God shall reign, &c. Isa. lii. Which prophecy you see here verified by the preaching of these apostles; and not only by them, but by others also, whom Christ our Saviour ceaseth not, continually, from time to time, to stir up in his church to be his messengers and legates apostolical. Who now coming to you also, Londoners, as St. Paul did to the Corinthians, with the same words speak to you, saying, We pray you, for Christ's sake, be reconciled unto God, &c.

Whereby all mourning souls, wheresoever you are, or whatsoever you are, that labour and are burdened, may note for your comfort, how not only the Lord offereth himself ready to be reconciled to you, if you be willing; but also lovingly and most gently sendeth forth his servants to entreat you to be reconciled unto him. As though they said, In God there is no hinderance, but you may boldly come and be reconciled whosoever desireth to be at peace with him, only let there be no stay in you. Be you willing to be reconciled, and you shall speed; come, and you shall be received; hold out your hand to take what he will give, and you shall have. What more can you desire? And yet, moreover, to encourage you to come to him, not only he offereth himself ready at your suits to be entreated, but also sendeth abroad his messengers to entreat you to come and be reconciled to him.

And further, lest ye should think those messengers to come in their own name, and so regard them the less, mark what St. Paul addeth moreover, and how he not only prayeth them, but also in a manner adjureth them, We pray you, saith he, for Christ's sake-as though he would say, As you love Christ, and will do any thing for his cause which hath so dearly bought you, we pray you, not for ourselves, but in the name of Christ, that you will be reconciled unto God.

And yet, neither is this also enough, which notwithstanding is so much as may make us all to marvel at his mercies. But mark, moreover, the speech of the Holy Ghost, and consider the exceeding tenderness of the unspeakable benignity of our God. We were the offenders, and he the party that was offended; we his creatures, and he our Maker; we the first breakers from him, and yet all this notwithstanding, such is the passing, and more than fatherly richness of his grace, that he not only offereth and sendeth unto us, yea, adjureth us in his own Son's name ; but also, which is more than all that can be most, even the

same God prayeth us, even himself, even us, I say, such miserable and damnable wretches, that we will come and be agreed with him-for so the tenour of our text in plain words purporteth, where he saith; Even as God himself praying you by us, we pray you for Christ's sake that you will be reconciled unto God, &c. Here is offending, and yet here is praying, and praying again. Oh gentleness! Oh kindness! Man first began the division, and God beginneth first the reconciliation! God prayeth, Christ prayeth, and the apostle prayeth! Man offendeth and hath forfeited his soul to the devil, and yet is prayed! He that should pray to be forgiven, is prayed to be content to be forgiven! What should we here say or think, well beloved Corinthians here of London, but cry out with the words of Nazianzen, "Oh the readiness of God's gracious love! Oh the easiness of his exorable reconcilement !"

Although it be not in my utterance, nor in any mortal tongue to express the fulness of these deep and profound mysteries of spiritual things; yet by that, as I could declare, somewhat you heard, and more may conceive with yourselves, first of the horrible wrath of God, and his strict severity against sin, with all such penalties, pains, and punishments due for the same, declared unto you. After that, you heard again of the singular and superabundant greatness of his fatherly tenderness toward us; who so willingly, so kindly, not only offereth his reconciliation, but also inviteth us, yea, prayeth us to be reconciled to him.

Now, what this reconciliation is, and what great things come thereof, it followeth likewise to be considered. Which, albeit it cannot so amply be described to you as it is in itself, yet by similitudes and examples partly it may be conceived. For, as we see in a worldly government, when any subject is under the indignation and displeasure of his prince, his state is miserable, his mind unquiet, fraught full of fear and dread, his heart out of comfort, in his life no safety, but he, living like a dead man; briefly, no calamity lacketh where the wrath of a prince hangeth. But if the trespass be pardoned, and the displeasure removed, then fear departeth, hope reviveth, comfort cometh, and life beginneth to look up. Even so, or rather much more than so, it is between God and man. For so long as we were under wrath, there was nothing in man but death, dread, damnation, hell, malediction, the tyranny of Satan, unquietness; in sum, all the miseries of hell were heaped

upon the poor soul of man. But after it pleased the goodness of our God to turn from us his wrath, and to receive us again to favour, now all is turned, our fear to hope, death to life, damnation to salvation, hell to heaven, malediction to blessing; the power of Satan dissolved; care to comfort; and, in sum, all the felicities, so many as para dise can hold, do now belong to man.

But what should I set forth the high amplitude of this heavenly reconciliation of our Lord, by earthly similitudes, which by no comparison of man can be expressed? For in man's agreement, though the prince be reconciled ever so well with the subject, yet it may happen that the agreement may break off again shortly after. Again, the reconcilement that is between man and man, is commonly but for that one trespass which bred the variance, which being forgiven agreement cometh. So is it not between God and us. Neither is his reconciliation so variable or inconstant as altereth by days or times, but is the receiving of mankind into the eternal favour and mercy of God, even the same which Isaiah the prophet, chap. liv. speaketh of in these words, saying, For a little moment of time I have left thee, but in great mercies I will gather thee. moment of my indignation I have hid my face awhile from thee, but in my everlasting mercy I have pitied thee, saith the Redeemer thy Lord, &c.

In a

This reconciliation now to be defined, is the receiving again of man into the perpetual favour of God, purchased by Christ to all them that by faith and repentance come unto him. Which eternal favour of God, as we showed before to be freely offered unto us, so now remaineth further to be explained what favour this is, how it is perpetual, by what cause it cometh, and to whom it belongeth. Touching the first, to declare what favour this is whereunto we are received, here is to be understood by the meaning of St. Paul, this favour to be that which is contrary to the wrath and malediction which went before for sin. For, as that malediction did threaten unto us eternal rejection, under which we were, and should perpetually have continued had it not been stopped; so is this reconcilement a receiving again into eternal acceptation, which perpetually doth and shall continue, for Christ's sake, to all faithful believers in him. And this favour I call perpetual in respect of time; for that God promiseth never to remember, nor to impute our sins any more for Christ's sake, Jer. xxxi.

And hereof springeth the fountain of perpetual remission promised, Zech. xiii. where he saith, In that day shall be open to the house of David, and to the dwellers of Jerusalem, a fountain to the cleansing away of sin, &c.

Where note how the prophet saith, In that day, assigning not divers and sundry days when Christ's body should be offered for sin; but signifying that one day should come, when that Lamb and sacrifice which was slain from the beginning of the world, in God's determination, and afterward was offered actually once and no more, should suffice to purge away the sins and filthiness of all the dwellers in Jerusalem, that is, of all such as retain to him by faith. And thus have you the cause of remission of sins to be only the sacrifice of Christ's body offered up to God, not every day, but in one appointed day, which we call Good Friday. For the which sacrifice sake, God hath assured his promise to all and singular persons that shall come or seek to his Son by faith, to give them free forgiveness, and never to remember nor impute their sins to them any more.

And herein standeth the difference between the pope's doctrine and ours. For he holdeth that the sacrifice of Christ's body, not one day, but every day is to be offered for sin. Contrary, we with the scriptures affirm remission of sins to be the effect only of one cause, that is, of Christ's blood, our Saviour, sacrificed once on Good Friday upon the cross, (and never else,) to take away all malediction of sin for ever, as well for them that were before his passion, as them that should follow after. And that is it that the scripture saith, The Lamb to be slain from the beginning of the world, (and so is he slain to the latter end,) meaning thereby the virtue and power of that sacrifice to extend universally to all times, to all men, and to all kinds of sins, from the beginning to the end of the world for ever. that on Christ's part, the cause only which worketh reconciliation and remission of sins, is his only death and bloodshedding once sacrificed actually, and never else, upon Good Friday. On our parts, the cause only that worketh this reconciliation and remission, and is of us required, is not to offer up this body again for a daily sacrifice to God, but only to believe faithfully and obediently upon him that was sacrificed for us, and so by faith to apply the merits of his passion to us. And to this faith God hath promised perpetual remission of our sins, according to the manifest testimony of the scripture; where it is in the Acts of the

So

apostles thus expressed, That to him all the prophets bear witness, all men to receive remission of sins by him, whosoever believe in his name, &c. Acts x. Again, Acts xvi. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, and thy whole house, &c. Peter and Paul say not, Offer Christ's body for a daily sacrifice to God; but only, Believe in him, and thou shalt be saved. And thus much hitherto concerning reconciliation, what it is, how it is perpetual, what is the only cause thereof, and to whom it belongeth; whereof more shall be said, Christ willing, anon.

Now as touching this reconciliation and favour of God aforesaid, as it reacheth to the free remission of all men, and to all times, as well before as after; so moreover, this is to be added, and worthy to be noted, that not only it reacheth to our sins, but extendeth to the acceptation of the nature and person also of man, so that through this reconcilement, not only our sins are done away, but also the person of man, which before was execrable unto God, is now accepted; which before was odious, is now beloved; which before was impure and unclean, is now purified, regenerated and changed as into another person; and as ye would say, made a new man in the sight of God; not because the new life of a man makes the man new in God's sight, but because the man being first made new, and regenerated by reconciliation, brings forth afterward a new life.

And here cometh in that which we call regeneration, or new birth; not in being altered into any new bodily substance from that we were, but in being turned by reconciliation into a new state of favour and grace; as, who before were dead to God, damnable creatures, and children of wrath, but now are accepted, purged, and justified from the malediction, as well of original sin as actual; which before times were separated from God, but now restored again to grace and favour-even the same favour of God wherein Adam stood before his fall in paradise.

Of this regeneration we read in many places in the scripture, which give us to understand this our new regenerate birth to be referred, not so much to the outward acts of life, as chiefly to the person and nature of man, altered and changed into a new state of grace and favour with God, by spiritual reconciliation; yea, before he begin to work any good action. Whereupon afterward follow the fruits of new life, which we call good works, and are called good, not so much for the worthiness of the action