creatures as the mountaines and the vallies should be refreshed thereby Such was the prophesie of Esay Reioyce O heauens and be glad O earth burst foorth into prayses O mountaines for God hath visited his people and will haue mercy on his afflicted And the Prophet Zacharie saith Reioyce for great ioy O daughter Sion shout out for ioy O daughter Ierusalem Behold thy king commeth vnto thee If these reioiced so much in that the Messias should come How much more should our soules magnifie the Lord and our spirits reioyce in him who already is come and as this day born vnto vs This is the day which the Lord did promise to our forefathers let vs reioyce and be glad in it Let vs clap our handes for ioy and gladnes let vs sing vnto the Lord with the voyce of melodie for Christ our Sauiour is borne as this day let vs sing prayses therefore all of vs with vnderstanding But some man wil say this day was long agoe it is olde and stale newes that Christ was borne I know indeede that the Messias was borne not onely long before our times but euen before all times But I reade also that Iesus is yesterday and to day and the same for euer and therefore if the fathers reioiced to see his day before it came we may as well celebrate the memoriall of it as present now it is come But now let vs proceede and inquire out the place of his birth And that the Euangelists affirme to be Bethlehem the citie of Dauid what if it be a poore village what if it be the least in all the land of Iudea shall it be an argument that he was not born there nothing lesse for what was more beseeming him that when he was rich became poore for vs and of a great and mightie Lord became a little child then to be born in a poore and little village And in this he declareth vnto vs how greatly he affecteth the poore in spirite and those that are of a lowly and humble hart For as he sayd vnto his Disciples of his washing of their feete so it may be said of his other actions I haue giuen you an example that you should doe as I haue done And in this shall all men knowe that ye are my Disciples If thou wouldst distinguish betwixt the corne and the chaffe cast them foorth the good corne descendeth but the chaffe will ascend the wicked are still aspiring and mounting vpward in this world but the godly cast down their crowns with the 24. Elders at the feete of the Lamb Dicit se filius indignum vt pater eum iudicet dignum The prodigall sonne termeth himselfe vnworthy that his father might terme him worthy for it is alwayes true that Cum inclinatur humilitas excitatur miserecordia when humilitie stoupeth downe mercy ariseth vp And therefore saith Peter Humisiamini sub potenti manu domini vt vos exaltat in diem Iudicij Humble your selues vnder the mightie hand of God that he may exalt you in the day of iudgement The tree doth not grow vpward except it first take root downwarde The higher wee meane to builde an house the lower we must lay the foundation for he that thinketh to doe the one without performing the other may seeme frugall in the beginning but will prooue a foole in the ende The high hils seeme next vnto the cloudes but the lowe vallies are most refreshed by them euen so God resisteth the proude but giueth grace vnto the humble The glow-worme shineth bright and in the darke gloriously but is blacke and vgly when it commeth to light whatsoeuer the condition of the proude man seemeth now in the darknes of this worlde I am sure that when the Sonne of righteousnes shall shine in the last day it shall prooue very lowe and base I would that ye were all little Bethelem of Iuda poore in spirit and little in your owne eyes that Christ might vouchsafe to bee borne in you by his spirit as he was there in the flesh Bethelem signifieth as much as the house of bread therefore it is good to bee there and if we may not build Tabernacles of abode in that place yet let vs send thither with Iacob our Camels and Asses I meane our affections that we may liue and not die It is the house of bread euen of that liuing bread that came downe from heauen of which whosoeuer eateth shall liue for euer Happy were the people that were in such a case yea blessed was Bethelem that had the Lord for their bread Let vs pray beloued that we may be also Bethelem the house of bread that the Lord may turne in vnto vs for otherwise if we be vnprouided as he that was faine to trouble his neighbour at midnight for a fewe loaues we are not fit to receiue so great a guest But who hath this Bread euen he whose heart is confirmed strengthned for bread strengthneth the hart of man and who is confirmed or strengthned in hart but he whose hart is setled to the Commandements of the Lord which doth not wauer in his faith but goeth forward with a determined hart towards the heauenly Canaan forgetting the flesh pots of Egypt which are behinde and not so much as looking backe towards the forsaken Sodom For if any one be doubtfull and wauering in his faith if a man be not resolued to proceed in his vocation but is in a quandary whither he should go forward or backeward deny his faith or maintaine it forsake his sinnes or returne to his vomit this man is not prepared to receiue the Lord Christ will not be borne in such a mans house who wanteth faith the bread of life as the Scripture calleth it saying the iust shal liue by faith But what did Bethelem beleeue in Christ did shee so abound with the bread of faith that the Lord chose his Inne there rather then any where else nay surely she was farre from that in nature which she seemed to be by hir name though she brought forth this Sonne according to the duty of a mother yet she was farre from a motherlike affection towards him though the walles of hir house contained him carnally yet the affections of hir hart would not entertaine him spiritually And indeed we may say of this as Paul doth of other like mysteries All things were done in former times in tipes and figures The beleeuing soule is that true citty of bread wherein Christ is dayly borne spiritually as he was in Bethelem carnally So that I thinke this name was giuē hir rather as a prophesie that the bread of Life Christ Iesus should be borne in hir then for that shee was fed or nourished by him Furthermore the holy ghost not onely hath expressed the name of the towne but also the very house yea and the very place or roome of the house wherein he was borne neither is it to be thought curiosity in vs to search the meaning of euery particular
God is righteous Timuerunt ergo timore magno They feared therefore saith Luke with a great feare their sinnes were the cause of their feare and ours deseruing no lesse then theirs we haue no cause but to feare with them but what comfort hath the Angell brought with him marry this Feare not As though he should haue said yee sorrowfull and sinfull shepheards who by reason of your manifold sins and iniquities are ashamed like the pensiue Publican to cast vp your polluted eyes vnto the vnspotted throne of the righteous God but go mourning like reiected Cains and cursing with Iob the dayes of your Natiuitie because yee lie subiect vnto the horrible curse of Lucifer and his Angells by reason of your originall and actuall sinnes and therefore feare lest God should cause the earth to swallow you vp as it did Corah and his confederates or else to be consumed with fire by reason of this fiery Light that shineth about you as the Sodomites were in the dayes of Lot If ye knew for what cause I am come downe vnto you ye would be so farre from feare or sorrow that you would rather with that Democrites passe ouer your dayes in perpetuall Laughter For behold I bring you Tidings and Tidings of so great Ioy that the very mountaines if they could heare it would skip like Rams and the little hills like young sheepe so that henceforward you may sing Salomons song as heretofore ye haue sighed out leremies Lamentations wherfore looke vp and behold behold the Angell of God who am sent from the Throne of his Almighty Maiesty with all the rest of these heauenly Souldiers to declare tidings of ioy vnto you wherefore seeing that you are in such fauor with the King of Kings the Almighty Iehouah the Lord of hostes in that he hath regarded you more then all the nations of the earth in that you shall see the Redeemer of mankinde euen Iesus Christ the Son of God before any else Seeing I say you are in such fauor and so regarded of him who is onely to be feared there is no cause that ye ought to feare But here by the way wee must note what Feare is meant in this place for a Diuision must needs be granted els there wil be found an Opposition in Religion which Religion denieth and a concordance of repugnant contrarieties in one subiect which Reason in no sort admitteth For Feare is called Principium sapientiae the beginning of wisedome and Salomon saith it is the root of Life the fulnes of knowledge the glory and renowne of a Christian and the most happy gift And Dauid saith that the Lord hath prouided an euerlasting heritage for them that feare him and yet it is said here Feare not S. Paul in the eight to the Romanes setteth downe two kindes of feare the one a Seruill feare proper vnto the diuells and his damnable adherents the other a filiall feare or the feare of children towards their parents which is peculiar vnto the Seruants of God A seruil feare may be seene in Pharao who feared the Lord when he let the people of Israell depart but it was onely for feare lest hee should be destroied by those plags punishmēts which were denounced against him which he had begun already to haue tasted of So Cain feared when he had slaine his brother so Iudas feared when hee had betrayed his maister Thus the Gentiles feared their Idols for it was not for any Loue that they could beare thē being so wicked vngodly as they were but only lest they shold be hurt by them if they did not serue them Of this feare Saint Peter speaking saith Timorem eorum ne timueritis Feare not their feare or feare not after their maner of fearing meaning the seruil feare of wicked men But of the other kinde of feare he saith presently after Dominum autem Christum sanctificate in Cordibus vestris cum modestia et timore But sanctifie the Lord Iesus in your harts with modesty and feare And S. Paul writing of this feare saith Cum timore tremore vestrum c. worke out your saluation with modesty and feare And this feare is called the feare of children which feare their Parents more for displeasing them or prouoking their anger then for the punishment which by the offence might redownd vnto themselues This feare was neither forbidden the shepheards nor vs nor any else but onely that seruil feare which the Law did bring with it whē nothing but plagues punishmēt was denounced against them that did not whatsoeuer by the Lawe was commaunded vnto them Therefore many of the Iewes did seruilely feare God but they loued him not as may appeare in that they had rather haue worshipped any stock or stone if thei might haue had their choise without feare of punishment But now seeing Christ is come to fulfill the Law for vs and that God doth require nothing but our endeuoure if with firme faith we cleaue vnto the merrits and suffrings of his sonne therfore in this respect it is said vnto the Shepheards in them vnto vs Feare not And thus much of the comfort now of the reason therof why we need not feare For beholde I bring you Tidings of Great Ioy which shall be vnto all people Non oportet esse tristitiae locum vbi est natalis gaudiorum There ought not to be any place for feare or care saith Augustine when the Birthday of Ioy blisse is come in presence for can the childrē of the Bridechamber moorne when the bridegroome is with them haue the thunderclaps of Sinai bin able to deiect vs shall not the songs of Sion be as forcible to erect vs shall the Law terrifie vs when the Gospel is sent to cheere vs But what is this that he saieth that this Ioy shall be vnto all people shall all be saued shall there be no lost sheep in the house of Israel no goats to stand on the left hand in the day of iudgement shall all be carried into Abrahams bosome shall all be voide of feare by his comming I answer the Lord knoweth who are his And hath tould vs that as the way of Life is narrowe and the gate straight so there shal be but few that shall find it For many saith he shal cry Lord Lord open to vs and shal be sent away with Nescio vos I know you not And in his prayers Christ saith of himselfe that he prayed not for all the world but onely for those that his father had giuen him out of the world Therfore it is manifest that although the Angel saith that this Ioie of his Birth should be vnto all yet that all shall not be made Pertakers of the fruits therof But as touching the merrits of Christ we must speake after two sorts either according to Sufficiencie or as touching Efficiencie Christ his Death was sufficient to haue saued all but it was not efficient vnto any but onely vnto those
an haire can fal to the ground without the will and prouidence of God There is not a Letter or sillable in the Gospell but hath some special vse and also is replenished with celestiall and heauenly sweetnesse if it haue a dilligent examiner that can tell how to sucke Hony out of the Rocke and Oile out of the Flint stone as the prophet speaketh Esay 45. The Angell Gabriell was sent to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Ioseph Luke 1. c. But what virgin was it that was so venerable as to bee saluted of an Angell and yet so humble as to be espoused to Ioseph a carpenter O most excellent no doubt was the commixtion of virginity and humillity neither doth that person smally delight God in whome Humility commendeth Virginity and Virginity exorneth and beautifieth humility Wee heare she was a Virgin and and we heare she was humble if we can not imitate the virginity of this humble woman yet let vs folow the Humility of that Virgin Commendable is Virginity but more necessary is Humillity for that is but Counselled but this is commaunded that we are inuited vnto but vnto this we are compelled Of that it is said I would that euery one were a virgine as my selfe but of this it is affirmed That except we be as humble as little Children we cannot enter Heauen For without Virginity a man may be saued but without Humillity hee can not And therefore saith Mary in her song of thanksgiuing He respected what not my Virginity but the Lowly estate of his handmaid Of this humble virgin came Christ in his humility for this he respected hir to shew vs how he respecteth the humble It was meet that shee should be meek and Humble of whom the meeke and humble in hart should proceed it was requisite that she should be a pure Virgin vnspoted of whom the Immaculate vnspotted Sauior should be born that should clense the spots of the impure world Adam and Eue as they were the begetters of all so were they the destroiers of all yea and which is a more mischiefe they first destroid vs before they begat vs for their Seed being impure by their sinne we were al conceaued sinfull and subiect vnto destruction The consideratiō whereof might cause vs to feare with the Shepheards But saith the Angell Feare not for ye haue wherewith to redeeme the Impurity of your conception euen the purity of the conception of your Redeemer If he had bin vncleane himselfe in his cōception how could he haue clensed ours therfore to make them cleane which were borne of vncleane seed he was conceiued without any seed of man For as the Angell Gabriell tould hir the Holy Ghost came vpon hir the power of the most High ouershadowed hir And therefore that holy thing that was borne of hir was is called the son of God what greater miracle then this yea who euer heard so great miracles as these as that God should be man and yet God stil That a virgin should be a mother without the corruption of hir Virginity Surely I may now with security expect that that holy one shall not see corruption but shall rise againe for our Iustification seing he would not suffer corruption in the Virginity of his mother Further we may obserue this in the wisdome of God how he maketh the woman a Conduite Pipe of our comfort and Felicity which before was the instrument of our care and misery so that as before we laid the fault vpon Eua Saying The woman which thou gauest me gaue to me to eate c. So now we may with ioiful harts say to God Mary which thou gauest me gaue me of the Tree of Life I did eate of it And it was sweeter thē hony vnto my mouth for in it thou hast reuiued me Thus the wise woman rebuildeth the house which the foolish had cast downe before Mary like the tree of life beareth the fruite of Saluation for vs as Eue offered the apple of Damnation vnto vs. Nowe let vs proceede to the time of his birth which was in the midst of winter euen of the colde and tempestuous winter when all thinges seeme dead and withered when the Trees not onely beare no fruite but also want their Leaues when the birdes sing not nor the Sunne warmeth nor the heauens are cleere nor the Aire tollerable nor the Earth delightfull nor any creature cheerefull euen in this withered barren and frozen time of the yeare nay of the world yea in the dark night of this winter was our Sauiour Borne for then was the night of which the Apostle speaking saith now is past when darkenes was ouer the face of the deepe yea a spirituall and inward darkenesse of the minde when the Light of Knowledge and Vnderstanding was very much obseured the darkenes of ignorāce had possessed mens harts that few had the true knowledge of God or could be instructed in the path of his wayes There was no Prophet amongst them no chirping of birds was heard in their Land there was a barrennes not onely of good workes but euen of the leaues of good words Theeues made their dennes in the Temple and Foxes crept into Sion Charity was cold and mens hearts were frozen Iustice was banished and vnrighteousnes embraced and therefore according to the time of the yeare I meane the course of their life the stormes and tempests of Gods heauy iudgments might with reason be exspected But euen in this cod dead winter and darke time of the night warme and cheerefull Light appeered vnto the Shepheards and the glory of the Lord did shine most brightly vpon them and the Tidings of this ioyfull Natiuity was tould vnto them which is all one with that which the apostle saith That when we were Sinners Christ died for vs. And this was the fulnesse of time Gal. 4. for the fulnesse of Earthly and temporal things had made a dearth and barrennesse of heauenly and spiritual This was the time which the Prophet Ioell prophesied of when the mountaines should drop downe new wine and the hils should flow with milke and all the Riuers of Iudah should flowe with waters This was the day wherein God promised the Heauens should send downe their Dew and the Cloudes drop Righteousnesse and Saluation and Iustice should growe foorth of the Earth together This was the day which many Kinges and Prophets desired to see and could not see it Yea happy were they that were so happy as to hope for this day Father Simeon desired to liue to this day though hee liued not a day longer and therefore as soone as euer he saw him whom his soule had so long longed after presently he said Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace for myne eyes haue seene thy saluation c. This was the comfortable day in the hope wherof the Prophets comforted vp themselues and the people declaring it in such sort as though the insensible
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