Commentary on 2 Peter, Commentary on 2 Peter volume 1 · Chapter 1 · Verse 9

Commentary on 2 Peter · Commentary on 2 Peter volume 1 · Chapter 1 · Verse 9

p. 182VERSE 9. But he that lacketh theſe things, is blinde, and cannot ſee farre off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old ſinnes.

YOV have ſeene their honour and happineſſe, that beautifie their faith with good workes: that as by the one GOD juſtifies them, ſo by the other they may glorifie GOD. Behold now their miſerable …eſtate, that boaſt of a naked and leane faith: Hee that lacketh theſe things is blinde, &c. But, the Apoſtle diſ-j…ynes them from fruitfull profeſſours, by a word of Exception or ſeparation; But. Whom doth hee reject? Cui haec non adſunt, The man that Lackes theſe things. What if hee wants one or two of thoſe graces? They may come in time: but if hee lacke Theſe, All theſe. In what ſtate is hee? Blinde; his eyes bee not like the Eagles, but the Moles. Is hee ſtarke blinde? No, perhaps hee may ſee, quae ante pedes ſunt, things faſt by him; but not Farre off: he wants the Optickes, to ſee ſo farre as Heaven. How is hee proved to be thus thicke-ſighted? Becauſe hee hath forgotten. Why, they that are blinde, have commonly the beſt memories? This is true indeed, concerning ſecular objects, the naturall things of this world: but wilfull ſpirituall Cecitie is puniſhed with Oblivion. But there is a good Forgetfulneſſe, Philip. 3.13. I forget thoſe things that are behinde: Nay, but this man hath forgotten his owne purgation, how hee hath beene formerly cleanſed: as the Swine when ſhee runnes to the mudde, forgets that ſhee came out of the cleare ſtreames. Wherein conſiſted that purgation? Hee was waſhed from ſinne, the moſt ſordid pollution and feculencie. What, from all ſinnes? No, but from his old ſinnes: for he commits new ones that bring him to the ſpeedier damnation. Now as Saint Augustine calls Pſalm. 41. Scripturam pauperis, the poore mans Scripture, and 1 Tim. 6. Scripturam divitis, the rich mans Scripture: and Luke 18.11. the proud mans Scripture: and the booke of Iob, the afflicted mans Scripture: ſo this Text may be called Scriptura coeci, the blinde mans Scripture. Who is deſcribed by his

Penury, He lacketh theſe things.

Cecitie; He is blinde and cannot ſee afarre off.

Apoſtacie; Hath forgotten, &c.

The Summe is: whoſoever ſhall truſt his ſalvation upon a ſtarved faith, and not order his life by the pre-mentioned rules, erres in darkeneſſe, and holds not that way which the light of the Goſpell hath directed him. Hee that hath the true knowledge of Chriſt will bee fruitfull, verſe 8. Hee that is unfruitfull, vainely preſumeth the knowledge of Chriſt, verſ. 9. So from the connection of both theſe verſes, we finde that true knowledge muſt precede ſanctitie of life. He that hath not theſe things is Blinde: and hee that cannot ſee well, cannot walke well, 1 Iohn 2.4. Yee obey not, why? becauſe yee know not, 1 Ioh. 3.6. Whoſoever ſinneth, hath not ſeene him, nor knowne him. You ſin, why? becauſe you know not, 2 Tim. 3.6. Why are they laden with ſinnes, and led away with divers luſts? Becauſe they know not the truth, Epheſ. 4.18. Why are they ſtrangers from the life of God? Becauſe their underſtanding is darkned. The Romaniſts pretend, that they will helpe men to heaven by ignorance,Matth. 23.13.Matt 23:13 and by ignorance they ſhut them out. They keepe the keyes, and neither enter p. 183in themſelves, nor admit others. Every Chriſtian in his Baptiſme hath taken preſſe-money of Chriſt, to be his ſouldier, and to ſerve him in the field of this world, againſt his and our enemies: now he will fight poorely without weapons: he muſt have Gladium verbi, and Clypeum fidei; the Sword of the Spirit, and the Shield of Faith. And he muſt have theſe in his owne hand: for he ſhall be ſmitten in his owne perſon, therefore ſhould reſiſt in his owne perſon: now ſhall he be content to beare the blowes, and let another weare the ſword? But, ſay they, there are many hard things in Gods Word, paſt common reach: true, and many eaſie enough, within their reach: there is milke for weake ſtomackes, and ſtrong meat for abler digeſtions: there are fords for Lambes, and depths for Elephants. In the moſt champian places, ſome myſteries are as hillockes, higher than the reſt: in the ſteepeſt hill there is ſome footing, whereby wee may come to that height, to diſcover the Land of Canaan.

But, ſay they, this takes away the glory of the Church, when every man may controll his Teacher. Nay, rather let them know the truth, that they may avoid ſuch as teach againſt the truth. Becauſe ſome have beene ſeduced; ſhall all be deprived? Then away with Preaching, for it is the ſavour of death unto many: away with the Sacraments, for ſome eat CHRISTS fleſh to choake them: away with CHRIST himſelfe, for hee is themmLuke 2.34.Luke 2:34 fall of many in Iſrael: and a Stone to cruſh their bones to perdition. Then let the Lambe caſt off his fleece, becauſe the Lion hath worne it: Becauſe ſome quarrell in the armie, therefore let no ſouldier have a ſword. Then put out the candle, leſt it burne the houſe. But, ſay they, put not knives into the hands of children: but the Scripture admits no ſuch compariſon: we rather put good ſwords into the hands of men. Diſcharge us of the Lords ſervice; or it is againſt the law of armes to take away our weapons. Indeed there is cauſe to commend the policie of their Clergie, but not the honeſtie. For how ſhould they have ſold their bad wares, unleſſe they had firſt put out the peoples eyes! As theeves firſt out with the light, that they may rifle the houſe more ſafely in the darke. Otherwiſe the merchandize of Maſſes could not ſo eaſily have beene vented abroad, but would have lien rotting upon their hands at home; if men were ſuffered to bring the light of truth into their pack-houſes. But, ſay they, we have kept it from hogges and dogges; yea, and from ſheepe and lambes too. Beſides, all that have ſome uncleanneſſe in their lives, are not to be reputed hogges and dogges: this is their mercy, but the mercy of GOD is more. They have a contrary ſpirit to CHRIST: for he often preached in the knowne hearing of dogges, the Scribes and Phariſies: and would doe ſo, rather than the children ſhould want their bread. But, ſaid they, ſome by ſearching the Scripture diligently, have erred ſhamefully. This is as good a reaſon, as if one training up a childe to be an Archer, ſhould give him this principle and rule; that by aiming at the marke moſt fairely, he ſhould miſſe moſt foulely. No, Iohn 5.39. Search that you may not erre: not, be content to erre, rather than ſearch. But now at laſt being aſhamed of this, and convinced by common equitie, that the truth is not wholly to be with-held; they have publiſhed a part of it, the New-Teſtament, with their Rhemiſh Commentary: Not, ſay they, upon any abſolute neceſſitie, but to avoid corruptions by reading other tranſlations. They found the people would no longer be made ſuch fooles, as when that univerſall miſt was over the face of the earth: therefore they gratifie them with a parcell of it. But as the peoples curſes before ranne thorow their eares into their ſoules, for ingroſſing into their hands the graine of life: ſo their curſes follow them ſtill, for ſelling them ſuch muſty and mildewed corne. Their wickedneſſe is no leſſe now in poyſoning them, than it was before in ſtarving them. How bleſſed are we that freely enjoy that Goſpell, which can take away blindneſſe, and give us the ſaving knowledge of IESUS CHRIST!

But.] Here is the Diverſitie; this diſ-joynes theſe blinde and barren profeſſours from the former, by a manifeſt oppoſition. As the future life ſhall put an everlaſting p. 184difference betweene the elect and the reprobate, Matth. 25.46. the one going to eternall paine, the other to eternall peace. Here they are ſcarce diſtinguiſhed; but then there ſhall be annLuke …6.26.Luke 6:26 great gulfe fixed betweene them. So even on earth the Scripture diſ-joynes them with a But. The adverſaries of Stephen gnaſted on him with their teeth, Act. 7.55. But he himſelfe was full of the HOLY GHOST: Stephen was under them for outward condition, but farre above them for inward conſolation. The waves may fome againſt the rocke, and exerciſe their vaine malice, but the Rocke is unmoveable, Pſal. 1.6. The LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the ungodly ſhall periſh, Pſalm. 32.10. Many forrowes ſhall be to the wicked: But hee that truſteth in the LORD, merciemercy ſhall compaſſe him, Pſal. 5.11. Deſtroy thou the wicked: But let all thoſe that truſt in thee, rejoyce. There was darkneſſe in Aegypt, but light in Goſhen. The Tares are ſuffered to grow up with the Wheat; but in the harveſt they ſhall be ſevered. Slay utterly old and young;Matth. 13.Matt 13 But come not neere them that have the marke, Ezek. 9.6. In the tenth of the Proverbs, the firſt foureteene verſes, have their medium diſtinguiſhed with this But. Indeed moſt of them are but paires of croſſe and thwart ſentences, manifeſting the contrariety of good to evill: 1. This is both in regard of a former ordination, Rom. 9.13. Iacob have I loved; But Eſau have I hated. SomeooIude verſe 4. are of old ordained to condemnation, others to life. 2. And in regard of a preſent diſpoſition, for the faithfull love the things above, the wicked dote upon terreſtriall objects. The Saints would but lodge in Samaria, their faces are toward Ieruſalem: the ungodly doe but lodge for a night in Ieruſalem, their faces, their hearts are toward Samaria. 3. And in regard of their future condition; the wicked are brought to a deſtructive end in a moment, Pſal. 73. But marke the upright man, and behold the juſt; for the end of that man is peace. This is a ſecret and unſeene diſtinction; there is little difference in outward ſhew: veſſells of diſhonour have often the moſt credite; whereas the veſſells of honour, elected to ſhine as ſtars in heaven for ever, are here ſullied and kept under. Yet there is an inviſible difference; But betweene them. Among men where all reputation is meaſured by the acre; melior qui ditior; we enter rich men into our bookes, but refuſe to truſt the poore. But God in his booke records Lazarus, and forgets the Rich-mans name.

He that lacketh theſe things. It is a received maxime, that God and Nature hath wrought nothing in vaine: no part or facultie of the body can be well ſpared. Thou haſt two eyes, two eares, two hands, two feet; thou canſt ſpare none of them. Man hath five ſenſes, if he loſe any of them, the very want will tell him the worth of the habite. The father that ſhould ſell one of his children, to buy bread for the reſt, and redeeme them from famine; lookes over them all, and at laſt concludes he can part with none. What part of thy ſelfe after much ſtudy couldſt thou loſe? yet a man may lacke ſome, and be ſaved too, Marke 9. with loſſe of a hand, foot, an eye, he may enter into heaven. But what ſpeake I of our members; we are loth to ſpare the ſuperfluities of this world: thoſe ſame Adjectiva, as Chriſt calls them; Adjectanea, as Paul ſayes. Our very delights have their ſet viciſſitudes, and not one is omitted for feare of b eaking the ranke. Covetous worldlings will hardly ſpare the poore ſome of their fire to warme them, ſome of their water to drinke, ſome of their ground to lodge on; though it were no more hurt to them, than the lighting of a candle at their torch. We can lacke nothing for this world; but for heaven, O the mercy of GOD! Quantum eſt in rebus inane! Wee can quietly lacke things that conduce to our eternall peace. What is the reaſon? Superna in faſtidio, terreas in deſiderio. Ignoti nulla cupido: A man never miſſeth what hee cares not for. If a man Lacke riches,Pſal. 4.7. 2 King. 4.13.Ps 4:72 Kgs 4:13 he complaines; Who will ſhew us any good? If he Lacke honour, hee is glad to heare a friend in the Court ſay to him, as Eliſha to the Shunamite; wouldeſt thou bee ſpoken for to the King, or to the Captaine of the Hoſt? Few would anſwer with the Shunamite; I live among mine owne people; I had rather dwell at home. If hee Lackes children, hee is readie to ſay with that p. 185Patriarch, Geneſ. 15.2. What wilt thou give, ſeeing I goe childeleſſe? If an Ahab have a whole Manour, yet he lackes Naboths Vineyard; that very nooke disfigures his Lordſhip. If Haman have Ahaſuerus favour, yet he lackes Mordecai's knee and cappe; and is angry that other men thinkes him not ſo good as he thinkes himſelfe. Though Ioab have renowne with David, yet a word of diſgrace from Abner troubles his ſtomacke: he can neither ſwallow it downe, nor vomit it up. Becauſe another is not his friend, he reſolves to be his owne enemie. Let the Engroſſers barnes and granaries be never ſo full of corne, yet if he lackes price for it in the market anſwerable to his deſire, hee is readie to hang himſelfe; and be epitaph'd on as that Pope; Vixit lupus, moritur canis. He that deſires much, wants as much as he that hath nothing. The drunkard is as drie as the ſweating traveller. The Apoſtles ſaid, Silver and gold have we none, Act. 3.6. The Devill ſayes; All theſe are mine, Luke 4.6. And the Rich-man, I have much goods laid up for many yeares, Luke 12 19. Now take thy choice; whether had'ſt thou rather lacke with thoſe Saints, or abound with theſe Devils? Say with Paul, Philip. 4.19. My GOD ſhall ſupply all my need: And as Abraham anſwered Iſaac, complaining for a ſacrifice; GOD will provide. LORD, thou art my portion: and hee is too covetous that IESUS CHRIST cannot ſatisfie, Pſalm. 23.1. The LORD is my Shepheard, I therefore can lacke nothing. A man may lacke outward things, yet come never the later to heaven; yea, the ſooner, the ſurer: but woe to him that lackes theſe things. This is the want now leaſt feared, and this ſhall be the want moſt lamented, Matth. 6.33. Firſt ſeeke the kingdome of heaven, then other things ſhall come in due place and time. Sequere tu pietatem, te caetera ſquentur pium. Follow thou righteouſneſſe, the reſt ſhall follow thee. There was a young man that thought well of himſelfe, Matth. 19.20. All theſe have I kept: What lacke I yet? What? it is anſwered, verſ. 21. If thou wilt be perfect, give all to the poore: it is better lacke all the reſt, than lacke Charitie. Terrene opulencie is a meere titular thing: as Petrus Bleſenſis wrote to Innocentius, Biſhop of Rome, concerning an Eccleſiaſticall dignitie in England; Draco non habens vnde poſsit vivere, niſi à vento; A preferment ſtanding upon naked and pure ſuppoſals. But grace is ſolide and reall; for theppProv. 10.22.Prov 10:22 Bleſsing of God maketh rich, and he addeth no ſorrow with it.

Pray then to him that is onelyonly able to ſupply theſe wants; as Paul, 2 Cor. 12.8. For this I beſought the Lord thrice. What then? Si ter pulſanti nemo reſpondet, abito? If after thrice praying, wee feele no full conceſſion: ſhall wee give over? No, pray ſtill, and GOD will anſwer; My grace is ſufficient for thee. 2 Cor. 12.9.2 Cor 12:9What is wanting in our endevours, GOD ſhall make up with his ſufficient mercies. Wee have need to ſacrifice: Doe wee lacke fewell? the LORD ſupplies us with penitence and patience, faith and love. Yet we lacke fire: hee gives us Zeale, an immortall fire from heaven. Yet lacke we an altar? he gives us a pure heart. Is there yet wanting a ſacrifice? Immola teipſum; offer up thy ſelfe.qqPſal. 145.19.Ps 145:19 Hee will fulfill the deſire of them that feare him. The Lions doe lacke, and ſuffer hunger: but they that feare the LORD, ſhallrrPſal. 34.10.Ps 34:10 not lacke any good thing. Then Domine, tolle omnia, & da mihi teipſum: Lord take away the reſt, and give mee thy ſelfe. If wee can hold Chriſt, No good thing ſhall be with-holden from us. Whatſoever we lacke,Pſal. 84.12.Ps 84:12 let us not Lacke theſe things.

Is Blinde.] We come from the Penury and want, to the Cecitie or Blindneſſe, wherein his underſtanding ſuffers. Blindneſſe is nothing elſe but a privation of ſight; ſo ignorance is a deſtitution of knowledge. The Schoole makes three ſorts of this ſpirituall Blindneſſe. 1. Ignorance negative, that is, Purae negationis, or neſcientia. The not knowing of impertinent things is tolerable: as wee need not know how oft wee have breathed, &c. To this knowledge wee are not obliged. 2. Ignorance privative, which is Merae & ſimplicis Privationis; and carentia ſcientiae debitae ineſſe. This is conſidered in neceſſary things, and concerning our ſelves. And is Non tam peccatum, quàm ſupplicium: miſeria potius quàm tranſgreſsio; p. 186It is not ſo much our ſinne, as our puniſhment for ſinne: an affliction as much as a tranſgreſſion. 3. Ignorance corruptive; which is perverſae diſpoſitionis; a refractary and deſperate averſeneſſe from knowledge: the other was morbus mentis, this is morſus ſerpentis. This is wretched, for a man to be ignorant of his owne ignorance: Laodiceas diſeaſe, Revel. 3.17. to be blind as not to know her owne blindneſſe. Such an eye is not darke, in the concrete; but darkeneſſe it ſelfe in the abſtract. Now if the light be darkeneſſe, how great is that darkeneſſe! Matth. 6.23. It is both a ſinne and a puniſhment, a ſinne, Matth. 15.14. Eſa. 56.10. a puniſhment, Deut. 28.28. Eſa. 59.10. Blind are we all by nature; like the man that ſate by the way ſide begging, Luk. 18.35. ſitting by the way, not ſeeing the way: begging but hee knowes not of whom. Now there is alſo a contracted blindneſſe, an affected ignorance: and there are diverſe cauſes, as of the corporall, ſo of the ſpirituall cecitie.

By abundance of rheume the eyes are harmed: ſo factious ſingularitie is a hot ſcalding rheume to bleare the eye of the ſoule. Qui ſapere voluut ultra rationem, inſipere ſolent ultra moderationem. Wee have many ſuch rheumaticke ſpirits, that will goe a new way, or no way. They care not for Noahs Arke, the Church: but climbe up to a mountaine apart, a private conventicle by themſelves. They are blind, and ſee not the danger of the Floud.

By a violent blow, or ſuch accidentall hurt. The eye is tender, and therefore hath two lids to defend it. Non patitur ludum, fama, fides, oculus. The devill blinds this intellectuall eye by a ſuddaine blow given to the ſoule, 2 Cor. 4.4. The God of this world have blinded their eyes that they beleeve no. How is this? Rom. 1. by filling them with vaine imaginations and turpitudes? luſts darken the mind.

By duſt throwne into them: the duſt of this world makes many blind. They digge like moles into the earth and there loſe the ſight of heaven. Gifts blind the wiſe. Such men may ſit on benches, be taken into councells, have their eyes of policie quicke as Eagles; and yet be blind. Perhaps they have the proud ſcorne of the Phariſies;Ioh. 9.40.John 9:40 Are we blind alſo? To whom it is anſwered; If yee were blind, ye ſhould have no ſinne: but now yee ſay, wee ſee; therefore your ſinne remaineth. Theſe that have ſo much knowledge to heape up wealth, who dares call them fooles for heaven. Hee that dares juſtifie it, Luk. 12.20. Thou foole; this night ſhall thy ſoule be taken from thee. Hee could ſee to fill his barnes but not to get ſalvation. The devill labours to keepe men blind during the preſumption of their lives: and only opens their eyes in the deſperation that waites on their deaths: like the Syrians, whoſeſſ2 King. 6 20.2 Kgs 6:20 eyes were never opened till they were in the midſt of their enemies. Oculos, quos culpa clauſit, paena aperit. Sinne ſhuts up mens eyes, but puniſhment opens them. For he that will be Caecus in peccato, blind when he ſins; ſhall be made Sapiens in ſupplicio, wiſe when he ſuffers.

The ſumme is this; he that lackes Grace, lackes knowledge: Qui malus eſt moribus, caecus eſt oculis. They that wander in by-pathes declare themſelves ignorant of the right way: ſo if a man be lewd in his manners, we conclude him blind for the way of ſalvation, Rom. 3.16. If their workes be full of curſedneſſe, murder, and deſtruction, we inferre; The way of peace they have not knowne. O the infinite number of blind ſoules? if all that be ungodly, live in darkeneſſe, how few of this world have eyes! or if they that have, they ſee not, Eſa. 43.8. Bring forth the blind people, that have eyes. Every one indeed is ready to taxe anothers ignorance, not his owne. If two blind men ruſh one upon another in the way either complaines of others blindneſſe; neither of his owne. O that this blindneſſe were a little removed, that by a ſelfe-inſpection we might ſee our owne hearts. If the ſinner would look into that ſecret cloiſture, how would the ſpectacle amaze him! Hee ſhould find a will more warped than a bow: affections more perverſe than an unbroken dromodary: a ſoule bleeding with unſtanched wounds, a chamber full of fiends; one holding downe the reaſon, another dulling the memorie, a third tempting the will, a fourth fearing the conſcience. Thus they poſſeſſe the Citadell, his heart; poſſeſſing they vexe it, vexing they laugh p. 187at it, laughing they deſtroy it, and after deſtruction they torment it. How lies the poore raviſhed ſoule panting under theſe adulterers; ſlaved in the chaines of a moſt miſerable bondage; where the bread of life, and bloud of CHRIST is kept from her: beholding with Ruth her deare children, her affections, faculties, and addictions to good, butchered before her eyes; expecting the fatall houre, when her ſelfe muſt be haled to the great tribunall, and receive her eternall doome Let us all therefore now look inward; be not longer blind at home, ſtrangers to our owne boſomes. Now he that opened the eyes of Paul, open ours; and reſcue our ſoule from deſtructions, our darling from the Lions;Pſal. 35.17.Ps 35:17 and our ſelves from the houre and power of darkeneſſe.

And cannot ſee a farre off. The originall is foreign, Luſcioſus, thicke-eyed. It ſignifies Pati affectum foreign, and that is derived quaſi foreign: claudereoculos non penitùs, ſed parumper. Some tranſlate it, Connivere oculis, to winke, Prov. 6.13. he winketh with his eyes. Others thus; Oculos aperire non valens; one that cannot open his eyes. But to take it, as wee here read it; one that cannot ſee a farre off. Now to the former word, foreign, this ſeemes to be ſubjected per quandam correctionem: he is blind, aut ſi non prorſus caecus, caecutit tamen inſtar luſcioſi. It is a voluntary darkning the eye to heavenly things. Luſcioſus is ſuch a one as ſees a little at the day dawning, worſe after the ſunne riſing, never a whit after the ſunne ſetting.

A farre off. What are thoſe things a farre off, that he cannot ſee? Hee ſees the Sunne, the Moone, the Starres; and theſe are a farre off So doe the beaſts, and ſome of them more clearely. What, is it meant of a phyſicall remoteneſſe; that he cannot ſee In ultima naturae, into the deepe ſecrets of nature; not perceive how to derive benefites a fonte, from the fountaine head? If he would have bread, does he not know to deduce it by a naturall courſe? As firſt to till his ground, then to ſow his ſeed, then to reape and carry it into his barne: and when he hath it there, to bring it under the Flaile, the Fanne, the Mill, the Oven, and ſo to perfect it into bread. If he would have cloath, and not to goe to the ſhop for it; knowes hee not to ſheare his ſheepe, to ſpinne his wooll, to weave, full, and colour it, and to fit it to his owne wearing? Or, is it meant of terrene objects, diſtanced off by a locall interjection. Why hee hath then a perſpective glaſſe, to repreſent a remote thing, as it were at his foote. Or ſome opticke inſtruments, to ſtand on a Tower and read a booke lying in the ſtreets. Or ſome politicke eyes, that by intelligence he may know in his chamber, the ſtate affaires of forraine kingdomes. Or demoniacke eyes, whereby he can ſee in a glaſſe things as farre as Iudia; by a cunning deluſion. So Saul was perſwaded that he ſaw Samuel; who indeed was as farre off him as heaven from earth. What, is it then meant for a ſearching into the ſecret purpoſes and fetches of men?ttIer. 17.9.Jer 17:9 But the heart of man is deceitfull above all things, and deſperately wicked; who can know it? The worlds principall ſtudie is to keepe their meanings a farre off, as the Foxe preyes furtheſt from home. The Labyrinth had a way out, but mans heart is more intricate, and fuller of windings than Meander. You may travell with a man as far as the Indies, and yet ſtill find the way into his heart a farther Iourney. Theſe things are farre off, but we muſt looke further: not to the things beneath, but to them above, Ioh. 8.23.

Thoſe remote things which this man cannot ſee, are ſuch as bee ſeparated from humane ſenſe; whereof fleſh and bloud was never an eye witneſſe. For we walke by faith, not by ſight, 2 Cor. 5.7.uu1 Cor. 2.14.1 Cor 2:14 The naturall man receiveth not the things of the ſpirit, neither can he know them, becauſe they are ſpiritually diſcerned. He may ſee Carnalia mundi, quia praeſto ſunt; the ſenſuall things of this world, for they are at hand but not Magnalia Dei, quia procul ſunt; not the great myſteries of Godlineſſe, for they are farre off. But doth not the Goſpell bring heaven neere us? and doth not CHRIST ſay Matth. 12.28. The kingdome of God is come unto you? Yes, it may be neere to men, and yet men farre from it. Indeed the Saints that were once by p. 188nature farre off, are made nigh to him by the bloud of Chriſt, Eph. 2.13. But unbeleevers, and impenitents are farre off ſtill.

Heavenly things are farre off from carnall ſenſe: hee that will beleeve no more than he ſees, ſhall be for ever blind. The beſt things are Inviſible to humane eyes: Inviſiblis Deus, Heb. 11.27. Moſes ſaw him who is inviſible. Inviſibilis Lux, 1 Tim. 6.16. God dwelleth in the Light, which no man hath ſeene, nor can ſee. Inviſibilis Chriſtus, Iohn 14.19. Yet a little while, and the world ſeeth me no more. It was a great miracle that dying Stephen ſhould ſee him at the right hand of his Father: and ſo wonderfull a viſion to Iohn, to behold him in that glorious majeſtie, that he fell dead at his feete, Ioh. 3.8. Revel 1.17. Rom. 1.20.John 3:8Rev 1:17Rom 1:20Inviſibilis Spiritus, like the wind, the ſound wherof we heare but ſee not whence it commeth, nor whither it goeth. Inviſibilis poteſtas, His Power and God-head are called the Inviſible things of God. Inviſibile Regnum, Ioh. 3.3. Except a man be borne againe, he cannot ſee the kingdome of God. The beſt eyes ſee but in a riddle, 1 Cor. 13.12. We ſee now through a glaſſe darkely. Here faith ſupplies all defects; For fides eſt credere quod non vides, Augu.cujus merces erit videre quod credis. It is the office of faith to beleeve that we doe not ſee, and it ſhall be the reward of faith to ſee that wee doe beleeve, Iohn 20.29. Bleſſed are they, that have not ſeene, and yet have beleeved.

Theſe are the remote objects: in every pious thing there is ſomewhat affare off, to humane eyes. In devotion or worſhip of God, the proſtration of the body is ſeene,1 Sam. 1.13.1 Sam 1:13 not the humilitie of the ſoule. Eli could ſee Hanna's lips pay their tributes to God, he did not ſee the zeale of her heart: but ſhe ſpake in her heart, and Eli thought ſhe was drunke. In the ſacrament, bread and wine are ſeene of reprobate eyes, but there is an inviſible thing farre off to them; the body and bloud of CHRIST, that nouriſheth the ſoule to everlaſting life in the Goſpell, how neere is the hiſtorie, how farre off the myſterie! In the word preached, the world perceives, Sonum, non ſenſum, the audible ſound, not the profitable ſenſe. As an ignorant man ſees the painted Images of vertues; he ſaies they are goodly pictures, but he knowes not what they meane; the morall is farre off from his apprehenſion. As little children, who looke upon the babies in a booke, regard not the matter therein contained. Concerning a Chriſtian, the world can ſee his houſe well furniſh'd, his grounds well ſtock'd, his barnes well filled, his purſe well money'd, if theſe things be: but the joy of his ſpirit, the peace of his conſcience, the grace of his heart; theſe are things afarre off from the world. The peace and proſperitie that accompanies the Church, they delight to ſee and taſt; that every man may ſit under his owne figtree, and drink the milke of his owne flocke: but the remiſſion of ſins, the effuſion of grace, the Communion of Saints, the poſſeſſion of comforts; thoſe ſpirituall priviledges, more glorious than the States of kingdomes, are inviſible and too farre off. yy2 Cor. 4.18.2 Cor 4:18Let us not looke at the things that are ſeene, but at the things that are not ſeene: for the things that are ſeene, are temporall: but the things that are not ſeene, are eternall.

O that your eyes could looke a little beyond the earth: there are two ſeverall countreys afarre off: they lie beyond the Poles; yet undiſcovered, farther than the Glaſſe of the Scripture preſents to the eyes of faith. The Countreyes are Heaven and Hell: there are two waies to them, which be neere and Viſible, Pietie and Profaneſſe. There are two doores to paſſe, before men arrive to either of them; Death and Iudgement. Many thinke theſe farre off, Amo. 6.3. They put farre away the evill day: and ſay,zzEzck. 12.27. The viſion that he ſeeth is for many daies to come, and he prophecieth of the times that are far off. Men oppreſſe, ryot, luſt, blaſpheme, as if the Iudgement were farre off: as that malefactor being ask'd by whom he would be tried, anſwered deridingly, By CHRIST and his twelve Apoſtles: it was replied, that they were in heaven: no haſt, quoth he, I am content to tarry till they come. But the End of all things is at hand, 1 Peter 4.7. And let them read and tremble, Revelations 22.12. Behold, I come quickely, and my reward is with mee. Serior eſſe ſolet vindicta ſeverior.

If you could ſee ſo farre off as Hell below: if the ſmoky gates of that bottomleſſe pit were opened to give you but a glimpſe of the damned ſpirits under torture; p. 189thoſe flames, thoſe ſhriekes, thoſe feares and horrors; that palpable darkeneſſe mixed with unquenchable fire: the reprobates ever boiling, never conſumed: ever dying, never dead: ever crying never pitied. Where the covetous Churle, that would not give a bitte of bread, begges as faſt for a drop of water: yet if rivers ſhould runne into his mouth, what were it to quench thoſe rivers of brimſtone that inflame it? where there is no intermiſſion of complaints, no breathing from paine; after millions of ſorrowfull yeares, no poſſibilitie of comfort. If the ſtroke of a temporall miſerie be ſo ſmart, that often death is wiſhed to eaſe it; what is the full violl of Gods wrath? If the racke of a gowt, convulſion, or ſtrappado be ſo cruell, what is everlaſting torment? If this ſight ſo farre off might be admitted us, how would we weepe and bleed for our ſinnes, how unceſſantly pray for pardon, how rectifie our crooked and curſed ſteps; that we might never come to ſuch a place, as to ſee Abraham afarre off? Luk. 16.23.aaLuk. 19.42.Luke 19:42 O that we knew theſe things in this our day: but alas, they are hid from moſt mens eyes. If mens fore-ſight were but halfe ſo ſharpe as is their ſenſe, that would be their greateſt feare, which is now their cheefeſt pleaſure. Let Dives come out of hell to his former riches, the ſenſible world ſhall admire his charitie. Let Iudas be ranſomed out of hell, he will no more betray. Let Eſau find that favour, he will never againe ſell his Birthright. Nabal then would no longer be a churle, nor Achitophel a falſe counſellor, nor Ahab a bloudy tyrant, nor Cain fratricide. There is not a peece of a line in the Scripture, which ſpeakes of that lake of fire and brimſtone, but by a hundred thouſand parts it importeth more than it expreſſeth. Beleeve that you cannot ſee, leſt you feele that you would not beleeve.

If you could ſee ſo farre off as heaven above, or might be admitted to looke into that glorious houſe! Kings uſe not to dwell in cottages of clay, but in royall Courts fit for their Majeſtie: what is then the Court of the King of Kings! This world ſeemes glorious, ſuch a Carbuncle as the ſun to luſtre it, ſtars far more precious then Chryſolites, a pavement checkerd over with various colours, adorned with innumerable delights: now if God hath provided ſuch an habitation for his enemies; what a one is that he hath ordained for himſelfe, and his friends? Earthly Princes have dwelt in Cedar and Ivorie: but the palace of the higheſt hath a wall of Iaſper,Revel. 21.Rev 21 a building of gold, a foundation of precious ſtones, and gates of pearle. We ſee now but the pavement of it: O how goodly is it ſtucke full of lights, more ſparkling then diamonds? Did the Centurion ſay, Non ſum dignus, ut tu, &c. Matth. 8.8. I am not worthy that thou ſhouldeſt come under my roofe: and yet CHRIST was than but in his humbled eſtate? Doe thou ſay, Non ſum dignus ut ego; I am not worthy to enter into thy ſhining and glorious houſe. It was ſaid, he that hath beene once at Ormus, will never love his own countrey againe. He that hath had a glimpſe of heaven, how poorely will he thinke of this earth, which many loſe their owne ſoules to purchaſe? LORD, lift up our eyes to ſee thus farre: let the ſcales of earthly affections quite fall off; carry us up to thy glory. Thou that didſt lay clay upon the blind mans eyes, and ſo open them: take away this clay of earthlineſſe from our eyes, whereby they are ſhut. Caſt into us the beames of that celeſtiall glory: and becauſe we cannot yet aſcend to that, let that come downe upon us. Raviſh our eyes with thy owne beautie, that like Eagles, we may diſdaine all objects but the ſunne. Thou that haſt prepared heaven for our ſoules, prepare alſo our ſoules for heaven, Act. 17.27. Thou art not farre from every one of us: thou art neare to us, bring us alſo neare to thee O God, ſhew us thy ſelfe, and we ſhall love thee: let us ſee thee, O bleſſed IESUS, now with the eyes of grace, and hereafter with the viſion of perfect glory.

And hath forgotten that he was purged from his old ſinnes. We ſee the curſe that lies upon his underſtanding; he is blind: now for that lies upon his memorie; hee hath forgotten. To pull the words a ſunder, were to martyr the ſenſe: they muſt be conſidered Senſu compoſito, in compoſition. As they are, they deſcribe a wicked p. 190Apoſtate: lyet ſeparate them, and all ſignifie good. There is a forgetfulneſſe, this may be good, (as to forget a wrong:) there is a purging, this may be better: there is a purging from ſinnes, this may be beſt of all: but put them together; he hath forgotten that he was purged from his ſinnes; there is the miſerie. The earth, water, and man, are all ſafe while they keepe Loca ſua, their owne proper places, but when the water overwhelmed the earth, there was evill to man: the mixture and confuſion ſpoiles all. Good ſimples are often marred in the compounding, a good ſentence loſt in the miſpointing. So here, purgation, and purgation from ſinnes, and purgation from ſinnes by the bloud of CHRIST; all loſt by the ingratitude of forgetfulneſſe. This ſame (he hath forgotten) is the confuſion of all the reſt. It is ſaid of Achitophel, 2 Sam. 17.23.2 Sam 17:23that ſeeing his counſell neglected, hee ſadled his Aſſe, and roſe; hee prepared himſelfe for a returne; that was well: hee gate him home to his houſe that was better: he put his houſhold in order, that was beſt of all: but when he hanged himſelfe, and became his owne executioner, preventing the merciemercy of David, the merciemercy of God; this was the bane of all. If after purging from old ſinnes, this man had preſerved the merciemercy in memorie, and anſwered it in pietie, he had beene happy. But he gets new corruption, and forgets his former purgation: therefore God forgets his righteouſneſſe, and takes him away in his wickedneſſe, Ezek. 18.24. In the ſin that he hath ſinned, he dies.

Forgotten; the originall is ad verbum, foreign, ut qui oblivionem ceperit: one that did voluntarily attract forgetfulneſſe to himſelfe: the author of his owne miſchiefe; courting his owne deſtruction: forgetfulneſſe did not ſo much take him, as he did take forgetfulneſſe. The Poets wrote of Lethê, a certaine Stygian river; that whoſoever dranke of it, forgot preſently all paſſed things. He wilfully ingurgitates this Lethean drinke, and calls in oblivion to lodge in his heart. The ungodly as if they were impatient at the delay of their owne vengeance, haſten to have theirbb1 Tim. 5.24.1 Tim 5:24 ſins goe before unto judgement. They ſcarce ſtay the devills leaſure to tempt them, therefore doe it themſelves. They tarry not till oblivion and ingratitude be offered to them, but they ſnatch it like revenous ſtomachs, that will not endure till their meate bee dreſſed. This forwardneſſe is expreſſed, Prov. 1.16. Their feete runne to evill, Mic. 2.1. They riſe early to put it in practiſe, Eſa. 5.18. They draw it on with cords and cartropes. They doe not accept it as being offered, but extort it as being prohibited. This ſaves the divell a labour,Prov. 21.10.Prov 21:10 when men call iniquity to themſelves. The ſoule of the wicked deſireth evill: if it comes not, they will fetch it, flie to it: but they had better have crept like ſnailes. For miſchiefe comes ſoone enough, there is no need to ſeeke it: it is more eaſily found, than avoided, Iam. 4.7. Reſiſt the divell, and he will flie from you. Give to God obedience, to the Prince allegiance, to our Superior reverence, to the weake aſſiſtance; onelyonly to the devill and ſinne reſiſtance, Eph. 4.27. Give not place to the devill: for the divell hath no place but where it is given him. I like not that Ieſuites humilitie, that ſitting in a chaire, and ſeeing the divell approch, roſe up to give him his ſeate; becauſe he ſaid, he was more worthy of it than himſelfe. But Give him no place, ſaith Saint Paul: admit no conference with him. He was a foole that went up and downe the earth to find Senectutem, old age: which, if he ſate ſtill at home, would be ſure to find him. Sin will come faſt enough; let us not hunt it, nor ſnatch it: but rather ſtrive to reſiſt it, to expell it.

The points I am to ſpeake of are foure: there is

The corruption of the heart Sinnes.

The danger of that coruption Old ſinnes.

The deliverie from that danger Purged.

The unthankefulneſſe for that deliverie Forgotten.

The greatneſſe of his Miſerie, (Sinne Inveterate) commends the goodneſſe of Gods merciemercy (that had Purged him) and condemnes the vileneſſe of his ingratitude (that hath Forgotten it.) There is. 1. a Sickneſſe. 2. a Lightning. 3. before death p. 191Old ſinne was a lingring ſickneſſe: Purging, that is his lightning: but Forgetfulneſſe of it, is his death.

Firſt, for the corruption, Sinne: this is the moſt ſordid feculencie in the world. Lazarus lay full of ſores at the rich mans gate, yet was he not ſo foule and noiſome as the rich man himſelfe within dores. Death takes away the bodies filthineſſe; and CHRIST ſhall change our vile body, that it maybe like his owne glorious body, but he that dies in his ſinnes, ſhall find his ſinnes ever living in himſelfe. Bleſſed is hee whoſe ſins die before his body: death can doe that man no harme, though it rot his fleſh to duſt. The traveller that is perſued by a Lion, throwes off his cloke, and runnes nimbly into his houſe, from the window whereof he beholds the Lion tearing his garment, but rejoyceth that himſelfe is ſafe. Death can but teare thy coate, and bloudy it, as Ioſephs was, but they ſelfe art ſafe. There are many things we loath which are not deteſtable; as our brothers Leproſie, &c. but that which is indeed moſt odious, is held moſt delectable. We ſhunne ſickeneſſe with hate, we follow wickedneſſe with joy. Which conſideration cauſed Nazianzen to ſay, that Melior eſt conditio vitii, quàm morbi: Sinne is in a better condition than ſickneſſe. For at a Lazarous, Leprous, diſeaſed man, we ſtop our noſtrills, and turne away our eyes; yet here is Gods Image. But to a Prodigall drunkard, a rich uſurer, a proud courtier, we inſinuate our ſelves: yet onelyonly for theſe we have a charge, De non tangendo; and there is the Image of the divell. A man will not enter the houſe where he knowes the plague is, for feare of infection: yet hee will venture on the place where GOD is blaſphemed, and never prepend the danger, ſaying with Abraham, ſurely the feare of God is not in this place; Saint Iohn would not tarry in the bath where Cerinthus was:Gen. 20.1.1.Gen 20:1 there is no peſtilence ſo deadly a ſinne. What a bleſſed turne is it then to bee purged from ſinne? Pſal. 51.2. Waſh me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanſe me from my ſinne. The breaking of his bones, the ſoreneſſe of his fleſh, he complained of; but nothing ſo troubled him as his ſinnes. Therefore there is no ſuch comfort as the remiſſion of ſinnes: David intitleth the 32. Pſalme his Learning; Maſchil, or Giving inſtruction. Why, what great learning is in it? Yes, the remiſsion of ſins ver. 1. Bleſſed is the man whoſe ſinne is forgiven: there is no learning more ſweet and bleſſed. For this CHRIST taught us to pray continually; Forgive us our ſinnes. The Lords prayer in that one petition teacheth, Nos eſſe quotidianos peccatores, Luther.& ut tota vita ſit paenitentia; that we are daily ſinners, and that our whole life ſhould be nothing elſe, but a Lent to prepare our ſelves againſt the Sabaoth of our reſt, and the Eaſter of our Reſurrection. The Creed teacheth us to beleeve the Remiſsion of our ſinnes;Eſa. 44.22.Isa 44:22 and that God will blot out all our tranſgreſsions. Yea, that they are ſo remitted, as if they never had beene committed. The Lambe of God takes them away. Dimittendo quae facta ſunt, & adjuvando ne fiant, & perducendo, Lambor.ad vitam ubi omnino fieri non poſſunt: by pardoning ſinnes paſt, and preventing ſinnes to come, and bringing us to that place where ſinne can be no more: ô bleſſed place where is no ſinne! Coelum eſt, Ambros.ubi ceſſat culpa. Heaven begins, where ſinne ends. We cannot be ſo quit of it yet: it is well, ſaith Luther, if as God told Rebecca; Major ſerviet minori: the elder ſhall ſerve the younger. Our enemies are older, our ſinnes greater than we, yet they ſhall ſerve for our good: for they muſt needs be comprehended within that univerſal and indefinite number of All things, that ſhall worke together to our beſt, Ro. 8.28. Thus if we could ſee the irkeſome filthineſſe of our ſinnes, we would thinke our Purging the greateſt happineſſe. As David of his enemies, ſo let us comfort our ſelves concerning our ſins, Pſal. 118.12. Though they compaſſe us about like bees, yet in the Name of our Lord Ieſus we ſhall deſtroy them.

Secondly, conſider further the danger of this corruption; Old ſinnes. That we tranſlate, A veteribus peccatis; foreign; muſt be thus ſupplied; foreign a peccatis jam olim commiſsis; from ſinnes that he hath done of old. This aggravates the danger of corruption; for an old ulcer is hardly cured. Long nurture is another nature. When a certaine man had brought his poſſeſſed ſonne to p. 192the Diſciples, and they could not cure him; he comes to Chriſt himſelfe: and he demands,Marke 9.21.Mark 9:21 How long is it agoe ſince this came unto him? The father anſwers, Of a childe; therefore, Sipoſsis aliquid; If thou canſt doe any thing, pitie us, and helpe us. A diſeaſe bred from a childe is hardly cured; a ſinne of long continuance hardly purged, Pſal. 129.2. They have afflicted me from my youth up, yet they have not prevailed againſt me. If ſinne have infected us from our youth up, it is a great wonder that it prevailes not ſtill againſt us. The Phyſitian comming to his patient, enquires Decubitum, the time when he tooke his Layre; if he have beene long infected, it poſeth his skill, Ioh. 9.1. There was a man blinde from his birth: but if ſo long blinde, none can cure him but CHRIST, verſ. 32. It was never heard ſince the world ſtood, that any man ſave CHRIST,Iohn 6.John 6 opened the eyes of one borne blinde. The ſame Phyſitian found a patient ſicke of an infirmitie eight and thirty yeares: he comes to him with a Viſne ſanari, Wilt thou be made whole? Alas, he deſpaires it: yet Chriſt performed it; Riſe, take up thy bed, and walke.

Old ſinnes. How farre muſt we looke backe to finde out this antiquitie. Firſt, as farre as the time of their perpetration; old ſinnes, becauſe done long agoe, in the wilderneſſe of youth, Pſal. 25.7. Remember not the ſinnes of my youth, Iob 13.26. Thou writeſt bitter things againſt me, when thou makeſt me to poſſeſſe the ſins of my youth. Youth hath a hotter aptitude and proclivitie to ſinne: their bloud is ſooner ſtirred to choler, their heat to luſt, their ſtrength to intemperance. Nequitiae curſus celerior quàm aetatis: their ſinnes out-run their yeares: and they are diſcerned to be the children of Adam, before their faces have diſcovered their ſexes. Therefore it was the Wiſe-mans counſel;Eccleſ. 12.1.Eccl 12:1 Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth: And S. Paul charged Timothy, 2 Tim. 2.22.2 Tim 2:22to flie youthfull luſts. The new earthen pots will retaine the ſavour of their firſt ſeaſoning, Prov. 22.6. Seaſon their youth with the feare of God, as Obadiah ſaid,1 King. 18.12.1 Kgs 18:12 I feare the Lord from my youth. As Timothy knew the Scriptures from a childe, 2 Tim. 3.15. Quae fuerunt inania juventutis gaudia, haec ſunt acerba ſenectutis gravamina. The vanities of youth, prove the vexations of age, and if there be any grace in us; that is now matter of repentance, which was then matter of joviſance. It is enough to terrifie the ſoule, the reſpection into old ſinnes.

Yet let us looke a little further backe, to finde this age of ſinne: even as farre as the originall, from whence comes all the copie of imitation. Be they never ſo new in act, they are old in example, Pſal. 106.6. Peccavimus cum patribus noſtris; We have ſinned with our fathers. God tells them, they had rebelled of old, Act. 7.51. As your fathers did, ſo doe yee. Antiquitie is no infallible argument of goodneſſe: though Tertullian ſayes, Perfectiora quae prima; the firſt things were the beſt things: And Quo minus ab ortu aberant, the leſſe they diſtanced from the Beginning, the purer they were; but he muſt be underſtood onelyonly of holy cuſtomes. For Iniquitie can plead antiquitie: hee that commits a new act of murther, finds it old in the example of Cain: drunkenneſſe may be fetched from Noah; contempt of parents from Ham; womens lightneſſe from the daughters of Lot. There is no ſinne but hath white haires upon it; & valde ſeneſcit, is exceeding old.

But let us looke farther backe yet, even to Adam; there is the age of ſinne. This is that Saint Paul calls the Old man: it is almoſt as old as the root, but older than all the branches. Therefore our reſtitution by Chriſt to Grace, is called the New-man. There is a relation, or rather an oppoſition, betweene the Old-man and the New, 1 Cor. 15.22. As in Adam all die, ſo in Chriſt ſhall all be made alive. The firſt Adam was made a Living ſoule, the laſt Adam was made a Quickning Spirit. Therefore he that makes all things new (Rev. 21.5. Ecce, nova facto omnia) can alſo make us new.cc1 Cor. 15.49.1 Cor 15:49 That as we have borne the image of the earthy, ſo we may beare the Image of the heavenly. Coloſſ. 3.10.Col 3:10Adam was made in Gods Image, but he begate a ſonne in his owne image, not in Gods. The corruption of our nature is the image of the old Adam; the renovation of our mindes is the Image of the New. Therefore, Put off the Old-man, and caſt it away;Marke 14.51.Mark 14:51 as Ioſeph forſooke his coat rather than his faith: or as the young man, that p. 193Relicto ſyndone aufugit, left his linnen garment and fled. For, Meliùs perit tunica quàm anima; Better loſe generation, than regeneration; better part with thy old corruption, than miſſe thy new hope of ſalvation.

Of Old things, ſome are pleaſant, ſome unprofitable, ſome pernicious. Pleaſant, is an old friend, Proverb. 23.10. Thy old friend and thy Fathers friend forſake not: A good old ſervant, an old monument of honour, old truth, theddIerem. 6.16.Jer 6:16 old way, unprofitable; an old tree paſt bearing, an old houſe paſt inhabiting, an old ſhip in danger of ſinking, an old garment paſt mending, an old ill cuſtome paſt curing. Pernicious; ſuch is Satan, that old Serpent, Revel. 20. Old ſinne, Nah. 2.11. The old Lion devoures terribly, an old dogge bites ſore, that old Serpent ſtings deadly, 2 Eſdr. 5.53. A woman when ſhee is old, brings not forth ſo goodly children, as in her youth: ſhee ceaſeth teeming. But Concupiſcence, the older ſhee growes, the ſtronger ſhe is to beare the children of unrighteouſneſſe. The world is old and weake, man old and ſicke, ſinne old and more infecting, the Devill old and more prevailing. The only way to evade their danger, is to become new; to talke with new tongues, Marke 16.17. and walke in new wayes, Matth. 2.12. then ſhall we have new names, Revel. 2.17. put on new garments, and have a portion in the new Ieruſalem.

That hee was purged from his old ſinnes.] Wee have conſidered the corruption and inveterateneſſe of ſinne; now obſerve what meaſure of merciemercy was extended to him in the delivery from it; Hee was purged. This place ſeemes not ſo eaſie at the firſt bluſh, as upon better ſearch it will appeare diffcult. Hee was purged, yet he is granted an ungodly perſon: Now how can a reprobate be ſaid to be purged from his ſinnes? For this is a ſure ground; Deus remittit omnia peccata, vel nulla: If God remit ſome ſinnes, he retaines none: if no ſinne be remitted, that man is not purged. If hee bee purged, how can he forget it? If he have forgotten it, how was he purged?

Some underſtand it thus; that this purging is meant by the ſhedding of CHRISTS bloud, whereby the whole world is purged, Iohn 1.29. But that all men are purged by CHRISTS bloud, is neither a true poſition in it ſelfe, nor a true expoſition of this place. The bloud of Chriſt onelyonly purgeth his Church, Epheſ. 5.26. And there are none admitted to ſtand before the Throne, but ſuch as have waſhed their roabes, and made them white in the bloud of the Lambe. Revel. 7.14.Rev 7:14If any ſoule be thus waſhed, he ſhall never be confounded. If this man were thus purged, how could he forget it? God was in Chriſt reconciling the world to himſelfe. 2 Cor. 5.19.2 Cor 5:19Yet no man thinkes that the whole world ſhall goe to heaven; for then were hell mad to no purpoſe. So God loved the world, that hee gave his Sonne; 1 Iohn 5.19.1 John 5:19yet the whole world lies in wickedneſſe. Thus it is cleare; Expiation was offered for the world, and offered to the world; but thoſe that are bleſſed by it, be ſeparated from the world, Ioh. 15.19. I have choſen you out of the world. Salvation may be ſaid to belong to many, that belong not to ſalvation. Now the reprobate forgets, that a purgation was made for him, by the ſhedding of the Meſsiah's bloud, which is a wretched thing, to forget ſo great a ranſome?

Goe to the Garden, and there behold thy Saviour groaning under the weight of ſin, heavie enough to have preſſed to death millions of Angels, legions of men, the whole world; ſweating drops of bloud, as if he were caſt into the furnace of Gods wrath that melted him. Behold him offring that mouth, which ſpake as never man or Angell ſpake, to a traitor to kiſſe. Quod Iudas vendidit, & Iudaeus emit; What the traitour ſold, and the murtherer bought, thou haſt obtained: he is thine, not the Iewes that purchaſed him: now haſt thou gotten him, and yet forgotten him? That which tickles thy heart with laughter, made the heart of thy Saviour bleed; and haſt thou forgotten it? His ſoule was preſſed to death with the ſinnes wee never ſhrinke at: his eyes wept teares of bloud, ours flow with teares of laughter: hee felt thoſe torments wee cannot conceive: wee cannot underſtand what hee did ſtand under. Were wee ſo foule, that nothing but his bloud could p. 194purge us, and doe wee forget that purging? Doe we forget that crie, whereat heaven and earth, men and Angels, ſtood amazed, My GOD, my GOD, why haſt thou forſaken mee? The very ſenſeleſſe creatures did not forget it: the heavens were hung with blacke, the Sunne did hide his face like a chiefe mourner, and durſt not behold his Paſſion. Now, Solus homo non compatitur, pro quo ſolo Chriſtus patitur? For man alone was all this paſſion, yet in man alone is leaſt compaſſion. I know thou condemneſt Iudas, and that worthily; who ſold CHRIST a man, there was murther: CHRIST his Maſter, there was treaſon: CHRIST his Maker, there was ſacriledge. Murther is a crying ſinne, Treaſon a roaring ſinne, Sacriledge a thundring ſinne.

Thou condemneſt the Iewes for buying him: they bought him not to poſſeſſe as their owne; they ſhould ſo have made the beſt purchaſe in th world, to have bought Him that bought them. But they bought him to ſell him againe, as Simon Magus would have bought the HOLY GHOST; given money for him, to have got money by him.ddProv. 23.23.Prov 23:23 Buy the Truth, and ſell it not. They bought him to binde, abuſe, mocke, ſpit on, ſcourge, crucifie him. Thou condemneſt theſe; and ſhall not theſe, and the GOD of all condemne thee, if thou uſe thy SAVIOUR after the ſame manner? They crucified Ieſum humilitatum, Chriſt in his mortalitie: thou crucifieſt Ieſum glorificatum, Chriſt in his immortalitie. Thy ſinne is, and thy judgement ſhall be greater; becauſe thy knowledge, and his glory is more.

Hath he ſuffered all this to purge us, and will we not yet let him alone? Shall we not ſuffer the Sonne of God to be at reſt in his heaven? Shall wee blaſpheme and ſweare him quite over, open his wounds with our oathes, give him new potions of gall with our drunkenneſſe, pierce him againe with our oppreſſions, defile him againe with our luſts, runne him into the heart with our homicides; and ſtill forget all this? Take wee heed, for he feeles it, and therefore does not forget it: the lewd Chriſtian may come to ſee him, even whom himſelfe hath pierced. Doe we offer violence to that glorified SAVIOUR; and with a preſumptuous hand lifted up to the heaven, pull him downe from his Throne to his Croſſe? Is it not enough that hee died once for us? Are thoſe paines ſo light, ſo ſlight, and have wee ſo ſoone forgotten them, that every day wee ſhould redouble them? Is this the recompence of thoſe infinite torments? In vaine thy tongue cries Hoſanna, when thy hand crucifies him. How dareſt thou receive the Sacrament with that hand, that is ſo imbrued in his blood whom thou receiveſt! Hee that ſells that for a little pleaſure, which CHRIST bought with ſo much paine; Stultum reputat Chriſtum mercatorem; Thinkes CHRIST but a fooliſh buyer, and that hee had a hard peny-worth: but indeed Stultum ſe praebet venditorem; he proves him a fooliſh ſeller; and with Eſau, will repent his bargaine.

Now hath Chriſt done ſo much to purge us, and can we forget it? Can ſuch a benefit die in our memories? No, Toto nobis figatur in corde, qui totus pro nobis fixus in cruce, Auguſt. Let every redeemed heart, remember his Redeemer. Forget not the Paſſion of thy Saviour, O my ſoule: but Totus ſit fixus in me, qui totus eſt crucifixus pro me; Let him be wholly faſtned in me, that was wholly faſtned to the Croſſe for me.

Some underſtand by this Purging, true Regeneration: in this Expoſition the Romaniſts are confident and peremptorie. But ſo taken, it is miſtaken: for if hee were regenerate, hee could never forget it. VponUpon this collection they build, that a man may fall away from grace, and that without diſtinction, even totally and finally. Here they crie Vicimus, wee have conquered; the Calvinians are confuted, confounded: but this trumpet might bee blowne with a ſtraw. Their Logicke is too haſtie; they force theit concluſion to ride poſt. As in their Indulgences and Pardons they move men to preſumption: ſo in this they drive them to deſperation; any way ſerves their turnes to deceive. If this their poſition were true, they muſt needs be falſe, Ioh. 13.1. Whom he loves, he loves to the end: and p. 195that Rom. 8.38. Nothing can ſeparate us from the love of God in Chriſt: And Heb. 13.8. then were Ieſus Chriſt not the Same, yeſterday; and to day, and for ever. But the Spirit of Adoption is an everlaſting Spirit: and Gods mercy, like his Majeſtie, endures for ever: and the gifts of grace are without repentance: God will never retract them, for he is no changeling. I the Lord change not. Man is unconſtant,Malac. 3.6.Mal 3:6 riches are unconſtant, honour is inconſtant, friends are inconſtant, a wife is inconſtant, the world is inconſtant: onelyonly Ego Iehovah non mutor; I the Lord change not. Hee doth not to day love dearely, and to morrow hate deadly; but whom he bleſſeth,eeGen. 27.33.Gen 27:33 ſhall be bleſſed. CHRIST will not quench the ſmoking flax, but inflame the leaſt ſparke of grace. Fides concuſſa, non excuſſa: the light may bee eclipſed, not extinguiſhed. But they object, Matth. 18.32. I forgave thee all the debt: yet verſ. 34. he caſt him into priſon, till he ſhould pay all that was due unto him: The debt remitted, is againe required. I anſwer, that the ſcope of that parable is to ſhew, that God will no otherwiſe forgive us, then we forgive others. For certainly if a man be once acquitted, hee can never for that debt be damned. Gods covenant depends not on our obedience, but our obedience depends on Gods covenant. Wee are not therefore loved, becauſe we are holy: but we are therefore holy, becauſe we are loved. If this purging had beene abſolute Regeneration, it could never be forgotten: for all the promiſes of God are Yea and Amen in Ieſus Chriſt.

Some expound it thus; he was purged, that is, hee thought himſelfe purged: hee was onelyonly cleane in his owne opinion. So CHRIST calls the Phariſies Iust, becauſe they juſtified themſelves, Luke 15.7.Luke 15.7.Luke 15:7 This opinionative purging eaſily revolteth to prophaneneſſe: hee that never had but the caſe of a ſheepe, may very well be a Wolfe. They ſlumber, and ſuppoſe themſelves good Chriſtians: their faith is but a dreame, their hope but a dreame, their charitie but a dreame, their obedience but a dreame, their whole religion but a dreame; and ſo their aſſurance of ſalvation is but a dreame. They have regeneration in conceit, repentance and righteouſneſſe in conceit, they ſerve GOD well in conceit, doe the workes of pietie and charitie in conceit, and they ſhall goe to heaven onelyonly in conceit. Get better aſſurance than onelyonly to thinke thy ſelfe good: pure and naked ſuppoſalls bring no man to eternall life.

Others; as Luther, referre this Purging to Baptiſme: which expoſition may carry a probable and profitable ſenſe. This Saint Paul calls the Laver of Regeneration; but Metanimicè; hee meanes the ſigne or ſeale of it. Our purgation by CHRISTS bloud is not onelyonly granted to us in the Charter of the Goſpell, but alſo confirmed in the Sacramentall Seales. In the old Teſtament there was Circumciſion, contra peccati reatum: and Occiſion, or the Paſſeover, contra peccati poenam; as the Schoole ſpeaketh.

Anſwerable to theſe we have Baptiſme and the LORDS Supper: now it is the generall conſent of the Fathers, that in the moſt compleat Baptiſme ſinne is not ſo taken away, Quod non ſit, ſed quòd non obſit: non quoad actum, ſed quoad reatum; Sinne is ſtill within the faithfull, but it ſhall not be deſtructive to them in whom it is. Indeed if wee conſider the inward baptiſme of the Spirit with the outward, there is a true purging. The laver of regeneration cleanſeth from the guilt of all ſinnes, quae vel humana traxit nativitas, vel contraxit iniquitas, Auguſt. So Lactantius ſings of the baptiſed Infant: Candidus egreditur nitidis exercitus undis: Atque vetus vitium purgat in amne novo. Aquinas ſayes, this Sacrament is a Commemoration, a Demonſtration, a Prognoſtication: a Commemoration of Chriſts Death, that is paſt: a Demonſtration of CHRISTS grace, that is preſent: a Prognoſtication of CHRISTS Glory, that is to come. Thus can the GOD of Power effect his will by weake meanes: as the aſperſion of bloud on the doores without, ſhall ſave the effuſion of bloud in the houſe within.Exod. 12.Exod 12 Naaman muſt waſh in Iordan, the blinde in Siloam, the lame in Betheſda, wee in the ſacred Font. As none entred the Sanctuarie, but they firſt waſhed in the p. 196golden laver: ſo ordinarily none enter the Church, but they are firſt waſhed in this holy fountaine.

Now to this, outward Baptiſme is neceſſary, neceſsitate conditionata, with a conditionall neceſſitie: inward, neceſsitate abſoluta; with an abſolute neceſſitie. Baptiſme purgeth not,Pareus. Vt pharmacum, aut opus expiatorium, ſed ut Sacramentum, foederis obſignatorium; It healeth not as a medicine, by it owne inherent vertue; but as a ſeale of his mercy, by whoſe grace we are ſaved. Not neceſsitate medii, ſed mandati; the neceſſarineſſe of it is derived from the Commandement of GOD. A man may have it, and yet bee loſt: as Magus had Sacramentum virtutis, but not virtutem Sacramenti; the Sacrament of grace, but not the grace of the Sacrament. Another may want it, and yet bee ſaved: as that penitent malefactour was never waſhed in Iordan, yet received into Paradiſe. Sacraments then ſave not, Efficienter, ſed efficaciter; not neceſſarily, but ordinarily. Vnde tanta vis aquae, ut dum corpus lavet, cor abluat? non quod dicitur, ſed quod creditur, August. Whence hath the water ſuch vertue, that waſhing the bodie, it ſhould purge the ſoule? Not becauſe it is ſo ſaid, or, ſo ſprinkled; but becauſe it is ſo beleeved. It is not therefore enough to have Sacramentum fidei, but Fidem Sacramenti; Not to have the Sacrament of faith, but the faith of the Sacrament. Hee that beleeves, and is baptiſed, ſhall bee ſaved. Hee that is thus baptiſed, is truely purged: and as upon CHRIST being baptiſed, the HOLY GHOST deſcended: ſo the Spirit, which once moved on the face of the waters, ſhall worke with the water upon his ſoule. And as there came a voice to CHRIST from heaven; This is my beloved Sonne, in whom I am well pleaſed: So doth GOD the Father ſecretly ſpake to the baptized Infant; Thou art my beloved childe; with whom (though before I was angry) I am now well pleaſed. Before thou waſt a childe of wrath, an heire of perdition: but nowffPſal. 2.7.Ps 2:7 thou art my ſonne, this day have I begotten thee.

If this wicked man had beene ſo purged, hee could never have forgotten it. But hee had onelyonly Baptiſmum Fluminis, non Flaminis; The Baptiſme of water, not of the Spirit. And is not this a miſerable and damnatorie ſinne, to forget a mans Baptiſme? Not to remember that his name is Chriſtian? It is pitie that ever the water of Baptiſme was ſpilt upon his face. Wert thou borne in ſinne, non prius natus quàm damnatus; A ſtranger to the life of GOD? And loe, then did thy parents bring thee to the ſacred Font; and when thou couldeſt not anſwer for thy ſelfe, was not GOD pleaſed to take ſureties for thee, witneſſes of thy future obedience? Did the Church open her boſome to receive thee to her Mother-hood, GOD to his Father-hood, CHRIST to his Brother-hood, Angels to their guard and ſocietie, all the Elect to their prayers and charitie; and canſt thou forget all this? Wilt thou diſclaime Chriſtians, deſpiſe the Angels, deny thy Brother, defie thy Mother, reject thy Father, and runne a courſe c…oſſe to pietie and eternall life? Shall not, at that great day, men forſake thee, devils accuſe thee, Angels repudiate thee, the Church be aſhamed of thee, thy Father diſinherite thee, yea, even thy Brother now become thy Iudge, the LORD IESUS condemne thee? What can ſave thee, if thou forget thou wert a purged Chriſtian?

Beloved, thinke of the end of your waſhing; it was that you ſhould no more foule your ſelves, Acts 22.16. Bee baptized, and waſh away your ſinne, calling on the Name of the LORD. The Eunuch being baptized, became a Saint: Deſcendit Ethnicus, reſurgit Chriſtianus: Hee went downe into the water a Heathen, hee came up a Chriſtian. The cruell Gaolor, baptiſed, became a zealous profeſſour. Baptiſme is in poenitentiam, Matth. 3. to amendment of life. Therefore ſay with the Spouſe, Cant. 5.3. I have waſhed my feet, how ſhall I defile them? Forget not that Sacramentall vow made to God, in the preſence of men and Angels. Did it flie up to heaven, and does it not ſtay there to teſtifie againſt thee? Thou vowed'ſt p. 197thy ſelfe a ſouldier, not a neuter: to fight for the Lord, not to ſtand ſtill and looke on; much leſſe to fight againſt him: for Curſed is hee that takes not the Lords part. Iudg. 5.23.Judg 5:23Thou muſt fight: thou doeſt fight; but againſt whom? not againſt the world, thy owne luſt, the power of Satan; but againſt thy brethren. VponUpon every ſlight occaſion we muſt to Law: like Cockes of the game; that fight neither pro patria, nor pro domo: ſo wee contend not pro cure, jure, thure; not for the title of inheritance, not for the right of the poore, nor for the cauſe of Religion: but Quia alter alteri cedere non vult; but becauſe one will not yeeld to another. Turbulent Lawyers are the abettors that ſet them on; the Cock-pit is Weſtminſter-Hall; and when they have pecked out one anothers eyes, they pull their feathers. Is this to fight the LORDS battell? No, it is to bee on the Dragons ſide. Doe wee warre againſt the world? No, wee fight not like Alexander, to ſubdue it to our ſelves, but to ſubdue our ſelves to it. Runne thorow the ſhoppes of this Citie, and you may know by their weapons; falſe meaſures, falſe ballances, falſe lights, falſe tongues; what they fight for. O the merciemercy of GOD! Have wee forgot our names? Is there no memory of our Chriſtianitie left? Wee had but ſome prints and reliques of it at firſt; and may we now ſay, as of Ieruſalem; Etiam periere ruinae? Is there no ruine nor ſtone left, to tell a mans ſelfe; This building was a Chriſtian? It is reported of Orbilius, a Grammarian, that hee forgot not onelyonly the letters of his booke, but even his owne name. We forget both the prints and letters of the Goſpell, and withall our owne names; that wee are Chriſtians. As GOD ſaid to that evill ſervant; Ex ore tuo te judico; ggLuke 19.22.Luke 19:22Out of thine owne mouth I will judge thee: So he will ſpeake to this Apoſtate, Ex nomine te damno; By thine owne name will I condemne thee: Thou nameſt thy ſelfe Chriſtian, yet ſhameſt the profeſſion. Now the Spirit of God purge us from this forgetfulneſſe, and grant us never to forget our purging. Let us never forget ſuch a benefit, that we may never be forgotten by the Author of it.

He hath forgotten that hee was purged. Here is his unthankfulneſſe for this deliverance. What, blinde, and forgotten too? How comes this to paſſe? Blindneſſe ſhould ever have the beſt memory: what is taken from one ſenſe, is divided among the reſt. The eare retaines what it is intruſted with, the better; when the eye wants occaſion to direct it. The memorie is like a cage, the eare is the doore of it, the eye the window: good doctrines are put like birds in at the doore, and flie out againe by ſetting open the window. Indeed the defect of corporall ſight hath often mended the memorie; but it is not ſo for ſpirituall, Mark. 8.18. Having eyes, ſee yee not? and doe yee not remember? They neither ſaw, nor remembred. A carnall heart is blinde to conceive, readie to forget, 2 Timoth. 3.7. Ever learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth: ſlow to get, apt to forget. As Neſcitis, know you not, was a word often uſed by Saint Paul: ſo, Doe you not remember, was frequent from our SAVIOUR CHRIST, 2 Tim. 1.13. Hold faſt the forme of ſound words; that good thing which was committed to thee, keepe. An auditour ſhould not bee like the ſpunge, that holds all water both good and bad: nor like the ſieve, that holds no water, neither good nor bad: nor like the boulter, that keepes in the courſe branne, and throwes out the fine flowre: but like the ſcrie, that keepes in the good ſeed, and caſteth out the duſt and unprofitable darnell. One ſaid of our Countrey, that it had faire houſes, but bad chimneyes, becauſe they have ſo little ſmoke of hoſpitalitie: ſo we have excellent eares, but bad memories: quick conceptions, brittle retentions: not a Nation under heaven heares ſo many good Sermons; not a Nation under heaven ſooner forgets them. Many arts are taught among us, of quicke reading, of ſhort writing; where by brachigraphicall characters they will take a Sermon verbatim. But there is one art, I would ſome good body would teach it us; it is the art of memory. That as Sermons are taken word for word in our papers; ſo they might be written ſenſe for ſenſe in our hearts

p. 198Now if my power were anſwerable to my will, I would teach you this art. Poſſe mihi Is tribuat qui mihi velle dedit. To diſpoſe this diſcourſe of memorie into ſome method, leſt it be confounded in that ſhould teach it. The object of memorie ſpecified in the Text, is double; the eſtate of ſinne wherein we lay polluted, and the eſtate of cleanſing wherein we ſtood recovered. So that the point is here confined to ſinnes or good workes. For our ſinnes, let us firſt learne how to remember them, and then how we may forget them.

Firſt, for their remembrance; Chryſoſtome ſaies, nothing more helpes us forward in a good courſe, than the frequent recognition of our ſinnes. David ſpecially intitleth the 38. Pſal. a memorandum. A Pſalme of David to bring to remembrance. VponUpon good reaſon ſaith Euthymius, becauſe he made it when he called his ſinnes to remembrance. Cum commiſſa olim a ſe delicta memoria repeteret, Ʋer. 4. My iniquities, &c. Paul thus remembers his former ſinfulneſſe of life;aa1 Tim. 1.13.1 Tim 1:13 I was a bleſphemer, &c. and ſo he became more zealous to ſave ſinners than before hee had beene furious to kill the godly. Quod fecit Saulus, patitur Paulus: of a violent perſecutor, he became a valiant ſufferer. Our ſins are innumerable,bbPſal. 19.12.Ps 19:12 who can tell how oft he offendeth. Thou remembreſt not the ſins of one day, how great a maſſe have many dayes made up!Ier. 44.9.Jer 44:9 too great a bottome for one houres ſorrow to ravell out. Have you forgotten the wickedneſſe of your fathers, and your owne wickedneſſe that you are not humbled even unto this day? If we forget our ſinnes, God will remember them. The wicked man would put out the eye of knowledge, & ſtupefie the memory of infinite comprehenſion:ccPſal. 10.11. Pſal. 5….21.Ps 10:11Ps 5:21 He ſaies in his heart, God hath forgotten. But, Theſe things haſt thou done, and I kept ſilence: therefore thou thoughteſt that I was altogether ſuch a one as thy ſelfe: but I will reprove thee, and ſet them in order before thine eyes. The forborne debter may forget, but the forbearing Creditor remembers: every parcell is ſet downe in his booke. Ahab had forgot Nabaoths bloud, but God remembers it. Ioab had forgot the murder of Abner and Amaſa; but David chargeth Salomon to remember it:dd1 King. 2.6.1 Kgs 2:6 Let not his hoary head goe downe to the grave in peace. But if we remember our ſinnes in the day of repentance, God will forget them in the day of vengeance. He will anſwere as Cato to him that ſtroke him in the Bath, and afterwards ſubmitted himſelfe to his merciemercy; Non memini me percuſſum; I doe not remember that I was ſmitten. Ananias pleaded againſt Paul, Act. 9.13. Lord remember how much evill he hath done to thy Saints: but the Lord anſwers, Oblitus ſum, he is my choſen veſſell. eeAct. 17.30.Acts 17:30The times of this ignorance God winked at, but now he commandeth all men every where to repent. Repent then, and all ſhall be forgotten. At what time ſoever, what ſinner ſoever, ſhall turne from what ſinne ſoever, heartily; I will put all his wickedneſſe out of my remembrance: the Lord wil forget it, Heb. 8.12. I will be mercifull to them, and their ſinnes I will remember no more. But it is the Holy Ghoſt,ffIoh. 14.26.John 14:26 that brings all things to our remembrance. Now this holy ſpirit of memorie, teach us thus to remember our ſinnes: that we may thinke of them with penitent ſorrow, and God forget them to our eternall joy.

There is a way alſo for us to forget them: as we remember them to repentance, ſo we muſt forget them in reſpect of continuance. Otherwiſe the memorie of them doth not reduce us to life, but forward us to death. This is to fetch poiſon out of a dunghill formerly caſt forth. He that remembers his ſinnes in ſorrow, falls like Abraham, forward on his face to God: he that remembers them to practiſe, falls like the Iewes, backward from IESUS CHRIST. If thou be on the mountaine, have no love to looke backe to Sodome. If thou bee in the Arke, flie not backe to the world, as the Raven did. If thou be ſet on for Canaan, forget the fleſhpots of Aegypt. If marching againſt Midian, forget ſtooping to the waters of Harod. Iudg. 7. Mark. 13.15. If on the houſe top, forget that is below thee: Luk. 9.62. If thy hand be put to the plow, forget that is behind thee. Themiſtocles deſired rather to learne the art of forgetfulneſſe, than of memorie. Philoſophy is an art of remembring, Divinity includes in it an art of forgetting. The firſt leſſon that Socrates taught his Scholers, p. 199was Reminiſcere, Remember: for he thought that knowledge was nothing elſe but a calling to remembrance of thoſe things the mind knew, ere it knew the body. But the firſt leſſon that Chriſt teacheth his Schollers, is Obliviſcere; Forget, Pſal. 45.10. Forget thine owne people, Matth. 4.17. Repent, 1 Pet. 3.11. Firſt, eſchew evill

They which dye cloth, doe not immediately change one contrary into another; but firſt turne white into an azure, then make it a puke, &c. ſo we can never hold colour, or have our integrity died in graine, but by mediate degrees. Niſi dediſcimus benè, quod dicimus non benè, Lirinenſ. What we did ill get, we muſt well forget: and happily unlearne what we did unhappily learne. They that worke in waxe, cannot forme a new impreſſion, but by defacing the old: till Satans image be extinguiſhed, CHRISTS cannot be imprinted in us. We muſt forget the wilderneſſe, that wee may dwell in Canaan. Faith is that faire Helen, which drinkes to us in a cup of Nepenthe, and ſaies;hhRevel. 21.4.Rev 21:4 There ſhall be no more ſorrow; for vetera tranſierunt, the former things are paſſed away. The hearty draught of the living fountaine, ſhall make a man not to remember the daies of his life; becauſe God anſwereth him in the joy of his heart. The Scripture is full of this language, Eſa. 43.18. Remember not the former things, neither conſider the things of old. There are ſome diſſolute perſons, that laugh at the memoriall of their ſinnes: ſhall they not weepe teares of bloud for thoſe ſmiles? Woe bee to them that thus laugh, for they ſhall weepe. When they are paſt committing,Luk. 6.25.Luke 6:25 they applaud themſelves in recounting, in reporting their aſperſions of fraud, bloud, or luſt:iiPhil. 3.19.Phil 3:19 they glory in their ſhame. They remember that on earth laughing, which they muſt remember in hell howling. This is a curſed commemoration; when an old man ſhall glory in his former whoredomes, boaſt his homicides; yea perhaps (if it be poſſible) make himſelfe worſe than ever he was. Some men lie to ſave their credits; and that is as if one ſhould wipe his mouth on his ſleeve to ſpare his napkin. But this man tells lies to encreaſe his diſcredit; and to fill up the meaſure of his torments. As if his damnation could not otherwiſe be heavy enough, his tongue ſhall make up the waight which his hands failed to accompliſh. Here is a damnable remembrance of ſinne; not by penitence to cleanſe the ſoule, but by impudence, more to foule it, Pſal. 52.1. why boaſteſt thou thy ſelfe in miſchiefe.

No, but if thou haſt had a fluxe of malice, as that woman a fluxe of bloud,Marke 5.Mark 5 12. yeeres; now being cured, forget that bloudineſſe. If thou haſt beene depreſſed with worldlineſſe, as another woman with a ſpirit of infirmitie, 18. yeeres. Now being rectified, forget that crrokedneſſe. Though blind from thy birth, as the man,Luk. 13.Luke 13 Ioh. 9. now having thine eyes opened, forget thy former cecitie. Though formerly deafe and dumbe, upon CHRISTS Ephata, forget thoſe orbities.Mark. 7.32.Mark 7:32 Though thy charitie were dryed up, like that mans withered hand, Matthew 12.10. yet now upon the reſtitution of it, forget all dryneſſe and niggardice.Act. 14.8.Acts 14:8 Though thou wert a creeple from the wombe, yet now being recovered, forget all limping and halting with God. Though buried in the grave foure daies, yet now being revived, forget all deadneſſe in ſinne. Though before tormented with ſeven divells, as Mary Magdalen; yet being diſpoſſeſſed, forget the devill and all his workes. Forget Babylon, but remember Ieruſalem, Pſal. 137.5. If I forget thee, O Ieruſalem; If I doe not remember thee; let both my hand and mouth miſcarry, and forget their offices. Forget thy old ſinfull life;kkPſal. 45.11.Ps 45:11 So ſhall the King greately deſire thy beauty. Forget not the mercies of God, leſt God forget to doe you good: but forget all the injuries of men: write the wrongs in their duſt, and cover all offences done to you with a mantle of charitie. The Summe of all is; remember your ſinnes to repent of them, forget to practiſe them: that God may forget them in judgement, and remember you in merciemercy and ſalvation.

This be the method of memorie in reſpect of ſin; now for the workes of grace; I doe not meane ſuch as GOD hath wrought in us, but ſuch as our ſelves by his grace have done. There is a rule how they may be remembred, and how they muſt be forgotten.

p. 200Our vertues and good workes may be after ſome manner remembred. Quàm immenſa eſt laetitia de recordatione tranſactae virtutis! Bern. Rom. 14.17.Rom 14:17Our conſcience is exceedingly comforted by the memorie of our zealouſneſſe to ſerve God. The kingdome of God conſiſts in righteouſneſſe, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoſt. Now, if there be knowledge of righteouſneſſe, then certainly there will bee peace of conſcience; and theſe cannot bee without joy of the Holy Ghoſt. Iob hath a whole Chapter of theſe holy remembrances. Chapter 31. If I have walked, &c. and hee concludes; My heart ſhall not condemne me for my dayes. So ſicke Hezekiah cheared himſelfe.mmEſa. 38.3.Isa 38:3 Lord, remember how I have walked before thee with a perfect heart. So Obadiah after a ſort juſtified himſelfe to Elias, 1 King. 18.13. Diddeſt thou not heare, how I ſaved the Prophets of the LORD from Ieſabel? The purpoſe of this repitition, is not to boaſt merits, but to ſeeke mercies. Neither muſt this line of remembred goodneſſe be there cut off, but extended forth ſtill: like a man that counts his miles paſt, but yet goes on his journey. Hee that is holy, let him bee holy ſtill, Revelations 22.11. The further men fetch their careere backward to take their runne; the further they leape forward when they have runne. So a ſober recognition of our former obedience, remembring what peace of conſcience wee had in that ſervice, encourageth our future conſtancie. There are ſome who looking to this Record, find their owne names blanke. What, no good deeds yes, but they have loſt their memories: they cannot call to mind where, or when, or how they performed them. Like the drunkard who ſought all the Innes in the towne for his horſe, when indeed he came thither on foote. Theſe men may blame their bad memories, but the fault is in their bad hands and hearts. Some have their good deeds written upon Hoſpitall walls; perhaps leſt God ſhould forget them. But we will charitably conſtrue it; that they were recorded there rather by the gratitude of the receivers, then by the popular deſire of the contributers. Howſoever, it is ſomewhat that they have good deeds to remember. But too many have none at all: will you blame their memories? no, God amend their lives.

In another courſe, our good workes are to be forgotten, and not mentioned: let them be remembred to enliven our obedience, and comfort our conſcience: but rather than we ſhould arrogate merite by them, oblivion take them. He that in pride remembers his vertues, hath indeed no vertues to remember; becauſe he wants the mother vertue of all, humility. Here is one difference betweene good and evill men: both remember vertues; Pii aliorum, impii ſuas: good men remember the vertues of others, evill men their owne. They thinke on others vertues as enſamples to imitate, theſe on their owne as miracles to wonder at. The way to have God remember them, is for our ſelves to forget them. Abraham was content to offer up Iſaac, but then he forgets it, therefore God remembers it, Gen. 22.16. Becauſe thou haſt done this thing: there is the generall: what thing? the particular followes, And haſt not withheld; not thy ſervant, but Thy ſonne: and not onelyonly thy ſonne, but thy onelyonly ſonne; therefore in bleſſing, I will bleſſe thee. Mary ſhewed to CHRIST great kindneſſe; but when ſhe had done, ſhe thought it not worth remembrance: therfore CHRIST repeats it,Luk. 7.44.Luke 7:44 and amplifies it from point to point. Simon, thou gaveſt me neither water to my feete, nor kiſſe to my mouth, nor oile to my head; but ſhee hath waſhed me with teares, kiſſed with her lips, and anointed my very feete.

Who dare boaſt himſelfe to God! If in a brave theomachy, thy memorie produceth a thouſand good workes, Gods memorie will bring forth tenne thouſand of thy ſinnes, to knocke thee downe. Therefore let us caſt downe our moſt flouriſhingllMatth. 21.8.Matt 21:8 branches, and our moſt gloriousmmRevel. 4.10.Rev 4:10 Crownes at the feete of CHRIST. If Senacherib have conquered kingdomes,Dan. 4.30.Dan 4:30 you ſhall heare him cracke it, Eſa. 37.13. Where is the king of Hamach, &c. If Nebuchadnezzar have built a ſtately palace, hee muſt bragge of it; Is not this great Babylon, I have built for the honour of my majeſtie? David himſelfe could not be content with the multitude of his people, but he muſt needs number them, 2 Samuel 24.2. If Hezekiah have rich treaſures, hee muſt p. 201needs ſhew them, 2 Kin. 20.13. victorious Sampſon muſt glory in his conqueſts, Iudg. 15.16. With the jaw of an aſſe have I ſlaine a thouſand men. But for us, though we give almes, let us ſound no trumpets, Matth. 6.2. though we faſt twice a weeke, let us makennLuke 18.12.Luke 18:12 no words of it. God beſt likes of thoſe good workes, that be covered under the fleece of humble ſilence. So the Lord that ſeeth in ſecret, will reward openly, Matth. 6.4. Humilitas animi, ſublimitas Chriſtiani. The chriſtians glory is his humility. Saint Paul was in nothing behind the very chiefeſt Apoſtles; Leo.yet hee accounts himſelfe nothing, 2 Cor. 12.11. I laboured more aboundantly than they all, 1 Cor. 15.10. yet he forgets it. I ſpeake with tongues more than you all. 1 Cor. 14.18.1 Cor 14:18I ſpeake wiſdome among you that are perfect, 1 Cor. 2.6. I fought with beaſts at Epheſus after the manner of men, 1 Cor. 15.32. yea he cals all the former ſufferings, things without: hee had a thing within that troubled him;oo2 Cor. 11.28.2 Cor 11:28 The care of all the Churches. He was rapt up to the third heaven, and perfected his knowledge among the Angels. Yet he eſteemes, hoc aliquid, hoc magnum, hoc mirum, hoc totum, nihil; He forgets all this in regard of merit, as if it were nothing. Whereas we, if wee have done one thing well, or at one time well, thinke we have done enough. Orpheus going to hell to fetch out his wife Euridice, had her granted him on this condition, that he ſhould not turne backe to looke upon her till he had brought her forth. But being forward a good way, in an exceſſive love, Flexit amans oculos, & protinus illa relapſa eſt: he looked backe and ſo loſt both her ſight and her ſelfe: but perhaps when he conſidered better of the matter; he was willing to be rid of her. This fiction is not without the morrall, if we have any vertue, though it be as deere as a wife unto us, let us not dote on it with a ſelfe-loving admiration; leſt by too much looking, and too well liking, we loſe it▪ let us not be too memorious of our good workes; it is enough that God will not forget them.ppMatt. 26.13.Matt 26:13 This deed ſhall be told for a memoriall of her. We had better have one written in heaven, than a thouſand in earth: whoſoever forgets them, the comfort is, they ſhall be remembred of Chriſt.

The ſumme of all is this; unthankfulneſſe is even forgetfull. This is the firſt degree of apoſtacie.qqPſal. 78.11.42Ps 78:11Ps 78:42 They forgate his workes, and remembred not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from their enemies. Nathan taxed David with this forgetfulneſſe, 2 Sam. 12.8. How much hath God done for thee, yet haſt thou forgotten it, and deſpiſed his Commandement? So Pharaohs officer forgate Ioſeph, when he came to his preferment.rr2 Chron. 24.22.2 Chr 24:22 Ioaſh the King remembred not the kindneſſe of Iehojada, but ſlew his ſonne. Hath God delivered, purged, bleſſed us, and can we forget it?ſſDeut. 8.14.Deut 8:14 Beware leſt thou lift up thine heart, and forget the Lord. David would not ſuffer the bleſſings of God to lye in tenebris, unſeene of men, unremembred of his owne heart, but he proclaimes them, Pſal. 66.16. Come all yee that feare the Lord, and I will tell you what he hath done for my ſoule. Let others write the kindneſſes of their friends, I will relate to you the mercies of my God, Pſal. 40.10. and 71.15. Of all faculties of the ſoule, the memory is moſt delicate, tender and brittle, and ſooneſt decayeth: and of all objects of memroy, Primum ſeneſcit beneficium, a benefit ſooneſt growes old. Yet it is an eaſie worke of memory, to thinke on him that made us: here is no over-charging it with numerous objects; to remember onelyonly one thing, the mercy of thy God. It is no weakening to thy body, no decay to thy ſtore, no emptying to thy purſe; O then be thankfull! And yet all thy riches, thy fatlings, thy firſt fruits, thy beſt oblations are not ſo acceptable: it is more welcome than the Bullocke that hath horne and hoofe, Pſal. 77.9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious? He hath then left his old wont: No, David had forgotten the richneſſe of his mercy; therefore hee recollects himſelfe, verſ. 10. This is mine infirmitie; but I will remember the yeeres of the right hand of the moſt High. Not the moments, nor the houres, nor dayes of a few ſhort afflictions; that his left-hand hath dealt to me: but the yeeres of his right hand; thoſe long, large, and boundleſſe mercies wherewith he hath comforted me.tt1 Sam. 12.9.1 Sam 12:9 When they forgate the Lord, he ſold them into the hand of Siſera, and to the Philiſtims- They that forget the Lord, ſhall be delivered into the hand of Siſera, Captaine of p. 202the enemies hoſt, that is, Satan; or to the Philiſtims, the Luſts of the Fleſh; or to Moab, that's the world. uuPſal. 50.22.Ps 50:22Conſider this yee that forget God: though you forget your owne countrey, and your fathers houſe: though you forget the wife of your boſome, and the fruite of your owne loynes: though you forget to eate your bread, and take your ſleepe: yet remember your ſanctification, forget not that you were purged by the bloud of CHRIST. If you have treaſures and Iemmes, you deſire a Cabinet to put them in: I have ſhewed you a Cabinet for all the Iewells of grace you have gathered, the memorie. If you have received any good, there preſerve it. Paul tells the Hebrewes, Hebr. 12.5. You have forgotten the exhortation: let it never bee ſaid of you, that yee have forgotten the exhortation ſpoken to you.

Forgotten that he was purged. There remaines yet one degree more of application and amplification of this point. Conſider we the price of our Pargation, and we ſhall more willingly part from our corruption. If the bloud of Gods ſonne was ſpil… and ſpent to diſcharge us of ſinne; how odious ſhould ſinne appeare to us! Oh let no ſinne be held ſo deare as to be retained, when God retained not his deareſt ſonne for us. When Abraham offered up Iſaac, God ſaid; I ſee thou loveſt me: but when God offered up his ſonne for us, (that were, not as God to Abraham, a friendly Creator, but) enemie creatures, we may well ſay; LORD, we ſee that thou loveſt us. Abrahams offering Iſaac was a grievous tryall; both for the matter and the manner: that Talis, Talem, Taliter. 1. That the ſacrificer ſhould be a father. It is contranaturall and execrable for a ſonne to ſlay his father; to give death to him, that gave him life. Herodotus writes of ſome that held it unpoſſible for a ſonne to kill his father. A great law-giver made no Law for it, as a thing never to be done. If any were ſuſpected or accuſed for it, they would conclude that either he had not done it, or that he was a baſtard; they could not be perſwaded that any ſonne would commit parricide. But now it is more ſtrange for a father to ſlay his ſonne: for love more deſcends than aſcends. Wee have read of young ones that killed their owne damme, we never read of a damme that killed her owne young ones. But here Iſaac is doomed to die, not by the hand of an enemie, not by a ſtranger, not by an executioner, not by a murderer; but by a father; a mild, gentle, holy, loving father. O utinam tantummodo moriturus, non patris manu moriturus! Abraham might ſay, Oh that it were only his deſtinie to die, and not to die by the hand of his father. 2. That the ſacrifice ſhould be his ſonne, his Iſaac, his joy: not onelyonly his ſonne, but his only ſonne. Not one of many; yet Iacob cannot ſpare one of twelve, he weepes for Ioſeph, he is grieved to part with Benjamin. Yea, that it muſt be that ſonne, from whom the Meſsiah was to come; the hope of ſalvation to himſelfe, and all the ends of the earth. 3. That hee muſt die after ſuch a manner: a ſacrifice to GOD, who delights not in the bloud of men: and this himſelfe not ſtanding by, but with his owne hand. Since he muſt die, ô that alienâ manu, non propriâ; that another hand might doe it, and the father not ſee it! Si fleres filium mortuum, quid ſi juſſus occidere? doeſt thou lament thy ſonne dying, what wouldeſt thou doe if thy ſelfe were commanded to kill him? God remembers this faithfull ſervice with an oath. By my ſelfe have I ſworne, that I will bleſſe thee for it. Sure he was loth his tender ſonne to kill:Gen. 22.16.Gen 22:16 but much more loth to breake his fathers will.

But now to what purpoſe is all this? Yes, Abraham puts us in mind of God the Father, Iſaac was a type of CHRIST: either gives up his only ſonne, but with great difference: Abrahams dutie was but a ſhadow of Gods bountie. 1. Abraham at Gods command was bound to doe it, as a creature to his maker; but who could command God? Children are commanded by parents, their parents by magiſtrates, thoſe magiſtrates by Princes, thoſe Princes by God, God himſelfe by none. 2. Abraham did this for a loving friend, God did it for hating enemies, Rom. 5.10. When we were enemies, he reconciled us by the death of his Sonne. 3. Abraham tradidi filium moriturum, Deus filium immortalem morti. Abraham offered a mortall ſon ſure p. 203to die, God offered an Immortall ſonne to death indeed. The one muſt have died though his father ſhould never kill him: the other could never have died, unleſſe the father had delivered him to death. Beſides, he that was mortall ſcaped, he that was immortall died.

Now wherefore did God all this? to purge us from ſinne. Sic filium crucifixit, ut peccatum occideret: ſo he killed his ſonne, that he might kill our ſinne: he was crucified that iniquity might be mortified. Ponder them, and waigh the reaſons why our Saviour died: Sampſon ſuffered his heire, his ſtrength, to bee loſt for Dalila: CHRIST ſuffered himſelfe to be betrayed and murdered for us. Iacob endured foureteene yeeres ſervice for Rachel. CHRIST above thirtie yeeres paſſion for us. Rachel was faire, therefore Iacob loved her: wee were foule and polluted, yet CHRIST loved us. Tollere peccatum mundi, intermiſit gloriam caeli: he did deſcend from his owne royaltie, to deliver us from miſerie. Diverſe Kings have left their regall ſeates for a monaſterie: CHRIST forſooke heaven for earth, a crowne of joyes for a crowne of thornes. Exemplum ſine exemplo! Many refuſe heaven for earths ſake, becauſe they know not thoſe ſupernall joyes; CHRIST knew heaven, for it was his owne. All this for ſin: fie filthy ſin, that any ſoule ſhould hereafter love thee! for this cauſe turne from iniquity to righteouſneſſe: doe thou for GODS ſake not ſpare thy deareſt ſinne; when GOD for thy ſake did not ſpare his deareſt Sonne. Fall not backe to wickedneſſe and pollution; remember thou art purged by Ieſus Chriſt.