port of him more then he hath done, and put miracles upon him that he never did.

The Church of Rome hath long had a busie hand in these falfe afcriptions: the golden legend of vvorm-eaten authority amongst them, and their Speculum exemplorum, set forth by John Major a Jefuite in Anno 1607;and Cantipatranus a Domican Friers full Volume of miracles, fet forth, Anno, 1605. tell fine tails, ridiculous, even to children, yet the implicite faith of Papists doth fvvallovv all for canonicall: vvherein God is difhonored vvith humane inventions, and truth it felf vvith lies: their legends of their Ladies of Loretto, and Hales; are of the fame coynage: and it is the policy of that Strumpet of Rome to keep this mint alvvays at vvork, to amaze the ig norant vvith strange vvonders.

But I fay unto them in the vvords of Job, will ye speak wick Job 13.7. edly for God,and talk deceitfully for him?

Gregory their own Pope, upon these words, faith, Veritas fulciri non querit auxilio falfitatis; he faith, that it is the trick of hereticks: It is, I am fure, the practise of Papists, but thou man of God fly these things; truth is not honored but vvith truth.

2 We must search out,and confeffe,the true caufe of all the Doct. 2. good that God doth to us.

It is Ariftotles Doctrine in his Elenches,that, id quod non Elenc. 1.4. eft caufa ut caufam ponere, to make that a caufe which is not; is a capatious and fophiftical manner of reasoning.

So the Serpent over-reach❜t Eve in Paradife; for when God had given our Parents there a precife Law, Thou shalt not eat of the tree in the midst of the Garden.

The true caufe why God put that reftraint upon them, vvas to try their obedience to him, in a small and eafie precept; forbidding them a thing in it felf good, to fhew his refervation of his own power to awe them. So faith, Saint Gre- Mo.35.10 gory.

But Satan tempting the woman to break this Law, and to caft off this light burthen,and eafie yoak of God,fuggefted an

000 2

other

Gen.3.5. other caufe: God dotb know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eys fhall be opened,and ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evil: as if God had dealt too fparingly with man in the communication of his own fimilitude to him, and had fet him that bar to keep him from attaining the perfection thereof.

So Eve deceived her felf, for when God gave her Iffachar Ge 30..18. her fift son, she said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband,

Gen.2.24.

Mar.19.

5.

1 Cor.6.

16

Mal. 2.14

15.

Wherein the deceived her felf, for by adding one wife more to the number of Jacobs Wives, fhe did violate the state of matrimony, vvhich in the institution; vvas in these words.

I will make him a help meet for him, not helps, and fo Adam understood it, for he faid; A man shall forfake Father and Mother and cleave to his wife, not wives; and they shall be one flesh.

Which left the friends of Poligamie might understand of many wives, Christ citing this place, addeth by vvay of interpretation

And they twaine fhall be one flesh, Mat. 10.8.

So Saint Paul understood it, two fshall be one flesh.

So the Prophet Malachy understood it, for charging his people with this fin of breach of Wedlock, he fpeaketh as to

one man.

Thou haft dealt treacherously against the wife of thy youth, yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy Covenant.

And did not he make one yet had he the excellency of Spirit, and wherefore one, that he might feek a godly feed.

So that this giving of her maid to her husband, was no good service done to God that the fhould expect wages, it was rather a trespass of vvedlock, hovvfoever it pleafed God to difpenfe vvith it in the fathers of former ages; but our rule is, quomodo fuit in principio, hovv vvas it at the beginning; for vve knovy, that he vvho had abundance of fpirit, could have created many Wives for Adam, if he had thought it fit, and then for the encrease of the feed of man, and the fpeedy peopling of the vvorld, there vvas more need of Poligamy, then vvas ever fince.

I urge the fallacy, here, Non caufa pro caufa.

So Micah vvhen he had made him gods, and gotten a Priest into his house, flattered himself.

Now I know that the Lord will do me good, Seeing I have a Le- Judg. 17. vite to my Prieft.

This vvas Idolatry,one of the greatest provocations of God to anger that could be, yet he vvould flatter himself, that this vvould turn a caufe of his vvel-doing.

These three examples do fufficiently open our fenfe, to perceive the cunning of this fallacious fuggeftion in our felves.

The Doctrine of merit vvhich the Church of Rome teacheth is a naturall Doctrine, as God said to Cain: If thou do well Shalt thou not be accepted: it is true, that God accepteth even vveak services from us, but as vve fay, it is more of his courtefie then our deserving: if vve call it vvages that he giveth us in revvard, vve over-ween our ovvn vvorks.

And this is a special fin vvhervvith God doth punish the fins of the ungodly in the Church of Rome,the feat of Antichrist, as the Apostle plainly describeth it.

Lye.

13.

God fball fend them strong delusions, that they should believe a 2 Thef. 2.

They believe that to be the caufe of their falvation that

is not.

11.

The reason of this Doctrine, Why vve must fasten upon Reafon. the true caufe of Gods favour to us is: Because faith not rightly grounded, is not faith but prefumption.

True faith can find no reft, but in the affurance of Gods goodneffe to us.

God doth many favours to the vvicked here in this life; vvhich he doth not for any love that he beareth to them, but for the use that he maketh of them, to vvhip and scourge others by them; as for example, God to Ezekiel, Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar King of Babel canfed his Army to ferve a great fervice against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every boulder was peeled yet had he no wages, nor his Army for Tyrus, for the fervice that he had served against it. 000 3

There

Eze.29.

18,

19.

30.

Therefore, thus faith the Lord God, Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoile, and take her prey, and it shall be the wages for his Army,

Because they wrought for me, faith the Lord God.

Here is the King of Babylon doubly rewarded, with, fucceffe and victory against Tyrus, with the poffeffion and fpoile of Egypt, not for any favour that God did bear to the King of Babylon, but to punish the iniquity of Tyrus, and of Egypt.

Let not Nebuchadnezzar boast of the favor of the Lord,that he fet hini a work and paid him his wages, the fins of these ungodly people, not the goodness of God to the King of Babylon did all this.

We fee daily, that the vvicked do compaffe about the righteous, the poor Church of God bleedeth in many places of Christendome, the enemy profcribeth,imprifoneth, beheadeth, hangeth, cutteth out the tongues, fmiteth off the hands of Gods faithfull Servants, and devifeth nevv tortures to make death more terrible aud more painfull.

This fvvelleth the enemies of God vvith pride, and they impute all this fucceffe against the Church of God, to the love of God tovvard them, and the justice of their cause is mainteined by the Jefuits, abetments, and acclamations.

But thus, did Babylon prevail againft Gods ovvn Ifrael, for a time, the diftreffed part of the Church vvhich groaneth under these burthens; doth not hang the head for this.

They knovv that their fins have deserved these rods, they have had the light, and have not vvalked vvorthy of that light, therefore is this evill come upon them, yet let them take courage and fayr

Pfal.52.1. why beafteft thou thy felf in mischief thou mighty man? the goodnesse e of God endureth continually: there is our Selak, the reft of our mufique, this is the joy of the Churches harvest.

And great is the profit of this point.

1 When vve have found the true caufe of Gods favours to

be

be in himself, and not in us, we may affure our felves that his mercy endureth for ever, for his gifts and calling are without repentance,

2 A greater comfort then this is, that godlineffe hath not onely the promise of this life, but of the life to come also.

3 We may rife in comfort a degree higher, to affure our felves, that this favour of God will give us our fruit unto holineffe, for these go together, Gods love to us, and our comfort, and hope in him, for this fruit, as the Apostle joyneth them.

Rom.6.22

Now our Lordfefus Chrift himself, and God even our Father, 2 Thef. 2. which hath loved us, and given us everlasting confolation, and good 16. help through grace. Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in 17. every good word and work:

This bleffing of the Apostle doth fhew, that when the love of God is fetled, there followeth grace and expreffure of his favour, that bringeth forth inward confolation, of the fpirit prefent, good hope for the time to come, an establishing of the heart in holineffe.

This I name as the highest ftep of our exaltation, because this repairs in us the image of God, which is his holineffe, and the true children of God do value this above their eternall life.

For let us fee,wherein the weight of the bleffing and curfing of fheep and goats doth lye. It is not the gift of eternall life, that is, our happineffe in heauen, but as David faith; in his favour is life: if a damned foul fhould be admitted to the fruition of all the pleasures of eternall life, without the favour of God, heaven would be hell to him.

It is not the dark and horrid houfe of woe that maketh a foul miferable in hell, but Gods difpleasure: ite maledicti: if an elect foul could be caft thither, and retein the favour of God, hell would be an heaven to him, and his joy could not all the Devils of hell take from him, his night would be turned into day.

The Angels finned in heaven, and in the place of joy loft Gods favour.

The