in baptism, he hath had his resurrection from sin, his ascension to holy purposes of amendment of life, and his judgment, that is, peace of conscience, sealed unto him, and so by this light of applying faith, he hath already apprehended an eternal possession of God's eternal kingdom. And the other light in this second couple is lux naturæ, the light of nature.

This, though a fainter light, directs us to the other, nature to faith and as by the quantity in the light of the moon, we know the position and distance of the sun, how far, or how near the sun is to her, so by the working of the light of nature in us, we may discern, (by the measure and virtue and heat of that) how near to the other greater light, the light of faith, we stand. If we find our natural faculties rectified, so as that that free will which we have in moral and civil actions, be bent upon the external duties of religion, (as every natural man may, out of the use of that free will, come to church, hear the word preached, and believe it to be true) we may be sure the other greater light is about us. If we be cold in them, in actuating, in exalting, in using our natural faculties so far, we shall be deprived of all light; we shall not see the invisible God in visible things, which St. Paul makes so inexcusable", so unpardonable a thing, we shall not see the hand of God in all our worldly crosses, nor the seal of God in all our worldly blessings; we shall not see the face of God in his house, his presence here in the church, nor the mind of God in his gospel, that his gracious purposes upon mankind, extend so particularly, or reach so far, as to include us. I shall hear in the Scriptures, his Venite omnes, Come all, and yet I shall think that his eye was not upon me, that his eye did not beckon me, and I shall hear the Deus vult omnes salvos, That God would save all, and yet I shall find some perverse reason in myself, why it is not likely that God will save me. I am commanded scrutari Scripturas, to search the Scriptures; now, that is not to be able to repeat any history of the Bible without book, it is not to ruffle a Bible, and upon any word to turn to the chapter, and to the verse; but this is exquisita scrutatio, the true searching of the Scriptures, to find all the histories to be examples to me, all the prophecies to induce a Saviour for me, all the gospel to apply Christ Jesus to me.

24 Rom. i. 20.

VOL. V.

F

Turn over all the folds and plaits of thine own heart, and find there the infirmities and waverings of thine own faith, and an ability to say, Lord, I believe, help mine unbelief, and then, though thou have no Bible in thy hand, or though thou stand in a dark corner, nay though thou canst not read a letter, thou hast searched that Scripture, thou hast turned to Mark ix. 24. Turn thine ear to God, and hear him turning to thee, and saying to thy soul, I will marry thee to myself for ever; and thou hast searched that Scripture, and turned to Hosea ii. 19. Turn to thine own history, thine own life, and if thou canst read there, that thou hast endeavoured to turn thine ignorance into knowledge, and thy knowledge into practice, if thou find thyself to be an example of that rule of Christ's, If you know these things, blessed are you, if you do them, then thou hast searched that Scripture, and turned to John xiii. 14. This is scrutari Scripturas, to search the Scriptures, not as though thou wouldst make a concordance, but an application; as thou wouldst search a wardrobe, not to make an inventory of it, but to find in it something fit for thy wearing. John Baptist was not the light, he was not Christ, but he bore witness of him. The light of faith, in the highest exaltation that can be had, in the elect, here, is not that very beatifical vision, which we shall have in heaven, but it bears witness of that light. The light of nature, in the highest exaltation is not faith, but it bears witness of it. The lights of faith and of nature, are subordinate John Baptists: faith bears me witness, that I have Christ, and the light of nature, that is, the exalting of my natural faculties towards religious uses, bears me witness that I have faith. Only that man, whose conscience testifies to himself, and whose actions testify to the world, that he does what he can, can believe himself, or be believed by others, that he hath the true light of faith.

And therefore, as the apostle saith, Quench not the Spirit, I say too, Quench not the light of Nature, suffer not that light to go out; study your natural faculties; husband and improve them and love the outward acts of religion, though an hypocrite, and though a natural man may do them. Certainly he that loves not the Militant church, hath but a faint faith in his interest in the Triumphant. He that cares not though the material church fall,

31 Thess. v. 19.

I am afraid is falling from the spiritual. For, can a man be sure to have his money, or his plate, if his house be burnt? Or to preserve his faith, if the outward exercises of religion fail? He that undervalues outward things, in the religious service of God, though he begin at ceremonial and ritual things, will come quickly to call sacraments but outward things, and sermons, and public prayers, but outward things, in contempt. As some Platonic philosophers, did so over refine religion, and devotion, as to say, that nothing but the first thoughts and ebullitions of a devout heart, were fit to serve God in. If it came to any outward action of the body, kneeling, or lifting up of hands, if it came to be but invested in our words, and so made a prayer, nay if it passed but a revolving, a turning in our inward thoughts, and thereby were mingled with our affections, though pious affections, yet, say they, it is not pure enough for a service to God; nothing but the first motions of the heart is for him. Beloved, outward things apparel God; and since God was content to take a body, let not us leave him naked, nor ragged; but, as you will bestow not only some cost, but some thoughts, some study, how you will clothe your children, and how you will clothe your servants, so bestow both cost and thoughts, think seriously, execute cheerfully in outward declarations, that which becomes the dignity of him, who evacuated himself for you. The zeal of his house needs not eat you up, no nor eat you out of house and home; God asks not that at your hands. But, if you eat one dish the less at your feasts for his house' sake, if you spare somewhat for his relief, and his glory, you will not be the leaner, nor the weaker for that abstinence. John Baptist bore witness of the light, outward things bear witness of your faith, the exalting of our natural faculties bear witness of the supernatural. We do not compare the master and the servant, and yet we thank that servant that brings us to his master. We make a great difference between the treasure in the chest, and the key that opens it, yet we are glad to have that key in our hands. The bell that calls me to church. does not catechise me, nor preach to me, yet I observe the sound of that bell, because it brings me to him that does those offices to me. The light of nature is far from being enough; but, as a candle may kindle a torch, so into the faculties of nature, well employed,

F

God infuses faith. And this is our second couple of lights, the subordination of the light of nature, and the light of faith. And a third pair of lights of attestation, that bear witness to the light of our text, is lux æternorum corporum, that light which the sun and moon, and those glorious bodies give from heaven, and lux incensionum, that light, which those things, that are naturally combustible, and apt to take fire, do give upon earth; both these bear witness of this light, that is, admit an application to it. For, in the first of these, the glorious lights of heaven, we must take nothing for stars, that are not stars; nor make astrological and fixed conclusions out of meteors, that are but transitory; they may be comets and blazing stars, and so portend much mischief, but they are none of those æterna corpora, they are not fixed stars, not stars of heaven. So is it also in the Christian church, (which is the proper sphere in which the light of our text, that light, the essential light Christ Jesus moves by that supernatural light of faith and grace, which is truly the intelligence of that sphere, the Christian church). As in the heavens the stars were created at once, with one fiat, and then being so made, stars do not beget new stars, so the Christian doctrine necessary to salvation, was delivered at once, that is, entirely in one sphere, in the body of the Scriptures. And, then as stars do not beget stars, articles of faith do not beget articles of faith; so, as that the council of Trent should be brought to bed of a new creed, not conceived before by the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures, and, (which is a monstrous birth) the child greater than the father, as soon as it is born, the new creed of the council of Trent to contain more articles, than the old creed of the apostles did. St. Jude writing of the common salvation (as he calls it) (for, St. Jude, it seems, knew no such particular salvation, as that it was impossible for any man to have, salvation is common salvation) exhorts them to contend earnestly for that faith, which was once delivered to the saints". Semel, once; that is, at once, semel, simul, once altogether. For this is also Tertullian's note; that the rule of faith is, that it be una, immobilis, irreformabilis; it must not be deformed, it cannot be reformed; it must not be marred, it cannot be mended; Whatsoever needs mending, and

20 Jude 3.

reformation, cannot be the rule of faith, says Tertullian. Other foundation can no man lay than Christ27; not only no better, but no other; what other things soever are added by men, enter not into the nature and condition of a foundation. The additions, and traditions, and superedifications of the Roman church, they are not lux æternorum corporum, they are not fixed bodies, they are not stars to direct us; they may be meteors, and so exercise our discourse, and argumentation, they may raise controversies: and they may be comets, and so exercise our fears, and our jealousies, they may raise rebellions and treasons, but they are not fixed and glorious bodies of heaven, they are not stars. Their non-communions, (for, communions where there are no communicants, are no communions) when they admit no bread at all, no wine at all, all is transubstantiated, are no communions; their semi-communions, when they admit the bread to be given, but not the wine; their sesqui-communions, bread and wine to the taste, and to all other trials of bread and wine, and yet that bread and wine, the very body, and the very blood of Christ; their quotidianmiracles, which destroy and contradict even the nature of the miracle, to make miracles ordinary, and fixed, constant and certain; (for, as that is not a miracle which nature does, so that is not a miracle which man can do certainly, constantly, infallibly every day, and every day, every priest can miraculously change bread into the body of Christ, and besides they have certain fixed shops, and marts of miracles, in one place a shop of miracles for barrenness, in another, a shop for the tooth-ache). To contract this, their occasional divinity, doctrines to serve present occasions, that in 88, an heretical prince must necessarily be excommunicated, and an heretical prince excommunicated must necessarily be deposed, but at another time it may be otherwise, and conveveniences, and dispensations may be admitted, these, and such as these, traditional, occasional, almanack divinity, they may be comets, they may be meteors, they may rain blood, and rain fire, and rain hailstones, hailstones as big as talents, (as it is in the Revelation) millstones, to grind the world by their oppressions, but they are not lux æternorum corporum, the light of the stars

28

27 1 Cor. iii, 11.

Elizabeth, by Pope Sixtus Quintus, the abettor of the Spanish armada.