. 14. but God in him&s;elf as God, is invi&s;ible, &s;o he is &s;tiled, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1. 17. and &s;o <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. 18. it's &s;aid, <HI>No man hath &s;een God at any time:</HI> and 1 <HI>Tim. 6. 16. whom no man hath &s;een, nor can &s;ee.</HI> It's &s;aid in|deed of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> that <HI>he &s;aw him that is invi&s;ible,</HI> Heb. 11. 27. that is, by the eye of Faith (which is <HI>the evidence of things not &s;een,</HI> Heb 11. 1.) he &s;aw him, like as <HI>Abraham</HI> &s;aw Chri&s;ts day many ages before Chri&s;t came into the world, <HI>Joh.</HI> 8. 56. but properly <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did not &s;ee God, neither could &s;ee him, God being (as in that very place is expre&s;|&s;ed) inv&s;ible.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="19" REF="13">3. Gods immen&s;ity and ubiquity, his being in every place, yet &s;o as not to be included in any place, proves that he is a &s;pirit: For, although not every &s;pirit is immen&s;e and every where pre|&s;ent, neither the &s;ouls of men, nor the Angells are &s;o; yet every &s;ub&s;tance that is &s;o, mu&s;t needs be a &s;pirit. For, bodily &s;ub&s;tances are nece&s;&s;arily limited and circum&s;cribed, they have their bounds within which they are contained, <HI>He is not here, for he is ri&s;en,</HI> &s;aid the Angell to tho&s;e that came to &s;eek Chri&s;t in the &s;epul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hre, <HI>Mat.</HI> 28. 6. Chri&s;t having a true humane body, in that re&s;pect could not be both in the grave, and out of it at the &s;ame time: But God is every where at all times, <HI>Do not I the Lord fill heaven and earth?</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>Jer.</HI> 23. 24. God is &s;aid to be in heaven, as there e&s;pecially &s;hewing forth his glory, <HI>Heaven is my Throne,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 66. 1. but he is not confined there, no, <HI>the heaven, and heaven of heavens can|not contain thee,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Solomon</HI> to God, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 8. 27. therefore God is no corporeall &s;ub&s;tance, but a &s;pirit.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. This &s;erves to confute that gro&s;&s;e con|ceit of the <HI>Anthropomorphites,</HI> who held God to have the form and &s;hape of a man, and thus ab|&s;urdly doe now &s;ome &s;imple ones conceive of God; but if God be a &s;pirit, then he neither hath the &s;hape of a man, nor any other bodily &s;hape what&s;oever.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But it is &s;aid, that God made man after his own Image and likene&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> That is not meant in re&s;pect of bodily &s;hape, as if God had the like &s;hape as man hath:
<PB N="20" REF="14"> But fir&s;t, becau&s;e man is a rationall and under|&s;tanding creature, in which re&s;pect &s;till &s;ince the fall man retains in him the Image and likene&s;&s;e of God, <HI>Jam 3. 9. Gen.</HI> 9. 6. And &s;econdly, as man hath dominion over the other creatures, in this re&s;pect man is &s;aid to be the Image of God, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. 7. Thirdly, and principally, man was at fir&s;t made after the image and likene&s;&s;e of God, in that he was made righteous and holy, <HI>Put on the new man which after God is created in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and true holine&s;&s;e,</HI> Eph. 4. 24. The image of God therefore is &s;eated in the &s;oul, although it appear and &s;hine forth in the body, <HI>viz.</HI> as by outward and bodily actions man doth &s;hew forth his rea|&s;on and under&s;tanding, and doth exerci&s;e autho|rity over the creatures, and (if he be regenerate) that righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e with which he is indued.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But in Scripture God is often &s;aid to have eyes, ears, hands, &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Scripture &s;peaks of God after the<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> manner of men, conde&s;cending to the weakne&s;&s;e of our capacitie becau&s;e we &s;ee with eyes, heare with ears, work with hands, therefore the&s;e bo|dily parts and members are attributed unto God, only to &s;ignifie, that God doth exerci&s;e the &s;ame acts (though not in the &s;ame manner) as we ex|erci&s;e with and by the&s;e parts and members: to &s;hew that God doth &s;ee, the Scripture attributes eyes; to &s;hew that he doth heare, it attributes ears; and to &s;hew that he doth work, it attributes hands unto him: but properly God doth &s;ee without eyes, hear without ears, and work without hands,
<PB N="21" REF="14"> having no bodily part or member what&s;oe|ver.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. This al&s;o makes for the confutation of Papi&s;ts, who make pictures and images where|by to repre&s;ent God, whereas he is a &s;pirit, and &s;o cannot be &s;et forth by any bodily repre&s;enta|tions; the &s;econd Commandement forbids the making of any image of &s;imilitude to repre&s;ent God by it. And what a &s;trict charge doth <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> give the I&s;raelites, <HI>The Lord</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>&s;pake unto you out of the mid&s;t of the fire, ye heard the voice of the words, but &s;aw no &s;imilitude, onely ye heard a voice.&mdash;Take ye therefore good heed unto your &s;elves, (for ye &s;aw no manner of &s;imilitude on the day that the Lord &s;pake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire) lea&s;t ye corrupt your &s;elves, and make you a graven image, the &s;imilitude of any fi|gure, the likene&s;&s;e if male or female, the likene&s;&s;e of any bea&s;t that is on the earth, the likene&s;&s;e of any winged fowle that flieth in the aire, the likene&s;&s;e of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likene&s;&s;e of any fi&s;h that is in the waters beneath the earth,</HI> Deut. 4. 12. 15, 16, 17, 18. and the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> cries, <HI>To whom will ye liken God? or what likene&s;&s;e will ye</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp;c. Plut. in Numa. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Ibid.</NOTE> <HI>compare unto him?</HI> It is very ob&s;ervable that <HI>Plutach</HI> re|cords of <HI>Numa Pompilius,</HI> the &s;econd King of the Ro|mans, <HI>viz.</HI> that he forbad the Romans to u&s;e any Image of God, having the forme of a man, or of any other living
<PB N="22" REF="15"> creature; and the &s;ame Author moreover te&s;ti|fies, that for 170. years after Rome was built they had no Image of God, neither painted nor carved; Temples (he &s;aith) they had, but no image at all in them; and he gives this rea&s;on for it, that <HI>it is not lawfull to re&s;emble better things to wor&s;e; nor po&s;&s;ible to apprehend God otherwi&s;e then by the conception of the mind and under&s;tan|ding:</HI> How is Rome now profe&s;&s;ing it &s;elfe Chri&s;tian, become much more &s;uper&s;titious and idolatrous in this particular, then it was when it was Heatheni&s;h?</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 3. Here again we may &s;ee what it is, in re|&s;pect of which man is excellent in Gods account; it is not in re&s;pect of any corporall thing, any thing belonging to the body, as beauty, &s;trength, &amp;c. much le&s;&s;e in re&s;pect of things more extrin&s;e|call, as riches, honour, &amp;c. but it is in re&s;pect of things &s;pirituall, things belonging to the &s;oule, as grace and holine&s;&s;e: <HI>Looke not on his counte|nance, or on the height of his &s;tature, becau&s;e I have refu&s;ed him: for the Lord &s;eeth not as man &s;eeth; for man beholdeth the outward appearance, but the Lord beholdeth the heart:</HI> thus &s;pake the Lord to <HI>Samuel, (1 Sam.</HI> 16. 7.) when <HI>Samuel</HI> &s;eeing the goodly per&s;onage of <HI>Eliab, Davids</HI> elde&s;t bro|ther, pre&s;umed that it was he whom God had &s;ent him to annoynt King in the room of <HI>Saul;</HI> So <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, that <HI>God neither delighteth in the &s;trength of a hor&s;e, nor taketh plea&s;ure in the legs of a man: but the Lord taketh plea&s;ure in them that fear him, in tho&s;e that hope in his mercy,</HI> P&s;al. 147. 10, 11. <HI>Favour is deceitfull,</HI> (&s;aith Solomon) <HI>and
<PB N="23" REF="15"> beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord &s;he &s;hall be prai&s;ed,</HI> Prov. 31. 30. Thus (beloved) it is, as our &s;pirits are, &s;o doth God e&s;teem of us, <HI>He regardeth not the rich more then the poor,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Elihu,</HI> Job 34. 19. No, it's not the rich, but the righteous that God regardeth; <HI>The righteous is more excellent then his neighbour,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Solomon,</HI> Prov. 12. 26. although wicked men in re&s;pect of outward things be worth never &s;o much, yet with God they are of no account, becau&s;e (as<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 10. 22.</NOTE> the Wi&s;eman &s;aith) <HI>the heart of the wicked is lit|tle worth:</HI> Therefore as we de&s;ire to be e&s;teemed of God, it behoves us to look and labour for &s;pirituall things to furni&s;h our &s;oules, and to adorne them with the gifts and graces of Gods Spirit: S. <HI>Paul</HI> requires, that <HI>women adorn them|&s;elves in modest apparell, with &s;hamefa&s;tne&s;&s;e and &s;obriety, not with broydred haire, or gold, or pearls, or co&s;tly array: but (which becometh women pro|fe&s;&s;ing godline&s;&s;e) with good works,</HI> 1 Tim&punc; 2. 9, 10. tho&s;e outward and bodily ornaments are not &s;imply forbidden, but they are to be &s;leighted and neglected in compari&s;on of the other: So in like manner <HI>S. Peter, Who&s;e adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparell: but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet &s;pirit, which is in the &s;ight of God of great price,</HI> 1 Pet. 3. 3, 4.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 4. Finally, we may hence learne what Wor&s;hip and Service it is that God requires, and will accept at our hands, <HI>viz.</HI> that which is &s;piri|tuall,
<PB N="24" REF="16"> which proceeds not onely from the out|ward man, the body, but principally from the inward man, the heart and &s;pirit: this is the more to be con&s;idered, in that (as was &s;hewed before) for this very end Chri&s;t thus de&s;cribes the nature of God, and &s;ayes, <HI>That God is a Spirit,</HI> from thence to inferre, <HI>that he will be wor&s;hipped in Spi|rit and in truth,</HI> this being that Wor&s;hip which is agreeable to his nature, <HI>My Son give me thy heart</HI> (&s;aith God) <HI>Prov. 23. 26. Whom I &s;erve with my &s;pi|rit,</HI> (&s;aith the holy Apo&s;tle) <HI>Rom. 1. 9. For we are the circumci&s;ion</HI> (&s;aith the &s;ame Apo&s;tle) <HI>which wor|&s;hip God in the &s;pirit, Phil.</HI> 3. 3. God expre&s;&s;eth all the dete&s;tation that may be of tho&s;e Services, though &s;uch as him&s;elfe pre&s;cribed, which are meerly outward and formall, not proceeding from a pure heart, and holy affections; &s;ee <HI>E|&s;a.</HI> 1. 10, 11 12, 13, 14. he threatens &s;everely to pu|ni&s;h tho&s;e that <HI>draw neer him with their mouth, and honor him with their lips, but remove their heart far from him, E&s;a.</HI> 29. 13, 14. Chri&s;t told the Phari|&s;ees, that though they ju&s;tified them&s;elves before men, yet God knew their heart, and that which was highly e&s;teemed among&s;t men, was abomi|nation in the &s;ight of God, <HI>Luk.</HI> 16. 15. and <HI>Mat.</HI> 23. many a woe doth Chri&s;t denounce again&s;t them for their hypocri&s;ie, &s;aying &s;even &s;everall times, <HI>Woe unto you Scribes and Phari&s;ees, hy|pocrites:</HI> and he bids his Di&s;ciples <HI>beware of the leaven of the Scribes and Phari&s;ees, which is hy|pocri&s;ie,</HI> Luk. 12. 1. Though the outward per|formance be very weak, yet if the heart be right|ly affected, God accepts it, and will pa&s;&s;e by the
<PB N="25" REF="16"> imperfection; <HI>The high places were not taken away</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quin da|mus id &s;u|peris, de magna quod dare lance Non po&s;&s;it magai M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;alae lippa pro|pago; Compo&s;i|tum jus fa&s;&abque; ani|mi, San|cto&s;&abque; re|ce&s;&s;us Mentis, &amp; incoctum genero&s;o pectus ho|ne&s;to. Hoc cedo ut admo|veam tem|plis, &amp; far<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e lita|bo. <HI>Per&s;. Sat. 2.</HI></NOTE> <HI>out of I&s;rael, neverthele&s;&s;e the heart of A&s;a was per|fect</HI> (that is, &s;incere &amp; upright) <HI>all his days,</HI> 2 Chron. 15. 17. <HI>Ezekiah</HI> knew this, and therefore when many did eat the Pa&s;&s;eover otherwi&s;e then they &s;hould have done, he prayed for them, &s;aving, <HI>The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to &s;eek God, the Lord God of his Fathers, though he be not clean&s;ed according to the purification of the Sanctuary,</HI> 2 Chron. 30. 18, 19. Thus our Saviour &s;eeing his Di&s;ciples drowzie, and not able to keep from &s;leeping, when he had &s;peciall rea&s;on to require their attendance, yet knowing the &s;ince|rity of their hearts and affections towards him, excu&s;ed them, &s;aying, <HI>The Spirit indeed is willing, but the fle&s;h is weak,</HI> Mat. 26. 41. On the other &s;ide, though the outward actions &s;eem glorious, yet if the inward affections be not right, God doth little regard them: <HI>Amaziah did that, which</HI> (in it &s;elfe con&s;idered) <HI>was right in the &s;ight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart,</HI> 2 Chron. 25. 2. Let's therefore have a care of our hearts and &s;pi|rits, what&s;oever we doe: Let us remember that of the Prophet, <HI>Take heed to your &s;pirit,</HI> Mal. 2. 15. Let us be &s;ure, that as well our &s;pi|rits as our bodies, be ingaged in tho&s;e &s;er|vices which wee performe unto God, that our hearts be therein upright before him; <HI>Let my heart be &s;ound in thy Statutes, that I may not be a&s;hamed,</HI> (&s;aith that man after Gods own heart, <HI>David</HI>) P&s;al. 119. 80.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="26" REF="17">
<HEAD>THE THIRD SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>DEUT. 6. 4.</BIBL> Hear O I&s;rael, the Lord our God is one Lord.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THis place of Scripture the Jewes much mag|nifie, and it is indeed a place very famous and remarkable: When one asked our Saviour which was the fir&s;t, or chiefe&s;t Commande|ment, he alledged the&s;e words, together with tho&s;e in the next Ver&s;e, &s;aying, <HI>The fir&s;t of all the Commandements is, Hear O I&s;rael, the Lord our God is one Lord. And thou &s;halt love the Lord thy God</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Vide <HI>Fagi|um</HI> in Chald. Paraph. ad hunc lo|cum.</NOTE> <HI>with all thine heart, &amp;c.</HI> Mar. 12. 29. 30. But the Jewes &s;uper&s;titiou&s;ly abu&s;e the place, writing it in parchment, and binding it to their head, and to their hands, and to the po&s;ts of their hou&s;es: &s;o they pervert the meaning of that <HI>Deut. 6. 8, 9. And thou &s;halt bind them for a &s;igne upon thine head, and they &s;hall be as frontlets be|tween thine eyes: And thou &s;halt write them upon the posts of thy hou&s;e, and on thy gates,</HI> and &s;o of tho&s;e parallel places <HI>Exod.</HI> 13. 9. &amp; 16. &s;ome think
<PB N="27" REF="17"> that the&s;e Texts of Scripture are meerly meta|phoricall, only importing how mindfull people &s;hould be of Gods precepts:<NOTE PLACE="marg">See <HI>Aben Ezra</HI> on <HI>Deut.</HI> 6. 9. by whom it appears, that &s;ome among the Jewes have under&s;tood tho&s;e places in <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as parallel to tho&s;e in <HI>Solomon.</HI></NOTE> And el&s;e&punc; where indeed the like expre&s;&s;ions are thus me|taphorically u&s;ed, as <HI>Prov. 3. 3. Let not mercy and truth for&s;ake thee, bind them about thy neck, and write them upon the table of thine heart:</HI> and Prov. 7. 3. <HI>Bind them upon thy fingers, write them on the table of thine heart.</HI> But others more pro|bably conceive, that tho&s;e Precepts in the Law were al&s;o literally to be ob&s;erved, even as that concerning fringes, <HI>Numb. 15. 38, 39. Speak unto the children of I&s;rael</HI> (&s;aid God to <HI>Mo&s;es) and bid them, that they make them fringes in the bor|ders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: and it &s;hall be unto you for a fringe, that you may looke upon it, and remember all the Commandements of the Lord, and do them, &amp;c.</HI> That the Jews were to ob&s;erve this even according to the Letter, is without que&s;tion, the words can|not otherwi&s;e be under&s;tood, and it &s;eems, that the other Precepts al&s;o were of the &s;ame nature, <HI>viz.</HI> &s;uch as were to have a literall ob&s;ervation, yet withall a my&s;ticall &s;ignification: For we find them joyned together as homogeneall, <HI>Mat. 23. 5. They make broad their Phylacteries, and inlarge the borders of their garments:</HI> By the Phylacteries, are meant tho&s;e &s;entences of Scripture which the Iewes (who call them <HI>Tephillin</HI>) u&s;ed of old, and &s;till u&s;e to write in parchment, and to fa&s;ten up|on
<PB N="28" REF="18"> their heads and hands, as by the borders of their garments are meant the fringes, which they wore in tho&s;e borders of their garments: Our Saviour there reproves the Scribes and Pha|ri&s;ees<NOTE PLACE="marg">See <HI>Beza</HI> on Mat. 23. 4.</NOTE> alike for both, not for having tho&s;e Phyla|cteries and tho&s;e borders, but for making tho&s;e Phylacteries broad, and inlarging tho&s;e borders, as de&s;irous to &s;eem more religious, and more holy then others, &s;o that the u&s;e of both it &s;eems was required, though the abu&s;e were condemned, and this abu&s;e the Jewes were many of them guil|ty of, of old, and much more are they now guilty of it, the ceremonie being out of date, and not to be u&s;ed at all in the times of Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>But to returne to the words of the Text, they contain in them an Exhortation directed at fir&s;t to the I&s;raelites, but which concerns us, and all Gods people, [<HI>Hear</HI>] that is, hearken, mind, ob|&s;erve and con&s;ider what is &s;aid, as <HI>He that hath ears to hear, let him hear,</HI> Luk. 8. 8. <HI>And, he that hath an ear, let him heare what the Spirit &s;aith unto the Churches,</HI> Apoc. 2. 11. <HI>Hear and give ear,</HI> Ier. 13. 15. [<HI>O I&s;rael] Jacob</HI> was fir&s;t called I&s;rael, becau&s;e he prevailed with God, <HI>Gen.</HI> 32. 28. after him his po&s;terity (whom God cho&s;e to be his peculiar people) were al&s;o called I&s;rael, or the children of I&s;rael, or the people of I&s;rael; &s;o that I&s;rael and the people of God are u&s;ed as terms equi|valent: <HI>Heare O my people, and I will &s;peak, O I&s;rael, and I will te&s;tifie unto thee,</HI> P&s;al. 50. 7. &s;o <HI>Gal. 6. 16. The I&s;rael of God,</HI> is as much as the people of God. [<HI>The Lord</HI>] In the He|brew it is (as they call it) the name of
<PB N="29" REF="18"> foure letters, <HI>Jehovah</HI> as we<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Nomen tetragrammaton;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> Jehovah, comes of Havah, which &s;ignifies the &s;ame with Hajah, whence is Ehjeh, rendred, I am.</NOTE> now pronounce it, a name peculiar unto God, and not communicable to any be&s;ides him; <HI>Who&s;e Name alone is</HI> Jehovah, P&s;al. 83. 18. <HI>Jehovah</HI> comes of a word that &s;ignifies to <HI>be,</HI> and God is &s;o called, as having his being of him&s;elfe, and giving being to all things be&s;ides him&s;elf: Our Tran&s;lators &s;ometimes, yet but &s;el|dome, have the word <HI>Jehovah</HI> (about the pro|nounciation whereof learned men differ) for the mo&s;t part in&s;tead thereof they have <HI>Lord,</HI> like as the Septuagint and the vulgar Latine Interpre|ter do con&s;tantly render it, but &s;o, as that to di&s;tingui&s;h this word from other words which &s;ignifie Lord al&s;o, they u&s;e to write the word <HI>Lord,</HI> when it is to expre&s;&s;e <HI>Jehovah</HI> all in great Letters thus, <HI>LORD:</HI> &s;o that where in our Tran&s;lations we find LORD &s;o written all in great letters, there in the Originall is <HI>Jehovah,</HI> ex|cepting &s;ome few places where it is <HI>Jah,</HI> which is taken to be the contract of <HI>Jehovah. [Our God</HI>] God is the God of all the world, as being the Creator, pre&s;erver and governor of all; he is called, <HI>the God of all fle&s;h.</HI> Jer. 32. 27. but in a more e&s;pecial manner was he the God of that people to whom <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;pake, <HI>viz.</HI> I&s;rael, they being the &s;eed of <HI>Abraham,</HI> with whom God entred into Covenant, &s;aying, <HI>I wil be a God to thee &amp; to thy &s;eed,</HI> Gen. 17. 7. <HI>I am the Lord thy God,</HI> &s;aid he unto them when he gave the law, <HI>Exo.</HI> 20. 2. &s;o he is &s;tiled the <HI>God of I&s;rael,</HI> 2 Sam. 23. 3. The true God whom the people of I&s;rael did wor&s;hip, is &s;o di&s;tingui&s;hed from fal&s;e gods which the
<PB N="30" REF="19"> Heathens wor&s;hipped, <HI>All the gods of the Nati|ons</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">See E&s;a. 37. 16.</NOTE> <HI>are Idols,</HI> &s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t, P&s;al. 96. 5. and the Apo&s;tle &s;aith of them, that <HI>they were without God in the world,</HI> Ephe&s;. 2. 12. <HI>Is one Lord</HI>] only one, as <HI>Heb. 9. 27. It is appointed unto men to die once:</HI> that is, once and no more. So here, <HI>one Lord,</HI> that is one&punc; and no more but one; there is no other LORD, no other God truly and properly &s;o cal|led, but he only.</P>
<P>The words thus opened, the Doctrine which I ob&s;erve from them to in&s;i&s;t upon, is this, That <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> there is but onely one God truely and properly &s;o called: <HI>There be that are called gods,</HI> &s;aith <HI>S. Paul,</HI> 1 Cor. 8. 5. in that re&s;pect <HI>there be gods many, and lords many,</HI> as he there addeth: But &s;ome are fal&s;ly called gods, as Idols, which are &s;omtimes called gods in re&s;pect of that opinion, a fal&s;e opinion which Idolaters have of them, <HI>With whom&s;oever thou finde&s;t thy gods, &amp;c.</HI> &s;aid <HI>Jacob</HI> to <HI>Laban,</HI> he called his Idols his gods, not that he did account them gods, but he &s;pake on|ly in re&s;pect of that account which <HI>Laban</HI> did make of them: &s;o <HI>Ezekiah</HI> in his prayer unto God, <HI>Of a truth, Lord, the Kings of A&s;&s;yria have laid wast all the Nations and their Countries, and have ca&s;t their gods into the fire:</HI> he calls them their gods, becau&s;e they reckoned them as gods, but &s;o did not <HI>Ezekiah,</HI> for he addes immediate|ly, <HI>for they were no gods, but the worke of mens hands, &amp;c,</HI></P>
<P>Againe, &s;ome are called gods improperly, viz. becau&s;e in a peculiar manner they re&s;emble God, in re&s;pect of &s;ome &s;peciall dignity and eminency
<PB N="31" REF="19"> which they have over, or above others. Thus the Angells are called gods, <HI>Thou madest him a little lower then the Angells,</HI> P&s;al. 8. 5. in the Originall it is <HI>Elohim,</HI> that is, gods. And whereas it is &s;aid <HI>P&s;a. 97. 7. Wor&s;hip him all ye Gods,</HI> it is thus cited, <HI>Heb. 1. 6. Let all the Angells of God wor&s;hip him:</HI> In this &s;en&s;e al&s;o Princes, Judges, and Magi&s;trates are called gods, <HI>I have &s;aid ye are gods,</HI> P&s;al. 82. 6. <HI>Thou &s;halt not revile the gods,</HI> Exod. 22. 28. in the Margent it is the Judges; that Magi&s;trates are there meant is cleare by the later part of the Ver&s;e, <HI>nor cur&s;e the Ruler of thy people;</HI> &s;o God &s;peaking unto <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> concerning <HI>Aaron, Thou &s;halt be unto him</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>in&s;tead of God,</HI> Exod. 4. 16. that is, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;hould be &s;uperiour to him, he &s;hould in&s;truct and direct him, and apppoint him what he &s;hould &s;ay and do, &s;o <HI>Exod. 7. 1. And the Lord &s;aid unto</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>&s;ee I have made thee a God to</HI> Pharoah: that is, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;hould exerci&s;e power and authority over <HI>Pharoah,</HI> he &s;hould bring plagues upon him, and remove them from him at his plea&s;ure: but truly and properly &s;o called there is but one God. The Apo&s;tle having &s;aid, that there are many that are called gods, he adds, <HI>But unto us there is but one God,</HI> 1 Cor. 6. 8. &s;o 1 <HI>Tim. 2. 5. For there is one God: This is life eternall to know thee the only true God, &amp;c.</HI> Joh. 17. 3. <HI>Thou even thou art Lord alone,</HI> Neh. 9. 6. <HI>For who is God &s;ave the Lord?</HI> 2 Sam. 22. 32. <HI>The Lord he is God, there is none el&s;e be&s;ides him,</HI> Deut. 4. 35.</P>
<P>The Heathen Philo&s;ophers and Poets, though they would not &s;trive again&s;t the &s;treame, but gave way to the common error of the times, yet knew
<PB N="32" REF="20"> and &s;omtimes al&s;o acknowledged this truth. <HI>Pla|to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Plato E|pi&s;t. 13. ad Diony&s;.</NOTE> writing to <HI>Diony&s;ius,</HI> told him, that when he did write &s;eriou&s;ly, he made mention of one God, when he wrote otherwi&s;e, then he mentioned<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ari&s;tot. Metaphy&s;. lib. 12.</NOTE> gods in the plurall: So <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> proves the world to be governed by one only, and brings in that of <HI>Homer,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>Is is not good that there &s;hould be many Rulers,</HI> (viz. &s;upreme) <HI>let there be one Ruler, and one King.</HI> And he &s;aith, <HI>That as a governour in</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ari&s;tot. de Mundo if that book be his.</NOTE> <HI>a &s;hip, and a generall in an Army, &s;o is God in the world and that there is but one God, though he be</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>i. e. called by many names.</HI> Thus al&s;o <HI>Phocylides,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>i. e. There is one God, wi&s;e, powerfull, and ble&s;&s;ed.</HI> And <HI>Sophocles,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>i. e. In very deed there is but one God.</HI> Many &s;uch &s;entences and &s;ayings<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m&ograve; ip&s;um vulgus Ethnicorum u|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">um Deum confitetur. Anima licet fal&s;is diis exancillata, cum tamen te&s;ipi&s;cit, ut ex crapul&aacute;, &amp; &s;omno Deum nominat, &amp; quod Deus de|derit omnium vox e&s;t. Judicem quo&abque; contestantur illum, Deus vi|det, &amp; Deo commendo; &amp; Deus mihi reddet. O te&s;timonium animae naturaliter Chri&s;tianae! Denique pronuntians haec, non ad Capitolium, &s;ed ad coelum re&s;picit. <HI>Tert. Apol.</HI></P>
<P>Cum purant, cum optant, cum gratias agunt, non Jovem, aut De|os multos, &s;ed Deum nominant; ade&ograve; ip&s;a veritas cogente natur&acirc; etiam ab invitis pectoribus erum|pit. <HI>Lactan. l. 2. c. 1.</HI></P></NOTE> are to be found in the wri|tings of the Heathens; and even the vulgar &s;ort a|mong them by their ex|pre&s;&s;ions which they &s;om|times u&s;ed, did &s;hew them|&s;elves convinced of this truth, that there is but on|ly one God. For, as <HI>Tertul|lian</HI> ob&s;erves, they did u&s;e to &s;ay, <HI>God &s;ees, I commend to God, God will render unto me,</HI> and the like. And when they &s;pake thus, they did not (he &s;ayes) look to the
<PB N="33" REF="20"> Capitol, (where they wor&s;hipped their fal&s;e God <HI>Jupiter,</HI>) but to heaven, where the true God hath his Throne: and the like ob&s;ervation al&s;o hath <HI>Lactantius.</HI></P>
<P>Rea&s;on al&s;o may demon&s;trate, that there are no more gods then one.</P>
<P>For, fir&s;t, Gods immen&s;ity and infinitene&s;&s;e proves his Unity: for if there were more Gods then one, then either one &s;hould include another, or not; if one &s;hould include another, then that which is included &s;hould not be infinite, and &s;o not God: if one &s;hould not include another, then neither &s;hould any of them be infinite. For, that which is infinite, includes every thing, but is it &s;elfe included in nothing; whence the Hebrews call God <HI>Makom,</HI> that &s;ignifies place, he contain|ing all things, but not contained him&s;elfe in any thing, <HI>Behold, the heaven, and heaven of hea|vens</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> Kimchi in 1 Reg. 8 27.</NOTE> <HI>cannot contain thee,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Solomon</HI> unto God, 1 King. 8. 27. upon which place <HI>Kimchi</HI> a Jewi&s;h Rabbin glo&s;&s;eth thus: <HI>Thou art the place of the world, but the world is not thy place.</HI> God con|taineth the world, but the world doth not con|tain God.</P>
<P>2. God hath in him all excellency what&s;oever, <HI>His Name only is excellent, P&s;al.</HI> 148. 13. therefore there can be but one God: For, if there were many Gods, then one mu&s;t differ from ano|ther, and &s;o one &s;hould want &s;ome excellency which another hath, and con&s;equently &s;hould not be God.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But the Father is God, the Son God, and the Holy Gho&s;t, God.</P>
<PB N="34" REF="21">
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> True, yet all but one God: For, <HI>the&s;e three are one,</HI> 1 Joh. 5. 7. though three Per&s;ons, yet one God.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e.</HI> This &s;erves fir&s;t to confute the Papi&s;ts, &amp; to prove them guilty of Idolatry: For though in word they confe&s;&s;e onely one God, yet in deed they make many Gods, giving divine wor&s;hip and honour unto Saints and Angells; they make vowes and prayers unto them, whereas this ho|nour belongs unto God only: <HI>Call upon me,</HI> &s;aith God, P&s;al. 50. 15. <HI>When ye pray, &s;ay, Our Father, &amp;c.</HI> &s;aith our Saviour, Luk. 11. 2. <HI>Vow and pay un|to the Lord your God,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 76. 11. &s;o <HI>Solomon, When thou vowest a vow unto God, &amp;c.</HI> Eccle&s;. 5. 4 <HI>Bellarmine</HI> him|&s;elf<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Scripturis nomen voti &s;emper accipitur pro promi&s;&s;ione fact&acirc; Deo. Nam cum Scriberentur Scripturae S. Nondum caeperat u&s;us vovendi Sanctis. <HI>Bellarm,</HI> de Cultu Sancto|rum, <HI>lib. 3. cap. 9. &s;ect.</HI> Praetered.</NOTE> confe&s;&s;eth, that <HI>in the Scriptures the name of vow is ever taken for a promi&s;e made to God:</HI> And marke his rea&s;on, <HI>For,</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>when the holy Scriptures were written, the u&s;e of vowing unto Saints was not begun.</HI> It is without all que&s;tion; and therefore the more to blame they, who be&s;ides and again&s;t the authority of the Scriptures did begin it afterwards.</P>
<P>So al&s;o they do in effect make the Pope a God, taking them&s;elves bound to believe all his deter|minations, and to obey all his injunctions, not pre&s;uming to examine and try whether they be true or fal&s;e, right or wrong, whereas God on|ly is capable of this honor; <HI>Let God be true and every man a liar,</HI> Rom. 3. 4. <HI>Call no man your Fa|ther upon earth,</HI> (&s;o as to yeeld ab&s;olute obedience
<PB N="35" REF="21"> unto him) <HI>for one is your Father which is in heaven, Mat.</HI> 23. 9. yet <HI>Bellarmine</HI> &s;ticks not to &s;ay, <HI>that if the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Si Papa erraret, praecipiendo vi|tia vel prohibendo virtutes, tene|retur Eccle&s;ia. credere vitia e&s;&s;e bona, &amp; virtutes malas, ni&s;i vel|let contra. con&s;cientiam peccare. <HI>Bellar. de Pontif. lib. 4. c. 5. &sect;. Se|cund&ograve;, quia tunc.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Pope &s;hould erre, &s;o as to com|mand vices and forbid vertues, all were bound to believe vices to be good, and vertues to be e|vill, except they would &s;in a|gain&s;t their con&s;cience:</HI> He takes it for granted, that all &s;hould do what&s;oe|ver the Pope injoynes, without daring once to enter into the examination of it: This is to make the Pope above an Angell, and therefore equall with God; for the Apo&s;tle doubted not to &s;ay, <HI>If an Angell from heaven preach unto you any other Go&s;pel, then that which we have preach|ed unto you, let him be accur&s;ed, Gal.</HI> 1. 8.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. But to leave them; there are al&s;o many others, who though they pretend to believe that there is but one God, yet indeed they make more Gods then one; for the voluptuous per&s;on makes his belly his God, <HI>Who&s;e God it their bel|ly,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle of &s;ome, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3. 19. &s;o the covetous makes <HI>mammon</HI> or riches his God: <HI>If I have made gold my hope, and &s;aid unto the fine gold, thou art my confidence,</HI> Job. 31. 24. <HI>Job</HI> ab|horred this, but the covetous man is guilty of it; <HI>The rich mans</HI> (viz. the covetous rich mans) <HI>wealth is his &s;trong City,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Solomon,</HI> Prov. 10. 15. and &s;o <HI>Prov. 18. 11. The rich mans wealth is his &s;trong City, and as a high wall in his own conceit.</HI> Hence the covetous per&s;on is called an Idolater, <HI>Eph.</HI> 5. 5. and covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e is called Idolatry, <HI>Col.</HI> 3. 5.
<PB N="36" REF="22"> &s;o what&s;oever it is that any &s;et their heart upon, and put their tru&s;t in, they make it their God; the proud per&s;on al&s;o, and the vain-glorious makes him&s;elf his God, &s;eeking him&s;elfe in all that he doth, and arrogating the good &s;ucce&s;&s;e that he hath in any thing, unto him&s;elf. <HI>They &s;a|&s;acrifice to their net, and burn incen&s;e to their drag, becau&s;e by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous,</HI> Heb. 1. 16. that is, they a&s;cribe all their plenty and pro&s;perity to their own indu&s;try, <HI>By the &s;trength of mine hand have I done it, and by my wi&s;dome, &amp;c.</HI> Thus vaunted the King of A&s;&s;yria, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 10. 13. and therefore he is taxed, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 14. 14. as &s;aying, <HI>I will a&s;cend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most high:</HI> So God bade the Pro|phet <HI>Ezekiel</HI> &s;ay unto the Prince of Tyrus, <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord God, becau&s;e thine heart is lifted up, and thou ha&s;t &s;aid, I am a God, I &s;it in the &s;eat of God, &amp;c.</HI> Why was this charged upon him? be|cau&s;e he a&s;cribed all his greatne&s;&s;e unto him&s;elf; <HI>With thy wi&s;dome, and with thine under&s;tanding thou ha&s;t gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and &s;ilver into thy trea&s;uries.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 3. Let us therefore have a care to know and acknowledge the only true God, to &s;erve and wor&s;hip him, and him only, <HI>Thou &s;halt wor|&s;hip the Lord thy God, and him only &s;halt thou &s;erve,</HI> Mat. 4. 10. <HI>Thou &s;halt have none other Gods before me,</HI> Exod. 20. 3. <HI>This is the first and great Com|mandement,</HI> Mat. 22. 37, 38. with Mar. 12. 29, 30 the true God is a <HI>jealous God,</HI> as he &s;tiles him&s;elfe, <HI>Exod,</HI> 20. 5. he will indure no corrivall, no co|partner, <HI>My glory will I not give unto another,</HI>
<PB N="37" REF="22"> &s;aith he, E&s;a. 42. 8. &amp; 48. 11. Let's know and con|&s;ider, that if we be <GAP DESC="foreign">, we are <GAP DESC="foreign">, if we have more Gods then one, we have none at all, but are even <HI>without God,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith the Gentiles were, who had a multitude of Gods, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2. 12. And let us take heed of Polythei&s;me, as in opinion, (whether directly with Pagans, or by con&s;equence with Papi&s;ts) &s;o in practice, in which re&s;pect we are much more prone unto it. Let's remember that of our Saviour, <HI>Ye cannot &s;erve God and mammon,</HI> Mat. 6. 24. &s;o not God and any lu&s;t what&s;oever; God will have our whole heart, he will not yeeld that any be&s;ides him (but only in &s;ubordination unto him) &s;hould have any part of it: <HI>Their heart is divided, now &s;hall they be found faulty,</HI> Ho&s;. 10. 2.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="38" REF="23">
<HEAD>THE FOURTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>1 JOH. 5. 7.</BIBL> There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Gho&s;t, and the&s;e three are one.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>BEfore I build any thing upon this Txet, or deduce any thing from it, I mu&s;t a&s;&s;ert and vindicate the Text it &s;elf: I had rather that you &s;hould heare what is objected, &s;o as withall to heare what is an&s;wered, then that (as otherwi&s;e it might happen) you &s;hould meet with the Ob|jection, and not know what An&s;wer can be given unto it. In this re&s;pect I like not that matters of controver&s;ie &s;hould be medled with, but &s;o as that the principall Objections &s;hould be produ|ced and an&s;wered; for otherwi&s;e the oppo&s;ers of the truth may have great advantage, and people are apt to be &s;educed, or at lea&s;t, to &s;tagger, when
<PB N="39" REF="23"> either in books or conferences they find things objected, which before they never had any no|tice of: This therefore I will not now di&s;&s;em|ble, that the adver&s;aries of the Doctrine con|cerning the Trinity, do except again&s;t this place, as not written by S. <HI>John,</HI> nor any part of the Scripture, and they have &s;ome colour for this ex|ception. For, it is confe&s;&s;ed, that in &s;ome Greek copies the&s;e words are not extant, nor in the Sy|riack Tran&s;lation, which is ancient, and of good account, as likewi&s;e that <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> and &s;ome o|ther ancient writers in their Commentaries up|on the Epi&s;tle, make no mention of the&s;e words, which argues that they did not find them in tho&s;e books which they peru&s;ed. But to this I an&s;wer:</P>
<P N="1">1. That this Text for the matter contained in it, fully agrees with other places of Scripture, &s;o that although this Text were not, yet the truth which it containeth may otherwi&s;e &s;uffici|ently be proved.</P>
<P N="2">2. Tho&s;e words in the Ver&s;e following, <HI>in earth,</HI> &s;hew that the&s;e words in the &s;eventh Ver&s;e are genuine, and not to be omitted; for tho&s;e words in that Ver&s;e, <HI>in earth,</HI> an&s;wer to the&s;e in this Ver&s;e, <HI>in heaven.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Mo&s;t of the Greek copies have this Text in them, and &s;o hath the vulgar Latine Tran&s;la|tion: <HI>Hierome</HI> al&s;o (as ancient as <HI>Chry&s;ostome</HI>) reads it as part of the Epi&s;tle, and &s;o doth <HI>Cypri|an,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian. de vint. Eccle&s;.</NOTE> one more ancient then them both; neither doth it appear, that the&s;e words were ever que|&s;tioned, untill after &s;uch time as the Arrian He|re&s;ie (impugning the Divinity of Chri&s;t) was
<PB N="40" REF="24"> growne up; &s;o that it is mo&s;t probable, that (as <HI>Hierome</HI> and others conceive) the&s;e words were &s;craped out by the Arrians, as making &s;ore again&s;t them, and &s;o came to be wanting in &s;ome copies, and to be omitted by &s;ome Commenta|tors. The Here&s;ie of the Arrians for a while pre|vailed<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ingemuit orbis, &amp; &s;e miratus e&s;t factum e&s;&s;e Arria|num. <HI>Hie|ron.</HI></NOTE> much, and bore great &s;way in the world, e&s;pecially in the Ea&s;tern parts of it: And it hath been the wicked policy and practice of Heretikes to expunge &s;uch places of Scripture as were mo&s;t pregnant again&s;t them, which they might do in &s;ome copies, though not in all. <HI>Tertullian</HI> chargeth <HI>Marcion</HI> an Arch-heretike with this crime, and thereupon calls him <HI>the Mou&s;e of Pontus</HI> (the Countrey of which <HI>Marcion</HI> was) becau&s;e like a Mou&s;e he gnawed the Scriptures, and cut a|way &s;ome part of them &s;o farre as he was able. Gods prooidence and goodne&s;&s;e towards his Church is to be admired, in pre&s;erving the Scrip|ture, notwith&s;tanding all the machinations and devices of heretiques, and other profe&s;&s;ed adver|&s;aries to aboli&s;h it. And thus much for the vindi|cation of the Text.</P>
<P>I will not &s;tand about the coherence of the words, but &s;omething mu&s;t be &s;aid for the expli|cation of them.</P>
<P>[<HI>There are three,] viz.</HI> three Per&s;ons, which are pre&s;ently after expre&s;&s;ed, [<HI>that beare witne&s;&s;e in heaven,] viz.</HI> to the truth &s;poken of, v. 6. name|ly, that <HI>Christ came both by water and blood,</HI> both to &s;anctifie and to ju&s;tifie, and to be a perfect Sa|viour of his people from their &s;ins, by taking a|way both the &s;taine and the guilt of them.</P>
<PB N="41" REF="24">
<P>[<HI>The Father,</HI>] the fir&s;t per&s;on of the Trinity, &s;o called in reference to the &s;econd Per&s;on, com|monly called the Son.</P>
<P>[<HI>The Word,</HI>] that is, the Son, the &s;econd Per|&s;on of the Trinity; for that is here meant by <HI>the Word.</HI> Thus al&s;o the &s;econd Per&s;on is termed, <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. 1. &amp; 14. and <HI>Revel.</HI> 19. 13. For there by the <HI>Word of God,</HI> is not meant the Word of God ei|ther written or &s;poken, but the &s;ub&s;tantiall Word, Chri&s;t the Son of God, the &s;econd Per|&s;on of the &s;acred Trinity, as is evident there by the context: why the &s;econd Per&s;on is called <HI>the Word,</HI> is not &s;o clear by the Scripture; divers rea&s;ons are alledged, and &s;ome &s;uch as &s;eem o|ver-Philo&s;ophicall, and too remote from the &s;im|plicity of the Scriptures: That which &s;eems to have mo&s;t ground in the Scripture, is this, that the &s;econd Per&s;on the Son, taking upon him the nature of man, became the Interpreter of the Father, and as his Word, making knowne his will unto men: <HI>No man hath &s;een God at any time, the onely begotten Son, which is in the bo&s;ome of the Father, he hath declared him,</HI> Joh. 1. 18. The&s;e words follow but a little after tho&s;e, wherein this <HI>only begotten Son</HI> is called <HI>the Word;</HI> &s;o <HI>Heb. 1. 2. It's &s;aid, that in the&s;e la&s;t times God hath &s;poken unto us by his Son.</HI></P>
<P>In this re&s;pect may the Son be called <HI>the Word;</HI> or becau&s;e he is the Word, or <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In the Hebrew <GAP DESC="foreign"> word is al&s;o put for thing; and &s;o in Greek <GAP DESC="foreign"> Luk. 20. 3 Acts 8. 21 &amp; 5. 6. and <GAP DESC="foreign">, Luk <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> thing &s;o much &s;poken of by the Prophets: <HI>To him give all the Prophets witne&s;&s;e,</HI> Act. 10. 43. How&s;oever this is clear, and this may &s;uffice, that by <HI>the Word,</HI> both in the Text, and el&s;ewhere in the Scripture, the Son is meant.</P>
<PB N="42" REF="25">
<P>[<HI>And the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI>] The third Per&s;on of the Trinity, called the Spirit, the holy Spirit, or the Holy Gho&s;t: God (as God) is a Spirit, <HI>Joh.</HI> 4. 24. and &s;o is holy; and therefore this appellati|on of Spirit and holy Spirit, or Holy Gho&s;t, belongs al&s;o to the Father, and to the Son, yet it is more peculiarly attributed, and in a manner appropriated to the third Per&s;on, why it is &s;o, I will not now &s;tand to inquire.</P>
<P>[<HI>And the&s;e three are one.</HI>] Some (mo&s;t Ortho|dox) expound it thus, agree in one; as it is ex|pre&s;&s;ed of tho&s;e other three that beare witne&s;&s;e in earth, v. 8. And this is true; yet the phra&s;e u&s;ed here, differing from that which is u&s;ed v. 8. I &s;ee<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. v. 7. <GAP DESC="foreign">. v. 8.</NOTE> not that they are to be taken as equivalent, and importing both one and the &s;ame thing: &s;ome one or two copies indeed are &s;aid here to have the &s;ame phra&s;e as v. 8. but generally it is other|wi&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Unum &s;unt, <HI>not</HI> in unum.</NOTE> and &s;o <HI>Cyprian</HI> read it, <HI>are one,</HI> not <HI>agree in one,</HI> and he was before the time of <HI>Arrius,</HI> by whom, or by &s;ome of who&s;e &s;ect probably this place was either razed out or corrupted. This therefore is the meaning of the words, and &s;o much the phra&s;e imports, that the&s;e are e&s;&s;ential|ly and &s;ub&s;tantially one, that they are one e&s;&s;ence and one &s;ub&s;tance, one God: This Expo&s;ition is agreeable to other places of Scripture, to the words them&s;elves, and is generally imbraced. From the words thus explicated, there ari&s;eth <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> this Doctrine, <HI>That the Father, the Son and the Holy Gho&s;t, are three distinct Per&s;ons, yet but one and the &s;ame God.</HI></P>
<PB N="43" REF="25">
<P>Fir&s;t, they are three dictinct Per&s;ons, differing each from other; &s;o that the Father is not the Son, nor the Holy Gho&s;t, neither is the Son the Holy Gho&s;t; they are clearly di&s;tingui&s;hed, <HI>Mat. 3. 16, 17. And Je&s;us, when he was baptized, went up &s;traitway out of the water, and loe the heavens were opened unto him, and he &s;aw the Spirit of God de&s;cending like a Dove, and lighting upon him: And loe, a voyce from heaven, &s;aying, This is my be|loved Son, in whom I am well plea&s;ed.</HI> Here we have the fir&s;t Per&s;on, the Father, who &s;pake from heaven, as is plaine by tho&s;e words, <HI>My beloved Son:</HI> He who hath a &s;on mu&s;t needs be a father. We have here al&s;o the &s;econd Per&s;on, the Son, of whom the Father &s;pake, and who is ex|pre&s;ly mentioned. And &s;o al&s;o is the third Per|&s;on, the Spirit, the holy Spirit, or Holy Gho&s;t, who came down in the likene&s;&s;e of a Dove: All the&s;e three are here &s;o de&s;cribed and &s;et forth, as that they plainly appeare to be di&s;tinct each from other. So the di&s;tinction of the Father and the Son, is evident from that 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 4. 9, 10. where it's &s;aid, that <HI>God &s;ent his Son:</HI> by God there, mu&s;t needs be meant the Father, and the Per&s;on &s;en|ding mu&s;t needs be di&s;tinct from the Per&s;on &s;ent, &s;o con&s;equently the Father and the Son are two dictinct Per&s;ons: And by the &s;ame rea&s;on &s;o are al&s;o the Father and the Holy Gho&s;t; for the Father &s;ends, the Holy Gho&s;t is &s;ent, <HI>The Holy Gho&s;t whom the Father will &s;end, &amp;c.</HI> Joh. 14. 26. And &s;o al&s;o the Son and the Holy Gho&s;t are by this rea&s;on proved to be two di&s;tinct
<PB N="44" REF="26"> Per&s;ons, the Son being the Per&s;on &s;ending, and the Holy Gho&s;t the Per&s;on &s;ent; <HI>I will &s;end him unto you,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, &s;peaking of the Com|forter, that is, the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>Joh.</HI> 16. 7. How the&s;e three Per&s;ons are di&s;tingui&s;hed one from another, is not &s;o nece&s;&s;ary to be known, as that they are di&s;tingui&s;hed, neither may we be over-curious to inquire into it; but thus much the Scripture doth manife&s;t unto us con|cerning the di&s;tinction of the&s;e divine Per&s;ons, that the Father is from none, the Son is from the Father, and the Holy Gho&s;t both from the Father and the Son: This is cleare from the places already alledged, 1 <HI>Joh. 4. 9, 10. Joh.</HI> 14. 26. &amp; 16. 7. And this is &s;ufficient to &s;hew, not only that they are di&s;tingui&s;hed, but al&s;o how they are di&s;tingui&s;hed.</P>
<P>Secondly, as they are three di&s;tinct Per&s;ons, &s;o they are one &amp; the &s;ame God: This appears by that, <HI>Mat. 28. 19. Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Gho&s;t:</HI> except the Father, the Son, and the Holy Gho&s;t were each of them God, we might not baptize, nor be baptized in their Name. For it is not lawfull to baptize, or be baptized in the Name of any but God, <HI>Were ye baptized in the name of Paul?</HI> 1 Cor. 1. 13. And again, v. 14, &amp; 15. <HI>I thank God that I baptized none of you, but</HI> Cri&s;pus <HI>and</HI> Gaius, <HI>lea&s;t any &s;hould &s;ay, that I had baptized in mine owne name. Paul</HI> (we &s;ee) abhorred this as mo&s;t vile &s;acriledge, as a rob|bing of God of his honour, that any &s;hould
<PB N="45" REF="26"> be baptized in his name: So that prayer, 2 <HI>Cor. 13. 24. The grace of the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Gho&s;t be with you all;</HI> that al&s;o proves the&s;e three Per&s;ons each one of them to be God; for prayer is to be made only unto God, <HI>Call upon me,</HI> P&s;al. 50. 15. Now if they be each one of them God, then there being no more Gods then one, they mu&s;t needs be one and the &s;ame God.</P>
<P>The Godhead of the Father is confe&s;&s;ed by all, the Godhead of the Son, and of the Holy Gho&s;t, I &s;hall prove more fully and di&s;tinctly hereafter in their places; this proof may &s;uffice for the pre&s;ent.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e.</HI> Seeing therefore this my&s;tery of Trini|ty in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, of three Per|&s;ons being one God, and one God three Per&s;ons, &s;eeing (I &s;ay) this is revealed unto us in the Scrip|tures, let us not doubt of the truth of it, much le&s;&s;e deny it, but let us firmly a&s;&s;ent unto it, and believe it: Let us not &s;ay, as <HI>Nicodemus</HI> did in<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 3.</NOTE> another ca&s;e, <HI>How can the&s;e things be?</HI> There are many things in Religion which are above rea&s;on, though not again&s;t rea&s;on: Surely, it is the grea|te&s;t rea&s;on that can be, that we &s;hould believe God concerning him&s;elf. For, can we know God better then he doth him&s;elf? And &s;hall we not then believe what God doth &s;ay and te&s;tifie of him&s;elf? We are not able to comprehend how it is; well, but let us believe that it is, becau&s;e &s;o much is revealed: <HI>Secret things belong unto the
<PB N="46" REF="27"> Lord our God, but things revealed unto us,</HI> Deut. 29. 29. There are many things in nature, the rea&s;on whereof we know not, yet do we not therefore doubt of the things them&s;elves, though we can|not tell how they came to be &s;o, yet we are a&s;&s;u|red that &s;o they be; <HI>The wind bloweth where it li&s;teth, and thou heare&s;t the &s;ound thereof, but can&s;t not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth,</HI> Joh. 3. 8. <HI>Thou knowest not what is the way of the Spi|rit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child,</HI> Eccle&s;. 11. 5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Scrutaeri hoc, temeritas e&s;t, crede|re, pietas, ne&s;&s;e ver&ograve;, vita, &amp; vita aeterna e&s;t. <HI>Bern. de Con&s;id. l. 5. c. 8.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Bernard</HI> &s;peaking of this my|&s;tery &s;aith well, <HI>To inquire in|to it</HI> (above what is revealed) <HI>is ra&s;hne&s;&s;e, to believe it, is pie|ty, to know it, is life, even life eternall.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="47" REF="27">
<HEAD>THE FIFTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>GEN. 17. 1.</BIBL> I am the Al|mighty God.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>GOd being to make a &s;olemne Coveant with <HI>Abraham,</HI> and &s;o both to promi&s;e all man|ner of ble&s;&s;ings unto him, and to require &s;in|cere and intire obedience of him, premi&s;eth this, that he is God Almighty, that &s;o <HI>Abraham</HI> might be incited both to obey him, and to tru&s;t in him.</P>
<P>[<HI>The Almighty God,</HI>] In the Originall it is, <HI>El Shaddai,</HI> which are two names of God, and both of them import might and power: <HI>El</HI> is a name of God, as may appear by that, <HI>Eli, Eli, &amp;c.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 26. 46.</NOTE> that is, <HI>My God, my God, &amp;c.</HI> The word doth &s;ignifie as much as might or power, as it's rendered <HI>Mic.</HI> 2. 1. or mighty, as <HI>Ezek.</HI> 31. 11. And thus when it is u&s;ed as the Name of God, <HI>Aquila</HI> a Greek Interpreter, renders it <GAP DESC="foreign">, that is, mighty. As for the other word, <HI>Shaddai,</HI> &s;ome derive it from <HI>Shadad,</HI> to wa&s;t and de&s;troy, as if the word
<PB N="48" REF="28"> imported thus much, that as God by his Al|mighty power made all things, &s;o by the &s;ame power he is able to de&s;troy all, <HI>Joel 1. 15. As a destruction from the Almighty &s;hall it come;</HI> in the Hebrew there is an elegant <HI>Paroma&s;ia,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>Ce&s;hod mis&s;haddai.</HI> Others take the word as compounded of <HI>a&s;her dai,</HI> that is, <HI>that is &s;ufficient,</HI> as if God were therefore called <HI>Shad|dai,</HI> becau&s;e he hath all &s;ufficiency in him&s;elf, hath no need of any other, but is able to &s;upply the wants of all: <HI>Neither is</HI> (he) <HI>wor&s;hipped with mens hands, as if he needed any thing, &s;eeing he giveth to all life and breath, and all things,</HI> Act. 17. 25. The Greek Interpreters called the Septua|gint, or Seventie, &s;ometimes tran&s;late the word <GAP DESC="foreign">, that is, <HI>&s;ufficient,</HI> as <HI>Ruth</HI> 1. 20, 21. &s;ome|times, <GAP DESC="foreign">, that is, <HI>Almighty,</HI> as <HI>Job</HI> 5. 17. Here in the Text, <GAP DESC="foreign">, that is, <HI>thy God;</HI> and &s;o in other places. <HI>Hierome</HI> renders it, <HI>Omni|potens,</HI> that is, <HI>Almighty,</HI> and &s;o our la&s;t Tran&s;la|tors: In the Geneva Tran&s;lation it is rendered, <HI>Al&s;ufficient;</HI> both the&s;e <HI>Almighty</HI> and <HI>Alfuffi|cient</HI> import the &s;ame thing, and do mo&s;t fitly expre&s;&s;e the Originall word <HI>Shaddai.</HI></P>
<P>The Doctrine to be ob&s;erved, is, <HI>That God is</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> <HI>Almighty</HI> Gen. 49. 24. He is called <HI>the Almigh|ty God:</HI> And &s;o al&s;o, <HI>E&s;a. 9. 6. Once hath God</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 62. 11</NOTE> <HI>&s;poken, yea twice have I heard it</HI> (&s;aith David) <HI>that power belongeth unto God.</HI> But might and power are attributed likewi&s;e unto men, and to Angels, <HI>The mighty men of Moab, &amp;c.</HI> Exod. 15. 15. <HI>His mighty Angels,</HI> 2 The&s;. 1. 7. Therefore to di&s;tin|gui&s;h God from all others, he is called Almigh|ty;
<PB N="49" REF="28"> &s;o here in the Text, and likewi&s;e in many other places, as <HI>Gen. 28. 3. God Almighty ble&s;&s;e thee,</HI> 2 Cor. 6. 18. <HI>&s;aith the Lord Almighty,</HI> Ruth 1. 20, 21. Job 5. 17. and el&s;ewhere he is &s;tiled, <HI>the Almighty.</HI></P>
<P>He and only he is Almighty: For, fir&s;t, he and onely he can do all things. Men can do much, Angells can do more; but neither men nor An|gels can do all things. This power belongs unto God, and to him only, <HI>He hath done what&s;oever he plea&s;ed,</HI> P&s;al. 115. 3. <HI>Is any thing too hard for the Lord?</HI> Gen. 18. 14. <HI>With God nothing is impo&s;&s;ible,</HI> Luk. 1. 37. <HI>He is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we can either ask or thinke,</HI> Eph. 3. 20. <HI>He is able even to &s;ubdue all things unto him|&s;elf,</HI> Phil. 3. 21.</P>
<P>2. All the power that is in all the creatures, is from God, and therefore in a more eminent manner in God. The great <HI>Behemoth,</HI> that is, (as is &s;uppo&s;ed) the Elephant, <HI>who&s;e &s;trength is in his loines, and who&s;e force is in the navell of his belly: Who moveth his taile like a Cedar,&mdash;Who&s;e bones are as &s;trong pieces of bra&s;&s;e, and like barres of iron,</HI> Job 40. 16, 17, 18. This great <HI>Behemoth</HI> (I &s;ay) is but one, though among&s;t &s;uch-like creatures, <HI>the chief one of the wayes</HI> (or works) <HI>of God. Job 40. 19. He that made him, can make his &s;word to ap|proach unto him.</HI> Ibid. Though he be never &s;o &s;trong, yet he hath his &s;trength from God, who therefore is &s;tronger, and can &s;ubdue him. Yea, further, all the power that all the creatures have, is Gods power, not onely as from him, but al&s;o as &s;ub&s;ervient to him, he ordereth it and maketh
<PB N="50" REF="29"> u&s;e of it as he plea&s;eth: <HI>The Angels that excell in &s;trength, do his Commandements, hearkning to the voice of his word,</HI> P&s;a. 103. 20. <HI>Nebuchadnezzar</HI> that had &s;uch maje&s;ty, and &s;uch might, that all <HI>People, Nations, and Languages, trembled and feared before him; whom he would he &s;lew, and whom he would he kept alive; whom he would he &s;et up, and whom he would he put downe,</HI> Dan. 5. 19. even he was but Gods &s;ervant, as God doth call him, <HI>Ier.</HI> 25. 9. &amp; 27. 6. God made him an in&s;trument to execute his will, and to fulfill his plea&s;ure: <HI>They wrought for me,</HI> &s;aith God, &s;peaking of <HI>Ne|buchadnezzar</HI> and his Army, when they had de|&s;troyed that rich and &s;trong City Tyrus, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 29. 26. The &s;trength of Bears and of Lions God u&s;eth at his plea&s;ure, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 2. 24. &amp; 17. 25. So the inanimate creatures which are of mo&s;t force and might, as fire, and haile, &s;now and vapour, and &s;tormy wind, they doe but fulfill his Word, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 148. 8.</P>
<P>Furthermore, God can inhibit and re&s;train the force and fury of the creatures, that they &s;hall not put forth them&s;elves, nor act at all except he plea&s;eth: He &s;topped the mouthes of the Li|ons that they could do nothing unto <HI>Daniel, Dan.</HI> 6. 22. He curbed and kept in the rage of the fire, that it could have no power over the three young men, <HI>Dan.</HI> 3. 27. Againe, God can lift up the creature above it &s;elf, and make it act above its power, when he plea&s;eth. He made one repa&s;t &s;ufficient for <HI>Eliah</HI> to go in the &s;trength of it forty daies, and forty nights, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 19. 8. with five barley loaves and two &s;mall
<PB N="51" REF="29"> fi&s;hes he &s;atisfied many thou&s;ands, and cau&s;ed much to remain al&s;o of the fragments, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 6. 5. &amp;c.</P>
<P>Finally, God can make the creatures work e|ven quite contrary to their nature: He made the waters to divide them&s;elves, and to &s;tand on heaps, as if they had been walls of bra&s;&s;e, or of marble, <HI>Exod.</HI> 14. 21, 22. He made the Sun to &s;tand &s;till, <HI>Io&s;h.</HI> 10. and to go back, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 38. He made clay a meanes to open the eyes of him that was blind, <HI>Joh.</HI> 9. 6. This may &s;ufficiently demon&s;trate that God is Almighty.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But there are &s;ome things which God cannot do, <HI>He cannot deny him&s;elf,</HI> 2 Tim. 2. 13. <HI>He cannot lie,</HI> Tit. 1. 2.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Some things imply imperfection, as &s;in, death, mutability, and the like: the&s;e things are not compatible unto God, being incon&s;i&s;tent with his perfection; the not being able to do &s;uch things, doth not derogate from his pow|er, nor argue any inability in him, but the con|trary: For indeed he could not be Almighty, as he is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deus dicitur omnipotens facien|do quod vult, non patiendo quod non vult. Quod &s;i ei accideret, nequaquam e&s;&s;et omnipotens. &V;n|de prop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">erea quaedam non pote&s;t, quia omnipotens e&s;t. <HI>Aug. de Civ. Dei, l. 5. c. 10.</HI></NOTE> if he could do (or rather &s;uf|fer) things of that nature: <HI>God</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Au&s;tine) is &s;aid to be Almighty, in doing what he will, not in &s;uffering what he will not; for if he were &s;ub|ject to that, he were not Almighty: And there|fore becau&s;e God is Almighty, there are &s;ome things that he cannot do, viz.</HI> &s;uch things as ar|gue imperfection: For, (as <HI>Aquinas</HI> &s;aith well)
<PB N="52" REF="30"> though in word and expre&s;&s;ion tho&s;e things<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quaedam &s;unt, quae dicunt po|tentiam quantum ad modum dicendi, dicunt ta|men impo|tentiam &agrave; parte rei. <HI>Aquin.</HI></NOTE> &s;eem to import power, yet in deed and in truth they import weakne&s;&s;e: <HI>How weak is thine heart, &s;aith the Lord God, &s;eeing thou do&s;t all the&s;e things, the work of an imperious whori&s;h woman!</HI> E|zek. 16. 30.</P>
<P>Againe, &s;ome things imply contradiction: as to make that which is pa&s;t, not to be pa&s;t; that which is, whiles it is, not to be, and the like: The&s;e things al&s;o do not fall under the power of God, yet neither is this any diminution or a|abatement of his power: God is <HI>the God of truth.</HI> E&s;a. 65. 16. but both parts of a contradiction can|not be true: If it be true, that a thing is pa&s;t, it cannot be true that it is not pa&s;t. <HI>Who&s;oever</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Au|&s;tine</HI>)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Qui&s;quis dicit, &s;i Deus omnipo|tens e&s;t, faciat ut quae facta &s;unt, facta non fuerint; non videt hoc &s;e dicere, &s;i Deus omnipotens e&s;t. faciat ut ea quae vera &s;unt, eo ip&s;o qu&ograve;d vera &s;unt, fal&s;a &s;int. <HI>Aug. contra Fau&s;t. lib. 26. cap. 5.</HI></NOTE> <HI>&s;aith, If God be Almigh|ty, let him cau&s;e that tho&s;e things which are done &s;hould not be done, he &s;ees not that he &s;aith, if God be Almigh|ty, let him cau&s;e that tho&s;e things which are true, in that they are true, &s;hould be fal&s;e.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quae implicant contradictio|nem, &amp;c. convenientius e&s;t di|cere, quod ca non po&s;&s;unt fieri, qu&agrave;m qu&ograve;d ca Deus non po&s;&s;it facere. <HI>Aquin. par. 1. qu. 25. art. 3.</HI></NOTE> Concerning things of this nature, <HI>it is more meet</HI> (as <HI>A|quinas</HI> acutely ob&s;erves) <HI>to &s;ay, that they cannot be done, then that God cannot do them;</HI> that is, the rea&s;on why God cannot do &s;uch things, is in the impo&s;&s;ibility of their nature, not in any defect of Gods power: Thus then God is Almighty, in that he can do all things, which
<PB N="53" REF="30"> do not imply either contradiction or imper|fection.</P>
<P>Now if God be Almighty, able to do what&s;oe|ver he plea&s;eth, then let us not doubt of any thing that he hath &s;poken, but though it may &s;eem ne|ver &s;o &s;trange, yet let us be a&s;&s;ured of the truth of it. <HI>Why &s;hould it &s;eem a thing incredible with you, that God &s;hould rai&s;e again the dead?</HI> (&s;aid the Apo&s;tle) Act. 26. 8. So Chri&s;t told the Sadduces, who denied the Re&s;urrection of the dead, that <HI>they erred, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the pow|er of God,</HI> Mat. 22. 29. What&s;oever it be that God hath promi&s;ed, let us a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves that it &s;hall be fulfilled; let us take heed of calling into que&s;tion the power of God, as that noble man did, who when in a time of mo&s;t great &s;carci|ty, the Prophet <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> fore-told mo&s;t great plen|ty, and that to happen the very next day after, &s;aid, <HI>Behold, if the Lord &s;hould make windowes in heaven, might this thing be?</HI> 2 King. 7. 1, 2. where|upon the Prophet told him, that he &s;hould &s;ee it with his eyes, but &s;hould not ta&s;t of it; and &s;o (as the &s;torie &s;hews) it came to pa&s;&s;e, for when that plenty happened, he being appointed of the King to keep the gate, was trodden on by the people, and &s;o died. So the I&s;raelites in the wil|derne&s;&s;e, que&s;tioned whether God were able to &s;upply their wants, &s;aying, <HI>Can God furni&s;h a ta|ble in the wilderne&s;&s;e?&mdash;Can he provide fle&s;h for his people?</HI> P&s;a. 78. 19, 20. In &s;peaking thus, it's &s;aid, <HI>they &s;pake again&s;t God:</HI> It is a great indig|nity unto God, to &s;peak or think &s;o of him, as if his power were limited, as if there were any
<PB N="54" REF="31"> thing above his reach, or without the &s;phere of his activity, yet (which may make us take the more heed unto our &s;elves) even the godly them|&s;elves are &s;ubject thus to di&s;tru&s;t Gods power. <HI>Sarah</HI> hearing the Lord to promi&s;e that &s;he &s;hould bear <HI>Abraham</HI> a &s;on, laughed at it, as thinking it could not be, that <HI>Abraham</HI> and &s;he being both &s;o old as they were, &s;hould yet have a child, <HI>Gen.</HI> 18. 10, 11, 12. So when God told <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> that he would give the I&s;raelites in the wilderne&s;&s;e fle&s;h to eat, and that for a moneth together, it &s;eems that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did doubt of Gods ability to perform this promi&s;e: <HI>The people a|mong whom I am</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>are &s;ix hundred thou&s;and foot-men, and thou ha&s;t &s;aid, I will give them fle&s;h, that they may eat a whole moneth: Shall the flocks and the heards be &s;lain for them to &s;uffice them? or &s;hall all the fi&s;h of the Sea be gathered together for them, to &s;uffice them?</HI> That <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did not meerly inquire how this &s;hould be done, but did even doubt how it could be done, may appeare by Gods an&s;wer unto him, <HI>And the Lord &s;aid unto Mo&s;es, Is the Lords hand waxed &s;hort? Thou &s;halt &s;ee whether my word &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e unto thee, or not,</HI> Num. 11. 21, 22, 23. Thus al&s;o again, when the people murmuring for water, God bad <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron</HI> &s;peak unto the Rock, and it &s;hould powre forth water: <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in&s;tead of &s;peaking to the Rock, &s;mote it twice, which God comman|ded not, and &s;pake to the people, &s;aying, <HI>Heare now ye rebells, mu&s;t we fetch you water out of this Rock?</HI> As if he &s;hould &s;ay, Is this a likely thing to be done? And yet God had plainly &s;aid un|to
<PB N="55" REF="31"> him that it &s;hould be done, it is evident both by his &s;peech and by his action, and mo&s;t of all by Gods words following after, that both he and <HI>Aaron</HI> did doubt of that which God had &s;aid &s;hould be, <HI>Num.</HI> 20. 8, 9, 10, 11. And &s;o <HI>Zacharias,</HI> the Father of <HI>John</HI> the Bapti&s;t, when the Angell told him that he &s;hould have a &s;on, could not be|lieve it, becau&s;e he was old, and his wife al&s;o &s;tricken in years, <HI>Luk.</HI> 1. 18. The&s;e examples &s;hew how apt the godly are to faile in the be|liefe of this point, touching Gods Almighty power: But let's beware of this evill heart of unbelief; for it much provokes God, as appears by the&s;e very examples now alledged: How he puni&s;hed the noble man for his incredulity, was noted before; <HI>Sarah</HI> al&s;o did not pa&s;&s;e with|out a check, <HI>Gen. 18. 13. Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron</HI> were likewi&s;e reproved, and not onely &s;o, but al&s;o debarred from entring into Canaan, <HI>Numb. 20. 12. 24. Deut.</HI> 32. 48, 49, 50, 51. &s;o <HI>Zacharias</HI> was immediately &s;tricken dumb, and was no more able to &s;peak, untill &s;uch time as he &s;aw the ac|compli&s;hment of Gods promi&s;e, which he had doubted of, <HI>Luke</HI> 1. 19, 20. No maryell if God be thus provoked by mans unbeliefe. For it makes Gods a liar, 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 5. 10. And what greater di&s;honor can be done unto God then this? On the other &s;ide it's &s;aid, that <HI>Abraham gave glory unto God,</HI> when as <HI>again&s;t hope he believed in hope, &amp;c. and being not weak in faith, he con&s;idered not his owne body, now dead, when he was about a hundred yeers old, nor the deadne&s;&s;e of</HI> Sarahs <HI>womb,
<PB N="56" REF="32"> and &s;taggered not at the promi&s;e of God through unbeliefe, but was &s;trong in faith, and fully per|&s;waded, that what he had promi&s;ed, he was able al&s;o to performe,</HI> Rom. 4. 18, 19, 20, 21.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. But &s;econdly, let us be &s;ure to get in|tere&s;t in God, that he may be our God: For o|therwi&s;e what are we the better, though his power be never &s;o great? If we be <HI>aliens</HI> from him, what comfort can this afford unto us? But if the Almighty be ours, what can we want? What moved the Septuagint here in the Text in|&s;tead of <HI>God Almighty,</HI> to render, <HI>thy God</HI> (and in like manner they al&s;o interpret the word in o|ther places) I cannot tell, but &s;ure I am, except he be thy God, and my God, it will availe us no|thing that he is God Almighty. <HI>Tolle meum &amp; tolle Deum;</HI> take away our propriety in God, and take away God, we are as if there were no God, in re&s;pect of any benefit that we can expect from him, <HI>even without God in the world,</HI> (as it is &s;aid of the Gentiles) Ephe&s;. 2. 12. <HI>David incou|raged him&s;elf in the Lord his God,</HI> 1 Sam. 30. 6. had not the Lord been his God, how could he have incouraged him&s;elfe in him? &s;o <HI>Jeho&s;haphat, Art not tho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> our God?</HI> 2 Chron. 20. 7. And again, <HI>O our God, wilt thou not judge them?</HI> v. 12. Hence it was that <HI>Balaam</HI> with all his inchantments and divinations could do the people of I&s;rael no hurt: The Almighty God was the God of that people, <HI>The Lord his God is with him,</HI> (&s;aid <HI>Ba|laam) Num.</HI> 23. 21. And therefore <HI>&s;urely there is no inchantment again&s;t</HI> Jacob, <HI>nor any divination a|gain&s;t
<PB N="57" REF="32"> I&s;rael,</HI> v. 23. Now if we would have intere&s;t<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 17. 7.</NOTE> in God, we mu&s;t have intere&s;t in Chri&s;t; <HI>I will be a God to thee,</HI> this is Gods Covenant, and it is fulfilled in Chri&s;t, <HI>In whom all the promi&s;es of God are Yea, and Amen,</HI> 2 Cor. 1. 20. they that are without Chri&s;t, are al&s;o without God, Eph. 2. 12. There is no Mediator betwixt God and Man, but Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Tim. 2. 5. No man cometh unto the Fa|ther but by me,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, Joh. 14 6. And as by Chri&s;t we mu&s;t have intere&s;t in God, &s;o by faith we mu&s;t have intere&s;t in Chri&s;t: Faith is that whereby we receive Chri&s;t, <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. 12. whereby Chri&s;t doth dwell in us, <HI>Eph</HI> 3. 17.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 3. Thirdly, Let this make us to fly unto God in all our nece&s;&s;ities, and in our greate&s;t dangers and di&s;tre&s;&s;es to tru&s;t in him: Our con|dition cannot be &s;o di&s;mall, nor &s;o deplorable, but he is able to deliver us, <HI>He is able to do excee|ding abundantly beyond all that we can either aske or thinke,</HI> Eph. 3. 20. <HI>Who is that God that &s;hall de|liver you out of my hands?</HI> &s;aid <HI>Nebuchadnezzar</HI> to the three Nobles; but <HI>our God</HI> (&s;aid they) <HI>whom we &s;erve, is able to deliver us, &amp;c.</HI> Dan. 3. 15. 17. Though there be never &s;o many again&s;t us, yet if God be with us, there are more with us, then with tho&s;e that are again&s;t us; as <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> told his &s;ervant, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 6. 16. and &s;o <HI>Ezekiah</HI> in like man|ner comforted and incouraged the people, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 32. 7. Hereupon the Saints and Servants of God triumph, &s;aying, <HI>God is our refuge and &s;trength, a very pre&s;ent help in trouble: Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and
<PB N="58" REF="33"> though the mountains be carried into the mid&s;t of the Sea: Though the waters thereof roare, &amp;c.&mdash;The Lord of Ho&s;ts is with us, the God of</HI> Iacob <HI>is our re|fuge,</HI> P&s;al. 46. 1, 2, 3, 7. <HI>What time I am afraid</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David) I will tru&s;t in thee. In God I will prai&s;e his Word; in God I have put my tru&s;t, I will not feare what fle&s;h can do unto me,</HI> P&s;al. 56. 3, 4. And again, <HI>In God have I put my tru&s;t, I will not be afraid what man can do unto me,</HI> v. 11. So the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>We may boldly &s;ay, the Lord is my helper, and I will not feare what man &s;hall do unto me,</HI> Heb. 13. 5. <HI>If God be for us, who can be again&s;t us?</HI> Rom. 8.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ne exi|&s;timemus plus ad impug|nandum po&s;&s;e hu|mana co|namina, qu&agrave;m ad protegen|dum valet divina tu|tela.</NOTE> 31. that is, &s;o again&s;t us, as to prevail again&s;t us? <HI>Let us not thinke</HI> (as <HI>Cyprian</HI> &s;aith excellently) <HI>that man can be more able to hurt, then God is able to defend.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 4. Finally, this con&s;ideration of Gods om|nipotency, &s;hould make us to feare him, and not to dare to provoke him as we u&s;e to do, but to &s;tudy to plea&s;e him, and to approve our &s;elves be|fore him. <HI>We labour, that whether pre&s;ent or ab|&s;ent</HI> (whether alive or dead) <HI>we may be accepted of him,</HI> &s;aith <HI>S. Paul,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 9. And great rea&s;on why we &s;hould all &s;o labour, God being Almigh|ty, and therefore able abundantly both to reward tho&s;e that obey him, and al&s;o to avenge him&s;elfe on tho&s;e that rebell again&s;t him; <HI>Wherefore came&s;t thou not unto me? Am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?</HI> &s;aid <HI>Balak</HI> to <HI>Balaam,</HI> becau&s;e he made him &s;end the &s;econd time before he came unto him. <HI>Num.</HI> 22. 37. How much more may God thus expo&s;tulate with us, when we are &s;low and
<PB N="59" REF="33"> negligent to do what he requires? For this rea|&s;on did God tells <HI>Abraham</HI> that he is the Almigh|ty God, that &s;o he might be the more incited to obey him, knowing that he &s;hould lo&s;e nothing by his labour, but that his reward &s;hould be ex|ceeding great, as God told him, <HI>Gen.</HI> 15. 1 And as God is able to ble&s;&s;e tho&s;e that fear him, &s;o is he to cur&s;e tho&s;e that de&s;pi&s;e him; <HI>Do we provoke the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10. 22.</NOTE> <HI>Lord to jealou&s;ie?</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>are we &s;tronger then he?</HI> Indeed if we were &s;tronger then God, we might be the more bold to provoke him, but he being &s;tronger, infinitely &s;tronger then we, it is madne&s;&s;e for us to provoke him: <HI>Can thy heart indure, and can thy hands be &s;trong when I &s;hall have to do with thee?</HI> (&s;aith God) Ezek. 22. 14. <HI>Thou, even thou art to be feared,</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David</HI> unto God) <HI>for who may &s;tand when once thou art angry?</HI> P&s;al. 76. 7. <HI>Who can &s;tand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fiercene&s;&s;e of his anger? his fury is powred out like fire, and the Rocks are throwne down by him,</HI> Nah. 1. 6. Let us therefore fear the Lord, and walk humbly with him, even in all holine&s;&s;e and obedience before him, that &s;o his Almighty power may be for us, and not a|gain&s;t us; to our comfort and &s;alvation, not to our terror and de&s;truction.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="6" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="60" REF="34">
<HEAD>THE SIXTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>HEB. 3. 4.</BIBL> He that built all things, is God.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of Chri&s;t, and &s;etting forth his excellency, compares him with <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> who was of great account with the Jews, to whom the Apo&s;tle wrote; <HI>Who was faithfull to him that appointed him, as al&s;o</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>was faith|full in all Gods hou&s;e,</HI> v. 2. But lea&s;t any &s;hould conceive an equality betwixt Chri&s;t and <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> he goes on, and &s;hewes the excellency of Chri&s;t above <HI>Mo&s;es; For this man was counted worthy of more glory then</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>in as much as he who hath builded the hou&s;e, hath more honor then the hou&s;e,</HI> v. 3. <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was but a part of the hou&s;e, (<HI>viz.</HI> the Church) but Chri&s;t the builder of the hou&s;e, and &s;o the Lord and Ma&s;ter of it, whenas <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> though he had a great place in it, yet was but a &s;ervant, v. 5. &amp; 6. Now having thus occa&s;ionally mentioned hou&s;e and building, he in&s;erts as by way of Parenthe&s;is, the&s;e words, <HI>For every hou&s;e
<PB N="61" REF="34"> is builded by &s;ome man, but he that built all things is God.</HI></P>
<P>[<HI>That built,</HI>] That is, made; as <HI>Gen. 2. 22. And the rib, &amp;c. made he woman:</HI> In the Originall it is, <HI>built;</HI> and that which 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 7. 11. is, <HI>He will make thee an hou&s;e,</HI> is 1 <HI>Chron. 17. 10. will build thee an hou&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>[<HI>All things,] Calvin</HI> liketh rather to limit this to all things belonging to the Church, the hou&s;e of God, mentioned both before and after; yet he confe&s;&s;eth, that it may be extended to the whole Creation: This &s;en&s;e &s;eems mo&s;t agreeable to the words, that as every hou&s;e hath &s;ome man or o|ther by whom it is built, &s;o the great hou&s;e of the world that comprehends all things in it, had God for the builder, or maker of it.</P>
<P>Hence then the conclu&s;ion is this, That <HI>God is</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> <HI>he, who made all things.</HI></P>
<P><HI>In the beginning God made Heaven and Earth,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> Gen. 1. 1. And then he &s;hews di&s;tinct|ly how all the &s;everall kinds of creatures were made of God: So <HI>Neh. 9. 6. Thou, even thou art Lord alone; thou hast made Heaven, the Heaven of Heavens, with all their ho&s;t; the Earth and all things that are therein; the Seas, and all that is therein.</HI> And <HI>Revel. 4. 11. Thou ha&s;t created all things, and for thy plea&s;ure they are and were created.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Mo&s;es</HI> writing of the Creation, makes no ex|pre&s;&s;e mention of the Angels: It &s;eems that his purpo&s;e was onely to expre&s;&s;e the Creation of things vi&s;ible; yet they may be implicitly men|tioned in the word <HI>Heaven,</HI> thereby being meant all
<PB N="62" REF="35"> things in heaven, all the ho&s;t of heaven, as it is expre&s;&s;ed, <HI>Gen.</HI> 2. 1. &amp; <HI>Neh.</HI> 9. 6. Now by the ho&s;t of heaven are meant both the Sun, Moon, and Stars, <HI>Deut.</HI> 4. 19. and al&s;o the Angels, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 22. 19. How&s;oever, though it be not &s;o cleare when the Angels were created, yet the Scripture is expre&s;&s;e for this, that they were created, and that they al&s;o, as all other things, are Gods crea|tures: <HI>Prai&s;e ye him all his Angells.&mdash;Let them prai&s;e the Name of the Lord; for he commanded, and they were created,</HI> P&s;a. 148. 2. 5. <HI>By him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, vi&s;ible and invi&s;ible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities or Powers, &amp;c.</HI> Col. 1. 16.</P>
<P>The light of naturall rea&s;on is &s;ufficient to demon&s;trate that God made the world, the hea|ven and earth, and all things therein; for what|&s;oever is, mu&s;t either be of it &s;elf, or be made by &s;ome other; if it be of it &s;elf, then it is God, for only God is of him&s;elf: if it be made by &s;ome<NOTE PLACE="marg">Qu&ograve;d Deus mundum fecerit, nulli tu|tius crede|dimus qu&agrave;m ip&s;i Deo. <HI>Aug. de Civit.</HI> Dei, l. 11. c. 4. Opera Trinitatis ad extra &s;unt in|divi&s;a.</NOTE> other, then either by God immediately, or by that which was made by God; &s;o that either immediately, or mediately all things are of him. But (as <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> &s;aith) <HI>that God made the world, we do not more &s;afely believe any then God him&s;elf:</HI> His te&s;timony is above all other argu|ments and ratiocinations what&s;oever. <HI>Through faith we under&s;tand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,</HI> Heb. 11. 3. The work of the Crea|tion is common to all the three Per&s;ons, To the Father; <HI>To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things,</HI> 1 Cor. 8. 6. to the Son, <HI>All
<PB N="63" REF="35"> things were made by him,</HI> Joh. 1. 3. <HI>By him were all things created, &amp;c.</HI> Col. 1. 16. to the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>The Spirit of God hath made me,</HI> Job 33. 4.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. Hence let us &s;ee and con&s;ider the ex|cellency of God, and &s;o give him the glory due unto him: God is excellent, P&s;al. 8. 1. and becau&s;e of his excellency he is to be glorified, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 148. 13. Now Gods excellency appears by the creation of the world, the world is a gla&s;&s;e wherein to behold Gods excellency: <HI>His eternall power and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mundus e&s;t &s;pecu|lum Dei|tatis.</NOTE> <HI>Godhead are clearly &s;een from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made,</HI> Rom. 1. 20. <HI>The heavens declare the glory of God,</HI> P&s;al. 19. 1. <HI>His glory is above the earth and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pulchra terra, pul|chrum coelum; &s;ed pul|chrior ille qui fecit illa.</NOTE> <HI>heaven,</HI> P&s;al. 148. 13. What&s;oever excellency is in any thing, is from God, and con&s;equently much more in God; and therefore the glory of all mu&s;t be given unto God. <HI>For of him, and through him, and to him are all things; to whom be glory for ever, Amen.</HI> Rom. 11. 36. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed be thy glori|ous Name, which is exalted above all ble&s;&s;ing and above all prai&s;e: Thou, even thou art Lord alone, thou ha&s;t made heaven, &amp;c.</HI> Neh. 9. 5, 6. <HI>Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power, for thou hast created all things, &amp;c.</HI> Re|vel. 4. 11.</P>
<P>More particularly, by the Creation of the world we may &s;ee,</P>
<P N="1">1. The excellency of Gods power, that could make all things of nothing: Philo&s;ophy tells us, that <HI>nothing is made of nothing.</HI> It is true, in re|&s;pect<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ex nihilo nihil fit.</NOTE> of naturall agents, they mu&s;t have &s;ome matter to work upon, el&s;e they can do nothing.
<PB N="64" REF="36"> But Divinity tells us, that all things were made of nothing; <HI>that things which are &s;een, were not made of things which do appear,</HI> Heb. 11. 3. This is mo&s;t true in re&s;pect of God, a &s;upernaturall agent: By this God &s;hewes him&s;elf to be God, doing that which none can do but he. One &s;aith excellently, <HI>If any be&s;ides One &s;hall &s;ay, I am God, he mu&s;t</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hew us &s;uch a world as this is, and &s;ay, this is mine, of my ma|king. The Lord</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David) is great, and greatly to be prai|&s;ed; he is to be feared above all gods: for all the gods of the Nations are Idols, but the Lord made the Heavens,</HI> P&s;a. 96. 4, 5. <HI>The gods</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Jeremie) that have not made the Heavens and the Earth, even they &s;hall peri&s;h from under the&s;e Heavens. He hath made the earth by his power,</HI> Jer. 10. 11, 12.</P>
<P N="2">2. The excellency of Gods wi&s;dome, who could make &s;uch an infinite variety of creatures, and not the lea&s;t or meane&s;t of them, but to have its u&s;e and office in the univer&s;e: <HI>He hath e&s;tabli&s;h|ed the world by his wi&s;dome, and hath &s;tretched out</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deus cum &s;it bonum nullo in|digens bo|no, non ni&s;i ex benig|no honita|tis &s;uae af|fectu mundum creavit. <HI>Aug. Con|fe&s;&s;.</HI></NOTE> <HI>the heavens by his di&s;cretion,</HI> Jer. 10. 12. &amp; 51. 15. <HI>O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wi&s;dome hast thou made them all,</HI> P&s;al. 104. 24.</P>
<P N="3">3. The excellency of Gods goodne&s;&s;e, <HI>Thou art good, and doe&s;t good,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David</HI> unto God, P&s;al. 119. 68. This was it that moved him to make the world, not that he had any need of the crea|tures, (for from all eternity he was mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed and happy in him&s;elf) but that he might com|municate his goodne&s;&s;e to the creatures: <HI>The earth
<PB N="65" REF="36"> is full of the goodne&s;&s;e of the Lord,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 33. 5. And again, <HI>The earth is full of thy riches; &s;o is this great and wide Sea, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;al. 104. 24, 25.</P>
<P><HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aith of the &s;everall things that God made, <HI>God &s;aw that it was good,</HI> and of them all collectively, <HI>that they were very good,</HI> hereby inti|mating unto us, (as <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> ob&s;erves) that there was no<NOTE PLACE="marg">Scriptura per omnia Dei opera &s;ubjungens, Et vidit Deus quia bonum e&s;t, completi&s;&abque; omnibus inferens, Et vidit Deus omnia quae &s;ecit, &amp; ecce bona vald&egrave;, nullam aliam cau&s;am faciendi mundi intelligi voluit, ni&s;i ut bona fierent &agrave; bono Deo. <HI>Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. 11. cap. 23.</HI> Re|rum creatarum cau&s;a non e&s;t ni|&s;i bonitas Creatoris. <HI>Ibid. cap. 21.</HI></NOTE> other cau&s;e moving God to make the world, but that he being good might make things that are good; <HI>The goodne&s;&s;e of the Creator</HI> (as the &s;ame Author &s;peaks) <HI>is the cau&s;e of the creatures.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Gods eternity: He that made all things, mu&s;t needs be before all things; he that made all things in the beginning, mu&s;t needs him&s;elfe be without beginning, and con&s;equently eternall: <HI>Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou had&s;t formed the earth and the world, e|ven from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.</HI> P&s;al. 90. 2,</P>
<P>The&s;e excellent attributes of God &s;hine forth, and &s;hew them&s;elves in the work of the Creati|on, and therefore let's take notice of them; let's look upon the world, and the creatures in it, &s;o as to &s;ee God, his power, wi&s;dome, goodne&s;&s;e and eternity in them, and let us prai&s;e and glori|fie him for them. Let us con&s;ider,</P>
<P N="1">1. That God expects this of us, <HI>He made all things for him&s;elf,</HI> Prov. 16. 4. that is, for his owne
<PB N="66" REF="37"> glory, that we might know and acknowledge (&s;o far forth as he is plea&s;ed to reveal it) the excel|lency that is in him.</P>
<P N="2">2. That the other creatures in their kind do glorifie God, by keeping the order in which God hath &s;et them, and by mini&s;tring matter unto us whereby to prai&s;e God. Thus <HI>the Heavens declare the glory of God,</HI> P&s;al. 19. 1. and <HI>all his works do prai&s;e him,</HI> P&s;al. 145. 10. But we ought to prai&s;e and glorifie God not only objectively, but effe|ctively, as being indued with rea&s;on and under|&s;tanding whereby to do it: <HI>All thy works prai&s;e thee, O Lord, and thy Saints &s;hall ble&s;&s;e thee,</HI> P&s;al. 145. 10. Gods Saints will do it, and &s;o all &s;hould do it. And even <HI>Galen</HI> a heathen man, admiring<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Beza</HI> in Rom. 1. 20</NOTE> the frame and compo&s;ure of mans body, could not but prai&s;e and extoll the Maker of it, for his goodne&s;&s;e that did move him, his wi&s;dome that that did direct him, and his power that did ina|ble him to make it &s;o exqui&s;itely as he hath done; be&s;ides, God hath made all the other creatures for us, and therefore we are bound to glorifie him, as for our &s;elves, &s;o for them al&s;o: <HI>When I con&s;ider thy Heavens</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David) the work of thy fingers, the Moon, and the Stars, which thou hast or|dained: What is man that thou art mindfull of him? and the &s;on of man that thou vi&s;ite&s;t him? For thou ha&s;t made him a little lower then the Angells, and hast crowned him with glory and honour: Thou made&s;t him to have dominion over the workes of thy hands, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;al. 8. 3, 4, 5, 6.</P>
<P>But (alas!) how many turne Gods glory into &s;hame? as he complaines, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 4. 2. In&s;tead of
<PB N="67" REF="37"> glorifying him for the creatures, they di&s;honor him by the creatures, &s;etting their hearts and af|fections on the creatures rather then on him: <HI>They a&s;&s;emble them&s;elves for corn and wine, but they rebell against me,</HI> &s;aith he, Ho&s;. 7. 14. Excellent to this purpo&s;e is that of <HI>Au|&s;tine,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deum ex illis lauda, &amp; in arti|ficem eorum retorque amorem; ne in his quae tibi placent, tu di&s;pliceas. <HI>Aug. Confe&s;&s;.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Take occa&s;ion by the crea|tures to prai&s;e God, and bring back your love from them to him that made them, lea&s;t in tho&s;e things which plea&s;e you, you your &s;elves di&s;|plea&s;e God.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Secondly, we mu&s;t take heed how we judge of the creatures, &s;eeing they are Gods crea|tures: The Apo&s;tle fore-tells, that &s;ome would <HI>forbid the u&s;e of meats, which God hath created to be received with thanke&s;giving,</HI> 1 Tim. 4. 3 But he addes, that <HI>every creature of God is good, and no|thing to be refu&s;ed, if it be received with thanke&s;gi|ving,</HI> v. 4. So Rom. 14. 14. <HI>I know and I am per|&s;waded</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>by the Lord Je&s;us, that there is nothing unclean of it &s;elf, &amp;c. I feare not</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Au&s;tine) the uncleanne&s;&s;e of the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Non ego immunditiam ob&s;on<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> timeo, &s;ed immunditiam cupi|ditatis. <HI>Aug. Confe&s;&s;.</HI></NOTE> <HI>meat, but the uncleanne&s;&s;e of the appetite.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;uper&s;tition of &s;ome is exceeding gro&s;&s;e, who think they &s;hould be polluted, if they &s;hould eat a little fle&s;h in Lent, or on a Friday, though it be Gods creature at one time, as well as at another, and no more forbidden by him at one time then at another, yet they will lie, &s;wear, &amp;c. and fear no pollution, See <HI>Mar.</HI> 7. 14. &amp;c. to 23.</P>
<PB N="68" REF="38">
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 3. Thirdly, we mu&s;t have a care how we u&s;e the creatures; we may u&s;e them, but we may not abu&s;e them, 1 <HI>Cor. 7. 31. &V;&s;e the world as not abu&s;ing it:</HI> We mu&s;t u&s;e the creatures,</P>
<P N="1">1. Soberly, <HI>Take heed least at any time your hearts be over-charged with &s;urfetting and drunken|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> Luk 21. 34. We mu&s;t &s;o u&s;e the creatures, as that we may be more fit to glorifie the Creator, and to do him &s;ervice: <HI>Whether ye eat or drinke, or what&s;oever ye do, do all to the glory of God,</HI> 1 Cor. 10. 31.</P>
<P N="2">2. Righteou&s;ly; &s;o as not to oppre&s;&s;e, de|fraud, or any way wrong others in the u&s;e of them: It mu&s;t be <HI>our bread,</HI> Mat. 6. 11. we mu&s;t come lawfully by it, have a ju&s;t right to it. <HI>We command and exhort by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that with quietne&s;&s;e they worke, and cat their own bread,</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) 2 The&s;. 3. 12. <HI>Bread of deceit</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Solomon) is &s;weet unto a man, but after|wards his mouth &s;hall be filled with gravell,</HI> Prov. 20. 17.</P>
<P>And again, to u&s;e the creatures righteou&s;ly, is to u&s;e them not only not to the hurt of others, but al&s;o to the good of others, viz. &s;o as to &s;uc|cour and relieve others with them: <HI>He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewi&s;e,</HI> Luk. 3. 11. This is a work of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e: <HI>Break off thy &s;ins by righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and thine iniquities by &s;hewing mercy to the poor,</HI> Dan. 4. 27. <HI>He hath disper&s;ed a|broad,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">See <HI>Beza</HI> on Mat. 6. 1.</NOTE> <HI>and given to the poor, and his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e indureth for ever,</HI> P&s;al. 112. 9. &amp; 2 Cor. 9. 9. <HI>Na|bal</HI> argued like a fool, as he was, &s;aying, <HI>Shall I
<PB N="69" REF="38"> take my bread, and my water, and my fle&s;h, that I have killed for my &s;hearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?</HI> 1 Sam. 25. 11. <HI>Cast thy bread upon the waters,</HI> Eccle&s;. 11. 1. <HI>Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry?</HI> I&s;a. 58. 7. It is not &s;o thine, but that thou mu&s;t communicate to &s;uch as &s;tand in need; all thou ha&s;t is Gods, he is the Lord of all, and thou art but his &s;tew|ard, and therefore mu&s;t di&s;pen&s;e that which he hath committed unto thee, not as thou plea&s;e&s;t, but as he appointeth: <HI>As every one hath received the gift, &s;o minister the &s;ame one to another, as good &s;tewards of the manifold grace of God,</HI> 1 Pet. 4. 10.</P>
<P N="3">3. Religiou&s;ly: 1. In faith, &s;o as to be per&s;wa|ded of the lawfulne&s;&s;e of the u&s;e of them. <HI>For to him that thinketh any thing unclean, to him it is unclean,</HI> Rom. 14. 14. <HI>And he that doubteth</HI> (viz. of the lawfulne&s;&s;e of that whith he doth) <HI>is dam|ned</HI> (that is, condemned of his owne con&s;cience) <HI>if he eat. For what&s;oever is not of faith, is &s;in,</HI> Rom. 14. 23. To u&s;e the creatures in faith, is al&s;o to u&s;e them with a per&s;wa&s;ion of intere&s;t in them, and right unto them through Chri&s;t, in whom we re|cover that which we lo&s;t in <HI>Adam.</HI> And there|fore that which <HI>David</HI> &s;peaks in the eight <HI>P&s;alm</HI> of the dominion that God gave unto man over the creatures, the Apo&s;tle applies unto Chri&s;t, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2. 6. &amp;c. And <HI>Heb.</HI> 1. 2. it's &s;aid, that <HI>Chri&s;t is appointed heire of all things.</HI> And 1 <HI>Cor. 3. 22, 23. All things are yours, and ye are Chri&s;ts.</HI> This is not to be under&s;tood as if unbelievers and ali|ens from Chri&s;t had not a civill right to the
<PB N="70" REF="39"> things which they po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e, but that they cannot have a religious and &s;anctified u&s;e of them, be|cau&s;e they cannot u&s;e them in faith, &s;o as to be per&s;waded of their intere&s;t in the creatures thorough Chri&s;t, they having no union nor com|munion with him.</P>
<P>2. With prayer and thank&s;giving; prayer for Gods ble&s;&s;ing upon them, and thank&s;giving un|to God for the comfort and benefit of them: <HI>Nothing is to be refu&s;ed, if it be received with thanks|giving: For it is &s;anctified by the word and prayer,</HI> 1 Tim. 4. 4, 5. Chri&s;t took the loaves and the fi&s;hes, and <HI>gave thanks, &amp;c.</HI> Mat. 15. 36. &s;o <HI>Paul</HI> took bread, and <HI>gave thanks to God. &amp;c.</HI> Acts 27. 35. And it is &s;aid of the I&s;raelites, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 9. 13. that they would not begin to eat untill the Prophet came and ble&s;&s;ed the &s;acrifice, or fea&s;t to which they were bidden: <HI>He that eateth, eateth to the Lord; for he giveth God thanks,</HI> &s;aith the A|po&s;tle, Rom. 14. 6. &s;o that they which eat, and do not give God thanks, eat not to God, but to them&s;elves; as he complaines of &s;ome, &s;aying, <HI>And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did ye not eat for your &s;elves, and drink for your &s;elves?</HI> Zach. 7. 6. But our thank&s;giving mu&s;t be reall and &s;erious, not formall and perfunctory: For <HI>God is not mocked, Gal.</HI> 6. 7. He cannot indure that peo|ple &s;hould <HI>draw near him with their mouth, and honor him with their lips, whenas they remove their hearts far from him,</HI> I&s;a. 29. 13.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 4. If God made all things, then all things are his, and con&s;equently he may di&s;po&s;e of them as he plea&s;eth: <HI>Is it not lawfull for him to do
<PB N="71" REF="39"> what he will with his owne?</HI> Mat. 20. 15. <HI>The Lord &s;aith thus, Behold that which I have built, will I break down, &amp; that which I have planted, wil I pluck up,</HI> Jer. 45. 4. We ought therefore to be content with that portion which God doth allot us, though it be but little, and to take patiently all lo&s;&s;es and cro&s;&s;es that do befall us. <HI>The Lord gave; and the Lord hath taken away; ble&s;&s;ed be the Name of the Lord,</HI> Job 1. 21.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 5. Hence al&s;o we ought to con&s;ider how we are degenerated from what God did make us: He is good, and made every thing good, more e|&s;pecially man, whom in a more e&s;peciall manner he made like unto him&s;elfe, <HI>Gen.</HI> 1. 26. But now (alas!) we are naturally altogether corrupt and &s;infull, <HI>Gen. 6. 5. &amp; 8. 20. P&s;al. 51. 5. Eccle&s;.</HI> 7. 29. we mu&s;t therefore be regenerated, and be made new creatures: <HI>We mu&s;t put on the new man which after Chri&s;t is created in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and true ho|line&s;&s;e,</HI> Eph 4. 24. We lo&s;t our originall integrity in <HI>Adam,</HI> we mu&s;t recover it in Chri&s;t: <HI>As by the di&s;obedience of one man</HI> (viz. Adam) <HI>many were made &s;inners; &s;o by the obedience of one man</HI> (viz. Chri&s;t) <HI>&s;hall many be made righteous,</HI> Rom. 5. 19. <HI>As in</HI> Adam <HI>all dye, &s;o in Chri&s;t &s;hall all be made alive,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 22. <HI>viz.</HI> all that are Chri&s;ts, as the Apo&s;tle explains him&s;elf, v, 23.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 7. Finally, this may teach us, that meer outward and ceremoniall Wor&s;hip is not &s;uffi|cient to plea&s;e God, but that the heart mu&s;t be given unto him. God did indeed pre&s;cribe unto the Jewes many carnall Ordinances, as they are called, <HI>Heb,</HI> 9. 10. And now al&s;o he doth require
<PB N="72" REF="40"> &s;ome bodily performances, as to hear the Word, receive the Sacraments, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> But he neither doth nor did require &s;uch things, as if he needed any thing that the creature can do, &s;eeing he made all, but only he would have the creature to &s;hew its &s;ubjection to him, as the Creator. <HI>God that made the world and all things therein, &s;eeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in Temples made with hands; neither is he wor&s;hipped with mens hands, as if he needed any thing, &s;eeing he gi|veth to all life and breath, and all things,</HI> Acts 17. 24, 25. <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord, the Heaven is my throne, and the Earth is my foot&s;tool: Where is the hou&s;e that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my re&s;t? For all the&s;e things hath my hand made, and all tho&s;e things have been, &s;aith the Lord; but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite &s;pirit, and trembleth at my Word,</HI> I&s;a. 66. 1, 2.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="7" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="73" REF="40">
<HEAD>THE SEVENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>JOH. 5. 17.</BIBL> My Father work|eth hitherto, and I work.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>OUr Saviour having cured a lame man on the Sabbath day, the Jews hearing of it, and be|ing de&s;irous to take any occa&s;ion whereby to quarrell with him, &s;ought to pro&s;ecute him as a tran&s;gre&s;&s;or of the Law, and one that had bro|ken the Sabbath, v. 16. Our Saviour &s;o an&s;we|red for him&s;elf, as to let them know that they did not rightly under&s;tand the Commandement concerning the Sabbath, which was not to inhi|bit and re&s;train &s;uch works as did evidently make for the glory of God, and the good of men, but only ordinary works, which hinder the perform|ing of tho&s;e duties which God then requires. And he further &s;hewes, that Gods re&s;ting on the &s;e|venth day, after that he had made all things in &s;ix daies, is not &s;o meant, but that God doth &s;till continually work, though not in that man|ner as in tho&s;e fir&s;t &s;ix dayes wherein he made the world, <HI>viz.</HI> &s;o as to make any new kinds of crea|tures,
<PB N="74" REF="41"> yet &s;o as to pre&s;erve and govern the things that he hath made: And therefore to do any thing that is requi&s;ite and needfull for the pre|&s;ervation either of man or bea&s;t, is not unlawfull. This is the meaning of the&s;e words; <HI>But Je&s;us on|&s;wered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.</HI></P>
<P>[<HI>My Father worketh hitherto,</HI>] viz. by pre&s;er|ving and governing his creatures.</P>
<P>[<HI>And I work,</HI>] viz. as God together with the Father, and as Man conformably to the Father.</P>
<P>This &s;ufficing for the explication of the words, we may ob&s;erve from them, That all things are <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> continually pre&s;erved and governed of God.</P>
<P>As God at fir&s;t made all things, &s;o he &s;till un|ce&s;&s;antly pre&s;erveth and governeth all things: That <HI>Gen. 2. 2. And he rested on the &s;eventh day from all his work which he had made,</HI> is meant in re&s;pect of creating, not in re&s;pect of pre&s;erving and governing.</P>
<P>God then on the &s;eventh day cea&s;ed to create any more, as he had done in the &s;ix dayes before; but he did not then, neither doth he yet cea&s;e to pre&s;erve and govern what he had created.</P>
<P>That all things are pre&s;erved of God is clear by that <HI>Act. 17. 28. In him we live and move, and have our being;</HI> not only from him as our Crea|tor, but in him as our pre&s;erver. So <HI>Neh.</HI> 9. 6. more expre&s;ly it is &s;aid, that God not only made all things, but al&s;o pre&s;erveth them all. And <HI>Heb.</HI> 1. 6. it is &s;aid of Chri&s;t as God, that he <HI>upholdeth all things by the word of his power.</HI></P>
<PB N="75" REF="41">
<P><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> Thus it mu&s;t needs be, the creatures mu&s;t needs<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cuncta in illa &s;ub&s;istunt &agrave; quo creata &s;unt. Cuncta quippe ex nihilo facta &s;unt, corum&abque; e&s;&s;en|entia rur&s;us ad nihilum tende|ret, ni&s;i eam autor omnium ma|nu retineret. <HI>Gregor. Mor. l. 16. c. 18.</HI></NOTE> be pre&s;erved by the Creator, or el&s;e they cannot &s;ub&s;i&s;t; but as they were made of no|thing, &s;o if they were not up|held by him that made them, they would pre&s;ently fall a|gain to nothing: The creatures do not depend upon God, as a hou&s;e depends upon the builder; for though the builder go his way, and think no more of the hou&s;e, yet it &s;tands: It is not &s;o with the creatures, but they depend upon God as the light in the air depends<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sic &s;e habet omnis creatura ad Deum, &s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ut a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r ad Solem illu|mina<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tem. <HI>Aquin. 1 par. que&s;t. 104 art. 1.</HI></NOTE> on the Sun, <HI>viz.</HI> not only in re&s;pect of production, but al|&s;o in re&s;pect of pre&s;ervation: if the Sun with-draw it &s;elf never &s;o little, the light in the aire faileth, and &s;o would the creatures, if he &s;hould never &s;o little with-draw his pre&s;erving in|fluence from them. So that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quamdi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> creatura e&s;t, tamdiu creatur &agrave; Deo; quia quoad De|um e&s;t eadem actio creationis &amp; con&s;ervationis creaturarum. <HI>Du|rand. l. 2. di&s;t. 1. quae&s;t 2.</HI></NOTE> God doth as it were continu|ally create the creatures, his pre&s;ervation of the creatures is as it were a continued crea|tion.</P>
<P>Again, that all things are likewi&s;e governed of God, is mo&s;t evident by the Scripture: <HI>His King|dome ruleth over all,</HI> P&s;al. 103. 19. Nothing is &s;o &s;mall, but God orders it by his providence; not &s;o much as a Sparrow doth fall to the ground, but as it plea&s;eth God, <HI>Mat.</HI> 10. 29. nothing is &s;o
<PB N="76" REF="42"> ca&s;uall, but God di&s;po&s;eth it. <HI>The lot is ca&s;t into the lap, but the whole di&s;po&s;ing thereof is of the Lord,</HI> Prov. 16. 33. No agent is &s;o free and potent, but God rules over it, and doth with it what he plea|&s;eth: <HI>The heart of the King is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of waters, he turneth it whither|&s;oever he will,</HI> Prov. 21. 1. There's no evill of affli|ction, but Gods hand hath the chief &s;troke in it; <HI>Shall there be evill in a City, and the Lord hath not done it?</HI> Amos 3. 6. There's no evill of &s;in, but God, though he be not the doer, yet is the orde|rer of it: Though men &s;in of them&s;elves, (for to &s;in argues not power, but weakne&s;&s;e, <HI>How weak is thine heart, &s;eeing thou doest all the&s;e things!</HI> Ezek. 16. 30.) yet they cannot &s;in either for the kind, or for the degree; or for the manner, otherwi&s;e then God is plea&s;ed to permit: <HI>Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of I&s;rael were gathered together</HI> (viz. again&s;t Chri&s;t) <HI>to do what&s;oever Gods hand, and his coun&s;ell before deter|mined,</HI> Acts 4. 27, 28.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But it often fares ill with the godly, and well with the wicked, and how then are all things ordered and governed by God?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> We judge of things too ra&s;hly: <HI>Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement,</HI> &s;aith our Saviour, <HI>Joh.</HI> 7. 24. It is not well with the wicked, nor ill with the godly, when it &s;eems to be &s;o with them: When it &s;eems to be well with the wicked, it is ill with them; <HI>The pro&s;perity of fools de&s;troyeth them,</HI> Prov. 1. 32. <HI>Their table is made a&s;nare unto them, and that which &s;hould have been for their welfare, is un|to
<PB N="77" REF="42"> them an occa&s;ion of ruine,</HI> P&s;al. 69. 22. They are but fatted <HI>as &s;heep for the &s;laughter,</HI> Jer. 12. 3. Nei|ther on the other &s;ide is it ill with the godly, when it &s;eems to be ill with them; <HI>All things work together for their good,</HI> Rom. 8. 28. <HI>Before I was afflicted, I went a&s;tray; but now have I kept thy Word,</HI> P&s;al. 119. 67. <HI>It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might keep thy Statutes:</HI> V. 71. <HI>By this &s;hall the iniquity of</HI> Iacob <HI>be purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his &s;in,</HI> I&s;a. 27. 9. <HI>When we are judged, we are cha&s;t'ned of the Lord, that we &s;hould not be condemned with the world,</HI> 1 Cor. 10. 32.</P>
<P><HI>Ob. Doth God take care for Oxen?</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9. 9. And how then is his provi|dence over all?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Apo&s;tle there &s;peaks not ab&s;olute|ly, but comparatively; God takes care for Oxen, &s;o as to provide for them: <HI>He pre&s;erveth man and bea&s;t,</HI> P&s;al. 36. 6. <HI>He cau&s;eth the gra&s;&s;e to grow for the cattell,</HI> P&s;al. 104. 14. But the Apo&s;tles meaning is, that God doth not &s;o take care for Oxen, as for men, and for his Mini&s;ters, not &s;o as to make a Law meerly in re&s;pect of Oxen: That Law, <HI>Thou &s;halt not muzzle the mouth of the Oxe that treadeth out the corn,</HI> was not (as the Apo&s;tle &s;hews) &s;o much in the behalf of Oxen, as to &s;hew that Gods Mini&s;ters, who labour like Oxen, ought to be maintained. <HI>Or &s;aith he it altogether for our &s;akes? For our &s;akes no doubt this is written,</HI> &amp;c. 1 Cor. 9. 10.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. Hence we may &s;ee, and &s;hould con&s;i|der our dependance on God, and &s;o &s;hould learn
<PB N="78" REF="43"> to tru&s;t not in our &s;elves, nor in the creature, but in him only: Self-confidence is a thing which e|ven the be&s;t are &s;ubject to, but a thing which God cannot indure, and in both re&s;pects we have the more cau&s;e to beware of it; <HI>I &s;aid in my pro&s;pe|rity, I &s;hall never be moved.</HI> Thus <HI>David</HI> confef|&s;eth of him&s;elf, but he pre&s;ently addes, that <HI>God did hide his face, and then he was troubled,</HI> P&s;al. 30. 6, 7, For this very end God doth with-draw the light of his countenance from his children, and lay his afflicting hand upon them, that &s;o they may the better know and acknowledge how they depend upon him; <HI>We had the &s;entence of death in our &s;elves, that we &s;hould not tru&s;t in our &s;elves, but in God, &amp;c.</HI> 2 Cor. 1. 9.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 2. Again, what cau&s;e have we to feare God, and to walk humbly and obediently before him, &s;eeing our dependance upon him is &s;uch, as that we cannot &s;ub&s;i&s;t one moment without him? When <HI>Herod</HI> was incen&s;ed again&s;t them of Tyre and Sidon, they were very diligent and carefull to u&s;e all means that might be to appea&s;e him, and to reconcile them&s;elves unto him, and that becau&s;e <HI>their Countrey was nouri&s;hed by the Kings Countrey,</HI> Acts 12. 20. How then &s;hould we take heed of provoking God! how &s;hould we lay to heart his di&s;plea&s;ure! we depending upon him infinitely more then they did upon <HI>Herod: God in who&s;e hand thy breath is, and who&s;e are all thy wayes, ha&s;t thou not glorified:</HI> &s;aid <HI>Daniel</HI> to <HI>Bel|&s;hazzar,</HI> Dan. 5. 23.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 3. Again, God being he that governs all, and provides for all, if we fear him as we ought,
<PB N="79" REF="43"> we need not feare any thing, not the oppo|&s;ition that can be made again&s;t us, not the want of any thing that is needfull for us: <HI>We may boldly &s;ay, the Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man can do unto me,</HI> Heb. 13. 6. <HI>Let them that &s;uf|fer according to the will of God,</HI> (otherwi&s;e they cannot &s;uffer) <HI>commit the keeping of their &s;ouls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithfull Creator,</HI> 1 Pet. 4. 19. And how little rea&s;on they that fear God, have to fear the want of what is good for them, <HI>David</HI> plainly &s;hews, &s;aying, <HI>O fear the Lord ye his Saints; for there is no want to them that fear him. The young Lions do lack and &s;uffer hunger: but they that &s;eek the Lord, &s;hall not want any good thing,</HI> P&s;al. 44. 9, 10. <HI>Behold</HI> (&s;aith he al&s;o) <HI>the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. To deliver their &s;oul from death, and to keep them alive in famine,</HI> P&s;al. 33. 18, 19. Let's not therefore be anxious and &s;olicitous about the things of this life, for he that provides even for the meane&s;t of the creatures, will a&s;&s;u|redly provide for us, if we fear him and tru&s;t in him. See how our Saviour urgeth and pre&s;&s;eth this argument, <HI>Mat.</HI> 6. 25, 26, 28&punc; 29, 30, 31, 32, 33. So the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul, Be carefull for nothing</HI> (&s;aith he, meaning <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The word is <GAP DESC="foreign"> which is al&s;o u&s;ed Mat. 6 and it import|eth a di|&s;tracting care.</NOTE> anxiou&s;ly carefull) <HI>but in every thing by prayer and &s;upplication with giving of thanks, let your reque&s;ts be made known unto God,</HI> Phil. 4. 6. And &s;o S. <HI>Peter, Ca&s;t all your care upon him, for he careth for you,</HI> 1 Pet. 5. 7.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 4. This mu&s;t al&s;o teach us in all our inter|prizes, and affairs, to &s;eek unto God to direct us, and to pro&s;per <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s in that which we take in
<PB N="80" REF="44"> hand: <HI>Man purpo&s;eth,</HI> (we &s;ay, and that truly) <HI>but God di&s;po&s;eth;</HI> So the Wi&s;eman tells us, <HI>Ma|ny devices are in the heart of a man; but the coun|&s;ell</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>of the Lord, that &s;hall &s;tand.</HI> All &s;ucce&s;&s;e de|pends on his ble&s;&s;ing: if we have it, no oppo&s;i|tion can hurt us; if we want it, no indeavour of our own, no a&s;&s;i&s;tance of others can do us any good: <HI>Except the Lord build the hou&s;e, they la|bour but in vain that build it: Except the Lord keep the City, the Watchman waketh but in vain. It is in vain for you to ri&s;e up early, to &s;it up late, to eat the bread of &s;orrows, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;al. 127. 1, 2. All is in vain without Gods ble&s;&s;ing: and therefore needfull it is to hearken to that advice of <HI>Solo|mon, Tru&s;t in the Lord with all thy heart, and leane not to thine own understanding. In all thy waies ac|knowledge him, and he &s;hall direct thy paths,</HI> Prov. 3. 5, 6. Needfull it is to pray, as the Man of God doth, <HI>E&s;tabli&s;h thou the work of our hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands e&s;tabli&s;h thou it,</HI> P&s;al. 90. 17.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 5. So al&s;o in our &s;ucce&s;&s;es and atchieve|ments, in all our pro&s;perity and welfare, we mu&s;t acknowledge the goodne&s;&s;e of God towards us, and give him the glory of all, &s;eeing that all is from him, and by his providence: VVe mu&s;t take heed of being like to tho&s;e complained of, <HI>Hab. 1. 16. They &s;acrifice to their net, and burn in|cen&s;e to their drag, &amp;c, Mo&s;es</HI> earne&s;tly admo|ni&s;hed the I&s;raelites to beware of this fault; <HI>When thou ha&s;t eaten and art full, then thou &s;halt ble&s;&s;e the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the
<PB N="81" REF="44"> Lord thy God, &amp;c. least when thou ha&s;t eaten and art full, and ha&s;t built goodly hou&s;es, and dwelt therein: And when thy hards and thy flocks mul|tiply, and thy &s;ilver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, then thy heart be lif|ted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, &amp;c.</HI> Deut. 8. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. <HI>And thou &s;ay in thine heart, My power and mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou &s;halt remember the Lord thy God; for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, &amp;c.</HI> v. 17, 18. <HI>Nehemiah</HI> as he was carefull to &s;eek unto God, when he was to make a reque&s;t unto the King, <HI>Neh.</HI> 1. 11. &amp; 2. 4. &s;o was he al&s;o carefull to give prai&s;e and glory unto God, when the King had granted him that which he reque&s;ted of him. <HI>And the King granted me</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>accor|ding to the good hand of my God upon me,</HI> Neh. 2. 8. And v. 18. <HI>Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.</HI> So <HI>Ezra</HI> having obtained a very large Commi&s;&s;ion of the King for the good of Jeru&s;alem, glorifies God for it; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed be the Lord God of our Fathers, which hath put &s;uch a thing as this in the Kings heart, &amp;c.</HI> Ezra 7. 27. And v. 28. <HI>And I was &s;trengthned, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me.</HI></P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 6. On the other &s;ide, in all adver&s;ities, cro&s;&s;es, and afflictions, we mu&s;t take heed of murmuring and impatience, &s;eeing all comes to pa&s;&s;e by Gods providence. <HI>It is the Lord,</HI> (&s;aid <HI>Eli) let him do what &s;eemeth good in his &s;ight,</HI> 1 Sam. 3. 18. <HI>I was dumb, and opened not my mouth, becau&s;e thou did&s;t it,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 39. 9. This con&s;i|&s;ideration
<PB N="82" REF="45"> al&s;o did work upon <HI>Job,</HI> and made him take all that befell him &s;o patiently as he did; he over-looked the Chaldeans and Sabeans, and Sa|tan him&s;elf, he looked up to God, and acknow|ledging his hand &s;ubmitted unto him, and gave him glory: <HI>The Lord hath taken away, ble&s;&s;ed be the Name of the Lord,</HI> Job. 1. 21.</P>
<P><HI>Applicat.</HI> In the&s;e times of trouble and di|&s;traction, let this quiet and &s;ettle our minds, that notwith&s;tanding all commotions and com|bu&s;tions that are, or may be, yet God rules and governs all. <HI>Say not</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Solomon) what is the cau&s;e that the former dayes were better then the&s;e? for thou doe&s;t not inquire wi&s;ely of this matter,</HI> Eccl. 7. 10. Thou looke&s;t only downward unto men, whereas thou &s;houlde&s;t rather look upward unto God, and con&s;ider his hand in all. So <HI>Eccle&s;. 5. 8. If thou &s;eest</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>the oppre&s;&s;ion of the poor, and violent perverting of judgement and ju&s;tice in a Province, marvell not at the matter; for he that is higher then the highe&s;t</HI> (viz. of tho&s;e that are upon the earth) <HI>regardeth, and there is higher then they.</HI> In a word, let us con&s;ider this, and com|fort our &s;elves with this, that things do not come to pa&s;&s;e by the will and plea&s;ure of men, (for then indeed we might well fear what &s;hould be|come of us) but by the will and plea&s;ure of God, who will order all for his own glory, and his peoples good. <HI>The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoyce; let the multitude of the I&s;les be glad there|at,</HI> P&s;al. 97. 1. And v. 8. <HI>Sion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoyced, becau&s;e of thy judgements, O Lord.</HI></P>
<PB N="83" REF="45">
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 7. Finally, as in re&s;pect of the work of Creation, &s;o al&s;o in re&s;pect of the work of pre|&s;ervation and providence God is to be glorified. <HI>O ble&s;&s;ed be thy glorious Name, &amp;c.</HI> (&s;ay they) <HI>for thou ha&s;t made the Heavens, &amp;c. and thou pre|&s;erve&s;t them all,</HI> Neh. 9. 5, 6. So <HI>David</HI> exhorts, &s;aying, <HI>O ble&s;&s;e God ye people, and make the voice of his prai&s;e to be heard, who holdeth our &s;oul in life, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;al. 66. 8, 9. But &s;till we mu&s;t remember this, that we glorifie God not in word and tongue only, but in deed and in truth, that we prai&s;e him with our lives, and not with our lips only; <HI>Let your light &s;o &s;hine forth before men, that they &s;eeing your good works, may glorifie your Father which is in Heaven,</HI> Mat. 5. 16.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="8" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="84" REF="46">
<HEAD>THE EIGHTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ACTS 4. 12.</BIBL> Neither is there &s;alvation in any other; for there is none other name un|der heaven given among men, whereby we mu&s;t be &s;aved.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe&s;e words were &s;poken by <HI>Peter, being full of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> v. 7. And he &s;pake them of Chri&s;t, <HI>Je&s;us Christ of Nazareth,</HI> v. 10. He told the Jewi&s;h Rulers, that this Chri&s;t is he in whom alone is to be found &s;alvation: <HI>Neither is there &s;alvation in any other, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>[<HI>Salvation,</HI>] There is a temporall &s;alvation, that is, a deliverance and freedome from &s;ome temporall danger; as <HI>Exod. 14. 13. Stand &s;till, and &s;ee the &s;alvation of the Lord.</HI> And <HI>Exod. 15. 2. The Lord is become my &s;alvation.</HI> There is al&s;o e|ternall &s;alvation, which is called <HI>the &s;alvation of our &s;oules,</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 9. This is a deliverance and
<PB N="85" REF="46"> freedom from eternall mi&s;erie. Now its true of temporall &s;alvation, that there is not &s;alvation in any other, but in Chri&s;t onely. As Chri&s;t is God, &s;o it's he and onely he that can &s;ave tem|porally; <HI>He is the God of &s;alvation,</HI> P&s;al. 68. 20. In the Originall it is in the plurall number, <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>of &s;alvations:</HI> All manner of &s;alva|tion what&s;oever belongs unto him, as the author and worker of it. So as Chri&s;t is Mediator, there is no temporall &s;alvation to be expected but in and through him: <HI>For in him all the pro|mi&s;es of God are yea, and in him amen,</HI> 2 Cor. 1. 20. But here in the Text we are to under&s;tand eter|nall &s;alvation, which is u&s;ually meant where Chri&s;t is &s;poken of as the purcha&s;er and procurer of &s;alvation. And &s;o it is &s;aid expre&s;ly, that <HI>he is the Author of eternall &s;alvation,</HI> Heb. 5. 9. and which is equivalent, that <HI>he hath obtained eternall redemption for us,</HI> Heb. 9. 12.</P>
<P>[<HI>In any other,</HI>] Or by <HI>any other;</HI> the Greek Prepo&s;ition <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>in,</HI> like the Hebrew <GAP DESC="foreign"> being oft put for <HI>by:</HI> But here the phra&s;e &s;eems emphati|call, implying that &s;alvation is wholly contained in Chri&s;t, and not to be found any where but in him only.</P>
<P>[<HI>Nor any other Name,</HI>] That is, Per&s;on; as <HI>Acts 1. 15. The number of names together were a|bout an hundred and twenty;</HI> of names, that is, of per&s;ons.</P>
<P>[<HI>Vnder Heaven,</HI>] This is not referred to tho&s;e words, <HI>nor any other name;</HI> for no other neither under heaven, nor in heaven is given unto men, whereby to be &s;aved. <HI>Whom have I in Heaven but
<PB N="86" REF="47"> thee?</HI> P&s;al. 73. 25. But we mu&s;t referre the&s;e words to the word <HI>given,</HI> thus, <HI>There is no other name given under heaven, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>[<HI>Among men,</HI>] The Angels in heaven never &s;inning, needed none to be given among them, whereby to be &s;aved; neither did God vouch|&s;afe this mercy unto the Angels that &s;inned, and therefore were ca&s;t out of heaven: <HI>God &s;pared not the Angels that &s;inned,</HI> 2 Pet. 2. 4. This was Gods <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>love towards man,</HI> Tit. 3. 4. <HI>To us a child is borne, to us a &s;on is given,</HI> I&s;ai. 9. 6. So &s;aid the Prophet, but not &s;o the Angell, not, <HI>to us,</HI> but, <HI>to you is born this day in the City of</HI> David <HI>a Saviour, which is Chri&s;t the Lord,</HI> Luk. 2. 11.</P>
<P>The words hold out unto us this conclu&s;ion, That <HI>Salvation is not to be found in any but in</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> <HI>Chri&s;t only.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t ye&s;terday, and to day, and the &s;ame for ever,</HI> Heb. 13. 8. He ever was, and &s;till is, and ever &s;hall be the only Author of &s;alvation; none ever were, nor are, nor ever &s;hall be &s;aved, but only in and through Chri&s;t Je&s;us. This Doctrine of &s;alvation by Chri&s;t only hath been revealed from the beginning of the world, throughout all ages, though in a different manner, and by de|grees, at fir&s;t more darkly and &s;paringly, after|wards more clearly and fully. <HI>Search the Scrip|tures</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>for in them ye think to have e|ternall life, and they are they that te&s;tifie of me,</HI> Joh. 5. 39. By the Scriptures he means the Old Te&s;tament, for as then no part of the New Te|&s;tament was written. And again, in the &s;ame Chapter, v. 46. <HI>Had ye believed</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>ye would
<PB N="87" REF="47"> have believed me, for he wrote of me. Mo&s;es</HI> was the fir&s;t pen-man of holy Scripture, and (as Chri&s;t him&s;elf doth te&s;tifie) he wrote of Chri&s;t: And &s;o we find he did, and that in his fir&s;t Book even about the beginning of it; He records how im|mediately after man was fallen, Chri&s;t was pro|mi&s;ed to be his Saviour. God told the Serpent, that the &s;eed of the woman &s;hould bruize his head, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3. 15. That is, that Chri&s;t <HI>made of a wo|man,</HI> Gal. 4. 4. &s;hould de&s;troy the power of that <HI>old Serpent the Devill,</HI> Rev. 20. 2. So al&s;o <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> relates how God promi&s;ed unto <HI>Abraham,</HI> &s;ay|ing, <HI>And in thy &s;eed &s;hall all the Nations of the earth be ble&s;&s;ed,</HI> Gen. 22. 18. <HI>In thy &s;eed,</HI> that is, in Chri&s;t, <HI>Who took not upon him the nature of Angels, but the &s;eed of</HI> Abraham, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2. 16. and is called the <HI>Son of Abraham,</HI> Mat. 1. 1. And we may ob&s;erve how Chri&s;t at fir&s;t was called more generally <HI>the &s;eed of the woman,</HI> but afterward more parti|cularly <HI>the &s;eed of Abraham.</HI> But further, all the Prophets did te&s;tifie of Chri&s;t, and of &s;alvation thorough him only: This may be &s;een in the Prophets them&s;elves, if we peru&s;e them diligent|ly, and compare their writings with the writings of the Apo&s;tles and Evangeli&s;ts. But becau&s;e this would be a long bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, and it would re|quire much time to demon&s;trate this in that man|ner, I will only produce two or three places of the new Te&s;tament, where thus much is clearly a&s;&s;erted: <HI>Zacharias</HI> the Father of <HI>John</HI> the Bap|ti&s;t, having &s;aid, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed be the Lord God of I&s;rale, who hath vi&s;ited and redeemed his people: And hath rai&s;ed up a horn of &s;alvation for us in the hou&s;e of
<PB N="88" REF="48"> his &s;ervant</HI> David, (where ob&s;erve that Chri&s;t is de&s;cribed &s;till more particularly, as being not on|ly the &s;eed of <HI>Abraham,</HI> but of <HI>David,</HI> and &s;o called <HI>the &s;on of David,</HI> Mat. 1. 1.) immediately he addes, <HI>As he &s;pake by the mouth of his holy Pro|phets, which have been &s;ince the world began,</HI> Luk. 1. 68, 69, 70. So <HI>Stephen</HI> &s;peaking to the Jewes, <HI>Which of the Prophets</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>have not your Fa|thers per&s;ecuted? And they have &s;laine them which have &s;hewed before of the coming of the ju&s;t One, of whom now ye have been the betrayers and murthe|rers,</HI> Acts 7. 52. <HI>Peter</HI> al&s;o in his Sermon to <HI>Corne|lius,</HI> and the re&s;t that were with him, &s;peaking of Chri&s;t, &s;aith, <HI>To him give all the Prophets witne&s;&s;e, that thorow his Name who&s;oever believeth in him, &s;hall receive remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes,</HI> Acts 10. 43.</P>
<P>And as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and the Prophets did in words te&s;tifie that Chri&s;t is the only Saviour, &s;o from the time of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> untill the coming of Chri&s;t, there were many types and figures, whereby this was &s;ignified: Some of the&s;e types and figures were extraordinary and tran&s;ient; &s;ome were or|dinary and permanent. Of the former &s;ort was the brazen Serpent, which by Gods appointment <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> made, and &s;et upon a pole, that the peo|ple being &s;tung with fiery Serpents, looking up|on it might be healed, as we read in <HI>Numb.</HI> 21. <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">This was a fi|gure of Chri&s;t lift up on the Cro&s;&s;e, on whom who&s;oever being &s;tung by that old Se<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pent the Devil, looketh with the eye of faith, he &s;hall be healed.</NOTE> Our Saviour him&s;elf &s;hewes this to have prefi|gured him, and the benefit that cometh by him; <HI>As Mo&s;es</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>lift up the Serpent in the wilderne&s;&s;e, &s;o must the Son of Man be lift up: that who&s;oever believeth in him, might not peri&s;h, but have everla&s;ting life,</HI> Joh. 3. 14, 15. So the
<PB N="89" REF="48"> cloud which went before the I&s;raelites in the wilderne&s;&s;e when they journeyed, and was a guide unto them, and when they re&s;ted abode over their heads, and kept off the &s;corching heat of the Sun from them, this cloud, I &s;ay, (of which &s;ee <HI>Exod.</HI> 13. 21, 22.) was likewi&s;e a type of Chri&s;t, by whom alone we are protected from the fire of Gods wrath, and are directed to the heavenly Canaan. The Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that the I&s;raelites <HI>were baptized unto</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>in the cloud:</HI> It was a kind of Bapti&s;me unto them; it was to them as bapti&s;me is to us, a Sacramentall &s;ign pointing at Chri&s;t, and &s;hadowing forth &s;alvation by him, and him only. And &s;o al&s;o the Sea, as the Apo|&s;tle &s;heweth in the &s;ame place, viz. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10. 2. the Sea thorough which the I&s;raelites pa&s;&s;ed, when <HI>Pharoah</HI> and the Egyptians pur&s;ued them, and were ready to de&s;troy them, wherein al&s;o their adver&s;aries were drowned, as the &s;tory is recorded in <HI>Exod.</HI> 14. Of this nature al&s;o was Manna wherewith God did feed the I&s;raelites, <HI>Exod.</HI> 16. The Apo&s;tle calls it <HI>Spirituall meat,</HI> 1 Cor. 10. 3. becau&s;e it had a &s;pirituall &s;ignifica|tion, it &s;ignified Chri&s;t, and the body of Chri&s;t, (even as now the bread in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper doth) that true bread which doth feed the &s;oul unto eternall life, as Chri&s;t &s;heweth at large, in <HI>Joh.</HI> 6. So al&s;o was the rock out of which God gave drink to the I&s;raelites in the wilderne&s;&s;e, <HI>Exod. 17. That Rock was Chri&s;t,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10. 4. That is, it did repre&s;ent and &s;ignifie Chri&s;t, like as Chri&s;t called the bread in the Sacrament his body, and the wine his blood,
<PB N="90" REF="49"> which blood of his was al&s;o repre&s;ented and &s;ig|nified by that water out of the Rock, which therefore the Apo&s;tle there calls <HI>Spirituall drink,</HI> in re&s;pect of the &s;pirituall &s;ignification of it. The&s;e types and figures of Chri&s;t, I call extra|ordinary and tran&s;ient, becau&s;e they were only appointed upon occa&s;ion, and to continue but for a &s;hort time: But there were other types and figures of him which were of a more &s;o|lemn in&s;titution, and of a more durable nature, which therefore I call ordinary and permanent. Of this kind was the Pa&s;&s;eover, or the Pa&s;chall Lamb, the blood whereof being &s;prinkled on the doors of the I&s;raelites, they were pre&s;erved when the fir&s;t-born of the Egyptians were de|&s;troyed, <HI>Exod.</HI> 12. That Lamb was a figure of Chri&s;t, the <HI>Lamb of God,</HI> Joh. 1. 29. by who&s;e blood we are &s;aved, whenas all that are not &s;prin|kled with it, &s;hall be de&s;troyed; what is &s;poken of that Lamb, <HI>Exod.</HI> 12. 46. is applied unto Chri&s;t, and alledged as meant principally of him, <HI>Joh.</HI> 19. 36. So all the &s;acrifices and other rites and ceremonies of the Law had reference unto Chri&s;t, and did typifie him as the only Redeemer and Saviour; <HI>Which are a &s;hadow of things to come,</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle, &s;peaking of &s;ome of them) <HI>but the body is of Chri&s;t,</HI> Col. 2. 17. <HI>The Law was given by</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>but grace and truth came by Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> Joh. 1. 17. <HI>Grace</HI> in oppo&s;ition to the Mo|rall Law, and <HI>truth</HI> in oppo&s;ition to the ceremo|niall Law, which was but a &s;hadow of tho&s;e things, the truth whereof is in Chri&s;t. <HI>For the Law having a &s;hadow of good things to come&punc; and
<PB N="91" REF="49"> not the very image of the things, &amp;c.</HI> Heb. 10. 1. <HI>For it is not po&s;&s;ible that the blood of bulls and goats &s;hould take away &s;in,</HI> v. 4. No, it's only the blood of Chri&s;t which was typified by the blood of tho&s;e creatures, that can do it. See there what follows in the &s;ame Chapter: And indeed the &s;cope of the whole Epi&s;tle is to &s;hew that the ceremoniall Law did but &s;hadow out Chri&s;t, and therefore is now aboli&s;hed, Chri&s;t being come and having accompli&s;hed that which it &s;ha|dowed.</P>
<P>Thus in the Scriptures of the Old Te&s;tament is Chri&s;t &s;et forth, as he in whom alone &s;alvation is to be found. But much more clearly and fully is this revealed in the Scriptures of the New Te|&s;tament; <HI>We u&s;e great plainne&s;&s;e of &s;peech: And not as</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>that put a vail over his face, &amp;c.</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, 2 Cor. 3. 12, 13. The Text in hand doth plainly tell us, that <HI>there is not &s;alvation in any other, &amp;c.</HI> So <HI>Mat.</HI> 1. 21. it's &s;aid that there|fore he is called <HI>Je&s;us, becau&s;e he doth &s;ave his peo|ple from their &s;ins.</HI> And S. <HI>John</HI> &s;aith, <HI>God hath gi|ven unto us eternall life, and this life is in his Son: He that hath the Son, hath life; but he that hath not the Son, hath not life,</HI> 1 Joh. 5. 11, 12. Every where in the New Te&s;tament &s;uch &s;entences and &s;ayings are obvious.</P>
<P>But for the fuller manife&s;tation of the truth of this Doctrine, let us further con&s;ider that all the links of the golden chain of &s;alvation, <HI>viz.</HI> Election, Redemption, Adoption, Ju&s;tification, Sanctification, and Glorification, all have reference unto Chri&s;t, and dependance upon him.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="92" REF="50">1. Election; God hath elected &s;uch as &s;hall be &s;aved: <HI>God hath cho&s;en you unto &s;alvation,</HI> 2 The&s;. 2. 13. All they, and only they whom God hath cho&s;en, &s;hall be &s;aved. Now the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of Chri&s;t, &s;aith, that <HI>God hath cho&s;en us in him before the foundation of the world,</HI> Eph. 1. 3.</P>
<P N="2">2. Redemption: All being by nature the bond-&s;laves of Satan, none can be &s;aved except they be redeemed; <HI>God hath vi&s;ited and redeemed his people.</HI> And how? By Chri&s;t, whom he hath rai&s;ed up to be a horn of &s;alvation for us, &amp;c. <HI>Luk.</HI> 1. 68, 69. It's Chri&s;t who by his blood hath purcha&s;ed eternall redemption for us, <HI>Heb.</HI> 9, 12.</P>
<P N="3">3. Adoption: They that &s;hall be &s;aved are called <HI>Heirs of &s;alvation,</HI> Heb. 4. 14. But <HI>if chil|dren, then heirs,</HI> Rom. 8. Now by nature all are <HI>the children of wrath,</HI> Eph. 2. 3. It is therefore by grace and by adoption, that any become Gods chil|dren; and this is through Chri&s;t. <HI>God hath prede|&s;tinated us to the adoption of children by Je&s;us Christ unto him&s;elf,</HI> Eph. 1. 5. <HI>When the fulne&s;&s;e of time was come, God &s;ent his Son made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that were un|der the Law, that we might receive the adoption of &s;ons,</HI> Gal. 4. 4, 5.</P>
<P N="4">4. Ju&s;tification: All being naturally under the guilt of &s;in, they mu&s;t be ju&s;tified and ac|quitted from that guilt, or el&s;e they cannot be &s;aved; to die in &s;in is as much as to peri&s;h for e|ver, <HI>Joh.</HI> 8. 24. Now there's no being ju&s;tified but by Chri&s;t, who <HI>is the Lamb of God that taketh a|way the &s;in of the world,</HI> Joh. 1. 29. <HI>Be it known
<PB N="93" REF="50"> unto you therefore men and brethren, that thorow this man is preached unto you forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes. And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be ju&s;tified by the Law of</HI> Mo&s;es, Acts 13. 38, 39.</P>
<P N="5">5. Sanctification: All being by nature, as guil|ty of, &s;o polluted with &s;in, they mu&s;t fir&s;t be &s;anctified, before they can be &s;aved: <HI>That they may receive forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes, and an inheri|tance among them that are &s;anctified,</HI> Acts 26. 18. But this &s;anctification al&s;o is thorough Chri&s;t: <HI>According to his mercy he &s;aved us by the wa&s;hing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Gho&s;t, which he &s;hed on us abundantly, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Saviour,</HI> Tit. 3. 5, 6. It is &s;aid of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that <HI>of his fulne&s;&s;e we all receive grace for grace,</HI> Joh. 1. 16.</P>
<P N="6">6. Glorification: This is the highe&s;t &s;tep of &s;alvation, that which makes it compleat and per|fect; that which is called &s;alvation <HI>ready to be revealed in the la&s;t time,</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 5. is called, <HI>the glory that &s;hall be revealed in us,</HI> Rom. 8. 18. Now this al&s;o is attained through Chri&s;t, it's called <HI>the glory of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 The&s;. 2. 14. Chri&s;t is him&s;elf already entred into this glory, and he makes way for us to enter into it: <HI>I go to prepare a place for you,</HI> &s;aith he, Joh. 14. 2. <HI>Which hope we have as an anchor of the &s;oul, both &s;ure and &s;tedfast, and which entreth into that within the vaile, whither the fore-runner is for us entred, e|ven Je&s;us, &amp;c.</HI> Heb. 6. 19, 20.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. This &s;erves to confute the Papi&s;ts, who think to find &s;alvation in others, as in the Virgin
<PB N="49" REF="51"> <HI>Mary,</HI> and the re&s;t of the Saints, and &s;o in them|&s;elves, thinking (if they think as they write) to be ju&s;tified by their own inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, to &s;atisfie the ju&s;tice of God by their own per|formances, and to obtain heaven by their own merits. But we have not thus learned Chri&s;t: <HI>If righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e come by the Law, then Chri&s;t is dead in vain,</HI> &s;aith S. <HI>Paul,</HI> Gal. 2. 21. So in vaine did Chri&s;t come to be our Saviour, if we could &s;a|tisfie and merit for our &s;elves, or if the Saints could &s;atisfie and merit for us. <HI>All our righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;es are as filthy rags,</HI> E&s;a. 64. 4. That elect ve&s;|&s;ell <HI>Paul</HI> de&s;ired to be found in Chri&s;t, <HI>not ha|ving his own righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which is of the Law, but that which is thorough the faith of Christ, the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is of God by faith,</HI> Phil. 3. 9.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. So likewi&s;e are they here confuted, who think that people may be &s;aved by the meer light of nature, if they make a right u&s;e of it, and walk according to it: The meer light of nature cannot bring to the knowledge of Chri&s;t, with|out whom there's no &s;alvation: <HI>Fle&s;h and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t to <HI>Peter,</HI> when he had made a worthy confe&s;&s;ion of him, <HI>Mat. 16. 17. Search the Scriptures, &amp;c. for they are they that te&s;tifie of me,</HI> &s;aith he, Joh. 5. 39. <HI>From a child thou ha&s;t known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wi&s;e unto &s;alvation, thorough faith which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Paul</HI> to <HI>Timothy,</HI> 2 Tim. 3. 15. Whiles the Ephe&s;ians were onely under the light of nature, they were without Chri&s;t, and &s;o having no hope, <HI>viz.</HI> of &s;alvation, Eph. 2. 12.
<PB N="95" REF="51"> <HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 3. We then here may &s;ee, and &s;hould con&s;ider the great goodne&s;&s;e of God towards us, in revealing Chri&s;t unto us: In former ages Chri&s;t was totally hid from the greate&s;t part of the world, Eph. 2. 12. That which is there &s;po|ken of the Ephe&s;ians, was (as the Text it &s;elf al|&s;o there doth &s;hew) the ca&s;e and condition of all the Gentiles, that is, of all the world, except the Jewes only: And the Jews them&s;elves had no &s;uch clear and full revelation of Chri&s;t, as we now have. Things were delivered unto them more ob&s;curely in types and figures, as before noted; But now <HI>the grace of God which bringeth &s;alvation unto all men, hath appeared,</HI> or hath &s;hi|ned forth, as the word in the Originall doth im|port.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> Chri&s;t hath now <HI>brought life and immor|tality to light thorough the Go&s;pell,</HI> 2 Tim. 1. 10. <HI>If our Go&s;pell be hid, it is hid to them that are lo&s;t: in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, &amp;c.</HI> 2 Cor. 4. 3, 4.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 4. Let us therefore have a care to make &s;ure of Chri&s;t, and of &s;alvation thorough Chri&s;t: <HI>Receive not the grace of God in vain,</HI> 2 Cor. 6. 2. <HI>How &s;hall we e&s;cape if we neglect &s;o great &s;alvation?</HI> Heb. 2. 3.</P>
<P N="1">1. Let us take heed of being ignorant of Chri&s;t, <HI>By his knowledge</HI> (that is, by the knowledge of him) <HI>he &s;hall justifie many,</HI> E&s;a. 53. 11. <HI>This is life eternall to know thee the only true God, and whom thou ha&s;t &s;ent, Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> Joh. 17. 3. The more clearly that Chri&s;t is now made manife&s;t, the more inexcu&s;able are we, if we be ignorant of him: <HI>This is the condemnation of the world, that light
<PB N="96" REF="52"> is come into the world, but men loved darkne&s;&s;e ra|ther then light,</HI> &amp;c. Joh. 3. 19.</P>
<P N="2">2. Let us take heed of relying on any thing but Chri&s;t: Only Chri&s;t is a <HI>&s;ure foundation, in whom who&s;oever believeth &s;hall not be a&s;hamed,</HI> E&s;a. 28. 16. Rom. 10. 11. It is faith in Chri&s;t, not works, the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t apprehended by faith, not our own righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e that we mu&s;t build upon: <HI>We conclude that a man is ju&s;tified by faith, without the deeds of the Law,</HI> Rom. 3. 28. <HI>By grace ye are &s;aved thorough faith,</HI> Eph. 2. 8. Not as faith is con&s;idered ab&s;olutely, but as it is con|&s;idered relatively; not in re&s;pect of it &s;elf, but in re&s;pect of Chri&s;t, whom it layeth hold on and receiveth: <HI>For Chri&s;t doth dwell in our hearts by faith,</HI> Eph. 3. 17. And <HI>He is our peace,</HI> Eph. 2. 14. and <HI>our hope,</HI> 1 Tim. 1. 1. Chri&s;t is the medicine that doth work the cure, faith the hand that doth apply it, without which application though the medicine be never &s;o Soveraign, it can do us no good. But herewithall, we mu&s;t remember that faith without works is dead, <HI>Jam.</HI> 2. The &s;ame faith that looks at, and layes hold on the pro|mi&s;es, (which are Yea and Amen in Chri&s;t) hath re&s;pect to the precepts al&s;o, &s;ee <HI>Heb.</HI> 11. 7, 8, 17. And Chri&s;t came as to <HI>&s;ave &s;inners,</HI> 1 Tim. 1. 15. &s;o to <HI>call &s;inners to repentance,</HI> Mat. 9. 13. He came as to &s;ave, &s;o al&s;o to &s;anctifie; &s;ee <HI>Eph.</HI> 5. 25, 26. and <HI>Tit.</HI> 2. 14. In a word Chri&s;t is Lord as well as Je|&s;us or Saviour, and therefore except we yeeld obedience to him, let us not think to be &s;aved by him. <HI>He is the Author of eternall &s;alvation unto all them</HI> (and only them) <HI>that obey him.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="9" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="97" REF="52">
<HEAD>THE NINTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>HEB. 7. 25.</BIBL> Wherefore he is a|ble to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t all that come unto God by him.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe &s;cope of the Author of this Epi&s;tle, is to &s;hew, that the Leviticall Prie&s;thood&punc; was but a type and figure of Chri&s;ts Prie&s;thood, and that all the rites and ceremonies of the Law were ful|filled in Chri&s;t: And in this Chapter more pe|culiarly is &s;hewed, that Chri&s;t being a Prie&s;t after the order of <HI>Melchi&s;edek,</HI> his Prie&s;thood was much more excellent then that of <HI>Aaron,</HI> who was the fir&s;t Prie&s;t under the Law. In the two Ver&s;es before the Text it's noted, that under the Law there were many Prie&s;ts, one &s;ucceeding a|nother, becau&s;e they were mortall, and &s;o one failing, another mu&s;t &s;ucceed in his place; but that Chri&s;t is the only Prie&s;t having no Succe&s;&s;or, nor was there need of any, becau&s;e though he died, (as it was requi&s;ite he &s;hould, he being both Prie&s;t and Sacrifice) yet he quickly ro&s;e again, and
<PB N="98" REF="53"> liveth for ever. Hence he inferreth, that Chri&s;t is a mo&s;t &s;ufficient Saviour; <HI>Wherefore he is able to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t all that come unto God by him, &s;eeing he ever liveth to make interce&s;&s;ion for them.</HI> Ob&s;erve we therefore this Doctrine, That <HI>Chri&s;t is a most powerful and a mo&s;t &s;ufficient Saviour.</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> </P>
<P>He is <HI>mighty to &s;ave,</HI> as it is &s;aid of him, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 63. 1. He is <HI>a horn of &s;alvation,</HI> as he is called, <HI>Luke</HI> 1. 69. that is, a &s;trong and mighty &s;alvation, for &s;o the word <HI>horn</HI> in Scripture &s;omtimes im|ports &s;trength and might; <HI>The Lord &s;hall give &s;trength unto his King, and exalt the horn of his An|noynted, 1 Sam.</HI> 2. 10. And thus <HI>David</HI> calls God his rock, his fortre&s;&s;e, and his deliverer, his God, his &s;trength, in whom he would tru&s;t, his buckler, and the horn of his &s;alvation, and his high Tower, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 18. 2. Tho&s;e many other titles which are heaped up together with it, &s;hew what is meant by this <HI>horn of &s;alvation.</HI> So <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 28. 16. Chri&s;t is called, a <HI>&s;ure foundation:</HI> It's &s;afe building upon<NOTE PLACE="marg">LXX. <GAP DESC="foreign">. But the o|ther Greek Inter|p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ters, <GAP DESC="foreign">. V<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lg. non fe&s;tinet. <GAP DESC="foreign"> to make ha&s;t; <GAP DESC="foreign"> to be a&s;hamed.</NOTE> him, as it there followes, <HI>Who&s;oever believeth in him &s;hall not make ha&s;t;</HI> that is, not &s;tumble and fall, as they are apt to do that make ha&s;t: The Apo&s;tle hath it, <HI>&s;hall not be a&s;hamed, Rom. 10. 11. viz.</HI> as they u&s;e to be who&s;e confidence proves vain, who tru&s;t in that which does them no good, or not &s;o much as they did expect from it. And &s;o the Greek Interpreters called the Septuagint, render it; the words in the Hebrew for to make ha&s;t, and to be a&s;hamed, being &s;omewhat alike in &s;ound and in figure, and the &s;en&s;e of them both equally agreeing to this place.</P>
<P>The power and &s;ufficiency of Chri&s;t to &s;ave,
<PB N="99" REF="53"> may appeare in the&s;e re&s;pects:</P>
<P N="1">1. He is able to &s;ave as well one as another: He is not only able to &s;ave one, or two, or a few, but all, be they never &s;o many: <HI>Look unto me, and be ye &s;aved, all the ends of the earth,</HI> &s;aith he, E&s;a. 45. 22. <HI>It is a light thing</HI> &s;aith God unto him, <HI>that thou &s;houldst be my &s;ervant to rai&s;e up the Tribes of</HI> Jacob, <HI>and to re&s;tore the pre&s;erved of I&s;rael; I will al&s;o give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou maye&s;t be my &s;alvation unto the ends of the earth,</HI> E&s;a. 49. 6. See al&s;o <HI>Act.</HI> 13. 47. where this place is cited and expounded of Chri&s;t: So <HI>Simeon</HI> having Chri&s;t (as then a young babe) in his armes, &s;aid, <HI>Lord now lette&s;t thou thy &s;ervant de|part in peace; for mine eyes have &s;een thy &s;alvation, which thou ha&s;t prepared before the face of all people,</HI> Luk. 2. 29, 30, 31. True it is, all are not &s;aved by Chri&s;t, but that is not through defect in Chri&s;t, nor through any inability in him to &s;ave, but through the indi&s;po&s;edne&s;&s;e that is in others to be &s;aved: The pool of <HI>Bethe&s;da</HI> had in it vertue &s;ufficient to cure any, yet only &s;uch were cured by it, as after the moving of the water by an Angell, did fir&s;t enter into it, <HI>Joh.</HI> 5. 4. So there is &s;ufficient vertue in Chri&s;t to &s;ave any, yet only &s;uch as believe in him, &s;hall be &s;aved by him. <HI>By him all that believe, are ju&s;tified, &amp;c.</HI> Acts 13. 39. <HI>To as many as received him, to them he gave power to be the Sons of God, even to them that believed on his name,</HI> Joh. 1. 11, 12. <HI>Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life,</HI> Joh. 5. 40.</P>
<P N="2">2. He is able to &s;ave as wel at one time as at an|other, as well before his Incarnation, as &s;ince;
<PB N="100" REF="54"> <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t ye&s;terday, &amp; to day, &amp; the &s;ame for ever,</HI> Heb. 13. 8. They that were before Chri&s;ts coming in the fle&s;h, did find the power and &s;ufficiency of Chri&s;t to &s;ave them, as well as they have been &s;ince his coming: <HI>We believe that thorough the grace of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t we &s;hall be &s;aved e|ven as they,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Peter,</HI> &s;peaking of tho&s;e that were before Chri&s;t, <HI>Acts 15. 11. Abraham rejoyced to &s;ee my day, and he &s;aw it, and was glad,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t, Joh. 8. 56.</P>
<P N="3">3. He is able to &s;ave as well from one enemy, as from another: he came for that end, <HI>that we &s;hould be &s;aved from the hand of all our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us,</HI> Luk. 1. 71. He is able to &s;ave from corporall enemies; <HI>Be not a|fraid,</HI> (&s;aid he unto <HI>Paul) but &s;peak, and hold not thy peace; for I am with thee, and no man &s;hall &s;et on thee, to hurt thee,</HI> Acts 18. 9, 10. And he is able to &s;ave from &s;pirituall enemies: From &s;in, <HI>Thou &s;halt call his Name Je&s;us, for he &s;hall &s;ave his people from their &s;innes,</HI> Mat. 1. 21. From the Law: <HI>Chri&s;t hath redeemed us from the cur&s;e of the Law, &amp;c.</HI> Gal. 3. 13. From death; <HI>The la&s;t enemy</HI> (that ene|my that holdeth out to the la&s;t) <HI>that &s;hall be de|&s;troyed, is death, 1 Cor.</HI> 15. 26. And v. 54. &amp;c. <HI>When this corruptible &s;hall have put on incorruption, and this mortall &s;hall have put on immortality, then &s;hall be brought to pa&s;&s;e the &s;aying that is written, Death is &s;wallowed up in victory. O Death, where is thy &s;ting? O Grave, where is thy victory? The &s;ting of death is &s;in, and the &s;trength of &s;in is the Law; but thanks be unto God, that giveth us victory thorough Ie&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> From the Devill: He came
<PB N="101" REF="54"> to brui&s;e the head of that old Serpent, as was pro|mi&s;ed in the beginning, <HI>Gen. 3. 15. Fora&s;much as the children are partakers of fle&s;h and blood, he like|wi&s;e took part of the &s;ame, that thorough death he might de&s;troy him that had the power of death; that is, the Devill,</HI> Heb. 2. 14.</P>
<P N="4">4. He is able to &s;ave not only for a while, but for ever: <HI>I&s;rael &s;hall be &s;aved in the Lord with an everla&s;ting &s;alvation,</HI> E&s;a. 45. 17. <HI>He is the Author of eternall &s;alvation unto all them that obey him,</HI> Heb. 5. 9. <HI>He hath obtained eternall redemption for us,</HI> Heb. 9. 12.</P>
<P N="5">5. He is able to &s;ave not only privatively, &s;o as to remove all evil from us, but al&s;o po&s;itively, &s;o as to confer all good upon us: Had <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> only been delivered out of pri&s;on, he would have thought it no &s;mall favour; this was all that he reque&s;ted the chief Butler to do for him, when he had &s;o comfortably interpreted his dreame unto him: <HI>But think on me when it &s;hall be well with thee, and &s;hew kindne&s;&s;e, I pray thee, unto me, and make men|tion of me unto</HI> P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">araoh, <HI>and bring me out of this hou&s;e,</HI> Gen. 40. 14. But that he &s;hould be &s;o ad|vanced as he was, this was much more. Now who|&s;oever believeth in Chri&s;t, &s;hall thorough him not only not peri&s;h, but al&s;o &s;hall have eternall life, Joh. 3. 16.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Rea&s;ons why Chri&s;t is &s;uch a powerfull and &s;uffi|cient Saviour.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e of the dignity of his Per&s;on, <HI>He is the mighty God,</HI> as he is &s;tiled, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 9. 6. therefore he mu&s;t needs be a mighty Saviour. God with his
<PB N="102" REF="55"> own blood did purcha&s;e his Church, as it is &s;aid, <HI>Acts</HI> 20. 28. The blood of Chri&s;t is the blood not of a meer man, but of that per&s;on that is as well God as man, and therefore that blood mu&s;t needs be of infinite value, it mu&s;t needs be of &s;ufficient force to purcha&s;e the Church, and to work the redemption of it.</P>
<P N="2">2. Becau&s;e both of the greatne&s;&s;e, and al&s;o of the willingne&s;&s;e of his &s;uffering: <HI>He was wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, he was bruized for our iniqui|ties, &amp;c.</HI> I&s;ai. 53. 5. And v. 10. it's &s;aid, that <HI>his &s;oule was made an offering for &s;in;</HI> and therefore <HI>he &s;hall &s;ee his &s;eed,</HI> and v. 11. <HI>He &s;hall &s;ee of the tra|vell of his &s;oul, and &s;hall be &s;atisfied. Therefore doth my Father love me</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>becau&s;e I lay down my life, that I may take it up again: No man ta|keth it from me, but I lay it down of my &s;elf,</HI> Ioh. 10. 17, 18.</P>
<P N="3">3. By the vertue of his Re&s;urrection: Hereby he hath made it appear, that our debt is di&s;char|ged, and Gods ju&s;tice &s;atisfied. <HI>He was delivered</HI> (viz. unto death) <HI>for our offences, and ro&s;e again for our ju&s;tification,</HI> Rom. 4. 25. <HI>Who is he that con|demneth? it is Chri&s;t that died, yea rather, that is ri&s;en againe,</HI> Rom. 8. 34. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed be God, and the Father of our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, through the Re&s;urrection of Ie|&s;us Chri&s;t from the dead,</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 3.</P>
<P N="4">4. By the power of his A&s;cen&s;ion: He a&s;cen|ded up into heaven to make way for us; <HI>I go to prepare a place for you,</HI> &s;aith he, Ioh. 14. 2. and in this re&s;pect he is called <HI>our fore-runner,</HI> Heb. 6. 20.</P>
<P N="5"><PB N="103" REF="55">5. By the efficacy of his Interce&s;&s;ion: Being a&s;cended into heaven, and &s;itting at Gods right hand, he maketh interce&s;&s;ion unto God for us, pre&s;enting unto him the merit of his death which he &s;uffered for our &s;innes. <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Heb. 9. 24.</NOTE> And this rea&s;on is alledged why Chri&s;t <HI>is able to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t all that come unto God by him,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>he ever liveth to make interce&s;&s;ion for them:</HI> So Rom. 8. 34. <HI>Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is ri&s;en againe, who is even at the right hand of God, who al&s;o maketh interce&s;&s;ion for us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. Now if Chri&s;t be &s;uch a powerfull and &s;ufficient Saviour, then the more injurious are they of the Church of Rome both unto Chri&s;t and unto Chri&s;tians, in &s;etting up other Saviours be&s;ides Chri&s;t, as if he alone were too weak and in&s;ufficient to &s;ave us. But as the Gentiles being <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;uch as had many Gods, were indeed <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;uch as had no God at all, but were without <HI>God in the world,</HI> Eph. 2. 12. &s;o they that will needs have many Saviours, have indeed no Saviour: they that will not be content with Chri&s;t alone for &s;alvation, &s;hall neither have &s;al|vation by him, nor by any other; for there is none other by whom to have it. <HI>There is not &s;al|vation in any other; for there is none other Name under heaven given among men whereby to be &s;aved,</HI> Acts 4. 12. <HI>If you will not believe that I am he, ye &s;hall die in your &s;ins,</HI> Ioh. 8. 24. <HI>Wherefore do you &s;pend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which &s;atisfieth not? hearken dili|gently unto me, and eat that which is good, and let
<PB N="104" REF="56"> your &s;oul delight it &s;elf in fatne&s;&s;e. Incline your ear and come unto me, hear and your &s;oul &s;hal live, &amp;c.</HI> E&s;a. 55. 2, 3. It was the &s;aying of one of the Mar|tyrs in Queen <HI>Maries</HI> daies, and it mu&s;t be one principall part of our Creed, <HI>None but Chri&s;t, none but Christ.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e.</HI> 2. Again, there being &s;uch power and &s;uf|ficiency in Chri&s;t to &s;ave, here is comfort for all &s;in-&s;ick &s;oules, for all di&s;tre&s;&s;ed con&s;ciences; here is incouragement for them to come unto Chri&s;t, and to roll them&s;elves upon him: He is a Phy&s;itian able to cure them, be their maladies never &s;o great, never &s;o grievous. He cured <HI>Mat|thew</HI> a Publican, <HI>Zacheus</HI> chief of the Publicans; <HI>Paul</HI> a per&s;ecutor; <HI>Mary Magdalen,</HI> that was po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with &s;even Devills, and the Thief on the Cro&s;&s;e, when he was at the point of death, which he &s;uffered for his lewdne&s;&s;e: Doubt not there|fore, who&s;oever thou art, but he can cure thee al|&s;o; come unto him, and &s;ay as the Leper did, <HI>Lord if thou wilt, thou can&s;t make me clean,</HI> Mat. 8. 2. and a&s;&s;uredly Chri&s;t will &s;ay unto thee, as he did to that Leper, v. 3. <HI>I will, be thou clean:</HI> For, he is not le&s;&s;e willing to &s;ave tho&s;e that come un|to him, then he is able. He invites all to come, and offers his grace unto all, if they do come; <HI>Ho, every one that thir&s;teth, come unto the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat, yea come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price,</HI> E&s;a. 55. 1. <HI>Come unto me all ye that are wea|ry and heavy laden, and I will give you re&s;t,</HI> Mat. 11. 28. Therefore whatever thou art, if thou bee&s;t
<PB N="105" REF="56"> &s;en&s;ible of &s;in, if burthened with it, if <HI>thine ini|quities be gone over thine head, and be as a heavy burthen, too heavy for thee to bear,</HI> as <HI>David</HI> com|plained of his iniquities, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 38. 4. Come <HI>and cast thy burthen upon the Lord,</HI> as he exhorts, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 55. 22. Ca&s;t it upon the Lord Chri&s;t, who is both able and al&s;o willing to beare it. If thou bee&s;t as perplexed as the &s;oul &s;mitten Iaylor was, who cryed out, <HI>What mu&s;t I do that I may be &s;aved?</HI> I &s;ay unto thee, as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid unto him, <HI>Believe in the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and thou &s;halt be &s;aved,</HI> Acts 16. 30, 31.</P>
<P>So, are we troubled for want of &s;anctificati|on, becau&s;e grace is &s;o weak, and corruption &s;o &s;trong in us? let us come unto Chri&s;t, who is <HI>full of grace,</HI> Ioh. 1. 14. <HI>And of his fulne&s;&s;e we all re|ceive grace for grace:</HI> V. 16. <HI>He is made of God unto us &s;anctification, 1 Cor. 1. 30. His grace is &s;uf|ficient for us, 2 Cor.</HI> 12. 9. Though in us there be nothing but want and weakne&s;&s;e, yet in Chri&s;t is all fulne&s;&s;e, and all power: <HI>I can do all things thorough Christ that &s;trengtheneth me,</HI> Phil. 4. 13. As the conies being in them&s;elves weak, yet pro|vide for their &s;afety by this, that <HI>they make their hou&s;es in the rocks,</HI> Prov. 30. 26. So let us get in|to the rock Chri&s;t, and then how weak &s;oever o|therwi&s;e we be, we are &s;afe; though the Devill our adver&s;ary be a lion, a roaring lion, and go a|bout &s;eeking whom he may devoure, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5. 8. yet Chri&s;t is a lion as well as he, <HI>Rev.</HI> 5. 5. yea, a lion &s;tronger then he, more potent to &s;ave, then he is to de&s;troy; <HI>He will brui&s;e Satan under our
<PB N="106" REF="57"> feet,</HI> Rom. 16. 20. Therefore <HI>be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might,</HI> Ephe&s;. 6. 10. <HI>Ioab</HI> fled to the horns of the Altar, and yet was never the better, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 2. but let us flie to Chri&s;t the horn of &s;alvation, and what&s;oever the danger be that doth pur&s;ue us, it &s;hall not overtake us, we &s;hall either e&s;cape the thing it &s;elf, or at lea&s;t the evill of it, we &s;hall not be the wor&s;e, but the better for it: <HI>All things &s;hall work together for our good,</HI> Rom. 8. 28. Even <HI>death it &s;elf &s;hall be gain unto us,</HI> Phil. 1. 21.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e.</HI> 3. But as there is this con&s;olation for us, &s;o is there al&s;o admonition, to <HI>take heed lea&s;t we fail</HI> (or come &s;hort) <HI>of the grace of God,</HI> Heb. 12.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> 15. <HI>How &s;hall we e&s;cape, if we neglect &s;o great &s;al|vation?</HI> Heb. 2. 3. And they neglect this &s;o great &s;alvation, 1. Who expect &s;alvation from any thing but Chri&s;t only: And &s;o do not only the Papi&s;ts, but al&s;o many &s;imple and &s;uper&s;titious ones among our &s;elves, who build upon them|&s;elves, their own righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, their good pray|ers, good meanings and the like; whereas though all were indeed good, (as without a true faith in Chri&s;t nothing is good) yet are they not &s;o good, as that it is &s;afe to re&s;t in them, and to build up|on them. <HI>Paul</HI> was as good in every re&s;pect, I dare &s;ay, as any of the&s;e, yet did he renounce all his own righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, as not &s;ufficient, if God &s;hould contend with him, and flie unto Chri&s;t, and his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, as that which alone is &s;uffici|ent unto ju&s;tification and &s;alvation, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3. 9.</P>
<P>2. They who pretend to Chri&s;t, and pre&s;ume
<PB N="107" REF="57"> of &s;alvation by Chri&s;t, and yet indeed are aliens from Chri&s;t, and have no intere&s;t in him; they &s;ay, that they believe in Chri&s;t, and hope to be &s;a|ved by Chri&s;t, and yet live in their &s;ins, which Chri&s;t came to de&s;troy: <HI>For the Son of God was manife&s;ted to destroy the works of the Devill,</HI> 1 Ioh. 3. 8. Therefore though Chri&s;t be never &s;o able to &s;ave, yet &s;uch as remain impenitent and di&s;obe|dient, &s;hall have no &s;alvation by him, they have neither part nor portion in this matter: Chri&s;t commanded that repentance and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins &s;hould be preached in his Name, <HI>Luk.</HI> 24. 47. No remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins thorough him without re|pentance. <HI>Paul</HI> te&s;tified both to the Iews, and al|&s;o to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>Acts 20. 21. As many as walk according to this rule, peace &s;hall be upon them, and mercy, and upon the I&s;rael of God,</HI> Gal. 6. 16.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="10" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="108" REF="58">
<HEAD>THE TENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>JOH. 10. 30.</BIBL> I and my Father are one.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>I Have <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Serm. 7. p. 63.</NOTE> before &s;hewed, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Gho&s;t, are three di&s;tinct Per&s;ons, yet but one and the &s;ame God. Now I &s;hall treat more particularly, and more fully of the &s;econd Per&s;on, the Son, our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;hall prove his Divinity, which hath been much impugned both of old, and of late, yea, is &s;till at this day: Chri&s;t him&s;elf here &s;peaking of him&s;elf, and of his Father, affirmes, that they are one, that is, (as I &s;hall indeavour to demon&s;trate) one in e&s;&s;ence and nature, one and the &s;ame God. And thus they to whom he &s;pake the&s;e words, did under|&s;tand them, as appeares by the Ver&s;es im|mediately following, where it is &s;aid, that the Iewes pre&s;ently upon the&s;e words took up &s;tones to &s;tone him, charging him with bla&s;|phemy, for that he being a man, did make him|&s;elf
<PB N="109" REF="58"> God. Indeed <HI>Calvin</HI> up|on<NOTE PLACE="marg">Abu&s;i &s;unt hoc loco veteres ut probarent Chri&s;tum e&s;&s;e Patr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="foreign">. Neque n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Chri&s;tus de Vnitate &s;ub&s;tantiae di&s;putat, &s;ed de con&s;en&s;u, quem cum Patre habet, quicquid &s;cilicet geritur &agrave; Chri&s;to, Patris virtute con|firmatum iri. <HI>Calv. in loc.</HI></NOTE> the place likes not that the&s;e words &s;hould be made u&s;e of to prove the God|head of Chri&s;t, as the Ancients have done; for he &s;uppo&s;eth that Chri&s;t here &s;peaketh not of the unity of &s;ub&s;tance, but onely of the con&s;ent and agreement that he hath with the Father, &s;o that what&s;oever is done by him, is authorized and ratified by the Fa|ther.</P>
<P>But fir&s;t, <HI>Calvin</HI> him&s;elf for the thing, <HI>viz.</HI> Chri&s;ts Divinity, and con&s;ub&s;tantiality with the Father, is expre&s;&s;e and full.</P>
<P>2. So is the Scripture it &s;elf (as &s;hall be &s;hewed) in many places.</P>
<P>3. Not only the ancient Writers have thus<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hilar. <HI>de Trinit.</HI> l. 8.</NOTE> interpreted it, (among&s;t whom <HI>Hilarie</HI> doth tax and confute the Arrians who expounded it of u|nity of will and con&s;ent) but the later al&s;o, <HI>Beza, Zanchius,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>4. Chri&s;t having immediately before &s;poken of the power of his Father, brings in the&s;e words (as <HI>Calvin</HI> al&s;o notes) to prevent the objection, that his adver&s;aries might have made, <HI>viz.</HI> that although the power of God, whom he called his Father, were never &s;o great, what was that to him? What was it to prove that he could give eternall life unto his &s;heep, and that none &s;hould pluck them out of his hand? as he &s;pake of him|&s;elf, V. 28. To meet with this objection, Chri&s;t affirmes, that he and his Father are one, and con|&s;equently
<PB N="110" REF="59"> his Fathers power is al&s;o his power, and none can therefore pluck his &s;heep out of his hand; becau&s;e none can pluck them out of his Fa|thers hand, v. 29. The argument that Chri&s;t u&s;eth in the&s;e words, is more firm and &s;trong, the words being under&s;tood of his being one with his Fa|ther in re&s;pect of &s;ub&s;tance, then if they be un|der&s;tood of his unity with the Father in re&s;pect of will. It is well ob&s;erved by <HI>Junius</HI> again&s;t <HI>S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">cinus,</HI> that<NOTE PLACE="marg">In praecedentibus, ad quorum confirmationem hoc affer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ur, non agit Chri&s;tus de &s;uo &amp; Patris erga oves &s;uas affectu; &s;ed de &s;ua &amp; Patris ad &s;alvandas oves poten<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ia, ut illa verba <HI>Neque rapiet cas qui&s;quam &egrave; manu me&acirc;: neque qui&s;quam pote&s;t eas eripe|re &egrave; manu Patris mei,</HI> demon|&s;trant clari&s;&s;im&egrave;. <HI>Jo. Jun. adver|&s;us Socinum. p. 169.</HI></NOTE> in the words before Chri&s;t &s;peaks not (meerly) of his own and his Fathers affe|ction towards his &s;heep; but of his own and his Fathers power to &s;ave his &s;heep, as is mo&s;t clearly demon&s;trated by tho&s;e words, <HI>Neither &s;hall any pluck them out of my</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quocunque ergo modo exponan|tur illa <HI>Joannis</HI> verba; &s;ive pri|m&ograve; de potentiae &amp; voluntatis u|nitate, ut &agrave; nonnullis, &amp; per il|lationem de unitate e&s;&s;entiae; &s;ive prim&ograve; de unitate e&s;&s;entiae, &amp; illativ&egrave; de potentiae &amp; volun|tatis, ut ab aliis; illud fixum manere debet, e&s;&s;entiae unitatem hinc concludendam, &amp;c. <HI>Ibid.</HI> p. 167.</NOTE> <HI>hand; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand.</HI> And therefere whether the words be expounded (as they are by &s;ome) fir&s;t of the unity of power and vvill, and by con&s;equence of the unity of e&s;&s;ence; or (as by others) fir&s;t of the unity of e&s;&s;ence; and by con&s;equence of the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hanc e&s;&s;entiae unitatem, non autem &s;olummod&ograve; voluntatis con&s;en&s;um &s;ignificare volui&s;&s;e Chri&s;tum, cum dixit. <HI>Joan. 10.</HI></NOTE> unity of povver and vvill; yet &s;till the unity of e&s;&s;ence (in Chri&s;t and the Father) mu&s;t be concluded from hence.
<PB N="111" REF="59"> In like manner <HI>Zanchie</HI> ur|geth<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ego &amp; Pater unum &s;umus, non &s;olum Patrum, &amp; omnium fer|m&egrave; docti&s;&s;imorum hominum con|&s;en&s;us, ver&ugrave;m etiam contextus ip&s;e evincit. Conclu&s;io enim Chri&s;ti fuit, oves meas &egrave; manu me&acirc; eripere nemo pote&s;t, e&oacute;que non po&s;&s;unt perire. Ra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">io ab aqua|li, im&ograve; eadempotenti&acirc; &s;u&acirc; cum potenti&acirc; Patris, quae &s;ignificatur nomine <HI>manus,</HI> ducitur: Nemo potest rapere de manu Patris, quia major, id e&s;t, potentior omnibus e&s;t. Erg&ograve; neque de manu me&acirc;&punc; Ego enim &amp; Pater unum &s;umus: Quid h&icirc;c aliud &s;ignificat <HI>unum,</HI> qu&agrave;m unum non &s;ol&ugrave;m con&s;en&s;u, &s;ed etiam omnipotenti&aacute;, c&oacute;que natur&aacute; &amp; e&s;&s;enti&acirc;? <HI>Zanch. Re|&s;pon&s;. ad Arrian. Antith. 37.</HI></NOTE> this place again&s;t an Ar|rian, &s;aying, that be&s;ides the con&s;ent of the Fathers, and almo&s;t all the learned, the very context it &s;elf doth evince &s;o much, that here not only the con&s;ent of will, but the unity of e&s;&s;ence is meant: For that this was Chri&s;ts conclu&s;ion, None can pluck my &s;heep out of my hand, and therefore they cannot peri&s;h: And the rea&s;on is drawn from hence, that he hath the &s;ame power that the Father hath; <HI>None can pluck them out of my Fa|thers hand; for he is greater</HI> [that is, more powerfull] <HI>then all:</HI> And therefore not<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Theophylact. in loc.</NOTE> out of my hand; for <HI>I and my Father are one:</HI> What can here be meant by <HI>one,</HI> but <HI>one</HI> not only in con&s;ent, but al&s;o in omnipotency, and &s;o in nature and e&s;&s;ence? After this man|ner al&s;o <HI>Theophylact</HI> in his Commentary upon the place <HI>Why</HI> [&s;aith he] <HI>doth Christ &s;ay, they &s;hall never peri&s;h? be|cau&s;e none can pluck them out of my hand; for that my Father that gave them me, is greater
<PB N="112" REF="60"> then all, neither can any pluck them out of his hand, and therefore not out of my hand: for my hand, and the hand of my Father is one and the &s;ame; for I and my Father are one in nature, and e&s;&s;ence, and power.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But it may be objected, that whenas the Jewes by the&s;e words conceived that Chri&s;t did make him&s;elf God, and therefore would &s;tone him as a bla&s;phemer, Chri&s;t intimated unto them, that they did mi&s;take his meaning, which was not &s;o to make him&s;elf God as they &s;uppo&s;ed, but on|ly in &s;uch &s;en&s;e as the Scripture doth &s;ometimes attribute the name of God unto men, V. 34, 35, 36.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> I an&s;wer: Chri&s;t might think this enough to &s;hew how ab&s;urd and unju&s;t their quarrell a|gain&s;t him was, by alledging that meer men are &s;omtimes called Gods in the Scripture; yet doth it not<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp;c. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Theoph. in Joan. 10. See al|&s;o Zanch. de tribus Elohim, l. 4. c. 5</NOTE> follow, that therefore he &s;hould acknowledg him&s;elf a meer man; yea his own words do &s;hew (as <HI>Theophy|lact</HI> ob&s;erveth) that he makes a great difference betwixt him&s;elf &amp; others, to whom the name of God is attribu|ted. He denies not him&s;elf to be God truly &amp; properly &s;o called, but rather confirms it: For thus he argueth; <HI>If they who have received their Divi|nity by grace, are yet Gods, and not traduced, becau&s;e &s;o
<PB N="113" REF="60"> called, what rea&s;on is there for you to tax me, who am God by nature, being he whom the Father hath &s;anctified, that is, &s;et apart to be &s;laine for the world? (For t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ings &s;et apart for God, are &s;aid to be &s;ancti|fied, or to be holy.) It is manife&s;t therefore, that &s;ee|ing the Father hath &s;anctified and &s;eparated me for the &s;aving of the world, I am not meerly like others that are called Gods, but am God indeed: For to &s;ave, belongs unto him who is indeed God, and not unto Man, who is onely made a God by grace.</HI></P>
<P>And further, Chri&s;t having confuted the calum|ny of the Jewes by an Argument drawne from Scripture, he goes on and fetcheth an argument from his works for the confutation of it: <HI>If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him,</HI> v. 37, &amp; 38. The Jewes them|&s;elves did plainly perceive, that Chri&s;t here did confirme that which he had &s;poken before of his being one with the Father, and that his meaning was, that he is one and the &s;ame God with the Father; for hereupon they were &s;till more in|raged again&s;t him, as it is &s;aid, v. 39. <HI>Therefore they &s;ought againe to take him, but he e&s;caped out of their hands:</HI> And this may &s;uffice for the clearing and vindicating of the words; and &s;o I may ju&s;tly inferre from them this doctrinall conclu|&s;ion, <HI>That Chri&s;t is God truly and properly &s;o cal|led,</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> <HI>even one and the &s;ame God with the Father.</HI></P>
<PB N="114" REF="61">
<P>For further proof hereof we have many te&s;ti|monies<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>E&s;a.</HI> 9. 6. Chri&s;t is called <HI>the mighty God,</HI> though the faith|le&s;&s;e Iewes &s;eek to wre&s;t that Scripture another way. See before Serm. 7.</NOTE> of Scripture, as that <HI>Joh. 1. 1. In the be|ginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God:</HI> By the Word, is here meant Chri&s;t, as is clear by v. 14. and by <HI>Revel.</HI> 19. 13. Chri&s;t (I &s;ay) is &s;o called in re&s;pect of his divine nature; for the <HI>Word</HI> here denotes the Son, the &s;econd Per&s;on of the Trinity, as is evident by 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 5. 7. Here therefore it is expre&s;ly affirmed, that Chri&s;t as the Son of God, was before his In|carnation, before he was Man, and that he was God. The &s;ame al&s;o is confirmed by that confe&s;|&s;ion that <HI>Thomas</HI> made of him, <HI>My Lord and my God,</HI> Joh. 20. 28. <HI>Thomas</HI> did not mean to flatter Chri&s;t as the Poet did <HI>Augu&s;tus,</HI> calling him his<NOTE PLACE="marg">Namque erit ille mihi De|us, &amp;c. <HI>Virgil.</HI></NOTE> God, although he knew him to be but a man; no, he believed what he &s;pake, and he knew what he believed: Chri&s;t approved him for believing as he did, only blamed him for being &s;o &s;low to believe as he was, v. 29. Whereas it had been no le&s;&s;e then Idolatry in <HI>Thomas</HI> to have called Chri&s;t his God, if Chri&s;t had not been God in|deed. The Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> taxeth Idolaters for &s;aying to an <HI>Idol, Deliver me, for thou art my God,</HI> E&s;a. 44. 17.</P>
<P>Again, the Godhead of Chri&s;t is likewi&s;e ma|nife&s;t by that, <HI>Acts 20. 28. Take heed to your &s;elves, &amp;c. to feed the Church of God which he hath pur|cha&s;ed with his own blood.</HI> It is Chri&s;t who with his blood did purcha&s;e the Church, yet here it is &s;aid, that God did it, therefore it nece&s;&s;arily fol|lowes that Chri&s;t is God, and &s;o is he plainly cal|led, <HI>Rom. 9. 5. of whom</HI> (viz. the Jewes) <HI>as concer|ning </HI>
<PB N="115" REF="61"> <HI>concerning the fle&s;h Chri&s;t came, who is over all, God ble&s;&s;ed for ever. Amen.</HI> Some would not have this clau&s;e referred unto Chri&s;t, and therefore not to be read thus, <HI>who is over all, &amp;c.</HI> but to be ad|ded as a Doxologie, or prai&s;ing of God, and to be read thus; <HI>God who is over all (be) ble&s;&s;ed for e|ver. Amen.</HI> But neither will the words &s;o ea&s;ily bear this &s;en&s;e, neither were this &s;o fit a place for &s;uch a Doxologie: And be&s;ides, tho&s;e words, <HI>as concerning the fle&s;h,</HI> being &s;poken by way of li|mitation and re&s;triction to &s;hew how Chri&s;t came of the Jewes, viz. not &s;imply and ab&s;olutely, but only in &s;ome re&s;pect, in re&s;pect of the fle&s;h, his humane nature, as man, tho&s;e words, I &s;ay, &s;uffi|ciently evince, that Chri&s;t hath another nature, a divine nature, and is God; and to make that more clear in reference unto him, it followes, <HI>who is over all, God ble&s;&s;ed for ever. Amen.</HI> And yet further, con&s;ider that the Apo&s;tle is &s;peaking of the Prerogatives of the Jewes, and mentions this in the la&s;t place as the greate&s;t, that of them <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ame Chri&s;t: and to &s;hew what an honor this was unto them, he &s;hewes what an honourable Per&s;on Chri&s;t is, even <HI>over all, God ble&s;&s;ed for ever. Amen.</HI> So <HI>Col.</HI> 2. 9. it is &s;aid of Chri&s;t, that <HI>in him doth dwell all the fulne&s;&s;e of the Godhead bodily,</HI> that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Oecumen&punc; ad loc.</NOTE> really and &s;ub&s;tantially: And 1 <HI>Tim. 3. 16. God was manifested in the fle&s;h,</HI> that is, Chri&s;t being God, and as God, invi&s;ible, a&s;&s;umed fle&s;h, was made man, and &s;o in the fle&s;h as man was made vi&s;ible and manife&s;t: See <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. 14. So <HI>Heb. 1. 8. &V;nto the Son he &s;aith, Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever.</HI> What can be more plain then this, that
<PB N="116" REF="62"> Chri&s;t the Son of God is here &s;tiled God, even that God, who&s;e Throne is for ever and ever? And thus al&s;o 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 5. 20. of Chri&s;t is it &s;aid, <HI>This is the true God, and eternall life,</HI> immediately be|fore the&s;e words is Je&s;us Chri&s;t mentioned, nei|ther can they without violent perverting of them be referred to any other.</P>
<P>Thus are there many places of Scripture where Chri&s;t is expre&s;ly termed God, the name of God, even the only true God, is given unto him: There are al&s;o many other arguments which the Scripture affords, whereby to prove Chri&s;ts God|head.</P>
<P N="1">1. This is proved by tho&s;e places where Chri&s;t is called the Son of God, his begotten, his only begotten Son: The unbelieving Iewes did ac|knowledge the validity of this con&s;equence, that if Chri&s;t be the Son of God, <HI>viz.</HI> properly &s;o called, as begotten of God, then al&s;o he is God, onely they denied the antecedent, that Chri&s;t is thus the Son of God. <HI>They &s;ought to kill him, be|cau&s;e he had &s;aid, that God was his Father, making him&s;elf equall with God,</HI> Ioh. 5. 18. They well per|ceived, that Chri&s;t did &s;o call God his Father, as to make him&s;elf God, even the &s;ame God with the Father: For otherwi&s;e they them&s;elves did call God their Father, <HI>Joh.</HI> 8. 41. And &s;o Chri&s;t hath taught all believers to call God, &s;aying, <HI>Our Father:</HI> but they knew that Chri&s;t did call God his Father in another &s;en&s;e, and &s;o he did. For God is our Father, and we his children onely by adoption: <HI>God hath prede&s;tinated us to the adop|tion of children, &amp;c.</HI> Eph. 1. 5. But God is the Fa|ther
<PB N="117" REF="62"> of Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t is the Son of God by generation. To him God &s;peaks, &s;aying, <HI>Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee,</HI> P&s;al. 2. 5. To be thus the Son of God is peculiar unto Chri&s;t, neither Man nor Angell is capable of this honor, <HI>To which of the Angels &s;aid God at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?</HI> Heb. 1. 5. Therefore is Chri&s;t in Scripture called <GAP DESC="foreign">, the <HI>only begotten Son of God,</HI> Ioh. 3. 16. 1 Ioh. 4. 9, 10. becau&s;e none but he is the Son of God in that manner: Indeed in &s;ome &s;en&s;e believers are &s;aid to be begotten of God; <HI>Of his owne will be|gate he us,</HI> &amp;c. Iam. 1. 18. But this is onely in re|&s;pect of that renovation which God doth worke in us by his Spirit, in which re&s;pect we are &s;aid al&s;o to be <HI>partakers of the divine nature,</HI> 2 Pet. 1. 4. But Chri&s;t is &s;o begotten of God, as to have the &s;ame e&s;&s;ence, nature, and &s;ub&s;tance with God, e|ven as he that is begotten of man, is man; &s;o Chri&s;t being proper|ly<NOTE PLACE="marg">Intelligentiae i&s;tud humanae &s;en&s;us exclu|dit, ut aliquid &agrave; natur&acirc; originis &s;uae na&s;|cendo diver&s;um &s;it.&mdash;Quis, rogo, furor e&s;t, nativitatem unigeniti Dei ad degene|rem ex Deo referre naturam, cum nativitas non ni&s;i ex proprietate naturae &s;it? Et jam nativitas non erit, &s;i proprietas naturae in nativitate non fuerit.&mdash;Secundum quod ait, <HI>Quod ex carne na&s;citur, caro e&s;t, &amp;c.</HI> non ambiguum e&s;t, na&s;centi diver&s;um at|que alienum aliquid ab eo, ex quo natum &s;it, non ine&s;&s;e.&mdash;Tenet nativitas eam, ex qua &s;ub&s;i&s;tit naturam, &amp; Filius Dei, non aliud, qu&agrave;m quod Deus e&s;t, &s;ub&s;i&s;tit.&mdash;Univer&s;a nativitas non pote&s;t non in e&acirc; e&s;&s;e natur&acirc;, unde na&s;citur. <HI>Hilar. de Trinit. lib. 7.</HI> Vide etiam ibidem plura in hanc &s;ententiam.</NOTE> begotten of God, is God, even God of God, (as the ancients have expre&s;&s;ed it) one &amp; the &s;ame God with the Father. This Argument drawne from hence, that Chri&s;t is the begotten and the only begot|ten Son of God, <HI>Hi|lary</HI> (who lived in the time when the Arri|ans
<PB N="118" REF="63"> bore great &s;way, <HI>Con&s;tantius</HI> the Emperour &s;i|ding with them) much and often urgeth again&s;t the adver&s;aries and oppo&s;ers of Chri&s;ts con&s;ub|&s;tantiality with the Father, proving that Chri&s;t being begotten, as he is, of the Father, mu&s;t needs have the &s;ame &s;ub&s;tance with the Father, for that univer&s;ally it holds in every thing that is properly begotten of another, that it is of the &s;ame nature with that, of which it is begotten.</P>
<P N="2">2. That Chri&s;t is God truly and properly, and &s;o one and the &s;ame in e&s;&s;ence and &s;ub&s;tance with the Father, may appear by comparing places of the Old Te&s;tament and of the New together: For &s;o we may &s;ee, that what in the Old Te&s;tament is &s;poken of <HI>Jehovah</HI> the LORD, the only true God, that in the New Te&s;tament is interpreted of Chri&s;t, and applied to him as meant of him. <HI>Numb.</HI> 21. we read how the I&s;raelites in the wil|derne&s;&s;e murmured again&s;t God, and tempted him, and therefore he &s;ent fiery Serpents among them to de&s;troy them: <HI>The people &s;pake against God, &amp;c.</HI> v. 5. <HI>And the Lord &s;ent fiery Serpents among the people,</HI> &amp;c. S. <HI>Paul</HI> 1 Cor. 10. 9. applies this to Chri&s;t, and &s;ayes, that they tempted him, and warnes Chri&s;tians to take heed of tempting him as they did: <HI>Neither let us tempt Chri&s;t, as &s;ome of them al&s;o tempted, and were de&s;troyed of Ser|pents.</HI> Though it be not expre&s;&s;ed, <HI>as &s;ome of them al&s;o tempted him,</HI> viz. Chri&s;t, yet in no congruity of &s;peech or rea&s;on, can it be otherwi&s;e interpre|ed: And therefore this doth clearly prove that Chri&s;t is God the LORD. So <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 68. 18. The P&s;almi&s;t &s;peaking unto the LORD God, (as
<PB N="119" REF="63"> v. 16. &amp; 17. do manife&s;t) &s;aith, <HI>Thou hast a&s;cended on high, thou ha&s;t led captivity captive, thou ha&s;t re|ceived gifts for men.</HI> This the Apo&s;tle &s;hewes to be &s;poken of Chri&s;t, <HI>But unto every one of us is given grace, according to the mea&s;ure of the gift of Chri&s;t:</HI> Wherefore he &s;aith, <HI>when he a&s;cended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts un|to men,</HI> Eph. 4, 7, 8. So that of <HI>David, P&s;al. 102. 25, 26, 27. Of old ha&s;t thou (O my God,</HI> v. 24.) <HI>laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thine hands: They &s;hall peri&s;h, but thou &s;halt indure; yea, all of them &s;hall wax old as a garment, as a ve&s;ture <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">alt thou change them, and they &s;hall be changed: But thou art the &s;ame, and thy years &s;hall have no end.</HI> That (I &s;ay) is cited <HI>Heb.</HI> 1. 10, 11, 12. as meant of Chri&s;t. And whereas the Pro|phet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> &s;aith, <HI>I &s;aw the Lord &s;itting upon a throne, &amp;c.</HI> E&s;a. 6. 1. and addeth v. 9, 10. that the Lord bad him go and &s;ay unto the people, <HI>Hear ye in|deed, but under&s;tand not, &amp;c.</HI> S. <HI>John</HI> citing the words of the Prophet &s;aith, that he &s;pake them of Chri&s;t, when he &s;aw his glory, <HI>Joh.</HI> 12. 39, 40. 41. And whereas the Lord, even he who is God, and none el&s;e, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 45. 22. &s;aith, <HI>I have &s;worne by my &s;elf, &amp;c. that unto me every knee &s;hall bow, every tongue &s;hall &s;wear,</HI> E&s;a. 45. 23. The Apo&s;tle &s;hewes this to appertaine to Chri&s;t; for having &s;aid, <HI>We &s;hall all &s;tand before the Judgement &s;eat of Chri&s;t,</HI> he confirmes it by this, <HI>For</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>it is written, As I live, &s;aith the Lord, every knee &s;hall bow to me, and every tongue &s;hall confe&s;&s;e to God,</HI> Rom. 14. 10, 11. And to that place of <HI>E&s;ay</HI> doth he allude <HI>Phil.</HI> 2. 9, 10, 11. Where &s;peaking of
<PB N="120" REF="64"> Chri&s;t, he &s;aith, <HI>Wherefore God al&s;o hath highly ex|alted him, and hath given him a name above every name, that at the name of Je&s;us every knee &s;hould bow, &amp;c. And that every tongue &s;hould confe&s;&s;e that Je&s;us is the Lord, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Divine attributes, &s;uch as are proper and peculiar to the only true God, are given unto Chri&s;t, and therefore he is God truly and proper|ly &s;o called; eternity, immutability, omnipoten|cy, and omni&s;cience belong only unto God, only God is eternall: The <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> &s;peaks it as a thing proper unto him, <HI>Before the Mountaines were brought forth, or ever thou had&s;t for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">d the earth, and the world, from everlasting to everla&s;ting thou art God,</HI> P&s;al. 90. 2. So God is de&s;cribed by this, that <HI>he inhabiteth eternity,</HI> E&s;a. 57. 15. And he is &s;tiled the <HI>eternall God,</HI> Deut. 33. 27. So only God is immutable: <HI>I am the Lord, I change not,</HI> Mal. 3. 6. <HI>Thou art the &s;ame, P&s;al.</HI> 102. 27. And onely God is omnipotent, able to do all things, he is called <HI>the Almighty,</HI> Ruth 1. 20, 21. He likewi&s;e only is omni&s;cient, one that knoweth all things. <HI>Thou, even thou only knowe&s;t the hearts of all the children of men,</HI> 1 Kings 8. 39. So that all the&s;e Attributes are peculiar unto God, yet they all belong un|to Chri&s;t, and are given unto him: he is eternall, <HI>His goings forth have been from of old, from everla|&s;ting,</HI> Mic. 5. 2. <HI>He is before all things,</HI> Col. 1. 17. He is <HI>the first and the la&s;t,</HI> Rev. 1. 17. So he is im|mutable; to him is it &s;poken, <HI>They &s;hall be chan|ged, but thou art the &s;ame,</HI> Heb. 1. 12. He al&s;o is omnipotent; <HI>He is able to &s;ubdue all things unto him&s;elf,</HI> Phil. 3. 21. And he is omni&s;cient; <HI>He need|ed
<PB N="121" REF="64"> not that any &s;hould te&s;tifie of man; for he knew what was in man,</HI> Joh. 2. 25. <HI>And Je&s;us knew their thoughts,</HI> Mat. 12. 25. <HI>When Je&s;us perceived their thoughts, &amp;c.</HI> Luke 5. 22. <HI>I am he that &s;earcheth the reins and the hearts,</HI> it is &s;poken by Chri&s;t, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2. 23. Adde unto the fore-mentioned Attri|butes immen&s;ity, which only God is capable of: It is proper unto him <HI>to fill heaven and earth,</HI> Jer. 23. 24. yet this al&s;o belongs unto Chri&s;t, <HI>The Son of Man which is in heaven,</HI> Joh. 3. 13. Even then when he was upon earth, at the &s;ame time he was al&s;o in heaven; which, if he were meer man, and not God al&s;o, had not been po&s;&s;ible.</P>
<P N="4">4. Divine works are a&s;cribed unto Chri&s;t, &s;uch as none can do but God only: It is God that made all things, <HI>Gen.</HI> 1. 1. Yet is it &s;aid of Chri&s;t, that <HI>all things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made,</HI> Ioh. 1. 3. <HI>That by him were all things created, that are in hea|ven and that are in earth, vi&s;ible and invi&s;ible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principa|lities or Powers, all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things con&s;ist,</HI> Col. 1. 16, 17. It is God al&s;o that doth pre&s;erve all things, <HI>Neh.</HI> 9. 6. Yet this like|wi&s;e is a&s;cribed unto Chri&s;t, <HI>He upholdeth all things by the word of his power,</HI> Heb. 1. 3. Only God can rai&s;e the dead, 2 <HI>Cor. 1. 9. Rom.</HI> 4. 17. Yet this Chri&s;t did, as the Hi&s;tory of the Go&s;pell &s;heweth, and that not in&s;trumentally and mini&s;terially, but authoritatively, and by his owne power: <HI>Young man, I &s;ay unto thee ari&s;e,</HI> Luk, 7. 14. <HI>Maid ari&s;e,</HI> Luk. 8. 54. <HI>Lazarus come forth,</HI> Ioh. 11. 43. None
<PB N="122" REF="65"> can forgive &s;ins, but onely God, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 43. 25. yet this Chri&s;t did, <HI>Mar.</HI> 2. 5.&mdash;12. The Scribes were right in this, that none but God can forgive &s;ins, <HI>viz.</HI> authoritatively, as Chri&s;t did; onely in this they were wrong, that from a true principle they inferred a fal&s;e conclu&s;ion, <HI>viz.</HI> that therefore Chri&s;t taking upon him &s;o to forgive &s;ins, was a bla&s;phemer: Chri&s;t by the miracle which imme|diately he wrought before their eyes, &s;hewed that he was another manner of per&s;on then they took him to be, and that he had power to forgive &s;ins, as he did.</P>
<P>To redeem, and to &s;ave, are acts properly be|longing unto God, <HI>E&s;a. 49. 26. I the Lord am thy Redeemer, and thy Saviour.</HI> Yet Chri&s;t al&s;o is our Redeemer and Saviour, as the writings of the Evangeli&s;ts and Apo&s;tles every where do &s;hew.</P>
<P N="5">5. Divine wor&s;hip is given unto Chri&s;t, &s;uch as may not be given to any but to God onely: When he was a young Infant the Wi&s;emen <HI>fell downe and wor&s;hipped him,</HI> Mat. 2. 11. His Di&s;ciples &s;eeing him a&s;cend up into heaven, <HI>they wor&s;hipped him,</HI> Luk. 24. 52. Of him it was &s;aid, <HI>Let all the Angels of God wor&s;hip him,</HI> Heb. 1. 6. All the&s;e pla|ces, as the circum&s;tances of them do evince, &s;peak of religious wor&s;hip, which is peculiar unto God, and may not be given to any meer creature: <HI>Thou &s;halt wor&s;hip the Lord thy God, and him onely &s;halt thou &s;erve,</HI> Mat. 4. 10. The Angell would not be wor&s;hipped by <HI>John,</HI> but bad him give that honor to God, and wor&s;hip him, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19. 10. &amp; 22. 9. More particularly, Faith and Hope are onely to
<PB N="123" REF="65"> be in God, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. 21. yet they are and ought to be in Chri&s;t: <HI>Ye believe in God, believe al&s;o in me,</HI> Ioh. 14. 1. <HI>Who&s;oever believeth in him, &s;hall not be a&s;hamed,</HI> Rom. 10. 11. <HI>In him &s;hall the Gentiles tru&s;t,</HI> Rom. 15. 12. Prayer is to be made only un|to God; <HI>Call upon me,</HI> &s;aith God, P&s;al. 50. 15. yet <HI>Stephen</HI> being full of the Holy Gho&s;t, gave this honour unto Chri&s;t, he prayed unto him, &s;aying, <HI>Lord Je&s;us receive my &s;pirit,</HI> Acts 7. 55. &amp; 59. Thus both te&s;timonies of Scripture, and arguments drawn from Scripture make it mo&s;t evident, that Chri&s;t is God truly and properly &s;o called, even one and the &s;ame God with the Father.</P>
<P>But divers places there are which may be ob|jected, as &s;eeming to make again&s;t this truth, which therefore are to be cleared, that it may ap|peare, that beeing rightly under&s;tood they do not make again&s;t it.</P>
<P><HI>Object. 1. Mark</HI> 13. 32. Chri&s;t &s;peaking of the day of Judgement, &s;aith, <HI>Of that day and houre knoweth no man, no not the Angells that are in heaven; nor the Son, but the Father:</HI> If the Son be ignorant of that which the Father doth know, how then is he God con&s;ub&s;tantiall and coequall with the Father?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Some interpret that &s;o, as that the Son is &s;aid not to have knowne the day of Iudgement, becau&s;e he did not know it &s;o as to make it knowne unto others: In which &s;en&s;e the Apo&s;tle &s;aid, <HI>I determined to know nothing among you, &s;ave Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and him crucifi|ed,</HI> 1 Cor. 2. 2. But this Expo&s;ition cannot be
<PB N="124" REF="66"> admitted; for &s;o neither doth the Father know that day, <HI>viz.</HI> &s;o as make others al&s;o know it: Therefore the true meaning of the words is, that Chri&s;t there &s;pake of him&s;elf as Man, not denying but that in &s;ome other re&s;pect he did know that, which in re&s;pect of his humane nature was not known unto him.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> 2. But againe, when one came unto Chri&s;t, &s;aying, <HI>Good Ma&s;ter, what &s;hall I do, that I may inherit eternall life?</HI> Chri&s;t &s;aid unto him, <HI>Why calle&s;t thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God,</HI> Luke 18. 18, 19. Here Chri&s;t &s;eemes to deny him&s;elfe to be God.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Not &s;o, Chri&s;t &s;pake onely in re|&s;pect of that opinion, which he to whom he &s;pake, had of him, who looked on him as a man, and no more; neither was it Chri&s;ts meaning, that no meer man may be called good; for it is &s;aid of <HI>Barnabas,</HI> that <HI>he was a good man,</HI> Acts 11. 24. But his meaning was to teach, that when any goodne&s;&s;e is found in man, the prai&s;e and glory mu&s;t be given unto God, who alone is e&s;&s;entially good; if any be|&s;ides him be good, it is onely by participati|on from him, and therefore the honour is due unto him: <HI>For of him, and through him, and for him are all things; to him be glory for ever,</HI> Rom. 11. 36.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> 3. But may &s;ome &s;ay, Doth not Chri&s;t him&s;elf confe&s;&s;e him&s;elf inferiour to the Father, &s;aying, <HI>My Father is greater then I?</HI> Ioh. 14. 28.</P>
<PB N="125" REF="66">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Yes, but how? not &s;imply and ab|&s;olutely, but only in &s;ome &s;ort, <HI>viz.</HI> in re&s;pect<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Theophy|lact. ad loc.</NOTE> of his humane nature, whereby he took upon him the <HI>forme of a Servant,</HI> Phil. 2. 7. but o|therwi&s;e he was <HI>in the forme of God, and thought it not robbery to be-equall with God,</HI> v. 6. That Chri&s;t there &s;pake of him&s;elf as Man, may appear by the words immediately going before, <HI>I go unto the Father,</HI> this Chri&s;t did as Man; for otherwi&s;e as God, he was then with the Father, yea, <HI>in the Father, and the Father in him,</HI> Joh. 14. 11. &amp; 10. 38.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> 4. Againe, it may be objected, that Chri&s;t (<HI>John</HI> 17. 3.) &s;peaking to the Father, &s;aith thus; <HI>This is life eternall, to know thee the only true God, and him whom thou ha&s;t &s;ent, Je&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI> where Chri&s;t &s;eems to make his Father only the true God.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Nay, he makes his Father the onely<NOTE PLACE="marg">It is <GAP DESC="foreign"> not <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> true God; but there is great difference betwixt the&s;e two Propo&s;itions, The Father is the only true God, and Only the Father is the true God: The one imports that there is but only one true God, and that the Father is this God; the o|ther imports that none but the Father is this God, which is fal&s;e; for the Son al&s;o is this on|ly true God, this true God which is only one, and &s;o al&s;o is the Holy Gho&s;t: The &s;ame An|&s;wer &s;erveth for that 1 <HI>Cor. 8. 6. To us there is but one God, the Father.</HI> The Apo&s;tle there onely affirmes, that there being but onely one true God, the Father is he; he denies
<PB N="126" REF="67"> not but that the Son, and &s;o the Holy Gho&s;t is &s;o al&s;o, even as when he addes, <HI>and one Lord Je&s;us,</HI> he only affirmes Je&s;us to be the only Lord, he denies not but that the Father is &s;o likewi&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. Thus the truth of the Doctrine con|cerning Chri&s;ts Divinity and con&s;ub&s;tantiality with the Father, being &s;ufficiently demon&s;trated and vindicated; here we may &s;ee and ought to con&s;ider the excellency of Chri&s;t, and &s;o learn to give him the glory due unto his Name: We can|not honour the Father except we in like manner honor Chri&s;t al&s;o, he being one and the &s;ame in &s;ub&s;tance and Godhead with the Father. <HI>That all men &s;hould honor the Son even as they honor the Fa|ther. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath &s;ent him,</HI> Joh. 5. 23. <HI>Who&s;oe|ver denieth the Son, the &s;ame hath not the Father,</HI> 1 Joh. 2. 23. The Jewes both now and of old have vilified and de&s;pi&s;ed Chri&s;t, <HI>He came unto his own, and his own received him not,</HI> Joh. 1. 11. For the mo&s;t part they did not, yet &s;ome did, as the Evangeli&s;t there immediately after &s;heweth. And &s;o the Iewi&s;h writings te&s;tifie, that &s;ome of the ancient Rabbines have &s;poken very honourably of Chri&s;t, and indeed have &s;aid that of him which &s;hewes that they believed him to be God, though the later Rabbines reciting their words, indea|vour to pervert the meaning of them, de&s;canting upon tho&s;e words which are meant of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Abraba|neel in I|&s;aiam.</NOTE> <HI>E&s;a. 52. 12. He &s;hall be exalted and extolled, and be very high;</HI> they &s;ay, that <HI>Christ &s;hould be exalted a|bove</HI> Abraham, <HI>and extolled above</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>and be
<PB N="127" REF="67"> higher then the Angels.</HI> And in the new Te&s;tament the dignity of Chri&s;t is thus comparatively &s;et forth, by preferring him to all the&s;e, to <HI>Abraham,</HI> when the Iews &s;aid unto <HI>Christ, Art thou greater then our Father</HI> Abraham? Ioh. 8. 53. Chri&s;t an|&s;wered v. 56. <HI>Your Father</HI> Abraham <HI>rejoyced to &s;ee my day, and &s;aw it, and was glad:</HI> And v. 58. <HI>Veri|ly, verily, I &s;ay unto you, before</HI> Abraham <HI>was, I am.</HI> So to <HI>Mo&s;es, For this man (Chri&s;t) was counted worthy of more glory then</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>ina&s;much as he who hath builded the hou&s;e, hath more honour then the hou&s;e.&mdash;And</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>verily was faithfull in all Gods hou&s;e, as a &s;ervant, for a te&s;timony of tho&s;e things that were to be &s;poken after: But Chri&s;t, as a Son o|ver his own hou&s;e, &amp;c.</HI> Heb. 3. 3, 5, 6. And &s;o to the Angels, Chri&s;t is likewi&s;e preferred to them, <HI>Being made &s;o much better then the Angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name then they: For to which of the Angells &s;aid God at a|ny time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And againe, I will be to him a Father, and he &s;hall be to me a Son. And again, when he bringeth in the fir&s;t begotten into the world, he &s;aith, And let all the Angels of God wor&s;hip him,</HI> Heb. 1. 4, 5, 6. But not only the Iews and &s;uch like profe&s;&s;ed infidells and enemies of Chri&s;t, but al&s;o many that have profe&s;&s;ed them&s;elves Chri&s;tians, have impugned his Divinity and Equality with the Father, &s;o robbing him of the glory due unto his Name. Thus <HI>Arrius</HI> and <HI>Photinus</HI> with their followers of old, and <HI>Servetus</HI> and others of late, and &s;ome even at this day: And therefore, <HI>beloved, &s;eeing ye
<PB N="128" REF="68"> know the&s;e things before, beware lea&s;t ye al&s;o be carried away with the error of the wicked, and fall from your own &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;&s;e; but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t; to him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.</HI> 2 Pet. 3. 17, 18.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Here again we may &s;ee what cau&s;e we have to tru&s;t in Chri&s;t as a mo&s;t &s;ure Redeemer and Saviour, with that courage and confidence in all our troubles and di&s;tre&s;&s;es what&s;oever, whe|ther inward or outward, we may come unto Chri&s;t and unto God by Chri&s;t, that we may have help from him and by him, he being &s;uch a Mediator betwixt God and Man, as is not only Man but al&s;o God, coe&s;&s;entiall and coequall with the Fa|ther. Hence it is, and mu&s;t needs be, that he is <HI>a &s;tone, a med&s;tone, a precious corner &s;tone, a &s;ure foun|dation,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">See before Serm. 9.</NOTE> E&s;a. 28. 16. <HI>mighty to &s;ave,</HI> E&s;a. 63. 1. <HI>a horn of &s;alvation,</HI> Luk. 1. 69. <HI>able to &s;ave to the utter|mo&s;t all that come unto God by him,</HI> Heb. 7. 25. <HI>Wherefore holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, con&s;ider the Apo&s;tle and high Priest of our profe&s;&s;ion Chr&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> Heb. 3. 1. <HI>Seeing then we have a great high Priest that is pa&s;&s;ed into the Heavens, Je&s;us the Son of God, let us hold fa&s;t our profe&s;&s;ion.&mdash;Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,</HI> Heb. 4. 14, 16.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="11" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="129" REF="68">
<HEAD>THE ELEVENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>MAT. 1. 20.</BIBL> For that which is conceived in her, is of the Ho|ly Gho&s;t.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IN the two Ver&s;es going before, <HI>S. Matthew</HI> relates how <HI>Mary</HI> being e&s;pou&s;ed unto <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> before they came together, was found with child, which <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> not knowing how it came to pa&s;&s;e, was &s;o troubled at, that he thought to put her a|way, though privily: But (as he addes in this Ver&s;e) God by his Angell let him know, that he had no rea&s;on to be troubled as he was, nor to to take &s;uch a cour&s;e as he intended, for though <HI>Mary</HI> was with child, yet it was far otherwi&s;e then he &s;u&s;pected, even by the miraculous power of the Holy Gho&s;t working in her. <HI>But while he thought on the&s;e things, behold the Angell of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, &s;aying,</HI> Jo&s;ph <HI>thou Son of</HI> David, <HI>fear not to take unto thee</HI> Mary <HI>thy wife; For that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI></P>
<PB N="130" REF="69">
<P>In this la&s;t part of the Ver&s;e, which I am only to in&s;i&s;t upon, we have, fir&s;t, Who it was that con|ceived Chri&s;t, <HI>viz. Mary</HI> the wife of <HI>Io&s;eph,</HI> he was <HI>conceived in her.</HI> Secondly, how &s;he concei|ved him, <HI>viz.</HI> not by any naturall and ordinary means, but by the &s;upernaturall and extraordinary power of God: <HI>For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t therefore, let us ob&s;erve from hence, That <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Doct."> <HI>Mary the wife of</HI> Jo&s;eph <HI>was the Mother of Chri&s;t our Saviour.</HI></P>
<P>He was conceived in her, and &s;o in her, as that he was conceived of her, that is, of her &s;ub&s;tance. It's &s;aid of Chri&s;t, that <HI>he took upon him the &s;eed of</HI> Abraham, Heb. 2. 16. And that according to the fle&s;h, he was rai&s;ed up <HI>of the fruit of</HI> Davids <HI>loines,</HI> Acts 2. 30. But this could not be, except that Chri&s;t did receive the &s;ub&s;tance of his body from <HI>Mary,</HI> who did de&s;cend from <HI>Abraham,</HI> and from <HI>David.</HI> A more direct te&s;timony to this<NOTE PLACE="marg">Geen. 3. 15 Chri&s;t is called the &s;eed of the woman.</NOTE> purpo&s;e is that <HI>Gal.</HI> 4. 4. where it's &s;aid of Chri&s;t, that he was <HI>made of a woman,</HI> which woman was <HI>Mary</HI> before mentioned, he was not only made in her, but al&s;o made of her: &s;o <HI>Luk.</HI> 1. 42. Chri&s;t is called the fruit of her womb, which &s;hews that he was as well conceived of her as in her.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. This then confutes that here&s;ie which &s;ome of old maintained, <HI>viz.</HI> that Chri&s;t did not take a body of the &s;ub&s;tance of his Mother, but brought a body down from heaven, and onely pa&s;&s;ed thorough the womb of his Mother, as wa|ter pa&s;&s;eth thorough a channell. This is a mo&s;t erroneous conceit, and flatly repugnant to the
<PB N="131" REF="69"> Scriptures before alledged; and though there be &s;ome places which may &s;eem to favour it, yet indeed they do not; as that 1 <HI>Cor. 15. 47. The &s;e|cond man is the Lord from heaven:</HI> And that <HI>Ioh. 3. 13. No man hath a&s;cended up to heaven, but he that came downe from heaven, &amp;c.</HI> And that <HI>Ioh: 6. 38. I came down from heaven.</HI> The&s;e places do not import any &s;uch thing, as that Chri&s;t brought a body downe with him from heaven, but onely he is &s;aid to be from heaven, and to come from heaven, becau&s;e as God being in hea|ven (which is called Gods dwelling place, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 8. 39. and his throne, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 66. 1.) by his Incarna|tion being made man he was upon earth, and &s;o after a &s;ort came down from heaven: Chri&s;t as man did not come down from heaven, for he was not as man in heaven untill his A&s;cen&s;ion: That Ioh. 3. 13. <HI>The Son of man which is in heaven,</HI> was &s;poken of Chri&s;t the Son of Man, but not as the Son of Man; for &s;o he was then when it was &s;poken upon earth, and not in heaven. There is in tho&s;e words that which Divines call <HI>a commu|nication of properties,</HI> that which is proper to the<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> one nature of Chri&s;t, is attributed unto him, be|ing denominated by the other nature; Chri&s;t as God was then in heaven when he was upon earth, for God filleth heaven and earth, <HI>Ier.</HI> 23. 24. And the &s;ame Per&s;on being both God and Man, Chri&s;t denominated by his humane nature is &s;aid then to have been in heaven, though this did agree to him only in re&s;pect of his divine nature. Chri&s;t therefore, I &s;ay, as man, did not come downe from heaven, neither properly did he come down
<PB N="132" REF="70"> from heaven as God, but only in a Metaphoricall &s;en&s;e in that the divine nature was united to the humane nature; <HI>The Word was made fle&s;h</HI> (God was made man) <HI>and dwelt among us,</HI> Joh. 1. 14. otherwi&s;e properly the divine nature can nei|ther a&s;cend nor de&s;cend, cannot remove from one place to another, becau&s;e it is immen&s;e and infinite.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. But again, if <HI>Mary</HI> were the Mother of our Saviour, then &s;urely we have cau&s;e to ho|nour her, &s;o that we con&s;ider and have a care how we honour her; tho&s;e whom God doth honour we al&s;o ought to honour. Now God did highly honour her, whom he vouch&s;afed to make his<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>Deipara.</HI></NOTE> Mother; For in that &s;he was the Mother of Chri&s;t, who is God, &s;he was the Mother of God, though not as God, but as Man. We ought therefore to honour her &s;o, as to think and &s;peak honourably of her, to acknowledge Gods &s;ingu|lar favour towards her, and to account her ble&s;|&s;ed. <HI>Haile thou that art highly favoured,</HI> (&s;aid the Angell unto her) <HI>the Lord is with thee, ble&s;&s;ed art thou among women,</HI> Luk. 1. 28. So <HI>Elizabeth</HI> be|ing filled with the Holy Gho&s;t, &s;aid unto her, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed art thou among women,</HI> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Or for ble&s;&s;ed, &amp;c. the particle there is rather cau|&s;all then copula|tive, as the He|brew <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> is, I&s;a. 64. 5.</NOTE> <HI>and ble&s;&s;ed is the fruit of thy womb,</HI> Luk. 1. 41, 42. And <HI>Mary</HI> her &s;elf magnifying God for his mercy and goodne&s;&s;e towards her, <HI>Behold from henceforth all Generati|ons &s;hall call me ble&s;&s;ed: For he that is mighty hath done to me great things,</HI> Luk. 1. 48, 49. But here we mu&s;t take heed lea&s;t we exceed and go beyond our bounds, as the Papi&s;ts do, who will needs give unto <HI>Mary</HI> the honour which is no way
<PB N="133" REF="70"> due, nor may be given unto her.</P>
<P>For, fir&s;t, they hold, that &s;he was conceived without originall &s;in; of which more anon.</P>
<P>2. That for her merits &s;he became the Mother of our Saviour, whereas be&s;ides that none can properly merit any thing at the hands of God, every one being le&s;&s;e then all Gods mercies, as <HI>Iacob</HI> confe&s;&s;ed he was, <HI>Gen.</HI> 32. 10. Be&s;ides this, I &s;ay, tho&s;e very places which they build upon, are directly again&s;t them: As that <HI>Luk.</HI> 1. 28. which they read thus, <HI>Haile thou that art full of grace,</HI> and thence they inferre, that for the fulne&s;&s;e of grace that was in her, &s;he merited that honour to be Chri&s;ts Mother. But the word in the Origi|nall there u&s;ed, doth not &s;ignifie full of grace, but<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> highly favoured, graciou&s;ly accepted, or much graced, as it is explained, v. 30. <HI>Thou ha&s;t found favour with God:</HI> So that although &s;he had (no doubt) a great mea&s;ure of grace in her, yet that was not it, but Gods grace and favour to|wards her, which was the cau&s;e why &s;uch ho|nour was conferred upon her. <HI>Ian&s;enius</HI> a learned<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jan&s;en.</HI> Concord. c. 3.</NOTE> Papi&s;t, grants that this is the &s;en&s;e and &s;ignifica|tion of the word u&s;ed in the Originall: He ad|deth indeed that this doth imply the other, <HI>viz.</HI> that &s;he was full of grace.</P>
<P>But fir&s;t, there is no nece&s;&s;ary connexion of the&s;e two together; <HI>Iudas</HI> was much graced and highly favoured to be made one of Chri&s;ts Apo|&s;tles, and &s;o <HI>Saul</HI> to be made King of I&s;rael; yet were they not therefore full of grace.</P>
<P>2. We deny not but that the Mother of our Lord both was much graced, and al&s;o had much
<PB N="134" REF="71"> grace, onely we &s;ay, it was the grace and favour which was &s;hewed her, not the grace and good|ne&s;&s;e which was in her, which was meant by the Angell as the true and proper cau&s;e why &s;he was cho&s;en to be our Lords Mother. So that <HI>Luk.</HI> 1.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Vulg.</HI> Re|&s;pexit hu|milita|tem, &amp;c.</NOTE> 48. <HI>He hath regarded the humility of his hand|maiden,</HI> according as the Rhemi&s;ts after the vul|gar Latine Tran&s;lator, render it, or (as &s;ome of our Engli&s;h Tran&s;lations) <HI>the lowline&s;&s;e of his hand|maid;</HI> this the Papi&s;ts for mo&s;t part &s;o under|&s;tand, as that for the grace and vertue of humi|lity and lowline&s;&s;e of mind which was in her, God did &s;hew &s;uch re&s;pect unto her. Thus in the Ladies<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alter B. <HI>Mar. P&s;al. 33.</HI> Quia Domina humillima fuisti, increa|tum verbnm ex te carnem a&s;&s;u|mere co&euml;gesti.</NOTE> P&s;alter (as they call it) they &s;ay unto her, <HI>Becau&s;e thou, O Lady, wert mo&s;t humble, thou did&s;t cau&s;e the uncreated Word</HI> (the Son of God) <HI>to a&s;&s;ume fle&s;h of thee.</HI> But the word which is u&s;ed<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> in the Originall, doth not &s;ignifie humility or low|line&s;&s;e of mind, but humility or lowline&s;&s;e (or rather lowne&s;&s;e) of e&s;tate and condition. It is the &s;ame word which the Apo&s;tle u&s;eth <HI>Phil.</HI> 3. 21. to &s;et forth the vilene&s;&s;e of the body, as now it is in this life, in compari&s;on of what it &s;hall be in the life to come, <HI>Our vile body,</HI> word for word according to the Originall, it is, <HI>the body of our vilene&s;&s;e.</HI> So that the ble&s;&s;ed Mother of our Lord, doth therefore magnifie the Lord, becau&s;e he &s;o regarded her being of &s;uch low and mean e&s;tate in compari&s;on of many others: <HI>He hath put down</HI> (&s;aith &s;he pre&s;ently after in her <HI>Magnificat) the mighty from their &s;eat, and hath exalted them
<PB N="135" REF="71"> of low degree:</HI> Where al&s;o the word rendred<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">&punc;</NOTE> <HI>them of low degree,</HI> is that from which is derived the other before mentioned. The Rhemi&s;ts here<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Vulg.</HI> ex|altavit humlles.</NOTE> al&s;o have, <HI>and hath exalted the humble;</HI> but not &s;uch as are vertuou&s;ly humble are here meant, (by the force of the word that is u&s;ed) but &s;uch as are of low degree, as is clear by this, that they are oppo&s;ed to <HI>the mighty,</HI> &s;uch as are of high degree, great and eminent in the world. Be&s;ides, what could have been more repugnant to true humili|ty and lowline&s;&s;e of mind, (with which as with other graces, we grant the Mother of our Savi|our was repleni&s;hed) then to boa&s;t of it, and to a&s;cribe Gods bounty and favour unto it? For the&s;e rea&s;ons both <HI>Jan&s;enius</HI> and <HI>Maldonate</HI> (lear|ned men of the Romi&s;h Church) do ingeniou&s;ly confe&s;&s;e, that not humility of mind, but of e&s;tate is here meant.</P>
<P>3. Whereas they pray unto all Saints depar|ted (an honour which is due onely unto God, <HI>P&s;al. 50. 15. Mat. 6. 9. Rom.</HI> 10. 14.) this they do above all to our Lords Mother. And here fir&s;t they are no le&s;&s;e ridiculous then impious in tru|ning the Angels Salutation into a Prayer, &s;aying unto her, <HI>Haile Mary,</HI> &amp;c. wherein (as a reve|rend Writer &s;aith truly and wittily) <HI>they do at once abu&s;e the Virgin, the Angell, and the Salutati|on.</HI> Againe, &s;ome of their famous Doctors have<NOTE PLACE="marg">So te&s;tifies <HI>Ca&s;&s;ander</HI> one of their owne Authors in his Con&s;ul|tation.</NOTE> avouched, that whereas <HI>Aha&s;uerus</HI> promi&s;ed to <HI>Esther</HI> the one half of his Kingdom, if &s;he would de&s;ire it, God hath indeed given one half of his Kingdome to the Virgin <HI>Mary:</HI> For his King|dome con&s;i&s;ting of mercy and judgement, that
<PB N="136" REF="72"> part of it which concerns mercy, they &s;ay, he hath given unto her, re&s;erving to him&s;elfe the other part concerning judgement, or bequeathing it to his Son: And thus al&s;o they &s;peak in the fore|mentioned P&s;alter, <HI>Give, O God, thy judgement to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alt. B. <HI>Mar. P&s;a. 71.</HI></NOTE> <HI>the King, and thy mercy to the Queen his Mother.</HI> And the whole Book of P&s;almes they have &s;o metamorpho&s;ed and changed, as in&s;tead of <HI>Lord</HI> to put in <HI>Lady,</HI> and to a&s;cribe that to her, which <HI>David</HI> a&s;cribeth to the Lord: As P&s;al. 7. <HI>In thee, O Lady, have I put</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>In te Domina &s;peravi, de in i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">is meis, &amp;c.</P>
<P>U&s;qu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> Domina obli|vi&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">?</P>
<P>In ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">s tuas Domina commendo &s;piritum me|um.</P>
<P>Domina refugium no|&s;trum es in omni nece&s;&s;i|tate.</P>
<P>Venite ad eam omnes qui laboratis, &amp;c. Ibid. P&s;al. 2.</P></NOTE> <HI>my tru&s;t, deliver my &s;oul from mine enemies:</HI> And P&s;al. 12. (or after the Hebrew the 13.) <HI>How long wilt thou forget me, O Lady?</HI> And P&s;al. 30. <HI>In|to thy hands, O Lady, I commend my &s;pirit.</HI> And P&s;al. 45. <HI>O Lady thou art our refuge in all our nece&s;&s;ities.</HI> And whereas Chri&s;t &s;aith, Mat. 11. 28. <HI>Come unto me all that labour, &amp;c.</HI> they apply it to his Mother, and &s;ay, <HI>Come unto her all ye that labour, &amp;c.</HI> And if yet any thing can be more gro&s;&s;e, they pray unto her to command her Son. <HI>Bellarmine</HI> it &s;eems, was a&s;hamed of this impiety, for he complaines much of <HI>Calvin</HI> as being very injurious unto them in offering to charge them in this manner; with great indignation he cries, <HI>Quis no&s;tr&ucirc;m hoc dicit? Cur non probat ullo exemplo? Which of us doth &s;peak &s;o? Why doth he not prove it by &s;ome example?</HI> Yet their own <HI>Ca&s;&s;ander</HI> (for &s;o he carried him|&s;elf<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ca&s;&s;and.</HI> Con&s;ult.</NOTE> as one of the Church of Rome, though he di&s;liked many things in it) te&s;tifies, that in &s;ome
<PB N="137" REF="72"> Churches publikely they did &s;ing on this wi&s;e, <HI>O</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">O felix puerpera, no&s;tra pi|ans Scele|ra, jure Matris impera Redemp|tori.</NOTE> <HI>happy child-bearing woman, who do&s;t expiate our wickedne&s;&s;e, by the right of a mother command our Redeemer.</HI> Surely, if it be po&s;&s;ible to di&s;honour God, they do exceedingly di&s;honour him in pre|&s;uming thus to honour her, whom otherwi&s;e (&s;o we keep our &s;elves within the bounds of &s;obrie|ty) we ought to honor.</P>
<P>But I leave this point, and come to the other <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Doct."> which the Text doth hold forth unto us, <HI>viz. That</HI> Mary <HI>the wife of</HI> Jo&s;eph <HI>was &s;o the Mother of Chri&s;t, as that neverthele&s;&s;e when &s;he bare him &s;he was a most pure Virgin, conceiving him not by the opera|tion of man, but by the power of the Holy Ghost.</HI></P>
<P>Whereas it is &s;aid in the Text, <HI>of the Holy Ghost,</HI> it is meant of the Holy Gho&s;t not as the matter, but as the efficient, in which &s;en&s;e it is &s;aid, 1 <HI>Cor. 11. 12. All things (are) of God.</HI> Again, though the Holy Gho&s;t only be expre&s;&s;ed, yet the other Per&s;ons of the Trinity are not excluded: The Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of the Father, &s;aith, <HI>Of whom are all things, 1 Cor.</HI> 8. 6. If all things be of the Father, then Chri&s;ts body was of him, <HI>viz.</HI> as the worker and maker of it; and as of the Fa|ther, &s;o al&s;o of the Son, who is the &s;ame &s;ub&s;tance with the Father, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 10. 30. And by whom like|wi&s;e all things were made, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 1. 3.</P>
<P>Now that <HI>Mary</HI> was thus the Mother of Chri&s;t, is evident both by the Text, and al&s;o by that which goes before, <HI>Mat.</HI> 1. 18. and that which followes after, <HI>Mat.</HI> 1. 22, 23, 24, 25. &s;o by that <HI>Luk.</HI> 1. 34, 35.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> It may be objected, that <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> is called
<PB N="138" REF="73"> Chri&s;ts Father; <HI>Is not this</HI> Jo&s;ephs <HI>Son?</HI> &s;aid &s;ome of him, <HI>Luk.</HI> 4. 22.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer: They &s;uppo&s;ed &s;o, but it was not &s;o as they &s;uppo&s;ed: That this was but a &s;uppo&s;ition, S. <HI>Luke</HI> &s;hewes in the fore-going Chapter, v. 23. where he &s;aith that Chri&s;t was (<HI>as was &s;uppo&s;ed) the Son of</HI> Io&s;eph, not &s;o indeed, but only as was &s;uppo&s;ed.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But may &s;ome &s;ay, <HI>Mary</HI> her &s;elf did call <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> Chri&s;ts Father; <HI>Thy Father and I have &s;ought thee &s;orrowing,</HI> &s;aid &s;he to Chri&s;t, <HI>Luk.</HI> 2. 48.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> True; but how did &s;he mean that <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> was his father? not his naturall father that begot him, but his legall father, as being the hu&s;|band of his mother: <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> al&s;o was Chri&s;ts fo|&s;ter-father, or nur&s;ing-father, he who did educate him and bring him up.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But &s;ome may yet object, if <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> were not Chri&s;ts naturall Father, how is Chri&s;ts Genealogie fetched from <HI>Io&s;eph?</HI> how is Chri&s;t &s;hewed to be the Son of <HI>Abraham</HI> and of <HI>Da|vid</HI> by this, that <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> did de&s;cend from <HI>Abra|ham</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 1. Luk. 3.</NOTE> and from <HI>David?</HI> How doth this follow, except as <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> did proceed from them, &s;o Chri&s;t did proceed from <HI>Io&s;eph?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To this it is an&s;wered, That <HI>Mary</HI> and <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> were both of one Tribe and of one Family, by vertue of that Law, <HI>Numb.</HI> 36. 8. where it is required, that every woman being an inheritre&s;&s;e, &s;hould marrie to one of her own Tribe and Family, that &s;o inheritances might not pa&s;&s;e from one Tribe or Family to another: And therefore the rehear&s;ing of Chri&s;ts Genea|logie
<PB N="139" REF="73"> by <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> was a rehear&s;ing of it by <HI>Mary,</HI> it being &s;hewed that <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> was of the po&s;terity of <HI>Abraham</HI> and of <HI>David,</HI> the &s;ame was con&s;e|quently &s;hewed concerning <HI>Mary,</HI> who by ver|tue of that Law fore-mentioned was married un|to him, and &s;o it followes that Chri&s;t al&s;o by that rehear&s;all is demon&s;trated to de&s;cend from <HI>Abraham</HI> and from <HI>David.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> Some may yet object, that <HI>Elizabeth</HI> is called <HI>Maries</HI> Kin&s;woman, <HI>Luk.</HI> 1. 36. Now <HI>E|lizabeth</HI> was of <HI>Aaron,</HI> who was of the Tribe of <HI>Levi, Luk.</HI> 1. 5. whereas <HI>David</HI> was of the Tribe of <HI>Judah,</HI> and &s;o Chri&s;t who de&s;cended from <HI>David, Heb.</HI> 7. 14. How then did <HI>Mary</HI> de&s;cend from <HI>David,</HI> and not rather from <HI>Aaron</HI> as <HI>Eliza|beth</HI> her kin&s;woman did?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It doth not follow, that becau&s;e <HI>Eliza|beth</HI> was of the daughters of <HI>Aaron,</HI> therefore <HI>Mary</HI> being her kin&s;woman was &s;o too: For though &s;uch women as had no brethren, and &s;o had inheritances, were to marrie in their owne Tribe and Family, yet others were not tied to this. The men of <HI>Benjamin</HI> did marrie women that were of other Tribes, as we read <HI>Iudges</HI> 21. And had it not been lawfull for them to marry in that manner, what needed that Oath men|tioned Iudg. 21. 1.? why &s;hould the other Tribes &s;wear (as they did) that they would not give their daughters to the Benjamites, if it were not lawfull for tho&s;e of one Tribe to marry with tho&s;e of another Tribe? So 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 22. 11. it's &s;aid, that <HI>Ieho&s;habeath</HI> the daughter of King <HI>Ie|horam</HI> of the Tribe of <HI>Iudah,</HI> was wife to <HI>Iehojada</HI>
<PB N="140" REF="74"> the Prie&s;t, who was of the Tribe of <HI>Levi:</HI> There|fore <HI>Elizabeth</HI> might be of <HI>Levi</HI> and of <HI>Aaron</HI> by the fathers &s;ide, and of <HI>Judah</HI> and of <HI>David</HI> by the mothers &s;ide, and &s;o by her mother be a|kin to <HI>Mary.</HI></P>
<P>Now it was requi&s;ite that Chri&s;t &s;hould thus be conceived, <HI>viz.</HI> &s;o as that his Mother &s;hould be a Virgin, becau&s;e it was requi&s;ite that he &s;hould be conceived without &s;in; he that came to take away our &s;in, was him&s;elf to be without &s;in. <HI>For &s;uch an high Prie&s;t became us, who is ho|ly, harmle&s;&s;e, undefiled, &s;eparate from &s;inners,</HI> Heb. 7. 26. But &s;uch as are conceived after the ordi|nary manner, are conceived in &s;in, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51. 5. The Papi&s;ts generally of late times do except the mo|ther of Chri&s;t, and will have her to have been conceived without &s;in, to have been free from o|riginall corruption: Thus (I &s;ay) they do of late times; for <HI>Bonaventure</HI> who was betwixt 300.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Bonavent.</HI> in 3. Sent. di&s;t. 3. art. 1. quae&s;t. 2. num. 15.</NOTE> and 400. yeers ago, &s;aith that in his time all gene|rally held the contrary. And he al&s;o gives this rea&s;on why all &s;hould hold &s;o, <HI>N&egrave; dum gloria Matris ampliatur, gloria filii minuatur, least whiles the glory of the Mother be increa&s;ed, the glory of the Son (of Chri&s;t) be dimini&s;hed.</HI> But now as <HI>Bel|larmine</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Bellarm.</HI> de ami&s;&s;. grat. l. 4. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> c. 15.</NOTE> tells us, <HI>The whole Christian world almo&s;t</HI> (but it is that whole world &s;poken of <HI>Rev.</HI> 13. 3.) <HI>doth celebrate the Fea&s;t of the Conception of the Vir|gin</HI> Mary, <HI>and doth call it the immaculate Concep|tion.</HI> And he addes, that three &s;everall Popes (<HI>viz. Alexander</HI> the &s;ixt, <HI>Julius</HI> the &s;econd, and <HI>Leo</HI> the tenth) did confirm and adorn with priviledges, a certain religious Order in&s;tituted in honor of
<PB N="141" REF="74"> that immaculate Conception of the Virgin <HI>Ma|ry;</HI> he &s;aies indeed, that notwith&s;tanding all this, they do not hold that opinion (of the Virgin <HI>Maries</HI> being conceived without &s;in) as certain, but only as probable: How this will con&s;i&s;t with that infallibility and authority which the Pope challengeth, and <HI>Bellarmine</HI> al&s;o maintaineth to belong unto him, let others judge; but, &s;ay I, what probability is there in that opinion which hath no warrant from Scripture? yea, 'tis again&s;t Scripture: The Scripture affirming, that <HI>by A|dam &s;in entred into the world, and all have &s;inned,</HI> Rom. 5. 12. Neither doth the Scripture except a|ny but Chri&s;t onely, who was conceived and born by the miraculous power and operation of the Holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. The u&s;e of this point is fir&s;t for our con&s;olation: For Chri&s;t being thus conceived, and &s;o without &s;in, what&s;oever he &s;uffered, it was not for him&s;elf, but for us, not for any &s;in of his own, but for our &s;ins. And therefore, <HI>Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the &s;ins of the world,</HI> Ioh. 1. 29. <HI>Look unto me, and be ye &s;aved all the ends of the earth,</HI> E&s;a. 45. 22. Let us look unto him and behold him with the eye of faith, and then what&s;oever our &s;innes be we &s;hall be &s;aved: For <HI>him that knew no &s;in</HI> (viz. in him|&s;elf) <HI>hath God made &s;in for us, that we might be made the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God in him,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 21.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. But &s;econdly, it &s;erves al&s;o for our ad|monition: For as Chri&s;t was corporally concei|ved by the Holy Gho&s;t in the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> &s;o
<PB N="142" REF="75"> mu&s;t he al&s;o by the Holy Gho&s;t be &s;piritually conceived in us, or el&s;e we &s;hall have no benefit by him: we mu&s;t conceive him in our hearts by faith working thorough love, and bringing forth the fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. The Apo&s;tle told the <HI>Galathians,</HI> that he did travell with them in birth <HI>untill Chri&s;t were formed in them,</HI> Gal. 4. 19. And <HI>Gal.</HI> 2. 20. he &s;aith, that not he, but Chri&s;t did live in him. The ble&s;&s;ed Virgin her &s;elfe &s;hould have had but &s;mall ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e by conceiving Chri&s;t in her<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nihil illi materna propinquitas profui&s;&s;et, ni&s;i faelicius Chri&s;tum in corde qu&agrave;m in carne ge&s;ta&s;&s;et. <HI>Aug.</HI> Beatior fuit percipiendo fidem Chri&s;ti, qu&agrave;m concipiendo carnem Chri&s;ti. <HI>Idem.</HI></NOTE> womb, if &s;he had not al&s;o conceived him in her heart: She her &s;elf in her <HI>Magnifi|cat</HI> did rejoyce not &s;o much that God was her Son, as that God was her Saviour, which except &s;he had conceived him in her heart by faith, he had not been. When &s;ome told Chri&s;t that his mother and his brethren de&s;ired to &s;peak with him, he &s;aid, <HI>Who is my Mother? and who are my brethren?</HI> And pointing to his Di&s;ciples, he &s;aid, <HI>Behold my mother and my brethren; for who&s;o|ever &s;hall do the will of my Father which is in hea|ven, the &s;ame is my brother, and &s;i&s;ter and mother,</HI> Mat. 12. 47, 48, 49, 50. Not that Chri&s;t did de&s;pi&s;e his kindred according to the fle&s;h, but that he did prefer his &s;pirituall kindred: &s;o when one &s;aid unto him, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps that gave the &s;ucke;</HI> he an&s;wered, <HI>yea, ra|ther ble&s;&s;ed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it,</HI> Luk&punc; 11. 27, 28.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="12" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="143" REF="75">
<HEAD>THE TWELFTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ISA. 53. 3.</BIBL> A man of &s;orrowes, and acquainted with grief.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THis Chapter containes<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deinde etiam hoc adjiciendum, quod non tam propheta dicendus &s;it, quam Evangeli&s;ta. Ita enim u|niver&s;a Chri&s;ti eccle&s;iaeque my&s;te|ria ad liquidum pro&s;ecutus e&s;t, ut non putes eum de futuro vaticinari, &s;ed de praeteritis hi&s;toriam texere. <HI>Hieron.</HI> prefat. in <HI>I&s;aiam.</HI></NOTE> in it a mo&s;t famous pro|phecie of Chri&s;ts &s;uffering and humiliation, the &s;acred Pen-man of the holy Gho&s;t, <HI>E&s;ay,</HI> writes &s;o clearly, and &s;o fully, that as <HI>Hierome</HI> &s;aid of him, he might &s;eem rather like an Evangeli&s;t to record things pa&s;t, then as a Prophet to foretell things to come. The Chaldie Paraphra&s;t, and the Rabbines of old were con|vinced, that the Prophet here did &s;peak of the Me&s;&s;iah, that is, of Chri&s;t, and &s;o &s;ome of the later Rabbines al&s;o; as witne&s;&s;eth <HI>Abrabaneel</HI> upon the place, though he as divers others of them would pervert and wre&s;t it another way. Yea &s;o clear and<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo. I&s;aacus</HI> Defen. hebr. ve|rit. adver|&s;us Li<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|dan.</NOTE> convincing is this prophecie contained in this Chapter, that <HI>John I&s;aac</HI> a learned Iew of late years (as him&s;elf te&s;tifieth) was converted from
<PB N="144" REF="76"> Iudai&s;me, and became a Chri&s;tian by the very rea|ding of this Chapter. It was a part of this Chap|ter that the Eunuch read as he was riding in his Chariot, and he not at fir&s;t under&s;tanding of whom the Prophet &s;pake, <HI>Philip</HI> expounded it un|to him, and let him know that it was of our Lord and Saviour Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, <HI>Act.</HI> 8. 30. 35.</P>
<P>The Prophet in the beginning of the Chapter fore&s;hews, that few of the Iews would believe that which he did write of Chri&s;t: <HI>Who wil believe our report? &amp;c.</HI> v. 1. For as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Chri&s;t crucified was unto the Jews a &s;tumbling block 1 Cor.</HI> 1. 23. Therefore they de&s;pi&s;ed and rejected him, becau&s;e he came in an humble &amp; de&s;picable man|ner, and not in that pomp and &s;tate as they expe|cted. So much the Prophet here fore&s;hews; <HI>For he &s;hall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no forme, nor comeline&s;&s;e, and when we &s;hall &s;ee him, there is no beauty that we &s;hould de&s;ire him. He is de&s;pi&s;ed and rejected of men, a man of &s;orrowes and acquainted with grief,</HI> &amp;c. v. 2. &amp; 3.</P>
<P><HI>A man of &s;orrowes</HI>] that is, a man wholly &s;ub|ject to &s;orrows, a man mo&s;t full of &s;orrows: <HI>As a man of under&s;tanding,</HI> Prov. 24. 5. that is, a man full of under&s;tanding. <HI>A man of &s;trife,</HI> Ier. 15. 10. that is, a man &s;ubject to &s;trife, a man with whom every one &s;triveth, for the phra&s;e is there taken pa&s;&s;ively.</P>
<P><HI>And acquainted with grief</HI>] In the originall it is word for word, <HI>and knowing grief,</HI> or rather,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>and known of grief,</HI> the phra&s;e imports that he was &s;o continually exerci&s;ed with grief, that grief and
<PB N="145" REF="76"> he were become (as it were) familiar, and were well acquainted one with the other.</P>
<P>The&s;e words, as con&s;idered with reference to tho&s;e Chap. 52. 12. where this Section concern|ing Chri&s;t begins, as al&s;o with reference to what followes in the la&s;t Ver&s;e of this Chapter, afford this ob&s;ervation, <HI>That Chri&s;ts &s;orrow and humilia|tion</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> <HI>went before his joy and exaltation.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ought not Chri&s;t to have &s;uffered the&s;e things, and to enter into his glory?</HI> Luke 24. 26. Fir&s;t, he was to &s;uffer &s;uch things, and then having &s;uffered them, to enter into his glory: <HI>Now that he a&s;cen|ded, what is it, but that he de&s;cended first?</HI> &amp;c. Eph. 4. 9. His de&s;cen&s;ion was before his a&s;cen&s;ion, <HI>He was made perfect through &s;ufferings,</HI> Heb. 2. 10.</P>
<P>It was nece&s;&s;ary, that if Chri&s;t &s;hould have any e&s;tate of humiliation at all, it &s;hould be before his e&s;tate of exaltation: For being once exalted and in glory, he could not po&s;&s;ibly be &s;ubject to any &s;orrow or &s;uffering. The e&s;tate of glory is incon&s;i&s;tent with &s;orrow and &s;uffering; <HI>Christ being rai&s;ed from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him,</HI> Rom. 6. 9. So, had he at fir&s;t entred into glory before his &s;uffering, nei|ther death, nor any affliction (which &s;eems to make way for death) could have laid hold on him.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But may &s;ome &s;ay, why &s;hould Chri&s;t be &s;ubject to any &s;orrow at all?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer: There was rea&s;on for it in divers re&s;pects:</P>
<P N="1">1. God &s;o determined, it was his will and plea&s;ure it &s;hould be &s;o: <HI>It plea&s;ed the Lord to
<PB N="146" REF="77"> brui&s;e him, he hath put him to grief,</HI> E&s;a. 53. 10. It was the cup that his Father gave him to drink, <HI>Joh. 18. 11. Herod</HI> and <HI>Pilate,</HI> with the Gentiles and the Jewes, did but what God had before deter|mined to be done, <HI>Acts</HI> 4. 27, 28.</P>
<P N="2">2. God not only determined, but al&s;o &s;ignifi|ed and made it knowne before-hand, that &s;o it &s;hould be, that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;uffer; <HI>Saying none other things then</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>and the Prophets</HI> (that is, God by them) <HI>did &s;ay &s;hould come, that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;uffer, &amp;c.</HI> Acts 26. 22, 23. <HI>Tho&s;e things that God before had &s;hewed by the mouth of his Prophets, that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;uffer, he hath &s;o fulfilled,</HI> Act. 3. 18. <HI>Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Chri&s;t to &s;uffer, &amp;c.</HI> even therefore becau&s;e it was &s;o written, Luk. 24. 46. <HI>Thinke&s;t thou</HI> (&s;aid Chri&s;t to <HI>Peter,</HI> who &s;ought to keep him from &s;uffering) <HI>that I cannot now pray unto my Father, and he &s;hall pre&s;ently give me more then twelve Legions of An|gels? But how then &s;hall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it mu&s;t be?</HI> Mat. 26. 53, 54.</P>
<P N="3">3. Our ca&s;e and condition did require that &s;o it &s;hould be; Chri&s;t was to &s;uffer, that &s;o we might not &s;uffer; I mean, not &s;uffer &s;o, as other|wi&s;e we mu&s;t have &s;uffered, even &s;o, as <HI>to lie down in &s;orrow,</HI> &s;o as to &s;uffer eternall woe and mi&s;ery:<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 50. 11</NOTE> God was injured and offended, and his Ju&s;tice would be &s;atisfied; we were utterly unable to make &s;atisfaction without lying under everla|&s;ting condemnation. Therefore that we might not peri&s;h, it was requi&s;ite that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;uf|fer, and by &s;uffering &s;atisfie for us: <HI>Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our &s;orrowes.&mdash;He
<PB N="147" REF="77"> was wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, he was brui&s;ed for our iniquities, the cha&s;ti&s;ement of our peace was upon him, and with his &s;tripes are we healed. All we like &s;heep have gone a&s;tray, and turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all,</HI> E&s;a. 53. 4, 5, 6. <HI>God made him to be &s;in,</HI> an offering and a &s;acrifice for &s;in) <HI>for us, who knew no &s;in,</HI> [that is, was guilty of none] <HI>that we might be made the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God in him,</HI> a Cor. 5. 21.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. If it were thus with the Head, then &s;o al&s;o it mu&s;t be with the Members; if thus with Chri&s;t, then &s;o al&s;o with Chri&s;tians: <HI>For whom he did fore-know, he al&s;o did predestinate to be con|formed to the Image of his Son, &amp;c.</HI> Rom. 8. 29. God hath prede&s;tinated us to be conform'd unto Chri&s;t, <HI>viz.</HI> fir&s;t in &s;orrow and &s;uffering, and then in glory and happine&s;&s;e: <HI>If &s;o be that we &s;uffer with him, that we may be al&s;o glorified together,</HI> Rom. 8. 17. <HI>If we be dead with him, we &s;hall al&s;o live with him; if we &s;uffer, we &s;hall al&s;o reign,</HI> 2 Tim. 2. 11, 12. If Chri&s;t the Captain of our Salvation were made perfect by &s;ufferings, as it is &s;aid of him, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2. 10. then we mu&s;t not think to be made perfect without &s;ufferings, but mu&s;t look to fol|low Chri&s;t, as &s;ouldiers do their Captain. <HI>Thou therefore endure hardne&s;&s;e as a good &s;ouldier of Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Tim. 2. 3. When &s;ome de&s;ired of Chri&s;t, that they might &s;it one at his right hand, the other at his left in his glory; Chri&s;t told them, that they knew not what they asked: and asked them, if they could drink of the cup that he was to drink of, and be baptized with the bapti&s;m that he was
<PB N="148" REF="78"> to be baptized with, <HI>Mar.</HI> 10. 37, 38. He gave them to under&s;tand, that they &s;hould fir&s;t think of partaking vvith him in his &s;ufferings, before they could partake vvith them in his glory.</P>
<P N="1">1. Suffering is a means vvhereby Chri&s;t doth try vvho are his: <HI>The Lord knoweth who are his,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2. 19. True, but God makes it appear by the cro&s;&s;es and afflictions that he layes upon them; hereby their faith, patience, &s;elf-deniall, &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion unto God, and depen|dance upon God is made manife&s;t: <HI>Thou, O God, ha&s;t proved us, thou ha&s;t tried us as &s;ilver is tried,</HI> &s;ay the people of God unto him; And hovv did he prove and try them? They adde, <HI>Thou broughtest us into the net, thou laid&s;t affliction upon our loins: Thou made&s;t men to ride over our heads,</HI> P&s;al. 66. 10, 11, 12. <HI>Now for a &s;ea&s;on</HI> (&s;aith S. <HI>Pe|ter,</HI> &s;peaking to tho&s;e vvho had received Chri&s;t into their hearts by faith) <HI>if need be, ye are in hea|vine&s;&s;e through manifold temptations, that the triall of your faith being much more pretious then of gold that peri&s;heth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto prai&s;e, and honour, and glory at the ap|pearing of Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 6, 7. And <HI>beloved, think it not &s;trange</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>concerning the fiery tri|all which is to try you, &amp;c.</HI> 1 Pet. 4. 12. See al&s;o Rev. 2. 10. &amp; 3. 10.</P>
<P N="2">2. Suffering is a means vvhereby God doth purge and refine tho&s;e that are his, and &s;o vvhere|by he doth prepare and fit them for the glory that he hath prepared for them; even as the fire not onely tries the gold or &s;ilver, but al&s;o pur|geth it from the dro&s;&s;e that vvas mixed vvith it:
<PB N="149" REF="78"> <HI>Some of them of under&s;tanding &s;hall fall</HI> (into affliction) <HI>to try them, and to purge them, and to make them white,</HI> Dan. 11. 35.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Let us then be admoni&s;hed to think of this, that Chri&s;t &s;uffered before he reigned, fir&s;t he was crowned with thornes, before he was crowned with glory, and &s;o it mu&s;t accordingly fare with us, if we belong unto Chri&s;t: let us (I &s;ay) think of it, and prepare for it. For,</P>
<P N="1">1. We are apt to put far away &s;orrow and &s;uffering, to put it far from our thoughts, like the &s;ons of <HI>Zebedeus,</HI> Mar. 10. 37. who were more ready to think of reigning with Chri&s;t, then to think of &s;uffering, though (as Chri&s;t taught them) that be fir&s;t to be thought of.</P>
<P N="2">2. Hereupon we become unable to &s;uffer, be|cau&s;e we are &s;o unmindfull of &s;uffering: <HI>Think not &s;trange, &amp;c.</HI> 1 Pet. 4. 12. Becau&s;e we do not think of it before it cometh, therefore we think it &s;trange when it cometh: The blow that comes &s;uddenly &s;trikes &s;ore, whereas <HI>praemonitus praemu|nitus,</HI> fore-warned, fore-armed; <HI>praevi&s;a jacula, min&ugrave;s feriunt,</HI> the blow that is fore-&s;een, if it can|not be prevented, yet it may be received &s;o as to do the le&s;&s;e hurt; <HI>Jeru&s;alem remembred not her last end, therefore &s;he came down wonderfully,</HI> Lam. 1. 9. And the Apo&s;tle tells the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians,</HI> that he &s;ent <HI>Timotheus</HI> unto them, <HI>that no man &s;hould be moved with tho&s;e afflictions,</HI> (which happened unto him, and might al&s;o happen unto them) <HI>for</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>your &s;elves know that we are appointed thereunto: For verily when we were with you, we told you before, that we &s;hould &s;uffer tribulation, e|ven
<PB N="150" REF="79"> as it came to pa&s;&s;e, and ye know,</HI> 1 The&s;. 3. 3, 4. He fore-told them of it, that &s;o they might not &s;tartle or &s;tagger at it vvhen it came to pa&s;&s;e: So Chri&s;t having told his Di&s;ciples, that the time was coming, vvhen as they that did kill them would think they did God &s;ervice, he addes, <HI>But the&s;e things have I told you, that when the time &s;hall come, ye may remember that I told you of them,</HI> Joh. 16. 24. And Luk. 14. 28. &amp;c. Chri&s;t propoundeth tvvo Parables to this end, to &s;hevv that if vve vvill indeed be his Di&s;ciples vve mu&s;t reckon be|forehand, and make account of &s;uffering vvith him, and for him.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But may &s;ome object, If this be the con|dition of a Chri&s;tian, hovv then is Chri&s;ts yoke ea&s;ie, and his burthen light, as he affirmes it to be, <HI>Mat.</HI> 11. 29?</P>
<P><HI>Sol.</HI> To this I an&s;vver, that the yoke and bur|then as of &s;ervice, &s;o of &s;uffering, which Chri&s;t doth put upon a Chri&s;tian, is ea&s;ie and light. For,</P>
<P N="1">1. Chri&s;t having gone before, hath made way for a Chri&s;tian to follow after; <HI>In the world</HI> [&s;aith he] <HI>ye &s;hall have tribulation, but be of good com|fort, I have overcome the world,</HI> Joh. 16. 33.</P>
<P N="2">2. Chri&s;t doth moderate the affliction, and gives &s;trength to bear it; he will not &s;uffer tho&s;e that belong unto him to be tempted above what they are able, but will with the temptation al&s;o make a way to e&s;cape it, that they may be able to bear it, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10. 13. His grace is &s;ufficient for them, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12. 9.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 3. Here is comfort and incouragement for
<PB N="151" REF="79"> all true Chri&s;tians; they need not to be dejected and di&s;maied, becau&s;e of any &s;orrow or &s;uffering that doth befall them; for it fares no otherwi&s;e with them, then it fared with Chri&s;t him&s;elf; yea, indeed all that they can &s;uffer is nothing in com|pari&s;on of what he &s;uffered: Let's con&s;ider,</P>
<P N="1">1. That it is very ab&s;urd, and again&s;t all rea&s;on, that we &s;hould think much to be under that condition that Chri&s;t him&s;elf was under: <HI>The Di&s;ciple is not above his Ma&s;ter, nor the Ser|vant above his Lord. It is enough for the Di&s;ciple to be as his Ma&s;ter, and the Servant as his Lord, if they have called the Ma&s;ter of the hou&s;e Belze|bub, how much more will they call them of his hou&s;|hold?</HI> Mat. 10. 24, 25.</P>
<P N="2">2. That it is an honour for us to be conform|ed unto Chri&s;t in &s;uffering as he &s;uffered: <HI>If I mu&s;t needs glory, I will glory in the things which concern mine infirmities,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Paul, 2 Cor. 11. 30. God forbid</HI> (&s;aid he al&s;o) <HI>that I &s;hould glory &s;ave in the Cro&s;&s;e of our Lord Je&s;us Christ, whereby the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world,</HI> Gal. 6. 14.</P>
<P N="3">3. That Chri&s;t having him&s;elf been &s;o acquain|ted with grief and &s;orrow, he can and will com|pa&s;&s;ionate us in our &s;ufferings: <HI>For in that he him&s;elf hath &s;uffered, he is able to &s;uccour them that are tempted,</HI> Heb. 2. 18. <HI>For we have not an High Prie&s;t that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points like as we are, yet without &s;in. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtaine mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,</HI> Heb.
<PB N="152" REF="80"> 4. 15. 16. yea, Chri&s;t doth account the &s;uffering of his members to be his own &s;uffering: <HI>Saul, Saul, why per&s;ecute&s;t thou me?</HI> &s;aid he, when <HI>Saul</HI> did per&s;ecute Chri&s;tians, <HI>Act.</HI> 9. 4. &amp; v. 5. <HI>I am Je&s;us whom thou per&s;ecute&s;t.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. That if we would be conformed unto Chri&s;t in &s;uffering, we &s;hall al&s;o be conformed unto him in glory, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. 17. and 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2. 11. 12. There|fore S. <HI>Peter</HI> bids, <HI>Rejoyce, ina&s;much as ye are par|takers of Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings, that when his glory &s;hall be revealed, ye may be glad al&s;o with exceeding joy,</HI> 1 Pet.. 4.. 13. This is the mi&s;erie of &s;uch as are a|liens from Chri&s;t, that their joy &s;hall be turned into &s;orrow; <HI>Even in laughter the heart is &s;or|rowfull, and the end of that mirth is heavine&s;&s;e,</HI> Prov. 14. 13. <HI>As the crackling of thorns under a pot, &s;o is the laughter of a fool,</HI> Eccle&s;. 7. 6. On the other &s;ide this is the happine&s;&s;e of tho&s;e that are Chri&s;ts, that their &s;orrow &s;hall be turned into joy, as Chri&s;t told his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Joh.</HI> 16. 20. And &s;ee there, v. 21. &amp; 22. Let us therefore look unto the end of our &s;uffering, what it tends to, and what will be the i&s;&s;ue of it, and we &s;hall &s;ee there's rea&s;on not to be troubled at it, but to rejoyce in it: <HI>Chri&s;t for the joy that was &s;et before him, indured the Cro&s;&s;e, despi&s;ing the &s;hame,</HI> Heb. 12. 2. And there we are bidden to look unto him, to imitate him, and &s;o to run with patience the race that is &s;et before us. <HI>Thus by faith</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>when he was come to years, re|fu&s;ed to be called the Son of</HI> Pharoahs <HI>daughter, choo&s;ing rather to &s;uffer affliction with the people of God, then to injoy the plea&s;ures of &s;in for a &s;ea&s;on; esteeming the reproach of Chri&s;t greater riches then
<PB N="153" REF="80"> the trea&s;ures in Aegypt:</HI> And why? <HI>for he had re|&s;pect to the recompence of reward,</HI> Heb. 11. 24, 25, 26. So <HI>Paul</HI> profe&s;&s;eth of him&s;elf, &s;aying, <HI>We faint not, but though our outward man peri&s;h, yet the in|ward man is renewed day by day. For our light af|fliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternall weight of glory, whiles we look not at the things which are &s;een, but at the things which are not &s;een; for the things which are &s;een are temporall, but the things which are not &s;een are eternall, 2 Cor.</HI> 4. 16, 17, 18.</P>
<P><HI>Caution.</HI> But our care mu&s;t be, that in re&s;pect of the ground and cau&s;e of our &s;uffering, we be like unto Chri&s;t, that is, that we do not &s;uffer for ill-doing, but for well-doing, I mean in re&s;pect of men; for otherwi&s;e if God &s;hall contend with us, we cannot an&s;wer to one of a thou&s;and, <HI>Job 9. 4. Righteous art thou O Lord, and ju&s;t are thy judge|ments,</HI> &s;aid <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 119. 137. Yet in the &s;ame P&s;alme &s;peaking of men, v. 86. he &s;aith, <HI>They per|&s;ecute me wrongfully.</HI> So mu&s;t it be our care to &s;uffer, when we do &s;uffer by the hands of men, or el&s;e we are not conformed unto Chri&s;t in our &s;uf|fering, we do not &s;uffer as he &s;uffered; for he did nothing for which to &s;uffer: No, <HI>He was holy, harmle&s;&s;e, undefiled, &s;eparate from &s;inners,</HI> Heb. 7. 25. <HI>He did no &s;in, neither was guile found in his mouth,</HI> 1 Pet. 2. 22. <HI>Which of you convinceth me of &s;in?</HI> &s;aid he to his mo&s;t malicious adver&s;aries, Joh. 8. 46. <HI>They hated me without a cau&s;e,</HI> &s;aid he, Joh. 15. 25. <HI>This man hath done nothing ami&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;aid one of him, that was crucified together with him, <HI>Luk.</HI> 23. 41. And &s;o <HI>Pilate</HI> that condemned him,
<PB N="154" REF="81"> did yet often times (as the Evangeli&s;ts record) confe&s;&s;e that he found no fault in him: There|fore<NOTE PLACE="marg">Non paena, &s;ed cau&s;a facit Mar|tyrem. Non quid qui&s;que patiatur, &s;ed quare patiatur, attendi debet. <HI>Aug.</HI></NOTE> if we &s;uffer as Malefactors and evill doers, we do not &s;uffer as Chri&s;t &s;uffered. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they which are per&s;ecuted for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;ake,</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t not &s;imply, they that are per|&s;ecuted, but that are per&s;ecuted for righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;ake) <HI>for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Ble&s;&s;ed are ye when men &s;hall revile you, and per&s;e|cute you, and &s;hall &s;ay all manner of evill again&s;t you fal&s;ly for my names &s;ake. Rejoyce and be exceed|ing glad, &amp;c.</HI> Mat. 5. 10, 11, 12. <HI>for this is thank|worthy, if a man for con&s;cience towards God indure grief &s;uffering wrongfully: For what glory is it if when ye are buffeted for your faults, ye &s;hall take it patiently? &amp;c.</HI> 1 Pet. 2. 19, 20, 21. <HI>If ye &s;uffer for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;ake, happy are ye,</HI> 1 Pet. 3. 14. <HI>If ye be reproached for the Name of Chri&s;t, happy are ye, &amp;c. But let none of you &s;uffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evill doer, or as a bu&s;ie body in o|ther mens matters: Yet if any man &s;uffer as a Chri|&s;tian, let him not be a&s;hamed, but let him glorifie God on this behalf,</HI> 1 Pet. 4. 14, 15, 16. And V. 19. <HI>Wherefore let them that &s;uffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their &s;ouls to him in well-doing, as to a faithfull Creator.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="13" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="155" REF="81">
<HEAD>THE THIRTEENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ISA. 53. 3.</BIBL> A man of &s;orrowes, and acquainted with grief.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>HAving fini&s;hed one point ob&s;erved from the&s;e words, as they cohere with other words both before and after, I come now to that which in them&s;elves con&s;idered they hold out un|to <MILESTONE UNIT="Doctr."> us, to wit, <HI>That Christ was a man full of &s;orrows and of &s;ufferings.</HI></P>
<P>The whole life of Chri&s;t was a continuall &s;uf|fering, his very incarnation was a pa&s;&s;ion, <HI>Who being in the forme of God, thought it no robbery to be equall with God, but made him&s;elf of no reputation</HI> (word for word according to the original, <HI>emptied</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>him&s;elf) and took upon him the form of a &s;ervant, &amp;c.</HI> That the Creator &s;hould become a creature, God be made man, he whom the heaven of hea|vens cannot containe, be inclo&s;ed in the womb, this was &s;urely a wonderous &s;uffering. Again, im|mediately after he was born, he was laid in a man|ger,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 2.</NOTE> as if he had not been worthy to have a place among&s;t men, within a few daies after he was cir|cumci&s;ed,
<PB N="156" REF="82"> &s;hortly after that he was per&s;ecuted by <HI>Herod,</HI> &s;o that to e&s;cape the danger, he was fain to be carried into another Countrey, even into E|gypt.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 2.</NOTE> For the re&s;t of his life, until he was about 30. years old, the Scripture &s;peaks but little of it, on|ly it &s;hews us that he was with <HI>Mary</HI> his true<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 2. 51.</NOTE> Mother, and <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> his &s;uppo&s;ed Father, <HI>and was &s;ubject unto them;</HI> and intimates that he did exe|cute the &s;ame trade that <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> was of, whence it &s;eems as &s;ome called him <HI>the Carpenters &s;on,</HI> Mat. 13. 55. &s;o others called him the <HI>Carpenter,</HI> Mar. 6. 3. When he came abroad to execute the office for which he was &s;ent, pre&s;ently he was &s;et upon and a&s;&s;aulted by the divell, and continually was he<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 4.</NOTE> haunted and baited as it were by the Scribes and Phari&s;ecs, and &s;uch as could not indure the &s;plen|dor of his life and doctrine. Be&s;ides, he was poor and indigent, having no home, no habitation of his own, <HI>though he were rich, yet for our &s;akes he became poor</HI> 2 Cor. 8. 9. Even &s;o poor, that others <HI>did mini&s;ter unto him of their &s;ub&s;tance,</HI> Luk. 8. 3. <HI>And whereas the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have ne&s;ts, he had not where to lay his head,</HI> viz. otherwi&s;e then to be beholding unto others for it, Luk. 9. 58. But all this was but the begin|ning of Chri&s;ts &s;orrows, his chief &s;uffering was at la&s;t, at and immediately before his death, from the time of his agony in the garden, to the time of his hanging and dying upon the Cro&s;&s;e. That which he then &s;uffered was &s;uch and &s;o great; that <GAP DESC="foreign"> it is called his Pa&s;&s;ion, or his &s;uffering. Let us therefore a little (as we are able) &s;ee and con&s;ider what he then &s;uffered. And he fuffered (as
<PB N="157" REF="82"> the Scripture &s;hews) both outwardly &amp; inwardly.</P>
<P>He &s;uffered outwardly, 1. in his reputation, for goods he had none to &s;uffer in, except his clothes, which he was deve&s;ted of, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 19. 23. 24. But for his reputation he &s;uffered much in it; and that is no &s;mal &s;uffering. <HI>For a good name is better then precious ointment,</HI> Eccle&s;. 7. 1. <HI>A good name is rather to be cho|&s;en then great riches,</HI> Prov. 22. 1. <HI>A good report maketh the bones fat,</HI> Prov. 15. 30. Therefore on the other|&s;ide, an evil report, &s;launder, and defamation, con|tempt and reproach maketh the bones lean, its a great griefe, a great vexation. <HI>Fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es did ri&s;e up again&s;t me, they laid to my charge things that I knew not.</HI> Thus <HI>David</HI> complains of the hard mea|&s;ure that he found from &s;ome, P&s;al. 35. 11. &amp; v. 21. <HI>Yea, they opened their mouth wide again&s;t me, and &s;aid, Aha, Aha, our eye hath &s;een it.</HI> And P&s;al. 120. 2. he cries out, <HI>Deliver my &s;oul from lying lips, &amp; from a deceitfull tongue.</HI> And P&s;al. 123. 3, 4. <HI>Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,</HI> cry the people of God unto him, <HI>for we are exceedingly filled with contempt: our &s;oul is exceedingly filled with the &s;cor|ning of tho&s;e that are at ea&s;e, and with the contempt of the proud.</HI> Among&s;t other grievous &s;uffe|rings which the Saints endured, are reckoned <HI>mockings,</HI> Heb. 11. 36. In this re&s;pect its &s;aid that <HI>I&s;mael per&s;ecuted I&s;aac,</HI> Gal. 4. 29. in that <HI>he mock|ed him,</HI> Gen. 21. 9. Now how was Chri&s;t traduced and &s;landered? how vi&s;ited and reproached? how taunted and mocked? <HI>We have found this fellow per|verting the Nation</HI> (&s;aid his malicious adver&s;aries of him) <HI>and forbidding to give tribute to Cae&s;ar, &s;ay+ing that he him&s;elf is Chri&s;t a King.</HI> Luk. 23. 2. Thus
<PB N="158" REF="83"> they accu&s;ed him mo&s;t fal&s;ly; for he taught the people quite contrary both by word and deed, as appears <HI>Mat.</HI> 22. 17. &amp; 17. 24, 25, 26, 27. So they called him a <HI>deceiver,</HI> yea <HI>that deceiver,</HI> as if he had been the grand Impo&s;tor, <HI>Mat.</HI> 27. 63. whereas he is <HI>the Amen, the true and faithfull witne&s;&s;e,</HI> Revel. 3. 14. <HI>Yea the truth it &s;elf,</HI> Joh. 14. 6. They cloathed him with a &s;carlet robe, put a crown of thorns up|on his head, and a reed (in &s;tead of a Scepter) in his hand, and bowed the knee before him, and mock|ed him &s;aying, <HI>Hail King of the Iewes,</HI> Mat. 27. 28, 29. As he hung upon the Cro&s;&s;e, <HI>they that pa&s;&s;ed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and &s;aying, Thou that destroyest the Temple, and builde&s;t it againe in three daies, &s;ave thy &s;elf; If thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cro&s;&s;e, likewi&s;e al&s;o the chiefe Priests mocking him, with the Scribes and Elders, &s;aid, he &s;aved others, him&s;elf he cannot &s;ave. If he be the King of I&s;rael, let him now come down from the Cro&s;&s;e, and we will believe him. He tru&s;ted in God, let him deliver him now if he will have him; for he &s;aid, I am the Son of God: The thieves al&s;o that were crucified with him, ca&s;t the &s;ame in his teeth,</HI> Mat. 27. 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44. They not only crucified him, which was a thing ignominious and &s;hamefull en|ough, but they crucified him betwixt two thieves, &s;o that <HI>he was numbered among the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors,</HI> I&s;ai. 53. 12. Mar. 15. 28. Yea he was accounted the chief tran&s;gre&s;&s;or.</P>
<P>2. He &s;uffered outwardly in his body, What part of his body was free from &s;uffering? his head was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ricked with thorns, his face &s;pit upon and buffe|ted, his back &s;courged; all this he &s;uffered before
<PB N="159" REF="83"> he was crucified. And by the&s;e &s;ufferings, together with the to&s;&s;ing of him from place to place, want of &s;leep, and the like, he was &s;o wearied and &s;o vveakned, that he vvas not able to bear his Cro&s;&s;e (it &s;eems) to the place vvhere he vvas crucified. Its &s;aid, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 19. 17. that he vvent <HI>bearing his Cro&s;&s;e;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lip&s;ius de Cruce.</NOTE> and &s;o the learned ob&s;erve, that they vvho vvere crucified u&s;ed to do. But its &s;aid Mat. 27. 32. <HI>As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene,</HI> Simon <HI>by name; him they compelled to bear his Cro&s;&s;e.</HI> So Luk. 23. 26. It appears by comparing the Evange|li&s;ts together, that Chri&s;t at fir&s;t (as the manner vvas) bore his Cro&s;&s;e him&s;elf, but aftervvards in the vvay, they perceiving him unable to bear it, laid hold on that <HI>Simon,</HI> whom they met, and made him to bear it. After this, his hands and feet (parts<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> P&s;al. 22. 16.</NOTE> mo&s;t tender, &amp; &s;en&s;ible of pain) vvere pierced, yea as the Hebrevv vvord &s;ignifies, vvere digged vvith nails, &amp; his vvhole body vvas &s;tretched &amp; vvracked upon the Cro&s;&s;e, for many hours together before<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Aquin.</HI> part. 3. quae&s;t. 46&punc; art 6.</NOTE> he gave up the Gho&s;t. All this bodily pain that Chri&s;t indured, is ju&s;tly conceived to have been &s;o much the more vehement and grievous, by hovv much his body vvas of a more excellent temper &amp; complexion, as being miraculou&s;ly formed and framed by the holy Gho&s;t, Luk. 1. 35. For things that are vvrought &s;upernaturally by miracle, ex|cell tho&s;e things that are effected by naturall cau|&s;es, as the vvine that Chri&s;t did miraculou&s;ly make of vvater, was better then other vvine, Joh. 2. 10.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t al&s;o &s;uffered invvardly, and his invvard &s;uffering vvas his &s;ore&s;t &s;uffering; the &s;uffering of his body, vvas but as the body of his &s;uffering; the
<PB N="160" REF="84"> &s;uffering of his &s;oule, was as the &s;oule of his &s;uffe|ring. <HI>The &s;pirit of a man will bear his infirmity, but a wounded &s;pirit who can bear?</HI> Prov. 18. 14. Now Chri&s;ts &s;pirit was wounded. <HI>He was &s;ore amazed, and very heavy,</HI> Mar. 14. 33. The words in the ori|ginall<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> are very emphaticall, and the force of them not ea&s;ie to be expre&s;&s;ed to the full; the one im|ports a vehement a&s;toni&s;hing fear; and the other &s;uch grief and heavine&s;&s;e, as makes one to be a|lone, and to avoid all company: it follows there in the next ver&s;e, that he &s;aid, <HI>My &s;oul is exceeding</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>&s;orrowfull unto death.</HI> He was invironed, compa&s;&s;ed round about with &s;orrow, &s;o that there was no way to turn, but &s;till &s;orrow was in the way; &s;o much the Greek word there u&s;ed doth import. In the cold night, lying on the cold ground, he did &s;weat, and that in a mo&s;t &s;trange manner, <HI>his &s;weat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground:</HI> when he was upon the Cro&s;&s;e he cri|ed out, <HI>My God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me?</HI> All this &s;hews what a wonderfull &s;uffering he had in his &s;oul; which how great it was, only he knows that felt it. Let none marvell, that Chri&s;t &s;hould be in &s;uch perplexity of &s;pirit, whereas u&s;ually the Martyrs did &s;hew no &s;uch con&s;ternation and amazement in their &s;ufferings, but did indure them with much patience, yea with much alacrity and chearfulne&s;&s;e, with much joy and gladne&s;&s;e: let none, I &s;ay, marvell at this, for the Martyrs were filled with inward joy and comfort, which did much mitigate, if not quite extingui&s;h the &s;en&s;e of their outward &s;ufferings; but it was other|wi&s;e with Chri&s;t, although the divine nature were
<PB N="161" REF="84"> per&s;onally united to the humane nature, yet it did for a while &s;u&s;pend and withhold the influ|ence of con&s;olation. If <HI>Job</HI> being but tried of God, did yet &s;o complain, &s;aying, <HI>O that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the ba|lances together; for now it would be heavier then the &s;and of the Sea.</HI> Job. 6. 2, 3. And if <HI>David</HI> being cha&s;tned of God, did yet &s;o cry out, &s;aying, <HI>O Lord rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither cha&s;ten me in thy hot di&s;plea&s;ure; for thine arrows &s;tick fast in me, and thine hand pre&s;&s;eth me &s;ore: there is no &s;ound|ne&s;&s;e in my fle&s;h becau&s;e of thine anger, nor any re&s;t in my bones becau&s;e of my &s;in,</HI> P&s;al. 38. 1, 2, 3. How great needs mu&s;t be Chri&s;ts &s;orrow, and the &s;uffering of his &s;oul, <HI>when it plea&s;ed the Lord to brui&s;e him?</HI> I&s;ai. 53. 10. <HI>and to lay upon him the iniquities of us all,</HI> I&s;ai. 53. 6. Certainly if Chri&s;t had been a meer man, he had &s;unk under the burthen, and had never been able to bear it; he could never have g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ne tho|rough &s;uch &s;orrows and &s;ufferings as he did.</P>
<P>For the efficient cau&s;es of Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings, the inferiour and &s;ubordinate were Satan and wicked men. <HI>The Prince of this world cometh,</HI> Joh. 14. 30. <HI>The devil put it into the heart of</HI> Judas <HI>to betray him,</HI> Joh. 13, 2. <HI>The Kings of the earth stood up, and the Rulers were gathered together again&s;t the Lord, and again&s;t his Chri&s;t. For of a truth again&s;t thy holy child Je&s;us, both</HI> Herod <HI>and</HI> Pontius Pilate <HI>with the Gentiles, and the people of the Iews were gathered to|gethor,</HI> Acts 4. 26. 27. The &s;uperiour cau&s;es were God and Chri&s;t him&s;elf. All tho&s;e that were ga|thered together again&s;t Chri&s;t, did but what God had before determined to be done, Act. 4. 28. When
<PB N="162" REF="85"> <HI>Pilate</HI> vaunted that he had power to crucifie Chri&s;t, and power to let him go, <HI>Thou coulde&s;t have no power over me</HI> (&s;aid Chri&s;t again unto him) <HI>except it were given thee from above.</HI> Therefore<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 7. 30. &amp; 8. 20.</NOTE> we read in divers places, that though the adver&s;a|ries of Chri&s;t indeavoured to lay hands on him, yet they could not, they had no power to do it, <HI>be|cau&s;e his houre was not yet come,</HI> viz. the houre or time wherein God had appointed him to &s;uffer, and &s;o accordingly he was willing to &s;uffer: for he did not &s;uffer any thing but as him&s;elfe plea&s;ed, <HI>Therefore</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>doth my Father love me, becau&s;e I lay down my life, that I may take it up again: No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of my &s;elfe; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again: this Commandement I have received of my Father,</HI> Joh. 10. 17, 18. When they came to ap|prehend Chri&s;t, as they did, &s;o little were they a|ble to do any thing unto him again&s;t his will, that no &s;ooner did he tell them, that he was the man whom they did &s;eek, <HI>but they went back and fell to the ground,</HI> Joh. 18. 6. Be&s;ides, as the &s;tory there &s;heweth, he knowing before hand vvhat things were to befall him, vvent forth to meet them, and to expo&s;e him&s;elf unto them. True it is, he pray|ed, and that again and again, that the Cup might<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 26.</NOTE> pa&s;&s;e from him, that he might not &s;uffer as he did, but it was &s;till upon &s;uppo&s;ition, if it might &s;tand with the will of his Father, and with &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion unto his vvill: con&s;idering the things vvhich he &s;uffered in them&s;elves, &s;o he vvould not have &s;uf|fered them; for it is naturall for every thing to de&s;ire the pre&s;ervation of it &s;elf; and Chri&s;t took
<PB N="163" REF="85"> upon him our nature, though not the &s;infulne&s;&s;e of our nature. <HI>He was tempted like unto us in all things, yet without &s;in,</HI> Heb. 4. 15. But con&s;idering the things which he &s;uffered, as ordained of God for him to &s;uffer, &s;o he was willing to &s;uffer them, <HI>Neverthele&s;&s;e not as I will, but as thou wilt,</HI> Mat. 26. 39. And v. 41. <HI>thy will be done,</HI> And Joh. 18. 11. <HI>The cup which my Father hath given me to drink, &s;hall I not drink it?</HI></P>
<P>As for the finall cau&s;es of Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings; they were Gods Glory, and mans Redemption.</P>
<P N="1">1. Gods Glory. <HI>Now is my &s;oul troubled, and what &s;hall I &s;ay, Father &s;ave me from this houre, but therefore came I to this houre: Father glorifie thy name,</HI> Joh. 12. 27. 28.</P>
<P N="2">2. Mans Redemption. He &s;uffered to redeem man from &s;in, <HI>He was wounded for our iniquities, he was brui&s;ed for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions,</HI> &amp;c. I&s;ai. 53. 4; 5, 6. <HI>He him&s;elf bare our &s;ins on his body on the tree,</HI> 1 Pet. 2. 24. And &s;o to redeem man from mi&s;ery: <HI>Christ hath redeemed us from the cur&s;e of the Law, being made a cur&s;e for us,</HI> Gal 3. 13.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. The con&s;ideration of Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings may &s;erve for our con&s;olation.</P>
<P N="1">1. Are we burthened with &s;in? do we groane under the heavy weight of it? Let's con&s;ider what Chri&s;t hath &s;uffered, and why he hath &s;uffered. <HI>His &s;oul was made an offering for &s;in, I&s;ai.</HI> 53. 11. Not for any &s;in of his own, for he had none, but for our &s;in, as was before &s;hewed; our &s;in hath he &s;a|tisfied for by his &s;uffering: For what can be the &s;ins of the &s;ons of men, for which the &s;ufferings of the Son of God are not a &s;ufficient &s;atisfaction?</P>
<PB N="164" REF="86">
<P>Therefore in all affliction and di&s;tre&s;&s;e of con|&s;cience lets flie unto Chri&s;t, lets roll our &s;elves on him, and cleave to him, and we are &s;afe. The blood of Chri&s;t is that fountain &s;et open for the wa&s;hing away of &s;in and uncleanne&s;&s;e, Zach. 13. 1. <HI>Believe in the Lord Je&s;us Christ, and thou &s;halt be &s;a|ved,</HI> Act. 16. 31.</P>
<P N="2">2. Are there any outward troubles and pre&s;|&s;ures upon us? Let us con&s;ider what Chri&s;t hath &s;uffered, and how by his &s;uffering he hath recon|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;ed us to God, and purcha&s;ed eternall Re|demption for us, and therefore we need not fear, <HI>though the earth be removed, and though the hills be carried into the midst of the &s;ea, though the waters thereof roar, and be troubled, though the mountains &s;hake with the &s;welling thereof.</HI> P&s;al. 46. 2. 3. <HI>He that &s;pared not his own &s;or, but gave him up for us all, how &s;hall he not with him al&s;o freely give us all things?</HI> Rom. 8. 32. <HI>Who &s;hall &s;eparate us from the love of Christ? &s;hall tribulation, di&s;tre&s;&s;e or per&s;ecu|tion, or famin, or nakedne&s;&s;e, or perill&punc; or &s;word? (As it is written, for thy &s;ake we are killed all the day long, &amp; counted as &s;heep for the &s;l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ughter) Nay in all the&s;e things we are more then Conquerours thorough him that loved us. For I am per&s;waded, that neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pre&s;ent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature &s;hall be a|ble to &s;eparate us from the love of God, which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Lord,</HI> Rom. 8. 35, 36, 37 38, 39.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Here al&s;o is in&s;truction for us, not to re|ly on our own, but on Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings. We mu&s;t
<PB N="165" REF="86"> turn unto God, as with all our heart, &s;o <HI>with fa&s;t|ing, and with weeping, and with mourning,</HI> Joel. 2. 12. We mu&s;t &s;o lay to heart our &s;ins, <HI>as to be affli|cted, and mourn, and weep, our laughter mu&s;t be tur|ned into mourning, and our joy into heavine&s;&s;e,</HI> Jam. 4. 9. We mu&s;t take a holy revenge on our &s;elves for our &s;inners, 2. Cor. 7. 11. <HI>If we would judge our &s;elves we &s;hould not be judged of the Lord,</HI> 1 Cor. 11. 31. Becau&s;e we neglect to judge our &s;elves, therefore God doth judge us, and lay his afflicting hand up|on us, to bring us to a &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of our &s;ins, that we may repent of them, and &s;o not peri&s;h in them. <HI>When we are judged, we are cha&s;tned of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world,</HI> 1 Cor. 11. 32. The Antinomians are much wide &amp; wrong&punc; who wil not have God to afflict his chil|dren at all for &s;in, yet the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>we are cha&s;tned of the Lord,</HI> and cha&s;tning pre&s;uppo&s;eth a fault for which one is cha&s;tned. And &s;o the Apo|&s;tle expre&s;&s;ely, <HI>For this cau&s;e many among you are weak,</HI> &amp;c. 1 Cor. 11. 30. viz. for their &s;in in recei|ving the Lords Supper &s;o unworthily as they did.</P>
<P>Yet the puni&s;hment that God doth inflict up|on his children, is but ca&s;tigatory, not &s;atisfacto|ry, as the Papi&s;ts would per&s;wade us, who hold that men may and mu&s;t &s;atisfie the ju&s;tice of God, by their own &s;ufferings, which they mu&s;t either voluntarily or els perforce endure: only Chri&s;t is the <HI>propitiation for our &s;ins,</HI> 1 Joh. 2. 2, <HI>Only the blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t clean&s;eth us from all &s;ins,</HI> 1 Jo. 1. 7. Only Chri&s;ts &s;uffering is our &s;atisfacti|on.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 3. Again by Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings, we may &s;ee
<PB N="166" REF="87"> the evill and odious nature of &s;in: how exceed|ingly God doth hate and abhor it, in that his ju|&s;tice would not be &s;atisfied but by &s;uch &s;orrows and &s;uch &s;ufferings of his own &s;on! O let not us love that which God doth &s;o hate, <HI>Ye that love the Lord, hate evill,</HI> P&s;al. 97. 10. Sin is evill in the &s;ight of God, let it be &s;o in ours al&s;o, he hates &s;in, and therefore let us al&s;o hate it; let us not make light of that which Chri&s;t found &s;o heavy, let us remember what he &s;aid as he went to the Cro&s;&s;e, <HI>If they do the&s;e things in a green tree, what &s;hall be done in the dry?</HI> Luk. 22. 31. If Chri&s;t who him&s;elf had no &s;in, did &s;o &s;uffer for &s;in, what &s;hal become of tho&s;e who are ful of nothing but &s;in, &amp; wil &s;till go on to fill them&s;elves more &amp; more with it? <HI>O let us look on him whom we have pierced, and let us mourn for him</HI> (that is, for our &s;ins by which we have pierced him) <HI>as one mourneth for his only &s;on, &amp; be in bitterne&s;&s;e for him, as one is in bitterne&s;&s;e for his fir&s;t born,</HI> Zach. 12. 10.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 3. Finally, here we may &s;ee the wonderfull love of God, and of Chri&s;t towards us, that rather then we &s;hould receive the ju&s;t recompence and reward of our &s;ins, God would give his own Son, and Chri&s;t would give him&s;elf to &s;uffer for us. <HI>God &s;o loved the world, that he gave his onely begot|ten &s;on, that who&s;oever believeth in him, &s;hould not peri&s;h, but have everla&s;ting life,</HI> Joh. 3. 16. <HI>In this was manife&s;ted the love of God towards us,</HI> &amp;c. Joh. 4. 9. <HI>Who loved me, and gave him&s;elfe for me,</HI> Gal. 2. 20. <HI>Amat non immerit&ograve;, qui amatus &s;ine merito,</HI> Great cau&s;e have we to love God, and to love Chri&s;t, who &s;o loved us when there was no cau&s;e
<PB N="167" REF="87"> to love us, but to hate and abhor us. <HI>God commen|deth his love towards us, in that whiles we were yet &s;inners, Christ died for us,</HI> Rom. 5. 8. <HI>Herein is love, not that we loved him, but that he loved us, and &s;ent his &s;on into the world for us,</HI> 1 Joh. 4. 10. He adds v. 19. <HI>We love him, becau&s;e he loved us fir&s;t.</HI> It be|hoves us to do &s;o, but &s;o as to te&s;tifie our love by our obedience. <HI>This is the love of God, that we keep his Commandements,</HI> 1 Joh. 5. 3. <HI>If ye love me, keep my Commandements,</HI> Joh. 14. 15. And as &s;uch was the love of God and of Chri&s;t towards us, &s;o we accordingly ought to love one another, <HI>If God &s;o loved us, we ought al&s;o to love one another,</HI> 1 Joh. 4. 11. <HI>Walk in love, as Christ al&s;o loved us, and gave him&s;elf for us,</HI> &amp;c. Ephe&s;. 5. 2. <HI>A new Commande|ment give I unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that you al&s;o love one another. By this &s;hall all men know that ye are my Di&s;ciples, if ye have love one to another,</HI> Joh. 13. 34, 35.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="14" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="168" REF="88">
<HEAD>THE FOURTEENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>PHIL. 2. 8.</BIBL> And being found in fa&s;hion as a man, he hum|bled him&s;elf, and became obe|dient unto death, even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe Apo&s;tle exhorting unto unity and con|cord, v. 1, &amp; 2. as a means conducing there|unto, he exhorts unto humility and lowli|ne&s;&s;e of mind, v. 3. &amp; 4. And to incite unto this, he propounds the example of Chri&s;t, whom Chri|&s;tians ought to imitate, v. 5. &amp;c.</P>
<P>Having &s;hewed how Chri&s;t humbled him&s;elf in being made man, he &s;hewes how he humbled him&s;elf when he was made man, <HI>viz.</HI> &s;o as to be <HI>obedient unto death, even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>[<HI>Being found in fa&s;hion as a man,</HI>] This doth not import that Chri&s;t only had the &s;hape and form of a man but was not man indeed, as &s;ome
<PB N="169" REF="88"> Heretikes have maintained: <HI>Every Spirit that confe&s;&s;eth not that Je&s;us Chri&s;t is come in the fle&s;h,</HI> (is true man, having true humane na|ture) <HI>is not of God,</HI> 1 The&s;. 4. 3. This particle <HI>as</HI> is not alwaies a meer note of &s;imilitude, but &s;ome|times is u&s;ed to &s;et forth the truth of a thing, as Joh. 1. 14. <HI>The Word was made fle&s;h, and dwelt a|mong us, and we beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten Son of God, &amp;c.</HI> That <HI>as the glory, &amp;c.</HI> imports that the glory of Chri&s;t, which S. <HI>John</HI> &s;peaks of, was indeed the very glory of the only begotten Son of God. So <HI>Philem.</HI> v. 9. <HI>being &s;uch a one as</HI> Paul <HI>the aged,</HI> &s;aies <HI>Paul</HI> of him|&s;elf; it is therefore as much as if he had &s;aid, <HI>being</HI> Paul <HI>the aged.</HI> So likewi&s;e Mat. 14. 5. <HI>They counted him as a Prophet,</HI> it is &s;poken concerning <HI>John Bapti&s;t,</HI> and the meaning is, <HI>they counted him indeed a Prophet,</HI> as his Father <HI>Zacharias</HI> prophe|cied of him when he was newly born, &s;aying, <HI>And thou child &s;halt be called the Prophet of the highe&s;t, &amp;c.</HI> Luk. 1. 76. So here it being &s;aid, that Chri&s;t was <HI>found in fa&s;hion as a man,</HI> the meaning is, that he was very man indeed, like other men, &s;in only excepted, <HI>Heb.</HI> 4. 15.</P>
<P>The &s;cope of the Apo&s;tle is to &s;hew how low Chri&s;t did humble him&s;elfe: 1. Unto death. 2. Such a kind of death, even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t therefore ob&s;erve from hence, <HI>That Chri&s;t</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> <HI>was obedient unto death:</HI> where three things are to be &s;hewed, <HI>viz.</HI> 1. That Chri&s;t did &s;uffer death. And 2. That it was the will of God, that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;uffer death. And 3. That Chri&s;t in obe|dience
<PB N="170" REF="89"> to the will of God did &s;uffer death.</P>
<P N="1">1. Chri&s;t did &s;uffer death: So all the Evange|li&s;ts record, and &s;o S. <HI>Paul</HI> preached, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 3. So the Prophets fore-&s;hewed, <HI>Saying none other things then tho&s;e which the Prophers and</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>did &s;ay &s;hould come, that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;uffer, (viz.</HI> death, as appears by the words following, <HI>and that he &s;hould be the fir&s;t that &s;hould ri&s;e from the dead,</HI>) Acts 26. 22, 23. <HI>Daniel</HI> fore-told Chri&s;ts death, &s;aying, <HI>After three&s;core and two weeks &s;hall Me&s;|&s;iah be cut off,</HI> Dan. 9. 26. So <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> prophecied of him, &s;aying, <HI>He was cut off out of the Land of the living,</HI> E&s;a. 53. 8. And v. 12. <HI>He hath powred out his &s;oul unto death.</HI> Chri&s;ts death al&s;o was prefi|gured in the Law, which was given by the Mi|ni&s;tery of <HI>Mo&s;es:</HI> all the &s;acrifices were figures of Chri&s;ts death, therefore he is called the <HI>Lamb of God that taketh away the &s;in of the world,</HI> Joh. 1. 29. All the Lambs (and &s;o other bea&s;ts) that were &s;acrificed in the time of the Law, did typifie and prefigure Chri&s;t, who as a Lamb was to be &s;laine and &s;acrificed for us. The Author of the Epi&s;tle to the Hebrewes &s;hews Chri&s;t in this among o|ther things to have differed from the Prie&s;ts that vvere in the Law, that whereas they offered of|ten, Chri&s;t offered but once, and that becau&s;e he offered him&s;elf his offering was his &s;uffering, &s;o that if he &s;hould have offered often, he mu&s;t al&s;o have died often, whereas men u&s;e to die but once, and &s;o was Chri&s;t to die, but not oft'ner. See <HI>Heb.</HI> 9. 25, 26, 27, 28.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But it may be objected, that &s;ome places of the Old Te&s;tament &s;peaking of Chri&s;t, &s;eem to
<PB N="171" REF="89"> import that he &s;hould not die: <HI>Thou art a Prie&s;t for ever, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;al. 110. 4. <HI>His dominion is an ever|la&s;ting dominion, &amp;c.</HI> Dan. 7. 14.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Indeed &s;ome from tho&s;e and the like places did inferre that Chri&s;t &s;hould not die: For when they heard Chri&s;t &s;peak of his death, they objected again&s;t it, &s;aying, <HI>We have heard out of the Law, that Chri&s;t abideth for ever,</HI> Joh. 12. 34. As if becau&s;e he &s;hould abide for ever, as was &s;ig|nified in the <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The Law is &s;ometimes put for a|ny part of the Old Te&s;ta|ment, as Joh. 15. 25. and 1 Cor. 14. 21.</NOTE> Law, that is in the writings of the Old Te&s;tament, therfore he &s;hould not die; but they erred, not rightly under&s;tanding the Scriptures which &s;peak of Chri&s;ts abiding for ever. For the meaning of them is not, that Chri&s;t &s;hould not die, but that although he did die, yet he &s;hould &s;oon ri&s;e again, and &s;o abide for ever: <HI>Chri&s;t being ri&s;en from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him,</HI> Rom. 6. 9.</P>
<P N="2">2. It was the will of God that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;uffer death: There is nothing what&s;oever comes to pa&s;&s;e but by the will of God; <HI>Who hath &s;aid,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Nihil fit ni&s;i omni|potens fie|ri velit, vel ip&s;e faciendo, vel per|mittendo ut fiat ab aliis. Aug.</NOTE> <HI>and it cometh to pa&s;&s;e, and the Lord commandeth it not?</HI> Lam. 3. 37. otherwi&s;e then by the will and plea&s;ure of God not &s;o much as a &s;parrow doth fall to the ground, <HI>Mat.</HI> 10. 29. much le&s;&s;e could &s;o great a thing as Chri&s;ts death have been, had it not been the will and plea&s;ure of God that it &s;hould be. <HI>Pilate</HI> condemned Chri&s;t to die, and others did execute the &s;entence which <HI>Pilate</HI> had pronounced; but neither <HI>Pilate</HI> nor others did any thing to Chri&s;t, but as God had before deter|mined to be done, <HI>Acts</HI> 4. 27, 28.</P>
<P N="3">3. It being the will of God, that Chri&s;t &s;hould
<PB N="172" REF="90"> &s;uffer death, Chri&s;t in obedience to the will of God did &s;uffer it: <HI>This Commandement have I received of my Father,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t, <HI>Joh. 10. 18. viz.</HI> that he &s;hould lay down his life, and therefore he would and did lay it down. And <HI>Joh. 18. 11. The cup which my Father hath given me to drinke, &s;hall I not drink it?</HI> As if he &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>Shall I not &s;uf|fer death, &s;eeing he will have me &s;uffer it?</HI> True it is, Chri&s;t con&s;idering death in it &s;elf, would have avoided it; but con&s;idering it as that which his Father would have him to &s;uffer, &s;o he was willing to &s;uffer it, <HI>Mat.</HI> 26. 39, 42.</P>
<P><HI>Q.</HI> But why would God have Chri&s;t to &s;uffer death?</P>
<P><HI>A.</HI> 1. For the &s;atisfying of his Ju&s;tice: God had de|termined &amp; declared death to be the puni&s;hment that &s;hould be inflicted for &s;in, <HI>Gen.</HI> 2. 17. &amp; 3. 19. <HI>Ro~.</HI> 6. 33. Chri&s;t was to &s;atisfie for &s;in, and therefore he was to &s;uffer death. <HI>His &s;oul was made an offering for &s;in,</HI> E&s;a. 53. 10. <HI>Without &s;hedding of blood is no re|mi&s;&s;ion,</HI> Heb. 9. 22. And v. 26. <HI>He appeared to put away &s;in by the &s;acrifice of him&s;elf.</HI> Thus <HI>Chri&s;t died for our &s;ins, 1 Cor.</HI> 15. 3. 2. God would have Chri&s;t to &s;uffer death, for the magnifying of his mercy. <HI>God com|mendeth his love towards us,</HI> (&s;ets it out in this) <HI>that whiles we were yet &s;inners, Christ died for us,</HI> Ro. 5. 8.</P>
<P>By Chri&s;ts death, fir&s;t, we are reconciled unto God: <HI>When we were enemies we were reconciled unto God by the death of his Son,</HI> Rom. 5. 10. <HI>In whom we have redemption thorough his blood, even the forgivene&s;s of our &s;ins, Col.</HI> 1. 14. And v. 21, &amp; 22. <HI>And you that were &s;ometimes alienated, and enemies in your mind thorough wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled, in the body of his fle&s;h through death.</HI></P>
<PB N="173" REF="90">
<P>2. VVe are delivered from Satan. <HI>Now &s;hall the Prince of this world be ca&s;t out,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t, when the time of his death was at hand, <HI>Joh. 12. 31. For a&s;much as the children are partakers of fle&s;h and blood, he al&s;o him&s;elfe took part of the &s;ame, that tho|rough death he might de&s;troy him that had the power of death, that is, the devill,</HI> Heb. 2. 14. The devill is there &s;aid to have the power of death (though that properly belong unto God; for it is <HI>he that killeth, and he that maketh alive,</HI> 1 Sam. 26. Deut. 32. 39.) becau&s;e by the malice of the devill man be|came guilty of &s;in, and &s;o liable unto death. Chri&s;t by his death hath vanqui&s;hed Satan, and freed tho&s;e that belong unto him from Satans power. Therefore they that believe in Chri&s;t, are &s;aid to be brought <HI>from the power of Satan unto God,</HI> Act. 26. 18. and to be <HI>delivered from the power of darkne&s;&s;e,</HI> Col. 1. 13.</P>
<P>3. We have right unto eternall life. Had not Chri&s;t died, we had been uncapable of life, that life which is to come. This was &s;ignified by that <HI>Gen.</HI> 3. 24. where it is &s;aid, that <HI>Adam</HI> having &s;in|ned, <HI>God drove him out</HI> (viz. of Paradi&s;e) <HI>and he placed at the Ea&s;t of the garden of Eden, Cherubins, and a flaming &s;word which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.</HI> By rea&s;on of &s;in the life to come, eternall life (which was &s;hadowed by that tree of life) was inacce&s;&s;ible unto us, we could have no acce&s;&s;e unto it; but Chri&s;t by his blood hath made <HI>a new and living way for us,</HI> Heb. 10. 20. <HI>And for this cau&s;e he is the medi|ator of the new Te&s;tament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, that
<PB N="174" REF="91"> were the first Te&s;tament, they which are called might receive the promi&s;e of eternall inheritance,</HI> Heb. 9. 15. And in the two ver&s;es following is &s;hewed, why the new Covenant that God hath made with his people, is called a Te&s;tament, becau&s;e it is of force by Chri&s;ts death. <HI>For where a Te&s;tament is, there mu&s;t al&s;o of nece&s;&s;ity be the death of the testator. For a Te&s;tament is of force after men are dead, other|wi&s;e it is of no &s;trength at all, whiles the te&s;tator li|veth.</HI> Neither doth this make for the Popi&s;h opi|nion of <HI>Limbus Patrum,</HI> as if before Chri&s;ts death none did go to heaven, and enjoy the happine&s;&s;e of the life to come: <HI>For Je&s;us Chri&s;t ye&s;terday, and to day, and the &s;ame for ever,</HI> Heb. 13. 8. The death of Chri&s;t was of force, as well before, as &s;ince Chri&s;ts coming; they that did believe in Chri&s;t to come, did enjoy the benefit of his death, as well as they that now &s;ince his coming do believe in him.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But may &s;ome &s;ay, notwith&s;tanding Chri&s;ts death, yet &s;till all die.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> True, but not &s;o as otherwi&s;e, had it not been for Chri&s;ts death, they &s;hould have died. For 1. By the death of Chri&s;t all that believe, are alto|gether freed from the &s;econd death; <HI>over &s;uch the &s;econd death hath no power,</HI> Revel. 20. 6.</P>
<P>2. The fir&s;t death to believers is as no death, but an entrance into life, even life eternall. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the dead which die in our Lord, from henceforth, yea &s;aith the Spirit, that they may rest from their la|bours,</HI> &amp;c. Revel. 14. 13. The &s;ouls of the faith|full being &s;eparated from their bodies, do imme|diately enter into happine&s;&s;e, which made the A|po&s;tle
<PB N="175" REF="91"> &s;ay, that to die was gain unto him, <HI>Phil.</HI> 1. 21. And v. 23. that he de&s;ired to be di&s;&s;olved and to be with Chri&s;t, which was far better. And the bodies of believers &s;hall al&s;o in due time be rai&s;ed up, and together with their &s;ouls be made parta|kers of eternall bli&s;&s;e. Chri&s;t by his death hath o|vercome death, &s;o that they that believe in him &s;hall not be overcome by it, not &s;o as for ever to remain under the power and dominion of it. <HI>I will ran&s;ome them from the power of the grave,</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>I wil redeem them from death: O death I will by thy plagues; O grave I will be thy de&s;tructi|on,</HI> Ho&s;. 13. 14. To which place the Apo&s;tle allu|deth, &s;aying, <HI>O death where is thy &s;ting? O grave where is thy victory?</HI> And he addes, <HI>the &s;ting of death is &s;in, and the &s;trength of &s;in is the Law. But <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">ks be unto God, who giveth us victory thorough Je&s;us Christ our Lord,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 55, 56, 57.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 1. Here then is con&s;olation for us in re&s;pect of the guilt of &s;in, and the fear of wrath as due for &s;in. Do our con&s;ciences accu&s;e us? doth Satan throw his fiery darts at us? The meditation and application of Chri&s;ts death is &s;ufficient to quiet our con&s;ciences, and to repell Satan and all his a&s;&s;aults: <HI>Who &s;hall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect? it is God that ju&s;tifieth. Who is he that</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Turbatur con&s;cien|tia, &s;ed non per|turbabi|tur, qui<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> vulnerum Domini recorda|bor.</NOTE> <HI>condemneth? it is Chri&s;t that died,</HI> Rom. 8. 33, 34. <HI>My con&s;cience</HI> (&s;aies one) <HI>is troubled, but it &s;hall not be orewhelmed: for I will remember the wounds of the Lord Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>V&s;e.</HI> 3. But as Chri&s;t died for &s;in, &s;o mu&s;t we die unto &s;in; thus mu&s;t we be conformed to his death, or els we can expect no benefit by it. <HI>We thus judge</HI>
<PB N="176" REF="92"> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>that if one died for all, then were all dead; And that he died for all, that they that live, &s;hould not henceforth live unto them&s;elves, but unto him that died for them, and ro&s;e again,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 15. They are therefore mo&s;t fooli&s;h and ab&s;urd, who think that becau&s;e Chri&s;t died for them, therefore they may live as they li&s;t. As if Chri&s;t by his death had purcha&s;ed not freedome from &s;in, but freedom to &s;in: this is, <HI>to turn the grace of God into la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and to deny the only Lord God, and our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> Jude v. 4. But we have not &s;o learned Chri&s;t, Ephe&s;. 4. 20. our very Bapti&s;m doth teach us another le&s;&s;on. The Apo&s;tle having &s;aid, <HI>Where &s;in abounded, there grace hath a|bounded much more,</HI> Rom. 5. 20. To prevent the a|bu&s;e of this doctrine, he addes pre&s;ently after; <HI>What &s;hall we &s;ay then? &s;hall we continue in &s;in, that grace may abound? God forbid: How &s;hall we that are dead unto &s;in, live any longer therein? Know ye not that &s;o many of us, as were baptized into Chri&s;t, were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by bapti&s;me into death, &amp;c.</HI> Rom. 6. 1. 2, 3, 4. So Col. 3. 2, 3. <HI>Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth, for ye are dead,</HI> viz. unto &s;in, and v. 5. <HI>Mortifie therefore your members that are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanne&s;&s;e, inordi|nate affection, evill concupi&s;cence, and covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which is idolatry.</HI> This mortifying of &s;in, and dy|ing unto &s;in, imports 1. A &s;erious and &s;etled pur|po&s;e to e&s;chew &s;in. I &s;aid (that is, I purpo&s;ed, I re|&s;olved) <HI>I will take heed unto my waies, that I offend not with my tongue,</HI> P&s;al. 39. 1. <HI>I am purpo&s;ed, that my mouth &s;hall not tran&s;gre&s;&s;e,</HI> P&s;al. 17. 3.</P>
<PB N="173" REF="92">
<P>2. A care to avoid the occa&s;ions of &s;in: <HI>De|part from me ye wicked, for I will keep the Comman|dements of my God,</HI> P&s;al. 119. 115.</P>
<P>3. A diligent u&s;e of the means whereby to &s;ubdue &s;in: <HI>Thy Word have I hid within my heart, that I might not &s;in again&s;t thee,</HI> P&s;al. 119. 11.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 3. As Chri&s;t was obedient unto death, &s;o we mu&s;t learne by his example to be obedient al&s;o as well in &s;uffering as in doing, and that in &s;uffering death it &s;elf, if God call unto it; <HI>You have not yet re&s;i&s;ted unto blood,</HI> Heb. 12. 4. As if he &s;hould &s;ay, in obedience unto God you mu&s;t re|&s;i&s;t, &s;triving (as there it followes) again&s;t &s;in, e|ven unto blood, the &s;hedding of your blood, if need be; &s;o did Chri&s;t who is there propounded as a pattern for our imitation, <HI>Looking unto Je|&s;us, &amp;c.</HI> v. 2. <HI>Con&s;ider him,</HI> v. 3. Not that we are to expo&s;e our &s;elves to danger when we may avoid it by good and hone&s;t means, without di&s;honour to God and his truth: <HI>When they per&s;ecute you in one City, flee into another,</HI> &s;o did Chri&s;t coun&s;ell his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Mat.</HI> 10. 23. And Chri&s;t him&s;elf did &s;o, when &s;ome being offended at his Doctrine would have throne him down from the brow of the hill, on which the City was built, he convey|ed him&s;elfe away from them, and e&s;caped their hands, <HI>Luk.</HI> 4. 29, 30. And &s;o when <HI>Paul</HI> was like to be apprehended by the Governour in Dama&s;|cus, he was let down in a basket thorough a win|dow, and by that means e&s;caped, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11, 32, 33. But if God call us to &s;uffer, if it appear to be his will, if it cannot be avoided without di&s;honour|ing of God and his Go&s;pell, in this ca&s;e we mu&s;t
<PB N="174" REF="93"> be willing to &s;ubmit unto God, and to be obedi|ent unto death as Chri&s;t was, to lay down our lives for God, and for his truth as Chri&s;t did: <HI>Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternall life, whereunto thou art al&s;o called, and ha&s;t profe&s;&s;ed a goood profe&s;&s;ion before many Witne&s;&s;es. I give thee charge in the &s;ight of God, who quickneth all things, and before Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who before</HI> Pontius Pilate <HI>witne&s;&s;ed a good confe&s;&s;ion, that thou keep this Com|mandement without &s;pot, unrebukeable, untill the appearing of our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Tim. 6. 12, 13, 14. As if the Apo&s;tle &s;hould &s;ay, Chri&s;t bare wit|ne&s;&s;e to the truth before <HI>Pontius Pilate</HI> unto death; &s;o mu&s;t we al&s;o, if need be, bear witne&s;&s;e to it, though we die for it: <HI>He that loveth his life</HI> (to wit, inordinately, &s;o as that he will not part with it when God doth call for it, but doth pre|ferre it before Gods glory, he that &s;o loveth his life) <HI>&s;hall lo&s;e it; and he that hateth his life in this world, &s;hall keep it unto life eternall,</HI> Joh. 12. 25. See the like &s;aying, <HI>Mat.</HI> 16. 25. &amp; 10. 39. And Chri&s;t would have all that take upon them the profe&s;&s;i|on of his Name, to con&s;ider this, that for his &s;ake they mu&s;t be ready (if the ca&s;e &s;o require) to forgo what&s;oever is neare and deare unto them, even life it &s;elf. So S. <HI>Luke</HI> &s;hewes us, &s;aying, <HI>And there went great multitudes with him, and he turned &amp; &s;aid unto them, If any man come to me, &amp; hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and &s;i&s;ters, and his own life al&s;o, he cannot be my Di&s;ciple, Luk.</HI> 14. 25. 26.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="15" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="175" REF="93">
<HEAD>THE FIFTEENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>PHILIP. 2. 8.</BIBL> Even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THus the Apo&s;tle &s;hews the greatne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;ts humili|ation and obedience, in that he not only humbled him|&s;elf, and was obedient unto death, but &s;uch a kind of death, <HI>even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e,</HI> that is, death on the Cro&s;&s;e; he was crucified, nailed alive to the Cro&s;&s;e, and &s;o did hang up|on the Cro&s;&s;e untill he died. This point then offers it &s;elf to be con&s;idered, That Chri&s;t was obedient even to the death of the Cro&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>In the handling of this point I &s;hall &s;hew. 1. That Chri&s;t &s;uffered death on the Cro&s;&s;e. 2. That this was a great aggra|vation of Chri&s;ts &s;uffering. 3. What u&s;e is to be made of the point.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t, That Chri&s;t &s;uffered death upon the Cro&s;&s;e, it is a thing clearly recorded by all the foure Evangeli&s;ts, So <HI>Paul</HI> in his Epi&s;tles often &s;peaks of the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t (that is, of Chri&s;ts death on the Cro&s;&s;e) and of Chri&s;t cru|cified. See 1 Cor. 1. 18. 23. &amp; 2. 2. 8. Gal. 6. 14. Phil. 3. 18. So <HI>Peter</HI> &s;aith, that <HI>Chri&s;t bare our &s;ins on his body on the tree,</HI> that is, on the Cro&s;&s;e, 1 Pet. 2. 24. <HI>David</HI> al&s;o prophe|cied of this, &s;aying, <HI>They pierced my hands, and my feet,</HI> P&s;al. 22. 16. He &s;pake tho&s;e words prophetically in the per&s;on of Chri&s;t; as the very beginning of the P&s;alm doth &s;hew, <HI>My God, My God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me?</HI> which words (as the Evangeli&s;ts record) Chri&s;t uttered, when he was upon the Cro&s;&s;e. So v. 18. <HI>They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my ve&s;ture.</HI> Which (as appears likewi&s;e by the hi&s;tory of the Go&s;pell) was fulfilled in Chri&s;t, when he was crucified.</P>
<PB N="176" REF="94">
<P>Chri&s;t al&s;o him&s;elf did foretell what kind of death he &s;hould &s;uffer, to wit, the death of the Cro&s;&s;e. <HI>Behold</HI> (&s;aid he to his Di&s;ciples) <HI>We go up to Jeru&s;alem, and the Son of man &s;hall be betrayed unto the chief Priests, and to the Scribes, and they &s;hall condemn him to death. And they &s;hall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to &s;courge, and to crucifie him.</HI> Mat. 20. 18, 19. So Joh. 12. 32, 33. <HI>And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.</HI> That by his <HI>lifting up</HI> he meant lifting up upon the Cro&s;&s;e, to die upon it, the Evangeli&s;t immediately declares, &s;aying, <HI>This he &s;aid, &s;ignifying what death he &s;hould die.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;ts death upon the Cro&s;&s;e was likewi&s;e typified, and prefigured by the brazen Serpent, of which we read, <HI>Num.</HI> 21. There the &s;acred hi&s;tory tells us how God when the I&s;|raelites &s;inned again&s;t God, and provoked him by murmu|ring, he plagued them by &s;ending fiery Serpents among them; but in wrath remembring mercy, he commanded <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> to &s;et upon a pole a brazen Serpent (the &s;imilitude of a &s;erpent made of bra&s;&s;e) that who&s;oever was &s;tung by a fiery &s;erpent, by looking up to that brazen &s;erpent might be made whole: This brazen &s;erpent &s;o lifted up, was a type and fi|gure of Chri&s;t lifted up upon the Cro&s;&s;e, that who&s;oever are &s;tung by that old &s;erpent the devill, may look up to him with the eye of faith, and be &s;aved. This Chri&s;t him&s;elf doth &s;ig|nifie unto us, &s;aying, <HI>As Mo&s;es lift up the Serpent in the wilderne&s;&s;e, &s;o mu&s;t the Son of man be lifted up, that who|&s;oever believeth in him, &s;hould not peri&s;h, but have everla|&s;ting life,</HI> Joh. 3. 14, 15.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But it may be objected, that among the Jews this kind of death was not in u&s;e. The Iewi&s;h Talmud tells us, that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sanhedr. c. 7.</NOTE> they had foure kinds of capitall puni&s;hments, to wit, &s;toning, burning, killing with the &s;word, and &s;trangling. They make no mention of crucifying; neither do we find it mentioned any where in the old Te&s;tament. There indeed we read of hanging, but it was not a hanging of any while&s;t they were alive, but only a hanging of them after that they were other|wi&s;e put to death, to wit, for the greater infamy of tho&s;e who were hanged, and for the greater terrour of others. <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> fir&s;t &s;mote and &s;lew the five Kings of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and then hang|ed them upon trees untill evening; for by the Law, <HI>Deut.</HI> 21&punc;
<PB N="177" REF="94"> 23. none were to hang longer, <HI>Jo&s;.</HI> 10. 26. This hanging was quite another thing much different from crucifying. For they that were crucified were hanged alive, being nailed to a cro&s;&s;e, and &s;o did hang untill they were dead. It's &s;aid indeed that the Iews &s;lew Chri&s;t, and hanged him on a tree, <HI>Act.</HI> 5. 30. &amp; 10. 39. But that is not &s;o to be under&s;tood, as if they did fir&s;t &s;lay him, and then hang him on a tree, that had not been crucifying; neither doth that agree with the &s;acred hi|&s;tory of the Go&s;pell. The meaning of tho&s;e places is, that they &s;lew him by hanging him on a tree. The particle <HI>and</HI> in tho&s;e places is exegeticall or explicative rather then copula|tive, it &s;hews how they flew him, to wit &s;o, as that they hang|ed him on a tree.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Some of the Iewi&s;h Rabbines indeed think by this argument (to wit that crucifying, or putting to death by hanging upon a Cro&s;&s;e, was not u&s;ed among the Iews) they think (I &s;ay) to convince the Go&s;pell of fal&s;hood&punc; but they bewray either their ignorance or malice, or both. For in the<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>R. Lipman</HI> in Nizza|ction, ut est apud Mun|&s;ter. in <HI>Mat. Hebr.</HI></NOTE> time of our Saviour, and &s;ome while before, the Iews were under the power and juri&s;diction of the Romanes, as appears not only by the new Te&s;tament, <HI>Luk.</HI> 2. 1. 4, 5. &amp; 3. 1. and &s;o other places; but al&s;o by forraign Writers, as <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> a Iew, and <HI>Tacitus</HI> a heathen man. Now crucifying was a puni&s;hment, which was much u&s;ed among the Romanes; and they brought it into u&s;e among the Iews, when they had do|minion over them. And tho&s;e forementioned Authors, to wit <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> and <HI>Tacitus,</HI> do both of them record how Chri&s;t was put to death by <HI>Pontius Pilate,</HI> being Gover|nour<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Io&s;eph.</HI> Antiq. l. 18. c. 4. Ta|cit. Annal. l. 15.</NOTE> in Iudea under the Roman Emperour <HI>Tiberius;</HI> and one of them, namely <HI>Io&s;ephus,</HI> expre&s;&s;ely &s;aith that <HI>Pilate</HI> cau&s;ed him to be crucified. Chri&s;t him&s;elf foretelling his death, and the manner of it, &s;hewed how it &s;hould come to pa&s;&s;e, that he &s;hould be crucified, to wit, that the Iews &s;hould deliver him to the Gentiles, namely the Romanes, and they (as their cu&s;tom was) &s;hould crucifie him, <HI>Mat.</HI> 20. 18, 19. So it was, as the Evangeli&s;ts relate. Pilate <HI>willing to content the people, relea&s;ed</HI> Barabbas <HI>unto them, and delivered Je|&s;us, when he had &s;courged him, to be crucified. And the &s;ouldiers led him away, &amp;c. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe from him, and put his own
<PB N="178" REF="95"> clothes on him, and led him out to crucifie him,</HI> Mar. 15. 15, 16, 20. S. <HI>John</HI> al&s;o having &s;aid, that <HI>Pilate</HI> bade the Iews take Chri&s;t, and judge him according to their Law, and that the Iews an&s;wered, that it was not lawfull for them to put any man to death; he addes, <HI>That the &s;aying of Je&s;us might be fulfilled, which he &s;pake, &s;ignifying what death he &s;hould die,</HI> Joh. 18. 31, 32. Chri&s;t had &s;ignified, that he &s;hould die the death of the Cro&s;&s;e, which was ful|filled by the Iewes delivering of Chri&s;t unto <HI>Pilate,</HI> who being a Roman, condemned him to that kind of death, which was in u&s;e among the Romans: <HI>Peter</HI> indeed told the Jewes, that they had crucified Chri&s;t, <HI>Acts</HI> 2. 22, 23. 36. &amp; 5, 30. But that was becau&s;e it was done thorough their in&s;tigation. See <HI>Luk.</HI> 23. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. And <HI>Acts</HI> 3. 13, 14, 15. the Jewes are ju&s;tly charged with it, becau&s;e they were the workers and procurers of it. Thus then the objection is &s;ufficiently an&s;wered, and the fir&s;t thing pro|pounded is &s;ufficiently cleared, to wit, that Chri&s;t &s;uffered death on the Cro&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>2. The next thing to be con&s;idered is, that this was a great aggravation of Chri&s;ts &s;uffering: The Apo&s;tle (we &s;ee in the Text) aggravates his &s;uffering by this, that he not only &s;uffered death, but <HI>even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e.</HI> This death was more grievous then other kinds of death in divers re&s;pects: For, fir&s;t, it was a more painfull death;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>Lxx.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>Vulg. Lat.</HI> Fodcrunt. Crucis no|men &agrave; cru|ciatu. <HI>Lip|&s;ius de cruce.</HI> Acerbi&s;&s;i|mum inter &s;upplicia cen&s;eba|tur. <HI>Lip&s;. Ibid.</HI></NOTE> <HI>He indured the Cro&s;&s;e:</HI> So it is &s;aid of Chri&s;t, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12. 2. which intimates that the death of the Cro&s;&s;e was very grie|vous and hard to be indured. It is grievous to indure any death that is violent, but e&s;pecially the death of the Cro&s;&s;e; to have the hands and the feet (which by rea&s;on of the multitude of &s;inewes, are of all parts mo&s;t &s;en&s;ible of pain) pierced thorough with nails, yea digged, as the word u&s;ed <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 22. 16. doth indeed &s;ignifie, and &s;o to be fa&s;tened to a Cro&s;&s;e, and to hang for many hours together, this mu&s;t needs be very dolourus and painfull: The Latine word for a Cro&s;&s;e comes of a word that &s;ignifieth torment, of all puni&s;hments that of the Cro&s;&s;e was accounted mo&s;t bitter and mo&s;t tormenting. And in the Scripture-phra&s;e the Cro&s;&s;e is put for all affliction what&s;oever; <HI>If any man will come after me</HI> (&s;aid Chri&s;t) <HI>let him deny him&s;elf, and take
<PB N="179" REF="95"> up his Cro&s;&s;e and follow me,</HI> Mat. 6. 24. And Luke 14. 27. <HI>Who&s;oever doth not bear his Cro&s;&s;e, and come after me, cannot be my Di&s;ciple.</HI> For one to beare his Cro&s;&s;e, is as much as patiently to indure any affliction that &s;hall come upon him.</P>
<P>2. The death of the Cro&s;&s;e was a mo&s;t &s;hamefull death: It's &s;aid of Chri&s;t, that he <HI>indured the Cro&s;&s;e, de&s;pi&s;ing the &s;hame,</HI> Heb. 12. 2. Any death that is inflicted as a puni&s;h|ment, is ignominious, and carries &s;hame along with it, but the death of the Cro&s;&s;e e&s;pecially; it was called <HI>a &s;lavi&s;h puni&s;hment,</HI> becau&s;e it was at fir&s;t only inflicted on &s;laves, afterwards it was al&s;o inflicted on others, yet but &s;eldome, and only<NOTE PLACE="marg">Servile &s;upplicium. <HI>Lip&s;. de cruce.</HI> Prim&ugrave;m receptum in &s;ervos ii&s;&abque; quodammodo approbrium. <HI>Ibid.</HI> Et &s;i interdum &amp; in liberos homi|nes &s;ic animadver&s;um reperio; &s;ed raro, non ni&s;i ob in&s;igne &s;ce|lus, ut in latrones, gra&s;&s;atores, &amp; transfugas. <HI>Lip&s;. Ibid.</HI></NOTE> on &s;uch as were notorious malefa|factors, as robbers, murtherers, and renegadoes. When <HI>Verres</HI> be|ing the Romane Governour in Sicilie, put &s;ome of the Romanes to this kind of death, <HI>Cicero</HI> plea|ding again&s;t him, aggravated this as a mo&s;t great and horrid crime. <HI>It is hainous thing</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Facinus est vincire civem Roma|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">um, &s;celus verberare, prop&egrave; parricidium necare: quid dicam in crucem tollere? Verbo &s;atis digno tam <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">efaria res appellari nullo modo pote&s;t. <HI>Cic. in Ver. Orat. 3.</HI></NOTE> <HI>bind a Roman Citizen, a great wickedne&s;&s;e to &s;courge him, al|mo&s;t as bad as murthering ones own father to put him to death: What then &s;hall I call it to hang him on the Cro&s;&s;e? Such a dete|&s;table act cannot by any word be &s;ufficiently expre&s;&s;ed.</HI> What manner of per&s;ons they did u&s;e to inflict this death of the Cro&s;&s;e upon, we may &s;ee by tho&s;e who were crucified together with Chri&s;t; <HI>There were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left,</HI> Mat. 27. 38. They were thieves, robbers, murtherers, as the word in the Originall doth import: The word in the &s;ingular number u&s;ed of <HI>Barabbas,</HI> is rendred <HI>a robber,</HI> Joh. 18. 40. And of this &s;ame <HI>Barabbas</HI> Acts 3. 14. it is &s;aid, that he was <HI>a murtherer.</HI> It is &s;aid of <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> the fir&s;t Emperour that made publike profe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;tiani|ry, that in honour of Chri&s;t he took away this kind of pu|ni&s;hment,
<PB N="180" REF="96"> (crucifying) &s;o that &s;ince it hath not been u&s;ed as before it was.</P>
<P>3. It was a more cur&s;ed death. <HI>For he that is hanged, is accur&s;ed of God,</HI> Deut. 21. 23. Every death inflicted as a puni&s;hment due to him, on whom it is inflicted, is a token and te&s;timony of Gods cur&s;e. But hanging more e&s;pecially, it expo&s;ing a man more then ordinary to the open view of all, to take notice of him, as one whom God hath accur&s;ed. This I take to be the rea&s;on, why he that is hanged, is rather then any other, &s;aid to be accur&s;ed of God, becau&s;e he more e&s;pecially is made a &s;pectacle of Gods wrath and indignati|on again&s;t him. <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> (&s;aith S. <HI>Paul) hath redeemed us from the cur&s;e of the Law, being made a cur&s;e for us; for it is written, cur&s;ed is every one that hangeth on a tree,</HI> Gal. 3. 13. The Apo&s;tle there alledgeth that of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and thence &s;heweth why Chri&s;t &s;uffered on the Cro&s;&s;e rather then otherwi&s;e. Other rea&s;ons &s;ome give, <HI>viz.</HI> that <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Obediens factus? U&s;que ad mor|tem, mortem autem crucis, eam, quae in ligno fuerat, inobedientiam &s;anans. <HI>Iren. l 5.</HI> Vti quemadmo|dum per lignum facti &s;umus debi|tores Deo, per lignum accipiamus no&s;tri debiti remi&s;&s;ionem. Ibid. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Theophyl. ad <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oh. 19. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">5.</HI></NOTE> as death came by it: and that as Satan vanqui&s;hed man by a tree, &s;o Chri&s;t by the &s;ame means might vanqui&s;h Sa|tan. But although Gods wi&s;dome and power in &s;o ordering it, may thus be ob&s;erved, yet the Scripture doth not a&s;&s;ign the&s;e rea&s;ons, but only the other, to wit, that &s;o it might appear that Chri&s;t bare our &s;ins, and the cur&s;e that was due unto us for them.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e.</HI> 1. What comfort then is here for us. 1. in all &s;piritu|all conflicts, in all di&s;tre&s;&s;es of con&s;ciences? Seeing Chri&s;t hath not only &s;uffered, not only &s;uffered death, but even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e for us. Therefore if that old Serpent the devill &s;ting us, let us by faith look upon this brazen Ser|pent, Chri&s;t lift up upon the Cro&s;&s;e, and then we &s;hall be &s;afe. Chri&s;t being crucified for us, <HI>hath blotted out the hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us, which was contrary unto us, and hath taken it out of the way, nai|ling it unto his Cro&s;&s;e. And having &s;poiled principalities and powers, he made a &s;hew of them openly, triumphing over them in it,</HI> Col. 2. 14, 15.</P>
<PB N="181" REF="96">
<P>2. In all outward troubles and afflictions. Do we &s;uffer pain? Do we &s;uffer &s;hame? Why? did not Chri&s;t &s;o be|fore us? Yea, what is our &s;uffering in compari&s;on of his &s;uffering? Therefore <HI>let us run with parience the race that is &s;et before us, Looking unto Je&s;us the Author and fini&s;her of our faith, who for the joy that was &s;et before him endu|red the Cro&s;&s;e, de&s;pi&s;ing the &s;hame,</HI> &amp;c. Heb 12. 1, 2. <HI>Paul</HI> though he &s;uffered never &s;o painfully, never &s;o &s;hamefully, yet gloried in Chri&s;t crucified, and abhorred to glory in any thing be&s;ides. <HI>God forbid</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>that I &s;hould glory in a|ny thing, &s;ave in the Cro&s;&s;e of our Lord Je&s;us Christ, where|by the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world,</HI> Gal. 6. 14. We read that when the I&s;raelites pa&s;&s;ing through the wilderne&s;&s;e towards <HI>Canaan,</HI> came to a place where was<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 15. 23. 25.</NOTE> water, but bitter, that they could not drink of it, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> (as the Lord appointed) ca&s;t in a tree into the water, and &s;o it became &s;weet. So what&s;oever bitter waters of affliction we meet with, as we pa&s;&s;e thorough the wilderne&s;&s;e of this world unto the heavenly <HI>Canaan,</HI> let us ca&s;t into them the tree on which Chri&s;t &s;uffered, let us meditate of Chri&s;ts &s;uffering upon the Cro&s;&s;e, and this will &s;weeten all. Chri&s;t by his cur&s;ed death which he &s;uffered, hath taken away the cur&s;ed|ne&s;&s;e of all our &s;uffering, &s;o that all &s;hall work together for our good, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. 28.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 2. Therefore let us labour and have a care to know Chri&s;t crucified; let all our thoughts and meditations be ta|ken up about him. <HI>I determined</HI> (&s;aith S. <HI>Paul) to know no|thing among you, &s;ave Je&s;us Chri&s;t and him crucified,</HI> 1 Cor. 2. 2. He means that all his preaching and teaching a|mong them, &s;hould aim at this, that they might rightly know Je&s;us Chri&s;t and him crucified. The preaching of Chri&s;t crucified is that <HI>fooli&s;hne&s;&s;e of preaching</HI> (as the world ac|counts it) <HI>by which it plea&s;eth God to &s;ave them that be|leeve,</HI> 1 Cor. 1. 21. <HI>For the preaching of the Cro&s;&s;e</HI> (&s;aith he there v. 18.) <HI>is fooli&s;hne&s;&s;e to them that peri&s;h, but unto us which are &s;aved it is the power of God.</HI> So again v. 23. &amp; 24. <HI>But we preach Chri&s;t crucified, unto the Jews a &s;tum|bling block, and to the Greeks fooli&s;hne&s;&s;e, But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Chri&s;t the power of God, and the wi&s;dome of God.</HI> True it is, we preach
<PB N="182" REF="97"> Chri&s;ts Incarnation, and the holine&s;&s;e of his conver&s;ation while&s;t he lived upon earth, his Re&s;urrection, A&s;cen&s;ion, &amp;c. yet &s;till with reference to his Cro&s;&s;e, either as going before, and making way for it; or as following after, and &s;hewing the efficacy of it. Yea, we preach the Law, but with reference to Chri&s;t crucified; either to convince of &s;in, and &s;o to &s;hew the need of Chri&s;t, or to pre&s;erve from &s;in, and to conform unto Chri&s;t. <HI>By the law is the knowledge of &s;in,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, Rom. 3. 20. And &s;o the Law is the rule of righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, according to which Chri&s;t him&s;elf did walk, and &s;o mu&s;t they that are in Chri&s;t. <HI>He that &s;aith he abideth in him, ought him&s;elf to walk, even as he walked,</HI> 1 Joh. 2. 6. <HI>Circumci&s;ion is nothing, and uncircumci&s;ion is nothing, but the keeping of the Commandements of God,</HI> 1 Cor. 7. 19. <HI>For in Chri&s;t Je&s;us neither circumci&s;ion availeth any thing, nor uncircumci&s;ion, but faith which worketh thorough love,</HI> Gal. 5. 6. <HI>For in Chri&s;t Je&s;us neither circumci&s;ion availeth any thing, nor uncircumci&s;ion, but a new Creature. And as many as walk according to this rule</HI> (viz. of a new creature, of faith that worketh thorough love, and of the keeping of Gods Commandements) <HI>peace &s;hall be upon them, and mer|cy,</HI> &amp;c. Gal. 6. 15. 16. In a word, as Chri&s;t was crucified, &s;o al&s;o mu&s;t we be crucified, or els Chri&s;t crucified &s;hal profit us nothing. <HI>Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of &s;in might be de&s;troyed, that henceforth we &s;hould not &s;erve &s;in,</HI> Rom. 6. 6. <HI>I am crucified with Chri&s;t, neverthele&s;&s;e I live, yet not I but Chri&s;t doth live in me, and the life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave him&s;elf for me,</HI> Gal. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 20. <HI>And they that are Chri&s;ts have crucified the fle&s;h with the affections and lusts,</HI> Gal. 5. 24. Such as wilfully give them&s;elves up to evill and &s;infull cour&s;es, are <HI>the ene|mies</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Terret ac fugat dae|monas; pel|lit mor bos &amp; omnia mala; &s;an|ctificat ea, quibus im|primitur. <HI>Bellarm.</HI></NOTE> <HI>of the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle calls them, Phil: 3. 18. They do what in them lies, to make the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t of no effect. <HI>For he his own &s;elf bare our &s;ins in his body on the tree, that we being dead unto &s;in, &s;hould live unto righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> 1 Pet. 2. 24.</P>
<P><HI>Caution.</HI> But let us take heed and beware of the &s;uper&s;ti|tion and idolatry of the Papi&s;ts, who adore the Cro&s;&s;e, and make an Idoll of it. <HI>Bellarmine</HI> &s;ticks not to affirm, that the
<PB N="183" REF="97"> &s;igne of the Cro&s;&s;e doth affright and cha&s;e away the devills, drive away di&s;ea&s;es, and all evills, and &s;anctifie tho&s;e things upon which it is imprinted. But the Scripture doth teach us otherwi&s;e; <HI>viz.</HI> that it is faith in Chri&s;t crucified, and not the &s;igne of the Cro&s;&s;e, whereby we mu&s;t re&s;i&s;t Satan, and whereby we mu&s;t obtain of God what&s;oever is requi&s;ite and needfull for us: <HI>The devill your adver&s;ary goeth about like a roaring Lion, &amp;c. Whom re&s;i&s;t &s;tedfa&s;t in the faith,</HI> 1 Pet. 5. 8, 9. <HI>What&s;oever you &s;hall ask the Father in my Name, he will give it you,</HI> Joh. 16. 23. Again we mu&s;t al|&s;o take heed and beware of the bla&s;phemy of the Socinians, who hold that Chri&s;t &s;uffered death, even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e, only to confirm his Doctrine, and to give us an ex|ample, but not to bear the cur&s;e that was due unto us, and &s;o to &s;atisfie the ju&s;tice of God for us. But what more repug|nant to the Scripture, which &s;aith that Chri&s;t was made &s;in (that is, a <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In the Hebrew the word that &s;igni|fieth &s;in, is often put for a &s;acri|fice for &s;in.</NOTE> &s;acrifice for &s;in) and a cur&s;e for us, 2 <HI>Cor. 5. 24. Gal.</HI> 3. 13. I conclude with the words of <HI>S. Peter, Ye therefore beloved, &s;eeing ye know the&s;e things before, be|ware lea&s;t ye al&s;o be carried away with the errour of the wicked, and fall from your own &s;ted fa&s;tne&s;&s;e: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Je|&s;ut Chri&s;t, to him be glory both now and for ever,</HI> Amen. 2 Pet. 3. 17, 18.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="16" TYPE="sermon">
<HEAD>THE SIXTEENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>1 COR. 15. 4.</BIBL> And that he was buried.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe Apo&s;tle here in the beginning of this Chapter puts the <HI>Corinthians</HI> in mind of the Go&s;pell which he had preached unto them, and rehear&s;eth &s;ome of the chief heads
<PB N="184" REF="98"> of it, among&s;t the re&s;t this of Chri&s;ts buriall, &s;o that this is a point for Mini&s;ters to preach, and for people to think of, <HI>viz.</HI> That Chri&s;t was buried. <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> </P>
<P>This is recorded by all the Evangeli&s;ts; and it was al&s;o long before &s;poken of by the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah, And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,</HI> E&s;a. 53. 9. It was likewi&s;e prefigured in that which happened to the Prophet <HI>Jonas, For as</HI> Jonas <HI>was three dayes and three nights in the Whales belly, &s;o &s;hall the Son of man be three dayes and three nights in the heart of the earth,</HI> (that is, in the grave) &s;aid Chri&s;t, <HI>Mat.</HI> 12. 40.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> It may be objected, that &s;uch as were crucified as Chri&s;t was, did not u&s;e to be buried, but were wont to hang upon the Cro&s;&s;e untill they rotted, and to that end there were Soul|diers<NOTE PLACE="marg">Solenne illud fuit, crucifixorum corpora militari cu&s;todi&acirc; &s;ignari, donec putrui&s;&s;ent, ne quis ea ad &s;epulturam detraheret. <HI>Lip&s;.</HI></NOTE> appointed to watch them, le&s;t any &s;hould come to take them a|way to bury them. Thus they u|&s;ed to deal with tho&s;e that were crucified, as they relate who are ver&s;ed in the Antiquities of the Romanes, among whom crucifying was in u&s;e, and &s;o (as before was &s;hewed) they having dominion over the Jews, by that means it was that Chri&s;t was crucified.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> I an&s;wer, that although that were the cu&s;tome of the Romanes not to permit tho&s;e whom they did crucifie to be buried, yet they were &s;o indulgent to the Jews as to &s;uf|fer them to ob&s;erve their owne Lawes which God pre&s;cri|bed unto them. Now one Law which the Jewes were to ob&s;erve, was this, that if any were hanged on a tree, he &s;hould not hang all night, but be taken down at even, <HI>Deut.</HI> 21. 23. And &s;o S. <HI>John</HI> relates, that the Jewes came to <HI>Pilate</HI> and de&s;ired him <HI>that the bodies</HI> (of Chri&s;t, and the other that were crucified with him) <HI>might not remain on the Cro&s;&s;e on the Sabbath day,</HI> which was the day after they were crucified, <HI>Joh.</HI> 19. 31. There was then more e&s;peciall cau&s;e why they de&s;ired to have the bodies taken down, becau&s;e be&s;ides that Law in <HI>Deuteronomie</HI> before mentioned, the day after was the Sabbath day, and an extraordinary Sabbath (as it is there &s;aid, <HI>for that Sabbath day was an high day</HI>) by rea&s;on
<PB N="185" REF="98"> of the fea&s;t of the Pa&s;&s;eover, which al&s;o was at that time. But by this place of the Evangeli&s;t we may &s;ee that the Ro|mans were not &s;o &s;trict with the Jewes, but that they would let them injoy their liberty in things that did con|cern their Religion. And moreover the Evangeli&s;ts &s;hew that there was &s;peciall leave given by <HI>Pilate</HI> the Romane Governour for Chri&s;ts buriall, <HI>Joh.</HI> 19. 38. And the like may be &s;een in the other Evangeli&s;ts.</P>
<P>It was meet that Chri&s;t &s;hould be buried: Fir&s;t, for the greater certainty of his death, that it might the better appear that he was dead indeed, and not in appearance only; for none u&s;e to be buried, but &s;uch as are fir&s;t dead: And <HI>Pi|late</HI> was very carefull to be certified fir&s;t of Chri&s;ts death, before he would give leave that he &s;hould be buried, <HI>Mar.</HI> 15. 43, 44, 45.</P>
<P>2. For the greater certainty of his Re&s;urrection: And in this re&s;pect the Evangeli&s;ts ob&s;erve not only that Chri&s;t was buried, but al&s;o they record the circum&s;tances of his buri|all, and &s;hew how he was buried, <HI>viz. In a new &s;epulchre wherein never man was laid,</HI> Joh. 19. 41, 42. That &s;o none might cavill, and &s;ay, it was not Chri&s;t, but &s;ome other that<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Theophy|lact. ad loc.</NOTE> did ari&s;e from the dead; and that none al&s;o might pretend that Chri&s;t did not ri&s;e by his owne power, but by the touch of &s;ome other who had been buried in the &s;ame grave before: As we read of one, who being ca&s;t into the grave where the Prophet <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> was buried, by the touch of the dead bones of the Prophet revived, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 13. 21.</P>
<P>And again, the Evangeli&s;ts record that Chri&s;t was laid in a &s;epulchre which was hewen out of a Rock, and that a great &s;tone was rolled to the door of the &s;epulchre, and that the &s;tone vvas &s;ealed, and a watch &s;et to keep the &s;epulchre, <HI>Mat.</HI> 27. 60, 66. So that it could not with any probability be pretended that either by undermining or otherwi&s;e, Chri&s;t was &s;tolne out of the &s;epulchre.</P>
<P>3. Chri&s;ts burial was a further degree of his humiliation: It was much for him to die, and more to die the death of the Cro&s;&s;e, and yet more to conde&s;cend and &s;toop &s;o low, as to be laid in the grave the common receptacle of the dead. <HI>Job</HI> &s;peaking of a man that is high and eminent in the world vvhile he liveth, &s;hevves that yet vvhen he dieth he
<PB N="186" REF="99"> &s;hall be brought &s;o low as to be laid in the grave: <HI>Who &s;hal declare his way to his face? and who &s;hal re|pay him what he hath done? Yet &s;hall he be brought to the grave, and &s;hal remain in the tomb, the clods of the valley &s;hall be &s;weet unto him,</HI> &amp;c. Iob 21. 31, 32, 33.</P>
<P>4. This &s;erved to make Chri&s;ts victory over death, &amp; <HI>over him that had the power of death,</HI> that is, the Devill, the more glorious; that he not only died, but al&s;o was buried; death &s;eemed to have ful conque&s;t over Chri&s;t, having gotten him into its den, yet even there did Chri&s;t vanqui&s;h and &s;ubdue it: Thus did he mo&s;t gloriou&s;ly triumph, fulfilling that, <HI>O death, I will be thy plague, O grave, I will be thy de&s;truction,</HI> Ho&s;. 13. 14.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. This point concerning Chri&s;ts buriall doth make much for the confirming of our faith in Chri&s;t, to a&s;&s;ure us that our &s;ins are fully expi|ated and aboli&s;hed by Chri&s;t, that as they were nailed to his Cro&s;&s;e, <HI>Col.</HI> 2. 14. &s;o al&s;o buried in his grave, never to ri&s;e up again&s;t us to our con|demnation. Chri&s;t bare our &s;ins in his body on the tree, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 24. Therefore Chri&s;t being bu|ried; our &s;ins al&s;o were buried with him, &s;o that we being united by faith unto Chri&s;t, and having intere&s;t in him, we are freed from &s;in, and need<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 1.</NOTE> not fear the imputation of it. <HI>Ionah</HI> being ca&s;t in|to the &s;ea, and buried as it were in the belly of the fi&s;h, pre&s;ently the &s;torm cea&s;ed, and the Sea was calm. So Chri&s;t being laid in the grave and buried, our con&s;ciences, though otherwi&s;e by rea|&s;on of the guilt of &s;in, full of vexation and horror, have good cau&s;e to be calm and quiet.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 2. Again, here is good comfort and incou|ragement
<PB N="187" REF="99"> for us (if we belong to Chri&s;t) again&s;t the fear of death, and the horrour of the grave. Chri&s;t hath grapled with death and the grave, and hath overcome them, and therefore we need not to be afraid of them, Chri&s;t having followed death into its den; and there gotten victory over it: we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves, that though death prevail &s;o far over us, as to draw us into it's den, yet it &s;hall not be able to keep us there, but Chri&s;t will make good that which is promi&s;ed, Ho&s;. 13. 14. <HI>I will ran&s;ome them from the power of the grave, I wil redeem them from death.</HI> So Chri&s;t a&s;&s;ures us, that <HI>the houre is coming in the which all that are in the grave &s;hall hear his voice, and &s;hall come forth,</HI> Joh. 5. 28. 29. In like manner the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Then &s;hall be brought to pa&s;&s;e the &s;aying that is written, Death is &s;wallowed up in victory. O death where is thy &s;ting? O grave where is thy victory? The &s;ting of death is &s;in, and the &s;trength of &s;in is the Law. But thanks be unto God, who giveth us victory thorough Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 54, 55, 56, 57. The graves of the Saints are called beds wherein they lie and re&s;t for a while, but at length ari&s;e and come out of them. <HI>They &s;hall re&s;t in their beds,</HI> I&s;ai, 57. 2. So by Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall writers burying places<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Caemite|ria.</NOTE> are expre&s;&s;ed by a word that properly &s;ignifies pla|ces to &s;leep in, even as in Scripture death is u&s;u|ally termed &s;leep.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 3. But if we would have &s;uch hope in Chri&s;t, in that he was buried, then we mu&s;t be conformed unto him in re&s;pect of his buriall; as he was buried literally, &s;o mu&s;t we be buried my&s;ti|cally. <HI>We are buried with him by bapti&s;me,</HI> &s;aith
<PB N="188" REF="100"> the Apo&s;tle, Rom. 6. 4. Our Bapti&s;m is a &s;eal of our ingrafting into Chri&s;t, and of our communicating with him, and conforming unto him even in his buriall. So Col. 2. 12. <HI>Buried with him in bapti&s;me,</HI> This is in re&s;pect of <HI>our old man,</HI> as it is called, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6. 6. that is, our corrupt nature, this mu&s;t be cruci|fied, mortified and buried, &s;o as <HI>not to &s;erve &s;in,</HI> as there the Apo&s;tle doth expre&s;&s;e it. Even as a dead body is laid in the ground, and overwhelmed with earth, &s;o the corruption that is in us, mu&s;t be &s;ub|dued and brought under, that it may not reign in us, nor have dominion over us. <HI>Let not &s;in therefore reign in your mortall body,</HI> Rom. 6. 12. The greate&s;t tyrants and oppre&s;&s;ours being in the grave, all their tyranny and oppre&s;&s;ion cea&s;eth. <HI>There the wicked cea&s;e from troubling,</HI> Joh. 3. 17. So we being in the &s;en&s;e before expre&s;&s;ed, by way of analogy and re&s;emblance buried with Chri&s;t, &s;in &s;hall not have that power over us, as over the unregenerate. I &s;ay, not &s;o, as over the unregenerate. But we mu&s;t not think that whiles we are here, we can be &s;o conformed unto Chri&s;t, &s;o dead and buried with him as to be without &s;in, to be quite free from it. No, <HI>If we &s;ay that we have no &s;in, we deceive our &s;elves</HI> 1 Joh. 1. 8. <HI>In many things we offend all,</HI> Iam. 3. 2. But if we have the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t (<HI>And if any have not the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, the &s;ame is none of his,</HI> Rom. 8. 9.) then we are &s;o in a &s;pirituall &s;en&s;e dead and buried with Chri&s;t, as not to be un|der the reigning power of &s;in, and the dominion of it. <HI>Sin &s;hall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace,</HI> Rom. 6. 14.</P>
<PB N="193" REF="100">
<P>Again, there is not the like rea&s;on of &s;pirituall death and buriall, and of that which it corporall. For corporal death and buriall is fini&s;hed at once; but not &s;o that which is &s;pirituall; this is done by degrees, by little and little: He that is already dead and buried in a &s;pirituall &s;en&s;e, that is, he who&s;e old man, who&s;e imbred corruption is as it were put to death, and laid in the grave, yet mu&s;t &s;till die in that kind, and be buried &s;till more and more, becau&s;e he hath &s;till &s;ome reliques of the old man, &s;till &s;ome &s;in and corruption remains in him. The Apo&s;tle having &s;aid, <HI>ye are dead,</HI> Col. 3. 3. Yet addes v. 3. <HI>Mortifie therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanne&s;&s;e,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>But let us con&s;ider this; we profe&s;&s;e our &s;elves Chri&s;tians, Di&s;ciples, and followers of Chri&s;t, and &s;o con&s;equently dead and buried with him. If then we walk in &s;in, we make our &s;elves prodigi|ous: for is it not a prodigious thing for one that is dead and buried, yet to walk as if he were alive? O then as we have put on Chri&s;t by profe&s;&s;ion, and &s;o at lea&s;t <HI>all that are baptized into Christ, have put on Chri&s;t,</HI> Gal. 3. 27. Let us al&s;o put on Chri&s;t by imitation, conforming our &s;elves unto him, and walking as he walked. Of this putting on of Chri&s;t the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, and to it he ex|horts &s;aying, <HI>Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and in drunkenne&s;&s;e, not in cha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bering and wantonne&s;&s;e, not in strife and envy; but put ye on the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and make no provi&s;ion for the fle&s;h to fulfill the lusts thereof,</HI> Rom. 13. 13, 14.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 4. In the la&s;t place, the doctrine of Chri&s;ts
<PB N="194" REF="101"> burying may &s;erve for our information. As 1. That it is a Chri&s;tian cour&s;e to bury the dead: Nature it &s;elf doth teach &s;o much, and much more Chri&s;tia|nity, that the dead ought to be buried. The Saints have &s;hewed a &s;peciall care to perform their duty in this re&s;pect. <HI>Sarah</HI> being dead, <HI>Abraham</HI> was very carefull to have her buried. <HI>I am a &s;tranger and a &s;ojourner with you</HI> (&s;aid he to the Hittites) <HI>give me a po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my &s;ight,</HI> Gen. 23. 4. And it is ob&s;ervable, that he purcha&s;ed nothing in the Land of Canaan, but only the place there &s;po|ken of to bury in. So <HI>Stephen</HI> being &s;toned to death, <HI>devout men carried him to be buried,</HI> Act. 8. 2. It's re|corded of <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>I&s;mael,</HI> that when <HI>Abraham</HI> their Father was dead, they buried him, Gen. 25. 9. And &s;o of <HI>Iacob</HI> and <HI>E&s;au,</HI> that they did the &s;ame for <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> Gen. 35. 29. Though <HI>I&s;mael</HI> and <HI>E&s;au</HI> were prophane per&s;ons (Gal. 4. 29. Heb. 12. 16.) yet they joyned with <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Jacob,</HI> who were godly, in the burying of their Father: that there|fore which we read in the Go&s;pell, that when Chri&s;t called one to follow him, and he de&s;ired fir&s;t to go and bury his Father, Chri&s;t &s;aid, <HI>Let the dead bury the dead;</HI> That, I &s;ay, is not &s;o to be ta|ken, as if Chri&s;t did condemn, or vilifie the office of burying the dead, as if this care did not become the godly. For (as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith in another<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 5. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> ca&s;e) He that neglects this, <HI>hath denied the faith, and is wor&s;e then an infidell,</HI> becau&s;e he omits that which even infidells will be carefull to perform: But it was only the intent and meaning of Chri&s;t, to teach that all carnall affections mu&s;t be laid a|&s;ide,
<PB N="195" REF="101"> and nothing mu&s;t hinder us from following Chri&s;t, when he doth call, nor from doing that which he doth enjoyn. How far Chri&s;t was from intending to di&s;parage the office of burying the dead, may appear by that which he &s;pake in de|fence of <HI>Mary,</HI> whom &s;ome excepted again&s;t, be|cau&s;e of the precious ointment that &s;he had pow|red upon him, &s;aying, that it might better have been &s;old, and the money given to the poor, <HI>Let her alone</HI> (&s;aid Chri&s;t) <HI>for again&s;t the day of my burying hath &s;he done this,</HI> Joh. 12. 7. They are therefore inhumane, who not content with the death of tho&s;e whom they hate and per&s;ecute, wil not &s;uffer them to be buried, or not to re&s;t when they are buried. This indeed is a puni&s;hment de|nounced again&s;t, and inflicted upon &s;ome for the example of others. <HI>He &s;hall be buried with the bu|riall of an a&s;&s;e, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jeru&s;alem,</HI> Jer. 22. 19. <HI>Their dead bodies &s;hal be for meat to the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth,</HI> Jer. 32. 20. <HI>And as</HI> Jo&s;iah <HI>turned him&s;elf, he e&s;pied the Sepulchers that were there in the mount, and he &s;ent and took the bones out of the Sepulchers, and burnt them upon the Altar, &amp;c.</HI> 2 King. 23. 16. God had long before declared, that <HI>Jo&s;iah</HI> &s;hould thus deal with the dead bones of Idolaters, 1 Kings 13. 2. But what doth this make for them, who deal thus even with the Saints, who&s;e death is precious in the &s;ight of the Lord? This the P&s;almi&s;t complains &s;ore of, <HI>The dead bodies of thy &s;ervants have they given to be meat to the fowls of the heavens, the fle&s;h of thy Saints unto the bea&s;ts of the earth. Their blood have
<PB N="196" REF="102"> they &s;hed like water round about Ieru&s;alem, and there was none to bury them,</HI> P&s;al. 79. 2, 3. Thus barbarou&s;ly did they of the Romi&s;h Church here in the time of Q. <HI>Mary</HI> deal with tho&s;e worthy men <HI>Bucer</HI> and <HI>Fagius,</HI> they digged up their dead bodies out of their graves, and con&s;umed them in the fire: and this inhumanity have &s;ome u&s;ed towards the dead, out of a de&s;ire to revenge them|&s;elves on them to the uttermo&s;t; as it is &s;aid of <HI>Syl|la,</HI> that he cau&s;ed the dead body of <HI>Marius</HI> his adver&s;ary to be digged up. And &s;o Pope <HI>Sergius</HI> the third is reported to have dealt in like manner with his Predece&s;&s;our <HI>Formo&s;us,</HI> whom he hated, becau&s;e he had gotten the Papal dignity before him.</P>
<P>2. From Chri&s;ts burying, we may learn that the cu&s;tome of the Country (having nothing &s;uper|&s;titious, nor uncomely in it) is in this re&s;pect to be ob&s;erved: It is &s;aid that for the manner of Chri&s;ts burying, it was <HI>as the manner of the Iews was to bury</HI> Joh. 19. 40. Whence <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> ob&s;erves, <HI>that in tho&s;e offices</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In huju&s;modi officiis, quae mortuis exhibentur, mos <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">uju&s;libet regionis e&s;t &s;ervandus. Aug.</NOTE> <HI>that are performed to the dead, the cu&s;tome of each Countrey is to be ob&s;erved.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Caution.</HI> But concerning buriall, this caution is requi&s;ite, not to think any there|fore more aliens from Chri&s;t, if they be not buri|ed at all, or but meanly buried; nor therefore to think any the nearer unto Chri&s;t, if they have a &s;umptuous and &s;tately buriall. The Papi&s;ts are ve|ry &s;uper&s;titious in this, thinking it to concern the welfare of the &s;oul, to be buried rather in one
<PB N="197" REF="102"> place then in another. Purgatory is the ground of this conceit, but Purgatory it &s;elf hath no ground in Scripture for it. The Scripture tels us, that when<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccl. 12. 7.</NOTE> a man dies, as the body goeth to the earth, &s;o the &s;oul goes to God, <HI>viz.</HI> to be judged by him; nei|ther &s;hal the &s;oul fare better or wor&s;e, whether the body be buried or not, or buried after this, or ano|ther manner. We read of the rich mans burying, <HI>Luk.</HI> 16. yet his &s;oul went to hell: We read not of any buriall that <HI>Lazarus</HI> had, yet his &s;oul was carried into <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo&s;ome. True it is, the Pa|triarks of old were very &s;olicitous about their burying in the Land of Canaan, though they di|ed out of it, <HI>Gen.</HI> 47. 29, 30, 31, &amp; 49. 29. &amp;c. And 50. 26. But that was not out of any &s;uper&s;titious opinion that they had, as if the welfare of their &s;ouls did depend upon the place where they were buried, but only to &s;hew that they died in faith, being fully a&s;&s;ured that God would at length per|form what he had promi&s;ed, <HI>viz.</HI> that he would give them (in their po&s;terity) the Land of Cana|an: <HI>God will &s;urely vi&s;it you,</HI> &s;aid Jo&s;eph, &s;peaking of this very thing, <HI>Gen.</HI> 50. 25. And be&s;ides they looked on Canaan, not as a bare earthly Countrey, but as a type of heaven. To conclude therefore, let it be our care to live and to die in faith, and then however it fare with us in re&s;pect of buriall, we are happy, our &s;ouls enter into <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">li&s;&s;e immedi|ately, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. 1. And &s;o al&s;o &s;hall our bodias at length be made par<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">akers of it, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 53.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="17" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="198" REF="103">
<HEAD>THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>PSA. 16. 10.</BIBL> Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe Article of Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell, is grounded upon this Text, wherein as <HI>S. Pe|ter</HI> &s;hews, <HI>Act.</HI> 2. 25. &amp;c. <HI>David</HI> &s;pake concerning Chri&s;t. And therefore <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> might<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quis ni&s;i infidelis nega|verit fui&s;&s;e apud inferos Chri&s;tum? Aug. Epi&s;t. 99.</NOTE> wel &s;ay, who but an infidel wil de|ny that Chri&s;t was in hell? For this, that Chri&s;ts &s;oul &s;hould not be left in hell, doth nece&s;&s;arily pre|&s;uppo&s;e that his &s;oul was in hell: For it is mo&s;t irrational and ab&s;urd, to &s;ay that one &s;hall be left there, where he never was, nor &s;hould be. All therefore (as <HI>Bellarmine</HI> ob&s;erves)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Omnes conveniunt, qu&ograve;d Chri&s;tus aliquo modo ad in|feros de&s;cenderit. Bell. de Chri&s;ti anima lib. 4. cap. 6.</NOTE> agree in this, that Chri&s;t &s;ome way, in one &s;en&s;e or other, was in hell. But for the manner how Chri&s;t was in hell, there is much diffe|rence among Divines; and all ari&s;es from the word <HI>hell,</HI> which &s;ome take in one &s;en&s;e, and &s;ome in another, I &s;hall as briefly, and per&s;picuou&s;ly as I
<PB N="199" REF="103"> may &s;et down the &s;everal opinions, that there are about this point, confuting tho&s;e which I hold to be erroneous, and confirming that which I judge to be true.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t therefore, becau&s;e the word <HI>Hell</HI> is &s;ome|times<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t opinion a|bout Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell.</NOTE> in Scripture u&s;ed metaphorically, for mo&s;t great &amp; grievous affliction, which is indured here in this life, (<HI>the &s;orrows of hell compa&s;&s;ed me about,</HI> &s;aies <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 18. 5. So P&s;al. 116. 3. <HI>The pains of hell got hold on me.</HI>) Some by Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell &s;poken of in the Creed, under&s;tand the inward &s;ufferings of Chri&s;ts &s;oul, which of all his &s;ufferings were mo&s;t grievous. But to omit other arguments again&s;t this opinion, it is &s;ufficiently overthrown by this, that the&s;e words of <HI>David (Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell)</HI> as cited and expounded by <HI>Peter</HI> in the &s;econd of the <HI>Acts,</HI> are the ground of that Article in the Creed; for el&s;e it hath no ground in Scripture, as I think I am &s;ure, there is no place which doth &s;o clearly hold out unto us by nece&s;&s;ary con&s;equence Chri&s;ts be|ing in hell, as this doth. And therefore though <HI>Calvin,</HI> (a prime Author of this fir&s;t opinion, and a man mo&s;t de&s;ervedly renowned in the Church of God) &s;pake con&s;entaneou&s;ly to his opinion, when in his Commentary upon this &s;ixteenth P&s;alm, he liked not that upon occa&s;ion of the&s;e words of <HI>David,</HI> any &s;hould fall upon the point of Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell, which is mentioned in the Creed, yet I can by no means a&s;&s;ent unto him. For if not the&s;e words of <HI>David</HI> which we have now in hand, no place in all the Scripture (I dare &s;ay) will afford occa&s;ion to treat of the Article. But it
<PB N="200" REF="104"> appears that <HI>Calvin</HI> (being a man very acute) did well perceive that the&s;e words of <HI>David, Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell,</HI> as commented upon <HI>Act.</HI> 2. will not admit, that Chri&s;ts de&s;cending in|to hell &s;hould be expounded of the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;ts &s;oul. For by <HI>hell</HI> in the words of <HI>David,</HI> mu&s;t needs be meant &s;omething that con|cerned Chri&s;t when he was dead: <HI>Peter</HI> tells us that in tho&s;e words (<HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell</HI>) David <HI>&s;pake of the Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t,</HI> Act. 2. 31. Now if this, that Chri&s;ts &s;oul &s;hould not be left in hell, import that Chri&s;t &s;hould ri&s;e from the dead, then it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily follow, that Chri&s;ts being in hell, which is impli|ed in <HI>Davids</HI> words, imports &s;omething that con|cerned him being dead: And con&s;equently the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;ts &s;oul, which were before his death, cannot be meant by it.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Papi&s;ts take hell here for <HI>Lim|bus</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;e|cond opi|nion.</NOTE> <HI>Patrum,</HI> as they call it, a place where they &s;ay the &s;ouls of the godly that died before Chri&s;t, were. For they divide hell into four &s;everall re|gions, 1. The hell of the damned, the place of e|ternall torment, 2. Purgatory, where they &s;ay the &s;ouls of &s;uch are as were not &s;ufficiently purged from their &s;ins, whiles they were upon earth, and therefore for the thorough purging of them, are there in torment equall for the time to that of the damned, 3. <HI>Limbus Infantium,</HI> a place where they place &s;uch Infants as die without bapti&s;me, whom they make to &s;uffer the lo&s;&s;e of heaven and heavenly happine&s;&s;e, but no pain or torment, 4. <HI>Limbus Patrum,</HI> where in like manner the Fathers
<PB N="201" REF="104"> before Chri&s;t (as they hold) were, &s;uffering no pain, but only wanting the joys of heaven. To that place (&s;ay they) did Chri&s;ts &s;oul when it was &s;e|parated from his body, de&s;cend, to deliver the &s;ouls from thence, and to carry them to heaven; this is their opinion, and their expo&s;ition of the Article of Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell.</P>
<P>But not now to conte&s;t with them about tho&s;e other regions of hell, <HI>viz.</HI> Purgatory and <HI>Limbus Infantium,</HI> as for this <HI>Limbus Patrum,</HI> it is a place of their own devi&s;ing, we &s;ee no ground for it in Scripture, but &s;trong rea&s;ons again&s;t it. For 1. Chri&s;ts death was efficacious to believers before his coming, as well as it is now &s;ince his coming. <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t ye&s;terday, and to day, and the &s;ame for ever,</HI> Heb. 13. 8. <HI>We believe that thorough the grace of our Lord Je&s;us Christ, we &s;hall be &s;aved even as they,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Peter,</HI> &s;peaking of tho&s;e that were before Chri&s;t. He doth but equall us to them in point of &s;alvation thorough Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>2. The faithfull before Chri&s;t did account this life upon earth a pilgrimage, and did expect hea|ven as their country, when this life was ended. <HI>The&s;e all died in faith</HI> (it is &s;poken of <HI>Abraham I|&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Jacob) having not received the promi&s;es</HI> (that is, the things promi&s;ed) <HI>but &s;aw them afar off, and were per&s;waded of them, and embraced them, and confe&s;&s;ed that they were &s;trangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that &s;ay &s;uch things, declare plainly that they &s;eek a Countrey. And truly if they had been mindfull of that country, from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they de&s;ire a better country, that
<PB N="202" REF="105"> is, an heavenly; wherefore God is not a&s;hamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a City,</HI> Heb. 11. 11. 14, 15, 16.</P>
<P>3. <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo&s;ome (as the place is called, where the &s;ouls of the godly were before Chri&s;t) could be no &s;uch place as that which they call <HI>Limbus Patrum.</HI> For 1. <HI>Lazarus</HI> was carried thi|ther by Angels, <HI>Luk.</HI> 16. 22. But Angels (the good Angels, as they were) &s;hould rather carry to heaven then to hell, as they make their <HI>Lim|bus</HI> to be. 2. It was a place of com|fort, <HI>Luk.</HI> 16. 25. But where hell<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nondum inveni, &amp; adhuc quaero, nec mihi occurit In|feros alicubi in bono po&s;ui&s;|&s;e Scripturam duntaxat Ca|nonicam, non autem in bo|no accipiendum &s;inum Abra|hae, &amp; illam requiem, qu&ograve; ab angelis pius pauper ab|latus e&s;t, ne&s;cio utr&ugrave;m qui&s;quam po&s;&s;it audire. Aug. de Gen. ad lit. l. 12. c. 33.</NOTE> in Scripture is taken for a place of comfort, let them look: <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> confe&s;&s;eth that he did &s;eek, but could not find it; and thought this a good argument, why by hell &s;hould not be meant <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo&s;om. 3. There was a great &s;pace, <HI>a great gulfe</HI> betwixt the place cal|led <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo&s;ome where <HI>La|zarus</HI> was, and the place of torment where the rich man was, <HI>Luk.</HI> 16. 26. Whence al&s;o <HI>Austin</HI> inferreth that <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo&s;ome is no part, and as it were a mem|ber<NOTE PLACE="marg">In his ip&s;is tanti magi&s;tri verbis, ubi ait dixi&s;&s;e <HI>A|braham,</HI> Inter vos &amp; nos Chaos magnum firmatum est, &s;atis, ut opinor, ipparet, non e&s;&s;e quandam partem, &amp; qua&s;i membrum inferorum tantae illius faelicitatis &s;i|num. Aug. Epist. 99. <HI>Jan|&s;en.</HI> Concord. cap. 97.</NOTE> of hell, which the Papi&s;ts make it to be. <HI>Jan&s;enius</HI> a learned Papi&s;t (being much more ingenious then <HI>Bellarmine,</HI> and <HI>Gregory Martin,</HI> who would gladly fa&s;ten upon <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> that which is quite contra|ry to his meaning) confe&s;&s;eth that <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> by di&s;cour&s;e and argumen|tation
<PB N="303" REF="105"> did gather, that <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo&s;ome was no part of hell; neither doth he, nor any other that I know, indeavour to an&s;wer the rea&s;ons that in|duced <HI>Austine</HI> to be of this judgement.</P>
<P>4. Chri&s;t promi&s;ed to the believing thief, &s;ay|ing, <HI>This day &s;halt thou be with me in Paradi&s;e.</HI> Now <HI>Bellarmine</HI> him&s;elfe (handling another<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Bellar.</HI> de Beatitud. Sanct. l. 1. c. 3.</NOTE> point) holds Paradi&s;e there to be heaven, as the word is u&s;ed; 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12. 4. compared with v. 2. Now how doth this &s;tand with that a&s;&s;ertion of theirs, that the &s;ouls of the Saints were not in heaven untill Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion? or that Chri&s;ts &s;oul went to <HI>Limbus,</HI> a place very farre di&s;tant and different from heaven? Some &s;ay, that the Thief to whom Chri&s;t &s;pake, de&s;cended with Chri&s;t into <HI>Limbus,</HI> and that it was then Paradi&s;e when Chri&s;t was there: But this (as a reverend Author &s;aith well)<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>B. &V;&s;her</HI> of Chri&s;ts de&s;cent in|to hell. <HI>Bellar.</HI> de beat. Sanc. l. 1. c. 6.</NOTE> is to turn the third heaven into the third or fourth hell.</P>
<P>5. <HI>Bellarmine</HI> proves that the faithfull now &s;ince the coming of Chri&s;t; go immediately af|ter death to heaven, (except Purgatory &s;top them a while) and that becau&s;e God is not more prone and ready to puni&s;h, then he is to reward; there|fore &s;eeing the wicked go immediately to hell, there is no rea&s;on to conceive but that the godly go immediately to heaven. And that the wick|ed when they die go immediately to hell, he proves by the example of the rich man mention|ed <HI>Luk.</HI> 16. Now if this argument be of force, (as I grant it is) then it proves as much for the faithfull that were before Chri&s;t: For that of the rich man, <HI>Luk.</HI> 16. &s;hewes that then (before
<PB N="204" REF="106"> Chri&s;ts death) the wicked immediately after death went to hell, where the damned are in tor|ment; and neither will the Papi&s;ts however de|ny that. And therefore why &s;hould they deny that the godly then did go immediately to hea|ven, God being no le&s;&s;e ready to reward, then to puni&s;h? The&s;e rea&s;ons there are again&s;t that <HI>Limbus</HI> which they &s;peak of, and &s;o again&s;t their Expo&s;ition of the Article of Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell: But &s;ome Objections they make, which are to be an&s;wered.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> They object that <HI>Gen. 37. 53. I will go down to the grave</HI> (to hell, as they read it) <HI>to my Son,</HI> &amp;c. Thus &s;pake <HI>Iacob</HI> concerning his &s;on <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> when his brethren had &s;old him, and made <HI>Jacob</HI> believe that &s;ome wild bea&s;t had devoured him. The Hebrew word there u&s;ed viz. <HI>Sheol,</HI> which we &s;ometimes tran&s;late grave, &s;omtimes hell, they &s;ay cannot there &s;ignifie grave, but mu&s;t &s;ignifie hell, <HI>viz.</HI> that part of hell, which they call <HI>Limbus Patrum; Jacobs</HI> meaning (&s;ay they) was that he would go mourning thither, whither <HI>Jo|&s;eph</HI> (as he &s;uppo&s;ed) was gone before him: And they prove that the grave cannot there be meant, becau&s;e <HI>Jacob</HI> imagined <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> torne in pie|ces by &s;ome wild bea&s;t, and &s;o not to have been buried.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But this place makes nothing for their purpo&s;e; all that <HI>Iacob</HI> meant was, that in vain did they go about to comfort him, for he would not be comforted, but would mourn unto death, even as <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> (he thought) was dead: It's not unu&s;uall for tho&s;e that mourn for their friends
<PB N="205" REF="106"> being dead, to &s;ay that they will go unto them,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Aben Ez|rae</HI> a Jew|i&s;h Rabbin doth upon that very place <HI>Gen.</HI> 37. 33. re|prove them that take <HI>Sheol</HI> for hell. See <HI>B. U&s;h|er</HI> of Chri&s;ts de&s;cent.</NOTE> meaning that they al&s;o will die as they died: As for the word <HI>Sheol,</HI> it &s;ignifies the e&s;tate of the dead, (as hereafter I &s;hall &s;hew) and &s;o the grave, yet not properly an artificiall grave, but a natu|rall grave, &s;uch an one as nature one way or o|ther doth provide for every one, what&s;oever the manner of his death be. It's reported of the Hyr|canians, that they were &s;o barbarous, as to ca&s;t dead bodies unto doggs to be devoured: And that thereupon <HI>Diogenes</HI> u&s;ed to &s;ay, that if he were torne in pieces by dogs, yet he &s;hould have an Hyrcanian buriall; &s;o if <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> had been de|voured by a wild bea&s;t, the very belly of the bea&s;t had been a grave unto him.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But again, they object likewi&s;e that Joh. 14. 2. <HI>I go to prepare a place for you;</HI> thence they infer, that before Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion none did go to heaven.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But this inference is not good; for (as was &s;hewed before) Chri&s;ts death, and &s;o his re&s;urrection and his a&s;cen&s;ion was effectuall from the beginning; as by vertue of Chri&s;ts death the faithfull that were before Chri&s;t, had their &s;ins re|mitted, &s;o al&s;o by vertue of his a&s;cen&s;ion did they go to heaven.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But (&s;ay they againe) the Scripture plainly tells us, that <HI>the way into the holie&s;t of all was not yet made manife&s;t, while as the fir&s;t Taber|nacle was yet &s;tanding;</HI> therefore during that time none did go to heaven.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This doth not follow; the meaning of tho&s;e words is only this, (as <HI>Aquinas</HI> him&s;elf<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Acquin.</HI> ad loc.</NOTE>
<PB N="206" REF="107"> doth expound them) that Chri&s;t who is the way, as he &s;tiles him&s;elf, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 14. 6. was not then in the time of the Law &s;o clearly revealed, as now he is in the time of the Go&s;pell; before he was &s;et forth more darkly under types and figures, but now is plainly preached. And &s;o much for this &s;econd Opinion touching Chri&s;ts de&s;cent in|to hell.</P>
<P>Thirdly, &s;ome taking the word <HI>hell</HI> for the<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third Opinion.</NOTE> hell of the damned, the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ace where the damned are in torment, (which is the mo&s;t u&s;uall accep|tion of our Engli&s;h word <HI>hell</HI>) conceive and main|tain, that when Chri&s;t died his &s;oul went thither, there to triumph over Satan in his own Palace; and this they hold to be the meaning of that in the Creed, <HI>He de&s;cended</HI> into hell: But that ever Chri&s;t was in that hell, I can make no part of my Creed; for I &s;ee nothing in Scripture (upon which faith mu&s;t be grounded) for it, but much again&s;t it.</P>
<P N="1">1. The Hebrew word <HI>Sheol,</HI> and the Greek word <HI>Hades,</HI> which are tran&s;lated <HI>hell,</HI> do not properly &s;ignifie the hell of the damned, but are of a more large extent, as I &s;hall &s;hew here|after.</P>
<P N="2">2. The foure Evangeli&s;ts (as we u&s;e to call them) <HI>Matthew, Mark, Luke</HI> and <HI>John,</HI> writing profe&s;&s;edly the Hi&s;tory of our Saviour Chri&s;t from his Incarnation to his A&s;cen&s;ion, do neither directly, nor by con&s;equence, neither expre&s;&s;ely nor implicitely record any &s;uch thing as his go|ing to hell, as hell is taken for the place of tor|ment. And it is ob&s;ervable, that S. <HI>Luke</HI> in his
<PB N="207" REF="107"> Preface to his Go&s;pell tells <HI>Theophilus,</HI> that he did write unto him that he might know the cer|tainty of tho&s;e things wherein he had been in|&s;tructed, <HI>Luke</HI> 1. 4. wherein he had been catechi|&s;ed, as according to the Originall it doth &s;ound;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> &s;o that Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell in this &s;en&s;e, whereof S. <HI>Luke</HI> makes no mention, was no part of <HI>Theophilus</HI> his Catechi&s;m.</P>
<P N="3">3. S. <HI>Paul</HI> rehear&s;ing the chiefe heads of the Go&s;pel which he preached to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> mentioneth Chri&s;ts death and buriall, and his re&s;urrection, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 1, 2, 3, 4. but for his going to hell according to this Expo&s;ition, he neither expre&s;&s;eth nor implyeth any &s;uch matter. So that it was no part of the Go&s;pell which <HI>Paul</HI> preach|ed to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> and yet there was no defi|ciency in his preaching, it was &s;ufficient to &s;ave them, v. 2.</P>
<P N="4">4. The&s;e words of the Text in hand, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell,</HI> together with S. <HI>Peters</HI> comment upon them, <HI>Acts</HI> 2. &s;hew, that by <HI>hell</HI> is not to be under&s;tood the hell of the damned, according to this Expo&s;ition.</P>
<P>For, 1. It is &s;poken of as a great benefit, a mat|ter of joy and rejoycing, that Chri&s;ts &s;oul was not left in hell; <HI>Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory [my tongue,</HI> Acts 2. 26.] <HI>rejoyced: my fle&s;h al&s;o &s;hall re&s;t in hope; for thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;al. 16. 9, 10. But is it to be ac|counted &s;uch a benefit, &s;uch a matter of joy and gladne&s;&s;e for one not to be left in that place, to which he goeth to that end that he may triumph over his adver&s;aries whom he hath conquered?
<PB N="208" REF="108"> as they that imbrace this Expo&s;ition &s;ay that Chri&s;t went to the hell of the damned, there to triumph over the Devills.</P>
<P>2. S. <HI>Peter,</HI> Acts 2. 31. &s;aith, <HI>David</HI> in the&s;e words, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oule in hell,</HI> did &s;peak of Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, and &s;o to that pur|po&s;e to prove the Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t, S. <HI>Paul Acts</HI> 13. 35. doth cite the later part of the Ver&s;e, <HI>Thou wilt not &s;uffer thy holy one to &s;ee corrup|tion.</HI> But Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection though it pre&s;up|po&s;e his being in hell in &s;ome &s;en&s;e, yet not in that &s;en&s;e as hell is taken for the place where the damned are in torment: Chri&s;t might well enough as he did, ri&s;e againe, and yet never be in that hell.</P>
<P>3. That hell that Chri&s;t was not left in, <HI>David</HI> was left in, el&s;e S. <HI>Peter</HI> could not argue as he doth, that <HI>David</HI> in the&s;e words, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oule in hell,</HI> &s;pake of Chri&s;t, and not of him&s;elfe; for that the words being under&s;tood of <HI>David</HI> are not true, but mo&s;t true as under|&s;tood of Chri&s;t: <HI>Men and brethren,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Peter</HI> to the Jews, <HI>let me freely &s;peak unto you of the Patriarch</HI> David, <HI>that he is both dead, buried, and his Sepulchre remaineth with us to this day; there|fore being a Prophet, and knowing that God had &s;worne with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loines according to the fle&s;h, he would rai&s;e up Chri&s;t to &s;it upon his Throne; He &s;eeing this before, &s;pake of the Re&s;urrection of Christ, that his &s;oul &s;hould not be left in hell, nor his fle&s;h &s;ee corruption,</HI> Acts 2. 29, 30, 31. By <HI>Davids</HI> Sepulchre remaining with them, to that day, S. <HI>Peter</HI> means that <HI>David</HI> was left in
<PB N="209" REF="108"> the hell which he &s;peaks of, and therefore did not &s;peak of him&s;elf, but of Chri&s;t, who was not left in it. So S. <HI>Paul</HI> having cited the words im|mediately following the&s;e of the Text, <HI>Thou &s;halt not &s;uffer thy holy one to &s;ee corruption,</HI> he al&s;o pro|veth that this was meant of Chri&s;t, and not of <HI>David; For</HI> David (&s;aith he) <HI>after he had &s;erved his own generation by the will of God, fell on &s;leep, and was laid with his fathers, and &s;aw corruption: But he whom God rai&s;ed again, &s;aw no corruption,</HI> Acts 13. 35, 36, 37. <HI>David</HI> &s;pake not of him&s;elf, but of Chri&s;t, when he &s;aid, <HI>Thou wilt not &s;uffer thy holy one to &s;ee corruption,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>David</HI> did &s;ee corruption, but Chri&s;t did not &s;ee it; &s;o <HI>David</HI> &s;pake not of him&s;elf, but of Chri&s;t, when he &s;aid, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell;</HI> becau&s;e <HI>Davids</HI> &s;oul was left in hell, but Chri&s;ts &s;oul was not left in it: This is the Apo&s;tles argument, which ne|ce&s;&s;arily evinceth, that by hell here &s;poken of, is meant &s;ome other thing then the place of tor|ment; for <HI>Davids</HI> &s;oule was not left in that hell, it never came into it; that hell belonging not to the godly and elect, but to the wicked and re|probate: Therefore neither is this the hell in which (as the words imply) Chri&s;ts &s;oule was for a while, though it did not remaine there.</P>
<P>5. This Expo&s;ition of Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into the hell of the damned there to triumph, makes his de&s;cending into hell a part of his exaltation; for it's ones exaltation to triumph over his ene|mies. But Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell expre&s;&s;ed in the Creed, and intimated in the Scripture, was
<PB N="210" REF="109"> a part of his humiliation. <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell:</HI> &s;urely it was a part of Chri&s;ts humili|ation to be there, &s;eeing he &s;peaks of it as a bene|fit, and an argument of his joy and gladne&s;&s;e (as before noted) that he was not to be left there. Be|&s;ides, Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection was the beginning, and<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Eu&s;eb. Demon&s;t. Evang. lib. 10.</NOTE> the fir&s;t &s;tep of his exaltation, &amp; therefore what went before his Re&s;urrection, as his de&s;cending into hell did, belonged to his humiliation. The Apo&s;tle &s;aith that <HI>Chri&s;t humbled him&s;elf, and be|came obedient unto death, even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e,</HI> Phil. 2. 8. And it is unque&s;tionable, that Chri&s;ts death was a part, and a chief part of his humiliation. Therefore &s;o long as he remained dead, that is, untill his Re&s;urrection, he was in the e&s;tate of humiliation.</P>
<P>6. It appears by Scripture, that when Chri&s;t di|ed his &s;oul went to heaven, and therefore not to hell, as taken for the place of torment, which is mo&s;t oppo&s;ite and contrary unto heaven. <HI>This day &s;halt thou be with me in Paradi&s;e,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t to the penitent malefactour. Therefore Chri&s;ts &s;oul being &s;eparated from his body, went to Paradi&s;e, which is all one with the third [that is, the high|e&s;t] heaven, as was before &s;hewed. Some an&s;wer that Chri&s;t meant of him&s;elf in re&s;pect of his di|vine nature, which is in all places, and in Paradi&s;e or heaven in a more e&s;peciall manner; in that re&s;pect (they &s;ay) Chri&s;t did promi&s;e the repen|tant thief that he &s;hould be with him that day in Paradi&s;e. But fir&s;t, <HI>Bellarmine</HI> doth well refell this<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Bellar.</HI> de Beatitud. Sanct. l. 1. c. 3.</NOTE> an&s;wer; for that Chri&s;t promi&s;ed that the thiefe &s;hould be where he was; but in re&s;pect of his di|vine
<PB N="211" REF="109"> nature, Chri&s;t was with the thief here in this world, even then when he played the thief; &s;o that in this &s;en&s;e Chri&s;t in tho&s;e words (<HI>with me</HI>) had promi&s;ed no new thing unto him. 2. The word of Chri&s;t cannot without doing violence unto them be otherwi&s;e taken, then to import this, that as the thief was then in re&s;pect of the body, part|ner with Chri&s;t in pain and torment, &s;o that &s;ame day both their &s;ouls &s;hould be together, where they &s;hould injoy bli&s;&s;e and happine&s;&s;e. Some therefore yeelding that tho&s;e words, <HI>with me,</HI> have reference to Chri&s;t in re&s;pect of his &s;oul, &s;ay that Chri&s;ts &s;oul betwixt his death and his Re&s;urrection, might be both in heaven, and in hell the place of torment, one while in the one, another while in the other. But this is a groundle&s;&s;e conjecture, the Scripture <HI>Act.</HI> 2. clear|ly<NOTE PLACE="marg">Videtur qu&ograve;d u&s;|que ad ho|ram re&s;ur|rectionis. man&s;erit in inferno. A|quinas part. 3. qu. 5. art. 4.</NOTE> enough &s;heweth, that Chri&s;ts &s;oul from the time of his death was in the hell that it &s;peaks of, untill the time of his Re&s;urrection. Again, &s;ome of the ancients do not without cau&s;e infer from tho&s;e words of Chri&s;t, which he &s;pake when he gave up the Gho&s;t, <HI>Father into thy hands I com|mend my &s;pirit.</HI> For though Chri&s;ts &s;oul even in the hell of the damned, might yet be &s;aid to be in the hands of the Father, yet much<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eu&s;ebius Emi&s;enus,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>Juenricus.</HI> Tunc clamor Do|mini magno conamine mi&s;|&s;us, Aetheriis animam co|mitem commi&s;cuit auris.</NOTE> rather might it be &s;aid to be in his hands, being in heaven.</P>
<P>Some arguments u&s;ed in de|fence of this opinion are to be an|&s;wered.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> As fir&s;t that drawn from Mat. 12. 40. <HI>As</HI> Jonas <HI>was three
<PB N="212" REF="110"> daies and three nights in the belly of the whale, &s;o &s;hall the &s;on of man be three daies and three nights in the heart of the earth:</HI> Here by <HI>the heart of the earth,</HI> they under&s;tand hell, the hell of the damned, which they &s;uppo&s;e to be in the heart, or mid&s;t of the earth. The Papi&s;ts al&s;o make u&s;e of this place for their <HI>Limbus</HI> before &s;poken of: but it makes for neither opinion. For 1. The Scripture doth not declare where hell (the place<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qui ignis (gehennae) cuju&s;|modi, &amp; in qu&acirc; mundi, vel regionum parte futurus&punc; &s;it, hominem arbitror &s;cire neminem, ni&s;i fort&egrave; cui Spi|ritus divinus o&s;tendit.</HI> Aug. <HI>de Civ, Dei lib. 20. cap. 16.</HI></NOTE> of torment, to which the Papi&s;ts make their <HI>Limbus</HI> to be conti|guous) is &s;eated. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> &s;peaking of the fire of hell, &s;aith, that he &s;uppo&s;ed no man could tell of what kind it is, or in what part of the world, except perhaps Gods &s;pirit did reveal it. 2. In tho&s;e words of Chri&s;t which are objected, by <HI>the heart of the earth</HI> is meant the grave. For Chri&s;ts abiding &s;o long in the heart of the earth, was to be a &s;ign to the Jews (as the context &s;heweth) therefore it was to be a thing apparent unto them, which his abiding &s;o long in the grave was, but not his abiding &s;o long either in Limb, or in the hell of the damned. For if ever Chri&s;t were there, yet it was more then the Jews could &s;ee, but they might &s;ee that at &s;uch a time he was laid in the grave, and that he conti|nued there untill &s;uch a time after.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Again&s;t this it is objected, That the heart is put for the mid&s;t of a thing, and therefore the grave being not the mid&s;t of the earth, cannot be the heart of it.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But in the Scripture that part of a thing
<PB N="213" REF="110"> which is betwixt the extremes, though it be not equally di&s;tant from the extremes, is called the mid&s;t, or the heart, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 14. 14. 16. 18. 20. where its &s;aid, if <HI>Noah, Daniel</HI> and <HI>Job</HI> were in it, &amp;c. in the originall it is word for word, <HI>in the midst of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>it;</HI> where by the mid&s;t of the Land is not meant preci&s;ely the middle part of the Land, but any place within it. S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Ezek.</HI> 27. 4. Tyrus is &s;aid to be <HI>in the midst of the &s;ea;</HI> in the originall (as the mar|gent notes) it is, <HI>in the heart of the &s;ea.</HI> Yet this heart or mid&s;t of the &s;ea was not exactly the mid|dle of it; for Tyrus as it is &s;aid there v. 3. was <HI>&s;i|tuate at the entry of the &s;ea.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But <HI>Bellarmine</HI> yet further objects, that Chri&s;ts &s;epulcher &s;eems to have been above the earth, and not at all within it, becau&s;e it was hewn out of a rock, as the Scripture telleth us.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But this hindreth not why it might not be within the earth; and that it was &s;o, the Scrip|ture &s;heweth, relating how a great &s;tone was rol|led to the mouth of the &s;epulcher, <HI>Mat.</HI> 27. 60. and that <HI>John</HI> &s;tooped down to look into the &s;e|pulcher, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 20. 5. The&s;e circum&s;tances argue that the &s;epulcher was beneath in the earth, and there|fore might well be called <HI>the heart of the earth.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Again they argue from <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4. 9. where it is &s;aid, That Chri&s;t <HI>de&s;cended into the lower parts of the earth,</HI> which &s;ome will have to &s;ignifie hell, the place of torment, and the Papi&s;ts will have <HI>Limbus Patrum</HI> to be meant.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But 1. why the <HI>lower parts of the earth</HI>
<PB N="214" REF="111"> &s;hould denote the hell of the damned, or <HI>Limbus Patrum</HI> (if there had been any &s;uch place at all) I do not &s;ee, it being unknown to us [as I &s;aid be|fore] where that hell is &s;eated. 2. Therefore <HI>Ca|jetans</HI> expo&s;ition is much better, that by <HI>the lower parts of the earth</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ad inferiores partes ter|rae, i. e. ad inferiorem par|tem mundi, terram, Cajet. ad loc. Comparatur non u|na pars terrae cum altera, &s;ed tota terra cum caelo, ac&s;i diceret, ex &s;ede tam excel&s;&acirc; in hoc no&s;trum Barathrum de&s;cendi&s;&s;e. <HI>Calvin.</HI> ad loc.</NOTE> is meant the earth, which is the lower part of the world, heaven being the higher part of it. This ex|po&s;ition doth wel agree with the A|po&s;tles argument which he there u&s;eth, <HI>This that he a&s;cended, what is it, but that he al&s;o de&s;cended fir&s;t in|to the lower parts of the earth?</HI></P>
<P>Before Chri&s;t could a&s;cend into heaven, it was nece&s;&s;ary that he &s;hould de&s;cend to the earth by his Incarnation; but there was no nece&s;&s;ity of his de&s;cending either to the hell of the damned, or to <HI>Limbus Patrum</HI> before his A&s;cen&s;ion into hea|ven: he might well a&s;cend thither, though he did never de&s;cend to either of tho&s;e places. 3. If by <HI>the lower parts of the earth,</HI> it be not meet to under|&s;tand the whole earth, as being the lower part of the world, but that &s;ome certain parts of the earth lower then the re&s;t mu&s;t be under&s;tood, then mo&s;t fitly thereby is under&s;tood the grave, into which Chri&s;t de&s;eended. The grave is called the lower parts of the earth (that is, one of the lower parts, as <HI>Iudg.</HI> 12. 7. it's &s;aid, <HI>Iephtah</HI> was buried in the Cities of <HI>Gilead,</HI> that is, in one of the Cities) in oppo&s;ition to the &s;urface on upper part of the earth, on which we live. Thus <HI>Ezek.</HI>
<PB N="215" REF="111"> 32. 18. <HI>by the nether parts of the earth</HI> are meant <HI>graves,</HI> as it is expre&s;&s;ed v. 23.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But againe, &s;ome alledge that <HI>Rom. 10. 7. Who &s;hall de&s;cend into the deep? that is to bring up Chri&s;t againe from the dead:</HI> where the Apo&s;tle in&s;inuates that Chri&s;t being dead was in the deep; and by the deep is &s;ome|times meant hell the place of torment, as <HI>Luk.</HI> 8. 31. where it is &s;aid, that the Devills be|&s;ought Chri&s;t, <HI>That he would not command them to goe out into the deep.</HI> And &s;o <HI>Re|vel.</HI> 9. 1. and 20. 1. where the &s;ame word in the Originall is u&s;ed, but is rendred <HI>bot|tomele&s;&s;e pit.</HI> Some therefore from tho&s;e words of the Apo&s;tle, draw an argument to prove that when Chri&s;t died, his &s;oule went to hell, where the damned are in torment.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But though the word which the Apo|&s;tle u&s;eth, be &s;omtimes taken in that &s;en&s;e, it fol|loweth not that it mu&s;t be &s;o taken here, it be|ing not the proper &s;ignification of the word, nor any thing appearing to re&s;train it here to that &s;en&s;e: The Apo&s;tle there, I grant, doth imply that Chri&s;t was in the deep when he was dead, but by the deep I &s;ee not why we &s;hould under|&s;tand any other thing then death, or the grave, which like a great deep doth &s;wallow up that<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> LXX. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> which falls into it; <HI>Thou &s;halt bring me again</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David) from the depths of the earth,</HI> P&s;al. 71. 20. that is, from death, or from the grave, as appears by the words immediately before, <HI>thou &s;halt quicken me.</HI> So P&s;al. 88. 6. <HI>Thou ha&s;t laid me
<PB N="216" REF="112"> in the lowest pit, in darkne&s;&s;e, in the deeps;</HI> where<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> LXX. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> in the Originall is u&s;ed another word, but of like &s;ignification, and what he means by being laid in the deeps, we may &s;ee by that in the Ver&s;e going before, <HI>Free among the dead, like the &s;laine that lie in the grave:</HI> And the Septuagint there for <HI>in the deeps,</HI> have <HI>in the &s;hadow of death.</HI> And &s;o much for the third Opinion about the mean|ing of the Article of Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="18" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="217" REF="112">
<HEAD>THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<P>FOurthly, &s;ome by <HI>hell,</HI> where Chri&s;ts being in<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth O|pinion.</NOTE> hell is &s;poken of, under&s;tand the grave: In this &s;en&s;e divers both ancient and modern Wri|ters take it. And it is ob&s;erved, that in all the ancient Creeds that were<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ruffin.</HI> in Symb. Scien|dum &s;an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> e&s;t, qu&ograve;d in Eccle&s;iae Romanae &s;ymbolo non habetur additum, de&s;cendit ad inferna; &s;ed neque in orientis Ec|cle&s;iis habetur hic Sermo. Vis tamen verbi eadem videtur e&s;&s;e in eo qu&ograve;d &s;e|pultus dicitur. See <HI>B. U|&s;her,</HI> who hath many te&s;ti|monies of the ancients to this purpo&s;e.</NOTE> within 600. years after Chri&s;t, ex|cept one, which <HI>Ruffinus</HI> followed, if Chri&s;ts buriall be mentioned, then his de&s;cending into hell is not men|tioned; and if his de&s;cending into hell be mentioned, then his buriall is not mentioned. See to this pur|po&s;e <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> his Creed, and the Nicene Creed, which are both to be found in the Book of <HI>Com|mon-Prayer.</HI> This argues, that the ancients did take Chri&s;ts buriall and his de&s;cending into hell to import both one thing, and therefore they thought it &s;ufficient to mention either the one or the other, and <HI>Ruffinus</HI> mentioning both, yet thinketh the one to differ nothing from the o|ther. Certain it is, that <HI>Sheol</HI> and <HI>Hades,</HI> which words are rendred <HI>hell,</HI> are often u&s;ed for the
<PB N="218" REF="113"> grave, which though &s;ome of the Papi&s;ts either ignorantly or impudently deny, yet &s;ome of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Genebr. in Symb. A|thana&s;.</NOTE> them again do acknowledge it, and one (name|ly <HI>Genebrard</HI>) otherwi&s;e none of the mode&s;te&s;t and mo&s;t ingenuous among them, <HI>Gen. 42. 38. If mi&s;chief befall him by the way, in the which you go, then you &s;hall bring down my gray <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">airs with &s;orrow to the grave.</HI> The word there rendred grave is <HI>Sheol,</HI> which in the Text is rendred <HI>hell;</HI> and &s;o it's the &s;ame word that is u&s;ed <HI>Gen.</HI> 44. 29. 31. where it is likewi&s;e tran&s;lated <HI>grave.</HI> And in the&s;e places the grave mu&s;t needs be meant; for to the grave and to no other hell do gray haires (mentioned in tho&s;e &s;ame places) go down: So by the &s;ame rea&s;on the word &s;ignifies the grave, 1 <HI>King. 2. 6. Let not his hoare head go downe to</HI> (Sheol, that is) <HI>the grave in peace.</HI> And v. 9. <HI>But his hoare head bring down to</HI> (Sheol, i. e.) <HI>the grave with blood.</HI> So <HI>Job 17. 13. If I wait, the grave</HI> (in the Originall it is Sheol) <HI>is mine hou&s;e;</HI> that the grave is there meant, appears by v. 14. <HI>I have &s;aid to corruption, thou art my Father, to the worm, thou art my mother and my &s;i&s;ter.</HI> And P&s;al. 141. <HI>Our bones are &s;cattered at the graves mouth.</HI> In the Hebrew is <HI>Sheol,</HI> which can there &s;ignifie nothing but the grave, though the Vulgar Latine Tran&s;la|tor there have <HI>&s;ecus infernum, near hell,</HI> as the Engli&s;h Papi&s;ts at Doway render it, yet <HI>Genebrard</HI> upon the place expounds it, <HI>juxta &s;epulchrum, by the grave:</HI> For how &s;hould bones lie &s;cattered by any other hell then that? <HI>P&s;al. 6. 5. In the grave [Sheol</HI> al&s;o is there in the Originall] <HI>who &s;hall give thee thanks?</HI> That <HI>Sheol</HI> is there rightly ren|dred
<PB N="219" REF="113"> <HI>the grave,</HI> appeares by that parallel place, P&s;al. 88. 11. <HI>Shall thy loving kind|ne&s;&s;e be deelared in the grave?</HI> Where the Hebrew word is <HI>Keber,</HI> which onely &s;ignifieth the grave. And by that word <HI>Keber</HI> do the <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">So <HI>R. So|lomon</HI> ex|pounds it, <HI>Gen.</HI> 37. 35. And &s;o al&s;o there <HI>A|ben Ezra.</HI> So like|wi&s;e <HI>R. Le|vi, 2 Sam. 22. 6.</HI></NOTE> Jewi&s;h Rabbines u&s;ually expound the word <HI>Sheol,</HI> which in the Text and in other places is rendred <HI>hell.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But it is objected, that in the&s;e words, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oule in hell.,</HI> the grave cannot be meant by hell; becau&s;e here the Scripture &s;peaks of Chri&s;ts &s;oule not being left in hell, whereas it is not the &s;oul, but the body that is in the grave.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To this it is an&s;wered, that &s;ome lear|ned Papi&s;ts them&s;elves in the&s;e words, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell,</HI> by hell under&s;tand the grave, and by &s;oul the body. And therefore <HI>Bel|larmine</HI> &amp; others had no rea&s;on to exagitate <HI>Beza</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">* <HI>See</HI> B. V&s;her <HI>whocites</HI> Pagnine, Vatablus, Arias Montanus, <HI>and</HI> I&s;ido|rus Clari|us.</NOTE> for interpreting tho&s;e words in that manner. But may &s;ome &s;ay, Is the &s;oul &s;ometimes put for the body? I an&s;wer, yes that it is, <HI>Gen. 46. 26. All the &s;ouls that came with</HI> Jacob <HI>into Egypt, which came out of his loins, &amp;c.</HI> There by <HI>&s;ouls</HI> are meant bo|dies; for according to the opinion generally re|ceived of Papi&s;ts and Prote&s;tants, the bodies and not the &s;ouls of children are from the loins of their parents. If any &s;hall &s;ay, that there in that place of <HI>Gene&s;is,</HI> by &s;ouls, are meant per&s;ons, who are called &s;ouls, the part, (and that the better part) being put for the whole: I reply, 1. That yet the per&s;ons there are called &s;ouls in re&s;pect of their bodies; for that in re&s;pect of them it was
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<PB N="219" REF="114">
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<PB N="220" REF="115"> that they came out of <HI>Jacobs</HI> loins. 2. That the &s;ame may be &s;aid here, that <HI>&s;oul</HI> is put for the per|&s;on, whereof the &s;oul is a part, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell,</HI> that is, thou wilt not leave me in hell, where by <HI>hell</HI> may &s;till be meant the grave.</P>
<P>But &s;ome may yet further inquire and &s;ay, Is the body alone, when the &s;oul is departed out of it, any where in Scripture called &s;oule? I an&s;wer, yes it is, Levit. 21. 1. <HI>There &s;hall none be defiled for the dead,</HI> &amp;c. In the origi|nall the word rendred <HI>the dead,</HI> is <HI>Nephe&s;h,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> which in the Text, and u&s;ually, is rendred <HI>&s;oul.</HI> The &s;ame word al&s;o is u&s;ed for a dead body, Num. 19. 13. <HI>Who&s;oever toucheth the dead body of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>Bellar.</HI> de Christo lib. 4. cap. 12.</NOTE> <HI>any man,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Bellarmine</HI> an&s;wers, that there is great difference betwixt the Hebrew word <HI>Nephe&s;h,</HI> and the Greek word (u&s;ed <HI>Act. 2.) P&s;yche,</HI> for that <HI>P&s;yche,</HI> and &s;o the Latin word <HI>anima</HI> (he &s;aith) is not of &s;o large ac|ception as <HI>Nephe&s;h:</HI> but nothing could be &s;aid more ab&s;urd then this is. For as here in the Text the Hebrew word <HI>Nephe&s;h</HI> is in Greek rendred <HI>P&s;yche,</HI> that is, &s;oul; even &s;o is it al&s;o in tho&s;e other places, to wit, <HI>Le|vit. 21. 1. Num.</HI> 19. 13. where <HI>Bellarmine</HI> con|fe&s;&s;eth <HI>Nephe&s;h</HI> to &s;ignifie either the whole man, or the body apart by it &s;elf; the &s;ame mu&s;t there|fore nece&s;&s;arily be confe&s;&s;ed of the Greek word <HI>P&s;yche.</HI> And thus al&s;o &s;ometimes is the Latin word <HI>anima</HI> u&s;ed, to wit, for the body when it is dead, as in that of the Prince of Latin Poets,&mdash;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Virgil.</NOTE> <HI>animam&abque; &s;epulchro Condimus,</HI> that is word for
<PB N="221" REF="115"> word, <HI>And we lay the &s;oul in the &s;epulcher,</HI> where <HI>by the &s;oul</HI> mu&s;t needs be meant the dead body. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> u&s;eth a fit &s;imilitude where|by to illu&s;trate the rea&s;on why the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sicut appellamus Eccle&s;i|am, Ba&s;ilicam, qu&acirc; conti|netur populus, qui ver&egrave; ap|pellatur Eccle&s;ia, ut nomi|ne Eccle&s;iae, id e&s;t, populi, qui continetur, &s;ignifice|mus locum qui continet. Ita qu&ograve;d animae corpori|bus continentur, intelligi corpora filiorum per nomi|natas animas (<HI>Gen. 46. 26.</HI>) po&s;&s;unt. Sic enim me|lius accipitur etiam il|lud, quod Lex inquinari dicit cum, qui intraverit &s;uper animam mortuam, hoc e&s;t, &s;uper defuncti ca|daver; ut nomine animae mortuae mortuum corpus intelligatur, quod animam continebat; quia &amp; ab|&s;ente populo, id e&s;t, Eccle|&s;i&acirc;, locus tamen ille nibi|lominus eccle&s;ia nuncupa|tur. <HI>Aug.</HI> Epi&s;t. 57. ad Optat.</NOTE> &s;oul is &s;ometimes taken for the bo|dy, and that even when the &s;oul is departed from it. As we common|ly call the place where the people of God a&s;&s;emble together for reli|gious exerci&s;es, the Church, when|as properly the people them&s;elves are the Church. So the &s;oul con|tained in the body, is put for the body in which it is contained. And as the place is called the Church, e|ven when the people (which is in|deed the Church) is out of it. So al&s;o the &s;oul is &s;ometimes put for the body, even when the body is dead, and the &s;oul &s;eparated from it.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But again&s;t this expo&s;ition it is objected, that in the Creed Chri&s;ts buriall is &s;poken of before, and that plainly, and therefore it is not probable that it &s;hould be mentioned over again, and that in &s;uch ob&s;cure words as the&s;e, <HI>he de&s;cended into hell.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This objection &s;eems to be of much force, and in this re&s;pect I am inclined to think, that the meaning of the&s;e words, <HI>he de&s;cended in|to hell,</HI> is not the &s;ame with that which went im|mediately before, <HI>and buried,</HI> but that &s;omething
<PB N="222" REF="116"> more is &s;ignified in Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell, then in his buriall; yet they that follow this Ex|po&s;ition do not altogether want what to an&s;wer to the Objection. For, 1. When as anciently (as before I noted) only one of the&s;e (either Chri&s;ts buriall or his de&s;cending into hell) was men|tioned in the Creed, it might &s;o come to pa&s;&s;e, that afterward both were joyned together, and yet the &s;ame thing be &s;ignified by them. 2. Chri&s;ts funeration or preparing for his bury|ing, may be under&s;tood in the Creed by the word<NOTE PLACE="marg">See. B. U&s;her.</NOTE> <HI>buried; She did it for my burial,</HI> &s;o we read Chri&s;ts words, <HI>Mat.</HI> 26. 12. where be &s;peaks of the wo|man<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> that powred ointment upon him. The words in the Originall, which are rendred, <HI>for my buriall,</HI> properly &s;ignifie, <HI>to prepare me for buriall.</HI> And by Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell, may be meant his interring, or laying in the grave. 3. If the&s;e an&s;wers do not &s;atisfie, as I confe&s;&s;e I am not &s;atisfied with them, it may be &s;aid, (and &s;o &s;ome do interpret their meaning) that they who expound tho&s;e words, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ame&s;. in Bel. Ener.</NOTE> <HI>&s;oul in hell,</HI> &s;o as by hell to under&s;tand the grave, do not by Chri&s;ts being in hell, or de&s;cending in|to hell &s;imply under&s;tand his be laid in the grave, [which is his buriall] but his abiding in the &s;tate of death, which in re&s;pect of the body, was his abiding in the grave: But this la&s;t an&s;wer falls into another Expo&s;ition of Chri&s;ts de&s;cen|ding into hell, which though it be neare a-kin to this la&s;t mentioned, yet is di&s;tinct from it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fifth Opinion.</NOTE></P>
<P>Fifthly, therefore &s;ome by Chri&s;ts being in hell under&s;tand his being in the &s;tate of the dead, and
<PB N="223" REF="116"> under the power and dominion of death. And this I hold the be&s;t and mo&s;t genuine Expo&s;ition of the&s;e words, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oule in hell,</HI> that is, thou wilt not leave me in the &s;tate of the dead, or under the power of death, but wilt rai&s;e me againe from the dead. And &s;o con|&s;equently the Article of Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell (whereof the&s;e words are the foundation) imports no more, but that Chri&s;t went into the other world, was in the &s;tate of the dead, and under deaths dominion, to wit, untill his Re&s;ur|rection. This Expo&s;ition keeps the propriety of the words, and the order of the Creed, neither is there any thing that I know of weight again&s;t it. The Hebrew word <HI>Sheol,</HI> and the Greek <HI>Hades,</HI> which are rendred &s;ometimes hell, do &s;ignifie the e&s;tate of the dead, or the power of death; <HI>Hell and de&s;truction are before the Lord,</HI> Prov. 15. 11. <HI>Jan&s;enius</HI> a learned Writer of the Church of Rome, upon the place notes, that by hell and de&s;truction<NOTE PLACE="marg">Per infernum &amp; perditionem &s;ignificatur &s;tatus mortuorum, &amp; non &s;olum damnatorum, ut nos fer&egrave; ex his vocibus auditis concipimus, &s;ed in genere &s;tatus defunctorum. <HI>Jan&s;en. ad loc.</HI></NOTE> is &s;ignified the &s;tate of the dead, and not onely of the damned, as we u&s;ually when we hear the&s;e words, do con|ceive, but the &s;tate of tho&s;e in generall that are departed out of this life. Thus al&s;o <HI>Genebrard</HI> another Romi&s;h Author, and a skilfull Hebritian, on <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 30. 3. (as we reckon)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ab infer|no, id e&s;t, &egrave; &s;tatu mor|tuorum libera&s;ti. <HI>Geneb. ad loc.</HI></NOTE> where <HI>David</HI> &s;ayes, <HI>O Lord thou ha&s;t brought up my &s;oul from Sheol,</HI> (hell, our Tran&s;lators have, <HI>the grave) Genebrard</HI> I &s;ay interprets it thus: <HI>From hell, that is, out of the &s;tate of the dead ha&s;t thou de|livered
<PB N="224" REF="117"> me.</HI> And &s;o that <HI>P&s;al. 89. 48. What man is he that liveth and &s;hall not &s;ee death? and &s;hall he deliver his &s;oul from the hand of Sheol, of hell?</HI> So <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Viz.</HI> That in the Booke of Com|mon-Prayer. <HI>Infernus &s;ignificat totum mortuo|rum &s;ta|tum.</HI> Gen. ad loc.</NOTE> one of our Tran&s;lations hath it, the la&s;t Tran&s;la|tion hath <HI>of the grave;</HI> that likewi&s;e doth <HI>Gene|brard</HI> expound in like manner, though fir&s;t he would draw it to their fained <HI>Limbus</HI> before|mentioned, yet upon &s;econd thoughts (which u&s;e to be wi&s;er) he addes, <HI>Hell doth &s;ignifie the whole &s;tate of the dead.</HI></P>
<P>And it is evident, that by hell there, cannot be meant the hell of the damned; for <HI>David</HI> would not make it a thing impo&s;&s;ible for any to e&s;cape that hell, as he doth make it for any to e&s;cape the hell that he &s;peaketh of: Therefore by <HI>hell</HI> he mu&s;t needs mean either the grave (and then the word [&s;oul] is not taken properly) or the &s;tate of the &s;tate of the&punc; dead, from which without ex|traordinary di&s;pen&s;ation, none is exempted. Thus al&s;o is the Greek word <HI>Hades</HI> u&s;ed, 1 <HI>Cor. 15. 55. O Hades, [O hell,</HI> &s;o our Tran&s;lators in the Margent render it, though the Textuall reading be, <HI>O grave] where is thy victory?</HI> There is no o|ther hell, but the &s;tate of the dead, and the pow|er of death, which is vanqui&s;hed and de&s;troyed at and by the Re&s;urrection, of which the Apo&s;tle there &s;peaketh. So <HI>Rev. 20. 16. Death and hell were ca&s;t into the lake of fire,</HI> that is, death and the power of death: For the hell of the dam|ned, the place of torment, cannot there be meant by <HI>hell,</HI> that hell being <HI>the lake of fire,</HI> into which hell, there &s;poken of, is ca&s;t: The meaning of the words is, that at the Re&s;urrection there
<PB N="225" REF="117"> &s;hall be no more death, nor any power of death any where, but only in that lake of fire, the place where the damned are in torment, who&s;e condi|tion becau&s;e of the wretchedne&s;&s;e of it, is called death, <HI>the &s;econd death,</HI> Rev. 20. 6. And thus both Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall and Heathen Authors do u&s;e the word <HI>Hades,</HI> making all that are dead, and &s;o under the power of death, to be <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>in in|ferno,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">See B. U|&s;her.</NOTE> in hell, as we Engli&s;h it. And thus have &s;ome of the ancients expounded Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell. <HI>This is the Law of humane nece&s;&s;ity,</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Hila|ry</HI>)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Humanae ista Lex nece&s;&s;itatis, ut con&s;epultis corporibus ad inferos animae de&s;cendant. Quam de|&s;cen&s;ionem Dominus ad con&s;um|mationem veri hominis non re|cu&s;avit. <HI>Hil. in P&s;al. 138.</HI></NOTE> <HI>that when the bodies are bu|ried, the &s;ouls de&s;cend into hell,</HI> [he means by <HI>hell,</HI> the &s;tate of the dead in generall, and the power of death keeping the &s;oul &s;eparated from the body] <HI>which de&s;cent, the Lord [Christ] to prove him&s;elf true man, did not re|fu&s;e;</HI> in like manner other of the Ancients. S. <HI>Pe|ters</HI> words al&s;o do confirm this Expo&s;ition, <HI>Acts</HI> 2. 24. where &s;peaking of Chri&s;t he &s;aith, <HI>Whom God hath rai&s;ed up, having loo&s;ed the pains of death, becau&s;e it was not po&s;&s;ible that he &s;hould be holden by it.</HI> The word in the Originall &s;ignifies <HI>to</HI> be hol|den<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> by force and &s;trong hand, to be holden under ones power and dominion. And to prove that Chri&s;t could not po&s;&s;ibly be thus held by death, he alledgeth the te&s;timony of the Prophet <HI>David,</HI> who &s;peaking in the Per&s;on of Chri&s;t, &s;aid, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell:</HI> So that by <HI>Peters</HI> Commentary upon the&s;e words of <HI>David,</HI> it ap|pears
<PB N="226" REF="118"> that Chri&s;ts not being left in hell &s;ignifies nothing els but his not being left under the pow|er of death, from which he was freed by his Re&s;urrection, of which <HI>Peter</HI> &s;aith that <HI>David</HI> did &s;peak in tho&s;e words, <HI>Acts</HI> 2. 31. And con&s;e|quently Chri&s;ts being in hell (which is implied in the&s;e words of <HI>David, Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell,</HI> and expre&s;&s;ed in the Creed) imports nothing els but his being under the power of death, under which he was kept for a while, though not long. So that of S. <HI>Paul, Rom. 6. 9. Christ being ri&s;en from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him;</HI> that al&s;o intimates that Chri&s;t being dead, untill he ro&s;e from the dead, death had dominion over him, not whe|ther he would or no, but through his own per|mi&s;&s;ion, <HI>Joh.</HI> 10. 18.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But may &s;ome &s;ay, according to this Ex|po&s;ition, there is nothing more &s;ignified in the Article of Chri&s;ts de&s;cending into hell, then in the other that he died.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer: Yes, there is more &s;ignified in the one, then in the other: For that Chri&s;t died, imports only that his &s;oul was &s;eparated from his bodie; but, that he de&s;cended into hell, im|ports that his &s;oule and bodie continued for a while in the &s;tate of &s;eparation, to wit, untill his Re&s;urrection, when they were again united one to the other. Such difference as there is betwixt<NOTE PLACE="marg">B. U&s;her.</NOTE> birth and life here, &s;uch al&s;o is there betwixt death and de&s;cending into hell: Death performs its work in a moment, but hell continues this
<PB N="227" REF="118"> work, to wit, the &s;eparation of the &s;oule from the body, untill the body ri&s;ing again, the &s;oule and it are reunited together: Therefore it may &s;eem to be &s;aid, <HI>Rev.</HI> 6. 8. that <HI>hell followed after death,</HI> and thus both &s;oul and body are &s;aid to be in <HI>Sheol,</HI> or <HI>Hades,</HI> or <HI>hell,</HI> while&s;t they remaine &s;eparated one from the other.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But again it may be objected, that if the &s;oul while&s;t it is in a &s;tate of &s;eparation from the body, be &s;aid to be in hell, then it is in hell even when it is in heaven.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It is granted; nor is this uncouth or in|convenient, as &s;ome may think it to be, becau&s;e of the u&s;uall &s;en&s;e and &s;ignification wherein the word <HI>hell</HI> is taken: For as the word <HI>fle&s;h</HI> is in<NOTE PLACE="marg">B. U&s;her.</NOTE> our ordinary &s;peech taken &s;trictly in oppo&s;ition to <HI>fi&s;h,</HI> yet &s;ometimes, and in propriety of &s;peech it is of a more large extent. For, <HI>there is a fle&s;h of fi&s;h,</HI> 1 Cor, 15. 39. So though we u&s;ually take the word <HI>hell</HI> in oppo&s;ition to heaven, taking hell for the place of torment, as heaven for the place of happine&s;&s;e; yet the word <HI>hell</HI> as an&s;wering the Hebrew <HI>Sheol,</HI> and the Greek <HI>Hades,</HI> is &s;o large as to comprehend even heaven it &s;elf in the notion of it: Not indeed as heaven is the place of bli&s;&s;e and happine&s;&s;e, nor as it &s;hall be after the Re&s;urrection, when the &s;oul and body &s;hall be in heaven, but as heaven is the receptacle of &s;ouls &s;eparated from their bodies; which &s;tate of &s;eparation (though it rea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h to heaven, as it doth in re&s;pect of the &s;ouls of the godly, yet)
<PB N="228" REF="119"> appertains to the dominion of death, and the imperfection of the Saints, who are not &s;et free from that dominion of death, and that imperfe|ction, untill the Re&s;urrection.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> Some may yet again object, That the word <HI>de&s;cended,</HI> which is u&s;ed in the Creed, argues that <HI>hell</HI> is below, whereas heaven is a|bove: and how then can it be &s;aid, that Chri&s;t (in re&s;pect of his &s;oul) de&s;cended into hell, when|as his &s;oul went to heaven?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To this it is an&s;wered divers wayes:</P>
<P N="1">1. That although when the godly die, in re&s;pect of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Licet ex mortuis aliqui a&s;|cendunt in coelum, omnes ta|men, qui &s;epeliuntur, de&s;cen|dunt in terram; unde &agrave; con|ditione prima de&s;cen&s;us cada|verum, totus reliquus mortu|orum &s;tatus appellatur de&s;cen|&s;us. <HI>Al&s;ted. in Theol. Catechit. in Expo&s;it. Symb.</HI></NOTE> their &s;ouls, they a&s;cend up to heaven, yet becau&s;e general|ly all in re&s;pect of their bo|dies (when they are buried) de&s;cend down into the earth, therefore from that fir&s;t con|dition of the de&s;cending of dead bodies, the whole e&s;tate of the dead is called a de&s;cent.</P>
<P N="2">2. That the word which &s;ignifieth, <HI>to de&s;cend,</HI> is often u&s;ed for to remove from one place to<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> another, though it be not from a higher place to a lower, which is properly to de&s;cend: As<NOTE PLACE="marg">B U&s;her.</NOTE> <HI>Acts 13. 4. So they being &s;ent forth by the Holy Gho&s;t departed unto Seleucia.</HI> The word in the<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> Originall rendred <HI>departed,</HI> is that which pro|perly &s;ignifieth <HI>de&s;cended.</HI> So <HI>Acts 18. 5. When</HI> Silas <HI>and</HI> Timot<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">us <HI>were come from Macedo|nia;</HI> in the Originall the &s;ame word (rendred
<PB N="229" REF="119"> <HI>were come</HI>) is u&s;ed. And &s;o in other places; &s;o that whereas it is &s;aid in the Creed, <HI>he de|&s;cended into hell,</HI> the word <HI>de&s;cended</HI> is not to be pre&s;&s;ed, but to be taken as if it were &s;aid, <HI>he went to h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ll.</HI> And this may &s;uffice for the explicating of the Article of Chri&s;ts de&s;cend|ing into hell, which was the thing I aimed in the handling of the&s;e words, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="19" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="230" REF="120">
<HEAD>THE NINETEENTH SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ACTS 10. 40.</BIBL> Him God rai|&s;ed up the third day.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe&s;e words were &s;poken by <HI>Peter,</HI> and I need not tell of whom he &s;pake them; for they that know any thing in this kind, know that it is Chri&s;t whom God rai&s;ed up the third day.</P>
<P><HI>Him God rai&s;ed up,] viz</HI> from the dead, as it is expre&s;&s;ed, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. 11.</P>
<P><HI>The third day,] viz.</HI> after that he died, as ap|peares by the context; <HI>Whom they &s;lew, and hanged on a tree, Him&punc; God rai&s;ed up the third day.</HI></P>
<P>Here then we have,</P>
<P N="1">1. The Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t, <HI>Him God rai|&s;ed up.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. The time of his Re&s;urrection, <HI>the third day.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t then let us ob&s;erve this, <HI>That Chri&s;t did</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> <HI>ri&s;e again from the dead.</HI> The Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t is an Article of main concernment: <HI>Peter</HI>
<PB N="231" REF="120"> told the Di&s;ciples, that one was to be cho&s;en in the place of <HI>Judas</HI> the traitour; and why? to be a <HI>witne&s;&s;e with us</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>of his</HI> (that is, of Chri&s;ts) <HI>re&s;urrection,</HI> Act. 1. 22. The Apo&s;tles were to te&s;ti|fie other things be&s;ides the re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t, but this is mentioned as a principall point to which they were to give te&s;timony. So Act. 4. 33. <HI>And with great power gave the Apo&s;tles witne&s;&s;e of the re&s;urrection of the Lord Je&s;us.</HI> The Jews, the profe&s;&s;ed enemies of Chri&s;t, believe that he died, even died the death of the Cro&s;&s;e; but they will not believe that he ro&s;e again, therefore Chri&s;t<NOTE PLACE="marg">Re&s;urre|ctio Chri|&s;ti e&s;t fides Chri&s;tia|norum.</NOTE> crucified is a &s;tumbling block unto them, as the A|po&s;tle &s;aith, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. 23. But Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection is the faith of a Chri&s;tian. He that doth not be|lieve this, doth believe nothing to any purpo&s;e, <HI>If Chri&s;t be not ri&s;en</HI> (&s;aith S. <HI>Paul,</HI> and he is as not ri&s;en, to tho&s;e that do not believe him to be ri|&s;en) <HI>then is our preaching vain, and your faith al&s;o is vain,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 14. And again v. 17. <HI>If Chri&s;t be not rai&s;ed your faith is vain.</HI> It behoves every one therefore, not only to &s;ay that he believeth the article of Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection, but to believe it indeed, and to know upon what grounds he doth believe it. Let us therefore &s;ee what grounds we have for this in, and from the Scripture.</P>
<P N="1">1. Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection was tipified and prefi|gured. Some conceive <HI>I&s;aac</HI> to have been a type and figure of Chri&s;t in this re&s;pect; <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> I &s;ay, who (as the &s;tory &s;hews, <HI>Gen.</HI> 22.) was bound, and laid upon the Altar, and as good as dead, yet was rai&s;ed up and delivered: whence it is &s;aid, that <HI>A|braham</HI> received him from the dead <HI>in a figure,</HI>
<PB N="232" REF="121"> Heb. 11. 19. Some under&s;tand it thus in a figure of<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Era&s;. (re|&s;urrectio|nis) typo. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Occumen.</NOTE> Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection. But I in&s;i&s;t not on that place, which others more probably interpret otherwi&s;e. That <HI>Ionas</HI> his deliverance out of the whales bel|ly, wherein he was (as it were) buried, was a type of Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection from the dead, we have Chri&s;ts own te&s;timony. <HI>As</HI> Jonas <HI>was three daies, and three nights in the whales belly</HI> (and then was delivered out of it) <HI>&s;o &s;hall the &s;on of man be three daies, and three nights in the heart of the earth,</HI> that is, in the grave, and then be rai&s;ed up out of it, <HI>Mat.</HI> 12. 40.</P>
<P N="2">2. Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection was prophecied and fore|told: Chri&s;t him&s;elf the great Prophet did foretel it in tho&s;e words even now cited. And &s;o in o|ther places, Mat. 17, 22, 23. <HI>The &s;on of man &s;hall be betrayed into the hands of men; and they &s;hall kil him, and the third day he &s;hall be rai&s;ed again.</HI> And Joh. 2. 19. <HI>Je&s;us an&s;wered, and &s;aid unto them; de&s;troy this Temple, and in three daies I will rai&s;e it up.</HI> This he &s;pake of the Temple of his body, as it follows there v. 22. And when he was ri&s;en from the dead, his Di&s;ciples remembred that he had &s;aid this unto them, v. 22. Although Chri&s;ts owne Di&s;ciples (it &s;eems) did not under&s;tand the mean|ing of tho&s;e words untill they were fulfilled, that is, untill Chri&s;t was ri&s;en from the dead, yet Chri&s;t had &s;o plainly at other times foretold his re&s;urre|ction, that the chief Prie&s;ts and Phari&s;ees could &s;ay unto <HI>Pilate,</HI> when Chri&s;t was crucified, dead and buried, <HI>Sir, we remember that that deceiver &s;aid, while he was yet alive, after three daies I will ri&s;e again.</HI> And &s;o the Prophets that were before
<PB N="233" REF="121"> Chri&s;ts coming in the fle&s;h, did fore&s;hew (as other things concerning him) that he &s;hould ri&s;e from the dead. <HI>David</HI> in tho&s;e words, <HI>Thou wilt not leave my &s;oul in hell, nor &s;uffer thine holy one to &s;ee corruption,</HI> P&s;al. 16. 10. did &s;peak of Chri&s;ts re&s;ur|rection, as is te&s;tified by S. <HI>Peter</HI> Act. 2. 31. <HI>He &s;ee|ing this before, &s;pake of the re&s;urrection of Christ, that his &s;oul was not left in hell, nor his fle&s;h did &s;ee corruption.</HI> And &s;o by S. <HI>Paul,</HI> Act. 13. 35, 36, 37. Wherefore he &s;aith al&s;o in another P&s;alm, <HI>Thou &s;halt not &s;uffer thine holy one to &s;ee corruption. For</HI> David <HI>after he had &s;erved his own generation by the will of God, fell a&s;leep, and was laid unto his fathers, and &s;aw corruption. But he whom God rai&s;ed again, &s;aw no corruption.</HI> So all the Prophets &s;peaking of Chri&s;t, his Prie&s;thood, and Kingdome induring for ever, did con&s;equently &s;peak of Chri&s;ts re&s;ur|rection. As <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Or <HI>Solo|mon</HI> who by the title &s;eems to have been the com|po&s;er of that. 72. P&s;alme.</NOTE> <HI>David</HI> P&s;al. 72. 17. &amp; 110. 4. And <HI>Daniel</HI> chapt. 7. v. 14. Some from tho&s;e and the like places of the Prophets fal&s;ly und<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;tood, did infer that Chri&s;t &s;hould not die, <HI>Joh.</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">. 34. But the Prophets had no &s;uch meaning, but that though Chri&s;t did die, yet he &s;hould ri&s;e againe and &s;o abide for ever. And therefore Chri&s;t called them <HI>fools, and &s;low of heart to believe all that the Prophets had written,</HI> who would not believe his re&s;urrection, when they were told of it, Luk. 24. 25. And <HI>Paul</HI> profe&s;&s;ed that he did <HI>&s;ay no other things, then tho&s;e which the Prophets and</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>did &s;ay &s;hould come, That Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;uffer, and that he &s;hould be the fir&s;t that &s;hould ri&s;e from the dead,</HI> Act. 26. 22, 23.</P>
<P N="3">3. All the foure Evangeli&s;ts (as we call them)
<PB N="234" REF="122"> <HI>Matthew, Mark, Luke</HI> and <HI>John,</HI> have carefully recorded Chri&s;ts ri&s;ing from the dead. Though as in other of their relations, &s;o in this, they differ in circum&s;tances, &s;ome relating one cireum&s;tance, &s;ome another, yet they agree in the &s;ub&s;tance, all relating this, that he ro&s;e again. They &s;hew us al|&s;o that Chri&s;t after his re&s;urrection by many in|fallible proofs did &s;hew him&s;elf alive, as S. <HI>Luke</HI> &s;peaks, Act. 1. 3. That when his Di&s;ciples thought him to have been a &s;pirit, he &s;aid un|to them, <HI>Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I my &s;elf, handle me, and &s;ee, for a &s;pirit hath not fle&s;h and bones, as ye &s;ee me have. And when he had thus &s;poken, he &s;hewed them his hands and his feet,</HI> Luk. 24. 39, 40. And pre&s;ently after it fol|lows, that he called for meat, and did eat before them. S. <HI>Iohn</HI> al&s;o relates how when Chri&s;t had ap|peared after his re&s;urrection to the Apo&s;tles, <HI>Thomas</HI> not being among them when he heard of it, he would not believe it, profe&s;&s;ing that except he &s;hould &s;ee in his hands the print of the nails, and put his finger into the print of his nails, and thru&s;t his hand into his &s;ide, he would not believe. And that afterward Chri&s;t appeared unto them again, <HI>Thomas</HI> being with them, and that he &s;pake unto <HI>Thomas</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Reach hither thy fin|ger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thru&s;t it into my &s;ide, and be not faithle&s;&s;e, but believe:</HI> And that then <HI>Thomas</HI> cried out, <HI>My Lord and my God,</HI> Joh. 20. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. The Evan|geli&s;ts al&s;o record that Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection was witne&s;&s;ed by an Angel from heaven, <HI>Mat. 28. 5, 6. Mar.</HI> 16. 5, 6. Yea by more Angels then one, <HI>Luk.</HI> 24. 4, 5, 6.</P>
<P N="4"><PB N="235" REF="122">4. The Apo&s;tles did no le&s;&s;e diligently preach and publi&s;h Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection. <HI>Paul</HI> preached it, as he te&s;tifieth, 1 Cor. 15. 4. Where al&s;o in the ver&s;es following he doth largely in&s;i&s;t upon the proof and demon&s;tration of it. So <HI>Act</HI> 13. 30. &amp;c. We find that in one of his Sermons he was much upon this point. And &s;o al&s;o was <HI>Peter, Act.</HI> 2. 24. &amp;c. And it is &s;aid of all the Apo&s;tles in generall (except <HI>Paul</HI> who was called to the Apo&s;tle&s;hip afterward) <HI>that with great power they gave wit|ne&s;&s;e of the re&s;urrection of the Lord Je&s;us,</HI> Act. 4. 33. And <HI>Paul</HI> urgeth the force of this argument drawn from the preaching of the Apo&s;tles, <HI>Yea, and we are found fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es of God, becau&s;e we have testified of God, that he rai&s;ed up Chri&s;t, whom he rai&s;ed not up, if &s;o be that the dead ri&s;e not,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 15.</P>
<P N="5">5. Divers rea&s;ons and arguments grounded upon Scripture prove that Chri&s;t did ri&s;e from the dead. For 1. It was meet that as Chri&s;t did free|ly and voluntarily humble him&s;elf, &s;o again he &s;hould be exalted, <HI>Tho&s;e that honour me, I will ho|nour,</HI> &s;aith God, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2. 30. Therefore as Chri&s;t did honour God by &s;ubmitting him&s;elf unto death, &s;o God would honour him by rai&s;ing him from the dead. <HI>He humbled him&s;elf, &amp; became obe|dient unto death, even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e, Where|fore God al&s;o hath highly exalted him,</HI> Phil. 2. 8. 9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Man&s;it &amp; in &s;epara|tione in&s;e|parabilis unitas. Bern. de Con&s;id. l. 5. c. 10.</NOTE></P>
<P>2. Although when Chri&s;t died, his &s;oul and body were &s;eparated one from the other, yet the divine nature was &s;eparated from neither the one nor the other. <HI>Come, &s;ee the place where the Lord lay,</HI> &s;aid the Angel, &s;peaking of the grave where
<PB N="236" REF="123"> the dead body of Chri&s;t was laid, <HI>Mat.</HI> 28. 6. which &s;hews that the divine nature was &s;till united to the body, though the &s;oul were &s;eparated from it. And otherwi&s;e we could not rightly confe&s;&s;e (as we do) in the Creed, that Chri&s;t the only &s;on of God was buried. Now there being this union be|twixt the divine nature, and Chri&s;ts body, it was not only meet, but nece&s;&s;ary that his body &s;hould be rai&s;ed up, and not be held under deaths domi|nion. Though being man he died, yet being God he ro&s;e again; <HI>being put to death in the fle&s;h,</HI> (his humane nature) <HI>but quickned by the &s;pirit,</HI> his di|vine nature, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3. 18.</P>
<P>3. For the working out of our redemption it was requi&s;ite that Chri&s;t &s;hould not only die, but al&s;o ri&s;e again. Some when Chri&s;t did hang upon the Cro&s;&s;e, bla&s;phemed, &s;aying, <HI>He &s;aved others, him&s;elfe he cannot &s;ave,</HI> Mar. 15. 31. Whereas that he might &s;ave others, him&s;elf he would not &s;ave, <HI>viz.</HI> not &s;o as not to die. But had he &s;o died, as not to ri&s;e again, his death would have been of none effect. For how could we have believed, that he by his death had redeemed us from death (e|ven eternall death and de&s;truction) if he him&s;elf had been &s;o &s;wallowed up of death, as for ever to lie under the power and dominion of it? There|fore the Apo&s;tle &s;aith that Chri&s;t <HI>was delivered for our offences, and ro&s;e again for our justification,</HI> Rom. 4. 25. And, <HI>if Chri&s;t be not ri&s;en, your faith is in vain, you are yet in your &s;ins,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 17. And as Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection was thus nece&s;&s;ary in re|&s;pect of our <HI>redemption, the forgivene&s;&s;e of our &s;ins;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 1. 7. Rom. 8. 23.</NOTE> &s;o was it al&s;o in re&s;pect of the <HI>redemption of our
<PB N="237" REF="123"> body.</HI> How could we have expected the re&s;urre|ction of our bodies, if Chri&s;ts body had not been rai&s;ed up? If the Head had not ri&s;en again, how &s;hould the members ri&s;e again? The re&s;urrection of the members depends upon the re&s;urrection of the Head; the re&s;urrection of Chri&s;tians upon Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection, as the Apo&s;tle &s;hews at large, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e.</HI> 1. Now if Chri&s;t ro&s;e again; then how wretched and mi&s;erable are the Jews, who wil not believe Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection, but as their fa|thers did, &s;o do they &s;till, impugne and oppo&s;e it. S. <HI>Matthew</HI> relates that when the &s;ouldiers that were &s;et to guard Chri&s;ts &s;epulcher, went and told the chief Prie&s;ts what had happened they gave them large money that they might &s;ay, that whiles they &s;lept, Chri&s;ts Di&s;ciples came and &s;tole them away, <HI>And this &s;aying,</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>is commonly reported among the Iews untill this day,</HI> Mat. 28. 11. 15. Now con&s;ider a little what an ab|&s;urd and fooli&s;h fable this was, which yet the Jews were &s;o ready to believe. 1. How improbable that a few weak timorous men, who but a few daies before did for&s;ake, yea one of them for|&s;wear Chri&s;t, yet now &s;hould be &s;o valiant, or rather fool-hardy, as to adventure to &s;teal Chri&s;t out of the grave, knowing that a guard of &s;ouldi|ers was purpo&s;ely &s;et to prevent &s;uch a de&s;igne? 2. Suppo&s;e they &s;hould have &s;o far adventured, as &s;ome of them to e&s;pie whether the &s;ouldiers were a&s;leep or no, yet how could they a&s;&s;ure them|&s;elves, that the &s;ouldiers &s;hould continue a&s;leep,
<PB N="238" REF="124"> untill they had di&s;patched that for which they came? Yea, how could this be, there being a great &s;tone for them to roll away from the mouth of the &s;epulcher, which could not be done without making &s;uch a noi&s;e as to awaken &s;ome of the &s;ouldiers at lea&s;t, if they were a&s;leep before? 3. Grant the Di&s;ciples &s;hould have had &s;uch cou|rage as to attempt the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, and &s;uch happi|ne&s;&s;e as to effect it, yet would they have been &s;o fooli&s;h and unwi&s;e, as to &s;tay at the &s;epulcher to unloo&s;e the cloaths in which Chri&s;ts body was wrapped? Would they not rather have ha&s;ted a|way with the body as it was buried, and have loo|&s;ed the cloths then when they had more lei&s;ure to do it, and might do it with more &s;afety? But the linnen cloths were found lying in the grave, and the napkin that was about Chri&s;ts head, not ly|ing with the linnen cloths, but wrapped together in a place by it &s;elf, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 20. 6. 7. And 4. if the Di&s;|ples could break thorough all difficulties, and get Chri&s;ts body away with them, yet could they put life into it when they had it? But Chri&s;t <HI>after his pa&s;&s;ion, by many infallible proofs &s;hewed him&s;elf a|live,</HI> Act. 1. 3. otherwi&s;e it is &s;en&s;le&s;&s;e to imagine, that the Di&s;ciples (having &s;o de&s;erted Chri&s;t, when he was alive) would have &s;o con&s;tantly preached and avouched his re&s;urrection, as they did. And la&s;tly, the very tale doth &s;ufficiently con|fute it &s;elf, and &s;hew its own ab&s;urdity. For if the &s;ouldiers (as they &s;aid) were a&s;leep, how then could they tell that Chri&s;t was taken away by his Di&s;ciples? it might be otherwi&s;e (as indeed it
<PB N="239" REF="124"> was) for any thing thar they did know.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 2. Secondly, Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection &s;erves to demon&s;trate Chri&s;ts divinity. The divinity of Chri&s;t and his re&s;urrection, &s;o mutually help to demon&s;trate each other. His re&s;urrection is demon&s;trated by his divinity, as the effect by the cau&s;e: and his divinity by his refurrection, as the cau&s;e by the effect. That which God the Father &s;peaks unto Chri&s;t, P&s;al. 2. 7. <HI>Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee,</HI> the Apo&s;tle re|fers to Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection, Act. 13. 32. 33. <HI>And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the pro|mi&s;e which was made unto the Fathers, God hath fulfilled the &s;ame unto us, in that he hath rai&s;ed up Ie&s;us again, as it is al&s;o written in the &s;econd P&s;alm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.</HI> The Apo&s;tle by this day, &s;hews that the day of Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection is under&s;tood; not that then Chri&s;t was fir&s;t begotten of the Father, and became the Son of God (for he was &s;o from all eternity&punc; <HI>Mic.</HI> 5. 2.) but then when Chri&s;t ro&s;e again he ap|peared to be the Son of God, his begotten Son, God of God, one and the &s;ame God with the Pather. Thus the &s;ame Apo&s;tle &s;aith plainly, that Chri&s;t <HI>was declared to be the Son of God, with power, according to the &s;pirit of holine&s;&s;e, by the re&s;urrection from the dead,</HI> Rom. 1. 4. Chri&s;ts divine nature before did lie hid under the infirmity of his hu|mane nature, but by his ri&s;ing from the dead it did look forth, and &s;hew it &s;elf.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Some may &s;ay, many others (as we find re|corded both in the old, and in the new Te&s;ta|ment)
<PB N="240" REF="125"> did ri&s;e from the dead be&s;ides Chri&s;t, yea many before Chri&s;t, and how then doth his re|&s;urrection demon&s;trate his divine nature?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection did ex|cell the refunction of others in a twofold re&s;pect. For 1. Others did ri&s;e again, but &s;o as to die again the life to which they ro&s;e was this mortall life, But Chri&s;t aro&s;e to life immortall; <HI>Chri&s;t being. ri&s;en from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him,</HI> Rom. 6.</P>
<P>2. Chri&s;t aro&s;e by his own vertue and power, which none ever did, or &s;hall do, but he only. <HI>De|&s;troy this Temple</HI> (&s;aid Chri&s;t, meaning his body) <HI>and in three daies I will rai&s;e it up,</HI> Joh. 2. 19. <HI>I lay down my life</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>that I may take it up again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of my &s;elf; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again,</HI> Joh. 10. 17. 18. Now except Chri&s;t were God, it had not<NOTE PLACE="marg">Re&s;urrexi&s;&s;e per &s;e ex mortuis in vitam, ni&s;i Dei natura non po|tuit. <HI>Hilar.</HI> de <HI>Trin. l. 7.</HI></NOTE> been po&s;&s;ible for him to rai&s;e him&s;elf from the dead, this is not competible to a meer humane nature.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But may &s;ome object, it is &s;aid in the Text, and in other places, that God rai&s;ed up Chri&s;t; therefore [it &s;eems] he did not rai&s;e him&s;elf, but was rai&s;ed by another.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This doth not follow; Chri&s;t both was rai&s;ed of God, and al&s;o did rai&s;e him&s;elf. As man, &s;o God did rai&s;e him up; as God; &s;o he ro&s;e of him&s;elf; Chri&s;t and the Father are one, <HI>Joh.</HI> 10. 30. That which the Father doth, he doth al&s;o,
<PB N="241" REF="125"> <HI>Joh.</HI> 5. 17. &amp; 14. 10, 11. There|fore<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cum eadem fit divina virtus &amp; operatio, &amp; Patris, &amp; Filii, haec duo &s;e mutu&ograve; con&s;equuntur, qu&ograve;d Chri&s;tus fit &s;u&s;citatus divin&acirc; virtute Patris &amp;&punc; &s;ui ip&s;ius. A|quin. part. 3. que&s;t. 53. art. 4. ad. 1.</NOTE> the&s;e two are &s;o farre from cro&s;&s;ing one the other. Chri&s;t was rai&s;ed up by the power of his Father, and Chri&s;t aro&s;e by his own power; that they confirme one the other; they follow one upon the other.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 3. Thirdly, by Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection our faith is confirmed in him as a mo&s;t perfect Re|deemer: For &s;eeing that Chri&s;t died for our &s;ins, he as our Surety, was arre&s;ted by death as Gods Serjeant, and ca&s;t into the pri&s;on of the grave, in that he was not &s;till detained there, but re|lea&s;ed and &s;et free, it clearly &s;hewes that the debt is di&s;charged, Gods ju&s;tice &s;atisfied, and we through faith in Chri&s;t, reconciled unto God, and at peace with him. The two Di&s;ciples that knew Chri&s;t to be dead, but knew not that he was ri&s;en again, &s;eemed to have but &s;mall hope of redemption by him, <HI>We trusted</HI> (&s;aid they) <HI>that it had been he that &s;hould have redeemed <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;rael,</HI> Luk. 24. 21. They did tru&s;t &s;o before, but now (it &s;eems) they did in a manner de&s;pair of it: And indeed had Chri&s;t &s;o died as not to ri&s;e againe, we could have had but a dead hope, as I &s;hewed before. But now our hope is <HI>a lively hope,</HI> as S. <HI>Peter</HI> calls it; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed be God, and the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who according to his abun|dant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope.</HI> (how?) <HI>by the re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Christ from the dead,</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 3. So S. <HI>Paul</HI> having &s;aid that
<PB N="242" REF="126"> Chri&s;t <HI>was delivered for our offences, and ro&s;e a|gain for our ju&s;tification,</HI> he addes immediately, <HI>Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through Je&s;us Christ our Lord,</HI> Rom. 4. 25. &amp; 5. 1. And <HI>Acts</HI> 13. 38, 39. having imme|diately before confirmed Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, he thereupon inferres, <HI>Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that thorough this man is preach|ed unto you forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins: And by him all that believe are ju&s;tified, &amp;c.</HI> And Rom. 8. 34. he cryeth out, <HI>Who is he that condemneth? it is Chri&s;t that died, yea, rather that is ri&s;en again.</HI> And Heb. 7. 25. <HI>Wherefore he is able to &s;ave to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, &s;eeing he ever li|veth to make interce&s;&s;ion for them.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 4. Fourthly, by the Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t we may be a&s;&s;ured of our owne Re&s;urrection: The Apo&s;tle 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. to convince &s;ome among the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> who denied the Re&s;urrection of the dead, fir&s;t proves at large Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrecti|on, and from thence inferreth the re&s;urrection of Chri&s;tians: <HI>Now if Chri&s;t be preached</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that he ro&s;e from the dead, how &s;ay &s;ome among you, that there is no re&s;urrection of the dead? But if there be no re&s;urrection of the dead, then is Chri&s;t not ri&s;en,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 12, 13. And v. 16. <HI>For if the dead ri&s;e not, then is not Chri&s;t rai&s;ed.</HI> And v. 20. &amp;c. <HI>But now is Christ ri&s;en from the dead, and be|come the first fruits of them that &s;lept: For &s;ince by man came death, by man al&s;o came the Re&s;urrection from the dead. For as in</HI> Adam <HI>all die, &s;o in Chri&s;t &s;hall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Chri&s;t the fir&s;t fruits, afterward they that are
<PB N="243" REF="126"> Chri&s;ts at his coming.</HI> So 2 Cor. 4. 14. <HI>Knowing that he which rai&s;ed up the Lord Je&s;us, &s;hall rai&s;e up us al&s;o by Je&s;us, &amp;c.</HI> And 1 The&s;. 4. 14. <HI>For if we believe that Je&s;us died, and ro&s;e again, even &s;o them al&s;o which &s;leep in Je&s;us, will God bring with him.</HI></P>
<P>The force of this inference (viz. of the re&s;ur|rection of Chri&s;tians from Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection) con&s;i&s;ts in that near relation and union that is be|twixt Chri&s;t and Chri&s;tians, he being their head,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quod prae|ce&s;&s;it in caepite, impletum erit in corpore. <HI>Bern.</HI></NOTE> and they his members: As in the naturall body, though all the members be under water, yet the head being above they are &s;afe, and there's no fear of drowning; &s;o is it in the my&s;ticall body, Chri&s;t our head being ri&s;en, though we his mem|bers lie in the du&s;t, yet there is a &s;ure and certain hope of our re&s;urrection. For the members mu&s;t be with the head, and conformed to it; <HI>Father I will that they whom thou ha&s;t given me, be with me where I am,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t, Joh. 17. 24. <HI>We know that when he &s;hall appear, we &s;hall be like unto him,</HI> 1 Joh. 3. 2. <HI>Christ &s;hall change our vile bodies, and &s;hall make them like unto his own most glorious bo|dy,</HI> Phil. 3. 21.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="20" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="244" REF="127">
<HEAD>THE TWENTIETH SERMON.</HEAD>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 5. FIftly and la&s;tly, as Chri&s;t ro&s;e corpo|rally, &s;o ought we to ri&s;e &s;piritually, <HI>viz.</HI> from the death of &s;in, to the life of grace. There is a death of the &s;oul by &s;in, and a re&s;urre|ction of the &s;oul by grace. <HI>Awake thou that &s;leep|e&s;t, and ari&s;e from the dead, and Chri&s;t &s;hall give thee light,</HI> Ephe&s;. 5. 14. And that we mu&s;t be con|formed unto Chri&s;t by a &s;pirituall re&s;urrection, the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth Rom. 6. 4. <HI>Therefore we are buried with him by bapti&s;me into death, that like as Chri&s;t was rai&s;ed up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even &s;o we al&s;o &s;hould walk in newne&s;&s;e of life,</HI> And v. 11. <HI>Likewi&s;e reckon ye al&s;o your &s;elves dead indeed unto &s;in, but alive unto God thorough Je|&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> We mu&s;t thus be conformed unto Chri&s;t by the re&s;urrection of our &s;ouls here, or els we &s;hall not be conformed unto Chri&s;t by the re&s;urrection of our bodies hereafter. For though all &s;hall corporally ri&s;e again, yet not &s;o as to be conformed unto Chri&s;t in glory and hap|pine&s;&s;e. No, thus &s;hall none ri&s;e corporally, but only &s;uch as now ri&s;e &s;piritually, &s;o as to be con|formed unto Chri&s;t in grace and holine&s;&s;e. Only they that whiles they are upon earth, have their
<PB N="245" REF="127"> conver&s;ation in heaven, can expect that the Lord Je&s;us will change their vile bodies, and make them like unto his own mo&s;t glorious body, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3. 20, 21.</P>
<P>Now if we would know whether we be parta|kers of this &s;pirituall re&s;urrection, we may try and di&s;cern it by the&s;e marks.</P>
<P N="1">1. Heavenly mindedne&s;&s;e. <HI>If ye be ri&s;en with Chri&s;t, &s;eek tho&s;e things that are above, where Chri&s;t &s;itteth at the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, and not on things on the earth,</HI> Col. 3. 1. 2.</P>
<P N="2">2. Love of Gods children. <HI>We know that we are pa&s;&s;ed from death to life, becau&s;e we love the bre|thren,</HI> 1 Joh. 3. 14. This is meant of loving the god|ly, <HI>eo nomine,</HI> in that very re&s;pect as they are godly, not for by ends, or carnall re&s;pects, which they may do who are not godly.</P>
<P N="3">3. A &s;en&s;e and feeling of &s;pirituall wants and infirmities. VVhere there is &s;uch a feeling there is life, as there was in <HI>Paul,</HI> who complained of the corruptions that were in him, as grievous and burthen&s;ome unto him; <HI>For I know</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>that in me (that is in my fle&s;h) no good dwelleth. For to will is pre&s;ent with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would do, I do not, but the evill that I would not, that I do. I find then a law, that when I would do good, evil is pre&s;ent with me. For I delight in the law of God, after the inward man; But I &s;ee another law in my members warring again&s;t the law of my mind, and leading me captive to the law of &s;in, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who &s;hall deliver me from the body of this death,</HI> Rom. 7. 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24.
<PB N="246" REF="128"> On the other &s;ide, &s;uch appears to be <HI>alienated from the life of God,</HI> as are <HI>without feeling,</HI> Eph. 4. 18, 19. &s;uch as are full of &s;in and of corruption, and yet are nothing &s;en&s;ible of it, but like the Angell of the Church of Laodicea, think that they are rich and increa&s;ed with goods, and have need of nothing, when as indeed they are wretch|ed, and mi&s;erable, and poor, and blind, and naked, <HI>Rev.</HI> 3. 17.</P>
<P N="4">4. A love of Gods Ordinances: As they that have corporall life, &s;o al&s;o they that have &s;piri|tuall life, will de&s;ire food convenient for them, whereby their life may be pre&s;erved, and where|by they may grow: <HI>As new born babes de&s;ire the &s;incere milk of the word, that you may grow there|by; If &s;o be that you have ta&s;ted, that the Lord is gracious&punc;</HI> Pet. 2. 2, 3.</P>
<P N="5">5. Communion with God by prayer. The Spirit which is the worker of this &s;pirituall re|&s;urrection, is the <HI>Spirit of grace and &s;upplications,</HI> Zach. 12. 10. <HI>The Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry Abba Father,</HI> Rom. 8. 15. <HI>Behold he prayeth,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t to <HI>Ananias,</HI> &s;peaking of <HI>Saul</HI> (after called <HI>Paul</HI>) when a &s;pirituall life was newly put into him, <HI>Acts</HI> 9. 11.</P>
<P>The ordinary means whereby this &s;pirituall re&s;urrection is wrought, is the Word preached: As at the la&s;t day, <HI>the Trumpet &s;hall &s;ound, and the dead</HI> (corporally) <HI>&s;hall be rai&s;ed,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 52. So they that are &s;piritually dead, are rai&s;ed by the Trumpet of Gods Word, &s;ounding in their ears: <HI>Verily, verily, I &s;ay unto you,</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>that the houre is coming, and n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">w is, that the dead
<PB N="247" REF="128"> &s;hall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear &s;hall live,</HI> Joh. 5. 25. That is &s;poken of the &s;pirituall Re&s;urrection, as appears by the&s;e words, <HI>and now is,</HI> even as that which pre&s;ently after fol|lowes, v. 28. &amp; 29. is &s;poken of the corporall Re|&s;urrection; <HI>The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves &s;hall hear his voice, and &s;hall come forth.</HI></P>
<P>But the corporall Re&s;urrection and the &s;piri|tuall in this do differ, that the corporall Re&s;urre|ction is compleat and perfect at once; <HI>In a mo|ment, in the twinkling of an eye,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 52. But the &s;pirituall re&s;urrection is carried on by de|grees, by little and little, <HI>the inward man is re|newed day by day,</HI> 2 Cor. 4. 16. Therefore they that are already in &s;ome mea&s;ure made partakers of &s;pirituall re&s;urrection, mu&s;t &s;till labour that they may be made more and more partakers of it; <HI>Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Pet. 3. 18. So much for this point concerning Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, <HI>That Christ did ri&s;e again from the dead.</HI> I come now to &s;peak a little of the time of his Re&s;urrection, <HI>the third day,</HI> and here this point is to be con&s;idered, <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> That Chri&s;t did ri&s;e again the third day. So we con|fe&s;&s;e in the Creed, &amp; the Scripture is clear &amp; expre&s;s for it: Chri&s;t fore-telling his re&s;urrection, did like|wi&s;e fore-tell this circum&s;tance of time when it &s;hould be; <HI>De&s;troy this Temple, and after three dayes I will rai&s;e it up,</HI> Joh. 2. 19. <HI>From that time farth began Je&s;us to &s;hew unto his Di&s;ciples, how that he mu&s;t go unto Jeru&s;alem, and &s;uffer many things of the Elders, and chief Prie&s;ts and Scribes, and be
<PB N="248" REF="129"> killed, and be rai&s;ed again the third day,</HI> Mat. 16. 21. So Mat. 20. 18, 19. <HI>Behold, we go up to Jeru&s;alem, and the Son of Man &s;hall be betrayed unto the chief Prie&s;ts, and unto the Scribes, and they &s;hall condemn him to death; And &s;hall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to &s;courge, and crucifie him, and the third day he &s;hall ri&s;e again:</HI> And &s;o much the chief Prie&s;ts and Phari&s;ees had under&s;tood, as ap|pears by their words to <HI>Pilate, Sir, we remember that that deceiver &s;aid, while he was yet alive, after three dayes I will ri&s;e again.</HI> And therefore they de&s;ired to have Chri&s;ts Sepulchre watched but <HI>till the third day,</HI> Mat. 27. 63, 64.</P>
<P>All the four Evangeli&s;ts al&s;o do record, as that Chri&s;t ro&s;e again, &s;o that he ro&s;e again the third day.</P>
<P>So al&s;o <HI>Paul</HI> preached, <HI>how that Chri&s;t did for our &s;ins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he ro&s;e again the third day,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 3. 4.</P>
<P>It was congruous and meet that Chri&s;t &s;hould ri&s;e again the third day, not &s;ooner nor later. Not &s;ooner, to &s;hew that he was truly dead, and for a while under the power of death, and the domini|on of it, which is meant by his being in hell, as was &s;hevved before. Not later, that &s;o he might comfort and revive the drooping and dying &s;pi|rits of his Di&s;ciples, who after his death, untill they heard of his re&s;urrection <HI>mourned and wept,</HI> Mar. 16. 10. And that he might &s;trengthen their faith which was ready to fail, as appears by that Luk. 24. 21. <HI>We tru&s;ted that it had been he, that &s;hould have redeemed</HI> I&s;rael.</P>
<PB N="249" REF="129">
<P>Again, it was not only congruous and meet, but al&s;o requi&s;ite and nece&s;&s;ary that Chri&s;t &s;hould ri&s;e the third day, becau&s;e &s;o it was 1. prefigured; viz. by that which happened unto <HI>Ionas;</HI> his being three daies and three nights in the fi&s;hes belly, neither more nor le&s;&s;e, &s;ignified that Chri&s;t &s;hould be &s;o long, neither more nor le&s;&s;e in the grave, <HI>Mat.</HI> 12. 40.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> If Chri&s;t were three daies and three nights in the grave, how then did he ri&s;e again the third day.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Tho&s;e three daies, and three nights are taken &s;ynecdochically, that is, not for three whole daies, and three whole nights, but for part of three daies, and part of three nights. Chri&s;t died and was buried (as the Evangeli&s;ts &s;hew) the day before the Jewi&s;h Sabbath, that is on Friday (as we call it) towards evening; that part of the day is [by a &s;ynedoche] reckoned for a day, and to it belongs the night going before, the Jews be|ginning the naturall day, which con&s;i&s;ts of 24. hours, at evening, <HI>Levit.</HI> 23. 32. Then Chri&s;t lay in the grave the night following, and the day af|ter, which we call Saturday, here are two daies and two nights, and &s;o likewi&s;e he remained in the grave the night after, and ro&s;e early in the morning, to which night mu&s;t be added the day following, which we call Sunday, as being a part of that naturall day to which it belonged; and &s;o there are three daies and three nights, and yet Chri&s;t ro&s;e the third day. Thus are tho&s;e three daies and three nights to be under&s;tood, that E&s;t|her and the Jews fa&s;ted <HI>Esth.</HI> 4. 16. For the fa&s;t
<PB N="250" REF="130"> ended the third day, as is clear by this, that then <HI>E&s;ther</HI> put on her royall apparell, and went to the King, &amp;c. <HI>E&s;th.</HI> 5. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> &amp;c.</P>
<P>2. It was requi&s;ite and nece&s;&s;ary that Chri&s;t &s;hould ri&s;e again the third day, becau&s;e it was &s;o prophecied, <HI>Thus it is written</HI> [&s;aid Chri&s;t to his Di&s;ciples after his re&s;urrection) <HI>and thus it beho|ved Chri&s;t to &s;uffer, and to ri&s;e from the dead the third day,</HI> Luk. 24. 46. So <HI>S. Paul</HI> &s;aith that Chri&s;t <HI>ro&s;e again the third day according to the Scriptures,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 4.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But (may &s;ome &s;ay) where in the Old Te&s;tament is it prophecied that Chri&s;t &s;hould ri&s;e the third day?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. Tho&s;e words of <HI>David,</HI> which he &s;pake of Chri&s;t, and of his re&s;urrection, <HI>Thou wilt not &s;uffer thine holy one to &s;ee corruption,</HI> P&s;al. 16. 10. though they do not preci&s;ely mention the third day, yet they plainly &s;hew &s;o much, that he &s;hould not remain long in the grave, but &s;hould &s;peedily ri&s;e again. And by this S. <HI>Paul</HI> proves that the words were not meant of <HI>David</HI> him&s;elf, but of Chri&s;t; for that <HI>David</HI> &s;aw corruption, but Chri&s;t (being rai&s;ed from the dead the third day) &s;aw no corruption, <HI>Act.</HI> 13. 35, 36, 37. In the like manner did <HI>S. Peter</HI> argue, <HI>Act.</HI> 2. 29. 30, 31, 32.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. There is expre&s;&s;e mention of the third day in reference to Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, Ho&s;. 6. 2. <HI>A&s;ter two daies he will revive us, in the third day he will rai&s;e us up, and we &s;hall live in his &s;ight.</HI> Although tho&s;e words be directly and immediately under|&s;tood of Gods people (as it &s;eems both by the words them&s;elves, and al&s;o by the words going
<PB N="251" REF="130"> before and after) yet it is with reference unto Chri&s;t and his Re&s;urrection; for otherwi&s;e why &s;hould the third day be &s;pecified? Neither do I know, how it could be &s;aid that Chri&s;t ro&s;e again the third, according to the Scriptures (viz. of the old Te&s;tament) if in this place there be not an allu&s;ion at lea&s;t to Chri&s;ts ri&s;ing again the third day; &s;eeing that in all the old Te&s;tament the third day in this re&s;pect is no where mention|ed, except in this place. And therefore not with|out cau&s;e [I think] in the margent of our Bibles over again&s;t this place of <HI>Ho&s;ea,</HI> is noted that place, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 4. as having reference the one to the other: and &s;o many of the Ancients have ex|pounded this place in <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> of Chri&s;t: and this is to be con&s;idered, that there is &s;uch a near union<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lactant. Iu&s;tit. l. 4. 1. 19. Aug. de Civit. Dei l. 18. c. 28. Bern. Serm. 1. de Re&s;urrect. <HI>And &s;o o|thers cited by</HI> R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">her<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>upon the place.</HI></NOTE> betwixt Chri&s;t and believers, that &s;ometimes that which belongs to believers is &s;poken of Chri&s;t: As, <HI>Saul, Saul, why per&s;ecutest thou me?</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t, when <HI>Saul</HI> did per&s;ecute tho&s;e that believed in Chri&s;t, <HI>Act.</HI> 9. 4. And &s;o on the other &s;ide, that which belongs to Chri&s;t is &s;poken of believers; as here in the Prophet, <HI>the third day he will rai&s;e us up,</HI> whenas properly Chr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t was rai&s;ed up the third day; but believers are &s;aid to be rai&s;ed up in him, and with him: <HI>Even when we were dead in &s;ins, God hath quickned us together with Christ (by grace ye are &s;aved) And hath rai&s;ed us up together, and made us &s;it together in heavenly places in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> E|phe&s;. 2. 5, 6.</P>
<P>Now from the time of Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, the third day after that he died, it is worthy to<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bern. Ser. 1. de re&s;ur|rect.</NOTE> be ob&s;erved (as <HI>Bernard</HI> hath noted) that the &s;ame
<PB N="252" REF="131"> day of the week whereon Chri&s;t as God did make man (viz. the &s;ixth day) the &s;ame day did he al&s;o as man die to redeem man: and as on the &s;eventh and la&s;t day of the week Chri&s;t did re&s;t, having fi|ni&s;hed the work of the Creation; &s;o al&s;o did he re&s;t the &s;ame day in the grave, having by his death fini&s;hed the work or the Redemption: and the third day being the fir&s;t day of the week (as the Evangeli&s;ts expre&s;&s;ely call it) he ro&s;e again, as be|ing <HI>the fir&s;t fruits of them that &s;lept,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle calls him, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 20.</P>
<P>And as the &s;eventh day of the week (called Sa|turday) was ob&s;erved by the Jews in memory of the Creation; &s;o the fir&s;t day of the week (called Sunday) is ob&s;erved by Chri&s;tians in memory of Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">And &s;o of the Re|demption, which Chri&s;t wrought for us by his death, and made it appear by his re|&s;urrection.</NOTE> and it's called <HI>the Lords day,</HI> Revel. 1. 10. Of the ob&s;ervation of this day in the Apo&s;tles time we read al&s;o, <HI>Act.</HI> 20. 7. &amp; 1 Cor. 16. 2.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="21" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="253" REF="131">
<HEAD>The one and twentieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>EPHES. 4. 10.</BIBL> He that de|&s;cended, is the &s;ame al&s;o that a&s;cended farre above all hea|vens, that he might fill all things.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe Apo&s;tle having v. 8. &s;poken of Chri&s;ts a&s;|cending up on high, and having v. 9. noted, that his a&s;cending did pre&s;uppo&s;e his de&s;cending, he returns here to &s;peak again of his a&s;cending, and to &s;hew how high he a&s;cended, <HI>far above all all Heavens;</HI> and why? <HI>that he might fill all things.</HI></P>
<P>[<HI>He that de&s;cended</HI>] either from heaven to earth by his Incarnation, in which re&s;pect it is &s;aid, that <HI>he came down from heaven,</HI> Joh. 3. 13. or from the upper part of the earth to the grave, in which re&s;pect it &s;eems to be &s;aid v. 9. that <HI>he de&s;cended into the lower parts of the earth;</HI> though that al&s;o
<PB N="254" REF="132"> may be meant of Chri&s;ts Incarnation, as was &s;hewed before, pag. 214. &amp;c.</P>
<P>[<HI>Is the &s;ame that a&s;cen|ded,</HI>] The &s;ame Per&s;on,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Oecumen. ad loc.</NOTE> whence (as <HI>Oecumenius</HI> ob|&s;erves) the here&s;ie of <HI>Ne&s;to|rius</HI> is confuted, who would divide the Per&s;on of Chri&s;t, denying one and the &s;ame Per&s;on to be both God and Man: For if this de&s;cen|ding here &s;poken of, be meant of the Incarnation, then Chri&s;t as God, de&s;cended, (<HI>viz.</HI> metaphorically) and as man&punc; a&s;|cended; yet <HI>he that de&s;cended is the &s;ame that a&s;|cended;</HI> therefore God and Man in Chri&s;t are but one Per&s;on. And if this de&s;cending be meant of of Chri&s;ts death and buriall, yet &s;till it &s;erves to the &s;ame purpo&s;e; for &s;o Chri&s;t de&s;cended as man, (in that re&s;pect he died and was buried) but a&s;cended as God, that is&punc; by the power of his di|vine nature, by which al&s;o (as was &s;hewed be|fore) he ro&s;e from the dead.</P>
<P>[<HI>Far above all Heavens,] viz&punc;</HI> all vi&s;ible hea|vens, as the aire, and that wherein are the Sun, Moon and Stars, above which two heavens there is the <HI>third Heaven,</HI> as it is called, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12. 2. And thither is Chri&s;t a&s;cended; <HI>Whom the Hea|ven mu&s;t receive untill the time of restitution of all things,</HI> Acts 2. 21</P>
<P>[<HI>That he might fill all things</HI>] with his &s;pirituall pre&s;ence &amp; power, which he doth &s;ince his a&s;cen|&s;ion &s;hew forth otherwi&s;e then he did before: Or
<PB N="255" REF="132"> it may be read (as the Margent hath it) <HI>that he might fulfill all things, viz.</HI> which were prophe|cied and fore-told of him, as the Apo&s;tle &s;hewed immediately before that this was, that Chri&s;t &s;hould a&s;cend upon high; and therefore he did a&s;cend, that as other things, &s;o this Prophecie and prediction concerning him might be ful|filled.</P>
<P>From the words thus explicated, I ob|&s;erve <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> onely this one point. That Chri&s;t after his Death and Re&s;urrection, did a&s;cend up into heaven.</P>
<P>Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion was prophecied by <HI>David, P&s;al. 68. 18. Thou hast a&s;cended up on high.</HI> This was &s;poken concerning Chri&s;t, as the Apo&s;tle te|&s;tifieth, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4. 8.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t al&s;o him&s;elf did fore-tell his a&s;cen&s;ion, Joh. 6. 62. <HI>What and if you &s;hall &s;ee the Son of man a&s;cend up where he was before?</HI> And Joh. 20. 17. <HI>Ie&s;us &s;aith unto her,</HI> (viz. <HI>Mary Magdalen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> to whom he &s;hewed him&s;elf after his Re&s;urrection) <HI>Touch me not, for I am not yet a&s;cended to my Fa|ther; but go to my brethren, and &s;ay unto them, I a&s;cend to my Father, and to your Father, to my God, and to your God.</HI></P>
<P>Divers of the Evangeli&s;ts do al&s;o record Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion: <HI>He was received up into heaven,</HI> Mar. 16. 19. <HI>He was parted from them, (viz.</HI> his Di&s;ci|ples,) <HI>and was carried up into heaven,</HI> Luk. 24. 51. <HI>While they beheld he was taken up,</HI> Acts 1. 9.</P>
<P>S. <HI>Luke</HI> al&s;o relates the circum&s;tances of Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion: As,</P>
<P N="1">1. The time when he a&s;cended, <HI>viz.</HI> forty daies
<PB N="256" REF="133"> after his re&s;urrection: <HI>To whom al&s;o he &s;hewed him&s;elf alive after his pa&s;&s;ion by many infallible proofs, being &s;een of them forty dayes, and &s;peaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God,</HI> Acts 1. 3. where he giveth two rea&s;ons why Chri&s;t did continue &s;o long upon earth after his re&s;urrecti|on before he a&s;cended into heaven, <HI>viz.</HI> 1. To confirme unto his Di&s;ciples his re&s;urrection, and to a&s;&s;ure them of the truth of it. 2. To in&s;truct them in things pertaining to the King|dom of God.</P>
<P N="2">2. The place where, viz. Bethany: <HI>And he led them out as far as to Bethany, &amp;c.</HI> Luk. 24. 50. Now Joh. 11. 1. it's &s;aid that Bethany was the Town of <HI>Mary</HI> and her &s;i&s;ter <HI>Martha,</HI> that is, the towne where they dwelt, and had their abode; in which &s;en&s;e Beth&s;aida is called the City of <HI>Andrew</HI> and <HI>Peter,</HI> Joh. 1. 44. Yet it &s;eems that the place where Chri&s;t a&s;cended, was not the town called Betha|nie, but the Tract of Mount Olivet, where the Town &s;tood. For it is &s;aid, <HI>Acts</HI> 1. 12. That the Di&s;ciples who were with Chri&s;t at his a&s;cen&s;ion, immediately after he was a&s;cended, <HI>returned unto Ieru&s;alem from the Mount called Olivet.</HI> It is not likely that Chri&s;t would be in a Town, when he a&s;cended; for then all promi&s;cuou&s;ly would have &s;een his a&s;cen&s;ion, whereas only his Di&s;ci|ples were Spectators of it: Neither is it &s;aid, <HI>Luk.</HI> 24. 50. that Chri&s;t led them to Bethanie, and there a&s;cended, but that <HI>he led them out [viz.</HI> from Jeru&s;alem] <HI>as farre as Bethanie. S. Luke</HI> ch. 19. v. 29. tells us, that as Chri&s;t went to his Pa&s;|&s;ion, he went by Bethanie; &s;o that by the
<PB N="257" REF="133"> &s;ame place by which he went to his Pa&s;&s;ion, he had his a&s;cen&s;ion.</P>
<P>And Bethany al&s;o &s;ignifies as much as the <HI>hou&s;e of affliction;</HI> if we will a&s;cend up to our Fathers hou&s;e to heaven, it mu&s;t be by Bethany, the hou&s;e of affliction: <HI>We mu&s;t through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God,</HI> Acts 14. 22.</P>
<P N="3">3. The manner how he a&s;cended; <HI>And it came to pa&s;&s;e while he ble&s;&s;ed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven,</HI> Luke 24. 51. <HI>Thus having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them to the end,</HI> Joh. 13. 1. At the very la&s;t moment of his abiding here upon earth, he ble&s;&s;ed tho&s;e that were with him, and in them us, and all that belong unto him: As he &s;aid <HI>Ioh. 17. 20. Neither pray I for the&s;e alone, but for them al&s;o which &s;hall believe on me through their word;</HI> So neither did he ble&s;&s;e them alone, but them al&s;o which through their word believe in him. Again, for the man|ner of Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion, it is &s;aid, <HI>Acts</HI> 1. 9. That <HI>while they</HI> (his Di&s;ciples) <HI>beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their &s;ight,</HI> So that Chri&s;t did a&s;cend vi&s;ibly, and there were eye-witne&s;&s;es of his a&s;cen&s;ion: and le&s;t they &s;hould have imagined, that their &s;en&s;es were de|luded, or any way have doubted of the truth of Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion, two Angels from heaven in the likene&s;&s;e of men appeared unto them, both to confirm Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion into heaven, and al&s;o to &s;hew that he was not &s;o a&s;cended, but that he &s;hall at length come againe, <HI>viz.</HI> at the la&s;t judgement. <HI>And while they looked &s;tedfa&s;tly to|ward heaven, as he went up, behold two men &s;tood
<PB N="258" REF="134"> by them in white apparell, which al&s;o &s;aid, ye men of Galilee, why &s;tand ye gazing up into heaven? This &s;ame Je&s;us, which is taken up from you into heaven, &s;hall &s;o come in like manner, as ye have &s;een him go into heaven,</HI> Act. 1. 10. 11.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Some may here object that Joh. 3. 13. <HI>The Son of man, which is in heaven.</HI> If Chri&s;t then being upon earth, were in heaven, how could he a&s;cend into heaven?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Yes, being in heaven (even when he was upon earth) as God, he might neverthele&s;&s;e, and did as man a&s;cend into heaven. Chri&s;t con&s;i|&s;ting of two natures, the divine, and the humane, &s;omething belongs unto him in re&s;pect of the one nature, and &s;omething in re&s;pect of the o|ther. In re&s;pect of his divine nature he is every where, in re&s;pect of his humane, he is onely in one place at one time. The man Chri&s;t, yet not as man, but as God, was in heaven at the &s;ame time that he was upon earth. On the other &s;ide, Chri&s;t being God, yet not as God, but as man, left the earth, and went up to heaven.</P>
<P>There are many rea&s;ons why Chri&s;t a&s;cended into heaven.</P>
<P N="1">1. As he came from heaven to work our Re|demption, &s;o having fini&s;hed the work which he<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons of Chri&s;ts A&s;cen&s;ion</NOTE> had to do, it was meet that he &s;hould return thi|ther from whence he came; <HI>I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again I leave the world, and go to the Father,</HI> &s;aid he, Joh. 16. 28. And Joh. 17. 4, 5. <HI>I have glorified thee on earth, I have fini&s;hed the work which thou gave&s;t me to do, and now, O Father, glorifie me with thine
<PB N="259" REF="134"> own &s;elf, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. After Chri&s;ts humiliation, was to follow his exaltation, as Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;hewed, Luk. 24. 26. And &s;o <HI>Paul</HI> Phil. 2. 8, 9. Now as Chri&s;ts Re&s;urre|ction was the fir&s;t &s;tep of his exaltation, &s;o his A&s;|cen&s;ion was another &s;tep, and a further degree of it.</P>
<P N="3">3. Thus Chri&s;t made it appear, that (as he told <HI>Pilate</HI>) his Kingdom is not of this world, <HI>Joh.</HI> 18. 36. Contrary to what his own Di&s;ciples did ima|gine, even after his re&s;urrection, as appears by that que&s;tion which they asked him, <HI>Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to I&s;rael?</HI> Act. 1. 6.</P>
<P N="4">4. Chri&s;t by his a&s;cen&s;ion &s;hewed him&s;elf to have fully conquered &s;in, death and Satan; he did manife&s;t his victory over the&s;e by his Re&s;urrecti|on, but more fully by his a&s;cen&s;ion, whereby he did triumph over them: Therefore it is &s;aid, that when <HI>he a&s;cended up on high, he led capti|vity captive,</HI> Ephe&s;. 4. 8. that is, he led a mul|titude of captives, as the phra&s;e is u&s;ed, <HI>Iudg.</HI> 5. 12.</P>
<P N="5">5. It was requi&s;ite that Chri&s;t &s;hould a&s;cend in|to heaven, that as he executed the office of a Prie&s;t, by offering him&s;elf upon the Cro&s;&s;e for us, &s;o he might al&s;o do it by appearing before God in heaven, and there making interce&s;&s;ion unto him for us. <HI>Aaron</HI> the Jewi&s;h high Prie&s;t was to bear the names of the children of I&s;rael in the bre&s;t|plate of judgement upon his heart, when he went into the holy place for a memoriall before the
<PB N="260" REF="135"> Lord continually, <HI>Exod.</HI> 28. 29. This was a type and a figure of Chri&s;ts entring into heaven for us as our high Prie&s;t, <HI>Whither the forerunner is for us entred, even Je&s;us made an high Prie&s;t for ever, after the order of</HI> Melchi&s;edec, Heb. 6. 20. <HI>For Chri&s;t is not entred into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven it &s;elf now to appear in the pre&s;ence of God for us,</HI> Heb. 9. 24.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t was to a&s;cend into heaven, that &s;o he might powre his &s;pirit upon his Church: <HI>When he a&s;cended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.</HI> Ephe&s;. 4. 8. <HI>viz.</HI> &s;pirituall gifts, the gifts and graces of his &s;pirit, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 68. 18. it is &s;aid that at his a&s;cen&s;ion he <HI>received gifts,</HI> but <HI>for men,</HI> and that is as much as to give gifts unto men. <HI>Fetch me a little water,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Eliah</HI> to the wi|dow, 1 Kings 17. 10. according to the originall it is, Receive, or take me (or for me) a little water;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> and that is as much as if he had &s;aid, Give me a lit|tle water: So v. 13. <HI>Bring me a mor&s;ell of bread;</HI> in the Hebrew, Receive, or take me, &amp;c. It is the &s;ame word which is u&s;ed P&s;al. 68. 18.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But &s;ome may demand and &s;ay, Was not the &s;pirit given unto men before Chri&s;ts a|&s;cen&s;ion?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, yes, but not &s;o freely and fully as afterwards: <HI>He that believeth on me</HI> (&s;aid Chri&s;t) <HI>out of his belly &s;hall flow rivers of living water. This he &s;pake</HI> (&s;aith the Evangeli&s;t) <HI>of the &s;pirit which they that believe on him &s;hould receive. For the Holy Gho&s;t was not yet given, becau&s;e Je&s;us was not yet glorified,</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oh. 7. 38. 39. <HI>I tell you the truth,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t
<PB N="261" REF="135"> to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>it is not expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will &s;end him unto you,</HI> Joh. 16. 7. Be&s;ides that, Chri&s;t was to be glori|fied before that he was to &s;end the Holy Gho&s;t, the Di&s;ciples having Chri&s;ts corporall pre&s;ence, did &s;o fix them&s;elves upon<NOTE PLACE="marg">Spiritalis pre&s;entiae plenitudo, quamdiu con&s;pectu carnis prae&s;ens aderat, adventare non poterat. Cyprian de A&s;cen&s;. Chri&s;ti.</NOTE> it, that they were not &s;o ca|pable of his &s;pirituall pre|&s;ence; and therefore to make way for this, the other was to be removed.</P>
<P>7. Chri&s;t a&s;cended into heaven, that he might there prepare a place for his members. Thus he told his Di&s;ciples &s;aying, <HI>In my Fathers hou&s;e are many man&s;ions, I go to prepare a place for you,</HI> Joh. 14. 2. In this re&s;pect Chri&s;t is called the <HI>fore-runner,</HI> Heb. 6. 20. as going before, and preparing the way for others to follow after.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 1, Now this point concerning Chri&s;ts A|&s;cen&s;ion, &s;erves t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> confute the Papi&s;ts concerning Tran&s;ub&s;tantiation, and that reall pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t in the Sacrament which they maintain, <HI>viz.</HI> a carnall and corporall pre&s;ence, for we deny not a reall pre&s;ence, onely we hold that is a &s;pirituall pre&s;ence. And as the Angell argued from Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, and thereby proved that he was not in the grave in that manner as &s;ome &s;uppo&s;ed; <HI>He is not here, for he is ri&s;en,</HI> Mat 28. 6. So may we argue from Chri&s;ts A&s;cen&s;ion, and prove that he is not in the Sacrament in that manner, as they of the Church of Rome; <HI>He is not there, for he is a&s;cended.</HI> And to this end did Chri&s;t &s;peak of his A&s;cen&s;ion, thereby to convince &s;ome,
<PB N="262" REF="136"> and to let them &s;ee how much they did mi&s;take his<NOTE PLACE="marg">Proptere&agrave; A&s;cen&s;ionis &s;uaein coelum mentionem f&egrave;cit, ut eos &agrave; corpora|li intellectu ab&s;traheret. Athana&s;. in illud Quicunque dixerit ver|bum, &amp;c.</NOTE> meaning, when they under|&s;tood that which he had &s;poken about eating his fle&s;h, in a carnal &s;en&s;e, where|as it was to be under&s;tood &s;piritually. <HI>When Je&s;us knew in him&s;elf that his Di&s;ciples murmured at it, he &s;aid unto them, Doth this offend you? what and if ye &s;hall &s;ee the &s;on of man a&s;cend up where he was be|fore? It is the &s;pirit that quickneth, the fle&s;h profi|teth nothing, the words that I &s;peak unto you, they are &s;pirit, and they are life,</HI> John 6. 61, 62, 63. As if he &s;hould have &s;aid, the fle&s;hly manner of eating which you dream of, would avail nothing; that therefore which I &s;pake, of eating my fle&s;h, is not &s;o to be under&s;tood, but in a &s;pirituall &s;en&s;e; and that will more plainly appear by my a&s;cen&s;ion in|to heaven.</P>
<P>Again, by Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion the Papi&s;ts are con|futed in re&s;pect of <HI>Crucifixes,</HI> and other &s;uch like Images, which they make to repre&s;ent Chri&s;t. For Chri&s;t hath purpo&s;ely withdrawn him&s;elfe from us corporally, that we might acquaint our &s;elves with him &s;piritually, and yet they will needs have &s;ome corporall repre&s;entation of him. Thus do they directly cro&s;&s;e Chri&s;ts intent in a&s;cending into heaven, which is, that now he &s;hould not be knowne &s;o as when he was upon the earth, <HI>viz.</HI> in a carnall, but in a &s;pirituall manner. <HI>Though we have known Chri&s;t after the fle&s;h,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>yet hence|forth know we him no more,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 16. Not now
<PB N="263" REF="136"> any more after the fle&s;h, as being a man of &s;uch a &s;tature, &s;uch a feature, &amp;c. This place doth utterly overthrow the repre&s;enting of Chri&s;t by an Image, it &s;erving to no end but to breed carnall cenceits and apprehen&s;ions of Chri&s;t, which now &s;ince Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion are not lawfull.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 1. Chri&s;ts a&s;cen&s;ion makes for our con&s;ola|tion.</P>
<P N="1">1. It &s;erves to encourage us to goe unto God in all our nece&s;&s;ities, and with confidence to pray unto him both for pardon of &s;in, and for &s;upply of what&s;oever is needfull for us, &s;ee|ing we have &s;uch a Mediatour, who is gone into heaven, there to appeare and make in|terce&s;&s;ion for us. <HI>If any man &s;in,</HI> &s;aith S. <HI>John, we have an Advocate with the Father, Je&s;us Chri&s;t the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our &s;ins,</HI> 1 John 2. 1, 2. He is with the Father, for he is a&s;cended up to the Father, and therefore we may be &s;ure that the Fa|ther will be propitious to us for his &s;ake. <HI>Seeing then we have a great High Prie&s;t, that is pa&s;|&s;ed into the heavens, Ie&s;us the Son of God, let us hold fa&s;t our profe&s;&s;ion. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need,</HI> Heb. 4. 14. 16. So Heb. 10. 19, 20, 21, 22. <HI>Having therefore brethren, boldne&s;&s;e to enter into the holie&s;t by the blood of Je&s;us, by a new and living way which he hath con&s;e|crated for us, thorough the vail, that is to &s;ay, his fle&s;h: And having an High Prie&s;t over the hou&s;e of God, let us draw neare with a
<PB N="264" REF="137"> true heart in full a&s;&s;urance of faith.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. It al&s;o affords unto us a ground of a&s;&s;urance, that we belonging unto Chri&s;t, and being his, &s;hall a&s;cend into heaven: For the Head being a&s;cended, the members mu&s;t in due time a&s;cend al|&s;o, the head and the members mu&s;t be together; <HI>Where I am, there &s;hall al&s;o my &s;ervant be,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, Joh. 12. 26. And Joh. 17. 24. <HI>Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me, be where I am.</HI> And Joh. 14. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, 3. <HI>I go to prepare a place for you: And if I go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto my &s;elf, that where I am, there ye may be al&s;o.</HI> The A|po&s;tle &s;peaks of our a&s;cen&s;ion as a thing al|ready effected and wrought by Chri&s;ts a&s;cen|&s;ion; <HI>God</HI> (he &s;aith) <HI>hath made us &s;it together in heavenly places in Christ Ie&s;us,</HI> Eph. 2. 6. Thus Chri&s;ts A&s;cen&s;ion &s;erves to comfort us in all adver&s;ity, and to take away the fear of death, yea, to make death de&s;irable, &s;eeing it will but convey us thither, whither Chri&s;t is gone before to prepare a place for us: <HI>Therefore we are alwaies confident</HI> (&s;aith the Apo|&s;tle) <HI>knowing that while we are pre&s;ent in the body, we are ab&s;ent from the Lord. (For we walk by faith and not by &s;ight.) We are confi|dent, I &s;ay, willing rather to be ab&s;ent from the body, and to be pre&s;ent with the Lord,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 6, 7, 8. And &s;o Phil. 1. 23. <HI>De&s;iring to be di&s;&s;olved, and to be with Chri&s;t, which is far better.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e.</HI> La&s;tly, the a&s;cen&s;ion of Chri&s;t &s;erves to admoni&s;h us to a&s;cend thither &s;piritually whi|ther Chri&s;t is a&s;cended corporally; to have our
<PB N="265" REF="137"> hearts and affections in heaven where Chri&s;t is: <HI>Why &s;eek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is ri&s;en,</HI> &s;aid the Angells to tho&s;e that came to &s;eek Chri&s;t in the Sepulchre, <HI>Luk.</HI> 24. 5, 6. So, Why &s;eek we Chri&s;t among the things of the earth? He is not here, but is a&s;cended. There|fore if we &s;eek Chri&s;t, let us <HI>&s;eek tho&s;e things that are above,</HI> where Chri&s;t is; let us &s;et our affecti|ons on things above, and not on things that are upon the earth, <HI>Col.</HI> 3. 1, 2. As Chri&s;t is in heaven, &s;o our conver&s;ation al&s;o mu&s;t be in heaven, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3. 20.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="22" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="266" REF="138">
<HEAD>The two and twentieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>HEB. 12. 2.</BIBL> And is &s;et downe at the right hand of the Throne of God.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe Apo&s;tle, v. 1. exhorts to patience and per|&s;everance in the way of holine&s;&s;e; <HI>Let us run with patience</HI> (or <HI>patient continuance,</HI> as the word there u&s;ed is rendred, <HI>Rom. 2. 7.) the race</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>that is &s;et before us.</HI> And this exhortation he in|ferreth from the examples of the Saints mention|ed in the 11. Chapter, <HI>Wherefore &s;eeing we al&s;o are compa&s;&s;ed about with &s;uch a cloud of witne&s;&s;es, let us lay a&s;ide every weight and &s;in which doth &s;o ea&s;ily be&s;et us, and let us run, &amp;c.</HI> Then he further infor|ceth the exhortation from the example of Chri&s;t, who above all is to be followed, v. 2. <HI>Looking un|to Ie&s;us the Author and fini&s;her of our faith, who for the joy that was &s;et before him indured the Cro&s;&s;e, despi&s;ing the &s;hame;</HI> that is, for the ble&s;&s;ed and happy e&s;tate that he was to enter into after his pa&s;&s;ion, he was well content to &s;uffer as he did.
<PB N="267" REF="138"> And then he goes on, &s;hewing that Chri&s;ts expe|ctation was not in vain, but that he obtained the glory and happine&s;&s;e which he looked for; <HI>And is &s;et down at the right hand of the Throne of God,</HI> that is, of God &s;itting in his Throne: He &s;peaks of God as a King in his Throne, and &s;o Chri&s;t &s;itting at the right hand of God, is &s;aid to &s;it at the right hand of the Throne of God.</P>
<P>Hence then let us ob&s;erve this point, That <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> Chri&s;t after his Pa&s;&s;ion and humiliation, not on|ly ro&s;e from the dead, and a&s;cended into hea|ven, but al&s;o &s;ate down at the right hand of God.</P>
<P>Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection was the beginning of his exaltation, his a&s;cen&s;ion was a higher degree of it, and his &s;itting at the right hand of God, yet higher then both, and the highe&s;t that may be: This degree of exaltation is peculiar unto Chri&s;t, whereas the other are common to him with his members: They &s;hall all ri&s;e from the dead, and a&s;cend up to heaven, <HI>David is not a&s;cended into the heavens,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Peter, Act.</HI> 2. 34. As yet <HI>David</HI> is not a&s;cended (in re&s;pect of the body, to which a&s;cen&s;ion properly belongs) but he &s;hall a&s;cend, and &s;o all the Saints likewi&s;e; they &s;hall be <HI>caught up together in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the ayre and &s;o &s;hall be ever with the Lord,</HI> 1 The&s;. 4. 17. But be&s;ides Chri&s;t, none ever did or &s;hall &s;it at the right hand of God; this honour is not commu|nicable to any other, whether man or Angell. <HI>For to which of the Angels &s;aid God at any time, &s;it on my right hand?</HI> Heb. 1. 13.</P>
<PB N="268" REF="139">
<P>Now that Chri&s;t doth &s;it at the right hand of<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> God, it is mo&s;t clear, as by the Text in hand, &s;o by many other places of Scripture: As Heb. 1. 3. <HI>When he had by him&s;elf purged our &s;ins, he &s;ate down on the right hand of the Maje&s;ty on high.</HI> And Heb. 8. 1. <HI>We have &s;uch an High Prie&s;t, who is &s;et on the right hand of the Throne of the Ma|jesty in the Heavens.</HI> And Heb. 10. 12. <HI>But this man, after he had offered one &s;acrifice for &s;ins for ever, &s;ate down on the right hand of God.</HI> So <HI>S. Mark</HI> te&s;tifies of Chri&s;t, that <HI>he was recei|ved up into heaven, and &s;ate on the right hand of of God,</HI> Mar. 16. 19. And this Chri&s;t him&s;elfe did fore-tell, Luke 22. 69. <HI>Hereafter &s;hall the Son of Man &s;it on the right hand of the power of God.</HI> And <HI>David</HI> did prophecy of it long before, &s;aying, <HI>The LORD &s;aid unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right Hand untill I make thine Enemies thy foot&s;tool,</HI> P&s;al. 110. 1. which words were &s;poken concerning Chri&s;t as Chri&s;t him&s;elfe hath &s;hewed, <HI>Mat.</HI> 22. 41, 42, 43, 44, 45. And &s;o <HI>S. Peter, Acts</HI> 2. 34, 35. And the Author of the Epi&s;tle to the He|brewes, c. 1. v. 13.</P>
<P>But now let us &s;ee what is meant by Chri&s;ts<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> &s;itting at the right hand of God: The ex|pre&s;&s;ion is metaphoricall, and there is a double metaphore in it, <HI>viz.</HI> both in that Chri&s;t is &s;aid <HI>to &s;it,</HI> and al&s;o in that he is &s;aid to &s;it <HI>at the right hand of God.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. For the phra&s;e of <HI>&s;itting,</HI> as here it is u&s;ed, and applied unto Chri&s;t, by the con&s;ent of all, is metaphoricall, not denoting the &s;ite
<PB N="269" REF="139"> and po&s;ture of Chri&s;ts body, which is the pro|per acception of the word, but the honour and maje&s;ty that Chri&s;t is in. Thus the word is figuratively u&s;ed, becau&s;e Ma&s;ters u&s;e to &s;it, and &s;ervants to &s;tand, and wait upon them. <HI>Whether is greater, he that &s;itteth at meat, or he that &s;erveth? Is not he that &s;itteth at meat?</HI> Luke 22. 27. So Kings u&s;e to &s;it in their Thrones, and Judges and Magi&s;trates in their &s;eats of honour. <HI>A&s;&s;uredly</HI> Solomon <HI>thy &s;onne &s;hall reigne after me, and he &s;hall &s;it upon my Throne,</HI> &s;aid <HI>David</HI> to <HI>Bath&s;heba,</HI> 1 Kings 1. 13. So Exod. 18. 13. it is &s;aid, that Mo&s;es <HI>&s;ate to judge the people, and the people &s;tood by</HI> Mo&s;es, &amp;c. Hence metaphorically God is &s;aid to &s;it, <HI>God reigneth over the Heathen, God &s;itteth upon the throne of his holine&s;&s;e,</HI> P&s;alme 47. 8. So P&s;alme 2. 4. <HI>He that &s;itteth in heaven, &s;hall laugh them to &s;corn.</HI></P>
<P>God being a &s;pirit cannot properly either &s;it<NOTE PLACE="marg">Non de corporis con&s;tituti|one, &s;ed de imperii maje&s;tate hic agi|tur, <HI>Cal|vin.</HI> In|stit. l. 2. c. 16. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ct. 15.</NOTE> or &s;tand, they being bodily po&s;tures, and proper|ly belonging to bodily &s;ub&s;tances And though Chri&s;t having &s;till after his Re&s;urrection and a|&s;cen&s;ion, a true humane body, as before, may pro|perly &s;it, yet that is not the intent of the Holy Gho&s;t in the Scripture, to &s;hew what bodily po|&s;ture Chri&s;t is in, but to &s;hew what dignity he is in: and therefore &s;ometimes in Scripture Chri&s;t is &s;aid, <HI>to &s;tand at the right hand of God,</HI> viz. Act. 7. 55, 56. <HI>But he being full of the Holy Gho&s;t, looked up
<PB N="270" REF="140"> &s;tedfa&s;tly into Heaven, and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quid e&s;t quod hunc Marcus &s;e|dentem, <HI>Stephanus</HI> ver&ograve; &s;tantem &s;e videre te&s;tatur? Sed &s;citis, fratres, quia &s;edere judicantis e&s;t, &s;tare ver&ograve; pugnantis, vel ad|juvantis. Quia erg&ograve; Redemptor no&s;ter a&s;&s;umptus in coelum, &amp; nunc omnia judicat, &amp; ad extrentum omnium judex veniet, hunc po&s;t a&s;&s;umptione~ Marcus &s;edere de&s;cri|bit, quia po&s;t a&s;cen&s;ionis &s;uae glo|riam judex in fine vid<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bitur. <HI>Ste|phanus</HI> ver&ograve; hanc in labore certa|minis po&s;itus, &s;tant em vidit, quem adjutorem habuit; quia ut i&s;te in terr&acirc; per&s;ecutorum infidelita|tem vinceret, pro illo de coelo illius gratia pugnavit. <HI>Gregor. homil. 29. in Evang.</HI></NOTE> <HI>&s;aw the glory of God, and Je|&s;us &s;tanding on the right Hand of God, and &s;aid, Behold, I &s;ee the Heavens opened, and the Son of man &s;tanding on the right Hand of God.</HI> He is there de&s;cribed &s;tanding, as ready to aid and a&s;&s;i&s;t <HI>Ste|phen</HI> in the great conflict which he indured for his &s;ake: but otherwi&s;e in the Scripture he is u&s;ually &s;aid to &s;it, to &s;ignifie the honour and authority that he is in|ve&s;ted with.</P>
<P N="2">2. For the right hand of God, it mu&s;t needs be taken, not properly, but metaphorically, God being a &s;pirit, and therefore having no hand, either right or left, nor any bodily member what&s;oever. It was a gro&s;&s;e here&s;ie of the Anthropomorphites to hold God to be of humane form and &s;hape, whereas Chri&s;t &s;aith plainly <HI>that God is a &s;pirit,</HI> Joh. 4. 24. And that a <HI>&s;pirit hath not fle&s;h and bones,</HI> Luk. 24. 39. Therefore when hands, eys, ears and the like are attributed unto God in the Scripture,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> it is by a figurative kind of &s;peech, whereby in conde&s;cen&s;ion to the weakne&s;&s;e of our capacity, that is attributed unto God, which properly be|longs unto man, and not unto God: becau&s;e man doth hear with his ears, &s;ee with his eyes, &amp; work
<PB N="271" REF="140"> with his hands, therefore to &s;hew that God doth hear, and &s;ee, and work; the&s;e bodily parts and members are attributed unto God, though properly they do not belong unto him. By the <HI>right Hand of God</HI> is often &s;ignified the force, might and power of God, <HI>Thy right Hand O Lord,</HI> &s;aid Mo&s;es, <HI>is become glorious in power, thy right hand O Lord hath da&s;hed in pieces the enemy,</HI> Exod. 15. 6. So <HI>David</HI> P&s;al. 118. 15, 16. <HI>The right Hand of the Lord doth valiantly, The right Hand of the Lord is exalted; the right Hand of the Lord doth valiantly.</HI> But the right hand al&s;o is u&s;ed to denote the more honourable place; as when <HI>Bath&s;heba</HI> the mother of <HI>Solomon</HI> went unto him, as he &s;ate on this Throne, he ro&s;e up to meet her, and bowed him&s;elf unto her; and &s;ate down on his Throne, and cau&s;ed a &s;eat to be &s;et for her; <HI>and &s;he &s;ate on his right Hand,</HI> 1 Kings 2. 19. So P&s;al. 45. 9. <HI>&V;pon thy right Hand did &s;tand the Queen in gold of Ophir.</HI> Thus Chri&s;t is &s;aid to be at Gods right Hand, as being in highe&s;t honour next unto God, even as <HI>Beth&s;heba</HI> was &s;et in highe&s;t place of honour next unto the King: Chri&s;ts &s;itting at the right hand of God imports his Kingly power, and &s;overaign power over all creatures; that <HI>all power both in heaven and in earth is given unto him,</HI> as he &s;aid, Mat. 28. 18. <HI>That he hath a name above every name, that at the name ef Je&s;us every knee &s;hould bow,</HI> &amp;c. that is, that all &s;hould be &s;ubject unto him, Phil. 2. 9, 10. Whereas <HI>David</HI> &s;peaking of Chri&s;t, &s;aith, <HI>The Lord &s;aid unto my Lord, &s;it thou thou on my right Hand, untill I make thine enemies thy footstool,</HI> P&s;al. 110. 1. S. <HI>Paul</HI> in reference to
<PB N="272" REF="141"> tho&s;e words, &s;aith, <HI>For he mu&s;t reign untill his ene|mies be made his foot&s;tool,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 25. VVhereby we &s;ee that Chri&s;t &s;itting at the right hand of God, and his reigning, are one and the &s;ame thing, So what is meant by Chri&s;ts &s;itting at the right hand of God, the &s;ame Apo&s;tle &s;heweth, Ephe&s;. 1. 20, 21, 22. Where he &s;aith that God rai&s;ed Chri&s;t from the dead, <HI>and &s;et him at his own right Hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but al&s;o in that which is to come. And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church.</HI> And &s;o likewi&s;e <HI>S. Peter,</HI> who &s;peaking of Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God, Angels, and Authorities, and Powers being made &s;ubject unto him,</HI> 1 Pet. 3. 22.</P>
<P>Thus then we &s;ee both that it is &s;o, that Chri&s;t doth &s;it at the right hand of God, and al&s;o what is meant by it.</P>
<P>And by this which hath been &s;aid it may ap|pear, that Chri&s;t is &s;aid to &s;it at the right hand of God in re&s;pect of his humane nature. In that re|&s;pect he was humbled, and in that re&s;pect he was exalted, the divine nature properly being capable neither of the one, nor of the other. As man, he &s;uffered, was crucified, dead and buried, and de&s;|cended into hell; and &s;o as man he ro&s;e again, a&s;|cended into heaven, and &s;itteth at the right hand of God. The divine nature is &s;aid to be humbled, not properly, as if it's glory was indeed dimini|&s;hed, but that a&s;&s;uming to it &s;elf humane nature
<PB N="273" REF="141"> &s;ubject to infirmity, its glory did lie hid, and not appear, So al&s;o it is &s;aid to be exalted, not proper|ly, as if any glory indeed were added unto it, but by the exaltation of that humane nature, which it a&s;&s;umed, it's glory is made to appear and &s;hine forth. Now this glorious exaltation of Chri&s;ts humane nature, did belong unto it by vertue of the hypo&s;taticall union, and &s;o was due unto Chri&s;t at the fir&s;t moment that the two natures were united together in one per&s;on: but by di&s;|pen&s;ation, for the working out of our Redemp|tion, Chri&s;t did not enter into the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of his glory, till after his pa&s;&s;ion, <HI>Ought not Chri&s;t to &s;uffer the&s;e things, and to enter into his glory?</HI> viz. af|ter his &s;uffering, Luk. 24. 26. It was his glory, that which of right did belong<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quomodo <HI>&s;uam,</HI> &s;i oportuit? &amp; quomodo <HI>oportuit,</HI> &s;i <HI>&s;uam?</HI> Si glorii ejus fuit, quomodo ut a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> illam intraret, pati oportuit? Sed <HI>&s;uam</HI> propterff &s;e; <HI>oportuit</HI> propter nos.&mdash;Si aliter veni&s;&s;et, per|veni&s;&s;et, &s;ed non &s;ubv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ni&s;&s;et. <HI>Hu|go.</HI> de <HI>S. Vict.</HI></NOTE> unto him, even as man, that man being God al&s;o; yet for our &s;akes, that our Redemp|tion might be e&s;&s;ected by him, it behoved him fir&s;t to &s;uffer, as he did, and then to enter into his glory.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 1. Here then we may &s;ee the glorious and tran&s;cendent excellency of Chri&s;t, even as man, and &s;o in him the wonderfull exaltation of our humane nature. <HI>Lord, what is man, that thou art mindfull of him, and the &s;on of man that thou vi&s;i|test him? Thou ha&s;t made him a little lower then the Angels, and ha&s;t crowned him with glory and ho|nour,</HI> P&s;al. 8. 4, 5. Yea the man Chri&s;t is made a great deal higher then the Angels. <HI>We &s;ee Je&s;us,</HI> &s;aith
<PB N="274" REF="142"> the Author of the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Hebrews</HI> having cited the&s;e words of <HI>David, who was made a little</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> (or for a little while) <HI>lower then the Angels, for the &s;uffering of death, crowned with Glory and Ho|nour,</HI> Heb. 2. 9. Chri&s;t for a while, that he might &s;uffer death for our Redemption, was lower then the Angels, being a man &s;ubject to infirmi|ty, but now he is crowned with glory and honour, whereby he is far above the An|gels.</P>
<P><HI>Caution.</HI> But here we mu&s;t beware of that er|rour which &s;ome have faln into: We mu&s;t not think that becau&s;e Chri&s;t as man doth &s;it at the right hand of God, therefore Maje&s;ty and Glory properly divine and infinite is communicated to Chri&s;ts humane nature. This is exceeding gro&s;&s;e, and the very here&s;ie of <HI>Eutyches,</HI> who becau&s;e he would not with <HI>Nestorius</HI> divide the per&s;on of Chri&s;t, therefore falling into another extreme he would confound his natures, making the humane nature to be &s;wallowed up (as it were) by the divine nature. But Chri&s;ts glory doth not take away the truth of his huma|nity; it is exalted, but not<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gloria humanitatem non tollit, &s;ed extollit, non interfi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">it; &s;ed perficit. <HI>Ger&s;on.</HI></NOTE> aboli&s;hed. And therefore neither mu&s;t we (as &s;ome do) from Chri&s;ts &s;itting at the right hand of God, infer the ubiquity of Chri&s;ts body, as if therefore it were every where. For ubiquity, or being eve|ry where, is proper and peculiar to the divine na|ture, the humane nature is not capable of it. <HI>He is not here</HI> (viz. in re&s;pect of the body)
<PB N="275" REF="142"> <HI>for he is ri&s;en,</HI> Luk. 24. 6. So he is not here (in that re|&s;pect)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Secund&ugrave;m hanc formam non e&s;t putandus ubique diffu&s;us. Caven|dum enim e&s;t, ne ita divinitatem a&s;truamus hominis, ut veritatem corporis de&s;truamus. <HI>Aug. Epi&s;t. 57.</HI></NOTE> for he is a&s;cended into heaven, and there &s;its at the right hand of God. Indeed Chri&s;t as God, when he was upon earth, was al&s;o in heaven, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 3. 13. And &s;o now in that re&s;pect being in heaven, he is al&s;o on earth, <HI>Mat.</HI> 28. 20. But as man he was not in hea|ven, when he was on earth, neither is he in that re&s;pect now on earth, when he is in heaven.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. This al&s;o makes exceedingly for the comfort of all &s;uch as belong unto Chri&s;t, and are his; they need not fear either to want any good or to &s;uffer any evill, &s;eeing he to whom they belong, is &s;o exalted over all, and there|fore able to protect them, and to provide for them: Are we afraid of the rage and malice either of men or Devills? Though they be too &s;trong for us, yet Chri&s;t is too &s;trong for them, and much le&s;&s;e are they able to re&s;i&s;t him, then we are to re&s;i&s;t them. This was enough to ani|mate and incourage <HI>Stephen</HI> notwith&s;tanding the fury of his adver&s;aries, that he &s;aw Chri&s;t &s;tan|ding at the right hand of God ready to defend him, <HI>Acts</HI> 7. 55, 56. So let us with the eye of faith look up unto Chri&s;t, and not fear what men or Devills can do unto us: When <HI>Saul</HI> per|&s;ecuted the members of Chri&s;t upon earth, Chri&s;t from heaven &s;pake unto him, and let him know that he did per&s;ecute him, and that he had a hard match of it; <HI>Saul, Saul, why per&s;ecutest thou me?&mdash;I am Je&s;us whom thou per&s;ecuie&s;t; it is hard for
<PB N="276" REF="143"> thee to to kick again&s;t the pricks,</HI> Acts 9. 4, 5. So <HI>Eph.</HI> 1. 22. it is &s;aid that all things are put under Chri&s;ts feet, and that he is head over all things to the Church, or for the Church, that is, for the comfort and welfare of the Church.</P>
<P>Again, doth the guilt of &s;in &s;ting and wound our con&s;ciences? Let us con&s;ider what a mighty Redeemer, Mediatour, and Advocate we have, <HI>Who when he had by him&s;elf purged our &s;ins, &s;ate down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,</HI> Heb. 1. 3. <HI>Who is he that condemneth? it is Christ that died, yea rather, that is ri&s;en again, who is e|ven at the right hand of God, who al&s;o maketh in|terce&s;&s;ion for us,</HI> Rom. 8. 34.</P>
<P>Again, do we want any thing that is good and needfull for us? We may go with boldne&s;&s;e unto God, and ask of him in the Name of Chri&s;t, whom he hath &s;o exalted, as to &s;et him at his own right hand. <HI>Adonijah</HI> thought him&s;elf &s;ure to &s;peed when he had <HI>Bath&s;heba,</HI> whom <HI>Solomon</HI> did &s;o honor, to intercede for him; and &s;o, had his re|que&s;t been ju&s;t and rea&s;onable, it had been gran|ted. See 1 <HI>King.</HI> 2. 17; 18, 19, 20. How much more may we be a&s;&s;ured, that having Chri&s;t to medi|ate and intercede for us, we &s;hall obtain what we ask in his Name? <HI>What&s;oever you ask the Fa|ther in my Name, he will give it,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, Joh. 16. 23. <HI>Therefore let us come with boldne&s;&s;e to the Throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need,</HI> Heb. 4. 16.</P>
<P>Finally, whatever our trouble or di&s;tre&s;&s;e be, yet let us not be dejected nor di&s;maied, con&s;ide|ring that Chri&s;t is at Gods right hand, and as he
<PB N="277" REF="143"> is thus exalted, &s;o we al&s;o as members of his bo|dy, &s;hall proportionably be exalted in due time: <HI>Run with patience the race that is &s;et before you, looking unto Ie&s;us the Author and fini&s;her of our faith, who for the joy that was &s;et before him, indu|red the Cro&s;&s;e, de&s;pi&s;ing the &s;hame, and is &s;et down at the right hand of the Throne of God,</HI> Heb. 12. 1. <HI>If we &s;uffer</HI> (with Chri&s;t) <HI>we &s;hall al&s;o reign with him,</HI> 2 Tim. 2. 12. <HI>To him that overcometh</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>will I grant to &s;it with me in my Throne, even as I al&s;o overcame, and am &s;et down with my Father in his Throne,</HI> Rev. 3. 21.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 3. This al&s;o &s;erves for the terror of &s;uch as &s;tand out again&s;t Chri&s;t, and will not come in, and &s;ubmit unto him: All the wicked and un|godly are Chri&s;ts enemies, (<HI>the enemies of the Cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t,</HI> Phil. 3. 18.) but e&s;pecially &s;uch as having means and offers of grace, yet &s;leight and de&s;pi&s;e them. Now if Chri&s;t be inve&s;ted with &s;uch dignity and power, then woe unto his ene|mies, they mu&s;t <HI>be made his foot&s;tool,</HI> P&s;al. 110. 5. &amp; 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 25. He will <HI>rule in the mid&s;t of his E|nemies,</HI> P&s;al. 110. 2. He will one day &s;ay, <HI>Tho&s;e mine Enemies, that would not &s;uffer me to reign over them,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Vici&s;ti Galilee, vici&s;ti.</NOTE> <HI>bring hither, and &s;lay them before me,</HI> Luk. 19. 27. <HI>Ju|lian</HI> the Apo&s;tate was forced at length to con|fe&s;&s;e that Chri&s;t was too hard for him, and had got the victory over him; &amp; &s;o &s;hal all &s;uch proud and pre&s;umptuous oppo&s;ers of Chri&s;t, as he was. He &s;hall <HI>break them with a rod of iron, and da&s;h them in pieces like a potters ve&s;&s;el,</HI> P&s;al. 2. 9.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 4. La&s;tly therefore, this may teach and ad|moni&s;h all to reverence Chri&s;t, and to &s;ubmit un|to
<PB N="278" REF="144"> him; <HI>S. Peter</HI> having &s;poken of Chri&s;ts &s;itting at the right hand of God, addes immediately, <HI>Therefore let all the hou&s;e of I&s;rael know a&s;&s;uredly, that God hath made that &s;ame Ie&s;us whom you have crucified, both Lord and Chri&s;t,</HI> Act. 2. 36. He is Lord and King over all, and therefore to be obey|ed by all; he will rule and reign over all whether they will or not, even the Devills them&s;elves are under his power, and are con&s;trained to be &s;ub|ject to him. But let us willingly &s;ubject our &s;elves unto Chri&s;t, and yeeld obedience unto him, that &s;o his Maje&s;ty and power may be for us, and not again&s;t us; for our comfort, and not for our con|fu&s;ion: <HI>Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoyce with trembling: Ki&s;&s;e the Son lest he be angry, and you peri&s;h from the way: if his wrath be kindled, yea but a little, ble&s;&s;ed are all they that tru&s;t in him,</HI> P&s;al. 2. 11, 12.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="23" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="279" REF="144">
<HEAD>The three and twentieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ACTS 10. 42.</BIBL> And he com|manded us to preach unto the people, and to te&s;tifie that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>CHri&s;ts &s;itting at the right hand of God, is (as I have formerly &s;hewed) the highe&s;t de|gree of his exaltation; and therefore his coming to judge both the quick and the dead, is not a de|gree above it, but belongs unto it as a part of it: Chri&s;ts &s;itting at the right hand of God (as hath been &s;hewed) denotes that &s;upreme power and dignity unto which Chri&s;t is exalted above all creatures: Now the mo&s;t clear evidence and de|mon&s;tration of this dignity and power, in the full exerci&s;e of it, &s;hall be &s;een by Chri&s;ts coming to Judgement; then &s;hall every knee be made to
<PB N="280" REF="145"> bow unto him, <HI>Phil.</HI> 2. 9, 10, 11. with <HI>Rom.</HI> 14. 10, 11. compared together: Therefore Chri&s;ts com|ing to Judgement and his Kingdome are joyned together as equivalent, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4. 1. becau&s;e when Chri&s;t cometh to judgement, then his Kingdome &s;hall be con&s;ummated and made perfect. Where|as therefore in the Creed after the Article of Chri&s;ts &s;itting at the right hand of God, it's &s;aid, <HI>From thence he &s;hal come to judge both the quick and the dead;</HI> tho&s;e words <HI>from thence,</HI> are not &s;o to be under&s;tood, as if Chri&s;t &s;hould come from the right hand of God to judge both the quick and the dead: No, Chri&s;t &s;hall then e&s;pecially &s;it (that is, appear to &s;it) at the right hand of God, when he cometh to judgement. And &s;o much Chri&s;t him&s;elf hath &s;hewed us, &s;aying, <HI>Hereafter &s;hall ye &s;ee the Son of Man &s;itting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven,</HI> viz. to judgement, <HI>Mat.</HI> 26. 64. But the words <HI>from thence</HI> have reverence unto heaven, which was mentioned in the Creed a little before; <HI>He a&s;cended into heaven, and</HI> (there) <HI>&s;itteth at the right hand of God, from thence</HI> (that is, from heaven) <HI>he &s;hall come to judge both the quick and the dead.</HI> Thus the Angells told the Di&s;ciples, who beheld Chri&s;ts a&s;|cen&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De caelo venturus e&s;t ad ju|dicandum&punc; vivos &amp; mortuos. <HI>Aug. En|chir. c. 54.</HI></NOTE> <HI>This &s;ame Ie&s;us which is taken up from you into Heaven, &s;hall come in like manner as you have &s;een him go into Heaven,</HI> Acts 1. 11. So <HI>S. Paul,</HI> 1 The&s;. 4. 16. <HI>The Lord him&s;elf &s;hall de&s;cend from Heaven, &amp;c.</HI> And again, 2 The&s;. 1. 7. <HI>When the Lord Ie&s;us &s;hall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angells, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But who are meant by the <HI>quick and
<PB N="281" REF="145"> dead,</HI> vvhich are &s;poken of both in the Creed, and in the Scripture, as in the Text, and &s;o in other places; as 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4. 1. &amp; 1 Pet. 4. 5.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Some by <HI>quick</HI> are &s;aid to under&s;tand mens &s;ouls, and by <HI>dead</HI> mens bodies; as if when<NOTE PLACE="marg">Te&s;te Danco in Enchir. Aug. c. 55.</NOTE> it is &s;aid, that Chri&s;t &s;hall judge both quick and d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ad, the meaning were, that he &s;hal judge both &s;oul and body: but this is an un<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">duth and in|congruous expo&s;ition. For by <HI>quick and dead</HI> are meant, not divers parts, but divers per&s;ons&punc; like as Rom. 14. 9. where it is &s;aid, that <HI>to this end Chri&s;t both died, and ro&s;e, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. Augu&s;tine</HI> giveth<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Enchir. cap. 55.</NOTE> two interpretations of the&s;e words, <HI>quick and dead.</HI> 1. That by <HI>quick</HI> are meant the righteous, and by <HI>dead</HI> the wicked, vvho are dead vvhile&s;t they live, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5. 6. Dead in tre&s;pa&s;&s;es and &s;ins, <HI>E|phe&s;.</HI> 2. 1.</P>
<P>But neither is this interpretation to be embra|ced, for thus the words <HI>quick and dead,</HI> are taken metaphorically, and not properly, whereas we ought not to recede from the propriety of words, except nece&s;&s;ity enforce thereunto, which here it doth not. 2. That by <HI>quick</HI> vve are to under|&s;tand tho&s;e vvho are novv alive, or &s;hall be alive at Chri&s;ts coming; and by <HI>dead</HI> tho&s;e vvho are novv dead, or &s;hall be at Chri&s;ts coming: and this indeed is the true and genuine meaning of the vvords. The Scripture &s;hevvs, that they vvho are alive at Chri&s;ts coming, &s;hall &s;o remain, and they vvho vvere before dead, &s;hall be rai&s;ed up, and together vvith the other &s;hall be judged; and in this &s;en&s;e is it &s;aid, that Chri&s;t &s;hall judge both
<PB N="282" REF="146"> quick and dead; not that any &s;hall be dead, when they are judged, but where as they were dead, they &s;hall be rai&s;ed up, and &s;o be judged. Thus is that to be under&s;tood, Revel. 20. 12. <HI>I &s;aw the dead, &s;mall and great &s;tand before God,</HI> viz. to be judged, as it there followeth; <HI>the dead,</HI> that is, tho&s;e who had been dead. And in oppo&s;ition to the&s;e are the <HI>quick,</HI> that is, they who are found living when Chri&s;t cometh, and &s;o remaining alive come to judgement. <HI>For the Lord him&s;elf,</HI> &s;aith S. <HI>Paul, &s;hal de&s;cend from heaven with a &s;hout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Chri&s;t &s;hall ri&s;e fir&s;t. Then we which are alive, and remain, &s;hall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the ayre, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>1 The&s;. 4. 16. 17. Here the A|po&s;tle &s;heweth, that the E|lect<NOTE PLACE="marg">Electi qui relinquimur, non mori|emur, &s;ed de vit&acirc; corporali, tran&s;|feremur in vitam immortalem. Hoc n. clar&egrave; &s;ignificat, repetendo qui vivimus &s;imul rapiemur cum illis. Hoc con&s;onat verbis Petri Act. 10. Ip&s;e est, qui con&s;titutus e&s;t &agrave; Deo judex vivorum &amp; mortuo|rum. Et ide&ograve; in &s;ymbol. cantamus, &amp;c. <HI>Cajetan.</HI> ad <HI>1 The&s;. 4.</HI> vide etiam <HI>Cajetan.</HI> ad <HI>2 Tim. 4. 1.</HI> &amp; ad <HI>Act. 10. 42.</HI></NOTE> (for of them only he here &s;peaketh) that remain and are alive at Chri&s;ts com|ing, &s;hall not die, but &s;hall together with tho&s;e that were dead, but then are rai|&s;ed up, be conveyed unto Chri&s;t, and be with him for ever, <HI>viz.</HI> after the judge|ment, which &s;hall pa&s;&s;e up|on them. <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> indeed having alledged the&s;e words of the Apo&s;tle, makes a que&s;tion, whether<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de Civ. Dei l. 20. c. 20.</NOTE> they, whom Chri&s;t at his coming &s;hall find alive, in that very &s;pace, while&s;t they are caught up, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, &s;hall not have their &s;ouls &s;e|parated from their bodies, and pre&s;ently re-uni|ted
<PB N="283" REF="146"> unto them. But there is no ground at all for any &s;uch conceit: and that other parallel place of the Apo&s;tle is again&s;t it, <HI>viz.</HI> that 1 Cor 15. 51, 52. <HI>Behold, I &s;hew you a my&s;tery; we &s;hall not all &s;leep, but we &s;hall all be changed in a moment, in a twink|ling of an eye, at the la&s;t trump, for the trumpet &s;hall &s;ound, and the dead &s;hall be rai&s;ed incorruptible, a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d we &s;hal be changed.</HI> Here the Apo&s;tle plainly &s;hew|keth, that the Elect (of which likewi&s;e he here &s;pea|eth) that are alive at Chri&s;ts coming, &s;hall not &s;leep, that is, not die, but only &s;hall be changed, that is, as he after explaineth it, of mortall &s;hall be made immortall, and of corruptible incorrup|tible. Indeed this place to the Corinthians is di|ver&s;ly read, and that was it that did mi&s;lead <HI>Au|stin,</HI> he followed another, and a contrary reading <HI>viz. We &s;hall all ri&s;e again,</HI> or <HI>We &s;hall all &s;leep, but we &s;hall not all be changed,</HI> But the&s;e readings are fal&s;e, and the other, which we have in our Tran|&s;lations, and is found in the Greek, is the true rea|ding,<NOTE PLACE="marg">See <HI>Caje|tan</HI> on 1 <HI>Cor. 15. 51. 522.</HI></NOTE> as may appear by divers rea&s;ons, 1. Other|wi&s;e this place to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> and that other to the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> &s;hould but ill agree; and therefore for the reconciling of them, <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> was fain to make that &s;trange quaere before mention|ed, and to imagine that which neither by Scrip|ture nor by rea&s;on hath any probability for it. 2. If we &s;hould read it thus, <HI>we &s;hall not all be chan|ged,</HI> then the Apo&s;tle &s;hould comprehend him&s;elf in the number of tho&s;e that peri&s;h; for the change there &s;poken of, is a change unto glory and hap|pine&s;&s;e, as appears by the words following: and therefore all the Elect have that change, only the
<PB N="284" REF="147"> reprobrate have it not, though a change al&s;o they &s;hall have, but a wofull and mi&s;erable change, and not that which the Apo&s;tle there intendeth. 3. That which &s;eemeth to me mo&s;t convincing, is this, that except we &s;hould read it as we do, <HI>We &s;hal not all &s;leep, but we &s;hal al be changed,</HI> that pre|face which the Apo&s;tle u&s;eth, were impertinent &amp; improper, <HI>Behold, I &s;hew you a my&s;tery.</HI> For what my&s;tery is there in this, that all &s;hall &s;leep, and die, but not all be changed, that is, inherit glory &amp; e|ternall life? If this had been that which the Apo|&s;tle was to &s;ay, he would never have brought it in<NOTE PLACE="marg">&V;er&egrave; hoc e&s;t mag|num, my|&s;terium, qu&ograve;d ali|qui electo|rumab&s;que morte in|tercedente a&s;&s;equen|tur omnes immutati|ones &s;upra &s;criptur, &amp;c. <HI>Ca|jetan.</HI> i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>1 Cor. 15.</HI></NOTE> with &s;uch a preamble, he would never have &s;po|ken of it as a my&s;tery; for &s;urely nothing is more obvious to every under&s;tanding, then that though all &s;hall die, yet all &s;hall not enjoy the life to come. But this is a my&s;tery indeed, except the Apo&s;tle had by the &s;pirit of God revealed it, we &s;hould have been ignorant of it, that all &s;hall not die, but that &s;ome &s;hall be exempted from death, and without the intervention of death &s;hal pa&s;&s;e from this life to another incomparably bet|ter.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Some may object that Heb. 9. 27. <HI>It is ap|pointed unto men to die once.</HI> And how then &s;hould the Apo&s;tle &s;ay, <HI>We &s;hall not all &s;leep,</HI> that is, die?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But this objection is ea&s;ily an&s;wered; <HI>Cajetane</HI> &s;peaks briefly, but pithily, <HI>Statutum regu|lare</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cajetane <HI>ad.</HI> The&s;. 4. 17.</NOTE> <HI>e&s;t, illos autem non mori &s;ingulare e&s;t,</HI> That is, the Statute or appointment for men to die, is re|gular and ordinary, but for tho&s;e who remain at Chri&s;ts coming, not to die, is &s;ingular and extra|ordinary.
<PB N="285" REF="147"> And &s;o nece&s;&s;arily tho&s;e words, <HI>It is appointed unto men to die once:</HI> mu&s;t be under&s;tood of Gods u&s;uall and ordinary di&s;pen&s;ation; for by <HI>once</HI> there is meant onely once, as appears by the context; yet we know that <HI>Lazarus</HI> and &s;ome o|thers, who were rai&s;ed from the dead to this mor|tall life, did die more then once: and be&s;ides, the Scripture &s;hews that <HI>Enoch</HI> and <HI>Eliah</HI> were &s;o tran|&s;lated<NOTE PLACE="marg">See <HI>Calvin</HI> on 1 <HI>Cor. 15.</HI></NOTE> and taken from the earth, as not to die once. Some further an&s;wer, that the change, which the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of, &s;hall be as a kind of death; but being no &s;eparation of &s;oul and body, it is not properly death; I therefore rather acqui|e&s;ce in the former an&s;wer. And &s;o al&s;o is that to be under&s;tood, which <HI>Austin</HI> objecteth, <HI>That which thou &s;owe&s;t, it is not</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quomodo, quos viventes hic Chri&s;tus inveniet, per immortali|tatem in illo vivificabuntur, et&s;i non moriuntur, cum videamus propter hoc e&s;&s;e dictum, <HI>Tu quod &s;eminas, &amp;c. Aug. de Civ. Dei l. 20. c. 20.</HI></NOTE> <HI>quickned except it die,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 36. The Apo&s;tle there al|&s;o &s;peaks of that which is regular and ordinary, and &s;o it is true, regularly and ordi|narily none are quickned, that is, inherit eternall life, but they fir&s;t die: yet this hinders, not but that in re&s;pect of &s;ome it may be otherwi&s;e by a &s;ingular and extraordinary pri|viledge vouch&s;afed unto them. So it was with <HI>Enoch</HI> and <HI>Eliah,</HI> and &s;o it &s;hall be with tho&s;e that are alive at Chri&s;ts coming to judgement.</P>
<P>This being premi&s;ed for the under&s;tanding of tho&s;e words, <HI>quick and dead,</HI> from the Text I &s;hall deduce two points whcih clearly ari&s;e from it, <HI>viz.</HI> 1. That both quick and dead, even all gene|rally who&s;oever they be, mu&s;t be judged.</P>
<PB N="286" REF="148">
<P>2. That Chri&s;t is he who mu&s;t be the Judge of all, both of quick and dead.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t, That all generally &s;hall be judged, the Scripture is plain and expre&s;&s;e, <HI>Heb. 9. 27. It is appointed unto men to die once, and after this the Judgement,</HI> Eccle&s;. 12. 14. <HI>God will bring every work to judgement,</HI> Heb. 6. 2. the judgement to come there called <HI>eternall judgement,</HI> to di&s;tin|gui&s;h it from judgements executed here, which are but temporall, that judgement, I &s;ay, is rec|koned among&s;t <HI>the Principles of the Doctrine of Chri&s;t;</HI> as they are there called, v. 1.</P>
<P>This truth al&s;o may be confirmed by divers ar|guments.</P>
<P N="1">1. The judgements which God hath already executed, or doth execute upon tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors, prove that there is a judgement to come; <HI>S. Pe|ter</HI> maketh u&s;e of this argument, from Gods dealing with the Angells that &s;inned, with the old world, and with Sodome and Gomorrah, he infers, that God will at length meet with all the wicked, that tho&s;e fore-going judgements are tokens of this judgement which is to come; <HI>If God &s;pared not the Angells that &s;inned, but ca&s;t them down to hell, &amp;c. And &s;pared not the old world, &amp;c. And turning the Cities of Sodome and Gomorrah into a&s;hes, condemned them with an over|throw, &amp;c. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the righteous out of temptation, and to re&s;erve the wic|ked unto the day of Judgement to be puni&s;hed,</HI> 2 Pet. 2. 4. 9</P>
<P N="2">2. Mans own con&s;cience is enough to convince him of this, that all &s;hall be judged: For con|&s;cience
<PB N="287" REF="148"> will check and reprove for doing ill, though otherwi&s;e among&s;t men none know of it, or if &s;ome do, yet either they cannot, or will not puni&s;h for it. When <HI>David</HI> had but cut off the lap of <HI>Sauls</HI> garment, whereas &s;ome would have had him cut off his head, his heart &s;motehim for it, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 24. 5. And &s;o when he had &s;inned in cau|&s;ing the people to be numbred, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 24. 10. On the other &s;ide, con&s;cience will comfort and in|courage in doing well, though in the world one be traduced and &s;landered as an evill doer: <HI>This is our rejoycing</HI> (&s;aid the Apo&s;tle) <HI>even the te&s;timo|ny of our con&s;cience, 2 Cor.</HI> 1. 12. Neither is this work of con&s;cience only in the regenerate, but even in the unregenerate al&s;o. The Apo&s;tle &s;peak|ing of the Gentiles who had but the light of na|ture, and &s;o a meer naturall con&s;cience, yet &s;aith &s;aith of them, that they <HI>&s;hew the work of the law written in their hearts, their con&s;cience al&s;o bearing witne&s;&s;e, and their thoughts the mean while accu&s;ing or el&s;e excu&s;ing one another,</HI> Rom, 2. 15.</P>
<P>We find that the Heathens could &s;ay, that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;cien|tia mille testes. Hic murus aheneus e&s;to, Nil con&s;icre &s;ibi <HI>Juven</HI></NOTE> <HI>con&s;cience is a thou&s;and witne&s;&s;es;</HI> no matter who te&s;tifie for a man, if con&s;cience te&s;tifie again&s;t him; no matter who te&s;tifie again&s;t him, if con|&s;cience te&s;tifie for him; <HI>A good con&s;cience</HI> (&s;ay they) <HI>is a wall of bra&s;&s;e,</HI> able to protect and de|fend again&s;t all oppo&s;ition. But on the other &s;ide, <HI>What skills it,</HI> or <HI>what matter is it</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Seneca</HI>)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quid infert neminem &s;cire, cum tu &s;cias? O te mi&s;erum, &s;i con|temnas hunc te&s;tem!</NOTE> <HI>though none know what thou ha&s;t done, whenas thou knowe&s;t it? O the wretchedne&s;&s;e of thy condition, if thou doe&s;t
<PB N="288" REF="149"> de&s;pi&s;e this witne&s;&s;e, thine own con&s;cience!</HI> True it is, con&s;cience doth often lie a&s;leep, it is &s;tupified and &s;eared many times; but at one time or other it will awake, it will accu&s;e, convince, condemne, and torment; affliction doth u&s;e to awaken con|&s;cience if it were a&s;leep before. <HI>Jo&s;ephs</HI> brethren after they had &s;old him, concealed the matter for a long time, and their con&s;cience did little trou|ble them (for ought we find) about it: But when they found them&s;elves in di&s;tre&s;&s;e, <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> (whom they knew not, though he knew them) dealing roughly with them, then their con&s;cience did awake, and cry out again&s;t them for that which they had done &s;o long (twenty years and more, as appears by the &s;tory) before: They &s;aid one to another, <HI>We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we &s;aw the angui&s;h of his &s;oul, when he be&s;ought us, and we would not hear; there|fore is this di&s;tre&s;&s;e come upon us. And</HI> Ruben <HI>an|&s;wered them &s;aying, Spake I not unto you, &s;aying, Do not &s;in again&s;t the child, and ye would not heare? therefore is this di&s;tre&s;&s;e come upon us,</HI> Gen. 42, 21, 22. And not only <HI>Jo&s;ephs</HI> brethren, who though guilty of much &s;in, yet were indued with true grace, but even <HI>Pharoah</HI> him&s;elf when Gods hand was heavy upon him, cryed, <HI>peccavi,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>I have &s;inned this time, the Lord is righteous, but I and my people are wicked,</HI> Exod. 9. 27. And &s;o <HI>A|doni Bezek</HI> a cruell Tyrant, when the I&s;raelites had taken him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes, then his con&s;cience accu&s;ed him of his cru|elty, and he confe&s;&s;ed that he was dealt with, as he had dealt with others, <HI>Judg. 1. 7. Three&s;core
<PB N="289" REF="149"> and ten Kings</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered meat under my ta|ble; as I have done, &s;o God hath requited me:</HI> Thus the con&s;cience of man doth &s;ufficiently &s;hew that there &s;hall be judgement, wherein all &s;hall receive according to their wayes and their do|ings.</P>
<P N="3">3. Ju&s;tice requires, that it &s;hould fare better<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ut bonis ben&egrave; fit, malis au|tem mal&egrave;.</NOTE> with the good, then with the bad, with the righ|teous, then with the wicked: <HI>That the righteous &s;hould be as the wicked, that be far from thee,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Abraham</HI> unto God, Gen. 18. 25. And &s;o this is far from God; for <HI>the ju&s;t Lord will do no iniqui|ty,</HI> Zeph. 3. 5. No, as <HI>Elihu</HI> &s;peaks, <HI>far be it from God that he &s;hould do wickedne&s;&s;e, and from the Al|mighty that he &s;hould commit iniquity: For the work of a man &s;hall he render unto him, and cau&s;e every man to find according to his waies. Yea &s;urely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty per|vert judgement,</HI> Job 34. 10, 11, 12. God bids, <HI>Say unto the righteous, it &s;hall be well with him, &amp;c. Woe unto the wicked, it &s;hall be ill with him, &amp;c.</HI> E&s;a. 3. 10, 11. But this difference betwixt the righteous and the wicked, doth not alwayes appear in this world; No, here <HI>no man know|eth love or hatred by all that is before them,</HI> Eccle&s;. 9. 1. That is, by Gods outward admini&s;tra|tions none knoweth whom he loveth, and whom he hateth, becau&s;e (as it followeth) <HI>All things come alike unto all; there is one e|vent to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good, and to the cleane, and to the uncleane, to him that &s;acrificeth, and to him that &s;a|crificeth
<PB N="290" REF="150"> not; to him that &s;weareth, and to him that feareth an Oath.</HI> Yea, oftentimes &s;o it is here in this world, that the wicked flou|ri&s;h and pro&s;per, whenas the righteous are afflicted and in mi&s;ery. Here prophane <HI>E&s;au</HI> &s;tayes at home, and takes his plea&s;ure, while godly <HI>Iacob</HI> is forced to indure much hardne&s;&s;e in a forraigne Countrey. Here <HI>Na|bal</HI> (a man of <HI>Belial</HI>) fea&s;ts it like a King, while <HI>David,</HI> a man after Gods own heart, is in want and penury. Yea, here <HI>Barabbas,</HI> a murtherer, is relea&s;ed, and &s;et at liberty, and Chri&s;t him&s;elfe is condemned and crucifi|ed. It mu&s;t needs be therefore, that here|after there &s;hall be a Judgement, wherein men <HI>&s;hall di&s;cerne between the righteous and the wicked, between him that &s;erveth God, and him that &s;erveth him not,</HI> Mal. 3. 18. The &s;ufferings of the godly here in this life (as the Apo&s;tle tells us) are a <HI>manife&s;t token of the righteous judgement of God,</HI> 2 The&s;. 1. 5. <HI>Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompen&s;e tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you that are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Ie&s;us &s;hall appear, &amp;c.</HI> v. 6.</P>
<P>Thus both Scripture and Rea&s;on &s;hew, that all mu&s;t be judged: And the Heathens have knowne and acknow|ledged &s;o much: <HI>The</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Plato in Gorgia. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Soph.</NOTE> <HI>dead must be judged,</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Plato.) In the other world</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Sophocles) we hold that there are two paths,
<PB N="291" REF="150"> one for the just, and another for the unju&s;t.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> Philem.</NOTE></P>
<P>More fully to this pur|po&s;e <HI>Philemon,</HI> another Heathen Poet; <HI>If the righteous and the wicked &s;hall both fare alike, then go rob, &s;teale, defraud, do what thou wilt: Be not deceived, even after death there &s;hall be judgement, which God the righ|teous Judge of all will execute.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="24" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="292" REF="151">
<HEAD>The four and twentieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<P>IT being now &s;ufficiently proved, that gene|rally all mu&s;t be judged, we mu&s;t further know that there is a twofold judgement to come, <HI>viz.</HI> a particular judgment, &amp; a general judgment. A par|ticular judgment, whereby one immediately after death is judged. Thus is that under&s;tood, <HI>Eccle&s;. 12. 7. Then &s;hall the dust return to the earth as it was,</HI> (that is, when one dieth, the body called du&s;t, becau&s;e it was made of du&s;t, &s;hall returne to the earth, of which it was made) <HI>and the &s;pirit &s;hal re|turn to God that gave it;</HI> that is, the &s;oul &s;hal return to God, who did create and infu&s;e it into the bo|dy: A part &s;hall go to God to be judged by him,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> as the Chaldee Paraphra&s;t doth well explaine it. And that parabolicall hi&s;tory, or hi&s;toricall pa|rable of the rich man and <HI>Lazarus,</HI> which &s;hews how immediately after they were dead, the one went to hell, and the other to <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo|&s;ome; that (I &s;ay) doth &s;hew that every one par|ticularly when he dieth is, judged, and receiveth either reward or puni&s;hment: But be&s;ides this particular judgement, there &s;hall al&s;o be a gene|rall judgement, wherein all together &s;hall be judged: <HI>God hath appointed a day wherein he
<PB N="293" REF="151"> will judge the world,</HI> Acts 17. 21. This is that Judgement which is meant in tho&s;e places of Scripture which &s;peak of the day of Judgement, and &s;o in the Text, and other places, where the judging of quick and dead is &s;poken of.</P>
<P>Now there are d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">vers rea&s;ons why be&s;ides the particular judgement there &s;hould al&s;o be a generall judgment.</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e the particular judgement reacheth only to the &s;oule: the difference betwixt the god|ly and the wicked when they die, is in re&s;pect of the &s;oul, not of the body; but the body ha|ving been partner with the &s;oul either in well or ill doing, rea&s;on requires that they &s;hould both &s;hare either in reward or puni&s;hment: <HI>We mu&s;t all appear before the Iudgement-&s;eat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or evill,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 10. The things were done in the body; therefore the recompence mu&s;t be re|ceived al&s;o in the body, and con&s;equently there mu&s;t be a Judgement wherein both &s;oul and body &s;hall be judged.</P>
<P N="2">2. The particular Judgement is &s;ecret and un|knowne to tho&s;e that live here in this world, they cannot ordinarily tell what &s;entence doth pa&s;&s;e upon any when they die; therefore it is meet that there &s;hould be another judgement, which &s;hall be open and manife&s;t unto all, that &s;o Gods ju|&s;tice in his admini&s;trations towards men may be made clear and evident. Hence the Apo&s;tle calls the day of Judgement, <HI>the day of the revelation of the righteous judgement of God,</HI> Rom. 2. 5. Not
<PB N="294" REF="152"> &s;imply the day of the righteous judgement of God, but the day of the revelation of the righ|teous judgement of God, that is, the day where|in the righteous judgement of God &s;hall be re|vealed and made manife&s;t: Gods Judgement is al|wayes righteous, <HI>Is there unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e with God? God forbid,</HI> Rom. 9. 14. But here many times the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Gods Judgement doth not appear; <HI>David</HI> having &s;aid that Gods righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is like the great mountains, that is, mo&s;t firme and unmovable, addes immediately, that his judgements are a great deep, it is not ea&s;ie for us to dive into them, or to find out the rea&s;on of them, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 36. 6. So the Apo|&s;tle cryes out, <HI>How un&s;earchable are his judge|ments, and his wayes pa&s;t finding out?</HI> Rom. 11. 33. But in the great day of the Lord which is to come, Gods judgement &s;hall not onely be righ|teous, as it ever is, but al&s;o &s;hall appear to be righteous, all &s;hall clearly &s;ee the righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e of it.</P>
<P N="3">3. The generall judgement is congruous and requi&s;ite, be&s;ides the particular judgement, for the greater comfort and honour of the godly, and for the greater horrour and confu&s;ion of the wicked. What comfort and honour &s;hall it be to the god|ly, whenas they, who while&s;t they lived here, were accounted as the filth and off-&s;couring of all things, and were expo&s;ed to all kind of injuries and indignit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es, &s;hall receive their reward openly in the view of all the world? And &s;o on the o|ther&s;ide, what horrour and confu&s;ion will it be to the wicked, whenas they who here were accounted
<PB N="295" REF="152"> the only happy men, &s;hall publikely in the &s;ight of all be adjudged to eternall torment? The A|po&s;tle &s;peaking of the generall judgement, &s;aith, that then Chri&s;t &s;hall <HI>be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all them that believe,</HI> 2 The&s;. 1. 10. So <HI>Da|niel</HI> &s;aith, that then the righteous <HI>&s;hall &s;hine as the brightne&s;&s;e of the firmament,</HI> Dan. 12. 3. but that the wicked &s;hall have <HI>&s;hame and everlasting con|tempt.</HI></P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 1. This point concerning the iudgement to come, &s;erves to convince many.</P>
<P N="1">1. Tho&s;e mockers and &s;coffers mentioned by S. <HI>Peter; Knowing this fir&s;t, that there &s;hall come in the la&s;t daies &s;coffers, walking after their own lu&s;ts, and &s;aying, Where is the promi&s;e of his coming?</HI> 2 Pet. 3. 3, 4. They mean of Chri&s;ts coming to judgement? where is it? &s;ay they: as if they &s;hould &s;ay, We have heard much of it, but we can|not &s;ee it, and becau&s;e they do not &s;ee it, neither will they believe it: &s;o the Prophet <HI>Zephany</HI> tells of &s;ome <HI>that are &s;etled on their lees, and &s;ay in their heart, the Lord will neither do good, neither will he do evil,</HI> Zeph. 1. 12. But the Prophet there &s;hews that the Lord will puni&s;h &s;uch as the&s;e, Prov. 19. 29. <HI>Judgements are prepared for &s;corners;</HI> E&s;a 28. 22. <HI>Now therefore be ye not mockers le&s;t your bonds be made &s;trong;</HI> he &s;peaks of temporall Judgments that &s;hall be inflicted on them, how much le&s;&s;e &s;hall they e&s;cape eternall judgement? <HI>Enoch al&s;o</HI> (&s;aith S. <HI>Iude) the &s;eventh from</HI> Adam, <HI>prophecied of the&s;e, &s;aying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thou|&s;ands of his Saints, to execute judgement upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them,
<PB N="296" REF="153"> of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard &s;peeches, which un|godly &s;inners have &s;poken again&s;t him,</HI> Jude v. 14, &amp; 15.</P>
<P N="2">2. Hypocrites and formall profe&s;&s;ors, <HI>who have a form of godline&s;&s;e, but deny the power of it,</HI> 2 Tim. 3. 5. Who think it enough to carry it fair outwardly in the eyes of men, not con&s;idering nor caring what they are in the &s;ight of God. But <HI>God will bring every work to iudgement, with every &s;ecret thing, whether it be good or evill,</HI> Eccle&s;. 12. 14. <HI>He will bring to light the hidden things of darkne&s;&s;e, and will make manife&s;t the coun&s;ells of the heart,</HI> 1 Tim. 4, 5.</P>
<P N="3">3. Such pre&s;umptuous ones, who though they be fooli&s;h &amp; ignorant, froward &amp; di&s;obedient, yet doubt not but that when they die they &s;hal go to heaven. <HI>But be not deceived, God is not mocked; as a man &s;oweth, &s;o &s;hall he reap,</HI> Gal. 6. 7. Chri&s;t will come <HI>in flaming fire, taking vengeance on tho&s;e that know not God, and obey not the Go&s;pell of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 The&s;. 1. 8. And therefore woe unto all that remain either in their ignorance, or in their di&s;obedience.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 2. The con&s;ideration of this judgement<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. Confe&s;. l. 6. c. 6.</NOTE> &s;hould therefore &s;tir us up unto repentance, and provoke us unto all holy obedience. What can work upon us, and prevail with us, if not the con|&s;ideration of the judgement to come; <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> in his Confe&s;&s;ions te&s;tifies, that it was <HI>Metus Mor|tis, &amp; futuri judicii, the fear of death, and of judge|ment after death,</HI> which did bring him out of the deep gulf of &s;in and &s;en&s;uality, wherein he was al|mo&s;t
<PB N="297" REF="153"> &s;wallowed up and drowned. And he &s;aith that di&s;puting with his friends, <HI>de finibus bonorum &amp; malorum, of the chiefe&s;t good and evill,</HI> he &s;hould have given the garland to <HI>Epicurus,</HI> who made happine&s;&s;e to con&s;i&s;t in &s;en&s;uall plea&s;ure and de|light, but that he was per&s;waded that after this life is ended, men &s;hall receive of God according to their waies and doings, which <HI>Epicurus</HI> would not believe. Oftentimes in the Scripture is this con&s;ideration u&s;ed and urged as a forcible motive to repentance and circum&s;pect walking. <HI>Rejoyce O young man,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Salomon, in thy youth, and let thine heart chear thee in the daies of thy youth, and walk in the waies of thy heart, and in the &s;ight of thine eys,</HI> As if he &s;hould &s;ay, I know this is that which thou de&s;ire&s;t, and art prone unto; well, do &s;o if thou wilt, <HI>but know that for all the&s;e things God will bring thee unto judgement,</HI> Eccl. 11. 9. So Eccl. 12. 13, 14. <HI>Let us hear the conclu&s;ion of the whole matter. Fear God, and keep his Commandements; for this is the whole duty of man, for God &s;hall bring every work to judgement:</HI> So S. <HI>Paul And the times of this igno|rance God winked at, but now commandeth all men every where to repent, becau&s;e he hath appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> &amp;c. Act. 17. 30, 31. And 2 Cor. 5. 9, 10, 11. <HI>Where|fore we labour, that whether pre&s;ent or ab&s;ent</HI> (that is, whether alive or dead) <HI>we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the Judgement &s;eat of Chri&s;t, that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whe|ther it be good or evill. Knowing therefore that ter|rour of the Lord, we per&s;wade men.</HI> As if he &s;hould
<PB N="298" REF="154"> &s;ay, &s;urely this if any thing will per&s;wade them to have a care what they do, &s;eeing there mu&s;t be a judgement, wherein God will render unto them according to their deeds. So al&s;o S. <HI>Peter</HI> ha|ving &s;poken of this judgement, infers from <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hence, <HI>What manner of per&s;ons ought ye to be in all holy conver&s;ation and godline&s;&s;e!</HI> 2 Pet. 3. 11.</P>
<P>But let us take heed le&s;t we <HI>put far away the e|vill</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 6. 3.</NOTE> <HI>day,</HI> thinking that this judgement will not come yet, &amp; that there is time enough to prepare for it. The Scripture in many places tells us that the day of the Lord, the day of Judgement, will come <HI>as a thief,</HI> &s;uddenly, when it is little expected by many, and therefore it behoves us to watch, and prepare for it continually, that it may not &s;urprize us ere we be aware. <HI>Your &s;elves know per|fectly that the day of the Lord &s;o cometh as a thief in the night. For when they &s;hall &s;ay peace, and &s;afety, then &s;udden destruction &s;hall come upon them, as tra|vell upon a woman with child, and they &s;hall not e|&s;cape,</HI> 1 The&s;. 5. 2, 3. <HI>The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,</HI> 2 Pet. 3. 10. <HI>If thou &s;halt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou &s;halt not know what houre I will come upon thee,</HI> Revel. 3. 3. <HI>Behold, I come as a thief, ble&s;&s;ed is he that watch|eth,</HI> Revel. 16. 15. <HI>Watch therefore, for you know not what houre your Lord cometh. But know this, that if the good man of the hou&s;e had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have &s;uffered his hou&s;e to be broken up. Therefore be ye al&s;o ready, for in &s;uch an houre as you think not, the Son of Man cometh,</HI> Mat. 24. 42, 43, 44. <HI>Take ye heed, watch and pray, for you know
<PB N="299" REF="154"> not when the time is,</HI> Mar. 13. 23. <HI>Take heed to your &s;elves lea&s;t at any time your hearts be overcharged with &s;urfetting and drunkenne&s;&s;e, and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you unawares. For as a &s;nare will it come upon all them that dwell on the face of the earth: Watch ye therefore, &amp;c.</HI> Luk. 21. 34, 35, 36. We &s;ee how earne&s;tly Chri&s;t admoni|&s;hed tho&s;e that lived &s;o many hundred years a|go, to take heed lea&s;t the day of judgement &s;hould come on them ere they were aware. And good rea&s;on, for he that is unpre|pated at his death, &s;hall be<NOTE PLACE="marg">Imparatum inveniet ille dies, quem imparatam invenerit vitae hujus ultimas dies. Aug. Qualis <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> die i&s;to<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">i&s;que moritur, talis in die illo judicabitur. Idem.</NOTE> unprepared at the la&s;t judge|ment. As death leaves a man, &s;o will the day of judgement find him. Yea there is (as hath been &s;hewed) a particular judge|ment upon the &s;oul immediately after death, and as it fares with the &s;oul then in the particular judgement, &s;o mu&s;t it after fare both with body and &s;oul, in the generall judgement. But further, as the con&s;ideration of judgement to come, &s;hould deter us from all &s;in, and provoke us unto all o|bedience, &s;o there are divers particular duties which it both &s;erves to admoni&s;h us of, and in|cite us unto. As 1. To take heed of judging, cen|&s;uring and condemning one another. This is not &s;o to be taken, as &s;ome are apt to mi&s;-interpret and mi&s;apply it, as if we might not admoni&s;h and reprove one another. <HI>He will needs make him&s;elf a Judge,</HI> &s;aid the Sodomites of <HI>Lot,</HI> when he &s;aid to them, <HI>Nay my brethren, I pray you do not &s;o wicked|ly,</HI> Gen. 19. 9. So when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> reproved one for
<PB N="300" REF="155"> doing his fellow wrong, pre&s;ently the man took him up &s;aying, <HI>Who made thee a Iudge and a Ruler over us!</HI> Exod. 2. 14. But all in their places and callings ought to do this, Mini&s;ters mu&s;t do it; <HI>The&s;e things teach and exhort, and rebuke with all Authority,</HI> Tit. 2. 15. <HI>Preach the word, be in&s;tant in &s;ea&s;on, and out of &s;ea&s;on, reprove, rebuke, &amp;c.</HI> 2 Tim. 4. 2. So al&s;o private Chri&s;tians; <HI>Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wi&s;dome teaching and admoni&s;hing one another,</HI> Col. 3. 16. <HI>Warn them that are unruly,</HI> 1 The&s;. 5. 14. <HI>Thou &s;halt in any wi&s;e rebuke thy neighbour, and not &s;uffer &s;in upon him,</HI> Levit. 19. 17. But though this be required of us, yet are we forbidden to be cen&s;orious: <HI>judge not, that ye be not judged,</HI> Mat. 7. 1. Yea becau&s;e vve mu&s;t our &s;elves be judged, therefore vve mu&s;t not take up|on us to judge others. <HI>Why doest thou judge thy brother, or why doe&s;t thou &s;et at nought thy brother? we &s;hall all &s;tand before the judgement &s;eat of Christ, As it is written, As I live &s;aith the Lord, every knee &s;hall bow to me, and every tongue &s;hall confe&s;&s;e to God. So then, every one of us &s;hall give an account of him&s;elfe unto God. Let us not therefore judge one a|nother any more,</HI> Rom. 14. 10, 11, 12, 13. <HI>There is one Law-giver, who is able to &s;ave, and to de&s;troy; who art thou that judge&s;t another?</HI> Jam. 4. 12. And how mu&s;t we refrain from judging, becau&s;e of that judgement that is to come? we mu&s;t take heed of judging further then we know, as of mens purpo&s;es and intentions further then they mani|fe&s;t them by their actions. <HI>Judge nothing before the time, untill the Lord come, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkne&s;&s;e, and will make manife&s;t
<PB N="301" REF="155"> the coun&s;els of the heart,</HI> 1 Cor. 4. 5. If mens actions be good, we mu&s;t take heed how we judge their intentions, as to &s;ay, that they do things for by ends, and earthly re&s;pects, for profit, credit, and the like. And if their actions be doubtfull, we are to interpret things in the be&s;t &s;en&s;e, <HI>Charity think|eth no evill,</HI> 1 Cor. 13. 5. VVhere it &s;eeth none, it thinketh or &s;u&s;pecteth none. Neither if mens acti|ons &s;ome of them be apparently evill, mu&s;t we therefore pre&s;ume to judge &s;o of their per&s;ons; <HI>for &s;o we &s;hall offend again&s;t the generation of Gods chil|dren.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 73. 15.</NOTE> The wicked may do &s;ome things that are good, and &s;o the godly &s;ome things that are evil, <HI>for in many things we offend all,</HI> Jam. 3. 2. Finally, though it be evident, that any for the pre&s;ent are in a damnable e&s;tate, in that <HI>they &s;et them&s;elves</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 36. 4. I&s;ai. 3. 9.</NOTE> <HI>in a way that is not good, and do not abhor evill, They declare their &s;ins as</HI> Sodom <HI>and hide them not,</HI> yet may we not therefore be peremptory to judge of their eternall condition; we may not therefore &s;ay that they are reprobates, ca&s;tawaies, damned wretches, and that there is no hope of them. For this is more then we know, we mu&s;t leave it unto him, <HI>Who hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth,</HI> Rom. 9. 18.</P>
<P>There are two &s;orts of people, who are e&s;peci|ally faulty in this kind, 1. Such as take upon them to judge and cen&s;ure others, that &s;o them&s;elves may &s;eem the more pure, and the more perfect. As the depre&s;&s;ing of the one &s;cale is the lifting up of the other; &s;o they think, that what they detract from others, they &s;hall adde unto them&s;elves. See <HI>Ab&s;alons</HI> hypocriticall cen&s;oriou&s;ne&s;&s;e, 2 Sam. 15.
<PB N="302" REF="156"> 3. 4. <HI>But thou art inexcu&s;able O man, who&s;oever thou art that judge&s;t, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemne&s;t thy &s;elf, for thou that judge&s;t, doe&s;t the &s;ame things. But we are &s;ure that the judgment of God is according to truth, against them that com|mit &s;uch things. And thinke&s;t thou this, O man, that iudge&s;t them, which do &s;uch things, and doe&s;t the &s;ame, that thou &s;halt e&s;cape the iudgement of God?</HI> Rom. 2. 1, 2, 3. <HI>If a man think him&s;elf to be &s;omething when he is nothing; he deceiveth him&s;elf. But let e|very man prove his own work, and &s;o &s;hall he have reioycing in him&s;elf alone, and not in another. For e|very man &s;hall bear his own burthen,</HI> Gal. 6. 3, 4, 5. <HI>My brethren be not many Masters, knowing that we &s;hall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all,</HI> Jam. 3. 1, 2.</P>
<P>2. Such as wittingly and wilfully traduce and &s;lander others, who&s;e conver&s;ations they know to be holy and good, and even therefore they &s;eek what they can to defame them. <HI>They think it &s;trange that you will not run with them to the &s;ame exce&s;&s;e of riot, &s;peaking evill of you. Who &s;hall give an account to him who is ready to iudge both the quick and the dead,</HI> 1 Pet. 4. 4, 5.</P>
<P>2. To beware of abu&s;ing that power that we have over, or above others. For though they be not a|ble to plead their own cau&s;e, and to vindicate them&s;elves, yet God at the la&s;t judgement, if not before, will plead their cau&s;e for them, and will a|venge them on tho&s;e that have done them wrong. <HI>Rob not the poor, becau&s;e he is poor, neither oppre&s;&s;e the afflicted in the gate. For the Lord will plead their cau&s;e, and &s;poil the &s;oul of tho&s;e that &s;poiled them,</HI>
<PB N="303" REF="156"> Prov. 22. 22, 23, <HI>He that doth wrong, &s;hall receive for the wrong that he doth, and there is no re&s;pect of per&s;ons,</HI> Col. 3. 25. Therefore <HI>Masters give unto your &s;ervants, that which is iust and equall, knowing that ye al&s;o have a master in heaven,</HI> Col. 4. 1. This con&s;ideration of Gods judgement to come wrought &s;o upon <HI>Iob,</HI> that he dur&s;t not oppre&s;&s;e either &s;ervants or others. <HI>If I did de&s;pi&s;e</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>the cau&s;e of my man-&s;ervant, or of my maid-&s;ervant, when they contended with me. What then &s;hall I do when God &s;tandeth up, and when he vi&s;iteth, what &s;hall I an&s;wer him?</HI> Job. 31. 13, 14. <HI>If I have lift up my hand again&s;t the father le&s;&s;e, when I &s;aw my help in the gate</HI> (that is, when by his greatne&s;&s;e he could have ea&s;ily e&s;caped cen&s;ure in the courts of hu|mane judicature) <HI>Then let mine arm fall from my &s;houlder-blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. For de&s;truction from God was a terrour unto me, and becau&s;e of his highne&s;&s;e I could not indure,</HI> Joh. 31. 21, 22, 23.</P>
<P>3. To &s;hew mercy unto others, that we our &s;elves in that great day may obtain mercy. <HI>With what mea&s;ure ye mete, it &s;hall be mea&s;ured to you again,</HI> Mat. 7. 2. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the mercifull for they &s;hall obtain mercy,</HI> Mat. 5. 7. <HI>But he &s;hall have iudge|ment without mercy, that hath &s;hewed no mercy,</HI> Jam. 2. 13. Now we mu&s;t be mercifull in forgiving. For how can we expect that God &s;hould forgive us, if we will not forgive others? Chri&s;t hath taught us to pray, <HI>forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive tho&s;e that tre&s;pa&s;&s;e against us,</HI> And he adds, <HI>For if ye forgive men their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, your heavenly Father will al&s;o forgive you. But if ye forgive not
<PB N="304" REF="157"> men their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, neither will your Father forgive your tre&s;pa&s;&s;es,</HI> Mat. 6. 14. 15. And to this end he propounded a Parable of a certaine King, who having forgiven one of his &s;ervants a great debt which he was never able to pay, when he heard how that &s;ervant would not remit a &s;mall debt that his fellow-&s;ervant owed him, he was wroth with him, and exacted his debt of him, <HI>Mat.</HI> 18. 23. &amp;c. And the Application of the Parable is &s;ubjoyned v. 35. <HI>So likewi&s;e &s;hall my heavenly Fa|ther do al&s;o unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es:</HI> Therefore <HI>let not the Sun go down upon your wrath,</HI> Eph. 4. 26. Yet &s;ome will continue in their wrath and en|mity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In ip&s;a morte ira vivebat. <HI>Flor.</HI></NOTE> not only untill night, but even untill death, they will lie down not onely in their beds, but in their graves with it.</P>
<P>2. In giving, that is, &s;uccouring and relieving tho&s;e that are in want and mi&s;ery: <HI>The Lord give mercy unto the hou&s;e of</HI> One&s;iphorus, <HI>for he oft refre&s;hed me, and was not a&s;hamed of my chain; but when he was in Rome he &s;ought me out very di|ligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him, that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day,</HI> 2 Tim. 1. 16, 17, 18. And what account &s;hall be made at the la&s;t judgement of this kind of mer|cy, Chri&s;t hath plainly &s;hewed, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. 34. &amp;c. where he fore-tells how to tho&s;e who have been carefull to &s;uccour and relieve others, he will &s;ay, <HI>Come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my Father, inherit ye the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thir&s;ty, and ye gave me drink, &amp;c.</HI> On
<PB N="305" REF="157"> the other &s;ide to tho&s;e, who have refu&s;ed thus to &s;hew mercy, he will &s;ay, <HI>Depart from me ye cur|&s;ed into everla&s;ting fire, prepared for the Devill and his Angells: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat, &amp;c.</HI> Some (as <HI>Austine</HI> records)<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Aug.</HI> de Civit. Dei. l. 212. c. 17.</NOTE> have &s;trained this, and other &s;uch like places, be|yond all due mea&s;ure, inferring from thence, that if a man did not neglect to give almes how|&s;oever otherwi&s;e he lived, yet he &s;hould not be damned. But this is a mo&s;t erroneous and dam|nable opinion: For though a man give all his goods to feed the poore, yet if he be without charity, it &s;hall profit him nothing, as the Apo|&s;tle teacheth, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13. 3. Now where &s;in and ungodline&s;&s;e doth reign, there is no charity; for charity proceeds out of a pure heart, a good con|&s;cience, and faith unf<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ined, as we learn of the &s;ame Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1. 5. That of our Saviour holds good in re&s;pect of all, as well alme&s;-givers as others, <HI>Except ye repent, ye &s;hall all peri&s;h,</HI> Luke 13. 3, 5. <HI>Gregory</HI> &s;aith well, that he that gives<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dat &s;ua Deo, &s;e diabolo. <HI>Greg.</HI> Pa|&s;tor. par. 3. admonit. 21.</NOTE> almes liberally, and yet otherwi&s;e lives wickedly, <HI>gives his goods to God, and him&s;elf to the Devill:</HI> That of our Saviour, Luk. 11. 41. <HI>Give almes of of &s;uch things as you have, and behold all things are clean unto you,</HI> is not &s;o to be taken, as if gi|ving of alms alone would &s;erve the turn; but he &s;pake in re&s;pect of the Phari&s;ees, as the context &s;heweth: The Phari&s;ees were &s;uper&s;titious in wa&s;hing and clean&s;ing their cups, and platters, but regarded not to wa&s;h and clean&s;e their hearts. And becau&s;e coveou&s;ne&s;&s;e was the &s;in which was predominant in them, as appears,
<PB N="306" REF="158"> <HI>Luke 16. 14. Mat.</HI> 23. 14. Therefore Chri&s;t pre|&s;cribed a remedy &s;utable to the di&s;ea&s;e; as a Phy|&s;itian will &s;ay, to &s;uch as are given to exce&s;&s;e, U&s;e ab&s;tinence, and all will be well: So <HI>Daniel</HI> know|ing that <HI>Nebuchadnezzar</HI> had been a great op|pre&s;&s;or, exhorted him to the exerci&s;e of that ver|tue e&s;pecially which was mo&s;t contrary to the vice that reigned in him; <HI>Wherefore O King, let my coun&s;ell be acceptable unto thee, break off thy &s;ins by righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and thine iniquities by &s;hewing mercy to the poor,</HI> Dan. 4. 27.</P>
<P>The error of the Papi&s;ts al&s;o is here to be avoi|ded, They hold that by works of mercy we may &s;atisfie for our &s;ins, and merit heaven: But it is only Chri&s;t, who <HI>is the propitiation for our &s;ins,</HI> 1 Joh. 1. 2. and who hath <HI>purcha&s;ed eternall re|demption for us,</HI> Heb. 9. 12. It is mercy that we mu&s;t expect in the day of Judgement, notwith|&s;tanding all the works of mercy, or what ever good works we have done, as is clear by the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dignatio locum non habet, ubi fuerit prae&s;ump|tio digni|tatis. <HI>Bern. Gal. 5. 6.</HI></NOTE> places before cited, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1. 18. Now Gods mer|cy and our merit will not &s;tand together: But as other good works, &s;o works of mercy being the fruits of a living faith, <HI>that worketh thorough love,</HI> &s;hall be found plea&s;ing unto God, and profi|table unto us at the la&s;t judgment.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 3. Thirdly, and la&s;tly, This Judgement to come being con&s;idered, affoards comfort unto the godly, and is &s;ufficient to incourage them again&s;t all the mole&s;tations and troubles that here they meet with, As,</P>
<P N="1">1. The pro&s;perity of the wicked doth &s;ome|times not a little vex and grieve the godly:
<PB N="307" REF="158"> <HI>Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea and are mighty in power? Their &s;eed is e&s;tabli&s;hed in their &s;ight, &amp;c.</HI> Job 21. 7, 8. <HI>Wherefore doth the way of the wicked pro&s;per? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherou&s;ly?</HI> Jer. 12. 1. <HI>But as for me my feet were almo&s;t gone, my &s;teps had well nigh &s;lipt: For I was envious at the fooli&s;h when I &s;aw the pro&s;perity of the wicked,</HI> &amp;c. P&s;al. 73. 2, 3. &amp;c. But what rea&s;on is there to envy the wicked, becau&s;e they pro&s;per and flouri&s;h for a while, whenas at la&s;t God will pay them home, and they &s;hall peri&s;h for ever? <HI>The wicked is re&s;erved to the day of de&s;truction, and &s;hall be brought forth to the day of wrath,</HI> Job 21. 30. <HI>Pull them out as &s;heep for the &s;laughter, and prepare them for the day of &s;laughter,</HI> Jer. 12. 3. <HI>When I thought to under&s;tand this, it was too painfull for me, untill I went into the Sanctuary of God, then under&s;tood I their end. Surely thou didst &s;et them in &s;lippery places, thou casted&s;t them down into de&s;truction: How are they brought into de&s;olation as in a m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|ment? They are utterly con&s;umed with terrors: As a dreame when one awaketh, &s;o O Lord when thou awake&s;t thou &s;halt de&s;pi&s;e their image,</HI> P&s;al. 73. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Therefore <HI>fret not thy &s;elf becau&s;e of evill doers, neither be thou envious again&s;t the workers of iniquity: For they &s;hall &s;oon be cut down like the gra&s;&s;e, &amp; wither as the green herb,</HI> P&s;a. 37. 1, 2.</P>
<P N="2">2. We are apt to be troubled at the di&s;order and confu&s;ion that is in the world, that much &s;in and wickedne&s;&s;e doth pa&s;&s;e without controle, that judgement is perverted, the righteous are con|demned&punc; and the wicked ju&s;tified: But let us
<PB N="308" REF="159"> con&s;ider that there is a judgement to come which will rectifie all, and &s;et all &s;traight; <HI>I &s;aw under the Sun</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Solomon) the place of Judgement, that wickedne&s;&s;e was there, and the place of righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that iniquity was there; I &s;aid in mine heart, God &s;hall judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpo&s;e, and for e|very worke,</HI> Eccl. 3. 16, 17. <HI>If thou &s;ee&s;t</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>the oppre&s;&s;ion of the poor, and violent perverting of judgement and ju&s;tice in a Province, marvell not at the matter; for he that is higher then the high|e&s;t regardeth the matter, and there be higher then they,</HI> Eccle&s;. 5. 8.</P>
<P N="3">3. The godly are &s;ubject here to &s;landers, calum|nies, and defamations: But let them con&s;ider that the day is coming when all foul and fal&s;le a&s;per&s;i|ons that were ca&s;t on them, &s;hall be wiped off, and their innocency be made manife&s;t unto all; <HI>Commit thy way unto the Lord tru&s;t al&s;o in him, and he &s;hall bring it to pa&s;&s;e: And he &s;hall bring forth thy righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e as the light, and thy judgement as the noon day,</HI> P&s;al. 36. 5, 6. <HI>But with me it is a very &s;mall thing, that I &s;hould be judged of you, or of mans Judgement.&mdash;But he that judge<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h me is the Lord,</HI> 1 Cor. 4. 3, 4.</P>
<P N="4">4. Per&s;ecution which the godly here indure, is &s;ometimes bitter and grievous unto them. But this (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>is a manife&s;t token of the righteous judgement of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which ye al&s;o &s;uf|fer. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to re|compen&s;e tribulation to tho&s;e that trouble you: And to you who are troubled, re&s;t with us, when the Lord
<PB N="309" REF="159"> Je&s;us &s;hall appear from Heaven,</HI> &amp;c. 2 The&s;. 1. 5, 6, 7. &amp;c. <HI>Be patient therefore brethren</HI> (&s;aith S. <HI>James) unto the coming of the Lord: Behold the hu&s;|bandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the Earth, and hath long patience for it, untill he receive the former and the latter rain. Be ye al&s;o patient, &s;tabli&s;h your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh,</HI> Iames 5. 7, 8. And &s;o much for this Doctrine, That all generally &s;hall be judged.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="25" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="310" REF="160">
<HEAD>The five and twentieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<P>THe &s;econd point to be con&s;idered from the Text, is this, That Chri&s;t is he, who mu&s;t be the <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Doct."> judge of all, both the quick and the dead.</P>
<P>The Text is clear and expre&s;&s;e for this, and &s;o al&s;o the Scripture in many other places. <HI>I charge thee before God, and the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who &s;hall iudge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his Kingdom,</HI> 2 Tim. 4. 1. <HI>We must all appear before the iudgment &s;eat of Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 10. <HI>We &s;hal all &s;tand before the iudgment &s;eat of Chri&s;t,</HI> Rom. 14. 10. <HI>In the day when God &s;hall judge the &s;ecrets of men by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> Rom. 2. 16 <HI>Becau&s;e he hath appointed a day wherein he will iudge the world in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath gi|ven a&s;&s;urance unto all men, in that he hath rai&s;ed him from the dead,</HI> Act. 17. 31. <HI>For the Father judg|eth no man, but hath committed all judgement to the Son,</HI> Ioh. 5. 22. <HI>And hath given him authority al&s;o to execute iudgment, becau&s;e he is the Sonne of man,</HI> v. 27.</P>
<P><HI>Quest.</HI> But how is it &s;aid, that the Father judg|eth no man? the contrary is affirmed by <HI>S. Peter, If ye call on the Father, who without re&s;pect of per|&s;ons iudgeth according to every mans work, &amp;c.</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 17.</P>
<PB N="311" REF="160">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It is not meant that &s;imply and ab&s;o|lutely the Father judgeth no man, but only in &s;ome re&s;pect, that is, the Father judgeth no man immediately by him&s;elfe, but mediately by Chri&s;t, as the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2. 16. &amp; <HI>Act.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ferus</HI> on Ioh. 5. 22.</NOTE> 17. 31. In judgement (as &s;ome ob&s;erve) four things are to be con&s;idered. 1. The judiciary power and authority. 2. an inward approbation of good, and dete&s;tation of evill. 3. a retribution of reward. 3. an outward &s;itting in judgement, and pronouncing of &s;entence, in re&s;pect of the three fir&s;t particulars, the la&s;t judgement is com|mon to the whole Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Gho&s;t; but in re&s;pect of the fourth and la&s;t particular it is proper and peculiar unto Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But again it may be &s;aid, Chri&s;t being one and the &s;ame God with the Father, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 10. 30. how hath he this authority a&s;&s;igned unto him? <HI>All things that the Father hath, are mine,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, Joh. 16. 15.</P>
<P>Divers of the Ancients under&s;tand it &s;o, that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hilary Chry&s;o|&s;tomand Theophy|lact: See Ian&s;enius <HI>in Con|cord.</HI></NOTE> the Father begetting the Son, and communica|ting the divine nature unto him, in that re&s;pect gave him authority to execute judgement. In which &s;en&s;e it is &s;aid, <HI>As the Father hath life in him&s;elf, &s;o hath he given to the Son to have life in him&s;elf,</HI> Joh. 5. 26. But <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> ju&s;tly di&s;liketh this expo&s;ition; for &s;o it could not be &s;aid, <HI>The Father iudgeth no man.</HI> For as the Father beget|teth the Son, who is equall to the Father, &s;o the Father judgeth together with the Son:
<PB N="312" REF="161"> the one judgeth in like<NOTE PLACE="marg">Secundum hoc enim qu&ograve;d Pater aequalem genuit Filium, judicat eum Filio. Aug. Opera Trinita|tis ad extra &s;unt indivi&s;a.</NOTE> manner as the other. For the works of the Trinity that are without, are common to all the three Per&s;ons: In this re&s;pect therefore he &s;aith it is to be un|der&s;tood, that the <HI>Father hath committed all iudg|ment to the Son,</HI> in that the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Secundum hoc erg&ograve; dictum est, qu&ograve;d in judicio non in form&acirc; Dei, &s;ed in form&acirc; Filii hominis appa|rebit. Aug.</NOTE> Son &s;hall appear in judge|ment, not in the forme of God, but in the form of man. And this he well con|firms by that, <HI>He hath given him authority to exe|cute iudgement, becau&s;e he is the Son of man,</HI> Joh. 5. 27. The power of judging<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pater Filio pote&s;tatem judicandi, quam ab aeterno habuit ut Deus, de|dit in tempore, qui<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Filius homi|nis e&s;t, hoc est, quatenus e&s;t homo. Aug.</NOTE> belonged to the Son from all eternity, as God, but as man, in time he received that power of the Father. <HI>I &s;aw in the night vi&s;ions</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Daniel) and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of daies, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a King|dome, that all people, Nations and languages &s;hould &s;erve him, &amp;c.</HI> Dan. 7. 13, 14. This &s;hews, that Chri&s;t as the Son of man, that is, as man, had a Kingdome given unto him of God; and to the admini&s;tration of that Kingdome, this appertain|eth, that he &s;hould judge the world. <HI>For he must reign untill hes enemies be made his footstool,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 25. Which &s;hall be fulfilled at his coming to
<PB N="313" REF="161"> judgement; then &s;hal he exerci&s;e his Kingly pow|er to the full. And therefore it is &s;aid, that <HI>he &s;hal judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdome,</HI> 2 Tim. 4. 1. The rea&s;on why Chri&s;t is to be the Judge of all, is the will and plea&s;ure of God, it is his ordination and appointment, <HI>he is ordained of God to be the iudge of quick and dead,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Peter</HI> in the Text. So <HI>Paul</HI> Act. 17. 31. &s;aith that God hath ordained him to judge the world.</P>
<P>It is congruous and agreeable to rea&s;on that it &s;hould be &s;o in divers re&s;pects, 1. For a reward to Chri&s;ts humiliation, <HI>for he that humbleth him&s;elf, &s;hall be exalted,</HI> Luk. 18. 14. <HI>Now Chri&s;t humbled him&s;elf, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cro&s;&s;e. Wherefore al&s;o God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Je&s;us every knee &s;hould bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: And that every tongue &s;hould confe&s;&s;e that Je&s;us is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father,</HI> Phil. 2. 8, 9, 10, 11. The full accompli&s;h|ment hereof &s;hall be at the la&s;t judgment, as ap|pears by comparing this place with that, Rom. 14. 10, 11. <HI>We &s;hall all &s;tand before the judgement &s;eat of Chri&s;t. For it is written, As I live &s;aith the Lord, every knee &s;hall bow to me, and every tongue &s;hall confe&s;&s;e to God.</HI> That which is written (to wit, <HI>I|&s;ai.</HI> 45. 23.) of every knee bowing unto God, and of every tongue confe&s;&s;ing unto him, the Apo&s;tle interprets of Chri&s;t, as meant of him, and thence proves that all mu&s;t &s;tand before his judgement &s;eat; for that then indeed &s;hall every knee bow, that is, every one &s;hall be &s;ubject unto him, and
<PB N="314" REF="162"> every tongue &s;hall confe&s;&s;e him to be Lord over all. And thus &s;ome under&s;tand that, Ioh. 5. 27. <HI>And hath given him authority to execute iudgement al&s;o, becau&s;e he is the Son of man,</HI> that is (&s;ay they) be|cau&s;e he did &s;o humble himfelf as to be made man, and being man to &s;uffer as he did.</P>
<P>2. That &s;o the judiciall proceedings might be in an outward and vi&s;ible manner. And thus o|thers do more fitly expound that, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 5. 27. Where it is &s;aid that authority to execute judgment is given unto Chri&s;t, becau&s;e he is the &s;on of man, that is, becau&s;e he only of all the three Per&s;ons is man, and con&s;equently is meet &s;o to execute judg|ment, as that he may generally be &s;een of all. Thus it is &s;aid, that when he cometh, <HI>every eye &s;hall &s;ee him,</HI> Revel. 1. 7.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But may &s;ome object, This honour to be the judge of all, is not peculiar unto Chri&s;t; for it is &s;aid, that <HI>the Saints &s;hall iudge the world,</HI> 1 Cor. 6. 2.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, One may be &s;aid to judge ma|ny waies. 1. Comparatively, thus it is &s;aid, Mat. 12. 41&punc; 42. <HI>The men of Nineve &s;hal ri&s;e in the iudgement with this generation, and &s;hall condemn it, becau&s;e they repented at the preaching of</HI> Jonas; <HI>and behold, a greater then</HI> Jonas <HI>is here. The Queen of the South &s;hall ri&s;e up in the judgement with this generation, and &s;hall condemn it; for &s;he came from the uttermo&s;t parts of the earth to hear the wi&s;dome of</HI> Solomon; <HI>and behold, a greater then</HI> Solomon <HI>is here.</HI> Thus al&s;o is it &s;aid, Mat. 12. 27. <HI>If I by Belzebub ca&s;t out devills, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they &s;hall be your judges.</HI> Thus compara|tively,
<PB N="315" REF="162"> not only the Saints &s;hall judge the wicked, that is, make it appear, that the wicked are ju&s;tly to be condemned; but even the wicked al&s;o &s;hall judge the wicked, &s;ome being far more gro&s;&s;ely then others.</P>
<P>2. Interpretatively, by way of approbation: and thus al&s;o &s;hall the Saints judge the world, by con|&s;enting unto, and approving of Chri&s;ts judgment, as ju&s;t and right. They &s;hall &s;ay, as it is, Revel. 16. 5. <HI>Thou art righteous O Lord, which art, and wast, and &s;hall be, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t iudged thus.</HI></P>
<P>3. Eminently, as an a&s;&s;e&s;&s;or and Bencher next unto the Judge. Thus &s;hall &s;ome of the Saints judge the world, to wit, the Apo&s;tles to whom Chri&s;t &s;aid, <HI>When the Son of man &s;hall &s;it on the throne of his glory, ye al&s;o &s;hall &s;it upon twelve thrones, iudging the twelve Tribes of I&s;rael,</HI> Mat. 19. 28.</P>
<P>4. Authoritatively, and &s;o none of the Saints &s;hall judge the world, but Chri&s;t only.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 1. Here then is terrour to all tho&s;e who are enemies to Chri&s;t, and aliens from Chri&s;t, as all the wicked and unregenerate are. Some there are who con&s;pire again&s;t God, and again&s;t Chri&s;t, &s;ay|ing, <HI>Let us break their bonds a&s;under, and ca&s;t away their cords from us,</HI> P&s;al. 2. 3. <HI>We will not have this man to reign over us,</HI> Luk. 19. 14. <HI>But O ye &s;ons of men how long will ye turn my glory into &s;hame? how long</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 4. 2.</NOTE> <HI>will ye love vanity, and &s;eek after lea&s;ing?</HI> What do the&s;e but &s;trive again&s;t the &s;tream? <HI>and kick again&s;t pricks?</HI> They do but <HI>imagine a vain thing,</HI> P&s;al. 2. 1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 9. 4.</NOTE> Chri&s;t is King, and &s;hall reign over them whether they will or no, if not by their voluntary &s;ubjecti|on
<PB N="316" REF="163"> to their eternall comfort, yet perforce to their eternall confu&s;ion. <HI>He &s;hall break them with a rod of iron, and break them in pieces like a potters ve&s;&s;ell.</HI> P&s;al. 2. 9. He &s;hall &s;ay at the la&s;t day, <HI>Tho&s;e mine e|nemies, that would not &s;uffer me to reign over them, bring hither, and &s;lay them before me,</HI> Luk. 19. 27.</P>
<P>More particulerly here is terrour for divers &s;orts of the ungodly.</P>
<P N="1">1. Adulterers, Fornicatours and unclean per|&s;ons, who profe&s;&s;ing them&s;elves Chri&s;tians, yet con&s;ider not that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Know ye not, that your bodies are the members of Chri&s;t? &s;hall I then take the members of Chri&s;t, and make them the mem|bers of on harlot? God forbid,</HI> 1 Cor. 6. 15. &s;hall any be thus injurious unto Chri&s;t, and yet e&s;cape when he &s;hall come to judgement? No, <HI>Whoremongers and adulterers he will iudge,</HI> Hebr. 13. 4. Though they e&s;cape here, they &s;hall not e&s;cape hereafter. <HI>The Lord knoweth how to re&s;erve the uniu&s;t to the day of iudgement to be puni&s;hed; Chiefly tho&s;e that walk after the fle&s;h in the lust of uncleanne&s;&s;e,</HI> 2 Pet. 2. 9, 10.</P>
<P N="2">2. Swearers, who never mention Chri&s;t but in their oaths, never think of his &s;ufferings, his wounds, his blood, his death, but to &s;wear by them, as much as in them lies, they crucifie him again and again, and continually make his wounds to bleed afre&s;h. Some &s;uch mi&s;creants there are, as <HI>Salvian</HI> complained of in his times, <HI>They never le&s;&s;e in|tend</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Nunquam minus cogitant quippi|am facere, qu&agrave;m cum iurant per Christum &s;e e&s;&s;e facturos. <HI>Salv.</HI> de <HI>Gubernat. l. 4.</HI></NOTE> <HI>to do a thing, then when they &s;wear by Chri&s;t that they will do it.</HI> Yea tho&s;e things
<PB N="317" REF="163"> that are mo&s;t evill and odious unto Chri&s;t, they<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cogitant &s;e &s;celera etiam re|ligio&s;&egrave; fa|cturos. <HI>Salv. Ibid.</HI></NOTE> will &s;wear by Chri&s;t, that they will do; <HI>as if</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>they thought that by this means their wic|ked acts &s;hall be done religiou&s;ly.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Such as &s;leight, or prophane the Ordinan|ces of Chri&s;t, his Word, and his Sacraments: In&s;tead of ob&s;erving that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Let the word of Chri&s;t dwell in you richly in all wi&s;dome,</HI> Col. 3. 16. they are like tho&s;e, Jer. 6. 10. <HI>The Word of the Lord is a reproach unto them, and they have no delight in it.</HI> So for the Sacraments, they think with <HI>Naaman, Are not Abana and Parphar, ri|vers of Dama&s;cus, better then all the waters of I&s;|rael?</HI> 2 King. 5. 12. What is there more in the water of Bapti&s;me, then in other water? What more in the bread and wine on the Lords Table, then in bread and wine el&s;ewhere?</P>
<P N="4">4. Such as de&s;pi&s;e and hate, traduce and per&s;e|cute Chri&s;ts members: The&s;e more e&s;pecially <HI>&s;hall give an account unto him, who is ready to judge both the quick and the dead.</HI> All the re&s;pect that is &s;hewed unto the members of Chri&s;t, and &s;o all the indignity that is done unto them, Chri&s;t at the la&s;t Judgement, will take as &s;hewed and done unto him&s;elfe: <HI>Come ye ble&s;&s;ed, &amp;c. For I was an hungred, and ye fed me, &amp;c. Fora&s;much as ye have done it to one of the least of the&s;e of the&s;e my brethren, ye have done it unto me,</HI> Mat. 25. 34. &amp;c. On the other &s;ide, <HI>Depart from me ye cur&s;ed, &amp;c. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat, &amp;c. Ina&s;much as ye did it not to one of the least of the&s;e my brethren, ye did it not to me,</HI> V. 41. &amp;c. Therefore <HI>who|&s;o
<PB N="318" REF="164"> &s;hall offend one of the&s;e little ones that believe in Christ, it were better for him that a mil&s;tone were hanged about his necke, and that he were drowned in the depth of the Sea,</HI> Mat. 18. 6.</P>
<P N="5">5. They who in place and office are the Mi|ni&s;ters of Chri&s;t, but do not <HI>take heed to the Mi|ni&s;tery which they have received in the Lord, to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 4. 17.</NOTE> <HI>fulfill it:</HI> How &s;trictly did <HI>Paul</HI> charge <HI>Timothy</HI> to have a care of this, &s;etting before him Chri&s;ts coming to Judgement? <HI>I charge thee therefore</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>before God and the Lord Je&s;us Christ, who &s;hall judge both the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his Kingdome, preach the Word, be instant in &s;ea&s;on and out of &s;ea&s;on, &amp;c.</HI> 2 Tim. 4. 1, 2. So <HI>Peter, The Elders that are among you, I exhort, &amp;c. Feed the flock of God, which is a|mong you, taking the over&s;ight thereof not by con|&s;traint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither being Lords over Gods heri|tage, but being en&s;amples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd &s;hall appear, ye &s;hall receive a Crown of glory that fadeth not away,</HI> 1 Pet. 5. 1, 2, 3, 4. See <HI>Mat.</HI> 24. 45,&mdash;51.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Secondly, here is comfort for tho&s;e that belong unto Chri&s;t, and have intere&s;t in him; what need &s;uch to fear condemnation, whenas it is Chri&s;t by whom they &s;hall be judged? He<NOTE PLACE="marg">Advoca|tus no&s;ter factus est judex no|&s;ter <HI>Greg. hom. 34.</HI> in Evang.</NOTE> that is our Advocate, who maketh interce&s;&s;ion for us, he &s;hall be our Judge, and how then &s;hall we be condemned? Though Satan be (as his name imports, and S. <HI>Peter</HI> terms him) our ad|ver&s;arie, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5. 8. though he cea&s;e not to accu&s;e us,, <HI>Rev.</HI> 12. 10. Yet we repenting and believing
<PB N="319" REF="164"> in Chri&s;t, may &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Who is he</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8. 34</NOTE> <HI>that condemneth?</HI> &s;eeing Chri&s;t is he that judg|eth. When the wicked &s;hall be at their wits end, <HI>and &s;hall &s;ay to the mountains and to the rockes, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that &s;itteth on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who &s;hall be able to &s;tand?</HI> Rev. 6. 16, 17. Then &s;hall all true believers lift up their heads, for that their redemption is at hand: Then &s;hall they &s;ay, <HI>L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 21. 28.</NOTE> <HI>this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will &s;ave us; this is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad, and rejoyce in his &s;alvation,</HI> E&s;a. 25. 9.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 3. Thirdly, and la&s;tly, let us be admoni&s;h|ed to con&s;ider Chri&s;t, and to think of him, not only as a Redeemer, but al&s;o as a Judge; let's know and con&s;ider, that as Chri&s;t came once to &s;ave &s;inners, &s;o he will come againe to condemn &s;inners, even all impenitent &s;inners: His fir&s;t coming was in humility and meekne&s;&s;e, his &s;e|cond coming will be in maje&s;ty and terrour; <HI>For the Son of man &s;hall come in the glory of his Father, with his Angels, and then he &s;hall render to every man according to his works,</HI> Mat. 16. 27. So Mat. 25. 31. <HI>When the Son of Man &s;hall come in his glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then &s;hall he fit upon the Throne of his glory.</HI> The terriblene&s;&s;e of Chri&s;ts coming to judgement is lively &s;et forth by the Apo&s;tle, 2 The&s;. 1. 7, 8, 9. <HI>The Lord Je&s;us &s;hall be revealed from heaven with his mighty Angells, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospell of our Lord Je&s;us
<PB N="320" REF="165"> Chri&s;t, who &s;hall be puni&s;hed with everla&s;ting de|&s;truction from the pre&s;ence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power:</HI> Well might he &s;ay, as he did, <HI>Knowing therefore this terror of the Lord, we per&s;wade men,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 11. Let us take heed le&s;t we now de&s;pi&s;e that &s;weet invitation, <HI>Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you ea&s;e,</HI> Mat. 11. 28. le&s;t hereafter we hear that dreadfull denuntiation, <HI>Depart from me ye cur&s;ed into everla&s;ting fire, prepared for the De|vill and his Angels,</HI> Mat. 25. 41. Let us remember that of <HI>Paul, The grace of God which bringeth &s;alvation, hath appeared unto all men, teaching us, that denying ungodline&s;&s;e and worldly lu&s;ts, we live &s;oberly, righteou&s;ly, and godly in this pre&s;ent world, looking for that ble&s;&s;ed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Je&s;us Christ,</HI> Tit. 2. 11, 12, 13. And that of <HI>Peter, Where|fore beloved, &s;eeing that you look for &s;uch things, be diligent, that you may be found of him in peace, with|out &s;pot and blamele&s;&s;e,</HI> 2 Pet. 3. 14. In a word, let's have a care &s;o to a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves of intere&s;t in Chri&s;t by faith, and &s;o to &s;hew forth our faith in Chri&s;t by our love and obedience unto him, that as he &s;aith, <HI>Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man as his work &s;hall be,</HI> Rev. 22. 12. <HI>Surely I come quickly,</HI> v. 20. So we may have courage and confidence to &s;ay, as there im|mediately it followeth, <HI>Amen, even &s;o come Lord Je&s;us.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="26" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="321" REF="165">
<HEAD>The &s;ix and twentieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>2 COR. 13. 14.</BIBL> And the Com|munion of the Holy Gho&s;t be with you all.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe&s;e words are a part of the conclu&s;ion of this Epi&s;tle. The Apo&s;tle u&s;ually begins and ends with prayer in the behalf of tho&s;e to whom he writes. So in other Epi&s;tles, and &s;o in this, <HI>Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> Chap. 1. v. 2. And here in like manner, <HI>The grace of our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and the love of God, and the Communion of the Holy Gho&s;t be with you all.</HI> Amen.</P>
<P>I am to treat only of that part of the ver&s;e, which concerns the Holy Gho&s;t, and before I come to the doctrine which the words afford, I mu&s;t in&s;i&s;t a little upon the name, nature, per&s;on, and operation of the Holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P N="1">1. For the name, <HI>Holy Gho&s;t:</HI> Gho&s;t is as much as<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the name <HI>Holy Gho&s;t.</HI></NOTE> &s;pirit, and gho&s;tly as much as &s;pirituall. In the Scripture where this Per&s;on called the Holy Gho&s;t, is &s;poken of, our Tran&s;lators &s;ometimes
<PB N="322" REF="166"> u&s;e the word <HI>Gho&s;t,</HI> and &s;ometimes the word <HI>Spi|rit.</HI> Yet (as I ob&s;erve) they do not altogether u&s;e the words promi&s;cuou&s;ly, but with this difference. Where the word <HI>Holy</HI> is not prefixed, they alwaies<NOTE PLACE="marg">The word <HI>Gho&s;t</HI> ex|plained.</NOTE> u&s;e the word <HI>Spirit,</HI> and not the word <HI>Gho&s;t.</HI> And &s;o al&s;o when this Per&s;on is &s;poken of in rela|tion to God, or to Chri&s;t, although the word Ho|ly be prefixed. As the Spirit, not the Gho&s;t, the Spirit of God or of Chri&s;t, not the Gho&s;t of God or of Chri&s;t: his holy Spirit, not his Holy Gho&s;t. Otherwi&s;e when this Per&s;on is &s;poken of without any &s;uch relation, and with the Epithite <HI>Holy</HI> pre|fixed, they u&s;e the word <HI>Gho&s;t</HI> rather then <HI>Spirit.</HI> But however, the word in the Originall is the &s;ame, and the&s;e words <HI>Gho&s;t</HI> and <HI>Spirit</HI> differ in &s;ound, rather then in &s;en&s;e and &s;ignification. Now the word in the Hebrew, and in the Greek, and<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Spiritus.</NOTE> in the Latin (the three learned Languages) which is rendred &s;ometimes Gho&s;t, but more fre|quently Spirit, this word (I &s;ay) is attributed to divers things. 1. Sometimes it is taken for breath; <HI>I will cau&s;e breath to enter into you, and you &s;hall live,</HI> Ezek. 37. 5. In the Originall the word rendred <HI>breath,</HI> is that which u&s;ually is rendred <HI>Spirit.</HI> So<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> Jam. 2. 26. Where it is &s;aid, <HI>the body without the Spi|rit is dead,</HI> in the margent for <HI>&s;pirit</HI> is <HI>breath.</HI> 2. The word &s;ometimes is u&s;ed for the wind, as Joh. 3. 8. <HI>The wind bloweth where it li&s;teth, &s;o is eve|ry one that is born of the &s;pirit.</HI> In the Originall it is<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> one and the &s;ame word which is rendred in the beginning of the ver&s;e <HI>Wind,</HI> and in the end of the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Spiritus ubi vult &s;pirat.</NOTE> ver&s;e <HI>Spirit:</HI> &amp; the vulgar Latin there hath not <HI>Ven|tus</HI> which properly &s;ignifieth wind, but <HI>Spiritus,</HI>
<PB N="323" REF="166"> whence we have the word <HI>Spirit.</HI> 3. This word <HI>Spirit</HI> is u&s;ed to &s;ignifie an incorporeall and im|material &s;ub&s;tance. <HI>A &s;pirit hath not fle&s;h and bones,</HI> Luk. 24. 39. And thus by &s;pirit &s;ometimes is meant the &s;oul of man. VVhen a man dies, <HI>then &s;hall the du&s;t,</HI> that is, the body (made of du&s;t) <HI>return to the earth as it was, and the &s;pirit &s;hall return to God that gave it,</HI> Eccle&s;. 22. 7. Where by <HI>&s;pirit</HI> is meant the &s;oul of man, which is a &s;pirituall &s;ub&s;tance. Thus al&s;o the Angels, whether good or bad, are called &s;pirits. The good Angels, <HI>Are they not all ministring &s;pirits?</HI> &amp;c. Heb. 1. 14. The bad Angells, when &s;ome &s;aid unto Chri&s;t, <HI>Lord, even the devils are &s;ubiect unto us thorough thy name,</HI> Luk. 10. 17. Chri&s;t an&s;wered them, <HI>Notwith&s;tanding in this re|joyce not, that the &s;pirits are &s;ubject unto you, but ra|ther reioyce becau&s;e your names are written in hea|ven,</HI> v. 20. And in this &s;en&s;e is the word <HI>Spirit</HI> at|tributed unto God, <HI>Ioh. 4. 24. God is a Spirit.</HI> And &s;o 1 Pet. 3. 18. By <HI>&s;pirit</HI> is &s;ignified Chri&s;ts divine nature, which is the Son, in all the three Per&s;ons. <HI>Being put to death by the fle&s;h</HI> (that is, the humane nature) <HI>but quickned in the &s;pirit,</HI> that is, the divine nature. And peculiarly the third Per&s;on of the &s;a|cred Trinity hath the name of <HI>Spirit</HI> appropria|ted to him. Sometimes this Per&s;on is called the <HI>Spirit,</HI> Rom. 8. 16. Sometimes the <HI>Spirit of God,</HI> 1 Joh. 4. 2. Sometimes the <HI>Spirit of Chri&s;t,</HI> Rom. 8. 9. Sometimes the <HI>Holy Spirit,</HI> or the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> as in the Text, and other places. VVhy the third Per&s;on is peculiarly called the <HI>Spirit,</HI> though the Father be a &s;pirit, and the Son a &s;pirit as well as the Holy Gho&s;t; the Scripture doth not expre&s;&s;e,
<PB N="324" REF="167"> neither is it much material for us to inquire. Some give<NOTE PLACE="marg">Secundum quod &s;piritus dicitur &agrave; &s;piritualitate; &s;ic convenit toti Trinitati.&mdash;Secundum autem quod dicitur &agrave; &s;piratione, &s;ic con|venit illi &s;oli Per&s;onae, quae pro|cedit ut amor, &amp;c. <HI>Bonavent.</HI> in <HI>Sent. l. 1. di&s;t. 10. que&s;t. 3.</HI></NOTE> this rea&s;on, that this Per&s;on proceeds from the Father and the Son by &s;piration, or breathing; which mu&s;t be under&s;tood after a &s;pirituall and ineffable manner. It may be &s;aid, that this di|vine Per&s;on is therefore called the <HI>Spirit,</HI> becau&s;e he was in&s;pired or breathed into, and did breath in the Prophets and Apo&s;tles. This inward and &s;piritual in&s;piration was &s;ig|nified, and confirmed by<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cum arcan&acirc; in&s;piratione po&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t Christus gratiam conferre Apo|stolis, vi&s;ibilem flatum ad dere vo|luit ad cos melius confirmandos. <HI>Calvin.</HI> in <HI>Ioh. 20. 22.</HI></NOTE> that outward and corporall breathing, which is mentio|ned, Ioh. 20. 22. Where it is &s;aid, that when Chri&s;t gave the Holy Gho&s;t unto his Apo&s;tles, <HI>he breathed on them, and &s;aid unto them, Receive ye the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> Ioh. 20. 22. This Per&s;on is called <HI>Holy.</HI> Now there is a holine&s;&s;e, which is only externall and adhe|rent, which doth not con&s;titute a thing holy in it &s;elf, but only in its u&s;e and relation. Thus Ieru&s;a|lem is called <HI>the Holy City,</HI> Mat. 4. 5. to wit, becau&s;e<NOTE PLACE="marg">The word <HI>Holy</HI> ex|pounded.</NOTE> it had &s;peciall relation unto God, it was the <HI>City of the great King,</HI> that is, of God, Mat. 5. 35. Thus al&s;o the Temple, and the things of the Temple were holy. And thus the water in Bapti&s;m, and the bread and wine in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper are holy, as having peculiar reference un|to God, and &s;et apart for holy u&s;es. There is al|&s;o an internall and inherent holine&s;&s;e, whereby a thing is in it &s;elf holy. And thus all true believers
<PB N="325" REF="167"> are holy, being inwardly purged and clean&s;ed in &s;ome mea&s;ure from the filth and pollution of &s;in. <HI>You are wa&s;hed, you are &s;anctified,</HI> 1 Cor. 6. 11. <HI>Let us clean&s;e our &s;elves from all filthine&s;&s;e both of fle&s;h and &s;pirit, perfecting holine&s;&s;e in the fear of God,</HI> 2 Cor. 7. 1. Thus al&s;o the good Angels are holy, they are called the <HI>Holy Angels,</HI> Mat. 25. 31. And after a mo&s;t eminent manner God is holy, he is &s;tiled <HI>the Holy one,</HI> Iob. 6. 10. I&s;ai. 40. 25. Yea it is &s;aid that he only is holy, Revel. 15. 4. to wit, independently and e&s;&s;entially, men and Angels being but holy by participation. And peculiarly holine&s;&s;e is attribu|ted to the third Per&s;on in the Ble&s;&s;ed Trinity; though the fir&s;t per&s;on and the &s;econd per&s;on be holy too, yet the third per&s;on is peculiarly &s;tiled holy, it being the peculiar work of this per&s;on to &s;anctifie and make holy. Not as if the Father and the Son did not &s;anctifie as well as the Holy Gho&s;t, but the Father and the Son do &s;anctifie by the Holy Gho&s;t; whence &s;anctification is called <HI>the &s;anctification of the &s;pirit,</HI> 2 The&s;. 2. 13. becau&s;e it is peculiarly wrought by the &s;pirit, and &s;o much for the name Holy Gho&s;t, or holy Spirit.</P>
<P N="2">2. The nature of the holy Gho&s;t is to be con|&s;idered, <HI>viz.</HI> that the holy Gho&s;t is God truly and<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the na|ture of the Holy Gho&s;t that the Holy Gho&s;t is God.</NOTE> properly &s;o called, having one and the &s;ame di|vine nature with the Father and the Son, for <HI>the&s;e three are one,</HI> 1. Ioh. 5. 7. three per&s;ons, yet but one God, as hath been &s;hewed before upon that Text; but here the Godhead of the Holy Gho&s;t is to be proved more fully: and we have clear te&s;timony of Scripture for it: <HI>VVhy hath Satan filled thine
<PB N="326" REF="168"> heart, to lie unto the Holy Ghost?</HI> &s;aid <HI>Peter</HI> to <HI>A|nanias,</HI> Act. 5. 3. And he adds pre&s;ently after, <HI>Thou ha&s;t not lied unto men, but unto God,</HI> v. 4. This clearly &s;hews the Holy Gho&s;t to be God. And the &s;ame may further be confirmed by divers arguments.</P>
<P N="1">1. Divine attributes belong unto the holy Gho&s;t, &s;uch as are proper unto God, and con&s;e|quently the Holy Gho&s;t is God. Ubiquity, omni|pre&s;ence, to be every where, which is peculiar un|to God, is attributed to the Holy Gho&s;t. <HI>Whither &s;hall I go from thy &s;pirit?</HI> P&s;al. 139. 7. So al&s;o is om|ni&s;cience, to know all things, which likewi&s;e ap|pertains to God only: <HI>The &s;pirit &s;earcheth all things, even the deep things of God,</HI> 1 Cor. 2. 10.</P>
<P N="2">2. Divine works are a&s;cribed to the Holy Gho&s;t, &s;uch works as none can do but only God, and therefore al&s;o the Holy Gho&s;t is God. The work of Creation, which is proper unto God, belongs to the Holy Gho&s;t. <HI>The Spirit of God hath made me,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Elihu,</HI> Job 33. 4. And &s;urely he that made him, made all. So al&s;o the work of &s;anctification be|longs only unto God; <HI>The very God of peace &s;ancti|fie you wholly,</HI> 1 The&s;. 5. 23. Yet this work is a&s;cri|bed to the Holy Gho&s;t; yea this Per&s;on (as hath been &s;hewed) is therefore called the Holy Gho&s;t, becau&s;e he peculiarly doth work &s;anctification, and make holy.</P>
<P N="3">3. Divine honour is given to the Holy Gho&s;t, that honor which is due only unto God: And this al&s;o evinceth that the Holy Gho&s;t is God: <HI>Bapti|zing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> Mat. 28. 19. We may not bap|tize, or be baptized in the name of any, but only
<PB N="327" REF="168"> of God. <HI>Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul?</HI> 1 Cor. 1. 13. Seeing therefore that we bap|tize and are baptized, according to Chri&s;ts own in&s;titution, as in the name of the Father, and of the Son&punc; &s;o al&s;o of the holy Gho&s;t, it nece&s;&s;a|rily follows that as the Father is God, and the Son God, &s;o is the Holy Gho&s;t God al&s;o. And &s;o in the Text, that we have in hand, the Apo&s;tle prayeth for the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> that they might en|joy, as the grace of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t (the Son) and the love of God (the Father) &s;o likewi&s;e the communion of the Holy Gho&s;t; and it is an impli|cit invocation as of Chri&s;t the Son, and of God the Father, &s;o of the holy Gho&s;t; as if the Apo&s;tle &s;hould have &s;aid, I pray to our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that his grace, and to God (the Father) that his love, and to the Holy Gho&s;t, that his communion may be with you all: and this may &s;uffice to prove that the holy Gho&s;t is God.</P>
<P>3. I pa&s;&s;e to the per&s;on of the holy Gho&s;t; and<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the per&s;on of the Holy Gho&s;t.</NOTE> here three things are to be con&s;idered. 1. That the Holy Gho&s;t is a Per&s;on. 2. That the Holy Gho&s;t is a per&s;on di&s;tinct from the Father and the Son. 3. That the Holy Gho&s;t is a per&s;on proceeding both from the Father, and from the Son.</P>
<P N="1">1. The holy Gho&s;t is a per&s;on, not an attribute<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the H. Gho&s;t is a per&s;on.</NOTE> or affection, as mercy, ju&s;tice, power, wi&s;dom, and the like. For tho&s;e things which are proper and peculiar to a per&s;on are attributed to the holy Gho&s;t, as to be vexed &amp; grieved, <HI>They vexed his ho|ly &s;pirit,</HI> I&s;ai. 63. 10. <HI>Grieve not the holy &s;pirit of God,</HI> Ephe&s;. 4. 30. True it is, the holy Gho&s;t being God, cannot properly be vexed or grieved, but this (as
<PB N="328" REF="169"> other things in Scripture) is &s;poken after the manner of men, but however it argueth that the holy Gho&s;t is a per&s;on, even as that P&s;al. 95. 10. <HI>Fourty years long was I grieved with this generati|on,</HI> &s;hews him that &s;pake it, to be a per&s;on. So when the holy Gho&s;t is &s;aid to &s;peak, to command and injoyn, it argues that the Holy Gho&s;t is a per|&s;on. <HI>The Holy Gho&s;t &s;aid, Separate me</HI> Barnabas <HI>and</HI> Saul, &amp;c. Act. 13. 2. Above all, that <HI>Mat.</HI> 3. 16. is mo&s;t &s;trong and forcible for this purpo&s;e. There it is &s;aid, that the Holy Gho&s;t came down in the likene&s;&s;e of a dove, which could not be except the Holy Gho&s;t were a per&s;on: For nothing but a per&s;on can a&s;&s;ume a &s;hape wherein to appeare; a meer attribute or affection cannot do it.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Holy Gho&s;t is a per&s;on di&s;tinct from the<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the H. Gho&s;t is a per&s;on di&s;tinct from the Father and the Son.</NOTE> Father and the Son. <HI>I will pray the Father, and he &s;hall give you another Comforter,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t to his Di&s;ciples, Joh. 14. 16. The Comforter there &s;poken of is the Holy Gho&s;t, as appears v. 17. <HI>Even the &s;pi|rit of truth,</HI> &amp;c. and v. 26. <HI>The Comforter, which is the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> This therefore is another, a per&s;on di&s;tinct from Chri&s;t the Son, and &s;o likewi&s;e from the Father. For the Father doth &s;end this Comfor|ter, the Holy Gho&s;t, Iohn 14. 26. Now the per&s;on &s;ending, and the per&s;on &s;ent mu&s;t needs be di&s;tinct the one from the other. And this &s;ame rea&s;on al|&s;o proveth the Son and the Holy Gho&s;t to be two di&s;tinct per&s;ons, becau&s;e the Holy Gho&s;t is &s;ent by the Son; <HI>When the Comforter is come, whom I will &s;end unto you,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t, Joh. 15. 26. And &s;o Ioh. 16. 7. <HI>If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will &s;end him unto
<PB N="329" REF="169"> you.</HI> The di&s;tinction al&s;o of the Holy Gho&s;t both from the Father, and from the Son, is evident by that Mat. 28. 19. <HI>Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son; and of the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> As likewi&s;e by this conclu&s;ion, whereof the Text is a part, <HI>The grace of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and the love of God, and the Communion of the Holy Gho&s;t be with you all.</HI> The&s;e places do clearly &s;hew that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Gho&s;t are three di|&s;tinct per&s;ons: and &s;o <HI>S. John</HI> &s;peaking of them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the H. Gho&s;t proceedeth both from the Father, and from the Son.</NOTE> &s;aies, <HI>There are three,</HI> and <HI>the&s;e three,</HI> 1 Ioh. 5. 7.</P>
<P N="3">3. The Holy Gho&s;t proceedeth from the Fa|ther and the Son: this is the difference, whereby the divine per&s;ons are di&s;tingui&s;hed one from a|nother: the Father proceedeth from none, the Son proceedeth from the Father, and the Holy Gho&s;t proceedeth both from the Father and the Son: that the Holy Gho&s;t proceedeth from the Father, the Scripture is expre&s;&s;e, Ioh. 15. 26. <HI>The &s;pi|rit of truth; which proceedeth from the Father.</HI> And that the Holy Gho&s;t al&s;o proceedeth from the Son, is there implied, <HI>Whom I wil &s;end,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t. If the holy Gho&s;t be &s;ent by the &s;on, then al&s;o he proceedeth from the Son, for the Father procee|ding from none, is never &s;aid to be &s;ent by any; the<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>1 Pet.</HI> 1. 11. The Holy Gho&s;t in|&s;pring the Prop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">s, is called the <HI>Spirit of Chri&s;t.</HI></NOTE> Son proceeding from the Father, is &s;aid to be &s;ent by the Father, 1 Ioh. 4. 9. 10. And &s;o the Holy Gho&s;t, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is &s;aid to be &s;ent by them both: the Holy Gho&s;t al&s;o is called the <HI>&s;pirit of the Son,</HI> as proceeding from the Son, Gal. 4. 6. And &s;o Rom. 8. 9. the <HI>Spi|of Chri&s;t:</HI> therefore al&s;o Chri&s;t &s;peaking of the
<PB N="330" REF="170"> Holy Gho&s;t, &s;aid, <HI>He &s;hall receive of mine,</HI> Ioh. 16. 14. becau&s;e the holy Gho&s;t hath the divine nature communicated unto him by the Son, even as the Son hath it communicated unto him by the Fa|ther.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But &s;ome may &s;ay, How is it &s;aid of the Holy Gho&s;t, that <HI>he &s;hall not &s;peak of him&s;elf, but what&s;oever he &s;hall hear, that &s;hall he &s;peak?</HI> Ioh. 16. 13.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, The Holy Gho&s;t is there &s;po|ken of as a me&s;&s;enger, or an Emba&s;&s;adour, one &s;ent by another, who is not to &s;peak of him&s;elf, but what he hath received from him by whom he is &s;ent: and Chri&s;t &s;pake thus of the Holy Gho&s;t, not to derogate from the Holy Gho&s;t, but to pre|vent the &s;preading of errour and fal&s;e doctrine, under a pretence of the &s;pirit, and to a&s;&s;ure us, that if any Doctrine be di&s;&s;onant from that which Chri&s;t hath delivered, it is not from the Holy Gho&s;t, but to be rejected, though they that vent it, doe never &s;o much pretend the &s;pirit for it.</P>
<P N="4">4. In the fourth and la&s;t place we are to con&s;i|der<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the o|peration of the Holy Gho&s;t.</NOTE> the operation of the Holy Gho&s;t. In re&s;pect of operation it is that the Holy Gho&s;t is &s;aid to be &s;ent, or given, <HI>Gal. 4. 6. Rom.</HI> 5. 5. For the Holy Gho&s;t is not &s;o &s;ent, or given, as to be where be|fore he was not, but only &s;o as to operate other|wi&s;e then he did. The operation of the &s;pirit is called, <HI>the manife&s;tation of the &s;pirit,</HI> 1 Cor. 12. 7. becau&s;e by the operation of the &s;pirit, the pre|&s;ence of the &s;pirit is made manife&s;t, the operation it &s;elf being &s;uch as is manife&s;t.</P>
<PB N="331" REF="170">
<P>Now the operation of the &s;pirit is either &s;uch as is common to the Elect and reprobate, or &s;uch as is proper and peculiar to the Elect.</P>
<P N="1">1. Such as is common to the Elect and repro|bate: and that is of divers &s;orts. 1. That whereby one is fitted for his particular calling, whether it be &s;acred or civill. It is Iudg. 11. 29. <HI>that the &s;pirit of the Lord came upon</HI> Iephthah. And 1 Sam. 11. 6. <HI>that the Spirit of the Lord came upon</HI> Saul. So Exod. 31. 3. that Bezaleel <HI>was filled with the &s;pirit of God.</HI> The meaning is, that <HI>Iephthah</HI> and <HI>Saul</HI> by the o|peration of the Spirit were indued with courage and valour, and <HI>Bezaleel</HI> with wi&s;dome and un|der&s;tanding, whereby both they and he were made meet for that office, and imployment to which they were called. In the primitive times of the Go&s;pel, there were extraordinary gifts of the Holy Gho&s;t, as ability to &s;peak &s;trange tongues, to work &s;trange cures, and to do many miracles; and the&s;e gifts were common to the reprobate, as appears by that, Mat. 7. 22, 23. <HI>Many will &s;ay to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophecied in thy name, and in thy name ca&s;t out devills, and in thy name done many wonderfull works? And then will I profe&s;&s;e unto them, I never knew you, Depart from me ye that work iniquity.</HI> And when Chri&s;t &s;ent the Apo&s;tles, giving them power to heal the &s;ick, to clean&s;e the lepers, to rai&s;e the dead, and to ca&s;t out devils, he &s;ent <HI>Iudas</HI> among them, and gave him power in this kind as well as the re&s;t, <HI>Mat.</HI> 10. 1. &amp;c. And in re&s;pect of tho&s;e extraordinary gifts of the Holy Gho&s;t, mo&s;t probably it was, that &s;ome being asked if they had received the Holy
<PB N="332" REF="171"> Gho&s;t, an&s;wered, <HI>We have not &s;o much as heard whether there be any Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> Acts 19. 2. It is hardly to be imagined, that they who &s;pake this, having been partakers (as they &s;aid them&s;elves) of <HI>Johns</HI> Bapti&s;me, could be ignorant whether there were &s;uch a divine Per&s;on which is called the Holy Gho&s;t; but they might be ignorant whether there were &s;uch miraculous gifts of the Holy Gho&s;t given unto believers: It followes there v. 6. that <HI>when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they &s;pake with tongues, and prophecied.</HI> The Holy Gho&s;t did then manife&s;t him&s;elf in them by extraordinary gifts which he did confer on them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Some mea&s;ure of illumination: This al&s;o is a common work of the Spirit; the reprobate are illuminated in &s;ome mea&s;ure by the Holy Gho&s;t, as well as the elect. They who are inlight|ned, and in that re&s;pect made partakers of the Holy Gho&s;t, may fall away and peri&s;h for ever, <HI>Heb.</HI> 6. 4, 6. The &s;in again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t pre|&s;uppo&s;eth this operation of the Holy Gho&s;ts illu|mination: None can fall into this &s;in, but they that are inlightned &s;o as to know the truth, and to be convinced of it, and yet out of diabo|licall malice do impugne and oppo&s;e it; as they that knew and were convinced in their con&s;cien|ces, that Chri&s;t did ca&s;t out Devills by the pow|er of God, and yet would bla&s;pheme and &s;ay, that he did it through <HI>Beelzebub</HI> the Prince of Devills; which occa&s;ioned Chri&s;t to &s;peak of the &s;in again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, and of the unpardon|ablene&s;&s;e of it, <HI>Mar.</HI> 3. 22. 30.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="333" REF="171">3. Some &s;tirring of the affections: this is likewi&s;e an operation of the Holy Gho&s;t com|mon to the wicked with the godly: thus the Holy Gho&s;t did operate in Agrippa, when he &s;aid unto <HI>Paul, Almo&s;t thou per&s;wadest me to be a Christian,</HI> Act. 26. 28. And &s;o in <HI>Felix,</HI> when hearing <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peak of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; temperance, and judgement to come, he trem|bled, <HI>Act.</HI> 24. 25.</P>
<P N="4">4. Some re&s;training grace, whereby to with|hold from acting the evill which otherwi&s;e one would act; this al&s;o the Holy Gho&s;t doth work, as well in the unregenerate, as in the regene|rate. It is probable, that this was all that was wrought in <HI>Abimelech,</HI> to whom God &s;aid, that he withheld him from &s;inning again&s;t him, and &s;uffered him not to touch <HI>Sarah,</HI> as he thought to have done, <HI>Gen.</HI> 20. 6. The&s;e operations of the Holy Gho&s;t are common.</P>
<P>2. There is an operation of the &s;pirit, which is proper to the Elect. As 1. Regenera|tion, whereby one is &s;o changed, as in a &s;pirituall &s;en&s;e to be borne again, and to be a new creature. <HI>That which is born of the &s;pi|rit, is &s;pirit,</HI> John 3. 6. <HI>Not by works of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which we have done, but accor|ding to his mercy he &s;aved us, by the wa&s;hing of re|generation, and the renewing of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> (that is, renewing wrought by the Holy Gho&s;t) <HI>which he &s;hed on us abundantly, thorough Ie&s;us Chri&s;t our Saviour,</HI> Tit. 3. 5, 6. This work of the Holy Gho&s;t is peculiar to the Elect. <HI>God hath
<PB N="334" REF="172"> from the beginning cho&s;en you unto &s;alvation, tho|rough &s;anctification of the &s;pirit,</HI> 2 The&s;. 2. 13. In re|&s;pect of this operation of the &s;pirit, &s;ome are <HI>&s;en&s;uall, not having the &s;pirit,</HI> Jude v. 19.</P>
<P>2. Direction; whereby to be guided in all ne|ce&s;&s;ary and &s;aving truth, and to be kept from all de&s;tructive and damnable errour, either in opini|on or practice. <HI>I will put my &s;pirit wtthin you, and cau&s;e you to walk in my &s;tatutes,</HI> &amp;c. Ezek. 36. 27. <HI>When the &s;pirit of truth is come, he wil guide you in|to all truth.</HI> Joh. 16. 13. This promi&s;e might have peculiar reference to the Apo&s;tles, who were gui|ded by the &s;pirit after an extraordinary manner; but in re&s;pect of things nece&s;&s;ary unto &s;alvation, it belongs to all believers, and to them only. <HI>For as many as are led by the &s;pirit of God, they are the &s;ons of God,</HI> Rom. 8. 13.</P>
<P>3. Con&s;olation and incouragement in greate&s;t troubles and afflictions. The Holy Gho&s;t is called <HI>the Comforter,</HI> Ioh. 14. 16, 17, &amp; 15. 26. &amp; 16. 7. The wicked and reprobate may have &s;ome comfort and incouragement, but it is frothy and fading, whereas that which is wrought in the godly by the Holy Gho&s;t is &s;olid and permanent. <HI>We glory in tribulations al&s;o, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, And hope maketh not a&s;hamed, becau&s;e the love of God,</HI> (the a&s;&s;urance of Gods love to us in Chri&s;t) <HI>is &s;hed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Gho&s;t, which is given unto us,</HI> Rom. 5. 3, 4, 5. <HI>The &s;pi|rit it &s;elfe beareth witne&s;&s;e together with our &s;pirits, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs,</HI> &amp;c. Rom. 8. 16, 17. By the &s;pirit the Saints are
<PB N="335" REF="172"> <HI>&s;ealed unto the day of Redemption,</HI> Ephe&s;. 4. 30. <HI>Who hath al&s;o &s;ealed us, and given the earne&s;t of the &s;pi|rit in our hearts,</HI> 2 Cor. 1. 22. As a &s;eale &s;erves to confirm a writing, and an earne&s;t to make a bargain &s;ure; &s;o the children of God by the Holy Gho&s;t are confirmed in their faith, and a&s;|&s;ured of Gods love towards them, and of their e|ternall happine&s;&s;e.</P>
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<DIV1 N="27" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="336" REF="174">
<HEAD>The &s;even and twentieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<P>HAving di&s;cour&s;ed in generall of the Holy Gho&s;t, I come to the Doctrine which the words of the Text do offer unto our con&s;iderati|on, <HI>viz.</HI> That the communion, participation, &s;o|ciety <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> and fellow&s;hip of the Holy Gho&s;t is a thing much<NOTE PLACE="marg">That which in the Text is called <HI>the Communion of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> is called, Phil. 2. 1. the <HI>fellow&s;hip of the &s;pirit.</HI> As the &s;ame word in the Originall, that is rendred in the one place <HI>communion,</HI> in the other <HI>fellow&s;hip.</HI></NOTE> to be de&s;ired.</P>
<P>The Apo&s;tle in the very conclu&s;ion of his Epi&s;tle praies for tho&s;e to whom he writes, that they might en|joy this communion, which argues that it is a thing very precious and de&s;i|rable.</P>
<P>The &s;ame may appear by that which we read of <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> who when <HI>Eliah</HI> being to be taken from him, bad him ask what he &s;hould do for him, made only this reque&s;t, <HI>I pray thee, let a double portion of thy &s;pirit be upon me,</HI> 2 Kings 2. 9. The mea|ning is not (as &s;ome are apt to mi&s;take it) that <HI>E|li&s;ha</HI> de&s;ired to have twice as much of the Spirit as <HI>Eliah</HI> had, but the phra&s;e there u&s;ed, is the &s;ame with that which is u&s;ed, <HI>Deut.</HI> 21. 17. and from thence the true and genuine meaning is to
<PB N="337" REF="174"> be fetched. There it is &s;aid, that the fir&s;t born was to have a double portion, word for word, <HI>the mouth of two,</HI> that is, he was to receive twice as much of his Fathers &s;ub&s;tance as any of his bre|thren; So <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> de&s;ired, that he might be rec|koned as <HI>Eliahs</HI> fir&s;t borne, and that he might have twice as much of the Spirit which was up|on him, as the other Prophets &s;hould have: Thus is the place to be under&s;tood; but &s;till it &s;hewes what account <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> who had already &s;o much of the Spirit, as to know the worth of it, did make of this communion of the Holy Gho&s;t: <HI>David</HI> al&s;o, by whom the Spirit of the Lord did &s;peak, as he &s;aid, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 23 2. when his con&s;ci|ence was afflicted for his foule and grievous e|normities, was very &s;ollicitous in this re&s;pect, le&s;t he &s;hould not injoy the communion of the Ho|ly Gho&s;t, as he had done; <HI>Ca&s;t me not away from thy pre&s;ence</HI> (&s;aies he unto God) <HI>and take not thy holy Spirit from me,</HI> P&s;al. 51. 11. And v. 12. <HI>Restore unto me the joy of thy &s;alvation, and &s;tabli&s;h me with thy free Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>How the communion of the Holy Gho&s;t is to be prized, we may likewi&s;e perceive by tho&s;e exhortations of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Quench not the Spi|rit,</HI> 1 The&s;. 5. 19. <HI>Grieve not the Spirit,</HI> Eph. 4. 30. <HI>Be filled with the Spirit,</HI> Eph. 5. 18. So al&s;o by that commemoration which the people of God made unto him of his &s;ingular favour &s;hewed unto their Fathers, <HI>Thou gave&s;t al&s;o thy good Spirit to in&s;truct them,</HI> Neh. 9. 20.</P>
<P>For the further confirmation of the point, let us con&s;ider,</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="338" REF="175">1. The excellency of this communion, which appears by the excellency of the Holy Gho&s;t: This Spirit is called <HI>good,</HI> Neh. 9. 20. <HI>excellent,</HI> Dan. 6. 3. <HI>the &s;pirit of wi&s;dome,</HI> Eph. 1. 17. <HI>the &s;pirit of truth,</HI> Joh. 15. 26. &amp; 16. 13. <HI>the &s;pirit of grace,</HI> Zach. 12. 10. Heb. 10. 29. <HI>the &s;pirit of life,</HI> Rom. 8. 2. <HI>the &s;pirit of glory,</HI> 1 Pet. 4. 14. <HI>the Spirit of Chri&s;t,</HI> Rom. 8. 9. <HI>the Spirit of God</HI> Rom. 8. 9. Yea, this Spirit is God, as hath been proved before; and therefore this &s;pirit mu&s;t needs be excellent, and &s;o con&s;equently the communion or fellow&s;hip of the Spirit.</P>
<P N="2">2. The commodity of this communion of the holy Gho&s;t: For,</P>
<P N="1">1. The Holy Gho&s;t will teach, informe, and in&s;truct; <HI>Thou gavest thy good &s;pirit to in&s;truct them,</HI> Neh. 9. 20. He is <HI>the &s;pirit of coun&s;ell, and knowledge, and under&s;tanding,</HI> E&s;a. 11. 2. We are naturally blind and ignorant of the truth, and many errors creep in, and in&s;inuate them&s;elves under the name of truth; but the Holy Gho&s;t is the <HI>&s;pirit of truth,</HI> and will inlighten our minds, and teach us to know and under&s;tand the truth: <HI>Joh. 14. 26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Gho&s;t, whom the Father will &s;end in my name, he &s;hall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, what&s;oever I have &s;aid unto you:</HI> Joh. 14. 26. <HI>Howbeit when the &s;pirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth,</HI> Joh. 16. 13. How ignorant were the Apo&s;tles before they had received the Holy Gho&s;t in that mea&s;ure as afterwards they did? <HI>Are ye &s;o without under&s;tan|ding al&s;o?</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t unto them, <HI>Mar.</HI> 7. 18.
<PB N="339" REF="175"> when they thought that which was a plain &s;peech to be a parable. So Chri&s;t having &s;poken of his Pa&s;&s;ion, it is &s;aid, that <HI>they under&s;tood not this &s;aying, and it was hid from them, that they per|ceived it not,</HI> Luke 9. 45. So concerning &s;ome things that were done unto Chri&s;t according as it had been prophecied of him, S. <HI>John</HI> &s;aith, <HI>The&s;e things under&s;tood not his Di&s;ciples at the first, but when Je&s;us was glorified,</HI> (and &s;o they had recei|ved a greater mea&s;ure of the Spirit, for <HI>the Holy Gho&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">s not yet given</HI> (in &s;uch mea&s;ure) <HI>becau&s;e Je&s;us was not yet glorified,</HI> Joh. 7. 39.) <HI>then remem|bred they that the&s;e things were written of him, and that they had done the&s;e things unto him,</HI> Joh. 12. 16. So Joh. 20. 9. <HI>As yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must ri&s;e again from the dead:</HI> Thus it was with them for a while, but when the Holy Gho&s;t was plentifully powred upon them, then they were <HI>filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the Sea,</HI> E&s;a. 11. 9. So much their words and writings do make manife&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Holy Gho&s;t will &s;trengthen and incou|rage: The Prophet <HI>Je<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">emie</HI> complains, <HI>They are not valiant for the truth upon the earth,</HI> Jer. 9. 3. Even they that both know and al&s;o love the truth, yet may be &s;o timorous and faint-hearted, as not to dare to avouch it, and to &s;tand up in defence of it, though God call them to it, as is clear by the example of <HI>Peter</HI> when he deni|ed Chri&s;t: But the Holy Gho&s;t is the <HI>Spirit of might and of power,</HI> E&s;a, 11. 2. and 2 Tim. 1. 7. How weak and fearfull were the Apo&s;tles whil&s;t they had but (as it were) a &s;cantling of the Spirit?
<PB N="340" REF="176"> They all for&s;ook Chri&s;t, and fled from him, when he was apprehended by his adver&s;aries: and <HI>Pe|ter</HI> who had profe&s;&s;ed mo&s;t courage and confi|dence, of all others mo&s;t bewrayed his weakne&s;&s;e, being not able to indure the encounter of a &s;illy damo&s;ell, as the &s;tory &s;hews of him. But after|ward when they had the &s;pirit in more abundant mea&s;ure, they were &s;o full of courage and bold|ne&s;&s;e, that their greate&s;t adver&s;aries did admire it. When the Jewi&s;h Rulers and Elders examined <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>John</HI> about a miracle that t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">y had wrought in making a lame man &s;ound, &s;aying, <HI>By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then</HI> P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ter <HI>filled with the Holy Gho&s;t</HI> (mark that) <HI>&s;aid unto t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">em. Ye Rulers of the people, and Elders of I&s;rael, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole, Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>that by the name of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t of Naza|reth, whom ye crucified, whom God rai&s;ed from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the &s;tone, which was &s;et at nought by you builders, which is become the head of the cor|ner. Neither is there &s;alvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we mu&s;t be &s;aved. Now when they &s;aw the boldne&s;&s;e of Peter and</HI> John, <HI>and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled, and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Je&s;us,</HI> Act. 3. 7. 13. So v. 31. it is &s;aid of the A|po&s;tles, that <HI>they were all filled with the Holy Gho&s;t, and &s;pake the word with boldne&s;&s;e,</HI> And v. 33. <HI>And with great power gave the Apo&s;tles witne&s;&s;e of the
<PB N="341" REF="176"> Re&s;urrection of the Lord Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. The Holy Gho&s;t will direct and order. Cou|rage without wi&s;dom and di&s;cretion, will do hurt rather then good; but wi&s;dome and courage joy|ned together will do much good, and no hurt. <HI>A wi&s;e mans heart di&s;cerneth both time and iudgment,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Solomon, Eccl.</HI> 8. 5. that is, a wi&s;e man know|eth both when to do a thing, and how to do it. Now the Holy Gho&s;t being <HI>the &s;pirit of wi&s;dome,</HI> will order and direct us to do things wi&s;ely, in due time, and in right manner. <HI>Stephen</HI> being full of the Holy Gho&s;t, was al&s;o full of wi&s;dome, &s;o that although he had to do with mo&s;t implacable adver&s;aries, yet <HI>they were not able to re&s;ist the wi&s;|dome and the &s;pirit by which he &s;pake,</HI> Act. 6. 10. So Chri&s;t promi&s;ed unto his Di&s;ciples &s;aying, <HI>I will give you a mouth, and wi&s;dom, which all your adver&s;aries &s;hall not be able to gain-&s;ay or re&s;i&s;t,</HI> Luk. 21. 15. And how they &s;hould be indued with &s;uch wi&s;dom, we may &s;ee by that, <HI>Luk. 12. 12. For the Holy Gho&s;t &s;hall teach you in the &s;ame houre what ye ought to &s;ay.</HI> And &s;o Mat. 10. 20. <HI>For it is not ye that &s;peak, but the Spirit of your Father that &s;peak|eth in you.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. The Holy Gho&s;t will comfort and incou|rage, as to do the will of God, &s;o al&s;o to &s;uffer what by his permi&s;&s;ion and providence &s;hall be inflicted for &s;o doing. For though the godly be|have them&s;elves never &s;o well and wi&s;ely, yet they may fall into the hands of their inraged per|&s;ecutors, as that <HI>Protomartyr Stephen,</HI> and &s;o the other Martyrs did. But though they do, yet (as it fared with <HI>Stephen</HI> and the Martyrs) as their &s;uffe|rings
<PB N="342" REF="177"> abound, &s;o &s;hall their con&s;olations abound al&s;o, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. 5. For the &s;pirit of glory, and of God re&s;teth on them, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4. 14. And this &s;pirit will make them to rejoyce with joy un&s;peakable and full of glory, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. 8. It is &s;uch a peculiar work of the Holy Gho&s;t to afford comfort, that he is &s;tiled <HI>the Comforter,</HI> Ioh. 14. 16. 26. &amp; 15. 26. &amp; 16. 7. And &s;ound joy is called, <HI>joy in the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> Rom. 14. 17.</P>
<P>3. Con&s;ider we the nece&s;&s;ity of this communi|on of the Holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P N="1">1. Without the Holy Gho&s;t we can know no|thing, <HI>viz.</HI> of the things of God, the things that concern &s;alvation. <HI>For what man knoweth the things of a man, &s;ave the &s;pirit of man which is in him? e|ven &s;o the things of God knoweth no man but the &s;pirit of God. Now we have received not the &s;pirit of the world; but the &s;pirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given unto us of God,</HI> 1 Cor. 2. 11. 12. &amp; v. 14. <HI>But the naturall man</HI> (who is de&s;titute of Gods &s;pirit) <HI>receiveth not the things of the &s;pirit of God, for they are fooli&s;hne&s;&s;e unto him, neither can he know them, for they are &s;piritually di&s;cerned.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Without the Holy Gho&s;t we can do no|thing, <HI>viz.</HI> that is plea&s;ing unto God. Not pray, for the Holy Gho&s;t is <HI>the &s;pirit of grace and of &s;up|plications,</HI> Zach. 12. 10. <HI>Likewi&s;e the &s;pirit al&s;o help|eth our infirmities, for we know not what we &s;hould pray for as we ought, but the &s;pirit it &s;elf maketh in|terce&s;&s;ion for us, with groanings that cannot be utte|red. And he that &s;earcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the &s;pirit, becau&s;e he maketh interce&s;&s;i|on
<PB N="343" REF="177"> for the Saints, according to the will of God,</HI> Rom. 8. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> 27. So neither can we without the Holy Gho&s;t rightly hear the word, or receive the Sa|crament, or perform any other duty what&s;oever. For the Holy Gho&s;t being the <HI>Spirit of grace,</HI> without the Holy Gho&s;t we can have no grace: and we mu&s;t <HI>have grace, whereby to &s;erve God ac|ceptably,</HI> Heb. 12. 28. What&s;oever &s;ervice is per|formed by the unregenerate, who are not indued with Gods &s;pirit, though in it &s;elf con&s;idered it is plea&s;ing unto God, yet as done by them, God is not plea&s;ed with it. <HI>They that are in the fle&s;h can|not plea&s;e God,</HI> Rom. 8. 8.</P>
<P N="3">3. Without the Holy Gho&s;t we can enjoy no|thing, <HI>viz.</HI> that is truly good for us. The Holy Gho&s;t being the Spirit of Chri&s;t, and of God, we can have no communion with Chri&s;t, nor with God but by the Holy Gho&s;t. The Holy Gho&s;t being the &s;pirit of life, the &s;pirit of grace, the &s;pi|rit of glory, without the holy Gho&s;t we can have no life, neither of grace here, nor of glory hereaf|ter: therefore we have that hope which maketh not a&s;hamed, <HI>becau&s;e the love of God is &s;hed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Gho&s;t which is given unto us,</HI> Rom. 5. 5. This may &s;uffice to demon&s;trate what a de&s;irable thing the communion of the holy Gho&s;t is.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 1. And if it be &s;o, then O the wretched folly and madne&s;&s;e of many, who de&s;ire and la|bour for any thing rather then for this communi|on. Let <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> or who&s;oever will &s;eek a double portion of the &s;pirit, &s;o they may have a double portion of the things of the world, of the profits,
<PB N="344" REF="178"> plea&s;ures and honours of it, it's all they de&s;ire. If the holy Gho&s;t in the mouths of his Mi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">ters &s;trive with them, they oppo&s;e and re&s;i&s;t him all they can. <HI>Ye &s;tiff-necked, and uncircumci&s;ed in heart and ears, you do alwaies re&s;i&s;t the Holy Ghost, as your Fathers did, &s;o do ye,</HI> Act. 7. 51. If the holy Gho&s;t in|&s;inuate him&s;elf a little into them, putting good motions into them, pre&s;ently they quench the &s;pi|rit, which the Apo&s;tle bids Chri&s;tians beware of, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5. 20. &s;aying, <HI>Quench not the &s;pirit,</HI> that is, the good motions of the &s;pirit, which like &s;parks are kindled within you. If the holy &s;pirit begin to &s;earch them, and to di&s;cover their &s;ins unto them, and to put them in mind of their e&s;tate to God|ward, they are weary of &s;uch a gue&s;t. Like <HI>Felix,</HI> who when <HI>Paul</HI> rea&s;oned before him of righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and temperance, and judgment to come, trembled and &s;aid, <HI>Go thy way for this time, when I have convenient &s;ea&s;on I will &s;end for thee,</HI> Act. 24. 25. They judge this &s;pirit to be a &s;pirit of melan|choly, and therefore to drive it away they betake them&s;elves to their merry company, wine, &s;trong drink, and the like. This is all that many do care for the communion of the holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P>Some will &s;ay, but we de&s;ire this communion more then &s;o. It is well; but let all take heed of deceiving them&s;elves, as we are all apt to do. Let our de&s;ire of this communion be proved rather then pre&s;umed; and &s;o I come to a &s;econd u&s;e of the point, <HI>viz.</HI> for examination and triall.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Secondly therefore, let us examin and try our &s;elves whether the Communion of the holy Gho&s;t, which is &s;o much to be de&s;ired, be an
<PB N="345" REF="178"> object of our de&s;ires or no: and let us try it thus.</P>
<P N="1">1. Are we &s;en&s;ible of the want of the &s;pirit? They that do not feel the want of a thing, will never de&s;ire to enjoy it: When <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> de&s;ired of <HI>Eliah,</HI> that he might have a double portion of his &s;pirit, <HI>Thou ha&s;t asked a hard thing</HI> (&s;aid <HI>Eliah</HI> un|to him) <HI>Neverthele&s;&s;e if thou &s;ee me when I am taken from thee, it &s;hall be &s;o unto thee, but if not, it &s;hall not be &s;o,</HI> 2 King. 2. 10. Upon which an&s;wer of <HI>Eli|ah Bernard</HI> hath a no le&s;&s;e<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nunqnam ab&s;que con&s;cienti&acirc; no&s;tr&acirc; magistra unctio tollatur <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nobis, &s;i duplicato munere volu|mus non fraudari. <HI>Bern.</HI></NOTE> pious then elegant ob&s;erva|tion, <HI>viz.</HI> that the &s;pirit of God mu&s;t never be ab&s;ent from us, but &s;o that we are &s;en&s;ible of it, if we would have the &s;pirit to be doubled upon us.</P>
<P N="2">2. Do we affect tho&s;e in whom is found the manife&s;tation of the &s;pirit? they that are carnall love tho&s;e that are carnall, and &s;o will they that are &s;pirituall love tho&s;e that are &s;pirituall. This is a &s;peciall evidence of the holy Gho&s;t dwelling in us, if we delight in tho&s;e in whom the gifts and graces of the holy Gho&s;t do appear and &s;hine forth. <HI>David</HI> having much of Gods &s;pirit in him, and de&s;iring &s;till more, calls the Saints <HI>excel|lent,</HI> and profe&s;&s;eth that all his delight was in them, P&s;al. 16. 3. And it is &s;aid of <HI>Barnabas</HI> that when he came to Antioch, and had &s;een the grace of God, which was there be&s;towed upon believers, <HI>he was glad, and exhorted them all, that that with purpo&s;e of heart they would cleave unto the Lord&punc;</HI> And the rea&s;on follows immediately why
<PB N="346" REF="179"> he was thus affected, <HI>For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> Act. 11. 23. 24.</P>
<P N="3">3. Are we carefull to u&s;e the means whereby to obtain the &s;pirit? It is but a fained and frivo|lous de&s;ire that doth not put forth it &s;elf in en|deavours to obtain the thing de&s;ired. Some pre|tend above others to magnifie the Spirit, and to be all for the &s;pirit, yet vilifie the word, which is the means whereby to obtain the &s;pirit. Surely the &s;pirit which &s;uch vaunt of, is none of Gods &s;pirit, but their own &s;pirit, not a &s;pirit of illumination but of illu&s;ion; not <HI>&s;piritus veritatis,</HI> the &s;pirit of truth, but <HI>&s;piritus virtiginis,</HI> a &s;pirit of giddine&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 19. 14.</NOTE> or as we read it, a perver&s;e &s;pirit: For God in his Covenant with his people, joyneth his &s;pirit and his word together, <HI>As for me, this is my Covenant with them,</HI> &s;aith the Lord, <HI>My &s;pirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, &s;hal not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy &s;eed, nor out of the mouth of thy &s;eeds &s;eed,</HI> &s;aith the Lord, <HI>from henceforth and for ever,</HI> I&s;ai. 59. 21. And how did <HI>Cornelius</HI> and they that were with him receive the &s;pirit, but by the word? <HI>While</HI> Pe|ter <HI>yet &s;pake the&s;e words, the Holy Gho&s;t fell on all them that heard the word,</HI> Act. 10. 44. And therefore <HI>Paul</HI> having &s;aid, <HI>Quench not the &s;pirit,</HI> immedi|ately adds, <HI>De&s;pi&s;e not prophecying,</HI> 1 The&s;. 5. 19. 20. Prayer al&s;o is a means whereby to obtain the &s;pi|rit: Indeed we mu&s;t fir&s;t have the &s;pirit in &s;ome mea&s;ure before we can pray to any purpo&s;e, as was &s;hewed before: but prayer is a means to obtain the Spirit in greater mea&s;ure. <HI>For God wil give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him,</HI> Luk. 11. 13. They
<PB N="347" REF="179"> therefore who either re&s;train prayer before God, or pray only in formality or fa&s;hion &s;ake, think|ing it enough if they can read a prayer in a book, or &s;ay a prayer by rote, yea will &s;corn and deride praying by the &s;pirit, the&s;e, I &s;ay, plainly &s;hew how little they look after the communion of the holy Gho&s;t. I am not again&s;t all u&s;e of book|prayer, or of a form of drayer, yet I may &s;ay to &s;ome in this re&s;pect, as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid to the Atheni|ans, that they are too &s;uper&s;titious. Whe|ther<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 17. 22.</NOTE> we pray with a book, or without, in a &s;et form, or otherwi&s;e, yet mu&s;t we how&s;oever <HI>pray with the &s;pirit,</HI> or els our prayer is to no<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Gor. 14. 15.</NOTE> purpo&s;e.</P>
<P N="4">4. Do we &s;tudy to bring forth the fruits of the Holy Gho&s;t? <HI>The fruit of the &s;pirit is in all good|ne&s;&s;e, and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and truth,</HI> Ephe&s;. 5. 9. <HI>The fruit of the &s;pirit is love, joy, peace, long &s;uffering, gen|tlene&s;&s;e, goone&s;&s;e, faith, meekne&s;&s;e, temperance,</HI> Gal. 5. 22, 23. and v. 25. <HI>If we live in the &s;pirit; let us walk in the &s;pirit,</HI> that is, if we pretend to be indued with the &s;pirit, let it appear by our &s;pirituall life and conver&s;ation.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 3. Thirdly and la&s;tly, &s;uffer the word of exhortation, and but a word: Let this be our de|&s;ire and care, our &s;tudy and indeavour, that we may have the communion of the holy Gho&s;t. We have &s;een the excellency, the commodity and the nece&s;&s;ity of this communion; let us not de&s;pi&s;e that which is &s;o excellent, nor undervalue that which is &s;o commodious, nor neglect that which is &s;o nece&s;&s;ary. VVe have al&s;o &s;een the marks whereby to try whether we enjoy this communi|on
<PB N="348" REF="180"> in any mea&s;ure or no, and withall, meanes whereby to obtain it: let us labour to find tho&s;e marks in our &s;elves, and let us have a care to u&s;e tho&s;e means: <HI>For &s;o an entrance &s;hall be mini&s;tred unto us abundantly, into the everlasting Kingdome of our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chrs&s;t,</HI> 2 Pet. 1. 11.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="28" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="349" REF="180">
<HEAD>The eight and twentieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>MAT. 16. 18.</BIBL> And upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t it.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>CHri&s;t having asked his Di&s;ciples, whom men did &s;ay that he was; they an&s;wered, that &s;ome &s;aid that he was <HI>John</HI> the Bapti&s;t, &s;ome <HI>Eli|as,</HI> &s;ome <HI>Ieremias,</HI> or one of the Prophets; &amp; he ask|ing them again whom they did &s;ay that he was, <HI>Peter</HI> (in the name of them all) an&s;wered, <HI>Thou art Chri&s;t the Son of the living God.</HI> VVhereupon Chri&s;t commending that confe&s;&s;ion, &s;aid, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed art thou&punc;</HI> Simon <HI>Bar Jona; for fle&s;h and blood hath hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I &s;ay unto thee that thou art</HI> Peter, <HI>and upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;pon this rock</HI>] The Papi&s;ts make much ado about this place, &amp; think it a Rock for them to build the Popes &s;upremacy upon. For by <HI>the Rock</HI> here men|tioned
<PB N="350" REF="181"> they under&s;tand <HI>Peter,</HI> and they will have the Church built upon <HI>Peter,</HI> and &s;o upon the Pope, as being (they &s;ay) <HI>Peters</HI> Succe&s;&s;or.</P>
<P>But fir&s;t, the Scripture &s;hewes Chri&s;t and only Chri&s;t to be the foundation of the Church: <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord God, behold I lay in Sion for a foun|dation, a &s;tone, a tried &s;tone, a precious corner &s;tone, a &s;ure foundation, &amp;c.</HI> E&s;a. 28. 16. Which to be meant of Chri&s;t appears by S. <HI>Peter, 1 Pet.</HI> 2. 5, 6, 7, 8. And <HI>S. Paul</HI> is plain and peremptory, <HI>Other foundation can no man lay, then that which is laid, Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 1 Cor. 3. 11.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> Some may object that <HI>Eph. 2. 20. Ye are built upon the foundation of the Prophets and the Apo&s;tles.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But fir&s;t, that makes nothing for <HI>Peter</HI> more then for the re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles, and for the Prophets al&s;o, and &s;o makes nothing for the Papi&s;ts.</P>
<P>2. It is meant in re&s;pect of Chri&s;t, who was foretold by the Prophets, and preached by the Apo&s;tles; <HI>To him give all the Prophets witne&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Peter,</HI> Acts 10. 43. <HI>We preach not our &s;elves, but Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Lord,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Paul,</HI> 2 Cor. 4, 5. So that <HI>Rev.</HI> 21. 14. where it is &s;aid, that the new Jeru&s;a|lem <HI>had twelve foundations,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Fundamenta igitur hujus muri &s;unt, quia ip&s;i doctrin&acirc; &s;u&acirc; &amp; ex|emplo aeter<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ae tranquillitatis &amp; &s;ecuritatis cau&s;a fuerunt electis. <HI>Riber. ad loc.</HI></NOTE> <HI>and in them the names of the twelve Apo&s;tles of the Lamb;</HI> that, I &s;ay, by the confe&s;&s;ion of <HI>Ribera</HI> a Ie&s;uite, is meant in re&s;pect of their Doctrine and example, as they preached Chri&s;t, and were followers of him, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. 1. Here therefore by
<PB N="351" REF="181"> <HI>Rock</HI> is not meant Peter, but Chri&s;t whom <HI>Peter</HI> confe&s;&s;ed, or which is to the &s;ame effect, the confe&s;&s;ion which <HI>Peter</HI> made, or the faith where|of he made confe&s;&s;ion: Thus <HI>Augu&s;tine, Chry&s;|o&s;tome, Theophylact,</HI> and others have expounded it, and tho&s;e of the Ancients that have inter|preted it of <HI>Peter,</HI> are to be under&s;tood as mean|ning not his per&s;on, but his faith and confe&s;&s;ion, <HI>viz.</HI> in re&s;pect of Chri&s;t the object of it. <HI>Theophylact</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Theoph. ad Mat. 16. 18</NOTE> the late&s;t of the Ancients doth well &s;hew the mean|ing both of them and of the Text it &s;elfe: <HI>The Lord</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>doth an&s;wer</HI> Peter, <HI>and give him a great reward to wit, that the Church &s;hould be built upon him: For be|cau&s;e</HI> Peter <HI>confe&s;&s;ed him to be the Son of God, he &s;aith, This confe&s;&s;ion which thou ha&s;t confe&s;&s;ed, &s;hall be the foundation of Believers, &s;o that who&s;oever will build the hou&s;e of faith, mu&s;t lay this confe&s;&s;ion for a foun|dation.</HI></P>
<P>2. Though the words in the Originall for <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>Rock</HI> be neer akin, yet rhey are diffe|rent<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> words, and &s;hew that Chri&s;t meant different things by them: For otherwi&s;e Chri&s;t would have &s;aid, <HI>Thou art</HI> Peter, <HI>and upon thee, or, and upon this</HI> Peter, <HI>I will build my Church.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> It may be objected, that the word in the Syriask Tongue which Chri&s;t u&s;ed is one and
<PB N="352" REF="182"> and the &s;ame, viz. <HI>Cepha,</HI> both for <HI>Peter</HI> and for <HI>Rocke.</HI> And that Syriack word (onely having a Greek termination added unto it) together with the interpretation of it, is found <HI>Joh. 1. 42. When Je&s;us beheld him, he &s;aid, Thou art</HI> Simon <HI>the &s;on of</HI> Jonas, <HI>thou &s;halt be called</HI> Cephas, <HI>which is by interpretation, a &s;tone.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer: It is true, that <HI>Cepha</HI> is both the &s;ame with <HI>Peter</HI> a proper name, and al&s;o &s;ig|nifieth a &s;tone, or a Rock; but the Greek Text ha|ving one word for <HI>Peter</HI> and another for <HI>rocke,</HI> &s;hewes that by <HI>Cepha the rock</HI> is not meant the &s;ame as by <HI>Cepha Peter,</HI> but &s;ome other thing, <HI>viz. Peters</HI> faith and confe&s;&s;ion, and the object of his faith and confe&s;&s;ion, Chri&s;t Je&s;us. This may &s;uffice to &s;hew what the Rock here &s;poken of is, and how, little this Scripture makes for the Papi&s;ts, be&s;ides what might be &s;aid to prove the vanity of their conceits concerning <HI>Peters</HI> &s;u|premacy over the other Apo&s;tles, and the Popes &s;ucceeding <HI>Peter</HI> as &s;upreme over the Church.</P>
<P>[<HI>Will I build,</HI>] The Church is compared to a hou&s;e, 1 <HI>Tim. 3. 15. 1 Pet.</HI> 2. 5. therefore it is &s;aid to be built, and Chri&s;t &s;aith that he will build it, it being his hou&s;e, <HI>Heb.</HI> 3. 6. and &s;o here he calls it his Church.</P>
<P>[<HI>My Church,</HI>] It is called the <HI>Church of God,</HI> 1 Tim. 3. 15. and &s;o in other places, but here Chri&s;t calls it his Church: So <HI>Rom. 16. 16. The Churches of Chri&s;t &s;alute you;</HI> Chri&s;t is God, and there|fore the Church being the Church of God, is con&s;equently the Church of Chri&s;t. And be&s;ides,
<PB N="353" REF="182"> Chri&s;t as Mediatour is <HI>the Head of the Church,</HI> E|phe&s;. 5. 23. and the Church is his body, Ephe&s;. 1. 23.</P>
<P><HI>Church</HI>] what is meant by the Church, I &s;hall &s;hevv at large by and by.</P>
<P><HI>And the gates of hell</HI>] Chri&s;t having in the word <HI>build,</HI> compared the Church to a hou&s;e, or a City, he &s;peaks now of another hou&s;e or City which is oppo&s;ite unto it, <HI>viz.</HI> the hou&s;e or City of Satan, here called <HI>the gates of hel,</HI> in which words there &s;eems to<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ho.</HI> al&s;o &s;peaks of <HI>the gates of hel,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> be a &s;ynecdoche, whereby the part is put for the whole, the gates for the whole hou&s;e or City, So Gen. 22. 17. <HI>Thy &s;eed &s;hall po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the gate of his enemies.</HI> And Gen. 24. 60. <HI>Let thy &s;eed po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;e the gate of thofe that hate them.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Shal not prevail against it</HI>] viz. not &s;o as utterly to overthrow and de&s;troy it. That is it which the devil and his in&s;truments &s;eek, but are not able to effect; as I &s;hal &s;hew (God willing) more hereafter.</P>
<P>But before I come to the ob&s;ervation which I purpo&s;e to rai&s;e from the Text, and to in&s;i&s;t upon, I will &s;pend &s;ome time in &s;peaking of the word <HI>Church,</HI> and of the thing which here, and u&s;ually el&s;where is called the Church.</P>
<P N="1">1. For the word <HI>Church,</HI> we find it not in the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the word <HI>Church.</HI></NOTE> old Te&s;tament, I mean our Engli&s;h word is not u|&s;ed by our Tran&s;lators in it. Not that God had not a Church then in tho&s;e times that were before Chri&s;ts Incarnation: no, he had a Church from the beginning; and we have the word in the new Te|&s;tament with reference to times of the old Te&s;ta|ment.
<PB N="354" REF="183"> <HI>This is he that was in the Church in the wil|derne&s;&s;e,</HI> &amp;c. &s;aid <HI>Stephen</HI> &s;peaking of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> Act. 7. 38. The people of I&s;rael, who were in the time<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> are there called <HI>the Church:</HI> the He|brew words u&s;ed in the old Te&s;tament, vvhich we<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> So the Sep|tuagint render the Hebrew. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 26. 5. 12. &amp; 89. 5. but com|monly they u&s;e the word <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> tran&s;late <HI>Congregation,</HI> the Greek interpreters &s;ometimes render by that word, which in the Text, and el&s;where in the new Te&s;tament we tran&s;late Church, though for mo&s;t part they u&s;e another word.</P>
<P>The Greek word, vvhich the Nevv Te&s;tament u&s;eth for <HI>Church,</HI> comes of a word that &s;ignifieth to call out, and &s;o it imports as much as a compa|ny called out. The faithfull are often in the New Te&s;tament &s;aid to be called, <HI>viz.</HI> Of God, and of Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. 2, 24. &amp; 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 4. 7. &amp; <HI>Rom.</HI> 1. 6. And they are called out, <HI>viz.</HI> of the vvorld, or from the<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Camero Myroth: ad</HI> Mat. 16. 18. likes not that the Prepo&s;ition in the word <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;hould be thought to have any weight in it, but I &s;ee not why the force of it &s;hould not be weighed, See 1 <HI>Pet. 2. 9.</HI></NOTE> re&s;t of the world. <HI>I have cho&s;en you</HI> (and all that are cho&s;en are called, though all that are called, are not cho|&s;en) <HI>out of the world,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t to his Di&s;ciples! Joh. 15. 19. And <HI>Ioh. 17. 14. They are not of the world.</HI> But the word rendered <HI>Church,</HI> is u&s;ed in the nevv Te&s;tament &s;ometimes for any profane a&s;&s;embly. <HI>The A&s;&s;embly was confu&s;ed,</HI> Act. 19. 32. &amp; v. 39. <HI>it &s;hall be determined in a lawfull a&s;&s;embly,</HI> &amp; v. 40. <HI>he di&s;mi&s;&s;ed the a&s;&s;embly.</HI> In the&s;e places the vvord rendred <HI>A&s;&s;embly,</HI> is it, vvhich excepting the&s;e places, is ever in the Nevv Te&s;tament rendred <HI>Church.</HI> And &s;o the vvord is peculiarly u&s;ed to
<PB N="355" REF="183"> denote the company of believers, vvhether they be a&s;&s;embled together or not.</P>
<P>Our Engli&s;h vvord <HI>Church,</HI> is in ordinary &s;peech u&s;ed for the place vvhere the people of God a&s;|&s;emble for the partaking of Gods Ordinances, but in the Scripture it is alvvaies u&s;ed for the people. Some places there are, in which the word may &s;eem to import the place, as 1 Cor. 11. 18. <HI>When ye come together in the Church,</HI> &amp; v. 22 <HI>Have ye not hou&s;es to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">See <HI>Came|roes My|roth. ad</HI> 1 Cor. 11. 18.</NOTE> <HI>eat and to drink in? or de&s;pi&s;e ye the Church of God&punc;</HI> But it &s;eems not meet to recede from that accep|tion of the vvord, in vvhich it is generally u&s;ed in other places, there being no nece&s;&s;ity for it. For the vvord may vvel and fitly enough in tho&s;e pla|ces al&s;o denote the people. <HI>When ye come together in the Church,</HI> that is, in the A&s;&s;embly, <HI>De&s;pi&s;e ye the Church of God?</HI> that is, the people of God, or the a&s;&s;embly of Gods people: and &s;o in that other place, vvhich may be added to the former, 1 Cor. 14. 35. <HI>It is a &s;hame for a woman to &s;peak in the Church,</HI> that is, in the a&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P N="2">2. For the thing &s;ignified by the vvord <HI>Church,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">What the <HI>Church</HI> is.</NOTE> the Church may be thus defined, the Church is a company of per&s;ons, whom God hath called out of the e&s;tate of &s;in and mi&s;ery, unto the e&s;tate of grace and &s;alvation thorough Chri&s;t Je&s;us. <HI>Ye are a cho&s;en generation, a royall Prie&s;thood, a Holy Na|tion, a peculiar people, that ye &s;hould &s;hew forth the prai&s;es of him, who hath called you out of darkne&s;&s;e into his marvellous light,</HI> 1 Pet. 2. 9.</P>
<P><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>So doth</HI> Augu&s;tine Ench. c. 56. &amp; Pola|nus Symph. Cathol. c. 18. the&s;. 1. &amp; Danae|us in Euch. Aug.</NOTE> Some make Angels to be of the Church; but &s;o far as I &s;ee, the Scripture &s;peaks of the Church as con&s;i&s;ting of men only, and not of Angells. The
<PB N="356" REF="184"> Angells are called <HI>Elect,</HI> 1 Tim. 3. 21. but they are never &s;aid to be called, which the Originall word for <HI>Church</HI> doth properly import. The Angells (I &s;peak of the good Angells) never were in a|ny other e&s;tate then now they are in, though now they be more confirmed in that e&s;tate then they were at fir&s;t, as appears by the fall of the evill Angells, <HI>who kept not their first e&s;tate,</HI> Jude v. 6. They never were in any e&s;tate of &s;in and mi|&s;ery out of which they &s;hould be called. And for the Angels that &s;inned, God &s;pared not them, as S. <HI>Peter</HI> tells us, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 4. Again, the Angells are clearly di&s;tingui&s;hed from the Church, <HI>Eph. 3. 10. To the intent that now unto the principalites and powers in heavenly places might be knowne by the Church the manifold wi&s;dom of God.</HI></P>
<P>But further, the Church thus taken for &s;uch a<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the Church militant, and the Church trium|phant.</NOTE> company of per&s;ons, is divers wayes di&s;tin|gui&s;hed.</P>
<P N="1">1. There is the Church militant, and the Church triumphant: The Church militant is that company which is here upon earth in warfare, warring with Satan the world and the fle&s;h. The Church triumphant is that company which ha|ving vanqui&s;hed and overcome tho&s;e adver&s;aries, doth reign and triumph in heaven. This di&s;tin|ction is grounded upon the words of the A|po&s;tle, <HI>I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, of whom the whole Family in heaven and earth is named,</HI> Eph. 3. 14, 15. And in other places &s;ometimes the Church militant, &s;ometimes the Church triumphant is hinted; <HI>Fight the good fight of faith,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Paul</HI> to <HI>Timothy,</HI> being a mem|ber
<PB N="357" REF="184"> of the Church militant, 1 <HI>Tim. 6. 12. I have fought a good fight,</HI> &s;aid he, when he was about to pa&s;&s;e from the Church militant to the Church tri|umphant, 2 <HI>Tim,</HI> 4. 7. So it is the Church tri|umphant that S. <HI>John</HI> &s;peaks of, &s;aying, <HI>After this I beheld, and loe a great multitude, which no man could number, of all Nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues &s;tood before the Throne, and be|fore the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palmes in their hands,</HI> viz. in token of the victory that they had atchieved, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7. 9. But the Church militant is that which u&s;ually is &s;poken of in the Scrip|tures, <HI>God hath &s;et &s;ome in the Church, fir&s;t Apo|&s;tles, &s;econdarily Prophets, thirdly Teachers, &amp;c.</HI> 1 Cor. 12. 28. <HI>Yet in the Church I had rather &s;peak five words with mine understanding, that by my voice I might teach others al&s;o, then ten thou&s;and words in an unknown tongue,</HI> 1 Cor. 14. 19. And &s;o in many other places.</P>
<P>And the Church as here upon earth, con&s;i&s;ts partly of &s;uch as are indeed of it, partly of &s;uch as onely in &s;hew and profe&s;&s;ion belong unto it; For <HI>all are not I&s;rael, that are of I&s;rael,</HI> Rom. 9. 6. that is, all are not indeed the people of God, who profe&s;&s;e them&s;elves to be of that number: No, &s;ome call them&s;elves Jewes, that is, Gods people, yet are not, but are the &s;ynagogue of Satan, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2. 9. Onely true believers are indeed of the Church: For, <HI>if any one have not the Spi|rit of Christ, the &s;ame is none of his,</HI> Rom. 8. 9. Prophane per&s;ons and hypocrites are rather <HI>in the Church,</HI> then <HI>of the Church,</HI> like woodden leggs that are outwardly joyned to the body, yet are
<PB N="358" REF="185"> indeed no parts of the body; <HI>They went out from us but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us,</HI> 1 Joh. 2. 19. So &s;peaks <HI>S. John</HI> of &s;ome Apo&s;tates and back-&s;liders, &s;hewing that then when they profe&s;&s;ed them&s;elves to be of the Church, yet indeed they were not of it.</P>
<P>And hence is another di&s;tinction of the Church into the Church vi&s;ible, and the Church invi&s;ible:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the Church vi&s;ible and the Church invi&s;ible.</NOTE> The vi&s;ible Church is a vi&s;ible company of peo|ple profe&s;&s;ing the Go&s;pell, whether they do it in truth and &s;incerity or no; it doth con&s;i&s;t of good and bad, of elect and reprobate: It is com|pared to a <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">et that was cast into the Sea, and ga|thered of every kind&punc;</HI> &amp;c. Mat. 13. 47. &amp;c. And to a field wherein were both wheat and tares, <HI>Mat.</HI> 13. 24. &amp;c. And to a great hou&s;e wherein are ve&s;|&s;ells of &s;everall &s;orts, <HI>&s;ome to honor, and &s;ome to di&s;honor,</HI> 2 Tim. 2. 20. The invi&s;ible Church con|&s;i&s;ts only of &s;uch as are elect, and are indeed that which they profe&s;&s;e them&s;elves to be, like <HI>Na|thanael, I&s;raelites indeed, in whom is no guile,</HI> Joh. 1. 47. The Church in this re&s;pect is called invi|&s;ible, becau&s;e it is not vi&s;ible to the eyes of men; they can &s;ee the profe&s;&s;ion, but whether it be &s;incere and proceed from the heart or no, they cannot &s;ee. For <HI>God only knowes the hearts of all the children of men,</HI> 1 King. 8. 39. And &s;o he only <HI>knoweth who are his,</HI> 2 Tim. 2. 19.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of a par|ticular Church, and the Church u|niver&s;all.</NOTE></P>
<P>3. The Church is di&s;tingui&s;hed into particular and univer&s;all: A particular Church is a compa|ny profe&s;&s;ing the faith in &s;ome particular place. Thus we read of the <HI>&s;even Churches in A&s;ia,</HI>
<PB N="359" REF="185"> Rev. 1. 4. that is, of Churches that were in &s;even Cities of A&s;ia, as it followes there v. 11. So we read <HI>of the Church that was at Antioch,</HI> Acts 13. 1. <HI>the Church which was at Jeru&s;alem,</HI> Acts 8. 1. Yea, we read of Churches in particular hou&s;es, as in the hou&s;e of <HI>Aquila and Pri&s;cilla,</HI> Rom. 16. 5. in the hou&s;e of <HI>Nymphas,</HI> Col. 4. 15. in the hou&s;e of <HI>Philemon,</HI> Philem. v. 2. The univer&s;all Church<NOTE PLACE="marg">This is the univer&s;all Church as upon earth, o|therwi&s;e the uni|ver&s;all Church compre|hends both the Saints on earth, and the Saints in heaven.</NOTE> is the whole company of believers throughout the world. The Apo&s;tle having &s;poken fir&s;t of a particular Church, <HI>&V;nto the Church of God which is at Corinth, &amp;c.</HI> pre&s;ently after he &s;peaks of u|niver&s;all Church, <HI>with all that in every place call upon the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &amp;c.</HI> 1 Cor. 1. 2. The univer&s;all Church is that which is mentioned in the Creed, and is called <HI>the Catholike Church;</HI> for Catholike is as much as generall or univer&s;all. The Church of Rome mo&s;t ab&s;urdly will be the Catholike Church, Roman Catholike is frequent in the mouths of Papi&s;ts; but this is over-gro&s;&s;e, Catholike importing the whole, and Roman but a part: The Church of Rome was once indeed an eminent part, yet but a part of the Catholike<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ribera</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Ie&s;uite is forced to confe&s;&s;e that by Babylon is meant Rome.</NOTE> or univer&s;all Church, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1. But now it is &s;o de|generate and corrupt, that it is termed Babylon, <HI>Rev.</HI> 17. and the people of God are required to come out of it, <HI>Rev.</HI> 18. 4.</P>
<P>In the Creed the Church is &s;tiled <HI>holy,</HI> and &s;o it is: They that are indeed of the Church, are indeed holy; <HI>Ye are wa&s;hed, ye are &s;anctified,</HI> 1 Cor. 6. 11. <HI>Wherefore holy brethren, &amp;c.</HI> Heb. 3. 1. And they that are of the Church but by profe&s;&s;i|on, yet by profe&s;&s;ion are holy, <HI>Called to be Saints,</HI>
<PB N="360" REF="186"> 1 Cor. 1. 2. <HI>Which becometh women profe&s;&s;ing godli|ne&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">How the Church is &s;tiled ho|ly.</NOTE> 2 Tim. 2. 10. And though the vi&s;ible Church contain in it hypocrites and unholy per&s;ons, as well as tho&s;e that are holy, yet the Church is called holy from the better part; even as a heap of wheat and chaffe being mixed together, we u&s;e to &s;ay of it, this is wheat, rather then this is chaffe, though there may be more of that then of the other.</P>
<P>Now the Church which is &s;o indeed, is holy two wayes:</P>
<P N="1">1. Out of it &s;elf in Chri&s;t, as being united un|to him, and one with him, and &s;o having the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t imputed unto; <HI>For God made Chri&s;t to be &s;in for us, who knew no &s;in, that we might be made the righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e of God in him, 2 Cor.</HI> 5. 21. In this re&s;pect<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sine ma|cul&acirc; de|putatur, quia culpa non impu|tatur. <HI>Gil. in</HI> Cant. 4. 7.</NOTE> Chri&s;t &s;peaking to the Church, &s;aith, <HI>Thou art all faire, my love, and there is no &s;pot in thee, Cant.</HI> 4. 7. The Church is &s;aid to have no &s;pot in her, becau&s;e no &s;pot is imputed to her.</P>
<P N="2">2. In it &s;elf from Chri&s;t: For the Church be|ing united to Chri&s;t, and partaking of his Spirit, it mu&s;t nees be conformed unto Chri&s;t in &s;ome mea&s;ure, and be made holy, as he is holy; <HI>And of his fulne&s;&s;e have we all received, and grace for grace,</HI> Joh. 1. 16. <HI>If any man be in Chri&s;t, he is a new crea|ture,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 17. <HI>He that &s;aith that he abideth in him, ought him&s;elf to walk even as he walked,</HI> 1 Ioh. 2. 6. But this inherent holine&s;&s;e of the Church here in this life, is imperfect; <HI>The inward man is renewed</HI> (not altogether at once, but by degrees, by little and little) <HI>day by day,</HI> 2 Cor. 4. 16. <HI>Let us
<PB N="361" REF="186"> clean&s;e our &s;elves from all filthine&s;&s;e both of fle&s;h and &s;pirit, perfecting holine&s;&s;e in the fear of God,</HI> 2 Cor. 7. 1. <HI>Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Pet. 3. 18. As for that <HI>Eph. 5. 27. That he might pre&s;ent it to him&s;elf a glo|rious Church, not having &s;pot or wrinkle, or any &s;uch thing, but that it &s;hould be holy and without blemi&s;h:</HI> As for that, I &s;ay, it is not &s;o to be un|der&s;tood, as if the Church were &s;uch now here in this<NOTE PLACE="marg">Non e&s;t ita intelligendum, qua&s;i Eccle&s;ia ita jam &s;it, &s;ed quia praepa|ratur ut &s;it. <HI>Aug. in Retract.</HI> In regno caelorum Eccle&s;ia plen&egrave; &amp; perfect&egrave; erit non habens macu|lam aut rugam, aut aliquid i&s;ti|u&s;modi. Cum enim non tantum dixit, ut exhiberet &s;ibi Eccle&s;ia<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> non habentem maculam, aut rugam, &s;ed addidit, glorio&s;am, &s;atis &s;ig|nificavit quando erit &s;ine macul&acirc; &amp; ruga. <HI>Beda ad loc.</HI></NOTE> life, but it is prepared, that it may be &s;uch hereafter in the life to come: And the Apo&s;tle &s;aying, <HI>That he might pre&s;ent it unto him&s;elf a glorious Church, not having &s;pot or wrinkle,</HI> &s;ufficiently &s;hewes when the Church &s;hall be without &s;pot or wrinkle, to wit, when it &s;hall be glorious, and that is, not here upon <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">arth, but hereafter in heaven.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="29" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="362" REF="187">
<HEAD>The nine and twentieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<P>I Come now to the notes or marks of the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the notes or marks of the Church.</NOTE> Church whereby it is to be di&s;cerned, I mean of a vi&s;ible Church; for the invi&s;ible Church can|not be di&s;cerned by us, but (as I &s;hewed be|fore) by God onely. And this con&s;ideration of the notes of the Church is very requi&s;ite, and of great concernment: For as Chri&s;t &s;aid to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Mat. 24. 23, 24. If any &s;hall &s;ay unto you, loe, here is Chri&s;t, or there: believe it not; for there &s;hall ari&s;e fal&s;e Chri&s;ts.</HI> So though Papi&s;ts on the one hand, and Sectaries on the other hand will be ready to &s;ay, loe, here is the Church, and loe there is the Church, yet believe it not; for there are fal&s;e Churches.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t therefore let us examine the notes of the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Notes a&s;|&s;igned by the Pa|pi&s;ts. 1 Antiqui|ty.</NOTE> Church which the Papi&s;ts a&s;&s;ign, and they are principally the&s;e:</P>
<P N="1">1. Antiquity: This they boa&s;t much of, their Religion (they &s;ay) is the old Religion, and therefore the true Religion, and con&s;equently their Church is the true Church. But we mu&s;t di&s;tingui&s;h of Antiquity, there is a primary, and there is a &s;econda<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y Antiquity: Primary Anti|quity is indeed a mark of the truth; for error and
<PB N="363" REF="187"> fal&s;hood being an aberration &amp;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> deviation from the truth, it mu&s;t needs be that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Id verum, quodcunque primum, id adulterum, quodcunque posterius. <HI>Tertull.</HI> adver&s;. <HI>Prax. c. 4.</HI></NOTE> truth is before errour and fal&s;hood. Therefore <HI>Jeremy</HI> bids, <HI>Ask for the old paths, where is the good way.</HI> But &s;econdary antiquity doth not argue truth. There is <HI>Vetu&s;tas erroris, an antiquity</HI> of errour, as <HI>Cyprian</HI> truly ob&s;erves. <HI>Our Fathers wor&s;hipped in</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cypr. E|pist. 74. E|dit. <HI>Pani|el.</HI></NOTE> <HI>this mountain,</HI> &s;aid the woman of <HI>Samaria</HI> unto Chri&s;t, <HI>Joh.</HI> 4. 20. They could plead pre&s;cription for vvhat they did, yet vvas it not therefore right: <HI>You wor&s;hip you know not what,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t unto her, v 22. And <HI>Mat.</HI> 5. v. 21. &amp; 27. &amp; 33. Chri&s;t tels his Di&s;ciples, that &s;o &amp; &s;o it had been &s;aid of old, yet he would have them to knovv that it was other|wi&s;e, and vvhich here is chiefly to be noted, the Apo&s;tle tells us, that even in his daies the my&s;tery of iniquity did begin to vvork, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 2. 7. If the Doctrine of Antichri&s;t (vvhich is there &s;poken of) did begin to work then in tho&s;e daies, no marvell if it be novv very ancient, yet is it never a vvhit the better for all that. If a pre&s;cription of many hundred yeares were &s;ufficient to demon&s;trate truth, then might the Heathens have vvell and ju&s;tly maintained their idolatry and &s;uper&s;tition again&s;t the doctrine and vvor&s;hip of Chri&s;tian Re|ligion: and indeed &s;ome of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam &s;i longa aetas autoritatem re|ligionibus faciat, &s;ervanda e&s;t tot &s;eculis fides, &amp; &s;equendi &s;unt nobis parentes, qui &s;ecuti &s;unt foe|liciter &s;uos.&mdash;utar ceremoniis a|vitis.&mdash;Sera &amp; contu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">elio&s;a est emenda<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">io &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ctutis. Symmachus pro &s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ris Patriis.</NOTE> them have u&s;ed and urged this argument, which &s;eems &s;o plau&s;ible to our Romi&s;h adveriaries. Let them an|&s;vver the Pagans, and with|all they will an&s;vver, them|&s;elves.
<PB N="364" REF="188"> This therefore I &s;ay, that although the Church of Rome can plead antiquity, yet this is not enough to prove it to be the true Church, this antiquity which it hath, being but a &s;econda|ry antiquity. If they could evince that their Do|ctrine is &s;imply and ab&s;olutely mo&s;t ancient, this were to &s;ome purpo&s;e: but this they can never do.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But (&s;ay they) the Church of Rome was once a true and a &s;ound Church, by S. <HI>Pauls</HI> own te&s;timony, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> True, but as the Prophet &s;aies, <HI>How is the faithfull City become an Harlot?</HI> I&s;ai. 1. 21. So may I &s;ay, How is Rome degenerate, and quite chan|ged from what it was in the Apo&s;tles time? Cer|tainly if the Apo&s;tle were now upon earth, he would never acknowledge the pre&s;ent Church of Rome, to be that, or any thing like that, which he did &s;o much commend in his Epi&s;tle to the Ro|manes. Did the Church of Rome then wor&s;hip Images? did it pray to Saints? did it pray for the dead? did it perform divine wor&s;hip in an un|known tongue? did it withhold the Cup from people in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper? was the Church of Rome then in the Apo&s;tles time guilty of the&s;e and many other &s;uch like errours and ab&s;urdities, which are now maintained by the Romi&s;h Church?</P>
<P>But our adver&s;aries think them&s;elves able to e|vince any thing by the &s;ubtilty of their wit, and their &s;trength in arguing. They would not be ac|counted inferiour unto tho&s;e, who would make make men believe, that &s;now is not white, nor
<PB N="365" REF="188"> that the heavens do move, and the earth &s;tand &s;til, but that all is quite contrary to what vve imagine.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> There is no change (&s;ay they) in the Church of Rome, but it is now the &s;ame in point of Reli|gion, as it was in the Apo&s;tles daies. And to prove this, they &s;ay that in every change of Religion &s;ix<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bellarm. de Eccle&s;. l. 4. c. 5.</NOTE> things may be demon&s;trated, 1. the authour of the change. 2. the new opinion brought in. 3. the time when. 4. the place where. 5. who oppo&s;ed it. 6. the &s;mal company by which the new opinion was fir&s;t embraced. Now the&s;e circum&s;tances [they &s;ay] cannot be &s;hewed concerning a change of Reli|gion in the Roman Church; and therefore [they conclude] there hath been no &s;uch change in it.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But (&s;ay I) the change may be certain and evident, though the&s;e circum&s;tances be uncer|tain and unknown; neither need we be &s;olicitous about them. Chri&s;t did not think it requi&s;ite to &s;tand about the&s;e circum&s;tances, when he &s;hewed how the Jewi&s;h Doctors had of a long time corrupted the true meaning of the Law, with their fal&s;e glo&s;&s;es and interpretations, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5. So in the parable of the tares, <HI>Mat.</HI> 13. there is no inquiry after the&s;e circum&s;tances, yet it plainly appeared that there were tares, and that was &s;ufficient, though the&s;e particular circum&s;tan|ces were not known. And it is to be ob&s;erved, that it is there &s;aid, that while men &s;lept the tares were<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 13. 25.</NOTE> &s;own. Errours often creep in &s;ecretly, when men are not aware, becau&s;e they do not watch and &s;eek to prevent them as they &s;hould do. And An|tichri&s;tian Doctrine e&s;pecially is called <HI>a my&s;tery.</HI>
<PB N="366" REF="189"> 2 The&s;. 2. 7. it came in &s;lily under a colour of piety, and &s;o was not at fir&s;t &s;o ea&s;ie to be di&s;cerned. Some of the Papi&s;ts them&s;elves are forced to con|fe&s;&s;e, that great and notable change there hath been, and yet they cannot tell when it fir&s;t began, nor by whom, and the like.</P>
<P><HI>Ca&s;&s;ander</HI> confe&s;&s;eth that in the Roman Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ca&s;&s;and. Con&s;ult. art. 22.</NOTE> for above a thou&s;and years after Chri&s;t the Sacra|ment of the Lords Supper was admini&s;tred in both kinds (&s;o that people received both the bread and the cup) now we know it is otherwi&s;e, though the fir&s;t introduction of this change cannot be &s;hew|ed. So for private Ma&s;&s;es (as they call them) that is, &s;uch as wherein the Prie&s;t alone doth receive the Sacrament, the people being by, and looking on, but not communicating with him: the &s;ame Authour cites another <HI>Romani&s;t,</HI> viz. <HI>Hoffme&s;ter,</HI> &s;aying, that the thing it &s;elf doth &s;hew, that both in the Greek and Latin Church, the people did u&s;e to communicate with the Prie&s;t, and that it is a<NOTE PLACE="marg">Res ip&s;a clamat, &amp; quodqitomodo ce&s;&s;averit, mirandum e&s;t, &amp; ut bonus ille u&s;us in Eccle&s;iam revo cetur, laborandum. Hoffme&s;t. apud Ca&s;&s;and. Con&s;ult. de mi&s;&s;. Solitar.</NOTE> wonder how this cu&s;tome cea&s;ed, and to be indeavou|red that it may be re&s;tored. Yet concerning many erro|neous opinions and practices of the Church of Rome, our Divines have by records and monu|ments of antiquity &s;hewed, who fir&s;t brought them in, and when they did it, as al&s;o who oppo|&s;ed them, &amp;c.</P>
<P>But this &s;ufficeth to convince them of novelty, that we can ea&s;ily make it appear that (as Chri&s;t &s;aid concerning the matter of divorce as u&s;ed a|mong
<PB N="367" REF="189"> the Jews) <HI>from the beginning it was not &s;o,</HI> Mat. 19. 8.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But however our Adver&s;aries think to lay us flat on the ground, and to &s;trike us dead by &s;ay|ing, Where was your Church before <HI>Luther?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Truly this is as idle and ridiculous a que|&s;tion, as if a Ma&s;&s;e of gold having contracted much dro&s;&s;e, and after being purged, one &s;hould ask Where was that gold before it was purged? Or as if a body having been ful of &s;ores and di&s;ea&s;es, and after being made whole, one &s;hould ask, Where was that body before it was made whole? <HI>Luther</HI> and others whom God &s;tirred up and made in|&s;trumental and &s;ub&s;ervient unto him in that kind, did not erect a new Church, but reform the old. As it is the &s;ame gold now as before, but more pure, and the &s;ame body, but more &s;ound; &s;o it is the &s;ame Church, but reformed. The Papacy dif|fers from the Church, as the dro&s;&s;e from the gold, and the botch from the body.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> And hence al&s;o that captious que&s;tion of our adver&s;aries is ea&s;ie to be an&s;wered, What is become of your Fore-fathers, who lived and died before <HI>Luther?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Our Fore-fathers we hope well of, they might live and die in the Church of Rome, and yet be free from many errours that are in it. Even now &s;ince the Councell of Trent &s;ome on their death beds, at lea&s;t, are found to renounce that grand point of Popery concerning Ju&s;tification, di&s;claiming all confidence in their own inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and flying wholly to the mercy of
<PB N="358" REF="190"> God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, which <HI>Bellarmine</HI> him&s;elf af|ter a long and contentious di&s;pute again&s;t it, confe&s;&s;eth<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Propter incertitudinem propriae justitiae, &amp; periculum inanis glo|riae, tuti&s;&s;imum e&s;t fiduciam totam in &s;ol&acirc; Dei mi&s;ericordi&acirc; &amp; be|nignitate reponere. Bellarm. de Iu&s;tit. l.</HI> 5. c. 7. <HI>propo&s;. 3.</HI></NOTE> to be the &s;afe&s;t cour&s;e, <HI>Be|cau&s;e</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>of the uncer|tainty of our own righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, and the danger of vain|glory, it is mo&s;t &s;afe to repo&s;e our whole tru&s;t in the &s;ole mercy and goodne&s;&s;e of God.</HI></P>
<P>Much more (may we well &s;uppo&s;e) before the Councell of Trent, when people were more free, the doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome, being not &s;o e&s;tabli&s;hed as afterwards, ma|ny in this and other points did keep them&s;elves pure. Be&s;ides, errours and corruptions being now more clearly and fully di&s;covered then before, it is not &s;afe now to continue in the Communion of that Church, though God might graciou&s;ly pa&s;&s;e by and pardon the ignorance and weakne&s;&s;e of our Fore-fathers. It is now clear as the Sun at noon day, that the Church of Rome is that Babylon, concerning vvhich the precept is expre&s;&s;e, <HI>Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her &s;ins, and that ye receive not of her plagues,</HI> Revel. 18. 4.</P>
<P N="2">2. Another note of the Church, which the Pa|pi&s;ts<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Succe&s;|&s;ion.</NOTE> a&s;&s;ign, is &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Pa&s;tours and Teachers, they can &s;hevv &s;uch a &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, and thence they conclude that they are the true Church. But there is a twofold &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, <HI>viz.</HI> per&s;onall and doctri|nall, a &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of per&s;ons, and a &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of
<PB N="369" REF="190"> Doctrine; the former vvithout the latter is as no|thing. The Prie&s;ts that condemned Chri&s;t had a per&s;onall &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, but vvanted doctrinall &s;ucce&s;|&s;ion. They could &s;hew hovv their per&s;ons did &s;uc|ceed tho&s;e that vvere before them, and they o|thers, and &s;o on untill they came to <HI>Aaron;</HI> but they could not &s;hevv the like &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of their doctrine: &s;o neither can the Papi&s;ts &s;hevv that they hold the &s;ame faith, vvhich vvas delivered by the Apo&s;tles, and therefore in vain do they vaunt of this, that they can &s;hevv a per&s;onall &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of their Popes from the times of the Apo&s;tles. <HI>Bel|larmine</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Bellarm. de. Eccle&s;. l. 4. c. 8.</NOTE> confe&s;&s;eth that the argument drawn from &s;ucce&s;&s;ion doth not hold for the affirmative, <HI>viz.</HI> that vvhere there is &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, there is the true Church, but only negatively, that there is not the Church, where &s;ucce&s;&s;ion is wanting. So then by their own confe&s;&s;ion this argument makes little for them, and as little doth it make again&s;t us. For though our Divines have laboured not unprofi|tably to &s;hew that &s;ucce&s;&s;ively in all ages there have been &s;ome or other who have a&s;&s;erted the truth which we maintain, this is &s;ufficient, that we can make it appear, that we hold the &s;ame faith, <HI>which was once delivered to the Saints,</HI> and have not<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iude v. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> departed from the Church of Rome, further then they have departed from this faith. This the an|cient Doctors thought &s;ufficient, and though &s;ometimes they have alledged per&s;onall &s;ucce&s;&s;i|on, yet it was &s;till with this &s;uppo&s;ition, that it was accompanied with doctrinall &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, o|therwi&s;e they made no reckoning of it. <HI>We mu&s;t
<PB N="400" REF="191"> adhere unto tho&s;e</HI> (&s;aith Iraene|us) <HI>who keep the doctrine of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Oportet adhaerere his, qui Apo|stolorum doctrinam cu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">diunt. Iren. l. 4. c. 44. &amp;c. 43. <HI>he calls this</HI> principalem &s;ucce&s;&s;ionem. Non habent&punc; Petri hariditatem, qui fidem Petri non babent. <HI>Am|bro&s;.</HI> de pentt <HI>l. 1. c. 6.</HI> In eadem &s;ide con&s;pirant<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, non minus Apo&s;tolica depu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">r pro con&s;anguinitate doctrine <HI>Tertul.</HI> de <HI>Prae&s;cript. c. 32.</HI></NOTE> <HI>the Apo&s;tles.</HI> This &s;ucce&s;&s;ion he calls <HI>the principall &s;ucce&s;|&s;ion.</HI> So <HI>Ambro&s;e, They do not &s;ucceed Peter</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>who have not the faith of</HI> Peter.</P>
<P>And <HI>Tertullian</HI> &s;peaking of Churches planted &s;ince the Apo&s;tles times, &s;aith that <HI>they agreeing in the &s;ame faith, are neverthele&s;&s;e accounted to be Apo&s;tolicall for the con&s;anguinity of Doctrine.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. They of the Church of Rome do al&s;o make<NOTE PLACE="marg">3. Ampli|tude.</NOTE> amplitude and largene&s;&s;e of extent a note to di&s;|cern the Church by. But this is no true note of the Church; for errour and here&s;ie may &s;o prevail as to have more profe&s;&s;ors and abettors then the truth. In the time of <HI>Ahab,</HI> for one true Prophet <HI>Micaiah,</HI> there were four hundred fal&s;e Prophets 1 <HI>King.</HI> 22. 6. &amp;c. And <HI>Eliah</HI> complained unto God &s;aying, <HI>The children of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>have for&s;aken thy Covenant&punc; thrown down thine altars, and &s;lain thy Prophets with the &s;word, and I&punc; even I only am left, and they &s;eek my life al&s;o,</HI> 1 King. 19. 14. So in the time of our Saviour the hi&s;tory of the Go&s;pell &s;hews how few in compari&s;on did embrace the truth, when it vvas preached unto them. <HI>He came unto his own, and his own received him not,</HI> Joh. 1. 11. So &s;ome few hundred years after Chri&s;t, the Sect of the Arians grew &s;o great,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ingemuit orbis, &amp; Arrianum &s;e e&s;&s;e miratus e&s;t. <HI>Hieron.</HI> adver&s;. <HI>Luciferian.</HI></NOTE> that (as <HI>Hierome</HI> expre&s;&s;eth it) <HI>the world did groan and
<PB N="401" REF="191"> wonder to &s;ee it &s;elf become an Arrian.</HI> And in after Ages what marvell if Antichri&s;t did &s;o in|large his dominion, <HI>S. John</HI> having foretold that &s;o it &s;hould be? <HI>All the world</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>wandred af|ter the bea&s;t,</HI> Revel. 13. 3. And he tells us, that the Angell interpreting unto him the my&s;tery of the whore &s;itting upon many waters, &s;aid thus, <HI>The waters which thou &s;awe&s;t where the whore &s;itteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and Nations, and tongues,</HI> Revel. 17. 15.</P>
<P N="4">4. Our Romi&s;h adver&s;aries among&s;t other<NOTE PLACE="marg">4. Union with and &s;ubjection to the Pope as Head of the Church. See <HI>B. Mortons</HI> Book en|tituled the <HI>Grand Impostor.</HI> 5. Miracles</NOTE> notes of the Church do much &s;tand upon this, that the members of the Church be united toge|ther under one head, <HI>viz.</HI> the Pope. But we have not &s;o learned Chri&s;t, we know and acknowledge him and him only to be the head of the Church. So the Scripture plainly termeth him, <HI>Ephe&s;. 5. 23. Col.</HI> 1. 18. But of any other head of the Church be&s;ides Chri&s;t, we find nothing.</P>
<P N="5">5. Miracles al&s;o are made one note whereby the Church is to be di&s;cerned. But though miracles were requi&s;ite in the fir&s;t planting of the Church <HI>Mar.</HI> 16. 20. Yet now it is otherwi&s;e: Yea the Scrip|ture hath taught us to &s;u&s;pect tho&s;e that &s;hall pre|tend miracles, &s;hewing that this &s;hall be the gui&s;e of fal&s;e teachers, and of Antichri&s;t him&s;elf. <HI>There &s;hall ari&s;e fal&s;e Chri&s;ts, and fal&s;e Prophets, and &s;hal &s;hew great &s;igns and wonders, &amp;c.</HI> Mat. 24. 24. <HI>Who&s;e coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and &s;igns, and lying wonders,</HI> 2 The&s;. 2. 9. <HI>And he doth great wonders, &s;o that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the &s;ight of men; And de|ceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the means of
<PB N="372" REF="192"> tho&s;e miracles,</HI> &amp;c. Revel. 13.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;iam &s;uam demon&s;trent, &s;i po&s;&s;unt, non in &s;ermonibus &amp; ru|moribus Afrorum&punc; non in conci|liis Epi&s;coporum &s;uorum, non in literis quorumlibet di&s;putatorum, non in &s;ignis &amp; prodigiis fallaci|bus, quia etiam contra i&s;ta verbo Domini praeparati &amp; cauti reddi|ti &s;umus, &s;ed in prae&s;cripto legis, in praedictis Prophetarum, in P&s;almorum cantibus, in ip&s;ius Pa|storis vocibu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> in Evangeli&s;ta|rum praedicationibus &amp; laboribus, hoc e&s;t, in omnibus Canonicis &s;anctorum librorum authoritati|bus, <HI>Aug.</HI> de <HI>Unit. Eccle&s;. c. 16.</HI></NOTE> 13, 14. Excellent is that of of <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> concerning the Donati&s;ts, <HI>Let them demon|&s;trate their Church, if they can, not in the &s;peeches and ru|mours of the Africans, not in the Councells of their Bi|&s;hops, not in the writings of a|ny di&s;puters, not in lying &s;igns and wonders; for again&s;t them we are prepared and made cautious by the Lords owne word, but in the pre&s;cript of the Law, in the Predictions of the Prophets, in the &s;ongs of the P&s;alms, in the words of the Shepherd him&s;elf, in the preachings and la|bours of the Evangeli&s;ts, that is, in all the Canonicall authorities of the holy books,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ne dicar, quia illa &amp; illa mira|bilia fecit <HI>Donatus,</HI> vel <HI>Pontius,</HI> vel quilibet a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ius.&mdash;Remo|veantur ista&punc; vel figm<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nta m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">a|tium hominum, vel portenta falla|cium &s;pirituum. Aut enim non &s;unt vera, quae d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">cuntur, aut &s;i haereti|corum aliqua m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ra facta &s;unt, ma|gis cavere debenius, quod cum dix|i&s;&s;et Dominus futuros e&s;&s;e fallaces qui non nulla &s;igna&punc; faciendo etiam Electos, &s;i fieri po&s;&s;et fallerent, ad|jecit vehementer commendans, &amp; ait, Ecce praedixi vobis. <HI>Aug. I|bid.</HI></NOTE> or the Bible. And again, <HI>Let him not &s;ay,</HI> Donatus, <HI>or</HI> Pon|tius, <HI>or any other did &s;uch and &s;uch wonders.&mdash;Let &s;uch things be waved, which are but either meer fictions of ly|ing men, or els &s;trange acts of deceiving &s;pirits. For either tho&s;e things that are repor|ted, are not true, or if any wonders be done by heretikes, we ought &s;o much the more to beware of them, in that when the Lord had &s;aid, that there &s;hould be deceivers, who
<PB N="373" REF="192"> by doing wonders &s;hould deceive, if it were po&s;&s;ible, even the Elect: to let us know that this is a fair warn|ing, he added, &s;aying, Behold I have foretold you.</HI></P>
<P>Divers other marks of the Church doth <HI>Bel|larmine</HI> in&s;i&s;t upon, but it is not worth the while to trouble our &s;elves about them. The&s;e already mentioned are they which our adver&s;aries of <HI>Rome</HI> do make chief account of; and therefore I pa&s;&s;e from the notes a&s;&s;igned by Papi&s;ts, to tho&s;e which are a&s;&s;igned by others.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="30" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="404" REF="193">
<HEAD>The thirtieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<P>SOme there be who are aver&s;e from, and ad|ver&s;e to them of the Romi&s;h Church, but they run into extremes on the other hand: And for<NOTE PLACE="marg">Notes of the Church a&s;&s;igned by Sepa|rati&s;ts or Semi-&s;e|parati&s;ts. 1. Holi|ne&s;&s;e of Church-members. <HI>Ain&s;w.</HI> a|gain&s;t <HI>Bern. p. 60</HI></NOTE> the notes of the Church, which they mainly in|&s;i&s;t upon, they &s;eem to be the&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. Holine&s;&s;e of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e them&s;elves, and are admitted to be members of the Church; for want of &s;uch holine&s;&s;e in Church-members, as they conceive requi&s;ite to the con&s;tituting of a Church, &s;ome will not acknowledge us to be a Church, but with-draw and &s;eparate from us as no Church, or a fal&s;e Church, &s;uch as they may not hold communion with: <HI>What manner of peo|ple</HI> [&s;aith M. <HI>Ain&s;worth,</HI> a Separati&s;t] <HI>is joyned to|gether in your Church? Are there not all &s;orts of prophane, wicked, and irreligious per&s;ons, as well as religious, and men of better life? And where find you in the Scriptures &s;uch matter for Gods hou&s;e?&mdash;The Apo&s;tle</HI> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Yet compare 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3. 9. with 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 17, 18, 20, 21. &amp; 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 12. Ibid. p. 74. &amp; 75.</NOTE> <HI>never &s;aid to any prophane or confu&s;ed people, ye are Gods husbandry, ye are Gods building.&mdash;To be &s;eparated from the unbelievers, and to be joyned together unto a holy communion and Church is needfull unto &s;alvation: This is neither
<PB N="405" REF="193"> taught nor practi&s;ed in your A&s;&s;emblies, &amp;c.</HI> By the&s;e and &s;uch like pa&s;&s;ages it appears, that they make it a nece&s;&s;ary mark of a true Church, &s;uch as we may joyne our &s;elves unto, to be &s;o holy and &s;o pure, as to have no open and notorious tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors in it: But how holine&s;&s;e belongs unto the Church, I have <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Serm. 28.</NOTE> heretofore &s;hewed, <HI>viz.</HI> &s;o as that all who are indeed of the Church, are indeed holy; and all who are of the Church by profe&s;&s;ion, are by profe&s;&s;ion holy, and ought to be &s;o indeed; and that a vi&s;ible Church though it hath many in it that are not holy, far more then that are holy, yet it is called holy, being denomi|nated not from the greater, but from the better part. This al&s;o I willingly grant, that &s;canda|lous per&s;ons ought to be admoni&s;hed and cen&s;u|red, and if the ca&s;e &s;o require, excommunicated and ca&s;t out of the Church untill they &s;hew them|&s;elves penitent; <HI>Warne them that are unruly,</HI> 1 The&s;. 5. 14. <HI>If any obey not our word by this Epi|&s;tle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be a&s;hamed,</HI> 2 The&s;. 2. 14. <HI>Put away from among your &s;elves that wicked per&s;on,</HI> 1 Cor. 5. 13. <HI>Sufficient to &s;uch a man is this puni&s;hment, which was inflicted of many, 2 Cor.</HI> 2. 6. But all this notwith&s;tanding, it followes not that it is no true Church, wherewith it is lawfull to communi|cate, if &s;uch Di&s;cipline either be not e&s;tabli&s;hed, or not executed in it, but &s;uch are tolerated as are not meet to be members of it. For we find that in all times the Church hath been &s;o infected and polluted, as to have corrupt and rotten mem|bers, not only clo&s;e hypocrites, but al&s;o openly
<PB N="376" REF="194"> profane per&s;ons, yet did it not therefore pre&s;ent|ly cea&s;e to be a Church, from which the godly were not to make a &s;eparation, although they ought to keep them&s;elves pure from contagion, and in their places and callings to indeavour the reformation of what was ami&s;&s;e in it. <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;pea|king to all the Congregation of I&s;rael, &s;aid, <HI>Thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God,</HI> Deut. 7. 6. So they all were by profe&s;&s;ion, but many of them were far from being &s;o indeed. And that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> knew very well, he had frequent and manife&s;t proof of it. He &s;aw how upon every occa&s;ion they were murmuring and provoking God, and how when he was but a while ab&s;ent from them, they fell to open idolatry. As in divers other places, &s;o <HI>Deut.</HI> 9. 6, 7, 8. he dealt plainly with them, and told them of their wickedne&s;&s;e: <HI>&V;nder&s;tand therefore</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e it for thy righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e; for thou art a &s;tiffe-necked people. Remem|ber, and forget not how thou provoked&s;t the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderne&s;&s;e; from the day that thou didst depart out of the Land of Aegypt, untill ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious a|gain&s;t the Lord: Al&s;o in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, &s;o that the Lord was angry with you to have de&s;troyed you.</HI> So what is more frequent and u&s;uall with the Prophets, then to complaine of, and cry out again&s;t the notorious &s;ins of the I&s;raelites? <HI>They declare their &s;ins as Sodome, they hide them not,</HI> E&s;a. 3. 9. <HI>They are all adulterers, an a&s;&s;embly of treacherous men: They bend their tongue like their bow for lies,</HI> &amp;c. Jeh. 9. 2, 3. Infinite of
<PB N="377" REF="194"> &s;uch like pa&s;&s;ages there are in the writings of the Prophets; yet did they not therefore deny the Jewi&s;h Church to be a true Church, to which all ought to joyn, they did neither make them&s;elves, nor exhort others to make &s;eparation from it: So in our Saviours time the Evangelicall &s;tory &s;hewes how exceeding corrupt it was, yet &s;till Jeru&s;alem is termed the <HI>holy City,</HI> Mat. 4. 5. <HI>the City of the great King,</HI> Mat. 5. 35. And our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour did joyn him&s;elf to that Church, though<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See Mr.</HI> Hilder|&s;ham <HI>on</HI> Joh. 4 22.</NOTE> not to the corruptions of it; <HI>Ye wor&s;hip ye know not what,</HI> (&s;aid he to the woman of Samaria) <HI>we know what we wor&s;hip,</HI> John 4. 22. meaning we Jewes, as it followes, <HI>for &s;alvation is of the Jewes.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Some perhaps may &s;ay, although it were thus in re&s;pect of the Jewes, yet it is otherwi&s;e in re&s;pect of Chri&s;tians: more holine&s;&s;e is now re|quired in the time of the Go&s;pell, then was be|fore in the time of the Law.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> I an&s;wer: It is true, the light being now more clear, and the means of grace more abun|dant, we ought to be more holy; <HI>For unto whom|&s;oever much is given, of him &s;hall much be requi|red,</HI> Luk. 12. 48. But neverthele&s;&s;e the writings of the Apo&s;tles &s;hew that even Chri&s;tian Chur|ches in their times were not free from gro&s;&s;e and &s;candalous offenders, and yet they were &s;till ac|counted Churches, neither were any required to &s;eparate from them: <HI>It hath been declared unto me of you my brethren, by them which are of the hou&s;e of Cloe, that there are contentions a|mong you: Now this I &s;ay, that every one of you
<PB N="408" REF="195"> &s;aith, I am of</HI> Paul, <HI>and I am of</HI> Apollos, <HI>and I am of</HI> Cephas, <HI>and I am of Christ, 1 Cor. 1. 11, 12. Ye are carnall; for whereas there are among you envy|ings and &s;trife, and divi&s;ions, are ye not carnall, and walk as men? 1 Cor. 3. 3. Now in this that I de|clare unto you, I prai&s;e you not, that you come toge|ther, not for the better, but for the wor&s;e. For first of all, when ye come together in the Church, I hear that there be divi&s;ions among you, and I part|ly believe it: For there mu&s;t al&s;o be here&s;ies among you, that they which are approved may be made ma|nife&s;t. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lords Supper; for in eating every one taketh before other his own &s;upper, and one is hungry, and another is drunken: What have you not hou&s;es to eat and drink in? Or, de&s;pi&s;e ye the Church of God, and &s;hame them that have not? What &s;hall I &s;ay unto you? &s;hall I prai&s;e you in this? I prai&s;e you not,</HI> 1 Cor. 11. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22. <HI>How &s;ay &s;ome among you, that there is no re|&s;urrection of the dead?</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 12. <HI>I feare le&s;t when I come I &s;hall not find you &s;uch as I would, and that I &s;hall be found unto you &s;uch as ye would not, le&s;t there be debates, envyings, wraths, &s;trifes, backbitings, whi&s;perings, &s;wellings, tumults; and le&s;t when I come again, my God will humble me a|mong you, and that I &s;hall bewail many which have &s;inned already, and have not repented of the unclean|ne&s;&s;e, and fornication, and la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;&s;e which they have committed,</HI> 2 Cor. 12. 20, 21. By the&s;e pa&s;&s;a|ges we may &s;ee how farre from that purity and holine&s;&s;e that was requi&s;ite, the <HI>Corinthians</HI> were, and yet the Apo&s;tle &s;tiled them <HI>the Church of God,</HI>
<PB N="409" REF="195"> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. 2. &amp; 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. 1. and ble&s;&s;ed God for them, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. 4. &s;o far was he from admoni&s;hing any to &s;eparate from them, notwith&s;tanding the er|rours and di&s;orders that were among them. So it appears by the &s;econd and third Chapters of the <HI>Revelation,</HI> how corrupt and un&s;ound the Churches of <HI>A&s;ia</HI> there &s;poken of, were both in doctrine and manners, yet &s;till Chri&s;t accounted them Churches, and only exhorted them to repent and amend, o|therwi&s;e threatning to powre his wrath upon them, he never taxed any for abiding in them, &s;o that they did not joyn in tho&s;e corruptions.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Some may object that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Come out from among them, and be ye &s;eparate,</HI> 2 Cor. 6. 17.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But it was not the Apo&s;tles meaning, that Chri&s;tians &s;hould &s;eparate from a Church; wherein are found wicked per&s;ons, as if it were not lawfull to joyn with &s;uch in the u&s;e of Gods Ordinances, for then we &s;hould not know where to find a Church upon earth to joyn our &s;elves un|to, and the whole &s;eries and tenour both of the old and new Te&s;tament is again&s;t &s;uch &s;eparation: but the meaning is, that Chri&s;tians mu&s;t &s;eparate from all wicked ones &s;o as not to joyn with them in their wickedne&s;&s;e. So immediately there it fol|lows, <HI>touch not the unclean</HI> thing, that is, do not joyn with others in their pollutions. So Ephe&s;. 5. 6, 7. <HI>Let no man deceive you with vain words, for becau&s;e of the&s;e things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of di&s;obedience. Be ye not therfore partakers with them,</HI> viz. in tho&s;e things, for which the wrath of God cometh upon them. &amp; v. 11. <HI>Have no fellow&s;hip
<PB N="380" REF="196"> with the unfruitfull works of darkne&s;s, but reprove them rather.</HI></P>
<P>Thus then by Scripture the ca&s;e is clear, that &s;uch holine&s;&s;e of Church-members as &s;ome &s;tand upon, is not e&s;&s;entiall to the Church, nor any nece&s;&s;ary mark of it. And in this all our famous Prote&s;tant Divines (that I know) agree. I will only cite one, who for his worth and excellency may be in &s;tead of all, viz. <HI>Calvin. the Ana|baptists</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>&s;ay, that</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Anabapti&s;tae aiunt, ubicunque ma|li non excluduntur &agrave; communione, illic Chri&s;tianum communicando &s;e&s;e polluere. Nos &egrave; contr&agrave; dici|mus, Chri&s;tianum maestitia affici debere, cum &s;acro&s;anctam caenam pollui videt ab iniquis &amp; impro|bis, qui ad eam admittuntur, &amp; curare quantum in ip&s;o e&s;t, ne id fiat, quod &s;i fiat ip&s;i tamen &s;e&s;e privare caen&acirc;, &amp; &agrave; communione &s;ubducere non licere; debere potius in eo per&s;i&s;tere, ut quamdiu in eo loco agit, cum caeteris Deum adoret, verbum audiat, caenamque recipiat. <HI>Calvin. In&s;truct. adver&s;. Anabap|ti&s;t. vide Ibid.</HI> plura.</NOTE> <HI>where&s;oever evill per&s;ons are not excluded from communi|on, there a Chri&s;tian doth pol|lute him&s;elf, if he communi|cate. We on the other&s;ide &s;ay, that a Christian ought to be grieved, when he &s;ees the Holy Supper polluted by the wick|ed, that are admitted unto it; and that he ought to indeavor what he can, that it may not be &s;o polluted. But if it be, yet he may not deprive him&s;elf of the Sacrament, and withdraw him&s;elf from communion, but must rather per&s;i&s;t in this re&s;olution, &s;o long as he abides there, together with others, to wor&s;hip God, hear the word, and receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper.</HI> Much more he hath to this purpo&s;e, alledging many places both of the old and new Te&s;tament for proof of it.</P>
<P N="2">2. Another note of the Church which &s;ome<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Church Covenant.</NOTE> much &s;tand upon, is a Church-Covenant, <HI>viz.</HI> an expre&s;&s;e Covenant, which all the members of the
<PB N="381" REF="196"> Church mu&s;t enter into, whereby they expre&s;&s;ely and formally bind them&s;elves to the performing &s;uch duties as they conceive to be required of them. This &s;ome make &s;o nece&s;&s;ary, as if there could be no true and rightly con&s;tituted vi&s;ible Church without it. They will not admit any to the Lords Table, though they cannot but judge them &s;uch as have reall union and communion with Chri&s;t, neither will they admit their children to Bapti&s;m, except it appear that by &s;uch a Covenant they are in Church-fellow&s;hip, or members of a Church, that is, gathered together by &s;uch a Cove|nant. But &s;o far as I can &s;ee, the Scripture no where &s;hews us, that &s;uch a Covenant is requi&s;ite. I grant, that in &s;ome ca&s;e, upon &s;peciall occa&s;ion it may be meet for the members of a Church to Covenant together about tho&s;e things that con|cern them, <HI>viz.</HI> for the reforming, or pre&s;erving of the Church from gro&s;&s;e corruptions that have got, or are likely to get into it. Thus <HI>A&s;a</HI> and the people of Judah entred into a Covenant, as we read, 2 <HI>Chron,</HI> 15. But ordinarily &s;uch a Covenant is not nece&s;&s;ary. We read of many Churches plan|ted by the Apo&s;tles, yet of no &s;uch Covenant: on|ly we find that the members of the Church were admitted into it by Bapti&s;m, by which all do ver|tually Covenant one with another. <HI>Then they that gladly received the word, were baptized, and the &s;ame day there were added unto them about three thou&s;and &s;ouls. And they continued &s;tedfa&s;t in the Apo&s;tles doctrine, and fellow&s;hip, and breaking of bread and prayers,</HI> Act. 2. 41, 42. <HI>For by one &s;pirit are we all baptized into one body,</HI> 1 Cor. 12. 13. <HI>There is
<PB N="412" REF="197"> one body, and one &s;pirit, &amp;c. one Lord, one faith, one bapti&s;me,</HI> Ephe&s;. 4. 4, 5.</P>
<P>Having hitherto &s;poken of tho&s;e notes of the<NOTE PLACE="marg">True notes of the Church.</NOTE> Church, which the Papi&s;ts and others do errone|ou&s;ly a&s;&s;ign, I come now to the true notes of it, and they are the&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. The &s;ound preaching of the word: this is<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The &s;e|cond preaching&punc; of the word.</NOTE> a principall note whereby the Church is to be di&s;|cerned. For 1. The word is that whereby the mem|bers of the Church are begotten. <HI>Being born again, not of corruptible &s;eed, but incorruptible, by the word of God,</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 23. <HI>Then they that gladly received his word were baptized,</HI> Act. 2. 41. <HI>And</HI> (&s;o by the preaching of the word) <HI>the Lord added to the</HI> Church <HI>daily &s;uch as &s;hould be &s;aved.</HI> v. 47.</P>
<P N="2">2. The word is that whereby the members of the Church are nouri&s;hed. <HI>As new born babes de|&s;ire the &s;incere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby,</HI> 1 Pet. 2. 2. <HI>And he gave &s;ome Apo&s;tles, and &s;ome Prophets, and &s;ome Evangeli&s;ts, and &s;ome Pa|&s;tours and Teachers&punc; for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry&punc; for the edifying of the body of Chri&s;t, &amp;c.</HI> Ephe&s;. 4. 11. 12. <HI>And now bre|thren I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, &amp;c.</HI> Act. 20. 32.</P>
<P N="3">3. The mini&s;tery of the word being taken away, the Church cea&s;eth. <HI>I will remove thy candle&s;tick out of his place, except thou repent,</HI> Revel. 2. 5. As if he &s;hould &s;ay, I will di&s;church thee, I will make thee cea&s;e to be a Church, <HI>viz.</HI> by taking away the word and mini&s;try. For in that re&s;pect Churches are called candle&s;ticks, <HI>Revel.</HI> 1. 20. becau&s;e they
<PB N="413" REF="197"> hold forth the light of Gods word by the mini|&s;try and di&s;pen&s;ation of it.</P>
<P>A fal&s;e and corrupt Church is known by fal&s;e and corrupt doctrine. Therefore on the other &s;ide a true and &s;ound Church is known by true and &s;ound doctrine. True it is, fal&s;e doctrine may get into a true Church, and through the prevalency of fal&s;e teachers may bear &s;way in it; but if it come to prevail &s;o far, as that all mu&s;t either &s;ub&s;cribe to it (as in the Church of Rome) or els they can have no communion with it, then it cea&s;eth to be a true Church, I mean, &s;uch as wherein it is lawfull to abide, but there is a nece&s;&s;ity of making &s;epara|tion from it: <HI>Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her &s;ins,</HI> &amp;c. Rev. 18. 4. and &s;o far forth as any Church is infected with fal&s;e doctrine, &s;o far forth it degenerateth into a fal&s;e Church. <HI>I mar|vel that you are &s;o &s;oon removed from him that called you into the grace of Chri&s;t, unto another Go&s;pell,</HI> Gal. 1. 6. <HI>I am afraid of you, le&s;t I have be&s;towed on you labour in vain,</HI> Gal. 4. 11. the Apo&s;tle feared lea&s;t by that corruption of doctrine that was in the Churches of <HI>Galatia,</HI> they would quite be di&s;&s;ol|ved and come to nothing. And Chri&s;t &s;peaking to the Angell (or Pa&s;tor) of the Church in Perga|mus, in the name of the whole Church, &s;aith thus: <HI>But I have a few things again&s;t thee, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t there them that hold the doctrine of</HI> Balaam, <HI>who taught</HI> Balak <HI>to ca&s;t a &s;tumbling block before the children of I&s;rael, to eat things &s;acrificed unto Idols, and to commit fornication. So ha&s;t thou al&s;o them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or els I will come unto thee quickly,</HI> &amp;c. Revel. 2. 14, 15, 16.</P>
<PB N="384" REF="198">
<P>2. Another true note of the Church, is, The<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. The right ad|mini&s;tra|tion of the Sacra|ments.</NOTE> right admini&s;tration of the Sacraments: When Chri&s;t &s;ent his Apo&s;tles to gather his Church, he commanded them, as to preach, &s;o al&s;o to bap|tize; Mat. 28. 19. <HI>Go ye therefore and teach all Na|tions, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Gho&s;t:</HI> That of the Apo&s;tle 1 <HI>Cor. 1. 17. Christ &s;ent me not to baptize, but to preach the Go&s;pel,</HI> is not to be taken &s;imply and ab&s;olutely, that the Apo&s;tle was not at all &s;ent to baptize; for, no doubt he had the &s;ame Commi&s;&s;ion as the other Apo&s;tles had: and be|&s;ides, he there te&s;tifieth, that he did baptize &s;ome, though not many, v. 14. &amp; 16. whereas if Chri&s;t had not &s;ent him to baptize, he might not have baptized any. It is therefore &s;poken compara|tively, like that, <HI>Receive in&s;truction, and not &s;ilver,</HI> Prov. 8. 10. that is, rather then &s;ilver: and that, <HI>I de&s;ired mercy, and not &s;acrifice,</HI> Ho&s;. 6. 6. that is, rather then &s;acrifice: So here <HI>Christ &s;ent me not to baptize, but to preach the Go&s;pell,</HI> that is, not &s;o much to baptize as to preach the Go&s;pell. But though in that Commi&s;&s;ion <HI>Mat.</HI> 28. 19. onely Bapti&s;me is expre&s;&s;ed as being the Sacrament of initiation, that whereby we &s;olemnly enter into the Church, yet there is al&s;o the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, which is to be admini&s;tred in, and celebrated by the Church: See 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. 23. &amp;c. The&s;e Sacraments as they are &s;eals of the Cove|nant which God hath made with his Church, &s;o are they badges and cognizances whereby the Church is knowne and di&s;cerned; <HI>For by one Spi|rit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be
<PB N="385" REF="198"> Jewes or Gentiles, whether bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit,</HI> 1 Cor. 12. 13. As the&s;e Sacraments are more or le&s;&s;e purely admini&s;tred, &s;o the Church is more or le&s;&s;e pure.</P>
<P>3. A mutuall connexion and due order of<NOTE PLACE="marg">3. A mu|tuall con|nexion and due order of the parts and mem|bers of the Church.</NOTE> the parts and members of the Church, this is al&s;o a note and mark of it: As in a naturall body the parts and members are united together, and fitly ordered: &s;o is it in the my&s;ticall body, the Church.</P>
<P>1. There mu&s;t be union and connexion of the parts and members: <HI>Let us not for&s;ake the a&s;&s;em|bling of our &s;elves together, as the manner of &s;ome is.</HI> Heb. 10. 25. <HI>Mark tho&s;e that cau&s;e divi&s;ions, &amp;c.</HI> Rom. 16. 17.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, there mu&s;t al&s;o be order, a due order and di&s;po&s;ition of the parts, &s;ome to teach and govern, &s;ome to be taught and governed; <HI>Are all Apo&s;tles? are all Prophets? are all Teachers?</HI> 1 Cor. 12. 29. Not all, but &s;ome; <HI>He gave &s;ome Apostles, and &s;ome Prophets, and &s;ome Evangeli&s;ts, and &s;ome Pastors and Teachers,</HI> Eph. 4. 11. <HI>Take heed to your &s;elves, and to the flock over which the Holy Gho&s;t hath made you over&s;eers, &amp;c.</HI> Acts 20. 28. <HI>And we be&s;eech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, &amp;c.</HI> 1 The&s;. 5. 12. <HI>Obey them that have the rule over you, and &s;ubmit your &s;elves, for they watch for your &s;ouls, &amp;c.</HI> Heb. 13. 1.</P>
<P>Some may take in Di&s;cipline as a note of the Church, but I thinke it not properly a note of it, becau&s;e it is not of the being, but only of the
<PB N="386" REF="199"> well-being of the Church: As a hedge or wall is to a garden, &s;o is Di&s;cipline to the Church; re|qui&s;ite and needfull is it for the pre&s;ervation of the Church in purity both of Doctrine and Manners, and where it is long wanting the Church will be apt to grow very corrupt, yet it is not of &s;uch nece&s;&s;ity, but that the Church may &s;ub&s;i&s;t without it; neither may we for want of Di&s;cipline conclude that it is no Church, or not &s;uch as wherin we may continue, but mu&s;t needs &s;eparate from it: For in our Saviours time what Di&s;cipline was in the Jewi&s;h Church, whenas they that confe&s;&s;ed him were ca&s;t out of the Sy|nagogue? <HI>Joh.</HI> 9. 22. &amp; 34.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="31" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="387" REF="199">
<HEAD>The one and thirtieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<P>HAving treated &s;ufficiently of the name and nature, the di&s;tinctions and notes of the Church, I come to the point, which the&s;e words [<HI>&V;pon this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell &s;hall not prevail against it</HI>] afford unto us, and that is this:</P>
<P>That the Church is &s;o &s;trongly built, that <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> no adver&s;e power what&s;oever can prevaile a|gain&s;t it.</P>
<P>This our Saviour plainly and expre&s;ly te&s;tifies here in the Text; &s;o <HI>David</HI> &s;peaking of the Church, &s;aith, <HI>God will e&s;tabli&s;h it for ever,</HI> P&s;al. 48. 8.</P>
<P>The &s;trength and &s;tability of the Church may yet further appear,</P>
<P N="1">1. By Gods promi&s;es made unto it; <HI>I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment, le&s;t any hurt it I will keep it night and day,</HI> E&s;a. 27. 3. <HI>No weapon that is formed again&s;t thee &s;hall pro&s;per, and every tongue that &s;hall ri&s;e against thee in judgment, &s;halt thou condemn,</HI> E&s;a. 54. 17. <HI>For I, &s;aith the Lord, will be a wall of fire round about her, and will be the glory in the mid&s;t of her,</HI> Zach. 2. 5. In &s;uch places of Scripture as wherein God
<PB N="388" REF="200"> doth threaten to afflict and puni&s;h his Church, yet &s;till he mitigates the &s;harpne&s;&s;e of his threat|nings with &s;weet promi&s;es, that he will not utter|ly de&s;troy it, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 10. 6. God &s;aith that he would &s;end the A&s;&s;yrian again&s;t an hypocriticall Nation, and again&s;t the people of his wrath, (&s;o he cal|led the Jewi&s;h Nation and people, which was then his Church) and would give him a charge to take the &s;poile, and to take the prey, and to tread them downe like the mire of the &s;treets. But le&s;t any &s;hould think that the Church &s;hould quite be de&s;troyed, it follovves v. 20. &amp; 21. <HI>And it &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e in that day, that the remnant of I&s;rael and &s;uch as are e&s;caped of the hou&s;e of</HI> Jacob, <HI>&s;hall no more again &s;tay upon him that &s;mote them, but &s;hall &s;tay upon the Lord, the holy one of I&s;rael, in truth: The remnant &s;hall return, even the rem|nant of</HI> Jacob <HI>unto the mighty God.</HI> And againe, v. 24. &amp; 25. <HI>Therefore thus &s;aith the Lord God of Ho&s;ts, O my people that dwelle&s;t in Sion, be not a|fraid of the A&s;&s;yrian; he &s;hall &s;mite thee with the rod, and &s;hall lift up his &s;taffe against thee after the manner of Aegypt: For yet a very little while, and the indignation &s;hall cea&s;e, and mine anger in their de&s;truction.</HI> Though God be provoked again&s;t his Church, and &s;mite it &s;ore, yet his anger &s;hall cea&s;e in the de&s;truction, not of his Church, but of the adver&s;aries of it: So <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 17. 4. the Lord threatneth, &s;aying, <HI>And in that day it &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e, that the glory of</HI> Jacob <HI>&s;hall be made thin, and the fatne&s;&s;e of his fle&s;h &s;hall wax lean;</HI> but v. 6. he addes, <HI>Yet gleaning grapes &s;hall be left in it, as the &s;haking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the
<PB N="389" REF="200"> top of the uttermo&s;t bough, four or five in the out mo&s;t fruitfull branches thereof, &s;aith the Lord God of I&s;|rael.</HI> And I&s;ai. 24. 13. Having &s;aid that there &s;hould be de&s;olation and de&s;truction, to &s;hew that yet this &s;hould not be utter de&s;olation, and utter de|&s;truction, the like promi&s;e is annexed. <HI>When thus it &s;hall be in the mid&s;t of the Land among the people, there &s;hall be as the &s;haking of an Olivetree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done,</HI> So Jer. 3. 14. <HI>Turn, O back-&s;liding children, &s;aith the Lord, for I am married unto you, and I wil take you one of a City, and two of a Family, and I wil bring you to Sion,</HI> &amp; Jer. 46. 28. <HI>Fear not thou, &ocirc; Iacob my &s;ervant, &s;aith the Lord; for I am with thee, for I wil make a ful end of all the Nations whither I have driven thee, but</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">See the margent and <HI>De Dieu</HI> upon <HI>Exod. 34. 6. 7.</HI></NOTE> <HI>wil not make a full end of thee; but correct thee in mea&s;ure, yet will I not leave thee wholly unpuni&s;hed.</HI> Ezek. 6. 8. The Lord having before threatned to inflict &s;ore plagues and puni&s;hments, adds, <HI>Yet wil I leave a remnant, that you may have &s;ome that &s;hall e&s;cape the &s;word among the Nations, when ye &s;hall be &s;cattered thorough the Countries,</HI> And Ezek. 14. 22. Although he threatned to &s;end his four &s;ore judg|ments upon Jeru&s;alem, the &s;word, and the famin, and the noi&s;om bea&s;t, and the pe&s;tilence, to cut off from it man and bea&s;t, <HI>Yet behold</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>therein &s;hall be left a remnant that &s;hall be brought forth,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thus Gods promi&s;es to his Church &s;hew that no adver&s;e power &s;hall prevail again&s;t it, <HI>viz.</HI> &s;o as utterly to overthrow it.</P>
<P N="2">2. The &s;ame al&s;o may appear by Gods providence towards it: as he hath promi&s;ed, &s;o he hath per|formed,
<PB N="390" REF="201"> as the &s;tory of the Church in all ages doth make manife&s;t. <HI>He hath remembred his Covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thou&s;and generations. Which Covenant he made with</HI> Abra|ham, <HI>and his Oath unto</HI> I&s;aac: <HI>And confirmed the &s;ame unto</HI> Jacob <HI>for a Law, and to</HI> I&s;rael <HI>for an e|verla&s;ting Covenant, &s;aying, unto thee will I give the Land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance. When they were but few men in number, yea very few, and &s;trangers in it. When they went from one Nation to another, from one Kingdome to another people; He &s;uffered no man to do them wrong, but reproved Kings for their &s;akes, &s;aying, Touch not mine anointed, &amp; do my Prophets no harm,</HI> P&s;al. 105. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.</P>
<P>The Church hath been much and often per&s;e|cuted by her adver&s;aries, yet it hath been pre&s;er|ved; maugre all their malice &amp; fury again&s;t it, they were not able to de&s;troy it. <HI>Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may</HI> I&s;rael <HI>now &s;ay; many time have they afflicted me from my youth, but they have not prevailed again&s;t me: the plowers plowed upon my back, &amp; made long their furrows. The Lord is righ|teous, he hath cut a&s;under the coards of the wicked,</HI> P&s;al. 129. 1, 2, 3, 4. <HI>Pharoah</HI> and the Egyptians did wickedly con&s;pire again&s;t the people of God, and did cruelly oppre&s;&s;e them, yet could they not pre|vail again&s;t them. The Church was but as that bu&s;h that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aw, all on fire, yet not con&s;u|med, <HI>Exod.</HI> 3. 3. God was in the bu&s;h, he was in his Church, he pre&s;erved it, and with a &s;trong hand and an out-&s;tretched arm he did deliver it. After|ward the people of God were many a time grie|vou&s;ly afflicted in Canaan, by Moabites, Ammo|nites,
<PB N="391" REF="201"> Phili&s;tines and others, yet &s;til God did rai&s;e them up one or other to deliver them, as is re|corded in the book of Judges. I will only cite one place to this purpo&s;e, <HI>viz.</HI> that <HI>Judg. 2. 14, 15, 16. And the anger of the Lord waxed hot again&s;t I&s;rael</HI> (becau&s;e of their &s;ins mentioned in the ver&s;es im|mediately going before) <HI>and he delivered them in|to the hands of &s;poilers, that &s;poiled them, and he &s;old them into the hands of their enemies round about, &s;o that they could no longer &s;tand before their enemies. Whither&s;oever <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">went out the hand of the Lord was again&s;t the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">r evill, as the Lord had &s;aid, and as the Lord had &s;worn unto them, and they were greatly distre&s;&s;ed. Neverthele&s;&s;e the Lord rai&s;ed up Iudges, which delivered them out of the hand of tho&s;e that &s;poiled them.</HI> After the time of the Judges, when in the daies of <HI>Eliah</HI> the Saints and &s;ervants of God were &s;o per&s;ecuted by <HI>Ahab</HI> and <HI>Jeze|bel,</HI> that <HI>Eliah</HI> thought they were all de&s;troyed, and none left be&s;ides him&s;elf, God let him know that it was otherwi&s;e then he &s;uppo&s;ed, <HI>Yet I have left me &s;even thou&s;and in I&s;rael, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which hath not ki&s;&s;ed him.</HI> 1 King. 19. 18. After this al&s;o when the ten Tribes were carried away captive into <HI>A&s;|&s;yria,</HI> as is related, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 17. be&s;ides many parti|cular per&s;ons that remained of tho&s;e Tribes, there remained &s;till the Tribes of <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>Benjamin.</HI> Its &s;aid indeed, 2 <HI>King. 17. 18. There was none left but the Tribe of</HI> Judah <HI>only;</HI> but <HI>Benjamin</HI> is com|prehended in <HI>Iudah.</HI> So it's &s;aid, 1 King. 12. 20. that when the Kingdom was divided in the reign of <HI>Rehoboam. There was none that followed the hou&s;e
<PB N="392" REF="202"> of</HI> David, <HI>but the Tribe of Iudah only.</HI> Yet 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 11. 1. it's &s;aid that <HI>Rehoboam</HI> gathered of the hou&s;e of <HI>Iudah</HI> and <HI>Benjamin,</HI> a hundred and four|&s;core thou&s;and cho&s;en men, &amp;c. And v. 12. that he had <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>Benjamin</HI> on his &s;ide. After this a|gain when <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>Benjamin</HI> were carried away into Babylon, yet be&s;ides that &s;ome &s;till remained in the Land, <HI>Ier.</HI> 40. 6. God cau&s;ed the re&s;t to re|turn after &s;eventy years, 2 <HI>Chron. 36. 22, 23. Ezr.</HI> 1. 1. &amp;c. After all this, when that mi&s;ery came upon Jeru&s;alem, which our Saviour f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ld, <HI>Luk. 19. 41. &amp;c.</HI> be&s;ides that God did re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">e unto him&s;elf &s;ome among the Jews, <HI>a remnant according to the Election of grace,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle calls them, <HI>Rom.</HI> 11. 5. God in &s;tead of the Jews that were rejected, took in the Gentiles, &s;o that the Church was &s;o far from being de&s;troyed, that it was exceedingly amplified and inlarged. The fall of the Jews was the riches of the world, and the dimihi&s;hing of them the riches of the Gentiles, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aies, <HI>Rom.</HI> 11. 12. Thus far the hi&s;tory of the Scrip|ture doth lead us; and Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall hi&s;tory yet further tells us, that the Chri&s;tian Church was un|der fierce and fiery per&s;ecution for a matter of 300. years after Chri&s;t, but though infinite num|bers were &s;lain, yet &s;till many remained, yea their<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sanguis martyrum &s;emen Eccle&s;iae. Semen est &s;anguis Chri&s;tia|norum. <HI>Tertul. Apolog.</HI></NOTE> very &s;ufferings were a means to make them in|crea&s;e and multiply the more. As it is &s;aid of the I&s;raelites in Egypt, that the more they were affli|cted, the more they multiplied and grew, <HI>Exod.</HI> 1. 12, So was it with the Chri&s;tians, in tho&s;e primi|tive times, whence aro&s;e that &s;aying, <HI>The blood of the Martyrs is the &s;eed of the Church.</HI> Thus like|wi&s;e
<PB N="393" REF="202"> in after ages Antichri&s;t under a pretence of being Chri&s;ts vicar, and head of the Church, ma|king great havock in the Church, yet was never a|ble to de&s;troy it, but it hath &s;ub&s;i&s;ted &s;till and continued unto this day, and &s;o will continue as long as the world continues, yea when the world is de&s;troyed, yet the Church &s;hall continue &s;till, even for ever and ever. <HI>Come out of her, my people,</HI> &s;aith the Lord &s;peaking of my&s;ticall and Anti|chri&s;tian Babylon, <HI>Revel.</HI> 18. 4. Which &s;hews that God would have a people even in Babylon, even under the tyranny of Antichri&s;t, and would in his good time bring them out of Babylon from under Antichri&s;tian tyranny, as he hath in the&s;e la&s;t ages done in great mea&s;ure, and will at length do in full mea&s;ure, as the Book of the Revelation &s;uffi|ciently te&s;tifieth.</P>
<P>The rea&s;ons why the Church cannot &s;o be pre|vailed<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons why no adver&s;e power can prevaile again&s;t the Church to de&s;troy it.</NOTE> again&s;t, as to be de&s;troyed, are reducible to the&s;e two heads, God is able to pre&s;erve the Church, and he will pre&s;erve it.</P>
<P N="1">1. God is able to pre&s;erve the Church: the A|po&s;tle argueth from Gods power, and thence proveth the &s;tability of a particular member of the Church, though a weak member. <HI>Yea, he &s;hal be hol|den up, for God is able to make him &s;tand,</HI> So our Savi|our from hence likewi&s;e &s;heweth the certainty of the per&s;everance &amp; &s;alvation of the whole Church, and all the members of it. <HI>My &s;heep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give un|to them eternall life, and they &s;hall never peri&s;h, nei|ther &s;hall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater then all; and</HI>
<PB N="394" REF="203"> <HI>and no man is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand, I and my Father are one,</HI> Joh. 10. 27, 28, 29, 30.</P>
<P N="2">2. God will pre&s;erve his Church, and that in divers re&s;pects.</P>
<P N="1">1. In re&s;pect of the relation that is betwixt him and the Church. It is his Church. So Chri&s;t who is God ble&s;&s;ed for ever, Rom. 9. 5. calls it in the Text, <HI>my Church,</HI> and 1 Tim. 3. 15. it is called <HI>the Church of the living God.</HI> In the &s;ame place it is called, <HI>the hou&s;e of God.</HI> And P&s;al. 48. 8. and in o|ther places, <HI>the City of God.</HI> It is his Spou&s;e <HI>Cant.</HI> 4. 9, 10, 11. his Body, 1 <HI>Cor. 12. 27. Ephe&s;.</HI> 1. 23. The Church having &s;uch near relation unto God, he will a&s;&s;uredly look to it, and pre&s;erve it.</P>
<P N="2">2. In re&s;pect of his decree and purpo&s;e in pre|de&s;tinating and electing the Church. The Apo&s;tle having &s;poken of &s;ome, who&s;e faith was over|thrown, adds, <HI>Neverthele&s;&s;e, the foundation of God &s;tandeth &s;ure, the Lord knoweth who are his,</HI> 2 Tim. 2. 20. <HI>Many are called but few are cho&s;en,</HI> Mat. 22. 12. But they that are cho&s;en are &s;ure to be &s;aved. <HI>Fear not little flock, it is your Fathers plea&s;ure to give you the Kingdome,</HI> Luk. 12. 32. <HI>Come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my Father, inherit ye the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,</HI> Mat. 25. 34. <HI>Moreover whom he did prede&s;tinate, them he al&s;o called,</HI> viz. <HI>ac|cording to his purpo&s;e,</HI> v. 28. <HI>and whom he called,</HI> [viz. in that manner] <HI>them he al&s;o justified, and whom he ju&s;tified, them he al&s;o glorified,</HI> Rom. 8. 30.</P>
<P N="3">3. In re&s;pect of the price that he hath purcha|&s;ed his Church with. <HI>Take heed, &amp;c. to feed the Church of God, which he hath purcha&s;ed with his own
<PB N="395" REF="203"> blood,</HI> Act. 20. 28. He that hath paid &s;o dear for a thing, as God hath for the Church, will not loo&s;e it, if he can keep it.</P>
<P N="4">4. In re&s;pect of the Seal that he hath &s;et upon his Church, and the earne&s;t which he hath given unto it, even his holy Spirit. Men &s;eal things which they would have pre&s;erved and kept &s;afe, and by giving earne&s;t they make a bargain. So God hath &s;ealed his Church by his &s;pirit, and hath given it the earne&s;t of his &s;pirit. <HI>Who hath al&s;o &s;ealed us, and given the earne&s;t of the &s;pirit in our hearts,</HI> 2 Cor. 12. 22. <HI>In whom al&s;o after that ye believed, ye were &s;ealed with the holy &s;pirit of promi&s;e, which is the earnest of our inheritance, &amp;c.</HI> Ephe&s;. 1. 13, 14. <HI>And grieve not the Holy &s;pirit of God, whereby you are &s;ealed unto the day of redemption,</HI> Ephe&s;. 4. 30.</P>
<P N="5">5. In re&s;pect of the great affection that he bears towards the Church. <HI>Remember me O Lord, with the favour that thou beare&s;t to thy people; O vi&s;it me with thy &s;alvation,</HI> P&s;al. 106. 4. That intimates that God doth bear a &s;ingular favour to his people, and &s;o will vi&s;it them with his &s;alvation. <HI>His &s;oul was grieved for the mi&s;eries of I&s;rael,</HI> Judg. 10. 16. <HI>In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angell of his pre&s;ence &s;aved them; in his love, and in his pity he redeemed them,</HI> &amp;c. I&s;ai. 63. 9. <HI>He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye,</HI> Zach. 2. 8. The&s;e expre&s;|&s;ions are u&s;ed to &s;hew how dear Gods Church is unto him.</P>
<P N="6">6. In re&s;pect of his Covenant, which he hath made with his Church, and by which he hath in|gaged him&s;elf unto it. <HI>I entred into Covenant with
<PB N="396" REF="204"> thee, and thou became&s;t mine,</HI> Ezek. 16. 8. <HI>But now thus &s;aith the Lord, that created thee O</HI> Jacob, <HI>and he that formed thee O</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>Fear not, for I have re|deemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine</HI> [viz. by Covenant, and what then?] <HI>When thou pa&s;&s;e&s;t thorough the waters, I will be with thee, and thorough the rivers, they &s;hall not overflow thee: When thou walk<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t thorough the fire, thou &s;halt not be burnt, neither &s;hall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy one of I&s;rael thy Saviour,</HI> I&s;ai. 43. 1, 2, 3. The people of God being in di&s;tre&s;&s;e, cry unto him, and plead with him thus, <HI>Not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give the prai&s;e, for thy mercy and thy truths &s;ake,</HI> P&s;al. 115. 1. Gods mercy moved him to make the Covenant, both his mercy and his truth will move him to keep the Covenant. <HI>He will ever be mind|full of his Covenant,</HI> P&s;al. 111. 5. <HI>My Covenant will I not break</HI> &amp;c. P&s;al. 89. 34. Therefore al&s;o <HI>Jeremy</HI> in a time of calamity and mi&s;ery prayed unto God, &s;aying, <HI>Remember, break not thy Covenant with us,</HI> Jer. 14. 21.</P>
<P N="7">7. In re&s;pect of his glory, which is concerned in the pre&s;ervation of his Church, and in the e&s;ta|bli&s;hment of it. <HI>This people have I formed for my &s;elfe, they &s;hall &s;hew forth my prai&s;e,</HI> I&s;ai. 43. 21. So v. 7. <HI>I have created him for my glory,</HI> &amp;c. The mo&s;t of the world di&s;honour God, and bla&s;pheme his Name, but God hath, and will have a people, that &s;hall honour him, and give him the glory due un|to his Name. It's &s;aid, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 22. 3. That God inha|bits the prai&s;es of I&s;rael. And both to provoke his people the more to prai&s;e him, and al&s;o that his
<PB N="397" REF="204"> enemies may have le&s;&s;e occa&s;ion to bla&s;pheme, though he afflict his people, and &s;uffer their ene|mies a while to tyrannize over them, yet his eye is &s;till upon them, he hath a care of them, and in due time will deliver them. <HI>For my Names &s;ake will I defer mine anger, and for my prai&s;e will I re|frain for thee, that I cut thee not off,</HI> I&s;ai. 48. 9. And v. 11. <HI>For mine own &s;ake, even for mine own &s;ake will I do it, for how &s;hould my name be polluted?</HI> (viz. if his Church &s;hould be de&s;troyed) <HI>and I will not give my glory unto another.</HI> See al&s;o <HI>Ezek.</HI> 36. 20, 21, 23. Therefore the people of God make u&s;e of this as a mo&s;t &s;trong argument, whereby to prevaile with God, <HI>Help us O God of our &s;alvation for the glory of thy Name, and deliver us, and purge away our &s;ins for thy Names &s;ake. Wherefore &s;hould the Heathen &s;ay, where is now their God? Let him be known among the Heathen in our &s;ight,</HI> &amp;c. P&s;al. 79. 9, 10. And v. 13. <HI>So we thy people, and &s;heep of thy Pasture, will give thee thanks for ever, we will &s;hew forth thy prai&s;e to all generations,</HI> So Jer. 14. 7. <HI>O Lord, though our iniquities te&s;tifie again&s;t us, do it for thy Names &s;ake.</HI> And v. 21. <HI>Do not abhor us for thy Names &s;ake.</HI></P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. This then &s;erves to convince the adver|&s;aries and oppo&s;ers of Gods Church and people, it &s;erves to let them &s;ee how vain their enterprize and attempt is in &s;o &s;etting them&s;elves again&s;t the Church and people of God as they do. <HI>Come</HI> (&s;ay they) <HI>let us cut them off from being a Nation, that the name of I&s;rael may be no more in remem|brance.</HI> P&s;al. 83. 4. But they do but <HI>imagine a vain thing,</HI> P&s;al. 2. 1. a thing that they are never able to
<PB N="398" REF="205"> effect. <HI>He that &s;itteth in heaven &s;hall laugh them to &s;corn, the mo&s;t High &s;hal have them in deri&s;ion.</HI> P&s;al. 2. 4. If they be able to do any thing again&s;t the Church, it is but as they are <HI>the rod of Gods anger,</HI> as he calls the A&s;&s;yrian, I&s;ai 10. 5. as the in&s;truments that he doth make u&s;e of for the correcting of his people. <HI>They mean not &s;o, neither doth their heart think &s;o, but it is in their heart to de&s;troy, and to cut off, &amp;c.</HI> I&s;ai. 10. 7. <HI>But &s;hal the axe boa&s;t it &s;elf again&s;t him that heweth therewith? or &s;hal the &s;aw magnifie it &s;elfe again&s;t him that &s;haketh it? as if the rod &s;hould &s;hake it &s;elfe again&s;t them that lift it up; or as if the &s;taff &s;hould lift up it &s;elf, as if it were no wood,</HI> I&s;ai. 10. 15. In fighting again&s;t the Church they do but <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>fight again&s;t God,</HI> Act. 5. 39. And doe they think to overcome in this fight? <HI>Keep not thou &s;ilence O God, hold not thy peace, and be not &s;till O God, for lo thine enemies</HI> (&s;o he calls the ene|mies of Gods Church) <HI>make a tumult, and they that hate thee have lift up their head. They have ta|ken crafty coun&s;ell again&s;t thy people, and con&s;ulted again&s;t thy hidden ones,</HI> P&s;al. 83. 1, 2, 3. Their machi|nations and devices again&s;t Gods people are a|gain&s;t God him&s;elf, as it follows there, v. 5. <HI>they are confederate again&s;t thee,</HI> So P&s;al. 21. 11. <HI>They in|tended evill again&s;t thee, they imagined a mi&s;chie|vous device, which they are not able to perform.</HI> Be|cau&s;e it was again&s;t God, therefore they were not able to perform it. Saul, Saul, <HI>why per&s;ecute&s;t thou me?</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t from heaven, when <HI>Saul</HI> per&s;ecu|ted his Church upon earth, Act. 9. 4. And v. 5. <HI>I am Ie&s;us whom thou per&s;ecute&s;t, it is hard for thee to kick again&s;t the pricks.</HI> When a mighty multitude
<PB N="399" REF="205"> came again&s;t <HI>A&s;a,</HI> which he had no power to with&s;tand, he cryed unto God, and u&s;ed this ar|gument to prevail with him, and to obtain help of him, <HI>Let not man prevail again&s;t thee,</HI> 2 Chron. 14. 11.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e.</HI> 2. Secondly, this al&s;o &s;erves to comfort the mourners in Sion, and the members of Sion. Though Sion (the Church) be never &s;o &s;ore &s;haken, yet it &s;tandeth &s;ure; though it be expo&s;ed to never &s;o many and great dangers, yet it &s;hall be pre&s;erved. Though the Church be a <HI>little flock,</HI> as it is termed, <HI>Luk.</HI> 12. 32. Yet it hath a great Shepherd. Though the people of God be <HI>as &s;heep among wolves,</HI> Mat. 10. 16. Yet God who is their Shepherd can and will defend them. <HI>Ye &s;hall be hated of all men for my Names &s;ake,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t to his Di&s;ciples, but he adds withall. <HI>But there &s;hall not a hair of your head peri&s;h,</HI> Luk. 21. 17, 18. <HI>We are troubled on every &s;ide, yet not di&s;tre&s;&s;ed, we are perplexed, but not in de&s;pair, per&s;ecuted, but not for|&s;aken, cast down, but not de&s;troyed,</HI> 2 Cor. 4. 8, 9. <HI>He hath &s;aid, I will never leave thee, nor for&s;ake thee, &s;o that we may boldly &s;ay, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man can do unto me,</HI> Heb. 13. 5, 6.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Some may &s;ay, But many members of the Church are oft prevailed again&s;t and de&s;troyed.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, 1. None can do any thing to any member of the Church further then God is plea&s;ed to permit; otherwi&s;e the devill could not &s;o much as touch <HI>Iob,</HI> as the &s;tory witne&s;&s;eth, <HI>Iob.</HI> 1. &amp; 2.</P>
<P>2. God &s;uffers none to do any thing to any member of the Church but for their good. <HI>All
<PB N="400" REF="206"> things work together for the good of tho&s;e that love God, that are called according to his purpo&s;e.</HI> Rom. 8. 28. The Saints and &s;ervants of God do then in|deed overcome when they &s;eem to be overcome, and when their condition &s;eems mo&s;t calamitous and mi&s;erable, then is it in|deed<NOTE PLACE="marg">H&acirc;c tempestate omnis fer&egrave; &s;acro Martyrum cruore orbis infectus <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t.&mdash;Nullis unquam bellis mundus magis exhau&s;tus e&s;t, neque majori unquam triumpho vicimus, quam cum decem armorum &s;tragi|bus vinci non potuimus. Sulpit.</NOTE> mo&s;t glorious and hap|py. <HI>In all the&s;e things we are more then Conquerours, tho|rough him that loved us,</HI> Rom. 8. 37.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e.</HI> 3. Thirdly and la&s;tly, This may &s;erve to admoni&s;h tho&s;e that are with|out, to come in, that they may be no more <HI>&s;tran|gers and forreiners, but fellow-Citizens with the Saints, and of the hou&s;hold of God,</HI> Ephe&s;. 2. 19. As the condition of tho&s;e that are in the Church, is mo&s;t &s;afe, &s;o theirs that are out of the Church, if they &s;o continue, is mo&s;t mi&s;erable. As <HI>Noah</HI> and all that were in the Ark were pre&s;erved from the flood, but all they that were out of it were drow|ned. So &s;hall all that are in the Church, truly in<NOTE PLACE="marg">Extrae Eccle&s;iam non e&s;t &s;alus.</NOTE> it, &s;o in it as to be of it, be &s;aved, but all that are out of it &s;hall peri&s;h. <HI>The Lord added to the Church daily &s;uch as &s;hould be &s;aved,</HI> Act. 2. 47. We are all indeed in the vi&s;ible Church by profe&s;&s;ion, but that is not enough, we mu&s;t al&s;o be in the invi&s;i|ble Church by a reall union with Chri&s;t, being incorpoarated into him by faith, and made mem|bers of his body. <HI>And he that &s;aith that he abideth in him, ought him&s;elf to walk even as he walked,</HI> 1 Joh. 2. 6. <HI>The foundation of the Lord &s;tandeth &s;ure, having this &s;eal, the Lord knoweth who are his: and
<PB N="401" REF="206"> let every one that nameth the name of Chri&s;t, depart from iniquity,</HI> 2 Tim. 2. 19. Chaffe may be in the floor as well as wheat, and goats in the fold as well as &s;heep; but Chri&s;t <HI>will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, and burn up the chaffe with unquenchable fire,</HI> Mat. 3. 12. <HI>He will divide the &s;heep from the goats, and will &s;et the &s;heep on his right hand, and the goats on his left, and will &s;ay to the one, Come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my Father, in|herit you the Kingdom, &amp;c. But to the other, Depart from me ye cur&s;ed into everlasting fire, &amp;c.</HI> Mat. 25. 32, 33, 34, 41. Let us therefore have a care, and make &s;ure, that we be wheat and not chaffe, &s;heep and not goats; let us have a care that we be indeed built upon the Rock, the &s;ure foundation, Chri&s;t Je&s;us, and then what&s;oever happen, we are &s;afe, the gates of hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t us.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="32" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="402" REF="207">
<HEAD>The two and thirtieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>1 JOH. 1. 3.</BIBL> That which we have &s;een and heard, declare we unto you, that ye al&s;o may have fellow&s;hip with us; and truly our fellow&s;hip is with the Father, and with his Son Je|&s;us Chri&s;t.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IN the Apo&s;tles Creed (as it is called) after the Article concerning the Church, followes the Article of the Communion of Saints. Indeed<NOTE PLACE="marg">Calv. In|&s;tit. l. 4. c. 1. &sect;. 3.</NOTE> this Article <HI>Calvin</HI> notes to be for the mo&s;t part omitted by the ancient Writers, and &s;o I find it to be by <HI>Ruffinus</HI> in his Expo&s;ition of the Creed; for from the holy Catholike Church he pa&s;&s;eth immediately to the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins. And &s;o <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> in his <HI>Enchiridion,</HI> wherein he handleth briefly the Principles of Chri&s;tian Religion con|tained
<PB N="403" REF="207"> in the Creed, takes no notice of this Article; yet it is well and fitly in&s;erted: for the Church being one City, one hou&s;e, one body, they that belong unto the Church, as the Saints onely do indeed, mu&s;t needs have communion and fellow&s;hip together. And this communion or fellow&s;hip <HI>S. John</HI> here &s;peaks of, he &s;hewes tho&s;e to whom he writes (and in them all Chri|&s;tians) why he in&s;tructs them in tho&s;e heavenly my&s;teries, about which he writes, <HI>viz.</HI> that they might have fellow&s;hip with him &amp; &s;uch as he was; <HI>That which we have &s;een and heard, declare we un|to you, that ye al&s;o may have fellow&s;hip with us:</HI> And moreover he &s;hewes what an excellent fel|lo&s;hip this is, extending it &s;elfe even to God, and the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t; <HI>And truly our fel|low&s;hip is with the Father, and with his Son Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fellow&s;hip</HI>] Communion and fellow&s;hip are termes equivalent: The Greek word which here is rendred <HI>fellow&s;hip,</HI> and &s;o <HI>Phil.</HI> 2. 1.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> is rendred <HI>communion,</HI> 2 Cor. 13. 14. &amp; 1 Cor. 10. 16.</P>
<P>The Doctrine ari&s;ing from the Text which I <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> &s;hall in&s;i&s;t on, is this: That the Saints have communion and fellow&s;hip with God, and with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and with one another.</P>
<P>By Saints are meant holy men and women, true and reall members of the Church: As for Angells, though they be holy, as they are &s;tiled, <HI>the holy Angells,</HI> Mat. 25. 31. And Jude v. 14. by <HI>Saints</HI> &s;eem to be meant tho&s;e &s;ame holy Angells; yet (as hath been &s;hewed before) the Angells are
<PB N="404" REF="208"> not properly of the Church, and &s;o not of the Saints now &s;poken of, which con&s;i&s;t onely of men and women.</P>
<P>And the&s;e Saints are partly in heaven, where they are perfect and compleat Saints, &s;o holy as to be <HI>without &s;pot or wrinkle,</HI> Ephe&s;. 5. 27. there are <HI>the &s;pirits of ju&s;t men made perfect,</HI> Heb. 12. 23. Partly upon earth, where there are true Saints, though incompleat and imperfect, &s;uch as have &s;till &s;in and corruption remaining in them: <HI>For there is not a ju&s;t man upon earth that doth good, and &s;inneth not,</HI> Eccle&s;. 7. 20. <HI>If we &s;ay that we have no &s;in, we deceive our &s;elves, and the truth is not in us,</HI> 1 Joh. 1. 8. Some are &s;o &s;imple as to think that there are no Saints but in heaven, when as the Scripture &s;peaks expre&s;ly of <HI>the Saints that are upon the earth,</HI> P&s;al. 16. 3. And u|&s;ually where Saints are mentioned in the Scrip|ture, the Saints on earth are meant: As P&s;al. 34. 9. <HI>O fear the Lord all ye his Saints; for there is no lack to them that fear him.</HI> And P&s;al. 79. 2. <HI>The fle&s;h of thy Saints</HI> [have they given] <HI>to the bea&s;ts of the earth.</HI> And Prov. 2. 8. <HI>He pre&s;erveth the way of his Saints.</HI> And 2 Cor. 13. 13. <HI>All the Saints &s;a|lute you.</HI> And Phil. 4. 22. <HI>All the Saints &s;alute you, chiefly they that are of</HI> Cae&s;ars <HI>hou&s;hold.</HI> So in many other places: Now when we &s;peak of the Communion of Saints, both the Saints in heaven, and the Saints on earth are to be un|der&s;tood; both the one and the other have the communion here &s;poken of, <HI>viz.</HI> with God, and with Chri&s;t, and with one another.</P>
<P>Now the ground of communion is union;
<PB N="405" REF="208"> fir&s;t therefore, the Saints have union with God, and with Chri&s;t, and with one another, and then they have communion with God, and with Chri&s;t, and with one another.</P>
<P N="1">1. With God: The Saints in heaven have perfect union with God, and &s;o perfect commu|nion with him. They have a clear &s;ight of God, they &s;ee him not (as here) <HI>through a gla&s;&s;e, darkly, but face to face,</HI> 1 Cor. 13. 12. And they have a full fruition of God: <HI>In his pre&s;ence they have fulne&s;&s;e of joy, and at his right hand they have plea|&s;ures for evermore,</HI> P&s;al. 16. 11. So they are un|ce&s;&s;antly &s;ounding forth <HI>Hallelujahs,</HI> they are continually exerci&s;ed in prai&s;ing and magnifying God; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that dwell in thy hou&s;e, they will be &s;till prai&s;ing thee.</HI> P&s;al. 84. 4. This is e&s;pe|cially true of tho&s;e that dwell in Gods upper hou&s;e, in heaven.</P>
<P>The Saints on earth al&s;o have union and com|munion with God, though not in that perfect manner as they in heaven: The Saints in hea|ven have union with God by &s;ight, the Saints on earth have only union with God by faith; <HI>For we walk by faith, and not by &s;ight,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 7. And &s;o the Saints on earth have communion with God by exerci&s;ing their faith, and &s;hewing forth the fruits of it; by prai&s;ing God, and praying unto him, and performing &s;uch acts of wor&s;hip and &s;ervice as he requires of them. <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;pea|king but of one act of communion which the Saints here have with God, how doth he admire the excellency of it? <HI>For what Nation is there &s;o great, who hath God &s;o nigh unto them, as the
<PB N="406" REF="209"> Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?</HI> Deut. 4. 7. And in re&s;pect of that commu|nion which they have with God in the ob&s;erva|tion of all his Ordinances and injunctions, he add<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, v. 8. <HI>And what Nation is there &s;o great, that hath Statutes &s;o righteous, as all this Law which I &s;et before you this day? David</HI> al&s;o &s;peaking of communion with God in his Sanctuary and &s;er|vice, which the Saints on earth have, cries out, <HI>How amiable are thy Tabernacles, O Lord of Ho&s;ts! My &s;oule longeth, yea even fainteth for the Courts of the Lord, my heart and my fle&s;h crieth out for the living God,</HI> P&s;al. 84. 1, 2. So P&s;al. 42. 1. 2. Mo&s;t affectionately he expre&s;&s;eth his de&s;ire to injoy this communion with God, <HI>As the Hart panteth after the water brooks, &s;o panteth my &s;oul after thee O God: My &s;oule thir&s;teth for God, for the li|ving God, when &s;hall I come and appear before God!</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. With Chri&s;t: the Saints in heaven have per|fect union and communion with him. <HI>Father I will that they whom thou ha&s;t given me, be where I am, that they may behold my glory,</HI> Joh. 17. 24. <HI>Ha|ving a de&s;ire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better,</HI> Phil. 1. 23. The Saints on earth al&s;o have, though not in that perfection, as they in heaven, union and communion with Chri&s;t. For he is the Vine, and they are the branches, <HI>Joh.</HI> 15. 1. &amp;c. He is the Head, and they are the members, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 5. 23, 25. By him they are reconciled unto God, and at peace with him. <HI>Being ju&s;tified by faith we have peace with God thorough Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord. By whom al&s;o we have acce&s;&s;e by faith unto this grace,
<PB N="407" REF="209"> wherein we &s;tand, &amp;c.</HI> Rom. 5. 1, 2. <HI>And not only &s;o, but we al&s;o joy in God thorough our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, by whom al&s;o we have now received the at|tonement,</HI> Rom. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 11. Of his fulne&s;&s;e they all re|ceive, and grace for grace, <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. 16. By him they have boldne&s;&s;e to call upon God, and to make known their reque&s;ts unto him, &s;ee <HI>Ioh.</HI> 16. 23. By him all their &s;ervices though weak and imperfect, are accepted of God. <HI>Ye al&s;o as lively &s;tones are built up a &s;pirituall hou&s;e, an holy Prie&s;thood to offer up &s;pirituall &s;acrifices acceptable unto God thorough Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 1 Pet. 2. 5.</P>
<P N="3">3. With one another. The Saints, both they in heaven, and they on earth, are all united together in one my&s;ticall body, whereof Chri&s;t is Head. For it plea&s;ed God, <HI>to gather together in one all things in Chri&s;t, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him,</HI> Ephe&s;. 1. 10. They are all knit together by one and the &s;ame &s;pirit. <HI>For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentils, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit,</HI> 1 Cor. 12. 13. The Apo&s;tle there &s;peaks of baptizing and drinking, becau&s;e the Sacraments, Bapti&s;me and the Lords Supper, are outward tokens and te&s;ti|monies of the union of the Saints, as they are here upon earth; but &s;till he mentions the &s;pirit, as that whereby the union is indeed wrought. And as u|nion, &s;o communion which flows from union. For as it is in the naturall body, &s;o is it al&s;o in the my&s;ticall, the members being united one to ano|ther, have communion one with another, becau&s;e as the members of the naturall body partake all
<PB N="408" REF="210"> of one &s;oul, &s;o the members of the my&s;tical body partake all of one &s;pirit. Becau&s;e the Saints have <HI>the communion of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> 2 Cor. 13. 14. <HI>the fellow&s;hip of the &s;pirit,</HI> Phil. 2. 1. therefore they have communion and fellow&s;hip one with a|nother.</P>
<P>Now the Saints being &s;ome in heaven, and &s;ome on earth, there ari&s;eth a fourfold communi|on or fellow&s;hip which the Saints have one with another.</P>
<P N="1">1. There is a communion which the Saints in heaven have one with another. They certainly re|joyce one in anothers happine&s;&s;e, and prai&s;e God one for an other. Here men, and even &s;ometimes good men, through the corruption that is in them, envy one another, as <HI>Aaron</HI> and <HI>Miriam</HI> did <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> Num. 12. 1. But the Saints in heaven are wholly free from this di&s;temper, they are made perfect in love and charity, which envieth not, 1 Cor. 13. 4. <HI>rejoyceth not in iniquity, but rejoyceth in the truth,</HI> v. 6.</P>
<P N="2">2. There is a communion, which the Saints in heaven have with the Saints on earth. They wi&s;h them that happine&s;&s;e which them&s;elves have at|tained to, and in generall (as we may conceive) pray for them. For though they be not acquain|ted with the particular e&s;tate of the Saints here below, yet in generall they know that as they in heaven are triumphant, &s;o their fellow-members on earth are militant, and therefore charity (as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith) never failing, they have a fel|low-feeling<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 13. 8.</NOTE> of their ca&s;e (&s;o far forth as is con&s;i|&s;tent with their own happine&s;&s;e) and a care for them.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="409" REF="210">3. There is a communion which the Saints on earth have with the Saints in heaven. They rejoyce in their happine&s;&s;e, prai&s;e God for them, and fol|low their faith and conver&s;ation, that &s;o they al&s;o may partake of the &s;ame happine&s;&s;e with them. Thus far forth the Scripture doth warrant our Communion with the Saints in heaven. <HI>For the memory of the ju&s;t is ble&s;&s;ed,</HI> Prov. 10. 7. <HI>All gene|rations &s;hall call me ble&s;&s;ed</HI> &s;aid the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> Luk. 1. 48. And the Apo&s;tle bids, <HI>Be followers of tho&s;e, who through faith and patience inherit the pro|mi&s;es,</HI> Heb. 6. 12. But for praying to the Saints de|parted, as they of the Church of Rome teach, we have no Scripture to countenance any &s;uch Com|munion, but it is quite di&s;&s;onant and repugnant to Scripture. God is he, to whom we mu&s;t pray, <HI>Call upon me,</HI> P&s;al. 50. 15. <HI>As for me I will call upon God,</HI> P&s;al. 55. 16. <HI>For this &s;hall every one that is godly pray unto thee,</HI> P&s;al. 32. 6. <HI>After this manner therefore pray ye, Our Father,</HI> &amp;c. Mat. 6. 9. Neither mu&s;t we pray in the name of any but of Chri&s;t only. <HI>For there is one God, and one Mediator be|twixt God and man, the man Christ Ie&s;us,</HI> 1 Tim. 2. 5. Be&s;ides, the Saints departed do not under&s;tand our particular affairs. When a man is dead he is ig|norant of the e&s;tate of &s;uch as had mo&s;t near re|lation unto him. <HI>His &s;ons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he per|ceiveth it not of them,</HI> Job. 14. 21.</P>
<P N="4">4. There is a Communion which the Saints on earth have one with another; &amp; this is that com|munion of Saints, which the Scripture chiefly &s;pea|eth of. <HI>They are kindly affectioned one towards ano|ther,</HI>
<PB N="410" REF="211"> Rom. 12. 10. <HI>They rejoyce with them that re|joyce, and weep with them that weep, v. 15. They have the &s;ame care one for another; If one member &s;uffer, all the members &s;uffer with it; if one member be honoured, they all rejoyce with it,</HI> 1 Cor. 12. 25, 26. <HI>They bear one anothers bur|thens,</HI> Gal. 6. 2. <HI>As every one hath received the gift, &s;o they minister the &s;ame one to another, as good &s;te|wards of the manifest grace of God,</HI> 1 Pet. 4. 10.</P>
<P>More particularly the Saints on earth have communion one with another. 1. in re&s;pect of &s;pirituall things; they joyn together in the u&s;e of Gods Ordinances. Thus it is &s;aid of the primi|tive Chri&s;tians, that <HI>they continued &s;tedfastly in the Apo&s;tles doctrine, and fellow&s;hip, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers,</HI> Act. 2. 42. And v. 46. that <HI>they continued daily with one accord in the Temple, &amp;c.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle exhorts &s;aying, <HI>And let us con&s;ider one another, &amp;c. Not for&s;aking the a&s;&s;em|bling of our &s;elves together, as the manner of &s;ome is,</HI> Heb. 10. 24, 25. According to their places and callings they teach and admoni&s;h one another, Col. 3. 16. They exhort one another, <HI>Heb.</HI> 3. 13. &amp; 10. 25. They comfort and edifie one another, 1 The&s;. 4. 18. &amp; 5. 11. They pray one for another, <HI>Ephe&s;. 6. 18. Jam.</HI> 5. 16.</P>
<P>2. In re&s;pect of temporall things; they &s;uccour and relieve one another. It is recorded of the Saints in the Apo&s;tles time, that <HI>they had all things common, and &s;old their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need,</HI> Act. 2. 44, 45. So Act. 4. 32. <HI>And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one &s;oul, nei|ther
<PB N="411" REF="211"> &s;aid any of them, that ought of the things that he po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> his own, but they had all things common,</HI> &amp;v. 34. &amp; 35. <HI>For as many as were po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors of lands or hou&s;es, &s;old them, and brought the prices of the things that were &s;old, and laid them down at the Apo&s;tles feet, and distribution was made unto every man ac|cording as he had need.</HI> This example of the primi|tive Saints, the Anabapti&s;ts before the&s;e times have abu&s;ed, inferring from thence that <HI>meum</HI> and <HI>tuum,</HI> all propriety of goods ought to be taken a|way from among Chri&s;tians, and that all things &s;hould be &s;o common among them, that none &s;hould have right to any thing more then ano|ther. But this is over-gro&s;&s;e. For 1. What was done by a few living together in one City, cannot conveniently be done by all throughout the vvorld. Neither then in the Apo&s;tles time was that communion injoyned, none was required to part with the intere&s;t that he had in any thing, as is clear by that of <HI>Peter</HI> to <HI>Ananias, Whiles it remained, was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> not thine own? and after it was &s;old, was it not in thine own power?</HI> Act. 5. 4. This &s;hewes that, <HI>Anamas</HI> might have cho&s;en whether he would fell his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion or no; and when he had &s;old it, whether he would bring the money, that he had for it, to the Apo&s;tles or no. But thus far that example is to be followed, that they which have, mu&s;t communicate to tho&s;e that want. <HI>To do good, and to communicate forget not,</HI> Heb. 13. 16. <HI>Charge them that are rich in this world, &amp;c. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate,</HI> 1 Tim. 6. 17, 18. <HI>As we have opportunity let us do good unto all, e&s;|pecially
<PB N="412" REF="212"> unto them that are of the hou&s;hold of faith,</HI> Gal. 6. 10.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. The u&s;e of this doctrine is, fir&s;t, to con|vince and reprove &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e them&s;elves Chri&s;tians, and &s;o con&s;equently Saints, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">et do little regard the communion of Saints, that communi|on which all true Saints have, with God, with Chri&s;t, and with one another. In &s;tead of commu|nion with God, &s;ome have communion with Satan, in &s;tead of communion with Chri&s;t, they have communion with <HI>Belial,</HI> with fin and wick|edne&s;&s;e, in &s;tead of communion with Saints, they have communion with the ungodly; in &s;tead of joyning in the wor&s;hip and &s;ervice of God, they joyn in the practice of iniquity, &s;wearing and &s;waggering, drinking and revelling together, and this they account and call good-fellow&s;hip, but it is far from that fellow&s;hip which the Text doth &s;peak of, which indeed is the only true good|fellow&s;hip. <HI>God is light</HI> (&s;aith <HI>S. Iohn</HI> pre&s;ently af|ter the Text) <HI>and in him is no darkne&s;&s;e at all. If we &s;ay that we have fellow&s;hip with him, and walk in darkne&s;&s;e, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellow&s;hip one with another, &amp;c.</HI> 1 Joh. 1. 5, 6, 7. <HI>Be ye not une|qually yoked together with unbelievers, for what fel|low&s;hip hath righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e with unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e? and what communion hath light with darkne&s;&s;e? And what concord hath Christ with</HI> Belial? <HI>or what part hath he that believeth, with an Infidel? And what agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols?</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 14, 15, 16.</P>
<P>Some under a pretence of &s;anctity violate the
<PB N="413" REF="212"> communion of Saints; they for&s;ake the a&s;&s;emblies of the Saints, becau&s;e of &s;ome in tho&s;e a&s;&s;emblies by who&s;e &s;ociety they fear to be polluted: but this is either great hypocri&s;ie, or a gro&s;&s;e errour. <HI>Let a man examin him&s;elf,</HI> (&s;aid the Apo&s;tle) <HI>and &s;o let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup,</HI> 1 Cor. 11. 28. Therefore it is not the unworthine&s;&s;e of others that can prejudice thee, if thou thy &s;elf bee&s;t not unworthy. <HI>Come out from among them, and be ye &s;eparate;</HI> how? <HI>and touch not the unclean thing,</HI> 1 Cor. 5. 17. So &s;eparate, as to have no com|munion with others in that which is evill. <HI>Have no fellow&s;hip with the unfruitful works of darkne&s;&s;e, but reprove them rather,</HI> Ephe&s;. 5. 11.</P>
<P>Some will exerci&s;e communion of Saints in re&s;pect of &s;piritual things, but in re&s;pect of corpo|rall things they wil have no &s;uch communion. The Hebrew Doctors note that there are four &s;orts of per&s;ons;</P>
<P N="1">1. Such as will &s;ay, <HI>Mine is thine, and thine is</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Pirke A|both c. s.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>mine.</HI> They will communicate to others, but only &s;o as that others communicate to them again. But Luk. 6. 32. 33. <HI>If ye love them that love you what thank have ye? for &s;inners al&s;o love tho&s;e that love them. And if ye do good to tho&s;e to tho&s;e that do good to you, what thank have ye? for &s;inners al&s;o do even the &s;ame.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Such as will &s;ay, <HI>Mine is mine, and thine is</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>thine:</HI> They will keep what they have, and let o|thers keep what they have; they will neither be beholding to others, nor &s;hall others be behol|ding unto them: And this (&s;ay &s;ome) was the di&s;po&s;ition of the people of Sodome: The Pro|phet
<PB N="414" REF="213"> <HI>Ezekiel</HI> &s;peaking of the &s;ins of Sodome, mentioneth this for one, <HI>neither did &s;he &s;trengthen the hands of the poor and needy,</HI> Ezek. 16. 49. They are not taxed for robbing, defrauding, and op|pre&s;&s;ing the poor, but for not &s;uccouring and re|lieving them, as they &s;hould have done.</P>
<P N="3">3. Such as will &s;ay, <HI>Thine is mine, and mine is</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>mine:</HI> They will take from others, but will not impart to others; the&s;e are gro&s;&s;ely wicked.</P>
<P N="4">4. Such as will &s;ay, <HI>Mine is thine, and thine is thine:</HI> They will impart to others, not expecting that they &s;hould impart to them againe. This is the di&s;po&s;ition of the godly; it is that which our Saviour requires, <HI>Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again</HI> (that is, not hoping to receive the like kindne&s;&s;e by bor|rowing afterwards of tho&s;e who now borrow of you) <HI>and your reward &s;hall be great, &amp;c.</HI> Luk. 6. 35, 36.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Secondly, as we profe&s;&s;e Chri&s;tianity, and &s;o &s;anctity, let us practi&s;e this communion, which is the communion of Saints, and &s;o of all true Chri&s;tians, communion with God, and with Chri&s;t, and with one another.</P>
<P>To this end, fir&s;t, let us have a care that we be Chri&s;tians indeed, and &s;o Saints indeed; Saints I &s;ay, in &s;ome mea&s;ure, though not full mea&s;ure: God is holy, and Chri&s;t is holy, and all the true children of God and members of Chri&s;t are holy, and &s;o if we would have communion with them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Simile gaudet fimili.</NOTE> we mu&s;t be holy al&s;o: For every thing &s;eeks communion with that which is like it &s;elfe; <HI>Birds of a feather flie together. Follow holine&s;se, without
<PB N="415" REF="213"> which no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord,</HI> Heb. 12. 14.</P>
<P>2. As we mu&s;t follow after all holine&s;&s;e, &s;o e|&s;pecially<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amor. unit amantem cum re amata.</NOTE> Love, which wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nion and &s;o com|munion; <HI>And above all <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">e things put on chari|ty, which is the bond of perfectne&s;se,</HI> Col. 3. 14. <HI>Be|loved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and know|eth God: He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love,</HI> 1 Joh. 4. 7, 8.</P>
<P>3. Humility is al&s;o a great means to pre&s;erve and maintain this communion: <HI>Onely by pride cometh contention,</HI> Prov. 13. 10. <HI>With all lowline&s;&s;e and meekne&s;&s;e, with long-&s;uffering forbearing one another in love; indeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,</HI> Eph. 4. 2, 3. <HI>Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the &s;ame love, being of one accord, of one mind: Let nothing be done through &s;trife or vain-glory, but in lowline&s;se of mind, let each e&s;teem other better then them&s;elves,</HI> Phil. 2. 2, 3.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="33" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="416" REF="214">
<HEAD>The three and thirtieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>I&s;ai. 33. 24.</BIBL> The people that dwell therein &s;hall be forgiven their iniquity.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe Prophet here &s;peaking of the Church under the notion of a City, and under the name of Sion and Jeru&s;alem, v. 20. &s;heweth what a great benefit belongs unto it, and to the mem|bers of it, <HI>viz.</HI> the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins; <HI>The peo|ple that dwell therein</HI> (in Zion or Jeru&s;alem, in the Church, they that are &s;o in it, as to be of it) <HI>&s;hall be forgiven their iniquity.</HI> It is the happine&s;&s;e of the members of the Church triumphant, of the Saints in heaven, that they have no &s;in, no iniqui|ty: It is the happine&s;&s;e of the members of the Church militant, of the Saints on earth, that their &s;in and iniquity is forgiven. The point which <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> we are to ob&s;erve from the Text, is this; That for|givene&s;&s;e of &s;ins is a benefit of which Gods people are made partakers.</P>
<P>It is a part of that new Covenant that God hath graciou&s;ly made with his people; <HI>I will
<PB N="417" REF="214"> forgive their iniquity, and not remember their &s;in a|ny more,</HI> Jer. 31. 34. So Chri&s;t told <HI>Paul</HI> that he would &s;end him to preach unto the Gentiles, to that end, that <HI>they might receive forgivene&s;se of &s;ins,</HI> Acts 26. 18.</P>
<P>For the more full handling of this point, I will &s;hew by whom &s;ins are forgiven, for who&s;e &s;ake they are forgiven, what is required of tho&s;e to whom they are forgiven, and then make u&s;e and application.</P>
<P N="1">1. By whom &s;ins are forgiven: As &s;ome &s;ins are committed again&s;t man, &s;o they may be forgiven by man; <HI>If thy brother tre&s;pa&s;se again&s;t thee, rebuke him, and if he repent forgive him: And if he tra&s;pa&s;se again&s;t thee &s;even times in a day, and &s;even times in a day, turn again to thee, &s;aying, I repent, thou &s;halt forgive him,</HI> Luk. 17. 3, 4. But &s;in, all &s;in what&s;oever, being a <HI>tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of the Law,</HI> 1 Joh. 3. 4. As &s;in is again&s;t God, a tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ion of his Law, an indignity and di&s;honor done to him, &s;o only he can forgive it; <HI>I, even I am he that blotteth out thy tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, &amp;c.</HI> E&s;a. 43. 25. The Scribes there|fore<NOTE PLACE="marg">Movet Scribas remi&s;&s;um ab homi|ne peccatum. Hominem cuim tan|t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">m in Je&s;u Chri&s;to contuebantur.&mdash;Verum enim nemo pote&s;t dimitiere peccata ni&s;i &s;olus Deus: Ergo qui remittit Deus e&s;t, qui<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nemo remittit ni&s;i Deus. <HI>Hilar.</HI> in <HI>Mat.</HI> can. 18.</NOTE> might well &s;ay, <HI>Who can forgive &s;ins but God only?</HI> Mar. 2. 7. They were right in the Doctrine, onely they were wrong in the applica|tion; their po&s;ition was good, that onely God can forgive &s;ins, only their &s;uppo&s;ition was nought, that Chri&s;t was a meer man, and therefore did bla&s;pheme when he took upon him &s;o to forgive
<PB N="418" REF="215"> &s;ins as he did. As for that which Chri&s;t &s;aid to his Apo&s;tles, and in them to all his Mini&s;ters, <HI>Who&s;e &s;oever &s;ins ye remit, they are remitted unto them,</HI> Joh. 20. 23. it is not &s;o to be taken as if they could remit &s;ins authoritatively, but onely mini&s;terial|ly; they are &s;aid to remit &s;ins in that they preach remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins, and declare unto people that their &s;ins are remitted, <HI>viz.</HI> they performing tho&s;e conditions which God requireth of tho&s;e who&s;e &s;ins he remitteth. <HI>John</HI> Bapti&s;t was <HI>to go before the face of the Lord to prepare his wayes; To give know|ledge of &s;alvation unto his people by the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;ins,</HI> Luke 1. 76. 77. And Chri&s;t after his Re|&s;urrection told his Apo&s;tles, that they and his o|ther Mini&s;ters <HI>&s;hould preach remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins,</HI> Luk. 24. 47. <HI>Be it knowne unto you</HI> (&s;aid <HI>Paul) that through this man</HI> (viz. Chri&s;t) <HI>is preached unto you forgivene&s;se of &s;ins,</HI> Acts 13. 38. That the Apo&s;tles did otherwi&s;e then thus forgive &s;ins we find not. The Prie&s;t in the time of the Law was &s;aid to make the<NOTE PLACE="marg">In remittendis vel retinendis cul|pis, id juris atque officii habent Eccle&s;ia&s;tici &s;acerdotes, quod olim habebant &s;ub lege legales in cu|randis lepro&s;is. Hi ergo peccata dimittunt vel retinent dum di|mi&s;&s;a &agrave; Deo vel retenta judicant &amp; o&s;tendunt. <HI>Lombardus Hierony|mum</HI> &s;ecutus, lib. 4. di&s;t. 18.</NOTE> Leper clean, <HI>Lev.</HI> 13. when he did pronounce and de|clare him to be clean: Our Tran&s;lators render it, <HI>The Prie&s;t &s;hall pronounce him clean,</HI> v. 17. and &s;o in other Ver&s;es of that Chapter; but in the Originall it is <HI>&s;hall make him cleane,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> and &s;o the Septuagint have it; yet our Tran&s;la|tors do well and truly expre&s;&s;e the &s;en&s;e, for that making cleane is no more but a pronouncing<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mundum e&s;&s;e decer|net.</NOTE> clean, and &s;o al&s;o the vulgar Latine Interpreter
<PB N="419" REF="215"> doth render it. Ju&s;t &s;o (as <HI>Hierome</HI> and after him <HI>Lombard</HI> hath ob&s;erved) the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pell are &s;aid to forgive &s;ins, when they de|clare who&s;e &s;ins are forgiven.</P>
<P N="2">2. For who&s;e &s;ake &s;ins are forgiven. <HI>viz.</HI> For Chri&s;ts &s;ake: He commanded that <HI>remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins &s;hould be preached in his Name among all Nations,</HI> Luke 24. 47. So <HI>Paul</HI> told them to whom he preached, &s;aying, <HI>thorough this man is preached un|to you for givene&s;&s;e of &s;ins; And by him all that be|lieve are ju&s;tified from all things, from which ye could not be ju&s;tified by the Law of</HI> Mo&s;es, Acts 13. 38, 39. <HI>He is the propitiation for our &s;ins,</HI> 1 John 2. 2. <HI>He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the &s;in of the world,</HI> John 1. 29. <HI>God was in Chri&s;t reconciling the world unto him&s;elf, not imputing their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es un|to them,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 19. <HI>For he hath made him to be &s;in for us, who knew no &s;in, that we might be made the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God in him,</HI> v. 21. <HI>He was wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, he was bruized for our iniqui|ties, the cha&s;ti&s;ement of our peace was upon him, and with his &s;tripes we are healed. All we like &s;heep have gone a&s;tray, and we have turned every one to his own cour&s;e, and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all,</HI> I&s;ai. 53. 5, 6.</P>
<P N="3">3. VVhat is required of tho&s;e to whom &s;innes are forgiven. Although &s;in in re&s;pect of us is for|given freely, we can do nothing whereby to pur|cha&s;e forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, yet &s;omething is requi|red to prepare for it, and to make capable of it. Thus there is required, 1. Faith; <HI>To him give all the Prophets witne&s;&s;e</HI> (&s;aid <HI>Peter</HI> &s;peaking of Chri&s;t) <HI>that thorough his Name who&s;oever believeth in him,
<PB N="420" REF="216"> &s;hall receive remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins,</HI> Act. 10. 43. <HI>By him all that believe are ju&s;tified,</HI> &amp;c. &s;aid <HI>Paul</HI> Act. 13. 39. Faith is the hand that laies hold on Chri&s;t, and re|ceives him, for who&s;e &s;ake &s;in is forgiven. To receive Chri&s;t is nothing els then to believe in him, <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. 12. The nature of faith is &s;et forth com|pleatly, Heb. 11. 13. <HI>All the&s;e died in faith, having not received the promi&s;es</HI> (that is, the things promi|&s;ed) <HI>but &s;aw them afar off, and were per&s;waded of them, and embraced them;</HI> which &s;hews that to the making up of Faith, ju&s;tifying and &s;aving faith, there mu&s;t be fir&s;t knowledge, <HI>they &s;aw the promi&s;es,</HI> though it were afar off, yet they &s;aw them, they had &s;ome, though but a dim and weak knowledge of them. 2. A&s;&s;ent, <HI>they were per|&s;waded of them.</HI> 3. Application, <HI>they embraced them,</HI></P>
<P>2. Repentance. Chri&s;t commanded, <HI>that repen|tance and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins &s;hould be preached in his Name,</HI> Luk. 24. 47. Fir&s;t Repeutance, and then re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins; no remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins without re|pentance. So <HI>Peter</HI> preaching Chri&s;t unto the Jews, &s;aid, <HI>Him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repen|tance unto I&s;rael, and forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins,</HI> Act. 5. 31. And Act. 3. 19. <HI>Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your &s;ins may be blotted out.</HI> Now repentance importeth,</P>
<P N="1">1. Sorrow for &s;in. <HI>I will be &s;orry for my &s;in,</HI> &s;aid <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 38. 18. <HI>Ephraim</HI> repenting &s;mote upon his thigh, <HI>Jer.</HI> 31. 19. And the penitent Publi|can &s;mote upon his brea&s;t, <HI>Luk.</HI> 18. 13. This &s;orrow for &s;in pre&s;uppo&s;eth knowledge of &s;in, and pro|duceth acknowledgement and confe&s;&s;ion of it. <HI>I
<PB N="421" REF="216"> will declare mine iniquity,</HI> P&s;al. 38. 18. <HI>I</HI> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Or, <HI>know,</HI> Heb. <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>acknow|ledge mine iniquity, and my &s;in is ever before me,</HI> P&s;al. 51. 3. <HI>If we confe&s;&s;e our &s;ins, God is faithful and just to forgive us,</HI> 1 Joh. 1. 9. <HI>viz.</HI> if with a true pe|nitent heart we confe&s;&s;e them: but this &s;orrow for &s;in mu&s;t be godly &s;orrow, that is, &s;orrow for &s;in as &s;in, not &s;o much as &s;in is bitter unto us, but e&s;pecially as it it evill in the &s;ight of God, a thing whereby he is injured and di&s;honoured. This is <HI>to be &s;orry after a godly manner,</HI> 2 Cor. 7. &amp; 11. <HI>This godly &s;orrow worketh repentance unto &s;alvati|on, not to be repented of,</HI> v. 10.</P>
<P N="2">2. Turning from &s;in; <HI>He that covereth his &s;innes &s;hall not pro&s;per; but he that confe&s;&s;eth and for &s;aketh them, &s;hall have mercy,</HI> Prov. 28. 13.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">nitentiam agere, e&s;t &amp; perpe|trata mala plangere, &amp; plangen|da non perpetrare. <HI>Gregor. hom. 38. in Evang.</HI> Peccati paenitentia est, ab eo quod paenitendum intel|lexeris, destili&s;&s;e. <HI>Hilar. in P&s;al. 118. &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u 119. in Pe.</HI></NOTE> In the Hebrew, repentance is called <HI>Te&s;hubah,</HI> which properly &s;ignifies turning. And &s;o the&s;e are joyned to|ther, <HI>Repent and be conver|ted,</HI> Act. 3. 19.</P>
<P N="3">3. Forgiving of others; this al&s;o is requi&s;ite for the obtaining of forgivene&s;&s;e. So Chri&s;t hath taught us to pray, <HI>Forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we forgive them that tre&s;pa&s;&s;e against us,</HI> Mat. 6. 12. &amp; he adds v. 14, &amp; 15. <HI>For if ye forgive men their tre&s;|pa&s;&s;es, your heavenly Father wil al&s;o forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, neither wil your Father forgive your tre&s;pa&s;&s;es.</HI> And when <HI>Peter</HI> came unto Chri&s;t, &s;aying, <HI>Lord, how oft &s;hall my brother &s;in again&s;t me, and I forgive him? untill &s;e|ven times?</HI> Chri&s;t an&s;wered, <HI>I &s;ay not unto thee un|till
<PB N="422" REF="217"> &s;even times, but untill &s;eventy times &s;even,</HI> Mat. 18. 21, 22. And immediately he propounded a pa|rable whereby to &s;hew how much it concerneth every one to forgive others, if he would have God to forgive him. The parable is of a King, who having a &s;ervant that ought him a huge debt, which he was no whit able to pay, upon his humble &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion and intreaty forgave him; but hearing that the &s;aid &s;ervant would not forgive his fellow-&s;ervant a &s;mall debt, was exceeding wroth with him, and exacted his debt of him. <HI>So likewi&s;e</HI> [&s;aid our Saviour, making application of the parable] <HI>&s;hall my heavenly Father do al&s;o un|to you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es.</HI></P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 1. Novv for the u&s;e of the point. 1. VVhat comfort is here for the people of God? Although in them&s;elves they be guilty of &s;in, both original, and actuall, though they vvere born in &s;in, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51. 5. and have lived in &s;in, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 53. 6. though con|tinually they are falling into &s;in, <HI>Jam.</HI> 3. 2. Yet this is their comfort (and greater comfort then this they need not de&s;ire) thorough Chri&s;t they are reconciled unto God, all their &s;ins are pardoned, and done away as if they had never been. See what expre&s;&s;ions are u&s;ed in Scripture, whereby the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins is &s;et forth vnto us.</P>
<P N="1">1. VVhen &s;ins are forgiven they are &s;aid not to be imputed: <HI>God was in Chri&s;t reconciling the world unto him&s;elf, not imputing their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es unto them,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 19. Sins are injuries done unto God, of|fences committed again&s;t him; but though we have offended him, and have been injurious unto
<PB N="423" REF="217"> him, yet if we lay hold on the Covenant that he hath made with us in Chri&s;t he will forgive us, and not impute the &s;ins that we are guilty of un|to us.</P>
<P N="2">2. Sin when it is forgiven, is &s;aid to be blotted out; <HI>According to the multitude of thy tender mer|cies blot out my tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions,</HI> P&s;al. 51. 1. Sins are debts, <HI>Forgive us our debts;</HI> &s;o it is according to the Originall, <HI>Mat.</HI> 6. 12. As God hath a note|book for good deeds, <HI>A book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought on his Name,</HI> Mal. 3. 16. And in reference to this book <HI>Nehemiah</HI> prayed, &s;aying, <HI>Remember me, O my God, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the hou&s;e of my God, &amp;c.</HI> Neh. 13. 14. So he hath al&s;o a debt-book for &s;ins; but if we humbly and unfainedly turne unto him, he will blot our &s;ins out of his book, he will ne|ver charge them upon us, never exact payment and &s;atisfaction of us, &s;eeing Chri&s;t hath made it for us, having with his blood <HI>blotted out the hand|writing of Ordinances that was again&s;t us, &amp;c.</HI> Col. 2. 14. The Prophet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> u&s;eth this &s;ame meta|phore of blotting out, but he fetcheth it another way; <HI>I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and as a cloud, thy &s;ins,</HI> E&s;a. 44. 22. There &s;innes are compared to a cloud, a thick cloud which interpo&s;eth betwixt God and us, and keepeth off the bright beams of Gods favour and the light of his countenance from &s;hining upon us: <HI>Your iniquities have &s;eparated betwixt you and your God, and your &s;ins have hid his face from you,</HI> &s;aith the &s;ame Prophet, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 59. 2. But
<PB N="424" REF="218"> &s;ins being remitted the cloud is blotted out, it is di&s;per&s;ed and di&s;pelled, it vani&s;heth and is gone, that we may behold the face of God as of a loving Father, reconciled to us in Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</P>
<P N="3">3. Sinnes are &s;aid to be covered when they are pardoned; <HI>Thou ha&s;t forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou ha&s;t covered all their &s;in,</HI> P&s;al. 85. 2. By this expre&s;&s;ion is &s;ignified, that the people of God, even his true and faithfull people, have &s;in in them, but their &s;in being forgiven, it is as it were covered and hid from the &s;ight of God, he doth no more impute &s;in unto them then if he did &s;ee no &s;uch thing in them: If in this &s;en&s;e onely the Antinomians did hold that God &s;ees no &s;in in his people, I &s;hould readily &s;ide with them; but they have a perver&s;e meaning in it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">See Mr. <HI>Gatakers</HI> book, inti|tuled, <HI>Gods eye upon I&s;|rael.</HI></NOTE> <HI>viz.</HI> that a child of God cannot &s;in, need not, nay ought not to be humbled for &s;in, which opi|nion is as agreeable unto Scripture, as that which is mo&s;t repugnant to it.</P>
<P N="4">4. Sins are &s;aid to be ca&s;t behind Gods back when he doth forgive them; <HI>Thou hast ca&s;t all my &s;ins behind thy backe,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Ezekiah</HI> to God, <HI>E|&s;a.</HI> 38. 17. God &s;ets the &s;ins of the wicked before his face, <HI>they are before my face,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 7. 2. But for &s;uch as turne unto him, he ca&s;ts their &s;ins behind his back; he will no more condemn them for their &s;ins, then if they were quite remo|ved out of his &s;ight, and he had no knowledge of them.</P>
<P N="5">5. When &s;ins are remitted, they are &s;aid to be ca&s;t into the bottome of the &s;ea: <HI>Thou</HI> (O Lord)
<PB N="425" REF="218"> <HI>wilt ca&s;t all their &s;ins into the depths of the Sea,</HI> Mic. 7. 19. This &s;hewes more emphatically how when God forgives &s;ins, they are done (as it were) quite out of his &s;ight; that which is ca&s;t into the depths of the &s;ea is not like to be found again, nor to be &s;een any more; <HI>In tho&s;e dayes, and in that time, &s;aith the Lord, the iniquity of I&s;|rael &s;hall be &s;ought for, and there &s;hall be none; and the &s;ins of Judah, and they &s;hall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I re&s;erve,</HI> Jer. 50. 20.</P>
<P N="6">6. Sins in this ca&s;e are &s;aid to be forgotten, and never more to be remembred. <HI>I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their &s;in no more,</HI> &s;aith God, <HI>Jer.</HI> 31. 34. God wil no more take vengeance on his people for their &s;ins, then if he had quite forgotten them, and had no remembrance at all of them. <HI>All his tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions that he hath committed, they &s;hall not be mentioned unto him,</HI> E|zek. 18. 22.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Some may object, that after <HI>David</HI> had truly repented of his &s;in, and al&s;o had the pardon of it declared unto him by the Prophet, he was puni&s;hed for it, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12, 13, 14.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, the Papi&s;ts abu&s;e this and the like examples, inferring from them, that God re|mitting the fault, yet doth not remit the puni&s;h|ment, but that &s;till vve mu&s;t one vvay or other, either here or hereafter make &s;atisfaction unto God for &s;in committed again&s;t him. But as the Antinomians erre in denying ca&s;tigatory puni&s;h|ment to be inflicted upon Gods children, &s;o doe the Papi&s;ts erre in affirming &s;atisfactory puni&s;h|ment to be inflicted on them. God afflicts &s;ome|times
<PB N="426" REF="219"> them whom he pardons, not as exacting &s;a|tisfaction of them (for how then are they pardo|ned?) but as cha&s;tening them, that they may the better learn to beware of &s;in afterwards, and that others &s;eeing them to &s;mart for it, may beware of it. <HI>When we are judged, we are cha&s;tned of the Lord,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">It is <GAP DESC="foreign">, not <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>that we &s;hould not be condemned with the world,</HI> 1 Cor. 11. 32. So that God doth execute judge|ment, he doth inflict puni&s;hment upon his chil|dren, yet it is but a cha&s;tening of them for their good, not that he doth take vengeance on them, or exact &s;atisfaction of them.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 2. Secondly, &s;eeing this great benefit be|longs unto the people of God, let us take heed lea&s;t we come &s;hort, let us make &s;ure that we may be partakers of it. To &s;tir us up hereunto let us con&s;ider, 1. How much the purcha&s;ing and procu|ring of this benefit hath co&s;t, even no le&s;&s;e then the bloud of the Lord Je&s;us, <HI>This is my blood of the New Te&s;tament, which is &s;hed for many for the re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t when in&s;tituting the Sa|crament of his Supper he gave the Cup unto his Di&s;ciples, Mat. 26. 28. <HI>How &s;hall we e&s;cape, if we neglect &s;o great &s;aluation?</HI> Heb. 2. 3. If we make light of that, which did co&s;t Chri&s;t &s;o dear?</P>
<P>2. What account the Saints have made of this benefit: The Prophet <HI>Mica</HI> admiring the goodne&s;s of God in this re&s;pect, cries out, <HI>Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and pa&s;&s;eth by the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of the remnant of his heritage? he re|taineth not his anger for ever, becau&s;e he delighteth in mercy,</HI> Mic. 7. 18. How earne&s;tly did <HI>David</HI>
<PB N="427" REF="219"> &s;ue unto God for it? <HI>Have mercy upon me, O Lord, according to thy loving kind|ne&s;&s;e; according to the multitude of thy ten|der mercies blot out my tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions: Wa&s;h me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and clean&s;e me from my &s;inne,</HI> P&s;alme 51. 1, 2. And v. 9. <HI>Hide thy face from my &s;innes, and blot out mine iniquities.</HI> And Ver&s;e 14. <HI>Deli|ver me from blood-guiltine&s;&s;e, O God, thou God of my &s;alvation, and my tongue &s;hall &s;ing aloud of thy righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e:</HI> And how exceedingly did he rejoyce when he was a&s;|&s;ured of this benefit? <HI>Ble&s;se the Lord, O my &s;oule, and all that is within me ble&s;se his holy Name: Ble&s;&s;e the Lord, O my &s;oule, and forget not all his benefits; Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, and healeth all thy di&s;ea&s;es; who redeemeth thy life from de|&s;truction, and crowneth thee with loving kind|ne&s;&s;e and tender mercies,</HI> P&s;alme 103. 1, 2, 3, 4.</P>
<P>3. That forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins is &s;uch a benefit, &s;uch a ble&s;&s;ing, as even ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e it &s;elfe the greate&s;t ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e that we are capable of here in this life, doth con&s;i&s;t in it; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is he who&s;e tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion is forgiven, and who&s;e &s;in is covered; Ble&s;&s;ed is he to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity,</HI> P&s;al. 32. 1, 2. Sin being forgiven, nothing can doe us hurt, all affliction will be light and ea&s;ie, death it &s;elfe will be advantage to us; &s;ee <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. 33, 34, 35, 36, 37. This is it that makes affliction grievous and hard to be indured, then u&s;ually a mans con|&s;cience
<PB N="428" REF="220"> will flie in his face, and &s;et his &s;ins before him: Thus it is &s;ometimes even with the godly them&s;elves; <HI>Thou write&s;t bitter things again&s;t me,</HI> (&s;aid <HI>Job</HI> unto God) <HI>and make&s;t me to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the &s;ins of my youth,</HI> Job 13. 26. <HI>Mine iniquities</HI> (&s;aid <HI>David) are gone over my head, and are as a heavy burthen too heavy for me to bear,</HI> P&s;al. 38. 4. <HI>Woe un|to us that we have &s;inned,</HI> &s;aid the people of God, <HI>Lam.</HI> 5. 16. And they adde, v. 17. <HI>For this our heart is faint, for the&s;e things our eyes are dim.</HI> O what a happine&s;&s;e then is it in time of affliction to have &s;ins forgiven, and to be a&s;&s;ured of the for|givene&s;&s;e of them! So al&s;o when death approa|cheth: For the guilt of &s;in lying upon the con|&s;cience will make death terrible, it will cau&s;e us to &s;ay unto it, as <HI>Ahab</HI> &s;aid to <HI>Eliah, Ha&s;t thou found me, O mine enemy?</HI> Whereas if we be a&s;&s;ured of intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, and of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes tho|rough him, we may &s;ay with old <HI>Simeon, Lord, now lette&s;t thou thy Servant depart in peace; for mine eyes have &s;een thy &s;alvation,</HI> Luke 2. 29, 30. This ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e here to have our &s;innes forgiven, doth make way immediately for the ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e of the life to come, for that <HI>inheritance of the Saints in light,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle calls it, Colo&s;. 1. 12. <HI>Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes, and an inhe|ritance among them that are &s;anctified,</HI> are immediately joyned together, Acts 26. 18. Therefore as we de&s;ire the inchoation of happine&s;&s;e here, and the con&s;ummation of
<PB N="429" REF="220"> happine&s;&s;e hereafter, as wee would live comfortably, die chearfully, and after death injoy immortality, and glory; let us make &s;ure of this benefit, the forgivene&s;&s;e of our &s;ins, and then nothing can debar us from all bli&s;&s;e, all happine&s;&s;e.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="34" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="430" REF="221">
<HEAD>The four and thirtieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>HEB. 6. 2.</BIBL> And of the Re&s;urre|ction of the dead.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe Author of this Epi&s;tle &s;peaking of <HI>the principles of the doctrine of Chri&s;t,</HI> as he calls them, v. 1. mentioneth this as one of them, <HI>the Re|&s;urrection of the dead.</HI> And therefore al&s;o in the Creed, wherein tho&s;e principles of Chri&s;tian do|ctrine are contained, among other articles is that of <HI>the Re&s;urrection of the body:</HI> and mark <HI>of the bo|dy;</HI> for there is al&s;o a Re&s;urrection of the &s;oul (as hath been &s;hewed * before) but that is a meta|phoricall<NOTE PLACE="marg">Serm. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">0. in the be|ginning.</NOTE> Re&s;urrection. The &s;oul being &s;ince the fall of <HI>Adam</HI> naturally dead in &s;in, is &s;aid to ri&s;e again, when the life of grace is infu&s;ed into it: but the Re&s;urrection of the dead &s;poken of in the Text, is in re&s;pect of the body, as appears by the words immediately following, <HI>and of eternal iudg|ment.</HI> For the Re&s;urrection of the body is previ|ous to the la&s;t judgement, and accompanied with it.</P>
<P>The point then to be in&s;i&s;ted on is this,
<PB N="431" REF="221"> That the Re&s;urrection of the body is a fundamen|tall <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> point of Chri&s;tian Religion. It is nece&s;&s;ary for all to know and believe, that the bodies of the dead &s;hall ri&s;e again.</P>
<P>This is a great my&s;tery, naturall rea&s;on cannot reach to the knowledge of it, will not yeeld a&s;|&s;ent unto it. When <HI>Paul</HI> preached at Athens, the mo&s;t famous Academie in the world for humane learning, the Philo&s;ophers encountred him, and &s;ome called him a <HI>babler;</HI> and others &s;aid, <HI>He &s;ee|meth to be a &s;etter forth of &s;trange gods, becau&s;e he preached unto them Je&s;us, and the Re&s;urrection,</HI> Act. 17. 18. &amp; v. 32. it's &s;aid again, <HI>And when they heard of the Re&s;urrection of the dead, &s;ome mocked, and o|thers &s;aid, we will hear thee again of this matter:</HI> they would demur upon it, and not be forward to believe it.</P>
<P>So <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> relates, that the Heathens per&s;e|cuting<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eu&s;eb.</HI> Hi&s;t. l. 5. c. 1</NOTE> Chri&s;tians burnt their bodies to a&s;hes, and ca&s;t them into the river, in&s;ulting over them, and upbraiding them with their belief of the Re&s;urre|ction, &s;aying, <HI>Let us &s;ee now if they will ri&s;e again:</HI> Yea among the Jews, Gods peculiar people, who had the Oracles of God committed unto them, there was a &s;ect of the <HI>Sadduces,</HI> who denied the Re&s;urrection of the dead, Mat. 22. 23. <HI>The &s;ame day came to him the Sadduces, which &s;ay that there is no Re&s;urrection.</HI> So Act. 23. 8. <HI>For the Sadduces &s;ay, that there is no Re&s;urrection.</HI> Yea and al&s;o among Chri|&s;tians, there have been &s;ome who have &s;aid, <HI>that there is no Re&s;urrection of the dead;</HI> &s;ome &s;uch there were among the Corinthians, as the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 12. And it &s;eems that <HI>Hymene|us</HI>
<PB N="432" REF="222"> and <HI>Philetus</HI> were of this opinion, for the A|po&s;tle &s;peaking of them, &s;aith, <HI>Who concerning the truth have erred, &s;aying, That the Re&s;urrection is pa&s;t already, and overthrow the faith of &s;ome,</HI> 2 Tim. 2. 17, 18. In that they &s;aid, <HI>The Re&s;urrection is pa&s;t already,</HI> it &s;eemeth that they would only have a Re&s;urrection of the &s;oul here, but no Re&s;urrecti|on of the body hereafter. But mark, the denying of this article, the Re&s;urrection of the body, is called by the Apo&s;tle an overthrowing of the faith. What&s;oever we believe, if we do not be|lieve this, that the dead &s;hall ri&s;e again, is all in vain and to no purpo&s;e, as the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth, 1 Cor. 15. 12. &amp;c.</P>
<P>Now the Re&s;urrection of the dead is proved two waies, as we &s;ee by tho&s;e words of our Savi|our to the Sadduces, <HI>Ye do erre, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God,</HI> Mat. 22. 29.</P>
<P N="1">1. The power of God proves that the Re&s;urre|ction is po&s;&s;ible, and may be. <HI>Power belongeth un|to God,</HI> P&s;al. 62. 12. Even &s;uch power, as that <HI>he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can either ask, or think,</HI> Ephe&s;. 3. 20. And therefore, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aid, <HI>Why &s;hould it be thought a thing impo&s;&s;ible, that God &s;hould rai&s;e again the dead?</HI> Act. 26. 8. In the very beginning of the Creed, we pro|fe&s;&s;e that we believe God<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deus non a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i&acirc; lege credendus e&s;t, quam ut omnia po&s;&s;e cr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">datur. <HI>Tertul. de Re&s;urr. c. 11.</HI></NOTE> to be almighty, and that he is &s;o the Scripture plainly and plentifully te&s;tifies, and it hath been abundantly demon&s;trated <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Serm. 3.</NOTE> before. Now if God be Almighty, he can do all things, and if all things, then this, the rai&s;ing up of the
<PB N="433" REF="222"> dead. He that could make the body of the du&s;t, can<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vtique idoneus e&s;t reficere, qui fecit. Quanto plus e&s;t feci&s;&s;e, qu&agrave;m refeci&s;&s;e? in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ium dedi&s;&s;e, qu&agrave;m reddidi&s;&s;e? Eta re&s;titutio|nem carnis, faciliorem credas in|stitutione. <HI>Tertul. ibid.</HI> Pote&s;t utique eadem potentia, qu&acirc; de nihilo cuncta fabricatus e&s;t, reddere quae fueraut: quia multo minus e&s;t re&s;tituere quod fuerit, qu&agrave;m facere quod non fu|i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>Hieron. ad Pammach.</HI></NOTE> &s;urely rai&s;e it up though it be turned into du&s;t. He that could make all things of nothing, can undoubtedly rai&s;e up the body, which though it be dead, and have &s;uffered never &s;o many tran&s;mutations, yet is it not turned into nothing.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Scriptures &s;hew that the Re&s;urrection is certain, and &s;hall be; that as God can rai&s;e the dead, &s;o he will do it: <HI>Job</HI> made no que&s;tion of it; <HI>For I know</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>that my Redeemer liveth, and that he &s;hall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my fle&s;h &s;hall I &s;ee God: whom I &s;hall &s;ee for my &s;elf, and mine eyes &s;hall behold, and not another, though my reines be con&s;u|med within me,</HI> John 19. 25. 26, 27. True it is, the words there in the originall, as in many other places of that book, are &s;o conci&s;e, as that they render the &s;en&s;e ob&s;cure, and are &s;ubject to divers expo&s;itions, &s;o that both the Jewi&s;h Commenta|tours,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mercerus in lo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> and al&s;o &s;ome among Chri&s;tians carry the &s;en&s;e another way, but the mo&s;t under&s;tand the words of the Re&s;urrection, neither do I &s;ee any o|ther expo&s;ition that doth &s;o well agree with them. <HI>Daniel</HI> al&s;o &s;pake of the Re&s;urrection of the dead, &s;aying, <HI>And many of them that &s;leep in the du&s;t of the earth &s;hall awake, &s;ome to everla&s;ting life, and &s;ome to perpetuall &s;hame and contempt,</HI> Dan.
<PB N="434" REF="223"> 12. 2. By awaking the&s;e out of the du&s;t of the earth, he means the ri&s;ing again of the dead. And whereas he &s;aith that many &s;hall, it is not &s;o to be taken as if all &s;hould not; for many &s;ometimes are oppo&s;ed not unto al, but only unto few. So it's &s;aid, Rom. 5. 19. <HI>that by the di&s;obedience of one man</HI> (of <HI>Adam) many were made &s;inners,</HI> that is, all; but tho&s;e all are many, and &s;o are they that &s;hall a|wake out of the du&s;t of the earth, as all that &s;leep there &s;hall. So the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> likewi&s;e doth &s;ing the &s;ame ditty. <HI>Thy dead men &s;hall live, toge|ther with my dead body &s;hall they ari&s;e: awake, and &s;ing ye that dwell in du&s;t, for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth &s;hall ca&s;t out the dead,</HI> I&s;ai. 26. 19. And that parable in Ezekiel chap. 37. where by the rai&s;ing and reviving of the dead bones, is &s;hewed that God would<NOTE PLACE="marg">Si figmentum veritatis in ima|gine, imag<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ip&s;a in veritate e&s;t &s;ui. Nece&s;&s;e e&s;t e&s;&s;e prius &s;ibi, qu&agrave;m alii configuretur. De vac<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o &s;imilitudo non competit, de nullo parabola non convenit. I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> opor|tebit o&s;&s;ium quoque; credi revi&s;|cerationem, &amp; in&s;pirationem qualis dicitur, dequa po&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t expri|mi Judaicarum rerum reformatio, qualis aff<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ngitur. <HI>Tertull&punc; de Re&s;urrect c. 30.</HI></NOTE> certainly re&s;tore the people of the Jews out of captivi|ty, though they &s;eemed to be quite dead, and pa&s;t re|covery: that parable, I &s;ay, doth pre&s;uppo&s;e the Re&s;ur|rection of the dead, as a thing well known, and cer|tainly believed by the peo|ple of God, and therefore the parable drawn from thence is u&s;ed to con|firm their faith touching the deliverance there promi&s;ed unto them.</P>
<P>Thus the Scriptures of the old Te&s;tament give &s;ufficient proof of the Re&s;urrection of the dead; but much more clearly and fully do the
<PB N="435" REF="223"> Scriptures of the new Te&s;tament&punc; &s;peak of it. <HI>The hour is coming</HI> (&s;aid our Saviour) <HI>in the which all that are in the graves &s;hall hear his voice, and &s;hall come forth.</HI> &amp;c. John 5. 28, 29. <HI>I know that he &s;hall ri&s;e again in the Re&s;urrection at the last day,</HI> &s;aid <HI>Martha</HI> of her brother <HI>Lazarus,</HI> John 11. 24. The Apo&s;tle 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 4. 14. and &s;o on to the end of the Chapter, &s;peaks of the Re&s;urrection of the dead; and &s;o 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. thoroughout the whole Chap|ter. Be&s;ides the&s;e direct and expre&s;&s;e te&s;timonies of Scripture, there are divers arguments &amp; rea&s;ons grounded upon, &amp; confirmed by Scripture, which do further prove the Re&s;urrection of the dead.</P>
<P N="1">1. That is recovered in and by Chri&s;t, which was lo&s;t in and by <HI>Adam.</HI> This argument the A|po&s;tle u&s;eth to prove that the dead &s;hal be rai&s;ed. <HI>For &s;ince by man came death, by man came al&s;o the Re&s;urrection of the dead. For as in</HI> Adam <HI>all die, e|ven &s;o in Chri&s;t &s;hall all be made alive,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 21, 22. viz. all that are Chri&s;ts, as he explains it, v. 23.</P>
<P N="2">2. Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection doth nece&s;&s;arily inferre the Re&s;urrection of tho&s;e that belong unto Chri&s;t. How the Apo&s;tle both 1 Cor. 15. and al&s;o in o|ther places proves the Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;ti|ans by Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, and al&s;o in what re|&s;pect this inference is of force, I have &s;hewed be|fore, &s;peaking of the re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t (Serm. 19. towards the end.)</P>
<P N="3">3. Gods Covenant with his people, that he will be their God, <HI>Gen. 17. 7. Jer.</HI> 31. 33. this Cove|nant, I &s;ay, is an everla&s;ting Covenant, death can|not di&s;&s;olve nor di&s;annul it: after <HI>Abraham I&s;aa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> and <HI>Jacob</HI> were dead, yet God &s;tiled him&s;elf their
<PB N="436" REF="224"> God, <HI>Exod.</HI> 3. 6. And hence our Saviour confuted the Sadduces, who denied the Re&s;urrection; <HI>But as touching the Re&s;urrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was &s;poken unto you by God, &s;aying, I am the God of</HI> Abraham, <HI>and the God of</HI> I&s;aac, <HI>and the God of</HI> Jacob? <HI>God is not the God of the dead, but of the living,</HI> Mat. 22. 31, 32. In &s;ome &s;en&s;e God is the God of the dead, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that <HI>to this end Chri&s;t both died, and ro&s;e, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living,</HI> Rom. 14. 9. But in the Sadduces &s;en&s;e God is not the God of the dead, that is, not &s;o of the dead, as if they &s;hould be alwaies dead, &s;o they &s;uppo&s;ed, and &s;hould never live again: <HI>For all live unto him,</HI> &s;aid our Saviour immediately after the words before cited, as S. <HI>Luke</HI> records chap. 20. v. 38. All live unto God both in re&s;pect of his pow|er, and al&s;o in re&s;pect of his purpo&s;e; he both can quicken the dead, and al&s;o will quicken them, as that very &s;peech &s;hews, wherein he calls him&s;elfe the God of tho&s;e, with whom he had entred into Covenant, though now they were dead when he thus &s;pake of them.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Some may &s;ay, that God may be the God of his people in re&s;pect of their &s;ouls, though their bodies never ri&s;e again.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, that this is not &s;ufficient, the &s;oul is not the whole man, but a part only, the body al&s;o is a part as well as the &s;oul. But God is by Covenant the God of his people in re&s;pect of the whole man, and not in re&s;pect of a part only. And therefore this argument drawn from Gods Covenant, and the everla&s;tingne&s;&s;e of it,
<PB N="437" REF="224"> proves a nece&s;&s;ity of the Re&s;urrection of the body.</P>
<P N="4">4. The body is partner with the &s;oul either in &s;in, or righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; and therefore al&s;o it mu&s;t be partner with the &s;oule<NOTE PLACE="marg">Non po&s;&s;unt &s;eparari in mercede [caro &amp; anima] quas opera con|jungit. <HI>Tertul.</HI> de Re&s;ur. cap. 8. &amp; cap. 15. Age, &s;cindant jam adver&s;arii no&s;tri car<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">is animaeque contextum, pri&ugrave;s in vitae admini|&s;tratione, ut ita audeant &s;cindere illud etia~ in vitae remuneratione. Negent operarum &s;ocietatem, ut merit&ograve; po&s;&s;int etiam mercedem negare. Non &s;it particeps in &s;en|tenti&acirc; caro, &s;i non fuerit &amp; in cau&s;a. Et cap 38. Secundum col|legia laborum, con&s;ortia etiam decurrant nece&s;&s;e e&s;t praemiorum.</NOTE> hereafter either in reward or puni&s;hment: As &s;oule and body work together here, &s;o they mu&s;t be recompen|&s;ed together hereafter; <HI>E|ry one mu&s;t receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or evil,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 10. As the things were done in the body, &s;o the recompence and reward mu&s;t be received in the body: And this is one rea&s;on (as I have &s;hewed <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Serm. 24</NOTE> before) why be&s;ides the particular judgement, which pa&s;&s;eth only upon the &s;oule, there mu&s;t be a generall Judgement wherein both &s;oul and body mu&s;t be judged.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. Now if this be &s;o, that the dead mu&s;t ri&s;e againe, then even in this re&s;pect there ought to be a re&s;pect had unto the dead, to bury them in a devout manner: Nature it &s;elf doth teach this, that the bodies of the dead are to be com|mitted to the earth; the Heathens generally did u&s;e it, excepting &s;ome who were more barbarous then others. As it is &s;aid of the Hyrcanians, that they u&s;ed to ca&s;t dead bodies to dogs to be de|voured.</P>
<P>The Romans in later times u&s;ed to burne the
<PB N="438" REF="225"> bodies of the dead, but more anciently (as <HI>Plinie</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin. Hi&s;t. l. 7. c 54.</NOTE> te&s;tifies) they did u&s;e to inter them, and that cu|&s;tome of burning <HI>Sylla</HI> (as the &s;ame Author re|lates) brought in, fearing lea&s;t &s;ome &s;hould deale with him and his adherents after their death, as he had dealt with his adver&s;ary <HI>Marius,</HI> who&s;e body he had cau&s;ed to be digged up after it was buried. But to &s;peak of Gods people, they have &s;hewed them&s;elves very carefull to perform this office of buriall unto the dead: The Story of <HI>A|braham</HI> in this re&s;pect is recorded, <HI>Gen.</HI> 23. where we find how &s;ollicitous he was about the burying of <HI>Sarah</HI> when &s;he was dead: So it's &s;aid <HI>Act.</HI> 8. 2. that <HI>devout men carried</HI> Stephen <HI>to be buried.</HI> It was a cu&s;tome among the Jewes to wa&s;h the dead body before they did bury it, as appears by that <HI>Acts 9. 37. Whom when they had wa&s;hed,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tarquinii cor pus bona fae|mina la|vit, &amp; unxit. <HI>Ennius.</HI></NOTE> <HI>they laid her in an upper chamber.</HI> The &s;ame cu|&s;tome al&s;o was among the Heathens. The Jewes u&s;ed al&s;o to imbalme the dead, as appears by <HI>Ioh.</HI> 12. 7. and 19. 39, 40. The Heathens al&s;o have u&s;ed the &s;ame, e&s;pecially the Egyptians, as both for|raigne Hi&s;tory &s;heweth, and al&s;o &s;acred, <HI>Gen.</HI> 50. Now though the Heathens did u&s;e the&s;e cere|monies vainly and &s;uper&s;titiou&s;ly, yet no que&s;tion but the people of God had re&s;pect therein to the Re&s;urrection, &s;hewing by the&s;e ceremonies which they u&s;ed about the dead, that they believed that the dead &s;hall ri&s;e again. Now there is no need of &s;uch ceremonies for that end, the Article of the Re&s;urrection being by the Go&s;pell more fully manife&s;ted then before: Yet this is of perpetuall ob&s;ervation, that the bodies of the
<PB N="439" REF="225"> dead be decently buried, as being in due time to be rai&s;ed up againe.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Secondly, this point touching the Re|&s;urrection doth teach us not to lament immode|rately for the dead: Lawfull it is to mourne in this ca&s;e; nature requires it, and grace doth not forbid it, as not extingui&s;hing naturall affections, but only rectifying them, and &s;etting bounds un|to them: Yea, the Apo&s;tle reckons it among the gro&s;&s;e&s;t &s;ins, to be <HI>without naturall affection,</HI> Rom. 1. 31. The Saints have expre&s;&s;ed their affection in this kind: <HI>Abraham</HI> mourned for <HI>Sarah, Gen. 23. 2. Jo&s;eph</HI> fell upon his fathers face and wept when he was dead, <HI>Gen.</HI> 50. 1. The godly made great lamentation for <HI>Stephen, Acts</HI> 8. 2. Yea Chri&s;t him&s;elf wept at the grave of <HI>Lazarus, Joh.</HI> 11. 35. Whereupon the Jewes that were pre&s;ent &s;aid, <HI>Behold how he loved him,</HI> v. 36. But this affe|ction of &s;orrow for the dead, mu&s;t be moderate, and that as in other re&s;pects, &s;o in this, that the dead even in re&s;pect of the body, do not peri&s;h for ever, but at length &s;hall ri&s;e againe. This ar|gument the Apo&s;tle u&s;eth to this purpo&s;e; <HI>But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con|cerning them which are a&s;leep, that ye &s;orrow not even as others that have no hope: For if we believe that Je&s;us died and ro&s;e againe, even &s;o them al&s;o which &s;leep in Ie&s;us will God bring with him,</HI> 1 The&s;. 4. 13, 14.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 3. The con&s;ideration of this point, touch|ing the Re&s;urrection of the dead, is of great force to comfort us in all afflictions, and to ani|mate us again&s;t the fear of death it &s;elf. This did
<PB N="440" REF="226"> &s;upport <HI>Iob</HI> in his greate&s;t extremity, as appears<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job. 19. 25. 26. 27.</NOTE> by the words before cited, and &s;o it may well &s;upport all that truly fear God, as <HI>Iob</HI> did: Death (which is the wor&s;t that can befall them) is but as the pulling down of an old ruinous hou&s;e, to build it againe in a more excellent and glorious manner: Or as if a &s;tatue of bra&s;&s;e, or any other mettall, being full of ru&s;t, and decayed with age, &s;hould be ca&s;t into a furnace and melted, that &s;o it may be made more pure and perfect then be|fore. Death in Scripture is often termed &s;leep; as when a man &s;leeps, he awakes again, and ri&s;es up more lively and vigorous then he was before, &s;o &s;hall the godly ari&s;e after death, and be in a condition incomparably better then this which here they are in. The Apo&s;tle &s;hewes what a dif|ference there is betwixt the body as now it is, and as it &s;hall be in the Re&s;urrection; <HI>It is &s;owne in corruption, it is rai&s;ed in incorruption: It is &s;owne in di&s;honour, it is rai&s;ed in glory: it is &s;owne in weakne&s;&s;e, it is rai&s;ed in power: it is &s;owne a natu|rall body, it is rai&s;ed a &s;pirituall body,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 42, 43, 44. The hope of this Re&s;urrection did in|courage the Saints and &s;ervants of God to indure the greate&s;t torments that their inraged adver&s;a|ries could inflict upon them: <HI>They were tortured, not accepting of deliverance, that they might obtain a better Re&s;urrection,</HI> Heb. 11. 35.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 4. Finally &s;eeing there &s;hall be a Re|&s;urrection of the dead, it behoves us to la|bour whiles we are here that we may attaine unto a ble&s;&s;ed Re&s;urrection hereafter, <HI>the Re&s;urrection of life,</HI> Joh. 5. 29. which is <HI>the
<PB N="441" REF="226"> Re&s;urrection of the ju&s;t,</HI> Luke 14. 14. There &s;hall indeed be a Re&s;urrection of all, <HI>both of ju&s;t, and the unju&s;t,</HI> Acts 24. 15. But as Chri&s;t &s;aid of <HI>Iudas, It had been better for him that he had not been borne;</HI> &s;o may I &s;ay of the wicked, It were better for them that they &s;hould not ri&s;e againe, becau&s;e they &s;hall ri&s;e unto condemnation, John 5. 29. But as for the righteous, they &s;hall &s;o ri&s;e, as <HI>to &s;hine like the Sun in the Kingdome of their Father,</HI> Mat. 13. 43. Let us labour that we may be partakers of this Re&s;urrection: And to this end we mu&s;t here have our part in the fir&s;t re&s;urrection, that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 20. 6.</NOTE> of the &s;oul from the death of &s;in to the life of grace, and then the &s;econd death &s;hall have no power over us.</P>
<P>More particularly, fir&s;t, we mu&s;t be incorpo|rated into Chri&s;t by faith; <HI>For he is the Re&s;ur|rection and the life, he that believeth in him, though he were dead, yet &s;hall he live: And who&s;oever liveth, and believeth in him, &s;hall ne|ver die,</HI> viz. eternally, Iohn 11. 25. Chri&s;t is al|ready ri&s;en from the dead, and entred into glo|ry, and &s;o in due time &s;hall all that belong unto Chri&s;t, that are members of his body; <HI>He will change their vile bodies, and make them like unto his owne mo&s;t glorious body,</HI> Philip. 3. 21.</P>
<P>2. But if we would be thus conformed un|to Chri&s;t in glory, and happine&s;&s;e, we mu&s;t be conformed unto him in grace and holine&s;&s;e; <HI>Every one that hath this hope, purifieth him|&s;elfe
<PB N="442" REF="227"> even as he is pure,</HI> 1 Iohn 3. 3. <HI>Paul</HI> having &s;aid, that he believed that there &s;hall be a Re&s;urrection both of ju&s;t and unju&s;t, addes, <HI>And herein doe I exerci&s;e my &s;elfe to have alwayes a con&s;cience void of offence both towards God and towards men,</HI> Acts 24. 16. <HI>As many as walke according to this rule, peace &s;hall be upon them, and mercy,</HI> Gal. 6. 16.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="35" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="443" REF="227">
<HEAD>The five and thirtieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>LUK. 18. 30.</BIBL> And in the world to come life everlasting.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>LIfe everlasting</HI> is the conclu&s;ion of the Creed, and &s;o S. <HI>Peter</HI> calls it <HI>the end of our faith; even the &s;alvation of our &s;ouls,</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 9.</P>
<P>For the words of the Text, they were &s;poken by our Saviour, and that upon this occa&s;ion: <HI>Pe|ter</HI> having &s;een how a certain rich man was ra|ther willing to forfeit his portion in the world to come, then to forgo his wealth that he had here in this world, &s;aid unto Chri&s;t, <HI>Lo we have left all, and followed thee,</HI> v. 28. Then Chri&s;t let him and the re&s;t of his Di&s;ciples know, that nei|ther they nor any others &s;hould loo&s;e any thing by parting with all for his &s;ake, but &s;hould be well recompenced for it even here in this world, and much more in the world to come: <HI>And he &s;aid unto them, Verily, I &s;ay unto you, there is no man that hath left hou&s;e, or Parents, or brethren, or wife, or children for the Kingdome of Gods &s;ake, who &s;hall not receive manifold more in this pre&s;ent
<PB N="444" REF="228"> time, and in the world to come life everla&s;ting,</HI> v. 29, &amp; 30.</P>
<P>The point to be ob&s;erved is this, That as there <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> is a temporall life for all here in this world, &s;o there is an eternall life for &s;ome hereafter in the world to come.</P>
<P>Both the Old and the New Te&s;tament beare witne&s;&s;e to this truth, life everla&s;ting is a&s;&s;erted in both, yet more &s;paringly and ob&s;curely in the Old Te&s;tament, more frequently and clearly in the New Te&s;tament.</P>
<P>As for the Old Te&s;tament, I do not find that everla&s;ting life is expre&s;ly mentioned in it, &s;ave only once, <HI>viz. Dan. 12. 2. Many of them that &s;leep in the dust of the earth, &s;hall awake, &s;ome to e|verla&s;ting life, &amp;c.</HI> Yet though not in &s;uch ex|pre&s;&s;e words, the Old Te&s;tament doth afford ma|ny proofs, that after this life there is another life to come, not as this, induring only for a time, but for ever: God did &s;hew this unto his peo|ple, fir&s;t by types, figures, and re&s;emblances:</P>
<P>As fir&s;t, the tree of life mentioned Gen. 2. &amp; 3. That was a type and figure of everla&s;ting life, as appears by that Rev. 22. 14. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that do his Commandements, that they may have right to the tree of life,</HI> &amp;c. And &s;o Rev. 2. 7. <HI>To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the mid&s;t of the Paradi&s;e of God.</HI> In the&s;e places by the <HI>tree of life</HI> is meant eternall life, whereof that tree called the tree of life was a figure. What further u&s;e that tree was ordain|ed for, is over-curious, and not nece&s;&s;ary to in|quire: As for that <HI>Gen.</HI> 3. 22, 23. where it is &s;aid,
<PB N="445" REF="228"> that <HI>Adam</HI> having &s;inned, God ca&s;t him out of Paradi&s;e, <HI>lea&s;t he &s;hould put forth his hand, and take of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever;</HI> that (I &s;ay) the be&s;t Expo&s;iters take as &s;poken onely in re&s;pect of that opinion which <HI>Adam</HI> had, <HI>viz.</HI> that if he did eat of that tree, he &s;hould never die; like as when God &s;aid (as is there re|lated) <HI>Behold the man is become as one of us to know good and evill;</HI> it was &s;poken ironically in re&s;pect of that which the Serpent &s;aid unto the woman, that if they did eat of the forbidden fruit, they &s;hould be as Gods, knowing good and evill, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3. 5. Some have thought that if man had eaten of the tree of life, he &s;hould have thereby been free from death: But certainly the tree in it &s;elfe could have no &s;uch vertue in it, onely God ap|pointed it as a Sacramentall &s;igne of everla&s;ting life, and man having by his tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion made him&s;elf unworthy of the thing, God would not &s;uffer him to meddle with that whereby the thing was &s;ignified.</P>
<P>2. The Sabbath &s;poken of in the fourth Com|mandement, and in other places of Scripture, did al&s;o prefigure eternall life, it was a figure of that everla&s;ting Sabbath or re&s;t (for &s;o the word Sab|bath doth &s;ignifie as much as re&s;t) which the god|ly &s;hall keep in heaven. This is evident by the Apo&s;tles di&s;cour&s;e, <HI>Heb.</HI> 4. where having &s;poken of Gods re&s;t when the workes of Creation were fini&s;hed, in memory whereof God in&s;tituted the Sabbath, he &s;aith, v. 9. <HI>There remaineth there|fore a rest to the people of God;</HI> the word there ren|dred <HI>a re&s;t,</HI> imports (as is noted in the Margent) <HI>a</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>
<PB N="446" REF="229"> <HI>keeping of a Sabbath.</HI> So that in the very word there u&s;ed there is a manife&s;t allu&s;ion to the Jewi&s;h Sabbath, as a type of that Sabbath or re&s;t there &s;poken of, <HI>viz.</HI> eternall in the world to come. Which is further evident by that which follow|eth, v, 11. <HI>Let us therefore labour to enter into that re&s;t, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>3. The Land of Canaan, into which God brought the I&s;raelites, after that he brought them out of Egypt, as is recorded in the book of <HI>Io&s;hua,</HI> that likewi&s;e did typifie heaven, and that re&s;t which the I&s;raelites after a long and weari&s;ome travell in the wilderne&s;&s;e enjoyed in that Land, did typifie that re&s;t, which the Saints having pa&s;|&s;ed thorough the wilderne&s;&s;e of this world, &s;hall enjoy in heaven. This al&s;o is clear by comparing the words of <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 95. 11. with the Apo&s;tles di&s;cour&s;e upon them, <HI>Heb. 4. 7, 8. David</HI> &s;aith that God being provoked by the I&s;raelites that came out of Egypt, <HI>&s;ware in his wrath that they &s;hould not enter into his re&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And <HI>David</HI> alledgeth this to deter others in after ages from provoking God in like manner, &s;aying, <HI>To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;al. 95. 7, 8. The Apo&s;tle hence proveth that by Gods re&s;t cannot be meant the Land of Canaan, or re&s;t in that Land; for that the people to whom <HI>David</HI> &s;pake, were then in that Land, and did enjoy that re&s;t, and &s;o the I&s;raelites had done long before: <HI>Again, he limiteth a cer|tain day, &s;aying in</HI> David, <HI>To day, after &s;o long a time,</HI> (viz. that the I&s;raelites had re&s;ted in Canaan) <HI>as it's &s;aid, to day if ye will hear his voice harden
<PB N="447" REF="229"> not your hearts. For if Ie&s;us</HI> (that is <HI>Io&s;ua</HI> as the margent noteth, who brought the I&s;raelites into Canaan) <HI>had given them re&s;t, then would he not af|terward have &s;poken of another day.</HI> That is, if that re&s;t in Canaan which <HI>Jo&s;ua</HI> as their Captaine and Leader brought them into, had been all the re&s;t which God intended for his people, then he would not &s;o long after by <HI>David</HI> have &s;aid, <HI>To day,</HI> &amp;c. threatning them that except they were obedient unto him, they &s;hould be debarred from entring into his re&s;t. This argues that God by his Re&s;t meant another re&s;t, <HI>viz.</HI> an everla&s;ting re&s;t in hea|ven, whereof that re&s;t in Canaan was but a figure. Thus the Apo&s;tle there immediately infers, <HI>There remaineth therefore a re&s;t unto the people of God,</HI> v. 9. and addes v. 11. <HI>Let us labour therefore to enter in|to that rest, lea&s;t any man fall after the &s;ame exam|ple of unbelief.</HI> And hence it was that the Patri|arkes did make &s;uch account of the Land of Cana|an. <HI>Jacob</HI> cau&s;ed <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> to &s;wear that he would not bury him in Egypt, where he died, but carry him into Canaan, and bury him there, <HI>Gen.</HI> 47. 29. 30, 31. And the &s;ame charge he gave to all his &s;ons immediately before his death, <HI>Gen.</HI> 49. 29. &amp;c. And they did what he enjoyned them, as is related <HI>Gen.</HI> 50. where al&s;o v. 25. is &s;hewed how <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> likewi&s;e made his brethren to &s;wear that they would car|ry his bones with them into Canaan when they went. And <HI>Exod.</HI> 13. 19. it is &s;aid that Mo&s;es <HI>took the bones of</HI> Jo&s;eph <HI>with him,</HI> when he and the I&s;|raelites went out of Egypt. <HI>Stephen</HI> al&s;o &s;hewes that &s;o the re&s;t of <HI>Jacobs</HI> &s;ons, though they died in Egypt, were carried into Canaan to be laid
<PB N="448" REF="230"> there, <HI>Act.</HI> 7. 15, 16. The&s;e Patriarks had not any &s;uper&s;titious opinion of that Land, as the Jews of late times have, and &s;o the Papi&s;ts have of Churches and Church-yards, but they both &s;hew|ed them&s;elves to die in faith, not doubting but that God at length would perform the promi&s;e that he had made concerning the Land of Cana|an, and al&s;o they looked at that Land as a type of heaven, where eternall re&s;t is prepared for all Gods elect people.</P>
<P>2. In the time of the old Te&s;tament God &s;hew|ed unto his people that there is a life everla&s;ting in the world to come, by examples of &s;ome, whom he took and tran&s;lated out of this world into the other without death intervening: Thus it is &s;aid Gen. 5. 24. that <HI>Enoch wnlked with God, and he was not, for God took him;</HI> That is, <HI>he was tran&s;lated that he &s;hould not &s;ee death,</HI> Heb. 11. 5. So <HI>Eliah</HI> was ta|ken up alive into heaven, as we read 2 <HI>King.</HI> 2. The&s;e examples &s;hew that be&s;ides this life here in this world, there &s;hall be another hereafter in the world to come.</P>
<P>3. After that <HI>Abraham I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Jacob</HI> were dead, God &s;tiled him&s;elf <HI>the God of</HI> Abraham, <HI>the God of</HI> I&s;aac, <HI>&amp; the God of</HI> Jacob, Exod. 3. 6. Now as Chri&s;t &s;aid unto the Sadduces, <HI>God is not God of the dead, but of the living,</HI> Mat. 22. 32. God &s;o &s;tiling him&s;elf their God, &s;hewed that both their &s;ouls did &s;till live, though &s;eparated from their bodies, and al&s;o that their bodies &s;hould be rai&s;ed again, and both &s;ouls and bodies being reunited, &s;hould live for ever. And thus is life everla&s;ting proved by the old Te&s;tament.</P>
<PB N="449" REF="230">
<P>But the new Te&s;tament is more full and ex|pre&s;&s;e to this purpo&s;e. Chri&s;t <HI>hath brought life and immortality to light thorough the Go&s;pell,</HI> 2 Tim. 1. 10. Before Chri&s;ts coming life and immortality lay hid, it was but darkly di&s;covered, but now by the Go&s;pell it is brought to light, it is clearly re|vealed. The places of the New Te&s;tament, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> in which everla&s;ting life is expre&s;&s;ely mentioned, are &s;o many, that it were endle&s;&s;e, and they are &s;o ob|vious that it is needle&s;&s;e to recite them.</P>
<P>Now everla&s;ting life is begun here but perfe|cted hereafter.</P>
<P N="1">1. It is begun here: <HI>He that believeth on the Son, hath</HI> (not, &s;hall have, but hath) <HI>everla&s;ting life,</HI> Joh. 3. 36. <HI>Verily, verily I &s;ay unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that &s;ent me, hath e|verla&s;ting life,</HI> John 5. 24. Everla&s;ting life as begun here is the life of grace, of which that is meant, 1 John 3. 14. <HI>We know that we have pa&s;&s;ed from death to life,</HI> (that is, from the death of &s;in to the life of grace) <HI>becau&s;e we love the brethren:</HI> that this life of grace is life everla&s;ting by inchoation, S. <HI>John</HI> &s;hews immediately after, v. 15. <HI>Who&s;oever hateth his brother, is a murtherer, and ye know that no murtherer hath eternall life in him.</HI> So that eter|nal life doth abide in the children of God while&s;t they are here; it is here begun in them.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is perfected hereafter; and therefore it is &s;aid in the Text, <HI>in the world to come life everla|&s;ting,</HI> becau&s;e the fulne&s;&s;e and perfection of it is not here in this world, but in the world to come&punc; In re&s;pect of the &s;oul this life is perfected immedi|ately after its &s;eparation from the body. For it is a
<PB N="450" REF="231"> gro&s;&s;e and mon&s;trous opinion, that &s;ome both in former times, and al&s;o in the&s;e times, have main|tained,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Vide</HI> Aug. de Here&s;. cap. 83. Calvin. de P&s;ycho|panncuhia.</NOTE> that the &s;oul doth either die with the bo|dy, or doth &s;leep when it is out of the body. <HI>This day &s;halt thou be with me in Paradi&s;e,</HI> &s;aid Chri&s;t to the believing malefactor, Luke 23. 43. <HI>We know tht when this earthly hou&s;e of our Tabernacle is di&s;|&s;olved, we have a building of God, a hou&s;e not made with hands, eternall in the heavens,</HI> &s;aith the Apo|&s;tle, 2 Cor. 5. 1. And the &s;pirits or &s;ouls of ju&s;t men departed out of this life are called <HI>the &s;pirits of ju&s;t men made perfect,</HI> Heb. 12. 23. In re&s;pect of the body everla&s;ting life is perfected when the body is rai&s;ed up, and of corruptible and mortall, be|comes incorruptible and immortall. And in this re&s;pect both in the Creed, and al&s;o in the Scrip|ture, everla&s;ting life is put after the Re&s;urrection of the body. See <HI>Dan.</HI> 12. 2. and <HI>John</HI> 5. 29. becau&s;e at, and by the Re&s;urrection everla&s;ting life is con|&s;ummated and made perfect in re&s;pect of the whole man, both &s;oul and body. Now as everla|&s;ting life in re&s;pect of it's inchoation and begin|ning here, is called the life of grace, &s;o in re&s;pect of it's con&s;ummation and perfection hereafter, it is called the life of glory. That which is called the <HI>Crown of life,</HI> Revel. 2. 10. is called the <HI>Crown of Glory,</HI> 1 Pet. 5. 4. And that which in other places is termed <HI>eternall life,</HI> is termed <HI>eternall glory</HI> 1 Pet. 5. 10. The life of grace here, and the life of glory hereafter, differ not in kind but in degree. Grace is an inchoation and beginning of glory; and glory is a con&s;ummation and perfection of grace.</P>
<PB N="451" REF="231">
<P>What a life this everla&s;ting life (con&s;idered in its fulne&s;&s;e and perfection, the life of glory) is, on|ly they fully and perfectly know, who do enjoy it. It is <HI>a glory that &s;hall be revealed,</HI> Rom. 8. 18. It is not revealed yet, but &s;hall be hereafter. This life <HI>is hid with Chri&s;t in God,</HI> Col. 3. 3. <HI>It doth not yet appear what we &s;hall be,</HI> 1 John 3. 2. But thus much the Scriptures plainly &s;hew, that this life is admi|rable. Chri&s;t when he cometh, <HI>&s;hall be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all them that beleeve,</HI> 2 The&s;. 1. 10. And that it con&s;i&s;ts in a clear vi&s;ion of God, and a full fruition of him. <HI>Now we &s;ee thorough a gla&s;&s;e darkly, but then face to face,</HI> 1 Cor. 13. 12. <HI>When he &s;hall appear, we &s;hall be like unto him; for we &s;hall &s;ee him as he is,</HI> 1 John 3. 2. Chri&s;t pronounceth the pure in heart ble&s;&s;ed, becau&s;e <HI>they &s;hall &s;ee God,</HI> Mat. 5. 8. And he al&s;o makes the happine&s;&s;e of the Angells to con&s;i&s;t in this, that <HI>they alwaies behold the face of God,</HI> Mat. 18. 10. The Queen of <HI>Sheba</HI> thought <HI>Solomons</HI> &s;ervants hap|py, that they did continually &s;tand before him, and hear his wi&s;dome, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 10. 8. What a happine&s;&s;e then is it to be for ever in the pre&s;ence of God, and to enjoy immediate communion with him!</P>
<P>Such is the happine&s;&s;e of the life to come, as that it &s;hall be free from all evill, and full of all good.</P>
<P N="1">1. It &s;hall be free from all evill, both evill of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Po&s;&s;e non peccare.</NOTE> &s;in, and evill of affliction. 1. There &s;hall be no &s;in there. <HI>Adam</HI> had a po&s;&s;ibility of not &s;inning; but there &s;hall be an impo&s;&s;ibility of &s;inning: the be&s;t here are imperfect, but there all imperfection is<NOTE PLACE="marg">Non po&s;&s;e peceare.</NOTE>
<PB N="452" REF="232"> aboli&s;hed, <HI>ju&s;t men are made perfect,</HI> Heb. 12. 23. Now if &s;in even in the regenerate be &s;o grievous, as the complaints of the Saints do &s;hew it is, <HI>mine iniquities are gone over mine head as an heavy bur|then, they are too heavy for me to bear,</HI> &s;aid <HI>David</HI> P&s;al. 38. 4, And <HI>Paul</HI> by rea&s;on of tho&s;e reliques of corruption that were in him, cried out, <HI>O wret|ched man that I am, who &s;hall deliver me, &amp;c.</HI> Rom. 7. 24. How great a happine&s;&s;e then will it be to be altogether freed from &s;in, as they are that do par|take of the life to come? Then &s;hall the Church indeed be glorious, when it &s;hall be <HI>without &s;pot or wrinkle, or any &s;uch thing,</HI> Ephe&s;. 5. 27.</P>
<P N="2">2. Neither &s;hall there be any affliction in the life to come. <HI>All tears &s;hall be wiped away,</HI> Revel. 7. 17. There &s;hall be no &s;uffering, no &s;orrow there.</P>
<P>But to be exempt from evill, all evill, this is but one and the le&s;&s;er part of happine&s;&s;e. To en|joy good, all good, this is it indeed, that which doth make happy. And therefore,</P>
<P>2. The life to come is not only free from all e|vill, but al&s;o full of all good. VVhat good can be de&s;ired, but there it &s;hall, and that in full mea&s;ure, be enjoyed? There God is enjoyed to the full, and they that enjoy him, enjoy all: There are ri|ches, <HI>the true riches,</HI> Luke 16. 11. There is glory, <HI>a far more exceeding and eternall weight of glory,</HI> 2 Cor. 4. 17. There is joy and plea&s;ure, even <HI>full|ne&s;&s;e of joy, and plea&s;ures for evermore,</HI> P&s;al. 16. 11. <HI>Peter</HI> having but a glimp&s;e of this cele&s;tiall hap|pine&s;&s;e, when he &s;aw Chri&s;t transfigured in the Mount, was &s;o ravi&s;hed with it, that he &s;aid, <HI>Lord,
<PB N="453" REF="232"> it is good for us to be here; if thou wilt, let us make here three Tabernacles &amp;c.</HI> Mat. 17. 4. How then &s;hall they be ravi&s;hed, who &s;hall have the full and perfect enjoyment of this happine&s;&s;e?</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. Now if there be &s;uch a life as the Scrip|ture &s;peaks of in the world to come, how great then is the folly and madne&s;&s;e of the mo&s;t, who only look after the things of this life, but heed not the things of the life to come! They live &s;o as if there were no life after this, or as if it were not worth the looking after; or as if they were &s;ure of it, though they never labour for it: they &s;pend their thoughts, cares and endeavours upon the profits, plea&s;ures and preferments of this life, and they forfeit their hope of the life to come, for e|very toy, every trifle. <HI>O ye Sons of men, how long will ye turne my glory into</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ocur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s hominum! quantum e&s;t in rebus inane? Pcr&s;. Ocurvae in terras animae, &amp; coele|stium inanes! Idem.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hame? how long will ye love vanity, and &s;eek after lea&s;ing?</HI> Selah, P&s;al. 4. 2. <HI>Behold all ye that kindle a fire, that com|pa&s;&s;e your &s;elves about with &s;parks; walk in the light of your &s;ire, and in the &s;parks that ye have kindled,</HI> (&s;olace your &s;elves in your earthly injoyments) <HI>this &s;hall you have of mine hand, you &s;hall lie down in &s;orrow,</HI> I&s;ai. 50. 11. <HI>O that they were wi&s;e, and un|derstood this, and would con&s;ider their later end,</HI> Deut 32. 29.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 2. Let us be wi&s;e, and con&s;ider it. VVhat &s;o|ever we do, let us be &s;ure to lay <HI>hold on eternall life,</HI> 1 Tim. 6. 12. However it fare with us in this life, let us make &s;ure of that life that is to come. Let us con&s;ider that,</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="454" REF="233">1. It is life: and <HI>skin for skin, and all that a man hath will he give for his life,</HI> even this temporall life, as Satan &s;aid truly in re&s;pect of the thing which he &s;pake, though fal&s;ly in re&s;pect of the end for which he &s;pake, <HI>Iob</HI> 2. 4. But what is this life in compari&s;on of that to come? what is life temporall in compari&s;on of life eternall? <HI>Life and good, death and evill,</HI> are joyned together as terms equivalent, <HI>Deut.</HI> 30. 15. and &s;o v. 19. <HI>life and ble&s;&s;ing, death</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Non e&s;t vera vita, ni&s;i ubi foeli|citer vivitur. <HI>Aug. Enchirid. c. 92.</HI> In damnatione novi&s;&s;ima quamvis homo &s;entire non de&s;inat, tamen quia &s;en&s;us ip&s;e necv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">luptate &s;ua|vis, nec quiete &s;alubris, &s;ed do|lore poenalis e&s;t, non immerit&ograve; mors e&s;t potius qu&agrave;m vita appellata. <HI>Aug. de Civit. Deil. 13. c. 2.</HI></NOTE> <HI>and cur&s;ing:</HI> therefore the e|&s;tate of the damned in hell is called death, becau&s;e it contains in it nothing but pain and mi&s;ery: and on the other &s;ide the e&s;tate of the Saints in heaven is called life, becau&s;e there is no|thing but joy and delight in it.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is eternal: <HI>Methu&s;ela</HI> and others lived many hundred years, yet at length they died, <HI>Gen.</HI> 5. But they that obtain this life, &s;hall never die. <HI>They cannot die any more, for they are equall unto the Angels,</HI> Luke 20. 36. <HI>then &s;hall be brought to pa&s;&s;e the &s;aying that is written, Death is &s;wallowed up in victory. O death where is thy &s;ting? O grave where is thy victory?</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 54, 55. And eternity is that which both makes the mi&s;ery of the reprobate mi&s;ery indeed, and the happine&s;&s;e of the Elect happine&s;&s;e indeed: the reprobate <HI>&s;hall be puni&s;hed with everla&s;ting perdition,</HI> 2 The&s;. 1. 9. But the Elect <HI>&s;hall be ever with the Lord,</HI> 1 The&s;. 4. 17. all the mi&s;ery and happine&s;&s;e of this world is as nothing,
<PB N="455" REF="233"> becau&s;e it is but temporall; but the mi&s;ery and happine&s;&s;e of the world to come is mi&s;ery and happine&s;&s;e indeed, becau&s;e it is eternall.</P>
<P N="3">3. The a&s;&s;urance of everla&s;ting life will make all the &s;orrows and &s;ufferings of this life light and ea&s;ie to be indured: The godly here are &s;ub|ject to cro&s;&s;es and afflictions as much as any, yea more then any; which made the Apo&s;tle &s;ay, <HI>If in this life only we had hope in Chri&s;t, we were of all men mo&s;t mi&s;erable,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 29. But <HI>we faint not</HI> (&s;aies he) <HI>but though our outward man peri&s;h, yet the in|ward man is renewed day by day. For our light affli|ction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternall weight of glory. While&s;t we look, not at the things which are &s;een, but at the things which are not &s;een: for the things that are &s;een, are temporall, but the things that are not &s;een are eternall,</HI> 2 Cor. 4. 16, 17, 18. This made the Saints <HI>take joyfully the &s;poiling of their goods, they knew that they had in heaven a better, and an endu|ring &s;ub&s;tance,</HI> Heb. 10. 34. This made them indure the &s;ore&s;t torments that could be inflicted on them, they knew <HI>they &s;hould obtain a better Re&s;ur|rection,</HI> Heb. 11. 35. <HI>the Re&s;urrection of life,</HI> John 5. 29. even <HI>everlasting life,</HI> Dan. 12. 2.</P>
<P N="4">4. Every ones portion mu&s;t be either the one or the other of the&s;e two, either everla&s;ting life, or everla&s;ting damnation: there is no middle e|&s;tate betwixt the&s;e, what&s;oever they of the Church of Rome would per&s;wade us. <HI>Who&s;oever was not found written in the book of life, was ca&s;t in|to the lake of fire,</HI> Revel. 20. 15. Could we &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider this, that we mu&s;t be either eternally hap|py,
<PB N="456" REF="234"> or eternally mi&s;erable, it would make us <HI>to pa&s;&s;e our time of &s;ojourning here in fear,</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 17. <HI>And to give diligence to make our calling and electi|on &s;ure,</HI> 2 Pet. 1. 10.</P>
<P>Now that we may be partakers of everla&s;ting life,</P>
<P N="1">1. We mu&s;t know that by nature we are e&s;tran|ged from it, and have no right unto it. <HI>For by na|ture we are dead in tre&s;pa&s;&s;es and &s;ins, and are the children of wrath,</HI> Ephe&s;. 2. 13.</P>
<P N="2">2. We mu&s;t be tran&s;lated out of <HI>Adam</HI> into Chri&s;t. <HI>For in</HI> Adam <HI>all die; and in Chri&s;t mu&s;t all be made alive,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 22. <HI>God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son, hath life, and he that hath not the Son, hath not life,</HI> 1 John 5. 11, 12.</P>
<P N="3">3. Holine&s;&s;e of life here is requi&s;ite for the ob|taining of the happine&s;&s;e of the life to come. <HI>God will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in wel-doing, &s;eek for glory, and honour, and immortality, eternal life. But unto them that are contentious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteou&s;ne&s;s indignation &amp; wrath, tribulation and angui&s;h upon every &s;oul of man that doth evill,</HI> Rom. 2. 6, 7, 8, 9. <HI>Be not deceived, God is not mocked; as a man &s;oweth &s;o &s;hall he reap. He that &s;oweth to the fle&s;h, &s;hall of the fle&s;h reap corruption: but he that &s;oweth to the &s;pirit, &s;hal of the &s;pirit reap life everla&s;ting,</HI> Gal. 6. 7, 8. <HI>Follow holine&s;&s;e without which no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord,</HI> Heb. 12. 14. <HI>Every one that hath this hope, purifieth him&s;elf even as he is pure,</HI> 1 John 3. 3.</P>
<P>I'le only adde this in a word to you that are pa|rents.
<PB N="457" REF="234"> As you have been in&s;truments under God, whereby your children obtain a temporall life; &s;o labour to be in&s;truments whereby they may obtain eternall life. As nature doth teach you to provide for them in re&s;pect of this life; &s;o let grace teach you to provide for them in re&s;pect of the life to come. As you are careful to bring them up in learning and trades, that they may live a while here; &s;o be carefull <HI>to bring them up in the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6. 4.</NOTE> <HI>nurture</HI> and admonition of the Lord, that they may live for ever hereafter.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="36" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="458" REF="235">
<HEAD>The &s;ix and thirtieth SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>JUDE V. 3.</BIBL> That you &s;hould earne&s;tly contend for the faith once delivered to the<NOTE PLACE="marg">This Sermon was prea|ched at the Fa&s;t, which in re&s;pect of errours &amp; here&s;ies was kept <HI>March 10. 1646.</HI></NOTE> Saints.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe writer of this Epi&s;tle was <HI>Iude,</HI> or <HI>Iudas,</HI> as John 14. 22. or <HI>Judah,</HI> as the word is in the Old Te&s;tament: they are all one and the &s;ame name, though diver&s;ly pronounced. As there were two of the Apo&s;tles that were called <HI>Iames,</HI> viz. <HI>James</HI> the &s;on of <HI>Zebedeus,</HI> the brother of <HI>Iohn,</HI> and <HI>Iames</HI> the &s;on of <HI>Alpheus,</HI> the Lords brother<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zanchius de Scrip|tur&acirc;. Non connume|ratur inter Apo&s;tolos Mat. 10. <HI>Judam</HI> Apo&s;tolum non lego &s;ed <HI>I&s;cari|otem.</HI></NOTE> (<HI>Gal.</HI> 1. 19.) that is, his near kin&s;man; &s;o there were al&s;o two of them, that were called <HI>Iudas,</HI> viz. <HI>Ju|das I&s;cariot</HI> that betrayed Chri&s;t, and <HI>Judas</HI> the brother of <HI>James</HI> (viz. <HI>James</HI> the &s;on of <HI>Alphe|us</HI>) and he it was that wrote this Epi&s;tle. I mar|vell much at a learned Divine, who thinks that the Author of this Epi&s;tle was no Apo&s;tle, and &s;aies that he finds no <HI>Judas</HI> to have been an Apo|&s;tle,
<PB N="459" REF="235"> but only <HI>Judas I&s;cariot:</HI> Nothing to me is more clear then that this <HI>Jude</HI> (or <HI>Judas</HI>) was one of the twelve Apo&s;tles, <HI>viz.</HI> the &s;ame that is called <HI>Thaddeus, Mar.</HI> 3. 18. and <HI>Lebbeus, Mat.</HI> 10. 3. For <HI>Luk.</HI> 6. 16. among&s;t the Apo&s;tles is ex|pre&s;ly mentioned <HI>Judas the brother of James,</HI> and &s;o al&s;o <HI>Acts</HI> 1. 13. And the writer of this Epi&s;tle &s;tiles him&s;elf <HI>J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">de the &s;ervant of Je&s;us Christ, and brother of</HI> James.</P>
<P>This Apo&s;tle after the in&s;cription, v. 1. and the &s;alutation, v. 2. tells them to whom he writes how de&s;irous and carefull he was to write unto them, and for what end, v. 3. <HI>Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you, of the common &s;alvation, it was needfull for me to write unto you, and exhort you, that you &s;hould earne&s;tly contend for the faith, which was once delivered to the Saints.</HI> And he &s;hewes why there was &s;uch need that he &s;hould thus write unto them, and exhort them, v. 4. <HI>For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnati|on, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Je&s;us Christ.</HI> I will adde no more con|cerning the Epi&s;tle, but will come to the words of the Text:</P>
<P><HI>That you &s;hould earne&s;tly contend.</HI>] The &s;imple<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> Verb of which this here u&s;ed is a compound, &s;ig|nifies to &s;trive, as they u&s;ed to do in the Olym|pian games, or &s;uch like exerci&s;es, wher<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">n by wre&s;tling, running, and the like, they did &s;trive for ma&s;tery, as the word is rendred, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9. 25. It is u&s;ed metaphorically, <HI>Col.</HI> 4. 12. for &s;triving<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>
<PB N="460" REF="236"> with God by prayer, it is rendred, <HI>labouring fer|vently:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> The Compound in the Text is more im|phaticall, the Prepo&s;ition addes to the &s;ignifica|tion of the word, and increa&s;eth the force o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> And therefore it is well rendred, not &s;imply to contend, but to contend earne&s;tly.</P>
<P><HI>For the Faith</HI>] There is <HI>faith,</HI> by which we be|lieve;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fides qu&acirc; creditur.</NOTE> thus is <HI>faith</HI> taken, <HI>Rom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1. ju&s;tified by faith;</HI> and &s;o in many other places: There is al|&s;o <HI>faith</HI> which we believe, <HI>viz.</HI> The Doctrine of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fides quae creditur.</NOTE> Faith; thus it's &s;aid that <HI>Paul preached the faith which once he de&s;troyed,</HI> Gal. 1. 23. And &s;o is it here taken; for faith whereby we believe is infu&s;ed into us, but it is faith which we believe, that is delivered unto us.</P>
<P><HI>Delivered</HI>] viz. fir&s;t, by preaching, and then by writing: The Apo&s;tles did deliver the faith to the Primitive Chri&s;tians both wayes, <HI>Gal. 1. 23. Ioh.</HI> 20. 31. But to the Chri&s;tians of &s;ucceeding a|ges they delivered the Faith only by writing; for being dead they could not deliver it by preach|ing, neither can we tell what they preached, but onely by &s;eeing what they have written; There|fore this delivering of the faith here &s;poken of, as it concernes us and the Church ever &s;ince the Apo&s;tles times, mu&s;t be under&s;tood of delivering by writing. As for Popi&s;h unwritten Traditions, how groundle&s;&s;e they are, and how injurious to the written Word of God, I &s;hall &s;hew more anon&punc;</P>
<P><HI>Once</HI>] That is, fully and perfectly; as 1 <HI>Sam. 26. 8. Let me &s;mite him, I pray thee, with the &s;peare to the earth at once, and I will not &s;mite him the &s;e|cond
<PB N="461" REF="236"> time:</HI> Heb. 10. 10. it is expre&s;&s;ed <HI>once for all.</HI> This is not &s;o to be taken, as if the faith were not again and again, even continually while the world la&s;teth to be delivered; but it mu&s;t be no new faith that is delivered, but the &s;ame that was before delivered by the Apo&s;tles; they have de|livered the faith once, that is, the whole faith, what&s;oever is in matter of Religion to be belie|ved; we mu&s;t hold that which they delivered, and (according to our callings) deliver it, but not any thing, as matter of faith, be&s;ides it, much le&s;&s;e again&s;t it; <HI>Timothy, keep that which is com|mitted unto thy tru&s;t.</HI> Upon which words an ancient Writer doth thus de&s;cant, <HI>That which is com|mitted</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quod tibi creditum, non &agrave; te in|ventum; quod accepi&s;ti, non ex|cogit&acirc;&s;ti.&mdash;C&ugrave;m dices nov&egrave;, non dicas nova.&mdash;Pr&ograve;fectus &s;it fidei, non permutatio. <HI>Vincent. Lirin.</HI></NOTE> <HI>unto thee, not that which is invented by thee; that which thou ha&s;t received, not that which thou ha&s;t de|vi&s;ed.&mdash;When thou &s;peake&s;t after a new manner, do not &s;peak new matter.&mdash;Let there be a growing in the faith, not a change of the faith.</HI></P>
<P><HI>To the Saints.</HI>] So Chri&s;tians are termed, <HI>Eph. 1. 1. Phil. 4. 21, 22. All that are called to be Christi|ans, are called to be Saints,</HI> 1 Cor. 1, 2.</P>
<P>The words being thus explicated, afford fir&s;t this ob&s;ervation, That the Doctrine of Faith is <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Doct."> fully delivered in the Scripture; or that the Scrip|ture containes in it what&s;oever is in matter of Religion to be believed.</P>
<P><HI>The Law of the Lord is perfect,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 19. 7. That is, the Doctrine of the Lord, as
<PB N="462" REF="237"> the word there u&s;ed doth import, and the Do|ctrine<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> comprehended in the Scripture. The Rab|bines indeed &s;peak much of a Law given only by<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> word of mouth, be&s;ides that which is written: And there is nothing almo&s;t &s;o frivolous, but they will have it a thing delivered to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> from<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> Mount Sinai, and &s;o continued by Tradition. But we know no &s;uch traditionall Law as they talk of: <HI>What&s;oever things were written before, were written for our learning,</HI> Rom. 15. 4. <HI>Search the Scriptures, for in them you think to have eternall life; and they are they that testifie of me,</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oh. 5. 39. <HI>From a child thou ha&s;t knowne the holy Scrip|tures, which are able to make thee wi&s;e unto &s;alva|tion, thorough faith which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in&s;truction in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that the Man of God may be perfect, thorough furni&s;hed unto every good worke,</HI> 2 Tim. 3. 15, 16, 17.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. This then &s;erves fir&s;t to confute the Papi&s;ts, who charge the Scripture with imperfe|ction, and hold that many things are nece&s;&s;ary to be believed which are not contained in the Scripture; and that therefore the defect of the Scripture mu&s;t be &s;upplied by unwritten Tradi|tions. But if the Scripture be the Word of God which they do not deny, then by the te&s;timony of God him&s;elf (as the places before cited doe demon&s;trate) the Scripture is &s;o compleat, that we have no need of Traditions.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> They object that the Apo&s;tle commended<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> the Corinthians for keeping <HI>the traditions</HI> (&s;o
<PB N="463" REF="237"> the word &s;ignifies, though we read it <HI>Ordinances</HI>)<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> as he delivered them unto them.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, all doctrine that is delivered, though it be written, is a tradition, that is, a thing delivered. In the &s;ame Chapter v. 23. <HI>I have recei|ved</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>of the Lord, that which I al&s;o delivered unto you,</HI> &amp;c. the word is that from whence is derived the other that &s;ignifieth <HI>Tradition.</HI> That which the Apo&s;tle there &s;aith he delivered, was delivered not only by &s;peaking, but al&s;o by writing, as is evident by that which follovveth in the &s;ame place. See al&s;o, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 3. &amp; <HI>Act.</HI> 6. 14.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But (&s;ay they) the Apo&s;tle bade the The&s;&s;a|lonians hold the Traditions, which they had been taught, whether by word, or by his Epi&s;tle: and therefore unwritten Traditions are to be held, as wel as tho&s;e that are written.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It follows not; that becau&s;e <HI>Paul</HI> deli|vered &s;ome things to the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> by word, which he did not deliver by writing, therefore &s;ome things are to be received by Tradition, which are not contained in the Scripture, For 1. <HI>Pauls</HI> Epi&s;tles to the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> are but a part of the Scripture, &s;o that many things are contai|ned in the Scripture, which are not contained in tho&s;e Epi&s;tles. 2. <HI>Paul</HI> might deliver &s;omething to the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians,</HI> which was requi&s;ite for them, and yet was no matter of faith, nece&s;&s;ary for all to hold. If it were of &s;uch concernment, the Pa|pi&s;ts for all their Traditions, are as far to &s;eek as we. For I pre&s;ume they can no more tell then we, what it was which the Apo&s;tle delivered to the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> meerly by word, which he did not
<PB N="464" REF="238"> deliver by writing: But no marvel if the Papi&s;ts &s;o contend for Traditions, when as they hold and maintain many Doctrines: as Purgatory, Prayer for the dead, Prayer to Saints, and a hundred more, which have no ground at all in Scrip|ture, but are mo&s;t repugnant to it: they are like<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> the Phari&s;ees, who (as <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> relates of them) delivered many rites and cu&s;toms to the people which were not written, but received only by Tradition. And &s;o much al&s;o the Scripture &s;hews of them, <HI>Mar.</HI> 7. 3, 4. But &s;ee how our Saviour cen|&s;ured them for this, <HI>Mar.</HI> 7. 7, 8, 9.</P>
<P>Again, they of the Church of Rome will not allow us to build upon the Scripture, but upon the authority of the Church, that is indeed upon the authority of the Pope, for &s;o they re&s;olve all at length into him. His decrees and determinati|ons they wil have all to &s;ubmit unto without any more ado, without examining or con&s;idering whether they be con&s;onant or no unto Scripture. <HI>But to the Law and to the Te&s;timony</HI> (&s;aith the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay) if they &s;peak not according to this</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 8. 20.</NOTE> <HI>word, it is becau&s;e they have no light in them.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> They object that heretikes alledge Scrip|ture; and therefore it is not &s;afe to re&s;t in it.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, &s;o the devil did alledge Scrip|ture, yet did our Saviour confute him by Scrip|ture, <HI>Mat.</HI> 4. and &s;o by Scripture mu&s;t heretiques be confuted, although in defence of their here&s;ies they alledge Scripture. See <HI>Act.</HI> 18. 28.</P>
<P>But again, they of the Romi&s;h Church with|hold the Scripture from people, and wil not with|out &s;pecial di&s;pen&s;ation allow them to look into
<PB N="465" REF="238"> it, and how then &s;hould their faith be grounded upon it, as it ought to be? They pretend that the Scripture is dark and difficult, and &s;o by mi&s;un|der&s;tanding it people fal into errour and here&s;ie, but we wil believe the Scripture rather then them; and the Scripture tels us, that though there<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Pet. 3. 16.</NOTE> be &s;ome things in it, <HI>hard to be under&s;tood,</HI> yet that neither all things in it, nor the mo&s;t are &s;uch, but that as there is that which may puzzle the mo&s;t learned, &s;o that which may in&s;truct the mo&s;t &s;im|ple. <HI>The te&s;timony of the Lord is &s;ure, making wi&s;e the &s;imple.</HI> P&s;al. 19. 7. <HI>The entrance of thy words gi|veth light, it giveth under&s;tanding to the &s;imple,</HI> P&s;al. 119. 130. therefore God would have the book of the Law read before all the Congregati|on of his people, men, women, and children, that &s;aith he, <HI>they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and ob&s;erve to do all the words of this Law: and that their children which have not known any thing, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, &amp;c.</HI> Deut. 31. 11, 12, 13.</P>
<P>2. To confute the Enthu&s;ia&s;ts, who rely on im|mediate in&s;pirations and revelations of the &s;pi|rit, and &s;o vilifie and de&s;pi&s;e the Scriptures: but let them boa&s;t of the &s;pirit as much as they will, certain it is, that while&s;t they contemn the word as they do, the &s;pirit which they are led by, is not that &s;pirit which Chri&s;t promi&s;ed, <HI>the Spirit of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Joh. 16. 13.</HI> Spiritus veritatis. <HI>I&s;a. 19. 14</HI> Spiritus vertiginis. <HI>Vulg.</HI></NOTE> <HI>truth;</HI> but that which the Prophet &s;aith the Lord had mingled in the Egyptians, <HI>a perver&s;e &s;pirit.</HI> God in his perpetual and unchangeable Cove|nant hath joyned his &s;pirit and his word toge|ther, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 59. 21. And therefore mo&s;t pre&s;umptu|ous
<PB N="462" REF="239"> are they, who wil di&s;joyn them one from the other.</P>
<P>3. To confute many opinions that are &s;tarted up among us in the&s;e times, they are called <HI>new lights,</HI> but whether they be new or old they are fal&s;ly called lights, being oppo&s;ite to that true light, the Scripture, to which we mu&s;t take heed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1. 19. I&s;ai. 8. 20.</NOTE> <HI>as to a light &s;hining in a dark place:</HI> they that broach the&s;e opinions, &s;peak not according to the Law and the te&s;timony, and therefore <HI>there is no light in them.</HI> That the moral Law is now of no u&s;e to a believer; that he is not to confe&s;&s;e &s;in, nor to be humbled for &s;in; that the &s;oul is not immortall, that Chri&s;t is not God coe&s;&s;entiall with the Fa|ther: if the&s;e and many &s;uch like doctrines, which are now &s;pread abroad in the Land, be lights, I wonder what we &s;hall call darkne&s;&s;e. Certainly the Prince of darkne&s;&s;e, even in the darke&s;t times of Popery, did never devi&s;e &s;uch damnable here|&s;ies, and helli&s;h bla&s;phemies, as are now maintain|ed: I &s;ay with S. <HI>Peter, Seeing you know the&s;e things before, beware lea&s;t ye al&s;o be carried away with the errour of the wicked, and fall from your own &s;tedfa&s;t|ne&s;s: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord, and Saviour Ie&s;us Christ,</HI> 2 Pet. 3. 17. 18.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e</HI> 2. Secondly, if matters of faith be fully con|tained in the Scripture, let it be our care to ac|quaint our &s;elves well with the Scripture&punc; to em|brace the doctrine therein delivered, and to hold it fa&s;t. There are 3. branches of this Exhortation.</P>
<P N="1">1. Let us acquaint our &s;elves well with the Scripture. <HI>Search in the book of God, and read,</HI> I&s;ai. 31. 16. <HI>Search the Scriptures,</HI> John 5. 39. Let us con|&s;ider,
<PB N="463" REF="239"> 1. That God hath ordained the Scriptures for this end, that we might be in&s;tructed and edi|fied by them. <HI>They were written for our learning,</HI> Rom. 15. 4.</P>
<P N="2">2. That it is a &s;ingular mercy that we have the Scriptures. <HI>David</HI> magnifies the goodne&s;&s;e of God towards the I&s;raelites in this re&s;pect; <HI>He hath given his word unto</HI> Jacob, <HI>his &s;tatutes and his Ordinances unto</HI> I&s;rael. <HI>He hath not dealt &s;o with any Nation, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;al. 147. 19, 20. So <HI>Paul</HI> notes this as the great priviledge which the Jews had above others, that <HI>unto them were com|mitted the Oracles of God,</HI> Rom. 3. 1, 2. The greater the mercy is, the more grievous is the contempt of it. <HI>I have written unto them</HI> (&s;aith God) <HI>the great things of my Law, and they were counted as a &s;trange thing,</HI> Ho&s;. 8. 12.</P>
<P>2. Let us embrace the doctrine delivered in the Scripture. Not every doctrine that is preached or printed; no, take heed of that. <HI>Believe not every &s;pirit, but try the &s;pirits, whether they be of God; for there are many fal&s;e Prophets gone out into the world,</HI> 1 John 4. 1. <HI>Prove all things,</HI> 1 The&s;. 5. 21. And how mu&s;t we prove and try every doctrine but by the Scriptures? &s;o the Bereans did, and they are commended for it, <HI>Act.</HI> 17. 11. But having<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2. 8.</NOTE> tried a doctrine, and found it agreeable to the Scripture, we mu&s;t embrace it, we mu&s;t take heed of &s;tumbling at the word, as <HI>Peter</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">aith &s;ome do. Some &s;tumble becau&s;e of the many opinions that are abroad, becau&s;e &s;ome hold one thing, &s;ome a|nother, therefore they will hold nothing. Take heed of this; con&s;ider 1. That it hath been thus of
<PB N="468" REF="240"> old in matters of Religion: In our Saviours time there were &s;everall opinions concerning him, <HI>Some &s;aid he is a good man; others &s;aid, nay, but he deceiveth the people,</HI> Joh. 7. 12. See al|&s;o Joh. 7. 40.&mdash;43. and Mat. 19. 13, 14.</P>
<P>2. The Scripture hath fore&s;hewed, that there &s;hall be fal&s;e doctrines and here&s;ies; <HI>There &s;hall ari&s;e fal&s;e Chri&s;ts, and fal&s;e Prophets,</HI> &amp;c. Mat. 24. 24. <HI>But there were fal&s;e Prophets al&s;o among the people, even as there &s;hall be fal&s;e Teachers a|mong you, who privily &s;hall bring in damnable here|&s;ies,</HI> &amp;c. 2 Pet. 2. 1.</P>
<P>3&punc; Such is the malice of Satan, that he will doe what he can to pervert the truth: where God &s;owes good corne, he will &s;ow tares, <HI>Mat.</HI> 13. 39.</P>
<P>4. God &s;uffers it to be &s;o, fir&s;t, to try tho&s;e that are his; <HI>There mu&s;t be here&s;ies among you, that they which are approved may be made manife&s;t,</HI> 1 Cor. 11. 19. See Deut. 13. 1, 2, 3.</P>
<P>2. That the truth may be more cleared and confirmed then otherwi&s;e it would be, if it were not impugned and oppo&s;ed: See Acts 15. 1. 2. 6. 7, 22. &amp;c. 30. 31. It is ob&s;erved, that the Doctors that were before <HI>Pelagius,</HI> wrote more &s;ecurely concerning grace and free will, but when <HI>Pelagi|us</HI> aro&s;e, and a&s;&s;erted free will, &s;o as that he o|verthrew grace, then <HI>Austine</HI> and others be&s;tir|red them&s;elves, and made it evident, that with|out Gods grace man hath no power nor a|bility in him to do any thing whereby to plea&s;e God.</P>
<P>But again, &s;ome &s;tumble at this, that &s;uch as
<PB N="469" REF="240"> were eminent for profe&s;&s;ion, fall into gro&s;&s;e o|pinions; but neither is there any cau&s;e to &s;tum|ble at this: For thus al&s;o it hath been even in the Apo&s;tles time, <HI>Nicolas</HI> was of no mean repute in the Church, as appears <HI>Acts</HI> 6. 5. Yet (it &s;eems) he became the Author of a dete&s;table Sect called the Nicolaitans, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2. 15. So what account <HI>Paul</HI> made of <HI>Demas,</HI> we &s;ee <HI>Col.</HI> 4. 14. and <HI>Philem.</HI> ver&s;e 24. yet he proved an Apo&s;tate, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4. 10.</P>
<P>2. This al&s;o is fore-told: <HI>The Spirit &s;peaketh expre&s;ly, that in the later times &s;ome &s;hall depart from the faith, giving heed to &s;educing &s;pirits,</HI> &amp;c. 1 Tim. 4. 1. The falling away of Profe&s;&s;ors &s;hould make us take heed to our &s;elves, and cleave the more clo&s;e to the truth, as <HI>Peter</HI> admoni&s;heth, 2 <HI>Pet. 3. 17. Take heed le&s;t ye al&s;o be carried away with the error of the wicked, and fall from your &s;tedfastne&s;&s;e.</HI> So I come to the third branch of the Exhortation.</P>
<P>3. Therefore let us hold fa&s;t the truth delive|red in the Scripture; <HI>Buy the truth and &s;ell it not,</HI> Prov. 23. 23. <HI>Hold fa&s;t that which is good,</HI> 1 The&s;. 5. 21. <HI>Hold fa&s;t the form of &s;ound words,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep,</HI> &amp;c. 2 Tim. 1. 13, 14. <HI>Let us hold fa&s;t the profe&s;&s;ion of our faith without wavering,</HI> Heb. 10. 23.</P>
<P>To this end, fir&s;t be well grounded in the truth; fal&s;e Teachers <HI>ea&s;ily lead captive &s;illy women, that are ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth,</HI> 2 Tim. 3. 6, 7. <HI>That we henceforth be no more children, to&s;&s;ed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,</HI> &amp;c. Eph. 4. 14.</P>
<PB N="466" REF="241">
<P>2. Be &s;incere in the profe&s;&s;ion of the truth: <HI>Becau&s;e they received not the love of the truth,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>For this cau&s;e God &s;hall &s;end them &s;trong delu&s;ion, that they &s;hould believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had plea|&s;ure in unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> 2 The&s;. 2. 10, 11, 12.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Superbia e&s;t mater omnium haere&s;e&ocirc;n.</NOTE></P>
<P>3. Be humble: <HI>Pride</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Au&s;tine) is the mo|ther of all here&s;ies.</HI> And <HI>Calvin</HI> found it verified in <HI>Servetus</HI> a wretched heretike; he notes of him, that he was exceeding proud, and being de&s;irous to get him&s;elfe a name, thought this the faire&s;t way<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lu&s;itanico fastu inflatus, magis etiamnum propri&acirc; arroganti&acirc; turgens, hanc &s;ibi comparandi no|minis rationem optimam e&s;&s;e &s;ta|tuit, &s;i omnia religionis principia convelleret. <HI>Calvin. adver&s;. Servet.</HI></NOTE> whereby to attaine unto it, to &s;hake the very foundati|ons of Religion: So the Scripture te&s;tifies of <HI>Simon Magus,</HI> who bewitched the people of Samaria, (and as Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Writers record of him, was the Author of divers here|&s;ies) that <HI>he gave out that him&s;elf was &s;ome great one,</HI> Acts 8. 9. Doubtle&s;&s;e, this is a main cau&s;e why many in the&s;e times fall into gro&s;&s;e and mon|&s;trous errors, they are puffed up with a conceit of them&s;elves, and they would be eminent above others; and therefore rather then they will be content with plain truth, they will imbrace pal|pable error. Be&s;ides, the proud tru&s;ting in them|&s;elves, God leaves them to them&s;elves, and &s;o what is &s;o ab&s;urd, but through the &s;ugge&s;tion of Satan, and the corruption of their owne heart, they are ready to imbrace it? <HI>A &s;corner &s;eeketh wi&s;dome, but he findeth it not,</HI> Prov. 14. 6. For <HI>God &s;corneth the &s;corners, but giveth gracee unto the
<PB N="467" REF="241"> lowly,</HI> Prov. 3. 34. <HI>God re&s;i&s;teth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble,</HI> Jam. 4. 6. and 1 Pet. 5. 5.</P>
<P>4. Beware of covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e and worldly|mindedne&s;&s;e; earthly advantages are of great force to with-draw from the truth. This was it that drew away <HI>Demas,</HI> 2 Tim. 4. 10. <HI>Demas hath for&s;aken me, having loved this pre&s;ent world: Peter</HI> &s;peaking of fal&s;e Teachers, &s;hewes that this doth &s;et them on work, <HI>And through covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;hall they make merchandi&s;e of you,</HI> 2 Pet. 2, 3.</P>
<P>5. Beware of all &s;in what&s;oever. For it dar|kens the under&s;tanding, perverts the will, di&s;or|ders the affections, alienates from God, and gives advantage unto Satan. What <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;aith of a &s;trange woman, may be applied to a &s;trange Doctrine; <HI>Who &s;o plea&s;eth God, &s;hall e|&s;cape from her, but the &s;inner &s;hall be taken by her,</HI> Eccle&s;. 7. 26. The Apo&s;tle therefore bidding <HI>hold faith,</HI> addes, <HI>and a good con&s;cience, which &s;ome ha|ving put away, concerning faith have made &s;hip|wrack,</HI> 1 Tim. 1. 29. And &s;o he notes, that they are not only <HI>&s;illy women,</HI> but &s;uch al&s;o as are <HI>laden with &s;ins,</HI> that are u&s;ually led captive by fal&s;e tea|chers, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3. 6.</P>
<P>6. Labour to increa&s;e grace more and more; <HI>Take heed le&s;t ye al&s;o being carried away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;&s;e; but</HI> (as a means to avoid that mi&s;chief) <HI>grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Pet. 3. 17, 18.</P>
<P>7. Pray continually unto God to guide and keep you in the truth, except God lead us into
<PB N="472" REF="242"> it, we &s;hall never find it, and except he keeps us in it, we &s;hal &s;oon lo&s;e it: <HI>The God of al grace, &amp;c. make you perfect, &s;tabli&s;h, &s;trengthen &s;ettle you,</HI> 1 Pet. 5. 10. <HI>Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, &amp;c.</HI> Jude v. 24. and &s;o much for this point.</P>
<P>Again the words of the Text hold out unto us this, That Chri&s;tians ought earne&s;tly to contend <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Doct."> for the truth; to do what in them lies to pre&s;erve &amp; maintain it, again&s;t tho&s;e that do oppo&s;e it. All Chri&s;tians ought <HI>to be fellow-helpers to the truth,</HI> 3 Jo. 8. Such are commended as do this: <HI>I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evill, and thou ha&s;t tried them which &s;ay they are Apo&s;tles, and are not, and ha&s;t found them liars,</HI> Revel. 2. 2.</P>
<P>Such are reproved as neglect this. <HI>But I have a few things again&s;t thee, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, &amp;c. So hast thou al&s;o them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate, Repent &amp;c.</HI> Revel. 2. 14, 15, 16. Good rea&s;on there is why Chri&s;tians &s;hould do this.</P>
<P N="1">1. Out of zeal for Gods glory. As wicked pra|ctices, &s;o al&s;o wicked opinions di&s;honour God. Heretikes e&s;pecially &s;et their mouths again&s;t hea|ven: and therefore they that are zealous for God will &s;et their mouths again&s;t them, and doe what they may to repre&s;&s;e them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Out of compa&s;&s;ion towards others. Compa&s;&s;i|on is to be &s;hewed towards an oxe or an a&s;&s;e that goes a&s;tray, <HI>Exod.</HI> 29. 13. How much more towards the &s;ouls of men, that either are already, or are like to be &s;educed and carried away with errours?</P>
<P N="3">3. Out of compa&s;&s;ion towards them&s;elves. For
<PB N="473" REF="242"> it being a duty required of them, a nece&s;&s;ity is laid upon them to do it, and woe unto them if they do it not, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9. 16. Whatever it be that God injoyns us to do, if we have no re&s;pect unto it, we reward evill unto our &s;elves, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 3. 9. but as all mu&s;t do this, &s;o not all one &amp; the &s;ame way, but &s;everally according to the places and callings God hath &s;et them in.</P>
<P N="1">1. Magi&s;trates mu&s;t do it. The care of the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cu&s;todes utriu&s;que Tabulae.</NOTE> Church and of Religion belongs unto them, as well as of the Common-wealth and of civill ju|&s;tice: otherwi&s;e how are they nur&s;ing Fathers, and nur&s;ing Mothers, as God hath &s;aid they &s;hall be? <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 49. 23. How by their means do we live a quiet &amp; peaceable life in all godline&s;&s;e and hone|&s;ty? in which re&s;pect the Apo&s;tle bids pray for them, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1. 2. Magi&s;trates therfore mu&s;t do their endeavour to pre&s;erve and maintain the truth. and that 1. By making Laws and Ordinances for the profe&s;&s;ion and pre&s;ervation of it. Thus did the good Kings of Judah, not only <HI>David</HI> and <HI>Solomon</HI> who were Prophets, as well as Kings, but al&s;o they Kings only, and not Pro|phets, as <HI>A&s;a, Jeho&s;haphat, Ezekiah,</HI> and <HI>Io&s;iah:</HI> and memorable to this purpo&s;e is the example of <HI>Artaxerxes</HI> though a heathen. See what a decree he mad<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, <HI>Ezr.</HI> 7. 25, 26. And how <HI>Ezra</HI> ble&s;&s;ed God for it, v. 27. &amp; 28.</P>
<P N="2">2. By providing Orthodox Mini&s;ters to teach the truth, and by incouraging them that do it. Thus Jeho&s;haphat <HI>&s;ent Levites who taught in</HI> Ju|dah, <HI>and had the book of the Law of the Lord with them, and went about thoroughout all the Cities of</HI>
<PB N="470" REF="243"> Judah, <HI>and taught the people,</HI> 2 Chron. 17. 8, 9. <HI>And</HI> Ezekiah <HI>&s;pake comfortably unto all the Levites, that taught the good knowledge of the Lord,</HI> 2 Chron. 30. 22. <HI>Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>to give the portion of the Prie&s;ts &amp; the Levites, that they might be incouraged in the Law of the Lord,</HI> 2 Chron 31. 4.</P>
<P N="3">3. By repre&s;&s;ing &s;uch as pervert the truth, and divulge errours. The Magi&s;trate is <HI>the Minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evill,</HI> Rom. 13. 4. Now if they do evill that hurt the body, and prejudice the temporall e&s;tate; how much more they that hurt the &s;oul, and pre|judice the eternall e&s;tate?</P>
<P>2. Mini&s;ters mu&s;t do it, and that 1. By preach|ing and teaching the truth with all diligence: See Act. 20. 28, 31. &amp; 2 Tim. 4. 1, 5. &amp; Tit. 1. 10, 11. with 2. 1.</P>
<P>2. By refelling &s;uch as oppo&s;e the truth, and<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Non lo|quintur di&s;erta, &s;ed fortia. <HI>Cypr.</HI></NOTE> confuting their errours: a Mini&s;ter mu&s;t not only be <HI>apt to teach,</HI> 1 Tim. 3. 2. <HI>but al&s;o able to convince gain-&s;ayers,</HI> Tit. 1. 9. To this end he mu&s;t preach, <HI>not with enti&s;ing words of mans wi&s;dom, but in demon|&s;tration of the &s;pirit, and of power,</HI> 1 Cor. 2. 4. <HI>Apol|los</HI> was eloquent, and that is good, but withall he was <HI>mighty in the Scriptures,</HI> Act 18. 24. <HI>And &s;o he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publikely, &s;hewing by the Scriptures, that Je&s;us was Chri&s;t,</HI> v. 28.</P>
<P>3. Private Chri&s;tians mu&s;t doe it: And 1. By praying for good and &s;ound teachers: they mu&s;t pray that they may be &s;ent, <HI>Mat.</HI> 9. 38. And that they may do the work for which they are &s;ent, 2 The&s;. 3. 1. Col. 4. 3. Ephe&s;. 6. 19, 20.</P>
<PB N="471" REF="243">
<P>2. By affording them all incouragement that may be: See 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5. 12, 13. &amp; 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5. 17. &amp; <HI>Heb.</HI> 13. 17.</P>
<P>3. By giving no a&s;&s;i&s;tance, &s;hewing no counte|nance to fal&s;e teachers, but doing what they may to re&s;train them: See 3 <HI>Iohn 10, 11. Deut.</HI> 13. 6, 9.</P>
<P>4. By in&s;tructing and admoni&s;hing one ano|ther, <HI>Col.</HI> 3. 16.</P>
<P>5. By humbling them&s;elves, and mourning for the errours that are vented, and for tho&s;e that are &s;educed; See <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 119. 158. &amp; 136.</P>
<P><HI>&V;&s;e.</HI> Let us then according to our places and callings be mindfull of this duty, and carefull to perform it: to this end let us con&s;ider, 1. That truth (e&s;pecially the truth of Religion, <HI>the truth of the Go&s;pell</HI>) is a thing mo&s;t precious and excel|lent,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1. 5.</NOTE> mo&s;t worthy to be contended for with all earne&s;tne&s;&s;e, and to be maintained with all care and diligence: <HI>God is the God of truth,</HI> I&s;a. 65. 16. Chri&s;t hath &s;tiled him&s;elf <HI>the truth,</HI> John 14. 6. the Holy Gho&s;t is <HI>the &s;pirit of truth,</HI> John 16. 13. <HI>The Go&s;pel is the word of truth,</HI> Ephe&s;. 1. 13. If therefore we contend for other things, which in compari&s;on are vain and frivolous; how much more &s;hould we contend for this which is of &s;uch worth, of &s;uch excellency?</P>
<P>2. That the Saints &amp; &s;ervants of God have ever &s;hewed great zeal in this kind. How zealous <HI>Paul</HI> was for the truth, his Epi&s;tles every where &s;hew. See e&s;pecially <HI>Gal.</HI> 1. 8, 9, &amp; 2. 5, 11, 12, 13, 14. &amp; 4 &amp; 3. 1, 3, 4, 11, 19. &amp; 5. 7. 12. of S. <HI>John</HI> it is recorded by <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> and before him by <HI>Irenaeus,</HI> that being in a bath, and hearing that <HI>Cerinthus</HI> (one who
<PB N="476" REF="244"> be&s;ides other hereticall opinions, denied Chri&s;ts divinity) was come into the place, he would &s;tay no longer, but departed with all &s;peed, &s;aying to tho&s;e that were with him, <HI>Let us flie, and be gone, lea&s;t the building fall upon us, in which this enemy of the truth</HI> Cerinthus <HI>is.</HI> So it is &s;aid of <HI>Polycarpus (S. Iohns</HI> Di&s;ciple) that meeting with <HI>Marcion</HI> a|nother Arch-heretike, and being asked by him, if he knew him, an&s;wered, <HI>Yes, I know thee to be the fir&s;t born of the divell.</HI> And &s;uch was the zeale of <HI>Hierome</HI> again&s;t heretikes and here&s;ies, that in his &s;econd Apology again&s;t <HI>Ruffinus</HI> he writes thus; <HI>In this one thing I cannot</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">In uno tibi con&s;entire non po&s;&s;um, ut parcam haereticis, ut me Catho|licum non probem. Si i&s;ta est cau&s;a di&s;cordiae, non po&s;&s;um tacere, non po&s;&s;um.</NOTE> <HI>yeeld unto thee, that I &s;hould forbear heretikes, and &s;o not prove my &s;elf a &s;ound and true believing Chri&s;tian. If this be the cau&s;e of our diffe|rence, I cannot hold my peace, I cannot do it.</HI></P>
<P>4. That wicked opinions are rather wor&s;e then wicked practi&s;es; corrupt Doctrines more dan|gerous then corrupt manners. Some do well ob|&s;erve, that he who had the lepro&s;ie in his head, is pronounced not &s;imply unclean, as others, but ut|terly unclean, <HI>Levit.</HI> 13. 44. Whence is collected, that corruption in judgement is wor&s;e then cor|ruption in practice. And &s;o it is; the under&s;tand|ing is the eye, and &s;o the light of the &s;oul; <HI>and if the light be darkne&s;s, how great is that darkne&s;s?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 6. 23.</NOTE> Sound doctrine is a means to reforme a corrupt conver&s;ation; but corrupt doctrine is a means to marre a good conver&s;ation. <HI>Evill communications corrupt good manners,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 33. <HI>Who&s;oever
<PB N="477" REF="244"> &s;hall break one of the lea&s;t Commandements, and teach men &s;o,</HI> &amp;c. Mat. 5. 19.</P>
<P>4. Great need e&s;pecially at this time to be earne&s;t for the truth, and to do what we may for defence of it. For, fir&s;t, when was it ever more oppo&s;ed then now it is? What he|re&s;ie almo&s;t was ever broached, which is not now taken up, and maintained by one or other? Scarce any truth in all the &s;phere of Chri&s;tian Religion is &s;o &s;acred, as to remain inviolate.</P>
<P>2. The&s;e wicked opinions that are among us cau&s;e the name of God to be bla&s;phemed, and the way of truth to be evill &s;poken of. Hereup|on Papi&s;ts take occa&s;ion to traduce our Religi|on, and prophane per&s;ons to de&s;pi&s;e all Religion.</P>
<P>3. The&s;e are times wherein God expects, and we pretend Reformation: Therefore that now in the&s;e times &s;hould be &s;uch Sects and Here&s;ies among&s;t us, is the more hainous; <HI>I &s;aid &s;urely, thou wilt feare me, thou wilt receive correction,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>but they ro&s;e up early, and corrupted all their ways,</HI> Zeph. 3. 7. <HI>Thou &s;aidst, I will not tran&s;gre&s;&s;e, when on every high hill, and under every green tree thou wandred&s;t, playing the Harlot,</HI> Ier. 2. 20.</P>
<P>4. We have &s;olemnly &s;worne unto God, and covenanted with him to indeavour in our places and callings the pre&s;ervation of the truth, and the extirpation of here&s;ie, and what&s;oever is con|crary to &s;ound Doctrine: Let us remember that of <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 76. 11. <HI>Vow and perform unto the Lord your God.</HI> And that of <HI>Solomon</HI> Eccle&s;. 5. 4, 5. <HI>When thou vowe&s;t a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no plea&s;ure in fools: Pay therefore
<PB N="474" REF="245"> that which thou ha&s;t vowed. Better is it that thou &s;hould&s;t not vow, then that thou &s;houldst vow and not pay.</HI> Some have &s;hewed them&s;elves very zea|lous again&s;t Super&s;tition, Popery, Prelacy, &amp;c. but concerning Sects and Here&s;ies, which &s;warm in the Land, have been remi&s;&s;e enough: Why is not one part of the Covenant regarded as well as another? Zeale if it be not impar|tiall, is not right, how&s;oever we may plea&s;e our &s;elves in it, and vaunt of it as <HI>Iehu</HI> did; <HI>Come, &s;ee my zeal,</HI> 2 King. 10. 16. <HI>But</HI> Jehu <HI>regarded not to walk in the Law of the Lord with all his heart; for he departed not from the &s;ins of</HI> Jeroboam <HI>the &s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of</HI> Nebat, <HI>who made I&s;rael to &s;in,</HI> v. 31. Had his zeal been &s;incere, it would have &s;hewed it &s;elfe as well again&s;t the Idolatrous Wor&s;hip of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Calves &s;et up by <HI>Ieroboam,</HI> as again&s;t that of <HI>B<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">al</HI> &s;et up by <HI>Ahab.</HI></P>
<P>Let us con&s;ider the&s;e things, and let the con|&s;ideration of them incite us by prayer and humi|liation, and all good means (as our places and callings require) to indeavour that truth may be pre&s;erved, and error &s;uppre&s;&s;ed; that &s;uch as are yet in the truth, may per&s;i&s;t in it, and &s;uch as are &s;werved from the truth, may be reduced to it, or at lea&s;t may not &s;educe and draw others from it. In a word, let us do what in us lies, that the land may be purged, as from other pollutions and de|filements, &s;o from the&s;e Sects and Here&s;ies, that are &s;o rife in it; that &s;o the Lord may not (as o|therwi&s;e we mu&s;t needs fear he will) abhor us, and depart from us, but may &s;till continue his gracious pre&s;ence with us, and rejoyce over us to do us good.</P>
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