to take away all hurtfull things and grant them all availing ones to their salvation but especially this most availing of all the rest to send them true Prophets good and holy Priests such as may teach them as well by the exemplarity of their lives as by the veritie and soliditie of their Doctrine for as the Text commands us to beware of others so the Prayer by consequence must beg for these On the eighth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Luk. 16. v. 3. WHat shall I doe for that my Lord taketh from me the Bailiff-ship To dig I am not able to beg I am ashamed I know what I will do that when I shall be removed from the Bailiff-ship they may receive me into their houses Vers Let my Prayer O Lord c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer GRant us O Lord we beseech thee propitiously the spirit of thinking alwayes and of doing what is right that as we cannot be without thee so we may live unto thee The Illustration O Beloved what an excellent Prayer is this How deep how sweet how alone able to save us if said with the same spirit that taught it and if performed as well as â—aid For if we neither think nor do amisse how can we ever sin and consequently how fail of being saved Again if we onely subsist by the preservation of Almighty God as is most true how can we presume to live unto our selves and not unto him As therefore our beeing is purely and onely by him so ought our living to be purely and onely to him not as it is God help us to our selves as if we had been our own makers or could for the least minute preserve our selves how daring so ever our comportment is as though we were our own and not God Almighties creatures Idolizing dayly to our selves sinning hourely and provoking God to undo his own handy work by damning not annihilating of us were not his mercy above our malice which malice onely can attempt our annihilation I need say no more of the excellency of this Prayer for whilest I strive to amplifie it by other words I do contract it rather then inlarge it which is more patheticall and significant in the short method it observes then any ampliation even by the tongues or pens of Angels can make it and shewes us That as God is but one simple essence in himself yet contains within him all the variety that is possible in infinite millions of creatures or worlds indeed so he can if he please contract into one word the sense and meaning of all the languages of the world and truly much is contracted in this Prayer above I shall therefore say no more in commends of it but onely shew how rarely well it suites with the Epistle and Gospell following how as it were eminentially it contains them both the former in begging first the spirit of alwayes thinking and doing right that so we may be and live to God as the Epistle adviâ—eth which you see quits us of all obligation to our selves and ties us up to the duty of a spirituall life and of a corporall death both which are petitioned in the Prayer the latter in shewing us how to prevent the danger of such like cheats to our Lord and Master which the Gospell mentions by prepossessing our thoughts with a right addresse of them to our masters pleasure and profit and consequently by preventing our actions towards him to be unjust when we acknowledge we cannot be at all but such creatures as he makes us and thence we can have no hope to be preserved by him in a wicked being which he never gave us nor can we expect he should preserve us in it so the Prayer concludes begging we may live onely to him who onely is the authour of our being The Epistle Rom. 8. v. 12. c. 12 Therefore Brethren we are debtours not to the flesh to live according to the flesh 13 For if you live according to the flesh you shall die but if by the spirit you mortifie the deeds of the flesh you shall live 14 For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God 15 For you have not received the spirit of servitude again in fear but you have received the spirit of adoption of sonnes wherein we cry Abba Father 16 For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit that we are the sonnes of God 17 And if sonnes heirs also heirs truly of God and coheirs of Christ The Explication 12. THis therefore is S. Paul's inference or conclusion upon the premises wherein he had said we were by Baptisme regenerate born again not of flesh and bloud but of Christ in whom the Baptized must live as he did in spirit not in flesh and so consequently are no longer debtours to flesh but to spirit and must no longer live to the flesh but to the spirit 13. By the spirit is here understood Christ and his grace not our own soules for though our bodies live by our souls yet our soules must live by Christ who is their life and we must by conformity to his will mortifie both our own bodies and soules too if we will live spiritually in and by him we must dye to concupiscence and inordinate desires for till then they are not mortified but live in us and we by them live fleshly not spiritually 14. To be led by the Spirit signifies that Christ should act in us not onely we in our selves and then we are true Sons of God when we are led by him by his holy Spirit who is our life as he was S. Paul's when the Apostle said Gal. 2.20 he lived now not he but Christ in him But here S. Austin playes prettily upon the word acting We must saith he act our selves and yet let our action be from him rather then from us for then we act well when he makes us act when our action is radicated in him and squared to his holy will So here to be led argues the impulse of his holy Spirit and the voluntary cooperation of our action too for then saith S. Austin we are led by his Spirit when we do as we ought to do 15. The spirit of servitude or servile fear was that which God led the Jewes withal fear of temporal punishments but we are led by a better spirit that of love and so must serve God for love of him rather then for fear of hell and as his adopted children rather then servants so much nobler is our condition then that of the Jewes And this spirit of adoption is no lesse then the holy Ghost himself communicated unto us as v. 6. was said on Sunday within the Octaves of Nativity For as God gave his own Deity to Christ when he made Christ the Son of God so the holy Ghost gives us himself to make us also the Sons of God by adoption in virtue of our Saviours Passion whence we have the priviledge
words of the Prophet Isaias are above explicated in the Present tense for the reasons alledged yet they were fitly spoken in the future and prophetically too by Isaias when he foretold what Iohn should say to us in the present tense at his coming or else Isaias might begin with the Baptists voice to say of him prophetically I am the voice of one crying in the Wilderness prepare the wayes of our Lord. Though if in this future tense we allow even the Baptist also to speak it will not be unproper to him for however his principle Office be that of forerunner or pointer out of our Saviour to be the long expected Messias come at last now standing in the midst of them yet he may in a secondary respect be allowed the Title and Office of a Prophet also telling us for the future what will follow if we believe in Christ and cast our cares upon him namely that all shall goe well with us both in the outward and inward man since our Saviour avowes him to be a Prophet though not onely such but more his Fore-runner his humane Angel going before the face of his Divine Humanity to tell us that this Man-Divine Christ Iesus was true God as well as Man who came to redeem and save the whole world The Application 1. AS the Epistle so the Gospel to bids us prepare the way for Iesus his Nativity alluded to all over but clearly mentioned in the close of the Gospel while the Fore-runner of our Lord is set before our eyes to day giving Instructions how to demean our selves in the Sacrament of Confession whereunto the Baptisme of Pennance unto Remission of Sins preached by the Baptist here alludes 2. How that Confession shall be rightly made is told in the penultime or last Verse but one of the Gospell doe as the Exposition of it bids and it will be rightly done at least prepare for it now that you may performe it well at Christmas 3. Now that we may doe this see if the holy Church could frame a fitter Prayer than what She sayes to day If not Then say it as above and so confess there is an admirable Harmony between the Preaching and the Praying parts of holy Churches services On Sunday within the Octaves of the Nativity The Antiphon LUKE 1. ver 25. THe Child Jesus did profit in age and wisdome before God and Man Vers The word became Flesh Allelujah Resp And dwelt in us Alleluja NOte this Antiphon above being much to the same purpose with the 40. Verse of this Chapter which is the last in this dayes Gospel I doe not change it though differing a little from that because I find it thus appointed by the Church The Prayer OMnipotent Sempiternall God direct our actions in thy good pleasure that in the Name of thy Beloved Son we may deserve to abound in Good Works The Illustration HOly Church hath hitherto taught us in our Prayers to Court down God from Heaven and now he is come unto us little in Appearance great in Power an Infant amongst men see how this day our Prayer make Infants of us too such as know not which way to turn but are glad to beg directions of Almighty God that our Actions may be done according to his will and pleasure or rather that his holy will may be our actions for so the words of the Prayer import when we beg that God will direct our actions in his good pleasure as who should say if he so please they shall be well done nor can we indeed please him in our doings if he doe not please to doe well in us For our actions are more his than our own insomuch that when we love God or please him he rather loves and pleaseth himself in us than that we of our selves can love or please his Divine Majesty by any thing we are able to doe And thus we see how with our new-born Iesus we pray like Infants unable to help our selves and for this purpose both the Epistle and Gospel of the day run upon infantile actions the former shewing us that men by Adoption of Grace became new-born Babes of God who were before ancient slaves of the Devill and telling us further how infants must be nurtured and tutoured up even by their own servants as long as they are under age The latter relating how our infant Iesus was this day presented to his Heavenly Father in the Temple as the first gratefull present humane nature durst make a tender of to his offended Majesty in hope thereby to appease his wrath and so confident we are that this will be a present appeasing as well as pleasing that we have no sooner offered him up to his Heavenly Father then we grow bold not onely in the name of this his beloved you to beg we may doe well but presume to hope that in his Name we may even deserve to abound in good workes and with good reason because we acknowledge this infant of Time to be coequal and coeternal God with his Eternal Father and consequently what we doe in his Name since it is more principally done by him than us may merrit the reputation of being abundantly well done and thus we doing it also may deserve to abound in good Works even such as shall not want the happinesse of a plentiful reward of grace in this life and of glory in the next But so that all our desert or merit must be still in his Name as the Prayer professeth inconsequence to what was said upon the close of the two first Prayers in this Book The Epistle GAL. 4. ver 1. c. 1. ANd I say as long as the Heir is a little one he differeth nothing from a Servant although he be Lord of all 2. But is under Tutors and Governours untill the time limited of the Father 3. So we also when we were little ones were serving under the elements of the World 4. But when the fulness of time came God sent his Son made of a Woman made under the Law 5. That he might redeeme them that were under the Law that they might receive the Adoption of Sons 6. And because you are Sons God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father 7. Therefore now he is not a servant but a a son and if a son an heir also by God The Explication 1. ST Paul had in the precedent Chapter told the Galathians that the old Law of the Jews was a Paedagogue or Usher rather to the new Law of Christ and so was to cease when the new Law came This doctrine he follows now here closely saying The Jewes that were the chosen people of God his first begotten as it were and so his heirs were by all the help of their Lawes but as little ones in the sight of God that is as children or infants wanting maturity of yeares and ripenesse of judgement to govern themselves and thus were nothing different from servants
the Old than to the New Law Thirdly because in that state they were in they did want the fruit of Adoption because when they dyed Just yet they could not partake of Heaven the now immediate reward of such blessed Soules as they were in regard Christ had not opened the gates thereof to mortalls by his first entring into Heaven as was fit he should since all others were to follow upon his Title not upon their own Lastly because Christ by exempting us from the servitude of the Old Law gave us the right of claime to the Spirit of Adoption which was that of the New Law taught by Christ and affirmed by the holy Ghost 6. This Verse clearly shewes the truth of the Doctrine above delivered since to declare we were partakers of the Divine Filiation God sent us the Spirit of his Son Divine the holy Ghost as who should say it is a true signe we are partakers of the Divine Nature because we have the Divine Spirit in us though this Spirit doth rather shew we are the Sons of God than make us such as the Signe shews the thing to be there where the Signe of the thing is for indeed we are the Children of God by the merits of Christ his passion since the true Adoptive cause the root of our filiation is the Son of God his Incarnation for thence we become God because God became Man so the grace of the holy Ghost or his Spirit abounding in us is rather the signe than the cause of our Adoption or filiation since our adoption is by Christ and the proof thereof is by his holy Spirit abiding in us not that this spirit of the holy Ghost is an empty signe but that besides the signe it is of our filiation to God it is also the same God with the Father and the Son really and truly sanctifying of us and uniting himself unto us by his holy Grace as well as he unites us to the actuall participation of our Saviours Passion at the same instant when he gives us his Grace and thereby teacheth us to cry Abba Father that is to say O Heavenly Father look upon us as thy Children being made so by the passion of thy Son and declared to be so by the coming of the holy Ghost amongst us into our hearts inabling them with a loud pious affection though sometimes their lips move not to cry unto thee in that filiall voice which ever opens the ears of thy mercy towards us and makes thee often ask us as thou didst silent Moses thus internally and silently crying to thee What doe you cry unto me for Exod. 14. ver 15. my dearest Children what doe you want it is but ask and have 7. Here is a Graecisme or Greek transition from the Second person to the Third as who should say what I speak of you O Galatians adopted as above the like I say of all third Persons even any Gentile so adopted that be he of what Nation he will if he can truly cry Abba Father he is not a Servant but a Sonne of God and if a Sonne he is an Heir also by God that is by Christ who is the Son of God O happy Children of this Heavenly Father who makes all his issue equall Heires and leaves not younger children to the mercy of their Elder brothers for their Patrimony but gives all his whole estate in Heavenly Glory and by that himself for their Patrimony whence Saint Austine sayes well Thou hast created us O Lord to and for thy self and our heart is at no rest untill it have the happinesse to rest in thee nothing lesse than thy self can satiate us and this satiety we enjoy when thy glory appears in us and placeth us in thee The Application 1. LEarn all ye Monarchs of the Times to know this Text forbids you Lord it here as if you were not under Age. The Kingdomes you command you then usurp when you deny obedience to the Church Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords he is the Father of all Christians who hath made no servant Tutour to command us but his Sacred Spouse the holy Church so long as here we live 2. Learn all ye proudest men to stoop to the degree of little ones again now you behold your ancient God become a Child of Man to make you Men children of Almighty God 3. Learn ye that glory to write man to Nature to be but Babes yet to Grace let not Christ remain alone an Infant be every Christian at the least an Innocent to keep him company while holy Church recounts his Cradle-dayes And Prayes that as children unable to doe manly acts our selves we may be directed in the pleasure of our Heavenly Father by doing nothing but in the Name of his onely Sonne who knowes best what will please him and make us deserve well at his Holy Hands by abounding in good Works The Gospel LUKE 2. ver 33. c. 33. ANd his Father and Mother were marvelling upon those things which were spoken concerning him 34. And Simeon blessed him and said to Mary his Mother Behold this is set unto the ruine and unto the resurrection of many in Israel and for a signe which shall be contradicted 35. And thine own soul shall a sword pierce that out of many hearts cogitations may be revealed 36. And there was Anne a prophetesse the daughter of Phanuel of the Tribe of Aser she was far stricken in dayes and had lived with a Husband seven years from her Virginity 37. And she was a widdow untill eighty and four years who departed not from the Temple by fasting and prayers serving night and day 38. And she at the same hour suddenly coming in Confessed to our Lord and spake of him to all that expected the redemption of Israel 39. And after they had wholly done all things according to the Law of our Lord they returned into Galilee into their City Nazareth 40. And the Child grew and waxed strong full of wisdom and the grace of God was in him The Explication 33. NOte here Saint Ioseph is not called Christ his Father as Nurses husbands are called Foster-fathers to the children whom their wives give suck unto though they never did beget those children but further and yet more really because Jesus was the true and naturall Child of the Blessed Virgin Mary being joyned in reall Wedlock with Saint Ioseph though she never did accompany her husband in the Marriage bed so his paternity was more than nutritious and yet less than naturall because Jesus was onely the Son of Ioseph marryed to the Virgin Mary but never having knowledge of her Body and therefore he is called the putative or esteemed Father of Christ for all he never did beget him meerly because his wife did truly bear him and was his naturall Mother though by a meanes supernaturall to wit the over-shadowing of the holy Ghost These his Parents are here said to be marvelling not that they were perhaps
Transformation that is Transition or passing out of the old figure of Sinners into the new form of Saints and besides St. Paul recommends the forme of newnesse unto us to shew he desires not so much our innovation as our reformation that is not to have us become new creatures in nature but reformed ones in grace such as by newnesse of the Spirit cast off the Antiquity of flesh and bloud or such as by new grace reform old nature for Antiquity in the holy Story of man reports to old Adam to originall sin sicknesse and death the effects thereof but newnesse relates to Christ renewing the decay of old Adam in us by the spritely or youthfull grace of God and this newnesse of mind the Apostle requires as a meanes to know and prove what the good acceptable and perfect will of God is for by proof is here meant experimentall knowledge of the aforesaid wills and without this newnesse we can have no notion thereof for the old man in us makes us sensible of nothing at all that reports in the least to God all the means we have to come unto this knowledge of his will is by reforming our selves in the newnesse of our Spirit that so we may know the will of a Spirit and not remain in the ignorance of an unknowing body or corporall man who knows nothing at all of God The best acception of this place is when by will we understand the things willed or desired as who should say the good will of God is that which makes us desire to doe in all things what is good at least his acceptable will is that which causeth us to doe what is yet better his perfect will is that which moves us to doe to our powers what we judge ever to be best But we are to note the Apostle here speaks of the will of sign precept or counsell which God hath given us to doe good by or rather to be our rule of knowing when we doe well but not of the will of his absolute divine pleasure for that is so necessary as nothing can be done against it that is to say nothing can be done otherwise than as God is pleased it shall be but the Apostle here thus explicates himself about these three Wills describing the good will from the 3d to the 6th verse of this Chapter to consist in being soberly wise and to proceed according to the measure of grace given us by God each in our calling The acceptable he describes from the 9th verse to the 16th verse making that to consist in a sincere cordiall affection in a servent strong and liberall love to our neighbours The perfect from the 16th verse to the end of the Chapter he sayes consisteth in a perfect love mixt with so much humility as makes us condescend to love even our enemies and doe good to them though they requite us again with ill offices done to us 3. St Paul here professeth his knowledge of spirituall things not to be otherwise in him then by the speciall grace of God given him to know thus much as he doth yet it is most probable be alluded to the particular grace of his Apostolate which gave him the science to distinguish spirits and that he professeth to doe in these three gradations of the will divine which here hee makes and if in this place we understand grace for power given unto him to instruct them by office as he was an Apostle it might so taken bee no wrested sense By bidding us not to bee more wise than becomes he adviseth mediocrity in all proceedings and disswades from excess or extreams in any kinde since even at the extremity of vertue vice attends or hee may forbid curiosities in points of Faith such as brinke upon heresie when they are too far strained Or lastly he may forbid in these words pride and vain glory or self-conceit in men of their own ablities when they value themselves at a higher rate than others doe or then indeed they can deserve For this is to be wiser than they ought this is not to be soberly but impudently wise Hee sayes further That every one should proceed according as God hath divided the measure of Faith that is to say according as God hath given his severall gifts for imbellishment unto the true Faith of Christ or as graces thereunto belonging but so as they must be gratis given and as certain Testimonies of the true Faith Such were the gifts of tongues of prophecie of discretion of Spirits of Interpretation of Scripture of teaching of ministery and the like 1 Cor. 12. v. 10. and while any one had received these gratuit gifts as measures of his Faith or as Testimonies that he was a true Christian the Apostle adviseth him to rest there and not to undertake teaching if he were but gifted to the ministery nor discernment of spirits if he had onely the gift of tongues and so of the rest 4 5. These two next Verses illustrate this to bee the genuine sense of the former measure of Faith by the analogie between the members of a naturall and a mysticall bodie for as in the naturall body it were absurd if the hand should undertake to speak or the tongue to reach what meat the body expected the hand to bring unto the mouth so were it for one member of the mysticall body to execute the office and function of another as for the Clark to teach and the Doctor to play the Clarks part since these are spiritually tyed together for severall spirituall uses and operations as the members of the naturall body are corporally tyed to make one entire thing consisting of severall members and the spirituall tye or union of the Mysticall members are interiourly invisible as Faith and Grace exteriourly visible as the Sacraments of holy Church for by these the whole body mysticall is compacted and set together unto Christ their now invisible and to the Pope S. Peters successour their now visible Head and as no corporall member onely serves it self but is a fellow-servant both with and to the other members of the naturall body for example the hand serves the mouth with meats the mouth the stomack the stomack digests all into nutriment for the whole body So every Christian must be a servant not onely to Christ the Head but even to every soul that beleiving in Christ is a member of his Mysticall bodie the Church as well as we and this were to bee perfect members unto Christ when we were ready to serve one another in order to his service to Gods honour and glory this were to follow the Apostles counsel close of being members to one another that is serving one anothers particular necessities as well as those of our common body the Church united to Christ her Head The Application 1. NO marvell if last sundayes Infants bee to day required to offer up their Reasonable services to Almighty God for as Faith elevateth Reason so Hope and Charity subject
in this Verse and the next there is no promise made of a penny which was the just reward of a whole dayes labour but onely of what was just proportionable to the time and merit of their pains which argues for the doctrine of merit asserted by the Catholiques denyed by Hereticks who cannot endure to hear of merit in any but in Christ Nor is there any in men as due to what like men corrupted they doe though to what they doe as more than men that is as elevated above the pitch or reach of nature by grace wee doe allow them merit but still so as this merit receives value from Christ's Passion not from Humane actions onely and consequently Christ merits in them or they in Christ but not in themselves or of themseves 5. This verse puts us in mind that God hath more sollicitude to call us to him than we have of going our selves 6. Here we find an addition of a whole daies idlenesse whereas before there was onely some little loytering objected to those that were called as we heard ver 3. above The reason is that this eleventh houre is the last which can be allowed to losse for at the twelfth Judgement begins and therefore those now called were told they had lost all their former time and were bid go for one hour at least labour to save their soules The former calls we may understand made to the Iewes This latter to the Gentles Origen takes Adam to signifie them called at the first hour Paul to signifie them called at the latter hour 7. Hear the reason given by these last called why they came no sooner because no man did sooner hire them and to this excuse the rationall master makes no reply as not willing to blame where there was no fault and certainely there is none in those who come not before God calls them for it is impossible any corrupted nature should look towards heaven were it not that Gods holy grace propends than that way To these therefore it was onely said well goe now at last that I doe call you imploy this last hour to Gods honour and glory where observe nothing is promised not that these shall need feare to receive no reward but that they shall humbly acknowledge the little they can doe in so short a time as this life affords us is not worthy so great a reward as heaven and that thence Gods infinite goodnesse may appear the more giving to the least minute of holy labour an everlasting crown of glory for our rewards a gallant incouragement indeed to all noble soules and enough to give noble thoughts and hopes to the most abject spirits 8. By evening is here meant the day of doome by the Bayliffe Origen understands S. Michael or the Angels guardian of each soule summoning men to this latter Judgement and leaving them to receive the publike reward or punishment as formerly they had done the private but better is Christ understood to be the Bayliffe here of his heavenly Father paying each soule the hire of his labours though some conceive the holy Ghost may be the rewarder as he is by his grace given the Caller and Imployer of Soules in the Vineyard or Church of Christ The reason why the penny is here called a reward is because a reward is not a thing given answerable to time or paines but to merit and therefore the distribution of this reward is said to begin first with those who were last called because the grace whereby the Apostles and Gentiles were made servants of God and Labourers in Christs Vineyard was infinitely more valuable than that whereby the Iewes were called and consequently no marvell if in an houres time it caused more merit in Christians than in all the ages before it had caused among the Iewes 9. There was but a penny promised the first comers and the last receiveing as much were in that regard preferred and made as it were the first because they received equall reward for unequall labour but since all reward was gratuite as respecting the party rewarded no marvell the rewarder gave his bounties as he pleased though he would vouchsafe them the title of rewards 10 11 12. The greatest difficulty we have here is to explicate what is meant by murmur in that sence of the parable which makes the last to be saved soules for those who understand them out-casts from glory will not scruple to say the damned soules live not onely in eternal murmur but in open mutiny and rebellion against Almighty God for saving the Blessed and not them too but we may piously acquiesce here to Suarez and Vasquez their interpretation of murmur in the last blessed to see the first so strangely above their merits rewarded not that this admiring murmur is the least repining but the most extatick admiration of the infinite goodnesse of Almighty God first in saving any Iewes at all since they had butchered his sacred Sonne next in giving an endelesse crown of Glory to an instantaneous time of labour in the Gentiles This I say we shall rather give to those renowned men for a plausible exposition of this hard place than contrast with them the solidity thereof unlesse a better could be found out By the burden of the day and the beates we may here understand the long time w th the Iewes groaned under the dark law of Nature or tormenting Law of Moses from Adam to Christ which was the duration of the Iewish Synagogue and the hot persecution the Iewes groaned under not onely when the Romanes first sack'd Ierusalem and destroyed it with the greatest number of the Jewish nation but while the subjection of the Iewes lasts even to the worlds end they being the scorne of men for ever in a just revenge of their scorning the most beautifull among the Sonnes of men CHRIST JESUS 13 14. These two verses shew that first there was no injustice done to him who had the just reward of his labours which he contracted for next a contracted bragaine with one hinders not an ultroneous reward to another if a man please to bestow his bounty upon those who never laboured to deserve it since it is free for any man to dispose of his own as best pleaseth himself 15. This is a friendly expostulation of the Master with the Servants who needed not have given other reason for his will but his own pleasure and though here he give no other yet it is a vouchsafing in him to give that since the murmur was unjust where no injustice was done and indeed this place shewes how truely S. Austine saies That when God rewards man he crownes his own not the workes of men 16. According to the first sense of this parable explicated as above The last first are the blessed not onely called but chosen and these are in number few and the first last are the damned not chosen but called onely and for not answering the expectation of their calling are damned and
the left is understood on all occasions of prosperity or adversity importing right and left as good and bad to us that we must stand armed with acts of Vertue such as may render us just to God whatere men may imagine of us 8. By honor and dishonor infamy and good fame understand whether we are praised by others or undervalued and here the Apostle alludes to his own avoiding vain-glory when the Lycaonians would have ador'd him as a god for his rare parts Though we are esteemed Seducers as in time of persecutions Priests are and as Christ himself was who yet could not preach false Doctrine he being Truth it self yet we must not for that refrain to preach the Word of God By unknown and known is meant unknown to the wicked whilest we are known to God and our own Consciences 9. As dying as given over in the opinion of the world for condemned at the corrupt Tribunals of unjust Judges and yet alive to God to his holy Angels and to all just men whilest our cause is just like Chastised and not killed either imprisoned and yet not executed for our Faith or else using voluntary moderate Penance and yet not such as may shorten our dayes by death being too violent as many times those Penances are which men use without allowance of their Ghostly Fathers to inflict upon themselves 10. As needy and yet inriching others temporally poor and yet giving the riches of Spiritual Instructions and ghostly counsel to our Neighbors or perhaps the Apostle might mean literally whilest they who had given to them the Oblations of all the Laity in those dayes yet did not bestow any thing almost upon themselves but gave it all away to the poor and so inriched them supplyed at least their Necessities as S. Paul at Jerusalem was noted to do very notably As having nothing of our own and yet possessing all things by the liberality of others whence our Saviour asked Did you want any thing when I sent you to preach to all the world without a staff or purse the one to bear up your weary limbs which I supported with my grace the other to buy you victuals which I inspired good Christians to afford you without your money The Application 1. SEe the Illustration of the Prayer above for the general notions of our Christian Duty this Lenten time but for the particular see how the Priest is set before our eyes for us to imitate the many perfections he is bound unto the whole Epistle being nothing else but an Ennumeration of Priestly Duties for then and not before we may hope to see a Religious Laity when the Priests of holy Church are the Saints they ought to be such indeed as they are here pointed out unto us 2. And lest the people should be lost in so large a field of Vertue as the Priest is bound to walk in see how the Antiphon before the Prayer culls out the proper Duties of the people during holy Lent Namely Patience Watching and unseigned Charity that is to say Mortification Prayer and Almsdeeds For therefore Patience is now recommended because Mortification is intended which to avail us must be born patiently Therefore we are now to watch that we may spend more hours then ordinary in our Prayers rising earlier and going later to bed in Lent then at other times Therefore Alms are accounted unfeigned Charity because men are ever held to love their Neighbors more then Money when they do relieve the poor 3. Thus we see no one good work is perfected alone without the help and company of others Let therefore Mortification Prayer and Alms accompany the holy Fast of Lent so shall it feed and purifie the feasting souls of fasting bodies According as we pray above it may The Gospel Matth. 4. v. 1 c. 1 Then Jesus was led of the Spirit into the desert to be tempted of the devil 2 And when he had fasted forty dayes and forty nights afterward he was hungry 3 And the Tempter approached and said to him If thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made bâ—ead 4 Who answered and said It is written Not in bread alone doth man live but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God 5 Then the devil took him up into the holy City and set him upon the pinacle of the Temple 6 And said unto him If thou be the Son of God cast thy self down for it is written That he will give his Angels charge of thee and in their hands they shall hold thee up lest perhaps thou knock thy foot against a stone 7 Jesus saith to him again It is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God 8 Again the devil took him up into a very high mountain and he shewed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them 9 And said unto him All these will I give thee if thou falling down wilt adore me 10 Then Jesus saith to him Avount Satan for it is written The Lord thy God shalt thou adore and him onely shalt thou serve 11 Then the devil left him and behold Angels came and ministred to him The Explication 1. THen alludes to the time of his being by John Baptized so that immediately after his Baptism he began his forty days Fast by the conduct of the holy Spirit which had descended on him in the shape of a Dove when he was Baptized to shew how immediately and how efficaciously God works in those that by grace he doth descend upon The force of this Spiritual impulse is intimated by his being led of the Spirit drawn as it were by the power thereof into the desert where he might hear without interruption of noise or company what God spake to his heart as we reade Osee cap. 2. v. 14. The name of this Desert was Quarentana near the River Jordan But we are here to note The Holy Ghost did not intend to thrust Christ upon this Temptation for God is Tempter of no man Jam. 1. v. 13. but onely indirectly permitted it to give Christ the honor of foyling the Devil and to shew the good Spirit was a bane unto the evil one But we may piously believe Christ pleased to be tempted after Baptism to give Christians an example that we can no sooner receive the grace of God whereby we are adopted and made his Children then immediately the Devil is upon our backs as also to shew the Devil cannot tempt us beyond our power of resistance if we recur to Prayer to Fast to Reading Scriptures or the like as Christ did who made himself our example of these defences and to declare besides that those who will become Doctors abroad to others must first go themselves Scholars into the School of a vertuous Solitude 2. There is much difference between the forty dayes fast of Moses of Elias and this like Fast of our Saviour for theirs were performed by the help of an extrinsecal assisting grace this by
this day is called White or Low â—unday because in the Primitive Church those Neophytes that on Easter Eve were Baptized and Clad in white Garments did to day put them off with this admonition that they were to keep within them a perpetuall candor of Spirit signified by the Agnus Dei hung about their necks which falling downe upon their breasts put them in minde what Innocent Lambes they must be now that of sinfull high and haughty men they were by Baptisme made Low and little children of Almighty God such as ought to retaine in their manners and lives the Paschall Feasts which they had accomplished * And thus we see an ample performance of our designe taking this Prayer in the true sence it hath The Epistle Ep. 1 Joan. cap. 5 v. 4 c. 4 Because all that is borne of God overcommeth the world And this is the victory which overcommeth the world our Faith 5 Who is he that overcommeth the world but he that beleeveth that Iesus is the Sonne of God 6 This is he that came by water and bloud Iesus Christ not in water only but in water and bloud And it is the Spirit which testifieth that Christ is the Truth 7 For there be three which give Testimony in heaven the Father the word and the Holy Ghost And these Three be One. 8 And there be Three which give Testimony in earth The Spirit Water and Bloud And these Three be one 9 If we receive the Testimony of men the Testimony of God is greater because this is the Testimony of God which is greater that he hath testified of his Son 10 He that beleeveth in the Sonne of God hath the Testimony of God in himselfe The Explication 4. THe Evangelist had in this Epistle and in the immediate verse before told us The love of God consisted in keeping his commands and that his commands are not heavy and this for divers reasons because compared to the grievous weighty precepts of the old ceremoniall Law they are nothing in a manner difficult at all For there were as Rabbi Moses did reckon them in his third Book two hundred and eighteen affirmative and three hundred sixty five negative precepts of the old Law which in the Law of Grace are reduced unto ten and those no other then even any reasonable man would exact of a creature towards God and of one man towards another for a quiet civill and honest neighbourhood and though to corrupted nature mortification may seeme hard yet to sound nature it is sweet and appetible at least as medicine is unto the sick person and as grace is the balsame that renders our corrupted nature sound againe so taking grace into the consideration as a help more powerfull then any impediment it is most true the Commandements are easie to a gratious soule to any one that hath in him the fear or love of God whence the Evangelist inferres that as by grace we are borne a new to in and of God so by this regeneration our feeble nature is made able enough to overcome all the world all the enemies and obstacles man hath betweene him and heaven which is the inheritance of Gods children whence Saint Bernard saith excellently well in his first Sermon upon this day it is an argument of our heavenly regeneration or new birth when we overcome temptations as therefore we are first borne children of God by Baptisme wherein we receive the infused vertues of Faith Hope and Charity so by contrition and confession after actuall sinne we are as it were new borne to God by his holy grace conferred on us againe and bringing back with it all those vertues and graces we had lost by reiterated sinnes But we are specially to note that this Text saith every thing that is borne of God overcommeth the world not every man because it is not by any naturall thing in man that he doth overcome sinne but by that which is supernaturall to wit Grace Faith Hope Charity and whence the Apostle saith immediately and this is the victory which overcomes the world our Faith by the victory he meanes the cause of our victory or the overcommer it selfe of the world whereupon Saint Leo Saint Cyprian and others said oftentimes a faithfull soule is farre greater then the world and one who is in heaven looks upon the earth as on a contemptible point so that it was most truly said of Saint Marke cap. 9. verse 23. All things are possible to him that beleeveth nay we see a strong and lively Faith hath in it a kinde of omnipotency when it commands as it were that to be done which none but God can do And what was it that brought the Infidell world and all the Monarchs thereof to the subjection of the yoke of Christ but Faith how then every way waâ— it true that Faith is the Victory or the Victrix rather that overcomes the whole world for by Faith we captivate our stubborne wils to reason and so quell as well the inward as the outward enemies to Christ and how doe Martyrs else by dying conquer death as Christ did on the Crosse but by dying for the Faith and in the Faith of Christ 5. None else indeed can doe it for in beleeving this we are forced to oppose all other that deny it and if in that opposition we lose our lives rather then our Faith we get the Victory of all the world that persecutes us for it and of death it selfe for he that beleeves this hopes in Iesus and hoping cals upon him and calling him to aide loves him and loving him takes courage to defie all his Enemies which are the world the flesh and the devill and in scorning them gets force to resist them and in resisting obtaines grace to overcome them 6. This is the Messias that Ezechiel cap. 36. v. 25. and Zachary cap. 13. v. 1. foretold should come in water and bloud alluding to the water of holy Baptisme and to the bloud he shed upon the Crosse and to verifie this both bloud and water issued out of his pierced side as he hung upon the Crosse as also of teares and bloud in his circumcision in his Prayer in the garden and in his whipping at the Pillory in memory of all which in the sacrifice of the Masse water is mixed with the wine that is to be consecrated By the Spirit testifying Christ to be verity is understood the holy Ghost descending and confirming the Apostles in grace and in beliefe of all that Christ had said unto them as if not onely a true man but God and man had told them and consequently verity it selfe for God is no lesse then very verity So Saint John rests not content to have given us the double Testimony of bloud and water without he had added also the sumnity or height of all Testimony the pure Spirit of Almighty God Nor are they out of the way that understand this place to be meant also of the testimony of the
victorious peace as who should say his coming hither was not upon his own account but ours So he tells them now his business is done their peace is made in Heaven and Earth 20. He shewed how they still remained perforated boared thorough as with the Nayles and Spear that had pierced them while he hung upon the Cross what more powerful Argument of the Truth of his resurrection what more convincing proof that it is a Piety for Christians to revere the memory of his Sacred wounds when the first thing he shewed to oblige us to love him after his resurrection were the Wounds he received for us in his bitter Death and Passion The joy which followed in the Disciples upon seeing these wounds was not that he had received them but that those notwithstanding and his Death to boot for the sins of mankinde they saw him propitious merciful sweet benigne unto them that they did not see him come to reproach their flight from him nor Peters denying of him but to comfort them to consolidate their Faith and in them the Faith of all Christians in this now undoubted Truth that as he became man was crucified dead and buried for satisfaction of our sins so now he arose from Death to Life to give all mankinde an assurance that the work of their redemption was finished and their salvation secured if they would themselves hence it was the Apostles were glad to see our Lord risen and alive to confirm all his former Doctrine maugre the Jews malice against him and their belief that they had put him to such a death as he was past all power of reviving 21. While he repeats peace to them again he shews the abundance of his goodness flowing still from himself and falling upon those he loves and further in testimony that these his Apostles were all in the rank of those he loved most behold he gives his own most ample commission which he had from his heavenly Father unto every one of them while he sends them in vertue of the same Commission to convert the whole world as he himself was sent first to redeem it and by vertue of his Passion to convert it also which yet he would not do to have the whole honour of it to himself but gives to his Apostles the happiness to be his instruments his cooperators thereunto as himself was the instrument of his heavenly Father to the same purpose and if we observe the force of our Saviours words in giving his commission of Apostolate to these his chosen Servants we shall finde he doth not onely give them the title and honour of being his Apostles but of being even so many Sons of God by commission not by nature while he sends them even as his Father sent him to supply what was wanting of his Passion as we have heard already explicated once or twice 22. And least being but men not God as he was they should fear to fail in the execution of this high Commission Lo by his breathing on them he seems to convert them into holy Spirits and if we may so say even to so many Hoâ—y Ghosts by Commission or Office not by Nature in giving the Holy Ghost unto them For as by Spiration of the Father and Son the Holy Ghost proceeded equal to both in Nature so by this Spiration of Christ upon his Apostles they became equal in Spirit to him sent as he was by his heavenly Father in similitude of office in-similitude of power because he was God as well as his Father in similitude of end to save the souls of men in similitude of works of miracles and lastly in similitude of Spirit of Love and of affection while their commission is given by way of his Holy and Divine Insufflation or Inspiration whence they were impowered even to dye for him as he was by the force of his own holy Spirit to dye for us and by this inspiration he shews that as God by breathing on Adam gave him natural Life so he by breathing on his Apostles gives them a supernatural one a life of Grace but we must note here the holy Ghost was not given them as they had it before in Baptism when they received justifying Grace and Grace rendring them grateful nor as it was afterward to be given them by way of plenitude containing the fulness when they were so confirmed in Grace as that probably they never sinned afterwards but as a thing here gratis given and limited to one special effect namely to that of remission of sins as is made evident by the words in the following Verse so here we may see gratuite grace may consist with the state of sin or power to absolve others sins may be in a Priest who is actually himself in sin Note also by this inspiration the same power of remitting sins was given to St. Thomas though absent as well as to those Apostles present as Numb 11. v. 26. we read the Spirit of Prophesie was given in like absence by Moses to Eldad and Medad for we do not see it repeated after when St. Thomas came in among them though some think it was then he received that power and not before Note also that by this ceremony of our Saviours breathing upon the Apostles holy Church is grounded in sufficient warrant to use such ceremonies as to her shall seem fit in Administration or Collation of Sacraments 23. How absurdly doth Calvin wrest this place to power of preaching rather then he will allow man power of remitting sins though it be given him by God himself This very corruption of so plain a place of Scripture argues how dangerous a thing it is for men to read and wrest it to their own sense since the Act of Preaching is Teaching and Exhorting the Act of forgiving sins is the Act of a judging Power besides all men may at all times be lawfully preacht unto be they in sin or out of sin but all cannot at all times be absolved from sin nor any indeed at any time but by Contrition Confession and Satisfaction either Actual or in Vote if opportunity be given It is therefore an Article of Faith that by these words our Saviour gave to the Apostles power to forgive sins however it may be disputed whether he had not before at his last Supper made them Priests when he said unto them as often as you shall do this that is as often as you shall Consecrate my Body and Blood or Eat and Drink them do it in remembrance of me Luk. 22. v. 19. because now whensoever Priests are Ordained it is done by their joynt prolation of the words of Consecration with the Bishop at Mass after he hath said unto them Receive ye power to offer Sacrifice and though here were given by Christ the Faculties of Absolving to the Apostles yet it doth not follow Priesthood was then given since to this day we see many Priests that have power to Sacrifice and yet have not leave to Administer
our being by the word of truth begotten since the Apostle doth close this verse with telling us how to make our selves more apt to receive the word of truth into our soules or as who should say since wee are begotten voluntarily by the word of truth let us endeavor by all meanes to preserve in us this regeneration this inborne word in us this filiation to God this adoption to glory and by the name of uncleanness the Apostle here alludes to concupiscence drawing us from the life of this word unto the death of sinne by the name of malice hee alludes to the sinne of anger before inculcated as hindering our justice such as by meekness we produce in our selves and so preserve the inbred word our filiation to God which must be our finall salvation of our soules by taking in or receiving the ingraffed word is here meant keeping it for this was spoken to those who were already Christians and the allusion is pretty which is here made to a graft for as by ingrafting on the body of an Apple-tree the gardiner if he please brings forth a Plum or Peare so the word of God ingrafted into our soules brings forth the fruits of grace which are the Seeds of better fruit of glory if any aske what is this ingrafted word we may say it is God incarnate for his incarnation is as it were an ingrafting or inoculating God into the hearts or soules of men since as the graft is alwayes of a better kinde then the Stock it is ingrafted on so the Divinity is much more sweet and fertil then our sowre Crab of humane nature whereas by the Hypostaticall union God and man in Christ became one person as the Tree and the graft become one body when the Sap unites and cements them together againe as all grafts are first cut from their own homogeneall Stock before they be ingrafted into another so the second person of the Trinity was taken as it were out of the hosome of his eternal Father to be ingrafted in the wombe of the Blessed Virgin Mary and so was brought out of his heavenly to be planted in our earthly Paradise or rather wilderness indeed for such it was when he came downe to earth and as from the sowre Stock of a Crab-tree we must first cut a branch before we can ingraft a better fruit upon it so was there cut off from Christ his humane hypostasis and he made to subsist by the hypostasis divine besides as the graft and the Stock are bound together till they fasten into one another so by the hypostaticall union was the divine graft bound to our stock of humane nature that thereby God and man might grow into one person consisting of two natures others will have this ingrafted word to be the Blessed Sacrament united to our Soules others understand it to be Christ crucified on the Cross others contend it is the word of God ingrafted by the Preachers into the hearts of the Faithfull The Application 1. THe two first verses of this Epistle point directly at the gift of Faith which is indeed the Best and most perfect gift eminentially called the gift of God and is such a Light to our Reason as can come from none but the Father of Lights in it selfe the Blessed Trinity but as to us we may say it comes from the Father of our Light that is of our Faith our Saviour Jesus Christ who hath indeed voluntarily begotten us by the word of Truth the Holy Writ the Record of our Faith whereby we have our first beginnings of being God Almighties creatures 2. The two next verses tell us with what Alacrity and Promptitude we should hear this Sacred word of God as also with what Patience we should bear the Rebukes and Checks it gives our Consciences when it reprehends our vices In plaine termes we are told that to be Angry at any holy reprehension is an evident signe of our not being Right beleevers since by our operative Faith we are made just as we have often been taught and nothing is less consistent with justice then Anger 3. The last verse tels us what effects Faith ought to work in us namely Purity Love and Meekness for without these we are not capable of saving our soules by the ingafted word of God in us which yet of it self is sufficient to save us if received with that Purity which renounceth all mixture of Heresie Schisme or Infidelity for these are the Obstructions to the unity of minds which Faith worketh in the soules of true beleevers making them therefore all of one minde because they are all of one pure and impermixed Faith such as is only in the Catholicke Church and the effect whereof is to make them therefore love even the hardest commands of that good God they do beleeve in and to covet ardently what he promiseth unto them in requitall of their love who amongst all the allurements in this world fix their hearts only upon heavenly joyes which are promised in the next world not on such shadowes of joyes as we possess here in a word not to fix their hearts upon our present loanes but upon our future promises for God here doth not properly give us any thing how ever he lends us all we have his gifts are for eternall enjoyment not for temporary uses onely Now that we may doe this see how fitly Holy Church Prayes as above The Gospel John 16. v. 5 c. 5 But I told you not these things from the beginning because I was with you And now I goe to him that sent me and none of you asketh me whither goest thou 6 But because J have spoken these things to you sorrow hath filled your hearts 7 But J tell you the truth it is expedient for you that I goe for if I goe not the Paraclete shall not come to you but if I goe J will send him to you 8 And when he is come he shall argue the world of sinne and of Iustice and of Iudgement 9 Of sinne because they beleeve not in me 10 But of Justice because I goe to my Father and now you shall not see me 11 And of judgement because the Prince of this world is now judged 12 Yet many things I have to say to you but you cannot bear them now 13 But when hee the spirit of truth commeth hee shall teach you all truth for hee shall not speake of himselfe but what things soever he shall heare he shal speake and the things that are to come he shall shew 14 He shall glorifie me because he shall receive of mine and shall shew to you The Explication 5. TO understand what the Apostle meanes in this verse we must know the meaning of the foregoing words and though many wil have these things to report unto what went before namely our Saviours having told them they should be persecuted and punished to death for his sake after he was gone which he told them of that when it
The whole house was filled with this noise to shew all their hearts who were within should be filled with the Holy Ghost for thus the Text affirms immediately saying vers 4. and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost Note it is said they were Sitting both to shew the rest and quiet Gods holy Spirit bringeth with it and to shew that prayer of expectation and such this was is perhaps best when it is performed sitting thus S. Bernard a great Saint was noted to proceed in his deepest meditations 3. By parted tongues is here understood tongues divided amongst many not in themselues as commonly Painters make them thinking thereby to expresse the activity of fire rising up in many-pointed flames but the reasons why the Holy Ghost would have the forme of a tongue to declare his coming are many First because the Apostles were by this coming confirmed to be the Preachers of the Gospel and the proper instrument of a Preacher is his tongue So the gift of tongues was first expressed by the species of a tongue where we are to note this gift includes three properties the first the knowledge of languages the next the true signification of the words of different languages the third a volubility of tongue adapted to the several articulations requisite to several Languages and consequently a prudence to use all these in a right way The second reason is because a tongue hath a great affinity with a word as therefore the Holy Ghost was the Spirit of the VVord so he came in the species of a Tongue and as by the word of the mind is produced the voyce of the tongue so from the Divine word did proceed the Holy Ghost whence the Apostle 1 Cor. 12. vers 3. sayes no man can say Jesus but in the Holy Ghost The third as the tongue distinguisheth tastes so doth the Holy Ghost truths from falshoods heavenly from earthly things insomuch that St Paul tells us The Animal man doth not perceive the things of the Spirit 1 Cor. 4. Lastly because the tongue is both the best and worst instrument of man Proverb 12. Death and life are in the hand of the Tongue Prov. 16. It is in man to prepare his heart but the government of the tongue is from our Lord wherefore there was great reason to have the gift of the Holy Ghost to tame rule and sanctifie the tongues of men As for the tongues themselves whether they were true fire or true tongues is questioned yet resolved best that they were not truly fire but only fiery forms like unto tongues as some ayr condensed and made into that form and illuminated so as to seem fire but not to burn because it was to set upon the heads of those it fell upon Of their pyramidal form we give many reasons First to shew the Spirit of God only penetrates all deep and hard mysteries Secondly to shew it penetrated the very hearts of those it fell upon and made them cordially love Almighty God Thirdly it made them aspire from earth as high as heaven Fourthly that the very tongues of those who had this gift should penetrate the hearts of men to their conversion Lastly to shew it should give them the discretion of spirits that had this gift to distinguish betwixt good and bad inspirations in themselves or in those they were to direct spiritually And these tongues were rather fiery then of any other kind to shew God is all a flame of Love as Deut. 4.24 Thy God O Israel is a consuming fire And therefore as the Law of Moyses shewing Gods Will was given with the Circumstances of Thunder and Lightening so the Law of Christ now was to be confirmed by the holy Ghost with like signes to shew it was the Will of the same God abrogating the former and constituting this new Law Secondly as all the old Prophets were authorized by circumstance of fire Isaias his lips being touched with a coal of fire became as we read Chap. 6 ver 6. like fire and his words seemed all fiery too and Elias being carried up in a fiery Chariot into heaven 4 Reg. 2.11 and of Hieremias it is said from above he sent fire into mens bones and thereby instructed them Thren 2. v. 13. and Ezechiel foretelling of Christ his Chariot supported by four Cherubims of whom he sayes Chap. 1. v. 13. Their looks were like fire coales all which were but types of the more univocal fire that did accompany the election confirmation and conversation of the Apostles true Prophets of the new law foretellers of heavenly things Thirdly to shew Christ his law was a law of love of charity of coelestiall fire Fourthly to shew the effect of this love was to produce the fire of love divine in all Christian souls Fifthly to shew the spirit of God was searching as fire the most subtle worker and penetratour that is in nature The reason why these fiery tongues were said to sit in the singular number not plurall upon the Apostles was to shew that though the tongues were and must be many for each to have one yet the Spirit giving them was one and not many namely one onely God And this Spirit was rather expressed setting then otherwise to shew the constancy of Gods holy grace and gifts in those he pleaseth to bestow his speciall favours on and their ease and rest in the possession of that Spirit as also that the holy Ghost was to rest in the hearts of the Faithfull to the worlds end 4. They were all replenished whereas before they had received the grace of God now they had the plenitude thereof not all alike but some more some lesse according as was requisite to their callings No marvell then if the Apostles being full of grace and the gift of tongues they could not contain themselves but say The Things which we have seen and heard we cannot but speak nay so much they spake that some believed they were drunk with new wine and so it was indeed with the wine of the heavenly grape the holy Ghost not otherwise and as they were inforced to speak the praises of God by the irrefragable impulse of this holy Spirit so they spake to all purposes that is to the capacity and understandings of all hearers of what nation soever for they spake all kind of languages or tongues which some will understand as if each Apostle speaking a severall language among them all they had all languages others conceive that they speaking onely in their own Syro-Hebraean tongue all the several nations understood them as if their languages had been various as in this manner S. Vincentius Ferrerius preaching in Spanish was understood by severall nations as Italians French Flemish English c. each conceiving they heard him in their native tongue grounded in these words following v. 11. We hear them speaking in our tongues But the true sense is they did really and truly speak upon occasion all languages by the gift
For as the Act of separated souls is necessarily unalterable like those of Angels so the last Act they had when they were united to their bodies remains eternally and is not unproperly said to be the same Act continued for all eternity and therefore free for ever because at first freely produced when the soul was in state of a viatour and out of that issued into the better state of an impatriated spirit nay though Purgatory intervene yet that remora alters not the nature or freedome of the Act because soules there retain their love to God wherewith they dyed however they suffer for former infirmities of their life past The Application 1. WHat may be to our special and present use in this Gospel is to observe that Holy Church culls it out as the most proper to the now flowing Feast of Pentecost though spoken by our Saviour to his Disciples before his Passion as appears ver 29. above but with intention they should then make memory and use thereof when they had received the holy Ghost as consequently we must do at the celebrating this Festivity The main scope of this Gospel is exhorting us to believe and love and telling us the sign of true love is to keep the word of God and that the effect of this love will be to draw down into our soules the Holy Trinity Father Son and holy Ghost as delighting to live in the hearts of those who love the Son of God and shew their love by keeping his holy word 2. But here is a special stile observable in this Gospel very profitable to be reflected on which is that our Saviour seems here only to relate or speak as v. 25. 26. and to leave it to the Holy Ghost to suggest and teach the true meaning of what he said as if it were a speech too profound for his Disciples to dive into without the help of the holy Ghost If then our B. Lord the wisdome of his eternal Father and consequently the best spokes-man in the world would not what ere he could speak so plain to his Apostles themselves as to be understood by them before the coming of the holy Ghost to explicate his meaning how absurdly shall it be done in those that are ignorant Lay-men to dare to understand or interpret holy writ 3. Hence we must infer that we are bound in the first place to believe the holy Ghost to be coequal God with the Father and the Son who sent him since none but God can be of Gods counsel and tell men the meaning of Gods holy word Again we must infer that it is the love of God who now must teach â—s the meaning of Gods holy word and that they are our Wills our Hearts which now must be instructed more then our understandings for these the wisdome of God our Saviour taught by the sight of Faith those the love of God the holy Ghost now teacheth by the fire of charity so that however Faith Rectifies yet it is charity must saintifie the soul how ever Christ Redeemed us yet he was pleased to send the holy Ghost to save us by his sayntifying grace and alas what had it availed us once to have been by God the Father Created once to have been by God the Son Redeemed if we were not more then once by God the holy Ghost sayntified as oft indeed as by sin we are made uncapable of the benefits of our Creation or Redemption Come therefore Holy Ghost come teaching come inamouring come comforting come sayntifying come saving Spirit into the open hearts thou hast of Christians ready to receive thee ready to be inkindled with the flames of thy most holy Love And Praying to day as above most fitly to the sense of this Holy Text. On Trinity Sunday THis Sunday is both the Octave of Pentecost and also the First Sunday after it therefore this week we have the Epistles Gospels and Prayers of two Sundayes for our entertainment and these both if I mistake not the most delightfull of any in the whole year The Antiphon Matth. 28. v. 19. THee God the Father unbegotten thee onely begotten Son thee Holy Ghost Comforter thee holy and undivided Trinity with all our heart and mouth we Confesse we Praise thee we Blesse thee to thee be Glory world without end Vers Blessed art thou O Lord in the firmament of heaven Resp Both praise-worthy and glorious for ever The Prayer ALmighty Everlasting God who hast granted to thy servants in confession of the true Faith to acknowledge the glory of the Eternal Trinity and in the power of Majesty to adore unity we beseech thee heartily that in the firmnesse of the same Faith we may ever be defended from all adversity The Illustration NOw the mysteries of our Redemption are compleat by the contribution of all the Three divine persons of the Blessed Trinity thereunto as of the Father sending his only Son to dye for us of the Son coming and actually dying for our sins and of the holy Ghost descending and sanctifying us with his holy grace to make us sin no more it is most necessary we should close up the said mysteries with a peculiar feast of the same Blessed Trinity and so put a glorious crown upon the work of our Redemption while we begin to work out our salvation from the first root thereof which is our Faith in the most Blessed and undivided Trinity a mystery so unheard of before Christ had taught it to the world that even to this day it is the hardest thing which can be told to men and the thing which the blessed Angels that behold it do not comprehend how the Divine Nature can be personally Trine which neverthelesse is essentially but One. In admiration whereof St. Paul in this dayes Epistle breaks out into a Triple Trinity of his expressing this Triunity saying O depth of the Riches of the wisdome and of the knowledge of God! Loe the first Who ever knew the sense of our Lord or who was ever of his Counsel or who gave first unto him and it shall be restored again Loe the second For of God by God and in God are all things Loe the last of his Triple expressions alluding all of them to the Blessed Trinity as by the Expositours of this Epistle we shall find and consequently must acknowledge it to be included in the Prayer above As also the Gospel is expressing how our B. Lord sent his mission of Apostles with commission to Baptize and teach all the world the mystery of this Blessed Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost So we have this day the best of harmonies in the mystical musick of this book while we find all three parts of holy Churches service to day so neatly woven into one the Epistle Gospel and Prayer all singing forth the praises of the most Blessed and undivided Trinity Father Son and holy Ghost three Divine Persons and one onely God Hitherto the mysteries of our Redemption were all upon
to cry out to God as children do to their Parents Abba that is to say Father O high dignity able to raise any loyal soul high towards so good a God 16. By the Spirit himself is here understood both Christ in whom alone we are said to live and also the holy Ghost whence the Greek text saith The Spirit giveth joynt testimony not onely testifies as the Latine Text hath to shew that however the Word and the Spirit make two persons of the B. Trinity yet they both are but one God with the eternal Father O how excellently are we assured of this happy filiation when both the heavenly Father looks on us as such and his eternal Son together with the holy Ghost testifie and avouch us so to be 17. This last verse tells us we are not onely sons of God but his heires also and not onely his heires but his coheires with Christ and indeed it is fitting Gods children should have a better birth right then the children of the world whereof commonly one onely is heire but here all are coheires of Christ at least The Application 1. THe Expositours upon the first word of this Epistle tell us it is by the tye of our Faith plighted of our promise and covenant made to God in holy Baptisme that Therefore we are debtours onely to the Spirit And with great reason since every man remaines a debtour onely for such bonds as he hath tyed and bound himself by to his creditours Now because God Almighty did foresee how apt a man would be to flatter himself that he was bound by the Law of Nature to pamper that flesh which he had received from his Natural Parents and consequently might loose his soul by so pampering of his body therefore he was mercifully pleased by making man enter into better bonds those of holy baptisme to cancell all his former debts to any creature whatsoever and to make him become new debtour only to that holy Spirit which was both his Creatour and so had more right in him then his fleshly Parents had and also his Regeneratour and so begot him to a spiritual life or being which his first begetters were not able to confer upon him 2. But S. Paul not content to tell us in this Epistle that we are onely debtours to the Spirit and the reason why because of the bond we entered into at holy baptisme of loving God above all things and of living wholly unto him proceeds to animate us towards the performance of this debt by shewing us the gallant effect thereof namely that it makes us as well the heires as sons of God and not heires onely but co-heires of Christ 3. Now in regard the Preachers office is to tell us how to pay this debt how to live spiritually and by so living to secure ourselves of this ineffable co-heiretage which office the Expositours upon this holy Text have at least in part supplyed therefore it remained onely that our holy Mother the Church should make us such a Prayer as might be most suitable to this doctrine and none so suiting it as that which begs our thoughts may be rightly such as suggest to operations answerable to our beeing spiritual altogether That so as it was a pure act of love in God to adopt us here his children in Grace we by re-loving him that is by living according to our better being may be yet further adopted his children in Glory and thus may be made the co-heires of Christ indeed Say now the Prayer above and see beloved if it be not most apposite to this holy purpose The Gospel Luk. 16.1 c. 1 And he said to his disciples There was a certain rich man that had a Bailiffe and he was ill-reported unto him as he that had wasted his goods 2 And he called him and said to him what hear I this of thee render account of thy Baili-ship for thou canst no more be Bailiffe 3 And the Bailiffe said within himself what shall I do because my Lord taketh away from me the Baili-ship digge I am not able to beg I am ashamed 4 I know what I will do that when I shall be removed from the Baili-ship they may receive me into their houses 5 Therefore calling together every one of his Lords debtours he said to the first how much doest thou owe my Lord 6 But he saith An hundred pipes of oyl And he said to him take thy bill and sit down quickly write fifty 7 After he said to another But thou how much dost thou owe who said An hundred quarters of wheat He said to him take thy bill and write eighty 8 And the Lord praised the Bailiffe of iniquity because he had done wisely For the children of this world are wiser then the children of light in their generation 9 And I say to you Make you friends of the Mammon of iniquity that when you fail they may receive you into the eternal Tabernacles The Explication 1. THis parable shewes that all Christians bear office of Trust in Gods Church and are onely to administer his goods not to waste or use them as their own and this is meant whether they have goods of nature or of grace they are to account for all to him And our accuser here mentioned is the devil who justly layes waste to our charge as well when we use not Gods gifts well as when we use them ill So still Christians must do good and not onely decline evil else they lye liable to the devils accusations 2. O how clement a Master do we serve how gently he rebukes when even in Justice he is bound to take an account of our perfidiousnesse Where he sayes now thou must not be longer Bailiffe is understood I cannot in justice let thee be longer in trust of my goods then whilest thou doest administer them faithfully An excellent lesson to keep us close to our duties 3. We see here the accusation is not false the Bailiffe pretends not that he confesseth his guilt when he asks what shall I do since he cannot hope for longer trust from his master This puts us in mind of our miserable condition at the latter account in respect whereof it followes there is no ability in us to labour amends by further service for then the time as well as the power of further labour is past and to beg relief of any other master is a shame to man that had so good a master of Almighty God whose favour he hath lost for ever 4. This verse shewes the Bailiffe had resolved with himself to cheat his master so to provide for himself by their means whom he had favoured to his masters prejudice 5. 6. 7. These verses need not explanation as shewing only how much he cheated his master of 8. Note the word Lord here is taken for the Bailiffes master not for our Saviour as some mistake it and truly the context proves as much for our Saviour undertakes to tell this story as in the
eternall glory and by our cooperating with him give us the rewards of his own operations in us whom he makes labour in his vineyard here a while that he may set us in eternall rest at his own heavenly table where though he be pleased to delight in us yet we shall be the onely gainers by enjoying him for he gets nothing but to be content that we get all by being but willing to present our selves to him as the humane subjects wherein he is pleas'd to produce the divine work of our salvations while he is satisfi'd to call us his fruit that he may be our food for all eternity Thus we are taught in the prayer above and may saying it with the same spirit that made it saint our selves as is desir'd we should by the holy Ghost who gave us this sainting prayer for that holy purpose FINIS On VVhitsunday The first Prayer O God who on this day hast taught the hearts of the Faithful by the Illumination of the holy Ghost grant unto us in the same spirit to relish those things that are right and ever to rejoyce in his Consolation The Secret SAyntifie we beseech thee O Lord our offered gifts and mundifie our hearts by the Illustration of the Holy Ghost The post-Communion LEt the infusion of the Holy Ghost O Lord purifie our hearts and fertilize them by the inward aspersion of his heavenly dew On Trinity Sunday The first Prayer ALmighty everlasting God who hast granted to thy servants in confession of the true Faith to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of Majestie to adore unity we beseech thee heartily that in the firmnesse of the same Faith we may ever be defended from all adversity The Secret SAyntifie we beseech thee our Lord God by the invocation of thy holy name the Hoste of this oblation and render us thereby unto thy self an eternal present The post-Communion GRant O Lord God that the receiving of this Sacrament and the confession of the sempiternal Holy Trinity and of the undivided unity thereof may avail us to the health both of our body and soul On the first Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God the strength of those that trust in thee be mercifully present to our prayers and because without thee mortal infirmity is of no ability grant the assistance of thy grace that in doing what thou dost command we may please thee both in word and will The Secret VOuchsafe appeased we pray thee to accept of these our offerings dedicated to thee O Lord and grant that unto us they may afford perpetual help The post-Communion BEing filled with so great gifts grant O Lord we beseech thee that while we receive these wholsome boones we may never cease from praising thee On Sunday within the Octaves of Corpus Christi being the second after Pentecost The first Prayer MAke us O Lord equally to have both a continual fear and love of thy holy name because thou dost never leave them destitute of thy government whom thou doest instruct in the solidity of thy Love The Secret MAy this oblation sacred to thy name purifie us O Lord we beseech thee and from day to day carry us to such actions as conduce unto our heavenly life The post-Communion NOw that we have received thy sacred gifts we beseech thee O Lord that together with frequenting this mysterie the effect of our salvation may increase On the third Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God who art the Protectour of those that hope in thee without whom nothing is valid nothing is holy multiply we beseech thee over us thy mercy that thou being our ruler thou our guide we may so passe by the temporal goods of this world as not to loose the eternal of the next The Secret LOok we beseech thee O Lord upon the offerings of thy suppliant Church and grant that what we are to receive may by perpetual sanctification prove unto the health of thy believing people The post-Communion MAy thy holy things O Lord received quicken us and prepare us being expiated for thy everlasting mercy On the fourth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer GRant us O Lord we beseech thee that by thy order our course in this world may be peaceably directed and that thy Church may enjoy a quiet devotion The Secret BE pacified O Lord we beseech thee having received our oblations and propitiously compell unto thee our even rebellious wills The post-Communion MAy the received mysteries O Lord purifie us and by their bounty defend us On the fifth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God who hast prepared invisible good things for those that love thee infuse into our hearts the desire of thy love that loving thee in all things and above them all we may attain unto thy promises which surpasse even all our desires The Secret BE O Lord propitious upon our supplications and take unto thee benignely these offerings of thy servants of both sexes that what every one hath presented in honour of thy name may profit all of us to our salvation The post-Communion WHom thou O Lord hast filled with thy heavenly gifts grant we beseech thee that we may be cleansed from our hidden sinnes and delivered from the snares of our enemies On the sixth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God of powers to whom all belongs that is best ingraft in our breasts the love of thy holy name and grant in us the increase of Religion that thou mayest nourish those things which are good and being so nourished maintain them by the practise of pietie The Secret TAke unto thee O Lord benignely these oblations of thy people and be propitious upon our supplications and that no ones desires be frustrate no ones request in vain grant we beseech thee that what we ask faithfully we may obtain efficaciously The post-Communion WE are O Lord full with thy gifts we beseech thee grant that we may be cleansed by their effect and defended by their help On the seventh Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer O God whose providence is so disposed as it never can be frustrated remove we humbly beseech thee all things that are hurtfull and grant whatsoever may be beneficiall unto us The Secret O God who hast concluded the diversity of the legall hosts under the perfection of one sacrifice receive the same from thy devout people and sanctifie it as thou diddest the offerings of Abel that what every one tenders thee in honour of thy Majesty may avail to the health of us all The post-Communion MAy thy medicinall operation clemently free us from our perversities and bring us to those things that are right On the eighth Sunday after Pentecost The first Prayer GRant us O Lord we beseech thee propitiously the spirit of thinking and doing what is right that as we cannot be without thee so we may live unto thee The Secret REceive O Lord we beseech thee what of thy
mercy may be multiplied upon us more often then wâ— do multiply our sinnes because it is by the multiplication of that mercy we obtain first grace to repent and then capacity to be pardoned and pittied too as if pardon alone were not enough without God also took pitty on us and did as well by his pitty â—xcuse as by his pardon forgive our sins For certainly should not God pitty our frailty he could never so often pardon our iniquity nor multiply as he doth his mercy upon us to prevent our sinning as if yet our ill natures could be overcome by his goodnesse and made to offend so great so good a God no more whereunto there is nothing so much conducing as the multip ied mercy that we beg to day to the end we may at last leave to grasp after the shadowes of comfort we aim at by following our own dictamens and may learn to run after the substance of God Almighties promises and thereby may deserve to be made partakers of his heavenly treasures which are promised to all that will for love of them renounce the empty shadowes of riches which this world affords But it remaines this prayer must suite as well to the other seâ—vice of the day as this glosse is suitable to the Prayer In brief therefore see the Epistle all upon graces gratis given while the prayer begs that pardon and pitty which we could never hope for did not God give them gratis and multiply his mercies upon us by the gratuite gift thereof See again the Gospel making the pardon and pitty extended to the Publicane more ultroneous and free by Gods having multiplyed his mercy on him least he should with the proud Pharisee boast his virtues who was full of nothing else but vice And consequently see an excellent report between the Prayer and both the other parts of holy Churches service teaching us by these examples to detest the shadowes of worldly pelfe and to run unto the promises of Almighty God thereby to be made partakers of his heavenly treasures The Epistle 1 Cor. 12.2 c. 2 You know that when you were heathen you went to dumb Idols according as you were led 3 Therefore I do you to understand that no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith Anathema to Jesus And no man can say Our Lord Jesus but in the holy Ghost 4 And there are divisions of graces but one Spirit 5 And there are divisions of ministrations but one Lord. 6 And there are divisions of operations but one God who worketh all in all 7 And the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every one to profit 8 To one certes by the Spirit is given the word of wisdome and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit 9 To another Faith in the same Spirit to another the grace of doing cures in one Spirit 10 To another the working of miracles to another prophecy to another discerning of spirits to another kinds of Tongues to another Interpretation of languages 11 And all these worketh one and the same Spirit dividing to every one according as he will The Explication 2. THat is to say like so many slaves to sense led on by the evil custome of your Idolatrous Ancestours and of the devil or rather indeed misled by them you went on in a kind of fond zeal to serve dumb Idols that could neither hear nor see much lesse give you any requital of the service you did them but now that you are Christians serving a true a living a liberal God give that great God thanks for this conversion O Corinthians 3. This word therefore is used as a link to tye this and the following verses in sense together as who should say therefore I put you in mind of your conversion from Gentilisme to Christianity that your zeal in the service of the true God may as much transcend what you used to false gods as life transcends death as all things transcend nothing as the shadow the substance for so much a perfect Christian transcends a Gentile And therefore it is impossible that a Christian speaking according to the true spirit of such should say Anathema to Jesus should curse Jesus as the Gentiles perhapâ— did curse their Idols when they had not what they expected from them but contrariwise are to blesse praise and magnifie Jesus Christ as the authour of all grace in this life and of glory in the next But the Apostle inculcates this because even the Jewes did curse Jesus as also did the Gentiles amongst whom the Corinthians lived and their Judges to try who were Christians made them do this so least they should follow this ill example the Apostle useth this exhortation to the contrary holding it sufficient obligation not to curse Jesus that one was a Christian See how handsomely the Apostle makes these two opposite to curse Jesus and to call upon the name of Jesus as who should say since the holy Ghost gives you the grace to call upon Jesus you cannot speak in the Spirit of the holy Ghost if you curse Jesus Where note that by calling upon Jesus is not meant the meer prolation of the name or word Jesus but the religious Invocation of that holy name in order to a supernatural end and this none can do but as assisted by the holy Ghost much lesse can you from any other fountain then this vaunt your selves O Corinthians of any other gifts or graces then this I say of the holy Ghost 4. One Spirit One onely holy Ghost giving diversely his several graces to several persons as he pleaseth 5. One Lord Christ Jesus God and man to whom all orders in the Church pay the tribute of their respective services as if from Christ they had their several offices and orders appointed them 6. Note the Apostle here refers grace to the holy Ghost as the fountain thereof ministration service or duty to Christ as Lord of heaven and earth and operation or working to God the Father as the origin and fountain of all things and of their operations And we may not unfitly say the same thing is meant by grace ministration and operation with several respects unto the several persons in the sacred Trinity who as one God is the undivided fountain of all the holy divisions abovesaid and so all things that are done out of God or as Divines say ad extra are equally attributed to the whole Trinity how ever we do piously attribute them also as it were severally to the several persons thereof By God's working all in all is here understood his mutuall concourse to all natural causes and effects and his sole working whatsoever is supernatural in us by means of graces given gratis and of such onely the Apostle here speaks not of graces rendring grateful nor preventing our operation but of such as God gives meerly gratis 7. By manifestation of the Spirit is here understood the gift of the holy Ghost whereby the said holy
Ghost is made manifest who is the Authour of all supernatural gifts The profit whereunto these gifts are given is rather to the Church then to him that receives them for gratuite graces ever avail the Church but not so him who receives them as miracles may be wrought by a sinner who doth not profit by them perhaps at all yet the Church doth 8. By the word of wisdome is understood the power to explicate deep mysteries of Faith as of the B. Trinity Incarnation praedestination or the like By the word of knowledge or science is understood the power to direct mens actions or manners that they be rational at least Thus S. Augustine lib. 12. Trinit cap. 14. 15. distinguisheth between wisdome and science or knowledge 9. By Faith here is not understood that act of Theological vertue which is common to all Christians but an act of particular confidence in God whereby it is believed he will by vertue of that our confidence work a miracle being asked so to do by such a Faith as is able to remove mountains Others understand by Faith here a deep understanding inabling to contemplate and explicate the mysteries of Faith 10. By miracles here are understood those which are extraordinary and are exercised not onely upon the body but even on the soules of men such as was that of S. Peter upon Ananias and Saphyra commanding them to dye By discretion of spirits is meant when God gives one man the grace to see into the very thoughts and intentions of others to know when an action is done by a good or evil spirit by God or the devil a gift to be begged by ghostly Fathers and conducing to their conduct of soules These gifts S. Hilarion was noted to have By interpretation of languages is understood a special gift frequent in the primitive Church whereby men illuminated for that end did give the true sense of Scripture and of those who being ignorant yet had the gift of Tongues and to spake more then themselves well understood but were by Interpretâ—rs expounded 11. Namely as that Spirit as the holy Ghost pleaseth The Application 1. St. Paul in this Epistle first puts the Corinthians and â—n them all other Christians in mind of the horrid Nothing that they were before their conversion from Gentilisme to Christianity And his aym in this is that as nothing was more abominable to the Gentiles then the name of Jesus Christ so nothing ought to be more reverential to Christians then that most sacred and most saving name insomuch as S. Paul concludes it is an Apostacy from God a relapse to Gentilisme not onely to use irreverence to the name of Jesus but to conceive we have any other life or being then what is purchac'd in that sweetest name 2. Notwithstanding true it is we have life often given us by the holy Ghost the special giver indeed of holy grace which is the â—ife and being of a Christian and hence it is S. Paul had no sooner inamoured the Corinthians on the Name of Jesus then he falls instantly upon the gifts of the holy Ghost sent from his heavenly Father and from his sacred Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to multiply on us the mercies of Almighty God as if to have been once redeemed by Christ had not satisfied his infinite goodnesse without he had also made this Redemption copious by sending his holy Spirit to re-redeem us by his graces from the relapses into sinne that render our first redemption fruitlesse unlesse it had been more copious yet by the multiplyed mercies of the holy Ghost applying the Passion of our Saviour to us by some new gift of grace bestowed upon us as often as we take religious breath into our bodies by calling on the Name of Jesus with an aweful reverence thereunto as befits all Christians to do and for this purpose it is S. Paul falls into the enumeration of the gratuite gifts of God the graces that are meerly gratis given not such as are usual and absolutely necessary for our sayntification or justification but such as rather serve to shew the multiplication of Gods holy Power and Mercies over us 3. Blessed God! how art thou perpetually out-doing thine own goodnesse by thy continual effusion of thy self upon our iniquity how art thou giving daily more and more manifestation and consequently much more admiration to the blessed Angels and Saints in heaven by multiplying thy mercies on us sinners here in earth whom all those happy spirits may give a thousand thousand times for lost when they see how we run after nothing but the sordid gain and pleasure of the world the sweets that poyson the contents that damne our soules and yet by the multiplication of thy mercies we are sweetly forc'd maugre the impulse of devil flesh and bloud to let go all our hold on the possessed shadowes of this world and to run after the promised substances of the next But how my God are we forc't to this by the manifestation of thy Power in the multiplication of thy mercies according as was said before in the Illustration Say now beloved the Prayer above and see if it be not excellently well adapted to this holy Text and to this application of the same unto our best improvement The Gospel Luke 18. v. 9. 9 And he said also to certain that trusted in themselves as just and despised others this parable 10 Two men went up into the Temple to pray the one a Pharisee and the other a Publicane 11 The Pharisee standing prayed thus with himself God I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men extortioners unjust advouterers as also this Publicane 12 I fast twice in a week I give Tythes of all that I possesse 13 And the Publicane standing afar off would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven but he knocked his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner 14 I say to you this man went down to his house justified more then he because every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted The Explication 9. 10. By a Pharisee is understood a proud by a Publicane an humble man in this place 11. By the word standing the pride of the Pharisee is insinuated With himself 't is true for he prayed neither with nor to God for his prayer is rather a vaunting of his own then a seeking of Gods glory And his insolence is great whilest he sayes he is not as other men as who should say all besides himself are sinners had he said as some other men there had been lesse arrogancy yet too much and out of this arrogancy he passeth a rash Judgement upon the Publicane whom he points out for a notorious sinner and insinuates himself to be just 12. By twice a Sabbath is understood twice a week as naming the principal day for the whole week By Tythes of all he possesseth he meanes not onely
himself onely shall he have the glory not in another 5 And every one shall bear his own burthen 6 And let him that is catechized in the word communicate to him that catechizeth him in all goods 7 Be not deceived God is not mocked for what things a man shall sow those also shall he reap 8 For any that soweth in his flesh of the flesh also shall reap corruption but he that soweth in the spirit of the spirit shall reap life everlasting 9 And doing good let us not fail for in due time we shall reap not failing 10 Therefore whilst we have time let us work good to all but especially to the domesticalls of faith The Explication 26. IF we have internall life of grace and justice let us walk justly according to the conduct of that grace and by no means look back to the wayes of Judaisme being as we are Christians but let us so farre decline from being vain-glorious as the Jews were that we even forbear the desire as well as the act thereof much lesse let us vaunt our selves to be better then others provoking them thereby to anger or envying if in any gift they excell us 1. Note S. Paul means here such faults as are casually and by frailty committed not those that are habituall or accustomary besides he glanceth here specially at frail relapses to Judaisme and such he commands the Galatians to instruct that is to reprehend gently and with lenitie not rigidly or severely as obstinate offenders ought to be reprehended so besides he makes not every one a reprehender of his brethren but those onely that are spirituall meaning Priests or Churchmen and such reprehension he will have to be in spirit also not in any vain way Note he falls from the plurall to the singular number left he had else seemed to accuse a whole community of frailty and of danger to be tempted which is indeed incident to single persons and not handsomely imputed to many 2. Here he comes to the plurall number again exhorting us to bear each others burthens whether they be of naturall disposition not agreeing with our own or whether they be diseases or afflictions laid upon our neighbour or lastly and chiefly even their sinnes we must bear indeed pardon conceal excuse and if we wil perfectly obey this counsell even do penance for them by our prayers fastings or alms and in so doing we shall fulfill the Law of Christ his command of loving one another This is my precept that you love one another as I have loved you Joh. 15.12 but he so loved us as he bore all our sinnes upon his back and therefore we must be content to help bear those of our neighbours to imitate the example of our Master 3. By something is here understood good virtuous or spiritual as who should say if any man doth not follow the precept above of bearing his brothers burthen let him never think he is or can be any thing in the sight of God Observe the text is so far from esteeming him for some body who is not sweet and gentle to his brother as he is not accounted so much as any thing in the sight of God but is truly as nothing in his eye and absolutely seduceth or cheateth himself if he conceiveth otherwise 4. In this verse we are exhorted to valew our selves onely as we can deserve to be esteemed by Almighty God where we all know we merit little or nothing and not as we may seem to be compared to others For what availes it a man to see another commit greater sins then himself if he commit sinne enough to damne him or at least to render him ungrateful to Almighty God And yet nothing more common then for us to flatter our selves that all is well at home if we see any greater evil in others then in our selves To seek our glory out of others ignominy is folly We shall never arrive to eternal glory in the next world if we do not contrive to be such here within our selves as may deserve the reward of eternal glory rather for our own good works then because others have greater bad ones to answer for then we 5. Note in the second verse above the Apostle meant the burthens of the living brethren in this he reports to those of the dead and in that sense we should each one carry his own burthen before the Tribunal of Christ at the later day as if our sins were then laid in a knapsack on our own backs and each man there to answer onely for his own unlesse he had made himself also guilty of others sins too and in such case they become his also The Reformers mis-understand this place when they alleadge it against purgatory and will therefore have it needlesse to ease our brethren in purgatory of their burthens by our prayers Alas they are chiefly then objects of our compassions and may yet find ease by the communion with the Church in prayer by partaking of the suffrages which the Saints afford them but at the later day it will not be so then is a time for justice not for mercy 6. Observe here the practise of catechizing or teaching Christian doctrine to be as ancient as from the primitive Church in the Apostles dayes Note that then also they who had the happinesse to receive the benefit of being catechized were exhorted to repend the spiritual courtesie by temporal rewards of relief to the Apostles Note lastly that catechizing was by word of mouth not by writing performed for it was indeed prohibited in those times to commit to writing the mysteries of faith lest the Infidels should profane them as they came to their view and yet now what huge force the Reformers put in the Scripture as if it alone availed and tradition were nothing worth whereas both together make up one perfect Record of Christian doctrine 7. This verse may either be refer'd to that immediate before or to the fourth above as who should say deceive not your selves by pretending excuses from relieving their temporal wants who afford you the spiritual helps of Christian doctrine so S. Augustine Theophylactus and S. Hierome expound this place or as more generally others expound it delude not your selves for you cannot cousen God by shaking off your burthens upon other mens shoulders you shall bear your own for God knowes which are yours and you cannot cousen him and thus it reports to the fifth verse as above let each one bear his own burthen So the metaphor imports that this life is a husbandry a time of sowing the next is that of reaping according as we have sowed here if good works then good reward if bad then punishment 8. This verse S. Hierome and the rest above interpret as they did that of the catechized as who should say if you sow the seed of almes to those that instruct you you shall reap the reward the Spirit that is heaven if you sow penury and relieve them not
you shall receive or reap corruption But the common sense is that the fruit of carnality is disease corruption death damnation that of spirit vertue life everlasting glory and salvation 9. The Apostle here exhorts to a perseverance in doing good the Priest constantly continuing to teach the Lay to learn to relieve his teacher and to work according as he is taught as if incessant reward were not otherwise to be hoped but for incessant labour So as we may understand this in two sorts we shall reap in due time in the next world if we do not cease our labours in this or we shall even in this world reap incessant reward in due time for our labours here if we labour constantly and slack not our zeales since it is the end that crownes the work either with grace in due time here or glory in due time in the next world 10. That is whilest we have time to sow the seeds of good works let us do good to all people Christians or Heathens not onely to those we catechize though principally to Christians as being domesticals and of one house with us fellow servants in the Church of Christ the true house of God The Application 1. THe last Sundayes service and this do seem to be almost the same onely that was a more general Application to all mankind this to the chosen sort of men who make up the mystical body of Christ his holy Church Wherefore S. Paul in this Epistle makes his addresse particularly to the Priests and Pastours of our soules from the first verse to the end of the fifth at the sixth he begins to tell the sheep their duty to the shepherd and so continues to the end of the eighth verse in the two last verses he concludes with an exhortation to them of perseverance in their Christian duties bidding them do good to all men whatsoever but especially to one another to the domesticals of Faith to those who have not onely Christ their Father but do professe his holy Spouse the Church to be their Mother 2. We see by the Illustration above that the Priests office to us is double the one to cleanse us by administring the holy Sacraments unto us the other to defend us by preaching praying and offering up their daily sacrifices for us Hence we must conclude our duty consists in preparing our selves worthily for receiving those Sacraments from the hands of the Priests lest we incurr the censures of unworthy receivers no lesse then our own damnation if it be the Sacrament of the holy Altar that we do receive and if any other of them there hangs a curse at least upon all who perform the work of God negligently as all unworthy receivers of any Sacraments do or the negligent hearers of any Sermons or of Masse which is the sacrifice as well of the people as of the Priest and these are peculiarly indeed the works of God as being instituted by his sacred Son nay more they are the works of his continued mercy towards us and so surpasse all other his works whatsoever because we are told his mercy is above all his works 3. Hence the Priest is put in mind further then in the Explication above with what a holy intention attention reverence and zeal of soules he ought to administer any Sacrament and also how with the like regards he ought to preach or offer up his sacrifices thereby to comply with the trust of Sayntity which both God and man have put into his hands lest he incurr the odious brand of becoming like the people so the Priest for how ever both are sinners to God yet the Priests are set apart as Saints to the eyes of men and they peculiarly were those he bade be holy as himself was holy who made them dispensers of the mysteries of God unto the people Lastly hence the Lay-men are minded with what humility reverence fear and trembling yet with what confidence comfort obedience with what Faith what hope what love with what adoration with what zeal to God Almighties honour and glory they ought to receive the holy Sacraments to hear the Word of God to assist at the sacrifice of Masse which is not onely a commemoration but even a renovation a repetition in a mysterious way of our Saviours death and passion so they are to look upon the Priest going to the Altar with the same devotion as if they did behold our Saviour going to be crucified Now that both may do this our holy Mother prayes to day as above for that special gift of God that bounty whereby it is performable that ardent charity which sets on fire the world of flesh and makes it flye out into flames of holy love unto his heavenly Majesty for by this love it is that the Church militant is govern'd and by the same love God is glorified for all eternity in his Church Triumphant The Gospel Luk. 7.11 11 And it came to passe afterwards he went into a City that is called Naim and there went with him his disciples and a very great multitude 12 And when he came nigh to the gate of the City behold a dead man was carried forth the onely son of his mother and she was a widow and a great multitude of the City with her 13 Whom when our Lord had seen being moved with mercy upon her he said to her Weep not 14 And he came near and touched the Coffin and they that carried it stood still and he said young man I say to thee arise 15 And he that was dead sate up and began to speak and he gave him to his mother 16 And fear took them all and they magnified God saying that a great Prophet is risen among us and that God hath visited his people The Explication 11. THis was a fair Citie in Galilee within two miles of mount Thabor and so had the name of Faire for Naim imports as much This made the sadder funerall and the more gladsome miracle being in so vast so famous a City into which so great a multitude such a train of people followed our Saviour 12. This seeming chance to man of two such multitudes meeting those within and those without the City at the funerall was designed by God to render more authenticall the miracle God thereby more glorified and Christ the more beloved though it is to be noted that the Jews and Romans too had their burials alwayes out of the Cities unlesse rarely for Kings who were buried in the Citie of Sion David building a place for that purpose Note this onely sonne was also her onely child hence the mothers sorrow was greater to lose in him all the whole hopes of her house being a widdow of note and so past hopes of more of that family 13. By saying to her weep not he shewed his compassion of her sorrow was such that he meant to take away the cause of her tears by restoring her son to life again and so doubtlesse she believed when he