iustly doe we blesse her whom the Angell pronounceth blessed How worthily is shee honoured of men whom the Angell proclaimeth beloued of God O blessed MARY he cannot blesse thee he cannot honor thee too much that deifies thee not That which the Angell said of thee thou hast prophesied of thy selfe we beleeue the Angell and thee All generations shall call thee blessed by the fruit of whose womb all generations are blessed If Zachary were amased with the sight of this Angell much more the Virgin That very sexe hath more disaduantage of feare If it had bin but a man that had come to her in that secrecy and suddennes shee could not but haue bin troubled how much more when the shining glory of the person doubled the astonishment The troubles of holy mindes end euer in comfort Ioy was the errand of the Angell and not terror Feare as all passions disquiets the heart and makes it for the time vnfit to receiue the messages of God Soone hath the Angell cleared these troublesome mists of passions and sent out the beames of heauenly consolation into the remotest corner of her soule by the glad newes of her Sauiour How can ioy but enter into her heart out of whose womb shall come saluation what roome can feare finde in that brest that is assured of fauour Feare not Mary for thou hast found fauour with God Let those feare who know they are in displeasure or know not they are gracious Thine happy estate calls for confidence and that confidence for ioy What should what can they feare who are fauoured of him at whom the Diuels tremble Not the presence of the good Angels but the temptations of the euill strike many terrors into our weaknes wee could not bee dismaied with them if we did not forget our condition Wee haue not receiued the spirit of bondage to feare againe but the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father If that spirit O God witnesse with our spirits that wee are thine how can we feare any of those spirituall wickednesses Giue vs assurance of thy fauor and let the powers of Hell doe their worst It was no ordinary fauour that the Virgin found in heauen No mortall creature was euer thus graced that he should take part of her nature that was the God of nature that hee which made all things should make his humane body of hers that her wombe should yeeld that flesh which was personally vnited to the Godhead that shee should beare him that vpholds the world Lo thou shalt conceiue and beare a Sonne and shalt call his name Iesus It is a question whether there bee more wonder in the conception or in the fruit the conception of the Virgin or Iesus conceiued Both are maruelous but the former doth not more exceed all other wonders then the latter exceedeth it For the childe of a Virgin is the reimprouement of that power which created the world but that God should be incarnate of a Virgin was an abasement of his maiestie and an exaltation of the creature beyond all example Well was that childe worthy to make the mother blessed Here was a double conception one in the wombe of her body the other of the soule If that were more miraculous this was more beneficiall That was her priuiledge this was her happinesse If that were singular to her this is common to all his chosen There is no renewed heart wherein thou O Sauiour art not formed againe Blessed be thou that hast herein made vs blessed For what wombe can conceiue thee and not partake of thee Who can partake of thee and not be happy Doubtlesse the Virgin vnderstood the Angell as he ment of a present conception which made her so much more inquisitiue into the manner meanes of this euent How shall this be since I know not a man That shee should conceiue a sonne by the knowledge of man after her mariage consummate could haue bin no wonder But how then should that sonne of hers be the sonne of God This demand was higher how her present virginitie should bee instantly fruitfull might be well worthy of admiration of inquiry Here was desire of information not doubts of infidelitie yea rather this question argues faith It takes for granted that which an vnbeleeuing heart would haue stucke at Shee saies not who and whence art thou what kingdom is this where when shall it be erected But smoothly supposing all those strange things would be done shee insists onely in that which did necessarily require a further intimation and doth not distrust but demand Neither doth shee say this cannot be nor how can this be but how shall this be so doth the Angell answer as one that knew he needed not to satisfie curiositie but to informe iudgment and vphold faith He doth not therefore tell her of the manner but of the author of this act The Holy Ghost shall come vpon thee and the power of the most High shall ouershadow thee It is enough to know who is the vndertaker and what he will doe O God what doe wee seeke a cleare light where thou wilt haue a shadow No mother knowes the manner of her naturall conception what presumption shall it bee for flesh and blood to search how the sonne of God tooke flesh and blood of his creature It is for none but the Almighty to know those works which he doth immediately concerning himselfe those that concerne vs he hath reuealed Secrets to God things reuealed to vs. This answer was not so full but that a thousand difficulties might arise out of the particularities of so strange a message yet after the Angels solution wee heare of no more obiections no more interrogations The faithfull heart when it once vnderstands the good pleasure of God argues no more but sweetly rests it selfe in a quiet expectation Behold the seruant of the Lord be it to me according to thy word There is not a more noble proofe of our faith then to captiuate all the powers of our vnderstanding and will to our Creator and without all sciscitations to goe blindfold whither hee will lead vs All disputations with God after his will knowne arise from infidelitie Great is the mysterie of godlines and if we will giue nature leaue to cauill wee cannot be Christians O God thou art faithfull thou art powerfull It is enough that thou hast said it In the humilitie of our obedience we resigne our selues ouer to thee Behold the seruants of the Lord bee it vnto vs according to thy word How fit was her wombe to conceiue the flesh of the sonne of God by the power of the spirit of God whose brest had so soone by the power of the same spirit conceiued an assent to the will of God and now of an handmaid of God she is aduanced to the mother of God No sooner hath shee said be it done then it is done the Holy Ghost ouer-shadowes her and formes her Sauiour in her owne body This very Angell
vnprouided If his fathers command dismisse him yet will he stay till he haue trusted his sheep with a carefull keeper wee cannot be faithfull shepherds if our spirituall charg be lesse deare vnto vs if when necessity cals vs from our flocks we depute not those which are vigilant and conscionable ERE Dauids speed can bring him to the valley of Elah both the Armies are on foot ready to ioyne He takes not this excuse to stay without as a man daunted with the horror of warre but leauing his present with his seruant he thrusts himselfe into the thickest of the host and salutes his brethren which were now thinking of nothing but killing or dying when the proud champion of the Philistims comes stalking forth before all the troopes and renewes his insolent challenge against Israel Dauid sees the man and heares his defiance and lookes about him to see what answer would be giuen and when hee espies nothing but pale faces and bucks turned hee wonders not so much that one man should dare all Israel as that all Israel should runne from one man Euen while they flee from Goliah they talke of the reward that should be giuen to that encounter and victory which they dare not vndertake so those which haue not grace to beleeue yet can say there is glory laid vp for the faithfull Euer since his annointing was Dauid possessed with Gods spirit and thereby filled both with courage and wisdome The more strange doth it seeme to him that all Israel should be thus dastardly Those that are themselues eminent in any grace cannot but wonder at the miserable defects of others and the more shame they see in others imperfections the more is their zeale in auoyding those errors in themselues WHILES base hearts are moued by example the want of example is incouragement enough for an heroicall minde Therefore is Dauid ready to vndertake the quarrell because no man else dare do it His eyes sparkled with holy anger and his heart rose vp to his mouth when he heard this proud challenger Who is this vncircumcised Philistim that he should reuile the host of the liuing God Euen so ô Sauiour when all the generations of men ran away affrighted from the powers of death and darknes thou alone hast vndertaken and confounded them WHO should offer to daunt the holy courage of Dauid but his owne brethren The enuious heart of Eliab construes this forwardnes as his own disgrace Shall I thinks he be put downe by this puisne shall my fathers yongest sonne dare to attempt that which my stomach will not serue mee to aduenture Now therefore hee rates Dauid for his presumption and in steed of answering to the recompence of the victory which others were ready to giue he recompenceth the very inquiry of Dauid with a check It was for his brethrens sake that Dauid came thither and yet his very iourney is cast vpon him by them for a reproch Wherefore cam'st thou downe hither and when their bitternes can meet with nothing else to shame him his sheepe are cast in his teeth Is it for thee an idle proud boy to be medling with our martiall matters doth not yonder Champion looke as if hee were a fit match for thee what mak'st thou of thy selfe or what dost thou thinke of vs ywis it were fitter for thee to be looking to thy sheepe then looking at Goliah the wildernes would become thee better then the fields Wherein art thou equall to any man thou seest but in arrogance and presumption The pastures of Bethleem could not hold thee but thou thought'st it a goodly matter to see the wars I know thee as if I were in thy bosome This was thy thought There is no glory to bee got among fleeces I will goe seeke it in armes Now are my brethren winning honor in the troopes of Israel whiles I am basely tending on sheepe why should not I be as forward as the best of them This vanity would make thee strait of a shepherd a soldier and of a soldier a champion get thee home foolish stripling to thy hooke and thy harpe let swords speares alone to those that know how to vse them IT is quarrell enough amongst many to a good action that it is not their owne there is no enemie so ready or so spightfull as the domesticall The hatred of brethren is so much more as their blood is neerer The malice of strangers is simple but of a brother is mixt with enuie The more vnnaturall any qualitie is the more extreame it is A cold winde from the south is intollerable Dauids first victory is of himselfe next of his brother Hee ouercomes himselfe in a patient forbearance of his brother hee ouercomes the malicious rage of his brother with the mildnes of his answer If Dauid had wanted spirit he had not bin troubled with the insultation of a Philistim If he had a spirit to match Goliah how doth he so calmely receiue the affront of a brother What haue I now done is there not a cause That which would haue stirred the choler of another allayeth his It was a brother that wronged him and that his eldest neither was it time to quarrell with a brother whiles the Philistims swords were drawne and Goliah was challenging O that these two motiues could induce vs to peace If we haue iniurie in our person in our cause it is from brethren and the Philistims looke on I am deceiued if this conquest were lesse glorious then the following He is fit to be Gods champion that hath learned to bee victor of himselfe IT is not this sprinkling of cold water that can quench the fire of Dauids zeale but still his courage sends vp flames of desire still he goes on to inquire and to proffer He whom the regard of others enuie can dismay shall neuer doe ought worthy of enuie Neuer man vndertooke any exploit of worth and receiued not some discouragement in the way This couragious motion of Dauid was not more scorned by his brother then by the other Israelites applauded The rumor flies to the eares of the King that there is a yong man desirous to encounter the gyant Dauid is brought forth Saul when he heard of a champion that durst goe into the lists with Goliah looked for one as much higher then himselfe as he was taller then the rest he expected some sterne face and brawny arme yong and ruddy Dauid is so far below his thoughts that he receiues rather contempt then thanks His words were stout his person was weake Saul doth not more like his resolution then distrust his abilitie Thou art not able to goe against this Philistim to fight with him for thou art a boy and he is a man of warre from his youth Euen Saul seconds Eliab in the conceit of this disparitie and if Eliab speak out of enuie Saul speaks out of iudgment both iudge as they were iudged of by the stature All this cannot weaken that heart which receiues his
be silent when they found him at Bethleem If they had returned by Herod I feare they had come short home Hee that ment death to the babe for the name of a King could meane no other to those that honored and proclaimed a new King and erected a throne besides his They had done what they came for and now that God whose businesse they came about takes order at once for his sonnes safety and for theirs God which is perfection it selfe neuer begins any busines but he makes an end ends happily When our waies are his there is no danger of miscariage Well did these wise-men know the difference as of stars so of dreames they had learn't to distinguish betweene the naturall and diuine and once apprehending God in their sleepe they follow him waking and returne another way They were no subiects to Herod his command pressed them so much the lesse or if the being within his dominions had beene no lesse bond then natiue subiection yet where God did countermand Herod there could be no question whom to obey They say not we are in a strange country Herod may meet with vs it can be no lesse then death to mocke him in his owne territories but cheerfully put themselues vpon the way and trust God with the successe Where men command with God wee must obey men for God and God in men when against him the best obedience is to deny obedience and to turne our backs vpon Herod The wise-men are safely arriued in the East fill the world full of expectation as themselues are full of wonder IOSEPH and MARY are returned with the babe to that Ierusalem where the wise-men had inquired for his birth The Citie was doubtlesse still full of that rumor and litle thinks that he whom they talke of was so neere them From thence they are at least in their way to Nazareth where they purpose their abode God preuents them by his Angell and sends them for safety into Aegypt Ioseph was not wont to be so full of visions It was not long since the Angell appeared vnto him to iustifie the innocency of the mother and the deity of the sonne now he appeares for the preseruation of both a preseruation by flight Could Ioseph now choose but thinke Is this the King that must saue Israel that needs to be saued by me If he be the son of God how is he subiect to the violence of men How is hee Almighty that must saue himselfe by flight or how must he flie to saue himselfe out of that land which he comes to saue But faithfull Ioseph hauing bin once tutored by the Angell and hauing heard what the wise-men said of the starre what SIMEON and ANNA said in the Temple labours not so much to reconcile his thoughts as to subiect them and as one that knew it safer to suppress doubts then to assoile them can beleeue what hee vnderstands not and can wonder where he cannot comprehend Oh strange condition of the King of all the world He could not be borne in a baser estate yet euen this he cannot enioy with safety There was no roome for him in Bethleem there will be no roome for him in Iudea He is no sooner come to his owne then hee must flie from them that he may saue them hee must auoide them Had it not bin easie for thee O Sauiour to haue acquit thy selfe from Herod a thousand wayes What could an arme of flesh haue done against the God of spirits What had it bin for thee to haue sent Herod fiue yeeres sooner vnto his place what to haue commanded fire from heauen on those that should haue come to apprehend thee or to haue bidden the earth to receiue them aliue whom shee ment to swallow dead We suffer misery because wee must thou because thou wouldest The same will that brought thee from heauen into earth sends thee from Iury to Aegypt as thou wouldst be borne meane and miserable so thou wouldst liue subiect to humane vexations that thou which hast taught vs how good it is to beare the yoke euen in our youth mightst sanctifie to vs early afflictions Or whether O Father since it was the purpose of thy wisdom to manifest thy Sonne by degrees vnto the world was it thy will thus to hide him for a time vnder our infirmitie and what other is our condition we are no sooner borne thine then wee are persecuted If the Church trauell and bring forth a male shee is in danger of the Dragons streames What doe the members complaine of the same measure which was offred to the head both our births are accompanied with teares Euen of those whose mature age is full of trouble yet the infancy is commonly quiet but here life and toyle began together O blessed Virgin euen already did the sword begin to peirce thy soule Thou which wert forced to beare thy Sonne in thy wombe from Nazareth to Bethleem must now beare him in thy armes from Iury into Aegypt yet couldst thou not complaine of the way whilest thy Sauiour was with thee His presence alone was able to make the stable a temple Aegypt a paradise the way more pleasing then rest But whither then O whither doest thou carry that blessed burthen by which thy selfe and the world are vpholden To Aegypt the slaughter-house of Gods people the furnace of Israels ancient affliction the sinke of the world Out of Aegypt haue I called my sonne saith God That thou calldst thy Sonne out of Aegypt O God is no maruell It is a maruell that thou calld'st him into Aegypt but that wee know all earths are thine and all places and men are like figures vpon a table such as thy disposition makes them What a change is here Israel the first borne of God flies out of Aegypt into the promised land of Iudea Christ the first borne of all creatures flies from Iudea into Aegypt Aegypt is become the Sanctuary Iudea the Inquisition-house of the Sonne of God He that is euery where the same makes all places alike to his Hee makes the fiery furnace a gallery of pleasure the Lyons denne an house of defence the Whales belly a lodging chamber Aegypt an harbour He flees that was able to preserue himselfe from danger to teach vs how lawfully we may flee from those dangers we cannot auoide otherwise It is a thankless fortitude to offer our throat vnto the knife He that came to dye for vs fled for his owne preseruation and hath bid vs follow him When they persecute you in one Citie flee into another We haue but the vse of our liues and we are bound to husband them to the best aduantage of God and his Church God hath made vs not as butts to be perpetually shot at but as the marks of rouers moueable as the winde sun may best serue It was warrant enough for Ioseph and Mary that God commands them to flee yet so familiar is God growne with his approued seruants that hee