Diary of John Manningham Part 43

[Sidenote: fo. 120^b.

6 Aprill.]

DR. OVERALL, Deane of Paules, made a sermon at Whitehall this day, his text, "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation." He discoursed very scholastically upon the nature of temptations, their division, &c., fit for these tymes in this change, least wee be tempted to desyre innovacion, &c. He held that G.o.d permits many thinges to worke according to their nature, not forcing their actions by his decre, soe wee enter into temptacions unforced, of our owne accord, by his permission.

[Sidenote: fo. 121.

7 Aprill 1603.]

Mr. Timothy Wagstaffe and my self brought in a moote whereat Mr.

Stevens, the next reader, and Mr. Curle sate.

I heard there had bin a foule jarr betwixt Sir Robert Cecile and the Lord Cobham, upon this occasion, because the Lords and late Counsell, upon the Queenes death, had thought good to appoint an other Captaine of the gard, because Sir Walter Rhaley was then absent, which the Lord Cobham tooke in foule dudgeon, as yf it had bin the devise of Sir Robert, and would have bin himselfe deputy to Sir Walter rather [than]

any other. The Lord Cobham likewise at subscribing to the proclamacion tooke exception against the Earl of Clanricard, _inepte, intempestive_, but he is nowe gone to the King, they say.

The occasion of the bruite that was raysed of the Lord Beauchamps rising was but this; he had a.s.sembled divers of his followers and other gent.

to goe with him to proclayme the King, which a good lady not understanding gave intelligence that he a.s.sembled his followers, but upon the effect hirself contradicted hir owne letter.

[Sidenote: fo. 121^b.

8 Aprill 1603.]

AT WHITE HALL.

DR. MONTAGUE, Master of Sydney Colledge in Cambridge, made a sermon; his text Matt xviii. 11. "The Sonne of Man came to save that which was lost."

In his prayer: "Wee give ourselves to synn, without restraint in our conscience before, or remorse after." He considered 3 points: 1. The stile of Christ; the Sonne of Man. 2. To whom he came; to the lost. 3.

The end of his coming; to save. Where men come of an honourable parentage, or beare an office of dignity, it is their use to stile themselves in the name of their auncesters, as Solomon the sonne of David, &c. But where they have none, the Jewes call them Ben Adam, the sonne of man. Howe happens it then that Christ which is _Salvator mundi_, [Greek: Soter], the best word that the Greekes have, that he takes upon him this stile of basenes? For two reasons: 1. Because the nearer he came to our nature, the neerer he came to our name; first before the lawe he was called _s.e.m.e.n mulieris_, then _s.h.i.+lo_, after _Messias_, and nowe himselfe gives himselfe this name, the Sonne of Man, by speciall effect changing his name; when he was Silo wee were but servants, &c.

He layd downe his name to take up ours, that wee might for his sake lay downe our lives to take up his glory.

[Sidenote: fo. 122.

8 Aprill 1603.]

He would not have his glory upon earth: he would never suffer himselfe to be called G.o.d upon earth, nor suffer his miracles to be blazoned, he would have his fame spread by the inward persuasion of the spirit not the outward applause of the mouth. And hence he noted the difference betwixt the fame of a magistrat and of a minister; for from the outward action of the magistrat we come to an inward approbacion of his virtue; but contrary in a minister, from our inward perswasion of his virtue to the outward approbacion of his actions.

Exinanition [Exaninition] of Christs glory on earth typified in the auncient Jewish manner of coronacion, and enthronizing their kings, when they powred a horne of oyle upon his head, to shewe that as the horne was emptied to annoint him, soe out of his fullnes he should enrich others. Oyle is taken for grace.

[Sidenote: fo. 122^b.

8 Aprill 1603.]

Second point; to those that were lost. The Rabbins devide all the people into three sorts, _Sapientes_, such were the Scribes and Pharises; 2.

_Sapientum filij_, such as held nothing for opinion, nor did any thing for action, but that which was approved by the Pharisees; 3. _Terrae filij_, the children of the world, publicans and synners, reputed as lost sheepe: to these Christ came, and for conversing with these he was obrayded; to teache men what a different course there is in the managing of heavenly and earthly things. The greate affayres of the world begin at the Prince, and soe are derived by a long course to the people, but the matters of heaven begin in the people, and soe rise up to the Prince. The first newes of Christs birth was brought but to a company of silly shepheards, from them to a poore city, Bethleem, from thence to Jerusalem, and soe by calculacion it was neere two yeares before it came to the Kings eare.

There are two Kingdomes in this world, a temporall and a spirituall or mysticall, eache needing other. Where the rich feeling their poverty in spirituell, come to the minister to be furnished in that commodity, and the minister feeling his wants in the riches of this lyfe, followeth great men, to be relieved in that necessity. _Communis indigentia est societatis vinculum_, mutuall necesity is the surcingle of the world.

[Sidenote: fo. 123.

8 Aprill 1603.]

Second reason; Christ came to these, as the fittest to receive his doctrine, and yet it is clapt in amongst his miracles that the poor beleeved. The promises of a kingdome in heaven is a greate matter which greate men according to their course in earth will hardly beleeve can be effected without greate meanes, and therefore a miracle yf princes receive Christ. Our Prince did, and our King doth continue this miracle; for shee did, and he doth, hold and will maintaine the truth of the Gospell, "and this hath king'd him," said he.

Two conclusions; better to be a lost sheepe in the wild field, then put up safe in the fold of the Pharisees.

There have bin three great monarchies in the world, the first of Synn, the second of the Lawe, the third of Grace, and these had severall ends; the first was death, the next Christ, and the last is lyfe; and these were attained by severall meanes, for synn brought us to death by concealment of our faults, the lawe brought us to Christ by knowing our syn, by revealing our syn, and Christ by his grace leads us to everlasting lyfe. In each soule those three kingdomes have their succession yf it be saved. Though the lawe was delivered with thunder, yet there insued comfort in the first word, "I am thy G.o.d." The lawe like a bason of water with a glas by it, serves to discover, and scower away the filthines.

[Sidenote: fol. 123^b.

Aprill 1603.]

Second conclusion. Noe syn soe greate that should discourage us from comminge to Christ. Aesculapius, as the poets faine, dewised more remedys against poison out of a serpent than any other creature, yet the serpent more poisonous in it selfe then anie man. Soe from syn. Our confidence, _i. e._ from the nature of G.o.d, whoe regards not soe muche what a man hath bin, but what he is, and will bee. Whereas the judgment of man, on the contrary, is ground[ed] upon _vita anteacta_, and forepa.s.sed actions; soe Ananias made conjecture of Paule. G.o.d more delights to pardon the synner, then to punish the synne.

2. From the nature of Christ; more mild and mercyfull than Moses: for Christ never executed any point of judgment. He is an intercessor, and shall be our judge: but that tyme is not come, soe our creede notes, "From thence He shall come to judge." And this seemes to be the reason, that under the lawe, yf anie strang syn had escaped the hand of the magistrat, yet it was usually punished by the hand of G.o.d: whereas nowe, yf offences slip the magistrat, they are seldome or neuer revenged from heaven.

Christ is not soe muche a remedy for easy synns, but even for such synners as even beginn to stink and rott in them, as Lazarus did in the grave. Shee that had hir issue 12 yeares was healed with the touch of his garment, &c. He is more ready to pardon a synner upon repentance then to punishe him upon perseverance.

3. The end: To save. Christus salvat; solutione debiti et applicatione remedij. Debitum nostrum 2^x; Obedientiae; Poenae.

Wee must obey the lawe or indure the punishment. Christ by his lyfe hath payd the dett of our obedience, and by his death had cleered the debt of our punishment. Both were necessary to our plenary redemption: his life to ripe age to accomplishe our righteousnes; his pa.s.sion by death to meritt of [_sic_] our salvacion. Righteousnes of his lyfe. Merit of his pa.s.sion.

[Sidenote: fo. 124.

Aprill 1603.]

[Sidenote: fo. 124^b.

Aprill 1603.]

The applicacion; by taking upon him our syns, and imputing unto us his righteousnes. In all synn, three things, _culpas_, _reatus_, _poena_, and the remedy must have something contrary to the malignant quality of the disease: soe Christ cureth the fault by his obedience, the guilt by his innocency, and the punishment by his pa.s.sion; soe by applicacion all our synns are his. All his righteousnes is become ours. But heere surges a doubt, howe it comes to pa.s.se that synce the imputacion of his merits makes us righteous, the imputacion of our synn cannot make him synfull.

_Ferrum candens absorbet aquam_, and the drop of our synn cannot infect the ocean of his innocency; _finiti ad infinitum nulla proportio._ The applicacion of our syn to him is but a mere imputacion, but his merits, beside an imputacion, worke in us alsoe an inherent righteousnes. For applicacion; the commaundments are given in the second person; and the bible written in fas.h.i.+on of a story, not precepts and rules, because it is more for practise then speculacion, and G.o.d would have us rather good Christians then good schollers. Without particular applicacion all is nothinge but like the rude chaos, for before the incubacion of the Spirit of G.o.d, there was noe separacion, noe vilificacion, noe animacion. In the sacrifice in the old lawe it was noe idle thing that they were to sprinkle the right eare, the right thombe, and the right foote too, to shewe the inward affection must be moved by the eare, and the action by the thomb and the toe.

[Sidenote: fo. 125.]

The Virgin liked the newes well which was brought hir, "but howe shall this come to pa.s.se," quoth shee; soe it is welcome to every one to heere that he shall be the Sonne of G.o.d, but howe shall he knowe that? There is but thre wa[y]s of knowing himselfe to be the Sonne of G.o.d: 1.

_Scientia unionis_, and soe Christ onely knowes himselfe to be the Sonne of G.o.d. 2. _Scientia visionis_, and soe the Saints. 3. _Scientia revelationis_, and soe every Christian. And this last is twofold, either by a descendant course, whereby G.o.ds spirit comes downe to us, and this those knowe which have it. Philosophie sayth every lambe knowes his owne dame, _non per eundem sonum sed per eundem Spiritum_: as the uniting of the Father and the Sonne in the Trinity is _per communionem Spiritus_.

"My sheepe heare my voyce," by inward perception. "Did not our harts glowe within us?" The difference is knowne to them that have it. Samuel, before he was acquainted with it, thought it had bin the voyce of a man, but Ely could discerne it. 2. Wee knowe by our Spirit ascending to G.o.d: the Spirit like fyre, still ascendeth, like a steele toucht with the magnet turnes northward, soe this heavenward. Wee are placed twixt heaven and earth; like an iron betwixt two loadstones wee incline still to one of them.

[Sidenote: 8 Aprill 1603.]

I heard the Queene left behinde hir in money, plate, and jewels, the value of 12,000,000_l._ whereof in gold is said, 400,000_l._

It was said for a truth that the Countes of Ess.e.x is married to the Earl of Clanricard, a goodly personable gentleman something resembling the late Earl of Ess.e.x.