Fifty sermons preached at the parish-church of St. Mary Magdalene Milk-street, London, and elsewhere whereof twenty on the Lords Prayer / by ... Anthony Farindon ... ; the third and last volume, not till now printed ; to which is adjoyned two sermons preached by a friend of the authors, upon his being silenced.

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Fifty sermons preached at the parish-church of St. Mary Magdalene Milk-street, London, and elsewhere whereof twenty on the Lords Prayer / by ... Anthony Farindon ... ; the third and last volume, not till now printed ; to which is adjoyned two sermons preached by a friend of the authors, upon his being silenced.
Author
Farindon, Anthony, 1598-1658.
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London :: Printed by Tho. Roycroft for Richard Marriott,
1674.
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Church of England -- Sermons.
Lord's prayer -- Sermons.
Sermons, English -- 17th century.
Link to this Item
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A40889.0001.001
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"Fifty sermons preached at the parish-church of St. Mary Magdalene Milk-street, London, and elsewhere whereof twenty on the Lords Prayer / by ... Anthony Farindon ... ; the third and last volume, not till now printed ; to which is adjoyned two sermons preached by a friend of the authors, upon his being silenced." In the digital collection Early English Books Online 2. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A40889.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed October 31, 2024.

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Page 458

The Fourtieth SERMON. PART. II. (Book 40)

MATTH. VI. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Or, as
LUKE XI. 4: And forgive us our sins: for we also forgive every one that is in∣debted to us.

HAving led you through the land of the Philistines to the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey; from the mount which burned with fire, to mount Si∣on, to the city of the living God; from the acknow∣ledgment of our Sins to the sight of Gods Mercy, which, as St. Bernard calls it, is a large cloak to cover all our sins of what magnitude soever. Having spoken in general of the Mercy of God and his readiness to forgive, before we shew the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the effect and fruit which it brings forth, and what Remission of sins is, we must make a pause and stand, and a while take off our eyes from the Mercy-seat, and direct them to the fur∣ther consideration of our Sins, 1. as they are debts, 2. as they are ours; and enquire 1. why they are called debts, 2. why we are taught to appropriate them to our selves, and call them ours: And then we shall bring you to the full taste of that pleasant fruit which grows up and hath its bud and blos∣som and full beauty and perfection from this dew of heaven, the rich influ∣ence of Mercy. And in this pause or parenthesis we do but follow the me∣thod of Nature it self, which doth not present all her creatures at once, but by degrees; or of the Eleusinian Priests, qui servabant quod ostende∣rent revisentibus, who did not open all their secrets and mysteries at first, but fed the expectation of their novices with the hope of something which they reserved for a second view. First then, what S. Matth. here calleth debts, St. Luke calleth sins 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. As in Debts it is between the creditor and the debtor, so is it in Sins between God and Man. Now the Philosopher, nay common reason, will teach us that he

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that will compare two things one with the other, must know them both. And we need not make any anxious search in these matters: For who knows not what Debt is? and who knows not what Sin is? Utinam tam solicitus affectus de fugiendo peccato, quàm facilis sermo. It were to bè wished that we were as solicitous to shun them both as we are ready and active to speak of the horror and affliction they bring; that it were as easie to avoid as to know them. Thus hath it pleased our great Master, who hath taught us here to pray for the forgiveness of sins, to teach us also to know the na∣ture and quality of our Sins by that which is most familiar to our very sense. I might here lay down before your eyes the several respects in which our Sins and pecuniary Debts bear analogy and likeness; and I might also point out certain like effects and operations which they both produce in their se∣veral subjects, and which are common both to men far indebted in the world and to those who are bankrupts in the house of God: But having handled both those points at large in another place, I shall at this time pass them over, and only observe the wisdom of the holy Ghost in this expression, and that very briefly.

The words of God, the more we view them, the more plentifully do they evermore offer themselves, and, like rich minerals, assiduè pleniùs respon∣dent fodienti, the more they are dig'd, the more treasure do they yield, even 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, manifold and various Doctrines. Therefore St. Chry∣sostome tells us that in reading of the Scriptures 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, we ought to weigh every particle and syllable: For though they seem to be but like unto rivulets, yet, if a man follow them with a diligent and observant eye, they will lead him into a Sea and Ocean of matter. And this hath befallen me in the survey of this Petition. At the first view we con∣ceived this word debts to be a fit metaphor fully expressing the nature of our Sins; but having staid longer and dwelt upon it, a bright beam of light shewed it self by which we could descry the wisdom of our Saviour in making choice of this resemblance which presenteth the deformity and dan∣ger of Sin as it were to our very eye. Habemus alium sensum interioris ho∣minis isto praestantiorem, saith St. Augustine; Indeed God hath given us ano∣ther sense of the inward man, far exceeding the outward, by which we may plainly discern Good from Evil by those species and appearances in which they represent themselves. And this may do its office, and exercise its act sine acie pupillae, sine foramine auriculae, without the help of the ap∣ple of the eye or the hollow of the ear or any other sense. For quis unquam contrectavit justitiam? Who ever handled Justice? who ever saw Vice? But Man being 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as Chrysostome calls him, a creature composed as it were of a double nature, made up of a Sensitive and Intellectual part, and being 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the bond and knot, in which both are united, makes use of both, and many times apprehends things not so lively by their proper species, which they present, as from those which are forinsecal, but from some outward object more visible and familiar to him; understands things not so well by Definitions as Comparisons; as what Sins are, by Debts; what the Devil is, by a Jaylor; what Hell is, by a Prison. We do not know things our selves, unless our Understanding do convertere se ad phan∣tasmata, unless we frame unto our selves certain phantasmes, per modum ex∣emplorum, in which we may behold the things in their true shape. And when we would teach others what we already know, we do it by examples and comparisons. So the Philosopher not only in his Logicks, but also in his Physicks and Metaphysicks, proveth his rules by Letters, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and his instances are out of Arithmetick, or Geometry, or Musick, which they first learnt, and which every one had skill in. In Definitions, we see, it falls out that both Virtues and Vices either appear in different shapes,

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or else slide away, and pass by us in silence; but being thus charactered and drawn out to the very eye by art and fit similitudes they gain more force and efficacie; they press upon our phansie and busie our understand∣ing part 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and are more visible in outward things than inwords. When we hear Sin called a transgression of the Law, a prevarication, an offense against God, we are not so sensible as when we hear Sins called Debts. And therefore our blessed Saviour in this doth an∣cillari infirmitati, condescend to our infirmity, & rem invisibilem per rei visibilis formam describit, by telling us that our sins are Debts, he sheweth us the danger and the misery they plunge us into, and the deep and heavy engagements they make us liable to.

Our next enquiry is, How these Debts are ours, and why we are taught to call them so. And this is no vain unnecessary inquiry. For if they be not ours, why do we put up this Petition? or what need have we of mer∣cy and forgiveness? And if we put up our Petition in that form and stile which Christ hath prescribed, and then please our selves with I know not what extenuations and reservations, as, That they are ours indeed, but not onely ours, not fully and wholly ours; the work of our fingers, but so that there were other hands which did help to forge and shape them; OURS, but so that Fate had a share, and Adam a share, and the Devil a share, and God himself a share; that is, NOSTRA, NON NOSTRA; ours, and not ours; we do but ludere interpretationibus de peccatis nostris, delude our selves with false glosses and interpretations; and we do not breathe forth a pray∣er, but a complement, and teach God not to hear us, who are so unwilling to understand our selves, and dare equivocate with the Truth it self. And this may serve to wipe off the paint that men use to lay upon their sins; that they may not appear so ugly and deformed as they are. The World hath long since learnt this art of jugling with themselves, and been very ex∣pert and cunning, pavimentare peccata, as St. Augustine speaks, to plaister and parget their sins over. Not my sin, saith the Man, but the Womans; Not my sin, saith the Woman, but the Serpents. Oh my Fate, saith one; Oh my Infirmity, saith another; Oh the Devil, saith a third. Either they are not sins, or else sins which the Devil must father; or else compensativa peccata, sins to a good end which will recompense the sin. Neque quisquam tam malus ut malus videri velit; Nor is any one so desperately evil that he is willing to be thought so, or will own that brat which his Lust hath con∣ceived and brought forth. Omnes peccata dissimulant, & quamvìs feliciter cesserint, fructu illorum utuntur, ipsa subducunt, saith Seneca; All are apt to dissemble their faults, being content, when they are crowned with for∣tunate success, to reap the fruit and pleasure of them, whilst they subduct the faults themselves, and remove them out of the way. So that Sin, which is bred out of the corruption of every mans heart, is exposed and cast-out; and though it have many foster-fathers, yet it finds none that will acknow∣ledge it: That, as Tiberius spake of Rufus in Tacitus, a man of obscure birth and parentage, and that could not well tell from what stock or fami∣ly he descended, Videri potest Rufus ex se genitus, Rufus may seem to have been his own Father; So may we say of sin, Videri potest ex se natum; Since all disclaim it in its own shape and likeness, it may be thought also that it is grown up of it self. In other things we are not content with our own, but are ready to claim a title to that which is properly anothers. How many plagiaries have we not only of Learning, but of Virtue? how many preten∣ders to Integrity? What altercation hath there been which were the first in∣ventors of the Arts? And what an Euge do we give our selves, what a tri∣umph doth it beget, when a man can say, Ego primus inveni, I was the first author and finder out of this conclusion? What would we not have ours?

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What is not ours? Paul is ours, and Cephas is ours, and Christ is ours, and Heaven is ours; Only Sin, which we labor for, which we sweat for, which we are ambitious of, is not ours. That Adultery which I waited for till the twilight, that Murder which I thirsted for till a fit opportunity, that Deceit which I forged with that difficulty, that Iniquity which was the study of my whole life, is none of mine. Of these we love to deonerate our selves, to rid our hands of them; Et nolumus esse nostra quia mala ag∣noscimus, and ours we are unwilling to call them, because our Conscience is convinced, and Reason doth plainly tell us to our faces, that they are evil. Now this is a great evil under the Sun, and there is a soveraign reme∣dy for it shut up in this one word OURS; in which our Saviour doth not only teach us to pray against it, but doth give us catharticum, a receit to purge out this noxious and malignant humor. It is but a word, but a syllable, but as the cloud in the Book of Kings, as big as a mans hand; but as that anon covered all the heavens over, and yielded great store of rain, so may this word, this syllable, yield us plenty of instruction. But we will con∣fine and limit our discourse, and draw those lines which we will pass by, and which we will not exceed. We shall shew 1. how Sin is ours, 2. That all sins are ours; 3. That they are only ours; and lastly, That they are wholly and totally ours: that so we may agere poenitentìam plenam, as the Ancients used to speak, that our exomologesis may be open and sincere, and our repentance full and compleat. And of these in their order.

There is nothing more properly ours than Sin. Not our Bodies: For God formed Man of the dust of the ground; de limo terrae, quasi ex utero ma∣tris, * 1.1 saith Tertullian, shaped him out of the earth, as out of his mothers womb. Not our Souls: For he breathed into us the breath of life. Not our Under∣standings: For he kindled this great light in our souls. Not our Affecti∣ons: For he imprinted them in our nature. Not the Law: For it is but a beam and a radiation from that eternal Law which was alwayes with him. Quòd lex bona est, nostrum non est: quòd malè vivimus, nostrum: That the Law is just and holy and true, is not from us: but that we break this law, this we can attribute to none but our selves. Nec nobis quicquam infoelicius in peccato habemus, quàm nos auctores; And this may seem our greatest infe∣licity that when Sin lyes at our doors, we can find no father for it but our selves, and that we are the authors of that evil which destroys us. Now this propriety which we have to Sin ariseth from the very nature of Man, who was not made only Lord of the world, but had free possession given him of himself, and that freedom and power of Will which was libripens emanci∣pati à Deo boni, which doth hold the balance, and weigh and poise both Good and Evil, and may touch and strike either skale as he pleaseth. For Man is not good or evil by necessity or chance, but by the freedom of his Will, quod à Deo rationaliter attributum, ab homine verò quà voluit agitatum, which was wisely given him of God, but is managed by man at pleasure, and levelled and directed to either object, either good or evil, either life or death. So that it is not my Knowledge of evil, it is not my Remembrance of evil, it is not my Contemplation of sin, nay, it is not my Acting of sin (I mean the producing of the outward act) which makes Sin mine, but my Will. Voluntas mali malos efficit, sed scientia mali non facit scientes ma∣los, saith Parisiensis; Sin may be in the understanding and in the Memory, and yet not mine: I may know it, and loath it; I may remember, and ab∣hor it. I may do some act which the Law forbids, and yet not break that Law. But when my Will, which doth reign as an Empress over every fa∣culty of the soul, and over every part of the body, which saith unto this part, Go, and it goes; and to another, Do this, and it doth it; when this commanding faculty doth once yield and give her assent against that Law

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which is just, fit jam proprietas mali in homine, & quodammodo natura, saith Tertullian; then Sin is our choice, our purchase, our possession; and there ariseth a kind of propriety, and it is made in a manner natural unto us, because we receive and admit it into our very nature at that gate which we might have shut against it. The Adulterer may think that he is not guilty of sin till he have taken his fill of lust: but that sin was his when his will first yielded. An putas tunc primùm te intrare meritorium cùm forni∣cem meretricis ingrederis? saith St. Ambrose; Dost thou think thou then first entredst the stews when thou didst first set foot in the harlots house? Intrasti jam cùm cogitationes tuas meretrix intravit, Thou wert in already, when the strange woman entred thy thoughts. And when thy will had de∣termined its act, thou wert an adulterer, though thou knewest no woman. And St. Augustine gives the reason, Nihil enim aliud, quàm ipsum velle est habere quod volumus, For to have that which I will it is enough to will it. Villicus, si velit, nihil peccat, saith Columella; The Steward or Farmer doth nothing amiss unless he will. Homo potest peccare; sed, si nolit, non facit, saith the Father: Man may sin; but, if he sin, there can be no other reason given but his Will. For the Will is of that power as to entitle me to sin, though I break not forth into action: and when I am forced to the outward act, to quit me from the guilt of sin; to denominate me either evil or good, when I do neither evil nor good, and when my hands are shackled and bound. Lucrece was ravisht by Tarquin, and yet was as chast as be∣fore: and the Oratour said well, Duo fuerunt, & adulterium unus admisit; There were two in the fact, and but one committed adultery. For natural Reason did suggest this, Mentem peccare, non corpus, That it is the Mind and Will, and not the Body, which sins; and where there is a strong reso∣lution not to offend, there can be no offense at all. For it is not in my power, what to do, or not to do; but it is in my power to will, or not to will; to make choice, or refuse. And therefore there is no such danger in the doctrine of Freewill as some have phansied to themselves, and brought it in as an argument against it that it is dangerous: For though my Will be free, my Power is restrained, and hath bounds set it; Thus far shall I go, and no farther. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, saith Hierocles, Those things which are before me, I may choose; but those I cannot, which are out of my reach. I may will the ruin of a Kingdom, when I am not able to destroy a cottage: I may will the death of my brother, and yet not be a∣ble to lift up my finger against him. My Will is illimited, but my Power hath bounds. And indeed it was not an argument against Freewill, but a Rhetorical flourish and empty boast, which we find in Martin Luther, Veniant magnifici illi liberi arbitrii ostentatores, saith he; Let those loud and glorious upholders of Freewill come, and shew this freedom but in the killing of a flea. For he mistook, and made our Power and Will to an act all one; when it is plain and manifest, that he who cannot challenge a pow∣er to kill a flea, yet may put on a will and resolution to murder a Prince. Thus in all our actions the Will is all in all; in those which we perfect, and in those which take no effect; in good, and in evil; in virtue, and in sin. For as in our diary and register of Gods deeds we may reckon not onely those which we have done, but those which we would have done; and put in not only those alms which our hands did distribute, but those which we were willing to give, and could not: Plus enim metit conscientia quàm gesta, saith Hilary; for our Conscience may reap the fruit of more than it actually sows, and applaud us for actions which were not in the compass of our power to perform: So in the catalogue of our Sins we must place not only evil Actions, but evil Resolutions; not only Adultery, but Lust; not Murder alone, but the Thirst of revenge; not only that sin which I have

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committed, but those which I would but could not. For potest aliquis no∣cens esse, quamvis non nocuerit; Though I hurt no body, yet am I not hereby justified. And though the Will be frustrate, yet it is a Will still; & ipsa sibi imputatur, saith Tertullian: nec excusari potest per illam perficiendi in∣foelicitatem, operata quod suum est; and having determined its act, it is not excused by any intervening impediment which comes in between the outward act and the Will. And being Mistress of all our actions, of all our faculties, she it is alone when we sin, which denominates us evil. In a word, Though Sin gather strength from Custome, yet it hath its beginning and be∣ing from the Will, which doth most unhappily appropriate Sins unto us, and makes them our sins. And so I leave this enquiry, How Sins are ours, and pass to our second consideration, That all sins are ours.

It is a frequent saying in St. Augustine, and most commonly taken up by all that came after him, Adeò voluntarium est peccatum, ut si non sit volun∣tarium, non sit peccatum; Sin is a thing so voluntary, that if it be not vo∣luntary, it is not Sin. And it is true, not in this or that, but in all sins, of what degree or size soever; in sins of Malice, and sins of Infirmity; in sins of Ignorance, and those of Subreption, which steal upon us and sur∣prize us unawares. For first, in sins of Malice, which have neither Igno∣rance nor Infirmity to mitigate or allay them, but are done out of know∣ledge and custome, and proceed from a Will depraved with Hatred and Envy and Pride, or some such malignant and vitious habit; we may seem to have made a whole surrendry of our Will to study and contrive sin, to call it unto us, as the Wiseman speaks, with our words and works, & bellum le∣gibus * 1.2 inferre, to wage war with the Law and God himself. For at the first entrance of Sin we may seem to yield, as some besieged Towns which are well victualled and stored, upon tearms and composition. Some wedge of gold, some smiling pleasure, some flattering honor, some hopes or other, we entertain before we let the enemy enter. But in a while we make cap∣tivity a sport, & servitutem nostram quotidiè emimus, quotidiè pascimus, and buy our slavery at a price. We become devils to our selves, and fall when no enemy pursues. We count liberty as bondage, and, like those who live in perpetual night, think there is no day at all. We sin, and multiply our sin. And what Pliny spake of Regulus is most true here, Quicquid à Regulo fit, necesse est fieri sicut non oportet; Whatsoever we do, will be done amiss, because we do it. Now in these sins of Malice we cannot once doubt that the Will is wanting. In hac passivitate vitae, in hac diligentia de∣lictorum, in this pascivity and licentiousness of life, in this study and af∣fectation of sins, when we have incorporated and as it were consubstantia∣ted them with us, we may well call them ours: For we have risen up ear∣ly and lain down late to purchase and accomplish them. And yet the Will may seem to be more strongly besieged here, than when we fall by infirmi∣ty. For there it was but a proffer, a shew, that made her yield; but now she is held under by custome: there the enemy put up conditions; here it is, Vae victis, and the Will is led captive in chains. Notwithstanding the sins which we now commit are most voluntary. And the Philosopher gives the reason in his Ethicks, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. And Seneca renders it, Principia habuimus in nostra potestate; pòst ablati impetu: Indeed, now we are hurried about with a kind of violence; but the beginning of all was in our power, and we might at first have kept off that habit which now lyes so heavy upon us, and in a manner necessitateth us to evil. He that flings a stone hath no power to recall it; but he needed not to have flung it at all. He who hath contracted a disease by intemperance, though he groan in his sickness, yet may truly be said to be wilfully sick, because his Will did embrace that which he knew was the mother of diseases. And he who

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pretends he would leave his sin, and cannot, doth at once deceive and ac∣cuse himself: For neither is he willing to leave his sin who continues in it; and if it were true that he could not, yet he must find the cause in himself, which brought him under these hard terms of necessity. Besides, even his continuance in sin is voluntary. For though it be hard to redeem himself, yet it is not impossible. For I cannot see how the resistance of any habit can be stronger then the Will, especially, when it meeteth with Gods fa∣vour and assistance to succour it. Non est fortior nequitia virtute, saith Seneca; No habit of Vice is stronger than Virtue. Quod quasi naturaliter inolevit, poni potest, si annitaris; That which is made a kind of second na∣ture in us, may be cast off, if we seriously strive. So that not only these sins of Malice, but even our continuance in them is free and voluntary, and plainly ours. If we commit them, if we do not leave them because of some difficulty, we cannot impute it to any but our selves. The same may be said of our sins of Infirmity, when not Habit or Custome, not the Love of sin, but Fear, or Anger, or some tentation of the Flesh prevails against us. For the Will hath power over all these. There is no Anger which it may not quench, no Fear which it cannot dispel, no Tentation which it may not tread under foot. And to him that shall ask how he may withstand these we will give no other answer than Aquinas gave his sister when she askt him how she might be saved, SI VELIT, He may, if he will. And therefore though I call these sins of Infirmity, yet I do it not upon those reasons and grounds which the Schools give, but only in compari∣son of those sins which are committed with a high hand. For, first, I can∣not conceive how these Passions of the mind and tentations of the Flesh do minuere voluntarium, make our sins less ours, or less voluntary. For the Will must have some object proposed, or else it cannot exercise its act: and neither hath the beauty or horror of the object any force to determine the Will. Do I less will Adultery because Beauty enticeth me? or Theft, because Money flatters me? The Will stands as umpire between the Reason and the Sense: And, if our Sins be less voluntary because Sense prevails, our Virtues also must be the less voluntary because Reason then hath the better. Secondly, that conclusion of Aquinas, That we never betake our selves to action but we follow the dictate of the practick Understanding, and that the Will cannot will evil unless the Understanding be darkned, if it be brought to the balance of the Sanctuary, it will prove too light. Did not Achan know that all Jericho and all that was in it was devoted to * 1.3 the Lord, when he took the wedge of gold. Did not David know Adul∣tery was a sin, when he sent for Uriahs wife? And did not Peter know that he sinned when he denyed his Master? In sins of Infirmity, as they call them, Passion doth not so fully possess the soul of man as to shut out his Reason, and so blind him, that, though both these principles and premisses, No∣thing is to be done against the law of God, and, That Adultery is against the law of God, be visible and plain, yet he cannot see how to draw this conclusion, That he ought not to commit this fact. You may as well say I may see your finger which you hold up, but not the Sun which you point to. These then which we commonly call sins of Infirmity are vo∣luntary and ours. For we cannot be said properly not to know they are sins, but not well to weigh and consider it as we should; not dare operam rationi, not so seriously to attend those dictates of Reason which give the check to our Passions: Which certainly is a Sin too, and ours. And to think to alleviate our sins, or make them less ours, because of inadver∣tency, is as if we should incendium ignibus extinguere, strive to quench a common fire with coals.

We pass now to our sins of Ignorance, and those of Subreption. And

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these may seem to bring an excuse along with them. Petere veniam solemus cum imprudentes erravimus, saith he in Gellius; Pardon is easy where Im∣prudency and Error plead. And that which we did not know we cannot properly will. But even these sins, although we stand at distance, and look upon them as strangers, yet are the issues of our Wills, and we must own them as ours. For I do not mean ignorantiam Facti, the ignorance of the Fact, as if I should shoot at a beast, and kill a man: For this is no sin at all, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, but rather my misfortune than my fault. Nor do I mean that affected Ignorance on which the Will is directly carried; when I chuse to be ignorant that I may the more freely sin. For this Nolle intelligere, as the Psalmist speaks, to leave off to be wise, and to do good; Not to be willing to hear of that physick which may purge me; this maketh my way to de∣struction more easie, but withal more praecipitious; this lays me asleep in sin, and so tumbles me down into hell in a dream. But I mean those sins of Ignorance which St. Augustine speaks of Epist. 154. quando quisque benè fieri putat quod malè fit, when a man out of error thinks that to be regular which is ill done. For even these are voluntary, and ours. When I think I do that which is right, I may stand guilty nevertheless as a wilful offender. Ignorance will not excuse us; nor is any act less our sin because we think and call it our virtue. Indeed Error, as it is meerly error, cannot be a sin: For it hath no moral or culpable deformity in it; nor can it have, but in that respect alone as it is free and voluntary. A simple man may be ignorant in many points of Divinity: & licet nescire quod nescit. It is no sin to be ignorant in that which we cannot know. But as Martin Luther well spake, Non potes dicere, Volo piè errare; No man can say, I will be piously igno∣rant: For this VOLO, I will, blots-out PIE, piously, and makes Ignorance a sin. And of all ignorance the ignorance of Gods will is most inexcusa∣ble, because it lies so open to our view. How can the Idolater plead ig∣norance, where the command is so plain? Thou shalt not bow down. How can the devout Rebel stand upright, when he hears that thunder: They that resist shall receive damnation. Or what apology can the contentious Wrang∣ler find, when there is a plain Text against him: If you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you. For these are as so many lights to shew us our way; these are cryes and loud calls to keep us out of the by-paths of Error, and to redeem us from carnal conceits. And if I still will erre, they will make my Ignorance a circumstance almost as full of aggravation as my Knowledge. For Nolle scire and Nescire, To sin because I know it to be a sin, and To sin because I will not know it, are both of so foul an appearance, that it may be a question which is the wors For the one commits that sin which he knows to be a sin; and the other 〈…〉〈…〉l not know it to be a sin, that he may commit it: The one kisseth the l〈…〉〈…〉s of the harlot, though he know they will bite like a cockatrice; the ot〈…〉〈…〉 will not be perswaded that they yield any thing but honey and sweet〈…〉〈…〉s: The one will be a Papist because his Father or Grandfather was so 〈…〉〈…〉 the other will be of the same Religion for no other reason but because 〈…〉〈…〉 is resolved to hearken to no reason against it. And it is not easy to de〈…〉〈…〉ne whether of the two fools deserveth the most stripes. The one h〈…〉〈…〉 a Phrensie; the other, a Lethargy: the one sins with his eyes open; 〈…〉〈…〉e other hath cast himself into a deep sleep; and, if you come neer to 〈…〉〈…〉ake him, he will thus bespeak you, saith St. Augustine, Recede à me 〈…〉〈…〉cro, recede à me: dor∣mire volo; Depart, and leave me, I would slee〈…〉〈…〉 nor will I be awaked till I please. Onely more hope there is of the 〈…〉〈…〉er. For that Knowledge against which he sins may at last stand up agai〈…〉〈…〉in it self; and the Will, which would not use it as light to keep out 〈…〉〈…〉 may use it as a weapon to drive it out of its hold: And he that did 〈…〉〈…〉 Sin, and embrace it, may at a

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second or third view see it again, and defie it. But he that will erre be∣cause he will erre, he that so dotes on his error as wantons do on their strumpets, and will more firmly cleave to it because it is exploded, is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, incurable. And you may be sure his Ignorance is his: for he took it up as a jewel, and will not let it go, or part with it upon any perswasion. For let us conceive as favourably as we please of our ignorances and errors, there are none which in respect of our particular duties might not have bin Ours, but ours they are; none which were in my power to withstand, but are mine. If Negligence and Carelesness let them in, and a slothful Indifferency to examine them give them a fair welcome, if we make room for them when we might with ease exclude them, we cannot be ignorant to whom they belong. Ex toto enim noluisse debet qui imprudentiâ defenditur, saith the Orator; For Ignorance is no excuse if it be not alone, and where the Will is not firmly planted against it. If we either will them, or em∣brace what may promote them or not make use of all the helps to oppose them; if we will, or reject not, or be indifferent, we must own not onely our Sins of Ignorance, but our Ignorances as Sins: For both are volun∣tary, and ours.

But now, in the last place, if our sins of Infirmity, if our sins of Igno∣rance be voluntary, and ours, yet our sins of Subreption, which steal upon us at unawares, may seem to be wholy ab extrâ, from without, and not to have had principium in nobis, their beginning from us; as sudden Anger, sudden Dejection of mind, sudden Murmuring, and the like, wrought in us by the sudden assault of some evil which is distastful and contrary to our nature. For here there is no truce given to Reason, no time for con∣sulation. As when a spark of fire falls into gunpowder, you cannot tell which was first, the touch of the fire, or the flash; so here Temptation and Sin may seem to be both at once. In other sins I have some space and time to deliberate, and I may make a pause and stand, & rerum expendere causas, and weigh each scruple and circumstance. The Murderer hath time to consider that that bloud which is shed cannot be purged but by the bloud of him that shed it. The Adulterer hath space enough to see death in a kiss; and that to commit that loathsome fact, is to take the members of Christ, and to make them the members of an harlot. Such kind of sins admit of parley, and do not prevail but by degrees. But these sins of Subreption and Inadvertency lie in ambush, and strike before they are seen, and may seem rather to be certain recoylments and resultances from the Sense than any acts of the Will. Yet even these sins, sudden Anger, sud∣••••n Dejection of the mind, an Oath upon a blow, or a Curse upon a sudden an〈…〉〈…〉 violent injury, are voluntary and ours: For they had not bin if the Wil〈…〉〈…〉d stood up in any resistance or opposition: It being not necessary that a〈…〉〈…〉ow should beget a Curse, or that these so sudden surprizals should force th〈…〉〈…〉onsent of the Will. To a Christian Souldier every day is dies praeliaris, 〈…〉〈…〉day of battel; or rather in every moment of his life he must either fight 〈…〉〈…〉repare himself to fight. For even in our spiritual warfare there is not al〈…〉〈…〉es 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, a just battel drawn out, not alwaies signa ob∣via signis, but so〈…〉〈…〉mes 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, furta belli, sudden eruptions, thefts and advantages of wa〈…〉〈…〉nd the Souldier of Christ must not onely be ready to resist in the full shew〈…〉〈…〉 march of the enemy, but expect and wait for him, that when he comes, 〈…〉〈…〉her he come in pomp and with troops of tem∣ptations, whether he fig〈…〉〈…〉 gainst us in open field, or whether he come by night and steal upon us una〈…〉〈…〉, he may find us as ready for defense as he is to strike. And let us arm o〈…〉〈…〉lves with this consideration, That as he comes forward sometimes an〈…〉〈…〉ws himself in Pleasures and Beauty and Wealth and the Vanities of this 〈…〉〈…〉d, so he may come behind us in a sud∣den

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Injury, in the deceitful Ingratitude of a friend, in the Treachery of a neer acquaintance; That every moment he may come, and that this may be the moment. And so by this providence and preparation we shall defeat him, so that whensoever he comes, he shall come too late. We read in Gellius of Aristippus, who being askt by a luxurious wanton, who was in the same ship with him, Why he being a Philosopher lookt pale and disco∣vered some tokens of fear in the Tempest, when himself was not afraid, reply'd, That indeed there was not the same reason to both: for he needed not be sollicitous for the life of a wicked knave, but there was great reason there should be care taken for the life of Aristippus that excellent Philo∣sopher: But the other Stoick's answer there is more full, and comes home to our purpose. For he tells us out of Epictetus, That there be certain apparitions and Visions of the mind which the Philosophers call phantasias, Phansies, by which the mind of man at the first face and shew of an evil is touched and moved: and these are not within the power of the Will, but press-in by a kind of violence: And there are certain 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, condes∣censions, or approbations of these phansies, which are voluntary, and can have no existence but by the Will. So that the mind of the wisest man may be stirred and moved at a crack of thunder, at the fall of an house, at some sudden and unexpected message; because these quick and violent motions do officium mentis, & rationis praevertere, prevent and hinder the office of the mind, and step in between Reason and the Man. But yet notwithstand∣ing 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, he doth not consent, he doth not approve, these visions and phansies: and though his colour Change, yet there is no alte∣ration in his mind, no mutation of his Counsels, but he is constant to him∣self, and holds fast his resolution, That these things are not to be fear'd. Now if the Philosopher could gain such stability and equality of mind as not to condescend and yield to these sudden surprisals, onely by the light and direction of Nature; the Christian no doubt may be as well prepared as he, yea, make a fairer progress in the arts of living in the waies of pru∣dence and circumspection; may not onely learn to be angry and sin not, but not to be angry at all; to have a buckler ready to hold up against sudden strokes, as well as a sword to chase away an open enemy, to stand in pro∣ctnctu, upon his guard, and to be ever in a readiness; that no temptation may be sudden with him, nothing come upon him unawares. For if we slight these sins which beset us in silence, if we have not benè praeparatum pectus, a mind well prepared against them, not onely our sins of Malice, of Infirmity, and of Ignorance, but even these also of Subreption are vo∣luntary, and ours. To conclude this point; As St. Augustine, asking the question Quid bonum? replies himself, Quod nemo invitus amittit. What is Good? It is that which no man looseth against his will. So will I say, What is Evil? It is that which no man commits against his will. If it be Sin, it is Voluntary, and ours. I now proceed to shew you first, that Sin is Onely ours, and that we cannot ease our selves of any part of our burden by complaining either of Original corruption, or the Devil, or want of Grace; and, in the next place, That Sin is Wholy and Totally ours; That the Will cannot be divided, and that renisus conscientiae, the reluctancy and resistance of Conscience, in which respect some are perswaded they sin but semi∣plenâ voluntate, with but half a will, doth much aggravate the Sin, and make it more Voluntary, and more ours. And first, of them that shift the guilt of their Sins upon Adam, and alledge Original corruption for an excuse of their transgressions.

I deny not that we have derived weakness and corruption from our first Parents. But do not we to extenuate our actual sins, make Original sin more contagious and infectious, more dangerous and deadly than it is?

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We bankrupt, we criple our selves, and then cry out we were born poor and lame. We put out our own eyes, and then complain we are in the dark. We make original Weakness a pretence to cloak and cover our actual wickedness; and entitle Adam to all our sins and defects. But let us, with Aquinas, admit of that double process or derivation of Original sin, from the Flesh into the Soul, and from the essence of the Soul into every power of it; let us take it in its proper subject, the Soul, or in the Flesh, which is vehiculum, the instrument and conduit to convey it, and we shall quickly find that we may not onely subdue and overcome it, but turn it to our benefit and behoof; that though, with Sampsons Lion, it comes with open mouth to devour us, yet we may kill it by degrees, and find honey in the belly of it; that we may destroy this Viper, and like skilful Apo∣thecaries make a precious Antidote of it. This Flesh of ours is much blamed, as being a Prison of our soul, and a Weight to press it down, and the Manichee, observing that war which is betwixt the Soul and it, allowed it no better maker than the Devil, and is solidly confuted by St. Augustine: and Gregory Nyssen calls it 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, a fuliginous ill-favour'd shop: But all this will not minuere voluntarium, or make our Sin less ours. For the Father will tell us that the Angels had no bodyes, and yet they sinned, and fell. Nec suo nomine Caro infamis, saith Tertullian; Nor is the Flesh, ill-spoken of for it self: Neque enim de proprio sapit aliquid, aut sentit; for it doth neither understand, nor will, but it is of another substance, of another nature added and joyned to the Soul as an instrument in the shop of life. Therefore the Flesh is blamed in Scripture, because the Soul doth nothing without it. And it was made, not to press us down to hell, but by the Soul to be lifted up into heaven. Animus imperator est corporis, The Soul hath supream power, and is enthroned there. The Body is to be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, obedient and tractable, to be reined and checke and guided, by the Reason. Hence Athanasius compares the Soul to a Musician, and the Body to a Harp or Lute, which he may tune and touch as he please, till it yield a pleasant and delightful Harmony: Nunc pietatis carmen, nunc temperantiae modulos; now a song of Sion, a psalm of piety, a coelestial Hymne, and anon the composed measure of temperance and chastity: St. Ambrose saith, the Body was made for the Soul, as Eve was for Adam, in adjutorium, not to tempt and seduce it, but to be a helper. And what part is there of Christianity which is not performed by the ministery of the Body? Hast thou a Hand to take thy brother by the throat? Thou hast a Hand also to lift him up out of the dust. Hast thou an Ey to take in the adulteress? Thou hast no less an Ey to pity the poor. Hast thou a Tongue which is a sword to wound thy brothers reputation? Thou mayst, if thou wilt, make it thy glory, and sing praises to the God of heaven. Domus animae caro est; & inquilinus carnis, anima; The Body is the house of the Soul; and the Soul, the tenant and inmate of the Body: Desiderabit igitur inquilinus ex causa hujus nominis profutura domui; Therefore the Soul is obliged by this very name, as she is an inmate, to watch over the Body, and carefully to provide those things which may uphold and sustain it, and not to put it to slavish and servile offices, to let and hire it out to sin and uncleanness, which will bring a fearful name both upon the house and tenant, and cast both Body and Soul into hell. But what is the Instrument, you will say, if the Arts-man hath lost his skill and all his cunning be gone? If the Tenant cannot uphold it self, how shall it be able to provide for the House? If the Soul it self be poyson'd with this infection, what can follow but a jarring discord and disorder both in Soul and Body? What is my Understanding without knowledge, but an ey in the dark? What is my Will without love, but like a pilote strong and able, but deaf, and therefore unfit for the practice

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of his place? Neither can Reason command what it knows not, nor the Will act what it doth not love. It is true; two main blemishes we receiv'd in our fall, in our Understandings and in our Wills: But what we lost in Adam, we recovered again with infinite advantage in Christ. The loss of that portion of strength with which our nature was originally endued; is made up with the fullness of power in Christ. So that as St. Ambrose spake of Peters fall, Non mihi obfuit quod negavit Petrus, imò profuit quòd emendavit, so may we speak of the fall of our first parents; It hurts us not that Adam fell, for in Christ we rise again, and have power enough to avoid sin; Which if we betray, Sin is voluntary, and ours. And this di∣vides the Orthodox Christian from the Manichee and Pelagian, and placeth him in aequilibrio, in the midst between them both. Evil, saith the Manichee, is à malo principio, from a bad original; therefore Gods help alone is requi∣red to take it away; shutting out Freewill quite. Again, Evil, saith the Pelagian, comes from the freedom of the Will, and may be removed by natural force; excluding Grace quite. The Orthodox agrees that Evil is from Freewill, but that this Freedome was impaired, and is now set at li∣berty by the Grace of God; and so gives to Freewill that which belongs to Freewill, and that to Grace which pertains unto Grace. In Adam we were all lost; but in Christ we are restored. Talk of what blemishes we please, the water of Baptisme is of virtue sufficient to wash them away. Do we talk of Darkness in the Understanding? This is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, an illumi∣nation. Do we complain of the perversness of our Will? This is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the perfection of the mind, as Nazianzene calls it. Doth our Flesh molest us? Baptisme is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, a pulling off the filth of the flesh, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, a correction of that copy which was blurred and defaced. For tell me; Why were we Baptized? Why were we made Christians? Was it not to mortifie our earthly members and lusts, to dead in our selves this bitter root of sin, to cast-down strong holds, and every imagination which ri∣seth against God? I speak to Christians who have solemnly renounced the World, the Flesh, and the Devil; whose whole life should be a conti∣nual warfare and victory over Sin. The Schools tell us that Original sin is the same and equal in all; but that, as a Fever, it is more or less malignant according to the several complexions of men; or as Water, which is the same wheresoever it flows, but doth not run with that force or violence in a plain or even-ground as down a hill: And according to these several operations we make our complaints. It is my Melancholy, may the Envi∣ous; It is my Choler, may the Murderer; It is my Bloud, may the Wan∣ton; It is my Appetite, may the Glutton say. But this is not to make the right use of Original corruption, which remains in intimis naturae, in our very nature; not to make us think we are weaker than we are, but to make us rouse-up our selves and do all we can against this domestick enemy. The Envious hath power left to purge his Melancholy, and to rejoyce at the prosperity of his brother; the Murderer, to suppress his Choler; the Wanton, to quench that fire in his bloud; the Glutton, to beat down his body by fasting and abstinence. To conclude; If after our ingrafting into Christ we still complain of our Original weakness, we do but take that doctrine with the left hand which is reached out unto us with the right, or, rather we chop off our right hand with our left, and by a sinister and need∣less conceit of our own weakness, deprive our selves of that strength which might have freed us from those sins which now are truly ours, because we cannot derive them from any other fountain than our Wills.

But now, in the next place, if we cannot shift our sins upon Adam and that Original weakness which we derived from his loyns, we may perhaps

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upon the Serpent, upon the Devil, upon that Behemoth, who can take-in a Christian with his mouth, upon that Leviathan, into whose nostrils we can∣not put a hook. Here we cannot but remember the battel, and not venture our selves upon his great strength. But let us but weigh his strength, and consider the weapons which he fights withal, and we shall find that though they be fiery darts, yet we may quench them, that he hath more will than power to hurt us, and that his iron is but as straw to a stout resolved Chri∣stian. To ask why God did create the Devil, and left him still to be a tempter, is a question full not onely of weakness, saith St. Chrysostom, but of ingratitude. For God spared the utter confusion of Satan as men use to spare the lives of their slaves, that they may put them in chains to do such service as may be beneficial to them. And he hath lengthened Satans chain a little, which he might have took-up shorter, for a purpose of his own, to do him service in the tryal and exercise of his children, to try their constancy, and to bring them to the glory of that victory which they could not obtain without an enemy. From hence there ariseth glory to God, and profit to us, who are taught and enabled to make use of the De∣vil himself. Our comfort and encouragement is, that though he fight against us with malice and craft, yet he is destitute of all strength and power to second and back them. And as his craft is defeated by the discovery, so is his Malice made frustrate by opposition. And when both these fail by resistance, he cannot shew any Sword or Power, as Julius Caesar did when he was denyed the Consulship, and say, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, This shall give it me. He is termed indeed a Lion; but it is not for his strength, but his fiercness and malice. Non tantas vires habet, quantos conatus; He is more eager than strong. There may be as much malice in a Waspe as in a Lion. And he is called a roaring lion, for his greediness of the prey. But to open the mouth, to be greedy of the prey, to seek to devour, argue no strength at all. If he prevail when he cometh, it is because we will be overcome with noise. All the weapons St. Paul gives them are but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, devises and enterprises, * 1.4 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, wiles and circumventions. Now the Glossators tell us that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are all one. And then all his power is but to come about us, to use a kind of art to deceive us. And noscere inimici artes magna pars victoriae, to know his arts and wiles and devises is to overcome him. Though his infinite malice searcheth and sifteth us, and winds it self, and runneth round in a circle, yet we may find him out at every point, at every turn; and then God will save us out of the mouth of this Lion. The truth is, our fear and cowardise, and our negligence in buckling on our armour of defense, that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the whole armour of God, as the Apostle calls it, hath made him more Devil than he is, made him that Dragon in the Revelation, and that wild Boar of the forrest, whom none can meet without destruction; hath given him more teeth and more sting than he hath, to devour those whom he could but bite, and to break their heads whose heels he could but bruise. Satis enim clarus apud timentem quisquis timetur, saith he in the Historian: Fear makes a child a giant to him that fears him. This conceit of the Devils great power brought a sort of He∣reticks into the world which were therefore by Epiphanius called Satani∣ani, because they worshipt and adored Satan himself, as the Romans did their Goddess Febris, nè noceret, that he might not hurt or molest them. It is a true saying, Primi in praeliis vincuntur oculi, that the first thing in a souldier that is overcome is his Ey: And that which foyls a Christian is a conceit that the Devil is stronger than he is. For wherein lyeth his great strength? Not in any force, but in perswasion; not in violence, but in fraud; in proposing objects, and laying snares; in suggestions and temp∣tations. He laies a wedge of gold in thy way, presents a Bathsheba to

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thy eye, shews thee the glory of the world: And what are all these to the wis∣dom of a Christian, Cuires sapiunt ut sunt, who judges of things, not by the appearance, but as they are? That I stumble at a cold of earth, that I am bound with a kiss, that I put-on these golden fetters, is not from any force of Satans, but from my self. For as Hannibal first overthrew the Romans, and then fought against them with their own weapons; or as the Romans used the Carthaginian Ramme to beat down the walls of Carthage; so the Devil seizes upon our Sense, our Will, our Appetites, which God had ordained to be weapons of righteousness, to fight against principalities and powers, and with these weapons he fights against us; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as Na∣zianzene speaks, He makes use of our selves to fight against our selves, and fights not so much with his Temptations as with our Desires; not so much with Beauty as with our Lust; not so much with his Suggestions as with our Affections; not so much with his Insinuations and Wiles and Enterprises as with our own Wills. The Devil is that Wicked one, totius crroris arti∣fex, the worker of all Evil in us; but yet he is bound and in chains, and cannot 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, pass those bounds and limits which are set him. And his bounds are a Snare, a Complement, an Allurement, a Suggestion: Hitherto he can go and no further. He comes not to compulsion, necessita∣tion or violence. For if this were permitted, actum esset de humano genere, Men were far worse than the Beasts that perish. Quantumcunque ignavis & timidis videri potest, unum animal est, as Darius spoke of Alexander: How great soever our Sloth and Fear doth make him, yet he is but a Ser∣pent to insinuate, or a Lion to roar; and his noyse may serve as a warning∣peece against his secret approach, his Malice may teach us that providence which may arm us against his Craft: that when he fawns upon us in a pleasing temptation, we may remember he hath teeth; and when we have beat him off as a Lion, we may provide against him as a Serpent. For whether he roar or ly in ambush; whether he open his mouth wide in a tempest of persecution, or whisper to us friendly in prosperity, he cannot conquer us but with our own strength: and, si non adjuvamus, vincimus, if we do not help him, he is overcome. The very manner of his working is an argument that he hath no power to force us unto sin: For, if he had, he would never 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, come about us, hunt and seek out opportunities and occasions to overthrow us; but would 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, openly fight against us, make his sword drunk in our bloud, and devour us at once. He would presently besot our Understanding, and put-out the ey of our Reason, and not circuire terram, make his perambulations and circuits about us. He would not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, be at that pains to make a net to catch us. But now finding himself in a chain, and his power none at all, he deals with us as those do who surprise cities, or through crooked and by-waies u∣surpe a Tyranny which they cannot purchase with their sword. And as their course and practice is, to get a party of faction in that place, and those commonly of the meaner and baser sort, people easier to be deceived and corrupted by some present gratuity to set their country to sale, so doth the Devil insinuate with that common people of Man, the Senses and Affections, sets upon the weaker and womanish parts of Man, those parts which are more easie to be invaded and more seduceable than our Reason or Under∣standing. And these receive his grosser temptations, and send them up refined and drest to the nobler faculties. Therefore we must learn wisdom from our enemies craft, milites in eo loco collocare quo hostis insidiatur, to plant our forces there where the Devil strives to make an entry, raise up bulwarks against him to keep him out; and that we may retein the inno∣cency of the Dove, be as wise as Serpents. And if we neglect that art and those means which will defeat him; if we suffer him to work in the

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mine, and look on and tremble, dally till he hath blown us up; we have not lost our fort, but betrayed it. And talk what we will of his great strength; though he flattered as a Serpent, or roared like a Lion, though he brought all his fiery darts along with him, yet he did rather steal a victory than win it. In a word, his insinuations, his suggestions, his strong temptations could not force our Will; but the Will yielded without resistance, and our fall is vo∣luntary. If we would not, we had not sinned: but because we would, our sins, for all these outward incitements and allurements, are ours.

We come now to the last complaint; which is most unjust of all, as be∣ing put up against the Justice and Goodness of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not. St. Hilary passeth this heavy censure upon it, Impiae est voluntatis existimare idcircò se ea quae sunt credentium propria non habere quòd sibi à Deo indulta non fuerint; It is a sign of a wicked heart, when we are destitute of those riches which are proper to believers, to pretend we therefore want them because they were not given us of God. One would think indeed that M••••, being a reasonable creature, capable of Gods law and precepts, having both Understanding to assent and Will to embrace them, there needed no other helps than the light of the Law, the beauty of the Reward, and the terrour of the Punishment which disobe∣dience incurs; that there needed only the hopes of life, and the thunder∣bolts of Gods judgments: But God is not gratiae angustus, as Ambrose speaks, sparing of his favours, no niggard of his grace; but seeing the many snares in the midst of which we are placed, the many temptations which we are to cope withal, is rich unto all that call upon him, and hath not only set up the law against Sin, and the eternal anguish of punishment a∣gainst the pleasure which is but for a season, and the eternity of the reward against the bitterness of those momentany afflictions which may tempt us to evil; but hath also afforded us his grace and assistance, as a staff by which we may walk. And as when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, he rained down Manna upon them, and led them as it were by the hand, till they came into the land of promise, and tasted of the milk and honey there; so God deals with all that call upon his name, whilst they are in via, in this their peregrination, ever and anon beset with Philistines and Amalekites, with those temptations which may deter them in their journey, he rains down abundance of his Grace, and is ready at hand to assist them against the violence of temptations, till he have brought them to the celestial Ca∣naan, where is fulness of joy for evermore. And therefore, as he hath gi∣ven us a command to try our obedience, so he hath commanded us also to call upon him for assistance that we may obey. Et scimus quià petentes li∣benter exaudit, quando hoc petitur largiri quod jubet; And we know it is im∣possible he should deny us our request, when we desire him to grant us that which he commands. We beg his assistance against the lusts of the flesh; he commands us to mortifie them: against the pollutions of the world; his will is our sanctification: against the Devil; he bids us tread him under foot. And can we once doubt of his help and assistance to the performance of that which he exacts at our hands as service due and pleasing to his Ma∣jesty? The defect of Grace cannot be in the conduit, in the conveyance, but in the vessel which should receive it: Which if it be vas obturatum, a vessel shut up or closed, or full already of filth and uncleanness; or if it do 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, leak, or let Grace slip; no marvel then if the dew of heaven fall beside, and we remain dry and empty. And what greater folly then to complain of the Want of that Grace which we might have had, nay, which we had neglected, and fell with our staff in our hand? were evil, when we had helps enough to be good? when we shut our eyes, to cry out there is no light? like the foolish old woman in Seneca who was blind

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through age, yet could not be perswaded but that the room was dark. Our error and grand mistake is, that whereas God is bountiful of his Grace to assist us, we phansie to our selves an irresistible and necessitating Grace, as if God did raise up children unto Abraham out of very stones. And there∣fore we conceive, that when we rusht upon sin as the horse doth into the battle, God might have restrained us and kept us back; when we were a∣dulterers, he might have made us chast: And when we sin, we wipe our mouths, and comfort our selves, that, if God give us grace, we will not sin again. And what is this but to turn the Grace of God into wantonness, and magnifying his Grace, to entitle him to our sins? It is not here, The Lord shall fight for thee, and thou shalt sit still; but thou must buckle on thy armor, and make use of his assistance when it offers it self; thou must be as officious to wait on that as that is on thee. If thou hast a good thought, by his Grace thou hast it; and thou must not be so unkind as to stifle it: If a holy intention, it is his Grace that raised it; and it is a kind of sa∣criledge to pull it down: If a strong resolution, it is Grace that built it; and thy care must be that it fall not to the ground. To attribute all unto God, is both very safe and very dangerous; safe, in our thanks and acknow∣ledgments; dangerous, in the performance of our duty: safe, when we work our selves; but dangerous, when we put our hands into our bosome. For he that will not rowse himself up and make haste to fly from Sin upon a phansie that he wants Grace, hath already despised the Grace of God, and cannot plead for an excuse the Want of that which he might have had; nay, which he had, and chased from him. And in this respect, when we have light, and will not work in the light; when we have Gods Grace assisting us, and will not make use of it; when we have determents from Sin, and yet will embrace it, we must need stand guilty as wilfull offenders, and con∣fess that it was neither Adam, nor the Devil, nor the shortness of Gods hand did betray us, but our own will; that though we were weak in the first Adam, yet we recovered our strength in the second; that the Devil would have fled if we had resisted; and that Grace was not wanting unto us, but we were wanting unto Grace; and therefore stand no more to de∣ny or interpret this conclusion, but subscribe to it with tears of bloud, and make an unfeigned and sincere confession, That the sins which we have committed are OURS, and only OURS.

And now, in the last place, as they are only Ours, so they are fully and totally Ours: And if we strive to make a defalcation, we add unto their bulk, and make them more mountainous than before. And as we do minuendo numerum augere, by seeking to make our sins fewer then they are, sin more, and so increase their number; so by attempting to make them less we make them greater. Excusando exprobramus; Our Apology up∣braids us, and we condemn our selves with an excuse. Some perswade themselves their sin is much less because they sinned not (as they say) with full consent, but renitente & reluctante conscientia: Their mind was long pausing and fluctuating before they did it. But this is so far from extenua∣ting the fault, that it doth much aggravate it: For a sin it is in the avoid∣ing of Sin to make any stand or deliberation at all. Deliberanda enim omnino non sunt in quibus est turpis ipsa deliberatio, saith Tully; There is no room for doubt and consultation where the consultation it self is foul and blameable. Why should I halt so between these two, the Committing or not committing of sin? Why should I doubt, when I know it to be sin? Why should I ask my self that foolish question, Shall I, or shall I not? when the sin is so manifest, and death so visible in the sin: These pawses and reluctations, which we make our 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, which we subborn as com∣forts and excuses of sin, are nothing else but certain presages and fore∣runners

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of wilfull transgression. How readest thou? What are the Com∣mandments? Thou shalt not commit adultery; Thou shalt not steal: Never stand inaking demurs, nor asking of questions, but resolve not to do them. For as Mucianus in Tacitus well observeth of the common souldiers in time of faction; so is it here, Qui deliberant, desciverunt; They who delibe∣rate, and are uncertain which side to cleave to; have in effect revolted al∣ready. We take notice of that in our sins which Seneca says is observable between the wanton and his paramour, Grata sunt, si impulerunt; gratiora, si essregerunt; They are admitted friendly when they knock, or flatter, or steal; but have double welcome when they break in upon us; when they enter, though we struggle and strive with them. For then we think we may say, We have sinned indeed, but against our will. But this is nothing else but, as Tertullian says, gaudere de contumeliâ nostrâ, to boast and tri∣umph in our reproach; or, as the Apostle speaks, to rejoyce in our shame; and we know all such rejoycing is evil. A man that sinneth at this rate, a∣gainst the dictates and checks of his Conscience, is carried as it were by a mighty torrent, which, as the Orator describes it, doth Saxa divolvere, pontes dedignari, tumbles stones before it, breaks down bridges, and makes a way where it finds none: So the Will here, being vehement and stubborn, maketh haste to sin, and breaketh through all obstacles that stand in its way: And though Sin appear not in its best dress, vestitior & ornatior, gay and trim, but clothed about with Death, yet she runneth to embrace and hug it: Though she hear the Law thundring out dreadful curses, though she have a voice behind her and a voice within her, saying, Touch not, Taste not; this pleasant cup will be bitterness in the latter end; yet she readily taketh it from the Tempters hand, and drinketh it off with greediness, as if it were pure honey, without any mixture of gall and poyson. Surely this is to commit sin with an high hand and with a stiff neck. This maketh Sin exceeding sinful. Thus Murder and Adultery were greater crimes in Da∣vid then in an uncircumcised Philistine; and Treason was of a fowler aspect in Judas an Apostle than it would have been in Barabbas a murderer. Hence our Saviour denounceth a heavy woe against Chorazim and Bethsai∣da, because they did per tantorum operum detrimenta Christum contemnere, multiply their sins when he multiplyed his mighty works and the means and helps by which they might have avoided them; and were very evil, when each miracle bespake them to be very good.

To conclude this point; As the Orator tells us, Honesta verba moribus perdidimus, that by our evil manners we have lost the proper signification of many good and honest words; so, on the other side, we have almost lost the knowledge of our evil manners and sins in words, in deputativis & assumptivis, in those borrowed appellations and assumptitious names which we have given them; calling them sins of Infirmity, when we have strength enough to avoid them; sins of Ignorance, when we dammed up our own lights; sins not fully voluntary, when we are worse then horse and mule, and will take neither bit nor bridle; sins committed with half awill, when our Conscience checks our Will, and cannot prevail. But names cannot change things. Men are the same, though they have new names given them. My servant is not a Gentleman, though I call him master. Neither are our sins less sinful for all the excuses wherewith we disguise them: The Poet telleth us that men indeed call things thus or thus, but that the Gods have other names for them: So let us give what titles we please to our sins, and pretend what we will of them, as that they were done out of Infirmity, or Ignorance, not with a full consent, with half a will, yet 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the sentence and judgment is Gods, and he hath other names for them. And our best way and safest course were, in rebus Dei uti sermone Dei, to use

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Gods own language, and call them as he doth; to hate them, as he doth; to judge our selves, that he may not judge us; to punish sin our selves, that he may not punish us for it; and, as it is enjoyned in Auricular confession, to lay open and naked, as near as we can, every circumstance before him. For this is the true method of reckoning with God, and casting up our ac∣counts, the true valuation of our debts. Thus we may hide our sins by revealing them; we may diminish them by addition; by making them great we may make them little, and by making them many make them none at all; and so fit and prepare our selves to receive illapsum misericordiae, the sweet dew and influence of Gods Mercy in a plenary absolution, in the forgive∣ness and remission of our sins. And so I pass to that which, when we first enter'd upon this Petition, we reserved for the clause and shutting up of all, and for the last thing to be consider'd, to wit, What is meant by Remission and Forgiveness of sins.

When we say, Forgive us our trespasses, we beg of God, that although he may most justly, yet he will not punish us for our sins, but so remit them, as to free us from that death which is the only wages due unto sin; in a word, that he will justifie us freely by Faith in Christ, and impute to us, as he did to Abraham, faith for righteousness. The people of Israel when they saw that Moses delaid to come down out of the mount, began to murmur against God, and to refuse him for their leader, calling unto Aaron, Up, make us Gods which shall go before us. And they had a God fit for them. Nam pro∣cessit eis bubulum caput, saith Tertullian, For they had an oxe (or rather a calves) head to lead them. So when men will not follow that way which God and Religion leads them, nor rest satisfied with the SIC SCRIPTUM EST, Thus it is written, commonly they make them Gods of their own, and have some such idol as the Israelites had, some phansie of their own, to go before them. Est haec perversitas hominum, salutaria excutere; Such is the folly and perversity of men, to examine those things which are tender'd to them for their health; to question their physick, not to take it down; and when a pearl is laid open before them, not to buy it, but ask what it is. There is no point more plain, and yet none hath been more stumbled at then the doctrine of Justification and Remission of sins. No sooner was this seed sown by the Author and Finisher of our Faith, but the Devil ming∣led his tares with it, which were ready to choak it. Ebion and Cerin∣thus, denying the Divinity of Christ, and conceiving that it dwelt in him indeed, but so as in one of the Prophets, though in a more eminent manner, conceived also that we had not remission of sins by Christ alone, but by the observation of the Law. The Manichees thought cujusvis esse credere, that it was a matter of no great difficulty to believe, and that faith was as easie as a thought; and therefore that severity of life, contempt of the world, and to sell and forsake all that we have, were wrought out with care and solicitude; were that which would make us acceptable before God, and make us stand upright at the great day of tryal. Neither did these monsters only blemish this doctrine, but it received some stain also from their hands who were its stoutest champions. Not to mention Clemens Alexandrinus, Theophilus, Cyprian, Hilary, and others, St. Augustine, that great pillar of the truth, and whose memory will be ever pretious in the Church, though he often interpret the word Justification for Remission of sins, yet being deceived by the likeness of sound in these two words JUSTIFICARE and SANCTIFICARE, doth in many places confound them both, and make Justification to be nothing else but the making of a man just. So in his Book De Spiritu & Litera, c. 26. interpreting that of the Apostle, Being justified freely by his grace, he makes this discant. Non ait PER LEGEM, sed PER GRATIAM; He doth not say by the Law,

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but by Grace. And he gives his reason, Ut sanet gratia voluntatem, ut sa∣nata voluntas impleat legem, That Grace might cure the Will, and the Will being freed might fulfill the Law. And in his Book De Spiritu & Gratia, he saith, Spiritus Sanctus diffundit charitatem, quâ unâ justi sunt quicunque justi sunt; The holy Spirit powers out his love into our hearts, by which Love alone they are just whosoever are just. And whosoever is but little conversant in that Father shall soon observe that where he deals with the Pelagian he makes the grace of Justification and of Sanctification all one. Now that which the Father says is true, but ill placed. For in every Chri∣stian there is required Newness of life and Sanctity of conversation: but what is this to Justification and Remission of sins, which is no quality in∣herent in us, but the act of God alone? As therefore Tully speaks of Ro∣mulus, who kill'd his brother, Peccavit; pace vel Quirini vel Romuli dixerim; By Romulus his good leave, though he were the founder of our Common-wealth, he did amiss: So with reverence to so worthy and so pious a Saint we may be bold to say of great St. Augustine, that, if he did not erre, yet he hath left those ill weighed speeches behind him which give countenance to those foul mishapen errours which blur and deface that mer∣cy which wipes away our sins. For Aquinas, in his 1a 2ae q. 113. though he grant what he cannot deny, because it is a plain Text, That Remission of sins is the Not-imputation of sins; yet he adds, That Gods wrath will not be appeased till Sin be purged out, and a new habit of Grace infused into the soul; which God doth look upon and respect, when he forgives our sins. Hence those unsavory tenets of the Romish Church, That Justificati∣on is not a pronouncing but a making one righteous, That inherent holiness is the formal cause of Justification, That we may redeem our sins and pu∣chase forgiveness by Fasting, Almes-deeds, and other good works. All which if she do not expose to the world in this very garb and shape, yet she so presents them that they seem to speak no less; so that her followers are very apt and prompt to come towards them and embrace them even in this shape. And although Bellarmine by confounding the term of Justi∣fication, and distinguishing of a Faith informed with Charity and a Faith which is not, and by putting a difference between the works of the Law and those which are done by the power and virtue of the holy Spirit, and by allotting no reward but that which is freely promised, and promised to those who are in the state of grace and adoption, though by granting that the Re∣ward doth far exceed the dignity of our Works, he striveth to bring the Church of Rome as near to St. Paul as he can, and lays all the colours he hath to make her opinion resemble his, yet when he tells us that the Good works of the Saints may truly satisfie the Law of God, and merit eternal life, when he makes our Satisfaction go hand in hand with Christs, and that Fasting and Prayer and Alms are satisfactory not only for punishment, but for all pu∣nishment, and, which is more, for the guilt it self, he hath in effect unsaid what formerly he had laid down concerning the free Remission of our sins, and made so wide a breach between St. Paul and their Church, as neither St. Peter nor all the Saints they invocate are able to close; In a word, he speaks as good sense as Theodorus Antiochenus doth in Photius his Biblio∣theca, who makes a twofold Forgiveness of sins; the one, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 of those things which we have done; the other, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, an Impeccancie, or Leaving off to Sin. So that we may say with Photius, What this Forgive∣ness is, or from whence it is, is impossible to find out. No doubt, God taketh notice of the graces he hath bestowed on his children, and registreth every good work they do, and will give an eternal reward not only to the Faith of Abraham, the Chastity of Joseph, the Patience of Job, the Meekness of Moses, the Zeal of Phinehas, the Devotion of David, but even

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to the Widows two mites cast into the treasury, to a cup of cold water gi∣ven to a thirsty Disciple. Yet most true it is, that all the righteousness of all the Saints cannot merit forgiveness. And we will take no other reason or proof for this position but that of Bellarmins, Non acceptat Deus in ve∣ram satisfactionem pro peccato nisi justitiam infinitam: God must have an infi∣nite satisfaction, because the sin is infinite. Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Shall I bring the merits of one Saint, and the supererogations of another, and add to these the treasury of the Church? All these are but as an atome to the infinite mass of our Sin. Shall I yet add my Fasting, my Alms, my Tears, my Devotion? All these will vanish at the guilt of Sin, and melt before it as wax before the Sun: We must therefore disclaim all hope of help from our selves, or any or all creatures in earth or in heaven. It is only the Lamb of God who taketh * 1.5 away the sins of the world; the Man Christ Jesus is the only Mediatour be∣tween * 1.6 God and Man; He alone is our Advocate with the Father, and the * 1.7 propitiation for our sins; His bloud cleanseth us from all sin; In him we have * 1.8 redemption through his bloud, the forgiveness of sins; In him we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. In his name therefore who taught us thus to pray, let us put up this Petition, Forgive us our debts; and our prayer will be graciously heard, and we shall be accepted in the Be∣loved; * 1.9 all our Debt will be remitted through the merits of our Surety, who hath made full satisfaction to the Justice of God for us, and hath cancelled our Bond, and blotted out the hand-writing that was against us, and taken it * 1.10 away, nailing it to his cross, and so obteined eternal redemption for us. I have * 1.11 done with the Petition, Forgive us our debts; and proceed to the Condition, As we forgive our debtours. Of which I shall now treat very briefly, because I have spoken fully of it heretofore.

This Petition hath this peculiar and proper to it self, which none of the rest have, that it is put up with a Condition, Forgive us, as we (or as it is in St. Luke, for we also) forgive. And this Condition is taken up by our Saviour, who in his wisdom thought it not enough to joyn it to the Petiti∣on which conteins all the hope and expectation and happiness of a Chri∣stian, to make it a condition without which there can be no Remission of sins; but saepius retractare, to reinforce it again and again, as here at the end of this Prayer, and again in the eighteenth Chapter of this Gospel. Which is as a seal to make the Condition authentick. Therefore as we use to take more notice of those speeches which men of great place and wisdom have often in their mouths than of those which fall from them by chance; so we may register this REMITTE DEBITORIBUS, Forgive those that trespass against you, in the leaves of Eternity, as the Apothegm and sentence of our blessed Lord and Saviour, who is yesterday and to day and the same for ever, and which he commends to his Disciples as a lasting and standing duty to the worlds end, to go hand in hand with Remission of sins, to keep time with it, and to be in date till Time shall be no more, till Christs enemies and ours, till the last enemy, Death, shall be destroyed, when neither Christ nor we his brethren shall have an enemy to forgive. And because our Saviour hath made this Condition so remarkable and considerable by joyning it to that Petition which so nearly concerns us, and in a manner consecrated it for ever by so many reinforcements, set it apart as an Anathema, not to be toucht or dallyed with, but to be preserved for ever in the living Temple of the holy Ghost, we will briefly lay down a few reasons why our Saviour may be thought thus to have annext and reinforced it, why he did thus press and urge it. We may conceive them to have been these. 1. To forgive our enemies is a duty full of difficulty, hard and irksome to flesh and bloud, and therefore had need to be set out and commended by that neerness and

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affinity it hath to so great a benefit, and by a kind of amiable reflexion from that which is most welcome unto us. 2. This duty of Forgiving our brethren is most proper to the Gospel: and was therefore there set-down in a more plain and lively character than formerly it had bin either in the Law of Moses or in the book of Nature, extended and stretched-out be∣yond those bounds and limits in which the Jew and Heathen did under∣stand it, enlarged and perfected by him who fought not whilst he lived, but triumphed being dead; whose every word and work was the issue of his Tenderness and Compassion. 3. It is a duty most necessary to Chri∣stians, whom that Religion which they profess doth expose to all the af∣fronts and injuries of wicked men, and point-out as a mark for the world to shoot at; because no power and resistance is so available against these as Meekness and Patience. For a Christian overcomes not by noise and violence, but by being silent and still. By the strict observance of this Condition the number of Christians hath been enlarged, and by the neglect of it many inconveniencies broken into the Church, which have not only spoiled her tender grapes, but brought-in bryars and thorns; not only hindred the growth of Christianity, but made it a reproach to them which are with-out.

First, this condition stands in its proper place, joyned with Remission of sins, the hope of which benefit may encourage us to make the Condi∣tion good, or the fear of losing it fright us from all thought of revenge. For as Captains upon any dangerous adventure use to tell their Souldiers, de summa rerum certari, that they are to try out the main matter, and to fight for all, either to fall as slaves, or to be victorious with liberty and renown: So our Saviour, to enforce this duty, and to strengthen us against those affections which may bare down our patience, and make way to the desire of revenge, hath placed these two, our everlasting Happiness or Misery, before our eyes; hath set before us both Life and Death; and told us that by the performance or neglect of this duty we purchase or forfeit all. For both these must go together, Gods Forgiveness of us, and our For∣giveness of our brother; or else both these will meet, our Revenge and Gods severe and heaviest Judgment. Indeed the Condition is very hard; To forgive an injury, Not to seek revenge, To forgive seventy times seven times, that is, To forgive all injuries at all times, To teach our Charity to keep time with all the Disgraces which men can fling upon us, grande, du∣rum, difficile; sed magna sunt praemia: This is a hard matter, full of difficulty; but then look back upon Remission of sins, and that will make Disgrace honourable, an Injury a benefit, and Oppression advantageous. And now, though it be difficult, yet we may pace through it with ease. Nec est vir fortis cui non crescit animus in ipsâ rerum difficultate; He is but faint-hearted who doth not gather strength by the sight of difficulty, especially when he may look beyond it, and at the end of all see Mercy ready to embrace him, and Heaven open to receive him. It is an observation of St. Augustines, Magna pars legis Divinae hominibus à Deo propter homines data est, That a great part of the Divine law was given to men for the behoof and good of every man. God is easie to be appeased, if we were so: but he first pro∣vides for the weaker part, for Man. If we read our Saviours Sermon on the mount, we shall find that the greatest part of the precepts it contains, concerns the mutual conversation of men amongst themselves. We stand in need of our brothers reconcilement; but God doth not stand in need of ours. Therefore it hath been the wisdom of those who made laws, to curbe and restrain this desire of revenge, because by the light of nature they saw it was very dangerous to all Societies, and that it would in time destroy the greatest kingdoms, and lay their honour in the dust. But yet

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no policy did ever tye it up so short, and give it so little line, as our Sa∣viour hath done, who hath threatned to punish a revengful thought, which is but a thought, and hath but the endurance of a thought, with everlasting fire; and hath promised eternal life to none but those who possess their souls in patience, and are ready to kiss that hand that strook them. And in this he lays his axe to the very root of the tree, to that which is most radicated and grows closest to the very nature of man. Habet enim mens nostra sublimè quiddam & erectum, & impatiens superioris, saith the Orator; For the mind of Man is very lofty, and loves to advance it self; and there∣fore is most impatient of injuries: because whosoever doth them, doth them as a superiour, and though he sit at our footstool, yet seems to usurp a kind of power over us. Not only the rich man, when he takes the poor mans lamb, but the poor man, if he doe not bow, doth seem to arrogate to himself what indeed he hath not. And all desire of revenge proceeds from Pride, quae ultima exuitur, which sticks close unto us, and is the last garment we put off. It is, saith St. Basil, to the soul as an inflammation to the body, and makes us swell and wax hot against our brother. Now by no better rule than this do we judge of injuries. If our Pride be built up from Money, then he that takes from me my coat, nay, he that will not give me his, is an enemy: if from Power; then not to go when I am bid go, and come when I am called, though perhaps it be to do that which is not right, is an injury: if from Beauty; then not to commend or dote, is a disparagement: if from an Opinion of wisdom and learning; then not to clap my hands and applaud each word as an Oracle, is detraction. He that will not subscribe to our opinion, though it bear falshood in the very face of it, hath contemned our persons. And here to revenge seems an act of justice, and therefore we draw our sword with a kind of majesty, and wade towards it with delight and great contentment, & dolore nostro utimur pro lege publica, and use our distast as a kind of law, as those who do but exact and fetch back their own. Tanto proclivius est, saith the Hi∣storian, injuriae quam beneficio vicem exsolvere; quià gratia oneri, ultio in quaestu habetur; So bent and ready we are rather to repay injuries than good turns, because Gratitude is a burden, Revenge is sweet, and coun∣ted as a gain. With what formality and method have men studied it? What preparations have they made? What stratagems have they invented? How witty and sportful are they when they have washt their feet in the bloud of their enemies? Vitellius, when he had poyson'd Blaesus, made it his boast, pavisse se oculos spectatâ inimici morte, that he fed his eyes with the sight of his dead enemy; and professed it optimè olere occisum hostem, meliùs civem, that his enemy smelt best when dead. Quoties caedes & fugas jusserat princeps, toties grates diis actae: It was common with Tyrants, in times of publick execution, when they had commanded the lives or liberties of their subjects, solemnly to offer sacrifice unto the Gods. Nor hath Christianity so prevailed with men as quite to extinguish this Desire. We have just reason to suspect that the SICUT, the Condition here, is performed by very few; As if with those in Cassian we had quite left it out of our PATER NOSTER, and, because we will not forgive, blotted-out the SICUT quite, and concluded the petition with Our selves. This Forgiveness of others we may find in paginis, non in operibus, in our books perhaps in a fair character, but not so legible in our lives and con∣versation. Besides, humane Laws seem to countenance Revenge. Yet the very Heathen will tell us, Multa injustè fieri possunt quae nemo potest reprehen∣dere, Many actions may be unjust which are not blameable: and I must not flatter my self that I have done that which is right because no man can reprehend me. Some there are who think that to put-on Christ, and to

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put-on that Tenderness and Mercy which he pours forth in abundance, is exuere hominem; To be a Christian is quite to leave off to be a Man. Therefore I told you this is a hard Condition, a duty which we do not easily digest. Though Charity hath many glorious acts which make it vi∣sible to the eye, as to Feed the hungry, Cloath the naked, Redeem those who are in misery and iron, yet to Forgive them that trespas against us is the hardest task of all. And alterutra diligentia charitatis, the diligence of our mutual Love one to another, is most eminent in this; it being far more difficult to forgive where an injury beats upon us than to open our hands and give where misery falls down at our feet; harder to suppress my anger than to cast my bread upon the waters; harder to command my passions than my purse. We willingly help those who bow and submit themselves, quia hoc facere tanquam majores videmur, because this is no disparagement but an honour to us, and we do it as superiours: But in pardoning an injury we seem to loose our right, to lay our hand under our brothers foot, and to confess a kind of soveraignty of his over us. And in this respect it is that Christ placeth this Condition here, and joyneth it with Remission of sins, proposeth his Mercy to challenge and encourage ours; promiseth Forgiveness, but upon condition of Forgiveness. Indeed in the midst of all contumelies and reproaches, in the midst of all contra∣diction, to be still and quiet, to requite an injury with a benefit, to send∣up prayers as fast as others breath-forth curses, and to kiss our enemy when he is angry, haec omnia dura videntur, sed ei qui non amat Christum, these things are harsh and unpleasant, but it is to those who love not Christ, and who little set-by this crown of blessings, Remission of sins. And so I pass to a second reason why this SICUT, this Condition was annext to this Petition, to wit, Because Forgiving one another is a duty most proper to the Gospel.

And you may judge of the Gospel by him who came down from heaven to promulge it, by the Author and finisher of our faith; Qui non fulminans & tonans, sed vagiens & tacens in praesepi, homines salvavit in cruce, as St. Hierome speaks; Who came not down in thunder and with a noise, but with the voice of an infant; Who fought not whilst he lived, but trium∣phed being dead; Whose every word and work was purely the issue of his tenderness and compassion. Tertullian observes that the Apostles of Christ after his ascension did practice that severity which Christ himself never made shew of whilst he converst upon the earth: Plagas inflixerunt Apostoli; quod noluit Christus: The Apostles pronounced sentence of death, struck men blind, deliver'd them to Satan to be tormented: Which power though they had from Christ, yet Christ would never exercise it himself, but was as patient as a Lamb, though he had the strength and power of a Lion. And as his comming was in great humility, so hath he left it as a charge to those who will be his disciples, to follow him in that way which himself was pleased to tread before us. He hath set-up Remission of sins, but with a SICUT, upon condition that we will be as patient and humble and as ready to forgive as he; that Humility, which brought him down to earth to suffer for us, may lift us up to heaven to reign with him for ever. There∣fore this doctrine of Forgiveness è coelo descendit, came down from heaven with Christ, and is most proper to the Gospel; For reckon-up all the precepts which the Heathen Sages have given, all the examples which they have shewn, and we may find enough perhaps to shame us, but not that measure of goodness which is required of a Christian. As Aristides was led to punishment, one spat in his face; but this disgrace could move him no further than contumeliam contumeliae facere, to revenge this contumely with a jest. Socrates rails not at Anytus in prison; but, being to die, dis∣courseth

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of the Immortality of the Soul. Magna certè exempla, & grande testimonium. These are great examples, and bear witness to the doctrine of Christ. But Tertullian, at the beginning of his book De Anima, hath past a judicious censure on them, That the Heathen did and suffer'd many things, non de siduciâ compertae veritatis, not from any confidence that this virtue would make them everlastingly happy, sed ex industria consultae aequanimitatis, but from a setled and strong resolution that nothing should drive them to discontent. And this proceeded rather from affectation than from a disposition raised by the celestial discipline and that doctrine which came down from heaven. Munit nos Christus adversùs diaboli lati∣tudines; The Gospel of Christ is a fense to keep us from these latitudes and expatiations and extravagancies, and discovers the danger of those actions which the Heathen approved for virtuous. But what talk we of the Heathen, quorum religio pro certo non est, cùm Dei eorum non sint pro certo, who, being not well assured of their Gods, must needs also be as uncertain and unstable in their religion? This doctrine of Forgiveness of sins was not understood of those who were domestica Dei gens, the peculiar and familiar people of God, to whom he gave his statutes and testimonies, and who were entrusted with his Oracles. The Jews indeed do challenge the commandments of God tanquam propria & haereditaria, saith Hilary, as pro∣per to them, and their peculiar inheritance; but yet they never understood this command of Christ, To forgive an enemy. Whatsoever Moses re∣quired of the Jew that doth Christ exact of the Christian, and more, more Patience, more Compassion, more Tenderness to our enemy, because the heavenly promises are more clearly proposed in the Gospel than they were under the Law. Multa sunt facienda, non jubente lege, sed liberâ cha∣ritate, saith St. Augustine; Many things are to be done, not because the Law commands, but because Charity perswades them; quae cùm liceret non impendere, tamen dilectionis causâ impendimus; Many offices are done, which we do out of love, not upon command; when as Love it self is a command. Behold, saith our Saviour, I give unto you a new command, that you love one another. When Volusian urgeth the objection of Julian, That Christianity stands in opposition to polity and government, the Fa∣ther replyeth by parallelling of a sentence of Salust with those precepts of our Saviour. Romanos Remp. ex parva magnam fecisse, quòd acceptâ injuriâ ignoscere quàm prosequi maluerint, That the Romans had raised themselves to that greatness, not by revenge, but by forgiving injuries. We know there is a righteousness most proper to the Gospel, which the Jew for the most part saw but darkly and in a cloud, even that righteousness of Faith which justifies an unrighteous person. And indeed in this very respect, as the Christian hath more day and light, more helps, than the Jew, so his task should be greater. Our Saviour hath told us, Of him that hath much much shall be required. To forgive our enemies is a Condition and a Law, and lies heavier upon us than it did upon the Jew. Lex ligat, a Law is an obligation: and therefore, where it binds not, it is not a Law, but where it is proposed as a Law, it binds. When God saw the Jews would not be kept within those bounds in which his wisdom first had set them, he was pleased so far to condescend as to give them line, least too strict a curb and charge might have enraged them. Yet in all those tolerations his will did shew it self, and did shine forth. Even the very Permission was a commentary upon it self. In that he did forbid them to practice Usury upon their brethren, he gave them a fair intimation that it was far better not to practice it on strangers. When he gave them leave upon slight occa∣sions to put-away their wives, he made a kind of exposition upon that Law, saith St. Augustine, in that he commanded them also first to give them

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a bill of divorce. For he doth not say, Let whosoever will put away his wife, but in a manner tells them he would not have them do it, though it were permitted, cùm hanc interposuerit moram, when by making this delay he gave them time of deliberation, that so their wrath might be appeased before the bill was writ. Besides, they were first to go unto the Scribes; to whom alone it was lawful to write the Hebrew letters, as St. Augustine tells us; who were men of great wisdom, and interpreters of the Law, men famous for their piety and justice; that they might dissuade them. Lastly, for that law of Retaliation, it was permitted, not as if it were good, but for avoiding of greater evil, ut furoris non fomes, sed limes, saith St. Augustine; not to excite and provoke but to bound their malice. Nor did they, saith Josephus, receive an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth; but for it took a pecuniary mulct: Which was also practiced amongst the Romans, as Favorinus observes in Gellius. For God did not approve of these as commendable to be done, but permitted them as lawful for them who would not endure a sharper bit to be put into their mouths. For even this law of Forgiving every man his trespasses in equity concerned them as well as us; but the permission and dispensation doth not concern us, as it did them. Between the Precepts of Christ and these Permissions there is no repugnancy, but a diversity only. For he that shall not put away his wife, he that shall remit a private injury, is so far from doing any thing against the Law, that he doth that which the Law especially intends. The very Heathen could tell us, aliqua esse quae non oportet fieri, etiamsi licet, that there be some things which indeed may lawfully be done, but it is far better and more praise-worthy not to do them. And therefore God often chargeth the Jews with the hardness of their hearts, calls them a stubborn and stiffnecked people, and by many tokens made it evident that he did not ap∣prove of that which he did permit. He forbids them to hate their brother in their heart. He commands them to do many common offices to their e∣nemy, * 1.12 to bring back his oxe that went astray, to help him whose asselyeth under his burden, and the like. He permits Revenge, but of lighter in∣juries; and of greater, only by the hand of the Magistrate. And, had they been capable, he would have yet shewed them a more excellent way. I leave this point, and come to speak of our third and last reason why our Saviour annexed this Condition to this Petition, and enforced it after∣wards.

It is indeed the nature of Flesh and Bloud, to be exasperated and en∣raged by injuries, and to thirst after revenge. But Christians have learnt a quite contrary lesson in the School of their Master, To put-up injuries with patience, and to requite them with courtesies; To love their greatest enemies, and to pray for them who make it their business to seek and to work their destruction. This our Saviour hath taught his followers both by his precept and example; this we oblige our selves to perform as oft as in this Prayer we beg forgiveness of our sins. This lesson the primitive Christians had well learnt, and still observed. And nothing was of greater avail both to themselves, and to their profession, than this. Hereby they overcame their enemies, and possessed their own souls; in prison they found liberty; in the greatest storms, a clam; in torments and death, hope and joy. Meekness and Patience made them in all their trials, and suffer∣ings more than conquerers. Neither was the observation of this rule ad∣vantageous to Christians alone, but also to Christianity it self, which got ground by this means, took root, and spread exceedingly. Crudelitas vestra illecebra est magis, saith a Father; your cruelty, whereby you seek to destroy us, is a kind of invitation to draw-on more company, and to make us more numerous. The more you cut us down, we grow-up the faster;

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and the more you lop-off our branches, the more they multiply; and by driving us out of the world, you plant new colonies of Christians: For our Bloud is as seed which will bring-forth an hundred-fold. The blessed Martyrs knowing this, when they were led to death, did not onely forgive their enemies, but pray for them; not onely pray for them, but give them thanks. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, saith Justine Martyr; Lucius replied not, but thanked them. And thus those torments which were invented to restore Paganisme, did much weaken it, and strengthen Christianity, every martyr, like Samson, killing more Idolaters at his death than he did in his life. VIDE UT SE INVICEM DILIGUNT, See how they love one another, was a strong motive, but, See how they forgive their enemies, and pray for their persecutors, was a stronger, a plain convincement, which prevailed with the wisest men, with great men, and sometimes with the exe∣cutioners themselves. Non omnia potest potentia; potentior est patientia; What Power cannot do, that Patience absolves. And this is the onely strength and power that a Christian hath, with which he subdues his ene∣mies, and makes a way to victory by death it self, and gains a crown against all opposition. We might expect perhaps that God should break the jaws of the ungodly, and rise-up against those who rise-up against us; that he should send divers sorts of flies to devour them, and frogs to destroy them; that he should knock-off their chariot-wheels, that they might drive but heavily after us, and at last put them to utter confusion. But there needs no miracle where our Saviour hath let down this Ancile, this buckler from heaven; nor extraordinary help, where the ordinary means will suffice. For Patience, if we will take it up and use it, will be our Angelus custos; our Angel to protect us, and lead us through the enemies land to that city which we would come to. If we observe the condition here, there be more with us than against us. And by yielding we may overcome; by forgiving an enemy, not only conquer him, but make him ours, that he may praise God in the day of visitation.

I have in another place spoken at large upon these three Questions; 1. What Debts we must forgive our brother; 2. How we must forgive them; 3. What dependance there is between Gods Forgiving of us and our Forgiving one another. I shall forbear to repeat; but will only add a word or two, and conclude.

You will say perhaps, This is durus sermo, a very hard Condition, That no Forgiveness of sins is to be expected unless we forgive all debts. It is true, it is so; but to such only who so dote on the world that they grow vile to themselves; not to them whose conversation is not in earth, but in heaven. Totum durum est quicquid imperatur invitis, saith Salvian; Every thing is hard and difficult to an unwilling mind. Covetous and Ambitious men had rather mend the Law than their lives, and hate the precepts ra∣ther than their sins. But what if the Condition were in it self hard, and did not onely appear so to flesh and bloud? What though I did loose by it my good name, my peace, my possessions? Yet minora incommoda praemiis; the Condition is not so hard as the reward is great. These incommodations are nothing in respect of that peace and plenty which they purchase. Durum, grande, difficile; sed magna sunt praemia; It is hard to forgive all debts; but without this no cancelling of our own. It is a sad and heavy Condition laid upon sinful man; but without this, without shedding of our bloud, without emptying our selves of all rancour and desire of revenge, there is no Remission of sins.

To stir us up to the performance of this Condition, let us consider that this virtue of Forgiving others is never alone. It supposeth Faith, which is sigillum bonorum operum, as Chrysologus calls it, the seal to every good work,

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to make it current and authentick. He whose mind is thus subact as to bear another mans burden, to raise up virtue out of the ruines of himself, and create out of injury and contempt, cannot be far from the kingdom of hea∣ven, nor destitute of those sacrifices wherewith God is well pleased. Not that we affirm or absolutely determine that there is nothing more required than a mind thus tender, soft, and equally poysed: But we rather suppose that all other virtues are joyned with it. Which though it be not necessary, yet is it very probable. For these two, To be covetous, or luxurious, or wanton, and To be ready to forgive, Cannot lodge in the same breast. For we see Prodigality as well as Covetousness, is the whetstone to our Anger, and makes it keen and sharp. The wisdom which is from above is first pure, then peacable, gentle, easie to be entreated, full of good fruits, saith St. James. And the Charity which forgiveth trespasses, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and doth nothing unseemly: For the mind of the compassionate is like the Heavens: Semper illic serenum est; There is con∣tinual serenity, and a perpetual day there. He is as Wax, fit to receive any character or impression of Goodness, and retain it. He is a fit object for Gods benefits to work upon. He is melted at the light of Gods counte∣nance, and yields at the very sight of his hammer: And if the beams of that light, his sweet insinuations and instructions, fall upon him, they fall not as upon a wave of the Sea, tost with the wind and carried about, where the impression must needs be flitting and vanishing, and the reflexion wa∣vering and unequal; but, as upon a still and quiet cloud, the reflexion is equal and glorious. And this reflexion is nothing else but the image of God, according to which we are renewed. In our Compassion and Long∣suffering, in our Forgiveness of our brethren, we present unto God his own image; monetam ipsius inscriptam nomine, hominem misericordem, a mer∣ciful man, a piece of mony taken out of his own mint, stampt with his own mark and character, with his own image and superscription. And when he makes-up his jewels, his special treasure, as the Prophet Malachy speaks, he will acknowledge them for his own, and will spare them as a man spareth his own son which serveth him. Then Mercy shall rejoice and triumph against Justice, and open the gates of heaven to those who opened the bowels of Compassion to their brethren. Then for that Charity which covered our brothers trespasses, we shall have a robe of righteousness to cover ours; for curses we shall have blessing; for a prison, heaven; and for disgrace, a crown. Then we shall feel the power of this virtue, and how prevalent it is with God. Then as we have manifested our selves to be his children by performance of this Condition, so will he manifest himself a Father in removing our transgressions from us as far as the East is from the West. And as a father pitieth his children, So will the Lord pity those who have been pitiful and merciful to their brethren. Now to this Father of mercies, the God of all comfort, be all honour and glory for ever.

Notes

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