Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	ghost_n	holy_a	inspire_v	2,844	5	10.2489	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01368	The vviddoves mite cast into the treasure-house of the prerogatiues, and prayses of our B. Lady, the immaculate, and most glorious Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. With reasons why we are to haue great confidence in her prayers. Whereunto is annexed, A prayer, for the loue of God, made in contemplation of the passion of Christ our Sauiour.	A. G., fl. 1619.; Matthew, Tobie, Sir, 1577-1655, attributed name.	1619 (1619)	STC 11490; ESTC S118624	73,100	210

with the more reason passe ouer with breuity though I could not perswade my self to passe ouer any thing entierely in silence which concerneth her excellency any way But the spirituall graces which she receaued and the testimonyes of her dignity which were giuen from heauen are they which we ought more seriously to ponder reflect vpon Her life being such as seemed ordinary though interiourly it were not so and her vocation being so extraordinary as that she was to be made the Mother of God himselfe when once he should be made Man it was agreable to the wisedome of the diuine Maiesty to proclaim and publish to the world the perfection of this creature by an irrefragable euidence Luc. 3. Therefore as in the Baptisme of our B. Sauiour whereby he might seeme to haue contracted sinne the Holy Ghost himselfe descended vpon him to witnes the infinite sanctity of his soule In like manner when before that tyme there was question of incarnating and bringing forth a Sauiour of the world in humane flesh one of the highest Angells in heauen was dispatched in Embassage to witnes the eminency Luc. 1. and fullnes of her holynes that the world might know how that her bringing forth a son should not carry with it the least impeachment to the spotlesnes of her purity The Arch-angell then did thus salute her Luc. 1. Hayle Mary full of grace our Lord is with thee Our Aduersaryes the enemies of our B. Ladyes Honour will needes translate the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to that sense of the three seueral ones which it hath whereby they may hope to disaduantage her most therfore they will not allow it to signify Gratia plena Cōment in cap. 1. Luc. full of grace but Gratis dilecta freely beloued It is plainely shewed by Tollet in his Cōment vpon those words that S. Ambrose S. Austine S. Hierome S. Athanasius S. Epiphanius and in effect the whole Church hath vsed receaued the translation of Gratia plena though yet if it had been otherwise I see not greatly why they should triumph as after a victory since if our B. Lady were as they must confesse Freely beloued with such an eminency aboue all other creatures as to be made the Mother of God it doth by necessary inference of congruity imply all those perfections in contemplation wherof the Catholik world doth homag vnto her with attributes incomparably superiour to them of all other creatures But she was found full of grace whether they will or no and if then she were full through the beauty of her soule which being first adorned by Almighty God drew his eyes afterward so downe vpon her as euen to be enamoured with her when he was yet to make her the Mother of the Eternal Word let them conceaue that can how she ouerflowed therewith afterward And the example of the good Chananaean who did as it were oblige our Sauiour to bestow of those crummes vpon her being a Gentile which fell from the table of the children of God who were the Iewes may inuite vs to begge that some drop of those ouerflowings which cānot through the goodnes of God but descend from the superabundance of that grace wherewith the B. Virgin was so much more then filled may be applyed to our benefit and to the making of vs gracious in his sight in som measure which she was beyond all measure It cannot but worke in vs an extreme reuerence on the one side when we heare by the voyce of that Archangell Gabriel that our Lord euen then was with her in a most particuler and plentifull manner Luc. 1. saying Dominus tecum Our Lord is with thee as if he had sayd He is indeed with all his creatures and especially withall his seruants but yet he is so with thee per excellentiam as if he were with no body els and on the other side they are miserable who be not drawne to affect this Sacred Virgin with vnspeakable dearnesse tendernes for the infinite benefite which they receaue by her since they are capable of saluatiō by the mystery of the Incarnation which hauing beene decreed in that high Consistory of the Holy Trinity did receaue effect and execution in the immaculate wombe of the B. Virgin by her free consent And as in the Passion of our B. Sauiour when he came to make a ful point vpon the periode of his life he did as it were resigne his Mother to mankind in the person of S. Iohn Ioan. 19. when he sayd to him Fili ecce Mater tua Sonne behould thy Mother so in this Incarnation of his she may be sayd after a sort to haue transferred the propriety which she had in Almighty God Luc. 1. who was with her Dominus tecum to the protection and preseruation and sanctification redemption of all mankind for immediatly afterward he grew to be called not Dominus tecum Our Lord is with thee Matt. 1. but Emanuel which is God with vs. The Angell proceedeth vpon occasion giuen by the sacred Virgin to expresse the manner how the mystery of the Incarnation of the Sonne of God was to be accomplished in her sacred wombe he declareth to her that she had no cause to feare the least spot in her purity that she had found grace with God that in her wombe she should conceaue bring forth a Sonne Luc. 1. and should call his name IESVS that he should be great and be called the Sonne of the most High that our Lord God would giue him the seat of his forefather Dauid that he should raigne in the house of Iacob for euer that his kingdome should know no end that the Holy Ghost should descend from aboue into her and the Vertue or Power of the most High should ouershaddow her and therfore that he who was to be borne of her should be called the Sonne of God Quis surdus sicut populus meus sayth the Holy Ghost by the Prophet Isa 42. Who is so deafe as my people that wil not heare And in this case it may be sayd who is so blind as he that will not see what a cluster of heauenly grapes may heere be gathered out of Holy Scripture distilling in abundance the wine of Grace Glory vpon the imaculate Virgin by describing the nature quality of that Sonne of which she was to be the so happy Mother What doubling and redoubling is there made heere of her felicity and sanctity For notwithstanding that formerly she was full of grace we see heere she hath found more grace her Sonne was to be the Sauiour of the world he was to haue an Eternall Kingdome the Holy Ghost was yet more plentifully to descend vpon her and the vertue or power of the most High was to enuirone and ouershaddow her whereby she might be enabled to enclose and as it were againe to ouershaddow the Sonne of God The consideration heerof made the

most probable conceaued generally to be true but in the other point of being subiect euen to this supposed Father of his there is no place of doubt without impiety and heresy since the Holy Ghost himself affirmeth it By the way I cannot but heere aske leaue of the Reader to extoll and magnify the height of dignity to which this holy Patriarch S. Ioseph was aduanced who as the B. Virgin was chosen from out of all mankind to be the Mother of our Sauiour Christ so was he designed from all eternity as the fittest and worthyest in the whole world to be the Guardian both of him her He it was that assisted in the Natiuity Adoration Circumcision and Presentation He that secured the honour of the spotles Virgin from suspition He that defended both him and her by his incessant labours and endles cares though accompanyed with vnspeakable comforts from dangers in that peregrination of Aegypt He that had so familiar commerce with Angells and was as it were the interpreter of Gods ordinances to them both He of whome it may be litterally and in the highest degree of truth affirmed that he was indeed Fidelis seruus prudens quem constituit Dominus super familiam suā Mat. 24. A faythfull seruant and wise whom God did place ouer his family O blessed family or rather O Empire of Heauen vpon Earth which consisted of the Sonne of God who was and is God and of the Mother of God who was and is an imaculate Virgin But it is no disparagement to S. Ioseph yea it is honour to him that the B. Virgin be infinitly preferred before him both in dignity otherwise and in the obligation as it were of duty wherby our Sauiour Christ was more tyed to her thē to him So as since our externall actions are qualifyed and ought to be denominated by our intentions how much more was our Sauiour Christ to be accounted subiect to our B. Lady then to S. Ioseph and consequently how much greater was the superiority which she had ouer him then S. Ioseph had Let vs consider then what a sea or rather what a world of excellency is heereby inferred to haue been in the person of our B Lady of whome the Sonne of God was not only borne for our saluation but to whome he continued during very many years so truely subiect for her exaltation and for our instruction Let vs consider what prudence and power to gouerne had beene infused into that soule of hers which the VVisedome of God the Word Incarnate was appointed to obey And now if you will looke a little vpon the mislike which is taken that we accompt her for the Queene of Angells and Saints consider both how impiously and how childishly withal she is denyed to be so they being but seruāts and sonnes adopted whereas she cannot without blasphemy be denyed to haue beene so many yeares Superiour to the true only begotten Sonne of God who is the Lord both of Saints and Angells Let others who haue not the light of fayth play the Hyprocrits in saying they feare to exceed in honour to our Lady least thereby they should derogate from that which they owe to our B. Sauiour but let vs haue scruples of offend God and let vs continue to know that he receaueth a most acceptable honour at our hands by our professing deuotion and profound subiection to this sacred Virgin to whome the Lord of life was not only subiect but the notice of it is left to vs vpon record that we might learne therby how to carry our selues towards his Mother by this example and that so much the more because afterwards she was to become also ours And indeed though Christ had not beene subiect to her but that only she had receaued the happynes to cohabite with him so long vnder the same roofe euen from thence a great reason might be drawn for the proofe of her vnspeakable sanctity Therefore was the Prophet Dauid so carefull to keep wicked persons out of his house because he knew that Cum Sancto sanctus eris Reg. 1.22 cum peruerso peruerteris The company of wicked persons will peruert thee but the society of Saints will sanctify thee What then must be our B. Ladyes case through her continuall conuersation with this Saint of Saints but that her Vnderstanding should be inestimably illuminated by the presence of that Sunne of Iustice which to her neuer set her Will be inflamed with the neighbourhood which she had to those excessiue ardours of that sphere of Fire whose very countenance hath serued to heate frozen hearts though it found in the B. Virgin no such matter as that to worke vpon And to conclude that from the sea of perfection vpon the top whereof she was so long sayling with a full prosperous gale of the holy Ghost she must needs be adorned and enriched with inualuable treasures which by moments is cast vp into her lappe The Scripture is not therefore so barren in description of the excellency of our B Lady as they who enuy her honour would fayne make themselues beleeue but in diuers parts thereof it pointeth out sundry thinges with their circūstances whereby we may and must if we will not be as bad as beasts acknowledge her to be of so incomparable an excellency as whereof the least part cannot be arriued to by our highest thoughts Nor were the flowers which grew in that delicious garden of her heart without abundance of fruit nor were those causes I meane the priuiledges great prerogatiues which she had without the effect of most Heroicall vertuous actions which may partly appeare by the obseruation of her proceeding in al things but through the depth and massines therof cannot by any created vnderstanding be penetrated and admired as they deserue There is nothing which serueth more to humble men then to imploy themselues in reading and pondering well the liues of Saints for thereby we are taught to thinke our selues to be those poore creatures that indeed we are But whosoeuer shall meditate vpon the actions of our B. Lady will find that in comparison of her euen eminent Saints do fal much more short then we of them And indeed they deserue to be thought of in the way of meditation which a kind of Constructio loci as they call it which may represent to our imagination as well the circumstances as the substance thereof They are innumerable amongst our writers who haue at large discoursed heerupon as for me I am so mindful both of my disability and of breuity that I will but touch and go like those dogs vpon the bankes of Nilus one of which might yet more easily drinke that deep Riuer drye then any man can with the studdy of his whole life expresse the least perfection of her least Vertue For by way of Parenthesis or rather by way of a short Preface two ponderations are to be made First that our B Lady did whatsoeuer

by the Holy Ghost framed an Office of our B. Lady that is to say it hath composed a Seruice out of the Psalmes and other Scriptures togeather with the writings of the Holy Fathers which it commandeth to be recited at such tyme as her festiuall dayes are celebrated and now and then it interposeth certaine affectuous versicles to shew the admiration wherein it hath her supreme dignity through the vouchsafing which God Almighty hath pleased to vse with her in making her a fit Mother for himselfe Sometymes it exclameth thus Faelix namque es sacra virgo Maria omni laude dignissima quia ex te ortus est sol iustitiae Christus Deus noster And againe Sancta immaculata virginitas quibus te laudibus efferam nescio quia quem caelicapere non poterant tuo gremio contulisti Beata es Virgo Maria quae Dominū portasti Creatorem mundi Genuisti qui te fecit in aeternum permanes Virgo Beata mater intacta virgo gloriosa Regina mundi intercede pro nobis ad Dominum Happy art thou O sacred Virgin Mary and most worthy of all prayse for the Sonne of Iustice Christ our Lord is borne of thee O thou holy and immaculate virginity with what prayses shal I extoll thee since thou hast contayned him in thy wombe whom the heauens themselues could not comprehend Blessed art thou O Virgin Mary who hast borne our Lord the Creatour of the world thou hast borne him that made thee and thou eternally remaynest a Virgin O blessed Mother and immaculate Virgin O thou glorious Queene of the world pray for vs vnto our Lord. In this māner doth the Church performe to her all due honour And in other parts of the same office it applyeth many other places of Scripture and especially out of the Canticles the book of VVisedome and the Apocalyps towardes the dignifying celebrating the praises of our B. Lady vesting as it were her person with all those appellations and other termes of honour which are there to be found in full measure and among others these Veni columba mea veni sponsa mea veni electa mea veni coronaberis pulchra vt Luna electa vt Sol terribilis vt castrorum actes ordinata mulier amicta sole Luna sub pedibus eius Astitit Regina à dextris tuis circumdata varietate and a thousand such passages as these are sung by the Holy Church in honour of our B. Lady as being the Doue the Spouse Vide August de symb ad Catec c. 1. Epiphā serm de laudibus Mariae Bernard serm in eundem locum Apoc. 12.1 the eiect of the King of heauen one clad and enuironed with the Sunne supported by the Moone a Queene all clad with variety of riches and standing at the right hand of God Which sentences of Holy Scripture howsoeuer they are also applyed otherwise as sometymes to a Soule in grace sometymes to Heauenly Wisedome sometymes to the celestiall Hierusalem yet this is no impediment why they may not also truly and most properly be applyed to the person of our B. Lady since the same Scripture hath seuerall senses and all of them may be true so that they be not cōtradictory to one another And the Holy spirit of God deliuering them by the pen of the Prophets and Apostles had seuerall regards and aymes at seuerall things to be expressed by the same words which the Holy Fathers and Interpretours as children of the Catholike Church were directed and enabled by the same spirit to declare Which howsoeuer it may seem strang to such as in themselues are strangers to the truth of that which passeth in this particuler yet it must be confessed to be as I say by such as will not generally taxe the Holy Fathers both of folly and falshood since they haue expounded the Holy Scriptures according to foure seuerall senses namely the Litterall the Morall the Anagogicall and the Allegoricall Nay it is certayne how strange soeuer it may seeme that the same Scripture hath sometymes diuers senses euen Litterall and so hath that of Expedit nobis vt vnus homo moriatur pro populo ne tota gens pereat Filius (a) Cyril in psal 2. de humana generat August de aetern meus es tu ego hodie genuite Omnia (b) Psal 8. Aug. de natur human Chrys peculiariter de Christo orat 4. in ep ad Haebr c. 2. August confess l. 12. c. 25. 31. subiecisti sub pedibus eius and the authority of S. Augustine alone may suffice to shew that out of the same words of Scripture may be drawne magna copia verissimarum sententiarum great aboundance or variety of senses which be all true This he sayth by occasion of the seueral interpretatiōs of those only words In principio fecit Deus caelum terram In the beginning God made the heauen and earth And he sheweth afterwards why Moyses may be conceiued to haue forseen al those true seueral senses of those words which should afterwardes be gathered Per quem Deus vnus sacras literas vera diuersa visuris multorum sensibus temperauit God did by the pen of Moyses so temper and dictate those dimme bookes which he wrote as that all the senses might be true and yet differing from one another according to the variety of interpretations which diuers men should make therof CHAP. X. BVT to returne to the aforsaid Office of the Church there are further brought in vpon occasiō diuers passages of many ancient and Holy Fathers for I will not touch vpon them of the later times which may excite the Readers to beare all due deuotion to our B. Lady through the pathetical and tender speach which they deliuer of her And I will accompany them which are taken out of the Breuiary with som others of the same authority tyme. Hearken then a while whosoeuer you be who are so miserable as not to be deuoted to the B. Virgin that you may perceaue how dangerous and differēt a way you take from those lights and ornaments of God Church who are ready if you will to be your guides And note that except S. Iohn Damascen S. Anselme and S. Bernard there is none of this full Iury but aboue a thousand yeares old And to beginne with the most ancient S. Irenaeus in his third book against heresyes 33. Chapter hath these words Sicut Eua inobediens c. As Eue by disobedience was made the cause of death so Mary was made a cause of saluation both to her selfe and to all mankind S. Athanasius in his Epistle to Epictetus Athan. epist ad Epict. sayth thus Idcirco gratia plena c. Therefore is the B. Virgin called by the name of full of grace because she did abound with all graces by the filling of the Holy Ghost and was ouershaddowed by the vertue of the most high Cyrill Alexan. hom cōt Nestor S. Cyrill of Alexadria

age speaking in the first booke of the first Century of the life of our B. Sauiour tooke occasion therby to taxe most boldly blasphemously the immaculate Mother of God to say that when she lost her Sonne in the Temple she committed so great a sinne as that they tremble not to compare it with that first most grieuous sinne of Eue and so doubt which of the two sinnes were the worse CHAP. IX THE beliefe and practise of the Holy Catholike Apostolike Roman Church is very different from that of these men and hath beene most expresse in this point for it hath throughout the whole course of so many ages decerned and applyed the highest honours vnder God to our B. Lady by giuing her most glorious titles by erecting in memory of her most sumptuous Temples by enioyning Christians to keep in contemplation of her most solemne festiuityes and by powring out before her continuall supplications and prayers that by her intercession of meditation the intercession of Redemption which was performed by Christ our Lord and could only be performed by him may be applyed to the sauing of mans soule When I name the Catholike Apostolike Roman Church I meane not by Roman that Congregation of Christians only which is comprehended within the walls or diocesse of the Citty or Sea of Rome as some would fayne impose vpon vs and thereby inferre an absurdity vpon that proposition as if the same Church whereof we speake were both vniuersall in being Catholike and particuler in being but of the Citty of Rome but when I say the Catholike Roman Church I meane the Church of Christ which is spread into all the corners of the earth but yet communicating euery where in the same fayth and Sacraments doth acknowledge the Bishop of Rome for the visible supreme Head therof vnder Christ The dignity and eminency whereof if it be considered be weighed withall how deuout it hath euer beene in tenderly honouring religiously praying to our B. Lady I think there is no man of modesty and euen common sense who will not be induced not only to an excuse but euen to an imitation thereof August confess l. 6. cap. 11. Non vacat non estinane quod tam eminens culmen authoritatis Christianae fidei toto orbe diffunditur It is no trifle it is no matter of smal importance that the Christian fayth hath obtayned ouer the whole world such a sublime top of authority These are the wordes of S. Augustine which he spake being yet no Christian and the same weight which that kind of discourse had against Paganisme or Manicheisme in his tyme the same hath it at the least in fauour of Catholike Religiō concerning the honour and inuocation of our B. Lady amongst and aboue all the other Saints of God against Caluinisme or whatsouer other such Innouation Non vacat non est inane it is no toy it is no contemptible thing which the whole Body of Catholikes hath so long and so deuoutly practised concerning the honour of our B. Lady and the need which it findeth mankind to haue of her helping hand Yea and a Protestant that is either morally wise or discreetly modest as S. Augustin was before he was a Catholike Christian will thinke and speake reuerently of this Church though he shall abstract from this beliefe That it is the only true Church of Christ and do but confesse which no body in his wits will deny that it is a congregatiō of great Order Wisedome Vertue Learning Extent and Continuance Though indeed whatsoeuer may be pretended by our opposits it is both more true and more euident then the Sunne is bright That either Christ hath no Church at all That the prophesyes of the old Testament were false and That the promises of the new Testament were feigned or els that this church is the true and only true Church of Christ since all those markes and plaine tokens which were deliuered as belonging thereunto do clearly apply thēselues to this Church and to no other For what other but this can without the impudent face of an harlot pretend Tertull. l depraes haer Vita B. Bern. l. 2. c. 7. Beda in 6. Cant. Ambr. epist 13. Ose 2. 1. Tim. 3. To haue conuerted Nations To haue beene fostered and nursed by a longe series of Kinges and Queenes To haue imbraced euen the very ends of the world To haue beene espoused to the Messias with an indissoluble bound of Matrimony as was fortould by those men of God in the old Testament Or what other then this can with any colour affirme That it is the piller and ground of Truth as S. Paul did witnes That it is but one That it is and hath euer beene and is to be euer Visible That it hath beene and euer must be Infallible as is clearely to be conuinced by that one direction which our B. Sauiour gaue Dic Ecclesiae Tell the Church And Si Ecclesiam non audierit sit tibi tamquam Ethnicus Publicanus let him be to thee as a Pagan and Publican if he obey not the orders of this Church For vnles this Church were euer to be indued with Vnity with Visibility and with Infallibility impossible it were either for that counsaile of our Sauiours to be followed and this were to impute folly to him or els though it were followed it would be impossible for men to be saued by meanes therof and that were to lay a worse note if worse may be vpon the fountaine of all Wisedome and goodnes Or what other Church then this Ephes 4. can apply to it selfe that Legacy which S. Paul to the Ephesians affirmed to haue beene giuen to mankind by our Sauiour Christ when he ascended vp to heauen namely Doctours and Pastours to continue from that tyme till the end of the world that so the body of Christ might be built vp and Christian soules be kept by the ancker of true fayth from floating after the fashion of Heretikes by the windes or waues of phantasticall and foolish doctrines No other congregation then the Catholik will so much as pretend to many of these true marks of the Church at least none but she can proue that they any way belong to theirs or thē who therfore by a miserable necessity are constrained to hide themselues in certaine castles of the aire whilst they talke of Scripture wherby they meane nothing els but that interpretation or conceipt of their own which the interest either of their profits or passion doth suggest By al which I infer that since we make so faire a claime to be the true neuer erring Church of Christ which euen our moderate Aduersaryes will confesse to be of great appearance that doctrine which it teacheth from whence the honour inuocation of our B. Lady proceedeth ought not in any reason to be so blasphemed euen by them who will not yet imbrace it This Church hath also further being inspired and guided