the Old than to the New Law Thirdly because in that state they were in they did want the fruit of Adoption because when they dyed Just yet they could not partake of Heaven the now immediate reward of such blessed Soules as they were in regard Christ had not opened the gates thereof to mortalls by his first entring into Heaven as was fit he should since all others were to follow upon his Title not upon their own Lastly because Christ by exempting us from the servitude of the Old Law gave us the right of claime to the Spirit of Adoption which was that of the New Law taught by Christ and affirmed by the holy Ghost 6. This Verse clearly shewes the truth of the Doctrine above delivered since to declare we were partakers of the Divine Filiation God sent us the Spirit of his Son Divine the holy Ghost as who should say it is a true signe we are partakers of the Divine Nature because we have the Divine Spirit in us though this Spirit doth rather shew we are the Sons of God than make us such as the Signe shews the thing to be there where the Signe of the thing is for indeed we are the Children of God by the merits of Christ his passion since the true Adoptive cause the root of our filiation is the Son of God his Incarnation for thence we become God because God became Man so the grace of the holy Ghost or his Spirit abounding in us is rather the signe than the cause of our Adoption or filiation since our adoption is by Christ and the proof thereof is by his holy Spirit abiding in us not that this spirit of the holy Ghost is an empty signe but that besides the signe it is of our filiation to God it is also the same God with the Father and the Son really and truly sanctifying of us and uniting himself unto us by his holy Grace as well as he unites us to the actuall participation of our Saviours Passion at the same instant when he gives us his Grace and thereby teacheth us to cry Abba Father that is to say O Heavenly Father look upon us as thy Children being made so by the passion of thy Son and declared to be so by the coming of the holy Ghost amongst us into our hearts inabling them with a loud pious affection though sometimes their lips move not to cry unto thee in that filiall voice which ever opens the ears of thy mercy towards us and makes thee often ask us as thou didst silent Moses thus internally and silently crying to thee What doe you cry unto me for Exod. 14. ver 15. my dearest Children what doe you want it is but ask and have 7. Here is a Graecisme or Greek transition from the Second person to the Third as who should say what I speak of you O Galatians adopted as above the like I say of all third Persons even any Gentile so adopted that be he of what Nation he will if he can truly cry Abba Father he is not a Servant but a Sonne of God and if a Sonne he is an Heir also by God that is by Christ who is the Son of God O happy Children of this Heavenly Father who makes all his issue equall Heires and leaves not younger children to the mercy of their Elder brothers for their Patrimony but gives all his whole estate in Heavenly Glory and by that himself for their Patrimony whence Saint Austine sayes well Thou hast created us O Lord to and for thy self and our heart is at no rest untill it have the happinesse to rest in thee nothing lesse than thy self can satiate us and this satiety we enjoy when thy glory appears in us and placeth us in thee The Application 1. LEarn all ye Monarchs of the Times to know this Text forbids you Lord it here as if you were not under Age. The Kingdomes you command you then usurp when you deny obedience to the Church Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords he is the Father of all Christians who hath made no servant Tutour to command us but his Sacred Spouse the holy Church so long as here we live 2. Learn all ye proudest men to stoop to the degree of little ones again now you behold your ancient God become a Child of Man to make you Men children of Almighty God 3. Learn ye that glory to write man to Nature to be but Babes yet to Grace let not Christ remain alone an Infant be every Christian at the least an Innocent to keep him company while holy Church recounts his Cradle-dayes And Prayes that as children unable to doe manly acts our selves we may be directed in the pleasure of our Heavenly Father by doing nothing but in the Name of his onely Sonne who knowes best what will please him and make us deserve well at his Holy Hands by abounding in good Works The Gospel LUKE 2. ver 33. c. 33. ANd his Father and Mother were marvelling upon those things which were spoken concerning him 34. And Simeon blessed him and said to Mary his Mother Behold this is set unto the ruine and unto the resurrection of many in Israel and for a signe which shall be contradicted 35. And thine own soul shall a sword pierce that out of many hearts cogitations may be revealed 36. And there was Anne a prophetesse the daughter of Phanuel of the Tribe of Aser she was far stricken in dayes and had lived with a Husband seven years from her Virginity 37. And she was a widdow untill eighty and four years who departed not from the Temple by fasting and prayers serving night and day 38. And she at the same hour suddenly coming in Confessed to our Lord and spake of him to all that expected the redemption of Israel 39. And after they had wholly done all things according to the Law of our Lord they returned into Galilee into their City Nazareth 40. And the Child grew and waxed strong full of wisdom and the grace of God was in him The Explication 33. NOte here Saint Ioseph is not called Christ his Father as Nurses husbands are called Foster-fathers to the children whom their wives give suck unto though they never did beget those children but further and yet more really because Jesus was the true and naturall Child of the Blessed Virgin Mary being joyned in reall Wedlock with Saint Ioseph though she never did accompany her husband in the Marriage bed so his paternity was more than nutritious and yet less than naturall because Jesus was onely the Son of Ioseph marryed to the Virgin Mary but never having knowledge of her Body and therefore he is called the putative or esteemed Father of Christ for all he never did beget him meerly because his wife did truly bear him and was his naturall Mother though by a meanes supernaturall to wit the over-shadowing of the holy Ghost These his Parents are here said to be marvelling not that they were perhaps
what else we are here to note is that Jesus came from Ephrem to Iericho and from Iericho went to Hierusalem where he prepared himself to his Passion by praying in the Temple at the Paschall solemnity mentioned as above in the first verse of this Gospell and though there we gave other reasons why our Saviour said we ascend to Hierusalem yet here we may adde this one more that although while he went out of Ephrem his wayes from thence to Iericho being two leagues and an half were all levell and even ground yet from Iericho to Ierusalem there were seven long leagues all hils and dales as mountainous wayes use to be and therefore are called ascendings because they take their denomination from their most difficult passages however there be much descending ground gone over between all hills as for the name of Iericho it is derived either from the Hebrew word Jareach signifying the Moon because that City was built horned as the quartered Moon or else from reach which signifieth odour or sweetness because Iericho is famous for the best of Balsames in and about it and Saint Gregory in his twelfth Homily upon the Gospells alludes to the cure done at Iericho upon the Blinde taking this name in the first derivation from the Hebrew and saying The Moon is an Hiâ—roglyphick of defect in nature because it is ever changeable and various Therefore saith Saint Gregory while our Saviour comes to Jericho the blind mans defect in nature is cured because when the Divinity put on the defect of our flesh man-kind received the sight which it had lost for whence God suffered humane infirmities thence man was raised to divine perfections And Origen upon this place makes a pious allusion of this blind man importing the blindness of all humane nature then cured thereof When Christ with his Apostles comes to lead them from their naturall Jericho or defect into the heavenly Hierusalem where they shall have a supernaturall perfection added to their naturall Vision and by that supernaturall addition shall see God face to face and seeing him shall become like unto him and by this likenesse to God become perfectly cured of all their naturall defects Thus piously we see the holy Fathers make advantages to our Souls out of every passage of holy Scripture by applying the letter thereof in a spirituall sence unto us and why may not we hence presume to adde this cure alludes in the other sense of Iericho reporting to odour as to the Apostles and the blind man cured following Jesus from Iericho to his passion according to what the Spowse in the Canticles sayes We shall runne after him in the odour of his sweetnesse Since the holy will and pleasure of our Saviour was to take this Balsamick passage through Iericho to serve as a sweet perfume upon the Carian-mountaine of Calvary that so the stanch of sinne might not surpasse the fragraâ—t odours of grace rayning down showers of our Saviours pretious bloud from the odoriferous tree of the holy Crosse and from the more holy fruit hanging thereon 36. 37. It seemes this blind man was not deafe that could hear the murmur of the talking multitude some going rudely before and others following our Saviour from Ephrem to Jerico all discoursing of his works and wonders in so great a lowdnesse that the blind man asked what the matter was what great company was approaching which were heard before they were at hand and being told it was Jesus of Nazereth who came thus accompanied 38. He cryed out immediately Jesu Sonne of David have mercy on me by the Sonne of David meaning the Messias whose office followed the nature of his name for Messias imports mercy towards the miserable and hearing it was Iesus of whom he had heard such wonders and by whom such miracles were done he concluded presently this was the Messias marked out by the Prophets saying of him then when he shall come the eyes of the blind shall be opened Isaias Chapter 35. Vers 5. 39. By this it seemes some of the people were before our Saviour as we said above Vers 36. talking of him and these people either unwilling to be interrupted in their own discourse or that Christ should be stopt in his way by this poor man and so they hindered from something they expected from our Saviour either in Iericho or Ierusalem whither he was going and this company with him they rebuked the blind man both for the noyse he made and for the doubt they had least by his importunity he might stop Iesus in his march as indeed it happened for the rebuked man went on calling still to Jesus for help and the more he was bid hold his peace the lowder he cryed out Iesus the Sonne of David have have mercy on me A good example for us to follow and not let the interposition of any creatures hinder us from our approach to God no nor any rebuke for well doing deterre us from continuing to doe well Thus S. Augustine expounds this place and S. Hilary hath these words upon it Faith when forbidden is more increased and therefore in dangers it is secured and in security it is indangered 40 Strange to see how upon the standing of Iesus the Expositors doe descant S. Hierome sayes his standing in the litterall sence was because the blind should not follow him in that heat of zeale they were in when no reprehension was able to make them desist to cry for help least they might thereby fall in to the ditches or stumble at the uneven waies about Iericho S. Gregory gives the Symbolicall sence thus That by this standing was argued his Divinity for saith he Passing betokens man persisting betokens God Origen saies his standing mystically signified the permanence of the benefit received the sight restored to continue not for a time and then he to be blind againe S. Augustine saith anagogically thus Iesus stood to signifie that the temporary Faith of his Incarnation prepares to the understanding things eternall and so Jesus stood as Eternall and as bequeather of Eternall sight of God in glory in recompense of this blind mans Faith who now believed in his Deity And indeed had it not been that our saviour intended something mysticall he neither needed to have stood nor called but could have cured the party with his sole will or pleasure but he stood for the reasons as above and came neare to aske him 41. What he would have thereby to give the blind man occasion to expresse his Faith and confidence in him the more as also because he knew the people had forbid the man to trouble him and he therefore called him to shew God holds not our importunity in good things any way troublesome unto him Our Saviour asked what he would have not that he was ignorant but that he would declare his knowledge of our infirmities excuseeh us not from the confessing of them nevertheless as also to shew God is not onely ready to give us what
Ghost is made manifest who is the Authour of all supernatural gifts The profit whereunto these gifts are given is rather to the Church then to him that receives them for gratuite graces ever avail the Church but not so him who receives them as miracles may be wrought by a sinner who doth not profit by them perhaps at all yet the Church doth 8. By the word of wisdome is understood the power to explicate deep mysteries of Faith as of the B. Trinity Incarnation praedestination or the like By the word of knowledge or science is understood the power to direct mens actions or manners that they be rational at least Thus S. Augustine lib. 12. Trinit cap. 14. 15. distinguisheth between wisdome and science or knowledge 9. By Faith here is not understood that act of Theological vertue which is common to all Christians but an act of particular confidence in God whereby it is believed he will by vertue of that our confidence work a miracle being asked so to do by such a Faith as is able to remove mountains Others understand by Faith here a deep understanding inabling to contemplate and explicate the mysteries of Faith 10. By miracles here are understood those which are extraordinary and are exercised not onely upon the body but even on the soules of men such as was that of S. Peter upon Ananias and Saphyra commanding them to dye By discretion of spirits is meant when God gives one man the grace to see into the very thoughts and intentions of others to know when an action is done by a good or evil spirit by God or the devil a gift to be begged by ghostly Fathers and conducing to their conduct of soules These gifts S. Hilarion was noted to have By interpretation of languages is understood a special gift frequent in the primitive Church whereby men illuminated for that end did give the true sense of Scripture and of those who being ignorant yet had the gift of Tongues and to spake more then themselves well understood but were by Interpretâ—rs expounded 11. Namely as that Spirit as the holy Ghost pleaseth The Application 1. St. Paul in this Epistle first puts the Corinthians and â—n them all other Christians in mind of the horrid Nothing that they were before their conversion from Gentilisme to Christianity And his aym in this is that as nothing was more abominable to the Gentiles then the name of Jesus Christ so nothing ought to be more reverential to Christians then that most sacred and most saving name insomuch as S. Paul concludes it is an Apostacy from God a relapse to Gentilisme not onely to use irreverence to the name of Jesus but to conceive we have any other life or being then what is purchac'd in that sweetest name 2. Notwithstanding true it is we have life often given us by the holy Ghost the special giver indeed of holy grace which is the â—ife and being of a Christian and hence it is S. Paul had no sooner inamoured the Corinthians on the Name of Jesus then he falls instantly upon the gifts of the holy Ghost sent from his heavenly Father and from his sacred Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to multiply on us the mercies of Almighty God as if to have been once redeemed by Christ had not satisfied his infinite goodnesse without he had also made this Redemption copious by sending his holy Spirit to re-redeem us by his graces from the relapses into sinne that render our first redemption fruitlesse unlesse it had been more copious yet by the multiplyed mercies of the holy Ghost applying the Passion of our Saviour to us by some new gift of grace bestowed upon us as often as we take religious breath into our bodies by calling on the Name of Jesus with an aweful reverence thereunto as befits all Christians to do and for this purpose it is S. Paul falls into the enumeration of the gratuite gifts of God the graces that are meerly gratis given not such as are usual and absolutely necessary for our sayntification or justification but such as rather serve to shew the multiplication of Gods holy Power and Mercies over us 3. Blessed God! how art thou perpetually out-doing thine own goodnesse by thy continual effusion of thy self upon our iniquity how art thou giving daily more and more manifestation and consequently much more admiration to the blessed Angels and Saints in heaven by multiplying thy mercies on us sinners here in earth whom all those happy spirits may give a thousand thousand times for lost when they see how we run after nothing but the sordid gain and pleasure of the world the sweets that poyson the contents that damne our soules and yet by the multiplication of thy mercies we are sweetly forc'd maugre the impulse of devil flesh and bloud to let go all our hold on the possessed shadowes of this world and to run after the promised substances of the next But how my God are we forc't to this by the manifestation of thy Power in the multiplication of thy mercies according as was said before in the Illustration Say now beloved the Prayer above and see if it be not excellently well adapted to this holy Text and to this application of the same unto our best improvement The Gospel Luke 18. v. 9. 9 And he said also to certain that trusted in themselves as just and despised others this parable 10 Two men went up into the Temple to pray the one a Pharisee and the other a Publicane 11 The Pharisee standing prayed thus with himself God I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men extortioners unjust advouterers as also this Publicane 12 I fast twice in a week I give Tythes of all that I possesse 13 And the Publicane standing afar off would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven but he knocked his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner 14 I say to you this man went down to his house justified more then he because every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted The Explication 9. 10. By a Pharisee is understood a proud by a Publicane an humble man in this place 11. By the word standing the pride of the Pharisee is insinuated With himself 't is true for he prayed neither with nor to God for his prayer is rather a vaunting of his own then a seeking of Gods glory And his insolence is great whilest he sayes he is not as other men as who should say all besides himself are sinners had he said as some other men there had been lesse arrogancy yet too much and out of this arrogancy he passeth a rash Judgement upon the Publicane whom he points out for a notorious sinner and insinuates himself to be just 12. By twice a Sabbath is understood twice a week as naming the principal day for the whole week By Tythes of all he possesseth he meanes not onely
mans day that is of humane judgement in a point of Spirit for thus the day of man is often taken as by Jeremiah it was Chap. 17. v. 16. when being derided by the people who contemned his Prophecies he cryed out Thou knowest O Lord I desire not the dayes the applause of men nor regard their judgements of me Suffice it I have delivered unto them what thou hast to me revealed So in this sense S. Paul here cares not for the judgement of the Corinthians whether they like his preaching or not but is content that he tells them the genuine sense of his Lord and Master Christ Jesus and yet least he may by this speech seem arrogant See how hee takes off all suspition of vanity in himself by what follows saying Though I am not troubled O Corinthians at what you thinke or judge of me yet neither am I so vain as to presume I am without fault and so I neither will nor dare to judge my self this place might disswade Heretikes from presuming they are certain of their future salvation and of their being here in the state of grace if themselves thinke so assuredly S. Paul might better justifie himself and yet we see he does not indeed he dares not doe it 4. While in this next verse he saith though I am not guilty particularly of any infidelity vanity or ostentation in preaching for still he prosecutes that sense which yet generally may be understood of any sin neverthelesse I am not justified therein he will not justifie himself but he that judgeth me is our Lord and to him I must leave it to judge who not onely sees and knows all hearts but perfectly knows them too that is sees further and clearer into all mens hearts than any one man can see into his own 5. Here the Apostle referrs not onely his own judgement of himself and of his Ministery but even the judgements of all men whatsoever to the latter day of Doom for then and not till then Our Lord shall come and inlighten the hidden things of darkness by laying all things open and this not onely as some Hereticks will have it whether we believe right or wrong but also whether we doe good or bad deeds according to our Faith For so by the plurality of hidden things here mentioned to be revealed then is clearly meant in those words of the Apostle insomuch that Hereticks fondly pretend unto a certainty of their rectitude in Faith more than they can doe unto a rectitude in their works and therefore flatter themselves that be their works the counsels of their hearts what they will yet since it is by Faith men are justified and since they pretend to know certainly that they doe rightly beleeve they therefore scruple not to sâ—cure themselves of salvation be their lives never so bad being their Faith as they say to their certain knowledge is right For the Holy Ghost hath taught us a contrary doctrine to this presumption in Ecclesiastes Chap. 9. v. 1. A man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred So Prov. 20.9 Who can say my heart is clean So Job 9 21. If I bee simple or Innocent yet my soul knoweth it not So Jer. 17. v. 9. Wicked is the heart of man and inscrutable unlesse to God alone To conclude the sentence of Judgement shall not onely passe upon our Faith whether that be right or wrong but upon our works the Counsels of our hearts for every one shall in that day receive according to his works and Luke 20. we receive what our works deserve and in the mean time till the day of generall judgement come the Apostle forbids to judge each other since neither he nor any man can securely and rightly judge himself but then look who hath done and deserved well the praise shall be to every one of God though mistaking men have judged those perhaps worthy of blame whom God shall declare to be praise-worthy because he finds them to have been faithfull to the Ministery or trust which he reposed in them So here we see from first to last St Paul his true sense in this place is upon fidelity in the dispensers of the Mysteries of God and declares that no man but God can judge in that particular as being an office not appertaining to men but to God himself and unto him alone I must here advertise you that the Apostle in the next Verse declares that he useth his own and Apollo's name but figuratively thereby to represent to the Christians their faults in pretending to have one more light of grace than another or to be one better able than another to understand the Scriptures shewing it is a thing they ought as little to presume of in themselves as to censure whether he or Apollo did more faithfully perform the trust of God reposed in them by their ministery of dispensators of his Mysteries The Application 1. THe closing Advent season claimes a due regard in this dayes service so the prayer begins alluding unto that and ends besides with the accustomary reference to the Epistle of the day How like the out-cryes of the ancient Prophets is the stile of Holy Churches prayer to day They cryed out thus O Wisedome O Adonai O Root of Jesse O Key of David O Rising Sun O King of Nations O Emmanuel c. Come and save us thou that art our Lord God And we promising all these exclamations pray as above O Lord we beseech thee raise up thy power and with thy mighty vertue come away to our succour c. meaning all the power and all the Vertue included in those Attributes of Wisedome Adonai King and Saviour which the Prophets gave him as above 2. And least our sins do chase away the coming Jesus see this Epistle points us to the Priests of holy Church as to the Ministers of Christ and dispensers of the Mysteries of God Meaning of the Holy Sacraments that blot out sin and give us grace to bid our Saviour welcome 3. Hence we conclude the Pastors and the People are admonished to buckle to their severall Devoirs to day these in administring these in receiving of the Holy Sacraments and yet each having done his dutie neither to presume he hath done well enough but both referring of themselve to God his Judgements for the future and expecting his mercies for the present And to pray as Holy Church above appoints That our sinnes doe not retard the coming of his mercy towards us The Gospel Luke 3. ver 1. c. 1 ANd in the fifteenth year of the Empire of Tiberius Caesar Pontius Pilate being governour of Jewrie and Herod being Tetrarch of Galilee and Philip his brother Thtrarch of Iturea and the Countrie of Trachonitis and Lysanias Tetrarch of Abilina 2. Vnder the High Priests Annas and Caiphas the word of our Lord was made upon John the son of Zacharie in the desart 3. And he came into all the countrie of Jordan preaching the Baptism
and this to externall and temporall government for that of Internall and Spirituall is the Pastors not the Deacons office which office chiefly belongs indeed to Archdeacons for though his personall care bee mixt with the spirituall Regimen of his Parishioners yet it is his office to see his Deacons carefully administer this Temporall governement wherein he doth imploy them The perfection of attending the Sick or Hospitalls or of shewing mercy consisteth in alacrity of Spirit in cheerfulness that thereby they may oveâ—come their own Tedium or wearinesse in so laborious an office and by the cheerfulness of their own looks exhilarate and comfort those who are sick and comfortlesse and that by the affability of their words they may incourage the sick to believe they are not displeased with the unpleasing attendants on diseases such as are nastie smells horrid spectacles of their sores or the like and so more confidently to beg their helping hands according to that of the Wiseman in Ecclus 35. v. 11. In all thy gifts to others let thy countenance bee cheerfull and all this to Churchmen hitherto 9. See how the Apostle begins the Lay-mans gift of Ministery with a recommendation to him of dilection or love of his neighbour as the principall vertue that must render his ministery acceptable to God and man Such dilection as S. Iohn Epist 1. Chap. 3. v. 18. mentions saying Let us not love in words onely nor in language but in deed and in truth which place will be explicated at large on the Sunday within the Octaves of Corpus Christi Whereunto is here added a hatred of evill in those wee love and a speciall adhesion or cleaving to their good example if any such be given by them for so far shall we advance in imbracing vertue as we proceed in the detestation or hatred of vice 10. As naturally Brothers love one another so all Christians being brothers in Christ their common Father the Apostle here requires the love that intercedes between them though of a supernaturall order should follow the rule of brotherly love which is naturall but when hee exhorts to a mutuall preventing one another in this fraternall dilection theâ—e he elevat s the course of nature which is dull and raiseth it to that of Grace which is quick and nimble brooking no delayes not expecting to be first obliged but obliging before wee receive any other obligation thereunto than what our Christian duty recommendeth to us indeed commands us to use as for point of love Though as for preventing each other with honour that being an Art of Heroick perfection it is here onely counselled and not commanded 11. Here Governours are exhorted to a carefulness to a sedulitie or diligence in their offices least by their sloath any under their charge perish and to be boyling as it were with a fervour of Spirit and devotion towards acts of charity not simpering or standing still as if the fire of love in their souls were quite extinguished and did not propend them to rise upon all occasions administred of doing good to others day or night The marks of this fervor are first that our minds be wholly attent to the good action in hand next that we covet the doing it as much as any other can desire to have it done Lastly that we continue constant in such actions and doe not flaccess or grow weary of well doing and this must be with regard to God as if in serving man wee served God in man for else our service might be servile and not filiall performed more for fear than love serving time rather than eternity whereas if we make it a part of our duty to God that we serve man then it will bee boyling and fervent as it ought because it riseth from a supernaturall heat or motive more active than any naturall one can be 12. The hope that must cause our rejoyceing to be accomplisht ought to be that of the Heavenly joyes for the higher we make the expectation of our reward the more alacrity shall we have in doing well and therefore Christian joy ought to be of a higher strain than any the present or future emoluments of this world can suggest into us but such should be our joy and hopes as the Prophet David speaks of Psalm 4. ver 10. calling it a singular puesto that we are placed in or an expectation of singular hopes not ordinarily or ever indeed here arrived unto but laid up for us in the magazine of Heaven where the least of all rewards are infinite and besides unattainable if our joy here at any time be such as may not hope for eternall joyes to accompany the same but if such then our vain wordlly joyes or felicities all of them that are truly vain would be laid aside and we should rather content our selves with patient suffering which the Apostle recommends after he had taken away in his former words all vain joyes than with shaking these sufferings off to seek contents or comforts from this world which we could not hope to enjoy in the next but making it our joy to suffer and bringing that suffering to the perfection of an incessant or instant Prayer by referring all our actions to Gods Honour and Glory for in so doing we shall follow close the counsell here given us in this Verse of persisting in Prayer and the like given by Saint Paul 1 Thes 5. ver 17. Pray without intermission and of Saint Luke commanding such Prayer chap. 18. ver 1. while he said we must alway pray 13. Some understand this place as meant by praying for our own or our neighbours necessities and in so praying availing our selves and our neighbours of the Saints intercessions so as by the necessities of Saints are meant here their memories of us which we doe want Thus Saint Ambrose thus Origen thus Saint Hierom all after the Greek text who take memory here in a double sense first as to availe our selves of our remembring the Saints examples given us here and the reward of glory given to them in Haven to incite our selves to the like sanctity in hope of the like reward secondly as we availe our selves of their remembring us while we implore their aide by making memory of them in our services as in the Canon of the Mass is dayly done In these words Communicating and revering the memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the holy Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul c yet the more literall sense is that of the Latine Text alluding to our relieving others here or in Purgatory in their necessity the one by Prayer the other by Almes and these as Saints we are bid Communicate unto or relieve that is as presuming they are so rather than judging them to be Sinners because their name at least of Christians is Holy what ere their Lives are so by Communicating is here meant exchanging our workes of Mercy for their workes of Merit who are in want Pursuing hospitality that is
storm at sea we are minded of the many dangers sin hath brought upon us so by the check Christ gave to his Apostles wee are taught in dangers to recurr to Faith in him who never failes to succour firm believers in their greatest tribulations 2. As in stormes your Marrinâ—â—s cast veâ—-board their heaviest lading and commodities to save the ship from sinking so in affliction at the least we shall doe well to lighten the vessels of our soulâ— by casting over-board those heavie burdens of most grievous sins which many times in calmnesse of our mindes we dare to carry with us 3. We may piously presume our Saviour never sleeps but unto souls remiss and then doth wake again immediatly when they affrighted at the danger they are in by the least close of his all-seeing eyes I doe call upon him for his succour by their instant prayer Such as the Church to day doth use to teach us how to pray in time of Danger On the Fifth Sunday after the EPIPHANIE The Antiphon MAT. 13. ver 30. GAther first the darnell and bind it together in bundles to be burnt but the wheat gather into my barne saith our Lord. Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer KEepe we beseech the O Lord thy family in continuall piety that resting on the onely hope of heavenly grace it may ever by thy protection be defended The Illustration SEe how this day we are taught to pray as in the Epistle and Gospel we are taught to doe to live all together as one family of God in continual piety resting on the onely hope of heavenly grace for our protection and defence Yes thus to day we pray and to this purpose holy Church doth this day preach for the whole Epistle is upon uniting us all in one affection towards another and exhorting us that whatsoever we doe in word or work all things be done in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ And the Gospel commanding in the Parable of Corne and Cockle that even under pretence of good and bad we make no separation amongst our selves but live and continue lovingly together leaving it to God the master of the family to sever what he likes not from that which pleaseth his divine majestie and this to shew how perfectly we must be all as one amongst our selves all in continuall piety all resting on the hope of heavenly grace all relying upon God to protect and defend us not squaring out our own courses but resting in that which is appointed us by the Master of our family And see while in this prayer Holy Church calleth us all one family we ought to live in peace with all the world and not to graspe from our neighbour as if he and we were of two houses but to esteem him as a domesticke with us as one that eares at the same table of Christ who feeds us commonly with heavenly grace and oftentimes with his own sacred body and bloud the fountaine of grace it self O could we once come to doe as in this prayer we beg we may what an united family of Christians should we be How of divers members should we grow into one perfect body each proportioned to the will and pleasure of our head Christ Jesus How ill doe we then fall into divisions as if our hands would cut off our armes about disputes of divers Interests whereas all our relation is to one master all our hope of preferment must come from him and that hope must be radicated in the proportion of such heavenly grace as he pleaseth to give us so if in him our hopes be rightly fixed they wil bring us all to one happy end he in whom wâ— hope protecting and defending us so much the better by how much the more our hope in him is the firmer and by how much the lesse we are solcitous who neither can do nor with so well unto our selves as God doth for us The Epistle COL 3. ver 12. c. 12. PVt ye on therefore as the Elect of God holy and beloved the bowells of mercy benignity humility modesty patience 13 Supporting one another and pardoning one another if any have a quarrell against any man as also our Lord hath pardoned us so you also 14. But above all these things have Charity which is the band of perfection 15 And let the peace of Christ exult in your hearts wherein also you are called in one body and be thankful 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly in all wisdome teaching and admonishing your own selves with psalmes hymnes and spiritual Canticles in grace singing in your hearts to God 17. All whatsoever you doe in word or work all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ giving thanks to God and the Father by him The Explication 12. THE Apostle began this Chapter with telling the Colossians that as they were dead in Christ whilst Christ dyed for them so if they meant to rise with Christ from the grave of their sin they must look upward and seek from hence forward such things as were to be found in heaven not what was common upon earth as before they had done and when he had bid them Cast off the old man Colos 3. vers 9. now in this verse he begins to tell them how to vest themselves anew with ornaments fit for the spiritual and inward man and that they may doe this with more alacrity the Apostle bids them doe it under the confidence that they are now the elect and chosen of God his holy and beloved people mâ—de so by the lavacrum or cleansing of his sacred bloud shed for them and least they might doubt of this he had in the immediate verses before told them they were now in Christ a new creature that though formerly the Jewes were the onely favourites and chosen people of God yet in Christ both Jewes and Gentiles Slave or Free-man all were alike if they did all equally believe in Jesus the Messias and Saviour of them all who had chosen them not onely to Grace but to Glory and this incouragement premised he bids them now put on the bowels of mercy benignity humility modesty patience Virtues not heard of among the Iewes who had hardned their hearts against God who had inhumanely butchered his sacred Sonne who proudly aymed at nothing but worldly pompe who immodestly reviled Iesus to his face who like furies would have stoned and at last tore in pieces their Lord and Saviour so far thâ—y were from patient hearing him tell them Truth not were the Gentiles or Barbarians men of any Vertue at all but either superstitious or savage people so these Colossians being people of no better extract by nature hee had need tell them what Bowels what affections of heart they were by Grace at least to have what inward Vertues what outward deportment 13. As for example supporting one another a thing unheard of by those who aimed at nothing more than
merit in them and that merit is to make us to have deserved such a master then let us confidently say this Prayer to day and all this holy week for as it is the last of the Lenten Sundayes Prayers so we may see it Steers the ships of our Bodies and Soules downe the very gulfe of our Saviours Passion where to suffer shipwracke is to be saved since the greatest mercy in this Sea is to be cast away upon the waves thereof as our Pilot Jesus was himselfe heare his own words out of the royall Prophets mouth Psal 68. v. 3. I came into the depth of the Sea and was drowned in the Tempest of it This Sea was that of his Passion which we are now all sayling on nor can we hope for greater mercy then to be used as heavenly Ionas was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to be swallowed up by the whale of death to dye to this wicked world that so we may with Ionas-Jesus be cast upon the shore of Resurrection according as the Prayer above purports But lest we forget the Edde of our Lenten Fast running by the shoares of this Red Sea see how admirably the holy Ghost hath contrived this Prayer with due regard to all circumstances of persons time and place for what more eminent effects of a religious Fast then patience and humility and to what more apparent end are these vertues recommended unto us in this dayes service then that thereby we may obtaine a propitious looke from heaven and to deserve a fellowship in the resurrection with Christ after we have learn't without book these lessons of humility and patience which God sent his Sacred Son to teach us The Epistle Philip. 2. v. 5. c. 5 For this thinke in your selves which also in Christ Iesus 6 Who when he was in the forme of God thought it no robbery himselfe to be equall to God 7 But he exinanited himselfe taking the forme of a Servant made into the similitude of men and in shape found as man 8 He humbled himselfe made obedient unto death even the death of the Crosse 9 For the which thing God also hath exalted him and hath given him a name which is above all names 10 That in the name of Jesus every knee bow of the celestials terrestrials and infernals 11 And every tongue confesse that our Lord Iesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father The Explication 5. THe Apostle had in the foregoing verses of this Chapter exhorted to humility in superiority and now in this verse he takes for a rule of our humility that of Christ who though God disdained not to fall below the repute of man and called himselfe even a worme and not a man so low he had stooped for our instruction and example And Saint Paul by this expression doth not onely wish us to thinke humbly of our selves but even to feele by a practicall humiliation the same subjection within us which Christ felt when he became the scorne of men and the out-cast or offals of the people This is the genuine sense of the Apostle though even to thinke to reflect on Christs humility and by reflecting thereon to humble our selves is not an ill exposition of this place neither and thereby to comfort our selves that as Christ his humility was the cause of his exaltation so will our humility prove to us if we embrace it for our Saviours sake 6. But to imprint this Doctrine deeper in us the Apostle amplifies how farre Christ did debase himselfe for our example saying that though he were in the forme of God c. Where we are to note this word forme is here taken perversely by the Arrians when they thence infer Christ was not really and truly God but had onely a shape or forme divine better then other men ever had yet this is a grosse corruption of the Text for Saint Paul meanes here Physicall not Artificiall naturall and not fictitious forme such forme as gives being to the thing in which it is as the forme of wood gives an essentiall distinct being to wood differing from all other substances that are not wood and so in this place the Apostle sayes Christ being in the forme of God being really God himselfe who neither is nor can be multiplyed into many Gods by the forme of God being communicated to many persons as the forme of man is multiplyed into many men though all those men have but one forme specificall one humane forme This shewes the nature or forme of God is infinitely more perfect and more simple then any other nature can be which may be numerically multiplyed though specifically it still remaine one as humane nature is when many men contract it but the divine nature is not so multiplyed though contracted by three distinct persons for we cannot say there are many Gods though it is most true there are many men so the Apostle here speaks literally and rigorously of the form of the nature divine and sayes Christ being coequall God with his Father in regard of his divine nature held it not robberie to say he was equal to God held it no prejudice to his Father to say he was truly one and the same God with him 7. And yet this notwithstanding though he were in the forme of God who is Lord and Master of all the world he would exinanite himselfe debase and lessen himselfe into the forme of a servant made into the similitude of man and in shape found as man who is by all the Titles of the world a vassall Servant and creature of Almighty God though indeed exinanire is not to be truly rendered into English for it is in effect to say Annihiâ—aâ—e not that he was in truth annihilated onely this word imports thus much that Christ who as God was all things had in a manner annihilated himselfe to become man who in the sight of God was and is as much as nothing because pure man hath no being but from God and if God could take away that gift or rather loane of Being which he affords to man instantly man would returne into his first principle which was nothing before Being was lent unto him I say if God could because as to give Being argues perfection so to take it away some Divines thinke would argue imperfection in God as if he would or could destroy himself by Annihilation of any thing since to take Being from a thing is to take his own perfection away which God cannot doe though he may punish those who use their Being to the dishonor of God by making them Be eternally miserable whom he created with power to have Bin eternally happy By the forme of Servant is here understood the humane nature which Christ assumed for that was truly a Servant even to his own Divine nature which did assume it and this for as much as that nature was a creature and so a Servant to the creator thereof but not that Christ was a Servant by
Master in his passion so lest we by surprizing sloath or by sleeping in Prayer be overtaken in our other actions he puts a watchfulness before our eyes especially in Prayer as the best remedy to help us to stand upon a close guard in all our other actions and indeed the life of man especially of Christians ought to be a perpetuall watchfulness because our adversary the devil is alwayes going the round about the wals of this world like a ravenous Lyon to seeke whom he may devour asleep 1 Pet. c. 5. v 8 or which is all one not standing the sentinel of a watchfull guard against him which guard is then best when we are found upon it Praying nor is there indeed any armour more of proofe against all temptations then a watchfull Prayer 8. Yet to shew the divine vertues transcend the morall ones Saint Peter in this verse sayes but above all conserve among your selves mutuall charity by which it is evident the Apostle here speakes of charity as it imports a love to our neighbor which then is in the height when we are content to dye to doe him good Saint Bernard explicates this well in saying we are all Cosins allyed in blood meaning the blood of Christ our Father equally shed for all of us that are his children and allyes and it seemes Saint Paul ad Coloss 3. v 14. Concurres with Saint Peter in this Doctrine even in the same termes in a manner saying but above all things I have recommended be sure to have charity which is the chaine or band of perfection which our Saviour sets out in life-colours saying love one another as I have loved you and to incourage us the more to this mutuall charity the Apostle tels us it covers the multitude of sins meaning all our sins whatsoever for as Christ was said to dye for many importing all and as many shall rise in the day of Judgement intending all that then rise so by the multitude of sins is here meant all sin whatsoever since an act of perfect charity taking away affection to any one sin doth even by that meanes blot all sin out of the soule yet some will have no charity able to this effect but onely the charity of God which not onely covers but takes away all sinne from those soules whom he hath predestinated to salvation others contend it is the charity of Christ which covers in his fight the sinnes of his elected Servants by applying his passion to them and his holy grace so efficaciously as they shall by this means cease to sin but certainely neither of these senses can be that of the Apostle in this place who expresseth himself to meane mutuall charity and that is properly betweene man and man declared in Acts of mercy and goodness towards one another and this charity doth not onely cover the proper sins of them that love their neighbor but even the common sins of all their neighbors whom they love our own as we cannot love man for Gods sake but wee must love God much more and who ever loves God truly not onely covers but flyes and hates all sinne our neighbors because as hatred detects so charity hides the sinns of our neighbors as we read Hatred stirreth up strifes but charity covereth all sins Proverb 10.12 it onely remaines to tell how many wayes sinne is hidden by charity first by being quite blotted out as Saint Mary Magdalenes were to whom much all were forgiven because she loved much Luk. c. 7. v. 47. Next by palliating when we out of charity excuse and make the best of mens actions Thirdly when we doe not onely excuse them but actually binde them up as Chirurgeons doe soares to cure them so we doe when besides the excuse we make for our neighbors sins we further oblige them by doing good unto them for the ill they have done to us and this is an efficacious way indeed to cure their soares of sinne as well as to cover them and by binding them to us we do as it were our selves take upon us their sins and so God looking on our good sees not their bad whom we have rendered grateful to him for our sakes as Christ did render us all grateful to his heavenly Father when he took our sins upon him and thus covered us from his wrath and fury Lastly then we perfectly cover our neighbors sinne when we doe not onely heale the wound thereof but heale it so close so perfectly that no scar remaines no memory is in us of the wrong he did us nor is suffered if we can help it to be in any other of like wrongs done to them 9. By being hospitable without murmuring he meanes we should be so loving to all as we doe not murmur that wee are oppressed with the number of the needy or poore that want our help and the Apostle here reflects particularly on the niggardly mindes of the Inhabitants of Pontus who were extreame narrow in their almes and would extend the little they gave to very few whereas he would have charity large and extended to all 10. This verse shewes how large our charity should be when we are bid to give almes or doe good to others according to the proportion of grace that we receive from God and by grace is here understood not that which justifies the single man to God but that which is gratis given to us and so must be gratis communicated to others good and profit not to our own end for it is avarice so to give as we aime at receiving more from others then we part with from our selves and the very words of the Text are against self ends while they bid us administer to one another which is quite opposite to taking for our selves againe as Gods graces to us are manifold so must our administration of them to others be else we cannot give as we receive which yet was the first rule of this verse telling us how to give 11. Here the Apostle summes up all the kindes of charity under two the one in words the other in deeds or the one preaching teaching exhorting the other giving almes visiting the sick or doing all other workes of mercy corporal and here we see the rule that preachers are tyed unto of speaking not their own but the word of God or what the holy Ghost shal dictate not what humane fansie shal suggest and we see in the primitive Church the Holy Ghost inspired some to exhort others to sing hymnes of praise others to prophecy and each one this to doe with humility and meekness not with pride and ostentation with zeale and fervour not tepidly or dully according to that of David Thy word O Lord is very hot even as fire and what by office the preacher is to doe out of charity the people are to imitate and as they heare nothing from the Priest but what belongs to God so all their conversation should be of God and of heavenly things thereby to
Spirit of Servitude and Fear being onely a shadow of that Truth which was to come after it Lastly and most properly because he is the Author of all Truth whence Christ said of him Cap. 16. he shall teacb you all truth 27. See the infinite Dignity of the Apostolate and of their Successors the Prelates of Gods Church that they are joyned in testimony of Christ his Deity and of all the other mysteries of Faith even with the holy Ghost himself and yet the Hereticks so undervalue Church Authority as if it were onely Humane and Fallible whereas indeed it is Divine because supported by Divine Power promising it should be Infallible and it is as little derogatory to God his veracity to say that failing man supported by God cannot erre as it is to say God cannot erre in that he undertaketh so the Infallibility is radicated in God however by his gracious vouchsafing it is also attributed to man as exercising the ministery of God not otherwise C. 16. 1. Many take scandal here in diverse Sences but the best and genuine is that they be not offended at their persecutors when they shall finde them to oppose Gods holy Ordinances and Ministers and that for this reason they do not slacken in their Faith or Zeal as expecting God should being Good and Goodness it self defend them from evil while for his sake and for his Name they were doing well and executing his commands but should rather remember he had foretold them these things would happen and that if his heavenly Father permitted him who was actually God to be in his own sacred Person abused and persecuted to Death they should not being but men expect to have more regard shewed them by Gods enemies then was shewed to God himself but should rather conclude he suffered for them to give them example to suffer for him and for their own and others sins besides 2. The Synagogue imports either the Congregation of the Jewish people or the place wherein they were to observe their ceremonial Rites in serving God as now the word Church signifies the believers in Christ and the place where Christians assemble to attend the Divine Service so by being cast out of the Synagogue imports excommunicated as cast out of the Place or Society of men serving God for so odious were the Apostles to the Jews upon the account of Christ Jesus their Master that they were not esteemed worthy of the name or company of Gods people and Christ comforts them against this disgrace by making them the Heads of hiâ— Church who were not held worthy to be members of the Jewish Synagogue Further he tells them they shall have the honour to be as he was offered up a Sacrifice for the sins of the people by the Jews who are so obstinately blinde as to esteem they offer sacrifice to God for their own sins while they persecute the servants of Christ Jesus the Son of God nor doth our Saviour here onely foretel the personal persecution of the Apostles but that also of all Christians which was to continue till the worlds end and the causes of this persecution are many The first the Devils and his Ministers malice to see Saints prefer Gods Service before the respect even to the proud Princes amongst men the second the destruction of Idols by the erecting a worship to one onely God The third because it was presumed as false as it was new to preach a crucified man to be eternal God The fourth because Christians do not onely beat down the false Religions of the Jews and Gentiles but even reprehend the manners and proceedings of those who profess such false worship of God as the Jewes and Gentiles did exhibite The last because the Devil and his adherents perswaded the world that all the miseries of Famine Plague Warre and Death which befell mankinde were just punishments of God inflicted on them for letting Christian Religion be professed and this saith he they will do to you because 3. They neither know my Father nor me that is they will not know either of us for this is not an excusing but an accusing phrase of Christ so this ignorance was not alledged as extenuating but as aggravating their fault and our Saviour animates the Apostles to suffer these temporal Scorns with as much neglect as a Prince would do who coming singly to Town without any visible attendance or retinue after him should be refused entrance and kept out as a private person for instead of being angry he would comfort himself with the redouble honour it would be to him to have these people let him in with their excuses and apologies for the affront as soon as his train appeared to testifie what he was and such a Train of holy Saints every Christian ought to believe will follow him to make the world with shame cry him mercy for affronting him whom God himself esteems and loves 4. The reason why I tell you or foretel you rather these things is not to disanimate but to hearten you to suffer them with alacrity because I shall as surely help you out of these bryars as I have told you that you should fall into them for my sake and if you remember I foretold you this you shall need no other comfort in your afflictions for you know sufficiently who I am your Jesus your God and when I tell you I shall give you the honour of suffering for me be confident I shall not fail to attend you with a Crown of Glory for your Martyrdoms The Application 1. THe two first Verses of this Gospel run wholly upon the Hope our Saviour put his Apostles in for the coming of the holy Ghost and so do fitly now exhort us to the practice of that Vertue according as we have been taught we must between Ascension and Whitsuntide And what more comfortable exercise can we desire then to expect the holy Ghost to come and take possession of our hearts on Earth while Jesus is gone to take possession of our Mansion House in Heaven A happy and a hopeful parting from our Ascending Saviour when we are left in expectation of our Descending Saintifier 2. In the three next Verses our Blessed Lord tyes the strongest link of Charity that of dying for the Faith to this above of Hope so is the Gospel suitable to the Epistle of the day Just in this sort he welcom'd St. Paul to his conversion promising to shew him what he was to suffer for his holy Name O admirable spirit of Almighty God! making that to his Saints a ground of Hope which were to sinners the greatest Motive of despair How comes this to pass but onely as the Royal Prophet sayes Because thou eternal God hast singularly placed me in Hope that is to say hast made thy servants contemn this tempting world and life it self the sweetest thing on earth in expectation of an everlasting life or to use thy words divine meerly for the Hope of Israel 3. The last
our Saviour Jesus Christ but the Majesty and power of Almighty God indeed all the three persons of the B. Trinity so that to requite the love of him who made his Body be our food we are bound to come unto this Sacrament with acts of charity and to avoid the danger of unworthy receivers we are obliged to come unto it with all the fear and trembling we can that is to say by going first to confession and purging our conscience not onely from such sins as we are guilty of but even from inordinate affections to things that are not sin since we see in this Gospel those who had onely such affections were excluded from the Supper that was a Type of this holy Sacrament 2. Again since it was an act of the highest wisdome the second Person of the B. Trinity to contrive himself a Tabernacle in the soules of men wherein his infinite glory might take delight to dwell in hearts that had but a care to keep themselves in his good grace as the Priest sayes to day in holy office Wisdome hath built her self a House meaning amongst other senses Jesus Christ hath made himself a Tabernacle in humane soules that worthily receive the B. Sacrament it is but requisite we shew some zeal to his wisdome as well as to his Love namely that we bring with us to this heavenly banquet such a holy fear as may give testimony we aym at a reverence to his infinite wisdome while we shew a sign that we begin at least our selves to be wise by the best argument of humane wisdome holy fear according to that of Eccles 1. The beginning of wisdome is the fear of our Lord. 3. Nor will it be against the main scope of Christianity which is now continually to perfect charity in us while we joyn other vertues with our acts of love because though love must ever be included in all we say or do yet there is no vertue therefore to be excluded but any one or more may well go hand in hand with charity nay she indeed should never go alone being the Queen and Soveraign of all other vertues so they do but usher her where ere they go in her company as to day we are taught to lead our charity into the Church with a holy feare of our Lord. For which purpose we pray to day that we may come unto this holy Sacrament with equal fear with equal love and that for the reasons alledged in the Prayer as was said in the application of this dayes Epistle On the third Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Luk. 15.8 WHat woman if she have Ten groates if she have lost one groat doth she not light a Candle and sweep the house and search diligently untill she hath found it Vers Let my prayer O Lord be directed Resp Even as Incense before thee The Prayer O God who art the Protectour of those that hope in thee without whom nothing is valid nothing holy multiply we beseech thee over us thy mercy that thou being our ruler thou our guide we may so passe by the temporal goods of this world as not to loose the eternall of the next The Illustration SEe how in this excellent Prayer are summed up the contents of the Epistle and Gospel of the day how exactly do we in the beginning of this prayer observe the counsel given us in the Epistle humbling our selves under the mighty hand of God when we implore his protection over us confessing that without him nothing is valid nor holy in us and that we have no other title to his protection neither then his multiplyed mercies towards us upon which mercy we cast all our care all our hope and in confidence thereby to have him our ruler him our guide we commit our selves to the combat against all our enemies which we are to encounter in our passage through this alluring world beseeching his Divine Majesty that by our sober vigilancy over our own actions day and night accompanying his never failing conduct we may maugre opposition obtain the victory and receive the crown of Glory which this prayer petitions Behold it also as well adjusted to the Gospel For who doth not clearly see that whilest he shall not with the Publican hang upon our Saviours lips to hear his counsels and commands but runs his own wayes with the murmuring Pharisee he is presently a lost sheep and falls into sin if not to heresie as this parable imports and so in stead of onely passing by the pleasures of this world as the Prayer above adviseth he contrariwise dwelling on them in the swing of his own inordinate desires indangers his loosing heaven unlesse the good shepherd leave his flock in the desert by his being content for a time to see them want the comfort of his presâ—nce and consolation whilest he runs after his lost sheep and with much care finding him out brings him with joy back again to the Catholike Church if he were gone quite out of it or to Sacramental pennance if he were plunged into the mire of other grievous sins not schisme nor heresie But to come more home to our purpose whenâ—e is all this trouble to our Pastour but because the sheep do not with zeal and fervour say this prayer above do not hope in God but in themselves do not flye the roaring and the ranging lyon but run into his Jawes do not content themselves to feed in the pleasant pastures of holy conversation but run a hunting after the food of vain and worldly pleasures and consequently plunge themselves headlong into hell unlesse by the mercy of this heavenly shepherd they be reduced to an amendment of their lives and at last rewarded with eternal glory Whereunto it will hugely conduce to repeat this prayer often with such relation as we see it hath to the other parts of this dayes Service that so the sheep may do as the Pastour sayes This is the end of all preaching This the end of all prayer The Epistle 1 Pet. 5.6 c. 6 Be ye humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in the time of visitation 7 Casting all your carefulnesse upon him because he careth for you 8 Be sober and watch because your adversary the devill as a roaring lyon goeth about seeking whom he may devour 9 Whom resist ye strong in Faith knowing that the self same affliction is made to that your fraternity which is now in the world 10 But the God of all grace which hath called us unto his eternal glory in Christ Jesus he will perfect you having suffered a little and confirm and establish you 11 To him be Glory and Empire for ever and ever Amen The Explication 6. THis verse exhorts to resignation unto the Divine Will in all occasions especially of adversity No marvel the hand of God is here called mighâ—y when it is omnipotent See how we are wooed into our own felicity when we are exhorted to humility and
resignation as a meanes to our exaltation in the time of visitation which is to be understood when God shall think fit to look upon us with the eye of mercy 7. It were an injury to Gods goodnesse for us to cast about for that which God himself takes care for that is our soules good the care of that is his and our rule of that is by him laid unto us so in that affayre we have rather to do what is commanded already then to be solicitous about it as if it were not done And to be solicitous of Temporals is an unchristian care and therefore often forbidden in point of perfection however tolerated in regard of humane infirmity but moderate care is alwayes allowed Christians in order to Temporals when anxious solicitude is forbidden them by many texts of holy writ 8. Sobriety is the best companion of watchfulnesse and therefore both are recommended And because our watchfulnesse is to be perpetual therefore our sobriety must be so too but especially towards night when our hearts onely are to keep the watch whilest our senses are asleep and this because the devil is then most busie in temptations when men are least able to resist having as it were but their wish awake and their will asleep hence all spiritual men recommend temperance towards bed-time both in meat and drink hence the Completory begins alwayes with this very verse to put us in mind with what purity we ought to go to bed having our profest enemy alwayes awake and ready to devour us if he find us off our sober guard 9. Happy we that by the least resistance are sure of victory against this ravenous devil for maugre all his malice and all his power he cannot hurt us unlesse we yeeld our consents to his Temptations Here is added that we must stoutly resist him and believing too because so we get compleat victory for by resistance we overcome him by fortitude we bind him captive by Faith we take away all his armes and power that is by firm stout and constant Faith And again our resistance will have the more force because of what followes in this verse we never are left alone but have alwayes our fellow Souldiers to help us in this Fight against our enemy who never tempts us alone but all other good men at the same time and we have share in their greater resistance by adding what our weaknesse is able to do 10. This next verse comes yet more home to our comfort and assistance telling us besides the help of our fellow creatures we have the help of our omnipotent Creatour against this enemy of mankind the God of all grace who having called us to everlasting glory will not if we help our selves permit the devill to snatch us away into his kingdom of darknesse so that being designed for glory we cannot fear the want of grace for that is the seed and glory the fruit of Gods goodnesse in us O who seeing how much Christ suffered to purchase us patience would not gladly suffer this little we are told must be indured if we will hope for victory Let us therefore with the same zeal begin to suffer as we would desire the happy end of it which is assured victory and glory 11. This last verse minds us that the victory is Gods and the honour of it his though the reward by his mercy be our eternall glory too The Application WE have had hitherto the holy Ghost the sacred Trinity and the blessed Sacrament to help us on in our long journey between Pentecost and Advent which we are to march all upon the feet of Charity but now we must expect no more such speciall helps suffice it we have had last Sunday the corroborating repast whereof Elias his refreshment under the Tree in the desert was but a type or figure when yet he was told that little bread should inable him to his journeyes end although he had a great wâ—y to go after that before he came to the mount Horeb so beloved must our charity from this day forward march upon the late refreshment of the blessed Sacrament till we come in our annuall journey to the mount of Advent the mount of expectation the mount that leaves us on the top of the highest mystery of our redemption the Incarnation of our Lord God where his first stoop to earth was our first step to heaven 2. Now for as much as we shall in this march find charity sometimes handed on by other vertues as last Sunday most properly by holy fear sutable to her in so long a journey and through the many dangers which she was to meet withall in the desert of this world and because at other times she will be in a manner out of sight and carried on with the crowd of other vertues thronging about her to secure themselves by her and to be her guard as they are bound she being sovereign to them all we must not therefore think our design is ill laid and that our obligation ceaseth as to the practise of charity when in the holy Text other vertues are more visible then she for there want not good Divines who grounded on S. Paul his definition or description at least of this majestick vertue affirm there is indeed no other vertue but charity both because God himself is called charity and because in heaven all other vertues are refunded into her so that in these Divines opinions even Faith Hope Humility Patience Obedience and all other vertues whatsoever are but charity believing hoping submitting suffering obeying or the like as one and the self same man by the severall faculties of his soul by his severall senses and members of his body is doing those exercises that such faculties such senses and such members are necessary for Be these Divines right or wrong it boots not to our purpose more then thus to let us see all our actions are good or bad according as they partake or want of charity to give them life or to declare them dead 3. This premised see how humility resignation to Gods holy will sobriety vigilance and a strong faith bring charity along this first-dayes journey after the repast she had last Sunday as above And though the Text tell her she is to carry us through the ravenous Lions walk yet we see the close of this Epistle is that the God of all Grace the God of charity will secure us through these dangers for his own glory if we but love him and will cast our cares on him and will rely upon his multiplied mercies whereof we have dayly and hourely huge experience if we will make him our Ruler him our Guide and if we do not loose our charity to him our Creatour by wasting it away upon creatures unworthy of our love because we cannot grasp temporall felicities without hazard of loosing eternall happinesse Yes yes assuredly this ought to be our duty now Whilest to this very purpose holy Church prayes to day
the vice of a persecuter which was in none but himself though more may be attributed to his doing as much in a lesse time as the rest did in longer space being he was last called With me that is laboureth with me and not as the Heretickes translate the grace which is with me or in me I not laboring my self but relying on the past labours of Christ thus vainly they but the holy Church understands the Apostle to mean his joynt labour with the grace of God The Application 1. St. Paul in this Epistle recapitulates the arguments by which he brought the Corinthians to believe the hardest point of Faith that then was agitated the resurrection of our Saviour for it was upon preaching that doctrine this Apostle was chiefly persecuted and for defence whereof he suffered martyrdome 2. But as we see this Epistle in the beginning requires that charity accompany the faith of this great mystery so in the close thereof humility attends on charity while S. Paul first calls himself an abortive and the least of the Apostles more one not worthy of that celebrated Name nor daring to ascribe unto himself the fruits of any his greatest labours but attributing all to the grace of God effectually operating in him all those things whereunto he thought himself did very poorly cooperate Thus must faith and humility accompany our charity in her now long march to Advent in all her way to Judgement it self 3. What can be the result of this mystery other then that which naturally followes the unexpected proof of the least expected and most unbelieved thing in all the world the Resurrection of our Saviour A joy no doubt ineffable in those that were his friends and had no hand in any of his sufferings and a confusion on the other side in all that had contributed unto his death a sorrow and a fear if not a deep despair indeed that their sinne of Deicide was sure enough unpardonable So should it be with us beloved who although we cannot kill our Christ again yet do attempt to crucifie him by the very least of many mortall sinnes that we commit against his heavenly Majesty notwithstanding our own conscience tells us we doe therein worse then ever did the Jewes for they pretended zeal in all they did whereas we know we sinne for want of zeal for want of love to him who died for love of us What remedy but that which holy Church to day hath found when we hear the Preachers tell us of the frights and feares the sadnesse and confusion of the Jewes in such a case that then We pray not onely as we did on Sunday last to have Gods mercy multiplyed but even powred out upon us as his precious bloud was powred upon the Jewes that by such a showre of mercy the sinnes our conscience fears may be pardoned and the favours we dare not aske may be granted for the reasons given in the preamble of the Prayer and in the end of the Illustration above The Gospel Mark c. 7. v. 31. 31 And again going out of the coasts of Tyre he came by Sidon to the sea of Galilee through the middest of the coast of Decapolis 32 And they bring to him one deaf and dumb and they besought him that he would impose his hands upon him 33 And taking him from the multitude apart he put his fingers into his eares and spitting touched his tongue 34 And looking up unto heaven he groaned and said to him Epheta which is be opened 35 And immediately his ears were opened and the string of his tongue was loosened and he spake right 36 And he commanded them not to tell any body but how much he commanded them so much the more a great deal did they publish it 37 And so much the more did they wonder saying He hath done all things well he hath made both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak The Explication 31. THis literall narration of Christ going from coast to coast and by the Sea side alludeth to the change which grace maketh in those who follow the calling of Almighty God that they must leave their former customes and go by new coasts even rough and dangerous seas of persecution up mountains of dangers and difficulties to enjoy the quiet of a good conscience 32. By deaf understand mystically those who will not obey the commands of God and holy Church by dumbe those who will not praise Almighty God in their actions nor in their thoughts but like mutes spend their time in silencing Gods praises They ask him to lay his hands on them because they had experience he did use to cure the diseased by that means 33. He tooke him apart because this corporall cure alludes to the conversion of the soul and the best means of conversion to God is an aversion from the world a retyring from evill company By his fingers put into the deaf mans eares understand the holy Ghost opening the infidels understanding and making him believe the word of God when he hears it Besides the holy Ghost is often intimated by the finger of God as Ex. 8.19 alibi By spitting here is meant Christ his wetting his own finger with his own spittle so notes the Greek Text not that he did spit into the dumb mans mouth And Christ his spittle is not an unfit cure of dumbnesse since by the moisture of the tongue speech is much perfected and aridity is an impediment to speech Thus even God works miracles by the aptest instruments in nature for them 34. By his looking to heaven we are minded that from thence comes all the power we have to heare the word of God and to speak his praise By his groaning he showes how God seems to lament the miseries of those souls which are infected with the contagion of sin By his saying Epheta be thou open to the deaf ear he shewes himself to be God as curing by command 35. No marvel God commanding the cure was done but by his speaking right we are told the cure was perfectly done and not palliated And indeed then it is most evident Gods operation is perfect in us when it brings us from wrong to right from sick to sound but mystically when from sinners we are brought to be right perfected Saints and surely needs must he speak right whom God had cured of his dumbnesse Though some will have it hence that this man was not quite dumb but had onely a stammering in his speech or a weaknesse in that organ not suffering him to speak plain but to babble as children do that first learn to speak Yet by right speaking may here be well understood the cured mans speaking perfectly the praises of God and rightly glorifying his Divine Majesty thereby 36. The word command here is not to be taken strictly or arguing a precept but rather a request so there was no sin in breaking it but rather as S. Augustine insinuates a virtue and that obedience too for
so we must live rather content to die poor then seek to live rich after God will have us die beggars Note it is onely excesse of care or anxious solicitude that we are forbidden not ordinary diligence in our occasions 33. By first is here understood chiefly or principally so that we are allowed a secondary care of our temporals though our main imploy and study must be to get heaven for that is the Kingdome of God By Gods justice is here understood those virtues and good deeds that render us just in the sight of God and so capable of that heaven we are in the first place to seek since it was the end for which we were first created By those things which shall be given us besides are understood things of lesse moment and consequently which ought to take up lesse of our care such as are meat clothes and other temporalls The Application 1. GOd and Mammon are not so here declared to be the two masters meant who cannot be both served at once but that we may also take the spirit and the flesh for these two masters and this the rather because so the Gospel is more literally suting the Epistle and besides S. Matthew in the following verses of this present Text doth aim directly at the service we pretend unto the flesh when we neglect our souls to provide for our bodies 2. And see how to prevent this poor pretext our charity is led to day by Providence to shew us that we cannot any way pretend to corporall duty for excusing us from our spirituall obligations since God Almighties Providence is here brought in to furnish us with all things necessary for the body and so to ease us of that care and to send us about our main and onely businesse our secking in the first place the kingdome of heaven and the justice thereof by the works of charity such as in the Epistle above are enumerated and assuring us all things wanting else shall be provided us by his Providence who never relinquisheth the just man nor permits his seed to seek their bread so if neither for our selves nor for our posterity we need to interrupt our spiritual duties or to renounce our service to our souls for any tie we have to serve our bodies we have no pretence then left at all for our so doing 3. Yet least we be withdrawn from the saving works of charity by the hurtfull ones of the flesh which humane frailty would easily incline us to therefore we are taught upon the reading of this holy Text To pray as above alwayes for the help of Christ his perpetuall propitiation by the cordiall of his passion to relieve our fainting charity withall in her march to heaven On the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Luk. 7. v. 16. A Great Prophet is risen amongst us and because God hath visited his people c. Vers Let my Prayer O Lord c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer LEt thy continued mercy O Lord both cleanse and defend thy Church and because without thee it cannot stand securely be it alwayes governed by thy bounty The Illustration WE heard in the exposition of the last Sundayes prayer that the perpetuall propitiation there begged was the continuation of our Saviours passion to be our continuall help in all occasions and now that to day we beg to have the mercy of our Lord continued to his Church we seem but to repeat the same prayer again in a varied phrase But if we cast our eyes upon the Epistle and Gospel here below and observe how the Expositours upon them apply the same as declaring all the office of Priestly function and telling us what should be the duty of the people thereupon we shall soon perceive as well a difference in the substance as in the phrase or language of these two prayers That alluding to the immediate influence of the passion into us by the personall help which our Saviour affords in the grace he gives us to repent us of our sinnes which relating to himself is fitly called his perpetuall propitiation but reporting to the mediate helps we have from our Saviour by the mediation of his Ministers the Doctours Teachers Preachers and Priests of holy Church it is rather stiled his continued mercy towards us because it was his mercy that moved him to supply his own personall presence amongst us by the mediation of the Priests whom in his place he left by means of catechising preaching and administration of the Sacraments to continue his mercy towards us and by the continuation thereof to cleanse and defend his holy Church cleansed indeed by participation of the Sacraments defended by the communication of the Priests their functions sacrifices and prayers in her behalf and yet our holy mother closeth up this Sundayes prayer with an immediate addresse again unto the fountain it self when she concludes affirming it is as well his bounty as his mercy that she subsisteth by when she professeth she cannot stand securely unlesse she be alwayes governed by his bounty that is to say by his holy grace derived unto us through the hands of his Ministers the Priests of holy Church so that this prayer instructs us whence our helps do flow and by what hands they are conveyed to us And requisite it is that we do pray in this sort to day when the Epistle runs all upon the Priests office to the people and their putting in practice the Christian doctrine taught them by the Priest all which is neatly couched under the spirituality wherewith the Epistle tells us both are rendred compleat as signifying neither the Master nor the Schollar must sow fleshly seeds since both must live by spirituall fruits And for the Gospel we hear the Fathers of the Church avouch it to be a parable alluding to the death of sinne and life of grace which is coincident with what the Epistle taught us of sowing spirituall seeds that might bring forth fruits of grace of Christ not fleshly which produce nothing at all but corruption and death Since then we have this prayer adjusted to the sense of the Expositours upon the other parts of this dayes service we make good our designe as hitherto we did in some one of the latitudes in the preface of this work allowable unto this mysticall Theologie The Epistle Galat. 5. and 6. Chap. Chap. 5. v. 26. If we live in the spirit in the spirit also let us walk let us not be made desirous of vain-glory provoking one another envying one another Chap. 6. v. 1. Brethren if a man be preoccupied in any fault you that are spirituall instruct such a one in the spirit of lenitie considering thine own self lest thou also be tempted 2 Bear ye one anothers burthens and so you shall fulfill the Law of Christ 3 For if any man esteem himself to be something where as he is nothing he seduceth himself 4 But let every one prove his own work and so in
bade her weep no more 14. See how soon the promised comforts of God arrive immediately as he said to her weep not he stopt the hearse and bade the dead corps arise Elias Eliseus and others did pray to raise the dead Christ to shew he was God raised this young man by command and not by prayer Yet observe he touched the hearse no marvel upon the touch of Christ who was life everlasting as being God that temporall life should be restored to the dead body that he touched this he did as naturally as a red hot iron burneth straw So did his flesh united to the Word give life to a carcasse by virtue of that hypostaticall union 15. His sitting up and beginning to speak were indeed true signes of his reviving yet Christ was pleased to take him by the hand and thereby lift him from the hearse and lead him to his mother to shew that he was so humble as he would not onely oblige but even serve his servants Nor is it any wonder that Christ the King of Heaven and Earth should perform the office of a Courtier by his civility to the noble person of this sad widdow whom he had graced and comforted by that act of his power 16. Note this miracle was a kind of Parable importing the spirituall death of souls by sinne and the reviving of the soul again by grace though here the widdowes tears were the motive for Christ to reward her by the restoring her son to life and withall many souls doubtlesse from the death of infidelitie to the life of Christianitie upon the sight of so celebrated a miracle That they were all struck with fear what wonder for their guiltie conscience might make them doubt he who could raise the dead could kill the living as easily if he list but seeing he did not so or rather lest he should do so they blessed God and said for magnifying here importeth glorifying of him he had pleased to visit his people by sending them a great Prophet for as yet they understood Christ to be no more and that he was such this very act made them believe and some doubtlesse concluded he was the long expected Messias whom they called by the name of the great Prophet for distinction sake Note the glosse observes three resuscitations from death to be made by Christ the first that of the daughter of the Archi-synagogue and that by private prayer in her fathers house none being by the second this of the onely sonne of the widdow whom he raised in publick by a word of command and by a touch of his hand the third was that of Lazarus whom with a perplexitie of prayer and tears he raised and with loud crying out Lazarus come forth as if he were undone if he had him not alive again The first of these signifies souls dead by mortall sinne of thought and those therefore were more easily raised by private prayer the second signifies those dead by mortall sin of words those are yet with more difficultie raised by command the third yet more hardly by importune prayer tears and cries to heaven as signifying those souls which are dead by mortall sinne of deed and that reiterated or habituall unto them The Application 1. ALl Expositours agree this miracle of raising the dead by a touch of our Saviours holy hand is a mere figure of his raising souls from the death of mortall sinne to the life of grace by the finger of the holy Ghost by the gift of his holy grace his holy Law which cannot touch a soul but it must needs enliven it See the explication of the last verse in the Gospel for more to this purpose 2. And who can now forbid us piously to thinke this onely sonne of the distressed widdow represents the soul of some one faithfull believer dead yet for want of charitie and revived by the tears and prayers of his tender mother the holy Catholick Church at whose intercession and in contemplation of her tears our Saviour Jesus Christ sends down the holy Ghost to touch the Coffin of this sinners heart with the finger of his grace with the gift the flame of Love and so reviving him first internally then gives him by the hands of the Priest who is Christs Vicar in point of absolution into the lap of his mother externally to live again that is to say admitted to the Sacraments and declared to be a living member as before his death of mortall sinne during which time he was not capable of any Sacrament at all as to the effect the grace thereof 3. To conclude as reason teaches every man to beware of his own danger by seeing another perish in going such a way before him thus holy Church knowing her Priests and people are many wayes liable to the snares of the common enemy and perceiving it is often by the prayers of those that stand they are raised again who fall and that this raising is a continuall mercy of Almighty God gratis given even when most earnestly implored and that the continuation of this gratuite gift is the onely means by which even all the children of the Church do not fall all at once into the death of deadly sinne but are many of them while others fall inabled to stand securely on their living legs of charitie and are governed thereby in every step they make to glory Therefore I say we are to day bid pray as above that this charitie this bountie of our Lord may govern us in all our wayes and that we may have the cleansing and the defending mercy of God continued over us lest that failing us we here fall out of grace and thereby faile of glory in the world to come On the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Luk. 14.10 WHen thou shalt be called to a marriage sit in the lowest place that he who did invite thee may say unto thee friend ascend up higher and so it shall be a glory unto thee before them that sit there Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer LEt thy grace we beseech thee O Lord alwaies go before and follow us and make us continually intent unto good works The Illustration WHat may seem as common in this Prayer to all persons times and places must not hinder it to be a very particular and apposite petition to this present time wherein it is by holy Church put up unto Almighty God purity cannot approach Tell me beloved now what single-souled devotion can compare with this that being common is peculiar unto each particular in such a sort as it there were no more but one man left in all the world even into his particular necessity would run the whole contents of all these common prayers which are not therefore lesse adapted unto every one because they are the prayers of all the world besides but rather we are sure our selves had need to say them when every man alive doth find himself concerned
instead of purifying our intentions of honouring as we ought to do one onely God when even under that pretence by the contagion of factious doctrine we Idolize to as many devils as mislead us in the wayes of faction and division For prevention whereof holy Church fitly prayes as above that our intentions may be purified by the unity thereof by intending Gods honour only in those services that are pretended done for Gods sake and not our own interest On the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Matth. 9. v. 7. THe sick then of the palsie took up his bed in which he lay magnifying God and all the people which beheld it gave praise to God Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer LEt O Lord the operation of thy mercy direct our hearts because without thee wee cannot please thee The Illustration IF any man doubt what is meant by the operation of our Lords mercy mentioned in this prayer S. Paul in the first verse of this daies Epistle will tell him it is the actual grace of God which the Apostle alwayes gives thanks for as being the cause of the Corinthians conversion of their being enriched in all things appertaining to Christian religion so as to want nothing but the revelation of Christ in glory whom already they beheld in grace as also of their perseverance without crime till the day of doom in that belief unto which by this grace they had been called This is the summ of the Epistle and undoubtedly this is the sense of the prayer begging that as by the operation of Christ his mercy the Corinthians became Christians so we that are by the same meanes of the same profession may by the same help have our hearts directed by the operation of our Saviours mercy towards us by the encrease of his grace within us And indeed that encrease is also properly the operation of his mercy too for the first gift thereof was rather the exhibition then the operation of his holy grace and yet to us it seems like an operation of it too within his own bowels and so as we said above the exhibition of it in our eyes is as the effect of his mercie upon himself but the encrease thereof is the operation of it upon us to whom it is exhibited so by the exhibition of this grace we become children of God and by the encrease thereof we grow to be his champions to live his Saints and die his Martyrs rather then renounce the Faith of Christ Thus we see the first clause of this Prayer hath exhausted the whole Epistle of the day Now that the Gospel should be by the close thereof exhausted too would seem strange if already stranger mysteries had not appeared in the mysterious prayers of holy Church And certain it was for the depth of their spirit that S. Gregory the great collects them all together into a book intituled of Sacraments that is to say of Mysteries as in the preface of this book was hinted not that the stile of Churches prayers is other then plain and easie but that the depth of their meaning is prodigious We have examples in the simple stile of Thomas à Kempis authour of the following of Christ the plainest and the deepest book that ever was written next to holy Writ the fullest of common places and yet the most home to every mans particular that reads it So it is with the Churches prayers they are in words simple and facil but in sense such as the deepest understanding may not be able to sound the bottome of them For instance see how the whole story of the Gospel is wound off by the onely close of this daies prayer if yet the former clause thereof were not appropriable thereunto For what imports the pressing into Jesus presence of the paralytick and those who from the houses top did drop him down into the room where Jesus was when they found not entrance any other way but an infinite faith they had of being cured by the least touch of his sacred person and this to satisfie our selves with the letter of the story not recurring as we might to the mystery thereof What I say means this passage else then a remonstrance of this paralyticks faith in Jesus Christ And who doth not see the close of this prayer excellently well allude to faith since we read that without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 Do not we Christians then implicitely beg if not the gift which we have already at least the encrease of faith when we end this prayer with confessing We cannot without God please his Divine Majestie that is to say as without the gift of faith we can be no Christians at all so without the encrease thereof through the operation of Christ his mercy in us we cannot become good Christians such as by works of charity still encrease our faith in Jesus Christ and by that encrease deserve with the paralytick as well the remission of our sins as the cure of corporal diseases since without such remission we cannot please Almighty God and without him no such remission can be had that is without his mercy operate first upon him to pardon us and then upon us when pardoned to offend no more not that this operation of Gods mercy upon himself is any new act but ever is ever was and will be one and the same act in him seeming new to us by the new effects it produceth in us So every way is it an undoubted truth that without him we can no wayes please him And thus do we still adjust the prayers of holy Church unto the other service of the day The Epistle 1 Cor. 1. v. 4. 4 I give thanks to my God alwayes for you for the grace of God that is given you in Christ Jesus 5 That in all things you may be rich in him in all utterance and in all knowledge 6 As the testimony of Christ is confirmed in you 7 So that nothing is wanting to you in any grace expecting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ 8 Who also will confirm you unto the end without crime in the day of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ The Explication 4. IN these words S. Paul gives thanks to God incessant for the grace of Christ which was given to the Corinthians who thereby were made Christians An excellent lesson and ought to be frequently practised by us to acknowledge that our perseverance is a continuation of our vocation to Christianity 5. In all things appertaining to your religion Rich in him rich by him that doth enrich you every hour by preserving you in the same vocation he hath called you unto In all utterance in all your words whereby is preached this faith In all knowledge in all true spiritual understanding the doctrine of Christ as who should say I thank God that hath by mine and by Apollo's preaching afforded you all understanding and true sense
that number who according to holy Davids example Psal 118.109 have their soules alwayes in their hands that is to say who make account their every thought word or deed ought to be such as together with the same they are ready to deliver up their very souls into the hands of their Creatour and those souls so regulated as in this sodalitie we are taught according to the pattern of the blessed Virgin Mary Luke 2.19 who conserved in her heart every word that fell from the mouth of her sacred Sonne and as we shall then appear to conserve the same when out of the abundance of his holy word lodged in our hearts we make our mouths to speak and this we do whilest all our prayers are abstracts of the Word of God and all our conversation answerable to those prayers as if we can observe the methode of this book they will be And if beloved you but look upon the first contriver of this devotion Saint Gregory the great you will not undervalue it because it had so mean a reviver as my self Know it was he that called the Prayers of holy Church Mysteries Sacraments and surely for this one reason amongst the rest because they did mysteriously couch the sense of holy writ as we have hitherto assayed at least to shew and as to day we hope to make it appear this prayer above contains the sum of both Epistle and Gospell following though I confesse no soul would think it at first sight for in all the book there is not any prayer which holds a lesse visible proportion with the holy Text then this and yet if I mistake not we shall find it comes as home as heart can wish to our designe when once we shall resolve what is meant by the fruit of the divine work for that 's the key to all the treasure of Devotion couched in this prayer What if we say that fruit is our salvation since this is a work so truely divine that there is none indeed but God himselfe can bring forth such a fruit and yet so good a God we serve that he is pleased we shall our selves prepare this fruit and serve it up unto his heavenly Table while we are bid pray this day that since our understandings are already sufficiently instructed in our duties what they are and ought to be to God our wills may be stirred up to a performance of those duties to the more diligent preparing the fruits of the divine work the salvation of our soules that by redoubled diligence we may receive the greater remedies of God Almighties mercies meaning so much of his grace in this life as may secure us of his glory in the life to come which when with all the diligence imaginable we do obtain 't is still a mercy to us and must be gratis given or else we may justly fear to go without it so great a work it is to save a soul and therefore well is it called a work divine But what are we the nearer now for adjusting this Prayer unto the Epistle and Gospell of the day Admit this be the genuine sense of the Prayer above what report hath it to Judgement which is the subject of the Gospel Why this at least that the best preparative to save a soul is to remember the dreadfull day of doome and therefore when the Prayer beggs to have our wills stirred up to a more diligent preparing the fruits of the divine worke the salvation of our soules the Gospell puts us fitly in minde of the day of Judgement so to fright us into this diligence least through our sloth the Judge do want that crop of fruit which then he comes to gather And thus we seem to draw a little more neare at least to the end of our designe But if we reade the latter end of the Gospell comparing the day of Judgement to the sprouting out of a figg-tree we shall come nearer yet and if we hearken to the Expositours upon the 32 and 33 verses of this Gospell how sweetly they expound that Parable we shall then come fully home to the sweetest harmonie imaginable between the Gospell and the Prayer And for the Epistle it is nothing else but an exhortation of Saint Paul to the Colossians and in them to us how to prepare our soules to salvation even in the very language of the Prayer for example how to fructifie in all good works that we may at the latter day of doome whereof the Gospell minds us now be made worthie to partake of the lot of Saints to be delivered from the power of darkenesse and translated into the Kingdome of the Sonne of Love in whom we have redemption the remission of sinnes in a word the salvation of our soules or the ripening of that fruit which we must with all diligence prepare for the heavenly Table as beeing the worke of our heavenly Lord. When I say we doe consider this then we shall need no more to seek for a connexion between the preaching and the Prayer of holy Church to day in this period of our work wherein we were almost at a losse even now that we stood in greatest need of making good our whole designe in the close thereof And who can marvell now that this sweet Prayer should be suitable to the sower day of Judgement when we see that dreadfull story in the Gospell closed up with the gladsome Parable of a fruitfull Spring And why to shew that to the Blessed the day of doome is a time oâ— Joy and that the just alone are of consideration with Almightie God In a word please but to reade the Expositours upon that point as in the glosse below you find them and tell me then whether this Prayer doe want connexion unto that glosse of theirs if not then you will grant the Prayers of holy Church to be as Saint Gregory calls them Sacraments mysteries indeed of Pietie but such as when explained are sweet as honey and facile as we can desire For what more easie now then to see this Prayer alludes to Judgement in the same sense that holy Church desires her children should be ready for it that is to be prepared fruit for the heavenly Table and by that preparation to be worthie to receive the greater remedies of God Almighties mercies at the day of Judgement against the corruption of humane nature namely his gifts of glory added to those of grace And thus we shall close up the Ring of our devotion with the same Christian dutie we began it whilest mindfull of the day of doome we pray our wills may be raised up to an alacritie in our Christian dutie as they were by the same spirit of Prayer raised upon the same subject on the first Sunday of Advent which this foure and twentieth Sunday after Pentecost inclines unto in like manner as all parts of a circle bow to meet each other with a plie to circularitie and so the dutie of a Christian is then best performed
eternall glory and by our cooperating with him give us the rewards of his own operations in us whom he makes labour in his vineyard here a while that he may set us in eternall rest at his own heavenly table where though he be pleased to delight in us yet we shall be the onely gainers by enjoying him for he gets nothing but to be content that we get all by being but willing to present our selves to him as the humane subjects wherein he is pleas'd to produce the divine work of our salvations while he is satisfi'd to call us his fruit that he may be our food for all eternity Thus we are taught in the prayer above and may saying it with the same spirit that made it saint our selves as is desir'd we should by the holy Ghost who gave us this sainting prayer for that holy purpose FINIS On VVhitsunday The first Prayer O God who on this day hast taught the hearts of the Faithful by the Illumination of the holy Ghost grant unto us in the same spirit to relish those things that are right and ever to rejoyce in his Consolation The Secret SAyntifie we beseech thee O Lord our offered gifts and mundifie our hearts by the Illustration of the Holy Ghost The post-Communion LEt the infusion of the Holy Ghost O Lord purifie our hearts and fertilize them by the inward aspersion of his heavenly dew On Trinity Sunday The first Prayer ALmighty everlasting God who hast granted to thy servants in confession of the true Faith to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of Majestie to adore unity we beseech thee heartily that in the firmnesse of the same Faith we may ever be defended from all adversity The Secret SAyntifie we beseech thee our Lord God by the invocation of thy holy name the Hoste of this oblation and render us thereby unto thy self an eternal present The post-Communion GRant O Lord God that the receiving of this Sacrament and the confession of the sempiternal Holy Trinity and of the undivided unity thereof may avail us to the health both of our body and soul On the first Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God the strength of those that trust in thee be mercifully present to our prayers and because without thee mortal infirmity is of no ability grant the assistance of thy grace that in doing what thou dost command we may please thee both in word and will The Secret VOuchsafe appeased we pray thee to accept of these our offerings dedicated to thee O Lord and grant that unto us they may afford perpetual help The post-Communion BEing filled with so great gifts grant O Lord we beseech thee that while we receive these wholsome boones we may never cease from praising thee On Sunday within the Octaves of Corpus Christi being the second after Pentecost The first Prayer MAke us O Lord equally to have both a continual fear and love of thy holy name because thou dost never leave them destitute of thy government whom thou doest instruct in the solidity of thy Love The Secret MAy this oblation sacred to thy name purifie us O Lord we beseech thee and from day to day carry us to such actions as conduce unto our heavenly life The post-Communion NOw that we have received thy sacred gifts we beseech thee O Lord that together with frequenting this mysterie the effect of our salvation may increase On the third Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God who art the Protectour of those that hope in thee without whom nothing is valid nothing is holy multiply we beseech thee over us thy mercy that thou being our ruler thou our guide we may so passe by the temporal goods of this world as not to loose the eternal of the next The Secret LOok we beseech thee O Lord upon the offerings of thy suppliant Church and grant that what we are to receive may by perpetual sanctification prove unto the health of thy believing people The post-Communion MAy thy holy things O Lord received quicken us and prepare us being expiated for thy everlasting mercy On the fourth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer GRant us O Lord we beseech thee that by thy order our course in this world may be peaceably directed and that thy Church may enjoy a quiet devotion The Secret BE pacified O Lord we beseech thee having received our oblations and propitiously compell unto thee our even rebellious wills The post-Communion MAy the received mysteries O Lord purifie us and by their bounty defend us On the fifth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God who hast prepared invisible good things for those that love thee infuse into our hearts the desire of thy love that loving thee in all things and above them all we may attain unto thy promises which surpasse even all our desires The Secret BE O Lord propitious upon our supplications and take unto thee benignely these offerings of thy servants of both sexes that what every one hath presented in honour of thy name may profit all of us to our salvation The post-Communion WHom thou O Lord hast filled with thy heavenly gifts grant we beseech thee that we may be cleansed from our hidden sinnes and delivered from the snares of our enemies On the sixth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God of powers to whom all belongs that is best ingraft in our breasts the love of thy holy name and grant in us the increase of Religion that thou mayest nourish those things which are good and being so nourished maintain them by the practise of pietie The Secret TAke unto thee O Lord benignely these oblations of thy people and be propitious upon our supplications and that no ones desires be frustrate no ones request in vain grant we beseech thee that what we ask faithfully we may obtain efficaciously The post-Communion WE are O Lord full with thy gifts we beseech thee grant that we may be cleansed by their effect and defended by their help On the seventh Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God whose providence is so disposed as it never can be frustrated remove we humbly beseech thee all things that are hurtfull and grant whatsoever may be beneficiall unto us The Secret O God who hast concluded the diversity of the legall hosts under the perfection of one sacrifice receive the same from thy devout people and sanctifie it as thou diddest the offerings of Abel that what every one tenders thee in honour of thy Majesty may avail to the health of us all The post-Communion MAy thy medicinall operation clemently free us from our perversities and bring us to those things that are right On the eighth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer GRant us O Lord we beseech thee propitiously the spirit of thinking and doing what is right that as we cannot be without thee so we may live unto thee The Secret REceive O Lord we beseech thee what of thy
bounty we bring unto thee that these sacred mysteries by the operative power of thy grace may sanctifie us in the conversation of this present life and lead us to eternall joyes The post-Communion BE O Lord unto us this heavenly mystery a reparation both of soul and body that whose worship we perform his effect we may feel On the ninth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer LEt the ears of thy mercy O Lord be open to the prayers of thy suppliants and to the end thou mayst grant the things desired to those that ask make them ask such things as to thee are pleasing The Secret GRant unto us O Lord we beseech thee that we may worthily frequent these mysteries because as often as the commemoration of this Hoste is celebrated the work of our Redemption is exercised The post-Communion VVE pray O Lord that the communion of thy Sacrament may confer purity and give unto us unity On the tenth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God who doest manifest thy Omnipotence most of all by pardoning and taking pitty multiply upon us thy mercy that we running unto thy promises thou maist make us partakers of thy Heavenly Treasures The Secret BE the consecrated sacrifices rendered unto thee O Lord which thou hast granted us so to be offered in honour of thy name that withall thou hast allowed them to be remedies unto us The post-Communion VVE beseech thee our Lord God that whom thou dost not cease to repair with divine Sacraments thou wilt not deprive them of thy favours being as thou art benigne On the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer ALmighty everlasting God who out of the abundance of thy pity doest exceed as well the merits of thy suppliants as their desires pour out thy mercy upon us that thou maist forgive what our conscience is afraid of and add even what our prayers dare not presume to ask The Secret LOok we beseech thee O Lord propitiously upon our service that what we offer may be to thee an acceptable gift and to our frailty a support The post-Communion MAy we find O Lord we beseech thee by the receiving thy Sacrament help of soul and body that beeing in both preserved we may glory in the plenitude of the heavenly remedy On the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer OMnipotent and most mercifull God from whose bounty it proceedeth that of thy faithful people thou art worthily and laudably served grant unto us we beseech thee that we may runne unto thy promises without offence The Secret LOok we beseech thee O Lord propitiously upon the hosts which on thy holy altars we offer unto thee that giving us pardon they may also give honour unto thy Name The post-Communion LEt the holy participation of this mystery quicken us O Lord we beseech thee and equally give unto us expiation and defence On the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer ALlmighty and everlasting God give unto us the increase of Faith Hope and Charity and that we may deserve to obtain what thou doest promise make us love what thou doest command The Secret BE propitious O Lord we beseech thee unto thy people and to their offerings that appeased by this oblation thou both pardon us and grant us our requests The post-Communion HAving O Lord received the heavenly Sacraments we beseech thee let them avail us to the increase of our eternall Redemption On the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer KEep we beseech thee O Lord thy Church with perpetuall propitiation and since without thee humane mortality faileth let it alwayes by thy help be withdrawn from such things as are hurtfull and directed to those that are saving The Secret GRant unto us we pray thee O Lord that this wholsome offering may be a purgation of our sinnes and a propitiation of thy power The post-Communion LEt thy Sacraments O God alwayes cleanse us and bring us to the effect of our eternall salvation On the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer LEt thy continual mercy O Lord both cleanse and defend thy Church and because without thee it cannot stand securely be it alwayes governed by thy bounty The Secret LEt thy Sacraments O Lord keep us and alwayes defend us from the assaults of the devil The post-Communion VVE beseech thee O Lord let the operation of thy heavenly gift possesse our minds and bodies that not our sense in us but continually the effect of thy said gift may prevent us On the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer LEt thy Grace we beseech thee O Lord alwayes go before and follow us and make us continually intent unto good works The Secret CLeanse us O Lord we beseech thee by the effect of this present sacrifice and mercifully work in us that we may be sharers of the same The post-Communion VVE pray thee O Lord to purifie benignely our souls and to renew them with thy heavenly Sacraments that consequently we may have both present and future helps for our bodies On the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer GRant we beseech thee O Lord that thy people may flye Diabolical contagion and follow thee the onely God with pure intention The Secret O Lord we humbly beseech thy Majestie that these holy things which we bear about us may divest us of our present and future offences The post-Communion BY thy sanctifications Almighty God be our sins cured and may eternal remedies accrue unto us On the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer LEt O Lord the operation of thy mercy direct our hearts because without thee we cannot please thee The Secret O God who by the venerable commerce of this sacrifice dost make us partakers of thy onely and highest Deity grant we beseech thee that as we acknowledge thy truth so we may by our behoofeful comportment attain the same The post-Communion WE give thee thanks O Lord for being nourished by thy sacred bounty beseeching thy mercy that thou wilt make us worthy to partake thereof On the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer ALmighty and mercifull God vouchsafe propitiously to exclude all things which are adverse unto us that being set at liberty both in mind and body we may with free souls execute those things that appertain unto thee The Secret THese offerings which we make in the sight of thy Majestie grant O Lord we beseech thee that they may be saving unto us The post-Communion MAy thy medicinall operation O Lord clemently free us from our perversities and make us alwayes adhere to thy commands On the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer VVE beseech thee O Lord thou being pacified grant unto thy faithfull people pardon and peace that they may be both clean from all offences and serve thee with secured souls The Secret WE pray thee O Lord to let these mysteries afford us heavenly remedy and to purge away the sinnes of our heart The post-Communion THat we may be