were servants he dyed to restore immortality to mortall men And indeed Christs whole life whether you consider his Doctrine or his doings was healthfull and medicinable to us if we obey his precepts or imitate his patterne This Text hath been hitherto as a fruitfull Field wherein I have gathered some corne I shall now bind some profit of it up in sheaves that you may the better carry it away with you First therefore here we may see Christs love to us with astonishment and admiration What the Iewes said concerning Lazarus k John 11.36 when Christ raysed him from dead behold how he loved him so may we say behold how he loved us how deare and pretious our life hath been in his eyes may appeare by the greatnes of the price which hee payd for it even his owne life Quam indebita miseratio quam grata dilectio c. regem gloriae crucifigi pro despicatissimo vermiculo l Div. Bern. O how undeserved is that mercy how free is that love that the King of glory should be crucifyed for despicable Wormes It was a great love m Cowper on Rom. 8. that Abraham shewed to Lot in hazarding his owne life n Gen. 14.14 and the lives of his family to rescue him out of the hands of Chedorlaomer but not comparable that love which our kinsman the Lord Iesus hath shewed unto us who hath given his life to deliver us out of the hand of our enemyes It was a wonderfull great love that God would make man like himselfe and all things for man greater love that he himselfe would be made man but greatest of all that he would dy for his salvation Secondly let us consider the odiousnes of sinne with hatred and detestation Thousands of Rams o Micah 67. nor ten thousands of Rivers of Oyle could not make satisfaction for sinne neither could the fruit of our body make satisfaction for the sinne of our soule but the Son of God must needs dy for the sins of man If sinne cost Christ so deare doubtles it will cost us dearer except we repent Memoria ergo crucifixi in nobis crucifigat omne peccatum p Div. Bern. is an excellent counsaile and worthy our practice therefore let the remembrance of Christ crucified cause us to crucify all sin in us he stretched out his hands on the Crosse to embrace us and let not us stretch out our hands to wickednes to disgrace him he was crucifyed for us let not us crucify him againe by our sins but crucify our sins that caused him to be crucified Thirdly Christ is a patterne for our imitation and that in three things First we must imitate him in the sweetnes of our action especially in dong good Secondly in our resurrection which is twofold the first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the other is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The one is a resurrection of the dead the other is a resurrection from the dead We must rise from the death of sinne to the life of grace if wee meane to rise from the death of the grave unto the life of glory But we must not rise as the Rose-tree doth at the spring to dy againe the next winter but with Christ he being raysed from the dead q Rom. 6 9. dyeth no more death hath no more dominion over him and we must so rise from the death of sin that we never commit the same sins againe Thirdly as Christ was conceived and borne for us so must we conceive and beare him in our hearts There is a threefold nativity of Christ Divine from his Father fleshly from his Mother and spirituall in the mind Ex patre nascitur semper de matre natus est semel in mente nascitur saepe saith Innocentius r Ser. 3. apud Barrad He is borne of his father alwayes he was borne of his Mother once and is borne in the mind often and we must endevour to keepe him there alwayes Forthly here is also matter of consolation and that in a double respect first as Christ is the Rose of the common Field and lyes open to all he refuseth none but those that refuse him Secondly because he is the Physitian of our Soules that is able to cure them hiding allour sins and healing all our Sores giving us spirituall health here and eternall health and happines hereafter Lastly as Elisha said to his servant concerning the good Shunamite ſ 2 Kings 4.13 She hath been carefull for us with all this care what is to be done for her so may I say to you concerning our Saviour he hath been thus carefull for us what shall we doe againe for him As he dranke to us in the cup of salvation so let us pledge him in the cup of thanksgiving as he gave himselfe a propitiatory sacrifice for us so let us give up our selves a gratulatory sacrifice of prayse and thankesgiving to him And let us fall downe with the t Revel 19 4. foure and twenty elders and the fowre beasts praysing GOD with our Church and saying Glory be to God on high and in earth peace good will toward men We prayse thee wee blesse thee we worship thee we glorify thee we give thankes unto thee O Lord God heavenly King for all thy blessings bestowed upon us for that thou hast sent thy Sonne Iesus Christ not only to live among men but to dy for men Grant O Lord that we may all be partakers of all the benefits of his passion And that for the same Iesus Christ his sake who as he died for sin so he ever lives to make intercession for sinnes To whom with thee and the Holy Spirit be all honour and glory now and for ever Amen To the Right Honorable FERDINAND O Lord HASTINGS my very good Lord. WHAT Thucidides affirmes experience proves true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that hearing is not lyable to any account but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whatsoever a man speakes but especially writes it layes him open to others censure unto which I have now exposed my selfe and crave your Lordships protection Your Honour must not expect any high straynes in this Sermon Haud facile emergunt quorum virtutibus obstat Res angusta domi As it is I desire your Lordships acceptance of it as an expression of some part of that duty and service I owe your Honor. The God of mercie poure downe his mercies on your Lordship your Honourable Lady and hopefull children Which shall alwaies be the praier of Your Lordships in all duty and service WILLIAM PARKS THE ROSE AND LILY. SOLOMONS SONG 2.1 I am the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the vallyes WHat the Queene of Shebah told Solomon that a 1 Kings 10.6 7. though it were a true report which shee had heard of him yet the one halfe was not told her so may I say unto you concerning this Text though it bee a true report you have heard of him that is greater
he thought them not worth a carrying so Christ carryed all his goods about him so that when he died he needed no executors to prove his will for x John 19 23. the Souldiers parted his goods among them and hee had nothing for them to part but onely his garments Mat. 27.35 I have heared a story of Richard Nevile sometime Earle of Warwick how true it is I know not that when the people would have made him King hee refused that dignity saying that he had rather make Kings then be one but this I know he that y Psal 85.7 putteth downe one and setteth up another when the people would have made him King refused it Erat Rex qui timebat fieri Rex nec talis Rex qui ab hominibus fieret sed talis qui hominibus regnum daret saith Saint Augustine z In John â—ract 23. He was a King that feared to bee made a King not such a King that should be made by men but such a King as should give a Kingdome to men A King hee was indeed and acknowledged to bee so a Mat. 2.2 by the wise men at his birth Nathanel b John 1.44 and the whole multitude acknowledged him c Luke 19.38 to bee King in his Life at his death Pilate wrote him King of the Iewes d John 19 19.22 and would not alter that title and yet hee would not be made a King by the people lest e Calvin in Iohn 19. his spirituall Kingdome should have been at an end he refused to be made a King on earth for hee was already King of Heaven and earth Thirdly at his death he was so poore that he had neither Sepulchre nor winding sheet of hâ—s owne but f John 19.38.39 Ioseph and Nicodemus were faine to supply them Even the richest men and most puissant Monarchs have nothing at their deathes that they may properly call their owne but onely their Sepulchres We may say of them all as S. Austin g Ad fraâ—r in Erâ—â—o Ser. 48. speakes of Caesars Tombe Though hee were the feare of men and terror of Princes yet all his great riches his titles of Honour and Dignity his Crowne and Scepter Speare and Sword Omnia sibi pariter defecerunt quando defecit spiritus ejus reliquerunt eum captivatum in sepulchro trium brachiorum plenum foetore putredine All those things left him as they doe all men else when he was bereft of his soule and left him nothing but a Sepulchre of six cubits to conteyne him but Christ as he was without all earthly pompe in his life so at his death he had not so much as a Sepulchre or winding sheer of his owne untill they were given him In all which respects we may say of him with S. Augustine h De Catâ—châ—z râ—dibus Omnia bona terrena contempsit homo Christus ut nobis ea contemnenda monstraret The man Christ Iesus did contemne all earthly things to teach us also to doe the like It was a curse layd upon the Serpent in Paradise i Gen. 3.14 upon thy belly shalt thou goe and dust shalt thou eat all the dayes of thy life and therefore the seed of the woman k Ver. 15. being to break the head of the Serpent went not on his belly nor had his affections placed on the earth but was lifted sursum versus coelum upward toward Heaven therein resembling the Flower of the Lily of the Valleys Secondly folia liliorum non solum dilatantur ad latera sed etiam inferius declinant ad ima the Leaves of the Lily do not onely extend outward but bend downward so Christ extended his benefits farr off and even to his enemies The Apostle S. Paul tells the Gentiles l Eph. 2 13. that now in Christ Iesus yee who somtimes were farr off are made nigh by the bloud of Christ Christs benefits to us are like the oyntment m Psal 133.2 on Aarons head that ran downe on his beard and descended to the skirts of his garments they went downe to the lowest members of the Church When he was upon the earth hee shewed his love unto the poore in doing good to the Halt the Lame the Blind as it were so many cripples from severall Hospitalls Now love n Doctor Boys expo of the Creed is more shewed in deeds then in words but more in suffering then it is in doing so that the love of Christ was especially shewed unto us in dying for us As the Father shewed great love in giving his Sonne unto us so the son shewed like equall love in being so ready to suffer for us Greater o John 15 13. love hath no man then this that a man lay downe his life for his friends but Christ suffered for us dum inimici essemus p Rom. 5.8 10. while wee were sinners and enemies and gave himselfe to death for us while wee were q Eph 2.1 dead in trespasses and sins Wee read of some indeed that have been ready to dy for their friends as r Cicer. Offic. Damon for his Pithyas Pylades Å¿ Idâ—m de Amici for his Orestes of whom the Poet. t Ovid. Extitit hoc unum quod non convenerat illis Hic negat inque vicem pugnat uterque mori They never fell our about any thing but this which of them should first lay downe his life for the other And wee read of some that have dyed for others as S. Austine reports v De Civitate Dei li. 8. cap. 5 of Castor and Pollux the sons of Tyndarus that Pollux intreated to impart halfe his life on his brother And we read that Codrus did willingly w Iustin dy for his countrey And also it is reported x Iuvenall Subeuntem fata mariti Alcesten that Alcestes did undergo the destinies of her husband and by her death redeemed his life These shewed great loves in laying downe their lives but it was for them that loved them as much or had deserved so much at their hands But Christ layd downe his life for us not onely Sine nostris meritis sed cum nostris demeritis saith S. Bernard y In Cant. Ser. 15 when we deserved no love but when we deserved as much hatred from him as was due unto his enemies and extended the fruits of that love and the benefits of that passion to all that will lay hold upon them It is written of the Cherubins z 1 Kings 6.27 that they stretched out their wings ad parietes usque to the wall on each side full ten cubits so Christ being stretched forth upon the Crosse extended his benefits to the ends of the World hee stood open to receive all commers and spread forth the branches of his love unto all therein resembling the leaves of the Lilies of the Valleyes Thirdly the Lily Lactei floris herba unde nuncupata quasi
the things of this World are dumbe they know not the language of the lyar m Eph. 4.25 but their tongues are tipt with truth They are ignorant of the language of the black mouthed swearer but his communication n Mat 5.37 is yea yea and nay nay in a word hee knowes not the language of Babel but speakes the language of Canaan Now there is the sweetnes of Honey in godly discourses but the bitternes of Gall and Worm-wood in wicked words and although wicked men may happily thinke that they find sweetnes in them yet they are like the Bee though they bee Honey in the mouth yet they have a sting in the tayle They are like S. Iohns booke o Rev. 10.10 though in the mouth they bee sweet as Honey yet in the belly they are bitter for what Solomon said of a whorish woman p Prov. 5.4 so may I say of them though in the mouth it be sweet as an hony comb yet their end is bitter as Worm-wood Secondly the Church must also shew sweetnes in her works Ad praedicationem novae gratiae secuta est novitas vitae in his qui crediderunt qui conversationem suam inter gentes habentes bonam Christi erant bonus odor in om niloco saith S. Bernard q In Cantic Ser. 60. Newnes of life did follow the preaching of the new grace of the Gospell in them which did beleeve who having their conversation honest among the Gentiles were a sweet favour unto Christ in every place For Plantae quae benè olent bonam famam nomen pollicentur r Hier Card Sinines Somni li. 1. cap 30. those Flowers that smell sweetly do signify a good name and report Odor bonus est nomen bonum hoc de bono opere tanquam de flore odor procedit saith Saint Bern. ſ Vbi prius A sweet smell is a good report which proceedes from good workes even as sweetnes doth from the Flower The good works of the godly cast a sweet smell even to them that are without Bona quidem per se sunt aromata virtutum per se redolere videntur sed cumulatiore gratia flagrant cum de unctione spiritus suavitatis afperguntur odore t Gilleber in Cantic Ser. 33. The spices of vertues are good and smell sweet in themselves if in the heathen but they give the more fragrant smell when they are sprinkled with the odor of sweetnes by the anoynting of the spirit in the godly good works are an odour of a sweet smell unto men and a Sacrifice acceptable well pleasing unto God as the Apostle tells the Philippians u Phil. 4 18. concerning their charity The Prophet Hosea w Hos 14.7 speaking of the Church sayes it shall grow as the Vine the sent thereof shall bee as the Wine of Lebanon It is written x Daneus from Pliny lib. 14.7 of some Vines that in the time of their florishing they send forth so sweet a smell that not onely the Vine-yards themselves but the Countrey round about is refreshed with the sweet savour thereof so that if any Serpents bee neere they are driven away by the sweet smell of the Vines so the conversation of the godly is no lesse fragrant not only in themselves but also to all that are round about A good name is better then precious oyntment y Eccles 7.1 And the godly have their conversation so honest among the Gentiles z 1 Pet 2.12 that they may by their good workes which they behold glorify GOD in the day of visitation And their sweet conversation doth drive away Serpents whether we expound Serpents as S. Austin doth a In Psal 42. Serpentes vitia tua sunt The Serpents are thy sins then their works of light expell those workes of darknes or else as S. Bern. doth b De Pass Dom cap 45. Quid melius per Serpentes quam diabolicas suggestiones accipiamus What is better meant by Serpents then the suggestions of Satan which doe secretly creepe into the minds of men then if wee looke upon that brasen Serpent Christ Iesus which was lifted up upon the Crosse by the eye of a true and lively Faith working by love and sending forth the sweet savour of good works we shall bee c Ephe 6.16 able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked The smell of the Churches oyntments d Cant. 4.10 11. that is her graces is better then all spices and the smell of her garments is like the smell of Lebanon But when Isaac smelled the savour of Iacobs garments they were nor his owne for e Gen. 27.15 Rebeccah tooke goodly rayment of her elder Son Esau and put them on Iacob As hee was cloathed with the rayment of his elder brother which gave such a sweet smell so the Church is cloathed not with the garment of her owne righteousnes but shee puts on the glorious robe of her elder brother CHRIST IESVS by which she is made the sweet Rose of Sharon Thirdly as the Rose is dead in winter but shoots forth againe at the Spring so though the members of the Church ly a long time in the grave yet at the Spring of the resurrection they shal rise againe As long as the root is quick the branches will not die but flourish Christ is the root f Rev. 5.5 22.11 we are the branches g John 15.5 and our root did not rot in the ground but rose from the grave to certify us the branches of the resurrection As long as the head is above the water the body cannot bee drowned Christ is h 1 Cor. 11.3 Eph. 5.23 the head wee are i 1 Cor. 12.27 the body but Christ our head is risen from the dead and his members the Church shall assuredly rise from death to the Resurrection of life As Christ k Church Hom. of the Resurrection dyed not for himselfe no more did hee rise againe for himselfe but for us Quia tu Redemptor noster suscepit mortem ne mori timeremus ita ostendit resurrectionem ut nos resurgere posse confideremus for as our Redeemer dyed that wee should not be afrayd of death so he rose againe that we may bee sure of our Resurrection unto life GODS Covenant with his Church l Jerem. 31.33 I will be their GOD and they shall be my people m Pe kins on the Creed is an everlasting covenant to last for ever but if God should leave his people in the grave for ever how could they bee called the people of GOD for n Mat. 22.31 for GOD is not the GOD of the dead but of the living and therefore seeing Gods Covenant is everlasting to all the Faithfull must rise from the dead that God may alwayes bee said to bee their God and the godly be alwayes said to be his people It is an especiall part of Gods glory to shew forth his mercy on
then Solomon b Mat. 12.42 yet the one halfe is not told you For this Text is a most fertile and fruitfull Field conteyning variety of no lesse profitable then pleasant Flowers from whence I have already brought you a Posy made of Roses and now give me leave from the same Garden to present unto you a Posy composed of Liles The Lily is next in nobility to the Rose saith Pliny c Lib. 2 cap. 5. and therefore as I have shewed you wherein Christ resembles the Rose so must I now shew you how hee is the Lily of the vallyes The writers d Arist Pliny Dodan of the nature of things have written much in the commendadation of the Lily affirming it to bee a most fine Flower both for fragrant smell and curious colours And many Princes did beare it in their crests and Escutchions but I leave this for Heralds to discourse of and for Herbalists to discusse and shall onely shew you that Christ resembles the Lily in these fowre respects First the Flower of the Lily is lifted upward and open toward Heaven but toward the earth it is close and shut so Christ had his mind open toward Heaven set on heavenly things but he alwayes neglected and contemned earthly things Secondly the leaves of the Lily spread outward and bend downward so Christ extended his benefits downward even to his enemies Thirdly the whitenesse of the Lily may signify Christs eternity or his inâ—ocency Fourthly the Lily growes among thornes and Christ when hee was upon the Earth was conversant â—mong sinners in these respects hee â—hewed himselfe to bee the Lily of the â—â—allyâ—s And first of the first the Flowâ—â— of the Lily is open toward Heaven 〈◊〉 it close toward the earth so Christ had â—â—s affections open toward heavenly â—â—ings but he neglected earthly As Christ was sometime e Luke 2.51 subject to â—â—s Mother so was he alwayes obedient to his father He that f John 3.31 came from above did set his affections on thing above g Colos 3 2. This Lily had alwayes the eyâ— of his affections open toward heaveâ— it being his chiefest care to doe his heâ—venly fathers h Luke 2.49 busines but close shâ— toward earth and earthly things Theâ—â— are three i Ludoâ—ph de vita Christi part 1. cap. 67. things that hinder us froâ— having the eyes of our soules open tâ—ward Heaven but Christ was free froâ— them all First quando oculus nimis 〈◊〉 cupatur circa sensibilia when the eye 〈◊〉 too much imployed about sensible oâ—jects namely when the affection is 〈◊〉 on earthly things for then is the eye 〈◊〉 the soule dazled with the dust of coâ—â—tousnes but Christ had no mind 〈◊〉 earthly riches but as hee had none 〈◊〉 he did desire none Secondly quando 〈◊〉 mis occupatur circa delectabilia when 〈◊〉 is too much taken up with delightâ—â—â— things the carnall desires of the flesâ— for then the eye is blinded with 〈◊〉 fire of concupiscence but Christ wâ—â— free from that and it is such a sinne that the divell himselfe would not tempt Christ by that though hee tempted him by riches and the glory of the World k Mat. 4 Thirdly quando nimis occupatur circa sublimia when it is intent on lofty things namely ambitiously taken up with the pompe and glory of the World for then the eye is darkned with the smoake of pride but Christ was free from that for he l John 6.16 fled from those that would have made him King So that he had no worldly riches to clog him no carnall pleasures to allure him no ambitious thoughts to stop him nor any of those to hinder him for having his eyes and thoughts settled on heavenly things Hee was not like the Basiliskes which Pliny m Lib. 8. calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because they looke downward and cannot turne their countenance upward toward the Firmament but rather he was like the fish which Albertus as I remember makes mention of that had but one eye placed in his pole so that he alwayes looked upward minding things above but hee did altogether neglect if not contemne all earthly things Which will the better appeare if we consider his poverty in his birth in his life and in his death First in his birth Exigua magni pompa puerperii saith S. Cyprian n Serm. de nati Chrâ—sti There was but small pomp at this great birth he was borne in so meane a manner that the cratch was his cradle the o Luke 2.7 manger his chamber and the stable his Inne If the Sun of God will needs come and dwell among the sons of men Kings palaces me thinks were bad enough to receive so worthy a person and yet behold the stateliest place for his entertainment is a stable If the King of Heaven will needs come into the earth the most princely chamber were fitrest for him to be lodged in and yet behold he lies in a manger If King Solomon was so ravished with admiration when hee considered that GOD would reside at the Temple in Hierusalem which was so glorious that it was p 1 Kings 6.38 seaven yeares in building that hee cries out q 1 Kings 8.27 But will GOD indeed dwell on the earth behold the Heaven and the Heaven of heavens cannot contayne thee how much lesse the house that I have made how much more would he have admired had he come into this stable and found Christ this Lord of life lying in a manger Secondly in his life-time he was poorer then the beasts of the Field and the Birds of the Ayre for they have dens and nests to roost and to rest in but hee had not a place where to lay his head as himselfe restifies r Mat. 8.20 And as for his outward estate he was so poore that when tribute was demanded of him he had nothing to pay it but he sends Peter with an angle Å¿ Mat. 17.27 to catch a fish to bring him money to pay it therein shewing great t Iansâ—n conc cap. 69 Majesty as well as poverty his poverty in that he had nothing wherewith to pay it and his Majesty in that being Lord of Sea as well as Land he commands a Fish to do it for him So that as the Apostle S. Paul sayes of himselfe u 2 Cor. 6.10 he was as having nothing and yet possessing all things so may I say of Christ he possessed nothing and yet he was Lord of all When Eriene w Cicero Paradox 1. the City where Byas dwelt was taken by the enemies and the Citizens fled carying as much of their substance with them as they could when he was admonished by some to doe the like Ego quidem inquit facio nam omnia mea mecum porto I doe it said he already for I alwayes carry all my goods about me so lightly did he esteeme of those ludibria fortunae riches that
Schismatickes who at this day do walke in their steps accounting all reprobates but them of their owne tribe But he calls those sinners that feeling their sins acknowledge themselves to bee sinfull But as the Lily though it grow among Thorns yet it loseth none of the whitenesse of his colour or fragrancy of its smell so Christ though hee conversed among thorny sinners yet hee reteyned still his innocency neither did hee converse with them b Jansen Concor cap. 33. to confirme them in their sinnes but to convert them from them Though hee did goe upon c Prov. 6 28. coales yet was he not burnt Though hee touched pitch d Eccles 13.1 yet was hee not defiled with it though hee had fellowship with the proud yet was not hee like unto them though hee were conversant with thornie sinners yet was hee not infected with their sins that kept on still the white Robes of his innocency therein resembling the nature of the Lily of the Valleys And now I come to the limitation of his second attribute to the first subject of the Valleys I am the Rose of Sharon c. Christ is not e Doctor Dove in Loc. the lofty Cedar but the lowly Lily not of the high Mountaines but of the low valleys that is humility it selfe Suorum Deus altissimus fuorum Christus humillimus as God of all others is a patterne of Majesty so Christ of all others is a spectacle of humility Hee was an example of humility in these respects f August de Civ Dei li. 14. nascendo conversando praedicando miracula faciendo moriendo In his birth in his conversation in his preaching in his working of miracles and in his dying First in his birth Hee chose not his descent from the mighty Monarchs of Assyria Greece and Persia but of the contemptible and despised Iewes and among them hee chose not any rich Parents to bee borne of but a poore Virgin espoused to a poore Carpenter What greater abasement could there bee then that hee which thundred in the Cloudes should cry in the Cradle that hee should put off the glorious Robes of his immortalite and put on the base ragges of our mortality that hee which was cloathed with Majesty and honour should bee cloathed with swadling clowtes that hee that in Heaven was GOD not subject to his Father in earth should bee man subject to his Mother that Mary that was a sheepe should bring forth a Sheepherd that hee which was the Father of Mary should become the soone of Mary this mystery is so great and the humility so wonderfull that as Saint Bernard saith it g In vrgil Nativ is mirabiliter singulare singulariter mirabile wonderfully singular and singularly wonderfull There is so great humility in CHRISTS birth that S. Augustine saith h Ser. 18. Nat Omnis bujus nativitatis schola humilitatis est â—fficina the whole Schoole of Christs nativity is a shop of humility Secondly hee shewed his humility in his conversation because though hee did no sinne i Destruct viâ— yet hee tooke upon him the punishments for sinne most humbâ—y undertaking the infirmities of the body and defects of the soule that are not sinfull as to bee weary hungry sorrowfull c. And though he were Lord of all yet hee becomes servant to his owne Disciples and k John 13.5 washeth their feete telling them l Luke 22.27 that hee is among them as one that serveth Whence some m Barrad Stella conjecture that Christ did use to serve them being at meat Thirdly hee shewed his humility in his preaching because hee sought not his owne glory but the glory of him that sent him And hee tells his Disciples n John 14 10. The words that I speake unto you I speake not of my selfe And when hee chose his Disciples to preach unto the World hee chose not rich and learned men but poore simple silly Fisher-men Had Christ chosen such as Aristotle and Demosthenes to preach the Gospell they would have sayd they were so learned that they might easily convince they were so eloquence that they might easily perswade but hee chose unlearned Fisher-men to confound the learned Phylosophers that the glory might not be given to the meanes Forthly hee shewed his humility in his working of miracles because when hee did great miracles hee commands the parties on whom they were wrought not to divulge them When hee cured one of the leprosy o Mat. 8.4 and restored sight to the blind man p Marke 8 26. hee chargeth them to tell no man Mundavit leprosum Dominus jussit eum nulli hoc fateri hoc fateri docens quam esset alienus ab aura gloriae pompaque jactantiae saith Saint Chrysostome q Apud Barrad In doing those miracles which Christ would not have told he shewed how farre hee was from vayne glory and seeking prayse of men but in those miracles that hee would have to bee divulged hee shewes how free hee was in seeking glory to GOD for hee bidds the man that was freed from his legion of divells to shew r Luke 8.39 how great things not hee but God had done for him And all the time of his life wherein hee wrought his miracles hee went abour doing of them he rode not in any stately manner but went on foot neither do I read that hee did ride at all but once when hee rode upon an Asse s Mat. 21.25 into Hierusalem And when he sate Nunquam in sede nec in pulvinari sed in ipsa superficie terrae modo in montibus modo apud fontes sedet docet saith St. Chrysostome t Hom. 67. in Mat. Christ sate and taught not on any couch or chayre of state sometimes on the mountaines sometimes by the fountaines alwaies on the superficies of the earth Fiftly Christ shewed his humiltty in his dying It was great love and as great Humility for him to be cloathed with the vaile of our nature and to undertake the infirmities of our feeble nature yet it was greater love and humility too for him to be compassed with the shadow of death and to undergoe the penalty due to our sinfull nature What humilitie could bee greater then that the Lord of life should suffer a shamefull and ignominious death that hee that was gloria Angelorum should become opprobrium hominum he that was the glory of Angells should be made the u Psal 22 6. scorn of men and despised of the people Thus Christ knowing that humilitie did suite well with the head when the body was sicke with pride bowed w Psal 18.9 the heavens and came downe there was the humilitie of his Godhead not putting it off but clothing it with the raggs of flesh And from his birth to his buriall from the time of his being borne in another mans sâ—able untill the time of his being buâ—â—ed in another mans tombe he alwaies shewed the
reason of some bad They have a heat in them but it is a strange fire raked out of the embers of passion blowne with the bellowes of pride and selfe conceitednes and mayntained by the fewell of faction which makes them at first to be â—axardens and then draco volans Like humid bodyes facilè in alienis terminis difficultèr in suis continentur they first crosse the Church and then the seas first run out of reason and then out of the Church Cursed be such heat for it is cruell O my soule r Gen 49.6 come not thou into their secret be not thou united to their assembly When Lot and Abraham fell out Lot would needs part with him though he told them that they were brethren Å¿ Gen. 13.8 So those Separatists fall out with the Bishops of our Church and say as those in S. Austins time t Augustin in Psal 129. Seperemus nos let us goe out from among them And although wee say to them Servate pacem keepe the peace and love the unity of the Church yet they will goe out from us u Gen. 13.12 although I feare oftentimes with Lot v into Sodome when the other with Abraham may enter into the Land of Chanaan When Christ was upoÌ„ the earth was his head pricked with Thornes his body was scourged but w John 19.36 not a bone of him was broken so now he is in Heaven though his head be pricked with contentions although it might bee wished that it were not pricked at all yet let us not breake his bones We must not part Paul and Barnabas for x Acts 15 37. Markes sake as long as wee agree in fundamentall poynts of faith we must not goe out of the Church by reason of some errors or imperfections I wrote unto you saith the Apostle y 1 Cor. 5.9.10 not to keepe company with fornicators yet not altogether with the fornicators of this World or with the covetous or extortioners or idolators for then must yee needs goe out of the World Should Noah have forsaken the company of all wicked men he must have gone out of the World for the whole earth was corrupt and z Gen. 6.11 filled with cruelty save onely he and his family What S. Austin a Epist 48. determined against the Donathists may be urged against these men non propter malos boni deserendi sed propter boâ—ios malitolerandi We must not forsake the good for the bad but must tolerate the bad for the good The Tares must grow among the Wheat without a separation untill the Lord of the harvest make a seperation at the generall day of â—udgment and the Lily the Church must grow among Thornes But as the Lily among Thornes retaynes the whitenes and sweetnes so must the Church among thorny sinners and haereticall Christians retayne her innocency And this is b Angelom in locum no disprayse to the righteous but rather their prayse to be godly among the wicked and not to be infected with the thorny conversation of others but to shine as lights in darknes Non mediocris est titulus profecto virtutis inter pravos vivere bonum inter malignantes innocentiae retinere candorem magis autem si his qui oderunt pacem pacificum te praebeas amicum saith S. Bernard c In Cant. Ser. 48. It is no small vertue to be good among the evill to be innocent among the nocent and to be peaceable among the turbulent and contentious herein they are like the Lillies themselves which by their owne beauty adorne the Thornes by which they are pricked It is no great matter to seeme to bee good among the good and according to the Proverb Cum fueris Romae Romano vivere more When you are at Rome to doe as the Romans doe but the godly must reteyne their innocency in the midst of the tents of Kedar she must reteyne her whitenes for therein the Church resembles the Lily of the Vallies And so I come to the limitation of this second attribute to the second subject of the Vallies I am the rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Vallies The Church is the low Lilly of the low Vallies which may teach humility to all the members thereof Humility is the first step toward Heaven and I know not how they that misse that may ascend any higher How can any thinke to thrust into Heaven by that that made Satan be cast out pride was the divells ruine and can any thinke it should be his raysing And that we may practise humility wee may learne it d Destruct vitior from things without us from things we carry with us from things about us and from God above us First from things without us even from the earth it selfe from whence we came and whither we must for God tells Adam e Gen. 3.19 dust thou art and to dust thou shalt returne So that when thou seest the earth remember thy Sepulchre And what cause hast thou to be proud if thou consider that the earth which is now under thy feete shall shortly bee over above thy head Secondly we may learne humility from what we carry with us even from our selves if we consider our ingresse into the World our progresse in the World and our egresse out of the World First the ingresse of mans life is miserable he beginning his life with teares as bewayling the miseries of his succeeding ages Secondly the progresse of mans life is short and transitory but a f Psal 39.6 spannlong and as short as g Psal 90.9 a tale that is told Thirdly mans egresse is bitter and terrible and therefore death is sayd to be h Aristot 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the King i Job 18.14 of terrors And what cause then hath man to be proud when at his birth his conception is detestable in his life his conversation culpable and at his death his dissolution terrible Thirdly wee may learne humility from men about us when we consider that many of our brethren are poore or lame or blind or miserable and we are made of the same matter in the same mould and deserve it as well as they And therefore what cause hast thou to be proud thou being as subject to those calamities as they knowest not how soone thou mayst fall into them Lastly we may learne humility from God above us God retesisteth the proud k 1 Pet 5.5 but giveth grace to the humble The humble are in Gods eyes as Starres are in mans though they seeme little yet they are great Quanto quis humilior fuit de seipso tanto major erit in conspectu dei saith S. Austin l Ad fratr in Erem Ser. 7 how much the more humble a man is in his owne eyes so much the greater is he in the sight of God We bow our selves at the example of some great person or if we were to goe in at some low dore or if a sword hang over our heads and we under it But the sword of Gods wrath hangs over the proud and we are to enter in by the low dore Christ who hath left us an example of humility To behave our selves humbly est Christum scire imitari saith S. Bazil m De Abdicat rerum is to imitate Christ but to carry ones selfe proudly est Diabolo se similem praebere that is to be like the Divell And now I am sure thou hast no cause to bee proud except thou meanest to be conformable to the divell and abhominable to God To conclude without any further application because what hath beene spoken of this part hath for the most part beene by way of application Let every true Israelite fill his Omer with this spirituall Mannah Let every one take a posy of these Flowers home with him nay let him compose himselfe as it were posy of them And let us all shew that we have the sweetnes of the Rose and the whitenes of the Lily by innocency in ourselves and charity to others that Christ that feedeth n Sol. Song 6.3 among the Lillies may take delight in us and accept us for his Spouse to live with him for evermore Which God grant we may all doe for Iesus Christ his sake our onely Lord and Saviour To whom with thee O Father and thy blessed Spirit be ascribed all Honour and Glory might and Majesty now and for ever Amen FINIS Imprimatur hic liber cui titulas est The Rose and the Lily modò intra sex menses proximè sequentes typis mandetur Ex aedibus Fulham Iuly 11. 1638. Sa. Baker