An Exposition Upon the Lords Prayer, Creed
I Belieue in God the Father Almightie, maker of heauen and earth: and in Ieſus Christ, … ſonne our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, borne of the Virgin Marie, ſuffred under Pontius Pilate, was crocified, dead, and buried, he*Or, [He went to God.] as all faythful goe to God in ſoul, when they dye. went to the World of ſoules: the†Chriſt was to riſe the third day to fulfill the Scriptures: & to be the firſt fruits from the deall: and after ſortie dayes he aſcended both in ſoule and bodie own to the Father. And we through his reſurrection ſhall at the laſt day aſcend alſo in ſoule and bodie into heauen, and ever be with the Lord. third day he aroſe from the dead, and aſcended into heauen, and ſitteth at the right hand of God the Father: from thence he ſhall come, to judge both the quick & the dead. I belieue in the Holy Ghoſt, that there is a holy Catholique Church, the Communion of Saincts, the forgiuenes of ſinnes, the reſurrection of the bodie, and life everlasting, Amen.
A direct Explanation of the Article of our Lords ſoules departure from this world.
THE Holy Ghoſt teacheth plainly, that our Lord his ſoul went from his bodie into the hands of God, for ſo he ſayth: O Father into thy hands I commend my ſpirit. And ſo the faythfull Thief believed, when he ſayd: O Lord remember thou me, when thou cemest in to thy Kingdome. He as the Scribes and Doctors believed, that all faythful ſoules goe from this world unto the joyes of God, which place they call Paradiſe. And that belief our Lord confirmed, ſaying: This day ſhalt thou be with me in Paradiſe. And S. Paul ſpeaketh to the Hebrews: that, through the veile of his fleſh he went into the holy Place, into Heauen.
Common ſpeach called the place of the ſtarres, Heauen: and becauſe it is the bewtie of the viſible world, they held it the fitteſt terme to expres the world, where God ſhewed himſelf, to the bleſſed in joy, before his throne: And the curſed which are there, hauehave a place of torments; called by a borrowed ſpeach, Gehinnam, the Valley of Hinnom; that was properly a place neere Ieruſalem, where children were brent to Molesh: and being a moſt miſerable place was fit to ſhew the ſeat of them, which hauehave aſcended hence to Gods throne, to abide a judgment unto eternal paynes: & be tormented before God and Lam for ever and ever.
All ſouls of men aſcend: and none ever deſcended: but as death his inferior to life, it is termed a deſcent: and the going from a place lower of eſteeme, is called a deſcent: as, from Ieruſalem to Samaria.
That which Chriſtians call, the world to come, is called of the Iews in their common writings, the world of ſouls: and of the Grecians of all ages, Hades: And the Philoſophers hield it a moſt happie thing, for a juſt man to goe from this World to Hades.
The Apoſtles Articles of belief was written in Greeke, & according to the Greek it muſt be expounded. There is Hades, the World of ſouls: where be diſtinct places of joy, (for our Lord, and Abraham, & Lazarus, and all the holy) called Heauen: and of ſorrow, called Hell. The ſouls of the one place, know the caſe of the other. And when we ſpeak of the juſt, that he is gone to Hades, we meane, that he is gone hence unto the joyes of God. And ſo would all Grecians in the world underſtand the Chriſtians Symbolum, or badge of our Profeſſion.
When men ſpeak of a horſe loſing life: they would ſay, He is dead: when of a man, that hath an immortall ſoule, He is dead and gone to Hades: the one for the bodie, the other for the ſoule.
And Heathen had no greater ground of incouragement to dye for their Counttey, then the hope of good in Hades. And hence we muſt note that our Lord twice aſcended: once in ſoul onelyonly from the Croſſe: the other tyme in bodie and ſoul into the ayre, and unto the place of joy, where all glorie ſhineth.
The Engliſh, He deſcended into Hel; is as cleane contrary to the Greek, which is our ground herein, as black is to white: and as we take Hell, therein we deny our Lord to be the holy one of God, and our foregoer into joy: for he hath ſayd, that none ſhall paſſe from the damned, to Abraham. And if we be found to hauehave contrarie rules of fayth, God will judge us wicked, for profeſſing as Trueth matter diſagreable.
The mainteyners of the tranſlation, He deſcended to Hell, ſhould be forced to revoke that, and the high ſcholars to tranſlate it aright. And as holy Matrons, many of old were prophets, & openly did good, ſo alwayes they ought to know the truth: and to require where they may, the contrarie to be removed.
The wicked will be wicked ſtill: and no wicked will underſtand: But the wiſe will underſtand.
H. B.
FINIS.
Faults eſcaped in the printing.
Page 3. line 18. and in other place… for povvre, read povver. Page 11. line 4. for … Page 17. line 4. for holden, read holding.
End of the text · Hugh Broughton, An Exposition Upon the Lords Prayer (1613)