:i !'. 14* 6 ^ «* * m°ksica< *~ %//, PRINCETON, N. J. % Collection of Puritan Literature. Division >^/ ^— -*^-» - 1S$£ Section Number ~» ~3~* «-! COLLECTION O F SERMONS UPON Several Occafions. By THOMAS TIERCE D. D. Prjefidencof StMarie Jldagdalen College in Oxford. OXFORD, Printed by W. Hall, for 7$: %/fc* , and 7(zV: DrfTtf, MDCLXXI". THE CONTENTS of this VOLUME, ARE SERMONS PREACHED BEfore the Lord Major, Court of Alder- men, and Common Council of the City of London, at St. Pauls Church, upon the firft Sunday after his Majefties Re- ftauration, 1660. Before the Honourable the Houfe of Com- mons in Parliament Aflembled, at St, Mar- garets Church Wejiminjler, upon the 29. day of May, being the Anniverfary Day of the King and Kingdoms Reftauration, 1661. Before the Right Honourable the Houfe of Lords, at the Abhy Church of Wetfminjler, upon a Solemn day of Humiliation, occa- fioned by the Great Rain in June and July, i66t. Before the King at Whitehall, upon the Wednef- day- Monthly Fart, when the Pertilencc de- creafed, but yet continued, As did alfo the War with the French and Dutch, 1665. a 2 Before I. II III. IV. _ The CONTENTS. V. VI VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. Before the Clergy of England in Convocation Aflembledj at S. Tauls Church, touching the Power of the Church in a National Synod j 1 66 1. Before the Univerfity, at St. Maries Church in Ox/ple3ir* maybe knit together in one mind, and in one judgment; the prefent time of our proiperity may froV: the Seat >n for i ur Amendment, W t harm oflife^ t\)itall bitterneffe, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evillfpeaking, may be put away from I/C7VT0 KH/xl- 3-*. I Thef. 3.3 That no man fl)iuld be moved by theft «$. fli- cs •, for jour felves J^novo that n>e axe appointed thereunto. Hcb. 2. io. 2 Cor. 6> 4. &9. 1 Cor. 4. 13. pt)Cltt TtST» It i. Si Oil. Rom, 1, $cr 1 Cor, 1,1c, Eph, 4. jV, To the Chriftian Reader. pfai.82.6. Exo.22.28 from us with all malice; and that as members of one Body, whereof Chrifl Jefus is the Head^ we may each of us indeaVour ( in our federal stations) rokeep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That this was really the intent of the Following Sermon'^ the later part of the Sermon, will make apparent. For what was fpoken in reflection upon the darknefle of the nighty was only premij ed as a Foyl to commend the Day. And as a thim without which I could not make an impartial parallel between the Text and t^Time. Befidesih&t in the method of healing wounds , {which a flatterer may palliate^ but cannot Cure5) there is as charitable an ufe both of the Probe and the Abfterfive,, as there can pofji- bly be of the Oyl and Balfam. The Decollati- on 0/ Gods Anointed, (which was fo fan a Dei- cide3 as he was one of thofe Gods who fhall dye like men,} had been declared by the Parliament (before I made my ftridtures on it) to haue been a moft horrid and hideous Murder. And if my cen - fors did not thinhjhey had once offended5 they would not be candidates {as they are)foraT{oyal Pardon. It being fonaturall for a pardons include and connotate an oiTence^kit unleffe we were confeious ofhavinghimd, we could not fincerely ask^ God forgiveneflc forgivenefTe. J am not able to ask^Jsfor what 1 baVcfaid in the following Sermon, tending to Loy- alty and Union, and the ertablifhmenc of both upon the onlyfure Bafts ofimpartiall Repentance and felf- revenge, untill I am able to be convinced of Urifmcerity in my ayine at fo good rftfEnd, or of unlawful b/efte in the means which lharoe us d for its attainment, jtnd therefore that which I be^from the Chrillian Reader, is not the favour ofa^xt\d\\ybut the ]ufticz of an unpaflionate and unby ailed perufall of all that follows. 2C0r7.11. ENGLAND'S SEASON FOR ^EFOTiMJTlON of LIFE. ROM. XIII. xii. The night is far f pent, the day is at band : let us therefore cajl off the worlds of darkjiejs, and let us put on the armour of light. TO make you fee how the Text is exaft- lv J unable to the Time, ( as well to the Time when 'twas written, as to the Time wherein 'tis read,) Ic will be needful to entertain you with two fuch Preliminary Gbjervables, as without which it is impoffi- ble to come at the meaning of the words. Arid vet the true meaning muft be attain'd, as well in their Rational, and Hifloncal, as in their Literal Importance, before I can handle t^ena as I ouM, without injuflice to the Apo- jile, or Apply them as I defer ey without de- frauding tne Con relation. Full thciij yee are to t?kean efpecial notice.. That in the lpace of fourty y.ars after the Crucifying of Jefus, there was to happen B amoneft ENGLAND'S Seafm * Matth. 24, 40. * Matth. 24. *8. * SeeDo&or ffammond (of blcffcd memory) upon the place, and the Texts by him re- ferred to. amongft the Jews a famous day of Difcrimi- nation, wherein * one wm to be taken, and ano- ther left. The cruel and the incredulous were to be utterly dejlroyd, But the persecuted Be- lievers to be remarkably preferred from that Deftruttion. Preferred, not only from that deluge of Judgments, like *Noah in the Jrh^ but from the mischievous defions of the Mofaical Ze- lots,by whom they could tf^r be forgiven their having been Lyw/ unto their Lord. Which fa- mous day of Discrimination , as the Scriptures have expreiTed in thofe fublimer forts ot Veri- pbrajis, [The Kingdome of HeaVen, the coming of Cbnfiy the end of all things, and the conclujion of the dge{\ fo in reipedt of one part, that of de- liverance unto the Faithful, we find it exprefled in other places, by &n\»>« to*?*** The T\edemp- tion drawing neer, 0 *<*&*> The Seafon, **&&> * The Day, *cwT»ei«, Jhe Deliverance^ which Delive- rance being nearer at the writing of this Epijile, ! than when they had firft embraced the £hri- ftian Faith, is therefore the rather introduced with [an «n™ «■» x*^r,] a confideration of the time • and that as an Argument, or Mlettive, whereby to win them to the duties of this whole Chapter-, which Duties, that they concern us as we are men for Reformation of Life. men of thefe Times j and relating in particular to our now happy revolution, I forelee an oc- cafion to fhew anon. As this is the firji T recognition, (o it natu- rally affords me aneafie pallage into the fe- cond. For our Apoftle having oblervcd CCr- tzinfpots in the Chrijiians which dwelt at Rome, their being invelloped at once with a double dark>ie(sy as well of their doings, as of thtixfuf ferings, no lels afleep in fin, than benighted with T>erjecution£omcs early to them in this Epijlle • and here endeavours to awake them, not onely with a Call^ but a Reafon for it. Becaufe the night do's now begin to be lefs and lefs dark, he tells them it is fit they be lefs and lefs drowx,ie. In the next words before my Text, we have an Apoftolical ********** ( the very thing that in Englijh we ufe to call the Cock-crow,) whereby he tells the guilty jleepers, 'tis more than time that they awake. And the T\eafon which he gives them is very cogent; *» •& iyy>'*w» for now is our fahation nearer than when we blieVed. Tnat is to fay in plainer term*, our delive- rance at prefent is more approaching, than when we were newly Chrijliamz^d. It is better with us now, than when we were Zoophytes in the B 2 Church. ENGLAND'S Seaj on Church. But to acquaint them the more di- ftindtly how late it is that he awakes them ; The Night (faith he) is far, [pent, and the Dff is at hand • (that is) the time of Perfccution is now well o'Ver, and the day of Deliverance begins to dawn. At the Tyrant Tiberius* our Sun was fet ; At the other Tyrant Ke.ro ^ 'tis more than midnight : Do bat wait for Vefpafian, and you will find it break of Day. Nor does the Di^Lnt Apoftle meerly awake them out oijleep, but aifo defires that they will rife^ and inrtrudts them in the method aow to make themfelv.es ready. Tney are to leave'ofl; their chamber-Robes, anl make tiiem fit to go abroad 5 to caft away their Bed cloathsy as only fuitable to the Night 5 and to appear iu iuch habits, as are agreeable to the Day, Let ns therefore caji off the works of Darknefs, and let us put on the drmour of Light. For a man to Breach on this Text, no more is needful than to explain it. The Text it felt being a Sermon, as full, and pithy, as it is (hort. [The Nkht is far f pent y and the Day is at hand •] There is *»•>. the double VoB/me. [ Let us therefore cafi vjf, and let us therefore put on •"] There is */>«'*> the double life. The for Fijorr^ation of Life. The words, apparelling the nv.wr, have both number, and meajure ; and die matter it ft If- is as (full of wfl^ik t rom both together it is pQvious toobferve three things in this mighty Preacher • His Lo^ic^, his Rhetorjfk 3 and his LiVimty. We nave his Ltgirj^ in the Illative [Therefore] which is a rote of Jroumcntation, giving the JW* of an Ewf/yww3though not thejww. And yet the form is implied yylth more advantage than liexpreji. The -Night i?> far fpent • There- fore night-works and darkne's muftgoaway. The Day is at hand j Therefore Light mud be welcome to ns. We have his Rhctorick, in the Figures , of which the wlwle is wWe j^?. For befides the IfocuLi; and Horrtjotelcuta of the Text, (that is) the cpmnefs of the Members 5 and Mufical Cadence of every Clauje • wre fee the Mtia\-hors in the Period are juft as many as the Members. The firil is borrowed from Darknefs $ thefe- cond from the D.^ ; and both in JUujwi to two things more which are very dittany to wit our Armour, and our Apparel. And yet the whole is Zt\ Allegory, mo I artificially cirryed on. For as he begins his hoi) 77^ with the jwfo of frou* bleand^ rfecution^ [ohzfoutsit up too with the lioht ENGLAND'S Seafon In Allcgoria tenendum eft hoc, ut quo in gene- re incipias, eodem defi- nas,aliter confequen- tia fit tur- piffima. Quintilian* *Verf. 13. Eph.$. 8. light of Peace. Nay> befides all theft, the Text affords us three figures more. Three (I fay in kind} but fix in number. Here is zfinqje Anaphora, a double Epanodos, and no lefs than a threefold An- tithefis, by which the terms of the /<*jj claujes (and there are tlW Terms in each) are thus op- pos'd to one another- Darknefs, to Light j Works* to Armour ; and cajling off, to putting on. After the Logick, and the Bhetonck, obferve the Divinity of the Apollle ; to which his //rf is but the Handmaid, and made toferDe. Here is d feafonable Advertifment, and a moft ufeful Inference. And ^d!> of thefe is twofold, exactly looking one on another 5 even Z$face anfwersface in a perfect Mirroir. Gbferve how the /^r is rtrongly infore'd out of tht'fermer. Sirce the night of our fufferings is now far f pent, what have we to do with the wigfcf of fin .* Andfince the day of our deliverance is hard at hand , what fhoul 1 we do but * walkhonejlly as in the day ? The fftgfo of Errour and Lif order is now well over- i^f 71* therefore caft off the works ofdarkjiefs. The ^jv of Mercy and Bejlauration begins to da\vn • Lrt t# therefore put on the armour of light. Le?: us * walk'm the li^ht, as becomes children of the light. Let our light io fbine before G^ and for Information of Life. men, that Men may fee our good works, and God reward them. That men may fee our good works, and glorify God in this prejent world j thatGW may fee our good works, and glorify Us in the world to come. Thus we fee S. Pauls Divinity, and way of Teaching. It is indeed a whole Body of his praBical Divi- nity, however Jummd up in fofmall zSyftem. For the whole Duty of at hrijiian do's Confitt in ttW ffciwgj ; firft ( by way of privation) in cajiing off the worlds of Darkjiefs, in denying ungodlmefs^ and worldly lufis j next (,by way of Jcquifition) in putting on th" armour of light ; living fberly, righteoufly, and vjdly in this prefent world. Tit. 2. 12. For fo the Apoftle explains himfelf in the two Verfes after my Text, Letiuwalkhoneflly, 04 in the Day. And how mud that be ? firtt he tells us in tfte JQgatiVe, Not in rioting and drun- kgnnefs -not in chambering and wantonnefs, not in Jtrife and -envying, not in any of thole things which were yellcrday forbid by his Majcjiies excellent Proclamation ; (for thefe are feme of the workj of darkpejs, the very worft ufe that men can make of a Deliverance,) next he tells us in the Affirmative, It mufl be by putting on the Lord Jeftu Chnjl j By flicking clofe to his Trecepts, and 8 | ENGLAND'S Seafon and taking a copy from his example ; by having a fellowjhip with his deaths and a conformity to his fufferings \ For ffct* is here meant by the Jrmour of Light. And each of thefe is improved by three main circumftances. Firil by the mionoi the one with the other ; they are not fet with a disjun- ttive-j that we may take which we pleafe^ fLec us call off, O; let us put on] as if the one would ferve turn without the other j But tied together with a copulative [Lee us caft off, And Jet us put on3] neither of them mull go alone. VVe ihnd obliged to do them both by indiipenfable neoeiTity ; nor mu. L we \ainlv flacter our (elves that Salvation is to be had upon eafier terms. Secondly by the inforcement ofs both together, from the feaforable conjuncture of our affairs. For Becaufc the Night is far [pent, we mui\ di- *x> /? our ielves of ■ darkjtefs $ And Becw.fe the Day is at hard, we muft apparel our ielves with li^h'U Thirdly by the o.dn in which thek duties are to be dune. We muft not put on the Ar- mour, Before *ve cafl off the Works ; But ceaie from d'jhonrfly in the fir ft place, andtalk oi pod- line] s in the jecord. For a <(W/>> KnaVe is a f^- ttadilhon in Jid}So% The *»*•*«*« hath the Pre- , cedency3 for 'Reformation of Life cedency, we mull: begin with cajiing off what- ever is contrary to Virtue ; And then Comes ill the «ji™^$*t we mu(l proceed to thr putting on whatever is oppofitc to vice. We mud rot hope to ferve two Majiers, (which our Saviour ce Is us is impoflible, and which yet hath been the project of fome years paft3) erecting a Church for the one, and alfo a Chappel for the other • But firft of all we mull abhor 3 and for fake our Mammon, that fo we may rationally endeavour to cleave with ficdfajlnefs unto God. Thus ye fee how the Text is ravel I'd out into Particulars. And were I not really fome- what afraid to fpend too much of my time in a nicer Divifion, I would prefently wind up all into three great Bottoms. Whereof the firjl would provide againft Hypocrifie , the jeeond againft Indifferency, the third ZZ^wAS. fainting, as alfo againft Trccrajlination. And when Provi- sion (hall have been made for thefefour things, not only Zeal, and Sincerity, but alfo dif patch ill our amendment, and perfeverance unto the end • I know not what can be wanting either to fa- tisfie the T«#, or to Edifie the Souls of a Congregation. But before I come to handle the ufeful In- ___ C ference 9 Matth.6.24. 10 Luk€4« 2i« ENGLAND'S Seafon ference of the Apoftle, (which to do, will be the bufinefs of more than ewe or two Sermons) the time does prompt me to make Advantage of his moft feaJonaUe Advertijment, out of which he does fitly deduce his Inference, So opportune is the Adrontifment, as well to theje, as thofe Times, that I may fay in the very lawucwe (though not in the very Jenfe) of our Ble led Saviour, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in cur Ears. For, We have had both our Jews, and our Gno- fiicks too ; and are in the higheft degree of hope, to be rid of Both. Not (I hope) by their de- fimtfion, (like that alluded to in my Text) but by their happy converfion, and union with us. For mutual love, as well as loyalty, is the thing that this Chapter does chiefly aim at. It prefleth earneilly for loyalty ^ from the firfi verfe unto the eighth. And as earneQly for love, from the ■eighth verfe unto the end. By unavoidable im- plication, it preffech for love throughout the whole, but moft exprejly, and on purpofe, in no lefs than four verfes, to wit, the eight, the ninth, the tenths and the thirteenth. We muft not ln- fult over our Enemies, though we ought to give thanks for their dij "appointment. The nobleft benefit for Reformation of Life, II benefit of a Conqurjl, is the opportunity to oblige, Bejoyce not (faith Solomon] when thine enemy f\l- L tb, nor let thine heart be glad when he jlumbleth, Irji the Lerd fee it, and it difpleafe him, and he turn away his wrath from him, Prov. 24.17. From whence it is obvious to collect, That to Infult over our Emmies, may doThem good ; but all that We can get by it3is God's difpleajure. The greateft care is to be taken in the prefent daw- ningofom day, that it be not overcafl: with an urter dtrkpejs. VVe have already had a long and a tedious nighty (though not fo long as the Jpofles by twenty years,) a Night of for row, and oppref- fion j a Night of dif order , and confufion ; a Night of ivnorance, and err our ", a Night of errour in judgment, and practice too ; To furnme up all, we have been feiz'd with a night of fuffering, which we had drawn over our felves by a »*gfcf of fen. It is fo far from wy; purpofe^to make or nvWew the wounds of any, that you will fee, (before we part) I do intend nothing but paling. Put I mul\ make an applitation3as well of the Night, as of the Day 5 or elle the parallel expected will be imperffl. And as 'tis reckon'd the greateft happinejs, to be able to fay, we have been mifer- C 2 able ; 12 ENGLAND'S Seafon — Haec olim meminiffe juvabir. * i Pet. i. 13,14. * Cappado- ces> (inquic Strabo) ;r$>tj- fZiUOtL/jSfjOt TT tn\ia f hgixt *«/To7c&78$f *.ia.Su.3(A*c %mt *» ^>n>T«-3- *£*»/,$ ay 7ri AjTrirUu % //oraf^or' «u>t« rio\ir«av «K*tty x.\a»77c fltuTJi ipJetmt OiVoio^uia, *a:r' «v (aC u$%>\h x, //t-S-iszt7«i, x) fl-aMr «; «'s/ta xctT«F- T* t« x^Tic no\*T«^. Polyb. Megalop. 1.6^.456,457, 458. With how vail an expenfe of bloody ar.d r^- fcience, and as well of the public^., as private i Treafure, did we ^j the fad Prhiledge of pay- I *nS dftrfments, and Excife ? How much jams we were at, to purchafe the means of our being Miferable ? V V hat a do did we keep, to find out a way to our undoing ? we felt an eminent Decay 7 of Publick Honour, as well as Trade ; a Decay of Rtligion, becaufe of Unity ; a Decay of jrM wfj unlefs of that that decaf d us on g- very fide ? Nay, the more our finews were fhrunk up, and by how much the weaker oar jhoulders grew, by fo much the more were we Udm with heavy Burdens. There was inflicted on many tboujands, a Taji of jcarcenefs ; ail i a jEjitf of the Vlague, though not of Pejlilence. For when i6 ENGLAND'S Seafon when did we fee a new year, which did not bring along with it a new Difeafe too ? 'Tis true in- deed that many of us had great injoyments ; But how many others had right to greater, who yet were reduced to none at all ? And all we had be- ing precarious, at the lujiful difpofal of fellow [ubjeUs, we knew not how po» we might be drown d in the deepeft want, how much foever (for a 7w*0 we might fwim in ^/ewtjy. Nay3 even Then we were to count it our real mifery., that we could fee, and deplore, but could not Remedy otlier mens. Such was the Varkjiefs of the Nigh, which now does ferve to commend the D (efpecially from the firfl,to the eighth verfe of this Chapter ,) ye will fee the great fitnefs of all I ky, and that my Text cannot be fatisfv d5 unlefs I fay it; For he that faith in this place by the Spirit of God, Let eVery foulbe fub\e£l to the higher Powers, does alio fay by the fame Spirit, Heb.13.7,17 Obey them that have the Bute oVer you, who have jpoken to you the word of God, and who do watch for your jouls,as thofe that muji render an Accompt. And the Intereftof the former, is fo ent wilted with the later /That till our Bi[hops receive their Eight, though we are glad to have our King, we may rationally fear we (hall not hold him. For ask, (I befeech you) of the days that arepaji, and ash^from the one fide of heaVen to the other, ifeVer there were anyfuch thing as This, that a King could be happy without a Bijhop i Lord ! What an Epocha will it make in our future Calendars , when men fhall reckon from this Tear, as from the Year of Rcflitution 2 But then (like that which Saint Peter mentions.* //& 3. 21.) The Refitution is to be general,, as well to God, as to the People. And ye will find in Magna Charta, (which does deferve to be imprinted in all your memories,*) That all the Rights of the Church were entirely granted unto Ged • They were granted for Reformation of Life. *9 granted unto God, and that forever. Now of ioj acred a force is the word [Forever,] That if a Statute (hail be made aattnft the Liberties of the CW< /?, The Law of the Land hath provided againft that Statute ; Arjd by an Anticipation, declares it Null. Shall I chiefs at the caufe of fo great a Caution ? It fecms to be3 as for ether Reafons, fo in particular for This ; Becaufe to alter that Government ,WCU\U well aqainfi the Kings Oath, as againft the Oathes of bch Houfes, which fwore the Right o\ his Supremacy, as well in all bcclefiajiical, as Civil caufes. Befides that in the Judgment of the moft eminent in the world (for depth of knowledge in holy things) The order of '"Bifbops is by Divine Inflitution. And if 'iisfi in good eameiijk will be dangerous to deal wit. 1 the Laws of Cbnft, as we read * Jgefilaiis once dealt with thole of Laadxmon, which he pretended onely to abrogate, that he might not breal^them. But whether fo, or notfo, a thing in Being and Debate is to pafs tot good, until the Difpute (hall be fairly ended. And if an Errour mult be adventurd on either hand, Religion tells us3 it ought to be upon the Right. Would any know why I infift on Juch zfub- )eB in juch a place z my Reafons for it are plain- ly Thefe. D 2 Firft3 Sec the firft and laft Chapter of the 42. of Edward the third. * Cum ad- verfus Rctn- pnblicamLa- cedaemonio- rum confpi- rationem orram nofru comperiflet, Lege* Lycurgi cont'nuo abrrgavir, quae dc In- lemaik fuf- fliciumfumi 1 etabi n.Val. Max. fit -. C. 2./.i03. 20 ENGLAND'S Seafon Firft, 1 infift on fuch a fubjeft, becaufc my Text (as I faid) does exali it of me ; And be- caufe 'tis my duty, at leaft to wijh, That the day breaking forth may be full and lofting; That the Repentance of the Nation may be impartial; zndiotoomSOVERJIGNS T{ETURN, there may be added his Continuance in Peace and Safety. I fay ill Safety, not more to his P erf on, than his Pofterity. Nor in Safety for zfeajon, fo long as men are well humour d, but fo long as the Sun or the Moon endures. And then for you of this Place, who are an honourable part of the Englifb Nation, That which I take to be your Duty, I chink is your lnterejl to indeavour. The molt I am prefling on you is this, That ye will labour for the means of your being happy. If ye think ye cannot be happy , with the eitablilhment of the Prelacy, I (hall pray you may be happy , at leaft without it ; and alfo wifh I may be able to pray with Faith too. Only as often as I reflect onKing J A M E S his Motto, \9{o Bijhop, no King^,] and withal do confider its having beenverified once,and before our eyes, I think it my duty to defire, it may not be veri- fied any more : But that it may rather be here applyed, what was fpoken heretofore of the Spartan for Information of Life, 21 Spartan Laws, [ut Jenifer e(fe foment, aliquandu non fuerunt.] Thy only ceajed fr aTime, to the end they might continue to all eternity. Thefe are fin- cerely the very Reajons for which I infill upon fucb a Sub\eB. Secondly I do it in fucb z place, becaufe I look on This jfffcwhlyy as on the Head and the Heart of the Royal Cny. I look on the City, as on a Sea, into which the main jl ream of the Na- tion runs. Even the Parliament it flf hath fuch a refpeft unto the City, that if ye plead for Gods Spoufe, as ye have done for his .Anointed (for which your names will be pretious with late pojlenty,) if ye fhall fupplicate for zDifcipline which is as old in this land as Chrifianity it f elf, and (lands eftablifhed in Law by thirty two ABs of Parliament, and without which ye cannot live, unlefs by living under the Breach of your vrsatejl Charter, they will not onely be apt to grant, bat to thank you alfo for your Petition. Having gone thus far in profecution of the Jdroertif merit, That the Night of our Suffering [*> fairly fpent, and that the Day of our Injoy- ment begins to dawn ; And having diredted unto the means, (with fubmiff on be it fpoken to all Superiours.) by which our Day is to be length- ncd, 22 ENGLAND'S Seafon ned^uot only into a year ,but an Age of Jubilee; into a kind of perpetual Sabbath, a D^y of Re A from thofe uw^ which either n**»taf Ligh^ or were ajhamd of it ; which either borrow d Darknefs for their Cover, or elfe which owud it for their Caufe; 1 humbly leave what I have faid to His acceptance and difpofal^ in the Hand of wliofe Counfel are all your Hearts. Tis more than time that I proceed to the general Ufeof this Advertifrnent 5 to which I am prompted by the word [ Therefore,] as 'tis a word of con- nexion betwixt the Duty, and the Deliverance. Our Apoftle does not thus argue 5 Because the Night of Opprefiion is now far fpent, and the Day of Deliverance is hard at hand. Let us therefore injoy the good things that are prefent, let tujireuh our Jehes upon tm bedsof Ivory, let us Crown ourjches wnh Roje-buds, let us drwhjVine in bowLs, and let us dance to the found of the Viol, \ let us leave tokens of our joyfulnefs in eVeryftrcet, \ let none of us go wuhout his mare ofVoluptuoufnefs, ! for this is cur pornon, our lot is this : I fay he does \ not thus reafon (]ike the fwaggerers and Hctfors J in the fecond Chapter oiWafdomfim^i in the jixt of I the Prophet Amos^) bac on the contrary^ That the ferious confideration of an approaching deli- verance, for Be formation of Life. 23 wance, fhould bt a double enforcement to change of life, for iuc'i is evidently the force of the particle **, as that looks back on the W, Becaufe tne Night tt far fpent, and buaufe the Day is at hand, *»»*•>*«&*. let us therefore call cil thofc works of darknefs3 and let Ub therefore put on the Armour of lig'~.r. Which is as if he fhould have faid, Ac this very Tune, and for this very Reafn, let ps live better lives than we did before ; let us buckle up clofe to our Chri- l\ian duties ; The Reformation of our manners will.be the propereft Anfwer to futii a B/ejfn*. Such alfo was the Reaforirg which Alofes us d to the People Ifrael. Did ever people bear the Voice of God, cu thou baft heard and Iroe l (Deut. 4. 33.) Thou (halt keep therefore his Jiatutes, that it mayfp well with thee (T.40.) fo again Deut. 8. 6, 7. The Lord thy God bringeth thee into a (rood Land> Therefore thouflult keep the Commandments of the Lord. Such was the Rcafoning alfo of j^acharie, in his Divine Benediclns, That the i Lukci. - ufe we are to make of being j aroed from our ene- mies, and from the hand of all that bate us, is to \>e the Authour.of our deliverance, in boli- nejs. and whteoufnefs>all the dayes of our life. What now remains, but that we go, and do j likewife ? *4 ENGLAND'S Seafon Amos 6. 3. Vcrfc <5. Pfal. $0. 14, likewife ? Not arguing thus from our late great changes j Becaufe the Night of our Sufferings is well nigh fpent, and the Day of Rejlitution is hard at hand3 let us therefore put from us the evil day, and caufe the feat of Violence to come neer, for now it comes to our Turn to opprefs the poor j and to crujh the helplefs, and to call our flrength the Law ofjujiice, let us never fo much as thmk^ofthe afflictions of Jofeph ; Let our Joy run out into Debaucherie, and furfet into the braVtries of vanity > and the Injoyments of our lujl ; or at thcbefl: let us exprefs it, by the making of Bonfres, and T\inging of Bells , by folemn drinking of Healths, and cajiing Hats into the Jir> whereby to make the World fee , that we zveglad, rather than thankful; But let us manifeft on the contrary 5 (and let us do it by demonftration.,) that we are ploufly thank- ful', as well as glad. Becaufe the Day of good things breaks in upon us3 Let us Therefore offer to God thanksgiving, and pay our Vowes unto the Lord. Our Vowes of Jllegiance and Supremacy ; Our Vows to atfert and maintain our Charters • Our Vows to live according to Law, and obey the Canons of the Church. But above all., let us pay him our Vow in TSaptifm, byforfakjng the world for Reformation of Life. World before we leave it , by fubduir.g the Flefh unto the Spirit, by rejtjling the Devil un- till ht flyes. Thatwhilft God is making all new without us, we may notfufferour Hearts within us to be the only things remaining old; But rather (on the contrary) that we may prove we are in Chrijl, by that demonftrative argument of our becoming new creatures; which until we do become, we cannot poiTibly be in Chrifi, 2 Cor. 5. 17. Do the two Twin Bleffings of Peace and Plenty, which have been (for many years) at fo low an ebb, begin to flow in upon us from every quarter ? Then let not our Souls be carried away, with the pleafant violence of the Tide. Let not any Man feekgreat things for himjelf, but rather ftudy to deferVe,thcn to injoy them. Make no proVifion for the Flcjh, whereby to fulfil the lufis thereof : but put ye on the Lord Je- fus Chrijl^ and Adorn his Doiinne, by a confor- mity to his Life. Put on his Modefty, and his Temperance, in a perfect oppofitkffl to Eioting and Drunhfnnefs ; put on his Chaftity, and his Purenefs, in oppoficion to Chambering, and Wan- tonnefs ; put on his Bowels3 and his Mercy, in oppofition to Strife, and Envy. Ye know flte I told you in the beginning, E that *5 James 4. 7. 16 Eph. 6. 13. Gal. $.14. 1 Joh. 1. $. 1 Joh. 4. 8. 1 Pet. 2. 23. Eph. 4. 32. ENGLAND'S Seafon that Loyalty and Love are the two grand duties at which this Chapter does chiefly drive. And having been inftant for thtfirfi, in the former part of my difcourfe, I think it a duty incum- bent on me, to be as urgent for the fecond. For Love is part of that Armour my Text comman- deth us to fut on. Nay, confidering that Love is the fulfilling of the Law, (in the next verfe but one before my Text,) the armour of Light may be faid, to be the armour of Love too. Love mufl needs be *■«•***«, the whole armour of God, in as much as it comprehendeth the fulfilling of the Law. As one Scripture tells us, that God is Light, fo another alfo tells us, that God is Love ; and therefore the children of light, mull: be chil- dren of love too. Then let the fame mind be in us, which wjls in Chriji Jefus • who when hefuffered, threatned not, but committed his cauje to God who judgeth righ- teoufly. And let us prove this mind is in us, by our forbearing one another^ forgiving one another y Even as God for Chrifls fake hath forgiven us. As we are ftones of that Temyle, in which the Head of the Corner is Chriji himfelf, He meant his Blood (houldbe thtCement, tofaften every one of us to one another, and ala^ther unto him- Ml for Information of Life. felf And fince wc fee chat Dijioyalty is taking its leave throughout the Land, lets rather fmt the Door after it, by (Love and Unity ,) then (by Breaches and Divijtons^ open^ay for its Return. Let us effectually make it appear, by the modeft ufe of our In ioyments, Pacem Beilo opu&fitam e§e, That we fought otiely for Peace, and contend only for Union ; that the end of our finfe, was our Agreement ; that we aim'd at Truth, rather than Vittory ; or rather at the Vi- ctory of Truth and Righteoufnefs. Let our generous deportment become an evidence, that as the greateft of our Calamities could not bow down our heads, fo the greateft of our Injoy- ments cannot trip up our heels j That as our Crofles could not deprive us of Hope and Comfort, fo the Tide of our Profperity (hall but lllujlrate our Moderation. But above all let us dijlinguijh, betwixt our weak, aud our wilful Brethren. Offome (Saint Jude faith) we muft have companion, makjng a difference. But others fhe faith) we mu(\ fare with fear, pulling them out of the fre. That is , we muft fave them,e\en by making them afraid. Muft fhew them the Terrors of the Lord, and fright them out of the way to Hell. We muft E 2 in Jude 22.23. 2 Oor.$.n. 28 ENGLAND'S Seafon Lev. ip. 17 2 Joh.10.11 Ifa. 42. 3. Mac. 12. a wi/e rebuke themy and mufi not fufferfinne upon them. It is a Rule amongll Muftcians, chat if a ftring be but 7r«e3 'tis to be cherifkt, though never fo gjrofly out of 7l/»e ; but to be broken^ if it be J^//e, becaufe incapable of amendment. Some are iofcandalous, that we muft not receive them into our Houfes, nor W 1^/0 GW fpeed : For to £#/ them God fpeed, is to partake of their Evil deeds* (2 J0h.1c.11.) But there is nothing more Barbarous jhan not to hold from the break- ing a bruifed reed>or from the quenching zjmoakc ingflax. Noching but Pardon belongs to Teni- tents, although they may have fm'd againft usj no lefs than feventy times feVen. It is an excel- lent paflage in Herodotus^ that whilft Crcefuswzs brewing Vengeance againft the Murderer of his Sony Jdrajles being the man that had \qlld the Sony threw himfelf down at the Fathers feet 3 and in the bittemefs of his Soul pafs'd fuch a fentence upon himjelf as even melted the very bowels of an imaged King, who ftraight brake forth into this expreffion^ **# «r*e*»w »*«»/«&«, i™/* #h»»t3 x*t*e> for thinking it fit that thou fhouldell dye. Ir we for Information of Life. 29 Ecclcf.12.15 we have failed heretofore in fo great a duty, let us learn from that Heathen, to loVe our enemies for the future. And fince it is dargerous not to love them, in as much as our God is- aconfu- \ mingfre, let us loVe them at leaft in our own de- fence. Have they periecuted us, when it was in Theit power? Let us the rather not hurt thenij when 'tis in Ours. For to Imitate their courfesj is to Approve them. But ^ fy**** (as Mnan f peaks,) not to be like them in what is evil, is die moft generous kind of revenge, and conqurjl. Now then (if you pleafe) hear the fum of the whole matter. We mull demonstrate ro our enemies^ by the moft practical way of ar- guing, That the night of fen is fir J pent, and that the day of our Jmendmeut hcoins to dawn ; that the Day-jlar fin St.Pcter*) is arifen^ in our hearts • that weave followers of Chrift, and reiolv'd to do lincerely as he hath open an Example. Which was not to call down Fire from Heaven, much Luk. 9. 54. lefs to conjure it up from Hell, but to call Judas Ma:. 26. $0l Friend, wnilit he vVft Executing his Treafon, as well as Devil, whilft he dtfeind it ; nay to lay down his Life, even for them that took, it away. Now fince He is (what he calls himlelf ) the light of the rVorld^ and as well our armour, as our 2 Pet. 1. 19. Joh. 13. 1$. 5o ENGLAND'S Seafon Rom. 8.25. our apparel, St. Taul did fitly explain his Pre- cept for putting on the armour of Light, by that of putting on the LordJefusChrif. This is the ule we are to make of the Nights going away, and t\\z day es approach, if I may not rather fay, its presence with us. This is our practical, and Vital, (not Verbal) Oratory, which (next to the plea- ding of the Spirit, who helpt th our infirmities, and makgth intercejjwn for us with groans which cannot be uttered,) is the only Oratory with God, that will be powerful to perfwade him to pafs our Hopes into Fruitions, to Crown our Fruitions with an Increafe, to blefs that Increafe with a long Continuance, and fo to Sandtifie unto us our Temporal things, as that we may not fall fhort of tne things /Eternal, This is the rational importance of the word Therefore in my Text, as 'tis a particle of con- nexion betwixt our Duty, and our Deliverance. Now that the Duty of keeping clofe to the Commandments oc Lhn&, (by caftirg off M our works of Darknefs,*nd by putting on the whole armour of light,) fhould be inforced upon our Souls for the confederation of the Time, [a Tim: of Peace, and Prof perky, fucceeding a Time of Perfection ; a very bright Day, after " ' "' . ... a very for Reformation of Life. 31 a very Dark Night;] I (hall the rather proceed to prove by the feveral Reafons of the thirg ; becaufe mtriycafons making for it, will be alio the Motives inducing to it. They will not o: \y clear the Truths but advance the prallice of my Allertion. The firft Reafon is, Becaufe it is generous, and noble, to amend our lives, with our conditi- ons ; and rather out of gratitude, than fordid fear. It will be ever the greateft glory of Titus Vcfpafian, (above the reft of the Roman Empc- rours) that he was moulded by his Empire from the worfe to the better ; from having been a very cruel, and a very proud perfon, to be as emi- nently mild, and humble too, as if he had liften'd to the Preceft in EccUjufticiis, and made his Practice an Anfwer to it, [My Son, the greater thou art, humble thy [elf fo much the more.] Happy is the Man that can fay with David, It is good for me that I have been in trouble. Bat He is the Man of a rarer happinefs, who is inwardly the better for having prtfperd. 'Tis verv much worthier of aChrifiian, to be ledby Gods fa- vour, then to be driven into duty by his f event y. A well natur'd people, upon the receiving a ble(fng, will be apt to bethinkthemichcs, (with David) Ecd.3. 18. pCd.119.71. 32 ENGLAND'S Seafott 7rut at at tic Vfxti)seii-y7roiu «v,& ^Wr**, (that is) the White boy of Fortune, and fpecial favorite of the Fates, (as the Heathens phras'd it) the Youth of Ma- cedon was fure the Man. But though he could not for 7(eformation of Life, 35 Ne /&£ magis res nos cepe- rint„quam not illjs. Liv. lib. 34- M- 849. noc be overcome by the Jlrength of all AfU% he was by the wealyiefs, andfoftnefs of it. Twas this made Cato cry out in Livy, £^0 »**£& zw^e- rium crefcit, eo plus horreo. The more our Ter- ritories increafe, the mere I tremble j for fear the Kingdoms which we have taken, do prove in- deed to have taken Us. He knew that where the Soul is not commenfurate with thtfuccefs, the Pride arifing from the Vidtory , does fo de- file the glory of it, that the prixje may be faid to lead the Triumph into Captivity. It is fo na- tural for a man to be tranfported with profpe- rity, that k extorted from Mofes an extraordi- nary caveat, before he could fafely admit his people to the delights of Canaan. When the Lord thy God (lull have brought thee into the Land, to give thee great and goodly Cities, and houfes full of all good things, Then beware that thou forget not the Lord, who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, [Deut. 6.10.12.] and fo again in the 8 Chapter, When thou haji eaten, and art full^ and haji built goodly houfes, and dwelt therein, Then beware trajt thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Ltrd thy God, who brought thee out of the houfe 0/ Bondage. 'Tis a dangerous thing, to be imparadis'd on Earth, becaufe in every fuchparadife there lurks a Serpent. F 2 The Dcut. 6. 10, 11, 12. See Deut. 8. 10. to 18. 3* ENGLAND'S Seafon The fourth Reafon is, Becaufe it is better to have a conquering, then an unftrnpted Innocence. To live exactly in defpight of fol licit ations to the contrary., is more thanks-worthy, and more re- wardable, than only to want the Importunity, or Opportunity to offend. A man may eafily be fubmijfve, whillt he is under a Perfection ; and ftudy compliance, when he is worjled. But 'tis as laudable, as it is difficult, if we who fought even for ViBory, whillt we were trodden under foot, fhall fue for Peace in our Prosperity. That which makes us mofi high, (in the fight of God) is our Humility ; for which there is hardly any place in our Humiliation. But the Taller any man is, by fo much the lower he hach to lloop > and fo 'tis the Bewf/iir otfuccefs, to be Remarkable tot Modefty, and Moderation. That efpecially is the /ew/iw 5 wherein our Armour of light is of mod: honourable Employments when thtTmce of darknefs hach moft auxiliaries within, and our Lh/Jj are made *£/^/J to War againft us, The fife Reafon is, becaufe there is no.other way whereby to prevail with God Almighty, both to complete that happinefs he hath begun, and to continue it when compleatcd* I fay to corn- pleat it being begun, becaufe the night is far fpent, for Information of Life, 37 f verity but not quite oVer • The day is dawning or at band, but not arriv'd at its jlietidian, God's Anointed is ietled3 but not his Svoufe. Many are forry for their Sacriledge, but do not ean.eftly Tfepent j Or they Repent a fair way^ (as. tar as Jhab,) but not (with TLach* the Publican ) as far as a four-fold Pufituiion. Many who finned out of Ignorance in a very feiVfe manner, doflifly argue their being hmo- ccutyhovn their n0tappribendingthztthcywctc quil;ym But (feeing Repentance is better for "them, than a meer Temporal Impunity^) they ftiould be inrreated to coi frier, and put it a little to the queiTion, whether their Iqnotanci was not caus'd by the Pfflvicui tiomnion of forae great Prejudice, which had alfo its Rife from fome Reigning finM Alas ! The Jews were too guilty of kfllingChriflz although they / not what they did j for bad they known him, they would not have crucified to themfefocs Lord of Glory A But yet I hy they wei ty, becauie their Ignorance was not invincible. It was their guilt that they were Ignorant ; they might have known what they did, had they not Hood in their own Light. If men will either wink hardy or fling duft into their eyes, Ic 3? ENGLAND'S Seafoa Sueton. lib. 2* c.22»p>66. Fhrwlib.^. C.I2. j>. ijd. It is not only their Infirmity^ but their fault that they are blind. Saul the Pharifee was excufed indeed a Tanto, for having blafphem'd againjl God, and z\io Persecuted \h? Church, becaufe he did it in Igyiorance, and Unbelief But however it did alleviate, it did not nulhfie his fins ; For to become the ^pofilePaul, heftood in need of a Con'Verfton. Now if we do not only earnejlly, but alfo rationally defire to fee a futable end (or rather no end at all) of thele fair Beginnings ; that the Temple oi Janus may fo btjhut by our Jugujlas, as ?z£T£r more to be open'd by any (>Jtfr ; and that this Day of our Deliverance may never more be overcaffc with a cloud of darknefsj but happily Loft into Eternity; we cannot better give Thanks to God for the pre- fent breakingin of our glorious day, than by an Annual day of Fajiin^ for the clamorous fins of our tedious Nigh. I mean the Profanation of Holy T laces ; the facrilegious perverfion of Holy Things ; the monjirous Harmony of Oathes, which fomc have fancied to arife from the grea- teji difcord j the effufion of innocent., and (not only fo^ but of ) 'Royal Blood • with all the Pre- paratives and Attendants of that unspeakable Pro- vocation,, which of it felf does deferve (and that for for Reft ormalion o fLife 39 for ever) a Monthly day of Humiliation. It was the Policy of^Balaam (faith Fhilu the Jew ,) to make the Moabitijh Women fell the life of their flefh to the Hebrew JMen • and that for noo- ther price^, than their Sacrificing to J^/j. As knowing that the Hebrews were not otherwife to be worfted, than by their own breaches of Gods Commandments. And we know not how foon our dawning Day may grow dark, if we do not caft: off the works of Darknefs. Which implies a good reafon for the word Therefore in the Textj as 'tis a particle of connexion be- twixt the Duty > and the Deliverance. 9^o\v unto the King Eternal, Immortal, InDiJible, the only Wife God^ be Honour and Glory for ever and ever. f [i ^c / s. O'C /uiett oJbf Philop. who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt. WHen I look back upon the Church in all her motions out of the Eaji, ob- ferving how Monarchy and Learning have been at once the two Shoulders to bear her up, and withal the two Legs to bring her hither; And when again I do reflect upon our Twenty years fins, which were the complicated Caufe of our Tivehe years fufferings ; I mean our Drunkennefs and Luxury , which were defer- vedly prefcribed fo long a Faft ; the rajhneffe and vanity of our Oaths, which gave us a re- ferable option betwixt a perjury, and an undoing; our profanation of the Quire, which turn'd us out of the Cathedral • our grofs neglett of Gods Service, which helpt to Vote down our publick _ G 2 Liturgy; 44 An ^Anniversary Sermon Pfal. 125*4. Ifa. i. 26. Joh. 5.14. Joh. 5.35J Liturgie; our general idlenefs and fioth, which often catlt us out of our Houfes, and as it were fet us to eat our Bread «>in the fweat of our brows, or of our brains -, our unprofitable walking under all God's methods and means of Grace, which 4efeus nothing but his Judgments (for many fad years) to work upon us ; And yet again when I confider, How Gcd hath turn d our Captivity as the Rivers of the South, and caft the Locufts out of our Vineyards, that we may fit under our Vines^ injoying our Judges as at the fir fi, and, our Coun- sellors as at the Beginning ; 'And that the ufie we are to make of fo miraculous a Recovery, is to be fedulous in providing again!]: the Danger of a l{elaps ; ^Tofin no more after pardon, [or fear a worfe thing happen unto us ; I think I cannot be tranfported with a more Innocent Ambition, becaufe I cannot be ambitious of a more profitable Attempt, than that of bringing down the Heads of certain Hearers into their Hearts ; that what is now no more than Light, may by that means become Fire 5 That we may All fin this fenfe) be like the Baptift, not only jhining, but burning Lamps ; not only beautified with the knowledge of Chriftian duties, but jealous too in the dis- charge $ as unafieftedly punBuxlm all our car- riage, on the 29^ of May. 45 Amos 6.1.5, Hof. 13.6. riage, as the greateft Enemies of Godlinefs are hypocritically precife. And (though Herejies are to be hated, as things which lead unco dtfir*- Qion, yet) that Vice may be reckond the worjl of Hcrefies, by how much the Err cur of a mans Practice is worfe than That of his bare Opinion. Laft of all j when I confider, That though Peace is a Blefling^ and the greateji in its feWj yet many conferences of /V*ce are but glittering Snares, and that the things which are given us as helps to memory, are apt to make us * forgetful. * rufa- *•■*■ r rr 1 1 t i • 1 r r Hab.i.ig.16 ot H/w that g of May. 47 III. 22. 12. I. Pfal. 90. 3, cuftomd unto the T^e, as to have made it a kind of acquired Nature, Qah*to tf*r, as GW?;z calls it) D^ 7w** ^gypti cduBus ejl, is now at laft brought out of the Land E£>ytf. And-yet the wonder begins to ceafe ; Becaufe The Author of this Deliverance is fo much the greateji to be imaging that he is Dominus, the Lord • the Lord that fretcheth out the Hea- I Ifa-4° Dens ; the Lord that layeth the foundations of the j Pfil 104. 5 £* rf/> ; the Lord that formeth the fpirit of Man zcch. ivi/fci» him. The Lord in whofe Hand are the j (^r(f of all men ; who tumeth man to Dejlru- Ellon , and again who faith , Come again ye children of Men. In a word, It is the Lord, to whom Miracles are natural, and by whom Impoffbilities are done with eafe. Tis H? that brought thee out of the Land of Egypt. And therefore, The Duty in proportion mull be fuperlative- ly great too, however hid in this place by a little Meiofis of expreflion. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God ; that is, Remember what he hath done, and thankh'uTi for it by thy obedience ; Let thy gratitude btfeen in thy conservation. Be fure to* love him, and to feme him,'wich all thy heart, and with a// thy foul. Forget him if thou canft, unlefs thou cantt forget thou wert * P/u- raoh\ IV. * Deut. 10. * Deut. 6. 20. 2lt 48 An jfnftvoerfary Sermon Deut. 6. 7, 8,9. * Deut. 32. 15. 18. * Deut. 32. 1$, 18. * Exod. 13. 3,4,io,ftc. V. r^fc's TSondman. Nay /tfrget him if thou darJJJ3 unlefs thou art ioftout that thou dar'tl be damnd. And yet beware left thou forget him, whilft thou art fwimming in profperity, the jlream of which may either drown thee^ or make thee drunks, if thou are not fore- Armed with circurn- fpeBion. And therefore Beware that thou for- get not the Lord that brought thee out of Egypt. And that thou mayeft not forget him, write the Favours which he hath don thee, upon the pojis of thine houje; and place them as Frontlets between thine eyes\ tell them out unto thy children ,as thou walk/ft h the way, both at thy lying down, and thy rijtng up • Let them be as a Signet upon thine >Arme, and as a Seal upon thine heart. That the pleafures of thy Deliverance may not make thee forgetful of thy. Deliverer, (forgetful of the * Eoc\ out of which thou wert hewn, and kicking (like * Jefurun) at him that made thee,*) keep an * ^inniverfary Feaji , ( a ftanding PaffeoVer in May,) whereby to fix him in thy Remembrance. Lallly, a Duty fo indijpenfable, fhould be in- fore'd upon the Soul by the prejent feafon. A, feafon of Peace and Prosperity , fucceeding a feafon of Perfection. The greateft Incitement to the Duty, fhould be the manifold Injoyment of on the 29th of May. 49 of this Deliverance. For fo 'tis obvious to infer from the particle THEN, (fo llrongly rm- plyed in the Hebrew, that in the Englijl? 'tis well exprefs'd,) upon which there feems to lie the chiefeft emfajis of the Text3 if we obferve how- it frauds in a double Relation to the Context. [When the Lord thy God fhall have brought thee into the Land^to give thee great and good- ly Cities, and houfes full of all good thirgs • when thou (halt have eatenand be full,THEN beware that thou forget not the Lord that brought thee out of Egypt.] The Text is fo fruitful of particulars, and each particular is fo apt to adminifter matter of Difcourfe, that it hath been my hardeft Que- ftion, whereabouts I fhould begin, and how I fhould end my meditations. And after too much time loft in fratir.g the Queftion within my felf, I have thought it at once the fittefl and the moll ufeful to be refolv'd^ (as nioft immediate- ly complying with the J 'olemnity of the Time,9) not to yield to the temptation of comparing our Land with the Land of Egypt, for fear of ieeming to have a pique at the aQ of Indemnity and Oblivion ; (otherwife 'twere eafie to make a Parallel • becaufe^ however our Native Coun- H try, 5° An .AnniVerfary Sermon Amos $. 24. Luk.4. *>• try, yet, for twelve years together, it was a very jlrange Land •) But, not advancing one ftep be- yond the Threfbold^ to beftow my whole time upon the little word THEN ; as being a f ar- ticle of connexion betwixt our Duty } and our De- liver aice ; betwixt the Bufinefs of the Time, and the Time it felf ; betwixt the Occafion, and the End of our prcfent meeting : looking like Homers wrife man, i *&*» * •*** with a vifible ft off eft on all that follows, and with as vifible a retrofpeB upon the words going before. When Profperity breaks in like a wzgky jlream, ( in fo much that I may fay with our blefled Saviour, This day is this Scripture ful- filled in your ears^) Then beware that ye forget not the Lord that brought you out of Egypt. Beware ye forget him not at any time, but efpecially at This. For the particle Then is an Important monofy liable • and that efpecially in three refpe£ts. Fir ft becaufe of the Difficulty of having God in our Remembrance, much more Then, than at other times. Next tor the Dignity of the Duty, rather Then, than before or after. Laftly by reafon of the Danger of not performing the Duty Then, when it becomes incumbent on us — ■ «■> i'n on the 29th of May. 51 us by many unfveakable obligations. Thefe efpecially are the Eeafons of the par- ticle Then in this place., on which alone I (hall infill in this Mornings Service. For fhould I adventure upon the reft^ not only the hour, but (for ought I can conjecture) the day would fail me. AND firft of all let us beware,, amidft the Effrtls of our Deliverance,, that we forget not the Author of it ; becaufe it is difficulter THEN, than at other times. For the Flattery and Dalliance of the worlds hath perpetually been the Mother of fo much Wantonness \ or Pride, that jfdam found it dangerous to be in Paradije, yea and Lucifer to be in Hearoen. Do but look upon Solomon in the Bool^of Kings, and again look upon him in his Ecclefiajles .How was he there lifted up by his Profperity ? and how does he here Preach it down l I know not whe- ther., as a Prince, he more injoyd his Pleafures ; or3 as a Tropbet^ more condemn d them. Whe- ther the /joc#ry of his 7^/e made him a Wanton, or whether the vajlnefs of his Wifdom made him a F00/ j 'Twas Ttat betray 'd him to his Concubines, and T/?t5 permitted him to his Idols. H 2 Since I. An jinnVOerfary Sermon Since then a profperous condition hath fuch a fecrecpoyfoninic, as againft which no Medi- cine hath been Efficiently Alexipbarmacal -0 and from the force of whofc contagion, there is no fort of men that hath been priviledg' d, no not Adam the Innocent, nor Solomon the Wife, nor tvcnLucifer the beatified ; who were fo hugely fwelfd up with this Venom^ and fo quickly burjt ; (not the firft in a (late of finlefnefs, nor the next in a ftate of grace, nor yet the third in a llate of glory •) fmce there is no other man than the man Chrifi Jefus, that hath been ever temp- tation proof: Lord, how wretched a thing is hap- pinefs on this fide Heaven! and how dangeroufly treacherous are our lnjoyments ! I fuppofe we are taught by cur late experience, hew eafie it is to be over-joy d, and how equally hard to be truly thankful, for all thofe wonders of faha- tion which God hath wrought and is working for us j the grateful commemorating of which 3 is religioufly the end of our prefect meeting. Sweet-meats indeed are pleafant, but then they commonly turn to choler. *Tis fare the ftate of Humiliation, which though we can worjlfeed upon, we are notwithftanding heft nounjht with : we are fuch barren pieces of clay , that our fruits on tire i^ of May, 53 fruits will be wither' d with too much laughter* if Grace does not water them fbmetimes with tears. It fhould be matter of real oladrjrfs to a confidenng ChrilVian, that in the midil of his profpentj he can fee tiimfcli fmowfut -, that as he was dejiitute, with comfort, fo he abounds, with moderation j and that he <^.r not live re- joycir.gly, is many times a chief reafon for which he ought. It wasD^'s refutation (at fuch a time as this is ) to feme the Lord with fear, and ( by a pious Oxymoron) to * rejoyce j**W. 2.11 unto him with trembling. And if we refiedt on the *£i*//' and wa- ter fqueez'd out of a Rocket with the Dew of Heaven j and with the Fatnefs of the Earth I and yet when all was don that could be, they either brought forth no Grapes ; or if they did, they were commonly wild ones. And when feme- times they yielded opod, 'twas rather for fear of cutting downy than for the fertility of their folly or for the manifold helps of their cultivation. 'Twas their frequently being prund, which more efpecially made them fruitful. 'Tis true, that God did not evermore pumfh, although That people was llill offending For as he own d his being, as well their Father, as thek GW; fo he was pleas'd to make ufeof either ^Method for their Amendment ; I mean Imz*- ravemex&i as well as Terror. God dealt with Them, as with Us of this Nation. As he pre- fenbd them a Lnv, fo he promised them a G- tf^/z. As he led them *»f0 Egypt y fo he dt liver d them cat of Egypt. As he thundred from on a CAW, 5* An jfnnrverfary Sermon Cloudy fo he whifperd out of a Bujh. As he pincht them with fcarcenefs, fo he feajied them with ^?iWjy# And if the one was even to famin, the offefr was even to fatiety. But if we compare them with ourfehes in another inftance^ by con- fldering how ingrateful, and how unmalleable they were j how refining under their Tfli^, and how mutinous in their Liberty ; How (like feme amongft jj# in this very day of our Deliverance,) they fell a hungring after the Gar lick* and the Vlefo-pots otEgypt^ quite forgetting the Bondage, and ta/* of TZrick, how chey murmur d at their Aitf/kfj as if he were iwr/i than a Pharaoh to them 5 like fome repining at their King, as if he were worfe than a ProteBor, (For 7W, ye knoWj was the Euphemifmus, whereby to ex- prefs the moft Bloody Tyrant ;) How like fo many untamd Heighfers, they were exceedingly hard to be brought to hand ; or like a Stable of unbackl and unbridled Colts, how apt to j^ at their i?^r who gave them Feed : How God Almighty was fore'd todifciplme this jiijf-neckt Rabble, firft of all by committing them to the hardjhips of Egypt, and then by fending them to wrefllc with the difficulties of the IVildemefs j And how when all this was don, they were fain to on tbi 29th 1 f May. -SI to mifs of their Canaan, whilft they were caking it into poffejjion ; (for of fo very great a multi- tude to whom die Promife of it was iriadGj no more than a * Caleb and a jojhui had a Capa- city to inherit it,) we muft conclude they were a People who deferv'd to bz whipt with a Rod of Iron s not fo eafil v reducible by the k allure- ments of Mount Geriz>zim, as by the Curjes and the Threats to be thundred out from Mount Ebal. So far were They from confiderwg, what theyfuffer'd awhile agoe in the houfe of Bon* dage^ that they forgot this very Caveat, (as many will do this very vSerwtWj) which was meant to bring it to their Remembrance j When the Lord thy God jhall have brought thee into the Land, to give thee great and goodly Cities^ and houfs full of all good things, (Sec.) THEN beware that thou for- get not the Lord that brought thee out of Egypt. Pais we now (if ye pleafe) out of the Vine- yard, into the Fold -, from the People under the La rather Then, than before, or #/***. For, as 'tis the mark of a molt fervile mlbafe-bornipmz, to be the worfefot the good that on the ?gth of May, 6\ that is done unto us ; fo 'tis the noblefi yenervfity, to mend our Itves with our conditions, ihe deep and ferious coijideratioii of which great Truth., as it (hould lift up our Heaves to a thankful uje of our froj ferity 1 fo it fhould alio pluck, them down* to an humble fenfe of our obligations* For 77.ur indeed is the proper feafon^ wherein bumiz lity is a mW«x«ei£>3 yet not fr*i _____ ff j^i/w alflhens dtceturjubla- to to a <[u §h» ft 1 nerd urn rfl? I j^.v Tcmpe- ruHiia guU in ' farxe ? qujz. Amb'nionii di at to in . tgeftste i y^je libidinu w- | jreraiio in I Csft rationed ; Tcrtul. ad- verf. Mar- ! cion.l.i.c.2£ >►?«£ 64 An jtnmverfary Sermon Heb. 2. lo. pbane ; ftrong, and mettlefome,yet not prefump- tuous 3 ccnfpic u jufly handfom, and yet not T?**w • z^Mathem i:uian, and zChimifia yet not Jlthei- jiical ; who will not be covetous in the midft of fei^ Treafure • nor reconcilable to a vice 9 al- though it offer him all advantages ; who hath all his fhcfenfes (thofe ^Venues of the fc^rt ) i at once antique t by Hell's Artillery , and yet is able to prevent , or maintain a Breach ; and though they &m and other Fruits of a Bejiauratton. To fum up all in a nW, and to carry on my Metaphor the molt I can to Their advantage 3 who will not be carried to any duty, which is not honourable, $nd braVe : The Battles of Leu- £/m, and Mantinea, were not half fo full of glory to that immortal Theban, Epaminonda<> as the two victories of a Chnfian over his e*>^> & et« v«. That unruly Element of double fre3 his *«g£r, and Wis luft j which his greatejl felicities do mojl enk}ndlt9 And this I hope may be enough for the fecond importance of the word Then ; as 'tis a particle of connexion betwixt the bufinefs of the Time, and the Time it f elf. Aft of all let us beware > that the manifold injoymmts of our Deliverance do not make us forgetful of our Deliverer , becaufe of the __ K great- III. 66 An ^fnnivetfaty Sermon Thucjdides *Pfal.5S. 12. IS* greatnefs of the Danger of not performing the Duty THEN, when it becomes incumbent on us by many unffeakable Obligations. For let a maris fin be never to great, in point of nature, or degree, Ingratitude will give it an Aggravation. And Ingratitude taking its ftature from prece- dent obligations, fo as the fins we commit run higher , or lower, as the graces we receive have been more, or lefs : there are not any fo very capable of provoking Gods Fury, as the men whom he hath pleas'd to take the moft into his favour. The reafon of it may be taken from the Athenians in Thucydides, «***&»* f*£w &f>j{«v7«,» *«;&rt<«i. The leaji unkindnefs from a Friend is of greater fmart, than the hardefi ufage from an Enemy. The very fight of Brutus more woun- ded Qfar to the heart, than all the reft of his Affaffinates had don with Daggers. David In- deed was fomewhat troubled, that thfey who bated him did whiffet together againft him, (Pfal. 41. 7.) but 'twas his gteateft ctok of all, that they who had eaten of his 'Bread fhould ingrate- fully lift uf the heel againft him. For, in that he faid, He could have born it from an * enemy, he did fignificantly imply, he could not bear it from, a friend. And as it was David's Cordolium, the Tyfe on the 29th of May. *7 Type of Cbnfi ; fo alfo was it ChnjVs, the vSan of D*iw/ : who did not weep over other Cities, from which he met with an ill Reception j but be wept over jferufalem, the\oyal City, which he had lb much obliged, yet found fo cruel. And no doubt but our oaviour is fo much more keen- ly and nearly touch'd, that the mojl obliged Chn- fiavs fhould break, his Trecepts, than that the ignorant Jews fhould offer Violence to his V erf on, that we may rationally Juppofe him thus (peak- ing to us. Had the Jews or the Heathens fpit upon me by their impurities, and buffeted me by their blaffhtmies, and jiript me by their /*<:ri- ledge, and murder d me by their rage ; from fuch as Thefe / could have bom it. But that ye fhould war againft me, and in the behalf of that bafe Triumvirate, the World, the Fle(b,2iV\d the Devil ^ having [worn to me in Baptifm that Ye would fight under my Banner againjl all Three : That Ye who have the priviledge to be calTd by my ?^ame, to be admitted into my Uoufe, to have a place at my Table, to hear my Word, and to partake of my Supper, to be miraculoufly brought from the houfe of Bondage, in joying your Kings at the firfi, and your Rational Councils as at the beginning, and flttii g your fives as fo ___ K 2 many 68 An ^Anniversary Sermon 2 Cor. 8. 12 Luk.12.481 * Mat.7.15. many Princes under your Vines and Fig-trees y in- joying the liberty of your perfonSy the propriety of your ejiato., the. important benefit of your L*ntf, and the glory to btfubjeBed by amoft honourable obedience ; that fuch as Ye ftiould de- fpife me, and caft my Law behind your back -> this is that I can leaji indure. My greateft fa- Dour, thus abusd, will be converted into fury. - And indeed if we confider, that as God (on the one [\de)accepteth according to what a man bath, lb withal (on the other fide) of them who have received much , much in proportion Jhall be requi- red i we may with good LtfgzV^ infer, and ftrong- ly argue within our felves, that an honejl Hea- then is far better, than a Chrijtian Knave. And ' if an Heathen (hall be extirpate for being barren, much more the Chrifiian,iiHe is fruitlefs, (hall be cafl into the fire, A fruitlefs Tree, which fhould by nature bear fruit, being fit to make fewel, and nothing elfe. According to that of our Blefled Saviour, (which is at once of uni- verfal and endlefs verity,) * Every Tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cafi into the fire. And we who arc grafted into the Vine^ mud not only b^zx fruity but fuch fruit too, as Chrifl: experts to p*f from us. A Bramble on the 29th of May, 69 Bramble cannot be cenfur'd for not bearing fruit 5 bxaufe it is in its nature to bring forth I none. It was therefore t e I ig-iree^ and not the Bramble, on which our Saviour beftovv'd a Curfe> Mat. 2 1. 19. Nor was it the Bramble, buz the Fig-tree, which he commanded to be cut down, Luk. 13. 7. we mull one day be call'd to a dreadful * reckoning, for all the ufes we have Macaj.10. made of our this days Talent. God's injur 'd jfujiice mull needs bejatisfied, (and fure much ware his injur-d %Mercy^) cither fooner, or Alter , either in /to, or another world. And if inftcad of being thankful for all the bleiTirgs we now in- joy, more efpecially for That which we this day Celebrate, we (halibut r«r»them hxowanton- nejs, and grow the worfe for the cjfefls of fo great a Goodnefs 5 what can we realonably ex- pert, but that the p$?rj 0/* fM fhould once again be let loofe upon us and c^rj t For fince to continue in our impieties, is the greatefl dij- honouring of God that can be • a filling up the meafure of our Iniquities, and fo the Tials of his wrath j He ;w«jl deftroy us, fe dtfendendo^ if for nothing but to defend, and fecure his Glory. What then remain s,but that we take up the Words of the Royal Prophet, and together with Them, «o dn jinniverfary Sermon Them, his Resolution i We will take the Cup of Salvation^ and call upon the Name of the Lord. The Cup of Salvation, chat is to fay., the Cup of Thanks, for that Sahation which he hath wrought j as Junius and Tremellius do rightly ex- plicate the Trope. And mark the force of the Copulative, by which thefe Duties are tyed to- gether. Without thz Cup of Salvation, (that h) The Cup of Thankfgiving unto the Author of our Salvation, all our calling upon his Name wilt be quite in Vain : For when we fpread out our hands, he will hide his eyes, and when we make many Prayers he will not hear, (Ifa. 1. 1 5.) And then to thank him as he requires, is not only to en- tertain him with Eucharijlical words, with the meer Calves of our lips, or a Doxologie from the teeth outwards j but to imitate, and obey him, and to love him after the rate of his favour towards us. That we may not forfeit all our interell in the temporal falvation we this day Celebrate., nor bring a reproach on the Author of it, for faving a people fo ill defer ving ; we mull add to our verbal, our vital Prayers j nor only keep an annual Day^ but even an Age of Thanksgiving for our Deliverance. And then with a greater force of Reafon, we on the 29th c f May. 71 wc rnuft beware that we forget not the Lord our God, who, if he brought us not out of the Land of Egypt; did yet deliver us this day from the houfe of Bondage. We mud not any of us forget him, in whatever Refrejenls, or Pre- jents him to us. But Te efpecially mull not for- get him prefented to j on in his Vicegerent -whom the more ye do enable to fo zW^ what be Ji- /^j DefenforFideij by fo much the greater will be jt?«r G/orj^ and the better ye will provide for your childrens fafety. The more ye ftrengthen Tlwt H your own Eejiauration remain's imperfect. Agani be- ware An jfnniyterfary Sermon Eccl. 12.13. ware ye do not forget hm prefented to you in his Members , who are not only yom fellow members y but were your old fellow J Offerers in the very fame Caufe • to which they -ever have adhered with the very fame conjlancy ; and for which they have been ACtors with the very fame cou- rage ; and do re Joyce in the greatnefs at leaft of Tour Reftauration, how much foever they are mourners for the fc2ndalous littlenefs of their own. Profperity (I have fhew'd) is a dangerous weapon, luch as none bat the merciful (hould dare to ufe. And if ever there were a Parlia- ment, in which both Mercy y and Jufiice met, this has the honour to be reputed fo very exem- plary for both, that they who ftand in need of bothy are very confident to obtain them, now, or never* A Parliament fo prepard by the fpecial Providence of God, for the perpetuating of Peace in our Brhijh world, that nothing lefs than the prefence of all perfections in a Prince, can make ! us patiently think, of its Dijfolution. Will ye hear the conclujton of the whole matter 2 1 fhall deli \ cr it to you briefly, in this Vetition. That io far forth as ye regard the Righteous Judge of all the world, and are feafen'd by Him with the manifold gifts of the bleffed Comforter, with on the 29th of May. With the SftUt of wifdom and understanding, with the Spirit of counfl and chofly firenjth9 with the Sjirit of knowledge and t) 1 !inefs> and laftly With the Stint of bis holy fear, Ye will confider what I ha\c faid b y your own Authority, bxaufe in an ablolute obedience to your own Order, aid Command. A Nd now the God of T?eace and "Tower, who brought you forth on this Day from the Houfe of Bondage, bah defend even the «**•©- x^d* of which St. Jtffctf fpeaks in the Revelation, ( that is ) The fW thy jBd2 into a Wildernefs , Wyojleofjoy iv to Mouming> and thy Garment of Praije into a $**$* vfHeavinefs ; Therefore^ Now turn unto me with all thy hearty and with Faftingy and with Weeping, and with Mourning tnat I may alter my purpofe, and Repent o\ the things which I have threatned. Which although at firft hearing doth feem zParadox> a kind of &«rnot«rir, a Truth appearing in the difguife of a Contradiction ; yet it deferves to be the iV*- phrafe, and the Exegefis of the Text, Therefore thus will I do unto thee, o Ifrael 5 And becaufe I will do thu* unto Thee 0 pre- pare to meet thy God o Ifrael. §. 4, In which words being confider'd (not fo much in their liifrul, as) in their rational 'Im- portance, there areirnw things exprefsd, and nw Z/^/> W€ We have firft a Command, with a CW- frVgf j (Both fufhciently exprefs'dj) And of :ater we have imply 'd, ac once the Merito- rious 0 and Final Cauje. But in as much as the firft does carry the Lft along with ic. They all are eafily comprifed in this Tricotomie. ' Firft JMet Together. 81 i Firft a Terrible Commination of no lefs than utter Ruin to the People of God. Sic faciam tibi o Ifrael j Thus and thus will I do. Next the reasonable Ground of this Commuta- tion, which is their living unreformd under the EHaies and Methods of leffer Judgments. And this I cannot but Collect from the Illative Therefore j as it looks back upon the Caufal^ in the words immediately going before. For Be- caufe Te have not return d unto me faith the Lord, Ideofic faciam. Therefore thus will I do. Thirdly the End, or the final Caufe, which is not to Execute the Judgment;, but to avert it. For fo I gather from the Command, as That re- lates to the Commination. Becaufe I will do thus unto thee, Prspara Te in occulfum, prepare to meet thy God 6 Ifrael. Thefe Particulars thus premised , will very naturally aftord us four Dotlrmal Proportions. Firl^ That the Terrors of the almighty do make up one of his choicejl Methcds, whereby to bring Sinners to true Repentance. Next that his fharper fort of Judgments is a fit Remedy for Thoje, upon whom his milder Chafiifements have been unhappily ineffectual. And yec M Thirdly, 82 ^Mercy and Judgment Thirdly* So far is God from delighting in his lnfiBions * or from willingly grieving the Chil- dren of men * that the firft and chiefeft End both of his Menaces, and his jiripes, is to Execute Deftrudtion not on the [inner, but on the^ • not to flay, but reduce the Fugitive. And therefore Fourthly * God antecedently defiring the timely Repentance of a Sinner * and only by way of Confecution, The final Dejiruflion of the Im* penitent, 'Tis plain His Menaces axe fulfilled by their never coming to pafs. Mod; fully fatisfied and accomplifh'd* not when they Confound, but Convert a Sinner. My Reafon is* becaufe the End of the Command is to anticipate the Effeft of the Comminution. Becaufe I will do thus unto thee* in cafe thou doll: proudly neg- ledfc to meet me ; meet me therefore in the way* to the end that I may not do thus unto thee. Of thefe feveral Proportions* the two for- met fhew us Gods Jujiice, and his Mercy fhines in the two later m All concurring to the ends of our prefent meeting j The firft to deter-us from what is Evil * The laft to perfwade us to what is Good. The former refpefting ourlate Plague oiT^ain j the later our blefling of fairer weather. Both JMet Together, 83 Both conducing to our Defign of Crying louder by our Repentance > than we have don by our Im- pieties y That by our timely Information we may retnVe the heavy Judgments, which our clamorous Sins have been lurein^ down. I. §.1. To begin with the Firfl: of the Pro- portions, is not more natural to the Text* than it is fervueable and fit to lay the Foundation of the Sermon. For of the many ftrong Affecti- ons which are feated in the Appetite and Heart of Man^though none is certainly more Infamous , yet (being rationally determin d) there is not ai./ more Ufeful man that of Fear. It is in- deed the moft unhand fome, (as the World now goesO butbei';g well fix d> the mod wholefome pailion ; the molt ungentlemanly perhaps, but not the moft unchriftian Quality ; And though the worft for Execution, yet the beft for ddxtife. It was, a very good faying though of a very*// man, (and meant 1 iuppofe to as ill apurpofe,) Primus in Orbe Deos fecit Timor. That had there been lefs Fear, there had been alfo lefs Religion in many Places of the World. For as Fear was the firft Engine which brought in Re- ligion amongft the Heathens • fo after the mea- M 2 fure 84 iHMerey and Judgment fure that It departed , Irreligion and Atheiflm fiird up its Room. This was That that taught the Gentiles, firft to make their own Gods3 and then to Worship them. They were Religious (poor Souls ! ) in their own defenfe, (if wc may call Superflition by fuch a Name.,) not out of gratitude to their Deities, for that they had don them any Good, but only out of a Fear that they would otherwife do them Harm. Hence the Heathen Theologifts, (I mean their Poets, and their Philofophers,') finding the People more apt to be drhen, than lti± and to have eafier Im- prefiions of Fear, than Hope, thought it conve- nient to Catechize them, more in the Torments of their Erebus, than in the Pleasures of their ElizJum. They told them of Minos, and T{ada- manthus^ as the grim Judges of Offenders ; of Haggis, and Furies, as Executioners of the Sen- tence ; of fuch as Ixion, and Prometheus, as fad Examples of the Condemn d. All which (faith Dicdorus) were but &&*«* awx^v^ fo many Bug s, or Mormos, to fright the People into Morality. ^. 2. So great an Influence had Fear on the Falfe Religions of the World. And to difco- ver as great an Influx which it had alfo upon the True, Let me lead you forth a little out of the Forrejl Met Together. 85 Forrejl into the Garden, wherein the very firji Precept was fens't with Terror. It was not faid unto the Protoplajl, Thou fa alt furely live , if thou eateji not ; But (as a method of greater force,) In the day that thou eatefl, thou fii alt furely dye. If we look into the Bible, from the Be- ginning to the End, This we (hall find to have been the Method of each P erf on in the Trinity. Firft of all it was the Method of God the Father, when he deliver'd his Law from a Burning Mountain^ even with Thundering and Lightning, with Blackjiefs and Varkpefs , with J moke and Tempeji, with the found of a Trumpet , and the Voice of words, which Voice they that heard, intrea- ted that they might net hear it, andfo terrible WM the fight, that Mofes J aid, I exceedingly fear and quake. This again was the Method of God the Son, who faid he came not to dejiroy, but fulfil the Law- his word is *\*ss**, to fill it up. He did endeavour to Preach his Hearers irto the High- way of Heaven, even by fetting before them the pains of Hell. He threatn d them with Weepings and Gnajhina of Teeth ; with a Worm that dyeth not, and with a Fire that is not quenched. We hear him faying, It is Impoffible. (that is to fay, exceeding Hard,*) for a Rich -man to Hcb. 19, 20, 21 12.18, 86 ^Mercy and Judgment 2 Cor. 5, 11. 1 Cor. 5. $, enter into the Kingdom of HeaVen. He faith the way to it is jireight3 and the Gate ^(arrow3 and the Travellers that find it extreanily Few. He bids us firm to enter in ; and never leave dri- ving, until we Conquer. Nay this was the Me- thod of the Comforter, even of God the holy Ghoji^ who taught St. Paul to confirain his Scholars, by fhe wing the Terrors of the Lord. Nay to de- liver them up to Satan for the Dejhullion of the Flejhj that their Spirits might be faved in the Day of the Lord Jefus. §« 3. And indeed if we confieler, How many poor Souls have been debauch a in thefe Times > by the falfe Apprehenfions of Chrifiian Liberty, and Confcience ,ot Faith without LoVe J unification without Honejiy, and Repentance of Sins with- out Amendment • fo as the Jialeft of thofe Here- fies which had been brewd in ancient* Times y are freihly broactid in our Dayes, and given for Drink to the giddy People ; we cannot but I wifh that all our Clergy would now become ^Boanerges, or Sons ot Thundery at leal\ bv fhew- 1 ing the ttri£t neceffity of Impartial obedience unto ! the Gofpel 5 that is to fay, unto the Statutes or i Laws of thrift ; A living in Hclwefs, and &V/?- teoufnefs j in AVry, and /Vcfoy 5 in Godlinefs^ ' and ZMet Together. 2? and Honefy ; in the Duties of the Fir ft, and the Second Table ; without the which (faith the Au- 1 thor of the Kpiltle to the Hebrews)) no man liviw JJjall jee the Lord. §. 4. This (we fee) is fo peculiar to that Amazing Lover of Souls, that he does not only fet Hell before us., and lad Examples too behind, but Temporal Crofjes on either Jtde. And how- zsztfurroundtd thus with Terrors, wc find them All little enough. For firft it being not the vreat- nefs, but the prefentnejs of Danger which moll affrights us; He does not threaten his Rod only, but often layes it upon our Backs. And then becaufe (like common Mariners*) we would not Pray, though in a Ternpefc, were it impciTible to be drown d, or to faffer Shipwrack, He does not Puriifh only at prefent, and for a Time j But alfo threatens he will do it to all Eternity. For if after this Life is fwallow'd up of Immortality, He fhould only have an Heaven for Loyal Sub- jects, and never a Hell for his T(ebcllious ones ; men would be readier to fay, at the laft period of their live*, Let us eat and drink. , for -to mor- row we dye, Than Let w fajl and pray, for to morrow wefliall be happy. §.5. If any Fiduciary fhall fay, That Terrors Hcb/12.14. 88 {Mercy and Judgment Terrors work not a filial, bat fertile Fear j and rather caufe an hypocritical! > than Godly for- row ; the Anfwer to it is very Eafy, That as Gods feverity fpeaks his Power, and That his Excellence j io many times a fertile Fear begets a F&tf of Admiration ; And Admiration is apt to end in a Fear of Reverence ; and Reference is a Compound, which has Low, as well as Fe^ for a chief Ingredient. §. 6. And if again it (hall be objected, that John and Jtfwf j are but uncomfortable Preachers, enough to blafb a mans Faith, and Thunder frik^ him into Defpair ; I Anfwer to it by thele de- grees, Firft that for here and there one who poflibly falls into Defpair, Thoufands rife to frefumption, and Millions lye down in carnal Security. Again, The Sin of Defpair is not fo commonly under food, as it is dangeroufly mifla- ken, and that by fome who Domineer in our open Pulpits. There is a kind of Defpair, which* is only the effect of a broken heart, and the ma- nifeft fign of a tender Confcience. The mark of fuch a .*mt-¥*«x««, as is «>«t^^«^, a T\e$entance never to be repented, there have been Perfons in the world, who have been fo very paiTionately in Love with GW, and fo amorous of his Purity, that {Met Together. 89 that they have hated themfehes extreamly3 be- caufe they have fufpe&ed they have not loVd him ; And have been eafily betray d into fuch iufpicion, by their fenfe of fome things which are unavoidable , even the natural Infirmities of Flefh and Blood. Every fmali Mote in another s Eye hath leem'd a 13eam in their own. They have look'd upon their Sins through a kind of Microfcope, ( for fuch is the Glafs of an holy Jealoufie,*) which hath made a little Ignorance to look as bigg as an Infidelity ; an human Frailty to feem as monftrous, as an Jpojlacy from Grace. Thence come thofe Syncopes of Spirit , by which they are made to cry out, with Chrift Himfelf upon the Crofs, (although 'tis quite in another fenfe,) My God, my God, why haji thou forfaken me t An evident Argument, and fign, not that God hath forfaken Tbemjdut rather that They have forfaken Sin* So when Peter cry'd out (and even to that very Saviour on whom he depended for his Salvation.,) Depart from me 6 Lordy for I am afinful man,~] He drew Chrifl: tohim, by his intreating him to Depart j The more a Saint in Chrifis Eyes, for being a Sinner in his own. As there are many filly Shepherds, who miftake a 'Repenting for a Despairing Sheep; N fo 9° £Mercy and Judgment fo there is oftenymes an Innocent, but filly fheep, which miftakes his own Weaknejs for want of Faith. And in as much as he does not at all Prefume, is very apt to apprehend he does not fufficiently "Believe j whereas his feemin^nejs of Vefpair is a real Argument of his Faith, wh'Ad attended with an hatred of former fins, zwdfear of falling into the like. For whilft he thinks he has not Faich3 he does at leaft defire to have it. And whilft he defires, 'tis plain he loves it. And becaufe of juft nothing there can be no love at all, He that love s mull needs believe^ that the objeEl of his Love has a real Being. And if he defires what he wants, and truly loves what he defires, and by confequence believes what he truly loves ; Then fure the fequel is una void - able3 That this falfifying Vefpair is an excellent good mark, of a True Believer. And to This alone it is I would fain drive Others, becaufe to This , I would fain be driven. But now the Murder- ling Veffair is another Things and often iilues from the Preaching of unconditional 'Reprobation ; when whofoever thinks himfelf of the Hopelefs Clumber, is apt to hold it fo Vain a Thing to catch at an Interefi in Heaven, that he refolves to enjoy his good Things upon the Earth. And as JMet Together, 91 as nothing is lo daring as a Defperate Coward, when he finds 00 way to obtain his fafety by his f/Jr^3 and thence is made by his Defpair a moft insufferable fighter, ( from whence arifeth the ; common faying, That when an Enemy isflying, 'tis good to make him a Golden Bridge) fo there is nothing more j have been the Heralds of a D^/r/; j And the Deluge of our Impieties hath been fo rebuked by that of Waters, That God does feem to have alter'd the courfe of Nature, as 'twere to try if we will alter our courfe of Sin. Tis true the Seafon began to mend,upon its very fa(\.fenfe of our Humiliation. And God hath only faid to Us, as to the People in my Text, Ideo fie faciam, Therefore thus will I do. All is hetherto but a Threat-, and That fuf- pended with a Condition. Through the Boive in the Cloud which was fet as a/gtf betwixt God and Us, he is pleas3 'd to jhoot comfort throughout our dwellings. But then the ground of its con- tinuance doth ftand conditionally in This, That we do all at this Inftant Prepare to meet Him. §.8. As to our frivate Confideration, perhaps there is hardly any man here, whom God hach not terrefied one way or other, and fent his Rod for anJmbaffador tofpeak his Will. As either by the • lofs Met Together. 93 lofs of a Darling Child, or of a moft endeared Wife, or elfe by fome pungent and grievous jickr nefs, or by fome eminent mifcarriage in point of Honour, or Ejlate j or if by none of all Thefe, yet at lcalt he has been thttathrd, by the woful Examples of 'other men. QKam tua T\es agitur, Paries cum proximus ardet. ) The Bod lhat is bru- jlnng but in the Jire, may (we cannot tell how foon) be iharply beating upon our jlooulders. The very weather which now is better y may foon be worfe than it was before. And though the Immoderation of Rain is pafsd, yet the conje- o^uences of it are ftill remaining ; And the Re- membrance of the Threat fhould be prefent with us. Nay fince 'tis clear from that difficult, but ujeful Text3 Alark. 9. 49. [n«c r*$i &*&>*<&**, * *•**« »»j*a*] That we muft every one beSeafond, with vS^^/r^ or Fzre 5 That our pfrzd JjfcBions mult be eaten out here, or elfe our Perfons de- ftroy'd hereafter ; (there being no medium be- twixt the one and the other \) blefled be He who (hall preferve us in Tears of Brine, that he may not consume us in Firq^pf Brimftone. We ought tofmile on thofe (tripes, which are meant to drive us to Immortality. §. 9. Let us not think our felves too wife, to Rev. 21. 8. 94 £Meny and judgment II. to be thus InjkuSled ; or too old, to be thus Educated ; or too great to be thus CorreSled. Perhaps the Rabbins of our Schools^ are in the School of Jefus Chrijl no more than humble A B C darians ; They that are Aged enough by Nature >mzy have hardly yet attain d to be Babes in Grace j «And they who brandifh the Sword of Juftice, are themfelves under God's Lafb. And iince we cannot ever enter into the Kingdom of HeaVenjtfAek we receive it as little Cbildren^Ltt us therefore., as little Children, down on our Knees before our Father. Let us confefs that we have find -, Let us ask him Forgivenefs, and promife never to do the like. He will not cafi away his Bod, until he fees that we have Kifs'd it ; And that we can fay with the Prophet Da- vid, It is good for us to have been affliSled. For whom his Menaces do not better, they acciden- tally make worfe ; And if we harden our Hearts, I we do but weighten his Hand. The (hewing of | which will be the work of my Second DoBri- \ nal Propofition. [That Gc£s Severer fort of Judgments is a fit T(emedy for Thofe, whom his milder Chaftife- rnents will do no good on.] §.i. i IMet Together. 95 §. i. I cannot fhew you this better, than by Example ; nor by a better Example, than what this Chapter does here afford us. For when the kine of Bafljan on the Mountains of Samaria^ (the Schifm.Atcal Tribes of the People IJrad, whom God did therefore ftigmacize with fo dilgraceful a Feripbrafes,') had opprefs'd the poor, and crufh'd the needy,, ( ver. i. ) when they had greatly trapfgrefid at Bethel, and mul- tiplied Tranfgrefjtons at Gilgal, ( ver. 4. ) God was pleasd to proceed againft them by feveral jleps and decrees of his Indignation ; that if a lefjer corrofive would not cure them., a far per might. For firft he fent them channels of Teeth, as his Emba\fadour or Herald to fetch them in. There was a want of ' Thread in all their places, which was the firft part of Famine ; And yet for all this they would not return unto the Lord, \ (rer.6.) Next he Plagued them with a Drowth, that fecond part of Famine ; Their Sirs had made the Heavens Brafs, and the Earth Iron. So that two or three Cities were fain to wander into one, at;d all to drink a little water. Buc yet for all this they would r.ot 'Return unto the Lord, (yer.%.) After this he proceeded to'pour out a Curfe upon all their fruits ; The fruits of their Gardens, 96 JMercj and Judgment Gardens, and of their Vineyards , which were fud- dainly blafled, and devour d, partly by the Mil- dew, and partly by the Calmer-worm. And this (we know) was a third part of Famin ; But notwithftanding all this, They would not return unto the Lord, (ver.yj Hereupon his Indignation waxt hot againft them j For feeing the Gajily PaleHorfe had been fo utterly unfuccesful, He fent the Red Horfe amongft them, and that in both parts of the dreadful Hieroglyphic!?,! I mean the War, and the Teflilence. And yet for all this, They would not return unto the Lord, (T^r.io.) In the Fifth place therefore, when neither any of thefe Judgments, nor altogether, could do the work ; what remained but that the Earth fhould openhtT Mouth, and [wallow them up ? or that a tire fent from Heaven fhould fend them haftily into Hell t And even of This they had a 7^/J,(as appears by the verfe before my Text,) God oVerthrowingfome of them, as he had Sodom and Gomorrah ; and the Reft were but refpited, after the manner of z Fire- brand pluckt out of the Burning ; And yet in defpight of all This, They would not return unto the Lord, (Der. 11.) Sixtly and laftly 3 when fo many 'Prelu forte Judgments were in effect cajl away on a ftubborn People ; tMet Together. 97 People j when all chofe Emifaries and Heraulds were fent in vain • when Death it J elf could not fright theirs however ujherd and waited on with lb grim and formidable a 7ra» ; what could in reafon be expected but fuch anAbfolute ir«w\i$e*«> fuch a complete DtVajlation of Them, and Theirs j as fhould not leave fo much as a P/vwo, (no not fo much as a n^a^) to carry the Ti- dings of their Rum to late Pofterity ? And even This is alio Threatnea ir» the words of my Text;, W™ Tibific faciam^ Therefore thus mil I do unto thee o Ifrael. §, 2. And as Thus unto J/tW3 fo why not Thus unto England too, if u?e continue (as they did) to corrupt our felves with his Goodnefs to us ? If we make no better life of our Peace and Plenty, and the other effects of a l\efauration, than to turn our Peace into Wantonness > and our Plenty into Luxury, our Liberty into Licentiouf- nejs , and our Strength into Prefumption, our /Wer into Oppreffon , and our Dignities into PnWe ? Nay in as much as the Dimenfions of our Ingratitude, like the Higfcjb and D^/ffc of our Obligations, are far ^wd thofe of the People 7/r^/ ; God will not only do 77w unto us5 out more to Us> than unto /jW/, unlefs we timely O prepare 98 nucjdjii.l as like the Indians in Valeria* j (even in fpight of ' FythzoorM his Golden Symbol ^ to dare Encoun- ta with F/re it /*/fV (Tor to thofe that yjgfo with him, we know wr GW is a Confumingfire> Heb. 12. 29.) And fince there is hardly any A\faftion, (no not oar late immoderate Rain) but is afpark^of Gods wrath j Let us not by our Impenitence prefume to heighten it into a Flame. But §.3. Let it rather be our wifdom, from this day forewards, Venienti occurrere (jion jam morbo ^uidem,fed*) Medico. Since our Indeavours will come too late for the prevention of the Difeafe, Let us go meet our Thyjician, and (lay the jkarp- nefs of the fflfitfi he is preparing tor our Recovery. We know not what Judgments may yet b£ ho- vering over our Heads • and perhaps our very Harvefi may be as Terrible as our Spring. God will not give over the Cure, till the Vifcafe is Defperate. For though his /q(j£r fort of Punifh- ments did fcarce incline the Heart of Pharaoh, his /*JJ orecame it \ (fo far at leall as to compel O 2 him ICO ^Mercy and Judgment III. him to let the People go free.} And if his Launce is unfuccesful, we fhall be fo much the furer to feel his Caujiick, But yet behold the Sun of Righteoufnejs breaking forth in this place like the Sun of Nature. There is not wanting mat- ter of comfort, in the midft of thofe Terrors which have bifiegd us ; Becaufe the fbarpejl Judgments here are but the T\cgia Medicamentay or Magifte- rialsoi our Phyfician^ which, though by accident they may kjU, are yet intended only to cure us. And this does lead me to confider the Third Particular in the Divifion, That God is far from delighting in his Inflictions^ He does not ajfliSi willingly, nor grieve the Chil- dren of men. For thefirji and chief ejl end both of his Menaces and his ftripes, is not to dejiroy the jlnnery but the fin 5 not to flay, but to reduce the Fugitive. §. 1. Amongft the Reafons which maybe rendered to prove the Truth of this Doctrine, This may certainly pafs for one. That God is never fo much in Wrath, as when he will not vouchfafe to firikg. I remember Spartianus ob- ferves oiGeta, (much what Tacitus of Tiberius) Quod its prtcipue blandiretur quos ad Necem dejii- nabat. Met Together. 1CI nab At. He made fo much of thofe perfons w I he defign'd for /laughter, That his Embraces and his bifk looks became more dreadful than all Frowns. And though 'twere Impiety but to imagine, (what Jome notwichftanding have dar'd to Preach,) that God can abjolutely will the eternal Ruin of his Creatures ■ much lefs that He can will it3 when He hath /W» he wills it Not ; much lefs jft that he can contrive h, by taking care for an Impenitence to bring it orderly about j Yet confidering how rarely 'tis given to one and the /rfwe- man,, To fit with Dnw at his Table, and to /j>* with Laz,arus in Abrahams Bofome'i To have his Good Things fore, 2nd hereafter too ; I cannot but fay of many perfons whom the World calls happy, that They who have moft of God's Bounty, may yet have /^jj of his Love and Favour, For feeir.g it .is True (what the Scripture faith ) That whom God loVeth he chajlencth, and fcourgetb eVeryfon whom he receivtth -, we may with good Logick. infe^ That whom he cbajleneth not, he doih not loVe • nor receiVeth any Son whom he doth not fcour^e. Tvvas very fhrewdly faid by Solon, (if we believe He- Hmd the Minions of the £*nfc are but the * fport of » Prov. i Heaven. Hcb. 12.6. 7, 8. and Aft 14. 22. 102 ^Mercy and Judgment Ariftot. Eth. lib. 4. cap. 8. Heaven. God often lends them a kind of hap- pinefs, only to fhew them he does but lend it. At once does prof per their Branches, and Curfe their Root ; turns them loofe into Plenty, as fit to be fatted for the Shambles. §. 2. But not to fpend time in this Inquiry., How hardly God's Friends can be the Favorites of the Worlds or We Verfa ; And how by Confeq'.ience to be pitied thofe Creatures are, whom God Almighty in his Wrath permits to wallow in fuperfluity ; Methinks the Difference may be This* betwixt a good man ajflifted, and an ill man prosperous, that the ^ does feem to be clearly under God's Cure3 and the fecond to be beyond it ; That indeed a Tormented, but This a defperate Patient. §. 3, Ic is another way of proving the Infi- nite Gtfodnefs of God's feverity, in his willing- nefs to Cure whom he vouchlafes to Wound, That he is pleafed rtill to threaten, before he jlrikes 1 whenfoever he is an Enemy, he is de- claredly fuch in his written Word. He is *•« wfeAuce'. (as Jrijlotle calls a Generous Enemy,) And though his Lot* towards his Children may be fometimes concealed, yet his ^w^r at their Rebellions is ftill /w/f/J j and profeft even to Them ^Met Together. IC3 Than, whom he does punijl? with Impunity on | this fide Hell. Not like Brutus zndCafJmSj chofe ^referid Enemies of Ctfar, who Plotted to Murder him in fecret 5 But like Pompey, and Cato, thole Braw Jntagomjls, who bid him De- fiance in the Field. God does tell us when He will >Arm himfelf, that we may ftand upon our Guard by fmcere Repentance ; and he does {hew us where he will firikg, that we may look unto our 1'oflure. He Brandijhes his Rod, that he may not fcourge us 5 and hangs his Sword over our Eyes, that it may »ot fall upon our heads. There is a Story of Diogenes, That being ask'd what he would take to receive a Blow upon his Ht^, his Anfvver was. He would take an Hel- met. Now fuch is the Mercy of our God, that he gives us an Helmet, before he (tri^s ; And when at laft our Provocations have fond his Sword out of his Hand, he is willinger to drop it, than throw it down. He does not pour out the Vials of his Difpleafure all at once j but firft he difpatches his leffcr punifhmencs; and chofe not as Harbingers, to prepare the way for greater, but rather as Heralds to prevent them. And when thofc greater too do follow, (I mean the Punifhments inflicted in this prefent life,) they 104 {Mercy and Judgment Luk.Li9.20 nwEnnead.2. they are ofcner *«*•«««. than t^^, ( as Philofo- phers diilinguifh, ) rather as motives to our Amendment^ than as^fib* of hisT^Tewge. Thus we find it to have been in the cafe of 'Zacbarie, vvhofe miraculousy«^gw^wt was a Token of his Pardon, as well as tow. God indeed ftruck him Dumb} bat it was that ever after he might fpeak. fo much the better, and the Privation of his Lan- guage was to habituate his F*«fc. Nay I dare be bold to fay, (what yet 1 cannot without Afto- niihment at the wifdom and goodnefs of our Creator,) that Damnation it [elf was at firfl: meant to JaVe us, in as much as it is evident that God made Bell, as well for the befi as the werjl of men ; as well for the Terror of the former, as for the Torment of the later ; as well to fright all men from coming thither, as co punifh the Impiety ot bold and del per ate Intruders. Much like the merciful fever ity of former Magijl rates here in England, who let up Pillaries and Gal- lowfes in pubr Covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gon out of my lips. And then the reafon of it follows, / have fwom by my Holine fs that I will not fail Dalpid. Another Inftance of it we have in the 7. of Deuteronomy y at the 8. verfe, where God is faid to love Ifrael j more than any other Nation^ even for this very reafon, and this alone, becaufe he would make good the Oath which he had fwom unto their Fathers. Secondly of the Threats which God delivers under his Oath, we have a very pregnant In- ftance in the 95 Tfalm^ at the 1 1 verje, where fpeaking of the Ifraehtes to whom the Holy Land WZSpromis'd, faith He, Ifware in my math that they fjould not enter into my Rejl. Nor did tint of them enter* excepting Caleb and jojhua, who were exempted from the Sentence, J{um. 14, 30. Nay they did not enter in, though God had fwom they Jhould enter. From whence arifeth an objection, How it can fiand with God's Veracity, to Swear thcyjhall, and thcyfhall not. For Num. 14, 23, Surely, faith God, theyfhall not fee the Land which Ifware unto their Fathers • And (vcrf.30.) Doubtlejsyejhallnot come into the Land, JMet Together. Ill Land j concerning which I J ware to make you dwell therein. Firrt he [wore they fhould inhabit in the Land, and MC afterwards He [wore they fhould not fee It, much lefs fhould they enter, or dwell within ft. This objeftion feems hard, but yet the Anfxnt is very eafie, and may be rationally drawn from the fameverfe with the ! objettion. For the Promife was not made to the 1 Individuals, but to the Nation ; not to the Per- Jons , but People ifrael. So as both thefe Oaths were mod: urn 10 lately accomplifhed3 the Nega- tive in the T?artnts> and the Afirmativz in their Pojlerity. The Negative in the Provokers, and the Affrmativ? in the Obedient. So that the ™ «>r*'atior #* £a\« «ek}ah, and Abimelech, without a ProDifo, or ReferVe ; I {hall fend him for an Anfwer to the Rule of Equity in Quintilian. gu&dam, etiamfi nulla legis fignifcatione comprehenja funt, natura tamen excipiuntur. The very Nature of certain words, whether promifxng, or threatning, do fo imply an exception in certain cafes and juppofitions, that they fave the Author of them the care and la- bour of expreffon. A plain Example of which we have in the 7 Chapter of Deuteronomy, where God had forbidden his People Ifrael to have any Trajfck. or Commerce with the Neighbouring Nations. And yet if any of thofe Nations fhould fubmit to pay Tribute, and yield obedi- ence to the Precepts which had been given down of old to the Sons of Noah, from that very In-* ftant Commerce was free. The Prohibition being filent, where the Caufe of it did ceafe. Nay 'tis fo absolutely impofTible that znyFal[hood fhould proceed from the Mouth of Truth, or that his words fhould be found light in the Ballance of the Santtuary, that we (hail find them holding Q^ weight U4 fflercy and Judgment weight in our humane fc ales. For 'tis a Rule in our LaWj Comminationes neminijus conferre. And fuch is the Goodnefs of our Divine Legi/lator, that though he gives us a Tide to any Rewards which he fhall promife, yet he denies us all claim to any Punijhments which he fhall threa- ten. The reafon is, becaufe Tromifes are foun- ded in materia faVorabili, which is in Equity to bejlretch'd; But Menaces on the contrary in materia odiofa, which by confequence is to be jlreightned. For 'twas exa&ly faid by ^frijlotle, That as the proper vertue of the IntelleU is so.NMMf Mb, fo That of the Will is +\b \ Both im- porting fuch an Equity and Equanimity in the Judge, (chat is to fay,) fuch zpropenfity towards the right hand of Favour, as blunts and mollifies the Edge of a 'Rigid Juflice. Thus it imb to be in Man ; But in God thus it Is. The CW* to which the fVill-of-G 'cd-to-puni/h is mod Repugnant,) Then by vertue of the Promife of God to men, [That whenfoeVer they repent, they jhall not fail of his Pardon,] he cannot poflibly be obliged to put his Threat in Execution. For whatfoever may have been faid to a yet-finning People, (as once to NineVe ,) yet fuch a People (like the Ninevites ) may feafonably break off their fins by Righteoufnefs, and make it jujl that Q_ 2 the u6 JMercy and Judgment Mat. 12. a Gor.12.16. the Statute fhould void thtfentence.thzt is to fay, that the Stadfe enacting Pardon to the Penitent, fhould Void the fentence of Dejirutlion which was but made to unrepenting and defperate Shiners. §. 6. Now from all that hath been faid of the Jafi obfervable in the Text, it is obvious to gather this obfervation. That as the Impeni- tence of the Jews did work one Miracle, in that *8- it binder d our bleffed Saviour from workjng Mi- racles among them, which made it look like an infeebling even of Him who was Omnipotent ; fo Repentance can do a Miracle as great as That, even change the purpofe of the Immutable j and when his ^r rwj are /ty^g at us, can fend them backhto their Quher. What a kind of Jlmigh- tinefs hath the Almighty thus indowed i?e^7z- tance with ? And what jiratagems does he ufe to induce us to it ? How does he fright us to this Duty, (after the manner in which we deal with our little Children,) as well by flight and empty Buggs> as by real Dangers Z How does he thunder out his Threats, as fo many gracious Equivocations^ which with a blefled kind of Fraud are meant to beguile us into Obedience ? (It is indeed a bold Metaphor, but I borrow it from St. Paul, who told his Corinthians, that being crafty, he caught them with guile.*) How does Met Together. 117 he hold forth his Comets to a fin ful Nation, very much rather to prevent, than preface his Pla- gues ? How does he feud out his Thunder Jbzfoic his Bolt i and affright us with his Lifhtning^thzt he may not conjume us with his Fire t How did hefcare us very lately with Gluts of Rain, that he might not deftroy us with perfect Famine l I pray contemplate on my Text, a little more attently before I leave it3 and ye will find how exadtly it is conformable to the Time. What Beams of Mercy may we defcry, moll: f weedy breaking forth from a Cloud ofjuftice? How does his Pity in a manner give a Counter-check to his tvrtfffc * whilft he fays in his jfnger, Thus and thus will I do ; his Lolpingkjndnejs interpofeth, Trepare to meet thy God o Ifrael. 7hff will I do, to deftroy the vS7» ; but prepare to meet me, to the end that I may tf ye may Prevent me. Became / will do thus unto thee, prepare to meet me that I may not. §. 8. Let us imagin within our fclves, that God is fpeakingthus tolls* as once to Ifrael. And withal let us confider* what 'twill befit- tefi for us to do. If he is coming to meet Us, as Heretofore he met Ephraim, like a Leopard or a Bear that is bereaved of her Whelps ; let us go out to meet Him% even as Benhadad met jihab, even with Sackcloth upon our Backs, and with Halters about our Necks ; or elfe (as Hujhai met Dalpid,) with our Coats rent * and with Earth upon our Heads. If God's Coming be as filent as a Thief in the Night 3 and withal as violent as a Thief in the Day • it will be infinitely better that we meet him halfway, than that we ex- pert him within our Dores. It will be bed for us to meet him 3 that fo his fuddainnefs may not futffixjt us j And 'twil be belt to prepare, that fo his feverity may not opprefs us. Let us not meet him iojoon, as not firft to prepare j nor be fo long in preparing, as wo/ to meet him. They are Hof. 13. 8. 1 1 King* 20. 3*. 2Sam.t5 52. 120 tMercy and Judgment are Both together in my Text ; and may they Both be together in all our Praftice. Let us fo in good Time meet our God with the fruits of fmcere Repentance, as that our God in great Mercy may be pleafed to meet us with Grace and Pardon. And This the God of all Mercy vouchfafe unto us3 both for the Glory of his 7(ame, and for the worthiness of his Son. Tb whom with the Father, in the Ite'ty of the Spirit, be afcri- bed *ta Kingdom, the Tower, and tfc* Glory, from this day forwards forevermore. F / 5£ I S. THE Embafly of the Rod AND THE AUDIENCE WHICH IT REQUIRES. SERMON PREACHED BEFORE THE KING At W H / 7 E HALL, Upon the Wednefday- Monthly Faft, when the Pertilence Decreafed , but yet Concir.ued, As did alfo the War with the French and Dutch, 1665. 1*3 ®m®m MICHA 6.9. Hear ye the Ttyd, and who bath appointed it. §.i#/T,fHe Text (as things ftand) fhouid i now be handl'd in fuch a manner, as to refpeft the double quality and complexion of the Time. A Time of Thanksgiving, and Fafiing too. A Time of great Comfort > and yet of Mourning. A Time which placeth us in the Confine ot thofe two Paflions, which feifcd upon the two Maries at the Sepulcher of our Lord ; from which they are faid to have de- parted, with Fear and great Joy. Mat. 28. 8. Firil: 'tis matter to us of Joy, that after the very fame meafure in which our Enemies from abroad did Increafe upon us, our abler Enemy here at home began to be at Peace with us. And I think I may fay without a Figure, that both the Dutch and the French have one Defeat without Fighting, For, weighing well the two R 2 Grounds 124 The Embajfy of the Rod Grounds whereupon the two Nations pre- fum'd againft us, The unanimity of our Coun- trymen corrects the Indolence of the Dutch, and the Abatement of our Pejiilence does Plague the French for their Superchery. But yet 'tis matter to us oiFear, and of H«- miliation, that though the Peltilence decreajes^ it alfo continues in fome degree ; That whilft the Rod is removing, 'tis alfo hanging over our heads ; And though the Furie of the Judgment is (God be thanked) well pafsd, yet the fenfe of its Threatnings is prefent with us. We know the Autumn, many times, is a pregnant feafonj nor can we Prophecy, Tim Month-, what the Next may bring forth. And as the likelihood of a ViSlory muft needs be very much allay 'd by the Pojjibility of a Defeat ; fo muft the Hopes of a Recovery by the great Danger of a Relaps. And feeing the Wifdom of Authority hathftill ap- pointed this Day (although a Day of no fad Tidings,) to be obferv'd in all our Churches as a Day of Solemn Humiliation ; let us T\e Joyce with fo muchTrembling at the Retreat of Gods Anger , as by Trayer and Fajling to ftop the way to its 7(etum. The Text which now lies before us is very fit for this Purpole. For §.2. Now To Gods own People. 125 §. 2. Now it was that Gods People^ the men of Ijrael and of Judah, after their mani- fold obligations to Watch, and Pray, and give Thanks, for their Deliverance out of Egypt; that Houfe of Bondage^ were moft fecurely fain ajleep in a dead Letharay of Sin. Afleep in which they lay faring with fuch Indulgency toThemfelves,. that all his ordinary Calls were too low to wake them. But God hath two forts of Voices where- by to rouZtt us into Repentance. The 0/7* he ut- ters by his Prophets, and the other by his Rod. And we have Both in fto Ter/e , whereof my Text is the later part. For what we call the Lords Voice; iii the next words before my Text 3 The Chaldee paraphrafeth well by [*£e Wo? 0/ ffe* Prophets of the Lord.] And Tito was it hcfirfi us a to the men of jerufalem and Samaria. Nor did he whijper into the /? defcribed clearly by the Periphrafis of [Him who hath appointed it.] The firji and fecond of thefe particulars will be beft capable of Difcourfe, not f ever* II y handled ^ but in conjunction. For the clofe Ap- plication of the Embaffadour to the People y the Rod to Ifrael, will very feafonably afford us this Dotlrinal Proportion. That God Almighty is fo far from conniving atj or not kingSin m his Children^ (though the Tempter in thefe Times hath taught a great num- ber of men to flatter themfehes into Deft rudt ion by this Opinion,*) that he hates., and will punifh it much more in Them^ than in Thofe that are Strangers^ and Aliens to him. §. 1. Which to the end I may evince in the cleareji Method that I can ufe, I (hall firft of all obierve out of Aulus Gellius, (what He him- felf does obferve out of Plato's GorgiasJ That there are three diftindt ends for which Offenders j are to be punifiVd. Whereof the firjl is **#**•* ] for the Amendment of Offenders. The jecond H(ff*&*w> for the Benefit of fuch as are Lookers- on, Tile third *«*»*'«* for the Party's Satif- faBion To God's own People. 129 faftion who is Offended. And if wc look on all Three, as they are applicable to God, in his laying on of fin pes on the fons of Men ; whe- ther the End of his Inflations is to redeem us from our Iniquities, or to fright Lookers-on from daring to do as we have don, or to make fome Amends to his injur d Goodnejs ; we (hall find him ever Jufi , after the meafure that he is ^Merciful. And as he is kinder by much to the little Flock,, which he hath tenderly Pent up in his rich Inclofure, than to the numerous Herd which are turn'd out into the Common, fo is he rigider to the Sheep that rudely break out of the Fold, than to the Swine or the Goats that were never in it. For the better evidencing of which, let us confider his 'Rod of Jufiice with its three final Caufes, and mark how fitly it tends to each. §. 2. Firft I fay the Rod of God is *vi4* ™ 4"x"c (as Plutarch calls it,) the Med\in,ot means of Cure, unto the Souls of fuch men as zvejick of Sin. So much the Med'cin, that Plato will allow it no other end j and Lucius Seneca looks uponit3 as a Thing that canbeufeful for no- 1 thing elje. f\emo prudens punit, quia piccatur, %ta.tM^ fed nepeccetur. We are not punifhed (laith he) *• 4°** becaufe we have already fin d, but only to the S end 130 The Emfajfy of the T{oA dor, lib. i. i Cor. 5. $. Mar. 14. 21. ff» TO Kctd-«£^V a»T»if, «x. 0 3*'»*7@- At &i» HetKOV tffclf > Plotinm Enn* l./.7.j>,62. end we may fin wo w^. And his R^w is as fhufible as the wwtter will ^r. ReVocari prate- rita non pojfunt, futura probibentur. Whatsoever is pafl, is pad: all Remedy ; And an evil of Sm already don, no evil of Punijhment can have the power to Htfdtf. But what is future^ and yet to come, may be anticipated at prefent j and though we cannot retrive yejlerday, we may wifely provide againll the morrow. Nay the Jbarpeji of Remedies is fo deferable, where continuance in &a* is the Difeafe, that when the Patient cannot be curdy 'tis a kind of a Favour, to r «r few ^ Interdum ut pereant , intereji pereuntium. Even Defiruftion itfelfh many times very Medicinal. And many thousands had been aw^, if they had w4ii3s A*^ Kef""4*** **■ •*••*» 'E^itr ^4?»T«i, tie T#^ but the Skill of the C hirur- geon to art it off. And if the Patient being angry fhall expojiulate with the Ar till in fuch a Cafe^ or demand by what Authority he does fuch things,, St. Chryfojtom tells him he may An- fwer3 ***«■ • l*w« j *»6*<&- *,*. Dojl thou ask^me, honeft friend, why I cut thee off a Limb i That which gave me this Authority was my Art, and thy Difeafe. My Art inform'd me 'twas to be don, and thy Difeafe bid me do it. Crude Urn Cfrledicum Intemperans /Egerfant. S 2 And Alex'H in Cry [oft. ad 2. Cor. 7. 13. Cunftafr'w tent an da, fed \ immcdicabile vulnH4 Enfe reddendum eft, re pars fincera traha- tur. m ApuU de Phi- 49- Si nequitia miferos facit, miferiorfit necejfe eft diu~ turnior nequa, quos infelicif- fimos effe judi- caremtfi tion corum maliti- am faltem mors extrema finiret. Bocth. deConf.Phi- lof.l.4.p.i$o Mali cum Supplicio ca- renty heft m all quid alte- rim malt ,/]> fa Impunitas. "Multo ighur wfeliciores funt Improbi injkfta impH- nitatc donatio quhm jufta ultkne puniti. Id.ibp.i52. The Embafty of the Rod And then confidering how much the Soul is ( morepreferable to the Body, than th^ Body can I be to a Jingle ^Member, I cannot chooie but af- ' fent to that Platonick Aphorifm in Jpuleius, GraVM & acerbnu ejl omni fupphao , fi noxio im- punitas deferatur j that to the wckfd^ in this world, thegreateji Pu?iijkme7itu Impumty. For Remedy being by Nature very much better than Difeaje, and fo a defferate Remedy than a defperate Di- feafe^ it mutt neceflarily follow^ that to zjin- ntr who is Incorrigible, Death it felf becomes a Curtefy, The reafon is, becaufe it renders him lefs unhappy, than he would otherwife have been. For that even in Hell there is Room for Curtefy, is juft as clear as that the greater infer 's the lejjer Damnation, Mat. 23. 14. And as one Star differs from another Star in Glory ; fo in the Territories of Darknefs, we are told of a diffe- rence between the Sodomites and the Jews^Mzt. 1 1. 233 24. -and fo we read of great dijfer&ice be- tween the punifhments inflidled on feveral Ser- vants ; fonte whereof fhall bz beaten with many (tripes^ zudfome in comparifon with but a few. Luk i*. 48. Now they who know what it is^ for the unjuji to be referod unto the Day of Judg- ment to be puni(bed,( 2 Fet. 2,9,') will foou con- fcfs To God's own People, 133 fefs ic to be a Truth which is aflerted by Boetius^ (however an Infidel may be fo dull i% to be- lieve ic a Contradiction ^) That wicked men are Then pla^ud with the more grievous kinds of pu- nijlment, when they are thought by flanders-by to efcape unpumjhd. And clear it is that That Tradition of the wandring Cartophilus, who had been Janitor ( faith CluToer ) to Pontms Pilate, (whether Truth > or FiBiov^) does {hew a good part of Christendom to have been ftrongly of this Opinion. For it feems they could not in- vent a le\erer Punifhment to the Jew^ for his having contumehoufly Jiruck our Saviour, as he was going from Pilate's Houfe unto the Place of Execution, than that our Saviour fhould condemn him to an Immortality upon Earth -, to wander up and down in feveral parts of this worlds heaping up wrath againjl the day of wrath, and then only to fall, when all the world mull rife again. And if 'tis fo in good earned as it hath hetherto been contended, That previous Punijhments are conducirg to the Amendment of a Sinner, and conducing in fuch a meafure, that even De- ftruBion is for his Intitcfc when pa(l Amend- ment i fare God will not withhold it from the unworthiefl Subjetls of his Dominion, much left from Cuifententu confequens eft, ut turn de- mum gravio- ribm juppHci- it urgeantur, cum impuniti, ej[e creduntur. Id.ib.p.155. Cluverim in Rudolpbo Se- c undo ad an. 1600.^.759. 760. 134 The Embafty of the Rod Seneca it ha, lib.i. from Them who are the Children of his Houjhold. If Pharaoh the Drudge be once admitted under' his Cure fure Jofeph the Darling fhall much more be fo. For the firji and chiefefi end of our being fo judged as to be chafiend in the world, is -,m Mi *«t«8.*->», that we may not fo be j» j than the Kine of Bajhan, becaufe there is much a richer feeding in the ^Plains of Jordan, than on the ^Mountains of Samaria. Now he whips them with Babylon, That * Bod of his Jnger. Anon he beats them with Mgypt, That * Staff of his Indignation. And if That will not ferve, he hews them down at laft with Rome, which we may call (by good Jnaloge} the /^xe or Hatchet of to F# rj. §. 8. And if now after the Jews, the People of God under the Lw , we refled: upon kj. They indeed do not receive the Love of the Truths But we refuje it. T\\ey indeed are Errone- To God's own People. 141 Erroneous in a very deep meafure3 but (which is infinitely worfe) how many amor.gil Us are grown Heretic jI ? In fo much chat w;.ilil They do only want a Phyficidn, tl f ; nerality of ^j do ftand in need of an Executioner, And i;ovv; co compare our fclves with fome of our Fellow- Chriftians^ (thole I mean in the Church of Pome,) \\Wi\[\ their Chtirch is called tne Whore of Baby- lon; do not thev call curs the Whore of Babel, chough not with any Trutbryct with fome Flaw jibility i there being a Babel in our r.\ation, though not in our Church i and many parts of this Nation being become fo much the fouler* (I will rot fay for having been, but) imce the time of her mtyftytft, chat for one Devil of Popery She hath been difpoffcQed of. She may be thought (by the Care of Rome) to have given entrance unto f even, k is therefore (as ic proves) our unhappy Priviledge of having once drawn necrerb not only to the Mercy, but to the Holi- of God. than abet Nations, that God is the r.jdicr now in Jufue toftand the farther off 'from us. And if by a feafonable Repentance, we 0 not recover our f jt A 'pproacfas, 'twill be as tolerable for Rome in the laft great Day., as for Us of this Nation. And fo (on a Parallel fuppo- fitioii) H The Embafty of the Rod Hcb.5.4,'5,6. Mat. 21. 44« fition) it will be fomewhat more tolerable for Jerujalem, than for Borne • for sEgypt, than for Jerufalem • for Babylon, than for JEgypt ; for Scythia, than for Babylon ; and for the wild Salvages, than for them all. §.9. Ye will confent the more readily to what I fay, by confidering thofe words of our blefled Saviour, Luk. 10. 1 5. And thou Capernaum which art exalted to Heaven, Jhalt be thruji down to Hell. Therefore to Hell, becaukfrom Heaven. For the higher any one is, by fo much greater muft be his Fall. When the Eagle in the Apologue caught up the Shell-Fifh ii to the Clouds, it was to break, it the more infallibly by letting it fall upon the Stones. And though indeed the God of Heaven never takes any into his favour, to the end he may give them the greater Fall • yet when fuch will needs fall from their higheft Station, they muft needs be the unliklier to rife again. They being fo broken by cheir Fall from lo high a Pitch, that hardly any thing can joynt them, or make them whole. For, in our Saviour's own phrafe, 7 hey will be grinded to Towder. And 'tis obvious to infer from thofe other words of Ghriftj Sin no more, leajl aworfe thiw come unto To God's own People. '43 2 Pet. 2. SO, 21. Gal. 4, 24, 25,26. unto thee, ( Jon. 5; 14,) That God will punifti ! "*{"}£? Malefactors., as well in regard of the Bent jits they have received^ as for the Sins they have committed. And therefore ye that make it your Boafij That ye are JUcjnbcrs of a Chrijiian Re- [ormedChurch,not the Chtldri n of Hagar, which is Mount Sinai, and which gendreth to Bondage, but fl/7 Jcrufalem which is above, and therefore Children of thePromife, whereby ye have the priviledge to call him Father, who by 7 hem that are without, is to be look't upon only as a Creator jZiid zjudge; And by your being more obliged than other men3 are grown by fo much the more accountable j Audite Vos Viriam, Hear Te the Rod. §. ic. But (Lord) how many have we known, in thefe lalt and word times,who (like Hiel the Bethelite in the Building of Jericho) have laid the Foundation of their Greacr.efs in their Firjl-born, and fet up its GWfj- in thdr younncr Children, and yet have been ^f as any Jdders, to the Fiicf of God's l\od in fo clear a Cafe ? Unto how wMjy of our new Builders, who have cemented their [fV/j with the price of Bloud, and have fet their Nefi on hi^b3 (with a preemption to be deliver d from the Power of Evil,) hath the 1 King- 1 5. J;//. 144 The Emba\fy of the T{od Jer. 8. 6. the well-inftrudted Stone cryd out oftheWall^ and the Beam out of the Timber made anjwer to it, who yet have Jlopt their Eyes and Ears againft; the Alefftges of the l\od that hath fpoken to theai? 1 hearkened and beard, (faid God here- tofore of his People IfraelJ) but no man repented him of his wickednefs, Jaying, what haVe 1 don ? every one turned to his Courfe, as the hurfe rujheth into the Battle. And we do commonly fo resem- ble that fenfelefs People,, (as to the Calloufnefs of our hearts, and wconfideratnefs of mind,') that whenfoever God difpatches any Embaffadcur of his Viffleafure, although he ipeaks fo loud, that it is hard not to hear him, yet we commonly care fo little,, as thatwefeldomor never give ear unto him. Or if perhaps we are attentive to the Voice of Gods Rod, yet we are deaf to the Menage on vvhich it come s. Whereas the Audi- ence and Attention which God requires, is rather meant of the fecondy than of the firfi of thefe two. We are not to hearken how it founds only, but to corfider what ^ fays too. Every lajl? of Gods Rod fhould make us reflett upon a fin. And as ]ofeph\ falfe Brethren > when they were brought into Diflrefs, did ftraight refit B on that Dijlrefs into which they had brought their ^Brother To God's own People. brother Jofefh • lb if at any time we are groan- ing under the Miferies of a War, we fhould ex- amine how many ways we abused our Peace. If at any time we are brought into fome great De- gree oiPenune, we fhould confider if we have not abas' d our Plenty. And if at any time (as of late) we fall into Times of general fickycfs^ we fhould reflect on thole Sins which have been the great Abufes, and fo the Forfeitures of our health. Might I ground a conjecture touching the Meffage or the Caufedi our prefent Zv^from the words of three Prophets, a Habakkuk, b Na- um, and d Ez,ekjel, I fhould be prompted co con- fider3 how many tioufes in the late Times have been built with Blood. And Blood we know hath a Voice 3 yea3 and fuch a Voice too,, as c cries to Heaven for Revenge. And being the loudfjl of Cry- ers, 'tis fooneft heard. But yet the loVer of Souls, who is a God ready to Pardon, in the midlt of his Judgments remembreth £M*rcy. From whence it \%, the Lords Voice does cry aloud unto the City, that the Voice of the City may err as loud unto the Lord ; and chat the Voice of mens Tears may i drown that oiTSlood, as the louder Stentor. Cer- tainly nothing but Repentance will be able to cry up thole hovering Judgments^ which our Na- il tional 145 Gen. 42. 21. a 2, 12. b 3,1. <* 24,9- c Gen.4.10, 146 What Attention tional Sins have been calling down. Nor can any other Repentance cry Awdfer unto God than our Sins have don, but chat which brings forth Amendment, and change of life. And this does lead me to the Audience which God would have given to his Embaffadour, the third particular in the Divifion, and next in order to be confider'd. j(udite Virgam, HEAR ye the Rod. §. 1. Hear the found of God's Rod, and hear the fenfe, or jignification. For as the Voice of his Rod is double^ to wit the lafhing of the Aire9 and the beating upon ourfhoulders ; the for- ,mer, when he threatens, and only threatens to in- flict it, the later, when he proceeds to put his Threats into Execution j fo the JMeffage which it brings us is double too ; for 'tis expoftulatory in part, as when it chides us for our Sins ; and in part it is exhortatory, as when it prejfes us to Re- pentance. Such is the admirable contrivance and difpofition of Gods Inflictions, that they commonly fpeak his Mercy at the fame inftant with his Juflice. As if it were not fufficient that his Ballance is equal, and that he puts Pumjb- ment into one Scale 5 as we Offences into the other ; He The Rod requires. 147 He makes the Punijhment many times to have fuch zfimilitude with the Sin, as that the Pati- ent may fee his Malady in the Nature of the Means which are meant for Cure. Thus in that famous Controverfy 'twixt God and Scdom, we may obferve an Analog as well of Likenefs, as of Proportion ; for befides that his Judgment was juft as general as their Sin, and only a Lot exem- pted from the one, who only was guiltlefs of the other ; they were appofitely burnt with Fire of Brmjione, as before they had been with the FireoiLuji. And as their Luft was contrenatu- ral, although from Hell; fo likewife was their Fire, becaufe from Heaven. Thus when Corah and his Confederates (the vevyfirji Levellers we ever read of) had widely open'd Their Mouths againll Mofes and Aaron, ftraightthe£#rf^ by way of Talio, opend hers againft Them. No fooner were their Throats become open Sepul- chers for the Burying of their King and their Priefi alive, but (Wight it follows in the Text,, that they were [wallowed up quick. And thus as Jofephs cruel "Brethren would not hearken to His Requeft, when he be fought them in the anguijh and in the bitternefs of his Soul ; fo for three dayes together He would not hearken unto U 2 Theirs, Gen. 42. 2] vcrf. 17. 148 What Attention Theirs, when in the bitternefs of their Souls they had fought it of him. And fa, as Dries denyed Lazarus a Crum of bread to (lay his hun- ger, he was denyed by the fame Lazarus a drop of water to cool his Toung. But we need not go further to find out Inftances of the Harmony , betwixt the Punijhment of Sin, and the Sin it felf, than to the words ot the Commifjion with which the T\od was here fent to the men of Ifrael. The Lords "Voice cryeth unto the City. And firft it crys for Attention, hear Te the Rod. Next it cryes as an Herauld, that is, it Proclaims the Sin and Punifbment of the People. Art there yet theTreafures of wickgdnefs, and the f cant me a- fure that is abominable? There's their Sin. Then follows the Punijhment, (verf. 14.) Thou Jhalt eat, but not be fatisfed. Again the Rod of God faith, (verf. 12.) The. rich.men thereof are full of Violence. Whereupon it denouncethj (verf. 1 5.) Thou jhalt jo^w, but thou jhalt not reap ^ thou jhalt tread the Olives, but not anoint thy j elf with Oyle. Nor is there any thing more equal; than that wicked men faox\\<\ fuffer the hainous things that they have don ; that the covetous Op- prejfor fhould be Plagu'd with Penurie ; and that They who have grinded the very faces of the poor, The Rod requires. M9 poor, fhould finally befamiftit for want of Bread. §. 2. But let us divert our thoughts a while, from the Times of the Text to theie we live in. For God hath fent fuch an Embaffadour unto Us of this Ration, as heretofore to the People Ijrael. And it is now a great while,, fince our Guilts halpe rijen up into a Pod of wickgdnefs. I mean the Pod of Gods Anier, by which our wickednefs is corrected. It being more than twenty years, (and with but little Refpiration) fince his Rod has been J peaking to us in federal Dialells of feverity. Firftof all it fpake to us by Drums, and Trumpets, and by as many wide Mouths, as the Sword had made wounds in our Englijh Nation ; by lying Prophets in the Church, by prof perous Rebels ill the State, by lofs of ho- nour, and of Religion, by Sacriledge, and Regir ade, and other execrable effedts of a Cwil War. From which we have not yet in joy'd more than a five years Pefpiration, when our Unthankful" nefs for That hath betrayed us to a greater and [adder Judgments For fo notable ib the diffe- rence betwixt out War heretofore, and ourPe- fiilence of late, That the former might be called a Rod of Chafifemtnt, whereas the After began to look like a Beefom of DefruBion. That CV- i5c What Attention Thucyd. 1.2. p.129. adp. 134. fjfy) 7rf«T0ir «£ eu§-i07ri&t, &C. !£.]>. 129. *Pfcl.9i.$. fjLd.} \-rtr- t3-r«- «.' • x if%fm* freitt T i ,y I Acf./uCi* 5Tat>TO« a*«$i\r JTr. •/.ax's MX«- refted our Nation* but this did threaten to fweep it away. In a very Awg War there may be very few Battles ; But the Pefiilence is an Enemy fo very skilful to dejlroy, as that it makes both a nightly and dLa*7y Slaughter. It hath (lain many ware Thoufands within the compafs of a few months ythan our W^r was found to do in as many years. Jui\ fo it was with the famous Peftilence in Jhucydides. More Athenians were taken off by that invifible Arrow in zfew dayes, than by all the great Armies of the Peloponnefians in di- verfe years. Inxifible \ call it, becaufe it walketh in Darkjiefs, and even at that very time when it dejlroys at noon Day. (Pfal. 91^6.) And 'tis fitly call'd an* jfrrow, as well for the fwiftnefs, as (barpnefs of it. For how fwiftly did it fly (in Jhucydides his Time) from Ethiopia into Egypt* from thence to Libya, from thence to Perjia, from thence to Athens Z And how like an Arrow did it fly3 (to give an Inftance in our own_,) as frcm [Amfterdam to London, fo pre- fendy from thence into drvers Countries ? Nor did the fwiftnefs of this -^rmr exceed the Jbarp- nefs of it at Athens. Where having killd up the Phyficians, it bred a general negletl of all lndea- xours of Recovery. It made them weary of their Vevo- The Rod requires. Mi Devotions, which at firft they had imploy'd as the means of Cure. And, ftfflxd on by their Im- patience, to a * contempt of things Sacred 3 as well as fecular, they grew elaborately Voluptuous in the injoywg the goods they had, becaufe they knew not how Joon they might /Iw/i or /^Tf» them. None would eater on any work, as lo k- ing to dye ere they could end it. Nor did they fear any Breach of jLw, as not belie\ing they ! could live to be pumjht for it. Again this Arrow is fo noyfome, as well as fliarp, (and therefore , fitly call'd by DaVid the noyfome Peftilence, Pfal. 91, 3,) that it does many times k$U with the Breath of life. Nay (which is much worfe than killing it makes a man to be forjal^n by the Wife of his Bojom, and even abhor d by his inward friends ; as Job acquaints us with the Acme of all his fufferin^s. Zojimus tells us of a Peft in ! the Time of the Emperour * Gallienus, which j was fo very much more fierce than the fierceji War, that all they fuffer'd from their Enemies was tight and moderate in comparifon. Nay he tells us of a Peft in the Time of G alias > (and in the Northern parts or the Row* Empire,)which I comirg prefentl y after a War, x«x«M5" «»^»v«or ! yi^ MtfrMpw, deftroyd the whole of Mankind which the o/ucia»f . Jy. p. t*c i7rcu>pu«f 0. J. 133, Job 19. i7, 19- * Aoiyuac 'oh- v.rrt» JTgfTfgff CT TTSttTI 7^ Tote |W^ &ri T flTI^! i. /.i.p. 21. IS2 What Attention i BK «T70V /£ TV j ■ — b?r» jrg/rt- g^V « T0?f $8 that the/ eileem'd it a meer :Dnwe to legitimate Parricide, and /#- ^J£, and fome fuch other enormous Villames, as were not fo much as to be namd, much lefs committed among the Heathens ; fo 'tis worthily to be feaV'dj that when a fort ofTrofeffors a- inongU our felves, who call themfelves Chnfti- ans9 and Ghriftians of the Reformation, ftiall.be fpoken of in Gath, and publifhed abroad in the flreets of Askglon, the Daughters of the Pbilijlins will coo much rejoyce 3 the uncircumcifed will greatly triumph. 1 lay 'tis too much to be fear dD (and cannot be too much confiderd, unlefs too late to be prevented 5) leaft that Chrift a fecond time ftiould become through our means3 To the Jews a fxumbling Blocks and to the Greeks Foohjb- nefs. The greateft comfort of hope we have left is Thisj That as the fcandalous Jfperjions which firft were caft on Chrif 'unity were wajh'd away by the Blood of the antient Martyrs, and blotted out by the Ink, of the learned Fathers of the Church j fo our Protejlant Religion may yet be vindicated and refcued from thofe Afperfi- ons The Rod requires. *55 ons and Brands of Scbifm and Atbeifm, where- with fome of our Enemies already barve, and others are lively to ftigmatize us, by the great Piety oifome,who do exprefs it in their Praftice-0 by the learning of others, who do aflert it with their Pens j and by the Martyrdom of a jfcrr^ /or/, who have readily jeald it with their lives. §. 4. But be our Fame what it will, unlefs our Nation fhall fo repent upon the Preaching of the iiW which God is now holding over us, as once the Ninevites did at Jonah's j or unlefs it fhall brjpard for the few Righteous that are within it, (as Jerujakm for the rigbteoufnefs cf James the Timber of thrift, who was the firjl Bijhop there • ) God will probably fay to 11s, by the Rod of his dinger, as heretofore to the djfyri- ans, by his Prophet Ifaiab. I will rife up againji them, and cut off from England the Name, and Remnant, and Son, and Nephew. I will alfo make it a Poffeffonfor the Bittern, and Pools of Water : and I willfweep it with the TSeeJorn ofDtfru&ion^ faith the Lord of Hofls. Such is the Voice of God's Rod, whereby it would fright us out ot our fins j which is the Negative part of a true Repentance. It hath another fort of Voice where- X 2 by I fa. 14. 22, 23- M«. I What Attention Ezek.18.31, 32. by it would Woe us to fatisfaftion, and 'Refor- mation of life ; which is the Pofitive fart of a true Repentance. And fo 'tis eafie to hear it fpeaking* as 'twere in gencre dmonfirattvo 3 in that perjuaftve way ofT\betorick> wherein another holy Prophet did once befpeak another People in Gods behalf. Cajl away from you all your Tranfgrejfions, whereby ye haVe tranfgrejfed, and make you a new hearty and a new J pint, for why will ye dye o houfe oflfrael ? For I have no de- light in the Death of Him that dyeth, faith the Lord God. Wherefore turn your fehes and live, §, 5. Bi» theft are no more than the general Lemons of the Ityd. The LefTons it teacheth its in particular are more efpecially thefe Three. Firft it teacheth us to reflett on thofe particular crying Sins which have probably been the Caufe of our prefent Judgment. Such as are Sacrilege, and Simonie, Perjury > and Profanenefs, and Im- patience of the Crofsy Schifm> and FaSlion^ and an Itch after Changes , and that as well in the Civil, as Ecclejiajlical Eftate. Next it teacheth us the Neceffity of cafting out the Accurfed Thing, however feemlngly as gainful as Mhan\ wcdge^ Not an j(yig> not an Oxe, not the bleating of a Sheep The Bod requires. M7 Sbctf is to be left in God's Ears., when His command is gen forth tor the utter Defiruciion of an J ma lecl^. The choicejl fpoyles mull not be javd, though it be for Sacrifice , when it ftands in competition with our obedience. Lallly the Rod which at the prefenc is tbreatning every one of lis, by whipping others into their Graves who are round about us., docs teach humility and dejeftion to luch as fride it in their perfons> whether for the jirengtb or the Bewty of them. It feeks to pull down their folk and exalted thoughts of Themfehes, as well as to abate their contempt of Others, by making them to know whereof they zvemade, and by compelling them to confider of what materials they do corifift. For if it is true, what is faid by the Philolo* phe;*5 if 5 TraVra yiynrm eit tSto cA«\«st 20- Vcrf.22, i,8 What Attention 2 Cor. 7.10, 11. 'iXSTit/Ojjtfyj . fee. pag.141. Complexions may be refclVd , and that by a mouthful of ^/rfcjv ^re too. §r. 6. If we fhall therefore now confers that God's Rod, as well as hlsTrophet, his Delwe, as well as his Jfyab, is ftill a Preah:r cf Repen- tance > let us impartially confider, whether the fonow and Anxiety which the Calamity of the Time may have wrought within us docs pro- ceed from a Refentment of Sins, or Sufferings. Whether it be a Contrition, or an Attrition only. Whether zforrow that is worldly, and worketh Death, and by confequence is tobtfonowedfor, I or d Jorrow according to God, which worketh Re- X"". ' pentance to Sahation, ard therefore is neXeru he Repented. If the firjl of thefe two, we ought to begg of God Almighty, that he will add to our Patience, rather than take from our Pumjh- merit9, that he will jirengthen our (boulders, ra- ther than /ejfl^H our Burden ; And much rather fanfitfie, than ra*/ his Rod. But if we find it to be thefecond, we muft not pray for 2 Remedy, j but rather for a Paroxyfm of our Difeafe • and 1 rather exasperate our pain, than too foon affwave ic. We ought to be fadded for. nothing more, J than that vw cannot be JW enough-, 6c only gW,. that The Rod requires. 159 that we cannot be fo. For lee the man of this world but imagin himfelf upon his Death- bed; And what: then would he not give tor the completing of that Anxiety, whereof he is now fo over apt even to con\ure for an Abatement Z Alilidtions help to make us happy even in this prefent world, if we have b it the Grace to ufe them rightly ; elle they will make us the. unhappier in that world which is to come. For without the right ufe^ even the Grace of Gcd it f elf does accidentally hiolnen our Condemnation. And though I never had yet fuch a Roman Faith ^ as to believe that there IS inch a thing as Purgatory- yet j with jubmiffon to God's O economy > I think the moft of mankind might be glad there were. Becauie it feems a very eafy Compofition with his Juftice, to iuffer BV//for ztime> in order to happinefs for Eternity. It concerns us therefore to pray 3 in this conjuncture of our affairs, that God will give us to drink of his bitter Cup> not as our Appetites fhall crave 3 but as He in his wifdom lhall judge expedient. Let him enable us to chooie but this one Requifite for our felves, even Hisfvxtifying Grace ; And then in company with ThatD let him allot us what he plealeth. Be it War> Pejlilence> or Famine • be it \6o What .Attention it Ignomy, Overthrow, orfuddain Death. For as by looking upon our Sins, we cannot but fee matter of Terror, whereby to hold us in con- (\zvxfear ; fo by reflecting upon ouvfujferings, we may difcern matter of Comfort, whereby to couple our Fear with Hope. I fay 'tis matter of fome Comfort., that God doth feem by his Cor- reftion to own us ftill fcr his People • that he does not feverely fuffer us to be over prof per ous in our impieties ; that he has not fo wholly left us, as not to vifit us with his T\od ; but that at leaft he does vouchfafe us the Mercy of his Judgments to work upon us. And though he threatens to give us up to fome of the cruelejl of our Enemies, (fuch as are the two plagues of per- fect beggery, and the Pejiilence,) 'tis that he may not give us up unto our more cruel fehes ; that we may never indure the Tyranny of our own hearts lufi, or live under the Tokg of our vile Af- feBions. And therefore to the end we may ra- ther kifs, than undutifully repine at his gracious Ttpd, which does fo charitably j mite, and would fain wound us into a Cure • let us continue td fix our eyesj as on the Errand on which it comes , fo withal on the Author from whom \hfent. Which leads me to the Potentate by whom the Embaf- The Rod requires. \6\ Emk.ftadouris difpatcht. The laft particular in the Divifion. Hear ye \h? Rod, and who hath Appointed it. $. i. That the fame Difpenfation of the Cup of Trembling and Jjlomjhment fhould not only have fuch dwerfe, but fuch contrary effects 3 upon the feveral Complexions it meets withal^ as to be one mans Reftaurauve, and anothers Poyjon, foftning one into Repentance^ and hard- ning another into Defpaire ; might feem a diffi- cult kind of Riddle at the very firft hearings were it not that this Accompt may be given of xx., That the one looks only downwards, and views the Rod of his Jfflittions as meerly fpringing out of the Dufi ; whereas the other looks upwards, and acknowledges the Finger of Him that fent it. They whole Spirits and Contemplations are ever gto\ elirig on the earthy and look no higher | tharJtY idCaufes, are commonly forry in their Diftreiies at men without Hope ; whereas the men whofe sljjeftions are fet on things that are JboVe^ and with the Lyn^ean Eye of Faith can look en the other fide the Veil, do (ofubmit to, and comply with the will of God in their affliftions, as to defire it may be don, as well on Earth cu it is in Heaven. Y I 1«I What Attention- * Viodor.Sic. #6*14. £.291, *foftin.t.2¥2. TO ft« VfiV CM Piodor. Sic. 1.12. p.lOO. b Qi . III. I ktfeW- iidt whether it is mere to be fear A, or fo^, chat God will never withdraw his Red which lyes fo heavy upon outfkeulders, until he has firft of all whipt us into the mfdom to difcem, and into fo much Humility as to acknowledge, That the Original, and Incrckfe-, and prefent Continuance of our Plague ^ haul not only arifen to us out of natural Caufe% (liiuch lefs out of fortuitous^) to wit from Axomes^ or Infects, or from I know tiot what malignant mdfecret qua- lities in the Aire jj but from the H;^> of a^nr Vflfcrf and jealous God, for the moll brutiih un- c oncer dnefs and Impenitences of A4?/z. The PI a- gue of Peftiknce being a i*W of fo aftonifhing a Nature^ that though the He^hens look^ upon it as a thing fafitftl in the Earthy yn rfifey thought it && 4* by an band from Beaten. The * Gr- thagmians at Syracufe, and the /V^Ze of Toloufe in the time * of Brenmis, afcnb'd the Gw/e of their feveral Pefts unto the dinger of their Gods for the Sin of Sunlcdur, and fled for Refuge to Bejlitution, as the great wi^#j of their Reco- very. And however Diodorus did cake upon him to afiign the a natural Caufes of the Pellilence that reign'd at Mens, yet he allures us that the * Athenians did look upon it as a Bod of fuper- natural The Rod require^. i«5 natural contrivance. Much more fhould wc Clmjliauf impute the Cs'jfe of our Plague unto God's Difpleafure j 3$ being that that ferves to humble, and mfe m up too. For as 'tis matter to us of Terror, to fill into the bands of the hvinu God, (tieb. 10.31.) io ns matter alio of Comfort, that we do not fall ovt of the hands of God 3 no nor yet into the hands of relentlcfs men. For with CioJ the*e U M?rcy3 and that in thcrnidfi of his judgments tQQ ; whereas the very tender mercies of men are cruel, (Prov, 11, 10.) God does not ajj'att willingly } nor grieve the children of men ; and w.ien at lalt hp i$ fain to wound, 'tis to the end that he may heal us. But men to men are fo inhuman, that t^ey will commonly break, our heads with their prttious Balmes too. And there- fore David having h[s Option betwixt the Sword of the Lord (for lo the Peftilence wa6 call'd) and the Sword of mui, did foon determin to choofe the former. Let me fall now (fays he) Mo the hand of t\w Lord, ( for Very great are hh Mercies,) but let me nvt fall into the hand of men. 1 Chron.zj.13. §. 2. If we look bad, upon the Church whilft (he was yet but in her Childhood, and confider her Tribulations as far as .rem Nero to l^iodejian, we may obferve how mens reflections upon the Y 2 wifdom 1 64 What Attention Eufeb. EccL * Piod. Sic. « » «K »? CP Wifdom and Goodnefs of Gwfj Oeconomies, did fmooth the face of Deatfc 11 Je//, as 'twas in- flicted by the Rod of Divine Jpp ointment j and made her Children even to Court it, how grim foever it became by its greateft Torments. A- mongft a tboufand Examples which might be given of this Truth, I fhall not trouble or de- tein you with more than one. In that dreadful and moft bloody Sedition at Alexandria (juft as if Cadmus had fow'd his Teeth in that fruitful vSW,)when the Gulf "of 'Arabia became a red Sea indeed, which before was only call'd foby either a * figure or a miftake ; when that Sea was fo polluted with l&lood and Stentch, that had its wa- ter been to be wafjd, all the On*,? (faith Dio- nyfius) had been too little to wafh it clean ; and when, in confequence of This, there was a Pe- fiilence fo extream, as that there was not one Houfe wherein there was not one Carkafs * They that were Gentiles in. the City were every whit as much terrified, as if Mofes once more had turn'd their waters into Blood, and had afflidted that Place with the fad repetition of all his Judg- ments. Whereas the Chriltians on the contrary, who to their War and their Pejtilence, had a third Plague added, (That, I mean, of Perfec- tion,) The Rod requires i6f tion,} were fo far isom finckjng under, that ra- ther of the two they injoyd their fufferir.gs. Whereof the reafon in Eufebius is only this, that they beard not the Rod only, but had regard unto Him who bad laid it on. And fo they look't upon t\\z\x Judgment, scy^*™ *, Ao*i>or, as the Teji or Touchftone of God Almighty, for either the Triall of their Patience, or for the Exercife of their Faith, or for the Proof of their Fidelity. So extreamly much it is for any mans Interefi, and Eafe, when the Rod of God is fent in a Mefjage to him, that he confider why it comes, and by wbo[e appointment. §. 3. And indeed to fpeak Truth, whofo- ever like the Heliotrope that is ftill intent upon the Sun, or like the Pilot in a Ship, who, though the waves and the wind do both confpire his D*- jiurbance, does keep his eye the more carefully on his Compafs and his Star ; I fay whoever is this fteady, well byafs'd Chriftian, that is not a- fraid for any evil Tidings, and though his heels are tripp'd up, yet his Heart jiandeth faji, and be- lievetb in t\ye Lord ; He is the Perfon of the world, that leads the world into Captivity. And is not only plac'd above the level of Fortune, but (as jlippery pfti.112.7, \66 What .Attention Pfal. 121.1. 2Sam.15.25. \flippery as (he is,) fecuis to have caught her within his Net, He fccins to have gotten the i Gladius Delphuus, that Caihuhcal Vmd of Sword, by which he eafily «&f af under all the VJffculties of Life. For if he dwell amongft tftefe that are Enemies unto Peace y who, when he fpaks to them thereof, make them ready to Battle j b: ':o!d l his Remedy is at hand3 whilrt he can lav with King David, I will lift up mine eyes unto th: hills from whence cometh my help. Nay if his Troubles are yet inlarged, jo as they that dejiroy him guilt lefs are mighty, and do not come into Misfortynes likg- other men ; yet his Remedy is at hand dill , whilft he can fay with David too,, Verily there is a reward for the righteous, doubilefs thert is a God that judgeth the Earth. Nay if a Mefl'enger come and tell him (as heretofore 'twas told Vavid') that hf who came out of his Bowels does \feek his Kingdom and his life j l\ill his Remedy I lies in this," that he can fay with DaXid ftili-, Toehold here I am^ if the Lord fay, I have no d& ligvt in thee, let him do with me as it feemetb good to him. Nay if lfaiah bring him a Meflagc/fiW all the Pofjefjions of his houjejhall be led captive in* to Babylon, and that the Son$ which Ijfw fromhim (k*U he taken aw*y by force, to ferve as Eunuchs amow The Rod requires, \6<) amoutfi the Hi allien ; yet l\ill his Remedy is at hand3\vhilft he can anfwer wich Hez,ekjah, Good is the word of the Lord which ihou bafifpoknj^zy if the De\ il btfiegc his Patience with all the mttiejl of his Engines., and reduce him from his great Jjfiuence, unto his Potjbcrd, and his rBjfies • yet even tbm he hath his Reined v,whill\ he can a^k | with holy Job, (\jall I receive good things at the band of God, and Jhall I not receive foil al. H The Lord giDeth, aid the Lord taketh away, blejjed \ be the name of the Lord. Nay if a Samuel bring him Tidings, not of zpnvat Judgment only, [that the Iniquity of bis hou\e foall not bepurgd with Sacrifice y\hMoi a pubUckj udgment alio,(vvhich wholoevei fhall but hear fhall find that both his ears full tingle ',) to wit, Tftat foen the A)\ofthe Lord is taken , and that the oLory is departed from Ifrael} yet even then he hath his Remedy, whilft he can fa/ with good old £#, It is the Lord j let him do what feemeth him (rood. To Con- elude with an Infiance much neererH~r/.v • Admit the Dutch and French Amms frtptilq come upon us whilft we arejir^, as Simeon and hfoi fell on the Shechemtes when they w^re J ore ; ^nd fo fhould be the fame to us, which both Egyft ana Affy\ ia wjere once to Ifrael, to wit the Pod 2 Kin.20.19. job. i Sam. 3. 11, 18, &c. Gen 34, 35 x68 What Attention Rod of God's Anger > and the Staff of his Indigna- tion ; yet if We are his Children, and They his %od, let us but ftrive as little children to be the hater for our Correction, and 'twill be natural for the Father to cart: his Rod into the Fire. §. 4. Which being feafonably premised j we are no otherwife to bewail the Rod of God upon our Country j then as we have either by our Sins helpt to betray her to its Infliction, or have not been helping by our Prayers to eafe her of it. Let us repent us of the firft, and betake our lelves unto the fecond, and then fubmit the event of All, to hit Difpofal who hath appointed it. To him therefore who is able to keep us from fal- ling and to raife 11s when we are down^ and to pre- fent 11s being rijen, before the Prejence of his Glory With exceeding Joy, To the only wife God our Sa- viour, be afcribed by Us and by all the World, 'Ulejjing, and Glory, and Honour^ and Power, and Wijdcm, and Thankfgjving> from this time for- wards for evermore* F 1 5^ / S. Concio Sjtaodica DE POTESTATE ECCLESIASTICA, A D E X Provincia prafertim Cantuarienfi, in jEde Paulina Londinenfi habita VIII. Idus Maias, MDCLXI. 1? 1 REVERENDISSIMO IN GHRISTO PATR1 AC DOMINO, D° GUILIELMO, ArchiepifcopoCantuarienfi ; Totius Anglic Primati & Metropolicano • REVERENDIS DOMINIS EPISCOPIS; Totique Clero Anglicano, Decanis^ Archidia- conis, aliifque Compresbyteris, ex fingulis Dioecefibus ., & Cathedralibus Ecclefiis, Provincial pr^fertimCantuarienfiSj in Sy- nodo Londinenfi* Au&orkate Regia Con- gcegatis, T. T. 'E?&%7VTtgf$ nW CX TT£ TCtfyiUS 'h&fiiKM , HOC E£*«/tf0] Qualecunque Dicat Dedicatque. Z 2 / *73 V«M&«*««®W#»#*»fl? Aftorum Capite quindecimo 3 verfu 28. a fandta Synodo Apoftolica fie fcriptum legimus j Vifum ejl entm Spiritui Sanfto & nobis, nihil ultra imponere Dobis oneris, quam b aut prius aut anciquius haberi debet, v aut nunc pr#- fertim opportunius,) quam ut a laudibus & Elogiis Patri Luminum buccinandis, verba pub- lice fadturus exordium fumat? & port: nau- fraglum litato factum, Dotfaam labulam fuf- pendat ? &. 3. Deo fcilicet providente, Deploratif- fima fceleriim mancipia, quorum audacia ante Decennium Domi fortifque exulabamus, ipfa tandem difperfa viciffim exulant j nee jam am- plius afiidentes Cernimus irnmunes aliena ad pabula fucos. Deo brachium exerente, Pkaethontes ifti prseco- ciores, qui amios proxime elapfos alittflis curru bm infediflent, ceu Brontia quadam perculfi, pr.xcipites ruunt prouc aguntur. Nee aliud illis jam fupereft protervitatis {ux folatium, quam magnis aujis excidiffc, & (quod habemus a pud honoinum) *>*>«/*« iiiud &p»i* a«}*w &»\i&«'w documencumque reliquiae., Pofteris fuisfalu- ciferum, ***"*y^*^^^ nee ulla mancipiis Sa- turnalia in omne aevum duratura. Deo demo- curante, & mirum in medum procurante, ex quam procul diiTitis Britannia partibus, poll duode- Ad Clcrum yfnqlic&nuhi. '75 duodecennem ^*°*>&i unius corporis *•****?** in unum denuo coalefcimus ? nee jam ampll- us pcruuloj li, fed ku/i frafiiiur Ifipocctitla ? §.4. O quam graculoi vobis ve(lrum ad vos Receptum exoptatillimum ! quodque non ainplius in Britannia ipfa Britannia fie requi- renda ! Quin & folennia Gratiamm vota furt Hoftibus veftris nuncupanda 3 qui rabie fua ef- j feceruntj ut >j#m***i» accenfeamh i • deturque vo- j bis confpedtiorem de Forturi ferocience Tri- umphum ageie. Operas precium prope erat in tot difcrimina incidifle3 utdeDivinoin vosfa- vore vel fie conftaret ; dlicpiifque mails fiuit ufus in iUi*. §. 5. Nam fi Gre^oriiis Adami Culpam redtc dlxentfehcem, quippe cpux talem Redemptorem habere meruit : Qiiidni etiam vobis gratuler Ruince nuper# Beneficium ., quibus Talem 3 Tantumque (qualis eft Csefar nofter Britanni- cus) indulfit Deus Inftauratorem ? §. 6. llli ergo bonorum omnium Fonti fir mul & Largirori,, qui quantumlibet immeren- cibus hxc otia fecit^ luBumope noflrum cam diu* tinum in Citharam Vertit fempiternam, utpotc nobis in quantum Subditis^ Imperii Principem Augu- 176 Concio Synodica *Heb.n.$. Auguftiflimum ; (fugientium Charitum ctim Camaenis Deo proximum Statorem :) nobis in quantum Chrifiianis^ Ecclefise Proceres corda- tidimos • nobis in quantum Reformatis, hodier- nam Synodum ConfultilTimam ; nee noflra fo- lum, fed nofmeiipfos nobifmetipfis etiam retli- tuit; foli (inquam) Thaumaturgo , Triuni Deoj Sofpitatori noftro fapientiffimo, fit Ho- nos & Gloria in omnem deinceps j£terni- tatem. §.7. Nee tantum Deo * *h&««*tj Gratia- rum Adtiones habendae funt de tot tantifque benefices in nos collatis ; fed infuper nobis o- randum eft pro Catholica Chrifti Ecclefia, per varia &egna Refque publicas quaquaverfum diffeminata. Nominatim vero, pro Anglicana hac noftra j Atque inibi ante alios, ejufdem Ecclefice Nutricio Carolo, peculiari Dei gra- tia, Magnse Britannia, Francise, & Hibernian Rege, Fidei Defenfore^ in omnibus Caufis, omniumque Perfonarum, five facrarum, five civilium, immediate fecundumDeum Supre- mo in Terris Moderatore. Pro Regina Matre Henrietta Maria ; pro Illuftriffimo Principe, Jacobo Duce Eboracenfi 5 aliifque quibufcun- que e Regio ftemmate oriundis. Pro Ai Clerum Jnglicanum, Pro utraq; Domo Parliament! ; pro Regni Proceribus NobilifTimis ; prseferom iis qui Regi adfunt a fecretioribus confiliis, Specia- tim vero Preces apud Patrem Coeleftem funt effundendae, pro univerfo Clero Anglicano, in utramque Domum Convocationis mox deinde coituro 5 pro Reverendiflimis Archiepifcopis., Epifcopis etiam Reverendis j aliifque quibuf- cunque inferioris fubfelliiClericis^quibus-qui- bus live muneribus five nominibus infigniantur; ut Pacer Luminum benigniflimus, cufus ver- bum eft ipfa Veritas, & via ad vitam explora- tiflima , pro bonitate fua dignetur Hodiernis Castibus Interefle ; Quo qusecunque demum confiha ab iis erunt ineunda,in publicam cedant utilitatem., inque Dei noftri Gloriam ufque 6c ufque efferendam, per Jefum Chriftum Do- minum noftrum : cujus mentis innixi, ejufque adjuti oratione, (breviffima quidem illij fed om- nibus numeris abfoluta,) hxc & cetera qualia- Cunque quae nobis ex ufu futura font, i Deo op- timo Maximo iifdem verbis exoremus, quibus Ipfe Incarnatus orandum ftatuic. A a Pater »77 178 Concio Synodica Pater Nofler qui es in Ccelis^fanBificetur nomen tuum. jftkoeniat Regnum tuum. Vut Voluntas tua ficut in Ccelp; fie & in Terra. Panem noftrum quotidianum da nobis hodie : & dirnitte nobis de- bita nofirtyjicut & nos dimittimus Debitoribus no- (Iris. Et ne nos inducas in Tentationern, fed libera nos a Malo. 9^(am tuum eft Regnum, Potentia^ & Glgria>in SeculaSeculorum. A M E N. A& Clerum jfnqjicanum* 179 Vifum eft cnirn Spritui San&o & nobis nihil ultra zmponere Vobis oneris, quam b#c Necejjaria. INeunti mihi rationem de fufcepto munere obeundo, (ReverenditTimi admodum in C'hriflo Pat res, Fratres in Domino Diledtif- fimi,) inmentem illicoimmiffnm eft, (&&*&»> an fecus, aliorum per me licet judicium efto,) quemadmodum Synodi & Synedria in id prce- cipuo inaicuntur, ut hominum animos com- ponarr, & paci publico velificentur • Ita duo effc pocillimum humani generis Propudia, Loio- /zf&? nimirum & Erajlianos, qui (inftar Davi illius Terentiavi) certatim omnia intcrturbant ; acntramque Mfr&u civilem pariter & Ecclefia- fticam, (nee enim ilia minus, quam b*c^ vide- tur ccelitus oriunda,) qua publice, qua privatim, aon modo vcllicant & delibint, fed pro virili fua parte corrculjum eunt. Quicquid eft juris Ec- clefiaftici, aut ad facram *+**« quoquo modo pertineat. Uli foils Ecclejiajltcis (Papae fcilicet cum Praelatis) in totum alTerunt; Civilium interim Magiftratuum nulla habita ratione. Ifti vero e regione ad ftuporcm ufque abrepti *4nh i^kOh (utSantiiTiaJilu verbis utar,) in- A a 2 fuper i8o Concio Synodic* fuper habitis Ecclefiafticis^ ad folos homines feculares Rem totam deferunt. §. 2. Hasc funt Monftra Ilia Dogmatum, de quibus Primasva Dei Ecdefia nunquam vel fando inaudivk ; fed qux ab #vis fequioribus ex nefcio quo Tartaro erumpentia^ & in Bri- tannias has noftras malis avibus adve&a, cre- dentium animos mentefque ad fubjettionem debicam emicantes, ceu pel\ilenci quodam fy- dere eum in modum afflaverunt3 uci corrupta Chritliani Obfequii Regula fteterit diu., & ob- mutueric. Hinc enim odia fsepe progerminant plufquam Vatinianajex odiis Schifmata^Fadti- ones, Secefliones in partes, & quod malorum fere omnium extrema linea habenda eft,2Ve Telle quidemfibi ut ab altera fane ^tf^Mt.HincTempla Templis adverfantur, Conciliabula ex diamecro Conciliabulis opponuntur, atque Alcare contra Altare ubiq; loci fere erigitur. Nee in Schifmate (Proh dolor ! ) fibi terminum figit malorum feges- fed (glifcentibus indies Animorum Pa- roxyfmis, & we******») Res iubinde repetun- tur • & fafta clarigatione, fecialis hafta conti- nue) mittitur ; Bellum publice indicitur ; ad- verfis concurritur aciebus ; 6c (nifi Divinitus fit provifum) ad ipfam internecionem jugi tra- dtu dimicatur. . §.3. Neqj Ad Clerum Anylicanum. 181 §.3. Neque camen hie obtinet, quod *»it;«fti forte cbjiciant ; Tantum^ehqto potuit fuader emaloTum ; Quod enim Dominus falvacor de feedixitj Koine ar- bitrari qucd PacCm Venerim tmmjjjurus in Terram • Non emrn Pact r,iy jed Gladium j noil ad Finem ad- Mat. 10. 34. ventusChrifli,fed tantummodo ad Eventum re- ferri debet;, pro: hominum vitiis oriturum. Non eflvvoi«m«T^v, fed h* tantiim 'ut**™u quod ibi loci intelligicur : prcedixic Ille quid certo futurum eflet3 non quid fieri decrevillet3 aut faciendum effe exillimaret. Non fe caufam fore diflidii, fed puram pucam occafionem. Ipfe enim qui & Juttor & Ptinceps Pads, tanci Pacem «l\ima- vit3 ut etiam fudore fuo & fanguine facile dux- eric redimendam, fuifque Diicipulis Valedi&u- rus Pacem habuic * commendatijjimam^ nihil un- }oh.i;.i< quam folliciciiis in votis habuic pmmo vero nee in Puceptis) quam ut Pacem Amocbctam in cun&is hominum commerciis vigere faceret. Et nequid nobis viderecur zntentatum reliquifle (quantum humance voluntatis internum fert,) quo quod maxime cupiebat efieftum daret; promiflt fuis , abiturus., fe miQurum Spiritum Santtum, cujus aura non fecus ac Pads vinculo > omnes obicem non ponentes in unum corpus ~". coagmen- Concio Synodica E7r /8#'#f> Vtfum 184 Concio Synodica Vifum eji fane Spirituifantto & nobis nihil ul- tra imponere Dobis oneris, quant hfcW- ***** quorfum illud etiam adjecit, ^^»; num ob iftam ratiunculam, (quam tanti faciunt Ro- manenfes^) Quia de Spiritus Teftimonio ne- quaquam nobis conftare poteft, nifi Synodus Infpiranti fuppetias ferat ? minime Gentium, Sed per figuram illam efifertur, quam vocant Rhetores Uendiadyny five (ut alii explicates) Ad Clerum Anglicanum. \q$ *> *« *,••*. U t fenfus fit ; vifum eft nobis 3«r,„-0.f J nobis e..AAMoif. nobis edodtis & dire&is per Spiritum Santium, (non ne errare valeamus,fed) ne erremut. Unde & Patres in Conciliis folen- niter dicere affolebant 3 [Decrepit h*c fantta Sy- nodus in Spiritu fantfo conVocataJ Secundo vero eftobfervandum^Quod/^wff^ Synodus non cenfuit, monendas efle hie Gentes de Rebus ad vitam neceftariis, quas jam illis innotuifle compertum habuit, [nempe a ctdi- bus, LatrociniiS} Rebellionibiu , Sacrilegiis, atque id genus aliis omnino efle abflinendum,~] fed de lis tantum prsecepit, de quibus potuit licigari^iilif- que aliquid fubeffe Dubii ; & per qua: ftecic, quo minus Gentes cum Hebrads in unum coe- turn coalefcerent.Cu jufmodi erant t»«&M**i-, f1Ve Immolatitia, [unguis etiam, & [uffocata^ qu# ne Gentes deguftarent hie cautum eft. Si quis autumaveritj, fub hoc Canone comprehendi quaecunq; ad falutem requiri (blent, toro Coelo errafle dicendus eric. Quum prcecepca fint alia acq; alia, fub poena morcis etiam fancitaj qux adeo non comprehenduntur ****** * **?}**, fub ifto tarn brevi verborum ambicu j ut nee legi- time ad eundem reduci queant. De illo uno Qiurfituixi eft^ a quibus rebus Incircumcifos B b cavere i94 Concio Synodic* cavere fibi oporteret^fmtne maUjin rnedi* jion multum refers) quo inter Gentes & Judseos aliquando tandem conveniret. Efufan^uinis & Sujfocatorum Chriftianis etiam eft interdi£tum (implicice falcem & interpretative) a fecundo a Canone Concilii Ganprenfis : diuque pollmodum fuifTe in Ecclefia Dei obiervatum., (nempe port tempora Apo(lolica,)Te(les habemus b 7m«/- lianum, c Minutium, d Clernentem etiam dlexan- drinum^ quin & NoVellam Leonis 58vam «** ™ r*tb* ri£iA*tosn*wu*sn. cQuanquam prorfus exoleviffe fob Temporibus ^Ju^ujiini^ hujufcc (Ononis Reverentiam5(fi non ubique., faltem in Africa,, ) ipfe nobis Juguflinus tc\\z turn fecit. Atquevel inde fatis conftat de rerum iftarum indijferentia, five •A.poe/fi quibus tamen accedens Lex mora- lem impingit neceffitatem. Necejfe eji enim fub- jVr^Rom.13.5. 6c vifomeftnobis (inquittyw- dus sffoflolica) aliud onus non imponere^ quam h#c neceftaria^ vel (ut ex voce ilia •*«-*«>«« in oromptu ell hariolari^ prsefertim illis qui Gr#- eft* tj piTctKeLfAJitLvetv, t\7riJu. /uj» i%o>7a, ctvet&tfAa, tr». Cone. Gangr. Can. 2. fed in Cod.Can. Ec.un.Can.6o. A V. 32$, b Suffbcatis & Morticinis abftinemus, nc quo Canguine contammemur> vcl intra vjfcera fepulto. TertuL Apdog. c. 9. c Tantumq-, ab humano fang^ine cavemus, ut ntc edulium pecorum in cibis fanguinem noverimus. Min. F&l. in OftavU. d Lfl foSiyt-xv cup* tgk «t»S-f»Voic $*/*'?» &c. Clem. Alex. Pad. 1. 2,. cap. 3. jf>.228. edit.Park, J 629. C *$* eLvto 7r1re5i.3x.tiv » e»yw«3j Aso/T vi*&t Ai*Tst|/c r». p. 47 $.edit. Scrimger- f »f owI'ias a»T«5rs /gjj8\*c To?s,/3ai<7ttVJrsM?, $4<7ttow, T»f «v fl-tfiijr 01 to««t«i> 8icfc««/S n'xSyar £*W a **>«* *i;h',Eufeb.Hi8.E;c..cdit.SKfb.i $^^.l.2.fol.^6.p. 1. ce a e'tk *&><- Ad Clsrum JmMcanum. 195 cc ncn vulgo fapiunc.,) viiiini eft nobis ea fean- tummodo iir.perare, qua: cmrii outfiant, pro- pter Legem nunc latum nccsffe eft. Qiun 6c illad eft tertio notatu dignum,quod quemadmodum ipfe Chriftus Religionis cor- ruptees reformaturus^ ad Primordia rerum & Fontes recurri voluit5 (Mat. 19.8.) ita & Syno- dus Apoftolica de re prarfenti decretura, ad Le- gem illico refpicit Genefeus nono promulgatam, non tantiim Gentibus^ aut Judads, fed Filiis J\(o£D Aut (quod in idem plane recidit) Huma- no Generi obfervandam ; utut, tempore pro- cedente, apud folos ferejudseos vigorem tenuit, Expenfis autem his Tubus, in quibus Scopus hujus Canonis prxcipue vertiturSc coriiftit 5 Tria Wta*« llatim emergunt3 cum bono Deo eventilanda. Inprimis enim vidcndum habeo De Potrjlate Ecclefiafiica hujufmodi Synodo ccmpetc::te • quoufque fcilicet de jure f&tcndi debeat^ & quibus cancellis arcumfcnbi. Secundo loco agendum erit de Rebus pure ddiapboris 5 an, & quatenus 3 & cujufmodi^ Necefjitatem fibi acquirant ; & (legitima Synodo decernente) in Leges abeant. B b 2 Tertio i $6 Concio Synodica *V\dcGulieL Barclaium it poteftatePap* apud Gold. v. 2. J>. ^4p. Tertio demiim difpiciendum de Norma ilia & Perpendiculoy ad quod decreta Ecclefiaftica ne- cefle habenc ut exigantur. Hsec func Tria ilia l*riii4*> quae pro Temporis ratione3& qianta po- terunt Brevitate^ incumbunt mihi enucleanda. §. i. Ad primum ihnm quod fpedtat, Quic- quid eft juris Ecclefiaftici ad quatuor hxc ca- pita referri poteft. Inprimis nempe Liberam Religionis profefjionem , quam Conftantinus & Licinius [Libert atem Rehgionis] in Edidto fuo nuncuparunt ; Deinde etiam Immunitatem a cundtis publicis muneribus^ qux **^"**n*/**™i i\%v$*u* JufiinLno appellatur; Tertio \ero£oc- emptionem a Secularibus judiciis j poftremo Jus JuBoritathum de Laicorum caufis Coqnofcendi. Quid ex his Dhino jure^ & quid bumano fit in- trodudtum, ( nempe favore Imperatorum-, * Confiantini, Conjiantii, & Conjiantis, Leonis deni- que^ & ^nthemii^) facile cuiquam innotefcet5 qui cum Scriptis Canoniftarum Divina confe- ree Graviter autem errare folent , qui non dijiin^uunt Pdteftatem a Deo datam Ecclefia- fticis, ab ea quam Regi acceptam ferunt. Ilia enim quzh feparat Rempublicam ab Ecclefia ; fed Ecclefiam Reipublicse adjungit Hie. Nam ante tempora Confiantini qui ^lagni nomine in- fignitur. Ad Clerum ^fnq^hcamim. 197 f>gnitur3 (Nominifque menfuram revera implet^) itaEcclefia in Regno erat., ut pars ipfius r.on cenferetur. Neque cnim arquo jure cum reli- quiscivibusutebatur3 nee prceter JefumCruci- fixu/n (cm f ub cruce militabat) contempts paf- fim Difciplir.se ultorem habuic. §. 2, Quantum ad J its Ecclcfiafticum in- ternum attinec3 Jus nimirum pr&dicandi, adpre- ces pub lie m conveniendi, facram Synaxin cele- brandi, tdes facras .xdificandi, facias Synodos cogendi^ facram deiique Difciplinam pro rei merito ufurpandi ; lllud Jpcfiolis & Bpifcopis, qui * tenent Locum Jpcjlolorum^ (ut ipfe Sandtus Hieronymus diferce docet) non nifi defuper & a Deo conceflnm venic. Sed quantum ad juris Exereitium, (quod jus externum vocare licet,) Jus nimirum faciendi quicquid zdjacram ***4? pleno modoadminiftrandamoptariqueat, idq- non clanculum & in Latebris^fed feM*ir« % **4»* (ut loqui folent ImperatoresO lllud a piis lm- peratonbus (fed per illos etiam a Deo) Ecclefia- fticae Hierarcfuae indultum fait, §.5. Nam licet Svnodus jfneyrana atque 'Neoc&fancnfts (ipia Ntcdn* Anteriores) abfque juffu Conjiantim coacTtcT fint ; Regia. tamen audtoricate munitaftficjaettia fanus inficiabitur. Dinftin- * Apud nos Apoftolorii locum Epif- copi tenenc. Hieron ad Marccllum ddvcrftuMon- tan. Ef. 54. p. 160. B. 198 Concio Synodica Diftinguendum autem eft femper inter Syno- dos Generates s & mere Topicas 3 Illseafolis* lmperatonbnsy Hce ab Epifcopis * ^Metropoliticis I (five Principum jfujfwne, five tacito confenfu>) pro veteri more indici poflunt. Ad rem b exem- I plis evincendam, (fi per otiummeum liceret, ! aut veftram faltem per patientiantO fexcenta fane in medium proferre poflem. Sed ne tefti- bus fupervacaneis impraefentiarum abuti vi- dear, iufficiat feme I vel dixiffej quod fanftif- fime recipio in me probandum , (turn contra Papse Parafitaftros, turn contra eos qui hacex *tr™Lw- Parte Mephitim illam Papifmi plus nimio re- bard.p 10. dolent,) Quod fine Resibus annuentibus. ex per frames a quo Keees evalerunt bedew liliiy Nutricrique^ Metropolitan* J ^^ *r J . ,...N * J dirigtndx oc quail bpijcopi ™™> *»*<** etiam divimtus con- (cZiLTarra- fticuti, (ut Magnus Hie Covfantinus non femel chriiiumpoft dixit,) liunquam Placitis Synodalibus fubfcribi annns in j YiCU[tm Hifp.ceicbra- ' ri, Canon. 3. ' n^tfwxM J7 '&hfj\r( t cv .tiock. Can. 19. Sed Cod. Can. Eccl. univ. Can 98. M» t^Hveu cT» tiv«£ xa3-' icwr*{ 2«/v6/bs toi«^J, a»ey tm> jrsTrirsy/ufyiav tstc /«»Tg^r6\«f. Concil. Aniiocb. Can. 20. Concil. Chalced. Can. 18. Cc^/Vm uer6 G*n. Ecc/. univ, C. 197. b Confule Eufeb. lib. 3. i« wit. Conft. cap. 4. Evagr. I. 2. c^. 4. Theodora. lib.Zic.B. Anonymum I. c. de libertate Eccl. cap. 3. §.4.J US Ad Clerum jin^licanum. 199 §. 4. Jus autem libere cogendi Synodos, & jus in Synodis celebrandis condtndi Le^es, pars ell cultiis Chriftiani necejfana prorfus., & **•«&«. Quomodo emm fient omnia **jM*tr, i#*i&% nihil fcilicet confufe.y £c pro cujufque Terncritate I Quomodo concroverfiarum figctur Serra, & ma\x fidei mercacoribus Labia falcem obtu- rabuntur ? Unde tollentur corrupted quae in Ecclefise Difciplinam fubrepfifle comperi- encur ? (uc paucis deniquc abfolvam.,) Ubi loci difficillimse de Rebus Fidei Qii.tftiones, auc tuto pocerunt eventilari, auc ad optatum ali- quando perduci Finem 3 ii non in Synodo Nati- onal in Nomine Domini congregata, cui vel ipfe fidem dedic, fe pro certo incerfuturum ? §. 5. Qpotus enim quifqueert^ etiamin facris verfaciflimus 3 (fi privmm accedat, & extra Synodum^) cui cum abdica myfteria Di- vinac Nature appropinquanc^ fimulque incum- bunc enarranda, non refugiac evelYigio tremenri fanguis, acque prae mecu exalbefcat 2 Quo- tufquifque vel Ingenio compledti queat, (nedum 'Verbis allequacur.>) quomodo Pater (mzinitio> Sc fine fine gignat t ilium, in queinita Gene- rans (eie rotum effundn, uc ipfi nihil decedat, & a quo Generams ea nafcitur ratione, utab eo 1 Cor. 14.40. 2CO Concio Synodic* eo qui generat recedac nunquam i & a quibus utrifque Spiritus Sandtus eo pa&o procedit, ut ne >p» quidem confufis Perfonarum Trium proprietatibus, ejufdem naturae inter omnes consortium cxiftat abfolutiflimum ? Quis eft ille in Theologicis ufque adeo oculatus, uc expedire mihi queat (faltem pro rei dignitate) ineffabile lllud Divine cum noftra Natura con- tubernium I quovenexu fibi invicem eum in morem fine copulate 3 ut idem qui femper ex Deo vero verus Deus exiftat necefle eft5 Homo quoque^ & quidem verus^ ex vera ho- mine nafceretur I aut quomodo mulier Def- ponfata ita Parentem fuum pepererit^ ut virgo fuerit, etiam aPartu3 muko quam ante Imma- culatior ? §>. 6. Certo certius (Audicores) tantiim abeft ut privatitn de rebus hujufmodi fitftatu- endum 3 ut nulla fine capita Theologicaj unde nacae funt aut plures^ aut certe dtjjiciliores de ipfa Fide Quseftiones. Nulla de quibus erra- tum eft^aut facilius utique3aut periculojw. Nulla in quibus infudarunt majore cum animi conten- tion., fupra-quim-dici-poteft eximia Scripto- rum veterum Ir.genia. Nulla in quibus expli- candisj aut magisvariant Interpretes^ aut ma- jores Ad Clerum Anglkanum, 2CI jores veritati oftundunt Tenebras. Tanta eft ho- minum imbecdlicas, in Rebus Dei inveftigan- dis ; Tanca verborum etiam obfcuricas^ in in- velYigacis enarrandis • Tantaque rerum diffi- cultas^qiicxomne verborum artificium pleruin- quc luperac, tx compluribus parafangis -port fe relinquic. §. 7, Egone vero3 aut We, aut quifquam alius o**t*, uc ad ejufmodi fere «x«p«'V»'u, **£«#»<*• mvfteria, per loca crebris vanifque difficulta- tibus impedita^frequentibus falebris incerfepta, lamis ac fakibus impervia3eluvionibus & vora- ginibus fepenumero intercifa, aditum Singuli taciamus, qui vixdum patuit Unvoerfis i Htfunt 'VelSynodo tarn dtgni Vindice Ncdi> Ut fibi in folid m enodandis, Frequentiam Ho- minwn Jfngelorumo^ videantur tor fan defiderare. Nee ahvfmodi U, e frequentum, quam cui Chri- flus per Paracletum ita intercity & prseeft, ita dirigit, acque gubernat ; uc vcre poflit 8c fine fix 0 rrkum iilud pronunciari3 [ DecreDit b*t« w *•>;» $ *&, Vifum r(i nobis p:r Spiriturn Sanctum, nihil ultra .mre Vobis oneris, qu>un bxc ncceffari.i. C c N 202 . Concio Synodic a §.8. Non pr*afe, 8cperfe,& antecedenter nece(Taria ; Neccfjaria tamen omnimode, uc vo- bis in partes abeuntibusftatuatur uniformis Vi- vendi ratio. Neceffaria etiam 5 quia Pr&cepta. Charicas enim (fatente Bez>a) in Rebus Mediis eft neceffaria, Charitas autem fine obfe^uio , nulla poteft excogicati. Ec quandoquidem il- lud ******** ufque adeo fit pure Gr&curny ut apud Aniens eciam Scriptores de iis rebus adhibeatur, quas aut fieri > auc omkti Lex ipfajubet,idco re£ta me ducit zdfecundum ***** trutinandum -D II. Nempe de rebus antecedenter & ex natura fua Adiapboris. An3 8c quatenus, 3c cu jufmodi Necejftatem fibi acquirant, & (legitima Synodo decernente) in Leges abeant. "e^^v &**&•%*& §. i. Vocabulum illud [^^ J quod a Sandta Synodo adhibetur, liquido notat Au- Boritatem Prtcepto jundtam. **& autem hie di- citur quod ?•** fupra (v. 10.) Aperte innuens,, Materiam Canonis Apoftolici Adiaphoris elTe annumerandam. Non de Fornicatione, aut com- memo cum Idolis, (qua? Natura fua funt ma/a, & quorum merces mrrs eft5) led dzf anguine lo- quor,. Ad Clerum Anglic anum. loi quor3 ikfuffocattSy a quibus uc rigide fe abftine- ant tenentur Gentes. Cujus rei hdijferentiam (fi per fe confideretur) illeChrifti Aphorifmus abuildc probat. Non quod intrat in os coinquinat bominem,fed id quod exit. (Mat. 15. n%) Ec qui forte pauct adhuc ifla tan^ere forrmdantD ( inquit Hpifcopus-* Hipponeiifis) a ceteris omnibus irri- dentur. Cui eciam fuffragatur univerfa Ecclefia Wirtembergenfis : Injiituerunt ( inquit ilia ) in Atlis Apofohcis^ ut Gentes caVerent ab efujangui- ni$ & j ujfocatorurn ; non ut bv&etf\ forat qnod *&&**.+. ** (c. 7. v.? 5,) ' CbryfojtomnSi Oeeumenint^ &c ThcojhyLiitus^ exponunc *•?* per »*.#«. uc nihil cow/«/e peragatur,& procujuiq- temeritate. lllud enim cum dewra, (uc S.Ambrofms in- terpretatur^ qucd ft c*m Face & Diftipliria-. Redte igicur Cafotnus Lllud /'W* praeceptwto vocavic it (inquic) omvi.t qua ad externum «*xmu Ecdefis jpefldnt exi$ere con- ttartf. Et ft duis forte hie ac, quod^ro* it; jjcucus fwjhire jecum Ttdeatur^Cumneaat x^* exhibef'dxmefjs Gentibus molejliam*, (Act. n : 19.) & tzmttfRitus frtfcribil quiin U cde Rebus, & pcrjvnis Lcclfujhcis, omnibufquC Jaeri \obiig.^d.r culius cxtcrni circumjlantii^ ad ordi?ie;n3 hon-Jlu terrij & <*difieMionem fpe&Arttlbiff^ extra eas que funt a Cbrtfio & ejus ^pojiulis tradlt* in facris Uteris • adeo manifefta res rjl & ratiom eonjentAnea^ ut pWerji \udicii obfitnatique animijufpieionc agre fe liberWVerUy qui jiceus & Jobrius id nepcoe- nt. §. ?• Quin&Res per kMidiasNeeefJitatem pofle iuduCfe. ft non faris aliunde ^vel indt liquet; Quo! duple, ivinper jure, Dhino fcilicet & Guwott, Psioueva Dei iicclefia felici omir.e re- geretur. Quorum illudin Sacro Codice> Hoc in Ctdiee contirietur quod a Concilio Chalcedonen- fi C 01 pus Canonum appellator. U terque olim ii> titiis Sedile habuk Peculare, in ipfc i s u ieditullio emir.enufurie co^ loca tun i :x conrfpe&o eorum yuCj ApoAoWum fuc- bres R el igionis Dogmata explorjrerx, s Hcerefes fncctdcrenty&( contnovcffiae ad Rem-fubkcam Bed /< i a!i- quo 208 Concio Synodic* quo modo pertinebat, Divino femper admini- culo ad tecum exitam perducerent. §. 6. Quod autem Leges Ecclefiaftica^ Au- £toritate Regia ftatuminata^ ipfas hominum conjaeritiM in Deo onerant, ex eo facile con- Pec. 2. 13, ficitur, quod *•*>* ****« j**?*™* eo modo ac methodo parendum docet Beatus Petrus, ut Regi in quantum fupremo Domino, Reliquisin quan- tum a Beoe milfs. utrifcie vero propter Deum obiequium deoitumexhibeatur.ht mento qui- dem j quum Totum Regimen exprimatur per TV ®& A«*T«?ir, (Rom. 13. 2.) unde & /W#™«: ^Rom.ij.i. . nimirum •*■«?* i^w ^3 e«« * Tcr«^sr quajl homimbiis placentes^fed utjervi Chrijii fact' ernes Vet Doluntatem^ in Cordis nvjiri fimplichate • bona fide jerVientes , ficut Domino > & non bomini- bus. (Eph. 6.6.) §. 7. Nee hie immemores effe decet, quod in Synodo Nationali lies Regis agitur^ quippe qui duplicem Perfonam fuftinet, 6c Jure duplici potitur; unde & Regis jiuBoritatem, non tnodo in Perjonas, icJ & in Caufas Ecclefiafticas ag- nofcit* Ecclefia Anglicana. Et quandoquidem edixit Salvator nofter, reddeCdfari qu>t Claris, perinde eft acfidixiflet^ ( Judicc fakcm * ^«- gujlino,') Nifi Cfifaris prtceptum prtccpto Dei ad Verfatur, tanqu.m \udici jupremo parendum ejl% Cui Confonum accinuit Johannes Bekiyifau apud Geld Quicquid jufferit Su primus A. jlrattu quid Dei mavdatis non Tepug) cum non LihtAt iliud, [Melius e(l Deo quam h (Acdire,] omnes3 cu]us-cu]tu honoris fuerint, nifi Dei tpfius Ordinationi njtjiere Velint, profefto ob~ O d fequi * Artie. 37. * Av£. in Mattb de pw Cer.tuiio- ' nii judicantit fe indi; -tia. ni. iio * Apud C«n- feg. Bohem. cap. 1 5. de Maiift. Polit. * Vide Hat- mon. Confejf. Sett.19.pag. 276, 281, 282, 28<5. Concio Synodica fequi tenetur. Enndem in fenfum * Hieronymw , Si Dominus (inquit) jubet qu# non funt advert a facris hteris^ferVas Domino jubjiciatur. Hue ac- cedunc Confeflionum Reformacarum eriam iuffragia, nimirum ^Belgica^Bohemic^j Saxonic*% dugujlanx. [Univerfe & finguli eminentibus Pote- jiatibus Jubjetlionern pr<£J}ent> in omnibus qua Deo non funt contraria. Necejjario debent obedire, nift jubentibus peccare. §. 8# Nee tantiim numero fujfragantium, fed & graviflimis Rationum momencisnitimur. Illud enim inprimis incumbit Regi, (aliifque fub eo quiGladium habent,) fummam curam adhi- bere^ ut Ecclefia DeiRite3 atque ordine G11- bernetur • ne polluatur unquam, aut corruat, fed contra omnigenas corruptelas farta tedta prseftetur. Prhatis omnibus curandum, ut fin- cera Eccleftse membra fint ; neve fmant cor- pus fuum (quod Templum Dei nuncupatur a Spiritu Sanffo ) pluribus fordibus inquinari3 quam ut puriflimus ille Spiricus in eo velit in- habitare. Regibus ea propter commiflfus eft Gladius fecularis ^ quo extrinfecus accingun- tur ceu Dei ^indices in iram, Rom. 13. 4, Pri- vatis vero non permittitur nifi gladim Mefpin- tus,(k\3i'VerbumDeii) quoChriitianosad unum omnes Ad Clerum ^fnghcanum. 211 * Matth. 18. 17, 18. Tit. i. 15. * 1 Cor. $.$. * Prov. 24, 21. omnes adverftis impetus Diabc/i accingk Pau/us, (£ph. 6. 17.) ]?r#fe£tis denique EccLfiafticis commitfus eft Gladius Spiritualise quo omnes fub ditos immorigeros * im>%«i ^t^-c, ( id eft, per modum Excijtonis^) eofque Satan*w> fed noftrd faltern 0- bedientU; quam Lex Divina a nobis exigit ; & adeo non eft *wut zdfalutem etiam tternam fit ufquequaque necefiana : utpote quam qui non prseftkeritj damnationemjibi accerjit, fi fides Apoftolo fit habenda^ diferte illud alTeveranti, Rom. 13. 2. Hanc efle mentem* Ecclefa noftrx, videre eft in tiomilia de Bonis operibus inftituta. D d 2 Dicit *Viie Tom.i, Homil. 4« 212 Concio Synodica * Harm. Cow fejf. Se#. iq. Graviter peccant qui propter has indifferentes Ceremonias turbanc Ec- clefias, dam- nant alios principes, & Magiftratus. Haeccine Pieras quam jaftamus ? Haeccinecha- ritas quam debemusEc- clefirs & fra- tribus ? Zancb. de ReLlib.i. W]6$. * Nunquam Ecclefia Dei in Terris ca- ruit Cere- moniis, neq; carere po- tefHcum fine Ceremoniis, nee fideles in unum con- venire & co- alefcere pof- funt,necDeo publice fer- vire. Zanch. deKell.i. p.^2o,Tfjef.2. * 1 Cor. 14. 26. Dicit autem Ecclefia SueDica ; * fie inter primi Ordmis Bona opera 3 dedijfe locum Obediently qua, ^Magifiralibus exhibetur. Bt unufiquifiquejludiojtus publicis legibus Je accommodate quo fiwcerior \uerit Cbrifiianus, fide que ditior. Verba fane, fi qua alia, valde dt»fi*y*va* prope dixeram etiam dig- niffima , qua? Canonibus wfiris accenfeantur. Videant^ quibus vacate Confejfionis illius Sue- vie* caput tertium fiupra Dicefimum. §. 10. Hac Gemella Au&oritate, Regia fcilicet & EcclefialUca, utraque coelitus ori- unda3 adhuc in Lumbis Proavorum innixifu- mus, cum ab ilia five Ecclefia five curia potius difceffimus^ quam ab omnibus deferendam Ro* mani fecerant. Unde nihil frequentius in ore erat Poncificiis^ quam nihil apud nos or dine ^ ni- hil decenter 6c w»«. fed fufque deque potius omnia in facris coetibus ufurpari. Quibus uc os occluderemuSj eo pa£to refecuimus quic- quid aut fpurcum fuir, aut frigidum, aut facris Uteris adrerfarium ; ut retinenda etiam cenfue- rimus^non tatitum ea quce norant omnes ab ipfis I Apoftolis derivata3 veriim etiam & alia qua> J dam quae ex * ufu publico videbantur, quippe quadantenus facientia * *6* *!***&. Re&ene* Ad Clerum An^licanum. 2K §. n. Re&ene, an fecus, non lllorum erat difpicere, nedum certe provunciare, quibus di- jcicnrab Apoilolo, ob>di\t FrAfofirisy& Jubja- cete , Heb, 13. 17. fi quid aut dficit, ant rcdun- dat, autquoomq- modo claudic at in k\is TAi- rtjij Ritualibiu, quibus obllrepuut Novatores, totifque viribusadverfantur; totum illud luben- tiftime Gubernatoribus Ecclefiafticis, in legi- time Synodo convocatis, feu auferendum, leu amplundum, feu caftioandum etiam lubmittitur. Aufitautem in tali Synodo, ut cum came & [anguine ddiberetuv ; aut confihum ineatur de litis Homulis deliniendis, quibus quieta mown ma^ria merces. Nam (ut optirtie Hilarius^ Dulce quidem eji nomen Facis0 Jed ahud cji Pax3 aliud jcrvitus. Ec ali quanto quidem prtfftat ts a>i3s * rix*r, (ut Ignatius fcribic ad Polycar- ignat.adpoi. pum5) difcetfi fimul Stvincere, quam tujrpi '^jj^* .rf^re contunua* • & optimas Leges abmare^ ea tai.tum de cauta, quod f#pe a peffnms Wo- /mtur • aut lummis curis dittoing! nequid illis non placeat^ quibus * Dei Ordinatio vix unquam placuir, cn: quibus non placet placere Deo. Il- lud fere unum Curandum ell, ut in omnibus Placitis Syrodalibus, identidem refpiciatur ad illam duplicem Evangelium pra^dicandi ratio- nem, 214 Concio Synodica rem, a * Clemente Mcxardrino indigitatam • nempe &*v**i> * "w*^ quart: m una erat *v©w, «>e«« altera. Iliud earn in more * erat Eccle- fkc adhuc incorrupt (tettante Vincentio Ltri- nenjty) Fidem Veram probate duobus his modis ; Di- T?/»z Canonis auBoritatc^ & Ecclefi* Catholic* Tra- ditione. Ad quam utramque Beams Paulus hortatur Tbeffalomcenfes. Itaque fratrrs perflate, & retinete Traditwies^ quas didiajiis^ Jive per Sermonem^five per Bpijlolam woflram, 2. ep. c. 2. v. 1 5, Acque ica tradudti fumus ad cercium &*/« penfitandum j Nempe vy&toc. Id. ib.p. 272. * Catholici ex more fuo fidem veram duobus obanc. Non quia Canon foius non fibi ad univerfa fufficiar, fed De Regula ilia aut Norma, ad quam decreta Eccle- feaftica necejje habent ut exigantur. §• lNJO" abhorrebit apropofito (hincar- L repta occafione) fecrecioribus aliquan- tifper fufpiriis vicem noftram lugere^ noftrifq; malis non tantum Pmhileminus diVer- fas expofitiones commwifcitur. Tantumque 'Veritati objirepit adulter fenj us y quantum utique corrupter jiylus. His nkuntur iStovatores,, pro its fcilicet ftabiliendis quae ex falfo compofuerunt. * Ergo non ad Scriptures proDocnvdum rff, [ pro cujufque Arbitral: u explicatasj nee his confiitu* endum certameny in quibus aut nulla aut incerta t>i* ttona ejly aut parum certa. Ordo rerum expojiulat^ ut illud inprimis decernatury Quibus cornpetat fides ipfay cujus fint Scripture, a quo, & per quosy & quando, & quibus fit Tradita Difciplina, qua fiunt C hrijltani. libi enim apparuerit ejfe "Veriiatem DiJ- ciphndy & Fidei Cbrifliam, illic erit Veritas Scri- pturarum> & Expofitionumy & omnium Traditio- num Cbrijlianarum. §. 3. Serio dicam>Auditores,(& quantum- vis Liter a tori, liceat tamen vel dixiffe.,) quod quotiefcunque apud me folum. rationes ineoa quibus aut funi Difputationum^ autSchifma- tum cumulo^aut H#refea>nCongeriei aliquando tandem occurraturj non videncur hcec mihia- licer^ qudm in Ecclefi allien Au&oricatb (la- bilimento expediri poffe, -Nee unquam eric ut oceda- Ad Clerum jfnglicanum. 217 procedamus in Animorum confenfu & Pace publica ftabiliendis, (qu# jam fola fere Sparta inciimbicClero adornanda^) priufquam adde- cantatum illud indubitatcc per omnia fecula ^TraditiovU fulcimentum pro fuaquifque virili, d*u,mc ***** qua pubiice, qua privatim3 nofmet- iplos avxinxerimus. Quicquid extra hunc api- cem infudabitur, totum Vy> quantum -quantum non niii*«>w comperietur j & utcunque a^rf™ elaboratum, certe *** evanefcet. Junone noftrd fruamur, fed momentanea-, nuilaque extrinfeciis adnibita vi3 mox in nubeculam defiturd. Nova- cores illi inter Clencos quiinipfum os Anti- quicatis contemptim admodiim oggannierunt, quot quantifque hoc in Regno •**—#** quam promptos Aditus patefecerunt ? Si quicquid Vccus Ecclefia five decrevit, five admifit, per- quedecurfumtotfeculorum ad hunc ufque di- em *«m#w deduxit, fufque deque jam tandem habendum fit; valeant per me licet una cum t*Zh iiQpKtKf, etiam Decim&z P^dobatifmuSy & Diet Dominia Rementia. lmmo(quod totus horreo inter efbndum) ipfius Numinis Tres T erf mi- litates, & Proceffo Sfintus etiam a Filio, ad privati cujufque arbitrium tanquam ad Lydi- um Lapldem revocabuntur. Nihil deinccps E e in * In ipfl Ca- tholics Ec- c left I mag- noperc cu> randum eft, ut id tenca- mus quod ubiqac , quod femper, quod ab omnibm creditumeft. Vin. Lir* ad- verf. Hsrtf* cap. 3. 2i8 Concio Synvdica inEcclefiarelinqueturillibatum, fed ex cafto Veritatis Sacrario in turpilTimum hserefiarcha- rum lupanar defmet. In obfcurioribus aut am- blguis Scriptures locis interpretandis., abundet quifque fuo fenfu per Ecclefiam licet j ea lege videlicet, ut ad Fidei *«&*** exigantur omnia • femperque (ut Vincentius Lirinenfis monet) Prophetic* & ^fpoBvlicdi Penfis pradftijitum3 fatius duco circumfcribere quod aiioqui reftat difcu- tieiidum, quam aut veftro tsedio non occur- red aut modeftias imx limites videri faltem tratifilire. §% 5. Interim tamen non poflum quin vos obtefter., (Reverendiffimi admodum in Chrifto Patres^ Fratres in Domino di!e£tiiTimij) per Patrem AJL Clerum .ad Pro- opium verb, 42. p. 814. 22C Concio Synodic* mortal^ Invifibili3 foli Deo fapienti, fit Honos5 & Gloria * & Gratiarum Adtio, & nunc5 & deinceps * in Secula Seculorum. FINIS. r * Li> ' *' Concio Academica D E HIERARCHIA SECULAR I, Speciatim & Prcefertim De lure Regum, H A B I T A IN TEMPLO BEAT/E MARU A P U D OXONIENSES, PRO TERMINO INCHOANDO XIV. CALENDAS MAIAS, M. DC. LXIIIL "3 In EpiQola priore Beati Petri, Caplte fecundo., Coinmate declmb tertio., de Polkia Chri- ftiana fie lcriptum legimus. Sub\e£li ivitur ejlote omni humane Creature propter Veum j five l{egi, quafi pr&cellenti ; five Dh- cibuSy tanquam ab eo miffis 3 in *vindiBam ma- lefafiorum^ laudem Dero Bonorum, §rI*t? Equirenti mihi nuper, ad hancPro- 1\ vinciam deftinato, ( Viri & Fratres Dile&itlimi,) fi quid in ea (non adornand^fed) v iriculis obeunda, vel felicicer invenrre, vel obiervare diligenter, vel accuratius contexere, vei qualicercunque demum alias prceftare pof- fciiij quod Audientibus aut Curae auc Cordi eilec, auc quo gratiam non plane nullam ab aquis remm Aijtimatoribus, vel (quod potiusin voti^ erac) arud Veum faltem inirem • eveftigio & fine mora fubibac animum recordatio, quod nullum 224 Concio Academic* nullum certius promptiufve aut Mails Publicis Remedium, aut '"Bonis Publicis Fulcimentum vi- detur pofle excogitarl, quam fi Principum Jura, cum officiis Populorum qui iis fubfunc^ ad teftatiffima fuaPrincipia in omnium Animis exigantur. Idque mechodo tarn diftindta., ver- borum ambitu tarn exporre&Oj & momentis Rationum cum rationibus argumentandi tarn ad Vulgi Captum accommodatis ^ uc nemo tarn bardus inveniatur* qui officii fui non gnarus {\t> aut fane frontis tarn perfri£i & contabefcit. Nee tantummodo Seditiones, (ut ut Ilia fatis ampla malorum feges^) fed & quse inde enafcuntur, vitia fcilicet omnifaria^ radices agunt. ^. 2. Videtur ergo totis viribus in id pr#ci- pue incumbendum^ ut Jura Principum in Po- pulos. AX Clerum Oxoni:nfem. 225 Pofjulosy cum horum Officiis erga Trincipes^ & utrorumque Officia adverfus Deum.uon mo do ( iinnbas innotefcantj fed sequa lance truti- nentur. Idque ob alias non contemnendM, fed hanc potijjmum rationem , uti tranquil lam & OMictam d( gamus Vitam cum omni Pietate d^ Dene - ratione, i. Tim. i> 2. 'Quod videatur Sandtus Paulus SuccinBe admodiim loquutus, finiulque oppido Cofiofc. Quippe qui multum non multis quamvis alibi pailim enuntiac, flura tamen pau- ciunbiu nufquam loci enuntiaverk. Nempe Vo- cabulum illud ****** (fatentibus ipfis Difct- plinariis) comple&itnr omne genus officia quae 111 homwum Commerciis vigere debent. Ec in co quod fuperaddic [#*&i &«*«>,] plane omnimo- dam comprehendic quae L^debetur obfervan- ciam. Ncido enim quo pa&OjComparatum eft ita3 ut Pieiu fimul tk, Pvlitia, quemadmodum Dei & T\eps Timor, manus invicem fibi porri- gant ab omni parK auxiliatrices, Eum fcilicet in finem contlituuntur JMagiftratus 3 propter quern & Chrifiiatii & Civs fortius, prorfus uc Pittas cum Pcice ubique vigearic, & C6 jundtif- (imo pftftoantar in omnium AnimibContu- bemia. Cujus reiDefiderionunqoamfelicms facisfietj quam fi qui Prdfunt tkjubduntur \ ¥ f fuarum 226 Concio Jcademica fuarum eft partium ex sequo prseftent. Illud eft maxime Subditorum, ut toci ordini Magifiratuum, feu %**** *my&«t quantumcunque *"*«*•*, (ut no ftra habent exemplaria5)vel quantumlibet ***** (uti habemus in Archecypo^) perquam morige- ros fe prsebeant vcl propter Deum. Ad JHagiflra- tus autem fpe&at ex altera parte3 five in p£nam> five in pramium 9 fua cuique diftribuere ; Bonos Clypeo tutari, in malos Gladio animadvertere ; Pie viventibus favere^ in immorigeros vero fsEvire ; ■ Parcere Subjefiis, & Debellare Superbos. Quod utrumque fimul officium fpiritus fan&at hoc Textu complexus eft3 Subjetfi igitur etfote omni humane Creatur£ propter Deum : five T{egi> quafi Pucellenti : five Ducibus, [aut Prasfldibus] tanquam ab eo mijjis ; ad Vinditlam malefaSlorum^ laudem Vero bonorum. §• 3. Quod Prseceptum Apoftolicum quo fruftuofiiis participemus^ oremus Deum Mife- ricordiarum, Patrem luminum benigniffimum, (cujus verbum eft ipfa Veritas* & via ad vitam exploratiffima*) ut mifericordicer ei compla- ceat hodierno Coecui intereffe jut quicquid e corde jid Clerum Oxonienfem. 227 corde meo in linguair^ & inde in Aures etiam veftras, pro Bonkate fua folita fit perdudtuniSj in noftram omnium qua privatim qua publice cedac Utilitatem, acque in nominis fui Gloriam in majus indies efferendam, per Jcfum Chri- (lum Dominum noftrum. Ec uc quod noftra caufaoramus, eo faciliiis exoremus, Oremus infuper & praecipue pro EcclefiaChrifti militante, pervana regnaRef- que Publicas quaquaverfum difTeminatl no- minatim vero pro Anglicana hac noftra. Atque iuibi ante alios, pro ejufdem Ecclefi* Nutricio Carolo, pcculiari Dei Gratia .> Magrcc Britannu, FramRe$ina noftra Sereniffi- ma ; Pro Regina Matre Henrietta JMaria ; pro IlluftrilTimo Principe JacoboVuce Eboracenfi ; aliifque quibufcunq- e regio ftemmate oriundis. Pro utraque Domo Parliamenti. Pro Regni Proceribus nobiliflimis • pr#i*ertim iis qui Regi adfunt a confiliis fecretioribus. Spcciatim vero preces apud PacremCoeleftem funt effunder.dse, pro univerfo Clero Ai.glicano • pro reverendil- F f 2 fimis 228 Concio Jcademica fimis Archiepifcopis • proEpifcopis Reveren- dis ; aliifque quibufcunque inferioris fubfellii Clericis, quibus-quibus five muneribus five nominibus infigniantur. Pro utraque Acade- mia3ac inprimis hac noftra. Pro Honoratiffimo Domino Cancellario3 ejufque Vicecancellario Digniflimo, Pro omnibus Dodtoribus 5 Pro- curatoribus utrifquc ; Collegiorum & Aula- rum pr#£e&is fingulis ; & prsefertim (quo me vocat officii ratio fingularis) pro Collegia Mag- dalenenfij ejufque membris univerfis. Grata infuper publicorum qui in Album Academic referuntur Benefa&orum, facienda eft a nobis inprsefentiarum Commemoratio. Nimirum Principis IlluftrilTimi3H«^fcr^ Du- els GlocejlrU • Jobannis Kempt , Cantuarienfis Archiepifcopi ; Thorn* Kempe, Epifcopi Lon- dinenfis ; ^Margaret*, Comitifa Richmundia j Henrici Septimi, & Elizabeth* Uxoris ejus ; Rickndi Litchfcld, Archidiaconi Middlefexicc ; Thorn* Wooljey Cardimlis 3 & Archiepifcopi Eboracenfis; Remici Ottxvi 5 JMaria Regin* • Regin* eciam EUx>aheihz ; JacobiT(egis ; Thorn* cBodleii3 Remici Salpilit, Guilielmi Sidley, Nico- Lu Kempe 1 Militum • Thorn* White ^ S. Theolo- gian Doctor is ; Guilielmi Camdeni, Armigeri : Alio- A fd Clerum Oxonienfem. 229 Aliorumquc fi qui fine, qui Academiac Oxoni- ci fi quoquo modo benetecerunt. Et quia Deus eft Me folus Bonornm omni- um Lsrgitor^qui aut Nos ant Propatres noftros per manus hominum locupletavit j ( Qiiibus merito accer.featur Guilielmw eciam Wainjletiu^ Epifcopus olim Wintonicnfis, Magnus Angliac Cancellarius^ Colleen juxta & Aulx Beau Maru Magdalen* Fur/daior knge munificentijjimus ,) pro- inde foli& uni Deo, de tot car.tifque Benenciis in Nos collatis, Gratiarum adhones habendse fiint, per & propter Mediatorcm & Dominum noftrum Jefum Chriftum. Cujus meritis jam freti, ejufqj adjuti oratione, Deum Opt.Max. iifdem verbis coiriprecemur, quibus Ipfe Incar- natus precandum ftatuit. Pater noftcr qui es in Ccelissfanciificctur Women tuum. ^Adveniat Pegnum tuum. Fiat Voluntas tua ficut in Ccelo^fic & %n Terra. Pancm noftrum quo- tidianum da nobis hodie : C^ dimitte nobis dcbita nojlra, ficut & nos iimittimus Dektorihus xojlris. Et nc nos indued* in Tentattonem^ Jul libera nos a Malo. Nam tuum ejl Reqnum, Potenlia, & Gloria, in Secula Seculorum. AMEN. *30 Concio dcademica Subjrfli igiturejiote ornni human* Creatura pro- per Deum : five Beaiyquaji pr&cellenti -yfive Vu- cibuS) tanquam ab eo miffis, ad vindi&am male- fafiorum, laudem Dero bonorum. §. I. Quod ab initio hujus Capitis hue ufq; dixerat in 7~k/£Beatus Petm> pergit porro jam per partes, & in Hypothefi explicare. Inprimis autem agit de debka illd obedientia 3 quam & Legi, & Regi9 quin & a Rege Deputatis pr#- ftandam ilatuit. Ad quam feliciiis evincendam, Duobus nititur Argumentis j Quorum alterum ab Juthore, a Fine alterum mutuatur, Ordi- nationis hujus Civilis (ut ut **t*mt «»*f«*w, flve Human* Creatur*>) Deus ipfe &Juthor8t Vin- dex audit. Nee enim ideo Humana dicitur, quod fit humamtus criunda, (ut Grxca Scholia & Didy- mas videntur velle interpretari,) fed quod homi- num fit propria $ interque Homines conjiituta. Finis auctm hujufce Or dii is non modo utilem eum probat, fed ufquequaque JQceffarium ; Quum hac potiiTimum ratione^ & Virtutibus & Viuis ftipendia conftent : lllis rimirum Prtmia, Ijlis Poenae bonftituantur. In quibus duobus quafi Cuneis, five \kx hujus Cardinibus> Tran- quillitans noftrsc jfanua in totum vcrticur atque confiilic. §#2# Sed Ad Clerum Oxonienjem. *3* §. 2. Sed neq; fatis fibi duxit Beatus Petnv, hoc officii cantiim in genere3* **«** prascepillc- veruminiupernos docet, (& copiofo quidem Compendio,) quonam or dint & meihmbM quo- nam modo atque menfura, in hoc officio exe- quendo utendum fie. Nempe a lege Evar.gelica praxeptum eft, ut & Deo, & Regh & Regis nomine Ga&m/^m^/Subje&ifimus. Sed ^rz- m«w Deo, /tawkRc^i, datum 2 RegeDepu- tatis. Deofcilicct propter feipfum, Regi vero propter Deum , a Rege dcnique Deputatis propter Regem obtemperandum, Ita tamen propter Regem, ut priiisSc potius pm6rov] lis & dun ^^to^oic. Regi quafi P TMtllcnii- (ffcundum vulgacam verfionem3) aut propter Ipfius Potejlatem, (ut hab?t vcr{lo.drabica3) aut quia omnia eifunt, (ut habet JExhiopica^) aut pro- pter ejus lmperium3 (uti eft ap id Syriacam.) Ut fummacim Rem dicam, Cmvis Humane Or- dinationiy aut cuivis Humane Creaturs^ (nam fie Apoftolo *tn&r«>n hie loqui placuit,) ea me- thodo ac modo parendum docet Spiritus San- 6tus3 vxBegi in quavXnm Supremo Domno^Re- lLv is in quantum iJRegemijfiTj utrifque vero propter Deum? obfequii Debitum fit perfolvefl- dum. £c i'.de Duo (ut modo dixi) feie offerunt explicanda j Nimirum Ordinatio>& Siibordwa- §.i.Ad no Masiilratuuni. D Ad Clerum Oxonienfem. *33 §. 1. Ad primum mcmbrum quod attinetj Argumcntis fere innumeris evinci poteft,Quod Magiftraius ctiam chilis, #que ac Or do Ecclefia- jiicus, fummo jure cenferi debet inter fpecies »«#*. L Anus icilicec oriundus^ jureque Dvvino conflicucus. Et ut palam hoc fiat in ipfo operis quafi Vtfubu/o, videtur mihi roftra omnium maximopere interefle. Eft enlm illud vel luce clarius^ & apud omnes in confeflo, quod fi PopuliUnherJi VicanusR.exeilet & Vicemge- rens j fi folum Populi Minifter & vindex Ira: 3 fi Poteftate^ fublimiores a Populo eilent Ordinate (quod toties venditant & conrendunt Hyperaf - piftx Democratic^) fi perverfo hoc fenfu buma- na eflent Creatura,nec alio jure fruerentur quam quod cflfrceri Multitudini acceptum ferunc ; A&um effec illico de Caufa Regu3 quam tanta animi confident ia in nos fufcepimus allerendam. Quapropcer lllud ante omnia incuinbit mihi cvincendum, noil i Populo jimul conVento Ordi- nationis hujus Originem, (quod ipfi > Grotto Vmfo errore patrio adhuc correpto humanitus contigit autumaile,) fed a Deo conftituente pe- tendam e(Te. tAl'.i j rumfegregum adverfm violentiam, in foci et at em civilem cciijje, undeortum hab:> : Pot eft as Civi/K, quam ideo hnmanam ordinaiionem ] eum \jt>cat. Gror. dc jure Bel. & Pads, 1. cap. 4. Seft. 7. pag. 86. G g §. 2. In- * Notandum eft, prim 6 ho~ mines non Dei pneepto, fed fponte add*- tfos experi- ment*) h.firmi- tatiilia' *34 Concio Academica Piod.Sic.Li. §.2. Inprimis au tern hue facit5 quod Pote- JIm hinc hide in facris Uteris pro ipia Perfom ufurpatur^ quae Poteftatem Mam habee coeli- tiis libi demandatam. Quod enim dicit Gen- tilis Ille^ «»3-/»»jr« *wjk '-ff*ff^ (Mat. 8. 9.) perinde eft ac fi dixlflec^ «i«< ^ «» fc^fc**!1. Pari modo & ift.se phrafcs5 Homo jum fub Poteflate conjli- tutus^ (Luc, 7. 8.) Ef «<- IMM* rivot ir&iri*s &*n\*it t«ti/x*W ?»»* t»» %\w %%xm*t. C^Ul COn- fonum eft illud quod inter Placita Efjencrum Porphyrins mexnoratj * %« &**«fayirt% *i* ™ £fX«,. §. 3. Quor- Jd Clerum Oxonienfem. *35 §• ?• Quorfum autem Magiftratus paflim in vetere Inftrumcnto per vocem E/obim efferun- tur? Nvn propter aliquid Dignitatis ipforum ElTentise inhaerentis,(quippe quibus compertum eft bumamtus omnia evenire^ceque ac reliquisex vulgo humani Generis^) Sed inprimis ob ra- tionem a Sahatore noftro exhibitam., nimirum quod ad eos Sermo Dei fa6tus eft. (Joh. 10^ 3 5.) vel ( nr planius id exprimam)& exegetice,) quod z&diDinum illud munusica divimtusiunt vocatij ut in eodem obeundo ipfius Dei in Ter- ns Vicam fine. Ob fecundam rationem a Akyfe redditarr.3 ^aw nun hominis^fed * Dei Judicium eft ; aut faltem aliquid divini admiftum habet. (Dcuc. 1. 17.) ob tertiam infnper rationem j quam apud Pfalmiftam videre eft^ nempe *quod j Deus Wis adeft in T^ebw Imperii Jdminiflrandis. (Pfal.%2: 1.) Uncle legimus de Moyfe, quod erat in Deum Aaroni. (Exod.4. 16.) Deufque dicitur Pharaonis ah ipjo Deo covftuutus, (Exod. 7,1.) nequaquam **\»\^vw, bene tamen $4*% puta dnpinam ^uBoritatem, qua deo concedente mu- nitus eft. * Bgc dixi 'Vos Dii eftis, id eft (ut op- time exponic Juftinus Martyr , aut Quifquis fcripiic Queftiones & Refponfiones ad Onbodcx- os^) Dedi vobis * «*•*»> * t*'I"» * **«™ ,«*. pxoinde popu- G g 2 lum Exod.22.28. * aChron. 19. 6. *PfaUi. Juflin* in qa. & Refp. *i Crtbid.q.142. j>.378. 2Z6 Condi) Academica Pfal. 82. 6. fe c.38. v. 7, 6*c.i9.v.27. lum judicatCy cc fi En judicarem. Eodem plane feufu & Iiiud diciMf (Wal.86.8.) Nov efijimilis Tut inter DtoSj id eft Dei in Terris gerentes Dicem, penes quos eftlcivilis auc fccclefiaftica Admini- ttratio. Ob auzrtarn denique rationem, Dei nomine cenllxtur., quia dhini func regalis officii FruBus T:iniiruni Pax, &J^m<*5exeadem qua- fl Jrborex^ns paffibuS J ruccrefcentes. §. 4. Hue accedit quod viri principes & Filii Dei appellantur in facrapagina. Uc cum di- cuntur Filii Dei Filias hominum deperiiffe, (Gen.6,2.,) Symmactts 8cAquila**(\ui Dy- nallac foliim legitimi (bonx fidei poflefloresj non tantummodo in T^egnum, fed ix in Jits r«£- nandi 238 Concio Academic a nandi admkti folent. Quod ad Priorem un- gendi rationem attinet, Hax in Unttos etiam Diaboli conferri poteft, ideoque contemptim per fe habetur. Pofterior autem ungendi ratio eft quiddam drvinitus impertkum, & ad tlnBos Domini conftkuendos, turn neceflario requiritur, tumiolzfujficit. Nam ubi legkimus eft fuc- ceflor, Un&ione opus noneft, ut refte Junius & Tremellius ad iReg. 23. 3c, Quocirca po- pulus Ifraeliticus Jeboachaz>um unxerunt, non ad aliquid Juris impertiendum^ fed utejufmodi Ceremonia teftatum facerent, Regnum Armis &gyptiorum aliquandiu intercifum , quafi de integro Huic tradi contra JEgyptios defenden- dum. §. 6. Quarto loco vel inde conftat de Magi- jlratus Chilis Hiararchia ; Quod., ficut omne jus Patemum ex Jure Dtvino dimanavit, (idque ponitur extra omncm controverfise aleam, fi- quidem Deus in Decalogo diftir.dtc jubet, ut unufquifque Parentibus rnorem gerat,) Ita om- ne jus Return a Pater no primkiis dimanafle, ali- quatito luculentius per fe videcur, quam ut in eo demonftrando prolixius agam, Prseterquam enim quod pahm conftat, omne Regimen ab initio intra folius Paterni Juris pcm^ria clau- fum, Jd Clerum Oxomenjem. 239 dtm. 10. fum^ non nifi tempore precedence in varias For- mas pullulafle ; & utriulque generis ****** (Return fciliccc & Sacerdctium) ad Primoge- nitum apod Judaeos ex Dei Decreto pertinuiflej (ipfoque Judice Arijlotele^ <* »»v^»« *ix* * *»>** *•• »■** i **«,»,) Accedic etiam illud notatu dignum5 quod Rex quandoque in facris Literis per Pa- tris Nomen enuntiatur. Ita enim Darid com- pellac Saulem, i Sam. 24, 1 1. Et quum Dcbora lumma Rerum in populo Dei potica eflet, non Reojnam ic, ant jwlicem^ led Alatrem in Ijratl vocandam duxit. (Jud. 5,7.) Nee hoc in loco rericendum.quod apnd * Sandtum Uierovymum * #*j».*$ videre hcec ; nimirum rbilijtinos in more tem- per hahuillej Reges fuosad nnum omnes Abi- melechi nomine compellare ; quod quid.jm Pa- trem, juxta ac Re^em, felici online confignift- cac. Ec quandoquidem qui in Populo Pi imas tenets nonmagis Princeps, quamTWr, & Pa- ter quidem Patria vocari folet,(fecuiidum illud Xcnovhont£i3-« nur^c^ du- plex inde Documcrtum 8c Primvikus & vSwi- iftf hanrire dacur. Privates fcilicet admonen- tur3 nequando fecus illi in Sukditos quam in li- beros arimadvertant, iilque de Rerum affiuen- tia* Nutricicrum inftar profpiciant, Su-nltis I * E"J infimul i in fi^et- Xeneifb. K^?. n*«f. /.3. 240 Concio Jcademica Auguftin. de Civ. Dei. l.$, infimul iniiukur^eodemTkulicompendio^ ut Principes fuoS (quantumvis afperos) Pare mum loco revereantur. §• 7* Quid* <3u°d Populi Pajlore s identidem appeliantur a Sfiritu SavBo i Num ob Naturae prarLhntiam aliquam, qua ceteris homiribus haud {ecus prcdUnt, ac homilies c#teri fuis Gregibus atque Jrmentis antecellunt ? miiume Gentium. Sed multo potiiis quod eandem nafcendi fortem perpefli^ & ex eademhumo fepe fublatij in id faftigium Majeftatis ad Dei Nutum evehuntur^ Deique in Terris Thronum tenent. Eapropter Jugujiwus diferce docer,eun- dem Deum qui Majellatem Suaioifjimis dedk ImperatoribuSj puta utrique Fefpafiano, dedifTe etiam Domitiano, qu?xtn\lsTyranno Crudeliflimo. Eundem Deum qui Confiantino^mm Apoftatie Juliavo Majeftatcm regiam commodavide. Unde Supremis Magiilratibus plane ex ri$*t ut Ipfe Dominus & Salvator ipfam Pilau ***■ (fiquam falcem haberet) con-i tizfeipfum eciam adftrueret. **iw(inquic Ille) 1 £*?/*» a A^iajKatT »>¥, »»/<»SoJ wvcr(is tamcn taW habendns fie. Sepcimo. dixie Populus Samuchy Propone nobis Fegcm, (i Sam. 8. 5 ) Et Commace Sexto., da nobis Re^em, oc ' (diuliate 19. 2(ex tfofe prterh. Dixicque Samuel, [Saulem Regem allocucus3) lluxit tejf'hoV.i in Jntecejforem fuperfuam PoJ- fcftionem. quod ell: perindc^ ac fi dixiflet, Nihil , aliud nunc feci> quam quod ante in mandatis ab j ipfo Domino acceperam. Edixic enim Jehova3 j (yerfe 2 23) ^ujculta Voci eorunij ut pr&ficids lis ReV cm. Non ergo Populus fibi ipfi, fed Samuel Populo • neque Samuel fua fponte, fed iplo Deo prmpiente^ Regem Populo pr#ficiebat. §. 11. Echcec fufficiat prceliballe de Magi- jiratuum Ordwationc.Qiix ideo ^i««c d#nfku^ five Human* Creature cenfecur ticulo,, non quod non fit ;«ew'*> plaiieque divinkus onunda, fed/quod Hominum Jit propria ; &c, quantumlibet a Deo., at u J homines tamen conjlituta. §. 1. Deiuceps fequitur expendenda Subor- dinatio Maatjlratuupt. Quam ira nobis hoc loco delcripfit PetMj ut fatis liquido edocueric3 Quid cuique Magiftratuuin, & Quo fit or dine deterendum. . Subjiciamini (luquklllc*) omni hu- man* creatur&y five ordinationi> & propter Deum fubii- Sam. 10. 1 II. 246 Concio Jcademica fubjiciamini. Non tantiim Claudio Irnpera- tori, verum & Furio Camillo Scriboniano^ aliif- que etiam Csefareis in aliis Provinces Procu- ratoribus. Non tantum Regi morem gerite3 fed & a Rege Subrogate, & Provincias particulates Regis vice admimftrantibus, Jfiequefummi dun- taxat, fed imi fubfellii Adminiftris. Univerfis iuquam & fingulis qui dejure vcbls prdfunt9 ac legitime pr&ficiuntur ; fed fuo ordine & loco, fuo modo atque menfura, fuum cuilibet obfequium prseftandum eft. Nam Regi in quzntxxmfupremo Domino, Reliqui* in quantum a Rege mijjis. Regi foii fecundum Deum y Reliquis vero fecundum Regem, licet utrifque propter Deum, Divus Te- trm hoc loco parendum vulc. §. 2; Ad quam Dodtrinam Apoftolicam tarn claram, tarn facilem, tarn omnium oculis expofitam, & paci publico confer vandas ab omni parte neceflariam, nunquam fatis mirari pofTum, neque Cahinum, neque Parmm, neqj Plefjtacum Mornsum, (viros acri licet Ingenio & alioqui perfpicaciffimos Jeo modo quo decebat .animum fuum advertifle ; fed ufque adeo aut caligajfe ad tarn divinum Scripture Lumen^auc data opera Ctcutiifie, ut affirmare non dubita- verint de populanbus Magifiratibus^ (nempe de puris Ad Clerum Oxomenfem.- 247 parts putis Subditis in Magiftratu inferiore con- ftitutis,) cos ira ab ipfo Deo Libertatis popu- larisTutores fieri, uti adverfus ipfum 7\t^em (in hac virilirer aflerenda) etiam manu armata graflari liceat. §. 3. Contra ("ujufmodi GralYatores de Revum }ure ediftertunx videtur mihi Res tota inde ufque ab origine., non modo quoad Natu- ram, veriim etiam quoad Nomen> & quoad No- minis raiionem, petenda elle. §.4. Ec quia mukum eft Difcriminis inter Subjettumbc sfdjuntfum,de quorum debita con- venientia incumbit mihi difpiciendum ; Sepa- ratim inprimis videndum habeo, quid fit Jus uod ipfum quceritur j deindequid Beges de qui* usquxxkur. Ita poftmodiim conjimftim atq; dilucide innotefcet, Quod & Quatenus Ad]un- ftum Subjedto competat. §• 5- ju*> Pro triplici Refpe£tu fecundnm quern ad Subjeftum referri lolet, trifariam fere iiitelligitur. Si ad Perfonam referatur,, eft qui- dem cJluahtat mra/ii^ perfon2tq',eo(a\tem fenfu/i- I luli legibusjxi quantum a Caufa unquam dicenda I (quantumvis Ret) liberantur. Rex vere dicitur, 1 cui Subditi vel ptimzvii fidem jur ant, cu jus Ima^ ginem nummus prsefert^cujus leqibiu omnes parent a cu jusjudiciis ad neminem proDocatur, penes que eft «{««* non folummodo ****** five Judiciaria, verum & ws»*««, five LeoifUtivn • vel (quod eodem Ad Clerum Oxonienjem. 251 codem fere redit,) Poteftas •w^.^. i^Nam Par in Pare m non habet condendi leges Potejlatem; ut foliuu fit Regis, Jus ipfum dare 5 uniufcujufopie vero Jh^/Wj, Jus datum ^icer^.)Unde & »^»- i??x v+'x* antiqukiis vocabatur, ob hanc potifli- miim rationem, quod etiamfi fecundum leges imperitare teneatur, puta inforo Confcientu, In fir* tamen bumano ita legibus abfohitur, & ipfe iibi luifque in Legfw* ccdit, ut impune quidlibet faciendi jus quoddam habeat. Solus Ille dicen- dus Rex, cm competit JMajeftas ; Quce ab om- nibus aliis Titulis inferiori Magiftratui compe- tentibus, (utpote **&****» in fe compledtens,) immane quantum difcriminatur. Nihil autem JUajefiati tarn proprium eft, quam * *'««"'^», (id eft,) a nemine pendere, nemini effe obnoxi- urn, a nemine pofle jndicari. Bene iglcur Bex Otanes apud Hervdoium dicebatur «rw*««'w «roiiti» rj /w\it«. Bene etiam Xipbilinus, *& * «fc*&* * *•« ^>^ *&*»«» JW™, (aliter enim ****%** id eRfupremus Dommatus, nequaquam effet.) fed optimi om- nium Cafjiodorus hanc rem expreflit. &*/* R*- gte potefiatis jupernitfolis ejl appluanda Judiais • cpuandocpuidem e Ccelo petita efl,&foh Ccelo debet Innocentiam. Tantiim abeft ut Return habeat qui Poteftati qualicunque rationem reddere obln ' I i 2 gatur, *5 Concio Jcademica gacur3 ut^V^^^ *W> *£*»*"*> apud Paufaniam opponantur. Solus Iile Rex eft (ipfo i'atence Junto Bruto) Cujus amphjjima cenjetur Potefias, aut qui6#^mw#.r eft Gw^/^tor^quemaclmodum Junius & Tremellius complufculis Locis inter ~ pretantur. Supremus autem Q^Gubernator^ cu- jus Poteftas Gubernandi praecipue vertitur & verfatur^ in condendis IegibusD iifdemopue tollendis cum opus fue tit 5 in fcederibus faciendis 3 llelloq-, & Pace dccernendis • in ipefligahbus ac Tributis ad ufum Publicum exigendis -> in fflagiflratibus In- ferionbus pro arbitratu fuo cTeandis ; in bononbus Titultfq; prout Voluerit conferendis, ; in Concilns & Synedriis pro imperio indicandti j Et (quod rei eft Caput) in fe fuifq- quibufcunque3 uc uc atroci- terdelinquentibus, ajudiciis tamen Huinanis cum vifum fueric eximendis. Uc Rex reapfe non fit, fed tantummodo -*? •*?« qui auBontaxe fuvdendij non jubendi Potejlate municus eft ; auc cujus A. 9. Gujus Rei verkatis Argumento .effe poteft^ £c fidem facie., quoclapucl veteres La- tinos ita ifcgraw difti^ uc Hie abIlloimmain? quanWipiuperqturv - Cx+ far enim nasrat dequodam Galicv quod pnn- ■ mi : "' cipatum Ad Clerum Oxonienfem. 253 cipjtum GdWix obtinuiffet, cum Return folum- modo aJj''Ll.nct. Et Suetonius de Caligula Ser- nioncm habens, altirmat/wrww abfuille, quin fpeclem Principatus in Return convcrterer. Diciturque AUroboduus (apud Velleium P.ncr- culuni) non dun taxa t Principttum, fed tX ipfam vim Rejfiam complexus animo. Et etiamfi apud nomiullos ilta vocabulaadhibeanruracfi client /«/w4i«,(Nam & Duces Lacedaemonii,quamvis Bfhons Subjecii, Ee^is nomine gaudebant., pla- ne uc Vandalt in *Afnca, & Gotbi in Hijpama, quorum Regcs exaudtorabantur quoties popu- lo dil'plicebant^ Return habere prae fe fertbant 3 nimirum ut mod 6 dixi^& plane x^^r^,;) lea tamen Ariftoteles diftinguendum exilYima- \ky inter Regnkm**!*** vereq; diftum, & purum putumrPrincipatum, (qui apud VavdaLs & GV thus & Lciconcs obtinebatj Regnique v.omen men- ticbttur^) uci hunc inter, & lllum^ fpecies aliquot interpofuerit. llli competit Principatus 5 qui fubcertis conditionibus in Dignitatem fuam ad- fcifcitur. Unde & caute diilinguendum eft: in- ter DwnifMtem, & Pcttjiatem • Pair cannon inter 3 8$ Imperiuni ; ttljUielTe, &.in Ditione. Bene poteft elleYriWp-,- in cujus/iife e(\ populus aut \Patrocimo: Solus autem i?. ic. Ecquicquid ufpiam de Reiyio, (quod fub]cBum eft commune hu jufce Juris de quo agi- tur3) ex Authoribus Antiqulflimis exfcnbi po- teft 3 eo pertinet & collimat., ut ipfius etiam Regis QqulfubjetfumQ(\.prGprium>) Naturamex- plicec. Quippe cujus eft, {Plutarcho Judice^) » /*o»oy *y hfk*h *** *> t Kju»v *>x«>. "AKe«T0f audit a pud /E- fcbjlum ji&. Ckrum Oxonienfem. 55 "f> ** fcbylum ; & (quod codcm plane facie) tor*** ^TM^^i^^Tu^v, Dioni dicicur. Id ni tuerit, profetto Populus Rexl^cgum ubiqueRegnorum vocanduserk; quin & omne genus Regimina reapfc erunt PopuLrui. Nam Fopuli Libert qui vere fie Liber* & Regis propre fie didti, e- adem plane ell ratio, Libert js autem aWi* fine fummo Imferu non iolummodo non conjlat, fed ixconcipi non poteft. UtRex reverafic manci- pium, line Imperii Sur/imhatCj quibufcunque demiim Tkulis per concumelias & ludibria gaudere foleat. §* ii. Qui diligenter obfervarunt* quod Re- jibus Hebra:is Berber* f#pe infligerentur., fi eas Leges violaflent quce de Regis officio manebant ictipta:; (qui tamen Reges quin in plerifque Jummo jure imperaverint, dubicari quidem nefas magnus Grotius arbitrabatur, inquantum Popu- lus irte Regem fibi dari efflagitaverant:Qualem habebant vicing Gentes, qux, quum eflenc OrientaleSj additfe cdmodum " revvabantur-J fa- * tentur fimui quod fiu fponte , at que in fig- num PceuitentU cjufmodi verbera fufcipie- barc; nec iLiftore ccedebancur, fed ab eo quern vellenc3 eoque modo quo vellei:t, & fie a Paniis coa£ti\ is immunes erant. Nec quicquam offi- cic Grot, de Fsckn lib.i. C.3.5W/.20. 256 . i Concio Academic*, cit Majeftati vel Viftatoris abfoluti$mi> fi iis Legibus obtemperet^quarum Ipfe & Sai ttor, & Vindex eft 3 vel fi ea fupplicia tulei it3 qua: fciens volenfque Ipfe fibi irrogaverat. Satis autem oftendk Samuel \ in Jure Regum defcri- bendoj adverfus Regnm Injurias nullamin Po- pulo Poteftatem reli&am e(Te. Quod rette Veceres collegerunt3 ex eo quod David affatus Deum, (etiam poft alias atq; alias a feillatas^ non tantum TSathjheb*, & Urie* fed & omnibus Subditis Injurias.,) Soli Tibi peccari, dixille did- tur, Pfal.it.4. Nempe ad Regum Jus fummum & Iliad fpettat, (fi vocabuli Rigore velimus ucij)fumrnam Subditis Ihjuriam inferre po(Te3 UQC iniqua tantum facere^ kdfacienda etiam pr#- cipere. Ita tamen ut nomen Juris non ad jfujli- tiam Puceptorum referri debeat, fed ad folam Prtcipentis Impunitatem. Nee ita Impunitas in- telligitur^ quafi Regibus fupplicium cmnino nul- lum j fed quafi nullum nifi a Deo legitime queat irrogari. Cum omnia lllis liccre dicimus^Nihil aliud intelligimus3 quam omnia lllis impune ce- dere j fatifque ad Panam cenfendum eflea quod Deum inC.oelis Ultorem habent. -§. 12. Incommoda autem objicicntibusqu^e bine fequuntur aut fequi poflunt^ fi ad Injuria* j - .- impune Ad Clerum Oxonienjem, 57 impune infcrcndas Jus return extcndar-r ; In promptu habeo refpondendum, Nullam tor- mam Politic atjqui Incommodis apud mortals | vdfinpi pofle ; Nullos hominum inTerris ab ! omni parte beatos efle ; Ilium ftatum prseferen- 1 dum, non qui malis omnino nullis, fed qui mi- inmis urgetur. Minus autem Incommodorum conftat efle fequuturum, ft omnia uni licere de- tura quam fi ratio adtionum reddenda fit. Nam fi Reges etiam in feculo proTribunalibus hu- manis fiftendi eflent^ nunquam Domus Reg- natrices in tuto eflent permanfurse j Ipfa Regna Refque Publico mox deinde convellerentur, fi iis ipfisqui fubduntur Jusregnandi fubderetur cum ipfo Re^e. Nemo vero inficias iverit, Pub- licam Pacem & Quietem quovis pretio redi- mendam. At neque Quies fine Armisj neque Arma fine ftipendiis, neque ftipendia fine Tri- butis, nee Tribura fine Regis Imperio fummo, five *t/rox^T06if haberi queunt. Et qui fummum Imperium habet, non poteft non patere mulco- rum Odiis. Unde fecuritas Im f erantis eft omni modo munienda ; Et fummus ubique Guber- nator perinde *#**• efle debet3 atque ***** apud Grsecos, qui etiam in Pradiis flagrantiflimis, atque ab hoftibus infenfiflimis,ut fan&e femper haberetur in more erat. * k §.13. T«cit.Hift.4. 258 Concio Academica §.13. Sed & prseterquam quod lncommoda neque folvunt Argumentum neque conficiunt, Jus regium non ex eo quod His aut Illis videtur optimum^ fed folum ex *jV*#W««fciteundeip- fum Jus oritur, eft metiendum. Voluntas au- tem Dei in verbo fuo manifeftatur ; unde Regis Jus fummum impune quidlibet faciendi irrefra- gabilibus Argumentis firmari poflit. E. G. 1 Sam. 8# 1 1 j &c. Ecclej. 8. 4. Rom. 1 3, 2^ 4, 5, 6,T. & 1 Pet. 2. \%j 19, 20^ 2 1 . §.14. Nee quicquam in eo derogatur Divini Verbi Teftimoniis* quod Ethnicorum Cory- phaei in eandem ubique feutentiam eunt. Seneca Bruto errorem exprobrat, graviterqjin eum cen* furam agit y quod Regis Nomen extimuerit, ciim optimus ftatus Civitatis fub Rege fit.Ne- que enimomnino quseritur, An fit ferviendum, fed potius utri duorum, Regi fcilicet an Plebi fer- vire prseftet; uni foli3 an UmVerfis. Omne Tyrannidis Exercitium jet Je eji malum, (inquit Cicero^) fed eatenus eflferendum, immo etiam 8c fraferendum, quatenus Bonum quod in eo qugfitum eji fine ifio malo non haberemus. Et vel lncom- moda cum Commodis funt ample&enda^ vel h#c cum illis mittenda funt.. Unde Cappadoces apud Stubonemy cum oblata a Romanis Liber- . tas Sen. de Be- ncf.l.a.c.ao. Cte.deLcgt- buslib.3. jiJi Clerum Oxomenfem, 2 59 tascirctPopuIaris, obhtam valde noluerunt, fub Rege vit.im pracfcrcntcs. *n3$iv % ^non pre car 10 regnandi jure^ Si de privatis judicare ad Migiftratus pertincat inferio- rcs, deMagiftratibus illis ad Principem,de Principe vcro ad fol'jm D:um 1 Si qui verc Rex eft non dnntaxat ex legibw^ verum ctiam in Leges Imperium habeat •, ncc aliter conftet Regale Regimen, nifi fui plane fie Juris, ipfumquc" *m*l**** Ipfi maneat inWolatum* exinde (hum conficitur, (S: confequentia quidem incluchbh',) Quod Magiftratus In:criores, ut ut in unum cocurtcs, PopuIiqueUniverfigcrentesvicem, & a Romano etiam Pontifice quomodolibet animati, Rcgcm tamen non pof- funt fine crimine Capitali Armis aggredi, autperDvi faltcm Strab. lib. 2. mihi p. 540. *■ Tacit. I 8. 2fO Concio Jcjdcrnica faltem leges ei litem intendere, aut quocunque demum practextu quicquam III £ intentare. $. 16. Quod ex PramifTis Confe&arium, etiamfiex Praemiffis fit ufque adeo luculentum, ut vehementer fit ignarus qui illud nefcit^ & deplorati plan£ ingenii qui non agnofcit^ Quinimmo pluribus Teftimoniis e facra Pagina expromptis, pluribus etiam feculorum apud Hiftoricos exempHs, pluribus denique Sapiertum & San&orum Martyriis comprobetur, quam ut hodie inDubiumvo- cari debr at ; quia tamen hoc vitium praefentis fecult videatur, ut nihil fit izmfirmujn quod non contvellitt$r9 nihil cam fanfium quod non facile violatur > nihil de- nique tarn cerium quod non vocatur in controverfiam • non folummodo non tnutilis, fed &apprimc neceiTaria videri poterif, tam corfocui Axiomatis in tanta Luce Elucidatio, $. 17. Quod etiamfi cum bono Deo in animo habe- am effe&um dare ; imprsefentiarum tamen hoc facere, neque per veftram mihilicebit (Dlle£ti Fratres) Patien- tiam, nee per Tempus huic Penfo ex confuetudine pra?- ftttutum, nee per tremenda ilia myfteria quae adhuc re- ftant percipienda. Quorum idonex Perceptioni quo fru£iuofius velificemini, Gratia Domini Noftri jefu Chrifti, Dilc&io Patris, & Communicatio Spiritus San<5ti fit cum omnibus vobis in Secula feculorum. FINIS. THE PURIFICATION O F O U R LADY, AND PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD. SERMON Preached before the KING At WHIT E-HJLL upon Candlemas Day^ \$6i. 259 LUKE 2. 22. And when the Dayes of her Purification according to the Law of Mofes, were accomplijhtd, they brought him to Jerufalem to prefent him to the Lord. §. i.X TVon the Feaft of the Nativity, our V Lord himfelf was a Prefent. Upon the Feaft of the Epiphanie, He was Preftnted. And now on the Feaft of Purification, He pur- pofely comes to Prefent Himjelf He was a Gut ft font at Chnfinw, from God to Men. At Twelftide as God, he is faid to have received Guifts of Men. And now at Candlcnuu, as Man, he is a Guift unto God for the Sins of Men. At the 16 verfe of this Chapter3the Ru- ral Votaries from the Fold did find him weeping in his Cratch. At the 21 verfe we find him bleed- ing in, His Cradle. But in the words of this Text, we find Y\\n\ fmiling (as we may guefb) K k 2 in 16c The Purification of our Lady, in his Mothers Jrmes. She devoutly carrying Him, and her Devotion carrying Her, and the Law of Mofes carrying Both, at once that Shee may be Purified , and He frefented unto the Lord. §. i. I have defir'd fo much the rather, in the choife of this Text, to take advife with the Rubricki and the G of pel appointed for the Day, Becaufe we have hardly efcap'd an Age of fo much ignorance in the Canons, and DiJ obedience to the Commands of our Englijh Church, that unlefs the old cuftome be now reviv'd, the Peo- fie of England (like the Italian Priefi^) will be in danger of difputing in time to come, whether the Rubrick be Fijh or Flejh ; and be as apt to be in doubt, as the Man in Poggius, whether the Pentecoji were a Man or a Woman. Again I choofe fo much the rather, to do the work of each day on the day it felf, becaufe the Fejlivals of the Church being confider'd in conjunction, do comprehend the Fundamentals of Chriftian Faith. And fo a Pertinent difcourfe upon each of Them, will (when the Calendar is expir'd) be- come a Body of Divinity. §.3.1 (hall therefore make haft to the due Solemnity of the Day • and by prcmifmg its feveral And Prefentation of our Lord, 261 feveral Names, (hall give a guefs at fome part of its Nature too. 'Tis call'd the Feaft of 7V nf cation, from the Pure Virgins being c leans' d from her Mofaical Impurity. The word Impuri- ty being us'd by fuch a Scriptural Catachrejis, as only to fignifie the yoke, or the obligation ^which by the ordinance of Mofes was faften'd on her. 'Tis call'd the Feaftof Prefentation, from our Lords condefcenfion to be prefented unto the Lord. It might have been called the Feafi of Ranjome, becaufe no fooner was he pejented and given to Godj but he was prefently bought ^/r^ with a Piece of Sihtr. 'Twas commonly call'd Hyyapante throughout the Churches of the Eafi3 from the Interview and meeting be- twixt our Saviour and good old Simeon, (v.28.) Candlemas it was call'd^ or the Fea(l of Lights, becauie of a Cuftome Hill retew.d in the Church of Rome, though worthily caft oft by the Church of England ; for that of old it was the Day wherein they c ulcerated Candles, and that in honour to the Idol w! ich was commonly call'd Fehrua. A Goddefs feign'd to be propitious to pregnant Women in their Child-births; and therefore allow'd to have the Priviledge of giving a Name to this ^Month, as well as the mode 262 The Purification of our Lady, mode of Solemnizing this very Day. §. 4. From whence (by the way) 'twill not be ufelefs to obierve^ that the purifying of Wo- men after the Agonies of their Child-birth^ is a thing common to us of Chrijiendom, not only with the Jews, bat the Gentiles too ; and may be matter of contention to the Malice or Igno- rance of a StQi, which is either io ftupid as not to kpow, or elfe fo obfinate as not to acknowledge, or at leaft fo over feenifh as not to admit of a confederation, That the \tiy fame cuftome in fc- verai Places, may receive its Beginning from God and 'Belial 1 though not obferved in the fame, but in z contrary maimer; not with the fame, but with a contrary mind ; nor at all to the fame Jdjz to a contrary end. «rtii«ui&&> (lakh Gregory NaZjtanz>en) *** *?>&w*- Tfte Jew keeps Holy-Day 5but according to the Letter, ufrfr u£ j The Gentile keeps Holy-Day 3 but according to 1 the Flejh. «pt*'?o^ * ^ The Chriftian alfo keeps Holy -Day 3 but according to the tyzm, §. 5. Let us Rejoyce then on This Day,bz- caufe il & the Day which the Lord hath made. And I again let us rejoyce, even becaufe it is the Day ! which hath made the Lotd. I mean hath made ! him 3 of a Lord^to become a Servant ; hath made him And Presentation of our Lord. 263 him, of a God, to become a Votary • hath made him of a Giver become a Guift.Tht Lord him- felf,on this D^jjiavlng been brought untojo-tf- falem, to be prefented unto the Lord. §. 6. And as the Text does thus inltrutt us to the Solemnity of the Day ; to the double Solemnity of the Day does teach us how to divide the Text ; or rather the Text divides it ielf into thefe two Generals. The Purification of our Lady, and the Pre- sentation of our Lord. For each of which com- pellations, we have not only Cuftome^ but Reajon too. For zsCbnfi in the Greek, does import a Lord, fo Mary in the Hebrew is known to fignifie zLady. And it is obvious "to inferj That She may well be our Lady., who was the Mother of our Lord. In both thefe Generals put together, there are feven Particulars to be obferv'd. Firlt the ABions, which are exprefs'd ; **w* they brought, ™P^ to 264 The Purification of our L&dyy to prefent him unto the Lord. Sixtly the Time, gT* ir\«a»»«» « i»^f*? when the dayes. were accomplished wherein the Mother was to be punfytd. Lalt of all the Obligation and Inducement unto the wholej and that is v^©- **!**«; the Law ofMofes. To go no farther than the two Generals, were too little for the Text ; And yet to infift , on each Particular would be as certainly too much for the Time allow9 d. And therefore I fhall pitch on a Middle courfe j fo extending the Ge- nerals, and fo contrasting the Particulars, as to wind them up together into thefe four Bottomes. The Purification of the Parent, at once a Maid and a Mother too. The prefentation of her Son, at once pre- fcnted unto the Lord, and the Lord prefented. Next the Circumftances or Adjuncts of Time and Place , wherewith thefe Actions were to be cloach'd. Lai tly the Rule of the Actions and Adjuncts- too,qnto which they both are to be conform'd. §. 1. I muft premife, touching the firft, the Purification of the Virgin, (the firft in Order , though not in Diiniiy9 and perhaps to be pre- fer d for giving the Title unto the Days) That a legal And Presentation of our Lord. 265 legal Cleanfing or Purification muft needs imply and prefuppofe a legal Impurity and Pollution j for which the Mother being delivcr'd., and the Babe newly Born., did ftand condemn'd by the Law to a kind of Excommunication, to wit an abfolute Exclulion, during the time of their uncieannefs, as well from the Touch of a pri- vate Perfon> as from an Intereft and fhare in the Publick Meetings. Firft from the Touch of a private Perfon, The Mother., like her Babe, if She brought forth a Son, was no longer exclu- ded then until the eighth Day j And no longer, if a Daughter, than till the fourteenth. But from the publick and folemn Meetings the prohibi- tion was more jevere • for if (he brought forth a Son, (he was excluded for 40 dayes ; if a Daughter, for feventy four. Again the Infant, if put to Nurfe, remain'd unclean but for a Month} but continuing with the ^Mother y the legal uncleannels continued alio. ^. 2. Now this imputative uncleanncfie may feem to be an Adambration ol that*C Vmojity, with which our Nature was corrupted by the Sin of thefirft Jdam> and was by cod- fequenceto bt purified by the Innocence ofjche fecond. For as the legal uncleanefle was not fo L 1 null'd Levic. c.i 2. andc. 15. £, rxf fan »*.$•' Ml V»»- Ri. Philo. 256 \c,re«9y £«av» TOTTat ?livt cm. Ariftotcli vcro dicitur The Purification of our Lady, nuli'd upon the 8 Day, as to ex^r the perfons clcans'd from being purified on the40 ; (.with- out which htet, purification they were not to enter into the Sanednm, and fure much lefle into the Temfki) we may fay in like manner of ori- ginal Sin, It hath taken fodeep a Root in the pofterity of Adam, that however it were re- mitted both in the Jewijh Circumcifion , and Chrijlian Baptifme, yet its ReliquesandDreggs doe fo (lick in Both , as to exclude us from tne Communion 8cfellow-memberJhip with the Saints, (fuppofmg we live to a riper Age, ) until! we are purified by Repentance in the TUoodol the Lamb, wherofthe legal purification was but an Embleme. And this may prompt us to give a Reafon, why at the time of Purification there was to be offer'd unto the Lord, either a Lamb and a Pigeon, (that is, if the Parents were rich enough,) or elfe (in cafe they were not,,) a pair of Turtles or Pigeons without a Lamb. The one for an Holocaujl, the other for a Sin* offering. The firft to fignif y their gratitude, the fecond their Repentance. The one was to acknow- ledge the fpecial ^Blefixng of the Delivery ; and the other was to expiate the S ullage of it. §.3. Lord ! how filthy and impure is the life of And Prefentation of our Lord. 267 of man, the purefl part of whofe Life, which is hisTlirtb, can make his Mother ita d hi need of a Purification i That we are fprung out of the Duji, (View's the unworthinefs of our Nature ; but that we derive it from our Parents, doth fpeak its guilt too. -Tis true the Soul of man is a pretious Treafure; But fee taffei* (faith St. Paul) in an earthenVeifel ; which is fuffici- ently ignoble, in regard of the wwtftr of which 'twas made ; but in regard of the Mould where- in 'twas cafi, (or of the Conduit through which denVd,) it is not only ignoble^ but molt unclean too. If men will glory in their Extraction, let them firlt make it appear that they are born from above j let them prove they are regenerate, and bom ayiin ; net of blood, nor of the will of the flcJJ?, nor of the will of- man, but of Cod, U*-M && *k (as St.Pdw/fp^.ksoutofthe Poet,) that in- deed they are enc offsffingj and Sons of God. For stoc «v-f ytuitoyi* t£;t^, This (faith * Chryfo flome*) is the noblett kind of Genealcgie. And fo the Tiereans were Ww* not only nobler, but better born, th&n the nobltfl Jewes bfThcffalonita, Jtt. 17^ ii. Gregory Nazjanzsn * forbids us to make a Boalt of our Progenitors, dnlefs we r! it was for nothing, that' the Firm here was /•«- L 1 2 rifled. 2 Cor. 4. 7. Joh. I. 13, * rlxftfc in I 6*8fJ I 23. Gr*f. 2 3. 2^3 The Turif cation of our Lady, Nihil atiud eft homo quant fpermafxti- dum, faccw ftcrcorum^ ci~ bui vermium. poft bominem vermis, poft vermemfator fie in non bo- minem vert'.* tur omnu ho- mo. Bernard* de Anima. c.3. p. IO$I. Quid fuperbk homo, atten- dee quodfu- ifti vile fe* men, fanguti coagulatut in utero ? mde fuperbit, cu'jm conceptio Cul- pa, N>ifci poe- najabor vita, necejfe mori * Id. ibid. r ified, and Chr'ifi prefented ; or that our Mothers once were Churched, and we Baptized. Nov it rather becomes us (with holy job) that we fay to Corruption, Thou art our Father ; and to the Worm, thou art our ^Mother. Or that we go be- yond Job, in faying to Iniquity , Thou art our j Brother; and to Uncleannefs, Thou art our Sifter. J For let our otter Relations be what they will., I we cannot pofiibly deny that Sin and We were I born Twins, if we take David to be Orthodox in what he faith of omjhape, and Conception too • that the one was in Sin, and the other in Ini- quity. §. 4. Lord ! how ftrange a thing it is, that any man fhould grow proud ? And yet how hard a thing it is, to meet with a man who is truly humble $ Our underjlandings indeed are dark,,, our wills dif obedient, our hearts deceitful, our pajfons eminently perverfe 5 But, which makes us moji miferable, we are fo fenfelefs of our being fo., That our fpecial Impellents to Humiliation are common Incentives unto our Pride. We are apt to glory in our Infirmities, (if I may ufe St. Tauls words, not only without, butagainji his meaning,) and to take honour unto our felves from the jufteft matter of mortifica- tion. And PrefcntAtton of our Lord. 269 tion. Tis rot the kjiowledge of what we were, nor the remembrance of what we jhall be j "Tis not the bafenejs of a Conception, nor che unloVe- lincfs of a G?mt^ ; 'Tis not the gajilimjs of D^ffc, nor yet the drcadfulnefs of Judgment, that can fubdue our exalted Thoughts to an humble Jew/ e of oar unworthinefs. But apt we are to be tranfportedj with a complacency in our felves, and a contempt ot offem, although we cannot but be convme'd, (atleaftin our /W*ta InterValla, or godly Fits,} That we are wretched, and fwr, and £/*w^, and ?w^. §. 5. Clemens l\omanus (I remember) in his Epiltle to the Corinthians, could think of no fitter [pell, wherewith to lay, or exorcise, the Devil of Arrogance, or Ambition, than this fo feafonable a Topick from whence I argue. Are we indanger'd by a «W from the //^rfo and Va- nity of our minds, which only raijetb us (as it did Lucifer, and the other morning Stars,} to an hio her rail? a>*\oyi^^«3-**. j Oi 2"iO The Purification of our Lady, Si diligenter confidere squid per os $r na- ves, caterofq'y Corporis mea- tus egredtatur vHihs Sier- quilinium r.vn. quant iid;fti~. axtendeshom9y quidfaifti ante ortum , quid abartu fid occafum, quid ens pojihanc warn. Bernardus ubi fupra and our End ; from what we came, and whether 'tis chat we are tending ; would we contem- plate on our Features in that impartial Mirroir of a fkfieton ; and inftead of a fawning Glafs, fee our felves drawn unto the life in an hollow Of anion ; I am inclinable to infer we fhould be hioher in Gods eyes, (which regarded not the high, but the low ejlateofhis Hand-maid ,) after the rate of our being viler, and more contemp- tible in our own. And even by minding higher Thirds than now we doe, we fhould leflebe hiohminded than now we are. Then let us not ftand at too great a diflance fropi the mofl de- fmcable Perfon for whom Chrift dyed- (no not fo much as from the man, who bids us ftand farther off, for he is holyer than we0 fmce we are equally defcended from the very fame Eve-, and fo,by Herefrom the very fame Mam; and (o, by Him, from the very fame Earth. Suppofe a Potter of the fame clay (hall make *m(hpott,*vd2LBafin9 intending That for the Kitchen, and Tfeeipecially for the Clofet; (hall the Bafin fay to the wajhpott,! am better than Thou} There may indeed be a great, but there cannot be any intmjuk&fefetee-, as wholly depending J upon the Will, and (by That) upon the ujage of Jtid Presentation of our Lord, 271 of Him chat owns them. In this they certainly agree, that they confift not of a dijjemn, but 1 \ tt\t fjme kind of Dirt; and being iro^a both in j pieces, are equally toft unto the Dunghil. That 1 all were 1 qual'm the mmbjb contended by Pfcz/0, ' * the Learned Jew. That allvtttt equal in the : LaVerof their Regeneration, Gregorie NaZAanz>cn does argue with exprobration,as * BeatiuRbenanus does well cbkrve. And fo 'twas rationally or- dain'd by the Law of CMofes, That both the . poorefi and the ruhejl, the meanefl and the rr;oH honorable, the Virgin mother herfelfe and her purer . Babe, (however different they might be in all ' the Circumftances ofLzffJfhouldbe equally rated, as well at their Births, as at their 'Buna Is. And though the Emperour Leo, Sirnam'd If au- ras, had rather the Power than the Juthority to put an excise upon women's child Births, making e\ery man pay for his beirg Bum • Yet 'twas righteouiiy provided under the legal Di- penfation3(becaufe by commiffon from God Him- J elf J that all the mafeulme children which were withall the Firjl bom , fhould pay the fame kind of Cujlom attheir entrance into the world, and difcharge the lame OtH at their Exit too. Perhaps to teach us This Leflon.,amongfl: foine others, \an; it he* )£ raLTOtC K, T£?C vur. Fhiio. * riniebantur olim eodem lavacro pueri, fenesy dtvites, psaperes,virit & muliercs '■, unde Greg. Nazian. ob- )urgat ofulen- tos^quosfude- bat cum rem- ibu4 fimul tirgi. B.Rhe- nanusinTcr- tullian. dc Coron. Mill. cap. 5. 272 The Purification of our Lady, others, that the difference of Degrees in the Sons of men, although indeed 'tis of divine, yet it is not of natural , but of pojithe Institution, For though God puts them afunder as far as the Zenith is from the Nadir, fixing a King upon the Throne, and catting a Rebel into the Dungeon, (which is enough to ftop the Mouths of all our levelling Fanaticks, whether the Adamites a- broad, or the Anabaptifis at home J yet all men by Nature are no lefs than twice levelTd j before they come into their Cradle, and when they go in- to their Grave. §. 6. But though this is the Leflbn which we are taught by that Law, by which the mother after her child-Birth was to be purifid in the Temple*, Yet it may eafily be demanded, how the Law of purification could reach the Virgin. For was fhee not cbafter than the Turtles fhee cameto*0#ir£ was fhee not her J elf e a living Temple-, and very much purer than the Temple to which fhee went for a Purification? Can there be any cleaner Flame, than what dream's forth from a Plrgiji Taper? would we not wonder at ■fucha Chynafi, as.ihould ufe his Alembick to cleanfe Elixirs? And probably laugh at that Goldfmithj whofhould refine his metals beyond their The Purification of our Lady. 273 their guinteffence? To purifie a Virgin, may feerru Soloecilme as great,as for a man to wafh Water. And to punfie fuch a Virgin, as had been happily impra^gu'dby the Spirit of purity, is juft like wajlring the cleareft watt r, as it newly glide's forth from the cryjlal Spring not fo much as deflowrd by the embraces of the River, much leffe by being mixt with thtBracktJh Ocean. Its true indeed fhee was a Mother, but by fo much the more a e^z^ too. Shee was deliver'd of a Son, but oifuch a Son, as was rta wifdorn of the Father. Shee lay-in of an Infant, but fuch an Infant* as was The Word. Shee encompaffed a man, but /«cfc a man, as was Emanuel. Shee brought forth a child, but fuch a ftrange child, as had the GoVement on his fiiouldtrs, A child whofe name was called wonderful , Counftllourythe mighty Gody the Everlafiwg Father , the Prince of Peace y If a. 9. 16. And being deliver'd of fuch an Infant,/«cfe a child, fuch a manchild as This; How could That which made her pure, make her need a Purification? Or (to give this obje- ction icsucmofl ftrength) Admit that Marie in her P erf on might (\and in need of being vuri- fiedy (though not in regard to theBak fhee varey Yet at leaft to the Parents of which fhe was M m born j) *74 The Purification of our Lady. * Homil. 14, and 18. born ;) muft therefore the Author of her Pu- rine fubmit himfelfc to have a Jhare in her Purification ? muft Chrift himfelf become the SubjeB , as well as the Maker of that Law? For fo the greateft number of Copyes agree to have him ; reading */*«i« *•*«*»** ( not &*& but) *?» the dayes (not of her, but) of their Purification. So reads the oldeft and beft of Manufcripts, which 'tis our happinefs to pof- fefs in our Englifh Mchhes. So reads * Origen out of choice, whofe matchlefs pains in compa- ring Manufcripts might make him the abler to choofe aright. So reads Erafmus, and Zegerus, Laurentm, and De Dieu. And by the ftream of fuch ftrong Authority, the Judgment of Bez>a is carried down ; And fo is the Arabic^ Trarijla- tion, which feems to follow the Vulvar Latin, as well in This, as in other Things. Nay fo reads the Syriack., which is in order of time before the Arabic^ from which our Englifh Tranflators do feem to have render'd it in the fingular. Now that Mary fhould be Purified^ there is a rea- fon more obvious. Becaufe though her J elf 'was a JHother-Maid, in fo much that a Child-Birth which defiled otherWomzn, may well be faid to have cleanfed Her,QSc fo her real Purification was coeta- The Purification of our Lady. *7* coetaneous with her Adhcry ;)yet we know (he was the Daughter of a Conjugal Bed, and fo the fubjeft of an Original ^though not an Attual Vi- tiofity. Alb? d me Greek, Fathers are wont to call her [euri*®*] the Mother of God, yet did they not make her, by That, a Goddefs ; (as fome in the world ace bold to do, by the Rapine and Sa mkinci cJieir Demotion, vyhilft they fupplicate GW Jfof vftw for the Aferz/j of his Mother, or pray unto thcAtofctr to lay her commands upon her SW, ) The (juilc of Adam did ^/^;v to her righteous Soul . although it could not wix with it j And fo (be wanted at ball: a /*£*/, if not a /tiff*/ Purification. Bu t how fo derogating a 'Rite fhould be competent to her Son, who was not meerly a Son of ^ dam ; may feem at lead to be a Quere which fhould not pafs unrefolv'd. §. 7. But This was don (faith Aquinas) for our Inftruftionj That we may carry our felves with meeknefifie, as we have Cbrijlfior an Example. paying Obedience from without us to publicly Sanations, where none from within us is drift1 y due. Every Cbriftun (like Cfcr/Jl Himfelf ) is to be aUively Obedient in many things \ though not as neceftary , yet as convenient $ though net for confidence, yet for the benefit o{ conformity 5 M m 2 though 2*j6 The ^Purification of our Lady. though not for private, yet for pub lick fatis- fadtion ; though not to aVoyd Sin in Himfelf, yet not fo much as to cccafion it in other men. But however this Reafon may parte for good, methinks 'twere eafy to give a better. To wit that our Saviour being laden with the Iniquity of us all^Qto ufe the words of the Prophet Ejay) was in all our behalf w to ftand in need of a purification. ^Bein^ made Sin for us, (as St. Paul fpeaks to the Corinthians, 2 Cor. 5,2.) and at laft numbred with the Tranfgreffors > and fo made fubjeft to the Levitical, as well as the Moral Law ofMofes, (born as he was> of a jW/?? parent^ a branch //? r«»(r forth from the Root of jfeffe,*) He was jr;ji to fulfil, and rta» to * £ro- gdte the law of Rites ; or rather to abrogate, whilil htfulfifd It. And this may help us to give a Reafon^ (befides the T overt y of his Pa - rents3) why they offered not zLamb, but a pair ofDoVes. For what needed the Typey where the Antitype was prefent Z What place could there be for a Lamb out of the Fold, when be- hold the Lamb of GW that came down from HeuVen ? The Lamb to ^x^rte for our Souls^ as well as the Shepherd to dirett them. §. 8. The Thought of which ftiould ferve to The Purification of our Lady. 277 to fill us, not with Gratitude only and Love, but even, with wonder and admiration . That the Lawgiver himfelf would be obedient unto the Lm\ thereby to free us from the Law as the jlrrngth of Sin 5 and io to frr$ u of Hell. That (he Holy of Ho- lies^ and King of Kings, would meekly take up- on him the Form as well of zfnncr as of a Jer- Dant ; and become legally unclean, whereby to take away from us our treat uncleannefs • for according to the He braij me by which the Hct- lenijiicks are wont to ipeak, nothing worfe can be meant by the Lgal uncleannejs of a Jew, than that external obligation to the performance of a Duty, which by an arbitrary Law is incumbent on him. And to This our blefled Saviour with- out the leall (lain of guilt did fubmit himfelf, not at all for himfelf but for Us alone. For Us it was that he defcended from out the TSofom of the Father; for Us he poured out himfelf, fo far forth as to be emptied oi a\\ hisGAry_ that we might drink of his Fulnefs , Grace fr Grace. For Uritwas that he was cloyjtef Am Marie's Womb • for Us that he was folded m Marie's Armes j for Us that he was put upon feveral JcurmeS} 2-,8 ..-tJH^JP* fohitp /vc i am xddu- cendi verbum ponimHt in eo qui f dibits eat : id quad de ChriHo in eh At ate diet non poterat. Caftalio in locum. The Prefentation of our Lord. II Exod. 12. Verfe 29. * Chap. 13. Verf. !$. Exod. 1. 22. Num.8. 18. Journies, whilft; yet he could not either * goy or with eafe be carryed ; To wit from Nazareth to Bethleem, and from Tietbleem to Jerusalem, and that upon more accounts than one, rot only to be purified, but prefented unto the Lord. This (as I faid in the Beginning) was the fe- cund dttion of the Day, and fo defer ves the fecond Place in the confideration of the Text. §4 1. To give you the Hiftory of the Adion from that which gave it its Original \ I muft goe back to take my Fife from as farr as Exodus. Where after Sundry difmal miracles for the freeing of Ifrael out of s£gypt,t\\z laft and greateft was (hewn at midnight. When the (Word of the Lord did cut off all thefirfi-bom among the Children of the Egyptians, from the firfi-bcrn of Pharoah that fate on his throne, to the firfi-bom of the Captive that lay in the dune eon. But the firfi-bom of Ilrael being miraculoufly/?n?- jerVd, were immediately claimed by their preferoer. who befides the common Interefl which he had in them as his Creatures, did fa her devote them untoHirnfelf by a peculiar right of Re- demption too. And though by way oiCommu- tation Tie Prefentation of our Lord. 279 tation He cook the LeVites unto Himfelf., (in flead of all the firjl born of the Children oflfrael,) Yet were not the Levites fo full a Panfome 3 buc that they were farther to be ranfomd by the fumm of five Shekels. §. 2. Now put all this together,, and it will prove an Adumbration of the holy Child Jefus ; who., though the Lord, and the Redeemer, was yet prefented unto the Lord, and Redeemed this Day with a piece of Silver. For He was fure the Fiji- born, who is expreffed fo in Scripture by way of Eminence, and whom the Firji-born of Ijrael were but intended to. repref em. He pre- fented Himfelf as our Elder Brother, (and fo again the firji-born,) to redeem us from the Fury of the Vefiroying .Angel. He, as the Firji- born , or * Heir of all things, was prefented this day to receive his right of Primogeniture, by claiming the Heathen for his Inheritance, and the uttermofi part of the earth for his poffejjion. He again was the firji-born , who prefented Himjelf unto as many as would receive him., that he might live them power to be the Sons of God. To fum up all in a word, He is call'd the Fuji-Horn of every Creature (Col. 1. 15.) who was begotten of the Father before all Time- Num.18. \6. * Pftl. 2. 8. Job. 1. 1 2?C The Prefentation of our Lord. Time; And the fir f -bom of Kis Mother, brought forth into the world in the fulnefs of Time, He was again the firft-born by vertue of his office, as Mediator. Tne firji that was bom of a pure Virgin; the firjl that ever was born without the leatl (lain of Sin; the firfi and laft that was born both God and 3ian. Many wayes the fir(l-born, he was brought on this day to be prefented unto the Lord, not as a Servant only, or Sacrifice, but as a King, and a Priejl too, on whom his Brethren depended for Life and Fortune^ foto claim his own Right, and foto communicate it to Us, that whether Paul, or Apollo, whether Cephas, or the World, whether life or Death, whether things yrefent or things to come; All might be ours, as we are Chrijl's, as Chriji is God's. ^.3. From the whole Hlftory of the Action, (fo farr at leaft as our Lord was concerned ink,) it will be eafy enough to gather Thefe ufefull Confiderations. ^.-4, Firft that the Dayes being accom- plice , when both the Mother and her Babe might have the freedom to goe abroad • The firlt Journythey took, was not to Na&arctb, but The Prefentation of our Lord. 28 Ami I car. but Jerusalem. She brought Him to God's Houfe before her own. Implying this Caveat to Chriftian Parents, that they fuffer not the Devil to take thcfirfl Hanfel of their Children ; but acquaint them with God in their very Non- age ; and fo prefent them unto Him by a Reli- gious Education. That they devote them to his 1 Sam. Service, even as early as Hannah devoted Sa- muel. That their enmity to Sin be as foon be- ffokfh as the Child Hambal at the Altar was befpokgn by his Father to hate the Romans. That they iuffer them not to tiff in the Language of Egypt, but (as Children put toNurfe in the Land of Gojkeri) make them Suck in good man- ners as foon as jMill^ That they permit them not to enter within the Breath of the Frophane, from whofe unfavory communication (like the New- landed Spaniard,*) they can many times Swear, when they cannot fpeak^ That they put fo fit a difference becwixt themfehes and Brute- Beajls, as to become unto their children, not only carnal, but fpiritual Parents j and iobeaet them to God by a fecond Birth, as not to afford them any reafon to Curfe thelvfirjl. This is the life we are to make of our firft Confederation, the Mother's feafoning of her Babe, not at Nu- Z*areth, but Jerufalem. N n §.5* 282 The Vrefentxtionof our U\d. Gen. 49. 9. §. 5. Secondly let us confider/That as of ail thtje&ijh offspring, not ^eternal s^bai the Males were to beonerd unto the Lord 5 ( as it were intimating unto us* that They aim may expert to be admitted into God's Preience, who Captivate the Lulls of the effeminate Fltjh, by the mafculine power of a controulmg jpint )\ fo of all the Males too, none but the be&, or the firft-bom were fet a part for God's Portion. For when I fay the fir&born, I mean the Mi^ht of the Parents, and the beginning of their Brength, the excellency of Dignity, and the excellency of Power, as Jacob laid of his Eldeft Son Reuben, They were not then like the Parents of our lasi and worfl Times* who when their children are Blind, or Crooked, or (in a word) nothing worth, do fly for refuge to the Temple, and make them Deodates. God is little beholding to fuch a Parent, who when his Son is too dull for either the Shop, or the Exchange, does drright prefent him unto the Lord, by devoting him to ferve in his dreadful Houfe, and (as a Minifter) to wait at his holy Table • Does give him over to the Pulpit, becaufe too old for the Grammar School ] And if he cannot Write or Bead, does therefore teach him to Pray txtempcr?. As if to the office of The Prefentation of our Lord, i8? of a Worker an whj vtrdeib not to be ajhamd, there were nothing required but lungs and Impudenr-j. From the beginning (I am fure) it was not fo. For Kin^s and Princes in time of JW were thought mcA propel to be the Priefis.. And when the Pritjihocd was Entail d on the 3 Lnpzjt was by way of Prerogative, and in of a f pedal Service. The TfcJJ by Ptdegree, by 5Vx, by Primogeniture, They that were every way the ^3 |},and the Clmfefi Perlbns., wrre fin aparc in the beginning for the peculiar Service of the rnoft High. ^. 6. From whence 'tis obvious to infer, That as of the fruit of a man's Body, fo by con- fequence of the Fruit of his Labour too, of the fruit of his Subjiance, and of the fruit of his vSt/a/j of every thing that he calls Hi^ He is not to offer up to G&fa but the befi, and clmfefi. We mu't wot jxrifice to Plea jure wich the (Irenoth and Beauty of our Agfc^ and think that Gvd will be Content with zncyfonx Carlyfs j (lik Fi>Mfr> in the^p/j^, who IWty to confer. ire v.nco fu\.iury YLalfoi the /*7/ Ehstj he went to /u^, and piefendyjW^ . ^B.r.^ ^ i^wti, inade no doubt but he fhouldbr*\.ly perform his ff^j by giving the jfefctfr: unto I is " N n 2 GfliJ 284 The Prefentation of our Lord. God, and taking the Kernels unto Himfelfy) This were at beji to forfake the world, becaufe the world for fakes Us ; And only to \eep our Baptifmal Vow, becaufe we know not any longer which way to break it. Will God accept of our Prefenting our felves unco him, not ( as Cbrifi on this Day, when newly come into the worlds But (as the Clinicks of old,) at outgoing out i Will he accept of our coming, when we come to him but in a Fright } not otcbojfe, but necefjity t not at all as to our beji> but rather as to our lafl, and our only Refuge ? Will he re- ceboe us when we fhall choofe him as the «*«'x'*°> ***«'*, not as the greatejl Good Thing, but the leffer Evil ? not as better and more defirable than the Injoyments of the Earth, but as pre f enable at leaft to the Pains of Bell 6 It cannot poflibly be our vertue^ to btforfaken of our Sins, or 1 rather bereaved of our jirength whereby to be vigor oujly Sinful I, and without which we can no longer befiurdy Sinners. So again, (in pro- portion to this Difcourfe,)Tis not enough that we prefent him with the Labour of our Lipps, and that a little towards Night, to make our Time the more fupportable; (which is to make our bet- ter Actions a meer Divertifemefit to our worfeO The Trefentation of our Lord. 28 5 worfe ;) But we muft Sacrifice to our God, the very beji of our Day, which is our Morning; the very bejl of our Years, which is our Touth • the very beji of our Body, which is our Heart 5 the very beji of our Bein^, which is our Soul. Our 2Wj muft be the Temple, our HwJ the Altar, our Sincerity the /V/V/J3 our Devotion the Fw3 our blefled Saviour muft be the Gw/, ard our S/»r which he fuffer'd ? no bleffed Lord , Though thou canll not but perceive them as they lie open in our Souls y yet being frtd in his Grave thou wilt not fee them ; or though thou canft not but fee them with the Eye of chine Ommfcience, yet wich that of thy Jufice we hope thou wilt not ; or though thou canft not but in Jufice deteft Oar fins, yec in Mercy be thou pleas'd to forgive theji??ners. ^. 8. Thus the Feafl of Prefentation is to be cftlebr Jted by us throng out the year. The holy child jefus mult iliVi be brought into the Temple , And All he fuffer'd in our behalf be ftill prc- fented unto the Lord. We muft prefent him unto God 288 Tbe Prefentation of our Lord. God, that is to fay, umobimfelf, even as often as we go into the Houfe ofGcd • comprecating nothing, but for bis fake ; deprecating nothing, but for bis Merits ; prefenting nothing to be ac- cepted , but in his Name and Mediation. No nor fo much as in bis Name may we adventure to prefent him, until we axe purified by the Gof- pel, as Mary was under the Law. This as fitly prepares for a clcanfing wee^ as that week does For Lent , or that Lent For E after. We (I fay) mull: be purified from all kind of filtbinefs offlejh and fpirit, ( 2 Cor. 7. 1.) before our Saviour (wirh effelf) can be thus preftnted. But purified with Mary, we cannot be, unlefs with Mary in theText, we live in obedience to Laws eftablijh'd^ although the matter they are made of be ante- cedently indifferent, zudfubjeft to diverfe Excep- tions too. Such as the Time, and the Place, wherein the Duties of the Text were to be punctually perform'd.The Time is here imply'd to be the end of the Dayes of their Purification 3 the Tlace is exprefled to be Jerufalem. And the Rule of Conformity, Tbe Law of Mojes. Of which lajl parts of the Divifion of the Text, I (hall fpeak very briefly , and in Conjunction. §. 1. Had ^M-WtfHf* 289 §. i. Had the Parents of this Child been of the humour of our Times, and only confuked with Flefh and Blood, They had not ftood on the Pundtillio's of * Time and Place ; but very much rather upon the Equity of a mod rational Dij obedience. What? muft the work of Puri- fication be tyed precifely to a Day ? Or muft not the holy Child Jefus be either frejented, or redeem d, until he hath punctually attain'd'the fortieth day after his ''Birth ? May we not ftay a little longer, until the wayes and the weather are more inviting ? or may we not go a little foone r> before the Noife of a Mefjias awake the Jealoujie of a fleeping, but furious Tyrant ? Or may we not huddle it up at Home, to fave a very tender Mother, and her more tender Tlabe, at once the Hardfrip and the R if que of fo long ZJourny I fhall we confine the Ommprejent within the Walls of Jerufalem Z or think Ubiquity it (elf can be pent up within a Temple I or b:lie\e there can be Holmefs in a confecrated Fabrick of VVood and Stones I Admit Jerufalem is the greatef^ yet ce the Birth of the >fflefftu) TSethlcem fure is iiot the fo*/! among the Cities of JW*/;. And when the Antient of Days becomes the Babe to be prefnted, It may be fitter that the T.mple O o fhould III. *..CIementc Romano ta- tren ]udice, ci to;c 7r£fs*. 1 , >tf Xtfl- (Tjxtoi 'f j£ /UaXXg/OI' TO/C >& to/ui/uotc «iv XK-S-wrTaf, & Clem.Rom. in Ep. ad Cor. }** 53- 290 The JdjunBs of the ABions^ fhould come to Hxm,cx at leaft that his Prefence fhould make a Temple, ( Juft as the Prefence of the King (wherefoever he is)does create a Court , whereas the Pallace of the Court cannot either lejfen or raife the King.) Befides; God regards not the Ceremony, but the mccrfubjiance of our Devotion. It matters not fo much either when^ or where, as how affeSied we come before him. An humble foul is the Temple that He delights in. A broken Heart the beft Altar whereon to Sacri- fice. And the beft Sacrifice we can bring is a contrite Spirit. Or if this will not ferve ; yet may not the Ceremonies required be don ztBeth- leem at the prefent, and repeated at Jerufalem at times of leifure and convenience ? Can a very good work be don too often I or the dif charge of a Duty begun too foon i §. 2. This had been to chop Logick juft like Naaman the Syrian, in the fecond of Kings, and the fifth Chapter : where commanded by Elijha to wafh himfelf in the Bher Jordan, and that precifely/mw Times, whereby to be clean- fed of his Leprojie, (ver 10.) He, inftead of being thankful, began (faith the Text) to be Very wroth, (W.i 1.) It feem'd to Him aftrange thing, that he could not be clean, unlefs he would bzfuper- ftitious. And Rule of Both. t9i fiitious. He expe&ed that the Prophet fhould have come out to him in Perform and calling on the name of the Lord his God, Jhould haroe jiruck. his hand oDer the Place, and fo ha*X>e recover d him of his Leprofie. What ? (faith he in the next verfe) Are not Abana and Pharpar, RiDers of Damafcus, better than all the waters oflfrael I May I not wafh in them, and be clean ? Thus did the Wifdom of Elijha feem light as Folly, whilft weigh* d in the fcales of that Syrian Fool. But though he pre- sently went away, not obedient, but in a Rage, (ver. 1 2.) Yet his Servants faid That (ver. 1 3.) which turn'd his Rage into Obedience. My lea- ther, if the Prophet had bid thee dofome great thing, wouldfi thou not hxx>e don it i how much rather when he faith unto thee, wajh, and be clean I whereupon he was cured., (but obferve in what order.,) firfl: of his Folly and Difobedience^ and immediately after of his Difeaje too. §. 3. Let us now apply this to certain Secta- ries here at home, who often indeavour in their Difcourfes to (hew che fitnefs, the lawjulnfs, and many times the moral hcccjftyoi rlie'ir be- ing Schijmatical and DijLV&>i<» *»™> as * Clemens Romanus does well obferve to my pur- pofe.Tne Sacrifices of God were not any where to be offend, but precifely at Jerufalem j nor dwj ivW? at Jerujalem, but in the Temple • no nor X' Of IJ/KOU- 7Tet»T« T0T» 7V rag T£^f T3 «3-y:naS7if*ir. Clem. Rom. in Ep. adCor. h 53- 5-I- 294 The ^fdjunSis of the Attions, fhall be turn i into a Law. Since of Laws that are humane, the only fit Subjefis are things in- different. N or can we folidly object the feem- ing difference of ^Authority, in things indifferent under the Law, and things indifferent under the (ta/^/ j whereof the /0m and a Humane Law 3 wcmuft acknowledge the Truth of rto *PropoJition , That Vifobcdience to the /timd Table^ is as bad as Vtf obedience againft the firfi. He Rebel's againft GW, who withholds his Obedience from GW'j Vicegerent. And as there is indeed a Time, to obey God rather than man ; fo is there alfo as fit a Time^to obey God by obey- ing Man. Which if the Sons of disobedience would but unpaffionately confider, they would not make their Duties difficult, by calling them humane Impofitions ; nor call about for expedients whereby to legitimate fuch a Sin^ as is compar'd by God hinifcH to theSin of Witchcraft. §.4. Then And Rule of Both. 295 §. 4. Then let us imitate our Saviour-, in that Example of his Meeknefs we this day Ce- lebrate. Who rather than J can a Non-conformtfl, or a contemner of the Law, (whereof the matter j was but indifferent, until eltablilTied by lawful and juji .Authority,) Impuritatem ftmulabat, ( as learned Vatablus Interprets, ) thought fit to counterfeit an Impurity he could not poflibly cow traft, and made m if he had been unclean, (as a man bontofiz woman,} that he might yield unto a L*>a« more than once in the Septuagint, Thefe infer the Univerfity. There it was that The Jpoflles were Altogether in an Jftembly, at once to receive, and to (hew their Parts ; to become not only Licenfed, but Gifted Preachers J to be no longer rude hceptors, (for they were hitherto nothing elfe,) but Learned DoBors in Divinity • at once to be qualified with Ability , and to do the Exercife for their Degree. §.3. Never was there any Exercife fo well and laudably perform d. For eVery one of thefe lnceptors was even fill d with the holy Ghoji. Every one J pake as the Oracles of God. Every one was fo great a Linguifl, (not only fuch a Polyglot J but fuch zPmtiglot in his fpeaking^) that Jttheneus his Galen was but an Infant in comparifon. Every one was a Theopneuft, and had the Privi- lege to fpeak through a Door of Utterance, which was Divinely opend to him by the Third P erf on in Of Humane Learning. *Ol in the Trinity. To understand how they (pake, we rtand in need of che Greek, to explain the En^lijb. For chey fpake ( faith the Text ) **$»c tficT* to mtf/f, not x*x«r, but *«»8i»*3r» after the meafure that they were prompted by the ever blelled Paraclete, (as well without, as within the V cile,) not to fpeak as other men., nW.r of tm- wz'f)/ and liohtnefs, but to fpeak Jpojhthegmes, and Ci/^j, as heretofore with lefle reaion 'twas faid of Socrates. ^.4. And in proportion to their Exerafe which was fo eminently good^ we fiud their jtu- ditorie too was extremely great. Never was there fucha Concourfeof Spectators and Hear- ers at any AR, or Comma, before, or after. For there were prefent at this Aflembly^both Jews, and Trofelytes; And of thefe laft, of eVery na- tion under Heaven, (v. 5.) which though fpoken by an Hyperbole, a very ordinary figure amongft the Hebrews, (for no man certainly will fay there were French, or Englifl?, Scotch, or hijb, which yet at that Time were olifome of the Na- tions Wider Heaven^) Yet Parthians, Mcdes, ar.d Elamites, and fome who dwelt in JMefopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, and Afxa, in Phry^ia, and Pamphylia, in Eg)^ and Lifplj (about Cyrene,) Cretes 3C2 The Ufefulnefs and Neceflity Cretes, and Arabians , and fir angers of Rome, we are certain were a part of that mighty Con- courte, which flock' t about the New Doctors, and beard them fpeak to their Amazement in their federal Languages and Vialetts, the tre- mendous and wonderful works of God, (v. i j#) §. 5. And yet I fay thefe Apoflles were but Inceptors in Divinity. They did all at this AJfem- bly no more then celebrate their Commencement. For though their Mafter gave them a Call whilft he was yet upon the Earth, yet to execute their Calling, He did not give them Qualifications till he afcended into Heaven. (Epb. 4. 10. n.) He who commiffion'd them to go, and to teach all Na- tions, (JMat. 28. 18.) did alfo commidion them to tarry, and not depart from Hierufalem, but with meeknefTe there wait for the promife of the Father, (Jcl. 1, 4.) St. John is pofitive, and dogmatical. That the Holy Ghoji was not yet given, becaufe that Jtfus was not yet glorified. (J oh. 7,39.) And 'tis as evident from St. Luke {AB.\, 5,) chat till this ABus Comitialis^ or Solemn Afymbly at Hierufa- lem,thzy had not been baptizJd with the Holy Ghoji. From whence it follow's, Tiiat if they had only had an eye. Unto their miffion,aud Commiffion, and taken their Journeys thereupon into the fevcral Quarters Of Humane Learning. 3 03 Quarters of the world, they had fhew'd them- felves Zealous, but hdifcreet too; And their Preaching might have been good, but ineffectual. For all the uwr/rf (except their Country-men) had been Barbarians unto 7^ew3 and 77>ey Barbarians to *// the nW^ had they 01 ly fpoken Syriac, as hitherto they had don. If their Toungs had not been cloven into all kinds of Dialeft, how could their Sound haroe gon out into all Lands, and their words unto the Ends of the Earth? How manv men's Souls were ro be heal'd, by their miracu- lous Ability to heal their Bodys} How could the Scholars have repeated whatfoever the Mafter had faid unto them., (he having not written, nor they taken Notes,) but that the Spirit was now by miracle to bring all things to their Remembrance. (Joh. 14, 26.) So thatbefides the holy Eunttion unto which they were admitted feme weeks before, there was an abfolute Necefiity they (hould have Qualities to dif charge it. Graces they had before, for the Santtification of Them- fefaes; But now it was that they had Gifts, for the Edification ulfo of others. They had before a kind of Thummim, fett by God upon their Hearts', But not 'till. «w had they the Unm, divinely luting upon their Heads too. §.6. And ;C4 The Ufefulnefs and Necejfty * V.Frid. Baldwin, de Caf.C0nf.L4. c.2. Caf. 9. p. 690. 691. Ex- cvf. Francof. 1654. ^# 6. And though I know there are not wanting many fcnthufiajis here at borne, (not to fpeak of * Carolojladius, hisBrother Gabriel, and the chief Schoolmajler of Wittenberg by name Thomas More, who dehorted all People from the ftudy of hanguages and ^m, alledgingthat they were all to be taught of God-, nor to infill on thofe Franciscans, who made unlearnedneffe a Profejfon, and did not take a little pride in being call'd Fratres Ignorantiz; nor to mention thofe Popes of Borne, iome of which were fuch haters of human Learning, as to efteeme the (ludy of it a mark of Herefy ; no nor Julian the ^pofate, who to defroy the Kingdome of Cferfjl by fo much a move compendious Ruin, employ'dhis vaft Im- perial), power injhuiting up Academyes & Schools^) Though , I fay 5 ^/ddr Thefe, whom I difcover from abroad , There are not wanting here at home, who love to argue againft the ^{eedful- nefte of our Schcoles and Untverfities, even from this very Scripture which lye's before us ; who would blow down our Colleges with the violence of this wind , And with the Fire of thefe Tongues would burn them up too ; yet by as happy a Violentum as any Logician can defire^ the firjl does ferve but to ejlablijb, and the fe~ cond Of Humane Learning. 3°5 cond to refine them. For had the Apofiles been bred at Athens, or in the Schools at Hierufalem, and got thefe Toungs by Education; God had not been at the expenfe offo great a miracle to injpire them. But as the miracle was us'd to /w/^/j the Deficits of ^rf and Nature, And to fill up what was wanting oi Education and /«- dujlry in Chrift's Apoftles; So in thefe later Times of the Chriftian Church., thzDefeftof that miracle is fupplied by *// 77?^; I mean by lndufiry, and //rt3 and Academical Education. Tis true indeed., that If real miracles were as r^3and as much in fajkion, amongft the Fathers and Sens of the Church of fLno'land, as /jzVzg wonders are wont to be amount the Prattuers 0/ itW^ we might declare as great an En- mity to publkkNuferies of* learnings Weigelius of Wittenberg and Movfieur Pharelloi * GeneDa, (and I may add Pope /W thefecond,)zre truly reported to have don. But finding That, by experience,, to be but «$•#!# «*x«m»' :■ v -n- r.i Disbdil ErjfnuEpifl k$Q. ad Ca- rres German. I 'er. &Fri- fi* Orient, mini p.2127. 306 The Ufefulnefs and Necejfty Neceffty of Publick Schools, (efpecially to as many as are to be Preachers oithcGofpel^thzt the Apoftles want of Breeding in fuch Seminaries of Learning as we injoy, wasfrom Heaven to be fupplied by fuch miraculous Endowments as here we read of. As what we have not by Infufion, we mud laboriously acquire -Jo what the Apofles had not acquird, the vayJVifdom of God the Father thought fit to give them by Infufion. Nor durft they think that they had compe- tent, much iefle fujficient Qualifications , for the preaching of the Gofpel throughout the the worlds vntill they had heard a found from Heaven, as of a mighty rujhing Wind, which ft d the Houfe where they were fittings Nor Until there had appeared c/oVen Tongues like as of Fire, which a If o fat upon each of them ; Nor till they all had been fill' d with the holy-Ghof, and been enabled to fpeak with other Tongues, as the Spirit garoe them | utterance. §. 7. The Text perhaps might be divided into almoft as many Parts, as there were Lan- guages and Tongues for the Subject of it. Parts^ enough to entertain, if not to tyre a Congrega- tion ; enough to dirett, and diftrati Attention. But I (hall mention only tboje, which will be fufficient Of Humane Learning. 307 fufficient to acquaint you with its whole rational Importance. As Firlt the Terfons here endow d, who were a Dozen of illiterate and obfeure Galileans, or Tears of men5 ttwr*; stx****** they All were filled. Nor were they filled with a Vapour or wW of Dottrine, which commonly comes from aw/tar fpint, (even the fpirit which is now working in all the chil- dren of Dif obedience,) nor with a z*eal without knowledge, or with a knowledge which pufeth up, as being apt to ferment in the minds of men ;) For Here follows in the fourth place the excel- lent nature of the endowment ; it was *™>*^ «V«, they all were fill'd with the Holy Gboft. Which is not fo properly and literally^ as Me- tonymically fpoken. Not exclufively of his Per- fon, but more efpecially of his Tower.i Nor ! exclufively of his Graces, but more efpecially ' of his Gifts, (for fo in diftrefs of better Englijh, I am contented to fpeak the difference, as the Hellenijlicks do,by calling them x*e*™,& x^******. ) Fifthly the Primary EffeB, (hewing the Ver- tue of the Defcent of the Holy Ghoji, very par- ticularly exprefs'd in the Gift of Tongues, *tf*>™ ***. they began to fpeak; that lY, to propagate the Gofpel throughout the world. They be- gan Of Humane Learning. gan to be Enthufiajis in the literal fenfe. For they fpake with luch Tongues as they never learnt. With other Tongues, tilth St.Luk? ; with new Tongues, faich Saint £Marl^', with many Tongues, faith the Syriac. Where 'tis not Lrjhon Ve Leflion, with a Tongue and a Tongue, (fuca as Hypocrites in Religion are wont to [peak with J but * Beleflion Lefjon, with a Tongue a Tongue • which according to the Synacifm by which 'tis fpoken, does only fignify the Dividtdnefs, not the Doublenefs of the Tongue. And yet they were not ot-.TcTi^Toi, fuch as took it of themfehes • nor did they fpeak out of their Memories, much lefs out of their Inventions. For Here is Sixthly the Principle (and I may alfo lay the Prompter) from which they fpake3 be- caufe they fpake *^i^*a*»~>l« at the J pint gave them utterance. Not as utterance is oppos'd either to fammenng, or dumneffe, as if 'twere an- fwer'd in the Greek by nothing more than x*\*>* : For Seventhly and laftly, the Spirit gave them fei9*r>p3s, that is., to fpeak the mol\ important and pithy Periods. To fpeak as Stewards of the My- flenes of the living God. To fpeak as men to whofe Truft was committed the word of Reconci- liation. 309 Mark i5, 1 7 * In Syro eft, Incipiebant W^P ling** lingua. He- braifmus ad- rr.odam fami- liaru. Gualc- ptrius in Lo cum. 3io The Advantages of Divine, liation. ■ To fpeak as Angels whofe Lips were made conferVatories of knowledge ; and who had ;, 7. Tongues that had been touched with a * Coal from Gods Altar. So that fcere the *»#&tw* is of too nV/> a fignification , to be exprefs't by theiV Verty of Englijh words. As wmwj! Tongues as they had., they wanted one more, to exprefs the hid Treafures of thofe they had. There are three things at leaft, which are fecretly couch'd in the kwpWms* IVifdom, Zeal, and Elocution, for we obferve in the Context, both a fPiWa and a FzWj and alfo ^v« tw&Am a multitude of clo- ven divided Tongues. Tongues, not in, but #00?? their Heads. And truly each of thefe three hath fuch a myftical fignification., as feems to have a clear profpedt upon the •* »■***>**. For firft of , all they had fuch a wind, as to infpire them with Wifdom : They had fecondly fuch a FzVe as to inflame them with Z^/ : And they had thirdly fuch Tongues, as to indue them with ut- terance : more than which may be poflibly^ but lefs than which cannot be meant by their mira- culous way of fpeaking, ***** »w« sn^*^; Wf <^ ffce F/^/fe^ £#/ oi thejfirit gave them utterance. §. 8, Thus at laft I have put an end to the tedious beginning of my Defign. A beginning made Abo'Ve Humane Learning. 311 made up of three preparatory Ingredients., The Accommodation , the Explication, find the Divifton of the Text. The feveral links of that chain, whereof the ufe is both to guide and to tye your Attention to my Difcourie. But the Particu- lars being too many to be difpatch'd in one Ser- mon j (unlefs that mt be as long as many,) I (hall not proportion my Meditations unto the Ful- nefs of the 7€x^(from which there flow's to us a Sea of matter,) But to the fcantnefs of the Time which is allow'd for this Service. §. 1. And firft for the Perfons hereindowd, I muft not fpeak of them in Theft, either at van- dome, or at large ; (for that's no more than may be don on any other Piece of Scripture wherein the Apoftles are barely mention dj) But I muft handle them mHypothefi, in as much as they re- late to the Text and Context. As they relate unto the Text, they cannot be pertinently confider'd, unlefs in one or more of thefe three Notions 5 either as filled with the Holy Ghoft, or zsfpeaking with other Tongues, or elfc as fpeaking after the meafure that the Spirit qa'Ve them utterance. But in reference to the Context, they may be perti- nently confider'd as they relate to the three em- blemes 3X2 The Advantages of Divine , * Confer v. 9. io,u.&Gen. 27.44. ubi Lxk. eandem vocem in eun- dem fcnfum adhibent. * Eb qui j que propinquior erat Gentium Vifperfioni. GalliUi enim dkuntur tflve- nr dto.opu'\ots Jofeph. 1. 1. c 4. indeque Galilaea Gentium ditta. blemes, the Wind, and the Fire, and the ap- ! pearance of cloven Tongues. The firfi referring unto their wifdom, the fecond unto their Zeal, and the third to their gift of utterance. §. 2. And indeed it was but reafon that their Tongues fhould be fo many, when both their Wifdom and their Zeal were fo amazingly great. ir\A&*o*f is mifUiv^ they were not only fprinkj'd, or overshadow d, but rinji, and filled with the Holy (jrhoft. In an immediate fuit of which, their understandings were fo inlightned with the knowledge of holy myfteries. And their Jffetti- ons fo infiamd with a dejire to make them known, that *// ^ Languages in the world were hardly enough for their Interpreters. There were then *fojourning at Jerufalm of eVery Nation under Heaven, (v, 5.) The Jpofiles were but Twelve, and each of them a * Galilean, (v. 7.) And yet there wtrcjome of every Nation who heard them fpeak in their native Idiom, (v. 8.) There was neither Speech nor Language > but their Voices were heard amongfl them, (Pfal. 19. 3.) A thing fo ad- mirably Jlrange, that they who knew it by Ex- perience could not imagine ic to be True. They had ears to hear, but not hearts to believe, much lefs Heads to comprehend it. For more amazed j w ith And Humane Learnim 313 with the Volubility, than injlrutted with the fenfe , They imputed the glibnefs of their Tongues to the meer giddinefs of their drains. Ancl whilfl: fome in an Extafie began to ask what it meant, (v. 12.) others anlwer'd in 2l mockery, that they were full of new Winey (v. 1 3.) Where- as indeed Themfehes were drunks , though not with Wine, at leaft with wonder. For no fooner had St. Peter Preach 'd them all into Sobrietie, but they were pricked in their Hearts ; and by Faith coupl'd with Fear, their Heart brake forth into this earned Erotefis, ZMen and ^Brethren, whatjhall we do ? (v. 3 7.) whereupon they were inftru&ed^ and Tiaptizld even by Thoufands. (verfe4i.) §. 3. O the depth of thcT{iches, both of the Wifdom and Knowledge of God ! How infearch- able are his doings, and his ways yafi finding out 2 How many year s do we toyle to get a Language or two ? Yea how many Suns do we outfit, and how many A^owj do we outwatch toojin learning the Rudiments but of onel At what an ex- penfeof Time and Labour, and (I may add) of mony too, what with Tutorage, and Bm^i 3 and other Inftruments of Learning, in Country Schools, and Univerfities^ are we fain to R. r know get I fa. 29. 9. 3*4 The Advantages of Divine > ifa.28.9,10. * Id ibid. knowledge like Children weaned from the mil^ (to ufe the phrafe of the Prophet Efay,) by taking line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, and keepirg our Studies for this little, till we look paler than our Lamps* whilft thefefunple Country Folkes, who knew no more juft now than their Mother Tongue, are on a fuddain ftarted up fo many orderly 'Babels. Our BleiTed Saviour lent them to School, (A£t. 1.4.) The Holy Ghofl became their Teach.r,(\n the words of my Text.) And of this Teacher they were {ofull, that they were perfect in their Leflon before they learnt it. As having had^not an aco^uird, but an infusd habit of fpeaking. Nor was the miracle of divided or cloVen Tongues for the confounding of the Builders , (like that at Tiabel, ) But by a Variety of Languages to make an Unity of Hearts. 'Tis true indeed^ thefe Builders of Bethel, like thofe of Babel , were fcatterd far and wide oVer the face of the earth • But for as different an end, as were the Models of their Building. To- wit that They and their Success might bring in the Heathen for ChriBs Inheritance^ and the uitermoji parts of the earth for his Pofteffion. St. Peter (for example) did ftout- ly Pteach him up in Pomus, Bythima, Ga/atia, Cappadocia, Abtroe Humane Learning. 3*5 Cappadocia, and at laft in Rome alfo. St. James I in Spain. St. John at EphefuJ. *! St. Pd«/ at Jntioch. And indeed in mol\ places from Je- rusalem to lllyricum. * St. «#^*r^ in fiir^r. St. Thomas in Parthia. St. Andrew in Tartary, St. Matthias in Colchis. Philip the Deacon (by the Eunuch} ill Ethiopia Superior. Thadd^us\x\ Edefta. And /o/epfc of Arimaxhta planted the Goipel here in England^ Then after the Times of the ApoftleS;, PalLJius Planted it in Scotland. St. Patrick in Ireland. St. ^fugujlin in Saxony. St. SeVcrine in duflru. Mcinardm in LiDoma. Pope Hadrian in 5\j?nvu_y. And Jujuiritis in Denmark §. 4. Now had ail this been don by a like number of Athenian or Roman Orators > fuch as Tericles and Doncfthencs, Hortenfiiis and Cicero, who could firft ttir up Tempers in their Audi- tors PaQions^ and then allay them into a Ca/w too3 as if the fc^rr j of the Hearers were in the Orators Iw^j ; And all this by the Inchant- ment of a few c#r/^ Metaphors , a few foj Rhetoricat'ions & few Mufical v^ti"** an hiir.u- acirg Harmony of Fiicfc and Gejture, which wrought their 5W.r into their fitf/\r3 and there had tirA/ ^ them to an //jjT^t ; Tni^ indeed had been a wonder, but not a miracle^ and might have R r 2 redounded ♦Eufcb.Hift. lib.2.cap.i$. Ve Regno C.brifli qua- quave> f*t ex- tenfo^^rfule Tcrtul. con- tra Judios cap. 7. mihi pag-97* 316 The Advantages of Divine, Chryfoftom. HomiL 3. in Epifi. ad Cor. frinPfaltf. redounded unco the Glory, not fo much of the Author, as of the Instruments. Who might pof- fibly have ariv'd too (like that Eloquent zx»\**4. W> */#2.i2523,) at the meagre fatisfadtion of being admird into DejiruBion j of being kjll'd by Carejfes and Commendations, of being tickl'd^ and eaten up, both with the pleafantnefs, and the pain, of Jpplaufe, and Worms. §. 5. But that Twelve defpifed Villagers drawn by the pencill of St. Chryfojiome in the liveliefl: colours of humane Bafeneffe, a Ken- vxllafclownifh, il literate ? ill bred Idiots^ a Crue of Vagabunds in Cuervo, without Houfe or Home (as we fay in Englilh,) fo farr from [being fur- nifht with two Coats a piece, that all the twehe renowned DoBors were not worth one paire of IhoeS, «yfi?**oi,«/*«$-«f> dy&fxfActroh *y Jffiwtrot iihtirat, *of/*oi,&7»\i«ftf, /uo»oXiT»r»r,*F«T{ATot, (So St. Chryfojiom run's on in his Cariere of railing Rhetoric^ at leafl: in the the accompt of a loathfome world, which thinks it worfe to be a Beggar, than in a State of Damnation-,) I fay, that a Dozen of fuch Igna- ros, eminent only for their Ignobleneffe, and all of Galilee from whence arijeth no Prophet, with a ferioufly-majeftick Simplicity of words, and a controwling SanBity ofJBions, (hould by the found And Humane Learning. 3 i-y found of the reopen the Ears of all the worlds and by the Light of the other inform their Eyes too; That they fhould really be able to turn the World upjtde down, ("as the J ewes of Thejjalonica did fitly word it, Atf : 17, 6,) That they fhould break down the Idols, and filence the Oracles, and rax>e the Temples y and Level the Altars, and even facrifice the Priefts, and preach down the Poets , and Difpnte down the Errors, and live down the Vices ', and undeifie the Gcds of the Heathen world ; That they fhould conquer without a force, and irrefiflibly winn the moft peevifh Natures, not only to part with their oldefi Cufloms and Religions, But to exchange them for a Beleif, that He was a Saviour, who had been crucifed ; and He Immortal , who had dyed, and He a God who had [after d ; and He an Innocent who had fuffer'd between the Vileft Male fatten; Nay farther yet, that they fhould throughly convince the richeft, and the proudejl , and the moiifenfual fort of men, that even the Toak of Chrift was fleafant, his Burden ftrengtbmg, and to be bangd upon the Cro(fez Degree of Honour; That their Enemies were to be loVd, and Themfehes hated; That * Poverty, Difgrace, and D&zffc lfdfe-> were not _____ only 3* 8 The Advantages of Divine, V t Uh as max- im & homini Vtos ajferh, Syma&us ad vcrfus chri- fiianos apud Frudentium. Luke 9. 5. only the Lot and Portion, but the Defirables and Pleafuresotthc very beftmen; I fay that this fhould be brought about by Tivehe of the plain- eft Country-People, four whereof were clearly Fijhermen, and one 2l Publican^ and thereft in all appearance no whit better than their Elates, every one a Galilean^ and fo contemptible for his Country, as well as for his Calling; fhew's convincingly to the worlds however ignorant y or obdurate, that by how much the bafer the meanes were5 by fo much the greater was the miracle. The great Deformity of the Instruments was a Foyle unto the Agent. This very (tumbling Block had a Vertue whereby to keep men from falling. If our modern Lay-Preachers who do pretend to Infpttation, could fhewbut one di ofthofe many Apoflolical Gifts, and make us fee their new Light by letting us hear fome new Tonpues too, (I mzzn fuch Tongues as they never ftudicd^) 'Twere pity but Both our Univerfities fconWrifeup to them in fear and Reverence; And we lhould certainly be as ready to kifle their Feet, as now we are to Jhake the Dufl I from off our own, for a Teftimony agamft them. The Cafe with Them would be much' the I fame , that here it was with the new Apo- 1 files* AbcToe Humane Learning. 3*9 files ; the very fnare and the Scandal of whole l{ufiicity, fhevv'd he Divinity of the Influx by which they atfed. Never did Omnipotence appear io glorious a#d Triumphant, as then when it was perfected in fo much weikjKJft* How did they thu'/der, with their Dotfnns? and how did r liobtenjYfith their miracles? How did they J f often mens Hearts by promifes, as by gentle fhowers ? And how concroul them by Threats , as by mighty Winds} You may fee, in this Chapter, rhzEffcfts of all four$ of their miracles, their DoSlrms, their Prompts* and their Threats. The People marvel I'd at the firfl, v, 7. They were H^rN/W^at the Second, v3 37. They rejoyced at the third, v, 41. And jW wwf »p« them at the f^wr//^ v^ 4^ It co ild not be by a common power3 that Paul a Prifoner at the Ban , was able to fright the grim judge, who far it Liberty on the Bentch : when having reafond to him a while Concerning Temperance, and Righteeufnefs^ and Judgement to come, it prefencly follows^, that Fslix trembld. Who though a very tfcut Hea- then., was vet but one, and fo not worthy to be nxnid, whilft we are ipeakhig of the Energie which God had put into the preaching of thefe Apofiks. For the Apoftle St. /Wr, through the 320 The Advantages of Divine, * An. 2. 41, 4.4. the Conviftion of the Sprit who open'd the Ears and the Hearts of men, did convert at one Ser- mon * three thousand Souls; and *five thoufand at another. §. 6. Lord ! the different Effe&s of Preach- ing m thoje Times and Thefe 1 one Sermon was then fufficient for the Converfion of many Thou- fands. But how well were it now, if a Thousand Sermons might be effectual for the Converfion of any One I when did you ever fee an Audito- rie fo affedled with a Sermon., as not to be able to contein from crying out in a kind of extafie, (like the Difciples in this C hapten) JMen and Brethren, whatjhall we ^?who goes now adayes to the Cafuift, for the fearchingzizd launcing and clean(in<^ of a Conscience, which even Gajps for a little \afe from the acute fenfe it hath of a Sinful! Plethorie ? Is it that in a Kingdom all the Consciences of men are fo clear and calme 2 Or that there are h^ardly any Consciences in a whole Kingdom to be troubled i Is it becaufe there are no fcruples of tender Souls to be re- foh'di Or rather becaufe the Souls of men are feldome fo tender as to befcrupfd? let them that commonly hear Sermons^but are not pricked in their Hearts, (like the men in this Chapter Above Humane Learning, 321 to be the judges (as well as Partyes) in the Cafe; whether their Confciences vtzio clean, as not to need being rub'd ; or elfe fo callous y as wot to feel. §.7. If we impartially confider, thatfwce the moft of mens Devotion hath been thruft up I into the Pulpit, and that they have placed their publick worfhip, not in their Hearts, and Knees, but in their Bares > and Elbowes; porting up and down from one Sermon to another , (and po- fiibly too with as much Superflition,*) as the Votaries oiRony to the feveral Reliques of their Saints; thinking God is befi fervd, when they goefartbejl to a Sermon, (as the Pilgrims of Rome to an holy Sepulchre^And giving ac-, compt when thev come home, not of the Ser- mon > but of the %Man^ as if their haunting of the Church were not to learn, but cenfure; to take large Notes of his Looked Grjiure, not fo much obierving what, as how he taught them; (perhaps offended with his numoriey becaufe too foort; perhaps with his Periods, becaufe too long', perhaps they ttumble at his 2 uutb, and then thev fay he does but prate; perhaps at his A%e, and then they liften as to a Doatard j If he is plain, he pi&chcs JloVexly : And if he is folid, S i he 322 The Advantages of Divine, he preaches flatt ; If he is not plain, he is too Witty; and if not [olid, he is too light; If he is illiterate, he is not fittfor io great Z calling; And if he is learned, he is as little fitt for io plain a peopleyis the Sermon T** «**»*•/«* with blithe Fulneffe.(£/^. 3, i9.)which cannot fignifie lejfe than being perfefted»ai)d advanc't to the highejl pitch of Cbnjlianity, which God in Ch rift can exadt of (of rail a Nature. And whatsoever we may pray for, we muft indeaDour to attain too. Not contenting our felves, that we are mettle good enough for an Iron *Age\ that we are Chri- stians well to pafle, as the world goes goo nough toferVe turn ; or no worfe than other men, S ( z whe I The Appli- cation. 324 The Advantages of Divine, who are without peradventure in a / arable jlate • or perhaps that we are better than a great num- ber of our Neighbours, who never dye, or are buried, but injure and certain bope of a Befurre- Bion. And yet how many are thus witty, in fmoothm^ out their way to eternal Ruin Z How many do fleafe themfelves to Hell, with a fan- guin Belief they axefureof Heaven ? And live as if they were afraid, to be any whit better than they mufi needs? whereas it is not only the Interejl, but the ftrift Duty of a Chrirtian, to pant and prefje aherPerfetfion; never to think he is good, enough^ until he is as good as Grace can make him ; not to cleanfe himjelf only from all kjnd of filthmefs offlejh and Spirit, but withal to per f eft holine(fe in the fear of God, 2 Cor. 7. 1. We muft not Grm W p'^e only* ^uC we muft never leaye growing until we come to:aperfeB man, to the meafure of the ftature of the fulnejfe of Chrifi. (Bpfc.4.17.) This is to btfill'd with the holy Gbofl, and inwardly to b: fill'd with his faving Graces-, not, as They in my Text, with his outward Gifts. Thofe indeed we neither have, nor are bound to hope for. II. And yet although weM\ Jbort oithzt other fulnefs; Above Humane Learning , 325 Joh.i. \6. fulmffe , we have been all made to drinks of the I a cor Very fame Spirit, in that fenfe a/Jo 3 And to that very end was be powrcd out, Jocl.iyi%. Or if we have not; we muft never leave thirjling, untill we have, we of the Clergy (I am lure) fhould have received of bis FulneQe, 2nd x«'e*» *•*< x^e*>^» Grace for Grace; (chat is to fay in plainer terms) in proportion to his Goodncfle and mercy to- wa^ds us. For to Us it was faid at our Ordina- tion, Receive the Holy Gboft. And therefore woe be to Us , oi all men living if we make it not appear that we bavereccivd him. Not only^ as the Laity, in his Sanctifying Graces; But, in as much as we are Teachers, in his edifying Gifts too. Not a good Living, or a great Dignity, or a Scbolaflicall Degree; which are indeed a kind of Gifts, but they doe not edife. Noe3 the Gi/rj which we muft have., to prove our receiving the Holy Gboji , (and that we were not made Priejis meerly tc qualify us for xiealth, to hold Preferments by that Title, that is to fay3 by that J^amef) I fay the Edifying Gifts which fhould dijitnguijb us from the Laity, and fhew the Divinity of our FunVtion, are to be feme of that Catalogue which Saint Paul gave to his Corinthians. It iiQt the greatejl in the Cata- logue, 12.13 1 Cor. 12 8, 9, 10. 5 16 I The Advantages of Divine, logue^ the gift of Healing 2nd working Miracles, yet ac leaft the gift ofProphefie, that is> of Prea- ching and] applying the word of God. Or if not the word of Wifdom, which is the gift oifpeakjng Myfteriesj yet at leaft the word of Knowledge, which is the gift of undemanding and unfolding them to others. A Gift we mufl havey whereby to demonstrate that we are Gifts. For He that afcended up on high, and led Captivity Captive, is immediately faid to have given Gifts unto men. And then it follows by way of Inftance, that He gave fome Jpojiles ; fome Prophets ; fome, Evangelijis ;fome Pajiors and DoElorr. NotDo- Bors by an yintiphrafxs , a non docendo, (that's an ill Derivation.,) much lefs Pajiors a tondendo, (for that is worfe^) no nor Pajiors a pafcendo, as it is a Verb Neuter, (that's worft of all $) But Pajiors a pafcendo, as it is zVerb ABiVe. For none were then allow'd the Pnviledge to jheer the Sheep, who could not prove they had the Gift, as well to feed, as to defend them. And the reafon of it is render'd by the Great Dotfor of the Gentiles, 1 Cor. 12.7. The manifestation of the Spirit, is given to every man to profit withal j ntfc ri »a*S0'> to that which is of fome Benefit and Ad- Vantage to the Church, lhat is it by which the Spirit And Humane Learning 3*7 Spirit does mam f eft himfelf to be in P afters and Teachers. And therefore they that are in Orders without a Gift, a kind of Lay-Prietfs3 or Secu- lar Pajiors, qualified for Sine Cures > but nothing elfe, As having no Gift at all, or none at leaft *&< ™ «v/4*«0», none that tend's^ and is employ d to the «/e and ^w^/u of the Church, (like Talents hid within the Earth,*) are fufpedted not to come from the tym of God. It was not fo with our Jpojftles; who having here received Talents, did immediately negotiate and Trajjick with them. No fooner were they filfd with the Holy Ghoji, but (as it follows in the Text) they began to Speak.. And accordingly when 'tis faid by the Bifhop to the Prieft in his Ordination, Receive the Holy Ghoji, it prefently follows in the charge, Be thou a faithful Dif- penfer of the Word of God and his holy Sacraments. Then follows a Prayer for all the Performs who are Ordain'd, That the wordjpoken by their mouths may haVe fuch juccefs, 44 that it may never be j po- ke?? in ram. Now (not to refle (that is, in the Judgment of Learned Grotiw^) be- caufe 1 have not dar'd toj^i^againft the Ini- quities of the Mighty, I have either been fo lazy, as notto fpeakjw my Courfe, or elfe fo cowardly, and fo bafey as to fpeak Placentia. But the Apo- files in my Text were not lyable to either. The LoVe of thrift didfo conjlrein them, (as St. Paul lpeaks to the Corinthians^) that they' long d to be deliver d> like a Woman in Travel, (and to that the Word "Ha* does very properly allude.JThey were not able to hold their Peace, though Death it f elf lay before them with all its grim Tram. T t And 33° niiT The Advantages of Divine, And yet they did not turn Preachers without ability for the work; As appears by the Order wherein the Narrative is exprefs'r. For firji they were/*//'d with the Holy Ghofl, And then it fol- lows in the Text, They began tofpeak^ There are that /j^whilft they are empty, and that as well of Infpiration5 as human Learning Such Sermons do proceed from a private fpirit, and fo at beft they are but words, 2nd fuch words are but wind, in proportion to the Spirit that gives them utterance. When windy Vejfels give Vent,wt know their Spirit cannot fill them, unlefs with Wind. But jRw/i were/?//'d with another Spirit, a Spirit proving what he ww by his miraculouslndowments. For as our Saviour foretold, that faq iww/d yroe them a Mouth, and Wifdom, (not a Mouth only, but Wifdom too,) and /a wi^fe wifdom in fuch a Mouth j as their Jdverfaries fhould not be able to refifi, (Luk* 2^ *50 So here in anfwer to that Prophecy, They did not only begin tofpeakjjut they f pak$ with 'Tongues. And with fuch Tongues too, as were the Inftruments of Wifdom, as well as Knowledge. And yet that Knowledge is another important Requisite to make a Profef- for of Divinity, (and fuch you know is every Do- Bor,) or zpublickPreacheroftheGofpel, (which every And Humane Learning. 33* every Dottor is not,} may appear by kht Curfe of the Foolijh Shepherd, whofe Right Eye was dar- kped,(that is to fay, as the molt learned do In- terpret j) who had not the Knowledge of human Learning; And as evident it is^by what the Pro- phet Ijaiah fpake, at once of himfelf, and our bleiled Saviour ; The Lord God hath given me the Tongue of the Learned, And to what end hath he gi- ven it ? to the end that IJhould kpoxv how to [peak, a word infeafon to him that is weary. (Ifat 50,4.) This indeed fhould be the end of all our eloquence and Learning , (not the venting fuch things as fmell of nothing but jiudy, and Jjfettation ybut') The Glory of God, and the good of Men. Of the firfl I fhall fpeak in its proper place. And here obferve touching the Second, That as Ijaiah, after Alofes, was the mofl Learned and the mojl eloquent oia\\ the Prophets, fohis bed ufe of both, was to fpeah^a word in Seafon to any Soul that fhould want it in any kind. And this is certainly the Trade we are all to drive, becaufe for this end efpecially we were bound over unto the Muf es, and fervd Jpprentijhips in the Schools, that we might duly ferVe God by being eminently ufetul to all our Neighbours. As by inputting the Ignorant, by admonishing the negligently reproving T t 2° the 332 The Advantages of Divine, the guilty , by counfelling the doubtfully by com- forting the Afflitted, and by giving good example to each of Thefe^which way foever our Learning lteSjand whatfoever our skill in the Tongues may be j we muft put a right B>*/i and Bent upon it; we mud ftudy to make ic ferve, and not to rule us^And we muft ftudy- to make it ferve, not for ornament 3but ufe-, And^but that there is ufe fom- times of Ornament, not for an Ornament to our f elves, but the #/* of others. In a word, if we are fharers of any good farts, whether natural, or ac- quird,wt muft not think themgtW enough, until the ufe and the end have made them eminently better. That \%, until they are employed, (as by God they are intrujled,) for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work, of the Miniftry, and for the edifying of the Body of Chriji, (Eph. 4. 11.) V. But then for the bringing of this about, it is not enough that we f peak with Tongues, no nor with fiery Tongues neither, nor yet with fiery clove n Tongues^ unlefs they are cleft and fet oufire by the Spirit of Unity, and Truth.- For it is many times don by the Spirit of Error., and Divifion. There are Tongues that are cloven even by him that is known by his cloven Feet. And there are James 3. 6. Tongues fet on fire, not from Heaven, but oiHell. fuch Above Humane Learning. 333 fuch is the cloven and fiery Tongue, wherewith a man does blej's God, and either Curje,ox belie His Neighbourly .9.) iSor is fuch a Torgue bctter'd by skill in Arabic^ or Ht.breiv, in Coptic k* or 5j/- rwr t, in GVe ei^or L*f iwjbut the more it is cloven^ 'tis (till the tewr/i 5 becaufe by io much the abler to Jet on fire * ffoe CW/e ofi Nature. Tis never e- nough tobedcplor'dj (and in this place efpeci- ally^j That fince the Jefuits and their ^ej have made ufe of their Tongues to conceal their meanings, (which by God were intended to lay them open j) afadder confiufion hath been made of the diftintfefi Languages and Tongues, than that which was given for a Defeat at the Tower of Babel. St. James does put fuch zjireffe upon it 3 as if on the Tip of a mans T^gwdtoodall Religion. For let his Almes be never fo great, his Fafiings never fo many, his Prayers never fo long, and other Affions never fo Jpecious, yet iffee bridleth not his Tongue from injurious Ca± lumnies and faljhoods, He is a man either of none, ox Z Vain Religion. (Jam. 1.25.) The reafon of which is very evident. For a lye (land- ing/^e/jV* is Breach of Truth} and joyn'dto u?««ejp, is Breach of Jufiice^ and referring to Neighbour, is Breach of Charity. And by the Breach Jam. 5. 5. 334 The Advantages of Dhine> VI. Math. 16.1$, Breach of all three, down goes Religion. If it is flatly contumelious, (or but by way oi 'obtrefla- tion^) it is not nakedly a lye, but an arrant flan- der ; which, if malicioufly committed, and fo committed by a Perfon whofe knowledge is great, and his Callingfacnd, makes the Top of that Ladder , whereupon fo many thoufands have climb" d to Ruin. Now for the Cure of this in fome, and for the Prevention of it in others, prefle we our felves to an Improvement of the next obferva- ble in the Text. For the Apoftles, being fill'd with the holy Ghojl, did not only begin to [peak, and to fpeak with Tongues, but w^jfi^ with other Tongues. I mean not only in the literal, but moral fenfe of that word. For St. Peter who had fpoken with a Tongue of Tergiverfa- tion, by denying gncl forfwearing his matter Chrifl, did now at laft: begin to fpeak with another Tongue ; a Tongue that honour d him, and owrid him, and preach t him up to * every Creature. This alone was the change that enrich t his mouth. Not his wonderful Ability to fpeak in all forts of Language, but his Preaching of the G of pell in every one. Many Graceleffe men have Tongues wherewkh they fpeak as they are prompted by learned And Humane Learning. 335 /earned Heads , But His was prompted by an honeji and Zealous Heart too. There are that come to the UniDcrfity, who witnflbt either/to^, or Injpiration, do learn to fpeak Mil other Tenguit$ Yet I cannot fay with w^ much lelTe with better, but with Tongues much worfe than they did before. Nor is rittcijc any where fo /j^j and fo deplorable a Spectacle, as that which fome times appeares in this Houfe of Prayer j when in the folemnef A^embly of all the j Year^a Scmof G^fhallbefo transform'*! into the abfolute Gwzp of a S^» otTielial, as to *(*/* bis own Soul, in the defihngof Himfelfe and the Houfeoi God> by an applauded Defamati- on of his Superiours; by fubjedting them to the Contumelies and J f ferities of his Tongue, which is not only the * unrulicfl, but in fW cafe alfo, the *filtbiefi member of his Body. In fuch a place as this is, It were to be wifh't that men would J peak, with other Tongues than thofe are^even with Tongues which may demonftrate, if not that they are fill'd, yet at leaft that they are Seafond, and not quite Void of the Holy Ghojl. And here I cannot , I dare not forbear to lay, (to as many as fear God, and are afraid to fe ar men in this Congregation,) That * Jam. 3. 8. Ibid. v. 6. 1^6 The Advantages of Divine, That wher^a Cato fhall have been able to keep a Zame more j&awe on a Heathen Theatre 3 than many Dottorsiwv can in a Christian Church • when under one and the fame Roof, Dagon is coupl'd with the^r^, Jehovah with JMercury, The Pulpit with the Stage, and Divinity with Trophanenefs ; It will become as many of us, as are not only Followers , but Embajfadours of Chrift, even to imitate his Example, who W tfee Hucksters out of the Temple, by our well meant Indeavours to whip the Scoffers out of the Church. And if He ufeda J?^ of CWx, well may we ufe one of Scorpions. Becaufe Propba- neffe in a Chrifiian is very much wwje than in a Jew? ; and This withall a worfe Prophanenejfe. Such fcandalous Sins as are but chargable to others^ are in reafon to be punifb't with greater pungency mils ; In as much as being Priefls, we italte received the holy Ghojl ; So that we Sin, when we Sin, againft greater Light, and againft greater Obligations to ceafe from Sinning. We do the Devil greater Service by the Impurity of our Lr^ than we can poflibly do GWby our pureji DoBrins. Whenfecular Jews were muti- neers againft the King and the Prieft> (for Afy/^x and Aaron were nothing elfe,) God Almighty was And Humane Learning, 337 was iofMienty as to punifh them by Decrees. But when Corah and the reft of the holy Tribe began to fpeak againft their Governours* the Earth could no'longer indure to bear them; The Heavens could no longer indure their fight • and Hell could no longer fuftein their *4bfence. Then let all of this Place^which was intended by God and our pious Founders, for a Nurfecy of Vertue, as well as Learning, addiB Themfehes, and f retail with others, to fpeak henceforward with other Tongues than they were wont. Let them that have fpoken either with wanton, or jlanderous Tongues., now fpeak with Tongues that are mode fl^znd Void of malice. For if Luther, I and MelanBhon, who were men of great Learn- ing, and .Academically bred, were yet provo'kt into an Enmity to publick Academies and Schools, meerly in hatred to the Corruptions continuing in them uncontrould-, How much more will They be tempted to greater Enmity than others, who cannot diftinguifh the Abuje from the ufe of Things ? we know that many Perfons of Honour do fend their Sons to this place, not to learn a little Logick^with a great meafure of Pro- phanneffe, and 10 to go the more Learnedly, not tht lejfe furely to deftru&ion; not to Swear or U u talk Nonne Melan- lihon aliquan- do damnavit Scholas pub' lieu * nonne Luthcrnt to- tarn Pkilofo- pbiam Arifto- telicam voca- ' uit Diabolic ai nonne idem fcripfit omnes fcientias fpe- cuhtivat ejje peccata, fyc. Erafm.Epift. 5p. p. 2127. 338 The Advantages of Divine , VII talk loofely in Greek and Latin, (for of that there is enough in their ^Mother Tongue,)Buz to fpeak modefily, and fitly, and (without difpa- ragement be it fpoken,) nligioufiy too upon all occafions; to gather Siens as well as Fruit from the Tree of knowledge, and ingraft them- into the Jlockof the Tree of Life. The Univerfi ty can make us but learned Fools, (as Petrarch word's it,) in cafe we fpeak only with other Tongues, and not as the Spirit does give us utterance. Which to the end that we may do, we are to fpeak of fuch things, as the Spirit can delight to afjiji us in. The Upotfles themf elves, in their common Talk, had but an ufuai and common A (fi- nance too ; which yet may be called not impro- perly the Ajfitfance of the Jfirit. But when the sfjfiBance was extraordinary, Then they could fpeak of nothing lower, than of the gloncvj and wonderful works of God, (v. 12.) That indeed fhould be the fubjeft of all our publick Dif- courfes and Undertakings. Not a pitiful often- tation of a little unfandtified Wit, or Learnings not z deplorable Ability to fpeak of things Sacred like z'Buffon, to purchafe the lamentable Re- pute of being a Drolling EcclefiaSlick., by being ingem- And Humane Learning, 339 ingenioujly Scurrilous, and very pkafantly* pro- phase j Things exprefled in Holy Wric by* fjofill; Talkjng andjfejiingy <"»e?\*>"& fcreM»**«> winch are both branded in the lame (\ileD with Ftiwf- cation, and Ancleanneffe, and or^r ffci^jf r/of fu ^ namd, by nafon of which (faith the Apoftle) ffc wrath of God cometh upon the Children ofDif- obedience, Noj In all our [olemn mettinis, e- fpecially 77?f» when we tread in GWV Courts > we ought to fpeak ••wi**^ io as not to difgrac'e3 but 4^r» the Gofpel. We mull nle all our Learning* and Elocution (if we have any,) as the Jpofiles here did their miraculous gift of Tongues^ not to gratifie the /rrfo of ungracious jwra, but to trumpet out the wonder full works oj Gud. That they who cannot indure to think, we can be e- mmencly worthy^ may yet be forced toconfede we zxefcrious Chriftians. And fince Si. James is very pf&tVC3 that he who ojjendeth not in word is a perfect man, let us contend and reach forth towards this perfection • Hill indeavouring to to fpeak with the beji Tongues we have, if not 35 mzvfUlA with the holy Gboft, yet at lead like them that ipeak as the Spirit gires them utterance. That io when other mens Tongues fball be em ploy 'd in crying cut for a Drop of water 3 im- U u 2 por tuning 340 The Advantages of Divine, &c. portaning the mountains to fall upon them^ (to hide them from the face of Him that Jitteth upon the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,) Our Tongues may joyn in Confort with the divine Choir of Angels ; with the Congregation oftbefirfl- Born whofe names ate written in beaVen; and with the Soulesofjuji men made per f eft; Singing Ho- fannahs^and Hallelujas, to him that Jitteth upon the Throne^ and unto the Lamb for ever morem FINIS. • • ? 7 'he Trimitive %ulc offyformation : Delivered in a SERMON BEFORE His MAIESTYat Whitehall, Febiu \66i. IN Vindication 6fOur QHV%CH Againft the NOVELTIES of ROME. Tublijbed by His Majejliesfpecial Qommand. The Ninth Edition. X TO THE High and Mighty Monarch Charles the IJ. By the Grace of God, King of Great 'Britain 5 Fr twc^and IreUnd, Defender of the Faith. Moft Gratious 2nd Dread Soveraign, Hut 'which never had been ex* poid unto a wittily-miila- king and crooked world , but in a dutiful fiibmiffion toYourQommand^majat lea/lforThis, iff or no other rcajon, bejuftly offer d to \hur Protection. £> weakeftlnllruments, to eff eel the bringingdown oft he flrongeftHolds 1 fuppofe my cDi/courfe,howeyer inno- cent in itjcifwilljzt he likely to meet with many, notoriety learned, and [ubul3hut Keftlefs enemies-Men e/pleafant infl- nuations, andyery plaufible Snares^ nay , Juch.as are apt (where they have Po\ver)fo* confute their Opponents £jFire andF aggot.'Bw/ whm I confider how well my Margin does lend I'rotc&L if<»M».If. iCor.i.i?. ' for. 1 0.4. on * Eo fane loco .Hxrefa funt,uc ;non tarn arte t& Imiuftria, iquam Alexan. kdn ^!adio,ea- ;rum Gordius Nodui diflojvi ■rciVc,q afique jHerculisdavsl fcriendx,quam | ^ po'llnis Lyra Jmitigandx vi- jdeamur, StJple- [itajl Epi,7. De- dic. wens de fMfiif.fitbfintm\ 7 he b piftle Dedicatory. on to my Text, (for I reckon that my CitSLtionSjivhich I could not with Tru* dence represent out of a Tulpit , are the ufefullefl part of my whole Performance, becaufe ^Evidence and Warrant of all the rejl>^) I cannot fearfully appre- hend, what V Vit or L anguage (or ill us'd Learning) can do againft it, Jo far \ forth as it is arm' d with Notoriety of Facl/'# its Vindication- and hath the published ConfefTions of thofe their] | AbleftHyperafpifta^/w cannot nr- I tainly by them of their owr perfwaflon, ! withhonor.or tafety.be contradicted. If they are guilty in their Writings, it is rather their own, than theirli eaders Fault- ih(or is it their Readers, but x Their misfortune, if they are found So to | be by their own Cotlceilions.JA(or^» they rationally be angry at tbeir%ea~ der's NecerTity to bdizvethem- ejpecu ally The Epiftle Dedicatory. ally when they write with jo becoming a proofo/Impartiality, as that by which they afperfe ^WaccufeThemfelves.l/1 it finally foall apear , They are * co n - demn'd out of their mouthes, Qts Go- liah's Head was cut off by David, not with David's, but with QoYuKs own Sword,} and that I am not jo fevere in taking Notice of their ConfefTions, as They haye been wwfoThemfelves in the Printing 0/ them, (for I cannot be [aid to have revealed any fecrets , by meerly Hie wing before the Sun , what They haye fent into the Light,) I thin^how- ever They may haye Appetite , They cannot haye Reafon to complain. I haye intreated of many SubjeHs within the Compafs of an hour,o» each of which it would be eafie to /fend a year. T^ut I bayefpofyn moft at large of theSu- premacy of the Pope^x wellbecaufe it J t 19.12. 1 Sm. i7.fi. \ The Epiftle Dedicatory. * Etenim de quareagitur ciim de Prima, tu Pontificis a. gitur.?brevifli. me dicam, de ISummA'ciCbri (liane* ^ellarmine'safTertion/tfr ivbatl fay,) on which does hang the whole ftrefs of the Pap A Fab rick. If herein >as Ihay>e obey 'd,Z ' jhallalfo be found to have fervd 5W Majtfy The Jole difcharge efmy Qutyn>i/i£>e abundantly my Reward • becauje I am not more by Confcienc- ,*;/7in the world, before him(eif had any Church. And i.hence * I tiusLirhtenfis , to prove the (Witi of any /)$- Brine % or the Legality of a Traffice^ does ar the Cafe from a ThrecfoldTopick; The Uruver- fality ?the Qonjent> and the Antiquity of* Tra- dition, Y y z Which Ftrtl/, advcrfia ! AlJYClO. L4 C J. I p. 406. Etf'if. I *©■ MftCVvfj j'E^b.p. 9. . * id ff* 1 1 1 |?f,|S /c- ? / \l -t..t v., AfJti- Cfltf- idv.Hxr* ' c.j.pcr 0/. i 35* The Primitive /7 Government. It was by (ending back the Tharifees to the moft venerable dntiquity } that our Lord here aflerted the Z.*^ oi Wedlock, againftthe old Cuftom of their Divorce. Whilft they had made themfclves fted al ogether on the Mofaical Di/penfition • | B,t He endeavour'd to reform them by the ; moft Trimitive Inftitution. They alledged a ■ Quftomy but HezLalv. Tbeya.TermiJJ]on, and : that from Mofes > But He a Trecept, and that | from God. They did reckon from afarr ojjf , But notj as He, from the Beginning. In of Reformation. 15* * Vcrfc t. 1 In that owe Qu:({\on ohhcThari/ee* ,* jvhy I* Vc did Mofes command us to give her a writing of Divorce, and to put her aTbaj ? they put a Fal- lacy upon Chriff, call'd Vlurium Interrogation num. For Mofes onely Permitted them to put her aDray* but Commanded them^ifthey d\d)to give her a voting of Divorce. And accordingly their ' Falhcj is deteSled by Chrift in his sinfwer to ; them. Mofes (did not command, but meerly) * fujfer'd you in your Cuftom of making un- juftifiable Divorcements. 'EW*f 4tr, he /w- mined, that is to (ay, he did not punifli it; not j allowing \i as vood } but winking at it as the lefler of two great eVi/r. He fufferd it to be fafe in /oro So//,- could not fecure you from the Guilt , for which ye muft anfwer in foro To- ll. And why did he fuffer, what he could not Approve ? Not for the foftneffe of your heads, tthich made you ignorant of your Duties- but for the hardnefj'z of your hearts, which made you refolute not to do them: ye were fo barba- rous and brut ifo upon every flight Qaufe, (or Occafion rather,) that if ye might not put her aw.i), ye would ufc her Tborfe. Ye would ma- ny times beat, and fometimes murder . fome- times £«r> her alive, by bringing another into j rfc7. ?54 The Primitive %ule * Gen. 1.27. Match. 19.4. t Gen. 1.14. Match. 19.5. her rBed. So that the Liberty of Divorce, how- ever apoyjon in it fdfy was (through the tard- nefiofyoux hearts) permitted to you for an An- tidote. But /row the beginning it wm not Jo. And ye rauft put a wide difference betwixt an Indulgence of Man^ and a Law of Cod. To ftatethecontroverfie aright, ye mud com- pare the frU Precept with your cuftowary Fra- flice^ not reckoning as far as from Mo/esonely, but as far as from Adam too; ye muft not one* ly look forwards, from the year of the (reation z^oo.hwt^Xiobackwards from thence,unto the year of the Creation . The way to underftand the 'Husband's Duty towards the Wife, ("and I fo to %tform,2& not to Innovate J is to'confider I thelbords of Gai when he made the Wife out j of the Husband. For * £&• f taf wwde f/jew at I the beginning made them Male and Female , and I /aid, t F^r */;«■ caufe fliaU a man leave Father, I and Mother , and fiail cleave unto bis Wtfe^ and they twain [hail be one Flejh. What therefore God \ bathjoynd together Jet not man put afunder, The Antecedent command w7as from God the Father; the command in the fequel from God the Son. And though the fra&ice chhetfewes had been contrariant to them both , by a Trefcription al- ' troft, of Reformation. 355 mi as oU as two thoufaad years % yet as old as it was/twas bat an overgrown Innovation. For j***iX** ■*•*»«» ?*• , /row f/,c beginning it was not fo. Thus our Saviour being lent to \eform the /i'Mtf^made known the l\aL' okh\s'i{ef-)r)? uitL oa.And th^ Lr(Jon\\\\:c\\ it affords us is (in my poor judgment) ofgreatlmportance For when the Dotirineot Difcipltne of our Qmrcb efta* blillit here in England (hail be attempted by the Corruptions of Modern *?/;.*n/<^5,whofhallaf* fert againftM^/asf foA here did againfl: our &*- v/o/*r,)either their rorreign Super fictions fxo lay no wot fe,) or their domeftick Profanations /to fay no more;} vve cannot better deal with Them% than as our Saviour here dealt with the pmHaSiii ancient Tharifees^ chat is, vve cannot better puj them tofhame and /i/f ac* , than by demonltra- ; the 2>{pVelty and fcu/c extraction of Their Pretenhons, whilft we evince at the fame in- ftam the Sacred Antiquity of o«/- o^ >/. When fchoy obtrude tbeii 'l{ev:lathms ^or teach for Do* Urine* I the meet commandment* of meri7 we mud aske them every one,/;oTfc they readin the beginning. We may not draw out of their Ditches, be the Currents never lb long y whilft we fia ft no* tarn ma trcm cxhibct cl 5 qnain No- yercam. %eitnt in id Scribje & Phjrif^i, 8,-c. Johan. Sari$bu- rienfis (ad Pa- Hum ..) in Po. lycratic. 1. 6. c.i4. ?5<* Ibe Primitive %ule (a) Epipfr.H^. i.hd.Vctav. August, de H<£. m.Tom. ?. Bafil.1541. (o) Augufi. contra Donat. Tom.j l.x. p. l96*Edit.Bafil, (c)Epirb.H&r. (djAugn(l.Tom. f.Hn;y.5 4r.2 5- E&c. Epi/fe. H«*v.66. dfoofow principiu »<>g 625.641. 675. we have waters of our ouw of a nobler Ta/fc, which we ean eafily trace back to the cryftal tyring. And firft of all it concern's us to marke the Empbafef, which our Ancient of dayes thought fit to pus on the Beginning} that no inferior An- tiquity may be in danger to deceive us. For there is hardly any Here fie 01 Usurpation in the Church,which may not truly pretend to fome great Antiquity , though not foold as the Old man % much leflc as the Old Serpent. a 1 he Vi/cipima)ians may fetch theirs from as far as the Heretick Aerius* who wanting merit to advance him from a Tretbyter to a 'Bijlwp^ wanted not arrogance and enyy to leflen the Bijhop into zTresbyter. But His Antiquity is a junior , as well to.thatofthe^wrfta//ritfj| as to that of the Socitiians. For the b Ana* bapttfis may boaft they are as old as dgrippi* nws^ and thec Socinians as Sabellius. The dSoti- fidiansand Antinomians are corneas far as from Eunomius. The c %anters from Carpocrates. The f Millenaries from Papm. The /rre- fpeftive (o)l\eprobatariansfoGXt\ Simon Magus, and the Manitbees. The TontificiansflikQ the Mabumetans)hzyc iuch z^bapfody o£ Religion, imT-TTilEli oj-%eformat'wn. I 557 a Religion io compounded ofleveral Errors and Corruptions , (which yet are blended wich many Doctrines mo([ foand^nd Orthodox,) that to find out the agie of their feveral Ingredients . it will be neceflary to rake into feveral Times too. THe great Talladium of the Conclave, rhe famous point of Infallibility, ( which if you take away from them, down goestheir Troy, it being abfolutely impoflible that the learned Members of inch a Qburcb fhould glib Iy fwallovv (o many Errors } unlefs by Ivval lowing this firfl:, That Jl?e cannot Erre-j 1 fay, the point of Infallibility (which is a very old Article of their very nelt> Qreed % a Creed net perfected by its Compofers, until the Council at Trent,) we cannot better derive than from the Scholars of (a ) Marcus in Irenxus 5 or from the G.'iojlicks in (7?) Spiphanins. They had their Purgatory from (c)Origen f (one of the £*/? in- deed in o>2f kind, but in another one of the (*) htn.Advcr Bsfrf.p i?. ■ (bj— Ka) X^« . 1 1 H*r, 16. !4«U -b: l.H:Ci. i7-p.loi- (c)Nocc,Thac BellarWhu ha\'.n^ bna(ted(IJ6 iJe?urgaUari$j.ii p. 1 8 4 1 . E Yif • Irtgo.'/i trf.^.D.i^oJ ThdtdUtbe hn'ients^olb Grcikaud Luiic, fumiU: time of the hpe (lies, did Con.fr Mil) ; affirm tbe dotli'mc cf Fur gator*, «ouM not pnrc an c! jcr ':n' fiance, than in 0 rjg«, and TcrtuUun, c.6. /Tor S.£7nlmhc.ip.ult. See BelUrmine contradifted by the T(omanifls chemfeives. c#»tr. Luiberum, art.i2fol.iiu &€. Antvcrp. if ij.Po/yrfor. V/»g. Inv.Rer. lib.8.c.i.v.$4. Edit. Kafil. 1524. Saire^, i/iAquin.far.i% j, 59. ar7. 6. tsVogunt. 1604. p.6ij.i. Tto» care noffrhence they come, unleffe they come from the Beginning. Indeed in matters ofmeer Indifference which are brought into the Government or outward Di/cipltne of the Church^every Church has the Liberty to make her own Confutations . not asking leave of her Sifters ,* much lefle her Children . onely they mud not be reputed as things without which there is no Salvation } nor be obtruded upon the People amongft the Articles of their Faith. We are to look upon nothing /^but as it comes to us from the Begin, ning* And this has ever been the %ule ( I mean the warrantable Rule ) whereby to improve or reform a Church. When Efdras was intent on the re .building of the Temple^ he fenc not to Epbefw, much lcfle to %ome . he did not imi- tate Diana's Temple, nor enquire into the Rituals otNuma&ompiliut . but had recourfe for a Temple y to that of Solomon } and for a ${itual9 to that of Mo/es^ as having both been prelcribed by God him/elf And yec we know the Prophet Haggai made the people fteep their ^oj in a /&0«?r oiTears J by reprefenting how much the Co/'j had fain fliortoftheOngL of Information. i*i /ia/.The holy Prophets in che Old Teftament, flievving che t»ay to a Reformation^ adviYd the Princes and che people to ask after the old paths, and Tbalk therein, as being the only good "bay tot the finding of reft unto their Joules y Jer. <5. 1 6. The Prophec lfaiah foughc to regulate what was amiflTeamongftthegWfcw, by bid- ding them have recourfe unto the Lan? and the Teftimony fliouldnot a people feek unto thtirGod? \ If any f peak not according to this word ft is lecaufe there is nolight in them7\ia>$. i p,ZQ. And ac- cordingly their f\jn&> who took a care to re- form ahufes 7 are in this folemn ftyle commen- ded for ic, That they walked in the Ibayes of their Father Da>ids chat is, reform' d what was a* mifs by what had been from the Beginning, So St. rPiul in the New Teftament, fetting right what was crooked about the Supper of the Lord in the Church of Corinth % laid his line to that %ule which he was Hire he had rece'r/d from the Lord Him f elf \ i Cor. i i • a 5. And thus our Saviour in my Text, finding the Tharifees very fond of a vitiotu practice $ which (upported it felfby an old Tradition and had fomething of Mofis to give it countenance in che world, ( chough indeed no more than a bare permifitqnf) %6z The Primitive %ule Ipermi/Jion,) could not think of a better way to make them fenfi ble of their Error, ( and fucb an Error as was their 5m too,) than by (hew. ing them the great and important difference, betwixt an Old, and a Primitive Cuftom • and that however their breach of Wedlock, had been without check from the dates of yore, yet 'twas for This to be reforrnd^hat'twiLS not fo from the Beginning* In a mod dutifull conformity to which | example , our Reformers here in England ( of happy memory ) having difc^ver'd in every part of the Church of ^ome , not onely horrible Corruptions in point of Tra* Ftice, but hideous Errors in point of Daft? ine} and that in matters of Faith too , (as Ifhall find an occafion to fliew anon* ) and ha- ving found by what degrees the feveral Errors and Corruptions wac /lily brought^ into the (hutch, as well as the fevera! times and feafons wherein the 7>{oVeltie$ received their birth and a* lfj?i9. I breeding . and prefendy after making notice '9 sc/f.^.can.i | t[iac jn fa found! of Yrent the {\oman Par- zi.&ciuam | tiians were not afraid to make a Aw /?r» gfauS°m "V/« o/Rmfc, whilft the &wi/fo of the Mi/?, the Doctrine af furgatory , the Invocation of. Saints, j (a) Vide Con. cil. Tridenr. Sej.ai. Crftf. «, Edit. Bin. pag. |.444.Tom.9 of (Reformation. m Saints i the Worfhip of Images 9 and the like, were* commanded to be embraced under pain of dd>nmlion , (as it were in contempt of the Af- files d:nuntiationy Gal. i, S. by which that brattice of thofe Con/pirators trade them lia ble to a curje,) and farther yet, that in the Canon of the Fourth Se/uon of that Qouncd^ the V^oman Church was nude to differ as well from her ancient and purer Jt if ,as from all other Churches befides her felf , in that there were many meerly human (I -do not fay profane) Writings, and many unwritten Traditions alfo, not only decreed to be o£h equal Authority with the Scnpttres f but with the addition of an Anathema to all that fliouldnotfo receive them: This (Hay/ being conilder'd and laid to heart by our %c former s^by our Rings, and our£7e/£j> j and £4*Vty too, met together in their greateft both Eccl'fta/lical znd Civil Coun* ci!s,) they did not confult wkh /?*//; and Wohjg from r&eifij whom (bj tfec non ' ipfas Traditicw turn ad mores yc> tincntcs,tan- quam zcl Oie te. niii a Cbriflo%vrt a SfiutH Sirncto diftatas.pari pietatis aff. ctu ac reverent'ia. fufup'it ac%vtnt. ratur (htcSan- eta Synod us.) Trident. Cone. Sefs.4 Tub Pan. lo 3 .Bin. Ton. * Siquti libros ipfoi mtfgTHj-* prifacrii & Canovcu mi fufceptrk) & Tradition-is pr& dictdsfciens contempferit, A- nathsma fit. ib. . ?«4 1 The Trimitive ^ule whom they found to have been Separatifts from the primitive Churihj&Ky Therefore made zSeceJj'ion, that they might not partdke of the %oman Scbifm. And whilft they made a Se- cejsion for fear &( Scbifm. ("which by no other practice could be avoided ,) they ftudioufly kept to the Golden mean • neither deflroying the Body out of batredto the ulcer* with which 'twas fpread 9 nor yet retaining any Ulcer in a pifHonsLtc dotage upon the Body. One remarkable Infirmity it is obvious to obferve in the Topifh Writers : they ever com- plain we have/e/f their Church; but never fliew us that lota, as to which we have left the Word of God, or the Jpoflles }ox the yet-nncorrup- ted and primitive Qburch , or the Four firU General Councils WJt are fo zealous for Anttqtti* ty, (provided it be but Antique Enough ^ that we never have defpifed a meerTradithn. which we could track by Cure footfteps from as far as ; thje times of the purefl Cbrifliam. But this is j ftill their childiJJ? fallacy , (be it fpoken to the | fhame of their greateft Giants in Difpute^who ftill VOHchfafe to be guilty of if, ) that they con- fidently fliut up the Qhurcb in |/;z;c E* E^ir: Paris eH. (c) Tl rff^oTit ictt KcaiitTu n rfAr/jJs<£\ r '£/.KAn[u Nihil Juris illi attribution in fateros JUetroio'.itanoSy p\- xtzvHonQvcm Or diriis, no;i autcm ut Metropolitani omnh Dixccfcos Orientis ab eo )sre [ingu- lmordma'entur,ut\x\nQzzni\\yr\n\\Epi\lQlaad Alexandr, Epifcopum affercrcvidetur , contr* n-.cntem Synodi Nica:na»Juftel].p.7.ex Edit.GulicImi Voclli, A.D.1661. Lfi of. Information. }<*> be chief in his proper Dioocefe . as the (Bijhop of Rowel's the chief in H#. And a ftri& (V) /«• junBion it laid on d/7, (the 'Bifbop of^ome not excepted,) that they prefume not to meddle in any Diocefe but their oVm. And the chief Primacies of Order were granted to ^cwe and to Qonslantinople , not for their having been theS^iofiuchorluchan^o/?/^ (e) but for being the two Seats ofthe two great Em/ues. Witnefs the famous Canon ofthe General coun- cil at Chalcedony If) decreeing to the Biftop of £onftantinople an equality of Trhiledges with the 8i(hof> o{1\ome . not for any other reafon, than its having the good hap to be one of die t^o Imperial^ it'us. Nay,no longer ago before 'Sotf/Y-jmheThirdj /who was the firfl (Bi(l)op of Rome that ufurp't the Title of Vniverjalj I fay, no longer before ILm than his next immediate Predecefibr Pope Gregory the Great, (for I reckon Sabuuan was but a Cypher,) (d) T« Khi)(HcU( pi am'irou, ftM«!rf bic Cuoifibi veilt per EftfA*T7u#u»F $/ npfq&to* 7* *A9Vo^f^p 'RKK *«*/«. 1 Jultellus M^Ctfl pi*tt Ju:>aius ad Can. Cone. Nic.6. nihil Juris nnnirum ifoclochcnq attribu- endumin externa Mccfopolitano^prstet Ordincm Honoris. (e; Confer Ju'lmian. 'Suvcl.Coufi:: 1 |i. tap.z. u;w f*x#*f 5. Ctncilii Ctnfi fcj «/07«{ 5&»AeW<*Ti to-' npfojSii*. El pau'b port — ia /* (Ipftfjdfftf — jfiipttutw t&T'? KPij ^oftiirku pg^AiaJtitai ^^.^^a/j&c.Concil.Clialccd.Can.pcnulc. cfitc */■ The Primitive $(ule (b) ®m e(l ifle qui concra Sea- tuca Evangeli- ca, cont.a Ca*- nnmu.n Decrees, novum fihinfuY' pare no men pra- fum.it ? — N">- vis & profams vocabulis ^glorU antuf. — Abfit a cor- d'lka GbrtfUano* Yumnomzn'A. lud Blafphe- rpis. Greg. Mag.l.j.Epift. 3 a. ad Maurici- um Augaftum. P7?4- ' . (h) Scd in hac ejus fuperbia quid ali ud fiift prophiqua \mi Ancichrifti effe tempora deftgna ■ tor? Idem ad Conftantiam /Juguftam. Ep-HP 7 17; confer. L7. kpi. 69. Eufebioj the horrible Wide of fucceeding Popes was ftigtnatiYd by a frolepjis^ by way ( not of Prophecy y but) of Anticipation. For (g) Gregory writing to Mauritius y the then-reigning Em. perour, (and that in very many Epiftles, ) touching the name otuniverfal, which the Bi/hop otConftantinople had vainly taken unto him felf , call's it a nicked and profane and blaf* phemous Title^a Title importing that the (h) times nfjmichrift T»ereathand . (little thinking that Pope Boniface would prefently after his de- ccale ufurp the fame , and prove the Pope to be JntichriH by the confeffton of a Tope J He farther difputed againft the Title by an Argu- ment leading adabjurdum ; *Thac if any one rBi/hop were Universal ■ there would by con- fluence be a failing of the Vnherfal church , upon, the falling o£fucb a Bifhop. An Argu- ment, ad homines, not eafiiy to be anfwer'd, whatfoever Infirmity it may iabour with/a it felf. And fuchan Argument is That, which alii [que,'?, 90 l' (i) Si mm Epiftcpus vacatur uilver falls, univer\a Ecclefia corrititi\.6.'Ep 24 p.&n.Er rttrfus— ft tUiid nomen m ca Ecc'tfui (ibi quifquam ampuit, quod apud honor um omnium yudicium fu\ty \} ni- . veiTa crgb Ecckfia (quod 2b fi,)* (lata fuo corruit> quando Is qui appellator Univerfalis cadit. Idem ad Ennd.Epift.j 2.P.7? 4. Univerfalis autcm nee etiam Romanus l;onti£ex appeUetur, facente PapaPelaglofecundo, apud Gratiafi.Dccretal.p.i.dift 99, cap 4. Quit autcm illud pro indig- nitAterci QupeAt> quod nov arti quandum indebitamque Potentjam cibi ufurpando arrogas, &c«* Ita Papm d'oquuntii't Epifcopi Gsrmanici apud Goldaft.Toro.i. p.47., we i of Reformation. 37* we bring againfl: the P. ;> '^pretended Head* P?ip, For if the Tope is the Head of the Caibo- lick Cburch} then the Cathoixk clinch muft be the 'Body of the Tope-, becaufe the Head and the Body are the Relative and Qotrelathc^ and being fuchjthty arc convertible in obliquo ; And then it followes unavoidably f That when there is no Tope at att , (which is very often ;) che Catbolick Church hath then no Head . and when there are many Popes 4f once f ( which hath been iometimes the cafe J then the Ca* tbolick Church muft have tf once many Heads- and when the Pope- is Heretical^ ( as by the confe(?ion of the Pjpifts he now and then is, ) the QathvltckQbuTLb\wt\\fucbanHeid)Z$ makes her deleive to be beheaded. (k)That Vopit have been Hen?ich} and Heathens too, npt only by denying the Godhead of the,5/viwJ,thac 'tis) the Confeffion ofthemoft jealous, and partial A (Tetters of their Supremacy. I know that Stt/A* , and thofe of the Spani(h Inqui- fuion, do ac once confefle this , and yet ad. here (k)SMn!tiP6i* tificei Rom.tii crraruntifciit Marcellinuj^/ii ldolis fjcrifica. v.r^c^Libsriuj Papa^i Aria* n-s confer fit; naftafius fccundus propter Hxicf.sCri. men YCjuJ'utus fat .w hcclcfia: . Uam pUiiml coitra Catboticmfi. dem ttniicrunt; ut Joannes vi. gchmus fecun- dus,q/<: afscruit) quod tilius Dei fitNtajor Patre & Spiritu San. fro. Didacus Stella Torn. 2, " in Luc. cap 22. verf. 5 1. p. 280. col. 1 Ed-t. Anc vcrp. A. D. 159$. Ad In. quificionis Hi. fpan'.x drcrcci prorfus elima. tus, & fummA iids rcpurgatib. ?7* | 77;e PnmttiVt \ S^4. (b) Pamci.in Cyprian.Ejift. • 4i. p.47,48. Cc) Pctar.in Ep'phan. ad H#rcf. 59. quae eft Novatiano. rum,pa?.ii6. (d) Onuph.in Nocisad Mar. in vita Co nc. Hi, pag-t6. Ed. Lovan.157?. Vide Eufcb. (ejVidcBellar, Chronol. ad j A.C.uz.Si j Euf.H.ft. Eccl. ?74 I The Primitive <%ule (a) (a) tfonpo- e(l probari eum [i.e. Augufti- hie de Euckari- Hi nO'i agi, cum am multti locis Uiti probetex hoc Johann'.s Teftimovo, Eu« ;hariftiam eci- am Infamibus ?(Te Neceflari* tm-jdq e non ut I mnionem fuam , fed ut Fidel & TotiusEcclefi* Dogma; ai re fellevdos Tela but (for ought I yet learn) without the le*ft Contradiction afforded to it. Nay the loh^e Church of God ( in the opinion of St. (a) ./iu* (iin and Tope Innocent the third • and fot/ixbun* dred years together y (\f(a)Maldonate the tfefuit may be believ'd) thought che Sacrament of £«- charifi to have been necefiary to Infants ^as well asto menofther/^rS^: and yet /as Maldo- nate confefieth at the very fame time,) it was fo plain andfo^/tean fir/*0r,that notwithftand- ing St Auflin did endeavour to confute the Pe- lagians by it, as by a DoElrin of Faith, ' and of thel^o/e Qhurch of God-yet the Council of Trent was of&contrary mind}and did accordingly in a C^«o/? declare againft it. paulo poft &i'i\\m facio hu2tt\x\n\ eMnnocentii pnmi fententiam^u^ fexcentos circiter annos viguit hi Eccicfia, Euthariftiam etiam Infancibu* neceflariam. Tfys \m ah Ecc!efi.U& Multorum foulorumufui& DecretoSynodi Tndentinae explic.ita eft,nonfo!um neceflariam iflii non Sc/fcd m deccre quidem da>2. (Sefs,n.& Can.4.) Maldonat. (Excuf.Mufliponti, A.C. i$96.) inJoh.6.^-p.7i737i8j7i9. *cn)Hs corm 5. Pals we on totheDoi£trineofXn™/«£ f/aaZlli- fiantiation, which (if its Jge may be meafur'd fu%itJ&iem ty tfie very &*&<**** of its Definition,) may v«J t*r*to be allow'd to be aso/J asthe Lateran * Council. continents, * tranfubftanciatis Pane it £arpau& Vi>w i* fangnincm^otcflate divini.Conc.Lxer.c. 1. In S>. n.ixi vera Tr anf ubfianmtmcm definivit Ecclefia. Diujatis crai credere, five fub Pave confecrate, five quocun^uemodo adejje verum Corpus Chnjli.Etatm. Annot. in 1C0r.7p.47i. Saltern ah annii foo dogma Tranfubflantiationis fub Anaibcmate liabilitum> ut alt ipfe Bellarminus de Eucharift. l.j.c.ix. p.759, Cu]ns etiam cotfejfionem videre eft, 1.3.0.15^.7^6. Ed.Par.1586. of%eformation ?75 a Council held under Pcpe Innocent the Third ; fince whom are (omewhat more then 400 years. But from the beginning it ~tocis not (0. For befidcs that our Saviour, juft as loon as he had laid This is my Blood, ex- plained himfelfin the fame Breath, by calling it expreflv the fruit of the Vine} and fuch as He yiionlddrinknt'w in the kingdom ofGod^Mat.26. 29. Mark 14.15.) there needs no more to make the Romanics ev?n afliam'd of that Do Brine y than the C once (J ton of Aquinas, and Bel- Urminc's Inference thereupon.^ a) A 'quints (o ar- gues, as to imply it is bnpofftble, and imports a QontradtFion y for one body to be locally in more places than one , and in all at once. But (b) Bellarmine Cat this) isfo very angry ^ that in a kind o£1{e\>enge upon Aquinas y (though held to be the Angelical DoftorJ he needs will infer 'tis a* Impofftble , and equally implies a Contradiction } for any one body at once to be Co much as Sacramentallj in more Places than (a) Corpus Chri- (li non efl to mom do in hoc Sacra, memo ficut Cor* pus in loco, quod fuu Dimenfioni- bus loco commen- furatur; [edquo. dam fpeciali'mo- doyqui c(l propria us buic Sacra- mento. Undt di~ cimustfi'od Cor- pus Cbrifli e(l i» diterfts xltari. tut, non ficut in diverfiiUciiJid ficut in Sacra- *• mento. Nulla enm modo CoYW Cbrtfli rf? in hoc Sacramento loca'Mcr, put ft ([jet, diziderctur a jctpfo. /Jquin. OpCT Tom.ii Sum.parr.$.q.7f.3rr.i. ad vp151.coL1iq.76 art.3 & J. Ci Edit. Antwerp, i6iz. (0) Si w\ pofiet tfa v*um Co' as locAtcr in duobus litis, quid dm eritur a. fcipfo, profffto nee ef in aU j tan ponuntur, ! foft coifecratio- \ nem non [olum I Sacramentum, \fed etiam verum l Corpus & San- [guinem Domini Inofiri JefuChri. [ftiefe: & fei- jfualiter non jo- lilm Sacramento, one. And therefore it cannot now be won- dered concerning Tranfub/lanthtion, if Co lon^ ago as in the time of Pope !>{icolst4 the Second, either the J>(oVehy was not forgd and bammtrd out into the frapt in which we find it , or not at all underftood by the Tope Himjelf. For one of the two is very clear by the famous (c) Sub- tnijjton of fcerengarui*, wherewith he fatisfied the {d) Synod then held at %ome ?(and in which were 1 1 3 Bifhops,; though not at all unto a Trans ; but rather a ConjubHantiation. Which divers (?) %omamjls tbemfrlves have not been able not to Cenfure ," though ic was ptn'd by a / Qardmal , and approved o£ by a Council, and very glibly /wallow' d down by the Tope bim/elf. [manibus facer do - \tum tractari , frangi, & fdelium den'ibus atteri. Confer Floriacenf. Hiftor. fragments a P. P5. tha?o edit.inter.Fianc.Script. (Bxfuf.Vrancof. A.C.\ 596) p.ZS.cum Lanfranc.lib.com. Bereng. j& Guitmund.de Sacram.l. 1. & Alger.de Sacram./. i.e. 19. (iQSigon.'de Regno lral.l.9.4. 1059. jp.zio. (c) Hip fane mtclligas verba Berengarii, in majorcm incidts Ha?rcfin , quam ipfe |habuic: & ideo omnia refcras ad [peeks ip[.is,namde CbriftiCorpore partes nonfacimus. Johan. ISemeca Glofiator mGratian.de Confccrat Dift.2.cap.Ego Berengarlus, (fj A CardhiAleJciL JHumberto S'jlvx Candida? Epifcopo. Guitmundusub.fupra. 4. 'Tis very true that their withholding the CUP ofM*0n£ in c^e Lord's Supper from the fecular pare of their Communicants 3 hath been in practice little lefle then 400 years. But from the beginning it lb & not Jo. For in our Saviours of Reformation. 577 | Saviour's In/litution we find it intended for ! (g) every Gnefl* nlmwJnH is the word, rD rink ye Jll of this Cup.(Mait.l6.ij.) And S Tauliothc Corinthians (confifting moftofLd>we«)fpeaks as well of their drinking the myftical 'Blood, as of their Mfiwg; the Co/y of Chrift. (i Cor.i i. 26,J7>i8)2 9.)Nay'tisco^y?bylearned^/c <7«^, ( as well as by Qafiander f and Jquinas Himfelf) to be a Truth undeniable, That the giving of both Elements in the %oma>i Qmrchit J<:lf untiil the time oi Aquinas^ did ftill conti- nue to be in ufe. 5, The Church of %ome for fevcral Ages hath reftraind the holy Scriptures from the perufal of the People. But from the beginning itibasnotfo. For Hibreib to the^e^j was the Mother-Tongue }md in That 'twas read weekly before the People. It pleafed God the NeV> «"■ * j tjtament ihould be hrlt written in breeky be- | tUfusftruav. caufe a Tongue the ma// A>jom?>i to the Eaftern commcn^Le? Tbor/J. And to the end that this Qandle might ; f^j^]' not be bid under a !Bujhel9 k was tranfiaced ; tsixcScnenC by St ferome into the t D.ilmatick Tongue; by p.i\7.i&* Bifliop rulphilat into the *G<*hick> by St Qbr,- < gSsSS* Tom. j. ♦Socrat Hift. Ecclcr.i;b.4.c.33«Nl:cph.Hift.Ecclc.iib.iT,c.4 8.BonaY.Yu:can. in Prifar. tie Licurg.& lingua Gccaiuin. (g) ConciJ. Conftanc.Afti- onc 1 ». Can. i3'M8o. 1,1 Ecclcfn Lav n a ioco amptius amistcnuit, ut tarn VopLlo quam Cleroin cdebra. tione Miff arum po(l my fieri or urn coafecrationem JcQ'fom Corpus & [cor j urn S.Jtf- nit Domini prac* hretitr, Caifan. Confulr. Artie, n.Vafq.cap. j. j Difp. 2 16. e.g. j p* $8. Secundum antiquum Ecclc- fix confuctudi. ncm3 omnts ficut communicabant Corpofiju com- municabant & Sanguinis quod ~ foftom *7» The frimithe %ule (a) Roccha in B>bliotheca Va- tican.p.xyy, 157. (b) /dentin. i4nnal.lib.4# (c) Sixt.Scnenf: Bibl 1. 4-P-1J5. foftom into* Armenian , by dibeljtan into 6\a *o»,by b Methodius into Sc/aVowd^by facobu de Voragtne into c /ft*//*?* , by ®*dfe and frF/We/ into d Englifh. And not to fpeak of the Sjp* dc£, jEthiopkkfArMck^erftan t and Qhaldee Verfions^ (which were all for (he ufe of the \ common people ofthofe Countriesjthe ¥ Vulgar Latine was then the Vulgar Language of t^e /fa- /ww, when the 0/d and l>Jjw Teftament were turn'd into it. 6. The puhtick prayers of the ^omanifts have been a very long time in an unknown Tongue y{l mean unknown to the common people ) even as long as from the times of Pope Grego* ry the Gxe&z.lButfrom the beginning it was not Jo. For 'tis as fcandaloufly oppoflte to the plain fenfe of Scriptnre as if it were done in a meer de/pjght to the 1 4th Qhapter of the fir ft Ept/tte to the CwW^tf^efpecially from the 1$ to the iJtVerf. Not to fpeak of what is faid by the * Primitive Writers : t Aquinas and Lyra do both confefs upon the place , that the common Service of the Church in the Primitive times, was in the common language too. And as the I \Ckm ^quinate & Lyra confer Cajetanum in iCor. 14.P.79. fcntcntias noftrx fuftragancem. Ed.Parisi^*. ChnltiansJ col. 1. 00 Vide sAur tbores chat.apud Brerew. Inqu. c.z6. * Confer Blend. Ital llluftrata, in MaichiaTar. biQn3,#* Tin. to de la Nobil. ta dx Verona, lib. 1. cap. i. cum Hkronymi Tern, paribus apud Bellatm. de Script. Ecclef. p. 104. Koh, H <& 6?a* (MUOi (Fa/ucth Iter®- r iav. ivyzTai ttJ ©£«"• Origen. contra c ifum (ex Wit. H*f. chclii, An&ufl* Vinddicorum, 1605.) lib 8. of %t/ort.ation. 379 (i) Angelus Koccha m Bibl. Vatic.p.157. (I) B.bliotfi. Vet. Patrum, rom.6.p»654. c Petrus Bello, nius in Obferv ).i cap.12. &* Chriftians ofa Dalmatia, bFh'jafJia,0 Jrmenia, d MufcoYta^ c ScLiVonia}^u/?iti32nd all the Re- formed parts of Chriftcndom , have the Ser* vice of God in their vulgar Tongues , fo hath it been in divers Places by (f) Approbation firft had from the Tope bim/elf. Vitriacus in H'ift. Orienr. cap.79.p.io9?. Brocardus non nuUibi itfud Dtfcripuone Ten* Santt*. (d. d.) Poflev:nus de Rcb.Mofc.pU-And.ThevetUiCof.l. tg.c* 2. (e)Bayi PaUl de rat. Scrib. /tfn. Roccha Bib.iorh. Vat.cp.16z. ( yfventin, Annall.4. #.nca* Sylvius in Hid. Bohem. cap. ij. p.n8.Concil.B.n.Torn .j.n.990 Vide et'iam Decree. l,i. Tit 3 i.cap.14. & quicqu'id Author urn videre eft in Brow. Inqu.i6. 7. Another inflance may be given in their j Trohibitingof Marriage to men in 0n^/'5,which is deriv d by (owe from the third a Qentury after Qnift . by b others horn the eighth ; and in the rigour that now it is, from Tope Gregory che Seventh. But from the beginningitTbd* not jo. For ^/V/rjvvcrepermittediohaveii>/i'e,55both in the OU and New Tejtament^ (as Maximilian c the Second did rightly urge againft the Pope:) And the blejfi-d Jpoftles (many of them) were married nun; for fo I gather from dEufebius out of Clemens Alexandrtttus^ and from the e Letter of Maximilian $ who did not want the Advice ofche/t^r/if^/ifperlonsinall his Empire; and from i(V. 9. 5. whcreSt Paul aflerts his liber- ty to carry a Wife along with him ? as well as Qepbas. a tfcmpe a Vaoa CaUxto, qui flo. rtdt A.D.120. Co if itk That* num/in 1. ^ c?. p. 305. b B (hip Hall.g.Epift. z.Dccad cubifupraapud Thuanum,p. 305. & 306. d Eufebl.3. c.13. c COTt/f4l A}'Q- fiolos ipfos,pau. as excepii^con. juges babuiffe. Ubi fupr* apud Thuanum. $8o The Primitive %ule Cephas. And 'tis the Dodhine of that /fpoftle that a BiJJiop may be an Husband ^although he may not be the Husband of more then One JVifeXiTim.$,2*Tit.i .6.)Bc(ides%the Marriage ibid.dfui of the- Clergy was afferted by f Paphnutius in %&Oi c^c CQunc*l *z Nice . and even by one of tbo/e S^a!*' l%Canons which the %omxnifts tbemfefoet do rO%{icifiS ftrll avow forApofcolicaL And the forbidding xXXS\^ men to m*rry*m( with Saturninus , and the Gno- IjJS^f* fticks,) is worthily calfd by God's Apoftle, ' non^Apohou. J/;? DoHrine of Devils j ( 1 Tf/?i.4.r.?« j vofjuftov cv^vyictv.'ZonKas in Can.Apoft.vp.4.Edit.Pari.i6i3.(h}N't.'ta/'e e^gwew* a Saf^M rficttitt crsc.irenocusjl.i.c- x»» lv$nuvi cTj 9zyK&.7ilctf&nG*mi I/* r-. $ KV7Qiv> )Ct Anutup yfo MaaeOYTK v* $W -mt&fift^YkuAv ^ncuJbrn'iicLP , ""eft? <£vTHm.iyny rob tu>cp.n J\;soyriw*s iTtp*i,u.vM vmffiiiyilp tlS day* t? TyopJu/.Clcm.Alex.StromJ.j. | (k) SifW #*- j c^ir Ecclcfiaw j en*. T£, f/#w ob j mukas Caufas \ fepgrattOTum in. | WfP»j«g«quo. j ad totum, /e* j r/^o^cf cohabica. tionem, dd cer. turn incertum. ve tcmpu?,yfcri ptf/xe dtcemlty ^mlhema [it. Gonci. Trident. Scfs.24 Can;8. P.41 i.Edit.Ei. Tom. 9, Parif. 8. I (hall conclude with that Inftance, to which our Saviour in my Text does more peculiarly allude- I mean the Liberty ofVi* Vorce betwixt Man and Wife, for many mote Caufes than the Caule of Fornication, for Co I find it is (V decreed by the Church of ^ome^ with an Anathema to all that (hall contradict it. 'But from the 'Beginning it was notfo. For 'tis as oppofite to the will of our Blefled Saviour, revealed to usTbitbout a Tar able, (in the next verfe of Reformation. ?«i (\)SciLtyr*tet £ciit. 1 m homl- mum) Edit, Col ^g'ip. vcrfc after my Text) as if they meanc nothing more, than the opening of a lb ay to rebel a- gainfl him. For befides that in the Canon of the Councl at Trent . a Divorce quoad ln,ltm ob vviltM Canfas was decreed to be yaft in the Church of Rome , although our Lord had twice confin'd it to the SoleCaufe of Fornica- tiMt(Mattb.$.$i,& 19.9.) And befides that the word Totum was conftantly reteined in (/) four Editions, (particularly in Tbat9 which had \\\tQare and Qommand of Pope Taul the Fifth,) Let it be granted that the Council did p™*^1' mean no more.than a meer Senuelhation from Conci! &*•&* j£>fd and i^rd > to endure tor a certain or «?;- /«**, Amvcrp. certain time} and not an abjolutt Vt flotation of p/io»* im the Fov/igjJ /(mf . yet in the Judgment ofj^f^^ Chemnitius , yea and of Maldonat Himfelf . ' ^ua°rlt- Edic- r ! f I ^ r • 1 r . ' Romas,* £. (who was as learned a fejuite as that Society i**8.Tom.4. ever had,) it would be oppofite (even fo) to P(m]li$bAium the Law 0/ Cbrift. fox»be mboputtetbawaj hi* %£&* Wi/if /ar 4wy Gitt/e wbatfoever% befides the Caufe *■»/«*■ !«r of Fornication, commits Adultery (Uiththe ire- towi;**** /«/f) even for this very realon, be caufe he makes rmmmdu** Hit commit it , pfttwi /;e ttiu/iri/j />«ff^ away\ r^Z^M^ul n Nay,(7;?wri/r/w faith farther {Thzx. the 7^/u/ ^hl16i4jip Separation from "Bed and Board } is man] it ayes 39^. C C C 4 Poitl ficia ill *8* ) The Primitive Q(ulc a Ttifioliition of the Qonjugal Tye. Nor docs he concent himfelf to Jay fit affirm it only,but by a Confluence of Scriptures does makeii good ,That againft the Command of our bleflcd Saviour (in she verfe but one before my Text, ) Tl?at Ttfhich God hath jojnd together } the men of Rome do put af under. Separat'ione {nempe a Toro & Menfa, ad certum incer- cumvetempus,) Vinculum Con • jigii mult is & variis moiis foU vitur & difrum. %tur. ^arn ad Vinculum &!*• mmon'n icti- >ientb£fenten* lU/Ei adhaere- bltlUori fus. Faciamus ei adjutorium quod fie coram ipfo. Mullcr non habet poteftaterD fai Corporisjfed vir. ltenim convenite,ne tentct vos Satan propter Inconcincntiam veftram. Noh funt Duojfed una Caro. Et hfum Matriraonium defimtur, Ind'widua vita; confuetudine. B£C vero vintuU Conjugii in Toitijicia (eparatione^ quoad Torum & Col).ib:txtionem> [olvuniur & di- ritmpmtuT. Homines ig?f«i',contra Decretum Divinitatis,fepjiant,quod Deus cojijunxit.Chemn. inExam.Concil.Tridcnc. (zxcuf.Gcnev. A.D. 1634 ) p. 457. By thefe and many more Corruptions in point o(?raftice and Voftrine too , which were no more then 'Deviations from what had been from the Beginning $ and which the learnedeft Sons of the Church of Rome have been forced to confefs in their publi:k Writings y the awakened part of the Chriflian world were compell'd to look out for a Reformation, That there was in the See of\ome the moft abomi- nable brattice to beimagin'd, we have the .liberal ° Confefiion of zealous Stapkton himfelf^ (0) Vixullum pec cat urn cogita- n potefi 3 (Jolt Wterejiexcepta) quo \U fede$ turpiter maculata non fuerit, maximc ab Ann.ZoQ.& infra. Stapler. Oper. Tom.i. Cont.i. q.y art j.p j $7.excuf. Paris. 16*0. and of 1{e formation. %** and of thofe chat have pu<fbt their pVentten* this. We have the pnbhfhed Complaints of Armacbanus^ and Gro/iead^ and T^itoiM de Qe- mangis, fobn of Hm, and Jerome ofTraguey Chancellor Gerfon^nd Erafmw r2tid the Arch- hi/hop of Sptlato. Ludovicns Vi\esy and C a (fin- der y who areknown to have died in the fame Communion , did ycttmpartiallj complain offome Corruptions, (q)Vrtes of their Feajls at the Ora- tories of Martyrs, as beingtoo much of kin unto the Gentiles Parentalia ^vhichin the judgment of1 Tertullian made up a /pedes of Idolatry. And Cafiander ^confefles plainly, that the Peoples Adoration paid to Images and Statues was equal to the >or/? of the ancient Heathen, l So the buying and Jelling of Papal Indulgences and Tardons ( 'tis a little thing to fay of Trefer* merits too) was both con/eft and in^eigVd a* gainH by Topijl? Bifhopsm Ihuanw. rxomandh aJmifrunt^ nil a noftris reliquifaflum tffe zidcatur. G?o Gafiandci lmag. & Simulaccis mihipag. 175,176. * Thuan.l.if .pag.760,761, &c. Now if with all their Corruptions in point of fPrafif/cf, which afar* cannot juflifie a People's Separation from any Church 3 (though the Ca thari and the Donatijls were heretofore of that opinion,) wc compare their Corruptions of Ccc 2 (r) Confuted. nonas Pctnitcn. tia!cU\onanoi, Btdjp, Rabani Mauri. &c. c^rj not'u Antonii Auguftini, Ar- ch epifcopiTar- raconenh*, Ex- cuf. Vcnctiis, 1584. (q) Ludov.Vi- ves inS. 4tguft, de Civic. Dei, I.8.C.17. Cr) *?arintati* Aiortuisfpccics eft ldololatrt*, quomam,& ido- lolatria P-jtsm- t!omse(t jpecw. Tercul. de Spe» ftac. c.i 1. (f) —Itautad Summam ado- rationem, qua vela Paganis fuu fitnulacri s exhiberi confuu vit9& d^extrc mam vanitatcm quam Echnici m fuU ftmuLurU in Confuk. dc Tottrsne iH The Primitive %uk | * De H'Udebran- 5 do in bxc verba Ifcntentiamftruat i Ep'jcopi Gcrma. \ nict qui Conci. f lio Wormatien. ; fi inter •fuerunt. j Dim profanis fiudes Novinti- bui^dum toagU | amp1 o- quam bono r'isydum iuaudita EUtione difien derii, vrtutqui- dam Sigoifct Sxhifntads, om niA membra Ec cU(i* (n< etba \crudel tJtc & crhd li (upftbta \ lacerafli : 4m' mafqve Dif cor- dial qtuu ** Ro- , nana Ecdcfia I dim jatliovbus ] txciU&i Per j omnes Scdefias I e!r Hifpsmift, I furi alt dementia j f par ft (li. — Per IJ gloviofa tun De. creta (qwdfine * taihrymti did j sa* rotetljCbri- \ jiiftik noff.cn \ peril!. Imperial. | Sifltut/a Go:«. 1 daffotd i Toni. I i,VM?. ' VoHrine too, and that in matter of Faith , (as hath been fhew'd,) Corruptions intrenching w Fundamentals ; it will appear that That door which was opend by Us in our fir ft Reformers \ was not at ail cointroduce,but to /ef o«f *Schilm. For thtfchijm muft needs hcTbeirs wfao^i've the C\i«/* of the Separation t not Theirs who dobut/eparate when Caufe isgiven.EKcS.'Paul had been to blame , in that he faid to his Co> rintbtans, Come y t out from among them , and be yt feparate. (i Cor. 6. 17.) The d#ad/ De- parture indeed was 0 unjoin Theirs the caufa^ (as our immortal Arch-Bifhop does fitly word it: ) we /e/r them indeed when they thru ft us out; (as they cannot but go whom the Devil drives^) But in propriety offpeech, we left their ErtO)s> rather then Them. Or if a SeceJJton was made from 77;^ 'twas in the very lame meafure chat 7 hey had made one from thrift. *K hereasTk v,by their FJof}ilitiesy and their £xcc>/*mwVtff /©^departed properly from Vs , not from any Errors dere&ed in ^;fc And the ipcis to Them by whom the offence CO' meih {Matib, 18 7. ) not to T/;*w to whom 'tis given* If when England was in a Flame, by £ij* fent out of Italy , we did not abftein from the of 'Reformation. 5S5 1 E.v co quo nil. t'clmus Norman- nint Comes Ter. ram Him debet. Undo ftbi fnbe- git,Nemo in ci Ep'ifcopifi, vel the quenching of it,uncil better might be drawn from the %*yer Tiber -^ it was becaule our own Ocean could not only do it Jooncr y but better too.Thac is to fayfwithout a Figure,) lcdiJ appear by the Qoncejjion of the most learned Tcptfi) Venters ,that particular Nations had ftill a power to purge chemfeives from their corruptions ^ as well in the Churchy as in the State ^ without leave had from the See of ^omt . and that 'twas commonly put in pra- dice above a thou fund years fince. t It did appearethat the Icings of England fatleaftas muchasthofeofSin/;,) were ever held to be •At/7^^7, and that by the $(pmahifls tbernfehes^ Abbas inte An fc!mumf.itl,is c(l , q.ii not pumofuerk HtmtRtgU , ac demrnu ill'm Epifcofatus vel Abbaiia j I ueU.tn.irn res ddt:0'ie-n 'St.^e lJjf;orjin JHjcepiti&c. Eadmcrus Monach. Cant. inPiaf. ad ) H ft. Nov pap..i. Sed ncc tx en rc,'un 'cm -cue mo* bit obt'inuit •, Nam ante Non -nie'u--. Tent 'pel Hi Idcbrando Td I talis fwament.wi.l G'»ilielmo Norfranno, txtgtnti^ Citlclmum R'gcrn refptodiftt FiJclicatem faccrc non volo,qm ncc ego pi oivifi.nvc Ancef* ftp Cs dicoa .V..c ceflortbjs tu'^id t"ic'{TeccM per o. Rarrn Ad An 10-6. Guilielnr-us Rufitt */&• f jvit , Qjiod1 nullui /frchiepifcopusautliprfcopus Rcg.ni fui^Curix Rcmani vel 1 a par fubclTet. Mtrch.Pa1 fH ft. p. if.Eci t.\cy4. Videfii eti m Jmptrat$res,& Fczcs GaUitrum, j-r j fu4 afsc- rcn'es aptiQilv n?m Fii(ingenfcm,Sigibc v\rn^or'uc traxime Hiftoncos cut Res H tmic't gu-rii lmpeYJtovtsr& f] ifdtmnominu 7V m Regit t\*glinnm co»rcrinferc. \»pr'mu vtr$ S'gon utnde R a Inl 1 4,9, io,& 1 1 Baron.Tom.1 1. ^.C.io-t7. Chcrubinurr Laeir. in Rullarii Totv.t. p.' 6 &<7.i'm Oncil. Tom.3 pair.i. in Ur'^ano, Calixtu, & Pafchali Secundis Rerarum C KdppVnum dkOon^ahroFraqcise \\..% tit.l (c&.6^/*c. Ecde Sacra V<^\ cia^t.t.tit 7 Scft.zi, & i^ .W b.ff,Thcodor.Baffamori.p3tnarch Artioch.in Concil.Chi!ccd.Can.4.Jon.Naircler. Chionograph gener: 59.Sc H.MJciumChron. German. i8.p.i6i.e^c. 11 n ril ; 86 The Primitive 1{ule Juftin.Novel. Conft.i? i.c.-a. Vide ctiam de mandatisPrin. cipum, Tit. 4. Novel. i7.c.7« & n* (*)Evagr.l.j. c.14. in Mag. Biblioth.Vet. Patr.Tom6\ Part.i.p.6"sf. (0 Sigon.de Keg. Ital.ii.4- ad AC801.& Eginhart.in v'it. Car.Mag.& £a- ron. Annal. Tom.?. ad A.C. 800 p. 41. ad A.C. ***.& To. ic.ad A.C. 84*. P. *4. Excuf. Colon. Agiip.1609. (d) Edward the dnfeffor, Wil- liam 1. H.$. E^w.i.Ec/^.i. Edrv.i. Ricb.i. Hf«.4. H.f. H.S.EjW until by gaining from Henry' the Firft, the Inveftiture otBtjbops, from /ii?«rj! the Second, an Exemption oi the Clergy from SecularCourts, and from eafie /£/«£ 5Fo/;^ an unworthy Sub- mijfion to forreign Tower; the Popes became ftrong enough to call their Strength the Law of $uHke. And yet their Incroachments were ftill oppos'd, by the moflfw and the moftlearned in every Age. Concerning which it were eafie to give a fatisfa&oty account , if it were comely for a Sermon to exceed the limits of an hoar. In a word , it did appear from the Code and Novels of (a) fuftinian f from the ZvMKh fet out by the Emperour (b) Zeno , from the praBice of c Qbarks the Great, ( which may be judged by the Capitulars tent abroad in his T^ame,) from the jfe/ig/f* and IndeaVours of two late Emperors , Ferdinand the Firft % and Maximilian the Second, from all the com. mended i\ings of $udah , from the moH pious Chriftian Emperoursas far as from Conftan- tinetht Great,and from many lyings ofengland in d Topijh times too . that the work of (Bjfor* for allw'ncb at large,See Cokes Reports, par.5.fol.i. Caudrey's Cafe, or Dc &P>? matton of (Reformation* 3S7 1 mation belonged especially to 77;e/fl in cheir/fVe- ral kingdoms. And thti is certain*, that neither Trefcriptiononthc Toprs fide, nor Difcontinu* ance on the KjnZsi could d^e a 9(ig6j unto the one } or any way fc^ew it in the of /w. For it im- plies a coHtr^i&wijthac what is 'Wrong fliould grow right, by btingprofperoiu (6tZ longer } or jborter feafon. Had the P*/>* been contented with his * Privacy oi Order y and not ambitioufly af- fected a Supremacy of Tolber yznd qyzx all other Churches befides his own • we never had cafl | •^"a foi^which had never been /?«f upon our Neck* : And fo 'tis plain that the Ujurper did make the SV/;//>w. \{ Sacrilege any where, or \ebellion, did help reform SuptrHition *% That was the Fault of the Reformer sy not at all of the Reformation nor o^Ml Reformers neither. For the mofi that was don by fome T*v " lyjtw 7tt* W-GCiict T~ i 77. (j.rii (inn if tH« ol'utUjj Sl&t 'Paptw. Con- cil. Conftami- riop. Oecum.r. Cap$. *P*fa*{ Uattav ty>u~ T)f \T) Trait 7WV Juftnian. Imp, Novel. Conft. 1 31.C.1. *8S | The Primitive %ule univetfally laid to heart, might poffibly tend | to the Peace of Chnftendom; ) feeing it was not fomuch the church i as the Qonrt of %ome, which proudly trod upon Crowns and Scepters 7 and made Decrees with a * non ob- Jia?ite to j/poftolical C onft i tut ions j or whatfoeVer had been enabled by any Authority Tbbatfoever fchc commandments of fcbrift hcingnot exceptcd-J) we originally departed with higher Degrees ! S,*pS« oflndignation, ffoiuhelnfolent Court, than I Church oi%ome- Nor pyotefted we To w«c/; againft the Qhurcb, ( though againft the (burchtoo^) as againft the cruel Edit! firft made at t Worms y and after cruelly reinforced at Spire and %atubone^ for the confirming of thofe (i ^Corruptions from which the(*)C/wd& was to be r/eW^.Tothe(i)/0may in which we are talking towards ~f*erufalemy may fo look back on the beginning from whence at firft: wefct out, ( and from which our Accujers have foulely/WvV/ as to agree in our Arrival at the fame journeys end. But God forbid that our Love to the Teace without 7 fhould ever tempt ustoalofsofrta Peace within m. God forbid we fhould return with the Dog to his njomitpr ipith the SoTt> in the Hebrew Proverb (which is cited by St. Seter in His Epiftle, ) to her walloping in the mire. When F wifh a Reconcilement t 1 do not mean by Our Compliance with any the tea/t of their Defilements ^ but by their Harmony with Us in our being Clean. On this * Condition and Suppofal. Our Church is open to recede the bittereft Enemies of our Church.Our *4rmes are open to embrace them, with LoVey and Honour. Our Hearts and Souls arc wide open in fervent Tray crs and Supplications to the God of ^Purity and of Teace, that (in his own good time) he will bind up the Breaches, and *toipe offtheftains , and raijc up the lapled Reputation, of his divided, defiledy D d d difgraced \ 1*9 * ./*& Ecriefta j R/3ij3\io»A*$;*K*KSr, I have found to be as True, as it was long ago Notorious. And when Con- trcrverfies efpecially are improved into Volumes both Great and Many, Men of Poverty can- not iujy and men of Bufmefs cannot read them • and even men of moft leifure cannot fo grafp them as they ought, unlefs their Memories are as ftrong as their Attentions are to be fteady, and the (lock of their 'Patience as great as either. This the oftner I obferve, and the longer I lay to heart, the more I am fixed in my choife, to ferve and fatisfie my Readers (as far at lead: as I am able) touching the Bufmefs I am about, at the leafi expenfe pofTible of Time, and Mony. For if my Eflay is Convincing, It is the better for btingjbort ; And if it is otherwife, 'twould be the worfe if it were longer. §. 2. If the Citations of my Sermon, in which I was ingaged by juft Autority, (by the Dean To the Reader. 397 Dean off the Kings C ha ppel, for the Penning, & Preaching, as well as by the King Himfelf , for the Printing of it*) are but as free from all fraud as lfay they are, and as every willing Reader has been enabled by me zo prove with the leaft pains poflible3 I have attain d my whole end, and my work is don. For as my end was to dif- cover the real Novelty of the Do&rinSj and the depraVedneffe of the Practices , in which our Church cannot joyn with the Church of Rome, and which have made the Separation 'twixt Us., and Them ; So my work, was to prove it by the ConfeJJion of ThemfciVes^ I mean of fuch as are their Learned'^ and Partial^ Writers, Who would not certainiy hvvsfmblijlp't the fe- veral Dries and Introductions of the New Articles of their * Faith, much kflc would they have Printed the Scandalous Temroi their Lives, had they 'not thought them too clear, to be either diflembled, orderly d. If fome are found to be fo paiTionately tranfported, as to affirm either without^ or againfl their own Knowledge, that the Citations (infift on are falfe, or frivolous., ihere nee;!-, no other vindication than my Affir- g them to bcJrue, and Material alfo. And this o be attested by feveral Witn of * Vide For- mjlam P,o- fcfpTiis } iJei Catholic* apio IV.decn , af*d UITJ ('»'.; r nam in Biil- lairio. T 2. p. I2C E dir. Ec i.i. I ! - ■ (a ■ - - '■ q*& agitur, v 1 3. fycvmd * tbus fern pa- gin j 25. 398 jt Partnefis See Joh.Sa- risbur. Poly- crat. Either printed at Ley den A. V. 159$. Or in Biblioth. Pa- tr. Colon. A- grip. 1622. P.427.C0I.1. of FaB who have made exaft Searches 3zt my ln- treaty. §.3. Indeed there is one of my Citations, (and but one that I know oQ which though as innocent, and as exa£t,as any Citation ever was, does feem toftandinfome need of a Vidicati- on. Not for the fatifying or fhaming a wilful Papift, who for want of due Knowledge, or of fufficient Ingenuity, {hall at any time accufe both It3 and Me; But for the fake of fome weak and unwary Proteftants, whofe great unkind- nefle to my Perfon has made them Maligners of my Caufetoo; And who had rather their own Religion fhould fome way fuffer,than that a Perfon whom they envy fhould any way pro- fper in its Defenfe. The one C itation I am to vindicate is in the Sixt Page of my Sermon , and tis out of the Polycralicumofc Johannes Sarisbu- rienfis^ (a learned Bifhop who did flourifh al- moft 500 years ago,) 1.6.c. 24 p, 329. Edit. Lugd. Bat. 1595. Where chough 'tis granted The Church of T{ome was J aid tojhew Her-felf a Step-Mother, and Scribes and Pharifees were alfo faid to Jit in her j Yet I am branded with un- fincere and unhanfome dealing, becaufe the words were not fpoken by the good Bifhop to the To the Reader. 399 the Pope, as from Htmfelf, or as his own fenfe and meaning, But as received from many others, and which himfelf had heard fpoken in divers TroDinces. To which I anfwer by thefe de- grees. Firft that I never did once pretend the words were fpoken by the Blfhop, much lefs that they were fpoken as his peculiar fenfe and meaning. But having us'd the word Tharifees in the Body of my Difcourfe, and apply'd it to the men of the Roman Church, I only noted in the Margin, where the word might be found in the fenfe I gave it. Meaning no more by it than This, That I was not the^rji who had fo ap- ply'd it, but that I had it from the men of their own Communion, and fuch as ufed fuch lan- guage long enough before Luther. Next 'tis clear that my Citation was not brought by way of proof y (though 'twas a proof of my Candor in the ufe of that word,) but rather by way of Accommodation. Elfe I had noted both how com- monly> and how loudly the word was us'd D it being mort for my Intereil, and for the Credit of my Caufe,to itu ke it appear that it was us'd rather by many Dthz\\ by one • nor only in one,but in many places. So that mire Enemies fhould have thanKt my love of Brevity in a Margin, which 4CO A Partnefis * Hdc inquam Pater, loqui- tur Populus , &c. * Vereor ne mendacii vel AdulathnU contraham no- tarn, fi folH4 Populo Con- tradixero. p. 330. Edit. Lufcd.p.427. edic.Colon. * Veruntamen quia Populo teftimonium perhibet [cardinalk"] ei ufquequaqs Contradicere non fr^fumoj &c. ibid. * —qui a Roma Corrupt a apud Deum reperi- turindigna. Tu ergo quia id babes ofi- cii,qu£rey&c, ~5ei timeo ne dum pergk qu&rere qua vU,ab impru- dente audi as qu£ non vif. & c*t. ubi fupra. which would not fuffer me to be fond of my whole Advantage. For (Thirdly) had I purfued it, as very profperoufiy I mighty I might have added that That Cenfure (fixt on the Pope and the Cardinals, and the Roman Church in ge- neral3) was not only Vox * Populi, (which of it felf had been enough,) but too agreeable befides with his * own opinion j as alio with the opinion of Cardinal * Guido, whom the plain-hearted Bifliop thought it prxfumption to contradift. And though he made a due exception of fome par- ticular good men, (which in the worH: Times and Places were never wanting,) yet. That Juftice being don, and other Civilities being premis'd, He told * the Pope to his Teeth, (as Guido had don in a publick Synod, in which the Pope himfeif prefided,) fome Enormities which hisHolinefs both did, and wincKt at. §. 4, This is all the Vindication of that whole Sermon, which I have ever thought needful for my Proteflant Readers ; or have look'cupon my felf as concern d to make. (For did I know any thing elfe at which a weak-fi^oted Brother had ever Stumbl'd, I would take the like care to put. the Block out of his way.) Andforfuch of my Readers as are not Protejlant, who are Afraid To the Reader. 4C1 Afraidoi being fatisfied^ and/a;rtf Convidtion, I think it mod proper to fay but This ; That if 'tis matter of any moment to be allow'd the laB word on any Controverted Subject, Then Mr. Whitby's full Jnfwer to the Attempt of Mr. Crejfy mutt needs be happy in its Privilege of having not met with a \eply. §. 5. And fuch a Privilege has been in joy 'd by what I writ fome years ago in way of Pre- face to Dr. Sherman , touching the Church of Rome's Pretentions to an Infallibility. The Confutation & Difcovery of which One Error, (be it never fo fhort, fo it be plain, and per- Ipicuous,) does make itabfolutely needlefs to be Voluminous on the Reft, juft as the grubbing up the "J{oot of a noxiou< Tree , makes it vain and fuperfluous to fpend a richer Txeafure of Time, about the mortifying and killing its fe- veral Branches. §. 6. For the point of Infallibility mult needs be one of the two Pillars, .(whereof the Pope's pretended Headjhip or linherfal Paftorflnp is the other,) wherewith the Tromperies jupnftru- tted mui\. ftand, ox fall. And as it IS fk} I fully contriv'd by the Roman Champions, to fpend their ftrength in fee urw^zhat Saving ErroT3 \Tl)c Fff Church 4C2 The Fallacious Pretenjt * Wr Patrick. Carew* Church cf Rome afotort Err> becaufe it gives the the beft fecurity to vvhatfoever other Errors their Church can own ; and under which, as an vdfylum, the gro(Teft Follies they can get by do live in fafety \ foby confequence 'tis as happily refolv'd by us,(upon iogood an occafion given) to (hew the Feeblencffe, and Defefts> even of That which does hold up the Papal Grandeur ; and cannot choofe but be acknowledg'd even by men of both fides, to be their firji (or their fccond*) ino({ Helpfull Engine, §.7. This does bring into my mind, what I was told many Years Fince by an honourable Friend, * (then when newly come out of Italy 3 wherein from his childhood he had been bred,) That having firft been confined by the little Treatife, which had been penn'd on that point by his Brother Falkland^ That his beloved Ro- man Church was not- unerr able • He could not hin- der his own Difcovcryj how very grieveufly fhe had End. !Nor by confequence could he hinder hisownCortverfion from a Church, ftill preten- ding to Zfrfoilegs of not being able to be deceivd, as foon as he found 'twas even That, which had moji deceiv'd him. And truly had I been tem- pted but with a little of that leifure Ionceen- Of lnf "ihility. 403 joy'd, whereby to have written more at large to Serenus Crefjy, (who pretending to Confute, has Efcapd my Sermon, and only fought like a Parthian j by certain dexterous TergVVerfations , though unlike a Parthian in point cfcmij chiefs nekher denying, nor dif proving, but (lill ev^dinq^ my Citations, and taking very great care to 0(7- fcure his own ; as well by making both the Greeks and the Latin Fathers to hold their peace in Greek and Latin , and only fpeak in that Englijh which He affords them, as by concealing both the Pages and the Editions of his Authors, for fear a Proteflant fhould have leifure and patience too, wherebyto bring them to a JJnfif and zfpeedy Trial :) I fay, had I the leifure, and could think it worth while to employ that leifure,in exami- ning all hisBook,as fome have thought fit to do, I fhould not inlarge on any point with greater contentment to my Self, or greater hope of con- vincing both Him, and His, than that on which he hopes moff to guard his obffinacy by, §. 8. For when the Romamjls contend for the Church of Rome's being Infallible, they mean by the Roman, the whole Church Cathclick', and by the whole Church Catholick. , they * mean as many ^na^ci as own the Pope for their SoVeraign Paflor. This I I«3m Fffz is 4C4 * father The Fallacious Pretenfe *ibii is call 'd (by a plainer phrafe.,) * The prefent Vifihle Church, to which (Jor all the General Coun- cils,) the lafi Becourfe u to he had. But why ra- ther to the Prefent 5than to the Primitive Church} or why to the prefent Church Vifible, rather than to the fir& General Councils i Even becaufe (faith * Mr. Creffy ) Umverfal Experience doth demonstrate it impoffble, that any Writing can end a Debate between multitudes of perfons intereffed, and therefore not impartial, or indifferent. Thus ftill there isfomething, not only fallible, but falfe, whereby zRomamjl is to judge whereto find Infallibility 5 (for wherefoever That Is, the la ft Recourfe is to be made 3) BecauWn Expe- rience as Univerfal, as that whereof Mr. Crejfy fpeaksj doth alfo demonjirate it as impojjible , That Jny prefent Church Vifible (muchleis that His) fhould put an end to a Debate between multitudes ok perfons, whofe Intereji and Tlyafs is mukifarioujly divided, as well as They. Men muft equally agree (which they never will) firft what is to be meant by the prefent Vifible Church; and after That, that (he is Infallible ^ before {he can poftibly put an end to all their Diffenfeons in their Debates. §. 9. But what does he mean by the pefent Church Of Infallibility. 40 5 i Church Vifible / Does he mean all the Churches th.it dojubmit unto the Pope m their Sorperaign Pa- hr, either IN, or OUT of z General Council? If the firft ; he mnft mean either a written, or [pealing Council. If thc/ir/wer/Then hefhould not have dijtinguijb'd it from the prefent Church Vifible, as here he does. Then there needed no more than One, but That (by all means) mult be zfanding General Council, from the beqinnino of the Church till the Day of Judgment. And then the CWcfo was never able to make her Members a jot the better for her Infallibility , or to prove//;* had fuch zprfailedge, by being able to put an £W to a Debate between JMulti* tudes of different Iutereft and Judgment in fe- veral Narions^eithfr before the j^icene Council, which was the firft that was General, or foe* the Council held at Trent, which they avow to be the laji. But if he mean's only a f peaking Council, then he confefles that at prefent fbevc is no fuch prefent Vifible Church, as can Infallibly put an end to the Debate above mentioned ; even becaufe there is no fuch General Council. Which things being fo ; where is the boafted Infallibi- lity I How (hall we find, or comprehend ic ? or how is any Creature the wijer for it ? And if he 4c6 The Fallacious Pretenfe a Onuph. in Cbron.p. 50. b Concil. con* ftantienfe fr&- tipue congre- gatum extin- guendifcbif- matk Caufk, quit effet ve- rm Pontifex, vix agnofce- bat. V. Hid. Concil. a Paulo V. Edit.Tom.4. p. 127. c Statim Mud in Contrwer- fiam venit, fintn Sy nodus pifana in IUos potuerit ani~ madvertere, cnm eorum alteruter ve- ras e$et Pon- tifexifed uter k gjef nan ctnftaret. ib. p.feqq. he means (what was faici in the fecond Branch of my firjl Dilemma,*) All the Churches which own the Tope as their SoVeraign Taflor, not / N, but O U T of a General Council ; Then the Pope in his Conclave j or College of Cardinals, (which^ by the way, is a Conventicle, though not a Coun- cil ^ not Concilium^ but Conciliabulum^) mud be the fole and proper fpeakjngjudge^ who can end fuch a Debate as before we fpake of; fo that in tiim, as in her Head, the prefent Vifible Church does entirely lodge j at leaft in refpedt of her Infallible Judgment j which none but the Pope (out of a Council) can have, or utter. But thus the Romamjii Abfurdities will be more nota- ble than before. For the Pope may be an Here- tic\, if not an Heathen. Pope Marcel linus was thefirjl, and Pope Libenus the fecond. And there is no better arguing, than to the aptitude from the ^B. Nay, in fome of the 10 Schifms whicn a Onuphrius reckons up in the Church of Rome, (before the word Pmejlant was ever heard of,) when two or three Popes did fit at once, 'twas even impoffible to determine^ which Pope was the true^ and which the falfe. The Councils of b Conjtance and c ft^i (whereof the formerly the way, was a General Council, in the Catalo- gue Of Infallibility , 4C7 gue let forth by Pope Paul us Qginlus^) were utterly at a Lojs in their Debates 01 this matcer. From whence it follows unavoidably^ that Mr. Crejjy mnft not dare to avow this laji no- tion of The frefent Viable Church • as well be- caufe it is not Tip* * to which he dares fay the laji Recourje is to be had, as becaufe jbe can too eajily declare herjenje in another way, than as foe was ever reprejented by her Pallors out of all Na- tions, that is to fay, by a General Council, which yet the frefent vijtble Church can never do, faith Mr. Creffy, chap. 9. p. 95. But when I fay3 he mull not dare to avow this laji notion of the frefent vifible Church, to which he gives the laji [ Recourfe, and to which he afcribes Infallibility: I mean,, he muft not for the future, not but that for the frefent he dares to do it ; Becaufe he tells us expredy,/?. 97.(80 as dogmatically too^as with- out 2\\ proof f) That the frefent Supericurs living and jpeakjn^ muji conclude all controVerfcs^^ieir Interpretation of Scripture and. Fathers, their Tejli- mony of Tradition, muji more than put to faience all contradiction of f articular perjons, or Lhurches 5 it mujt alfo fubdue their mnds to anJjfent* and this wider the penalty of an Anathema, or cutting off from the body of Chrijl. §. io« This 4c8 The Fallacious Pretenfe §. 10. This is faid by M. Crtffy concerning the living and [peaking Judges of his Church , Judges for the time being in every Age. Quite forgetting what he had faid not long before,/?^. That 7(&i/i>w, Inspiration , and Examples of Pri- mitive Fathers, muft joyntly make up the only Guide, which He affirms to be Infallible. For, unlefs they all concur, (as he had faid before that, /^ 93*) tether with theprefentvijible GoVernours, (to whom he there gives a judging determining power,) That which we take to be Kl\eafon, and In- spiration, and the fen fe of the Primitive Church, may deceive and mifguide us. Now befides that This faying deftroys the former, where no lefs was afcrib'd to the prefent vifible Superiours liv- ing and [peaking, than here is attributed to All four Requisites in conjunction ; we know that Reafon may be deceivd, Infpiration be counterfeit by fome unclean fpirit, (which fallible Reafon muft be the Judge oQ primitive Fathers (ubjeO: to Error, and prefent Superiours much more than TrimitiVe : And, many fallible Guides can never make up one Infallible, any more than many Planets can make one Sun, or many JBs of finite knowledge one true omnifcience. For as Mr. Creffy does confefs, that Infallibility and Omni- Of Infallibility. 409 Omnifcience , are incommunicable Attributes of God Himfelf (p. 98.) fo he imply's a contradiction, when he faith they are communicable to any cre.a - lure, fuch as is his prefent vifible Church. And another contradiction as bad3 or worfe^ when he faith that a man, although of much Ignorance, may in a fort be Omnifcient within his fphere, (p. 99.) which is as if he fhould have faida That a man may be able to have a knowledge of J 11 things, becaufe he may/0 know them Ml, as to be Igno- rant of Some. But then, with the help of that «»;, rcwutxor, the meaneji man is as omnifcient, as is his l{oman Catholick Church ; becaufe (within his determinate fphere) he muft needs have a knowledge oiAll he knows ; and of more than (he knows the Roman Church hath no kjiowledge. So again when he would fhew how a creature may be Infallible, though he had faid that God Himfelf hincommunicably fuch, (p> 98.) he has no better »?wt^4 than an implicit explication of an Affirmative by a Negative. The immutable God can preferve mutable creatures from attual mutation j [ibid.] thereby imply ir.g, that the Im- mutable cannot communicate his incommunicable Attribute of Immutability to any creature, even becaufe he cannot pofhbly pe rfeB a creature into G g g Hwijelf. 410 The Fallacious Pretenfe Himfelf But from aBual mutation he can pre- ferve any Creature, as well an Ignorant jingle many as a whole Church Catholick. Thus by en- deavouring to uphold 5Mr# Creffy dees throughly Deftroy his Do&rine : All he faith coming to this3 That however God only is Undecehable, yet he is able to preferve his decehable creatures from being aBually deceivd. Sed quid hoc ad lfhicli Hows ? The Queftion is not, Whether God can preferve a Church from being aBually in error, (for fo he can, and often doe s, particular Members of his Church,) But whether defaBo he hath granted an lnerr ability, or an Impojfbility of erring, unto that which they call tne Roman Catholick Church. Not whether the Church is aBually falfe in her opinions, but whether or ffo (he is Infallible, or exempted by- God from the paffive powr o£ giving falfe Judgment in points of Faith. Will Mx.Creffy h confound an sfdjeBiVe in Bilis, with a Participle derived from the paffiye freterperfetf Tenfe, as either to argue a non aBu ad non fotentiam, or elfe to pafs over from the one unto the other 2 Will he ar- gue that jidam before his fall was Impeccable, becaufe he yet was preferved from aBual fin i or, that the Church was Infallible in the Jpojlles own Of Infallibility. 411 own Times y becaufe fhe was not erroneous until (he was t He cannot fure be fo deftitute either of Logickox Grammer skill. I think it rather his skill to diffemble both j as finding no other way to difpute a whole Chapter for fuch a DoCtrin* unlefs he either begs^orforfakes the Queftion. §. u. But now to give him more Advantage than he is mindful to give himfelf, when he al- lows fo great a privilege to the prefent Cover- nours of the Church in every Age* whom he will have to be the living and fpeakjng Judges, to whom (without contradiction) all particular Churches as well as perfonS) rnuji meekly yield up their /if ent ; Let us allow it to be his meaning* not that Thefe are undeceivabley but that God doth ftifl pre^ fcrvc them from being actually deceivd. Was not Pope Hildebrand himielf the fupream fak- ing Judge, when yet the . Council at Wormes did fet him out as a Brand of Hell i Was not John the 23. the fupream fpeakjng Judge of ISAv.Creflys then prefent Difible Church, when yet he openlv denyd the Immortality of the foul \ and for That (with other crimes) Was condemnd by the Coun- cil then held at Conjiance ? Were not John the 22. and Anafafuu t the 2. the fupream f peaking Judges in their feveral Times* who yet were G e 2 2 both gg Ubi fupra. P-97- * Imperial. Stacut. apud GolJaft. Tom.i.p.74. Cone. Con- ftantien. A. D. 1 41 4. SefT.fi.Edit. Bin. To. 7.?. 103$. Motoric cri- minofa dc homicidio, veneficio, pernnax Hxreticus, Simoniaciis, contra a) ticu- tutn d: Rtfur- re&iovt mor- tuorun d(%- matix. the Root of David, the Saviour and Deliverer that was to coyne.(A pretty cfinteh^ bat a blafphemotis complement, and unworthy aBifhop's mouth.) In the eighth and ninth Sei- fions, This Lion 7\oars • firft againft them that (hall violate his Vecrees in the prefent Council, to whom he threatens fuch a Sentence of Excom- munication, Ke flcveru Ft Ha Sior.Cut Eprfcopm Afr- irufiehfis af- fat mt Faparh) qu'uiEccc ve- nit Leo de Tribu Juda, RadixDavid. Ecce Ttbrfu- fcitavit rem Salvatorem, fyc. Te% Leo Beatifftme^ Sal vatorcm, exfeflamtu, Tc Libeiato- rcm venturu (p'raiitrui. Concil.l ac- ran.ulr. Scff- 6. Ein.To-9' }W 74- 4i4 The Fallacious Pretenfe Divinae Ma- jeftatis tuae c- cw/j until the Pope had breatbad on them the 'Breath of Life. So a little before That;, * The General Council does humbly hope,That if any Difficulty ariie in the receiving of the Canons, or if any things Doubtful {hall require a Definition, or Declaration, His Holinefs will provide for the Neceffities of the Provinces, for the Glory of God, and the Tranquillity of the Church, either by calling a General Council, liHejball judje it to be needful, or by committing all the Bufinefs to fuch as He (hall think fit > or by what wayjWiwHe (hall judge more comm:dious. All, upon the matter, both a, and iro^J be, as He pleafcth j and when the Council is diilolv'd, He is bimfelf Tantamount to a General Council t Indeed much more. For the Council did but pro- p/V, But He a declares, and defines, by Apofiglu cal Authority. Heb command's, and decree's, by fomewhat more than Apoflolical, That Faith without the leafi Doubting , be had fy */l to /?!/ * Htjmilitcr pctioius no- mine difti Concilii OCCU- metnd'lfidcn- liti.n SanHi- tasveftra ci'g- ncrur cor.fi r- marc omnia & firgula, &c. tdir. Bin. Tom. 9. pag.442. * 5; in bit re- cifienctif all- qua Difficult at 9riatur9aut all qua rncidt- rmt qud De~ claraiiencm aut Finitio- nempoftulcnt, ~-conjidit fan- tta Synodal Fontificem curaiurum-—. foe. viderit experlire — j &c. Si necef- ; farium |udi- 1 caverir, &C. ! Si ci vji'u'n Tit, fcc. i Ibi&P.i?* j a Jpyttlh* ■ A*&tTioW TV !T*»Ta»»Xg*r«- etimi ir*TiQ$L 4 jCj cfiSdtx.x\oi tTitud-vietr jy Y.U0tf>l£f Tko x.X.«ffiflt>j ati'ThT vo-a t5 X&cr* j &c. Coicil. b'lor.dennic. Edit. Bin. T0.8-p.854. * Ibid. Scff. S P 593- The . Fallacious Pretence of Chalcedony to Decree unco the Bifbopof Con- jlantinople, even in caufes Ecclejtajiical^ an equality of pnuiledges with the Bz/fc^ of # tychius the Patriarch of Constantinople t Let Mr. CreQy but compare the fixt General Council (whofe famous Canons were made in Trullo,) with Of Infallibility. 425 with the Tridentine Canons, and the General Pratticc of his Church, And (fure I am) he will acknowledge^ that the one or the other hath foul- ly err'd. It was decreed, in the fixt, * That mar- ried men without fcruple (hould be admitted in- to the Priefihood, and this without any condition of abftaining thence-forwards from cohabitation, left men (hould feem to offer Contumely unto Gods holy Injiitution. Yea (which is mod to be obferv'd) This was a Canon made profefledly b aaainjl the Canon of the Church of Rome, where- unto is confronted the antient Canon, which is there faid to be of dpojlolical PerfeBion. Here the Dotfrin and Pratfice of the Church of Rome is condemn d by a Council, which is owned to be General by the fame Church of Rome. The Church of Borne is alfo condemn d by the fame General Council (\v\ its 55 Canon,) and command- cdto conform to the 65 Canon of the Jfojilesl&s'. (from which they had fcandalo^lly departed) l*\,££& under two $reat Penalties therein exprefv'r. To ££3f" allwhich'iflfhall add, How t!e 8lh GorftW/ ***%£ CWa/made a peremptory Decree./ 77ur tin £t£^ /LCM«» 0^1 T6I«T0V /2xd-/uar Ufit- ^uo»,&c.Conc. Conftant.III. Can. 13. To. 5. Edit. Bin. To.$.p 326. b inttfi or Tii* 'Papal av &k- X\»f!7Tf or Ta'^H x*>6»®" — »*jue«r i^'Af- j(et*» i'£«xo\«- ■3" 1 »7 « C x.et»o>* -/ A^-c^MxiJC T»r xyimi &- jxi/thSj 3-tJn-i^o^* — «Tif «* « ?t#jxuoh tIu) Hxir/TV awrwgee Xe/s-«, ^J i/f o* t* /iutij* eft* t \»yi«v» *>U y&L*l> x* ^e?J*T' * *V°»V »*'»▼»» x) TtpSft *, r^rx«u»^. K*i oi /xi »T»c 'ixo»^c Ai*3-«,"*"*?vfftt». Conci!. Conftant.lV. Aft-9. Can. 3. Edit.BiD.T0.7-p.97 7. 1 1 Ifnagi 4*6 * Such as Bellarmin, Baroniw, OnuphrtWy Vafques,Mal- donaty St ell 'a, Lyra, Staple- tonJ!amel'ntt, Petaviuty Vi- veSy Rttbanw MaurWy and others. Yea Scotuty Aqui- naty Pope Gregory the Great. The Bifhops of Germany in the Council at Wormcs, &c. The Fallacious Pretenfe Imagt of Cbrifl is to be worjhift as the Gofpel of God, That whofoeDer adore s it not^ Jhall never fee his Face at his fecond coming (never at leaflt by their good ytfli) That wc FttTures of ufngils and all the Saints are in libg manner to be adond. And that all who thinh^Gtherwije arc to be Anathe- matized i I hope Mr. Creffy and Facher Johnfon are not fuch Lovers of Idolatry and Contradiction^ as not to kjiow and to acknowledge the Fallibility of their Church in a general Council. §. 1 8, 1 have the rather made it my choife to ufe the Canons and Decrees of Topes and Coun- cils > (efpecially of fuch as by the Romanics themfelves are accompted General,) Becaufe for want of a better Refuge, when they are prefs't with lmny things which cannot be juftif fd, or denyd, They have evermore recourfe to This one Catholick evafion^ T: -at they are but the fentirnents of prrvate DoBors^hoit ill opinions or mittakes are not chargable on the Church . Now though we cannot but beleive their Private* Do- ctors (as they call them) when they are men of great Learning and greater TLeal to That Caufe, and only fpeak as Narrators touching matters ofFaSl^xd fuch as of which they might bijihnt wkh more advantage unto cheimfejveiEj Yet Of Infallibility. 4*7 Ch. 9. 97. * Ib.p.97, Yet I hope 'twill not be faid, That the prefect [up riours living amd J peaking to whom ' Mr. Crtjjy aicribes the power of Concluding ail Con- trtrperfies, are no better than private Dottors; much Idle will they fay it of theii General Coun- i cds unco which they do * acknowledge the lajl * Ib- p 9* retourfe is to be had. And here if any man fhall a k what may be probably cheReafon, why when the Tenet of Infallibility is fo far aDo- fifn?/e of their Churchy as it is taught and main- tain^ by their * Ptefent vifible GoVernours or their prejentSuperiours Irving and J peakjng, (unto whom b afcribed the power aforefaid,) Zthath DOC yet been thought fitt to be credited by the D cree of a General Council^ (nor indeed of any < otmcil that I am able to alledge;) / know not what Reafonto render of it, unlefle / may fay that they dillinguifti between their Dctlrines, and their Opinions pt between Things Pretended, and Thugs ^/rt'iW by their Super ioursj As if the Govemours Themfcves (whom * they * ubi fopw, make Tani Amount to a General Council^) were noc able to beleive the Infallibility they pretend to3But only thought ficc thai T^e People fhould. If any other man Can give any better ttzfon, I doearneiViy defire that what I have given may goforiA(W. Iii § 19. pratfertim Pag- 9' 428 The Fallacious Pretenfe §. 19. And as, on the one fide, Their ftedfaft Belief That Shee cannot err, is enough to con- firm them in all their Errors ; So3 to convince them on the other fide of that one Error, will make them ready both tojee, and renounce the Reft. That it may feem t* be a iwk, or a needlefs Thing, for any man to be lavifb of Time, or Labour, in a particular Ventilation of rtfr*r controverted Points, whilft This of In- fallibility remain's untouch' t, or undecided. For if we (hew them the Absurdities of IWd and. Wine being transmuted into the IWjy and B/W olChrift^ or of being /i tranfmuted into Hu- man Flejb and B/ 2nd by confequence that the Church which he calls the Roman Catholic^ can no more be Infallible, than Omnifcienty He has yet been fo tranfpor- ted with Partiality to a Church he has refolved to ajfert, (whether rights or wrong,) as to * communicate That to Uery which he confefleth * Incommunicable ; and to affirm that That is Neceffary^ which he confefleth to be Impvfixble ; and fo to efpoufe in a Eit ofKindnefs, what in a Fie of Difcretion He cannot Own. §>. 2. Having thus cloy A my Reader with but zTafl of Mr. Crejfy, I perfevere in my pur- pofe not to fpend or loofe time upon all the Reft j partly for the Reafon akeady menti- on d, beeaufe 'twould be as well a thankjic\ to gratipe their defires, wbm I could chilly deny 0 but to comply with your rtafbas, which I cannot Kkk 2 par do- 436 * iCor.13.7' 2 Cor.5.10. Deut.2,2. 29. The Epiftle pardonably refill. The Very piety of your Beafons having added to them fo great a power , that what was skill in Afpendius, in me would certainly be guilt, jhould I (through Avarice or EnVy) referVe any thing to my felf3 by which your charity doth * believe I may profit others. Indeed considering we are fallen^ I do Yf,bt only fay^ into an iron age, but into an age whofe very iron hath gather d ruft too, wherein the moft do fo live, as if they thought they jhould never idye, (at leafi hvd forgotten that they are dying , and being dead, muft be accountable far what is don whilfi they are living,) it may be labour wellfpent, to trig the wheels of their Jen fuality ; and that by thrufimginto their eyesfuchjad andjeafonable ob- jetts, m may make them confider their latter end. It was a cufiome with fome of old, whenfoever they intended a fumptuous Feajl, to put a deaths-head into a dilh, andferVe it up unto the Table : which being meant for afignificant^ though filent Orator, to plead for temperance, and fobriety, by minding the men of their mortality, and that the end of their eating foould be to live, and that the end of their living jhould be to dye, and tbe end of their dying to live for ever, (for even the Heathens who deny- ed the refprraStion of the body, did yet believe the Dedicatory, 437 the immortality of the Soul,) was looked upon by all jober and considering guefts, as the whole- | iomt(\ part of their Entertainment. Jlndfince'tis true, (what is faid by Solomon) that forrow is better than laughter, for by the fadnefs of the countenance the heart is made better ; where- upon the Royal Preacher concludes it better of the two, for a man to go into the houfe of mour- ning; 1 cannot but reafon within my felf ', that when * the heart of fools is in the houfe of mirth, whofe cufiomary language is fuch as this, [*Come on, let us in joy the good things that are prefent, let us crown our felves with Rofe- buds before they be wither'd, let none of us go without his pare of voluptuoufnefs, let us leave tokens of our joyfulnefs in every ftreet, let us opprefs the poor man that is righteous, and let our ftrength bz the law of juftice,] there can be nothing more friendly, or more agreeable to their wants, than to invite fuch men to the houfe of mourning, and there to treat them with the cha- racter of the mod troublefome life of man , (which being impartially provided, will ferVe as well as a Deatbs-head,) during the time of his floating in a valley of Tears. or Ecdef.7.3 Verfc 2 * Vcrfc 4, 7, 8, 9,1c 438 The Epiftle Joh. 14. 1. Ecclef.2.12, Ifa. $1. 12. Mat. 1 0.28. *Mat.2$.2i. Mat.i<5.2^. Mark. 8.3d, *Mat.2$.i6. Luk.19.15. Joh. 9. 4. Phil. 4. 5. * Mat. 2 4. 42. For this is ufefull to teach us all, not to be amo- rous of a life, which is not only fo fhort, as that it cannot be fypt long, but withal fo full of trouble., as that 'tis hardly worth keeping. Nor by confe- rence to doat on a flattering worlds which is fo little f^ be injoy'd,^ its Injoyments alfojo full of vexatious mixtures. Again 'tis ujefultoin- courage us3 not to b: afraid of a man that muft die, and whiiji he lives can but kill the body. Nor to fcruple at the paying that common debt, which we owe to Religion, as well as Nature ; that God may give us an * acquittance, as well as nature : we having received an enfu ranee from the infallible undertaker, that the way both to fave3 and prolong a life, is religioujly to lole k, or lay it down, jigain 'tis ufeful to admonijb us, (after the meafure that we are negligent^) to * trade with the talent of our time, for the unfyea\able advantages of Me eternal , and to do all the work we can, becaufe the night Cometh^ when we jhall be able to work no more. Latfly it mindeth us, as to be doings becauje our Lord cometh, and is at hand, fo to be vigilant and watchful , becaufe we know not * what hour. In a word ; the more tranfitory, and the more troublefome, the life of men foall appear to be, by fo much the better will be the ufes3 Dedicatory. ( 439 ufesj, ivhich we are prompted to make of its im- perfeftiof!. And hiire it comes into my mind, to give you my thanks by my obfervance of the feafonable counfel you lately ^ave me, not to lavifh out my time in foaming the adverjaries of truth, ( by way of an- swer or reply to their meer im pertinencies and (landers,,) but rather to fpend it in fuch practical and peaceable meditations, at are likelier to for- ward their Reformation. And though it was not your opinion that I could &* ufe my time ill 3 in writi^continuall vindications of the lately perfe- cted doBrines ofjefus Chrifl, but onely that you thought I might ufe it better 5 yet my opinion doth fo fully concur with yours j that even asjoon as my leafure ferVes me to pay my Readers what I haVe promised, (that men may learn t$ love God , by thinking him hecfrom their Impieties^ and may not reverence their Impieties, jo far forth as they think them the works of God.,) Ijhall dirett my whole ftudieS; as you have charitably advifed* And indeed I am the fitter to tak? jfr** Cvunjel, becaufe I want a fit enemy with vkun* to combat g fence three or four of the ablcft bxtt qun the fields and 04 it were bowed to the mull of the things in queftion. For though they haVe lately fent out a Teazer^ 44° The Epiftle Teazer, who (they hoped*) might tempt me to lofs of time, not by difputing in any meafure againfl a line of what 1 have publifh'd, but only by open- ing anoyfome mouth, in a very wide manner againfl my perfon, and (which is infinitely f adder) * He faith ex'prefl,, i. That what- *g***fi ^ * God too • yet this does ever Godforefces, and doth not Ganife no mofe than that they are prevent, (which x all the wicked- Jjt> J .* J nefs in the word) he may be jurtly itomacktul Ifi theiT atHlCtiOnS , faid to Caufe. Cp-9 0 2. 7fc*f Gods , ... , - r abfoiute win is the prime caufe, ana like the mettle] om Cynegyrus t^^r^ZUl^o. * no particular but this, 'that when HKWffrtSW» toHands^Cutoff, he pureed not be freed from being the au- fa enemy with hisTctth. J Frin- thor of fin,by fuch as acknowledge < % his prefcience, p. 9- O that either ted ramphlet comes to me, Jubjcru he cannot believe Gods prefcience, , , , A , ^ j a J T*Z~al or cannot but Mrw W« ^ Author fotf dtfd ( Otf &J iidwara jDagfhaW, lt^^Xor7Cr?o (with your pardon be it fpoken, for win the event of fm, j>. 2. '^ ^ handfom in your pretence., fa mention the name of fo foul a thing,) ipfarl? neither the gravity of my Calling, nor the price I put upon my time, nor the reverence / bear to your advice, will permit me to anfwer in more than two words, (and in thefe I (hall imitate the mojl judi- cious Mr. Hooker.) For whereas it amcunteth to thefe two things, to wit, his railing againfl God as the * Author of fin, and his railing againfl: me as a grievous (inner, ( without the offer of any proof, for the one, or the other,) To the fir f I jay, No, *P.2.?.i9^o &j>. 9./.18. tO l. 22. /MO. compared with I12. Dedicatory. 441 No, to tbefecond, Nothing, As for bit blafphe- mie* at large, his inconfiftencies with himlelf, his frequent confeflions that he is ignorant of what heprefumeth to affirm, his impotent flinders, his moji unfaVoury fcurrilities , his pique at my caflock and my cap, his evil eye upon my Re- ctory, and female Readers, (to the honour of your J ex , andjbameofours,) iaji of all for his impenitency and refolutions to perfevere in his Crying (ws^againjl That perfon of all the world, whom, next to God, and his ^Parents, he ought to haVe had in the greateji reverence, ) J jhall leave him to the mercy of one or other of my Dif ciples ; who being as much his Juniors , as he is mine, may have youth enough to excufe, if not commend themy fcr coolingthe courage of fo pru- rient and bold a Writer. TSutfor my j elf I have determined, fo to profit by what I Preach in the following Sermon, as not to leave it in the power of every petulant undertaker, to difpoje of my hours in altercation. They that Loh^to live long before they * look upon the grave, may trifle out their time with better pretenjlons to an excufc; but I who have lojlfo much already, and haVe hjd (as I may fay) jo many Trials for my Life, ( at that Bar of Mortality, the Bed of Sicknel^,) L 1 1 which *PfaI.i$.io 44* The Epiftle which makfs me confider it at aperijhing, and dying life, cannot think, itfo much as lawful, to difputc it away with an itching adverfary • who, how- ever infufficient to hold up his quarrel, is yet too reliefs to lay ic down. But I proceed to that Subjefl (from which my thoughts ha?oe been kept by a long parenthefis) of which Hove to be j peaking on all occafions that can be offer d * becauje I find fo much in it, of which 1 cannot but fpeak. well • and no lefs to the honour of his memory* than to the profit and pleafure of his furvivers. Be was certainly a per- fon, who livd a great deal of life in a little time • efpecially dating it (a* he did) from the memora- ble point of his renovation. When I confider him in his Childhood at the Unherfity of Oxford (/ am Jure fome years before you knew him) exciting o* thers by his Example* to mind the end of their being there ; how ftridt and ftudious he appeared throughout his courfe 5 how much farther he went before* (in point of (landing and proficiency*) then he came behind others, in point of years ; how much applauded he was by all* for his publick Exercifes in Lent, both as an Oratour at the Desk* and as a Philofopher in the Schools 5 how (like the brave Epaminondas) he added honour to 1 / j Dedicatory. 443 to his degree, which yet to us (of his form) was all we were able to attain ; when I refleft upon his progrefs through much Variety of Learning through every part of the M2Ltheimticks,efpecially through Algebra, the mojl untrodden part of them ; and when I compare with all this 7 the great fobriety of his temper , his unaffefted humility , and (after a publick aberration ) his perfeB return into the \ way, out of which (for J ome years) he had unhap- pily been f educed ; laji of all when I rememember, how whilft nothihg but profperity madefome in the world to hug their errour, he hated his /a much the more, the more he had profper'd by its delu- fion, (which was an argument of the mo ft generous and Chrijlian temper,) I think I may fitly affirm of him 3 what was f aid by Siracides concerning Enoch, that being made perfect in a fhort time, he fulfill'd a long time. 1 do the rather think.it a duty, topraife him af- ter his deceafe, the lefs he was able to endure it, whilft yet alive. And I conceive myfelfihe fitter, to J peak a little in his abfence of his perfections, becauje fo long as he was prefent, J only told him of his faults. ( fN^ever leaving him at a Monitor, until I thought he left them.) For having found him my noble Friend, and (which in honour to Lll 2 his wifd.4.13. 444 The Epiftle his memory , / think it my duty to acknowledge ) my Very munificent Benefactor, I could not he jo unkind a thing, as not to afford him my repre- henllons, (yet jlill attended with refpeCt,) in whatfoeVer regard I could think^them ufeful. And 'twas the mark of an excellent judicious jpirit, that he valued me moii for my greateft freedom in that particular. Even then when our heads were moji at enmicy, (by the over great influe??ce of his Fa- ther's perfuajton upon his own) there Jiill remained in both our hearts a mojl inviolable friendfhip. jind yet the chiefeji injiance of mine, was only my often having been angry with what I conceived to be a [in i againjl which (by Gods goodnefs bein^fuf- fciently convinced) he grew at laji to be as angry J as Friends or Enemies could have been. Be had impartially confiderd that J acred Jphorifm , that to refufe inl\ru£tion,is co defpife ones own foul. And he who could not be thankful for beings chid, was judgd by him to be unworthy of any honeji mans anger, j^or can I imagine a f olid reafon, why he was careful in time ^health, to bejpeal^ my prefence in time of Sicknefs, (of which you are able to be his witnefs,) unlefs becaufe he did ejieem me the mojl affectionate perfon of his ac- quaintance, by his havim ftill found me the moft feverc. Dedicatory. 445 fevere. To conceal his great failing, (which was fo far fcandalous, as it was publick, and apt to be hurtful by ibe reverence which many men had to his .example,) and only to fpea\ of the beft things in him, were rather to flatter, then to com- | mend him. But yet as the Scripture hath [aid of David, that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, fave only in the matter of Uriah i King. 15.5. the Hittite, fo 1 thinks I may fay of your felf- departed, that unlefs it were in that one unbap- pinejs , of ingaging himfelf in an ugly Caufe 3 (which yet he Jenoufly repented, and Jo was fitted for that early, but mojl exemplary deaths which happily opened a door to his Immortality,) his greatejl Vice was but this, that he modeftly con- cealed too many Virtues. The remarkable manner of his departure did mojl remarkably refemble Sir Spencer Comptons (a perfon fo fingularly qualified, by Grace, and Nature, arid Education, that however his extra- ction was highly Noble, / may confidently Jay it was the lowejl thing in hwi:) who dyed at Bruges about the time, wherein the man of our dcfires expird at Compton. KtWr did I hear oj a more heavenly Valediction to all the contentments of the earthy than was given by thefe two at their dtffolu- 446 The Epitlle difloluttons. Never yet did 1 hear, of any two farewells fo much alike. Never were any more admired, by thofe that faw them whilji they were going j or more defired, when they were gon. How your excellent Husband behavd himfelf\ I have but partly related in the conclusion of my Sermon. For though I may not dijjemble Jo great a Truth, as myjtrong inclinations both to think and fpeak of him to his advantage ; yet in my lafi: office of friendjbip, I did religioujly fetfojirifl; a watch over my tongue, as that I rather came fhort in many points of his commendation^ than went beyond him in any one. And could I have had the poflibility to haVe kept him company in his fickjiefs, which I as earnejily endeavour'd as He defir'd it* (but his fickjiefs was too fhort, and my journey too long, for either of us either to give, or to receive that fatisfa&ion^) I might have perfe- cted that account, which many witnefles enabled me to give in part. Having thus farfpoken of him to you, / mujl only fpeak^ °fym t0 others. For fuch as re j eft what they deferve, I think it a Tanegyrick fuflfi- cient, to make it known they will have none. Ha- Vim dedicated my papers to a perfon of 'your In- dowments, for whom to approve, is to patronize them, Dedicatory. 447 them, I aljo dedicate your perfon (with the hopeful particles of your fclf ) to the peculiar protection and grace of God. And as the Heirs ofthzt Fa- mily ^ which you were pleajed by adoption to makf your own j have already been Lords of that feat for more than eighteen Generations y ( which I can reckon^) fo that the perfon whom I commemorate may inherit alfo that otiKt blefling, (as an addition to that blejjin^ which God hath friven Him in your felf,) confer d in favour upon Jonadab the fon of Rechab, [Not to want a man to ftand before him for ever,] is no lefs the hopejhan the prayer, of him who thinks bimfelf obliged, as well to be, as to Write himfelf, Your mod importunate Servant at the Throne of Grace, THOMAS TIET{CE. Jer.35.19. 449 THE LIFELESNES of LIFE on thehether fide of IMMORTALITY. A SERMON Preached at the Funeral of Mr. EDWARD PETTO. JOB XIV. I. Jldan that is born of a Woman, hath but ajhort time to live, and is full of Trouble. i NOw ye have liften'd unto the Text, Caft your Eyes upon the flirine too. For that does verifie This, by no lefs then an Ocular Demonstration. You fee the Reliques of a Perfon, full of honour indeed., but not of years ; he having had his December (I may fay) in June ; and reaching the end of his Journy, (as 'twere) in the middle of his Conrfe. So that if I fhould be filent upon the mention only of this Text \tMan that is born of a Woman hjth but ajhort time to live,] That very Hearfe would prefent us with a Vijtble Sermon. M m m Yet 4tf> The Vanity of Life 2 Pec. I. 12* *3- 15- VCr.14. Yet fomething I mufl: fay, in Honour and Duty unto the Dead ; and fomething too, for the Ufe and benefit of the Living ; that as Death already hath been to Him, lo it may be alfo to Us Advantage 5 Thztfome at leaft who here are prefent, may go from Hence (when I have done,) if not the wifer or more intelligent, yet at ieaft the mere cvnfiderate^ and the better Refohed for coming hither. I need not be teaching my weakffi Brethren, ( what common Experience hath taught us^//,) either the Mifery, or the fhvrtnefs, or the uncertainty of our Days. But yet recounting how many Souls do perifh for ever in their Impieties, not fo much by wan- ting Knowledge, as by abounding in the Thought- lefnefs of what they know, I (hall not fure be unexcufable (having S. Peter for my example) if I tell you thofe things which you know already. An Honeft Remembrancer is as needful, as the mod Eloquent lnftruftor to be imagin'd,becaufe we do iefs want the Knowledge J than the confede- ration of our Duties. S. Peter hath magnified the office no lefs than three times together in that Epifile which he compos'd a* little before his Dijfolution. I will not (faith he) be negligent to put you alwayes in Remembrance , though ye hpow thefe In 4 Valley of Tears. 45 1 thefe things , and be eflablifhed in the Truth. Tea I thin&t meet, as long as lam in this Tabernacle, to jliryou up, by putttng you in 'Remembrance. Again (faith he) I will endeavour that ye may be able, after my Deceafe, to haVe thefe things always in Remembrance. When I confidcr that thefe words were by * Divine Inspiration^ and that they were written for our Injlruttion , yea and inculcated upon us no lefs than thrice in one breath-, mcthinks they tacitely reprove us, for having fuch wanton and Itching Ears, as will be fatif- fied with nothing but what is New. Whereas the Thing that is to us of greateft moment, is not the lludy of more Knowledge, but the ma- king good ufe of the things we know. Not the mrnifhing of our Heads with a Richer Treafure of Speculations, but the laying them up within our Hearts, and the drawing them out into our Lives. Men would not live as they are wont, were they fufficiently a mindful that they are * i Tim. %* i5. men Did they but often enough confider, how I JiW Jhort a time they have to liVe • how very b often "X"jf£*t they are in Deaths, before they dye j how much TtSESi their fhort time of life is more Uncertain than J£r It is fhort ; how very fhortly they are to render ' a drift Account unto the Judge, (I fay not of Mmm 2 every 4S» Lukai $6- tit S* *v polyb. 1. 10. Xfo JWfjy *f Life every evil work, but) even of every d /W/* wW , and of each unprofitable hour j they would not make fo many Demur rs in the important work of their Reformation. The uncertainty of their Time would make them watchful over their ways i that how fuddenly foever they may be Caught, (by the common Purfevant of Nature) it may not be by afurpriz,e. That they may not die with the Fools -Motto, [Non c putaram] in their mouths. - Now to confider my prefent Text in the mod uieful manner that I am able, I mull be- fpeak your beft Attention,, not fo much to th6 Dogmatical, as to the Jpplicatory part of my Me- ditations. It being chiefly in my defign,to; (hew what Profit we are to reap from all fuch melan- choly Solemnities, as by many deep Mourners are fown in Tears. What kind of Influences and Virtues, from the great hittlenefs of our Lives, are to be (lied upon the PraBice and Con- duSi of them. What kind of Confetfaries and Ufes (hould flow from the one, upon the other. 1 fhall not therefore wear out my little Time in any fuch accurate and logical Jnalyfing of the words, as would but ferve to divert you from the fcope and drift, for which the holy man Job did In a Valley of Tears. 453 did make them a part of bis Preaching, and tor which I have chofen them to be the lubjedt of mine own ; but fhall immediately confider them as an entire Do&rinal Propofition, exhibiting to us both the fr wilt y, and frame of man, and the reafon of the one implicitly rifn g out of the other. JMcin is torn of a Woman ; there's his Frame. Hath but ajhort time to live, there's his Frailty. Hath but a fliort time to live, becaufe he is born of a Woman ; there is the Reafon of his Frailty, from the condition of his Frame. Nor is he attended only with vanity , but vexa- tion of J pint. As Jacob faid unto r'baraob, His Days are Evil, as well as Few. However empty of better Things, yet from the Bottom to the Tofy ( I mean from his Birth unto his Burial,) he is J\epletus wiferiis, fill' d full of Trouble. And yet by way of Application, we may re- flect upon the Text in a threefold Jntubefa. For To Man as born of a Woman > we may op- pofe the fame Man, as being Regenerate , and born of God. To the xery flwt life he hath by Nature, we may oppofe the life Eternal he hath by Grace. And to his fulnefs of mijery whilft he is here in 454 The Vanity of Life a *l£ 3 win* Arift. Eth. lib. 10. crfj J. b Ta /m^» /«• g, C.4. in the body, we may oppofe his fulnefs of Blifs and Glory. But nrft let Man be confider'd in hisHypogAo, that is, his ftate of Declination, as he is born of a Woman, and having zjbort time to live 5 and that for this reafon, becaufe he is born of a. Wo- man. For 'tis a Maxime in Philofophy which never fails, That Generable and Corruptible are Terms Convertible. It is demonstrably prov'd we muft one day Dj?*, becaufe we did one day begin to Live. All that is born of a Woman isooth mixt, and compounded, after the Image of the Woman of whom 'tis born ; not only mixt of the four Elements, but alfo com- pounded of Matter and Form. And all things Compounded * muft be diflolv'd, into the very fame Principles of which at firft they were compos'd. Hence are thofe pangs and yernings of the flelh and the fpirit, of the Appetite and theWilUof the law in the members,and the law in the mind j b the one inclining towards Earth, from whence 'twas taken, and the other towards Heaven, from whence 'twas fent. The truth of this had been apparent if it had been only ta- ken out of \Jriftotles Lyceum ; but we have it confirmed out of Solomons Portch too : for in the In a Valley of Tears. 455 the Day when man goeth to his ■ long home, when the grinders ceafe, and the windows be dar- kened, and all the Daughters ofMufick are brought low j when the fiher cord is once loofed, and the golden Tiowl broken, fo as the mourners are iping about the greets j b Then the Dufi jhaH return to the earth as it was, and the fpirit jball return to God who ycoe it. When God himfelf was pleafed to be bom of a Woman* he fubmitted to the condi- tions of Mortality, and had (we know) but a Jhort time to live ; for He expir'd by Crucifixion before he was full thirty four, as his younger c Brother, whom we commemorate., before he was full thirty three. Man hatha fbort time indeed , as he is born of a Woman, becaufe he is born of a Woman • for (as it prefently follows in the verfes immedi- ately after my Text) He cometh forth as a d flower, and (as a flower) be is cut down. Heflyeth alfo as a foadow, and continueth not. And therefore Eptttetus did fidy argue the very great ficklenefs and frailty of worldly things, firtl becaufe they were e made, and therefore had their beginning • next becaufe they are made f ours, and therefore mujl have a fpeedy End. For if we will be but fo juft, and fo Impartial to our felves^ as to ar- aEccIef. 12. b Vcrf. 7. c Hcb. 2. it. raign | i Oh )fc | ¥ \- Sfmt. Homer e "Orai TV >«- rorot ei'».o t»»'£ii to irC\%- to? k*»i >.^- }*J?, OTI TM» ynifjfymi for, f Tixioi *"m« Ti'$r»xir, i yuvi ; fccMf M 70 1* 6TI »'l- £/>/fl £*c6. C4f. 2l. 45^ The Vanity of Life 4Gcn.g.i9. b Gen. 18.27 cPfal.103.14 i I rfEccl.3.21. e Verf. 19. f Verf. 20. ^ Job 4. 19. fcPfal.49-I2» i Ibid. ^Gen. 2. 7. fxilx irg)t *'*.- Joofnper at. raign our Bodies at the tribunal of our Rcafon, they (hall be founds by compofition, no more than well complexion'd Duft. a Duji thou art, faid God to jidam. b Duji and Ajhes lam, faid Abraham to God. He knoweth (lakh the c Pfal- mift) whereof we are made, he remembrtth we are but Duji. Were it not that the* fpirit of man goeth upward, whill\ the J pint ofaBeafi goeth downward to the earth, there would be c no preemi- nence of the one over the othtr ; for f all go unto one place, (as to the Centre of the Body,) All are of the Duji, and all turn to Duji again : which fhews the vanity and ficknefs of thole mens fouls ^who ere£t fuch ftrong and ftately Sepulchers for their Bodies, for fear the poor mans Duft fhould fully theirs 5 as if they did not remember, that Alan is bom of a Woman, and that his very g foun- dation is in the duji. Well he may have the more vanity, but not the more h underjiandingfor being in honour, and may the fooner be ' compard to the Hejjts that Penjh. The Protoplaft was k formed of the Duji of the ground. And however his po- Aterity hath been difttnguifh'd, by itluing out from that Fountain through feveral enamels, yec their original extraction mull: needs be l c- quully vile j (if any thing can be vile which is of In a Valley of Tears, of God's own making.) For All men defcen- ded out of the very fame Eve j and fo5 by He r, out of the very fame Adam ; and fo, by Him, out of the very fame Earth. The days of Man are but few then, on fup pofition they are as many as Nature meant hlmJ and that his glafs is run out without being bro- ken, unlefs it be by the hand of Time. The whole duration of Time it felf, is but the Non- age of Eternity. And therefore JMofes ( as a Pfalmifi) fpake very fitly, when he addrefled his fpeech to God ; * A tbouj and years in thy fight are but as yejierday, when it is paji ; which is in- finitely lefs then was yejierday when it was pre- fent. And 'tis the fame in effect with that ex- preflion of David, the Pfalmiji Royal • who laid his Jge was as b Nothing, in refpedl of Him who is All in All ; And that (as great as fome men dofeem to be tothemlelves and others,) Every man is but Vanity at his c beji ejiate. What he is at his worji, 'twill be impolTible to exprefs, unlefs we (hall fay with David too, that he is altogether d lighter than Vanity it f elf. Now if a thouf and years are but as yejierday, and as ye- fterday when it is paji too, how pott a thing is the life of man in companion ? how Jhort, when N n n com- 457 4Pfai.90.4- 6Pfal.39$. elbid. iPraI.^2.50. 45? The Vanity of Life *PfaI.£o.io. b Ibid. Mofckion, *«. Sopbocl. compared with the long line of 7iW * how no- thing, when compared with the Circle of £for- nity 9 Tbreefcore and Ten are all the years which are allovv'd by a c^Wo/or to a Natural Mans life. And though fome are fo ftrorg as to arrive at f our f core, yet that Overplus of years is but b la- bour and forrow. They do not ifte3 but linger, who pafs that Tropickof their Moitality. From after Tbreefcore years and Ten, they are but fur- vivers to themfehes ; at leaft theyj^/ them- felves ^jwsg ; and their Bodies become their Burdens, if not the Charnel Houfes or Sepulchers, wherein their Souls as 'twere lye Buried. The Septuagint Tranflators thought fit to call it, *a *\«w «»*•», and the Vulgar Latin, Eorurn Am- plius, which we cannot better exprefs in Englijb, than if we call it, their Surflufage of Life $ when V^ature in them is fo ftrong, as to Jhoot beyond her own tMark. Her Mark is Tbreefcore and Tenfxi Mofes himfelf hath fet it right. Or place it further, ztfourfcore ; farther yet, at an hundred ; the life of man (we fee) is fliorc, though it fhould reach the very utmof that Na- ture aymes at. But how many wayes are there, whereby to frustrate the Intentions and Ends of Nature ? How In a Valley of Tears, 459 How many arc there buried, before their Birch? How many mens Cradles become their graves? How many rifing Suns are fet, almoin as foon as they are rifen ? and overtaken with Dark- nefs in the very Dawning of their Dayes ? How many are there (like the good King Jofias^ like righteous Abel, and Enoch, and that lauda- ble Perfon whom now we celebrate.,) who are taken away *fpeedtly from amongi\ the wicked, * wird.4.11. as it were in the Zenith or Vertical Point of their ftrength and luftae ? It is in every mans power to be Matter of our Lives, who is but able to defpife his own. Nay 'tis in every one's power who can but wink., to turn our beauty ii to Darknefs; and in times of Peftilence, how many are there can lookout dead, by an arrow fhot out of the Eye into the Heart ? For one finale way of coming into the world, how many are there to go out of it before our Time ? (I mean, before Nature is fpent within us.) Many are fent out of the world, by the Difficulties and hardfhips of coming in. We are eafily cut 0$, even by eat- ing and drinking, the very Instruments , and Means of Life. Not to [peak of thofe greater (laughters, which are commonly committed by Sword, and Famine, (which yet muft both give Nnn place 460 j The Vanity of Life place to furfetj Death may poflibly fly to us, as once to Mfchylus, in an Eagles wing. Or we may eafily J wallow Death, as jfnacreon did, in a Grape. We may be murder 'd, like Homer, with a fit of Grief: Or fall, like Pmdarus, by our Repofe ; we may become a Sacrifice, as Tbilemon of old, to a little Jeji. Or elfe, as Sophocles, to a witty Sentence. We may be eaten up of worms, like mighty hfe rod. Or prove a Feaft for the Rat s, like him of Me ntz*. A man may Vomit out his Soul, 2$ Sulla did in a fit of Rage. Or elfe like Coma,mzy force it backwards. He may perifh by his jirengtb, as did Polydama* and Ail/*. Or he may dye, like Thalna, by the very excefs of his Injoyment. He may be Pro- vender for his Horfes, like Diomedes. Or pro- vifion for his Hounds, like AB&on and Lucian. Or elfe like 7*/7» j Hofiilius, he may be burnt up quick with a flalh of Lightning. Or if there were nothing from without, which could violent- ly break off our Thread of Life 9(znd which be- ing z (lender thread is very eafily cut afunder) we have a thoufand Inteftine Enemies to difpatch us fpeedily from within. There is hardly any thing in the Hody, but furnifheth matter for a Dijeafe. There is not an Arterie, or a Vein, but is In a Valley of Tears. 461 is a Room in Natures Work-houfe, wherein our Humours ( as fo many Cyclops's) are forging thofe Inftruments of Mortality, which every mo- ment of our Lives are able to fweep us into our Graves. An ordinary Jpoplexie, or a little lm- pojiume in the Brain, or a fudden rtfing of the Lights, is enough to make a man Dye in Health • and may lodge him in Heaven or in Hell, before he hath the leafure to cry for Mercy. Thus our * Hovfrs 0} Clay (as Eliphaz* the Temanite did fitly call them) do feem as falfcj and as frail, as the Apples of Sodom ; which be- ing fpecious to the Eye, did fall to crumbles by every Touch. The frame of our building is not only fo frail, but ( as fome have thought) fo ridiculous, that if we contemplate the body of man in his condition of Mortality, and by re- flecting upon the foul, do thereby prove it to be Immortal, we fhall be tempted to Hand ama- zed at the inequality of: the Match, but that to wonder at our Frailty, were but to wonder that we are Men. Yet fure if IVe, that is, our Souls, (for bur bodies are fo far from being Us> that we can hardly call them Ours,) are not capable of corruption, our Bodies were not intended for our Husbands, but tor our Houjes'j whofe Dores will * Job 4. 19. Poma ocul* rentu.contatia cinerefcunt. TcrtuI Apol. 040.P.70. 462 The Vanity of Life 2 Cor. $. 2. a Pfal.po. 9. b Pfal.89.48. fPfal.90.5. will either be open, that we may go forth, or whofe Building will be ruinous, that reeds we mufi ; we cannot, by any means poflible, nuke it the place of our Continuance j for though our bodies ( as faith our Saviour ) are not lb glori- ous as the Lillies, yet (faith Job) they are as frail. And by that time (with David) they wax old as doth a garment, how earnejily (with S.Paul) (hall we groan to be cloathd upon ? to be cloath'd with New apparel, whili t the old is as 'twere turning* for whenChriftfhall come in the clouds with his holy Angels, at once to re- ftore, and reform our Nature, he jhall change our vile bodies, that they may be fajhioned likg unto his glorious body. But here I fpeakof what it is, not what it /k*// be ; though it jhall be glorious, yet now 'tis vile ; though it Jhall be immarce fable, yet now 'tis fading ; though it jhall be a long life^ 'tis now ajhort one. It is indeed (ojhort, and withall fo uncertain, that a we bring our years to an end like as a Tale that is told. Death comes jo haflily upon us, that we never can bjee it, till we are blind. We* can- not but know that ic is jljort, for we cfade away fuddenly like the grafs ; And yet we know not how jhort it is , for we pray that God will teach In a Valley of Tears. 463 teach * us to number our dayes. This we know without teaching j b that even then when we were born, we began to draw towards our End. Whe- ther fleeping, or waking, we are alwayes/^ni? upon the wings of Time ; And even this Injiant, whilft I am] peaking, doth fet us well on towards our Journevs end • whether we are worldly find therefore ftudy to keep Life ; or ^Male-Contents, and therefore weary of its pofleflion ; the King ofTtrrours will not fail, either to meet, or over- take us. And whilft we all are c Travelling to the very fame Country, (I mean the Land of for- getfulnefs, without conflderir.g it as an Anti- chamber to Heaven or H?//,) although we walk* thither in dfeVeralRodes ; 'tis plain that he who lives longed, goes but the fartheft way about, zvA that he who dies foonejl, goes the neareji way home. I remember it was the humour, I know not whether of a more Cruel ,or Capricious e Em- perour, to put a Tax upon Child-births • to make it a thing excisable, for a man to be bom of a Woman, As it he had farmd Gods Cuflom-houfe, he made every man fine for being a Man; a great Infiance of his Cruelty, and as good an Embleme of our frailty , our ftate of Pilgrimage upon Earth. a Vcrf. 12. ^Wifd.5.13. Job 184. X0»7«U yt^W «e*>*r. /ft/A rf Hunc ^r- ver/b tramite Mortales Omnes co- nancur adi- pifci. Boeth. deConJol.Phi- lo/.t+M*. e Leo Ifau- TUS «xereyu» 464 The Vexation of Life 4Pfai.59.14. b Euripides in Phxnijfis. C "Ev»p«M»i etujrh-) Trivt. vov k<*3-' «/Ult- &u jSi«r, Xo- yi£* tf»v. t* ^' *V*, file tVx»c £itrij>. in Alceftidc. Earth. For we arrive ac this World, as at a for reign and jirange Country ; where I am fure it is proper, although not juji, that we pay Tole for our very landing. And then being landed, we are fuch tranfitory Inhabitants, that we do not fo properly dwell here, as tfojoum. All the meat we take in, is at God's great Ordinary ; and even the breath which we drink,is not ours, but His ; (which when he takjeth away, we dye, and are turnd again into our Dufi.*) Infomuch that to expire, is no more in effeft, then to be honefl : to pay back a Life, which we did but borrow. And well it were, if it were no worfe : for if the life of man were plea / ant, it would the lefs difgrace it, that it Isjhort. AJhort life and c a Merry, is that which many men applaud. But as the fon of a woman hath but a few dayes to live, fo it follows in the Text, that even thofe few days are/W/ of Trouble. And indeed fo they are, in whatsoever Condition a man is plac'd : for if he is poor, he hath the trouble of pains, to get the goods of this world. If he is rich, he hath the trouble of Care, to keep his Riches ; the trouble In a Valley of Tears. trouble of Avarice, to increafe them ; the trou- ble of fear , to lofe them ; the trouble offorrow, when they are loft. And fo his Riches can only make him the more illujlrioujly unhappy. If he lives as he ought, he hach the trouble of felf- denyals-j the trouble of a mortifying theflejb,mth the afj'ettions and lujis 5 the trouble of being in b Deaths often ; the trouble of c crucifying him- felf , and of d dying daily. If to avoid thofe Troubles, he lives in pleafure, as he ought not, he hath the trouble of being told, that he is c dead whilfi he lives ; the trouble toUhinkthzt he murt dye j the trouble to fear (whilft he is dying) that he muft live when he is dead, that he may dye eternally. Not to fpeak of thofe troubles which a man fuffers in his Nonage, by being weaned from the breaft, and by breeding teeth -y in his boyage and youth, fc>y bearing the yoke of fubjedtion, and the rigid difcipline of the Rod ; in his manhood and riper years, by ma- king provifion for all his Family, zsferVant Ge- neral to the whole ; Not to fpeak of thofe Troubles which flow in upon him from every quarter, whether by Lcffes, or Affronts, Con- tempts, or Envymgs, by the $nouifh of fome Ma- ladies, and by the loath fomnefs of others ; rather O o o then 4«5 fit. Sicrat.in Efifi. ad Anonym f. 8. a Col. ta g, Rom. 8. 13. b iCor. |l. c Rom- 6. 6. Gal. 6. 14. i iCor. 15. e iTim.$.6. /Eccl.41.1. j£$ The Vexation of Life A'Oo%U t«- Tef ■ntiret. Jferod&t. in Thalia, c. 43. ^Wifd.4.20. cHcb.12.8. rf 2 Cor.4.8. i Occiderceft, J vetare cupi- I cntcm mori. I Sen. in The- 1 buide. Pfal. $4. ePfal. 39.$. than want ijiatter of trouble, he will be moft of all troubled thzt he hash a nothing to Vex him. In his fober Inter vails and Fits, when he confiders that he muft dye, and begins to b cafi up the ac- counts of his fins, it will bcfome trouble to him chat he is without chafiifement jV/hercby he knows he is a c Tiaftard, and not a Son. It will dif quiet him not a little, that he lives at reft in his poffef- fions ; and become his great CroJsy that he hath prosperity in all things. Not only the (ling, and the ftroak, but the very Remembrance of Death will be bitter to him ; fo faith Jefus the Son of Sirachj chap. 4 1 . ver f. 1 . Thus (we fee) the Child of man, or the man who b born of a woman is iofull of Trou- ble to the brim, that many times it overflows him. On one fide, or other, we all are troubled; but fome are troubled on d every fide. Infomuch that they themj elves are the greateft Trouble unto themfehes j and 'tis a kind of death to them they cannot dye. We find King David iofickof Life, as to fall into a wifhing for the wings of a Dove, that fo his Soul might fly away from "the great Impediments or his Body. He confefled that his Dayes were at the longefi but c a Span, and yet complain'd they were no Jbmer. It feems In a Valley of Tears. 467 a Pfal. 6. 6. 6P&I.42.1. c Vcrf. 2. £io Cbrjfofl. feems that Span was as the fpan of/ a wither d Hand-, which the farther he jlretchetkout, the more it grievd him. He was a weary of his groaning. His Soul did b pant after Heaven^ and even c thirfied for God. And he might once more have cryed (though in another fenfe) Wo is me, that I am conjiraind to dwell with Mefecky and to hiCoe mine habitation among the Tents of Kedar I I remember that Chandemus in Vio Chryfojlom, compared mans Life to a Feafl, or Banquet. And | m^.p. I the rather took notice of it, becaufe the Pro- phet Elijah did feem (in fome fenfe) to have made it good. Who after afirji or fecond Courfe (as I may fay) of livings as if tie had fur fetted of Life, cryed out in haft, It is enough • and with the very fame breathy defired God to take away, for fo faith the Scripture, \ Kings 19.4. He went into the Wilderness ( a folitary place ) and there he fate under a Jumper (in a melancholly pofture) and requefled of God that he might dye, I (in a very difconfolate and doleful manner,) even pouring forth his Soul in thefe melting Accents, It is enough nowy O Lord> take away my life, for I am no better than my Fathers. And if the Dayes of Elijah were full of trouble, how j was jfob overwhelm'd, and running over with his ! iKing. 19.4. OOO 2 Cala- 468 The Vexation of Life s Job 6. 4. r Job 3. 1,3, 4,5,&c. Vcrf.11.12. ilfa. $3. 3« t Ibid. Calamity ? when the a Ttfmrt 0/ God did fet tbemfehes in aray againjl him, how did he b long for deftruftion I O ( faith he ) that I might have my requeji, that God would grant me the thing that I long for ! Even that it would pleafe him to dejiroy me, that he would let loofe his band, and cut me offh How did he c Curfe the Day of his Birth, and the Night wherein he wcu conceived f Let that Day be darknejSy let the Jhadow of Death fiain it , let a cloud dwell upon itj let blackjiefs terrife it. And for the Plight 3 let it not be joyned to the dayes of the year. Let the Stars of the twilight thereof be dark ; neither let it fee the dawning of the day. And what was his reafon for this unkindnefs to chat particular Day and Nighty fave that they, brought upon him the trouble of being zMan born of a Woman : for we find him complaining a little after, Why died I not from the Womb ! why did I not give up the gboft, when I came out of the Helly ? And then for the Life of our blefled Saviour, who is call'd by way of Eminence, The Son of ZMan ; as I obferv'd before^ that it wzsjbort, fo muft I here put you in mind, it was full of Trouble. He was therefore call'd by way of Eminence, Vir Dolorum, d^Man of Sorrows. The Prophet adds, he wm e acquainted with In a Valley cf Tears. 469 with Grief. For the whole Tenor of his Life was a continuation of his Calamities. The Time would fail me (houid I but men- tion the hundreth part of thofe men, whofe jbort time of life hath fcemed long to them, even becaufe they have felt ic {0 full of Trouble. But enough hach been faid concerning the Doftrin of the Text. And it lies upon us now to make fome life. Firft then let us confider, that if man (as born of a woman) hath but zjhort time to live, It concerns us to take up the prayer of DaDid, that God will teach us to kjjow our End, and the number of our Dayes, that we ( like Hezekiah ) may be fully certified howjhort our Time is. It con- cerns us to take up the refolucion of Job ; AH the dayes of our appointed time, inceffantly waiting till our change cometh. It concerns us, not to fay, with the rich man in the Parable, we will pull down our Barns and build greater, and there we will ; bejiow all our fruits and our goods : much lels may j we fay, with that other Worldling, Souls tak^e \ youreafe, eat, drinks and be merry 3 for yeh.iVe Vcri *9- much goods laid up for many years : for (alas l) how can we know, (I lly creatures as we are,) but that this very Wjght, yea this very minute, either The Af fixa- tion. PW.j9.4- 2 King.20.6. Job 14. 14. Luk. 12. i3. 47C A Timely Caveat Job I. 21. Pfal. 59.12. * iPet.2. 11. Hcb.11.13. iPet.2.9.12. either they may be taken from us, or we from them .* there is fuch a fadingnefs on their parts, and fuch a ficklenefs on ours. But rather it con- cerns us to fay with Job, Naked came we into the world, and naked jhall we go out of it* Or it con- cerns us rather yet to fay with David, that we are grangers upon Earth, and butfomany/^W- ners, as all our Fathers were : for wihlft we con- fider we are but grangers, we (hall, as * Stran- gers and ^Pilgrims, abjiain fromflejhly lujis3 which war againji the foul. And fo long as we remem- ber we are but fojoumers upon earth, we Jhall pafs the time of our fojourmng here in fear. And behaving our felves among the Gentiles, as a cho* fen Generation, a Royal "Trief hood, anholyJ{a- tion, a peculiar Peoplejpe (ball {hew forth hupraife who hath called W out ofOarkjiefs, into his marvel- lous Li^ln. Secondly let us confider, that fwce our Life is uncertain, as well tejbort, (inafmuch as we know not how fhort it is) it concerns us imme- diately,to labour hard in the Improvement of this omfpan into Eternity -, to employ our very fhort and uncertain time, in making zfeafomble pro- vifion againft them both ; I mean, itsjbortnefs^ and its uncertainty. For fhall we be Uvifo even of Againft Procraftination, 4V of that, which is fo eafily loft, and of which | we have fo very little, and every minute of which Liccie does carry fuch a weight with it, as will be either a kind of Pulley to help raife us up to Heaven, or elfe a Clogg to pull us down to the lowed: Hell ? Of whatsoever we may be wart- full, we ought to be charie of our Time, which doth incontinently penfh, and will eternally be reckoned on our account. P exeunt & imputantur, the Epigrammatift could fay of his precious hours. Now the way to provide againft the Jhortnefs of our Life, is Jo to live, as to ^e, to the great- eft Advantage to be imagind ; and fo to dye, as to live for ever. What Tobit faid to Tobias, in Tobit.4. 2 refpedt of wealth, [Fear not, my [on, that we are made poor, for thou haft much wealth, if thou ftur God, and depart from all fin, and do that which is pleafing in hit fight.] He might have faid as well in refpedl of wifdom >md by confequence as well in refpeft of long life. For as the fear of the job 28. 28. Lord is foli'd wifdom, and to depart from Evil is underftandmg ; fo honourable Age is > not that which ftandeih in the length of Time, nor that is meafured wifd.4.8,9. by number of years, but Wifdom is the gray hair unto men, and an unj potted life is old age. To be devoted 47 Jgainjl Procra&ination. Luk.2.37. * Rom. 2. 8. * 2 Cor. 7.1. Phil. 3.1 3 ,14 * Nemo tarn Divos hibuic faver. teSjCra- ftmum ut poifit fibi polliccri. devoted (like ^»tf<0 to the Houfe of God, fo as to ferve him night arid day with fajting and payer, and not to content our felves with that which is meetly lawful, or barely enough to ferve turn, (as men do commonly rcafon within themfelves,) but to ftudy the things that are * mote excellent, to ftrein hard towards * perfe- tfion, to forget thofe things that are behind, and to reach forth unto thofe things that are before, preying on towatds the mark^, for the priz>e of the high cal- ling of God in Chriji Jejus, this is to amplife our lives, and to ffuftrate the malice of our morta- lity ; and as the want of jiature many times is fupply 'd in thickjiefs, fo this is to live z great deal in the little time of our duration. Amplut /Etatis fpatium fibi Vir bonus, hoc eft ViVere bis, Vita poffe priote frui. As we are thus to provide againfl: the Jhort- nefs, fo in like manner we mull provide againft the uncertainty of our time. And the way to do that, is to diftruft the future, and to lay hold upon the prefent j fo to live every hour, as if we were not to live the next. Having zjhort time to live, our time to repent cannot be long. And not ajfured of the * morrow, 'tis madnefs nor to repent Jgainfl ?TocX agination. 473 repent today : when we fee many perfons of the moll promifirg countenance, and the moft profperous conftitution, not only fnatch'd by an early, bat fudden death, why fhould we not ferioufly confider, that we may be of their num ber, having no promife of the contrary, eithe; within, or without us i * What happens to any man, may happen to every man j every man be- ing encompafled with tne lame conditions of mortality. 'Tis true indeed, that we may live till we are old j but 'tis as true, that we may dye whilft we are young ; and therefore the la- ter poffibi'ity fhould as well prevail with us for zdij patch of our repentance, as the former too too often prevails upon us for a delay. Nay if we procrafiinate our repentance, in hope of living till we are oldy how much rather fhould we precipitate it, for fear of dying whiKl we are young ? ( if yet ic were poiiible to precipitate fo good and nece(Tary a work, as 2 f olid impartial fincere repentance.) For ae to repent whilft we are youngs can never do us the leaft harm ; fo it may probably do us the greatefl, to port it off till we are old. Nay it may oJ\ us the lofs of Heaven, and a fad eternity in Hell, if we defer our repentance (I do no: lay till we are old, but PPP if * Cuivls po- teft accidcrc quod cui- quampoteft. Fublim. 474 A Timely Caveat I» TJf /Jo , ft *} o-\«*f Tit irw. £ Sofbocl. in TrtchiMH. if we defer it) being j**»g, till one clay *&? than now we *r*. And (hall we defer it beyond to-day, becaufe we may do it as well to-morrowi This is madnefs unexprefiible. For as 'tis true that we may, fo 'tis as true that we may not. Our knowledge of the one^ is juft as little as of the other. (Or rather our ignorance is juft as much.*) And fhall we dare to tempt God, by presuming upon that which we do not know ? Are Heaven and Hell fuch trivial things, as to be put to a bare adventure t Shall we flay for falvation, as 'twere by filliping,crofs or pile ? implicitly faying within our k\vcs,ifwe live till the morrow, we will repent and be faVed j but if we die before night j we will die in our fas, and be damn d for ever: fhall we reafon within our felves, that though we know our own death may be as fudden as other mens, yet we will put it to the Venture 3and make no doubt out to fare, as well as hitherto we have done ? what is this but to dally with the day of Judg- ment, or to bewray our dif belief that there is any fuch thing ? It's true we may live until the morrow, and fo on the morrow we may repent. But what is this to the purpofe, that 'tis certain e- nough we may, whilft 'tis as doubtful whether wefball i Is it not good to make^r* of hap- pinefsj Agavnft 'Procrajlination, 475 pinefs, by repenting fcrioufly at prefent, rather than let it lye doubtful, by not repenting untill anon l Methinks we fhould eafily be perlwaded to efpoufe that courfe, which we are throughly convince! does tend the mofi to our Advantage. When the rich worldling in the Parable was (peaking placentia to his foul, [ * foul take thine eafe,] alledging no other reafon, than his having much goods for many years • nothing is fitter to be oblerv'd, than our Saviours words upon that occafion, Stulte, Thou Fool, this night {ball thy foul be required of thee • then whofe Jhall thofe things be which thou haji provided t However the men of this world have quite another meafure of wit, and do efteem it the gxezttft prudence to take their pleafure whiltt they are young, refer- ving the work of mortification for times of y^- nefs, and old age, (when 'twill be eafie to leave their pleafures , becaufe their pleafures leave Them,) yet in the Judgment of God the Son, (the Word and Wifdom of the Father) 'tis the part of a blockhead, and zfool, to make account of more years, than he is fure of dayes, or hours. He is zfot, as well as zfinner, who does adjourn and Jhift off the amendment of his life, perhaps till twenty, or thirty, or fourty years after his Ppp 2 death. *Uk.12.32. 416 sf Timely Caveat * 2 King. 20. 6. *...& •& S3-1 tU 7Tt§* Tit '$ %p. Soph ubi jupra* death. Tis true indeed that Hezjl&ah, whilft he was yet in the confines and skirts of death, had a * /e-aje ^ life granted no lefs t^m fifteen years long ; but he defer'd not his repentance ore day the longer. And (hall we adventure to live an hour in an impenitent efiate, who have not a /fti/e of life promis'd3r.o not lo much aslm hour! (hall we date ei ter into our beds, ai:c! Jleep fecurely any one night, not thinking how we may awal^e, whether in Heaven, or in Hell ? we know 'tis timely repentance whica muft fecure us of the one 9 and 'tis final impenitence which gives us a(fu~ ranee of the other. What the Apoftle of the Gentiles hath faid of math, may be as ufefully fpoken of every other provoking fin, * Let not the Sun go down upon it. Let us not live in any fin until the Sun l%fon down, becaufewe are* far frombeing/ir^we fhail live 'till Sun-nflng. How many Prof 'ell ors gotoffleep, (when the Sun is down, and the curtainsot the night are drawn about them.) in a llateof drunkennejs, or adultery, in a ftate of avarice, or malice, in a ftate oiJacriledge,oT rebellion, in a ftate of deceit- fulnefsj and hypocrite, without the leafl confi- deration how jhott a time they have to live, and how very much fhorter then they imagine i Yet unleis Jgainjl Procr agination. 477 unlefs they believe they can dream devoutly, and truly repent when they are fieeping, they cannot but know they are damn d fur ever, if the day of the LordfbAl come upon them at a thief in the ni^ht, and care i them nappinv in their Impiecie<. Conjtder this all ye that forget Gvdjeaji he plucky you away, and there be none to deliver you. Con- fider it all ye that forget yourfehes. That for- get how few your diyes are, and how full of mt~ fry. Conllier your bodies, from whence they came, and coi fider vour fouls, whether is it that they are going. Coti(ki:rxyour life is in your breath, and your breath is in your nofirils ; and thacr, to « fcftftq Lff *# ^^ f?^^ £*. mousmen. Men renowned for their power ; W£# of knowledge and learning ; w/e dtfd eloquent in their injlruftions. Rich men furnijhed with ability, and living peaceably in their habitations. There be of them that have left a name behind themx that their praifes might be reported, jind Jome there be who haVe no memorial , who have perijhed as though they had never been, and are become m thouoh they had never been born^ and their children after them. But thefe were merciful men, whofe righteoujnefs hath not been forgotten j!* their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for evermore ; for the veovle will tell of their wifdom, and the congregation will (hew forth their praife. Our honour'd Brother now departed (I will not fay the unhappy, but ) the now-blefitd Sub- ject of this folemnity, as he delerves a noble Eulogie, fo he reeds none at all : He being ore of thole few of my particular acquaints ;ce, of whom Made good by an Example, 4*J whom I have feldom or never heard an ill word fpoken. But in this one dung, he had the leaft refemblance unto his Saviour, who was hated by many , defies d by morey and bafely forjaken almotU)> all. This is therefore no commenda- tion, on which our Saviour proclaims ftfffofc. Woe be to you when all menfpeakjvell oj you. Nor do I fay that this worthy Gentleman was ill fpoken of by none, (he was fure too worthy to be fo befrinded by the world,*) I only fay that I have feldom or never heard it. And he was fo 'amct 4' i% much the lefs obnoxious to the difhonefty of the Tongue, becaufe (as far as his Quality would gi\e him leave) he ever delisted in thatobfeu- rity, which mo(\ young Gentlemen are wont tojhun. For although his extraction (we know) was noble^ud hh fortune extreamly/*ir; though his natural parts and abilities were truly great, as well as greatly improved by Art and hdufiry^ (he having been Matter of many Languages, and ( I am fure ) well vers'd in great \ariety of Learning,) yet ftili his mod jiy and his meeknefs were fo much greater than all the iel\, that (in a perfect contrariety to the vain-glorious and hypocritical) he ever turn'd his wo-jt fide cut- wards. Tne late recir'dnefs of his life made Q_q q 2 him 484 The Improvement of Life Tltw&t $>, \iyiuv i*di bct^u walks^ before you from my childhood to this diy\ I Behold here I am, witnejs aqainfl me before the Lord ; whoje Oxe ha'Ve Itaktn J 07 whoje Ajs haVe 1 taken f or wham \ttP0i I d fraud: d i whom have I oppr (Jed I or of whoje hand hxve I r< cciVed avy bribe y toblihd mine eyes threwuh, and I will re- jlore it z To which mechinks I here the Anfwer whicjh was made ro Samuel in the next verfe3 thou hafl not defraud, d, nor opprefj d \tf% TV this that ipcakb a man right h*ejt9 which is a vobLrTkW, than right honourable • chough I may fay very truly; that he had many due titles ot hon$m too. For not to fpeak of his Ave (iorsy wiio came in hether with the ( on- quei\, aid that from the City Fctiou in France, (from whence they derived the name ofPcyto,) I think it more for his honour, to have been ma- ny ways * good 5 to wit, a good Husband, and a good Father 1 a good Mafier, and a good Friend^ a good i\eivhbtur, and a good Land lord 5 a goo.: Chrijiian, and a good J^fam- And, which is a fign of more goodnefs than all the rel\, he never j thought he was lood enough ; cfpccially in the !^yi3 an.i the two /. (J particulars. It ■S»**-5-WUJJ_J J- SB 486 Xfo Improvement of Life It is an excellent ingredient in that religious eompofition ,which he had iVnt before him to blefs his foul ,and lert behind him in memory to perfume his i\W*e too, that ha\ ing been charged with a debt, (whether by his Fathers lal\ will and te- ftament, or by the condition of the times, or by both together,) he was ever in (cme pain till he had pnd that debt, or it Icaft had made pro- vijtontor it; becaufe until he had don jujiice, he knew he could rot fo well jhew works of mercy ; and that wa^ doubtlefs a pregnant to- ken of walking humbly with his God% The three grand Duties which God requires, in the jixth Chapter of Micah, at the ninth verfe. The end of Guilts coming into the world, was to mak,e us Ifoef overly, righteoufly, and gedly in this prefettt world. (Tit. 2. 13.) the firft im- plying our whole duty towards our fe foes, the fecond towards our neighbour, the third cowards j our God. That extraordinary perfon, of whom I fpeak, doth feem to me, as well as others, to have reached thofe ends. He was fo emincrtly fober, that I believe he was never known to have fmn'd againft his own body in any kind ; fo eminently righteous, that (as I faid) he was in pain, till he had rerdred tottery man his due. Berg Made good by an Example. 4*7 Being (ofuber, and fo righteous i he is inferred Co have been fo godly too^as to have liv'd in oppo- ficlon ro thofe profe(fors of Cbnfiiamty , who having a form only of gvdliucjs, deny the power of it-y tor give me leave to tell you, wiac is not every day covfidt rd, The mol I material part of godlinifs, is moral bonejiy. N">r was there any ? thing more confpicuous in the holy lite of our I blelled Lord. The fecond Table is the touch- ! ^one of our obedience unto the firji. An\ to apply what I fay unco the hor.oui ib!e perfon of whom I fpeak, we may conclude him to have lived the life of faith, becaufe we find him to have dyed the death of the righteous. To pafb on therefore towards his death, as the fitted transition unto hi* fori*/ j /am en- abled to fay of him, (by fuch as were eye and ear witnelles,) that he abundantly in joyed [that &*«,«ci^ chat happy calmnefs of death, which the Emperour duguflut was wont to pray for. I fay he injoyd it in both acceptor?* o£ the word, j For firil however he was {kL of a hurnimVt** v r. (w ich carried him up. like Elnu, in a fiery Cbarioti) vet he had this rare happii efs which is the pri • Hedge buc of few, that he even injojed his whol dfafe, without the lead: taint of Gaii.3.11. Num. 23. 10. 488 7he Improvement of Life King. 20.1. of dtliration. That knot of union betwixt his body and his foul, was not violently brokgn> but very leafurely untied ; they having parted like two friends } not by a tudc falling out, but a / as to the fecond. For Two things there are* which are wont to make death terrible. The fijrft is fuddennefs^ the (ecofidj fin. He was fo arm'd againft the firji, that he did not only take care for the fetting his outward houfe in order, that nothing in this world might crafh his flight towards abetter; but alfo feu for the Divine, to imp the wings of his devotion; and farther told his Fhyfieian, that God hadfent him hufummons ; io well was he arm'd againft thefirjl of thofc Fbobera, and that by the help of our Enghfh Litany, which prompts us to pray againjl judden death; and which he commanded one of his fervants to affijl him with upon his death-bed, bellowing upon it (when he had don) a great deal of holy admiration. Again^ fo well was he prepared againft; the j fecond, that for the tendemefs of his confc'teice, j and his deep refentmentdi allhisfiu^ thuje of \ the ' Made good by an Example. 489 the times more efpecially, in which he deplo- red his unhappinefs that he had had a great jhare (till God was pleas'd in much mercy to fhew him that errour of his judgment, by which the errour of bis prattue was bred and cherifh'd ;) Next for his hatred ofbimfelf in remembrance of them, (though we may fay, that in compari- fon with many others alive and dead, he had kept himlelf unfpoxud from the world ;) Then for his ftedfaft: refolutions of better life, of ma- king ample jatisfattion for every ill that he had don, and fo of bringing forth fruits * worthy of repentance, (if God (hould be pleas'd to inlarge his time;) and lal\of all forhkjollicitude, that all bis * family might live in the fear of God, and redeem thofe opportunicies,which he feem'd (unto himfelf) to have fometimes lojl, or neg- IcRed • I lay, in all chefe refpe&s, he appears to me , (as well as to other j,) a more than ordinary Example. But fomemay fay, thatyi^perfons are ever obJca forry for their fins ; but it is many time zforrow fqueez'd out byfickntfs. And as foon as they recover, they do relaps too. To which I fay, that though 'tis often fo in Anfw- others, yet in this exemplary Chriftian it could not be fo. For R r r Firil Jam. i* 27 * Luk. ; I Aa.2o..i *]ofh.24.r> 49° The Improvement of Life *iThef.5.2 2 Prov. $. 8. * Mat.20.9. * Cito igno- fcit Dominus quia cito illc convertitur. Ambroj. in Luc, 29.43. a 2Cor.$.i7. b 2Cor. 7.9. c Phil. 3. 14. t/ 0 v5ro/*e4r*f Mat. 24. 13. Firft it was a mark of tiisfincerity^ that he look'd upon his failings, as through a ZMicro- fcope ; which made them feem nearer, and very much greater than they were. He warn'd all thofe who ftood about his fick bed, to beware of thofe fins which the world calls little 3 and of the no- little fins which the world calls none ; yea from the very leaft * appearances and oppor- tunities of fin. It was his own expreflion, that all therms of bis former life did eVen kickjn his Very face ; yet he remembred the * labourer, who went late into the Vineyard, and was rewarded. He alfo made fome reflections upon the * thief on the crofs ; that his faith might (leer an even courfe,, betwixt the Scyila of defpair, and the Charybdis of prefumption. Secondly, It was another good token of his fi.uerity, that he was not meerly a death-bed pe- nitent > whofe repentance too too often is but [a \»v»xa7*' x^»»] ajorrow according to the world, but (as divers perfons can witnefs) he began the great work in his time of health ; fo as his fick- nefs did but declare his having been a a new crea- ture by b change of mind, and that he did not fall back, but c prefs forwards towards the mark, and perfeVere in fo doing unto the d end. Thirdly, Made good by an Examplt 491 Thirdly, 'Tvvas another mark of his fivcc- rity, that he infixed on the nature of true repen- tance, which (till importeth an amendment, and reformation of life. Nor had he a willingnefs to recover his former health, unlefs to the end he might demon fir ate his renovation, by that care- fulnefs, that fear, that indignation, that Veht- ment defire, that x>eal, yea that revenge, which S. /W hach recorded as the ejfefts of a gW/y forrow in his Corinthians. Abhorring and deplo- ring thole defperate notions of R epentance , which the world is lb commonly miltaken in. Fourthly, 'Twas a comfortable token of his fincenty, that he was obfiinate in bis Prayers, againlt the precept of his Fbyfician j and reiolvd to pour out his foul, though to the prejudice of his body. As it he were pioufly ambitious of being too fttans for his own infirmities : when a reverend Divine (who was (landing by) would fain have don that office for him, at leail as a Deputy to his lungs only;- that he might not ipend hh few f pints as yet lefc in him ; he made him this refolute, and hafty, but pious anfwer, that wbilfi a Tongue was in his bead whereby to fpeal^, and whilft be bad breath in bis body to nwVe and animate bis Tvngue, and wbilfi be bad lunis in Rrr 2 bis 492 The Improvement of Life ) hisbrejl tofupply his breath, he would Jhew forth the goodnefs and the glory of God, who had been fleas d to do fo great things for him. And in a merciful Anfwer to all his Prayers, which he continued to the amazement of all that heard him, ( after fome conflicts which he had had with the ghojily enemy, to make him happier in a viftorious, than he could poflibly have Been ki an untry'd innocence,) God was pleafed (very fignally) to reveal himfelf to him, to J peak peace unto his Confcience, to fill him inwardly with joy in the Holy Ghoji, to give him fome glimmerings and fore-tajts of the glory to be repealed. That I may ufe his own words, (which, as he came out of a Trance, he was heard to fpeak,) he had a raipijhing glimps of the ISeatifick. Vijlon ; mean- ing thereby ( as I interpret ) that God had re- freshed his drooping fpirits with his unfpeak- able comforts ; faying unto his foul ,1 am thy Jafoation,oT this day fahation is come to thy houfe. So that now being plac'd above the level of temptations , and exempted from the fear of what the * red Dragon could do unto him, he cheerfully lifted up his head, and fixt his eyes up- on Jefus, the author andfinifher of his faith, and for the joy that was fet before him, expected the Advent Made good by an Example. 493 Advent of his death, as of a very dear friend. Fifthly, It was another great fign that his heart wM right towards Gody and therefore not treacherous to himfelf, that he extended his care to the fouls of others, with as true a cha- rity, as to his own ; exhorting one in particular againft the loVe of this world ; charging another to be watchful againrt intemperance ,and debauch-, exciting a third unto frequent and ferment prayer. I do but mention the feveral fubjefts, on which he treated like a Divine. To all his fervants in the general, and to three of them in fpecial , (for his words like * Manna in the wildernefs, and the Jpojiles * doal, were difcreetly proportio- ned to every one as he had need , lb as they who had molt of his Deathbed inftrudtions had no- thing over , and they who had leajl had no lack,} 7 fay, in general, and in fpecial, he was by his precepts, as well as practice, (even as righte- ous * Noah} a true Preacher of Repentance. Nor did his care end here. But As it were in imitation of good old Jacob, before he was gather d to his fathers, he gave a blejjing to all his children. And farther gave it in charge to his virtuous Confort, whom he wor- thily efteemed his dearer J elf, (and of whom he alfo * Exotic. 18. * 2 Pa. 2. 5, Gen. 49. 494 The Improvement of Life, &c. * Mat. 2$. 7,8. * Eccl.49. 1. Heb. 12. 22, 3- Rev. §. 13. alio requefrd pardon, if by Any crofs word he bad ever grieved her,) not to educate his children, fo much to learning and other accomplijhmentSj as to the knowledge, and fervice, and fear of God. Nor was it a little to his advantage, that he was careful to have them feafon'd with thofe his lafb Principles, which by his later experience he found the heft. Not to be endlefs upon the fubjeft, (on which it is difficult not to be long, and yet im- poffxble to be tedious,) he was briefly all that, wiiich I pray God of his mercy to make us all. That whensoever he fhall appear unto us, in death, or in judgment, we may be found, like wife * Virgins^ with oyl in our lamps. And that together with this our Brother, (whofe remem- brance (like that of * Jojias) will ever be fweet unto us as muftck^ at a banquet of Wine^) we may be joyned in Corifort with the quire of Angels, and with the general Jffembly of the Fir jl- born which are written in Heaven, and with the fouls of juji men made perfeSi, Tinging Hofanna's and Hallelujah's, to him that fittetb upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb for evermore, F I :\ I s. 495 V I R Explorata Integritate, Gravitate morum frm&oa jinnumetandm Patnbus • Scientiarum lumen omnium, Suvraque faentiM eminens liumilitate Jumma : Innocenter dottus, & EDOAR.DUS PEYTO De Cbcjlerton in Agro Warwicenfi A R M I G E R, Ex Jntiquo PlCTAVORU MJlemmate griundiis^ EDOARDI PEYTO Equitis Aurati Villus Unigemtus: Uxorem duxit ELIZJBETHJM GREVILLI VERNEY De Compton - Mordake in ccdem Jm E.juitu Akrafi Filiam Unigenitam : Leftifpmam pariter & Dileftijfimam fceminam. 496 Cornpar Conjugium ! Cujus exfelici Copula ManaVit fexus utriufque Trias, Altera Filiorumy Edoardus, Guiliclmus, Francifcus, Altera & Filiarum, Elizabctha, Catharina, Margareta, Patrisfimul^ & Ma'rtt Ecljpa : Virorum & Fosminarum olim Exemplaria. Proh Dolor [ Tant£ FamilU & Virtutis Injlauratorem brevem9 Primo velut in Molimine fat if cent em • In ipfo a tat is fiore decuj'Sumy Tamen Querelarum define. Qyippe facuh pert* fits y Matum C$lo9 Et pr 140, (TV. 4^8. Antiquity ,CoiwW i» Art and Na- ture, p.349>35o.ifl Polici,and Religion, $51, 352. The pre- tenfe of mop heretic 'hMf >35^- f£p.$$i,3$2. Drollery, itt dangerous Tendency to Profanenefs, p. 3 3 5 , &c. 338, E Enemies, Not' to be infuledover, p. io> The T A B L B p. 10, II. tut rather obliged , p. 27, 28. England 5 Characters of its ft ate be* fore bis Majefties Re ftauratior., p.12,13^^ p.43544JCTf. p. 58,59. p. 145?. The Kings thereof Ahfolute^ 385. How by degrees incroachtd on by the Pope, 3 8^387. Faith, How in mam who think they want it, p. 90. Is Victory over 0urfufjerin^s,p.l6<),l66,l6j. Fortitude* Wherein it ftands, p. £4^5. Fear, How ufeful, p.83,84, &c. G God, How the Author of all our [uf- fermgsy and the fole fupport in them, p. 161, I<52, &c. To be ferv'd with the be ft of what we are or can, p.281, 282,CrY# Gofpcl, How fpread through the mrld, p.3i5^i£,£?7. Gratitude, IaGenerofity, p. 31, 32. Motives to it tn England, p.58,59. H Half-Communion, Its Rife, p. 358,37^,377. How contrary to Scripture, ibid. Hierarchy, Twofold, Ctvils well M Ecclejiaftical, p. 2 1 2 , & p. Humility , Is proper feafan 9 p# 36. Motives to it, p. 2<59, 170, &c. I Ignorance, aggravates as well m excufe^p. 37, 38. Impunity, thegreateft punifhment, p. 132,133. Impurity, Legal aType of Origi- nal Sin, 26 5 , 26 6 9 Infallibility, The chief Foundation of all Popify Errors-, 357,401, 402. Acknowledged to be In- communicable to any Church , 429,430. Ingratitude, /;; chief AwravatU on>p.66,6j,&c. Indifferent things , what Imi of necejsity they acquire to them- felves3andhow, 202, 2o3,CV. 289, 290, &c. K King, His Prerogative the People Privilege , p. 1 6 ,1 j. Hifri^'t of calling Synods, 197, 198, &c. His prefidtng in9 and over them, 209,210. Hw Divine Inftitution, and Supremacy p. S f f 2 22;, The TABLE. 223,224, &c. ddp.258. L Lawcs, Their Original Inftitution threefold , p. 203, 204, &c. Bind the Conjcience though of Humane Inftitution, p. 208. Learning, 2 he Vfefulnefs and Necejjity of that which is hut Humane, p. 304, 3055 &c. Its Infufficiency without the help of the Divine, p. 31 3 , 314, &c. . Its right imployment, p. 331, Life, Its jbortnefs, p. 45 7, 458, 4^2, 463. Its uncertainty,^ 9, 473. and Frailty, \6 1 . Its vex- ation, \6^,^6^,&c. Motives to, and the Method of Impro^ ving it, $.470,471, &e. This life compared with Eternity, p. 479, 48°- M Magiftrates , Their Ordination , p. 232, 233, &c. ad p. 244, Their Subordination, p. 245, 24^, &c. Man , Motives to hie Humility from the bafrnefs of his Matter, p. t6j, 26i,&c. All equal in what refpeBs, p. 270, 2ji,&c. Hk twofold Original, 454,45 5, &c. I Marriage, Its Primitive Inftitu- tion vindicated, p. 352, 354. When fir ft denyed to the Clergy, P« 358, 379. Contrary to Scri- pture , and the pradtfe of the Apoftles, p. 3 8a. Mercy, How Gods chief eft Attri- bute, p.77,78, &c.n6,ilj. Oath, How it differs from Gods Word, p. 110,111. Obedience, toMagiftrate, a good * work of the fir ft rank, p. 21 1, 212. In things indifferent, p.2p3,2?4. Obligations, ceafe to hind in three Cafes, p. 115. People, Not the Original of Go- vernment, p. 233, &c. and p. *43,2£4,&e. Vettec\ition,Compar'd to the night, p.12, i^.&c. Peftilence, How much worfe than War, p. 149,150,151. Tends the mo ft to Humiliation, p, 1 5 7 . Ever laid on by an hand from Heaven, p. 162 , 1^3. Popes, Many of them confef\edly Heretical^ p. 371, 372, 40^ 411, 412. The Original of their -»»- The TABLE. their Supremacy p. 359,35$, 3<<7, &c. Primacy of order allow9 d to them, ^67 ,169. Prayer, in an unknown Tongue, con- to Scripturey and the pra- fe of the Primitive Churchy p. 378, 37*. Preaching, Its Different EffeBs, p. 320, 32 1 Prxccprs, Difference *twixt them, and a hare Permifjion, p. 3 5 3. Pride, How inexcufable tn man % p. 258, 25?. Pricft, His Duty, p. 325,325, Promifes , 0/ GW Conditional js his ThrcaiSy p. 1 1 3, 1 14. Profperity, Jr* prooerufe, p. 25, 25, &V. Jtt dagger, p. 33, 34^ 35- bs proper feafQn^.fo, C7V. /f; mtf chief, p. 51, 52, d>7. /;y dignity p. 5o, 5l. Punifhment, /tt threefold Endy p. 128, i2?,c?v. JFW r£^. mendmentof Offenders, p. 1 30, &e. For the benefit of others , p. 134,6V. For thefatisfacli- on of the in)uryd, p. 139, &c. fignificant of the //# , which it re- vengeth,p.HJ> 1 48. Purgatory, It? Original, p. 358. Purification, of the Virgin, p .2 5 p, 250, &c. R Rebellion, Afpecirs if Sacrilege , p. 241. Reformation, /r; proper Seafony and Reafons of tf, p. 31, 32, &c. 5i,52. The Moderation of our< from Rome ,0.212,213. Chiefly from the Court of Rome, p.^S.Itscaufes, p^Sz, 383. Wiped, p. 387. Repentance, In what fenfe apply d to God, p. 1 09 . JErr/a m ***;* it works Miracles y p. 115,117. Not to be defend, p.a84,472, &e. With the danger of defer - ring it, ibid. Jd p. 478. Five Tokens of a fmcere Repentance, p. 490.491,4*2,^. Rome ) Its Church a particular Church, and younger than Jeru- falem, &c. p. 355. Confefs'd bj its Champions to be corrupt in point of Doctrine, p. 373. And PraBife, p. 382, 383, 399, 400, 405. Is in nofenfe Infal- lible, p. 403, &c. ad p. 407. Schifme, On whom to be char£dy 384. Scripture , Tran/lated into Mo- ther-tongues, p. 377, 378. Sermons, The Danger of IdoU- zing r The T A B L E. zingthemyp. 321, 322. Severity, The mercy of ny p. 1 00, loij &c. p. 107,131,132, &c. 14,6. SinJVorfe than the fuff Wings ywhich it producethy p. 1 3 1 , 1 3 2 , &c. p. 1 5 8, 1 5 9. How vile it makes wy p. 267. 26$* Subjefts, Their Obligations toobey Magiftrates tfpecially the Su- preaw, p. 233, 234, &c. Ad p. 258. SuffHngs, Hovt comforts, p. 160. &c. 164. 165. Synod, Its power y andproper woriy p. lyly&c.adp. 218, T Thankfgiving, Wherein it Confift$y p. 24. 25.70. Threats , In all times needfully p. 83. 84. &c *Two forts yunder oath, and word onlyy p. 108. lop, &c. Tongue, Of what Importance in Religion yp. 333.334, &c. Tradition, Vni'verfal the Rule for foods to make Canons by yp.2 14, ^ 2i5,C7V. Tranfubftantiation , When it be- gin* p. 358. 374. Impoflihle, 375-4*8. Vidtary, The End of it is to oblige, p#n. 27. 28. 29. Virgin , How Mary could need a Puri fiction, p. 27 2 . 273. 275. Univerfities,77w> ufey and abufey P. 337. 338. VV Wit, Being FnfanBifyed is Mif- eheivousyp. 338.33?. **te ft