into the world for then was the world redeemed from her olde silence Then began the true sonne of righteousnes to appeare who alone was able to expell all the clowdy mists of ignorance What greater ioy can be then for the prisoner to heare of liberty the sicke of his health the sinner of his saluation In the comming of Christ it is to be obserued that God sent his Angel he did not vse the ministerie of man to publish thys mesâ—age which shewes the dignity thereof This Angell was accompanied with heauenly souldiours who so soone as these tydings were published began to sing Glory to God on high Peace on earth Good will towards men Three notable wonders wrought in one day The first part of this heauenly song noteth that the benefite of Christes Incarnation was not in earth onely but in heauen also and therefore as there was peace on earth so there was glory in heauen among the Angels 2. Peace on earth This sheweth that â—e came as a Medratour to make peace betweene God and vs. 3. Good will towards men To shew that as hee was Fons Charitatis the fountaine of charitie so he would worke loue and charitie among men What day coulde bring foorth greater matters and therefore wee haue reâ—son to sing with Dauid This is the â—ay The day of our Creation is in no sort to be coÌ„pared to this day of our Redemption Gods mercy appeared in making vs but his greater mercy in sauing vs. Before thys day wee were in a state most miserable vnder the curse wherein Adam left vs vnder wretchednes vnder sinne the curse of the lawe and dominion of the deuill But nowe that Christ hath appeared hell is conquered sathan confounded sin put to flight and heauen set open to all beleeuers So is it verified Heauines may indure for a night but ioy commeth in the morning our comming in hath been with teares but our returne to Sion is with euerlasting ioy vppon our heads The first Adam brought into the worlde darknes fearefulnes and sorrowe but the last Adam brought comfort light 〈◊〉 fulnes All is changed in our seconde Adam mortalitie to immortalitie mourning to mirth misery to felicitie sadnes to solace now is the sinner iustified the law discharged the dead reuiued and the deuill vanquished according to his mighty power who hath subdued all things vnto himselfe The Iubilee yeere to the Israelites vvas not halfe so welcome as this day ought to be to vs when that yeere came it brought with it freedome and releasing of debts thys day and time this acceptable yeere of Christ hath brought vnto vs a greater freedome euen our soules freedome a greater releasing of debts our sinnes for vvee owe vnto God more than the cruel debter not ten thousand talents but ten thousand times tenne thousand talents Neyther was the day of theyr deliuerance from Pharao halfe so acceptable vnto them as this day of our deliuerance is to vs. For wee are set free from our spyrituall Pharao the deuill As Moses sayd to the Israelites Remember this day so I say Remember this day for it is the day of our deliuerance the day of our redemption the acceptable day of the Lord. This is a day wherein light first appeared to the Gentiles euen to vs that were aliants from God yet to vs hath the light appeared according to Symeons saying A light to lighten the gentiles We that once were not a people are now become a people wee are made through Christ to bee the sonnes of the liuing God For to the Israelites pertained the adoption and the glory and the couenaunt giuing of the law and the seruice of God and the promises of whom are the Fathers and of whom concerning the flesh Christ came Rom. 9. 4. A whole Sea of matter is heere laid open to mee if I woulde at large discourse of the inestimable good deriued vnto vs by Christes birth but the time will not permit this little that hath beene spoken may carry you to the consideration of all the rest As a certaine Geometrician finding Hercules foote vppon Olympus by that one foote drewe the proportion of the whole body so by this little beeing but as it were a foote in respect of the body of the matter included you may conceiue vvhat might further be amplified in this poynt the absolute fulnesse whereof wee cannot possibly be able to comprehend Onely let vs consider that as at this tyme God sent his sonne to be our Sauiour Hee hath giuen vs him and all things with him so that we may nowe say with the Apostle Saint Paule All is ours the world and the Creatures thinges present and things to come all is ours and wee are Christes and Christ is GOD. It followeth Let vs reioyce Abraham seeing Christes daies a farre of reioyced and yet hee was before Christ thrice foure-teene generations How may wee reioyce that liue to those daies alreadie determined Neyther Abraham nor the Patriarchs nor all the Prophets coulde say as we can They coulde say no more but Christ shall come vvee can say he is come Blessed are the eyes that see the thinges that you see and the eares that heare the thinges that you heare VVhere it appeareth vvee are rather blessed than all that vvere before Christ The Kinges of the earth haue desired to see that which you see c. All that vvere before Christ sawe but a glymse of that lyght the fulnesse whereof wee nowe behold like the Sunne in his strength Wee haue seene the righteousnes of Sion breake out like the light and the saluation thereof as a burning lampe Thus haue we a greater priuiledge than the Keysars and mighty Monarchs might be suffered to enioy For vs were these better things reserued euen we that now lyue in the time of the glorious Kingdome of Christ haue obtayned this so rich prerogatiue all to shew foorth the greatnes of our felicitie Great cause haue we then to reioyce As the babe sprang in Elizabeths wombe so shoulde our harts spring within our bodies for ioy of the presence of Christ If Annah reioyced for that GOD gaue her a sonne and so tooke away the rebuke of her barrennes much more cause haue wee to reioyce that God hath giuen vs his sonne to be borne for vs whereby our barrennes of fayth is taken away and vvee are made fruitefull in the workes of righteousnesse If Iephtah his daughter went out vvith Tymbrels to welcome home her Father how may we prepare to welcome a greater then Iephtah nay a greater then Salomon How should we prepare our minslrelsie to welcome home thys victorious Lyon of the Trybe of Iuda since by him we do returne in victorie and may tryumph as Iephtha did not ouer a sew faint-harted Gybeonits but ouer many millions of spirituall aduersaries Sin death and hell this worlde and the lusts thereof Wee haue then cause to reioyce and to prepare our musicall instruments VVee should say with
present another preacheth a third man standing by readeth heere is no order but confusion and God is not the God of confusion Let all things in the Church be done decently and in order Thus haue you seene Christ our Lorde entering into the Temple in deuotion and in zeale correcting the abuses that hee found there Teaching them withall the right vse of the Temple and what exercises of holines the place requireth that so they might not come together to condemnation Let it be considered what is sayd and the Lord giue vs vnderstanding in all thinges that hauing attained in some measure to the fulnesse of knowledge that is in Christ Iesus and beeing stablished in euery good worke and word our fruite may be holines and our end euerlasting life Let vs pray the spirit of Grace to enter into the temples of our harts and thence to purge and cast out all corruptions whatsoeuer To God onely wise our Sauiour be rendred all honor glory praise with thanksgiuing now and euer Amen ⧠The history of our Lords Birth ¶ A Sermon preached by the Authour at Shrewsburie vpon Christ his day MATH 2. 1. 2. When Iesus then was borne in Bethleem in Iudea in the dayes of Herod the King behold there came Wise men from the East to Ierusalem saying Where is hee that is borne King of the Iewes For wee haue seene his star in the East are come to worship him TWo principall motiues or reasons beloued in our Lord induced me to make choise of this Text. One vvas the occasion of our meeting at this time which is to solemnize keep in memorie the Natiuity of our Lord Sauiour Christ Iesus The other the great necessity of the doctrine in these wordes contained For they deliuer vnto vs the history full discourse of Christes Incarnation beeing one principall branch in the misterie of our Redemption So you see how both text time our meeting matter or cause of our meeting all conspire together and are alike sutable There shoulde be no matter of greater force to draw men together than this vvee haue nowe in hand for it is able to furnish vs with all necessary knowledge like the roule that Ezechiell tooke from the Angell which wheÌ„ he had eaten it filled both Ezch 3 belly and bowels hee straightwayes began to prophecy We liue not in those times wherein vve may offer rich presents vnto Christ like the Wisemen nor can wee nowe poynt at the bodily presence of Christ as Iohn did not can we feast him in our houses as Zacheus did nor can we embrace him in our armes as once Symeon did when hee came by inspiration into the Temple Christ nowe looketh not for these curtesies nor can we performe theÌ„ if we would But this and all this we do when we come to heare Christ preached vnto vs when we open our harts to entertaine the worde as Lydia did and when wee embrace with alacritie and cheerfulnesse the doctrine of Christ And as I haue told you one capitall branch of this doctrine is this concerning his natiuitie Men are carefull very diligent in calculating theyr owne byrth-dayes and theyr childrens natiuities for a more certaine account they kalender them vp to the end they may not be forgotten and thys they â—may doe for reason requireth it law alloweth it and ciuility commends the same But a thousand times more careful ought we to be both Prince prophet people to kalender and keepe in memory the natiuitie of our Lord Sauiour conscience â—inforceth it custome calls for it and vvhich is most of all Christâ—â—â—â—â—e commaunds it For vnto this name and to no other vnder heauen are we baptized Of Christ wee are called Christians We are his schollers his seruaunts his disciples and therefore very careful should we be to honour our Lord Maister in keeping holy his day For as Christ in earth sought nothing but the glory onely of his Father so his father now in heauen seekes nothing but the glory of his sonne And as the same sonne beeing here on earth humbly debased himselfe as a seruaunt vnder all men to obey his Fathers will so hath it pleased God his Father againe to exalt him not onely to surmount the glorie of all Princes and Potentates whatsoeuer but also with such power maiestie hath he aduaunced him that euen the very knowledge and beleese of his glorious Name is able to giue euerlasting life to all sinners be they neuer so greeuously burdened or laden whosoeuer will come vnto him to seeke any refreshing So proued by his oâ—n testimony in the 6. of Iohn verse 40. Thy is the will of him that sent mee that euery maâ— that beleeueth in him should haue euerlasting life and I will raise him vp at the last day Haue not wee great reason then to remember this day of Christ a day as Saint Augustine calls it of all dayes the beginning of all daies the beginning of eternitie to the beleeuers Hee was borne to make vs rich hee vvas layd in a stall euen among beastes to exalâ— vs to the company of Angels Hee was borne an exile a banished person from the cradle driuen to flie into Egypt as Moses did to Mydian to the end he might make vs free Vt Moses in vluas Hee came from heauen to the earth to the end hee might dravve vs from earth to heauen Hee tooke vppon him a naturall â—ody to make vs heauenly bodies He was made flesh to make vs spirits he was made the sonne of man to make vs the â—onnes of God To as many as receiued him â—o them gaue hee power that they might be the â—onnes of God Great reason haue wee then â—o remember him that did all this for vs. And this much shall briefely suffice to â—tirre vp your mindes to a carefull contemâ—lation of Christ and his glory Now let vs â—eare S. Mathew speaking When Iesus then was borne at Bethleem c. For the increase of our fayth and for an â—ndoubted certaintie heere is layd downe â—he true story of Christes birth with cirâ—umstances thereunto belonging The maner of our Lords birth is at large â—eliuered by this our Euangelist in the forâ—er chap afore my Text beginning at the 8. verse The other circumstances runne â—eere in these wordes as first The place â—here he was born In Bethleem 2. When â—n the dayes of Herod 3. Who came first to â—im The wise men 4. How did they know â—ee was borne or howe were they directed â—â— finde him They were guided by a starre 5. To what end came they to him Iâ— worship him This day and time was foretolde by the Prophets commended to men by Angels and celebâ—ated by the godly Fathers of the Church Esay long before the comming of Chrâ—â—â— prophecied saying Loe a virgine shall â—â—â—ceaue Esay 7 and beare a sonne and they shall 〈◊〉 name Emanuell And againe Vnto vs a â—â—â— Esay 9 is
righteousnes thereof but the carnall man saith Nay I will first seeke afvanity and after my lusts after my pleasures The greatest nuâ—ber are like Haman or Belshazzar or like the â—â—â—ple â—iâ—h man in the Gospell Veâ—y sewe â—â—â— Dauid or Solomon or Ioliah thaâ—â—â—bâ—â—â—â—or wisedom that seeke after the sauing knowledge Few like this Iaylor that will run to Christ or his Ministers as he did to the Apostles to demaund how they may be saued Well where the graces of God are implanted and where the sweete motions of his holy spirit sind enterance there hath vanity no place but all the whole man the soule and spirit and body all is carried away with heauenly desires as Paule was rauished with new visions when he was rapt vp into the third heauen But this cannot be till wee haue bidden the world farewell with the deceaueable glory thereof vntill the olde man be vtterlie abollished and the whole body of sinne be destroyed And vntill wee be moulded as it were a new like Adam in Paradise before his fall The couâ—se of this woâ—lde is such that whatsoeuer in face we professe yet our maner of liuing bewrayes our contrary desire Wee all would seeme to haue the smooth voyce of Iacob but wee can be content to carry within vs Esaus hart and hands Where the Iaylour questioneth how hee may be saued the greater part of men of this age demaund howe they may be damned No man asketh how he may be made more holy but how be more wicked not how he may becom more humble but how he may waxe more proud not how hee may goe like Iohn in Cammels haire and girt about after the homeliest fashion with the girdle of a skinne but how he may iet it and ruffle it in silkes and veluets like them that are Velut Heâ—od in reguli vâ—stiru splendidus in Kings Courts This Iaylour had been a wicked prophane cruell man but now hee lamenteth his former cariage of himselfe and he now careth to know nothing now but howe to be saued As if hee should say I haue taken great paines to be wicked I haue deuised by all meanes how to exercise cruelty against the children of God but if I knew now how to recouer Gods fauour how to become a Christian I would refuse to vndergoe no paines in the world Nothing should stand in my way no perrill were it euer so hurtfull no persecution were it euer so hot and raging should with-hold me from the recouery of Gods rich mercies the happie mans onely prerogatiue Heere wee may see the growth of Gods graces in his children first God planteth and soweth in our harts a desire of well doing a desire to knowe Gods will secondly a holy knowledge and thirdly a practike obedience of the same will of God according to the measure of our knowledge A desire a knowledge and a practise like Herba culmus spica the seed that is sowne comes vp by degrees first it is grasse then the blade and then the eare So first wee must labour to haue knowledge and that will soone appeare if we haue in vs a desire to learne as this laylour had And last of all to worke accordingly and so the Christian man is fully perfited and so groweth vp in holines and righteousnes after the similitude of him that made him What must doe Must importeth the present oportunity which in no case ought to bee neglected specielly in matters of saluation Men are least carefull in this behalfe they deserre their conuersion till theyr last and latest time Beeing loath to part with sinne as Lot was to goe out of Sodome they would not leaue sinne till sinne leaue them This Iaylor teacheth you otherwise if you aske him when it is best to enter into this holy resolution when it is time to turne to God and so be saued He tells you now you must doe it now is the time Aske Solomon Hee tells thee in the dayes of thy youth remember thy Creatour Aske God himselfe he tels thee To day heare my voyce If thou wilt knowe the time of the day aske Abraham Hee tells thee it must be in the morning as he in the morning of the day rose vp to sacrifice his sonne so thou In mane vitae tuae In the morning of thy life If thou let the day slip till the morrow to thee belongs that curse Vae qui dicitis cras cras cras non Christianorum sed Coruorum vox est miserè crocitantium Woe be to you that say to morrow to morrow to morrow is not the voyce of Christians but the vnlucky croaking of Rauens and Crowes Praesens tempus tantum nostrum est The present time is onely ours Dum dicitur hodie Whilst to day wee liue Qui non est hodie â—ras minus aptus erit He that endeuoureth not to day will be lesse apt for any good to morrow All men would gladly goe to heauen but they cannot resolue to goe yet they would a while liue vpon the earth they are not of this laylours mind nor of Paules minde I desire saith he to be dissolued And what must I doe He doth not so much as giue the Apostles leaue and respite to refresh and feed themselues he was so earnest As Abrahams seruant did not eate meate till hee had first tolde his message so the laylour would not suffer the Apostles nor himselfe to eate meate till he had told them his message Hee cared like Mary rather to feede the soule then the body not respecting the perishing food but rather that which should feed him vp to eternall life This sheweth a carefull desire in the laylour but we must proceede further than to a naked desire He that onely desireth to doe well and eyther goes no further or retires backe againe where hee beganne is like to the smoake which goeth vp towards heauen but neuer comes there Or like a cloude that mountes aloft as long as the sunnes heat lasteth but the sunne once set it falleth downe to the earth faster then it mounted vp This laylour went further then so for as we find him in this place desiring to know the meanes of his saluation so in the next verse to my Text wee finde him vsing the meanes of his saluation The Apostles were diligent to preach vnto him he as diligent to heare them As our bodies grow so must our soules first we creepe and then we grow and then we runne so we must grow in the spirit encrease in knowledge and profit in Religion till the man of God be perfect As this laylour sayde What shall I doe to be saued so let euery man say What shall I doe to haue knowledge vvhat shall I doe to haue fayth vvhat shall I doe to haue charitie vvhat shall I doe to haue zeale All these are so many meanes of thy saluation and shall carry thee to heauen faster then the fierie chariot caried Elias thither when he was
translated And thus much is spoken briefely for the question of the laylour Now let vs consider of the Apostles answere Beleeue in the Lord Iesus and thou shalt be saued and thy houshold This is their aunswere hee was not so ready to aske but they are as ready to satisfie his demaund Christes Disciples are like Christ he in the 10. of Mark answered thus to him that demaunded what he might doe to inherite eternall life Hoc fac et viues This doe and thou shalt liue And heere the Apostles gaue like aunswer to this Iaylour Doe this and thou shalt be saued Beleeue in the Lord Iesus Heere wee are to learne by this example of the Apostles to be helpful to our neighbours or whom so euer we find fit for the Kingdome of God wee ought to furnish them with all spirituall knowledge wee must like Peter strengthen them that are weake when we our selues are strong But we see the contrary practised for the greatest part are apt to draw men froÌ„ God and from his truth as the Athiests Papists of these times who straine their endeuours to make others like themselues Boni malos volunt esse bonos vt sint sut similes Mali contra bonos volunt esse malos vt sint sui similes More then a good many can be apt to say with Chora The people are all holy and whereto serues this precisenes They vvould perswade men that they are too good when they are stark naught They will be straight-wayes in the extremity before they haue attained the mediocrity Like the lazie trauailer that sittes downe in the midst of his iourney or like him that running in a race giues ouer in the midst of his course and suffers others to get the goale before him This is the reluctation betweene the holy and vnholy the children of light and the children of the darknes Good men striue to be holy themselues and to beget holines in others but the wicked striue to be naught and to make others worse than themselues And the deuill comes in to act vp the tragedy and so he rageth and so sinne suggesteth so the weaknes of man yeeldeth because he hath not faith in which only we can ouerthrow the world The Apostles sinding this Iaylour in the way of his saluation do help him forwards and doe support his weaknes as Christ caried the lost sheepe vpon his shoulders as the mercifull Samaritane did lay the man that lay by the way side robd wounded vpon his owne beast Beleeue say they in the Lord. This may seeme to be a lesson soone learned and the gayning of heauen a matter of short and easie surprize if it may be obtayned only by beleeuing in the Lord Iesus Indeed the answer is short but the matter of substance included therein is great for as one tree hath many braunches and one branch many blossoms so this one answer hath many circumstances All which being duly considered we shall be forced to acknowledge it a matter of greatest difficulty and that we haue neede to call vpon Gods spirit for his special furtherance in this great frame of our spirituall building For it is not giuen to all to beleeue in the Lord Iesus nay it is giuen but to a fewe to those onely whom the Father hath sealed for that purpose Yea euen the best of vs to whom the Lorde hath giuen most talents of his rich graces may say notwithstanding looking vpon our imperfections Lord wee beleeue helpe our unbeleefe and the spirit is willing but the flesh is weake Faith in the strongest wil be found to be but a deficient faith as Peters was when he began to sinke God will haue it to be so to the end we should haue recourse to the fulnes that is in Christ That when we see our faith weakned or wounded wee should doe as they did who were bitten by Scorpions cast vp our eyes to Christ the brazen serpent who will not cease since now he is lifred vp to draw vs vp also vnto himselfe Beleeue in the Lord Iesus Asour Sauiour told Martha one thing is necessary so the Apostles tell this Iaylor one thing is necessary to furnish him for the Kingdome of heauen euen faith Belecuâ— onely and thou shalt be saued To beleeue is to giue consent in thy hart to the worde of truth to subscribe therevnto by an vnfained profession to yeeld all Christian obedience aunswerable to the measure of grace giuen vnto vs. This faith is begotten in vs by the immediate gift of God and increased in vs by the word of God read and preached God giues the word and the word giues faith and faith giues saluation The Iewes reade the Scriptures and they heard Christ preaching vnto them euery Sabaoth in their Sinagogues yet they beleeued not because the vaile was not taken from them and they were still in theyr sinnes to shew that faith is the speciall gift of God and all cannot receaue it which makes so many to withstand the truth in vngodlines Where it is said heere Beleeue onely and thou shalt be saued Wee learne that faith is the onely principall instrument whereby we apprehend Christ and so consequently our saluation For without faith it is impossible to please God and so without faith it is impossible to be saued Heere may the Papistes lay their handes vpon theyr mouthes for they are no longer In architectura totuÌ„ artificiuÌ„ attribuitur architecto non arti non instrumentis Olâ—uÌ„ et ignis duo sunt sed cohareÌ„t in vno lamâ—adâ—o Make your 〈◊〉 sure by good workes In facto noÌ„ pto facto able to maintaine theyr doctrine of Good-workes in the act of iustification They would haue vs acknowledge with them that fayth without workes is not sufficient to iustifie but with our sayth say they our works must be coÌ„current Which is a manifest errour and this place conuinceth it True it is that fayth neuer goeth alone but is alwayes accompanied vvith good-works as the heate is neuer separated from the fire but in the act of iustification faith alone must be coÌ„sidered otherwise Christ dyed in vaine Homines meritum quid esse potest 〈◊〉 vt ait vaus hommis desperatio aut vt aâ— alter Dei miseratio For what is mans merrit but as one authour saith mans desperation Or as another saith the mercy of God VVho can say My hart is cleane Can the infant or the tender babe newly drawne from the wombe In no wise they cannot For quis dabit mundum ex immundo semme Of vncleane seede vvhat cleannesse can come Num adult us vt sunt annorum sic vitiorum incrementa In youth as yeeres multiply so vices increase Cum omnia feceritis dicite vos esse seruos in vtiles When ye haue done all you can say ye are vnprofitable seruants Si dixerimus nos volumus respondet Apostolus Deus dat velle si dixerimus nos facimus at vt facimus Deus