Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

Vse. Rom.31.3.

John 6.28,

29.

2 Doct.

is, épyon rò sóμỡ, the vvork of the lavv. And this is the true caufe vvhy there is no peace at all to the vvicked man, because he hath the lavv of nature vvorking vvithin him, vvhich is against him, and he hath not the lavv of grace to lay the ftorms vvhich the law of nature raifeth.

From hence it commeth, that the wicked flyeth when no man purfueth, as Solomon faith, and he feareth where no fear is and Tully could fay, that all the poeticall fictions of the furies which difquieted men fo much, were but the pinchings and convulfions of mens guilty confciences, who when they had done evill, knew that they had broken the law written in their hearts,and then feared the power which they faw above them, armed with vengeance against evill doers.

St. Paul teacheth us the ufe of this point.

Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the fame.

Where doing that which is good hath a double reward, for it quiteth fear, and it crowneth us with praife. Me thinks, that this confideration of the reward fhould stirre us up to Lay:

What shall we do that we may work the works of God? Then will Chrift tell us: This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath fent.

[ocr errors]

Faith in Chrift taketh away this terrour of the Lord, as the Aooftle faith, we knowing the terrour of the Lord do perfwade men, and what is the thing to which the Apoftles doe perfwade, but to reconciliation with God through Chrift: fo that when we preach faith to you, wee preach peace, even as the Apostle faith,peace to them that are neer,& peace to them that are far off, and the God of peace fendeth his Son, the peace of his Church with the Gospell of peace.

Wee are taught here that the welfare of the Church is the grief and vexation of her enemies: Cufhan and Midian are afflicted, and in a cold fit, when they hear what God doth for Ifrael:

So did the Egyptians repine at the profperity of Ifrael, in Egypt they faid:

Behold

Behold, the children of Ifrael are more and mightier then we : Exod.1.10 Come let us deal wifely with them, left they multiply, &c.

You fee vvhat the vvorld thinks of their plots against the Church of God,they think they do vvifely, vvhen they vex the Church, this is that wifedone which the Apostle doth call, carnall, fenfuall, and divelish.

And these be the wifemen, of which it is faid; ubi fapiens, where is the wifeman, and God hath made the wifedome of the world foolishneffe.

The reafon of this oppofition is given by our Saviour, the Reaf.1. world hateth you because you are not of the world, and I have chofen you out of the world, and for this they weep at the joy of the Church, they joy at their weeping, the Prophets complaint.

Truth faileth, and he that departeth from evill, maketh himself Isa.59.15. a prey. So David.

But mine enemies they are lively, they are strong, and they that Pfal.38.19 hate wrongfully are multiplyed..

They also that render evill for good are mine adverfaries, because Verse 25. I follow the thing that good is.

They began betimes, for Cain flue his brother: and wherefore 1 Joh.3.12 flue he him?because his own works were evil,&his brothers righteous. Ratio raI can eafily bring you to the head of these bitter waters, fo tionis. foon as Adam had fallen from grace when God kept his firft affife upon earth, and convented and arraigned the tranfgreffours, the man, the woman, and the ferpent, he revealed his eternall counfell of election and reprobation, and put a difference between the feed and feed, the feed of the woman, and the feed of the ferpent.

Which is not onely to be understood of the unreconciliable enmity that is between Chrift and the Devill. For Chrift was the feed of the woman, quia folus ita femen mulieris, & non etiam viri femen fit.

But hee meant therein that enmity vvhich fhould be betwixt the elect, vvho are the feed of the vvoman by naturall generation, and the holy feed by fpirituall regeneration,

[ocr errors]

fo

fo called, Semen fanctum, and the feed of the ferpent, for Chrift calleth the vvicked genimina viperarum, generation of vipers; and to fuch he faith, Vos eft is ex patre veftro Diabolo, you are of John 8.44. your father the Devill.

Num.21.

14.

Real.2.

For this Rupertus faith, that the Bible is called the Book of the battails of the Lord, because it conteineth the ftory of the vvars betvveen these tvvo;the Church and the vvorld.

From this enmity vvhich God put betvveen the Church, and the vvorld arifeth this hatred and oppofition, fo that the profperity of the vvicked is Davids grief, the miseries of David be the vvorlds joy, the joy of the Church is the affliction of

the vvorld.

God left the Devill in his fall, and took him not up again, thereby forfaking him, he put enmity into him, and he for the hatred that he beareth to God, hath ever fince perfecuted him in his Church, because his malice cannot extend to hurt him.

And herein he is the more cruel, because he knovvs his time is but fhort.

Satan is but Gods inftrument in the afflicting of the Church, fo it is faid to the Angell of the Church of Smyrna. Behold, Revel.2.10 the Devil shall caft some of you into prison, that ye may be tryed, and ye shall have tribulation ten days.

He goes about like a roaring lion, feeking whom he may devour: if he be kept from devouring, he biteth and rendeth, and doth vvhat hurt he can, for he is a murtherer, but if God shevv the light of his countenance to them vvhom he purfueth, he is fick of that mercie, and fo are all the tents of Cuban, the vvhole brood of vipers have this venome from the old ferpent, to be afflicted at the profperity of the Church.

For inftance, I vvill prevent the time, David faith; one day telleth another, and one night certifieth another.

To morrovvs memoriall teacheth this day, this vvas the vigill of that popifh holy day, vvhich the fame Papifts here at home,and many beyond the feas,hoped to have made festivall to all posterity.

The

رم

The children of darknefs had provided to put out our light, to quench the light of our Ifrael: it was an affliction to the Papifts to behold religion and peace fetled under the government of a learned King, who knew what he believed, and why, and who had discovered himself an enemy to their Antichriftian and hereticall fynagogue.

They faw a fair iffue ready for timely fucceffion,fo gratioufly feafoned with the falt of heavenly wifedom from the first of their capacity and apprehenfion; that there remained no hope for their politique religion to finde footing in thefe Churches.

Their flourishing state of Church and Common-welth was fuch an affliction to them,that fome Zealots of their Religion, the fons of thunder could no longer contein themselves, but their study was how to put their grief upon us, and to transfer our joy upon themfelves.

They fhewed us the vvay of their rejoycing, their mercies vvere cruel, nothing could remove their grief at our vvelfare, but the deftruction ofthe head and body, root and tree, and all in a day. And they that vvould have deftroyed us thought, and the Jefuites and Priefts of the Roman Faith taught them to believe, that they fhould do God good fervice.

[ocr errors]

We fee the mercies of that religion fo clearly in this horrible Treason, that all that knovy and ferve the God of peace; have juft caufe to esteem Papifts difloyall fubjects, fecret enemies to the State; bloudy perfecutors of the Gofpell of

peace.

Our stories are full of their malice, vvrackings, imprisonments, ftarvings, burnings, hangings, and many exquifite torments executed upon innocent and holy Martyrs.

But vvhen vve remember the Povvder-Treafon, that calleth all the tormentors of the Church before them mercifull: the Devill did never roar fo loud before, the Buls of Rome never bellovv'd fuch terrour to the Church, as in that damnable and defperate attempt.

The provocation vvas their affliction at our profperity, and

griefe at our vvelfare, again, this venome of the generation of vipers boiled over, and they that bore evill vvill to our Sion, fayd, one unto another. Catesby to his confederates...

I have bethought me of a way at one instant to deliver us from all our bonds, and without any forriegn help to replant the Catholique Religion, which is to blow up the Parliament-house withGunpowder, for in that place have they done us all the mischief, and perchance God hath defigned that place for their punishment : for this Striketh at the root, and will breed a confufion, fit to beget new alte

rations.

What alterations could be here meant but those that fub felt, that our Land and Church might complain: Thou haft turned my Harp into mourning, and my Organs into the voice of them that weep.

1

How did they fwallow up the joy of this change, in hopeful expectation of fucceffe: but the children came to the birth, and there was no ftrength to bring fortho gridion L

Their own fear came upon them, For it was Catesbyes own Lenvoy, to his revealed Tréafon; But, faith he, If this take not effect (as most of this nature miscarry) the scandal will be so great to the Catholick Religion, as not onely our enemies, but our friends will with good reafon condemn us. Thus did their minds mif-give, and abodements of evil did fecretly call upon them,to fly from the anger to come,

This diverted them a while from this execution; and put them into a new project; Thomas Winter was fent (as his confeflion under his own hand reporteth) to inform the Conftable of Spaine then coming in Ambafly from the King of Spain to our Sovereigne, of the ftate of the Catholicks in England, and to entreat his mediation to folicite our King for the revocation of fome penall laws, and the admittance of the English Catholicks into the ranke of his other Subjects Winter met with him at Bergen neer Dunkirk, and by the meanes of Owen, an apoftate Traitor, he had acceffe to him, mooved him in his fuite, and had a fair promise from him to do all good offices in that errand.

But

« AnteriorContinua »