Imatges de pàgina
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his eternal generation, because that was a work of the Father's only, and in that generation the Holy Ghost had no part; but since in this judgment, which is now committed to him, the Holy Ghost hath a part, (for as we said before, the judgment is an act of the whole Trinity) we must look for a commission from the whole Trinity, and that is as he is man, for, tota Trinitas univit humanitatem", the hypostatical union of God and man in the person of Christ, was a work of the whole Trinity.

Taking it then so settled, that the capacity of this judgment, and (if we may say so) the future title to it, was given to him, as God by his essence, in his eternal generation, by which non vitæ particeps, sed vita naturaliter est1, we cannot say that Christ hath life, but that he is life, for whatsoever the Father is, he is, excepting only the name and relation of Father, the capacity, the ability is in him, eternally before any imaginable, any possible consideration of time; but the power of the actual execution of this judgment, which is given, and is committed, is in him as man: because as the same father says, Ad hominem dicitur, Quid habes quod non accepisti? When St. Paul says, What hast thou that thou hast not received? he asks that question of a man, that which is received, is received as man, for as Bellarmine in a place where he disposes himself to quarrel at some few words of Calvin's", though he confess the matter to be true, and (as he calls it there) Catholic, says, Essentiam genitam negamus, we confess that Christ hath not his essence from his Father by generation, the relation, the filiation, he hath from his Father, he hath the name of Son, but he hath not this execution of this judgment by that relation, by that filiation, still as the Son of God, he hath the capacity as the Son of man, he hath the execution; and therefore Prosper, that follows St. Augustine, limits perchance too narrowly to the very flesh, to the humanity, Ipsa (not ipse) erit judex, quæ sub judice stetit, and ipsa judicabit, quæ judicata est, where he places not this judgment upon the mixed person (which is the safest way) of God and man, but upon man alone, God hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness; but by whom? By that man

15 Augustine.

16 Cyril.

17 De Christo. 1. 2. c. 19.

whom he hath ordained God will judge still; but still in Christ; and therefore says St. Augustine upon those words: Arise O Lord, and judge the earth, Cui Deo dicitur surge, nisi ei qui dormivit? What God doth David call upon to arise, but that God who lay down to sleep in the grave? as though he should say (says Augustine) Dormivisti judicatus à terra, surge et judica terram. So that to collect all, though judgment be such a character of God as he cannot divest, yet the Father hath committed such a judgment to the Son, as none but he can execute.

And what is that? Omne judicium, all judgment, that is, omne imperium, omnem potestatem; it is presented in the name of judgment, but it involves all, it is literally, and particularly judgment in St. John, The Father hath given him authority to execute judgment, it is extended unto power in St. Matthew, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth; and it is enlarged as far farther, as can be expressed or conceived, in another place of St. Matthew, All things are delivered to me of my Father. Now all things our Saviour Christ Jesus exercises, either per carnem, or at least in carne, whatsoever the Father does, the Son does too, in carne, because now there is an unseparable union betwixt God and the human nature: the Father creates new souls every day in the inanimation of children, and the Son creates them with him; the Father concurs with all second causes as the first moving cause of all natural things, and all this the Son does too; but all this in carne; though he be in our human flesh, he is not the less able to do the acts belonging to the Godhead, but per carnem, by the flesh instrumentally, visibly, he executes judgment, because he is the Son of man, God hath been so indulgent to man, as that there should be no judgment given upon man, but man should give it; Christ then having all judgment, we refresh to your memory those three judgments which we touched upon before; first, the judgment of our election, severing of vessels of honour and dishonour; next, the judgment of our justification here, severing of friends from enemies; and the judgment of our glorification, severing sheep from goats; and for the first, of our election, as if I were under

18 John v. 27.

19 Matt. xxviii. 18.

20 Matt. xi. 27.

the condemnation of the law, for some capital offence, and going to execution, and the king's mercy expressed in a sealed pardon were presented me, I should not stand to inquire what moved the king to do it, what he said to anybody else, what anybody else said to him, what he saw in me, or what he looked for at my hands, but embrace that mercy cheerfully and thankfully, and attribute it only to his abundant goodness: so, when I consider myself to have been let fall into this world, in massa damnata, under the general condemnation of mankind, and yet by the working of God's spirit, I find at first a desire, and after, a modest assurance, that I am delivered from that condemnation, I inquire not what God did in his bed-chamber, in his cabinet council, in his eternal decree, I know that he hath made judicium electionis in Christ Jesus: and therefore that I may know, whether I do not deceive myself, in presuming myself to be of that number, I come down, and examine myself whether I can truly tell my conscience, that Christ Jesus died for me, which I cannot do, if I have not a desire and an endeavour to conform myself to him; and if I do that, there I find my predestination, I am a Christian, and I will not offer to go before my master Christ Jesus, I cannot be saved before there was a Saviour, in Christ Jesus is omne judicium, all judgment, and therefore the judgment of election, the first separation of vessels of honour and dishonour in election and reprobation was in Christ Jesus.

Much more evidently is the second judgment of our justification by means ordained in the Christian church, the judgment of Christ, it is the gospel of Christ which is preached to you there; there is no name given under heaven whereby you shall be saved, there are no other means whereby salvation shall be applied in his name given, but those which he hath instituted in his church; so that when I come to the second judgment, to try whether I stand justified in the sight of Christ, or not, I come for that judgment to Christ in his church; do I remember what I contracted with Christ Jesus, when I took the name of a Christian at my entrance into his church by baptism? Do I find I have endeavoured to perform those conditions? Do I find a remorse when I have not performed them? Do I feel the remission of those sins applied to me when I hear the gracious promises of the

gospel shed upon repentant sinners by the mouth of his minister? Have I a true and solid consolation, (without shift, or disguise, or flattering of my conscience) when I receive the seal of his pardon in the Sacrament? Beloved, not in any moral integrity, not in keeping the conscience of an honest man, in general, but in using well the means ordained by Christ in the Christian church, am I justified. And therefore this judgment of justification is his too. And then the third and last judgment, which is the judgment of glorification, that is easily agreed by all to appertain unto Christ, Idem Jesus, the same Jesus that ascended, shall come to judgment, Videbunt quem pupugerunt, Every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him"; then the Son of man shall come in glory, and he, as man, shall give the judgment, for things done, or omitted towards him as man, for not feeding, for not clothing, for not harbouring, for not visiting. The sum of all is, that this is the overflowing goodness of God, that he deals with man by the Son of man; and that he hath so given all judgment to the Son, as that if you would be tried by the first judgment; are you elected or no? The issue is, do you believe in Christ Jesus, or no? If you would be tried by the second judgment, are you justified or no? The issue is, do you find comfort in the application of the Word, and Sacraments of Christ Jesus, or no? If you would be tried by the third judgment, do you expect a glorification, or no? The issue is, are you so reconciled to Christ Jesus now, by hearty repentance for sins past, and by detestation of occasion of future sin, that you durst welcome that angel which should come at this time, and swear that time should be no more, that your transmigration out of this world should be this minute, and that this minute you might say unfeignedly and effectually, Veni Domine Jesu; come quickly, come now; if this be your state, then are you partakers of all that blessedness, which the Father intended to you, when for your sake, he committed all judgment to the Son.

21 Rev. i. 7.

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SERMON XCIV.

PREACHED AT LINCOLN'S INN.

JOHN viii. 15.

I judge no man.

THE rivers of paradise did not all run one way, and yet they flowed from one head; the sentences of the Scripture flow all from one head, from the Holy Ghost, and yet they seem to present divers senses, and to admit divers interpretations; in such an appearance doth this text differ from that which I handled in the forenoon, and as heretofore I found it a useful and acceptable labour, to employ our evening exercises, upon the vindicating of some such places of Scripture, as our adversaries of the Roman church had detorted in some point of controversy between them and us, and restoring those places to their true sense, (which course I held constantly for one whole year) so I think it a useful and acceptable labour, now to employ for a time those evening exercises to reconcile some such places of Scripture, as may at first sight seem to differ from one another; in the morning we saw how Christ judged all; now we are to see how he judges none; I judge no man.

To come then to these present words, here we have the same person Christ Jesus, and hath not he the same office? Is not he judge? certainly though he retained all his other offices, though he be the redeemer, and have shed his blood in value satisfactory for all our sins, though he be our advocate and plead for us in heaven, and present our evidence to that kingdom, written in his blood, sealed in his wounds, yet if he be not our judge, we cannot stand in judgment; shall he be our judge, and is he not our judge yet? Long before we were he was our judge at the separation of the elect and reprobate, in God's eternal decree. Was he our judge then, and is he not so still? still he is present in his church, and clears us in all scruples, rectifies us in all errors, erects us in all dejections of spirit, pronounces peace and reconciliation in all apprehensions of his judgments, by his Word and

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