Eighty Sermons, Whitsunday · Sermon 37
SERM. XXXVII. Preached upon Whitſunday.
JOHN 16.8, 9, 10, 11.
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of ſin, and of righteouſneſſe, and of judgement.
Of ſin, becauſe ye beleeve not on me.
Of righteouſneſſe, becauſe I goe to my Father, and ye ſee me no more.
Of judgement, becauſe the Prince of this world is judged.
IN a former Sermon upon theſe words, we have eſtabliſhed this, That the Perſon whom our Saviour promiſes here, being by himſelfe promiſed, in the verſe before the text, in the name and quality of The Comforter, All that this Perſon is to do in this text, is to be done ſo, as the World, upon which it is to be done, may receive comfort in it. Therfore this word, Reproof admitting a double ſignification, one by way of authority, as it is a rebuke, an increpation, the other as it is a convincing by argument, by way of inſtruction, and information, becauſe the firſt way cannot be applied to all the parts of this text, and to all that the Holy Ghoſt is to do upon the world, (for, howſoever he may rebuke the world of ſin, he cannot be ſaid to rebuke it of righteouſneſſe, and of judgement) according to S. Auguſtines later interpretation of theſe words, (for in one place of his workes, he takes this word, Reproofe, in the harder ſenſe, for rebuke, but in another, in the milder) we have and muſt purſue the ſecond ſignification of the word, That the Holy Ghoſt ſhall reprove the world of ſin, of righteouſneſſe, of judgement, by convincing the world, by making the world confeſſe and acknowledge all that that the Holy Ghoſt intends in all theſe. And this manifeſtation, and this conviction in theſe three, will be our parts. In the firſt of which, That the Holy Ghoſt ſhall Reprove, that is, convince, the world of ſin, we ſhall firſt looke how all the world is under ſin; and then, whether the Holy Ghoſt, being come, have convinced all the world, made all the world ſee that it is ſo; and in theſe two inquiſitions, we ſhall determine that firſt branch.
For the firſt, (for, of the other two we ſhall reach you the boughes anon,1 Part. Mundus ſub peccato. when you come to gather the fruit, and lay open the particulars, then when we come to handle them) That all the world is under ſin, and knowes it not, (for this Reproofe, Elenchus, is, (ſayes the Philoſopher) Syllogiſmus contra contraria opinantem, An argument againſt him that is of a contrary opinion) we condole firſt the miſery of this Ignorance, for,Auguſt. Quid miſerius miſero, non miſer ante ſeipſum? What miſery can be ſo great, as to be ignorant, inſenſible of our owne miſery? Every act done in ſuch an ignorance as we might overcome, is a new ſin; And it is not onelyonly a new practiſe from the Devill, but it is a new puniſhment from God;Auguſt. Iuſsiſti Domine, & ſic eſt, ut poena ſit ſibi omnis inordinatus animus, Every ſinner is an Executioner upon himſelfe; and he is ſo by Gods appointment, who puniſhes former ſins with future. This then is the miſerable ſtate of the world, It might know, and does not, that it is wholly under an inundation, a deluge of ſin. For, ſin is a tranſgreſſion of ſome Law, which, he that ſins may know himſelfe to be bound by: For, if any man could be exempt from all Law, he were impeccable, he could not ſin; And if he could not poſſibly have any knowledge of the Law, it were no Law to him.
Now under the tranſgreſſion of what Law lyes all the World?Lex Humana. For the poſitive Laws of the States in which we live, a man may keepe them, according to the intention of them that made thoſe Laws; which is all that is required in any humane Law; (to keepe it, if not according to the letter, yet according to the intention of the Law-maker) Nay it is not onelyonly poſſible,Seneca. but eaſie to do ſo; Anguſta innocentia ad legem bonum eſſe, (ſayes the morall mans holy Ghoſt, Seneca) It is but a narrow and a ſhallow honeſty, to be no honeſter then the Law forces him to be. Thus then, in violating the Laws of the State, all the World is not under ſin.
If we paſſe from Laws meerely humane,Ceremonialia. (though, in truth, ſcarce any juſt Law is ſo, meerely humane, for God, that commands obedience to humane Laws, hath a hand in the making of them) to thoſe ceremoniall, and judiciall Laws, which the Jews received immediately from God, (in which reſpect they may be called divine Laws, though they were but locall and but temporary) which were in ſuch a number, as that, though penall Laws in ſome States be ſo many, and ſo heavy, as that they ſerve onelyonly for ſnares, and ſpringes upon the people, yet they are no where equall to the ceremoniall and judiciall Laws,Pſal. ….6. which lay upon the Jews; yet even for theſe Laws S. Paul ſayes of himſelfe, That touching that righteouſneſſe which is in the Law, he was blameleſſe. Thus therefore (in violating ceremoniall or judiciall Laws) all the World is not under ſin, both becauſe all the World was not bound by that Law, and ſome in the World did keepe it.
But in two other reſpects it is;Lex Naturae. firſt, That there is a Law of Nature that paſſes through all the World, a Law in the heart; and of the breach of this, no man can be alwayes ignorant. As every man hath a devill in himſelfe,Chryſoſt. Spontaneum Daemonem, A Devill of his owne making, ſome particular ſin that tranſports him, ſo every man hath a kinde of God in himſelfe, ſuch a conſcience, as ſometimes reproves him. Carry we this conſideration a little higher, and we may ſee herein, ſome verification, at leaſt, ſome uſefull application of Origens extreme error.Origen. He thought, that at laſt, after infinite revolutions, (as all other ſubſtances ſhould be) even the Devill himſelfe ſhould be (as it were) ſucked and ſwallowed into God, and there ſhould remaine nothing at laſt, (as there was nothing elſe at firſt) but onelyonly God; (not by an annihilation of the Creature, that any thing ſhould come to nothing, but by this abſorption, by a tranſmigration of all Creatures into God, that God ſhould be all, and all ſhould be God) So in our caſe, That which is the ſinners devill, becomes his God; That very ſin which hath poſſeſſed him, by the exceſſe of that ſin, or, by ſome loſſe, or paine, or ſhame following that ſin, occaſions that reproofe and remorſe, that withdraws him from that ſin. So all the world is under ſin, becauſe they have a Law in themſelves, and a light in themſelves.
And it is ſo in a ſecond reſpect,Originale peecatum. Eſay 1.4. Wiſd. 2.23. That all being derived from Adam, Adams ſin is derived upon all. OnelyOnly that one man, that was not naturally deduced from Adam, Chriſt Jeſus, was guilty of no ſin; All others are ſubject to that malediction, Vae genti peccatrici, Wo to this ſinfull World. God made man Inexterminabilem, ſayes the Wiſeman, undiſſeiſible, unexpellible; ſuch, as he could not be thruſt out of his Immortality, whether he would or no:Auguſt. for, that was mans firſt immortality, Poſſe non mori, That he needed not have dyed. When man killed himſelfe, and threw upon all his poſterity the morte morieris, that we muſt dye, and that Death is Stipendium peccati, The wages of ſin, and that Anima quae peccaverit, Ezech. 18.4.ipſa morietur, that That ſoule, and onelyonly that ſoule that ſins, ſhall dye, Since we ſee the puniſhment fall upon all, we are ſure the fault cleaves to all too; all do dye, therefore all do ſin. And though this Originall ſin that over-flowes us all, may in ſome ſenſe be called peccatum involuntarium, a ſin without any elicite act of the Will, (for ſo it muſt needs be in Children) and ſo properly no ſin, yet as all our other faculties were,Auguſt. ſo omnium voluntates in Adam, all our wils were in Adam, and we ſinned wilfully, when he did ſo, and ſo Originall ſin is a voluntary ſin: Our will is poyſoned in the fountaine; and, as ſoone as our will is able to exerciſe any election, we are willing to ſin, as ſoone as we can, and ſorry we can ſin no ſooner, and ſorry no longer: we are willing before the Devill is willing, and willing after the Devill is weary, and ſeek occaſions of tentation, when he preſents none. And ſo, as the breach of the Law of Nature, and as the deluge of Originall ſin hath ſurrounded the whole world, the whole world is under ſinne.
That all the world is ſo, requires not much proofe: But then, does the Holy Ghoſt,An arguat. Spiritus ſanctus? by his comming, reprove, that is, convince the whole world, that it is ſo? The Holy Ghoſt is able to doe it, and he hath good cauſe to doe it; But does he doe it? Is this Cum venerit, when he comes, come? Is he come to this purpoſe, to make all the world know their ſinfull condition? God knowes they know it not. Howſoever they may have ſome knowledge of the breach of the Law of Nature, yet they have no knowledge of any remedy after, and ſo lack all comfort; and therefore this is no knowledge from the Holy Ghoſt, from the Comforter. And for the knowledge of Originall ſin, which lies more heavy upon them then upon us, (who have the eaſe of Baptiſme, which ſlackens, and weakens Originall ſin in us) they are ſo farre from knowing, that that ſin is derived from Adam, as that they doe not know, that they themſelves are derived from Adam; not that there is ſuch a ſin, not that there was ſuch an Adam. How then doth the Holy Ghoſt, who is come according to Chriſts promiſe, according to his promiſe, Reprove, that is, Convince the world of ſinne, ſince this (being to bee done by the Holy Ghoſt) implies a knowledge of Chriſt, and a way of comfort in the doing thereof?
This one word Arguet, He ſhall reprove, convince, admits three acceptations. Firſt,Antequam abierit. in the future, as it is here preſented, He ſhall; and ſo the Cum venerit, When he comes, ſignifies Antequam abierit, Before he departs. He came at Pentecoſt, and preſently ſet on foot his Commiſſion, by the Apoſtles, to reprove, convince the world of ſin, and hath proceeded ever ſince, by their ſucceſſors, in reducing Nation after Nation; and, before the conſummation of the world, before he retire, to reſt eternally in the boſome of the Father and the Son, from whom he proceeded, he ſhall reprove the whole world of ſin, that is, bring them to a knowledge, That in the breach of the law of nature, and in the guiltineſſe of originall ſin, they are all under a burthen, which none of them all, of themſelves, can diſcharge. This work S. Paul ſeemes to haſten ſooner:Rom. 10.18. To convince the Jews of their infidelity, he argues thus, Have not they heard the Goſpell? They, that is, the Gentiles; and if They, much more You; And that They had heard it, he proves by the application of thoſe words, In omnem terram, Pſal. 19.3.Their voice is gone through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world, That is, the voice of the Apoſtles, in the preaching of the Goſpell.
Hence grew that diſtraction, and perplexity which we finde in the Fathers, Whether it could be truly ſaid, that the Goſpell had been preached over all the world in thoſe times. If we number the Fathers, moſt are of that opinion, That before the deſtruction of the Temple of Jeruſalem, this was fulfilled. Of thoſe that think the contrary, ſome proceed upon reaſons ill grounded; particularly Origen; Quid de Britannis & Germanis, Origen.qui nec adhuc audierunt verbum Euangelii? What ſhall we ſay of Britanny, and Germany, who have not heard of the Goſpell yet? For, before Origens time, (though Origen were 1400. yeares ſince) in what darkneſſe ſoever he miſtook us to be, we had a bleſſed and a glorious diſcovery of the Goſpell of Chriſt Jeſus in this Iland. S. Hierome, Hierom.who denies this univerſall preaching of the Goſpell before the deſtruction of the Temple, yet doubts not but that the fulfilling of that prophecy was then in action, and in a great forwardneſſe; I am completum, aut brevi ternimus complendum; Already we ſee it performed, ſayes he; Or, at leaſt ſo earneſtly purſued, as that it muſt neceſſarily, very ſoon be performed: Nec puto aliquam remanere gentem, quae Chriſti nomen ignor at; I do not think, (ſayes that Father, more then 1200. yeares ſince) that there is any nation that hath not heard of Chriſt; Et quanquam non habuerit praedicatorem, ex viciais, &c. If they have not had expreſſe Preachers themſelves, yet from their neighbours they have had ſome Echoes of this voice, ſome reflexions of this light.
The later Divines, and the School, that finde not this early, and generall preaching over the world, to lye in proofe, proceed to a more ſafe way, That there was then Odor Euangelii, A ſweet ſavour of the Goſpell iſſued, though it were not yet arrived to all parts: As if a plentifull and diffuſive perfume were ſet up in a houſe, we would ſay The houſe were perfumed, though that perfume were not yet come to every corner of the houſe. But not to thruſt the world into ſo narrow a ſtraite, as it is, when a Decree is ſaid to have gone out from Auguſtus, Luk. 2.1. Acts 2.5.to taxe all the world, (for this was but the Romane world) Nor, That there were men dwelling at Ieruſalem, devout men, of every nation under heaven, (for, this was but of nations diſcovered, and traded withall then) nor, when S. Paul ſayes,Rom. 11.18. Mat. 24.14. That the faith of the Romanes was publiſhed to the world, (for that was as far as he had gone) thoſe words of our Saviour, This Goſpell of the kingdome ſhall be preached in all the world, for a witneſſe to all nations, and then ſhall the end come, have evermore, by all, Ancient and Modern, Fathers and School, Preachers and Writers, Expoſitors and Controverters, been literally underſtood, that before the end of the world, the Goſpell ſhall be actually, really, evidently, efectually preached to all nations; and ſo, Cum venerit, When the holy Ghoſt comes, that is, Antequam abierit, Before he go, he ſhall reprove, convince the whole world of ſin, and this, as he is a Comforter, by accompanying their knowledge of ſin, with the knowledge of the Goſpell, for the remiſſion of ſins.
It agrees with the nature of goodneſſe to be ſo diffuſive, communicable to all. It agrees with the nature of God,Gen. 7.11. who is goodneſſe, That as all the fountaines of the great Deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and ſo came the flood over all, ſo there ſhould be Diluvium Spiritus, A flowing out of the holy Ghoſt upon all,Joel. 2.28. Eſay 2.2. Joh. 3.8. as he promiſes, Effundam, I will poure it out upon all, and Diluvium gentium, That all nations ſhould flow up unto him. For, this Spirit, Spirat ubi vult, Breathes where it pleaſes him; and though a naturall winde cannot blow Eaſt and Weſt, North and South together, this Spirit at once breathes upon the moſt contrary diſpoſitions, upon the preſuming, and upon the deſpairing ſinner; and, in an inſtant can denizen and naturalize that ſoule that was an alien to the Covenant, Empale and inlay that ſoule that was bred upon the Common, amongſt the Gentiles, transform that ſoul, which was a Goate, into a Sheep, unite that ſoul which was a loſt ſheep to the fold again, ſhine upon that ſoul that ſits in darkneſſe, and in the ſhadow of death, and ſo melt and poure out that ſoul that yet underſtands nothing of the Divine nature, nor of the Spirit of God, that it ſhall become partaker of the Divine nature,2 Pet. 1.4. 1 Cor. 6.17. and be the ſame Spirit with the Lord. When Chriſt took our fleſh, he had not all his Anceſtors of the Covenant; he was pleaſed to come of Ruth, a Moabite, a poore ſtranger; As he came, ſo will the holy Ghoſt go to ſtrangers alſo. Shall any man murmur, or draw into diſputation, why this Spirit doth not breath in all nations at once? or why not ſooner then it doth in ſome? Doth this Spirit fall and reſt upon every ſoul in this Congregation now? May not one man finde that he receives him now, and ſuffer him to go away again? May not another who felt no motion of him now, recollect himſelf at home, and remember ſomething then, which hath been ſaid now, to the quickning of this Spirit in him there? Since the holy Ghoſt viſits us ſo, ſucceſſively, not all at once, not all with an equall eſtabliſhment, we may ſafely imbrace that acceptation of this word Arguet, He ſhall, he will, Antequam abierit, Before the end come, Reprove, convince the whole world of ſin, by this his way, the way of comfort, the preaching of the Goſpell. And that is the firſt acceptation thereof.
The ſecond acceptation of the word is in the preſent;Arguit. not Arguet, He ſhall, but Arguit, He doth, now he doth reprove all the world. As when the Devill confeſſed Chriſt in the Goſpel, as when Judas, (who was the Devils Devill, for, he had ſold Chriſt to the Chiefe-Prieſts, Mat. 26.14. before Satan entred into him after the Sop, Iohn 13.27.) profeſſed this Goſpel, this was not Sine omni impulſu Spiritus Sancti, Altogether without the motion of the Holy Ghoſt, who had his ends, and his purpoſes therein, to draw teſtimonies for Chriſt out of the mouths of his adverſaries; ſo when a naturall man comes to be diſpleaſed with his owne actions, and to diſcerne ſin in them, though his naturall faculties be the Inſtruments in theſe actions, yet the Holy Ghoſt ſets this Inſtrument in tune, and makes all that is muſique and harmony in the faculties of this naturall man. At Epheſus S. Paul found certaine Diſciples which were baptized, and when he asked them, Whether they had received the Holy Ghoſt, Acts 19.2.they ſaid, That they had not ſo much as heard that there was a Holy Ghoſt. So certainly, infinite numbers of men, in thoſe unconverted Nations have the Holy Ghoſt working in them, though they have never ſo much as heard that there is a Holy Ghoſt. When we ſee any man doe any work well, that belongs to the hand, to write, to carve, to play, to doe any mechanique office well, doe we determine mine our conſideration onelyonly upon the Inſtrument, the hand, doe we onelyonly ſay, he hath a good, a fit, a well diſpoſed hand for ſuch a work, or doe we not rather raiſe our contemplation to the ſoule, and her faculties, which enable that hand to do that work? So certainly when a morall man hath any reproofe, any ſenſe of ſin in himſelfe, the holy Ghoſt is the intelligence that moves in that ſpheare, and becomes the ſoule of his ſoule, and works that in him primarily, of which, naturall faculties, or philoſophicall inſtructions, are but miniſteriall inſtruments and ſuppletory aſſiſtances after. And not only in the beginning of good actions, but in the proſecution of ſome evill, the holy Ghoſt hath an intereſt, though we diſcern him not: In the diſpoſing of our ſins, the holy Ghoſt hath a working thus, That when we intended ſome miſchievous ſin to morrow, a leſſe ſin, ſome ſin of pleaſure meets us, and takes hold of us, and diverts us from our firſt purpoſe, and ſo the holy Ghoſt reſcues us from one ſin, by ſuffering us to fall into another. What action ſoever hath any degree of good, what action ſoever hath any leſſe evill in it then otherwiſe it would have had, hath received a working of the holy Ghoſt, though that man upon whom he hath wrought, knew not his working, nor his name. As we thinke that we have the differences of ſeaſons, of Winter and Summer, by the naturall motion of the Sun, but yet it is not truly by that naturall motion, but by a contrary motion of a higher ſpheare, which drawes the Sun againſt his naturall courſe; (for, if the Sun were left to himſelfe, we ſhould not have theſe ſeaſons) ſo if the ſoul and conſcience of a meere naturall man have any of theſe reproofes, and remorſes, though perchance fear, or ſhame, or ſickneſſe, or penalties of law, yea though a wearineſſe, and exceſſe of the ſin it ſelfe, may ſeem to him to be the thing that reproves him, and that occaſions this remorſe, becauſe it is the moſt immediate, and therefore moſt diſcernible; yet there is Digitus Dei, The hand of God, and ſpiritus Spiritus ſancti, The breath of the holy Ghoſt, in all this, who, as a liberall almes-giver ſends to perſons, that never know who ſends, works upon perſons, who never know who works. So the holy Ghoſt reproves all the world of ſin; that is, all the reproofe, which even the naturall man hath, (and every man hath ſome at ſometimes) is from the holy Ghoſt; and, as in the former ſenſe, the Cum venerit, When he eomes, was Antequam abierit, before he goes, ſo here the Cum venerit, is Quia adeſt, becauſe he is alwayes preſent, and alwayes working.
And then there is a third acceptation, where the Arguet is not in the future,Operatus eſt. That he ſhall do it, nor in the preſent, Arguit, That he doth it now in every naturall man, but it is in the time paſt, Arguit. He hath done it, done it already. And here in this ſenſe, it is not that the holy Ghoſt ſhall bring the Goſpell before the end, to all Nations, that is, Antequam abierit, Nor that the holy Ghoſt doth exalt the naturall faculties of every man in all his good actions, that is, Quia ſemper adeſt, but it is, that he hath infuſed and imprinted in all their hearts, whom hee hath called effectually to the participation of the meanes of ſalvation in the true Church, a conſtant and infallible aſſurance, that all the world, that is, all the reſt of the world which hath not imbraced thoſe helps, lies unrecoverably (by any other meanes then theſe which we have imbraced) under ſin, under the waight, the condemnation of ſin. So that the comfort of this reproofe (as all the reproofes of the holy Ghoſt in this Text, are given by him in that quality, as he is The Comforter) is not directly, and ſimply, and preſently upon all the world indeed, but upon thoſe whom the holy Ghoſt hath taken out of this world, to his world in this world, that is, to the Chriſtian Church, them he Reproves, that is Convinces them, eſtabliſhes, delivers them from all ſcruples, that they have taken the right way, that they, and onelyonly they, are delivered, and all the world beſide are ſtill under ſin.
When the Holy Ghoſt hath brought us into the Ark from whence we may ſee all the world without, ſprawling and gaſping in the flood, (the flood of ſinfull courſes in the world, and of the anger of God) when we can ſee this violent flood, (the anger of God) break in at windowes, and there devoure the licentious man in his ſinfull embracements, and make his bed of wantonneſſe his death-bed; when we can ſee this flood (the anger of God) ſwell as faſt as the ambitious man ſwels, and purſue him through all his titles, and and at laſt ſuddenly, and violently waſh him away in his owne blood, not alwayes in a vulgar, but ſometimes in an ignominious death; when we ſhall ſee this flood (the flood of the anger of God) over-flow the valley of the voluptuous mans gardens, and orchards, and follow him into his Arbours, and Mounts, and Teraſſes, and carry him from thence into a bottomleſſe Sea, which no Plummet can ſound, (no heavy ſadneſſe relieve him) no anchor take hold of, (no repentance ſtay his tempeſted and weather-beaten conſcience) when wee finde our ſelves in this Ark, where we have firſt taken in the freſh water of Baptiſme, and then the Bread, and Wine, and Fleſh, of the Body and Blood of Chriſt Jeſus, Then are we reproved, forbidden all ſcruple, then are we convinced, That as the twelve Apoſtles ſhall ſit upon twelve ſeats, and judge the twelve Tribes at the laſt day; So doth the Holy Ghoſt make us Judges of all the world now, and inables us to pronounce that ſentence, That all but they, who have ſincerely accepted the Chriſtian Religion, are ſtill ſub peccato, under ſin, and without remedy. For we muſt not waigh God with leaden, or iron, or ſtone waights, how much land, or metall, or riches he gives one man more then another, but how much grace in the uſe of theſe, or how much patience in the want, or in the loſſe of theſe, we have above others. When we come to ſay, Hi in curribus, Hi in equis, Pſal. 20.7.nos autem in nomine Domini Dei noſtri invocabimus, Some truſt in chariots, and ſome in horſes, Ver. 8.but we will remember the name of the Lord our God; Ipſi obligati ſunt, & ceciderunt, nos autem ſurreximus, & erecti ſumus, They are brought downe and fallen, but we are riſen, and ſtand upright. Obligati ſunt, & ceciderunt, They are pinion'd and falle…, fettered, and manacled, and ſo fallen; fallen and there muſt lie: Nos autem erecti, Wee are riſen, and enabled to ſtand, now we are up. When we need not feare the mighty, nor envy the rich, Quia ſignatum ſuper nos lumen vultus tui Domine, Becauſe the light of thy countenance O Lord, Ver. 7.is (not onelyonly ſhed, but) lifted up upon us, Quia dediſti laetitiam in corde noſtro, Becauſe thou haſt put gladneſſe in our heart, more then in the time that their corne and their wine increaſed; when we can thus compare the Chriſtian Church with other States, and ſpirituall bleſſings with temporall, then hath the Holy Ghoſt throughly reproved us, that is, abſolutely convinced us, that there is no other foundation but Chriſt, no other name for ſalvation but Jeſus, and that all the world but the true profeſſors of that name, are ſtill under ſin, under the guiltineſſe of ſin. And theſe be the three acceptations of this word, Arguet, He ſhall carry the Goſpel to all before the end, Arguit, Hee does worke upon the faculties of the naturall man every minute, and Arguit againe, Hee hath manifeſted to us, that that they who goe not the ſame way, periſh. And ſo wee paſſe to the ſecond Reproofe and Conviction, He ſhall reprove the world, De Iuſtitia, Of Rightcouſneſſe.
This word,2 Part. Dejuſtitia. Iuſtificare, To juſtifie, may be well conſidered three wayes; Firſt as it is verbum vulgare, as it hath an ordinary and common uſe; And then as it is verbum forenſe, as it hath a civill and a legall uſe; And laſtly, as it is verbum Eccleſiaſticum, as it hath a Church uſe, as it hath been uſed amongſt Divines. The firſt way, To juſtifie, is to averre, and maintaine any thing to be true, as wee ordinarily ſay to that purpoſe, I will juſtifie it;Pſal. 19.9. and in that ſenſe the Pſalmiſt ſayes, Iuſtificata judicia Domini in ſemetipſo, The judgements of the Lord juſtifie themſelves, prove themſelves to be juſt: And in this ſenſe men are ſaid to juſtifie God,Luke 7.29. The Phariſees and Lawyers rejected the counſell of God, but all the people, and the Publicans juſtified God, that is, teſtified for him. In the ſecond way, as it is a judiciall word, To juſtifie is only a verdict of Not guilty, and a Judgement entred upon that, That there is not evidence enough againſt him, and therefore he is juſtified, that is,Prov. 17.14. acquited. In this ſenſe is the word in the Proverbs, He that juſtifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the juſt, even they both are an abomination to the Lord. Now neither of theſe two wayes are we juſtified; we cannot be averred to be juſt; God himſelfe cannot ſay ſo of us;Exod. 23.7. of us, as we are we: Non juſtificabo impium, I will not juſtifie the wicked. God will not ſay it, God cannot doe it; A wicked man cannot be, he cannot, by God, be ſaid to be juſt; they are incompatible, contradictory things. Nor the ſecond way neither; conſider us ſtanding in judgement before God, no man can be acquited for want of evidence;Pſal. 143.2. Enter not into Iudgement with thy ſervant, for, in thy ſight ſhall none that liveth be juſtified. For, if we had another ſoule to give the Devill, to bribe him, to give no evidence againſt this, if we had another iron to ſeare up our conſciences againſt giving of evidence againſt our ſelves then, yet who can take out of Gods hands thoſe examinations, and thoſe evidences, which he hath regiſtred exactly, as often as we have thought, or ſaid, or done any thing offenſive to him?
It is therefore onelyonly in the third ſenſe of this word, as it is Verbum Eccleſiaſticum, A word which S. Paul, and the other Scriptures, and the Church, and Eccleſiaſticall Writers have uſed to expreſſe our Righteouſneſſe, our Juſtification by: And that is onelyonly by the way of pardon, and remiſſion of ſins, ſealed to us in the blood of Chriſt Jeſus; that what kinde of ſinners ſoever we were before, yet that is applied to us, Such and ſuch you were before, But ye are juſtified by the name of the Lord Ieſus, and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Cor. 6 11.Now the reproofe of the World, the convincing of the World, the bringing of the World to the knowledg, that as they are all ſub peccato, under ſin, by the ſin of another, ſo there is a righteouſneſſe of another, that muſt prevaile for all their Pardons, this reproof, this convincing, this inſtruction of the World is thus wrought: That the whole World conſiſting of Jews and Gentiles, when the Holy Ghoſt had done enough for the convincing of both theſe, enough for the overthrowing of all arguments, which could either be brought by the Jew for the righteouſneſſe of the Law, or by the Gentile for the righteouſneſſe of Works, (all which is abundantly done by the Holy Ghoſt, in the Epiſtles of S. Paul, and other Scriptures) when the Holy Ghoſt had poſſeſſed the Church of God, of theſe all-ſufficient Scriptures, Then the promiſe of Chriſt was performed, and then, though all the world were not preſently converted, yet it was preſently convinced by the Holy Ghoſt, becauſe the Holy Ghoſt had provided in thoſe Scriptures, of which he is the Author, that nothing could be ſaid in the Worlds behalfe, for any other Righteouſneſſe, then by way of pardon in the blood of Chriſt.
Thus much the Holy Ghoſt tels us; And if we will ſearch after more then hee is pleaſed to tell us, that is to rack the Holy Ghoſt, to over-labour him, to examine him upon ſuch Intergatories, as belongs not to us, to miniſter unto him. Curious men are not content to know, That our debt is paid by Chriſt, but they will know farther, whether Chriſt have paid it with his owne hands, or given us money to pay it our ſelves; whether his Righteouſneſs, before it do us any good, be not firſt made ours by Imputation, or by Inheſion; They muſt know whoſe money, and then what money, Gold or Silver, whether his active obedience in fulfilling the Law, or his paſſive obedience in ſhedding his blood. But all the Commiſſion of the Holy Ghoſt here, is, To reprove the World of righteouſneſſe, To convince all Sects in the World, that ſhall conſtitute any other righteouſneſſe, then a free pardon by the incorruptible, and invaluable, and inexhauſtible blood of Chriſt Jeſus. By that pardon, his Righteouſneſſe is ours: How it is made ſo, or by what name we ſhall call our title, or eſtate, or intereſt in his Righteouſneſſe, let us not enquire. The termes of ſatisfaction in Chriſt, of acceptation in the Father, of imputation to us, or inheſion in us, are all pious and religious phraſes, and ſomething they expreſſe; but yet none of theſe, Satisfaction, Acceptation, Imputation, Inheſion, will reach home to ſatisfie them, that will needs inquire, Quo modo, by what meanes Chriſts Righteouſneſſe is made ours. This is as far as we need go, Ad eundem modum juſti ſumus coram Deo, quo cor am eo Chriſtus fuit peccator, So as God made Chriſt ſin for us, 2 Cor. 5.21.we are made the righteouſneſſe of God in him: ſo; but how was that? He that can finde no comfort in this Doctrine, till he finde How Chriſt was made ſin, and we righteouſneſſe, till he can expreſſe Quo modo, robs himſelf of a great deale of peacefull refreſhing, which his conſcience might receive, in taſting the thing it ſelfe in a holy and humble ſimplicity, without vexing his owne, or other mens conſciences, or troubling the peace of the Church with impertinent and inextricable curioſities.
Thoſe queſtions are not ſo impertinent, but they are in a great part unneceſſary, which are moved about the cauſe of our righteouſneſſe, our juſtification. Alas, let us be content that God is the cauſe, and ſeeke no other. We muſt never ſlacken that proteſtation, That good works are no cauſe of our juſtification. But we muſt alwaies keepe up a right ſignification of that word, Cauſe. For, Faith it ſelfe is no cauſe; no ſuch cauſe, as that I can merit Heaven, by faith. What doe I merit of the King, by beleeving that he is the undoubted Heire to all his Dominions, or by beleeving that he governes well, if I live not in obedience to his Laws. If it were poſſible to beleeve aright, and yet live ill, my faith ſhould doe me no good. The beſt faith is not worth Heaven; The value of it grows Ex pacto, That God hath made that Covenant, that Contract, Crede & vives, onelyonly beleeve and thou ſhalt be ſafe. Faith is but one of thoſe things, which in ſeverall ſenſes are ſaid to juſtifie us. It is truly ſaîd of God, Deus ſolus juſtificat, God only juſtifies us; Efficienter, nothing can effect it, nothing can worke towards it, but onelyonly the meere goodneſſe of God. And it is truly ſaid of Chriſt, Chriſtus ſolus juſtificat, Chriſt onelyonly juſtifies us; Materialiter, nothing enters into the ſubſtance and body of the ranſome for our ſins, but the obedience of Chriſt. It is alſo truly ſaid, Sola fides juſtificat, OnelyOnly faith juſtifies us; Inſtrumentaliter, nothing apprehends, nothing applies the merit of Chriſt to thee, but thy faith. And laſtly it is as truly ſaid, Sola opera juſtificant, OnelyOnly our works juſtifie us; Declaratoriè, Only thy good life can aſſure thy conſcience, and the World, that thou art juſtified. As the efficient juſtification, the gracious purpoſe of God had done us no good, without the materiall ſatisfaction, the death of Chriſt had followed; And as that materiall ſatisfaction, the death of Chriſt would do me no good, without the inſtrumentall juſtification, the apprehenſion by faith; ſo neither would this profit without the declaratory juſtification, by which all is pleaded and eſtabliſhed. God enters not into our materiall juſtification, that is onelyonly Chriſts; Chriſt enters not into our inſtrumentall juſtification, that is onelyonly faiths; Faith enters not into our declaratory juſtification, (for faith is ſecret) and declaration belongs to workes. Neither of theſe can be ſaid to juſtifie us alone, ſo, as that we may take the chaine in pieces, and thinke to be juſtified by any one link thereof; by God without Chriſt, by Chriſt without faith, or by faith without works; And yet every one of theſe juſtifies us alone, ſo, as that none of the reſt enter into that way and that meanes, by which any of theſe are ſaid to juſtifie us.
Conſider we then our ſelves, as men fallen downe into a darke and deepe pit; and juſtification as a chaine, conſiſting of theſe foure links, to be let downe to us, and let us take hold of that linke that is next us, A good life, and keepe a faſt and inſeparable hold upon that; for though in that ſenſe of which we ſpoke, Fides juſtificat ſola, Only faith do juſtifie, yet it is not true in any ſenſe, Fides eſt ſola, that there is any faith, where there is nothing but faith. God comes downeward to us; but we muſt go upward to God; not to get above him in his unrevealed Decrees, but to go up towards him, in laying hold upon that loweſt linke; that as the holy Ghoſt ſhall reprove, that is, convince the world, that there is no other righteouſneſſe but that of Chriſt, ſo he may enable you to paſſe a judgement upon your ſelves, and to teſtifie to the world that you have apprehended that righteouſneſs; Which is that that is principally intended in the third and laſt part, That the holy Ghoſt, 3. Part.when he comes, ſhall reprove the World, as of ſin, & of rightcouſneſs, ſo of judgment.
After thoſe two convictions of the World, that is, Jew, and Gentile, firſt, that they are all under ſin, and ſo in a ſtate of condemnation; And ſecondly, that there is no righteouſneſſe, no juſtification to be had to the Jew by the Law, nor to the Gentile in Nature, but that there is Righteouſneſſe, and Juſtification enough for all the world, Jew, and Gentile in Chriſt; In the third place, the Holy Ghoſt is to reprove, that is, ſtill to convince the world, to acquaint the world with this myſtery, That there is a means ſettled to convey this Righteouſneſſe of Chriſt upon the World, and then an account to be taken of them, who do not lay hold upon this meanes; for, both theſe are intended in this word Iudgement, He ſhall reprove them, prove to them this double ſignification of judgement; firſt, that there is a judgement of order, of rectitude, of government, to which purpoſe he hath eſtabliſhed the Church; And then a judgement of account, and of ſentence, and beatification upon them, who did; and malediction upon them who did not apply themſelves to the firſt judgement, that is, to thoſe orderly wayes and meanes of embracing Chriſts righteouſneſſe,Wi…d. 11.20. which were offered them in the Church. God hath ordered all things in meaſure,1 Cor. 14.42. and number, and waight; Let all things be done decently and in order for, God is the God of order, and not of confuſion. And this order, is this judgement; The Court, the Tribunall, the Judgment ſeat, in which all mens conſciences and actions muſt be regulated and ordered, the Church. The perfecteſt order was Innocency; that firſt integrity in which God made all. All was diſordered by ſin: For, in ſin, and the author of ſin, Satan, there is no order, no conformity; nothing but diſorder, and confuſion. Though the Schoole doe generally acknowledge a diſtinction of orders in the miniſtring Spirits of Heaven, now, Angels and Archangels, and others, yet they diſpute, and doubt, and (in a great part) deny that this diſtinction of orders was before the fall of thoſe Angels; for, they confeſſe this diſtribution into orders, to have been upon their ſubmiſſion, and recognition of Gods government, which recognition was their very confirmation, and after that they could not fall. And though thoſe fallen Angels, the Devils, concurre in an unan me conſent to ruin us,Hi…ron. (for, Bellum Daemonum, ſumma pax hominum) we ſhould agree better, if devils did fall out, yet this is not ſuch a peace, ſuch an unity, as gives them any peace, or relaxation, or intermiſſion of anguiſh, but, as they are the Authors of our confuſion, ſo they are in a continuall confuſion themſelves.
There is no order in the Author of ſin; and therfore the God of order cannot, directly nor indirectly, poſitively nor conſecutively, be the Author of ſin. There is no order in ſin it ſelfe. The nature, the definition of ſin, is diſorder. Dectum, factum, Auguſt.concupitum contra legem; God hath ordered a law, and ſin is an act; if we cannot do that, it is a word; if we dare not do that, it is a deſire againſt that law. Forma peccati, deformitas; we can aſſigne ſin no other form, but deformity. So that our affecting of any thing, as our end, which God hath not propoſed for our end; or our affecting of true ends, by any other wayes then he hath propoſed, this is a diſordering of Gods providence, as much as we can, and ſo a ſin. For the Schoole reſolves conveniently, probably, that that firſt ſin that ever was committed, (that peccatum praegnans, peccatum prolificum, That womb and matrice of all ſins that have been committed ſince) The ſin of the Angels, it was a diſorder, an obliquity, a deformity, not in not going to the right end, (for, Illud quaeſiverunt, ad quod perveniſſent, ſi ſtetiſſent, ſayes Aquinas out of S. Auguſt. They deſired no more then they were made for, and ſhould have come to, if they had ſtood) but their ſin was in affecting a right end a wrong way, in deſiring to come to their appointed perfection by themſelves, to ſubſiſt of themſelves, & to be independent, without any farther need of God, for that was their deſire, To be like the moſt High, To depend upon nothing, but be all-ſufficient to themſelves. So they diſordered Gods purpoſe; and when they had once broke that chaine, when they had once put that harmony out of tune, then came in diſorder, diſcord, confuſion, and that is ſin.
Gods work is perfect; How appeares that? For all his wayes are Iudgement, Deut. 32.4.ſayes Moſes in his victorious ſong. This is Perfection, That he hath eſtabliſhed an order, a judgement. Which is not only that order which S. Auguſtine defines, Ordo eſt, Auguſt.per quem omnia aguntur, quae Deus conſtituit, The order and the judgement by which God governs the world, according to his purpoſe, (which judgement is Providence) But (as the ſame Father ſayes in the ſame book) it is Ordo, quem ſi tenueris in vita, perdacet ad Deum, It is an order and a judgement which he hath manifeſted to thee, (for the order and judgement of his providence, he doth not alwayes manifeſt) by obedience to which order and judgement, thou maiſt be ſaved. The ſame Father ſpeaking of this order and judgement of providence, ſayes, Nihil ordini contrarium, Nothing can be contrary to that order; He is in a holy rapture tranſported with that conſideration, That even diſorders are within Gods order; There is in the order and judgement of his providence an admiſſion, a permiſſion of diſorders: This unſearchable proceeding of God, carries him to that paſſionate exclamation, O ſipoſſem dicere quod vellem! O that I were able to expreſſe my ſelf! Roge, ubi ubi eſtis verba, ſuecurrite; Where, where are thoſe words which I had wont to have at command? why do ye not ſerve me, help me now? Now, when I would declare this, Bona & mala ſunt in ordine, That even diſorders are done in order, that even our ſins ſome way or other fall within the providence of God. But that is not the order, nor judgement which the holy Ghoſt is ſent to manifeſt to the world. The holy Ghoſt works beſt upon them, which ſearch leaſt into Gods ſecret judgements and proceedings. But the order and judgement we ſpeak of, is an order, a judgement-ſeate eſtabliſhed, by which, every man, howſoever oppreſſed with the burden of ſin, may, in the application of the promiſes of the Goſpel by the Ordinance of preaching, and in the ſeales thereof in the participation of the Sacraments, be aſſured, that he hath received his Abſolution, his Remiſſion, his Pardon, and is reſtored to the innocency of his Baptiſme, nay to the integrity which Adam had before the fall, nay to the righteouſneſſe of Chriſt Jeſus himſelfe. In the creation God took red earth, and then breathed a ſoule into it: When Chriſt came to a ſecond creation, to make a Church, he took earth, men, red earth, men made partakers of his blood; (for, Eccleſiam quaeſivit, & acquiſivit, Bernard.Hee deſired a Church, and he purchaſed a Church; but by a bleſſed way of Simony; Adde medium acquiſitionis, Sanguine acquiſivit, Acts 20.28.He purchaſed a Church with his own blood) And when he had made this body, in calling his Apoſtles, then he breathed the ſoule into them, his Spirit, and that made up all: Quod inſufflavit Dominus Apoſtolis, & dixit, Auguſt.Accipite Spiritum ſanctum, Eccleſiae poteſtas collata eſt, Then when Chriſt breathed that Spirit into them, he conſtituted the Church. And this power of Remiſſion of ſins, is that order, and that judgement which Chriſt himſelfe calls by the name of the moſt orderly frame in this, or the next world, A Kingdome, Diſpono vobis regnum, Luk. 22.29.I appoint unto you a Kingdome, as my Father hath appointed unto me.
Now, Faciunt favos & veſpa, faciunt Eccleſias & Marcionitae, As Waſpes make combs,Tertul. but empty ones, ſo do Heretiques Churches, but frivolous ones, ineffectuall ones. And, as we told you before, That errors and diſorders are as well in wayes, as inends, ſo may we deprive our ſelves of the benefit of this judgement, The Church, as well in circumſtances, as in ſubſtances, as well in oppoſing diſcipline, as doctrine. The holy Ghoſt reprovc…thee, convinces thee, of judgement, that is, offers thee the knowledge that ſuch a Church there is; A Jordan to waſh thine originall leproſie in Baptiſme; A City upon a mountaine, to enlighten thee in the works of darkneſſe; a continuall application of all that Chriſt Jeſus ſaid, and did, and ſuffered, to thee. Let no ſoule ſay, ſhe can have all this at Gods hands immediatly, and never trouble the Church; That ſhe can paſſe her pardon between God and her, without all theſe formalities, by a ſecret repentance. It is true, beloved, a true repentance is never fruſtrate: But yet, if thou wilt think thy ſelfe a little Church, a Church to thy ſelfe, becauſe thou haſt heard it ſaid, That thou art a little world, a world in thy ſelfe, that figurative, that metaphoricall repreſentation ſhall not ſave thee. Though thou beeſt a world to thy ſelf, yet if thou have no more corn, nor oyle, nor milk, then growes in thy ſelf, or flowes from thy ſelf, thou wilt ſtarve; Though thou be a Church in thy fancy, if thou have no more ſeales of grace, no more abſolution of ſin,Grego. then thou canſt give thy ſelf, thou wilt periſh. Per ſolam Eccleſiam ſacrificium libenter accipit Deus: Thou maiſt be a Sacrifice in thy chamber, but God receives a Sacrifice more cheerefully at Church. Sola, quae pro errantibus fiducialiter intercedit, Only the Church hath the nature of a ſurety; Howſoever God may take thine own word at home, yet he accepts the Church in thy behalfe, as better ſecurity. Joyne therefore ever with the Communion of Saints;Auguſt. Et cum membrum ſis ejus corporis, quod loquitur omnibus linguis, crede te omnibus linguis loqui, Whilſt thou art a member of that Congregation, that ſpeaks to God with a thouſand tongues, beleeve that thou ſpeakeſt to God with all thoſe tongues. And though thou know thine own prayers unworthy to come up to God, becauſe thou lifteſt up to him an eye, which is but now withdrawne from a licentious glancing, and hands which are guilty yet of unrepented uncleanneſſes, a tongue that hath but lately blaſphemed God, a heart which even now breaks the walls of this houſe of God, and ſteps home, or runs abroad upon the memory, or upon the new plotting of pleaſurable or profitable purpoſes, though this make thee thinke thine own prayers uneffectuall, yet beleeve that ſome honeſter man then thy ſelfe ſtands by thee, and that when he prayes with thee, he prayes for thee; and that, if there be one righteous man in the Congregation, thou art made the more acceptable to God by his prayers; and make that benefit of this reproofe, this conviction of the holy Ghoſt, That he convinces thee De judicio, aſſures thee of an orderly Church eſtabliſhed for thy reliefe, and that the application of thy ſelf to this judgement, The Church, ſhall enable thee to ſtand upright in that other judgement, the laſt judgement, which is alſo enwrapped in the ſignification of this word of our Text, Iudgement, and is the concluſion for this day.
As God begun all with judgement,Iudicium finale. Sap. 11. (for he made all things in meaſure, number, and waight) as he proceeded with judgement, in erecting a judiciall ſeat for our direction, and correction, the Church, ſo he ſhall end all with judgement, The finall, and generall judgement, at the Reſurrection; which he that beleeves not, beleeves nothing; not God; for,Heb. 11.6. He that commeth to God (that makes any ſtep towards him) muſt beleeve, Deum remuner atorem, God, and God in that notion, as he is a Rewarder; Therefore there is judgement. But was this work left for the Holy Ghoſt? Did not the naturall man that knew no Holy Ghoſt, know this? Truly, all their fabulous Divinity, all their Mythology, their Minos, and their Rhadamanthus, taſted of ſuch a notion, as a judgement. And yet the firſt planters of the Chriſtian Religion found it hardeſt to fixe this roote of all other articles, That Chriſt ſhould come againe to judgement. Miſerable and froward men! They would beleeve it in their fables, and would not beleeve it in the Scriptures; They would beleeve it in the nine Muſes, and would not beleeve it in the twelve Apoſtles; They would beleeve it by Apollo, and they would not beleeve it by the Holy Ghoſt; They would be ſaved Poetically, and fantaſtically, and would not reaſonably, and ſpiritually; By Copies, and not by Originals; by counterfeit things at firſt deduced by their Authors, out of our Scriptures,Tertul. and yet not by the word of God himſelf. Which Tertullian apprehends and reprehends in his time, when he ſayes, Praeſcribimus adulteris noſtris, Wee preſcribe above them, which counterfeit our doctrine, for we had it before them, and they have but rags, and thoſe torn from us. Fabulae immiſſae, quae fidem infirmarent veritatis; They have brought part of our Scriptures into their Fables, that all the reſt might ſeem but Fables too. Gehennam praedicantes & iudicium, ridemur, decachinnamur, They laugh at us when we preach of hell, and judgement, Et tamen Elyſii campi fidem praeoccupaverunt, And yet they will needs be beleeved when they talk of their Elyſian fields. Fideliora noſtra, quorum imagines fidem inveniunt, Is it not ſafer truſting to our ſubſtance, then their ſhadows; To our doctrine of the judgement, in the Scriptures, then their alluſions in their Poets?
So far Tertullian conſiders this; But to ſay the truth, and all the truth, Howſoever the Gentiles had ſome glimmering of a judgement, that is, an account to be made of our actions after this life, yet of this judgement which we ſpeak of now, which is a generall Judgement of all together, And that judgement to be executed by Chriſt, and to be accompanied with a Reſurrection of the body, of this, the Gentiles had no intimation, this was left wholly for the holy Ghoſt to manifeſt. And of this, all the world hath received a full convincing from him, becauſe he hath delivered to the world thoſe Scriptures, which do ſo abundantly, ſo irrefragably eſtabliſh it. And therfore,Ecclus. 7.36. Bernard. Memorare noviſsima & non peccabis; Remember the end, and thou ſhalt never do amiſſe. Non dicitur memorare primordia, aut media; If thou remember the firſt reproofe, that all are under ſin, that may give occaſion of excuſing, or extenuating, How could I avoid that, that all men do? If thou remember the ſecond reproofe, That there is a righteouſneſſe communicable to all that ſin, that may occaſion ſo bold a confidence, Since I may have ſo eaſie a pardon, what haſte of giving over yet? But Memorare noviſsima, conſider that there is a judgement, and that that judgement is the laſt thing that God hath to doe with man, conſider this, and thou wilt not ſin, not love ſin, not doe the ſame ſins to morrow thou didſt yeſter-day, as though this judgement were never the nearer, but that as a thouſand yeares are as one day with God, ſo thy threeſcore yeares ſhould be as one night with thee, one continuall ſleep in the practiſe of thy beloved ſin. Thou wilt not think ſo, if thou remember this judgement.
Now, in reſpect of the time after this judgement, (which is Eternity) the time between this and it cannot be a minute; and therefore think thy ſelf at that Tribunall, that judgement now: Where thou ſhalt not onelyonly …are all thy ſinfull workes, and words, and thoughts repeated, which thou thy ſelfe hadſt utterly forgot, but thou ſhalt heare thy good works, thine almes, thy comming to Church, thy hearing of Sermons given in evidence againſt thee, becauſe they had hypocriſie mingled in them; yea thou ſhalt finde even thy repentance to condemne thee, becauſe thou madeſt that but a doore to a relapſe. There thou ſhalt ſee, to thine inexpreſſible terror, ſome others caſt downe into hell, for thy ſins; for thoſe ſins which they would not have done, but upon thy provocation. There thou ſhalt ſee ſome that occaſioned thy ſins, and accompanied thee in them, and ſinned them in a greater meaſure then thou didſt, taken up into heaven, becauſe in the way, they remembred the end, and thou ſhalt ſink under a leſſe waight, becauſe thou never lookedſt towards him that would have eaſed thee of it.Bernard. Quis non cogitans haec in deſperationis rotetur abyſſum? Who can once thinke of this and not be tumbled into deſperation? But who can think of it twice, maturely, and by the Holy Ghoſt, and not finde comfort in it, when the ſame light that ſhewes mee the judgement, ſhewes me the Judge too? Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, we perſwade men;1 Cor. 5.15. but knowing the comforts too, we importune men to this conſideration, That as God preceeds with judgement in this world, to give the iſſue with the tentation, and competent ſtrength with the affliction, as the Wiſeman expreſſes it,Wiſd. 12.21. That God puniſhes his enemies with deliberation, and requeſting, (as our former Tranſlation had it) and then with how great circumſpection will he judge his children? So he gives us a holy hope, That as he hath accepted us in this firſt judgement, the Church, and made us partakers of the Word and Sacraments there, So he will bring us with comfort to that place, which no tongue but the tongue of S. Paul, and that moved by the Holy Ghoſt, could deſcribe, and which he does deſcribe ſo gloriouſly, and ſo pathetically, You are come unto Mount Sion, Heb. 12.22.and to the City of the living God, The heavenly Ieruſalem, And to an innumerable company of Angels, To the generall Aſſembly and Church of the firſt borne, which are written in heaven, and to God the Iudge of all, and to Ieſus the Mediator of the new Covenant, and to the blood of ſprinkling, that ſpeaks better things then the blood of Abel. And into this bleſſed and inſeparable ſociety, The Father of lights, and God of all comfort, give you an admiſſion now, and an irremoveable poſſeſſion hereafter, for his onelyonly Sons onelyonly ſake, and by the working of his bleſſed Spirit, whom he ſends to work in you, This reproofe of Sin, of Righteouſneſſe, and of Iudgement. Amen.