some men that is to say to his Mother and to Ioseph whom men tooke to be his Father to whom he was subject as it is written in the second chapter of Luke And for the forme of a servant he said My Father is superiour unto me And for the forme of God which he never left he said in the tenth chapter of Iohn I and my Father are one thing that is to say one substance In forme of God he was superiour to himselfe and in forme of man he was inferiour to himselfe And therefore not without a cause the Scripture saith both the Sonne equall to the Father and the Father superiour to the Sonne the one for the forme of God the other for the forme of man without confounding the one nature into the other both natures of God and man being in one person In the forme of man which he tooke for us hee was borne and he suffered and hee arose from death to life and ascended into heaven By the first two that is to say by his birth and his passion he shewed to us our estate By the two last that is to say his resurrection and his ascention he shewed to us an example of our reward The two first all that be borne doe feele and the two last we shall attaine if we doe beleeve in him And as the Apostle saith Christ thought it no robbery to be equall with God so Saint Iohn in the beginning of his Gospell saith That the word which is the Sonne was God And as Paul saith here That he did abase himselfe to take upon him the forme of a servant so Saint Iohn saith The word of God is made flesh that is to say Man and hath dwelt amongst us God and man in one person For as the number of persons is not increased when the soule is knit to the body to make thereby one man so is not in Christ the number of persons increased when man is knit to the word of God to make one Christ It followeth in the Text He was made in similitude of men that is to say he tooke all our nature upon him albeit he was without sinne and he left no carnall procreation by generation carnall Nor that onely was in him that appeared in outward visage his manhood but godhead also was in him For he was not onely man but in his person godhead was knit with manhood And therefore he saith here that he was like to men but more was in him then is in men For we be made of soule and body he had both soule and body and godhead and therefore he saith here in similitude of men As Saint Paul saith in the eighth chapter to the Romans God sent his Sonne into the world in similitude of sinfull flesh not because hee lacked flesh but because the flesh that he tooke lacked sinne and yet was it like to our flesh which is subject to sinne like by nature but not like by wickednesse It followeth in the Text That in shape he was found as a man that is to say where hee was without bodily shape he tooke upon him the for me and shape of a man abiding still God as he was before but in figure that is to say in flesh he was made a man and clad with manhood as with a cloathing not that his godhead was changed thereby into manhood as the members of a man be not changed by putting on of a new garment And he saith that he was found in shape as a man because hee seemed outwardly but one of the common sort of men and yet he was more then so For he was God therewith and yet was he a very man in nature not in phantasie and imagination Saint Paul also in the second chapter of the first Epistle to Timothy calleth him a man saying There is one Mediator of God and man A man Christ Iesu And as he is in the forme of God perfect God so is he in the forme of man a perfect man It followeth in the Text Christ hath humbled himselfe and became obedient unto death Here wee may learne humilitie as Christ doth teach us in the 11. of Matthew saying Learne of me for I am meeke and humble in heart He was made for thee a man without sinne And thou sinfull man why wilt thou not come to him that calleth thee and saith Come to me all ye that doe travell and be overcharged and I shall refresh you Thou proud sinfull man why art thou so proud Christ became obedient for thy sake to be incarnate and to take part of the mortality of man He was obedient so farre that hee suffered First to be tempted of the devill He was obedient to suffer the mocking of the people of Iewes He was obedient to suffer to be bound robbed and spitted at to be stricken and to be scourged And yet he was further obedient to dye for thee thou sinfull man It was a great humility at his birth to lye in the manger with beasts for lacke of a Cradle It was a more humility to live thirty three yeeres amongst sinners he being without spot of sinne The most abundand humility was that he suffered upon the Crosse betwixt two murtherers It was a hard suffering that he suffered for wicked men it was more hard that he suffered of wicked men And the most hardest of all was that hee suffered with wicked men the same death that wicked men murtherers doe suffer It followeth in the Text. That he suffered the death of the Crosse which death was worst of all other kindes of death For those that were put to that death were first nailed upon the Crosse hands and feet drawne on length and stretched abroad hanged up in the ayre quicke naked and bleeding not because longer life should follow thereby but because the death it selfe was prolonged to make the paine the more lest the shortnesse therof should lesse have beene felt Hanging or drowning or striking off of the head be paines soone overpassing but the death of the Crosse long time doth indure In which they were wont to breake their legges to make them dye more painfully as we reade in the 19. chapter of Iohn This death of the Crosse was the worst death that the Iewes could imagine for him to dye but yet Christ did choose his death and intended to make it to be his signe and to make of it his badge that all men beleeving in him should in their foreheads make his signe of the Crosse as it was prophecied and figured before in the 9. chapter of Ezechiel and glory in the Crosse of Christ As Saint Paul in the last chapter to the Galathians saith God forbid that I should glory in any thing but in the Crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ by which the world is crucified to me and I to the world There was nothing before more intolerable to the flesh of man then death of the Crosse And there is now nothing more glorious set
forth in the forehead of a christian man then the signe of the Crosse Here we may note what high reward in heaven is reserved to a christian man when Christ hath given such an honour to the forme of the Crosse representing to us his passion for now the forme of the Crosse is so honoured amongst christian men that if a man worthy to dye should be crucified if should be thought amongst christian men that he should thereby rather be honoured then punished The Crosse is now every where amongst christian men erected and set up as an arch triumphall against the devill declaring unto us the victory and triumph that Christ upon the Crosse obtained against the devill in cancelling the bond of our sinne wherein we were bound to the devill and fastening it cancelled to his Crosse as Saint Paul saith in the second chapter to the Colossians It followeth in the Text. Therefore God hath exalted him and hath given to him a name that is above all names Here it is to be noted that God gave to Christ his exaltation as to man and not as to God For there was never no time before he was made man that he in the forme of God was not exalted nor no time that all things did not bow downe to him that be in heaven earth and hell And for that cause he saith therefore that is to say for his manhood and forme of a servant taken upon him and united to his godhead and for his obedience unto death of the Crosse For in the same forme of man in which he was crucified in the same he was exalted And a name was given to him above all names that he being in the forme of a servant rising from death of the flesh to life and ascending up into heaven should be called the onely begotten Sonne of God which name he as the Word and Sonne of God eternally begotten of God and equall to God had before Whereof the Angell sent to the blessed Virgin Mary before his birth prophecied saying in the first chapter of Luke That holy birth that shall bee borne of thee shall be called the Sonne of God This high exaltation of Christ given to him for his manhood and sufferance of death for mankinde is like to that that Christ himselfe spake in the last chapter of Matthew saying All power is given to me in heaven and in earth which he spake of his manhood and not of his godhead for by his godhead he had it before he was man It followeth in the Text That in the name of Iesu every knee shall bow down of all things that be in heaven or that be in earth or that be in hell That is to say of Angels of men and of devils For the Angels of heaven at his ascention glorified in him the nature of man bowed downe to him exalted above all Angels And men in earth doe glorifie him and doe kneele downe to him and adore him as their Redeemer and God and man The devils doe stoope downe to him for feare and one of them whom he expelled from a body possessed by him said to him I doe know that thou art the holy one of God And all the devils shall know his power when he shall sit in iudgement rewarding good men and punishing the evill And the bowing downe of every knee is meant the submission of all creatures to their maker not that either Angels or Devils have bodily knees but because we men that have bodies in our submission doe bow our knees And therefore submission of all creatures to their Maker is meant thereby His godhead once knit by his incarnation to his body and his soule never departed after from either of them both but still abode with them that is to say with his body in the sepulcher and with his soule descending into hell never departing from neither of them after his incarnation It followeth in the Text. And every tongue shall confesse and knowledge that Iesu Christ is our Lord to the glory of God his father That is to say to the high preferment thereof for the glory of the Father is to have such a Sonne Lord of all maker of all and God of all To whom all be subjects and doe obey to whom all creatures doe bow downe and whom all tongues doe exalt and glorifie The glory of God the Father is that the Sonne every where be glorified like as where God the Sonne is despised there God the Father is despised and blasphemy spoken against God the Sonne is spoken also against God the Father Like as amonst men dishonour done to the sonne soundeth to the dishonour of the father For betwixt God the Father and God the Sonne there is no difference but that that riseth and commeth by diversity of their persons And therefore the honour or dishonour of God the Son stretcheth to the honour or dishonour of God the Father Where the Sonne is perfect in all things it is the honour of the Father that so begat him of whom he had it And where he needeth nothing it is the honour of his Father of whom he hath all plenty And where he by his godhead is not inferiour to his Father it is the honour of his Father of whom he hath the same substance and the same essence and where he is wise it is the honour of the Father whose wisedome he is and where he is good it is the honour of the Father of whom he hath it And where he is Almighty it is the honour of the Father whose arme he is In all these things it is the high honour of God the Father that he eternally begat a Sonne of so much glory And it is a great demonstration that Christ the Sonne of God is God by nature because he humbled himselfe taking mans nature upon him For he knew that by his humility he could suffer no dammage in the highnesse of his godly nature for his godly nature could not be hid nor kept under nor oppressed by any humility His humility therefore is an evident argument of his naturall godhead And therefore if any man doe desire to be great in vertue let him humble himselfe for humility sheweth the greatnesse of vertue Let him follow Christ in humility and he shall gaine great things thereby He that is poore in vertue feareth to humble himselfe lest he should fall from his fained and dissembled height And he that is rich in vertue doth humble himselfe knowing that he hath in him vertue whereby he shall be exalted which vertue cannot be hid As a candle burning cannot be hid in a dark house nor a sweet smell hid in any corner but it will by the good savour thereof disclose where it is and allure men to take up the thing that so smelleth So we doe see in the Epistle of this day that Christ for his humility hath received exaltation as he himselfe saith in the Gospell in the 23. chapter of Mat. And for his
obedience he hath received high honour to have a name above all names And for his patience and passion he hath received power over all that all creatures doe bow down to him And for his infinite charity against mankinde he doth receive of all faithfull people laud praise and glory And thus have we hitherto declared the literall sense of the Epistle of this day by which ye may see that the humility and obedience of Christ doth furmount all examples of humility and obedience of the old testament as farre as the bright shining of the sunne is above the dimme light of an old lanterne For if we should compare the humility and obedience of Abraham who left his Country of Chaldee by Gods commandement and went forwards not knowing whether he should goe to the humility and obedience of Christ who descended from heaven to be incarnate and suffer death for us in forme of man there is almost no comparison for where all the world is full of misery Abraham went but from one wretched place therof to another much like But Christ being the Sonne of God from the beginning ever in glory and in heaven with his Father where no misery never was nor none can be came downe from heaven to be incarnate and to live in this wretched world knowing it before to be the vale of misery Likewise if we should compare Isaac who when his father went to sacrifice him bare the fagot that should make the fire of his sacrifice to Christ bearing his Crosse when he went to his death whereof Isaac was a figure The obedience of Isaac is farre beneath Christs obedience For Isaac going with his father knew nothing what his father did meane when he bade him beare the faggot which appeareth by that when he asked his father where the sacrifice was that should be burnt But Christ the Son of God before he was incarnate knew all the counsell and secrets of the Father of heaven and yet he was content willingly for our sake to be incarnate and to suffer death upon the Crosse and shewed before to his Disciples that he would and should so doe so that in comparing the great and infinite humility and obedience of Christ with the humility and obedience of other that were in the old Testament we shall finde them to be as Saint Paul saith but figures and shadowes as figures of men painted be farre under the living bodies of men And as the living body of a man farre passeth in substance the shadow of the same so the vertues of Christ so farre doe exceed the vertues of good men that were in the old Testament figures of him that his vertues be further above theirs than heaven is above the earth HItherto we have declared the true sense of the Epistle of this day read in the Church containing so great humility and obedience of our Saviour Christ that neither by the tongue of man it can be worthily expressed nor yet in any wise by mans thought comprised But now let us somewhat speake of the vice and sinne of Disobedience which shall more set forth the incomparable vertue of Christs humility and obedience and also open unto us how farre they be from Christ and how contrary to his doctrine that doe give themselves to disobedience Which disobedience was the first sinne that man after his creation did commit and is alway joyned with all other sinnes as a companion never departing from them For every sin that men doe fall in is done against Gods law so that the transgression and disobedience of Gods law is coupled with every sinne For if we obey Gods law as we ought to doe then we should not sinne And that disobedience was the first sinne done by man after his creation it plainely doth appeare in the third chapter of Genesis where after Adam was put in Paradice by Almighty God and commanded to eate of all the fruits in the same except the tree of knowledge of good and evill which he was commanded to forbeare and not to touch nor eate of the fruit of it the devill in the Serpent said to Eve God that forbade you to eate of that tree knoweth that what day soever ye doe eate of that tree your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evill By which false perswasion the woman induced did eate of the tree forbidden and gave unto her husband who eate also of the same disobeying Gods commandement who commanded that in no wise they should touch it upon paine of death to follow for their disobedience for which disobedience not onely they were forthwith expelled out of Paradice but also they and all mankinde was by the sentence of Almighty God made subject to death and to mortality Disobedience hath also pride evermore annexed unto it which maketh him that disobeyeth to contemne to obey and to care nothing at all to disobey as doth appeare by the fall of the devill described unto us by the holy Ghost in the person of Nabuchadonozor the very childe of the devill in the 14. chapter of Esay where Lucifer an high and bright Angell full of beauty and all cleerenesse as soon as he was create not giving thanks to Almighty God for his naturall gifts given to him in his creation but by pride reputing to have them of himselfe and not of God said in his heart I shall ascend into heaven I shall exalt my seat above the starres of God I shall ascend above the height of the clouds I shall be like to Almighty God But his fall and ruine is forthwith there described where the Prophet addeth saying But yet for all this thou shalt bee plucked downe to hell into the bottome of the lake And Christ also in the Gospell of Luke in the 10. chapter testifieth his fall saying I saw Sathan fall from heaven as a lightning So we see that disobedience of the devill not keeping the order of his creation but surmounting farre above it and contemning the degree that his Maker had put him in was the cause of his fall Now what shall we say of those whom God hath create to be subjects commanding them by his word to obey their Princes and governours Who not onely doe refuse to obey Gods commandement but contrary to his word will be above their Governours in refusing to obey them and furthermore also will have their Princes prostrate upon the ground to whom they owe subjection to adore them by godly honour upon the earth and to kisse their feet as if they were God where they be but wretched men And yet they looke that their Princes should doe it unto them and also all other christian men owing them no subjection should of duty doe the same doe not these as ye thinke follow the pride of Lucifer their father Who make themselves fellowes to God contrary to his word But who I pray you be these that men may know them Surely the Bishops of Rome bee those whom I
of Luke proveth the same where a man having a Vineyard and in the same a Figge tree that bare no fruit bade cut it downe And at the request of his Gardiner suffered it yet longer to see if dung laid to the root would helpe it As oft Almighty God being the Lord of the Vineyard suffereth us being barren to have space to repent and bring forth fruit of good works For it is written in the third of Matthew that every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut downe and cast into the fire After as our deeds be so shall our judgement be as Christ saith in the 16 of Matthew the Sonne of man shal come in the glory of his Father with his Angels and shall reward every man after his workes Saint Paul in the 2. chapter to the Romans saith also likewise that God will reward every man after his deeds good or evill And in the 4. chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians he saith that every man shall receive his hire after as his labour is so that for good deeds done with faith he shall receive reward and for evill deeds done after faith or out of faith he shall receive punishment Therefore those that say that God ragardeth not our workes done with faith doe say against Christ and his doctrine given to us by him and by his Apostles for since our workes done with faith be the measure of our reward to be greater or smaller as they shall be found to be greater or smaller who so saith that God regardeth not them saith he regardeth not the measure of our reward and yet he saith it shall be measured after our deeds done with faith and so he saith against Christ Saint Paul saith also in the 2. chapter to the Ephesians that by faith which is the gift of God we be of new create in Christ and in good workes that we may walke forwards in them and since he hath created us in good workes to walke in them hee must needs regard them or else he cared not what hee created which is blasphemy and denyall of his high providence Now this holy weeke we be bidden and called to come to the great supper of our blessed Lord Christ Iesus and to eate of the heavenly meate and of the bread of life that came from heaven the blessed body of our Saviour Iesu Christ in the Sacrament of the altar unto which we may not goe in our filthy and spotted coate lest we comming thither not having the cleane garment of our soule that we received at our Baptisme be expelled out of the feast And therefore we must make cleane our garment before we be bold to goe thither But I feare me sore lest many shall make such worldly excuses as be written in a parable in the 14. chapter of Luke some saying they be new married and therefore they may not come Which doe signifie men given so to carnall pleasure of the body that they care not to come to heaven some saying they have bought five yoake of Oxen which doe signifie those that follow the sensualitie of their five senses and worldly businesse some saying that they have bought a Village which signifie those that purchase lands here in earth and care not by faith and good living to purchase heaven All which sort of men shall not taste of that supper as it is there written but God forbid that any of us should be of that sort and therefore let us every man prepare our selves and make cleane our spotted and filthy garment Let us purge and purifie the Tabernacle of our soule and make it a lodging worthy to receive Christ into our house and not to disdaine us for the filthinesse of our uncleane living But how may this be done and by what meanes surely surely by no meane but by penance and repentance and calling for mercy to Almighty God with a sorrowfull heart that we having received so innumerable benefits of God so little have regarded our obedience to his commandements proudly and unkindely despising him and more regarding our own wretched concupiscence pleasure in all worldly delights then God Let us follow the exhortation of Almighty God spoken to us by the mouth of Ioel in the 2. chapter saying Turne ye sinners againe to me by fasting by weeping by much lamenting your miserable estate and teare asunder your hearts and not your cloathes Almighty God will rather regard a sorrowfull and contrite heart to dwell in it then all the Temples that we can build for him as it is written in the last chap. of Esay Let us acknowledge confesse our own faults first before we be accused of them at iudgement Let us weepe for our ungracious life and sure it is God will regard our teares David saith in the 55. Psalme Almighty God I have shewed my life to thee and thou hast put my teares in thy sight We that have used our eyes all the yeere in regarding worldly pleasures so that through vehement joy sometimes the teares have burst out with much laughing now let us weepe as David teacheth us in the 118. Psalme saying to Almighty God The teares have burst out of my eyes because they have not regarded and kept thy law Let us follow the counsell of Saint Paul in the 6. chapter to the Romans saying to us As ye have given your members to serve to injustice to doe wrong so likewise give your members to serve justice to your sanctifying David saith also in the 6. Psalme I have travailed in my wayling I shall wash every night my bed with weeping teares And after that he saith God hath heard the voyce of my weeping for GOD doth regard teares comming forth out of a sorrowfull and contrite heart If thou say thou canst not weepe thou dost confesse thy folly for if thou lose by example any substance of worldly goods as if thy house be robbed thy ship laden with merchandise perished in the Sea thy wife that thou didst love departed thy sonne dead then thou canst weepe much more then enough and where thy soule is by sinne departed from Almighty God which departing from him is the very death of the soule and lyeth stinking in sinne not foure daies as the body of Lazarus did in his grave but much more then foure moneths ye thrice foure moneths canst thou not weepe Surely thou hast great cause to lament thy selfe For what exchange canst thou devise to make so deere to thee as thy soule is Wherefore let us with the sword of the Spirit which as Saint Paul saith is the word of God make a quicke sacrifice of our selves with a sorrowfull heart because wee have broken Gods commandements applying the sharpe word of God to our sinfull life that we may therewith kill our concupiscences and all fleshly and worldly lusts and so making of our sorrowfull heart a sacrifice to Almighty God obtaine his mercy thereby as he hath promised to us by David in the