to bring his Father Jacob to him The good old man surprised with these glad tydings was overjoyed to think he should satisfie his eyes before he left this world with the sight of him whom he had often bewayled as dead he went then into Egypt and after he had lived there some years in great quiet and peace died in the arms of his Son Joseph Our Ancestors also died there and those that descended of them multiplied extreamly in a few years At last the time of the Divine promise made to Abraham drawing nigh there sate in the Throne of Egypt a Prince who had never heard the name of Joseph time having made him forgotten and seeing the daily increase of our Nation after an extraordinary manner he began to apprehend least those strangers should render themselves Masters of his country whereupon he imployed both craft and violence to work their extirpation To this end there is nothing horrid in Tyranny which he did not impose upon them But notwithstanding their labour and bad dyet they thrived so wel that it seemed rather to contribute to their increase then ruine Hence by an impious edict be commanded their Midwives to stifle all the Male Children of the Israelites and save onely the Female But this inhumane command was not obeyed and God abundantly recompenced the mercy shewed to those innocent creatures whom a barbarous Tyrant would have sacrificed to his jealousie Moses was born in this wonderful persecution His parents after they had concealed him three moneths in their house fearing least he might be discovered exposed him upon the River Pharao's Daughter coming thither to bath her self perceived the Cradle of Bull-rushes in which he floted upon the water she sent to take it up and by that means was the instrument of his preservation She was not satisfied in exhibiting an ordinary compassion towards him but tendered him with a Motherly care and of an Infant exposed she adopted him Son and Heir to a great Kingdom His Education was answerable to so high a fortune and by the progress he made in all the Sciences of the Egyptians by the excellency of his wit his solid judgement his generous courage his modest behavior and the greatness of his actions he shewed himself worthy of the Scepter ordained for him But God had other designs and would make use of him to destroy that Empire which he seemed to be chosen out to govern At the age of forty yeers God inspired him to visit those of his Nation in the places where they dwelt and there he found an Egyptian roughly treating an Israelite whence a just resentment transported him to revenge the Injury done unto his Brother by the death of him that abused him The next day seeing two Israelites quarrelling together he said to them you are Brethren why injure you one another But he that abused his Companion without cause askt him who hath made you our Prince and the Judge of our differences perhaps you will kill me as you did yesterday the Egyptian That discourse troubled Moses and by divine providence made him to fly into the Land of Madian where taking a Wife he begot two Sons He was fourscore years of age when in the Desarts of Mount Sina an Angel appeared to him in the middest of a flaming bush unconsumed This Prodigy astonished him and drawing neer to behold it at a less distance The Lord spake unto him in these words I am the God of thy Fore-fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob put of thy shooes for the earth thou treadest upon is holy I have beheld the affliction of my captive people their complaints have reached my ears I am descended to deliver them from this cruel bondage and upon this occasion I will send you into Egypt Fathers and Brethren observe here that this Moses whom the two Israelites rejected with disdain saying who has established thee Judge and Prince over us was the Prince and Redeemer of the Jewish people with the assistance of that Angel which appeared to him in the burning bush Egypt wondered at the miraculous things of his Rod the Sea divided it self to make passage for the multitude he led in the Desart The rock yeilded him water for the space of forty years a celestial Manâ—◠〈◊〉 every morning from Heaven to 〈◊〉 our 〈◊〉 And a thousand other wonders â—â—â—…ered his govâ—rnment faâ—â—us May not we here behold an admirable figure of the Saviour which you have rejected notwithstanding that he came to deliver you from a more cruel captivity and more miserable then that of our Fore-fathers But this same Moses whose Doctrine you accuse me to condemn did not he promise to you him whose Gospel I now preach and whose name is so odious to you when he said God will raise from the middest of you a Prophet whom you shall hear as you hear me certainly you heard him as our Ancestors heard Moses and whilest Moses was conversing with our Lord upon the Mountain those ungratefull people inforced Aaron to make molten gods which should conduct them not knowing as they saiea what was become of Moses They adored the Golden Calf and gave that honour to the work of their hands which was due onely to their Creator This horrible Idolatry so incensed God that be exterminated this great multitude by divers punishments Two only of them that remained besides those who were born in the Desarts entered into the Land of Promise under the conduct of Joshua The assistance of our Lord ceased not with the death of this great Captain Our Ancestours alwayes found him favourable so long as they continued faithfull to his service The divers servitudes they were under so long as the government remained in the hands of Judges were onely caused by their Idolatry and prostitution to all sorts of wickedness Ease and plenty corrupted those whom the perils of Warre and feare of Enemies had kept within the bounds of fidelity They contracted unfortunate marriages with the daughters of their neighbours and that conjugall union occasioned their separation from God for by little and little they followed the manners of their Wives and to make themselves good husbands they were not afraid to become wicked men They left the God of Heaven for the stars which he had fixed there and the purity of his sacrifices for the abominations of Moloch Their ingratitude was not left unpunished for our Lord at severall times raysed Infidel Kings against them who made them know their sin by the rigour they used towards them The yoke of the Philistins was the longest and David delivered them entirely from it He was the man according to Gods heart It was he whom God placed in the Throne with a solemn promise that his Posterity should reign for ever This Prince who was as godly as valiant desired to build a house to our Lord that might be stable and firm for since they left Egypt they had adored him in a
Mother of Love but it was truly famous amongst the Christians for the birth of St. Barnaby and many other great men which she gave unto the Church In Salamina since called Constantia they preached to the Jewes and continuing their Voyage came to Paphos where God prepared for the Apostle a most important Victory Sergius Paulus the Proconsul a man stiled in the Acts with the Title of prudent desired to hear him whose reputation was so great in the Country There was a Jew called Elimas who counterfeited himself to be a Prophet but was an abominable Magician This man opposed the doctrine of St. Paul whereat he justly offended and in a tone full of authority spake in this manner O thou childe of the Devil thou man full of malice and deceit wilt thou never leave to oppose the designes of God and pervert his wayes Thou doest endeavour to hinder the Proconsul from receiving the light of the Gospel but for a just punishment thou shalt lose the light of the Sun and for a time remaine blinde The effect presently followed his words and thick scales covered the eyes of this wicked man who having feigned himself to be a God stood in need of a guide to conduct him Yet this punishment altered him not for he continued in his impiety and afterwards composed a book against the Christians However his blindness gave light to the Proconsul and finished his conversion He received with joy and admiration that verity which he saw so miraculously confirmed and afterwards became a zealous preacher of it The Church of Narbone glories to have had him for her first Bishop and the Roman Martyrologe celebrates his memory on the 22. of March but that is a dispute which I leave to Chronologers In this place Saint Luke begins to give the name of Paul to the Apostle and from thence some have drawne an argument in their opinion very strong that till then he was called Saul and that after this great conversion he took the name of his Cathecumen as the Ancient Romans did of those people they subdued by their Arms. But this is repugnant to the humility of a man who sayes of himself that he was not worthy to be called an Apostle It is more likely that the Proconsul in acknowledgement of the good which he had received from him desired him to take his name which was one of the noblest of Ancient Rome and that he accepted of it not out of vanity but because it might gaine him a better admittance amongst the Gentils to whom he was particularly to preach Some say that perhaps he received both those names at his circumcision that the one was better known before his own conversion and the other more used after this which we now relate I should be of opinion he had both those names that amongst the Jews he was called Saul and at Tharsis which was a Roman Colony he took the name of Paul it being a Roman name This dispute is of no great importance and we speak of it onely by the way After the Proconsul's Conversion his Family being also converted and many others the Apostle departed to sow the Seed of the Gospel which had so happily prospered in Cyprus in other places He did but pass by Pergen of Pamphilia judging that there was a greater harvest to be made in Antioch of Pisidia On a Sabbath-day he went into the Synagogue and mingled himself with the Assistants to hear the Lecture which was made there out of the Holy Scriptures When that was done the chief of the Assembly being willing to honour him according to the custome of the Jews sent to him and to Barnaby to know if either of them would speak Then Paul rose up and making a signe with his hand inviting silence began in this manner The Discourse I have to make unto you Men Israelites and all you who have the fear of our Lord is of so great importance as I must beg an extraordinary attention You know that God who owns to be his all the Nations of the World chose through an admirable effect of his goodness the Posterity of Abraham and Jacob to be unto him a particular people and a beloved Nation Whilest our Ancestors were captives in Egypt he took pity of their afflictions and delivered them by miracles worthy the strength of his Arme. He opened to them the bosome of the Sea and for the space of forty years fed them in the desart and with incredible patience suffered their revolts and murmurs He brought their Children into the Land of promise the which he distributed amongst them after he had extirpated seven Nations for their sakes He governed them by Judges till the time of Samuel This government not pleasing them he accommodated himselfe to their Ingratitude and chose for their King Saul the Son of Cis of the Tribe of Benjamin But he not answering to the favours received from God by his disobedience to Samuels command by his attempt to offer sacrifice to the Lord and by his other wicked actions occasion was given to reprove him and elect David of whom God himself has vouchsafed to give this testimony I have found David the Son of Jesse a man according to my own heart who will doe all my commands From his Posterity that Jesus Christ the Saviour of Israel is descended according to the promise made to our Fore-fathers John the Baptist announced his comming preaching to all people the Baptisme of pennance His Sanctity and Doctrin made men doubt if he were not the Messias But instead of attributing that honour to himself he told all his Auditors that he was not the Messias but onely his humble Precursor and that he held himselfe not worthy to unty his shooes My dear Brethren holy Posterity of Abraham t is for you that he is come T is unto those who amongst you have the fear of God that these tidings of Salvation are directed The Lawe given to Moses upon the Mountaine is holy no doubt since the Author of it is holy But that onely exhorts men to Sanctity and cannot give it by any peculiar efficacy of its owne nature It forbids our consent to the motions of concupiscence but does not furnish us with force to withstand those furious assaults Concupiscence is a Monster too strong for it a poyson which surpasses all its remedies a yoak of death which the Law alone cannot break Our Fathers have groned under the weight and have found it as difficult as shameful Notwithstanding it was good and even necessary that our Nation should remaine long under this captivity to the end men acknowledging their incapacity of observing the precepts of the Lawe and the weaknesse of the Law in it selfe might have recourse to that Physitian and Redeemer who is able to cure all their evils and free them from their servitude This Physitian this Redeemer is Iesus Christ which I announce unto you it is he who offers unto you the perfect liberty of
that his very bones might be told and lots should be cast for his garment Is not this Jesus whose doctrine I preach unto you This is the Master whom David invites us to hear speaking in the person of God To day if you hear his voice harden not your hearts as your Fore-fathers have done in the desart where I was made angry against those who durst distrust my power and censure all my workes for the space of forty yeares Their infidelity shall not go unpunished I will make them know that I can revenge my self in my wrath I sweare they shall not enter into the place of rest which I had prepared for them Behold dreadfull words and you will doe well to be warned by their loss lest you be excluded also from that place of repose which is offered to you As it availed them little to give ear to the relation of those who returned from the land of Promise and informed them of the true state of it because they would not believe what was said so it is not enough to heare the Gospel preached it must be received humbly to the end you may obtaine by faith the fruition of that repose which is spoken of in the passage I alledged It cannot be that repose which God assumed after he had made the world that being no other thing then a cessation from work nor is it likewise the repose of the Sabbath whose institution was before the birth of David In summe it is not that repose which our Fathers tasted in the Land whereinto they were led by Ioshua for that long since is past therefore it must needs be that the Psalmist speaks of another repose more holy a Sabbath more excellent which appertains to the people of God and in which the Just do eternally repose from all their labours as formerly our Lord did repose the seventh day from all his works Moyses could not bring us into that place where this divine Sabbath is celebrated Jesus Christ entred there the first to open it to those who should receive his doctrine This is the Priest deserving adoration who to purifie heaven and earth and to reconcile man to God has not not made use of the bloud of goats and bulls but of his owne which he has shed to the last drop upon the Altar of the Cross The high Priest of the Law was obliged to offer Sacrifices for his own sins as well as those of the People Jesus Christ is the Sovereign high Priest pure holy unpolluted uncapable of any spot consequently needs not offer any victime for himself he hath not received his Priest-hood by way of a carnall birth and succession as the Priests according to Aaron did but hee has been established eternal Priest according to the order of Melchisedec as we learn by those words of the Psalmist which you confess are to be understood of the Messias Our Lord hath sworne thou art an eternal Priest according to the order of Melchisedec If the Levitical Priest-hood which the people received together with the Law guided to perfection that is to say gave true Justice what need was there that another Priest should come according to the order of Melchisedec and if the Priest-hood be transferred it then follows that the Law is also changed because these two things are inseparably linked together Now that there has been a translation of the Priest-hood 't is not to be doubted since he of whom that passage I alledged speaks was of the Tribe of Iuda and not of Levi out of which Moyses ordained that the Priests should be chosen Observe also that the Leviticall Priest-hood was not established by oath as is that which I treat and this circumstance shewes the sanctity and immutability of that thing unto which God has pleased to unite it There were to be many Priests according to the order of Aaron because they were mortal But the Priest-hood of Jesus Christ is eternall as well as himself he has alwaies power to guide those to eternall salvation who believe in him He is alwaies in the functions of his Priesthood that is to say in continual oblation of himself to God and in prayer without intermission for hee that sayes Eternal Priest sayes also Eternal Oblation The Levitical Priests stood during the exercise of their Functions Jesus Christ having once offered the Hoast of his body is seated at the right hand of God according to the words of the Psalmist The Lord said to my Lord Take thy place till I have put thy enemies under my feet Be not you of that number my deare Brethren you that are descended from Abraham the Father of the Faithfull you whose Ancestours have been so holy you to whom those promises were made and for whom Jesus Christ principally came doe not permit strangers to carry away the benediction due to lawful children and having hitherto born the heavy yoke of Moyses doe not fear now to submit your selvs to that of Jesus Christ which is so light and pleasing And in this you will even obey Moyses by whom as you know God promised That after many ages hee would raise a Prophet of your Nation to whom hee would have you attend as to himself The Apostle spake much after this manner his discourse raised great Disputes amongst his Auditours some blaming what others approved some believing others continuing obstinate S. Paul finding hee could gaine little upon them hee told them freely I know well that ye will fulfill the prophesie of Esay to whom God spake in these tearms Goe to the Children of Israel and tell them You shall hear with your ears but shall not understand with your mindes you shall see with the eyes of the body but not with those of the soule for the heart of this people is suffocated with fat they have heard with their ears against their wills being incensed have shut their eyes for feare they should see by their eyes take in by their eares consent by their hearts and wills and so work their conversion and their cure The incredulous Jewes were extreamly offended at these words and more which he added viz. That the news of salvation should be carried to the Gentiles who would imbrace it This discourse gave occasion of much dispute to the Audience who not being able to come to an agreement every one returned home possessed with different thoughts and opinions Hitherto we have proceeded securely following the steps of Saint Luke who ends here his story and leaves the Apostle in the Confusion of Rome where he saies he remained two years and during that time preached the Doctrine of Jesus Christ without any let Receiving with freedome all those who came to see him Hence what concerns the rest of his life we know little yet I will endeavour to ground what I shall adde more of this Subject either upon certaine traditions or from his owne Epistles In the second Epistle which he writes to Tymothy his dear