as this action tended to the execution of his Function it had no dependance on his mother however in other actions he were subject unto her and for proof thereof he went from this very action to the practise of his subjection as is said in the 51. verse following 50. It was no marvell they understood not this manner of speech for however it was revealed to them that Jesus was God and man sent to save the world yet how and in what sort he was to work out mans salvation they did not understand neither durst they be so curious as to ask him 51. But when they perceived it was his holy pleasure to go home with them and there be subject unto â—â—â—a they went home with him or rather the Text seems to say He lead them the way home to Nazareth saying And he went down with them out of the Temple that is to say he lead them down for sure they durst as ill lead him the way as they durst ask him any further question how he was to proceed in his grand work of humane Redemption Note his subjection was according to his humane nature not his divine and even that was an ultroneous or voluntary indeed a meer gratuite subjection too for albeit as he was his mothers naturall son shee had a right in nature to a superiority over his humane nature yet in regard the Hypostaticall union made of his two Natures but one person and that this person was as properly God as man he stood as much exempted from all subjection to his mother even as man as he was from Caesar Herod Pilate or any Magistrate upon the face of the earth and yet to shew us that obedience was a cheif vertue in Christian perfection and happily the hardest to bee performed by humane creatures therefore he spent thirty years in the practice of this subjection of this obedience to his Parents and onely Three in an absolute way independent of them and indeed to obey Superiours is in them to obey God who hath placed them over us So though S. Luke say no more of Christs actions from this time to his thirtieth yeare of age yet in this little hee hath said much That God should be subject to his own creatures to teach them subjection to their Creatour and that it is here said His mother kept all his words in her heart doth not argue S. Joseph was negligent or forgetfull thereof but that his trade imployed much of his minde whereas the Blessed Virgin made it her whole employment to hear and practise the Doctrine of her Saviour-Sonne 52. This Progresse of Jesus in Wisedome Age and Grace is to bee understood as was explicated the last Sunday vers 40. of this same Chapter onely for further Illustration wee may conceive this Progress extrinsecall to be like that of the Suns light from the rising to the Noon-tide sun still seeming to us greater and greater yet in it self all one in the luminous body whence it comes though made lesse by a greater distance at rising than when it is nearer to us at noon-day or by the diversity of reflection for from both it varies but divers wayes grace in Christ differs from grace in us For example as it is to him naturall beeing God and Connaturall by reason of the Hypostaticall Union between God and man in Christ To us it is ever supernaturall as it renders us gratefull or rather restores us to grace by taking away Originall and Actuall sin whereas in him it hath none of these Effects but flowes from his Person as light from the Sun Again as our Grace is private and particular his common to us all as in us it increaseth by good works but in him it being still full cannot increase But the close of this Verse seems hardest yet is it easie if rightly understood that is if we conceive our doing well in the sight of men is a like increasing in Gods eye as we increase before men in perfection Nor is it enough to doe well privately towards God but we must doe publiquely so too both before God and man to please one and to edifie the other The Application 1. THis Gospel first teacheth all Parents by example of the blessed Virgin Mary and of S. Ioseph to breed up all their children in the fear of God to teach them their prayers to see them go to Church on Sundayes and Holy-dayes at least to cause them to bee present at Divine Service at Sermons Catechisms or Exhortations thereby to bee instructed in their Faith and Rules of Christian perfection 2. It also teacheth all children due obedience to their Naturall Parents and all Christians religious subjection to our Holy Mother the Catholique Church while we read of the child Jesus that he was subject unto them Namely to his putative Father St. Ioseph and to his Naturall Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary and as we read of little else in all the Storie of our Saviours Infancie nor indeed till he came to the age of thirtie yeares so wee may rest content that this Lesson alone well learned and well practised is sufficient to make us the Infantil and youthfull Saints that God desires to have us 3 It lastly teacheth us That where Gods honour is concerned there Flesh and Bloud is not to be regarded while our Saviour excused his slipping from his naturall Mother to obey the commands of his supernaturall Father For thus to doe is to put the Will of God in execution according as we pray above we may The Antiphon JOHN 2. ver 3. THe Wine failing Jesus commanded the Water-pots to be filled with water which was turned into Wine Vers Let my prayer O Lord be addressed Resp Even as Incense in thy sight The Prayer ALmightie everlasting God who doest moderate at once heavenly and earthly Things hear clemently the prayers of thy people and grant us thy peace in our Times The Illustration IF upon any day in the year we can think it possible to fail of connexion between the Epistle Gospel and the Prayer it is like to be to day for when we come to seek a key to unlock the hidden Treasure of harmony between this Prayer and the other parts of this dayes Service we shall hardly find it in any member or word of the Prayer where yet if at all it must be found For example the first clause of the Prayer seems onely courtship to Almighty God telling him he moderates at once heavenly and earthly things The second clause doth but beg of him that he will hear clemently the prayers of his people The last which is all we can esteem petitionary asks indeed the grace of peace to us in our Times but in all the Epistle and Gospel too we find not the least touch upon peace and so may doubt whether the design can hold of finding a sympathy between the Prayer Epistle and Gospel Neverthelesse if we cast our eyes upon the miracle done this day we shall
the Apostle saith here of prophesies failing is to be understood that they faile not as defective in revealing truth but as not rightly understood by those to whom they do reveal the same through the defect of our capacity to hard and abstruse points Note the possible failing of tongues is here on purpose expressed in the plurall number as alluding to the cessation of the gift of many tongues which even now is ceased and was so long since not that the power in God of giving such gifts again is lost but that there is not the like necessity thereof as in the primitive Church but we may observe he doth not say the Tongue shall possibly cease but Tongues or the plurality thereof for it is a common opinion amongst Divines that all men in heaven as they have their bodies there so they shall have the use of their tongues and speak to one another but so as they shall all speak one and that the Hebrew tongue the most perfect expresser of the mind and that which Adam spake in the state of innocency and all the Antient Patriarks before the destruction of Babylon confounded the Tongues and likewise the Prophets singing as in the Apocalyps Amen Allelujah Though some think it not improbable they shall rather than want the use of speech have a new language created common to them all and more perfect yet than Hebrew For thus all shall cease that ever were in use and yet another never used may be made without contradiction to this text not that the Blessed shall want in heaven the gift of Tongues if they please but that as they are there all of one mind so they shall choose rather to speak all one tongue than to use many which multiplicity argues rather an imperfection than otherwise though here it were a Blessing necessary to our imperfect state by Science being destroyed in heaven some will have the acts thereof destroyed onely and the habits remain yet to no purpose this for in vain is that habit faculty or power which never shall be reduced to act hence we must rather say Science as it is imperfect here shall be destroyed by a change into perfect Science there yet even this is rather preservation by addition than destruction by subsâ—â—action Let us therefore say yet further Science shall be destroyed as it imports here teaching and learning which there shall cease since no man can teach nor no man learn in heaven any new Science To conclude let us grant a totall cessation of Science as the best of Sciences namely Divinity grounded on points of Faith deduced here partly out of naturall reason partly out of revelations nay even Faith it self the Mistresse of Divinity and yet we shall doe no wrong to the Blessed because intuition is better than cognition clarity of knowledge is more excellent than obscurity in a word vision is the best of demonstrations and therefore Science being nothing but a rationall exhibition of the object shall suffer no prejudice by ceasing when the object is there more clearly seen with the eye than it could be discerned by the understanding here but the truth is the cessation of prophesie tongues and knowledge or science is not here absolutely asserted but supposed onely to prove their cessation would not yet take away charity 9. See how this Verse cleers the former in the latter sense thereof here we onely know in part so there this partiall knowledge ceasing our Science may be said to cease as also our prophesie which though it be a revelation of truth yet it is not a revelation of all truth which in heaven shall be revealed and so take away all divisions of truth by an unity or integrity of all truths in one 10. See how still the succeeding verse in termes avowes the explication of the precedent when perfect intuition comes then imperfest exhibition shall cease when God in his owne and sole perfect selfe shall appear then creatures who shew him onely in part shall need no more to make their imperfect exhibitions of him or when we see the creature perfectly in God then the imperfection we did see of them in themselves shall cease 11. In this verse he illustrates by a similitude of a child or little one in respect of a man what he said in the former and makes the Science Prophesie or perfection we have here to be in respect of what we shall have in heaven like the meer sensible knowledge in a child to his intellectuall and rationall science when he is a man which is as much as to say most of all our science here is but as knowledge of sense and not indeed intellectuall because not grounded in certitude of principles but in apparences onely of truths and causes which though they doe not yet for any thing we know they may fail us even when we thinke our selves most certain of truth therein 12. Some will have S. Paul to allow cleer Intuition of God here by his confessing we see him at least in a glass because glasses doe represent the reall things and not the pictures onely thereof which is true but withall they represent the things in a reflected not in a direct line and hence we see nothing so perfectly in a glass as when we look directly on the object it self Again hence we never see nor know so much of our selves as we doe of others because we see not our own shapes so directly in a glass as wee doe others out of it by looking on their persons directly Others understand S. Paul to mean by a glass here our seeing God in a confused way as Mercers shew a multitude of ware together to distract the eye of the buyer or as if they were shown by false lights giving them other lustre than indeed they have or as things shewn in a transient way to cheat the eie rather than to satisfie it all which is to see God wrapt up in Riddles of knowledge not in the reality thereof Now if we ask what glasse it is wee here see God by say either the creature representing him or the fancie apprehending him or Christ his humanitie best of all expressing his goodness yet infinitely short thereof or as some will have it in the Sacraments which are visible signs of invisible things of grace and of God the Authour thereof By seeing God face to face some conceive it shall onely be when we see Christ in heaven and through his glorious face behold with our corporall eyes his sacred Deity grounded in the words of Theodoret faying Wee shall not see his nature meaning his Deitie which falls not within the compass of our corporall eyes and so can bee seen by none but that nature onely which hee assumed meaning humane nature but Theodoret thus understood would be made the Author of a huge errour as denying us the happinesse of the Beatificall vision which doth not nay cannot consist onely in seeing Christs humanity face to face because
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
of Tongues bestowed on them first because so sayes the text they spake in divers tongues Secondly because the miracle had been else wrought in the hearers not in the speakers Thirdly the gift or reall diversity of tongues was prophesied by Isaias chap. 28. In other tongues and in other lips will I speak unto this people therefore it must be fulfilled as was affirmed so to be by S. Paul 1 Cor. 14.21 I give my God thanks that I speak with the tongue of you all Besides Christ in S. Mark cap. 16. v. 17. did promise this gift saying They shall speak with new tongues Fourthly because so the Church hath ever taught us Fifthly else many miracles must concurre to one work as in the speaker and the hearer too Though this doth not deny but the Apostles might as well by one language speak intelligibly to all hearers of severall nations as S. Vincentius did To conclude as they were sent to all nations so assuredly they had the gift of all languages as also the B. Virgin S. Mary Magdalene and all the one hundred and twenty then present had the same gift yet so as they did not use it but as the holy Ghost inspired them to speak upon just occasions and then in such manner as was most excellent and best suiting to all purposes because the works of God are ever perfect Deut. 3â— 4 and this was such so that it is credible they never made use of this gift but to Gods honour and glory at least they ever surely aimed thereat how be it as humane creatures they might erre in some circumstantials of their actions as S. Paul reprehended some excesses in that kind especially in women speaking in Churches by this gift of tongues 5. This diversity of nations was there upon occasion of the legall Feast of the Jewish Pentecost as above whereunto great conflux of nations was usuall as Exod. 23.17 it was commanded but more then ordinary in Jerusalem it being the Metropolis or head City of the Jews and the seat of their chief Synagogue so by dwelling is here understood making some stay for a time onely not being constant Inhabitants By religious is understood only devout men not such as now by vowes receive that denomination though with all this confluxe of people was credibly now more then ordinary because God had so ordained it to celebrate the better this Christian Pentecost by the avowment of all nations witnessing the prodigious truth of this unparalleld miracle of the descent or coming of the Holy Ghost in way of fiery tongues 6. By the voyce is understood that of the sudden lowd wind drawing many to the place and that wherewith the Apostles spake which argued there was a grace more then ordinary accompanying their speech after this gift of tongues was bestowed on them so as the multitude of Nations representing the whole world in little assembled suddenly at this place and was strucken with admiration and indeed confusion of mind some thinking one thing some another some trembling to see Christ so glorified now in his Apostles and Friends who had by them been persecuted to death others not knowing what was the reason but inquiring in fine all severally strucken upon several conceits they made of the prodigy every one hearing ignorant men and strangers speak in their own language or tongue 7. This Verse shewes that was the main cause of their amazement seeing the Apostles who were Galilaeans men given more to study the Sword then the Word speak the different Languages of all other several Nations in the World 8. As by this Verse appeares they did 9. 10. 11. There were two Elams one in Persia the other in Media and probably Elamites of both were here There is little to be said of this enumeration of so many nations and people here assembled onely to observe many are specified to shew more indeed all were present that is to say some out of every Nation and though those of Jewry be named in the ninth verse and Jewes again in the eleventh yet it is to be understood the latter were the Jewes dispersed over all the world as well as those living in Judea and the Gentiles by nation Jews by profession who were therefore by another name called Proselytes Adventitious Jews But we are here to observe these Nations did not hear the Apostles speak as some said of them like drunkards nor any vain or idle things but onely the wonders of Almighty God such as the Prophets had foretold Christ taught and were never till now understood nor believed And probably they began here to preach the Incarnation the Nativity the Life and Death the Resurrection the Ascension of our Saviour the reason of this prodigious coming of the Holy Ghost as sent by Christ the mystery of the Blessed Trinity and all things else that were the main heads of Christian doctrine and otherwise appertaining to the splendour of the Church of Christ and to the abrogation of the Synagogue or Jewish Church The Application 1. THe Illustration upon the Prayer and the Explication of the Text render this Epistle so cleer that little more needs to be said then to mind the Christian Reader that as by our Saviours first coming to us God was really made Man so the coming of the Holy Ghost is with a desire to make man become in a manner God but with this difference amongst others that God so assumed humane Nature as he did no way desert nor lessen his own which was Divineâ— whereas Man to be Deified must relinquish and devest himself of his humanity at least of his humane addictions and affections and must call upon the Holy Ghost to create in him a new breast a new heart if not a new soul too 2. And really it seems to have been the chief aym of Jesus Christ to work upon the soules of men but in part onely that is to elevate their Reasons and to illuminate their Understandings by the gift and light of Faith leaving it to the Holy Ghost to perfect the same soules Wills by Charingâ— by adding the heat the Fire of Love to the Light of Faâ—◠〈◊〉 hence it is our Saviour said he came to send Fire into the world and what vvould he else thereby but that this fire should burn burn up he meant the old man with all his stubble of sin and consume even his affections unto vice by setting his heart wholly upon virtue upon goodnesse upon heaven upon glory upon blisful eternity upon Almighty God as amiable objects indeed whereas all things else are but like Foyles to the beauty and lovelinesse of these such as never satiate a soul which the Royal Prophet doth confesse saying I shall then and surely not till then be satiated when thy Glory shall appear 3. Hence it is we see the Apostles turn immediately from Leverets to Lyons from persons afraid of the Jews to look Princes in the Face maugre all their persecution from ignorant and illiterate
time by doing homage to Almighty God So by this account all Sundayes Holy dayes require an exercise of these three virtues Theologicall and consequently all the time of private prayer is to be spent in actual exercise of these because that prayer is an addresse to God as all the time of persecution that being suffered for Gods sake all the time of troubles for those are caused by sinne against Almighty God and must have end by saintitie so by this account all our life time must be a practice of these virtues an increase of them indeed as the onely means to make us saints to make us capable of God Almighties promises by loving these his easie his sweet his saving commandements which are the continual exercise of these Theologicall virtues whereby we are made capable of his heavenly promises And least it should be with us as with these nine ungratefull Lepers cured from their Leprosy which is a type of all sinne whatsoever but especially of the foulest of all others Infidelity Therefore holy Church to day to prevent all sin in her Christian children and above all the sin of ungratefull infidelitie commends unto us the Prayer above that by often saying this Prayer we may exercise the noblest and most essentiall virtues that belong to Christianitie and by their increase make our selves worthie of our Saviours promises to all good Christians On the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Matth. 6. v. 33. SEek first the Kingdome of God and his righteousnesse and all things shall be given you besides Vers Let my prayer O Lord c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer KEep we beseech thee O Lord thy Church with perpetuall propitiation and since without thee humane mortalitie faileth let it alwayes by thy helps be withdrawn from such things as are hurtfull and directed to those that are saving The Illustration HOw excellently well is the much of the Epistle and Gospel contained in the little of this Prayer wherein we confesse it is by the perpetuall propitiation of our Saviours passion without which our humane mortality would be alwaies failing as the onely help conducing to support us that we can be withdrawn from the works of the flesh and directed to walk in the Spirit that is to say taken off from those things which are hurtfull and directed to those that are saving And what else is the whole Epistle but an exhortation to leave off the works of the flesh and to pursue the fruits of the Spirit Again what are the two masters which the Gospel saies we cannot serve at once but the flesh and the spirit what the drift of all the Gospel but to dehort from one and exhort unto the other So here Epistle Prayer and Gospel speak all one thing how severall soever the language be of each and no marvell because the spirit of Almighty God is able to animate all the creatures of the world Act. 17.28 For it is he in whom we live are moved and have being Now having thus made good our main affair of this work the mutuall connexion of parts in holy Churches service it rests onely to elucidate a word or two in the Prayer above to render the same in it self perfectly understood The first is the perpetuall propitiation wherewith we beg the Church may be kept for though above we called that propitiation an effect of our Saviors passion yet here we must further give a reason why we did so call it and also why we in the Prayer affirm the same to be a perpetuall effect thereof Know therefore it is the effect of his passion because it is not onely a satisfaction for sinne but also a pacification of Gods wrath against mankind who by sinne had provoked Almightie God to a high indignation against the whole race of men And therefore we call this propitiation perpetuall because it is infinite in duration as well as in power of appeasing for though it be now above 1651. years since our Saviour did actually suffer yet the virtue of his suffering is still vigorous and shall be to the worlds end because it was the suffering of God as well as of man and therefore must needs have an eternall operation that is be able for all eternity to appease the wrath divine and in this sense we say the preservation of the world in being is the continuation of the act whereby it was created so the preservation of mens souls from the wrath of the heavenly Father is the continuation of the passion of his sacred Sonne The next phrase of this Prayer which we are to clear is that wherein we say without our perpetually propitious Lord Humane mortalitie would fail as if there were any other mortalitie then humane that were capable of the benefit of our Saviours passion of his perpetuall propitiation Truely no there is not for since it was onely Humane nature that he assumed and by assuming it was pleased to redeem the same we say rightly well no other mortalitie was capable of the benefit of this redemption not but that other natures are mortall as all terrestriall creatures are in the very rigour of death or mortalitie because they all die by way of corruption and if we say the celestiall spirits are mortall too because they may be held to die when they fell from heaven to hell from the state of grace to the state of damnation we shall not speak improperly and truly the phrase of this Prayer seems to allude to that mortality of the blessed spirits when therein we are taught to affirm that our Saviours passion was a propitiation peculiarly provided for the subsistence onely of humane mortalitie since it was a remedy provided onely to recover so often as they chance to fall mortall men and not any other mortall creature besides either terrestriall or celestiall And thus the stile of humane mortalitie is most apposite because man onely had the happinesse of mercy to be shewed him for his sins which was a favour never done to any Angel whatsoever and this mercy is just the same which this present Prayer avoucheth begging that our humane mortalitie which needs must fail without it may have the benefit of our blessed Saviours perpetuall propitiation by the application thereunto of his bitter death and passion which will afford it helps to avoid what is hurtfull and to follow what is saving The Epistle Galat. 5. v. 16. c. 16 Brethren I say walk in the spirit and the lusts of the flesh you shall not accomplish 17 For the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh for they are adversaries one to another that not what things soever you will these you do 18 But if you be led by the spirit you are not under the Law 19 And the works of the flesh be manifest which are fornication uncleannesse impudicitie lecherie 20 Serving of Idols witchcrafts enmities contentions emulations anger brawles dissentions sects 21 Envies murthers
the will to it Thus these Baptismal vertues make of children men hence the Graces of the Holy Ghost brook no delay but make an Infant Christian as soon the Masculine sacrifice as he is able to be the Sacrificant O Happy Christianity 2. And 't is great reason that new creatures should operate according to the newnesse of their Being Since therefore we are all by Baptism newly made to be children of God who were born slaves of the Divell it is but reason we embrace the Apostles counsell here and live reformed according to the newness of our mind who have new Beings given us such as propend to a conformity unto the will of God and renounce all self-will for ever As then that Renunciation was made last Sunday so this Conformation must be made from this day forward 3. Now least we should erre in this Conformity the close of this Epistle tells us how to scape that Errour by a sweet subordination unto one another such as may make up the mysticall body of Christ which Christians are as perfect as our naturall bodies bee whose every member is subordinate unto the Head whilst they remain subservient to one another and the Head commands them Learn therefore subject Christians to be dutifull to your superiours Learn Commandants to live your selves obedient to the great Commander of us all And that we may learn these Lessons let us pray as above The Gospel Luke 2. ver 42. c. 42. ANd when he was twelve years old they going up into Hierusalem according to the custome of the Festivall day 43. And having ended the dayes when they returned the child Jesus remained in Hierusalem and his parents knew it not 44. And thinking that he was in the companie they came a daies journey and sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance 45. And not finding him they returned into Hierusalem seeking him 46. And it came to passe after three dayes they found him in the Temple sitting in the midst of the Doctors hearing them and asking them 47. And all were astonished that heard him upon his wisdome and answers 48. And seeing him they wondered and his mother said to him Son Why hast thou so done to us Behold thy Father and I sorrowing did seek Thee 49. And he said unto them what is it that you sought mee did you not know that I must be about those things which are my Fathers 50. And they understood not the word that he spake unto them 51. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject to them And his mother kept all these words in her heart 52. And Jesus proceeded in wisedome and age and grace with God and men The Explication 42. THe twelve years of the childs age are here specified to shew that Jesus who was not onely Doctor of the heavenly chaire but even the wisedome it self of his heavenly Father lost no time in taking hold of all opportunities offered unto him to shew how great a zeal he came withall from heaven to teach and play the Doctors part on earth so as at the twelfth year of age childhood expires and youth begins in us to spell man at least if not to write it wholly Jesus who was as wise an Infant as a youth would not before the years of discretion assume unto himself the office of a Teacher but so soon as by course of nature he was held among men capable of discourse and judgement then he mixed himself mostestly amongst the Doctors in the Temple to shew he came not thither to play the boy as children at that age doe but the man assoon as men would look upon him for such who knew no more of him than what they saw They vvho are here said to goe up into Jerusalem according to the custome of the Festivall Day which was that of the Jewish Easter or Pascha were Jesus Mary and Joseph the childs Mother and Father as also with them wee may presume there went diverse others of their allies and kindred as the custome was for friends to goe in troops together to this celebrated Feast once a year from all neighbouring Countries that being the Metropolis or head City of the Jewes where the grand Synagogue was held 43. The dayes that are here mentioned to be ended were those seven daies which they held continually solemn as now the Catholick Church doth the Octaves of the greatest Feasts in the year consisting of eight solemn dayes to shew that as by seven of those dayes we consecrate all time to God as well that of work as that of rest so by the eighth day we offer up unto him here all the eternity wherein we hope to rest with him in glory after we have ended our laborious time upon earth and by this we give testimony that the Evangelicall Law is much more perfect than the Iewish in regard we labour here in hope of eternal rest and this by the prescript of our law whereas the Law of the Jewes was onely temporary and so prescribed order for no further than the time they lived here upon earth which whole time was mystically represented by their Feast of seven day s continuance and ours hath one day more to shew that we hope for a blessed Eternity after time is gone Here then the Story tells us the Parents of Iesus returned to Nazareth after the seven dayes of this solemnity were ended which yet was more than others spent in the celebrating this festivity for none were tyed to be there all the dayes thereof it being sufficient that they appeared once upon any one of the seven Festivall dayes but as the Devotion of this humane Trinity of Saints Iesus Mary and Ioseph was greater than that of others so they spent the whole time of this Festivity in continuall Prayer and Devotion which time being ended and Iesus having asked leave of his Parents to goe visite some of his kindred whilst they were getting things ready to return home again it was through God Almighties permission that he by this slight gat loose from his Parents making a very short stay with those he went to see nor did he make a false pretence though he concealed the other truth of his further meaning partly out of humility to cover his devotion which lead him to a longer stay in the Temple partly to let his parents see that however they were holy Saints yet they were not exempt from the infirmities of humane nature and so though not sinning therein were short of that home-care they ought to have had of keeping Jesus alwayes in their own eyes as thinking him safe enough for so short a time amongst his kindred hence it was they knew not that their charge stayd behinde them in Ierusalem 44 45. So thinking he had been with his kindred where they presum'd at night to find him but missing of him they returned a dayes journey back full of trouble and yet were carryed on with the comfort of hope
any legall servitude imposed on man as punishment of his sins against God for this servitude tooke hold on the Individuals of humane nature not of the nature it selâ—e and since our Saviours Individuall person was one with that of God the second person of the Blessed Trinity he was not a Servant by any legall servitude falling on his person and so even his humane nature though servile as a creature was not yet servile as a sinfull man because he had not the least guilt of sinne in him and thus we see in captives humane nature is no slave though the man that is taken be made so when then we say humane nature was corrupted in Adam we doe mean every childe of Adam received a contagion or corruption from him and yet humane nature in the line of a creature to God was not corrupted so as to be a less perfect creature then it was before for that had been to corrupt the Essence not the Persons of mankinde whereas sin onely corrupted his State and not his Essence the Persons contracting Humane Nature and not the Nature of man it self for if so Christ being man made of that Humane Nature must have been corrupted in that nature at least which yet he was not By the Similitude of man in this verse we are to understand literally the external shape of man not the accidental or phantastical as the Hereticks said but the substantial and real shape though St. Augustine takes it here as for the predicament of habit which consists in Garments or Clothing and likens Christs Humanity to be as a Garment covering his Divinity or as Iron is made fiery or as Gold is made a Statue and even in that Sence the thing is as true as it is ingeniously expressed by St. Augustine By being made as man is not to say onely like man and not to be truly such but like here signifies to be so like as it is the very same as if a Statue should from a dead Stone be made move as a man moveth eat as a man eateth speak as a man speaketh why still by every one of these gradations the Statue becomes more like a man then it was before and when at last it had all the Faculties of a man it became as man indeed that is to say not onely like but really and truly man In this Sence our Saviour was said to be as man as if we said though he were truly God yet he did not appear to be so but appeared onely to be as man which truly he was as well as he was God 8. This humility was not an Act of God the Son to God the Father for so there is no commanding Power in the one over the other but of his Humanity both to his own Divine Person and to his heavenly Father too by dying on the Cross in vertue of this command Christ did humble himself as low as could be in regard no death was so vile and contemptible as that on the Cross was in the esteem of man in those days though since even for reverence no man is executed in that kinde so Christs Humility made this contempt become reverentiall 9. For the which Act of Humility and Obedience God hath exalted him his Humanity for his Deity could not be exalted and given him a name Here we are to note Calvins pervisity who took such a hatred against the Church for the Doctrine of merit that he hence denied Christ the honour of meriting this Exaltation by his Humiliation but says that for which is to be taken consecutively or consequently not causally as who should say after his Humility God rewarded him by exalting of him but not for his Humility or for the merit thereof which yet is an abominable Impiety and Heresie whereas we allow Christ by his Death not onely to have merited for mankind redemption whereof himself had no need who was from his first Conception Blessed by his Hypostatical Union but even for himself the Glory of his Body and the endowments of a glorious Body the highest place in Heaven above Saints and Angels nay the very setting at the right hand of God the Power to Judge all the world and the dominion over Heaven and Earth which were not onely due to him as united to his Deity but as merited by his Passion further he merited to have a name that is above all names and such a name it was when Christ was called God and the Son of God the name of the Messias so famous in this world lastly the name of Jesus and Redeemer of all mankinde which name though it were given him in circumcision yet it was not divulged to all the world till he was crucified so then he was truly said to have merited that name of Saviour and many times names are given to foretell what such men will merit before they dye thus was the Blessed Name of Jesus given to Christ foretelling how richly he would deserve to be called Saviour of the world 10 In the name of Jesus every knee shall bow because this name is greater then ever any other was for Jehovah which signified God creating and was the greatest that ever had before been heard of is not so great as God redeeming and that is meant by the name of Jesus whence the Church boldly says it had nothing availed us to be born unless to have been redeemed had made our birth availing to us So it is a greater abuse to blaspheme the name of Jesus then the name of God because God gave us more Grace and Benefit by our Redemption then he did by our Creation and Jesus includes both God and Saviour which God alone doth not whence the very Angels who were not redeemed bow their knees to the name of Iesus as convertible with that of God and therefore all mankinde hath much more reason so to do for the Devils they would refrain to honour it perhaps if they could but as it is they cannot since if no otherwise they must adore Man in the Person of God ever since Iesus took Humane Nature upon him 11. And every tongue not onely all Nations upon the Earth first or last shall confess that our Lord Iesus is in the Glory of his Father but every tongue of Angels and Devils as well as of Men and by saying he is in the glory of God the Father is understood more then that he sâ—tteth at his right hand namely that he is equal in Glory to God the Father since Iesus is not onely Man but joyntly God withal So that the summity or highest pitch of Iesus his praise is indeed this that the Man Iesus being God as well as Man is though as man much inferiour yet as God even equal to the Heavenly Father in Glory Power Majesty Goodness and all the other Attributes Divine which are given to Almighty God The Application 1. MOrtification Prayer and Alms-Deeds Perseverance in good Purposes The Fear of God and Holy Poverty were
our being by the word of truth begotten since the Apostle doth close this verse with telling us how to make our selves more apt to receive the word of truth into our soules or as who should say since wee are begotten voluntarily by the word of truth let us endeavor by all meanes to preserve in us this regeneration this inborne word in us this filiation to God this adoption to glory and by the name of uncleanness the Apostle here alludes to concupiscence drawing us from the life of this word unto the death of sinne by the name of malice hee alludes to the sinne of anger before inculcated as hindering our justice such as by meekness we produce in our selves and so preserve the inbred word our filiation to God which must be our finall salvation of our soules by taking in or receiving the ingraffed word is here meant keeping it for this was spoken to those who were already Christians and the allusion is pretty which is here made to a graft for as by ingrafting on the body of an Apple-tree the gardiner if he please brings forth a Plum or Peare so the word of God ingrafted into our soules brings forth the fruits of grace which are the Seeds of better fruit of glory if any aske what is this ingrafted word we may say it is God incarnate for his incarnation is as it were an ingrafting or inoculating God into the hearts or soules of men since as the graft is alwayes of a better kinde then the Stock it is ingrafted on so the Divinity is much more sweet and fertil then our sowre Crab of humane nature whereas by the Hypostaticall union God and man in Christ became one person as the Tree and the graft become one body when the Sap unites and cements them together againe as all grafts are first cut from their own homogeneall Stock before they be ingrafted into another so the second person of the Trinity was taken as it were out of the hosome of his eternal Father to be ingrafted in the wombe of the Blessed Virgin Mary and so was brought out of his heavenly to be planted in our earthly Paradise or rather wilderness indeed for such it was when he came downe to earth and as from the sowre Stock of a Crab-tree we must first cut a branch before we can ingraft a better fruit upon it so was there cut off from Christ his humane hypostasis and he made to subsist by the hypostasis divine besides as the graft and the Stock are bound together till they fasten into one another so by the hypostaticall union was the divine graft bound to our stock of humane nature that thereby God and man might grow into one person consisting of two natures others will have this ingrafted word to be the Blessed Sacrament united to our Soules others understand it to be Christ crucified on the Cross others contend it is the word of God ingrafted by the Preachers into the hearts of the Faithfull The Application 1. THe two first verses of this Epistle point directly at the gift of Faith which is indeed the Best and most perfect gift eminentially called the gift of God and is such a Light to our Reason as can come from none but the Father of Lights in it selfe the Blessed Trinity but as to us we may say it comes from the Father of our Light that is of our Faith our Saviour Jesus Christ who hath indeed voluntarily begotten us by the word of Truth the Holy Writ the Record of our Faith whereby we have our first beginnings of being God Almighties creatures 2. The two next verses tell us with what Alacrity and Promptitude we should hear this Sacred word of God as also with what Patience we should bear the Rebukes and Checks it gives our Consciences when it reprehends our vices In plaine termes we are told that to be Angry at any holy reprehension is an evident signe of our not being Right beleevers since by our operative Faith we are made just as we have often been taught and nothing is less consistent with justice then Anger 3. The last verse tels us what effects Faith ought to work in us namely Purity Love and Meekness for without these we are not capable of saving our soules by the ingafted word of God in us which yet of it self is sufficient to save us if received with that Purity which renounceth all mixture of Heresie Schisme or Infidelity for these are the Obstructions to the unity of minds which Faith worketh in the soules of true beleevers making them therefore all of one minde because they are all of one pure and impermixed Faith such as is only in the Catholicke Church and the effect whereof is to make them therefore love even the hardest commands of that good God they do beleeve in and to covet ardently what he promiseth unto them in requitall of their love who amongst all the allurements in this world fix their hearts only upon heavenly joyes which are promised in the next world not on such shadowes of joyes as we possess here in a word not to fix their hearts upon our present loanes but upon our future promises for God here doth not properly give us any thing how ever he lends us all we have his gifts are for eternall enjoyment not for temporary uses onely Now that we may doe this see how fitly Holy Church Prayes as above The Gospel John 16. v. 5 c. 5 But I told you not these things from the beginning because I was with you And now I goe to him that sent me and none of you asketh me whither goest thou 6 But because J have spoken these things to you sorrow hath filled your hearts 7 But J tell you the truth it is expedient for you that I goe for if I goe not the Paraclete shall not come to you but if I goe J will send him to you 8 And when he is come he shall argue the world of sinne and of Iustice and of Iudgement 9 Of sinne because they beleeve not in me 10 But of Justice because I goe to my Father and now you shall not see me 11 And of judgement because the Prince of this world is now judged 12 Yet many things I have to say to you but you cannot bear them now 13 But when hee the spirit of truth commeth hee shall teach you all truth for hee shall not speake of himselfe but what things soever he shall heare he shal speake and the things that are to come he shall shew 14 He shall glorifie me because he shall receive of mine and shall shew to you The Explication 5. TO understand what the Apostle meanes in this verse we must know the meaning of the foregoing words and though many wil have these things to report unto what went before namely our Saviours having told them they should be persecuted and punished to death for his sake after he was gone which he told them of that when it
it saith the expectation of the creature expecteth rather then the creature expecteth Again by creature in this place is understood not onely all mankind but even all other creatures below man for in man as in the abstract of all their perfections they are as it were made happy when he is rewarded by having God revealed to him face to face and by his injoying him for all eternity as who should say All corruptible nature hath then the full of their expectation when corrupted man is invested with incorruptible glory And then they are truly the sons of God when they are in glory an honour which the glorious Angels have not because their nature was never assumed by the nature divine and so though they are creatures of glory in nature more perfect then we yet are they not children of God so properly as men are 20. This verse shews that angels are not understood by the word creature since as they are in fruition and not in expectation so they cannot be liable to the vanity which here men and all creatures under them are subject unto in them who are God knows too too vain By vanity therefore understand here mutability labour corruption of all those creatures that God hath made subject unto man and therefore the text adds not willingly of their own accord for the time of his being in this world but in hope to be freed from that subjection when man is made immutable and stands no more in need of this vanity or mutability in other creatures Or we may understand this vanity to be that which is in man himself whereunto he is made subject not willingly but by being guilty of the sinnes of his first Father punished with his own mortality or corruption in all his progeny who yet have hope in Christ to be made free from it and to become immortall 21. In this verse is understood that not onely man but in him all other creatures under him that is the creature it self shall not by the gift of nature or grace but by that of glory be freed from all mutability and subjection and rendered sharing in glory with the children of God that is with men who become his children by their eternall glory 22. This verse rather shews the pain that other creatures are in under man then that which he is in himself as who should say they did cry out in continuall labour till in mans glory they were delivered 23. By this verse S. Paul means that not onely himself and the other Apostles who are the first fruits of all Christians but even all Christians themselves groan within themselves expecting as well the perfected adoption of glory in them as that of imperfect adoption which they have already of Baptismall Grace because this notwithstanding they may nay often do perish but the other coming then they have the full of their expectations and not till then For the desire of man is never satisfied untill the glory of God appear in him The Application 1. IT may seem a strange piece of divinity in S. Paul or a mistake of his sense in me to dissuade men from sin by the Rhetorick or voice of inanimate creatures as if either they could speak at all or yet speak more pathetically then holy men and blessed Angels for we see how often those do speak in vain to sinners to amend their lives But who so shall have read the Expositours above upon this present Text will see they do incline to this divinity that our sinnes are so weighty as they make the whole world groan beneath the burden of them ready to split indeed and unable to keep the course of Nature being so often interrupted in that course by our unnaturall proceedings every sinne being more or lesse an act against the law of Nature it self as well as against the law of God because all Naturall operations of the creatures are glorious to the Creatour whereas every sinne is inglorious and thence offensive to the Divine Majesty 2. Hence it is S. Paul begins this Epistle first to those whose charity and love to God gives them a sense of sin and to those who are willing to amend their lives by taking patiently the present punishments of sin such as are indeed but the naturall effects thereof neither as sicknesse sorrow persecution death it self Not condigne to the glory that shall be revealed in those who bear with patience the present Passions of Time so S. Paul stiles those effects of finne and animates the just to bear them patiently in hope of Heaven a reward so great as will render all those heavy burdens light 3. But the Apostle speaks in other language here to sinners such as wanting charity have no sense of God or of future happinesse these he makes the dumbe world speak unto in the 20. verse especially of this epistle bewailing the unwilling subjection the whole creature is in to sinfull mans vanity and looking on her hope to be freed from this generall subjection by the particular salvation of some few saints of men though not untill their corrupted bodies be made as incorruptible by glory at the latter day as their souls are already by that glory blessed Yes beloved this is the genuine sense of holy Text to day it tells us all the Fabrick of the world is like to split it tells us how dumbe creatures cry out shame of man to force them so against their nature to concurre to sinne it shews the bestiality of sinne when beasts themselves that never do commit it are ashamed of beastly man are sick and weary of him are tyred in beeing forc'd to serve him in his sinfull wayes and beg their own salvation in the just at least in which sense holy David said Thou O Lord wilt save both men and beasts to confound the sinner who pursues his own damnation even to the Torment of the creatures that are not capable of sinne and yet detest it out of an innate desire of honouring Almighty God in all their operations and so detest it too as they are ready to rebell against the man of sinne in so much that holy Church in her charity makes her petition proper to the sense above as if she were afraid least mans unnaturall wayes of sinne should force nature out of that order God hath set it in of serving man and pluck a warre of all the other creatures in the world on all man kind to the disturbance of the Church in her devotion and piety which at least she begs may be quiet and unperturb'd Say but the prayer above and see how patt it is to this purpose The Gospel Luke 5. v. 1. c. 1 And it came to passe when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God and himself stood beside the lake of Genesareth 2 And he saw two ships standing by the lake and the fishers were gone down and washed their nets 3 And he going up into one ship that was
2. O beloved it is wonderfull to think how deep a root S. Paul layes here of Christianitie for whereas he speaks in all the following verses of unitie of body of spirit of hope of our Lord of faith of Baptisme of God c. he means our unanimitie must not consist of our being all of one mind with one another for so are many that are not true believers but that we ought to be all of one mind with God who by his sacred Son and by the holy Ghost hath taught us what that one mind is of his divine Majesty which we should be of such a mind as makes us one thing with him how ever severall things in our selves that is to say one mysticall body of Christ animated by one spirit believing one and the same faith which his sacred Son delivered unto us not making our own faith sutable to our own fancie and calling that one spirit because many are of that fancy too no no beloved Christian unanimitie is rooted in the sacred Trinitie where though there be a multiplicitie of Persons yet is there a simplicitie of Nature an unitie of essence an identitie of Deitie not onely because the Three distinct Persons are al of one mind but because they are one and the same Thing or Beeing rather since in God there is no composition between the Thing and the Being thereof as is in creatures and so he is more properly called a simple Being then a simple Thing And therefore all our simplicitie unitie or indivisibilitie must have root in him and not in us so that the unitie of our spirit which makes us one mysticall body of Christ must be derived from the same divine spirit that made God and man one person onely though consisting of two natures 3. To conclude as the essence of the Deitie consisteth in the unitie of the blessed Trinitie so doth the essence of true Christianitie consist in the unanimitie of Christians yet with this difference that in this life their unitie is rather a communitie then an identitie and their union properly is a communion first with Christ their head next with his holy spouse the Church and lastly with the Saints as in our Creed we professe for by the participation of all their saintities it is that sinners are drawn out of the mire of their iniquities And as we read 1. Jo. 4. v. 10. Charitie is not in this as though you have loved God but because he hath loved you so we may say of faith it is not as we square or choose it but as Christ hath squared it since we are not his for our chosing him but because he hath chosen us Jo. 15. v. 16. Now because upon this Epistle Preachers are to insist on the communion or union the unanimitie or unitie of true Christianitie as the proper difference thereof making them Saints onely and saved souls who are true believers and true lovers as above Therefore holy Church to day prayes to be preserved from that which is the poyson bane and contagion of Christians namely division faction schisme heresie infidelitie c. stilâ—â—g these very properly a diabolicall contagion because the Devill is the authour of them all The Gospel Matt. 22.34 34 But the Pharisees hearing that he had put the Sadduces to silence came together 35 And one of them a Doctour of Law asked of him tempting 36 Master which is the great Commandement of the Law 37 Jesus said unto him thou shalt love the Lord thy God from thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole minde 38 This is the greatest Commandement 39 And the second is like to this Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self 40 On these two Commandements depend the whole Law and Prophets 41 And the Pharisees being assembled Jesus asked them 42 Saying what is your opinion of Christ whose sonne is he They say Davids 43 He saith to them how then doth David in spirit call him Lord saying 44 The Lord said to my Lord sit on my right hand untill I put thine enemies thy fooot-stool to thy foot 45 If David therefore call him Lord how is he his sonne 46 And no man could answer him a word neither durst any man from that day ask him any more The Explication 34. THe Pharisees came with intention to undervalue him and find him as they thought ignorant in the Scriptures so to eclipse the glory he had in silencing the Sadduces ignorant men in the esteem of the Pharisees 35. It seems this Doctour came not with any reall intention to entrap our Saviour as the other did whereof mention is made by S. Mark c. 12. but rather blinded the other Pharisees by seeming to ask a question to their entrapping sense while in truth he did ask it to satisfie his own doubt in point of practicall virtue as the Sadduces had been satisfied by him in the speculative verity of the resurrection for here this Doctour did approve our Saviours answer and said to him thou hast answered well indeed 36. The reason they asked this question was in regard they much doubted whether the greatest commandment were not that of sacrifice Levit. c. 1. because God seems chiefly honoured thereby And here the Pharisees absurdly bid children refuse to help their parents under pretense of offering to God what should relieve their needy parents as if that cloak of Religion were better then this duty to nature 37. But Jesus made them see there is no sacrifice so precious in the sight of God as that of our hearts affections and so he puts in the first place of commands that precept of charity which bids us love God above all things with all our heart c. And the reason hereof is because there is no precept so extensive as this of love whence you see it is expressed by giving all our affections wholly to God This made S. Bernard bold to say we must love him beyond all measure when he sayes the mean of love to God is to love him without mean or measure 38. Well is this therefore called the first and great commandment because it is so per excellentiam by excellency as extending to a kind of infinity when it puts no mean to our love of God no end at all but requires it be for ever that we love him Hence it is that charity is the Queen of the soul and life of all virtues and is indeed above Religion above sacrifice because by charity which is the love of the soul to God sacrifices are commanded to be made as testimonies of her loyalty to God who doth command them 39. This love of our neighbour is called the second commandment in order to perfection not in rank of law for there were many laws made before this was declared By loving our neighbour as our self is understood that we must really truly and cordially love him though not so much as our selves So by the particle as is here understood similitude not
that humanity is but a creature his meaning therefore must be that with our corporall eyes we can onely see the Deity as tralucent and shining through the face of Christ or through his humane nature but yet with our souls eyes that is with her faculties of understanding we see even the sacred Deitie and with our wills we love him as the beginning and end of all our hopes as our chief and infinite goodness and when the Apostle sayes he shall know God in heaven as he is there known by God his meaning is onely that we shall see God perfectly and not in part onely as he doth know us perfectly by knowing the integrity of all the causes concurring to our making and the infallibility of all the effects of our each operation or motion not that therefore our knowledge of God shall be equally perfect with his of us for such knowledge would argue identity and not onely similitude of knowledge whereas here there is no identicall but onely a similitudinary knowledge asserted 13. We must note that Iraeneus Tertullian and others understood by the word now that the Apostle meant now that we are in this perfect knowledge that is in heaven Faith Hope Charity shall remain but this were to contradict all that hath been said before of Faith ceasing when vision comes of hope decaying when Fruition affords all that can be hoped for so those Fathers must be explicated to mean by faith all firm assured and undoubted science such as onely consisted in vision and by hope all incessant adhesion to the infinite goodness of God above all things else beloved which adhesion they called fruition and yet though this qualifie their sense to bee neerer the Apostles than an asserting that faith and hope remain in heaven formally as charity doth yet this comes short of S. Pauls meaning by the word now in this life not in heaven for his main scope was to prove to the Corinthians that charity was the chief of all other vertues faith hope and charity but the chiefest and greatest of these is charity and not so much boasted gift of tongues and therefore as to them he sayes Now there are three Theologicall vertues faith hope and charitie but the greatest of these is charity not your vain faith which is not acquainted with love nor your idle hope which fixeth your expectation of help from creatures nay though your faith be pure and your hope in God alone yet charity is greater than these vertues and shall remain in heaven when the other two Theological vertues cease however now they are all three together here the most excellent indeed of all other gifts or vertues however you esteem more that of tongues which I see you prefer fondly before any other gifts of God To conclude the Apostle resolves charity to bee above all other vertues as the fire is the chief of Elements gold the principall of metals the Sun the best of Planets the Empyreal the highest of heavens and the Seraphins the top-gallant of Angels so is charity the chief the principal the best the highest and the most gallant of all vertues whatsoever The Application 1. SInce the first operation of Adams soul was an act of love to his Creator because he see him to bee infinitely more amiable than all the lovely creatures he had made him master of Therefore every child of Adam doth even in that degenerate if his first reasonable operation be not also an act of love to God Nature as well as grace teaching the giver ought to be beloved far above the gift he gives 2. Hence it is that in Regeneration we are bound to make our first act a profession of our faith and love to the divine Majesty so solemn that it is accompanied with an abrenuntiation of all love to creatures namely those that tempt us most the World the Flesh and the Divel with all his Pomps and vanities And this because originall sin had fetterd our affections and tyed them to a dotage on the creatures so as to love these above the Creatour of them and us 3. Now because this indebit love to creatures is the fetter that fastens us to sin making us affect it even when we doe not commit it actually and because for sin wee are lyable to all adversity therefore S. Paul by tying a true-lovers-knot of perfect love and charity to God within our hearts would loosen the fetters of our love to creatures that fasten us to sin and by this art would keep us free from all adversitie no effect remaining longer than the cause thereof remains Whence it is that whilest Saint Paul so passionately recommendeth charity in this Epistle as the onely remedie against adversitie We properly pray as above The Gospel LUKE 18. ver 31 c. 31. ANd Jesus took the twelve and said to them Behold we goe up to Hierusalem and all things shall be consummate which were written by the Prophets of the Son of man 32. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles and shall be mocked and scourged and spit upon 33. And after they have scourged him they will kill him and the third day he shall rise again 34. And they understood none of these things and this word was hid from them and they understood not the things that were said 35. And it came to passe when he drew nigh to Jericho a certain blind man sat by the way begging 36. And when he heard the multitude passing by he asked what this should be 37. And they told him Jesus of Nazareth passed by 38 And he cryed saying Jesus son of David have mercy upon me 39. And they that went before rebuked him that he should hold his peace But he cryed much more son of David have mercy upon me 40. And Jesus standing commanded him to be brought unto him and when he was come neer he asked him 41. Saying what wilt thou that I doe to thee but he said Lord that I may see 42. And Jesus said unto him Doe thou see thy faith hath made thee whole 43. And forthwith he saw and followed him magnifying God And all the people as they saw it gave praise to God The Explication 31. OUr Saviour being now neer the time wherein he was pleased to be sacrificed for mans redemption took with him in this his last ascending to the grand feast of the Jewes their Paschall solemnity all his twelve Apostles and lest they should be surprised by his sudden death which they knew not to be at hand as himself did he forewarnes them of it nay for their further comfort he tells them his death was fore-told long before by the holy Prophets but with this consolatory clause of his rising again after he was dead to prove thereby it was God redeemed us when God and Man dyed for us and such was the Messias such was he who now foretold them this of himself to prepare their patience against his passion to secure their Faith though