12 13. 44. From these the like particulars in this Prophet we may obserue this generall That in all or most places wherein the manifestation of the Messias or propagation of his Kingdome is mentioned there is still foretold some strange miracle or wonder to be wrought in the desart and in particular the bursting out of waters The question is in what sense these and like places haue beene fulfilled or whether the predictions were plainely literall or rather by way of Parable or Allegory Whatsoeuer may bee said or thought of some of these predictions certaine it is that others of them were neuer verefied or fulfilled according to the literall plaine or natural sense of the words either before or about our Sauiours manifestation in the wildernesse That is as much as to say The mysteries heere truely foretold vpon Iohns baptisme were not fore-shaddowed or prefigured by matter of deed or fact or by any such reall representation as these words properly imply or by any naturall or visible alteration of the soyle or trees in the wildernesse Onely the manner of the Prophesie or prediction is Emblematicall or Allegoricall that is the mysteries heere fore-told were such in respect of mens soules bodies or affections as these alterations in the soile or trees of the wildernesse if they had literally falne out might haue beene true shaddowes or pictures of them To begin with that place whence Iohns Commission tooke his beginning Isaiah 40. vers 3 4. The voyce of him that cryeth in the wildernesse Prepare yee the way of the Lord make straight in the desart a high way for our God Euery Valley shall bee exalted and euery Mountaine and Hill shall be made low and the crooked shall be made streight and the rough places plaine We are not hence to beleeue as some later Iewes foolishly dreame that all the Hils in the wildernesse or place where the Messias was to be maÌ„ifested were to be leuelled with the Valleys or lower ground or that all the high-waies for men to come vnto him should be made as plaine smooth as a bowling-Alley or Garden walke The intent or purport of the Prophet was that this Cryer in the wildernesse was so to prepare the hearts the affections and dispositions of mens minds that they should not bee offended in Christ or the Messias when he should be reuealed that they should remoue all stumbling blockes of pride arrogancy couetousnesse peruersnesse hypocrisie or the like which did hinder them from comming vnto him with all their soules and all their hearts So when it is said The Lord would turne the thorne into the Firre tree or the bryer into the Myrtle tree in the wildernesse we must not imagine such a reall or corporeall transmutation vpon our Sauiours approach For if this Metamorphosis had bin made Iohn should not haue been a Cryer in the wildernesse but in the garden What then doe the words according to the Prophets naturall meaning and intention import As true as reall and strange an alteration in mens soules and affections which thus harkned to the Cryers voice as the supposed change of the thorne into the Firre tree or the bryer into the Myrtle tree or the change of the wildernesse it selfe into a garden if that had beene really and miraculously wrought could haue fore-pictured or fore-shaddowed The Metapâ—â—â— or Aâ—â—gory is no other then that of the same Prophet Isaiah 5. vers 7. The Vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Iudah his pleasant Plant and hee looked for Iudgement but behold oppression for righteousnesse but beheld a cry Thaâ— this is the intent and meaning of Isaiahs poeticall manner of prediction or figuratiue kinde of speech on the fore-cited places may bee gathered from Iohn Baptist himselfe whose Interpretation of them in this place is liâ—erall though his speech be metaphoricall and suteable to the former Allegorie For the tenour of his proclamation or crying in the wildernesse was Repent for the Kingdome of God is at hand Now Repentance according to the strict and proper sense of the originall imports a mutation of the mind And Iohn in the very next words expresseth wherein this change of mind whereto he exhorts them doth consist Bring foorth fruites worthy repentance Math. 3. vers 8. This he spake vnto the Pharises and Sadduces when they came vnto his baptisme whom he termeth a generation of vipers more barren vnto all good workes or fruits of the Spirit then the thornes in the wildernesse or the Brambles in the desart and yet as proud that they were Abrahams sonnes as the bramble in the parable of Iotham Iudges 9. vers 15. which sought to bee anoynted King ouer the trees of the Forrest All of them expected to bee heires of the Kingdome of Heauen which they rightly beleeued should bee established in the dayes of the Messias or Christ. Howbeit they thought the chiefe glory of this Kingdome should consist in their tyrannizing or domineering ouer the Gentiles like Lords and Kings For quelling this humour and working that change of mind wherein true repentance consists Iohn admonisheth them Thinke not to say within your selues We haue Abraham for our Father This proud conceit was as a Mountaine which was to be remoued ere they could come to Christ For I say vnto you that God is able out of these stones to raise vp children vnto Abraham Matth. 3. This last clause in its literall and proper sense imports a more miraculous change than the turning of the bramble into the Myrtle or the thorne into the Firre tree than the exalting of valleyes into mountaines And yet rather then Gods promise should not haue beene accomplished this speech of Iohn must haue been fulfilled in its strict and proper sense Howeuer literally fulfilled it was in the adoption of Publicans and sinners of whom it was meant by Iohn to be Abrahams seede and heires of promise But the Baptist continueth his former Allegory or parabolicall speech according to the Prophet Esaiah's intent and meaning Now also the Axe is laid to the roote of the trees therefore euery tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewne downe and cast into the fire vers 10. None are excepted no not the Of-spring of Abraham for vnlesse vpon the baptisme of water which Iohn administred they become fruitfull like the Vine or Oliue they must be accounted amongst the thornes and brambles and be sentenced vnto the fire 45. But what shall we say of the waters bursting forth in the Wildernesse so often mentioned by the Prophet Isaias Were these predictions as meerely figuratiue as the former and not at all fulfilled according to the literal plaine historicall sense It is probable that they were thus fulfilled and that God had shewne some wonders in the wildernesse in causing springs of water to burst forth in dry and barren places betweene Isaias and Iohn Baptists dayes perhaps before the 107. Psalme was penned which
mentioned Againe happier they were than such men as neuer had beene blinde or lame or leprous or deafe or neuer had tasted of bodily death For albeit the blessings of life of health of strength of soundnesse of limmes were in themselues if wee measure them by themselues the selfe-same in both yet these mentioned in my Text knew much better how to value or prize these bodily blessings aright or how to vse them to their right end by their former long want or absence than others could doe by their continuall presence or fruition of them Againe happy they were in respect of themselues or their former estate much happier in that they were now able to walke whereas before they had beene lame much happier in that whereas now they see they had sometimes bin blinde that whereas now they are cleansed they had sometimes bin Lepers in that such of them as now liue had beene sometimes dead For although the habit be in it selfe much better than the priuation as sight is much better than blindnesse health much better than sicknesse soundnesse of limbes much better than lamenesse life much better than death vet sometimes the sufferance of want or priuation of things in their nature good and pleasant may be more profitable or vsefull for attayning some greater good than the present possession or fruition of good things Now it was not the habit or present fruition of life and health not the right vse of limbes and bodily sences but the former want or priuation of them which was as the root or stock wherein the third part of that happinesse which consists in the health or welfare of the soule was ingrafted If some of these men had alwayes inioyed their perfit sight it is more than twenty to one but that their owne right eyes had offended them and better it were they should haue beene plucked out than haue offended them but best of all that they had none to offend them or draw them from Christ the Fountaine of happinesse vnto other vanities If others of them had beene alwayes sound of body and limbes their owne right hands or feet would haue bin as a stumbling-blocke to them in the way of life and haue hindered them from comming to Christ. If others of them had not bin smitten with leprosie or other like grieuous diseases they had not sought to Christ as to their Physician and not finding him so happy a Physician as they found him for the body they would not so earnestly haue sought vnto him as the only Physician of their soules although he be vsually found of none but such as seek him Finally vnlesse the Lord had humbled all of them with some one or other bodily grieuance or with want and pouerty they had not become so humble in minde or poore in spirit as now they are and not being such they had not beene capable of the greatest miracle or best blessing heere bestowed that is they had not beene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for so it is remarkeably said in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the dead are raysed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the poore as our later English translatiō readeth it haue the Gospel preached vnto them much better I must confesse than some of the ancient Fathers which expound the originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being as the Latines say a Verbe cōmon or as the Grecians say verbum medium that is sometimes actiue sometimes passiue according to its actiue signification in this place and render it thus the poore preach the Gospel But as Maldonate well obserueth for the poore to preach the Gospel was neuer any matter of wonder and therefore no part of our Sauiours message vnto Iohn as being no poynt worthy so great a Master as our Sauiour was solemnely to teach or so great a Scholler as Iohn was solemnely to learne And howsoeuer the word in the Originall be rendred by Interpreters the thing signified by it is the greatest miracle in this Catalogue That the Gospell should be preached vnto the poore as Maldonate would haue it was valdè mirum a great and reall wonder And why so great or reall a wonder Because saith he to haue the Gospell preached vnto them was as much as to haue a promise to be made Kings as he rightly proues from diuers places of this Gospell by Saint Matthew Quid autem admirabilius quà m pauperem Regem fieri What more admirable or wonderfull than for poore men and beggers to be made Kings He further addeth that although the Gospell were equally and indifferently preached to all yet it pleased our Sauiour onely to mention the poore both because that was most strange and vnusuall according to the custome of the world that the poore should haue the promise to bee made Kings and withall that hee might shew himselfe to be the Messias or the Anoynted of the Lord who as the Prophet Esay had fore-told should preach the Gospell to the poore Thus farre Maldonate But vnder correction the originall phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports a great deale more than eyther Maldonate expresseth in Latine when he saith Euangelium praedicatur pauperibus or than is expressed in our latter English the poore haue the Gospell preached vnto them Our former English cometh somewhat neerer the Originall when it saith the poore receiue the Gospell But the vulgar Latine though it misse it many yet in this particular best expresseth the meaning of the Euangelist if the Romish Priests and Iesuites which hold it to be Authentique did vnderstand the meaning of it or improue it to the best sence for so it renders the Originall verbatim Pauperes Euangelizantur For right vnfolding the contents of this speech or taking the full value of the Originall we are to obserue that Verbes passiue whether in the Hebrew Greeke Latine or English may include or import a two-fold passion the one meerely Grammaticall or intentionall the other reall eyther naturall or supernaturall One and the same Verbe may sometimes include the former onely sometimes the latter according to the diuersity of the matter or subiect whereunto it is applyed To giue instance in that speech of Melchizedeck Genes 14. 19. Blessed be Abraham of the most high GOD possessor of heauen and earth And blessed be the most High God which hath deliuered thine enemies into thine hand Now though the word in the Originall be the same though it be for signification as truely passiue when it is said Blessed be the most High God and when it is said Blessed be Abraham of the most High God yet wee must alwayes note this difference in the thing it selfe that whensoeuer God is blessed by man as here he was by Melchizedeck mans blessing can produce no reall passion or alteration in God it can adde no degree of blisse or happinesse to him But whensoeuer man is blessed by GOD his blessing alwayes addeth some increase of blessednesse eyther in his goods in his body or in
hearts can desire euen the fulnes of that true happines which is all that you or any man can desire is only to be sought in Christ in whom it may be found by all For confirming your particular Interest in him and in the blessednes which heere he promiseth the right receiuing of this blessed Sacrament is of all other meanes most effectuall For your better preparation to the due receiuing of it it will bee auaileable to consider the doctrine which my Text affoords that although Christ be a fountaine of happines infinite and inexhaustible although his death whose memory we celebrate whose vertue in this Sacrament we seeke be as it were the opening of this fountaine yet are the streames of blisse and happines which issue from him by his death deriuable onely vnto such as are not offended in him Though the Gospell as our Apostle speaketh Rom. 1. ver 16. be the power of God vnto saluation yet as my Text saith the poore in spirit only take the impression of it Euen power it selfe and goodnesse infinite sufficient in it selfe to saue all though in number infinite is effectuall only in such as are of an humble and contrite heart Of their humiliation or contrition or their poorenes in spirit which is heere mentioned in my Text that might be truely said which our Sauiour doth of Thomas the Apostle his faith Thomas thou beleeuest because thou hast seene happy are they which haue not seene and yet beleeue The most of these men were therefore poore and humble in spirit because the Lord had humbled broken or chastised them some with bodily blindnes others with lamenes some with deafenes others with leprosie or like grieuous sicknes some with death Howeuer becōming once truely humble and poore in spirit though by these and like meanes all of them were truely happy in Christ but much happier and more blessed shall they be whom the Lord hauing not so grieuously chastised in body yet doe become as humble and poore in spirit as they were The best consideration I can commend vnto you for working this humiliation and contrition of spirit is this that as the Ceremonies of the Law were but shaddowes of these things which are now fulfilled in Christ so all the bodily calamities which Christ heere cured in so many seuerall bodies were but as so many sensible types or shaddowes of more grieuous maladies in euery mans soule although by nature wee doe not feele them Some of them were dead in body and all of vs as our Apostle saith are by nature dead in trespasses Now if we doe as truely and heartily bewayle this deadnes of our soules as the poore Widdow of Naim did the bodily death of her onely sonne then as our Apostle saith in the same place Wee are quickned in Christ and he will deliuer our soules vnto vs safe and sound as he did him vnto his mother Some of those were blind in body all of vs were darke in mind euen from the wombe and if we supplicate vnto him with like earnestnes to enlighten our minds as these poore men did to receiue their bodily sight wee shall bee as happy in this cure as they were in the other Some of them were halt and lame and not able to go and we after we haue seene and knowne the wayes of God are more vnable to walke in them than they were to runne a race Some of them were Leapers in body so are we all by nature Leapers in soules But whatsoeuer lamenes infirmitie or disease hath befalne our soules by Adams transgression or by our owne corruption he is both able and willing to worke more miraculous cures vpon our soules than hee did vpon these pooremens bodies so we intreat him as earnestly and heartily as they did 23. None of you I hope conceiueth Christs bodily presence to be either necessary or expedient for curing or healing your soules No mans faith in Scripture is more commended than the Centurions which did not desire our Sauiours bodily presence when he offered it for the healing of his seruant His answere was Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldst come vnder my roofe but speake the word onely and my seruant shall be healed Matth. 8. 8. If this acknowledgement were a document of liuely faith and Christian modesty in this Centurion what can it be but arrogancy and vnbeliefe in the Romanist to thinke himselfe worthy not only of Christs bodily presence vnder the roofe of his house but vnder the roofe of his mouth yea in his stomach But farre bee all such vncleane and carnall thoughts from any heere present Let vs stedfastly belieue that Christs Word is now as powerfull in heauen as it was on earth yet haue wee not onely his Word but the visible pledges of his body and blood for the healing of our soules Whateuer other defect there may be in our preparation for receiuing these pledges of his passion let vs be sure that our intention to humble our selues and amend our liues be sincere and without hypocrisie The second Member of the generall diuision proposed in the former Discourse Parag. 8. What satisfaction this Answere of our Sauiour did giue to Iohn § 24. VErbum sapienti sat est A man of vnderstanding and experience in part acquainted with any businesse on foot perceiueth more by a word or Hint than another of lesse vnderstanding or experience altogether vnacquainted with the same busines would doe by instructions giuen in Folio Now Iohn we know was a man of extraordinary vnderstanding and experience in matters spirituall specially such as concerned Christ to whom hee was the immediate fore-runner vnto which office he was qualified or set apart from the wombe yea sanctified vnto it euen in the wombe as you may reade Luke 1. verse 41. As this qualification made him more docile or capable of good instructions than other children were so his father Zacharias was better able to instruct him in the knowledge of Christ of whose Kingdome and Office he had prophesied than any other Priest or sonne of Aaron could For Zacharias was for ought that wee can gather the onely Prophet then in Israel at least the spirit of Prophesie which for a long time had bin as a fountaine dryed vp did first breake forth in him After that Iohn himselfe came to maturitie of age and vnderstanding he was directed by speciall commission from his God to vsher Christ into the world to induct him into his Propheticall function to declare him to be the Redeemer of Israel to proclaime him to be the high Priest of our soules that was to make the full atonement for the sinnes of the whole world Now vnto Iohn thus well qualified and instructed in matters concerning Christ and in particular acquainted with the carriage of all businesses concerning Christs baptisme or other actions vntill his imprisonment this Answere of our Sauiour Christ especially being framed out of that Prophets words which had penned Iohns Cōmission for being
that they may rest from their labours and their workes doe follow them Reuel 14. 13. Againe Noah was a Preacher of righteousnesse Christ was more c. Noah built an Arke into which whosoeuer entered not did perish into which likewise whosoeuer did enter were saued from the Deluge so did Christ build one holy Catholique and Apostolique Church without which none can be saued in which whosoeuer is found shall be vndoubtedly saued from those euerlasting flames wherewith the World shall be destroyed 32. So then our beliefe that Christ the Son of Mary was the promised Seed which was to come and that he was in part prefigured by Noah may be rightly grounded on the diuine prediction or Prophesie vttered by Lamech it cannot be safely grounded on Lamechs apprehension or application of this prediction Herein perhaps he might erre and so might the best of Gods Prophets erre in the particular determination of time wherein their Prophesies were to be fulfilled or in their applications of them to the persons in whom they might coniecture they should bee fulfilled Nor is error in particulars of this nature so long as men stedfastly beleeue the generall altogether so dangerous as some men thinke it vnlesse it be accompanied with wilfulnesse or obstinacy for that is it which turnes errors into Heresies Abraham himselfe after his beliefe in Gods promises concerning the promised Seed was imputed vnto him for righteousnesse did commit a greater errour in misapplication of that very promise whose beliefe was imputed vnto him for righteousnesse then Euah or Lamech did in misapplying Gods promise concerning the Womans Seed vnto their First-borne if happely they did so misapply it For Abraham by Sarahs perswasion thought Gods promise or prediction concerning his Seed should be fulfilled in the seed or off-spring of Hagar Sarahs hand-maid and continued in this perswasion vntill the Lord rectified it and set his beliefe aright by expresse promise of Isaacs strange and miraculous birth And the euent answering to this promise or prediction was a reall fore-signification or prefiguration of the more strange and more miraculous birth of our Sauiour So likewise was the strange birth and conception of Samson of Samuel and of Iohn Baptist for God in his wisdome did dispence these miraculous blessings of fruitfulnesse vpon Woman by naturall disposition of body or of age altogether barren that they might serue as inducements for establishing the beliefe of posterity concerning the most miraculous conception of the womans Seed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which had beene promised from the beginning And albeit an Angell from Heauen might in reason at least with better reason than any mortall man can pretend exact beliefe vnto his solemne message or predictions without further proofe or experiment yet the Angel Gabriel himselfe the great Embassadour of the blessed Annunciation would haue the blessed Virgin to ground her beliefe not only vpon his sole prediction but withall vpon the fresh and reall experiment of her Cousin Elizabeths strange conception of a sonne in her old age For after the deliuery of his message and his reioynder to her modest reply How shall this be seeing I know not man He finally concludes the Dialogue on his part Behold thy Cousin Elizabeth shee hath also conceyued a sonne in her old age and this is the sixt moneth with her who was called barren for with God nothing shall be impossible Luke 1. 36 37. Nor did the blessed Virgin refuse to make tryall of the signe which hee had giuen her for immediately after the Angels departure from her shee repayred vnto her Cousin Elizabeth as the Text saith in haste where shee found the Angels prediction fully ratified by the euent or fact For vpon the first salutation of Elizabeth the Childe whose conception the Angell told her of did spring for ioy in Elizabeths wombe and for a pledge or token that shee had conceyued by power and vertue of the Holy Ghost her Cousin Elizabeth vpon her salutation was filled with the Holy Ghost in her heart and out of the abundance of her heart thus filled her mouth did speake and vtter that propheticall salutation which the Angell had vsed vnto her with a loud voyce Blessed art thou amongst Women and blessed is the fruit of thy wombe vers 42. And by this spirit of prophesie Elizabeth did then know that that blessed Virgin had conceyued by the Holy Ghost and that then the Childe conceyued by her should bee her Lord and Redeemer the blessed Virgin againe vpon fresh experiments of these facts fully answerable to the Angels prediction was filled with the Holy Ghost and the spirit of prophesie by which shee vttered that excellent saying My soule doth magnifie the Lord c. Now the very Embassage of the Angell Gabricl was really fore-shaddowed or prefigured by the sending of Esaiah the Prophet vnto Ahas the King of Iudah whereof we reade Esay the 7. vers 3. The tenor of the Angels message vnto the blessed Virgin was literally and expresly fore-told by the Prophet vnto Ahas vers 14. Behold a Virgin shall conceyue and beare a Sonne and shall call his name Emanuel Howbeit euen in this Prophesie or testimony of our Sauiours birth and conception there was an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a full concurrence of Prophesie and Type an expresse prediction or fore-telling of what should afterwards come to passe and a reall ouershaddowing or representation of what afterwards did come to passe by matter of present fact or deed that is this Prophesie was truly verified in the Prophets time according to its literall or historicall sence and yet againe exactly and exquisitely fulfilled according to the literall and mysticall sence in our Sauiours birth and conception The signes of both times concerning the estate of Iudah were in proportion the same But the particular and full explication of this Prophesie will come more fitly to bee discussed hereafter 33. For conclusion of the first generall poynt proposed I would request you to note that of such fore-significations concerning our Sauiour Christs conception his birth his baptisme his death his passion as consist in matter of fact or type some are direct others are indirect and signifie by contraries As for example The first Woman was made of Adam by Gods immediate hand not begotten by man and being thus made shee was an inuerted type or shaddow that the second Adam who was to bruise the Serpents head was to be made of a Woman by the immediate hand of GOD not begotten by man Thus much was expresly fore-told by the Prophet Ieremie chap. 31. v. 22. Behold I create a new thing in the Land the female shall compasse or enclose a man or the female shall enclose Geuer But of this poynt you may be satisfied if it please you elsewhere more at large I onely instance in this particular for this time to giue you notice that some things may bee really fore-shaddowed as well by contraries or inuersion of the