as Paul doth interpret it in righteousnes holinesse So that the more grace we the more gloâ—y God he doth appeare greater in vs albeit he cannot be made greater by vs. He doth not increase but we grow from grace to grace from vertue to vertue the which ought principally to stirre vs vp vnto this dutie for that our selues are magnified in magnifying him as Mary sheweth here My soule doth magnifie the Lord vers 46. And The Lord hath magnified me vers 49. Qui maledicit domino ipse minuitur qui benedicit angetur prior est in nobis benedictio domini consequens est vt nos benedicamus domino illa pluuia iste fructus The Lord. Lord is a name of might Sauiour of mercie Mary then as Augustine and other obserue praiseth him alone who is able to helpe because the Lord and willing because a Sauiour And my spirit Such as distinguish betweene soule and spirit make this a reason of the former verse My spirit hath reioiced in God my Sauiour and therefore my soule doth magnifie the Lord according to that of S. Iames Is any merry let him sing So that this exultation of Mary caused her exaltation of God Inward reâ—oicing in spirit is a great signe of a good conscience which is a continuall feast The wicked are oftâ—n merry sometime mad merrie but all is but from the tâ—eth outward For as Salomon speakes euen in laughing the heart is sorrowfull and the end of mirth is heauinesse But the good man as the Virgin here reioiceth in spirit all worldly meriments are more talked of then felt but inward spirituall reioicing is more felt then vttered It is as the Scripture calles it a Iubilation an exceeding great ioy which a man can neither suppresse nor expresse sufficiently Nec reticere nec recitare for howsoeuer in the Court of Conscience there be some pleading euery day yet the godly make it Hilary Terme all the yeere See Gospell Dom. 1. Aduent Dom. 9. post Trinit In God Happily the spirit of the most wicked at sometime doth reioice yet not in God nor in good but in villanie and vanitie Prou. 2. 14. They reioice in doing euill and delight in frowardnesse whereas in the good man the ioies obiect is alway good goodnesse it selfe God himselfe Dauid delights in the Lord Mary reioiceth in God And this is so good a ioy that Paul saith Reioice in the Lord alwaies and againe I say reioice We may reioice in our friends in our health in our preferment in our honest recreation in many other things praeter Deum beside God yet in all propter Deum for God so farre foorth as they shall increase our spirituall reioicing in the Lord. God forbid saith Paul that I should reioice in any thing but in the crosse of Christ. In any thing in comparison of this in any thing which might hinder this and yet in all things for this See the Epistle Dom. 4. Aduent Sauiour To consider God as a seuere Iudge would make our heart to tremble but to consider him in Christ in whom he is well pleased is of all ghostly comfort the greatest And therefore if we desire to reioice in spirit let vs not behold God in the glasse of the Law which makes him a dreadfull Iudge but in the glasse of the Gospell which shewes him a mercifull Sauiour In euery Christian there are two contrary natures the flesh and the spirit and that hee may bee a perfit man in Christ he must subdue the one and strengthen the other the Law is the ministry of death and serueth fitly for the taming of our rebellious flesh the Gospell is the power of God vnto life containing the bountifull promises of God in Christ and serueth fitly for the strengthening of the spirit It is oyle to powre into our wounds and water of life to quench our thirsty soules As in name so in nature the Goodspell or the Ghosts spell that is the word and ioy for the spirit Mary then had good cause to adde this epithete Sauiour vnto God My spirit reioiceth in God my Sauiour My Sauiour We note two conclusions out of this pronoune the first against some Papists the second against all Papists Some Popish writers affirme that Mary was conceiued and borne without originall sinne and that she liued and died without actuall sinne contrary to the scripture Rom. 3. 9. Gal. 3. 22. So that in honouring the feast of her conception and natiuitie with the singular priuiledge of Christ they worship an Idoll and not her For an Idoll as Paul disputes is nothing in the world and so is that man or woman conceiued without sinne except Christ who was conceiued by the holy Ghost as none other euer was or shall be They ground this assertion vpon a place of Augustine Excepta sanctae virgine Maria de qua propter honorem domini nullam prorsus cum de peccatis agitur habere volo quaestionem Answere is made that Augustine elsewhere concludes all vnder sinne though he did in that place forbeare to rip vp the faults of the mother in honour of her sonne for in lib. 5. cap. 9. against Iulian the Pelagian he doth intimate that Maries bodie was sinfull flesh concluding peremptorily Nullus est hominum praeter Christum qui peccatum non habuerit graÌ„dioris aetatis accessu quia nullus est hominum praeter Christum qui peccatum non habuerit infantilis aetatis exortu So likewise lib. de sancta Virginitate cap. 3. Beatior Maria percipiendo â—idem Christi quà m concipiendo carnem Christi nihil enim ei materna propinquitas profuisset nisi foeliciùs Christum corde quà m carne gestasset And in his Treatise De fide ad Petrum for the Papists admit that booke Firmissime crede nullatenus dubites omnem hominem qui per concubitum viri mulâ—eris concipitur cum peccato originali nasci ob hoc natura filium irae Thus Augustine expounds and answers Augustine Now for holy Scriptures if there were no more texts in the Bible this one is omnisufficient to accuse Marie of some faults and the Papists of much follie My spirit reioyceth in God my Sauiour He that hath no sinne wants not a Sauiour but Marie reioyced in a Sauiour therefore she was sorrie for her sinne The whole neede not a Physitioâ— saith Christ but Marie calles for a salue therefore surely she had some sore and if any sin then she cannot be our Mediatrix or Aduocaâ—e Si peccatrix non deprecatrix Our Aduocate is our propitiation for sinne but the propitiation for sinne knew no sinne Ergo quae egebat non agebat aduocatum And therefore Mâ—ry who needed a Sauiour her selfe could not be a sauiour of other Againe we gather out of this pronoune my Maries particular apprehension and
world is a schoole where in a generall storie God alwaies reades dumbe lectures of his glorie Plato called it Gods epistle the renowned Hermite Antonius a booke wherein euery simple man who cannot reade may notwithstanding spell that there is a God It is the Shepheards Kalender and the Ploughmans Alphabet This appertaineth essentially and generally to the whole Trinitie for the Father is not onely Creator and Almightie but the Sonne and holy Ghost The creation in the masse of the matter is attributed to God the Father in the disposition of the forme to God the Sonne in the preseruation of both to God the holy Ghost It is said of God personally Father Sonne Holy Ghost The Father is the first not in any prioritie of nature or honour or time but order or as the schoole Prioritate originis according to that of Athanasius in his Creed The Father is of none the Sonne is of the Father alone the holy Ghost of both I will send saith Christ from the Father euen the Spirit of truth Ego mittam à Patre spiritum Ostendens quòd pater est totius diuinitatis vel si mâ—lius dicitur deitatis principium Adore simply rather then explore subtilly this ineffable mysterie Scrutari temeritas est credere pietas est nosse vitaest Bernard de considerat ad Eugenium lib. 5. He is father of Christ by nature singulariter Good men by adoption specialiter All men and all things by creation generaliter as y â— worke is appropriated vnto him in regard of his power And in Iesus Christ his onely Sonne our Lord. That which concerneth the second person is more largely set downe then all the rest teaching vs hereby that as we should respect other doctrine so this in more speciall sort as being the center of all the Creed and Scriptures circumference 1. Cor. 2. 2. This person is described by his Titles 1. Iesus 2. Christ. 3. His onely Sonne 4. Our Lord. Estate of Humiliation Incarnation Passion Exaltation 1. Iesus is his proper name giuen him by the Angell Other if any haue the very name were typicall Sauiours only Iesus Naue the figure of Christ as a King Iesus Sydracke the figure of Christ as a Prophet Iesus Iosedecke the figure of Christ as a Priest Augustine Eusebius and generally all expositors vpon the 3. of Zucharie This sweet name containes in it a thousand treasuries of good things in delight whereof S. Paul vseth it fiue hundred times in his Epistles as Genebrardus obserueth 2. Christ His appellatiue title of office and dignitie Concerning these two titles Iesus and Christ see the Gospell Dom. 1. post Natiuit 3. His only Sonne which implieth that he is God Iohn 1. 1. A distinct person from the Father Mat. 28. 19. God because he is a son not as other by fauor but by nature whatsoeuer the Son receiueth of y e Father he receiueth it by nature not by grace he receiueth not as other apart but all that the Father hath sauing the personall proprietie Only sonne Called the first begotten in respect of his mother and humane nature onely begotten in respect of his Father and diuine nature For the holy Spirit is not begotten but proceeds as the Scripture doth distinguish Nasci est à potentia intelligente quia filius cogitatione nascitur est â—mago patris at procedere est à voluntate quia spiritus sanctus est amor c. I belieue Lord helpe mine vnbeliefe The coniunction And prooueth that the Sonne is equall with the Father as concerning his Godhead and yet a distinct person Alius personaliter nowaliud essentialiter I beleeue in God the Father And in Iesus Christ. Our Lord as our Creator Redeemer Gouernor as head of the Church Eph. 4. 5. Suetonius obserueth that Augustus refused the name of Lord. Orosius notes that it was at that time when Christ was borne that all Lordship might be giuen vnto him See Epistle Dom. 17. post Trinit Christs incarnation is Israels consolation for all sound comfort stands in happinesse all happinesse in fellowship with God all fellowship with God is by Christ who for this cause being very God became very man that he might reconcile God to man and man to God he became little that we might be great the Sonne of man that we might be the sonnes of God His incarnation hath two parts Conception Birth Conceiued by the holy Ghost Works of power are attributed to the Father of wisdome to the Sonne of loue to the holy Ghost Wherefore because this was a worke of highest loue in God toward mankind it is ascribed especially to the holy Spirit Luke 1. 35. The holy Ghost shall come vpon thee and the power of the most high shall ouershadow thee Signifying hereby that this mystery cannot be seene cleerely therefore not to be examined curiously S. Augustine calles it a sweet coniunction where speech is husband and eare wife Meaning that as soone as the blessed Virgin assented to the Angels message she conceiued Birth I make Christs incarnation a part of his humiliation because there can be no greater abasement then that hee who thundred in the cloudes should cry in the cradle swadled in a few ragges whom the heauen of heauens could not containe that the eternall Word should become an infant that he who was the father of Mary should be now the sonne of Mary The Scripture tels vs how man comes foure waies into the world 1. By the helpe of man and woman as all are vsuallie borne 2. Without any man or woman and so the first man was created 3. Of a man without a woman and so was Eua made 4. Of a woman without a man and so was Christ borne Of the Virgin Mary Where the mother of Christ is described by her Name Mary Surname Virgin The new Iesuits and old Friers haue many wonderfull extrauagant conceits of this name let it suffice that it is added in the Gospell and Creed to shew that Christ came of the linage of Dauid and that therefore he was the true Messias as God had promised and prophecied by the mouthes of all his holy seruants Virgin A perpetuall Virgin Before In After Christs birth Before his birth against 1. Iewes 2. Gentiles 3. Cerinthians Vnto the first we say with Cyril Pariet Aaronis virga sine semine non pariet virgo sine semine aut vtrumque negate aut vtrumque concedite Against the second we haue Ficta Qui enim è Iouis cerebro Mineruam ex eiusdem femore Bacchum falsò prognatum esse fabulamini quomodo ex vtero virginali Christum nasci dicitis impossibile Facta Quoniam animalia multa sine commistione generantur And Plutarch in the life of Numa spake like an Angell Incredibilo non est vt
you To behold the Lambe of God who taketh away the sinnes of the world and so by the grace of Christ thou shalt vnderstand the loue of God thou shalt perceiue his wisedome power Maiestie sweetned and tempered to thy capacitie thou shalt finde the saying of Paul to be most true that in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge that Christ in our iustification is all in all and therefore good reason he should haue the first and most place in this argument that his grace should be named first and last The loue of God is the fountaine of all goodnes as Diuines speake gratiarum gratia from which originallie proceeds euery perfect gift and grace For almightie God hath not elected vs in regard of our works or other worth but coÌ„trariwise because God loued vs we do that which is acceptable in his sight I obtained mercie of the Lord saith Paul to be faithfull Vt fidelis essem non quia fidelis eram as Lombard aptly The nature of this short treatise will not endure that I should wade farre into this Abyssus I remember Pauls exclamation O the deepnes of the riches both of the wisedome and knowledge of God how vnsearchable are his iudgements and his waâ—es past finding out And the glosse of Augustine Volentes disputare de deâ— profundo mersi sunt Or as other Versi sunt in profundum I come therefore to the Communion of the holy Ghost a point more comfortable then ordinarily felt and yet more felt then can be disputed It is said Gal 4. 6. God hath sent the spirit of his Sonne crying in our hearâ—s Abba father he said not calling but crying and Rom. 8. 26. hee calleth this crying vnspeakeable groaning When a man is tempted and afflicted hee feeleth the strength of his enemies and the weaknesse of his flesh he feeleth the fierie darts of Satan the terrors of death the wrath of God all these cry out against him horribly so that the perplexed soule sees nothing but sinne threatning heauen thundering the diuell roring the earth trembling hell mouth open and ready to swallow him vp But yet in the midst of all these Gods holy spirit crieth in our hearts and this cry doth outcry the clamors of the law the bellowes of hell and howlings of infernall fiends it pearceth the clouds and ascends vp to the eares of God insomuch that the blessed Angels seeme to heare nothing else but this cry The spirit helpeth our infirmities and the strength of Christ is made perfect through our weaknesse For Christ is most powerfull when as we are most fearfull euen when we can scarsely groane marke the words of Paul The spirit maketh intercession for vs in our temptation not with many words or long praiers he crieth not aloud with teares haue mercie on me O God but only giues a little sound and a feeble groaning as ah father this is but one word yet notwithstanding comprehends all things Indeed the mouth speaketh not but the good affection of the soule crieth aloud after this manner O Lord God of compassion and father of mercies although I am grieuously vexed on euery side with affliction and anguish yet am I thy child and thou art my father in Christ. This little word or rather no word but a poore thought conceiued aright passeth all the flowing eloquence of Demosthenes and Tully yea Tertullian and all the Orators that euer were in the world for this matter is not expressed with words but with groanings and these groanings are from the blessed Spirit Thus you see the large extent of Pauls affection in regard of the thing wished vnto the Corinthians The grace of Christ the loue of God the communion of the holy Ghost The second extension is in regard of the persons be with you all for the Pastor must wish well not only to the best or to the worst but this praier ought to be made for euery one as well as for any one There is none so bad but hath receiued some grace none so good but hath need to receiue more grace Wherefore pray we still that the grace of Christ may be with vs all The Church of England addes a third extension in regard of the time for euermore the which is implied in the text also for the Corinthians as we reade in the former epistle were Saints by calling and so doubtlesse had receiued already the grace of Christ and had tasted of the loue of God through the fellowship of the holy Ghost He doth therefore now desire that the good worke begun in them may be perfect that the grace receiued may continue with them and increase daily vnto the end and in the end that the loue of God which cannot be greater secundùm essentiam may be greater secundùm efficientiam appearing growing abounding in them more and more for euermore Amen Amen is vsed in holy Scripture three waies as Gabriel and Gerson speake Nominaliter Aduerbialiter Verbaliter As a nowne for truth Apoc. 3. 14. These things saith Amen the faithfull and true witnesse and so it is added in the conclusion of euery Gospell and of the whole Bible as a seale to confirme that which is written In the beginning is the first Amen the last word of holy writ a stately beginning a strange ending For what is more stately then antiquitie what more strange then truth Hereby teaching vs that the Scriptures haue vetera and vera which are not together in any other writing For in humane learning many things are vncertainly true and more certainly vntrue onely the word of God is sealed with Amen Secondly as an Aduerbe for verily so Christ often ii the Gospell Amen Amen dico vobis Thirdly as a Verbe signifying so be it Deut 27. 15. Dicet omnis populus Amen and so it is vsed in Pauls praier expounded before and in all our Collects insinuating our earnest desire that those things which we haue faithfully asked may be effectually obtained And this custome of answering the Minister in the Church Amen is ancient as it appeareth in the 1. Cor. 14. 16. Iustin Martyr Apolog. 2. Hieron prolog lib. 2. in epist. ad Galat. Augustin epist. 107. Vsum respondendi Amen antiquissimum esse patet saith Bellarmine lib. 2. de Missa cap. 16. Here is open confession I would the Church of Rome would make open restitution also For if the people must answere the Priest Amen then the Priest must pray to the peoples vnderstanding and how shall they vnderstand except common praier be said in a common tongue A conclusion agreeable not onely to the Scriptures as Bellarmine acknowledgeth and to the practise of the Primitiue Church as Iustin Martyr and Lyra report and to the paternes of other Liturgies in South India Moscoâ—ia Armenia but euen to their owne constitutions and Masse booke for their owne Clement and their owne Missale giue order that