should do no Work on the Sabbath and therefore they prepared Sweet Odours as the Custom was that they might perfume on the third day the Body for the Love they bore unto it But the Morrow after That is to say it was the Sabbath day after the Friday or Preparation The Chief Priests Assembled together That is to say to desire Pilate to grant them their Pleasure Our Lord we Remember that this Deceiver They called Pilate Lord and denied Christ and by the Words we Remember they shew'd that they knew all things which were said by him But observe how void of Pride Mathew was who wrote all Words of Reproach and was not ashamed to express the Word Deceiver and others the like Command therefore that they watch the Sepulcher They desired Watch-Men because they were mov'd with his Speech That he was to Rise the Third day Secondly Because the Watch-Men were to be Preachers of the Resurrection to the Region of the Jews Pilate said unto them Ye have Watches go and have a Care Pilate did not send a Guard of his own nor did he Seal the Sepulcher that they might not have occasion to say That he took a Bribe and permitted his Disciples to take him away And they Sealed the Stone the Soaldiers being present Some say That they made the Souldiers to stand as Centuries at the Stone and tied them thereunto and fixed the Impression of their Seals on their Necks or their Thighs or their Loyns or their Feet Others That they placed them on both sides of the Stone with their Faces one against the other and that they stretched forth their Hands over the Stone and knit their Fingers together about it and Sealed them Others say That they sealed the Stone over the Sepulcher with all their Rings as did Darius the Cistern with his Ring and the Ring of his Nobles And if they had not sealed it and appointed Keepers they might have a pretence to say that he was stoln away but this fell out more to their Shame That the Keepers themselves became Preachers and Witnesses of the Resurrection and that the Seals and Signs gave concurrent Testimonies with the Keepers that they did not Lye And he calls Keepers those who were appointed to keep Prisoners in Custody or those who were ordained Executioners in Capital Causes and there were 15 Keepers whereof some were Hebrews and some Romans There were three Captains and twelve under Command and this is Written in St. Paul's Roll and in other Hebrew Histories A Discourse against Hereticks and Gentiles AS to those who weigh and refer the Exinanition of Christ to Human Nature we have opposed Supereminencies for John said When ye shall lift up the Son of Man by listing up meaning the Cross and brings him saying as it were thus Had I not quieted the Sea yet when I shake the Earth and remove it out of its place were it so that I had not made Streight those who were Crooked yet when I do Rend the Veil of the Gate and the Stones and did I not restore Souls to their Bodies yet when I make the Holy-Ghost to depart from the Temple were I not the Light of the World whilst I cry out yet when I darken the Sun and the Moon and all Creatures did I not set at Liberty Mouths that were Chained up in Silence yet when I open Sepulchers securely shut up Nay I Raise to Life those who were Buried and had I not Cured the Sick and Diseased yet when I do renew the whole Creation as well Visible as Invisible then will ye confess who I am That is to say then shall ye by Conviction be forced to confess who I am and to believe upon these Tokens That I am God who was Crucified in the Body which I assumed and not a meer Man nor divided into two Substances after that Union made The Divine Excellencies of our Saviour THE Word was begotten of the Father from Eternity he is in all places without Limitation he is by his Nature God the Word he is Rich as God Simple as God he is Perfect in his Essence he gave the Law as God he is Obedient to God his Father he was Baptiz'd by the Holy-Ghost he is above Passions and Indigences he is Immortal in his Nature John Danced in the Womb at his Approach he fed thousands with a small quantity of Bread he cleansed the Leapers with a Word as God he Interdicted the Winds and Sea and they ceased as God he created Eyes to the Blind as God he remitted the Guilt of Sin as God he knew the Secrets of all Hearts as God he commanded the Apostate Devils into the Sea he stilled the Tempest of the Sea as God he heard the Prayer of the Cananitish Woman as God he said to the Disciple Fear not Death he called Lazarus and Rais'd him as God he called the Young Man and Rais'd him as God he was Sanctified of the Seraphims as God he made the Earth to tremble and cleft the Rocks as God he Darkned the Sun and the Firmament as God he changed Water into Wine as God he caused the Spirit to depart from the Jewish Temple he opened the Sepulchers and Raised the Dead as God Things belonging to the Humanity and Exinanition of our Saviour HE was Born of a Virgin in time and took his beginning in the Womb of a Virgin and appear'd comprehensible as to the Flesh but incomprehensible as to the Divinity he was made Man by his Grace being unchanged he was made Comprehensible because he was made Man being Rich in his own Nature he had in him the Composition of Soul and Body he increased in bodily Stature he kept the Law in Person as Man he was Tempted of Men and suffer'd Indigencies as Man he Tasted our Death in Humane manner as Man he Fasted and was Hungry in the Wilderness as Man he was Clothed with Contempt as Man he Slept and was Immersed in Sleep as Man there Gushed out Tears from his Eyes as he was Man he sate down with Publicans and Sinners he besought the Samaritan Woman as Man he was bound by the Rebellious Jews as Man and he said My Soul is troubled as Man he Pray'd in his Passion for us as Man he shew'd that he was afraid of our Death as Man he asked Where have ye laid Lazarus as if he were Ignorant he said Into thy Hands I commit my Soul as Man the Jews cry'd Crucifie him as Man he was Crucified between two Thieves as Man he was Hanged on the Cross and Pierced with Nails as Man he was Buffetted on the Cheek by an Impudent Servant as Man he was Wounded in the Head with a Cane as Man he Drunk Vinegar on the Cross as Man his Side was Wounded with a Spear as Man he was laid in a New Tomb as Man and there are many the like Instances but we do not admire the Miracle of Christ for it behoves not us but Strangers yet as being
Domesticks we admire his Exinanition and Low Estate the First of these were Natural unto him and Humane knowledge can't Reach them but the Latter are of extraordinary Dispensation and are Miracles and Signs and we Believe them and by these very things whereon the Hereticks reputed him a Man we know him to be God and by things whereon they depended and fell have all of us Risen but they shall be constreined to confess him when they shall see him coming in Glory and bringing with him the Cross which is one of the least and shall account him Holy as he said That then shall be seen the Sign of the Son of Man and that of his Lifting up he doth not call his Ascention but his Ascent to the Cross That is to say I shall then be known to be God by Miracles MATH Chap. XXVIII BVT in the Evening of the Dawning of the First day of the Week Concerning the diversity of Mens Opinions touching the times whereof all the Evangelists have severally Written we have spoken but not of the time when our Saviour Arose for that is unknown to Angels and Men but he knows it and his Father and the Holy-Ghost Mathew saith They came in the Evening John in the Morning Luke at the dawning of the Day Mark when the Sun Arose In the Evening of the dawning of the first day of the week came Mary Magdalen and Mary the Mother of God to visit the Sepulcher and they were told by an Angel that the Lord was Risen and they saw our Lord and took hold of his feet and he sent them to tell his Disciples but the Keepers went into the City and declared it to the Priests and received a Bribe and said he is stolen away Mary Magdalen hearing that he was stolen suffer'd somewhat of humane Infirmity as did Thomas and She returned to the Sepulcher the second time early in the morning when it was dark as John said and she saw the Stone removed and an Angel sitting thereon whom she saw in the Evening sitting on the Stone then she became more doubtful and came to Symon and John and say'd they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him and when the Disciples went and saw the Sepulcher and the Linnin Cloaths they were assured and returned believing but Magdalen stayed at the Sepulcher surprized with doubt of what had happned unto him and when she saw two Angels which had not appeared to Symon and John and when she looked back she saw our Lord and he sent her-unto his Disciples and she returned unto them and declared unto them that She had seen our Lord and she found there those women who came from Gallilee with him who were prepared to come to the Sepulcher with Sweet Odours and she returned with them and also the mother of God whom Luke calls the mother of James and he was beautiful as say'd Luke And they saw there two Angels in the Similitude of two Men and their Garments Shone and their faces were Illustrious there came Mary Magdalon and the mother of God with the Forraigner the Wife of Shalom who was not in readiness to come with the other women and they saw an Angel like unto a Young man cloathed with a white Stole and they wondered and then it was that the Sun arose as sayeth Saint Mark. These are the four times that women came to the Sepulcher as the Evangelists wrote Saint Severus reconciled the several times wherein women are say'd to have come to the Sepulcher Magdalen came five times to the Sepulcher First in the Evening as said St. Mathew Secondly at the break of day when it was yet dark alone as say'd St. John and she came unto Symon and John and it was the third time of her coming with Symon and John The 4th time she came with John and the mother of James at the Dawning of the day as say'd Luke the Fifth time was when the Sun arose with Shalom and the mother of James as mark say'd The mother of God came three times the first time when he said the other Mary the second time when Luke say'd Mary the Mother of James The Third time when Mark say'd the mother of James and Joses Jacobus Auriensis calls the other Mary the first Wife of Joseph who bare James and Jose The Patriarck Severus calls the other Mary the mother of God and likewise calls the Virgin Mary the mother of James and Jose according to the accustom'd Speech Symon went twice to the Sepulcher First of all with John Secondly alone as Luke saith And he went with his Soul filled with Admiration and at this time he saw as said the Eleven and the Houshold of Cleophas That our Lord was surely Risen and appear'd unto Symon as Paul and Luke do Testifie Moreover about the time wherein our Lord Rose from the Sepulcher he is to cause the General Resurrection according to Severus and that such an hour bears a great Similitude and Image of the last Hour And in the Evening of the Sabbath at the dawning of the first day of the Week That is to say we are to enquire of four times and to distinguish them one from another in reference to the Day the Night the Morning and the Evening for these four Seasons the Sun maketh with us and the Day is the time when the Sun is above the Earth and the Night is the time when the Sun is below the Earth or hidden behind the Northern Mountains as is the Opinion of some for the Evening is the End of the Day to wit the time when the Sun is obscure to us the Morning is the Beginning of the Day when the Sun Beams peep out and the Night is at an end That there is an Evening of the preceding day John testifies who said When it was the Evening of the First day of the Week which he spake of he doth not call the Evening of the coming in of the Sabbath but the Evening of its going out for the Evening of the day is the going out and end thereof whether it be Artificial or Natural for so Moses said for after the Light was Created and the Day was ended and the Hours thereof he said it was the Evening and the Morning calling the Evening the end of the first Artificial day which was created and the Morning the end of the Night and he doth not call the Evening of the Sabbath the time of the Sun setting of the Sabbath otherwise he had said in the Evening of the Sabbath and no more but forasmuch as he added the Dawning of the first day of the Week to wit the waxing Light he sheweth that he calleth here the Night of the First Day of the Week the Evening of the Sabbath in Respect of the Dawning Much of the time was passed insomuch that it was about Cock crowing that is to say the time when we in Fasting begin to abstain from Meat and Drink
and we begin at the First and not at the end of the Sabbath Johannes de Dara And in the Evening of the Sabbath That is to say also concerning the Passover it is written that it was slain on the 14th in the Evening for altho it was reputed the Night of the day to come by reason of the Course of the Moon yet it was reckoned the Evening of the Day and not of the Night others say that Mathew by the Evening entended the whole Night of the First day of the Week according to the Phrase of the Scripture by a Synechdoche of the part for the whole according to this the Evening and the Morning was the First day and again Let all Flesh praise the Name of the Lord and the Soul of Israel died in the way Others in the Evening of the Sabbath when the First day of the Week Dawned Eusebius Mathew by way of Exposition adds after this of the Evening of the Sabbath the dawning of the First day of the Week denoting the Hour and time of the Night after the Sabbath which was when the First day of the Week dawned 'T is true Mathew wrote in the Hebrew and he who Translated the Scripture into the Greek Language rendred the Dawning of the Day the Evening of the Sabbath and Mathew by the Evening means the whole Length and Evening of the Night as John calls the passing away or the least part of the Night Day and therefore adds whilest it was yet dark least it should be thought that he spoke of the Morning so Mathew also when he said the Evening of the Sabbath lest Men might think it was spoken of the Evening Season he adds When the First day of the Week began to dawn Our Lord appear'd many times but six times more Remarkably First To Mary Magdalen and to the other Mary as saith Mathew Secondly To many Women as say Mark and Luke Thirdly To Mary Magdalen as saith John Fourthly To Cephas as saith Paul That he Arose and was seen of Cephas Fifthly To those two who went to Emaus as saith Luke Sixthly To the Eleven when they were Assembled in the Upper Room and afterwards many times for forty days Mary Magdalen and the Mother of God said nothing to Shalom and John that they might go and be assured by the sight of the Sepulcher and of the Angels and not by their Words But this Who shall Roul away for us the Stone c. was spoke of John and Shalom Magdalen therefore and the Mother of God saw before the Stone was Rouled away And the other Mary to behold the Sepulcher That is to say that they might cast in Sweet Odours as was usual on the third day and wherefore wou'd they cast in Sweet Odours some say for the Sepulcher but we say for the Body and it is evident from what Mark said they bought Aromaticks that they might go and Anoint Him and not his Sepulcher Again who shall Roul away for us the Stone By the Rouling away the Stone 't is clear that they sought to cast Odours on his Body And behold there was a great Earthquake It was not here as at the Cross for that was an Universal Earthquake but this was particular and the Keepers and the Women only perceiv'd it and the Keepers were Terrified and the Women comforted therewith and he explains what kind of Earthquake it was for an Angel of the Lord descended from Heaven drew near and Rouled away the Stone it was the Angel Gabriel the same who Administred in his whole Dispensation on Earth and the other who appear'd with him was Michael he saith that he descended from Heaven and appear'd to the Keepers because it is thought that Heaven is their place though some of them be with us in this World such as are sent Jacobus Sarugensis saith That a Fire appear'd to the Keepers and that a multitude of Angels were heard in the Air and they saw Christ face to face as he came out of the Sepulcher uncorrupted and with that Angel other Angels Descended and a Light shone and a Ladder of Fire was put up that Reach'd from Earth to Heaven and Christ stood not above it to Descend but below it to Ascend and there were Angels ascending and descending singing Praises Furthermore We say that it is unknown to the Creatures at what time our Lord arose but the Evangelists have written of the several times that the Women came to the Sepulcher as we have said above Mathew saith that Mary came in the evening and saw our Lord and because the Keepers came in the Night and signified that he was risen the Priests published by Proclamation that his Disciples had stolen him away and when it was heard that he was stolen away Magdalen suffer'd somewhat of humane Infirmity and ran to the Sepulcher as John hath written and afterwards she returned with the Women bringing Aromaticks as saith Luke and when the Sun arose with John as Mark hath written they saw six Angels at the Sepulcher Mathew saith they saw one Luke saith two Angels John two Mark one First of all the Soldiers saw that the Lord was risen the Seals remaining as they were and they were terrifyed and at the time before the Women came the Angel descended who rolled away the Stone and for fear of him it was that they who kept him were terrifyed and became as dead Men and they saw also the Angel who sat upon the Stone and he was like to Lightning and that they might not fear he said unto them meekly Be not ye afraid as are the Keepers and after he had encouraged them he preached unto them the Resurrection and when the Women went away the Keepers were awakened and hastily went to the City and declared to the High-Priest what had hapned And came near and rolled away the Stone He did not roll away the Stone that Christ might go forth of the Sepulchor for he Arose before the Angel descended but that the Women who saw that he was laid in the Sepulcher perceiving it empty and he not there might believe for he went out of it the Stone being Sealed and the Impressions remaining as they were But how was it possible that the Body should go out the Door being shut We Answer That all things are easie and expedite for the Lord to perform for as he came out of the Womb Virginity being preserv'd and darkned the Sun and Rais'd the Dead and as the Angel came unto Daniel in the Den being Sealed up and as the Apostles got out of Prison and Symon walked on the Waves and the Aegyptian Waters were turned into Blood and the Hebrews kept sure footing in the Region of the Sea and Moses his Rod was turned into a Serpent so he came out the Sepulcher it being Sealed up And his Countenance was as Lightning It is the Custom of Angels to shew themselves in Shapes and Figures according to the several Works of their Ministry to Joshua the Son of Nun and to David they appear'd as Souldiers in Armour to Zachary in Red Colours and Spotted and to the Women in a comely Shapâ— and full of Joy And the Keepers were Terrified for Fear of them The Angel appear'd as he pleas'd to the Women Pleasing and Splendid but to the Keepers Angry and Terrible and all this they so much fear'd that they became as Dead Men Wherefore was the Resurrection first manifested to the Keepers Because the Jews were more ready to give Credit unto them than to the Disciples and to Women For God is used to draw the Perverse by what they have Relation or Affinity unto as by a Star he drew the Wise-Men The Angel answered and said unto the Women He did not only comfort them with a Joyful Apparition but with Speech also Fear Ye not He said Ye in Comparison of those who Crucified him for Fear belongs to them but Ye are worthy of Honour Luke saith They Remembred his Words that is to say I shall Rise again and he Arose again as Mathew said I know that Jesus who is Crucified Not to deride him as did those who Crucified him but to Honour him and if an Angel was not ashamed to say that he was Crucified how are the Calcedonians and Nestorians ashamed to say that he was FINIS
Latine Haebraice Ratione Judaeorum Graece Ratione Pilati Latine ratione Herodis in ipsissimis Linguis quibus usi fuerunt in accusatione ejus hostes ejus Evangelium praedicarunt Evangelistae Lucas processit secundum rerum ordinem omnia proprio ordine disposuit prout gesta erant a Domino nostro scripsit Johannes etiam similiter fecit salvo eo quod nonnulla in medio reliquit quia dicta fuerant per Socios suos Mathaeus vero non eodem processit modo sed usus est Doctrinae Methodo cohaerentiae insimul collocando Leges enim quas Instituit Dominus noster in uno capite ordinavit alteri vero Evangelistae sparsim eas tradiderunt Marcus sequitur dispositionem Mathaei multi vero non Intelligentes modum quo quisque eorum respective scripsit existimarunt se suisse sibi invicem contrarios Quia principium Evangelii fuit Baptismus Christi prout supra diximus propterea inde exorsus est Marcus Mathaeus enim altius ingressum fecit apud Geneologiam familiaram ut monstraret Haebreis quod sicuti praedixissent Prophetae Christus ortus est Lucas vero altius orditur pertingit usque ad Nativitatem Johannis ut subaccusaret eos qui praefatione omissa aggressi fuerunt scriptionem Historiae Christi Johannes ascendit usque ad sermonem divinum ut monstraret quod etiamsi socii sui scripsissent Christum hominem suisse quatenus incarnatum erat tamen Deus cum Patre fuerat postea incarnatus homo factus suit Doctrina eorum medio Plataearum alta voce fuit praedicata ipsis dicentibus Deus revelatus est in Corpore tolleravit passiones in carne mortuus fuit Resurrexit confirmata fuit eorum praedicatio per Miracula quae fecerunt Johannes loquutus est de sublimibus socii sui de inferioribus Mathaeus quidem quia ad Judeos scripsit ei curae fuit ut natraâ—et Generationem ejus consuetudinem in carne Marcus vero solicitus fuit ut scriberet contra Simonem qui praedicaverat Filium dispensationem suam egisse per Phantasium qua propter confirmavit ea quae ad corporationem spectabant dicitur quod in mandatis dedit ei Petrus ut scriberet vice sua hac ratione ut nonnulli existimant ne propter Petri Eminentiam socâ—orum suorum scripturae parvi haberentur ipse mandavit ei ut scriberet de ejus abnegatione accurate similiter Lucae mandavit Paulus ut scriberet in cujus Imitatione extense admodum Oratoris Loquitur in confirmatione Theophili Corrigenda in Epistola ad Lectorem p. 2. line 3. pro Cycles lege Cyclis A Clear and Learned Explication OF THE HISTORY OF OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST c. MAthew begins saying The Book of the Nativity of Jesus Christ Mathew said not as the Prophets that the Lord said unto me or I saw a Vision for by reason that the Jews were carried about after false Prophets it behoved them to say so but Mathew forasmuch as he wrote to the faithful he needed not to have imitated the Prophets nor did he put his Name to the Book because he wrote to those who were near at hand after the manner of a Narrative Yet Paul because he wrote to those who were afar off he wrote in the manner of an Epistle and therefore it was necessary to put his Name thereunto he calls the Book the Book of Nativity because the Nativity of our Saviour is the source of all Blessings or even as Moses names his Book from the Creation whil'st he Treats of such other things as were transacted and performed in the World for the space of two thousand two hundred and sixteen years and calls another Book by the name of going out yet wrote therein of other things so it is called the book of Generation by reason that this is the principal matter that God should be born in the Flesh tho' he treats of the rest of his Conversation on Earth for it is the principal part as being the best part that gives Denomination say the Philosophers and although Baptism be the begining of the Gospel yet he commenceth from the Nativity that he might instruct the Hebrews that this was the Messiah whom God had promised to Abraham and David that he should spring out of their Seed and that he was the Giver of the Gospel Nativity is spoken in many sences First as from a Woman Secondly as from Baptism according to that he who is not born of Water and the Spirit Thirdly from the Grave who hath heard such a thing who hath seen such things that the Earth should bring forth in one day or that a Nation should be born in one hour Fourthly Nativity is said also of things remote from the Birth Esa 66.8 according to this * 1 Cor. 4.15 for in Jesus Christ I have begotten you and he was pleased to beget us in the Spirit and I know not what to morrow is to bring forth and who hath begotten the drops of Rain and he Travelleth with Iniquity Joh. 38.28 Psal 7.14 and hath conceived falsehood and brought forth Destruction Fifthly as the beam and splendor which is begotten of the Sun or fire and as the Eternity of the Son is begotten of the Father according to the Divine Nature but here he doth not speak of the Eternal Generation from the Father but of the Temporal from the Virgin and tho' it be called in Scripture the birth of Abel and Jacob yet it is not there said of any of the Fathers the book of the Nativity except of Christ to the end that we may take notice that Christ is not meer Man but God made Man And that he was not born according to the ordinary Course of Humane Nature of Father and Mother but Supernaturally of the Holy Ghost and the blessed Virgin Moreover he begins at the Genealogies to signifie that although Christ was reputed by the Jews to be the Son of Joseph yet they were not perswaded of his Eternal Sonship yet of Joseph there was some doubt whether he were the Son of David or not and this is accurately made known by the Genealogies and the doubt Resolved The Greek hath it the Book of making or being and making or being is said to be nine fold First when of nothing something is made as the Heaven and Earth were made of nothing Secondly when of something something was made as the Firmament and Trees were made of something Thirdly by way of Contempt as God said Adam is made as one of us Fourthly by way of Transmutation as Lots Wife was made a Pillar of Salt Fifthly Impersonally the Evening and the Morning were the first day Sixthly by way of help or assistance as the Lord was with Moses Seventhly Temporally and I was as one who heareth not Eightly Of Grace according to that Moses was a God with Pharaoh Ninthly Without Transmutation
measured Jerusalem a thousand Cubits and as with a Span measureth he Man Secondly For Grace as the Prophets who were Anointed privately with the Spirit Thirdly for Oyl as the Kings and Priests were Anointed with Holy Oyl and Men likewise with ordinary Oyl Fourthly in the way of Honour as it was said of the House of Abraham and Isaack Touch not my Anointed Fifthly by way of Distinction as they who are set apart to do somewhat by Direction as Cyrus and Hazael who being seperated for a design were called Anointed Sixthly for Faith as That which is of Faith and Baptism is as the Body of Christ Seventhly for the Holy Ghost even as the Word Anointed his Body that is with his Godhead and with his Spirit for the Christ whom we Worship we do not call so as the Man born only of Mary and afterwards Anointed by the Spirit and Sanctified as the Hereticks say but we call Christ the Word of God who was begotten of the Father from Eternity and we call him Christ because he vouchsafed to be Anointed with the Spirit and to be Sanctified in the Flesh and as his Nature was high and above the Birth of a Woman of Passion and Death and yet vouchsafed to be born and to suffer and to dye in the Flesh for us so did he take upon him to be Anointed with the Spirit being the Giver of it and Holy in in his own Nature he was pleased to receive the Grace of the Spirit as not needing it and therefore receiv'd it that he might bestow it upon us And in all things he was the beginning to us as the Second Adam according to the saying of Paul That by his means he might give us the Holy Ghost Moreover we call him Christ because the Spirit descended into the Womb of the Virgin as the Angel said and this Spirit framed the body of the Word of God and Anointed and Sanctified it and so the Word was United to this Body and this the Spirit did not that it was unable to frame and Sanctifie the body out of the Womb but that it might be known that he that was born was God coequal in Nature with the Spirit who formed and Sanctified the body and not meer Man Again the Spirit formed the body of the Word and Sanctified and Anointed it that the distinctions of persons in the Trinity might be made known It was the Fathers pleasure the Son should be incorporated and it was the Holy Ghost who made him a Body in that he formed his body of the Virgin The same Order was observed in the Creation The Father commanded things to be made and the Son made them and the Spirit finish'd and accomplish'd them Furthermore the Father said Anoint and the Son was Anointed and the Spirit supplied the place of Oyl wherefore we call the Word of God Christ or Anointed Again we call the Word of God Christ for two Reasons and the first is for that he vouchsafed to be Anointed in the Flesh by the Holy Spirit tho' equal in Nature with the Giver of the same Secondly because the Holy Ghost Anointed and Sanctified his body being United to the Word Moreover this Name Christ teacheth the whole Doctrine of the Trinity it was the Father who Anointed the Son who was Anointed and the Holy Ghost was the Oyl or Unction he who said That Christ was made Man Naturally and that he was Anointed by the Spirit for Sanctification let him tell us where he was Anointed if before his Conception he had then no body in the Womb of the Virgin and behold it is not written that he was Anointed at his Baptism but behold he was called Christ at his Birth Some Hereticks there are who say that Jesus Christ signifies one made Man against whom we say that Jesus Christ signifies the Word of God not as he is God alone but as he is made Man Again The Name of Jesus Christ doth not denote Man from Mary nor God and Man together but the Word of God and it is most certain from hence for Jesus saith thus to the Jews Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the World do ye say Thou art a Blasphemer Who therefore was he who was sent from the Father Man Or God and Man together Or the Word as saith Paul that God sent his Son and he was made of a Woman Therefore he who was sent to the World is the Word which was from the Father and he is called Jesus and is the same who is said to be Sanctified and not meer Man neither God and Man together but the Father Sanctified the Word by the Holy Ghost who Anointed him not as he is God for so he is equal to the Father and the Spirit and the Giver of Holiness but as he was made Man for us Moreover Christ said before Abraham was I am who therefore was before Abraham the Man who was of Mary or God and Man together For the Man who was from Mary was so far from being before Abraham that he was not before Mary but after Mary being born of her 't is certain therefore that the Word of God who was called by this Name of Jesus Christ was before Abraham Furthermore Jesus said to the Jews What say ye concerning Christ whose Son is he They said unto him the Son of David and he said unto them How did David call him in the Spirit Lord for he said The Lord said unto my Lord sit on my right Hand if David called him Lord how was he his Son he therefore who is the Lord of David is the Man from Mary who as yet was not in the time of David nor Mary of whom he was born Either he calls Man and God together Christ for he calls one in the singular Number my Lord and not many Lords it is therefore certain that he calls the Word of God coequal with the Father in Nature Lord according to this The Lord sent down Fire from before the Lord on Sodom and according to this also There is born unto them to day a Redeemer who is the Lord Christ wherefore he calls him Christ again it is written That thy Throne is for ever and ever after he had called him God and said Thy Scepter is for ever and ever that is to say there is no end or term to his Kingdom he said God hath Anointed thee that is the Father hath Anointed the Word of God by the Holy Spirit but not as God but as he was made Man and accordingly as the Word said He whom the Father Sanctified and Sent. Moreover the Prophet said He hath Anointed him above his Fellows that is he hath Anointed him above us and above the Prophets and Apostles and others who are Anointed for all Men who are Anointed of the Spirit receive what they stand in need of but the Word being Sanctified and Anointed with the Spirit received it tho not in want thereof but full and a bestower thereof
called Rational Gentil and Chaldean his Divinity was revealed to Strangers and not to the Jews because the Testimony of Strangers is more credited then that of Domesticks and that the Gentiles might overcome the Fraud and Calumnie of the Jews least they should have said We know not when nor where he was born and that those of the Jews who did not believe in him might be without Excuse who not Receiving the Words of the Prophets the Wise-Men came and Preached before them and although the Sign of his Nativity was manifested to the Wise-Men yet by them it was published to all Creatures and as a Sign was given not only to Ezekia but so as all the Creation perceived the turning back of the Sun so by means of the Wise-Men all Nations perceived and as he fled into Egypt and by his going thither and return thence the Fame of his Nativity was Published to the Inhabitants so the matter was disclosed to the Wise-Men and because Persia and Egypt were most immersed in Heathenism of all others therefore in the beginning he healed them first for his Nativity was not revealed to the Edomites and Philistins who were Neighbours to the Jews but to those afar off that his Gospel might be enlarged and that to his Honour they might come from the remotest bounds He was Revealed to the Wise-Men rather than to others because he came to call Sinners the Wise-Men were more infected then all other Nations with Idolatry and they used Divinations and they were yoaked with the Gentiles and therefore he was first revealed unto them that he might first cure them and he was not revealed to all Wise-Men but to those whom he knew in his fore-knowledg that they would believe in him by their free-will and the Wise-Men who came were godly persons and this is a Testimony thereof that they were not afraid of Herod and the Jews and that they openly proclaimed him and for his sake sustained the hard Travel of all that way and were Preachers of him when they returned and were the first calling of the Gentiles for they saw in the Star a young Virgin sitting and bearing a Lad in her Arms and there was on his Head a Regal Crown wherefore they were drawn after him Others say That they saw these Letters written in the Star This is the Star of the King of the Jews who is born as the similitude of a Cross appeared unto Constantine in the Heaven and it was made known unto him that thereby he was to overcome Others say That they saw this Star shining with its Glorious Light from Heaven and there appeared together with the Star an Angel saying There is a King born in Judaea go unto him and from whence did the Wise-Men receive a Command to go unto Christ Some say from Balaam their Ancestor who Prophecied that a Star should arise from Jacob and said A King shall be born to the Jews and when he shall be born go and offer Gifts and they wrote down this matter and a long while after seeing the Star they took up Gifts and came Others that Daniel Prophecied to the Babylonians hence Seventy so and so A King shall be born to the Jews and when at his Birth a Star shall arise go and offer Gifts unto him and the King of the Babylonians Engraved this in Tables of Gold and when the Star arose and the Wise-Men saw it they came to his Worship Others That in the time of Daniel when Nebuchadnezar Reigned there came Men from Sheba to offer Gifts unto the King and to learn Astrology and Daniel faid unto them When Christ shall be born your Kings of Seba and Sheba shall offer Gifts unto him and they wrote it in a Bibliotheke that is in their Library and when ye see the Star go Others That Asdrushta the Southsayer foreshewed this and others say it was Baruch and because the Gift of Prophecy was not bestowed on him he was offended and departed to the Gentiles and taught twelve Tongues And it is written in a book of his that Zardushta sitting on a Fountain of Waters where was the King's Bath he said unto his Disciples That in later times an Hebrew Virgin shall bring forth in the Flesh and without Copulation a Son who is of the Nature of God and at his Nativity a Star shall appear go and offer unto him three Gifts Gold Myrrh and Frankincense and spake of his Passion and Resurrection They had therefore no Reward because they came not of their own Will but as ordained nor had Balaam any Reward for his Prophecy Secondly because he did not afterwards believe the Truth Others say That when Daniel's Family was carried Captive unto Babylon they did read this The Scepter shall not depart from Judah and the Prophecy of Balaam that a Star shall arise and this The Kings of Sheba c. which David said before the Sons of the Kings of Persia of Sheba and of Seba who were Neighbouring Princes and they ask'd the Hebrews concerning whom these things were said and Daniel and his fellows Answered Concerning Christ and that in the day of his Nativity a Star should arise which would shine as the Sun and they kept these things to themselves and when they returned to their places they committed this Mystery to writing and it was derived by Tradition until the birth of Christ The Lord John saith That God put it into their Hearts and made them take Gifts and to sollow the Star as he made Cyrus inciting to lead the Jews into Captivity And the Wise Men came from the East to Christ because Paradice was planted in the East and the Sun begins its Course from the East So also from the East begins the Sun of Righteousness and because they were to bring Gold and there was no Gold like that of this part of the World the Scripture saying that the Gold of this Land is good and the Prophets Prophecied that the Wise-Men should come from the Sun Rising to the Sun Setting and Malachy that from the East thereof and at his second coming he is to come from the East and at the time of our Lords coming the Persians Ruled from Nisibis to the East and from Nisibis to the West the Romans and God so ordered it that at that time there should be Peace between them that the Wise Men might not be hindered in coming Where is the King of the Jews born That is to say they do not enquire after a King Sitting upon a Throne as if his time were already but after him of whom Esaiah saith That there shall be a Root of Jesse which shall Rise as a Sign to the Gentiles and in him shall the Nations hope and he is the hope of all the ends of the Earth We seek him who is now born and not Herod and they said not where is the Son of God for Frankincense was a Figure of him because the Jews expected a King and a Redeemer therefore they
Children of Bethlem and all the borders thereof from two Years old and under according to the time he had inquired For he slew the Children that with them he might murder Christ and because he did not know him he slew all their Children and slew also the Children in the Borders thereof because it was suspected they might have made him fly into one of the bordering Villages and that he might not escape death And in saying All he shew'd that there was not one omitted He said From two years old and under because he enquiring of the Wise-men they answered him It was two years since the Star appeared unto us therefore said the Lord Ephraim and Eusebius that the Wise men came in the second year of our Lords Nativity And the Lord John and St. Cyrill say that the Star appeared two years before and that the Wise men tarried long before they came in the way and when they came our Redeemer was born and worshiped in a Manger and in Swadling-Cloaths But whether these or they be in the right the Discourse of the Evangelist is certainly true which saith According to the time he had enquir'd Some they killed waking some sleeping some having hold of the Brest some swimming others they snatch'd from their Mothers Embraces and wash'd with their blood their Mothers and the Earth and there was great Lamentation and weeping because there was not an house wherein a Boy had not been murdered and from the contest and inquisition of some saying the Lad is two years old and of 〈◊〉 saying he is not and of some saying there is a Child here and of others saying to the contrary and the like there was a great clamor and Lamentation Some men demand How many Children were slain And this is not known but some busie-bodies babble saying That Herod sent forty Head-Officers and with every of them forty Butchers or Man-slayers and every of these Butchers killed forty Children Wherefore there being forty Officers and the Butchers with them being 1600 the Children who were slain must be 64000. This we have not writ as believing it to be true but for delight of the simple Wherefore did our Lord withdraw the Killing of the Children and was our Lord or Herod the cause of the Killing of them We answer That Christ was not the cause of their being slain no more than David was the cause of killing the fourscore Priests whom Saul slew but as Saul himself was the cause of killing the Priests so Herod was the cause of slaying the Infants And as Elia was not the cause of burning the two Captains of Fifties and those who were with them but those who sent them But we say As Peter was the cause of killing the Soldiers so Christ was the cause of killing the Children Moreover The execrable wickedness of the King was the cause of their destruction for had Herod seen the Walls broken and the Doors pulled open he might have put the Soldiers to death but all things being sure he ought to have worshiped the Doer of Miracles and not to have slain the Keepers for God was willing to have converted the King and not that the Guards should have committed destruction So here the coming of the Wise-men the assembling of the Scribes the Testimony of Prophecy were that Herod might believe and be saved and not that he should kill the Children And wherefore did God permitt them to be slain Some say That the Fame of his Nativity might be made known in every place others that the Prophecy might be fulfilled according to that a voice was heard in Rama But these are not approv'd expositions We say therefore that this permission was given that they might not be as their parents nor partake of Innocent blood 2ly That they might receive an Earnest of the Kingdom long since prepared for them as an Inheritance and might at his second coming enter into possession thereof Again All our Sufferings are of two kinds either for our Sins or that a Reward might be given to us for the same and 't is evident from what Paul said of him who committed Fornication Deliver him to Satan in the Body that he may live by the Spirit in the day of our Lord. And David when he overcame Shimei commanded he should not be put to Death and he said Behold my Subjection and Labour and forgive me all my Iniquity they therefore are not miserable who suffer Evil if they patiently suffer whether they be corrected of God or Persecuted by Satan for their Sin and for Sufferings of the second kind to wit for Wages or Reward that of Job may suffice for Illustration wherefore the Children suffer'd in the second kind in relation to Wages or Reward And what Sin was it that was Attributed to the Children For behold they sinned not We Answer it was sufficient for them that they were to be Rewarded with Bliss after Death he did not impugn the Free-Will of Herod for Free-Will is a great Gift given unto Men for the doing what they will and God does not Reverse his Gift and if they perish'd they obtain'd great Trophies of Victory and we say that if God had known that they would have proved Virtuous he had not permitted that they should dye for if he forbears the Wicked how much less would he have permitted them to have been overcome but they went away being Innocent and escaped Evil and became Martyrs because they bore Testimony for Christ and the Baptism of Blood supplyed the Place of Water-Baptism But how were they Martyrs being slain without knowledg We Answer that in this kind or manner Children receive the Gift of Baptism without Knowledg and it is a true Gift unto them and so Slaughter was true Testimony Rachel Weeping for her Children Jeremy said this personating the Jews led Captive to Babylon and by Rachel adumbrated the Tribes of Benjamin and Judah Mathew makes use of this Text in reference to the Murther of the Children Others with whom we also agree say That Jeremy hereby Typified the Children and 't is evident from the subsequent Words which run thus Restrain thy Voice from Weeping for there is a Reward for thy Tears for they who were led Captive to Babylon had no Reward for their Tears for they were led into Captivity for their Sins but the Children being put to Death in their Infancy there was a Reward reserv'd for them it is therefore evident that Jeremy spoke in Relation to them and Rama belonged to the Children of Benjamin and Bethlehem of Judah also belonged unto them and because Rama was the Capital City of the Tribe of Benjamin therefore it was reputed also the City of his Mother But Since Rachel dyed so long before wherefore are the Children imputed to her We Answer because it is agreeable to the Law of Nature and to the Scripture accordingly all the Children of Men are called the Children of Adam and the Israelites are called the Children of
Israel and because the Children were of Rama therefore they are computed the Children of Rachel But sithence the Children were slain in Bethlehem as well as in Rama Wherefore doth he apply the Weeping to Rama only Some say because the Prophet foresaw that more Children were slain in Rama than in Bethlehem therefore he useth the Names of Rachel and Rama Others say because Rama is nigh unto Bethlehem therefore he applied Weeping unto Rachel and her Children are called of Rama because it was as the Inheritance of Benjamin her Son and of Bethlehem by reason of the Vicinity of her Sepulcher thereunto Others say That as there were two Men who came before the Judg and the one was guilty of Death and the other not and as he who was guilty was silent and he who was Innocent cryed out and pleaded for himself so he was born for and in respect of Ramah and Bethlehem but Rachel was not born for them and therefore he applies Weeping to Rama because they were not guilty nor injurious Wherefore does he apply Weeping to Rachel and not to Jacob since they were his Children who were Slain And some say That both of them were the Children of one Husband and Wife and therefore he applies Weeping to Rachel and not to Jacob to whom one replies That if they were of both it had been fit to have applied Weeping to them both Others because they were slain in their Mothers Arms their Fathers not being present Weeping is Attributed to the Mother Again others because the Love of a Mother is much more abundant than that of Fathers Again Rachel died in Child-bed and these were slain soon after they were born Samuel said unto Saul behold Three Men are to meet thee in Tsaltsach near Rachels Sepulcher in the Border of Benjamin Moreover Rachel was buried a Persian days Journey from Ephrata which is Bethlehem and perhaps they who were slain were buried in her Sepulcher And she would not be Comforted First because of the multitude of them who were slain in all the Confines Secondly because they were slain Execrably Deceitfully and Unmercifully When Herod the King was Dead From this time he receiv'd his Judgment for Eusebius saith That Josephus wrote thus concerning him That he fell into a Devouring Disease being Worm-Eaten and oppressed with sadness of Spirit and that his Lower Parts to witt his Testicles and prolific Member became putrid and that in a furious Rapture of his mind and in his Tribulation he slew his Wife and his three Sons and when they made him sit in Oyl and in a hot Bath his Eyes were Transversed and he miserably forsook the World Arise take the Lad and his Mother He doth not say Fly but Go to shew that he was to obtain Rest after Afflictions For they are Dead who sought the Soul of the Child He saith Soul That he might not give Advantage to them who say That our Saviour did not Assume a Soul but that the Divinity supply'd the place of the Soul And he Arose and took the Lad and his Mother That is according to the command of the Angel without repugnancy But when he heard that Archelaus Administred as a King in Judea in the place of his Father he was afraid to go thither First Lest with the Authority of his Father he might Inherit an Enmity towards the Children Secondly He feared the Mothers of the Children lest they seeing the Lad and calling to mind thereby that their Children were slain for him might either Murther him or accuse him before Archelaus and he slay him Neither did Elizabeth return for fear of the Jews till the end of her Life But how doth he say That Archelaus Governed in Judea whereas Pontius Pilate had the Government thereof We Answer that so soon after the Death of Herod the Kingdom was not divided into Provinces wherefore at his Death his Son took hold of his Government He saith in the place of Herod his Father to distinguish him from another Herod who was the Brother of Archilaus Antipator the Askalonite begat that Herod who slew the Children and he begat Nine Sons of seven Women that is to say Antipater Alexander Aristobulus Herod and Archilaus and Herod the Tetrach and Herod and Philip and one that was cut out of his Mothers Womb. But how many Herods were there who occasioned Errour being of the same Name They say four Herod the first a Priest who belonged to an Idol Temple of Askalon a City of the Philistins he begat Antipater whom the Edomites took Captive and Educated him in their Rites and Antipater begat Herod the King who flew the Children and he begat Herod the Tetrarch and his Brethren and this Tetrarch that is one of four slew John and in his days our Lord suffer'd and the Tetrarch begat that Herod who is called Agrippa who was clad in Royal Robes of whom mention is made in the Acts of the Apostles Jacobus Aurihensis faith That there were five Herods Herod who slew the Infants begat of Dusis the first Antipater who was calle by the Name of his Priesthood and of Mary the Queen the Daughter of Arcanus the King and High-Priest Alexander and Aristobulus these their Father slew together with their Mother being accused of Rebellion against him and of the other Mary the Daughter of the High-Priest Arcanus and Herod and Antipater and of Cleophta the Hierosolymitan Herod and Philip. And of Phelis Phesil these were the Sons of Herod the First the Herod who was called Antipater and was Tetrarch slew John him Julius Caesar bannish'd into Spain with his Wife Herodias where they died miserably Herod who was Brother of Philip by Father and Mother was King in Kanshrin being betrothed unto Bernice his Fathers Sister Herod Agrippa mentioned in the Book of the Acts to have died at Caesara was not the Son of Herod the First nor of the great Tetrarch but the Son of Aristobulus who was slain and he was Grandson to Herod the First Archelaus was not afraid of the King who was born as was his Father either because he thought he was slain with the Children or because he saw his Father died a miserable Death he feared the like misfortune might befal him And it was shewed him in a Dream that he should go into the Region of Galilee But if he were afraid to go into Judea by reason of Archelaus he had reason to fear going into Gallilee because of Herod but the place being changed the matter was concealed for all the fear was about Bethlehem and the Borders thereof In the City which was called Nazareth That is he came hither first to avoid Danger and that he might inhabit in his own Region better and be confident and he receiv'd Direction from the Angel to make this place his Habitation that this Prophecy might be fulfilled He shall be called a Nazarite Mathew faith he came from Bethlehem to Egypt but Luke to Jerusalem and from thence to
Nazareth and both declare the Truth but this of Luke was first for he abode forty days in Bethlehem from the time he was born and afterwards went to Jerusalem and offer'd Gifts and Simeon bore him and from Jerusalem he went to Nazareth and at the end of that Anniversary he came to Jerusalem and so returned to Nazareth and at the end of the second year he came from Nazareth to Jerusalem and from thence to Bethlehem and there the Wise-Men Worshipped him and from Bethlehem he went to Egypt as saith Mathew and Luke declares where he was born and what things were done at his Nativity and that he went up to Jerusalem when the days of her Purification were accomplish'd and when they had performed what the Law required they went unto Nazareth Mathew afterwards sets forth that the Wise-men came and found him in Bethlehem after he was Circumciz'd and had offered his Gifts and was two years old and then it was told Joseph that he should carry him by flight into Egypt and he remained three years in Egypt and suddenly returned to Nazareth and hence it is known that the Wife-men worshipped him when he was two years old for there was no Congruity with reason or conveniency that they should bring him up to the Temple whilest Herod breath'd forth destruction against the Children Which is called Nazareth The Jews question in what book these two passages are written viz. He shall be called a Nazarite and Out of Egypt have I called my Son To whom we say that these are not allegations of praise and exaltation but of humiliation for this word Nazareth they spoke of it as an house of Indecency out of Nazareth c. And the other is applyed to flight and had they not been True Mathew had not produced them because they were not of advantage Moreover many books perished as the book of Barjamin teacheth us for the Jews continually were drawn into the Errour of Idolatry and some of the Books they lost and some of them they tore as Jeremia declares and he who wrote the Book of the Kings faith that Deuteronomie was scarce found after a long time which was hidden and plundered For if when they were free from Warr they had so little care or regard for Books much less had they in the time of war And if they shall say if it was not written in the time of Christ whence doth Matthew produce it We answer that it was the daughter of a Voice And in the time of Mathew it was delivered and propagated from mouth to mouth and therefore Mathew wrote it or it was in the Books which were Lost or the Spirit which dwelt upon him in the Parlour Revealed it unto him or in his time it was preserv'd in Books and after Mathew wrote it perish'd in the destruction of the City by the Romans And if a Jew will indeavour to Falcify the Gospel because this allegation is not Extant he may be Reprehended from his own Books wherein are many Speeches written say'd to be in writing and are not written wherefore we may hold theirs in the like repute Moses speaks to Aaron concerning the death of his Sons I will be Sanctified by my near ones and I will be praised before all the People yet this is not found any where and it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord. A Flame in the Whirlwind in the Torrent of Aron Moreover To teach the Children of Israel the use of the Bow behold it is written in the Book of Jasher But neither did he reveal what is the Doctrine of the Bow It is said of Jeroboam the Son of Jehu I will turn the Border from the going in of Hamath to the Book of the Sallows as said the Lord by his Servant Jonas the Son of Mathi the Prophet in Gad-Hether and this is not written any where no not in Jonas And Thou hast said the World shall be Built in Grace and also in Esaia This Word the Lord spake concerning Moab and it is unknown where these two passages are written therefore let the Jew take our Excuse from his own Moreover The Gospel according to Custom and with regard to the accomplishment of things produceth an Allegation for Isaiah saith There shall come forth a Rod from the Root of Jess and a Bough shall sprout forth And in the Hebrew a Branch or Bough is expounded a Branch and Nazaren one who sprouts out and when Mathew saw that Christ came and dwelt in Nazareth he expounded this of Esaiah A Branch shall sprout out He shall be called a Nazaren and he was called a Nazaren from Nazareth that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one sprouting out from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Sprout so they are expounded in the Hebrew Tongue Others say that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is expounded New and that Nazareth signifieth New and signifies Typically that the Son would newly be made Man for Men Others say That Nazareth signifies Justice and Nazaren signifies Just and if they shall say that because he was born in Bethlehem and not in Nazareth Esaiah calls him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let them know that the Apostles called him as did the Prophets and that this of Bethlehem was not hid as to the Prophecy but chiefly intended according to that of Nathaniel who from this was moved to make Enquiry and said From Nazareth c. For Nazareth was a contemptible place as was Galilee and our Lord was not ashamed to be called from thence After he had discoursed concerning Christ's Nativity c. at last he came to the beginning of the Gospel which is the Baptism of Christ And so he Continueth his Discourse on towards his Passion MATH III. ANd in those days came John the Baptish He doth not understand by those days the time when Jesus returned from Egypt to Nazareth for in those days Jesus was five years old but the time of his abode in Nazareth being Twenty five Years he was Thirty Years of Age when he came to Baptism as saith Luke Others are of opinion that he calls those days the time when he came to be baptized for it is the custom of Scripture to term by the Name of those days the days wherein any matter what-e'er it be is acted or done Others think that he calls those days the time wherein the Jews had neither King nor Prophet forasmuch as the Prophecy of Jacob was fulfilled The Scepter shall not depart c. but Tiberius then Reigned as Luke saith Others say thus In those days that is our Lord did not immediately after his teturn from Egypt come to John but when he was Thirty Years of Age being Two years old when he went down into Egypt where he remained Three years and afterwards dwelt in Nazareth Twenty five Years and in these years he paid the debt of our Nature and fulfilled the Law and abrogated it and it is the Custom of
and of Martha wherein Lazarus arose from the Dead and it is Interpreted The House of Praise and this is differing from Jerusalem and it is evident from this That when the Sinner Anointed him there he said afterwards Go unto the City and prepare the Passover for us hereby the Evangelists shewed That he sent them from Bethany to the City of Jerusalem This Simon was a Leper and was Cured and the Name of Leper remained on him perhaps for that afterwards he grew Leprous in his mind and was Scandalized in our Lord. There came unto him a Woman who had with her an Alabaster The Woman was incouraged to come unto our Lord from this That she saw he had Cured Simon the Leper and for that he had Cured many Women the Canaanite the Samaritan she that was Wounded and others and she did not come unto him as a Man but as to God made Man But some say That the Evangelists are contrary to one another by reason that Luke saith she was a Sinner and that it was in the House of Simon and in Nain but Mathew saith in Bethany in the House of Simon the Leper but doth not signifie her Name but John manifestly signifies it and saith that her Name was Mary Some say That they were two by reason of the places Others That she was one and the same she having Anointed him twice and being the Sister of Lazarus which was called Magdalen Others say That Simon the Pharisee was Simon the Leper the Father of Lazarus and Mary Others That they were three the Whores Anointed him twice and Mary once once he was Anointed at Nain and a second time by Mary the Sister of Lazarus in Bethany in the House of Lazarus her Brother six days before the Passover Luke saith That she Anointed him in the House of Simon the Pharisee John saith in Bethanie in the House of Lazarus Mathew and Mark say in the House of Simon the Leper The Lord John saith That he was Anointed twice Saint Severus unto whom we assent saith That he was Anointed thrice once at Nain as said Luke the intermediate Evangelist and it is evident from this That soon after he Raised the Lad the Son of a Widow in Nain and another time the Sister of Lazarus Anointed him in Bethanie six days before the Passover in their House when her Brother Lazarus rose from the Dead Moreover The third time in Bethanie two days before the Passover and John said that she Anointed the Feet of Christ but Mathew two days before the Passover when he was in the House of Simon the Leper there came a Woman and poured Oyl on Christ's Head as he was at Table and from that which he said to Lazarus and another to Simon and John saying That she Anointed the Feet and Mathew the Head it is clear That he was thrice Anointed and from the manner and from the Place and from the time it is evident That it was not one Anointing but three and three Women and if she who was the Sinner in Nain were the same that came unto him two days before the Passover and Anointed him There will be computed two VVomen according to the Discourse of the Lord John and three Anointings according to what Saint Severus hath written Then Judas went away That is when he saw that Simon was Cleansed and that the Woman poured out Oyntment upon him One of the Twelve That is of those who were first Elected and to whom the Mysteries were Revealed and who had freedom of Speech and was not of the Second in Order that is of the seventy and two Evangelists Judas Iscariot That is he calls him from Scariot his City and moreover That he might distinguish him from Judas the Zealous What will ye give me Heaven and Earth are too little to be the Price of what thou wert to sell because they are Creatures but he is the Creator and the Creature is not at all to be exchanged or to be a Price for the Creator it was not conceived how he should betray him who had revived three dead Men before him and had he not yielded permitted and been willing they could not have Crucified him yet in this That Judas betrayed him and the Jews Crucified him they did not perform his Will but the contrary because He for the Redemption of Men was willing to be Betrayed and Crucified but Judas and the Jews did not betray him for the Redemption of Men but to Murther him and to destroy his Name Therefore though he was willing yet they did not Act his Will but the contrary and therefore they are Accused and Condemned Satan entred into Judas and not into his Fellows because he found in him the Passion of Coveteousness Luke addeth and the Prefect of the Militia of the Temple that is an Officer of the Guard for because the Principality of the Jews was fallen away and the High-Priests were continually in Commotion among themselves the Romans placed in the Temple with them Officers of the Militia that they might not be unruly and they remained in the Temple with them And they agreed with him for thirty Pieces of Silver That is thirty Denares the Name of the Syriack Word Cospho is a generical Name and sometimes it signifies Gold sometimes Silver and also Didrachmas and Denares Moreover Thirty Pieces of Silver that is with an Inscription to wit a Sign Engraven that Represented the Prince whose Mony it was they were thirty Staters of Silver for a Stater of Silver was twenty Didrachma's so that the Value of them all was six hundred Didrachma's which make up the Sum of Thirty Denares And from that time he sought an opportunity That is a Conveniency to wit a time and season free from the Clamour or Tumult of many Moreover He sought a time when the people and multitude which he taught might not be found with him because he was afraid of the people One of ye shall betray me Hitherto he spoke Mystically concerning his being to be betrayed but here plainly and by these Words One of ye he troubled them all every one of them was afraid of himself lest it might be lie and by this that he said one of all them he shewed that he did not mistake who it was but he did not Publish him in respect that he might be Converted and he terrified them all that he might preserve him And they were very sad Fear and grief laid hold on them and they began to say unto him every one of them particularly for they believed his VVords more than their Knowledg and they Confessed that he knew them better than they knew themselves John They looked one upon another because they knew not of whom he spoke and every one asked in the behalf of himself Then he Answered and said He who dips his Hand with me in the Dish That is he detected him that his Fellows might not dye with fear and he struck him with the Name of
matter is not as the Jews Accuse me that I am a Rebel an Usurper of an Earthly Kingdom If it were of this World That is to say this Temporal Kingdom is Slippery and Deceitful and it needs Ministers or Souldiers to content for it but my Kingdom needs none such because it is Powerful and sufficient of it self and by this he shewed That he was by Nature the Son of the Father the Heavenly King and Creator of all things and that he was not as the Jews said One that would Raise a Rebellion against Caesar Usurp an Earthly Kingdom or Power It was a Custom to loose a Prisoner to the People Mat. v. 15. That is to say the Releas'd one at a Festival in shew of commiseration and not at every Feast but that of the Passover and this was That they might Grace and Honour the time of whereon they were Releas'd from the Egyptian Bondage Called Barabba V. 16. Jesus was his Name who is here called Barabba for so it is Written in the Gospel of the separated and it is more evident from what Pilate said in the 22d Vers What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ Wherefore he was called Jesus and the Evangelist was unwiling to Write his Name that none might in his Book bear the same Name with the Lord Jesus Have thou nothing to do with this Just Man V. 19. She did not speak to him in the House because she was not acquainted with the matter for what was done in the Night by the High-Priests unto Jesus she knew not he being not brought to Pilate till the Morning and then hearing that her Husband sat on the Tribunal to Condemn Jesus she sent unto him that he should have nothing to do with that Just Man Or when she Dreamt she understood not the Interpretation thereof otherwise she would have told him of it but when she saw the City in Commotion she understood the Dream and speedily sent unto her Husband Nothing appeared to Pilate in a Dream either because he was unworthy or for that if he had seen any thing in a Dream the Jews would not have believed him but would have said These things he feighneth as having a mind to save him Or perhaps he would not have Revealed the Dream lest he might have been Accus'd knowing that he should not thereby have saved him Pilate's Wives Name was Lognia 19. An Errour of the Calcedonians and Armenians retorted For I have suffer'd much in my Dream this Day concerning him The Calcedonians and with them the Armenians may be asham'd for computing the Day from the Morning for behold Pilate's Wife in the Night was affected with the Dream and computed the Morning together with the Night which was passed as Mathew Writes The day therefore is composed of 24 Hours and begins from the Evening as we compute Inasmuch as she said I have suffer'd This is signified that when she was disturb'd with a Terrible and Violent Dream and design'd to keep her self awake and to decline it the very day Light inclin'd her to Sleep and vexed her and that often Why Pilates Wife revealed not her Dream at home to him But why did she not declare the Dream to her Husband at Home Some say That he lay elsewhere that Night and therefore she sent unto him My Lord Ephraim saith That it was so wrought by God that she forgot the Dream and did not reveal it to her Husband in the House in that sending to him in the Court after it came into her mind the Hearers might fall into Admiration and when the whole City was in Commotion against her Husband concerning Jesus she sent word unto him That he should not fulfil the desire of the People but preserve Jesus Several conjectures of her Dream But what was it she saw in a Dream Some say That she saw Dragons encompassing her and endeavouring to hurt her but Christ did not permit them so to do Others are of Opinion that she saw our Lord as Judge of all Men extending his Power to the utmost reach of Jurisdiction and before him the Billows of a fiery Sea and he sitting on an exalted Throne and a dreadful Tribunal the Angels Ministring in his Sight and all Creatures trembling before him and Voices proclaiming bodily This is Jesus King of the Jews who is to be judged before Pilate Others say That she saw terrible and Hideous Sights full of Horror in her Dreams but they set not down what they were The causes of Dreams Now Dreams are thought to proceed from Diurnal Meditations and from the four Humours The 4. humours to wit Effluctions therefrom as the Physitians say When Black Choller prevails one perceiveth Dark Places and Obscure being Imprison'd in Darkness but when Yellow Choller is predominant one perceives Fiery Flames and Torches Wine Merriment and Singing When Blood abounds one fancies Slaughter and Effusion of Blood and when Flegm is redundant Rain Swimming Rivers and Floods are fancied But Dreams which come from Satan are according to the Phantasie Satan such as are pleasant Embraces and Kisses God But such as proceed from God are as this of Pilate's Wife of Joseph Pharoah Nebuchadnezar and Abimelech of Daniel Visions and of Joseph the Husband of Mary But the High-Priest perswaded the multitude to ask Barabbas Ver. 20. And all this was out of a desire they had to Murther him and they saw that the Rules complyed with the multitude in what they asked of Pilate Who will ye that I let loose unto ye Ver. 21. He made them Arbitrators or referred the matter to their Election for he hoped they wou'd have been ashamed to say openly Let Christ he Crucified but neither cou'd the Words of the Judg shame them nor wou'd they be Prohibited by the Feast nor by the Admonition Beware how ye Crucifie the Just one wherefore the Judg adds unto Jesus the Name of Christ to distinguish him from Barrabbas who was also called Jesus Moreover he termed them Lords hoping they would be ashamed and dismiss him But they said Barabbas Altho of Evil Will they asked Barabbas yet Divine Dispensation concurr'd with them V. 21. whether they wou'd or no. For Barabbas resembled Adam for as Barabbas Sinned and was bound so Adam by reason he had Sinned was bound in Hell and as Christ was Crucified and Barabbas loosed so was Adam loosed from the Chains of Hell Christ being Crucified for him They all said Let him be Crucified V. 22. Instead of Accusing him of any Fault as he did so or so they were made Judges which was very absurd What shall I do unto him They snatch'd him from his place because they were made Judges and this was either because he was Blind and did not understand or because he was afraid Crucifie him 22. That is to say hang him on a Tree for they did not say Murther him or put him to
as Mark saith and it is manifest from what Mathew and Luke have said That there was Darkness at the Sixth Hour until the Ninth for this that they divided his Garments and the Title of his Death written and the Soldiers offer'd him Vinegar Blasphemed against him and the Words of the Thieves were between the Sixth and the Third Hours and from the Sixth to the Ninth Darkness prevailed and there was not opportunity for the doing of these things wherefore Mark speaks the Truth In the Morning our Lord was Condemned at the third Hour he was Crucified and from the Sixth Hour to the Ninth there was Darkness Moreover John did not design to speak precisely of the time of the Crucifixion but after he had made a Relation as his Fellows had done and wrote what he had particularly receiv'd from them He said plainly not exactly it was about the Sixth Hour when these things were done That is to say these Words were to the Miracle of the Darkness and the things performed and not to the time Again we say That Christ was Crucified for Adam and the Second Adam agrees directly with the First and it s most certain That Adam was created in the Morning and by Divine Appointment began to impose Names on the Wild Beasts Cattle and the Fowl of the Air from the Morning to the third Hour then there passed three Hours and then he cast on him a Sleep and framed Eve of his Rib and at the time of the third Hour they were both placed in Paradice and receiv'd the Commandment and at the very time of the third Hour our Lord was Crucified and the time of the sixth hour they Transgressed the Commandment and were Naked and Clothed themselves with Darkness so on the Sixth Hour when our Lord was strip'd Naked on the Cross Darkness prevailed and the Creatures were Clothed with Darkness Others are of opinion That the third hour whereof Mark speaks is thus to be understood Viz. That Judgment was pronounced against him that he entred into the Praetorium and was examined until the Sixth Hour and then was Crucified Others say That this which John saith Viz. The Sixth Hour proceeded from the Error of the first Transcriber by Reason of the nearness in similitude of Characters between the third and sixth Letter of the Alphabet That is to say of Gamma and Epsilon Gamma being written thus Γ and Epsilon thus Ε Γ therefore signifieth three whereunto being added to the back a stroak at the bottom it became Epsilon Quere Varâ—atione Alphabetae and signified Six John therefore wrote the third but the Scribe mistook and wrore the Sixth Moreover this Sixth day which is here called Gnarutha we do not find any where that it was called Gnarutha until the time of Christ but was called the Sixth day it is called mixt or obscure because therein the Sun was obscur'd and for that the Law and the Administration thereof was benighted Moreover Vices ceased That is to say were at an end and Goodness approached Old things were Abolished and new things were introduc'd Gods care of the people ceased and arose to the Gentiles The fiery Cherubin and blazing Sword of Destruction were extinguish'd from the Gate of Paradice for there did set the Sun of the People which slew their Lord and the Sixth day signified the Six thousandth year wherein he sufferd Wherefore was our Lord Crucified on this day For that on this day Adam was created therein Transgressed the Commandment receiv'd Judgment and on this day departed Paradice and on the self same Hour that the Cherubim took up the Sword to Guard the Tree was Christ Wounded with the Spear and disarmed the Cherub and in the very hour that Adam went out of Paradice did our Lord bring the Soul of the Thief into Paradice and the New Adam Corrected the Old Adam There stood at the Cross of Jesus c. Some say these were the Maries Mary thâ— Mother of God and Mary the Wife of Joseph the Mother of James and of Joses and Mary the Sister of Eliezer and Mary the Wife of Cleophas and Mary Magdalen Others say That there were four and that he calls the Mother of James and Joses the Mother of God but not rightly for their Mother was Machatha Jacobus Auriensis saith That Machatha was not the Wife of Joseph and they call her the Sister of his Mother according as Men are used to call their Brothers Wives Sisters Cyril Severus and Philoxenus say That Mary the Mother of God and Mary the Wife of Cleophas were Sisters and he calls her the Sister of his Mother St. Philoxenus Joseph and Cleophas were Brethren and Mary the Mother of Christ and Mary the Wife of Cleophas were Sisters and these two took two Sisters And in the Harcalian Translation it is so written His Mother and the Sister of his Mother the Wife of Cleopha for inasmuch as he did not add the Letter Samech unto Mary the Wife of Cleopha he shewcth that she was the Sister of his Mother Others say That he called another Mary the Wife of Joseph of whom he begat Jacob after another way First Mary the Virgin and Mary the Wife of Joseph and Mary the Wife of Cleopha and Mary the Mother of Mark who as some say was the Wife of St. Peter and Mary Magdalen the Daughter of Simon the Leaper the Sister of Lazarus she was called Magdalen because she inhabited The Tower of Astrat or the Tower of Shiloah or from pleated because her Hair was pleated Others say That Mary the Sister of Lazarus was an Harlot and was called Magdalen but they do not agree with what is the Truth for Mary the Sister of Lazarus was Chaste and no Harlot The Adulteress in the Gospel was another and her Name the Evangelist did not declare Thou shalt not have to do with an Adulterer or Adulteress how then was the Sister of Lazarus who was a Friend to Christ an Harlot Therefore Mary Magdalen was another and was called Magdalen from the Tower which she built her self out of what she got by playing the Strumpet as the Work of this Uncleaness and they call her seven Devils the sulfilling of Unclean Affections she by her Conversion figured the Conversion of the Gentiles Others say she was Tempted by Unclean Devils and not by the Unclean Passions of Impudicity They were called Seven either for that they were Seven in Number or by reason of the Asperity of the Temptation and when our Lord-Cured her she improved in a Virtuous Conversation so far as that she was called Magdalen from the Tower of Righteousness which she built for her selfe which she mounted to Heaven Eusebius saith there were two Magdalens the one was she out of whom he drove seven Devils the self same of whom thou hast heard say'd Come not near me And the other was she of whom Mathew say'd that she was of Magdala Mary of James to distinguish him from James the Son of
Alphoeus whom he calls Great because he was reckon'd among the Twelve this was called the Less for that he was of the Seventy He say'd to the Disciple behold thy Mother and Woman behold thy Son Hereby he teacheth us to have a care of and affection for our Parents to the end of our Lives especially if they bring us nearer to God but if they bring us farther from him we are not to own them according to that Whosoever doth not forsake Fathers c. He calls Mary the Mother of John and John her Son that by these Names he might mutually unite them to one another in Love as Mother and Son At what time did Christ recommend his Mother to John Some say When he hung on the Cross others say When they led him away to be crucified when the Women wept at which time seeing his Mother among them he committed her to him altho' it be not written in its proper place They filled a spunge with Vinegar and put it on Hyssop and set it to his Mouth and they put it on a Reed That which is here rendred Spunge is Sea-Wool this they dipped in Vinegar whereof it receiv'd abundantly and they put it to his Mouth that he might suck thereat and drink for Hyssop is a Plant or Tree growing in Palestine from the top whereof sprout out small shoots like singers round about and it is very convenient whereon to put any thing this the Executioners brought with them and tied it to the end of a Cane and filled a Spunge with Vinegar and put it on this Hyssop and put it to his Mouth to drink Others say That they called Zupa a certain kind of Basket which they put and bound to the top of a Cane and they put within it that is to say on the top of it a Spunge full of Vinegar and Gall and so reach'd it out Others say That Zupa is like a certain Gourd which is bound to the top of a Cane and therewith conveys Water from place to place for they put a Spunge as asoresaid on this Gourd and lifted it up with a Cane and so put it to his Mouth There is a Root called Zupa and is like to a Mandrake and contains Blood in its Leaves Others say That Zupa was some bitter thing which they pounded and strew'd upon a Spunge repleat with Vinegar and so gave it him to drink For this reason they gave him Vinegar in a Spunge because his Hands were bound and fix'd with Nails and he that was so crucified could not hold a Cup in his hand c. From the Sixth Hour there was Darkness over all the Earth until the Ninth Hour That the Jews might understand that it was he who caused Darkness in Egypt for there was Darkness when the Legal Passover was to be sacrificed and here was darkness when Christ was sacrificed on the Cross and to signifie that it was the Creator of all things who was Crucified therefore the Creatures contracted their Light that the Prophecy of Zachary might be fulfilled The Sun shall grow dark at Noon-day Concerning the Covering of the Sun at what time is it In the space from the twentieth of the Moon until the Thirtieth the Sun may be Darkned 'T is true that on the thirtieth the Sun may be Darkned on the day whereon they both meet under one point and altho it happen that the Sun is but once totally Eclipsed and yet it is not really Darkned but appears to us as if it were dark it being not deprived of Light nor doth it appear Dark in all places but in some peculiar places and this but once a year for when the Sun happens within one of those Circles which are called Darkning Terms and is placed behind the Moon and they are in direct opposition under the point The Moon being under the Sun the Sun is said to be Eclipsed The Moon when it is darkned the cause thereof is That it hapneth in the Circle or Darkning Limit and the shadow of the Earth that is to say its extension does not permit the Light of the Sun to Illustrate that part of the Circle wherein the Moon at that time holds its Course and it is obscur'd immediately and after it passeth that place it borrows Light from the Sun But at the Crucifixion of our Lord the matter of Fact was contrary for the Moon was so far from being in Conjunction with the Sun that it was distant from it the space of half the Sphear which was the space of the Suns Course which it runneth in an hundred and eighty days and sixty five Minutes and fifteen degrees that is to say Days and half the Zodiack And this was an Indication of the Majesty of him who was Crucified and that it was the Lord of Lights who was Crucified they therefore contracted themselves And this at the time of Christ's being Crucified had three properties which are strange to Reason First That it was at Full Moon Secondly That it remained three hours Thirdly That it spread over he whole Earth so that all the Grecian Chaldean Philosophers wrote That one of the Trinity fuffer'd that day and this is the meaning of what David wrote The Kings of the Earth Arose That is to say from their Thrones and wonder'd at the Miracle which was then wrought for this Darkness was like to that which was in the beginning of the Creation the whole Creation being Clothed with Mourning for its Lord. The Heavens became Clothed with Cypress and the Moon grew Red as Blood and tho' it was not the time of its Birth it appear'd de novo in the East it ran for fear to the West and there was in Conjunction with the Sun and both of them sate in Sadness as good Servants who are fellow-Sufferers with their Lord. Again it is certain That this Darkness at the time of his Crucifiction was not an Eclipse as is evident by these Tokens First An Eclipse does not continue three Hours as did this Darkness Secondly An Eclipse never is over the whole Earth as was this Darkness Thirdly An Eclipse of the Sun happeneth on the 30th of the Moon but this Darkness was the 15th of the Month the Sun being distant from the Moon the whole extent of its Course That is to say an hundred and eighty days and stood opposite in the division of the Sphear of the Firmament Concerning the Darkness of the Sun and Moon and the Natural Cause of their being so we have largely discours'd in the book of our Epistle which we made wherein Faith is Treated of together with the Natures of things Intellectual and Sensitive which is Intituled The Book of Resolutions And about the Ninth Hour Jesus cryed Elohi Elohi which is Interpeted in the Syrian Language God God wherefore as said St. Mark The Arians say That the Son and the Word spoke this as of his own person with regard to the Father But the Nestorians and Calcedonians say That the Son