A SERMON Preached At Worcester, On the 18th. of April, 1686. being the SECOND Sunday after Easter.  
By H. H. S. J.  
LONDON, Printed for Matthew Turner, near Turn-Style in Holbourn, 1686.   

THE PREFACE.  
WHosoever reads the following Discourse, will see, by the beginning of it, that it was not made for the Press; but it having had the same hard fortune, that many have now adays, to be generally condemned without being known, it was judged convenient it should show itself in Print; to the end, that those who think and speak Ill of it, may see what it is they Blame. For my part, as I do not know its Crime, so I cannot undertake to Defend it; therefore I deliver it up to the judgement of the Reader, without any thing, but it's own Innocency, to protect it against a Censure; only one favour I beg at his hands, which is, that he would not presently upon sight of the Text (as many have done at the Hearing it) cry out, without proceeding any further, Here must needs be a Bloody Sermon; for this is tacitly, either to condemn the Word of GOD, as being the principle of ill Doctrine; or to say, that the Preacher has Quoted it to a Malicious purpose. The former of which, would be a Blasphemy; the latter, a rash Judgement. Therefore let him read it over first, and then let him freely Condemn whatsoever he finds Amiss.  
Now, in confidence that no Immorality will be found in it, I entreat those that find themselves deceived in the Opinion they have had of it, to reflect, that perchance the same Popular Report, that has Misinformed them in This, does also Abuse them in a matter of greater Importance; and make them condemn a Religion, which would be their Salvation, if they Understood it.  
To avoid this Inconvenience, they would do well to follow the advice of the Apostle, 1 Cor. 4. 5. Do not judge before the time; i. e. Before yourself have examined and seen what you condemn: If this counsel were followed, I confide, that, by God's Grace, we should soon be United here in Faith and Charity, and in Eternal Happiness in the next Life. Which is the Hearty wish of, etc.   
Transite per Civitatem— & percutite; non parcat oculus vester, neque miseriamini. Senem, adolescentulum & virginem, parvulum & mulieres, interficite usque ad internecionem: omnem autem super quem videritis Thou, ne occidatis. Ezec. 9 v. 5, 6. Pass through the City— and strike; let not your Eye spare, nor have ye mercy: The Old, the Young man, and the Virgin, the little One, and the Women, kill to utter destruction; But every one upon whom you shall see Thou, kill you not. Ezech. 9 v. 5, 6. 
IN my former Catechisms I explicated to you, as well as I could, the two principal Mysteries of our Faith, viz. the Unity and Trinity of Almighty God; and the Incarnation and Passion of our Saviour Jesus Christ. I call these the principal Mysteries of our Faith; and that you may understand why, I must desire you to reflect, that there be two things in this life which it mainly concerns a man to know, viz. the last end whether he is going, where all his desires are to be accomplished, where he is to rest for ever: And the way or means to attain to it. Our end is God, in him we are to find our eternal repose; and out of him, there is no true repose: Our hearts were made for him, and they can never be at quiet, saith St▪ Augustin, till they rest in him.  
The means to attain to this end, is our Saviour Christ, as he saith himself, John 14. v. 6. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: i. e. the Way by my Example, the Truth by my Doctrine, and the Life by my Grace. No body comes to the Father (i. e. to the beatifical vision of God in Heaven) but by me: i. e. by imitating my Life and Conversation, by observing my Doctrine and Commandments, and by the assistance of that Grace which I purchased at the price of my Blood.  
This is the reason why these are called the principal mysteries of our Faith, viz. because in these two consisteth our whole Happiness; the one being Happiness itself, the other the Way to it; he that knows these two Mysteries, as he ought, knows enough, tho' he knows nothing else; because he knows all that is requisite to make him Happy: and he that knows not these, knows nothing; tho' he knoweth all things besides; tho' he knows all Philosophy, tho' he knows how to heap together Mountains of Riches, tho' he knows how to Conquer Kingdoms: because he doth not know, that which only concerns him to know, i. e. wherein consists his Eternal Welfare.  
A Christian should have always two things in his mind, viz. God and Jesus Christ: God in whom, and Jesus Christ by whom he is to be Happy; God who is his end, and Christ who is his way. The knowledge and due consideration of these two Points, is the source of life everlasting, as our Saviour tells us, John 17. v. 3. This is life everlasting, that they know thee the only true God, and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ. On the contrary, the want of this knowledge; or, which is the same, the want of a true reflection upon it, is the cause of perdition to all those that perish. Traveller's must needs lose themselves, that neither know their end, nor their way. These two Mysteries do contain, the greatest part of the Creed, whether we regard the importance of the matter, or the number of Articles; for of the Twelve, as I told you before, these are Eight. Therefore at present we will put an end to the declaration of the Creed, and pass to another part of the Christian Doctrine: but first, I have one thing to do, and that shall fill up the time we have left for this days entertainment; It is to tell you, how we may keep a perpetual memory of these two great Mysteries, which it so much imports us never to forget: It is by making the Sign of the Cross; a thing so much practised by Catholics, and with so much reason, as, by God's help, I will make appear presently: For the sign of the Cross, is a short abridgement of all that we are taught in the Symbol of the Apostles concerning the Unity and Trinity, with the Incarnation & Death of God the Son. Observe a little, and you shall see how, When I make the sign of the Cross, I put my hand first to my head, and say, In the name of the Father; then under the breast, saying, And of the Son; then to the right and left shoulder, saying, And of the Holy Ghost. First I say singularly, In the name; that is to say, power and authority: Then I say plurally, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; by which I signify that all Three have but one Name; that is, Power and Authority, and consequently one Essence and Divine Nature; here is Unity and Trinity. Now, the figure of the Cross does represent the Death of our Saviour, who died upon it; but because it was impossible for God to die but in mortal flesh, therefore this Sign, by a necessary consequence, doth represent his Manhood or Incarnation, together with his Death. And by this you may see, that the Sign of the Cross, which does so scandalise the world, is nothing but a profession of our belief in a Trinity, and a Crucified Redeemer. 'Tis a sign by which we discern ourselves from Jews and Turks, who pretend to believe in one God as well as we; but neither believe a Trinity of Persons, nor the Incarnation of the Second. Give me leave to detain you a little longer upon this Subject; First, to tell you the Reasons why we make so much use of the Sign of the Cross: In the second place, I will say what disposition of mind is required, to the end it may be beneficial to those that make it. But to begin with due order, let us beg the assistance of him that died on the Cross, by her intercession of whom he took that Flesh in which he suffered for us, Ave Maria.  
Fides a nobis exigit duplex officium, cordis, & linguae: i. e. faith, saith St. Augustin, lays two obligations upon us, viz. one of the Heart, and another of the Tongue: the duty of the Heart, is to Believe; that of the Tongue, is to Profess: this latter is as necessary as the former, Nequae enim salui esse possumus, nisi fidem ore profiteamur, quam corde gerimus: i. e. we cannot be saved, saith the same holy Doctor, unless we profess with our mouth, what we believe in our hearts. This doctrine of St. Augustin is taken out of St. Paul, Rom. 10. c. Cord creditur ad justitiam, ore autem confessio fit ad salutem: i. e. to obtain true justice, we must first believe in our hearts, for faith, as we are taught by the Council of Trent, is the beginning of happiness, the root and foundation of all virtue and good life; without which, as the Apostle tells us in Heb. c. 11. it is impossible to do any thing pleasing to God, or to be admitted into the society of his Elect Children. But this is not enough: to attain Eternal Salvation, faith must flow from the heart to the mouth, o'er confessio fit ad salutem, i. e. whoever will be saved, must be ready to make an open Profession of his Faith before men, whensoever a just cause requires it.  
There be two things in this matter most certain; first, that it is never lawful to betray the true Faith, either by a direct denial, or by professing any thing contrary to it. He that denies me before men, saith our Lord, Mat. 10. v. 23. I will deny him before my Father who is in Heaven. St. Luke hath it thus, He that is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of man will be ashamed of him, when he comes in his Majesty, and of his Father, and the Majesty of the Angels, c. 9 v. 26. The other thing is, that sometimes, under pain of being disowned by Christ at the latter day, we are obliged to manifest our Faith to the world: I said sometimes, viz. when Charity exacts it, and Prudence tells us it ought to be done: at other times 'tis lawful to conceal our Faith by silence; but never with a denial.  
Now this profession of Faith, may be made two ways, viz. either by Words, or by Signs; 'tis not the Tongue alone we speak with; we speak by the clothes we wear, by the company we keep, by the Places we haunt; we speak sometimes by silence itself. I know what Religion you are of by the Assemblies you frequent, as well as if you made a profession of it with your Mouth: I know what Master you belong to by the Livery you wear, tho' you speak not a word: Now to come to our purpose, the Sign of the Cross is the Livery of Jesus Christ; I know by this Sign, that a man believes in one God and Three Persons; the second of which, was Nailed to a Cross, as well as by the plainest words that can be spoken with a Tongue: when I see a man Sign himself with the Cross, I know he is neither Jew, nor Turk, nor Heathen; I know he is a Christian, though he says nothing to me: for he would not make that Sign, unless he believed what no Infidel will believe, viz. One God, who is Three Persons; the second of which, was made Man, and Crucified for us. I say it over again, that for a man to make the Sign of the Cross, and to say I am a Christian, is the same thing. And now you have one Reason of this Catholic practice, viz. of making the Sign of the Cross, It is as I said before, a profession of our Faith. 'tis the Livery by which we show ourselves to be the servants of Jesus Christ; it is a distinguishing mark by which we discriminate ourselves from all sorts of unbelievers. Now I will give you another Reason.  
Blessed is the man, saith the Prophet David, Psal. 39 v. 5. Whose hope is in the Name of the Lord, i. e. who puts all his confidence in God, who expects no happiness but from him; neither in this world, nor in the next; who hopes for no success in his affairs, but from his assisting hand: and this hope he grounds in the Merits of Christ, by whom, as the Apostle tells us, Ephes. 2. v. 18. We have access to the Father; and without whom, there is no access to him, nor any possibility of obtaining any favour of him: for a token of this confidence grounded in Christ, we make the Sign of the Cross before every thing we do: we make it when we lie down to sleep; hoping, that for the merits of him that died upon it, God will protect us that night from the Prince of darkness, and from all nocturnal fears, Psal. 90. we make it when we rise again, begging by the same means to be preserved that day from all evil, and that all may prosper that we undertake for the honour of God; we make it before Prayer, to testify that we expect not to be heard but by him that was Crucified for us; we make use of it in the most holy Sacrifice of the Mass; in all our Sacraments, in the Benedictions of Water, of Candles, of Bread, etc. because we believe, that all Blessings and Consecrations receive their force and efficacy from the Death and Passion of our Lord and Saviour. In fine, we make no Oblation to the eternal Father, but what we sign with the Cross; knowing that he accepts no Offering, and receives no Request, unless it be stamped with the Seal of his only beloved Son. This was the Custom of the primitive Christians, who, as Tertullian, an Author that lived not long after our Saviour's Ascension into Heaven, doth testify, did; to speak in his Phrase, wear out their Foreheads, by making the sign of the Cross at their going out, at their coming in again; at putting on their clothes, at the washing of their Hands, and the lighting of Candles; at their going to Bed; in a word, at whatsoever action they employed themselves in, Quaecunque nos conversatio exercet. This is the second Reason of our respect to the sign of the Cross; it is a tacit invocation of the most blessed Trinity, by the Merits of our Crucified Redeemer: It is to testify, that we believe that no favour can be obtained of God, but by him, and for him.  
Before I give you a Third Reason, I must put you in mind, that Almighty God, as he is a most liberal Giver, so is also a severe exacter of Thanks: we may see this by his proceedings with the Children of Israel in the Old Testament: He never did them any notable Favour, but he commanded a Monument to be Erected to preserve the memory of it, and to transmit to Posterity the Obligation of giving Thanks for it; for Example, he freed them out of Captivity, by Killing every Firstborn of the Egyptians in one night; for a memorial of this benefit, he commanded them to keep a solemn Feast called the Passeover, and to mark the Posts of their Doors with the Blood of the Lamb; to the end, their Children might learn, That the destroying Angel, when he killed every firstborn in the houses of the Egyptians, passed over the houses of the Hebrews without doing Them any harm, Exod. 12. v. 27. He fed them in the Desert with a Bread from Heaven, called Manna; for a remembrance of this, he would have a Gomer, i. e. a certain measure to be filled with it, and to be kept in the Ark of the Covenant, that future Ages might know the Bread with which he had nourished them in the Wilderness, Exod. 16. v. 32. He made them a Passage through the River of Jordan, as he had done before through the Red-Sea; That this might not be forgotten in subsequent times, he bid them take twelve Stones out of the bottom of the dry Channel, and place them upon the Bank; that after wards, Fathers might tell their Children why these Stones were laid there; and so make them know their obligation, of thanking Almighty God for the favour done them, Josh. 4. v. 22, 23. In fine, all their Festival-days, all their Ceremonies and Sacrifices, were so many Remembrances of their delivery out of Egypt, and bringing them into the Land of Promise. Read Deut. 6. v. 20, etc. The same duty of thanksgiving, he exacts of Christians, with so much more reason, as 'tis a greater favour, to be delivered out of Hell fire, than out of Egypt; and to be brought to the Kingdom of Heaven, than to Palestine: and therefore we have our Monuments, to put us in mind of our Redemption as well as they; our Christmas, our Goodfriday, our Easter, our Ascension-day, our Whitsuntide; all the Feasts of the Year are to put us in mind of some benefit received from God; the most dreadful Sacrifice itself, what is it, but a Memorial of his Death and Passion? Do this in remembrance of me, Luk. 22. v. 19 Now amongst other industries we make use of to keep up the memory of our Redemption, One, and that a very proper one, is the Sign of the Cross; the Cross is a Monument of Christ's Victory over the Devil; a testimony of his Love towards Mankind, and a Sign of our delivery from the thraldom of Sin: by the Cross, saith St. chrysostom, he broke down the gates of Hell, and loosed the Souls of the Just that were imprisoned there; he unlocked Heaven, and made us a free passage in thither; by the Cross, he reconciled God to Man, and restored Man to the fellowship of the Angels: by the Cross, saith the same holy Doctor, death was turned into a sleep; and that which was the destruction of life, is made an entry into life Eternal; that which was the Punishment of sin, is become the Crown of Martyrs. When we look upon the Heavens, we remember the greatness of him that made them: and when we make the Sign of the Cross, we call to mind the Goodness of him that died upon it. God Almighty in the Old Testament, Deut. 6. commanded the Jews to have his Laws and Ceremonies before their eyes continually; to meditate upon them day and night, in their houses, and in the highways; at their lying down to sleep, and at their rising again: because, as 'tis there said, they were memorials of their delivery from Bondage: the Cross is a memorial of our delivery out of a worse Bondage than that of Egypt; and from a heavier Yoke than that of Pharaoh; therefore with greater reason, we ought to think of it day and night; at home and abroad, at our lying down, and at our rising up again. To this end the ancient Christians, as St John chrysostom witnesseth, did erect Crosses in all places, viz. in the Churches, in the Markets, in the Towns, in the Fields, in the Highways, and upon the tops of Mountains; that wheresoever they went, wheresoever they turned themselves, they might have before them, the sign of God's Love, and their own Redemption. And here is the Third Reason for the Sign of the Cross; it is to put us in mind of the Victory Christ gained over the Devil, and of our own delivery out of Hell-fire.  
One Argument more, and I have done: St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Colossians, c. 2. v. 14, 15. saith, That our Saviour Crucified, did carry the Devil in triumph, and made him a spectacle to God and his Angels. 'Tis a remark of Origen upon this place, that as Christ was Crucified visibly, so the Devil was Crucified invisibly: Our Lord, by suffering himself to be Crucified, you know, did deprive himself of the use of his Arms for a time; so the Devil, by the Cross, lost the use of his Arms, i. e. of his power over mankind for ever, and therefore was Crucified invisibly more than Christ was visibly. For this cause he is afraid of the Cross, as a Malefactor is afraid of the Gallows; or as a Dog is afraid of a Stick with which he hath been beaten: Metuunt illud signum, in quo Salvator, aëris expolians potestates, eas fecit ostentui; the infernal Spirits, saith St. Anthony, in his life written by St. Athanasius, fear that Sign, by which our Saviour triumphed over them, and made them the scorn of Heaven and Earth. Those two great terrors of the Devils, Anthony & Hillarion, as we read in their Authentic Histories written by St. Athanasius abovesaid; and St. Hierome, did always make use of the Sign of the Cross as the most efficacious Weapon against them. Nay, which is wonderful, it hath not this force only upon the Foreheads of Saints, but sometimes also, (if so pleasing God for the clearer demonstration of the efficacy of it) when it is made use of even by wicked men. We read in the Church-History written by Eusebius Caesariensis, that Julian the Apostate, so called, because he revolted from the Faith he had been brought up in, and attempted by a sacrilegious vanity to wash out of his Soul the indelible Character of Baptism, by washing his body in the blood of Heathen Sacrifices: we read (I say) that this▪ wicked man, by making the Sign of the Cross, tho' inconsiderately, and by force of a custom he had been enured to in the time of his Christanity, did put to flight those wicked spirits which had caused to be raised by Art-Magick, to learn of them the success of his future affairs. In virtue of this Sign appearing in the Air, Constantine the Great, our Countryman and first Christian-Emperour, was made Victorious over all his Enemies, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, i. e. In this thou shalt Overcome. And now you have the Fourth and last Argument for the Use of the Cross; 'Tis the Terror of the Devils, 'tis our Protection against them; by this all their attempts are made ineffectual; at the sight of this they run away.  
On the contrary, those that will not make use of it, those that bear no respect to it, not even for his sake that Redeemed us by it, how they disarm themselves, and lay themselves open to be wounded by their ghostly enemies, may be gathered out of those words of Ezekiel, which I have taken for my Text. This Prophet saw in a Vision, six men enter into the Temple, each of them with an instrument of Death in his Hand; to those Command was given, to go through the City, and to Kill without Mercy, and without distinction of Age, Condition or Sex; all they met with, excepting only those, whom another Man, sent before to that purpose, had marked with the Tau upon their Foreheads. Such another Vision was Revealed to St. John Apocalypse 7. in which he saw four Angels, with power to execute the Divine Justice upon all that had not the Sign of the Living GOD. What is meant by Ezekiel's Tau, and what by the Sign of the Living God in the Apocalypse, I have not authority to define: But certain it is, First, that both the one and the other shall be a Mark of Distinction between the Elect and the Reprobate at the great discerning Day. Secondly, 'tis no less certain, that the Holy Fathers do take them both for the Sign of the Cross; and Reason persuades into this belief; otherwise I think no reason can be given, why this Sign should have the name of Tau; a letter which at that time the Prophet writ, did represent the Cross, as our Capital T doth at present: And what Sign peculiar to the Living GOD besides the sign of the Cross, and why it should be upon the Foreheads of those that are to be Saved by it, unless it be a Cross, I think no body can determine. Hence I conclude, That all that are found Marked with the Cross at the great Day, shall be under the protection of Almighty GOD. But those that are found without it, Shall they be abandoned to the fury of the Sword? Shall they be left a prey to the Devils? God forbid, that Souls Redeemed by Christ, should be left a prey to them! But now I must desire you not to mistake me: I do not say, that the bare Sign of the Cross, separated from Faith, and other Pious dispositions of the mind, shall be a protection to any body in the day of Revenge: And therefore, to perform what I promised in the Second place; I must tell you what disposition of mind is requisite, to the end the Sign of the Cross may prove Beneficial to those that make Use of it.  
St. Paul, Rom. 2. blaming the Jews for putting too much confidence in the outward Circumcision of their flesh, as if it were sufficient to save them without the observation of the Commandments: tells them, 'tis not the external Circumcision of the body that makes them children of Abraham, but the inward Circumcision of the mind, i. e. cutting away all vicious affections from their Souls. The same I say in our case; the outward sign of the Cross upon our foreheads, does not make us Christians, i. e. Children of God, and Heirs of Heaven; but the inward sign of the Cross in our Souls. No body, as a learned Father anciently said, obtains any favour of God, by making the sign of the Cross upon his forehead with his hand, unless at the same time he make it inwardly in his heart, by Faith. Circumcision says the Apostle, ibid. is a profitable thing if you observe the Commandments; otherwise Circumcision is no better than Gentility. So the Cross upon the forehead is good, if it be joined with a Cross in the heart; if not, we are but Heathens under the mark of Christanity. But what is it you will say, to make the sign of the Cross in our hearts? It is to have in our hearts the virtues which Christ exercised upon the Cross; of which the outward Cross is a sign, and without which that outward sign can benefit nothing at all. For example sake: The sign of the Cross is a sign of Humility; a sign of humility in Christ that died upon it, and a sign of humility in those that make it; now, as I said, it will benefit us nothing to carry the sign of humility without, if we have a proud heart within. 'Tis a sign of Patience; it will do us no good to have the sign of Patience upon our foreheads, whilst our minds are full of Anger and Revenge. It is a sign of Charity; What will it avail us under the mark of Mercy and Love, to have a heart replenished with Hatred towards our Neighbour, and void of pity and compassion towards the Poor? 'Tis a sign of Suffering; To what purpose should we make profession of Suffering, whilst we welter in Pleasures? 'Tis a sign of Victory; we should be ashamed to wear the Laurel, having never yet fought against sin, and being yet fettered with the Chains of the Devil. In fine, all making the sign of the Cross, all coming to Mass, all saying of Prayers, and hearing of Sermons, all outward signs of Christianity, are but lies, and do but make us Hypocrites, unless we have inwardly the Virtues we profess outwardly by these signs.  
But to weary your patience no longer, I will collect into a short sum, all I have said, that every one may carry something away. I have given Four Reasons why we make the sign of the Cross; First, because it is a profession of our belief in one God, who is Three Persons, and in our Redeemer who died for us upon a Cross: 'Tis the Badge of a Christian, and the Livery of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ: Therefore we must not despise it now, for fear he despise us another day. It is a tacit invocation of the most blessed Trinity by the Merits of Christ. 'Tis the Seal of God the Son: We must mark all our actions with it, lest for want of it they be rejected by the Eternal Father. It is a memorial of Christ's conquest, and our redemption: let us carry it about us, that we do not fall into oblivion of so great a benefit, and by oblivion incur the crime of ingratitude. Fourthly, 'tis an Armour of defence that will shield us against all the strokes of our Ghostly enemies; if we cast it away, we expose ourselves to their mortal wounds. Finally, whilst we carry the mark of Christian upon our foreheads, let us endeavour to have Christian Virtues in our hearts.  
Amen.  
FINIS.