THE RECOVERIE of Paradise A Sermon on the Incarnation and Birth of our Sauior Christ By Michael Birkhed Mercy and Truth are met together Righteousnesse and Peace haue kissed each other Psal lxxxv verse x. Printed for Nicholas Ling and Thomas Bushel and are by them to be sold 1602. To the Right Honorable Sir Tho. Egerton Knight Lord Keeper of the great Seale of England and one of hir Maiesties most Honorable Priuy Counsell IT hath bin Right Honorable well debated amongst the Learned where Learning was first professed and it is as truly recorded of many worthy Writers who were the first that did teach for to Write and surely as our forefathers did reuerence them as Gods which spake wisedome so we may extol them as men somewhat superior vnto men which inuented the arte to Write what they spake The first benefitted the persons that heard them by the latter are instructed al posterities that shall reade them the one instructed those onely that were present with them the other gaue lessons vnto all nations whatsoeuer though neuer so much distant from them And therefore very well saith a certaint Poet nowe liuing O blessed letters that combine in one All ages past and make one liue with all By you we do confer with those are gone And the dead-liuing vnto Counsell call By you the vnborne shall haue communion Of what we feele and what doth vs befall The consideration of which premises together with the respect of this ouer-fruitfull age of the Children of the Prophets the Land hauing more Church men then Churches and more Preachers then Parrishes to Preach in hath moued me though least of the Apostles yet vnwilling to hide my talent with the vnprofitable seruant to write what I haue heretofore spoken and to publish what I haue Written which I prostrate as my free-will offring at the foote of the Aulter as the poore Israelites did their Goats haire when they had no better to bring and as the Widdow did hir mite when she had nothing greater to giue And forasmuch as Curtesie is the true note of Gentilitie and Learning is best fauoured of such as are best Learned and matters of Religion of those that are Religious I haue therefore made choyse of your Honor for Patron of these papers not doubting but that in regard of Gentilitie you will curteously receiue it in respect of your Learning willingly pervse it and for the matter and subiect of it Patronize and protect it Your Lordships fauourable entertainment of this shall encourage me in greater matters hereafter to imploy my Labors vnto the memoriall of your worthines and mooue others to peruse it the more diligently being entertained of a Personage of such Honour and Iudgement Thus wishing vnto your Lordship the accomplishment of your wishes crauing pardon for my perhappes ouermuch boldnes I humbly take my leaue this first of Ianuary Your Honors to commaund Michaell Birkhed THE RECOVERY of Paradise Luke 2. 10. Feare not for behold I bring you tidings of great ioy that shall be vnto all People That is vnto you is borne this day in the Citty of Dauid a Sauiour which is Christ the Lord. GReat is the Solemnitie of this feast of Christ his Natiuity but the shortnesse of the day requireth to reade but a short discourse and no maruell if the words we write be short seeing God the father made as at this time his word the subiect of this booke very short If you would knowe the shortnesse of Gods Word behold that Word which said by his Prophet I fill both Heauen and Earth which was neither Included in any thing nor excluded out of any thing but was all in euery thing euen that Word which the Heauen of heauens could not cōtaine which was from euerlasting without beginning or ending Was now included in a place swadled in cloutes laied vp in a cratch and become a child of a dayes age a long word indeed become very short and yet what length of time or multiplication of words is able to descipher the incomprehensible length and breadth thereof for euen in his humilitie his glorie is exalted and in the shortnesse of his name his name is enlarged Great are the works of the Lord as himselfe is great but greatest is that which he did in his little one Paruulus nobis venerit sed non parum attulit nō parum nobis contulit He came as a little one but he brought not a little with him it was no little benefit he did vs. It is no vnknowne thing to him that knoweth any thing how glorious was the estate of Adam in paradise being created in the Image of the God of glory liuing in a place of all kinde of pleasure vnder the shade of the tree of life with a cōpanion that was meet fit for him Inioying the sight of God himselfe whose countenance is the fulnes of al ioyes felicities nothing being forbiddē him that might any wise delight him saue onely the fruite of one tree that was in the midst of the garden the penalty if he tasted of it was the expulsing out of paradise the depriuation of his pleasures death damnation to his body soule euerlasting miseries to either amōgst the diuels in hell-fire But what followed Thy princes saith Esay were rebellious and became the cōpanions of theeues Our parents disobeyed the charge of the Almighty accompanied Lucifer in his the euery of Gods glory and so became subiect vnto the forenamed damnation Great was their fault so obstinately to haue sinned and great was the punishment that was inflicted for their sin For the Earth mourneth for it yea euen vnto the children as Zoroastes speaketh Though the father did onely eate the sowre grape yet his childrens teeth are also set on edge by it so that we were Damnati antequam nati Condemned to die euen before wee beganne to liue Glorious was mans condition beeing created in Gods Image but better had it bin that he had neuer bin created then so to haue defaced the glory of that Image But as God is the happiest and chiefest good containing all happines and goodnes in himselfe so such was his loue and fauour towards man that he would make him partaker also of that his happines and therefore presently he promised him a medicine for his malady and a salue for his sore namely that as Sathan had deiected him into the pit of hell so his sonne should erect and lift him vp into the kingdome of heauen if he would belieue in the one as he had giuen credite to the other Falshood had seduced and deceiued him and Truth must reduce and instruct him yet so that after he know the Truth hee renounce falshood and cleaue vnto the Truth this Truth was that word this word was that Sonne this Sonne was that Sauiour which was made short became little and was borne as this day in the Citty of Dauid But lest this so precious and peerelesse a Iem should
him Or how can he not do this which can do all things In a word if I can pardon that which is committed against me if I will shal not God our Christ be able to forgiue that which is committed against him if he wil If therefore hee can forgiue and pardon our sinnes both because hee is omnipotent and onely can because they are onely done against him Surely blessed is the man to whom this Lord Christ will not impute sinne Therefore we know that Christ by the power of his diuinity is able to forgiue sins now of his will who need to doubt For hee that debased him selfe so much as to take our flesh vpon him and to suffer death for vs shall we thinke that he will not imparte vnto vs his righteousnes surely yes so that as it is euident by the consideration of his deitie that he is able to forgiue our sinnes so it is manifest by the consideration of his Humanity that he is willing so to do But what other argument haue we that he hath vanquished death marry this because hee suffered it which did not deserue it And therefore with what reason can that bee required of vs which an other hath already paid for vs hee that tooke away the merrit of sinne by giuing his righteousnes vnto vs hee hath paid the debt of death and restored life vnto vs for so death being vanquished life is restored as sinne being taken away righteousnes is returned But how could he die which was God Euen in this respect that hee was man But how could the death of one man satisfie for an other because he was Iust and Innocent that died As he was a man he might die but being guiltlesse it was not necessary Indeed a sinner is not able to satisfie the debt of death for an other sinner for euery one dieth for his owne sinne but he that hath no cause to die for his owne shall we not thinke his death may be a ransome for an other Surely by how much the more vniustly hee dieth which hath not deserued death by so much the more iustly he liueth for whom he so dieth But what equity is it saist thou that an innocent person should die for the guilty I tell thee it is not Iustice but mercy if it should haue bin Iustice then he had not died voluntarily but of duty if of duty then he himselfe should die indeed yet he for whom he so died should not liue But neuerthelesse if it be not Iustice yet it is not against iustice otherwise God could not haue bin iust and mercifull at once But although one iust man may satisfie for one sinner yet howe is it that one may satisfie for many for it might seeme inough if one dying for one do restore Life vnto one To this the Apostle shall answere As by the offence of one the fault came on all men to the Condemnation of death So by the Righteousnes of one the benefit abounded towards all men to the iustification of Life For as by one mans disobedience many were made Sinners So by the Obedience of one many are become Righteous But perhaps one man might restore Righteousnes vnto many but Life not so By one man saith he death entered into the world and so by one is Life regayned For as by Adam all die so by Christ shall all be made aliue For what shal one man sinne and all become guilty and shall the Righteousnes of one redownd but to one only was gods Iustice such as to condemne al for one and cannot his mercy be as great as to saue all by one Or could Adam do more in euill then Christ in good Shall Adams Sin be imputed vnto me and shall not Christes righteousnes belong vnto me Shall his disobedience be the cause of my Death and shal not Christs obedience restore me to life but thou wilt say we are worthely guilty of Adams Sinne because we were contained in him when he sinned and were begotten of his flesh in the sinfull Lust of the Flesh But I say more truly are we begotten of god according to the spirit then of Adam according to the flesh I meane if we are of the number of those whom God hath predestinated before the creation of the world vnto Life And that we are begotten of god S. Iohn witnesseth where he saith Which were not begotten of blood nor after the will of the Flesh nor of Man but of God And in one of his Epistles he likewise maketh mention of this holy generation saying He that is borne of God sinneth not But thou wilt say our carnall concupiscence and sinne testifieth that we haue descended of sinners according to the flesh and not of God I answere this generation or birth is not seene in the flesh but in the spirit and minde and that of those onely that can say with the Apostle we haue the minde of the Lord and who haue the spirit bearing witnesse to their spirits that they are the sonnes of God for by the spirit of God chastitie is infused into our mindes as by the flesh which is of Adam concupiscence is diffused about in our members and as that which is descended vnto vs from the parents of our bodies doth neuer depart in this life from the flesh so the other proceeding from the father of our spirits is neuer excident from the intention of the mindes of his children that are perfected in him If then we are borne of God and elected in Christ what equity is it that our earthly and humane generation should hurt vs more then our spirituall and heauenly is able to helpe vs Can our carnall succession hinder the election of God and a momentary sinne be a let vnto his eternall and euerlasting purpose Nay if by one man death entered vpon all shall not life by one man especially such a man as Christ be giuen vnto all And if in Adam wee all died shall we not much more in Christ be made aliue for the fault was nothing so much as the gift for iudgement came for one sinne vnto condemnation but grace was of many sinnes vnto iustification Christ therefore both could remit our sinnes in that he was God die in that he was man and by dying deliuer vs from death in that he was iust and though but one yet be sufficient vnto iustification and life for all because both sinne and also death did enter into vs all by one Thus all of Christ was powerfull to helpe vs in euery thing he was profitable for vs neither was his infirmity lesse auaileable then his maiestie for although by the power of his deitie hee remoued the yoke of sinne from our neckes yet in the infirmity of his flesh he destroyed the power of death by his death And therefore true is that of the Apostle the weakenesse of God is strongest vnto men for his death hath freed vs from death as his life did from errour and his grace from sinne
liue for euer art thou thirstie behold Christ the fountaine of liuing water of which who so drinketh shall thirst no more but it shall be vnto him a well of water springing vp vnto eternall life liuest thou in darknesse behold Christ the light of the world who onely disperseth the cloudes of errour art thou desirous to enter into life repaire vnto Christ for he is the doore thereof yea he is the way the truth and the life without which way there is no walking into heauen without which truth there is nothing but falsehood and errour and without which life there is nothing but death eternall Seeing then that such a Sauior is born vnto thee in whom is the fulnes of al iov how canst thou be sorrowfull or how canst thou feare Shall Peter be sad when he seeth the boults of Iron beaten off from him by an Angel and the gates of the prison set open that he may go foorth and inioy his former freedome Should Ionas feare a storme when he was cast vp safe on the land out of the belly of a whale Or Sidrack Misaack and Abednago mourne beeing deliuered by the Lord from the fury of the furnace Can Daniell but reioyce being saued from the Lions Or Ioseph mistrust the goodnes of the Lord being promoted from a slaue to be Lord of all Egypt We are deliuered from a darker prison then Peter from a more fiery furnace then Sidrack from a more cruell Lion then Daniel and adopted heires of a more noble kingdome then Joseph was euen the kingdome of Iesus how then should we but reioyce being thus saued and so highly promoted Why art thou heauy O my soule or why art thou at any time disquieted within me List vp thy head plucke vp a good courage celebrate with ioy the Natiuity of thy Sauiour daunce now and be merry not as Herodias did but as Dauid did leape vp in affection as high as heauen where thy Sauiour now sitteth not in the lap of his mother but on the right hand of his father in all glory and maiestie Come then my brethren let vs sing vnto the Lord let vs hartely reioyce in the strength of our Saluation Let Israel reioyce in him that made him and let the children of Sion be ioyfull in their King Praise his name in the daunce sing praises vnto him with Tabret and Harpe Yong men and maidens old men and children praise the name of the Lord sing 〈◊〉 Iustily vnto him with a good courage For why the Lord is knowne now to haue pleasure in his people in that he hath receiued vs vnto mercy and hath sent his owne Sonne to satisfie his Iustice that wee might be â—â—ued He hath annointed him to be our King let vs therefore obey him he hath ordained him to be our Priest let vs therefore haue recourse vnto him and hee hath appointed him to be our Prophet let vs therefore harken and giue eare vnto him O Lord God how greatly are we indebted vnto thy maiesty being redeemed with so great a price being saued so franckly and freely O how art thou to be loued of vs poore creatures how greatly art thou to be Reuerenced honored and glorified of vs which hast so exceedingly loued vs saued vs sanctified and exalted vs who exceeded all thy creatures in Rebellion against thee We were vnworthy seruaunts but now wee are made free yea now wee are free indeed in that thy sonne hath made vs free O giue vs thy grace to receiue thy sonne being now come into the world that we may be receiued of him in the world to come And for this cause sanctifie our sinfull and polluted harts that he may vouchsafe to enter into vs and abide in vs for a cleane Lord must haue a cleane habitation That so beeing sanctified in earthly Babilou we may bee thought worthy to be glorified in thy heauenly Ierusalem Heere there is but Tidings of Ioy but there we shall enioy the Ioy it selfe Heere there is but newes that he came but there we shall reape the fruites of his comming when we shall be wedded vnto him in spirituall vnity and raigne with him in the kingdome of his deity replenished with that Ioy that no man shall take from vs. Of the which we beseech thee O father to make vs pertakers and that for the merrits of that thy sonne and our Sauiour through the mighty operation of the holy ghost To which Trinity yet one power and vnparted maiesty wee ascribe all honor and glory praise and thanksgiuing both now and euer Amen FINIS