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 Collection of Puritan Literature. 
 
 Division ^Sv^ 
 
 Section J...ST.0 I 
 
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RELIQVUE RALEIGHANJE, 
 
 BEING 
 
 DISCOURSES 
 
 S E RMO NS 
 
 O N 
 SEVERAL SUBJECTS. 
 
 ■ ■■■■ • ■ ■ ■> * 
 
 By the Reverend D r Walter 'Raleigh, Dean of Wells, and 
 Chaplain in Ordinary to His late iMajefty King Charles the Firffc 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed by J. Macocl^, for Jojeph Hmdntarfi, at the Black. 
 
 Bull in Comhilj over agamic, the Royal Exchange. M DC LXXIX. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/reliquOOrale 
 
A 
 
 BRIEF ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 AUTHOR. 
 
 IF the Reader be dejirdus to know who the Author 
 oftheje Vfcourfes was, he may be pleafed to take 
 this jhort, but true account, which 1 have from 
 thofe who Were well acquainted with him. He wasfecond 
 Son of Sir Care w Raleigh, a gentleman of an and* 
 mt Family in Devonfhire; defended, as appears by 
 a (jeneology I have in my bands, from John de Ra- 
 leigh, a great man in the time of William the Con* 
 cfueroirr, who flighted him in the i d year of his ^eign. 
 His Mother was the tf^eliB of Sir John Thynne of 
 Longleate in Wiltfhire, and Daughter of Sir Wil- 
 liam Wroughton , Vice- Admiral under Sir John' 
 Dudley {afterwards Duke of Northumberland) in 
 the expedition againfl the Scots, 1544. in: the latter 
 end of the ^eign of Henry the 8 ch . 
 
 Concerning both which perfons I fl?all forbear to fay 
 any thing - y becauje, if it be an honour to be. related to 
 
 A' 5 thofe: 
 
L.ii 
 
 ■109, 
 
 A brief Account of the Author. 
 
 thofe that are Great and Worthy, there is nothing great- 
 er of this kind, in my opinion, that can be faid of him, 
 than that he "pas Nefhew to the famous Sir Walter 
 * Antiqui- Raleigh : "fthom a late Author * hath honoured with 
 "err. oxon this Character, that He was greater than the ex- 
 F> amples of times pad, and the imitation of thofe 
 to come : Vohofe Hi/lory, I may add, which {as Ca- 
 iaubon, in his Preface to Polybius, [ayes a Hifiory 
 ought to be) is a kind of praBicd Thilofophy, will make 
 his name immortal among us. 
 
 The place and time of his Birth I cannot certainly 
 learn, nor where he was bred; till he came to Win- 
 chefter School : where he made fuch proficiency, that 
 he was ripe, I am informed, very early for the Univer* 
 fity. And being fent to Oxford was made a Qentle* 
 man Qommoner in Magdalen Colledg -, a famous Nur* 
 fery of many great men. jimong whom we fiould have 
 found, no doubt, this Doctor placed, in the late Anti- 
 quities of that Univerfity, had the fe Difcourfes come 
 out foon enough, to have given the Author of that work, 
 occafion to make a better inquiry after him, than it is in 
 my power to do. Who can learn nothing further of him 
 there, than that he was admired for his Dictations in 
 the Schools even ivhen he wm an Under-graduate 5 
 and having taken his Degrees of Batchelour and Mafier 
 of Arts, was made Junior of the publick ,AB : Dohich 
 fa performed with exceeding great applaufe. For be- 
 
 fide 
 
A brief Account of the Author. 
 
 fide the quicknejs of his witt, and ready elocution ; h: 
 leas majter of a Very ftrong reafon: which won him the 
 familiarity and friend ) hip of thoje great men, who were 
 the envy of the laft Age, and the wonder of this, the 
 Lord Falkland, Dr. Hammond, and Mr. Chilling- 
 worth. The laft of which was wont to fay (and no 
 yuan was a better Judge of it than himjelf) that. 
 Dr. Raleigh was th> beft Difyutant , that ever he 
 met withal. 
 
 And indeed there is a very great acutenejs eafdy to', be 
 obferved in his writings : which would haVe appeared 
 more if he had not been led, by the common nj'ice ofthofe 
 times, to imitate too far a Very eminent man, rather 
 than follow his own excellent Genius. A fault that 
 ought to be carefully avoided by thofe that fnidy Elo- 
 quence -, in eViry Kind of winch, as Quint ilian ob* 
 ferVes *, there is fomething which is common to all Elo- * l. x. in- 
 quence, id autem imitemur, quod commune sft>\ *! 
 and that alone is the thiw which ouvht to be imitated. 
 
 But in that way which he took, his Fame grew fey 
 great, that feveral of the Nobility ")Vere defirous to en- 
 tertain him into their Families.: And at laft William 
 Earl of Pembroke gained him for his Chaplain. With 
 whom he had not lived above- two years, befwe he became 
 his kmd Tatron; beftownig on. him a Very good Bene- 
 fice, in a plentiful Country, rffcChedzoy ia SomtYtei- 
 ktftiire. Where king filed he took t&Wifc a Dan -rhttr 
 
 t 
 
A brief Account of the Author. 
 
 of Sir Ralph Gibbs, Sifter to the Reverend Dr. 
 Charles Gibbs, one of the prefent Prebendaries of 
 St. Peters Weftminfter. (By whofe ajfeHionate care 
 And falxgence thefe Tapers were retrived and preferred 
 from perifbing : as a great many others are like to do ; 
 unlejs they, into whofe hands they are fain, will be fo kind 
 and juft as to fend them to him, or to the Bookfeller, or 
 undertake themfehes to give a faithful account of them to 
 the 'World. 
 
 Wlio will be glad, no doubt, to fee more of the fruits 
 of fo happy a brain, efpecially thofe of his Maturer 
 years. When he grew Famous at Court y as he had been 
 before in the Univerjity and Qountry ; and was made 
 Chaplain in Ordinary to f\ing Charles the Martyr. 
 Before whom fome of thefe Sermons were Treachedy 
 particularly that upon Matth. vi. 33. which it appears 
 by the Conclufion, was tfo laft Sermon His Majefty 
 heard before he began his Journey into Scotland. From 
 whence being returned, he beftoloed upon t1?e Dotrtor, 
 the Deanery of Wells : intending to confer farther fa- 
 vours on him, had not the unnatural War which pre- 
 fently after broke out, put an untimely end to both their 
 lives. 
 
 Never, I think, was any Nation fo diftraBed, and 
 perfectly be fide it felf, as this of ours in thofe miferable 
 times -, when they could not fee the happinefs they enjoyed 
 in fo excellent a Prince as God had fet over us, and in 
 
 fuch 
 
A brief Account of the Author. 
 
 fuch Twus and Learned Divines as be had about him : 
 
 afrainft whom they perpetually declaimed in the mojl abu* 
 
 the Language y deprived them of all their Eftates, and 
 
 at lafl barbaroufly Murdered jome of them, together 
 
 with their ^oyal Mafter. Such, 1 am fure, was the 
 
 fate of this DoHor ; who being fequeftered, and hurried 
 
 from one Vrifon to another, and Jltfi there immured, 
 
 Tbbere fever al ^rif oners dyed of the blague, was at lafl 
 
 fl?ut up in his own Houfe at Wells, Vohich they had 
 
 turned into a Gaol: and after he had efcaped the Teftt- 
 
 Imce in many places, Voas Vilamoufly Murdered by him, 
 
 who was appointed to be his peeper. The manner of it, 
 
 was thus : 
 
 The Committee of that Qounty coming to Jit at Wells, 
 the DoBor defired to be permitted to fyeak with them ; 
 hoping to gain fo much liberty as to go to Chedzoy to 
 his Wife and Children, in order to fettle fome affairs 
 which nearly concerned them. In which reafonable re* 
 cjueji meeting with a denial, though a Gentleman of a 
 thoufand pound a year offered to be bound for his return, 
 at the time they flwuld appoint him, he could not but ex* 
 poftulate the matter with them : and happened to fay, 
 among other things, it was Very hard that he JJ?ou!d be 
 refujed a courtejy from them which f ever al other perfons 
 obtained without them; who had liberty to <ro home, 
 fome for a week, fome for a month, when they pleafed. 
 Wlikb in flead of mollifying the Committee towards him, 
 
 a only 
 
A brief Account of the Author. 
 
 only fl?arjmed their anger towards the Cjaoler ; whom 
 they chid for his remifjnejs, and threatned to turn out 
 of bis place, if he took upon him any more to grant this 
 licence to any Trifoner. This rebuke Jluck in the feU 
 lows Jhmach • and the next morning entering into the 
 Doctors Chamber, when he was writing to his Wife, to 
 let her under ft and he could not procure leave to come and 
 jce her; he clapt hps hand upon the Taper, and de- 
 manded a fight of it. To which the Dofior fairly re- 
 plyed, that he fhould with all his heart, if he had any 
 authority from the Committee to require it : other wife he 
 might be fatisfed With his protejiation that it was no- 
 thing elfe but a Letter to his Wife, to acquaint her 
 with the denial the Committee had given him, m he 
 hieDo well enough already. Whereupon the Keeper be= 
 gan to endeavour to take it from him by force; but the 
 DoBor being too ftrong for him, wrefted it out of his 
 hands. Which being done, the fellow ftept back, drew his 
 Sword, ran it immediately into the good Mans Belly ; and 
 gave him an incurable Wound: of which though after a 
 few days, he dyed, his Murderer notwithflanding Was 
 fuffered to live. And <m the Author of a Book called 
 * Better Ruina Anglix * nnformes as, the Committee were fo 
 bipsby ±e little ajfe fled With the bufnejs, that afterwards they 
 wtnjfu turned the Doctors Wife and Children out of 
 £fw?47. doors i an ^ forced his Son to fly the Country, 
 for that he would have profecuted the Law a- 
 
 gainfl 
 
A brief Account of the Author. 
 
 gainft his Fathers Murderer, Whether that be ex* 
 aclly true or no, I am not able to fay ; but this may be 
 relied on (coming from an undoubted hand) that though 
 his Wife Trofecutcdhim tMro Affixes together, Jhe could 
 not get him brought to a Tryal : But fl?e falling fick 
 before the third came y and not able to attend it ; then 
 the fellow appeared and ivas acquitted ; there being no 
 body ready to make good the charge againjl him. 
 
 Thus fell this Excellent perfon ; in whofe writings I 
 bejeech all the Authors and Abetters of the late Confuji* 
 ons, Tbho ftill furvive, to fee what kind of men they 
 perfecuted in their blind rage : that it may be a warning 
 to them for ever, and they may give their Tofterity a 
 charge, to beware boD? they let looje the like furious paf 
 fion in time to come. By "tohtch \ as an unknown 
 Writer fyeaks concerning another of thofe Sufferers 
 (Dr. Stuart) they either robbed themlelves of 
 thole holy men, and means, which God in his 
 mercy had given them : or elle exchanged zpvo-ax, 
 2ctAK«cuj/ Gold for Counters, the Cherubins of 
 the Temple for the Calves of Bethel. 
 
 There was a monument, 1 have been told, defigned, 
 if not promifed, for the preferVation of his Memory. 
 But I think non this Book is all he is like to have ; 
 and it is the bejl perhaps that can be made for him, be- 
 caufe made by himfelf. Who was a Majler- workman 
 even in his Youth ; when fever al of thefe pieces, it is 
 
 a z evident, 
 
A brief Account of the Author. 
 
 evident , were compofed: And had been a far greater, 
 if he had not fain, as I J aid, into a way, wherein his 
 Majierly wit wasfo much confined, that at lajl he broke 
 out of it. As appears by his Dijcourfe of Oaths, which 
 is jirong and nervous, clear and judicious, as well as 
 full of fyirit and life : and may be fufficient to fhow 
 Tbhat he could have done , if he had jet himfelf to it, 
 in other Arguments , and handled them in the fame 
 manner, that the reft of his Friends before named did 
 thofe wherein they ivere engaged. 
 
 To which Friends of his, I J7?ould have added two 
 
 other Eminpit perfons ; one of which is dead alfo, the 
 
 late Earl of Clarendon Lord High Chancellour of 
 
 England; the other yet liv'ing y the ( J{ight Reverend 
 
 Father in God the prefent Lord Ttifrop of Winchefter. 
 
 Who was a great lover of this T>oEior, and flill pre* 
 
 ferVes, J am confident, fo Kind a remembrance of him, 
 
 that, if he had not wholly fequeftered himfelf to the 
 
 thoughts of another world y he might be eajily perfwaded 
 
 to bejloivfuch a Character of him, as no man now alive 
 
 but himfelf (who in a great old Age retains a marVeU 
 
 lorn Vivacity of fyirit, and foarpnefs of wit) is able to 
 
 give. 
 
 Inftead of which I have, thought good to conclude this 
 Treface with the following Epitaph which an Admirer 
 of his, in the other UriiVerfity, was pleafed to make for 
 him. 
 
 ELO- 
 
E L O G I U M 
 
 Viri Defideratifllmi Raleighet 
 
 Do&oris S. S. T. &c Decani Wellenfis : pro 
 
 Caufa Regis & Ecclefias a Cufto.de flio 
 
 mifere trucidati* 
 
 SI commune fygni buftum, unam reliquit lachrymam, 
 limns (qu<cfo} rore lachrymuU fiargito hos Cine- 
 Viator, (res, 
 Turn mentor Hofyitis Jul, hoc Mamwr extillabit alteram. 
 ]>{on hie Vdis harpago feB& neoteric & 
 ^ttus mducens noVosjveteres ut liguriret reditus: 
 Sed (jf{aleigheusjacet (0 nimis Verecundus lapis ! 
 Hicjacet Jpreta Majefias, T^pbilitas, Lex & Huma- 
 
 nitas) 
 Qm dum oppugnat dedecws hoc ultimum Mundi 
 Et dehrantis TS[atur£ informem Jobolem 
 
 SociaYit fuos cum patrut Cineribus. 
 Veriim , quot Qarceres honejiaYit prius ? cMagnum 
 
 ( Luminare 
 Quoties fub modio conclufum eft ? Tandem, jSlefas ! 
 Ektinftum a poteftate tenebrarum. 
 
 Vapta 
 
V aflat a Ecclefla, nequiit flare diutius 
 Hoc Templum Spiritus Sanfti: 
 Quifi tnfremuit Qarcerariusffu^icatus & Carcerem 
 
 Tali Hojfiite nunc iri confecratum. 
 Ergo eVaginavit gladium, t? ferri clctve Sacrilega 
 Jppermt, aut effregit fores 
 Emifitfy Captivum jam emeritum, 
 TerVagari per campos beat* lucis isr sterna prat a. 
 lino iBu duplici liber aYit cuflodia ; 
 Efuo & e corporis fui Ergaflulo. 
 Sic nempe Nofler hie 
 A carceribus tranfiens ad optatam metam 
 Cupiit diffohi & effe cum Chrifio. 
 
 Titles 
 
TiTLEsofthe SERMONS, with 
 
 their Order, Number, and Texts. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 A Difcourfe of Oaths. Folio I* 
 
 Jerem. iv. 2. 
 And thotijhdh Swear \ The Lordliveth^ in Truth, in Judg- 
 ment and m Right eoufnefs. 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 Of the Duty of Man. . fol. 47. 
 
 Ecckf xii. 13. 
 
 Let us hear the Conclusion of the whole mutter : Fear God, 
 and keep his Commandments. For this is the whole Du- 
 ty of Man. For God, &c 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 Of Chrift's coming to Judgment. fol 83. 
 
 Matt. xvL 27. 
 For the Son of Man JJjall come in the glory of his Father 
 
 with his Angels : And then he fhall reward every Ma?i 
 
 according to his werks. 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 Of the Original of Wars. foi 1 29* 
 
 James iv. 1. * 
 
 From whence come Wars, and Fightings among you 5 Come 
 they not hence, even of the Lujis that war in your Members ? 
 
 SERMON V, VI. 
 
 A Difcourfe of Election and Reprobation.^/. 15 1, 174. 
 
 Hofea xiii. 9. 
 Ijracl, thou hafi dejiroyed thy fclf but in w is thine help. 
 
 S E R M- 
 
SERMON VII. 
 
 The way to Happinefs. fol. 206. 
 
 Matt. vi. 33. 
 But feeh^ye firji the Kingdom of God and his Righteoujhejs, 
 and all theje things fiall be added unto you. 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 A Preparation for the Holy Communion. fol. 236. 
 
 1 Cor. xi. 28. 
 But let a Man examine himfelf andfo let him eat of that 
 Breads and drinh^ofthat Cup. 
 
 SERMON IX, X, XI. 
 On ChriftmaG day. fol 268, 295, 324. 
 
 I. on Luke ii. 10, 1 1. 
 
 And the Angel faid unto them. Fear not: for behold, I 
 bring you tydings of great joy which fiall be to all people. 
 
 For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savi- 
 our , which is Chriji the Lord. 
 
 II. on Gal. iv. 4, 5. 
 
 When the fulnefs of time to as come, God fent forth his Son, 
 made of a Woman, made under the Law : 
 
 That he might redeem them that are under the Law, that 
 we might receive the adoption of Sons. 
 
 III. on Efay liii. 8. 
 And who jhall declare his Generation ? 
 
 SERMON XII, Xin. 
 
 Two Funeral Sermons. fol 356, 384. 
 
 I. For the Mother, on Pfal. cxlii. verfe ult. 
 Bring my Soul out of Prifon, that I may give thanks unto 
 
 thy Name*? which thing if thou wilt grant me, thenfiall 
 
 the Righteous refirt unto my Company. 
 
 II. For the Daughter, on Rom. viii. 10. 
 
 And if Chrifi be in you, the Body is dead becanfe of Sin : 
 but the Spirit is life becaufe of Right eoufnefs. 
 
 A 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 O F 
 
 OATHS. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 Upon J e r. iv. 2. 
 
 jfnd thou jl alt /war, The Lordliveth, in Truth, 
 hi Judgment and in ^ighteoufnefs. 
 
 T Hough all Sins be dangerous unto the 
 Soul of man , and none fo fmall as may 
 be neglefted,fince a man may be choaked 
 under a heap ot Sand, as well as crufh- 
 ed to death by the fall of a Tower 5 
 yet the greater a fin is, and the more general it is grown, 
 the greater danger and more inevitable deftruftiondoth 
 attend it. And therefore it doth require ouj; chief 
 labour and diligence both to avoid fuch in our felves, 
 and to give the beft notice we can unto others of the 
 peril. By negligence the leaft Leak may drown the 
 
 B r Ship- 
 
A ^Difcourfe of Oath. 
 
 Ship : but the Pilot's fpecial care is of the Rock, on 
 which if his Veffcl fall, it certainly fplits. 
 
 Now of all the Sins wherennto the Corruption of 
 man is fubjeft, I think there is fcarce any fo -great and 
 fo common, fo great in it felf, and (b common in the 
 world, fo injurious unto the Majefty of God, and fo 
 frequent amongll the Sons of men, as the fin of Swear- 
 ing : The vain and irreverent ufing, rather abufing of 
 that Sacred Name in our ordinary fpeech, which if 
 well confidered we fhould tremble but to think on. 
 A fin which the Wife man tells us, will bring a Curfe 
 upon the houfe, where it is ufed 5 and it is no lefs likely 
 to bring a Curfe upon a whole Land and Nation 
 where it is univerfal. So that this impiety of all o- 
 ther, as it brings with it a greater and more general 
 danger : fo it calls for from all , efpecially from all us 
 whom it mod: concerns, a great and univerfal care: 
 All endeavours fhould run forth to the quenching of a 
 common fire. 
 
 It is indeed often galled and fnarply taxed from 
 fuch places as thefe, obvioufly and by the way: But 
 the point contains much, and will require a ftt dit 
 courfe of that and nothing elfe : for we cannot be 
 too induftrious againft a publick mifchicf For which 
 reafon I have now made it the fubjeft of my difcourfe, 
 as it is of this Verie : Wherein you have the whole Na- 
 ture and full doftrine of an Oath, i:nd how prepared, 
 it may be wholefome, which otherwife ufed is deadly 
 poifon. For an Oath is not fimply and utterly unlawful, 
 my Text fays, Thou fialt faear, but then it muft be 
 qualify ed with the due form and matter and manner: 
 The form muft be [_As the Lord Hvc:h7\ that is, in the 
 Na;me of the living Lord: The matter \Tfcuth and 
 Righteouftiefs :~\ the manner or modification \JJndg- 
 nttnt .*] Thou fialt, Sec. But 
 
ZJfon J e r. iv. verfe 2. 
 
 But before you may fully apprehend the divifion of 
 the Text, it will be requiltte that I fhew you fome 
 divifions of nn Oath, for there are divers forts. 
 
 There is a bare and fimple Oath rand there is an Oath, 
 mixt with a Curfe and execration. The bare and fim- 
 ple Oath, is only a plain and naked conteftation, where- 
 in we call God to witnefs of what we fay : The exe- 
 cutory, is, when we bind over and oblige either our 
 (elves or fomething dear unto us, unto fome notorious 
 punifhment, if fo be that be not true which we lay, as 
 whenonefwearsby his Life,Soul, Salvation, and the like. 
 
 Again there is an Oath wherein there is a manifeft 
 and exprefs affumptton of the Name of God , which 
 needs noinftance, we know it too well, by daily and 
 fearful example =, And there is an Oath wherein God is 
 called to record, tacitly and implicitly, under the Name 
 of thofe Creatures wherein his Glory doth efpecially 
 (hine and anpear : So he that fweareth by heaven, 
 fweareth both by heaven and by him that dwelleth 
 therein. And laftly, which is fpccially material, There 
 is an Oath Affertory, and an Oath Obligatory. Aflcr- 
 tory, when we affirm or deny any thing, paft or pre- 
 sent : Obligatory, when we promife or threaten fome- 
 thing to come. Which being obferved, you may eafily 
 make a tit Application of the three terms in my Text } 
 Truth, Judgment and Righteoufnefs: Truth unto an 
 afltrtory Oath : Righteoufnefs unto a promiflory : 
 Judgment and difcretion unto both 5 For which caufe 
 it is placed in the midft between both. For an AC- 
 fertory oath , muft be True, left we fwear falfly : A 
 Promidbry, Righteous, left we fwear to do unjuftly:, 
 and both with difcretion and judgment, left we fwear 
 lightly and rafhly. Thou Jl) alt fwear, &c. 
 
 So then we may in fome cafe fwear f, but the Oath 
 
 B 2 muft 
 
A Difeourfe of Oaths 
 
 rnuft have the right form, it muft be made in the name 
 of the Lord: And the due matter, in Truth if AC- 
 (ertory,in Righteoufnefs if Promiflory: And then in 
 a difcreet manner, with premeditation and judgment 
 in both. Wherein you fee, how we may fwear, and 
 how we may not (wear: In Truth, Judgment and 
 Righteoufnefs we may fwear .• but falfly,unjuftly, and 
 rafhly and vainly we may not fwear. Of thefe points 
 in their order, beginning with the firft, The Lawful- 
 nefs of an Oath, and that in cafe a man may fwear 3 
 Thoufoalt^ Sec. 
 
 i. There are not wanting fome and thofe even 
 amongft the Fathers themfelves, who have cenfured all 
 Oaths ( though permitted by the Law, yet ) as con- 
 demned by the Gofpel , which contains they (ay a 
 Doftrine of more than legal perfection : of this opi- 
 nion were St. Bafil? and Theo$hyla&, and it is the er- 
 ror of the Anabaptift unto this day. Others have 
 thought that an Oath may be lawful under the Go- 
 ipel, but then only before a Magiftrate, and when 
 it is required by fuch as have authority thereunto. But 
 the common and more general opinion both of the 
 Antient Fathers and Modern Divines is, that it is not 
 fimply unlawful for a private man to fwear, and in a 
 private aftion , when (bme urgent caufe, either the 
 honour and Glory of God , or (bme great good and 
 benefit of our Neighbour doth call for it at our hands 3 
 fince it is not the u(e of an Oath, but the abufe that 
 makes it evil : for that it is both lawful and good in 
 it (elf, in its own nature and kind, is evident, if we 
 confider either the original from whence it fprings, or 
 the end for which it was ordained. The original 
 is from Faith , and a faith of the knowledge, om- 
 nifcience and power of God, for it is grounded upon 
 
VponJ&R. iv.verfi 
 
 At 
 
 a perfuafion, that God underftands and knows whe- 
 ther we fpeak the Truth, and is able to take revenge 
 ot us if we fpeak otherwife: an oath being nothing 
 elfe but the calling of God for a witnefs of our fpeech, 
 and a Judge againft us if we fpeak untruly, for a fur- 
 ther Confirmation of fuch things as have no other hu- 
 mane witnefles or proofs. And the End is no lefs pro- 
 fitable than the Original Religious 5 for it is ordained 
 to no other purpote but to give an aflurance of the 
 Truth in queftion , and fo to determine diffentions 
 and controverfies among men, as the Author to the 
 Hebrews teftifies, for an Odth, faith he, is an end of 
 allftrife, Heb. vi. 1 6. For which reafons, efpecially 
 the firft, it is, that an Oath wherein God is confeffed 
 and acknowledged as an immutable and infallible Truth 
 in himfelf, fo a Judge and revenger of taKehood in 
 others, as being the only fearcher of the heart, that 
 alone can bring to light the fecrets that lie hid in the 
 Clofets thereof; for this caufe I fay, it is, that an Oath 
 if rightly performed, both is, and in Scripture is of- 
 ten accounted, as a part of the very fervice and wor- 
 fhip of God. And therefore in the vi. of Dent. 13. 
 it is fet down, fide by fide , with the fear and fervice 
 of the Lord, wherewith it is made but one Command- 
 ment, I'hoH JJjalt fear the Lord and fervc hh?/ y and 
 frvear by his Name. So Efay prophefying of the Vo- 
 cations of the Affyrians and Egyptians unto the fime 
 Covenant and woriliip of God with ifrae!^ exprefleth 
 it in theft terms, They flail til/pea^ the language of 
 Canaan^ and [wear in the Name of the Lord, as if the 
 fw.earing in his Nanw were a futficient profelling of 
 the Religion he commands, Eft. xix. 18. yea the very 
 Heathen themtelves did acknowledge it an honour due 
 only unto th~ Gods. 
 
 trtfens 
 
A Difcomfe ofVatbs 
 
 Prafens Divus habebitur 
 
 Auguftus, &C. 
 we honour thee Auguftus when thou art prefenta 
 God, erefting Altars whereon we (wear by thy Name. 
 So that an Oath is not only goc:l in it felf, but a fpe- 
 cial ASt of Religion , and therefore cannot be evil 
 unlefs irreligioufiy ufed. And though this religious 
 ufe be more evident and Solemn in Oaths that are pub- 
 lick, yet it may be no lefs truly though not ib mani- 
 feftly in others, that are private, if performed with a 
 due refpeft unto God, and out of a Charity to our 
 Neighbour; which is then done, wl reverent re- 
 fpeft unto God in him that makes the Oath, and the 
 utility of him whofe infirmity requires it, do meet to- 
 gether. And though the other have a ftronger founda- 
 tion by precept, yet this wants not evidence in Scrip- 
 ture, and frequency of example 5 for if the Oath be- 
 tween Abraham and Abimeleck^ were publick as is 
 pretended and is likely, yet that between Jacob and 
 Laban was certainly private. Boas was a private man, 
 and ye*- he confirms the promife of Marriage unto 
 Ruth with an Oaxh^RHth iii. 13. Obadiah was a private 
 man, yet a juft man and one that feared the Lord, as 
 the Text hath it, yet he fpared not to ftrengthen his 
 fpeech even unto the great Prophet Elias with an 
 Oath, As thy Soul Uveth^ &c. 1 King, xyiii. 10. A- 
 gain in the 2 King v. 16. the holy Prophet E///7^him- 
 felf fwears : in the 1 Cor. xv. and in divers other pla- 
 ces the holy Apoftle St. Paul fwears .• In the x. Apoc. 
 an Angel of heaven fwears .• yea s ad in many places 
 God himfelf fwears, and yet none of them required 
 unto it by a Superior that had authority over them. 
 And it hath as well evidence in Scripture as example. 
 For there is no fufficient reafon why that teftimony of 
 
 St. Paul 
 
ZJpon J e r. iv. verfe 2. 7 
 
 St, Paul unto the. Hebrews (fcould be retrained unto 
 publick Oaths.- And it cannot he , but that my Text 
 rnift extend it fclf unto fuch as are private, and if it 
 did not, yet that in the xv. rfalm is without queftion, 
 where he that fwears unto his Neighbour and difap- 
 points him not, is faid to be the man that (hall dwell in 
 the Tabernacle of God, which no man can doubt to 
 be fpoken of a private oath. 
 
 But leaving thofe that acknowledge publick Oaths 
 and deny private , let us come unto thofe that con- 
 demn both, both publick and private 5 the ufe whereof 
 they confels was tolerated under the Law, vrfiich now 
 they conceive as wholly abolifhed by the Coming of 
 the Gofpel. The foundation and only ftrength of 
 which opinion is grounded wholly upon that fpeech of 
 our Saviour, Mdtth, v. Tou have heard it hath been 
 faid by them of old, Thou J/jalt not forfwear thy felf 
 but J/jalt perform unto the Lord thine Oath, But I 
 fay unto yon, Swear not at all, neither by Heaven, for 
 it is Gods throne; neither by the Earth, for it is his 
 footflool, 8tc. But let your communication be yea, 
 yea, nay, nay? for rvhatfoever is more than thefe 
 cometh of Evil $ from whence they infer a double 
 Argument; the one from <:he Inhibition, the other 
 from the reifon of it. The inhibition is general (Non 
 jura bis omnino) fivear net at all : and the reafon is 
 as univerfal, laying the ftain of evil upon all others 
 equally without difference or diftin&ion of any, for 
 rrhatfoever is more than yea and nay, cometh of evil 5 
 The place feens to be very ftrong for them , and fure 
 is not without fome difficulty 3 from which that we 
 may the earlier free it, we mull: (peak lbmething of 
 both : But firft of the Inhibition , and then of the 
 reafon. 
 
 And 
 
8 A Difcowfe of Oaths 
 
 And firft we are to confider that there are many 
 paffages of Scripture fet down in general and univer- 
 lal terms, which notwithftanding have not fimply and 
 abfolutely an univerfal fence, but univerfal in a certain 
 kind. What can be more generally pronounced than 
 that in the P faints ? God looked down from Heaven up- 
 on the Sons of mm to fee if there were any that 
 would feek, after him, and behold they were all gone 
 afiray, they were altogether become abominable, there 
 was none that did good, no not one. And yet not- 
 withftanding in the fame Pfalm we find another fort 
 of people clean oppofite unto thefe, whom God terms 
 his own people, btcaufe they faithfully ferved hitn % 
 a people therefore whom thofe wicked ones could 
 not endure but fought to deftroy and utterly devour, 
 eating up my people as it were bread. So that the for- 
 mer paffage cannot be underftood fimply of all the 
 Sons of men whatfoever, but only of all in a certain 
 kind , of all the Sons of men who were only the 
 fons of men, and not by the fpirit of Regeneration 
 become alfo the Sons of God. In which fence the 
 Apoftle St. Paul in the beginning of his Epiftle to the 
 Romans, ere he feeks to infer the neceffity of the 
 Gofpel, doth apply it to (hew that all men are na- 
 turally evil and deprived of the glory of God, and 
 therefore ftand in need of the Grace of Chrift that 
 they might attain unto it. In like manner it is faid 
 in another place, Omne Animal in Area Not, that 
 every Creature was in Noahs Ark, which notwith- 
 ftanding cannot be verified of every Creature, but of 
 one of all forts and kinds of Creatures , and not of 
 thofe abfolutely neither, but of all kinds that could 
 not live in the waters, for there were no Fifties there. 
 It were eafy to give you inftance in many more, but 
 thefe may fuffice. Now 
 
Vpon J e r. iv. verfe 2. 
 
 Now that in this place, this Inhibition here is of the 
 like nature, though abfolute in terms, yet not in fence, 
 reftraining Oaths, but yet not all without limitation or 
 diftincYton, is manifeftboth by the letter of the Scripture 
 and the example of St. Paul that writ it, and the per- 
 petual prafticeof all Churches fince.TheText of Scrip- 
 ture is that before cited in the 6. to the Hebrewf^where 
 St. Paul doth not only approve and allow of an Oath 
 now under the Gofpcl, but fets it down as a principal 
 remedy for the eftablifhing of peace, and diflolving of 
 quarrels and difcords amongft men, if fo be that St. 
 Paul were the Author of that Epiftle as is mod com- 
 monly held, (though it be not greatly material whe- 
 ther he were or no 5 for it skills not much who was 
 the Pen, where it is confeft by all that the Holy Ghoft 
 was the Writer. ) And if he were not the Author of 
 the Doftrine, yet he doth elfewhere frequently main- 
 tain it by his own praftice and example, often confirm- 
 ing his fpeecheseven in his holy writings,fometimeswith 
 a bare and fimple Oath,as Rom. i. 9. God is my witnefs % 
 rvhom I ferve in the Spirit, &c. Sometimes even with 
 an execratory mixed with imprecations, as (Tefiem in- 
 voco Deum in Animam meam ) I call God for a re- 
 cord upon my Soul, 2 Cor. i. 23. and in divers other 
 places. Now who can imagine that bleffed Apoftle either 
 io ignorant or lb evil, as not to underftand the pre- 
 cepts of Chnft, or elfe fo often to difobey them, efpe- 
 cially in thofe holy pages and facred inftruftionsof the 
 whole Church, wherein he was but the quill or at 
 mofr the Scribe unto the blefled Spirit that did dictate 
 and indite them ? Whereunto if we add the confent 
 of all famous Churches from that Apoftles time unto 
 this very day, not only approving, but in divers cafes 
 even requiring of an Oath, it will be more than abun- 
 
 C dantly 
 
I o A ^Difcourfe of Oaths 
 
 dandy manifeft, that that fpeech of our Saviour is not 
 fo absolutely Univerfal as to be received without all 
 limitation, and reftraint 3 only the difficulty is, unto 
 what kind of Oaths it ought to be reftrained. For 
 even they that confent unto a limitation, as the moft 
 of the Fathers do, yet they do not confent in the 
 fpecialty whereunto it is to be limited. Some con- 
 ceive that our Saviour doth here prohibit not thofe 
 Oaths that are made in the Name of God , but fuch 
 only as are fworn by fome of his creatures : for which 
 caufe, after the inhibition [_Swear not at all~] he im- 
 mediately infers, neither by heaven for it is his Throne, 
 neither by the Earth, for it is his Footjiool } of this 
 opinion was St. Hilary jjez and St. Hierom^ Confider 
 faith he, (upon this place) that our Saviour doth not 
 here forbid men to fwear by the Lord, but by the Hea- 
 ven, the Earth, Jcrufalem and his head. But this 
 Commentary feems to fail, becaufe the afluming of a 
 Creatures Name in an Oath is not utterly unlawful, 
 (as you (hall hear when we come to it) asalfofor 
 that the words of our Saviour tying up our fpeech un- 
 to yea, yea, nay, nay 5 and afterwards that whatfoever 
 is more proceeth from evill ', doth clearly exclude 
 all forms of Oaths promifcuoudy as well thofe in the 
 name of the Creator,as thole by the name of a Creature. 
 Others are of opinion, that the words are to be re- 
 ftrained unto all faife Oaths , taking jurarc for peje- 
 rare, fwearing for forfwearing} To whom if youob- 
 jeft that according unto this exposition, nothing is ad- 
 ded by our Saviour about that which was faid unto 
 them of old, if /wear not at all^ be no more than 
 thou ffialt not for fwear thy felf ; They anfwer, yes 
 that there is, becaufe the Lord in the latter part doth 
 forbid all kind of forfwearing, even that by the Crea- 
 tures 
 
ZJpon J e r. iv. verfe 2. 11 
 
 tures fpecified in heaven, earth, Jerufalem and the 
 head, which the Jews did not conceive to be forbid- 
 den of all, for they had a Tradition which they fuck- 
 ed from thePharifees,that there were certain Creatures, 
 by whom if they made their Oath, they did not ftand 
 bound to perform it.Itistrue indeed that fuch a Traditi- 
 on they had which made a diftin&ion of Creatures in 
 this kind.as of the Temple,and the gold of the Temple, 
 the Altar and the gift on the Altar, affirming that to 
 (wear by the one was nothing, but he that fware by 
 the other was a debtor 5 which our Saviour in the 23 
 of this Evangelift doth both mention and refel, and 
 not without indignation. But it feems not to be his 
 intent here, both becaufe, yea and yea, and nay and * 
 nay, doth debar all fwearing as well as forfwearing 5 
 as alio for that our Saviour doth purpofely alter the 
 firft word, forfwearing, into fwearing, to (hew and 
 fignify that he underftands an Oath as it differs from 
 Perjury.AndyetSt.^«/?/# himfelf Qib,de Sermon. Do- 
 mini Cap. 1 7.) did fometimes give this Interpretation. 
 Others again ( as St. Bernard, and Chrijiianus Duth- 
 minus that lived long before him)upon this place defire 
 to have itefteemed rather for a Counfel than a Mandate, 
 aCounfel of extraordinary perfe&ion rather than a 
 Mandate of neceilary duty, wherein he that fails doth 
 not fin, though he that obferves it doth the better. 
 But neither may this fatisfy, for it is clear that our 
 Saviour doth prohibit fomething which the Scribes 
 and Pharifees thought to be lawful : Neither is it likely 
 that St. Paul whom we find often fwearing in his E- 
 piftles, would neglect the Counfel of Chrift, when 
 he ought to give example of perfeftion unto others. 
 But St. James puts it out of all quefl:ion,who repeating 
 thofe very words of our Saviour, he lo repeats them 
 
 C 2 as 
 
12 
 
 A Difcourfe of Oaths 
 
 as a Mandate and Commandment, as he makes dam- 
 nation a punifhment of the breach : for, where Chrift 
 fays, let your fpeech be yeayea^ and nay nay^ for rvhat- 
 foever if ixore comet h of evil ^ he to (hew that this 
 evil is fin, and a fin that deferveth death, doth para- 
 phrafe it thus, let your fpeech be yea> yea^and nay, nay, 
 left you fall into Condemnation : No counfel there- 
 fore, James v. But not to hold you any longer with 
 feveral and erroneous opinions, They feem to make 
 the beft interpretation, that reftrain this prohibition 
 unto the idle, trivial and cuftomary Oaths of common 
 fpeech,which the Lord did forbid, as well as unjuft and 
 falfe Oaths in weighty matters 5 though the Scribes 
 and Pharifees and fubtile Gloffes had corrupted it 5 for 
 they had a Tradition, as appears by Philo in the begin- 
 ning of his Book , that in leffer and fmaller matters 
 they were not to (wear by the name of the immortal 
 God but by fome of his Creatures, fuppofing that 
 though they fware never fo idly by them, yet they 
 were free from any breach of the Law , fince they 
 took not the name of their God in vain, which that 
 did forbid. And therefore fo long as they fware truly, 
 they cared not for fwearing lightly and frequently, fo 
 it was not by the Lord himfelf, but by fome of his 
 works. Our Saviour therefore, feeking in this place 
 not to inlarge the Law, but to free it from thofe de- 
 pravations and corrupt comments of the Pharifees, 
 fhews them that they were to refrain as well from 
 fwearing raftily and undoubtedly idly, as falfly : As alfb 
 that they are no lefs guilty of the vain abufe of his 
 name, who fwearby it obliquely and covertly under the 
 Creatures, than thofe that affume it direftly and plain- 
 ly in a proper appellation, fince there is not any work 
 or workmanfhip of his whereon he hath not in fome 
 
 fort 
 
ZJpon J e r. iv. verfe r. 13 
 
 . « — 
 
 fort as it were ingraven himfelf and his Name 3 All of 
 them from his Throne unto his Footftool being either 
 pledges of his favour,or illustrations of his power and 
 glory, if not both 5 fo that Oaths made by them do 
 reach home even unto himfelf, vvhofe they arc, and 
 whofe greateft Attributes of Glory and Goodnefs they 
 do plainly fet forth. And therefore the fenfe is, Swear 
 not ufually and vainly at all, that is, with no kind of 
 Oath, neither by heaven nor Earth nor any thing elfe 
 whether Creature or Creator, for the word (oA»*at 
 all) doth not fo much relate unto [wear not that goes 
 before, as unto thofe feveral forms of fwearing that 
 follow after, and therefore doth not exclude all Cafes 
 wherein an Oath may be required, but all forms which 
 for difference and diftinftion the Pharifees had inven- 
 ted, as (hewing that no forms or titles may juftify an 
 Oath that in it felf is vain and unnecellary. And this 
 is the expofition of Mr. Calvin (lib. 2. Inft. c. 8. J 
 refer Martyr and divers learned men befides, and it 
 agrees well with that interpetation of St. Anftin (in 
 his Bookie Mcndacio) where he fays, We are not fo 
 much forbidden by this place, to fwear, as to love, • 
 affeft and delight in theufeof fwearing 3 And indeed 
 that which our Saviour add-, Let your Communica- 
 tion be yea, yea, and my-, nay, plainly (hews that he 
 relates unto the frequent and affefted Oaths of daily 
 and familiar difcourfe. And thus much of the Inhi- 
 bition, which rightly underftood, you fee, concludes 
 nothing for the objectors. 
 
 Now one word of the reafon of it, Qfor rvhatfo- 
 ever is wore than thefe^ to wit yea and njy^ cometh 
 of Evil ) And I think this will conclude as little. 
 St.JuJi/n (de Serm. Domini) doth interpret this Evil 
 from whence an Oath doth proceed, to be the infir- 
 
 mitv 
 
14 A Difcourfe of Oaths 
 
 mity and incredulity of Others, which though it be 
 not a fin yet it is evil, and as the effeft of fin, fo the 
 caufe of fwearing 5 for no man (hould need an Oath, 
 if another would believe his word. And after the 
 fame manner doth Innocentius the %d. expound it, 
 de Jhrejurando* A malo eji> fed non tarn culp£ qnam 
 fcen£i nee exhibentium fed ex'tgentium Jur amentum^ 
 It is from Evil, faith he, but the evil not of offence 
 but of punifliment, neither the evil of him that exhi- 
 bits the Oath, but of him that exa&s it. Others again, 
 otherwife, A malo, hoc eft, a mendacio, from evil (ay 
 they, that is from evil deceit and lying 3 for if the lips 
 of men were not fubjeft to falfhood, no man would 
 require an Oath for the afliirance of the Truth. 
 
 Chryfoji. Euthytnius, Theophylatt, do render ex, rS 
 njrovnpvy not from evil, but from the evil one, the evil 
 one by an Antonomafie^ that is the Devil, becaufe as 
 fome render the reafon,the Devil firft brought in fin,and 
 fin firft occafioned an Oath, fince in the ftate of In- 
 nocency, where there could be no fufpicion, there 
 needed alfo no confirmation of any mans fpeech. But all 
 thefe Interpretations though they are true in them- 
 '(elves, yet they are not pertinent to the place : Firft 
 becaufe they concern alj Oaths, for there is none fo 
 goefd and lawful but in thefe fenfes proceed from evil. 
 2, Becaufe they place the evil from whence the Oath 
 doth proceed, not in him that fwears, but in him to 
 whom the Oath is made 5 whereas our Saviour doth 
 not reftrain all Oaths promifcuoufly, (as is proved al- 
 ready) but only fome, becaufe they proceed from evil, 
 which could be no fufficient reafbn of the reftraint : 
 neither, if confeft, that evil be an offence, and an of- 
 fence not of another but of the fwearer himfelf $ for 
 if fuch a general and occafionary original from evil 
 
 were 
 
Vpn J e r. iv. zierfe 2. 15 
 
 were fufficient ground for a prohibition, we might as 
 well be forbidden to believe in Chrift, or repent from 
 dead work ; fince if fin had not entred into the 
 world, there had never been any ufe either of fuch 
 faith or repentance. And therefore I rather like 
 Abulenfts Commentary, A malo eft Jur amentum, id 
 eft malum eft, the Oath here forbidden is fo from 
 Evil and the evil one, as it is evil it felf 5 and fo evil 
 as it deferves condemnation, faith St. James 5 for Chrift 
 here fpeaks only of irreverent and unneceilary Oaths, 
 Qua & mala Junt , & a malo Yeccatorc &> ore pro- 
 ficifcuntur, which are both evil, and proceed from 
 the evil mouth of an evil (inner, ((kith Barradius.) 
 Neither doth this any way prejudice our caufe, for 
 tphatfoever^he Term of Univerfality herein the Reafon 
 will help them as little , as the [_ not at all~\ hath done 
 in the precept, which is not at all, for they mult be 
 both convcrfant about the fame matter, and therefore 
 as that doth reftrain, fo this doth condemn only vain 
 and fuperfluous fwearing 3 fo that the whole fence is 
 only this : 
 
 Swear not idly and vainly in any form whatfoever ; 
 for whatfoever is more than yea and nay in your daily 
 and ordinary communication proceedeth from evil: 
 So that both do leave room for the moderate and cha- 
 ritable ufe of an Oath when any urgent and neceffary 
 paufe, as the benefit of our Neighbour, the Church or 
 Commonwealth do require it 5 fo that the Gofpel 
 you fee doth not thwart with the Law, and fivear 
 not at all, in the one, if rightly underftood, doth not 
 hinder but that there may be neceffaf y Caufe, wherein 
 we may fay Thcufialt Jwear^ with the other, that in- 
 hibition of idle Oaths no way deftroying this precept 
 of fuch asare ferious and requiiite ; but as they are great 
 
 fins. 
 
1 6 A Difcomfe of Oaths 
 
 fins, fo thefe may be holy fervices, and a man may 
 as well offend againft Charity in omitting thefe,' as fin 
 againft God in committing the other. And therefore 
 it ftill remains firm and unfhaken, Jttrabts, Thonfijalt 
 fwear, &c. 
 
 Well then, fometimes it may be Lawful for us to fwear} 
 but yet as we may not (wear in all cafes, fo neither 
 under all forms, But thoufljatt fwear, The Lord liveth, 
 that is,only in the Name of the living Lord 3 And the 
 reafon of it is evident, by that which hath been (aid 
 already •:, for fince an Oath is an Aft of religious wor- 
 fhip, as containing in it a tacit acknowledgment of 
 the infallibility and verity, omnifciency and omnipo- 
 tency of him whom we make the witnefs and the Judge 
 of the otherwife unknown Truth and falfhood of our 
 fpeeches, it muft needs be an honour due only unto the 
 alfeeing and ever-living God, to whom alone thofe At- 
 tributes are proper 5 And cannot but be direct and 
 grofs Idolatry to communicate it unto any thing elfe. 
 And fo God himfelf doth ever interpret it as a mani- 
 feft defection from himfelf} Filii tni dereliquerunt 
 me, Your fons have forfaken me, faith God in the Pro- 
 phet, and they fwear in the Name of thofe that are 
 not Gods, Jer. v. 7. The greatnefs of which crime he 
 doth elfewhere aggravate, by declaring the punifh- 
 ment, Perdam eos, I will deftroy them that fwear in 
 the name of the Lord and of Alalchaw, Zefhany i. 5. 
 But this point, thefwearingin the name of falfe Gods, 
 is fo grofs in it felf and fo frequently forbid in the 
 (cripture, as we (hall not need to difeourfe any farther 
 of it. Only I vvift note two things out of St. Auftin^ 
 and fo pafs from thence unto fwearing by the Crea- 
 ture. The firft is, that it is not (imply unlawful to re- 
 ceive an Oath of him that fwears in the name of falfe 
 
 Gods, 
 
ZXfon J e r. iv. verfe 2. 17 
 
 Gods, if juft neceffity doth exaft it, and he acknowledge 
 not the true God of whom it is exa&ed ^ as when a Chri- 
 ftian King confirms a League or Peace or any other bufinefs 
 of high importance with a Prince that is an Infidel : This 
 St. Aujiin doth exprefsly affirm in his 1 54 Epiftle, where 
 he doth not doubt neither but it might be confirmed by 
 examples out of the Scripture, as by thofe Covenants 
 which ifaac and Jacob made with Abivteleckmd Laban 
 who were Idolaters, and that by an Oath on either fide 
 given and received } though I fee not how thefe may justi- 
 fy the point, for though AbimcUch and Laban were I- 
 dohters, yet they acknowledged the true God, and in 
 thofe Covenants feem to fwear by his Name 3 And there- 
 fore I rather think that of Judas Maccabeus with the 
 Romans might be more pertinent to the matter. The 
 fecond is, That they which fwear falfly by falfe Gods,not- 
 withftanding both are and are taken and punifhed too 
 for Perjurers by the true God, whether it be done by 
 thofe that do not acknowledge him, or others that do \ 
 for even fome Chriftians of the Primitive times when they 
 meant to deceive the unbelievers with whom they lived, 
 that they might the better do it and with the left fin, 
 would fwear by their Gods, as taking it for nothing to 
 fwear falfly by thofe Idols which they knew to be no- 
 thing, whom St. Aujlin, Epift. 154. doth finely refell, 
 (hewing that inftead of leilening the fin they double the 
 crime, bis utiquepeccat^iov fuch a one,faith he^fins twice, 
 Sluia & juravit per quos non debuit, & contra pollici* 
 tarn fecit fidem quod non debuit .• firft in fwearing by 
 that which he ought not to worfhip, and then in break- 
 ing his faith which he ought to have kept $ And God 
 will alluredly punifh both, Non audit te Lipis loqitentunt, 
 fed punit te Dewt faUcntem, for the ftone doth not hear 
 thee by whom thou fweareft, yet that God will take ven- 
 geance of thee who iecs thy deceit, (faith the fame Fa- 
 
 D therj 
 
1 8 A&ifcourfe of Oaths 
 
 ther.)And he feems to have learnt both out of the Wifdom 
 of SolomoitfNho fays the fameofgrofs Idolaters that fwear 
 by the Idols which they worftip 5 for faith the Author 
 of that Book , In as much as their truji is in Idols that 
 have no life, though they fwear faljly yet they Ucl^not 
 to be hurt : but for both cavfs J/jali they be jujily fit- 
 nifoed 3 both becaufe they thought not well of God gi- 
 ving heed unto Idols, and alfo unjuftly fware in de- 
 ceit defpifing holinefs Wifdom xiv. 28, 29, 30. 
 
 But I leave the ftlfe Gods, and come unto Works and 
 Creatures of the living God j for though thetv be no 
 doubt, but the Oaths made in the name of them are fin- 
 ful and Idolatrous, yet it is much queftioned whether a 
 man may lawfully fwear by thefe 5 and there want not 
 great and learned men that affirm and maintain it too, and 
 I allure my felf very rightly : for he fhould aflume too 
 much boldnefs and referve too little Charity to himfelf 
 that durft cenfure and condemn others for irreligious, 
 even all thofe holy men of God whom we find in the 
 Scripture to have fworn by his Creatures 3 both before, 
 under, and after the Law. Before the Law Jacob fware 
 by the fear of his Father ifaac , which if it may be taken 
 objeBive for the God whom he feared, yet that ofjofeph 
 cannot, who fwore by the life of Pharaoh. Under the 
 Law examples are many, As thy foul liveth, faith devout 
 Anna unto Eli the Priefl: : So (aid Obadiah unto Zlias 
 the Prophet : and fo Eiifia the fame unto the fame Pro- 
 phet, and that three times in one Chapter for failing: 
 And I pro t eft by your, or our rejocing (as fome read it) 
 / die daily, faith St. Paul under the Gofpel, I Cor. xv. 
 and many good Chnftians even unto this day (wear by 
 the Evangel, body of Chrift, their own faith, foul and the 
 like 5 and it were hard to condemn them all, as fome do, 
 which had they but obferved that diftin&ion of Aquinas 
 and other Schoolmen, they would not have done , for 
 
 an 
 
Vpn J e r. iv. verfe 2. 19 
 
 an Oath, faith he, made in the Name of a Creature may 
 have a threefold rcfpcct. The firft is, when a Creature is 
 called for a witncfs, fimply confidered as it is in it felf, 
 without any further relation unto the Creator, and this 
 is ever finful and Idolatrous, as attibuting a Divinity unto 
 that which hath it not. The fecond is, when the Crea- 
 ture is called upon, not as confidered in it felf, but with a 
 refpeft and reference unto that God whofe goodnefs or 
 glory is manifefted in it,which though it be in all Creatures, 
 yet it is more confpicuous and eminent in lome 5 and this 
 may be done without any fin : for though the Creature 
 be only named, yet thus taken, it is not the Creature, 
 but that God whofe favour or power we honour in it, 
 that is called for the witnefs, as the Mafter of the Sen- 
 tences doth interpret it,nay as our Saviour himfelf doth ex- 
 pound: who for this very reafon inthexxiii. of Matthew 
 doth plainly affirm, that whofoewcr five are th by the Tem- 
 ple, fweareth both by it and by him that dwelleth there- 
 in 5 and w ho joever fweareth by heaven, fweareth by the 
 Throne of God and by him that (itteth thereon 5 And 
 after the felf fame manner, that Oath by the foul of ano- 
 ther (as thy foul liveth) fo frequent amongft the holy 
 men under the Law is to be received, for they fware not 
 by the foul alone but by that God whofe image andliknefs 
 it is, for fo it is to be underftood, As thy foul liveth by the 
 power and providence of him that firft made it to his 
 likenefs and doth ftill preleve it by his mercy. The 
 Third and laft is, when a man names a Creature in an 
 Oach, not as fwearing by it but as expofing it by way 
 of imprecation unto the judgment of that God who is the 
 true witnefs of his fpeech, which is the execratory Oath 
 touched in the beginning 5 fo when a man fwears by his 
 own Soul, it is not meant as if that were called to the re- 
 cord of that he fpcaks, but as pledging and pawning un- 
 to God the welfare and Salvation of it upon the truth of 
 his fpeech. D 2 And 
 
2o A Dtfcourfe of Oaths 
 
 And therefore he that (wears by his Soul, doth in ab- 
 brevation fay no other than what St. Paul did in plain 
 and full terms, J call God to record upon my Soul, for 
 that is the meaning of it, and both the meaning and ex- 
 ample are ftrong proofs that it cannot be fimply under- 
 ftood. Now that other of Jofeph (by the life of Pha- 
 raoh) may be underftood both thefe ways 3 for either he 
 calls that God to witnefs whofe judgment by the mini- 
 ftry of Pharaoh was executed upon Earth 5 or elfe by 
 way of imprecation, he doth upon the truth of thefpeech 
 appignorate unto God the health and fafety of Pharaoh 
 as a thing of all other moft dear unto him. The Mafter 
 of the Sentences is for the firft, and others for the latter 3 
 both may be good, but this in the Text the more proba- 
 ble. So then there may be divers forms wherein the 
 Creature is named, and yet the Oath made only by the 
 Creator 3 for he doth ftill fwear by him, that (wears by 
 any excellent work or mercy of his, with reference to 
 him 5 in which fort, he that (ays (as thy Soul liveth) 
 doth at the fame time and in the fame words fwear as my 
 Text requires, As the Lord liveth^ for the full (en(e and 
 meaning is, as the Lord liveth by whom thy Soul hath 
 life. And though peradvcnture it may be better when 
 juft occafion doth require an Oath, to make it clearly 
 and exprefsly in the Name of the Lord? yet the inter- 
 pretation of our Saviour and the examples of fo many 
 holy men , do forbid us utterly to condemn all fuch as 
 do but implicitely call him to record under his Creatures. 
 And fure if they want not other neceflary conditions of an 
 Oath, they will hardly be believed for this, the form will 
 free it fclf, if they want not the right manner and matter, 
 if they be performed in truth,judgment and righteoufneft, 
 the qualities and infeparable companions of a lawful 
 Oath, which now come to be confidered in their order, 
 and firftof the firft, Jurabjs in Veritate, Thou Jlxalt facar 
 The Lord liveth in Truth. From 
 
Vfon J e r. iv. verfe ?. 21 
 
 From the Form we come unto the Matter, and having 
 (cen in whole Name an Oath is to be made, we are now 
 to confider with what Conditions it is to be qualified j 
 And they are but three, in all whereof Truth hath the 
 firft place} and moft defervedly,fince nothing is (o oppo- 
 fite to the very nature and eilence of an Oath as falfhood : 
 for the Perfon whofe name in an Oath is affumed, is the 
 God of truth 5 the end for which an Oath it felf was or- 
 dained, is the confirmation of truth ; and the perjurer by 
 difhonouringthat and fruftrating this abufeth both often- 
 times to the hurt and damage of his Neighbour, but ever 
 unto the great prejudice of his Creator. And therefore the 
 Egyptians (faith Diodorus Siculus,) did ever punifh the 
 perjurer with death, whereof they efteemed him twice 
 worthy, ut & qui pi et at em in deos violaret, & fidem 
 inter homines t oiler et, maximum Societal is vinculum, 
 as one that did both violate his piety to God, and his 
 faith to men, the greateft bond of Society. 
 
 But to omit thefe injurious effefts of a falfe Oath unto 
 man as depriving him fometimes of his Credit, good name, 
 and reputation,and fometimes even of his Goods and Life 
 too 5 do but only fee and confider how impious it is a- 
 gainft God, and how infinitely he fins that (hall call him, 
 who is not only true, but truth it (elf, to teftify his falf- 
 hoods, and (b, as far as in him is, make him a Lyar like 
 himfclf} for as Ejiius fays, in lib. *.fent. difi. 39. 5, 6. 
 §>ui fa I Jam jurat, quantum in ft eji Deum facit vcl men- 
 da cem vel ignorant em, he that lwears falfly, as much as in 
 him lies makes God either ignorant or a liar. Falfhood is 
 ever vile and odious in it felf, but when it is fattened up- 
 on God, when we teach our own Inventions (thofe fpu- 
 nous brats and baftards of our own Brain,) to call him 
 Father,it muft needs be deteftable. For wecloath him with 
 the Attribute of the Devil who is properly a liar and the 
 Father of lies, Job. viii. And therefore even we our (elves, 
 
 though 
 
22 A Difcowfe of Oath. 
 
 though we be all liars, yet we cannot endure to hear it, 
 and when we do, nothing can (Itisfie but his blood that 
 tells us fo, though never fo truly 5 How then, may we 
 think, and with what indignation will God receive it, 
 when they are fo unjuftly pinned and ftuck upon him, 
 who hates a lie more than we can love our (elves ? And 
 with what feverity may we imagin he will revenge it > 
 what reward wrll he give unto fuch a falfe Tongue, but 
 (harp Arrows and hot burning Coles at the leaft, even 
 thofe Arrows in Job , the Arrows of Gods wrath, the 
 venom whereof drink up the fpirits of him in whom they 
 ftick : and thofe Coles or rather Flames of St. jf ohn^ for 
 all liars, faith ht^fiall have their fart in the lake that 
 burneth with jjre and brimjlone^ Rev. xxi. 8. And if all 
 Liars have a part, then how great a portion will be affigned 
 to the Perjurers?for if God will not hold him guiltlefs that 
 ufeth his holy Name but vainly, how (hall his guilt mul- 
 tiply and his Sin become exceeding finful that doth abufe it 
 falfly ? and if he will deftroy thofe that do but (peak out 
 their lies (as it is in the v. Pfalm) ThonJIialt dejlroy thofe 
 that fpeak^ Leafing^ how great (hall their deftruftion be 
 that fear not to fwear them out and uphold them by the 
 holinefi of his name ? Certainly (o great, as I think the 
 depth and bottom of Hell doth not know any greater} 
 for I aflure my felf that neither the Idolatrous Gentile, 
 nor the unbelieving Atheift (hall lie lower in that Pit of 
 everlafting horror than the contemptuous Perjurer 3 for 
 the one doth wor(hip no God, the other a falfe God, but 
 this makes a falfe witnefi of the true God : his Sin is Infi- 
 delity, the others Idolatry, but this man's is not without 
 blafphemy, which is worfethan either 3 for it may wor- 
 thily be efteemed a lefs Crime to acknowledge any thing 
 for God, yea or not to acknowledge any God at all, than 
 to be contemptuous and injurious unto the God which 
 we acknowledge. 
 
 And 
 
Vpn J e r. iv. verfi 2. 23 
 
 And as their Sin is greater, fo (hall be their punifhment 
 in that laft and fearful day when-God whom at their pleafure 
 they have here made a falfe vvitnefs of their lies, fball then 
 come to (hew himfelf a juft judge and fevere Revenger, 
 that will vindicate his own truth} At what time, none of 
 all our cunning Inventions, no counterfeit and new-na- 
 med Oaths fo frequent in thefe times, nor no devices of 
 former Ages , neither the fv.btlenefs of the Scribes and 
 Pharifeesthat had forms of purpofeto forfwear by 5 no nor 
 yet ( which exceeds the cunning of the Scribes and de- 
 ceit of the Pharifees, though later,) the equivocation of 
 a Prieft and mental reservation of a Jefuit (hall ever be 
 able to excufe and free them 5 for as the formers Tongue 
 doubles with an Oath , fo the laters mind doubles with his 
 Tongue, when God requires Truth in both efpecially in 
 the inward parts, {he that fpea^eth the truth from hts 
 heart, faith David , vfilm xv. ) and therefore will cer- 
 tainly take vengeance of both for their falfhood. Rightly 
 then is Truth the firft property of a lawful Oath, but of 
 an Oath Aflertory that doth deny fomething prefent or 
 paft : but becaufe it is fo evident in it (elf, I leave it and 
 come to the Oath that-is Obligatory,that doth promife to 
 do or omit fomething to come, whofe material property- 
 is Righteoufhefs. W hich though it be the third and laft as 
 they are here fet down, yet the order of method requires 
 that it Ihouldnot be laft handled, as being peculiar only 
 unto an Obligatory Oath as the firft is to an Adertory, 
 when the fecoi ■ J is common unto both, between which 
 it lies, an^ therefore will be beft confidered after both. 
 
 Firft therefore of Righteoufnefs,wherein I will be as brief 
 as in the formcr,it being manifeft and clear in it felf as that 
 was. For it is plain and evident to every mans eye, that 
 Juftice or fvighreoufnefr is as proper to a Prom ; (e,as Truth 
 to an Aflcrtion s and he that with an Oath doth vow todo 
 evil, is as refolute a (inner, as he that in an Oath affirms a 
 
 falthood; 
 
24 A Difcourfe of Oaths 
 
 falftood 5 the one abufeth Gods truth for the ftablifhing 
 of a lie, the other his holinefs to the a&ing of mifchief : 
 and 'tis hard to fay whether is word, both being no lefi 
 injurious to God than pernicious unto men. For he that 
 fwears to do unjuftly, doth but call God to witnefs that 
 he will injure his brother whom he hath commanded to 
 love as himfelf,and fo in effeft he only fwears by God that 
 he is refblved that he will difobey God $ an Oath moft 
 impioudy made and yet is more impious to be afted, fince 
 the more religioufly a man doth obferve it,the more irre- 
 ligious he is : for that which begins with unrighteoufnefs 
 and ends in villany, muft needs be ill made, but worfe if 
 it be executed. And therefore we ought to be throughly 
 perfwaded and allured of the lawfulneis, honefty, and 
 goodnefs of that promife which we bind with an Oath, 
 left we be enforced either to offend God and injure our 
 Neighbour, or elfe to violate our Oath and forfwear our 
 felves, which in this cafe is rather to be chofen, thebreach 
 of fuch an Oath being ever a le(s fin, and fcarce any fin 
 in comparifon of the obfervance 5 for though a promiC 
 ibry Oath be obligatory, as they fay , yet it doth not 
 always oblige and bind men unto the performance. 
 There are three cafes wherein a man is evidently free, 
 and in two of them, even when the thing promifed and 
 fworn is juft and lawful. The firft is,when he to whom the 
 Oath is made, remits the obligation 5 for though the one 
 bind himfelf, yet the others releafe unties the bonds and 
 fets him at liberty 5 from which tie the Oath though in it 
 ielf obligatory ,doth yet through anotherscourtefy ceafeto 
 oblige 5 neither is it then thought to be termed a falfe Oath 
 if not performed, be the thing never fo juft, as neither a 
 bare promife in this cafe* to be accounted falfe, fince either 
 are to be underftood quatentts ab eo cui fit , acceptatur > 
 according to his acceptance unto vvhom it is made,for with- 
 out it the very ejfsntia , reafon of a promife did either 
 
 not 
 
ZJpon ] e r. iv. verfe 2. 25 
 
 not fubfift, or elfe doth prefently expire. The fecond is, 
 when the thing promifed , though lawful, be yet impo£ 
 (ible, whether it were impoffible then when it was fworn, 
 or elfe became (b afterwards 5 and the reafon is, {Quia ne- 
 mo tenetnr ad impojjlbilia 3 becaufe as the vulgar Axiome 
 hath it, No man can be bound unto impoffibtlities 5 But 
 yet this cafe is not abfolute and without reftraint, for 
 though he that fwears knew not of the impoffibility, yet 
 if it be fuch as he fhould or might have known it, his 
 Oath is not without Sin 5 but if he knew it to be impof- 
 fible before, or elfe through his own default it became 
 fo afterwards, it is then not only finful, but perjurious. 
 As for example, If a man fhould fwear to pay a certain 
 fum of Money at fuch a time, which notwithftanding 
 either becaufe he ufed not his Induftry to procure it 5 or 
 for that he riotoufly plaid or mifpent it, he cannot then 
 poffibly do 5 the Impoffibility here will not free him 
 from the guilt of Perjury, becaufe it was his own negleft 
 that wilfully made it Co. The fame fault that made his 
 performance impoflible, doth at the fame time make him- 
 felf perjurious. The third and laft which was before 
 mentioned is, when the thing that is fworn is unjuft and 
 evil in it felf, or moft likely to be pernicious unto others } 
 and the reafon why in this cafe we ftand not bound to per- 
 formance is manifeft, (quia nihil eft quod hominem ob- 
 ligare pojfit ad peccandum) becaufe there is nothing 
 can oblige or bind a man to fin wilfully againft God. A 
 worthy example of this we have in Davids who though 
 he had rafhly fworn the deftru&ion of churlifh Nabal 
 and all his family, yet afterwards being better advifed 
 he refufed to perform his Oath, which he taw without 
 great danger could not be performed, as bimfelf confef- 
 feth, even bleffing God who withheld him from it. Bene- 
 di&us Deus , Blejjed be the Lord that hath kspt his 
 fervant from doing evil, 1 Sam, xxv. The contrary ex- 
 
 E ample 
 
2 6 A' c J)ifcourfc of Oaths 
 
 ample whcreunto, you may behold in Herod, who what 
 he had rafhly fworn would needs more rafhly fulfil, choof- 
 ing rather to deftroy a holy Prophet of God, than not 
 to obferve his own inconfiderate Oath 5 In Vovendo jlitl- 
 ty#, In Reddendo impu*, becoming, as foolilh in vow- 
 ing, fo more impious in performing. Rightly therefore ifi- 
 dore, In malk protnijfu refcinde fidem^ in evil promiics 
 rather break faith than violate honefty. Which is the 
 opinion alfo of St. Aufiin and St. Amhrofe^ reverend Bede 
 and many more of the Fathers, yea and fome Councils, 
 which for brevity fake in fo clear a cafe, may well be omit- 
 ted. And thefe three ways it is true that the obligation 
 of a promiflory Oath is naturally diffoved, which other- 
 wife in all other cafes, when the thing fworn is juft and 
 good in it felf, and poffible unto him that fwears it, and 
 accepted and required by him to whom it is fworn,though 
 it be unto his own damage, and then too though won 
 from him by fraud or enforced by violence, it is notwith- 
 ftanding religioufly and inevitably to be obferved. The 
 example unto this purpofe of Jojfjua and the Gibeoniter, 
 is moft remarkable 5 for though JoJ/jua had a Commiffion 
 from the Lord to root out and deftroy all the Nations that 
 bordered upon the Land of Canaan^ and to give their 
 Cities and poffeffions unto the Children of ifrael^ yet ha- 
 vingfworn a League with the Gibeonites a neighbour Na- 
 tion, who counterfeiting themfelves a ftrange People that 
 came from far, deceived him, and by this fubtilty obtained 
 Peace, he feared for all that ever to violate the Oath 
 which himfelf and the Princes of the Congregation had 
 made with them. And though all the people murmured 
 at the League, for the Gibeonites had fair Cities, yet he 
 never fought unto the high Prieft for Abfolution or Dif- 
 penfation, thofe high Myfteries of Iniquity were not then 
 known 5 neither yet did he plead that Treacherous Axi- 
 om> That Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks and 
 
 Infidek 
 
Vfon J e r. iv. uerfe 2. 27 
 
 Infidels, which were by the Council of Conflance againft 
 all Faith both Humane and Divine (hamcfully decided, 
 and with the blood of Innocents more barbaroufly con- 
 firmed. Such fubtilties were too acute for the dull fim- 
 plicity and honefty of thofe better times ; But without 
 all fhifts and devices both himfelf and all the Princes that 
 had taken the Oath,refolutely anfwer the mutinous Con- 
 gregation, We have fie or n unto them by the Lord God of 
 Ifrael^norv therefore we may not touch them, Joflj. ix. 19. 
 And that you may perceive how precious in Gods fight fuch 
 facred Atteftations be that are made in his holy Name, do 
 but confider with what feverity and bitter revenge the 
 Lord perfecuted the breach, though long time after in 
 the days of Saul, even of this very Oath, which though 
 it was at the firft obtained by the Gibeonites with fraud 
 and impofture,and confirmed by Jofiua befides,if not con- 
 trary to, his Commiffion,and that without ever confulting 
 the Lord, ( as the Text doth efpecially mention ) and at 
 length violated by Saul not without a good and zealous 
 intent, for Saul fought to flay them ( faith the ftory ) in 
 his zeal unto the houfe of ifrae I and Judah ; yet for all that 
 becaufe the thing was not unjuft in it felf, fo highly did the 
 breach difplcafe and offend the Lord, that for this very 
 caufe, even after the death of Saul in the days of David, 
 he fent three years famine upon the whole Land, for 
 which no attoncment might be made until this fin were 
 particularly revenged , and feven of Sauls Sons hung up 
 before the Lord in Gibeon, and then the famine ceafed, as 
 you may read 2. of «?<*/». xxi. In which Chapter there isone 
 thing more obfervable unto this purpofe, for it leaves us 
 a double example, recording at once unto poftcrity, as 
 Sauls impious breach of this Oath with the Gibeonites, fo 
 Davids religious obfervance of his Oath with Jonathan ; 
 for when he delivered up the poftcrity of Saul unto the 
 revenge of the Gibeonites, he fparcd Afcphibofieth the 
 
 E 2 Grand- 
 
28 A Difcomfe of Oaths 
 
 Grandchild ofsaul and Son of Jonathan, beca afe (faith 
 the Text) of the Lords Oath that was between them 
 between David and Jonathan the Son of Saul, v. 7. of 
 the fame Chapter, for Jonathan and David had fworn, 
 as youknow,a league of friendfhip,and though Jonathan 
 were dead and gone, yet faithful David (far unlike the 
 falfenefs of this world) remembers it in his pofterity, and 
 fails not to (hew that love and kindnefs to the Son which 
 he had formerly vowed and fworn unto the Father. And 
 whence it is alfo more remarkable that this Oath is not 
 termed Davids Oath or Jonathans Oath, but the Lords 
 Oath, the Lords Oath that was between David and Jo- 
 nathan, to (hew and (ignify that the Lord is interefted in 
 the performance of an Oath wherein his name isaflumed, 
 and that his truth is difhonouredin the breach, unlefs the 
 falfhood be revenged by his juftice, w hereof he will ne- 
 ver fail, either here or hereafter 5 fometimes (yea and of- 
 ten)here,but ever and for ever hereafter 5 And therefore 
 either make no Oaths, or elfe perform the Oaths which 
 you make 3 either make them in Righteoufnefs, or make 
 them not at all : and being righteouQy made,be fure they 
 be not unrighteoufly broken, for there is, as righteoufnefs 
 in the making, fo alfo a righteoufnefs in the obfervance, 
 and if either be wanting, God will not fail to (hew his 
 righteoufnefs in the avenging of both. And fo I leave 
 Righteoufnefs and come to Judgment, Jurabis in Ju- 
 dicio, Thou (halt fwear as in truth and righteoufnefs, fo 
 alfo in judgment. 
 
 For though we may fometimes affirm a truth, and 
 lornttimes confirm a lawful and juft prornife with an 
 Oath, yet notwithftanding we may not fwear promifcu- 
 oufly every Truth, nor yet bind every fuch prornife with 
 tiie atteftation cf God whofe name is holy, and in ordi- 
 nary and trivial cecafions cannot be ufed without profa- 
 narioiu And therefore befides Truth and Righteoufnefs 
 
 in 
 
ZJfon J e r. iv. verfe 2. 29 
 
 in the thing fworn, there is required alfo judgement and 
 difcretion in the fwearer, that he may difcern between 
 cafes and caufes of moment,and not unadvifedly temerate 
 this facred name, when neither the weight of the bufi- 
 nefs nor our brothers weaknefs doth make it neceiiary 5 
 for as St. An ft in hath it, lib. 1. de Scrm. Dom. £>ui in- 
 teliigit non in bonis? fed necejfariis jurationem ejje 
 habendum? refr£net fe quantum pot eft, ne ea utaturni- 
 ft nccejfitate. He that knows that an Oath is not food 
 but phyfick, not to be defired for it felf but to be ufed 
 for anothers neceffity, let him refrain from fwearing till 
 that neceffity doth require it, and when that is, the next 
 immediate words will (hew us, cum videt pigros ejfe ho- 
 mines ad crcdendum quod its utile eft credere, niji ju- 
 rat i one fir met ur, when he fees men otherwife unwilling 
 to believe what he knows is behoofeful for them to be- 
 lieve : But Mr. Calvin who doth alfo allow of a neceiiary 
 Oath, left we (hould enlarge the cafes of this neceffity 
 at our own pleafure, gives a fuller rule to prevent it, Non 
 alia pr£tendi poteft necejfitas quam ubi vel religioni 
 velcharitati ei? ferviendum } We may never pretend ne- 
 ceffity (faith he) but when we may do fome good fer- 
 vice to Religion or Charity, that is, to God or our 
 Neighbour : So that as the two former properties do re- 
 ftrain us from untrue and unrighteous, (o this latter from 
 unneceflary fwearing : They forbid us that we fwear not 
 falfly and unjuftly , and this that we fwear notrafhly and 
 vainly, the one thing fpecially intended. And when the e- 
 grcgious licentioufnefs ofthefe times doth require a princi- 
 pal labour in reproof, as being a fin that like a deluge 
 hath overrun the whole World, and covered the face 
 of the whole Earth as a flood, which is fo much the more 
 intolerable (faith Calvin) quod ajjuetudine ipfa pro de- 
 licto imputari defiit, That the frequent ufe and cuftom 
 hath taken away 'the fenfc and apprehenfion of the fin , 
 
 and 
 
30 A Difcowfe of Oaths 
 
 and though there be little hope in this cafe of redrefs, for 
 (as Seneca fays well) dejinet ejfe remedio locus, nbi qua 
 fucrunt vitia mores funt, there is no place left for re- 
 medy when thofe things which were made to be vices, are 
 now become fafhions and manners 3 yet not defpairing 
 of Gods goodnefs and mercy unto any, both for our own 
 fakes and yours, we are at leaft to (hew you the peril 
 and danger of fo great a fin , and leave the fuccefs unto 
 him. 
 
 And fure there were danger enough in it, though it 
 were no fin, and did we never tranfgrefs fo long as we 
 fwear frequently, for as St. Aufiin hath it, life runs in- 
 to facility, into cuftom, and from the cuftom of fwear- 
 ing weeafily fall into the deteftable fin of Per jury and 
 forfwearing. And indeed it is almoft impoflible that he 
 which (wears daily and hourly and almoft perpetually, 
 fhould not fometimes fwear deceitfully and falfly. Nei- 
 ther do I think there is any, if he impartially examine 
 and obferve himfelf, that doth familiarly ufe the one, but 
 he will find that he hath often and eafily dipt into the o- 
 ther 3 for the Confcience that dares to play with the (a- 
 cred name of God and continually to ufe it with irre- 
 verence and contempt, it is likely will not ftick now 
 and then to abufeitby perjury. And therefore the Coun- 
 sel of the fame Father is good, Epifi. 8-\ ad Hit. 2. Ab- 
 ftain from fwearing as much as is poftible, melius quippe 
 nee verum jurat ur, quam jurandi confuetudine in per- 
 jurium fiepe caditur & femper perjurio propinquatur, 
 For it were better not to fwear any truth than that by a 
 cuftom of fwearing we fhould often forfwear our felves, 
 and ever endanger it. Excellently therefore to the fame 
 purpofe he concludesin another place, Falfa juratio exz- 
 tioja eji: Vera juratio periculofa : at nulla juratio 
 fecura , Falfe fwearing is damnable and exitious : true 
 fwearing is dangerous: but no fwearing is fecure 5 which 
 
 is 
 
Vpn J e r. iv. verfe 2 . 5 
 
 is the rcafon that under the name of fwearing is included 
 oftentimes perjury and forfvvearing 5 the Scripture for 
 this caufe knitting and linking them both together as in 
 the fin, foin the punifhment : Since no Man can be fub- 
 jed unto that but he will be found alfo often guilty of 
 this. And therefore there were danger enough (as I 
 faid) in this unadvifed cuftom, if it were no fin : but how 
 much more then when it doth not only lead and conduce 
 unto fin and the greateft almoft of fins, but alfo is little 
 lefs finful in fell, I am fure is more exprefly forbidden in 
 the Commandment, which (ays not, Thonfialt not [wear 
 fal/ly, though that be included, but thou fhalt not take 
 the name of the Lord thy God in vain^ that is, lightly 
 and idly : and David gives the reafon, for faith he, holy 
 and reverend is his name. Now that which is holy, if 
 it be brought into common ufe, it is prophaned \ And 
 that which is reverend, if it be irrefpedtfully handled, is 
 contemned. So that it is not only a bare fin but a three- 
 fold, a trebble fin and terrible, compounded of irreve- 
 rence, profanation, and prefumptuous contempt ^ The 
 leaft whereof were enough to plunge a rebellious Soul in 
 the depth of eternal forrow, whereof he is now thrice 
 worthy as being guilty of all three. For what indignity 
 muft it needs be unto the Divine Majefty, and how un- 
 fufferable, with idle and empty, fupervacuous and un- 
 neceflary Oaths every moment, and in caufes of no mo° 
 ment, irreligioudy and contemptuoudy to tofsand ban- 
 dy, if not tear in pieces that facred name, which fhould 
 never be thought on but with trembling, nor ever be 
 uttered without religious adoration ? That Name vene- 
 rable above all names, fo excellent and admirable in all 
 the world, how excellent is thy natne in all the world 
 (faith David^by way of queftion, and none can anfwer 
 it $ That Name which the Jews thought fo facred, 'as 
 they never durft utter it, nor was lawful for any bn'c 
 
 the •- 
 
52 A 'Difcourfe of Oaths 
 
 the high Prieft ever to carry it about him , Exod. xxviii. 
 fo much as written, who was commanded to wear it on 
 his forehead in a leaf of Gold,the very fight whereof made 
 the greateft Monarch of the World, (even proud Alex an- 
 der) that would needs be a God himfelf,yet to ftoop and do 
 his reverence : Laftly,that Name which the very Devils in 
 Hell and fpirits of darknefs cannot hear without horror 3 
 no nor Powers and Principalities, Cherubin and Sera- 
 phin,the bleffed Angels of God ever mention without glory 
 and great worfhip ? What difhonour muft it needs re- 
 ceive to be at length thus (hamefully contemned by 
 duft and aflies : thus hourly and idly to be belched out 
 from the foul mouth of a finful man without all efteem 
 or refpeft, yea or fo much as ever thinking of it? Rather 
 confider thofe glorifyed Spirits and tremble 3 I faw God, 
 laith the Prophet 1 fat ah Chap. vi. fitting on his Throne, 
 high and exalted,and the Cherubins and Seraphins Hand- 
 ing round about it, crying and calling unto one another, 
 and faying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabbath, 
 Heaven and Earth are full of thy Glory. Behold, faith 
 Chryfoftom, with what fear and horror, with what re- 
 doubling of praife and glory they make mention of his 
 holy name J may fay thrice holy,that is mod facred, Name! 
 And (hall the Sons of men prefume contemptuoufly to 
 violate that which the Angels themfelves when they men- 
 tion, do with Reverence adore ? Why, it we fay (faith 
 the fame Father ) of one of our felves, if of extraordi- 
 nary vertue and worth, Os lava, wafh or wipe your 
 mouth before you name him 5 And if a fervant will not 
 mention his Lord, nor a fiibjeft his Prince without Titles 
 of Refpedt and Honour, with what fear and reverence . 
 fhould the name of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, 
 the God both of men and Angels be warily pronounced ? 
 Our mouths here had more need of fire than water, not 
 to be wafhed, but with J fat as Cole from the Altar in- 
 flamed 
 
Vpn J e r. iv. verfe 
 
 fhall they ever be held guiltlefs, but receive a juft reward 
 and recompence in both. Concerning this later what and 
 how grievous it is, you may read in the 23. oiEcclef. 
 before cited 3 It is briefly thus, and I befeech you mark 
 it, Vir multumjurans, a man that ufethmuch fwearing, 
 flail be filled with iniquity, and a plague or curfe fljall 
 never depart from his houfe. How terrible and dread- 
 ful is this ! himfelf fhall be filled with iniquity, and the 
 curfe of God (hall be upon his houfe, nay which is worfe, 
 flail never depart from his houfe 5 his Spirit will forfakc 
 the one, that being given up unto a reprobate fenfe, he 
 may fill up the meafure of his fins, and fat hirolelf againft 
 the day of (laughter, he flail be filled with iniquity ••> 
 and his bleffing will leave the other unto the wafte and 
 fpoil of a confuming raaledi&ion, until mine eat it up 
 and wholly root it out, the curfe fljall never depart from 
 his houfe. Gods judgments for other fins are great, yet 
 they feem to extend themfelves but to the third or fourth 
 Generation at the fartheft \ how deadly then is this ini- 
 quity ,and how heavy the revenge,that ftaies not there.but 
 runs through all Generations ? (hall never depart from the 
 houfe,untilthe houfe it felf depart,and be no more ? A bit- 
 ter curie indeed,that wafts and fpoils wherefoever it comes, 
 but utterly ruines the Houfe where it remains, nay leaves 
 not fo much as any ruines to remain, neither Stone nor 
 Timber, for it eats up both, as you may read in the Pro- 
 phet Zechariah, where you (hall find the curfe written 
 in a Role, a large curfe as it (hould feem, for the Role 
 hath room enough for more curies than ever the Spirit of 
 God hath regiftred 3 for it was twenty Cubits long and 
 ten Cubits broad, a great and flying Role, which when 
 that Prophet beheld in a Vifion,the Angel which gave the 
 interpretation, laid, This is the curfe, that goeth forth 
 over the face of the whole earth : according unto which 
 the fwearer JJjall be cut off\ for it flail enter into his 
 
 G houfe, 
 
42 A Difcourfe of Oaths 
 
 houfe, and remain in the midfi of hk houfe and foall 
 confume it^ with the timber thereof and the ftonet 
 thereof, Zech. 5. 4. A ftrange remaining wherein no- 
 thing not fo much as Timber and Stone (hall remain, and 
 a heavy maledi&ion when a Man (hall be emptied of all 
 his goods, and filled only with his own Sins, He Jhall he 
 filled with iniquity ! How many deaths and deftru&i- 
 ons do attend and inviron this accurfed Sin ! the death of 
 his eftate and fubftance which (hall be confumed, the 
 death of Sin, or rather of Grace through Sin ! where- 
 with he (hall be filled 5 and the everlafting death of Bo- 
 dy and Soul in a lake of burning brimftone wherein he 
 (hall- be perpetually tormented : So true is that of Syra- 
 cides before mentioned, but never enough repeated, it 
 is a wordcloathed about with death: and we can never 
 enough repeat his prayer, God grant it be not found in 
 the heritage of Jacob. 
 
 Confider thefe things now, and then fay It is a Cuftom 
 and I cannot leave it 5 (hall it excufe the Malefadtor, if 
 he (ay to the Judge, I take no pleafure in Theft, only my 
 fingers have been inured to it from my youth, and I can- 
 not now forfake the habit? and yet the Thief (who not- 
 withftanding hath his Curfe written alfo in the other fide 
 of Zecharies flying Role) may be the better excufed of 
 the two, for though he take no pleafure, yet there may 
 be profit in the fin s But the Cuftom whether without or 
 upon pretence (hall never excufe either, till both forfake 
 the Cuftom. It is this only through which we (hall be. 
 held guiklefs, and by which alone we may remove this 
 Gurfe of God both from our feives and our houfes. 
 And why can it not be done ? what fhould hinder that 
 we may not forfake it ? where lies the labour or wherein 
 doth the difficulty confift that it fhould be fo invincible > 
 Why, what faith Chryfojlom ("Homil. 17. on Mat. ) Nnn- 
 qaicl vecuniamm opw ejl jmpenfa £ Nnnqnid arumnis 
 
 dp 
 
ZJpon J e r- iv. verfe ?. 43 
 
 & [adore perficitur ? is it a bufinefs that requires the ex- 
 pence of any great fums of our money, or elfe of our 
 fpirits in fweat and painful labour to atchieve it? Tan- 
 turn mo do Velle fafficit, & totum quodjubetnr imple- 
 turn eft : No fuch thing ! only will, that is, bend thy 
 mind and thy will to it, and the thing required is pre- 
 fently fulfilled 5 As ufe hath bred a cuftom, fo difufe muft 
 deftroy it, and a contrary ufe beget a contrary Cuftom , 
 And fure the Will of man cannot think of a Cuftom fo 
 eafy to be difufed as this 5 all others are deeply rooted in 
 natural Affe&ions, and therefore hard to be plucked up 5 
 but this hath no hold in Nature, not one Appetite in the 
 infirmity of man, that gapes and waters after it, it can 
 neither quench the Thirft, nor kill the Hunger of any 
 defire whereunto our Corruption is fubje& $ but is only 
 an external, a naked and a bare Cuftom which only u(e 
 hath begotten, and doth ftill nourilh, and difufe with- 
 out any great difficulty can again ftarve and ftrangle, 
 Tantnntmodo velle fufficit^ only fet thy will to it 5 and the 
 bufinefs is ended 5 for as St. Auftin hath it, lib. 8. Confef. 
 In the ways of God, Ire & pervenire , is nothing, but 
 Velle ire^ to walk is only to will, and whofoever wilk, 
 cannot but walk, but then it muft be velle fortiter & 
 integre, no cold and faint defire, but a ftrong,a total and 
 a refolute will. The fluggard may be willing to rife,and 
 yet for all that lie ftill in his warm Bed 5 but it is not a 
 Will that he hath but only a Velleity or willingnefs, for 
 when he will, he rifeth, yea when he wills he cannot 
 poffibly choofe but rife, for the body doth naturally 
 obey the mind fo eafily and readily, ut vix h fervitio 
 difcernatur imperiutn, that the wit of man (faith St. An- 
 ftin,) can hardly difcern between the command of the 
 one and the execution of the other ;, And therefore to 
 will is to do, and he that doth not do, did never will 5 
 he that doth not do what is polfible for him to do, did 
 
 G 2 never 
 
44 A Difcomfe of Oaths 
 
 never will, fince if he will fuch things, it is impo£ 
 fible for him not to do So that rightly in this Velle fuf- 
 ficit, there is nothing required but thy Will, yet thy full 
 and total WilL,not a faint and lazy Velleity, but a refolved 
 Will, that is ever accompanied with watchful and dili- 
 gent endeavour,which the Tongue of all other doth cfpe- 
 cially require of us, (as the fame Father elfewhere fpeaks) 
 Lingua facilitate??* habit motur, in udo pofit a e/?,. facile 
 labitur in lubrice, The Tongue hath a great facility in 
 motion, and isfeated in a moift and (lippery place, where 
 it is eafy to Aide of it felf, but much more through 
 Cuftorn 5 And therefore quanto ilia citius tnovetur, 
 tanto tu adverfw illam fixus efio, The more movable the 
 Tongue is, the more immovable and fixtmuft be thy re- 
 folution and Care 5 and the longer the Cuftom D the great- 
 er thine intention to break it. For vigilance will con- 
 quer it, and the fear of God will beget vigilance, and 
 the meditation that thou art a Chriftian, that muft render 
 an account of all at the lad day , is able to inftil the 
 fear of God into thy heart , faith the fame St. Auftin^ 
 who doth alfo incourage us not only by his exhortation, 
 but even by his own example, who feems to have been as 
 deeply engaged in this evil habit as another y but how freed 
 he himfelf? Timendo Deum Jurat ionem abftulintus de ore 
 mjlro-y The fear of God ( faith he ) ftripped it from my 
 Tongue, LuBatm fum^ &c. For I wreftled with the 
 evil ufe and wreftling I called upon God, and Gods a£ 
 fiftance delivered me from the Cuftom : And now, nihil 
 mihi facilim qnam nonjurare 9 there is nothing fo eafy 
 to me as not to fwear. . 
 
 Beloved, let us imitate the holy Father and we (hall alfo 
 as eafily vanquirti, he hath beaten out a ftraight and plain 
 path to viftory, and we need only to tread in his fteps 5 
 And therefore with him, Let us caft up our eyes upon 
 thatiacred and dreadful Majefty which we offend, and 
 
 then 
 
Vfon J e r. iv. verfe 2. 43 
 
 then fear, and fearing wrcftle, and wreftling call, and cal- 
 ling, we fhall certainly receive affiftance , undoubtedly 
 to conquer yea and to infuh over it conquered, with a 
 Nihil mihi facility, nothing is now fo eafy unto me as 
 not to (wear. And fure the fear of God is ever the ber 
 ginning of Wifdom, especially here, where the fin is the 
 direct oppofue to it, as being a prelumptuous irreverence 
 in the very face and againft the very honour of the Al- 
 mighty, which cannot poffibly confift with his fear, which 
 is the fureft bank and bulwork againft all ungodlinef^ 
 And therefore, when that like a Flood-hatch is plucked 
 up and caft a(ide, no marvel if difhonour be prefently 
 poured forth upon God, and men become filled and over- 
 flown with Iniquity: And as little marvel that the Lord 
 for both refpefts, as well for our benefit and good as 
 for the fear and revorence of his own Name,injoineth this 
 as the very firft thing we fhould beg of him in our 
 prayers, San&ificetur Nomen tuum , hallowed be thy 
 Name : and as the firft thing inhibited with a fpecial 
 note of revenge ( for he will not hold him guilt lefs that 
 taketh his Name in vain\) and as a prime inftruftion of 
 the firft Sermon that ever he preached, I fay unto you 
 fwear not at all. That which he was fo careful as to 
 make the Inftruftion of his firft Sermon, the firft petition 
 in his prayer, and the firft revenge m the Decalogue, can- 
 not be thought a matter of light importance : but muft 
 needs argue it a fin no lefs odious unto himfelf than per- 
 nicious unto man 5 for which rcafon , St. James fecms 
 worthily toinlarge our Saviour's inftruftion, [wear not at 
 all, with an Ante omnia, above all things, my brethren^ 
 fwear not at all. To whofe exhortation, we may all 
 yet well add another, Ante omnia^ of Prayer above all 
 things. O Lord plant thy fear in our hearts that we fwear 
 not at all 5 ff the awful fear of thy Maiefty may rot 
 deter us , at leaft let the dreadful feas of thy Judgments 
 
 terrify 
 
46 A Difcourfe of Oaths, &c. 
 
 terrify us from this prefumptuous fin, that it get not the 
 dominion over us: So (hall we be innocent from the 
 great offence , and freed from the great maledi&ion, 
 Thy curfe upon our felves, and houfes whileft we live, 
 and deftruftion of Body and Soul in everlafting forrow 
 when we die. Which the Lord of his infinite mercy 
 avert 5 and inftead thereof grant unto us, lb to Reve- 
 rence his holy Name now, as we may be admitted with 
 Saints and Angels everlaftingly to magnify and adore it, 
 in thy Eternal Kingdom hereafter. Whereunto God of 
 the feme infinite Goodnefs, &c. Amen. 
 
47 
 
 SERMON 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DUTY of MAN. 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 Upon Eccles. xii. 13. 
 
 Let as hear the Conclufion of the lohole matter : Fear 
 Cjod, and keep his Commandments. For this is the 
 whole Duty of Man. For Qod y &cc. 
 
 THIS whole Book is nothing elfe, but a Search 
 and Enquiry of King Solomon into that grand 
 and famous Queftion de Summo Bono^ what 
 may be the chief Wifdom and happinefs of Man 
 m this Mortality. And this Verfe with that other which 
 follows, as they clofe up the Rook, fo they contain the 
 Conclufion of the point, a full difcovery and refolutioti 
 of that which in the former Chapters was but fearched af- 
 ter and enquired into: w hereunto his anfwer is (hort and 
 plain, but thus, Far God and l@ep his Commandments, 
 This only the whole matter of his Conclufion 5 and 
 
48 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 that we may take it for full fatisfa&ion to the Queftion, 
 he affures us, that it is the Conclufion too of the whole 
 matter, Let m hear, &c. 
 
 A Conclufion then we may be bold to term it, for fo 
 it is, and fo k terms it felf: A Conclufion that hath two 
 parts: Fear God 9 and keep his Commandments, And 
 both backt with two Reafons, (He will not beg the 
 Conclufion, but prove it) For this is the duty, the 
 whole duty^ not of the Prieft or fome of the People, but 
 univerfally of Man. Every Mans Duty, and the whole 
 Duty of every Man: That is the firft Reafon. There is 
 a fecond in the next Verfe, and I may mention it, though 
 at this time not meddle with it, drawn from the day 
 of Gods Retribution: For there is a day approaching 
 wherein he will make a fevere enquiry into this Duty, 
 cenfure the Breakers Terribly, and honour the Obfer- 
 vers Eternally. For God will bring every worh^into Judg- 
 ment, &c. 
 
 So that you fee he doth not beg the Conclufion, if he 
 beg any thing, it is Audience and Attention, which 
 indeed he doth in a Solemn Preface for the purpofe, 
 Let us hear, &c. 
 
 And this too he feeks to win with reafons of weight, 
 as well as beg: For it is a Conclufion, and that no trivial, 
 no narrow one neither, but material and univerfally 
 material, worth the hearing. 
 
 Thefe down-right points grate fomething clofe upon 
 the Soul 5 and men it feems do not much delight in the 
 hearing of them, and therefore he is driven to Pray and 
 Preface for Audience, before he delivers them, and to 
 back them ftrongly too, when they are delivered, for 
 Acceptance: That fo his diftafteful Conclufion lying be- 
 tween both, between the Preface and Proof, might be 
 fortifyed behind and before, in the Van and in the Reare, 
 be led in and carry ed out with Reafons and Argu- 
 ments, 
 
ZJpon J e r. iv. Z'erfe 2. 55 
 
 flamed with a religious zeal, when we dare to mention 
 it. Judge therefore in your (elves how great is his Sin 
 that can afTume boldnefs not only with unhallowed and 
 polluted lips to mention, but even with idle, nay rheto- 
 rical and wanton Oaths, fearfully to prophane and lacerate 
 that Name which fome mens Reverence never durft utter, 
 and no Angels without terms of praife and glory will ever 
 pronounce ? Now if our light , trival and cuftomary 
 Oaths are fo derogatory unto the honour of God, what 
 then may we think of intemperate, paffionate and cho- 
 lerick Oaths, the Oaths of Gamefters and others wed- 
 ded unto other fports, who if a Die or Dog run not 
 to their liking, or a Kite fly where they would not 
 have him, fall inftantly into fuch a fit of hideous Oaths, 
 as if with Jobs Wife they were refolved prefently to 
 curfe God and die : If the former were profanations, 
 thefe fure are direft blafphemies, when men enraged with 
 their trifling misfortunes pour forth floods of direful 
 Oaths, as the defire to wreak their anger upon that God 
 whofe providence they know doth guide them, and be- 
 caufe they cannot reach unto his Eflence, they will at 
 leaft this way avenge themfelves on his Name. For you 
 (hall fee fuch Tear-Gods fometimes fwear a whole Ca- 
 talogue of Oaths over and over, (till fv^ear them and 
 (till (ay nothing elfe,as having no other end in their fvvear- 
 ing but to fwear, for they fwear not to affirm a truth or 
 confirm a promife, yet they fwear and to no other purpofe 
 but to offend God by fwearing.Their Tongue,as the Pfal- 
 mifi fpeaks, walketh through the Earth, and they fit their 
 mouth again ji heaven, and yet as if neither Heaven nor 
 Earth could afford thtm Oaths enow to fwear by, they 
 fet their invention on work for (trange, uncouth and un- 
 heard of blafphemies, which not without rancor of mind 
 they dart at God himfelf, and (pit with more than Epi- 
 curean Liberty in the very face oi the Almighty. The 
 
 F Tongue^ 
 
54 A tDifcourfe of Oaths 
 
 Tongue, faith St. James, is hut a little member, yet it 
 hath in it a world of wick^dnefs^ it fets the world on 
 
 fire, and its felf is fet on fire of Hell Which though it 
 were fpoken of the malicious and (landerous Tongue, yet 
 it may be no lefs true alfo of the blafphemous, for this, 
 if any, is certainly fet on fire of Hell, and flames with a fin 
 hot enough, and likely enough to fet fire on the whole 
 world in the laft day, when for that world of wickedneft 
 it (hall find a world of forrow and torment 5 and as it 
 was fired from Hell before, fo it (hall now be fired in Hell, 
 where ( like Mofes bulh ) it (hall ever burn and never 
 be confumed 5 for this later fire , none (hall ever efcape, 
 but fuch as with a River of penitent Tears do quench 
 the former before they come there. But omitting fuch 
 high and horrid blafphemies, the hellifh impiety whereof 
 every one muft needs perceive, and none that have any 
 goodnefi remaining can choofe but abhor : 
 
 We will a little infill: only on thofe lefler Prophanati- 
 ons in the vain and frequent Oaths of common fpeech, 
 which though men can be content to account a fin, yet 
 they would willingly efteem it fuch as may eafily be ex- 
 cufed. It is only a Cuftom that is grown upon me, I like 
 it not, but I cannot leave it 3 the plea of the world as 
 common as the fwearing, and if it might (land for an 
 excufe, it wefe eafily excufed indeed : But confider it 
 well and you will find it fuch an excufe as only feems to 
 make the fin more inexcufable : fince that very reafon 
 which they give to leffen the Crime, is the principal thing 
 that augments the offence : for fin never becomes a- 
 bove meafure (inful, until it grow into Cuftom, that 
 heaps it up infinitely and fo makes it immenfurable, un- 
 til it rule and reign in our mortal bodies, which alone 
 can ftile us, not only finful but the (laves and vaffals of 
 fin, and then we are (inners indeed. There is no man, 
 not the beft of us without fin 3 yet all are not finners 5 it 
 
 is 
 
ZJpon J e r. iv. verfe i. 35 
 
 is not the falling into fin, but the habit and ferving of fin 
 that gives the denomination : A man may fin and be the 
 fervant of God, for what fervant of Gods doth not fome- 
 times fin ? but to ferve fin and be the fervant of God, is 
 impoffible $ And therefore of all things elfe, the habit 
 andcuftome of fin, efpecially mortal and prefumptuous 
 fin, is moft dangerous, as being incompatible with the 
 ftate of Grace and reconciliation with God, who never 
 gives remiffion of the fin, unlefs we abhor and utterly 
 renounce the cuftom \ for which caufe the Swearer (and 
 no man hath the name of a fwearer but from the habit of 
 fwearing) is fet down in the fame Catalogue with the A- 
 dulterer, the Drunkard and other heinous finners, which 
 St. Paul tells us Jfjall never enter into the kingdom of 
 God. And therefore let no man flatter himfelf and de- 
 ceive his own Soul$ it is a cuftom that we muft leave one 
 time or other, or God will eternally leave us. The 
 which that we may be the better induced to do, I befeech 
 you, do but confider befides the greatnefs of: the fin al- 
 ready (hewn, to how little or rather no purpofe it is 
 committed, and with what feverity it will be punifhed 
 both here and hereafter 5 for fo highly to offend God. 
 and no way in the world to pleafure our felves, is the 
 utmoft of folly, and treads on the very heels of madnefc. 
 Why, he that burns in Hell for his Miftris had once yet 
 fome delight for that torment he fhall ever fuffer 5 All 
 other fins have their ftrong provocations in our corrupt 
 nature whereunto they give lome content: but this idleand 
 wanton fin is without all inftigation of the depraved 
 flefh, and can give fatisfadion to no one appetite of our 
 frail condition, unlefs death and everlafting forrow dwell 
 in our defires. And as it can give no pleafure and do 
 light, bccaufe it hath no affeftion in nature to fulfil and 
 content : fo neither (that you may perceive it to be ut- 
 terly vain) can it plead any other benefit, there being 
 
 F 2 no 
 
3 6 A Difcourfe of Oaths 
 
 no juft pretence or reafon or end for it, why it is ufed. 
 And if neither pleafure nor profit be in it, the malice of 
 the Devil is in it, if to gain nothing here we will run 
 headlong into eternal deftruftion hereafter. If there be 
 any end of it in the world or benefit that we may reap 
 by it, it can be no other than the gaining of credit to our 
 fpeech, and to be believed of others when we fpeak, 
 which is indeed the true and proper end of an Oath, 
 but an end which the trivial and cuftomary fwearer of 
 Oaths in reafon cannot expeft, and if he deal with ra- 
 tional and wife men, (hall never obtain , though they 
 urge it often and think it their beft plea to ftop the 
 mouth of reproof for this fin, Why, they would not be- 
 lieve me ? whereby notwithftanding inftead of excufing 
 they do but condemn themfelves, and yet gain not their 
 purpofe with others. For firft,if they mark it, what doth 
 it argue but that they do not ufually fpeak truth, that 
 cannot be believed without an Oath? §>ui jurat ^fnJpe&Ht 
 eft de perfidia^ The very ufe of fwearing is a manifeft 
 fign that he is fufpe&ed of perfidy, faith Vhilo. And there* 
 fore rightly St. Bafil^ Turpe & omnino ftultum &c. he 
 doth no lefs bafely than foolifhly accufe himfelf as un- 
 worthy of credit and belief,that perpetually flies unto the 
 fafeguard and fanftuary of an Oath 5 for which caufe the 
 Ejfeni^ faith Jo[ephu* 9 did avoid and abhor fwearing no 
 lefs than perjury, as conceiving that he was before-hand 
 condemned for lying, that could not be credited with- 
 out fwearing. And as they condemn themfelves, fb they 
 obtain by this cuftom as little credit from others. For 
 that which doth breed a fufpicion in their perfons, can- 
 not well beget an aflurance of their Oaths. And indeed 
 what truft or confidence may be repofed in an ufual and 
 ordinary fwearer? whom the very cuftom of fwearing 
 doth condemn of perfidy, how can he choofe but be fuf- 
 pedted of perjury ? fince. he that cares not how often he 
 
 (wears, 
 
ZJfon J e r. iv. verfe 2 . 37 
 
 fwears, it is likely will fometimes care as little what he 
 fwears: So that as the word of a faithful and honeft Man 
 is as good as his Oath 5 fo the Oath of a falfe and perfidi- 
 ous Man is no better than his word: And therefore he 
 only gains thus much by (wearing that the more often 
 he fwears the lefs he is to be believed, fince the beft way 
 of gaining credit is to accuftom our felvcs not to fwear- 
 ing,but not to fwears for he that lives juftly and upright- 
 ly and fpeaks the truth calmly, (hall be believed upon his 
 word, when the other's Oaths (hall not that fwears fre- 
 quently, though he fwear never (b earneftly. I have of- 
 ten heard it pleaded, with chryfojlome, how. 26. Unlefs ' 
 I fwear he will not believe 5 true, nor when thou fvvear- 
 eft neither: but thou, faith he, art the caufe of this un- 
 belief that doft fo lightly and ealily fwear 5 for if thou 
 didft not fo, and it were manifeftly known that thou 
 wert no fwearer, believe me that only fay it, ghtod iis 
 qui mille devorant juranfenta, ma'] or em ipfc fidem folo 
 Tjutu invcnires. Thy only beck and nod thouldfind more 
 efteem and credit than a thoufand Oaths poured forth 
 by another. And in like manner, I have beheld, iaith 
 Philo the learned Jew, the impiety of feme with fuch in- 
 tolerable impudence heaping and hudling up the religious 
 names of God not to be heard without horror, as if they 
 thought by the number and multitude of their impious 
 Oaths to evince and even extort belief from the hearer : 
 Fjtui quinon intcUigunt confrntudtnemcrebrojurandi 
 argumtntum ejfe pzrfidi<£ non fidei. \ oo!s, faith he, that 
 do notunderftand that the cuftc~iof often (wearing is 
 an argument not of fidelity b\ pertidioufnefs. And 
 therefore though they fwear ur I they burft, they [hall 
 never the (ooner gain any credit 5 only this they gain, 
 that by their often (wearing the) have bereaved tbetn- 
 felves of all means of gaining belief, firm and allured be- 
 lief, even when they (wear the truth; for it is notmultw 
 
 tud 
 
5 8 A Difcourfe of Oaths 
 
 tudeS and millions of Oaths, but the truth and fincerity of 
 a mans behaviour that (hall win him reputation and cre- 
 dit. Non juramentum fed vit£ tefiimoninm^ It is not 
 our Oaths (faith Chryfofiome HomiL 7.) but the teftimo- 
 ny of our lives that can give affurance to our words. 
 And therefore excellently (St. Aujiin de Serm. Dom.64..) 
 Chrifiianus verum loquatur^neq^ jurationibus crebris 
 fed tnorum probitate commendet veritatem , Let a 
 Chriftian only fpeak the truth, and let not his Oaths 
 but the probity of his manners commend or confirm the 
 truth of his fpeech. For the Chriftiansare termed the 
 faithful (Jzxxhjofephns lib* 2. de Bello c. 7.) though but 
 half a Chriftian himfelf. And therefore tanta fan&itate 
 orn at a fit fides ut fine jnrejttrando faciat fidem^ Their 
 faith ought to be adorned with fo much fan&ity as it 
 fhould be able without the affiftance of Oaths to beget 
 faith and credit in another : which ifthe fincerity of their 
 life cannot do, the frequency of their Oaths will much 
 left obtain, whereby inftead of gaining credit with others 
 they do only further difcredit themfelves. And there- 
 fore fince it doth breed a juft fufpicion rather than any 
 certain belief 5 what end there is of this vain and un- 
 godly cuftom, what profit or colourable pretence it may 
 have to fhrowd it felf under, I cannot underftand any, 
 unlefs peradventure fome men efteem it as a mark of no- 
 blenefs and gentry, which they have little reafon to do 
 fince the vileft Beggar wears the fafhion as well as them- 
 felves, and though he have not twopence a year Starling 
 can (wear after the Revenues of a great Lord that hath 
 thoufands 5 or it may be, fome take it as an ornament of 
 fpeech. Or others an argument of valour 5 and fare he 
 is very hardy that fears neither God nor Hell, which if 
 it be valour let every good Man be a Coward ; and how- 
 ever unto ungracious hearts, it may be thought a grace 
 in their tongue, yet unto a good mind that defires to 
 
 worfhip 
 
Vfon J e r. iv. verfe 2. 39 
 
 worfhip God, and think on him with reverence, it is a 
 found that's worfe than the turning of Brafs grates, and 
 horror to his ears, if it be not the greateft torture and 
 torment unto his righteous Soul. And is it not now mod 
 ftrange that we fhould be fo defperately wicked againft 
 God, or Co wretchedly careleft of our (elves, as thus 
 wantonly to offend him, and prodigioufly to fpend our 
 own Souls in a iin that hath neither pleafure nor profit, 
 no juft end, nor yet fo much as a fair pretence to give it 
 colour ? But the lefs colour and pretence a fin hath, the 
 greater ftill it is, and with the greater puniihment it fhall 
 ever be rewarded, and this of all others fhall be fure not 
 to be forgotten 5 for it is not for nought and to no pur- 
 pofe that in thofe brief precepts of the Law written with 
 the very finger of God, all other fins are barely inhibited, 
 Murder, Adultery and the reft of our crimes meerly for- 
 bidden, without any fpecial mention of puniihment un- 
 to the offenders 5 only this fin, as if it difpleafed him a- 
 bove all the reft, is not without a peculiar commination 
 of revenge annexed, for the Lord will not hold him 
 guiltlefs, that taketh his name in vain. Whether it be 
 the vanity and needlefnefs of this wanton and prefumptu- 
 ous fin, that hath neither pleafure nor profit nor pretence, 
 doth exceed all other 5 or whether it be the extraor- 
 dinary neglect of men in fufFering this fin of all others to 
 efcapeunpunithed, that moved the Lord more particu- 
 larly to allure us that he will take it into his own hands 
 and fee it rewarded himfelf: whether this, or that or 
 both or neither it is not certain, neither is it much ma- 
 terial to inquire, fince it is enough that this is certain, 
 that fomething there is in it odious above other fins, o- 
 therwife he would never have been io careful above all 
 others in particular to rcgifter the revenge of this. And 
 as this doth affure, that it is a fin which fhall certainly be 
 punifhed : fo there want not other places to (hew us 
 
 what 
 
4o fc A 'Difcourfe of Oath. 
 
 what the punifhment (hall be. St. Paul delivers it nega- 
 tively by exclufion from the Kingdom of Heaven : 
 St. James affirmatively but indefinitely by condemnati- 
 on, left ye fall into condemnation. But St. John doth 
 affirm and fully define whither and to what they are 
 condemned, even unto the inconceiveable forrows of 
 Hell. They ft) all be caft into the la\e that burns with 
 fire and brimflone? Apoc. And if you put all together, 
 you have all the punifhment, and it is no lefs than all 
 which a Sinner may receive, the punifhment of lofs, and 
 the punifhment of fenfe, the lofs of all good in the ex- 
 clufion from Heaven, and the fuffering of all evil in the 
 torments of Hell. This expreftin Scripture, by an un- 
 quenchable fire j that, by a gnawing and never dying 
 worm \ Divines contending which is worft when either 
 is infufferably bad , but both joined together make a 
 double death and deftru&ion which none can conceive 3 
 And therefore the Son oisyrach^ 23. 12. doth well term 
 it a fin that is arrayed and apparelled with death, there is 
 a word (faith he) and it is clothed about with death : 
 God grant it be not found in the heritage of Jacobs and 
 that you may know what the word is, which he means, 
 he prefently infers, ufe not thy mouth to intemperate 
 /wearing^ for there is the word, the word of fin clothed 
 about with death, and I pray God it may not be found 
 in the heritage of Jacobs neither in our Jacobs nor his he- 
 ritage, his Son or Subjeft, neither himfelf nor any of his 
 Kingdom. And this were punifhment enough it (hould 
 feem, were there no other 5 yet this is not all, for this 
 general and univerfal deftru&ion of the world to come, 
 is common to all fins and finners : but the fpecial threat 
 and commination in that precept againft this fin, feems to 
 relate unto fome fpecial revenge that God will take of 
 it even in the life of this world here, before they depart 
 unto the forrows of another: for neither in that or this 
 
 (hall 
 
ZJfon E c c l e s. xii. verfe 1 3. 49 
 
 ments, that might procure and gain it entertainment. 
 So then we have thefe Three, the Preface, the Con- 
 clufion, and the Proof. The Conclufion, that is well 
 feated in the midft, hath Two Branches: The Proof that 
 follows, Two Reafons 5 and the Preface in the front, Two 
 Infinuations. Of thefe in their order, fo far as the Text 
 (hall lead us. And firft a word only or two of the Pre- 
 face for Audience. Audiamus, Let us hear, &c. 
 
 For the truth is, every Man hath not an Ear apt in it 
 felf for fuch Conclufions, nor can have, fo long as it is 
 farced and ftopt up with the filthy brood of their own 
 Corruptions. Indeed every Man hath an Ear, but not 
 an Ear to hear, at leaft not to hear all things 5 and there- 
 fore when he utters fuch Points as thefe, He that hath 
 Ears to hear, let him hear, faith not Solomon, but our 
 Saviour himfelf. They are (ad and fullen Duties, Fear 
 Cod, and keep his Commandments, and of an harfh 
 found, as feeking to beat us from thofe delights , which 
 peradventure, we are not refolved as yet to fbrfake. 
 And then that which is diftafteful to the mind, will ne- 
 ver prove over-pleafant to the Ear. Let us indeed feek 
 out delightful words, fuch as may comply with Mens de- 
 fires, let our invention to hunt, like Efau, after Veni- 
 fon, make Men favor y meat, fuch as their Soul lov- 
 eth 5 with what Appetite doth the Ear prefently fall to, 
 and how ready themfelves (though couzened with a 
 Goat inftead of Venilbn like blind ifaac) even to blefs 
 us for it? There needs no Audiamus, no Exhortati- 
 ons, or Prefaces for attention here 5 it'sMufick to their 
 itching Ears, and they fuck it as the Ox doth watery but 
 precepts of Duty, and daies of Doom, or the like are 
 bitter Pills, and will not down without gilding, though 
 Solomon himfelf be the Phyfician and Adminifter. His 
 very Perfon, yea but his Name, a Man would think 
 might be enough to prevail: Solomon the Wile! solo- 
 
 H mon 
 
50 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 won the King! Solomon the Preacher! and all by way 
 of Supereminence, the Wifeft of Men, the Royallift of 
 Kings, the moft Excellent of Preachers & who (hall not 
 attend unto him, and even hang n arrant is ab ore, if 
 he but open his lips ? And yet in fuch cafes as thefe, 
 (though he well knew his own Wifdom and Power) 
 yet he is not fo confident of his Authority and Perfon, 
 but thinks it well if he may gain hearing, though he 
 pray and exhort for it himfelf, and give himfelf too, 
 for an Example in it, become both Preacher and Au- 
 ditor , not refofing to include himfelf in that Duty 
 which he doth urge upon others } for fo it lyes, Let us 
 hear, &c* It is the next way for our words to take, 
 when we require nothing of our hearers , but what 
 we our felves are as ready to do and perform ; an eafy 
 matter it is to bind heavy burthens for other mens 
 (houlders, but it is not fo eafy to perfwade the people 
 to take them up to bear them, fo long as the binders, 
 like thofe Pharifees in the Gofpel, refufe to touch them 
 with the leaft of their Fingers., If we think to awaken 
 the World out of their dead fleeps, it will not be enough 
 to Crow unto others, unlefs withal we (hall beat our 
 Wings too on our own fides. It will make a double 
 noife, and the likelier to pierce the Ear when it comes, 
 not with an indite vos oe Audi ant tlli, do you 
 hear, or let them hear, but like Solomon in this place, 
 with an Audiamus nos , Let us be hearers as well as 
 fpeakers, efpecially in fuch Conclufions as this: Let ns 
 hear the Conclusion, &c. 
 
 And fare it is fbmething the likelier to be heard, 
 and regarded too, for that, were it nothing elfe, that 
 yet it is a Conclusion, a truth orderly drawn, and de- 
 duced from its undoubted principles , a difcourfe that 
 flutters not up and down at random, like a feeled 
 Dove 3 but flyes on to its period, like an Eagle to her 
 
 ftand. 
 
Vpon E c c l e s. xii. verfe 15. 51 
 
 ftand, cutting its way through the vanity and vexati- 
 on too of all things elfe, and not ftaying until it come 
 to pitch and reft it felf on a Conclufion firm and ftable, 
 even the Fear and Service of God 5 which as it is our 
 whole duty here, fo will prove our happinefs eternal 
 hereafter in that day, when God (hall bring every work 
 into judgment,with every fecret thing,whether it be good 
 or whether it be evil. And this (hews it to be fome- 
 thing more than a bare conclufion, a material one, of and 
 to the matter, indeed to that matter, which of all other 
 is mod material. Let us hear the Conclusion of the whole 
 matter^ &c. And that certainly is one degree higher, 
 and would require too an higher degree of regard, that it 
 is not only an orderly Conclufion but a material and im- 
 portant 5 No curious, idle, frivolous difpute de Una ca- 
 prina, no thin empty hungry fpeculation of the Schools, 
 though thefe be the only conclufions the delicate ears of 
 moft Men defire to be tickled withal, fuch as may exer- 
 cife the wit, but no way affeft the Gonfcience. And 
 indeed it is a principal Stratagem of the Arch-enemy of 
 Mankind by curious impertinences to divert the mind 
 from thofe real and neceffary points that concern their 
 Souls, and the welfare of them for ever : An unhappi- 
 nefi whereof thefe latter times have fufficiently tafted, 
 the Children of the Church for thefe many years imploy- 
 ing their wits in nothing fo willingly as in wrangling 
 with their Mother , and that about trifles , every light 
 Ceremony and almoft Circumftance, that concerns but 
 the outward forms of the external worfhip of God, neg- 
 lefting in the mean time that, which is indeed material, 
 the internal truth and fubftance of his fervice. But to 
 fuch wayward contentious fpirits, I (hall now only fay, 
 it were much better for them to leave fuch unprofitable 
 difputes, and betake themielves to obedience, and if they 
 fear not God, yet at leaft that they would honour the 
 
 H 2 King, 
 
5 2 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 King, reverence the Church, and keep the Command- 
 ments of both, for this is their duty too, and this indeed 
 would be to fome purpofe, that fo they might be at lei- 
 fure to fet their working heads about fome more perti- 
 nent queftions, not about a Cap or a Surplice or the like, 
 but rather about fuch as are folid, fuch as that in the 
 Gofpel-, §>uid faciendum ? What pall I do that I 
 may inherit eternal life f and purfae it home, not leav- 
 ing until they have brought it to Solomons Conclusion 
 here, Fear God and keep his Commandments. For this 
 is the Conclusion of every material queftion, not only of 
 the matter, but the matter too of all Conclufions that are 
 material : For it is the Conclulion totiu* materia which 
 is our laft degree, and the higheft, as univerfal as mate- 
 rial, of the whole matter, 
 
 But of what whole matter ? ofthe matter of this whole 
 book ? Yes of this and of all Books elfe, all Divine Books 
 elfe whatfoever , and fb much we have here exprefly in 
 the inference of it, of making many Bookj there is no 
 end, and much fiudy is a rvearinefs ofthe fiefl) % the verfe 
 immediately precedent. And therefore that we might 
 have all in little he infers this, as briefly including the 
 whole matter, not only of this and thofe books that 
 were already written, but of all fuch alfo as fhould be e- 
 ver written hereafter. 
 
 And (ure all our difcourfes are but vain and empty, if 
 not impious, at lead they will conclude nothing to the 
 purpofe, unlefs they draw all at length unto this Conclu- 
 lion, which is every way total whether we regard know- 
 ledge or a&ion : For when we have smbroiled and wea- 
 ried our felves in the purfuit ofthe things of this world, 
 it will be to no purpofe, no though they fucceed accord- 
 ing to our defires } For what (hall it profit a Man to gain 
 the whole World, and enjoy it too for a feafon, if when 
 he hath done, he lofe his own Soul afterwards for ever? 
 
 After 
 
ZJpon E c c l e s. xii. verfe 13. 53 
 
 After all his vain labour fpent, he will find this is the 
 only bufinefs and profitable imployraent he muft fet him* 
 felf down unto in the end. When we have entangled our 
 felves in all thofe fine and delicate webs of the Seraphi* 
 cal Doftors, which when«Whce we come within Ken of 
 the Port of Death, whither all winds ferve to drive us, 
 will be fwept away in an inftant, like thofe of the Spidery 
 when 1 fay all thcfe aerial difputes are ended, this will 
 be found the only folid Conclufion, whereunto our me- 
 ditations muft betake themfelves at the laft, as being the 
 laft and utmoft iffue, end and up(hot of all Conclufions 
 fpeculative or praftick, to be done or to be ftudied, Fear 
 God and. keep his Commandments. It is the whole du- 
 ty ofMan, rightly therefore the Conclufion of the whole 
 matter. So much doth Solomon magnify his plain and 
 defpifed text, that if it may not be received upon his au • 
 thority, requeft and example, it might yet be entertained 
 for its own worth, asbeing, rightly drawn, material and 
 univerfal, that fo the plainnefs of it might be recompen- 
 ced with the importance. This then for the urging of at- 
 tention is but right and juft, and therefore Audiamus^ 
 Let us hear the conclufion of the whole matter, We can 
 do no left, and that we may do fo, hear it indeed, we will 
 now pafi from the Preface to the Conclufion it felf, from 
 the Conclufion of the matter, to the matter of the Con- 
 clufion, Fear God and k?ep his Commandments 5 but 
 we muft begin with the firft, Deumtime, fear God, and 
 then k ee P h* s Commandments. 
 
 And well do we begin here, at which all Religion, 
 Piety, and true Wifdom doth begin : So faith our owi> 
 Solomon^ and fo David his Father before him, The fear p &f. o& 
 of the Lord is, the beginning of wifdom : But the Son 23# 
 of Syrach goes farther, and makes it to begin and fi- 
 ni(h it too unto the full, for the fear of the Lord, faith Ecduf. 2, 
 he , is the fhlnefs ofwfdom? yea not only begins and l6 ' 
 
 fulfils, 
 
54 A Sermon of the 'Duty of Man 
 
 Eccluf.i. f u ^' s > k ut cr °wns it alfo, The fear of the Lord is the 
 1 8. crown of voifdom. Indeed I fcarce know any thing, 
 
 whereof more contrarieties feem to be delivered, than of 
 this fear of the Lord : Fear hath pain in it, and he that 
 iJoh.iv. feareth is not perfeS in lov% faith St. John. But what 
 Eccluf. i. &frh Siracides 3 The fear of the Lord maketh a merry 
 I*- hearty and giveth joy and gladnefs. P erf e& love cajieth 
 
 out fear, faith the fame St. John in that place: Nay not 
 Pfal. xix. fa, The fear of the Lord is clean and endurethfor ever, 
 faith David. Again, Worh^out your falvation with fear 
 and trembling, faith St. Paul unto the Philippians : Ton 
 have not received the fpirit of bondage again to fear, 
 Horn. Tiii. faith the fame Apoftle unto the Romans : what is this but 
 fear and tear not ? yea what elfe faith our Saviour? Fear 
 not, little FlocJ^, for it is your Fathers pleafure to give 
 mtt ' Xf yon a Kingdom: And yet fear him that can cafi body 
 and Soul into Hell fire, faith our Saviour again unto the 
 fame Flock: If affured of the Kingdom, what need they 
 fear the fire of Hell ? and if they may fear that, how 
 affured of the Kingdom? Of neceffity therefore, to re- 
 concile thefe feeming contradi&ions, Divines have been 
 driven to diftmguifh of fears and perfons too, unto whom 
 they are appliable} For indeed all fear is not of one fort, 
 but is divers, according to the diverfity of obje&s which 
 it refpe&eth : if it look upon fecular and worldly evils 
 ( for generally Timor eji expect at io mali ) and through 
 too much apprehenfion run into excels, it then takes the 
 name of Timor mnndanus , a worldly and fecularfear, 
 when men fear men more than God, temporary and cor- 
 poral evils, more than ghoftly and eternal 3 And this 
 fear is always evil, and fo are they ever in whom it hath 
 dominion $ and when it hath not dominion, yet becaufe 
 it hath undoubtedly in all, that are not perfefl; in love, 
 fome greater hold than it fhould have,that of our Saviour 
 is but juft, and for the moft part feafonable unto all, Fear 
 
 not 
 
Vpn E c c l e s. xii. verfe 15. 55 
 
 not thofe that can kjU t£> e body^ but fear him that can 
 caji both body and foul into Hell fire. Again, if it look 
 upon God, and that Hell, which in his juftice he hath pre- 
 pared for finners, as our Saviour here commands, the 
 fear indeed is then good, becaufe as you fee commanded, 
 and befides is an aft of faith and reftrains from evil 5 And 
 therefore they that (imply condemn it, do but cut the 
 banks and pluck up hatches, the better to make way for 
 a deluge of wickednefs: But yet if it reft there, andlook 
 no farther:, if our obedience have no better motive than 
 this, though the fear be good, it is not yet (b good as 
 it fhould be, for the man is Rill evil, and his fear there- 
 fore (b long but (lavifh, and fo it is termed Timor fir vilify 
 an illiberal and fervile fear 5 And this is that fear which,as 
 St. John faith, hathpjin in it^ as curbing men in their de- 
 fires } and we may add imperfeftion too, as not able to 
 fanftify their Perfons : yet is it, as the Son of Sjrach 
 fpcaks, the beginning of wifdom, and leads unto that 
 which is-perfeft, for by conftatlt forbearance of evil, 
 though out of terrour, men may come at length to love 
 and delight in goodnefs, and then every degree of fuch 
 love cafteth out a degree of that fear, till petfeft love 
 at laft cafteth out all fear, all that is painful, but withal 
 induceth another fear, of another both name and nature, 
 Timor cafius & filiates, a chart and filial fear, the fear of 
 offence, not of punifhment, a fear not only good in it 
 felf, but fuch as makes the fubjed good too wherein it 
 refide?. And this fear hath two Eye?, with the one it be- 
 holds God, as the fuprenm and Soveraign good not only 
 in himfelf, but of all thofe that adhere unto him, and 
 then loving him as fuch, they cannot but withal fear to 
 offend, or lofo that God and goodnefs, which above all 
 things they iove : But the other Eye fattens it felf en 
 God, as no lefs great than good, and contemplating, as 
 v/ell as it may, or as far as it dares, the San&ity, Power, 
 
 and 
 
5 6 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 and Immenfity, the infinite Majefty and glory of the 
 divine ElTence or Deity, is ftrucken with admiration and 
 adoration too of lb great and inconceivable Excellence, 
 from whence it takes another denomination, and is ftiled 
 Timor reverential is, a devout and reverential fear. It 
 is true that the time will come, when even this filial fear 
 (hall lofe one of thefe lights , and be no whit the lefi 
 comely and beautiful for that neither: for as the filial 
 fear throws out that which is fervile, fo fruition will caft 
 out the fir ft part of that w T hich is filial. For being confirm- 
 ed in goodnefs, there is no room for the fear, when there 
 is no danger of offending, or lofing that God which we 
 enjoy. But this reverential fear is never thrown out by 
 any thing elfe, but is that fear whereof Davidfyzkz? 
 The fear of the Lord is clean and endureth for ever* 
 It attends not on this life only, but runs it felf into im- 
 mortality ; the fear of bleffed Angels now, and (hall be 
 the fear of all holy Saints, as here, fo in that bleffednefs 
 for ever hereafter : And then indeed it will be the fulnefs 
 of wifom, and the Crown both of it , and that fiilnefs 
 alfo. But as on thefe feveral fears, fo are we to look 
 on men too, and their feveral conditions, otherwife our 
 difcourfe will not be fo real as rational: But yet 
 though thefe fears abftra&edly confidered, have their fe- 
 veral forms whereby they are differenced, and are in 
 fupream degrees fome of them incompatible 3 yet in the 
 concrete as they fubfift in their fubjefts , they are not 
 ufually in this life fo intenfe and pure, but that, though 
 one be predominant, they are all three mixed for the raoft 
 part and compounded together. Whence it is, that ho- 
 ly men, even the greateft Saints and Servants of God, 
 whole fear therefore filial, and founded in love, yet be- 
 caufe liable, through this body of death , unto frailties 
 and fometimes unto falls, are now and then found to be 
 fallible aUb of his wrath: Even David himfelf, whole 
 
 ronfidence 
 
Upon E c c l e s. xii. verfe 13. 57 
 
 Confidence otherwhilcs can carry him through the valley 
 of death without fear, yet at other feafons is driven to 
 cry out, A Judiciis tuis timui, I was afraid of thy judg- 
 ments^ yea from my youth up, thy terrours have I Of- 
 fered with a troubled mind. Holy Job, though a perfect 
 and upright man, by the mouth of God himfelf, yet not 
 fo perfeft in all his ways, and upright, but that we may 
 fometimes read thefe fad complaints, the Arrows of the 
 Almighty flick, fafi within me> the venom whereof drink,, J ob x ' : 
 up my Spirit s\ and, gjtid faciam^ cum furrexerit ad jw 
 dicandum Deus .<? And if it thus befal the green Trees, 
 how Jhali it jure with the dry .<? If fuch Worthies fo 
 corrplain and cry out under the terrour of divine judg- 
 ment, how (hall we that are worfe, dare to rejeft it, as 
 fervile ? Certainly he that doth fo, doth withal take him- 
 (elf for perfect in love, fince perfeft love alone it is, that 
 can cafl out all fear that is painful. Prefufamption in- , 
 deed can do the like, caft it out too for a time, but will 
 undoubtedly bring great fears upon them in the end. 
 And therefore for fuch as grow high through the favours 
 of God, and more confident than their behaviour un- 
 der them can warrant, the Scriptures want not corro- 
 Gves to beat down the proud flefh, and abate the pre- 
 fumptuous Spirit. Be not high minded but far 5 yea, 
 work^ <ut your Salvation with fear and trembling 
 alfo. But on the other fide, where this fear and 
 trembling hath taken hold , and the humbled Soul 
 keeping it (elf in the fenfe and forrow of her fins, 
 comes to labour under its own grie£ in this Cafe there 
 wants not Balm in Gilead, neither Lenitives, nor Cor- 
 dials for the wounded Spirit 5 Te have not received 
 the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but the Spirit of 
 Adoption, that cry a Abba Pater j and what is your 
 Fathers will? why, fear not little Floc\, it is your Fa- 
 thers will to give fuch for their (brrow now, a Kingdom 
 
 I of 
 
58 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 of joy hereafter, to wit, in fenfn compofito^ if they run 
 not back again into thofe fins, for which they are fo for- 
 rowful. 
 
 Thus the Scriptures are not contradi&ory , only they 
 fuit divers fears with different properties,and contrary dif- 
 pofitions with as oppofite exhortations, as is but juft and 
 reasonable. To fcatter the proud in their imaginations, 
 but to bind up and ftrengthen the broken-hearted. Now 
 as thefe fears,more or lefs,at one time or other pertain un- 
 to all, but to our grief, if not (hame of Chriftianity are 
 fcarce truly to be found in any 5 fo are they all here in 
 my Text, not all generally only and in grofs under the 
 name of fear, but with fpecial intimations of all, and 
 each of them in feveraL 
 
 For firft, here is the worldly fear, but forbidden 5 as 
 negatives are ever under their affirmatives. Fear God, 
 not the world, or worldly evils which prefs only the 
 body, but that God which can caft both Body and Soul 
 into everlafting fire. Secondly, the very mention of du- 
 ty in the firft reafon implies a fuperiority, and that ever 
 requires Reverence, another of the Fears \ And when 
 duties are performed formally on that manner becaufe 
 duties, and fuch^ as in the breach whereof we know the 
 God, whom we love, is offended, it is the fear then of of- 
 fence not of punifhment : and both thefe make up the en- 
 tire filial fean But yet the fear of punifhment is not left 
 out neither, as good in it felf> though materially fervile, 
 for that is a motive too, and as the leaft fo the laft of 
 alls For God will bring every worh^into judgment, &c. 
 as it is in the next verfe. So they are all joyned here in 
 the text,and when they are joyned too in man their fiib- 
 je&,the y will make up that compleat fear which indeed is 
 the full and compleat worfhip, internal worfhip and fer- 
 vice of God 5 Arid therefore in the Scripture, it is ufual- 
 ly taken even for our whole Religion, Piety and Ado- 
 ration 
 
ZJpon Eccles. xii. verfe i 3. 59 
 
 ration of the Divinity, according to that of David, 
 come hither, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord, pfalm. 
 that is the worfhip of the Lord. So Jonah unto the xlm - 
 Mariners that enquired of him , I am an Hebrew, faith 
 he, and I fear the God of heaven, and that made the Sea Jon- i- 
 and the dry land. So Jacob in like manner when he 
 (ware unto Laban, he fwore by the fear of his Father Gen.xxxi. 
 Ifaac, to wit by that God whom his Father ifaac feared, 55 ' 
 that is worfhiped and (erved. Whence it is that what 
 Mofes terms fear, Thou ftjatt fear the Lord thy God, Dcut.vi. 
 that the Septuagint, and our Saviour himfelf renders by 
 worftlip, Thoujhalt worffjip the Lord thy God^ and him Matt. iv. 
 only Jfjalt thou ferve. And therefore we (ball not need 
 to (cruple much at the enquiry, why the Text faith not 
 Believe or Love, or the like, but rather Fear God and 
 keep his Commndments 5 for he that hath (aid, Fear, 
 hath faid all 5 no word can go beyond this : It includes 
 both faith, and hope, and love, and all, yea fomething 
 more than all. Not the meaneft of thefe fears, the fear of 
 puniftiment, but implies faith,and the fear of offence both 
 faith and hope and love alfo 5 but the reverential fear is 
 love, and (bmething more than love, even Veneration 
 too, as acknowledging the love to be, not like that of 
 ordinary friendfhips inter Pares, between Companions, 
 but at a diftance, and fuch an infinite diftance on Gods 
 part, as requires the lowed: Reverence and Adoration 
 from all that love him. For though it hath plcafed his 
 goodnefs to make and ftile us his friends, yet I hope we 
 do not ceafe to be hisftrvants, nor he to be our Lord, 
 every way our Supream and Soveraign Lord : So indeed, 
 our Lips ftile him at every word , and by that ftile 
 and Title too he himfelf requires his fear at our hands 5 
 if I be your Lord, ubi Timor mevs, where if my fear <? 
 Where indeed his fear ot Reverence ? for he is Lord of 
 Majefty and Glory. Where the fear of offence ? for he 
 
 I 2 is 
 
60 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 is the Lord no left good than glorious : and as terrible as 
 either, to his contemners 5 where then the fear of his 
 wrath? And fure the queftion is pertinent enough, and 
 it is but right that he demands, where it is, or what nny 
 become of it? It feems to be fled with Ajlr<ea to Hea- 
 ven, fure I am, it may trouble a man to find it out any 
 where upon earth. His judgments are far oft\ as David 
 fpeak?, even out of our fight, at leaft they feem yet to be 
 beheld with fuch fecurity, as a Man would think moft 
 Men were in a league with death and at a Covenant with 
 Hell, as the Prophet fpeaks, to little fear is there of his re- 
 venge : And fure they that fear not punilhment, will 
 hardly be restrained by any filial, the fear of offence. 
 Indeed it were fomething well, if we did not offend 
 with lefs trouble, than any thing elfe. And as for the o- 
 ther, the fear of reverence, and that principally in the 
 holy place where his fpecial prefence hath made it efpe- 
 cially due, that is fb far from regard, as it feems to have 
 gotten an ill name of late : we are grown fome of us into 
 fuch a familiarity with God, as the reverence of his San- 
 ftuary^ orofhiminit, or any decency or dignity that 
 may ferve thereunto is fufpefted now a days for an 
 out-work of Popery : God grant we do not make it 
 Idolatry too to reverence even God himfelf in his 
 Temple. Is not the queftion juft then in thefe times alfb, 
 nbi ttmor mens} where is his fear indeed, where any 
 of his fears ? fure they have all left this world, and it 
 feems left ink little but worldly fear behind them 3 That 
 indeed and that alone runs through the world, and only 
 prevails , For her we duck like Die-dappers at every 
 Pebble that is thrown at us by a powerful hand, and yet 
 can ftand up fturdily, like Cafanens upon the walls of 
 Thebes, againft the Thunderbolts of the Almighty 5 we 
 are become, as he faid well, Gyants, yea even Gods a- 
 gainft God, but Slaves unto Men, whdTe Bodies and Con- 
 ferences 
 
ZJpon Eccles, xii. verfe 13. 61 
 
 fciences are fometimes equally rotten. The rev( nge of 
 the Law and (hame of the world is for the moft part all 
 our fear '■> (6 we may avoid thefe, fave our goods from 
 lofi, our names from difgracc, our skin from hurt, our 
 bodies from death, we can fin on merrily, it little mat- 
 ters for him that can caft both body and foul into Hell 
 fire. This is the whole ot moft mens fears ; but fear not 
 ye their fear, neither be afraid, but fanftify the Lord 
 himfel£ Is wet us vefier^ is pavor cfto, let him be your l ^ tVm I2, 
 fear, let him be your dread. But what then, is God only 
 to be feared and nothing befides ? furely yes, God and not 
 anything elfe,if any thing (hall ftand in competition or op- 
 pofition with God} but yet under God,and in fubordinati- 
 on unto him, we are to fear God and others too for Gods 
 fake 5 And all the people feared exceedingly God, 
 and his fervant Mofes. So the Apoftle, fear to whom 
 fear, and honour to whom honour appertaincth, and both 
 fure appertain to all Superiors, but eminently above all 
 to him that is Supream : Reverential fear, for he hath a 
 charafter of the Divinity upon him : Fear obediential, 
 and filial fear too, for he is Pater Patrit: And fear of his 
 wrath alfo. for he is Gods Minifter for vengeance. And 
 therefore fear the King, for he carrieth not the fword in 
 vain. Yea and I muft tell you fear the Church too, and 
 thofe in the Church, that have power over us alfo, ano- 
 ther kind of power indeed, but yet fuch as renders them 
 Gods Minifters in like manner, and your Ghoftly Fa- 
 thers, and therefore will require in their degree obedi- 
 ence and reverence too, yea and fear of their wrath alfo : 
 for they want it not for the wicked when occafions 
 ferve,and therefore fear thefe too : for they carry not the 
 Keys in vain. The Powers that are, they are all of God, 
 and he that refifteth the power, whether Temporal or 
 Spiritual, refifteth the ordinance of God, and receiveth 
 damnation unto himfclf It is true thefe are two diftinft 
 
 powers, 
 
62 A Sermon of the T>uty of Man 
 
 powers, yet is it as true alfo, they are not fimply colla- 
 teral, but fubordinate, ever fubordinate when the Prince 
 is Chriftian, as having, though not all power in himfelf, 
 yet a Princely dominion over all Perfons, and that in all 
 •Caufes whatfoever } neither is more claimed, and lefs can- 
 not be denied. For two Supremacies in a Kingdom are 
 no lefs incontinent, than two Omnipotences in the 
 world 5 And therefore the Apoftle gives unto him uni- 
 versal fubjeftion, and confcientious too. Let every one, 
 yea omnis anima, let every foul be fubjett to the high- 
 er powers. But however this Spiritual power be not col- 
 lateral fimply, but fubordinate unto the Royal 5 yet is it 
 in regard of its original, and derivation, clearly inde- 
 pendent, as being not derivable into the Priefthood 
 from any Prince or Potentate upon earth, but immedi- 
 ately from him who hath it written on his Garment, and 
 ; ReVj on his Thigh, The Lord of Lords, and King of Kings. 
 And being thus diftinft without derivation, itisnotpoP 
 fible the cenfures of the one fhould come forth in the 
 name of the other, but only indeed in Chrifts name and 
 in their own perfons, who in this are the Minifters not of 
 the King, but of Chrift, as exercifing no part of the pow- 
 er belonging to the Svvcrd, but only of thofe Keys, that 
 properly are their own, and underivable too from any 
 upon earth, but thofe of their own Order. However 
 therefore thefe powers are fubordinate, yet two diftinft 
 powers they are, and both as was faid, immediately from 
 God, and both therefore to be feared of men. And fure 
 this latter, though the lefler, yet not a little to be feared 
 neither } for though the Kings Laws bind the Confci- 
 ence, yet his revenge for the breaches of them cannot 
 reach home unto the Soul : His Sword is material and. can 
 but la(h the Body, though fo la(h it, as fometimes to di- 
 vide it from the Soul > but St. Pauls Sword is fpiritual 
 and reacheth dire&ly to the fpirit, dividing the Soul, 
 
 not 
 
Vfon Ec c l e s. xii. verfe i 3. 63 
 
 not indeed from its own Body, but from the Church the 
 Body of Chrift, and fo from Chrift too, the head of the 
 Body; a power therefore in it felt no way contempti- 
 ble, it is Chriftsown, and he the more careful to vindi- 
 cate it from contempt, yea not it only, but the power 
 and perfon too of the meaneft Pried: amongft us : for that 
 of his concerns all, tie that defpifethyou, defprfethme, Matt. 
 and he that dcfpifcth me^ defpifcth him that fent me. 
 But yet all this, were not that other Royal Power pro- 
 pitious upon earth, I think would be of little force in 
 thefe days to preferve them from contempt, or confufi- 
 on, crufbing confufion 5 For did not the Sword of the 
 Prince defend the Keys of the Prieft, they might well 
 put them under their girdle, if not under the door and 
 be gone. But blefled be God, he that is the defender 
 of the Faith and Doftrine of the Church, in his Piety 
 and Princely Goodnefs is pleafed to be the Defender al- 
 io of her Jurifdiftion and Difcipline. Et defenforibus 
 ijiis tempHs eget, for otherwife the Antihierarchical of 
 thefe times and indeed Antimonarchical too, as not well 
 affedring any either Power or Prerogative but their 
 own, were it not for this, would foon level all by their 
 own Rule, that is level with the ground, lay all Power 
 Ecclefiaftick and Honour too, like Davids^ in the dull, 
 if not rubbifh even Monafterial. But then they may do 
 well to think of another duft too, the duft of our heels, 
 which if but juftly fhaken, there is one that affures us 
 the forrows of fuch Contemners will prove more infuf- 
 ferable, than thofe of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day 
 of Judgment. It is but right therefore and well too, that 
 the Regal Power is the Superior,that fo as it is the Mode- 
 rator and Governour of the temporal,it might be alfo the 
 Protc&or of the fpiritual, caufing that fear and reverence 
 which is due unto both, to be paid alio refpeftively un- 
 to either. Neither in requiring this unto them do we 
 
 divert. 
 
6\ A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 divert from the right objeft of fear in my Text, for it 
 is but fear God (till. For God himfelf hath in a fort Dei- 
 fied Authority. He hath given them of his own power, 
 and imparted his very Name unto their Perfons. / have 
 [aid ye are Godsend ye are all [on s of them oft high thrift 
 Gods indeed, not only by appellation, but in effeft al(b, 
 for the great and univerfal benefit which they bring un- 
 to mankind 5 For were not Man thus made a God unto 
 Man, Men would foon become Wolves unto themfelves 
 and devour one another. And therefore to fear fuch 
 Men, is not to fear Men, but God, fince the fear is not 
 fo much exhibited unto their naked perfons, as unto thole 
 beams and participations of the Divinity wherewith they 
 are clothed. And in thisfort, it is not amifs to fay, that 
 God and not any thing elfe is to be feared 5 And indeed 
 he that thus fears God, he only fears nothing elfe 5 
 though the waves of the Sea rage horribly, and though 
 the Hills of the Earth be carried into the midftof the 
 Sea,nay as the Poet,$i fra&u* illabatur orbis^Impavidum 
 ferient ruin£, though the whole world (hould disjoint 
 and fall, he would be buried in the mines of it without 
 fear, for he fears none but God, and the offending of 
 that God whom he fears 3 That indeed he doth, as de- 
 firous to obey him too, as well as fear him: and fo we 
 muft all, it is our Duty alfo, for foit follows : Fear God^ 
 and {sep his Commandments ? the fecond Part of our 
 Conclulion, k^ep his Commandments. 
 
 Thefe two are infeparable ever, and it is but juft, that 
 
 they are not here only, but fo often joined together in 
 
 Scripture 5 The fear of the Lord, faith David, is the he- 
 
 ginning of Wifdom, and he fub joins, but a good under- 
 
 Jiar?ding have all they that do thereafter : So God 
 
 Jobxxviii. himfelf, as Job teftifies, And tint man he faid, as if it 
 
 28 - were the produft and total of all that is or may be faid 
 
 unto him, the fear oftht Lord } that is wifdow, and to 
 
 depart 
 
Vpn E c c l e s. xih verfe 1 5. 65 
 
 depart from eviU that is under ft an ding : The (elf fame 
 in fubftance with Solomon here, Fear God and J{eep his 
 Commandments. Neither may it poflibly be otherwife , 
 Nature hath linked them as clofe as Scripture 3 for no man 
 departs or can depart from the one, the Law of God, 
 that doth not firft depart from the other,the Fear of God. 
 The foul and body of man have not a ftrifter union, than 
 thefetwo, the one the body, the other the very foul of 
 the new and interiour man. And therefore the original 
 hath it col ha adam^ for this is not the whole duty, but 
 the whole man, the whole fpiritual man indeed: The 
 outward works of the Law are wrought by the body, 
 and fuch righteoufnefs of the body is but the body of 
 righteoufnefs 5 but the fear of the Lord fan&ifies the 
 foul, and the righteoufnefs of the foul is the very foul 
 of righteoufnefs : And the fpiritual man created in ho- 
 linefi and true righteoufnefs muft have both thefe parts 
 as well as the animal, a foul and a body too : Some 
 mens righteoufnefs indeed is all body , do many things 
 good and commanded, but for ends upon by and viti- 
 ous refpefts: here is a Carcafe of holinefi, but no foul 
 to inform it, only hypocrify inhabits and gives it mo- 
 tion 5 as the Devil fometimes, they fay, doth the body 
 of a dead man : Others will be altogether Soul 5 Fear 
 God as much as you will, every man likes it well, and 
 thinks he doth it too, as well as any man : but bring 
 them to the Commandments, to the corporal works ei- 
 ther of Charity to the diftrefled, or of bounty for the 
 publick honour and worfhip of that God, whom they 
 pretend to fear, and then they leave you. This they 
 begin to doubt whether it may be any part of their 
 duty or no : But however the foul of the old and out- 
 ward man may be immortal , though fevered from the 
 body, yet is it not fo with the new man : Sever the fear 
 of God, from the obfervance of his Commandments, and 
 
 K it 
 
66 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 it will inftantly ceafe to be fear. As St. John of love, fo 
 may we fay of this fear that includes it : He that faith he 
 feareth God, and keeps not his Commandment s^is a liar. 
 Again, obferve the Commandments but not in the true 
 fear of God, and it will be, not obfervance, but difc 
 fimulation 5 A Liar this, of all Liars, whole hypocrify can 
 make the very fpirit of wickednefs to inform and aftuate 
 the comely limbs and members of true holinefs. A pro- 
 digious conjunction, and therefore a Monfter deteftable 
 both to God and man ! It is but right then , and as it 
 fhould be that thefe two here, make but one whole con- 
 clufion, one whole duty, one whole matter, one whole 
 man. They may be diftinguiflhed , they may not be di- 
 vided : God hath joined them together, and let no man 
 feek to put them afunder, but he that fears God, let him 
 keep his Commandments alfo. 
 
 Keep his Commandments ? durus eft hie fermo, this is 
 an hard faying, and the world fure will be hardly brought 
 to this part of the conclufion, yea it were fomething well, 
 if thofe that feem pureft amongft us, did not conclude 
 clean contrary 3 That the Commandments were not gi- 
 ven to be kept, yea that there is no poffibility for any 
 man , though under the ftate of grace, at any time, or 
 in any aftion to keep without violation even the leaft 
 Commandment. 
 
 But two things there are, that feem efpecially to deceive 
 men in this point : Firft, an erroneous opinion, that a fpi- 
 ritual action cannot be good, fo long as it may be bet- 
 tered, as having fb much of fin, as it wants of abfolute 
 perfection, which they fuppofe, the Law under the high 
 terms of eternal death doth require at every mans hands. 
 But this is apparently miftaken, for evident it is, that the 
 Law under the penalty enforceth only efiential goodnefs, 
 not fo,that,whu 1» is gradualothervvife the holy Angels may 
 now. fin in Heaven, for tl xcel one another as in na- 
 ture 
 
ZJfon E c c l e s. xii. verfi 1 3. 67 
 
 ture fo in their zeal and operations, yea he that is holier 
 than the Angels, Chrift himfelf would be endangered, of 
 whom the Scriptures do plainly affirm, that he pray- 
 ed at one time more earneftly than at another 5 And 
 rightly, for goodnefs is not feated inpun&o, in any precife 
 nick or indivifible Center, but hath its juft latitude, and 
 is capable of degrees of comparifon in the Concrete, bo- 
 nutjnelior^ optimus : So Vrifcian will inftruft them with 
 this opinion, not admitting it hath falfe Latin in it, and 
 falfe Divinity both at once. This the firft. 
 
 The Second thing, is another fuppofal too, and little 
 lefs erroneous than the former. That in every good and 
 divine aftion the flefh lulling againfl: the fpirit, doth by 
 that malignant influence, corrupt and vitiate even with 
 fin the whole operation. But what if the lufting flefh 
 do not always move and in every aftion? What if when 
 it moves, it doth not yet enter into compofition with 
 that aft, that fubdues and quells it ? as indeed it doth 
 not: what if the vertue of fuch conquering afts be 
 the greater by the oppofition? as indeed it is ever 
 the more excellent, by how much it breaks through 
 ftronger refiftance, according to that of our Saviour, 
 virtus mea in infirmitate perficitur. Laftly,what if eve- 
 ry aft of luft it felf be not in true propriety a Sin ? As if 
 it be meerly natural, great Clerks conceive it is not, be- 
 caufe fin is ever voluntary and moral. They take it for 
 a true Rule, Lex datur non appetitui fed voluntatis 
 and fo they conceive our Saviour doth interpret it, when 
 he makes not every one whofe flefh lufteth, but him on- 
 ly that lufteth in his heart, that is, with his will, to be 
 an Adulterer. St. Paul, they fuppofc, follows his Ma- 
 tters interpretation, and though no man doth define luft 
 more than he, yet he doth it with caution, as the fin, not 
 of the perfon, a fubjeft properly not capable of fin, but 
 of the flefh: I know that in we, but with correftion, 
 
 K 2 that 
 
68 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 that is> in myflejh, there k no good things It is no wore 
 I that doit, but fin that dwelleth in me. And that wq 
 take it not for fuch a fin, as tranfgreffeth the Law, he is 
 Rom. 8. bold to fay, that the righteoufnefs of the Law is fulfilled 
 in thofe y that walk^not after theflejl^ not that have no 
 carnal motions, but after the Spirit. St. Auftin therefore, 
 they conceive, faid well, that when the appetite doth luft 
 but the will doth not like it, is as when Eve had eaten, 
 but not Adzm. And as we finned at the ftrft, not in Eve? 
 but in Adam^ fo is it ftill «, for unlefs Adam eat as well as 
 Eve, the will confent, as well as the appetite water, the 
 fall is not finifhed. The lufts therefore and appetites of 
 Nature, if they arife immediately out of the Body, and 
 be not raifed by our unhappy fancy, which the Will fets 
 on work, or by fome aft or cuftom of Sin, which the 
 Will hath already wrought, they are not in their opini- 
 on finful, unlets we will make God the Author of Sin 
 who is the creator of nature and natural appetites, yea 
 andChrift too the fubjeft of fin, that was not without 
 a natural inclination direftly oppofite to the known will 
 of God, otherwife he could never have faid as he doth,. 
 not my will, but thy will be done. No doubt but by 
 the luftings of the flelh, humane frailties and imperfecti- 
 ons more than enough may and do too often cleave like 
 moles and ftains unto the divineft aftions of the moft (pi- 
 ritual men 5 but a mole of frailty is one thing, and the 
 corruption of mortal fin another. One thing claudi- 
 care in via, to go on though halting fometimes, and inter- 
 fering in the way to Heaven: and another to croft 
 out of it, run counter direftly towards Hell. And there- 
 fore from fuch furreptitious and involuntary defefts to 
 conclude, that no man can love God with all his heart 
 (clean contrary to the teftimonies ol the Scripture, That 
 she jujl man faUeth ftven times a day, to wit into fin, 
 though that Scripture intend no fuch matter, that all his... 
 
 righteoufnefe 
 
ZJfon Eccles, xii. verfe 1 5. 69 
 
 righteoufnefs is but a defiled rag, and the divined a&i- 
 on in the eye of the Law, but a mortal and deadly Sin) 
 is an exaggeration that doth but rack and tenter a truth 
 until it burft into two errors and dangerous ones, both in 
 Gods regard and mans. As if men were bound unto 
 meer impoiiibilities, and God, that hard man in the Go- 
 fpel, reaping where he doth not (aw, and requiring a 
 law at their hands, to whom he gives no ability for per- 
 formance. In Gods name therefore and mans too, letU3 
 be content to fpeak as the Scriptures do, which in this 
 here and more than a thoufand places befides do feri- 
 oully urge and neceilarily require the obfcrvance of ths 
 Law and keeping of the Commandments, which St. John 
 tells us, through the grace of Chrift are not grievous nei- 
 ther. Such as will needs fpeak otherwife, that they may 
 not be kept either for any time, or in any aftion, let 
 them take heed left they open gates unto impiety, and 
 like thofe Spies in the 13 of Numbers difcourage the 
 hearts, and weaken the hands of the people of God 3 
 yea let them beware, left they caft difhonour too as on 
 God himfelf, fo efpecially on the blefled Spirit that in- 
 habits, and Chrift jefus our Lord that dwells in his Saints^ 
 if all yet can produce in any, not any thing, but fins. 
 Much better therefore it were to leave difputing,and give 
 good ear to that of our Saviour, He that breaketh tks 
 leaji of thefe Commandments, and teachzth others ft> 
 to do, flail be lea ft in the kingdom of heaven^ that is, 
 as fome interpret, (hall leaft of all others enter into that 
 Kingdom. For what is this indeed but to withdraw men 
 from their duty, and teach them difobedience? forevea 
 duties ceafe to be due, whenfbever they begin not to bo 
 pofiible. But this is every mans conftant duty, and the 
 whole duty of every man, the invincible reafon where- 
 with Solowon here backs his conclufion, and withal coiiv 
 flues this opinion. Fear God> and fyt'p.hit Command* 
 ments^ for this is^ &c T i 
 
no A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 The Reafon is ftrong and full : three degrees or afcents 
 there are in it. Firft a Duty, and Secondly univerfally 
 of all men, the duty of man and mans univerfal duty, 
 and Thirdly the whole duty of man 3 And though there 
 be diverfe inventions fought out, many turns and wren- 
 ches made to flip this duty, yet one of thefe three or o- 
 ther will meet with and refel all our devices: For they 
 that feruple at the conclufion as impoffible, evince that 
 they will not flay there, but be as apt to quarrel with the 
 duty atleaft, as not fimply neceffary 3 a duty perad venture 
 in the rigid exa&ion of the Law, and of fuch as are 
 under it, as they were to whom Solomon (pake this 5 but 
 we are under the Gofpel, dead unto the Law, that we 
 might be married unto one, even to Chrift our Lord 
 and our life 3 what then hath this legal duty of Com- 
 mandments to do with us, or we with it, fince we are 
 mutually dead one to another > 
 
 Yet be we under what times we will, or ftates either^ 
 fo long as we lofe not our humanity, fo long as we ceale 
 not to be men under any, as being not really dead, but 
 morally, fo long it will have to do with us, for this is a 
 duty not of fome times and perfons,but univerfally of man. 
 
 Neither were they fimply under the Law, to whom 
 this was fpoken 5 led indeed they were by the ceconomy 
 of the Law, but yet under the promife and promifed feed, 
 and were faved by the Gofpel, as we now are, though 
 the Gofpel not fo diftinftly believed then, as now it is 5 
 Neither indeed they, nor any people elfe under Heaven, 
 fince that promife (The feed of the woman Jfjal/ bruife 
 theferpents head) are fo meerly under the Law either 
 of Mofes or Nature, but that if they do their duty, keep 
 the Commandments which they have, and glorify God 
 according to their knowledge, they may (for ought I un- 
 derftand) be faved too by the Gofpel, which they knew 
 not, for even the Gentiles fo doing, their incircumcifion 
 
 fhall 
 
ZJpon E c c l e s. xii. verfe i 3 
 
 (hall be counted for circumcifion, as the circumcifion o- 
 therwife is efteemed but as incircumcilion. In that day^ 
 when God fj all judge the Jecrets of all hearts, not (im- 
 ply by the Law, but according to my Gofpel, faith the 
 Apoftle, Rom. 2. And indeed this is the only reafbn, why 
 this duty continues ftill to bind, becaufe men are not 
 under the Law (imply, but under the Gofpel ; for that is 
 the ftate only of Devils, whofe doom is (baled : and 
 though the law of their nature cannot be abrogated, as 
 being a branch of eternal equity, yet they feem not to be 
 lyableunto any mens punilhment, for the breaches of it 
 now, becaufe not capable of any reward for the obfer- 
 vancc. The Gofpel therefore doth not evacuate , as 
 St. Paul fpeaks, but eftabliih the Law, fince every man is 
 therefore bound in duty unto the Law becaufe not abfo- 
 lutely excluded from all benefit of the Gofpel 5 But we 
 who are under the fulnefs of this Gofpel, are in a fuller 
 manner tied and in an higher degree unto the obfervance 
 of the law, than any people elfe before that fulnefs came, 
 as being bound now by the fpecial coming of the Holy 
 Ghoft to keep the Commandments not in the oldnefs of 
 the letter, which as it feems was fufficient, whilft the 
 Heir was but a Child and in minority 5 but in the new- 
 ntfs of the Spirit 5 for the Spirit it is which gives life and 
 vigour unto the Commandments , as being the very 
 ftrength and power of all lively performance. And there- 
 fore our Saviour though he came with Gofpel in his 
 mouth, yea was the Gofpel himfelf, yet thinly not, faith 
 he, that I came to dijjolve the law : I came not to dif 
 folve, but to fulfil it. And that we may know, the true 
 fulfilling* of it, if we think to enter into life, belongs to 
 us, as well as the entire and perpetual unto himfelf, after 
 he had vindicated the Text of the Law from the corrupt 
 glofles of the Scribes and Pharifees, and fet it forth in the 
 higheft perfeftion , if not added perfections above the 
 
 Law, 
 
j 2 A Sermon of the 'Duty of Man 
 
 Law, and beyond that which was faid unto them of old*, 
 Matt.7.24. he clofeth up all at laft with this conclufion, He that 
 heareth thefe fayings of mine, and doth them^ I will 
 liken him unto a wife man. What then, though being 
 dead under the law, we become through the favour of 
 the Gofpel to be dead alfo even unto the law, yet it is 
 Jbut to the condemning power, the killing letter of the 
 law, that fo we might be married unto Chrift our life, 
 lince the end of this marriage is but to bring forth fruit 
 unto God, as St. Paul in that place, and that in the new- 
 *tefs of the fpirit, which is not fure to break but to keep 
 with more exa&nels the Commandments of God. This 
 therefore a duty (till, the duty of Jew and Gentile and 
 Chriftian too, univerfally of all mankind. For this is 
 the whole duty of man ^ &c. 
 
 But though a duty, not only in Solomons time, but 
 ^ven now under the Gofpel, yet for all that, it may be 
 but a voluntary duty, a freewill offering indeed of thank- 
 fulnefs and gratitude, or fo, but not a neceffary duty, 
 neceffary unto life : Our life in this World is our jufti- 
 fication in Chrift, and Chrift and juftification too we 
 have them both by faith, and by faith alone without the 
 Rom. 4. works of the Law : So St. Paul allures us. But however 
 a duty it is and a neceffary duty, neceffary even to life, 
 unlefs no duty be neceffary, or Solomon here be deceiv- 
 ed, For this is the whole duty of man. Juftification in- 
 deed is that aft of God , which by remiffion of Sins 
 through Chrift puts men into theftate of Life here, and 
 gives them right and title unto Life eternal hereafter. 
 And though therefore an eftate attainable by the Gofpel 
 only not by the Law, which all have tranfgreffed, yet is 
 it moft true, that fo long as any (hall continue wittingly 
 and deliberately to tranfgrefs the Law, they are not ca- 
 pable of this or any other benefit of the Gofpel : The 
 Golpel it felf and whole Scriptures are clear in the point 5 
 
 Now 
 
ZJpon Eccles. xii. verfi i 5. 73 
 
 Now then, faith even St. Paulson whom they rely,fpeaking 
 of the time of theGofpel, now then there is no condem- 
 nation, and no condemnation is foil juftification, but to 
 whom ? to them that are in Chrift Jefus, but who are 
 they that follow? which walk^not after theflejh but af- 
 ter the fpirit 5 If any man walk otherwife, he hath no- 
 thing to do with Chrift: if we fay we have Communion 
 with him, and walk^in darkle fi 9 we lye, &\th St. John, 
 and do not the truth, 1 John i. 6. He that loveth not 
 his Br other \ that is one of thofe, that according to him 
 walks in darknefs 5 and as he wants light, fo life too, he 
 hath no life abiding in him, yea manet in morte, he re- 
 mains in death, 1 Joh.'\\\. 14. And what is (aid of one Sinner, 
 is true of all, for be not deceived, neither Fornicator^ 
 Adulterer , unclean perfon, or covetous, or any other the 
 like, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of God and of 
 Chrift. As little therefore in juftification which is the e- 
 ftate of life, and hath right to that inheritance 5 no mar- 
 vail therefore, if St. fames be bold to conclude in terms 
 clean contrary, Te fee then, that by workj a man isju- 
 ftified, and not by faith only, James ii. 24. Indeed much 
 ftir hath been about the feeming differences between 
 thefe Apoftles : He faid not amils, Meum & Tuum are 
 the common Barrators of the world , and Faith and 
 Works (eem no lefs to have broken the peace in the 
 Church. The points have been beaten fo long, as fome 
 think it time now they were beaten even out of all diP- 
 courfe ; But the truth is,they are fome of the nobleft that 
 our Faith doth yield, and unto the Chriftian Religion 
 of all other molt efiential though moft abufcd, as dis- 
 covering the neceffity of the Gofpel and invalidity of 
 the Law. with the main differences and union too of both 
 Law and Gofpel ^ And peradventure are not driven fo 
 home as they might be unlefs by very few, unto their 
 juft and right iilue even unto this day. If any thing lead 
 
 L the 
 
74 ^ Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 the way unto that, it muft be the perfeft reconciliation 
 of thefetwo, which by divers ways ad diftin&ions hath 
 been attempted on either fide, but not I fuppofe with Co 
 good fuccefs as may fully fatisfy 5 for in this, I take it, lliacos, 
 intra muros peccatur & extra. To diftinguifh of the 
 Law Ceremonial and Moral, as fome do, fuppofing that 
 St. Paul excludes the works of the Ceremonial Law, and 
 St. J antes requires thofe only of the Moral, is to no pur- 
 pofe 5 for clear it is, as the Sun, that St. Paul excludes 
 both, for he difputes againft Jew and Gentile, but efpe- 
 cially the works of the Moral Law, as that which is bro- 
 ken by all,and therefore cannot juftify any. Neither will 
 it be more available to diftinguifh with others of works 
 preceeding faith , works of Nature, and fuch as follow, 
 and are effefts of faith, works of Renovation and grace : 
 for St. Paul utterly rejefts from the ability of juftifying,all 
 works what(bever,whether before faith or after it, becaufe 
 the Law being once broken, no after-obfervance can fo 
 fatisfy for the breach, but that it will ftill condemn all 
 thofe that (hall ftand at that Tribunal. The diftin&ion 
 then of works not prevailing, others fall to diftinguifh 
 of juftification, and indeed that is the right way, if it be 
 lightly done : The Romanifis according to the Council 
 of Trent make it twofold, a firft, and a fecond juftifica- 
 tion : From the firft St. Paul removes works, and St 
 James they fuppofe, requires them only to the fecond : 
 But they are fruftrate in both diftin&ion and application 
 too$ for fince their fecond Juftification is but the increafe 
 and augmentation of that ELighteoufnefs which is infufed 
 in the firft, they cannot be two juftifications, fince more 
 or lefs will not afford a fpecifick difference, or numerical 
 either : And were they two,yet the works which St.James 
 requires, he requires for ntceflary unto the firft jufti- 
 fication as well as the fecond 3 for he doth inftance in Ra- 
 hab not juftilied before, by their own confeffion : And 
 
 the 
 
ZJpon E c c l e s. xii. verfe 1 3. 75 
 
 the works which St. Paul removes, he removes from the 
 fecond juftification as well as thefirft, as firft or laft ne- 
 ver to be found in any. And therefore he makes his in- 
 ftance in Abraham, that was juftified long before even 
 that time of his inftance. The diftinftion of juftification 
 in the obtaining, and of juftification already obtained is 
 much after the fame manner, and is choked utterly with 
 the felf fame anfwer. Others on the other fide diftin- 
 guifh Juftus faQus, from Juftus declaratm^ of juftifica- 
 tion before God, and juftification in the Eyes of men 5 
 St. James's words they refer unto this,and St. Parti's to the 
 former, but moft erroneomfly alfo 5 for nothing is plainer 
 than that both of them fpeak of juftification in the fight 
 of God, St. James as well as St Paul^ for he plainly de- 
 nies falvation unto faith, if not accompanied with works, 
 with an interrogation, Can thy faith fave thee ? and 
 proves too, that it cannot, as being a dead faith, and the 
 faith of Devils, and fuch fure can juftify neither with 
 God nor man, fooner indeed with men, than with God. 
 That way therefore which is moft general and hath been 
 thought the beft peradventure, becaufe the fubtleft, is to 
 diftinguifh between the aft of juftifying, andtheSubjeft 
 or Perfon to be juftified: St. James, as is fuppofed 
 requiring only the prefence of works in the Subjeft, 
 which St. Paul removes only from the Aft, and is but 
 thus, in other terms. Fides fola juftificat, fed fides c]u& 
 juftificat, fton eft fola. Thismay have a promifing look.> 
 but will notfatisfy neither, but is out too, and that on both 
 fides, for St. Paul clearly rtmovesthe works he fpeaks o£ 
 from the Perfon to be juftified , as well as from the aft 
 that doth juftifie, non operanti to him that worketh not, 
 butbclieveth on \\\w\qui juftifie at impium, that juftifieth 
 the ungodly: And St. James requires the works he fpeaks 
 of, no lefb than faith, unto the Aft, as well as in the Sub- 
 jeft. His words are exprefc> ex operibus , by workj a 
 
 L 2 man 
 
j 6 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 man is juftified^ and not by faith only. Why, but how 
 then (hall they be reconciled ? furely no way (b well, as by 
 looking unto their different intentions,from whence it will 
 appear, that St. Paul removes works, all works from be- 
 ing the things that do juftifie} and St. James requires 
 them only, as conditions and qualifications upon which 
 we are juftified : For the purpofe of St. Paul, is by the 
 breach of the Law, to demonftrate the neceffity of the 
 Gofpel, that that only is the power of God unto Salvar 
 tion 5 for fince all the world (lands culpable before God, 
 it follows of neceffity, that either we muft perifh with- 
 out remedy, or elie be juftified by a Gofpel of mercy, 
 which he well terms the juftification of faith in meerop- 
 pofition to works, all works, even faith it fel£ as the 
 things which may be thought to juftify. Now St. James 
 intent is only to vindicate this wholfom and neceffary 
 Doftrine from the abufe of Heretical Spirits, whoie evil 
 words had at once corrupted both St. Pauls meaning and 
 their own good manners, affirming, that fince works 
 could not juftifie, no works were neceffary, and there- 
 fore it mattered little to obferve the Law, it was enough 
 only to believe the Gofpel. Againft thefe diffolute Epi- 
 cures this Apoftle,as St. Augujiin obferves, wholly dire&s 
 his difpute, the purpofe whereof is, not to place juftifi- 
 cation in the works of the Law (for in many things ,faith 
 he, we offend all, and if but in one^yet are we guilty of 
 the whole) but only to (hew, that unlefs the works of 
 the Law, though formerly broken, do come at length to 
 accompany our faith, we can never be juftified by 
 any grace of the Gofpel. So then if we divide rightly 
 according to thefe intents, we muft diftrnguifh of a two- 
 fold juftification, by Innocence, and by Pardon s for it 
 rnuft be either by works, or by mercy, a legal juftification 
 or an Evangelical : And of two forts of works fubfervi- 
 entunto tbefe feveral juftifications, and of two forts of 
 
 ways 
 
ZJpon E c c l e s. xii. verfe 13. 77 
 
 ways by which they do juftify, Works of Perfe&ion and 
 perpetual perfection, that inherently juftifie, and hi> 
 mally in ftri&nefs of Law, but are excluded by St. Paul as 
 no where found in any 5 and works of Renovation after 
 the breach of the Law, required by St. James in every 
 one, that expeft the juftification of the Gofpel : Thofe 
 works perfeftly keep the Law, and never break it 5 Thefe 
 keep the Law fincerely,but after it is broken : They juftifie 
 therefore in themfelves, and by their own worth 5 Thefe 
 not So, but becaufe found in none but finners, prepare 
 only and qualifie for the juftification of Chrift : They 
 juftifie, thele obtain juftification: That ftriftly the jufti- 
 fication of works, this properly the juftification of faith, 
 which is their fountain. And faith alone, alone with- 
 out thefe may juftifie, yea cannot juftifie with them 5 for 
 fuch works evacuate faith, as not needing it, which is 
 St. Pauls doftrine. But faith alone without thefe cannot 
 juftifie, yea without them is not faith, not a true and a 
 living faith, which is St. James his ailertion. And in this 
 Reconcilation doth appear the reconciliation and oppo- 
 sition too of both Law and Gofpel, Faith and works, 
 how they confpire and meet, how they jar and refufe to 
 mingle. For the juftification of the Law evacuates 
 Chrift, who then died in vair?^ as St. Paul fpeaks. For 
 there needs no Saviour where there is no fin \ And the 
 juftification of Chrift dilanulls again that of the Law, as 
 arguing it to be broken, yea and the condemnation of the 
 Law too, notwithstanding the breach : So they contra- 
 dift and dillolve one another 5 But what the Gofpel ex- 
 cludes by remiilion of fins, it clofeth withal again by 
 the manner of remitting : Never pardoning offences, till 
 they be firft forfaken, and men return again to the ob- 
 lervance of the Law } nor yet continuing that pardon 
 longer, than they fhall continue to obferveit, fayingun- 
 ia none but the penitent.., Thy fins are forgiven thee 5 
 
 noc 
 

 jS A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 nor yet unto them without faying alfo, Sin no more left 
 a worfe thing happen unto thee. So the terms ftand thus 5 
 No condemnation from the Law though broken, when- 
 soever we return to obferve it 5 and until we do obferve 
 it, no grace or mercy by the Gofpel : and fo they meet 
 and are reconciled 5 For fb far the Gofpel doth eftablifti 
 the Law, yea and farther, for it not only requires, but 
 gives grace, for the performance of that it doth require, 
 even the observance of the Law. And this reconciliation 
 St. Paul himfelf, the great urger of the oppofition, eve- 
 ry where doth acknowledge, for they are his own words, 
 not the hearers but the doers of the lawfoall bejujiified. 
 And that the law is done by faith is evident^rpifA workc 
 Rom. 8. e ffr by love^and love is the fulfilling of the law. So the A- 
 poftles are both met, St. James requiresFaith and Works, 
 St. Paul a working Faith, working by love, and that even 
 all theCommandmentsofGod,not foasto juftifie in them- 
 felves,but only to qualify for the juftification ofChrift.The 
 Commandments therefore are no freewill offering at plea- 
 sure, no voluntary duty of gratitude only, but a duty 
 neceffary unto our juftification here, and eternal well- 
 fare, if any be neceffary. For this is the whole duty of 
 man. Why, but yet (for there is no end of wrangling, 
 though this wrangle (hall end all) though a duty now, 
 and a neceffary, yet fince the Gofpel affords a Mediator, 
 were it never fo due, the debt we hope may be paid by 
 another, that is our Surety, and that furety is Chrift, 
 who hath exadly kept the Law, and is made unto us ivif- 
 dom^ Juftice, San&ification and Redemption, fo faith 
 the Apoftle. But no furety in this kind . That which 
 is the duty of Man, is every Mans own duty, and muft 
 be performed in his own Perfon. True indeed it is, Chrift 
 our Lord fulfilled the Law exaftly, but that we may 
 break it in our felves, and yet at the fame time fulfil it in 
 him that is our Mediator, this I take it, is not fo true. 
 
 The 
 
ZJpon Eccles, xii. verfe i 3. 79 
 
 The Apoftle faith indeed, that he accounted all things Phil- 3- 
 loft and dung too, that he might be found in Chriji, 
 not having his own righteoufnefs, which ts of the Law, 
 but the righteoufnefs which is of God by faith. Yea far- 
 ther, that God made him to-be fin for us, that knew 
 no fin, that we might be made the righteoufnefs of God 
 in him 5 but yet this righteoufnefs of God is not to be 
 taken for Gods own righteoufnefs, but only as he (aid 
 in the former place, for the righteoufnefs which is of God 
 by Faith ) which righteoufnefs includes both juftificati- 
 on, which is imputative, andfinftification, which is in- 
 herent $ but yet neither in St. Paul's fence, is our own, 
 becaufe not of the Law, but of grace and mercy by the 
 faith of Chrift. Be it then, that Chrift is made unto us Ju- 
 ftice and San&ification both, yea Wifdom and Redempti- 
 on alfo, yet not all after one and the fame manner : Wif- 
 dom he is made, becaufe he hath revealed his Fathers 
 will : Redemption,becaufe he hath appointed a day to vin- 
 dicate his Children out of the hands of corruption into 
 liberty, which is glorious : Juftice, becaufe he hath of- 
 fered up himfelf a Sacrifice for fin 5 but San&ification, 
 becaufe he hath given us his Spirit. Chrift therefore un- 
 to us, is all thefe, but yet not all thefe by imputation^ 
 for then his Wifdom fhould be imputed too, yea and e- 
 ven the redemption of our bodies from the grave impu- 
 tative alfo. Indeed we can dream willingly of nothing 
 but imputation. All feems nothing worth unlefs Chrift 
 did fo do all for us, as we may not have any thing to do 
 for our fclves. I doubt we may come in time to con- 
 ceive, that he did believe and repent for us too, for thefe 
 are his Commandments, and fo believe only this, that 
 neither Faith nor Repentance are in our perfons necefla- 
 ry. For if Chrift as a furcty hath abfolutely undertaken 
 any thing for us ; we like the (cape-Goat muft go free up • 
 
 Oil I 
 
80 A Sermon of the Duty of Man 
 
 on his performance } The fame debt may not with ju- 
 •ftice be required of the furety and principal too 3 iffo, 
 then do what we lift, all things are done to our hands 
 already 5 O this were to be a gracious Saviour to pur- 
 pofe, if we might take our pleafure, ryot in Intempe- 
 rance and Luxury, and withal have his Abftinence and 
 Moderation imputed to us, be beheld of God at the time, 
 as no lefs Temperate and Chafte than Chrift himfelf. Were 
 it not glad tidings, a Gofpel indeed, that we might be 
 Feafting, Caroufing, Swearing, Drinking, and yet under 
 the eye of God at the fame inftant, asif we were Watch- 
 ing, Falling, Praying, Weeping even with Chrift him- 
 felf in the Garden ? As though God beheld Men through 
 Chrift, as Men do other things, by a perfpe&ive, which re- 
 prefenteth them to the Eye not in their own colours, but 
 in the colour of the glafs they pais through. No, God is 
 not deceived with fhadows, neither doth Chrift caft any 
 fuch : He takes not good for evil, nor yet evil, no not for 
 Chrifts fake, ever for good : And let not us be deceived 
 with vain (hews neither 5 The truth is, it is well, that up- 
 on our Repentance we are juftified by imputation, we 
 fhall be too putative, if we conceipt an imputed fanfti- 
 fication too : for twofuch imputations will not well agree 
 together^ one of them will be needlefs ever or impofli- 
 ble for juftification, that is, remiffionof fins is it felffuf- 
 ficient without imputation of farther fan&ity, becaufe as 
 St. Aufiin hath it, Omnia ut fa&a deputantur^ quatido 
 quodjattum non eji ignofcitur 5 And perfed fan&ifica- 
 tion imputed on the other fide, will leave no room for 
 remiffion or imputative juftification : fo Chrifts death 
 might have beenfpared,fince we (hould then befaved by 
 his life 5 for what ufe may there be of his blood for Re- 
 miffion, fo long as beheld in his righteoufnefs, that ne- 
 ver finned > If no finner, he needs no pardon 3 if he need a 
 
 pardon, 
 
Vpn E c c l e s. xii. verfe 15. 81 
 
 pardon, he mud of neceffity be beheld as a (inner, and 
 therefore Remiflion of fins and perfcft Righteoufnefs are 
 oppofite forms that cannot at the fame time pofiibly be 
 imputed unto the fame perfon, for they expel and fhut 
 out one another. Let it fuffice then, that our bleffed Lord 
 vouchfafed to died his blood for our (ins, let us not there- 
 fore fuppofe that we are not bound to forfake them our 
 felves , that were to (hed his blood afreth and crucifie 
 him again, as the Apoftle fpeaks. But as he did that for us, 
 which if we negleft it not, will prove our justification 5 
 fo we through his affiftance muft do this for our felves, 
 otherwife we fhall want our fanftification, and wanting 
 it, want the other alfo : That indeed is the meer a& of 
 God, but on thofe that are qualified for it : This pro- 
 ceeds from God and his grace, but is the true duty of 
 man, and which gives him his qualification, and in man 
 therefore it muft inhere 5 for the righteoufnefs of juftifi- 
 cation is perfeft, but not inherent, but the righteoufnefi 
 of fan&ification now inherent but not perfect, hereafter 
 in that glory, whither it leads us, it will be both perfeft 
 and inherent, yea inherent, perfeft and perpetual alfo. 
 Rightly therefore to conclude all this righteoufnefsof the 
 Commandments, the duty of man ftill, and (ince Faith is 
 included in it, as being now commanded, as rightly the 
 whole duty of man: That duty which doth accomplifh 
 his eleftion ^ for if any man purge himfelf from thefe 
 things, he foall be a vejjelunto honour 5 fulfils the end 
 of his Creation, created unto good works, that we 
 might vcaik^ therein \ makes effectual the Divine Voca- 
 tion, for we are called unto holinefi^ is it (elf our fan- 
 dtification, fox the Commandment is holy and jttfi and 
 good 5 procures our juftification, they wrought righte- 
 oufnefs and gained the promifes ; and laftly leads into 
 Glory, for they that have their fruit in holinefs^ have 
 
 M their 
 
82 A Sermon of the Duty of Man, &c. 
 
 their md) everlajling life. That fruit here, this bleffed 
 end hereafter, the God of Glory grant unto us all in 
 his Kingdom, even for Jefus Chrift his fake the righte- 
 ous. To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit, &c» 
 Amen. 
 
8? 
 
 SERMON 
 
 O F 
 
 CHRIST'S 
 
 Coming toJUDGMENT. 
 SERMON III. 
 
 Upon Matt. xvi. 27. 
 
 for th Son ofSMan [ball come in the glory of Us Pa- 
 tier with his Angels : And then he p?all regard e= 
 very man according to his works, 
 
 ILeft untouched in my former Text the fecond rea- 
 fon wherewith Solomon ends his Book, and con- 
 firms his Conclufion of, Fear God and keep his 
 Commandments, which is this, For God Jfjall britig e- 
 very » or \into judgment with every fecret thing, whe- 
 ther it be good or whether it be evil. And rTow for va- 
 riety fake I have chofen to profecute the feme fubje& 5 
 not in Solomons words, but in our Saviour's , for thefe 
 
 M 2 are 
 
84 A Sermon ofCbrifis coming to Judgment 
 
 are infer'd unto the fame end, and much to o after the 
 fame manner. 
 
 In the verfes precedent, What fljall it profit a man 
 ((aith Chrift) to gain the whole world and lofe his own 
 foul, or what foall a man give in exchange far his foul ? 
 Asifhs hadiaid, Gain any man what he lift or what he 
 can, be it never fo much Cfor the world indeed runs all 
 after gain and never enough) yet if by this means he come 
 at laft to lofe his own Soul, there is no profit in it. He 
 will ftill be a lofer by his gain. Or on the other fide, lofe 
 in this life whatfoever he hath, or may lofe, Pleasures, 
 Profits, Honours or any thing elfe, even Life it felf, yet 
 if in the loft of all other things, he may prefer ve and 
 gainWs own Soul, he will be a winner eveain his lolings. 
 To keep his Soul, he can part with nothing that is too 
 dear} or if he would part with his Soul, he can receive 
 nothing that is dear enough: for what can either way be 
 of fufficient value tomakeajuft exchange for the Soul ? 
 But yet fo it is, fmall things are given in exchange for 
 great, and according to the momentany works and beha- 
 viour of men here, fo (hall their Souls be gained or loft e- 
 ternally hereafter. For the fon of man, &c. 
 
 The words deliver up themfelvesunto us in thefe parti- 
 culars. 
 
 1. The perfon,y?/i«j ho-minis^ that here is his appella- 
 tion, The Son of man. 
 
 2. The appearance of this Perfon once more unto the 
 world, vent nr us eft, he pall come. 
 
 3. The form or manner of his coming, in gldria pa- 
 trh in the glory of his Father. 
 
 4. The end or purpofe of his coming, for retribution, 
 & tunc reddet, then Jhall he reward. 
 
 5. The impartiality of it, without refpeft of any mans 
 perfon, reddet unicuique, he Jfjati reward every man. 
 
 6. And laftly, the juftnefs of his reward, in due pro- 
 
 portion 
 
ZJfon Mat. xvi. verfe 27. 85 
 
 portion to his defert, He flail reward every man, fe- 
 cuxdum opera fua, according to his workj. 
 
 The points lie in the fame order, as the words do in 
 the Text, and therefore 1 (hall handle them without any 
 material tranfpofuion, beginning firft with the Perfon, 
 that here fpeaks this of himfelf, and his appellation, filins 
 hominis, The fon of man. 
 
 He that was both God and Man, may ftile himfelf as 
 he pleafe by either } but yet our bleffcd Lord (whether 
 to intimate his love unto our whole kind, or to inftruft 
 us in the imitation of his humility) ufually makes choice 
 of the meaneft of his Titles, and though the Son of God, 
 yet fcldom or never fpeaks of himfelf, but in the Stile 
 and Title F/lii hominis, of the Son of Man. 
 
 But yet as he affumes it, it is no vulgar or common ftile 
 neither: for he affumes it with a difference and diftin&i- 
 on from all other the Sons of men whatfoever : for it is 
 o ws t£ aVGpwVu, The or That fon of Man 5 the fon of 
 Man after fuch a fpecial and eminent manner, as will 
 make it a peculiar title, an Attribute proper only unto 
 himfelf and applyable unto no other. As for our felvesj 
 we are all Filii hominnm, Sons of Men indeed, in the 
 plural, he only in the fingular, and therefore he only 
 Angularly, Filins hominis, the Son of man. Homo hath 
 both genders, and here in the right fence it is only fe- 
 minine, and Filins hominis, no more than ftmen Muli- 
 erfr, the Son of man, than the feed of the Woman the 
 Son of the (he-man 5 for Son of man but in this regard he 
 was not, as being that mighty ftone in Daniel^ cut out 
 of the mountain without hands, and flos campi^ the flow- 
 er not of the Garden but of the field, growing up with- 
 out letting: for he, who as the Son of God, had a Fa- 
 ther, but no Mother f, as the Son of man, had a Mother, 
 but without any Father, and therefore by the Mothers 
 fide only Filins hominis^ the Son of Man, There wag 
 
 indeed 
 
86 A Sermon ofCbrifls coming to judgment 
 
 indeed a woman once, that wasfilia hominis 5 Eve taken 
 out of Adam, without the help of woman 5 as Chrift 
 our Lord filins hontinis, taken out of woman without 
 the affiftance of man. And as Eve the daughter of man, 
 was both daughter and wife unto her own Father : So 
 Chrift the Son of Man, was both (on and husband unto his 
 own mother : And being Son unto that Mother, in Her he 
 was the Son of her Anceftors, of David and Abraham 
 and others, but not otherwife, for no defcendant from 
 them, or any other was ever or might be his natural and 
 immediate Father. Of neceffity, therefore, the Son of 
 Man can be no more, than the Son of the bleffed Virgin, 
 that is, the fbn of a woman : And however in relation 
 unto God, Chrift though both God and man, may not 
 have two fon-(hips, the one as man the other as God, as 
 God, the natural, and as man, the adopted, becaufe the 
 Relation of a Son adheres not to the Nature, but to the 
 Perfon, and fo having but one Perfon cannot have two 
 filiations : yet nothing doth hinder but that in reference 
 unto fome other, this whole Perfon, though the Son of 
 God, may rightly be termed the Son of Man alfo. For when 
 the Son of God vouchfafed not to abhor the Virgins womb, 
 he then received a new Relation,and being brought forth 
 into the world, though otherwife the Son of God, he 
 now became really the fon of a woman , and (he that 
 brought him forth as truly Deipara, the very Mother of 
 Cod. In regard whereof St. Peter being demanded by 
 our Saviour, who do men fay, that I the Son of man \ 
 <*z*,Anfwers, Th esfilius dei viventis^ Thou the Son of 
 m-an art the Son of the ever-living God 5 Two Son- 
 fhips and but one Perfon, but in regard of two feveral 
 relations, and that unto two (everal Perfons : The prime 
 Article This of our Faith,and foundation of that Church, 
 againft which the gates of Hell (hall never prevail.TheSon 
 of God then, and the Son of Man too : The Son of Man 
 
 he 
 
Vpon Matth. xvi. verfe 2 7. 87 
 
 he was here, before he went hence, and as the Son of Man 
 he (hall return again. For fo it follows in the fecond place, 
 Filius hominis venture eft, The Son ofManfiallcome. 
 
 And come indeed he (hall, nothing more fure :, but 
 the when, the Time of his Coming, than that nothing 
 more uncertain. And therefore without all limitation is 
 doubthilly delivered here, and indefinitely, only with a 
 vent urns eft. He (hall come, and no more. 
 
 Our Saviour would have all men ftand upon their 
 guard, be vigilant and watchful for that hour, have their 
 Loyns ever girt and their Oyle always ready in their 
 Lamps $ for that cry at midnight may come at unaware^ 
 and for this reafon he would have men aware of it. 
 That it cannot be long hence indeed, he hath given fufc 
 ficient warning, (hewn it clear unto all. For a thoufand 
 years it is and fix hundred (ince it was faid, Thefe are the 
 laft times, yea Hora novijfiMj, the laft hour, and Judex 
 fr&foribns, the Judge is at the doors $ and that Judge him- 
 felf in the laft of the Revelation, Ecce venio cito, behold 
 1 come quickly^ and my reward *f with we: but how 
 much time this Quickly hath in it, how near or far off 
 it may be, this he hath not (hovvn unto any, yea hath re- 
 futed to (hew unto his own, though defired by his own 
 Apoftles : But keeps it as a fecret, reierved unto himfel£ 
 and to be referved for ever in his own bofom : The Angels 
 in Heaven underftand it not, yea the Son of man himfelfj 
 that is to come as the Son of man only, that is in his hu- 
 mane nature, he doth not, he cannot difcovdr the time of 
 his coming. How vain then are the endeavours and en- 
 quiries of all other impotent and ignorant men ? And yet 
 mans bufy head muft needs be workings nothing can re- 
 (train his curiofity from prying at leaft, and though he 
 cannot poffibly affirm any thing for certain , yet he will 
 be bold to deliver his coRjefturc, And conjeftures indeed 
 there have been many 3 but all no le(s team han 
 
88 A Sermon of Chrifts -coming to Judgment 
 
 vain. The Aftrologian, and the Philofopher will needs 
 have it fall out juft in the fatal period of the great Pla- 
 tonickyear j when all the Sphearsand Stars fixt and wan- 
 dering (hall return again unto their firft points and pofiti- 
 ons, wherewith they were originally afpe&ed : But a 
 Platonick year ( were any fuch poflible) would fooner be 
 fpent, I fuppofe, than thefe wife men agree among them- 
 felves, when and what time this great Revolution will be 
 fini(hed : This attempt therefore as rafh and vain, fo ri- 
 diculous alfo. The Modern Jews and Talmudifts feem 
 to go upon better grounds,and with them fomeof the Fa- 
 thers, as LaUantim and others, thefe all refolve the for- 
 mer for certain, the latter in a ftrong opinion upon fix 
 thoufand years for the worlds continuance, two thoufand 
 under the Law of Nature, two thoufand under that of 
 Mofes , and two thoufand under the Gofpel of Grace: 
 And that thefe once expired, the fon of man then comes 
 without fail in the glory of the Father. And the truth is, 
 they have fome (hews of reafbn and pretty congruities to 
 countenance their divinations : Some of the Rabbies by 
 their Cabal learning have found this out even in the firft 
 verfe of Genejis , where Alpha^ the firft of the Hebrew 
 Alphabet, and the Numerical letter that denotes the num- 
 ber of thoufand, is juft (as they obferve) fix times written: 
 That fo the worldsAge and diffolution might bemyfteriouf- 
 iy read in the very front and forehead of the worlds Crea- 
 tion: which in the Creation it felf,and the manner of it, is, 
 they fuppofemuch more legible, as farther typed out,and 
 more fully djfcovered. For in fix days, it pleafed God to 
 create the Heaven and the Earth and all that is therein,and 
 on the feventh day he refted : And to (hew that this con- 
 cerned mans continuance of Travel in this world,God after- 
 wards commanded him alfo fix days to labour, and to ob- 
 ferve the feventh for a Sabbath, the figure of Eternal reft 
 in the Heavens: now mi lie anni coram Deo 7 ficut dies 
 
 una* 
 
Vpn Mat. xvi. zierfe 27. 89 
 
 una-) A thousand years with the Lord are but as one day s 
 one day therefore in fignification here , as a thoufand 
 years 3 And the felf fame, they would have yet farther 
 infinuated in the firft Patriots and Progenitors of this 
 new-born world, Generis hnmani fat ores , the firft 
 ftorers of the Earth with Mankind : fix fucceded one 
 another in order, and then died: Adam y Seth, Enos^ 
 Cain an, Mahalaleel. and Jared? but Enoch the feventh 
 from Adam was translated, taken up to walk with God, 
 as the type and figure of all his Children. To thefe, 
 others add divers other futable inftances. That the Ark^ Gen. viiL 
 of Noah , the Type of the Militant Church, floated fix 4% 
 Months on the Waters, and that in the feventh it refted 
 on the mountain. That Mofes fix days was in the Cloud, E XO d. 
 and in the (eventh was called unto the prefence of the xxm l6 - 
 Lord. That Jerico, the figure of this world, as being 
 oppofed unto Jerufalem , the type of that to come, be- \f?' vl 
 ing fix days compaffedby the command of God, in the 
 feventh fell utterly , and ruined , which happened too, 
 juft as the Ifraelites were going off the Wildernefs to 
 poflefs their promifed Land. Some more yet there are 
 to this purpofe, but of another (train, and fetcht (bme- 
 thing farther. There be, that fifh for it out of the fix- 
 fcore years given to the old world for amendment, before 
 the coming of the Flood , which though in that regard 
 literally meant, yet in a myftery thefe, fay they, do de- 
 fign as many great years, or years Mofaical, and Jubilar, 
 every one whereof contained fifty of the common and or- 
 dinary, and then fifty drawn on fix-fcore, every (core pro- 
 ducing a thoufand,theproduft that refults from the whole 
 mult needs be juft fi\ r thoufand years, the general (pace 
 they conceive for the repentance of the whole world, 
 before the coming of the fecond deluge, diluvium ig- 
 nis, that deluge of Fire. The (ame thefe Men colled 
 likewife from the life of Afofes, who lived precifcly a 
 
 N hundred 
 
90 A Sermon of-Cbrifis coming to Judgment 
 
 hundred and twenty years,forty years in the Courtof ?h&- 
 r<*0/6,whichanfwers, asthey would have it, unto two thou- 
 fand years under Nature 3 forty years in the Delart with 
 Jethra, keeping Sheep on the backfide of Roreb, which 
 refponds unto two thoufand under the Law given in that 
 Mountain 5 and forty years in the wilderneis governing 
 the people of: God, and leading them on unto their Land 
 of reft, which defign the other two thoufand under the 
 conduit and Kingdom of Chrift our Lord, who, when 
 thefe (hall be once elapfed and fpent,will come again and 
 deliver up the Kingdom unto his Father. Sofome^ But 
 La8antiui and others otherwife, That he (hall come in- 
 deed at the end of fix thoufand years, but the end for all 
 that,is not yet : For he (hall fpend,they fuppofe, a thoufand 
 L years in a kingdom of Rjghteoufnefs upon Earth, as a fpiri- 
 tual Sabbath from fin, which firft kept, they (hall then pafs 
 into that great and eternal Sabbath of Glory even for ever. 
 Thefe may be pretty Speculations (to fay no worie of 
 them) but they cannot conclude any thing : They are lit- 
 tle better than what that learned man tearms them, Com- 
 menta, quibus malignm tile humana detinet ingenia : 
 fomething indeed they have of wit, much of curiofity, but 
 of certainty nothing at all.For fuppofe the conje&ure true, 
 were fix thoufand years as they would have it, the full 
 period of the Worlds age, yet what could certainly be 
 difcovered from thence, when the different Calculators 
 thernfelves are at a fault, or rather an unrecoverable lofs 
 concerning the juftage of the world, and how much of 
 itisfpent already? But what need fuch computations > 
 Excellently-St. Aujiin. Omnium cte hac re calculantium- 
 
 digitos.. 0... & quiefeere jubet, qui ait^ non eji 
 
 veftrum nofcere, &c. He raps all Accountants on the 
 fingers and commands them to ceafe, who fays, it is not 
 -for you to know the times and the feafons, which the 
 Father- hath put in hir own power. What the Son of God 
 
 with 
 
ZJpon Mat. xvi. verfe 27. 91 
 
 withfuch a check refufed to reveal,why (hould any other 
 the fons of men dare prefume to fearch, or think to dis- 
 cover } But fuch are the crofs, and prepofterous ways of 
 perverfe Mortals, ever attempting to know, where they 
 are enjoyned to be ignorant 5 and there for the moft af- 
 fecting ignorance, where God moft requires their know- 
 ledge. 
 
 Otherwife we might find other computations, much 
 fitter to be bufyed in 5 forbear counting of the Times, 
 and think rather upon that, Redde rationem Vilicati- 
 onk, how we may make up our own Accounts againft 
 that day, which when all calculations are ended, will not- 
 withftanding fteal upon the world undefcryed, like a 
 Thief, faith our Saviour, in the night, when men leaft 
 dream of it, overtake even thefe bufie Calculators, as the 
 Enemy did Archimedes drawing his Circles for preven- 
 tion, in the duft, and not fuffer him to finifh his diagrams, 
 nor Thefe peradventure their Computations : For as it was 
 in the days of Noah , men eat and drank and married 
 fecurely until the Flood came and carried all away : So 
 faith he himfelf, will it be at the coming of the Son of 
 man, who will come as a fweeping deluge indeed , yea 
 much more unrefiftable, For he fo all come in power, and 
 Majejiy , and great glory ^ even in gloria Patris. Our 
 third Point. 
 
 The Son of man JJjall come in the glory of his F ather. 
 For though the time of his coming be concealed, yet 
 not fo the manner of it, That indeed is plainly expreft, 
 and revealed unto all 5 but in fuch and fo high terms, as 
 mortal man can no way worthily fpeak of 5 no nor 
 rightly in any degree conceive in his thoughts, until he 
 fhall come to fee and behold it with his Eyes. Then 
 indeed and then only he (hall know what it is to come in 
 gloria Patris^ in the glory of the Father, 
 
 He came once already in the days of his humiliation, 
 
 N 2 and 
 
9 2 A Sermon ofChrijis coming to Judgment 
 
 and then he came Filius hominis, the Son of Man, em- 
 ptying himfelf of his Divine Honour, and vailing it up in 
 the cloud of our mortality, when he was content tofuf- 
 fer himfelf to be contemned, fcorn'd and derided, reviled, 
 Ipit upon and buffeted, fcourged with whips, and crown- 
 ed with thorns, until he became a worm, and no Man, 
 having neither form nor beauty why we fhould defire 
 him, and. lad of all crucified on a Tree : But now the 
 fcene comes to be altered , the face of things utterly 
 changed .• That was dies hominis, Mans day indeed, and 
 the hour of the powers of darknefs .• They did then 
 what they lift, and he was pleafed to fufFer whatfoever 
 they lift to do. Now comes dies Domini, and the Lord 
 (hall have his day too : He will now be aftive, and men 
 another while muft be content to fuffcr every one accord- 
 ing to his defervings* This poor defpifed filius hominis, 
 this worm, without form or beauty to be delired, will 
 now appear in the ftrength of his Glory, as the Sun 
 breaking out of a Cloud, or the Lightning out of the 
 Eaft, ftriking all eyes even with aftonifhment at his beau- 
 ty and brightnels, yea and make all faces, all faces of the 
 wicked gather blacknefs too to behold it .• For as every 
 hand hath wounded him, fo every eye (hall fee him 
 whom they have pierced, but not every eye endure the 
 fight of fuch overawing and dreadful Majefty, as (hall 
 draw them to embrace Rocks, and cry unto deaf Moun- 
 tains to cover them from the prefence of the Lamb and 
 him that fitteth on the Throne, for he now comes in 
 gloria, Patris, 
 
 But why in the Glory of the Father? Indeed at his 
 firft appearance it was, Ecce Rex tuns venit mitis^ Be- 
 hold thy King comet h unto thee meek^, fitting on an Afs 
 and the foal of an Afs. Now it is, Ecce Judex tuus ve- 
 nit terribilis •■> Behold thy Judge cometh with terrour 
 flying vpon the mings. of the, mind^ . and riding upon 
 
 Cherubinsr, 
 
ZJpon Mat. xvi. verfe 27. 93 
 
 Cherubim, as the Pfalmift fpeaks, yea many Cherubins 
 and Scraphins, millions and myriads of holy Angels at- 
 tending on his Glorious Ma jefty, when the whole Earth 
 and Heavens too (hall be filled with the Majefty of his 
 Glory 5 Bccaufe he endured the Crofs and defpifed the 
 fhame,valued not his life, but humbled and bowed down 
 his Soul even unto death, therefore God now exalts him, 
 lets him on high, yea gives him a name above all names, 
 whereat the knees, that now are fo ftiff, (hall then, will 
 they nill they, bow and bend, and the tongue of eve- 
 ry one confeis, lundando, as he fpeaks vcl nlulando, 
 that Jefus is the Lord, to the Glory of the Father 5 for he 
 now comes in gloria Patris, in the Fathers Glory. He 
 comes at this time for Judgment, and that originally be- 
 longs unto the Father 5 Vengeance is mine, I will re- 
 compence, faith the Lord, But yet the Father judgeth 
 no man, faith Chrift, but hath referred all judgment to 
 the Son, evtnfilio hominis, to this Son of man, to whom 
 as man he hath given all power both in Heaven and 
 Earth: The (on indeed himfelf even as the fon of God, 
 is a Receiver from the Father, even of the Glory which 
 he hath 5 for glory he receives from him, from whom he 
 receives his Eflence the fountain of glory, as having his 
 very being not of himfelf but of the Father, Fons Dei- 
 tat is, the fountain that communicates the Deity imme- 
 diately to the other perfons, folely unto the Son, who 
 is therefore Dens de Deo, God of Cod and light of light'. 
 Yet having received it from eternity, it is his own, even 
 his Fathers both eilence and glory, and fo though God 
 of God and light of light, yet becaufe the fame both God 
 and light, he is in Majefty equal, in Glory coeternal & e* 
 qual without robbery, faith the Apoftle, and though not 
 without reception, yet without any duty of gratitude 
 for the receipt, as receiving it, not by a free and volut> 
 tary, but by a generation no left natural .and. (imply ne- 
 
 ceilary/ 
 
94 -d Sermon ofChrifls coming to Judgment 
 
 ■ 
 
 ceffary than abfolutely eternal. For which reafons he is 
 elfewhere faid to come, not in gloria, Patris^ but in glo- 
 ria fua, even in his own glory : when the Son of Man 
 
 Matt. 25. ^ a ^ come ** T ? ^V a ' UT * m ^ s own glory, as he doth 
 here, perd t<£v dyyixwv dvrZ with his own Angels. In 
 the glory of the Father and with his Angels. And his 
 Angels fure they are whom they are commanded to adore 
 and worfhip. Worfoip him all ye Angels of his. All of 
 them muft worfhip, and all attend on him now, even 
 the whole Quire and Court of Heaven, not an Angel 
 
 Mao. 2$, left behind, for he (hall come with all the Angels. No 
 marvel if Daniel faid, thoufand thoufands Jl)all minijier 
 unto him^and ten thoufand times ten thoufand fialijiand 
 before him in that day : what a preftnce of ftate indeed 
 will this be, how full and every way Majeftick ! But 
 yet thefe are not only for State and Majefty, at this time, 
 but for miniftration alio. Thouland thoufands (hall mi- 
 nifter unto him, for the time is now come when that of 
 the Apoftle, out of David^ is to be fulfilled, He Jfjal/ 
 make his minifiers a flaming fire, at leaftto minifter to 
 thofe flames that (hall never be quenched 5 for the great 
 Harveft of the world is now come, and their imployment 
 in it, is fet down before-hand. The Angels muft be the 
 Reapers. Thefe are they that muft feparate the Sheep 
 from the Goats, fever the Tares from the Wheat. We 
 may be too forward in plucking them up now, indanger 
 the good Corn, 'twere beft let this alone for them whofe 
 proper office it is, and will do it exaftly, gather the 
 Tares in fafiiculos into bundles,asthe Text hath it, bind 
 them up too,and caji them into ever lafiing fires .Bind them 
 in bundles indeed, to tell us that finners in the fame kind 
 fhall be fure to participate in the fame punifhment. The 
 profeft and mercilefs Mamonift with all his brokers and 
 bribing minifters that affift his inceftuous money to en- 
 gender on it felf, in one bundle bound up now, and pre- 
 
 fently 
 
ZJpon Mat. xvi. verfi 27. 95 
 
 fently burning in bands of their own parchments. The 
 tatter'd young Prodigal whom they undo, with his Tap- • 
 fters and Drawers, and the whole knot of Roarers and 
 Ranters about him, taken all as in a net, and bound up 
 m another bundle. The Adulterer and his Miftris the A- 
 dulterefi with the Chamber Attendant, and all other the 
 fordid Faftors, that truck and traffick between them, 
 trufs'tuponan inftant in a third fardle, and as nafty asa- 
 ny of th^r other. All indeed and many more the like fit 
 Faggots and Fuel for thole devouring, but not confum- 
 ing Hames. Their time is come, and thither they mutt, 
 to receive the juft recompence of their way*, for that is 
 the end of Chrifts coming, who now comes for general 
 Retribution and due reward unto all. Et tunc reddct 
 unicuiq\ &c. And then (hall he reward, Sec. 
 
 The Then here, was omitted in the divifion, but may 
 not be fo in our difcourfe 5 for there feems to be an 
 Emphafis, aftrong Accent on if, on this particle of time 
 ys.\ tots, and then he JIj a U render unto every man ac- 
 cording to his works. And fure it is fomething well yet, 
 a comfortable hearing to thofe, that have clear bofoms, 
 that yet there is a Then in ftore, a time that will come at 
 laft, when every one (hall receive a reward according to 
 his works. Here on earth (the Babel ofconfufion) where 
 all things are mixed and blended together, no mans 
 works can well be difcerned or judged of by the reward 
 he receiveth. The reward of the righteous fbmetimes 
 f^tppens to the wicked, faith Solomon, and the reward of 
 the wicked is fbmetimes given to the right eouf. No m in 
 can know either good or evil by all that is before him. 
 Some rare examples indeed there now and then fall out, 
 when evil men are filled with their own devices, and 
 made to eat the fruits of their own planting. As I have 
 done, faith Aclonibe&ec^ unto others^ fo Gad hath re- 
 quited xte 5 and fo he requites many more. Bangs them 
 
a6 A Sermon of Chrifts coming to Judgment 
 
 up fometimes like Raman on their own Gallows, or bu- 
 ries them in the pit which themfelves have digged. This 
 God fometimes doth, that we may know his providence 
 fleepeth not even for the prefent. Yet this he doth but 
 feldom, faith St. Augnjtine, that we may confider there is 
 a day of judgement to come, and the nearer that day ap- 
 proacheth, the more rare and feldom are exhibited fuch 
 remarkable examples. The indignation of the Almigh- 
 ty, that was wont in former Ages to follow notorious 
 wickednefi at the heels with as notable and exemplary 
 revenge, now in thefe latter times, the day of final ac- 
 counts draws nigh on,feems to flacken the pace and come 
 leifurely after at a diftance, God inhibiting as it were the 
 inferiour Courts of his Juftice upon earth againft the ap- 
 proach of the great day of his general vifitation in the 
 Clouds. In the mean time, becaufe it is mans day , this, he 
 permits men for the moft part unto themfelves, fleers 
 the line of his providence, fuffers them to run on at plea- 
 sure in their own courfes, and men thus permitted to 
 themfelves are oftentimes fure but ill Judges and worfe 
 rewarders of their brethren. For the malevolent and 
 malignant world prone to calumniate the nobleft aftions, 
 doth ufually reward men not according to their works, 
 but its own malignancy. It is not judgment but fancy and 
 faftion , that now adays gives a futable cenfure on all 
 mens ways and aftions. But it is little material, for bexe* 
 facere &tnale audire Regium eft. That of the Poet is 
 moft true, and will be ever, virtutetMpr<efentevt odimur y 
 envy never fails to attend on prefent vertue, urit enim 
 fttlgcre [ho, and the more eminent it is, the more it pro- 
 vokes unto envy 3 but yet that which follows is true al- 
 fo, fublatam ex oculis cjutfrimus invidi, future times 
 when it is gone, will do it right and reward it with ho- 
 nour; But however, if they do not, yet it is but fit, that 
 virtue fhould be put to the true Teft, and give proof of 
 
 her 
 
Vfon M a t. xvi. verfe 27. 97 
 
 her fincerity. Every man can eafily purfue thofe attempts 
 that are feconded with vulgar applaufe : but to go on 
 with courage, though met in the face, and followed at 
 the heels with ftorms of reproaches and unfavory calum- 
 niations j in this cafe non fefnbducere nimbo^ not to de- 
 cline thofe (bowers, run to every bu(h for (belter, but 
 to bear up manfully notwithftanding into the very eye 
 of the wind and weather, Hoc demum eft pietas, hoc 
 qnoq, fortis amor^ this is virtue indeed, true and appro- 
 ved love unto God and goodnefi, removed utterly from 
 the danger of thofe by-refpe&s of Pride and vain-glory, 
 the cruel Widwifes oiEgypt^ appointed by the infernal 
 Pharaoh to ftifle and fmother the Children of the Ifra- 
 elitesin the very day of their birth. No matter there- 
 fore how it goes here with men, that judge fecundum 
 facie m, according to appearance, as St. John fpeaks, or 
 rather fometimes without any appearance at all. That 
 which is the ftay and folid comfort of every man, is with- 
 in him, in his own bofome, where he is aflured his work 
 is with his God, that judgeth righteous judgment, and 
 will have his time at laft to make all things manifeft, and 
 reveal the fecrets of all hearts, when fmother'd righte- 
 oufnefi (ball break forth as the light, and juft dealing as 
 the noon day. For as Solomon rightly, he that ponders Provxxiv 
 the hearty doth conftder it^ and he that ^eepeth thy Soul^ i 2 . 
 doth know it, and he it is that (ball reward every man 
 according to his works. In the mean time that of the A- 
 poftle is feafonable, patientes ejiote fratres ufq'*, in ad- 
 ventnm domini, be ye patient until the coming of the 
 Lord 5 for when he doth come, then every mans works 
 fhall appear, and then indeed he will reward every man 
 according to his works. But what ! is not the reward gi- 
 ven until then ? not until the coming of the Lord ? A 
 reward (ure there is even in the prefent life, but it lies (e- 
 cret in the Confcience \ a greater reward unto the fepa- 
 
 O rated 
 
9 8 A Sermon ofChrifts coming to Judgment 
 
 rated Soul after death 5 yet the fulnefs of reward I con- 
 ceive (though I contend with no man) not until the day 
 of refurre&ion, In the mean time the departed Soul lives, 
 it doth not die to be raifed again, like the body, as the 
 Socinian would have it 5 nor yet deep out the time in a 
 Trance, as others affirm 5 but this is certain, the Souls of 
 the righteous are in the hand of 'God ', fo faith the Wife 
 man 3 yea more, they are thus far bleffed that die in 
 the Lord, for they reft from their labours, fo faith the 
 Spirit 5 nay farther yet, they are in refrigerio, in a joy- 
 ful refrefhing with Abraham, fo faith the Parable of La- 
 zarus 1 yea in a Paradife of delight, fo faith Chrift unto 
 the good Thief upon the Crofs. And therefore where - 
 ever they are, be the place what or where it will, Abra- 
 hams bofom, or Paradife, or under the Altar, there they 
 are undoubtedly where the glory of Chrift (bines unto 
 them and on them with full aflurance of the like glory 
 fhortly to be revealed, and wherewith themfelves (hall 
 be indefeffibly inverted. In the prefentation and contem- 
 plation whereof mirabili quadamvoluptate afficiuntur 
 & exultant^ Their affe&ions, faith Gregory Nazian- 
 zen^ even exult with marvellous delight, which can be 
 no lefs than a Paradife of pleafure unto them : But yet, 
 that they now are already in that happy place, or in the 
 aftual fruition of that full happinefi and glory, which 
 fhall hereafter give them the fulnefs of their reward, this 
 the Scriptures do not feem to teach, nor the Fathers to 
 affirm, but a great confent of both may be rather found 
 to the contrary. Of thofe that departed this life before 
 the coming of Chrift our Lord in the flefh, or his going 
 away again, and attending into the higheft Heavens 5 
 via in fan&um fanUorum nondum propalata, as the A- 
 eeb.ix. 8. poftle fpeaks unto the Hebrew /, that of the fame Apoftle 
 may not be denied, All thefe died and received not the 
 promifes, bnt beheld them a far off. And that very be- 
 holding 
 
ZJpon Mat. xvi. verfe 27. 99 
 
 holding was their refrefhing it fcems, in that place of reft 
 where they lay after death, as it were at anchor, in a 
 calm and quiet Harbour, free from thole winds and tern- 
 pefts wherewith they were beaten, whilft they flood off 
 at Sea, in the painful Navigation of this life, for fo the 
 word^Axoi in the Greek, and finus in the Latine may 
 import, and fo iheophylaU doth expound Abrahams 
 Bay, as well as Abrahams Bofome. But yet though at 
 reft, they as yet, faith he, received not the promifes* 
 and he gives his reafon for it too, God having provided 
 fome better thing for hs> that they without ns Jhould *' y 
 not be made perfcff. Which reafon too will ferve for all 
 others that died fince the Afcenfion of our Saviour. For 
 as it was not convenient they fhould be made perfect 
 without us, fo neither that we our felves fhould be made 
 perfed without the reft of our brethren ; If any were 
 fo, who fooner than the Souls of thofe Saints and Mar- 
 tyrs that refuted not even death for Chrift and his Got 
 pel? And yet even thefe are arrayed only in white 
 Robes, as Candidati, and ready dreft in their wedding 
 apparrel for the marriage of the Lamb, but are willed 
 withal to reft a while, nntiltheir fellow frvants and the Rev.vi.ro, 
 reft of their brethren to be /lain li fa wife fhould be ful- 
 filled alfo. That fo all might be perfected together, and 
 by three degrees according to the three eftates, of life, 
 death and judgment, draw on unto the fulnefs of that 
 perfe&ion, as having a good hope in life, infallible at 
 furance in death, and plenary polleffion at the refurre&i- 
 on. In life here we walk by Faith, we fee not God : In 
 the eftate after death we fee him, but afar off, as the 
 Apoftlefpeaks^ but at the Refurre&ion face to face. Here 
 in this world we lie as cripples in Solomons Porch, but 
 cured by the name of Jefus, death carrieth us into the 
 body of the Temple where we are leaping for joy, exult- 
 ing and praifing God 5 but the day of Chrift will draw 
 
 O 2 the 
 
oo A Sermon of Chrifls coming to Judgment 
 
 the Veil, lead us into the Holy of Holies, where God him- 
 (elf dwells between the Cherubvns. Laftly, now upon 
 earth we are Militant, P^«^^re/,wreftlers and warriours, 
 in death we are declared Vidours and Conquerors : but 
 in the refurre&ion, triumphant, and crowned even with 
 that Crown of Right eoufnef, which the Lord, the j aft 
 Judge will give, faith St. Paul, in die iUo, in that day: 
 laid up indeed before, as he there fpeaks, but not be- 
 fore that day, it feems, to be given, but then it (hall, for 
 then he JJ) all reward, &c. > 
 
 The like on the other fide, may well be conceived of 
 the wicked 5 their Souls as foon as departed enter into 
 fbrrows, and torments 5 the worm that (hall never die, 
 begins prefently to feed upon them, but drench'd, it feems, 
 as yet they are not in that lake of fire, which fhall never 
 be quenched, and will be the fuinefs of their reward. 
 The Devils themfelves are not yet there, and therefore 
 are bold to fay unto our Saviour, Art thou come to tor- 
 went #r, ante tempm, before our time I A fet time fure 
 there is appointed for that , In the interim, as the Crown is 
 referved for the Righteous, fc thefe and all their Adhe- 
 rents, are referved, it feems, unto that day, which fhall 
 give them the full accomplithment of their forrows : So 
 Vfrfe 6. St. Jude, Referved in chains under darkjtefs unto the 
 judgment of the great dap This they all know and can- 
 not without horrour think of it 5 They believe therefore^ 
 Jam. iii. faith St. James, and tremble. And fo likewife all other 
 the Spirits lewd and diabolical people, they underftand 
 their final and fearful doom already, on which their con- 
 demning thoughts do perpetually feed not without infi- 
 nite regret, indignation and fury, and fo though locally 
 feated in Hell, yet, as yet fcalding there , and burning 
 only in the flames that arife from their own bofoms. But 
 when that great day fhall once come, and the Son of Man 
 appear in his glory, then (hall that old Dragon, the de- 
 
 ceiver. 
 
Vfon Mat. xvi. verfi 27. 101 
 
 ceiver, with all thofe apoftate people whom he hath de- 
 ceived, and are not written in the Book^of the Lawb, Rev. xx 
 be thrown into that Lake burning with fire and brim- IO * 
 ftone. Yea death and Hell too, lhall be caft into that 
 Lake s Hell, to fbew that all they, who are now there in 
 cuftody, (hall then be thrown into that Lake, as into the 
 Center, tower-ward and Dungeon of that fearful Prifon: 
 And death too, to fignify their immortality there in a per- 
 petual dying life, and everlafting living death, even for 
 ever and ever. And death and Hell were caji into that Rev.xx. 
 Lake of fire. For now the time of full Retribution is '4- 
 come, this is the great day of reward, and there is no 
 other. To that then let us pals with my Text, from 
 the time, to the reward, it (elf. Then he flja/J reward \ 
 
 This word of Reward feems to ftick in the Jaws of 
 many men, at lead to come forth fumbling between their 
 Teeth, as if they did not very well like it. But whe- 
 ther they like it or no, fo the Scriptures often fpeak, and 
 accordingly we rauft be content to receive them. The 
 truth is, there are extreams in this point as in moft others, 
 lyable unto difpute and controverfy 5 and Verity, like 
 Virtue, lies in the golden mean between both. Forfome 
 are wholly and totally all for reward, and no Grace un- 
 lets it be a ftock of Grace, whereby they may condignly 
 merit the reward. 
 
 Others again can away with no Reward at all. but will 
 have all of meer Grace : when the truth confifts in a 
 mixture compounded of both, neither totally grace, nor 
 meerly reward, but merces gratiofa, a gracious Reward ; 
 xAnd that not only in regard of the Grace firft given, but 
 of the work too it felf, that is to be rewarded. 
 
 The former take Heaven to be as fully merited by the 
 works of the Righteous, as Hell is deierved by the (ins 
 of the wicked. 
 
 The 
 
i o 2 A Sermon ofChrifts coming to Judgment 
 
 The latter fuppofe Heaven to be meerly a free gift, 
 and in the confequences of their Pofitions, make Hell as 
 free a Collation, as the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 Both feem to be equally out, and not much unequally 
 to (hare both truth and errour between them. For thus 
 much I conceive is clear and certain , and ought to 
 be acknowledged by either : That the firft Graces of 
 God either confer'd in time upon Earth, or prepared 
 eternally by him, who d welleth in the Heavens $ are a free 
 collation, and abfolute without any thing of reward: 
 otherwife Grace were not grace , as the Apoftle fpeaks. 
 Secondly, The laft puniftxments in Hell, a meer reward in 
 juftice, without any thing of free and undeferved colla- 
 tion } otherwife Puniftiment were not puniftiment. But 
 the Kingdom of Heaven, and the joyes of that place come 
 to us after a mixed manner, though originally and prin- 
 cipally yet not altogether by grace, neither yet altogether 
 by merit , not as a gift only, nor yet wholly as a reward : 
 but is fo a reward, as it is ftill a gift 5 fo a gift, as it is ftill 
 a reward : A reward, becaufe promifed unto works 3 a 
 gift, becaufe that promife was of grace, and thefe works 
 no way deferve the reward : And therefore the Scriptures 
 apply themfelves unto both : terming it fometimes an In- 
 heritance by Adoption ; fometimes a Crown of Righte- 
 oufnefi : fometimes a gift of Grace : fometimes a Re- 
 ward of our Works. But that we miftake not, we are 
 moft commonly careful, not to mention the one refpeft, 
 without fome intimation of the other 5 In that very 
 place where the Apoftle affirms it a Crown of Righteouf- 
 nefs, yet that we may receive it as a Crown, rather given 
 2 Tim. than deferved , it follows immediately, which the Lord 
 the righteous Judge [hall give me in that day. On the 
 other fide in thofe places where it is called an Inheritance, 
 as it is in many, yet in all we (ball find it to be an Inhe- 
 ritance of theSaints,and never conferred but on obedient 
 
 Children. 
 
ZJpon Mat. xvi. verfe 27. 105 
 
 Childeren. My sheep, faith our Saviour, hear my voice, 
 and follow me where foever I go , & do iftis vitam 
 £ternam, and I give them eternal life. There it is a 
 gift, but yet to his (heep, that hear and follow him, do- 
 nitm datum, n on per fan £ fed vit<e, a gift given, not to 
 the perfons of men but to their lives, and that is no other 
 than a reward, as St. Jerom rightly. 
 
 In the v. of St. Mai t hew, it is a reward, merces vejlra> 
 your reward is great in the Kingdom of Heaven, yet it 
 is merces copiofa, a great and plenteous reward, magna 
 ft i mis, as God faid unto Abraham, I am thy exceeding 
 great reward, a reward with excefs, far exceeding indeed 
 all the works and paffions too of men that are to be re- 
 warded. So true is that rule of the Rabbins concerning 
 the holy Scriptures, In omni loco, in quo invcnis objeSz- 
 nem pro hdretico, ibi quoq\ invcnis medicamentum in 
 latere ejus, Not a place that feems to favour an here(y 9 
 but hath an Antidote or Medicine hanging at the fide of 
 it. But on the other fide moft true it is, Hell and eternal 
 death are the wages and meer wages of wicked neft. 
 That of the Prophet, Vita & mors a domino, life and 
 death are both of the Lord, is right, but yet muft be 
 rightly underftood 5 not both of him after one and the 
 fame manner, but with St. Aujiins difference, Vitafci- 
 licet a Donante, mors a Find ic ante, which we may render 
 in the words of the Apoftle, Life is the gift of God, 
 but death the wages of Sin. To Pnew therefore that 
 death is be to attributed not fo properly to the Infiiclour 
 as to the deferver, the Wifeman is bold to fay Dew mor- 
 tem non fecit, God hath not made death, but men by 
 the crrours of their life have fought it out and drawn 
 it down upon their own heads. 
 
 Let not any man therefore conceive the evil works of 
 wicked men, as effefts of a foredoomed deftruftion. btit 
 deftruftion rather wherever it lights, to follow both in 
 
 dt« 
 
04 A Sermon of Chrift s coming to Judgment 
 
 m 
 
 defign and execution as a juft meede and recompence of 
 evil doings : for the merciful Lord, that preferver of 
 Souls, as the fame Author hath it, cannot poffibly hate 
 any man, as Davids enemies did him gratis, without 
 any caufe, but is ever, as the Scriptures teach, and the 
 Fathers proverbially affirm, Primus in amore & ultimus 
 in odio^ firft in love, and laft in hatred : And they that 
 will needs think otherwife, if they be not reckoned a- 
 niong the haters of God, fure I am they will be found 
 lyars at the laft 5 for the Lord is a juft God, and fo is 
 his reward, that will look precifely on the work with- 
 out refpeft unto any mans perfon be he what he will, or 
 may be, for fo it follows in the next place, reddet nni- 
 cttique, hefoall reward every man, &c. 
 
 Great diverfity there is among the Sons of men, but 
 the fummons of this day is univerfal and will reach un- 
 to them all: Be they rich or # poor, noble or ignoble 5 
 none fo mean, as to efcape unregarded, none fo mighty 
 as to decline the Tribunal: we mufi all appear , faith 
 the Apoftle 5 we 3 and we all, no remedy, we all muft make 
 our appearance before the judgment-feat of Chrift. 
 And however here upon earth, there doth indeed belong 
 great refpeft and reverence unto the perfons and digni- 
 ties of great and honourable men, yet thefe things are 
 all now paffedaway, and Chrift the great Judge in this 
 terrible day will have no regard unto any mans perfon 
 or titles, farther than thefe have had an influence into 
 his aftions, and rendred them juftly rewardable with 
 greater honour, or elfe with forer punifhment. For the 
 Virtue or Vice of fuch Men, dies not at home in their 
 own bofoms, but as their perfons are great, fo their works 
 and ways in like manner eminent, and every way more 
 exemplar. And therefore the Wife man faith but right, 
 Potent es pot enter, mighty Men that have done amifs 
 {hall be mightily tormented 5 and for the fame reafon 
 
 thofe 
 
Vpon Mat. xvi. verfi 27. 105 
 
 thofe that have done well, as mightily rewarded. There 
 is nothing mean in them now, nor (hall be hereafter. For 
 thefe are they, whom God hath made great upon Earth, 
 filled them with fubftance and honour, that pouring 
 out of their plenty upon the diftrelled, and relieving the 
 oppreffed by their power, they might become even as 
 Gods unto their brethren. Thefe he hath placed tan- 
 qnam majores ven&, as the greater veins in the body Po- 
 litick, to minifter blood and fpirits unto the reft of the 
 members } tanquam communes Patri£ parentes^ as the 
 common Fathers and Parents of their Country, to whom 
 all the weak and injured may fly as unto a refuge and 
 (an&uary of prote&ion 5 yea tanquam planets & fiell<e 
 majores^ as the greater Stars and Planets in the Firma- 
 ment of power, by fweet and propitious influence to 
 cherifh the Earth under them, and all good things that 
 are in it. Thefe now, if clean contrary (ball abufe this 
 wealth and power, pu(h the weaker cattle with them, as 
 with horn and (houlder, as the Scripture fpeaketh 5 If the 
 higher Potentates and Princes , like io many mighty 
 Ntmrods. moleft and vex the world they fhould govern, 
 provoke Heaven, and take peace from the earth, embrue 
 and embroil all to fatisfy their own impotent and un- 
 limited ambitions ; If the greater Peers among the peo- 
 ple inftead of being Gods and common Fathers unto 
 their Country, prove Wolves unto their brethren, and 
 like Pikes grow great and vaft by eating up the Fry that 
 is round about them, donee Serpens ferpentem devo- 
 ir an s fiat Draco 5 If inftead of benign and benevolent 
 Stars, they (hall be of a fowr and Saturnian Afpeft, on- 
 ly blafting whatfoever comes within the fphere of their 
 aSivity ^ or el(e, but of a Mercnrian concurring influ- 
 ence, good with the good, and bad with the bad, not 
 as jufticc, but as affedion and faftion (hall lead them : 
 then no marvel if mighty men come at length to be 
 
 P mightily 
 
o<5 A S 'ermon of Chrift scorning to Judgment 
 
 mightily tormented. But if thefe Noble Perfbns (hall be 
 truly Noble indeed, and as God hath termed them, Gods 
 and Fathers unto their Country i If like J#k> they (hall 
 Jobxxix. deliver the poor and fuch as have none to help, from 
 thoje that are too mighty for them, hreak^the jawes of 
 the wicked, and fluent he fpoil out of their teeth, un« 
 til the bleffing of them that are ready to perifh come up- 
 on them for it 5 If the Prince, that is fupream, be not a 
 difturber like Nimrod, but rather as Solomon, Pritjcept 
 pad j, a King of peace, nouriftiing his people, like Da- 
 vid, with a perfeftand upright heart, and ruling them 
 prudently with all his power} If his moderation he 
 known unto all, and his Piety unto God and goodnefi 
 no lefs exemplary, than his Virtue : then undoubtedly 
 both he and they and all fuch Mighty men in this great 
 day, (hall be as mightily honoured 5 when he 1 that hath 
 made you Rulers of his people, fet you here in the feats of 
 Juftice as on the throne of David, (hall then advance you 
 higher, take you up even upon his own throne in the 
 Clouds, as being in the number of thofe Saints, that (hall 
 be AiTeffors there and with Chrift, as the Apoftle tells us, 
 to judge the world 5 whilft thofe mighty and glorious 
 Monarchs that once fo much troubled the earth and other 
 Princes, Great men, and Favorites of the world, (hall 
 now ftand like poor worms, beneath you at the Bar, #«- 
 do latere palpitantes, & fententiam <etern<e mortis 
 expett antes, naked and quaking, as St. Hierome (peaks, 
 under the fentence of eternal death. Where now are all 
 their Dignities and Titles, their Pomp and former Splen- 
 dor } how is it vanifhed ! Alas all thefe things accom- 
 pany none any farther than the grave } but their works, 
 thefe follow after unto judgment, where according to 
 their works, they (hall be now rewarded, which is our 
 laft point. And thin he fl) all reward every man, fecun- 
 dum opira fua> according to his works. 
 
 This 3 
 
ZJpon Mat. xvi. verfe 27. 107 
 
 This, as it is the latter part of my Text, fo is it the 
 Hioft fubftantial, but withal the molt troublefome : for 
 here we feem to meet with nothing but difficulties. 
 
 There are but three words in it : And whether we 
 look on the opera, which is the main 3 or they**, that 
 adheres 5 or the fecunditm, that hath reference unto both, 
 Obje&ions we (hall find, and fome of them difficult e* 
 nough even in all three. 
 
 Set the Accent firft upon the opera (for that as I (aid 
 is the main) and we (hall no fooner do it, but the obje- 
 ction is inftantly emergent 3 for if Men (hall be now 
 judged with precife refpedt unto their works, fince none 
 are fo wicked but have fome good deeds 5 nor any fo 
 righteous but have many fins } how {hould it come to 
 pafs that either any (hould efcape Condemnation, or if 
 fome do, why (hould not all efcape it, for all are (inner?. 
 But this knot may well be diflblved without any great 
 labour. For though works at that day (hall be judged 
 of, as good or evil precifely according unto that Law 
 which they have tranfgreffed, yet the men whofe they 
 are, (hall be fentenced for thefe works, not according to 
 the law, but with reference and refpefl: unto the conditi- 
 ons ofthe Gofpel $ for God Jfjall then judge the fecrets Rom. 
 of all hearts, faith St. ?aul,fecundum evangelium meum^ 
 according to my Gofpel And according to the Gofpel 
 the fame works are not always of the fame condition 
 with reference to reward and pimifhment, but according 
 to the repentance ofthe perfon, or his falling from it, 
 do receive ever a new qualification. The Schools there- 
 fore do accordingly diftinguith of opera ntortna and 
 mortifera, viva and mortificata, and rediviva too, of 
 dead works and deadly, of living and mortified andrevi- 
 vifcent alfo. Works morally good, but not done with any 
 Pious or Spiritual intention, they account dead works, as 
 lyabie neither to reward nor punifbment : Works mo- 
 
 P 2 rally 
 
o8 A Sermon ofChrifts coming to Judgment 
 
 rally and mortally evil, thefe are mortifera^ deadly 
 Works, that draw death and deftru&iori after them: 
 works of Faith and Charity in the converted Soul, thefe 
 are opera viva, living works, and fach as have title un- 
 to life everlafting 5 but both thefe latter may be morti- 
 fied, and both after mortification revive again , when 
 the finner repents him of his Sins, all his former wicked- 
 nefs is forgotten } and when the penitent man returns a- 
 gain to his Sins, none of his former righteoufnefi (hall 
 then be remembred. And as men do ebb or flow in their 
 true repentance, fo their fins or their good deeds do ei- 
 ther revive or mortifie, and the mortification of the one, 
 is the reviving ever of the other : And for this reafbn, 
 faith our Saviour, in the Revelation, Behold I come 
 quickly and my reward is with me, to render unto eve- 
 ry man, not as his workj, but in the lingular,, a* his 
 vpork^Jhall be } For according unto this one work of re* 
 pentance, either his fin or his righteoufne(s hath the pre- 
 dominance, and (hall be accordingly rewarded by him, 
 who will now reward every man in this fence, according 
 to his voorkj. But yet fince this Judgment proceeds in 
 mercy, and according to the Gofpel, why are we not 
 iaid to be rewarded according to our Faith rather than 
 according to our works ? As though works, where 
 the Gofpel is revealed, were of any validity without 
 Faith, or Faith any way rewardable farther, than it is 
 operative and fruitful in works : But befides, this is a day 
 of univerfal reckoning, not confined within the precife 
 latitude of that revelation 3 every man without excepti- 
 on; muft now come to his account, and what every one is 
 bound to account for, according to that, and to that on- 
 ly he (hall be fentenced. Now the Gofpel of Chrift 
 hath not been revealed unto all, but the notions of good 
 and evil are implanted in Nature, and men are to be 
 judged of, and accepted too, according to what they 
 
 have y 
 
ZJfon M a t. xvi. verfe 27. 109 
 
 h<ive. not according to wh.it they have not, as our Savi- 
 our fpeaketh. And therefore the Faith of the Jew was 
 not required of the Gentile, neither yet the Faith of the 
 Chriftian at the hands of the Jew. The Law of Nature 
 indeed binds all, but pofitive Laws thofe only to whom 
 they are given : And thus much fcems to be both Law and 
 Gofpel, That no man give an account but for the Ta- 
 lents that were delivered him 5 For God is no fuch hard 
 man, as that lazy fellow in the Gofpel would make him, 
 to reap where he did not fow 5 or elfelike Pharaoh, re- 
 quiring his Brick where he doth not afford Straw for the 
 making. Not therefore according to the Fa\ h, which 
 they knew not , but according to the good and evil 
 which they knew, fo (hall all be judged by him, who 
 now comes to reward every man according to his 
 workj* 
 
 From the opera now, if we come to the fua, remove 
 the Accent thither,we (hall but remove from one difficulty 
 to another 5 For fome there are, that have no works of 
 their own } How many that die, as foon as born, and 
 not a few before, and both before they have done either 
 good or evil, for which they may be rewarded ? It may 
 befaid peradventure, that yet even thefe have one work 
 of their own } for being all in Adams loins, when he fin- 
 ned, his Sin, by virtue of the firft Covenant becomes 
 theirs, and theirs therefore by Si. ?attl it is exprefly 
 termed, in quo omnes peccaverunt, in whom all have R 0i r.. 
 finned. 
 
 This is right, and hath nothing but truth in it, if we 
 confider only the Nature of the firfl: Covenant, and go 
 no farther than fo , But farther I fuppofe we are to go 5 
 for fince there is afccond Covenant pafled, zxAthefe- 
 cond, as the Apoftle to the Hebrews, and reafon it fe!£ 
 will tell us,muft difamtl the (irji 5 A fccond ftrueken even 
 with the fame Adam, (and in. him we all were at the 
 
 tran(a<ftic r 
 
no A SermonofChrifls coming to Judgment 
 
 tranfa&ion of the one as well as of the other, and repu- 
 ted in his loyns, when he was reftored, as well as when 
 he fell) for that is the perpetual nature of Gods Cove- 
 Aftsxi. nants, Vobis & liberis vefiris : Dens turn & feminis 
 Gen. xvii. '**"• And fure if we make our ftay in the old Teftament, 
 the Father muft have come in his own glory, the Son of 
 man could never have come in the glory of the Father 
 to render unto every man his own works 5 for had he 
 not firft been our Mediatour, he had never been our 
 Judge. Now therefore we are to look up unto him, con- 
 template the perfon, before whofe feat of Judgment we 
 are to appear, even Chrift our blefled Lord, that innocent 
 Lamb that was (lain from the beginning that Lamb of God 
 which by his blood, being (lain took away rh etficLprictv 
 rv TLoo-fjLv, that fin of the world in the Angular, and other 
 fuch lingular fin of the world, but there was not any. 
 And for this caufe is rightly termed Adam fecundus^ a 
 Rom. v. fecond Adam^ a fecond through whom all receive jufti- 
 *8. fie at ion unto life that became lyable unto death and con- 
 demnation in the firft. This is our Judge, even the Au- 
 thor of the fecond Covenant, who therefore will not 
 fentence men, as thofe Apoftate Angels, ftri&ly after the 
 &om.i. Law of the firft, but as St. Paul fpeaks fecund um Evan- 
 gelium meum according to my, or rather his own Gof- 
 pel. Before this Judge, when St. Paul cites every man, 
 he affures us, no man fhall anfwer but for what himfelf 
 hath done, or be rewarded with puni(hment,but as my text 
 hath it, fcundum of era fua> according to his own works, 
 and thofe his own, not becaufe afted in the loyns of ano- 
 ther, but becaufe done in his own body 5 for fo faith St. 
 Paul exprefly, and purpofely it feems to prevent the in- 
 terpretation, we muft all appear before the judgment feat 
 of Chrift^ that every one may receive tcocSW t£ W|U.<xt©*, 
 the things done in his body, or rather not or* &*, but mx, 
 "Sitx, t£ trwpcLT©*, as fome of the beft Copies read, and 
 
 ancient 
 
Vfon M a t. xvi. verfe 27. 112 
 
 ancient Fathers cite, and the vulgar doth render, propria 2 Cor> 
 Corporis, the proper things done in the body. This 10. 
 therefore will not fatisfy the doubt, and were it admitted, 
 would yet fatisfy but on one part, the part that pcrifh 5 
 ftill the difficulty would remain, how thofe on the other 
 fide, that are laved by Sacrament, fhould be rewarded 
 with heaven jecitndttm opera. jna , according to their 
 own works. But not to meddle any farther in this mat- 
 ter, the truth is, (and it is the fulleft anfvvcr I can give it) 
 That we may not mcafure fuch ignorant Innocents ei- 
 ther always by the common rules of do&rine, or at any 
 time by the general precepts of duty 5 For thofe the 
 Scriptures are uliially fpoken of and thefe perpetually di- 
 ne&ed unto none, but the full-grown and adult, as they 
 that alone are capable of them 5 The not obferving where- 
 of, is the chief caufe ( I conceive ) of the great variety 
 of opinions and intricate difficulties, which this point of 
 Infants hath begotten t, Some excluding them utterly from 
 this day and feat of judgment becaule without Works 
 either good or bad to be then difcuffed \ Others admit- 
 ting of their prefence there,but yet neither among thofe on 
 the right hand or yet on the left,and fo not liable to either 
 of thefe two grand Sentences which (hall then be pro- 
 nounced. A third fort fubjefting them unto a Sentence, 
 and of thefe fome unto fuch a Sentence, as (hall carry them 
 to beatitude, but in a Paradife apart 5 others conveying 
 them thence dfreftly to heaven. A fourth fort even to 
 Hell ; and a fifth unto a middle ftate,a condition between 
 both. But yet among all thefe varieties this is remark- 
 able, not any one of the Antients was ever fo fevere 
 unto any of thefe, whether baptized or otherwife, as to 
 caft them into that nethermofli Hell, and thofe torments, 
 which he fuffers there of whom our Saviour (aid, it had Mat«raiij 
 been better for him, if he had never been bom, No not- 
 that learned and holy man who was efteemed dttrus In- 
 
 fantari 
 
j 1 2 A Sermon ofChrijls coming to Judgment 
 
 fantumVater, of all others a -hard Father unto infants^ 
 for even he, though he placed them in a Region of Hell, 
 yet in fuch a tolerable condition therein, as it were bet- 
 ter for them to be even there, than not to be at all. Aw 
 guji. lib. 4. cont. Julian, cap. 8. But for my part I de- 
 termine nothing amidft fo many doubts, and diftra&ions* 
 'twere beft leave them to (land or fall to their own Ma- 
 tter, efpecially fince my Text, which fpeaks of works re- 
 wardable like other general Scriptures, doth not, as I 
 faid, concern impotent and ignorant Infants, but grown 
 Men, knowing and operative 3 for whoever of fuch re- 
 ceives the Kingdom of Heaven, muft receive it meerly as 
 an Inheritance without any refpeft of works. They are 
 exempted from fuch common rules, and fo not included 
 in this every man here, that (hall now be rewarded fe- 
 enndum Optra jua, according to his own works. 
 
 And now in the laft place, let uscometo this fecunduns> 
 the firft of the words, and then fare we (hall find our 
 felves in no lefs (heights than any of the former, yea ut 
 unda undam^ fo one doubt and difficulty feems here to 
 drive on another. 
 
 For firft, fince the good (hall now be rewarded ultra. 
 tneritum, beyond their merit j and the evil, citra con* 
 dignum^ (hort of their defert, which is a Maxime in Di- 
 vinity 3 they may well be rewarded for, but not any of 
 them precifely fecundum opera , according to their 
 voorkj. 
 
 Indeed fome there are that like well enough of the fe- 
 cundum^ but can by no means away with the propter in 
 this cafe : But yet St. Gregory for this reafon conceives 
 otherwife 5 and fince the reward is ever beyond, or on 
 this fide the work, takes the propter to be more proper- 
 ly fpoken, than the fecundiim opera 5 But the truth is, 
 both are true, and the reward {hall be now given both 
 for and according to their works 5 not indeed in a ftrift 
 
 Arith- 
 
ZJpon Mat. xvi. verfe 27. 115 
 
 Arithmetical adequation, but yet in a proportion exact- 
 ly Geometrical, for bonis bona retribuet, & ntelioribus 
 meliora, God (hall now give good things, as Aquinas 
 hath it, unto the good, and though not in precife equa- 
 lity unto the goodnefs of their works in themfelves con- 
 fidered, yet comparatively in what degree of goodnefs 
 they exceed others, the excefs of their reward fhall arife 
 ever in the fame proportion : And fo on the other fide, 
 malts mala & pejoribus pejora^ in like manner. Nei- 
 ther will the Parable of the Labourers and their penny 
 any way deftroy this, though we have not leifure at this 
 time to confider it, becaufe of another difficulty arifing 
 from hence, which as it (hall be the laft, fo it feems to be 
 the greateft of all other. For be it that good works are 
 rewarded beyond their merit, yet how fhould thofe ihat 
 for (hort and momentany pleafures,burn in perpetual and 
 everlafting fires, be faid to be punifhed (hort of their de- 
 fert, yea how fhould not their defert rather feem much 
 (hort of their punilhment? Forthat the Sinsof a Mortal 
 Mana&ed in an inftant, and the pleafure thereof perifh- 
 ing even with the aft, fhould be rewarded with infinite 
 and interminable forrows, is more than earthly mans wit, 
 I fuppofc, can eafily reach unto. And therefore is well 
 termed by St. Paul, Ira revelata de Ccelo, wrath reveal- 
 ed from Heaven, as being without thofe brighter beams 
 of Revelation, not fully penetrable by the Star-light of 
 reafon. For what reafon may well be rendred, why or 
 from whence it (hould be, that limited and finite works 
 fhould arife and grow up to an infinite and unlimited 
 demerit ? Is it that men are born in an averfion from 
 God, and but for God, might they never die, would never 
 leave finning, and fo in the proportion well delerve pu- 
 nifhment without ceafing ? as St. Gregory would have it, 
 voluiffent ntiq\fine fine vivere 9 ut potuijfent fine fine 
 peccare. But no man is now judged for what he would 
 
 QL have 
 
1 1 4 A Sermon ofCbrifts coming to Judgment 
 
 have done upon fuppofitions, but what he really hath 
 done, and that in the body : otherwife Tyre and Sidorr 
 fhould have been faved, and peradventure even Enoch 
 himfelf have perifhed, of whom the Wifeman affirms, 
 raptivr e/?, tie malitia mutarct ititelle&um ejus. This 
 therefore is but vain, and for this reafon the Learned 
 Schoolmen reft not on it, but relie rather on the com- 
 mon anfwer, that the foil eftimatc of fin is taken not 
 from the perfon that fins, or the time and continuance 
 of the fin, but from the objeft, the perfon offended : 
 And this perfon being the infinite God, the fin therefore 
 deferves an infinite punifhment. But even this way is ly- 
 able to many and great difficulties. For though offences 
 do otherwife arife in proportion unto the dignity and 
 greatneis of the Perfon, that is hurt or wronged by them} 
 yet it feems not fo in this cafe, where the party offend- 
 ed is infinite. Firft, becaufe fuch a Perfon is clear out of 
 the reach of Man, out of danger of any real lefion or 
 hurt by him or any of his aftions. Secondly, for that in- 
 finity, I conceive, is a proper Attribute of God's, and ab- 
 folutely incommunicable to any creature, unlefs it be 
 where he communicates his own EfTence and Perfon, as 
 in our bleffed Lord by union hypoftatical, though yet 
 even then he made not the Humane Nature infinite, or 
 yet gave the aftions of that nature an eftimate fo much as 
 morally infinite, any other way, but by affuming it in- 
 to the unity of his Perfon, which alone could make the 
 fufferings of Man the paflions of God alfo, from whence 
 only they receive the infinity of merit. But between 
 the aft and the objeft there is no fuch union to affeft that 
 with a demerit as infinite on the other fide. And laftly, a 
 pojieriori) were the aft after that infinite manner affeft- 
 ed by the objeft, how then (hould not all fins be equal 
 and equally to be punifhed, fincein Infinites there is no 
 inequality of magnitude, nor can there be made any aug- 
 mentation 
 
ZJpon Mat. xvi. verfe 27. 115 
 
 mentation or diminution by any thing we can do or 
 imagine unto them ? For to that,which is once conceived 
 as fuch, nothing can be added to make it greater, or taken 
 away to render it lefler, than before, no not though 
 we (hould take away finite parts, or yet add one infinite 
 to another. For one infinite divided,will but make two} 
 and two, yea two thoufand infinites clapt together 
 would run all into one. For as one indivifible point a- 
 mounts to as much as a million, foa million of united in- 
 finites will arife to no more than one, becaufe all thofe 
 have not any,and every of thefe hath all quantity in it. He 
 that once (hould conceipt an infinite number of Towers, 
 though his imagination {hould furnifh every Tower with 
 fix Bells, yet he could not with reafon fay for all that 
 there were more Bells than Towers, for more than infi- 
 nite may not be imagined. And this is alike true even 
 in moral magnitudes, as well as mathematical, whether 
 difcrete or continued. And as nothing is to be gained by 
 Addition, fo Subftra&ion on the other fide, will lofe as 
 little : He muft of neceflity take half, whofoever will 
 take any thing from that which is infinite. As the circle 
 that hath no bounds, is every where Center, fo an infinite 
 line, the Diameter of that Circle, having no extremities 
 is therefore all middle, cut it where you lift, you (hall 
 ftill divide it into two equal parts, and which is ftranger, 
 both parts will be equal to the whole, for either part 
 will ftill be infinite in regard of one end, and therefore 
 of quantity immenfurable , and that can be no more 
 which is infinite on both ends. The Product of this will 
 be not only, that all fins are equal becauie infinite, but 
 that one fin is equal in demerit unto all, to all that have 
 been committed, yea and to infinite fins too, if they 
 might be imagined 5 As appears plainly in the fufferings 
 of our Saviour, which though of different degrees in re- 
 gard of the forrow and torment, yet becaufe infinite 
 
 CL 2 through 
 
1 1 6 A Sermon ofChrifts coming to Judgment 
 
 through his Peribn, they were all equal in refpedl: of the 
 merit Whence it is, that that fatisfiftion which was re- 
 quired for any one (in, could even in ftri&ncfs of Juftice 
 expiate all, though never fo many, and that which had 
 fain (hort of expiating all could never have given fa- 
 tkfacTion for any one, even the leaft fin that is mortal. 
 Neither will this be avoided by that anfwer of the School- 
 men, that (in hath infinity only fecundum quid y that is, 
 in regard of the object and that therefore other circum- 
 ftances there are, which may add degrees unto it, be- 
 caufe not fimply infinite. For even that, which is but 
 one way infinite, cannot be enlarged by any finite addi- 
 tions the other way : As a line, that fhould run on with- 
 out end, though pieced out never fo much at the begin- 
 ning, would yet be never a whit the longer. If the world 
 be fuppofed eternal, a parte ante, though days and 
 months, and years be added, yet it would be no older an 
 hundred years hence than it is at this very day: or if ha- 
 ving had a beginning, yet conceived to be perpetual, a 
 parte poji^ it would then be as near the end this very day 
 Arillot. as an hundred years hence, But this peradventure comes 
 to pafs, becaufe the addition is ftill made in the fame 
 kind, that is, in length and longitude only : Nothing 
 hinders for all that, but that two things equally infinite 
 in one dimenfion, may yet be unequal in another, and ca- 
 pable of augmentation The Maft of a Ship, and the 
 Spear of aSouldier, that ftiould (land by it, though both 
 allowed to run on in /#/?»// ///»,andfo of one and the fame 
 length, yet notwithftanding in bulk and body there 
 would be great difference ftill between them, and might 
 be greater as we fhould add unto the one, or withdraw 
 from the other. And fo in like manner all fins may well 
 have a punifhment equal induration, becaufe all offences 
 againft.God,. and yet by reafon of other, different circiim* 
 Sauces, that give the bulk and magnitude, not all receive 
 • 
 
Vpn Mat. xvi. verfi 27. 1 1 
 
 punifhment equal in degree and intenfion, but feme a 
 forer punifhment than others, though not a longer. But 
 this though it look well, will not (atisfy 5 for the pu- 
 nifhment is one thing, and the fin another: In that in- 
 deed we may diftinguifh the duration from the magni- 
 tude or intention, but in the fin we cannot fodiftinguifh 5 
 This doth not receive longitude in one refpeft, body and 
 bulk in another 3 but the tin is infinite in magnitude only, 
 not in length , and deferves a punifhment infinite even 
 in intenfion 5 that it becomes fo only in duration is ac- 
 cidental : for being that a punifhment ititenlively infi- 
 nite as the hn deferves, may notpoflibly be actually in- 
 flidred, not through any impotence in God, but incapa- 
 city in the Creature:, hence in this fuppoiition it comis 
 to pafs, that what could not after an infinite manner be 
 at once received, {hould yet in a finite manner, as it 
 may, be perpetually fuffered. The punifhment therefore 
 by fucceilion is only potentially infinite, not in aft, nor 
 (hall be ever, but the fin is attually infinite, otherwife 
 the punifhment (hould be even aftually finite. The in- 
 ftance therefore of the Spear and the Mart, is be fides the 
 matter, and yet even in thefr, though this be greater in 
 found than that, yet not in matter and iubfhnce 5 For 
 ftill not an inch of wood or an ouncfe of weight in the 
 one more than in the other. Others therefore pro- 
 pound a nurd way, and that is from the infinite re- 
 ward that is propofed unto the righteous $ whence they 
 conceive it but right, that as infinite a punifhment fhoulci 
 be prepared for the wicked: when two infinites are 
 laid in the ballance, the fcales cannot but hang the more 
 equal : for what injury is there done unto any., if an ^ 
 ternal Heaven or an cverlafting Hell be let open unto alT7 
 and then every man accordingly rewarded as he (hall free- 
 ly through Gods grace, or. his own perverfnefi run. him* 
 felf into either? And fore it f.emsbut reafbn and every 
 
1 8 A Sermon ofChrifls coming to Judgment 
 
 way juft, that they who for temporary and trifling plea- 
 fures negledt full and never fading joys, (hould receive 
 for their meed, no lefs great and never ending forrows 5 
 And indeed we our felves that' by the condition of our 
 birth, without any fin of our own, came at firft to be 
 plunged into that pit of everlafting milery by the tranf- 
 greflion of another, could not (it feems) with Juftice 
 have been fo through the meer nature of fin, for then all 
 the fins of our intermediate fore-Fathers (hould lie upon 
 the Children alfo 5 but only by virtue of a Covenant 
 grounded in this very equity, that we who were in his 
 loins, (hould not incur more hurt by his fall than receive 
 benefit by his (landing s For he was to (land or fall, not 
 to himfelf alone but to all his pofterity. This notwith- 
 flanding may be fubjeft to fbme obje&ions, though not 
 fo unanfwerable, which the time now forbids me to dif 
 cu(s. However be it this upon what regard it may be, 
 that fo it (hall be is mod certain, and that without inju- 
 ry unto any. God is a righteous Judge and will clear 
 himfelf, both when he is judged, and when he judgeth 
 alfo. For my part I am fatisfied with this lad reafon, and 
 were 1 not with it, or any other, yet in a point fo clear- 
 ly delivered in the Scripture, my reafon (hould be led 
 captive by my Faith. For it abundantly (ufficeth, that it 
 is, as I (aid at firft, wrath revealed from Heaven. Andl 
 would it were a little better confidered on upon Earth, 
 what a miferable ruine and calamity it will then bring 
 upon all the Sons of Pride and Children of difobedience, 
 forrows no le(s infufiferablc, than interminable, in both, 
 by Man in this life, inconceiveable : For who knoweth or 
 
 fn know the power of his wrath ? But this deftru- 
 ion is nor near enough to affect us now, though (as 
 that learned Man fays) there is only that puff of breath 
 which is in our Noftrils, betwixt us and it, and that God 
 knows how fuddenly too, may be taken from us. Yet I 
 
 fay, 
 
ZJpon Mat. xvi. verfe 27, 1 1 y 
 
 fay, it is not near enough to affect us now 5 but in noviffl- 
 mo tntclligetis plane, in the end ye (hall underftand all 
 things clearly : In the end indeed, when the Son of Man 
 Jhall come in Glory and his reward with him, then they 
 ihall underftand and know, when they begin to feel their 
 ibrrows, the ftrange folly of their ways, and truly then 
 apprehend the vanity of their pride and pleafures here, 
 only this one way of value, that once they might have 
 been given in exchange for their Souls. In the mean 
 time, what a mifery is it, tranjire hmc in Infernum ut 
 ibi dijeant, quod kic credere nsluerunt : To pais from 
 hence into Hell, there to learn the truth, which here they 
 refilled to believe ? How much better were it for us to 
 believe, and pra&ife too whilft we may, and whilft it 
 may do us good ? Profit in any thing elfe there is not any, 
 though a man (hould gain the whole world : For moft 
 affuredly whofoeverhath the wealth and honour now, yet 
 the Righteous only (hall have the dominion in the mor- 
 ning^Tn the morning of this great day,when God (hall (hew 
 himfett no lefs terrible unto Sinners, than, as David fpeaks, 
 marvellous in hi < Saints 3 Happy men are we, if in that 
 manner we (hall compofe our lives, as may enroll us in 
 the Communion of that bleffed number. That fo when 
 the Son of Man (hall come in the glory of the Father,we 
 our felves may be declared among the Sons of God, and 
 go with him into the Father's Glory eternal in the Hea- 
 vens. Whereunto, &c, 
 
 Lans Deo in xtermtm, 
 
 Amen, Amen* 
 
 THE 
 
120 
 
 The Original of Wars 
 
 THE 
 
 O R I G I N A I 
 
 WARS 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 Upon J A M E S IV. I . 
 
 From wfance come Wars, and Fightings among you\ 
 Come they not hence, even of your Lufls that loar 
 in your ^Members ? 
 
 THIS Epiftle, however received at firft not with- 
 out fome fcruple by reafon of thofe heretical 
 Libertines {Simon, Nicholas & JintiUs} a- 
 ZferifosT gainft whom in the judgment of St. Ayftw^ it 
 
 is efpecially dire&ed, and lately alfo queftioned by fuch 
 once more as fetting up a folitary faith, would gladly re- 
 turn again unto the old licentioufnefs} yet the long and 
 general reception of the univerfal Church hath now ful- 
 ly confirmed it unto all her Children for undoutedly Ca- 
 nonical. 
 
ZJpon James iv. verfe i . 121 
 
 nonical. If any thing yet remain doubtful, it concerns ' 
 not the doftrine but the Author of it, this indeed is not 
 
 altogether fo certain 5 That it was St. James, all agree, 
 but which of the James's, there lies the difficulty 5 Two 
 of that name we find among the twelve Apoftles, James 
 the Brother of John, and James the Brother of Alp he us, 
 Mat, x. 2. but whether James the Brother of our Lord, 
 as St. Paul entitles him, furnamed the Lefs by St. Mark., Gal*. 1. 
 the Juft by Ecclefiaftical writers, the firft Bifhop of Je- 19- 
 rufalem, and by Eufebius (lib. Hift. 2. Cap. 22. J St. M o ark,KV * 
 Hierom and others, held for the Writer of this Epiftle $ 4 °' 
 whether this James were one of thofe two whom we find 
 in the number of the twelve, or a third out of that num- 
 ber, is much difputed with great authorities and reafons 
 on either fide: & ad hue fub judice lis eft. But whe- 
 ther of them foever it were, it is little material, it fuf- 
 ficeth that the matter of the Epiftle is Orthodox and 
 Canonical : Direfted it is unto the Chriftian Jews, di- 
 fperfed (by the perfecution which began with St. Stephen,') 
 into divers quarters, but not agreeing there (it feems) 
 among themfelves eipecially diflenting in points of Re- 
 ligion , every one ftriving who fhould be the greateft 
 Rabbi and Mafter among them , which contention St. 
 James leeks to diilolve by inquiring into the foul and 
 poifoned Fountains from whence it proceeds, From 
 whence come, &c But though' direfted principally 
 unto the Jew, yet the Epiftle you know hath the Title 
 of Catholick : The whole doftrin therefore muft be ge- 
 neral, and thefe particular words not bound untoothers, 
 but pertinent alfo unto the Wars and fightings of all 
 other Chriftians. The enquiry fure will equally concern 
 them all, and all be found equally liable unto the reproof. 
 For univerfally, whence come Wars, &c. 
 
 In which words we have two queftions propofed, and 
 one of them is an Anfwer to the other. Vnde Bella $ 
 
 R whence 
 
13 2 The Original of Wart, 
 
 whence are Wars, and fightings among you ? This is 
 the firft, lnterrogatio difquifitiva, an Interrogation by 
 way of inquiry, An non hinc ? Are they not hence,ez/e# 
 ofyourLufis i This is the fecond,//* terrogatio Refponftva^ 
 an Interrogation by way of refolution \ A Queftion in 
 form, an Anfwer in effeft y negatively propofed, Come 
 they not from hence f but affirmatively concluding, as 
 much as to fay, from hence they come, even from your 
 hjis that war in your members. 
 
 It feems to involve Riddles,a queftioning anfwer, and a 
 negative affirmation , but fuch is the condition of thefe 
 reiponfive Interrogations. 
 
 In the former, The Queftion Inquifitive, three points 
 are apparently difcernable. 
 ^ The fubjeSum circa quod, the fubjeft concerning 
 
 which the Queftion is moved, and that twofold : er&tfjuaij 
 Wars publick, and folemn firft - then y&%u, leffer ftrifes 
 and fightings. Whence^ &c. 
 % The enquiry into the Caufes,intothe Root and Source, 
 
 the Spring and firft Fountain of thefe peftilent evils : 
 mfeiv wiMfjioi) whence are Wars ? which is not a bare en- 
 quiry, a meer queftion neither, but feems to have fbme- 
 g % thing in it of wonder and admiration, if in the laft place 
 we add the \v vfjJv inter Vos, the Parties contending, Bre- 
 thren by Nature, and adopted unto the fame Inheritance 
 by Grace, Chriftians, bis fratrcs, twice bretheren. Vnde 
 inter Vos .<? whence among ye ? 
 
 In the fecond Queftion Reponfive, befides the Inter- 
 rogation, An non hinc .<? Are they not hence ? we may 
 diftinguifh three particulars more, arifing like Rings in 
 gradation, i. Lnjlj 2. Lujl Warring 5 2. Warring in 
 the members. 
 
 Firft, Lufts in the habit,that unprovoked lie Couchant, 
 fkeping., and fo in a manner dead, and Homo mortuvs 
 non belligerat, as it is ia the proverb, fo long they fight 
 
 not: 
 
Vfon J a m e s i v. verfe i . 133 
 
 not : Thefe awakened and ftirred up by the flefh or fan- 
 cy, or Devil working by both, ]5refently become mili- 
 tant adverfus an imam ', for they war, but againji the iPet.2.11, 
 Soul. 
 
 Laftly, if the warring Lufts of the members prevail a- 
 gainft the Soul, draw it unto Luft, the Lufts of the Soul 
 do thenceforth war again in the members, making them 
 but injiruments of iniquity unto iniquity, of iniquity in Rom. 6. 
 confent unto iniquity in Ad and Execution, as St. Paul 
 (peaks, And then if hindred in the execution, Stirs begin 
 abroad, Wars and Contentions are inftantly railed. And 
 that this is the intent here of St. James his phrafe of 
 warring in the members, is evident, for the original 
 faith not indeed Lufts but Delights, it is not fffS h4k>(u£$ 
 but n?(S xStvuv, not from your lufts, but from your plea- 
 fures that war in your members. For when Lufts are 
 turned into pleafures and delights, they then become 
 Vices, which before were but temptations reigning in the 
 Soul, and imploying all the members of both Soul and Bo- 
 dy as Inftruments and Weapons too to beat down all op- 
 pofition, until they (hall atchieve and fully effeft their 
 intentions. But becaufe thefe three are not three feveral 
 things but only three degrees of one and the fame luft, 
 luft dormant, militant, and vi&orious, for vi&orious it 
 muft be in the mind, ere the luft of the mind can become 
 militant in the members, the utmoft improvement and 
 exaltation of luft, when it lofeth her name by running in- 
 to a corrupt affeftion or delight \ Under that Title there- 
 fore we (hall (imply confider it in this refponfive que- 
 ftion 5 fuch noyfom affeftions at home being indeed the 
 ground and foundation, the well-head and Fountain of 
 all Wars and Contentions abroad. But we muft firft be- 
 gin with the former Queftion, and in it, as Nature re- 
 quires, firft enter on the fubjeft concerning which it is 
 moved, Tc'Ae^oi 9 f**%ou, Wars and Fightings, from 
 
 R 2 whence, 
 
124 The Original of Wars, 
 
 whence, &c. ghti in eenere & confuse loquuntur, feip- 
 fos decipiunt & alios, ergodijlinguamus, faith Ariftotle. 
 And St. James here, that his fpeech be the more didinft, 
 follows the Rule, and doth firft fever publick and general 
 contentions, from private ftrifes and lefl'er brabbles, ttdAs- 
 fj&i £ /xa'^cuc But this difference confiding- in degree ra- 
 ther than Nature, doth not hinder, but that we may far- 
 ther didinguifti the diverfe kinds of either 5 And two 
 forts fure there are apparently,Verbal Wars and Violent : 
 fo the Orator doth divide, duo font genera decertandi, 
 Tin um per vim, altcrum per difteptationcm. There are 
 two forts of war and contention, the one by force, the 
 other by difpute, and contedation 3 that proper unto 
 Beads, this unto Men 5 yet Men may fly unto that, faith 
 he, when this latter may not be ufed, or hath been ufed 
 to no purpofe } For in cafe of injuries between States or 
 Princes that have no Superiour Judges if rcafbn may not 
 prevail for right, or reditution, the Sword of neceflity 
 mud difpute the caufe, and be bold to carve out its own 
 fatisfaftion. But then what large fatisfa&ion men do ufii- 
 ally cut out to themfelves that are their own Carvers 
 and Judges in their own caufes, backed with Cxfars 
 MaximeofWarin the Poet, Omnia dat, qui jujla negat y 
 what bitter revenges they take of their brethren 5 what 
 forrows and calamities, what (laughter and effufion of 
 blood, and confufion they bring upon the world, until 
 the whole earth doth groan and mourn, if not totter and 
 reel like a drunkard under the burthen, is an argument 
 fitter for tears than difcourfes, for prayers unto God 
 than declamations unto Men thatlittle regard them. But 
 fuch are the conditions of the former fort, violent and 
 bloody. The fecond are of a milder nature 5 difceptive on- 
 ly and verbals In which kind I fhall not now meddle with 
 the. pleas and pleadings between right and wrong, be Hum 
 forenfe, Thefe are but m^ca, private brabbles between 
 
 perfon 
 
ZJpon James iv. verfe i. 125 
 
 perfon and perfbn, founded in meum & tuum, frigida 
 ilia verba, faith St. Chryjoftome, qu£ innumtra genucre 
 bella,&tc. but only with with thofedifceptations and dif- 
 putes, which concern verum & falfum, Truth and Er- 
 ror, even in Faith and things pertaining unto God, hel- 
 ium EccUfififticnm, a war publick too, as that other be- 
 tween States and Kingdoms, (b this between Churchmen 
 and Churches, as the war moft efpecially intended in the 
 Text, and that we be not much offended at it, ever and 
 in all ages permitted by the Divine Difpenfation for 
 great realon>, more or lefs to exercife the Church of 
 God -■> And theli wars, it were yet ibmething well, had 
 they contained themfclves within their proper fphere of 
 difceptation and difputc, though even thus, fuch con- 
 tention it felf, and the bitter fruits which it produceth, 
 is caufe (ufficient to bring forrow enough on the heart of 
 every true Son of the Church 5 for,whofe heart fmarteth 
 not to conGder the divifions, I fay not now of Reuben, 
 but of Levi, and their great thoughts of heart to behold 
 the parts and parcels, divifions and (ubdivifions, faftions 
 and fraftions whereinto they have broken and even crum- 
 bled themfelves? To (ee the Coat of Chrift that fhould 
 be without feam, not only rent in pieces but torn even 
 unto rags, until Religion, Chriftian Religion, (eem to 
 fuffer the fame fate with that Lady in Vint arch, quam 
 cumprocorum (ingttli pojfidere nequirent integrant^ in 
 partes drrcpferunt , & obtinuit nemo omnium. But 
 have thefe contentions ftayed here? Have they not 
 thrown a(;de the Pen and drawn forth the Sword, left 
 chiding and fallen to blows? words have bred exafpe^- 
 ration and cxafperation hatred more than Vatiniani 
 mortal or rather immortal hatred, not content to fpend 
 it felf on the goods, the bodies, the lives of the living, but 
 to rage on the Memory, the Bones and the very Afhes 
 and Sepulchres of the dead, yea on the very Souls-, as fier 
 
 as 
 
126 The Original ofWars, 
 
 as they might, of both 5 how many fuch Souls of our late 
 Predeceffors (whofe blood in moft Savage manner poured 
 forth and fpilt, is yet even almoft warm) are there now 
 lying under that Altar in the Revel, and crying unto God 
 with an ufquequo, how long Lord, merciful and true £ 
 And how well may we cry out and admire too with that 
 Poet, 
 
 Tantum Relligiopotuit fttadere malorumZ 
 
 For certainly there is neither of thefe contentions, whe- 
 ther by difceptation,or violence, whether they be ^Ag^t 
 or ploL%m> publick Wars or private Fightings of either 
 fort, but will well deferve an unde of admiration and 
 inquifition too 5 but fir ft of admiration in regard of the 
 inter vos, the parties contending, which is the fecond 
 point, whence, &c. 
 
 And fure were the vos here, only but men, it were 
 not without marvel, fince fuch violent and bloody con- 
 tention (as the Orator faid well) is proper to Beads, to 
 Beafts that are of divers kinds and feveral natures, as full 
 of paffion, as void of underftanding, not unto Men that 
 are rational, of the fame blood, and defcended from the 
 loins of the fame Parent, in whom the lines of their fe- 
 veral Pedegrees do all meet and center themfelves in uni- 
 ty original, that (b in their running on from thence there 
 might be continued a fraternity perpetual. Beafts in- 
 deed come forth armed, and in their feveral kinds well 
 . appointed for war, into the world 5 but Man is fent out 
 without Tooth or Talon, horn or hoof from jhe womb, 
 tanquam animal foci ale, c£* ad pacem colendam natum, 
 as a civil and fociable creature defigned and born unto 
 peace. Is it not ftrange that fuchnotwithftanding (hould 
 become belluis ipfis magis belluini, more full of beaftly 
 ferity than beafts themfelves? That this fociable Animal 
 [hould juftifie the madnefs of the moft Savage and intra- 
 
 ftable 
 
ZJpon James iv. verfe i. 127 
 
 ftable creatures, fteel their affections with more cruelty 
 and barbarity than Bears and Lions can learn in theWil- 
 dernefs ? As if they had fucked Tygers in the defert, ra- 
 ther than the Daughters of Men , or were a Cad wean 
 generation, born not ot Women, but terr<e filii fprung 
 up out of the earth, fown with the teeth of Serpents, for 
 juft (b we deftroy one another, & perennt per mutua 
 vnlnera fratrex, like the young men that played before 
 Joab and Aimer ^ every man thruftinghis Sword in his 2 Sam. 2. 
 Brothers fide. This cannot be without marvel J But 
 yet this is not it, there is fomething more in the vos 
 than this. St. James directs his fpeech not meerly unto 
 Men, to animal Men and Infidels, but unto Chriftian 
 Men, to Men whofe Badge and Cognizance, yea whofe 
 very form and ellence, is mutual Love and Charity 5 un- 
 cle inter vos ? It is but a juft admiration, this, whence 
 are warsamongft fuch? That divers and feveral Religi- 
 ons (hould ftriveeven unto death 5 that the Jew and the 
 Chriftian contending, the Gentile (hould fall upon both 
 as in the primitive times is no great matter : but that 
 one and the fame (hould nourifh inteftine war, that the 
 Children of the iame Mother (hould ftruggle and fight, 
 like Jacob and Efau, in the very womb that bears them, 
 that is it that is marvellous indeed. For we may not 
 conceive that Chriftianity infolds within it feveral Reli- 
 gions '■> As far as the World is Chriftian, it is but one, in 
 which indeed there may be and are Factions and Parts, 
 fome Schifms and rents, which notwithftanding are not 
 fo torn in fonder, or fo utterly divided, but that they 
 hang together, though at fbme diftance by many threads. 
 As long as there is no new foundation laid, the building 
 of Hay and Stubble upon the old, may well be termed 
 Errour, and error fometimes peradventure Heretical, a 
 new Religion it may not, cannot be: That then this one 
 (hould fo vary and multiply it felf into fo many feveral 
 
 forms 
 
128 The Original of Wars , 
 
 forms and (hapes, every man admiring and contending 
 for the beauty and proportions of that which his own 
 fancy beholds , if not frames, and that with fuch en- 
 mity and bitternefs } this cannot be but very ftrange in- 
 dered, and we are now to inquire into the caufes, that it 
 may be ftrange no longer. For this Vnde of St.jf*/»e/,ftays 
 not in the admiration, but tends efpecially unto Inquifi- 
 tion, thelaft point, whence are Wars and Fightings $ 
 
 And he doth well to inquire into the Caufes of fuch 
 deadly evils, as being the beft and readied means to re- 
 move not only the admiration but the Evils themfelves. 
 For Wars in the world, are but as ficknefs in the Body, 
 both diftempers and tumults bred by corrupt humours, 
 the one in natural bodies, the other in politick and reli- 
 gious : Every Empirick may palliate the malignity of a 
 difeafe by outward and local Medicines, but a skilful Phy- 
 fician deals upon the root and fountain, that he may make 
 a cure of it $ And fb doth St. James here, though his 
 difcourfe be of War,yet his whole intent is for Peace, the 
 health of a Church and State, yea and the wealth too 3 
 The blejfing of Peace^ faith the Pfaltnifi, as if all other 
 bleffings were, as indeed they are, without it unblefled 
 unto us. But this peace however otherwife pieced and 
 palliated, yet he well knew could not be firmly knit and 
 eftablifhed, without removing the caufes of War 5 nei- 
 ther thefe caufes that feed and foment War, removed, 
 unlefs firft fhewn and difcovered 3 And therefore the 
 enquiry is no (boner made by one Interrogation, Vnde 
 Bella ? but the difcovery follows in the neck of it, by 
 another, Annon hinc $ Are they not henc^ 
 
 And that we may proceed unto this fecond general, 
 we will now follow him accordingly in both 5 firft make 
 the Enquiry and that diftinftly with refpeft unto the fe- 
 veral forts of Wars and fightings before mentioned, and 
 then confider the truth of his return unto it, whether he 
 
 hath 
 
Vfon James iv. verfe i . 129 
 
 hath not opened the right fountain, juftly laid the blame, 
 where it fhould lie,upon warring lufts. And laftly, take a 
 more particular view, what Lufts they are, that warring 
 in the members at home, do caufe all other ftrifes and 
 contentions in the World abroad, whence are Wars .<? 
 Are they not hence £ 
 
 But firft by the way it will not be amifs to prevent a mi- 
 ftake,left fome Anabaptiftical Spirit perad venture may con- 
 ceive it St. Jameshis meaning here,becaufe he derives them 
 from luft,to condemn all violentWars for utterly unlawful; 
 True it is,thatWar cannot be juft on any fidc,unlefs worldly 
 lufts have caufed injuftice on one fide, though it be pol- 
 fible in cafe of ignorance through inextricable difficulty 
 of title, that a War which can be juft but on one part, 
 may yet not be unjuft on any : But in cafe of apparent in- 
 juftice, vim vi repel/ere, is the unrepeatable Law of Na- 
 ture, even for private men, how much more for fuch as 
 are fupereminent, andpublick? For Kings and Kingdoms 
 that are bound more ftrongly to preferve themfelves, than 
 any particulars elfe, are therefore leaft bound of all others 
 to fuffcr injuries, especially fuch as are deftru&ive, or but 
 look towards it : A juft War here is ever to be prefer- 
 red before a ruining and difhonourable Peace: Though 
 yet this indeed, is or ought to be the laft remedy, not wil- 
 lingly to be ufed, unlets injuries with peace may not 
 otherwife be repaired: He faid wc\\ y Malis fcclicitas^bonis 
 necejfitas : To lay hold of any occaiion tofubdue Nati- 
 ons, and enlarge Dominions by Conqueft and bloodfhed, 
 wicked and Tyrannous Princes may efteem great glorv 
 and felicity, but by good and Chriftian Kings War is ne- 
 ver fought, but enforced, and is therefore rightly termed 
 malum necejjarinm , though indeed it be never evil 
 morally , but when it is unncceflary. And therefore 
 Cnncta prim tentanda^ all good means are firft to be en- 
 deavoured,butthen if it ftill xemm\immedtcabiUvnlntH, 
 
 S an 
 
i ^ o The Original of Wars, 
 
 an injury otherwife incurable, enfe reddendum, the 
 Sword muft cut it off as a Gangrene, left it creep on to 
 ruine and deftru&ion : In this cafe they alone muft de- 
 fervedly bear on their own heads, as they may, the 
 blame and blood too of the War, whofe warring lufts 
 would not permit them to hearken unto the treaties and 
 juft conditions of peace. Though therefore the ground 
 and occafion of a War be ever fome corrupt lufts on the 
 one part, yet the profecution may be but juftice on the 
 other 5 And juft Wars are fo far from being evil, as they 
 are termed fomewhere, even in the Scriptures, the Lords 
 battels. This premifed to remove the Anabaptift that 
 ftood in the way, let us now come to the anfwer, firft 
 propofing the queftion, and then applying the refponfive 
 interrogation in the feveral forts of contention, beginning 
 the enquiry as the Text doth with <&$& Was^c^ whence 
 are wars, publick Wars and violent amongft you ? 
 
 But the demand here I confefi may well be fpared : 
 iuch Wars are neither fo proper to the Text, nor yet 
 unto our profeffion,and were they both, yet the inquiry 
 into them is impertinent at this (eafon,and to this Aflembly : 
 Here is no room for the Queftion, no place for the 
 inter Vos : Bleffed be God there are no fuch Wars a- 
 inongft us. 
 
 §luicquid tninabitur Eurus 
 
 o pleUunttsr J)lv£. faith the Poet. 
 
 And fo it hath been with us hitherto, and may it be 
 fo ftill. The Hail-ftorm that threatens our Cities, may 
 it ever fall upon the Foreft,as the Prophet Efay fpeaketh : 
 The Lord, it feems, as he (bmetimes faid of his Ifrael, 
 hath given Egypt for your ranfom, Ethiopia and sheba 
 for you, and the chaftifement of our peace is upon other 
 mens fhouldersj we therefore may better put the queftion 
 clean contrary, Vjidc non funt bella ? VndeVax inter 
 
 Vos r 
 
Vpn James iv. verfe i. 151 
 
 Vos ? whence is it, that there are no fuch Wars amongft 
 you ? This Vnde and enquiry certainly is not without 
 fome admiration neither 5 That the ftreams of your Gof- 
 pel (hould run pure and clean, whileft the Rivers abroad 
 are turned into blood , that whilft other Nations lie even 
 wafte in the defolations of War,imbroyled and imbrewed 
 in their own gore, your Country remains unto you in the 
 mean while like the Garden of Eden, frefh and flouri- 
 (hing, every man fnb umbra pacts delighting and (port- 
 ing himfelf in the Bowers of Peace and Plenty too, Vnde 
 h£c nobis tanta falicitas ? we may well indeed make 
 the demand, whence this is happened unto us above all 
 others ? And may we not as jufty anfvver like St. James 
 here with another demand, An non hinc .<? Is it not from 
 hence t certainly next unto God and his gracious favour, 
 from hence it is, that we have a Prince to rule over us 
 that is Print eps pads, as theDefendour of the Faith, fo 
 a Prince of Peace alfo. A Prince of fueh mild and 
 temperate affeftions, as the eye of envy cannot but per- 
 ceive his bofom to be free from thofe revengefull or am- 
 bitious thoughts, ab immenfa ilia dominandi li bt dine, 
 from that immenfe and illimited defire of enlarging do- 
 minion, and all other thofe impotent lufts, that reigning 
 in the breafts and warring in the members of other Kings, 
 have fo much troubled the world, and like that horfe- 
 man in the Revel, taken peace from off the earth. Hap- 
 py men .ire we, did we underftand our own happinefs, or 
 rather are we not miferable the more that underftanding 
 our happinefs regard it fo little? That notwithstanding 
 this invaluable bfeffiag of peace, able to fwallow up all 
 petty pretended grievancesxan yet hardly,and icarce with- 
 out murmuring be brought to contribute any thing for the 
 preservation of our own felicity,though wrought out with 
 the care, and brought home unto us with the trouble and 
 travel of another ? An ingratitude able to deprive us of 
 
 S a our 
 
L£2 The Original of Wars, 
 
 our bleffing, and indeed nothing but deprivation, can 
 teach us rightly how to value it. But then let it come 
 unto this, fet once an inter vos upon it, make it your 
 own cafe, though but by imagination : Let your fields 
 be fpoiled and your labours wafted, let your eyes behold 
 the rifling of your houfes, the direption and Packing of 
 your Cities : Let your Sons be numbred unto the Sword, 
 and your Daughters to reproach and violation $ lye but 
 a while under thefe, and the like calamities of War, that 
 ufually attend on the vi&ories of proud and infulting 
 Conquerours , and then confider and fay whether any 
 thing be too dear to redeem that bleffing, which you now 
 have, and think every thing too much, though never fo 
 little, that fhould be expended for the continuance of it. 
 May fuchunthankfulnefs never bring it to a real cafe among 
 us: but fure this and our other iniquities are like enough 
 to do fo. I am neither Prophet nor Son of a Prophet, 
 only this I fay, and a reverend Prelate hath taught it me, 
 That Mercy and Juftice are two Sifters,and as the one hath 
 had her day, fo the other in time may come to have hers 
 alfo. For God hath two Arms, two Cups, two Recom- 
 pences: Eerily there is a reward for the Righteous, and 
 doubtlefs too there is a Judgment in (lore for unthank- 
 ful, murmuring and obftinate finners. But, 'tis well, as yet 
 we are free, and bleffed ever be God we are fo, that we 
 have now nothing to do with -ttdA^o/, but have we not 
 with ^cL^cti neither ? we cannot put the queftion here, 
 unde bella} but may we not, unde pugn<s> ? whence are 
 fightings .<? I would we might not. Would to God there 
 were no room for inter vos here neither 3 But however 
 the tartnefs of the humour be fomething allai'd (and you 
 know ftill through whole care ) yet room there is, and 
 too much room, if pleafe God, left for making the en- 
 quiry, unde fint .<? whence they are ? and for juftifying 
 the anfw.er too, even from hence, from the htjis that 
 
 war 
 
ZJfon J a m e s i v. verfe i . 155 
 
 zvar in your Members. And it was but time for the Lords 
 Anointed to fet to his helping hand, we were even grown 
 wanton in deftroying the life of. one another. Awry 
 countenance, a miftakcn word, any thing was caufe e- 
 nough, non in commodum, fed occidendi caufa occi* 
 dunt, Men kill, as he (aid, for no other reafon. but on- 
 ly to kill, not for profit, but for praife, and fince they 
 conceive there is honour in it, take a plealure in killing} 
 As if no matter were fit to build up the aiery Caftles of 
 honour, but fuch as is tempered with blood 5 And yet 
 fee the reward, when the Devil by the Laws of 
 God furrounds and feifeth on the conquered, dying in 
 malice, and the Hangman by the Laws of the King, gives 
 the Garland of Honour to the Conquerour : A wor- 
 thy reward , if any reward may be worthy of fuch 
 impiety ! How may we fay with old Jacob unto his 
 fighting children, curfing their wrath, for it was cruel, 
 O my Soul come not into tfuir fcret, O mine honour 
 be thou not joyned unto their AJjembly : For indeed it 
 neither is, nor can be cfteemed honour with any but the 
 Afl'embly of Ruffians and Rodomantado's, Brethren of 
 the Sword that read Tavern Lectures, and have made 
 an Art and Philofophy of quarrel!, unlets it be honour 
 to Live and Die in the difobedience of God, the King, 
 and the Church, and to fuffer thebafenefs of thofe bitter 
 revenges of all three} for as you have feen them, the 
 execrations of God and the King, fo are the Anathema's 
 of the Church too, excommunicated ipfo fa&o, and net 
 permitted in other places Chriftian burial, but caft or.: 
 into the common Field, among thofe bcafts they imi- 
 tate } and pity it is not fo in our own Church. For tic 
 that dies like a Lion, or rather like a Maftiff, juftly d<> 
 Serves, as that Prophet fpeaketb, the burial of an jifr% 
 But though this be the chief yet is it not the affe&ation 
 of thisfalfe honour alone which is the only warring hift* 
 
 tha 
 
134 The Original of Wars, 
 
 that inforceth thefe Combatants to the Field. They can 
 fight fometimes for their money, the Gamefters quarrel-: 
 fometimes for their Conforts in the work of darkneft, the 
 Adulterers quarrel : and fometimes even for pure re- 
 venge, the malicious Mans quarrel 5 wheni%hey mifcar- 
 ry and perifh in the Conflict, The firft dies the Worlds, 
 the fecond, the Flefhes , the third the Devils Martyr: 
 And honour ftill there is no doubt in all three. Are thefe 
 Men Chriftians, trow ye ? Certainly I begin almoft to 
 doubt, whether they are within the Verge of this, inter 
 vos, here or no. Sure I am they cannot refblve to fight 
 thefe Battels, but they muft at the fame time refolve to 
 renounce Chriftianity : yea and fo themfelves profefs 
 (and peradventure there is honour in that too) that they 
 may not, they cannot do it as Chriftians, only they are 
 bound to maintain their reputation as Gentlemen. But 
 what, are the Noble and Ignoble become feveral fpecies 
 of Chriftians or are there feveral Gofpels, one for the 
 Peafant, another for the Gentleman to be faved by ? I 
 have read that the great Bifhop of Cullcn could plunder 
 a Country with his Army, but as a Duke, not as a Bi- 
 (hop 5 but he was well derided for it by the Countryman 
 with that farcaftical demand, that when the Duke (hould 
 be burning in Hell for fuch outrages, what would be- 
 come of the Bifhop ? And furely when the Gentleman 
 falling in a Duel (hall be damned, we may as juftly de- 
 mand with the like derifion,what will become of the Chri- 
 ftian ? will God and the Devil divide the fpoil, come to 
 the old compofition,tfec mi hi nee ti biffed dividatnr? or 
 will Chrift deliver the evil Chriftian to Satan, and take 
 the priviledgcd Gentleman to himfelf? But not to be 
 over pleafant in a matter that is ferious, I only fay thus 
 much, If the Chriftian be a Noble Gentleman, let the 
 Gentleman too be a Noble Chriftian 5 Such brute and 
 barbarous Kites may well be wild branches of Gentilifm, 
 
 but 
 
Vpn J a m e s i v. verfe i . 155 
 
 but will no way accord with Chriftianity, or true Gene- 
 rality cither 5 yea the Gentiles themfelves, thofe great 
 Maftersof bonour,the old Rom an /, that fo eagerly fought 
 for it, and won it too in juft and lawful wars, yet o- 
 therwife cfteemcd it the greateft both Honour and Va- 
 lour too, privatas injuria magno & excelfo animo pr<e- 
 terirc, wirh an high and a Noble Mind to pafs by and 
 contemn private offences. And therefore he is a Noble 
 neither Gentile Gentleman, nor Chriftian that cannot 
 do the like, but a fordid Vallal unto thofe bafe and un- 
 worthy litjis that war in his members : God and his 
 Scripture can afford him no other Honour, and with it 
 I leave him, and pafs unto thofe other fightings and con- 
 tentions difceptive, the wars Ecclefiaftical, into the bit- 
 ter root and original whereof, we are now to enquire 
 and confider, An non hinc ? whether thefe alio ifluenot 
 from the fame Spring and Well-head, (till the head of all 
 evil, Inft warring in the members. Are they not 
 hence i 
 
 Not that thefe wars neither are on all parts unlawful, 
 like thofe latter, becaufe derived from luft : unlawful in- 
 deed they are on that Cidc^ where luft raifeth errours 5 
 but neccftary on the other, where truth fecks to diflolve 
 them. Thefe are not as Duels, and private Fightings, 
 but rather as thofe former folemn and publick Wars 5 and 
 as there Luft begets Injury, and Juftice repells it 5 fo here 
 Luft ingenders error, and it is but fidelity to oppofe it 5 
 But then we muft be fure the error be clear, and of mo- 
 ment too. otherwife we may be too forward to make a 
 war about it. And indeed it will behoove us not to make 
 or nourifh more quarrels here, than needs we muft, e- 
 fpecially not to profecute them over-eagerly 5 conten- 
 tion in the Church, is as a wound in the Soul, or a breach 
 of the Sea, it may have fmall beginnings, but nothing 
 «l well make it up again, It fqmetimes fares with the 
 
 Watch, ^ 
 
136 The Original ofWars^ 
 
 Watchmen of ifrael, that have the charge of the Churches 
 peace, as it did with Elijahs fervant upon Mount Carmel^ 
 At the firft looking out, peradventure they fee nothing 5 
 they look out a fecond time, and behold a cloud arifing 
 out of the Sea no bigger than a Mans hand } ^but ere they 
 can well look about them the third time, the Heaven is 
 inftantly overcaft, and down comes a dafhing fhower, 
 if not a Tempeft upon the Church : if the wood be dry, 
 a fmall thing will ferve turn to kindle a flame, which 
 greater pains will not fo eafily again extinguifh. It will 
 therefore concern us highly to take heed how we ftrike 
 fire upon Tinder, or blow that which isftrucken: how 
 we either begin or foment the leaft iparks of contention, 
 where the matter round about us is fo combuftible, and 
 ready to take fire, as are the affe&ions and fancies of gid- 
 dy people, prone of themfelves to nothing more than 
 novelty and difobedience. And fince it is our office not 
 to feed fuch flames, but to quench them, we are to do it 
 accordingly, as the points (hall require. If material and 
 of moment, by carting on of water even by oppofition^ 
 but if other wife, by withdrawing the Fuel, agreeing or 
 notfurioufly ftrivingin unneceffary and difficult difputes. 
 It is therefore but the idle jealoufy of bufie Zealots, when 
 they fee any out of this defire of the Churches peace 
 and union too, as far as may be, not willing to raife or 
 nourifh more controverfies than are needful, (where God 
 knows there are too many already) prefently to con- 
 ceive them for underminers of Religion, betrayers of the 
 Truth, that deliver it up once more, if not to Pilate 
 yet to Caiaphas^ to be Crucified, either out of fraud, or 
 I know not what fear, ne Komani vent ant & tollant 
 gent em : True, there is no counfel againft the Almighty, 
 and he that (hall feek to fave any thing by deferting his 
 truth, doth but take the readied way to lofe it. The 
 Lord hath faid it, and (in fuch fubtleties as the Wife man 
 
 faith. 
 
ZJpon James iv. verfe i. 137 
 
 faith, are fine but unrighteous} ever takes it his honour 
 to do as he fays, Perdam fapientiam fapientum, I will 
 deftroy the wifdom of the wife, and take them in the 
 craftinefs of their own imaginations. Alas ! who knows 
 not this as well as themfel ves^d who fees not,that in fuch 
 points as are apparently noxious and hurtful, for Sions 
 fake we do not, we may not hold our peace, but where 
 we cannot otherwife joyn, we are ready to joyn battle > 
 They are the Lords battles, thefe of all others and fince 
 the wall of partition is eretted on their ground, and the 
 errors that occafion the War, founded in the lufts that 
 war in their members, we fpare not here, as occafion 
 ferves, to lift up our voices, like Trumpets, and ftand 
 prepafed to jeopard our lives even unto death in the 
 high places of the Field, left the curfe of Aleroz, over- 
 take us, that bitter Curfe by the voice of an Angel, for judg.v.23< 
 not coming forth unto the help of the Lord : But yet 
 even in thefe contentions that are moft neceflary, fbund- 
 nefs and moderation too, would do well 3 for violence 
 or bitternefs againft Mens Perfons may confirm them in 
 their errors, but is no way able to convert any Man to 
 the truth. We our felves will not be fo converted, 
 though I doubt not but in cafe, where fenfiial Lufts and 
 defires have ftupified the fenfe, and made Men wilfully 
 deaf unto milder admonitions, fuch may fbmetimes be 
 rub'd up a little the more roundly. But whether fuch 
 terrene afFe&ions be the true caufes, as of other Wars, fb 
 of thefe contentions alfo, we are now to fee and in- 
 quire. 
 
 St. James here affirms they are, but by a negative de- 
 mand. Are they not hence i And he feems to do it 
 purpofely in that form, to fee if any Man can except a- 
 gainft it, or find out any other original. For fome have 
 imployed thcmfelves in the difcovery of other Fountains, 
 and would willingly caft the blame, as well, if not rather 
 
 T upon 
 
1 58 The Original of Wars, 
 
 upon the ignorance of Men and the difficulty of the 
 Scriptures $ and indeed in the Scriptures, there are fome 
 things difficult enough, and among Men many ignorant 
 more than too much 5 but ignorance in difficulties ne- 
 ver comes to error and contention, if Men can be con- 
 tent to be ignorant in what they cannot well underftand, 
 this is, pia & do&a ignorant 74, as St. Aufiin hath it,. a 
 pious and a learned ignorance : indeed not fo much an 
 ignorance, as a willing and voluntary neceffity, which of 
 all things elfe in matters that are thorny and perplexed, 
 is the beft preferver of peace. There may be, no doubt, 
 abftrufe queftions enough, propofed by Churchmen and 
 handled too, but they never come to ftirs and ftrifes in 
 the Church until they that are ignorant and blin4, like 
 thofe Pharifees, out of pride or fome other Luf£ will 
 needs (ay and believe too, that they fee 5 And then fuch 
 guides and their blinder followers , how fuddenly are 
 they both in the ditch plunged over head and ears in er- 
 rour, ere they are aware ? Ignorance therefore never 
 caufeth errour and diflention, unlets one Luft or other 
 doth firft caufe the ignorance : foSt. Peter tells us, fome- 
 things are hard to be underjiood in St. Pauls Epiftles, 
 which yet hurts none but unlearned and unji able Men 5 
 Men carried about,it feems, with diverfe Lufts,like empty 
 Clouds withfeveral winds,who therefore pervert fuch dif- 
 ficult places to their own deftruftion 5 and let it ever be 
 their own blame, not the Scriptures, which are mod un« 
 willingly wrefted to the adulterating of that very truth 
 which themfelves do deliver. But the holy Scripture is 
 not compofedonly of difficulties, it hath (hallows in it, 
 and Fords where the Lamb may wade, as well as Pools 
 and Pits, where the Elephant may fwim, yea and drown 
 too. As there are exquilite rarities to depel fatiety, fo is 
 there folid food enough too, to fatisfy hunger 5 And in 
 thefe that are univerfally neceflary unto life, the Scrip- 
 tures 
 
Vpon James iv. verfe i. 139 
 
 tures are io clear and free from difficulty, as there is no 
 room for ignorance, did not Men look on them through 
 the falfe Speftacles of their deceitful affe&ions 3 For if 
 the Cofpel be hid, it is hid unto thofe that perift^ to 
 thole, vvhofe Eyes the God of this world hath blinded, 
 faith St. Paul plainly s neither doth the God of this world 
 otherwife blind them, but by exhaling the vapours of 
 worldly Lufts, that darken and pervert the judgment* 
 Whether therefore we recur either to the difficulty of 
 the Scripture, or ignorance of Men 5 we are (till brought 
 back in conclufion, according to St. James here, to the 
 lufts of their members, as the true and proper caufes from 
 whence fuch bitter contentions in the Church have been 
 raifed, nourifhed, and with fuch violence profecuted, 
 for are they not hence £ 
 
 And hence indeed they are, fo much the very demand 
 doth import 5 but 'tis not enough to fay fo, we muft 
 (hew it too, as well as fay it. And that may not well be 
 done, unlefs we condefcend unto fome particulars, take 
 a fhort view of thefe feveral Lufts, and fee a little what 
 feveral errours they have begotten, and with them what 
 contentions in the Church. Love and Hatred, if mifap- 
 plied,are the two radical Lufts that both found and fofter 
 all others. Thofe that proceed from Love, the concu- 
 pifcible part of the Soul, are either from the immode- 
 rate Love of Pleafure, or of Profit or Honour, which the 
 beloved Difciple term?, the lujis of the flefi, the lufts 
 of the Eye, and the pride of Life, and thefe are all either 
 worldly or fenfual : But thofe that iilue from Hatred, the 
 irafcible part, whether from the hatred of peace; or of 
 truth , are more dire&Iy Devilifh \ And therefore our 
 St. James a little before reductth them all unto three 
 heads. But if there be bitter emulation andjirife among James it 
 you, this wifdom defcendeth not from above, but k earth- *S« 
 hi ftnfitah anc ^ devilifi. 
 
 T2 To 
 
t 40 The Original of Wars, 
 
 To begin the inftance with that terrene and worldly 
 affe&ion of Pride and Vain-glory (though this hath fome- 
 thing of Devil in it too) what a fruitful Mother hath it 
 ever been of diffentions in Religion? and how many 
 ways hath (be hatched and brought forth her deformed 
 ifliie ? Sometimes by an itching defire of knowing all 
 things, which boldly fearching into hidden fecrets leaves 
 nothing unranfacked , whereby it may appear more 
 learned : And then what fuch men conceive their pro- 
 found (peculations with much travel have drawn up out 
 of the depth of night and darknefs, left they fhould lofe 
 the price of their labour, they obtrude upon others as 
 neceffary to be believed. It was mod rightly (aid, Ne~ 
 • ver Heretick yet, that racked the bowels of the Churchy 
 but his pretence was for truth «, and Men do ufaally fall 
 fo deeply in love with the conceited truth of their own 
 invention, as all their pains feems to be loft, unlets they 
 may prefs it too upon the Confcience of every Man elfe. 
 And then when probable conceipts come to be publiftied 
 for neceffary truths, and fpeculations of fancy are once 
 turned into Articles of Faith (as we fee it hath fallen 
 out, as in many others, fo in the new Platform of Pre£ 
 byterial Purity^ at firft conceived but for a convenient 
 Regiment, yet afterwards men becoming more enamourd 
 with their own conceptions, came to be urged at length 
 for the neceffary difcipline of Chrift, clearly commanded 
 in Scripture, as the Scepter upon Earth and very King- 
 dom of our Saviour,) no marvel then I fay, if contentions 
 be not only raifed, but eagerly and obftinately purfiied 
 alfo5 which yet are rendred the more violent by afe- 
 cond elation of mind that can well away with no fupe- 
 riority : Andthofe, that by other mundane defire?, are 
 driven to endure it, yet how Heavenly do they do it? 
 How do they mumur againft the power of their Super- 
 intendents, like Corak> Dathan? and Abirtwi, Te take 
 
 tCO' 
 
ZJfon James iv. verfe i. 141 
 
 too much upon you, ye Sons of Aaron, and much ado they 
 have, not to fay (b of Mofes too. Doubtlefs the cry in 
 their hearts, is but that Confpiracy in the Pfalmiji, Let 
 us break, their bonds afunder , and cajl their cords 
 from ns. Sometimes again by an higher degree of am- 
 bition that will admit of no equality, that as the former 
 would be fubjeft unto none, (b this would have all fub- 
 jeft unto himfelf 
 
 — ■ — — Nee firre poteji C<efarve prior em, 
 Vompeiufve parem. 
 
 The one like C<efar , the other like Pompey, That can 
 endure no Superiour, nor This brook any Equal : And 
 on this ground it was, that the Greeks Church firft brake 
 with the Roman, whofe Bifhop againft right and reafbn, 
 the rule of Chrift, and decree of the Fathers, as fhe juft- 
 ly taxed him, did arrogate unto himfelf a plenitude of 
 power. And from the lame fountain have iffued thofe 
 Waters of ftrife which do at this day overflow, and al- 
 moft drown all Chriftendom. Laftly, by an ambitious 
 defire of Secular Rule and Empire 5 For there are not 
 wanting examples in ftory facred and prophane of fuch 
 as have brought in new Religions, or fitted the old unto 
 the Palate of the People , by this means to retain their 
 own, or gain unto themfelves the Territories and Do- 
 minions of others 5 To this end Jeroboam firft made an. 
 alteration in the Church of ifrael, fetting up his Altars 
 in Dan and Bethel, left the ten Tribes by going up year- 
 ly unto Jerufalem tofacrifice, as they were commanded, 
 fhould chance to return in time unto the houfe of Da- 
 vid from whence they were rent. And I could wifh fuch 
 fscular and politick refpe&s had no power among any of 
 our felvcs, I fay not out of any fear left the ten parts 
 fhould return again, unto the houfe of Levi, or rather. 
 
 f£ 
 
142 The Original of Wars y 
 
 of God, from whence they are rent, ( it were pretty 
 well, if they could reft contented there,) but rather 
 that fuch regards might not prevail with them, in the 
 defire and intention of a farther renting, to animate our 
 mutinous contenders and egg on their contentions, that 
 look that way 3 I hope there are no (uch crafty Interlo- 
 pers as he terms them, that put in their ftock among the 
 brawling Bankers, help to trouble the Waters, (uppofing 
 in time to make another good filhing for themfelves. 
 Though it is to be feared,(bme Conferences there may be 
 in the world extenfive enough, and patent to fwallow 
 even a Cathedral on the top of an Abby,and never trouble 
 the Stomach of it much with the digeftion neither. It 
 little matters for Sacriledge, they abhor Idols, and that 
 is fufficient. But this appertains not (b properly unto 
 Ambition as unto Avarice, the fecond of thefe earthly a£ 
 fe&ions, but no le(s contentious and turbulent than the 
 former. The Apoftle well terms it radix omnium ma- 
 lor urn \ the root of all evil, and efpecially fo it is, by be- 
 ing the root of diflention, for where envying andjirife 
 Jam. 111. jfjhere is confufion and every evil voorh^ This therefore 
 a fecond Parent, and Nurfe too of this viperous brood 
 of errour and contention : For what a multitude of erro- 
 neous but gainful pardons and difpenfations, purgations 
 and expiations of fin, what indulgences to commit, or 
 elfe to continue in manifeft wickednefs, what translation 
 of other mens merits on thofe that want of their own, 
 and the like, hath this affe&ion conceived, and brought 
 into the world, and that not for morfels of bread : or hand- 
 fuls of barley only, as that Prophet, but all, like Judas, 
 for pieces of Silver ? Such Silverlings what are they in- 
 deed, but Judas /, quteftui habentes pietatem, faith St. 
 Paul to Timothy, that make other mens goodnefs their 
 own gain, yea and their wickednefs too ? Both are e- 
 qually the Churches Treafure, that may not be difpenfed, 
 
 nor 
 
_ - 1 ^f 
 
 ZJpon James iv. verfe i. 143 
 
 nor thefe purged without money : So that Purgatory is 
 but a Subterraneous Vault, digged only to come at a 
 Mine, and that ignis fatuus, though it be but fantaftical 
 and imaginary, yet it ferves turn to melt Bullion into his 
 Holinefles Mint more abundantly, than any Princes fire 
 elfe, that is real } And therefore it is not to be wondred 
 at, if much ftir be made, and many bellows ever blow- 
 ing to keep it from going out On the other fide are there 
 not others of whom the Apoftle long fince prophefied, 
 that fpeak perverfe things to draw Difciples after them, 
 out of whom they fuck no (mall advantage ? fuch as can 
 lead filly women Captive laden with fins and divers 
 lufts, that like their fore-Fathers, the old Pharifees, can 
 creep into Widows houfes, and devour too under pre- 
 tence of long Prayers ? that can teach the Son of a profe- 
 lyte to (ay unto the Father, or rather the Wife Corban 
 unto the Husband , if not a profelyte as themfelves ? 
 Nay, until they become fuch, that neither the one, nor 
 the other hath any juft title unto his own goods, which 
 therefore may be purloyned from them with a good Con- 
 fcience,if it be tofupply the necefiity of the Saints,the right 
 owners of them. Is not this likewife, as the fame Apoftle, 
 Veritatem cauponari, to make merchandife of theGof* 
 pel of truth, or rather of their own fancies and falfhood ? 
 Againft all which queftuous errours of fuch fheepskin'd 
 Wolves on either fide, when the true and faithful (heep- 
 heard (hall oppofe himfelf, when thefe Flints and this 
 Steel begin to knock and collide together, out fly the 
 fparks of diffention, that inflame presently and fet the 
 world in combuftion. Hence Luther ftoutly oppofing 
 the Marts and Markets of the Roman Indulgencies, and 
 whipping thofe buyers and fellers out of the Temple 5 
 firft began that battery which fince we fee hath made 
 fuch a wide breach in the very Towers of their Babel. 
 But thefe wars and conizations are ./•#/#<*/, faith St, 
 
 Jamer, 
 
1 44 The Original of Wars, 
 
 JameS) as well as earthly : and fure pleafure is of little lefs 
 power with us, than profit : And whether we take it 
 ftriftly for the concupifcence of carnal things, or more 
 generally ,for a defire of finning freely and without fling of 
 Conference, hath her part in thefe Tragedies, and brings 
 not a little oyle unto the flames of contention 5 For this 
 afFeftion, finding the doftrine of the Crofs grievous un- 
 to it, whofe chief defire it is to injoy the delights of this 
 life, and from them to pafs into the joys of a better,hath 
 for this purpofe fought out Doftors, fiich as may comply 
 with her defires,and it feems hath found them too,and that 
 2Tim.1v. by heaps 5 fo faith the Apoftle, they heap up unto them- 
 & fefoes Teachers after their own Lufts. I confefs, Ifliould 
 
 iiot a little admire why the Romanift that is fo ftrift in 
 difcipline, fhould yet in life be as loofe as any 5 whence it 
 (hould be, that preffing the necefSty of good works fo 
 vehemently in their Doftrine, few men yet feem to want 
 them or commit the contrary with lefs trouble to their 
 Confcience 5 did not their enormous difpenfing with Oaths 
 of fidelity and horrible Incefts, their fupplying of feme 
 mens empty Lamps with other mens Oyl, their enlarging 
 of Venal Sins, and their eafinefs of Absolution in fuch as 
 are Mortal, and ferving others the like, take off that ad- 
 miration : Not that I diflikethe diftinftion of Mortal Sins 
 and Venial rightly ftated,or yet the ufeof difpenfation in 
 the Church, much lefs ot Abfolution$ but only the abufe 
 of thefe things, which yet I think are more abufed by 
 particular Perfons, fenfual Priefts, and prefumptuous 
 people , than by the general Doftrine of that Church, 
 though fo abufed alfo : And I would we had no abufes tend- 
 ing that way at home : For feme there are fo ftrift in pro- 
 feffion, and yet withal fo diflolute in their Doftrine, 
 and the unavoidable inferences of it, as would make a 
 man admire on the other fide, why they fhould not ei- 
 ther teach, as they profefs, or elfe profefs plainly, as 
 
 they 
 
Vpn James iv. verfe I. 145 
 
 they teach 5 fuch as can diftinguifh alfo of Venial and 
 Mortal Sins, but in another manner, not from the Na- 
 ture of the Sin, but the Condition of the Perfon 5 The 
 beft works they can do, are deadly unto fome, whilft the 
 deadlieft iniquities they commit, (hall be but Venial in 
 the mean time unto themfelves, as not making any breach 
 between God and their Souls, even then, when they com- 
 mit them, yea as pardoned with a non obftante before 
 they are committed 5 fuch as having no part of true 
 righteoufnefs in themfelves, yet even then by Faith and 
 Faith alone may have the Merits imputed, and Righteouf- 
 nefs too of another : fuch as can actually commit Mortal 
 iniquities, and yet at the fame time remain dill habitually 
 Righteous : fuch as can exclude good works from the 
 gaining of their juftification, and when they have gain- 
 ed it, can lofeit no more by any works that are evil; 
 fuch as need not care what fins their flefli committeth, 
 folong as they aft them not without (bme relu&ancy 
 of the fpirit. For fo fin the godly 5 and fince no Re- 
 probates have any commerce with the internal moti- 
 ons of the Spirit, as being altogether flefh, they can even 
 from the enormity of their fins grieving the Holy 
 Ghoft, conclude the very certainty of their Salvation, 
 as no way elfe more certain that the Holy Ghoft is 
 within them. No marvel fure if thefe and many other 
 their fweet and comfortable pofitions have eafily found 
 fuch multitudes of Difciples in the world, or that they 
 contend fo eagerly and drive for them tanquaw pro ark 
 & focis, as for the main points of their Religion and 
 Faith, or whatfoever elfe is dear unto them. And lefs 
 marvel it is, that thefe Difciples fhould be fo free and o- 
 pen-handed unto their Teachers, when their Teachers 
 underftanding their defires are fo favourable unto their 
 Difciples : For certainly next unto that of the Alcoran^ 
 I know not any Do&rine elie In thefe days fo kind and 
 
 V courteous 
 
1^6 The Original of Wars, 
 
 courteous unto flefli and blood, or in the Genius and juft 
 confequences more impure and diffolute, than that of 
 thofe who of all others raoft profefs ftri&nefs and purity. 
 But fo it is fit fuch corrupt people, and their hired Priefts 
 (hould claw one another, but fcratch and lacerate every 
 Man elfe. You have feen the earthly and fenlual affefti- 
 onsofLove, the love of Honour, Profit and Pleafure, 
 blowing the coals of diflention , there is one blafi: of Ha- 
 tred behind, and that will (hew it to be Devilifti alfa. 
 For there are not wanting inftruments of Satan moftlike 
 himfelf, malignant Spirits, that without the help of 
 thefe refpefts can find in their hearts meerly out of the 
 hatred of Peace and Truth too, fome of them, to raife 
 Cavils and Contentions in the World, fuch as thofe of 
 whom Saluft fyeaks.ghtibus quiet a movere magna mercer 
 videbatur, who take it for a fafficient hire to fet them a 
 work, if they may but difturb things quiet and efta- 
 bliftied } Eft enim qnoddam hominnm genus, quod fine 
 hofte vivere non poteft, for there is, as he well faith, a Na- 
 tion of Peoplethat cannot endure to live without an Ene- 
 my 5 fuch as Trogtn pronounceth the old Spaniard, adeo 
 infenfum concordi£ ut puro illius odio inimicitias 
 fufcipiat : Fifties that cannot live but in Flood hatches, 
 Salamanders that die, but in the flames of Contention. 
 But fome of thefe are of an higher pitch, and have their 
 aim even at Truth it felf 3 and though for the moft part 
 but Table and Trencher Mates for buffoonery 5 yet be- 
 fides their fcurrilous prophanenefs, they can fometimes 
 be bold to argue : and«it is marvellous to confider what 
 fcruples of difficulty they move, what knots of Sophiftry 
 they knit, what accufations on all fides thefe Scepticks 
 frame, and this to no other purpofe, but to puzle the 
 World in the already difficult fearch of verity 5 hoping 
 that others upon defpair of finding out the true Reli- 
 gion, may come at length to ccnceipt, as themfelves in 
 
 favour 
 
ZJpon James iv. verfe i. 147 
 
 favour of their Epicurifm do, that there may be no truth 
 in any j for this can be no other beaft, than that which 
 we term an Atheift, fomething worfe than Devilifh. For 
 the Devil doth believe and tremble. And fuch are the 
 true caufesofthofe Wars, from whence proceed all the 
 wounds and breaches, that are or have been made in the 
 Church. Other prejudices and partialities there are ari- 
 fing from them, that keep thefe wounds open, and will 
 not permit them to clofe again $ but this may fuffice for 
 the prefent to verifie the anfwer of St. J awes in this his 
 refponfive demand, For are they not hence £ 
 " Now the intent of all this fearch into the beginnings 
 and firft Fountains of Diffention and War, is but to lead 
 us in the end into the way of Reconciliation and Peace. 
 This was the purpofe of St. James's enquiry, and it fhould 
 be ours. Shall we then for cOnclufion of all change the 
 queftion, let go unde bella , and demand now at laft 
 clean contrary, unde Pax f From whence comes Peace? 
 from whence amidft all thefe ftirs may that be procured ? 
 If we do fo, An non hinc, is at hand, comes it not hence, 
 even from removing thofe Lufts and corrupt affe&ions, 
 that are the caufes of War ? Many good means and me- 
 dicines indeed have been fought out and applied to cool 
 the burning heat of thefe Feavors of Diffention, and yet 
 all but Empirical palliations, for a time peradventure 
 affording fome eafe 5 but hope of health or recovery 
 there is not any, untill the putrid humours (hall be purg- 
 ed out, that caufc and feed the diftemper : All other re- 
 medies of dccifion, or ways of pacification, which Men 
 can either propofe or pra&ife without this, are too fee- 
 ble and weak for the purpofe \ For what, are the Fathers 
 they that may give end to thefe differences? There is a 
 reverence belonging unto them, and let them have it $ 
 but how (hould they finifh the broils of after times, that 
 could not pacify the ftirs of their own ? Shall the antece- 
 
 V 2 dene 
 
148 The Original of War. 
 
 dent Councils give the definitive Sentence ? But what if 
 they handle not all the controverfies among themfelves ? 
 How if a good Caufe found ill Pleaders, and Co fell, not 
 through its own weaknefs, but fearful filence, or unskilful 
 defence ? None of thefe are impoffible, yea fome fay, 
 that all of them have fallen out. Shall then aprefent 
 Council clear all doubts ? There is little hopes of any 
 fuch, that (hall be Oecumenical 5 and were there any 
 fuch,lefs hope but that it would be carried by Faftion. Or 
 elie is the Bifhop of Rome the Man, on whofe peremp^ 
 tory definitions we muft all rely ? But this is one of the 
 points of controverfie, the maineft one, and in fuch he 
 may not be his own Judge. It is not any of thefe, nor 
 indeed any thing elie, that may reftore us our peace: 
 Not that device of an implicite and infolded Faith, for 
 thefe Controverfies are between great Clerks, that be- 
 longs only to the ignorant and fimpl^ * Not that Law of 
 the Muscovite, which forbids all deputes in point of 
 Religion (though in impertinent curiofities of excellent 
 ufe, and whilft Spirits are inraged in others too, that are 
 material) for fo every Man may teach dogmatically what 
 he lift, and be fureto be controled by no Man 5 Not that 
 pofition of the Alcoran, that every one may be faved in 
 his own Religion =, for it isimpious,though peradventure 
 true enough, if his own be the Chriftian Religion, yet 
 not of force enough to allay Contentions, for we are to 
 confider what is likely, as well as what is poffible, and 
 Errours that are dangerous muft be oppugned as well as 
 fuch as are abfolutely deadly. No not the decifion by 
 Miracles , for we are forewarned againft them : Anti- 
 chrift muft come with all falfe figns and lying wonders,abIe 
 to (educe if it were poffible the very Eleft of God. Nor 
 yet that brief and compendious way of ending contro- 
 verfies by killing thole that /linfay them, a Remedy as 
 vain .as. wicked : For the tru Church like the lept Tree, 
 
 Per- 
 
ZJpon James iv. verfe i . 1 49 
 
 Per damna, per crfdes, ab ipfo 
 Due it opes anrmumq^ ferro, 
 
 hath ever thrived under the Axe, and gained by the 
 lopping. But peradventure what the Hangman cannot 
 do, nor any thing elfe, the Devil may 5 for fome have 
 been fo (hamclefs to repair even thither for the ending 
 of controverfies, adjuring and conjuring by Spells and 
 Exorcifms Satan himflf to give anfvver out of podeffed 
 bodies, as out of his Prophetick Charms, unto the truth 
 of his difputcd Articles : Aftrange remedy and defperate 
 as their caufe, that would cftablifh truth in Religion by 
 the Spirit of Errour, and Father of Lies. Neither thefe, 
 nor any thing elfe can prevail. Authority may reftrain, 
 wife Men may mollifie and perfwade, but neither the 
 power of the Magistrate, nor skill of the Learned are 
 both able to effeft it 5 whatfoever remedies the Wit and 
 Confidence of either dare, or any Catholick Moderator 
 elfe, yea of the great Caffander himfelf may invent or 
 propound, until every Manfeekto remedy one, will be 
 found too weak for the purpofe^ they are all either 
 dangerous, or not fully profitable Plaifters, if not malig- 
 nant and hurtful, yet at beft too narrow for the Sore, and 
 Unable to pierce unto the root of the Malady 3 It is only 
 the removing of thofe inordinate Lufts,the caufes of War, 
 that is able to give us a true and durable Peace ; For the 
 bittemefcof the ftrcams mud be cured at the Fountain, 
 and the fire quenched by fubduftion of the fuel, othei- 
 wife cifefts will ever illue from their caufes \ And there- 
 fore the mfdbm which is from above, faith my St. Jam 
 is firji pure, then peaceable } And our Saviour obferve? 
 the fame method in hisbenedifttons : firft, ifcjfed are the Matt. 
 pure in heart, and then immediately* blejjed are the 
 Peace-maters $ for until the heart which is the Fountain 
 
 1 
 
 
1 50 The Original of War ^ &c. 
 
 be purged, there is no expectation of Peace. We may 
 therefore caft up our Eyes towards Heaven, and profefs 
 outwardly as much purity as we pleafe, but fo long as 
 we are contentious, and at oppofition ftill with the 
 Church and her peace, it is a manifeft fign our Wifdom is 
 not from above, nor yet our felves fo pure in Heart,as we 
 fhould be 3 For were the Heart once well purged and 
 purified from thefe earthly and feqfaal defires, that di- 
 fturb the Soul, and darken the mind, what peaceable and 
 peace-making affe&ions would (ucceed, what calmnefs 
 and ferenity, able to clear the eye of the Soul in difcern- 
 ing evident truth, and to temper the paffions of the Soul 
 in fuch truths, as are not eafily difcernable ? And fo end 
 mod controverfies and at leaft moderate all, teaching us, 
 as St. P*/*/fpeaks, fapere ad fobrietatem^ to be wife, but 
 unto fobriety* or as St. James^ tofhew forth our v>orkj 
 in the meeknefs of wifdom } For foberneft, meeknels, 
 patience, gentlenefs,brotherly-kindnefs, love and thelike, 
 thefe are the high and proper effe&s of the Wifdom,which 
 is defuper from above, but may not defcend into a Soul 
 filled already with thofe Lufts, that are defubter from 
 fle(h and earthly things beneath. Virtues and endow- 
 ments thefe, that feem to reftore the Soul to her native 
 beauty, render it fweet and amiable, and of all other 
 makes her molt like unto her Saviour : Vertues therefore 
 fo peculiar unto his Gofpel, as it breaths almoft no other 
 language 5 And were that Gofpel a while obeyed rather 
 than difputed, obeyed in neceffary duties, rather than 
 difputed in fpeculative difficulties, it would foon be un- 
 to us, what it is in it felf, Evangelium facts a Gofpel of 
 Peace, which the God of Peace vouchfafe unto us all to 
 ftudy, even through ]efus Chrift our Peace-maker, to 
 whom with the Holy Ghoft, three perfons, &c. Amen. 
 Laus Deo in xttrnum. 
 Amen. 
 
 A 
 
A 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 , OF 
 
 ELECTION 
 
 AND 
 
 REPROBATION. 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 Upon H o s e a xiii. 9. 
 
 Oh Ifrael thou haft deftroyed thy ftf, but in 
 SMe is thine help. 
 
 AS there is nothing more neceflary, fo is there not 
 any thing of greater difficulty^than to draw man 
 unto a true thankfulnefs for Gods Mercies, or a 
 juft acknowledgment of his own Errours. It 
 will not be eafie for his Miniftersto prevail in that here, 
 which could not be done in Paradife, no not by God 
 himfelf, where although it were not the firft Sin (fork 
 doth of neccffity fuppofe a former ) yet it was the ftcond 
 
152 A difcourfe ofEle&ion and Reprobation, 
 
 in time, and I think in greatnefs before the firft. The 
 Woman the transfers the fauk on the Serpent, and Adam 
 on the Woman which thou gaveji me JIk delivered me 
 12. of the fruit and I did eat. 
 
 And fuch as was then, fuch or worfe is ftill the corrupt 
 and ftubborn difpofition of a Sinner, who, though his 
 own guilty Confidence make him hide his head in a bufh 
 for fhame, yet thinks any Fig-leaves of excufe will ferve 
 turn to cover his nakednefs from thofe Eyes, unto which 
 all things are tranfparent 3 A crime we have received from 
 our fore-Fathers, that firft ufed it 3 the Teats of Eve gave 
 no other milk, than this perverfnefs unto all her Children. 
 In good and laudable a&ions every man can readily teach 
 his mouth to kifs his hand , as Job fpeaks, to commend 
 and applaud the work, and be content to receive the ho- 
 nour unto himfelf: But if the queftion be of our Errours 
 and mifdeeds, how do we labour and fweat to convey 
 the burthen from our own (boulders ! How ingenious 
 prefently is the froward nature of moft men to knit the 
 Stoical Chain of deftiny, and ( be the aftion never fo 
 deteftable and vile ) to faften the firft Link not to the 
 foot of J up iters Chair, the Stars and Conftellations of 
 Heaven, but, which is a degree beyond the Stoicks,to the 
 very arm of the Almighty ! In this cafe we are all grown 
 acute Philofophers, and can climb the phyfical Scale 
 of Caufes, as if it were Jacobs Ladder, until by it we 
 afcend into Heaven, yea into the very clofet of God, 
 where they will fearch the Book of hidden Counfels and 
 eternal Decrees, and from thence draw dark and blind 
 confequences of inevitable and fatal neceffity, rather than 
 fiefh and blood fhould want wherewith to plead with its 
 Maker 3 That as the men of the Man of fin have devifed 
 a compendious way by one pofition to anfwer all objecti- 
 ons againft their Doftrin, namely That their Church can- 
 not err : So thefe men have found out as brief a Tenent 
 
 to 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 153 
 
 to ftop the mouth of all reproof in the Errours and He- 
 refies of their life, to wit, that they cannot chufe but err 5 
 As if they had no means to decline the punilhment, un- 
 lets they drew in God to be a Party in the offence. But 
 it were good that Man would plead with Man, that the 
 Pot/heard would contend with the Potftjeards of the 
 Earth, as lfaiah (peaks, and not with his Creator 5 whofe 
 Scepter is a rod of Iron, wherewith he can at his plea- 
 fure bruife the veffel of the Potter, for he hath power 0- 
 ver his clay : A power, notwithftanding which how un- 
 willing he is to ufe, and how juftly at length he doth 
 u(e,and how mercifully he forbears to ufe, we are in thefe 
 few words by God himfelf given to underftand, that fo 
 we might ceafe to wrangle with the Divine Juftice, that 
 is fo loth to ftrike. O ljrael I words of great compaffi- 
 on, and learn to condemn our (elves and our own fins in 
 the evil we fuffer, when it doth ftrike. Thou haft deftroy- 
 ed thy ft If And to blefsand adore God for all the good 
 we either do or receive when in (pecial mercy it doth 
 not ftrike, — but in nte is thy help : O ifrael, thou haft 
 deftroyed thy {elf but &c. 
 
 But ifrael is a word that wants not ambiguities, for 
 all are not ifrael, that are of ifrael : There are Ifra- 
 elites of the feed, and Ifraelites of the Faith of Abraham. 
 There are Sons of flefti, and Sons of the promife, and 
 ifrael is the Church of God, the womb that conceives 
 and bears both. Du£ Gentes in utero : It is Rebel^ahs 
 womb, in which Jacob and Efatt, and in them two 
 mighty Nations do contend and ftrive 5 It is the Net in 
 the Gofpel,that contains things both-good and bad s The 
 Fold, that hath Sheep and Goats 5 The Field, that hath 
 Tares and Wheat 5 The Barn-floor, that hath Whe.it and 
 Chaff. So then to colleft the fum and fubftance of thofe 
 points, which this Scripture doth efpecially prefent un- 
 to confideration: 
 
 X Here 
 
I 54 A difcourfe of Eleffion and Reprobation, 
 
 I. Here are firft, two forts of people, the Good and the 
 
 Bad, Elect and Reprobate, implied in IfraeL 
 
 Secondly, the two feveral Ends of thofe two forts, Life 
 and Death, Deftrufltion and Salvation : for the help here 
 may be none other than help from deftruction, and that 
 can be nothing elfe than Salvation, andfofome Tranila- 
 tions render it. 
 3. And laftly, the two feveral caufes of thofe ends, God 
 
 and Mans God, of life ) Man, of death 5 God the caufe 
 of Salvation unto the Eledt, and the Reprobate the caufe 
 of deftrudtion unto themfelves 5 whereby neither thofe 
 that are faved, may facrifice unto their own Nets, nor 
 they which perifh, lay any blame on his decrees 5 thefe 
 being nolefs deprived of aliexcufe, than thofe bereaved 
 of all boafting. O ifrael, thou haft, <&c. 
 
 That thefe words may have a true and litteral under- 
 
 ftanding of Calamities and Deliverances incident unto 
 
 this prefent life, that which immediately goes before in 
 
 the precedent verfe, / will meet them as a Bear bereaved 
 
 of her whelps, &c. will not fuffer any Man to doubt : 
 
 But that they are only and principally meant of fuch, 
 
 and not of eternal deftruftion, and Salvation in them, 
 
 verfe 14. that which follows, will permit no man to believe, / 
 
 willranfome them from the power of the grave : I will 
 
 redeem them from death : death, I will be thy plague, 
 
 O grave, I will be thy deftruBion : words that do not 
 
 carry a found of momentany affliction. And therefore 
 
 this illuftrious promife, or Prophecy, or both, by the A- 
 
 1 Cor. xv. poftleto the Corinthians is repeated, and worthily ap- 
 
 *>*>• propriated unto him, who is the Saviour of Body and 
 
 Sou!, and hath redeemed us from firft and fecond, both 
 
 Corporal and Eternal death. The more defer vedly is 
 
 Pi feat or, other wife a Learned and Induftrious Paftor, 
 
 to be blamed, who in a late and negligent trad of Pre- 
 
 deftination, having fo ordered the ftate of Reprobation, 
 
 as 
 
ZJpon Hosea xiii. verfe 9. 155 
 
 as he faw God thereby muft needs become the firft Au- 
 thor and Procurer of his Creatures endlefs deftru&ion, 
 left this place here, Oh ifrael thou haft dcjiroycd thy 
 [elf, (hould crofs his intent, or hinder his building, re- 
 plies that it is meant offuch deftruftion only as pertains 
 unto the piefent World} as if there were not one and the 
 fame caufe of deftru&ion in both, nay as if it were more 
 prejudicial unto God, and his Juftice, to be the abfo- 
 lute caufe of flight and (hort troubles here, than of per- 
 petual and everlafting forrows in Hell hereafter. It is 
 ftrange he (hould rather feek an anfwer, than acknow- 
 ledge the truth of fo excellent afcntence: A fentence, 
 that is indeed the very line and level, whereby himfelf 
 and every one elfe, muft direct and fquare all his propo- 
 fitions, that concern thofe eternal appointments and de- 
 crees of a juft and merciful God. It is the beft if not the 
 only Star and Card and Compafs too, on which the weak 
 age of reafon muft continually fix it felf, whilft it Steers 
 in this dangerous Navigation, in this immenfe and bot- 
 tomlefs Sea of Prede/kination, in which Abyjjus Abyffum 
 ifjvocat^ one Deep calls upon another, Deep upon Deep 
 and Rock upon Rock, fo thick, that in feeking to avoid 
 the one, unlcfs this Golden Rule be our direction, we 
 fhall be fure to ftrike and fplit upon the other, as many 
 that have failed before us, have done, whofe Bark and 
 burthen (hould never have perifhed, had this notable 
 Saying fate Pilot at the Helm, by whofe (hipwrack we 
 may learn wifdom to beware. For fome of the firft and 
 beft Reformers of the Roman Superftition, juftly difplea- 
 fed at the Pelagian freedom of the Papift, whereby Man 
 is made the firft mover unto his own good, ftriving with 
 all their might to bear up from this Ckarybdis^ fell foul 
 upon Sylla on the other fide, andinftead of Pelagian 
 liberty brought in more than Manichtan- neceffity, 
 whereby God is as far entitled unto Mans ill : Both in 
 
 X : extreams, 
 
5 6 Adifcourfe ofEle&ion and Reprobation, 
 
 extreams and both extreamly to be blamed } the former 
 being not able fully to fay, In thee is our Salvation^ 
 unto God \ the latter, Thou hafi defiroyed thy felfc un- 
 to Man. Arminihs of late, an Acute Dutchman, fteps 
 forth to reform thefe Reformers, whole main Errour not- 
 withstanding, which he fhould have condemned efpecial- 
 ]y, he is found efpecially to imitate, fleying where he 
 ftould but fheer, and flying from one extream to ano- 
 ther, when the truth lies between both. For as they up- 
 on a worthy dillike of a conditional Election upon fore- 
 feen merits, through heat or ignorance, come to main- 
 tain anabfolute Reprobation $ fo he out of his as worthy 
 dillike of this Iron and Adamantine decree of abfolute 
 Reprobation without demerits, fell back again unto con- 
 ditional Eledtion : In both, both of them equally erring, 
 the truth lying equally diftant from both, fo as it is not 
 eafieto judge, (Eleft ion upon good works being dero- 
 gatory to the freenefs of Gods mercy, and Reprobation 
 without evil unto the Truth of his Juftice) whether 
 contains the greater impiety? The one gives tocr much 
 unto Man in the work of Salvation 5 The other too much 
 unto God in the means of damnation. My Text con- 
 vinced both, the former in the latter part, and the lat- 
 ter in the former* lfrael r thou hafi dejiroyed thy J elj ] 
 hut in me is thy help. 
 
 And as in Errours, fo are their portions not much un^ 
 equal in Truth. For Arminius election upon forefight, 
 and hisAdverfaries abfolute reprobation are not more 
 falfe, than their abfolute Eledion, and his Reprobation 
 upon forefight are , as 1 conceive it, apparently true 5 
 which is not the leaft reafon, that they which are bre- 
 thren and friends in all other points, fweetly confpiring 
 againfi: the common Enemy, fhould with fuch violent af- 
 fe&ions enter into this Civil War amongft themfelves \ 
 For there isnoftronger nourifhment unto mutual per* 
 
 fwafion^ 
 
Vfon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 1 57 
 
 fwafion, than when either fide fhall behold fome demon- 
 ftrative truths in his own, and as grofs and palpable er- 
 rours in the others opinion : It can hardly chufe but be- 
 get prejudice and partiality in either: with which fpe- 
 ftacles, that alter the quality, and double the quantity 
 of things, if once Men come to read or judge, no mar- 
 vel if there follow a ftiffand ftubborn defence, and as ea- 
 ger and peremptory profecution on both fides 3 Paries 
 jam proximas ardet. Hence it is, that the neighbour 
 Countrys are in fo great combuftion, and it may well 
 be feared, left fome (parks of their flame, if neglefted, 
 fhould kindle a fire of the like contention fomewhere elfe. 
 So that, that which judicious Hooker obferved between 
 Reverend Beza and his Adverfary in thequeftion of Ex- 
 communication, that they had made an even divifion 
 of the truth, may well be verified of Arminius and his 
 followers, with their oppoiers* the Remonftrants and 
 Contra Remonstrants, as they term them(elve3 in Ger- 
 many, as they that have no lefs equally fhared both 
 Truth and Errour between them. And the reafon here- 
 ofis, for that either feeking to reftifie the crooked opi- 
 nion of the other, deals with it as he would do with a 
 crooked ftick, bending it as far unto the one fide, as he 
 found it before inclining unto the other: and indeed it is 
 the beft way to bring the ftick to the ftraight line between 
 both i But opinions are not like rods, that have ipringsin 
 them they draw rather unto the nature of a Lesbian lea- 
 den rule, where you bend them, there they ftand. The 
 cure by contraries is not always good in the fickneft of 
 the Body, feldom or never in Errours^, the Difeafes of 
 the mind ^ becaufe Truth for the moft part, like Virtue., 
 dwells between two contrary extreams, that are vitious. 
 The Perjian Manes, who well defcrved that name from 
 the Grecian Mavicc for his unfound Doctrine that carries 
 ibmuch raadnefs in it, had net longeftablifhed his He- 
 
 rede 
 
58 A difcourfe of EleBion and Reprobation, 
 
 refie in one extream, by faftning upon Mans will a natu- 
 ral neceffity unto evil by creation 5 but our Countryman 
 Telagins dire&ly oppofeth and confronts him with his 
 Herefiein the other, by giving unto Mans will a natural 
 freedom unto good after corruption. The Truth in the 
 mean time evenly wades between both, affirming the 
 corruption of Nature, but by freedom of will againft 
 Manes^ and in this corruption no freedom but by grace 
 againft Velagius. In like fort Nejioriut in the Primitive 
 Church is fo earneft for the diftin&ion of two Natures 
 in Chrift, as he divides his Perfon : and Eutyches on the 
 other fide is fo intent unto the unity of Chrifts Perfon, as 
 he confounds his Natures: the Catholick verity holds the 
 Golden mean, a diftin&ion of two Natures in the unity 
 of one Perfon. After the fame manner it fareth here 3 
 Arminius is fo violent to remove God from being the 
 Author of evil, as he makes Man the firft mover unto 
 good 5 His Adverfaries on the other fide are fo defirous 
 to intitle God unto our good, as they lay a neceffity up- 
 on Man of his evil 5 the one through a refpe&ive Ele&ion, 
 and the other by an abfolute Reprobation. The truth, 
 as I take it, lies here alfo between thefe two, that are ex- 
 treams 5 I am fure the opinion of St. Anfiin doth, be- 
 ftowing according to the tenour of my Text, the juft de- 
 fert of Mans deftru&ion upon his own voluntary difo- 
 bedience by a refpeftive Reprobation againft the one, 
 and giving the honour unto the free Grace of God in 
 our good and Salvation, by an abfolute Ele&ion againft 
 the other. And the Coherence of thefe two, an abfolute 
 Eleftion, and a Reprobation upon forefight, if we fup- 
 pofe fin to preceed either, as of neceffity we muft, if not 
 in a& yet in prefcience, is clear and manifeft 5 For the 
 Reprobation is refpe&ivc, where there is a defertof de- 
 ftru&ion 5 but the Ele&ion abfolute, when all deferve 
 nothing but Reprobation. Thus Veritas inter h<erefes, 
 
 the 
 
Upon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 1 59 
 
 the truth doth evermore hang crucified between two here- 
 fies, like Chrift, (whofe it is,) between two Thieves. 
 
 Of thefe three, The one making both the Decrees ab- 
 folute, muft needs withal make God the Author as well of 
 evil, as of good 5 The other making both upon forefight, 
 muft needs make man the author as well of good 3$ of 
 evil 5 Only the mean making one abfolute, and the other 
 upon forefight, doth withal make God the author of mans 
 good, and yet leaves man to be the procurer of his own 
 hurt. It was a witty and a pleafant faying of Maximi- 
 lian the Emperour comparing himfelf with the Kings of 
 Spain and France together, That there were but three 
 Kings in the time wherein he lived, Rex Hominum, Rex 
 AfittcrHw, Rex Regum. The Span //ft, a King of men, 
 becaufe he ufed them ingenuoufly and liberally, as men : 
 The French, of AlTes, for the immoderate exa&ions he 
 took of: them : Himfelf a King of Kings, for they would 
 do only what themfelves pleafed. What was by him mer- 
 rily fpoken of thofe three Kings, may not unfitly be ap- 
 plied for fundry refpeds unto thefe three opinions : The 
 firft whereof leaves reafonable creatures no more free- 
 dom in their aftions than if they were beafts : The fecond 
 gives than fo much, as if they were left like Kings to the 
 government of their own wills : The third only fquares 
 with the liberty of men, to whom it gives Eleftion and 
 Choice, whereby they exceed Beafts, but that in their 
 Spiritual good fweetly guided an<£ governed by divine 
 Grace , whereby 'they fall fhort of abfolute Kings. The 
 one makes God a Tyrannical, the other a Titular, the laft 
 a real, and a juft Kings A King that will be jnftified 
 in his fa)ings y and overcome when he is judged 5 Ne- 
 minem indebite damnans^ neminem uebiti liberans, ut 
 nee illius jufta querimonia, nee knjHS verax arrogantia^ 
 Ji vel ijie dicat mernijfe fe graham, vel iUe ajjerat 
 xon meruijfe fc pznam 5 damning no man, fakh Pr offer , 
 
 unde- 
 
60 A dijcourfe of EleUion and l^efrobation, 
 
 undefervedly, nor faving any man defervedly $ that to 
 neither the ones boafting (hould be true if he fay he hath 
 merited grace, nor the others complaint juft, if he fay he 
 hath not merited punilhment. And indeed both are ut- 
 terly to renounce either,fince both have deferred punifh- 
 ment , and both received undeferved grace 3 for either 
 part of my Text may have a convenient fenfe appliable 
 unto either fort of men : The Eled in fome fort have de- 
 ftroyed themfelves, and the Reprobate in fome fort have 
 had help FromGod } For as thefe, unlefi they had help, 
 could not rightly be faid to have deftroyed themfelves s 
 fo neither they, unlefs they had or would have deftroy- 
 ed themfelves, could rightly be faid to have had help 
 from God. The Reprobate then have had fufficient help, 
 and the Eleft have done fufficient to deferve deftru&ion, 
 yet fo as we muft ftill remember, that we are efpecially 
 to appropriate the firft, that is deftru&ion, to the Repro- 
 bate, who only (hall be a&ually deftroyed } and the fe- 
 cond, that is help, to the Eleft, who only are effe&ually 
 holpen. But howfoever the Reprobate have the firft 
 place, and the Eleft the fecond, as they here lie in my 
 Text 5 yet fince Eleftion is in order precedent unto Re- 
 probation, I hope I may have good leave fo to order it, 
 fetting the firft laft, and the laft firft, as in Nature and 
 dignity they deferve. And therefore referving the fecond 
 place, and ending of this difcourfe unto the deftru&ion 
 of the wicked , that (hall never end 5 we will begin, 
 through the help of God, with that help and (alvation 
 which the Eleft receive of God by a Decree that never 
 had beginning, but is as Eternal, as he himfelf, who for 
 this refpeft here faies, In tne is thy help. 
 
 At the feet of whofe Divine Majefty I now caft 
 my felf, humbly befeeching and imploring his aid and 
 affiftance unto my Heart and Tongue in thefe high 
 and fecret Myfteries, that I may fpeak nothing but what 
 
 is 
 
ZJpon Hosea xiii. verfe 9. 161 
 
 is agreeable unto his holy word, and that with fuch reve- 
 rence, as becomes his Majefty, and this Sacred Place. 
 
 Since this whole fentence, as I faid , is appliable unto 
 either fort of people, it followeth,that before we (peak of 
 this fpecial help of the Eleft,we fay fbmething of that de- 
 ftruftion whereunto this help doth relate 5 wherein not- 
 withftanding we (hall not need to fpend much time > for 
 that the Eleft of God have deftroyed themfelves, that is, 
 were and are in themfelves worthy of deftruftion, none, 
 I think, do either doubt or deny : Only concerning the 
 order and precedence, queftion hath been made, fome 
 giving the priority untoEleftion, affirming that they were 
 firft elefted, who afterwards through fin came to deferve 
 deftruftion, as thinking it impoflible that the merit of 
 deftruftion, as being a temporal Aft, (hould preceed the 
 free mercy of God eftablifhed by an eternal Decree, and 
 thereby, (which is the caufe of no few errours) invert- 
 ing and perverting both the order of my Text, and the 
 nature of the things, ftrangely prefuppoiing help or lal- 
 vation, without fuppofing any former deftruftion, which 
 fuch relative terms muft ofneceffity refpeft : As ftrange a 
 contradiction, as if they (hould fay that punifhing Juftice 
 did precede the fault which it doth puni(h,or afts of mercy 
 might be extended on thofe that never were in mifery ^ 
 For fince the decrees of Eleftion and Reprobation are 
 made and ordained by the fame properties in God, where- 
 by men are punifhed or faved, it follows, that as Repro- 
 bation muft needs be an aft of punifhing Jufticc,fo Elefti- 
 on an effeft of contrary Mercy. And herein doth confift 
 the fpecial difference between the Predcftination of Men 
 and Angels : For their Eleftion was a mercy preserving 
 them from falling into the pit of deftruftion : But ours a 
 mercy railing us up, and drawing us out of that deftrufti- 
 on whereinto we were fain : Theirs may better be ter- 
 med Goodnefi, than Mercy , becaufe it is not oppolite 
 
 V unto 
 
1 61 A difcourfe of ElelUon and Reprobation, 
 
 unto Juftice, as ours is, and therefore is not goodnefs, but 
 ftriftly and properly the mercy of God: now Miferi- 
 cordis, propria fecles,miferia r/?, the proper (eat orobjeft 
 Btf.decon. of Mercy is mifery, (aith St. Bernard. And therefore, 
 a cenc. gJuinonpotiitpritnonnftrTam in lap jit hominis^ ponere 
 .,,. . ilie mifericordixm in ElecJione non poteti, He that firft 
 pr*jat. grants not milery in the rail , can never place mercy in 
 Exemtat. the Ekftion ofman, fakl a late wortliy Bifhop : botha- 
 &perfivt g re ^ing with that of Efdras after his confdlion unto 
 rant. God : But becaufe cf as (inners , thou Jhalt be called 
 
 jxfono merciful To*make this yet more manifeft by the defi- 
 cap. 14. nition of Election., It is, faith St. Aufttn^ Pr<eparatio bene- 
 Jjciorum Dei , quibus certijfime libcrantur^ quicunq\ 
 liberantur , A preparation of thofe benefits of God, 
 whereby they are certainly faved whofoever are faved : 
 And what are thefe benefits but a new heart and a new 
 Spirit, begotten through effectual grace, and a powerful 
 vocation unto fincere repentance, and to lively faith in 
 the death and blood of the Son of God ? Nov/ what have 
 any of thefe to do with Innocency ? To whom elfe may 
 they belong, but a finner, but to one fubjefted and de- 
 voted unto that deftruftion, from whence he could not 
 be delivered but by the mercy of fuch a Redeemer ? 
 As for the reafon drawn from the time of fin and the 
 Decree of Salvation before all time, the deceit and er- 
 rour of that doth apparently confift in a wrong com- 
 paring of an external Aft of mans, with an internal Aft 
 of Gods 5 when the comparifon fhould have been, if 
 rightly made, between two internal afts of God : for mans 
 work is here to be confidered, not as it was done by him, 
 but as it was forefeen by God 5 and then, if thus taken, 
 you (hall eafily find the temporary fin of man to be no 
 lefs eternal in Gods prefcience, than the deliverance from 
 it, or puniftiment for it could be in his Decree : For as 
 Gods Elefting doth in order of neceffity prefuppofe the 
 
 forefight 
 
ZJpon Ho s e a xiii. verfe 9. 162 
 
 forefight of their being that are ele&ed, though they be 
 ele&ed before they be , quia objeSum priu* eft in f e 
 quam objiciatur a3us in ipfum tendenti : So for the 
 fame reafon, that it doth prefuppofe this pofitive forefight 
 of their being, it muft alfo the permiffive of their being 
 miferable, becaufe Eleftion is from mercy, and mercy, 
 as is faid, doth always prefuppofe its objeft, which is mi- 
 fery. It follows therefore, to conclude this point, that 
 the very Eleft of God acknowledge to the praife of the 
 riches of his exceeding free companion, that when he in 
 his fecret determination fet it down , Thofe fhall live 
 and not die, they lay, as ugly fpe&acles before him, as 
 Lepers covered with dung and mire, as Ulcers putrified 
 in their Fathers Loins, miferable and worthy of nothing, 
 but to be had in deteftation. In the proof whereof, I 
 have made the longer ftay, partly becaufe it opens a 
 paffage for fome things that muft follow anon, but efpe- 
 cially that the truth of St. Aufiins opinion might more 
 clearly appear, affirming, that in the fearch of Eleftion 
 and Reprobation, no mans wit (hould prefume to afcend 
 above the miferable mafs of corruption. Mans Nature 
 at firft was by Creation Gold, but Sin was the poyfo- 
 nous menftruunt^xhc a q n a regis more than Chymical,that 
 diffolved it and drew off the purer parts, leaving unto 
 us nothing but this earth and thete feces of that Gold. 
 Thus was his fall a great fall indeed, from the purity of 
 Gold, to the vility of Clay, and this Clay is that im- 
 pure lump, meant by St. Auflin, over which he grants 
 with the Apoftle, that the Potter hath power thereout to Rom. ix. 
 frame Vejjels either to difionour or honour as it plea fet h 
 him be ft. The one being their defert, the other his own 
 mercy. Huic fit nufcricordia^ tibi n on fit injuria^ 
 faith the fame Father. God chufeth one, he refufeth 
 another 5 to him he fheweth mercy, to thee he doth no 
 injury, fince the one doth receive but what all do deferve. 
 
 Y 2 But 
 
64 A difcourfe of EleBion and Reprobation, 
 
 But enough of the clefert of deftru&ion : now of the un- 
 deferveci help 3 For Man might fall of himfelf, but rife 
 igain he could not without the help of another, nor of 
 any other but him, who here faith, In me is thy help. 
 
 And that we have help from God, and that we need 
 Co to have., there is none, no not Pelagius himfelf, that 
 in plain terms ever durft deny. He will, if preffed, 
 for (ha me acknowledge and fublcribe unto the neceffity 
 of Grace in (hew of words 5 but as the manner of all He- 
 reticks is, he doth but equivocate, making terms, in 
 thcmfelves plain, by fecret refervation falfe, and frau- 
 dulent, that fo he might have a back-door at a time of 
 need, whereat to deceive and abufe both himfelf and his 
 reader 5 For fecretly within his own mind, he defires 
 Grace, by quicquid gratis datur, that by this means 
 under the name of Grace, he might hedge in free will 
 and abilities of Nature 5 Nay if this fraud be dete&ed, 
 he will come yet clofer, for he will not refute to confefi 
 a neceffity of true internal Grace, fuch as the Gofpel 
 mentions, the Grace of Chriftand of his Holy Spirit, and 
 that it is the gift of God, yea a fpecial gift which all 
 have not, yet ftill he keeps this fecret in the deep of his 
 Heart, that all might have it, and that it is their own 
 faults if they have it not, fince as he holds, this Grace is 
 given and withheld according to the merits or demerits 
 of Men, by a former good or evil ufe of their free will, 
 ut gratia fonaret, & merit-urn delitefceret^ that fo grace 
 might found in their words, and yet they retain merit 
 in their minds. Such fhift doth proud (lime and duft 
 make to magnifie the arm of flefh, and fo unwilling is it 
 to give the true and whole glory unto God whofe it 
 is. 
 
 Yet this is not all,Men have more fubtilties to rob God, 
 or rather to deceive themfelves. Arminius and his fol- 
 lowers, the late Semi-pelagians ftep one Step farther, and 
 
 with 
 
Vfon Hosea xiii. verfe 9. 165 
 
 with the Catholick truth acknowledge not only a true 
 and internal Grace, but a liberal, free and preventing 
 Grace, a Grace given, not deierved. But for all this he 
 underftands only fuch a. Grace, as is common to both, 
 to Eleft and Reprobate, upon the good or evil ufe 
 whereof it is, that Men become either. For according to 
 thefe, Election doth not provide or prepare according to 
 St. Auftin, any lpecial Grace for particular Men, but 
 fbcrie particular menarefpecially ele&ed, upon forefight 
 of their well-husbanding of that Grace, which is com- 
 mon: fo that Man muft (till have thepreheminence. For 
 however it be from Gods Grace, that they have ability 
 to obtain Salvation $ yet that they are faved, when o- 
 thers, who received the fame Grace, are not, this mull: 
 needs be, not from his help, but their own will: An old 
 rancid opinion long lince broached by Faujlus and Caj- 
 fianstfi whofe Books for this were condemned by GeU- 
 Jivs and a Council of feventy Bifhops more, for erro- 
 neous and Apocryphal, and now lately again revived by 
 Arminius^ and others, who are not the Authors and In- 
 ventors, but only ftrenuous Advocates, requiring a re- 
 lief after Judgment of a dead and rotten, a damned and 
 long fince condemned Herefie. So that it is a good judg- 
 ment of a Reverend Bifhop, Faufium & Catfianum 
 quafi perMetempfychoftn in Arminio & Bertio revrxijfe, 
 That the Souls of Fattens and Cajfiantts do as it were 
 live again in Arminius and Bertiu*, they do fojuftly 
 jump and confpire with their Do&rine of univerfal Grace, 
 and Eleftion upon forefight, than which no opinion can 
 be more injurious unto God, or more groibly and de- 
 monftratively falfe in it felf For however it retains the 
 name, it perverts the end and deftroys the very Nature 
 of Eleftion, caufing that Predeftination which the Apo- 
 ftle unto the Epheftanj tells us ? was ordained in Liudem 
 gloria grati£ fu<e, to the praife of the glory of his 
 
 Grace, 
 
1 66 Adtfcourfe of Ele& ion and Reprobation, 
 
 • 
 
 Grace, to ferve and tend only unto the honour of our 
 own propenfion and will, fince he that reigns in Heaven 
 hath no more whereof to thank God, than he that lies 
 burning in Hell f> becaufe from equal Grace they have 
 wrought out thefe their unequal fortunes. And therefore 
 fay St. Paul what he will, Salvation is rather of him that 
 willeth and runneth, that believeth and worketh, than 
 of God that (heweth mercy 5 whereas it is not : neither 
 dothitlefs pervert the End than the Nature thereof, con- 
 verting the cauie into the effeft, and the efFeft into the 
 caufe, making Ele&ion a confequent of Faith and Re- 
 pentance, when thefe are the true fruits of Ele&ion, 
 which is the well-head of Grace, and all the reft of Gods 
 favours, and our good deeds but ftreams iffuing from 
 that Fountain , who have all obtained mercy , with 
 St. Paul) not becaufe we were, but that we Jfjould be 
 faithful Non vos me elegifkis, for you have notchofen 
 me, but I have chofenyou, faith our Saviour, and have 
 ordained you : for what ? that you (hould go and bring 
 fort^ and that your fruit flwuld remain 3 for J have or- 
 dained, I that do both begin and perfeS the good deed, 
 
 Pliil.i. 2. that do work-in you both to rcill^ and to do, do work 
 in you alfb to do and to perfevere, and that by my free 
 Eledion and abfolute decree 5 Ego pofui, for I have or- 
 
 Johnxv. daiUQdjhat yougo, and bring forth fruity and that that 
 fruit remain. 
 
 It were an endlefs work and a bootlefs ex pence of 
 Travel to heap up places of Scripture for the enforcing of 
 this point, they are every where obvious, the Glory of 
 Gods grace through a free and undeferved Elefti'on be- 
 ing a main branch of the Gofpel , and therefore often 
 inferted, but by St. Paul purpofely difputed and 
 proved in a fet difcourfe 5 wherein thefe new oppugners 
 are fo direftly confuted, as if the Holy Ghoft had efpe- 
 
 cially 
 
 1 5. 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfi 9. 1 67 
 
 cially looked on them, when he (pake by his mouth, for 
 there is no other intent or purpofe, in that place, but to Rom - 
 demonftrate, that the Adoption of the Sons of God, doth 
 not depend upon the carnai Generation o£ Abraham^ the 
 Jews conceived, nor yet upon our own or our Forefathers 
 works, but (imply upon the Eudochie, themecr good will 
 and pleafure of God. This he makes manifeft in all in a 
 Type, under the names of two, Jacvi and £/*//, Bre- 
 thren equal in all things, only unequal in the favour of 
 God : both begotten by the fame parents, and both born 
 at the fame birth, on either fide no advantage by blood, 
 and as little in quality, they had done neither good nor 
 evil, nor could do at that time, wherein notwithstand- 
 ing that the purpofe of God might be known to ftand ac- 
 cgrding to Eleftion, it was (aid, I have loved Jicob, and 
 hated Epm : No difference in the Perfons, and yet a 
 different refpe&ofGod, who is no refpe&er of perfons, 
 which moves the Apoftle to a Itrange interrogation, but 
 natural unto the place. Nunquid iniquitas ap#d De- 
 urn # what then, is there iniquity with God f God for* 
 bid\ but how doth he anfwer it? doth he with thefe 
 reply, that though they had then dore neither good nor 
 evil, yet God elefted the one and rejefted the other up- 
 on forefight of the good and evil which they afterwards 
 would do ? This had been an acute and brief anfwer, 
 §>ttis ijlunt acutiffimum fen fit m slpojiolo defuiffe non 
 tnirttur $ Who can chufc but wonder the Apoftle fhould 
 not (ee this fubtilty ? faith St. Auftin. For had he known kh r 
 it to have been (b, eodem modo finveret ijiam quxjiio- 
 nem, he would (oon have anfwered the queftion, itnwo 
 nullum quam Jolvi opus ejfet ficeret qudejtionern 5 Nay 
 he had then never made any fuch queftion, that fhould 
 need an anfwer, For there had not remained fo much as 
 any (hew ofinjuftice, where Love or Hatred doth pro- 
 ceed according to good or evil deferts} But now that 
 
 there 
 
 JX. 
 
68 A difcourfe ofEle&ion and Reprobation, 
 
 there (hould be a different judgment, where there is no 
 difference in merit, there cannot but (eem a juft occa- 
 sion of making the demand, Nunqnid iniquitas? Where- 
 unto leaving this vain glofs, as dire&ly contrary unto his 
 purpofe, he reduceth all unto the meer will ot God 3 J 
 will have mercy on whom I will have mercy , and I will 
 have compajfion on whom I will have compajfion $ An 
 anfwer founding to thiseffed:, That fince both were e- 
 qually conceived in original fin, deferved his Juftice, his 
 Love unto one was an ad of Mercy, and in Mercy there 
 is no caufe of his will, but his will, nor of his Mercy, but 
 his Mercy, I will have mercy, &c. And then quif nifi 
 Aug. En- injipiens Deum iniquum put ef, five judicium potnale in- 
 ehirid. ap. g era t digno, five mifericordiam pr<eftet indigno ? Be- 
 caufe, as before was noted, though the one obtain free 
 favour, yet the other receives no injury s By which an- 
 fwer he doth at once free God from all injuftice towards 
 the Reprobate, and withal withdraws all merit from the 
 Eledt, who have that Name and Grace for no other caufe 
 but only becaufe he had a will to (hew Mercy, fpecial 
 Mercy unto them, which he did not unto others to whom 
 notwithftanding they were of themfelves in all things 
 equal, and with whom they were in like fort obnoxious 
 unto the revenge and power of Juftice. Falfe therefore and 
 vain, and very derogatory unto the goodnefs of that God* 
 in whom is our help, are their conceipts that build Electi- 
 on upon a forefeen good or evil ufe of a general and fuf- 
 ficient Grace, to the prejudice of that which is fpecial 
 and particular. For however we deny not, but rather 
 pioufly believe, that his Providence doth fufficiently help 
 all thofe whom his mercy doth vouchfafe to call, yet 
 withal we acknowledge, it to be fuch an help, as where- 
 withal God, when he looked down from Heaven, (aw 
 there was none did good, no not one. A help therefore, 
 which in effeft doth not give Salvation, but takes away 
 
 excufe, 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 1 69 
 
 excufe, and feems not fo much to juftify them, as to make 
 their Condemnation more juft, who notwithfhnding 
 that they might not all pcrifh, and that he might yet 
 fhew his Mercy, of his infinite goodnefs freely elected 
 fome to (uch fpecial Grace whereby they (hould not pe- 
 ri(h, a Grace effe&ual 3 receiving the reft unto endlefs 
 punifhment, for abufing that which was fufficient. So 
 that God doth not only give fuch Grace whereby we 
 may be able to do, and then eleft us for doing what we 
 were able 5 butcontrarily forefeeing that we would not 
 do what we were able with that fufficient Grace to do, 
 of his abfolute Mercy did decree to give us fuch power- 
 ful and efficacious Grace, whereby we certainly fhould 
 do, what otherwife without this fpecial help, he knew 
 we fhould not : For had not he by this means, as the 
 Scripture teftifies, referved unto himfelf a Remnant, not- 
 withstanding the former Grace, we had been all as So- 
 dom and perifbed as Gomorrha ^ And therefore Reliqui 
 wihi, faith God unto Eli as : It is not there are, or there 
 remains unto me, but I have referved unto my felf fcven 
 thoufand which never bowed the knee unto Baal. And 
 from this Reliqui^ they are termed Reliquiae fecunditm 
 eleffionem gratia falv£fa&£ funt^ A Remnant only are 
 faved according to the Ele&ion of Grace : And if of 
 Grace, furely not of forefeen works \ yea fo far is God 
 from refpe&ing the will or work of Man in the difpenfa- 
 tion of his Grace, as hefometime!: denies that help unto 
 thofe that would ufe it well, which notwithftanding he 
 offers and exhibits unto others, that he knew before 
 would rejeft it. Had thofe great works, faith our Savi- 
 our, upbraiding the Jews, been done in Tyre and sidon^ 
 they had repented in Sackcloth and Afhes. Lo how God 
 ploughs the Sand and tea tters his good feed upon the dry 
 and barren hearts of the Jews, fitter for fait > and in the 
 mean time withholds it from another foil, that would 
 
 Z have 
 
jo A difcourfe ofEletfion and l^epobation^ 
 
 have fruftified, and brought forth the fruit of Repen- 
 tance unto eternal life. What (hall we fay unto this ) Two 
 things occur which I only am willing to anfwer, faith 
 Befp. &- St. Anflin in the like cafe, and are very fit for this, nnn- 
 ' c ' * 4 ' quid tniquitas apud Denm & And, O dltitudo divitid- 
 rum ! An Interrogation, and an exclamation, the one 
 out of the ninth, and the other out of the eleventh to 
 the Ron?. And both joined tend unto this, That being af- 
 fured there is no injuftice with God, we (hould not fearch 
 the caufe but admire the depth of his Wifdom, whofe 
 judgments are unfearchable, and his ways paft finding 
 out 3 For he often treads on water, that leaves no path 
 or impreffion behind. He walks upon the great deep, 
 faith David^ and his footfteps are not kijowts. And 
 whom this will not fatisfy, I muft advife with the fame 
 Father, §>u£rat do£fiores,fed caveat, ni inveniat pr#- 
 fumptiorcs : Let him feck thofethat are more learned, 
 but take heed he doth not meet withthofe, that are too 
 prefumptuous. Such furely as thefe conditional Ele&i- 
 oners are, who, as if they were forerunners or the fecond 
 corning of Chrift, endued with the Spirit of ■£//*/, have 
 caft down every Hill, and filled up every Valley, made 
 whatfbever feemed crooked ftreight, and whatfoever was 
 rough fmooth and plain, and by this means they, though 
 but lambs,can eafily wade, where thofe Elephants, the Fa- 
 thers of the Primitive Church, found fuch Pits and Pools 
 as they were glad to fwim. For what is there in their 
 Do&rinenot eafie and even obvious and open, if God 
 hath diverfly determined of none but (uch as are of di- 
 vers and different merits ? what room then is there left 
 for altitudo ! Fcr they that give a caufe of Ele&ion 
 takeaway all caufe of the Apoftles exclamation, becaufe 
 none do admire an effeft bat they that are ignorant of 
 the eaufe> as here all muft Reeds be, when of thofethat 
 iiave one and fame caufe,. there k not one and the fame 
 
 regard, 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfe g. 171 
 
 regard, but the one is juftly expofed unto hatred, the o- 
 ther vouchfafed love without all caufe, at leaft that we 
 can fearch out and inquire. The head of Nilus may be 
 fooner found, than the Spring and Fountain of Eleftions 
 the eye of the Eagle, that looks on the Sun, cannot dif- 
 cover it, becaufe it remains in his bofom that dwells in in- 
 acceffible light. And yet notwithftanding we do not make 
 the will of God olxoyov irrational 5 For though there be 
 no abfolute caufe of his will, yet his will is a reasonable 
 caufe of all other things,and it were moft unreafonable to 
 conceive that he fhould want rtafon for what he doth, 
 that doth all things according to the counfel of his own 
 will, that is, all outward things j for the internal and e- 
 ternal operations of the Divinity are natural and neceffa- 
 ry,and offuch there is no counfeU but all histranfient 
 and outward works or immanent afts, if they have out- 
 ward objefts, (of which fort Ele&ion is one) are free 
 and voluntary, and rauft needs have a reafon why they 
 are done, becaufe there was no neceffity they fhould 
 have been done. All thefe things he doth not only ac- 
 cording to his will,but ^ r fiaxluj tw 6eA>7/<£Tos aWS, Ac- 
 cording to the Counfel of his Will : And whatfoever is 
 done with Counlcl or wife reiblution, hath of neceffity 
 fome reafon why it is done. And though this reafon, as 
 here it is, be often unknown unto us, who can know no 
 more of his Will, than he himfelf fhall pleafe to reveal, 
 yet howfoevcr we know not the reafon, yet this we 
 know, whatfoever the reafon be, it cannot be drawn from 
 our merits. The Eleftion of the blcffed Angels, who re- 
 ceived either a more excellent nature, or elfe a greater 
 ability of Grace than the reft, as St. Anjiin difputes, was ^ h \ X7 ^ 
 therefore free and without merit. Nay the Ele&ion of c^.'c. 
 Jefus Chrift the Man to be made the Son of God, was 
 of meer grace and goodnefs, as the fame Father doth in 
 fundry places affirm. And (hall Man, a Worm and duft 
 
 Z 2 of 
 
ij7 Adifcourfe of EleB ion and Reprobation, 
 
 of the earth, plead defert, that only of all the reft de- 
 ferred nothing but deftru&ion} which though otherwife 
 he did not , yet for this very arrogance be worthily 
 (hould deferve? How much better were it for them, 
 with thofe Saints in the Revelation, to cafi their Crowns 
 at the foot of the Throne, and with true humility to 
 cry out with David, Non nobis Domine, non nobis r fed 
 nomini tuo da gloriam. Not unto us, Lord, not un- 
 to us, but unto thy name give the glory, for thy mercy, 
 and thy truths fa^e. For we have dejiroyed our felves, 
 but thou haji redeemed our life from defiruSion, and 
 wilt crown us in mercy and loving kjndnefs. Then our 
 mouths (hall be fatisfyed with good things 3 In the mean 
 time let them be full of thy praife, for in thee, O Lord, 
 is our help, in whom we live, move and have our being, 
 for whom, and from whom, and by whom, are all things, 
 and to whorube glory for evermore. Amen. 
 
Vpn Hosea xiii. verfe 9. 173 
 
 A 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 O F 
 
 ELECTION 
 
 AND 
 
 REPROBATION. 
 
 Part II. 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 Upon Hosea xiii, <?. 
 
 Jfrael , thou haft defiroyed thy felf, but in 
 JMe is thine help. 
 
 Hitherto That help and Salvation is of the Lord, 
 Now That the death and deftru&on of man, is 
 from man,0 ifrael, thou haft defiroyed thyfelf. 
 For however it be true 7 that it is God only who 
 properly inflifts deftruction, in regard whereof it is right- 
 ly faid 5 Vit* & Mors a. Domino^ life and death is from 
 
 the 
 
47 A difcourfe ofEle&ion and Reprobation, 
 
 the Lord \ yet becaufe he doth not inflift it but for mans 
 wilful offence, it is as true, that he is not fo fpecially the 
 author of deftru&ion, the infli&our, as he that deferves it. 
 And therefore it is no lefs rightly faid by the Wifeman, 
 on the other fide : Deus mortem non fecit ', God hath 
 vifd. i. not made death, for he deflreth not the definition 
 of the living , but they themfelves by the errours of 
 their life and worhj of their hands have fought it 
 out) and drawn it down upon their own heads. And 
 therefore though life and death be both of God, yet 
 after a diSerent manner, Vita fcilicet a donante, mors 
 a vindicante : Life is his free gift, faith St. Aufiin^ 
 but death the reward and wages, as the Apoftle, of mans 
 merit. From whence it is, that God is ever termed Pater 
 mifericordiarum, the Father of Mercies, but never of 
 Juftice , becaufe no defert of man can make any claim 
 unto it. It is born and bred within himfelf, a Thread 
 like that of the Spiders, woven and fpun out of his own 
 bowels, whofe nature and property it is, to have mercy 
 and compaflion. But for his Juftice, it is not fo with it, 
 that feems fo far from being natural, whereunto he is, as it 
 were, violently drawn againft his nature, ta&us dolore 
 cordis intrinfecus, Repenting, and as it w ? ere grieved 
 Gen. at the heart, he faid, i" willdeftroy the man which I have 
 made. Neither is it more proper than natural, it is opus 
 JummAm Aft indeed,but opus alienumfuum.not his proper 
 but his ftrange Aft, as it is in ifaiah, becaufe there is fome- 
 thing without him which calls for it, and requires it 
 uh % : too of him. And therefore excellently St. Aufiin, Bonus 
 Ua!e£" e fi Deus,jufius efiDeus ^potefiftne bonis mentis liber are, 
 13. quia bonus efi? non pot efi fine malis merit is damn are, 
 
 quiajufius efi : God is good and God is juft,Hemay fave 
 without good deferts,becaufe he is good ,but he cannot con- 
 demn without evil,becaufe he is juft. Somenotwithftand- 
 ing affirm he may, becaufe they imagin the Creatour hath 
 
 an 
 
ZJfon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 175 
 
 an abfolute power over his Creature 5 but we muft beware, 
 how we fet the properties of God at variance among them- 
 felvcs,attributingunto him fuch a Power as (hall thwart and 
 fhoulder with his Juftice 5 It is no lefs 5 nay it is more true of 
 him, than of his Creature, lUndpotcji, quod jure poteft, 
 That he only can do,which he lawfully may do ; Not that 
 he is bound by any fuperiour Law, but becaufe as the A- 
 poftle faid of the Gentile, Sibr ipfi Lex, He is a Law unto 
 himfclf, which Law, in thefe kind of aftions,ishis Juftice, 
 not his abfolute Will 5 For their Rule is not to be approved, 
 that fay, God doth not will a&ions, becaufe they are right 
 and good, but all actions are right and good, becaufe he 
 wills them. For then he might will any thing without in- 
 juftice, fince by willing he makes it juft, even the deftru&i- 
 on of the righteous with the wicked, which notwith- 
 standing Abraham thought and was bold to affirm unto 
 God himfelf (of whom he was not blamed for it neither) 
 that even in him it would be unjuft Whereunto that 
 round and witty faying of St. Auftin doth alfo fubferibe, Ai&Uh 
 Deu* reddit mala pro malis^ quia juftus eft \ bona fro dt0: 
 malis, quia bonus eft'^ bona pro bonis, quia bonus & 
 juftus eft \ folicm non reddit mala pro bonis, qui a injuftus 
 non eft. But this Rule and that power was purpofely in- 
 vented to defend the direful decree of abfolute Repro- 
 bation, that fo they might eftabliih dominion, and that 
 by might, which they faw by equity could not be main- 
 tained, as I am now to (hew and prove, being it throws 
 the blame of mans deftruction upon God, no otherwife 
 than the former Election gives Gods glory unto man. The 
 Authors of the one, and the other opinion being deceived 
 by one, and the fame reafon, which both imagined was to 
 be had ot both thefe oppofite Decrees: And therefore 
 as they faw a neceffity of framing the one, fo they or- 
 dered the other 5 the one making both upon iorefight, 
 the other, both abfolute 5 whereby it is impoffible but 
 
 either 
 
 22. 
 
i j 6 A difcourfe ofEleiUon and Reprobation, 
 
 cither of them muft err in one,fince both cannot be true. 
 For if Reprobation upon forefight only leave man to be 
 the caufe of his ruine, let Ele&ion be upon forefight too, 
 and by the fame reafon it intitles him to his own falva- 
 tion : So on the other fide , if an abfolute Ele&ion make 
 God the Supream Author of all our Good, how fhould 
 as abfolute a Reprobation choofe but fay the fame of him 
 in our Evil? For if good works be therefore the effe&s 
 of Gods Eleftion, becaufe it is abfolute $ evil works muft 
 needs be the efFeftsof abfolute Reprobation for the fame 
 reafon 5 what is faid of one cannot be denied of the other, 
 efpecially, fince they do fo exaftly fquare and fort one in 
 all points anfwerable unto the other 5 Eleftion, that is 
 abfolute, intends the end, and then provides the means, 
 doth not abfolute Reprobation do the like? wherein they 
 fay the firft Aft or Decree of God was, to manifeftliis 
 glory by the declaration of his Juftice 5 but becaufe Juftice 
 might not be (hewed, but upon finners, he did in the fe- 
 cond place Will, Ordain and Decree ( for thefe are the 
 words of fome, and it is the meaning of all) the ingref- 
 fion of fin by the fall of Adam^ that fo he might make 
 a way for the execution of his Juftice according to the 
 former Decree 3 and whereby they are of neceffity con- 
 ftraincd thereunto. For either God by his fecond De- 
 cree muft determine Adams Will unto the committing of 
 Sin, or Adam by the freedom of his Will fhould have 
 power to fruftrate Gods firft Decree in the Declaration 
 of his Juftice. Horribile decretum fateor , an horrible 
 Decree I confefi, faith Mr. Calvin^ whom but in this and 
 his Platform, I (hall ever honour. A horrible Decree 
 indeed and of all pious minds to be abhorred, that firft 
 makes God unjuft, that fo he might fhew his Juftice, 
 which in regard of the former, is not juft neither : 
 AdMoni. Nee enim juftitia dicatnr y for his Juftice (hall not be 
 £*' ,,f ' juft, faith Fulgentius , Ji fnniendum reum non inve- 
 
 niffe 
 
ZJfon Hosea xiii. verfe 9. 1 77 
 
 ttiffe fed fecijfe dicatur^ if he doth not find but make 
 Men worthy of that punifhment which it inflifts. For 
 what greater injuftice, faith the fame Father, quam 
 lap/a retribwrepcenant, quern ft ant em prdedeftinajje di- 
 citur ad ruinaw^ than to punifil him for falling, whom 
 he did predeftinate to fall whilft he ftood ? It is report- 
 ed of Tiberius C<efar, that he had a great defire to have su-t.c^. 
 certain young Maids of Ro me ftrangledto death, not for 5l - 
 any offence of theirs, but (uch was the cruelty of his 
 dilpofition, only becaufe he had a mind to have it lb 5 
 but underftanding that it was not lawful by the cuftom 
 of the Countrey to put Virgins to death, he decreed 
 and commanded (fb to open a pailage unto his former 
 purpofe) that the Hangman (hould firft force and vitiate, 
 and afterwards ftrangle them. I forbear to make appli- 
 cation, it is too manifeft, and chufe rather to pray and 
 make fupplication unto Chrift, that he would be favour- 
 able and merciful unto the Doftors and Paftors of his 
 Church, if deceived through Errour they are bold to 
 teach and fpeak and write according to the example of 
 Tiberius. I know it is not their defire or meaning to 
 charge God with the Sin and Iniquity of Man, they con- 
 ftantly and with great indignation deny him to be the 
 Author thereof 5 but like ill Logicians, they deny the 
 conclufion, and in the mean time, eftablifh thofe pre- 
 miles, from whence though they grow hoarfe yea burft 
 with denying, it will of neceffity follow : All thediftin- 
 ftions brought for the purpofe fail, and fliould a Man 
 rack and ranfack every dufty corner of his brain for 
 more, they would ftill be all too few to defend or ex- 
 cufeit. That of the aft, and of the vitiofity in the aft, 
 with the lame inftance ofan halting Horfe,or an untuned 
 Lute is often urged, and may have its ufe, but not here: 
 For God, they fay,is the caufe of the aftion,butnot of the 
 obliquity in the aftion : As when a good Horfeman rides 
 
 A a a 
 
78 A difcourfe ofEle&ion and Reprobation , 
 
 a lame Jade, or a skilful Mufician ftrikes a crackt Lute 5 
 the one is the caufe of the motion, but not of the lame- 
 neft} the other of the found, but not of the harfhneft: 
 thefe are defefts wherewith they are not to be blamed, 
 becaufe they arife not from their manner of working, 
 but from the diftemper of the fubjefts, on which they 
 wrought. After Adam indeed had lamed and maimed 
 himfelf by a fall, this diftinftion finds room for applica- 
 tion $ but what hath it to do with Adam in his Inno- 
 cency, free from all lamenefi or taxation in his joints, a 
 well-ftrung and a well-tund Inftrument > Nor when the 
 queftion is by what means he came to his hurts % let them 
 take heed how they make God ride him lame, or ftrike 
 himfo, as to ftrike him out of tune: Let him be never 
 fo acute, he (hall find it an hard matter to beftow the 
 aftion upon one and the obliquity on another. In po* 
 fitive and affirmative precepts where a good aftion may 
 be ill done, as he that gives Alms to be feen of Men, 'tis 
 eafy to diftinguifh the vitiofity from the aft ^ but in ne- 
 gative inhibitions, where not the manner of afting, but 
 the aft it felf is forbidden, fothat do it after what ibrtfo- 
 ever he will,he can never do it well,how wecandifcern 
 the one from the other, and how God in this cafe may 
 be the caufe of the aft and not of the Sin, which is ne- 
 ceffarily annexed to the aft, becaufe the aft is it which 
 is implyed r is more than my apprehenfion can reach unto. 
 I know there is a difference even here, between the aft 
 and the Sin, becaufe the aftv as the aft, is not evil, but 
 aiforbidden by the Law. But how God may be an an- 
 tecedent caufe that Adam (hould eat, and yet not the 
 caufe of his tranfgreffing the Law,when he did eat, is that 
 which I fay I cannot, and which I think few elfe can any 
 way conceive. For when God by his will leaves a necefli- 
 ty of the aft, I pray what will become of Mans poffibi- 
 Iky to avoid the fin ? furely there is no plea for it, but 
 
 this, 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 1 79 
 
 this, that fince neceffity hath no Law, that which is done 
 under it, is no fin, for fin is the tranfgreffion of a Law. 
 Many other diftin&ions there are alledged, as that of the 
 decree and the execution of the decree, of neceffity and 
 coa&ion, a diverfe refpeft of the Divine decree and the 
 Nature of Man, of a double will figni & beneplaciti^ 
 a fecret and revealed will } and laftly, the label annexed 
 unto all, is the addition of the End, that it is willed 
 and decreed only for the illuftration of Gods Glory. 
 Thefe and more quiddities they have invented, the vanity 
 whereof the time will not now permit me in particular 
 to difcourfe 5 fure I am, they all fall fhort of effecting 
 that, for which they were devifed > they may peradven- 
 ture quiet the Authors mind, but (hall never juftify 
 thofe impofed and cruel decrees. There is a ftory or a 
 Fable "of a filly Man, that lying down to fleep with his 
 head againft a brazen Pot, and finding it but an hard 
 Pillow, claps a Cufhioninto the mouth of his Pot, and 
 lies down again, and then thinking the matter well 
 mended and himfelf at eafe, falls into a (bund Nap. Me- 
 thinks they that imagine they may reft themfelves upon 
 this iron Doftrine having ftuft it with the Feathers of 
 thefe diftin&ions, do fitly make up the moral of this Fa- 
 ble : for though they lie as hard as they did before, yet 
 this they have gained, that though they receive not 
 thereby any true eafe in their doubts, yet at leaft by 
 thinking fo, they content and pleafe their own conceipts, 
 and fo are fallen into a profound fleep, embracing 
 dreams for truth, out of which God of his mercy vouch- 
 fafe to wake them, that fo feeing and rejeftingthe weak- 
 nefs and lewdnefs of thefe trifling fubtleties, they may 
 rather abandon, and utterly forfake, than with (uchpoor 
 (hifts feek to defend, a Do&rine fo harfh in it fel£ inju- 
 rious unto God, and dangerous unto Men, and unto the 
 reft of the truth they profefs, fo extream fcandalous. Who 
 
 A a 2 can 
 
80 Adifcourfe of Elebiion and ^probation, 
 
 can believe them in any thing elfe, faith Bellarntine, that 
 (hall fee them only (o grofs and impious in this } And it 
 is marvellous to confider how all our Adverfaries do 
 generally raife their ftiles and themfelves, how they in- 
 fult and triumph when they come unto this point, and 
 what infinite abfurdities they empty out, and difgorge 
 upon us and our Doftrine, affirming that all thofe odi- 
 ous propofitions falQy impofed on St. Anjlirt^ do rightly 
 and juftly light upon us, who teach that God did there- 
 fore only create, that he might deftroy the greateft part 
 of mankind, whereunto they are unavoidably (ubje&ed 
 by the unalterable, and energetical decrees of an eternal 
 predeftination, more immutable than the Laws of the 
 Medes and Perfians, *that alter not 5 and more reluftable, 
 than the deftiny of the Stoicks, binding Men with the 
 iron chains of immutable neceffity 3 from whence they 
 fay, it will follow, as the natural fruit of that Tree 
 of Fate, that God is the Author of Sin, that he doth pro- 
 perly fin, that he only doth fin, and fo that fin is no fin : 
 Pudet k<ec opprobria nobis Et dtei potuiffe, & non po- 
 tuijfe re fell L It both (hames and grieves good minds, that 
 fuch ignominies fhould be obje&ed, and that they may 
 not be refuted 5 furely,at leaft for ought I underftand,by 
 the ordinary way, they may not. And therefore the on- 
 ly and founded refutation, as I imagine, will confift not 
 in labouring to decline and avoid fuch confequences by 
 empty diftin&ions, but by an utter deteftation of thofe 
 points and pofitions, that is, thofe abfolute ordinations, 
 from whence fuch confequences flow and proceed. This 
 was St. Anfiins manner of anfwer, and it may well be 
 others in the fame cafe 5 he fought out no quirks and 
 ftrains of Wit to falve the appearance ofinjuftice, but 
 (imply denies, and confelleth the decree that was obje- 
 cted. Nihil ergo talium negotiorum Deus pr<gdeji/t?a- 
 vitutficret^ &c* Godhath not predeftinated, faith he, 
 
 any 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 181 
 
 anyofthefe things, fpeaking of fins, that they (hould be, 
 neither is any Soul that lives wickedly and filthily pre- 
 pared or ordained of God fo to live: fed talent JHtu- Lib.adv(rj% 
 rum non ignoravit, & de tali fe jttfte jtidi cat hy urn effe } ^' L f lbi 
 pr£fcivit ; but he was not ignorant how wicked fuch a a d°art!E 
 Soul would be , and knew he could juftly Judge and i°- 
 Condemn him for being fo. Sc^that St. Aujhn doth not 
 acknowledge any decree unto fin, but only a decree un- 
 to punifhment for fin, which he forefaw but decreed 
 not. A decree only that can clear all thofe doubts and 
 heinous criminations, and is afterwards no lefs clear in it 
 felf. For if Election doth prefuppofe fin, as 'tis proved 
 in the former part 5 much more muft Reprobation, be- 
 caufe it is not precedent but fubfequelk in order to Ele- 
 ction. And as Election, becaufe an aft of Mercy, requires 
 a fubjed of Mifery : fo Reprobation, becaufe adminiftred 
 by Juftice, can have no place, but where there is a pre- 
 cedent offence, and that only foreknown not preordain- 
 ed > for then it would ceafe to be an offence : And there- 
 fore mala iantum prtifcit & non prrfdeftinat Dens : fins 
 are only forefeen and not predeftinated, faith the fame 
 St. Auflin. So that it was rightly obferved andfaid by a 
 worthy Bifhop of our own, even in his preface unto 
 that book of Leftures and Sermons penned and publifhed 
 againft Arrninius^ That he muft leave behind him the ab- 
 fblute decree of Reprobation, whoever he be that comes 
 to the ftudying and reading of St. Anflin, which he 
 terms a fid and heavy opinion, lately bred and ever to 
 be abhorred : fo that though he refute Arrninius con- 
 ditional EledYion,yet he will not maintain hisAdverfaries 
 abfblute Reprobation, as being an opinion which the 
 Church of England, though it fometimes feek to miti- 
 gate and excufe, yet it did never receive and embrace : 
 and therefore he afterwards adds in the ferae preface, 
 That if Arrninius had only inveighed againft that abib- 
 
 lute 
 
82 A difcourfe of Ele&ion and Reprobation, 
 
 lute and truculent decree, contrary both to Scriptures 
 and Fathers, and their days, commode adhibuijjet in- 
 dufiriam [nam, & Eccleftam no fir am Anglic an am ha* 
 buiffet confentientem fecum. As for fome private Men, 
 that think and wrijte other wife, they are not the Churches 
 but their own private conceits, faith the fame Bifhop in the 
 fame place. By whofe authority, though great in it fel£ 
 yet I am the eafier led, becaufe I fee that this Church 
 though it doth not for fome refpe&s aftually and pub- 
 lickly refute, yet it doth purpofely refufe to give grace 
 or countenance to any fuch Doftrine whereofit doth in 
 this regard forbear to determine. For in the Articles 
 of Religion whereunto (he requires fubfcription , the 
 Article of Ele&ioi? is propofed and iHuftrated at large 
 by many propofitions , but of Reprobation, not an Ar- 
 ticle, not a propofition, no word, no mention at all $ by 
 which filence in that place the Church (as I conceive) 
 feems not to approve the vulgar opinion , at leaft 
 to think it a Do&rine dangerous to mention. And 
 what it there forbears by writing to confirm, it had for- 
 merly by faft difavowed, as appears in the Cafe of Tra- 
 vers who was cenfured and filenced by the Authority of 
 the Church for oppofing the Doftrine of Learned and 
 Judicious Hooker^ whereof this was a branch, that God 
 in his counfel and purpofe reje&s none without a fore- 
 feen worthinels ofrejeftion, going though not in time, 
 yet in order before : This is it, which hath made me 
 the more bold to wade fo far in this point, wherein 
 though I may offend fome particular Men, yet I fhall 
 not our own prefent Church, nor the learned Fathers of 
 former, whofe voice unto their diffolute flocks, hath e- 
 ver been the fame with this here of God, ifrael thou 
 haft dejiroyed thyfelf. 
 
 The inference and iffue of all that which hath been 
 already faid in this point doth reach only to this, That 
 
 that 
 
Vfon H o s e a xiii. verfi 9. 183 
 
 that Deftruction which fell upon the world through the 
 fin and fall of the Protoplaft Adam , ought to be af- 
 cribed unto his own free and voluntary fault, and not 
 unto any irrefiftable appointment usd Decree of God's, 
 all whoie Ordinations unto Deftru&ion do not precede, 
 but of neceflity fortfee and fuppofe this offence. Not 
 that this or any other fin, is the abfblute caufe, why God 
 doth, but the defert and merit why he juftly may, rejeft 
 and reprobate whom he plcafe It now remains that we 
 proceed and ftep one ftep farther, and enquire, whether 
 God, as he may,fo he a&ually doth reprobate immediately 
 out of the Mafs of corruption, upon the forefight of this, 
 and no other fin. Otherwife,I (hall fall (hort of giving full 
 fatisfaftion unto my Text,wherein God fecms not fo much 
 to relate unto the original mifery,whereinthey were con- 
 ceived and born, as unto their particular and actual fin 
 and difobedience, refufing his love, and rejecting his mer- 
 cy, when he (6 paffionately burfteth out,0 Ijrael ! And 
 if this be rightly fpoken in regard of their own Ads and 
 Actions, they muft be fuch alfo, as are willingly and wil- 
 fully done : For furely they that are deftroyed for fins, 
 which by natural Corruption they could not chufe but 
 commit they may be pitied, bat cannot be blamed } and 
 then it will ftand firm and good, that it is^ not ifrael 
 that .have deftroyed themfelves, but their fore-Father 
 only, that hath deftroyed ifrael^ fince neceflary crimes 
 are not to be imputed to the Doers, but to him that con- 
 traded the neceffity. Unto thefe and many more diffi- 
 culties, as I conceive unanfwerable, muft they be lyable, 
 who make the Decree, and Reprobation peremptorily to 
 proceed, immediately upon forefight only of orignal fin, 
 without any other refped: of difobedience and contempt 
 of the Grace of God, or Gofpel of Chrift, neither of 
 which they fay was ever provided for them. For firft, it 
 will from hence follow, that though they allow an efpe- 
 
 cial . 
 
84 A difcourfe ofEle&ion and Reprobation, 
 
 cial favour of God unto fome few particular men, yet 
 they bereave him of his philanthropic, his grace and be- 
 nevolent affe&ion unto the kind, which the fcripture fre- 
 quently mentions, and fo make him toexercife upon the 
 far greater part of men meer (everity without all mercy, 
 as he did upon the Devils, whereby they clearly remove 
 the main difference between the Reprobation of men,and 
 of Angels, which the Fathers place in this,that is, afforded 
 them means of recovery, but the evil Spirits none,becau(e 
 the Devil finned of his own proper motion and inftinft, 
 but man at the inftigation of the Devil. Nay farther,that 
 God deals in much more feverity with thefe miferable 
 men, who only finned in the Loyns of another , than 
 with thofe powers of darknefs, that wilfully tran(greffed 5 
 for that all their life long he (till prefleth them with im- 
 poflible commands for no other end,but to heighten that 
 damnation whereunto they were before unavoidably de- 
 noted. Surely, a heavy cafe, and I verily believe unbe- 
 fitting the great compaffion and mercy of God which 
 the Scriptures mention, that he fhould be fo far from 
 pitying the Cafe of his own Creature in an involuntary 
 mifery, as he (hould lay new loads on their backs, and 
 then whip and fcourge them here, and torment them 
 in perpetual fire hereafter for finking under thofe bur- 
 thens which they weVe no way able to bear. Bsfides, 
 how doth this make God feem to flout and delude poor 
 Souls in the deep of their diftrefs, calling unto them who 
 lie inanguifh, have all their bones and joints bruifed and 
 broken with a deadly fall, to rife, and come unto him, 
 and he will help them, and in the mean time, affording 
 them not one jot of his help to rife who, he knows, not- 
 withftanding, are not able to ftretch forth fo much as a 
 finger in their own help ? Nay how (hould our blefled 
 Saviours words, yea his Tears over Jeryfalew^ feem to 
 be falfe and counterfeit, ( Jervfalem, Jervfalem. &c*J 
 
 if 
 
Vfon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 185 
 
 if at the fame inftant notwithftanding, he had no pur- 
 pofe either to die for them, or to give them grace, where- 
 by they might believe in him. So that his Commandment 
 of Faith in his Blood, (hould want both verity in him, 
 becaufe he did not die for fuch \ and poffibility to be per- 
 formed by them , for that he gives them no means to 
 do it , who have none in themfelves. From All, this 
 Conclufion will refult befides, that they either make God 
 a hard man, like the lazy fellow in the Gofpel, reading 
 where he doth not forv : or a cruel man, with Pharaoh 
 withdrawing the Straw, and yet ftill demanding the full 
 tale of Brick, requiring works, and withholding the 
 Grace whereby they (hould be done.For if without giving 
 a Saviour, or providing any Grace, there be a rejeftion 
 and reprobation of all mankind immediately out of the 
 Mais of Corruption, Who fees not the neceffity of all 
 thefe ftrange confequences , fo reproachful unto God, 
 and fo full of feverity, if not cruelty unto men, who 
 lying under more than fatal Neceffity, being not able to 
 go any other way,muft needs run headlong in thofe paths 
 that lead into Hell ? A Pofition fo abfurd,as Zeno a Phi- 
 lofopher derided, and confuted with blows rather than 
 words : His Servant being examined upon an error he 
 had committed, acknowledgeth the fault, but lays the 
 blame on his Fate, defiring his Mafter to pardon him, be- 
 caufe it was his deftiny, and he could not avoid it : Zeno 
 falls on his Man, and Cudgels him moft feverely, when 
 he had done, tells him he had indeed beaten him fome- 
 thing extreamly, but he muft be content, it was his de- 
 ftiny fo to beat him, and he could not help it. And this 
 by him , was well and wittily done. But had this Philo- 
 sopher's Man ferved fome Antient Divine that had been 
 of this Modern opinion, his excufe and Plea had been 
 good and unreprovable, becaufe according to the Rules 
 of his Mafters Doftrine, who therefore could have no 
 
 B b caufe 
 
86 A difcourfe of Ele ff ion and Reprobation, 
 
 caufe to correft or beat him, unlefs it were for anger 
 that he hath nothing elfe to anfwer, as you may fee 
 none of them have, if we confiderthe replies which they 
 make to the like impious and idle Dilemmas, If I be 
 Ele&ed, God will not fail to bring me to his Kingdom 5 if 
 Reprobated, there is no means to (hift his decree, and 
 therefore what need I take much care of Religion? An 
 obje&ion often propofed by themfelves, but which ne- 
 ver was, nor poffibly can be by their Dodrine juftly re- 
 futed. The anfwer of all that I have ever read or heard 
 is but one, and that briefly to this effeft, That Men may 
 not imagine they may fit idlely and have the Kingdom of 
 Heaven brought home unto them 5 it is not at a lower 
 rate than thy daily bread, that it ftiould be purchafed 
 without the fweat of thy Brows: for he that will attain 
 unto the end, mud labour and ufe the means. Which is 
 good Divinity, but gives no fatisfa&ion to the doubt 
 for though it be the right anfwer, yet it may not 
 be u fed by them 5 for how can they blame others for 
 not ufing the means which they themfelves acknow- 
 ledge is not in their power to ufe, fince they that arc 
 denied Glory, are withall rejected from Grace ? And 
 therefore it is eafie for the oppofers to reinforce their 
 forked Argument : Iflbeele&ed, I needs muft, if other- 
 wife, I cannot poffibly ufe the means, and therefore ftill 
 what need I trouble my felf, what is it you blame me 
 for? Here they utterly fail, and not well knowing 
 what they may fay or do, they firft fall upon the obje- 
 &ors,terming them dilTolute people, and this kind of rea~ 
 foning as lewd, as they are diflolute : but if they be diffo- 
 luteofneceffity, and this kind of rcafoning part of that 
 diflblutenefs, how (hould they chufe but reafon fo, that 
 cannot chufe but be fo dilTolute? and therefore this may 
 not be objefted. This then not prevailing, their fccond 
 Effay is (fuch is their perplexity) to reconcile neceffity 
 
 and 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 187 
 
 and freedom, that fo at leaft the works of wickednefs 
 might be juftly taxed, becaufe they tranfgrefs, though 
 not without neceffity, yet willingly and freely without 
 all conftraint. But what freedom is this, to be free from 
 coa&ion, if they be withal alfo void of ele&ion? A free- 
 dom furely which the Stoicks deny not, yea which the 
 Manichees allow their Fate, and the gens tenebrarum of 
 thefe,that is, both external neceffity from Stars, and inter- 
 nal from a corrupt and depraved Nature, will fuffer a- 
 greement and reconciliation with it. A freedom, which 
 is not only in wicked Men, but in the blackeft Devils, 
 nay in beafts, yea farther, in ftocks and (tones, and indeed 
 in whatfoever the world hath, that hath but motion 
 and operation : for whatever naturally works or moves, 
 muft needs move and work without conftraint : fo that 
 as it is truly faid of the fervice of God, that it is per fed 
 freedom 3 fo it may be as rightly affirmed of this free- 
 dom, that it is a plain and abfolute fervitude, from 
 whence you may no more blame Man for fininng, than 
 you may accufe fire for burning, being they both work 
 with equal liberty : for it is not front e but liber e that is 
 the Adverb, it is not the willing, but the freedom of the 
 will which affe&s the a&ion, and fubjefts it unto juft cen- 
 fiire and punifhment. Well then, this will do no good 
 neither, yet they ftay not here, fo ftrenuoufly do they 
 labour for neceffity, they have fought and found out a 
 third device, that actions of neceffity may worthily be 
 blamed, and punifhed now in themfelves, becaufe they 
 had and have wilfully loft the freedom of their will in 
 Adam. But this is of as little force for diverfe rcfpe&s. 
 Firft, for that (as was before noted) it removes the de- 
 finition from themfelves, contrary to this accufation of 
 God's, and renews the old Plea and Proverb of the Jews 5 
 if we pine and languilh under our Sins, what remedy ? 
 The fathers have eaten four grapes j and contrary to the 
 
 B b 2 protefta- 
 
1 8 8 A difcourfe ofEle&ion and R eprobation, 
 
 proteftation, yea and the Oath of the fame God, As I 
 live, it foallbe no more a Proverb in ifraeL 
 
 Secondly, becaufe by the (ame reafon God fhould re- 
 quire a&ual Faith of Children and Mad-men, Idiots and 
 Indians, who either cannot conceive or never heard of 
 the Gofpel of Chrift, as well as of thofe to whom it is 
 continually preached % becaufe he that wants Legs, is no 
 more to be condemned for not walking, than he that 
 hath neither Eyes nor Legs: for where impotency can- 
 not free, ignorance may not make any excufc, efpecially 
 fincc the one as well as the other had, and loft in Adam, 
 whatfoever they now want and have not, from whole 
 fin both blindnefs and lamenefs, and all other frailties 
 and infirmities are equally derived. 
 
 Laftly, it can no whit avail them, becaufe their Do- 
 ftrine, as hath been (hewed, makes Adam to fin with no 
 left neceffity, than his Children do. And therefore find- 
 ing no other help, their utmoft and laft refuge is Cwhich 
 is remarkable becaufe it difanuls and deftroys all the 
 fhifts they formerly made) that it's certainly juft with 
 God fo to do, though how it (hould be fo,Man cannot fee 
 7*/2. lib. g. nor conceive : Excufabiles peccando haberi volunt re- 
 utfr 2$. probi) quia evadere neqneunt peccandi nccejfitatem^ 
 prdfertim turn Dei ordinatione (ibi injiciatur hujuf- 
 modi necejjitas : Nos verb inde negamus excufari.quan* 
 doquidem Dei ordinationi^ qua fe exitio dejtinat^ con- 
 queratur, fua conflet £qnitas> nobis qttidem incognita, 
 fed ill i certijjima. 
 
 Wherein befides the plain tergiverfation and down- 
 right begging of the point in queftion, it may pleafe you 
 to obferve how little injury the Doftrine doth receive 
 when it is accufed of Stoicifm,. unlefs it be, that it falls 
 Itaort and chargeth it with lefs impiety than it doth de- 
 ferve or the Authors of it themfelves confels, acknow- 
 ledging in plain terms,. asyou.fec,.a neceility of finning 
 
 unto< 
 
ZJfon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 1 89 
 
 unto the wicked^ and Gods decree to be the caufe of this 
 neceffuy, for which the Stoicks modeftly never durft af- 
 cend farther than the Stars, the loofeft and lewdcft of 
 them do but complain of the Planets : Mars committed 
 the Murder, and Vtnu* the Adultery : whilft the Do- 
 frrineof thefe makes Men bold to lay both upon God, 
 unto whole Arm it fattens the firft Link of that fatal 
 Chain, which the Stoicks never durft but at the foot of his 
 Chair. And yet farther will fome of the Manichees that 
 would rather make a coeternal Devil than want a good 
 God, of whom it is better not to think, than to think 
 what becomes him not 5 it being alefs offence to acknow- 
 ledge none,than to account him evil whom they acknow- 
 ledge. But howfoever wicked Men may now take ad- 
 vantage of the Dofrrinal errours and miftakes of the 
 good, laying hold on fuch mifconceived decrees, from 
 thence to plead and juftify the caufe of their crying 
 crimes} yet the time will come when no fuch excufes 
 will be taken, yea when thofe nor any others can be 
 made. They may here have tongues, and thefe loud in 
 their own defence, whilft they difpute with Men 5 but 
 when the Bridegroom (hall once come and queftion 
 them for their wedding Garment, the cafe of one will be 
 the fame in all, they (hall be fpeechlcfs, not a word, un- 
 lefs it be to condemn their own follies, we fools, and 
 fb forth, as the Wife man hath it, and to juftify God in 
 his fayings, efpecially in this, Ijmel thon haft dejiroy- 
 ed thy filf. 
 
 Hitherto of thofe inconveniencies that cleave unto Re- 
 probation, if made immediately out of the mafs of cor- 
 ruption. But it is not fufficient to convince errour, un- 
 less we cftablifh truth, which mud be by (hewing that 
 Gods patience and longanimity doth not forfake Men 
 for one (in, or utterly rejeft them for the firft fault, with- 
 out any farther care of thera, according, to that of Crcr 
 
 go 
 
ioo A difcourfe ofEle&ionand Reprobation, 
 
 Moral. Ub. gory. N on fin it negleSe perire quod eft, qui hoc etiam 
 26.caf.10. q HQ( i xptfi&ti creavit ut ejfet. The manifeftation where- 
 of will confift in thefe three points. 
 
 1. 1. That God left not the fick world deftitute of a Savi- 
 our, but fent him to die for all. 
 
 2. 2. That to as many as he calls, he gives fufficient grace, 
 whereby they may, if they will, lay hold of this Saviour. 
 
 3., 3. That he Reprobates none of them, but after a long 
 
 and often abufing and rejefting of this Grace. All three 
 high and noble points, worthily challenging a large 
 and full difcuffion, which the ftraitnefs of time will not 
 now permit me : I (hall therefore only point at them 
 briefly, and fo conclude. 
 
 And firft, for the firft, the extent of the death of our 
 Lord and Saviour unto all. I know not how 'tis pofli- 
 ble for the wit of Man, to fet it down in plainer, ful- 
 ler, and more variety of terms, as if the Holy Ghoft 
 did ftrive to free it from all objections. What terms of 
 univerfality are there, wherein it doth not feekto exprefs 
 this truth? tie died for all, for the worlds for the fins 
 of the whole world : and that the Word may not ftill be 
 taken only for the Eleft, it is here ufed with oppofitiori 
 to them, not for our fins only, but for the fins of the 
 whole world, faith St. John, 1 Ep 2. 1. And yet that it 
 might not be underftood of the world ofEleft only, that 
 were in after ages to fucceed } St. Paul hath the fame An- 
 tithefis in other terms that utterly re)efts the cavil : God 
 is the Saviour ofallmen,efpecially of the faithful^ l Tim. 
 4. 20. Nay yet more direftly, the Saviour of thofe 
 thatperifh^ for through thy knowledge fh all thy Brother 
 per iff) , faith the fame Author, for whom Chrijl died. 
 Yet more pofitively for thofe that are damned. There 
 sPet.ii.i. Jljall be falfe teachers among you, who privily fo all bring 
 in damnable herefies , even denying the Lord that 
 bought them^and bring upon them felves fwift definition. 
 
 For 
 
Vpon H o s e a xiii. verfi 9. 191 
 
 For All, for the world, the whole world, the wole 
 world of faithful, and others, and thofe others, they that 
 pcrifh, they that are damned: what can be faid more for 
 it, or anfwered unto it, I know not. To fay herein, that 
 he died for all fufficiently, if truly meant, is as much as is 
 required, as the places enforce : but if their intent be, as 
 it is, That the merit of Chrifts Blood and death is, in it 
 felf confidered,(ufticient for all, had it been, as it was not, 
 intended and laid down for them 5 then to fay that he 
 died for all fufficiently, is but to abufe others and contra- 
 dict themfelves. For how can it be faid he clied fuffici- 
 ently for thofe for whom he did not die ? This is all they 
 can anfwer, and the confequence, that if Chrift died for 
 all, they cannot fee but how all fhould be faved, is all or 
 the chief thing they can objeft, which they would not 
 objeft neither if they obferved the difference and diftin- 
 ftion between the imputation of Redemption, and the 
 application thereof: His life may be laid down for the 
 whole world, though his death be aftually imputed and 
 applyed to thofe only that are faithful believers: for he 
 was as the Brafen Serpent hung up for the good of all, 
 but benefits none but thofe that look upon him, that is, 
 believe in him. A diftin&ion fweetly infinuated and 
 ftrongly confirmed by the Oracle of Learning, the non 
 jicut of Divines, in the non Jicut of Sermons, upon the 
 non ficut of Chrifts pafiion, whereof to the former pur- 
 pofe he thus fpeaks 5 It pertains unto All, but AUftrtain 
 not to it : after whofe authority it were but ill manners 
 to feek a farther proof. 
 
 To proceed therefore to the fecond point, wherein we 
 are to {hew, that this Saviour is wanting unto none with 
 fufficient power, whereby they may lay hold on him, and if 
 they will, be faved by him 5 to none that are called,that are 
 within the pale of the vifible Church, that come to hear 
 his Gofpel and profefs his name, according to that of the 
 
 Apoftlc 
 
1 9 2 A difcourfe ofEUBion and Reprobation, 
 
 1 1. 
 
 Apoftle, quotquot receperunt eum^ as many as received 
 him, dedit iis potejiatem filios Dei fieri , to them gave 
 he power to become the Sons of God. And according to 
 St. Auftinjwhexe power is given, neceffity is not alfo im- 
 pofed, that you may know many might receive this power 
 who never become the fonsand fervants of God/or of all 
 that are called and comenot,that of the fame Father is true, 
 qui velle pr£cepit^ poffe pr<ebuit,& non impune nolle per- 
 mifit, He that commands to will gives power to perform, 
 and yet juftly permits to negleft : which place he doth 
 Mratt* not retradt though he repeat it in his Retractations. Unto 
 lib. i. cap. that fupper prepared in the Gofpel, faith he elfe where, 
 neither would all come that were called, neither could 
 they have come that did come unlefs they had been called, 
 Itaq^nec illidebentfibi tribnere qui venerunt^quia vocati 
 venerantjteciUi, qui noluerant venire^debent alteri tri- 
 bnere, fed tantum fibi^quoniam nt venirent vocati er ant 
 in eorum libera voluntate. Lib. Arbit. cap. \6. What 
 can be more manifeft? From whence it is, that that 
 which from thence he infers,isas juft, That he which de- 
 ferved not to be called, begins to defcrve punifhment, 
 when he neglefts to come being called, becaufe then it 
 firft begins to be in his power : Stent non habuit meri- 
 turn pr<emii ut vocaretur^ fie inchoat merit um fnpplicii 
 cum vocatus venire neglexerit. lib.^u<efii. 38. qu£fi. 68. 
 Many other paffages of this Father might be produced 
 unto this purpofe, but I pafs them over now to come to 
 the places of Scripture which are infinite,from whence this 
 Doftrine may be concluded. I will only point at two : 
 in one whereof God makes men themfelves the Judges, 
 and in the other the Prophet calls heaven and earth tor 
 witneffes of this truth,De»f. 1. 19. / call heaven and earth 
 to record this day^ (aith Mofes^ again fi you, that 1 have 
 fet before you life and death, curftng and blejfwg, there- 
 fore chufe life that both thou and thy feed may live. 
 
 The 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 1 93 
 
 The reafon hereof he had before fet down, becaufe the 
 Commandment which I command thee this day is not 
 hidden from thee^ neither is it far off, that is, thou art 
 neither ignorant of it , neither is it out of thy reach or 
 beyond thy power to perform and effeft it. This then 
 being fo plain, no marvel that God calls to the Men of 
 ifrael themfelves to judge between him and his Vineyard, 
 that is, between him and themfelves: judge, I pray you, iui. 
 between me and my vineyard : I have not chofen out a- 
 ny barren foil, for it is feated pingni dorfo, in a very 
 fruitful hill 5 I did not plant it with a wild or degenerate 
 or baftard flip, but generofd fiirpe, with the choiceft 
 Vine 3 it hath not wanted manuring and culture, fepft 
 e^ elapidavi, I enclofed, hedged it in, and threw the 
 ftones and weeds out ; after all I built a Tower and a 
 Vine-prels therein expe&ing Grapes, & fecit mihi la- 
 brufcas, and it brought forth wild grapes 3 now judge 
 I pray you, §>uid amplius debut facere vine<e me<e ; 
 what I ought more to have done unto my Vine? This was 
 enough to convince them 5 but thefe times are more a- 
 cute. Had fome Men of our ifrael been made Judges, 
 they would quickly have ftopt the mouth of this Plantiff^ 
 Why, you have withheld the firft and the latter rain, the 
 dew of Grace and the influence of Heaven, no marvel if 
 your Plants thrive not : if you would needs plainly know, 
 this you ought not to have done , if you would have cx- 
 pefted grapes. Give but that bleffing, and your earth 
 will bring forth its encreale. As if in the enumeration of 
 fome few particulars, thofe that thefe fpeak of, and what- 
 foevcr elfe is fimply neccflary for this rational Vine, were 
 not virtually included. Surely the Lords Vineyard was not 
 planted upon thofe curfcd Mountains ofdlboa, on which 
 there fell neither dew nor rain : for certainly the influ- 
 ence of Heaven hath not been reftrained, the Sun of 
 righteoufnefs hathrifen and fhined upon this Vine, but it 
 
 C c bath 
 
194 A dtfcourfe of EleB ion and Reprobation, 
 
 hath loved darknefs more than light : the dew of Di- 
 vine Grace was not wanting to the branches thereof, but 
 they have turned his grace into wantonnefs, quenching 
 and grieving his holy Spirit : And therefore a little be- 
 fore the utter rooting up and cafting out thefe degene- 
 rate Plant9, St. Stephen frames the Inditement unto their 
 juft deftruftion : why, ye area ftiff-necked people and a 
 jiubborn generation, as your Fathers did, fo do ye, ye 
 have always refijied the Holy Ghoji. 
 
 And this leads us unto the third and laft point, That 
 God reprobates none,but after the often abufe of his grace: 
 for as they were cut and call: ofF,fo are all other alfo reje- 
 cted and reprobated, for firft rejecting and refifting the 
 fame Holy Ghoft. 
 
 My people would not hearken unto my voice, and Is- 
 rael would none of me, faith the Lord, So 1 gave them 
 up unto their own hearts lujis, and they walked in their 
 own counsels, Pfal. 8 1. 1 1. And this is the firft external 
 aft of Reprobation : when God gives Men up unto a Re- 
 probate (enfe, withdrawing his abufed Grace,and leaving 
 them unto the counfels and lufts of their own hearts. A 
 Judgment never denounced in Scripture but for con- 
 tempt of Mercy. Now by the external aft, Man muft 
 judge of the internal and eternal decree 5 for what God 
 in time doth, that before all time he did decree to do : 
 for they that imagine that difference between the decree 
 and the execution of the decree, that the one hath re- 
 fpeft unto Sin, but the other none, muft either make a 
 decree that is never executed, or an execution that varies 
 from the decree, as if God did ordain one thing, and do 
 another 5 And therefore if he doth now give up and re- 
 ieft a people for their obftinate fins, for the fame caufe 
 in his Eternal Reprobation, he did order fo to rejeft 
 them. And as it is in rejeftion from Grace, fo it fares in 
 exclufion from Glory, from which no Man is irrecove- 
 rably 
 
ZJpon Hosea xiii. verfe g. 195 
 
 rably abdicated but for long and wilful grieving of that 
 God who would have brought them to it. Forty yeart 
 long was I grieved with this generation, and then / 
 [ware they fiotild not enter into my reft. Than which 
 I know no fentence that doth fo clearly reprefent and tx- 
 prefs the true nature of Reprobation 5 for what is it, but 
 Gods eternal oath of rejecting wicked Men from his Glory 
 into that deftruftion they have defer ved? And this he doth 
 notfuddenly inapaffionof choler, upon every light oc- 
 cafion, but in his wrath, his wrath urged and provoked 
 by a long Rebellion : even forty years long was he grie- 
 ved, and then he fware in his wrath, he refblutely de- 
 termined they fhould not enter into his reft. A decree 
 that feems not to proceed, but when by extremity of in- 
 jury it is, as it were, violently extorted : fb loth and un- 
 willing he is to be brought unto it, as he doth not fo much 
 as think or fpeak of it without paflionate interje&ions 
 offorrow. ifrael, thou haft deftroyed thy felff 
 
 And upon thefe exhibitions of Gods mercies and good- 
 nefs unto the Reprobate, depends the verity and truth 
 and juftice of this complaint againftthem : for they that 
 never received any means of Salvation, can by no means 
 ever be termed the authors of their deftru&ion : But now 
 fince God and his favours have not been wanting unto 
 them, but they unto God } fince they have wilfully fbr- 
 faken his mercy, they can rightly blame none but them- 
 felvcs for their own mifery 5 for as the antient Father 
 Iren£us hath it, Judicium juftum recipient, quoniam 
 non funt operati bonum cum pojfent operari illud. The Lib. 4. 
 judgment of God is juft, which they (hall receive, be- ca ?- 71- 
 caufe they did not do well when they might have done 
 it.Whereunto Clemens Alexandrines doth agree : All ira- 
 penitents, faith he, (hall be judged, aliqui quidem quod 
 cum pojfent, noluerunt Deo credere, alii vero quod cum 
 wllent,non elaboravernnt ut fierent fideles : Some be- 
 
 C c 2 caufe, 
 
y6 A difcourfe ofEle&ion and R e^robation, 
 
 caufe, when they might believe, they would not : others 
 becaufe, when they would, yet they did not labour truly 
 to become what they defired. And it were eafie, (that 
 no man might conceive the Doctrine to be new,) to fhew 
 the like out of the Fathers, yea generally out of all, 
 both before the Pelagian herefy, and after : but ( left 
 the time (hould fail me ) to thofe already mentioned I 
 will only addthe Judgment of the third Synod of Arlesjfi- 
 fembled for the defining of thefe very questions, wherein, 
 what you have now heard, is not only affirmed, but a 
 Curfe and an Anathema laid upon thofe that (hall think 
 the contrary, Anathema illi qui dixerit quod Chrijius 
 non pro omnibus mortuusfit : Curfed be he that (ays that 
 Chrift died not for all. And Anathema illi qui dixerit 
 illum^ qui periit , non accepijffe ut falvus cjfe poffet, 
 Curfed be he that fays, he that perifhed, did not receive 
 means whereby he might be faved. 
 
 But unto this and whatfoever elfe in this kind may be 
 faid, that in the ix. to the Romans of Jacob and Efau 
 (Jbefore ever they had done good or evil, that the pur- 
 pofe of God might Jiand according to Ele&ion, it was 
 fai d The elder J/j all Jerve the younger, according to that 
 of the Prophet, / have loved Jacob but EJju have I 
 hated) like Medujas head is ever objefted, though fel- 
 dome or never underftood : But that it may be 5 befide3 
 theirs of abfolute Pveprobation, I will firft (hew you the 
 feveral interpretations of others The ancient Fathers 
 both Greek and Latin before St. Aujlin^ yea and St. Ah- 
 [tin for a while until the Pelagian herefy arofe, interpret 
 thefe words of the Eleftion of fome unto falvation upon 
 previfion of their future faith and piety f, and of the re- 
 union of others , upon the fore-fight of the evil they 
 were afterwards to commit. 
 
 But St. Aufiin rejecting thisopinion,and doubtlefs wor- 
 :hily 3 thinks and proves, that the Apoftle fpeakshere of ths 
 
 Ele&ion 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 197 
 
 Election of fome unto life, and the pretention of others, 
 without any regard either of the one,or the others good or 
 evil,that (hould be perfonal.Both opinions agree in this,that 
 the place concerns the Election and rejection of particular 
 perfons. And yet there are not wanting learned men that 
 conceive thefe Verfes in a proper and literal fenfe chiefly to 
 intend only external and temporary bleffings of this life, 
 but typically under them to fhadow the free and unde- 
 fended Salvation of the faithful, and the abjection of 
 thofe that believe 11015 and that therefore the types are 
 not to be extended farther than to (hew that our Juftifi- 
 cation is of meer grace and favour, no way defending 
 either from carnal generation or legal Juftice. Of this 
 threefold interpretation, which is the moft genuine arid 
 proper unto the Text, would require a longer difquifition : 
 at this time it (hall be fufficient to fhevv that abfolute Re- 
 probation doth follow from neither. Of the former and 
 the latter there is no doubt, all the difficulty is of St. An- 
 ftins opinion between both : from whence notwithftand- 
 ing we (hall not be enforced fo to decree an abfolute re- 
 probation, if we fo interpret his word?, as we make him 
 (peak fomething more indeed than the Antients do, but 
 nothing contrarv, that is, if by a conditional (cience we 
 reconcile both opinions, and then the mind of the Apoftle 
 will be thus, Before any abfolute previfion and without 
 any regard of Jucohs merits I loved Juccl^ and decreed 
 to confer upon him fuch and fuch a mcalure of grace as 
 I faw would certainly bring him to (alvation : And again 
 I hated £/?;/, that is, I did not fo particularly love him, 
 but decreed to give him only fuch grace as might argue 
 a good and fincere inient of his good in me and in it 
 (elf fufficient for him, though through his fault I know 
 it would be ineffectual : And though I forefuv, that if I 
 ihould afford him this mercy he would abufe it,, yet I did 
 not deftine unto Lira any other grace,, but for the man:- 
 
 fe Italic 
 
i<^8 A difcourfe of Election and Reprobation, 
 
 feftationof my Juftice did Decree Eternally to punifhthofe 
 evil ways of his which through the former grace he might 
 and ought to have avoided. And both thefe without 
 any refpeft of merit, for he may difpenfe his free mercy 
 as himfelf pleafeth. And according to this laft interpre- 
 tation, to hate after the Hebrew manner imports no more 
 than not fo fpecially to love, minus amare, or alterl 
 pojihabere, to love lefs, or not fo much to efteem and 
 regard. 
 
 So Leah in the xxxix. of Gen. 3 1 . is faid to be hated of 
 Jacobs that is, in refpeft to Rachel ( whom he loved more 
 dearly,) fomething neglefted : fo our Saviour Chrift faies, 
 Luke'w. 26. If any come unto me and hate not his Fa* 
 ther and Mother and Children and brethren, yea and 
 hh own Soul, he cannot be my Difciple : Not that 
 Chrift in the Gofpel doth now command men to hate 
 what in the Law yea and in Nature he hath taught them to 
 honour and love,but to fhew that when the queftion (hall 
 be between thefe and God, thefe and our Religion, we 
 are to prefer the laft, to leave all, be they never fo near 
 and dear unto us, and follow Chrift : and therefore in- 
 ftead of hating, when the fame point is preached in St. 
 Matthews Gofpel x. 37. §>ui amaverit patrem ant ma- 
 trem plus quam me, ant filium & filiam fuper me, non 
 eft me dignus : He that loveth Father or Mother more 
 than me, and he that loveth Son or Daughter above me 
 is not worthy of me. And that this kind of hatred, as 
 it is taken for lefs love doth well agree with St. Aufiint 
 Do&rine , appears by that which he elfewhere fpeaks 
 of Efau, whom he doth acknowledge God did not fo 
 hate but he vouchfafed him means whereby he might have 
 been faved. Noluit Ejau & non cucurrit,fedji voluijfet 
 & cucurriJfet,Dei adjutorio pervenijfet ; £/*# would not 
 andfo he ran not } but if he would and had ran, by the 
 help of God he (hould have obtained, jgjri etiam vel/e & 
 
 cnr- 
 
ZJpon Hosea xiii. verfe 9. 199 
 
 currere vocando pneftaret^ tiifi vocatione contempta^ re- 
 pro bus Jieret, who by his vocation would have wrought 
 in him, both to will and to run, but that by contemning 
 the call he became reprobate. And the whole Church 
 of Lyons as well as St. Auftin^ is of the fame judgment, 
 
 affirming in the caufe of defeatists^ the predeftination, 
 
 (whom though (he defend as far as (he well might, and 
 as Hinciomarus then thought and others ftill think, in 
 fome things farther too,yet in this (he leaves him) affirm- 
 ing I (ay, that Gods reprobation, that is, this hatred here 
 doth fubjett, fhe fays, not Efau only but no man el(e unto 
 any unavoidable neceffity of deft ruftion 5 neither doth 
 fhe only fay this, but (he fays 'tis Blafphemy for any elfe to 
 fay the contrary. Si quis neget effe apud Deum pr<c- 
 fcientiam & pr<edefiinationem, manifefie infidtlis eft. 
 Si quis dicit, quod prdfeientia & pradeftinatio ejus 
 aliquem compel/at ut mains fit, & alind effe non pojfit, 
 horribiliter blafphemat : If any man deny preference and 
 Predeftination of God, it is manifeft infidelity. And if 
 any affirm that this prefcience or Predeftination of his 
 doth enforce or ncceffitate any man (for that fhe fays be- 
 fore (he means by enforcing) unto evil, fo that he could 
 not be otherwife, it is horrible Blafphemy. No marvel 
 therefore that the Valentin Council did deteft it with a 
 Curfe, or rather curfed it with all deteftation, as another 
 Synod alfo had done before. Aliquos ad malum pr£- 
 deflinatos effe, videlicet ut quafi aliud effe non pof 
 fent, nonfolum non credimu*, fed ctiam fi fint qui tan- 
 turn malum credere velint, cum omni detefiatione, ficut 
 Araujica Synodw^ illk Anathema dicimus : v'id. Voff. 
 pag. 753. But for my part I (ball be fo far from laying 
 this Curfe upon fuch, as I rather defire Cod toblefsthem 
 with the knowledge and confeflion of their error. 
 
 And by this time the truth and equity of this Accufi- 
 tion or incrcpation of God, I fay not againft Ammon 
 
 and 
 
bo A difcourfe of Eletfiottand Reprobation, 
 
 and Am ale k^ de extraneis judicabit Deus, for of thofe 
 that are without, God will judge,wemaynot 3 but againft 
 Jfrael, againft the Church of God, againft thofe that are 
 called unto the knowledge and profeffion of the truth, I 
 think is evident and clear enough, O ifrael thou haft de- 
 flroyed thy felf If it be not, there is yet one frefh argu- 
 ment more and ftrong enough, before your eyes, more 
 fully to prove it. If any man die, either by hereditary or 
 contradted Dtfeafes, that hath a medicine before him, a- 
 ble to cure both, he may well praife the good will of his 
 Phyfician, but can juftly blame none but his wilful felf, 
 if he periQi. It is that Calix faint aris^ Davids Cup of 
 Salvation, wherein is a potion mixed and tempered for 
 all Complexions , and all Diftempers , (pdpfjyatov >^.6o- 
 Twlqv the universal medicine of the World, of power 
 and virtue enough to cure ail, ifall drink it, fo they drink 
 it not upon full Stomachs, but after a time of fafting and 
 abftinence, if not from flefh, yet from thofe flefhly Lufts 
 that war againft the Soul. As Naamans fervants faid un- 
 to him when Elijfja willed him to repair unto Jordan 
 for the cure of his Leprofy, If the Prophet had bid thee 
 do feme great thing, wouldji thou not have done it .<? 
 hort much rather then, when he faith unto thee only 
 Wafb and be clean $ fo may we unto you, if God fhould 
 command you, fick unto death and poifoned with a more 
 contagious Leprofie than ever Naaman was, to do fome 
 great thing for your recovery ,would you not do it ? how 
 much rather then, now when he (ays only Drink and be 
 whole ? 
 
 It is open and propofed to all, no Man is debarred, no 
 Man excepted, yea all are invited, nay all commanded. 
 Matcxxiv. Drink^ye all of this, even when Judas himfelf was one 
 of them all : yea and there is no doubt but if Judas af- 
 terwards with a faithful and penitent heart had drank it, 
 he might have been faved by a draught of that blood, 
 which himfelf drew out and betrayed. There 
 
ZJpon Ho s e a xiii. verfe 9. 201 
 
 There can be no ftronger argument for the general in- 
 tent of Chrifts death, than this holy Myftery wherein it 
 is generally offered. If his purpofe in (bedding be not 
 as large as his command for drinking his blood, he muft 
 (ay one thing and purpofe another, which is hypocrife 
 with Men, and let his portion be with Hypocrites, for 
 my part, that (ball think fo of God. Doth he enjoin you 
 upon pain of death, thofe many which are called, to re- 
 ceive that which he never meant to give, but to thofe 
 few only, that are ele&ed > doth he now bind thofe to 
 believe in his death to whom he never intended any 
 good or benefit when he died? who therefore if they 
 fhould believe, muft notwithftanding be damned in their 
 belief, or elfe faved for believing a falftiood > Both infi- 
 nitely abfurd,and contain, as a Sea of injury againft God, 
 fo a fwallowing Gulf of difconfolation and defperation a- 
 gainft Men. To avoid which (hall we minifter this blefled 
 Sacrament with a tacite and fecret condition,tf thou belong 
 unto the Eleft > as Zanchius and feme others otherwife 
 learned, driven by the like or rather the (ame abfurdi- 
 ties, confefs they baptized Children even the Children of 
 the faithful : a dangerous Do&rine and of moft fearful 
 confequence, making Chrift himfelf, that is the truth it 
 felf, in whofe mouth was never guile found (for in his 
 perfon all Minifters that are his in the difpenfation of 
 thofe myfteries fpeak) amidft the comfortable and graci- 
 ous promifes of Mercy and Salvation, to deceive and de- 
 lude poor creatures, like a falfe Jcfuit with mental refer- 
 vation. Thus to decline one errour, they fall into ano- 
 ther ,and it is hard to judge which is the worft. How much 
 better the Valentine Synod, In Ecclefi£ facramentis ni- 
 hil caffum^ nihil ludificatorium^ fed pr or fas tot urn ve- 
 rum & ipfa Jui veritate ae ftnceritate fahnixunt* In 
 the Sacraments of the Church there is nothing empty 
 and hollow, nothing ddufory, but all in them altogether 
 
 D d true. 
 
- - ■>-» : ..~~-~-»~~—. ... — i M ,. i — ■ I, 
 
 20$ A difiourfe ofEle&ion and Reprobation, 
 
 true, as being upheld by no other props but their own 
 proper fincerity and truth. And therefore as the judi- 
 cious and Learned Hooker hath it, Unlefs we our felves 
 hinder, they ever give and exhibite what they promife, 
 and are unto us what they fignify. They are the Con-' 
 duits of Grace, it is conveyed from the common Foun- 
 tain (unlefs we our felves obftruft the Pipes) to every 
 Mans private Ciftern 5 the Seals of the promife of life, 
 which being given in general in the word, is here by the 
 Elements of Bread and Wine, fenfibly applyed in parti- 
 cular. Now the promife, faith St. Peter^ in the Atts^ be- 
 longs to you and your Children^ even unto as many as 
 the Lord our God Jhall cal/, not to thofe only which he 
 (hall Eleft, and many are called though few are chofen. 
 And then to as many as the promife doth belong to, the 
 Seals of the promife, yea zndfanguis teftamentijhe blood 
 of the promife both promifed and fealed, muft of necef- 
 fity appertain. This being too plain to be denied, they 
 
 Spnt that every Man called by the Gofoel ought to be- 
 ieve, that his blood was (hed for himfelf in particular, 
 but withal ought to believe alfo that it was not (hed for 
 all others that ought to believe it. All may believe of 
 themfelves, thatthemfelves may not believe of all, and 
 my Faith muft deny me to believe that of them, which I 
 muft enjoin them to believe, and fo make one Faith to 
 contradift, and like oppofite pellets, to (hoot out one 
 another, every Man conceiving, that every other may be 
 deceived in his Faith befide himfelf, and fo mutually de- 
 ceive both themfelves and each other 5 why, if he died 
 for every one in particular, how could he chufebutdie 
 for all in general, and if he died not generally for all, 
 with what truth may every one believe it in particular > 
 But fuch mazes and Labyrinths, errour, once hunted 
 out of knowledge, is enforced to tread, and it would 
 weary me to follow her. The end of the Chafe I am fure, 
 
 is 
 
ZJpon H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 203 
 
 is an abrupt and dangerous precipice, for how doth it 
 evacuate and fruftrate the general Will and Teftament 
 of God, like a quirk or gull in Law,that all may fall to the 
 particular Heir ? It cuts the very ftrings and Sinews of 
 our general hope, and loofeth the Cable of our Anchor, 
 if not clean through, yet more than half way 5 it lops 
 and maims the everlafting promifes of blifs, nay it trou- 
 bles and (hakes our very Faith, the life of our Souls, 
 and renders it both dubious and deceitful. In a word 
 it digs fo low and dofe upon the foundation, as I think 
 it (taould not be endured. But to fuch inconveniences 
 are they driven, who having the perfons of Men in too 
 much admiration, think they cannot fufficiently admire 
 their Teachers vermes, unlefs withal they maintain their 
 errours: But from whence foever the doftrine comes,and 
 howfoever it be fo frequently taught in this Kingdom,! am 
 fure it is not the Do&rine of this Church who enjoins all 
 by fubfcription, that (hall teach in it, fo to preach the 
 particularity of predeftination in particular, as they de- 
 ftroy not the univerfality of the promife. And yet though 
 the promife be univerfal, it doth not follow that all muft 
 receive the benefit of it, becaufe though the promife of 
 Chrift and his blood be abfolute, yet the application 
 of it is upon condition, which when all do not perform, 
 all do not receive 3 but it is their own fault, who being 
 prevented by Grace may, but negleft to perform it. Let 
 U9 therefore fear, faith the author to the Hebrews, left a 
 promife being left us ofentring into his reft, any of yon 
 fliould feem to come faort of it. For even thofe Jews had 
 a promife of Canaan and in it of the eternal reft, whofe 
 Carcafles notwithftanding for their difobedience , fell 
 (hort of it in the defert ; and God fware in his wrath, 
 they J})onld not enter into his refi. 
 
 And therefore though the paffion and death of 
 Chrift be abfolute, and in it ielf belonging to all, yet 
 
 Dd ? there 
 
04 A difcourfe of Election and Reprobation, 
 
 there may be but a few to whom the good and benefit of 
 ttfhall redound. For remifiion of fins doth not immedi- 
 ntely flow from his blood without intercedent obedience 
 in us: the next effect of it, is not pre fently Salvation, but 
 a way and means whereby, non objiantejujiitia.wlthowt 
 any impeachment to his juftice, we may now attain unto 
 Salvation. It doth not inftantly convey us again into Pa- 
 radifc, but only gives us the word, whereby we may, if 
 we will, fafely and without impeachment pa(s the Angel 
 and his flaming Sword, that guards the entrance thither : 
 fo that by it, non folvitur omnibus captivitas^ fid foU 
 ztitur omnibus captivitati necejfetas, though all be not 
 aftually loofed from Captivity, yet all are loofcd from 
 the iieceffity of being Captives, as the late and learned 
 Writer of the Pelagian Story, j The gates of Brafi and 
 bars of Iron are fmitten in funder, and fo a way opened 
 unto the Captives, who notwithftanding if they be fo far 
 enamoured with their mifery and captivity, may for all 
 that, lie ft ill in their Prifon. It is a potion for the good 
 ©fall that arefick, fed (i non bibitnr non medetur^ if it 
 be not faithfully drank it (hall never effectually cure, 
 faith Profper. And therefore we need not be anxious or 
 doubtful on Gods behalf but only careful and felicitous 
 for our felves, what he hath promifed in Baptifm that he 
 for his part will not be wanting, fiire he will never break 
 in his Supper^ He will not fail to perform his pro- 
 mife, if we but ferioufly bewail the breach of ours. It is a 
 Spiritual Banquet whereunto there never came any for- 
 rowful and hungry Soul that ever departed empty. And 
 therefore let us draw near in full affurance of Faith no 
 way wavering, for he is faithful that hath promifed, faith 
 St. Paul And as he is faithful that hath promifed, yet be- 
 caufe he promifeth nothing here, but to the faithful, we 
 muft bring this with us, though it be not of us, a living 
 Faith that only can work Repentance from dead works 
 
 not 
 
Vpn H o s e a xiii. verfe 9. 205 
 
 not to be repented of. And this Faith,only once thorough- 
 ly rooted, begets that other confidence and fullnefs of 
 Faith the Apoftle fpeaks of, which, if it hath any other 
 Parent, is illegitimate, ill born and falfly termed Faith , 
 when the true Father's name is Prefumption. And for 
 this caufe thofe that the Apoftle exhorts to draw near 
 with full alfurance of Faith, he thus qualifies, having a 
 true heart, an heart fprinkled from an evil Confciencc. 
 Then we go on rightly and orderly, when we come not 
 to the confident faith but by the penitent } and as we go 
 from futh to faith here, fo we (hall appear before the 
 God of Gods in sion hereafter : if therefore our heart 
 within be true and upright within us, if by a deep and 
 entire Repentance it be fprinkled from an evil Conference, 
 let us draw near in full affurance of faith, as being moft 
 confident > that our* lips do not more truly drink the 
 fruit of the Vine, than our Souls do the blood of our 
 Saviour, the efFeft and merit of his blood, whereby 
 that which before was but fprinkled, (hall now be drench- 
 ed and thoroughly cleanfed from allthe ftains and impu- 
 rities of Sin. . 
 
 Our heart is ready O God, our heart is ready : only 
 come thou and dwell in our hearts, purge them and cleanfe 
 them wholly with thy blood, and being cleanfed keep and 
 preferve them by thy Spirit fpotlefs and blamelefs,. until 
 the day of thy fecond coming in the Clouds with Glory. 
 That we who receive thee with fulnels of faith now, 
 may ftand before thee with the fame confidence then, and 
 be received by thee and with thee into thofe eternal ha- 
 bitations, at the right hand of God, where is fulneft of 
 joy and pleafurefor evermore. To whom with thee and 
 the Holy Ghoft, three Perfons, &c Amen. 
 
 Lans Deo in tfterrtHrx, 
 
 THE 
 
206 T£e #^y to Hafpnefs, 
 
 THE 
 
 WAY 
 
 TO 
 
 HAPPINESS. 
 
 CMWKaa— — BfcJB*— — — ■»■»■■■— »*— » — — — — — !■ Mi 11 ii — n 1 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 Upon Mat. vi. 3$. 
 
 But feek ye firfl the Kingdom of Qod and his %jghte~ 
 oufnefs, and all thefe things jhall be added unto you. 
 
 IT is a part of our Saviours Sermon in the Mount* 
 and the conclufion of a larger difcourfe in the pre- 
 cedent Verfes whereto it refers. And indeed it 
 is or fliould be the Conclufion of all our difcourfes. 
 For all are little material and to no purpofe, unlefs they 
 tend unto this iffue, The Kingdom of God and his righte* 
 oufnefs. Let us hear the Conclufion of all^ faith So- 
 lomon , of all not only difcourfes 9 but humane endea- 
 vours upon Earth,Fe*rGW and keep his Commandments, 
 for this is the whole duty of man. The fecond Solomon, 
 infinitely wifer than that firft,ftrikes here but on the fame 
 ftring, though by his double touch, it receives an air 
 
 and 
 
Vpn Mat. vi. verfe 33. 207 
 
 and relilheth more evangelical} Unto the Righteoufnefs of 
 God adding the reward of it, the Kingdom of God. 
 That fo the works which the Law requires, might be 
 rightly wrought in the hope and faith of that immorta- 
 lity and glory which the Gofpel propofeth. However 
 then we bufy our felves about many things, this is that 
 nnum necejfarittm, the one thing that is neceffary, able to 
 refolve rar men ides his Riddle, Vnum omnia^ one thing 
 neceffary wherein all neceffaries are included 5 whatfbever 
 is neceflary for the body or the foul, whatfoever con- 
 cerns either imployment here or felicity Eternal hereafter, 
 the whole perfeftion of man and the whole goodnefs of 
 God. If thefe things be all, all thefe are enclofed in this 
 one, this one little exhortation, SeeJ( ye firft, &c 
 
 The communication of divine goodnefs, (befides that 
 of hypoftatical union particular and fupereminent) hath 
 generally but three degrees of participation : Nature, 
 Grace and Glory. And here they are all three either in 
 their utmoft extent or in their higheft exaltations. 
 
 Firft, all the neceffaries of Nature pertaining to the 
 body, but (lightly indeed inferred, as deferving our leaft 
 and (lighted care, Thefe things ftjal/ be added unto you : 
 but though (lightly yet folly, All thefe things , all that are 
 requifite (hall be added. 
 
 Secondly, the utmoft improvement of Grace, that can- 
 not farther adorn and beautify the Soul than with the 
 righteoufnefs of God, His Righteoufnefs. 
 
 And laftly,the higheft degree of glory, nothing can be 
 higher than participation with God in his own Kingdom, 
 The Kingdom of God. The lefs marvel therefore that 
 our fearch and travel for thefe, thefe latter, yea our 
 utmoft induftry and endeavour be fo carefully cal- 
 led upon and inculcated, with a gu&rite and a pri- 
 mum qu£rite, feek and firft feek, Seet^ye firft the King- 
 dom of Ged> &c. Wherein the divilion is as plain, 
 
 as 
 
2o8 The way to Happinefy, 
 
 as the matter important. The main parts but two : 
 A Precept. The Precept, fe ek. 
 A Promife. The Promife, All the fe things fh all 
 he added unto you. 
 
 A promife, not, as it founds, only of thefe things which 
 (hall be added, but of thofe (piritual things alfo we are 
 willed to feek for } if thofe be added,it implies thefe (hall 
 be given. Thefe given as the Reward of our fearch, 
 Thofe added ex Abundanti as an overplus, or furplulage 
 out of his Providence : fo the Promife is of all both Ipi- 
 ritual things and fecular: of the one fort exprefly, im- 
 plicitely of the other: And fo it (hould be, for Right e- 
 4wfnefi hath the promife of this life and the life which 
 is to come, faith the Apoftle. 
 
 The precept on which the accomplifhment of this pro- 
 mife doth depend, and wherein only, I think, I (hall at this 
 time proceed, hath thefe particulars. 
 
 i. The Aftion enjoy ned, and the manner and modi- 
 fication oi that Adion, Seeh^ and firfi fee \. 
 
 2. The objeft of our fearch propofed : a double ob- 
 jeft, prime, and fecondary. 7 he Kingdom of God, and 
 the Righteoufnefs of Cod .• for both muft be fought, 
 that intentionally as the end of our Travel, this by pro- 
 fecution, as the way, the only way that leads unto it, 
 See\ ye firft the Kingdom of God and his Rigeteouf 
 Kefs, &c. 
 
 But becaufe the objeft (as the Schools fpeak) doth ever 
 precede the Aftion that works upon it,not ever indeed as 
 really exiftent, but yet always Ideally in the mind and 
 contemplation of the worker, whether it be God or man, 
 whether aftions tratifient, or immanent, external Crea- 
 tion, Decrees, and prefinition internal , Though they fup- 
 pofe nothing in being, but their Author, yet they prefup- 
 pofe all things as being underftood and apprehended, be- 
 fore they can be either wrought or willed. 
 
 3. There- 
 
ZJpon Mat. vi. verfe 33. 209 
 
 5. Therefore in the third place the right way thither is 
 difcovered J K/^A/e(?»/»e//,away as clean as right,untohap- 
 pinefs through the paths of holinefs : to the Kingdom of 
 God, by the righteoufnefs of God. But Righteoufnefs is 
 not fo eafily found, or being found, is not Co eafily kept 
 and obferved. And therefore it is not a bare feeking that 
 will ferve the turn here, he muft feek and fearch, knock 
 and call with his beft might and his utmoft endeavour, 
 which will be the fourth and laft point though firft na- 
 med. Fir ft fcek. 
 
 So have we all the dire&ion and incitation too, that 
 may be defired : The Port and Haven of our reft and 
 happinefs everlafting propoled 3 the Kingdom of God, 
 Our duty and endeavour urged to weigh Anchor, put to 
 Sea for the fearch and difcovery of it 5 Seek. Our courfe 
 (hapedand directed, that we wander not in the Ocean 3 
 by the Righteoufnefs of God. And laftly, becaule the 
 voyage is tedious and difficult unto flefh and blood, and 
 no lefs perilous than painful by reafon of many Rocks 
 and Shelves, and Quick-fands that lie in the way, at Icaft 
 about it, our vigilance is farther admonidied, our beft 
 attention and induftry again, and more earneftly called 
 upon with a primum qu<erite : fir ft, that is, chiefly and 
 above all things raoft carefully fiefa For fo fe.eking we 
 (hall befure to find 5 performing our part in the precept, 
 God will not fail to perform his part in the promife : give 
 both the Kingdom which we fought, and addthofe other 
 things which are unworthy of our fearch. But I begin 
 with the Precept and in it with that Kingdom thatfhould 
 quicken us to the practice of it. The Kingdom of God. 
 
 W hereof yet at this time I (hall (peak but little, be- 
 caufe no Man can lay enough, or indeed any thine; to 
 purpofe of that, which neither eye hath feen nor" ear 
 heard,nor poffiblycan enter into the heart of Man. StPe- 
 ter faw but a weak beam of it in the transfiguration of 
 
 c . Chrift. 
 
2IO 
 
 The way to Hafpnefs, 
 
 Luk.ix 33. Chrift. and he was fo ravifbed with it as he fpake pre- 
 
 fently he knew not what. St. Paul heard but a little 
 
 found of it with his ear in an ecftafie and rapture into 
 
 Paradife, and he was himfelf he knew not what 5 whether 
 
 .. in the body or out of the body, he could not tell 5 only 
 
 4 . ' he heard words there, which, when he came to himfelf, 
 he could not utter neither, apjmm fifj&'m >> ineffable 
 words, words impoffible, and were they poffible, not 
 lawful to be uttered. The holy Spirit himfelf feeks not 
 to exprefs this happinefsin itfelf, but only to intimate it 
 by fimilitudes and fuch feeble notions as we are capable 
 of and acquainted withal. And of all fuch, this here, 
 this of a Kingdom is the beft, Kings and Kingdoms they 
 are the moft glorious things that are upon Earth, and 
 therefore fitteft to referable the glory of Heaven. And 
 yet they are but refemblances neither, indeed fliadows, as 
 the Author of the Hebrews, rather than full refemblances 
 of this Kingdom, Regnum Dei, the Kingdom of God. 
 A Kingdom fully accomplifhed with all Dignities and 
 Prerogatives Royal, and that in an eminent and excel- 
 lent manner. Tfeey feem principally to be but four. 1 . Do- 
 minion. 2. Majefty. 3. Wealth. 4. Pleafiire. Dominion 
 and Empire, Majefty and Glory, Wealth and Treafure, 
 Pleafure and Delights, thefe are the dazling beams that 
 give fuch luftre and brightnefs unto fublunary Monar- 
 chies, and thfcy are all here, and all infinitely more illu- 
 ftrious in the celeftial, the Kingdom of Heaven. tti 
 
 For Entire and Dominion how full and abfolute, how 
 large and fpacious ! extending it fett not only from Sea to 
 Sea,from the flood unto the lands end 5 but from Land to 
 Sea, from Sea to Air, from Air to Heaven, from thence to 
 the Heaven of Heavens,which as they contain not his per- 
 fon, fo neither may they limit his Dominion and Power. 
 It is called the Kingdom of Heaven, not that it is there 
 confined and bounded, for it runs through Heaven and 
 
 Earth, 
 
ZJpon Mat. vi. verfe 33. 211 
 
 Earth, the heaven *r his throne and the earth is his 
 footjiool. That indeed is the City of the great King, the 
 Metropolis and principal Province of the Kingdom, the 
 Heaven of Heavens. Next unto it is the Ethereal Region, 
 wherein are the Celeftial Orbs, the Stars and wandering 
 Planets, all of them keeping the due courfe and order 
 their King hath appointed them, and not fainting in their 
 watches, as the Wife man fpeaketh. From hence it pat 
 fethinto the Aereal,wherein are the ftrange and formida- 
 ble Meteors, lightning and thunder, fire, hail^fnow, va- 
 pours, winds and tempefis, and all of them fulfilling his 
 word, as the Pfalmift hath it. After this into the Aque- 
 ous, the Region of Waters, the great Sea, and all that 
 wal( in the paths of the Sea, all fubje& to his power 
 that made them, they and their raging Element. He hath 
 given them a law which they may not break, he hathfet 
 this hound which it cannot pafs } hitherto Jfjalt thou 
 come, and here /halt thou Jtay thy proud waves. The 
 earth follows, as the Center and Foundation ofafl, which 
 yet hath no foundation it felf but is hung out upon empti* 
 nefs, as Job fpeaks. And this though a remote yet a 
 principal Region it is of his Empire, and furnifhed with 
 the nobleft Inhabitants of all other, not only with Mine- 
 rals, Plants and Beafts, but as yet with rational Men 
 though mortal, to feme of whom the Lord even in this 
 life hath imparted of his own (bveraignty, a LordQiip o- 
 ver the earth, yet fo as he retains the Supremacy, and 
 will be ftill Lord paramount himfelf, for his is the earth 
 And the fulncfs thereof 
 
 And yet it ftayeth not here, but pierceth farther in- 
 to the loweft of all, the fubterraneous Region, a Region 
 of death and darknefs : Arabia deferta, a defert and 
 doleful Region this, that brings forth no good fruits, but 
 is appointed only for the habitation of wicked and apo- 
 ftate Angels, and fuch of Men as they have feduced td 
 
 E e 2 the 
 
212 
 
 The way to Haffiinefs, 
 
 the like wickednefs. All thefe Regions and Provinces are 
 contained within the circuit of his Dominion and King- 
 dom, for omnia ferviunt tibi, all things whatfoever firve 
 thee. Pfal. cxix. 
 
 This is Gods Kingdom, and the Kingdom of God it is, t 
 that (hall be imparted to the children of Men : His it is,his 
 only by natural righteoufnefs : his fervants it (hall be by 
 gracious communication. Indeed the communication of 
 the Kingdom is firft and principally unto Chrift who is 
 litres univer forum, the Heir, the immediate Heir of all 
 things, Hel>. i. There is not an Inhabitant of the three 
 grand Regions, Heaven, Earth, and under the Earth, but 
 they are all put in fubje&ion under his feet, and muft e- 
 very one therefore bow the knee at the very name of 
 Jelus, asajeverence and homage unto their Lord. But 
 yet in and through Chrift, it (hall be communicated alfo 
 unto all his, that are truly Chriftians: for thefe arc heirs 
 too, h eirs of God) and coheirs with Chriji, Rom. viii. 
 As they partake of his name, fo they (hall receive of the 
 Royal Un&ion which it fignifies} He only is the anoint- 
 ed King, but the oyntment reftethnotonlyonhim, but 
 from him, as from the head, runs down into the beard, 
 and drops on the very skirts of his Rayment, by which 
 they are all intereffed in the fame Kingdom. And there- 
 fore, qui vicerit dabo ei federe in throno mzo : to him 
 that overcometh will I give to fit with me on my throne, 
 even as I overcame, and am fate down on my Fathers 
 throne,. Revel, iii. 2 r. 
 
 So Gods throne is over all, Chrift fits on God's, we on 
 Chrift's and therefore on God's : and fo have a communi- 
 cated power from God, through Chrift, over all that 
 God and Chrift have.. He will make him Ruler over all 
 his goods, Matth xxiv. 47, 
 
 Juftly then a Kingdom in refpeft of Dominion, and 
 no lefi rightly in regard of Ma jefty and Glory, tbefeccnd 
 
 Prero- 
 
Vpn Mat. vi. verfe 35. 2 13 
 
 Prerogative of Kings and Kingdoms. And fure they are 
 no mean rays of Ma jetty, and Majtfty Divine, that above 
 all other perfons do defcend and fettle on the heads of 
 Princes, crowning them more than that of Gold, with 
 Glory and Honour. True it is, every rational Man is en- 
 graven more or lefs with the image and fimilitude of 
 God, which all other creatures irrational do acknow- 
 ledge by their fear : the feax of Man is on them all. But 
 Kings bear this fimilitude with a difference of eminence 
 and excellency, and are ftamped with a fpecial chara- 
 cter of the Divinity, that commands reverence and dread' 
 from all their tnferiours, even thofe whom all things 
 eMedofear. A great participation ot honour, than which 
 there is not a greater, unlefs in this Kingdom, the King- 
 dom of Heaven } that indeed infinitely furmounts it : for 
 there and there only is the fulnefs of Majefty, Majefty 
 Divine, where is the Seat and Scepter, the very Throne 
 of the Divinity , at the ere&ion and prefence whereof 
 all other Thrones and Scepters, though never fo glorious, 
 muft at length tumble to the Earth, as that Image be- 
 fore the Ark utterly broken. It was a goodly ftatue that 
 NebHchadnezzarbeheld, it had a head of pure Gold, but 
 when that mighty ftone cut out of the Mountain with- 
 out hands once fell upon it, it ran inftantly into powder f 
 fo the fame Prophet Daniel \w a vilion of his own doth 
 allure us: I beheld^, faith he, till the thrones were cajl 
 dawn, and the Antient of days did fit, who fe garment 
 was white as /now, and the hair of his head like pure 
 vpocII : his throne was like the fiery fame, and his 
 wheels itke burning fire, A fiery jiream came ?jjuing forth 
 front before him ; thousand thoufands minijired unto 
 him y and ten thoufand. limes ten theufinds flood be- 
 fore him : the judgment was fet, and the book* nvrr 
 opened, Dan. vii. 9, ic. And this lure is a majeftick' 
 Throne, and even on this Throne about which lb- many 
 
 blefled. 
 
2 14 The way to Happinefs, 
 
 bleffed Angels flood and miniftred,men (which is ftrange) 
 holy men and Saints (hall fit as Affeflbrs, judging not on- 
 ly the Tribes of ifrael, but the whole world, the world 
 of the wicked, both men and Angels, i Cor. vi.2,3. And 
 as their majefty is, fuch is their glory , a glorious Ma- 
 jefty, and marvellous, For the glory of the Lord JhaH 
 fliine ttfon his Servants and he ft all Jhew himfelf war- 
 vellous in his Saints : Their very bodies (hall be glo- 
 rified and fhine as the Sun in the firmament, but their 
 Spirits much more glorious : with them they (hall fee God 
 as he /V,that is,in his glory \ and by feeing be transformed 
 into his Image, that is, made like unto him in glory, 
 2 Cor. iii. nit. And as of Glory, fo I think it will be found 
 for Riches and Treafure, the third thing of eminence 
 in the Kingdoms of this world, as being the finews of 
 their ftrength, the fupport of their ftate, dignity and mag- 
 nificence. 
 
 3. But as all power is but impotence, all honour igno- 
 miny 5 fo all wealth but poverty refpe&ively unto the 
 Riches of this Kingdom : This only hath veins and mines 
 of Treafure indeficient, Fountains of wealth inexhaufti- 
 ble, when thefe below are quickly drawn dry, and whilft 
 they run, cannot quench the thirft of thofe that drink 
 them, who therefore have no means to be truly rich by 
 adding to their wealth but by withdrawing from their 
 defire. But this beggerly Philofophy (the beft yet, that is 
 in this Vale of mifery,) is utterly baniftied the confines of 
 this Kingdom, whofe Riches are of another nature, and 
 powerful not only to provoke, but to fatiatethe appetite. 
 We need not make a vertue of neceffity here, be con- 
 tent with fuch things as we have becaufe we may not 
 have fuch as we would 5 at beft but a rich poverty 5 but 
 enlarge your felves to the uttermoft \ open the mouth 
 wide and it (hall be filled : and that is true wealth that 
 doth fill the mind, not that which doth reftrain it 3 that 
 
 doth 
 
ZJpo?i Mat. vi. verfe 33. 215 
 
 doth not curb the deGres, but feed them till there be no- 
 thing more to be defired. And fuch are the riches of this 
 Kingdom. For what can hedefire more, that hath God? 
 and all that God hath, all that he hath, for omnia ejus 
 nojira funt , All that he hath is ours 3 all that he is, is 
 ours too. Demerit omnia in omnibus^ God Jljuil be 
 all in all, I Cor. xiii. Doubtlefsit could be the intuition 
 of no other Riches but thefe that could make King Da- 
 vid ( a Prince of fuch mighty wealth as the Treafure he 
 left behind can at this day hardly be calculated, yet amidft: 
 them all) to cry out, Ego verb pauper & cgenus, but 1 
 am poor and needy, but the Lord caret h for me ; See 
 where his Riches lay, in that God which may not be en- 
 joyed but in this Kingdom. 
 
 4. The laft things of moment attending on the King- 
 doms of this world are Pleafures and delights 3 whereof 
 indeed they afford great variety, but wherein little fatif- 
 fa&ion. For as their Gold hath much drofe, fb their lit- 
 tle pleafure is mixed with travel and trouble not a little. 
 Only the Kingdom of God, the Paradife of true de- 
 light, is it, that hath liquid pleafures and pure from all 
 mixtures of forrow. Revel, ii. 3. We that are immerfed 5 
 drowned in flefh and blood,can hardly think there are any 
 other pleafures but thefe of the body g though our awn 
 Reafon, if confulted, cannot but inform us, that this cor- 
 ruptible earth is not more inferiour unto the immortal 
 Spirit that informs it, than the delights of that Spirit 
 are excellent and Divine above all the grofs and brute 
 pleafures of the perifhing body : Though here are all,and 
 all forts of delights, all that are immixed and pure from 
 imperfe&ion both for body and Soul. The fenfes of the 
 one, the powers and faculties of the other fhall be all fa- 
 tisfied to the full 5 and fatiated with their higheft and di- 
 vineft objefts 5 with their ftrifteft and clofeft union with 
 them, to the utmoft of their enlarged and glorified capa- 
 cities. 
 
2 1 6 The way to Happinefi, 
 
 cities. It is the Feaft of the great Ring wherein he means 
 to fet forth all his magnificence, like Ahafuerus unto his 
 Princes. The marriage- feaft of the Lamb, and write ftkh 
 the Angel, Bleffed are they that are invited to the ftp- 
 per of the Lambs Marriage , Revel, xix. How bleffed 
 then are they that fhall at that time be married themfelves 
 unto the Lamb ? The Body indeed is invited to the feaft, 
 but the Soul is it that (hall be married unto the great King : 
 as it is in the Prophet Hofea, I will marry thee to my felf 
 in everlafling kjndnefs. ^uales Thalami illius am- 
 plexus .<? Who can poffibly conceive the joys then of the 
 Bride-chamber ? or the pleafures of the Bride-grooms 
 embracement I when God and the Soul (hall be fo clofely 
 knit and clofed together, as they become but one Spirit } 
 as by this marriage here, two are made one flefb, i Cor. 
 vi. 17. Aftrange and marvellous union, that as the Father 
 is in the Son and the Son in the Father : fo all bleffed 
 Spirits (hall be in both, and all but one in both as both 
 they are but one. A true marriage this and a through on 
 all fides: Souls knit unto Souls, and all unto God: A 
 union divine like the union of God, the effeft of it there- 
 fore a joy divine, no left like the joy of God: So like, 
 as in Scripture it is faid to be the feme: Intra in gau- 
 dium Domini 1 Enter into the joy of thy Lord, even 
 into that joy wherewith the Lord himfelf rejoyceth, 
 and is everlaftingly bleffed, who perfectly apprehend- 
 ing his own infinite worth and goodnefs doth as per- 
 fectly enjoy it in himfelf. And fiich fhall be your joy, 
 who (hall not only pierce the inmoft verity of all other 
 things , and clearly know the truth of whatfoever is 
 doubtfully difputed here, but fhall be enabled to behold 
 and contemplate with open face all the excellence and 
 beauty of the Divinity it felf, by the underftanding} 
 and enjoy it too, by embracing and cleaving unto it 
 with the will and affe&ions : though not comprehensibly 
 
 and 
 
Vpon Mat. vi. verfe 33. 217 
 
 and commenfurably asGoddoth,yetfulIy5 everyone ac- 
 cording to his capacity and as a Creature may, Totum. 
 Dei, but not totaliter, feeing and enjoying all of God, 
 though not in that alfufficient and fupereminent manner 
 as God doth 5 This is intrare in gaudium Domini^ to 
 enter into the joy of the £0rd,andthatis to befilled.zs the 
 Apoftle fpeaks, with all the julnefs of God : which fince 
 it is the moft we can,it (hall be the laft we will at this time 
 fay of it 5 only adding thus much, that though we may 
 put an end to the (peech of it, there (hall be no end of 
 the Joy. At his right hand are pleafures for evermore. 
 A Kingdom then it is, and in all refpe&s the Kingdom of 
 God : In regard of power and Dominion, we (hall fit 
 with Chrift on his Throne, and that is the Throne of 
 God : In regard of honour and glory, we (hall fee him as 
 he is, and fo feeing, be made like unto him, and that is 
 participation of the glory of God : In regard of wealth 
 and riches 5 we (hall be Rulers over all his goods, and 
 that is a full poffeffionof the Treafuresof God: And laftly 
 in regard of pleafures and delights, we (hall enter into the 
 Lords joy .and that is no other than the joy of God. Joy, 
 Wealth, Honour, Dominion, all Divine 5 and a King- 
 dom of all 5 and therefore the Kingdom of God, that is 
 an everlafting Kingdom : for Regni ejus non er it finis \ 
 of his Kingdom there fl) all he no end, Luk. iii. But we 
 muft end the point, wherein if I have flayed the longer, 
 you may plcafe to remember what St. Peter faid, when he 
 faw but a (hadow of it, Bonum eji ejfe hic^ it is good to 
 be here: A fubjeft fo plealing, that once entred, a man 
 can hardly be drawn off, with that Apoftle,frora building 
 Tabernacles there, and dwelling on it for ever. But yet 
 we are not fo to contemplate the happinefs of this King- 
 dom, as we forget to confider, what we are to do that 
 we may attain unto it : for fomething is to be , done, 
 though not much j feek it we muft at leaft, if we mean 
 
 F f to 
 
2 1 8 The way to Happnefs, 
 
 to have it : the fecond Point, Seek the Kingdom of God. 
 
 2. And fure it is little worth, that is not worth the 
 feeking 5 not any thing, not fo much as our daily bread 
 but muft be fought } and that mfudore vultus^ in the 
 fweat of thy brow. And (hall the Kingdom of Heaven fo 
 far above all things, be valued at a lower rate than any 
 thing elfe ? for there is not anything but mifery on earth, 
 and Hell beneath it, the juft reward of (loth, that may 
 be purchafed without travel. Thofe idle people in the 
 Market-place whom our Saviour queftions in the Parable 
 with a quid hie flat is otiofi^ had yet fome rational plea 
 for their idlenels* no man hath hired m % we have none 
 fuch | fee a Kingdom, even the everlafting Kingdom of 
 God is your hire. He that is now idle, is idle without 
 pretence, and let himbemiferable without pity. And yet 
 two forts of Men there are, that trelpafs in this particu- 
 lar. The one feeks, but without all refped of the King- 
 dom 3 the other would gladly be inverted in the King- 
 dom, but will by no means feek it : he fcorns to work 
 for hire 5 this no hire can fet a work : that relies too much 
 on divine attraftion \ this aims too much at foppofed 
 perfe&ion 5 but feeJ^ the Kingdom of Gtd convinceth 
 both. 
 
 The firfii Cto touch firft on them) in their refined 
 zeal conceive they could ferve God fufficiently, were 
 there neither Heaven nor Happinefs to encourage them: 
 yea that men ought to ferve him without all confiderati- 
 on of either, branding all intuition of reward for felf- 
 love* and all fervice founded thereon as meerly mercena- 
 ry. But Gods hired fervants, are fervants, and have bread 
 enough, faith the Text ^ and will have, while thefe acre- 
 al conceits blow up the Soul only with wind, no way 
 fill it with folid nourifhment. Indeed were the reward 
 mf thing bvit God himfelf, it might well be felf-love and 
 
 ove meerly mercenary to cxpeft only the reward. But 
 
 when 
 
ZJpon Mat. vi. verfe 33. 219 
 
 when the reward is God himfelf he neither loves God 
 nor himfelf, as he (hould, that doth not then fatten his 
 eye on the reward $ working in the hope and joy of it 
 whatfoever he works. It is moft true, every Man ought 
 to love God above all 3 yea all love ought to be fully 
 and finally terminated in God. But yet with reference 
 unto him, a Man may and {hould love both himfelf and o* 
 ther things alfo befides} And therefore every love of 
 himfelf, is not prefently felf-love. Indeed he loves himfelf 
 leaft, that hath moft of felf love in thefe poor things and 
 perifhing, that add nothing to his intrinfick perfe&ion , 
 which he is bowid to love : And fince God himfelf and 
 God only is the full perfe&ion of a Soul capable of God 5 
 it follows, he cannot but love God moft that moft affe&s 
 his own perfe&ion, that is, union with God. And thus 
 the love of God and felf-love are competible 5 yea are 
 and muft be infeparable. Neither is it enough to love 
 God only as the Supream and Soveraign good in himfelf, 
 unlefs he love him alfo as the (upream and foveraign 
 good of the lover of himfelf, that loveth 5 otherwife 
 while men feek to clarifie, they will but cool their love 5 
 but evacuate utterly their hope 5 That muft henceforth 
 be razed out of the number of the Theological virtues, 
 yea by this account, muft needs become vitious. But 
 there remain thefe three^ faith St. Paul^ Faith, Hope, and 
 Love, and let them remain ftill 5 for fure unlefs we love 
 in hope, and have hope to cherifh our love, we (hall 
 neither love nor hope as we (hould, no nor believe nei- 
 ther. But that blefled Apoftle itfeems was not yet arrived 
 unto thefe Mens perfe&ion } nay nor he neither, that was 
 perfe&ion it felf : He, in whom the fulnefsofthe God- 
 head dwelt bodily, was yet incouraged by therecompence 
 of the reward, which is fet forth as a reafon, why he en- 
 dured the Crofs, defpifed the fiante and run with pa- 
 tience the race which was fet before him ■: for he had An 
 
 V f 2 eye 
 
2 20 The ivay to Hafpnefs, 
 
 eye unto the recompence of reward. And as he had an 
 eye unto it himfelf in his own particular, fo he fails not 
 to draw all eyes unto it, almoft every where in his dif- 
 courfes. This very Sermon (and it is the firft let and ft> 
 lemn Sermon that ever he preached) takes beginning 
 with this, this propofition of the reward, this very re- 
 ward of the Kingdom. Blejjed are the poor i» fpirlt, fir 
 their s is the Kingdom of Heaven. Afterwards in the 
 whole courfe of his preaching, you (hall find it frequent- 
 ly preffed and earneftly : yea after his death and refur- 
 re&ion, in thofe laft forty days before he afcendedv ap- 
 pearing often unto his Difciples, he difcourfed unto them 
 of the Kingdom of God, Att, i. 3. This brings in and 
 leads out all his Sermons 5 the beginning, continuance, 
 and confummation of them feems to be Regnant Dei y the 
 Kingdom of God. And fure were it well known, did we 
 clearly apprehend the hope of our callings the riches of 
 the inheritance of the Saint /, could we comprehend 
 with them all what is the height, and length^and breadth^ 
 and depths and know the dimenfions of that love of God 
 in Chrift, which pajfeth knowledge: nay were the in- 
 eftimable treafures of that Kingdom, which this love hath 
 prepared, but truly believed, I think no Man would ac- 
 count any labour too great that might bring him thi- 
 ther* 
 
 But to leave thefe, that feek, but not for the Kingdom, 
 for they are not fo many 5 The difeafe of thofe other that 
 would gladly have the Kingdom, but without feeking, is 
 more general. Few Mens thoughts are much troubled 
 with this employment. If it concern thefe things indeed, 
 the pleafuresor profits of the prefent, how diligently do 
 moft Men feek and fearch, rack and ranfack all corners 
 and quarters of the world ? That Woman for her loft 
 groat, or thefe Gentiles in the verfe here precedent^ not 
 half fo painfully* But for that true wealth and honour,and 
 
 thofe 
 
Vpn Mat. vi. verfe 33. 221 
 
 thofe immortal pleafures of the Kingdom which is to 
 come, as if they would come of themfelves, though we 
 would gladly enjoy them when we can no longer hold 
 thefe, other yet travel or trouble for them in the mean 
 time, we would not willingly fufFer any. As if we thought 
 to light on this Kingdom of God, as Saul did on his, 
 whilft we feek Cattle in the defert. Here we can be con- 
 tent to look on the Lilies of the Field (as our Saviour a 
 little before wills) but with a contrary intention, and 
 would willingly be cloathed with Immortality and Glory, 
 but on their condition, neq'^ Uborant neq? nent r fo 
 we might neither labour nor (pin for it. No voice fo wel- 
 come to our ears as that of Mofes at the red Sea, Stand 
 fiill and fee the.falvation of God : or that of St. Paul 
 to the Romans^ He was found of thofe that fought him 
 not. It is ftrange we can trull: God for nothing, that con- 
 cerns this life and the good things of it, without out ut- 
 moft induftry and endeavour : and yet can be confident 
 in him for the bleffings of the future, though we ftir nei- 
 ther foot nor finger in the profecution of them. As if 
 my Text were to be inverted, and firft (eeking thefe 
 things, wefoppofed the Kingdom of God were to be ad- 
 ded out of his providence and without our care. All 
 care and thought of our own feeking, feems to be drown- 
 ed in the conceit of his drawing. That of our Saviour 
 is fo much in our eye as we can hardly fee any thing 
 elfe. Nemovenit nifi Pater traxerit. And it is moft true, 
 unlefs God prevent us with his Grace and draw us unto 
 hirafel^ we of our felves fhall never, can never come un- 
 to God. But do we utterly want that attractive Grace, 
 or rather do we not draw back, and turn the Grace of 
 God into wantonnefs,asthe Apoftlefpeaks? For how doth 
 God draw, or whom ? though he draw, yet he doth not 
 drag : he draws Men and not blocks, fo draws one \v. 
 as. yet refra&ory difpotitions may and too often do ano- 
 
 thei 
 
h i ' " ' ' ' ' ii ■ i n 
 
 222 The way to Hafpnefs, 
 
 ther : if any man Jhall draw back^ my foul fh all hate him^ 
 Heb. x. There are but two ways to work upon the heart 
 of Man, Power or Perfwafion : That is poffible only to 
 the omnipotence of God , this proper to the rational na- 
 ture of Man. And itpleafeth God ufually to deal with 
 Men according to their nature, §>uos fc tnovet^ nt mo- 
 tut fuos agerejinat, whom he fo moves (faith St Aufiin 
 lib. 7. de civit. Dei cap. 30J as he yet permits to be 
 their own movers 3 yea when he moves moft effe&ually, 
 yet he moves not but congruouQy alfb. So faith the Wife 
 man of him and his providence, pertingit hfine ufo ad 
 finem fortiter, & difponit omnia fuaviter : power- 
 fully firft yet fweetly alfo, that is,aptly and futaby to their 
 nature and difpofition 5 He draws them indeed, yet not 
 by the heels, but by the ear, qui andivit & didicit, 
 he that hath heard and learned of my Father cometh. 
 The very next verfe unto that former in the 6. of St John 
 gives the way of drawing, by inftru&ion not by impul- 
 sion. Rational Men therefore muftexped rational means, 
 direction and inftru&ion. / trill inform thee in the way 
 wherein thou Jfjalt walk^, I will guide thee with mine 
 eye. Bitt and bridle that hold in by force, as it follows, 
 are for horfe and mule^ that have no understanding. 
 Not a word of his mouth, not a motion of his Ipirit, not 
 a benefit of his grace and favour, but are as fo many 
 cords to draw us unto himfelf, and fo himfelf teftifies in 
 the Prophet Hofea, I tookjhe yoke from their neck,, and 
 I laid meat before them^ In funibus Adami^ & loris a* 
 matoriis attraxi eos> I drew them with the cords of a 
 manjppith the bonds of love. The love indeed and good- 
 nefs of the Lord laying meat before them, as the Keeper 
 draws his Call, propofing a Kingdom as in this place (and 
 what may draw if fuch a Kingdom cannot?) efpecially 
 when the gracious motions of his Spirit unto yours are 
 not wanting, and the like. Thefe are the cords and 
 
 bands, 
 
Vpn Mat. vi. verfe 33. 223 
 
 bands, wherewith he drew them $ and with which intel- 
 ligent Men fhould be drawn, and well therefore ftiled 
 funiculi ho minis, the cords of a Man : All other Physi- 
 cal traftion being the cords of Carts and Carriages, of 
 beafts and blocks rather than Men. And when God 
 thus draws and allures, it will concern Man highly to o- 
 bey and follow the attraction. We may not think to 
 ftand idly under the influence of Grace, like Fruit-trees 
 under the beams of the Sun} much lefs hang under the at- 
 traction like dead and inanimate trunks \ leaftofall hale 
 another way 5 but being prevented by Divine Grace (for 
 you art not under the Law, but under Grace, faith St. 
 Paul) it will behove us to cooperate 5 having received a 
 Talent, to negotiate 5 a gift, to ftir up the gift of God 
 that is in us, as thefame Apoftle unto Timothy, ne quit 
 dtfit gratis Dei, left wanting not grace in himfelf he 
 himfelf chance to be wanting unto his grace, Heb. xii. 15. 
 Rightly therefore the Spoufe in the Canticles, traheme 
 poji te, & curremus, draw me after thee, and we will 
 run, Cant. i. 4. And it (hould be the refolution of every 
 one elfe, for that of St. Aufiin ismoft true, Qui fecit te 
 fine te, non falv^bit te fine te: he that made thee with- 
 out thy fel£ will not five thee without thy pains .• fecit 
 nefcientem, non jujiificat nifi volentem, he made you 
 without your knowledge, he will not juftify you with- 
 out your will and endeavour, much lefs glorify. Nemo- 
 coron.itur vifc certaverit , no Man fhall receive the 
 Crown unlcfs he ftrive for it ^ or be conveyed into this 
 Kingdom like Philip to Azot us, unlefs he feekit, and 
 feck it in the right way, as he is here directed, by Righ- 
 teoufnefs even the Poghteoufnefsof God, feel^the king- 
 dom of God and his right eoufnefs. 
 
 As no man finds unlefs he feeks : So every one that 
 fceks doth net prefently find, unlefs he feek in the right 
 way. If he err in this, the mere eagerly he feeks, the 
 
 more 
 
r> 
 
 24 The way to Happinefs, 
 
 more he errs, it is but Curfus cehrrimns prtter viam^ 
 and then the ferther he runs,the farther ftill from his home. 
 Above all things therefore it concerns us to be fure of 
 the right way before we run on too furioufly. And fure 
 the way were not hard to be difcovered, but that it is 
 now almoft overgrown like the reft of the field, for want 
 of paffengers. It is indeed unto humane corruption fome- 
 thing tedious and troublefome, rough and rocky } which 
 is the reafon men have diverted into fo many by-paths 
 of their own, hoping to find out fome (horter cut or at 
 leaft a more pleafant paffage into the Kingdom.In this kind 
 certainly, we have had feeking enough yea and too much : 
 every one almoft bending his wits how he may beft fhape 
 the courfe of Religion futable unto his own fancy and af- 
 feftions : Setting up his own Ladder, as St. Auftin faid of 
 that Heretick, that fo he may climbe to Heaven alone by 
 a way which none ever went before him } but wherein 
 he fuppofeth every man thenceforth is bound to follow 
 him. Yea by this means fo many Paths and feveral Alleys 
 have been beaten out, as a Maze may fooner be trodden 
 than fuch intricate labyrinths : and (which is more) eve- 
 ry man contending fo earneftly for his own track, as he 
 condemns and even damns all others that tread never fo 
 little befides his footfteps. Not confidering that men 
 may come to the fame place by feveral trafts, if they run 
 on in the fame road. So long as they agree in neceffary 
 truths and fundamentals, which is via regia, the Kings 
 high way, or rather the high way unto the Kingdom, 
 they may differ in fuch as are difputable and doubtful 5 
 and yet both come fafe enough thither. And yet we 
 may not much complain 3 fo it hath ever fared and will 
 fare with the Church of Chrift. Errours if not herefies 
 muft needs be, that they who love the Truth may be the 
 better approved. But what then is to be done in this 
 cafe ? Amidft thefe doubts and difputes where (hall we 
 
 faften 
 
ZJpon Mat. vi. verfe 33. 225 
 
 faften for that approbation ? fure no way in the world fo 
 fafe and fecureasthis (the foundation we hold in common, 
 (landing unfhaken) to let go difputes, and fall unto pra- 
 ctice 5 leave the unhappy fatal tree of Knowledge, and 
 betake us to the tree of Life : that fince we cannot other- 
 wife find truth, or elfe agree in it 5 we may at leaft feek 
 righteoufneft by which we (hall certainly find both agree- 
 ment and truth a great deal the fooner. For feeking truth 
 too earneftly, unneceffary truth, we may eafily lofe righte- 
 oufhefs and truth too. Vertue and Vice (as he faid t 
 well) being commonly at truce, whilft truth and error are 
 at wars 5 but feeking righteoufnefsin peace we (hall hard- 
 ly fail of truth, Stand up from the dead, faith the A- 
 poftle, and Chrift fhall give thee light, Eph. v. And blefc 
 fed therefore ever be the Counfels of his Royal breaft, 
 whole high prudence by damming up thefe waters of 
 Marah in their Fountain and chafing away bitter dif- 
 putes, that began to overflow this, as they have drow- 
 ned almoft other Countries, hath both refervediruth to 
 more deliberate and appeafed cogitations hereafter, and 
 given peace unto the Church for the prefent : That fo 
 the clafhing of Truth and Errour (indeed truth and 
 truth, errour and errour ) being filenced, Rightcoufnefs 
 and peace may meet, and kite each other the more freely. 
 And that fure will be found the right and beft way too 
 at the laft. For moft afluredly when all conteftations are 
 terminated 3 when all thefe Sophifmes and fubtikies of the r 
 Schools, Subtilitates ultramundane & plnjquam Chry- 
 Jippes, Subtilties, as he faid, beyond the Moon, and (uCu 
 as Chryfippus never dreamt on, (hall vanifh into air, leave 
 and forfake us utterly, it will be rightcoufnefs only that fhall 
 do us good in the end 5 this rightcoufnefs of God and 
 our faithful endeavour in it, that fhall be able to give 
 peace and comfort to the Soul in death, and through death 
 lead and light it into immortality and life. No way in 
 
 G g the 
 
226 Tbe may to Hafpnefs, 
 
 the world, no Kighteoufnefs thither, but this only the 
 good way, the way which the Prophet Samuel long fince 
 difcovered, J will fiew yon the good and the right way, 
 fear the Lord and ferve him in truths and consider how 
 great things he hath done for you. A good and a right, 
 and therefore a right good way. Not that every way 
 which is good, is prefently right, ( feme may have the 
 zeal of God but not according to knowledge) but that 
 undoubtedly it cannot be right, unlefs it be good. What- 
 foever way it be, if it crofs or part with goodnefs, it will 
 in the fame place certainly part with verity : where it 
 leaves rightoufne(s, we may be fure it leaves truth i the 
 true Do&rine being always, as the Apoftle teftifies of it, 
 DoUvina fecundum pietatem^ a do&rine according unto 
 piety^ I Tim. So Re&um eft index fui & obliqui^ That 
 which is right, doth both difcover it felt and other things 
 that are crooked. But be thedo&rine never fo right and 
 righteous, yet if the man be not fo,to what purpofe is it? 
 Had he all truth and were endued with the knowledge 
 of all myfteries 5 yet if he detain that truth in unrighte- 
 oufnels, it (hould profit him nothing , but to augment 
 that wrath of God, which, faith the Apoftle, is already 
 revealed from Heaven againft him. When on the other 
 fide, did he know nothing elfe, nothing but Chrift and 
 him crucified , ( as St. Paul defired to know no more ) 
 yet walking faithfully in that path of Righteoufnefs, 
 which he hath taught and trodden out before him 5 his 
 ignorance of other controvertible truths, or fufpenfion 
 gfcher, I think would hurt him but little. For Righteouf- 
 nefs naturally doth lead into truth, and unlefs men did 
 fii ft forfake it, they could hardly run into dangerous er- 
 rour. For were not the Soul depraved with unrighteous 
 iufts and the judgment of the mind perverted by corrupt 
 affections, it could not eafily refift apparent truth, or not 
 difcern manifeft fallhood, But when the will gives it felf 
 
 over 
 
ZJpon Mat. vi. verfi 53. 227 
 
 over to be ruled by the appetite, no marvel if the in- 
 tellect (naturally fubjeft unto the will.) be as eafily wrapt 
 in errour. Ambition and Avarice, and defire of finning, 
 with fting of Confcience, having once feized upon the 
 Scribes and Pharifees, of old, what ftrange leaven were 
 they foon brought to mingle with the bread of life ? And 
 how mightily have the fame affe&ions fince wrought in 
 many more? Hence, as from the Trojan Horfe, fo many 
 impious, but profitable deceits and devices have iffued 
 forth upon ignorant people: on the one fide, difpenfing 
 with them for their own fins, and difpenfing to them o- 
 ther mens merits, the imaginary treafure of the Church* 
 that the Church might be filled with real. Hence what 
 ftrange pofitions, and unto Piety moft dangerous have 
 been formed,on the other fide ? eftablifhing juftification e- 
 ven in the lofs of (an&ification $ prefumptuoufly cloathing 
 themfelves and their difciples with the righteoufnefs of a- 
 nother even then when they are wilfully unrighteous in 
 themfelves. And fo, not content upon repentance to be 
 juftified by imputation, but have found out, even then 
 whilft they fin, an imputative (indeed a mcer putative) 
 fan&ification 5 that by this means amidft the works of 
 darknefs, in the paradife of conceit, they may ftill remain 
 Children of light. But be not deceived, faith St. John, he 
 that doth righteoufnefi, is righteous. All which, though 
 fpiffe and palpable hallucinations on both parts 5 yet fo 
 long as the eye is not fingle, as our Saviour fpeaks, but 
 blear'd with mifts of profits and pleafu res, they may not 
 eafily be deceived, lets eafily redrefled in either. They 
 may term themfelves as they pleafe^ but fo long as impure 
 defires are feated in the Soul , nothing (hall be able to 
 tie them to the purity of that truth which oppofeth , or 
 withhold them from contending for luch falfhoodsas lute 
 with thofe defires. Itching ears and lufts in the fpirita, 
 neither will nor can endure found Do&rine> faith the A- 
 
 G g 2 poftle. 
 
2 8 The way to Happnefy, 
 
 poftle. But rather than fail, will raife up unto therafelves 
 Teachers after their own lufts, and at their own charge 
 raife preferments for them too, that (b their hired tongues 
 may tickle their ears when they itch, fmooth or fmother 
 their fins 5 In this cafe who (hall prevail, or what (hall 
 give Men light, if in favour of their evil ways, they love 
 darknefs more than light ? It is only the fearch and ftudy 
 of Righteoufnefs that can bring us into the way of truth, 
 and diffolve errours, and their controverfies, by taking 
 away their caufes : by removing thole grofs and earthly 
 afFeftions that like Foggs at noon darken and benight the 
 judgment. The pure and cleanfed heart fljall fee God, 
 iaith our Saviour 5 fee him perfectly hereafter 5 fee of him 
 and his truth more clearly in the prefent 5 as he dothelfe- 
 where affure us. If any wan dcth the will of my Father, 
 heftall know of my do&rine. But befides the nature of 
 Righteoufnefs, leading into truth, the prote&ionand pro- 
 vidence divine feems fpecially to affift and direft it. The 
 very fecrets of the Lord, faith King David, are upon 
 them that fear him 5 who himfelf having refpeft unto the 
 Commandment, became wifer than his Teachers. But 
 however fecrets, yet light enough fure (hall ever fpring- 
 \xp unto the righteous, who have undoubted intereft in 
 the promife of thatComforter,which unto the worlds end, 
 fliall lead into all truths all that is neceffary for the lead- 
 ing of them, when this world ends, into the glory of a 
 better : yea and teach them mildnefs in truths of lefs con- 
 fequence for the prefent. For did we follow rig-hteouf- 
 nefs and not pride and paffion, we (hould eafily learn tor 
 enter on myfteries warily, and to maintain our opinions 
 loberly. And when the ftrife is peradventure, but about 
 a crackt pane in the Window 5 or a loofe tyle in the Roof, 
 as he faid well 5 not to raife fuch ftirs and outcryes as if 
 the Foundation were prefently endangered. It is only 
 tfce judgment; which Righteoufnefs- hath< cleared from 
 
 perturbation^ 
 
Vfon Mat. vi. verfe 33. 229 
 
 perturbations, that can difcern the neceffity of points, and 
 direft our profecution accordingly 5 inftrufting us not to 
 call every problematical queftion by the name of necefla* 
 ry and infallible truth 5 but agreeing in fundamentals, ei- 
 ther to leave fuperedifications to the try al of that fire, 
 which will prove whether they are Gold or Stubble 5 or 
 elfe difpute themib calmly, as neither, peace be difturbed, 
 nor charity deftroyed } according, ftnon fententiis,fal- 
 tern animis, if not in opinion, yet in love and affefti- 
 on. 
 
 And for thefe regards and many more (indeed any but 
 that of imputation) is jufkly termed his Righteoufncfs, the 
 Righteoufnefs of God. It is that Image of the Father, 
 the chief lineaments of that fimilitude of God, wherein we 
 were at the firft formed, and wheretmto we are ftill crea- 
 ted; Created unto good work* that we might walJ^ in 
 them, Eph. ii. 10. It is the end and purpofe of the Sons 
 Redemption, That we being delivered from the hands 
 of our enemies, might ferve him in holinefs a>nd right l e- 
 oufnefs, before him all the days of our lives- The intent 
 and effeft of the Spirits vocation, for we are called not 
 to uncleannefs, but to holineft, and that not outwardly 
 only by the word, but inwardly by the power of the 
 Holy Ghoft 5 cleanfing from all filthinefs of Flefh and Spi- 
 rit, that he may purge unto himfelf a peculiar people ^ 
 zealous of good works 5 yea it is, I fay, not the form that 
 doth juftiry in it felf \ bat the quality that only can qua- 
 lifie for justification and entitle unto it, as it is taken for 
 remiffion of (ins in Chrift. Blejfed are they t\hit do his 
 Commandments, that they may have right unto thg 
 tree of life, Revel, xxii. That tree of life is Chrift^ in 
 whom without Righteoufnefs, no Man liath any right: 
 who came by water and blood, iaith the fame St. John 
 elfcwhere : firft cleanfing and then pardoning. For as he 
 doth fanftifie as well ss jufufie; lb I take it he doth £ 
 
 fthftifia 
 
■2 %o The way to Happnefs, 
 
 fan&ifie before he juftifie, and no longer juftifie than he 
 doth fan&ifie. Laftly, it is the diredt and unavoidable 
 means, though not merit of glorification : without holi- 
 nefs no man fh all fee God, nor any enter into the King- 
 dom of God. 
 
 So many ways is it the Righteoufnefs of God 5 and fo 
 many ways no lefs neceffary for Man, as being indeed 
 All in All 5 thefolnefs of the Law, the full effeft of the 
 Gofpel, the fubftance of Gods revealed will in both, This 
 is the will of God even your fan&ification. But what 
 then becomes of Faith? for this feems to be altogether 
 work ? Is that nothing unto the way that leads unto the 
 Kingdome ? Surely yes, much every way, but yet with- 
 out Righteoufnefs not any thing : For Faith is not op- 
 pofite to Righteoufnefs, but a part of it 3 the very foun- 
 tain or root from whence it is immediately derived. 
 For true Faith is ever that of the Heart not of the Brain, 
 and with the heart man believeth unto righteoufnefs. It 
 is neither Faith nor Works apart and fevered, that can do 
 us good, but Fides operans a working faith , faith work- 
 ing by love, and love is the fulfilling of the law, faith the 
 Apoftle. This is that a&ive Faith fo much magnified in 
 the xi. to the Hebrews , by the power whereof thole 
 Worthies there, of whom the world was not worthy, be- 
 fides many other great things, efpecially wrought righte- 
 oufnefs : and gained the promifes, v. 33. And to thefe 
 and the like Worthies it is that that Angel points in the 
 Revel. Hi funt, Thefe are they that keep the Command- 
 ments of God and the faith of Jefus. To (hew that none 
 keep his faith as they (hould, that do not keep his Com- 
 mandments, Revel, xiv. 12. Indeed it is the keeping not 
 the believing of the Faith that is available. J have kspt 
 the faith, faith St. Paul, henceforth is laid up for me Co- 
 rona Jujlititf, a Crown of righteoufnefs. Faith kept 
 is Righteoufnefs 5 and fuch faithful righteoufnefs only it 
 
 is, 
 
ZJpon Mat. vi. verfe 53. 231 
 
 is, that (hall be crowned at laft. Rjghteoufnefs therefore 
 the only way unto the Kingdom : and fo by all thofe that 
 would come thither, of all things elfe and in all regards 
 moft efpecially to be fought for, with their beft ftrength 
 and utmoft endeavour. For it is not qn£ritc, but pri- 
 mum qutirite, not feek only, but feel^ ye fir ft. The laft 
 point, but muft be briefly handled, though indeed it hath 
 two points. 
 
 As Fir ft hath a double fignification : for it either re- 
 fpe&s time, or earneftnefs of intention. And in both re- 
 gards for time, and intention of travel we are to feck, 
 and firft to feek, the righteoufnefs of God 5 if we defire 
 to enter the Kingdom of God. 
 
 The actions of Piety and Righteoufnefs are the high- 
 eft and nobleft operations of the Soul, and therefore of 
 more worthy They runcrofs and counter to the bent of 
 our corrupt affe&ions \ and foot more difficulty ,than may 
 be lightly and eafily atchieved. Indeed facilis defccn- 
 fus avtmi^ it is a detent down the hill, the fwing of 
 our own corruptions can carry us headlong thither * but 
 the way of lift is on high, faid King Solomon, Virtue 
 muft upwards and hale the heavy body after it 5 climb 
 Hills, and craggy Mountains: hie labor hoc opus, this is 
 not without fweat and difficulty. But notwithstanding 
 all difficulties, virtus ant inveniet antfaciet viam* The 
 fpirit of God by the 'power of that almighty faith, to 
 which all things are poiLble, will and muft break through 
 them all. To do good and fuffer evil, to deny our felves 
 and take up the Crols, to fubdue lufts and root out af- 
 fections, and the like, till it come to that point, thefe are 
 juftitiA culmina the heights and fteps of righteoufneis, 
 and up we muft, though like Jonathan, and his Armo> 
 bearer, we creep on ail four, hands and knees for it, on the 
 knees of humble and fervent prayer ^ but ufing the hfl 
 too,faithful and diligent endeavounAnd thcivfoie it is not 
 
 ev 
 
a 3 2 77?£ wy to Happinefs, 
 
 every cold and carelefs feeking that will be fufficient. The 
 way is narrow and the gate ftrait : contendite intrare, 
 ftrive, faith our Saviour, for many Jfj all fee ^ (leek negli- 
 gently) and fljall not be able to enter. Nay more than 
 ftrive, and ftruggle too. / prefs ha-rd, faith the Apoftle, 
 for the price of the high calling which is in Chriji Jefus. 
 He well knew that though no Man be Crowned unlejfs 
 he ftrive for it 5 yet that every ftriving doth not prefent- 
 ly gain the Crown, nift legitime certaverit, unlefs he 
 ftrive as he ought. And therefore he fought not as thole 
 that beat the air, but as he that means to conquer : for e- 
 ven this Kingdom is not gained, but by conqueft. The 
 Kingdom of heaven fuffers violence^and the violent take 
 it by force. In this point we need not fear offending in 
 excefs. Modus amandi Deum, eft fine modo amare, the 
 meafure of loving God is to love him without meafure. 
 In opinions indeed and difputes that have their extreams, 
 moderation may be good and commendable, (difputants in 
 heat and paffion, fuppofing they are never far enough a- 
 funder till both be equally fundred from the truth, and 
 then in this cafe to halt, as they fay, between two opini- 
 ons, may be to walk moft uprightly) but no fuch here 5 
 to halt between two Matters, between God and Mam- 
 mon, God and Belial,Cod and Baal'xs moft infufferable, 
 yea more than the clear rejeftion of him. Vtinan cali- 
 dus ejjes ant frigidus, I would you were hot or cold, 
 faith the Lord to feme in the Revelations. As if fince 
 they were not throughly hot, he had rather by much 
 they v/ere utterly cold, than in that faint temper between 
 both : fit for nought but evomition,as is there threatned 5 
 for the indignation of God rifeth at nothing fo much, as 
 when Men neither fo cold as to contemn Religion , nor 
 yet fo hot as to forfake their fins, prefent him with a 
 cooler mixture of both. Better therefore be a pure Gen- 
 tile, or a gracelefs (inner 5 than a compounded and per- 
 
 fun&ory 
 
ZJpon Mat. vi. verfe 33. 233 
 
 fun&ory Chriftian 3 worfe than either, and harder to be 
 cured 5 his mediocrity being grown venerable unto the 
 world and himfelf, under the (hew and title of calmnefi, 
 and moderation. For which caufe, that may be verified 
 of thefe our Saviour faid of others, Publicans and har- 
 lots ft all fo oner enter the kingdom of heaven. If we 
 mean to find entrance there, it may not be by the formal 
 and falfehearted feeking , feek the Lord and you (hall find 
 him, but if you feek him with all your heart and with 
 all your foul : otherwife inftead of finding a Kingdom 
 we may chance to fall upon a curfe. Cur fed be he that 
 doth the worJ^of the Lord negligently. Seek ye there- 
 fore firft with all Indujiry and with all Jpeed too: 
 that it may be the firft thing you feek, every way firft, 
 in time as well as in intention. Death is uncertain and 
 delays are dangerous 5 whilft we take farther day unto 
 our felves, enlarging our time, as the rich Fool did his 
 Barns, God oftentimes derides us as he did him. Stulte 
 hac noffe, Thou Fool this night JJj all thy foul betaken 
 from thee. And who in his own particular knows the 
 length and date of this his day ? who can tell how many 
 hours there are in it, or how many of them are fpent al- 
 ready ? How (bon that now, that henceforth of obftru- 
 ftion and blindnefs may come upon him, and refufing to 
 clcanfe his Soul whilft the Spirit, like that Angel in the 
 Pool of Bethefda, is moving the waters $ how fuddenly 
 he may fill under that fearful Sentence of the fame Spi- 
 rit in the Revelation^ He that is filthy, let him be filthy 
 Jlill. If that Fig-tree were curfed even before the time 
 of fruit in comparifon was come, before the Gofpel was 
 throughly publifhed} may not thole that have lived long 
 under the bright beams and Sun- (Line of it, and ftill bring 
 forth nought but leaves, of fbew and formality, havejuft 
 caufe to fear every moment the approach and probation of 
 that final and fatal doom.lV ever fruit grow on thee more ? 
 
 H h Whilft 
 
234 The way to Haffiinefs, 
 
 Whilft Men in their preemption are fporting themfelves 
 and grieving God with their fins, God in his wrath, in the 
 mean while,may be fwearing they (hall never enter into his 
 reft. Undoubtedly did the rays of true wifdom and di- 
 vine pierce into the Soul 5 had the heart any true impref- 
 (ton of future things or of the vanity of the prefent 5 did 
 Men tafteand relifh the good gift of God and the powers 
 of the world to come 5 they would not permit any quiet 
 to their Spirits or peace unto their Souls, till their Souls 
 had made and gained peace with their God, and freed 
 themfelves from fuch uncertainties. This is the Haven of 
 our Reft, and Heaven upon Earth, and we that fee it may 
 well fay unto our Souls, better than he did fay, but faw 
 it U0t,6) quid agis attimj mea d fortiter ccckpaportttm .•■ 
 what doft thou O my Soul ? the Port is before thee 5 
 fteer away before Sea and Wind manfully 5 foul weather 
 is behind thee, make hafte to efcape the ftormy Wind 
 and Tempeft. And however there (hould chance not to 
 be any, for there may be room for mifertcorciia Domi- 
 ni inter font em & font em, He hath not (but up life nor 
 the gate of his mercy upon any: yet it will concern wife 
 men to fear the worft, that is more likely, and prevent 
 it,, whilft they have time y to work the work of the Lord 
 whilft it is yet high day, before that dreadful and terri- 
 ble night approach wherein no man can work. To de- 
 fer it to the eleventh hour, to the evening and twilight, 
 were a preemption too full of boldnefs 3 efpecially fince 
 our Sun may fetat noon and our light go out in themidft 
 of our life. For we are but duft as our Fathers were 5 
 and the Spirit of the Lord will not always ftrive with us* 
 Let us therefore laying afide all delays be refolute and vi- 
 gilant^ attending (peedily to open when it pleafeth him 
 to knock 5 when he calls, inftantly to anfwer, Lolcome, 
 when he (ays, feek ye my face, to echo immediately , 
 iby face Lord> will I fiei^ So feeking his face in holi- 
 
 ne(s 
 
ZJpon Mat. vi. verfe 95. 235 
 
 nefs here, you may be fare to fee it in glory hereafter. 
 In the mean time, that God who hath added all things 
 el(e plentifully unto you all, abundantly unto one, con- 
 tinue and multiply his favours unto all, but principally 
 and above all unto that one. For fince it is one of the 
 laft fervices your Majefty, before your journey, is to re- 
 ceive from this place, I would not willingly leave it, with- 
 out one word of apprecation. For though I may not 
 blefs, yet 1 may pray : God almighty whom you feek and 
 ferve, hath blefled you ever hitherto * and may his faith- 
 fulnefs and truth be your (Held and prote&ion ever here- 
 after. He that went with Abraham in his Journey, be 
 with you in yours: Let him lead you forth in peace, and 
 to the joy of all hearts, return you again in fafety. May 
 he carry you from Crown unto Crown, from one King- 
 dome to another upon earth 5 and having miniftred all 
 things elfe unto you according to your hearts defire here, 
 may he at laft, (and let that be late) minifter an entrance 
 unto you alfo abundantly into his own Kingdom , this 
 Kingdom of God. Whcreunto the fame God of his in- 
 finite mercy vouchfafe to bring us all for and in the me- 
 ritorious blood of his dearly beloved Son and our moft 
 bleffed Saviour Jefus Chrift. Amen. 
 
 Lata Deo in sternum. 
 
 H h 
 
1^6 A Preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 A 
 
 PREPARATION 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 Holy COMMUNION. 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 Upon iCoRi xi. 28. ; 
 
 Outlet a man examine hhnfelf, and fo let him eat of 
 that Bread and drink of that Cup. 
 
 TH E holy but fearful Sacrament of the body and 
 blood of our Lord as it is the higheft and no- 
 bleft Inftitution the Chriftian Religion hath: 
 fo is it to be approached unto*with thegreateft 
 reverence and regard. For as it affords ineftimable com- 
 fort to the worthy participant : fo not lefs danger and ter- 
 rour to the unworthy Receiver. He that takes it muft 
 know he takes a powerful medicine, that will work one 
 way or other 5 either cure or kill, prove wholfom Phy-, 
 fick, or deadly poyfon. As the patient is prepared, fo it 
 works this way or that 3 even either life or death. For the 
 blood w hich is received, if it do not wafh and cleanfe,it will 
 certainly ftain and dy the Soul of the Receiver : which 
 
 muft 
 
ZJpon i Co r. xi. verfe 28. 237 
 
 muft be made partaker, or (hall be made guilty : cither 
 partaker of the vertue, or guilty of the (bedding thereof 
 to his endlefs deftruftion that receives it unworthily. 
 The guilt you have in the precedent Verfe, He jhall be 
 guilty of the body and blood of the hard- The deftru- 
 ftion in the fubfequent, he eateth and drinksth damna- 
 tion to himfelj not dijcerning the Lords body. The ex- 
 hortation in my Text lies between both,that it might be the 
 more vehemently enforced, and every man might know 
 how much it behoveth him diligently to examine himfclf 
 before he eat of that bread and drink of that Cup, But 
 let a man examine, &c. Wherein you fee there are two 
 general parts: firft a preparation, then an admiffion un- 
 to the blefled Sacrament of the body and blood of our 
 Saviour. The Admijfion in the latter part, Let him 
 eat 5 andthe preparation in the former, but firft let a man 
 examine, &c Of the holy Sacrament it felf and an ad- 
 miffion unto thereafter v^t this time only of the prepa- 
 ration that fhould go before it. Wherein you may con- 
 fidcr, 1. The Ad wherein it confifts, Examination 3 and 
 then the objeft of that Aft, himfclf Let a man, &c. 
 But we (hall run both together , and out of both draw 
 thefe points , which we will commend to your obfer- 1 
 vation. 
 
 1. Becaufe the end of examination is to prepare cur 
 (elves, we will fhew the neceffity of this preparation. 
 
 2. That we may know wherein to examine our felves,' 
 we will confider the quality and extent of that prepa- 
 ration which is neceflary, for the making and couftituting 
 of a worthy Receiver. 
 
 3. We will (hew that the beft means to attain unto this 
 preparation or qualification, is the ftudy and know- 
 ledge of our felves and our own ways. 
 
 4. Becaufe the heart of man is deceitful above all 
 things, and we arc all apt to deceive our. felves in jud 
 
2 8 A T reparation for the Holy Communion y 
 
 of our felves, that it is not a fuperficial view but a drift 
 examination that muft give the juft and true knowledge 
 of our (elves. 
 
 5. And laftly, we will make and pra&ife this exami- 
 nation in thofe points we have found neceffary : that after 
 it they who are approved in their own Conferences, may 
 chearfully approach unto the facred Myfteries, and eat of 
 that bread and drink of that Cup to their endlefs com- 
 fort 5 and others that are not fo, (as I think few are) may 
 .firft reform themfelves , left they eat and drink as the 
 Apoftle here threatens,damnation to themfelves : Sothefe 
 five, The neceffity of preparation, and what the prepa- 
 tion is that is fo neceffary : That the beft means to attain 
 it, is the knowledge of our (elves 5 and the beft way to 
 come to this knowledge, examination: which examina- 
 tion becaufe it is the chief point, we will ftridly make, 
 in the laft place, that according to it, we may either ap- 
 prove or reform our felves before we prefume to come to 
 the dreadful Sacrament of the body and blood of our 
 Lord : Thefe 5. 1 fay we (hall at this time asGodftiallinable, 
 profecute in their order 3 but plainly, as defirous to leave 
 you rather better than more learned. And firft of the firft, 
 the neceffity of preparation, But let am an examine, &c. 
 The end of examination is preparation } for to exa- 
 mine and not to prepare our felves, were but to fee our 
 own foulnefs and refufe to cleanfe it } to inquire into our 
 Lords will, and negleft it when we have done : and that 
 will only make us worthy of more ftripes. And there- 
 fore he that commands the one, doth in the fame words 
 of neceffity in join the other. And indeed holy and Di- 
 vine Myfteries as in reafon they require an holy and fan- 
 dified preparation s fo in Scripture hath it ever been pre- 
 ferred and exafted at their hands , that (hall draw near 
 unto them : yea the very Heathen Priefts would not en- 
 ter upon their Superftitious Ceremonies to their falfe 
 
 Gods 
 
ZJfon i Cor. xi. verfiiS. 229 
 
 Gods without firft proclaiming a, procul ejie profj ni, all 
 profane and unhallowed perfons be ye far awa y. And 
 it was the ufe in the Primitive Church for the Miniftcr 
 as it is in St. Bajils Liturgy, or the Deacon his Affiftant 
 as Chryfoflom hath it, To cry with a loud voice before 
 the Communion Sarttfa Sandis, holy things pertain un- 
 to holy people. And for this caufe it was that the Lord 
 gave fuch fhi& command in Law that no uncircumciled 
 perfon (hould prefume to eat of the Pafchal Lamb 5 nor Exod. : 
 yet any circumcifed neither under four days preparation ^\. 
 and fan&ification of themfelves. With what reverence xxl1 ' 6 ' 
 then and awful regard fhould we draw near unto the 
 true Pallover, in the blelled Sacrament, which fucceeds 
 in the room of that other ?' and exceeds it too,, no left 
 than the fubftance doth the (hadow, than the body and 
 blood of the Son of God, doth the flefh and blood of a 
 Lamb, taken from the flock ? To (hew this, our Saviour 
 himfelf at his laft fupper, arifeth from the Table, takes 
 the Bafon and the Towel, wafhes and wipes his Di£ 
 ciples feet before he would inftitute his bleffed Sacra- 
 ment or fuffer them to be Communicants at it. Now by 
 the feet in holy Scripture are meant the afft&ionsof the 
 heart 5 for as by the feet the body walks, fo by the aP- 
 feftions the Soul moves to whatfoever it defires: They are 
 the fpringsand Fountains of all her vital operations $ and 
 as the Fountains are, fiich are the ft reams 5 if thofc be 
 troubled, thefe will be foul 5 if they be clcanfed, the other 
 will run clear. And therefore thefe feet, thefe affeftions 
 of the heart being once wafhed ( the meditations of the 
 head, the words of the mouth and the aftions of the 
 hand, which are but rivers flowing from the abundance 
 of the heart and the hearts afle&ionb) cannot but partake 
 of the (lime purity. For which rea(bn when Peter who 1 
 at the firft was not willing to be wafht at all, afterwards 
 was defirous to have all wa(lit 5 h\s head and his hands 
 
 as-* 
 
2 40 A ¥ reparation for the Holy Communion^ 
 
 as well as his feet 5 our Saviour replies, he that is wafjjed 
 needeth not to waff) fave his feet only, for then he is 
 clean every whit, Job. xiii. 10. The feet then, the affe&i- 
 ons ot the Soul, on whofe cleannefs doth depend the pu- 
 rity of the whole man and all his a&ions, thefe are they 
 that our Saviour by this aft of his own doth inftruQ: us 
 carefully to wafh and cleanfe, before they tread a ftep to- 
 wards his holy Table. How can they there exped to be 
 partakers of him, who himfelf in that place told Peter 
 that without this wafhing he could have no part in him ? 
 They fruftrate the end and benefit of the holy Sacrament, 
 they proftitute the bleffed myfteries themfelves, they dif 
 honour both them and the Majefty of that God who is 
 prefent at and in them 3 who prefume with unwafht feet, 
 unhallowed affe&ions to enter upon the (acred Symbols 
 fan&ified with the peculiar prefenceof the precious body 
 and blood of the Son of the everliving God. No mar- 
 vel therefore if fuch profaners of this blood are held as 
 guilty of the (hedding of it which was purpofely (bed to 
 cleanfe them from the guilt of their fins 5 if infteadof. feal- 
 ing falvation to their own Souls they do but eat damna- 
 tion to themfelves for not difcerning the body of their 
 Lord. For did they difcern it, did they underftand and 
 conceive it to be there,they could not but approach unto 
 it with greater reverence, with much more heed and aw- 
 ful regard. When it was at the worft and loweft eftate 
 the malicious Jews could bring it to, bereaved of all form 
 and beauty, yea and of that bleffed Soul which dwelt 
 within it 5 and now remained only a dead and crucified 
 Caikafe, all over gaping with wounds, and gored with 
 blood 3 yet even then with what care and reverent re- 
 f di was it handled by the good Arimathean .<? It was 
 wrapt up in fine and clean Linnen, imbalmed with fweet 
 Oyntmens and perfumes, and laid in a new Sepulcher 
 hewen out of the Rock : How then and with what high 
 
 efteem 
 
ZJfeH i Cor. xl verfe a 8. 241 
 
 efteem fhould we, ( we that are to be made not Sepul- 
 chers, but Shrines and Temples, not of his ignominious, 
 but glorified body, not of his body only,butof his whole 
 perfon, of his body and blood and Soul and Divinity 
 and all) how I fay and with what diligent preparation 
 fhould we fee that all things be pure and clean, and fweet, 
 and new, where ftich a gueft is to be entertained, where 
 he is not to be lodged for a night or two, but to inhabit, 
 where he is not to lye a while as in the grave, but to 
 dwell and live forever? This were fomething to the 
 purpofe, and we fhould then (hew we difcerned the 
 Lords body , which now we feem not at all to regard 5 
 eating and drinking of his flefhand blood with no more 
 reverence and refpeft, than if we were at an ordinary 
 Table of Bread and Wine. Nay Iaffure my fel£ many 
 of us make more preparation, being but to dine with 
 fome Neighbour , than they do to come to the great 
 Kings fupper. They can with all diligence apparel and 
 trim up the outward man, againft every ordinary feaft 5 
 in the mean time neglecting the inward man of the Soul, 
 little regarding how foul and flovcnly that comes to the 
 holy Banquet. But let fuch carelefs men in time take 
 heed 5 the wrath of the Lord hath never fhown it felf 
 more terribly, than on the profaners of holy things, efpe- 
 cially his own holy prefence. Many and fearful are the 
 examples in this kind. The great King of Babel no 
 fooner polluted the Sanctified Veilels, but even whilft he 
 is carrouzingin the bowls of the Temple, a ftrange hand 
 from heaven writes his doom on the wall before him : 
 the terror whereof loofeth the joints of his loyns, and 
 makes his knees knock one againft another : which was 
 but a forerunner of his mine, who that night loft at once 
 both his Kingdom and his life. But how dreadful was 
 that judgment in the 1 of Sam, vi. where fifty thoufand 
 Souls are luddenly ftruck dead for but looking irreve- 
 
 I i rently 
 
^ ±2 A T reparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 rently into the holy Ark 5 and Vzzah inftantly fmitten 
 with the like vengeance for but touching it with profane 
 hands, though with a good intent to hold it up when in 
 his judgment it was like to fall? And fhall we who are 
 permitted (I fay not, to touch or to look into the move- 
 able, buf) to walk into the (landing Ark, the Temple of 
 the Lord, yea to enter in within the Vail and ap- 
 proach-up even to the Mercy-feat, and eat of the holy 
 fhew bread that (lands before the Lord, if we continue 
 to pollute that (acred place and banquet with our un- 
 wa(ht feet, unclean and impure affections, fhall we think 
 to efcape alone without wrath from Heaven ? Let no 
 Soul flatter it felf with fuch a bold and mad prefamption. 
 The divine indignation that informer times was wonte- 
 ver almoft to follow fuch profanations at the heels, 
 though in thefe later ages the great day of final accounts 
 drawing on, it feem to ilacken the pace 5 yet it will cer- 
 rainly overtake them one time or other, if not here in 
 this world, yet infallibly in that other hereafter, though 
 oftentimes even in this alfo. 
 
 Even at this inftant when the Apoftle wrote this very 
 Chapter, the Lord had fenta fearful (icknefs amongft the 
 Corinthians, and that for this very caufe, their profa- 
 ning of the Sacrament '-> as you may read the words imme- 
 diately following my Text. For this caufe, faith he, fome 
 are even novo fie \, others weak^, and many amongfi you 
 fallen ajleep ; that is, taken away by bodily death. But 
 however it go with us now, yet at that day when the 
 great King fhall come to take a particular view of his 
 guefts, he will not fail to find out all thofe carelefs peo- 
 ple, that have prefumed to fit down at his table without 
 their wedding garments, and pronounce upon them that 
 heavy doom in the Gofpel, take them, bind them hand 
 dnd foot, and cafi them into utter darkjtefr, there f jail 
 he weeping and gnafoing of teeth. S,o necefiary is this 
 
 duty 
 
ZJpon i Co r. xi. verfe 28. 243 
 
 duty of reverent preparation, and (b great the neceflity 
 urged upon the high terms of no lefs than plagues and 
 punifhments here, and deftru&ion forever hereafter. So 
 true is that of our Apoftle, he that eateth unworthily 
 doth hut eat judgment unto himfilf\ (b the word im- 
 ports, judgment temporal, though he repent, and with- 
 out repentance damnation eternal j and that in fo hein- 
 ous a manner as ii he were guilty of the very body and 
 blood of the Lord, no lefs than the cruel Jews that (bed 
 the one and crucified the other, or treacherous Judas 
 that betrayed both. Well then, neceflary it is and highly: 
 But to come to the fecond point, let us now fee what the 
 preparation is that is fo neceflary : wherein it confifts, 
 and how far it extends that muft denominate and make 
 a worthy Receiver. Surely though no Man living be 2. 
 abfolute worthy in himfelf, or can by any means attam 
 unto that entire and compleat worth which is fully an- 
 fwerable unto the dignity and holinefs of thofe (acred 
 myfteries, yet it pleafeth God of his grace to accept of 
 him for a worthy Receiver of them that doth truly and 
 faithfully endeavour to receive them with a competent 
 meafure of that reverence, and thofe qualifications which 
 he hath prefcribed in his word, amongft which, Know- 
 ledge^ Faith, Repentance, Love and Charity, Love to 
 God and Charity to our Brethren, I fuppofc,are the chief 
 if not all. And thefe fure at leaft are fimply neceflary, 
 by them we muft examine and with them we muft pre- 
 pareour (elves, whofocver will be worthy Receivers. 
 
 Firft with Knowledge,an honeft degree of knowledge; Knowledge 
 what the myfteries are,what they fignitie and exhibite: for 
 what purpofe they were ordained of God and are received 
 by our felves. Thus much fecms requiiite in the meaneft 
 capacity 5 for fo long as we are ignorant of thefubftantial 
 parts and fundamental doctrine of the Sacrament, fo long 
 as we neither know nor confider the main ends and pur- 
 
 I i 2 pofes 
 
244 A Preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 pofes for which it was inftituted, how can. we poffibly 
 prepare our felves worthily to receive it? we (hall fail 
 fhort for want of difcerning the body of the Lord. And 
 in this every Man ought to examine himfelf 3 and many 
 Men others too as well as themfelves. It is not the pro- 
 per duty of the Miniftcr of Go J only to Catechife : every 
 Father and Mother of a Family, is or ought to be in this 
 regard as a Minifter within his own charge. It is our part, 
 not to be ftill laying of the Foundations and Principles of 
 the Doctrine of Chiift, but to lead you on towards per- 
 fcftion, Heb.v'i. 1. As St. Pet ir the Apoftle faid of mini- 
 firing at Tables, nay as St. Pauloi Baptifm it felf, I was 
 not fevt to baptife but to preach : So we may much more 
 fay of Catechizing, We were not fent to Catechife but to 
 preach the Gofpel : our office is to difpenfe the Word 
 and Sacraments, yours it is properly to prepare : yours it 
 is tp teach and inftruft your Children and Servants, that 
 they may be fit and capable to receive both f> though the 
 lloth and ignorance of thefe times, to your fin and (hame, 
 hath caft this burden wholly upon our (houlders moft Fa- 
 thers for the want of willingnefs or knowledge deferving 
 to be Catechifed no lefs than the Children that are un- 
 der them 5 yea in my underftanding much more, having 
 !oft in their age, that little which they learned in their 
 youtk 
 Fa-ib. The fecond qualification is Faith 5 without it, it is im- 
 
 poffible to pleafe God ^ as in any other duties we can 
 exhibite unto him, fo efpecially in this of the Sacrament 
 It is the eye of the Soul, by which we behold and look 
 upon 3 the hand by which we lay hold and apprehend 3 
 she very mouth by which we eat and receive the Body 
 and Blood of our Redeemer, given and applied unto us 
 m thefe rayftical figures. Non dentes jedfidem, prepare 
 not therefore thy teeth but thy Faith, faith Sr. Aug, (or 
 vr$de & mewdacafli^ believe, ajnd thou hail eaten. And 
 
 for 1 
 
ZJpo?i i Cor. xi. verfe 2S. 245 
 
 for this duty, we fuppofe there needs little preparation 
 or tryal, every Man thinks he can readily aflure and ac- 
 quit himfelf in the performance 5 but when we come to 
 examination anon, we (hall find it a harder matter than 
 we imagine, to believe aright and as we ought. 
 
 The third ofthefe preparatory qualifications is Repen- Rtpintanet. 
 tance, which though it be alio generally required as pre- 
 cedaneous unto all facrifices and ferviccs which we offer 
 unto God, according to that of the Apoftle, Let him de- 
 part from iniquity^ whofoever will call upon the name 
 of the Lord : yet the more holy and facred the actions 
 are^ the more especially ought we to clcanfe our (elves 
 and purge our fins and corruptions before we go about 
 them: for I will be fan&ified faith the Lord m thofe 
 that draw near unto me : And nearer well we cannot 
 draw unto God or God unto us, than in this Sacrament } 
 ordained of purpofe to joyn and unite both in one. But 
 do we think his pure and precious body will vouchfafe 
 to be received and dwell in an unclean and polluted Soul? 
 (hall this'bread, panis deCtzh^ bread from Heaven, the 
 Childrens bread, as it is in the Gofpel, and indeed the 
 food of Angels, (hall it be given, do we imagine, unto 
 whelps ? (hall thefe precious Pearls of the Gofpel fhel I'd up 
 in Divine Myfteries be opened and caft unto* Swine? 
 (hall the cup of the Teftament be given unto him, that 
 bath nothing to do with the Covenant ? furely no, What 
 haji thou to do, faith God in the Pfalms, to tal^e my Co- 
 venant in thy mouth Jo long as thou hateji to be reform* 
 ed ? to take it in thy mouth fo much as by naming of it 5 
 how much leis haft thou to do to take the blood of the 
 Covenant in thy mouth by receiving it, fo long as thou 
 refuleft to reform thy felf by true Repentance? This 
 therefore is the main and principal part of our qualifica- 
 tion wherein we cannot be too diligent and careful : and \ 
 the othct of Love is like unto 'vu 
 
 Of; 
 
i^6 A Preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 Love. Of Love firft unto God who hath (hewn fuch marvel- 
 
 lous Love unto us, and from us (hould receive all Love 
 and thankfulnefs again. And then unto our brethren, 
 that as God hath loved us, fo (hould we alfo (hew Love 
 and Mercy unto one another. 
 
 In regard of the />/?, this bleffed Sacrament is well 
 termed the Encharifl, that is, the Sacrament of thankfgi- 
 ving, wherein by the affiftance of the blefled Spirit we do 
 in all thankfulnefs and grateful return of our beft affe- 
 ftions, folemnly commemorate the wonderful Love of 
 the Son that fuffered , and the infinite goodnefs and mer- 
 cy of the Father that gave him to death for the fins of 
 the world. In regard of the other (the Love of our bre- 
 thren)it is as rightly (tiled a Communion ,that is,a common 
 union for fo it is doubly ,a common union of our felves a- 
 mongftourfelves,and of all unto our Saviour } But firft we 
 muft be united unto one another,before we be united unto 
 him: as wedrirk of one cup and eat of one bread, fo 
 we muft be knit into one body myftical by Love, or we 
 (hall never be knit unto our head Chrift Jefiis by Faith. 
 What union canft thou expeft with him fo long as thou 
 art at variance with thofe for whom he died ? His blood 
 was (hed for us all whilft we were yet enemies, and (hall 
 we think we may drink it, and in it remiflion of fins to 
 our felves, fo long as we refute to remit the fins of ano- 
 ther? can we hope or exped that mercy from God, 
 which we will not (hew to our own fie(h ? No, no, if 
 without this thou thinkeft to receive any favour from 
 him, or look he (hould receive or accept any facrifice 
 from thee, thou deceived thy felf It is his rule in the 
 Gofpel, If when thoucomeft to offer at his Altar, thou 
 remembreft that thy Brother hath ought againft thee, 
 leave thy gift there, go and firft be reconciled to him, 
 then come and offer thine oblation, Ecce honor em fuum 
 dejpicit^ dum in proximo charitatem requirit. .Behold 
 
 (faith 
 
ZJpon iCor. xi. verfe 28. 247 
 
 (faith Cbryfoft*) how he preferreth thy Charity before 
 his own honour ; who will not accept of any facrifice to 
 himfelf, till thou haft fhown love to thy neighbour. And 
 fo here thefe four, Knowledge, Faith, Repentance and 
 Love , are as you fee the principal qualifications where- 
 with due preparation muft of necetiity adorn and beau- 
 tific the Soul:, they are the feveral parts, whereof that 
 Wedding-garment muft be made up, wherewith it is to be 
 arrayed, and wherein every one muft appear that would 
 be held and accepted of God for a worthy Receiver. And 
 thus much of the firft points, the preparation and the ne- 
 ceffity of it drawn from the phrafe and commanding 
 force of the Text, Let a man examine him ft I fc for this 
 [£?/] is not pcrmiffive, let him do it if he will^ or if he 
 will not let him chufe, but mandatory and imperative, 
 let him fee and be fure that he doth it : and that under 
 pain of damnation, as it follows in the next verfe. 
 
 Proceed we now in the third place unto the aft whereby 
 that preparation is made, and thefe qualifications are beft 
 attained unto, and that is a diligent fearch and examina- 
 tion of our felves and ways. Let a Man ex mine himfelf 
 For certainly the readieft way and direftcft unto due pre- 
 paration rs the true and faithful knowledge of the right 
 temper and difpofition of our own Souls. And therefore 
 next unto the book of God, Man himfelfis the beft book 
 he can ftudy, fince the knowledge of himfelf (as the ve- 
 ry heathen Plnlofophers could acknowledge) is the be- 
 ginning and fountain of all both Wildom and Goodncfs : 
 of Wifdom, becaufe as himfelfis a microcofm and com- 
 pendiary fum of all creatures, fo the knowledge of him- 
 felf cannot but be the fum and brief abftract of all fcien- 
 ces: andof goodnefs, becaufe he is evil without remedy 
 that doth not underftand how evil he is : for of neceffi- 
 ty he muft know his own corruption before he can eleanfc 
 and purge it, which is the rcafon tUat evil Men, who 
 
 though 
 
248 A V reparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 though they love not evil as evil, yet love the pleafure 
 of it : are fo nice to enter into their own Souls, and 
 fearful to make too ftrid a fearch into the pollutions of 
 their hearts, left they (hould be driven to abandon and 
 forfake them when they cannot retain without too much 
 trouble to their own Confidence. Rightly therefore Se- 
 neca^ Mdli ublq\junt^ prxterqvdm fecum, wicked Men 
 are willingly every where elfe, rather than at home, 
 they are ftill gadding abroad, and the lefs they can abide 
 to look on themfelves, the more they delight to be curi- 
 ous examiners of other men : how fecurely will they pry 
 into all their aftions 5 how narrowly can they obferve e- 
 very defeft and imperfe&ion, the leaft mote in their Bro- 
 thers eye that will not behold beams in their own ? with- 
 in blinder than Moles, without quicker fighted than Ser- 
 pents. And Plutarch though but a Philofopher can give 
 you the reafon of both, for the guilty Soul, faith he, 
 which in it felf is but as an unclean cage, a very fink of 
 Sin and iniquity, tnetuttis ea qu£ intus funt, exibit fo- 
 ras, fearing that foulnefs and uglinefs which is within, 
 quickly flyes out of doors, and like a Fly flutters up and 
 down till it light on a gal'd back, fucking and feeding up- 
 on other mens vices, that he may the better leffen and 
 excufe his own, or dare to attempt greater himfelf It is 
 happened unto fuch, faith the fame Author, as unto thole 
 that have footy houfes or curft Wives, they are never 
 well longer than abroad. Like Satan in Job, their Souls 
 compafs the earth, and walk through the world : wan-, 
 dering ftars they are to whom the blacknefs of darknets 
 is referved, faith St. Jude , at whofe doors though our Sa- 
 viour himfelf ftand and knock never fo long,never fo loud, 
 he cannot hope for admiffion : there is no body within 
 ' to anfwer or open and let him in, their Spirits are gone 
 forth, and it is impoffible they (hould hear what is done 
 at home, their cogitations are fo deeply bufied abroad } 
 
 or 
 
Vpon i Co p.. xi. verfe 28. 249 
 
 or if pcrad venture they now and then hear him at their 
 better leifure they, confider it but little, as fuppofing they 
 have not much need of him. They have been fo long 
 taken up in the view of other mens fins, as they forget 
 their own 5 they have (b constantly fixed their eyes on 
 the crimes of their brethren, as they begin to think them- 
 (elves innocent : In this cafe now is it poffible they (hould 
 duly prepare or deeply repent, whilft they judge of their 
 own goodnefs by others evil, and fuppofe themfelves 
 well enough already, becaufe perad venture they are more 
 wicked } But could we obferve the Apoftles rule, let o- 
 ther Men alone and examine our (elves, could we as di- 
 ligently obferve our own defedfe and imperfe&ions (io 
 give them no worfe name) as we do other Mens, and o- 
 tner Men do ours, taking eftimate of our (elves by what 
 we truly are in our felves, not what we feem oppofed to 
 others^ we (hould quickly difcover at lead the corrupti- 
 on and hypocrifie of our own hearts : we fhould foon find 
 how rotten we are at the core, how defperately fick, and 
 what great need we have of the Phyfician. And (till the 
 longer we look, the wickeder fhall we appear 3 the more 
 narrowly we fearch and the deeper we dig into thefe im- 
 pure vaults , the more ever (hall we abhorr our felves 
 with Job 3 till we cry out with the Prophet : that my 
 head were full of water, and mine eyes a fountain of 
 tears, that all the day long I might bewail my fins and 
 iniquities in the bitternefs of my Soul. What elfe was it, 
 but this ferious confideration ofhimfelf, that made holv 
 David fo afflict his body with fackcloath, and his head 
 with a(hes ? what was it that made his eyes fo often to 
 water his cotoch, and his bed to fwim with perpetual 
 tears , but that ID the 51. V fains, I acknowledge my ini- 
 quity and my fin is ever before me} And fure did we 
 carefully look into our felves, did we faithfully and fre- 
 quently fct our fins before us as that Prophet did, we 
 
 K k (hould 
 
2 5 o ^ Preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 flhould foon acknowledge and bewail them with that true 
 and hearty forrow that he hath done. So dire&ly doth 
 the contemplation and knowledge ofourfelves lead un- 
 to true repentance, the fum of our preparation. But 
 this knowledge of our (elves, efpecially of our fins, is not 
 fo eafily attained as we imagine, and it is not prefently 
 gained upon the iirfi view : every Man hath not (uch clear 
 eyes as Adam^ at fitftiight to difcover his own nakedncfs; 
 or if he have, he can quickly find out fig-leaves, fubtie fhifts 
 \iud excufes to cover it, as well as he. And therefore it is 
 not a (light view, but a thrift examination that muft eye 
 it : Let a Man examine himfelf. It is ftrange that him- 
 felf (hould be driven to examine himfelf: doth not the 
 Soul underftand the Soul? cannot the fpirit of man un- 
 derftand what is in man, without fearching it out by ex- 
 amination ? iurely no,the heart ofman&ixh the Prophet, 
 is deceitful above all things and wicked^ who can kporv 
 it? and becaufe wicked, therefore deceitful 5 and cun- 
 ning not only to deceive others but even it (elf. The un- 
 der! tanding indeed hath eyes, clear and bright enough to 
 fearch into the dark corners of the Soul, and difcover the 
 windings and turnings, all the obfcure Alleys and Laby- 
 rinths that are in it , did not the heart (end forth a thick 
 fogg ofgrofs and earthy affeftions to- muffle up and blind 
 them left they pry too far into her fecrets. For the will 
 wherein the affeftions refide, hath taught the intelle&ive 
 power (which is under her command, being Miftris of 
 the Soul J either not to look at all, or look very favour- 
 bly on that which fhe likes 5 and inftead of judging of 
 the goodnefs (which is the proper office of the under- 
 (landing praftick) (he diverts herimployment wholly to 
 the (eeking of cunning devices,and finding out of falfe co- 
 lours anddifguifesto cover the foulnefs of the evil, which 
 pleafure or profit moves her to affeft. And then how is it 
 poffible for this knowing faculty of our Souls to difcover 
 
 thofe 
 
Vfori i Co r. xi. verfe 28. '251 
 
 thofe fins and hypocrife?, which her (elf with all her wits 
 feek to hide even from her felfas well as from others? 
 And therefore unlefs we vindicate the intellect from 
 this thraldom, and deliver it from the pow£j and ty- 
 ranny of the will 5 and that will's corrupt affections, that 
 it may be a free Umpire and Judge within us 5 unlets lay- 
 ing afide all love of our felves and fins,wedteal truly and 
 impartially with our felves \ Nay unle(s we be jealous of 
 our own fouls and take our felves, as we well may, for 
 thegreateft enemies of our felves } and fo deal with our 
 hearts as we would do with felons and other offender 
 that is, fearch and examine them with all ftri£tne(s and di- 
 ligence 5 we fhall never throughly difcover the truth of 
 our own bofoms. For the heart is a fly and fubtle male- 
 factor 5 he will not quickly confefs } he muft be tript with 
 many queftions, often taken in contradictions, nay have 
 evident proofs brought in againft him, or he will never 
 acknowledge his error : nothing but tnanifeft truth can 
 extort it from him : Unlefs it be the rack, on that indeed, 
 he will fometimes confefs : on the rack of fome (uddetl 
 Judgment, on the rack of a tormenting Conference you 
 ihall hear it then cry out before any body examines them, 
 like Judas, 1 have fin tied in betraying innocent bloody 
 and hang themfelves when they have done, and to fin 
 worfe in (bedding their own. But this of the rack,is con- 
 fefs and be hang d } that which we feek by examination, 
 is confefs and be forgiven. Ifvpe confefr our fins, God is 
 faithful to forgive them, faith St. John, though moft men 
 had as lievc be hang'd as confefs} and out of a ftubborn 
 Pride had rather excufe than acknowledge their crimes : 
 So lofing the benefit of remiffion, for want of feeing how 
 much they deferved punifhment : which nothing but a 
 true inquiry and a faithful examination can fet before 
 their eyes. For want whereof it is that fo many think 
 well of themfelves now, and are as fure of heaven as if 
 
 Hk 2 they 
 
2<2 A ¥ reparation for the Holy Communion y 
 
 they had pofleffion already, who God knows (hall never 
 come there. Only this benefit they gain by their falfe 
 fecurity, that without any murmuring of Conference they 
 go merrily to Hell : for as Solomon hath it, there *r a 
 way that is right in a mans eyes, but it leads down unto 
 death. In this way the Pharifee in the Gofpel feemed to 
 walk : I thank God, faith he, I am not as other men, no 
 Adulterer, no Covetous, Extortioner, no unjuft per- 
 fon, as that Publican: but he gave Almes to the poor, he 
 fafted every week and payed Tithes of all that he had : 
 He was right indeed in his own eyes, and why > but be- 
 caufe his eyes looked only outwards, upon other wicked 
 men whom he found hirafelf unlike : or if at anytime 
 inwards, it was through the falfe fpeftacles of pride and 
 felf-love which can prefent him with nothing but feem- 
 ing goodne(s,and that multiply ed much more than it was: 
 But as he was right in his eyes, had his eyes alfo been right 
 in his head, he might upon better examination havefeen 
 what our Saviour eafily difcerned, die hypocrify of his 
 heart 5 which did but cover it felf with Sheeps cloathing 
 being inwardly more ravenous than a wolf 5 under pre- 
 tence of religion and long prayers, eating up the fub- 
 ftance of poor women, and devouring Widows houfes : 
 and therefore he tells them, Publicans and Sinners (that 
 is, the moft lewd and diffolute people) fhould fooner enter 
 into the Kingdom of Heaven : For the foulnefs of their 
 Crimes paft all excufe, leaves fome hopes they may in time 
 come to fee and deteft them : whereas the other whofe 
 tins being deep and fecret are not fo eafily difcerned, and 
 his wounds though they fefter and putrify at the bottom 
 ( as being never (earched to the depth) yet becaufe they 
 are skinned over at the top with an outward formality of 
 Fveligion, he pleafeth himfelf with a conceit he is through- 
 ly cured, and fo of neceffity nourifheth his death within 
 him, without ever looking after the Chirurgion. Thefe 
 
 Pharifees 
 
ZJpon i C o r. xi. verfe 28. 253 
 
 Pharifccs are not yet all dead , they ftill live and will 
 do in many a bofomc, and in theirs efpecially that live 
 moft civilly, and lead think they are harbored there. For 
 who almoft is there amongft us that is not right in his 
 own eyes ? who is there that looking on the outward fur- 
 face of his a&ions, how juftly he lives and free from 
 afperfion, how diligently he frequents the Church, hears 
 Sermons, receives the Sacrament, and the like, doth not 
 fecretly in his heart thank God he is not like other men ? 
 when if he look into it a little better, he may peradven- 
 ture find it, for all this, as empty of true piety unto God, 
 or charity unto his Brother, as that falfe Pharifee was. 
 We do not yet know, nor (hall we till we undeftand our 
 felvcs better,how apt we are to deceive our felves^and flat- 
 ter our Souls out of their falvation. The very grofs and 
 palpable offender can (hrowd, you fee, his crimes under 
 fuch fair titles as they feem to him little or none at all, nay 
 vermes fometimes inftead of vices. The Covetous 
 man is but thrifty, and the Drunkard a good fellow; 
 the quarrelling Ruffian a man of valour 5 and the prodi- 
 gal Spendal, kind and freehearted. How much more ea- 
 fily then (hall the civil hypocrite Aide away under the 
 falfe pretences of a goodly outfide ? Wherewith he is Co 
 induftrious to cofen others, that at length valuing his 
 goodnefs by their opinions,whom he hath abuled, he cheats 
 himfelf ere he is aware of his own Soul. That therefore 
 in fo dangerous a cafe we may take care we do not deceive 
 our hearts any longer ^ but every man deal faithfully and 
 truly with himfelf where it fo highly concerns him : Let 
 us come at length to the examination it fclf For this 
 hitherto is but to (hew how neceflary it is to examine ; 
 we will now endeavour to makethat examination, and we 
 will make it not in all things we might,butonly in that pre- 
 paration and thofe qualifications of it which ercwhile wc 
 found neceiiarily required in a worthy Communicant: that 
 
 accordingly. 
 
254 A Preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 accordingly we may condemn and reform our felves before 
 we approach unto the holy table. Wherein, becaufe I 
 delire to deal impartially with mine own Soul and yours, 
 I (hall intreat your patience, if I come as near your Con- 
 fciences as may be, which you cannot afford without find- 
 ing the comfort of it in your felves, for affuredly the 
 more willing the heart is to be furrowed and plowed up, 
 the better ever it takes the immortal feed, and the (boner 
 and furer fends forth fruit to eternal life. To enter on 
 it then, The qualifications of our preparation, wherein 
 we are to examine our felves, I have (hewn you to be 
 four, efpecially, Knowledge^ Faith , Repentance and 
 Love, But before we deal upon them, it will not be amifs 
 briefly to reflect on the examination and preparation of 
 our (elves, and fee and confider how much heretofore 
 we have failed in both 5 and how (hort we have been of 
 that due Reverence and regard thofe Sacred Myfteries 
 require. Shall I ask you then? for fo he muft do that 
 will examine : what time you have taken from your 
 earthly affairs to beftow on this holy imployment? 
 nay ask but your own hearts, and they will quickly 
 anfwer you : for have you afforded your felves, I fay 
 not a month or a week, but a day or two or fbme hours 
 of them to call your Souls to a ftrift account, to (trip 
 your hearts of worldly cares and vanities, and recal 
 your wandering thoughts to thofe fevere and ferious 
 cogitations as may become your own fanftification and 
 the high and holy inftitution of your Saviour ? Confider 
 well whether with David , you have entred into the 
 Chambers of your own bofoms, and faithfully communed 
 with your own Souls : whether you have tryed out your 
 hearts and reins, and your fpirit hath made diligent 
 fearch, as he both did and requires. Obferve heedfully 
 whether carting off all masks and vifors of Hypocrify, 
 all Fig-leaves of diminution and excufe, how thou haft 
 
 expofed 
 
ZJpon i Co r. xi. verfe 28. 255 
 
 expofed thy (elf and thy Soul naked unto the view of 
 thy fearching Conference , whether thy mortified heart 
 beginning to thaw with remorfe, hath freely opened her 
 pleits and folds wherein (he hid her iniquity 5 and pre- 
 ferred thee with her fins in their true (hapc, that thou 
 mighteft as truly deteft and abhor them. If it befo, it is 
 well : if not, take heed, labour and drive, weep, cry, 
 pray, do not ceafe, be not fatibfied till it be fo 5 for then 
 it will never be right thy preparation will lack of his 
 due, and thy examination will be lame. But I examine 
 this examination no farther. It is a lecret adl: known on- 
 ly to their own reins and the fearcher of them, to whom 
 therefore I remit it 5 and pafs on to the qualities and 
 vertues wherewith you are to prcpare,and wherein I may 
 more freely examine and evift your Souls, as having 
 outward and fenfible effefts whereby they may be judg- 
 ed. And the firft of thefe (to omit kjzowledge whereof 
 we have fpoken fufficiently already) is Faith : but here 
 examination thou thinkeft altogether needlefs 5 for thou 
 art mod fare and certain thou believeft. Yet what if 
 one fhould tell thee thou didft not believe ? like e- 
 nough thou wouldft tell him again, thou doft not be- 
 lieve him in that , for thou wilt ftill fay thou know- 
 eft nothing better than that thou believeft, why > and 
 I know it too, and know more, that the very Devils 
 believe and tremble, which is fomething farther: and 
 their Faith peradventure fomething better than thine, 
 who believeft and doft not tremble : which yet thou well 
 mighteft, didft thou underftand thy felfor believe in God 
 aright, and as thou oughteft. But the truth is, moftmens 
 Faith (as we (hewed but now of the underftanding) fol- 
 lows their affections 5 believing little more than what 
 they defire. Should a Man preach and maintain that 
 the goods of this world ought not to be ingrofled into 
 private and particular hands, but that all things (as it 
 
 was 
 
2^6 A V reparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 was in the primitive Church) amongft Chriftians (hould 
 be common, who think you would believe this fooneft, 
 the Rich or the Poor? The Poor indeed would quickly 
 embrace it, becaufe beneficient to them - but the Rich 
 that (hould be lofers by it, would hardly or never af- 
 fent. In like manner (hould we urge that precept under 
 the Law, that money (hould be lent freely to our bre- 
 thren that want, and not be put out to intereft : or in-' 
 force that Divine Precept of theGofpel, to lend and look 
 for nothing again, Matth.m. the poor Creditor you may 
 be fure will entertain this for his relief, but the griping 
 Ufurer is deaf on that fide, and can eafily find out drifts 
 and diftin&ions to avoid his own inconvenience. Search 
 now and examine thy felf narrowly and fee if thy Faith 
 doth not deal thus with God in the chief Articles of it : 
 fcarce ever believing any thing but what it likes. The ob- 
 ject of Divine Faith is the word of God, wherein befides 
 Hiftories, the chief things it propofeth to believe are but 
 three, Frecepts^Comminations^xwii Promifes: Precepts 
 of duty : Comminations of punifhments : and Promifes 
 of reward to the obfervers or neglefters of them. And 
 all thofe equally to be affented unto, becaufe delivered 
 by the word of the fame God : otherwife thy Faith is 
 defe&ive and maimed. See then and confider truly whe- 
 ther thou doft adhere unto the one as to the other, whe- 
 ther thy Faith doth not reft only upon the promifes , 
 neglefting the duties 5 and yet flighting the threatnings 
 againft thofe that negleft them. The promifes of Mercy 
 indeed are fweet and comfortable } who doth not wil- 
 lingly and gladly believe them ? but comminations and 
 duties are terrible and troublefome, and few will give 
 them faithful entertainment. That Chrift fufiered on the 
 Crofs, and fhed his blood for the fins of the whole world 
 and every mans in particular, is a pleafant and grateful 
 Doftrine, how doth our Faith hug and embrace it as 
 
 if 
 
ZJfon i Cor. xr. verfe 28. 257 
 
 if there were nothing elfe to be believed ? But fhould we 
 once thunder out that of St. Paul, That notwithstanding 
 this blood, no Lyer, no Drunkard, no Adulterer, no co- 
 vetous or unclean Perfon, (hall enter into the Kingdom 
 of God : here our Faith is at a ftand, and will be fure ei- 
 ther not to believe it,or never to acknowledge that them 
 (elves are fuch. Again, bleffed is the man to whom the 
 Lord imputeth no fin, faith David 5 yea marry, bleffed 
 be that tongue for ever,I believe it with all my heart: nay 
 read a little farther, and in rvhofe fpirit there is no 
 guile, how now? whydoft thou ftagger? pifh ! 'tis im- 
 poffible j this feems to have crept into the Text, no bo- 
 dy knows how. St. Paul when he cited it, left it out $ 
 and we are not bound to believe it, or any thing elfe we 
 cannot away with. There is no condemnation to them 
 that are in Cbrijl Jefus, faith St. Paul, a gracious pro- 
 mife, and a very cordial to the Soul, every Man is ready 
 to lay hold of it before it be out of his mouth : but to 
 whom doth it appertain ? To them, as it follows, which 
 rvall^not after the fleflj, but after the fpirit. This is a 
 (evere duty on our parr, and a very corrofive to the flefh $ 
 which will hardly be brought in fubjeftion to the law 
 of God, and therefore will not eafily believe it fhould or 
 poffibly may be. Thus thy fruitlefs and prepofterous 
 Faith is ever ftrong to lay hold on the promifes, though 
 weak and of no power to work obedience to the com- 
 mands, or believe the judgments denounced againft dip- 
 obcyers. For didft thou (b, truly thy belief would teach 
 thee to tremble ; for which caufe I told thee thy Faith • 
 (which in this cafe is only a carnal confidence) falls (hort 
 of that which the Scripture tells us is found in Devils 
 that believe and tremble. Nay, if we fearch and exa- 
 mine a little farther, we fhall find thy Faith failing even 
 in the very promifes. For though in fpiritual promifes that 
 concern mercy and remiffion of fins now, or the King- 
 
 L 1 dom 
 
258 A Preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 dom of Heaven hereafter, thou art more than faithful, e- 
 ven foolifhly prefumptuous: yet in the promifes which 
 pertain unto this life, we are all for the raoft part (though 
 Chriftians in profeffion, yet in truth and pra&ice) grofs 
 and palpable Infidels. Thou beginneft thy Creed with, 
 I believe in God the Father Almighty s wherein thou 
 doft acknowledge him thy Father^ and therefore willing} 
 Almightyjmd therefore able to relieve and fuccour thee in 
 all thy wants and diftreifes f, but from the teeth outwards : 
 for let want or diftrefs approach though but afar oftj how 
 art thou prefently perplexed? what anxious and heart- 
 breaking care doth inftantly vex and difcruciate thy 
 very Soul >■ how are thy thoughts loft and diftra&ed this 
 way and that, and every way fearching and bending thy 
 will upon all humane helps and fuccours that may be im- 
 agined,with fuch fear and diftruft,as if there were no God 
 in Heaven or providence of his upon earth ? Tell him 
 now of his Father Almighty, that knows whereof he 
 fhall need, and will not fail (ifhejfr/2 ■ feek. his kingdom- 
 and the righteousness thereof) to add and fupply all o- 
 ther things that are neceffary, and you (hall give him as 
 niuch comfort, as if you had caft water in his Shooes, 
 He is clear out of his belief now, and Pater nojier too, 
 when if you (hew him the plain Text in Mat. Take no 
 care (that is no anxious and folicitous care) what you 
 Jhall eat) or wherewith you Jkatt be cloathed «, or in Da- 
 vid^ do good, and verily thouJI)alt be fed r he will foon- 
 tr laugh at their promifes than believe them. Nay which 
 is ftrange, a Man whom God hath well bleft, that hath 
 no want within ken, nor likely to have any, yet fcrapes 
 and fcratches on every fide, as if poverty were coming 
 on him like an armed Man, as Solomon fpeaks ; who if 
 urged to relieve the necetfities of his poor Brother (with 
 butafmall piece of Silver) though the King intreat, and 
 the King of Heaven command, and his Minifters pcrfwade, 
 
 yet, 
 
Vfon i Cor. xi. verfe 28. 259 
 
 yet it may not be wrung from him. He can prefently caft 
 doubts, who knows whether himfelf or his Children may 
 not live to want ? Shew him the promifes of God in the 
 Scripture afl'uring the contrary, that it (hall be a means te 
 profper and multiply the reft : tell him that of the Wife- 
 man, Cafi thy bread upon the waters^ and after many 
 days thou ftalt find it : or that of another, he that gi^ 
 vet h to the poor, lendeth unto the Lord 5 yet nothing 
 can move him : which manifeftly argues either he dotb 
 not believe God when he fays it, or at lead not believe 
 he is a good paymafter 5 yet this Man thinks he hath 
 Faith 3 nay many of them are fo far from relieving, as 
 they can find in their hearts to opprefs and grind thofe 
 that are poor enough already : and as if they conceived 
 that honeft courfes and Gods bleffing on them were too 
 weak means to provide fufficiently for themfelves and 
 Children, they can (hift and (hark 5 projeft and under- 
 mine 3 fcrew themfelves into teftaments and deceive 
 trufts 3 buy over their Brothers head that imploys them 
 for himfelf^ and ufe all their wits and fraudulent devi- 
 ces to compafs an eftate, and root their pofleffion in it 
 for ever: madly fuppofingto eftablifh their Generations 
 by thofe ways for which God never fails, as he every 
 where threatens, to weed them or their pofterity out of 
 the Inheritance fo purchafed ; it being his glory ever to 
 deftroy the wifdom of the wife, and to mine the houfe 
 built in fraud or on the ruines of others. For the hope of 
 the wielded, faith Job, if as the fpiders web, cunningly 
 fpunout with a great deal of labour all night, and fud- 
 denly fvvept away in the morning. What Faith then is 
 there in this ? or indeed, what is it elfe but a wild branch 
 of meer Gentilifm and infideiity,if not abfolute Atheifm? 
 For did he truly believe God or his comminations, it 
 were not poffible, one that loves his Children fo well, 
 could run fo direel: a courfe to deftroy them. But aflii- 
 
 L 1 1 redly 
 
260 A Preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 redly he doth not believe 5 and whatfoever we pretend^ 
 yet for the mod: part, we fecretly fay in our hearts with 
 that Fool in the Pfalrn, if not. there k no God, yet at 
 lead, there *r no knowledge in the ntoft high : or elfe 
 with thofe wicked ones in Job, tuJI),Godcareth not, cir- 
 ca car dines ceeli ptrambhlat, his walk is about the hinges 
 of Heaven, he doth not trouble himfelf to behold or re- 
 gard the things upon Earth. Do not fuppofe I wrong 
 you: (earch your own Conferences truly, and I believe 
 the beftofyouall will find even this infidelity lurking 
 in them. For wert thou abfohueiy allured in thy Soul of 
 the omnifcience, and omniprefence of the Lord 5 didft 
 thou faithfully believe that he is every where, and be- 
 holdeth every aftion and operation of thine., though ne- 
 ver fo fecret, that he is about thy path and about thy 
 bed andfpyeth out all thy wayes, and feeththy thoughts 
 more clearly than thou thy felf $ how were it poffible 
 for thee in his prefence and under thofe eyes fo often 
 and deeply to diffemble with thy Brother, with thine 
 own heart and with God himfelf? Couldft thou imagine 
 a window in thy bofome and thy Neighbour permitted 
 now and then when thou dreameft not of it, to look in 
 upon thy impure and fraudulent thoughts, and fee how 
 thy cogitations are bufied 5 how would thy Soul fhame 
 and blu(h to be taken tardy in fuch bale and unwor- 
 thy imployments? which yet thou canft freely excr- 
 cife and continue without any trouble or interruption at 
 ail, though God himfelf and his pure eyes behold them, 
 iv.hercunto thy bread- is tranfparent as glafi, and more 
 open than the air* what doth this -(hew but that thou be- 
 litveft it not ?■ for to believe his prefence truly, and fo 
 much contemn it, ismecrly im poffible. It is beyond im- 
 agination to conceive, were thy Faith firm in this point, 
 how/ it poffibly can be, that the fight of God and his 
 holy Angela fliould not deter thee, not only from think- 
 ing 
 
ZJpon i CoR.xi. verfe 28. 261 
 
 ing but from acting thofe fccret works of darkneft 3 which 
 the coming in but of a little child can utterly interrupt 
 and hinder. Of neceffny thou mud be driven to confeG, 
 either that thy Faith is alleep, and thou doft not believe 
 it : or thy reverence utterly dead, that thou efteemeft of 
 a child more than thy Maker. A (lured ly could we fortify 
 our perfwafions but in this one Article of Faith, and 
 ftrongly apprehend the truth of it, nothing could be of 
 greater power to purge our hearts, and our hands too 
 from all evil and uncleannefs. Thus if thou carefully 
 examine thy faith by the effefts, and judge of it, as thou 
 fhouldft, by thine aftions, (for the tree is known by her 
 fruit) thou wilt eafily find notwithstanding thy former 
 conceipt of thy felf, how full of infidelity thy falfe heart 
 is, and how little thou believeft either threats, or pre- 
 cepts, or promifes* or providence, or any thing elfe fin-, 
 cerely and as thou (liouldeft. Well therefore it would de- 
 ferve thy frequent cogitations and prayers and tears to 
 confider and bewail it thoroughly, crying out with him 
 intheGofpcl, Lord, I beluve, help my unbelief. And 
 never think it helped till thou findeft it reforming thy 
 affections and lufts, not led and ruled by them : till thou 
 perceived it working powerfully in all the thoughts of 
 thy heart and actions of thy hands, ami the whole courfb 
 of thy life. For this is the true teft and tryal, and to 
 thefe marks our Saviour himfelf fends thee, to make full 
 proof of it. Thefe arc the figns, faith he, that (hall follow 
 them that believe. /// my name jh all they cajl out devils, 
 they Jljdll fpeal^ voith new tongues : they foall takj up 
 ferpents : and if they drink^any deadly thing it JbdS 
 not hurt them : and when they lay their hands on the 
 jic hotkey pall be healed. If thofe figns follow not thy 
 Faith,it is vam and thou art yet in thy fins. But thou wilt 
 lay the time, of Miracles is pa(l y and thefe days require 
 them not. Neither do I require them as then $ neither then 
 
 and.i 
 
161 A T reparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 .and in thofe times were they common unto all Believers : 
 But the faying of our Saviour is univerfal and in the (pi- 
 ritual fence is ever true, that thefe figns follow them and 
 all them that unfeignedly believe: For every Man natu- 
 rally hath Devils enough within him to be thrown forth, 
 and unlefs thy Faith have power and virtue enough to 
 difpoflefs and caft out the impure fpirits of luxury 
 and avarice, of envy, wrath, malice, and hypocrifie, and 
 the like foul Fiends wherewith our nature is full: unlels 
 it be able to give thee a new tongue and a new language, 
 and cleanfing thy mouth of all oaths and blalphemies, of 
 (landers and reproaches , of deceit and fcurrilitys can 
 teach thee to fpeak the words of fobriety, and fan&ity, 
 and of truth every Man unto his Neighbour 5 unlefi it 
 can embolden thee to take up Serpents, to receive and 
 lovingly embrace thy mortal enemies, and make trea- 
 cle of them too, drinking up all the deadly venome 
 which their poyfoned ftomachs can difgorge againft thee, 
 not only without hurt, but even as thy phyfick 5 that fo 
 lifting up pure and innocent hands upon them with pray- 
 ers and benediftions, though they revile and curfe, they 
 may yet at length be won from it and cured of the ma- 
 lice wherewith they were fick 5 and others alfo by thy 
 example, of their feveral difeafes, who feeing thy good 
 works may glorify thy Father which is in Heaven : Until, 
 I fay, thy Faith hath power to work thefe things (unlefi 
 our Saviours figns be falfe)it is never current and efFe&ual. 
 If you fay, thefe things are too high and hard for us, we 
 cannot attain unto them 5 you do withal fay and confefs 
 that you do not truly believe: For true Faith is not dead 
 or drouzy, but powerful and operative, working even 
 wonders unto flefli and blood 3 which St. Paul proves 
 by a full cloud of witnefles in the it. to the Heb. produ- 
 cing a whole Catalogue of the antient Worthies, who all 
 
 through 
 
Vfon i C o r. xi. verfe 28. $62 
 
 through Faith afpiring to the promifes were mighty and 
 marvellous in their actions, overthrowing Kingdoms, 
 working rightcoufnefs and doing fuch great things as we 
 cannot conlider without admiration. And whence all 
 this, but becaufe their Faith was flirting and active, not 
 lazy and languishing like ours 3 which is only a Carkafi 
 of belief without any foul of life and vigor in it : other- 
 wile we (hould foon find in our felves what the fame Au- 
 thor elfewhere affirms, that nothing is available like Faith 
 when it is working, working by love, which is ever 
 impatient and reftlefs till it attains what it defires. Who 
 then, or what power is able to refill: it ) not the power of 
 the whole world : this is it that overcotneth the xcorld y 
 even your fiitk^ John v. 3. no nor the power of any 
 thing elfe, credenti omnia font poffibilia, to him that 
 believes all things are poffible, faith our Saviour : And 
 therefore if ever thele things be impoffible to thee, if thy 
 Faith be fo weak that it cannot difpoffefs thee of thy wick- 
 ed fpirits and work thofe fpiritual miracles on thy Soul, it 
 is a greater miracle if ever it fave thy Soul. For true Faith 
 purifies the heart, and cleanfeth the very reins, and is 
 afluredly dead, if it do not work powerful effects within 
 us. If of unclean and covetous, of malitious, envious 
 and deceitful perfons, it doth not make us pure and tem- 
 perate, mild and merciful, upright and juft in our acti- 
 ons 5 it is unprofitable, and (hall never juftify w 7 ith God ; 
 In vvhofe account, whatfoever you think, none are ta- 
 ken for believers any farther than they are^iractifec^of 
 his word. He that fays he knows God and h'xtttt) his 
 brother is a Iyer, faith St. John: and fu re he that fays 
 he believes in God and yet forfaketh not his fins, lyes as 
 loudly, and doth but abufe his own Soul 5 vainly dream- 
 ing of Faith when he hath but the fhadow of it without 
 truth or fubftance : and wiH be found at laft but in that 
 
 poei i 
 
2 64 A Preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 poor Mans cafe, who dreamt all night of treafure, and in 
 the morning when he awoke was not worth a farthing. 
 With that Church in the Revelation, they have a name 
 that they live, and canceit they are rich^ whenas there 
 it is (aid, they are blind and poor and na^ed and mife- 
 rable^ and (hall fo underftand themfelvesin the end : for 
 however now we pleafe our felves for a while with the 
 vain opinion of our imaginary Faith, yet when we have 
 flept our deep, and dreamt our dreams 5 in the morning 
 when we (hall all awake from our graves and come unto 
 Judgment, it will be found far otherwife than we con- 
 ceived. When the [on of man cometh^ faith our Saviour 
 himfelf, Jhall he find faith upon the earth ? furely yes, 
 fiich as ours for the mod part is, Faith enough 5 (uch a 
 fpeculative fancy that floats only in the brain never af- 
 fefting the heart } (uch a prefumptuous confidence that 
 can feize on mercies, negleding commands, lay hold on 
 the paffion and death of a Saviour, but neither obey 
 his precepts, nor imitate his life 5 of fuch Faith we doubt 
 the Chriftian world will be then and now is, full as it can 
 hold $ he (hall every where find it: But of that true and 
 real Faith, rooting out finful affe&ions 5 of that high and 
 mighty Faith, inthroned in the very heart of the Soul, 
 and from thence commanding all the powers and facul- 
 ties which it hath $ of that prevalent and viftorious 
 Faith, conquering Sin and Satan, and treading under 
 foot the glory and vanity of the whole world 5 of this (olid 
 ^nd fubftantial Faith, which only deferveth the name of 
 Faith, and he only looks for, of this he (hall then find 
 .but little in the world, as indeed there is very little now. 
 .Some icattered fparks of it only there are in a few of 
 our bofoms, but raked up in a great deal of embers : and 
 if we take not heed, like enough to be ftifled ere we are 
 aware. O preferve and colleft them carefully, blow upon 
 
 them 
 
ZJpon i Cor. xi. verfe 28. 265 
 
 them with thy meditations and ferventeft prayers, never 
 ceafe till they break forth into a flame, that may even 
 fcorch thy heart with compun&ion and penitent remorfe, 
 and fire thy Soul with ardent and burning affections of 
 love unto God and charity to thy Brother, which are 
 the reft of the qualifications wherewith you are to pre- 
 pare your felves, and wherein if we (hould proceed to 
 fearch and continue a ftrid examination , I am fure we 
 (hould find them every way and every one as falfeas our 
 Faith. For Faith is the root, and if that be corrupt, thefe 
 which are the branches cannot poffibly be found. Such 
 as our belief is, fuch is our Love, fuch ever our Repen- 
 tance: all thefe but Cakes of one piece of Dough, and 
 feafoned with the fame leaven, hypocrify, our repen- 
 tance being but meer formality, our love only verbal, 
 and our charity for the molt part but pride or di(gui(ed 
 malice. Repentance fincere and true, we may well (ay,is fled 
 with Ajlr£a to Heaven 5 or rather doubt whether there 
 be any fuch matter. Sure it is but a meer word that hath 
 nothing to anfwerit. Search thy felf, try others by their 
 aftions, and fee if thoucanft almoft any where find it. A 
 Man of an humble and a contrite heart, broken and brui- 
 ted with the fight and fenfeof his fins, groaning and bleed- 
 ing under the weight and burdens of his iniquities , 
 changed truly, converted, regenerate. and reformed in the 
 whole difpofition of his Soul, caft as it were in a new 
 mould and become a new Man, a new Creature } fuch a 
 one were worthy the feeing 5 but our eyes may even 
 look till they tail, and no where behold him. Behold in- 
 deed we may every where new things enough, but not 
 new men. At thefe iblemn fcafts they can have all things 
 new, but their Souls, thefe they can permit to go in their 
 old cloaths, yea to grow old in the fame fins, which 
 they learnt, and grew up with them in their youth. The 
 
 M m antient 
 
166 A Preparation for the Holy Communion, 
 
 antient fwearer we fee is a fwearer ftill, receive he never 
 fo often. The covetous man takes the Sacrament and 
 goes away no lefs covetous than he was. The malicious 
 man can drink the blood of Chrift, which he filed for 
 his enemies, and yet continue in the fame gall of bitter- 
 nefs as before £ lupi veninnt^hpi rccedunt, Wolves they 
 come, though in Sheeps cloathing, and Wolves they de- 
 part faith St. Aufiin. For indeed they do but put on a 
 feeming fanftity for the time, and prefently reaffume a- 
 gain their old ways. And do generally deal with their 
 malice and the reft of their fins, as men do with their 
 beards, (have them againft a good time , but leave the 
 roots behind which afterwards (hoot out the thicker. 
 And this is the repentance, this is the love of which thefe 
 times are full as the Moon : but for that which is (erious 
 and fincere, knock at your hearts, and fee if they do not 
 found as hollow as empty Casks. And for the taft, our 
 love and affe&ion to God, it is no lefs verbal than that 
 unto our Brother is feigned, or our repentance formal. It 
 is in every Mans mouth but no where elfe : they draw 
 near him with their lips, but their heart is far from him 5 
 that is wholly taken up with pleafure, pride, and profit 5 
 the Trinity which the world worfhips, that generally 
 knows no other God but Mammon^ as it will appear if 
 they fearch their thoughts, for where our treafure is, there 
 are our cogitations. But the due examination of thefe 
 points will require a fuller difcourfe than this time will 
 afford v^hich is run out already, and therefore we muft 
 
 1 r it to another. In the mean while befeeching God 
 of his great goodnefs to give us clear eyes and under- 
 ftanding Spirit?, to difcern and abhor the hypocrifie of 
 
 : world and the deceitfulnefs of our own hearts, that 
 not counted amongft thofe formal Pharifecs where- 
 with thefe times abound, profeffing godlinefs, but deny- 
 ing 
 
ZJpon i Co r. xi. verfe 28. 267 
 
 ing the power thereof in their a&ions, which can have 
 no part or communion with Chrift} but being infpired 
 with a true and a living Faith rooted in love, and built 
 up in charity unfeigned, we may be reckoned amongft 
 thofe few which (hall be held for worthy receivers of 
 thofe pledges of his love in the holy myfteries now 5 and 
 beefteemed worthy to be received into the pleafures of 
 his everlafting Kingdom hereafter, whereunto the fame 
 God of his infinite mercy vouchfafe to bring us all, &c> 
 Amen. 
 
 Laus Deo in tternunt* 
 
 M m z A 
 
268 A Sermon on Chrijimas day, 
 
 A 
 
 SERMON 
 
 O N 
 
 CHRISTMAS Day. 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 Upon L u k. ii. io 5 1 1. 
 
 And the Angel J aid unto them, Fear not : for behold, I 
 bring you ty dings of great joy which ft? all be to all 
 people. 
 
 For unto you is bom this day in the City of DaVid, a. 
 Sayiour, which is Chriji the Lord. 
 
 IN the verfes precedent, the Nativity and birth of 
 our Lord and Saviour is defcribed: in thefe here, 
 it is proved and publifht, defcried in them by an 
 Evangelift, preached and publifhed in thefe by an 
 Angel} by an Angel unto Shepherds, by an Angel the 
 higheft and mod excellent workmanship of God, unto 
 Shepherds the meaneft and filly eft people amongft all the 
 fons of men. 
 
 So you fee already the three general parts into which 
 
 rny 
 
— ———————— 1 — — — 1 — 1 < - 
 
 Vfon Luk. ii. verfi 10, 1 1. 26a 
 
 my Text doth branch it felf: The Preacher: the Audi- 
 ence : and the Sermon : The Meffenger : They to whom 
 the Meffage is fent : and the Meffage it felf: The meflage 
 or Sermon (for fo the Angels word imports, Evange- 
 l/zo vubis, I preach or publifh unto you) is the birth of 
 our Lord and Saviour. The Audience Shepherds : the 
 meffenger or publiftier of it, an Angel. Thefe are the 
 main or principal parts. Two other there are which are 
 acceffary : for his meffage is high and of great impor- 
 tance : his Audience mean and fearful, affrighted with 
 his prefence : the one deferves a preface of honour, the 
 other a word of comfort : firft therefore he chears up 
 the Shepherds and magnifies his meflage : before he will 
 deliver //, he chears up them, Fear not : and magni- 
 fies that, behold I bring you ty dings of great joy which 
 foall be to all people. So have you thefe Five. i. A 
 Meffage. 2. And that Meffage magnified. 3. An Audi- 
 tory. 4. And that Auditory comforted. 5. Both per- 
 formed by an Angel. And the Angel faid unto them, 
 &c. there is the Preacher and his audience : Fear not, 
 &c. there is the Audience and their comfort : Behold I 
 bring,&c. there is the extolling of the Meflage: For unto 
 you is born this day, there is the meffage it felf. And 
 this meffage again hath divers parts, fome more fubftan- 
 tial, as the Birth it felf and the Titles and Attributes of 
 the perfon born. Threein Number, a Saviour, c£r//?,the 
 Lord, Others it hath that are Circumftantial, as the time 
 when, hodie to day r the place where, in the City of 
 Divid: md the perfons for whom, For you, vobk, for 
 unto you, ^c. Thefe are the parts of the meflage-: 
 and the Prefice that magnifies it, hath no fewer particu- 
 lars : r. ft is News : 2. News of joy : 3. Of great joy: 
 4. Great joy to all people, all that are or ever (hall be. 
 That jfjj// be,&c. 5, And thefe all well ufhcrcd in with 
 aa Ecce of admiration and attention. Behold, Thefe two, 
 
 the 
 
2 70 A Sermon on Chrijlmas day, 
 
 the meflage and the magnifying of it, are the main parts 
 of this days ccUbrity and fokmnity, and therefore. they 
 are full,and have many branches : the other three, the Au- 
 dience, their Comfort and the Angel Preacher that gives 
 it, are of leis importance, and fo are but fingle points brief- 
 ly delivered. And the Angel f aid unto the?/t^ Fear not. 
 But we mud begin with thefe,though the lefler, as the Text 
 doth : and firft with the Preacher or publifher of the Na- 
 tivity, an Angel, dixit Angelas, And the Angel Jaid.&c. 
 And right and fit it was that an Angel fhould fay it : he is 
 an high and excellent creature, and his miniftry hath ever 
 been juftly ufed in high and excellent a&ions.Now of all the 
 aftions and operations external of the divine power,the beft 
 and thegreateft, the higheft andmoft excellent,the wifeft 
 and moft wonderful is the Incarnation,and birth of the Son 
 of God. The other eminent a&s of goodnefs and power 
 manifefted either in his life or death, refurredtion or a£ 
 cenfion, they do all depend on this which is the ground 
 and foundation of them all 3 therefore queftionlefs as it 
 is the greateft benefit the world ever knew, fo is it the 
 greateft work that God ever did : wherein God is made 
 man, and man become God 5 God and man, becoming 
 but one perfbn. Such a generation as this who Jljall de- 
 clare it, faith the Prophet Ifaiah $ who (hall preach and 
 publifh it indeed ? furely no creature in the world is ab- 
 solutely fit - yet fince it muft be done by fome, none fo fit 
 as an Angel, the beft of his- Creatures, to preach and pro- 
 claim the Nativity, the beft of his works. The Angel 
 /aid, and he had no fooner faid it, but a multitude of 
 Angels receive and applaud it, with a hyinn of glory. 
 Gloria m exalfis, Glory be to God on high : one Angel 
 preaches and a Quire of Angels fing praifes. So the 
 whole fervice of this day both Sermon and Anthem, by 
 Angels all. So great is the day we now celebrate and the 
 benefit we are now to treat o£ And it were to be wifti- 
 
 ed 
 
Vpon Luk. ii. verfe. io., 1 1. 271 
 
 ed it might ftill be preached by the tongue of that Angel 
 which firft publilhed it. But yet fince it hath pleafedGod 
 to impofe it upon finful men, we muft perform it as well 
 as we may 5 but ftill remembring you, that though we 
 do it, 'tis a theam in it felf fitter for an Angel. The Angel 
 faid,/'//// unto them. 
 
 And what were they ? in the verfes precedent you may 
 fee : Shepherds, they were watching over their Focks. 
 What a fall is here ? The beft news the world ever heard, 
 the greateftmyfterie God ever wrought, fit to be uttered 
 by no tonge but an Angel's, the higheft of his Creatures, 
 now in this ftate to be preached and publifhed to none 
 but Shepherds, the loweft and meaneft of the people? 
 what congruity is therein this? The Cuftom of the world 
 in cafe of News great and extraordinary, efpecially ty- 
 dings of Joy, is to poft with it to great and extraordi- 
 nary perfons, Kings and Princes, no mans ear may have 
 a tafte till theirs be firft poffefled with it. And furely 
 this, if ever any, was News fit for a King and the grcateft 
 King. Why is it then delivered unto Shepherds ? why is 
 it not fent to Cefar Auguftus the Monarch of the Earth, 
 now fending forth his Edift for the defeription of the 
 whole world ? why doth not the Angel hye him unto 
 Cy renins his Prefident,or to Herod his King of the Jews? 
 why goeth he not unto the high Priefts, to the Scribes and 
 Pharifecs, that fate in Mofes Chair? or to fome other of 
 the Grandees and Magnificoes of the world? why unto 
 none of thefe ? why ? but becaufe men have one Cuftom 
 and God another : they look to the great, to the good : 
 men refpeft the high and mighty 5 but God regards the 
 humble and meek : Efpecially in his divine Revelations 5 
 Ithanl^ thee Father, Lord of heaven and earthy that 
 thou hafl hid theje things from the wife and prndent 
 and revealed them unto babes, Ltti(.x.2i. This is his 
 Cuftom, net many w/fc according to the fiefi j not many 
 
 Wight j, 
 
2 7 2 A Sermon an Chriflmas day y 
 
 mighty, not many noble are called $ butGod hath chofen 
 the foolifly, the weak^ and the bafe things of the world 
 to confound the wife and mighty , 1 Cor. 1.2 6. No 
 marvel therefore, faith St. Antbrofe, if in the firft publi- 
 cation of the grace of Chrift, God did rather refpeft in- 
 nocence than power, and the fimplicity of Shepherds 
 than the pride and imperioufnefs of Kings. It was not a- 
 mifs then that Shepherds they were, mean Men, Men of 
 an humble Spirit, of an innocent and contemplative 
 life, it was not amifsl fay, in this regard, if but to (hew 
 the ufe of God whofe manner it is ever to refift the 
 proud and (hew grace unto the humble 5 but it agreed 
 well too, in other refpe&s. He that was now born was 
 fent to the loft Sheep of the hou(eof//5W,and it was but 
 right that Shepherds were made acquainted with that 5 
 to (hew fpiritual Paftors their duty, who firft receive 
 the Gofpel, that they may preach it to others } and the 
 flocks their obedience, not to adhere to their own Re- 
 velations, but to receive their doftrine ordinarily at the 
 hands of their Teachers, for to (hew this, tTie Gofpel was 
 firft juftly preached unto Shepherds. Befides, it was the 
 birth of a Shepherd that he came to tell : the Shepherd 
 that wasfo long ago prornifed: Behold I will raife yon 
 up afoepherd^ Ezek. xxxv. 25. he is now born, the chief 
 fiepherd^ I Pet. v. 4. the great fhepberd^ Heb. xiii. 20. 
 the goodfiepherd that gave his life for his flock, John x. 
 1 1. It was but juft then to tell Shepherds of the birth of 
 a Shepherd, and the news fitted them well : rightly there- 
 fore dixit illis^ he (aid unto them. 
 
 But ftill faid he not his errand prefently 5 they were 
 not in cafe to receive it. The appearing of the Metfenger 
 hath fo frighted them, that they are not capable of the 
 meffage'. If he now tell it, they may chance not to hear 
 it : or if hear, not regard it. And therefore before he go 
 vith his news, he doth firft fettle their minds for re- 
 ceiving 
 
ZJpon Lu K.ii. verfe 10^ 1 1. 273 
 
 ceiving it with a nolite timcre, fear not. Afraid then they 
 were, and fure they might well fear. It was in the depth 
 of night, and the Angel appeared fuddenly and in great 
 glory, the glory of the Lord fhined round about them. 
 They were but Shepherds, no marvel if fuch fear atfuch 
 and fo unexpefted a fight } better men than they and o- 
 ther manner of pcrfons have been troubled at the ap- 
 proach of an Angel though in the day time. Z a chary 
 though a juft perfon that walked in all the command- 
 ments of God without reproof} though a Prieft, though 
 in the Temple and miniftring there : The Virgin Mary 
 whom all generations muft call ble(fcd, though a Virgin, 
 though the beft of Women, though feparatedand fan&i- 
 fied for the Mother of God, yet (as you may read in the 
 very Chapter before this) at the appearance of an Angel 
 they are afraid both 5 and both comforted, as thefe here, 
 with a noli timere, by the Angel, fear not Zachary,\. 
 13. fear not Mary, v. 30. And the like might be (hown 
 of divers others j fo general it was to fear at the appear- 
 ing of an Angel, that fcarce ever any Angel appears but 
 with this falutation of fear not, feven times (as a learned 
 Man obferves) we read it in this very Gofpel. But whence 
 is it, and how comes it about ? Timere ubi non eft ti- 
 mor, to fear where no fear is, argues a guilty Confer- 
 ence, but thefe were innocent and juft perfons, why then 
 do they fear the Meffengers of their comfort? Sure 
 though fome may be more innocent than others, yet it is 
 not fo abfolutely right as it ought to be in any. None 
 fo good and unreproveable in the fight of Men } but yet 
 they may be confeious of fomething more or lefs within 
 themfelves. But (ay they were not 5 fuppofe them free 
 from aftual fin, yet they cannot be freed from natural 
 infirmity occafioned by the firft original fin : which A- 
 dam hadnofooner committed but he was afraid of God 
 himfelfwhen he appeared, and hid his head inabufr* 
 
 N n 
 
2 74 A Sermon on Cbrijtmas day, 
 
 as foon as he heard his voice in the Garden. And ever 
 fince all the Sons of Adam have been afraid at the 
 appearing of any Meflcnger or receiving of any meflage, 
 from that Divine Majefty. Two things therefore it ar- 
 gues 5 fir ft, that our nature is fallen from her firft original $ 
 that her primitive excellence and dignity is gone ; fince 
 he (faith Stella) who was framed and created to behold 
 the Glory of God, cannot now endure the afpcft of one 
 of his Angels. And fecondly, befides weaknds it argues 
 fomcthing of wickednefs $ and (hews all is not right : Hea- 
 ven and we are not in the terms we fhould be,not the beft 
 of us all. Angels are Meffengers from Heaven, what ty- 
 dings they bring good or bad, we know not ? and there- 
 fore we fear, becaufe we know not : a plain fign all is 
 not well between Heaven and us, that upon every com- 
 ing of an Angel we prefagc to our felves no better news 
 from thence 5 but ftill are afraid of the meffages and Mef- 
 fengers that come from that place. Since then it befell 
 fo great Saints, it might well be the cafe of poor Shep- 
 herds in this cafe to be afraid $ and being afraid they 
 muft be comforted, or the meffage will hardly be recei- 
 ved : fear being in the mind, nothing elfe can well enter: 
 fitly therefore before he pours in the one doth he leek 
 tocaft out the other with a nolite timere, And the, &c. 
 But fear is not fo eafily caft forth, it is pUnus confter- 
 nationis affditts, a tenacious affection full of diftraftion 
 and confirmation, and will not prefently be thrown out 
 with a couple of words. Comfortable words they are in- 
 deed, and may well ferve to ftay their minds and colled 
 their fpirits 5 but not throughly to ejeft their fear. To 
 effeft this, fomethingmoreis required than bare words. 
 It is not enough to fpeak them, but he muft give a reafon 
 ior them too, that would have them prevail. And what 
 better reafon not to fear, than to (hew them there is no 
 reafon of their fear ? Timor eft expe&atio mali^ fear is 
 
 the 
 
ZJfon Luk. ii. verfe 10^ 1 1. 275 
 
 the expectation of evil, and here is no evil towards, no- 
 thing but good, and good not towards, butprefent} that 
 were but tydings of hope, this is of joy and great joy to 
 them and to all the people befides. And this is a nolitc 
 timere indeed } a fear not, to the purpofe, not barely 
 propounded, but backed with a reaion of power to de- 
 ft roy it : for behold, &c. 
 
 Wherein the Angel doth at once, as difpel their paffi- 
 on, fo with an honourable Elogy advance and magnifie 
 his own meffage before he will deliver it : he pours it not 
 forth prefently 5 but fends a preface of ftate before to 
 ufher it in with reverence and regard. And every de- 
 gree that is in it (for you fee it hath many) joy, great joy, 
 common joy, and every degree I fay in it is, as a comfort 
 to the Shepherds and diminution of their fear, fo an 
 ecce of admiration and attention unto his errand : for 
 Ecce, Behold, 8cc. ecce eji vox adtuirantis, it is ever 
 commonly the watch-word to a wonder : atleaft. is feldom 
 fet but as a note or mark upon things of greateft impor- 
 tance, and fuch as require our fpecial regards. And in- 
 deed what do Men regard fo much as news, rare and ad- 
 mirable events ? who grows not ereft, what ear is not 
 open and attent to receive them > And fiich here is this, 
 no ordinary and trivial matter, every day to be feen and 
 met withall \ but news it is,unufual and unheard of it is, 
 which you are called to behold. Behold I bring you ti- 
 dings, ftrange tidings indeed of a ftrange birth full of 
 prodigies and wonders } wherein the Antient of days is 
 become a fwadlcd child 5 and he who is the Son of God 
 without a Mother, now made the Son of a Woman 
 without a Father ^ a ftrange Woman too, that is both a 
 Mother and a Virgin, nay at once both Mother of her 
 own Father, and the Daughter of her own Son. For 
 fiich a Mother (he muft needs be, that is the Mother of 
 Cod. W'here is Solomon with his nihil novum fab pie, 
 
 N n 2 there 
 
276 A Sermon on Chriftmas day, 
 
 there is no new thing under the Sun > fure here are many- 
 new things which the Sun never faw nor the world ever 
 heard of before 5 and therefore a greater than Solomon 
 is here: of whom Jeremy fpake when he (aid, creavit 
 QoMinus novum fiper t err am \ anew thing hath the 
 Lord created upon the earth, a woman Jhall compafs a- 
 bout a tnav^ Jer. xxxi. News then it is, and that ftrange 
 and admirable-^ but yet if it be as well good as ftrange, 
 as well beneficial to us as wonderful in it felf, we much 
 more willingly behold m Do fo then, for it is both 3 
 both news and good news y tidings and tidings of joy } 
 great joy too.} for behold I bring you tidings of great 
 joy. Joy for the benefit and honour 5 great joy for the 
 great benefit and honour we reap by it. Such as the few- 
 el is, fuch is the fire £ and as the benefit is, fuch (hould be 
 the joy. Never fuch a benefit, never fo great honour to 
 us and our nature , never, therefore fo great caufe of joy : 
 nay,never any caufe of joy at all but m this, or at lead in 
 the hope of this. Set it afide,and nothing but argument of 
 wo and lamentation through the whole world to be feen. 
 All mankind without it utterly loft in everlafting forrow$ 
 and the whole frame of Nature and whatfoever is within 
 the compafs of it fubjeft to malediction too, for their 
 fakes , and therefore could do nothing but groan and 
 travel in pain together with /ar, as the Apoftle fpeaks^ 
 Rom. viii. whofe cafe is well expreffed in the Pfalm^ for 
 we a\\ ftte in the region of death and darknefs, and 
 quale gaudium iis qui in tenebris fedent, and what joy 
 hath he that fits in the dark, faid blind Tobe unto the An- 
 gel > But that is not all, we were faft bound too in mife- 
 ry and iron : bound with the chains of our fins, and (hut 
 up to condemnation under the Law, as in a Prifonof mi- 
 icry, and quale gandium ? what joy unto fuch, not on- 
 ly in darknels but in chains, chained both in darknefs 
 und mifery ? This was our. cafe, and in. this cafe to tell 
 
 men 
 
ZJfon L u k. ii. verfe. 10,, 1 1. 277 
 
 men now ofa glorious light, of a rifing Sun that fbould 
 fhine into their darknefs $ and not only To, but to tell 
 them ofa ftrange deliverer alio born into the world, to 
 give them liberty a; well as light (for light without liber- 
 ty would ferve them only to fee their own mifery)ofa 
 mighty deliverer indeed that both coulJ and would 
 break the gates of Brafs and fmite the bars of Icon in fori - 
 der, and fo open the Prifon to the miferable Captives, 
 quale gaudium hoc, how great were this joy, the joy 
 ofthefe tidings \ And thefe are the joyful tidings the An- 
 gel now brings, well therefore may he term them tidings 
 of joy and great joy by which we are delivered from' 
 darknefs and mifery, utter darknefs and evcrlafting mi- 
 fery. Behold £ bring yon tidings of great joy. Joy then 
 there is in It, and great joy, yet this is not all that is in 
 it, 'tis publick joy too, and that is fomething more. Great 
 joy there may be, and we fee there often is, which yet 
 concerns but a very few : others in the mean while may 
 wail and mourn. This is not fuch, but as it is great in it 
 (elf, fo it fprcads and diffufeth it felf unto manv, to all v 
 omni popnlo, to all the people. Behold, <&c. And well 
 fare that joy where it is merry with all : every good 
 heart will like it the better, bonum quo commnnins eo 
 melius, for the better it is, ever whatsoever is good, the 
 more general it is: This is a degree beyond general, it 
 is univerfal joy \ a joy that runsthrough the univerfe and. 
 affects the whole world. And the world may well won- 
 der at it. It never faw, I am fure never could give any 
 the like. As our Saviour (aid of his peace, fo he might 
 Well fay of this his joy, nonficut wundus dat guudinn^ 
 not as the world givcrii joy fo give I joy, the world is 
 poor and beggarly, and cannot give to one but it mull: 
 take from another, cannot make one rich, but it muft 
 impovcriih another, cannot advance one, but it muftde- 
 prefa another^ and, therefore cannot give joy to one, 
 
 but 
 
78 A Sermon on Chriftmas day, 
 
 but it muft give forrow to another. This is the condi- 
 tion of the world, and all worldly joy 5 The Conquerer 
 celebrates his triumph , and the vanquifht lament their 
 mifery $ The heir joyes and rejoyceth in his inheritance, the 
 poffeffor dies weeping and mourning that he muft leave 
 it. The advanced afcends merrily unto his feat of dig- 
 nity, whilft his predeceflbr tumbles from thence with 
 forrow into his own ruin. Run through all the glory 
 of this prefent life, and fee if you can any where find 
 any man happy whereto felicity doth not arife out of 
 anothers mifery 5 and whofe joy is not built upon ano- 
 ther mans forrow : and therefore if fome be merry, fome 
 muft be fad : if fome laugh, others muft weep: if fome 
 rejoyce, others muft mourn : no joy in it to all the 
 people : Non vox hominem fonat y it is not the con- 
 dition of humane felicity this, neither can it fpring out 
 of the Earth 3 an Angel muft bring it from Heaven, from 
 thatGod who is truly rich and ofunexhaufted bounty, able 
 alone to fill fome without any diminution or emptying of 
 others. Yea to fill all and leave none empty. Only ex- 
 inanivit femeUpfum, it pleafed him to empty himfelf of 
 his honour this day, by affuming our flefti, that we and 
 our nature might be replenifht with it : he made himfelf 
 poor lying in a manner among brute beafts, that his 
 poverty might redound unto the riches of the world 3 
 and make men who for want of underftanding might 
 well be compared unto the beafts that perifti , in know- 
 ledge and goodnefi too, like the Angels of God that ftand 
 about his Throne, unlefs themfelves refufeit. And this 
 is the ty dings of joy the Angel here now brings, true joy 
 indeed and publick joy, Chriftmas joy right, gaudium 
 omni popular Joy unto all the people 5 to all that will 
 but entertain and embrace it } to all that do not wilfully 
 rejed and refufe it. To fuch indeed this joy (hall be 
 turned into forrow. but that is their own fault. If when 
 
 the 
 
Vfon Luk. ii. verfe 10, 1 1. 279 
 
 the Prifon is open'd,any of the captives be enamoured of 
 their own mifery, and ftill love darkneft more than light, 
 they may queftionlefs perifh in it ^ but then they may 
 thank none but themfelves^ it was ftill matter of joy 
 that a pafiage was made, and they might have come forth 
 if themfelves would. We muft ftill diftinguifh between 
 the event of a thing unto obftinate men, and Gods in- 
 tention of it in his own mercv : which though feme men 
 abufe to their hurt and forrow; vet the news of it in it 
 felf is news of joy unto all, to all the people, to all that 
 then were, and to all that ever lhall be, quod erit omni 
 populo, which flail be to all people, &c. Not only it is joy 
 which is unto the pre(ent age, unto all the men of that 
 or any one time, but which fhall be unto all ages and 
 generations fucceifively unto the worlds end, and there- 
 fore (he that now brought forth the blefled tydings which 
 the Angel here delivers, all generations, iaith the Scrip- 
 ture, Jljall call her bleffed. And this is our comfort, it is 
 the word of tenure by which we hold, that it (hall be to 
 all people. But this good Erit, that (hall be, is not re- 
 ferved only to omnt populo all the people that fhall be; 
 but may be read with the joy that goes before, gaudium 
 quod erit, joy which fhall be} not joy which is for a while, 
 and then vaaifheth ; but which (hall be for ever and ever,e- 
 verlafting joy.And this gives us one degree more in the joy. 
 For joy though never fo great in it felf, though publick 
 and common unto never fo many, yet if it abided) not.it is 
 but aperifhingandtianlient joy : but if great, publick, and 
 permanent too then tiscompleat and abfolute joy indeed ; 
 when it is gwdium quod eji & erit, joy which is and 
 which (hall be 5 ifc\t is none but Chrifts joy, a joy which 
 none can take from us. The worlds joy is, quod rfi,d> non 
 erit, a joy which is, but which fhortly fhall not be, but a 
 flaffa, but a blaze, quickly kindled but as fuddenly out. 
 Invicem cedunt dolor & voluptas : Joy and grief, like 
 
 day 
 
280 A Sermon on Chriflmas day y 
 
 day and night, take their turns in this life, and mutually 
 ever expel one another. They are clean contrary, yet, like 
 twins, they are bred in the fame bowels, wherein though 
 they fometimes ftruggle as Jacob and Efau did who (hall 
 firft come forth, yet the advantage of precedence is but 
 little, when the latter is not fo far behind but he hath ever 
 hold of the formers heel : like Aftors in a Tragedy, fo 
 they play their parts on the Stage of this world 5 when 
 one goes off, the other enters 5 and though joy begin 
 the Prologue^ the Cataftrophe ever (huts up in forrow. 
 All our pleafiires though never fo fweet in the mouth 
 proving, as the Wifeman fpeaks, but gall and wormwood 
 in the belly } and fometimes rottenneft in the bones. It is 
 therefore gaudium quod eft, only a joy that is, but (hall 
 quickly ceafe to be : a joy which like the winter Sun 
 may rife glorioufly, but is foon overcaft with clouds of 
 difcontent, and muft fet ere long in a night of forrow : a 
 long night unto fome that (hall never fee morning. Only 
 Chrifts joy, the joy which the Angel here brings, Chrift- 
 mas and Chriftian Joyjsgaudium quod eritjL joy which is, 
 and which (hall be } which is begun here and (hall be perfect- 
 ed and accomplifhed for ever hereafter: when we (hall fit 
 down at the right hand of God, where are plea fares for 
 evermore. So now you have all unto the full,great joy,pub- 
 lick joy, permanent and perpetual joy 5 nothing more can 
 be added to make it fuller or greater } it hath already all the 
 dimenfions of grcatnefs,height,length,breadth and depth} 
 As deep as Hell from whence it delivers 5 as high as the 
 higheft Heavens whither it will bring us^ broad as the 
 whole Earth fpreading unto all people, that have or do 
 inhabit it or ever (hall 5 and long as etfrnity can make it, 
 whereinto it runs: joy which (hall be for evermore. Well 
 did it deferve that Ecce of admiration fet up in the top of 
 it, as a burning Beacon to draw all eyes and affedtions 
 towards it. Behold 1 bring ypu % &c. 
 
 But 
 
■ I ' ■ ■ ' 
 
 ZJpon L u k. ii. verfe 10, ii. 281 
 
 But this is but the Preface : proceed we now unto that 
 wherein all this Joy doth confift,and whereof it is fpoken : 
 the meflage or fermon it felf : whofe whole fubjeft is the 
 blefled birth of our Lord and Saviour we this day Cele- 
 brate, For unto you^ &c» Wherein there are three Cir- 
 cumftances of the birth, where, when and for whom: Vn- 
 to you is bom this day in the City of David: And 
 three Titles, or Attributes of the Perfon born, a Savi- 
 our which is Chrijl the Lord. The Circumftances are firft 
 placed, but the parts of fubftance muft be firft handled : 
 both becaufe they are more worthy in themfelves, and 
 alfo have nearer reference unto the joy precedent and 
 the three degrees of exaltations of it : whereunto thefe 
 three titles do fitly anfwer and correfpond : the joy was 
 great, publick, permanent, and now we fee the reafon : 
 Great Joy? for a Saviour is born : public^ joy^ for that Sa- 
 viour is Chrift: permanent and perpetual joy ', for that 
 Chrift is the Lord 5 the Lord of eternity that only can 
 give eternity to our Joy. And briefly of them all : 
 but firft of the firft Attribute of him which is a Sa- 
 viaur. 
 
 1. And fure if ever any, this istydings of great Joy, i e 
 tydings of a Saviour : no joy in the world to the joy 
 of a man faved. We our felves acknowledge it in other 
 matters 5 If it concerns the faving of our skin, of our 
 goods, of our life, or the like, how do we rejoyce in 
 fuch Saviours ? Let a man under the Law in cafe of a 
 loft man, caft and condemned, expecting nothing but ex- 
 ecution : and then let a Saviour come to him with a par- 
 don, and fee if it be not a welcome meflage 5 if he think 
 it not the joyfullcft tydings that he ever heard. But 
 beloved we have Souls too, and they are our better parts 
 by far, and the forrows of that death they arc fubjeft 
 to, great and more lafting : And if the faving of a peri- 
 lling tranfitory life ot living, be fo precious unto us, 
 
 O o how 
 
282 A Sermon on Cbrifimas day, 
 
 how full of Joy would the birth of a Saviour be, for them 
 that otherwife muft die for ever in perpetual torments ? O 
 when it concerns the lofs of Heaven and danger of Hell, 
 when the Soul is at ftake, and the well doing or undoing 
 of it for ever 5 Confider it right,and in this cafefure no joy 
 to the joy of a Saviour. But we do not confider it, at leaft 
 not throughly, and that is the reafon it affe&s us (6 little. 
 To fpiritual things we are dull and dead, but quick and 
 fenfible in carnal : and as it feems, more apprehenfive of 
 our ficknefs, than our fins, of the faving of our goods 
 and bodies, than of the lofs of God or perifhing of our 
 Souls. Otherwife the preferver of thofe wifhes would 
 not be welcomed with fuch joy, and the Saviour of thefe 
 which are infinitely better, fo coldly efteemed. Certainly 
 could we but fee our fins in the true fhape, and behold 
 with our eyes the (brrows they deferve, and our fouls 
 muft fuffer for them } were we permitted a while to look 
 into that fearful pit, whereunto we are condemned, and 
 take a view of the horror that is in it, A Saviour from them 
 and from thence would be fomething better regarded. 
 But however we efteem it not now, when the deftru&i- 
 on is too far off us to affeft us 5 yet the time will come 
 Jer. xxx. when it (hall, In noviffitno inteUigetis plane, in the end, 
 faith Jeremyjje (hall clearly underftand. In the end indeed, 
 in that fad and fearful day, when the deftru&ion fhall ap- 
 proach and the deftroyer fhall come, when tribulation and 
 anguifh fhall be upon every Soul that hath done evil } when 
 they (hall cry unto the Rocks and Mountains to fall upon 
 them,and hide them from the pretence of the Lord and the 
 wrath to come 5 then indeed when we (hall find the want 
 of a Saviour, we (hall plainly underftand this, and value 
 the benefit and joy of it as we ought, and know and find 
 that there is no joy in the earth to the joy of a Saviour. 
 2 - A Saviour that is the firft: the Angel addeth for a dif- 
 ference, which is Chriji 5 to diftinguifh him from all other 
 
 Saviours. 
 
 *4 
 
ZJfon L a k. ii. verfe 10^ 1 1. 283 
 
 Saviours. For othersthere were many bom, and fent un- 
 to them at divers and fevcral times to deliver them from 
 particular and feveral diftrcfles. As Mojes, JoJh*4 t Gi- 
 dcon.Jcphta, shamgar, Sawp [on, and the reft in the Book 
 of the Judges $ which indeed is nothing elfe but a Cata- 
 logue of Saviours which the Lord at fundry times raifed 
 up to free and avenge them of their enemies. Thefe were 
 Saviours all in their kind,and joy there was in them, and 
 great joy too in their times and to that Nation, but no 
 univerfal joy : they were but petty and particular Savi- 
 ours. One there was yet behind, that was worth them 
 all, one that fhould fave his people from their fins 5 (ave 
 not their bodies for a time, but their Souls forever 5 which 
 none of thefe Saviours could do. And therefore a pub- 
 lick , general and univerfal Saviour, of whom all had 
 need, as being all (inners : one much talked of, and long 
 expe&ed , the great and famous Saviour of all 5 fach 
 a one was behind : And now he is come , this is he , 
 the Saviour which is chriji^ &c. He of whom all 
 Prophecies made mention , and he the performance .of 
 them all 5 of whom all the Types under the Law were 
 (hadows, and he the fubftance of them all : of whom all 
 the Prophecies ran , and he the fulfilling of them all ; 
 he of whom all thofe inferiour Saviours were figures and 
 forerunners, and he the accomplifhment of all that in 
 them was wanting. 
 
 This is he, Jacobs Shilo, Efa/s Emmanuel^ Jeremy's Gen. xlix. 
 Branchy Daniels A ejfias, Aggais dcflderatus cuts&is IO - 
 gent i bus ^ the defire of nil the nations, the dejire of them w' xxiii 4 ' 
 then, and now the j oy of all nations, Gaudium omni $. 
 populo, the joy of all people, a Saviour which is Chrift. Djn ix - 2 5- 
 And this, this univerfality of joy is comprifed in the hSjJlJJ 
 very name, for Chrift fignifics anointed, and that is as 
 much as S. John delivereth in other terms, a Saviour feat- 
 ed, John vi. 27. for by anointing, Kings and Priefts and 
 
 O o 2 Prophets 
 
2 84 A Sermon on Chriftmas day y 
 
 Prophets in old time were deputed, figned and fealed, as 
 it were, to their feveral offices, and received power and 
 commiffion to execute thofe high fun&ions. 
 
 So then a Saviour he is, not as thofe others were raifed 
 up uponafudden, upon fome occafion toferve the pre - 
 fent, and never heard of till they came 5 but a Saviour 
 in Gods forecounfel refolved on and given forth from the 
 beginnings promifed and foretold and now anointed 
 and fent with abfolute commiffion and fulnefs of power to 
 be a perfeft and complete Saviour of all, a Saviour which is 
 Chrift That is, a Saviour ex officio^ whofe office and very 
 profeffion is to fave : that all may have right to repair unto 
 him and find it at his hands 5 not a Saviour incidently,as it 
 fell out, but one ex profejjo anointed to that end, . and 
 by vertue of his anointing appointed, let forth and fent 
 into the world of purpofe to execute this funftion of a 
 Saviour : not to the Jews only, as did the reft, but to all 
 the ends of the earth. Soruns his commiffion unto his 
 Difciples, ite in univerfum orbem^ go into, the whole 
 world and preach the Gofpel, omni Creature to every 
 Creature: fo runs his own Proclamation, venite ad me 
 omnes^ come unto me, and come all, Matth. xi. 28. and 
 of them that do come I will caft none out, John vi. 37. 
 Servator omnium hominum , the Saviour of all men, 
 I Tim. \v. 4. and as the Samaritans faid of him Serva- 
 tor mundi^ the Saviour of the world of Samaritans, 
 Jews, and Gentiles 5 of Kings, and Shepherds and all. 
 And fure this ispublick and univerfal joy, gaudium omni 
 populo, joy unto all people indeed 5 for whom there is 
 now a faving office erefted, one anointed to that end, a 
 profeffed Saviour to whom all may refbrt. None (hall 
 henceforth be to fee:k , there is a name given under Hea- 
 ven whereby we may be fure of Salvation, and this is that 
 name, the name Chrift, A Saviour which is born, &c. 
 Two of his Attributes then we have, a Saviour which is 
 
 Chrift, 
 
ZJpon Luk. ii. verfe icx, 1 1. 285 
 
 Chrift, that is, a Saviour and a publick Saviour 5 but he 
 muft be a perpetual Saviour too,, otherwife our joy will 
 not be full. Though it be great, though it be general, 
 though it be general to all people 5 yet it will fade and 
 perifb, it will not be gaudinm quod erit, joy which [hall 
 be lafting, everlafting joy, none can give that but an e- 
 ternal and everlafting Saviour : And he that will be fuch, 
 muft be fomething more than Chrift : fo therefore he is a 
 great deal more, Chrifius Dominu^ Chrift the Lord. 
 
 Not a Lord that is particular, and hath reference to a 
 private title, whereof he is Lord 5 Lord of this or that 
 place, or people, and the like : but the Lord, which is 
 abfolute, and univerfal, without any addition : you may 
 put to it what you will,Lord of Heaven and Earth,of Men 
 and Angels } Dominus Chrijlornm, £> Doming domi- 
 noruw, Lord paramount over all : fuch was this Saviour, 
 and fuch it behoved him to be \ not only Chrift, that 
 name will fort with Men, yea it is his name as Man only, 
 for God cannot be anointed. But he that would fave 
 the world, muft be more than Man, and (o more than 
 Chrift. Indeed Chrift cannot fave us, he that muft fave 
 us, muft be Chrift the Lord, and none but the Lord, ego 
 [Hm i ego fuw^ faith God himfelf, and pr<eter me non eft 
 Servator, it is I, it is I who am the Saviour, I am, and be- 
 fides me there is no Saviour 5 none indeed, no true Sa- 
 viour but theLord,all otherarefhort^tfa/i/* / hominis, 
 Mans Salvation is vain, faith the Pfalmift, any Salvation is 
 vain, if it be not the Lords,though they be Chrifts, as Kings 
 and Princes are, who are Gods anointed, yet they can- 
 not fave. Truft not in Kings and Princes, for nan eft 
 falus, there is no falvation, no, no health nor help in 
 them, their breath departs, and they return to the earth. 
 For though they are Chrift j, yet they are but Chrifti 
 Domini, the Lord's Chrifts, and we (hall never arrive at 
 full and perfeft Salvation, till we come to Chnfins Do- 
 
 minus 
 
2 86 A Sermon on Chrift mas day, 
 
 Minus Chrift the Lord. All the help and Salvation which 
 thofe other Chrifts and Saviours can afford, doth but con- 
 cern the body 5 that indeed they may fometimes kill or 
 fave at their pleafure 5 but not one of them can quicken 
 his own Soul, much lefs give a ranfome for anothers 5 it 
 coft more to redeem it than fo, and he muft let that alone 
 for ever : let it alone for this Chrift whofe work it is, 
 Chrift the Lord that only can fave both Body and Soul, 
 his own and other Mens too. Secondly,thofe other Chrifts 
 which are not the Lord, as they fave only the Body 5 
 fo can they fave' only from bodily and corporal enemies : 
 but we had need of a Saviour from ghoftly adverfaries, 
 from fpiritual wickedneffes in high places, a Saviour that 
 might wraftle with principalities and powers, and triumph 
 over them too } and no Chrift may do this but Chrift the 
 Lord, the Lord of power and might, only able to bind 
 the ftrong Man in his own houfe, and fpoil him of his 
 goods : of power alone to deftroy Abaddon the great 
 deftroyer of the bottomlefs pit. Thirdly, thofe other 
 Chrifts as they fave but from corporal enemies 3 fo but 
 from worldly calamities, from debts,and arreftsand prifons 
 and the like penalties of their own Laws, But who fhall 
 deliver us from fin, and death, and hell ? From fin the 
 grand debt of mankind, from death the univerfal Ser- 
 geant of all flefti, and from Hell the everlafting prifon of 
 Body and Soul ? For thefethey can give no prote&ion, 
 they are all fubjeft unto them themfelves, for breaking a 
 higher law, the eternal law of the Almighty which no o- 
 ther can fatisfy for, but a Chrift as Almighty, Chriftus 
 Dominus Chrift the Lord. Laftly, all other Chrifts or 
 Saviours whatfbever, as they fave but in few things and 
 thofe only corporal, and worldly ^ fo in them they fave 
 but for a little while 5 which is but a reprieve rather than 
 a faving 5 for long they cannot fave others, that fb quick- 
 ly perifh themfelves. Evermore they die, they drop away 
 
 ftill, 
 
ZJponL u k. ii. verfe 10, 1 1. 287 
 
 ftill, and leave their favourites and followers to feek: but 
 it is not a (hort refcue for a time, but a permanent and 
 perpetual Salvation that we expeft for ever, and for ever 
 we might expedt it at the hands of any other Chrifts, 
 and not find it, becaufe they cannot endure by reafon of 
 death, Heb. vii. 25. only this Chrift becaufe he is the 
 Lord, Dominus vit£> the Lord of life, indureth for e- 
 ver s hath an everlafting Kingdom 5 wherein he difpen- 
 feth eternal Salvation which he purchafed by his Prieft- 
 hood. The author of eternal S alvation to all that depend 
 on him, Heb. v. 9. and mark that well, for none but the 
 Lord can ^vork eternal Salvation. To fave, may agree 
 unto men , thus tofave,to none but Chrift. To begin and 
 toend,to fave Soul and Body from bodily and ghoftly ene- 
 mies, from fin and offence, and death the puni(hment,from 
 Hell the deftruftion, and Satan the deftroyer, for a time 
 and for ever, Chrift the Lord is all this and doth all this. 
 Now then we are right and never till now, we have all 
 his attributes, a Saviour, the word of benefit,whereby he 
 is to deliver us 5 Chriji^ his name of office, whereby he is 
 bound to undertake it} the Lor d, his name of power, 
 whereby he is able toeffeft it. Now our joy is full and 
 never till now, we have all the degrees of it: whatfoe- 
 ver the Angel promifed is here performed: great joy, he 
 is a Saviour 5 publick joy to all people, a Saviour which 
 is Chrift 5 perpetual joy, joy which (hall be even forever 
 and ever , he is Chrift the Lord : the Lord who will not 
 only free us from our mifery and bring us to as good and 
 better a condition as we forfeited and loft by our fall 5 
 (for clfc though we were faved,we (hould not fave by the 
 match:) but that we may not be fa vers alone, but gainers 
 and great gainers by our Salvation, eftate us in all the 
 blifs and happinefs he is Lord of himfelf And Lord he is 
 of life, as I faid. Life then he will impart : and he is Lord 
 of glorj, 1 Cor. ii. 8." and glory he will impart: and he 
 
 is 
 
288 A Sermon on Chriflmas day, 
 
 is Lord ofjoy^ Mat. xxv. 21. Joy then he will impart 
 life and glory and joy, and make us Lord of them,and of 
 whatfoever is within the name and title of Lord, even 
 for ever and ever. And then it will be perfeft joy indeed 
 when we (hall enter into the joy of our Lord, into that 
 joy and life and glory and bleffednefs wherewith our Lord 
 himfelf is eternally bleffed. Gaudium quod er/7,joy which 
 (hall be indeed and never ceafe to be,everlafting,for ever- 
 more. So now we have all and never till now, all his 
 Attributes, a Saviour, Chrift.the Lord 5 all our joy, great, 
 publick and perpetual} nay if you mark it, we have yet 
 more than this : all his compofition too, two natures in 
 one perfon : his humanity in Chrift, his divinity in the 
 Lord : and but one Saviour of both, one Saviour which 
 is Chrift the Lord,and one perfon which is Man and God. 
 And juft fo it (hould be, for of right none was to make 
 fatisfa&ion for Man, but Man 5 and in very deed, none was 
 able to give fatisfa&ion to God, but God. So that being 
 to fatisfy God for Man, he was to be God and Man : and 
 fo he is : A Saviour who is Chrift the Lord. And fo he 
 became this day } when though the Almighty God as this 
 day he was born into the world in our nature and made 
 Man. The bleffed birth of which thrice bleffed perfon, 
 thus furnifhed in every point to fave us throughly, Bo- 
 dy and Soul, from fin aj?id Satan, the deftroyers of both, 
 and that both here and for ever : the bleffed birth of this 
 thrice blelled perfon (for every word in his name is a fe- 
 veral bleffing) is the very fubftance of this daysfolemnity, 
 of the Angels meffage and of our joy : That which re- 
 mains is but circumftance, circumftance of perfons, time 
 ,and places of the perfons for whom^ of the time when, 
 and the place where „• yet not fo light and trivial, as may 
 wholly be omitted: the Angel, the Holy Ghoft would 
 not leave them unmentioned, and we may not pafs them 
 .over untoucht: yet we (halibut touch them and fo con- 
 clude, 
 
Vpn Lu k. ii. verfe 10, 1 1. 289 
 
 elude, but taking them in their order backward, begin- 
 ning with the place where: where this Saviour was born, 
 In the City, &c. And where (hould the Son of David 
 be born, but in the City of Davids not in that City 
 which David repaired, and wherein he reigned (that b 
 Jerufalem, a famous City indeed) but in that City where 
 David was born, which is Bethlew, a poor City, a Village 
 rather than a City : And in this, this little Town did this 
 great Saviour, thisChrift the Lord vouchfafe to be born, 
 Indeed when he would die, he would die at Jerufalem^ 
 when he was to fuffer fhame and ignominy, derifion and 
 difgrace, and all manner ofdifhonour, he would fuffer it 
 in the eye of the world in that great City 3 but when he 
 was to be born, he would be born in Bethlem : when he 
 was to be glorified by Angels and receive gifts and wor~ 
 (hip from Kings and Princes 5 he would receive it in an 
 obfeure and private place 5 this little Village: that fo he 
 might condemn the worlds pride at his firft entrance in- 
 to the world, and teach men by his very birth the firft 
 point of Chriftianity, to contemn honour and embrace 
 contempt. A doftrine which yet the particular place of 
 his birth doth urge much more vehemently : for it was 
 not only in Bethlem a poor Town, but in an Inn of Beth- 
 lem and a poor Inn : fb it feems, for there was no room 
 for them in it } and not fb only, but in the pooreft and 
 bafeft part of the Inn, in the Stable. This was the Cham- 
 ber of ftate for this great King, inftead of fweet odors 
 perfumed with filth s and hung with no other Arras, 
 but what was weaved by Spiders, wherein he had only 
 Litticr for his Bed, a Manger for his Cradle, and an Oxe 
 and an Afs for his attendants. So low did he defcend for 
 our fakes, by his own example utterly to cry ddwn all 
 the pomp and honour of theprefent life, than which no 
 thing is of more power to deprive us of the glory of the 
 life to come. What a deep humiliation hath he begun 
 
 P p withal? 
 
2 yo A Sermon on Chriftmas day, 
 
 withal ? and how ftrange a difproportion is this, between 
 the titles of his perfon, and places of his birth? the Savi- 
 our, Chrift the Lord to be born in Bethlem^ in an Inn, a 
 Stable, a Saviour in Bet hie «?,Chrift in an Inn,the Lord in 
 a Stable ? yet fo he would have it for our inftru&ion 5 yea 
 and for our comfort alfo. It is not point of do&rine only, 
 but matter of joy too: for joy there is in it, even that it 
 was in Bethlem : Bethlem fignifies the houfe of bread, 
 and bread fignifies all that we want 5 to give us our daily 
 bread, is to give us whatfoever we need, whatfoever we 
 need for the body , but this is fpiritual bread, and fup- 
 pliesus with whatfoever we can defirefor the Soul. Joy 
 and great joy in this, panis de Co>lo, bread from Heaven, 
 the living bread, of which whofoever eats, (hall never 
 die 5 and therefore perpetual joy too } joy which (hall 
 be for ever, he fhall never die. Joy in Bethlem then: nay 
 and joy there is too in the Inn, joy in the very Stable} 
 and that publick joy, omni populi^ joy to all the people : 
 For an Inn is downs populi^ the houfe of the people, o- 
 pen and free for every Man 5 and though there maybe 
 private rooms, wherein Men fort themfelves in the Inn, 
 yet the Stable at leaftis publici juris ,all Men have inter- 
 eft in it .° that is common. And as the place, fo is the be- 
 nefit of his birth, the dew of it is as the womb of the 
 morning, faith the Pfalmift, that is, his birth, from the 
 womb, is as the morningdew, watering and refrefhing not 
 Gideons fleece alone, the land of Jury, but the face 
 of the whole Earth. And this is the/r/?, the place where. 
 
 Thefecond circumftance is the time when, lodie this 
 day, faith the Angel, for unto yon is born this day. And 
 what day was this? mod think it was the firft day of the 
 week, as this is, fo it will fcrve us right hodie, as this 
 day 3 this very day of the week : but what day was 
 
 pfethe year? why of all days of the year, upon the 
 thorteft in the depth of winter 5 and pf all hours in that 
 
ZJpon Lu K.ii. verfe 10, II. 201 
 
 day in the darkeft, for it was in the depth of night 5 andfo 
 in the very point and clofeof the old week and beginning 
 of the new. That as he chofe the word: and meaneft places 
 for his birth 3 fo the loweft periods, and utmoft limits of 
 time wherein he would be born. According to his own 
 rule, vere recubuit in novijfimo loco, he every way fate 
 him down in the loweft rooms. And every way is caufe 
 of Joy unto us 5 for ftill we have joy in all, joy and great 
 joy : that he came in that feafon in the deep of winter, 
 when all things were at the word ; when all things were 
 fruitlels, faplefs and even dead, for want of heat and 
 comfortable influence. It refle&s on our fpiritual eftate 5 
 for juft fo and fuch it was : and the Sun of righteoufnefs 
 could never rife in a better feafon, in a time of greater 
 need, to unthaw with his divine beams our frozen af- 
 fe&ions, to give light to our minds, warmth to our de- 
 votions and life to all, that fo we might become as Trees 
 of the Lord, full of fap, growing up in Grace and Ver- 
 tue, and bringing forth fruit unto eternal life. Joy and 
 publick joy that he came on that very day, the firft day of 
 the week 3 it was the firft too of the world 5 and that 
 he who was to redeem the world, (hould be born into it 
 on the felf fame day wherein the world was created.* 
 what doth it argue but that the redemption was to be as 
 univerfal as the Creation ; as the creation of this afpe&a- 
 ble world that was made for man ? And therefore go into 
 the univerfal world, faith our Saviour, and preach the 
 Gofpel unto every Creature. Laftly, joy and perpetual 
 joy that he came in that precife hour, in the deep and 
 loweft bottom of the night : the Sun that can then rife 
 and in that point and (hine upon us , it is impoflible it 
 fhould ever fet. If our very night be turned into day, that 
 day fure can never fee night : unlefs men wilfully muffle 
 themfelves and turn their day again into night by put- 
 ting out their own* eyes: and not to be pitied by any 
 
 P p 2 if 
 
2Q2 A Sermon on Cbnjimas day, 
 
 if they dwell in perpetual darknefs ever after. So we 
 have all, all the joy and all the degrees of it in thiscircum- 
 ftance too, the circumftance of time. There only re- 
 mains the particular application of all which indeed is all 
 in all, and you have it ia the laft point, r^//, all is for 
 you, Unto y on, &c. 
 
 There is not a word in the Text but, as you havefeen, 
 hath joy in it 5 but this word hath the joy of them all, 
 all the joy which is difperfed and fcattered through the 
 whole, being colle&ed and united in : this -one. Before it 
 was only as oyle or wine preffed out into feveral veflels: 
 but this is the pipe whereiaall mud be poured and tunn'd 
 up, before it will work either cheerfulnefs in the counte- 
 nance or gladnefs in the heart, were the joy never fb 
 much. For if it be prepared for others, if we (hall re- 
 main as empty. Casks 5 quid ad zw, what is it to us? and 
 what are we the better > But now all is poured forth in- 
 to our own bofoms } and that we may -.be alj filled with 
 the fulnefs of it, it is particularly apply ed unto you, and 
 every of you, For unto you, &c. And herein is the 
 comfort of all, not that he was born for all in general, 
 but for you in particular. Omni p&pulo to all the people, 
 isTomething too large and univerfal, and the hundredth 
 part of them (hall not receive benefit by him, and fb it 
 leaves us (till in doubt : we would gladly therefore hear 
 it in more reftrained terms, in terms of.fbme propriety 
 that may allure us: why vobis for you,he is born for you, 
 Yea now you fay fomewhat 5 And twice it is here faid for 
 failing,in every verfe} once Evungehzo vobis?lbr\f\g unto 
 7<?#«good>tydings, in the firft, and now Natus vobis,, 
 bom unto you, in this latter, that ye may know the met 
 fage r is yours and the birth is yours,:, therefore, the met 
 fage is fent unto you, becaufethe birth concerneth ycu. 
 So yours they be. both, both meffage and, birth, and joy 
 a;id all 5 whatfcever is contained in, bpthjsj wholly yours. 
 
 Yours. 
 
ZJponLu k. ii. verfe io> 1 i. 295 
 
 Yours the Saviour, yours. the Chrift, yours his benefit, 
 his office, his power: his benefit to fave you 3 his office 
 to undertake you 5 his power to fecure you. Yours his 
 falvationas}6(us,his Anointing as Chrift, his dominion as 
 the Lord. For if the birth be yours, all that follows the 
 birth muft be yours too : if he himfelf be yours, all that 
 is his is yours alfo. And fo it is, omnia ejus veflra font, 
 all that he hath is yours, Lul^. xv. 31. Now then fince 
 he, and all that he hath is ours, will it not be well done 
 to make our Entry, to take feifin of him, and then to 
 difpofe all to our beft benefit? fo fhall we, as Bernard 
 wifhethus, nti nojlro in uulitatent noftrant, & dt faU 
 vatore jilutem operari, imploy or make ufe of him, for 
 our beft behoof: draw his proper extrafl: from him, and 
 work falvation out of this our Saviour. But how may 
 that be done ? fure no way better, than as God in his in- 
 finite-mercy this day gave hirru fo we this day again in all 
 thankfulnefs receive him : otherwife w€ fhall but evacuate 
 the gift, and dtfhonour the giver } but abufe his good- 
 neft, and lofe our own benefit : For it is not fo ours, but 
 by our own negleft it may be loft : For though all be 
 ours, becaufe given us 5 yet nothing fhall be ours, if not 
 accepted. Ours indeed he and all his are already by right 
 and intereft$ but they are never throughly curs, till they 
 be ours by poffeffion , and then they are ours indeed. 
 Pollcflion then let us take : but how or which way fhall 
 we take it ? no way fo well as in the blefled Sacrament, in 
 the holy Myfteries inftituted of purpofe, and ordained 
 to no other end but for pledges to allure us, and con- 
 duits to convey unto us this blefled Saviour and all his be- 
 nefits. There and there only we may be feifed and pof- 
 fefled of both: for there and there only are both to be 
 ?cceived. Thither then let us approach with all reverence . 
 and due regard to claim our intereft in them, and then 
 beaffured it (hall never be denied : He himlelf will pre- 
 
 fentlyv 
 
.2^4 ^ Sermon on Chriflmas day, &c. 
 
 fently meet and anfwer us with an Accipite^ Here take 
 this is my body, by the offering w hereof ye are (ancli- 
 fied : Take this is my blood, by the (bedding whereof ye 
 are faved. Take and receive them both, and with them 
 all the joyes and bleffings they both have purchafed, or 
 this Text doth afford, for now after this, all are yours in 
 right and yours in pofleflion 5 none can bereave you of 
 them. You have the Author of all fafe enough, and faft 
 enough, with you, nay within you. It is no longer now 
 Na tus vobis to you is born a Saviour 3 but in vobis in 
 you he is born, and in you he lives and will live for ever. 
 Ye may henceforth fay with St. Panl^jam non ego vivo 
 fedvivit in me chrijlus , it is not I now that live but 
 Chrift liveth in me $ and if he live in us now, we (hall 
 live in him for ever hereafter: For if whilft ye live, ye do 
 not live but Chrift liveth in you 5 why, when ye die ye 
 fhall not dye but live in Chrift, in Chrift the Lord of life 
 and glory and joy 5 and with Chrift be made coheirs and 
 Lords of them all,and whatfoever other bleffednefs where- 
 with he himfelf is everlaftingly Bleffed. Which the Lord 
 God Almighty vouchfafe unto us, for this our Saviour 
 Chrift the Lords fake : who this day came to purchafe 
 them for us, and to whom with the Father and the bleffed 
 Spirit, three Perfons, &c. be rendred all, &c* Amen. 
 
 Laus Deo in aternum. 
 
 THE 
 
295 
 
 THE SECOND 
 
 SERMON 
 
 O N 
 
 CHRISTMAS Day. 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 Upon G a l. iv. 4, 5. 
 
 When thefullnefs of time was come, God fent forth his 
 Son, made of a Woman, made under the Law: 
 
 That he might redeem them that were under the Law, 
 tl?at we might receive the adoption of Sons. 
 
 THE Text begins with the fulneft of time, but 
 we may well begin with the fulnefs of the Text, 
 for it hath both, fulnefs of time and fulnefs of 
 matter 5 the love of the Father, the humility of 
 the Son, and the happinefs of man arifing from both are 
 here at the full. Firft the fulnefs of the Fathers love, who fo 
 loved the w#rld as Ik gave his only begotten Son. When 
 the fulnefs, &c* God fent his Son , &c. Secondly the 
 fulnefs of the Sons humility, not only vouchsafing to take 
 on him our natureroade of a Woman,but alfbour mifcrable 
 
 condition, 
 
zcj6 Afecond Sermon on Chriflmas day y 
 
 condition, undertaking to fatisfy the Law unto whofe 
 condemnation we were {ubjedL^made under the L<*n?,&c. 
 Thirdly and laftly, the fulnefsof our blifs and happinefs 
 arifing from both, as being now ranfomed from the death 
 of everlafting forrow which the Law did threaten, that 
 he might redeem, &c. and not fo only, but adopted al- 
 (6 unto that immortal life of glory, which the Gofpel 
 dothpromife, that we might, &c. by the one we are 
 freed from all evil, by the other inverted with whatfoe- 
 ver is good, and both muft needs make up the fulnefi of 
 happinefs, That he, &c. So thefe three are here at the 
 full, and in the fulnefs of them doth confift the fulnefi 
 of the whole Gofpel, whofe foundation is wholly built 
 upon the Son of God fent into the world 3 of whom 
 there is little to be known, and by whom there was lit- 
 tle performed and fulfilled, which is not even in thefe 
 veifes fully expreffed. For you have here both founda- 
 tion and roof} both fubftance of the work and all the 
 circumftances that belong unto it 5 and you may fee in it 
 not only that he was a Saviour fent into the world (which 
 is the main^ but alfo, who it was that was lent, and by 
 whom,andin what manner, to what end, and in what time, 
 which are neceffary adjuncts. If you demand of it, who 
 it was that was fent ? it tells you the Son of God} if by 
 whom? itanfwers,by God his Faihev,Godfent his Son } 
 if in what manner ? it replies in a twofold 3 made and 
 -made again} twice made, fadnm ex, e^ faSum fab, 
 made of, and made under, made of a Woman, and made 
 under the Law. If to what purpofe all this? it gives 
 you a double end, which is the comfort of all, Redemp- 
 tion and Adoption unto men. To them that were^&c. 
 That we might, &c. Laftly, if when it was performed ? 
 you have it clearly and fully in the firft words, in pie- 
 mtudine temporis, in the fulnels of time. When the 
 fulncfs, &c. So have you the fending, and whatfoever 
 
 may 
 
ZJpon Ga l.iv. verfe 4^ 5. 297 
 
 may feem to belong unto it, who was fent, and by whom, 
 how, and why, and when, not one the leaft circumftance 
 is omitted: but you have all, fo full it is, and yet you 
 have not all the fullnels. For fhould we inquire more 
 particularly into the nature and perfon of this Saviour, 
 here they are all three, one perfon and two natures, or 
 two natures in one perfon 5 he is the Son of God, fee his 
 Divinity, but of a Woman, fee his humanity: made of a 
 Woman 5 fee their union in one perfon, for God cannot 
 be made Man, but by making himfelf one perfon with 
 Man. This for his incarnation, will you now inquire for 
 the birth or nativity of the perfon fo incarnate > it's here 
 too, for as he was made, fo was he fent 5 as made of a 
 Woman, fo fent into the world : made of a Woman by 
 incarnation, and fent into the world by birth and nativi- 
 ty. God fent his fon made of a woman. Should we yet 
 proceed a ftep or two farther, after his incarnation and 
 birth, would you behold his life or contemplate his deaths 
 fee what he did in the one, or confider what he fuffered 
 in the other 5 that you may do alio, faftus fib lege^ will 
 give you both. For what were the aftions of his life, 
 but the keeping of the Law in himfelf? or what was the 
 paffion of his death, but theTatisfying of the Law for o- 
 thers that had broken it ? and in regard of either, made 
 under the law, under the law to fulfil the precepts which 
 it commands 5 and under the Law to fatisfy the penalty 
 which it injoins. So by this time I think it is full, filled 
 with the fiilnefs of the Gofpel of ]efus Chrift, whofe na- 
 tures, perfon, aftions, paffion, whofe incarnation, birth 
 life and death, it fully contains, vcre verbum abbrevia- 
 turn, it may well be termed an abbreviated word, a viol 
 of Spirits 5 a very extract, and quintcflence drawn from 
 four Evangelifts, and clapt up in two verfes by an Apo- 
 fde. Two verfes, which as I (aid, have but two general 
 parts 5 fulnefsof time and fulnefsof matter, both tend to 
 
 Q_ q declare 
 
^8 A fecond Sermon on Chriftmas day, 
 
 declare the greatnefs of the Fathers love, the depth of 
 the Sons humility,and the height of mans happineft. The 
 Fathers love is full,and grows unto 'its fulnefs by two de- 
 grees. He fent> and he fenl his Son. The Sons humility 
 is full, and it arifeth unto its fulnefi by two degrees, 
 made of a woman ,and made under the law. Mans happi- 
 neft is full, and it cometh to its fulnefs alfo by two de- 
 grees, Redemption and Adoptionjhat he might, or that 
 we mighty &t\ If then the greateji thing the Father could 
 fend (the Son) or the worji thing the Son could fuffer(the 
 maledi&ion of the Law) or the beji thing men could re- 
 ceive or with for (adoption of Sons) can make it full 5 it is 
 full indeed and to purpofe 5 for it is filled with all thefe. 
 And ofthis fulnefs we will now draw out untoyou,as much 
 as the (hort time will permit, beginning firft with the ful- 
 nefs ofthe time, When the fulnefs of time was come^ &c. 
 All the works of God, faith the Wife man, are done 
 in number, wefght and meafure, and therefore ^ftftftion- 
 lefs in a juft and opportune time } For time it is tflsfdoth 
 both number and meafure all his works, yea and gives 
 weight unto them too: his weightieft works and greateft 
 would be fomething the lighter and leffer, were they not 
 defigned unto the fulleft and fitteft times. This then, as 
 it exceeds all other in the greatnefs ofthe work : fo was 
 it fit to receive an anfwerable fulnefs of the feafon : 
 And fure the feafon mull: needs be full when fo great a 
 work was poured into it, when he came to fill it, in whom 
 the fulnefs of the Godhead dwells bodily. True, but yet 
 the Text doth not fo much derive the fulnefs of the time 
 from his coming, as kpply his coming unto the fulnefs of 
 :he time : as being full nd fit to receive him. Again 
 the time appointed by the f athcr, as it is a little before, 
 and foretold by his Frqphel , ■ as now full come and ex- 
 pired 3 this then muft needs : lefi of time. True 
 ?.lfo j they argue the ftdti „•£ of I . but (hortas wc mal 
 
ZJpon G a l iv. verfe 4^ 5. 299 
 
 it 5 for had there not been a fulnefs and fitnefs in the 
 time it felf, it had never been either appointed by the 
 one or foretold by the other : though without his ap- 
 pointment it came not to this fulnefs neither. True it is, 
 that the wit of Man is too narrow a veflel fully to receive 
 and comprehend all the reafons of this fulnefs 5 yet fure in 
 that which it doth apprehend, it hath reafon enough to 
 admire the wifdom of the Lord in the fitnefs of his ap- 
 pointment 3 not without fpecial convenience, chufing 
 out neither the firft beginning of the world nor the lafl: 
 end of it, but a mid time, as it were, between both, 
 when the world (hould arrive at his juft age. Not a time 
 of war, but a time of univerfal peace: Not the time of a 
 Common- weal , but the time of a general Monarchy : 
 not of the iEquinox,but the Solftice : not in the Summer, 
 but the Winter : not in the day,but in the night : for all 
 thefe may be comprehended within this fulnefs, as not 
 wanting their convenient fitnefs. 
 
 Firft then upon great reafon the Lord chofe not the 
 firft ages of the young world, but deferred it for fome 
 thoufands of years, that being firft (hadowed in types 
 and figures, and promifed by many and antient prophe- 
 cies and predi&ions, his coming might be the more de- 
 fired and expefted of Men 5 and himfelf the better re- 
 ceived and with lefs doubt entertained when he (hould 
 come. So great a myftery is the Incarnation of the Son 
 of God, that unlefs his perfon and a&ions, his birth, 
 death, and refurreftion, with all the particulars of either 
 had been clearly and frequently for many ages foretold 
 by the Prophets his forerunners, we (hould have little 
 means either to perfwade it to others, or at this day to 
 believe it our (elves. 
 
 And again upon as good reafon he chofe not the end 
 and laft age of the decrepit world 3 left all eyes (hould 
 fail, and hope faint, in too longexpe&ation, with Where 
 
oo A fecond Sermon on Cbriftmas day y 
 
 is the promife of his coming •? Rightly therefore in a point 
 and period of time between both thefe} neither when 
 the world was too old and doting, nor whilft it was 
 too young and under tutorage , as it is two verfts before, 
 but when it came to full age and ttrength in the fight of 
 him that made it. 
 
 Secondly, he chofe not a troublous time of war, but 
 of calm and fettled peace } as being the ttue Solomon and 
 Prince of peace, that came to no other end but to make 
 and eftablifh an everlafting peace between Heaven and 
 Earth, God and Man, Man and his own Soul 
 
 Thirdly, he chofe not a time of Republick, neither of 
 Anfiocracy, wherein few , nor Democracy wherein the 
 people have the chief power 5 but a time of Monarchy^ 
 when one Man (Augujius dejar) had obtained the Do- 
 minion, did fway the Scepter, command and give law 
 untothe whole world } to (hew that the univerfal Mo- 
 narch of all Nations, theSupream head of all Churches, 
 the Catholick Bifhop, and Paftor of all Souls, was now. 
 born into the world. 
 
 Fourthly, he chofe not the iEquinox but the Solftice 5 
 not the Summer Solftice, when the Sun runs at his high- 
 eft 5 but the Winter Solftice, when the days are at fhort- 
 eft: becaufethen the Sun firft begins to return, and the 
 days to increafe 5 as in light, fo afterwards in heat. 
 
 So in like manner he chofe the Meridian time 5 not 
 the diurnal Meridian, when the Sun by his prefence makes 
 light more : but the no&urnal, when by his abfence he 
 makes the deep noon of night 5 becaufe at that time the 
 Sun is in the furtheft point he can go from us, and firft 
 begins to afcend towards the morning. And both, to. 
 fhew the true Son of Righteoufnefs was now approaching 
 and drawing near unto us, by his comfortable prefence 
 to give new light unto our minds and divine heat unto, 
 our .affections 5 to unthaw our benum'd and .frozen con- 
 
 fcienccs, 
 
ZJfon Gal. iv. verfe. 4, 5. 501 
 
 fcicnces, and to difpel the darknefs of errour that cover- 
 ed our Souls, by the beams of his gracious countenance, 
 without which a Winter of perpetual coldnefi and ane- 
 vcrlafting night of ignorance would for ever hang upon 
 this little world of Man. So fit every way and full was 
 this time : A time when the world was at full age 5 and 
 fulnefs of peace was fpread upon it : when a full Monar- 
 chy had general dominion, and the Sun (the meafure of 
 time) arrived at his full period : on the SoHtice, thefui- 
 nefs of the annual, and on the Meridian, the fulnefs of the 
 diurnal revolution 5 the one making the depth of Winter, 
 the other of night. A time therefore every way full 5 
 but fuller yet by that which it now received, even him 
 that was filled with all the fulnefs of God, and from 
 whofe fulnefs we all receive whatfoever grace or good- 
 nefs we have: who was the fubftance ofall thofe fhadows, 
 the body ofall thofe figures, the accomplifhment of all 
 prophecies and the fulfilling or filling full ofall the pro- 
 rnifes that belong unto our happinefs, and in this regard 
 it is ttmpus plenitudin'ts, a time of fulnefs 5 as in the o- 
 ther refpefts it is plcnitudo temporis, the fulnefs of time. 
 And the fulnefs of time it is : and fo the very inftitution 
 of this feaft doth (hew it to be 5 for look how many 
 months there are in the year, fo many days we have gi- 
 ven to the feaft 5 for every month a feveral day : that as 
 the year is a full abridgment of all time, fb this time a fill! 
 recapitulation of the whole year 5 that as it is in it felf, 
 fo in our own obfervance, we might acknowledge it to 
 be the fulnefs of time. But it is time to pals from thi3 
 fulnefs to another: from the fulnefs of time, to the ful- 
 nefs of the Fathers love that was now (hown in it, who 
 now not only fent as at other times, but fent his Son, 
 zvhen the fulnefs of time, &c. 
 
 And fure as it is the firft, fo it is not the leaft degree of 
 his love that he voucHfaild to fend at all. Do but con- 
 
302 A fecond Sermon on Cbriftmas day, 
 
 fider what he is that fent, or what we are to whom he 
 lent, and we (hall foon with our (hame acknowledge it. 
 For what is he but the Lord of glory ? what we but vile 
 worms of the earth ? he a gracious Creator emptying forth 
 his goodnefs upon us : we his Creatures and yet rebel- 
 ling againft him by pride and difobedience. In this cafe 
 for him to have (ate ftill in the Throne of his Majefty, 
 and fuffered himfelf to be fent and fued unto by us, had 
 been a great favour $ and happy we if our humble re- 
 quefts might be but received at his hands : But now when 
 he a perfon fo infinitely above us, and (b mightily pro- 
 voked and offended by us, not once fo much as looked 
 after, but ftill negle&ed with the fame pride by which he 
 was at the firft contemned : That he now inftead of 
 hurling down upon our heads deferved vengeance and 
 deftru&ion, (hould condefcend (b low as to fend and (ue 
 unto us for peace and reconciliation, muft needs argue 
 an infinite love, and bowels filled with yearning com- 
 paffion on our miferable eftate. Ernbefcat ergo & con~ 
 fundatur humana fuperbia^ O how (hould the pride of 
 Mans heart blu(h and be confounded, when the offend- 
 ed God firft feeks unto (inful Men, and yet wretched 
 Men ftand upon terms one with another, think them- 
 felves difhonoured in feeking peace, and chufe rather to 
 die in enmity, than admit of reconciliation unlefs firft 
 fued unto,and not always then neither ! But God you fee 
 doth other wife, and thinks it no difparagement neither to 
 fend and fend firft, firft and firft unto m. Mark well, I 
 pray you, what one of his Meffengers fays, We are Em- 
 bajjfadors for Chriji Jefus and in his ftead^obfecramtis 
 vos^ we befeechyou to be reconciled unto God. 2 Cor. v. 
 God efteemed it no diftionour to fend Embaffadors unto 
 Men with terms of begging and befeeching reconciliation 
 at their hands : and yet perverfe Man holds himfelf dif- 
 honoured any way to feek it at the hands of his Brother. 
 
 Our 
 
ZJpon Gal. iv. verfe 4^ 5. 303 
 
 Our cogitations fureare carnal and worldly, and our 
 felves full of fecular arrogance, othervvife we fhould e- 
 fteem it our chiefeft honour to imitate the love of our 
 heavenly Father, and to prevent others rather than be 
 prevented in virtue and goodnefs. So then a love there 
 is in it, and a love that hath fulnefs far beyond the 
 empty affeftion of the infolent world, even in the very 
 fending 3 that fuch a fender fhould once fend unto fuch 
 perfons, an offended Creator unto offending creatures 5 
 this love hath fulnefs, but in that which follows is the 
 fulnefs of love, for he not only/?*/, but he fent his Son^ 
 When the fulnefs of time rvas come^ God fent his Son. 
 
 The Lord had many times heretofore fent unto the 
 finful world, fometimes by the miniftry of Patriarchs and 
 Prophets 5 fometimes by his miniftring Spirits the holy 
 Angels of Heaven: yet both are but his ordinary Met 
 fengers, and therefore declare no more than his ordinary 
 love: But now he fent one, that was never fent before, 
 one infinitely above either Prophet or Angel or what- 
 foever creature elfe is, or may be, an unufual and extra- 
 ordinary perfon. And therefore if we rightly eftimate, 
 as we fhould do, the love of the fender by the excellen- 
 cy of that which is fent, efpecially being fent not as the 
 former only in a meflage but as a gift unto the world \ 
 then fince there is nothing fo great and excellent as his 
 Son, his only begotten, and only beloved Son in whom 
 is the fulnefs of his own Godhead and brightnefs of his 
 own glory, As in fending him he fent the greateft, the 
 beft and the fulleft thing he had : fo it rauft needs argue 
 the greateft, the beft, the fulleft affe&ion that may be 
 imagined- There is not a fending of his, but hath ecce 
 chant as in it, behold the love of God 5 but this ecce 
 quanta^ ci.iritatem ojtendit Dcus^ behold how great 
 love God hath fhovvn unto us! 1 Johnm. 1. In every 
 one of the ether Tendings there is 2 dilcxit Dens, God 
 
 ld\ 
 
504 A fecond Sermon on Cbriftmas day y 
 
 loved the world, but now \thfic Deus dilexit, God fo 
 loved the world as he gave his only begotten Son. It was 
 not therefore any thing but love, and no empty love 
 neither, that he fent at any time and by the miniftry of 
 any to fach as we 5 but now fure it is full, and the ful- 
 nefs of love when he fent unto us him whom he moft 
 loved 5 his only beloved Son. And fare it is well for us 
 that he fent fuch a Meffenger : no other that had been but 
 a meer creature could have been fent in his errand, or at 
 leaft if he had been fent, could ever have returned with 
 his difpatch. 
 
 Were there nothing in his bufinefs more than the con- 
 queft of Satan, I doubt not fome other creature ftrength- 
 ened by God and the power of his might, might eafily 
 have been enabled to tread down that evil fpirit under 
 our feet. But confidering that God meant not to deli- 
 ver Man by a powerful conqueft, but a juft redemption, 
 by a juft Redeemer that (hould difiolve the juft condem- 
 nation of the Law, there is fomething more in it than the 
 conqueft of Satan : In this cafe he that (hall undertake it, 
 muft not only vanquifh the Prince of darknefs, but by 
 fatisfying Divine Juftice appeafe the King of Glory that 
 was offended. And this I fuppofe no meer creature en- 
 dued with any power of God whatfoever (unlets that 
 which arifeth from perfonal union with the Creator, 
 and maketh him ceafe to be a meer creature) could ever 
 be enabled to perform and accomplifb. He that (hall come 
 to Redeem, as it is here, that is, lay down a full price for 
 Mans tranfgreflion : He that (hall put himfelf under the 
 Law, that is, undertake the penalty which Divine Juftice 
 doth injoin unto the breakers : if he be but a finite per- 
 fon,he (hall be fare to fuffer infinite forrow : or rather be- 
 caufe being finite he cannot at once fuffer any thing that 
 is infinite, he muft fuffer it infinitely, that is, never make 
 nn end of fuffering, but lie under it for ever. The per- 
 
 fon 
 
ZJfon G a l iv. verfe 4, 5. 305 
 
 (on (atibfying muft be as infinite as the perfon offended 5 
 othervvife he can never be of that infinite merit as to make 
 a temporary paffion equivalent to a perpetual punifhment. 
 And this ftilladdsfulnefsto the Fathers love and to his wif- 
 dom too, who by fending this perfon not only fent one 
 that was full and anfwerable unto his own love, but full 
 and futable alfo to our neceffity. When no other Crea- 
 ture either in Heaven or Earth was either of worth fuf- 
 ficient to be imployed , or of fufficient ability to per- 
 form the imployment of this meflage and embafly, miftt 
 filinm^ he jent his Son. 
 
 So the Fathers love is full 5 twice full : he fent and fent his 
 Son : fent firft,and fent the beft thing that he had. We now 
 pafs on to the Sons humility *, wherein we (hall perceive 
 his love, arifing unto fullnefs by two degrees, made, and 
 twice made *, Made of a Woman,and made under the Law. 
 It muft needs be a great degree of humiliation for the 
 Son of God to be made at all, to be made any thing *> (or 
 to make him, faith one well, is to mar him, be it what it 
 will be. He is the maker and Creator of all things, and 
 therefore when hchimfelf is made, nolcfsthan the Cre- 
 ator is made a Creature, which cannot be but an infinite 
 abafement : But yet (ince he may not come in his own 
 glory, but muft be made \ if there be any thing better 
 than other, let him be made that 5 feme Angel or Arch- 
 angel, or any other of that Celeftial Hierarchy. No he 
 would by no means take on him the nature of Angels, 
 that defcent was not low enough for his humility. 
 He made himfelf lower than the Angels 5 he was made 
 man, and a man not made immediately by the fingers 
 of God like Adam in his full ftrength and beauty 5 but 
 bred by degrees in the womb oi a Woman : for even 
 that he vouchfafed not to abhor, ft8#m ex mulierc. 
 made of a Woman, &c. Thus it pleafcd the Lord to 
 abafe himfelf, and thus it pleafcd him to exalt us and our 
 
 R r Nature^ 
 
306 Afecond Sermon on Chrijlmas day, 
 
 Nature 5 by the affumption whereof, man is now become 
 God,and God is made man. He that was the Son of God 
 without a Mother, is now become the Son of a Woman 
 without a Father : and as God at the firft drew a Wo- 
 man out of Man without the help of a Woman 5 fo he 
 now took a Man out of a Woman without the help of 
 Man. For he was not begotten but made f, made a man, 
 but of the fubftance only of a woman, made of a wo- 
 mat?^ &c. Blefled woman ^ from whofe body the re- 
 deemer of mankind took the blood that was to be ilied 
 for the fins of the world : yea of whofe blood he made 
 that body which men and Angels muft ever adore. What 
 wonderful titles haft thou obtained, thou Daughter of 
 the Father, Mother of the Son, and, I had almoft (aid, 
 fpoufe of the Holy Ghoft that wrought thy conception! 
 how, and how ftrangely art thou become, as the Daugh- 
 ter of thy Son, fo the Mother of thy own Father ! For 
 fo (he muft needs be that is the Mother of God. Blefled 
 therefore thou art, and well may all generations fo call 
 thee } from whofe bowels fo great a bleffing is defcended 
 to all generations. This much we willingly afford, and 
 more than this we may not give, thou maift not receive 3 
 we honour, but we may not adore thee: we blefs thee, 
 we praife thee, we magnify thee 5 only we do not wor- 
 ship thee : that belongs unto thy Son, which is both thy 
 Son and thy Saviour. For the blood which he took from 
 thee, he even paid for thee : he took it from thee, fo he 
 is thy Son 5 he pay'd it for thee, fo he is thy Saviour. God 
 thy Saviour, and therefore thy Father, as well as thy Son, 
 as well as thy Saviour. So his thou art, and his Creature, 
 by a double title of Creation, of Redemption. Thou 
 maift not then take unto thy felf any part of his honour 
 and worfhip $ whom thou thy (elf art for ever bound to 
 worfhip and honour. Honour enough it is for thee, that 
 he that made thee vouchfofed to be made of thee ? Made 
 ofawomfitt) &£» Nci?- 
 
Vpn Gal. iv. verfe 4, 5. 307 
 
 Neither hath he honoured her alone in her own per- 
 fon, or in her own Sex 3 but man and all mankind. For 
 though he were made of a woman, yet not made by a 
 woman 5 made of a woman, but madehimfelfa man 5 
 that both man and woman might rejoyce and glory in 
 him. How well may we cry out with David % Domine 
 quid eft homo, Lord what is man that thou didft mag- 
 nify him, or the Son of man that thou didft fo vifit him? 
 And how well may we anfwer with the Tame Prophet, 
 Homo eft res nihili, man is a thing of nought 5 that is, a 
 thing drawing near unto nothing, of no worth, no value, 
 no continuance 3 yetfuch a thing itpleafed the Son of God 
 to be made,and therein to be made lower than the Angels, 
 that he might raife and advance this thing of nought 
 far above all principalities and powers, and crown him 
 with worflaip and glory. So have you both his natures 
 God and man $ the Son of God, and yet the Son of a wo- 
 man. So he was, and fo it was convenient he (hould be 
 that was to be the redeemer of man } who might not be re- 
 deemed, but by a pailion proportionable unto a perpetual 
 punifhment. For as I faid before,had he not been God,his 
 fufferings could never have been of that infinite value: 
 fo I now fay, had he been nothing elfe but God, he could 
 not have fuffered at all 5 and for this reafon be was both 
 God and man : man to fufFcr, God to merit : man to ferve, 
 God to fit freeman to die,God to rife again from the dead: 
 for had he been God alone, he could never have (uffered 5 
 had he been man alone, he could never have made an end 
 of fuffering : God only could not die 3 nor man only rife 
 again from the dead : rightly therefore was he both, both 
 the Son of God 3 neither made nor created, but begotten 
 of the Father 5 and the Son of aman,notbegotton by any 
 Father, but made and created of the fubftance of a wo- 
 man, Made of a woman, &c. And even unto this his 
 love brought him for tmr lakes;, for whatfoever elfe he 
 
 P. r a had 
 
3 08 Afecond Sermon on Chriftmas day, 
 
 had been made, it would have done us little good. In 
 this then was the fullnefs of his love as before of his Fa- 
 thers 5 that he would be made, and was made not what 
 was fitted for him, but what was beft for us : not what 
 was moft for his glory, but what wasmoft for our benefit 
 and behoof. But yet this is but the firft ftep of his fulnefe, 
 he was made once more tor our fakes 5 made of a wo- 
 man, and made under the Law too, made under the Law. 
 It was a marvellous defcent and humiliation that the 
 only begotten of the Father (liould vouchfafe to be 
 born of a woman 5 that the Son of the everliving God 
 ihould be content to lay afide his own Majefty and glory, 
 and cloath himfelf with the raggs of our mortality : to 
 leave hishabitation in the higheft heavens, and dwell in 
 a Tabernacle of Clay whole foundation is in the duft, as 
 Job fpeaks. Surely were man turned into a beaft, into a 
 worm, into duft, into nothing, it were not fo great a dis- 
 paragement, as that the Son of God (hould be made man. 
 This making cannot but make his humility, and with it, 
 his love, unto us, deep and full .:. but this next making 
 ( made under the law ) makes it deeper and fuller ftill. 
 For in that he only took on him our nature, but in this 
 our condition : Firft our nature as Man, now our con- 
 dition as finful men :. men under the law, as it follows, 
 that is, fubjeft unto the heavy maledi&ion wherewith 
 the Law threatens the breakers of it. This was our 
 condition, and this he undertook : which was much more 
 than to take our nature : by that he was made man , 
 but by this, he that knew no fin was made fin, 2 Cor. v. 
 that is, made a facrifice for fin 5 was contented tobe hand- 
 led as a (Inner, and to endure whatfoever the Law could 
 lay upon finners$ and this is jaUum fab lege made un- 
 der the Law indeed 5 under the Law he was, and freely 
 was fo$ and it muft needs add feme fulnefs to his love, that 
 k, was meerly voluntary , and free from necefiity. We in- 
 deed. 
 
ZJporz Gal. iv. verfe 4^ 5. 309 
 
 deed, though we willingly fin, yet we would not willing- 
 ly lie under the Law : but we are either born under it 
 through corruption of natures orcaft under it for our 
 corrupt actions, whether we will or no : but for him who 
 neither knew original foil nor aftual fins 5 who though 
 he took on him our rlefti, yet not that flefh which lufteth 
 againft the fpirit 5 though born of a woman, yet of a wo- 
 man only without mixture of flefhly generation, of a wo- 
 man but a woman overfhadowed by the Holy Ghoft, and 
 therefore pure in his conception. And as conceived by 
 the Holy Ghoft/o he was united totheSon,whereby hebe- 
 came uncapable of voluntary tranfgreftion, and therefore 
 nolefs pure in his a&ions, than in his conception, but clear 
 and innocent in both , ( juft fo he was born, fo juft he 
 lived : ) for him I fay, if he come under the Law, it muft 
 be Love and not necefllty that (hall bring him, lexjnjio 
 non eft pofita^ no Law for the juft, no Law could touch 
 him. The Law was added becaufe of tranfgrellions, faith 
 the Apoftle, 1 Tim. i. 9. but no tranfgrefiion was found in 
 him: who could convince him of fin? and therefore quid 
 illi & legu what had he to do with the Law or the Law 
 with him } He might indeed well be Dominus legis, 
 Lord of the Law, as he faid he was Lord of the Sabbath: 
 but //*6 lege under the Law, or [ubditus legi fubjedt to 
 the Law, to the pain and penalty of the Law, no Law in 
 the world could make him, had he not of his own accord 
 made himfelf fo. And therefore it is not natus but fu&us^ 
 not born under the Law, no nor fallen under it neither 
 (that's our condition) but made under the Law : to (hew 
 that it was not laid upon him either by natural neceffity, 
 or through voluntary breach 5 but "meerly by his own 
 free undertaking was made that which naturally he was 
 not, and in jufticc ought not to be. Made therefore, net 
 by any other but by himfelf, who of his own accord, and 
 out of his. own love unto us freely undertook and pay.'d 
 
 that 
 
to Afecond Sermon on Chriftmas day, 
 
 that debt which he owed not : othcrvvife no power of 
 Law, no malice of Devils, no nor the wrath of the Fa- 
 ther, could ever have feiled on an innocent perfon, had he 
 not of grace and great compaffion unto men taken on him 
 the perfon of finners, and in their (lead put himfelf under 
 the Law, that they might be freed from the punifhment. 
 Freely therefore and of his own accord without all con- 
 ftraint, without any neceffity,of meer love and compaffi- 
 on, faUnm fub lege, made under the Law. 
 
 And now the doftrine begins to be comfortable indeed 3 
 comfort there was in it, and not a little in his firft making 
 ex muliere^ when he was made of a woman 3 for made of 
 women we are all ; fo there was an alliance and consan- 
 guinity between us in that : befides, the fled and blood 
 which the Divinity affumed, muft needs be advanced to 
 great glory 3 fo there is honour in it alfo to our nature. 
 But yet if this were all, if there were no more in it than 
 fo, his alliance with us and the honour of our nature in 
 him would prove but a cold comfort God knows 5 for 
 what good is it to us that our nature is exalted in an- 
 others perfon, though to the .height of Heaven 5 if we 
 our felves be thrown down and periffi hi the depth of 
 Hell in our own perfons? or what were we the better to 
 have a kinfman great and wealthy, if notwithftanding we 
 lye in prifon under the Layv for our own debts? Sure his 
 wealth is little unto us unlefs he relieve us with his wealth: 
 But if he pleafe to become our furety,to enter into bond, 
 and put himfelf under the Law for us $ then he (hews the 
 part of a true kinfman, and there is real comfort in that. 
 Such and far worfe was our cafe and eftate : (uch and in- 
 finitely beyond it was his love and compaffion. We were 
 debters indeed by virtue of a handwriting that was againft 
 us, Colof ii. 14* a handwriting of ordinances which was 
 our bond 5 for we were bound to keep and perform them : 
 but we brake the covenants and fo forfeited our bond,and 
 
 in 
 
ZJpon Gal. iv. verfe 4^ 5. 1 
 
 in it forfeited no lefs than our lives. The condition of 
 our obligation was no money matter, it was not pecuni- 
 ary but capital y and the debt of a capital obligation, is 
 death. Now he that (hall undertake fuch a debt, that in 
 this cafe (hall be content to take up our forfeited bond, 
 and put in new fecurity of his own, be bound skin for 
 skin, body for body, and life for life, and be content to 
 pay the bond too when the day comes 5 his love fare is 
 full, and he brings comfort with him to purpofe. And 
 even this he did f, this he undertook and this he perform- 
 ed for us. He undertook it at his Circumcifion, and per- 
 formed it in his paffion. Whofoever. is Circumcifed, 
 fa&ks eft debitor univcrJ£ legist becomes a debtcr unto 
 the whole Law, faith St. Panl, Gal. v. 3. At his Circumci- 
 fion then he undertook the debt, he entred bond anew 
 with us 5 and in fign that he fo did, he then (hed a few 
 drops of his blood whereby he figned the bond (as it 
 were) and gave thofe few drops as a pledge or earned, 
 that when the fulnefs of time came, he would not fail to 
 (hed all the reft. And (hed it he did 5 what at his Cir- 
 cumcifion he undertook , at his paffion he performed , 
 even to the full. He bound himfelf in a bond of death, 
 and death he underwent , even the death of the Crofs, 
 the mod bitter reproachful curfed death of the Grofs : fo 
 payed all to the utter moft farthing 5 and having paid ir, 
 delcvit chirograpkum^ he cancelled the handwriting, 
 thefenteceof the Law that till then was of record, and 
 flood in full force againft us 5 but now that the whole 
 world might know it to be void, he hung it up in the 
 fame place where it was fatisfied, he nailed it to the Tree 
 of htsCrofs, Col. ii. 14. 
 
 But yet this is not all 5 the penalty is but one part ci 
 the Law and he became debtor unrottj* legis, to the 
 whole LawXaith the Apoftle, and the whole Law he pay- 
 ed, whatfeever was due. In. the Law we confider.a dou- 
 
 
Q 
 
 1 2 A fecond Sermon an Chrijlmas day, 
 
 ble force or power : it hath a commanding, and it hath a 
 condemning power : a power dire&ive, and a power vin- 
 dicative : it hath precepts which it injoins, and it hath 
 punilhments which it inflifts : by the one it informs us 
 what we are to do : by the other what we muft fuffer if 
 we do it not 5 and he was under both parts, that both 
 might be fully difcharged : for as he fatisfied the one at 
 his death, fo the other in his life. In his life he exa&ly 
 kept and obferved all the precepts of the Law to the leaft 
 tittle : and in his death he received the full punilhment 
 of the Law to the word and utmoft extremity, and fo 
 was under both, and fulfilled both, paid all, both princi- 
 pal and forfeiture : the principal, in keeping the Law him- . 
 felf 5 the forfeiture, in fuffering the penalty of the Law 
 for others, that fo others might be freed from both. 
 Sure now the Sons humility (that humbled himfelfto 
 death, even the death of the Crofs) is full, no lefs full 
 than the Fathers love. The Father fent, and fent his 
 Son : the Son was made, and made of a Woman 5 made of 
 a Woman, and made under the Law 5 made under the 
 Law, and both parts of the Law, that he might be fully 
 made. And this is Gods fulnefs : Let us now proceed unto 
 Mans fulnefs 5 for from this fulnefs of the Fathers love 
 and the Sons humility we all receive the fulnefs of our 
 own blifs and happinefs contained in our Redemption 
 and Adoption^ for to.thefe purpofes all this was done, 
 That he wight redeem them^ &c. And thefe two, Re- 
 demption and Adoption, are the two degrees of our ma- 
 king (for without them we had been marred, utterly un- 
 done) and they fully anfwer unto the two degrees of 
 his making, made of a Woman,and made under the Law: 
 He under the Law, that we might be redeemed from un- 
 der the Law : he made the Son of Man, that Men might 
 be made the Sons of God. So the making of him was 
 his own marring, but his marring was our makings he 
 
 twice 
 
Vpn Gal. iv. verfe 4^ 5. 313 
 
 twice marred by his making 5 we twice made by his mar- 
 ring. He of God made Man, and of Man made a (inner 5 
 we of finners, that is, bondflaves to the Law, made Free- 
 men, and of Freemen Sons} Sons of God and Heirs an- 
 nexed with Chrift. And what more is there that we 
 could with to make it up fuller > fince our defires can ex- 
 tend no farther, than to be rid of all evil and to be en- 
 dowed with whatfoever good is 5 and by thefe two, Re- 
 demption and Adoption, we are made partakers of both. 
 To be redeemed from under the Law, is to be quit of all 
 evil 5 and to be adopted into the ftate of Children, is to 
 be intided unto all that is good. For all evil is in being 
 under the Law, from whence we are redeemed : and all 
 
 J;ood, in that heavenly inheritance whereunto we are a- 
 opted: we were created to inherit a glorious King- 
 dom, but through fin we loft our inheritance , and not 
 fo only but together with it we forfeited our lives 5 a 
 fentence of death and everlafting deftru&ion was paffed 
 upon us 5 and from this now we are freed by redempti- 
 on 5 in that again we are reeftated by adoption, and 
 what would we more? But we muft fpeak a little in 
 particular of both, and firft of Redemption. That he 
 might redeem^ &c. 
 
 Every deliverance is not Redemption } but fuch only 
 as is obtained by a juft and a full price 5 fo the word im- 
 ports, and fomething more: Redemption $ a rebuying 
 or buying back again of fomething formerly fold, or for- 
 feited into the poffeffion of another. Ever a former alie- 
 nation muft go before, and a valuable fatisfa&ion follow 
 after 5 otherwife there may be a bare emption without 
 the former, a reemption without the latter : but unlefs 
 both be precedent, it cannot be Redemption. And fure 
 fuch a matter had formerly befallen us. A kind of aliena- 
 tion had gone before whereby we had made away our 
 fe!ve«, fold our inheritance and forfeited our lives: A 
 
 S f making 
 
3 14 Afecond Sermon on Cbrifimas day, 
 
 making away indeed, rather than a fale it was 5 for fuch 
 a trifle made away : firft in Adam for the forbidden fruit, 
 a matter of no moment : fince in our own perfons daily 
 made away for fbme trifling pleafure or profit not much 
 more worth: And having thus pafled our felves away by 
 this felling our felves under fin, the Law feifeth on us, 
 whofe dreadful doom is death and Hell, and ever lading 
 forrows there with the Prince of Hell So infinite apu- 
 nifhment doth it inflift, becaufe in the breach of it an 
 infinite Majefty was offended. In this heavy cafe we lay 
 ihut up under the Law as in a Prifon, Rom. iii. 23. faft 
 bound with the cords of our own fin?, rrov. v. 22. the 
 fentence paffed on us, and we waiting but for execution : 
 what evil is there not in this eftate and on every Soul 
 that is in it? Our Faith Cure is weak, and we do not 
 throughly apprehend what we have pnly heard of: but 
 could we fee it with the feeing of the eye, as Job fpeaks, 
 were we permitted to ftand on the. brink and look into 
 that fearful pit of everlafting horror whereunto we are 
 condemned by the Law, what mifery and fulnefs of mi- 
 fery fhould we then difcern } or rather what mifery 
 fhoukl we not difcern in oyir lamentable eftate, fen fenced 
 unto that gulf of forrow before our eyes with legions of 
 Devils attending at our backs, ready to execute the fen- 
 tence, and pufh us in to fufFer that torment which we 
 could not endure to behold? Could we but with our 
 fancy place our felves in this cafe, which they are in that 
 are under the Law, this point, lamfure, would be full 
 on our parts, even fulnefs of mifery. Well then the firft 
 degree of our happinefs, is to be rid, to be quit of this 
 miferable eftate } but by what means may that be done, 
 and who fball obtain it for us? Prayers and intrcaties 
 would not ferve turn, our pardon may not be had for 
 the begging \ but fold we were, and bought we muft be : 
 Qod was wronged and rauft be righted-:, the Law was 
 
 broken 
 
Vfon Gal. iv. verfe 4, 5. 315 
 
 broken and rauft be fatisfied 5 and without this ranfom 
 the prifoners may not be delivered. A matter therefore 
 not of Interceffion, but of Redemption 3 But now the 
 price of Redemption who (hall lay down ? fureitisnot 
 fo eafily done , we fin indeed with great facility, but to 
 expiate fin, will coft a great deal more : he that will do 
 it muft refolve to fufter as much punifhment, as a world 
 of Men can deferve or an offended God in juftice inflift: 
 and who or what is there amongft the works of the 
 whole creation, that may ftand under his wrath, until 
 it hath taken full revenge, and not perifii under it for 
 ever > Gold and Silver in this cafe is of no worth , the 
 blood of Bulls and Goats of no value, Men of as little e- 
 fteem as either 3 and therefore (hould they offer the Sons 
 of their loins for the fins of their Souls, they could do 
 no good, it coft more to redeem them than fo, therefore 
 they muft let that alone for ever. Nay fhould an Angel 
 of Heaven be incarnate to fuffer for fin, he would become 
 but as an incarnate Devil and muft lie in Hell for ever. He 
 is, though an excellent creature, yet but a creature 5 and 
 a creature may not fatisfy the Creator: when therefore 
 nothing may do it 5 nor mineral, nor beaft, nor man ? 
 nor Angel, nor any thing elfe created, no remedy but 
 God himfelf muft be made Man, and the Man God made 
 under the Law, ut ilJe, that he may do it, that he might 
 redeem them that were under the Law. This is the ut, 
 the end, the firft end for which all this ado is kept fj for 
 which Heaven and Earth are thus troubled 5 for which 
 is all this bufinefs, this fending and making, making over 
 and over again 5 that fince there was nothing of fuffici- 
 ent value already created, a new perfon of extraordina- 
 ry worth and dignity might be made, ;// ille^ that he at 
 leaft might be able to redeem us from under the Law. 
 And fure full and able he was every way $ being Man 
 he might undertake for Man 5 and being God he could 
 
 S f 2 gwi 
 
^ 1 6 A fecond Sermon on Chriftmas day, 
 
 give fatisfa&ion to God : for as fins againft an infinite 
 perfon are of infinite guilt, fo fuflering in an infinite per- 
 ibn muft be of as infinite merit : from whence it is that 
 afhort paffion in him is equal to a perpetual punifhment 
 in us 5 for what is wanting in the fufferings is abundantly 
 iupplied in the dignity of the fufferer, whofe infinite per- 
 fon fuffering finitely, carries full proportion with finite 
 perfons fuffering infinite punifhment. Able then he was 
 and no lefs willing than able 3 what he only could do he 
 lovingly did do, and did it too to the full. Any the leaft 
 bufferings of his had been enough, but that he might be 
 fare to lay down a full price, he gave, pretiofnm fangni- 
 mm, his precious blood, faith St. Peter, yea his life blood, 
 faith St. Matthevpy dedit vitam, he gave his life a ran- 
 fbm for many, Matth. xx. 28. he is content to bleed un- 
 to death for this little world, when the leaft drop of his 
 blood had been enough for many worlds. He was not 
 fparing in his price 5 but as the rfalnjiji fpeaks, with the 
 Lord ts plenteous redemption^ plenteous indeed, every 
 way there is a plenitude and fulnefs in it, he fully made 
 under the Law, we fully delivered from under the Law 5 
 which yet is but part of our fulnefs, but the firft degree 
 of ourhappinefs to be rid and quit of the mifery under 
 which we lay. And yet this had been full enough were 
 there no more } but yet this is not all, no he left us nofe 
 there, but that the meafure might flow over 5 he gave us 
 not over, when he had freed us of this wretched eftate, 
 till he had brought us to the blefled eftate himfelf is in 5 
 and of prifoners under the Law, made us Heirs of that 
 glorious Kingdom promifed in the Gofpel. For fo it fol- 
 lows at the laft end of all and the fulleft too, ut nos reci- 
 piamtu, that we might receive the Adoption of Sons: 
 that is, of Captives condemned become children adopted , 
 adopted to the joint fruition of all that he hath, which 
 3s fully as much as he could give or we could defire. To. 
 
 purchafe 
 
ZJfon G a l. iv. verfe. 4, 5*. 317 
 
 purchafe our pardon , to free us from death and the 
 Law's fentence, this feemcd a fmall thing to him, yet this 
 is lex hominis, mans goodnefs goeth no farther : and 
 gracious is the Prince that doth but fo much. For who 
 ever heard of a condemned Man adopted afterwards, or 
 that thought it not enough and enough if he did but 
 fcape with his life ? So far then to exalt his bounty to 
 that fulnefsas pardon and adopt both, non eft lex homi- 
 nis h&c : no fuch meafure amongft Men. Zelns Domini 
 exercituum, but the zeal of the Lord of Hofts was to per- 
 form this Ift. ix. 7. So full is this on his part, that he did 
 not only redeem but adopt, purchafe us, and purchafe 
 for us: give us our lives, but part with us his own King- 
 dom. And full it is, I am fure, on our parts that are a- 
 dopted, did we fully know the riches of our inheritance 5 
 which we (hall not do till another fulnefs of time come. 
 Many and glorious things are fpoken of thee thou City 
 and Kingdom of God 5 but yet when we then come to 
 behold it, we (hall fay of it as the Queen ofsheba did 
 of the wifdom of Solomon, when (he came to him : The 
 report was lefs than the truth, and the one half thereof 
 had not been told us. For what tongue may tell us that 
 which neither eye hath feen, nor ear heard, nor ever 
 may enter into the heart of Man, till Man enter into it, 
 till that day when it (hall be faid unto him, intra in 
 gaudinm Domini, enter into thy Mafters joy ? In the 
 mean time where we cannot conceive, what ihould we 
 fpeak ? where the thing is fo full, that all words are too 
 empty to exprefs it, it will be enough to admire in (i- 
 lcnce, or fay only with David, Suit the lot is fallen unto 
 us in a fairground and we have a goodly heritage: (o 
 now we are come to the true fulnefs indeed, and we 
 may not go farther, not farther in our difcourfe, it muft 
 needs ftav where all words fail, and every tongue or ne- 
 ctffny is fpeechleft. Nay no farther in our deling this 
 
 Adoption. 
 
o 1 8 Afecond Sermon on Chriflmas day, 
 
 Adoption is the fulnefs of our option, nay a fulnefi be- 
 yond our with 3 fince we could not poffibly conceive fo 
 great happinefi to with for it. By this time then it is 
 full Sea, and all the banks are filled on every fide. It is 
 now as Ezekjeh waters that he law flow from under the 
 threflhold of the Temple, that took him firft to the An- 
 kles, then to the Knees, after to the Loins, at laft fo high 
 rifen there was more no paflage, Ezc{. iv. 7. for juft fo it 
 fareth here with the Text, that by the like degrees runs 
 on, till at length it rife to an immenfity of fulnefi, not 
 to be forded. Firji, from the fulnefi of his compafiion 
 God fent to releafe us : Secondly from the fulnefs of his 
 love he fent his Son ? who in the fulnefi of humility, 
 was content to be made } and to make a full union with 
 our nature, made of a Woman 5 and to make the union 
 fuller yet with our finful condition, be made under the 
 Law 3 that we might receive a foil deliverance from all 
 evil, by being redeemed 5 and a full eftate of all the joy 
 and glory of his heavenly inheritance, by being adopted. 
 £0 here is fulnefi of all hands. And fure amidft all this 
 fulnefi, it were much unfit that we only (hould be empty 
 for whom all was done. If there be fulnefi of compafli- 
 on in the Father, if fulnefi of love in the Son to purchafe 
 benefits and bleflings for us, full above meafure 5 fure 
 there fhould be in fome meafure at leaft a fulnefi of duty 
 in us again to return unto them. Otherwife if we neg- 
 lect fo great Salvation, we may and (hall notwithstand- 
 ing this Redemption or Adoption either, depart as empty 
 of mercy, as we are ofgoodnefi. The Catholick Re- 
 demption is not fo abfolute but that many may perilh for 
 whom Chrift died, as the Apoftle fpcaks \ The general 
 and probationary Adoption is not fo peremptory, but 
 that upon misbehaviour divers may be difinherited a- 
 gain. Filii Regni ejiiicntur foras, even the Sons of the 
 Kingdom (hall be caft forth, faith our Saviour himfelf. If 
 
 thou 
 
Upon Gal. iv. verfe^., 5. mq 
 
 thou then wouldft be a firm and conftant partaker of thefe 
 benefits, being thus fet free by fo noble a Redeemer, and 
 at fo high a price, (land upon thine own worthy value 
 thy Soul at the fame rate it was ranforned at 5 do not a- 
 gain bafely fell it and thy birthright, for the poor plea- 
 iures of this world, like Efau for a mefs of pottage : But 
 as Cod is full of compafiion, full of mercy, full of love 5 
 lb be thou full of Duty, full of Piety, full of Repentance, 
 and then Redemption and Adoption both (ball be fully 
 thine and thine for ever. But yet thefe are but the ge- 
 neral duties of our whole life: if we would make it up 
 full indeed, we arc to confider thofe that are fpecial and 
 proper to this time in particular, and they arc principal- 
 ly two, Joy, andTVbtf^/ 5 that as the perfons are two, 
 the Father and the Son, and the benefits two, Redemp- 
 tion and Adoption 5 fo that both might be fully anfwer- 
 ed, the duties are two, joyfulneis and thankfulnefs unto 
 the Authors from whence they proceed. So thefe two 
 will make up all fuli 3 efpecially if they be in thofe full 
 degrees, if they be full in us, in our felves. And that fo 
 rhcy fhould be, their very names do teach us, Joffuinefi 
 and Thank^fHlnefs both ending in Fulnejs \ to fhew that 
 they may not be remifs, but that we fhould be full and 
 abound in them, as at all other times, fo chiefly in this 
 which is the fulnefs of time, or the time of fulnefs, chafe 
 you whether. And a time of fulnefs I am fureit will be in 
 one (enfc ; of fulnefs of bread, and fulnefs of bravery, 
 of fulnefs of mirth and paftine 3 and fo it may be, and io 
 it hath ever been a joyful time even in outward appear- 
 ance : only we mull be careful that this outward joy eat 
 not up, evacuate not our fpiritual joy proper tcrthefeafh 
 Which then is truly fpiritual, when our fpirits (hall re- 
 )ovce not fo much in external fports with the multitude, 
 as with the bltiled Virgin, in Domino falvat ore, in God 
 Qur Saviour : God our Redeemer^ as it is here, And fure 
 
520 A jecona sermon on uvrijunas aay y 
 
 a Redeemer brings joy with him indeed : we our (elves 
 acknowledge it in other matters, if it concern the re- 
 deeming of our goods, or of our momentany lives. Tell 
 an undone Man of one that will redeem his mortgaged and 
 forfeited Land s tell a loft Man caftand condemned un- 
 der the Law of the Kingdom, of a Redeemer that will 
 purchafe his pardon 5 it is a welcom meffage,the joyfulleft 
 news that ever he heard. Shall thofe tranfitory things 
 affeft us thus, and (hall fpiritual things and eternal affe<3: 
 us nothing ? Are our earthly eftates fo dear unto us, and 
 is the recovery of a celeftial inheritance in a Kingdom of 
 everlafting glory not worth the thinking on > Are our 
 animal and perifhing lives fo precious, and (hall the re- 
 demption of our Souls caft and condemned to the for- 
 row of eternal torment not be regarded? Sure did we 
 worthily conceive of it, fuch a Redeemer would be wel- 
 comed with our beft and fulleft joy. But however it 
 go with us now when the deftru&ion is not near enough 
 to afFed us, fure I am the time will come when it (hall : 
 In novifimo intelligetis plane, in the latter end ye (hall 
 fully underftand, faith the Wife-man. At that day, that 
 fearful day, when tribulation and anguifh (hall be upon 
 every Soul that hath done evil, when they (hall vainly 
 cry unto the Rocks and Mountains to cover them from 
 the prefence of the Lord, then indeed ye (hall underftand 
 and know that there is no joy in the world to the joy 
 offuch a Redeemer: but alas then of a graciousRedeem- 
 er he will become a terrible and inflexible Judge. And 
 therefore, beatus populuj qui fcit jubilationem, blefled 
 the people that now know how and wherein to rejoice. 
 And as we are to rejoice for the benefits we receive, fo 
 we may not be unmindful of them from whence we re- 
 ceive them. That were like fwine that fat themfelves on 
 the maft, but never look up to the hand that beats them 
 down. And therefore after our joyfulnefs or fulnefs of 
 
 joy 
 
ZJfon Gal. iv. verfe 4, 5. 321 
 
 joy, our fulnefs of thanks or thankfulnefs is to enfue. We 
 muft fing both parts in the Chriftmas Carol of that blef- 
 fed Woman of whom he was this day made, My foul 
 doth magnify the Lord^ as well as my fpirit rejoiceth 
 in God my Saviour. To render our thanks then and to 
 remember to do it fully $ to forget none, to him that was 
 fent, and to him that fent $ fent his Son in this, the Spirit 
 of his Son in the next verfe 5 the one to procure,the other 
 to feal and aflure unto us both thefe benefits. To all 
 three therefore, to the Father that fent, to the Son that 
 came, to the Holy Ghoft that made him at his coming: 
 (for by him he was conceived) to the Father for his mif- 
 fion, to the Son for his redemption, to the Holy Ghoft 
 for his adoption (for by him it is wrought 5 he that made 
 him the Son of man, doth likewife regenerate us to the 
 ftateof the Sons of God:) worthily therefore to all three 
 is all thanks and praife and honour to be rendred forever- 
 more. But yet this thankfulnefs is but verbal, and there- 
 fore not yet full 5 for fulnefs of thanks would furely be 
 expreft in fomething more than words: and in what may 
 that better be, than in the holy Eucharift, the Sacrament 
 of thankfulnefs, and is by interpretation thankfgiving it 
 felf? When Davids zeal throughly warmed with the con- 
 federation of Gods mercies brake forth into that fiery de- 
 mand,c[uidretribTtamDominO)What(hM I return untothe 
 Lord tor all his benefits? he could find out nothing fo full 
 as tjlis, accipiam Caliccm faltttis, I will take the Cup 
 of Salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. Sure- 
 ly if our hearts be hot within us as his was, and we me- 
 ditate a return as he did 5 Ecce calix faint is^ behold the 
 Cup of falvation^ let us take it, and with it in our hands, 
 call upon him,render him our true Eucharift or real thankf- 
 giving indeed. The Cup of Salvation cannot but do well 
 in the day of falvation : In it is the blood of the Cove- 
 nant, the price upon Covenant to be laid down for U9, 
 
 T t and 
 
5 2 2 Afeeond Sermon on Chrijimas day, 
 
 and therefore the Cup of Redemption : In it is the blood 
 of the Teftament wherein our glorious inheritance is by 
 way of legacy conveyed unto us 5 and therefore the Cup 
 of Adoption. So that our freeing from under the Law 
 and our inveftiture into our new adopted eftate, are not 
 full, nor fully confummate without it. And yet this may 
 not be all. No, when this is done, there is an allowance 
 of twelve days more for this fulnefs of time, that we 
 fhrinknotup our duty into this day alone, but continue it 
 throughout the whole. Sure every good heart in this fo- 
 lemn commemoration of our Redemption, and Adoption, 
 will himfelf remember to redeem fome part of the time, 
 to adopt too fome hour in the day at the leaft, to think 
 on him a little and bethink himfelf of the duty the time 
 calls on him for. That fo no day be empty, quite empty 
 in this fulnefs of time : but that fulnefs of time, fulnefs of 
 mercy, and fulnefs of duty may all meet together and 
 make a full union. That as the time is filled with the com- 
 paffion of the Father, and the love of the Son lj fo we 
 may be filled with the grace of the Holy Ghoft. Then 
 (hall we be fure to pafs on from one fulnefs to another, 
 from this here to another which is behind, from the ful- 
 nefs of Grace to the fulnefs of Glory. For all this is but 
 the fulnefs of time 5 that is the fulnefs of eternity : when 
 time (hall be runout, and his glafs empty, zn&tewpits 
 nxnt erit amplius, and fnall be no more 5 which will be 
 at his next fending \ for yet once more (hall God fend him, 
 and he come again. At which coming we fhall then 
 indeed receive the fulnefs of our Redemption, not from 
 the Law, that we have already 3 but from corruption to 
 which our bodies are yet fubjeft : and receive the full 
 fruition of the inheritance whereunto we are here but 
 adopted. And then it will be perteft, complcat, abfolute 
 fulnefs indeed, when we (hall all be filled with the ful- 
 nefs of him that filleth all in all, Eph. i. 2.3. that is, with 
 
 the 
 
Vpon Gal. iv. verfe 4, 5. 323 
 
 the fuinefs of God himfelf. For Denj erit omnia in om- 
 nibus, God it is that (hall be all in all, i Cor. 15. and 
 then fure all will be throughly full indeed. To this we 
 afpire, and in the fuinefs appointed of every one of our 
 times, Almighty God bring us 5 by him and for his fake 
 that in this fulnefi of time was fent to work it for us in his 
 perfon, and work it in us by the operation of his bleffed 
 Spirit. To whom with the Father and the Son, be ren- 
 dred all thanks, &c. 
 
 Laus Deo in aternunt. 
 
 T t 1 THE 
 
524: -A third Sermon on. Cbriftmas day, 
 
 THE THIRD 
 
 S E R M O N 
 
 ON 
 
 CHRISTMAS Day, 
 
 S E R M ON XL 
 
 Upon Es ay liii. 8. 
 J.nl who jball declare his Generation ? 
 
 F whom fpeaketh the Prophet this, of himfelf 
 or of fome other man, faid the Queen Can- 
 daces Treafurer unto Philip : and Philips 
 faith the Text, began at that fcripture and 
 preached unto him Jefa : A&. viii. And this is that 
 felf-fame Scripture, at lcaft part of it, which that Ethi- 
 opian Eunuch then read, and Philip, that we be not 
 ignorant whom it concerns, of Chrift Jefus expounded. 
 And though he who was a ftranger unto the Common- 
 wealth of ifraA and the Oracles of God, cculd not un- 
 derhand it without a Teacher 5 yet unto us that are con- 
 -verfant in the myfrery of Chrift, it is manifeft in it felf 5 
 there being no clearer nor more illuftrious Prophecy 
 of it than this whole Chapter, wherein his birth, pafiion, 
 
 death 
 
ZJfon E s a y liii. verfe 8. 525 
 
 death and refurre&ion are Co fully and evidently defcri- 
 bed, as it may well be termed an Evangel a Gofpcl, ra- 
 ther than a Prophecy. It begins firft with his firft birth 
 and beginning, He ft all grow up before him as a tender 
 plant and as a root out of a dry ground, v 2. ft goes on to 
 his fbrrows and fufferings,and for whom he endured them. 
 He isdefpifed andreje&ed ofmm,a man of forrowt and 
 acquainted with grief, &c- He fuffers then, and for us< 
 he fuffers, but he muft fuffer unto death, and of that it 
 will affure you too. He is brought as a Lamb to the 
 /laughter, &c. But though he be mean, (lain and (laugh- 
 tered, yet he may not abide under death: though judg- 
 ment be pafled on him and executed too, and he impri- 
 foned in the grave and jaws of the pit, yet all the bands- 
 and cords of death cannot hold him, he mult up in de- 
 fpight of them all: And therefore it follows, he was 
 ta\en from pr if on and from judgnent } which was ve- 
 rified in his refurre&ion from the dead,wherein the judg- 
 ment and fentence of death was disannulled and the Pri- 
 fon of the Grave broken up. In contemplation of which' 
 high argument of his Divinity that could fo arife \ the 
 Prophet breaks forth into this admiration of his Ce- 
 leftial defcent, and off-fpring, Who foall. decUre his ge- 
 neration^ 
 
 So then it is.manifeffc not only by Philips interpretation; 
 but by the Prophecies own clcarnefsand fullnefs, that the 
 Prophet fpake not this of himfelf but of fome other man > 
 and that other man to be none other than Chrift Jefus the 
 Eternal Son of God, whole Incarnation, birth or gene- 
 ration we this day with all joy and thankfiilnefs publickly 
 Celebrate, and are now as well as we can to difcourfe of} 
 yet not as thinking to exprefs it, but only to ffaew you 
 how inexpreliiblcitis, for Generationem ejus^ &c 
 
 Now (that we may bound our difcourfe within certain 
 lines and limits, this generation of our Lord andSayiour 
 
J2 6 A third Sermon on Chrijimas day, 
 
 is not fimple and of one fort, but various and manifold. 
 As his Perfon is compounded of divers things, fo hath he 
 accordingly (everal generations. In the blefled Trinity 
 there are three Perfons and but one Subftance : In Chrift 
 Jefus three Subftances and but one Perfon : he hath but 
 two Natures indeed , Divinity and Humanity 5 but the 
 Humanity again is compounded of two feveral Effences, 
 corporal and fpiritual, a body and a Soul 5 fo in all there 
 are thefe three,a body,a Spirit, and the Divinity $ where- - 
 unto both are united. And according to thefe three we 
 (hall confider a threefold generation, Bivine, Humane 
 and spiritual: For Chrift was born from all Eter- 
 nity 5 and (till is in heaven without a Mother 5 on earth 
 he had in due time a humane birth without a Father , 
 and in the minds and Souls of men he is (piritually born 
 without Father or Mother : of a Mother without a Father 
 he was born once : without Father or Mother he is born 
 often : of a Father without a Mother he is born always 
 and perpetually. Laftly, of his Father in Heaven he is bora 
 God $ of a Mother on Earth he was born man 3 without 
 Father or Mother in the Souls of men he is born God and 
 man. As there are three Subftances therefore in our 
 Lord and Saviour : fo hath he three births or generations 
 which we (hall confider in their order, Divine^ Humane 
 and Spiritual 3 all three fo hid and full of admiration in- 
 utterable, as the Prophet and we with him, may well fay 
 of them aMiGenerationem, &c. 
 
 To begin then with the Firft his Divine generation, 
 whereof we (hall (ay but little, becaufe indeed we can (ay 
 nothing worthily and as we (hould fay : For how (hall 
 frail man fay, what no man can poffibly conceive, fincehe 
 cannot fully fay and enunciate what he doth conceive ? 
 That there are feveral perfons in the God-head,is the high, 
 yeahigheft Ad of our faith, no fubjeft for our expreffion. 
 That God hath a Son we are bound to believe, but how 
 
 he 
 
ZJpon E s a y. liii. verfe 8. 327 
 
 he begat him we are bound not to inquire 5 bccaufe he 
 hath not revealed, nor will reveal, peradventure may not, 
 but to the glorified eye. Then indeed and then only 
 when we (halite him as he is, we (hall fee his generati- 
 on and be happy in feeing it : it is the eternal and ever- 
 lafting bleffednefs of the Father to beget him, for it is his 
 inmoft natural Aft and eilential : and it (hall be our 
 perpetual happinels hereafter to behold it, which we 
 fhall then but behold, comprehend it we may not 5 but 
 know it we fhall: And this is life everlajlmg to kyorv 
 thee and him whom thou haji fent. In the mean time 
 till that life everlafting come, whileft we are Pilgrims, 
 and lead a life temporary here upon earth, wherein we 
 know and prophefie but in part 5 it is not our Icaft wif- 
 dom, to know fuch high myfteries are no part of our 
 knowledge. It is enough for us with holy Mojes to fee 
 the back-parts of the Lord, to fee him in his efFefts, his 
 word and outward works 5 to fee him in his glory,in his 
 Effence and inmoft operations, we cannor, and live. And 
 they who will attempt it with thofe Bethpemites that 
 would needs pry into the Ark, (hall afluedly die. Such 
 afpiring Spirits, that with the bold Schoolmen, do pierce 
 into the hidden fecrets of Divinity, what do they but 
 like foolifh flyes, flutter about the light, till they are at 
 length finged with the flame? For qui fcrutatur ma- 
 jejtjtem opprimetur a gloria, he that fcarcheth into the 
 majefty of God (hall afluredly be oppreft with his glory. 
 And therefore it is dofta ignorantia^ learned ignorance, 
 as St. Auftw hath it, not to know what may not be un- 
 dcrftood \ and it were much better pioufly to profefi it 
 than ralhly to arrogate feience : For that may deferve 
 pardon, but this (hall never want punifhment, faith the 
 fame Father, Serm. 15. For which reafon wcllfaid the 
 great St. Bafilof this high Point when he came to treat 
 of it, myjlerium hoc Client io fotius quam oratione to- 
 
 Unci 'urn ', 
 
3 a 8 A third Sermon on Chriflmas day y 
 
 lendumjt is amyftery to be adored in filence not expreft 
 by words. HomiL de Nat. Domini. The Prophet 
 Efay himfelf was not able to do it, and which is more, he 
 knew that none elfe could. And therefore quis enarrabit 
 who (hall declare it? for his Interrogation hath the force 
 of a Negation, who (hall ? that is,nonecan, whojhall de- 
 dare, &c. There is indeed in it felf, nothing fo light 
 and clear and evident as this Divine generation, where- 
 in light of light, and very God of very God, is produ- 
 ced and begotten : but withal unto us, nothing more 
 hidden, fecret and obfcure. Not that there is any obfcu- 
 rity in God, in quo tenebrs non fitnt ullti^m whom there 
 is no darknefs, faith the Scripture: but that he dwells in 
 unacceffiblelight 5 and is cloathed with Majefty inapproach- 
 able, as with a garment 5 aciem oculorum vincens, non 
 Jolum hominum fed etiam Angelorum , darking and 
 blinding the fight both of men and Angels. And therefore 
 how is it poffible to behold the light of his generation, 
 who is the brightnefs and very fplendor of his Fathers glo- 
 ry ? mens deficit, vox filet, non mea t ant urn fed etiam 
 Angelorum, the eye of the mind fails, and the tongue of 
 every Creature becomes mute and dumb, not mine alone, 
 faith St. Cyprian, but of the beleffed Angels alfo. There- 
 fore Sluts enarrabit ? Before ever the world was, or any 
 foundation of it laid, Ibi non tempus, non feculum in- 
 tercejfit, nemo fpectator adfnit, when as yet, faith St. 
 Baft I, neither time nor age was formed, nor any fpe&ator 
 by, to witnefs or report it : but God alone injoying and 
 embracing himfelf from all eternity in himfelf and of 
 himfelf he begot his only Son, who is none other but 
 himfelf: no other God though another perfon. And who 
 then fljall declare} Again, the Father begets a Son, and 
 yet the Son is not younger than the Father, nor the Fa- 
 ther any antientcr than the Son : he begets him by com- 
 municating his Eflence unto him, and he communicates not 
 
 any 
 
Vpn Es ay liii. verfe 8. 329 
 
 any part,for it is indivifible,but his whole and intire Eflence 
 unto his Son, and yet parts with none himfelf, who hath 
 heard or may conceive fuch things? who therefore flsall 
 declare f Yet once more : the Son of God is perfeft and 
 compleat within himfelf and fo hath been from everlaft- 
 ing, intire and wanting nothing, and yet, which is ftrange, 
 as continually produced and begotten : for not as in the 
 beginning God made the Heavens, fo in the beginning he 
 begot his Son 5 who in the beginning both was and was 
 begotten : the Heaven was made once, but the Son is be- 
 gotten for ever, and who, &c. Laftly, to omit many 
 things, the eternal word is truly the Son of God, and is 
 truly born of him 5 and yet notwithftanding hath no Mo- 
 ther that ever bare him, but (which hath moft admira- 
 tion) is begotten only with a look, by mere afpeft and 
 intuition, as the Fathers fpeak and the Scriptures inti- 
 mate, and therefore who fiall declare ? Thefe and many 
 other the like high and inexplicable myfteries of this won- 
 derful generation the Apoftle (eems not to exprefs but to 
 ftiadow as well as he might , when he terms him the 
 brightnefs of his Fathers glory and the exprefs image of 
 his Perfon, Heb. i. 3. For though thefe words cannot 
 reach home to the thing } yet others more apt and figni- 
 ficant may not be found. For brightnefs is ever coeval 
 with the thing that is bright 5 if bright in it (elf: the 
 brightnefs of the Sun is neither before nor after 5 but 
 fully as ancient as that Sun that begat it : and fo be- 
 gat it, as it doth not ceafe ftill to beget it. For it is not 
 produced once for all, but is generated perpetually 5 and 
 generated not of two, but of one only 5 who can com- 
 municate it to other things, and yet lofe none of it him- 
 felf Excellently therefore the brightnefs of his glory 5 
 and as fully the exprejs image of his perfon, to (hew as 
 far as may be (hown the manner of his generation by 
 iight and intuition. For the images which we behold 
 
 U u when 
 
33 o A third Sermon on Chrifimas day, 
 
 when we look on our felvcs in a glafs, are of all others 
 the mod exaft and perfeft. Now God himfclf is his 
 own mirrour, wherein beholding and comprehending 
 himfclf he produceth the moft exprefs and abfolute image 
 of himfelf So that the Divine intellect of the Father 
 reflefting inwards and fully conceiving his own perfeftion, 
 doth at once both conceive and bring forth his own and 
 only Sony the fubftantial and effential pifture of him- 
 fclf And therefore no thought here, of Mother or Ma- 
 trimony, nor imperfc&ion or inquination 5 but he is be- 
 gotten after a pure, clean.chaft, high and fublime manner: 
 as the beam from the Sun, as the image from the glafs, as 
 being the brightnefs ot his Fathers glory and the ingra- 
 ven Character of his perfon. Though neither of thefe 
 can fully exprefs it 5 for it is wonderful, and therefore to 
 our ears cannot be uttered : it is (ingular, and therefore 
 hath no example : for how fhould the imperfeft Crea- 
 ture every way fquare with the abfolute perfection of 
 the Creatour ? And therefore let us adore in Soul and 
 believe it in heart 5 but lay our hand on our lips and not 
 think to utter it in words : whereof when we have fpo- 
 ken,yea and thought all that we can, we muft fhut up all 
 with the Prophets Admiration, who jhall declare ? 
 
 And this fhall (uffice for the non-declaration of his Di- 
 vine birth and generation, we now pafs on to his humane 
 the fubjeft of this days Solemnity, and therefore the chief 
 theam of this hours difcourfe,but a theam every way befet 
 alfo with fo many Pearls of higheft admiration,as we may 
 well fay of it as of the other, Qui* enarrabit ? Nay in 
 fome things it may feem fomething ftrangenhan his other 
 generation. For that God (hould be born of God, though 
 we can no way apprehend it, yet in reafbn it carries fome 
 Correfpondence and proportion : But that God fhould 
 be born again, and born of a woman., hath fuch an infi- 
 nite disparity, that unlefs it had been foreftiewn by fuch 
 
 illuftrious 
 
Vpn E s a y Jiii. verfe 8. 331 
 
 illuftrious prophecies and confirmed by fo many and great 
 miracles, it had exceeded not only reafon but even all belief. 
 Well therefore did S.Paul termit a myftery andagreatmy- 
 ftery,and great too without controverfie, without contro- 
 vert great is the myftery of Godlinefs, God manifejiedin 
 thefleft^i 7Vw.iii.God in the flefh, a great myftery indeed I 
 yea how many great myfteries are there in it ! The Antient 
 of day s is become a fwadled Child 5 and he who was the Son 
 of God without a Mother, now made the Son of a woman 
 without a Father ; a woman that is at once both a Mother 
 and a Maid 5 conceiving and bearing a Son,and yet a Virgin 
 in and after both conception and birth. Nay more,the Mo- 
 ther of her own Maker, and (o the daughter of her Son : as 
 he the Son of his own daughter. No marvel therefore that 
 at this admirable birth of his, he had marvail and admi- 
 ration it felf given him for his name 3 for his firft, To us 4 
 Child is born and to us a Son is given, the principality 
 ft) all be upon his ftjoulders, and you ftjall call his name 
 Wonderful^ ifa. ix. wonderful, and full of wonders, as in 
 other things fo efpecially in his birth and generation, and 
 therefore, ghtis enarrabit ? Wife Solomon having with 
 all his skill and diligence fearched into the depths and 
 profundities of Nature, after all his travel could find out 
 no new thing under the Sun 3 but that you may know a 
 greater than Solomon is here, our Saviour this day to- 
 gether with himfelf brought many new things, you fee, 
 into the world, which the Sun never faw before, nor 
 ever fhall fee again : A new birth, new man, new perfbn, 
 new Heavens, new Earth, a new Creation 5 for all had 
 need of renewing, and all things in him are made new, 
 Ecce nova jam faffa funt omnia^ behold all things are be- 
 come new, faith the Apoftle. All things, but wretched 
 men, that regarding it not grew old in their Sins, but 
 fhall receive apunifhment hereafter that fhall never grow 
 old in it felf, becaute it fhall "never be ended. And there- 
 
 U u 2 fore 
 
33 2 ^ ?i>/W Sermon on Chrifimas day, 
 
 fore «£»// .<? Yet that we may declare it as far as we car^ 
 or at leaft declare how far it is above all declaration, we 
 will in their order briefly touch upon thefe circumftances 
 of his birth and generation : Who it is that is born, of 
 whom, and in what manner, and where he was born : 
 For there is newnefs and ftrangenefs in them all not fully 
 to be declarable. AndySfr/^who or what he is that is born ? 
 And what is he, an ordinary mm as we our felves are,, 
 one of the rout, one of the vulgar > A Man indeed he 
 was* and when he was at the loweft and worfr, Pilate 
 could term him (b : ecce homo, behold the Man : but yet 
 no ordinary Man, he was a King too, and. a King born ^ 
 where is he that is born king of the Jews ? fay the 
 Wilemen of the Eaft. Nay no petty, King, no King of 
 the Jews alone 5 he (hall have the Nations too for his 
 inheritance, and the ut term oft parts of the earth fpr 
 his.pojffejfions, faith God in the Pfalm. And therefore 
 an univerfal Monarch. And yet higher, for / will make 
 him my firft-born, higher than the Kings of the earth 5 
 higher indeed, even the high God that is King both of 
 Heaven and Earth 5 and therefore his nanae fhallbe cal- 
 led Wonderful and mighty counfellor, and Dens fortis^ 
 the Jirong God, pater dternns, the everlafting Father^ 
 feith my Prophet in the place but now quoted. And it 
 is worth the obferving in the beginning of the verfe, A 
 child k born and a f on is given: towards the end this 
 weak child is the mighty God, this young Son is the ever- 
 lafting Father^ for the Son of God is our Father, and 
 this Father now became the Son of Man and made him- 
 felf our Brother. The Antient of days that fate on the 
 throne in the 7. of Dan. whofe garment was white as 
 fnow 5 and the hairs of his head as pure wooll, to fhadow 
 his eternity, who hath neither beginning of days nor end 
 of life 5 This is he that is this day born a young and 
 tender child, even that mighty and Almighty God now a, 
 
 weak 
 
ZJpon E s a y liii. verfe 8. 333 
 
 weak and fwadled Infant. This fare is new and marvel- 
 lous, rightly therefore ftill do his titles begin with won- 
 derful, whofe perfon and birth may well be admired, can- 
 not be exprefled, for §>jti$ enarrabit j? 
 
 And yet this is not all the wonder that is in him : 
 ftrange and very ftrange it is, that he ftiould be the Son 
 of Man and Mans evcrlafting Father § that is, God and 
 Man : but yet it is another new thing and little lefi ftrange, 
 that this God ftiould be per feci Man. and yet have no 
 Humane Perfon. A Humane Nature he had, but a Hu- 
 mane Perfon he had not. And therefore nonfolum atfv* 
 ejl novus^ Jed is qui nafcitur cji homo novur, it is not 
 only a new birth, but he that is born is a new kind of 
 Man 5 the like whereof was never known, having a Hu- 
 mane Nature, but a Divine Perfon. N>)lorius indeed 
 after the manner of other Hereticks, not content to 
 leave this myitei v unto his Faith, but fceking to com- 
 prehend it with h<sreafon, was fo blinded with gazing up- 
 on a light tooftrongfor his eyes,as he would not acknow- 
 ledge the thing, becaufe his weaknefs could hot conceive 
 who it ftiould be 5 how a Humane Nature ftiould be and 
 fubfift without a created and Humane Perfon : and there- 
 fore he impioufly formed unto himfelf a double Perfon in 
 Chrift, and fo in effect two Chrifts, one that had a Hu- 
 mane, another that had a Divine, both Nature and Per- 
 fon : a great errour and pernicious : For were it lb, were 
 they not feveral Natures, but two diftincr. perfons, the a- 
 ftions or paflions of the one could not properly be at- 
 tributed to the other fince the one is not the other. Chrift 
 the God could not be \Un - and Chrift the Man could 
 not be God : but one God alone, the other Man alone : 
 and fo neither, could have redeemed the world 5 for God 
 could not fuffer, nor Man fathfy. Chrift Jefus therefore 
 our blefled Lord is but one 5 one fubfbnce and hypo- 
 ftalis that hath two Natures Divine and Humane - both 
 
 knit 
 
. I ■ ■ ■ ■ • ■ 
 
 334 A third Sermon on Chrijimas day, 
 
 knit and united in one and the felf-fame Perfon, and 
 therefore juftly and truly may be faid to be,and is 5 both God 
 and Man: and becaufe Man,could die 5 becaufe God,could 
 add an infinite price unto his death, and fo reconcile both 
 God and Man. But you will fay, how isit poffible that a 
 Humane Nature fhould fubfift in a perfon and hypoftafis 
 not her own, who may conceive, who can apprehend it ? 
 neither do I fay you fhould, but that you (hould believe 
 it. Had we reafon to demonftrate it, it were not won- 
 derful, had we example, it were not lingular: But now 
 whenbefides and above the whole order of created Na- 
 ture, a new Man and after a new manner with fo great a 
 miracle is born and brought forth, having a created and 
 Humane Nature fubfifting in a Divine and uncreated Per- 
 fon, we may truly fay q uis enarrabit $ And this for the 
 perfon, who or what he is that is born. 
 
 Novvifwefhall remove our confideration unto herof 
 whom he was born, peradventure we fhall find neither 
 left nor fewer marvels and miracles in this, than in that 
 other. Forcertainly that God fhould become Man is ve- 
 ry much 5 but that he fhould be born of a Woman is yet 
 much more. For he might have created a Humane Na- 
 ture out of the Earth, as he did the firft Man, and had 
 it plcafed him, affumed it in an inftant: and therefore 
 needed not have lain nine months in the womb after 
 that manner as we fhame to imagine, and is altogether 
 unfit we fhould fpeak : there is horror in the very con- 
 ceipt of it, and therefore well faith the Hymn, thou didft 
 not abhor the Virgins rcomb* This would be very ftrange 
 indeed could we apprehend the infinite Majefty of that 
 God who was pleafed for our fakes to defcend fo low. 
 That that fublime and excellent glory, in prefence where- 
 of the holy Angels themfelves cover their faces with their 
 wings 5 that Almighty Lord which fate on the circle of 
 *&e Heavens, and in companion otwhom the inhabitants 
 
 of 
 
ZJpon E s a y Jiii. verfe. 8. 535 
 
 of the Earth arc but as Grafhoppers, and all the Nations 
 of the World but as the dropping of a bucket : that fuch 
 and fo great a God, for our good, and that we might 
 have nearer affinity with him, fhould difrobe himfeJf of 
 all his honour, and be wrapped in films and skins inftcad 
 of a Garment : leave that circle of the Heavens and cafe 
 himfelf into the Dungeon of the womb, not abhorring 
 that dark place, which we our (elves abhor but to think 
 on: Aftonifhment may wellfeife the mind that (hail truly 
 meditate on it. If it do not kindle your affection and de- 
 votion, it cannot at the leaft but raife up admiration > 
 enforcing us to crv out with the Prophet, gntis tnarra- 
 bit & 
 
 Neither is this all the ftrangenefs, that God was born 
 of a Woman, who by this means was advanced into a 
 ftrange affinity with her Maker, becoming at once both 
 the Mother of her Father and Daughter of her own Son : It 
 is ftrange too and a miracle in Nature that he was born 
 of none but a Woman, that he who before had a Father 
 and no Mother, fhould now have a Mother .and no Fa- 
 ther. Three forts of Generation or rather Production, 
 had palled before : The firft, without Man or Woman, 
 fo Adam. Thefecond, of Man without Woman., io Eve. 
 The third of both Man and Woman, fo we all their po- 
 fterity. But now to make all compleat and never till now, 
 the fourth is added, of a Woman without a Man $ th 
 a Fatherlek Son, and a Virgin Mother might double the 
 wonder : this b it which my Prophet intimates in the 
 firft entranqeof this Chapter, he JhiU grow up as aplea- 
 (ant plant and as aroot out of a dry ground : as a root 
 fpringing of its own accord from that virgin earth, un- 
 tilTd, unfown, and unmanured by the hand of Man: So 
 fprang he f-orn the maiden loins of his Mother, and had 
 no Mans afliftance living for a rather, who then JJull de- 
 clare, O'C. 
 
 And 
 
336 A third S ermon on Cbriftmas day, 
 
 And as he was begotten without a Father : fo (that 
 we may touch upon the manner) was he born, as it is 
 likely, without pain or hurt unto his Mother. It is true 
 a puniihment it was, and from the beginning, and from 
 the beginning until now hath it ever preva'iled,all Women 
 naturally bringing forth in forrow. But our Saviour was 
 no natural Man : All things in him you lee are miracu- 
 lous and fupernatural. And why not this in his birth as 
 well as fo many things elfe ? why not born without for- 
 row as well as conceived without pleafure? It is the col- 
 le&ion of a Father, Vbi voluptas partum non antecejjit y 
 neq'-y dolor fubfecutus eft. She who felt no delight in the 
 conception fufiered rightly as little pain in the birth, 
 faith Greg. Nj/Jf. or at. de Chrifti re furred. Nee in con- 
 ceptione fine pudore? nee in parturitione cum dolore : 
 unftained in her conception, and unpained in her partu- 
 rition, faith St. Auftin^ Serm. 14. de Nativ. and in my 
 underftanding, rightly $ for what labour or forrow could 
 he bring in his birth, that left her a perfeft Virgin, that 
 bare him ? And therefore in this regard alfo, who JIull 
 declare^ &>c. 
 
 So many wonders are there in his birth, and yet it is 
 not a much lels wonder he made choice of fuch a place 
 to manifeft all thefe wonders in. In Bethlem an obfeure 
 and little Village, in a poor and mean Inn of that Village, 
 in the meaneft and bafeft place of that Inn, the Stable. 
 This was the great Chamber, the ftately Manfion hung 
 with Arras weaved by Spiders, and paved with the filth 
 of other Beads 5 wherein this great Monarch^-the mighty 
 King of Glory, was pleafed to be born, and together with 
 himfelf to produce fo many miracles into the World: 
 The very place, wherein he had only littier for a Bed, a 
 Manger for his Cradle, an Oxe and an Afs for his atten- 
 dants, being as great a miracle as the reft. And as the 
 bafeft place, fo did he make choice of the obfeureft time.- 
 
 A 
 
Vpn E s a y Jiii. verfe 8. 337 
 
 A time indeed famous for an univerlal peace fpread upon 
 the face of the Earth, but in it he picked out the lowed 
 and utmoft extremities time hath , the lad age of the 
 world, the lowed period of the year, the deeped and 
 darked point of the night. And (o in both regards, ve- 
 re recubuit in novijfimo loco y he truly (ate him down 
 in the nethermod room 5 and at his fird entrance into 
 the world, trod the world and all worldly pomp and 
 glory under foot : that his very birth might preach con- 
 tempt both of it, and all the vanities it hath, unto fin- 
 ful Man, for whofe fakes he vouchfafed not to abhor, I 
 fay not now, the Virgins womb, but the durty cratch 
 and filth of the Stable. And in either refpeft, who pall 
 declare, &c. or who (hall declare the infinite love he 
 (hewed in it unto miferable Men, for whofe advancement 
 the Ring of Glory was pleafed to abafe himfelf fo low ? 
 Surely as the great Gregory in his Morals, Deo tanto ma- 
 gls homo debitor fuit, quanto pro illo Dens etiam in- 
 digna fnfeepit, The more unworthy things God un- 
 dertook for us, the more ever are we bound unto God, 
 and therefore let every Soul truly and effectually fay 
 with St. Bernard, quanto pro me vilior, tanto mihi cha- 
 rior, by how much the viler he hath made himfelf for 
 me, the dearer ever (hall he be unto me. Thus every 
 circumdance of his production is wonderful, and can- 
 not but declare how every way undeclarable his ge- 
 neration is. But yet, that we may more perfectly be- 
 hold it, we mud raife our confideration higher, from 
 the circuradances to the fubdance and effects of this 
 mighty work. And indeed in thefe regards, who (hall 
 declare his generation ? For it is the bed and greated, 
 and wifed work the Almighty ever wrought, and doth 
 more fully manifed his infinite power, wifdom, and good- 
 nels, yea and judice too, than all the red of his creatures, 
 *>r all the red of his operations in them. Fird then for 
 
 X x the 
 
5 3 8 A third Sermon on Chrifimas day, 
 
 the power and omnipotence of God, how unutterably is 
 it here (hown more than in any, or all other things el(e ? 
 the Incarnation of God being a greater work than the 
 Creation of the whole World. He made indeed at the 
 beginning Men and Beads, Plants and Elements, Sun 
 and Moon, Heavens, Stars, and Angels, excellent works 
 and wonders of his power : but yet when the word wu 
 made flcjl\ he made and wrought a greater wonder tha'n 
 them all. Much power was fhown in knitting and com- 
 bining jarring and difcordant Elements peaceably in one 
 body : more in the conjunftion perfonal of this materia! 
 body with an immaterial fpirit 5 but incomparably moffc 
 ofall in the hypoftatical union of created Body and Spi- 
 rit, with the uncreated divinity of the Godhead it felf 
 For howbeit to make Man ofduft, and duft of nothing 
 argues an infinite power 5 yet that infinite is much more 
 confpicuous when this Man is made God, and that God 
 which made him, made Man himfelf. And the reafon is, 
 becaufe that in making of Man, or any other creature 
 the infinity of power is not manifefted in the effeft, which 
 cannot be but finite becaufe created 3 but in the manner 
 of creating it of nothing, and the ability ever of creating 
 it, or fome other greater and more excellent. So God 
 might have made a larger world than this, and creatures 
 of other kinds, and in every kind of richer eilence and 
 higher perfections: And when he had done fo, might do 
 fo again and again, yea and after that, might yet ftill 
 and perpetually do fo. For an effeft of finite and limited 
 perfeftion, may be infinitely multiplied by an omnipo- 
 tent power, but can never grow infinite in it felf 5 and 
 becaufe it cannot grow infinite,is infinitely capable of fur- 
 ther perfection. But here the infinity of power is not 
 only in the manner of working, but difcernable after a 
 fort in the vvorkitfelf And God hath now produced 
 an effeft even commensurable with his power, and unca- 
 
 pable 
 
ZJfon E s a y Jiii. verfe 8. 339 
 
 pable of farther perfection fubftantial, an effeft: where- 
 unto nothing can be added that may advance it higher, 
 or make it greater 5 filly Man being made and become 
 the great God, whom all other both Men and Angels 
 muft worfhip for ever. So here is in a manner an infinite 
 effe&, and fo the expreffion, as firm as may be, of an in- 
 finite power 3 not that the humanity is infinite, for then 
 it {hould be the divinity, but that both are fo united as 
 they make but one perfon,which is infinite. From whence 
 it follows, that asChrift the God, is truly Man : foChrift 
 the Man, is truly God : and therefore to be adored, both 
 God and Man. And what more infinite produ&ion of 
 an infinite power is there imaginable than the making of 
 a creature fo one, (as he is, and is to be adored ' as one) 
 with the Creator bleffed for evermore ? For who then 
 (hall declare the power of his conception ? Secondly, the 
 wifdom of the Almighty, which though like his mercy 
 it be over all his works 3 is yet more confpicuous here 
 and (hines brighter, than in the Sun or any other opera- 
 tion of his hands, had we eyes to difcern, or wifdom e- 
 nough of our own to behold it. For in him are hid all 
 the treafures of wifdom and knowledge ', faith the Apoftle. 
 The treafures, that is, the wealth and riches, the abun- 
 dance of the Divine Wifdom, are all in him 5 but like 
 veins and mines they are hid in him, in him are hid all 
 the treafnres^ and we cannot fully difcern them now : 
 yet unlets we be ftark blind we may difcern enough for 
 our fatisfa&ion. He is the eternal wifdom of the Father: 
 and indeed none but the Fathers wifdom could have 
 found out a way to (hew mercy unto Man, and yet give 
 full (atisfaifrion unto his own juftice. For Juftice and 
 Mercy, (Man offending) were, as it were, at variance, 
 either pretending who (hould have him. Juftice demands 
 him, to be given to Jier for revenge : Mercy oppofeth 
 and with all her might pretends for a pardon: both ftrug^ 
 
 X x 2 line 
 
3 40 A third Sermon on Chriftmas day, 
 
 ling in the bowels of the Almighty, that dearly affefts 
 both. Juftice propofeth but few, only two arguments: 
 but they are powerful. The fir fi urgeth the Almighty 
 with his own verity and truth. Thou hart fpoken the 
 word, the day that thon eateji.thon fhalt die the death: 
 And with thee there is no fhadow of change, therefore 
 thou mtift not alter the thing that is gone out of thy lips. 
 The fecond, with a precedent drawn from his former a- 
 ftions. The Angels finned, and thou didft not fpare 
 them f, why, be alike then unto all. For why (houldeft 
 thou afford earthly men that favour which thou den iedft 
 unto Celeftial Spirits, of far more excellent Nature > But 
 now Mercy on the other fide cries out pitifully with that 
 cry in the Pfalm. wherefore haji thou made all men for 
 nought $ what though thou haft faid the word, it was 
 but the word of legiflation, and thou art Lord of the 
 Law, the fupream Lawgiver, and therefore maift difpenfe 
 with the Law, which thou giveft, and in doing fo thou 
 doft but remit thine own right, thou wrongeft none o- 
 ther, which therefore is without all wrong to thy Ju- 
 ftice. And for the Angels, they were but fome of them, 
 not all the Angels that finned, and they finned willingly 
 and wilfully, of their own accord and without a Temp- 
 ter} their fin remaining in themfelves not propagated to 
 others,, and therefore they periuhed worthily- in thy 
 wrath, and I made no interceffion for them. But Man 
 was deceived and feduced by the fubtlety of the Ser- 
 pent: his fin befides not cleaving to himfelf alone, but 
 palling forth upon all his pofterity that pafs from him. 
 And fhall the whole generation and kind, who finned 
 not of their own will but by being in his loins, be eter- 
 nally deftroyed, for one and that anothcrstranfgreffion? 
 It is fufficient that Juftice hath triumphed in thofe evil 
 Spirits, let mc have my vi&ory now in thefe : Good rea- 
 (on there (hould be fome regard had of me^as well as of 
 
 her : 
 
Vpon'E say liii. verfe. 8. 541 
 
 her : fhe is thy Daughter indeed,yet fhe is but thy Daugh- 
 ter-in-law, I am thy natural : it is thy nature and proper- 
 ty to have Mercy and compaffion. Thus thefe two, the 
 very favourites and darlings of the Divinity, contend 
 together, and who or what wit (hall decide the contro- 
 verfy 5 or give both content when they have contrary 
 demands ? Herein then fhines the infinite wifdom of God 
 that in fo difficult a cafe, and perplext(as D 'a tit often terms 
 it) could difcover a way, find out an iflue, that fhould 
 give full fatisfichon unto either : and not only fo,but ma- 
 nifest the glory of the reft of his Attributes 5 of bis power, 
 wifdom. gooduels and all, and all at once, and m one 
 action 5 by informing a piece of our clay and contriving 
 himfelf, and his whole Divinity into a trunk of Earth, 
 that fo one perfon might be made of both. A perfon on 
 whom Juftice might take her full revenge 5 that Mercy 
 afterwards might be ftiown unto the offender : that fo 
 both death might be inrhfted (as the one urged) and a 
 pardon granted (as the other intreated.) For" being Man 
 he could die, and being God his temporary death could 
 fatisfy for an eternal : And being God and Man he could 
 dye, and with conqueft, (having fatiated revenge) rife 
 again from the dead, and proclaim life and gmce unto 
 the whole world. So by the infinite wifdom of this work 
 all ftrife ends, and both are well plcafed: Mercy and 
 Truth are met together, Rjghteoufnefs and Peace do ki(i' 
 each other. Yea fo great is the wifdom of it, that the 
 bleiled Angels thcmfelvesdelire to pry into it profound 
 iy. Sure it exceeds the natural undcrftanding of the 
 wife and fubtle Lucifer himfelf 5 who for all his wit and 
 cunning was clearly deceived, and fcil'd in this myftery 
 whereby he was drawn on to bite at that heel which he 
 little dreamt would crulh his head, even whilft he bit it : 
 For fuppoiing to fwaUow the humanity which he faw', he 
 was fuddenly choaked with the divinity which he could 
 
a 2 A third Sermon on Chriflmas day D 
 
 not comprehend. So wifely God by Man reftored Man, 
 and vanquifht Satan in the felf- fame nature he had conquer- 
 ed before. And therefore whb (hall declare the wifclom 
 of his generation? 
 
 But above all either power or wifdom, the wonder- 
 ful love and goodnefs of the Lord in this ad (hown unto 
 the whole world, efpecially unto wretched Man, may- 
 well drink up admiration and confound the underftand- 
 ing of both Man and Angel. For what an aftonifhing con- 
 sideration would it be, could weconfider it as it deferves, 
 that fuch vile worms and wretches as we, fhould receive 
 fuch high and undeferved favour from that God whom 
 we had fo grievoufly offended, and having offended, ne- 
 ver notwithftanding fo much as fought or regarded ? 
 That he for all this (hould feek us, yea and affume our 
 nature and become as one of us, that he might the better 
 find us? That inftead of hurling fuch rebellious finners 
 into the depth of Hell, as they well deferved, he defend- 
 ed from his own glory in the higheft Heavens and took 
 on him the infirmity and bafenefs of our earth, that he 
 might carry it thither, and into that glory from whence he 
 descended ? O the infinite goodnefs of this God to un- 
 dergoe the wretchednefs of Man , that Man might be 
 affumed to the bleffednefs of God, that finful Man to 
 the bleffednefs of that God againft whom he finned, and 
 delighted only to fin ! Lord, faith David, what is 
 man that thou didji fo regard him, or the fon of man 
 that thou didji fo vifit him i Surely, homo eft res ni- 
 hili, Man is a thing of nought, of no worth, no values 
 yet fuch the eternal Son of God vouchfafed to become, 
 that he might advance this thing of nought far above all 
 Principalities and Powers, and Crown him with Wor- 
 fhip and Glory. Neither did he by this aft glorify that 
 particular humanity alone which he affumed, but the be- 
 nefit fhall redound, though not in that manner nor yet 
 
 fo 
 
Vfon E s a y liii. verfe 8. 342 
 
 fo fully, yet in a marvellous degree unto all others that 
 fhall but glorify him \ for in him they (hall be made par- 
 takers too, even of the Divine Nature, i Pet. 1.4. He 
 was anointed indeed with the Oyl of gladnefs above 
 bis fellows 5 not alone then anointed, but above and 
 more abundantly than any others. As that precious 
 Ovntmeut which was poured forth on Aarons head, 
 fo Divine honours and graces by this union defend- 
 ed upon His 5 which it moft plentifully drenched; but 
 drencht not it alone (for of his fulnefs we have all re- 
 ceived) and therefore it trickles down upon his beard, and 
 all men living that (hall adhere unto him 3 and not fo 
 only, but from thence drops on the very skirts of his ray - 
 ment, even the reft of the Creatures, who have all fome 
 intereft in his body and therefore in his glory. 
 
 Whereby we are given to confider not only the great- 
 nefsbut the large extent of the Almighty 's.goodnefs in this 
 Act of his Incarnation. For bonum eft f»i diffufivunt, 
 goodnefs isdiffufive, and loves to communicate it felf, and 
 that of God the fupream good moft of all other : And 
 indeed whatfoever we every where fee, whatfoever any 
 where is or hath any being, it is nothing elfe but a Com- 
 munication of the Divine goodnefs from whence they 
 have all that they have whatfoever they are. But now 
 in this myftery God did communicate a new goodnefs, 
 and a greater than ever before 3 not only unto man, but 
 in a fort unto all his Creatures : which all have fome 
 title in his perfon, and (hall in their time receive a bene- 
 diction from it : for man as he was Supremuw Creationis 
 colophon, the laft and fupream work of the Creation {, 
 fo was he the fum and recapitulation of all that was cre- 
 ated before him : and all that was (0 created was but ei- 
 ther fpiritual as the Angels, or corporeal as the reft of the 
 world : and in man who hath a material body with the 
 one r andan immaterial Soul (utabk to. the other 3 both were 
 
 bound 
 
344 ^ third Sermon on Chrtjimas day y 
 
 bound up together in one Creature. A Creature which 
 hath being with the Elements whereof he is compound- 
 ed 5 life and vegetation with plants 5 fenfe with beafts 5 
 reafon and fpiritual exiftence with the Angels 5 and there- 
 fore a little but compleat world within himfelf, Nexu? 
 & vinculum totius creature, the very knot and band 
 that holds together the whole Creation. And therefore 
 the whole world being united in man and man unto God, 
 every Creature ot the world cannot but have fome inte- 
 reft in the union , who have a part in the Nature that 
 was united. Had he affumed the nature of Angels,the reft 
 of his works that are corporeal had been excluded. 
 Had he taken unto him aCeleftial body and made his Ta- 
 bernacle in the Su.n 3 the Creatures that have life and 
 fenfe had lain unregarded: and fhould any of thefehave 
 been honoured with it,thofe that are intelligent and fpiri- 
 tual, men and Angels, had been left out under contempt 
 for ever. Man therefore was the only creature in whom he 
 could intereft and honour all the reft, as being both cor- 
 poreal and fpiritual,and having in him being, life, fenfe, in- 
 telled and whatfoever the reft have and are. And mans na- 
 ture therefore he only affumed, ut dum una ajjumitur in 
 qua reliquarum gradus continenturj in una rcliqu<e 
 omnes quoad fuos gradus affumerentur. That ib affuming 
 the one wherein the degrees of all the reft were con- 
 tained, all the reft in that one, according to their degrees 
 might be affumed. Wherefore that Cardinal Schoolman 
 Caje tan hid not amifs, Incarnatio eji elevatio totius 
 univerji in divinam perfonam^ the Incarnation is an ex- 
 altation of the whole Univerfe into the Divine Perfon. 
 Since by it man, in whom all things are knit together, is 
 himfelf knit and united unto God 3 that, as man is all ia 
 one, fo God might be all in all. And all from God receive 
 •not only elevation and honour , but bleffing and bene- 
 -di&ion in Chrift Jcfus, the Son of God, \fho is there- 
 fore 
 
ZJpon E s a y liii. verfe 8. 345 
 
 fore the head both oi men and Angels 5 to them a Con- 
 ferver, to us a Redeemer, and not unto us only but unto 
 all other Creatures that were made for our ufe,and become 
 fubjeft unto vanity through our fin : that as they differ- 
 ed by mans tranfgrefiion, fo in man they might partake 
 of mans Redemption. And therefore the whole Creati- 
 on, faith St. Paul, travaileth in pain together with us, and 
 together with us (hall be delivered into the glorious li- 
 berty of the fons of God 5 and therefore waiteth until 
 they fhallbe reveafed. For which reafon our bleffed Lord 
 fully is, as he is termed, Salvator mundi the Saviour not 
 of man alone but of the whole afpe&able world and 
 whatfoever is in it. Thy truth reacheth unto the Hea 
 vens^ (Taith David of him) and thy faithfulnefs un- 
 to the Clouds $ how excellent is thy name in all the 
 World ! thou Lord J/ialt fave both man and beafi: and 
 what name is that which is fo excellent in all the world, 
 but the name of a Saviour? thou Lord (halt fave both 
 man and beaft. And therefore the prophet Efay calls unto 
 Heaven and Earth, the Foreft and all the Trees that are 
 in it, that is the whole world and whatfoever dwelleth 
 therein, to fing and rejoyce together, for this Redemp- 
 tion, Sing Heavens, for the Lord hath done it : J/jout 
 ye lower parts of the Earth, breal^forth into finging ye 
 Mountains, Foreji and every Tree therein 5 for the 
 Lord hath redeemed Jacob and glorified himfclf in if 
 rati, Efay xliv. 22. And St. Paul gives the reafon 
 (which is the lame we have hitherto given) becaufe in 
 this Redeemer all things in Heaven and Earth were col- 
 lected, and gathered together in one even in Chrijl, Eph> 
 x. 10. And not only gathered and collected, but reftored 
 in him and renewed: For nova jam fail a fitnt emnia\ 
 all things are now made new, faith the lame ApotUe. Moft 
 worthily therefore at the name of Jefus, the knee of every 
 Creature, both in Heavey.and Earth and under the Earth 
 
 Y y 
 
54^ A third Sermon on Cbriflmas day. 
 
 is injoyned to bow and give glory ? as being by that name 
 glorified in a fort, and reftored to more excellent per- 
 fection. So great, fo univerfal is the goodnefs declared in 
 this Aft : Yet this is not all. But as it is great unto man, 
 and univerfal unto the Creature : lb is it the higheft 
 Communication of goodnefs in it felf, and the beft demon- 
 ftration of the intrinfick goodnefs of the Creator : the 
 higheft in it felf, becaufe in this he communicates himfelf, 
 which is not a goodnefs, but goodnefs it felf. Befides *his 
 there are but three degrees of communication, Nature, 
 Grace and Glory : but this fourth of hy poftatical union,in- 
 finirely exceeds them all : on which all acknowledge their 
 dependancef) for it reftores Nature, gives Grace, pur chat 
 eth Glory. Nature indeed and natural properties are 
 a great communication of Gods goodnefs unto natural 
 things : fupernatural Grace unto the Soul of man in this 
 life a greater : Divine glory unto body and Soul in the 
 life to come greateft of all : yet the beft goes not farther 
 than a Created quality 5 for though being glorified,we (hall 
 fee God, fee his Eflence and be blefled in feeing it, yet we 
 (hall (ee it but per fpeciemjjy a Divine indeed but a crea- 
 ted light : but in this of Incarnation he doth not exhibit any 
 (hews or fimilitudes, he doth not beftow any* created gift, 
 whether of natural or fupernatural order 5 but he gives 
 and beftows himfelf immediately unto his Creature : who 
 doth as immediately fee and injoy him in himfelf, being 
 the felffame Perfon with him : a communication of good- 
 nefs wonderful above all others, and not to be conceived, 
 had it not been revealed. And as the higheft in it felf,fois 
 it the greateft demonftration of the intrinfick goodnefs, 
 that is, holinefs of the Lord that vouchfafed it. For if 
 the deteftation of evil be an argument of goodnefs, how 
 full of goodnefs is he,who, that we might know how utter- 
 ly he hates and abhors all fin and wickenefs, rather than it 
 Ihould efcape unrevenged, would incarnate the Divinity 
 
 it 
 
ZJpon Es ay Jiii. verfe 8. 347 
 
 it felf, that fo he might punifh it and feverely too, even in 
 his own Son? which doth not only manifeft his good- 
 nefs, but his Juftice alfo, and together with both the 
 greatnefs and grievoufnefs of our fins. How far were 
 our Souls gone, and how deadly our Iniquities that muft 
 either draw God from Heaven, yea dragg him to the 
 Crofs, or plunge us in an everlafting Hell ? And unto that 
 our bleiled Lord vouchfafed to be brought, that we might 
 
 be delivered from this Who then (hall declare, either 
 
 the heinous guilt of our fin, or the infinite power, the 
 manifeft wifdom, or infinite both goodnefs and juftice 
 declared in his generations ? Efpecially his goodnefs unto 
 us miferable finners, which we muft ever eipecially think 
 on, but never hope to utter ? O what mind, what fpeech 
 (hall utter, fay or conceive the great honour he hath this 
 day done unto our nature ? how many and marvellous 
 benefits he hath in it confer'd on our perfons ? freeing 
 us from all that is evil, fin, forrow, death and Hell, and 
 inverting us with whatfoever is good, Grace, Joy, and 
 Glory everlafting in Heaven ? Say we then all with Te- 
 lergks^ Age O Chrifte Dei Verbum e^ fapientia, Well 
 then O dear Jefus, the word and wifdom of the Father, 
 what (hall we poor miferable Creatures return unto thee 
 for all thy favours? Tua enim omnia, & a nobis nihil 
 cupis nifi falvari ; for thou haft done all things for us, 
 and required nothing of us again, but that we would 
 fufFer our frlves to be faved 5 nay thou giveft us falva- 
 tion and takeft it kindly at our hands, yea, as a benefit 
 unto thy felf, if we will but receive it. O infinite good- 
 nefs ! and that we may laud and praife and worfhip thee 
 worthily for it, add one more mercy unto all that is paft : 
 and as thou waft pleafed to be born in our nature 5 fo 
 vouchfafe to be born again by thy holy Spirit in our 
 Perfons, that we maj once more lay, £>uis e**rrabit % 
 
 Y v ? Sn 
 
348 A third Sermon on Chriftmas day, 
 
 So we pafs unto our laft point, from his Divine birth 
 of tjie Father and his Humane from the womb of the 
 blcfled Virgin, unto \i\sfpiritual in the Souls of all the 
 faithful: Fork is not enough that the Son of God was 
 born for us or in our nature, unlets he be alio born with* 
 in us and in our particular fpirits, by his grace : that fb 
 as he was made the Son of Man by being united unto our 
 flefh, we might become the SonsofGod by being united 
 again unto him in the fpirit 5 By which (pi ritual union 
 and myftical, are conveyed and applyed unto us all the 
 benefits and graces purchafed by the perfonal. And it is 
 not the meriting of Mercy but the aftual conferring of it, 
 that muft do us good 5 which, is never fully done until 
 he that was born for us be reborn again in and within us 5 
 lill he live in our hearts by Faith, and his life revive in 
 our converfation 3 till his patience be ftamped upon our 
 Spirits, and th&reft of his Divine Vertues ingraven and 
 formed on our Souls. For fo fpeaks St. Paul of this Spi- 
 ritual Generation, My_ little children, of -whom I tra- 
 vail in birth again until Chrijl be formed in you. Gal. 
 3v. 19. And formed then he is in us, not before, when 
 we canfhapeand form our hearts in fome good meafure, 
 according to the pattern and precedent he hath left us, 
 truly faying with the fame St. Paul, Vivo jamnon ego, fed 
 Chrijlut vivit in me, I live now, and yet not I, but 
 Chrift liveth in me : A birth and formation fo full of mar- 
 vel and miracle, as .we may nolefs (ay. of it than of thole 
 Other, £htis enirrabit, &c i 
 
 For in the fit ft indeed God is born of God: in the 
 iecond God is born of a Woman s but in the third, many 
 Men and Women at once both bear and are born of God : 
 becaufe Gods formation in Man, is Mans reformation un- 
 to the image of God : his generation in us, our regene- 
 ration in him. And foby the fame aft in which God is 
 
 -rn in Man, in the (elf-fame both aft and inftant Man :s 
 
 born 
 
ZJpon E s a y Jiii. verfe 8. 349 
 
 born of God, as St. Job* fpeaks. And that by the infen- 
 fibleandunfearchable working of the Spirit, which works 
 fo fccretly, as Man himfelf cannot obferve and difcern it, 
 though it work within himfelf and even in his ownfpirit. 
 The child is not more inobfervably conceived in the 
 womb of the Mother , than Chrift Jefus in the Soul of 
 the Chriftian. And therefore the kingdom of heaven 
 cometh not by obfervation, faith our Saviour : that it is 
 come, we find ; but how it came, we perceive not : and 
 what we cannot difcern, how fhould we exprefs ? who 
 then (hall declare, &c> 
 
 Neither is it more fecret than ftrange and powerful ^ 
 there being nothing of greater admiration than the won- 
 derful work of God in the converfion of a (inner. How 
 marvellous is it, that the hearts of wicked Men, that 
 were for fo many years before, domicilia D&monum, the 
 habitation of Devils, wherein the Foxes had holes, and 
 the fowls of the air their nejis, that is deceipt and am- 
 bition roofted, and with them Luxury and Avarice, En- 
 vy, Wrath and Malice, Prophanenefs, Falfhood, and all 
 manner of filthinefs, until it became a den of beafts, a 
 cage of unclean birds, and indeed a very Hell of impure 
 fpiritssthatfuch a Stable of hkh^AHgeaj's Stable,fhouldfud- 
 denly be cleanfed,and a Tenent of Grace, Jefus, as in that 
 ofBcthlern, be born in it, in an inftant ? That fo dark 
 vaults of lufts and uncleanneG fhould prciently be trans- 
 formed into Temples of the Holy Ghoft? That fo impo- 
 tent and inthralled Souls fhould be indued with power 
 from above, and infpired with fiich an Almighty and mi- 
 raculous Fauh, as is able in a moment to call out all thofe 
 Devils ? To teach the prophane to ipeak with a new 
 tongue, the wrathful and vindictive with patience to 
 luck up all the poy foiled malice venemous ftomachb can 
 difgorge agajoft them, without hurt ; and not only to 
 be good in [hetnfelves, but by laying their hands on tl 
 
35 o A third Sermon on Cbrifimas day D 
 
 fick, by their charitable works unto the diftrefled , not 
 only relieve them, but with their very example recover 
 others that were fick of fin unto death. Who can behold 
 fuch a change, fuch and fo fudden a mutation, and not 
 fay with David^ This is the Lords doing and it is 
 marvellous in our eyes ? Sure it is digitus Dei, the fin- 
 ger of God indeed, the very power of his Spirit 5 nay no 
 other than another incarnation, and fpiritual birth of the 
 Son of God in fuch a Soul. And quis enarrabit .<? 
 
 A generation performed with fo fecret and yet fo 
 powerful an operation. Which yet we (hall perceive the 
 better and receive too the fooner (for though it be pow- 
 erful all do not always receive it) if we be obfervant of 
 the circumftances of this fpiritual, in the mind, which 
 for the quality of time, place and perfon doth much re- 
 femble that other humane birth in the flefh. For as then 
 he was born in the nighty fo ftill is he ufually begotten 
 in the nightly and filent meditations of the Soul. When 
 all things were in quiet filence, and the night in her 
 fwift courfe, then the Almighty word left the Royal 
 Throne and leapt down from Heaven, faith the Au- 
 thor in the book of Wifdom : And fure then efpecially 
 when all things are quiet and filent, when the works and 
 toils, cares and labours of the day are laid afide and the 
 Soul in fweet contemplation of the vanity of all her tra- 
 vel under the Sun, then I fay efpecially is Divine Wif- 
 dom preparing the place for the Son of God : who 
 though he leave not Heaven and his throne there, yet 
 by his fpirit doth he vouchfafe to defcend and live and 
 dwell in this earth of ours for ever. And as in the deep 
 of night, fo for the moft part is he born ftill in the 
 depth of Winter. For in the Summer and fun-lhine of 
 profperity, we are all apt to forget God and regard but 
 little what he fpeaks unto us 5 but in the cold and bitter 
 ftorms of Winter when our Bark is tofled in a tempeftu- 
 
 ous 
 
ZJpon E s a y Jiii. verfe 8. 35 
 
 ous Sea of afflictions 5 then like other Mariners we can 
 quickly pour out vows, leave our canns and caroufes, 
 and betake our felves to Supplication and Prayers:, and can 
 attentively hearken alfo what the Lord God will fay con- 
 cerning our Souls. Only take heed of the 3d. circumftance 
 in this point: and though he came in the laft age of the 
 world, yet be fure not to defer thy entertaining of him 
 till the laft age of thy life. For however he be fometimes, 
 and it may be ufually as yet born fpiritualiy in that 
 point of Mans days, as he was then of the world} yet it 
 cannot be fafe,' yet it muft be more than foolifh to pre- 
 fume of it. For we well know how frail we are. and 
 God knows how fuddenly we (hall be (wept away in our 
 fins 5 when we would give the whole world, if we 
 had it, for but one hour of that time we fo foolifhiy 
 ncglc&ed, and may not have. Remember therefore thy 
 Creator in the days of thy youth before the evil day come } 
 and give attentive consideration to the counfel of the 
 Wifeman, Defer not to do well, and put not off from 
 day to day, for fuddenly JIjjII the wrath cf the Lord 
 come forth and in fecurity thou fl)*U be d'ejiroyed. But 
 lajily and above all, be moll aflured that as then, fo he 
 will (till be born in no other time but a time of peace. 
 Peace there was in the whole world when he was born 
 in it } and we muft ceafe from wars and envies and ha- 
 treds, and have peace every one with his Brother , or 
 he will never be born in us. It was the Song and Anthem 
 at his birth, fung by Angels, Glory be to God on high, 
 in earth peace, good, will towards men. He is the great 
 peacemaker that came of purpofe to eftablifh an everla- 
 fting peace between God and Man: but on this condi- 
 tion, that Man fhallfirft be at peace with Man 5 other- 
 wife not to expect it from God, of whom he may not fo 
 much as beg mercy for his offences but as himfelf remits 
 the trefpafles of others. O take heed therefore, flatter 
 
 not 
 
352 A third Sermon on Chrijirnas day, 
 
 not thy felf, but fearch narrowly and be fure to ftrip all 
 wrath and revenge from thine heart, or be moft allured 
 Chrift will never dwell and inhabit there: who cannot 
 but hate the very place where fuch odious and hateful 
 fins make their abode. Sins that bind all the reft of our 
 iniquities on our Souls, yea make whatfoever elfe is good, 
 finful unto us. Whereof fo long as thou art guilty, thou 
 doft but curfe thy felf when thou prayeft, and damn thy 
 own Soul when thou receiveft. This for the time : fee 
 now how well the other circumftances agree, which con- 
 cern the place of his birth, and efpecially the perfon of 
 whom he was born. For born he was not of any ordina- 
 ry Woman at a venture, but of a pure and chart Vir- 
 gin : and fo will he ftill be both born and bred } in a 
 clean and unpolluted Soul. Into a defiled heart full of 
 noifom lufts and fordid affe&ions he will not enter, they 
 muft be firft purged out, and all the ftains and pollutions 
 of them wafhed away and cleanfed in a bath of peniten- 
 tial tears 5 then he will defcend thither, be born there, 
 and inftead of thofe natural corruptions fill the place with 
 all divine and fupernatural Graces : and fo not find but 
 make the Soul a Virgin by being begotten in it : A Virgin 
 full of virtue which he will efpoule and marry unto him- 
 felf for ever. But yet of all virtues he moft anefts humi- 
 lity in her 5 the firft and laft of virtues 5 the firft begin- 
 ing and laft confummation of whatfoever is virtuous. For 
 without it, the Soul is not capable of virtue 5 and had 
 (he never fo many would fpoil all by growing proud of 
 the virtues which (he hath. And therefore as he was 
 born of a Virgin, fo would he be born in no other but 
 a Stable the meaneft place and loweft in the houfe : to 
 fhcw us the condition of the mind, the humility and low- 
 Jinefs of the fpirit, where he ftill is, and ever will be fpi- 
 ritually brought forth. For as the covetous Soul is but a 
 Barn 5 the Epicure's a Kitchen j the Drunkard's a Cellar} 
 
 the 
 
ZJpon E s a y liii. verfe 8. 355 
 
 the Ambitious a Chamber of State 5 (o the low and regard- 
 left Stable may well fignify the humble fpirit } that both 
 is, and efteems it (elf a wretched (inner Not then in the 
 Barn of Mifers, nor in the Kitchin of Belly-gods: not in 
 the Cellar of Winebibbers, not in the great Chamber of 
 Pride and Prodigals 5 but in the defpifed Stable of humble 
 and dejefted fpirits, there is he, there will he and no 
 where elfeever be born. And every Soul wherein he is 
 fo born may be bold to fay with the blefled Virgin that 
 firft faw him '-> jcr thou regardefi the lowlinefs of thy 
 hand-maiden. 
 
 But yet humility is not more acceptable to him than 
 worldly cares and covetoufnefs difpleafing --, than which 
 nothing can more hinder his conception and generation 
 in our Souls. For God and Mammon cannot dwell toge- 
 ther. And for this caufe, as in a Stable, fo he would be 
 born in an Inn : For an Inn is downs populi^ free and 
 open unto all comers : and fo muft the Soul be where- 
 in he will be the fecond time born 5 free and'generous, 
 holding nothing as it were in private, and proper to it 
 (elf, but open and ready to communicate all things to 
 thofe that want and are diftreffed, and no lefs freely than 
 the other for money. And the fooner becaufe he knows 
 the world it (elf is but an Inn, where we do not inhabit 
 but lodge for a feafon : and who is fo mad as to build and 
 plant, gamifh and make great provifion in an Inn ? in his 
 paflage and upon the way, being to depart ere long, per- 
 adventure the next morning? For here we have noa- 
 biding place, no permanent City, but as ftrangers and 
 pilgrims, we look for one which hath a foundation. And 
 in fuch a Soul, which is in it felf as an Inn, and efteems 
 the world for no other, and therefore void of all (crap- 
 ing and wretched dcfires, the Son of God is ever moft 
 infallibly born, and will as certainly bear it where are 
 true riches and everlaftittg. Now thcfe three,pleafure,pro- 
 
 Z z fit 
 
554 ^ third Sermon on Cbrifimas day y 
 
 fit and pride, that is, # the flefb, the world and the Devil, 
 are the three heads whereunto all fins are reducible: and 
 as Chrift cuts th^m all off in his birth, fo muft we cut 
 them off in our felves, or he will never be born in us. 
 Carnal pleafure muft depart, he will be born of a Vir- 
 gin : Devilifh pride abandoned, he is born in a Stable : 
 worldly cares and covetous defires utterly difcharged, he 
 is born in an inn. And when the Soul is thus prepared, 
 by being truly cleanfed from all thefe, the time is at hand 5 
 and then let him make haft and go up with confidence 
 unto Bet blew, for there he will be born, that is the laft 
 and general place of his nativity, born in Bethlem. 
 
 And Bethlem is domus pants (fo the name fignifies) 
 the houfe of bread 5 and never fo truly as now, when 
 the bread of life was born in it. And as then, fo will he 
 ftill be born in Bethlem in the houfe of bread. Of bread 
 not corporal but fpiritual ^ and fuch as can nourifh the 
 Soul: and what houfe think you is that? furely Beth- 
 lem is nothing but Bethel^ the houfe of bread, noneo- 
 ther but the houfe of God. Where Men eat Angels food, 
 and that bread of life is freely difpenfed ^ not only panis 
 verbi, but panis verbum^ the bread of the word, but 
 the bread which is the word, the eternal word of God 5 
 panis de Ctelo^ bread from Heaven, of which whofoever 
 eateth fhall never die. And this is that houfe : & ecce, 
 and behold there is that heavenly bread indeed, not fo 
 much bread as the body of thy Redeemer, the bread 
 which we breasts it not the Communion of the Lords 
 body f the Communion fure of his body and blood too : 
 of himfelf and all that he did or fuffercd, yea or pur- 
 chafed either. For all are communicated in thefe 5 the 
 fame Symbols of all, and Conduits by which all are con- 
 veyed to us. And therefore Chrift Jefus himfelf is under 
 this bread 5 and comes down to thee as from Heaven 
 ki this (hape 5 that he might be at once both received in 
 
 thy 
 
Upon Es ay li'ii verfe 8. 355 
 
 thy mouth and conceived in thy heart 5 conceived and 
 born j live and inhabit there for ever. So juftly was Bet h- 
 lem the feat of his Nativity : and therefore as Jacob faid 
 when he awoke out of flcep, in that place where fome 
 fuppofethe Temple was afterwards built: how fearful, 
 faith he, is this p lace? the Lord was in it and I was 
 not aware : this is none other than the houfe of God and 
 the gate of heaven : if he faid fo of the Temple the 
 houfe of that bread, how much more juftly may we fay 
 of the bread of this houfe, How fearful is this bread $ 
 the Lord is in it, and much more, efpecially than, in the 
 Temple 5 and wo unto them that are not aware of it, 
 that difcern it not ^ for they do but eat damnation to 
 themfelves, becaufe they difcern not the Lords body. 
 Take heed therefore above all things unto thy felf when 
 thou comeft to this fearful, twice fearful place, this dou- 
 ble Temple 5 the Temple of his worfhip, and Temple of 
 his Body : and fo, that thou make thy approach with due 
 regard and diligent preparation, with that deep forrow 
 as becometh thy fins, that low reverence as becometh 
 thy Saviour. And fo in the end think on the night where- 
 in he was to be born, and betake thee to thy fweet and 
 filent meditations : confider the deep of Winter, and em- 
 brace thine affliftions : Look upon the days of peace, and 
 let go wrath : view the Stable, and down with thy pride: 
 fee the Inn, and contemn the World : contemplate the 
 Virgin, and cleanfe thy felf from all pollutions of the flefh : 
 fo (hall the King have pleafure in thy beauty and thy Vir- 
 gin Soul \ come up fafely into Bethlem and take of the 
 bread of life freely, and with it the bleffed Lord of life 
 himfelf : who will make thy fpirit another fpiritual Beth- 
 lens or houfe for this living bread 5 an habitation for this 
 living Lord, to be born and live in,fo long as thou lived, 
 and give thee everiaftipg life, when thou canft live no 
 longer . Which God 5f his infinite mercy. &c. To whom, 
 &c. Laus Deo in at emu n/- 
 
3 5 6 The Firfl Funeral Sermon^ 
 
 TWO FUNERAL 
 
 SERMONS^ 
 
 The FIRST for the 
 
 MOTHER 
 
 SE R M O N XII. 
 
 Upon P s a l. cxlii. verfe ult* 
 
 'Bring my Soul out of Trifon, that 1 may give thanks 
 unto thy Name 5 which thing if thou wilt grant me y 
 then fhall the Righteous refort unto my Company. 
 
 D, O notmarvel, the Text may be fitter than you 
 I imagine , or I could have made choice of: for 
 f it is not I, but another : it was not taken, but 
 given me. She that is now gone and at reft (and 
 may (he reft for ever in peace) (he whofe diffolved Ta- 
 bernacle^ the prifon of whofe blcfled Soul lies here before 
 your eyes, as a fpedtacle of mortality, as a document of 
 the frailty of our humane condition, which I would, (if 
 I might fo wifh ) it had this day appeared by fbme other 
 example : She, this worthy and honoiyred Lady, now glo- 
 rious Saint in Heaven, to whom We are at. this time to 
 
 perform 
 
Upon P s a l cxlii. verfe nit. 3 zn 
 
 perform our laft office and Chriftian duty : She it is who 
 as (he made it her frequent praife in her life, fo (he de- 
 fired it might be commended to your meditations in her. 
 death. And you will anon perceive how juftly 5 when 
 you fhall fee how well it fortcd with the one, and hov/; 
 fully it is now accomplifhed in the other. But for this 
 you muft ftay a little. Firft therefore of her Theam,thcn 
 of her (elf. Bring my Soul, &t. 
 
 The whole Pfalm is a prayer of Davids, purfued by 
 Saul and fhut up in a Cave as appears by the Title, but 
 whether that of Adullam in the xxii. of Sam net as Haimo 
 and RemigiHs ^ or elfe of the other of Engedi in the 
 xxiv. of the fame book, as AmLrofe and Athanafuu 
 fuppofe, is uncertain, nor is it material to enquire;' In 
 one of them it was, and in this diftrefs he Hees unto the 
 Lord for fucour, in this whole rfalm 5 the fum and fab- 
 ftance of whofe devout prayer you have in this laft 
 verfe, Bring my, Soul, &c. This is the Hiftorical truth 3 
 and the literal fence of the Text which arifeth from 
 thence is manifeft. Deliver my Soul out of Prifon : Efpe- 
 lunca, out of this Cave } and not fo only, not out of the 
 Cave alone, for fo he might have fallen into the hands of 
 Saul from whom it did fecure him out of that danger and 
 deep diftrefs wherewith he was environed on every fide, 
 and wherewith he was inclofed, fhut up and furrounded 
 as in a Prifon. And out of this Prifon, Rune ammam. re- 
 deem, deliver, bring forth my Soul. 
 
 But befides the literal, the holy Scripture (it cannot be 
 denied) efpecially the old Teftament, and the Pialms mere 
 than any cl(e,. doth every where abound with many other 
 both moral and myftical fences: for as St, Pant hath it, 
 omnia contingeb ant illls injigura,a\\ things happened un- 
 to them under the Law irj a figure 5 and are for examples 
 unto us on whom the end. of the world arecome. Their 
 very Hiltoi :ics wp;e Prophecies, and tbdr. actions 
 
 diction,. 
 
2 < 8 The Firji Funeral Sermon 
 
 di&ions, faith St. Auftin : and as when words fignify ani- 
 ons, there arifeth the hiftorical fences fo when thofe ani- 
 ons again are inftead of words to fignify other feveral ope- 
 rations, from thence doth emerge the myftical interpreta- 
 tion. For which reafon it is, that the Fathers and learn- 
 ed Writers of our own and former ages have given unto 
 this place fuch variety of expofitions 3 and that not by way 
 only of accommodation, but as the proper and intended 
 meaning of the Spirit, that endited it : juftly taking that 
 for the Souls Prifon which doth any way either natural- 
 ly or morally ftraiten or opprefs the Soul, or reftrain 
 the freedom and liberty of it in her operations. And 
 therefore every faithful Chriftian under what diftrefi fo- 
 ever, whether of outward affliftions or inward and in- 
 herent fins, whether of bodily infirmities, or worldly 
 troubles and cares, whether meaning any or all and every 
 of them, he may truly fay with David, Bring my Soul 
 e cuftodia, out of the inclofure and cuftody of this mi- 
 ferable Prifon : for though David peradventure did not 
 himfelf aftually behold all thole meanings when he pray- 
 ed 5 yet the Holy Ghoft which did diftate to him might 
 eafily forethink, and intend unto more fenfes, than the 
 wits of men can, according to the analogy of faith, find 
 out or difcover. And as this firft part is fomething trou- 
 bled with diverfity of Interpretations, fo the latter part 
 is become much more difficult through variety of read- 
 ings. 
 
 Here it is, Which thing if thou ffjalt grant me, then 
 Jloall the Righteous re fort unto my company, as if it 
 were promiffory and votive. In the reft it feems ra- 
 ther aflertory and pofitive, The Righteous fhall compafs 
 mc about ^ for thou f/j alt deal bountifully with we, fo 
 our new Tranflation. Then ffja/I the Righteous come 
 about me, when thou haft been good or beneficial unto me : 
 fo Junius and Tremelius render it. $4e expcSant Jufti 
 
 donee 
 
ZJfon P s a l. cxlii. verfe ult. 359 
 
 dortec retribuas tnihi, The Righteous wait and expe3 
 till thou doji reward me with deliverance, fo the vul- 
 gar edition. Yet all feem to agree in this, that upon his 
 deliverance the Righteous (hall compafs him about, and 
 he either to them or they with him (hall praife and mag- 
 nify the name of the Lord by whom he was delivered. 
 But this help thefe divers readings will afford us, it will 
 make the Text more appliable unto the feveral expoiiti- 
 onsthe Antients have given us. So having opened the 
 paffage and a little cleared che fence of the Text, we may 
 now go on without offence to the divifions of it 3 where- 
 in we ihall not need to labour much, it requires neither 
 Art nor Industry 5 Nature hath already done it to our 
 hands : It runs forth of its own accord into two Branches, 
 and no mans eye fo weak but he may fee them of himfelf, 
 Prayer and Praife Prayer for deliverance } Praife avid 
 thankfgiving, when he hath obtained it : in the one ye 
 may behold the devotion^ in the other the gratitude of 
 his Soul. Deliver my Soul out ofPrifon : fee the Prayer. 
 That I may give thanks unto thy name : fee the Praife. 
 And yet you fee not all of the praife neither : Praife his 
 name he may do in his own heart and within himfelf, and 
 that is but private praife : but this is not enough, he will 
 have it publick too : his good heart is already filled 
 but to think of his deliverance, and he prefently medi- 
 tates where he may vent it : and nowhere fo well as in the 
 Ears of the righteous, who will foon flock about him to 
 rejoyce in his mercy, and gladly bear a part in his fong 
 of thankfgiving 5 among them therefore he will pour it 
 forth, that the vovce of honour and praife, as from a 
 full Qyire, may afcend into the Ears of the Lord his 
 deliverer. Which thing if thou wilt grant me^ then , 
 
 But be \iufe it will be more convenient for us to end 
 with the Prayer, we will begin firft with this laft, the 
 
 Praife, 
 
^60 The Firft Funeral Sermon 3 
 
 Praife, and it will agree well with the order of nature: 
 for indeed every Mans praife (hould be firft in his refo- 
 lution, before he offer to open his mouth in his prayer. 
 Offer unto God thanksgiving, faith David, and fay 
 thy vows unto the moji High, and then call upon nte in 
 the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee 3 as if no 
 Man might expeft deliverance in that day, the day of 
 trouble, unlefs he firft refolve on and vow thanklgiving 
 unto the mod High. And indeed thus far we can go with 
 the Prophet : we are all apt enough topromife and vow 
 many thankful returns unto the Lord when our Souls are 
 in forrow, and his affii&ions lie heavy upon us 5 but for 
 performing of thefe promifes and paying of thefe vows 
 afterwards, there is the difficulty, and there we leave 
 him. Under our burthens and diftreffes, efpecially if 
 great and preffing, it is almoft every Mans vow : O if the 
 Lord will but deliver me now, free me but this time, 
 we will do this and that and marvellous things then : but 
 the hand of the Lord is no fooner removed , the prifon 
 of our affli&ions broken up, and our Souls brought forth 
 in fafety, but all is inftantly forgotten, as if it had never 
 been. We are now well and at liberty, and have no need 
 we think of the Lord 5 when we have, he (hall hear of us 
 again, in the mean time pay vows he that lift 3 it is e-" 
 nough for us to fmile in our fleeves, as if we had over- 
 reacht the Lord and cheated him out of a deliverance 
 with fair language. But God will not fail to reach home 
 one time or other, unto fuch falfe hypocrifie : for Hypo- 
 crites they are and no better 5 and for fuch they are e- 
 fteemed and ftiled by God himfelf, though they promifed 
 nothing but what at that time they truly meant to per- 
 form. When Godjlew the I fr a elites, faith David, then 
 they returned and inquired early after God, they re- 
 Mentbred that God was their rock^, and the high God 
 their redeemer 3 and no queftion but all this with 
 
 true 
 
ZJpon Psal cxlii. verfe ult. 361 
 
 true devotion : yet becaufe upon the deliverance they 
 fell back like their forefathers, darting afide as a broken 
 bow, the Prophet prefently fubjoins, Neverthelefs they 
 did but flatter with their lips and difjemble with their 
 double tongue, for their heart was not right in them, 
 neither were theyjledfafl in his Covenant : not ftedfafr, 
 and therefore in Gods account not right 5 but even dil- 
 femblers in what they truly intended, becaufe they falily 
 forfook it. Hypocrites then they are, and with hypo- 
 crites they (hall have their portion. Confider therefore 
 faithfully what thy lips fpake, when thy heart was in 
 trouble 5 and be lure that thy hand perform it when 
 thou art releafed. And yet if your lips fpake nothing, 
 if you have no vow upon you, thankigiving is due with- 
 out it, pay that at lead with cheerfulness. No fuch Mon- 
 fter in the world, not the Hypocrite himfel£ as the un- 
 thankful Man 5 he that hath (aid Ungrateful, hath (aid all, 
 and the word he can fay. And therefore above all things, 
 if there be no vows to pay, yet offer unto God thankfc 
 giving 5 next to that of a broken heart, it is the bed (a- 
 crifice, thou cand offer him. This Jhall pleafe the Lord 
 better than a bullock^ that hath horns and hoofes, PfaL 
 lxix. 31. Nay not all thofe Hecatombs and millions of 
 Sheep and Oxen which Solomon offered at the dedica- 
 tion of the Temple, no nor thoufands of Rams and Ri- 
 vers of Oyl, as Alicah fpeaks, can (b glad the Altars of 
 God, as thefe Calves of our lips, the facrifice of praife 
 and thankfgiving } but then it mud be made a burnt-of- 
 fering, that is, kindled with the fire of zeal and true devo- 
 tion, fing praife s lujiily, faith our Prophet, and with 
 a good courage. And as he gives us the indru&ion, (b 
 let him be our example, that you may know he did not 
 promife more in this place than he was glad and willing 
 to perform afterwards. See how luflily, and with what 
 a good courage he doth perform it: he doth not goa- 
 
 A a a bout 
 
362 The Fir ft Funeral Sermon, 
 
 bout it drowftly, but his very preparation to it is hafty 
 even beyond expreffion by any Mans words but his 
 Pfcl.Ixxi. own, My heart is fixed O God, my heart is fixed, awake 
 up my lute and glory, I my felf will awake right early. 
 Vn, My lips will be fain when iftng unto thee, and fo will 
 xxxv. my foul which thou haji redeemed : nay my mouth 
 fhall be fatisfied as it were with marrow and fatnefr, 
 when I pall praife thee with joyful lips : words that 
 have vigour and life, and fhew a good courage indeed 5 
 but all this is but preparative, for when he comes to 
 performance, fee how he ftirs up all the parts of his body 
 and powers of his Soul to concur with him in the work, 
 Praife the Lord my foul, dnd whatfoever is within 
 me praife his holy name : And yet it is not enough, him- 
 felf and all his faculties are too little, this is ftill but pri- 
 vate praife, he muft have it publick too, and (o it is to 
 the purpofe: you may fee him fummon up, not only 
 righteous Men, (as here) but all the creatures of Heaven 
 and Earth, to bear a part with him : Angels, Sun, Moon, 
 Stars, Fir6, Hail, Snow, Vapour, Storm and Tempeft too> 
 praife ye the name of the Lord. And as yet not fatisfied;, 
 he calls for all the Inftruments of Mufiek, Trumpets , 
 Pfaltery, Harp, Timbrel, Cymbals, and the high tuned 
 Cymbals to exprefs and fet it forth the more folemnly. 
 Neither is it a paflionate flafh, like fire in Flax, as quick- 
 ly out as kindled, but a conftant and parmanent affeftion, 
 Whilfl I live 1 will praife the Lord, and as long as I 
 have any being I will fin g praife s unto my God, Pf cxlvi. 
 How mightily doth this upbraid the dead and cold de- 
 votion of the prefent world ! fcarce a fpark of this holy 
 fire to warm it, can now be found in one bofom of a 
 thoufand : we think we have performed a worthy wit i- 
 ficc, if with a barren and a dry heart we can only fay 
 with the Pharifee, I thank thee O Lord that thou haft 
 not made me like other men. Superficial we are and per- 
 
 funftory 
 
ZJpon Psal. cxlii. verfe ufc. 363 
 
 funttory in all our fervice, forward in nothing but to run 
 on the point of that curfeofthe Prophet, Cur fed be he 
 that doth the work, of the Lord negligently. And the 
 reafon is, for that if all things do not run according to 
 our defires, we are infenfible of the goodnefs of God in 
 other matters, and feldom meditate on it thoroughly. 
 But had we apprehenfive fpirits, and could duly weigh 
 and ferioufly confider the mercies of God, not only to 
 Man in general, but every Man his fpecial favours unto 
 himfelf in particular, a thoufand ways, when a thousand 
 ways he deferved deftru&ion, he would foon find his 
 breaft ftraitned and too narrow for his fwelling affecti- 
 ons, till he breath them out in our Prophets double expo- 
 ftulation of love, not only, Domine quid eft Homo .<? 
 Lord what is Man that thou art fo mindful of him^ but 
 Domine quid fum ego, what am /, what is my Fathers 
 houfe that thou fo regardeft me ? Let fuch meditations 
 blow on the little fire that lies raked up in our embers, 
 and they will foon kindle into a flame, wherein our de- 
 votions may afcend into Heaven like that Angel which 
 went up playing in the flames of Manoahs facrifice, 
 Judg.xm. And this fhall fuffice for this part, for the thank- 
 fulnefs the Prophet promifeth, both private and publick, 
 within himfelf and in the refort and company of the 
 Righteous. I now leave his praife and come to his pray- 
 ec Bring my foul out of prifon Lord, &c. 
 
 And being in prifon, in ftreights and preffures, what 
 fhould a good Soul do but pray ? If any man be merry 
 let him fingjfhe be ajftiSedJet him pray, faithSt. James. 
 For prayer it is the Souls Herald fent forth in extremity 
 to parly and intreat for comfort. And as nothing can re- 
 lieve our diftrefs better than prayer, fo nothing can again 
 aflift our prayer better than diftretics. They inflame our 
 zeal, and fet an edge upon our devotions : the cries of 
 our own will are weafc and feeble, as cooled with fuc- 
 
 A a a 2 cefs, 
 
364 The Firfi Funeral Sermon, 
 
 cefs, inrefpect of thofe which grief doth utter. Sorrow 
 is ingenious to pray 5 and in an inftant formeth the flow- 
 eft tongues to an holy eloquence 5 and furnifheth them 
 with fighs and groans which cannot be exprefled. And 
 lure thofe are the beft and mod: piercing prayers of all 
 other, fideU s or at io plus gemitibus con ft at qnam fer- 
 monibus, plus fletu quam afflutu : faithful prayers in- 
 deed confift rather of Tears and filent groans than many 
 words. And fuch a prayer is this to fpeak on, it is but 
 a groan, very fhort but very pithy : few words, but fer- 
 vent and full of fubftance, including in it, (as an abftraft 
 of all prayer) whatfoever conditions may fcem nccellary 
 to a holy and devout fupplication, if you confider the 
 objeft, the mapner and the matter of it. The objeft the 
 Lord, io fome Texts have it here, but it is evident in 
 the former verfes, I cried unto the Lord. The manner 
 vehement, by way of crying out, as himfelf in the fame 
 Pfalm teftifies, / cried unto the Lord. The matter or ex- 
 tent larger than we imagine, even no lefs than delive- 
 rance from all evil that may any way inthral the Soul,. as 
 will appear when we come to open this Prifon from 
 which he defires it may be freed. 'Bring wy Sou/, &c. 
 
 Firft then it is well and rightly directed not to Saint 
 or Angel or any creature elfe in Heaven or Earth, but 
 unto the Creator of Earth and Heaven and Angels and 
 all, to him that made them and is Lo>d over them. He 
 cried unto the Lord, this cry, Bring my Soul, &c. He 
 well knew what Ifaiah wrote afterwards, Abraham is 
 ignorant of us, and ifrael knows us. not. And if they 
 (hould know andunderftand him and his prayers, yet he 
 well underftood they could not help him in his diftreG: 
 for which reafon amongft an hundred and fifty Pialms 
 which he wrote (one hundred whereof at leaft are pray- 
 ers,) you (hall not find one directed to Cherub or Sera- 
 phim, to Gabriel ox Raphael, Abraham or JMofcs, or any 
 
 other. 
 
'Upon P s a l cxlii. verfe ult. 565 
 
 other whatfoever, but ftill his cry is unto the Lord : He 
 was fure, he could hear his complaints, and no tefi able 
 than willing to relieve him when he complained, ft is he 
 only that is Lord indeed of Death and Hell, of fin and 
 affliction too 5 who alone hath the Keys of all thefe Pri~ 
 fonss who opens and no Man (huts, who (huts and none 
 iliall ever open ^ that hath power and ftrengrh in his 
 holy arm to break the Gates of Brafs, and finite the bars 
 of Iron afunder, and fo make way for the Captives that 
 are faft bound in mifery and iron 5, either in the Iron 
 chains of fin, or the mifery of diftrefs and affiiftion. To 
 him therefore rauft this prayer come of all others, Bring 
 my foul out of priftt/?. that of all others can break it up 
 at his pleafure. And however in fmall and petty grie- 
 vances we may caft about for humane fuccours and ftrain 
 our wits for ftratagems to relieve us, negle&ing the Lord 
 in the mean time, yet cum dignus vindice nodus inci- 
 derit^ in great and overwhelming calamities, efpecially 
 if fudden too, when neither head nor hand, counfel or 
 force can provide a remedy 5 when it is once come to 
 Davids cafe'm thisPfalm, that we have fio place to flee 
 unto, nor any Man that careth for our Souls, tunc Deu* 
 intervenit, then we run readily whether Papifts or Pro- 
 teftants, leave all, they their Papois and Pifturcs, we our 
 projects and devices whatfoever, and betake our (fives 
 only unto the Lord, the Lord alone of deliverance, and 
 in Davids cafe approach with Davids petition, deliver 
 thou my foul out ofprifon.. 
 
 So then the objeft was right, and his prayer well di- 
 rected: And the planner was anfwcrable, devout and 
 fervent, he cried it out, Deliver my foul out of prifon. 
 And yet it is not likely he cried with his voice, he now 
 lay hid in a cave, and it was not fafe for him to make a- 
 ny loud cries, faith Theodoret and Auftin. It was not 
 therefore the outward (bund of the lips, but the inward 
 
 affection. 
 
3 66 The Firfl l Funeral Sermon, 
 
 affe&ion of the Reart that fent forth this 5 the cry of this 
 voice, asthofe Authors obferve 3 for as St. Bernard hath 
 it, Defiderium vehemens* clamor magnus* a ftrong and 
 eameftdefire cries loud though the lips fay nothing. And 
 this is the cry, the cry of the heart that gives acceptance 
 to our prayers, and deliverance too from our Prifons. 
 The prayer of the Juft availeth much, if it be fervent, faith 
 St. James: Dtherwife even the prayers of the Juft if they 
 be cold and of cuftom rather than Devotion and Piety, 
 may hurt but they profit nothing* The Lord is nigh un- 
 to all them that call upon him faithfully* faith David* 
 not formally 5 if asthofe Jews we draw near only with our 
 lips, when our heart is far from him : he may draw near 
 unto us with plagues and miferies, but his heart will be as 
 far from our fupplications and diftreffes, when you fir etch 
 forth your hands* 1 will hide mine eyes : and though 
 yon make many prayers I will not hear you, faith the 
 Lord in I fa. i. The reafon is there, your hands are full 
 of blood } the reafon to us may be, your hearts bleed 
 not. Your Altar is without fire 5 your prayer without 
 heat, how (hould I accept your facrifices? The very 
 wooden Priefts of Baal may be an inftrudion to us: 
 They called* faith the Text, on the name of their god 
 from morning till noon^ and when they had no anfwer 
 they cried loud^ nay they cut themfelves with knives 
 and lances*t\\\ they prayed not only in tears but in blood, 
 that they might be heard : and I would the children of 
 light were as zealous in their generations, though not fo 
 foolifa. But yet rather let us receive directions here at 
 home from our own Prophet. You faw how zealous he 
 was in yraife* and he is as well affe&ed in Prayer : it 
 was his darling this, and delight of his Soul 5 and it is 
 hard for any Man ever to pray well, that hath not learnt 
 it of him. No Man ever fo frequent, fo fervent in this ho- 
 iy exercife 3 I will pray 9 faith he, at Morning, Noon, and 
 
 Night, 
 
ZJfon P s a l. cxlii. verfe u!t. ^6j 
 
 Night, yea fcven times a day will I pray, and that in- 
 ftantly with the iowardft and decpeft affe&ions of his 
 mind. His bleeding heart may eafily be difcerncd at his 
 weeping eye, which every night wafht his Bed and water- 
 ed his Couch with tears. He mingled his bread with 
 weeping, nay made weeping his bread, tears were his 
 meat and drink. Sure he had a ftrange fire within rum 
 that made him run overfofaft : or at leaft he was water- 
 ed plentifully with the dew of Heaven, that could mini- 
 fterfuch continual fountains to his eyes. We, why we go 
 to prayers as if our Souls and tongues were Lcrfrngens; 
 like the right hand and the left in the Gofpel, one fehiom 
 knows what the other doth 5 as if we gave God an Alms 
 and not prayed for our own neceflity. Our Bodies per- 
 adventure are in the Church, butouraffeftions abroad : 
 our lips utter prayers, our hearts are on our penny : and 
 then no marvel if our eyes be dry when our devotions 
 are fo droufie. But this is not it that can do it, fuch faint 
 and feeble prayers will break open no Prifous. He muft 
 cry louder and deeper, that will be heard in his diftrefs, 
 when we can fay with David, ifrofundis, out of the 
 deep have I called on the Lord, when the depth of our 
 fins calls for the depth of our forrow, and both upon 
 God for the depth of his mercies, when Abyffus Abyf 
 jnm (hall call one upon another,then with David we (hall 
 be fure to be heard, and have our Souls brought out N of 
 Prilbn, which is the matter of the Prayer : our laft point, 
 but hath many points in it. Bring my Soul out ofpri- 
 fott. 
 
 For it is not a Prayer only for one pcnn'd up 
 in a Cave 5 but vvhatfotver doth any way inclofe and 
 ftraiten the Soul, as was laid afore, may not unfitly be 
 termed the Souls Prilbn, and for ought we know intend- 
 ed in this Scripture, at leaft applyable to it. And ofthefe 
 things that thus befiege and (hut up the Soul 3 though 
 
 they 
 
og8 The Firfi Funeral Sermon, 
 
 they are infinite almoftin themfelves, yet they may be re- 
 ducible to thefe four. AffiiBie^s, the World, or worldly 
 cares, fin, and this body of fin and death ; And under a- 
 ny of thefe we may fay and pray with David here, Bring 
 my Soul out ofprifon. 
 Jk The firft (to take them in order) are afflictions, for- 
 rovvs and diftreffes 5 and that thefe imprifon the Soul, and 
 are here fpecially meant and intended, there is no quefti- 
 on, all agree, tribulatio& anguftia are infeparable com- 
 panions, Tribulation and anguifl) upon every Soul that 
 hath done cvil^ faith the Apoftle 3 and AnguiJI) is no- 
 thing elfe but the Englifh of Anguftia, for ftreights and 
 preflure there are in all tribulations. Profperity and Joy 
 do dilate the fpirits, and draw forth the Soul 5 but ftrick- 
 en with grief and forrow, likeaprickt Snail (he fhrinks 
 into her (hell, and is inftantly ftraitned. But yet of 
 all the Prifons this is the moft neceffary : It is the Bride- 
 wel of the world, and without it we fhould quickly grow 
 Bedlam and run mad inexce(s and wanton delights. For 
 all fins are frenzies, and fuch firmers feldom recover their 
 wits any where elfe. The wild Prodigal whilft free and 
 in profperity, runs on in his courfe and never perceives 
 his own diftra&ion, till (hut up here and well whipt a 
 while red it adfe, then he comes to himfelf and can fay, 
 furgam & ibo ad patrem, I will arife and go unto my 
 Father. For tribulatio id habet proprium ut howinemre- 
 vocet & reducat ad fe : it is the very nature and property 
 of affliftion to call home and reduce Men again unto their 
 fenfes. Neither doth it only give them their wits but 
 fets them on work, affording them matter whereon they 
 may exercife themfelves and all the Chriftian virtues, 
 Faith, Hope, Patience, Meeknefs, Humility and the reft, 
 which otherwife would languifti and vitiate, if not exhale 
 for want of imployment. This Prifon therefore is of 
 excellent ufe : But why then if it be fo profitable, (hould 
 
 we 
 
Upon Psal cxlii. verfe ult. ^6 9 
 
 we pray to be freed of it? why, abfolutely we do not; 
 but with limitation 5 if God (hall think id expedient for 
 us 5 who when the cure is perfe&ed, it may be will dif- 
 mifs us 1 or if he keep us mere longer, he will make us 
 large recompence for it hereafter. Our Saviours Prayer 
 is our rule in this point } becaufe all affli&ions are grie- 
 vous for the prefent we may (ay with him, // it be pof 
 fible, tr an feat calix ifia, let this cup pajs : but ftill with 
 fubmiffion to his good pleafure, not mine, but thy will 
 be done. And thus much though not always expreft is 
 ever referved and underftood, whenfoever in this cafe 
 we (hall fay here with David, Bring my Soul out of 
 prifon. 
 
 The fecond is the world, or rather worldly cares, that *• 
 clog and fetter the Souls of moft Men, nailing them faft 
 unto the Earth that they cannot ftir a foot, not move a 
 thought towards Heaven and heavenly meditations. This 
 is a large prifon wherein every one hath feen reftraint 
 more or lefs, as they have learnt that high precept of the 
 Apoftle,* ufe the world as if they ufed it not 5 but fatis- 
 fying nature only, account the reft that belongs to pomp 
 and fuperfluitv, nothing near at that high rate as they are 
 bought and fold for in this Market of Fools, quanti ven- 
 duntnr & emuntur in nundinis fiultorum. Thefe in- 
 deed have fome freedom, and though they are in a fort 
 prifonen, yet they are prifoners at large, and have liberty 
 as large as the Prifon, wherein they have elbow roome- 
 nougb, not to be ftraitned. But thofe miferable wretch- 
 es that, admiring the wealth and honour of the prefent 
 world, have inthrallcd and wrapt their Souls in terrene 
 and bale iolitudes, how clofe are they (hut up, and how 
 miferable a fervitude do they indure ! No Gally-flave can 
 be tied in ftronger chains than the Ambitious and Cove- 
 tous Man 5 like thole condemned to the Mines he digs 
 under earth, and fvveats for Ore all his life long 5 and 
 
 B b b when 
 
v ■ ■ — . 
 
 ^jo The Firji Funeral Sermon 
 
 when he dies hath his mouth ftopt only with a handful 
 of gravel. And here every one may freely pray, and 
 without any reftri&ion at all, Out of this Prifon Lord 
 deliver my Soul. 
 J, The Third of thefe Prifons and worft of all, is Sin 5 
 
 the Third indeed it is in order but firft in time, that gives 
 power and ftrength unto both the other. Had not that in 
 the beginning feifed on our Souls and faft bound them to 
 their hands, they could never have touched us. The world 
 inftead of a Prifon, had been a Paradife, and the men in 
 it, fubjeft neither to Cares nor afflictions: But now be- 
 ing faft tyed by this, we have a thoufand Chains caft on 
 us, befides$ and are become prifoners alrnoft to every 
 thing elfe. This therefore is the head and fountain of 
 our mifery, and as the firft fo the worft, ftraiteft and 
 clofeft prifon of all other } a common Jayl indeed ra- 
 ther than a Prifon, and the very hole of the Jayl wherein 
 millions of men lie faft bound indeed, in mifery and Iron, 
 putrifying and ftinking in their corruption, like Lazarus 
 in his Grave 3 the very emblem both of the Prifon 
 and Prifoners. And unlets that Son of God who came 
 down himfelf from Heaven to open this Prifon and preach 
 liberty unto the Captives, unlets he gracioufly call unto 
 us, yea cry aloud as in the Gofpel he did, even groaning 
 in his Spirit (to (hew how difficult a thing it is to di£ 
 folve thefe bonds wherewith cuftom and habit hath tyed 
 us as with cords) unlets he, I (ay, by the power of his 
 holy voice cry unto us all as he did unto him, Lazare 
 veni for as, Lazarus come forth, we (hall all perifh in our 
 captivity- for ever, and never fee light. For this fink of 
 (in (wherein the longer we lie, the deeper indeed we 
 fink) doth at length empty it felf into Hell, the bottom- 
 ks§ Pit and Prifon of everlafting forrow. But blefled 
 be his name, the barrsare fmitten afunder, and the doors 
 thrown open by his death : And he ftill calls unto us by 
 
 the 
 
ZJpon P s a l. cxJii. verfe uk. 571 
 
 the voice of his Minifters,yea and Spirit too,tocome forth 5 
 and unlefs we be enamoured of our own mifery, and like 
 Beafts delight to lie in our own filth till we perifh in that 
 nethermoft Gulf, let us hearken unto his calls and roufe 
 up our felves betimes, anfwering his voice with another 
 call of our own, calling and crying with all our might 
 and without ever ceafing, all of us, From this Prifon 
 good Lord deliver our Souls. But yet call and cry as long 
 and as loud as we can, our Souls (hall never be clearly 
 freed either from this Prifon of fin, or thofe others of 
 Cares and Sorrows,fo long as they are (till inclofed in this 
 of the corruptible body. Which is the Fourth and lad 
 Prifon of the Soul, and here intended by David accord- 
 ing to the expofition of many Fathers, whofe words I 
 cannot now ftand to recite. 
 
 And therefore Laurent ins Juftinianus (aid well of 4. 
 this Prayer, Verba funt peregrinationis fine miferias 
 meditantk, &c. they are the words, faith he, of one me- 
 ditating on the miferies of his peregrination oh Earth, and 
 the joyes of the celeftial Jerufalem above, and as it were 
 fighing inhimfelf that he was detained fo long frompraif- 
 ing the name of God, and finging hymns of thankfgi- 
 ving and honour amidft all the company of the righteous 
 there, and congregation of the firft-born both Saints and 
 Angels, he grieves at his abfence, and groans out the fer- 
 ventnefs of his defire inthisftiort Prayer, Bring my Soul 
 ont of Prifon, that I may praife thy name. A defire 
 which he doth elfewhere often exprefs, As the Hart de- 
 flreth the water-brookj, fo longeth my Soul after thee 
 God. When flj all I appear before the pre fence of the Lord ? 
 Bleffed be they that dwell in thy houfe, theyffjall be always 
 praifmg of thee from generation to generation : and that 
 he might be in the midft of them praifing his name, his de- 
 fire in this Prayer is hevi^Bring my Soul out of Prifon &c. 
 
 And yet, if we (hall fuppofe he did not, yet others 
 
 B b b 2 may> 
 
?7 2- The Firfi Funeral Sermon, 
 
 may, and no queftion but many do. The Roman Catho- 
 licks report, not without Joy, that their holy St. Francis 
 died with this very fentence in his mouth, and this fence 
 of it to be his mind, which he had no fooner uttered but 
 Anima a Corf ore libera evolavit in ccelum, his Soul 
 according to his rjequeft freed from his body, flew away 
 into Heaven. And certainly whofoever hath but fo 
 much goodnefs, as he can grieve to be detained from 
 Heaven , or dcfires to be freed from the moleftations 
 of fin upon Earth, cannot but efteem of the body as a 
 Prifon which hinders him in both. Nay the very Phi- 
 lofophers that knew neither of thofe refpefts, out of 
 moral regards, could both perceive and acknowledge it 
 for fuch, Career & fepulchrum Aniw£^ the Prifon and 
 Sepulcher of the Soul. And.fo may we term them too, 
 iMily we muft be careful we avoid the error of Origen^ 
 That our Souls finned in Heaven, and are condemned to 
 bodies, but as to Gallies or Prifons where they are to do 
 penance for former tranfgreffions.. But as St. Auftin doth 
 well diftinguifh, it is not the body in it fell which was 
 firft built for a houfe ot delight though fin committed 
 in it, but the corruption of it that makes it a Prifon, ao 
 cprding to that in the Book of Wifdom Corpus corrupt 
 iibile aggravat animaw, the corruptible body prefleth 
 dpwn the Soul p, and ceafeth not to fight againft it with 
 many noyfome lufts, in regard whereof the Apofrie him- 
 fdf was inforced to cry out as even weary of his Prifon, 
 qnis liber abit, who Jhall deliver me from this body of 
 ueath? why $ Thanhs be unto God through our Lord 
 Jefuf hrijl, this is he that (hall deliver us,this is the Lord 
 to v/hom David did and we all muft. pray, that defire this 
 benefit, Bring my foul out of Prifon Lord. 
 
 And yet though we may lawfully make this Prayer in 
 ihh fence, yet it muft be as before with fubmiflion of our* 
 will unto. Uis : .wc muft wait the Lprds.kifun; witk pati- 
 ence 
 
Upon P s a l cxliL verfe uJr. 370 
 
 ence to whom only belong the iffues of death, and there- 
 fore not leek to break through the walls or throw our (elves ■ 
 out at the windows \ butftay till he (hall pleafe to open 
 the door, and lead us forth in peace, for it is Educ an}- 
 mjm.wc may not thruft it out our felves, but he muft lead 
 it forth,orwe (halibut thruft it out of one prifon into ano- 
 ther infinitely worfe. Nay it feems by that word it (hould 
 be no hafty defire, that he himfelf Ihould do it neither : 
 it doth not found as if we would have him prefendy 
 break down and demolifh the building, and fo fweep us 
 away in an inftant 5 that were Eripe animam, pluck forth 
 my Soul out of pnfon, but it is Educ^teadh forth, and 
 feems to import not fo much an anticipation of our time 
 as an humble Petition, that when our time is come, and this 
 Tabernacle muft needs be diflblved 5 that then amid ft all 
 the conflicts and terrours of death he would be pleafed to 
 be with us to fuftain and uphold us with his grace, cheaj 
 up and guide forth our Souls with his comforts, for this is 
 educere animam, to lead the Soul out of Prifon- And 
 happy, thrice happy are thofe Souls that are thus led and 
 conducted in this perillous time. Every one indeed pray 
 for it, but every one (hall not obtain it, It is Educ ani~ 
 mam mean, and we muft put an accent upon that me- 
 am on Davids Soul} that faithful and penitent Soul in- 
 deed was, and all others without fail (hall be (in their due 
 time) thus led and guided out of their, Prifons in peace: 
 but thofe that have no part in his penitence, they may (ay 
 if they will, but they (hall have no part in his Prayer. Aa 
 they neglcdted God and all his ways in their life : fo God 
 again will be as far from hearing or keeping them in their 
 death, but will rather laugh in their deftrudYion and mock, 
 when their fear cometh, as it is in the firftof Proverbs. 
 And then on the otherfide how miferablc,thrice mifu'able. 
 (hall he be, that muft part with his Soul at a venture, 
 flUthout apy coxfcrt tp&ftainit, or light of grace to lead. 
 
5 74 ^ e Fir ft Funeral Sermon 
 
 it, through the fearful paffages of death! Look on him, 
 and you (hall then fee, when after all his mirth and 
 revels, you (hall find him at the laft laid on his groaning 
 pillow, on the bed of languifhing, as David (peaks. 
 confider well how woful and difconfolate his eftate muft 
 needs be, when after all his former pleafures being worn 
 out with his body, the Soul begins to loath the ruinous 
 houfe of age and ficknefs , when it may not ftay, and 
 yet knows not whither to go $ at what time thofe fad and 
 fevere cogitations formerly beaten from him through 
 youth and felicity, return to afflict, and pay him home 
 for all his vain and wanton delights: yea peradventure 
 when the terrours of God (hall fight againft him, and the 
 Arrows of the Almighty ftick within him, the venom 
 whereof drinks up the fpirit, as it is in Job , In this 
 mifery of his, wounded in body through ficknefs, and di- 
 ftrefled in confcience through (in,what (hall lead him forth 
 with comfort fince God refafeth to do it > (hall his wife, 
 his fons or. his friends, his honours, offices or wealth ? 
 why the very thought of thefe and whatfoever elfe he 
 hath,that is good, doth but double his affii&on, fince now 
 he muft part with them for ever , and may well there- 
 fore fay unto them as Job did unto his three friends, mise- 
 rable comforters are ye all : what then ? (hall he com- 
 fort himfelf as'fome of the fervants of God have done, 
 by looking back on the ways of his life ? why nothing 
 can poffibly torment him more : he now fees that he 
 hath but wearied himfelf in the ways of Iniquity 3 and 
 perceives, though too late, what before he refufed to be- 
 lieve, that fuch paths lead down unto the Chambers of 
 death.Sincethen he can neither comfort himfelf,nor receive 
 any from the reft of the world, (hall he for his laft refuge, 
 as thoufands of others have done, cry, Lord, Lord, be 
 thou my help and comfort, and bring my Soul out of 
 Vrifon ? But alas unto what purpofe, and upon what 
 
 acquain- 
 
ZJfon P s a l. cxlii. vetje ult. 375 
 
 acquaintance? He that gave his Soul unto fin and Satan 
 in his life time, why fhould he think God in his death will 
 embrace and entertain it? No, no: Either give up thy 
 Soul unto God when he calls for it in his word, in the 
 provocations of his love, in the holy motions of his Spi- 
 rit unto thine 5 or elfe when thou wouldeft give it, he 
 will none of it 5 unlefs as an angry Judge to deliver it 
 over to the tormentor. And in thefe ftreights what re- 
 mains, but that he either take up the ditty of that dy- 
 ing Emperour, Ae«, qu<e nunc abibk in loca, fearfully 
 part with his Soul he knows not whither, or elfe embrace 
 the counfel of Jobs wife, defperately curfeGod and die? 
 Either way he comes to his deferved end 5 and he whole 
 whole life was as the way of a fnail, not a ftep but lea- 
 ving filth behind } at the laft dies like a Candles end in 
 the Socket, boyling and burning in the flame of his own 
 diftreffed and diftra&ed Soul, till he go out in a fuff, and 
 leave an ill favour behind him amongft all good people. 
 Such is oftentimes the fearful departure of thofe whom 
 God for their former wicked lives fhall refufe to lead out 
 of their Prifons when they die. No, this favour belongs 
 not unto them, it is referved for thofe faithful Souls that 
 with holy David.hzve throughly forrowed for their fins, 
 for they only (hall partake of Davids Prayer that imitate 
 Davids repentance. And thefe, however he may feem 
 to abfent himfelf for a while, and hide his countenance 
 from them , yet in that day of need, in that laft and 
 fearful time that mod requires it, they fhall be fure of 
 his comforts. He will not fail then to difcover his face, 
 and make the light of his countenance fliine into that re- 
 gion of darknefs : and by the beams thereof chear up his 
 people, leading and lighting them through all the dark 
 and winding Alleys of death, until they arrive in the glo- 
 rious Kingdom of immortality and peace 
 
 Believe not me, but behold the holy man of God and 
 
 fee 
 
%j6 The Firji Funeral Sermon, 
 
 fee it performed with your Eyes. Look upon Jacob the 
 Patriarch, and Father of the Patriarchs, he that wreftled 
 not onl/that one time at the River Jabbock^, but all his 
 lifelong with the arm of the Almighty continually af- 
 flicting him, yet in the end, all thele ftorms are blown 
 over, and he is gathered unto his Fathers in a calm of con- 
 tent and peace. But firft mark how the Lord gave him 
 ftrength, before he went hence and was no more feen 5 
 wherewith he collefts his fainting Spirits, raifeth himfelf 
 up in his bed, calls his Sons about him,gives every one his 
 feveral bleffing and benediftion in fuch a high and Pro- 
 phetical ftrain, as if an Angel had fate on his lips ; and 
 I think many Angelsfate waiting in that door of his body 
 for the coming forth of his Soul, which ftayed not long 
 after, to convey it into the bofom of his Grand-father A- 
 braham^ there to reft in everlafting peace. Look upon 
 JoJIjuu the Captain of ifraeU after all his Wars and Bat- 
 tles paft 3 at length he fits him down and divides the 
 fpoil among the Tribes of Jacob? and death drawing 
 near , fee how he fummons the whole people together, 
 and with fuch power of fpeech exliorts them to the fear 
 and fervice of God, which had dealt fo mercifully with 
 them , that the whole Congregation as if it had but one 
 heart and one tongue and both throughly affefted, joynt- 
 ly cry out unto him, God forbid, that we foould forfa^e 
 the Lord 5 nay but we will ferve him, for he is our God. 
 Thus out of the flame of his own zeal having kindled a 
 fire in the breaft of others ? this great Worthy was led 
 forth from his Prifon in peace. See Samuel the Judge of 
 ■Ifrael going to his grave as to his bed, and in him con- 
 fider the power and vertueof a good Confcience, arifing 
 from the memory of a well afted life: Whofe Oxe or 
 •whofe Afs have I tak^n, whom have I defrauded^ or at 
 whofe hands have I received a bribe? faith he unto the 
 Congregation, as all bear him Record, faith the Text, hoc 
 
 due it 
 
Vfon P s a l. cxJii. verfe ulc. 377 
 
 duett ad fun us & fepulturam : This is it which accom- 
 panies him to his grave, and laies him in his rotten Se- 
 pulchre. Laftly, confider St. Paul and his marvellous 
 confidence, even before his death, that made him bold 
 to deliver' up his Soul almoft like his Saviour with a con- 
 fummatum eji> I have finijhed my courfe, I have kspt 
 the fait £, henceforth k laid up for me a crown of rights 
 oujnefjy which the Lord thejuji Judge Jhall give me at 
 that day : words worthy ota Soul fo near unto its Hea- 
 ven : fuch have been the bleffed ends of thefe holy Men 
 of God and many more, famous in their generations, and 
 fuch it is and (hall be in all others that faithfully ferve 
 him, though it be not ever manifeft in all. 
 
 And what is there now that can more deeply affeft a 
 good heart? what can a religious mind fo much defire 
 unto it felf, or behold with fo great delight in another * 
 as to fee a devout and penitent Soul give a peaceful fare- 
 wel unto Nature, and in the midft of death depart full of 
 comforts of immortality and life ? as thofe Souls only do, 
 whom God (hall vouchfefe to lead out of their corruptible 
 prifons with the fweet confolations ofhisfpirit. 
 
 But peradventure far ofFexamples,will be left too far off 
 refpe&s.Ufually thofe that areneareft do affeft us mod: if 
 fo, this fad occafion will afford you a worthy one: for I 
 have done with her Text,and muft fpeak as I promifed and 
 you expeft of her perfon, that made choice of the Text; 
 and by this time you cannot but perceive how juftly. 
 She delighted in prayer and praife while fhe lived, and 
 (he left this behind her written with her own hand, that 
 it might teftify fo much for her even after her death \ and 
 that by it (he might in a fort (left her thankfulncfs being 
 private (hould die with her felf ) publickly praife the name 
 of God amidft the company of the righteous, the con- 
 gregation of good men here on earth, even then when 
 (he her felf, freed from her prifon, Ihould be tinging ho- 
 
 ' C c c nour 
 
578 The Firfi Funeral Sermon, 
 
 nour and glory with Saints and Angels in Heaven. Yet 
 this was not all the reafon of her choice. It forted well 
 with her condition whilft ilie was in the body 5 and (lie 
 knew it would be fully accomplifhed when (he (h©uld be 
 led out of it. For (he had her part of affli&ions, and 
 they preft fore upon her too , even ftraitned her Soul. 
 Her branches (he faw were rent away, branch after 
 branch 5 and to (b loving a nature they could not but go 
 off as limbs from her body. What Bernard faid in the 
 lofs of his friend is moft true in her cafe: Her bowels 
 were pluckj from her , and jhe could not but feel the 
 wound 5 and therefore if for nought elfe but her forrow 
 and affli&ions fake fhe might well pray ^educ animamj&c. 
 But other troubles (he had befides and diftraftions in 
 the world, that often called her meditations from Heaven 
 where they delighted wholly to eonverfe : efpecially in 
 her later time wherein (he (b inured her Soul unto bleffed 
 contemplation, as (he had almoft freed her felf from this 
 prifon ere, (he was freed from the body : that indeed was 
 frill in the world, but her mind and affe&ions were ufa- 
 ally with her Maker: So that thofe earthy cares which 
 hang at the heels of other mens Souls like talents of lead, 
 hung at hers only but as a line that ufually gave her leave 
 to (oar aloft, only humane neceffity that held the end of 
 it, had power now and then to draw her down, to the 
 grief and forrow of her heart. I am a witnefs of her 
 complaint, and of her tears too that any worldly occafi- 
 ons, though never fo neceffary, (hould trouble and in- 
 terrupt her fpiritual devotions, and therefore I am fure 
 in this regard it was her frequent prayer, Bring my Soul 
 cut of prifon* 
 
 And befides affii&ions and cares, fins (he had too no 
 qucftion, for what Soul is without them ? but yet fo few 
 and fo far from habit, as I think no man can eafily tell 
 what they were. Infirmities and omiffions it may be, 
 
 though 
 
ZJpon P s a l. cxlii. verfe ult. 379 
 
 though for my part, I know them not, yet this I know, 
 that her goodnefs efteemed them as the greateft fins, and 
 bewailed them with forrow enough to fuffice one that 
 had murdered his Father, or betrayed his Country, never 
 ceafing to fend forth her fervent fupplications in this be- 
 half unto the laft gafp. Her tongue, her hands, her heart, 
 all prayed this prayer : her tongue as long as it could 
 move, and when that failed, her hand fpake 5 and when 
 both were gone, yet queftionlefs her heart cried this cry, 
 deliver my foul out of this prifon, the prifon of fin. But 
 yet until the body be fevered from the Soul, the Soul 
 can never utterly be fevered either from fin or care, or 
 forrow of affii&ion. And a body (he had,it is now you fee 
 acarkafe: but fometimes was a goodly frame, a well built 
 and comely manfion, and even cut out of an antient 
 Quarry 5 but unto her, whofe thoughts were on ano- 
 ther habitation above, as it was in it felf, by reafon of the 
 corruption whereunto it was fubjeft, fo (he efteem'd it., 
 but a prifon unto her Soul : and that did at laft trouble 
 her peace with pains, and delay her from thcfe joys that 
 are pure and know no mixture of forrow. 
 
 No marvel therefore, if in the defirc of thefe (he could 
 make that her prayer, which others tremble to think on, 
 deliverance from her Prifon. But yet there needed no 
 earneft Prayer for this, death comes faft enough on of 
 it felf without haftning 5 it more concerns us to die well 
 and with the comforts of God in our bofome9, that may 
 (hield us from our fpiritual enemies that are then bufieft} 
 and guide and conduft us through the dark valley of 
 death, that is terrible in it felf And therefore in this 
 refpcft I rather conceive, (he that was fo careful of her 
 Soul, could not but make it her humbled and heartieft 
 prayer that when the time fhould come, the Lord of his 
 mercy would be pleafed to lead it out of Prifon. So fit 
 was it every way, and in many regards fo good a choice 
 
 C c c 7 did 
 
580 The Firji Funeral Sermon, 
 
 did (he make of her prayer, whilfl: (he lived, and the 
 Lord from his holy habitation heard her cry and at laft 
 accomplifht and fulfilled it all in her death. Though 
 before he plcafed to by forrows enough upon her, yet 
 now in the midft of them all, his comforts did refreih her 
 Soul. Now he comes to it in his deareft loving kindnefs $ 
 and leads it forth indeed with his choiceft confolations 
 and graces to make her a full recompence for all her 
 former affii&ions. How doth k now rejoice others about 
 her, even in the depth of their forrows, to fee her full of 
 the Spirit, and out of the abundance of it fometimes 
 pouring down bleffings on her children and childrens 
 children, and every one his feveral bleffings, like Jacob : 
 fometimes ftirring up and exhorting to the fear and fer- 
 vice of the Lord, with holy JoJIjh* '-, fometimes again fo- 
 lacing her (elfin the fweet pe r^eof a good Conference, 
 as bleffed Samuel : and laftly fometimes venting out her 
 ftrong hope, and ftedfa(t confidence with St. PW, but 
 in the words of J-oh^ I kj?ow that my Redeemer liveth^ 
 and I fliall fee him with thefe eyes^ as (he often repeated. 
 But what may be (aid enough of her fervent praying? 
 fhe was ever pious and frequent in this holy exercife 
 through the whole courfe of her life, thrice a day at the 
 leaft, at morning, at noon and at night, befides her times 
 ofpublick prayer: fo five times a day (he prayed, and T 
 doubt not but inftantly too. But now when her prifon 
 began to mine and death to appear within ken, how affi- 
 duous is (he now ? it is not Davids feven, nor twice feven* 
 times a day that can fuffice$ but (lie plies it, as if (he had 
 meant to fulfil the Apoftles precept* pray continually. 
 I told you but now her heart, tongue and hand prayed 
 to the laftgafp, and I think that gafp was a prayer too, 
 when her understanding failed, and (he could neither 
 hear nor fee- others, yet others might fee and perceive 
 ttiat (he prayed. So. perfeftty had (he tayght.her tongue 
 
 t0> 
 
Vpon P s a l. cxlii. verfe ult. j8 1 
 
 to pray, that when her fenfes were locked up, it could 
 run of it felf. And if fuch a Soul as this, be not, whofe 
 (hall ever be, led forth with comfort and peace > But yet 
 before her leading forth, being remembred of it, (he wil- 
 lingly made confeffion of her Faith, acknowledging all 
 the Articles of her Belief, and adhering only unto the 
 blood of Chrift Jefus for her hope : in thcfe (he had lived, 
 and in them (he would die \ but die in charity too, for- 
 giving and defiring to be forgiven of the whole world; 
 as at other times (he did not refufe to ask it even of her 
 own Servants when (lie had but uttered a word with a 
 Iktle more earneftneft than ordinary. And this folcmn 
 profeffion made, that fhe might farther yet fulfil all 
 rights, (he gladly makes her Son her Father, and receives 
 his absolution. And not long after the God of all mercies 
 on whom (he continually called, anfwered her gently, 
 and opening the Prifon, eduxit animam, led forth her 
 bleffed Soul fall of gracious comforts unto - everlafting 
 glory* for with this all the other prifons are utterly dif- 
 iolved. No more affli&ions now, nor fin, nor death for 
 ever : all tears are wiped from her eyes, and forrow fronr 
 her heart, all pain from her Body and fin from her Soul ; 
 which now in the higheft Heavens compaffed about with 
 the righteous, fings the fongs of praife and honour and» 
 glory unto him that fitteth upon the throne and to the 
 Lamb for evermore. 
 
 Who now (hall mourn, who (hall weep for fuch a* 
 Soul ? none can forrow for her unlefs they envy her hap- 
 pinefi: f&hx ilia antrna, imitationcm dcfiderat not* 
 j>U»8um, that bleffed Soul is no fubjcft of grief, but a 
 pattern for imitation. And therefore if any weep in her 
 death, they muft be tears of joy, not of forrow 5 and if 
 they be of forrow, they muft not be for her but for our 
 felves, and our own lofs. This indeed is great and in- 
 valuable, and when yoa think on it> weep i^Gods name. 
 
 Stnii 
 
^82 The Fir (I Funeral Sermon, 
 
 1 
 
 ghtis natum in fun ere ntalris flere vetat <? he were bar- 
 barous that would forbid it you : yet you (hall not have 
 all to your felves, we'll bear you company, for fhe was a 
 publick lofs. Such a Wife, fiich a Mother, fuch a Friend, 
 fuch a Miftrifs, fuch a Neighbour, fuch and fo good a 
 Woman, and fo great an example of Virtue, cannot, 
 fhould not go to the grave with dry eyes, in whofe loft 
 fo many have intereft. I would praife her if I could, to 
 make you weep more, but (he is beyond my commenda- 
 tions. A Woman of her Wifdom and Judgment, of her 
 Wit and difcourfe, fo free and liberal and yet fo prudent 
 and provident withal, for (he was fo in her felf, though 
 misfortunes befel her : fo fweet, fo kind, fo mild, fo lov- 
 ing and refpe&ive to all, and withal fo charitable to the 
 poor, a Chirurgeon to the hurt, and a Phyfician to the 
 fick : (he eat not her morfels alone, and their loins were 
 warmed with her wool], as Job fpeaks 5 fuch a Woman, 
 fo well born and bred, and of fuch a ftrain beyond or- 
 dinary, as (he feemed with the blood to inherit too the 
 virtues of all her Anceftors : fo upright and clear and in- 
 nocent in her whole courfe, that the eye of envy, nay 
 were all the malice of the world infufed into one eye, 
 it could not find any juft ftain to faften on her 5 fuch a 
 one, fo every way compleat, furely no Man unlefs he 
 had her own, or the wit and tongue of an Angel can 
 fufficiently commend: neither can we, if we regard our 
 own lofs, fufficiently bewail. But the truth is, (he is 
 not loft, non amijja fed prtemijfa : fent before (he is, 
 loft (he is not : And therefore you whom it moft con* 
 cerns though you mourn, mourn not as thofe without 
 hope. It is but a (hort feparation, and the time will come 
 when you (hall fee her again, though not with thefe 
 earthly affections. Pay the due tribute unto nature 5 but 
 then (hut up the (luces for graces fake. And the God of 
 all grace give you comfort 5 the Holy Ghoft the Com- 
 forter 
 
ZJpon P s a l. cxlii. verfe ult. 383 
 
 forter himfelf replenifh your heart with confolations. And 
 the blood of Jefus Chrift wafh us all from all our (ins, and 
 ftrengthen us with the power of his might 5 that we may 
 (b live whilft we remain here in this Prifonof the Body, 
 that when it (hall be difTolved, we may obtain mercy 
 from him, to lead forth our Souls. To lead them with 
 his grace, and then (as he hath done to this bleffed Saint) 
 receive them unto glory 5 There with her and all the 
 company of righteous fpirits that are gone before us, to 
 fing praife and honour unto his holy name for ever- 
 more. To this God the Father, the Son and the Holy 
 Ghoft, &c. 
 
 Lam Deo in sternum. 
 
 THE 
 
384 The Second Funeral Sermon. 
 
 THE 
 
 Second FUNERAL 
 SERMON' 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 DAUGHTER. 
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 
 Upon Rom. viii. 10. 
 
 And if Chrijl be in you , the (Body is dead bee aufe of Sin: 
 but the Spirit is life becaufe of tf^jghteoufnefs, 
 
 MAN of all Gods Creatures, is the ftrangeft 
 compounded, the moft marvellous mixture that 
 ever was, a very fardel of contrarieties, won- 
 derfully united and wrapt up in one bundte. 
 Heaven and Earth, light and darknefs, Chrift and Be- 
 lial may feem to dwell together, and man the houfe of 
 their habitation : what can be more dire&ly oppofite 
 than Flefh and Spirit, Life and Death, Sin and Righte- 
 ou(he(s } and lo all of them united here in one vede, nay 
 in one man. For the Text is but the Anatomy of man, 
 
 and 
 
ZJpon Rom. viii. verfe 10. 385 
 
 and muft therefore be compofed of and divided into the 
 fame parts man himfelf is. As his body is compofed of 
 contrary Elements, heat and cold, fire and water : So his 
 perfon is compofed of contrary. Natures, Corporal and 
 Spiritual, Body and Soul : His Natures again of contrary 
 qualities, Life and Death} the Body is dead, the Soul 
 lives : and laftly thefe qualities iffuing from contrary 
 caufes, fin and righteoufnefs, death from (in and life from 
 righteoufnefs. The Body, &c. And though the fin by 
 which the body dies is our own, yet that we may know 
 that the righteoufnefs whereby the Soul lives is not of 
 our ielves but received from our Saviour, there is a cau- 
 tion given in the entrance of the verfe, IfChriJi be in 
 you. So then here are three couples, a Body and a Soul: 
 Sin and Righteoufnefs : Life and Death : The body with 
 her two attendants, fin and death , the Soul with her 
 two endowments, righteoufnefs and life. The former is 
 univerfal and common to all the Sons of Adam accord- 
 ing to the flelh 5 the latter particular and proper only 
 to the Children of the fecond Adam begotten by the 
 Spirit, IfChriJi, &c. 
 
 I begin with the firft part, which is a meditation of 
 death and our chief Chriftian comforts againft death. 
 But yet before the Apoftle brings in his confolations he 
 premifes a condition, If Chrijl be in you: To teach 
 us, that the comforts of God belong not indifferently 
 to all men : He that is a ftranger from Chrift, hath no- 
 thing to do with them. What haft thou to do to take 
 my Covenant into thy mouthy fo long as thou hatcfi to 
 be reformed f faith God in the Pfalm I. When our Savi- 
 our commanded his Difciples to proclaim peace unto eve- 
 ry houfe they came to, he foretold them it fliould reft 
 only on the Sons of peace. He forbad them in like man- 
 ner to give thofe things which were holy, unto doggs, or 
 to caft pearls before Swine. This ftands a perpetual Law 
 
 D d d to 
 
386 
 
 The Second Funeral Sermon. 
 
 to all his meffengers, that they prefume not to proclaim 
 peace to the impenitent and unbelieving § but as Jehu 
 faid unto Jehoram's horfman, what haft thou to do with 
 peace ? fo are we to tell the wicked who walk on ftill in 
 their fins, that they have nothing to do with the peace 
 or promifes or priviledges of the Gofpel, IfChrift be in 
 you, &c. 
 
 Secondly, if we compare the verfe immediately prece- 
 dent, or that which isfubfequent with this between both, 
 you (hall eafily perceive after what manner Chrift dwells 
 in his Children. Sometimes we are faid to be in .Chrift, 
 and fometimes Chrift is faid again to be in us 5 and both 
 in effeft come to one : we are in Chrift by faith, and 
 Chrift is in us by his Spirit : For fo it follows, If the spi- 
 rit of him that raifed up Jefuf from the dead dwell in 
 you, he that raifed ftp Chrift from the dead flmll alfo 
 quicken your mortal bodies. It is not then a Carnal pre- 
 tence, but a Spiritual, that doth link and affociate unto 
 Chrift. To make up our union with him it is not need- 
 ful that his humane nature fhould be drawn down from 
 Heaven^ or that his body fhould be every where pre- 
 lent on Earth, as the Vbiquitaries affirm : or that the 
 Bread in the Sacrament (hould be tranfubftantiate into 
 his body, as the Papifts imagin. His dwelling in us is by 
 his Spirit, and his union with us, is fpiritual. So himfelf 
 in the fame place where he fpeaks of eating his flefh and 
 drinking his blood, doth interpret himfelf, theflefl) pro- 
 Jiieth nothings the words that I fpeak^are fpirit andlife. 
 And his Spirit, it is, not bis body that fhall give life unto 
 the Spirit, when the body (hall pcrifh, IfChrift, &c. 
 
 This touch (hall fuffice for the conditidn, I proceed to 
 ihe fubftance of the Text. The Body is dead. It con- 
 tains, as I faid, an admonition of our frailty, corruption, 
 and death, and comforts againft death. It is but the body 
 that is dead, the Spirit is life. Firft of our corruption and 
 
 frailt\\ 
 
Vfon Rom. viii. verfe i o. o g~ 
 
 frailry, The body is dead. That we all tend unto death 
 we all know 5 but the Apoftle's fpeech is more remark- 
 able : he fays not, the body is fubjeft to death, but by 
 a more fignificant phrafe of fpeech he prcfleth it homer. 
 The body is dead. There is a difference between a mor- 
 tal body, and a dead body. Adams body before the 
 fall was mortal in fome fort, that is, fubjeft to a poffibi- 
 lity of dying: but now after the fall our bodies arefo 
 mortal, as they are fubjeft to a neceffity of dying 5 yea if 
 we 11 here with the Apoftle efteem of death by the begin- 
 ning and feifure of it, they are dead already. The fore- 
 runners and harbingers of death, dolours, infirmities and 
 heavy difeafes have feifed already on our bodies, and 
 marked them out as lodgings which fhortly muft be the 
 habitation of their Mafter. 
 
 But how near this manner of fpeech draws unto true 
 propriety, they beft conceive, who beft underftand how 
 that maledi&ion of God -and curfe of the Law, The day 
 that thou eatefi thereof thou /halt die the death, was 
 fulfilled. If God fpared not the Angels when they wax- 
 ed proud, will he fpare thee , who art but a putrifying 
 worm ? lUe intummt in ccelo, ergo in JlerquMnio , 
 he was puft up in Heaven, and therefore was caft down 
 from the place of his habitation : and if I wax proud 
 lying on a dunghil , (hall I not be caft down into Hell ? 
 So often therefore as corrupt nature ftirreth up the heart 
 to pride,becau(e of youth and health,beauty and ftrength, 
 and the like perfe&ions of the body 5 let this considera- 
 tion humble thee, that though thefe are fair and beauti- 
 ful flowers, yet they cannot but fuddenly wither 5 becaufe 
 the root from whence they fprung is corrupt and rotten 
 and even dead already. Neither is it more available to the 
 cutting down of arrogance and pride, than to teach us 
 Temperance and fobriety. What availeth it to pamper 
 that Carcafe of thine with excefs of delicate feeding, which 
 
 D d d 2 is 
 
388, 
 
 The Second Funeral Sermon 
 
 is poffeffed by death already ? If Men took the tenth part 
 of that care to prefent their fpirit holy and without blame 
 unto the Lord, which they take to make their bodies 
 fair and beautiful in the eyes of Men, they might in (hort 
 time make a greater improvement in Religion and Vir- 
 tue than they have done. But herein is their folly 5 they 
 make fat the flelh with precious things, which within few 
 days the worms (hall devour , but never care to beau- 
 tify the Soul with holy and virtuous a&ions, which (hort- 
 ly is to be prefented to God. Let us^ therefore refrain 
 from the immoderate cherifhing this proud and dead 
 flefh 3 meats are ordained for the belly ', and the belly for 
 meats^ hut God will de fir oy them both, I Cor, vi. 13, I 
 njight inlarge this point almoft infinitely 5 for the bene- 
 fit of this confederation is not confined unta Humility, 
 Sobriety, and Temperance or any particular virtues, but 
 it>univerfal 3 reftraining from all evil, and inciting pow- 
 erfully unto all virtue and goodnefs. Nihil Jic revocat 
 hominem \ feccato quam frequent ntortk meditatio, 
 faith St. Aug. nothing can fc> recalL a Mam from his evil 
 ways as the frequent meditation of death , efpecially if he 
 confider, as the certainty of death, fo the uncertain 
 time of his death, and the unchangeable eftate ofever- 
 lafting mifery if he die in his fins. Would to God we 
 were wife, thoroughly to apprehend and apply this unto 
 our own Souls. It is ftrange that there is nothing fo well 
 known, nothing of greater benefit, and yet nothing fo 
 little regarded. What a Prodigy is it, that finful Men 
 fhould carry about their death in their bofoms and in 
 every vein of their .Bodies, and yet fearce admit a thought 
 of their mortality into their jpinds, but live here as if 
 they verily thought they (hould never die? If we had 
 np Religion, yet reafon would teach us that our 
 ftrength is not the ftrength of ftones(andyet them even 
 the drops of water weareth) nor our finews of Brafs and 
 
 Iron 5 
 
Vfon Rom. viii. verfe 10. 389 
 
 Iron, as Job fpeaks (and yet thefe the ruft and cank- 
 er confumeth) but a vapour, but a finoak, which the Sun 
 foon drieth or the wind driveth away. It was wittily 
 faid oiEfi&ctus the Philofopher, who going forth one 
 day and feeing a Woman weeping that had broken her 
 Pitcher, and the next day meeting another Woman that 
 had loft her Son, Heri vidi fragi/cm frangi, ho die vi- 
 de I ilem man Yefterday, faith he, I faw a brittle 
 thing broken, and to day I fee a mortal Man die. And 
 what difference of frailty between thefe two? furely 
 none unlefs Man be the frailer of the two. For as St. Ah- 
 ftin hath it, Take the brittleft veflel of earth or glafsand 
 keep it fafe from outward violence, and it may laftmany 
 thcufand of years : but take a Man of the moft pure con> 
 pjexion, of the ftrongeft conftitution, and keep him as 
 fafe as thou canft} he hath that within his own bowels 
 and bones that will bring him to his end. Nay I'hear 
 fbme fay, faith the fame Father, that fuch a one hath the 
 Plague or the Pleurifie, and therefore fure he will die 5 
 but we may rather fay, fuch a one liveth and therefore 
 fure he will die 5 for diverfe have had thefe Difeafes and 
 did not die of them, but never any Man lived, that did 
 not die. The Confumption of the Liver is the meffengcr 
 of Death, the Confumption of the Lungs the Miniftcr 
 of Death, the Confumption of the marrow and raoifture 
 the very Mother of Death} and yet many have had thefe 
 Difeafes and not died of them. But there is another 
 kind of Confumption which could never yet be cured, 
 it is the Confumption of the days 5 the common Difeafe 
 of all Mankind. David faw it and fpake of it, when 
 he find, my days are eonfuwed like fmol^c^ .Pfal. cii. yea 
 the Philofopher faw it and could fay of it, qnicqnid pr£- 
 teritum eft temporis mors ha bet : all our time that is 
 part, death hath fei r ej on it 5 and fb much of our life is 
 confumed. Let me then warn you and ftir up your me- 
 ditations 
 
390 The Second Funeral Sermon, 
 
 ditations of your mortality in the words of Mofes, Deut. 
 xxxii. 29. that men were wife, then would they under- 
 stand this, then would they consider their latter end. 
 Sure we are unwife that we confider not the things paft, 
 the evil we have committed, the good we have omitted, 
 the benefits of God we have abufed, the time we have 
 mifpent 5 and yet we grieve not, becaufe we think not 
 yet whether we fhall die. More unwife are we not to 
 confider the things prefent, the deadnefs of our Body, and 
 uncertainty of our death 5 the difficulty of Salvation, 
 and the fmall number of fuch as (hall be faved, and yet 
 we fhame not, becaufe we think we (hall not yet die. 
 But mod unwife are we that we confider not the things 
 to come, Death, Judgment, Hell, all to come 5 and yet 
 we fear not, becaufe we think we (hall never die. But O 
 that we were wife 3 then fhould we underftand, then 
 fhould we confider our latter end, and confidering it, 
 we fhould both prepare for it now , and more cheerfully 
 entertain it when it comes, memorare novijfima, re- 
 member thy end faith the Wifeman, & in aternum non 
 peccabis, and thou (halt never offend, never do amifs, 
 Ecclus vii. 36. So univerfal is the goodnefs of this confe- 
 deration, and therefore I have ftayed the longer on k. 
 But now I pafs from mortality to the caufe of it, from 
 death to fin, that firft brought it into the world. The 
 body is dead becaufe of fin. 
 2- Sin it is and only fin, which is, as the caufe of all our 
 
 dolours and calamities,^ of death it felfthat follows them, 
 without this there never had been, there never could 
 have been any death in the world. Death were not 
 death, had it not a fting to kill s but the fting of death is 
 fin, as the ftrength of fin is the law, faith our Apoftle. 
 Thecurfed apple of difobedience which our firft Parents 
 would needs eat, flicks ftill in all our teeth : it was poy- 
 fon unto his nature and infefted his blood, and he hath 
 
 derived 
 
Upon R o m. viii. verfe i o. 561 
 
 derived the contagion to all his poftcrity 5 who ftill con- 
 tinuing to feed on forbidden fruit as he did, do perpe- 
 tually ftrengthen the original Difeafe and draw death up- 
 on themfelves more haftily and violently than either that 
 fin procured, or the prime corruption of nature for it 
 doth inforce. Hence then we may perceive firft how 
 foolifh they are, who living ftill in fin yet never confider 
 that they are the Butchers and Murtherers of themfelves, 
 according to that of the Pfalmift,TAe malice of the wield- 
 ed foall flay themfelves, xxxiv. 21. his own fin which 
 he hath conceived, brought forth and nourifhed, (hall 
 be his deftru&ion. Every Man judgeth Saul miferable 
 that died upon his own Sword : but what better are o- 
 ther wretched Men whofe fins and iniquities are the cruel 
 inftruments of death, wherewith they flay themfelves, 
 Souls and Bodies too? Thus are they twice miferable 5 
 firft that they muft die 5 and fecondly that they are guilty 
 of their own death. O the lamentable blind nefs of Men ! 
 who albeit in their life they fear nothing, more than 
 death, yet do they entertain nothing more willingly than 
 fin which caufeth their death. In bodily difeafes Men 
 are content to abftain even from ordinary food, when 
 they are informed it will but nourifh their fickneis^ 
 and this they do to efchew death : only herein they are 
 fo ignorant, that m iwithftanding they abhor death, yet 
 they take pleafure in unrighteoufnefs that brings it upon 
 them. And ftcondly, which (hall be the laft ufe we will 
 make of this point. Since fin it is, that did firft bring 
 and doth ftill haften on death, upon wicked Men 5 what 
 marvel is it, if in thefe laft and worft days the Lord ftrike 
 the bodies of Men with fundry forts of difeafe and fun- 
 dry kinds of death, feeing Man by fundry forts of fins 
 doth not ceafe to provoke him unto anger ? He framcth 
 his Judgments proportionable to our iniquities: if ye 
 JVaH^finbbornly again ft me, and will not obey me^ I wiU 
 
 then 
 
392 The Second Funeral Sermon, 
 
 then bring feven times more plagues upon you according 
 to your jins^ Levit. xxvi. 25. He hath a famine to pu- 
 nifh' intemperance and the abufe of his creatures, if the 
 memory of our own corrupt and putrifying bodies can- 
 not do it 5 he hath a devouring (word to bring down 
 the pride of our hearts. If we have fiery and unclean 
 afR&ions, he doth not need burning -Fevers and loath- 
 fome difeafesto puni(h them. And now if the Lord af- 
 ter that he hath ftricken us with fuch a dreadful pefti- 
 lence (hall renew his Plague amongft us s or go on to fi- 
 ni(h that former deftruftion with the Sword of our ene- 
 mies, what (hall we (ay ? but the defpifing of his former 
 fatherly corre&ions, or our ftubborn walking againft the 
 Lord our God hath procured it juftly unto our felves. 
 Sluid mirum in pcenas generis humtni crefcere iram 
 Dei, cum crefcat quotidie, quod puniatur ? what mar- 
 vel that the wrath of God increafe every day to punifh 
 Man, when that doth daily increafe which defer ves that 
 God (hould punifh it? But enough of this part: it is 
 now time to pafi on to the fecond and mod worthy part, 
 as of Man fo of my Text, from the Body to the Soul, 
 from the memory of death, to the comforts againft 
 death: for though the body be dead yet it is but the 
 body, the (pirit (which is the higheft confolation of a 
 Chriftian) is yet alive, Mans life it fel£ But the fpirit is 
 life. 
 
 I cannot now ftand to difcourfe of the excellent Na- 
 ture of Mans Spirit and the wonderful union of it with 
 flefh and blood } for Man you fee is no fimple creature 
 but compounded of both 5 both a Body and a Spirit. He 
 is the abftrad and brief compendium of all the creatures 
 of God. The world was corporeal, the Angels fpiritual, 
 and both were united in Man, and made as it were into 
 one creature 5 A creature which hath being with the ele- 
 ments, life with plants, fenfe with beafts, reafon and fpi- 
 ritual 
 
Vpon Rom. viii. verfe 10. 393 
 
 ritual exiftence with Angels 3 thatfo the Almighty God 
 firft uniting all his creatures in Man, and then uniting 
 Man unto himfelf in the perfon of Chrift, might in fome 
 fort through Man communicate himfelf to all his creatures. 
 Worthily therefore did the Naturalifts term him a little 
 World 5 and as worthily did St. Auftin fay of him, that 
 of all the miracles that were ever wrought amongft Men, 
 Man himfelf is the greateft miracle 3 and that not only in 
 regard of his two fubftances, but efpecially in regard of 
 their marvellous union} that a mafs of clay (hould be 
 quickened by a fpirit of life,and both united into one per- 
 fon. That as God himfelf hath diverle perfonsin one Na- 
 ture: fo man hath diverfeand thofe contrary natures in 
 one perfon Commonly, fays Bernard^ the honourable a- 
 grees not with the ignoble, the ftrong overgoes the 
 weak, the living and the dead dwell not together. Non 
 fie in of ere tuo domine : non fie in commixtione tua : 
 notfo in thy work O Lord, not fo in thy commixtione 
 here the living and the dead dwell both together : The 
 body is dead becaufe offin, but the fpirit it life. 
 
 Here then are the high confolarions of a Chriftian a- 
 gainft death, briefly comprifed s and they are three, That 
 his death is neither total nor final, but his life is perpe- 
 tual: His death is not totaljt is only of the body, for the 
 fpirit lives : it is not find, for the fpirit is not faid only to 
 live,but that it is life 5 and that in two refpefts, firji becaufe 
 it (hall give life again unto the body 5 and that fecondly an 
 everlafting life, and therefore it is not barely the fpirit 
 fhall live, but in the abftraft, the fpirit is life. So you 
 may perceive the reafon why the Apoftle varies his 
 manner of fpcech : he faid not the body is death, as he 
 fays the fpirit is life j neither faith he the fpirit is alive, as 
 he faid the body is dead 5 but the body is dead and the 
 fpirit is life : the body is dead and not death, becaufe it 
 (hall live again $ and the fpirit is not alive but life, becaufe 
 
 E e c by 
 
004 *f.he Second Funeral Sermon 
 
 by the virtue of the fpirit it is, that it (hall live, and live 
 for ever. The fpirit &c- So our life is perpetuate, our 
 death but (hort and not total Amidft thefe comforts 
 what hath death in it that (hall greatly trouble or diftrefi 
 the faithful Soul? why (hould it not (land ereft in 
 the midft of all the panick terrors thereof, fo long as 
 there is begun in us a life, which no death (hall ever be 
 able to extinguifh ? Albeit death invade the natural and 
 vital powers of our bodies, and fupprefs them one after 
 another 3 yea though at the length he break in upon this 
 lodging of clay and demolifla it to the ground 3 yet the 
 inner Man and fpiritual that dwells in the body, (hall 
 efcape with his life. The Tabernacle is caft down (that's 
 the moft our enemy can do) but he who dwells in it, re- 
 moves unto a better. The diffolving of the body, to him, 
 is but the breaking up of the prifon wherein he hath been 
 fo long detained , that he may thenceforth be delivered 
 anto a glorious liberty. For as the Bird efcapes out of the 
 fnare of the Fowler : fo the Soul in death mounts up and 
 flies away with joy into the reft of her Maker. The A- 
 poftle knew this well,and therefore defired to be dijjolved 
 that he might be with Chrifi. As in the battle between 
 qur Saviour and Satan, Satans head was bruifed, but he 
 did no more than tread on our Saviours heel : fo (hall it 
 be in the conflict of all his members with Satan 5 by the 
 power of our Lord Jefus we (hall be more than con- 
 querors: For the God of peace fl)all tread him under 
 our feet, Rom. xvi. While he is there, let him nibble a- 
 bout the feet, it is no great matter, yet 'tis all he can do, 
 and let him do it. Manducet terram meam^ & dentem 
 carni infigat^ let him bite theduft ((aith Ambrofe^) it 
 was his original curfe : let him eat that part of me which 
 is earth, let him bruife my body, all this is ftill but to 
 tread upcumy heel: my comfort is,there is a feed of immor- 
 ql life in my Soul ? which no power of the enemy is able 
 
 to. i 
 
Upon Rom. viii. verfe i o. one 
 
 to approach, much left to overcome and extinguifh 5 for 
 the fpirit doth not only live, but is life, life eternal. The 
 fpirit is life, &c» 
 
 But yet that we may more fully underftand to whom 
 thefe confolations belong, and what fpirits they are that 
 can live in death and injoy the comforts of life when 
 their bodies can live no longer, it is added becaufe of 
 righteoufnefs. The fpirit is life, becaufe of right eoufnefs^ 
 or for righteoufnefi fake. The righteous then, thefe are 
 they to whom it belongs, thefe only are the holy Spirits 
 that (hall revive in the midft of life and live in death, as 
 they died while they lived : whilft the body lived, they 
 died unto fin$ and when the body dies,they fhall live un- 
 to God. For as the life of the Soul, is the comfort of the 
 heart 5 fo the fpirit of righteoufnefs, is the life of the 
 Soul. And therefore deceive not thy felf in a matter of 
 fuch moment, in the bufinefs of thine everlafting wel- 
 fare, but be moft afTured that fo far forth thou doft live 
 as thou art fan&ified, and no farther. As health is to 
 the body, (b is holinefs to the fpirit. A body without 
 health falls out of one pain into another, till it die 5 and 
 a Soul without holinefi is polluted with one luft af- 
 ter another, till it perifh eternally : As the Moon hath 
 light more or lefs, as it is in afped with the Sun > fo the 
 Soul enjoys life, lefs or more, as it is turned or averted 
 to or from the Lord of life whofe righteoufnefs only can 
 give life, (as this life, peace and joy) unto the Soul. Mi- 
 serable are thofe wicked ones, that want both, they are 
 as St. Jude fpeaks, bis mortui, twice dead 5 that is, dead 
 both in body and Soul. Their Souls indeed do live and 
 fhall live eternally, a natural life, but there is a life of 
 Grace as well as of Nature ; by the one the Soul lives for 
 ever, by the other it lives. for ever in happinefs. This life, 
 they do not, they (hall not ever live 5 and as for the na- 
 tural, the Spirit of God accounts that but a death, whilft 
 
 E e e 2 the} 
 
39 6 
 
 The Second Funeral Sermon, 
 
 they live in the body, he faith they are dead in fins 5 and 
 when they go out of the body, though they live, yet he 
 calls their life, and juftly, an eternal death. Immortality 
 feems to be added rather to their forrow, than to their 
 Souls : Since their Souls are only kept immortal that 
 their puniftiment might be everlafting. It is true 
 that fo long as Men enjoy this natural life in health of 
 body and profperity of fortune, the lofs that comes 
 by want of the fpiritual life is not fo fafely difcerned 5 v 
 no more than the defe&s of a ruinous houfe are known 
 in time of fair weather : but when the ftorm of affii&i- 
 on, when the tempeft of death (hall come pouring down 
 upon him 5 then the decaies and breaches will manifeft 
 themfelves. How woful then muft his condition needs 
 be, that hath now no other life but a natural, and muft 
 now part with that, and he knows not whither ? In this 
 eftate he cannot but die either uncertain of comfort} or 
 rather moft certain of Condemnation. And therefore it 
 is not much to be marvelled they arefo loth to think or 
 fo much as to hear of that final and fatal time. deaths 
 how bitter is thy remembrance unto juch, faith the Wife- 
 man. How doth the only apprehenfion thereof even chill 
 the blood in his veins & kill the very marrow in his bones ? 
 Bel/hazzars doom is no fooner written upon the wall, 
 but the joints of his loins are loofed and his knees finite 
 one againft another. How did that one word of the 
 Witch ftrike Saul thorough and thorough, leaving him 
 tumbling on the earth in a fwoon. To morrow by this 
 time thou and thy fons Jljall be with me i fo bitter 
 indeed is the remembrance even of bodily death un- 
 to thofe that have no fpiritual life in their Souls. But 
 what mifcry may we think will there be in the endur- 
 ing and fuffcring of that whofe only cxpeftation is fo 
 fearful > 
 
 Sad and fearful is the departure of the wicked though it 
 
 out- 
 
ZJpon Rom. viii. verfe 10. 397 
 
 outwardly appear not in all : the comforts of my Text be- 
 long not to them: as their Spirits were dead whileft 
 they lived, fo they fhall not live when they die. Where 
 there is no righteoufnefs, there can be no life, For the 
 Spirit, &c. No, the righteous, the righteous that is 
 the faithful and penitent Souls, thefe are they, who as 
 they have the true fpiritual life in prefent, (b in death 
 they fhall have the true comforts of the blefled life 
 which is to corner for however God at other times 
 brings trouble, heavinefs and affliftions on his beftfer- 
 vants, yet at that hour he never fails to affifl: them , 
 and in the midft of death to make the life of their Souls 
 appear more clearly for righteoufnefs fake. He may 
 feem to abfent himfelf from them and to hide his coun- 
 tenance for a time, but then in that day of need, in that 
 laft and fearful time, which moft requires it, they fhall be 
 fure of his comforts, he will not fail then to discover his 
 face and make the light of his countenance to fhine in- 
 to that region of darknefs, and by the gracious beams 
 thereof to chear up his people, lighting and guiding their 
 feet through that obfeure Valley and fhadow of death 
 into the bleifed ways of immortality and peace. Believe 
 not me, look upon the holy men of God a little and fee 
 it perfomed with your Eyes. Behold the Patriarch Jacob 
 the Father of the Patriarchs, he who wrcftled not 
 only that one time at the River Jabbocl^, but all his 
 life long with the arme of the Almighty continually 
 afrliftirig him : But fee how contrary it fell out in the end, 
 when all the clouds of affliction being blown over, a 
 calm of contentment follows and he is gathered unto his 
 Fathers in peace : but firft mark how the Lord gave him 
 (frength before he went hence and was no more feen, 
 wherewith he collects his fainting Spirits, raileth himfelf 
 in his bed, calls his Sons about him, tells them of things 
 to come, great things to come for many generations, and 
 
 with 
 
598 The Second Funeral Sermon, 
 
 with an infpired Spirit ready to expire gives every one his 
 feveral bleffing and benediction in fuch a prophetical, fo 
 high and Heavenly a ftrain and ftile,as if an Angel had fate 
 on his lip, and I doubt not but many Angels (ate waiting 
 in that door of the body for the coming forth of his 
 Soul (which ftayed not long after) to receive and convey 
 it into the bofomof his Grand-father Abraham there to 
 reft in everlafting peace. Look upon Jojhtta that valiant 
 Captain, who having fpent his life in travail and more 
 than Herculean labours, warring againft Gyants and the 
 Sons of Anak^: yet at laft you may fee him fitting down 
 in peace and dividing the fpoil among the Children of 
 Jacob ; And in the end death drawing near, lee how he 
 fummons the Tribes of Ifrael together and in a fweet Ora- 
 tion recounts unto them all the mercies of God which had 
 followed them from Terah the Father of Abraham that 
 dwelt beyond the flood, to Chen fern that had now gotten 
 polleflion of the promifed land within Jordan. And 
 being full of the fpirit and fpiritual life, with fuch power 
 of fpeech he exhorts them to the fear and fervice of this 
 merciful God, that the whole Congregation as if they 
 had had but one heart and one Soul, and both throughly 
 afFe&ed, joyntly cry out, God forbid that we foould for- 
 fakji the Lord, nay he is our God and we willferve him, 
 Jof) the laft. After this manner from the flame of his 
 own zeal, having kindled a fire in the hearts of others, 
 this great Worthy and worthy Servant of the Lord, li- 
 ved in his death,and dyed in peace. See holy Samuel the 
 Judge of ifrael going to his grave as to his bed,and in him 
 confider the power and vertue of a good confcience arifing 
 from the memory of a wella&ed life, Whofe Ox or whofe 
 Afs have Itakjn, whom have I defrauded or oppreji. or at 
 whofe hands have I received a bribe ft\xh he in the publick 
 nflembly, and all the people bare witnefs unto him, faith 
 the Text. Hoc dncit adjnnus &fepultHramj\\i$ is it that 
 
 -accom* 
 
Vfon R o m. viii. verfe 10. 399 
 
 accompanies him to his Grave, and layeshim in his rotten 
 Sepulcher. The like bleffed favour of reft did this peace of 
 conference fend forth in thebletled Apoftle S. Paul, who in 
 that wonderful confidence was bold to deliver up his Soul 
 in the breath of the fame words, as it were, his Saviour 
 had done before him, a Confummatum ejl,I have finifjjed 
 my courfe, I have kept the faith, henceforth is laid up 
 for me, a Crown of righteonfnefs which the Lord the 
 j h ft 3 U( tge jhall give me in that day : words worthy of 
 a Soul fo near its Heaven. Laftly, view the Protomartyr 
 Steven, bleffed with peace in the midft of a cruel death, 
 for all torments areeafy if they have anfwerable comforts. 
 The obftinate Jews threw the (tones of death at him but 
 he filled with the Holy Ghoft, looks ftedfaftly into 
 Heaven , where he beholds his Saviour (landing at the 
 right hand of God, to whom now dying he (peaks as he 
 had done before to his Father, in manus tuas, into thy 
 hands Lord I commend my Spirit. Such have been the 
 blefled ends of thefe holy men of God, and of many o- 
 thers famous in their Generations : and fuch it (hall be in 
 all others that faithfully ferve him, though peradventure 
 it is not manifeft in all. Their bodies are buried in the 
 Earth, but they have left a name behind them, and a me- 
 mory fweeter than the perfume made by the art of the 
 Apothecary, as was fpoken of the good King Jofiah. And 
 what is there now that can more deeply affeft an honed 
 and a good heart : what can a religious mind cither (o 
 much defire unto it felf, or behold with fo great joy in 
 another , as to fee a devout and penitent Soul give a 
 peaceful farewel unto Nature, and in the depth of death, 
 depart full of the comforts of immortality and life? But 
 it may be far off examples will be left too far off refpedb ; 
 for likely thofe that are neareft do affed us better : if fo, 
 you want them not neither, two among the reft more 
 remarkable you have had of late. The one not long 
 
 Brice 
 
400 The Second Funeral Sermon. 
 
 fince, the other now before your eyes : The Mother and 
 the Daughter : of both whom I may truly fay,in the words 
 of my Text, their bodies were dead while they lived, and 
 their Souls lived in the death of their bodies for righte- 
 oufhcfs fake. A memorable and exemplary couple, I may 
 well join them in my fpeech, they were fo many ways 
 joined in themfelves. They were joined in affinity and 
 alliance : they were joined in affe&ion and love : they 
 were joined in the quality and nature of their Dif- 
 eafe, and would not be fevered till death did it : in 
 the time of their ficknefs they were joined in the 
 comforts of death, and now they are joined in the 
 glory of an everlafting life. But the formers rites are 
 paffed } yet they might not be now paffed overs I 
 cannot but give her a touch, (he defired it from me, 
 and I am fure (he deferved it. For the latter here now 
 in your fight, I (hall not fpeak much becaufe I can 
 hardly fpeak enough : with her former times I have had 
 no acquaintance,and therefore can make no relation of it, 
 only I affure my felf that (he who was (b patient and pe- 
 nitent in her ficknefs, fo devout and cheerful in her 
 death, could not but be well and religioufly difpofed in 
 the courfe of her life. But for the latter part of her days 
 them I have known, and in them been an eye-witne(s of 
 the expreflion of more goodnefs, than I have often 
 feen, or from a Woman of her quality, could have expe- 
 cted. The things of no:e which I efpecially obferved in 
 her and (hall commend unto you are principally thefe : 
 her willingnefsto entertain death, and her deadnefs un- 
 to the world and worldly affairs, her joy in fpiritual di£ 
 courfe?, and her frequency and fervency in devout pray- 
 er. For the firft, if weconfider the impediments, it was 
 much (he (hould do it fo cheerfully : (he was but young 
 and entring upon the prime of her years. She had fmall 
 and tender Infants of her own, that went near her : (he 
 
 was 
 
XJfon Rom. viii. verfe 10. 401 
 
 was well bellowed where (he found both youth and 
 love, and means too, wanted nothing nor was likely to 
 want: & h<ec font qua faciunt homines invito* mori^ 
 and thefe are the things that make Men unwilling to die, 
 could the Philofopher fay. Yet notwithftanding all thefe 
 (he gently fubmitted her felf unto it : (he refolutely went 
 forth to meet it, and left he fhould mifs her, fhe caird 
 it unto her, Come gentle death, and even held forth her 
 arms to receive and embrace it. For the fecond, I was 
 with her often, yet never heard a word of worldly matter 
 or (ecular affair, fo much as fall from her tongue : Her 
 heart was bent on Heaven which made it delight fo much 
 in heavenly contemplations 5 they came down upon her, 
 as the Scripture fpeaksjike rain into a fleece of wooll and 
 as a (hower upon a thirfty land. With what an open and 
 greedy ear did (he fuck in celeftial comforts, which (he 
 fhortly after vented out again in devout fupplications, 
 wherein the mercy of the Lord did not forfake her even 
 to the laft gafp ? And then at laft when her hands for- 
 fook her tongue, and her tongue had almoft forfaken 
 her heart, yet her heart did ftill adhere unto God in un- 
 ceffant prayer, and therefore (he intreated others to hold 
 her fainting hands, that her tongue failing they at leaft 
 might teftify that her Soul did commune with her Maker. 
 It calls to mind the ftory of Mofes having Aaron and 
 Hur to fupport his arms, for whilft he prayed, Amahk^ 
 fled and Jojfjua conquered. Sure I am whilft (he did in 
 like manner, the true JoJIma conquered all the fpiritual 
 Amalefytesi and enemies of her Soul, who only could 
 batter down the prifon of her body, that her fpirit be- 
 ing loofe and at liberty, might freely clear the air and 
 mount up to the defired place of everlafting reft : where 
 (he now is, and where may (he ftill in peace remain till 
 another day (hall invert both Body and Soul with un- 
 fpeakable glory. Who-can now mourn, who can weep 
 
 F f f for 
 
402 The Second Funeral Sermon, 
 
 for fuchaSoul? if ye do, they muft be tears of joy not 
 of fbrrow, at leaft they muft be for your felves not for 
 her. You may bewail your own lofs, you cannot grieve 
 at her death, unlefs you envy her happinefs : f&lix ilia 
 anima^ imitationem defiderat n on planiJum^thzt happy 
 Soul is no fubjeft of fbrrow but a pattern of imitation. 
 And therefore I now leave the dead, and conclude to the 
 living, that their Spirits may live in death, as hers hath 
 fhown them the example. For this (hould be the chief en- 
 deavour, this (hould be the principal care of a Chriftian 
 in his whole life, that when his life [hall end, yet the 
 life of his Soul may not end with the death of his body. 
 It little matters how it fares with us in the reft of our 
 time,, fo it go well with us here 5 when if wrath overtake 
 us it (hall cleave unto us for ever,but if peace end our days, 
 our days afterwards of peace (hall never end. For as the 
 rreefalleth there it (hall lie. Wretched Men that can wil- 
 lingly think of any thing fave this that infinitely concerns 
 them above all things elfe ! that can wi(h with Balaam^ 
 let me die the death of the righteous and let my laft 
 end be like his^ but never endeavour themfelves in the 
 works of righteoufnefs whereby they may procure it i as 
 if they might be like them in their death whom they 
 refufed to imitate in their adtions. But they may with 
 like Solomons fool till their tongue cleave to their gums, 
 for fo long as they live the life of Balaam^ loving the 
 wages of iniquity, they (hall never die the death of the 
 righteous nor have their laft end like his whom they are 
 nothing like in converfation. No if the Soul then live, it 
 muft be as my Text hath it, for righteoufnefs fake. Set 
 thy felf therefore to it ferioufly and fpeedily. Wife Prin- 
 ces make many days preparation for a field that muft be 
 fought in one. Beloved, let us be wife too and lay up 
 lomething every day, for the laft, when we (hall wreftle 
 with death. If we win that skirmi(hwe have enough 5 
 
 but 
 
ZJpon Rom. viii. verfe i o. 40 3 
 
 but where or when or how foon we (hall be called to the 
 conflict, who can tell ? be not fecure therefore, andpre- 
 fume not on the laft hour 5 it may come fuddenly upon 
 thee: flatter not thy felfand thy fins, and frame not de- 
 lay unto thine own Soul. Send not Religion before thee 
 unto thine old age } whither peradventure thou (halt ne- 
 ver come, or elfecome hardned through the deceitfulnefs 
 of fin. Give not thy youth and ftrength unto Satan, and 
 then when thou art low drawn, and upon the lees, think 
 to prefent God with the dregs of thy life. What a folly 
 were it for thee to adventure thy fureft, thy everlafting 
 weal or wo, making or marring, on fo fandy and fink- 
 ing a foundation ? how much better were it for thee to 
 remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth btfore 
 the evil day come, and thou fay I have no delight here- 
 in 5 that thy Creator may not forget thee in thine old 
 age, when ftrength faileth and Man return^h to his long 
 home. Sure in thefe great water-floods we foall hardly 
 come nigh him, and therefore let us feek hi§ f ice while 
 he may be found, and make our prayers in an accepta- 
 ble time. So (hall our petitions be heard, and we in all 
 our tribulations, in the hour of death, and in the day of 
 judgment (as we defire) be moft affuredly delivered : 
 finding comfort in our life, and life in our laft end And 
 what is all the wealth and honour, pomp and glory of the 
 work* in comparifon of this ? They may y ielcj^difcontents 
 enough as being gotten with travel, kept with care, and 
 loft with grief:, but can never give any true fatisfaction 
 to the Soul,efpecially in that laft and perillous time which 
 moft requires it. 
 
 Surely every Mans thought is a fecret watch unto his 
 own heart : let him then ask his own Soul, and it will 
 tell him, verfa & rcverfa in tergum^ in later «*, in ven- 
 trem, dura fnnt omnia^ Chriflus Joins requies : mufe 
 and forecaft, tofs and turn, all the night long from fids 
 
 to 
 
404 The Second Funeral Sermon. 
 
 to fide ^ (till, ftill no true eafe nor true contentment, no 
 perfect joy to be found but in the fweet peace of a good 
 Confcience fprinkled and wafhed with the blood of Jefas 
 Chrift the Prince of peace. All other things fail us at our 
 death, and therefore are unworthy of our care whilft 
 we live. No, no, Thoughts of remorfe and joyes of 
 lorrow, filent moans and melting tears, an heart truly 
 humbled, and a Spirit ever fetled chearfully to live and 
 willing to die, in the loving arms of a gracious Redeemer, 
 this is the prize, this is the Crown we (hould contend 
 for g and this is the way, now to live a Saint on Earth 
 and ever hereafter to injoy an exceeding and ah eternal 
 weight of glory in the higheft Heavens. Which the Lord 
 of all glory grant unto us for and in the meritorious 
 Pafiion of his Son Chrift Jefiis our Lord. To whom with 
 the blefled Spirit, &c. 
 
 Lam Deo in aternunt, Amen. 
 
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