more then to undermine him and bring him within the compasse of high treason when I say we see this to be the drift of the Gospel on the Jews part and that our Saviour seeing the naughtiness of their thoughts asks them plainly why they play the hypocrites with him then I presume no man that can tell twenty will marvell to see this dayes Prayer beg fidelity and sincerity of heart in us Christians at least when we see the Pharisaick Jews are convinced of so grosse an infidelity and flattery even when they pretend forsooth a tenderness of conscience and when we hear our Saviour recommend the same fidelity which we petition for to day in commanding them faithfully to render that to Caesar which is Caesars and that to God which is Gods namely their pecuniary tribute to Caesar their religious sincerity to God and that especially when they pretend it as here the Pharisees did though they least intended it Let me therefore beloved beg it as a boon that you all say this Prayer to day with such sincerity of heart as may render it and you gratefull in God Almighties sight and hearing for then shall we pray most consonantly to what the Church doth preach to day and then shall we be sure such our petitions will be granted effectually which are made unto God faithfully and this assurance we have both from the Epistle Gospel and Prayer of this present Sunday A great content I confesse after the fear of so great a losse as we were like to be at for making good the grand design of our work which as yet comes fairly home when we might fear we had been farthest off The Epistle Phil. 1. v. 6. c. 6 We trust in God our Lord Jesus that he which hath begun in you a good work will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus 7 As it is reason for me this to think for you all for that I have you in heart and in my bands and in the defence and the confirmation of the Gospel all you to be partakers of my joy 8 For God is my witness how I covet you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray that your charity may more and more abound in knowledge and in all understanding 10 That you may approve the better things that you may be sincere and without offence unto the day of Christ. 11 Replenished with the fruit of justice by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God The Explication 6. THe Apostle here speaks in the plural Number because he writes this Epistle as well in his companions name as his own in Timothies though afterwards himself being onely in Prison and not Timothy he speaks to them in his own person but directs his Epistle as from both to shew them that absent or present they are both of one mind The work he confides to have continued is their conversion By the day of Christ he means the day of Judgement which is that of his second coming the first being his birth-day 7. It is reason indeed for him to conside thus because as their conversion was by means of God his special grace so he presumes the same goodnesse of God will be continued which was begun in them and because he hopes their cooperation will not be wanting to persevere in the faith of Christ as it was not first to accept thereof Hence his charity makes him hope this of them with reason and his faith makes him presume the other of God towards them Yet not so that hence the Reformers can infer as they do out of this place that it is impossible for one who is once called by God and in grace ever to lose the same grace or vocation The Apostles words import no such thing onely a religious hope or confidence he hath they will indeed persevere as they have begun to love serve and honour Almighty God as his following words testifie in this Verse because he professeth here that he prayes continually for their perseverance which argues it is not a thing to be hoped but by endeavours and pains on our parts Nay Saint Paul so plainly speaks to this sense that he seems to say least their own endeavours towards this perseverance should not suffice he hath made it even his hearts desire besides and applies his personal sufferings to this end that God moved by his prayer and persecution may supply what is wanting in them towards perseverance by their own sole endeavours And it is Saint Augustines and the Churches doctrine indeed that justifying grace alone sufficeth not toward perseverance without new favours of more and more grace do inable us to persevere In the close of this verse the Apostle alludes to the hope he hath of Martyrdom for the defence of the faith of Christ against those who oppose it and the confirmation of it in those who have imbraced it And this he means by his joy whereof he prayes they may be made partakers 8. And that he doth thus pray he calls God to witness and doth this with such earnestnesse as if he were not himself happy enough to be in the bowels of Jesus Christ which is in his bosome in Heaven unlesse he might find these Philippians there also or as if his love to them and zeal of their salvations were such that he desired Jesus Christ should have them equally in his breast or bowels of affection with himself Both these senses this text will bear very well as also that by these words Saint Paul professeth he loves them so tenderly that he cannot expresse it otherwise then by saying it is even with the affection of Jesus Christ himself following Christ's instruction Joh. 13.34 Love one another as I have loved you 9. Here he prayeth for the superadded grace which above was said to be necessary to perseverance which is for their increase of charity where that abounds there is wanting neither knowledge of what is the true doctrine of the Church of Christ nor what is the true sense and meaning thereof since by this abundant charity we see the ignorant Apostles were so illuminated that they could and did penetrate into the genuine sense of the deepest mysteries of Christian faith and religion 10. This alludes to the sense as above in the former Verse that by their increase in love and charity they might be able to distinguish between the Apostles Christian and Simon Magus his Judaical and others heretical doctrine as finding that of Christianity the more powerfull and efficacious to salvation It seems by these words the Apostle thinks the pretended charity of hereticks is not sincere love and affection to God and their Neighbour but hath a mixture of hypocrisie in it and makes use of the name of Christ to cover the doctrine of those who indeed are opposite to him by saying this or that is Christ his doctrine which indeed is not so but proves upon a strict examine the sense and doctrine of
happened the Apostles should not say he had cheated them by his vocation or calling them to be his Disciples and had not told them what would follow so some wil have these things now report to our Saviours prediction of his Disciples persecution but indeed they refer to what followes as is cleer by his saying he told them not those things at first whereas he had long before told them of their persecutions as we read Matth. 10.17 Luc. 12. v. 12. But now he meanes these things that follow namely his leaving them and his resolving to send them in his roome the Holy Ghost which he did not so particularly tell them of as now he doth being he is to part with them and so had need leave them the comfort of another comforter to come to them in his place for at first meaning as long as himself was with them they had comfort enough but now that he goes he tels them these things which shall be comforts to them though persecutions when he is gone and the following verses will cleer it to be thus meant of these things c. though this may also be understood partly of their persecutions and partly of their comforts because he now at parting added some particulars of their troubles which before his presence took from them as namely their being cast out of the Synagogue and that their persecutors should thinke they did God good service by ill offices to them for these while Christ was with them fell all upon him so it was needless then to tell them of it Thus others not unaptly upon these things And now J goe to him that sent me by now is understood shortly I shall goe for these words were spoken a little before Christs passion so he speakes as if that were over when he sayes now that I have suffered for you I goe by the way of that death of my resurrection and ascension to him that sent me to my heavenly Father and none of you are inquisitive or curiously diligent enough to aske me questions about the place I goe to about heaven and eternal glory which is the end of all mine and your pains see here our Saviour seemes to chide them that they doe not interrogate him something more particularly about the Court of heaven and the endless joyes thereof since he knew this would be of huge concerne unto them and give them exceeding comfort in their present afflictions For Saint Thomas had in the fourteenth Chapter v. 5. Glanced at some such questions but not it seemes enough so here Christ tels them they do not ask him meaning they ask him not zealously enough as who should say wee must not huddle over good things to halfes for that is as not done towards God and our salvation which is not done enough to purchase them unto us 6. But instead of asking me what may comfort you yet to hear you are sad for what you have already heard that I am to leave you 7. Be sad as you will I tell you the truth it is fit I goe nay it is fit for you as well as for me thus some but others better who say be not sad since it is truth that my going which you make the cause of your sorrow is and shall be the greatest cause of your comfort for unless J goe the comforter the Holy Ghost who is Consolator optimus the best comforter shall not come unto you whereas if I goe I will send him you and the very truth was the Apostles were so carryed away with an affection to the humanity of Christ that though they did after his resurrection beleeve and love his Deity yet it was with too much dotage upon his humanity an excellent lesson therefore was his abstracting the presence of his own person from them that their loves might be righter set namely upon his Sacred Spirit rather then upon his blessed body and by this let fondlings leave to doate too much upon the persons of their Ghostly Fathers lest they love them better then they should rather let them bear a mind of indifferency to the person of the Priest and love him more for his spirituall power then for his humane person since we see Christ weaned the Apostles from their humane affections to his outward person Againe it was expedient for them that he went to send them the Holy Ghost that so they might see the third person of the blessed Trinity was perfect God though not God and man as Christ was and this proofe was made by his own comforting them even more then Christ had done because without mixture of creature Lastly the reall distinction of the three divine persons was by this mission proved for mission in God imports as much as generation and procession so the Sons mission as to us was the notion of his generation by his heavenly Father and the mission of the Holy Ghost was to us the notion of his procession from them both namely from the Father and from the Sonne all which as it was expedient indeed necessary for us to know so for these reasons was it necessary for Christ to go necessary I mean towards the accomplisht comfort of the Apostles 8. By the world in this place is understood properly the Jewes and unconverted Gentiles for these shall be particularly accused by the Holy Ghost telling them while they refuse to become Christians and true beleevers they shall have the guilt of conscience here to gnaw them in peeces as it were and to render them divide from themselves while their reason shall be convinced by the works of the holy Ghost in good men that they ought to beleeve as the right beleevers doe and teach though their obstinate will resists this reason and makes them either pertinacious in Judaisme or peremptory in heresie and choice of their religions rather according to their own dictamens then to the Doctrine of the Church assisted in the delivery of truth by the Holy Ghost so far that hell Gates shall never prevaile against it Matt. c. 16. v. 18. 9. See here how Judaisme Infidelity or Heresie are called sinne by speciall title to that ougly name as who should say these are the sinnes of sinnes these are the sinnes which the Holy Ghost shall fitst and chiefely lay to the charge of all consciences into which he comes while the Text saith he shall argue them of sinne for nor beleeving aright in Jesus Christ which shall be exteriourly by the Apostles and their successors Preachings and Miracles interiourly by the Sanctity of life in good Christians so evidently proved as it shall be without all excuse laid to them for a huge sin not to beleeve all that the Church teacheth of our Blessed Saviour not to beleeve indeed what Saint Peter said as we read Actor 4. v. 12. There is no other name under heaven given unto men in which wee ought to be saved but that of Jesus Christ no sinne therefore like that of infidelity as
ebrieties commessations and such like as I have foretold that they who do such things shall not obtaine the Kingdome of Heaven 22 But the fruit of the spirit is Charitie Joy Peace Patience Benignitie Goodnesse Longanimitie 23 Mildnesse Faith Modestie Continence Chastitie against such there is no Law 24 And they that be Christs have crucified their flesh with the vices and concupiscences The Explication 16. THe summe of all he aimes at in this Epistle is to advise the Galatians to walk in the spirit after the dictamen of grace and not of nature after the instinct of the holy Ghost and not of their own corrupted judgements and by this meanâ— he tells them they shall avoid the accomplishment of fleshly desires how ever they may be tempted therewith 17. Hence the Manicheans and some Philosophers held there were two souls in man one spirituall the other carnall this of God that of the devil But the Catholick doctrine is otherwise that by one onely rationall soul in man are performed the operations of vegetative sensitive and reasonable souls Hence we see the reason why some good men sinne because they do not what they would what their spirit desires but what their flesh prevaileth for by a greater desire And indeed man is made up of these two contraries to show his life is a perpetuall warfare upon earth between the flesh and the spirit 18 This verse hath diverse senses but the genuine is if we be so led by the spirit of God as we doe what the same spirit dictates then we are not under the Law subject unto it or guiltie of the breach thereof Not that the Law ceaseth to oblige us but that we forbear to offend the Law and so are as it were rather above then under it whilest we walke under the Law of the spirit and in so doing rather trample it under us then break the Law which is onely made against transgressours not against the Just for against those there is no law saith the Apostle by and by against those who walk according to the dictamen of the Spirit 19. By the flesh we are here to understand the concupiscence thereof which leads to the vices afterwards enumerated namely fornication which is properly simple carnal knowledge between man and woman without other circumstances of adultery rape incest or the like Uncleannesse is properly that mollities or softnesse rather easinesse indeed to carnal delight which causeth single pollution without commixture of two bodies Impudicity is properly immodest kisses or touches between two persons Leâ—hery is properly any unlawful carnal delight which is extraordinary and so mortal This may be called also Lasciviousnesse which for the excesse transcends and passerh over all the special kinds of lust that are above named or can be indeed imagined and this excesse may be committed even between man and wife by undue knowledge of one another or by intemperance even in the due wayes of their mutual knowledge 20. By this verse enumerating acts of the soul amongst the works of the flesh we are taught that concupiscence resides as well in the soul as in the body of man and was left as a perpetual punishment of Adams sin in bâ—th parts of humane nature thereby to shew the whole masse of pure man was corrupted not onely every individual of mankind but every essential part of man as well his form as his matter his soul as his body from which Christ was free being God as well as Man and this punishment may not be unproperly called concupiscence which is indeed the fewel to the fire of all sort of sins burning perpetually in mankind and being by concupiscence perpetually fed so that concupiscence leades not onely to corporal but even to spiritual vices and therefore as well these as others are called works of the flesh and are here numbred by the Apostle among them namely Idolatry which is serving false Gods Witchcraft which is working by help of the devil Enmity which is a permanent and professed breach of friendship Contention which is perverse opposing one another in words or opinions out of a spirit of contradiction Emulation which is a repining at others well doing Anger which is a height of passion seeking revenge and this is mortal or venial according as it is greater or lesser Brawles which is breach of brotherly charity by giving provoking language Dissention which leades to strife or war Sects which are all Heretical opinions or choyce of religions by the conduct of private sense or spirit contrary to the known and common doctrine of holy Church 21. The three first vices mentioned here speak themselves plain enough in their names Commessations are all riots or gluttonous excesses in eating or drinking feasts or banquets hereunto are reduced all excesses of wantonnesse at such feasts as idle songs and light womens company or unchaste talk The close of this verse prohibiting from heaven these who do those works of the flesh above enumerated is to be understood onely when mortal habit is contracted in all or any of these works or when any dies in a mortal act of any of these vices 22. See how contrary the works of the Spirit are to those of the flesh and note that the Apostle speaks not here in the same stile as formerly for he calls corporal deeds works of the flesh but spiritual acts he calls the fruits of the Spirit and why because they are more indeed the fruits of the holy Ghost then of man and therefore are called fruits rather then works though they are the works or acts of our soul yet in regard they are done by the vertue of grace not of nature hence they are imputed to be rather fruits of the holy Ghost then acts of our soul whilest that holy Spirit operates more towards them then our own soules do which since Adams fall are still more propense to evil then to good works Note here are principally understood the acts not the habits of those vertues for an act is properly a fruit of the agent and the chief agent in these being the holy Ghost they though produced by us are called the fruits of the Spirit that is of the Holy Ghost in us And the first of these is called Charity as the prime and principal fruit of the Holy Ghost in us because it is indeed the highest of all other virtues insomuch that it partakes in a manner of the Deity it self since God is called Charity 1 Joh. 4 8. and therefore this is indeed the main and special fruit of the Spirit and all other virtues are not improperly called the fruits of this because it is this gives life to the soul and to all her virtues whatsoever And by this are produced in us these following namely Joy the fruit indeed of a serene conscience guilty of no adulterate affection to creatures but ravisht wholly with the pure love of God Peace the tranquillity of mind upon the serenity of a conscience not troubled with any
instead of purifying our intentions of honouring as we ought to do one onely God when even under that pretence by the contagion of factious doctrine we Idolize to as many devils as mislead us in the wayes of faction and division For prevention whereof holy Church fitly prayes as above that our intentions may be purified by the unity thereof by intending Gods honour only in those services that are pretended done for Gods sake and not our own interest On the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Matth. 9. v. 7. THe sick then of the palsie took up his bed in which he lay magnifying God and all the people which beheld it gave praise to God Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer LEt O Lord the operation of thy mercy direct our hearts because without thee wee cannot please thee The Illustration IF any man doubt what is meant by the operation of our Lords mercy mentioned in this prayer S. Paul in the first verse of this daies Epistle will tell him it is the actual grace of God which the Apostle alwayes gives thanks for as being the cause of the Corinthians conversion of their being enriched in all things appertaining to Christian religion so as to want nothing but the revelation of Christ in glory whom already they beheld in grace as also of their perseverance without crime till the day of doom in that belief unto which by this grace they had been called This is the summ of the Epistle and undoubtedly this is the sense of the prayer begging that as by the operation of Christ his mercy the Corinthians became Christians so we that are by the same meanes of the same profession may by the same help have our hearts directed by the operation of our Saviours mercy towards us by the encrease of his grace within us And indeed that encrease is also properly the operation of his mercy too for the first gift thereof was rather the exhibition then the operation of his holy grace and yet to us it seems like an operation of it too within his own bowels and so as we said above the exhibition of it in our eyes is as the effect of his mercie upon himself but the encrease thereof is the operation of it upon us to whom it is exhibited so by the exhibition of this grace we become children of God and by the encrease thereof we grow to be his champions to live his Saints and die his Martyrs rather then renounce the Faith of Christ Thus we see the first clause of this Prayer hath exhausted the whole Epistle of the day Now that the Gospel should be by the close thereof exhausted too would seem strange if already stranger mysteries had not appeared in the mysterious prayers of holy Church And certain it was for the depth of their spirit that S. Gregory the great collects them all together into a book intituled of Sacraments that is to say of Mysteries as in the preface of this book was hinted not that the stile of Churches prayers is other then plain and easie but that the depth of their meaning is prodigious We have examples in the simple stile of Thomas à Kempis authour of the following of Christ the plainest and the deepest book that ever was written next to holy Writ the fullest of common places and yet the most home to every mans particular that reads it So it is with the Churches prayers they are in words simple and facil but in sense such as the deepest understanding may not be able to sound the bottome of them For instance see how the whole story of the Gospel is wound off by the onely close of this daies prayer if yet the former clause thereof were not appropriable thereunto For what imports the pressing into Jesus presence of the paralytick and those who from the houses top did drop him down into the room where Jesus was when they found not entrance any other way but an infinite faith they had of being cured by the least touch of his sacred person and this to satisfie our selves with the letter of the story not recurring as we might to the mystery thereof What I say means this passage else then a remonstrance of this paralyticks faith in Jesus Christ And who doth not see the close of this prayer excellently well allude to faith since we read that without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 Do not we Christians then implicitely beg if not the gift which we have already at least the encrease of faith when we end this prayer with confessing We cannot without God please his Divine Majestie that is to say as without the gift of faith we can be no Christians at all so without the encrease thereof through the operation of Christ his mercy in us we cannot become good Christians such as by works of charity still encrease our faith in Jesus Christ and by that encrease deserve with the paralytick as well the remission of our sins as the cure of corporal diseases since without such remission we cannot please Almighty God and without him no such remission can be had that is without his mercy operate first upon him to pardon us and then upon us when pardoned to offend no more not that this operation of Gods mercy upon himself is any new act but ever is ever was and will be one and the same act in him seeming new to us by the new effects it produceth in us So every way is it an undoubted truth that without him we can no wayes please him And thus do we still adjust the prayers of holy Church unto the other service of the day The Epistle 1 Cor. 1. v. 4. 4 I give thanks to my God alwayes for you for the grace of God that is given you in Christ Jesus 5 That in all things you may be rich in him in all utterance and in all knowledge 6 As the testimony of Christ is confirmed in you 7 So that nothing is wanting to you in any grace expecting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ 8 Who also will confirm you unto the end without crime in the day of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ The Explication 4. IN these words S. Paul gives thanks to God incessant for the grace of Christ which was given to the Corinthians who thereby were made Christians An excellent lesson and ought to be frequently practised by us to acknowledge that our perseverance is a continuation of our vocation to Christianity 5. In all things appertaining to your religion Rich in him rich by him that doth enrich you every hour by preserving you in the same vocation he hath called you unto In all utterance in all your words whereby is preached this faith In all knowledge in all true spiritual understanding the doctrine of Christ as who should say I thank God that hath by mine and by Apollo's preaching afforded you all understanding and true sense
because they were commanded absolutely by the Patriarchs and Prophets being themselves servants of God though masters of the people who were indeed Lords of all Gods graces and favours since no nation shared thereof beside the Jews 2. The Apostle follows his example and proves there is no difference between a Lord under the command of Tutors and Governours and a meer servant since this Lord or heir is not all the while of his Minority to rule and command but to obey his stewards and governours who are then the Fathers and shall after be their young Pupills servants too and this time in those dayes of the old Law lasted till the heir was twenty five yeers of age 3. The Apostle here applyes this argument to himself formerly of the Jewish Religon and consequently an infant or little one in the line of those that are Gods true servants namely Christians serving God onely under the Alphabet of a religious Law that is under the letter or Elements of the world which were the old Law all the rule men had to serve God by and then saith the Apostle we were like little ones young lords and masters by birth-right of our Judaism yet nothing different from servants since we had that Law but as an Usher to bring us up and deliver us over to another much better indeed a most perfect Law of Grace whereunto the old Law was a meer type or figure a meer Element or Alphabet of a true Law Note by the Elements of the world are here understood the letter of the law given to the men of the world in those at least who were the select thereof the Jewes for if the world were here taken for other than the men thereof the Elements of the naturall world were to bee understood earth aire water and fire but since by the world is meant the people thereof therefore Element here stands for the letter of the old ceremoniall and servile Law whence the Apostle here useth the word of serving very aptly for there are three servings in this word related unto The First that of heathens serving their Idols as their Gods The second that of the Jews serving God by their impure creatures ordered unto Gods service The last that of Christians serving God by pure creatures not by Idols nor by bloudie sacrifices but by such as in Sacraments are sanctifyed and so are more than Jewish Elements of sanctity as the Rhemists Annotations have at large expressed though true it is many by the elements here understand also the festivall and solemn dayes moneths and yeares which the Jews very superstitiously observed and made themselves indeed not onely servants thereof but even slaves unto them and this because in the tenth verse of this Chapter S. Paul mentions their formalities upon these dayes moneths times and yeares 4. By the fulnesse of time is here literally understood that time when Christ by the authority of his Father sending him for that purpose came to abrogate the servile law of the Jews and to deliver us a more filiall law of love liberty and grace for then was the time of the old law filled up when it was no longer to remain when we were no more to bee under the Ushers and Tutors of Religion but under Christ himself the true Lord and master of the whole and specially of the Christian world That the Son of God sent unto us is here said to be made of a woman wants not a deep sense namely to shew he was not begotten nor conceived of his fathers seed but was made and framed wholly out of the pure substance and blood of his blessed mother the Virgin Mary where we are to note the word woman in this place doth not signifie any commixture or corruption which doth accompany the losse of virginity when maids passe from their virginal purity to the impurer state of corrupted woman but woman here signifies directly the sex or female kinde of man and so in that sense is competent even to a virgin who is also of the female Sex again he was said to be made of a woman to declare the falsity of the Valentinian and Anabaptistick heresies teaching Christ to have been made of some aeriall and not of an earthly substance as if he had brought his body ready made in the heavens out of some aeriall combinations into the womb of the virgin and had not received his flesh from her whereas the true Christian doctrine teacheth he was flesh of her flesh and bone of her bones He is further said to be made under the Law not that by right he was subject thereunto even as man because his person was divine by the union of his two natures making but one onely sacred and divine person so called from his principal his divine nature but that indeed he was pleased to subject himself to the law though of right he were above it and thus he vouchsafed also to undergo voluntarily the law of circumcision rather to take it honourably away than to subject us to so dishonourable a slavery as that of the Old Law was 5. This Verse reports to the former and makes that to be the cause why Christ subjected himself to the Law of servitude namely because by his so doing he might redeem those who truly were under the servile Law and that by this Redemption we might all receive the Adoption of Sons and by a new filiation become the children of Grace nay even Heirs of God and Coheires of Christ who were formerly bastards and slaves of the Devil whence Saint Bernard sayes well upon this place Therefore God became Man that Man might become God And we must further note here that this our happy Adoption which is made by the means of Grace doth not onely give us right to the Inheritance of God but to a participation even of the Divine Nature it self according to S. Paul Rom. 8. ver 15. where it was said we became True Sons of God by the holy Ghost communicating himself unto us and so making us true Children of Christ God and Man if any doubt of this truth let him read what Cornelius à Lapide excellently proves to this purpose upon the place of Saint Paul his Epistle above cited and what will be said more to this purpose on the eighth Sunday after Pentecost in this Book We are lastly to note that not onely the just who are now under the Law of Grace but even those just who were under the Law of Moses were also the Adopted Sons of God however the Apostle calls them here Servants and not Sons First because though they were the true Sons of God yet they were not in the state of liberty competent unto such Children Secondly because they had not their right to this inheritance or fâ—liation by vertue of the Law under which they lived but by a speciall prerogative of Grace and Faith infused into them of Christ his being to come and so they were rather belonging to
the intervening persecutions that may divert them from it And look what was then said to them for perseverance both in faith and good workes is also to day by holy Church applied to us in this Prayer that beggs us grace ever to think and consequently alwaies to doe well that is reasonable things because none else can be pleasing to Almighty God It remaines onely to shew how this Prayer does also exhaust the Gospel whereunto it is the better suiting if it be as some witts will have it paradoxicall since that is wholly parabolicall yet nothing lesse rationall than is the prayer petitioning reason in all we think or doe for who can deny but the little mustard-seed of Gods holy word is hugely rationall or who can say but the deeper it falls into the earthly hearts of men the faster root it takes growes the stronger up and brings the riper fruit because as well the reason of it as the grace is hugely convincing Againe who can deny but the leaven of the same word hidden in our Soules shall with reason operate upon the whole mass of our bodies and give them a taste thereof harsh perhaps to the corrupted pallats of worldly men but delitious to the relish of God and his holy Angels who delight to taste of such leavened loaves as we call sower when they esteeme them sweet and such are Converts from the Court who are by the leaven of Gods holy word become Princes to Heaven though seeming Clownes to Earth Thus mystically have we adjusted the parabolicall Gospel to the paradoxicall Prayer of this day if wits will have it to be a paradox that men should alwaies meditate on rational things which yet when they do not they cease to be men I will not say what might follow that they become beasts The Epistle 1 THES 1. v. 2. c. 2. WE give thanks to God alwaies for all you making a memory of you in our prayers without intermission 3. Mindfull of the work of your Faith and labour and of the Charity and of the enduring of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ before God and our Father 4. Knowing Brethren beloved of God your Election 5. That our Gospel hath not been to you in word onely but in power and the holy Ghost and in much fullnesse as you know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes 6. And you became followers of us and of our Lord receiving the word in much tribulation with joy of the holy Ghost 7. So that ye were made a pattern to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia 8. For from you was bruited the word of our Lord not onely in Macedonia and in Achaia but in every place your faith which is to God-ward is proceeded so that it is not necessary for us to speak any thing 9. For they themselves report of us what manner of entering we had to you and how you turned to God from Idols to serve the living and true God 10. And to expect his Sonne from heaven whom he raised up from the dead Jesus who hath delivered us from the wrath to come The Explication 2. THe Apostle speaks not here in the plurall number of himself as Princes and great Persons but in a quite contrary way derogates from himself rather by attributing his own writings joyntly to other his associates and companions as namely here he doth in the first verse of this Epiâ—â—le specifie both Sylvanus and Timothy as if he had no more share in this than they and as if what ere he writ they did suggâ—st or dictate to him as much thereof as came from his own much deeper Spirit an excellent example for all Writers to fellow and attribute their works to their helpers in them rather than to themselves alone besides Sylvanus being Bishop of the Thessalonians there was great reason for the Apostle to consult him in all his proceedings amongst his own Diocesans In their own Bishops name therefore and in his companions who went the circuite with him Saint Timothy whom he had made Bishop of Ephesus the Apostle sayes We give thanks to God for the Conversion of you Thessalonians in our incessant Prayers for your preservation in the Faith of Christ and that by your example others may receive the like Faith and be alike converted 3. Here as in almost all other places of holy Writ we are to note the Apostle joynes good Works with Faith to make it recommendable and availing lest Hereticks should as yet wilfully thâ—y doe mistake and think Faith alone without gooâ— Wâ—â—ks werâ— saving whereas it is the active and laborious Faith that brings us to Heaven The Faith which is continually working by Charity that is to doing good deeds for lest they should mistake and think he meant their Faith was onely the Work of God which as it is a gift indeed is true see how immediately he illustrates his own other meaning to the sense above of operative Faith when he addes to the works of their Faith the labor of their Charity as who should say the sole habit of Faith is not enough to those who are able to produce acts thereof and those acts of Faith are then best when accompanyed with deeds of Charity giving life to Faith which without good Works were a dead habit nothing at all availing us But the Apostle proceeds yet further and to make his sense full of perfection adds also to their Faith and Charity which he took speciall notice of their hope in God which made them endure persecution for their Faith and indeed in this Verse he hath artificially and solidly too given the three fittest Epithetes to these three Theologicall Vertues that could be whilst he takes notice of their working Faith their laborious Charity their susteinning Hope whence Saint Chrysostome and others note the Apostle commends not Faith without Workes in the acts thereof nor Charity without Paines in Almes towards the Poor and Sickly nor Hope without Patience or suffering in persecution for Justice And not without reason doth the Apostle here take notice of these three Vertues in the Thessalonians in regard Jason a Thessalonian by name was summoned to the Tribunall of publike Justice as we read Acts 17. ver 6. for having concurred to Saint Pauls escape from his persecutours as also diverse othâ—r Thessalonians were molested both by the Jewes and Gentiles for their becoming Christians and in this the Apostle commends the work of their Faith for their paines in relieving the Apostles and cherishing all the poor Christians they met with hence he commends their laborious Charity their imprisonment patiently endured for their Religion their sustaining Hope that gave them courage to endure temporall losses in expectation of eternall rewards which he calls the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ that is to say the hope of what Jesus Christ brought us news of eternall Glory For before he came most men lived and dyed like Beasts without regard to any
called even thence Hebrews which signifies passe-over as the Chaldeans did passe Euphrates to live in Palestina And Abraham as we read Gen. 14. ver 13. was the first called an Hebrean because he was the first that passed Euphrates or as others think because they were descended of them that in the confusion of Babylon onely reserved the pure Hebrew tongue the Faith and Religion of Abraham to which descent as the false Apostles laid claime so doth Saint Paul and thus consequently an Israelite and of Abrahams Seed as well as they Acts 22. I am a Jew born in Tarsus the Metropolitan of Sicilie 23. He doth not here affirm They are the Ministers of Christ but takes it as an assertion of their own and for argument sake lets it pass saying he is truly so whereas they onely pretend it and for even letting this pass for a truth he tells them he speaks as one scarse wise for humouring them in such fond arguments yet they are ad hominem such as themselves using they cannot but allow them to have force if he use them too and whereas the false Prophets boasted of the pains they took the true Apostle here professeth he hath taken much more pains than they to indear himself to them since he was often in Prison for labouring to convert Souls and was often beaten on the High way by deaths are here meant the dangers of death to which he often exposed himself 24. It was a Law in Deut. 25. ver 5. that no man corrected with stripes should receive above fourty lashes and so to be sure not to infringe this Law the Jewes never gave above thirty nine stroaks to any Malefactor that they whipped and therefore when Saint Paul was five times whipt for his preaching he had every time one stroak less than fourty which whipping he avoided at Rome by pretending the priviledge of Tarsus whose natives were all held Romans and so free from that base punishment of being whipt 25. He tells here of much more than Saint Luke mentions in the Acts of the Apostles whence we may conclude Saint Luke writes not all the truth though all he writ be undoubtedly true It seemes this whipping with rodds was different from the former flagellations he spake of which was with whips He sayes the wracks he suffered were in the middle Ocean not as usually on the shoars so that it was miraculous how he escaped and therefore he speaks as if he had been so often at the depth of the Sea because had not Miracles preserved him and brought him like Ionas to the shoar he had indeed been drowned so he tells what naturally would have been his fate but that God providentially prevented it 26 27. See here how both by Iewes those of his own Religion and Race Acts 22. he was in danger in all times in all places by all parties of acquaintance friends as well as foes whom he calls False Brethren pretending friendship and yet betraying him which sufferings ought to be incouragements to Bishops and Pastours ever after finding how their Predecessour led them the way and pattern of Apostolicall behaviour in such occasions 28. He passeth now from his outward troubles to his inward cares of all the Churches under him all the Souls converted by him and any one of these Souls he values at so high a rate that to save her he is willing often to incur all these enumerated dangers 29. What greater tenderness can be expressed than the making other mens evills his own out of the equall love he bears to them with himself hence he is weak with the weak burned with those that are scandalized that is to say scorched with the passion that boyleth in those whose zeal makes them take scandall at others misdoing 30. Now whereas the False Apostles did glory in their power amongst the people Saint Paul to teach the Corinthians better principles makes profession to glory rather in his infirmities that is in those passages of his life which rendred him mean and contemptible in the sight of others in his being whipt and scorned for Christ his sake not in his Miracles for there he shewed power but in his sufferings not in his Sins for had he committed any those he could not boast of nay must blush at but in his being weak with the weak c. 31. See how severely he avers this Truth when he calls God to witness it 32 33. This Governour was Father in-law to Herod who first marryed the daughter of Aretas King of Arabia and whom he after repudiated and cast off to marry Herodias his brother Philips wife for which cause Aretas made war against Herod to revenge his Daughters wrong in which war Herod was slain and Damascus being a City near Arabia Aretas put in there a Governour whom the Jewes dealt with to seize upon Paul as a man Factious and one that would under pretence of zeal move sedition against Gentilisme and so bring in Vitellius Governour of Syria sent by Tiberius Cesar to revenge Herods death upon Aretas and consequently they falsly pretended Paul would bring him into Damascus to out Aretas of his command there so by this means the Governour of Damascus Aretas his substitute laid wait to apprehend Paul and he was by the zeal of good people let out of a window in a basket and so escaped his fury which passage the Apostle brings in to prove how hâ— was persecuted by thâ—se of his own Religion the Iewes suggesting he aimed to destroy Gentilsme the Religion of Aretas Chap. 1â— ver 1. Now he enters into a pretended vain-glory about his Visions and Revelations of our Lord which he seemes to say he must doe though it be not expedient to prosecute his Trope or Figure of Ironia in flowting them that are made fooles by men boasting with much less cause than he can boast to make them wise believers of the Truth he tells them 2 3 4. And lest they might think he was Rapt by the Divell as Simon Magus had been he sayes he was Rapt in Christ that is by the Spirit of God it seemes this Rapture happened to him nine years after his miraculous conversion for he writ this Epistle in the year of Christ fifty eight which was the second of Nero's raign so his Rapture happened unto him in the year of Christ forty four which was fourteen years before his now boasting of it as thus provoked thereunto whereas he was converted in the year of Christ thirty six that is nine years before and therefore by no vain impulse after so long and so modest a silence of it so if fourteen year before he had the illuminations of this strange Rapture how eminent must he be now after so long a practice in that spirit of Devotion which this Rapture must needs put him into note though the Apostle speaking of a spirituall truth will not mix any naturall verity therewith so as to determine whether he remained alive or dead in
Corn wants no inward cause of prospering but is outwardly hindred by being choaked or kept down with over growing bryars and thorns that hinder the rising thereof Now though our Saviour best knew how to explicate his own meaning and hath declared that by these Thornes he means Riches which prick the Soules of those that possesse them in their rising up to acts of love towards God and so force them down again to the love of earthly things yet Saint Gregory found this exposition so beyond his expectation of this Text that he admiring sayes If he had thus expounded it the world would not have believed him to attinge the true sense thereof as being possessed what they handle and hugge dayly sn their armes their wealth and riches cannot prick nor gall them yet now our Saviour sayes they doe so we must believe it and truly so it is for what more ordinary than to see the high and mighty men of the world mighty I mean in wealth abject and lowe in their growth upwards to Heaven to see them still pricking down their rising Souls and under the title of riches we may here understand honours pleasures pastimes of the vain licentious and idle people of the world whose own conscience tells them they doe ill in following such courses as yet they will not leave 8. 15. By the good ground is here understood a tender Conscience which makes a Religion of each action and so hearing Gods Word first labours to understand it then puts in execution the Doctrine thereof and thereby brings forth fruits of all sorts of Vertue and good Works nay brings forth indeed an hundred fold or more according to the proportion and measure of grace received from Almighty God but we are here to observe the reduplicative speech of a good and a very good heart that is to say a heart illuminated with Faith but working by Charity or as Albertus will have it Good by being free from Sin very good by being in all things conformabled to the Will of God or as Saint Bonaventure sayes Good by verity or rectitude in the understanding very good by rectitude in the affections or as Saint Augustine will have it Good by loving our neighbour as our selves very good by loving God above all things saying and they properly retaine the Word as the Blessed Virgin did and bring forth the fruit thereof in patience that is by bearing with unperturbed minds the perturbations of this world And though S. Luke do not mention the quantities of fruits produced yet S. Matthew chap. 13 ver 23. speaks of the Thirty fold the sixty fold and the hundred fold fruit of those who hear the Word of God as they ought to doe meaning it makes some good men others better others best of all according to the respective measures of dispositions in their Souls answerable to their severall proportions of Grace and co-operations therewith or if we will have these three-fold quantities all in one Soul then say we bring forth Thirty when we think well Sixty when we speak well an hundred fold when we do well or when we begin to be vertuous profit therein and at last attain to the perfection of vertue till we arrive at the top of all Vertues or when we observe not onely Gods Commandements but his Counsells too and at last his transcendent charity being ready to die his Martyrs in requitall of his dying our Saviour and so make degrees and steps in our own hearts up to Heaven as the Royall Prophet sayes he did Psal 83. Making Ascents in his heart by rising up towards Heaven from Vertue to Vertue The Application 1. THis Parable shewes how many wayes we may labour in vain by sowing the grounds we have plowed up and be still in danger lest the Devill reap what we have sown namely that beside the way When for company sake we goe to Church not for Devotion But to see and to be seen rather than to hear the VVord of God 2. That on the Rock when out of fear of Parents anger or the punishments of Magistrates we are forced to Church and hearing there the VVord must needs with open hearts receive it in being of it self sâ— forceable as to peirce the very stones but then because we hear it by compulsion every difficulty nature frames against Grace shuts up our hearts again and will not let it in to take good rooting there 3. That on the thorny ground when rich men hear the VVord of God for custome or for curiosity to recreate and not to edifie to censure rather than conâ—orm to what they hear No marvell thâ—n if to prevent the danger of our going to the Devills Chappell even in the Church of God Our holy Mother pray to Day as above for the best seeds-mans protection against so many dangers hoping by so praying to render our hearts such as the Gospell closeth with to Day On QUINQUAGESIMA Sunday The Antiphon LUKE 18. ver 40. ANd Jesus staying commanded the blinde man to be brought unto him what wilt thou that I do to thee O Lord that I may see and Jesus said to him Look up thy Faith hath made thee safe and he forthwith did see and followed magnifying God Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer O Lord we beseech thee hear clemently our Prayers and being loosened from the fetters of our sins keep us from all adversity The Illustration NO marvell if many of my friends told me here the common place of this Prayer would not easily be made particularly proper to our design of a sweet connexion between that prayer and the other parts of this days service for see in the Epistle charity in the Gospel faith insisted on whereas in the Prayer neither of these vertues are mentioned What remedy truly none but by applying mystically to our selves that now which was actually done when our Saviour lived and by remembring that as the propagation of faith amongst Infidels was the chief work of Christ so the conservation and augmentation of charity is the chief thing Christians have to doe for as Faith was the Basis or foundation of the Church whilest it was a building so charity must bee the covering and top thereof now it is built What wonder then while the Gospel tells us how Christ confirmed in his Disciples by the miracle upon the blinde the faith of his Deity That the Epistle exhorts us who need not God be praised any confirmation of our faith to an augmentation of our charity by seeing it laid to day before us in such lively colours as S. Paul hath drawn it in so that whilest holy Church tells us what Christ then did towrds the Jews by introducing faith among them with miracles we that now need no miracles should doe towards him by acts of love to the divine goodness that is to say labour to shew our loves to him as he did to beget faith in them but what
though there were no priority of time wherein the Synagogue was existent before Moses the first-borne thereof nor of the Church before Christ the first-borne of her So here we see it is not inconsistent that Christ be both the Father and the childe of the Church the childe as the first borne of it in the sight of God the Father as the first erector of it in the sight of man 28. And from hence floweth the genuine sence of this next verse wherein the Apostle doth not onely meane that we Christians are Brothers to each other but that we have yet an honour farre transcending this namely to be even the Brethren of Christ Jesus so that he is a child as as well as we are the children of promise and consequently he and we are brethren being borne both of one promising parent Almighty God out of the barren wombe of Sara he only having this prerogative to be the first-borne of Sara and so Abrahams heire but we as being his brethren by vertue of the same promise are his coheires 29. This verse alludes to what we read Gen. 21. v. 8. of the jesting or playing of Jsmael so familiarly with Jsaac at the banquet which Abraham made when Isaac the younger brother was weaned that Sara knowing it was her Sonne Jsaac who must be heir to his Father Abraham complained to him not onely of the boldnesse of Ismael and of his sawcy familiarity with Jsaac which was a figure of the Jewes mocking of Christ and of false Churches scoffing at the true one but also of Agar his Mothers impudence not to reprehend her Slave-borne Son for his boldnesse with his Free-borne Brother whereupon Agar and Ismael were turned out of doores by Abraham as the Synagogue and Jewes were out of Christs Church for by Son of the flesh is here meant Ismael and by the Son of the Spirit the Apostle in this place meanes Israel as was said before adding that this quarrel betweene those two brothers continues stil in us so long as the flesh rebels against the spirit in man or so long as false Churches arise and persecute the true one 30. Then and not tiil then shall the Son of the Bond-woman be cast out by Christians as well as the Synagogue was by Christ himselfe according to Saint Pauls meaning here when there shall be in the worlds end but one stock and one shepheard though even now we that are children of the true Church must cast out of our communion in spirituals at least those that are of false Churches for they cannot with us inherit the kingdome of heaven what claime soever they lay unto it by feigned Sanctity or pretended legitimacy of birth unto that inheritance 31. Note though here the Apostle tels us for our comfoâ—t that we true Christians whereby is understood onely Catholikes who are of the true Christian religion are Sons of Sara the Free-woman that is of the remaining Church of Christ and not of Agar the abrogated Synagogue of the Jewes yet withall he mindes that we have not this Freedome this honour by right of inheritance as from our earthly or spirituall parents either but meerly as from the gratuite gift of Jesus Christ since by his holy grace it is we are adopted Children of Heaven and not by our Fathers in nature or in Spirit the Priests of the Church for as the first are no way able to beget us unto God so the last doe it but instrumentally as they are Vicars of Christ or dispensers of the mysteries of God and of his holy grace by meanes of the Sacraments The Application 1. THe Illustration upon this Sundayes Prayer and the explication upon this Epistle are so full and so home to the purpose of the Lenton Fast and to the end thereof our Purification that nothing will remaine now but to finde what good works now are by this Epistle taught to adde unto the Holy Fast which is not perfected without them 2. Now in regard we see this Parabolicall Epistle windes off with an Application to the Catholike Christian Redeemed from the Bondage of the Jewish Synagogue and from the slavery of sin by the merits of Christ and consequently giveth us cause of huge comfort for this redemption therefore we shall do well to joyn an Alacrity of soule unto the Lenten Fast because God loves a merry giver as a proper integrative part thereof especially on this Sunday which is called the Sunday of joy and not unfitly so when the whole Epistle runs upon the joyful Allegory between the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant by the abolition of the Jewish Synagogue 3. And yet because the motive of our joy is ever extrinsecal coming from Heaven to us out of the infinite mercy of God and no way proceeding from our selves whose every action so far forth as it is our own is demeriting and drawing punishment upon us for the sin it is in us unlesse by Gods assisting grace it be made vertuous therefore we are justly bid in our greatest comforts to acknowledge the punishments we deserve if God should ever give us our own due and consequently to mix with our Ioyes our Tears or rather never to look for any joy that we doe not first beg with sorrow for our sins to the end it may be with us as Holy David said according to the multitude of my griefes thy consolations have joy'd my soule whence it is we are taught to mix contrition with Alacrity this holy time of Lent to make our Fast compleat And that we may do this we fitly pray when this is preached to us as above The Gospel Joh. 6. v. 1 c. 1 After these things Iesus went beyond the Sea of Galilee which is of Tiberias 2 And a great multitude followed because they saw the signes which he did upon those that were sick 3 Iesus therefore went up into the mountaine and there he sate with his Disciples 4 And the Pasche was at hand the Festivall day of the Iewes 5 When Iesus therefore had lifted up his eyes and saw that a very great multitude cometh to him he saith to Philip whence shal we buy bread that these may eat 6 And this he said tempting him For himselfe knew what he would doe 7 Philip answered him two hundred peny-worth of bread is not sufficient for them that every man may take a little piece 8 One of his disciples Andrew the Brother of Simon Peter saith to him 9 There is a boy here that hath five barley loaves and two fishes but what are these among so many 10 Jesus therefore saith make the men sit down And there was much grasse in the place The men therefore sat downe in number about five thousand 11 Iesus therefore took the Loaves and when he had given thanks he distributed to them that sate in like manner also of the fishes as much as they would 12 And after they were filled he saith to his Disciples gather the fragments that are remaining
any one man or woman whatsoever that so whom they cannot edifie by their words at least they may by their example by misreports he alludes here to the censure which the Gentiles made of all Christians for wicked and lewd men because they found a Sect of Christians called the Gnosticks who were originally descended from Christians that did indeed live wickedly and defended their errors with obstinacy again they held Christians to be Cannibals and eaters of mans flesh because in the Sacrament they received the Body and Blood of Christ and upon which gross mistake Christians were persecuted almost three hundred years by those who hearing of the thing did not understand the mystery Now there is nothing indeed that so beats down ill reports of men as to see their good works for when those are considered God is presently glorified because those works proclaime God to be within the men that do them By the day of visitation is here understood literally the examine of those false reports before Judges as then Plinius a Gentile was a Judge in those days mystically when by comparing your good deeds with the bad ones of your Detractors that day of such examine may glorifie God by the conversion of the wicked lastly when notwithstanding you suffer upon false accusations even death it self that the wicked finding how strong God is in the just may be converted upon this day of visitation to the just who dyes temporally himself that others may live to God eternally 13. This Illative therefore is aptly taken up after the precedent Exhortation For it was a calumny then laid upon the Christians by the Infidels that they as Subjects and Children of God were exempt from all obedience to man And the Apostle brings in this subjection here as one part of perfect conversation and good life in Christians and to shew how little this misreport against Christians was the Apostolical Doctrine see here the head of the Apostles commands a subjection so large that he will have it extend to all from all men as part of the Christian Doctrine that is to all Superiours over all men of what Religion soever to shew that none are and ought to be more truly obedient and humble then Christians who obey not onely Superiours but Equals and Inferiours too as St. Paul Galat. 5.13 exhorts by charity of the Spirit serving one another Note by humane creature is here understood men as it were made by men or created by men Superiours who were before but Equals For as creation strictly taken gives being out of nothing so in a large sence and here it is thus meant creation of a king makes him to have a moral Being which before he had not The like is of all Superiority Political and to make this subjection the more acceptable he bids it be for Gods sake because though men choose men for Governours yet God so ordains that man by man shall be governed and therefore it is an act of Religion to be obedient to man in power as to Gods appointed vicegerent and hence it was that Lycurgus fained he had his Laws dictated to him by the Gods next we are to look upon Princes as Gods Images by St. Pauls advise saying who resisteth power resisteth the ordination of God and for resisting acquires to himself damnation Rom. 13.2 Again it is by God Kings and other Magistrates rule Prov. 8.15 as who should say the obedience we pay to man ought to be in testimony of our obedience to God setting man over us and requiring testimonies of our Love to him by obedience to his vicegerents that Christians obeying Infidels may gain them to an obedience unto Gods commands Finally that Princes so command as they remember themselves to be Gods Subjects however mens Superiours and this is to obey for Gods sake 14. See here obedience to Captains or any other Magistrates is commanded as to men sent by the Kings or States to govern by punishing the bad and praising the good for hence the Good receive praise when Malefactors are punished for offending them and when they will rather suffer unjustly the oppressing of the wicked then do unjustly or become themselves unjust 15. This Verse encourageth all men to be good when the wicked have nothing left to say for their excuse why they are not good because they see other men good before their eyes and that God hath given grace to the good for a confusion to the bad in not following the like grace which God gives sufficient to make all men good that will follow the instinct thereof by unwise men are here understood wicked men by ignorance is here meant affected rather then real ignorance such as men pretend when they seek excuses for their sins 16. As free that is to say being truly free not onely being like free men and by freedom is here understood immunity from any subjection to sin not from subjection to men who are lawful Superiors for to claim exemption from such subjection were to make malice a cloak of Vertue by pretending more liberty then God allows his Servants who are never more their own masters then when they serve him best for to serve God is truly to raign over all iniquity that would inslave mankinde 17. This alludes to that of St. Paul Rom. 12.10 with honour preventing one another though by honour is here understood all good offices of Charity which while we do to Christians we shew that in them we do truly love and honour Christ by fraternity is meant the men who are all true brothers in one faith to God who were in those dayes distinguished by their fraternities and living as children of one God all together in one brotherhood By the fear of God he means here filial not servile fear such fear as consists with freedom and doth not make men slaves By honouring the king understand not onely external but internal honour such as is best paid by Prayer for the Kings prosperity as who should say it cannot be happy to the people if it be unhappy with the King or State under whom they live 18. In this Verse the Apostle descends to the obedience which Servants ought to pay their Masters as well as that which Subjects pay their Princes to shew he meant to recommend all kinde of subjection as well as duty to Princes By all fear is understood fear of fault fear of punishments fear of scandal in fine all kinde of fear of all offence whatsoever as knowing we cannot offend our masters without offending God be our masters what they will good or bad men we are not subject to their Vices but to their power here is also meant though they be of ferent Religions as well as of different Dispositions 19. By thank is here understood thank-worthy or doing a thing that is so notable an effect of grace as shews it can have no other root to spring from so by Grace is here truly meant Glory or Praise as who
alone damning without redemption for he that beleeveth not shall be condemned Mar. c. 16. v. 16. 10. Againe he shall argue them of Iustice that is hee shall accuse them of injustice shewing to the Jewes all their ceremoniall rites and Lawes did not render them just nor would all the morall vertues of the Gentiles that were infidels justifie them in the sight of God because none could render them just there but Jesus Christ who for that purpose went to his Father to tell him these onely shalt thou justifie who beleeve aright in me who renounce the ceremoniall Law of the Jewes the humane Law of the Gentiles and follow the divine Law that I have left them who alone have redeemed them and can alone save those that keep my Law that can make them truly just in the sight of men and Angels and of God himselfe it is very pretty what Saint Bernard saith of these words Ser. 12. The Holy Ghost doth argue the world of sinne because it dissembles of Justice which it doth not rightly order while it attributes the same to man not to God of Judgement which it usurpes while it judgeth rashly not onely of it selfe but of others too 11. Lastly he shal argue the world of Judgement is diversely understood by some that the Holy Ghost shal shew the world made a false judgement of Christ his Miracles holding them to be witchcrafts or workes of the devil by others that he shal argue men of sloath to be overcome by the wounded and conquered devil for want of diligence to resist him by others of cousenage to put their hopes in the devil who himselfe is damned and can save no man by others and those best of all that the Holy Ghost shal argue men of Judgement in shewing them how justly they deserve damnation who follow for their guides the damned devil and all his wayes and workes and this when he shal make the Apostles cast out devils out of the visible Temples where they were as Idols adored for God and out of the invisible Temples the soules of men whom they had possessed both by their foule persons presence and by the guilt of enormious sinne cast out by Sacramental grace of holy pennance 12. Christ here alludes to the mysteries of Faith the conversion of the Gentiles the foundation of the Churches and Government thereof by his Vicar by the Bishops and Priests in a Hierarchical way all which he left to be the product of the holy Ghost and things deeper then for novices to be able at first to dive into in whose eyes the carnal and ceremonial Rights of the Jewish Churches or Synagogues rather were too fresh as yet and their souls were not sufficiently illuminated to attend to higher matters and those altogether spiritual whence we may gather that even the Apostles had by the coming of the holy Ghost new lights and did daily increase in the knowledge of the mysteries of Faith and Religion according to that of the Proverbs Cap. 4. v. 18. The ways of the just are like light shining and increasing to high noon day whence the Primitive Church is compared to be quasi aurora consurgens like the dawning of the day Cant. 6.9 and proceeding brighter and brighter daily till she come to the brightness of the latter day when all her Saints shall enter like so many noon-time Suns into the kingdom of Heaven 13. When for the reasons above he shall come who is the spirit of Truth he shall teach you all Truth that you are capable off and that is fit you should know to guide your own and others souls to Heaven For he shall not speak of himself but what he shall hear since t is not what he alone says but what my Father and I say too that he shall tell you so all he says shall be as we all three determine nor shall he speak as men do out of their fancy no but just as I have taught you before and as my Father and I will have him tell you hereafter not as fables but as undoubted Truths which are of eternal Verity so look how Christ said his doctrine was not his own but his Fathers that sent him in like manner the truth which the holy Ghost shall teach is not his own onely but joyntly the Fathers and the Sons from whom he doth proceed and from whom he was sent And he shall tell you things to come by this is understood the Apostles were to have the Spirit of Prophesie as Actor 11. v. 18 20. v. 19 21. v. 11. we may read nor is St. Johns Apocalypse other then a continued Prophesie from one end to the other Nor was it requisite Christ his Apostles should be inferiourly gifted to any of the Ministers of God in the old Law and this gave great comfort and encouragement to the Apostles since naturally men desire to know future things by future things also venerable Bede understandeth things of Heaven of Grace and of Glory as who should say the Apostles shall not be onely able to guide you here but to set you safe into a blessed Eternity and future Kingdom that shall never end 14. He shall glorifie me when he shall confirm the world in the belief of my being the Messias expected God and man the Saviour of the World He shall receive of mine for he shall proceed from my Father and me and receive the Divine Essence one and the same in all the three Persons of the Trinity and consequently his Will shall be mine his Science mine his Doctrine mine where note the Text doth not say he shall receive me but of mine because he is a distinct Person from the Son and though he receive not the filiation by his procession he receives the Essence of the Son so that is to receive of him and yet not him nor to be him And thus he gave compleat content to the Apostles seeing they did passionately love him to tell them the Comforter he was to send them should supply his absence by teaching them as he had done by loving them as he did since he received his doctrine from him and his affection too The Application 1. THe whole scource of this Gospel is to beget belief in the Apostles that our Saviours departure from them was for their good and that the Primary effect of the coming of the holy Ghost was to beat down the sin of Infidelity as who should say it were the sin of sins not to believe in Jesus Christ and not to obey all his commands in vertue of that belief 2. What should then be the Practice of us Christians at this time but to use all means possible to fortifie our Faith as the greatest Bulwork against all sin whatsoever and indeed what is it else but a kinde of Infidelity not to do according as we are taught by the rules of Faith that is not to make all our actions tend to the sole will and pleasure of Almighty God since if
that garrulity taints and spoyles all religion whatsoever and powreth a mans heart out in vanity of words unless he put the bridle of reason and modesty upon his lips to keep his tongue in order Religion therefore is diversely taken either for the worship of God and so the first step to it is faith for He that cometh to God must first beleeve Hebr. c. 11. v. 6. Next religion extends it selfe to the observance of the Law and so it addes good workes to Faith Thirdly it is called the profession of Faith as Christianity is the profession of the Law of Christ lastly by religion is understood taking vowes to such a particular rule of a religious order as Saint Benedicts Saint Francis Saint Bernards or the like now loquacity is contrary to all these senses first as daring to speak idly rather then to heare the word of God and his worship wel inculcated unto us next because oftentimes great talkers are violators of the Law of God by detraction from others or from their own integrity speaking sometimes contrary to their own thoughts and so truly seducing their owne hearts Thirdly because Christians in the primitive Church were noted by refraining from the garrulity of the Gentiles Lastly because garrulity is diametrically opposite to religious silence a perfection much aymed at by all religious orders so in these senses Saint Iames inveighs against much talking or loquacity 27. The Apostle here makes a very fit allusion to the Jewish impure Ceremonial and the Gentiles sordid and multifarious religion of adoring many Gods when speaking of Christian religion he cals it a cleane or pure one in respect of the former that were indeed the one vaine and uncleane the other superstitious and injurious nay further he seemes prophetically to allude unto the impure and prophane religion of the Gnosticks and Carpocratians who by their incestuous cohabitations defiled the name of the pure Christian Religion forbidding such abominable commixtures under the pretext of love and charity to one another not much unlike the family of love now extant and that such there were in those dayes Eusebius witnesseth Lib. 4. Cap. 7. And who can tell whether the Apostle his foreseeing eye being the successor of Christ Jesus in his Episcopall Sea at Ierusalem did not also allude unto the Heresie of Luther professing that vowes of chastiâ—y were unlawful as contrary to the instinct of nature that propends to increase and multiply individuals of mankinde or the humane species which is a meere impure pretext of nature against the rule of grace setting apart some Ministers of God from the uncleane commixture of creatures whose primary end is multiplication whereas these of Gods Ministers are unity and simplicity of adoring one only God by the pure and one onely true religion which taketh root in one onely God and his one only Sacred Son Christ Jesus who consequently could be authour but of one onely truth or religion serving that one onely God whose onely Sonne he was and consisting neither in the impurity of the Jewish ceremoniall rites or Law nor in the multiplicity of the Pagans Sacrifices to their many gods nor in the sordid fictions of of lustful Heretikes nor in the Saracen or Turkish adoration now of Lucifer now of Mahomet for their guide or god but in the pure simple chaste and divine religion of Christ Jesus radicated in the workes of charity and mercy in the love of one onely God and of all the people in the world whom we are to esteeme our neighbors and them to love as we doe our selves being according to their better part their soules Images of God as well as we our selves which religion the Apostle contracts into these few markes of visiting Orphans and Widdowes and of keeping our consciences cleane from the ordure of this world or filth of humane conversation by conversing altogether with Almighty God or his holy Ministers set apart from ordinary humane commerce and these workes he cals cleane and pure because they are not mixed with any corrupt ends of sordid lucre or gaine since no man can expect preferment or profit from such desolate creatures as commonly Orphans and Widdowes are so that the care of them must usually proceed from pure charity and mercy and this the Apostle cals pure religion as shewing we love man purely for Gods sake not for our own which was then more necessary to be inculcated as being indeed a new distinctive signe of Acts proceeding from the instinct of God himselfe since they were unheard of before among men who aimed onely at selfe-interest in all their proceedings whence many were converted by seeing the mutual charity that was among Christians and in them to all other persons of what profession or religion soever so the Apostle here insisteth rather upon the external then the internal Acts of Religion the works of mercy to man rather then those of direct duty to God and yet from hence Heretikes take occasion to blame religious vowes and inclosure as if they were acts of a false religion because not extending to take outward care of Orphans and Widdowes temporal fortunes not regarding what followes for the compleating our Religion namely to keep our selves unspotted from the world untainted by the contagion thereof according to the mark Saint John gives of Saints Apocal. 14. v. 5. They are without spot before the throne of God whence this Apostle seeing it hard to be without spot in this contaminating world incites us at least to endeavor by the purity of our intentions to render our religion pure from all spot of this bespattering world and for this reason mans heart is made broad and open upward close and narrow downward to shew all the touch we have of earthly or worldly things must be but as in a point where there is allowed no latitude but that our affections to God and heavenly things may open wide and be large as we please or can open our hearts thereunto The Application 1. SAint Iames in this Epistle makes three divisions of his speech unto us The first is to tell us that our Faith must be Operative not Idle and he spends the foure first verses of this Epistle in shewing the futility of Faith alone without good workes now because the workes of Faith are full of difficulties and in regard men usually undertake not hard attempts but for hope of reward therefore the Apostle closeth his recommends of working Faith with the Hope of Beatitude attending it saying this man meaning the working believer shall be blessed in his Deed. Nor is this link of Hope fixt now to our Faith without designe of Holy Church in regard this being Regation week wherein we are to aske of our Saviour all we can desire at his farewel from us upon Thursday next when he is to ascend to heaven the service of this Sunday which flames through all the serial dayes between this and Ascension must point us out what we are to be at all
is indeed the highest article of our Faith the first and main principle of Christian Religion But to conclude this doctrine 20. See how the beginning of this verse tells besides this mystery what the Apostles were commanded to teach the world namely to do all whatsoever Christ commanded them to deliver as the Will of God that is to say as well to do good works as to believe aright and to professe that Faith which was preached unto them and how ever Luther and Calvin pretend the Church of Christ and the right administration of the Sacraments thereof and of the divine Services had failed for many hundred of years together before they arrogated to themselves a kind of new Apostolate forsooth yet it is from hence confidently asserted by the unanimous consent of all Catholick Doctours and Divines that there neither hath been hitherto nor ever shall be hereafter till the day of doom which is the consummation or end of the world any failure in the Church of Christ nor in Christ his perpetual assistance and presence with his ever visible Church insomuch that he is ever visibly present in his perpetual visible rulers of the Church and invisibly in his continual-assisting grace and hence it is evidently proved that albeit no successours of the Apostles had those ample prerogatives which they enjoyed yet their Ministery is so the same that the Apostles was as Christ is said even to perpetuate the Apostles in their successours and his presence with them in his presence with their followers and in his assisting them as constantly as he did assist their predecessours though perhaps not as amply nor as efficaciously at all times For how else can it be true that Christ said to his Apostles he would send them another Comforter that should assist them eternally not in their persons but in their successours to the worlds end For the same are the gifts of Christ and of the Holy Ghost as far forth as they are both one and the same God Nay more Christ is even visibly remaining with the Ministers of his Church in the holy Eucharist or B. Sacrament of the Altar his blessed body and bloud being exposed perpetually to the receiving and adoration of the people more he is visibly with us in his Priests who are his visible instruments to administer the Sacraments and offer sacrifice unto the sacred Deity for though the Priest be the instrumental yet Christ is the chief and principal Priest himself it being proper to him to be both Sacrifice and Sacrificant so as in seeing the accidents of bodies we are said consequently to see the things whose accidents we see in like manner by seeing the Sacramental species we may be said to see the Sacrament the body and bloud of Christ whose accidents they are after consecration though the same species before were the accidents of bread and wine To conclude we may as truly say Christ is visibly with his Church to the worlds end as we may say a mans soul is visibly in his body that is to say perceptibly so long as a man lives and hath motion for look what the soul is to the body the same Christ is to his Church so that as the soul is the bodies natural life Christ is the supernatural life of the soul believing in him and making her self by that belief a member of his Church for as the soul makes the body move so Christ makes his Church to do according to that of S. Paul Philipp 2. he worketh all in all according to the purpose of his own holy will and again he it is that gives a will to do good and a power to put that will in execution and to perfect by him what was undertaken for him as being to his honour and glory The Application 1. IT is no marvel that to day we hear inculcated to us an explicite act of Faith in the Front and body of this Gospel while Hope and Charity are onely recommended to us in the close thereof and that but implicitely neither notwithstanding as our design of piety is laid in this work Charity is the chief vertue to be practis'd from this day untill Advent This is I say no marvel the very name of the day requiring this preference to Faith and the nature of the Feast inforcing it besides for since the proper object of Love is Goodnesse seen or understood and since the Blessed Trinity is not here seen at all but by the light of Faith therefore all the understanding we can have of it on Earth is first to believe and next to love it according as the Gospel intimates where Jesus by the vertue of Plenipotentiality given him both in heaven and earth sends his Apostles first to Teach the whole world the mystery of the B. Trinity by Baptizing all Nations in the name of the Father Son and holy Ghost and thereby obliging them to believe explicitely these Three distinct Persons are all but one simple and single God whereas he bids the said Apostles here at least but implicitely to hope in and to love the sacred Trinity in as much as he commands their Teaching all Nations to observe all his Commandments whatsoever which yet are not observeable but for pure love of the commander and for pure hope of his recompencing our obedience unto his commands Who so reads the Gospel will soon see this to be the whole scope thereof 2. What then remaines for further application but that by an actual confessing this true Faith we actually glorifie the eternal Trinity and that in the Power of each Divine Persons sacred Majesty namely in the Power of the Father creating us in the Power of the Son redeeming us in the Power of the Holy Ghost sayntifying of us we adore the Unity of these Three Persons Deity since none but God can create none but God can redeem and none but God can sayntifie a soul 3. O Happy Christians who by firmly believing this to be their obligation to the sacred Trinity can neither want motive enough for Love of God nor ground enough for Hope that by this Act of Faith they shall be defended from all Adversity since the true victrix over all our enemies is as St. John tells us 1 Ep. c. 5. our Faith which overcomes the world and consequently all Adversity Say now the Prayer above and see how patt it is to what we here are taught On the first Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Luk. 6.37 JVdge not that you be not judged for in what Judgement you Judge you shall be Judged saith our Lord. Vers Let my prayer O Lord be directed Resp Even as Incense before thee The Prayer O God the strength of those that hope in thee be propitiously present to our prayers and because without thee mortal infirmity is of no ability grant the assistance of thy grace that in doing what thou dost command we may please thee both in will and work The Illustration ALbeit this Sunday is
laudable to boot by his acceptance of our endeavours as if we had been able to perform our duty when it is himself that doth the work and yet affords the praise thereof to us because we did but set our hands to the burthen that he lifted up And hence it is our willingnesse is lookt upon by him as if it were a perfect will our desires as if they were performances because what we wish he wills what we but desire to do he perfects and so esteems us his faithfull people because he is as well our faithful servant as our noble Master himself avoucheth this I came not to be served but to serve and so looks upon his own worth his own praise as though they were radicated in us unworthy creatures and thus is pleased in us even while we are displeased with our selves to see how little we do in earnest of that all which he accepteth at our hands as if it all had been by us well done O convincing goodnesse But we must further find this prayer adapted to the other service of the day And in one onely verse of the Epistle we shall see it done Not that we are sufficient to think any thing of our selves but our sufficiency is of God if not to think much lesse to do What so patt as this unto the Prayer And yet S. Paul rests not here he shewes Gods bounty stops not untill he brings his servants to the top of all preferment as he did when he honoured simple men with the title of Apostolate when he made them Ministers of salvation unto all the world When could this be more aptly made the subject of the Epistle then now that the Prayer so magnifies the bounty of Almighty God unto his servants Or when could the Gospel better begin with the happinesse it was to those that see our Saviour Jesus Christ with their own eyes whom Princes had in vain desired to see and could not have the honour of that view which yet he was so lavish of unto his chosen servants to his Apostles Disciples and several devotes of both sexes And when could the double-dealing Doctour be better reprehended for his boasted zeal of knowing how to gain eternal life then in this Gospel we do read he was by being told God was no way better served then when men did mutually love each other and shew this love to be sincere by helping one another in their need For then we serve God faithfully worthily and laudably when we love our neighbour as our selves then we run without offence unto the promises of Almighty God when we do that which Jesus told the Doctour of the Law he should by doing secure himself of everlasting life that is by loving one another O sweet O easie way to heaven O Prayer exactly well adapted to the other service of the day The Epistle 2 Cor. c. 3. 4 And such confidence we have by Christ to God 5 Not that we are sufficient to think any thing of our selves but our sufficiency is of God 6 Who also made us meet Ministers of the New Testament not in the letter but in the Spirit for the letter killeth but the Spirit quickeneth 7 And if the ministration of death with letters figured in stones was in glory so that the children of Israel could not behold the face of Moyses for the glory of his countenance that is made 8 How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be more in glory 9 For if the ministration of damnation be in glory much more the ministry of justice aboundeth in glory The Explication 4. BY confidence here is understood an assured trust such as Saints have when they undertake by Gods assistance to work miracles And this confidence S. Paul had that by his preaching he had written the word of God in the hearts of the Corinthians and that they were now in a manner a living Epistle or letters of Gods truth that is of Christ his doctrine or Evangelicall instructions 5. By any thing here is meant any thing appertaining or ordained to faith grace merit or salvation as who should say S. Paul did not arrogate to himself that he was able to be a minister to his own or any others salvation of himself but attributes all this to the speciall assistance of Almighty God So Catholicks teach out of this place against hereticks that our own free will is not able to will our own salvation as an act purely our own but it must proceed from God that we will any thing in order to a supernaturall end and such is our salvation Yet hence it follows not that desire of our salvation is not an act of our free will but that free will alone is not able or sufficient thereunto without Gods grace and speciall assistance so we allow two causes necessary to concurre unto humane salvation grace as the supernaturall and our cooperation thereby with an act of freewill as the naturall this last being elevated as it were by the first to do more with it concurring then it could have done alone 6. By a meet minister here understand a sufficient one and S. Paul confesseth he is not such of himself but is made so by virtue of grace as in the verse above Not in the letter but in the spirit is as much as to say not by the written Law but by the inward spirit and grace of God not so as Moyses was who cited the letter onely of the Law for his promotion the tables of the Commandments c. No the commission of the Apostles was by way of mission their part was to preach according to the spirit infused to them by Christ and to deliver by word of mouth his doctrine not by writing so their tradition was the first rule of Christian Religion to the world after Christ and that they writ the Gospel was an after inspiration of the holy Ghost not any speciall command left them so to do by Christ Hence they writ it not for a rule or necessary square to measure out our wayes but as a spirituall help much conducing to piety if rightly understood and squaring with their sense who by tradition had delivered much more then they writ And hence it follows that the letter may kill if misunderstood but the spirit or sense of the Apostle is that which quickeneth or giveth spirituall life to our souls as being a true expression of the spirit or sense of Jesus Christ By the letter killing is truely meant the letter of the old Law which was written to terrifie rather then to save and was but a type of a new Law that should save rather by the spirit or sense thereof then by the letter and the spirit is said to quicken because it gives life to the soul as being the spirit of grace and charitie the Holy Ghost indeed teaching us all truth of the letter of the Law whence we say Come holy Ghost visit the minds of thy people fill with
shewing him the features and deformities of his soule according as he is truly in himselfe good or bad for that is the property of a glass to represent truly the object which is set before it and the Apostle in effect here says those that run to Churches or to their ghostly Fathers to hear onely what they say and do not put in execution their Counsels are like a man note t is not said a woman too too frequently looking there seeing his native his natural countenance not then his painted face in a glaâ—s for what indeed follows of this meer sight nothing but what is said in the next Verse forgetfulness which cannot tend to perfection and such an introspection men make into their souls by reading or hearing the word of God if there they persist and do not study to perfect themselves thereby and truly the Law or Word of God is rightly called a Glass because it represents to us that image of perfect creatures which God would have us to be it tells us what reward our Vertues shall have what punishment our Vices 24. The reason why a man sooner forgets his own face then anothers is because he never sees his own but by reflected Species in a Glass which are therefore weaker and less vigorous then if they came directly to his eye as those of another mans countenance do both directly and more frequently seen by any man then his own So no wonder if a man see and consider himself never so exactly for a time that he soon forgets himself and covets to see himself again whereas he much more perfectly remembers the Face and Features of anothers person then his own Now though it be needless for a man to look much into a material Glass which can onely shew him the outward man yet it is very recommendable for him to look into the spiritual Glass of Gods Word to read or hear that often thereby to see what is wanting to that ornament of Grace or Vertue which should render him a perfect image of our Saviour Jesus Christ but besides this often looking on himself he must be doing and practising upon himself namely adding this Vertue taking away that Vice or else he onely looks and forgets what he see or what he should make himself to be Note there are three kindes of hearers of Gods word the lazy the active the contemplative the first heare onely and forget indeed contemne the next heare and obey the third heare and dye imbracing it with all the powers of their soules and never let goe their imbracement again many are the Analogies betweene a glass and the word of God for first as in a glass is seene not a picture of a thing but the thing it selfe by a reflected species though not by a direct one soe by the word is seene the wil of God nay God himself since the word of the minde is seene by the word of the mouth as in a glass Againe as flat or plaine glasses represent the species equall to the object but convex or round glasses represent them less then they are and both the further off the weaker they represent them so the word of God plainly sincerely and without any crooked intention hearkened unto or read represents truly the will of God unto us but if we make this word a convex glass one swollen up with a bulk of pride or ambition to wrest it to our crooked senses then it represents the wil of God abridged shortned or lessened not entirely and plainely as it is in it selfe whence preachers must learne to be sincere and faithfull in the exposition of holy writ Againe as concave or hollow glasses placed against the Sun are apt to cast a heat and burne whatsoever combustible matter is neere them so the word of God looked on with an humble eye a dinted heart wherein it makes the hollow of a sweet impression sets on fire all the inordinate appetites to sinne burns up all the stubble of vicious inclinations and renders a soule burning bright in flames of love to Almighty God 25. By this verse it is cleer that the word of God is the glass here alluded unto because the Law of perfect liberty is that word of God the Law and life of Jesus Christ whereby we are made children of God not slaves to empty ceremonies onely as they under the slavish Law of Moses were he that hath looked fixedly not slightly into the glass of perfect liberty and hath remained in it not made a forgetfull hearer this man shall be blessed in his deed because his deed shal deserve a blessing by being such as this glass represents it should be note by perfect liberty is not here understood liberty to doe what we list so we beleeve aright as Luther hence pretended but first by liberty is here understood that which freeth us from the servility of the Mosaical Law next that which freeth us from the slavery to sinne and the devil thirdly that which freeth us from compulsion or feare but leaves us free to doe wel out of pure love to God not for fear of hel fourthly that liberty which by resurrection we shal have from death when we arise to life everlasting further by the close of this verse saying that man shall be blessed in his deed is meant he shal have the blessing here of grace in the next world of glory and that his blessing shal be given to his doing not to his contemplating what is to be done 26. By this place Saint James alludes to what he said in the nineteenth verse of this Epistle of being quick to heare and slow to speak and not to be angry for by the laxity of the tongue the hands are as it were tyed up from action and those men seldom do wel that are alwayes talking or vaunting in many words the little good they doe in deeds so that one kinde of doing the Law is a religious silence for religion imports as much as a binding up of the Law which consisteth in observing or doing it not in talking of it by the word bridling our tongues is insinuated as if the tongue were an unruly beast alwayes running away from reason unless bridled in thereby by seducing his heart is understood making it erre for a talking man seldome deceives others but often himselfe since they see the sin of petulance in his heart and so regard as little what he saith as himself doth what he speaks who is never doing wel whilest he speaketh too much or ill and such a mans religion is truly vaine by religion is here understood either that vertue of religion which makes a man render all his actions good towards God and his neighbor and is the first of moral vertues as charity is the first of divine ones or true Christianity profession of the true faith for even that is vaine if it be not made avayling by good workes annexed thereunto though here the Apostle his genuine sense is