fast hold of our former preposition In and to say with the holy Apostles in this place Credo in Deum c. I might be much more plentifull in uses on this subject but that I promised and intended brevitie and therefore this shall suffice Luther said well that there was much Divinitie in Pronounes And here you see that there is some also and that not a little even in prepositions And in Jesus Christ his only Sonne our Lord c. WHere we may first observe as S. Augustine speaketh Quomodo in Patrem sic in Filium credendum est That as we are to beleeve and put our trust in God the Father as I shewed unto you the last day so likewise are we to doe the like in the Son too And in Iesus Christ his onely Sonne c. which shewes him to be God as well as man because we are to put our trust and beliefe in none but only God And therefore Si Deus non sit Filius sed creatura non ergo colendus nec adorandus as the Father goes on If the Son were only man and not God hee were not to be worshipped and adored neither were we to invocate and call upon his Name no nor yet to beleeve and put our trust in him but being God of the substance of his Father as the Nicene Creed professeth The God-head of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost being all one the glory equall the Majestie coeternall as Athanasius Creed hath it therefore we must worship this one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the substance and as we said I beleeve in God the Father so likewise must we say I beleeve in God the Son yea and in God the Holy Ghost too as I may have occasion to shew more at large if I ever come to the handling of that Article I beleeve in the Holy Ghost Now this doctrine of beleeving in the Son and of his God-head and the like teaches us with the more confidence and boldnesse to rely and depend upon him in the matter of our redemption and to have recourse unto him in any our necessities and troubles whether of body or soule because he is God and therefore able to accomplish and bring to passe whatsoever he hath undertaken and findes to bee necessary and needfull for us And indeed to whom else should we goe as Saint Peter saith seeing he only hath the words of eternall life Ioh. 6.68 And therefore Come unto me saith he himselfe all yee that are heavie laden and I will refresh you and ease you Matth. 11.28 But this doctrine and use comes to be handled almost in every Sermon and therefore I proceed And in Iesus Christ his only Sonne our Lord. Where you see the next circumstance is the two names of this sacred Person that we â—rofesse to put our trust and beleefe in first Jesus then Christ And in Iesus Christ His first Name Jesus was the name appointed him by the Angell Gabriel which was Gods messenger sent unto his Mother the Virgin Mary before hee was conceived in her wombe Luke 1.31 32. where it is said by him unto her Feare not Mary for thou hast found favour with God and behold thou shalt conceive in thy wombe and bring forth a Son and shalt call his name Jesus The reason also of the Name being set downe in Saint Matthewes Gospell viz. because hee shall save his people from their sins Matth. 1.21 For the word indeed signifieth a Saviour and Deliverer and therefore is a name fitly given to our Lord Christ because the worke of our salvation both from sin and punishment is wholly and onely wrought by him Wholly because as the Apostle saith He is made unto us of God Wisdome and Righteousnesse and Sanctification yea and Redemption too 1 Cor. 1.30 And therefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them Hebr. 7.25 Yea and only too For there is no salvation in any other neither any other name under heaven whereby men can be saved Acts 4.12 And therefore he saith of himselfe I am the way the truth and the life and no man commeth to the Father but by me Ioh. 14.6 So that he that beleeveth in the Son hath everlasting life and hee that beleeveth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Ioh. 3.36 Because as there is but one God so but one Mediatour betweene God and men the man Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2.5 So that he may justly say as in the Prophet Torcular calcavi solus I have troden the wine-presse alone and of all the people there was none with mee Esay 63.3 For howsoever there have beene many Iesusses in ancient times as Iesus or Ioshua the son of Nun Moses successour Acts 7.45 Iesus the son of Iosedecke Ecclus. 49.12 Iesus the son of Syrach Ecclus. 50.27 also Iesus one of Saint Pauls work-fellowes called Iustus Coloss 4.11 And these or some of these have had their names also given them by reason of saving and delivering yet their deliverances have not beene like this from which this IESUS the Sonne of God which we professe here to beleeve in doth deliver those that put their trust in him But their deliverance have beene onely corporall this spirituall their 's temporall this eternall theirs from bondage slavery or some pressures of the body this from the most dangerous and fearfull sin and sicknesse of the soule He shall deliver his people from their sins ut supra And therefore as I can never be weary of writing or speaking of this saving Name Jesus but when I thinke I have written and spoken enough could enter into a new discourse of it and begin againe so be you never weary of hearing reading and beleeving in it seeing that through this Name all that beleeve in him shall receive remission of their sins as all the Prophets witnesse as it is said Acts 10.43 yea and rejoyce in it too saying with Saint Augustine O Jesu nomen dulce nomen delectabile nomen comfortans O how sweet how delightfull how comfortable is thy saving name Jesus unto mee For here is fuell indeed to kindle the fire and feed the flame of joy to keepe it ever burning on the altar of our hearts that we can say I beleeve in Jesus i. e. the only Son of God and Saviour of the world This is that joy which when we have once truly entertained no man can take from us as our Saviour himselfe saith Ioh. 16.22 wherewith compare what pleasure soever and it is but griefe all sweet is sowre unto this and there is nothing that may delight but it seemes troublesome and offensive in respect of this as devout S. Bernard hath well observed But this is odor sanitatis saith the Apostle a sweet smelling savour unto God Ephes 5.2 Dulcedo animae sanitas
with any jewels stollen from the Aegyptians or fabulous fictions of the Gentiles or sorraine and far-fetcht dresses of humane Arts and Sciences nâ—ither with any other strong and strained lines and the like Sed tantummodo Evangelicis verbis enunciare But fairly smoothly to derive my proofes and interpretation thereof onely from the sacred founâ—aines as I said before For as S. Ierome saith Fides pura aperta confessio non quaerit strophas argumenta verborum that is Subtill and Scholasticall disputes or other verball arguments are no whit requisite in the pure and publike profession and confession of our Christian faith And this sufficeth for the title Now to the words themselves AN EXPOSITION UPON THE Apostles Creed Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem Factorem Coeli Terrae c. That is I beleeve in God the Father Almightie Maker of Heaven and Earth c. WHere first wee are to take notice of the first word Credo I beleeve which shewes as S. Augustine saith Quod non debemus discutere divina judicia sed credere In locum Serm. 181. nec rationem requirere sed fidem simpliciter immobiliter exhibere That wee ought not to question or dispute of divine mysteries but to beleeve them nor so much to require a reason of them as simply and undoubtedly yea immovably and without staggering to submit our faith and credence unto them For there are many things belonging to the salvation of Gods children which if everie plaine and simple man were driven to finde out a reason for upon the paine of his damnation hee were never able to doe it and so consequently could never be saved Nay the most learned and chiefe pillars of the Church of God themselves have beene at a stand in some of them which made S. Paul to cry out Oh the deepnesse of the riches both of the wisdome and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgements and his wayes past finding out Rom. 11.33 And therefore Succumbat ratio fidei captiva quiescat Humane sense and naturall reason must yeeld and submit themselves when faith comes in place For faith is the evidence of things not seene saith the Author to the Hebrewes Chap. 11.1 that is not perceived or understood by the eyes of the body no nor of the minde neither but onely beleeved to be so because God which cannot lie hath said it is so So that Fides incipit ubi ratio desinit There is no place no roome for faith till reason can goe no farther For if wee could comprehend the deepe mysteries of God by reason then it were knowledge and not faith that should apprehend and lay hold upon them Now our knowledge in this life is imperfect saith S. Paul but in the next life we shall know even as we are knowne and see face to face as we are seene For then that which is perfect being come that which is imperfect shall be done away 1 Cor. 13.9 10. But now in this life abideth faith and hope as there followes vers 13. which gave occasion to S. Augustine so often in his works to call this life Tempus fidei The time of faith and beleeving answerable to that of S. Paul elsewhere Nunc per fidem ambulamus c. Now wee walke by faith and not by sight 2 Cor. 5.7 Againe if by knowledge onely men might attaine unto salvation then none but the great Clerks and learned Rabbies of the world should be capable thereof and the illiterat and ignorant poore man such as S. Peter and S. Iohn were before their calling Acts 4.13 should be quite excluded from all hope of grace and mercie But God whose mercies are above all other his works hath otherwise provided that now by the meanes of faith and beleefe the meane as well as the mightie and the poore as well as the rich may be made partakers of salvation And therefore for use and conclusion of this point let us not strive so much in this life to know as to be strong in faith and firmly to beleeve for if wee beleeve now wee shall know hereafter For too great a desire to know hath wrought our woe it being the only occasion first of our sinne and secondly of our miserie Quod homo voluit scire antequam crederet saith Cusanus That man would know before he did beleeve For by this meanes Arbor scientiae complures privavit arbore vitae The tree of knowledge hath deprived many of the tree of life And never any but heretikes did Concludere fidem intra limites humani intellectus as Alfonsus à Castro speakes that is Shut up their faith within the narrow lists and limits of mans shallow and simple understanding but it is the part and propertie of a true Christian Captivare intellectum in obsequium Christi To captivate and subdue his understanding unto the doctrine of Christ Secondly this word Credo I beleeve tells us that we must not only not dispute in matters of faith but so far subject our reason unto faith that wee doe it also without doubting without staggering For Dubius in fide infidelis est It is scarce faith at all if there be any doubting in it as appeares by that speech of our Saviour unto his doubting Apostle Thomas Put thy finger here and put it into my side and be not faithlesse but beleeve Ioh. 20.27 And Vt aliquid fides vere appelletur certitudinem exigit firmitatem in eo qui eam tenet saith the former Alfonsus that is Whatsoever is properly and truly called faith hath certaintie in it and stedfastnesse of beleefe in him that holds it Otherwise saith hee if assurance and stabilitie be wanting and any the least scruple arising it is not to be accounted faith but doubting only or opinion This being the difference between faith and opinion Quod qui credit tenaciter adhaeret That he which beleeves sticks so close unto his Tenet that no man or meanes shall be able to withdraw him from it or to wry him another way whereas hee that doth but hold opinion onely Sic accedit suae sententiae ut aliquantulum haesitet mobili intellectu assentiat Hee comes but doubtingly and with an uncertaine assent unto it As to the opinions of the Philosophers which were truths onely of consequence upon supposed grounds still disputable and therefore still uncertaine Whereas our doctrine the doctrine of Christians is a truth of foundation without question and therefore not disputed but beleeved and thorowly setled in our hearts by the operation and power of him who is both the Author and the Finisher of it as the Scripture speaketh And therefore in these fundamentall grounds of our Christian faith away with doubting and hesitation For hee that doubteth and wavereth in these is like a wave of the sea tossed of the wind and carried away as S. Iames saith Iam. 1.6 But let everie one amongst us not onely men but women also yea and children
Cerdon Manichaeus and the like have rejected the testimony of the old Testament therefore a place or two in the new Testament will not doe amisse To which purpose then heare Saint Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians saying Wee know that there is none other God but one For though there be that are called gods whether in heaven or in earth as there be many gods and many lords yet unto us there is but one God which is the Father of whom are all things and wee in him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him 1 Cor. 8.4 5 6 verses And in another place A mediatour is not of one but God is one Gal. 3.20 And yet farther There is one Lord one Faith one Baptisme one God and Father of all which is above all and through all and in you all Ephes 4.5 6. verses And so much for the unity of God I beleeve in God c. Now if any be over inquisitive to know what or who this one God is I answer with Saint Augustine That the supereminencie of this Deitie passeth mans utterance so that melius cogitatur quam dicitur we can better thinke than speake of God And yet our deepest thoughts also come farre short of apprehending that incomprehensible Majesty because Secretissima res est Deus as Alphonsus speakes quae omnium intellectus maxime fugiat God is so secret a thing that all mans understanding cannot pierce nor prie into him which constrained a great Prophet to crie out and say Vere tu es Deus absconditus Verily thou art a God that hidest thy selfe or an hidden God Esay 45.15 And no marvell seeing as Saint Paul sayes Habitat lucem inaccessibilem Hee dwelleth in the light that none can attaine unto whom never eye saw neither can see 1 Tim. 6.16 which made the Prophet Eliah when the Lord went by him and a mighty strong wind renting the mountaines and breaking the rockes before him to cover his face with his mantle 1 Reg. 19.13 as knowing that his humane sight could not endure the great luster and brightnesse of the divine Majestie For if the children of Israel could not endure the splendour and brightnesse of Moses face after God had talked with him in the mountaine as Exod. 34.30 How much lesse shall humane understanding be able to endure the Majestie of God himselfe when it shall seeke to penetrate and pierce into the deepe mysteries and secrets thereof proprii ingenii acumine only by the strength and perspicacitie of their owne wit and reason And therefore there is nothing wherein wee ought more to captivate and subdue our understanding in obsequium Dei in obedience unto God than in the knowledge of God himselfe Quoniam ad investigandum supremum illud unitatis Trinitatis mysterium nullus intellectus fide destitutus sufficit as Alphonsus goes on because for the finding out of that high and hidden mystery of the Trinitie in Unitie and Unity in Trinitie there is no understanding destitute of faith that is sufficient For indeed the knowledge of God is profundum sine fundo as one saith it is a depth without a bottome So that if any aske saith another quid sit Deus what God is I must answer him Si seirem Deus essem I should be a god my selfe if I knew or were able to tell him Nam Deum nemo novit nec quid sit quisquam scit nisi solus Deus saith Cardan For none knoweth what God is but God alone And S. Austen saith De Deo loquimur quid mirum si non comprehendis Ser. 33. de verbis Dom. ◠si enim comprehendis non est Deus When we speake of God it is no marvell if we doe not understand for if the best of humane capacity and properties whether of body or minde or both were able to comprehend him he were no God And therefore as the holy Father goes on Sit pia confessio ignorantiae magis quam temeraria professio scientiae Let us rather make an humble confession of our ignorance than a proud and rash profession of our science in this point Nam attingere aliquantum te mente Deum magna beatitudo est comprehendere autem omnino impossibile It is a great happinesse for sinfull and mortall man to be able to attaine to some small glimpse and smackering of knowledge concerning the immortal God but to comprehend him throughly it is altogether impossible And therefore it is dangerous for the feeble braine of man to wade farre into the secret depths of the Majestie of the most high God whom although to know be life and joy to make mention of his Name yet our soundest knowledge is to know that we know him not as indeed he is neither can know him our safest eloquence concerning him is our silence when wee confesse with one confession that his glory is inexplicable his greatnesse above our capacity and reach He is above and wee upon earth therefore it behooveth our words concerning him to be wary and few For whosoever shall goe about to search into the secrets and essence of God opprimetur à gloria shall be confounded by the glory of it as the vulgar Latine reades it Prov. 25.27 so that feare and shame shall be his covering as else-where And therefore to such curious searchers who to get themselves a name above other men will seeme to be wise as God nay beyond God and become his counsellers I commend the sage advice of Jesus the sonne of Syracke Seeke not out the things that are too hard for thee neither search the things that are above thy strength but what is commanded thee thinke thereupon with reverence c. Ecclus. 3. about the 21 and 22 verses see that which followes the place is excellent to this purpose For behold God is great and excellent and we know him not saith Elihu Job 36.26 Incomprehensibilis cogitatu our very thoughts cannot comprehend him as the vulgar Latine makes Ieremie to speake Ier. 32.19 No but his very wayes are past finding out as S. Paul saith Rom. 11.33 And therefore that we be not illicite curiosi unlawfully curious let us abstaine from searching into such depths and secrets concerning God as he hath reserved unto himselfe But yet that we be not damnabiliter ingrati as S. Ambrose speakes condemned for ingratitude let us use our best diligence to understand what God hath revealed of himselfe For howsoever the secret things belong unto the Lord yet things revealed belong unto us and our children for ever saith the Scripture Deut. 29.29 And therefore such things we are bound to know as well as beleeve neither can we be ignorant of them without sin there being as well sins of ignorance as of errour and infidelitie which made the kingly Prophet to pray Delicta juventutis meae ignorantias meas ne me mineris as the Latines reade it in our 25. Psal about the 7. verse
God by a Christian conversation but that he did beleeve trust in God what makes the difference between Saints and sinners between the reprobate and the righteous between Iudas Peter but only trust want of trust in God wherfore was the world all that therein is at the the first created but only to make men trust in God How came it by the fall of men and Angels to be corrupted but onely because they forsooke their trust in God and wherefore was it againe redeemed at the last but onely to renew mens trust in God wherefore are all those many and manifold blessings soli poli as well of earth as heaven conferred and bestowed upon the children of God but onely because they trust in God and wherefore are all Gods curses and heavie judgements both of this world and that which is to come inflicted upon the wicked and enemies of God but onely because they have refused to trust in God would wee then avoyd and decline the heavie wrath and vengeance of God prepared for the Devill and his angels let us trust in God or would wee be invested with the glorious liberty of the sons of God and made partakers of the plentious redemption that is in Christ Jesus why then let us trust in God Credere Deum to beleeve that there is a God cannot doe it for this the devils doe beleeve and yet they tremble Credere Deo to beleeve that God is just and true comes likewise short of it for this the wicked may doe nay they shall doe not onely beleeve but finde and feele too the truâ—h of Gods judgements and threatnings against them for their sins to their greater terror and confusion But Credere in Deum This little Monosyllable In added to it only shall and can effect it Loe here then is the little cloud that arose out of the sea no bigger than a mans hand out of which notwithstanding did fall a great raine 1 Reg. 18.44 45 verses Loe here is the little well that grew into a great river and flowed over with great waters Esther 10.6 in the Apocripha Loe here not only the Iliades but the Odisses too of Homer nay the workes and writings of the whole world as well sacred as prophane within the shell of a nut For what good use is to be made of them all but only to cause men to trust in God which service if they doe not in some sort or other promote and advance forward They shall burne in the end like stubble and vanish like chaffe before the face of the winde as being lighter than smoak or vanitie it selfe If then the Gospell of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may fitly be counted and called the Compendium of the whole Bible and this the Apostles Creed the abridgement of the Gospell then likewise our little In here may not unfitly be stiled the epitome of the Creed For whereas there may be said to be two parts of the Creed viz. A dutie required and rewards proposed for the faithfull dispatch and performance of the said dutie This In doth fully performe the dutie in beleeving in the Father in the Son and in the Holy Ghost and so consequently not only intitle us to but invest us with the rewards and they are rich rewards too by making us members of the holy Catholike Church and partakers of the Communion of Saints forgivenesse of sins resurrection of the body and life everlasting And therefore if wee were wont to wonder when wee were children and schoole-boyes at the dexteritie of him that could write the Pater noster within the compasse of a penny pardon the lownesse of the comparison then much more may we now admire the infinite wisdome of God that could contrive the whole substance of his owne will our worship into so small a volume as two small letters and yet this as you have seene is fully and at large pâ—rformed And this may serve to checke and condemne our dulnesse and backwardnesse in Gods service that having so small a lesson to learne and to take forth we are so long in learning it and so hardly brought to put it in practice and execution For who it there that truly beleeveth and putteth his trust in God as it behoveth a Christian man to doe But some put their trust in chariots and some in horses as the Scripture speaketh Some in the strength of their owne armes and others in the invention of their own braines some in the fatnesse of their owne fields and fertilitie of their owne soyles and others in their owne policies in their owne paines in so much as they offer sacrifice to their nets and burne incense to their yarne as the Prophet complaineth of them Habacuk 1.16 So that we may justly take up Davids complaint and say Loe these are the men that take not God for their strength but trust to the multitude of their riches c. Psal 52. But these are but vaine things for vaine men to put their trust in which made Job to protest against such vain confidence saying If I have made gold my hope or said to the wedge of gold Thou art my confidence Job 31.24 As knowing that Sperando pereunt qui sic sperant such hypocrites hope shall perish as himselfe may be said to translate it Iob 8.13 Yea their confidence shall be cut off and their trust shall be but as the house of a Spider They may well leane upon their house but it shall not stand yea though they hold fast by it yet shall it not indure as there followes verses 14 15. For cursed is that man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arme and with-draweth his heart from the Lord Ierem. 17.5 And therefore Salomon adviseth us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not leane so much as to our owne wisdome Prov. 3.5 For blessed are all they said David that trust in him Psal 2.12 Which if it be so saith S. Austen that they are blessed that trust in the Lord Tunc miseri sunt qui confidunt in se They must needs be wretched and miserable that trust only to themselves as the justiciaries and all that boast of their owne righteousnesse doe But S. Paul saith Qui gloriatur in Domino glorietur He that boasteth let him boast in the Lord 1 Cor. 1. vltimò For as S. Augustine goes on Nihil in te placet Deo nisi quod habes ex Deo c. There is nothing in man that can be or is acceptable unto God but that which he hath received from God and therefore seeing there is no good thing in man but what he hath received from God Why doth he glory as though he had not received it 1 Cor. 4.7 Seeing then there is nothing in man whether our selves or others worthy of our trust or dependance on him let us be perswaded as well for the salvation of our soules as the preservation of our bodies to take
he offered up himselfe as there followes verse 27. see also the ninth Chapter of the same Booke to the same purpose vers 24 25. c. And thirdly a Prophet to teach and instruct us in the way of godlinesse and salvation for of him was it said I will raise them up a Prophet among their brethren like unto thee and I will put my words into his mouth and unto him shall they hearken Deut. 18.15 18. Yea the Spirit of the Lord is upon mee saith the Prophet Esay of him because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek to bind up the broken hearted Esay 61.1 And therefore it is likewise said of him This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased heare yee him Matth. 17.5 And therefore seeing he is thus anointed to become all these things unto us let us faithfully beleeve and put our trust in him in this anointed one and we also in an inlarged sense shall be made with him and by him spirituall Kings Priests and Prophets our selves for he being Prince of the Kings of the earth and loving us and washing us from our sins in his bloud hath made us also Kings and Priests unto God his Father Revel 1.5 6 verses First Kings to beare rule over our owne hearts and to master our owne rebellious thoughts wils and affections that so sin may not reigne in our mortall bodies nor we obey it in the lusts thereof as Saint Paul speaketh Rom. 6.12 but as kings and conquerours may fight a good fight and overcome the corruptions of our owne hearts that without resistance will in the end destroy our soules Secondly Priests to offer up to God many spirituall sacrifices As first of Prayer for so saith David Let my prayer be directed in thy sight as incense and the lifting up of mine hands as an evening sacrifice Psal 141.2 Secondly of thanksgiving as the Apostle Let us therefore by him offer the sacrifice of praise alwayes to God that is the fruit of the lips Hebr. 13.15 Thirdly of Almes which is an acceptable sacrifice and pleasing unto God as the same Apostle affirmeth in the very next verse viz. 16. And therefore S. Paul else-where calleth an offering and contribution of the Saints an odour that smelleth sweet and a pleasant and acceptable sacrifice unto God also Phil. 4.18 Fourthly of broken and contrite hearts and soules unto the Lord which as David saith are sacrifices unto God such as he will not despise Psal 51.17 And lastly to offer up our whole soules and bodies to the service of God as S. Paul exhorteth saying I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you give up your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable serving of God Rom. 12.1 And after we have thus beene Priests in offering up all these pleasing and acceptable sacrifices unto God we shall in the last place become Prophets also in applying that knowledge wee have to the benefit and good of others as S. Peter was commanded when hee was converted himselfe to strengthen his brethren Luk. 22.32 And therefore seeing wee have all these great and speciall benefits and blessings by this anoynted one Christ Jesus let us comfort our selves and rejoyce in this name too accounting it the greatest honour unto us that could befall us to be called and stiled Christians according to it for what is that else but anoynted ones that is men set apart and consecrated to these high and honourable offices in the Church of God before expressed And therefore let us be sure to carrie our selves in our lives and conversations answerable to this name by our carefull performance of the former duties lest otherwise it be said of us as of the Church of Sardis Thou hast a name that thou livest but thou art dead Revel 3.1 But if wee walke worthy of this name which we have taken upon us why then we have great cause to comfort our selves and rejoyce in it as Theodosius the Emperour did who thanked God more for that hee was a Christian than fâ—r that hee was an Emperour because as he said the glorie which he had by the one would vanish but the benefits he enjoyed by the other hee knew would continue for ever and this sufficeth for the two names as they are distinguished first Jesus then Christ One observation more from them as they are conjoyned and then I have done and that shall be this that Jesus is an Hebrew and Christ a Greeke name which may intimate unto vs that hee came into the world as well to be a light unto the Gentiles as to be the glorie of his people Israel as old Simeon prophesied of him in his Nunc dimittis Luk. 2.32 The Greeke name Christ belonging to the Gentiles and the Hebrew name Jesus to the Jewes so that now all nations may challenge an interest in the worlds Messias none excluded none exempted for the whole world of people were anciently divided but into these two names and nations of Jewes and Gentiles They only being termed Jewes which were of the seed of Abraham and all nations else that derived not their pedigree from this line were called and accounted by a more generall name Gentiles as might be plentifully proved out of many passages of the holy Scriptures if it were a thing to be doubted or questioned Now then I say in that the Messias being borne of Jewish parents and kindred according to the flesh had yet a Gentile name conferred and bestowed upon him it shewes plainly his verie names significantly speaking so much that hee is come to be a Saviour and Redeemer unto all nations even to the one as well as to the other to the Gentile as well as to the Jew bringing salvation with him unto all men as S. Paul speaketh Tit. 2.11 which was verie happie and welcome newes brought into the world at the incarnation and birth of Christ for before this time the golden scepter of grace was not stretched forth to all nations nor to all countries nor the Chancerie Court of mercie holden generally in all the world but in a corner as it were and in one family or kindred of the Jewes alone till the fulnesse of time came in which this Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Ghost and borne of the Virgine Marie for from the calling of Abraham out of Urre of the Caldees it was onely in that one family increasing sometimes in Canaan sometimes in Aegypt sometimes in the wildernesse travelling and last of all in Canaan againe settled where it grew till it had filled indeed that whole land but yet still it was confined within that nation and people of the Jewes and within that little Kingdome of Canaan which was scarce an handfull in respect of the whole world whose Metropolitan Citie was Jerusalem the glorie and joy for the time of the whole earth for there it pleased the great King of heaven and earth to