I of a slight command can doe much by vertue of this power what mayst thou O Christ by thy command who hast perfect and absolute power over Heaven and Earth and art under no command as I am who can deny but this stile was used purposely for our morall instruction that hearing this we should remember if at any time we have command ovâ—r others yet we are commanded our selves by many more above us and again to advertise us that the Soul shall then best command the Body when she her selfe moves not but as commanded by God and moved by his holy grace And if she rebell against God no marvell the body requoiles against her as in Adam and his race was and still is apparent 10. Since Admiration or Wonder is an effect of ignorance and Christ as being God was omniscient and had in perfection all the three Sciences that could render him perfectly knowing as man namely Beatificall Infused and Experimentall certain it is his Admiration here could not be a proper wondring at what he seemes to make exceeding strange of as by professing he had not found so great faith in Israel rather indeed to excite and stir up others to admiration and imitation of the like than that he was or could be seised on by the surprisall of any new notion accruing unto him which he had not before So Saint Austine sayes well These operations in Christ were rather signes of his actions upon others than of his passions from them of his teaching us not of his being taught himself by any thing that could happen unto him new or strange and what followes is to be taken strictly as spoken to those common people who were then present for else it could not be meant of all others or spoken to them that were absent For example when he said to those that followed him I have not found so great Faith in Israel meaning among such as you are that now behold the Faith of this Centurion for certainly he knew the Faith of his blessed Mother of Abraham of Moses and of John the Baptist was greater yet than this of the said Centurion so highly commended so much admired by our Saviour 11. This following Verse illustrates the latter end of the former in the sense as above for here Christ gives Abraham Isaack and Iacob as presidents for singular Faith rewarded with eternall glory in the Kingdome of Heaven and sayes Many shall come from East and West meaning from all corners of the world and share with Abraham c. in the like reward for their like Faith so here our Saviour alludes to the calling of the Gentiles unto the Faith of Christ and gives for their encouragement this encomiastick or superlative praise of the Centurion for the first fruits of the Gentiles vocation or beleeving in Christ Iesus the adoration of three Kings arguing not so much Faith as the Profession did so what he said to his followers in the Verse above may by adjoynder of this unto it be conceived as if Christ had said he never found so great Faith in any Gentile whom he had met with amongst the Israelites as he found in this Centurion for the three Kings were not Israelites admit their adoration could argue like Faith in them 12. He pursues the incitement to like Faith of this Centurion saying Those Gentiles who believe as he did shall succeed in the Kingdome of Glory to be dis-inherited Heirs thereof namely the Israelites or Jewes whom he calls the Children of the Kingdome in two regards first because as descended from the loynes of Abraham they were heires to his promised earthly kingdome of Iudea next as for the same reason they were heires to the Heavenly Kingdome of glory likewise promised to his issue in like Faith to his as who should say the forraign Gentiles shall inherit the two Crowns whereunto the Jewes were born heirs by Promise and this by reason the said Gâ—ntiles shall receive the faith of Abraham which the Jewes had deserted and apostatized from So as the Gentiles shall be saved in reward of their Faith and the Jewes damned in punishment of their incredulity which damnation or hell is here called outward darknes as often elsâ—where in holy Writ it is because hell as it is the most remote part from Heaven so is it the darkest and outmost in respect of the inhabitants in Glory whose Beatitude consisting in their beholding the inward light of the Deity by means of the outward light of Glory argues the damnation of the wicked consisteth in their being deprived of all light either of Glory or of God and consequently are out-casts from Heaven wallowing in the deep hell of outward darkness And as by this darkness is understood their pain of damnation or pain of loss consisting in an absolute privation of the sight or light of God and consequenly of all light so by weeping or gnashing of teeth is understood their pain of sense best expressed by those termes which alwayes betoken sorrow and horrour 13. Christ concludes giving the Centurion all he askes in reward of his Faith so curing his Boy at a distance in vertue of his sole Word as was observed that just when Christ spake those words Be it to thee as thou believest then the child was wel recovered hence we are to learn that according to the firmnesse of our Faith we may measure the greatness of our hope in God and mystically we may apply this passage of the Centurion to our selves who are commanders of our senses and powers which make up a spirituall Militia in this life Iob 7. if therefore any of these languish or grow otherwise diseased let us make our addresses by our Friends the Saints in Heaven and Good men on Earth to God beseeching him to cure that sick sense or faculty which is in danger to let in upon us the death of Sin and look with what Faith with what Hope with what Love we make our applications to Almighty God either by our selves or others we may rest assured our help shall be answerable thereunto The Application 1. CHrist cures the Leper to Day by a touch of his sacred Hand to shew he had cured the leprosie of sin in all humane nature by touching it with his nature Divine in the mystery of his Incarnation 2. Being intreated he cures the Centurions son by saying I will come and cure him however by the humility and faith of the Centurion he was not suffered to goe but desired by his Word to doe it at a distance This argues the power of Christ to be as operative as his Person and that by his Power given to Priests he cures all humble and believing Souls in the Sacrament of Pennance as he did the Centurion whose corporall infirmity was here but a figure of Sin-sick-souls 3. O happy Christians who have against all humane diseases a Cure Divine The touch of all the three Persons of the sacred Trinity in the Blessed Sacrament
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
thence retrive that sweet connexion we are at a seeming losse of and shall conclude the key we want to open this connexion lyes hidden in the preamble of this Prayer in the very courtship we use when we call upon God as moderating at once heavenly and earthly Things that is making the earthly obedient to his will when he pleaseth to have them suitable to those that are heavenly Things Thus water by the heavenly will of God became this day wine thus all the materiall parts of this dayes service became as it were immateriall that is to say spirituall Thus the Temporall gifts mentioned in the Epistle of Prophecy Ministery Teaching Exhorting Ruling Mercy Love Joy Hope Patience Prayer Almes Hospitality Vnanimity and Humility are made spirituall in being ordained to a spirituall end by conformity in us earthly creatures to the will of our Creator which is effected by vertue of that moderation God hath set between heaven and earth when he so moderates humane minds and actions as they become subservient to his heavenly will Thus carnall pleasure between man and wife is in them limited by Gods holy grace moderating the excesse and intemperance in that pleasure which indeed carnall men commit but spirituall men avoid God moderating fleshly appetites in them so as they shall not intrench upon spirituall duties but give way to serving God though with abridgement of their own delights and this is done when Saint Pauls counsell is followed Let those that have wives be as if they had none 1 Cor. c. 7. v. 29. when God Almighties service so requires as when attending first to prayer they afterwards return to the same corporall pleasure they forsook to pray and this is called a spirituall continence even in the bed of incontinency not as that term imports sin but as it argues lesse perfection than virginity or absolute containing from all corporall commixture but further and more prodigiously yet this miraculous moderation between heavenly and earthly Things is seen when married people have liberty allowed them for their due and seasonable mutuall pleasures with one another and yet withall at the same instant they have a limit set them beyond which they must not passe but like to flowing Seas must ebbe just at their own bounds and fall to the low-water of a non-temptation towards any other carnall pleasure than between themselves Here I say if ever more eminently than other it doth appear God moderates heavenly and earthly Things at once for here is a kind of continuall miracle betwâ—en man and wife when Saint Pauls counsell is followed as above and since the Story of this dayes Gospel runs upon a marriage and the Prayer concludes with begging peace here is the grant of that petition when man and wife thus moderated live happily together not defrauding one another here is further that peace granted to all sorts of Christians when they apply the Temporall gifts recited in the Epistle to spirituall to heavenly ends and when in the prayer we say Grant us thy peace in our dayes it is no lesse than the peace of that God who at once moderates heavenly and earthly things which we demand Now if any would dive further into that peace let them look back to the seventh verse in the Epistle on the Third Sunday of Advent and to the Explication thereof There they shall see how ravishing how plentifull a peace it is And having thus wrought out our design of connexion here where it was so seeming hard at first but now to flowing from every part like honey from the Combes of this dayes Epistle and Gospel upon the bread of the Prayer let us never despair of as good successe all the year along nor can there be a sweeter Prayer than this thus glossed and in this sense reiterated as often as we find reluctancy in us between nature and grace For then thus to call upon God as moderatour between heaven and earth is to quell all rebellion of nature against grace which God grant we may doe by praying as above The Epistle ROM 12. ver 6. c. 6. ANd having gifts according to the grace that is given us different either prophecy according to the rule of Faith 7. Or ministery in ministring or he that teacheth in doctrine 8. He that exhorteth in exhorting he that giveth in simplicity he that ruleth in carefulnesse he that sheweth mercy in cheerfulnesse 9. Love without simulation hating evill cleaving to good 10. Loving the charity of the Brotherhood one toward another with honour preventing one another 11. In carefulnesse not sloathfull in spirit fervent serving our Lord. 12. Rejoycing in hope patient in tribulation instant in prayer 13. Communicating to the necessities of the Saints pursuing hospitality 14. Blesse them that persecute you Blesse and Curse not 15. To rejoyce with them that rejoyce to weep with them that weep 16. Being of one mind one towards another not minding high things but consenting to the humble The Explication IN regard there was reference made to this place on Sunday last concerning the rule of Faith therefore we shall here take hold of the last part of this verse first and having premised what is peculiarly necessary upon this which is hugely controversiall we shall then proceed in our wonted manner for expounding the rest of the Text. We are therefore here to note That by the Rule of Faith is not understood onely the Apostles Creed branched into twelve Articles as we have received it from age to age but a set Form of life delivered by word of mouth unto the People by the Apostles who had first held Counsels about it amongst themselves and stood resolved all their teaching should be conformable thereunto And this Rule is not as Hereticks will have it the holy Scripture written by the Apostles for this Rule was made long before any Scripture was written and it was never delivered abroad but by word of mouth in their preaching and exhortations so it is properly called the Apostolicall Tradition which is yet even unto this very day the Rule of Faith to the whole Catholick Church to the Decrees of all Councels to the sense or exposition of the holy Scriptures and consequently Scripture cannot be as Hereticks pretend the sole Rule of Faith though true it is there must be nothing nor is there any thing at all in holy Writ contrary to this Rule or Apostolicall Tradition which was much larger than the written Word and therefore it ever was and still is even to the sacred Word a kind of Rule or Test to try it by since before the Apostles issued out their written books of Scripture those books were examined by this Rule of Faith which was framed by common consent of the whole number or Colledge of Apostles whereas all of them did not write nay two onely of the twelve were Evangelists or Writers of the Gospels for Saint Mark and Saint Luke the other two Evangelists were not dignified with the stile
of Apostolate though they were all Preachers of the Gospel according still to this Rule of Faith kept close amongst themselves And indeed the Evangelists writ their Gospels rather upon Emergencies than upon any design or command they had from Christ so to doe but incountring with Heresies they did beat them down not onely by preaching but even by writing as since the Doctours and Fathers of the Church have done in all ages yet this difference there is betwen the Apostles and the Fathers writings that the former are more magisteriall more oracular more authoritative than the latter for however we attribute much to any one Father yet if another Father write contrary we regulate our selves then by the consent of Fathers whereas it is not so in any of the Evangelists writings or any Canonicall part of Scripture every book every chapter every sentence every word every letter thereof is sacred and of uncontrouled undoubted indeed of sacred Authority both by reason of the Authors prerogative Apostolate and of the speciall instinct they had from the Holy Ghost to write upon such occasions as to them occurred Now to our usuall gloss upon the Text In these Three first verses of the Epistle the Apostle enumerates the gifts proper to Church-men according to this rule of Faith From the ninth verse forwards he recounts what even the lay-people ought to beg of God for the embellishment or measure of Faith according to the rule thereof concerning all faithfull Believers whatsoever and though many take prophecy for a common gift bestowed as well upon the Laicks as upon Ecclesiasticall persons yet in this place the Apostle takes it strictly as appertaining to their prophetick by which is understood their preaching and teaching Function 6. For we read in holy Writ where the Ministery or Diaconate was set apart by the Apostles as hindring them from teaching and preaching and conferred on Deacons assigned specially for that purpose Non est equum It is not reason say the Apostles Acts 6. v. 2 that we leave the word of God and serve Tables Consider therefore Brethren seven men of you of good Testimony full of the Holy Ghost and wisdome whom we may appoint over this Businesse But we will be instant in prayer and the ministery of the word The like division is made 1 Tim. 3. where under the name of Bishops he includes Pastors and Preists too under the name of Deacons he includes all Church-Officers below them too So under the stile of prophecies he includes two sorts of Preists Apostles and Bishops as also Pastors and Preachers which are Priests and those that by office take care of souls and that of Deacons we shall likewise see divided anon Note here by faith is not onely understood an absolute Article of faith but a perfect understanding the sence of the divine word bee it written or delivered from the Apostles by word of mouth and this Faith is that which is recounted as a gratuit or free gift of the holy Ghost 1 Cor. 12. v. 9 To another is given Faith in the same spirit so he sayes here the Apostles and others had the gift of prophecie as a measure of their Faith that is to explicate the sacred word according to the rule of faith so none could use this gift to vent any their own brain-sick fictions but onely thereby to illustrate the rule of Faith left unto the Church by Iesus Christ and conserved as a sacred Tradition amongst the Apostles whilst they lived and so handed over from age to age unto the Church untill the worlds end S Ambrose will have this gift of prophecie or as the Apostle here means of Teaching to be such as renders the Preacher able to deliver high mysteries of Faith according to the measure of every true Christians capacity or understanding and indeed prophecy is here taken properly for a gift of teaching according to the exact rule of Faith even when the deepest Mysteries are agitated or the hardest places of Scripture are controverted Now by this and what we said last Sunday when the third verse of this 12th Chapter to the Romans was expounded we see the difference between the measure and the rule of Faith 7. By Ministery is here understood as above the Diaconat either as it imports the office it self or the execution thereof as shall be more at large expressed in the next verse Suffice it here to know the office is taken for an externall duty of charity and that as well corporall as spirituall whereas Doctorat or prophecie imported onely the spirituall exhibition of charity by Teaching Preaching or the like but the gift of Prophecie or Doctorate hath two branches The one is of strict solid and Magisterial doctrine according to the measure and rule of Faith a gift not imparted to every man but rarely to some few and that is here insisted upon only The other is of exhorting as followes 8. This seems a gift that allowes a liberty to the Preacher of perswading to truth by any lawfull art or meanes of Rhetorick and eloquence to draw the hearer to a content as well as a consent of what is delivered So that this exhortation is properly that which Pastours are to mix with their administration of the Sacraments and doctrinall points in their Sermons that the people may thereby be raised up as well to Acts of Love perfecting their will as to Knowledge perfecting their understanding And in this place the Apostle adviseth all men thus gifted to make use thereof according to the measure and rule of faith not to bury such their talents without profiting others thereby since here is a reduplication importing an actuall use of this Talent saying He that exhorts in exhorting let him use his talent As who should say Hee that is gifted to exhortation let him make actuall use of that gift But we are further to note in this Verse the Apostle explicates clearly the office of a Deacon or Diaconate which is Tripartite The First is that of Almes The next that of Government The third that of Hospitality for tending sick persons To the perfection of Alms he requires Simplicity such as gives purely for charity without self-interest and gives liberally upon all occasions of exigence not reserving for the future when there is a present want but confiding in Gods providence for what is to come without any sinister end such as theirs is who give alms to tempt the poor to sin But chiefly this Simplicity consists in a contradistinction against duplicity or fraud and against distinction of persons as some use to doe giving rather to one than another in equall necessity out of a partiality of respect to this body rather than to that as to an allie or acquaintance before a stranger a good or an ill natured man or the like which is against true Simplicity for God is no accepter of persons Acts 10.38 To the perfection of government the Apostle requires carefulness sollicitude and vigilance
that humanity is but a creature his meaning therefore must be that with our corporall eyes we can onely see the Deity as tralucent and shining through the face of Christ or through his humane nature but yet with our souls eyes that is with her faculties of understanding we see even the sacred Deitie and with our wills we love him as the beginning and end of all our hopes as our chief and infinite goodness and when the Apostle sayes he shall know God in heaven as he is there known by God his meaning is onely that we shall see God perfectly and not in part onely as he doth know us perfectly by knowing the integrity of all the causes concurring to our making and the infallibility of all the effects of our each operation or motion not that therefore our knowledge of God shall be equally perfect with his of us for such knowledge would argue identity and not onely similitude of knowledge whereas here there is no identicall but onely a similitudinary knowledge asserted 13. We must note that Iraeneus Tertullian and others understood by the word now that the Apostle meant now that we are in this perfect knowledge that is in heaven Faith Hope Charity shall remain but this were to contradict all that hath been said before of Faith ceasing when vision comes of hope decaying when Fruition affords all that can be hoped for so those Fathers must be explicated to mean by faith all firm assured and undoubted science such as onely consisted in vision and by hope all incessant adhesion to the infinite goodness of God above all things else beloved which adhesion they called fruition and yet though this qualifie their sense to bee neerer the Apostles than an asserting that faith and hope remain in heaven formally as charity doth yet this comes short of S. Pauls meaning by the word now in this life not in heaven for his main scope was to prove to the Corinthians that charity was the chief of all other vertues faith hope and charity but the chiefest and greatest of these is charity and not so much boasted gift of tongues and therefore as to them he sayes Now there are three Theologicall vertues faith hope and charitie but the greatest of these is charity not your vain faith which is not acquainted with love nor your idle hope which fixeth your expectation of help from creatures nay though your faith be pure and your hope in God alone yet charity is greater than these vertues and shall remain in heaven when the other two Theological vertues cease however now they are all three together here the most excellent indeed of all other gifts or vertues however you esteem more that of tongues which I see you prefer fondly before any other gifts of God To conclude the Apostle resolves charity to bee above all other vertues as the fire is the chief of Elements gold the principall of metals the Sun the best of Planets the Empyreal the highest of heavens and the Seraphins the top-gallant of Angels so is charity the chief the principal the best the highest and the most gallant of all vertues whatsoever The Application 1. SInce the first operation of Adams soul was an act of love to his Creator because he see him to bee infinitely more amiable than all the lovely creatures he had made him master of Therefore every child of Adam doth even in that degenerate if his first reasonable operation be not also an act of love to God Nature as well as grace teaching the giver ought to be beloved far above the gift he gives 2. Hence it is that in Regeneration we are bound to make our first act a profession of our faith and love to the divine Majesty so solemn that it is accompanied with an abrenuntiation of all love to creatures namely those that tempt us most the World the Flesh and the Divel with all his Pomps and vanities And this because originall sin had fetterd our affections and tyed them to a dotage on the creatures so as to love these above the Creatour of them and us 3. Now because this indebit love to creatures is the fetter that fastens us to sin making us affect it even when we doe not commit it actually and because for sin wee are lyable to all adversity therefore S. Paul by tying a true-lovers-knot of perfect love and charity to God within our hearts would loosen the fetters of our love to creatures that fasten us to sin and by this art would keep us free from all adversitie no effect remaining longer than the cause thereof remains Whence it is that whilest Saint Paul so passionately recommendeth charity in this Epistle as the onely remedie against adversitie We properly pray as above The Gospel LUKE 18. ver 31 c. 31. ANd Jesus took the twelve and said to them Behold we goe up to Hierusalem and all things shall be consummate which were written by the Prophets of the Son of man 32. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles and shall be mocked and scourged and spit upon 33. And after they have scourged him they will kill him and the third day he shall rise again 34. And they understood none of these things and this word was hid from them and they understood not the things that were said 35. And it came to passe when he drew nigh to Jericho a certain blind man sat by the way begging 36. And when he heard the multitude passing by he asked what this should be 37. And they told him Jesus of Nazareth passed by 38 And he cryed saying Jesus son of David have mercy upon me 39. And they that went before rebuked him that he should hold his peace But he cryed much more son of David have mercy upon me 40. And Jesus standing commanded him to be brought unto him and when he was come neer he asked him 41. Saying what wilt thou that I doe to thee but he said Lord that I may see 42. And Jesus said unto him Doe thou see thy faith hath made thee whole 43. And forthwith he saw and followed him magnifying God And all the people as they saw it gave praise to God The Explication 31. OUr Saviour being now neer the time wherein he was pleased to be sacrificed for mans redemption took with him in this his last ascending to the grand feast of the Jewes their Paschall solemnity all his twelve Apostles and lest they should be surprised by his sudden death which they knew not to be at hand as himself did he forewarnes them of it nay for their further comfort he tells them his death was fore-told long before by the holy Prophets but with this consolatory clause of his rising again after he was dead to prove thereby it was God redeemed us when God and Man dyed for us and such was the Messias such was he who now foretold them this of himself to prepare their patience against his passion to secure their Faith though
so now they think they have reason and do well in so reproaching of him because first they had observed he did frequently converse with Samaritanes next that he was bred up in Nazareth a City in Galilee neer to Samaria whence the Jews of that place were esteemed to be much like the Samaritanes Lastly and most literally that the Religion of the Samaritanes was mixed partly with Judaism partly with Gentilism since they did worship the god of the Assyrians from whom they were descended as well as keep the Rights of the Synagogue and for this cause the Jews held them Schismaticks and so detested their Sacrifices that to call Christ a Samaritane was to shew they did detest him too which appeared by their adding he was also possâ—ssed by some Devil and spake as mad men do that are in diabolical frenzies But the truth is they did really believe he was some Devil himself because he laid claim to be the Messias and to be the Son of God which they looked upon him for as if he had been Lucifer himself and Christ understood their meaning to be thus when in the next Verse he tells them 49. He neither is nor hath in him any Devil because in telling them he is the Son of God he doth not boast his own descent so much as that he gives the honour and glory of all he doth unto his heavenly Father and for this Act of his they seek to disgrace and to dishonour indeed to revile him O unparalleld meekness and deep reply in one word to both their calumnies for though he mention not Samaritane in this Reply yet by saying he hath no Devil in him he includes the other since the Schism of the Samaritanes made them slaves of the Devil wherefore he replies onely to the Slander cast upon his Father by calling him Devil to shew he regards not much the abuse they committed against himself as he was man but as he was the Son of God whence he must needs vindicate his Fathers if not his own cause 50. How well might he say this who had professed he came hither by command of his Father that he preached his Fathers not his own Doctrine and the like I do therefore said he not seek my own but my Fathers honour and glory it sufficeth me that I know when the hour of his holy Pleasure is come he will clarifie glorifie me as afterwards he did when Christ said unto him before his Transfiguration the hour is come clarifie thy Son Joh. cap. 17. v. 1. and as then he did honour him by manifesting his glory and avouching him to be his Son so the other part of this Verse will be verified when he shall judge as God and punish those that revile his said Son not that in this place Christ reflected on the general Iudgement which is referred to himself but unto the private Judgement that God makes either by punishing temporally the sins of the people as he did in the destruction of the Jews by Titus and the Romans for having crucified Christ or eternally if he reserve their punishment till the hour of their death for Christ is not properly said to come as Iudge to every Soul dying but to all Souls at the latter day So our private Iudgements are the Sentences of God rather then of Christ upon us yet not to the exclusion of Christ neither 51. Whereupon turning to his own veracity rather then regarding their falsehood he says Amen Amen Truly Truly or since I am God and cannot lye be mens opinions what they will yet really and truly be it so that whosoever shall hear and keep my Word shall never dye eternally for so he would taste eternal death but though he dye temporally through the separation of his Body from his Soul yet he shall not dy eternally that is he shall not sin mortally which can onely cause eternal death and even that death of the body I shall take away too when at the general Resurrection I shall give both corporal and spiritual life everlasting to those Blessed who have inviolably kept and observed my word by living as I have given Law unto them 52 53. By this Reply we may see they understood not the true Sence of Christs meaning when they think to obtrude the lye and the Devil upon him by shewing he hath asserted a manifest lye in saying who believe in him should never dye for say they though thou were God yet would it not follow to hear thy word and keep it were enough to render one immortal since Abraham and the Prophets did hear and keep Gods Word and yet are dead whereas he never meant they should not dye temporally but that they should not dye eternally or which is all one dye in deadly sin nor can indeed the other Sence be rationally inferred out of the Letter of the Text which alludes onely to eternal death No marvel they should wonder at his pretending to be greater then Abraham whom they were content to make Head of the Synagogue by reason he was the First Believer for this proceeded not onely out of their affected but indeed out of their reall ignorance that Christ was God as well as Man and so they held it absurd he should pretend to an immunity not granted to the best of them as then they to argue against him were content to admit Abraham to be he being indeed the Father of all Beliefe the first Believer of all the Synagogue for they went not to Adam nor to the Faithful under the Law of Nature though indeed Moses was the first Member of the Synagogue framed into a Body for Abrahams Beliefe was Personal onely Moses his was Legal 54. The beginning of this Verse is his Answer to the close of the last as who should say he did not make nor boast himself to be much though he might with modesty and truth enough have done it so he doth not desire any other or more glory then what his Father gives him and says if he desire more it proves null alluding to the Judgements of Courts that never take the Testimony of any Party in his own Cause and so now that he is in contrast with them he pretends not to his own Testimony of himself but remits all to his Father whom they did confess to be their God and consequently beyond all exception to be believed 55. Observe he tells them they do not know his Father though they confess him to be their God when they heard him speak and profess Christ was onely his beloved Son and bid them hear that is believe him for then they did not or would not take notice this voyce came from heaven from God the Father as it did indeed But the literal sence of this place is that though they knew there was but one God and did believe in him yet they did not know that God who was one in Essence was Trine in Persons and consequently did beget the word his eternal
inward spirit or inspiration of the holy Ghost revealing as it were to man internally this truth by a speciall favour of holy unction of whom it is said 2 Ep. Ioan. cap. c. 2. v. 20. 27. He shall teach all truth and that his unction teacheth us in all things 7. This for is a proper illative he having said before the Spirit bore testimony that Christ was verity since the Spirit is one of the three in heaven that give testimony beyond all exceptions namely Father Son and Holy Ghost which is the very spirit that is mentioned testifying as above in Christ his behalfe so the scope of this verse is that all the three persons of the Blessed Trinity give testimony to man and Angels of Christ his being the Messias the Son of God sent to redeeme the world The Father in his Baptisme and Transfiguration the Holy Ghost by comming downe upon him in the shape of a Dove and by comming as sent from heaven by him after his Ascension to confirme his Apostles in grace on Whitsunday the Feast of Pentecost and the word or second person abundantly in all the mysteries of his life and death and all these three are one not in essence and divine nature onely but even in their Testimonies of him they all concurre in one and the same Truth 8. Saint Iohn having cited three divine or increated testimonies of Christ his Deity addes also three created testimonies of the same Truth the spirit water and bloud which three to make a perfect Analogy between this double Trinity he sayes are all one meaning they have all one root the Sacred Deity in which they are sanctified The water represents the Father the Bloud the Son the Spirit the Holy Ghost for as water was the first principle of all sublunary things as in the first of Genesis the creation declared so is the Father the creator of all the world and as Christ by his own bloud saved us so his Holy Martyrs by their bloud give testimony of him as the Holy Ghost taught all truth to the Apostles and their successors so that Spirit of Truth in the Holy Church beares testimony of his infallible veracity by whose holy Spirit she remaines infallible Take then this created Trinity thus by Water Baptisme by Bloud Martyrdome by the Spirit the charity of God diffused in our hearts and these three are one in way of Testimony or testifying all one thing the Deity of Christ that he was true God as well as man So they are not one in nature as the increated Trinity is but in office or Testimony they are all one and the same yet may we say they are even in nature all one too if wee make the division thus that these three human testimonies were all one in Christ as he was man that is the water and bloud out of his side and the spirit his human soule which he dying gave up to testifie he was a true man and all these three may be said one as being severall parts that integrated one whole Christ 9. This verse begins with an argument of similitude importing if we beleeve men much more ought we to beleeve God not that it implyeth as if the Testimony that holy Church gives of truth were a humane Testimony onely but yet creditable even upon that account and undoubted upon an other that though men speak yet God dictates the Truth unto them and so the Doctrine of the Church is not onely the Doctrine nor Testimony of men but also of God assisting them and thence it makes human-Divines or Divine-Men so in short the sence of this verse is whither the created or increated Trinity bear testimony of Christ his Deity it is the testimony of God himselfe either being or working infallible Truth whence Saint Peter 2 Epist cap. 1. v. 21. Sayes well The holy men of God spake inspired with the holy Ghost * So were those signes when Christ suffered in the Sun Moone Rocks c. Signes of the creator speaking in the creatures 10. For many reasons this is true first because he hath a thing testified by God secondly the testimony of God about that thing for none but God could reveale that truth of Christ being the Sonne of God This was told Saint Peter and thence he was called by Christ Blessed Matth. c. 16. v. 17. thirdly because this testimony is faith it selfe the greatest gift of God lastly because by this gift of Faith a man is regenerate and made of the devils Son to be the Son of God The Priest asking first the baptized if he do beleeve Christ and that professed then baptizeth immediately The Application 1. THe Illustration upon this Prayer gives a great help to the present Application of this Text unto our best advantage according to intention of the Holy Church for seeing by the Paschal Feast we understand the vertues that were proper thereunto we must not exclude the magazine of vertues which men have been hoarding up since Advent but especially those in Lent towards making us more capable of the benefit of our Saviours Resurrection because it is no lesse vertue to conserve what we have gotten then it was to get the thing acquired and wee shall then best conserve those vertues when by frequent Acts thereof as occasion is administred we make them perfect in us and when our selves are perfected by them 2. Now to shew the Church observes a method in her services as the three Theologicall vertues Faith Hope and Charity are the maine roots of all Christianity and of all other vertues whatsoever therefore from this time till we come againe to Advent where we first began the Rules of Christianity there are three seasons set a part for these Three Theologicall vertues which are the three last misteries of humane Redemption the resurrection whereby we are to perfect our Faith the Ascension whereby we are to perfect our Hope and the comming of the Holy Ghost whereby we are to perfect our charity as shall be said at large of each when they occurr 3. Suffice it for the present that this Epistle in the front thereof and quite throughout commends unto us the exercise of our Faith as the most proper vertue now required at our hands since we see the mystery of the Resurrection was a thing so hard to be believed that it cost our Saviour forty dayes paines to make it good by frequent apparitians in divers places unto divers persons for he had else ascended up to heaven as soone as ever he arose from his grave had it not been matter of huge difficulty to make the world from thence beleeve that he was God as well as man because he was risen from the dead and that as he being man did rise againe so they should doe that were men too the good to everlasting Joy the bad to everlasting paine no marvell then our Faith in the Resurrection be call'd the victory which over comes the world in the sence of the
expositors as above because it was a thing unheard of that the dead should rise againe so that Faith is here recommended to us for the vertue which the Scribes and Pharises were too blame not to allow of at all but conceived good workes without faith were enough to save their soules as in like manner the Heretickes of this Time are equally too blame to think that faith alone is sufficient without good works whereas Catholikes are taught both are absolutely necessary and therefore Pray as above that we may retaine in our lives and manners that is to say in our good workes the faith we have in the Resurrection of our Lord. The Gospel St. Iohn c. 20. v. 19. c. 19 Therefore when it was late that day the first of the Sabbaths and the doores were shut where the Disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jewes Jesus came and stood in the midst and saith to them Peace be to you 20 And when he had said this he shewed them his hands and side The Disciples therefore were glad when they saw our Lord. 21 He said therefore to them againe Peace be to you As my Father hath sent me I doe also send you 22 When he said this he breathed upon them and he saith to them receive ye the Holy Ghost 23 Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them and whose you shall retaine they are retained 24 But Thomas one of the twelve who is called Didymus was not with them when Jesus came 25 The other Disciples therefore said to him we have seene our Lord. But he said to them unlesse I see in his hands the print of the nailes and put my Finger into the place of the nailes and put my hand into his side I will not beleeve 26 And after eight dayes againe his Disciples were within and Thomas with them Iesus commeth the doores being shut and stood in the midst and said peace be to you 27 Then saith he to Thomas put in thy finger hither and see my hands and bring hither thy hand and put it into my side and be not incredulous but faithfull 28 Thomas answered and said unto him my Lord and my God 29 Jesus saith to him because thou hast seen me Thomas thou hast beleeved Blessed are they that have not seene and have beleeved 30 Many other signes did Jesus in the sight of his Diseiples which are not written in this Book 31 And these are written that you may beleeve that Iesus Christ is the Son of God and that beleeving you may have life in his name The Explication 19. That this apparition of Christ was his first to his Apostles and to them for fear assembled all but Thomas together in a Chamber in Hierusalem is most undoubted by this Text which yet may seeme to clash with what the Angels said to the Maries as Saint Mark cap. 16. v. 7. reports in the close of last Sundayes Gospel For by that verse it seemes the Maries were to goe after the Apostles into Galilee as if they had been fled for feare from Hierusalem and as if Christ had promised his first apparition after his resurrection should be in Galilee but upon deliberate examine it will be found the Angell spake of that apparition in Galilee as the most celebrated because it was before so great a number as well of Disciples of Christ his friends as before his Apostles who were not onely his chosen servants and his friends also designed to be imployed in a higher service namely that of Apostolate So this considered there is no scruple of contradiction in the Evangelists if here we finde Saint Iohn say this apparition of Christ to his Apostles assembled ten of them together in Hierusalem was his first of all though afterwards they fled for fear into Galilee and had againe the honour to be present when Christ did there appeare to above five hundred at once as Saint Paul avoucheth 1 Cor. 15. v. 6. besides it is evident by the Text of this verse that this was Christ his first apparition to his Apostles because it was late that day namely on Easter day on Sunday the first of the Sabbath so called from the dignity it had to be made ever after the first day of the Christian week and so their Sabbath day as bringing them newes of the eternall rest which Christ his resurrection upon that day had purchased unto them and if we observe the story as Saint Iohn relates it there was reason why it should be late that day for first the Maries were to goe from the Tombe to the City then Mary Magdalene runing away before the rest seemes first to have met Peter and Iohn onely and comming back with or after them who run to the Tombe to see if it were true that Mary had told them and returning afterwards to get together their whole number of Apostles if they could though with seare of the Iewes to consult what was to be done by them and in the meane time Mary comming back to the Sepulchre and weeping there had the honour to have our Saviour appeare unto her and then to goe open mouth to the Apostles and to tell them she was not now to seek but had found her Lord and that he had told her he was to ascend to his heavenly Father so before all this was done the day must needs passe a pace away and therefore no marvell it was late when our Saviour appeared the doores being shut where the Disciples were gathered together probably in the same roome where Christ with them made his last Supper This place argues Christ may be in the Sacrament without extension of Parts as well as he could with his whole Body enter into the room where his Apostles were and had the doors close shut upon them for fear of the Jews whatsoever the Hereticks pretend to the contrary this being as strange a Penetration as the other is a Transubstantiation and a Celation or Covering the Order of his Corporeal Parts not amassed nor confounded one with another how ever not requiring such extension as is naturally requisite to their dimensions since it is as easie for God to keep his real Body under the Sacramental Species without commensuration to place as it was for him to pass with his whole Body thorough the walls without division made by his miraculous Penetration of their Parts being therefore they must grant this because his Apostle says it how can they with modesty deny the other which himselfe avouched when he said Take and eat this is my Body Mark cap. 14. v. 22. Luk. cap. 22. v. 19. and which his Apostles took and believed in the Sense that now the Roman Churches believes and defends it against all the opposers of that most sacred Truth But observe the first salute of our Saviour saying peace be to you which is to say all good betide you fear no more I have fought your battailes and bring you the tidings of a
that interim between our Saviour Ascending and the coming of the Holy Ghost namely a strong Hope in the coming of that Holy spirit and in all the promises made by our Saviour of the Heavenly fruits he should bring with him when he comes Now since Regation weeke imports as much as Aske and Have and since we never Aske but what we Hope to obtaine therefore it was necessary to fasten this day the first linke of Hope unto the last linke of our Faith that which tels us how to perfect our beliefe in good and saving workes as above 2. The following verse of this Epistle tels us the first work of our Faith is Religion and lest the Lay men should thinke themselves Masters in point of Religion see how presently Saint James prevents that mischiefe by bridling up their tongues as who should say Religion ought to be such as Faith begets and Faith being a thing the Lay-men must heare and learne not teach consequently in point of Religion Lay people must be silent hearers and no Preachers least Heresie seducing their hearts their Religion prove vaine for want of Rectitude according to the Rule of Faith so that it is not every believer who can lay claime to the True Relâ—gion but such onely as believing Right make profession of the true and right Religion which is onely that of the Catholick Church 3. The last verse of this Epistle gives us two summary markes of that which is the true Religion and consequently of those that are the right believers Such as are charitable to their Neighbor and unspotted in their own lives no way contaminated with the ordure of this sinful world not that sinne makes men therefore of a false religion but that Sainctity declares they are of the true one O happy Christianity that is accomplished in Sanctity See then how the Prayer above keepes a due regard to all these three divisions of Saint James his Epistle To Hope linck't unto operative Faith believing all the good wee pray for comes from God To Religion regulated by Faith when we begge we may not thinke erroneously much lesse profess an error but that we may have God our Sanctifying Governor in our Faith and Religion who was our caller thereunto by his Holy Inspiration The Gospel John 16. v. 23 c. 23 And in that day me shall you not aske any thing Amen Amen J say to you if you aske the Father any thing in my name he will give it you 24 Vntill now you have not asked any thing in my name Aske and you shall receive that your joy may be full 25 These things in Proverbs I have spoken to you the houre cometh when in Proverbs J will no more speake to you but plainely of the Father I wil shew you 26 In that day you shall aske in my name and I say not to you that I will aske the Father for you 27 For the Father himselfe loveth you because you have loved me and have beleeved that I came forth from God 28 I came forth from the Father and came into the world againe I leave the world and goe to the Father 29 His Disciples say to him behold now thou speakest plainly and sayest no Proverb 30 Now we know that thou knowest all things and thou needest not that any man aske thee in this wee beleeve that thou camest forth from God The Explication 23. WHat that day is may be doubted for some understand it to be the day of resurrection or of Pentecost others the day of glory those that are of the former sense take asking here for interrogating by way of doubt as those did that asked him Lord whither goest thou Io. c. 13. v. 35. or of Prayer to him as when hee said to them whatever you aske my Father in my name he will give it you but those of the latter opinion concerning the day say it shal then be needless to ask any thing when they abound in glory and in this sense Saint Augustine understands these words But in the words following it is cleere the Apostle meanes Prayer by asking and brings in Christ comforting his Apostles against the horror of his departure by telling them it shal be no loss to them that he leaves them Since whatsoever they shall aske his Father in his name shal be given unto them and elsewhere he sayes whatsoever you aske praying beleeve you shal receive it to shew it is not his meaning they shal be satisfied to all curious interrogations but to all supplicatory Prayers Saint Augustine wil have this reduplicative Amen to import as much as an oath in our Saviour as if he had not onely promised but sworne they should have whatsoever they asked his Father in his name but every word in this verse is worthy of a speciall remarke so that first his promise of this was to the Apostles persons to whom he then spake as who should say be ye of good comfort for I esteeme so deerly of you above all others that whatsoever you aske shal be given you though with this primary promise to them may stand a Secondary promise to all good Christians that they also asking so shall obtain as much Againe the word any thing or whatsoever imports first that it must be honourable for God saving to them and that it must be something for they must not aske nothing in his name who is all things and whatsoever is not honourable to God nor conducing to their salvation is as nothing in Gods sight who regards not any thing else then our asking or praying must be first humbly next reverently then confidently besides ardently and last of all constantly that is with perseverance And he bids this be done to his Father to shew us the hope we may have to speed asking his Father in his name who can deny his beloved Sonne nothing at all and so for his if not for our sake he will grant us all we aske in his Sonnes name And here indeed needs most explanation what is meant by asking the Father in Christs name first the power of his sole name in his Fathers eares as who should say what need you my person longer with you I leave you my name to supply my presence take therefore this name into your mouthes use it reverently upon all good accasions to my Father it shall availe you as much as if I were with you to intercede for you next by his name we may understand his merits his death his passion as if putting them before his Fathers eyes we need not the comfort of his presence in our own sight or wee may understand by his name he meanes his mediatorship for as he is God he joyntly gives with his Father and the Holy Ghost all that we can receive but as he is our Mediator so he joyntly askes with us whilest we aske the Father in the name of his mediating Sonne we also may be said to ask in his name while we demand any
resignation as a meanes to our exaltation in the time of visitation which is to be understood when God shall think fit to look upon us with the eye of mercy 7. It were an injury to Gods goodnesse for us to cast about for that which God himself takes care for that is our soules good the care of that is his and our rule of that is by him laid unto us so in that affayre we have rather to do what is commanded already then to be solicitous about it as if it were not done And to be solicitous of Temporals is an unchristian care and therefore often forbidden in point of perfection however tolerated in regard of humane infirmity but moderate care is alwayes allowed Christians in order to Temporals when anxious solicitude is forbidden them by many texts of holy writ 8. Sobriety is the best companion of watchfulnesse and therefore both are recommended And because our watchfulnesse is to be perpetual therefore our sobriety must be so too but especially towards night when our hearts onely are to keep the watch whilest our senses are asleep and this because the devil is then most busie in temptations when men are least able to resist having as it were but their wish awake and their will asleep hence all spiritual men recommend temperance towards bed-time both in meat and drink hence the Completory begins alwayes with this very verse to put us in mind with what purity we ought to go to bed having our profest enemy alwayes awake and ready to devour us if he find us off our sober guard 9. Happy we that by the least resistance are sure of victory against this ravenous devil for maugre all his malice and all his power he cannot hurt us unlesse we yeeld our consents to his Temptations Here is added that we must stoutly resist him and believing too because so we get compleat victory for by resistance we overcome him by fortitude we bind him captive by Faith we take away all his armes and power that is by firm stout and constant Faith And again our resistance will have the more force because of what followes in this verse we never are left alone but have alwayes our fellow Souldiers to help us in this Fight against our enemy who never tempts us alone but all other good men at the same time and we have share in their greater resistance by adding what our weaknesse is able to do 10. This next verse comes yet more home to our comfort and assistance telling us besides the help of our fellow creatures we have the help of our omnipotent Creatour against this enemy of mankind the God of all grace who having called us to everlasting glory will not if we help our selves permit the devill to snatch us away into his kingdom of darknesse so that being designed for glory we cannot fear the want of grace for that is the seed and glory the fruit of Gods goodnesse in us O who seeing how much Christ suffered to purchase us patience would not gladly suffer this little we are told must be indured if we will hope for victory Let us therefore with the same zeal begin to suffer as we would desire the happy end of it which is assured victory and glory 11. This last verse minds us that the victory is Gods and the honour of it his though the reward by his mercy be our eternall glory too The Application WE have had hitherto the holy Ghost the sacred Trinity and the blessed Sacrament to help us on in our long journey between Pentecost and Advent which we are to march all upon the feet of Charity but now we must expect no more such speciall helps suffice it we have had last Sunday the corroborating repast whereof Elias his refreshment under the Tree in the desert was but a type or figure when yet he was told that little bread should inable him to his journeyes end although he had a great wâ—y to go after that before he came to the mount Horeb so beloved must our charity from this day forward march upon the late refreshment of the blessed Sacrament till we come in our annuall journey to the mount of Advent the mount of expectation the mount that leaves us on the top of the highest mystery of our redemption the Incarnation of our Lord God where his first stoop to earth was our first step to heaven 2. Now for as much as we shall in this march find charity sometimes handed on by other vertues as last Sunday most properly by holy fear sutable to her in so long a journey and through the many dangers which she was to meet withall in the desert of this world and because at other times she will be in a manner out of sight and carried on with the crowd of other vertues thronging about her to secure themselves by her and to be her guard as they are bound she being sovereign to them all we must not therefore think our design is ill laid and that our obligation ceaseth as to the practise of charity when in the holy Text other vertues are more visible then she for there want not good Divines who grounded on S. Paul his definition or description at least of this majestick vertue affirm there is indeed no other vertue but charity both because God himself is called charity and because in heaven all other vertues are refunded into her so that in these Divines opinions even Faith Hope Humility Patience Obedience and all other vertues whatsoever are but charity believing hoping submitting suffering obeying or the like as one and the self same man by the severall faculties of his soul by his severall senses and members of his body is doing those exercises that such faculties such senses and such members are necessary for Be these Divines right or wrong it boots not to our purpose more then thus to let us see all our actions are good or bad according as they partake or want of charity to give them life or to declare them dead 3. This premised see how humility resignation to Gods holy will sobriety vigilance and a strong faith bring charity along this first-dayes journey after the repast she had last Sunday as above And though the Text tell her she is to carry us through the ravenous Lions walk yet we see the close of this Epistle is that the God of all Grace the God of charity will secure us through these dangers for his own glory if we but love him and will cast our cares on him and will rely upon his multiplied mercies whereof we have dayly and hourely huge experience if we will make him our Ruler him our Guide and if we do not loose our charity to him our Creatour by wasting it away upon creatures unworthy of our love because we cannot grasp temporall felicities without hazard of loosing eternall happinesse Yes yes assuredly this ought to be our duty now Whilest to this very purpose holy Church prayes to day
once would let us know the dead child being a Jew represents the expiration of the Jewish Synagogue by the plantation of the Church of Christ For as this diseased Gentile fell sick when Jairus his child was born so the Gentiles fell to their brutish Idolatry figured by the Bloudy Flux when the Jewes were born to right belief in Abraham and therefore as Christ went to raise this child from death to life and by the way first healed the diseased woman so he came first to the Jewes yet the Gentiles received and believed in him before the Jewes whose conversion or being raised from the death of infidelity to the life of Faith is not to be till after all Gentiles are first reduced and then at last even the Jewes shall generally be converted This is the mystical sense of the present story prosecuted in these three verses onely we are to observe by this womans Faith that the Gentiles are of much more easie and entire belief then the Jewes besides this place gives a great ground for the Catholick doctrine of revering reliques since here the woman was cured by the onely touch of our Saviours garments hemm and Eusebius writes that she in memory of this favour shewed unto her made a coat like that of our Saviours and kept it religiously in her house and that diverse who were diseased went away from her perfectly cured upon the sole touch of this garments hemm also 23. 24. The musick our Saviour found here was onely such as usually in those dayes did accompany all burials Our Saviours saying the child is not dead did not deny but she was so for all that onely his meaning was she should live again and therefore he accounted her death but a sleep in the sight of God because her soul was not summoned to the barre of Judgement being to return and lead a longer life in this world though this saying of Christ might also import his modesty in not making difficult his works to get thereby popular applause However they knew and so did Christ the child was really dead to all humane power of recovery but that they might see death to God was but as sleep to nature since he that could out of nothing make all things could much more easily out of a dead body make a living creature and so as to God death and sleep are much alike in respect of privation of life whence it is frequent for Christ to call death obdormition or sleeping onely thus he did in Lazarus his case after he was four dayes buried Joh. 11.44 and thus you see here he doth in this present case of the dead child But as commonly men judge of all things by outward appearances and of other mens powers by comparing them to their own so here these mourners laugh at Christ for saying the dead child was onely asleep as who should say they held it impossible for him to revive her which argues they were sufficiently satisfied she was truly dead to all this world 25. 26. Note his bidding them depart when he sayes she is not dead argues that their diffidence in his power did not deserve the honour to be eye-witnesses of the miracle how it was done though afterwards they had proof enough it was most true and again it argues he was not seeking popular applause when he went in alone leaving the company without taking onely the child's parents and his disciples with him S. Mark sayes Peter James and John to shew it was not ultroneous fasting that conferred sanctity of which you heard before but a lively Faith and an ardent love to God wherewith his Apostles were endowed and so fit to be now witnesses of his and after workers of as great miracles themselves though they did not run the vain-glorious wayes of Pharisaical fasting or the like Note the Scripture phrase is here pathetical saying Christ held the childs hand in such sort probably as officers take hold of such as they arrest to carry away with them and so shew their power over them for thus our Saviour seemed to snatch the body of this child from death and to command her soul from entring into hell but to animate again the body thereby to shew he had perfect dominion over life and death And it seems the manner of this was extraordinary when the story of it ends by saying it was divulged all the countrey over for a famous miracle though St. Mark sayes Christ gave the girle to her parents bidding them say nothing Mar. 5.43 to shew his modesty and that he sought not the worlds applause but onely Gods honour and glory Yet their disobedience in this was not unseemly The Application 1. THis Gospel of the Jewes and Gentiles Infidelity is as we heard in the Explication made a whole Type of all Iniquity whatsoever and yet is most peculiarly proper to the Epistle inculcating so sincere a sayntity as above because as to that sayntity pardon of iniquity is necessary and this pardon is mystically represented in the raising Jairus his daughter from the brink of death which is the natural punishment of sinne so to the said sayntity there is also necessary a detestation of all affection to sin which detestation is also represented by the cure upon the woman sick of the Issue of bloud not unfitly likened to reiterated or accustomary sinne which argues a huge affection thereunto 2. What then more proper for Christians at the reading of this holy Text then first to procure an act of contrition for all guilt of sinne upon their soules and next to detest all affection to any sinne whatsoever especially to those which have been formerly to them accustomary for those are properly bonds which we have sealed to the devil while we hamper our selves with giving them up as our well advised acts of our yet most abominable wicked deeds 3. Say now beloved if our holy Mother have not fram'd a fitting Prayer when to this purpose she brings charity to day upon her knees preparing her self for the grand account she is next Sunday put in mind to make By petitioning as above an acquittance of her sinful debts by absolution from the guilt thereof and a cancelling of all her bonds to the devil by teating her affections to sin in pieces and planting her love from hence upon Almighty God above On the four and twentieth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Matth. 24.34 AMen I say to you this Generation shall not passe untill all be done Heaven and Earth shall passe but my word shall not passe saith our Lord. Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer STirre up we beseech thee O Lord the wills of thy Faithful that they more diligently preparing the fruit of thy divine work may receive the greater remedies of thy mercy The Illustration WE are this day closing up the Ring of our devotion which we desire all the devotes of our sodality to wear in testimony they are of
my self the labour of this last laborious Tome and but for this I had indeed spar'd my pains therein the rather because there are already extant admirable Entertainments for Lent excellently well written by Father Causin and rarely well translated by Sir Bazill Brook into our mother Tongue which I doe heartily recommend to those of this Sodality as well for ever as untill my third Tome shall come out according to the method of this now published already whereunto I have here prefixed a larger Preface than ordinary because I will excuse the labour of any other Preface to the following Tomes As for the Psalms which are indeed the hardest part of all the Primmer I hope the Table that I shall adjoyn to the end of this Preface will prove a Key to open every Lock of this our Davids Psalter and to make us thus farre at least to understand the Psalmes as to know the Royall Prophets Drift therein for as Saint Hilary well observes in the latter end of his Prologue to his Exposition upon the Psalmes that Book is like a City ful of stately Buildings divided each into their several partiments to which doe open Doors distinct and every Door still opened by a speciall Key peculiar to it self hear to this purpose this reverend Fathers words as you have heard his sence We must saith he use a diligent and deliberate judgement upon the Exposition of every Psalm that we may know by what Key to open the genuine sence thereof Now the learned Preists of our Nation who have translated the whole Bible into English fixt on this authority of Saint Hilary having undertaken to assign to every Psalm its proper Key I shall advise the Devotes of this Sodality to take speciall notice of those Keyes and if upon this suggestion they doe not cause their Primmers to be printed with some mark of such a Key as those Priests above have assigned proper for every Psalm at least I shall wish them to get some charitable freind with a Pen to mark their Books with some one of these Keyes which are but Ten in all alluding to the Ten-string'd Harp of holy David and for their more easie doing this as also that their Books may not be blemished with the mark these following figures 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. may suffice to denotate the Keyes aforesaid so that as soon as e're the eye perceives the Figure o're the Psamle the understanding knowes to which of the Davidike Keyes that Psalme was set And consequently if the mind be fixt in praising God according to the sense of such a Key although some of the words do surpass the understanding of the Readers yet they shall finde their Souls delighted to be praising God in that same sense which David made that Psalme to praise him in and where the Verses now and then may vary from that sense yet they will ever fall into some other of the Nine so this variation will be as little distraction to Souls praying thus as in Cromatick Ayres a Discord neatly taken is from spoiling of the Musick which indeed it betters by that Art when flats and sharps are finely woven in a song and taken sweetly up from one another This I speak from my own experience as well as that of others even Religious women who have found exceeding comfort by this means when I have told them how to say their Latine Office with Devotion though they did not understand the language because by help of such a Figure which I markt their Books with they lifted up their Hearts to God and praised his Heavenly Majesty in the very proper sense of David all the while they sung their Office in the Quire So that I doe not venture to suggest a doubtfull thing in this particular because I have had experience of it in many who at first hearing thought it a thing incredible Now having thus prosecuted in this Preface the Method of this present Tome and told the whole designe of both the other two that are to come wherein all the parts of the Primmer will be rendred easie to the People I doe not doubt but I shall quickly understand this Primmer will from henceforth be esteemed a very Paradise of Prayers of best most sollid and most sweet Devotion and by being dayly said will render us a Sodality of understanding Saints united as well in Hearts-affections as in Voice and Prayer whilest the Lay-people reading their Primmers read the best Praying part of all the holy Sacrifice and service of the Day And in so Praying as this Christian Sodality adviseth is supplyed the want of Preaching too because in these short Prayers once rightly understood as by their Glosses here they are Illustrated they have as much as all the Pastors themselves are able to Preach while their very Prayers abstract the Preaching parts of holy Churches Services Much as your spirits doe the sweetness of the Rose they are extracted from and carry it about as I have aimed to doe the sense of both Epistle and Gospel of the day in the Spirit of the Prayer And truly the best way I had to shew their longer senses were abstracted into shorter Prayers was to strike the stone of difficulty which I found therein upon the harder steel of constant Meditation on that very subject and by this means the Spirits of a sweet Connexion issued out such as you see like sparks of Piety to run along on that dry Reed of Illustration which I have made by way of Paraphrase upon the Prayers if I call it the loosest Tynder of discourse perhaps it is a phrase of strength enough for that weak sense I write But lest I be misunderstood I shall advertise here the Christian Reader that I take the latitude of all sorts of allusions between the parts of holy Churches services contenting my self to find in any sense a Sympathy of Parts be it Literall Allegoricall Morall or Anagogicall which are the four Celebrated Senses that the Expositours rely upon in the explanation of the holy Text. The true meaning of which Senses are in these following Verses declared Litera Gesta docet quid Credas Allegoria Moralis quid Agas quo tendas Anagogia Which is to say the Literall Sense tells the Fact that is past the Allegoricall what we must believe the Morall what ought we to doe and the Anagogicall to what end we doe it namely to bring our Souls to Heaven by so doing Thus we see four severall noted wayes how one speech may allude unto another how what is Literally spoke in the Scripture may be figuratively understood Now if I shall be obliged further to recur unto the severall wayes whereby one thing may be contained in another for example Formally Virtually or Eminentially I hope I shall not be esteemed to strain a Sense too hard since nothing is more common in the Schools And truly for compassing so great I may modestly say so rich a Designe I see
no common Priviledge allowed to others that can be held too great for me in particular But lest the common Reader should be lost in this discourse that begs a School-prerogative I shall crave leave of the more learned to give unto the lesse intelligent examples of those three severall wayes how one thing is included in another As formally when the included doth denominate the includer So we say whiteness is in a wall that is white because whiteness is the form which gives the wall that denomination Virtually when effects are included in their causes as the Son in his Father as the greatest Tree or fairest fruit in the little seed thereof Eminentially when the creatures are contained in the Creator which last kind is the most excellent way of any thing being contained in another because the creature is more perfect in the Creator then any effect is in the virtuall cause thereof or any form in the subject which it denominates Or then indeed the creature is in it self where we find a world of imperfections though in God there can be none at all so to be eminentially contained in a thing is a more noble and excellent way of being included then either virtually or formally to be contained is And thus now and then wee shall find the Word of God to be as it were eminentially contained in the Churches prayers because in them the Holy Ghost seems to communicate himself most like himself most spiritually of all when by the spirit of prayer he opens the sense of the letter in the holy Writ And no marvell since our Saviour left his own sacred Word to the Exposition of the Holy Ghost who was sent on purpose to teach the world all truth upon all occasions of debate about the meaning of the Text. For as Christ is the word of his eternall Father so the Scripture is the word of Christ and so the prayers of Holy Church are the word of the Holy Ghost setting an eminentiall ground of harmonious musick unto the dayly descant of the Epistles and Gospels of the day since wee see the Antiphons commonly taken thence are still prefixt before the Prayer to shew how one reports unto the other Now if in this First Tome it happens here and there that some one Sundayes work bee longer then another yet there is not any so long which may not with much ease bee read in seven dayes and studyed diligently to thence to make the benefit of reading by a little meditation upon every Verse Nor have I suffered some of those Sundayes to passe much shorter then the rest namely those in the third Part of this Tome both because that Part alone containeth almost half the Sundayes in the year as also because I did there indeed begin this work in that brief way which afterwards I did inlarge because I was loath to lose so much sweetness of devotion as the larger Exposition of the Text affords And if any part shall prove lesse pleasant then other let me beseech the Reader to consider That as in Preachers there are three signall Faculties whereof any one renders the owner excellent Namely To teach To move To delight So it is in Books for these are all well written wherein some one at least of those three faculties throughout the Book appears either that of teaching what is true and solid Doctrine That of moving to amendment of our lives or that of delighting us with a sweet delivery of what is written whether it be by the eloquence of language or by the quaintness of conceit in which the Writer doth expresse his mind it imports not much and albeit I cannot boast of happiness in any one of these three faculties yet I will hope to have taken such advantage in the contriving of this Book that what is any where wanting in me will bee supplyed by the Authority of Texts both out of Holy Writ and out of the Expositors upon the same Thus having run over the parts of the Primmer whereunto I aim to adopt the whole work of these three Tomes intended thereupon I shall now desire the Reader to take such an account as I am able to give him of the Parts of this my present Book consisting of Antiphons Versicles Responsories Prayers Epistles and Gospels as for the Illustrations and Applications they being wholly mine the little that is already said thereof above is more then enough unlesse any thing I can doe were more considerable The Explications being all of them in substance though not in words the Fathers glosse upon the holy Text have their worth and authority in themselves more then I can add unto them Onely I desire the Reader to know I rather chose Cornelius à Lapide then any other Expositor both because he hath written largely upon all the Books of Holy Writ which do occur in the Churches Service throughout the year and because his Morals are more for my pious purpose then the other more literall Glosses would have been of more speculative Authors though withall he falls not short of the literal sense where it is requisite to follow it First therefore as to the Antiphons True it is they are now and then taken from some other Part of Holy Writ then commonly they use to be As for example That on the first Sunday of Advent is out of S. Luke Cap 1. v. 30. whereas the Epistle of that dayes service is taken from S. Paul Rom. 13. And the Gospel from S. Luke cap. 21. but the reason is that in this Antiphon the Church reports to the mystery of the Incarnation which must needs precede that of our Saviours Birth so here respect unto the Time or Season hath prevailed for omitting the usuall way of ordering the Antiphons before the Prayer and for the same reason the Anthiphon also on the Third Sunday of Advent varies in this manner to being taken out of Saint Luke cap. 1. v. 41. whereas the Gospel on that day is out of S. John cap. 1. v. 19. and so the prayer is answerable thereunto Thus for respect unto the Persons praying in those dayes as now the Church would have us do The Antiphon on the fourth Sunday of Advent alludes much to the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets manner of calling upon the Messias to come away after so long an expectation of him as four thousand years together hence that Antiphon is then taken as it were out of those ancient Patriarchs mouths rather then from the Epistle or Gospel of the day and therefore it is alwayes one of the seven great Os or exclamatory prayers of the holy Prophets groaning and crying out with an impatience of delay in the Messias our B. Saviour being born And these are the onely Three Antiphons in all the year that are not taken out of the Epistles and Gospels of the Divine Service proper to their day As for the Antiphon on Palme Sunday though it be not in that Gospell wihch I have here inserted in
to us cooperating with the same what our sins retarded that is to say our own redemption was by our own sins retarded for 4000. years together the Indulgence of his propitiation may accelerate It was indeed a huge indulgence in Almighty God to make his sacred Son a propitiation for our sins and more to hasten him away for this purpose since fourty thousand years had been too short a time to have expected so much mercy as is now accelerated by the indulgence of his propitiation which would not give him leave to stay above 4000. years away And by this close of the Prayer we virtually include the whole Epistle and Gospell of the day while we beg the help of Gods Grace to accelerate unto us the benefit of the Indulgent propitiation that Christ his Birth-Day brings to every pious Christian which benefit lest our sins retard see how the Church prepares both Priest and People to a due regard against them by the counsell given to both in the Epistle and by exhorting both to be Baptistick Saints in the Gospel of the Day to be preparers of the way of Christ Angels of Men running this holy Advent before his face to sanctifie our own and our neighbours wayes unto the Crib where Christ on Christmas Day is mystically born again as often as Christians celebrate the Feast of his Nativity so saith Saint Leo in his nineth Sermon upon that Feast and the like is of all others We doe not so much recall the past as we behold the present Feast of our Saviours Birth so often as it comes about by Annuall revolution The Epistle 1 COR 4. ver 1. c. 1. SO let man esteem of us as the Ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the Mysteries of God 2. Here now is required among the dispensers that a man be found faithfull 3. But to me it is a thing of least account to be judged of you or of Mans day but I judge not my self neither 4. For I am not guilty in Conscience of any thing but I am not justified herein but he that judgeth me is our Lord. 5. Therefore judge not before the time untill our Lord doe come who also will lighten the hidden things of darkness and will manifest the counsels of the hearts and then the praise shall be to every Man of God The Explication 1. THe Apostle seemes here to bid Man esteem of him and his Associates in the Apostolate as if they were not men but Ministers of Christ for as much as they did the Offices of God by being dispensers of his Mysteries and indeed that is most true for though to be a Steward or master of a Family under any temporall Lord and to dispence and dispose of his Lords Monies and Goods be not to execute an office above man in regard all the goods and monies in the Stewards hands are temporall things and the properties of nothing above a humane creature yet to be Steward of the House of God and to have the dispensing of such goods as are Spirituall and cannot be the properties of any temporall Lord certainly this renders a man though not in nature more than Man yet by Office hugely more than an Angel for though we read of them that they are Heb. 1.14 Ministring Spirits in the House or Church of God both triumphant militant and patient yet we never read that they were stiled the dispensing spirits of Gods hidden Mysteries which yet as the Apostles were so must their suuccessours the Priests of holy Church be too and consequently are not in the execution of that Spirituall Office to be looked on or esteemed as men but as Ministers of a higher nature as persons indeed more than Angelicall since they have an Office and Power above Angels namely to forgive Sins and to dispence or dispose of Gods severall Graces by the conduit of holy Sacraments Pipes made on purpose by our Saviour Jesus Christ to convey unto our barren Souls the fertilizing waters of heavenly grace and these pipes are so put into the hands of Priests as they can turn the cock at pleasure give or retain this holy grace as they judge fit to administer a Sacrament or suspend a Sinner from the benefit thereof But we must further note the Apostle here as he speaks in generall to all Christians and bids them esteem Priests above men by reason of their office so he speaks particularly to the Corinthians in order to their main contention which was to make a difference betwixt the Dispensers of these Mysteries as if Baptism for example received from one were of more value than if they were baptized by another or as if the Ministers of Baptism were the Authors of grace and so they who received it at a more holy mans hands received more than if the conferror thereof were lesse holy to both these effects the Apostle speaks correcting the Corinthians errour in them both that is for thinking the Administrator of a Sacrament to be the Author of grace therein conferred or that grace was more abundantly conferred according as the Administrators thereof were more or lesse holy 2 This alludes to the vanity of the Corinthians who were men so curious that they judged of their Preachers as they found them more wise more grave more eloquent in their Sermons or Catechisms than others and particularly they adhered much to Apollo because they held him more eloquent than S. Paul whereas the same Apostle here tells them they must not regard in the Dispensers of Gods word the Rhetorick language or eloquence of the preachers but above all their fidelity or being faithfull that is to have them tell the true sence and meaning of Christ Jesus to have them give rather sound than flourishing doctrine least while they put too much force in words they lose the vigour of the Spirit which is and ought to be the life of a Sermon and least they seek by the Ostentation of their languages rather their own than the glory of God or preach themselves not Christ Whereas S. Paul tells them here fidelity is the principall part of a preacher that is to preach the Word of God and not the word of man to preach spirit rather than language to move the soul to Acts of love rather than the ear to delight of Eloquence 3. This Verse prosecutes the sense of the former telling them plainly he did not regard their fond judgements that esteemed men by their glib tongues rather than by their vertuous spirits for it is indeed Unction a speciall gift of the Holy Ghost that renders a Preacher most profitable to souls and so most accomplisht in his preaching whence the Apostle knowing what he said was pure spirit told them he did not regard their censures of him as if he were defective in his duty of preaching and what he sayes to them in this kinde he affirmes the like in respe of all men by his following words wherein he makes no account of
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
at least the Blessed Virgin was not ignorant of what they now marvelled at but that the transcendency of the things they were thinking of and hearing did renew in their mindes the memory of the Miracle so often as they thought upon them yet some think even the Blessed Virgin though she did know our Saviour was to be the Redeemer of the Jewes did not perhaps know he was to be so to the Gentiles the which Simeon did here prophecy and further that he was to be a Ruine to some a Resurrection to many in Israell and a signe which should be contradicted 34. We are to note Simeons Blessing here was rather to the Parents of Jesus than to him their child because it had been too great a boldness for him to blesse whom he by Revelation knew to be his Saviour and his God The reason why Simeon addressed his speech to Mary was because shee was really and truly the naturall mother of our blessed Lord and Ioseph was but his reputed father That it is equally said Christ was set unto the ruine and unto the resurrection of many in Israel doth not argue it was equally meant for hee was the ruine of the incredulous by accident onely but he was by decree the resurrection of all that believe in him and obey his Law and their own incredulity who believed not was their direct ruine he was but indirectly the cause thereof By the sign which shall be contradicted some understand the person of Christ who was not onely the mark of their detracting tongues but even of their tormenting hands when they aimed at him by the stripes they gave him in his whipying at the Pillar and by the wounds they made in his blessed body hanging on the Crosse Others by the sign here understand the crosse of Christ whereof S. Paul sayes there were many enemies and so this crosse is the sign of their malice who by contemning it contemn the fruit of salvation that grew thereon Iâ—sus Christ himself but the best and most genuine sense seems to be that by the sign of contradiction should be here meant his prodigious generation of a mother in earth without a father and of a virgin mother which many pretend as yet to be impossible and so contradict this undoubted truth By this sign also is meant the wonderfull miracles of his life the strange effects of his doctrine converting all the world yet contradicted by those that will not be converted by them and thus as the incredulity of the Jews and Infidels is a contradiction to the Faith of Christ in like manner the wicked lives of sinfull Christians are open contradictions to his Laws and to the secret impulses of his holy graces 35 By the sword here some will understand the spirit of prophecie given to the B. Virgin whereby she knew as well the ill affections of the Jewes to her son as the good ones of Christians towards him yet this can at most be but the mysticall sense Others will have it that the B. Virgin dyed a Martyr by the sword which neverthelesse is against all History The literall therefore and genuine sense is That the sword of torment which killed Christ was to his holy mother a sword of sorrow wounding her very heart insomuch that had it not been healed with he comfort shee received by conformity to Gods will it had been her reall death and wee read often in holy Writ that the contradiction of detracting tongues is called a sword of persecution Their tongue is a sharp sword Psal 63. v. 4 They have sharpened their tongues like swords Psal 104.8 and the sword of Christ his torments was twofold One of his persecutours tongues The other of their stripes nails and spear peirciâ—â—â— his side which were so sharp a sword of sorrow to the blessed Virgin that the Doctors of the Church hold her for more than a Martyr actually dying for Christ but it is hard to know the true sense of what follows in this Verse That this sword of sorrow pierced the mothers soul That out of many hearts cogitations might be revealed in her sacred Son for so the words seem to import which yet is verified thus that while some of the Jewes did before privately machinate Christs death others among them pretended they look'd for the Messias but finding Christ come in an humble way they scorned him and so both these joyning attempted at last to be his ruine which then proved a true sword piercing his mothers soul when they revealed the persidiousnesse of their own false hearts that had the one often before wished but for fear of the Jewes durst not attempt his death the other pretended to honour him but when they found his humility suited not with their pride they plotted and actually procured his death and as in that they peirced his mothers soul so they revealed the iniquity of their own cogitations and to this sense Simeon seems here prophetically to have spoken 36. Anne was celebrated for the known guift shee also had of prophecy whereof v 38. we shall read anon so shee did foretell much of Christ She is called Anne which signifies Grace And her Father Phanuel signifying the Face of God is here named to she that her grace of prophecy as well as that of her justification came from God Her Tribe is here set downe to denotate her nature that was peaceable pleasing wealthy long-living and the like besides Aser signifies Blessed all these remarks of her are to shew the dignity of this Prophetesse who was appointed for one to give testimony of Christ her virginity is here remarked because it was three wayes very notable First her maiden next her conjugall and lastly hâ—r viduall virginitie for so her chastity is here called to shew it was in her more than ordinary by living with her husband â—â—â—en years from her virginity is understood seven years 〈◊〉 shew was marriageable which was then held at fifteen years of age for children are not properly called virgins till they arrive to the ripeness of years fitting for marriage so falling widdow at two and twenty yeers of age it was much shee lived in that Viduall virginity untill shee was as in this next Verse is said 37. Eighty four years of age as some say but of pure widdowhood as S. Ambrose will have it who makes her in all a hundred and six years old dwelling continually in the Temple that is not departing thence but spending most of her time there and seldome going home but to refresh at meales never any whither else for other diversion from her prayers yet some thinke her very abode was if not in yet at least joyning to the Temple as many Anchoresses and some Chanonesses now doe spending her time both night and day in fasting watching and prayer and perpetually serving God so we see fasting in those dayes of the Synagogue was an usuall service to God and is not as Heretikes now say held so onely in our
set at helm to steâ—r the Ship which in a calm is left to the guidance many times of the most unskillful Marriner and as in Tempests all the sayles are strucken instantly to sâ—cure the ship from being run under water by the over-swollen sails so in Temptations we seek the best advice and thereby are minded to abate of our usuall pride or over-filled fails of pleasure and counselled to strike those sailes to lessen our delighâ—s and carry lower sails Again as in storms men put to sea lest they be pails't in pieces against the rocks about the shoars so when Temptations arise we launch into the deep sea of Gods protection from the rocks that lie upon all the shoares of this worldly sea and the reasons of Christs sleeping were to shew the security God is in though all the world seem to lye at stake of immediate hazard to make the miracle appear the greater when all the ship was in a fright of being cast away to declare there could be no fear in the minde of a just man Prov 12. Whatsoever happens to a just man hee shall not be afflicted he calmeth all the stormes of her afflictions 25. Strange goodness of Almighty God! that what is here told us as a rule how to behave our selves in all our â—roubles should be literally a rebuke to the Apostles as afterwarâ—s it appears when Christ tels them they wanted faith whilest they fear theiâ— own ruine who had him for a pledge of their securitie since he being in the Boat they could not perish and indeed though the miracle had not in that case appeared yet their merit had been greater if their faith had been such as not to have awaked and raised our Saviour but to have confided in his power as well whilst he was sleeping as if he were awake 26. This Verse shews the former to be rightly understood in the sense as above for here they stand corrected meerly upon that account of diffidence or incredulity and though both S Mark and S. Luke speak of this rebuke given them after the â—empest was allayed yet S. Matthew making a more methodicall Narration of our Saviours life in all his sacred History seems with reason to premise this reprehension as preceding the calming of the winds and Sea because it was fit Christ should first quell the storm of infidelity in their souls that so whilest upon his rebuke they resumed courage and confidence they might by their Acts of Faith merit this miracle which he wrought in recompence thereof and indeed nothing moves God more powerfully towards the working a miracle than the firmness of our faith mixed with a confiding hope that he for his own honour and glory not for our ends will doe in all occasions of difficulty that which is best and most pleasing to his divine Majesty though it cannot else be done unless he work a miracle to effect it nor is there any more efficacious remedy in all disturbances than a firm hope in Almighty God for as S. Bernard sayes well Ser. 6. in Psal it is written He will help those who have hoped in him as it seems his Disciples upon his chiding did while after it the Evangelist here sayes and then Jesus rising as who should say he had chid them lying still for all their hasty calling of him up commanded the winds and Sea and presently there insued a great calm both which made the Miracle the greater for never is the water still upon a sudden though the winde doe cease but here it seems as soon as Christ had laid the one he flats the other and so takes off the danger of the boat sinking by the waves of the sea beating into it as before it did when we lead the ship was almost covered with waves but we may here note that the command which Christ is by S. Matthew said to lay upon the winds and sea is by S. Mark called a threat by S. Luke a check as who should say he spake to both these inanimate creatures as to his living servants to shew that in Gods sight no creature wants life nor can the deaf want eares to hear the least voyce of Almighty God or blind lack eyes to see the slightest cast of his sacred looks upon them and indeed the tempest was declared to be greater by the command of Christ laid upon the rebellious Elements of winds and sea rather than by the importunity of the Disciples calling for help since it argues high disorder in the servants when the masters ordinary words suffice not without the authority of his absolute command to order his family and what else is the whole world but a number of almighty Gods houshold servants 27. By the men are here understood both the saylers and others who with the Apostles had slipt into the boat when Christ went off the shoar some out of curiosity others out of zeal for certainly though the reprehension Christ gave was chiefly to the Apostles who had taken the boldness being his acquaintance to wake him yet the Evangelist must needs mean others and not them when he speaks in a stile below their dignity saying the men marvelled for as Origen observes very well the Scripture Phrase when it alludes to them useth alwayes the distinctive sign either of the Apostles or Disciples of our Lord for reverence both to the master and the servants yet S. Hierom sayes if any will have it that even they were meant by these men admiring at this miracle it must bee as a stile given them rather in punishment of their incredulity than otherwise as if that fault had deprived them of their better stile and ranked them amongst the vulgar sort of misbelieving men S. Hieromes words are these If any will contend the Apostles were meant by these men wee must say they were so called because they did not yet know the power of our Saviour and certainly if they were ignorant of it they did not believe it so they deserved not in this conjunction of things the superlative stile or dignity of the Apostolate but in very truth the following words shew by these men the Evangelist meant the marriners and strangers to Christ that were in the ship whilest he makes them say What a man is this that the winds and sea obey him This was a language not likely to come out of the Apostles mouthes even in the admiring sence of the words admit we take them not in the Interrogatory meaning thereof onely For had the Apostles made this admiration in words surely they would have been so civill as to say how happy are we that serve a master who is of such admirable power but to say What an one or What a man is this who hath such power over winds and seas is rather the language of a rude stranger than of a civill freind or dutifull servant and consequently could not probably be meant of the Apostles by the Evangelist The Application 1. AS by the
to supplant their neighbour and to reâ—r their own monuments upon anothers ruine As for pardoning it was esteemed folly by them who thought revenge the sweetest thing in nature and as for our Lord God they so little knew him that his pardoning nature was no motive to their vindicative dispositions which yet Christians that know God and beleeve that in his sacred Son he hath pardoned the offences of the whole world cannot pretend but must as taught by him or pardon others or not hope for pardon of their own sins 14. But above all that is to say it sufficeth not for a Christian to forgive an enemy but he must also love him too for Charity is the band of perfection not onely the life of every Vertue but the link that chaineth them together and binds them all up in one bundle to make a present of them to Almighty God as of so many particulars necessary to make one accomplisht Soul nay not only binding up all vertues together in one man but also uniting all men together as making so many members to integrate one Mysticall Body of Christ his holy Church so that no one Vertue can subsist alone without the help of another to support it For instance modesty is lost unless patience help to bear it self modestly against those who are injurious againe Patience cannot subsist without Humility inabling us to bear patiently the proud comportment of others and their provocations to impatience and the like is of all Vertues whatsoever for we shall find no one can stand alone without it lean upon another but this is singular in Charity that she is not necessary as a particular support to any single Vertue but is further the common Soul or life unto them all insomuch that without Charity there can be no Vertue at all in any Soul For as Saint Paul sayes 1 Cor. 13. If I have Faith to remove Mountaines if I speak with the tongues of Angels and have no Charity I am become as sounding Brass and a tinkling Cymbâ—ll making a noise but no Harmony nor Musick in the hearing of Almighty God and here the same Apostle calls Charity the band of all Vertues thereby to shew us we are but loose Christians unless tyed up together in the Band of Charity whereby we are made to love God above all things and our neighbour as our selves and in so doing are by this Band of perfection rendred perfect Christians Chosen holy and Beloved children of Christ Iesus 15. Out of this mutuall love followes an effect of peace which is here recommendeâ— to us in no less degree than it was in our Saviours own heart even that similitudinarily not identically which Christ had with the Jewes when on the Cross he besought his Father to be at peace with his enemies that peace and no less the Apost e desires should exult he would say abound in our hearts too his meaning is we should rather recede from our own rights than seek to recover them by losing the peace and quiet of our minde or then be at variance with any body whatsoever to which purpose Cardinall Bellarmine had an excellent axiome which he was known by saying often upon occasions of disputes or oddes between party and party One ounce of Peace is worth a whole pound of Victory and this Cardinall was not alone of this opinion for Saint Austine sure taught it him in his twelfth Sermon upon this verse of the Apostle where he speaks thus I will not have with whom to strive it is much more desireable to have no enemy than to overcome him But the Apostles sense in this place is yet deeper for he so recommends peace unto us as he leaves it for the commandant in our Hearts the ruler of them and of all our actions indeed the crown of them besides as who should say what ere you doe see it be peaceably done see you may after it is past say you have thereby made no breach of peace either in your own or your neighbours minde but that you goe towards God hand in hand with all the world rather following them who siâ— not than by breaking from them though upon your own perhaps better designe cause a disturbance amongst others And indeed if we be at any time necessitated to a war the Christian and reall end thereof being peace argues how much this Vertue is requisite to abound in every pious Soul And eace is here called Christ his Vertue because it was the speciall gift he brought from Heaven when the Angel told us his nativity brought Glory to God above and peace to men of good mindes upon earth Luke 2 ver 1â— and at his parting he left it himself as a legacy amongst us saying immediately before his ascension up to Heaven John 14. ver 27. My peace I leave with you my peace I give to you and for this reason the Apostle sayes We are all called by Christ in one Body that is made up peaceable members one with another of his own sacred and Mysticall Body the holy Church Bee therefore thankfull is the close of this Verse to shew it is a benefit infinitely obliging Christians to receive by Grace so admirable a gift as peace amongst us that are made up by nature of many contradictions not onely externall but internall also though there want not thâ—t instead of thankfull expound this place as to import being gracious or pleasing to each other for so are all peaceable men acceptable to everybody wheresoever they come and truly however the Rhemists translate it Thankfull yet the expositours especially Saint Heirome incline to think gracious to be the more genuine sense of the Apostle in this place 16. True it is by the Word of Christ is here meant as well the written as the preached Word of God but in regard ignorant persons are more apt to misconstrue than rightly to understand the written Word therefore holy Church is sparing to give leave to read the Bible and liberall to advise us to hear it Preached or explicated by the Priests But if it please God we have it once expounded unto us that we may understand it in a safe and sound sense then not to read it will be a fault whereas till then to read it may prove a danger to us and in very truth one reason why I have undertaken to set forth this book was to give the Lay-people a little liberty in reading at least all the Epistles and Gospels throughout the Sundayes of the year when they were laid open to them in a safe sense such as might nay must needs edisie and can no wayes offend or cause dangers to the reader so to read and possesse themselves of thus much Scripture as is here delivered in the flux of a year unto then must needs be highly commendable and hugely profitable unto every one that reads and makes it their study indeed their Prayer from one end of the year to the other for so shall they have
abundance or store enough of Scripture for them to be able inwardly to abound withall and to conferre wisely thereupon with one another nay even to teach themselves if the Priest fail to doe it how to square their actions according to the Word of God the Law of Christ the instinct of the holy Ghost and the rule of his immediate substitutes the Pastours of holy Church whose preaching may be more ample but must not be to other sense than what they find delivered to be the true meaning of the holy Scriptures so shall they be ever in grace singing c. that is in thanks-giving to God for having received thus much of his holy Word expounded to them in their own native tongue and rendring him much more thanks for having left so much more of the Gospell as they have not here expounded full of the same delightfull and solid substance conducing to their Souls salvation and even this thankfulness of their hearts is the singing here mentioned for out of their abundant gratitude they will be alwayes praising God with some discourses of this nature which will sound in the ears of our heavenly Lord as so many Hymnes Psalmes and Canticles of praise unto his Divine Majesty 17. And consequently will beget in us a habit of doing as this last verse exhorteth us to doe namely directing all our words and actions to the honour and glory of God the Father Creating us God the Son Redeeming us and God the holy Ghost Sanctifying us and commanding that we remember our acquaintance with the sacred and undivided Trinity came unto us by the means of the second Person thereof wherefore in recognizance of that infinite obligation to thâ— second Person which was Christ Jesus all our thoughts words and deeds all our prayers and praisings of this great God shall then be most acceptable when they fall from our lips or flow from our hands imbellished with this adorning memory of being said and done in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord which is partly a Precept and partly a Counsell and certainly it is a negative precept that is to say it forbids us now to call upon God in the name of Moses or of his Angels or of his Saints directly as in former times the Jewes did saying Let not our Lord speak to us lest we die no let Moses speak whereas now we are bound to say Let not Moses but Christ speak to us nor let the Angels or Saints be our immediate recourse but be Christ the principall refuge we have and if by Saints or Angels we help our selves be it as they are more in favour to intercede for us than our selves are but so as still by them we aim at Christ for our Assistant for our Redeemer for our Saviour so as by his not by their Merits we hope to be saved though by their intercessions rather than our own we may hope of Christ to be heard And thus from the negative precept as above we come to finde it as well a positive or affirmative command as it is a counsell to direct all our thoughts words and deeds to Christ as to our last end of those Actions which must first in his Grace have beginning This I say is an habituall precept however it may be but an actuall Counsell that is to say in generall all we think say or do must to be meritorious be virtually at least directed to God by the merits of Christ our Lord his Son But we are not under precept bound actually to make this application of all we say or doe for to this we are onely counselled and it is indeed the best counsell we can or give or take if at every thought word or deed we make attend an act of directing it to our last end our souls Salvation through the merits of Christ Jesus which God of his infinite goodnesse grant we may doe by a sweet custome of so doing not by a scrupulous perturbation of minde if we fail therein for nothing so certain as that we shall fail and then to afflict our Souls otherwise than by endeavour to mend next time is so far from Vertue that it is a very dangerous vice of scruple as if it were in our powers not to be failing men or as if God were a Tyrant and would expect under pain of Sin from us that which he onely counsels but commands not so our failings is rather Infirmities than Sins and at such we ought rather with the Apostle to glory in them than to be troubled at them 2 Cor. 12. ver 15 God forbid saith he I should glory but in my own Infirmities that is to see how in the midst of them he was still supported and assisted by the grace of God alwayes enabling him to endeavour at least to doe all things to Gods Glory as the same Apostle exhorted the Corinthians to do in his first Epistle to them chap. 10. ver 31. and as we may laudably endeavour all our life time to doe but must never be afflicted to finde our selves fail of doing it since it is rather a counsell than a precept and so to fail in this is rather infirmity than sin as I said above and which I choose to repeat because I would have it fixed in the memory of all scrupulous Souls for their comforts and their Ghostly Fathers ease whom they often tire with their needless scruples in such trifles as these for want of rightly stating the duty of a Christian to themselves The Application 1. LAst Sundayes service told us of the dangers we were in this points us out our best defence in dangers To body our selves and take up our Mansions in the Bowels of Christ Jesus for so we doe by being our selves mercifull to others as he hath been to us as if the sharpest sword against an enemy were to have pitty or mercy on him 2. Now we are bid above all to love him too for to pardon him is not enough and to be in Peace with him if we expect our selves to be members of the same Mysticall Body whereof he is a member though our enemy and since it is apparent out of this dayes Text that by Peace with one another we are united members to our common Head Christ Jesus we must by this peace exulting in our hearts defend our selves and others from the common enemy 3. Then shall we declare this Peace to be in our Hearts when the Word of God is alwayes in our mouthes when we are singing forth the praises of our Lord to shew we glory in no other Generall than Jesus Christ we need no other weapon than his holy Word no other sheild than his proteâ—ting Grace against our greatest enemies And therefore we pray to Day as bodyed all in one Family c. The Gospel MAT. 13. ver 24. c. 24. ANother Parable he proposed unto them saying The Kingdome of Heaven is resembled to a man that sowed good seed in his field 25. But
when men were asleep his enemy came and over-sowed cockle among the wheat and went his way 26. And when the blade was shot up and had brought forth fruit then appeared also the Cockle 27. And the servants of the good man of the house coming said to him Sir didst not thou sow good seed in the field whence then hath it Cockle 28. And he said to them The Enemy-man hath done this And the servants said to him wilt thou we goe and gather it up 29. And he said No lest perhaps gathering up the cockle you may root up the wheat also together with it 30. Suffer both to grow untill the harvest and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers Gather up first the Cockle and binde it into bundles to burn but the Wheat gather ye into my barn The Application 24 THis thirteenth Chapter is wholly parabolicall and this other is the second parable insisting wholly upon cockle by stealth sowed over the Wheat after the husbandman had sowed his field with good seed where note the whole Parable alludes to the whole thing done not to the particular doer since if so the kingdome of heaven must not have bin likened to the man sowing but to the King of heaven which Kingdom in this place seems to be the Church of Christ as if by the sanctity thereof he did reign in continuall glory and here Christ makes himself the man sowing in his field that is to say in this world which is all one field of God the seed is the word of the eternall Father to his children the Church of Christ and therefore this Word is called good seed because it fructifies both to grace in this life and to glory in the next 25. By the men being asleep are here meant the Pastours of Gods Church being out of the Pulpit or out of sight of their people and parishioners or else our own remissness in vertue which is a kinde of sleep in that school where waking is alwayâ—s necessary insomuch that even when we sleep our hearts or soules must wake lest we be surprized by the never sleeping enemy who lyes at watch perpetually to devour us And the enemy mentioned in this place is indeed the common enemy to God and man the Devill whose Cockle over-sowed amongst the wheat of Christian doctrine is either Heresie of Doctrine or errours of life The first he sows when hee makes us wrest Scriptures to our private sense contrary to the Churches exposition The second when he tempts us to doe contrary to the rule of our actions set down by the Word of God and by his Preachers of that word unto us And his going away when this is done is his leaving us corrupted both in doctrine and manners as if wee had not received our taints in both from him but were by our selves forsooth assured we were in the right Note by cockle or zizania as the Scriptures call it is understood here heresie or infidelity in respect of true Faith as also vice and sin in respect of true vertue so that under cockle is meant all impure grain or weeds that mix with corn and choak it in the growth or growing with it make it unsavoury and by the ill mixture thereof intoxicate the brain with a vertiginous dizziness as heresie and sin doe the soul of man and indeed Christ in this place alludes to the Scribes and Pharisees corrupting with their false Doctrine those to whom hee had taught the truth perswading them he was a drunkard because he went to a wedding and turned water into Wine and a blasphemer because he abrogated the Law of Moses and made himself more than Abraham namely the Son of God 26. The reason why this Cockle was not to be distinguished from the wheat till both were grown up ready to pullulate into their severall fruits was because all plants in their first blade are green alike and most grains of corn are of like blade at least if they differ in blade they are not therefore weeds but may be good corn though thus differing yet when they come to fructifie then they are discerned and seen to be good or bad according to that of our Saviour Matth. 7.16 By their fruits yee shall know them who are good men and who bad 27. This Verse alludes to the Pastours of Gods Church complaining that whilst they sow his seed of truth in the pulpits they finde more cockle than corn when they come to reap their harvest that is to say if not more Hereticks than Catholikes at least more sinners than Saints but here it may not be amiss for these Pastors to reflect whether they doe indeed sow the same seed as Christ their master sowed whether they doe preach the same holy and saving doctrine or admit they doe this yet by a further disquisition they must see whether or no they have sown the seed of example or holy manners as well as of true doctrine for if not they wiâ—l be answereâ— not to have sown good seed since exemplarity of life is equally expected to fall from the hand of the Churcheâ— seeds-man as well as solidity of doctrine 28 The enemy man here imports the devill and by this answer there is a wâ—rd of comfort given to the Pastours while our Saviour sayes there may be weeds or cockle in the field of holy Church though there were never so good seed sown both of doctrine and of life by the Husbandmen the Preachers thereof and this by the Devil alwayes ploughing up a nâ—w some parcels of this field by temptations or fluctuations in mens mindes or by scattering his â—oul seed of sin over the ground newly sown with doctrine and vertue since it is not in the Pastors powers to prevent all evill though they themselves be never so good or shall never so well comply with their duties both in doctrine and manners as also he tels them they are not presently to pluck up ill weeds as soon as they appear but 29. As in this Verse appears Let them grow up both together corn and weeds lest whilest you pluck up the weeds you loosen the root of the corn growing neer un-unto it and so make it die for want of setled rooting since there is not so much malice in bad men but there is more grace in the good or at least a little good is able to overcome a great deal of bad because it proceeds from a more pâ—werful agent grace exceeding nature in activity and this was well observed by S. Augustine saying upon the first verse of the 54. Psalm Doe not thinke that evill men are gratis permitted in this world and that God cannot work good out of them since every wicked man therefore liveth that either himself may be corrected or that by him the good man may be exercised either in patience if the sinner disturbe him or in giving him example of vertue to follow To the like purpose speaks S. Gregory Hom. 35.
other life than this sordid one they enjoyed upon earth but it is worthy observation to see the Apostle speak so confidently of our sufferings here before Men as if God for whom these men did see us suffer were as visible in our eyes though we see him not as the men are whom we doe see and truly so it is For God is remarkably seen in all his creatures according to that of Saint Paul Rom 1. ver 20. The invisibles of God by those things that are visible and rightly understood are seen unto us And if we could alwayes have this truth in our minde we should alwayes have God before our eyes as the Apostle avoucheth the Thessalonians had saying they did believe love and hope in the senses above as if they had God the Father and his sacred Son perpetually standing before them and visibly incouraging them to all the good actions of their lives which indeed if every good Christian should perswade himself and square his actions accordingly we should soon see a good world here and a happy reward of our goodness in the next life 4. The knowledge he here speaks of is not that of his Belief and Faith but rather of his experience for it was an evident proof to him that God did love those whom he had Elected to the happy calling of Christianity as it was preached by Christ himself and his Apostles not as now when that terme of election is too loosely and too largely taken God knowes though in truth he alludes here to his knowledge that their Election to Glory will be the reward of their vocation to Grace if they persevere as they have begun to be good Christians so he speaks as by what followes appears literally of their present election to Grace mystically and as by consequence of that glory upon condition of their perseverance 5. For it was a signe of present Grace joyned with a hope of future Glory that he takes notice his preaching did not onely work in force of words with them but in power of Grace also both in the Preachers and in the hearers In the Preachers as confirmed in Grace by the holy Ghost descending upon them and making of poor ignorant men deep Doctors in an instant for this is it he alludes unto saying You know what men we have been among you meaning before the holy Ghost came down upon us and what now we are for your sakes that is to say men illuminated by God for your instructions and exposed to all hazards of our lives for your conversions all which argues the gift of present Grace in the Preachers and the actuall conversions of the hearers argues the same gift of Grace in them and both these give indeed hope of future Glory to them both Note that by the much fulness is here understood the like plenitude of his Doctrine confirmed by like miracles preached by the like impulse of the holy Ghost avowed by the like sufferings for the truth of his Doctrine as was the Doctrine Miracles Preaching and Sufferings of the other Apostles called before him who never had been persecutours of the Church as he was whom they had seen doe all in the same fulnesse of Grace as the other Apostles did and by the Gospel in the beginning of this Verse he means his particular preaching the Word of Christ 6. Here is a strange kind of speech wherein S. Paul puts himself Sylvanus and Timothy as examples to the Thessalonians before Christ when he sayes they were followers of them and of Christ as if he meant for their sakes they had also followed Christ and not them or Christ his sake yet if we reflect upon it this seeming immodesty is hugely modest and extreamly true indeed necessary for however Christ were the Apostles and his other Diciples immediate example and pattern which they followed yet to all the after-Ages the Apostles and their successours to their respective times were the immediate and visible rule of Faith unto the world and the examples whom they first following afterward are called Christians because Christ as he was the first rule to the Apostles so is he the last rewarder of those that believe in him for the Apostles sakes that is by meanes of the Apostles and their successours teaching and preaching the Faith of Christ in regard Christ not being now visibly amongst us gives us leave to follow him by such examples as he pleaseth to send unto us wherewith to supply his own absence namely the governours of holy Church Nor is it any way derogatory to Almighty God that man is instrumentall to his Divine Service as that we say we owe our conversion to such an Apostle to such a Priest to such a holy Man as the immediate and visible cause thereof however we finally place our Faith in Christ and our trust in God who hath given such Gifts such Graces such Powers unto Men as to prevail with their followers to joy in their Tribulation which they suffer for hearing and receiving the Word of God true it is we receive this Word from the mouthes of Men but it is the holy Ghost that moves us joyfully to suffer the Tribulation of all severest persecution rather than not imbrace this Word as Divine however delivered by men unto us because it hath in it an energy a force exceeding all humane power such as inables us to renounce all temporall happinesse in hope of the Eternall which this sacred Word doth promise us 7. See here how the Apostle courts his own Converts by making them in a manner Co-apostles with himself whilst their exemplarity of life is the means of converting others to the Faith of Christ whom the Apostles never did converse withall as here they are said to be worthy of the stile of Co-apostlate over all Macedonia and Achaia great Countries looking upon Christianity as an object of â—arest Beauty by reason of the singular Vertues shining in these Thessalonian Matrons to whom this Epistle relates 8. Nay he goes further and to their religious demeanour attributes the Conversion in a manner of all other Nations insomuch as there is no more need as he saith of the Apostles and he adds that as the Thessalonians believe so all the world beliâ—ves seeing in them such remarkable signs of sanctity verity and doctrine 9. They themselves that is to say all those amongst whom we now come have heard of your celebrated conversion from Gentilism to Christianity from plurality of gods so he meanes by Idol gods dead stocks and stones to the Adoration of one sole True and living God from all and unto all eternity And this your conversion is the more famous by reason of the persecutions raised against us and you upon this account who rather chose to die than to desert us though our entrance was persecution and your exit sufferance for the promulgation of the Gospel which teacheth us to adore one onely God 10. And to expect the second coming of his
the holy Altar not his reall body as we doe so the true sence of this place is that as they all did eat one figurative bread and had one faith in God so doe we but yet as their faith and food did not carry them all to Canaan so will not faith alone carâ—y us to heaven without good works 4. This verse is harder than the former in regard it will not be easy to shew how they drank of that rock that followed them unlesse we allow they drank of Christs bloud as well as we now doe since Christ is truely the rock that did follow them or came after them and issued out his pretious bloud for us really to drink againe Christ was a spiritual rock as here is said not a reall rock of stone for the true understanding therefore of this place we must know by spirituall rock is here understood a mysticall or typicall rock and such was the reall and naturall rock out of which Moses commanded water with a stroak of his rod and yet that reall rock was but a mystery type or figure of Christ and so in regard of that mystery is called here spirituall because it did praefigure the rock of Christ some therefore say with the Hebrewes that this rock did miraculously follow the children of Israel even to the land of Promise grounded in that text Numb 21. ver 16. Others conceive this to be verified by the water of the rock following the children of Israel at least till they came where plenty of more water was others think following them is veryfied by the obedience the rock shewed to issue out water once at Moses command so by follow they understand obey but this falls short of the gramatticall signification of the word follow so the true and genuine sence of the Apostle is that this rock as it was a type of Christ so the following of this rock is typicall and not reall Spiritual and not naturall as who should say Christ who corporally followed them many yeares after did spiritually now follow them that is in his sacred Deity or as he was God not man marched with them from the beginning to the end and so by his providence still supplyed them with water which was in effect to make the rock follow them so here Christ his divinity was the thing signified by the water out of the rock which did represent the same and to clear this sence the Apostle sayes in plaine termes the spirituall rock here meant by the material or natural rock was Christ Those are his words But the rock was Christ as who should say what we mean by this spirituall rock following them was Christ his divinity for his humanity was not then in being when spiritually he did follow them nor doth it urge against this truth what is further objected they did drink of this rock but the rock they drâ—nk of was the materiall rock therefore that material rock was not onely a type of the spirituall but was truely the spirituall rock since as the drink was materiall water so the rock must be the maâ—eriall rock for it is answered the water they drank was typicall because it was a figure of Christs Deity and so the materiality of both rock and water hinder not the spirituality of Type or Figure in them both To conclude the Allegory of this place holds thus Christ was this rock who was therefore sayd strucken by Moses because the Iewes were of the Mosaicall Synagogue who struck Christ to death by the Rod of the holy Crosse the bloud of which rock was satiating drink to the true believers and was water of contradiction to the Incredulous Iewes who will not believe in his deity and misbelieving hereticks that deny the reality of his blessed body and bloud in the Sacrament of the holy Altar by whose virtue we are carried through the desart of this world into the heavenly Land of Promise nor will it follow that therefore these words of Christ saying this is my body are to be understood as hereticks pretend This is a figure of my body as here we say this is a spiritual rock that signifies This is a figure of a spiritual rock because Christ doth not say this is a figure of my body or this is my body spiritually meant no but this is my body absolutely and really the same which shall be crucified for your sinns upon the crosse as it was indeed not onely figuratively but really besides the sixth verse of this Chapter cleares all doubt of this point saying in expresse termes These things were done as in a figure to us so here is a plaine profession of a figurative speech in the Apostle we find none such of any figurative speech of Christ when he said This is my body 5. This fifth verse confirmes what was said before That Faith alone without good works was not enough to bring the children of Israel into the Land of Promise and consequently much more are good works necessary to bring us to heaven lest as the greatest part of the Hebrew people perished in the desart so the greatest part of Christians be damned if they lead not lives answerable to their Faith and Religion The Application 1. FRom the first Sunday in Advent to the Nativity of our Saviour the Churches service represents the senility or decrepit age of Judaism weary of old expectation and longing for the coming of new hopes in Jesus Christ Yet to shew the Jews were dear to God he gave them a happy period a glorious Catastrophy in John the Baptist 2. From the Nativity to this Septuagesima Sunday the Holy Church hath fed us with the admirable doctrine of out Infantile Christianity beginning with the Infant Jesus and teaching us how to walk religiously as so many Infants and children of grace 3. From this day to the end of Lent the service runs upon another strain minding us of the forfeiture of our first Father Adam made of that Repose and Rest he was created in and of the toil and labour hee drew upon himself and his whole Posterity by his disobedience so the vicility or perfect man-hood of humane nature is the state wee are now taught to perfect And therefore this Epistle brings us into the school of vertue to day neither as decrepid men nor as new born Infants but as active youths all running of a race to win the Prize of heaven and this to verifie the curse imposed on our Father Adam of eating his bread in the sweat of his brows So that toyl and labour is wee see most justly inflicted on us for the punishment of sin and all the rest we can hope for must be by the meer mercy of our Lord who yet is ready to give us an eternall Rest in the next life for a short race here for a little labour taken to glorifie God by loving our own souls Say then beloved the Prayer above as the fittest Petition for the performance of our present
these are in number many in regard of the blessed that are saved but in the other opinion making both first and last saved soules it is hard to solve how all that are called are not also chosen since every saved soule is elected to salvation But Malâ—onat solves it thus saying out of the precedent particular assertion that the first shall be last and the last first he now makes a generall conclusion affirming many are called but not many chosen as in such a kind of way he spake in the precedent Chapter ver 23. how hard it was for all rich men to be saved because once a wealthy young man refused the counsell of holy poverty given unto him others say by many called are included all because all are many though few onely are saved others will have it that all are called to observance of the Commandements but not all to the observance of evangelical Counsels or all to grace but few to glory The Application HOw ever S. Paul in his Epistle to day seems to set us all a running over the Race of this life each upon his uttermost speed for the gaining of his own soul onely yet S. Matthew in this Gospel gives us hope we may gaine heaven for others as well as for our selves while he sets us all on work in the Vineyard of our Lord where the fruits of our labours are common though our reward be but particular 2. Hence it is this days Gospel points directly at the Pastors of Gods Church and at the missionary Priests set on work in the Vineyard of Christ for gaining soules by converting of the whole world yet indirectly it alludes to every soules particular indeavours in cultivating of their own special land in hope of gaining heaven by the sweat of their browes 3. So still we see toyle and labour is to be the life of man upon earth who forfeited all his temporall rest by Adams sinne and though our Saviour purchas 't againe an eternall rest for us in the next world yet that future rest must be gained â—y a perpetuall present labour here most justly inflicted one us for the punishment of sinne Hence we fitly pray to day as above On SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY The Antiphon LUKE 8. ver 10. TO you it is given to know the mysterie of the Kingdome of God but to others in parables said Jesus to his disciples Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer O God who seest we confide not in any of our own Actions grant us propitiously that against all adversities we may be armed by the protection of the Doctor of the Gentiles The Illustration I Have known hundreds even Priests themselves much admire at this prayer wherein Saint Paul with his best attribute is so unexpectedly brought in when not the least mention of any feast to him sacred is made by holy Church either in the office or service of the day and though I might in so hard a condition as I am now plunged into for making my designe good to day pretend it were sufficient for all the whole Church to be commanded to pray as now the mother Church of Rome doth this day unto Saint Paul whose Station is now kept in that holy City with great concourse of people thereunto yet this were to runne my selfe upon the rock of why not other Saints to be brought as unexpectedly into the prayers of the Church by this account as well as two onely are in all the year Saint Paul to day Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian upon Midlent-Thursday though we shall find every day in the year made sacred to some Saint or other by the frequentation of their stations in the City of Rome besides if this might satisfie others it must not be satisfaction to me because it comes not home to my designe of adjusting the Prayer to the Epistle and Gospel of the day unlesse we can find it as suitable to the latter as it is indeed to the former relating from first to last the whole story in a manner of Saint Pauls life though truely in the Gospel there is not one syllable of him wherefore if meditation had not helped us out this concordant designe had been very discordantly broken off but upon a day or two spent in prayer to find out some report between these parts of holy Churches services and upon remembring it was but last Sunday we were taught our life was a mere labour here upon earth and that we were all hired as labourers to work in the Vineyard of Christ me thought it was not strange this next Gospell should bring us in labouring indeed and like so many husband men sowing with corne the Vineyard we had lately ploughed up nor was it then so strange to heare us call upon the chiefe labourer now in eternall rest Saint Paul to help us with his intercession that our labours might be if not as great or as profitable at least as incessant as his were who by the common suffrages of all the Church will easily be granted to have been the chiefe Seeds-man thereof though Saint Peter were the chiefe pastor or governour and if so then it will be a most proper prayer on that day when the Gospell runns all upon sowing seed in severall grounds as to day it doth that the principall Seeds-man be called upon to help us the chiefe Preacher he that is stiled the Doctor of Gentiles or Nations for his eminence in preaching that is to say in sowing the word of God in the hearts of men and that this word is the seed to day made mention off we have our Saviours own authority to avouch it so we cannot be said to have strained this sense out of the prayer to day because it is as genuine to it as the Word of God in the parable is to the seed our Saviour doth compare it unto and look how many waies Expositors make Analogies between the Word and Seed so many waies at least shall we find this a proper prayer both to the Epistle and Gospel of the day and we may hope for the same answer from heaven whilest we complaining like S. Paul do look up thither and say we cannot confide in any of our own actions and therefore begge Almighty God will propitiously grant us in all our adversities that we may be armed with the protection of the Doctor of the Gentiles that is to say not onely by his prayer for our perseverance who were with Adam last Sunday sent to gaine our bread with the sweat of our browes but further by his protection namely by the same protection which was S. Pauls in all his temptations and difficulties the grace of God for this is that answer which was given to him in the height of his complaints Saul Saul My Grace sufficeth thee and truly the same Grace is more than an abundant protection for all the world nor can any man in the whole vniverse ask this protection with more
this Rapture yet Saint Thomas disputing this question purposely to declare the naturall truth determines him to remaine alive because God doth not kill men to honour them by his conversing with them so Saint Thomas concludes his soul was in his Body and consequently resolves that which the Apostle will not determine saying this Rapture was when Saint Pauls Soul was in his Body whence he was alive though he did not know so much But many doubt what this Third Heaven meanes unto which the Apostle was elevated but the common consent runs to affirm he was carryed up even to the Empyreall Heaven the highest of all that where God shews himself in his greatest glory and concludes this is called the third not as to averr there are but three heavens in all but as to include all be there never so many by the briefest way which is by saying three for all Yet the common division of the heavens into Aereall Aethereall and Empyreall will serve literally to this Text making the ayre the first heaven so birds are called the Inhabitants of Heaven The second the Aethereall which includes all the voluble Orbs above us and the Empyreall to be that of the Blessed to which last understand the rapture of S. Paul to have been The greatest doubt is whether he were rapt both bodie and soul up so high some think no and that this rapture may bee understood to be imaginary onely or Intellectuall wherein he had a revelation or vision of stranger things than were lawfull for him to speak or then were in his power to utter if it had been lawfull and this they ground out of the 1. verse of this Chapter and out of the 17. both which mention visions yet it is much more probable that he was really rapt both soul and bodie First because it was as easie for God to doe both as one Secondly because the Apostle doubts whether it were so or not as we see in this second and third Verse where he professeth not to know which in his sense is to doubt whereas those who have visions or revelations doe not doubt but know they are upon earth for all those Visions which onely make a rapture of the soul but none of the bodie so it is probable as Moses went corporally up to the mount Sinai where he was rapt out of the sight of the people by interposition of a cloud snatching him from their eyes and had delivered into his corporall ears the words of the Law in like manner Saint Paul who was to be the heavenly Doctor of all nations had corporally delivered to him such secret words as he mentions even in Paradise to have received and thence to bring back to earth such a Magazine of spirituall commands as he hath filled the whole world withall though he neither have told nor could tell all hee heard and therefore S. Paul after he had spoken of the third heaven adds the mention of Paradise to shew he was rapt not onely in his understanding but also in his will above the pitch of nature and even into that place of heaven which is therefore called Paradise because it ravisheth the wills of the Blessed with an infinite delight of loving as well as of seeing and understanding God So Divines allow in the vast Empyreall heaven a kinde of place apart called Paradise for the variety of pleasure it affords And hither they allow S. Paul to be rapt yet doe they not therefore say he did see God face to face as the blessed souls there inhabiting doe because he was not to remain there with them yet S. Thomas and other Divines thinke it probable he might have a transient sight thereof 2 secundae q. 175. a 5. but more probably it was not so since to Moses was onely granted to see the back of the Angell representing God and since 1 Tim. 6. v. 16. we read No man ever did see God that is to say with corporall eyes as here the Apostle was corporally rapt For if of the Angel it were said in Gods name to Moses No man shall see me and live how much more probable is it that Paul living after this rapture did not see God himself though no man doubts but he might see the glory of Christ and not unlikely heard from his own glorious mouth those secrets which he could not utter however to render his calling or Apostolate undoubted he had it conferred upon him personally by our Saviour in heaven as he upon earth did personally call the rest of his Apostles to his Service Of this Gal. 1. v. 12. the Apostle makes mention saying Christ revealed unto him the doctrine that he preached and then most probably was this Revelation made when he therewith revealed his glory too and those secrets he speaks of here may be partly certain Attributes of the Deitie assuredly the Ranks and Orders of Angels and their natures which S. Dennis seems to have drawn more particulars of from the Apâ—stle than himself utters in his own enumeration of their nine Orders and therefore in his celestiall Hierarchy S. Dennis this Apostles Disciple tells us of higher matters belonging to the holy Angels than ever any man else durst venture on Lastly we may piously believe S. Paul had told unto him by Christ in this rapture much of the course of divine providence in governing the world especially the holy Church much of the conversions of nations by himself and the rest of the Apostles which his modesty would not permit him to boast of 5. â—ee how he distinguisheth himself rapt from himself in the ordinary condition of man even as if he were not the same man for of him that was rapt hee proâ—esseth to glory still in the sense as above not vainly but of him that was not rapt he boasteth not at least not in this place to shew how great a difference there was between his rapt and not rapt condition and therefore as of his usuall self he boasts onely that he is infirm namely that he is lyable to affliction and miseries which are â—nconsistent with the state of rapt creatures for their rapture exempts them from the pain of sense and so from grief or pain which is meant here by infirmity as it is when our Saviour is called the man of griefes by Isaiah cap. 53 v. 3. which he explicates by adding these words Knowing infirmity that is to say lyable to all torture misery or pain 6. We read in the Acts cap 14. v. 10. that the Lycaonians held Paul and Barnabas for Gods To avoid vain-glory in this hee tells them he will not be understood above what he is above a man lyable to all misery and persecution which gods are exempted from nay lest they should thinke him an Angell though not god he speaks sparingly of those prerogatives of his rapture An excellent example for them to follow who are indeed nothing extraordinary and not boast themselves as more than ordinary men which yet
to them that hearing me speak they may come after me or you to know the meaning of what I said and so to increase in them their zeals by little and little opening their eyes and understandings and this may I hope suffice for a sufficient exposition of the two Verses Now to the Parable and Explication thereof as our Saviour himself delivered it to his Disciples that thereby the Faith they had in him before might be increased when they see how much solidity of clear Doctrine and true Piety was couched under his parabolicall expressions 5. 11 12. As to the fifth or eleventh and tweltfth verses for these are in sense all one as our Saviour himself declares in the very letter of the Texts we are therefore onely to give a reason why the Word of God is compared to seed of Corn sowed in the fields and we shall finde as many reasons for it as there are Analogies between the Seed and the Word the Sowing the one and Preaching the other as first because the Word of the Preacher is cast into the ears of his Auditory out of the Pulpit as the Seed is cast over all the ground by the sowing Seeds-man Secondly as the Word links from the Ear of the hearer into the Heart so the Seed descends by degrees from the surface or superficies of the earth into the bowels thereof Thirdly as Seed is the Mother of all Fruits so the Word of God is the Parent of all good Works Fourthly as the Earth without Seed brings forth nothing but weeds bryars and brambles so Man without the Word of God brings forth nothing but futility vice and vanity Fifthly as Seed requires soft manured and tilled ground to grow in so the Word of God must finde gentle rich and mortified Souls to fructifie upon Sixthly as Seed requires moisture and sun to bring it forth so the Soul requires the tears of sorrow for our Sins and the Son of Justice his heat of Grace to make the Word of God fructifie in mans heart and bring forth Acts of love to God Seventhly as the Seed in the Earth must first dissolve and die before it spring so must the Word of God be ruminated upon by meditation and procure in us a death to the world before we can find in our selves the spring of living in Gods favour Eighthly as the Seed must first take root then sprout up branch into leaves and boughs next blossome and then knit into a fruit so the Word of God must first enter deep into our hearts then rise by holy cogitations branch it self into variety of good desires blossom into Religious resolutions at last knit it self up into the knot of good Works which are the fruits of our lives Ninethly as the force and vertue of all fruits is contracted into its Seed so the force of all our good Works is lodged in the Word of God Tenthly as diverse seeds bring diverse fruits so diverse sentences of Scripture bring forth diverse Vertues in our Souls Eleventhly as to the child of fruit are required two parents the Seed as the male and the Earth as the female so to the Children of Vertues are required the Word of God and his holy Grace Lastly as from the best Seed man preparing his ground with most industry proceeds the best Crop of Corn so from the best chosen Texts delivered by the best Preachers those that use the most diligence in preparing and making soft the hearts of their penitents towards God proceed the best fruits of Vertue and good Works here as unto the best Saints to serve as fruits for a Heavenly banquet in the next World Now we see the meaning of the seed let us examine the reasons why these severall effects follow upon the severall grounds the Seed falleth on First that falling on the high-way cannot enter to take root for growth and consequently lying open to be both trodden to pieces by passengers and pecked up by birds must needs be like to so much cast away such is the Word of God as Saint Matthew sayes Heard but not understood because the hearer doth not ask his spirituall Adviser the meaning of what is told him but pretends to be satisfied therein when indeed he carries away the onely empty sound of words but is wholly ignorant of the sense through his own lazinesse in not asking the meaning thereof and consequently what is thus ignorantly received is not understood and by that means makes no entrance into the heart of the hearer so is trodden to pieces even by our own trampling over it whilst we run from Sermons as if we had never heard a word of what the Preacher said unto us which indeed is commonly their case that come to Church for curiosity to hear Humane Eloquence not Divine Preaching to see and to be seen not to hear their faults and amend them to laugh indeed at the Preacher if he please not the pallate of their fancy or curious ears as those did to whom for that very reason Christ spake Parables not clear sense and to such as these be the Preachers words never so clear never so easie they sound as Parables in his ears whose own distracted minde robs him of the faculty of understanding what he hears and though such men seeme to come to God when they appear in Churches yet in very truth their coming is to the Devill in Gods House and no marvell then he carry them and their understandings away with him lest hearing that is intelligently hearing they believe and believing plow up the high-way their hearts with acts of Love and so render the Corn the Word of God capable to sink into their Souls and take root to their emolument indeed to their Salvation as Text the speaketh 6. 13. The first reason of the Corn failing to grow was the want of sinking into the earth now it fails though sunk because it wants moisture by incountring a stony or rocky ground which is onely covered with a shallow superficies of earth and cannot receive moisture enough to carry the Corn deeper into the ground and to root it there This place alludes to schismaticks whose petrifying hearts whose cold affections to God turn all they hear of him how ever they believe it to be true into rocks and stones into sterility and barrenness of Soul and hence rather than suffer the least temporall losse for Gods sake they hazard to loose themselves eternally A clear place to covince Hereticks by that Faith alone is not sufficient without good Works to save them and that Souls though once in the Grace of God may nevertheless loose his favour and the Kingdome of Heaven too 7. 14. The second reason of failing was for want of ground to take sufficient root and to cherish the Seed in both which may seeme to be defects of intrinsecall requisites now this third reason points at what is extrinsecally necessary and rather at defects of redundance than of want because the
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
like reason Charity is benigne because as it gives us fortitude to resist impediments in our way to do well so it gives us mildnesse affability and sweetnes towards the persons who oppose our doing well Againe Charity is not aemulous or envying at other mens good as if what did goe to another went from us No she looks not upon any thing as mine and thine but upon all as Gods Insomuch that Saint Gregorie iâ— his fifth Homily upon the Gospels sayes elegantly and excellently well Whatsoever we covet in this world we envy our Neighbours having that Hence it is that Charity chils while Covetousnesse doth grow warm and contrarywise where Charity reigneth there covetousnesse is exiled from the Court moreover Charity dealeth not perversely or peevishly with any body because such a proceeding would destroy both her patience and benignity above asserted 5. It is not without reason the Expositors have diversly interpreted this place some saying not to be ambitious imports not to be immodest others not to be sordid but what seemes perhaps least and yet is most proper others say it signifies not to be bashful or rather indeed not to be shamed and upon the matter all these are one and the same for shame is here taken as a blush of guilt not of grace as who should say for any man immodestly to arrogate unto himself honour and esteeme when no man can deserve the title of true honour or for any man to be so sordid as to take delight in earthly things is to conclude himself guilty of so much basenesse as when discovered betrayes it self with a blush of shame and confusion as contrariwise for any man being contemned reviled or scorned by others to blush or be ashamed at the disgrace thereof argues he thinks himself injured or undervalued which is a token of huge pride of high ambition in him whereas true Charity would teach him to glory rather than otherwise in such occasions that he were held worthy to take off part of that indignity was layd upon our Saviour which was indeed due to sinfull man that instead of confessing his demerits glories as if all respect esteem and honour were due to him which is high ambition and a thing contrary to Charity and for the same reason the Apostle tels us as we must not be ambitious of more than is our due so true Charity forbids us even to seek our owne telling us we have no title of property to any thing at all but our sinnes which are the onely things we can lay clayme unto as owners of hence he adds Charity is never provoked to anger because anger argues an apprehension of an injury received and those who are truly Charitable ought to esteem themselves the most contemptible things in nature capable of nothing but neglect from others as a condigne punishment for the continuall neglect of their own duty to God whereunto if we can happily arrive then will follow that which the Apostle concludes this verse withall of Charity never thinking ill for if she never be angry probably she never thinks of revenge because she never esteemes her self hurt by any body but her self as believing she is rather in fault to deserve injury than that any body else can do her wrong where note what is here said of Charity is meant of the person who is truely Charitable 6. As it is an evident signe of ill will or hatred in us to another when we rejoyce to see him injured which must needs include some third mans iniquity exercised on him and so to rejoyce at the injury done is to be partaker of the delight w h the third party takes in his iniquity or doing ill in like manner it is a token of good will or true Charity not to rejoyce in such iniquity for contraries are ever best descerned by juxta-position or being set together and wehn the Apostle saies Charity rejoyceth in Truth he meanes by Truth in this place probity goodnesse justice as the opposites to injury which as it must not be rejoyced at so the contrary virtue to that vice ought to be a cause of our Joyes 7. See how Charity here makes her self an arched bridge for all men to trample over how she crys out to all men lay your loades on me it is onely I that am the pack-horse of malice my duty is to bear away the burden of sinne from mount Calvary where all the load was laid on Jesus come beloved bring away from thence apace your burdens heap them on my arched shoulders who am made for no other end than pressure and to be opprest As you can do your selves no greater pleasure than to lighten your own burdens so you can no wayes oblige me more than to adde plummets to my weights for as a Palme tree deprest I grow the better do what you please to me I believe you mean me no hurt because I know you can doe me none if I doe it not unto my self therefore doubt not of my misconstruing your actions I will believe the best of them such as are not apparent sinnes as of your angers I will hold my self the cause I will think your punishing of me is your particular care towards me your fatherly chastizing my undutifull behaviour both to my God and you and thus Charity believes all in the Apostles sence whence consequently she hopeth all in the same sence that is her own amendment upon the just chastizement she received from others who she perswades her self were Gods Ministers of Justice to change her eternall punishment due unto her into temporall pennances imposed upon her by Gods Vice-gerents and in this hope she grounds her bearing all things patiently here will bring her to a crown of glory in the next world For if she stands thus perswaded she cannot think she beares to much here and so the Apostle saith she beareth all things wherewith he ends the sixteen conditions as above expressed requisite to perfect Charity 8. From hence he proceeds to the end of this Chapter declaring the excellency of Charity in it self as more durable than all other virtues even than the other two Theologicall since Faith in heaven shall cease and be changed into vision inconsistent with the obscurity of Faith and hope shall vanish as exchanged for fruition incompatible with hope which being a desire of having must needs vanish when all is had that can be wisht or desired And hence it is that hereticks ground ill their heresie saying a man once in grace that is in perfect charity can never sinne because here the Apostle saith Charity never failes but the true meaning of this sentence is Charity of her selfe never failes however by sinne she may be here extinguished or which is equivalent Charity is never wearied never tyred never exhausted by doing good to others even to our enemies whereas Faith is often shaâ—en and lost Hope is many times lessened and quite gone when we see our expectations faile us what
as also the Gentiles that know not God 6. And that no man over-goe nor circumvent his brother in businesse because our Lord is revenger of all these things as we have foretold you and have testified 7. For God hath not called us into uncleannesse but into Sanctification The Explication 1. THe Apostle fitly vseth the word walk insteed of live in this and most places since it is not a posture suitable to the present life for Christians to stand still we remember our Saviour rebuked those that did it Matth. 20. v. 6. Saying why stand ye here the whole day idle as if to stand still were to be idle and loyter so the posture of a good Christian is and ought to be walking moving going on from vertue to vertue Psal 38. untill at last he arrive to the rewarder and source of all vertues God himselfe for by bidding us to walk so as thereby we may please God and abound more and more we are bid to accumulate vertues upon vertues so long as we live in this vicious world and that we may know how to doe this the Apostle bids that we follow his rule for this purpose framed to our hands as it was to the Thessalonians since what he writ to them was with intention it should be handed over from age to age even to us and to those that should live in the very last of times 2. His meaning is that he gave them this rule of perfection by Authority Commission or inspiration from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and this rule was not to tell them onely what he had observed in our Saviour to this purpose making himselfe an example of perfection to us all but also what by inspiration of the holy Ghost himselfe as an Apostle intrusted with the care and charge of soules had upon occasion found expedient to prescribe unto them and this Authority as it was given to the Apostles so it descendeth from them unto their successors the Fathers and rulers of Soules especially the governing party of the Church the Pope and Bishops thereof 3. By the will of God is not here understood that will which is commonly called the will of his Beneplacitum or holy pleasure to doe himselfe what he pleaseth but the will of his signe mark or token what he would have us to doe and that not in generall for so his will is we should have perfect and universall Sanctity in all our actions but in particular he points out here for us the Sanctification of chastity so we may see by all the following verses as who should say God was particularly pleased to point out his Signall will unto us that the vertue which is most suitable to his infinite simplicity and purity namely chastity should be aimed at by all Christians that even those who were marryed people should by tempering their carnall passions and desires partake in some measure of this divine vertue and those who were not marryed should have an expresse prohibition from the foule impurity of Fornication since it seemes the Apostle forbids it here not onely under the generall rule the prohibition thereof in the commandements but with a specially preamble that he doth by name forbid this sinne as having it specially declared unto him that it was the signall will of God he should doe so 4. This place is commonly understood as prescribing a rule of moderation to marryed people that they so use the lawfull bed of pleasure as they forget not to Sanctifie themselves even by and in the use thereof remembring God hath elevated that corporal communication so much coveted and delighted in by Flesh and Bloud that he hath raised the wonted civill contract of marriage to be now a more holy thing even a Sacrament or conduite-pipe of his holy grace into the Soules of such people as make religious and not lustfull use thereof for of the latter we see sad examples in the seven husbands of Sara snatched from her bed because they marryed her purely for lust not for any limited or regulated love and so againe by a pious abstinence upon fasts or feasts from corporall knowledge of each other specially when marryed Christians receive the Sacrament they use their vessels in Sanctification of themselves and honour of God thereby for reverence to whose blessed Body and holy Sacraments they abstaine from their otherwise lawfull pleasures yet there is a deeper and more universall application aimed at by the Apostle in this place even to all Christians whatsoever married or single since though to marryed persons their mutually betrothed bodies to one another are their vessels properly here specified yet to single persons by their vessels are meant their single bodies which containe their soules within them as so many precious liquors in the sight and to the Palat of Almighty God who is jealous lest any of that liquour should be drawne out and given to creatures that is lest by following the impulse of sense they should poure out the affections of their soules upon their own corporall pleasures or the delight of any other body whatsoever for pure respect to the creature and not so stand upon their guard as not to part with the least drop of their soules affections either to themselves or any others which are all due to Almighty God for this is to possesse each one his owne vessell as Rom. 6 v. 19. Saint Paul adviseth and to possesse it in Sanctification of himselfe by acts of love to the divine Majesty and in honour of Almighty God by so doing and contrary to this counsell doe all those who make their bodies possesse that is to say command their Soules whereas the soul is to possesse her body in this sense of commanding it as finally she shall doe in the kingdome of heaven and as at first Adams soul did even here on earth 5. This verse prosecutes the sence of the former by representing unto us the bestiality it is in Christians to proceed like Gentiles who are called a people that is no people because they are more like beasts then men and such the Apostle accounts Christians who follow the passions of lust the full swinge of their carnall desires without any religious limit thereof even when carnall pleasure is lawfull because to doe thus is as if we knew no God for whose sake we were to refraine our inordinate appetites not onely in carnall pleasures but in those meats drinkes or companies that propend us thereunto 6. In this place the Apostles sense lyes lyable to a very easie mistake and the words sound as if he did leap from the Subject of lust to that of fraud deceipt or injury but indeed he prosecutes his former sense in this whole Epistle So he must here be understood by businesse to forbid Adultery as above he hath forbidden Fornication not to overgo is here meant literally forbidding any man to goe over his neighbours marriage bed and thereby defraud him of his due which is to have
Fornication and Vncleanesse in the Epistle on the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost avarice shall be explicated anon in the fifth verse of this Epistle so we now proceed to the fourth verse as it here followes in order 4. By Filthinesse is here understood obscaenity of words for uncleannesse is properly that which is obscaenity in deeds or actions by foolish talk is understood wasting time in any impertinent discourse that doth not tend to edification of our neighbour by some report or other to Almighty God but busies the mind in idlenesse as the foolish virgins were busied who not so much for doing ill as for not doing well for fooling away their time were shut out of heaven so all the discourse may be called foolish that doth not tend to God more or lesse By Scurrility is here properly understood rusticity or rudenesse in discourse not onely where it is wanton or obscene to which onely sence some men ignorantly apply the word Scurrility but when it is redundant nauseating the hearer unproper to the Subject in hand and to the company present or indeed unmannerly and so offensive to them when too too ridiculous as procuring laughter upon any ill chosen Subject but principally and above all when it is breaking Jests out of holy Scripture or the Fathers or Councels and so making Sacred things the Subject of an idle end which is to raise laughter and mirth from that which should render us most sober and serious whence is grounded that axiome it is ill manners besides that thereof can come no good to jest and scoffe at Holy Things and of Scurrility in all these sences as above the Apostles next sentence is that it is nothing to the purpose meaning nothing at all tending to the Salvation of our Soules which is and ought to be alwayes the scope of all our words of our thoughts and actions not that by this the Apostle forbids civill mirth such as relaxeth the fixed sobriety of our minds meerly for honest recreation sake for such mirth is lawfull as offending neither God nor Man but Scurrility is ever to be avoided and instead of that unlawfull way of mirth in our discourse the Apostle exhorteth to giving God thanks that is by praising his goodnesse shewed either to our selves or others in his marvellous providence over all the world for this is a scope so ample as will ever give abundant way to discourse and so laudable as no man can be offended at it 5. In this verse the Apostle sums up what he had before forbidden and tels us that no such persons as these can hope for heaven his meaning is by being such not but that when they leave and repent they may be saved but here by the covetous person he puts us in mind of what he meant in the third verse above by Avarice namely Jdolatry of the minde for as much as covetous persons make their money their Idol God I say Jdolatry of minde or rather Spirituall Jdolatry because I would shew how impertinently Heretikes translate this place of Scripture when thereby they understand the prohibition of Images or pictures in the Churches which is very far from the sence of this Text where the Apostle forbids to make Riches our God for so he means by calling Avarice adoration of Jdols and such it might be in Catholikes if they did set up their baggs of gold in Churches and worship them but who ever heard they were so fond or how can they by worshipping pictures in memory of the God or Saints they represent be said to love the pictures as the covetous man doth his Idoll his Golden God But we are to note here by Avarice annexed to Fornication and Vncleannesse the Apostle glaunceth at a huge excesse of lust such as makes mens mindes long after carnality as covetousnesse doth fix them wholly upon hoording up of riches and as such covetous men care not to cozen others for lucre of sordid gaine so men wholly addicted to lust care not to cozen other men of their wives and engrosse them to their own adulterous ends and this kind of excesse in lust is properly called Carnall Avarice because as the covetous man is never satisfied with gaine so is this lustfull minde never satiated though the body be rendred even unable to act the desires of a bestiall minde whence the Apostle properly cals it Spirituall Jdolatry because such a man is alwayes adoring this Idoll of his lust It is a pretty art the Apostle useth in the close of this verse to put the Kingdome of Christ and of God together as one joynt thing meaning that those who with Christ here are humble obedient and holy shall in heaven be exhalted rewarded and glorified with him 6. The Apostles meaning here is that whosoever tels you it is needlesse to avoyd your swing of pleasures in this world provided you but beleeve doth seduce and cheat you and therefore be not saith he carryed away with their vaine words who would pretend to make you good Christians by Faith alone though you did not depose or renounce the Sordid Gentilisme of your former corrupted manners and lives these are indeed specious but false allurements so we must take heed we be not cheated by them because for Christians continuing their sinfull courses by relying onely upon Faith alone as sufficient to save them we often see the present effect of Gods anger upon them by the punishments inflicted either on their persons or on their Children and Family even in this life and that is meant by the anger of God here mentioned to fall upon the children of diffidence namely those who are not here confiding in God that he will accept of our renouncing ill manners for his sake as well as our infidelity for in the next life there can be no diffidence when the truth of all things shall be known to all in generall and none can doubt or distrust what they ought to doe but shall either receive reward or punishment for what they have already done 7. Here good Christians are forbidden the participation with lewd ones not in their persons but in their vices 8. And that upon no lesse penalty then of falling back into the same darknesse they were in before they were converted when Gentilisme or Infidelity did not forbid them such lewd courses but held them in the darke of beleeving there was no sin in liberty of life or rather in the licentiousnesse thereof and for this opinions sake the Apostle calls the men that hold it darknesse it selfe and contrary-wise those who depose such errors and become true beleevers he cals them light because they following the light of grace become light it selfe as therefore you are light so walk like children thereof in the light of vertue and sanctity of life 9. For the fruit of the light is that is to say consisteth in all goodnesse meaning in benignity and bounty to others and in justice giving to each his due not defrauding
Son and that from these Two loving each other did proceed the Holy Ghost the third Person of the Blessed Trinity in this Sence he said they did not know him and in this Sence he professeth he did know him and that if he should say otherwise he should be a lyer as they were lyers who had called him Devil and Samaritane yet particularly that they did not thus know him to be as well Father of Christ Jesus as to be one onely true God But says Christ I know him thus and more then this I keâ—p his Word that is in the best literal Sence I am his Word though this place may bear the other Glosses too that Christ as Man obeyed the Precepts of his Father and that as the Jews did shew they were not of God because they did not give ear to his Word meaning his Laws and Commandments therefore he said they were not of God but rather of the Devil whose suggestions they did adhere unto and follow 56. Abraham your Father from whom you glory to be descended in your Faith he himself was glad to see me nay did long desire it and when he had the happiness of my sight he leapt for joy and yet you that boast your selves to be his children are so degenerate as seeing me and perpetually conversing with me you rejoyce not but reject and revile me most blasphemously Many expound this Place diversly some will have the day of Christ which Abraham did long for and exulted to behold to be the time of the eternal generation of the Word of God others the day of his Living upon Earth others the instant of the Incarnation of God in his Mothers Womb others the Day of his Passion which wrought all mankindes Redemption and all these very well And they differ as much in expounding the Time when Abraham injoyed this desire by actually seeing this day some affirming that by Faith he see this day when he obeyed God in Sacrificing his Son which was a Figure of Christ his being to dye for our Sins others that he see it by Revelation as Prophets do things to come others that he knew it and see it when Simeon came to Limbus and told Abraham he had held Jesus in his hands as also when Zachary St. Anne the Blessed Virgins Mother and St. John Baptist told him they had seen him and likewise by the Angels of God telling him thereof as the like Angels do tell Souls in Purgatory what doth daily comfort them but the best way of all is that God for a reward of his Obedience gave him the happiness both by Revelation and Elevation of his Souls Faculties to see Christ Born as the Saints in Heaven Now see all we do if yet this may not be done as some conceive by the very natural Faculty of a Soul able of her self to know all things naturally as soon as she is out of the body or as St. Stephen Act. cap. 7. v. 55. from Earth though clogged with his body did see Christ up as high as Heaven by the like Elevation nor doth this lessen the Joy Abraham had therein to see and know no more then an other separated Soul since his joy was answerable to his expectation longer then that of any other and if we say more earnest perhaps we shall not do others wrong because as the promise of all our happiness was made to Abraham in his Seed so questionless his share of joy was greater because he had thereby the fulfilling of the promise made to him above two thousand years before and although all who receive a benefit equally divided are equally happy yet if among these any one had the happiness to be able to say this benefit was derived to them by vertue of a promise made to him in all their behalfs sure he hath somwhat more of Joy even in his equal share admit he had no more then others have This then was Abrahams Case though if this were not the Text doth not deny all the rest that see the day of Christ with Abraham did exult thereat with him but here it was enough to the purpose that Christ told them how careless soever they were of the honour yet their Father Abraham rejoyced at it 57. It is not hence to be inferred that Christ did live as some have pretended almost fifty years for the reason they said he was not yet fifty was to be sure they would not fall short of the years he had lest our Saviour might have intrapt them as they desired to do him so they named a time much beyond what he had lived and therefore he could not as they conceived possibly have seen Abraham whence they would inser he did lye and was not to be believed not reflecting nor indeed knowing he as God was elder then Abraham how much younger soever he were as man 58. And by this Answer of Christ it is evident he spake of knowing Abraham not as man for so he was Abrahams Junior but as God who as such created Abraham and all the world besides and therefore he doth not say of himself I was before Abraham but I am before him thereby to shew that in God there is no difference of the time no not any time at all but all that is in him is eternal and so cannot be said to have been or that it shall be but that it is whence we see God giving himself a name Exod. 3. says I am who I am so now Christ speaking of himself as God not as man says before Abraham was I am which was as high an expression of his Deity as he could use and for that cause the Jews not believing but even hating him run and 59. Took up stones to pelt him immediately to death as the highest blasphemer in their opinions that possibly could be For it was according to the Law Blasphemers should be stoned to death Levit. 24. v. 16. though indeed they were so doting on their Father Abraham that even for Christ to have preferred himself before him onely was enough for them to have stoned him to death if he had not declared also that he was God and the Creator of Abraham for so his words imported and so it was indeed by our Saviours hiding himself is here understood his hindering the Faculty or Power of their optick Nerves or withdrawing his concurse as God from their Faculty of seeing him though he left them power at the same time to see all things else besides himself as perfecttly as ever if yet we may not more rationally say this was done by hindering his body from reflecting any species to their eyes for this every glorified Body shall be able to do So it is not hence to be conceived Christ did hide himself by running into any corner or covert for thither their malice would have pursued him but that he did by his omnipotency work a miracle that they seeing should yet not see him who stood in the midst of them
exaltation when Saint Peter in his Epistle tels us we that are Christians are called to suffer with Christ who gave us example by his sufferings to follow his steps even unto death for him who did vouchsafe to dye for us And is not this the full sence of the Prayer As for the Gospell if we look with a regardfull eye upon it 't is but the same sence in other words for while it runs upon the nature of a Shepheard it never comes unto the hight of his commends untill it layes him low as death to save his sheep so still it drives to that abasement which is our exaltation and drawes us sweetly on to dye for him while it gives us an example of confidence that admits no fear because there is no security but in Trust and who can we trust more safely then him that knowes no guile our Saviour Jesus Christ who rather dyes in us then we can dye for him and if he dye it is that we may live and joy eternally with him that by his resurrection conquered death Thus do the sparkes of spirit flye from every letter of the Holy Text when they are strook against the steele of this dayes Prayer and thus the high dignity of Pastorate acquires a glory from the lowest stoop the Pastor makes even that to death so in a word our highest sanctity consists in our lowest humility as this dayes Prayer Epistle and Gospel do all avouch The Epistle 1 Pet. 2. v. 21 c. 21 For unto this are you called because Christ also suffered for us leaving you an example that you may follow his steps 32 Who did no sinne neither was guile found in his mouth 23 VVho when he was reviled did not revile when he suffered he threatned not but delivered himselfe to him that Iudged him unjustly 24 VVho himselfe bare our sinnes in his body upon the Tree that dead to sins we may live to justice by whose stripes you are healed 25 For you were as sheep straying but you are converted now to the Pastor and Bishop of your soules The Explication 21. SAint Peter had before advised to bear patiently not onely just punishments inflicted on the faithfull to whom he writ dispersed as they were some here some there of Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia but also to bear injuries with the like patience saying that to this Christians were called because Christ did suffer for us most unjustly leaving us example to doe the like if need were and as there were three causes which moved God to become man this last is one of them The first was by his death to redeeme us the second by his preaching to teach us the third by his example to draw us to imitate his sanctity of life And to this last the Apostle now chiefely exhorts in this place as we see by the following verse contrary to the Hereticks Doctrine who hold it needless Christ having dyed for our sinnes that man himselfe use any mortification or doe any penance at all 22. Nor could he do any because he was God as well as man and hence Calvins Doctrine teaching Christ was a reall sinner and that he was in regard of his sins afraid to dye and did sweat bloud for fear thereof were all most abominable blasphemies because though in Christ there were two natures humane and divine yet there was in him but one person so had that person sinned God had sinned as well as man since the actions are attributed to the suppositum or person not to the natures contracted by the person but see the Apostle mindes us that Christ was not onely free from sin of fact but also of word and consequently of thought which is by word expressed nor is this marvell since out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh Matt. c. 12. v. 34. but certainly God was the most abounding in Jesus his heart and so his words were all holy he being the very word of the eternall Father to whom as nothing is more proper then veracity so nothing is more improper then falsity or dissimulation fraud or guile 23 As indeed he was reviled when they called him drunkard raiser of seditions blasphemer nay conjurer or devill as casting out devils in the devils name yet did not he revile those who used him so ill nor did he recriminate as commonly men doe that excuse their own sins by casting other mens faults in their dish though in pure charity we read in Saint Matthew cap. 23. How roundly he did rebuke the Jewes to see if by a temporall check he could preserve them from eternall paines of hell which is a far other aime then those use who excuse themselves by way of recrimination of others for their end is not charity but passion or revenge and when he might have terrified the Judges that unjustly did condemne him he did not give them the least threat but gave himselfe up to the hands of Pilate his unjust judge how farre short are we of following this example whose whole indeavors are in all our actions even in those that are unjust to justifie our selves whereas if we would follow Saint Bernards counsell we should finde a remedy for all evils and injuries done unto us in the passion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 24. The Apostle here assimilates Christ to the Emissary Goat in Levit. cap. 16. v. 21. Sent out into the desert loaden with all the sinnes of the people and so Christ came into the desert of this world out of his Eternall Fathers heavenly Pallace carrying all our sinnes upon his shoulders though by sins here is not understood the fact or guilt thereof but the punishment due unto them by the tree is meant the Crosse of Christ whereon while he dies hee represents us to his heavenly Father as dead to sinne because he dyes for us and for our sins whereupon Saint Ambrose sayes divinely well c. It was not our Life but our Sinne which dyed when Christ our Saviour dyed upon the Crosse So we being dead by that meanes to sinne may live to justice that is in the sight of the just Judge may deserve Eternall life in heaven for living justly here on earth O Soveraigne Stripes which bruising Christs body do cure our Soules more ulcerated with sinne then his body was with stripes 25. Straying we were indeed from God from vertue from Salvation from heaven and running to the devill to vice to damnation to hell had not Christ our Shepheard â—â—duced us to his fold againe by converting us to an amendment of our lives and winning us to follow the Footsteps of our heavenly Pastor and Bishop of our Soules See Bishops are metaphorically called Pastors because as shepheards feed their sheep so do Bishops by Doctrine and example feed the soules of men but Christ is eminentially called both as feeding soules not onely by grace here but with glory in the next world The Application 1. HOw sweetly Holy Church
should say we deserve true Praise if for conscience of God towards God for Religion sake we sustain that sorrow which falls upon those who are unjustly molested for commonly this breeds affliction to most men yet Christians ought to make this their comfort or their glory and grace in the sight of God and men For saith the Apostle in the next Verse What glory is it if sinning you suffer for conscience to God may be understood that God is conscious or knowing of our unjust sufferings and so in his justice will one day do us right Again for conscience to God is that by so doing we be cleer in our conscience before Almighty God or lastly and best of all if need be to dye for vertues sake rather then be beaten out of it by any threats whatsoever and to this the Apostle alludes for many slaves that in those days became Christians were by their masters beaten some of them to death and yet indured patiently the tyranny of their earthly masters rather then they would gall their consciences towards God their heavenly master by receding from that vertue which he gave them the grace to conserve even unto death The Application 1. UPon what other account then that of the Christian Faith can St. Peter hope to make us believe we that are made of the Elements of this World are Strangers and Pilgrims here and are to refrain from the Pleasures of the World is it not because we believe that Jesus Christ hath by his bitter Death and Passion purchast us a better inheritance is it not because at our Baptism we make a profession of this our Faith and renounce the World the Flesh and the Devil assuredly it is 2. Again from what other Root then that of our Christian Faith are we ty'd up to so strickt a conversation amongst Gentiles amongst the mis-believers but because we that believe rightly are bound to do uprightly and religiously when he is onely counted a just man who is a true believer as we reade Rom. 1.17 He is just who lives according to Faith he means the Christian Faith where note the word Liveâ— imports outward Actions for we do not otherwise know whether a man be dead or alive but by outward operations 3. To conclude whence is it else that the true children of God are obliged to obey even mis-believing Superiors but because all Power being from God those that are his children must obey it and are by the Principals of their Faith and of Christian Doctrine obliged thereunto for since the Ruler of our Souls St. Peter the Vicar of Christ himself doth teach us this Doctrine assuredly he had it from that spirit who teacheth all verity and since the first Light of Truth is that of Faith which brings all erring souls in to the right way to Heaven the way of Justice grounded in Faith Therefore we most fitly pray as above that all who bear the names of Christians may reject unchristian deportments and do Christian actions such as the Light of Faith leads them to The Gospel Iohn c. 16. v. 16. c. 16 A little while and now you shall not see me and again a little while and you shall see me because I go to the Father 17 Some therefore of his Disciples said one to another what is this that he saith to us A little while and you shall not see me and again a little while and you shall see me and because I go to the Father 18 They said therefore what is this that he saith A little while we know not what he speaketh 19 And Jesus knew that they would ask him and he said to them Of this do you question among your selves because I said to you A little while and you shall not see me and again a little while and ye shall see me 20 Amen Amen I say to you that you shall weep and lament but the world shall rejoyce and you shall be sorrowful but your sorrow shall be turned into joy 21 A woman when she travaileth hath sorrow because her hour is come but when she hath brought forth the childe now she remembreth not the anguish for joy that a man is born into the world 22 And therefore you now indeed you have sorrow but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoyce And your joy no man shall take from you The Explication 16. THis place is diversly understood by some of the day of Judgement which Christ calls a little while because to God all time is but a moment yet in regard he had immediately before comforted the Apostles that though he was to leave them he would send unto them the Holy Ghost another Comforter who should teach them all truth and that what ere he taught them he should receive it of him therefore it is most probable our Saviour here alluded to his Passion Resurrection and Ascension which being at hand when he spake these words and consequently he being by his Death to disappear a while and a little afterwards namely three days he was to rise again when they should see him a while again that was for fourty days after which he was to ascend unto his Father probably I say this was the most literal Sence of the Words a little c. 17. 18. No marvel if they understood not this Riddle and so brok out into these two Verses following full of doubt what his meaning might be 19. He knew indeed they desired to ask him being grieved and sad at the news of his departure yet were loath to be so bold so he knowing their meaning not by any outward actions of theirs but by his Deity which did see the secrets of their hearts was pleased to satisfie them and yet he did this by sweetning their sorrow with diverting them from one Riddle to another opening the first by the last as appears in the next Verse 20. Wherein he tells them as in the two Sences above Verse 16. That his Disciples and all good men should here weep while the bad men of the world did rejoyce but that as the temporal sorrow of the just should be turned into eternal joy so the temporal joy of the unjust should be turned into eternal grief or rather that you who are my friends shall weep to see me suffer and dye while my enemies the Jews shall rejoyce thereat you being sad in the mean time but as by my resurrection your sorrow shall be turned into joy so their joy shall be turned into sorrow and confusion not for love to me but for shame of themselves 21. For divers reasons the sorrow of the Disciples at Christs death was compared to the pains of a woman with childe and their joy at his Resurrection to the joy of a woman delivered of a Son after a hard labour First because both these Griefs were very Bitter Secondly both Short Thirdly both full of Danger Fourthly both converted into after Joy suitable to their Sorrows Fifthly because as
must make that to be which we beg he must gives us grace since we are all one in Faith to be all of one minde in the operations of that belief which works by charity that knows not thine and mine but gives all to God and takes onely from his Holy Hand what he pleaseth to give back again Next we pray that we may love what God commands which in this case was to the Apostles that they might love to leave our Blessed Lord for so God had commanded That they might desire what he promised which was the coming of the holy Ghost That amongst worldly varieties there they might fix their hearts where onely true joys are to be had O! what a taking off their mindes was this even from himself whose departure was one of the worldly varieties he would not have to trouble them but that they should upon the loss of the happiness they had in his society fix their hearts on a greater happiness who but the holy Ghost could make this good upon the joys of heaven which are true joys indeed and this also shews we are still sliding down the Channel of the Resurrection too in this Prayer as hath been said Blessed God! how good art thou to man who hast made him a happiness greater then the company of thy sacred Son whom yet we know is God and man too the reason was his Humanity here did shade his Divinity but in heaven his Deity shall outshine his Humanity and so make us love man in him for Gods sake whereas here the Apostles did love God but for Christs sake as he was man and therefore this Prayer as it speaks the Apostles parts bids them fix their hearts upon true joys indeed those onely that are in heaven being greater then any they could have in the society of Jesus Christ himself so long as he was upon earth not that his Glory was less here then in heaven but that man is less capable to see God on earth then he shall be to see and enjoy him too when he comes to heaven and therefore hee ought not to fix his heart upon any content whatsoever upon earth but still to keep it moving towards a greater and a truer Joy And thus having made way for the Application of this Prayer unto our selves by seeing how in the Apostles sence we ought to say it let us close with our accustomed Application of it to the Epistle and Gospel of the day or rather of them both unto it which are as it were eminentially contained therein And first there is nothing so cleer as that it is a gift of God to make us thus resigned hence the Epistle breaks out into that acknowledgement saying every good and perfect gift is from above descending from the Father of Lights with whom there is no transmutation nor shadowing of alteration and who by his own sacred word hath ingrafted in us a filiation that makes us be a beginning of his creature that is willing by our resignation to be made through his holy Grace his better creature then by nature we are And so in brief to be those Saints which St. Iames in his Epistle sets before our eyes and consequently those which the Apostles were when our Saviour had prepared them for his departure from them and told them they were not inquisitive enough after the heavenly joys whilest they doted too much upon his Humane presence after he had made them believe it was expedient even for themselves that he left them and that the holy Ghost came to them in his stead to all those purposes that are recited in the Gospel following and to all which purposes we shall finde this Prayer availing us if in this sence we say it often and thereby take as in a little Cordial the whole substance of the Epistle and Gospel of this day The Epistle Iac. 1. v. 17 c. 17 Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above descending from the Father of Lights with whom is no transmutation nor shadowing of alteration 18 Voluntarily he bath begotten us by the word of Truth that we may be some beginning of his creature 19 You know my deerest Brethren And let every man be swift to hear but slow to speak and slow to anger 20 For the anger of man worketh not the justice of God 21 For the which thing casting away all uncleanness and abundance of malice in meekness receive the engraffed Word which is able to save your Souls The Explication 17. IT is prodigiously strange to see how much the Apostle here speaks in Little under these two terms of best gift and perfect gift for though the simple and literal meaning be that all which is good amongst men is given them from God and all which is bad amongst them comes from the Devil and from their own concupiscence yet there is a far deeper sence couched also here and first under best gift is understood not onely the goodness of the thing given but the excellent good will of the giver and even that being as good as the gift adds much to the value thereof for indeed as man hath nothing of his own to give so he hath no will of his own nor desire to give any thing that is good but even that good will is Gods and comes from God inspiring man to do good unto his neighbour but the sence is yet deeper by the reduplication of perfection upon the goodness of the donation or giving and of the gift given as who should say Gods gifts are not onely goodness in themselves by being communications of his infinite goodness to us but they are also most perfect both as their intrinsecal goodness makes them so and as their extrinsecal operations and effects do make us so likewise unto whom they are given since the end for which they are given is that man by means thereof may be perfect as Christ was perfect again many men give oftentimes that which obligeth others and yet is not either perfect in it self or properly their own to give neither of which can be wanting when God is the donation the gift the perfection and all that can be imaginable to render a gift or the donation of it good and perfect best indeed and most absolutely accomplished Again by all gifts are here understood those of Nature Grace and Glory whereof each is from God so immediately as none of them can flow from any other fountain since he is Natura naturans as Divines call him and we Natura naturata he is the Fountain Origin and first Principle of all Natures he is a simple and perfect Nature in and of himself so fecund or fertil as he is able to branch himself out into an infinity of other Natures which yet shall all be as distinct from his own Divine Nature as Creatures are from their Creator and from one another too But the very truth is the Apostle here reports to the two latter sorts of gifts namely
dwell indeed within us which happinesse we cannot receive from any one single Person of the Blessed Trinity but we must own it to them All three since where one Person is of necessity there all the three Divine Persons are also be it by presence or by operation 24. Here we see clearly the cause of our well doing or keeping Gods commands is our loving God and consequently the cause of our not doing well is our not loving him to which purpose St. Gregory hom 30. sayes excellently well To know whether we love God or not ask our Tongues if they speak well of him ask our souls if they imploy their thoughts upon him ask our lives if our actions be directed to his honour and glory if they be doing what he hath commanded or avoiding what he hath forbidden When he sayes The word he speaks is not his the meaning is 't is not onely his but also his Fathers because himself is the word of his Father and consequently as his nature is common with him and his Father so is his operation too wherefore what he sayes to us his Father sayes to him because all he is himself is to be his Fathers word 25. These things have I spoken to you abiding with you while I was with you I told you these things not that they abide by you or that you understand them but it sufficeth for the present I tell them to you though you understand them not you will penetrate these and much more when the holy Ghost shall telling you the same confirm you that he and I are both one God one Spirit one Goodnesse one Truth 26. It may seem strange here that Christ sayes his Father shall send the Holy Ghost to them in his name whereas Chap. 15. the same Evangelist tells us that he said he would send them the same holy Spirit himself in his Fathers name but the very truth is these two seeming several speeches are both to one and the same purpose for as the Holy Ghost doth proceed both from the Father and the Son one coequal Spirit and God with them both so is he equally sent by them both whence these are not contradicting but cohering Truths telling at several times what is most certain true But there are divers senses of these words in my name as first the Father is said to send the Holy Ghost in his Sons name as by the Sons means whose spiration as it is joyntly concurring with the Fathers to the procession of the Holy Ghost so by him joyntly with him the Father sends the Holy Ghost unto us Secondly in his name imports in vertue of his merits deserving for us the happinesse of this comfortable mission or missive comforter Thirdly in his name is as much as to say in his place to supply his visible presence by an invisible comfort equal thereunto that he may finish the work of humane salvation which Christ began and hence it followes he shall teach you all things namely to understand what Jesus told you and what he will have you further to know for establishing his Church over all the world and he shall suggest and prompt to you all things whatsoever I shall say This place is liable to several senses as whether the holy Spirit shall suggest more unto them for government of the Church then Christ told them because he spake much which they could not then understand or whether his suggestion shall onely be an exposition of what they heard before and were not able to penetrate the bottome of it but truly the last sense seemes most genuine because of that which followes namely his suggesting what Christ shall say what he hath unintelligibly already said and shall afterwards intelligibly by the Holy Ghost say unto them yet this sense may be verified though we do not take suggestion to be as a help to understanding but to memory as generally the Expositours conceive of it as if the suggestion of the holy Ghost were a renewing the memory of the Apostles towards calling to mind and upon recalling better understanding the meaning of what Christ had said then they did when they heard him speak what was now revived in their memory by the prompting or suggestion of the Holy Ghost But since in other places the Expositours have declared Christ did not tell the Apostles all that which he meant they should do by the instinct of the Holy Gbost especially for framing and maintaining the Hierarchy of the Church nor for expounding the mysteries of Faith therefore if we take here this suggestion in a larger sense then generally Expositours do we shall not erre as if we extend it to the holy Ghost prompting unto them what our Saviour shall say to him and by him to them now that he is in heaven for as Christ sayes his doctrine is not his own but his heavenly Fathers so it is certain the suggestions of the holy Ghost are not his own but Christ his doctrine whether delivered before by himself and so renewed in the memory of the Apostles by the holy Ghost as all Expositours allow or whether now onely spoken immediately to the Holy Ghost by Christ and by mediation of that holy Spirit to us for assuredly there are many things especially concerning government of the holy Church suggested by the Holy Ghost to the now present Governours thereof which were not spoken by Christ to his Apostles 27. By Christ his peace is here meant that which St. Paul Philip. 4. told us did exceed all humane sense and this he calls his so peculiarly as indeed it can be properly no bodies else but his own since he hath purchased it for us by his having ended all our war with sin death and the devil all such war as can indanger us if our selves be not cowards and cease to fight for this assurance we have as long as we fight we conquer and in conquering possesse that peace which by the Battel of temptation the devill sought to wrest away from us that sweetnesse that tranquillity of soul which a good conscience bringeth with it at all times and to all persons whatsoever This is the peace Christ gave and this he gives not as the world gives peace which is rather perturbation for the more we have of worldly peace and ease the lesse we have of true tranquillity of mind which is then most perfect when we are most at strife with the world and other enemies to Christian peace St. Augustine hath an excellent saying to this purpose He cannot be at peace with Christ who hath any contention with a Christian who is a member of him But the most genuine sense of this place is that he gave the Apostles his own peace immunity from all sin which onely can be the breach of peace with God And therefore he closed this verse with these words let not your heart be troubled at my going from you the presence of my peace shall supply for the absence of my
to do as it commands as holy Church by reading it commends The Gospel Luk. 6. v. 36. c. 36 Be ye therefore merciful as also your Father is merciful 37 Judge not and you shall not be judged Condemn not and you shall not be condemned Forgive and you shall be forgiven 38 Give and there shall be given to you good measure and pressed down and shaken together and running over shall they give into your bosome For with the same measure that you do mete it shall be measured to you again 39 And he said to them a similitude also Can the blind lead the blind doth not both fall into the ditch 40 The disciple is not above his master but every one shall be perfect if he be as his master 41 And why seest thou the mote in thy brothers eye but the beam that is in thine own eye thou considerest not 42 Or how canst thou say to thy Brother Brother let me cast out the moat out of thine eye thy self not seeing the beam in thine own eye Hypocrite cast first the beam out of thine own eye and then shalt thou see clearly to take forth the moat out of thy brothers eye The Explication 36. WE have seen how perfect charity was inculcated by St. John in this dayes Epistle now St. Luke begins his Gospel in a stile suitable thereunto when he recommends the love of our enemies under the notion of mercy And indeed when he bids us be merciful to one another as our heavenly Father is merciful what else can he point out unto us then the dilection of our enemies since God the Father his first mercy was shewn to none else but those that were his utter enemies mankind for whose redemption yet he sent his sacred Son a sacrifice and a propitiation for the whole masse of humane nature to shew the height of his perfection in this his act of mercy which was indeed so great that hence it is his mercy is said to have surpassed all his other works Psal 44.9 And that we do not mistake in expounding mercy here for love of our enemies we may avouch St. Matthew Chap. 5.43 who speaking to the same sense as St. Luke doth here though not in the same words brings in our Saviour saying You have heard that it is said thou shalt love thy neighbour and shalt hate thine enemie v. 44. But I say unto you Love your enemies do good to them that hate you and pray for your persecutours and those that calumniate you and v. 48. he concludes this subject thus Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect as who should say St. Lukes mercy here recommended is the dilection of our enemies and who so loves them is not onely merciful as God is mercifull but by that means is perfect also as God is perfect in such sense as the Expositours interpret St. Matthewes perfection and S. Lukes mercy which are here all one because love or mercy to our enemies is indeed the very height of perfection in us and so it is the greatest that ever did to us appear to be in God if yet any of his attributes can be one greater then another When therefore we are bid be mercifull or perfect as God is we are to understand it thus that Christians are to proceed further in perfection then all other people who though they received the precept of loving their enemies in the very law of Nature as we read Exod. 23.4 5. if thou meet thine enemies Oxe or Asse astray bring it home yet were so blind as not to practise indeed not to see it as appeared when the Scribes and Doctours of the Law delivered a Tradition quite opposite to this teaching as our Saviour sayes above Hate your enemies and for this reason to undeceive them and to shew the world their errour that had antiquated the law of nature in this particular God himself makes it a signal mark of his perfection and recommends it to us as the height of perfection in us above which he requires no more at our hands and for which he likens if not equalls us unto himself in perfection I say likens us because that is the true sense of this Text bidding us love our enemies perfectly and not slightly but with all our hearts as God loveth us who dyed for our sakes that were all his enemies and this perfection therefore is divine not humane in us because we may bear a kind of civill respect of love to our enemies and yet not love them perfectly as God loveth us whereby we onely attain to this divine perfection of mercy and love which likens us to God himself And though by the first 't is true we become Gods children in nature by the last we become his children in grace and so of regulated nature make our nature sayntified too which gives it the finishing and life-colour of perfection or similitude to God though when we are greatest Saints here our perfection is but initiated or begun since here we can at most but curb but tame concupiscence whereas in heaven it shall be extirpated quite and clean and then we shall be perfectly perfect as God is while our here beginnings shall be there finished by the burnish of Glory polishing the works of Grace wrought in our unpolisht natures 37. How excellently well doth this follow since we are alwayes apt to fall upon judging and condemning our enemies Yet it is not Judiciary but rash Judgment that is here forbidden since the former is the main vertue that supporteth government over all the world but the latter is a vice as much destroying order as it were to see the delinquent leap from the bar to the bench and in stead of standing to receive his own sentence from the mouth of Justice pronounce a peremptory sentence on his Judge for so shall all those be to us at the latter day whom we by our rash Judgements here condemn of any fault wherein they are not guilty Now the reason is because Judgment is an act of Jurisdiction not onely declaring but punishing of crimes and therefore restrained to some Magistrates onely not allowed to any that are meer subjects such as we all are to Almighty God and consequently none of us can lawfully sit as Judge over the actions of our neigbours no not the Priest himself out of his Confessionary or Tribunal Seat where the Penitent must be his own accuser too or else cannot be judged by the Priest The like is of condemning as of Judgement which seem to differ onely as the Judges declaration of the crime doth from the condemnation of the Criminal by the prolation of the sentence against him and assignation of him over to the punishment of the Law answerable to the Fact for which he is condemned But why it is said Judge not and you shall not be judged Condemn not and you shall not be condemned will not easily be understood for by this meanes no delinquent
up sitting at this feast into the great presence-chamber of the sacred Trinity the Empyreall heaven and after his Ascension his servants the Apostles went round about the world to invite more and to tell them the great supper of glory was now ready for all that would go to it such way as thâ—se inviters would lead them namely in the high rode of professing and observing the faith and law of Christ 18. By all excusing themselves is here literally understood the Jewish nation whose eye was no further bent upon religion then as they expected a Messias that should make them all rich so grosly they understood the heavenly riches promised by the Messias as they believed them to be temporall estates And therefore here the first excuse is made by plea of necessity to looke after worldly wealth represented by the purchased village which was said to be newly bought by him that was content to sell the kingdom of heaven for a patch of earth But Saint Gregory hom 36. in Evang. notes the ill manners of this civility when the excusant sayes I pray thee have me excused for he calls it pride in the action though it seems humility in the voyce because he disdained heaven and preferred earth 19. The second excuse insists upon an other notable addiction of the Jewes to worldly wealth namely their huge great stocks they gloried in upon their grounds which we read Abraham Isaack Jacob and Job abounded in and which were looked on as the greatest blessings God could give so in regard of earthly stocks of Cattle they contemned the greater stock of Glory in the next world But St. Gregory in the place last cited will have these five yoak of oxen allude to our five senses distracting us from all heavenly objects 20. St. Gregory cited as above understands this place of carnall sinne the greatest impediment between a soul and glory of all others for here the excuser askes no pardon but boldly sayes he cannot come it seems he that could not wish he were able was wholly unable as well as he was absolutely unwilling while he did not say he would come another time as the former excuses might import but absolutely professed he could not come he had sure as little will as power and therefore he might have added he neither could nor would Though others more favourably say this place alludes onely to the excessive use of the lawfull marriage-bed which then is used in excesse when it is made a pretence to hinder us from the service of Almighty God And S. Ambrose expresseth much to this sense in few words saying The love of earthly things is like a birdlime upon the spirituall wings of our souls hindring her flight up to heaven But S. Augustine applies these three excuses to the three things that include all sorts of worldly pelf concupiscence of the flesh concupiscence of the eye and pride of life The first excuse reports to the pride that man had to see himself Lord of a Mannour The second to concupiscence of the eye to see a rich stock of cattell cover his grounds The third to concupiscence of the flesh that made this his excuse from going to heaven as if he did not hope for greater pleasure there and indeed riches and pleasure are the chief impediments mortalls have between them and eternall blisse 21. This place of the Parable alludes to Christ speaking of himself as servant to his heavenly Father and telling him the Rich men of the Jewes were all so transported with the love of the world as they gave no ear to the invitation of the eternal word calling them to everlasting rest and glory and that then his Father bid him apply himself to the poorer sort of Jewes which to effect was done when S. Matthew Chap. 21. 31. sayes to the Pharisees Scribes Doctours and high Priests rejecting Christ The Publicanes and whores shall go before you in the Kingdome of God as also the last shall be first and the first the last Others think this verified in the choyce Christ made of Fisher-men for his Apostles and of other poor Mechanicks rather then of Scribes and Pharisees as 1 Cor. 1.27 God chose the infirm things of this world to confound all the strength thereof and fooles to confound wise men and this to encourage the most contemptible creatures on the earth to aym at as great riches as heaven can afford if they live according to the rule and law of Christ 22. And here our Saviour urgeth his heavenly Father since all the poor people amongst the Jewes are not able to fill up the Court of heaven that as yet there may be more invited and then he went aside from the Jewes to the Samaritans and Gentiles converting them and so inviting of them to his heavenly Glory which is the Supper here spoken of 23. But we are here to note that Christ looked upon these Gentiles in respect of his beloved people the Jewes as he would do upon men that have no poor beeings in Townes or Villages but are forced to shelter themselves under the banks on high wayes and to covet the loane of hedges for their shelter from winds and weather and therefore being himself after his resurrection to ascend to heaven he sent his Apostles over all the world to find out such poor Gentiles as these who in respect of the Jewes were not held worthy in Gods sight to be esteemed as Masters of Townes Villages or houses but were like vagabonds yet these not filling heaven neither see how he makes provision for relapsed Christians also as men equally miserable with such vagabonds and those he will have by Ecclesiastical censures nay by penal lawes to be even compelled or forced to return to their belief again which yet is not a course used to any but revolted Christians such as once were in the lap of the true Church by holy Baptisme and they indeed as having once been children and Subjects of the mother Church of Christ may upon revolt be compelled back again whereas Pagans Jewes or Infidels cannot be thus forced by penal lawes but must in a sweet way be gained to a right belief through perswasion not compulsion 24. This verse is onely the excluding those from eternal glory who being invited to it will not leave temporal riches and pleasures to purchase the Kingdome of heaven but willingly wallow in the mire of worldly wealth rather then they will leave that to enjoy eternal felicity and glory The Application 1. AS this Gospel in the sense of the Expositours alludes to the Blessed Sacrament whose Feast is now flowing so is it fit we should observe therein such lessons as we are bound to learn and put in execution for our more worthy receiving which we may for brevity sake reduce to two the one a reverential awe or holy fear of unworthinesse the other a fervent act of love and charity because in this Sacrament is not onely the body and bloud of
given us in the Blessed Sacrament whereof this Gospel was but a figure according to the exposition of the best Expositours of Holy Writ For look how to day four thousand persons were corporally fed with multiplied loaves so are millions of soules dayly fed with the body of Christ multiplied under millions of consecrated hoasts and as by this food is chiefly nourished in us all that is good so by the practice of Piety as the prayer petitions in the close is maintained in us what by the aforesaid blessed Sacrament is nourished as who should say in vain we take this spirituall nutriment if after it we do not maintain the grace it gives us by the continuall study and practice of Piety wherefore to make this Prayer accomplished we beg in the close thereof that God will maintain in us by our practice of Piety the good nutriment we receive by the blessed Sacrament Thus wee see how admirably the Prayer is adapted to the other parts of this dayes service and withall we are taught that the perfection of a Christian life consists in the continuall practice of Piety and devotion The Epistle Rom. 6. v. 3. c. 3 Are you ignorant that all we which are baptized in Christ Jesus in his death we are baptized 4 For we are buried together with him by Baptisme into death that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father so we also may walk in newnesse of life 5 For if we become complanted to the similitude of his death we shall be also of his resurrection 6 Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sinne may be destroyed to the end that we may serve sin no longer 7 For he that is dead is justified from sin 8 And if we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live together with Christ 9 Knowing that Christ rising again from the dead now dieth no more death shall no more have dominion over him 10 For that he died to sin he died once but that he liveth he liveth to God 11 So think you also that you are dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Explication 3. TO be baptized in Christ is to be christned according as Christ hath commanded in the name of the Father Sonne and holy Ghost to be baptized in his death is as much as to say in representation of his death and that our Baptisme hath force and vertue from the merits of his death and passion and signifies that as Christ died on the Crosse to this naturall life so the baptized die to sinne and live to Christ which is a life opposite to that of a sinner 4. This verse adds more to the Analogie saying we are not onely dead to sinne in Baptisme but thereby also buried with him in proof of our death to sinne So that the Trine Immersion used in Baptisme alludes to the three dayes that Christ lay buried in his grave as our sinnes in Baptisme lie drowned under the water thereof And for this cause holy Church makes a solemn Baptisme yearly on Easter eve to shew that thereby those who died were buried with Christ do also rise with him by the glory of his heavenly Father that is to glorifie him to a new life in him in testimony whereof the baptized have a white garment cast over them called the Chrisome to shew the purity of their souls and are advised to carry the same inward purity with them to the tribunall of Christ as a proofe of their fidelity to their vow in holy Baptisme of renouncing the world the flesh and the devill so to conserve their puritie or newnesse of life to the which the Fathers exhort earnestly when they inculcate the frequent memory of our baptismall vow which they ground in these words so we also may walk importing so we may persevere in that purity 5. See how this verse insists further upon the consequence of our spirituall resurrection even in this life by our spirituall death and buriall as above shewing that our newnesse of life by Baptism is like the ingrafting us into the stock or tree of Christ whence we are to receive all our future sap or nutriment so that as his death to naturall life was the way to his resurrection in like manner our death to sinne is the way to our resurrection with him and as we see graftâ— following the changes of the tree they are ingrafted in seem in the winter to die with it in the spring to revive with it so do we by Baptisme in Christ seem to die with him in the winter of his passion but revive in the spring of his resurrection 6. Then we know indeed our old man to be crucified with Christ when the new man lives in him By the old Man understand custome of sinning renounced by Baptisme by the body of sinne understand here the whole masse of our sinnes by the destruction of it understand not the palliation of it onely by imputative Justice as heretikes do but the absolute death thereof by inherent justice infused by baptismall grace into our souls 7. And this sense is confirmed by the next verse saying he that is dead meaning to sinne is justified from sinne lives by the infused Justice which hath killed and not onely covered sinnes in the baptized 8. This verse imports our future life eternall which we firmly believe we shall injoy with Christ if here we die with him to sinne 9. The sense of the precedent verse is confirmed by this following that tells us death shall as little reign over us in the next life if we truely die to sinne in this as it did over Christ once risen from his grave and yet withall alludes to the constancie we ought to have in good works even in this life that having once had the happinesse to live spiritually here we should disdain to die again by relapse into sinne and so to let death dominear ever us whom once we had slain by grace Note here the strange goodnesse of our Saviour who being God was content to let death once dominear over him on the Crosse that we might for ever after triumph with him over death 10. Here Christ is not to be understood to die to sinne as we doe but to die for sinne not his own but ours and that once for all our sinnes Where he is said here to live to God understand with God a blessed and immortall life as also that by so living he may perpetually praise and glorifie Almightie God since as he died for sinnes abolition so he lives for Gods glorification 11. 'T is reason we should think our selves dead to sinne when by Baptisme we renounce it and living to God when by the same Baptisme we live in him But it is a high expression of the alteration which the Apostle exhorts unto in advising us to think we are dead to sinne for as dead men have no motion
person of another man so he cannot mean himself when he sayes the Lord but must needs mean the Bailiffes real master did praise his own Bailiffe of iniquity that is did commend the invention or manner of the cheat not the cheat it self and said that the children of this world used more wisdome and prudence in their worldly wayes then the children of light This may put us in mind how ill it is that we study more to damne then to save our soules 9. This verse cleares the sense of the former to be spoken in the name of the master to the Bailiffe for here Christ having told us that masters sense now makes profession to speak in his own name in these words I say unto you give almes do good deeds unto the poor with your Mammon of iniquity your treasures for by vertue of these almes the poor may plead your admittance into heaven and obtain by their intercession that your almes may cover a multitude of your sins So this is a parable speaking properly to rich men of this world who are not true Lords of their own estates but owe them to God and have the portions of the poor in their hands and own all their treasure but as Lords of iniquity as heapers up of wealth which they have cheated the poor of and when they pay them not by Almes they lye lyable to the like censure of this Bailiffe to render account for they are such to God The Application 1. THis Gospel being wholly Parabolical we are at the greater liberty to make our applications thereof according as we can best avail our selves by it further then what by the Illustration and Explication above is already done First therefore albeit this Parable aymes directly at rectifying the inordinate excesses of Rich men who abuse the trust God hath reposed in them of relieving the poor when they lavish away their estates vainly and do not by their charities pay the poor mens Portions which are included in the rich mens revenues yet we may very properly here mind the Priests of Gods holy Church that as they are indeed the chief Bailiffes of their heavenly Master trusted with more of his Estate and Treasure then all the world besides namely the receiving and distributing his holy graces the livelyhoods of their own and other mens soules so when they waste these Treasures either by their own idle mispending them or by their undue dispensing them to others especially by palliating the sins of the people and flattering them with needlesse dispensations from their Christian duties never valid but when really necessary then are they most properly such ill Bailiffes as this Gospel specifies 2. Secondly in regard there is no Lay-man free from the Bailifship of a huge though lesser trust also reposed in him by Almighty God of all those rich graces vertues and gifts which are bestowed upon us in holy Baptisme therefore every Lay-man as well as the Priest may piously fear he playes this ill Bailiffes part and that chiefly out of this root his giving way to unjust thoughts such as propend him to unrighteous actions by not being rejected but disputed with untill the temptation of sordid gain or pleasure overcome him and make him unjustly act that which at first was but unrightly thought 3. Now this evil holy Church hopes to amend in us by prayer adapted to the Bailifship we are intrusted with absolutely of our own soules and partly of our neighbours too in point of edification to him at least whereby we are charitably to contribute also to his salvation which we shall then perform in act if our thoughts be first set upon the doing it Thus we see how the debt we owe of charity to our neighbour puts us in mind of the greater debt we owe thereof unto our selves and to Almighty God And by this charity it is we are best able to perform what we this day Pray for with holy Church that by alwayes thinking thus charitably right we may do uprightly we may live spiritually to that good God without whom we have neither spiritual nor yet corporal Beeing On the ninth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Luk. 19.46 FOr it is written that my house is the house of prayer to all Nations but you have made it a den of theeves And he was daily teaching in the Temple Vers Let my prayer O Lord c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer LEt the eares of thy mercy O Lord be open to the prayers of thy suppliants and to the end thou mayst grant the things desired to those that ask make them ask such things as to thee are pleasing The Illustration BLessed Jesu that the holy Ghost should teach us perfection of prayer in a language arguing imperfection in Almighty God mutation from his not bearing to the opening of his mercifull ears to the prayers of his Suppliants Whereas his eyes being alwayes open to see our actions his cars cannot be shut from our petitions since we can as little speak what he doth not hear as we can do what he doth not see It is not therefore because he at any time hears us not but that we deserve not to be heard sometimes even when we pretend to pray that we are taught to beg his open ears to our petitions and that if we will hope to be heard we must ask such things as are pleasing to his Divine Majestie rather then what is desired by us wherefore we were taught by our Saviour himself to pray that the will of God might be done in earth as it is in heaven which in effect though in other terms we pray to day when we begg that to the end God may grant what we desire he will make us ask such things as are pleasing to his Divine Majestie Yes beloved this is the full scope and sense of the prayer above and by this we see 't is one and the same spirit that now dictates the form of prayer to holy Church which our blessed Saviour had when in the garden he gave us the most excellent method of praying called to this very day our Lords prayer onely this we find peculiar now that all prayers of holy Church are so set after the stile of our Lords prayer which alone includes all the requests we are able to make that they are adapted to peculiar emergencies and do specially relate unto the present service of the day As for example the prayer above now doth unto the Epistle and Gospel of the Masse in regard they both mind us of the severe punishments inflicted both upon the Gentiles and the Jews who in their prayers runne after their own inventions and made their sacrifices which should appease the wrath of God to be the highest provocations of his fury as the Idolaters fornicatours and murmurers did whereof S. Paul here minds the Christian Corinthians who it seems were also inclined to make idols of their own desires rather then to adore in true
spirit the living God or seek his holy will as also S. Luke in the Gospel tells us the whole city of Jerusalem was ill addicted wherein were not onely slain twenty three thousand persons at the sacking thereof by the Romans but even in the destruction of that city the whole nation of the Jews was dispersed and overthrown for persecuting Jesus Christ because he came not to them according to their own desire according as they had fancied to themselves the Messias should come in power and glory in riches and abundance the very thought of which iniquity in the Jews made Jesus weep as S. Luke tells us so soon as he saw the most splendid and opulent city of the whole universe near to her destruction for want of following such instruction as we have in this dayes prayer for want of conformity to the will of God for want of desiring and asking those things that were pleasing to the Divine Majesty And to shew how short they were of using this form of prayer we see he went immediately to the Temple and chased out those from thence who made the house of prayer a den of thieves of such as under colour to sell necessaries for the sacrifices of the Temple sold their God himself for hope of sordid gain who therefore were called thieves as robbing God of his honour even in that place which was sacred to his service by seeking more their own profit then his glory in that place Say now beloved was it not fit the Church should make her prayer to day in the stile above when all the service of the day runnes upon examples of severest punishments upon those whose prayer was of another tenour and is it not most behooffull we should pray in this sort since these figures are professedly made mention of for our examples that whilest we hear of them we may beware their case become not ours Assuredly it is And this being declared I make account our souls are well armed because well warned resolved heartily to pray in this manner least for not so praying we be punished as those formerly in this kind defective were The Epistle 1 Cor. 10. v. 6. c. 6 And these things were done in a figure of us that we be not coveting evil things as they also coveted 7 Neither become ye idolaters as certain of them as it is written The people sate down to eat and drink and rose up to play 8 Neither let us fornicate as certain of them did fornicate and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand 9 Neither let us tempt Christ as some of them tempted and perished by the serpents 10 Neither do you murmure as certain of them murmured and perished by the destroyer 11 And all these things chanced to them in figure but they are written to our correction upon whom the end of the world are come 12 Therefore he that thinketh himself to stand let him take heed lest he fall 13 Let not tentation apprehend you but humane and God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able but will make also with tentation issue that you may be able to sustain The Explication 6. O How much are Christians obliged to Almighty God who hath laid before them the punishments of his own elect people the children of Israel not onely for a figure but an example also unto them that by the punishments inflicted on the Hebrews we Christians might beware and avoid such sinnes as we see God did not pardon in his own chosen people but punished them severely 7. When they erected themselves an idol of a golden calf and adored it and afterwards like the Egyptians and Gentiles made great feasts wherein they wanted not excesses at their tables and then rose to their wanton sports and dancings as if they would thereby honour their Idoll Which profanenesse was punished by Moyses commanding his Levites to kill at once three and twenty thousand of them And this S. Paul inculcates to the Corinthians and to all dissolute Christians to day For as the Corinthians had certain dedications of thousands of virgins to Venus who were defloured under pretended honour to her so this was a fit example of S. Paul to them and may be to all our wanton youth God help them 8. Here S. Paul alludes to the abomirable idolatry that was committted to Bel-phcor that is unto Priapus with the daughters of Moab abused in honour of this horrid Idol-god which was punished as above is noted in the glosse upon the former verse where the like punishment was inflicted upon the idolaters to the calf as is here mentioned upon the fornicatours onely that there were mentioned twenty four thousand Numb 25. v. 5. here onely twenty three thousand So the Apostle speaks with the least not that he contradicts the other place of Scripture since the greater number includes the lesser though the lesser doth not exclude the greater 9. Here the Apostle calls tempting distrusting in Christ as it seems some of the Corinthians did who doubted of his resurrection for where in the Old Testament we read Num. 25.5 the children of Israel are said to murmure against the Lord S. Paul here applies this to Christ and calls it tempting of him in the Corinthians as in that figure the Israelites did who perished by fiery serpents Num. 21. v. 6. not that they were fiery but because the effect of their sting was as hot as fire and seemd to burn the people that were stung or bitten by them 10. Their perishing was partly being swallowed up alive by the earth partly being burned with fire from heaven or smitten with the sword of the Angel called in this verse the destroyer and conceived by the best Interpreters to be S. Michael the leader of the people and the giver of the Law unto them in the mount Sinai and in that the figure of our Saviour Jesus Christ And indeed Gods punishments were frequent and very severe upon the sinne of murmure against his Divine Majesty 11. That is all things here specified not absolutely all that are written in the whole ancient law for however many things were there figurative yet there were also many things not figurative but had their own end in themselves without relation to any thing that was to follow And here the word figure is not taken strictly so as to mean allegory or mystery but rather indeed for example since in that sense S. Paul applies it to us in the Corinthians as appears by his following words that they were written for our correction reprehension or admonition By the ends of the world in this place is understood the coming of the Messias whose time is often called the last hour both in the Old and the New Testament this hour is to be measured from the birth of our Saviour till his coming to judgement because to millions of souls it hath been already their last hour and will be to many
passion to us perpetually our humane mortality would fail in all her works of charity Whence it is holy Church to ripen her charity and to preserve it for eternity begs in the Prayer above that it may by the perpetual propitiation of Christ that is to say by the continual application of his Passion to us in the sacrifices and Sacraments of holy Church be withdrawn from hurtful things and directed to those which are saving The Gospel Matt. 6. v. 24. 24 No man can serve two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will sustain the one and contemn the other You cannot serve God and Mammon 25 Therefore I say unto you be not careful for your life what you shall eat neither for your body what rayment you shall put on is not the life more then the meat and the body more then the rayment 26 Behold the fowles in the ayr that they sowe not neither reap they nor gather into barns and your heavenly Father feedeth them are not you much more of price then they 27 And which of you by his caring can adde to his stature one cubit 28 And for rayment why are you careful consider the Lillies of the field how they grow they labour not neither do they spin 29 But I say unto you that neither Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these 30 And if the grasse of the field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the oven God doth so clothe how much more you O ye of very small faith 31 Be not careful therefore saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewith shall we be covered 32 For all these things the heathen doth seek after for your Father knoweth that you need all these things 33 Seek therefore first the Kingdome of Heaven and all these things shall be given you besides The Explication 24. BY serving is here understood loving and obeying out of love not serving for hire since so we may serve many masters By can is meant can easily So the text intimates onely a huge difficulty not an absolute impossibility That this is the sense the following words prove of hate and love Now the next words of sustaining at least argue a possibility though with difficulty for to sustain or bear argues a power thereof The last words of this verse you cannot serve God and Mammon are taken strictly for loving and obeying so thus the Apostle sayes God and riches are incompatible masters 25. By careful is here understood anxious or solicitous for your life is understood your soul because by that we live and we are not to be anxious for our soules sake what we eat because it doth not eat to keep it self alive but onely the body The like anxiety is forbidden even for the body too how it shall be attired The following words are Christ his argument from the lesse to the greater as who should say I who have created your souls out of nothing will not fail to give you meat to conserve them and the body in union and health which is to shew us we shall not want his lesse favour that have had his greater so if he give our bodies life and health it is not likely he will deny us clothing for our bodies unlesse we fall to be anxiously solicitous how to clothe our selves which anxiety is here forbidden and we are counselled to rely upon Gods providence herein 26. The same naturall argument flows in all the six following verses But it is here worthy observation that Christ rather instances in birds then beasts to shew us that as they live in the air off from the earth for most part so man should have his thoughts in heaven and not in earth and should expect his food rather from heavenly providence then from earthly solicitude 27. And as such solicitude were vain so is it to care what we eat or how long we protract our lives by curiosity of diet And this example of a cubit is not improperly brought in to shew us that as the due proportion of a man is to be as square or broad when his arms are stretched out as he is long from head to foot so a soul well proportioned must be solid in virtue and constant in the pursuit thereof 28 29. As the former verses argued to cast off care of meats so these two next argue in like manner against anxiety in clothing exemplyfying in the delicate attire of Lillies and of Solomon who by art the ape of nature had made his attire to be decked with Lillies of most curious needlework to shew the robes of grace or nuptiall garments of our souls should be as fragrant and as pure in Gods sight as Lillies are in ours and if they be but so it imports not how our bodies are attired 30. By adding the low similitude of the grasses beauty after that high and rich one of the Lillie and Solomons garments Christ augments the reason we have to confide in Gods providence towards the meanest of persons since he is not wanting to adorn the grasse as he doth By grasse is here understood all plants at least such as make fuell for ovens for else in vain had he spoken of putting grasse into the oven if it had not been that after these fine green plants of the field were cut down and lost the splendour of their growing state and served now for nothing but fuell to fire he had not intended to shew us that if God were so carefull for so small a thing as grasse and little green plants growing to adorn them as he doth he would be much more carefull to cloth us with attire sufficient for this life whom he intends to invest in robes of glory for all eternity By the close of this verse rebuking our very small faith is not understood our want of belief in God but our want of trust or confidence rather that he whom we believe to be so infinitely great and good can and will have care of our least necessities 31. He well subsumes to close his argument that after all these examples of his solicitude for the meanest creatures he will not be carelesse of us if we confide in him as we ought to do for our due supplies both in meat and clothing 32. This is an excellent argument against the anxiety above that it is common to heathens and therefore no way proper to Christians who since they know God sees their wants they ought to referre the supply thereof to his omniscience as God to his love as father to his power as King of heaven and earth so if he see and supply not he is pleased we shall suffer want and therefore in vain we seek to have that else where which God pleaseth to abridge us of rather in this case we must be content as the grasse to lose our lustre then covet to enjoy it when it is designed for feuell to the fire
honest ends not for lucre or unjust sordid gain the temptation whereof will cease if we make it the end of our labour to do works of charity to others such as is relieving them in their necessity And if to this end even Church-men labour they will not want the example of it given them by the Apostles who did practise the same as well as preach it The Application 1. St. Paul not knowing what better counsel to give his Ephesian Converts when he found some of them relapsing towards the old man then to bid them be renewed in the spirit of their minds and to put on the new man which according to God was created in Justice and Holinesse seemes in this to have left it as a rule of Christian perfection that the Ephesians should endeavour to be continually the Saints which first they were when God by holy baptisme snatcht them out of the bondage of the devil and made them free-born Citizens of the heavenly Hierusalem clad in the richest robes of Saintitie the purest Innocency 2. And surely holy Church can have no other aym by reading us this lesson to day then to mind our charity of walking in that saving path of Innocency by renewing her baptismal vow her holy covenant with Almighty God of loving him above all things and her neighbour as her self of renouncing the world the flesh and the devil with all their lying passion malice and injustice forbidden to all Christians in the holy Text above 3. Now because this is easier said by Preachers then done by the people and because it is impossible for men of themselves to do the least good at all the Royal Prophet saying there is not one that doth it therefore holy Church finding her children by S. Paul exhorted to no lesse perfection then the highest of Saintity and remembring that as when Adam was in Paradise God to ease his way to Saintity had shut out all Adversity both of mind and body from thence all disturbance and grief of soul all rebellion of sense against reason all disasters of the body in a word all mortality it self so the same God having pleased to bring us in to a Paradise of grace our prudent Mother hopes his divine goodnesse will also shut out all adversity from thence that we may not by disturbance either in mind or body be hindered from executing his commands better in this paradise of grace then Adam did in the paradise of Earth yet withall our holy Mother knowing the difficulty of this work to procure us this tranquillity useth all her best arts and for this end Prayes to God that it may be if not ours at least his own handy-work and if not feisible by his ordinary Power that yet it may be done by his Omnipotency or by that which yet to us is greater by his mercy and lest that mercy be mistaken she conjures him by the highâ—st of his mercies by his bitter death and passion by that mercy which doth not onely satisfie the rigour of his Justice but renders him Propitious also to us Say but the Prayer above and see if it be not home to all this purpose The Gospel Matt. 22. v. 1. 1 And Jesus answering spake again in parables to them saying 2 The Kingdome of heaven is likened to a man being a King which made a marriage to his son 3 And he sent his servants to call them that were invited to the marriage and they would not come 4 And again he sent other servants saying tell them that were invited behold I have prepared my dinner my beeves and fatlings are killed and all things are ready come you to the marriage 5 But they neglected and went their wayes one to his farme and another to his merchandize 6 And the rest laid hands upon his servants and spitefully entreating them murdred them 7 And when the King did hear of it he was wroth and sending his hosts destroyed those murtherers and burnt their City 8 Then he said to his servants the marriage indeed is ready but they that were invited were not worthy 9 Go ye therefore into the high wayes and whomsoever you shall find call to the marriage 10 And his servants going forth into the wayes gathered together all that they found bad and good and the marriage was filled with guests 11 And the King went in to see the guests and saw there a man not attired in a wedding garment 12 And he said to him Friend how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment but he was dumb 13 Then the King said to the wayters binde his hands and feet and cast him into the utter darknesse there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth 14 For many are called but few elected The Explication 1. BY this way of parables Christ did often instruct and illuminate the Jewes who were very intentive to any parabolical sense and much pleased therewith 2. By the Kingdome of heaven is here understood the Church militant which is truly a Kingdome purchased by the blood of Christ and the time when this marriage was made was when Christ became man who being the second person of the blessed Trinity was espoused to his holy Church So the King here mentioned is God the Father sending down his Son to be married to his said Spouse the holy Church 3. The servants meant in this verse were the Patriarks and Prophets of the old Law who could not prevail with the Jews to come unto the wedding feast that God had by these his servants invited them unto 4. The servants in this verse were the Apostles their disciples and all missionary Priests of the new Law of Christ These were bid tell the people invited and with great reason the wedding feast was ready for so the word dinner here imports By the beeves and fatlings are understood the Sacrifices Sacraments Sermons Martyrdomes and all other spiritual food prepared for souls in holy Church 5. By these are understood men preferring the world before God and so refusing to be reconciled for fear of loosing their estates by the penal lawes of man made against the followers of the Law of Christ The farm and merchandize are here set down in lieu of all other worldly occupations withdrawing soules from the service of God 6. These are such as did not onely refuse themselves to become good but proceeded farther in their malice by opposing others in their way of vertue in a word by persecuting the people of God the true Church of Christ Such were those who put to death the Apostles such they who now execute the Priests that succeed the Apostles in the ministery of Gods holy Word 7. This verse tells us that God perceiving the wickednesse of those who persecuted his Saints as the Jewes had done his sacred Son sent in his wrath Titus and Vespasian to destroy the Jewes to sack Jerusalem and therein to pull down the Temple of Solomon the miracle in a manner of the world So
meant a servile one neither such as servants are in towards their Masters but a filial one such as Children are in towards their Parents For then we best fear Christ when we love him most so by the fear of Christ is here understood also the love of him which makes us subject our selves to those superiours whom he hath placed over us Note lastly though superiours may and must bear a commanding hand outwardly over their Subjects yet they may and must to be perfect be even subject that is think themselves inferiour to their own Subjects in the sight of God as if God were better pleased with the Subjects obedience then with the superiours commands for this latent subjection is compatible even with open superiority and in this sense the Apostles words requiring all perfection in both parties may exhort to an absolute mutual subjection unto one another in the fear of Christ The Application 1. SAint Paul in the three first Verses of this Epistle exhorts the Ephesians to a wary and wise walking because the dayes are evil And least they should not understand what he meant by this he concludes those are wary and wise steps which are made according to the will of God In the fourth Verse he dehorts from Drunkenness and Riots but allows Repletion with the spirit In the three last Verses he shews evident signes of spiritual repletion as singing forth the praises of God and giving him thanks in the Name of his sacred Son who hath set us in so sweet a way of government as that our subjection to one another is without all fear but that of offending Jesus Christ 2. What can our charity cull out of this but that she ought to day so warily so wisely to walk as if she were passing some narrow stony Lane full of Thorns so that every step she made must be with hazard of a trip or stumble if not of salling too or at least of running a thorn into her foot and crippling her self And such she may presume the passage is when either the stone of scandall lies in her way or the briar of vainglory in her own actions that are good and laudable for in such occasions she must first by prayer indeavour to understand the will of God which never allows of scandalizing others under the fairest pretext that can be made of doing good He that says Wo be to the world from scandals knew it was not onely the ruine of him that gave it but of all that took it And when we read that to God alone is due all honour and glory we are forbid to arrogate either of them to our selves for that were to set up a Pew or seat for the Devil in the Quier of Jesus Christ and to sing the Dirge of our own damnation instead of praising and glorifying God for having done that good work in us which he is ready to crown with our salvation if we shall religiously ascribe all praise to him all blame to our selves To conclude then we are rightly subject to man according to the will of God when we dare displease the first to please the last saying with the Apostle If I should yet seek to please men I were not the servant of God meaning in those things onely where man commands against the will of God 3. But holy Church is not content to point us out our way to tell us what we are to do she further is solicitous to beg of God that he will give us grace to do as we are taught and this she begs to day so artificially as if she hop'd to prevent all sin by asking pardon for it ere it were committed under pretence that God would never suffer right believers to be other then faithfull lovers too exact performers of his holy will so far as in them lay Yet because our Beings are forc'd out of the Nothing that we were before God made us Be therefore all our actions so far as they are ours tend to the Nothing that we were for which cause holy Church gives it for granted all we do must needs be Nothing for so we may well call sin and therefore without scruple she begs a pardon for mistreading even in her most wary walking she begs a peace before the war be made to shew she makes a war against her will at least while she sins of frailty not of malice and thence petitions that being by the grace of God purg'd from the guilt of all offence she may serve his divine Majesty securely with a contented soul such as freed from fear of any thing but sin and flying that can like the early Lark rise from the earth singing the praises of Almighty God Say now the Prayer above and see if it import not full as much as this The Gospel Iohn 4. v. 46. c. 46 And there was a certain Lord whose Son was sick at Capharnaam 47 And having heard that Jesus came from Jury into Galilee he went to him and desired him that he would come down and heal his Son for he began to die 48 Jesus therefore said to him unless you see signes and wonders you believe not 49 The Lord saith to him Lord come down before that my Son die 50 Jesus said to him go thy Son liveth the man believed the word that Jesus said to him and went 51 And as he was going down his servants met him and they brought word saying that his Son lived 52 He asked therefore of them the hour wherein he was amended and they said to him that yesterday at the seventh hour the Feaver left him 53 The father therefore knew that it was in the same hour wherein Jesus said to him thy Son liveth and himself believed and his whole house The Explication 46. SAint Irenaeus will have the Centurion of whom Saint Matthew speaks in his eighth Chapter to be this Lord whom here Saint John mentions but it is more probable to be another because that Centurion did believe by the motive of this precedent cure and seeing Christ ready to go to his servant stopt him and said he needed not give himself the trouble of that labour but it would suffice if he did command the cure by a word of his mouth Matth. 8.8 whereas this Lord presseth Christ to go Again that Centurion asked the cure of a Palsie this Lord of a Feaver That Christ going and almost coming near him cured this he did not go unto nor stir towards Hence this must needs be a different cure from that and was indeed precedent to it as we said above 47. Note this Lord went from Capharnaam to Cana in Galilee fourteen Leagues off out of the fame he had heard of Christ his great cures but not believing this was done by any other then humane means he asked him rather as a famous Doctour then as otherwise qualified to come unto his son and cure him or if he did believe he could cure by touching the diseased yet he did not
believe the touch of his vertue was sufficient unless he added thereunto the touch of his person so he pressed him to go personally to his son 48. Be the opinion of the Lord what it will concerning Christ his power whether as Doctour or as God that he did his cures certain it is Christ his meaning was to bring men by the fame of his works to believe in his Deity and therefore he replies to this Lord as if he must have signes and wonders done to work belief into him Note that signes and wonders thus differ the first are properly done in and by nature gently operating as curing diseases which need not any power above nature the second is commonly miraculous and is therefore done by a power exceeding natures force of this sort is raising the dead So by wonders here are understood miracles and all little enough to make the Jews believe 49. It seems by this reply the Lord shewed himself to be rather of the Jewish then of the Samaritan that is of the Gentiles race for you see he believes in no virtual but will have an actual touch to cure his son lest he die for want of such a touch and no Nation so hard of belief as the Jewish 50. O strange clemency in our Saviour he rebukes no more but by yielding to humane infirmity confirms this Lord in the belief of his Deity for the more he doubted of Christ his power to be able at a distance to cure his son the more he must admire to see it done at the same distance and the more he admires at the thing done the better he thinks of the power doing it and the stronger is his faith in him that gives testimony of such a power Lo by this art our Saviour converts this Infidel by doing at a distance what the other thought was impossible so to be done whereupon our Saviour sayes to him Go thy son liveth that is as much as to say he is cured and shall live Now though this Lord did not sufficiently believe in Christ his distantial operative virtue yet he nothing doubted of his presential veracity but firmly believed what he said or promised here would undoubtedly be verified and made good there where his son was Hence the Text sayes he believed and went to enjoy the hopes of his belief by finding him well for the words of our Saviour were not onely affirmative or enunciative but operative too that is did effect the thing they declared to be done and this effect the Lord did confidently believe So by this means Christ wrought two miracles one in curing the corporal sickness of the son the other in curing the spiritual disease of the father his infidelity and it may not be wide of the sense to say the later cure prevailed to obtein the first for it seems the child proved well just at the time the father did believe he should find him so when he came home 51. 52. These two verses seem to tell us onely for they import little else besides this remarkable sign of Gods goodnesse to prevent the father in the satisfaction he expected by ordaining his servants should meet him and give him the certainty thereof and thereby the reward of his belief soone then he did expect it which was not before he had seen his son well at home but now he finds it is true ere he gate unto his house much lesse unto his son for it seems they were come the day before from home since they told him he was yesterday recovered to meet their master with this gladsome tidings of his sons recovery Yes indeed God is so good he rather anticipates then protracts his servants rewards when they do well 53. The reason why the exact hour of the childs recovery was enquired after by the father was to satisfie his family as well as himself that this was a miraculous and not a natural cure since the child lying at the point of death was proved to recover just at the instant wherein our Saviour said he lived or which is here all one that he was well for it was proper enough to speak this later by the former words since the father had told our Saviour his son began to dye was actually agonizing or dying whereupon Christ told him he did live as who should say there was not in him any danger of death And since this danger was prevented by the virtue onely of a word out of our Saviours mouth spoken at that minute when it was doubted whether he were dead or alive so dangerous a case he was in those who heard of this prodigious alteration upon the meer and sole prolation of a word were immediately converted and became as faithful believers in our Saviours Deity as their Lord and Master was so every way is it true that God his works are absolutely perfect Deut. 32. v. 4. since here we see by the force of one onely word of God the father son and all the family became of Jewes good Christians and doubtlesse so continued and so dyed having the same their converter who was their Saviour and who questionlesse converted them to save them all To conclude if we will understand this story mystically we may conceive this Lord to be the soul of man called little King as being allied to the King of heaven his sick son to be his depraved will his servants his corporeal senses his ague his inordinate appetites or desires This soul sick as above is cured by Christ in holy baptisme and made of a petty King of an heir to the world a great King indeed an heir to the Kingdome of heaven her cure is said to be perfected at the seventh hour because the number seven is a type of the Sabbath or day of rest or of the seven-fold healing Spirit of God the Holy Ghost conveyed into our soules by the seven Sacraments while in them his holy grace is bestowed on us or of the number seven divided into three and four betokening the mystery of the sacred Trinity dispersed into and reigning over all the four corners of the world East West North and South The Application 1. SInce the story of this Gospel is all parabolical and concludes that in recompence of this Lords faith his sick son was cured and his whole family with himself was converted to the faith of Christ we that have already the happinesse to be of this faith are taught yet by this parable how to perfect it upon all occasions by producing frequent and deeper acts thereof then as yet we have done For here in this Lord we see three degrees of Faith the first that faint one when he besought our Saviour to come to his house and cure his son the second that stronger one when after Christ had bid him go for that his son was well then he believed the touch of his power was equal to that of his person and the third that strongest of all which made him go
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
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