petitions and yet be againe and againe importunated this is the way to offend them and make them more difficult But a restles importunitie and a kinde of violent urgeing of our desires is most acceptable to God which if we use rightly we are sure to obtaine that which we seek or that which is better Now let us proceed to the second temptation wherewith the faith of this woman was assaulted The disciples of our Lord moved either with pitty or impatience at the hearing of the frequent cryes of this woman desire him that he would dismisse her send her away say they for she cryeth after us Her cryes troubled them and it may be caused the people to gather about them To this our Lord answereth I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of Israel Strange and as it would seeme very uncomfortable words for this woman The meaning of the words is not that he came not to redeeme any but the Jews The scripture clearly telleth us That he is the propitiation for the sinnes of the whole world that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to the death that whosoever should beleeve on him should not-perish but have eternal life In the 1. of Mal. it is promised by God that through the Messias his Name should be great among the gentiles from the rising of the sunne to the going down of it In the 2. of Haggai he is called The desire of all nations Isai chap. 11. foretold that the root of Jesse should be an ensigne to the people and that to it the gentiles should seek Before him DAVID prophecied Psal 2. That the heathen should be his inheritance and that the outmost ends of the earth should be his possession And long before him Jacob said That when Shilo came or the Messias to him should be the gathering of the nationes What then ye will say doth our Saviour meane by this that he was not sent but unto the lost sheep of Israel I answer he meaneth that he was sent to be Borne among them to worke his miracles among them to be visibly conversant with them whence he is called The Minister of the circumcision Rom. 15. God carried that respect to the Jews because of the covenant made with their fathers that the Messias was both to come of them and to do his wonderfull works among them not going nor sending to others til they had made themselves unworthie of his presence This is the true sense of his words yet the woman might have easily conceived them so as if they hide simply excluded her from his favour as not belonging to his care This was a mighty assault yet is she not dashed for all that On the contrary the strength of her faith doeth kyth the more in greater servencie and greater devotion for now she runes before him and falleth down at his feet worshippeh him acknowledgeth her own unworthinesse and his infinite excellencie and withall reneweth her petition saying LORD help me Her faith wisly passeth by the words of our Saviour she giveth not a direct answer to theÌ„ but still inforceth her suit as if she would have said O LORD I cannot reason with thee I cannot answer thee one of a thousand thy Words are above my reach Yet one thing I know beleeve that thou art the Saviour of the world who came for them that are miserable and lost and such an one I am therefore LORD help me Let them be affraied of these thy Words who seek the not but as for me I seek thee and will not leave thee untill thou have mercy upon me and sure I am thou not only may but will do it howsoever thou hide thy Love for the time Here we may learne how to incounter with a dangerous temptation which sometimes is suggested unto men namely that they are none of those whom God hath chosen or upon whom he hath set his LOVE and to whom his speciall Care belongeth If Sathan assault thee this way do as this woman did go thou and fall down at the Feet of Christ to worship him lay LORD help me Search not into the deep misâ—ery of Gods Predestination which thou art not able to wade through secret things belong to God and things that are revealed to us say thou therefore to him O LORD thou hast revealed that thou came To seek and save that which is lost and that thou willest not the death of sinners I am a sinner and I am lost O LORD therefore have mercy upon me and help me Say or do what thou will I will never depart from thee till thou blesse me Now let us here the answer of our Saviour to the womans renewed petition Suffer The children to be first satisfied said our Saviour unto her as it is in S. Mark For it is not good to take the bread of the children and to cast it unto dogs What I pray you could seeme more harsk then this he represents her unworhines unto her in respect of the Jews to whom he said before he was sent He calleth them children and her a dog and insinuateth that suppose she wer to get any help from him yet was it not to be expected at this time since the children were not yet satisfied whose bread ought not to be casten unto the dogs This was the third comptation a mighty one She looked for a gracious acceptance at the first and yet findeth herself still rejected and that with a reproach in end yet her faith is so farre from being broken with this that the vigor and strength of it still increased A little flame is soon quenched but a great fire the more it is opposed becometh the more violent so a strong lively faith overcometh al impediments and maketh a man to say with Job although the LORD should slay me yet I will trust in him Hence this woman claspeth yet faster to her Saviour and his Mercies Trueth LORD said she yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters table Strange and wonderfull words full of humilitie modestie faith and wisdome Humilitie for she acknowledgeth herself to be a dog as she was called Modestie for she expresseth only what is due to dogs not inferring what was due to herself but leaving that to be inferred by our LORD Her faith also shineth in these words for she professeth that she beleeved the miraculous deliverance of her daughter to be but as it wer a crumbe in respect of these great things which his Mercy could give Her wisdom also appeareth greatly in these words for she taketh advantage of our Saviour his own words useth that as a most pregnant argument to perswade him which he used as an argument to repell her as if she would have said O LORD thou callest me a dog and I confesse that in truth it is so but in the mean time even dogs have liberty to eat of the
them Of this Look DAVID Psal 104. saieth He looketh upon the earth and it trembleth He toutbeth the mountains and they smoke Secondly somtimes he looketh in Mercie and Favour of this DAVID speaketh Psal 25. Look upon mine affliction and my pain and for give all my sinnes And Psal 119. 132. Look upon me and be mercifull unto me as thou usest to do to them that love thy Name It was with this Look that he beheld S. Peter at this time as appeareth by the gracious mercifull effect thereof for it wakned him out of security and brought him to remembrance and consideration of that which he had done c. Here first observe the necessitie and power of Christs Grace The necessitie for till Christ looked upon Peter he neither remembred what he had done not considered the hynousnesse thereof The cock crew againe and againe and this should have been a memoriall of his fall and an admonition to repent but all this availed nothing till Christ looked upon him Likewise so powerfull was this Look that no sooner doeth Christ look upon him but he remembereth and considereth his heart melts and his eyes gush out with tuares They whom Christ looketh upon bewaile their sinnes sayeth S. AMBROSE as without it there is no saving good so where it is there is all good Whence was it that the blessed Virgine was the Mother of our LORD It was because God had Looked upon the low estate of his handmaid Whence is it that we enjoy any good in this life or in the life to come more then others it is because it pleased God to look upon us from eternitie with the eyes of his mercy Hence that prayer of the ancient Church Lord look upon me with these eyes wherewith thou looked upon Marie Magdalen in the banquet wherewith thou looked upon S. Peter in the hall and wherewith thou looked upon the thief upon the crosse Grant unto me that with Marie Magdalen I may perfectly love thee with Peter I may bitterly â—walle my sinnes and that with the thief I may see thee for ever Secondly we may observe here the readinesse and willingnesse of God to show mercie even to most grievous sinners Our Lord at this time was arreigned before his enemies bound buffered condemned or ready to be condemned On the other part S. Peter had forsaken him denied him that with Oaths curses yet forgetting the injuries done to him both by his enemies and by his own Apostle he remembereth him and looketh upon him and plucketh him out of the mouth of the Lyon who was ready to devoure him This and the like examples of mercie serve much to encourage and comfort distressed souls ready to despaire through the sight of their own sinnes S. AUGUSTINE in his 9. 10 sermons on the words of the Apostle 1. Tim. 1. 15. hath a sweet meditation to this purpose of the Mercie of God shewn to S. PAUL suppose saith he an excellent skilful physitian should come to a place where he is not known and having wrought a rare cure upon a man desperatly diseased would say to him whom he had cured go thy wayes now to other men who have the like disease show them what I have done unto thee Bid them be of good courage I am able and willing to cure them also If this man should come to a person so diseasea as he was looking for nothing but death and should say to him be of good courage I have seen the like disease and have had the like my self and have been cured by him who is willing to cure thee also and hath hiden me tell thee so much This could not be but matter of great comfort unto him Even so saieth he S. PAUL healed by the Great Physitian CHRIST JESVS saieth unto thee who are ready to despaire He that cured me sent me unto thee he said unto me go tell distressed foules what I have done to thee what I have cured in thee and how soon with one voycel called thee from heaven with another I did cast thee down with the third I raised thee up and with the fourth I healed perfected and crowned thee say unto thee sick cry unto them that are ready to despaire This is a true and faithfull saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners Why feare yee why doubt yee I am the chief of them and I obtained mercy for this effect that in me he might show forth all long suffering for a patern for them that should there after believe upoÌ„ him to everlasting lif I was a persecuter and blasphemer I keeped the garments of them that stoned his first Martyre Steven I breathed nothing but surie and thirsted nothing but the blood of the Saints I was in a spirituall frâ—necie and did strick my phisitian and yet he suffered me long and in end took away my disease Thus S. PAUL speaketh to us and so doeth S. Peter and many others which is matter as I said of unspeakable comfort This much for the cause of his repentance The repentance it self followeth And PETER called to minde the words of Jesus Being Looked upon by our LORD First he remembereth his words and no doubt considered and weighed his own sinne This remembring or calling to minde importeth that before he had forgotten or at least considered not Christ his Words It is strange that he should have forgotten him with whom he was so familiar who that night had washed his feet and from whom that night he had received the holy sacrament but such is the corruption of our nature that most quickly we forget GOD and his Word Hence we are compared to lacking vessels that rune out Hence the LORD Deut. 4. saieth â—kè heed to thy self and keep thy soul diligently lest thou forget the thing which thine eyes have seen and that they depart not from thy heart for ever And againe Deut. 8 Take heed to thy self that thou forget not the LORD thy GOD in not keeping his Commandements and judgements and statutes c. who would give himself to wickednes if he remembred and considered the Goodnes of God bestowed upon him and laid up for him if he remembred and considered the end for which God made and redeemed him even that he might serve him in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of his life if he considered the filthinesse that is in sinne and the great evils that it bringeth upon the body and soul both here and hereafter It is most manifest that we forget or consider not these things when we give place to sinne This is the cause of our offending God and is in it self a great offence There is no moment wherein we taste not of the Mercies of God and therefore there is no moment wherein we should not remember him We should not breath oftener then we should remember him Wo to them that regard not to forget him the time shall come when
shall I do whether shall I go I cannot leave my daughter she is so tormented I cannot stay with her The beholding of her sufferings is so grievous unto me she is not dead and yet a thousand times worse then dead O LORD therefore have mercy upon me This is her suit that he would have mercy upon her Marke the words I pray you she sayes not Pray to God for me but Lord have thou mercy and it shall be well Thou art the LORD I have not brought her to thee Thou sees that which is absent Thou knowest that which is hid I desire thee not to go to her nor yet to speak a word that she may be whole only have mercy and that will put away the devil and subdue all his power See here the wonderfull strength of her faith Secondly she saieth not have mercy upon my daughter but have mercy upon me She counteth the miserie of her daughter her own it touched her as if she had been in that same estate herself Secondly it seemeth she hath thought her daughter was so afflicted because of her sinnes which she desires to be removed by mercy that so her daughter might have health Lastly it is remarkable that the thing she requireth is the exercise of mercy Mercy is but one word but comprehendeth under it all Good that we stand in need of and with all includeth a confession of our own miserie as if she would have said O LORD it is not in confidence of any worthines or righteousnesse in me that I present my self unto thee I flie to thy mercy the haven and harberie of sinners My miserie is great but thy Mercy is greater The disease is grievous but nothing to thee the Great and mercifull Phisitian Hence we may learne what we should fix our eyes upon this day after we duly viewed the great miseries wherein we are plunged either by reason of our sinnes or by reason of their wofull effects Where to shall we look but to the Mercy of God in Christ and say with this woman have mercy upon me O LORD c. With the Publican be mercifull to me a sinner with DAVID Have mercy upon me O LORD according to thy Loving kindnesse and according to the multitude of thy compassions blot my transgressions out This Mercy is the refuge of sinners This is our maine comfort that our God is the God and Father of Mercies that his Mercies are over all his works and reach even unto the heavens Mercie is the name wherin God delighteth most The LORD The LORD Mercifull c. and wherein our strength against despaire lieth and as we said it comprehendeth all the good we have or would have If we say God is Light that importeth but one thing if we say God is our Strength that importeth but the strengthening of us but when I say that he is the God of my Mercy that imports all whatsoever we are whatsoever we have or desire in nature in grace in intention in conversation in faith in hope in love in deliverance from evill or injoying of good that is all of his Mercy and his Mercy can give it all Come therefore O man if thou have a penitent heart fix thine eyes this day upon this Mercy of God be not swallowed up with the greatnes either of thy sinnes or sorrowes Art thou polluted with uncleannesse filthinesse of thy flesh yet cast not away thy confidence remember what this Mercy of God did to that uncleane and sinfull woman who washed the feet of Christ with tears in the 7. of Luk. Hast thou been a murtherer theef or oppressor remember what the Mercy of Christ did to that Theefe who was crucified with him Many villanies it may be had he done yet when he with a penitent heart said LORD remember me when thou comest to thy kingdome this Mercy answered verily to day thou shalt be with me in paradise hast thou been a persecuter and blasphemer Remember what this Mercy did to S. PAUL it made him who was before a wolf to be a pastor it made him to be an Apostle who was before a persecuter and to be a prime builder of that Church which before he wasted But let us proceed and see how this fervent devote Prayer was accepted It is said by S. MATTHEVV that he answered her not a word What a strange thing was this this miserable woman prayes cryes againe againe for mercy yet the Saviour and lover of mankinde giveth no answer he that is the eternal Word is silent He that was the opened fountaine seemeth to be closed he that was the great and most kinde Physitian seemeth to deny all cure This was the first assault of this womans faith and it was not a small temptation She might have thought with herself alace I heard he received al that came unto him graciously but now I find by mine own experience that either this report is false or at least I am extreamly unhappy man cannot help me and God will not heare me What shall I do but such thoughts entered not into the devot heart of this woman For al this she continueth crying still as appeareth by the following words Hence we should learne that which our LORD often urgeth that we should pray and not faint There is in us naturally impatience wherby we weary soon when we are not heard If God hide his face for a while seeme to forget us we give over O say we we have prayed and it may be againe and againe and yet we had no answer returned us But consider although thou hast prayed yet it may be thou hast not cryed thou hast not been earnest nor fervent in seeking God Alace how often do our hearts wander when our lips move in prayer and we do not so much as remember that we are praying Secondly suppose thou hast cryed with fervency to God yet that is not enough thou must also persevere and not weary Thou must still ask seek knock God hath not promised to grant our desires upon the first or second or third petition This assurance is only given to them who continue without fainting Abraham was an hundreth years old before he obtained Isaac that was promised him No doubt the mother of Samuel hath poured out her heart oftē before God erre she conceived Simeon waited long for the consolation of Israel before he got Christ in his armes Luke 2. So Anna the prophetesse departed not from the temple but served God day and night with fasting praying erre she was blessed with the sight of our Saviour O LORD saieth DAVID Psal 22. I cry to thee in the day time and by night I am not silent So then perseverance in prayer is necessary for obtaining our suites Neither need we feare that this importunity will displease God It is not with God as it is with the great ones of this world If they vouchsafe not an answer to our
is not from the earth but from heaven and if he give life to them that are dead he may be justly called The bread of life 3. He addeth these words to comfort Beleevers and to terrifie unbeleevers For no greater comfort can be to them that receive him by a true and lively faith then the assured hope that they shall be raised up by him from death to a glorious and immortall life and on the other part it is matter of exceeding terror to the unbelieving and wicked that they shall not be partakers of this blessed resurrection but they shall be raised up to shame and confusion This point is urged diverse times hereafter by our LORD and therefore it may be we shall have occasion to speak of it more fully Only now consider that this is a point which we should at this time deeply meditate upon He who calleth us and offereth himself unto us is no lesse then he who hath power of life and death even of eternall life and of eternall death If wee answer him and embrace his Calling we may look to have confidence joy and glory at our death and resurrection but if we do otherwayes we can expect nothing but terrour sorrow and confusion Though we think little now of death and resurrection yet they wil come It is appointed for all men once to die and after death cometh judgement The soul will be called out of the body the body will be called out of the grave and both will be called before the Tribunall of GOD. If thou hearkned devotly and obediently to his Calling here Thou shalt lift up thine head then being confident that thy redemption draweth near When GOD sayeth to thy soul at death Come out thou shalt encourage it and say Go 〈◊〉 my soule fear nâ—t it is the Voice of my Beloved calling not to destroy but to save thee It is the voice of him who hath often called me before and whom I have answered by his Grace It is the Voice of him that I was longing for He said to me before Behold I come I have answered even so Amen LORD Iesus come But on the contrary if thou hast despised his gracious and mercifull Calling here thy terrour shall be unspeakable at death and at the resurrection He shall call when thy Lamp is not prepared and albeit thou would not be drawn by his Mercy his Justice shall draw thy soule out of thy body at death and thy body out of the grave at the resurrection although thou call then he will not heare but will say Depart from me I know thee not Long have I cast open the doore of my Mercy unto thee but thou would not enter and now it is shute O how terrible shall this Calling or rather Drawing of iustice be to the disobedient soule body Faine would they draw back into that very nothing out of which they were brought Therefore the wicked shall say then unto the hills and to the mountains fall upon us and cover us from the Face of him that sitteth upon the Throne and from the Face of the Lamb. Let us therefore while we have time thinke both upon his Mercy Justice These are the two armes of his Providence whereby he draweth to good and from evil MERCY is as it were his Right-Hand which is alluring and comfortable justice his Left-Hand which is terrifying and dreadfull Let us labour That his left hand may be vnder our head as the Spouse speaketh and that his right hand may embrace us that is let us thinke upon his gracious Promises that we may be allured to obey him and withall consider his dreadfull terrours that we may stand in awe to despise his invitations I will speake no more of this Now I proceed It is written in the prophets And they shall be all taught of GOD c. Here he confirmeth and cleareth what he said of the drawing of men to him by the Father He confirmeth it by the testimony of scripture It is written sayeth he in the prophets they shall be all taught of GOD. This testimony is expresly set down Isaiah 54. 13. Where the PROPHET speaking of the happy estate of the Church of the new Testament sayeth to her All thy children shall be taught of the LORD and great shall be their peace According to the sense it is also to be found else-where especially in the 31. 33. of Iâ—r where the LORD speaking of the Church of the new Testament sayeth After those dayes it shall come to passe that I will put my law in their hearts writ it in their inward parts and they shall be my people and I will be their GOD and they shall not teach every man his brother and every man his neighbour but they shall know me from the highest to the least sayeth the LORD For clearing of this yee are to understand that to be taught of God is nothing else but to have our minds enlightned by the knowledge of him and to have his love â—â—â—ed abroad in our hearts so that we obey him and that not out of the fear of punishment but out of the love of righteousnes Of this teaching the Prophet spake when he said Psal 94. 12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastisest and teachest out of thy law and when he said againe Teach me to do thy Will O GOD for it is good This our Saviour manifesteth in the next words wherein he explaineth what it is To be taught by GOD saying That such an one heareth and learneth of the Father and cometh to him that is he that is so taught understandeth and beleeveth that which the Father revealeth and embraceth it by sincere love and affection and so cometh to Christ by faith by hope by love and obedience Hence S. AUGUSTINE in his book of the Grace of Christ 12. and 13. chapters inferreth That this doctrine of the Father is nothing else but his heavenly Grace communicated to us whereby he maketh us not only to know what we should do but also to do what we know whereby he maketh us not only to beleeve that which should be loved but also to love that which we beleeve This is the doctrine of the Father whereby from on hye by his unspeakable Power inwardly he manifesteth his truth and communicateth to us the love of himself This also is manifest as S. AUGUSTINE observeth there from the 1. Thess 4. 9. where S. PAUL sayeth As for brotherly love yee have not need that I should write unto you for yee are taught of GOD to love one another So the Teaching of GOD maketh us not only to know what should be done but also to do that which we know And he that knowes and doeth not is not caught by God He is not taught according to grace but according to the law he is not taught according to the spirit but according to the letter Secondly Yee are to consider that our Saviour by urging