vsuall with God to take the wilie in their owne craftinesse and therefore seeing Herod mocked the Wisemen it pleased the Lord to direct the Wisemen in such a course that they likewise mocked Herod The craftie Fox deluded the Wisemen in telling them he would if after their diligent search hee should vnderstand where he was adore the babe for his intent was sauire non seruire to woorie not to worship that innocent Lambe And the Wisemen deluded Herod in returning to their Country not by Hierusalem as they went but another way Then Herod seeing hee was mocked of the Wisemen was exceedingly wroth and sent foorth men of warre c. for when once tyrants cannot preuaile with craft they come to crueltie when Politicians Rhetoricke failes Carters Logicke must doe the feat Great bodies are discerned easily with a little light but small things are not found in the darke without a great light God the Father in the Creation of the world is so glorious and so great that the little light of nature sheweth his handie worke Psalm 19.1 but God the Sonne in our Redemption is so little that we need a great starre to direct vs vnto the babe Iesus lying in a manger a large measure of faith and grace to finde the great God made a little childe No maruell then if Herod could not finde seeing he did seeke not in faith as hoping to be saued by Christ but in furie meaning to destroy Christ. And the reason heereof is rendrâ—d in this present Chapter at the 3. verse When Herod heard of Christs birth at Bethlehem hee was troubled and all Herusalem with him as fearing that this babe being lineally descended from the seed of King Dauid should in time challenging the Scepter of Iudea thrust him out of his kingdome Successor instat pellimur Satelles i fâ—rrum rape Perfunde Câ—nas sâ—nguine Mas omâ—is infans occâ—deâ— Scrutare nutricum â—inus Interâ— materna â—berâ— Ensem cruenter pusiâ— O foolish Herod wilt thou not suffer the King of heauen and earth and the whole world to reigne in â—uâ—ie wilt thou be so barbarous as fearing thy successour to kill thy Sauiour Well maiest thou seeke but thou thalt not see the destruction of his Kingdome for his Scepter is a right Scepter and his Trone is for euer and euer Well maiest thou destroy the bodies of poore children but their liues are hâ—d with the babe Iesus in God and â—o thy mischiefe shall turne to mercie Quoâ— Rex impius eximit maâ—do Christus inserit Carlo for they died for him who was to die for them and so death had no conquest ouer them Moriuntur propter Christum qui 〈…〉 facit vt ipsâ— miâ—â— morte teneri possent Herod represents the deuill who stands before the woman in the wildernesse great with childe readie to deuoure her babe Hee knew that the seed which should breake his head was to be borne of the Iewes and therefore caused Pharao to murther all the Hebrew males Exod. 1. and stirred â—p Haman to destroy the whole Nation of the Iewes Ester 3. and Athalia to kill all the sonnes of Dauid 2. Kings 1â— and here so soone as the noise was of Christs birth hee did cut the throats of all the children in Bethlehem and in all the coâ—sts thereof from two yeeres old and vnder Mystically Satan as soone as he seeth in anâ—â— any good motion he stands as Herod here ready to kill it although it be neuer so little a babe In Râ—man as there a voice heard That is in excelso for the voice of bloud is loud and câ—ieth euen from earth vnto heauen euery murther is sacriledge for that our bodie are the temples of the holy Ghost 1 Cor. 6.19 Herod then at once committed many foâ—le sacriledges in slaying so many both in towne and countrey who were so great innocents in being so little children that as Prudentius excellently Locum minutis aâ—rubus Vix interemptor invenit Que plagade seendat patens Iugloque maior pâ—gio eâ—t This barbarous outrage caused lamentation weeping and mourning that is lamentation of the mothers weerâ—â—â— of the children and such a mourning on all sides as that the cry penetrating the clouds and knocking at heauen gate did enter into the cares of the Lord of hostes Horrendis grauiter Coelum pulsasse querelis The Epistle Rom. 4.8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sinne c. OVr Apostle conâ—â—mes in this Chapter that do 〈◊〉 which hee deliuered in the former namely 〈…〉 of the Law but freely 〈…〉 and this he prooues in our text by 〈…〉 â—â—pecially 1. From 〈◊〉 monie 〈◊〉 is the man c. 2. From 〈◊〉 example Wee say that faith was imputed vnto Abraham for righteousnesse c. Now Paul mentioneth Abraham and Dauid in this controuersie because their workes were most glorious among the Iewes in somuch as they called Abraham father and Dauid is stiled a man according to Gods owne heart The paterne then of Abraham accounted righteous before God by faith and the precept of Dauid affirming that our blessednesse consists in the remission of our sinnes and not in the perfection of our vertues are both exceeding fit and well accommodated vnto the present purpose Blessed is the man By blessed in the Psalme Paul vnderstands heere iustified for iustification is blessednes begun glorification blessednesse perfited In this life blessednesse is but begun and therefore Dauid faith in the cited Psalme For this shall euery one that is godly make his prayer vnto thee in a time when thou mayest bee found And Christinioyneth vs daily to pray for giue vs our trespasses in the world to come blessednesse is consummated for when we shall haue no more sinne then we shall haue no more sorrow Whose vnrighteousnesse is forgiuen Some distinguish thus iniquities are forgiuen in Baptisme couered in repentance not imputed in martyrdome Other thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are transgressions against the word written according to that 1 Iohn 3.4 and so the Iewes hauing Gods Law did offend 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are trespasses against the rule of nature not ingrauen in stone nor written with inke but imprinted in the conscience and so the Gentiles hauing not the law were sinners Other thus originall iniquities are forgiuen in Baptisme quoad Culpam and actuall transgressions are couered in loue quoad pâ—nam or iniquitâ—tâ—t are faults of infidelitie called in holy Scripture sinne Catexâ—chen Iohn 16.8 He will reproâ—â— the world of sinne that â— as Christ expounds himselfe of vnbeliefe peccata are faults in manners as other our sins are forgiuen in respect of the wrong done to God and couered in respect of the shame due to vs vt sic velentur nâ— in indicio reuclentur For in sinne three things are to be
day Come to Christ and he will bring it to passe that thy greatest enemy shall if he haue any sparke of grace confesse ingeniously to thee as Saul once to Dauid thou art more righteous then I for thou hast rendred me good and â— haue rendred thee euill Hee shall make thy righteousnesse as cleare as the light and thy iust dealing as the noone day Psalm 37.6 Art thou much afflicted with sicknesse I saith the Lord am he who kill and giue life wound and make whole bring downe to the graue and raise vp againe I am the resurrection and the life hee that beleeueth in me though he were dead yet shall he liue Ioh. 11.25 The 2 burthen is that â—f the law a yoke which neither our fathers nor we were able to beare saith S. Peter Act. 15.10 a yoâ—e of bondage a heauie burthen and grieuous to be borne Now Christ easeth vs of this burthen also being made vnder the law to redeeme them vnder the law He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against vs which was contrary to vs and tooke it out of the way nailing it to hiâ— crâ—ssâ— So that if Satan that informer and common accuser of vs all obiect the lawes obligation against vs our answere may be that the debt is payed and the bond cancelled If his euidence be good let him if he can shew it in the court Christ is the end of the law Rom. 10.4 For the law was added because of the transgression vntill the blessed seed came to the which the promise was made Galath 3.19 The Prophets and the law did endure till Iohn but since the kingdome of heauen suffereth violence and the violent take it by force The blessed seed is come when once Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith and then it is time for the law to bee paâ—king out of the conscience then her kingdome is at an end Come therfore to Christ all ye that labour vnder the yoke of the law written and all ye which are laden with the burthen of pharisaicall traditions vnwritten and yee shall finde rest vnto your soules The third burthen is of sinne the which is so weighty that Zecharias calles it a talent of lead and Dauid who felt the load himselfe saith of it expresly there is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sinne for my wickednesses are gone ouer my head and are like a sore burthen too heauie for me to beare And heere let vs obserue with Euthymius that sinne is first a labour in accomplishing and then a load when it is accomplished The couetous incontinent ambitious exceedingly labour to compasse their vnlawfull desires and yet when all is done they remaine still as men vndone For no man is more beggerlike then a couetous wretch in an opulent fortune nor more base then a proud man in the midst of his honour There is a labour in geering these things and when once they be got a load All is but â—â—nity and vexation of spirit They who truely repent them of their sin feele this burthen in this world and they who being irrepentant are in a reprobate sense shall at the last day notwithstanding confesse to their endlesse shame We haue wearied our selues in the waies of wickednesse and destruction Now Christ saith vnto such as grieue and groane vnder the burthen of their sinnes I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance the spirit of the Lord is vpon mee that I should preach the Gospell vnto the poore he hath sent me that I should heale the broken hearted that I should preach deliuerance to the captiues and recouering of sight to the blind He calleth all that labour siue secundum naturam in qua nascimur siue secundum culpaem qua transgredimur siue poenam in qua morimur All men as you haue heard sufficiently yet onely such as labour and are laden with the burthen of their sinnes efficiently The carnall and carelesse haue eyes and see not eares and heare not hearts and vnderstand not How often would I saith hee who calleth all haue gathered you together as the hen gathereth her chickins vnder her wings and ye would not And in this present chapter at the seuenteenth vers We haue piped vnto you and ye haue not danced we haue mourned vnto you and ye haue not lamented That is as Ambrose construeth it we haue preached vnto you the sweet comforts of the Gospell and ye haue not reioyced in spirit we haue denounced vnto you the terrible iudgements of God contained in the law and yee haue not trembled at our words O thinke on this all yee that forget God all yee that stop your eares and harden your hearts at his voice repent and exhort one another while it is to day seeke the Lord while hee may bee found and call vpon him and come vnto him while he is neare Esay 55.6 Yea but where shall wee find thee sweet Iesus I am saith he found in my workes and in my words and in my Sacraments In my workes for they beare witnesse of me they shew that by me the blind receiue sight and halt go and the leapers are cleansed and the dead are raised vp Matth. 11.5 In my word for the Scriptures are they which testifie of me There you shall reade how God so loued the world that he gaue his only begotten Son that whose euer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life Iohn 2.16 in my sacâ—arâ—â—is he that eare 〈…〉 blood dwelleth in me and 〈◊〉 ye come to my table ye shall be refreshed 〈…〉 my blood refâ—â—teris 〈◊〉 necesseris de 〈…〉 〈…〉 to the comming or motion and that is by 〈◊〉 and not by feet moribus non pedibus by loue not by leggs come to me then in saith and 〈…〉 yoke 〈…〉 to hope and learne â—f me meekâ—es and lowlinesse in â—one he that comes to God must beleeue that God is and that he is a rewarder of such as seeke him hee must in hâ—pe beare Christs yoke the which in respect of the present labour is heauen but in respect of the â— fâ—ture retribution hope 〈◊〉 to saith he must adioyne loue whereof there be two principall obiects and two principall offices the principall obiects of our loue are God and our neighbours lowlinesse in heart disposeth aright of our loue toward God and meeknes sheweth how wee should demeane our selues in our cariage toward our neighbours the two principall offices of our loue are to giue and to forgiue lowlinesse is ready to giue euery man his due meeknesse to forgâ—ue euery man his debt or we must be mites 〈◊〉 humiles mentibus in our outward behauiour toward other meeke in our inward conceit of our selues humble lowly not in
Prouerbs 24.23 The Thebans hereupon vsually pourtraied their Prince blinde with eares and the Iudges assisting him in Iustice without hands Blinde lâ—st he should haue respect of persons with eares that hee might heare both parties indifferently the Iudges without hands lest otherwise they might be corrupted with bribes for the gift blindeth the wise and peruerteth the words of the righteous and for this end our forefathers ordayned wisely that euery Iudge should ride his circuit in a Countie farre distant from his owne home whereby he might administer iustice freely without any fauour or feare It was an olde complaint of Diogenes that the greater theeues of the state did ordinarily punish the lesser and another after him that secret pillers of the Common-weale sit on the bench to condemne open robbers standing at the barre Magistrates in our dayes haue their houses seated so neare to Saint Bribes as that few can say with Iob I put on iustice and it couered me my iudgement was a robe and a crowne I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame feuer with Samuel whose oxe haue I taken or whose asse haue I taken or to whom haue I done wrong or whom haue I hurt or of whose hand haue I receiued any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith and I will restore it you None I feare with Nerua who was so good a Prince that hee did auow boldly se nihil fecisse quo minus possit imperio depostio priuatus iuto viuere Some Magistrates vse the lawes as cobwebs only to catch little flies other as fox-nets only to take great ones in a trap and so the statutes of our kingdome as a reuerend father of our Church once said haue a good prologue but bad epilogue their inuention is wise their intention honourable but we saile in execution and a law without execution is as a bell without a clapper A Iudge must haue two kindes of salt in him as Baldus truely the salt of science to know the law and the salt of conscience to determine according to the same neither respecting the person nor expecting the gifts of any himâ— To feare God and to keepe his commandements is the whole duty of man Ecclesiast 12.13 and therefore these two the fearing of God and working â—f righteousnes comprehend our whole duty The first all religious offices of piety toward God the second all righteous offices of charity toward our neighbour Cornelius feare was not seruile but filial he feared God as an obedient child feareth a kind father and God is not our father after this sort but in Christ in whom he is well pleased and in whom he doth adopt vs his children giuing vs his spirit whereby we cry Abba father in a word Cornelius feare was â—aith and by this faith he was accepted with God and this faith openly shewed it selfe in working righteousnesse toward men And therefore such aâ— build vpon this exam â—e free will and iustification by workes are deceiued exceedingly for Cornelius is said here first to feare God and then afterward to worke righteousnes Hee had heard among the Iewes of Gods holy promise concerning the sending of his sonne our Sauiour the which hee beleeued as the Patriarkes and the Prophets and other of Gods people who liued before Christs comming into the world and this faith as Paul speakes wrought by loue Galat. 5.6 It is worth obseruing that this commendation of Cornelius is remembred often in holy Scriptures as a speciall infallible marke of Gods children Iob a iust man and one that feared God Simeon was a iust man and feared God but euermore the fearing of God as being the beginning of wisedome is mentioned as the chiefe note Father Abraham a man who feared God Gen. 22.12 Ioseph a man who feared God Gen. 42.18 The Midwiues in Egypt feared God Exod. 1.17 If the fearing of God once goe before working of righteousnesse will instantly follow after according to that of the wiseman hee that feareth the Lord will doe good If thou seest a man in a desperate course selling himselfe as it is said of Ahab to worke wickednes rising vp early to follow drunkennes and continuing at the â—auerne till it bee night drawing iniquitie with cordes of vaâ—ity and sin as it were with cartropes it is a sure signe that the true feare of God is not rooted in his soule for whosoeuer hath a caâ—â— to liue religiously toward God will also so farre as humane frailtie will suffer liue soberly toward himselfe and righteously toward his neighbour Yee know the preaching The narration and confirmation ensuing are a little creed containing the chiefe articles of holy beliefe but the point vrged by the blessed Apostle most is the resurrection of Christ expresly setting downe 1. The author of his resurrection him God raised vp 2. The time when the third day 3. Before what witnesses openly shewing him vnto vs witnesses chosen before of God 4. What he did after he rose froÌ„ death he did eate and drinke with as 5. What he said he commanded vs to preach vnto the people to testifie that it is he which was ordained of God to be the iudge of the quicke and the dead In this argument of Christs resurrection the Gospell and Epistle meet and both are full and fit for the present feast of Easter In that S. Peter maketh Apostles and Prophets ioynt witnesses of all these things he doth insinuate that Christ is the beginning and end of the whole Scripture qui in lege velatur in euang◠〈…〉 See Gospell 1. Sun in aduent The Gospell LVK. 24.13 Behold two of the Disciples wâ—nt that same day to a towne called Emmaus c. THis Scripture containeth a sweet conference betweene Christ and two Disciples as they iourneyed in the way from Hierusalem to a townâ— called Emmaus The summe whereof is that Christ Iesus is truly risen agâ—â—ine from the dead as hauing 〈◊〉 all things which Moses anâ— the Prophets haue spoken of him The whole may be diuided into three parts A Prologue which occasioned the conference verse 13.14 wherein these circumstances are considerable Who two of the Disciples When that same day Where in the way betweene Hierusalem and Emmaus What they talked together of all the things that had happened Dialogue or the conference it selfe wherin Christ sheweth his tender care toward his Disciples in drawing neere to them vers 15. walking talking with theÌ„ v. 17.19 correcting them for their errour v. 25 directing them in the truth and that by words arguing froÌ„ reason v. 26. authority v. â—7 deeds hee sâ—t at table with them hee tooke bread c vers 30. Epilogue declaring what ensued vpon the conference to wit an ingenuous confession of the faith in the two Disciples did not our harts burne within vs c. earnest desire to confirme the same truth in other and they