as Paul doth interpret it in righteousnes holinesse So that the more grace we the more gloâ—y God he doth appeare greater in vs albeit he cannot be made greater by vs. He doth not increase but we grow from grace to grace from vertue to vertue the which ought principally to stirre vs vp vnto this dutie for that our selues are magnified in magnifying him as Mary sheweth here My soule doth magnifie the Lord vers 46. And The Lord hath magnified me vers 49. Qui maledicit domino ipse minuitur qui benedicit angetur prior est in nobis benedictio domini consequens est vt nos benedicamus domino illa pluuia iste fructus The Lord. Lord is a name of might Sauiour of mercie Mary then as Augustine and other obserue praiseth him alone who is able to helpe because the Lord and willing because a Sauiour And my spirit Such as distinguish betweene soule and spirit make this a reason of the former verse My spirit hath reioiced in God my Sauiour and therefore my soule doth magnifie the Lord according to that of S. Iames Is any merry let him sing So that this exultation of Mary caused her exaltation of God Inward reâ—oicing in spirit is a great signe of a good conscience which is a continuall feast The wicked are oftâ—n merry sometime mad merrie but all is but from the tâ—eth outward For as Salomon speakes euen in laughing the heart is sorrowfull and the end of mirth is heauinesse But the good man as the Virgin here reioiceth in spirit all worldly meriments are more talked of then felt but inward spirituall reioicing is more felt then vttered It is as the Scripture calles it a Iubilation an exceeding great ioy which a man can neither suppresse nor expresse sufficiently Nec reticere nec recitare for howsoeuer in the Court of Conscience there be some pleading euery day yet the godly make it Hilary Terme all the yeere See Gospell Dom. 1. Aduent Dom. 9. post Trinit In God Happily the spirit of the most wicked at sometime doth reioice yet not in God nor in good but in villanie and vanitie Prou. 2. 14. They reioice in doing euill and delight in frowardnesse whereas in the good man the ioies obiect is alway good goodnesse it selfe God himselfe Dauid delights in the Lord Mary reioiceth in God And this is so good a ioy that Paul saith Reioice in the Lord alwaies and againe I say reioice We may reioice in our friends in our health in our preferment in our honest recreation in many other things praeter Deum beside God yet in all propter Deum for God so farre foorth as they shall increase our spirituall reioicing in the Lord. God forbid saith Paul that I should reioice in any thing but in the crosse of Christ. In any thing in comparison of this in any thing which might hinder this and yet in all things for this See the Epistle Dom. 4. Aduent Sauiour To consider God as a seuere Iudge would make our heart to tremble but to consider him in Christ in whom he is well pleased is of all ghostly comfort the greatest And therefore if we desire to reioice in spirit let vs not behold God in the glasse of the Law which makes him a dreadfull Iudge but in the glasse of the Gospell which shewes him a mercifull Sauiour In euery Christian there are two contrary natures the flesh and the spirit and that hee may bee a perfit man in Christ he must subdue the one and strengthen the other the Law is the ministry of death and serueth fitly for the taming of our rebellious flesh the Gospell is the power of God vnto life containing the bountifull promises of God in Christ and serueth fitly for the strengthening of the spirit It is oyle to powre into our wounds and water of life to quench our thirsty soules As in name so in nature the Goodspell or the Ghosts spell that is the word and ioy for the spirit Mary then had good cause to adde this epithete Sauiour vnto God My spirit reioiceth in God my Sauiour My Sauiour We note two conclusions out of this pronoune the first against some Papists the second against all Papists Some Popish writers affirme that Mary was conceiued and borne without originall sinne and that she liued and died without actuall sinne contrary to the scripture Rom. 3. 9. Gal. 3. 22. So that in honouring the feast of her conception and natiuitie with the singular priuiledge of Christ they worship an Idoll and not her For an Idoll as Paul disputes is nothing in the world and so is that man or woman conceiued without sinne except Christ who was conceiued by the holy Ghost as none other euer was or shall be They ground this assertion vpon a place of Augustine Excepta sanctae virgine Maria de qua propter honorem domini nullam prorsus cum de peccatis agitur habere volo quaestionem Answere is made that Augustine elsewhere concludes all vnder sinne though he did in that place forbeare to rip vp the faults of the mother in honour of her sonne for in lib. 5. cap. 9. against Iulian the Pelagian he doth intimate that Maries bodie was sinfull flesh concluding peremptorily Nullus est hominum praeter Christum qui peccatum non habuerit graÌ„dioris aetatis accessu quia nullus est hominum praeter Christum qui peccatum non habuerit infantilis aetatis exortu So likewise lib. de sancta Virginitate cap. 3. Beatior Maria percipiendo â—idem Christi quà m concipiendo carnem Christi nihil enim ei materna propinquitas profuisset nisi foeliciùs Christum corde quà m carne gestasset And in his Treatise De fide ad Petrum for the Papists admit that booke Firmissime crede nullatenus dubites omnem hominem qui per concubitum viri mulâ—eris concipitur cum peccato originali nasci ob hoc natura filium irae Thus Augustine expounds and answers Augustine Now for holy Scriptures if there were no more texts in the Bible this one is omnisufficient to accuse Marie of some faults and the Papists of much follie My spirit reioyceth in God my Sauiour He that hath no sinne wants not a Sauiour but Marie reioyced in a Sauiour therefore she was sorrie for her sinne The whole neede not a Physitioâ— saith Christ but Marie calles for a salue therefore surely she had some sore and if any sin then she cannot be our Mediatrix or Aduocaâ—e Si peccatrix non deprecatrix Our Aduocate is our propitiation for sinne but the propitiation for sinne knew no sinne Ergo quae egebat non agebat aduocatum And therefore Mâ—ry who needed a Sauiour her selfe could not be a sauiour of other Againe we gather out of this pronoune my Maries particular apprehension and
in respect of their nature yet only the third person is the holy Spirit in regard of his office The holy because beside the holinesse of nature his speciall office is to make the Church holy The Father sanctifieth by the Sonne and by the holy Ghost the Sonne sanctifieth from the Father by the holie Ghost the holie Ghost sanctifieth from the Father and the Sonne by himselfe immediatly As wee beleeue that the Father is our Creator the Sonne our Redeemer so likewise that the holie Ghost is our Sanctifier Againe the third person is termed the Spirit not onely in regard of his nature which is spirituall but because hee is spired or breathed from the Father and the Sonne in that he proceeds from them both How I cannot say you need not search only beleeue For as the Prophet said of the Sonne Who shall declare his generation so the most iudicious Doctor Augustine of the holie Ghost Who shall declare his procession Inter illam generationem hanc processionem distinguere nescio non valeo non sufficio Quia illa ista est ineffabilis And therefore as the same Father in the like case Dum sibi haec dicit humana cogitatio conetur eam vel nosse ignorando vel ignorare noscendo See the Gospell Dom. post Ascension The holy Catholike Church The second part of the Creed concernes the Church for as Augustine obserueth the right order of a Confession did require that after the Trinitie should be ioyned the Church as the house for the owner and citie for the founder Againe the Creede doth end with the Church as it did begin with God to put vs in minde that except we haue the Church for our mother we neuer shall haue God for our father The Church is described heere by properties and prerogatiues Her properties are three 1. Holy 2. Catholike 3. Knit in a communion Her prerogatiues are likewise three 1. In the soule remission of sinnes 2. In the body resurrection of the flesh 3. Both in bodie and soule life euerlalasting The word Credo must be repeated in this article but the preposition In omitted by which the Creator is distinguished from the creatures and things pertaining to God from things pertaining to men It is said I belâ—eue in God in the Sonne in the holie Ghost but in all the rest where the speech is not of the Godhead In is not added I beleeue there is an holy Church as a companie gathered to God not in the Church as God So the best copies and the worst too reade Church is vsed in a sense Ciuill for an ordinarie assemblie Acts 19. 32. 39. Ecclesiasticall for Holy places 1. Cor. 14. 34. 〈◊〉 Holy persons Seueraâ—â— for euery faithful persoÌ„ is the Church of God 1. Cor. 3. 16 loyntly gathered together In One house Rom. 16. 5. One eitie or countrie the Church of Sardi Ephesus Apocal. 3. The whole world as in this article 〈…〉 For all men and Angels elected to life euerlasting and made one in Christ. It hath the name both in Greeke and Latine of calling out and seuering from other as being indeed a chosen and peculiar people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Not Churches but Church Because all the congregations of the faithfull in the whole world make but one onely Church For as a kingdome diuided into many shires and more townes is called one because it hath one and the same King one and the same law so the Church is one because it liueth by one and the same spirit and is ruled by one and the same Lord and professeth one and the same faith not one as tied vnto one place much lesse vnto one person as the Papists iniuriously confine it for as all of them make the Catholike Church to be nothing else but the Roman Church so some of them haue made the Roman Church nothing else but the Pope Papa virtualiter est tota ecclesia saith Haruaeus in lib. de potestate Papae cap. 23. As the tumultuous Anabaptists had framed a Church like Plinies Acephali all body and no head so the Romish parasites haue built a Church like the Toadestoole all head and no body See Epistle Dom. 17. post Trinit Holy There are many wicked in the Church and the best men haue some faults how then is it holy Luther answereth in a word If I looke vpon my selfe or my neighbour I cannot perceiue that the Church is holy but if I loooke vpon Christ who tooke away the sins of the world then I see it all holy It is said well I beleeue for we cannot see this holinesse ouershadowed with manifold infirmities outwardly though the Kings daughter is all glorious inwardly Sanctified by the washing of water through the word that is made cleane from all sinne by the precious bloud of Christ which is daily presented vnto vs both in the Word and in the Sacraments The Church then is holie three waies in respect 1. Of her head which is most holie like as one that hath a faire face is said to be a faire man albeit hee haue some crooked finger or goutie toe 2. Of her faith which is holy formaliter effectiue an vndefiled law conuerting the soule in it selfe holy which forbids nothing but that which is euill and doth not inioine any thing but that which is good and making other holy being the power of God vnto saluation 3. In regard of her life which is holy free from sin raigning and condemning euen in this world made holy by sanctification partially by imputation of righteousnesse perfectly This must be construed of the Church inuisible the triumphant part whereof is most holy the militant more holie then Infidels Iewes Turkes Heretikes and other out of the Church who cannot inioy the gift of sanctification I say more holy because in this life we receiue saith Paul but the first fruits of the spirit not the tenths of the spirit saith Luther and therefore Christianus non est in facto sed in fieri not so perfect but that hee neede to stoope vnder mercie Now for the Church visible that is a field wherein are Tares as well as wheate and both must grow together vntill the great haruest Matth. 13. compared to the Moone Reuel 12. 1. sometime decreasing sometime increasing but when it is in the full it hath some spots and therefore Brownists and Anabaptists obtrude more perfection vpon the Church then God requires Heauen hath none but good Hell none but bad Earth both good and bad Cum subspecie sâ—udij perfectionis imperfectionem nullam tolerare possamus aut in corpore aut in membris ecclesiae tunâ— di ibolum nos tumefacere superbia â—â—â—poerisi seducere moneamur Catholike This word is vsed some for Orthodoxall in which sense Pacianus said Christian is my
is not only present with his elect but also makes them sensibly perceiue it as Simeon here did and therefore his mourning was turned into mirth and his sobs into songs Againe sometime God is present but not felt and this secret presence sustaines vs in all our troubles and temptatations it intertaineth life in our soules wheÌ„ as to our iudgment we are altogether dead as there is life in trees when they haue cast their leaues And therefore let no man bee dismaied howsoeuer dismaied for God doth neuer leaue those whom he doth loue but his comfortable spirit is a secret friend and often doth vs most good when wee least perceiue it Esay 41. 10 c. 43. 2. According to thy word If God promise we may presume for he is not like man that he should lie neither as the sonne of man that he should repent This should teach vs to be hoiie as God our Father is holy being followers of him as deare children As he doth euer keepe his word with vs so let vs euer keepe our othes and promises one with another It is well obserued that aequinocation and lying is a kind of vnchastitie for the mouth and minde are coupled together in holie mariage Matth. 12. 34. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh And therefore when the tongue doth speake that which the heart neuer thought our speech is conceiued in adulterie and hee that breedes such bastard children offends not only against charity but also against chastitie Men say they must lie sometime for aduantage but it is a good conclusion both in religion and common experience that honestie is the best policie and truth the only durable armour of proofe The shortest way commonly the foulest the fairer way not much about Lord who shall dwell in thy tabernacle or who shall rest vpon thine holy hill euen he that speaketh the truth from his heart he that vseth no deceit in his tongue hee that sweareth vnto his neighbour and disappointeth him not For mine eyes haue seene thy saluation I haue seene the Messias in whom and by whom thy saluation is wrought and brought vnto vs. As Simeon saw Christs humanitie with the eies of his body so he saw Christs Diuinity long before with the pearcing eies of faith He knew that the little babe which he lulled in his armes was the great God whom the heauen of heauens could not containe and therefore beleeuing in the Lord of life hee was not afraid of death but instantly breakes forth into this sweete song Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace for mine eyes haue c. Death is vnwelcome to carnall men as Aristotle said Of all Terribles the most Terrible They crie out vpon the miseries of life and yet when death commeth they doe as little children who all the day complaine but when the medicine is brought them are nothing sicke as they who all the weeke runne vp and downe the house with paine of the teeth and seeing the Barbor come to pull them out feele no more torment as tender bodies in a pricking plurisie call and cannot stay for a Surgeon and yet when they see him whetting his lancet to cut the throte of the disease pull in their armes and hide them in the bed And the true reason hereof is want of faith because they doe not vnfainedly beleeue that Christ Iesus hath led captiuitie captiue that he hath swallowed vp death in victorie by his death and opened vnto vs the gates of eternall life The blessed theefe vpon the Crosse died ioyfully because hee saw Christ and beleeued also that he should passe from a place of paine to a paradise of pleasure S. Stephen died ioyfully because he saw the heauens open and Christ standing at the right hand of the Father Here Sâ—meon departed ioyfully because his eyes saw the saluation of the Lord. As there are two degrees of faith so two sorts of Christians one weake another strong The weake Christian is willing to liue and patient to die but the strong patient to liue and willing to die That a man may depart in peace two things are requisit 1. Preparation before death 2. A right disposition at death Both which are procured onely by faith in Christ. If a man were to fight hand to hand with a mightie Dragon in such wise that either he must kill or be killed his best course were to bereaue him of his poison and sting Death is a Serpent and the sting wherewith he woundeth vs is sinne so saith S. Paul The sting of death is sinne Now the true beleeuer vnderstands and knowes assuredly that Christ Iesus hath satisfied the law and then if no law no sinne and if no sinne death hath no sting well may death hisse but it cannot hurt when our vnrighteousnes is forgiuen and sinne couered Christ both in life and death is aduantage Philip 1. 21. Faith also procureth a right disposition and behauiour at death for euen as when the children of Israel in the wildernes were stung with fierie Serpents and lay at the point of death they looked vp to the Brasen Serpent erected by Moses according to Gods appointment and were presently cured so when any feele death draw neere with his fiery sting to pearce the heart they must fixe the eye of a true faith vpon Christ exalted on the Crosse beholding death not in the glasse of the Law which giueth death an vglie face but in the Gospels glasse setting foorth death not as death but as a sleepe only Faith is the speare which killeth our last enemie for when a man is sure that his redeemer liueth and that this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortall immortalitie well may he sing with old Simeon Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace and triumph ouer y e graue with Paul O death where is thy sting O hell where is thy victory The sting of death is sin the strength of sin is the law but thanks be giuen vnto God which giueth vs victorie through our Lord Iesus Christ. And thus much of the reason why Simeon was not afraid of death namely for that he did hold in his armes and behold with his eyes the Lord Christ who is the resurrection and the life he could say with a true heart vnto God thou art my God and his soule did heare God saying vnto him by his word I am thy saluation Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people The second part of this Hymne concerning the generall good our Sauiour brought to the whole world Wherein two points are to be noted especially 1. What are his benefits 2. To whom they belong The benefits are saluation light and glorie So that the world without Christ lieth in damnation darknesse and shame Iesus is a Sauiour neither is there saluation in any other he is the light
you To behold the Lambe of God who taketh away the sinnes of the world and so by the grace of Christ thou shalt vnderstand the loue of God thou shalt perceiue his wisedome power Maiestie sweetned and tempered to thy capacitie thou shalt finde the saying of Paul to be most true that in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge that Christ in our iustification is all in all and therefore good reason he should haue the first and most place in this argument that his grace should be named first and last The loue of God is the fountaine of all goodnes as Diuines speake gratiarum gratia from which originallie proceeds euery perfect gift and grace For almightie God hath not elected vs in regard of our works or other worth but coÌ„trariwise because God loued vs we do that which is acceptable in his sight I obtained mercie of the Lord saith Paul to be faithfull Vt fidelis essem non quia fidelis eram as Lombard aptly The nature of this short treatise will not endure that I should wade farre into this Abyssus I remember Pauls exclamation O the deepnes of the riches both of the wisedome and knowledge of God how vnsearchable are his iudgements and his waâ—es past finding out And the glosse of Augustine Volentes disputare de deâ— profundo mersi sunt Or as other Versi sunt in profundum I come therefore to the Communion of the holy Ghost a point more comfortable then ordinarily felt and yet more felt then can be disputed It is said Gal 4. 6. God hath sent the spirit of his Sonne crying in our hearâ—s Abba father he said not calling but crying and Rom. 8. 26. hee calleth this crying vnspeakeable groaning When a man is tempted and afflicted hee feeleth the strength of his enemies and the weaknesse of his flesh he feeleth the fierie darts of Satan the terrors of death the wrath of God all these cry out against him horribly so that the perplexed soule sees nothing but sinne threatning heauen thundering the diuell roring the earth trembling hell mouth open and ready to swallow him vp But yet in the midst of all these Gods holy spirit crieth in our hearts and this cry doth outcry the clamors of the law the bellowes of hell and howlings of infernall fiends it pearceth the clouds and ascends vp to the eares of God insomuch that the blessed Angels seeme to heare nothing else but this cry The spirit helpeth our infirmities and the strength of Christ is made perfect through our weaknesse For Christ is most powerfull when as we are most fearfull euen when we can scarsely groane marke the words of Paul The spirit maketh intercession for vs in our temptation not with many words or long praiers he crieth not aloud with teares haue mercie on me O God but only giues a little sound and a feeble groaning as ah father this is but one word yet notwithstanding comprehends all things Indeed the mouth speaketh not but the good affection of the soule crieth aloud after this manner O Lord God of compassion and father of mercies although I am grieuously vexed on euery side with affliction and anguish yet am I thy child and thou art my father in Christ. This little word or rather no word but a poore thought conceiued aright passeth all the flowing eloquence of Demosthenes and Tully yea Tertullian and all the Orators that euer were in the world for this matter is not expressed with words but with groanings and these groanings are from the blessed Spirit Thus you see the large extent of Pauls affection in regard of the thing wished vnto the Corinthians The grace of Christ the loue of God the communion of the holy Ghost The second extension is in regard of the persons be with you all for the Pastor must wish well not only to the best or to the worst but this praier ought to be made for euery one as well as for any one There is none so bad but hath receiued some grace none so good but hath need to receiue more grace Wherefore pray we still that the grace of Christ may be with vs all The Church of England addes a third extension in regard of the time for euermore the which is implied in the text also for the Corinthians as we reade in the former epistle were Saints by calling and so doubtlesse had receiued already the grace of Christ and had tasted of the loue of God through the fellowship of the holy Ghost He doth therefore now desire that the good worke begun in them may be perfect that the grace receiued may continue with them and increase daily vnto the end and in the end that the loue of God which cannot be greater secundùm essentiam may be greater secundùm efficientiam appearing growing abounding in them more and more for euermore Amen Amen is vsed in holy Scripture three waies as Gabriel and Gerson speake Nominaliter Aduerbialiter Verbaliter As a nowne for truth Apoc. 3. 14. These things saith Amen the faithfull and true witnesse and so it is added in the conclusion of euery Gospell and of the whole Bible as a seale to confirme that which is written In the beginning is the first Amen the last word of holy writ a stately beginning a strange ending For what is more stately then antiquitie what more strange then truth Hereby teaching vs that the Scriptures haue vetera and vera which are not together in any other writing For in humane learning many things are vncertainly true and more certainly vntrue onely the word of God is sealed with Amen Secondly as an Aduerbe for verily so Christ often ii the Gospell Amen Amen dico vobis Thirdly as a Verbe signifying so be it Deut 27. 15. Dicet omnis populus Amen and so it is vsed in Pauls praier expounded before and in all our Collects insinuating our earnest desire that those things which we haue faithfully asked may be effectually obtained And this custome of answering the Minister in the Church Amen is ancient as it appeareth in the 1. Cor. 14. 16. Iustin Martyr Apolog. 2. Hieron prolog lib. 2. in epist. ad Galat. Augustin epist. 107. Vsum respondendi Amen antiquissimum esse patet saith Bellarmine lib. 2. de Missa cap. 16. Here is open confession I would the Church of Rome would make open restitution also For if the people must answere the Priest Amen then the Priest must pray to the peoples vnderstanding and how shall they vnderstand except common praier be said in a common tongue A conclusion agreeable not onely to the Scriptures as Bellarmine acknowledgeth and to the practise of the Primitiue Church as Iustin Martyr and Lyra report and to the paternes of other Liturgies in South India Moscoâ—ia Armenia but euen to their owne constitutions and Masse booke for their owne Clement and their owne Missale giue order that