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and bring them to their answer; which, when they had shifted off alfo, he came himself; and in the 11. verf. brought them to their triali and purgation, then in the 12. ver. there followeth the confeffion of his guilty confcience; and then followeth the juft fentence in the 14. verf. and in the 22. verf. beginneth the execution thereof; and fo an end.

Gods course therefore is firft to call forth Adam to his answere; but this may seem at the first fight,to be a de fective course, because here is none but the Judg, and the party arraigned, to accufe, and to be a witnieffe against him; upon which the Judg might proceed; for, no other perfon being there, it inuft needs be, that either God muft proceed in this Judgment ex officio, or elle make Adam accuse himself: Felix, Act. 25. verf. 16. faith that it was not the manner of the Romans to arraigne any before there was brought in evidence against bim by accusers and witnesses; but to answer this, we lay, that as it were erroneous to hold that there was no third perfon to accufe him, for here is the Devil which is the accufer of all men, therefore there wanted not an accufation; and befides him which accused by fuggeftion, no doubt Adam's own confcience within, and evident ation without, did accufe and witneffe against him; for Adams flight and hiding himself, accused him of feare and fhame; and fear and fhame argued him to have a guilty confcience; and his guilty conIcience accused and teftified against him that he had done fome hainous offence againft God; and fo the evidence of his crime being manifeftly layd open before them all, God might, and muft orderly proceed in Judgement against him. Therefore it is alfo an error in Error. those which hold that there may not be any juft, lawfull, and ordinary proceeding judicially against any unleffe there be brought wit neffes face to face to accufe them; for it is plain and evident, that uppon fuch ftrong prefumptions, one may be called before the Judge, and the Judge may judicially proceed against him thereupon; as we fee in the cafe of murther how God proceeded against Cain, Gen. shap. 4. verf. 9, 10, 11, 12. and how God proceeded against Sodome and Gomorrah, Gen, 18. 20, 21. and how they proceeded in an extraordinary courfe against Feremie, Fér. 29: 26. when the matter concerneth the trouble and confufion of a Country or Commonwealth; for if it was permitted to a private man by the Law of Jealoufie, to make his wife purge herself, and to bring her to trill upon furmise and fufpicion, Numb. 5.14, 15. &c. then much more may (men in authoritie, who must be jealous over he Commonwealth and State of a Kingdome, when they fee it in darger by troubles and tumalts that arife)ufe fuch an extraordinarie manner and courfe of judgment in bringing men to their trialls, of whom they have a strong fufpicion, and fur mife to be the caufers thereof: for fo did Fofeph to avoid danger to the State, upon formife and fufpicion, call his bretheren before him, accufing them for spics.

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Gen. 3. 10. Qui dixit, Vocem tuam audiebam in hoc horto : extimui autem, eò quòd nudus fim, & abfcondi me.

February. 3.
1591.

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E have heard how vain a thing it is to dissemble or hide either our selves or our fins from God; for well may a finner fet himself in fuch a place, and cafe, that God may be hid from him, and where he may not fee God and his gracious prefence, but it is impoffible for any to fet himself in any place fo fecret or clofe, where God fhall not be able to fee him, ergo it is a folly to hide our finnes, either by deniall or diffimulation, yet we fee the Devils voice and counsell to finners is ftill cover, hide, flie, deny, and diffemble your fines; inno wayes confefs it for it you doe, there is no way but one with you, that is, that God in feverity and juftice fhould proceed in judgment to condemn you to death, so that this is the Devils art and endeavour to make us beleeve, that confeffion is a deadly poyson to kill us, which indeed God hath ordeined, and made to be a speciall means and mithridate to fave our fouls from fin, being committed: As before it was his fubtilty to make us beleeve, that the Tree forbidden did bear fo virtuous a fruit which would make us as Gods, when he knew that it would be as poifon to our bodies and make us damned Devils. Now this following of the Devils connfell and advise in this place, is so much the worse in Adam, and to much the more to be condemned, becaufe twice before he had followed it with ill fuccefs, and faw he was deceived, which might have been a double caveat and fair warning to him now to beware, but as he had followed the Devils counfell twice before in practise and deed, fo we fhall fee him to follow it twice hereafter in word: For firft of all touching his word and fpeech,the Devill teacheth him a peece of his Sophiftry, teaching him that he muft needs anfwer, to put nom caufam pro caufa: And fecondly, in the other place he teacheth him a pecce alfo of the Devils Rhetorick, which is called tranflatio crimi nis, a laying the fault upon another, and fo fhitting it from himself, outward covering, and inward diffembling hath a very good correfpondence, and therefore hypocrifie is compared to a Cloak or masking Hood. Fob faith 31.33. If I hide my finne as Adam did,concealing my finne in my bofom, will not God finde it out and punishit?

But Adam being bewitched and infatuated by the Devill, that fpirit of error, had learned to make choice rather to strive with Gods juftice, than to appeal to his mercy for favour and grace, whereas by confeffing he might have had pardon, he by defending it, brought himself the more deeply into judgment, and his fin the more into question and triall.

By confeffing his finne, Chrift would have been his advocate to plead for his pardon, but by defending and juftifying it, he made

him to be a Proctor to plead against hin,and Judge to give sentence against him, whereas by confeffing his dileafe, God would have been his Phyfitian, to heal him; he è contra by taking on himself to heal his own ficknefs, made himself and his disease more grievous and more defparare.

But let us come to fee how he feeketh a quia and an ergo, that is a good reason and argument to defend and juftific his deed: Let us Ilay come to the particulars of his answer, and ice the strength and validitie of his reasons, for if it be good and juftifiable, it will hold the proof, and the examination will doe it no hurt: Concerning which, firft we know it in corrupt policy, that it is good alwayes to begin a lye with a truth, or at least with great likelyhood of verity, that so the lye may after run more currant and goe more roundly away, therefore at the first, in the forefront of his anfwer, he places indeed a manifeft and known truth, that he heard Gods voice and the fecond alfo is truly said, that nothing might be fufpe&ed, namely, that he was afraid. In which two truths confeffed, the Fathers doe lay, are contained the first and fecond degrees, which by Gods Decree fhould have been the two chief inducements to move men to repentance, and therefore in that he was not moved to fubmiffion and confeffion of his fault, thereby they gather that this part of his confeffion alfo is against himself, there fore these two evasions are nothing but to make against his cause.

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The fecond excufe is of decencie and conveniencie, or comelineffe, as who should fay, I faw it a fhamefull thing, and very unmeet and undecent to appear before thee being naked, and therefore I hid my felf, in which he doth make his thought and imagination a rule to meafure Gods eftimation and judgement by, as if that which he thinketh inconvenient and uncomely, God must think and esteem to be unicemly and unmeet alfo : The Prophet Samuell faith 16. 7. That God feeth not as man feeth, neither are our x Sam. 16.7. thoughts his thoughts, he is not moved with the like paffions that we are, for Fab in ferquilinio was more precious and amiable in the eyes of God, and more acceptable to his minde quàm Herodes in folio, as a Father faith, and the reason is, becaufe ho looketh to that holinefs which is within, and accepteth a man thereafter, and regar deth not the outward cftate of the body whether he be naked or in poor aparrel, as men of corrupt judgment doe, Fam 2.3.4. there fore Adams thought and conceit of his bodily nakednefs which fee med unfeemly to him, ought not to be taken as a rule to measure Gods thoughts, and to prove and determine what is undecent and unreverent in the eyes and judgment of God touching the outward things, for feeing that nakedness is factum det, it cannot fimply dif please him, or be deteftable in his fight, for he saw all that he had made was paßing good, nothing to be ashamed of as undecent, therefore it is certain that if this had been all the matter which he pretendeth, he might have boldly, for all his nakedness, have prefented himself without fhame or fear before God; for as I have fhewed

PP 3

that

that nakedness of the it bodies in which they were made, and which they enjoyed being innocent, was no matter of blushing, but of beauty, no blemish or undecencie,but an ornament & glory to them; as the nakedness of the Sun and Moon, is fuch a glory and beauty to them, that if any fhould put upon thefe glorious bodies, a Cloak of velvet or Cloth of gold, it would be to farre from beautifying them, that it were a blemish and difgrace undecent for them; and this is the hope and expectation of the Sonnes of God, one day to enjoy that happy eftate again, in which they fhall want no bodily garments to cover them, but fhall all thine in glory as the Sun in the skic. Thus we see that this quia and ergo will not stand, it is not Gods art or workmanship nor his voice that made him feare, flie, or hide, but fomewhat elfe which he had done and committed, whatfoever it be, which God will bring to light and make apparent here

after.

Now let us come to the confequence here fet down, ergo abdidi; for which we shall perceive that this is no good or right reafon or confequence, which he should have inferred uppon the premiffes, for thus he fhould have concluded: I was afraid and naked and fled for confcience of my finne; therefore I confess humbly my finnes before thee, and doe crave pardon for them. Thou diddeft open mine eyes that I faw my finne,and thou opened ft mine cares by feare, that I knew thy judgment, ergo now alfo open my mouth, that I may confefs humbly, and open my heart, that I may repent truly for it; thus he fhould have made his confequence: I heard thy prefence with majefty comming, ergo I prepared my felf to meet my Lord right humbly, confeffing my finnes, that I might have found pardon this was Facobs refolution and conclufion in policie, Gen. 32.7. when he heard that Efau came against him, he feared and was troubled, and therefore used all means preparing himselfe to pacifie his wrath, and prevent the danger by praying to God, and offe ring presents to him; but of all his follies which are yet feen herein, it most appeareth in that which Adam here ufeth for his purpofe, maketh most against him, in that this which he ufeth and challengeth for his defence and appoligic, is indeed the very occa fion of his condemnation, as we fhall fee in the next verfe; id which God maketh this his confufion of his nakednefs, wherewith he chargeth God to be the very ground of his occafion and interrogatorie, which he cannot avoid, nor finde any colour nor evafion for, but to confess himself guilty.

Dixit

Dixit verò Deus, Quis indicavit tibi nudum esse te? An de frü- Gen. 3. 11. Et illius arboris, de quo interdixeram, tibi ne comedas ex eo, comederis?

OW we are come to proceed in the judiciall part February. of Gods cause and manner of judgment, concer- 1591. ning which we have feen before, this order to

have been observed.

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First God fent a Sergeant to arrest him, and a

fcite him to make his appearence to answer for that which should be laid and objected against him, in the feventh verse.

Secondly, he fent out an attachment more forcibly to lay hold on him, and to apprehend him, which he fled from, in the eighth

verse.

Then God came himself, making search for him being hid, and brought the Malefactor out to his arraignment, and to answer to ubi es, in the ninth verfe, which is his inditement and accusation.

Then God will have him make his plea to his inditement, which he doth in the tenth verfe,pleading not guilty for though he confef feth the fact laid against him, that he is out of his abt, and is filed and hid, yet we fee that he fo confeffeth it, that he traverseth the right and lawfulness of that deed done by him, which is quis and ergo, faying God was the cause of it: he could not doe otherwise, for God fpake fo fearefully to him, that he could not but flie, and God made him naked, and therefore he hid himself: In faying which he feemeth so to maintain and uphold his doings, as if he had faid, I have therefore done well in thus faying and hiding yea, I fhould not have done well if I had done otherwise, and fo his plea is, that he is not to be charged of any ill or offence in this be half.

Now to this answer God maketh a rejoynder and anfwereth that plea of his, by a double interrogation:In which God first of all joyn eth iffue with him in that one point, which is plain and evident be tween them both by his own confeffion, namely, that he was na-, ked, and then bringeth in fuch an ergo against him, that Adam could not choose but confefs his offence, and could not conceal or fhift it off any longer.

For God proveth to him that it could not be, that he should come ever to the knowledge of his evill and shamefull nakedness, but only by the act of eating the forbidden tree, fo that he taketh out of his own mouth and words confefled, that whereby he will make matter enough to judge and condemn him, namly, that he knew that he was naked and ashamed to fhew his face; for upon this point, he joynech iffue with him, and upon the ftrongest part of his quia and reafor, as who should say, be it true which you have 邓

faid,

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