he is fidelis Deus, a God that will stand to his word, a God that will perform his promises faithfully; for, though it were merely his mercy, that made those promises, yet it is his fidelity, his truth, his faithfulness, that binds him to the performance of them. The faithful word of God hath said it, in the Old Testament, and in the New too; Let God be true, and every man a liar. The word of the man of sin, the God of Rome, is a lie; Pope Stephen abrogates all the decrees of Pope Formosus, and so gives that lie to him: next year Pope Romanus abrogates all his, and so gives that lie to him; and within seven years, Servius all his; and where was fidelis sermo, the faithful word all this while? When they send forth bulls and dispensations to take effect occasionally, and upon emergencies, that rebus sic stantibus, if you find matter in this state, this shall be catholic divinity; if not, then it shall be heresy; where is this fidelis sermo, this faithful word amongst them? If for the space of a fifteen hundred years, the twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed might have saved any man, but since as many more, Trent articles must be as necessary; still where is that fidelis sermo, that faithful word which we may rely upon? God hath not bound himself, and therefore neither hath he bound us to any word but his own; in that only, and in all that we shall be sure to find him, fidelem Deum, a faithful God.

Now the truth and faithfulness of the word, consists not only in this, quod verax, that it is true in itself, but in this also, quod testificatus, that it is established by good testimony to be so.

It

is therefore faithful because it is the word of God, and therefore also because it may be proved to be the word of God by human testimonies; which is that which is especially intended in this clause, Omni acceptatione dignus, It is worthy of all acceptation; worthy to be received by our faith, and by our reason too: our reason tells us, that God's will is revealed to man somewhere, else man could not know how God would be worshipped; and our reason tells us, that this is that word in which that will is revealed. And therefore the greatest part of the Latin fathers, particularly Ambrose and Augustine, read these words otherwise; not fideliter, no, but humanus sermo; and so many Greek copies

14 Psalm xxxi. 4; Rom. iii. 9.

have it too, that it is a speech which man, not as he is a faithful man, but even as he is a reasonable man may comprehend, not as St. Hierome will needs understand those words: Si humanus et non divinus, non esset omni acceptatione dignus; for that is undeniably true, if it came merely from man, and not from God, it were not worthy to be received by faith; but as St. Augustine expresses that which himself and St. Ambrose meant, Sic humanus et dirinus, quomodo Christus Deus et homo, As Christ is God too, so as that he is man too; so the Scriptures are from God so, as that they are from man too: the Gospel is a faithful word essentially, as it is the word of God, derived from him, and it is a faithful word too, declaratively, as it is presented by such light and evidence of reason, and such testimonies of the church, as even the reason of man cannot refuse it: so that the reason of man accepts the Gospel, first out of a general notion, that the will of God must be revealed somewhere, and then he receives this for that Gospel, rather than the Alcoran of the Turks, rather than the Talmud of the Jews, out of those infinite and clear arguments which even his reason presents to him for that. And then, as when he compares Scripture with the book of creatures and nature, he finds that evidence more forcible than the other; and when he finds this Scripture compared with other pretended scriptures, Alcoran or Talmud, he finds it to be of infinite power above them; so when he comes to the true Scriptures, and compares the New Testament with the Old, the Gospel with the law, he finds this to be a performance of those promises, a fulfilling of those prophecies, a revelation of those types and figures, and an accomplishment, and a possession of those hopes and those reversions; and when he comes to that argument which works most forcibly, and most worthily upon man's reason, which is Antiquistrum, That is best in matter of religion that was first, there he sees that the Gospel was before the law: This I say, says the apostle', that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul the covenant, which was confirmed of God in respect of Christ; so shall always in respect of faith and in respect of reason, It is worthy of acceptation; for, would thy soul expatiate in that large contemplation of God in general? It is

15 Gal. iii. 17.

Erangelium Dei, the Gospel of God: Wouldst thou contract this God into a narrower and more discernible station? It is Evangelium Jesu Christi, the Gospel of Jesus Christ": Wouldst thou draw it nearer to the consideration of the effects? It is Evangelium pacis, the Gospel of peace: Wouldst thou consider it here? Here it is Evangelium regni, the Gospel of the kingdom": Wouldst thou consider it hereafter? It is Evangelium æternum, the eternal Gospel20: Wouldst thou see thy way by it? It is Evangelium gratia, the Gospel of grace": Wouldst thou see the end of it? It is Evangelium gloria, the Gospel of glory": It is worthy of all acceptation from thee, for the angels of heaven can preach no other Gospel, without being accursed themselves 23.

But the best and fullest acceptation is that which we called at first an approbation, to prove that thou hast accepted it by thy life and conversation: that as thy faith makes no staggering at it, nor thy reason no argument against it, so thy actions may be arguments for it to others, to convince them that do not, and confirm them that do believe in it; for this word, which signifies in our ordinary use, the Gospel, Evangelium, was verbum civile, verbum forense, a word of civil and secular use, before it was made ecclesiastical; and as it had before in civil use, so it retains still, three significations: first it signified bonum nuntium, a good and a gracious message: and so, in spiritual use, it is the message of God, who sent his Son; and it is the message of the Son, who sent the Holy Ghost. Secondly it signified donum offerenti datum, the reward that was given to him that brought the good news and so in our spiritual use, it is that spiritual tenderness, that religious good nature of the soul, (as we may have leave to call it) that appliableness, that ductileness, that holy credulity which you bring to the hearing of the word, and that respect which you give to Christ, in his ministers, who brings this Gospel unto you. And then thirdly, it signifies sacrificium datori immolatum, the sacrifice which was offered to that God who sent his good message; which in our spiritual use, is that which the apostle exhorts the Romans to with the most earnest- .

ness, (and so do I you) I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God, that ye give up your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable serving of God: now a reasonable service is that which in reason we are bound to do, and which in reason we think would most glorify him, in contemplation of whom that service is done; and that is done especially, when by a holy and exemplar life, we draw others to the love and obedicnce of the same Gospel which we profess: for then have we declared this true and faithful saying, this Gospel to have been worthy of all acceptation, when we have looked upon it by our reason, embraced it by our faith, and declared it by our good works; and all these considerations arose out of that which at the beginning we called radicem, the root of this Gospel, the word, the Scripture, the tree itself, the body of the Gospel, that is the coming of Christ, and the reason of his coming, to save sinners; and then the fruit of this Gospel, that humility, by which the apostle confesseth himself to be the greatest sinner, we reserve for another exercise.

SERMON CXLV.

A SECOND SERMON PREACHED AT WHITEHALL,

APRIL 19, 1618.

1 TIMOTHY i. 15.

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of which I am the chiefest.

We have considered heretofore that which appertained to the root, and all the circumstances thereof. That which belongs to the tree itself, what this acceptable Gospel is, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; and then, that which appertains to the fruit of this Gospel, the humility of the apostle, in applying it to himself, Quorum ego, Of which sinners I am the chiefest, we reserved for this time. In the first of these, that which we call the tree, the body of this Gospel, there are three

branches; first an advent, a coming; and secondly, the person that came; and lastly, the work for which he came. And in the first of these, we shall make these steps; first, that it is a new coming of a person who was not here before, at least, not in that manner as he comes now, venit, he came; and secondly, that this coming is in act, not only in decree; so he was come and slain ib initio, from all eternity, in God's purpose of our salvation; nor come only in promise, so he came wrapped up in the first promise of a Messiah; in paradise, in that ipse conteret, He shall bruise the serpent's head; nor come only in the often renewing of that promise to Abraham, In semine tuo, In thy seed shall all nations be blessed, nor only in the ratification and refreshing of that promise to Judah, Donec Silo, Till Silo come; and to David, In solio tuo, The sceptre shall not depart; nor as he came in the prophets, in Isaiah's virgo concipiet, That he should come of a virgin, nor in Michah's Et tu Bethlem, That he should come out of that town; but this is a historical, not a prophetical, an actual not a promissory coming; it is a coming already executed; venit, he came, he is come. And then thirdly, Venit in mundum, He came into the world, into the whole world, so that by his purpose first extends to all the nations of the world, and then it shall extend to thee in particular, who art a part of this world, he is come into the world, and into thee. From hence, we shall descend to our second branch to the considerations of the person that comes; and he is, first Christus, in which one name we find first his capacity to reconcile God and man, because he is a mixed person, uniting both in himself; and we find also his commission to work this reconciliation, because he is Christus, an anointed person, appointed by that unction, to that purpose; and thirdly, we find him to be Jesus, that is, actually a Saviour; that as we had first his capacity and his commission in the name of Christ, so we might have the execution of this commission in the name of Jesus. And then lastly, in the last branch of this part, we shall see the work itself, Venit salvare, He came to save; it is not offerre, to offer it to them whom he did intend it to, but he came really and truly to save; it was not to show a land of promise to Moses, and then say, there it is, but thou shalt never come at it; it was not to show us salvation, and then say there