Symbolo Insomuch as S. Augustine sayeth As it is a curiousnesse to aske how or in what sort Christ is in heauen so must we faithfullie beleeue that he is there But in the meane while he is not there simplie as Henoche who was lifted vppe or Helie that was ascended thither Gene 5. 2. Kinge 2. or as the other his faithfull members but he is there as Head and he is there as he that is set on the right hande of his father For Iesus Christ as the sonne of God hath had trulie alwayes all power in heauen and in earth And now this Iesus who hath taken humane nature this person that is true God and true man gouerneth all thinges and hath a glorie and empire aboue all creatures whereof it doth not followe as some railers thinke that this his humane nature is in al places and euerie where For although that the right hande of God and his mightinesse is infinite yet is it not said that he is made the right hande of God or that the bodie of Christ is become the right hande of God but that hee is set at his right hande Nowe to sit at the right hande of God is not to spreade his bodie throughout all but to gouerne all with the father And likewise that which is spoken of the whole person cannot be particularly and simplie vnderstoode of his humane nature which keepeth alwaies his properties Furthermore the scripture by this sitting at the right hande of God doth not conclude that the bodie of Christ is throughout all but that he is in heauen as it may appeare by the places following Out of the 26. of S. Matthew verse 64. Hereafter shal ye see the sonne of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God and come in the cloudes of heauen Out of the 16. of Marke Iesus was carried vp into heauen and sitteth on the right hand of God Out of the 2. Chap. of the Actes verse 33. To wit as Christ and by his might For hee was laid in the graue awaiting the resurrection How Christ sitteth at the right hand of God Since then that hee by the right hand of God hath bin exalted and hath receiued of his father the promise of the holie Ghost hee hath shewed forth this which ye now see and heare For Dauid is not ascended into heauen but hee saith the Lord said vnto my Lord sit at my right hand vntil I make thine enemies thy footstoole Therefore let all the house of Israel know for a suretie that God hath made him both Lord and Christ this Iesus I say whom yee haue crucified Out of the 5. of the Actes verse 30.31 The God of our Fathers hath raised vp Iesus whome yee slew and hanged on a tree Him hath God lifte vp with his right hand to bee a Prince and a Lorde to giue repentaunce to Israel forgiuenesse of sinnes Out of the 7. of the Actes and 55. verse S. Steuen being full of the holie ghost looked stedfastlie into heauen and sawe the glorie of God and Iesus standing at the right hand of God Out of the 8. Chap. to the Romans verse 34. Who shal condemne it is Christ which is dead yea or rather which is risen againe who is also at the right hand of God and maketh request also for vs. Out of the 1. Chap. to the Ephes verse 20. According to the woorking of his mighty power which is wrought in Christ when hee raised him vp from the dead set him at his right hand in the heauenlie places farre aboue all principalitie and power might and domination and euerie name that is named not in this world onelie but also in that that is to come And hath made all thinges subiect vnder his feete and hath appointed him ouer all thinges to be the head to the Church Out of the 3. Chap. to the Colos verse 1. Seeke those thinges which are aboue where Christ sitteth aâ— the right hand of God Out of the first Chap. and the 3. verse to the Hebrewes The sonne hath by himselfe purged our sinnes and sitteth at the right hand of the maiestie in the highest places In the 13. verse Vnto which also of the Angels said hee at anie time sit at my right hand til I make thine enemies thy footestoole Out of the 8. Chap. to the Hebrewes verse 1. Wee haue such an high priest that sitteth at the right hand of the throne of the maiestie in heauen and is a Minister of the sanctuarie and of the true Tabernacle Out of the 10. to the Hebrewes verse 12. This man after hee had offered one sacrifice for sinnes sitteth for euer on the right hand of God And from henceforth tarieth till his enemies be made his footestoole Out of the 12. to the Hebrewes ver 2. Looking vnto Iesus the Author finisher of our faith who for the ioy that was set before him endured the crosse and despised the shame and is set at the right hand of the Throne of God Out of the 3. Chap. and first Epistle of S. Peter verse 22. Christ is at the right hand of God gone into heauen to whome the Angels and powers and might are subiect A prayer O Lorde my God giue me grace neuer to be ashamed of the Crosse of Christ seeing that he is exalted at thy right hand and that hee is the Lord of all creatures And seeing that thou hast so much honored our nature let me despise all rebukes for thy name and patientlie awaite the hower in the which all thy enemies shall be made thy footestoole From thence shall he come to iudge the quicke and the dead MEDITATION OH the woonderfull counsell of God that hee who was wickedlie iudged vnder Ponce Pilate is established not onelie a mediatour and Sauiour but also iudge of the quicke and the dead O Iudge truelie to be feared of all vnbeleeuers Iohn 3. For hee that dooth not beleeue in thee is condemned and subiect alreadie to perdition Rom. 8. how proude and gallant soeuer he be But yet to bee desired and awaited of all the faithfull to whome there is no condemnation for so much as they are grafted in thee Oh that diuers and manie times do the faithfull lift vp their heades amongst these vniust and most tyrannous going forewardes of these wicked Iudges in so manie tormentes and persecutions dailie looking for such a Iudge who will iudge the causes of his little ones and those that the world treadeth vnder foote Psal 12. It is from heauen and not on the earth that wee must awaite for such a Iudge who shall bring the hidden thinges and shall doe this honor vnto his seruantes that they shall bee as his benchars counsellers and companions in iudgement as it is said in the 6. Chap. of the 1. vnto the Corinthians That the Saintes shall iudge the world and in the 19. of S. Matthew That the Apostles shall iudge the tribes of Israel insomuch
euerie person by him selfe to be God and Lorde So are wee forbidden by the Catholike religion to say there be three Gods or three Lords The Father is made of none neither created nor begotten The Sonne is of the Father alone not made nor created but begotten The Holie Ghost is of the Father and of the Sonne neither made nor created nor begotten but proceeding So there is one Father not three fathers one Sonne not three sonnes one Holie Ghost not three holy Ghostes And in this Trinitie none is afore or after other none is greater nor lesse than another But the whole three persons bee coeternall together and coequall So that in al things as is aforesaid the vnitie in Trinitie and the Trinitie in vnitie is to be worshipped He therefore that will bee saued must thus thinke of the Trinitie Furthermore it is necessarie to euerlasting saluation that hee also beleeue rightly in the incarnation of our Lord Iesu Christ For the right faith is that wee beleeue and confesse that our Lord Iesus Christ the sonne of God is God and man God of the substance of the father begotten before the worldes and man of the substance of his mother borne in the world Perfect God and perfect man of a reasonable soule and humane flesh subsisting Equall to the Father as touching his Godhead and inferiour to the father touching his manhoode Who although he be God man yet he is not two but one Christ One not by conuersion of the Godhead into flesh but by taking of the manhoode into God One altogether not by confusion of substance but by vnitie of person For as the reasonable soule flesh is one man so God and man is one Christ Who suffered for our saluation descended into hell rose againe the third day from the dead He ascended into heauen he sitteth on the right hande of the father God almightie From whence hee shall come to iudge the quicke the dead At whose comming all men shall rise againe with their bodies And shall giue account for their owne workes And they that haue done good shal goe into life euerlasting and they that haue done euil into euerlasting fire This is the Catholike faith which except a man beleeue faithfully hee cannot be saued IN the thirde generall Councell which was assembled at Ephesus vnder the Emperour Theodosius the younger about the yeare of our Lorde Iesus Christ 450. The third counsell was refuted and condemned the errour of the heretike Nestorius the which would not acknowledge with the Christian Church whē as the worde became flesh that the two naturs diuine humane were knit in one person or substance and that vnseparablie But did teach howe they were onely knit by an assistaunce or dwelling together whereof he would not auowe that the virgin hadde borne the sonne of God or that the sonne of God had suffered for vs. That which was to make nothing euen all the mysterie of our redemption if he which was borne of a virgin and hath suffered for vs had not beene true God hauing personally knit vnto himselfe our nature after the which hee was borne of the virgin and hath suffered on the crosse In the fourth generall Councell in which did the Emperour Martianus assist at Chalcedon was condemned the heresie of Eutiches the monke the which monke fell into another extreme errour contrarie vnto that of Nestorius in such sort knitting the two natures in Christ as hee confoundeth them and in place of a person he leaueth as it were but a nature Whereof the Fathers of the councell to make cleare this matter did set out the confession which followeth Wee confesse and acknowledge one onelie Iesus Christ our Lorde perfect in diuinitie and also in humanitie verie God and verie man of a reasonable bodie and soule equall to the Father as touching his Godhead and coequall with vs as touching his manhoode and like vnto vs in all thinges sinne excepted begotten of the Father before the worldes according to his Diuinitie and in the latter dayes begotten of the virgine Marie mother of the Lord for our sakes and for our saluation as concerning his humanitie One onelie and also Sauiour in two natures without confusion conuersion diuision and separation The differēce of natures be not takē away through the vnion but rather the propertie of both natures being kept concurring in one person or substance not to diuide them into two persons but to the end that hee alone might be our onelie Sauiour as the Prophetes haue prophesied thereof and he hath taught vs and the Symboles of the Fathers confesse him It is to bee noted that although the said Symbols and confessions are amongest the papistes yet notwithstanding they cease not to persecute to the vttermost those which with all their heartes beleeue the alone comprised Doctrine Wherein is to bee seene that they haue not those confessions but vpon the paper for they doe not beleeue in them and that instead to be the true Catholikes they persecute them For as wee see in the Code of Iustinian and in the 9. booke of his tripartite historie the 7. Chap. The Gretian Emperours Valentinian and Theodosius made an Edict and declaration that they would hold those for good Christians and good Catholikes which followed the Doctrine that was taught by S. Peter and did beleeue in the Trinitie and of Iesus Christ according as it is here before said Nowe men doe not hold them for Catholikes vnlesse one beleeue the blasphemies of the Pope and of his traine who sitteth in the Temple of God as a God making lawes at his pleasure and profaning the pure seruice of the Lorde Here follovveth the consideration of the first Article of our faith conteining manie goodlie Doctrines Of Faith Of the Trinitie Of the Creation Of the Prouidence Meditations and Praiers vpon the Articles of the Faith I beleeue in God Of Faith CONSIDERATION ALL and euerie Science hath his rule and their principles Ruffin vpon the Symbole but the true foundation of Christian religion is to beleeue For after that man by distrust The principle of Christian Religion and through curiousnesse had sinned and was fallen it was the counsell of God that by faith he should bee saued And willing as it were to be too ouer-wise Gen. 3. 1. Cor. 1 2◠and so to knowe good from euill hee straied out of the way that through the preaching of the crosse of Christ that is reputed for follie in the worlde he might be guided to saluation In the Booke of the prescriptiō of heretickes Let therefore saith Tertullian curiousnes now giue place vnto faith and let faith bee no more aucthorised by men or by the people But let all people and men be tryed and prooued by faith and then approoued onelie when they shall beleeue For it is also neuer spoken or said in the Scripture thy great skill or knowledge Matt. 9.22 Ioh. 20.31 thy great riches or thy great
yet created but is taken for a person subsistent Afterwardes in the 1. Chap. of S. Marke we doe see the sonne which was baptised the father bearing witnesse of the sonne and the holy ghost comming downe vppon him As it is also commaunded in the 28. of S. Matthew to baptise in the name of the father the sonne and the holy ghost Now thinke it not to be a small thing to acknowledge three persons in one diuine Essence First of all the Christians faith is so discerned from that of the Turkes Iewes and Painims which doe not woorship the true God not acknowledging him as he hath manifested himselfe Secondlie this knowledge guideth vs in our prayer and serueth vs as a great direction because that we call vppon GOD by Iesus Christ in the partaking of the holy Ghost Thirdlie by this distinction of persons wee doe euidētlie see the principall benefites of our God beholding how the father the sonne and the holy ghost haue wrought in our creation and also how they doe worke in our redemption The father sendeth the sonne the sonne taketh humane nature the holy Ghost is he through whose operation he is conceaued in the wombe of the virgin This is he that is the comforter which inspireth and sealeth in our heartes the promises of God Wherefore although that all people doe vaunt of the knowledge of God yet so it is that there is not but the true Church that knoweth God truelie euen as hee manifested himselfe As it is said in the Psalme 147. He hath declared his wordes vnto Iacob and his statutes and iudgementes vnto Israel Hee hath not so dealt with all Nations neither hath he giuen vnto them to know his iudgementes A praier concerning the Trinitie drawen out of S. Augustine his Booke of the priuate Meditatiō of the soule with God 37. Chap. O Three Persons coequal coeternal one God and true God the father the sonne and the holy Ghost which dwellest a lone in eternitie and in the light not able to be come vnto which hast laide the earth by thy power and gouernest the worlde by thy wisedome Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hostes terrible and strong iust and mercifull wonderfull and louing one onely GOD and three persons one substance and goodnesse open vnto mee crying the gates of righteousnesse that being entered therein I may praise thee O Lorde O houshould father great rich I poore begger doe knocke at thy gates open vnto him that knocketh thou that hast promised to open vnto those which will knocke For O most mercifull father the desires of my entrailes hungering after thy grace do knocke at thy gates All my desire is before thee and my groning is not hid from thee And thou O Lord turne not away thy face any more from me neither in thine anger drawe thy selfe backe from thy seruant Father of mercie heare the groning of thy pupill and stretch forth vnto me thy helping hande to plucke mee out of the deepe waters out of the lake of miserie and out of the stinking puddle and myer that I perish not in the sight of thy mercies and beholding the bowels of thy clemencie but that rather I may come euen vnto thee which art my God to see the riches of thy kingdome and to behold thy face and to sing praises of thy holy name vnto thee O God that doest woonders that from this time forwardes my heart may reioyce through the onely remembraunce of thee who lightnest my youth despise not also mine olde age but giue ioie vnto my bones to make my yeeres reuiue as those of an Aegle that I may praise thee for euermore A prayer vpon the same Argument Euerlasting God thou which with thy onely sonne the holy ghost art one only true GOD and onely Lorde seeing that it hath pleased thee to make knowen the secret of this glorious Trinitie vnto vs thy seruantes giue vs grace that alwaies acknowledging through one true and intire confession the propertie of the three persons the vnitie of the substaunce and the equalitie of the maiestie in one onely true God wee may for euer worship thee and that by this sure faith wee may be defended against all temptations And as the Angels praise thee the powers do worship thee and all the armies of heauen doe magnifie thee let vs thy poore creatures haue this honour to be able to ioyne our songes and our agreementes which this heauenly companie to be agreeable and pleasing vnto thee A prayer of S. Augustine out of the 32. Chap. of his Meditations O God hee that would liue it behooueth him to know thee and he that would rule he must first serue thee he who would haue gladnesse in his heart it behooueth him to praise thee Wherefore my Lorde I praise and worship thee with my lippes with my soule and with all the power that is within me I also thanke thy clemencie and bountie for all the goods that thou hast stored me withall Vnto thee Lorde that art the holie of holies do I sing songs of praise O Lorde I will call vppon thee which art in three persons but one onely and alone substance beseeching thee that it will please thee to come vnto me and to make me a temple of thy glorie I pray the father by the sonne I pray the sonne I pray the holy Ghost that all vices may be farre off from me and that all holy vertues may be planted in me O infinite God of whom and by whom all thinges are visible and inuisible that doest compasse thy workes without and fillest them within that couerest them from aboue and bearest them belowe keepe mee that am the worke of thy handes which trust in thee and haue none other confidence but in thy mercie Keepe me before and behinde heere and euerie where nowe and euer within and without aboue and beneath to be short on all sides that neither taken at vnwares nor by ambushment of my enemie I may be endamaged Thou art the almightie God the protector and defender of all those that trust in thee without whom nothing is sure neither free from daunger Thou art the true God and there is none other God but thou alone neither in heauen aboue neither in the earth belowe Thou doest wonders without number Therefore vnto thee doth appertaine praise honour and thankesgiuing The Angels praise thee the heauens also doe honour thee as the creature is bounde to honour his maker and the seruant his maister euen so ought all flesh and all soules to praise the holy and inseparable Trinitie A prayer of S. Augustine out of the 33. Chap. of his Meditations GEue me grace O Lorde so long as I shal be compassed about with this fraile bodie that my soule may praise thee that my tongue may blesse thee and that all my bones may agree to speake of thee Lorde who is like vnto thee Thou art the almightie God whom we doe worshippe in three persons and one diuine
his welbeloued sonne O good sauiour haue mercie on thy brethren come vnto them and dwell in them A prayer concerning Iesus Christ for to know him rightly O Lord my God seeing thou hast prouided for vs so precious a gift giuing vnto vs thy sonne Iesus fill my soule with the feeling of his bountie kindle in me a true desire of thy deere sonne and of his grace quench in me all euill affections neither suffer that my soule be vexed by worldlie cares but lift it vppe O Lorde and drawe it vnto a perpetuall meditating of thy sonne my redeemer Let his name be in my mouth let his mercie be shed in my heart to run through all my bones marowe and that I may neuer tast any other thing than this good sauiour that is dead for me Grant me also grace to correct my manners and take away from mee that which displeaseth thee for to giue me that which is agreeable and pleasing vnto thee Alas who shall make man cleane that is conceiued in vncleannesse if he be not washed and made righteous by thy sonne Iesus My health lyeth in thee good GOD and my weakenesse is before thee Heale this and by thy grace graunt vnto me the other For it is thou that healest the infirmities and keepest them that are healed and all through thy mercie An other prayer on the same matter O Lorde if our eyes be so tender and weake that they bee not able to beare the light of the sunne howe can we alas beholde thee if thou haddest not declared thy selfe in thy sonne which is the eternall worde and brightnesse of thy glorie O woonderfull secret that is not vnderstoode by mans wisedome the which is come out of the heauenly closet This is it that GOD was made man the euerlasting is made mortall hee that was not subiecte to suffer was made subiect to suffer the maister to abide the death for his seruauntes and he which ought nothing hath payed the debt to set vs poore sinners free O the great goodnesse of our sauiour to abide and suffer so much for vs O great power of our Lord Iesus Christ to ouercome death Hell had thought to haue swallowed him vp but it is hee that hath ouercome hell And in such manner it is come to passe therein as vnto fishes the which are taken when they thinke to take the baite euen so death taking our redeemer was himselfe taken And nowe Lorde who is he that will not trust in thee seeing that thy sonne is risen againe on the thirde daie so gloriously and tryumphauntly seeing that hee is ascended aboue all the highest heauens and hath deliuered man from his captiuitie to make him way euen vnto the heauenlie dwelling place It is there where hee sitteth on thy right hande and where wee doe worshippe him with thee the father and with the holie Ghost the comforter of the afflicted This is thy sonne our Lorde who is our life and our resurrection This is the hope and trust of the afflicted this is our light in our darkenesse this is the dewe of our thirstie soules This is he that doeth strengthen vs in our weakenesses and that healeth our woundes Wee are sinners but our sinne is not so great and mightie as is his mercie We be wanderers in this worlde but he is our shephearde and we doe awaite vpon him with a most earnest desire that our bodies may be alike vnto his glorious bodie and that wee may O mightie God beholde thy face A prayer and meditation vppon the birth of Iesus Christ taken out of the 15. Chap. of the Meditations of S. Augustine O Exceeding goodnesse O inestimable loue of thee my God who hast giuen thy sonne to redeeme thy seruaunt God was made man that man being lost should be redeemed out of the diuels pawes It must be O Lorde true that thy sonne Iesus hath right tenderly loued mankinde seeing that he hath not alonely brought him selfe so lowe to bee willing to become man and to bee borne of a virgine but did willingly yeelde himselfe vnto the punishment of the crosse and that for our saluation The good sauiour is come vnto vs he by his goodnesse is come to seeke out that which was lost hee hath sought out the lost sheepe and hauing founde him he hath taken him vppon his shoulders to carie him vnto the sheepe folde O good Lorde O true shephearde O woonderfull charitie And who is he that may heare these thinges without beeing astonied from the bowelles of this mercie Who will not marueile thereat or rather reioyce therein in that thou hast so much loued vs Lorde thou hast sent thy sonne in the likenesse of a sinnefull man that he who was without sinne might ouercome sinne and that we might of thy righteousnesse reioyce in him For hee it is that is the true Lambe without spotte and that hath taken away the sinnes of the worlde and that in dying hath destroyed death and in rysing againe hath brought life But alas O Lorde what shall I yeelde vnto thee for these so excellent benefites What prayses what thankesgiuing shall I giue vnto thee O Lorde Although wee shoulde be indewed with the knowledge of Angelles yea though all our members shoulde bee turned into tongues yet shoulde we be vnsufficient and vnwoorthy to praise so great a louing kindenesse for thy inestimable charitie that thou hast shewed vnto vs poore and vnworthie creatures dooth ouercome all knowledge Because that thy sonne hath not taken the seede of Angelles but of Abraham beeing made like vnto vs sinne excepted Therefore hauing taken humane nature and glorifying it and through his resurrection decking it with immortalitie he hath lifted vp him selfe aboue all heauens and hath placed him at thy right hande where hee is hee that is thy sonne worshipped and feared of Angelles Nowe beholde my comfort and my hope and wee all haue a portion in his flesh And since that he that hath taken our flesh raigneth with it I doe beleeue that I shall raigne because that my flesh is glorified in the person of Christ we shal be also glorified Albeit that my sinnes may let mee therein yet will this coniunction that I haue with Christ take away the lettes My God is not so rigorous and seuere to despise man seeing hee hath carried man and the humane nature vp on high How should hee forget that that hee hath with him Truelie this good Lorde is gentle and louing and loueth his flesh And if the Father loue his sonne as in deede hee loueth him hee also loueth all the which dooth appertaine vnto him so that from henceforth we be as raised vp in Christ Wee be alreadie seated in the kingdome of God since that the humane nature is gone vp thither with Christ No man hath euer hated his owne flesh We be bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh Oh that this is a great secrete saith the Apostle this of Christ and of his Church O
woonderfull thing that the coniunction of humane nature is made with the diuine without changing of natures also without anie confusion of persons therein For Christ hath so knit the natures together as hee both God and man is in diuine substance but one person with the father and the holie ghost O strange thing wee were not woorthie to be seruauntes and now wee be children and coheires with Christ And now I pray thee good God graunt mee grace in good ernest to acknowledge thy vertue that I may with a burning desire loue thee all the daies and time of my life and that my faith be stayed on my redeemer who was seene in the world and was lifted vp into glorie It Followeth Suffered vnder Ponce Pilate was crucified dead and buried hee descended into hell CONSIDERATION YEe neede not to maruaile that in this Article of our faith wee doe passe from his natiuitie vnto his death For first all his life was a preparatiue vnto death a perpetuall passion Secondlie the death and passion of Iesus was the true witnesse of his obedience and then was ended this true Sacrifice that hath abolished sinne and death Euen as the auncient high Priestes did take of the people that which they had to sacrifice so hath hee also taken of vs our nature and this bodie which hee hath sacrificed on the crosse being the sacrifice and the sacrificer Therefore hee had will to suffer truelie in our flesh and to die that in him we might haue life And that wee may liue and die in him dailie dying to the world to vice to liue vnto all righteousnesse and to his glorie who hath redeemed vs. Death the graue hell are verie terrible thinges yea more than terrible But Iesus Christ hath triumphed ouer death and arising againe hee hath sanctified our graues and hath by his vertue ouercome the sorrowes of hell and hath broken all the boltes and chaines to make free and to set in safetie all his elect so as there is no condemnation vnto those that doe beleeue in him Rom. 8. Away with these sacrifices of these popish Priestes seeing that this true sacrifice made with the shedding of the bloud of the Lambe without spot Iohn 1. taketh away all the sinnes of the world Places of the holie scripture testifying the death and passion of Iesus Christ Out of the Prophecie of Dauid 22. Psalme For Dogges haue compassed me the assemblie of the wicked haue inclosed me they pearced my handes and my feete I may tell all my bones yet they behold and looke vppon me According to the exposition of some as if the should haue said he shal not be ouerwhelmed with troubles and sorrowes For he is the euerliuing sonne of of God of an euerlasting generation But this is for our sinnes and by the counsel of God that it should happen vnto him They part my garments among them and cast lottes vppon my vesture Out of the 69. Psalme I was constrained to restore that which I tooke not They gaue me gall in my meate and in my thirst they gaue me vineger to drinke A prophesie of the death and passion of Iesus Christ Out of the 53. Chap. of Esaiah Surelie hee hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrowes yet did wee iudge him as plagued and smitten of God But hee was wounded for our transgressions hee was broken for our iniquities the chasticement of our peace was vppon him and with his stripes are wee healed All wee lyke Sheepe haue gone astray wee haue turned euerie one to his owne way and the Lorde hath laid vppon him the iniquitie of vs all He was oppressed and hee was afflicted yet did hee not open his mouth he is brought as a sheepe vnto the slaughter as a sheep before her shearer is dumme so hee openeth not his mouth He was taken out from prison and from iudgement And who shall declare his age For hee was cut out of the land of the liuing and for the transgression of my people was he plagued And hee made his graue with the wicked and with the riche in his death though hee had doone no wickednes Vnto the rich neither was anie deceite in his mouth Yet the Lord would breake him and make him subiect to manie infirmities This was Ioseph of Arimathe when hee shall make his soule an offering for sinne hee shall see his seede and shall prolong his dayes and the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand Of the abasing of Iesus Christ in this world Daniel also hath prophesied in the 9. Chap. and 26. verse ANd after threescore and two weekes shall Christ bee slaine and shall haue nothing and some doe translate there shall none remaine to helpe him or hee shall bee altogether made of none effect This death of Christ was figured by the offering of weathers and Lambes and likewise by the offering that Abraham made of his sonne Isaac in the 22. of Genesis The brasen serpent and by the brasen serpent set vp in the wildernesse whome those that did behold were deliuered from the venemous bitings of serpentes as it is written in the 21. Chapter of Nombers This brasen serpent did signifie that Christ should take the forme of a sinner and should bee notwithstanding without sinne That which was set vp on a tree did signifie that Iesus Christ should bee lifted vp vppon a crosse as wee doe reade it in the 3. of Saint Iohn As Moses lifted vp the Serpent in the wildernesse so must the sonne of man be lifted vp That whosoeuer beleeueth in him shall not perish but haue eternall life And to shew in deede that it was not in the brasen serpent that had anie vertue annexed to it but that wee ought to looke more high King Ezechias seeing how the people did goe a whoring after this Serpent â— King 1â— hee brake it in peeces and named it Nehustan that is to say a vile thing and woorth nothing The historie of the passion and death of Iesus Christ wee haue drawen out by the foure Euangelistes especiallie in the 22. 23. of S. Luke THe causes of the passion and death of Iesus Christ The causes of Christes death were first the vnchangeable counsell and prouidence of GOD as it is said in the second of the Actes and the 23. verse Hee was deliuered by the determinate counsel of God And againe the loue of God towardes mankind God so loued the world that hee hath giuen his onelie begotten sonne as saith S. Iohn in the 3. Chapter And wee doe reade in the 5. Chap. to the Ephesians and the 25. verse how hee also loued vs and gaue himselfe willinglie for vs. If wee must come vnto other outward causes of this death and which bee inferiour there is the hatred of the diuell and the enmitie whereof it is spoken in the 3. Chap. of Genesis betweene the serpent and the seede of the woman There is
that that which is an offence vnto the worlde 1. Cor. 1. to wit the Gospell of the crosse may bee my comfort and my treasure that I may feele the vertue power and strength of this thy woorde euen in all the partes of my soule from this time foorth and for euer more So be it Of the vse of the holie Scripture Out of the 3. Chap. of the 2. Epistle of S. Paul vnto Timothee The whole scripture is geuen by the inspiration of God and is profitable to teach to correct and to instruct in righteousnesse that the man of God may be absolute being made perfect vnto all good workes The first vse of the scripture is to teach vs for where is it that a man shall finde in other bookes the secretes that the scripture teacheth vs It learneth vs on the earth a science which shall remaine in heauen as S. Ierome sayth it teacheth vs to knowe Christ and in him the life euerlasting The Angelles doe woonder at this same doctrine as it is sayde in the 1. Chap. of the 1. Epistle of S. Peter We ought therefore to bring our children vnto this schoole and the eldest also haue to learne in this science all the daies of their liues The scripture is also giuen to confute the gaine sayers to ouercome heretiks to correct vices and to hew them downe as it is sayde in Hosea Hoseah 6. for in teaching that which is good it turneth vs from euill It is also fitte to instruct vs and to giue manie aduertisementes for the gouernement of our liues towardes magistrates fathers of houshouldes and vnto other particular persons A meditation vpon the holy supper whereby we do grow in the Church and doe strengthen our faith drawen for the most part out of S. Cyprian WHen as this good sauiour went to take the cuppe and drinke so bitter of his death and passion his pleasure was to ordaine and offer vnto vs the sweete wholesome lyquor of his bloud with the partaking of his body He raised vp Lazarus going to death and appointed the supper to make our soules to liue Hee then that gaue life vnto others could he not well defende himselfe against death could it haue beene any other than a willing obedience whereby hee would so fulfill our redemption O howe great was the prouidence of this good sauiour which hath giuen vnto vs the partaking of his body before his death to shewe vnto vs that by death hee should not be destroyed and that he would neuer leaue his Church But how What banquet is this heere to eate the flesh of the Lorde and to drinke his bloud Truely it is a woonderfull thing as we doe see in the 6. Chap. of S. Iohn that the Capernaits coulde not comprehende But beholde the secret Iesus Christ spake of his flesh notwithstanding he did not speake fleshlie he spake to eate but it was not for our teeth neither for our bellies concerning the substance of this sacrament his wordes are spirite and life So as these sacred meates be of none other tast nor of any other sauour vnto a carnall and sensuall man But whereas humane sense cannot pearce through there can faith enter and the maner of speaking which seemeth harde vnto vs at the first sight we shall finde them fitly applyed if wee doe vnderstande the language of the scripture Therefore the worde of God sometimees calleth this sacrament bread and sometimes bodie and flesh that by the helpe of these knowen thinges and visible we may comprehende the thinges that are inuisible and spirituall For as the bread nourisheth the bodie euen so doth Christ nourish the soule As the flesh is a substance so is it not by imagination that our soules are nourished but the sonne of GOD incarnate is the cause of this so substantiall a foode of our soules because that he was crucified for vs. As the life is in the bloud so Christ also by his bloud hath giuen vnto vs life and is our life our fleshe our bloud and our life was of a wretched condition but by Christ all the partes of our life are restored But from whence commeth this newe commaundement to partake with the bloud of Christ Was it not forbidden in the lawe to eate the bloud of any beast because that the life was in the bloud Beholde also the vndefiled Lambe The bloud of beastes did shewe vnto vs that our life ought not to be brutish or that we should be giuen to crueltie And the bloud of Christ which wee are commaunded to drinke teacheth vs howe our liues ought to be Christian like and pure that wee might say with S. Paul in the 2. Chap. to the Galathians It is not I that liue but Christ liueth in me Therefore this communion is not a consubstantiation with the Trinitie for there is but the father the sonne and the holy Ghost which are consubstantiall It is not a confusion of persons in Christ but it is an vnion of the heade with the members it is an vnion of affections and of willes a partaking together of the euerlasting riches and in the life of Christ This is a warning to be short that we must not liue vnto our selues but vnto God And as they that haue eaten some excellent meate that hath in it some good sauour doe feele there in a good nourishment and sweetenesse of breath euen so must it be that they which are sedde with this sacred meate and wherein Christ dwelleth that in all their wordes and deedes a man may feele a good smell and that may increase to edification and that all that which they doe may bee vnto the glorie of this great GOD. And so we doe see that it is not the teeth which wee doe sharpen comming vnto this holy banquet but that we do bring hither faith to distinguish the sacramēt from the thing of the sacrament the earthly element from that which is diuine and heauenly and so to consider in one onely Christ the vnion of two natures diuine and humane For altogether like as in the person of Christ Note this comparison of S. Cyprian the humane nature was seene here belowe and the diuinitie was not seene yet did it not leaue to worke great thinges without the chaunging of one nature into another so in the supper we doe see bread and wine but the bodie of Christ we doe not see yet doth it not leaue to worke in vs nowe that he is ascended into heauen And as the bodie of the light which is on high is intire in himselfe howe so euer it be spreade abroade heare beneath So is Christ intire there on high and yet leaueth hee not to partake himselfe fully to euery one of vs without lessening himselfe when as hee giueth himselfe vnto vs which be weake without being inclosed in the bread whē as he is notwithstanding receiued by vs without darkening his maiestie when hee entereth into our small tabernacle and when he will that
was hauing this honour to conduct the people into the promised lande Neither likewise Iehosuach the Sonne of Iosedec the high Priest of whome the Prophet Zacharie speaketh that were but simple men and haue doone nothing but through borrowed strength neither also were they other but the shadowes of this great Iosua and mightie Sauiour that is Iesus Christ the onelie true and euerlasting Sauiour so as there is none other name by the which a man may haue the grace of God Actes 4. or obtaine anie thing of him or to come to the most blessed life It is this name or rather this vertue and power before whome all knees ought to bowe that are in heauen and on the earth To be short this is he whome all tongues shall confesse to be the Lord Iesus Christ vnto the glorie of God Hee is the Lorde because that the father hath brought all thinges in subiection vnder him to this person I say Hebr. 2. which is verie God and verie man For hee is particularlie our Lord because that he hath purchased vs vnto him through his pretious bloudshedding so as we be not vnto our selues 1. Cor. 6. but vnto him that hath bought vs. Therefore he whome the Iewes haue crucified for enuie him hath God raised and lifted vp and hath made him Lord and Christ as it is said in the 2. Chap. of the Actes Psal 2. Col. 1. Let vs then reioyce of such a Lord who is the Lord and sauiour Let vs willinglie doe seruice vnto such a Maister who hath gotten vs by his pretious bloud and deliuered vs from the power of darknesse and euen so hath in deede made vs free In him Iohn 8. it is easie for vs to ouercome the world for he is greater than the world Iohn 4. Yea in him is Sathan trodden vnder our feete euen as S. Paul speaketh in the 16. of the Romans Wherefore let vs say with Esai in his 26. Chap. Howsoeuer it be O Lord that other Lords besides thee haue ruled vs yet wil we remember thee dailie and thy name For there is but one God and sauiour that is properlie Iesus Christ of whome is spoken in the 9. Chap. of Zacharie and 9. ver and in the 1. Chap. of the Epistle of S. Paul vnto Titus ver 3. and 4. O how happie are they that doe put their trust in him as it is said in the 2. Psalme and that doe imbrace the sonne which is Christ that is to say the annointed of the liuing God and doe not onelie acknowledge him with the mouth but doe likewise suffer him to raigne in them by his word and through his spirit and seeking none other oblation than the euerlasting oblation Heb. 10. which is of a perpetuall efficacie and strength which he hath offered vnto his father on the Crosse once for all as a perfect and euerlasting priest But alas whereto serueth this goodlie title of a Christian if vice doe raigne in thee if the flesh and the world maister thee if thy soule will not suffer it to bee commaunded by the annointed Christ and consecrated to raigne in vs here below by his grace vntill such time as hee shall bring vs vnto the kingdome of his glorie And whereto serueth it to sing to crie to roare out the Apostles Creed as was doone in the Papacie fince they seeke for other Maisters than Christ and other sacrifices than his persecuting with all extremitie those that doe hope and trust in him alone Iesuites But what shall we say of those which are ashamed at these daies to bee called Christians Actes 11. which is the auncient name of the disciples of Iesus Christ and are not thus contented to haue part in the Lordes annointing that he promised vnto vs by the holie spirit but will also bouldlie sease vpon that name 1. Iohn 2.20 that dooth belong to him onelie inasmuch as hee is the alone sauiour calling themselues Iesuites as though they would outface all the rest of Christendome A prayer to haue and to retaine the true knowledge of Iesus Christ O Lord our God and father Iohn 17. forsomuch as this is eternall life that wee doe know thee and to know thee we cannot but in thy ingraued Image and in thy sonne which was declared in the flesh may it please thee to leade vs by thy holy spirit vnto the true knowledge of thy sonne likewise giuing vnto vs such a resolution as that wee may esteeme all things as dung Philip. 3. in respect of the excellent knowledge of Iesus Christ First of all giue vs grace O God rightlie to feele and vnderstand our necessitie to wit that wee ought to haue such a soueraine high priest as should be holy Heb. 7. innocent without spot separated from sinner which was very God and true man Moreouer O heauenly father print liuely in our hearts the knowledge acknowledging of this thy woonderful charity yea a loue fauor so great which thou hast shewed vnto vs poore sinners Titus 2. Titus 3.5 making thy wholsome grace to appeare in thy sonne Iesus Christ and sauing vs not through the workes that we should haue done but by the onelie merit of the death passion of thy sonne Iesus Christ O Lord what grace O what fauour O what humblenesse is this that the eternal sonne of the liuing God hath taken the forme of a seruant hath humbled himselfe euen to die for vs miserable wretches Ephe 4.20 But aboue all giue vs grace to learn Christ aright and not to be like vnto thē that liue vnorderlie doe abuse through a fleshlie libertie this blessed wholsome knowledge which should rather drawe vs to follow his aime to witte that by the same we might be humbled so cōfounded in our selues in seeing how horrible and great our sinnes haue bin as it behoued vs to haue them bought againe by so great a price to the end wee should not esteeme and magnifie anie thing but thy bountie and that all our ioie and glorie might be in thee In summe that wee should cast our eyes vpon this good Iesus in all our aduersities and miseries aspiring vnto eternall saluatiō that he hath prepared for vs forsaking our selues to liue vnto the praise of him who hath redeemed vs. O God doe not suffer poore Christendome to bee brought backe againe into a bottomles pitte of darknes and to be depriued from so wholsome a knoweledge by this damnable sect of Arrians the which alas would spring vp a fresh in the world and who haue denyed the true diuinitie of Iesus or through this miserable heresie of the Martionites Eutichians and others blotting out and vtterly frustrating the proprieties of the humane nature of the same thy deare sonne as much as lieth in them shrowding them selues notwithstanding with the name of Euangelicall Doctors O Lorde for the loue of thy name and of our poore posterities maintaine the trueth
doe hide their faces before him And man vnlesse that hee died could neuer see his maiestie yea man such as he is on the earth a sinner and mortall But oh happie and blessed shall that daie be 1. Iohn 3. and this houre ought to be desired of vs when as wee shall see this great God such as he is with a soul altogether cleane and a glorified bodie The knowledge of God from hencefoorth is vnto vs as Nazianzen saith in respect of the spirit as the sunne is vnto the bodie This is a light well liking vnto vs but happie is the soule that shall see him face to face and in seeing him shall liue for euermore In the meane-while let vs put our trust in the sonne who speaketh in his Gospell of that which hee hath seene and hath partaken his secretes vnto vs Iohn 15. as vnto his friendes and louers Vppon the 3. Chap. of S. Iohn God so loued the world that hee hath giuen his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life MEDITATION S. Paul oftentimes saith how he would not boast but in Iesus and the same crucified And in deede if man would consider these thinges at leasure which are contained in this sentence of S. Iohn hee would easilie agree with that which S. Paul speaketh and should finde that there is no knowledge in the world that giueth so much contentation as the knowledge of Gods loue through Iesus Christ in such sort as this sentence of S. Iohn ought to be as a pretious owel which a man dailie weareth about his necke euen so ought wee to imprint in our heartes this excellent witnesse of Gods loue For what are men that GOD loueth them What cause hath the immortall to loue the poore woormes of the earth The righteous to loue sinners The Maister the ingrate and vnfaithfull seruauntes Are wee not of nature the children of wrath Ought hee not without ceasing rather to represent vnto vs the hatred and the iust anger of this mightie God and that because of our corruption And moreouer if GOD had beene affectioned to some iust or excellent men yet say I this should bee greatlie to debase him But O diuine loue Oh woonderfull diuinitie Thou hast loued the world without considering anie certaine world anie Sexe anie Qualitie yea all the creatures which are come of the earth since Adam and Eue men and women great and little poore and rich fooles wisemen And all the cause and occasion that thou hast had to fauour them was not for their beautifull eyes but it was euen thy great and extreme bountie All their righteousnesse is as an vncleane cloth before him Esaiah 64. And their excellencie is but as a flower Esaiah 40. which withereth and fadeth from day to day Therefore it hath pleased thee O God to loue man But what say I to loue What tongue shall not iudge himselfe vnsufficient yea what heart shall not bee vnable to deduct or comprehend this so great a loue which hath brought thee to giue one onelie and innocent sonne to death and that to giue life vnto those creatures that are so vnthankfull and so corrupted Where is it that one shall finde a man in this world that will pledge himselfe euen to suffer death for an other were hee his friend and an honest man Truelie it is verie rare But what O Lord thou hast doone truelie more For thou hast not giuen an Angell or an Archangell but thou hast giuen thy onelie sonne vnto a sorrowfull and most shamefull death for to redeeme thy enemies that were reuolted from thee but alas wherefore is not this friendship alike Wherefore doe wee not loue thee with a burning desire as thou hast loued vs Wherefore complaine wee of a little earth lost in thy Seruice and thou hast not cōplayned at all of the death of thy welbeloued sonne of thy delight when the question was of our redemption When a prince dooth not giue vs his good countenance and fauour then we are sore troubled and greeued and yet in respect thereof we make ah alas but small reckenning of thy loue which art the king of kinges and the eternall God Therefore that which wee doe want is that we doe not sufficientlie tast how much the Lord is good and sweete Seeing now O Lord that thy loue is endlesse graunt vs heartes that may comprehend his infinite goodnesse and that wee may forthwith feele therein an endlesse comfort which may swallow vp all the sorrowes of this wretched life So be it Out of the 6. of S. Iohn Simon Peter answered Iesus Maister to whome shall we goe Thou hast the wordes of eternall life And wee beleeue and know that thou art the Christ the sonne of the liuing God Out of the 3. Chap. of the first to Timothie Without all gainsaying great is the mysterie of godlinesse to witte that God is manifested in the flesh iustified in the spirit seene of Angels preached vnto the Gentiles beleeued on in the world and ascended vp in glorie Out of the 4. Chap. of the first Epistle of S. Iohn Hereby know yee the spirit of God Euerie spirit that confesseth that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God And euerie spirit which confesseth not that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God but this is the spirit of Antichrist of whome you haue heard how that hee should come and now alreadie he is in the world And wee haue seene and doe testifie that the father sent the sonne to bee the Sauiour of the world Whosoeuer confesseth that Iesus is the sonne of God in him dwelleth God and he in God And wee haue knowen and beleeued the loue that GOD hath in vs. Here followeth VVhich vvas conceiued by the holie Ghost borne of the virgin Marie CONSIDERATION THis is not vnto vs as saith S. Basyl in a Sermon which hee made of Iesus Christes humane nature neither for vs much to inquire how Christ is come downe here below And wherefore God is serued with such a meane rather than with anie other For thou man saith hee thou wast lost and so recoiledst backe from the face of thy God that thou couldest not come neere thereunto Sith now that he is so humbled and brought low to come vnto thee wouldest thou dispute much thereuppon Rather acknowledge in all humblenesse this blessing of the sonne of God yea and with as great affection as thou canst or maist who is according to the euerlasting diuine nature ingendred by the Father not made nor created as it is said in Athanasius Creede both without Mother and without beginning but is according to the humane nature a like vnto vs sinne excepted begotten of a woman and the sonne of Dauid In such manner as Sedulius saith in a Hymme The creator of the world hath taken shape of a seruant to the end that hee might redeeme our flesh through his flesh and that those
should not perish whom hee had created Therefore behold two natures but knit together in such sort as there is but one onelie Sauiour euen as the soule and the bodie are gathered together in one onely man in the meane time keeping their proprieties as it is knowne that some proprieties are of the bodie others of the soule but let a man marke thē put a differēce betweene those proprieties yet dooth hee not therefore separate the bodie from the soule The scriptures then and also the aunciēt Doctors speaking of Iesus Christ haue sometimes respect vnto the proprietie of the natures And then it is said that Christ knew not the hower of Iudgement when hee was wrapped vp in swadling bandes when hee did increase in all wisdome and had respect but vnto the humane nature Some-times that he is the Image and brightnesse of his father that hee will bee with vs euen vnto the end of the world 1. Cor. 2. hauing respect vnto his nature and diuine Maiestie And sometimes the scripture dooth consider these two natures of Christ knit together When it is said that the Lord of glorie was crucified Wherefore Because that Christ hath yet suffered in the flesh Yet so it is that hee who hath suffered was the Lord of glorie For this flesh is knit with the eternal word of the personall vnion So it is said that God hath redeemed vs by his bloud Actes 20. because that this bloud is the bloud of this bodie which is knitte with the sonne of God As wee doe say for the vnion of the bodie with the soule when a man is dead albeit that there is but the least part dead to witte the bodie the soule being as we know immortal From whence heresies doe proceede This is to be noted because the most part of heresies doe come forth in that whereas either a man confoundes the natures of Christ or that one sundereth the natures and they leaue not this ground or this foundation that wee haue in the scripture to wit that there is but one Christ And that this Christ is as mediatour knit vnto two natures and to acknowledge them it is necessarie that the proprieties do remain For how should we knowe the humane nature if it were inuisible and in all places as some dreame What God should Iesus be if he were created euen as Arritus did blaspheme The humane nature therefore of Christ hath reciued great prerogatiues Prerogatiues of Christs humane nature as to be sanctified from the beginning by the holy Ghost to be knit with the diuine nature and to abide in the same so as of this man it is sayde that he is the sonne of God as in hauing all fulnesse of grace all treasures of wisedome in the eternall worde which is declared and laide abroade in the humane nature and so farre forth as was needeful and might bring to him To be short we must holde that as the humane nature taken to the sonne of God hath not weakened the diuinitie So hath not the diuinitie swallowed vp the deity nor consumed the humanitie as the Schuencfeldians thought For our sauiour is true God and man and not a man deified Moreouer we must haue daily remembraunce of our religion which is faith whereunto all curiosities are contrarie These mysteries as this is the greatest of all and the true secret of God hauing ordeined that his euerlasting sonne should take vppon him humane nature that in our flesh he might make satisfaction for our sinnes These mysteries I say we doe beleeue them when as all humane reason all discourse and all the worlde woulde say or thinke to the contrarie And in thus beleeuing wee are not lead by opinion or ill grounded but assured of a most certaine knowledge that is more surer than all the sciences of the world because that it proceedeth from the shewe of the spirite of God Heere followe certaine goodly places of the conception and birth of Iesus Christ out of the 1. Chap. of S. Luke THe Angell sayde vnto Marie Lo thou shalt conceiue in thy wombe and beare a sonne and shalt call his name Iesus He shall be great and shal be called the sonne of the most high and the Lorde God shall giue vnto him the throne of his father Dauid And hee shall reigne ouer the house of Iacob for euer and of his kingdome shall be none ende Then sayd Marie vnto the Angell how shall this be seeing I know not man The Angell aunswered and sayde vnto her the holy Ghost shall come vpon thee and the power of the most high shal ouershadowe thee therefore also that holie thing which shall be borne of thee shal be called the sonne of God Therefore beholde three great prerogatiues in this childe that is giuen vnto vs. First this person is the sonne of God Secondly eternall king established for Messias and true restorer of the throne of Dauid and of the Church head and chiefe thereof that which a man cannot speake of anie creature Thirdly he is the holy as many times he is so called in the prophets and hath in such sort taken our nature as he hath made it holy frō his mothers wombe This conception therefore by the holy Ghost is not that the spirite had beene as the father or as if his body were of a spiritual substance But the Angell sayth that which seemed vnpossible that a virgin should conceiue shal be done by the vertue of Gods spirit to whome nothing is harde and the same spirite shall make the virgine not alonely to conceiue and beare a sonne but also to conceiue and beare him which shall be holy and making holy all mankinde making holy the natiuitie and conception of all those that are of his faithfull chosen Wherfore Christ was baptised For that that he was baptised and circumcised was not in the respect of him that he had neede of it he who washed and circumcised our heartes but because that he had brought himselfe vnder the lawe in our name and being made our pledge had charged vpon him our sinnes to make vs learne in what reuerence wee ought to haue the Sacramentes Out of the 1. of S. Iohn ver 14. This worde was made flesh and dwelt among vs and we sawe the glorie thereof I say the glorie as of the onely begotten sonne of the father full of grace and truth Out of the 1. Chap. of the Epistle of S. Paule to the Romanes God which had promised heeretofore the Gospell concerning his sonne which was made of the seede of Dauid according to the flesh and declared mightilie to be the sonne of God touching the spirite of sanctification and by the resurrection from the dead that is to say our sauiour Iesus Christ Out of the 16. Chap. of the Romanes To him nowe that is of power to establish you according to my Gospell and preaching of Iesus Christ by the reuelation of the mysterie which was kept secret since
the worlde beganne But nowe is opened and published among all nations by the scriptures of the prophets at the commandement of the euerlasting God for the obedience of faith To God I say only wise be praise for euer Out of the 4. Chap. of the Epistle to the Galathians When the fulnesse of time was come God sent foorth his sonne made of a woman and made vnder the Lawe that hee might redeeme them which were vnder the lawe that we might receiue the adoption of the sonnes Out of the 2. Chap. of the Epistle to the Philippians Let the same minde be in you that was euen in Christ Iesus who beeing in the forme of God thought it no robberie to be equall with God But he made himselfe of no reputation and tooke on him the forme of a seruaunt and was made like vnto man and was found in shape as a man He humbled himselfe and became obedient vnto the death euen the death of the crosse Out of the seconde Chap. of the Epistle to the Hebrewes For as much then as the children were partakers of flesh and bloud he also him selfe likewise tooke part with them that he might destroy through death him that had the power of death that is the diuell And that he might deliuer all them which for feare of death were all their life time subiect to bondage For he in no sort tooke the Angels but he tooke the seede of Abraham Wherefore in all things it became him to be made like vnto his brethren that hee might bee mercifull a faithfull high priest in things cōcerning God to the end he might make reconciliation for the sinnes of the people Borne of the virgin Marie The historie of the Lordes Natiuitie we haue it with all the circumstances thereof in the 2. Chap. of S. Luke Howe hee was borne vnder Octauian Augustus the Emperour Borne in Beth-lehem the citie of Dauid was wrapped in swadling clothes and layde in a cratch for he became poore to make vs rich 2. Cor. 8. Chap. This birth was by the Angels declared to the sheepeheardes Moreouer the wise men of the East were guided by a starre vnto Beth-lehem 2. of S. Matthew A MEDITATION vpon the conception and birth of Iesus Christ after the flesh WHo is he that would not desire to beholde with all reuerence and with great wonder this mightie mysterie of our God concerning the incarnation of Iesus Christ and our redemption seeing that the verie Angels desire to looke thereon as S. Peter speaketh in his 1. Chap. 1. Epistle For it is the Gospel that doeth declare and reueile this hidden secret Rom. 16. at all times figured through diuers ceremonies and trulie fulfilled in the latter dayes O that so many kings patriarks prophets haue desired to see him but now men make litle account of this so great a secret O how beautifull are the feete of them that do declare vnto vs this Gospel of peace O and how much are the heretikes to be abhorred that would turne away from vs the knowledge of this Christ true God and man who hath not doone this honour vnto the Angelles to take vpon him their nature to redeeme them which were fallen but hath shewed this fauour vnto vs poor◠wormes of the earth Psal 51. as to take on him our nature Wee alas are conceiued in sinne and in iniquitie But the holy of the Lorde which was conceiued by the working of the holy spirite is come into the worlde to sanctifie saue vs. Ephes 2. We are borne the childrē of wrath But the welbeloued of the heauenly father was giuen for vs and now is our nature in honour and grace because that the euerlasting word was made flesh not leauing that which it was but taking vnto him that that he was not that is to say our nature ◠Iohn 1. O what an excellent word considering that is spoken of it that it was and did alwaies rest with God as the seconde person of the diuinitie but if a man haue respect vnto his essence it was and is God as S. Iohn sayth in the same place And that it is so all thinges haue beene made by it the life the light and all fulnesse is in it By it hath the Lorde spoken and reueiled the secrets of Paradise But what is it that this hath taken knit with him this word Our flesh And what is our flesh Flesh When as the scripture would speake of our poorenesse it calleth vs flesh as in the 78. Psalme And the Lord remembred that they were but flesh Howsoeuer that Iesus had taken vpon him all our nature that is to say the bodie and the soule as he is the redeemer of all mankinde yet so it is that we be but flesh and rottennesse He hath not therefore taken this flesh which was sinfull or the affection and passions of the flesh but the substance the weakenesses and the alterations that are in the flesh here withall did he charge himselfe He was not then ashamed of vs as the Schuencfeldians thinke that it should be to debase him too much if it were sayd that he had bin made flesh For the scripture sayth the same that he was made flesh that is yet a more vile word than the worde creature But as S. Bernarde sayth The more that thou considerest the humilitie of Christ so much the more seest thou thy glorie and the honour that God hath doone vnto thee how also God hath exalted thee and hath giuen thee a name aboue all names in such sort as they that forsake and despise thee shal one day feele that they shall haue to doe not with anie poore creature but with the king of kings and with the iudge of this worlde A praier of S. Ierome concerning the incarnation of Iesus Christ. O Lorde Iesus thou art my God and my sauiour that hast suffered for mee And although thou wert true God before all ages begotten euerlastingly of the father of an vnserchable generatiō yet wouldst thou to bee conceiued in the wombe of a virgin and to be made man like vnto me and in such manner as thou art true God and true man For thou hast in such sort taken humane nature in the virgins wombe as thou art God and man so as the diuinity is not the humanitie neither the humanity the diuinitie Thy two natures are not confounded and yet doe they make one the selfe same person O eternall worde that was made flesh to become our brother Thou hast had hunger and thirst Thou hast taken our weakenesse vppon thee sinne excepted which did neuer enter in thee as we bare it euen from our mothers wombe Nowe in thee O Lorde dwelleth bodily all fulnesse of grace and diuinitie Thou art made lesse than the father if a man doe respect thy humanitie And if one doe consider thy diuinitie thou art equall vnto him and now that thou hast debased thy selfe he doeth acknowledge thee for