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died for all, that they which live might not live to them- SERM. felves, but to him that died for them; this being, let us not XXVII. wrong the Lord who bought us, by withholding his due, 2 Pet. ii. 1. the price of his dearest blood; let us not abuse him, by defeating his purpose, no less advantageous to ourselves, than honourable to him; but as by being our Saviour he hath deserved to be our Lord, fo in effect let him ever be; let us ever believe him fo in our heart, confefs him with our mouth, and avow him in our practice; which that we may do, God of his infinite mercy, by his holy grace, vouchsafe unto us, through Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Now, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our Rev. i. 5. fins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father: to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.

Worthy is the Lamb that was flain to receive power, Rev. v. 12. and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and bleffing.

Bleffing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him Rev. v. 13. that fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever

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He defcended into Hell.

SERMON XXVIII.

ACTS ii. 27.

Because thou wilt not leave my foul in hell.

SERM. ST. PETER in his fermon to the Jews cites thefe words XXVIII. of the Pfalmift to prove the refurrection of Chrift. And

because upon these words our Saviour's defcent into hell feems to be grounded, I fhall from this text take occafion to difcourfe of this article of the Creed, Κατελθόντα εἰς ἅδε, He defcended into hell.

This article is of later standing in the Creed, and doth not appear to have had place in any of the most ancient ones public or private; excepting that of Aquileia; into which also perhaps it might have been inserted not long before Ruffinus's time; and the meaning thereof hath always (both in more ancient times among the Fathers, and afterwards among the Schoolmen, and lately among modern divines) been much debated, having yielded occafion to many prolix and elaborate discourses: to recite the feveral opinions about it, or different explications thereof, with the reafons produced to maintain or difprove them, were a matter of greater time and pains than I can well afford; and to decide the controverfies about it, a matter of greater difficulty than I could hope to achieve. Wherefore (both upon these accounts, and because I rather choose to infift upon matters more clear in their nature,

and more practical in confequence) I fhould be willing al- SERM. together to wave this obfcure and perplexed fubject; yet XXVIII. however fomewhat to comply with expectation, I shall touch briefly upon fome things feeming conducible to the clearing, or to the ending of the controverfies about it. Now whereas there may be a threefold inquiry; one, concerning the meaning of these words (he defcended into hell) intended by those who inferted them; another, concerning the most proper fignification of the words themfelves; a third, concerning the meaning they are in confiftency with truth capable of;

1. The first I refolve, or rather remove, by faying, it seems needless to difpute, what meaning they, who placed the words here, did intend; fince, 1. It is poffible, and by many like inftances might be declared so, and perhaps not unlikely, that they might both themselves upon probable grounds believe, and for plaufible ends propound to the belief of others, this propofition, without apprehending any distinct sense thereof; as we believe all the Scriptures, and commend them to the faith of others, without understanding the fenfe of many paffages therein: and fince, 2. Perhaps they might by them intend fome notion not certain, or not true, following fome conceits then paffable among divers, but not built upon any fure foundation, (like that of the millennium; and the neceffity of infants communicating, &c. which were anciently in great vogue, but are now discarded:) and fince, 3. To speak roundly, their bare authority, whoever they were, (for that doth not appear,) could not be fuch, as to oblige us to be of their minds, whatever they did mean or intend; they perhaps were fuch, to whom we might owe much reverence, but should not be obliged to yield entire credence to their opinions. But farther, 4. Were I bound to speak my fenfe, I should say, that, supposing they had any diftin&t meaning, they did intend to affirm, that our Saviour's foul did, by a true and proper kind of motion, defcend into the regions infernal, or beneath the earth; where they conceived the fouls of men were detained for this appears to have been the more general and current opi

SERM. nion of those times, which it is probable they did comply XXVIII. with herein, whencefoever fetched, however grounded.

Nobis infe

terræ et in

tas, et in ip

An. 55.

Prov. xv.

2. As to the second inquiry, concerning the fignification of the words, what may be meant by he defcended; whether our Saviour himself, according to his humanity, or his foul, or his body, called he by fynecdoche: what by defcended, whether (to omit that fenfe, which makes the whole sentence an allegory, denoting the sufferance of infernal or hellish pains and forrows, as too wide from the purpose; whether, I say) by descending may be fignified a proper local motion toward such a term, or an action fo called in refpect to fome fuch motion accompanying it; or a virtual motion by power and efficacy in places below: what by hell, whether a ftate of being, or a place; if a place, whether that where bodies are repofed, or that to which fouls do go; and if a place of fouls, whether the place of good and happy fouls, or that of bad and miserable ones; or indifferently, and in common of both those; for fuch a manifold ambiguity thefe words have, or are made to have; and each of these fenfes are embraced and contended for: I shall not examine any of them, nor farther meddle in the matter, than by saying,

1. That the Hebrew word sheol (upon the true notion ri-in foffo of which the fenfe of the word hell (or hades) in this alto vafti- place is conceived to depend) doth seem originally, most fis vifceri- properly, and most frequently (perhaps conftantly, except bus ejus ab- when it is tranflated, as all words fometimes are, to a fiftrufa profunditas. gurative use) to defign the whole region protended downTertul. de ward from the furface of the earth to a depth (accordA. ing to the vulgar opinion, as it feems anciently over the world) indefinite and unconceivable; vastly capacious in Adog. extenfion, very darksome, defolate, and dungeon-like in quality, (whence it is also frequently styled the pit, a the a Ifa. lowest pit, b the abyss, the depths of the earth, d the darkPf. lxxxviii, nefs, the depths of hell.) I need not labour much to confirm the truth of this notion, fince it is obvious, that this fheol (when most absolutely and properly taken, the b Pf. lxxi. circumstances of discourse about it implying fo much) is John ii. 6. Rom. x. 7. c Pfal. lxxi. 20. d Job xvii. 13. Pfal. cxliii. 3. Ecclef. vi. 4. • Prov. ix. 18.

11.

Prov. xxvii.

20.

xxxviii. 18.

6.

Ecclus. xxi.

10.

20.

1 Sam. ii. 9.

e

commonly opposed to heaven, not only in fituation, but in SERM. dimenfion and distance; as when Job, speaking of the un- XXVIII. fearchableness of the divine perfections, faith, It is as Job xi. 8. high as heaven; what canft thou do? deeper than hell; what canft thou know? and the prophet Amos; they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take though they climb into heaven, thence will I bring down.

Though Amos ix. 2.

(Pf.cxxxix.

them; 8.)
them (Deut.

xxxii. 22.
Ifa. Ivii. 9.)

48.

xxxvii. 35.

xliv. 29, 31.

2. I fay farther, because the bodies (or vifible remainders) of perfons dying do naturally fall down, or are put into the bosom of this pit, which is therefore an univerfal grave and receptacle of them, therefore to die is frequently termed καταβαίνειν εἰς ἅδου, or κατάγεσθαι εἰς ἅδου, το descend, or to be brought down into this hell; which happening to all men without exception, (for, as the Pfalmist says, there is no man that shall deliver his foul (or his life, or himself) from the hand of this all-grafping hell,) there- Pf. lxxxix. fore it is attributed promifcuously to all men, good and bad alike; I will go down, faith good Jacob, unto the Gen. grave, unto my fon mourning, (xaτabýσoμai eis äde, I will go down to fheol, this common grave of mankind,) and so frequently of others. Whence this hell is apt figuratively to be put for, and to fignify equivalently with, death itself; and it is once by the LXX. fo translated, (and St. Peter seems to use the phrase f after them ;) for death, I fay, or for the law, condition, and state of death: as in that of Hezekiah in the prophet Isaiahs; Sheol cannot praise thee; dins dadeath cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit forrows of cannot hope for thy truth: where of iv ade, and oi anоavóv- hell comTE, (as the Greek renders Sheol and death,) are the fame, about. and opposed to the living, of whom it is faid, The living, xxxviii. 18. the living he shall praise thee.

2 Sam.

.xxii. 6.

Acts ii. 24.

νάτε, The

paffed me

g Ifa.

Death and hades are

3. I fay farther, that this word, according to ancient frequently use, seems not to fignify the place, whither men's fouls do joined as go, or where they abide; for that,

fynony

mous.

(Ecclus.

xlviii. 5.)

I. It can hardly be made appear, that the ancient Hebrews either had any name appropriated to the place of fouls, or did conceive diftinctly which way they did go; otherwife than that, as the Preacher speaks, they returned Ecclef. xii.

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