Christian the semblance of a Christian and that as he is a Christian so he seeme to bee a Christian for albeit the Root giues life vnto the Tree yet if it haue neither leaues nor boughes it is but an vnseemely sight Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus saith Saint Paul Let your patient mind for so the Vulgar render it be knowne to all men for if it bee wholly hidden in the soule it will hardly be perceiued Saint Augustine expounding that place of Saint Mathew Beware of false Prophets which come vnto you in Sheepes cloathing but inwardly are rauening Wolues saith It were fit that because the Wolfe puts on the Sheepes skinne that the Sheepe should lay aside his owne skinne and clap on that of the Wolfe There were two Alters belonging to the Temple the one without which was of stone wheron the beasts were offred the other within which was of gold wheron Incense was offered God was serued in them both but in conclusion the inward Alter was so farre preferred before the outward that Philon saith That one poore crumme of Incense offered from a tender heart and a merciful soule was of more worth than all the sacrifices that were offered without Regard yee me not because I am blacke for the Sunne hath looked vpon me Saint Bernard saith That the Spouses despising of this outward beautie did arise from that great esteeme wherein she held the inward brightnesse and resplendour of the soule which is a fire which consumeth and burneth vp the beautie of the bodie Dauid calls the Church one while the Kings daughter another while the Kings Bride but hee paints her richliest forth vnto vs in her soule The Kings daughter is all glorious within not despising also the beautie of the bodie Cloathed in a Vesture of gold wrought all with needleworke and set forth with diuers and sundrie colours verie beautifull to behold The Bridegroome aduiseth his Spouse That shee should weare her colours in her heart and as if that were not sufficient enough he wills her to weare them on her arme Our Sauior Christ in his praying and other occasions vsed these exterior acts Saint Paul saith I will pray with the Spirit but I will pray with the vnderstanding also There is the vse of your tongue set downe If I pray with my tongue the Spirit also praieth So that God will haue the exercise of soule and bodie both together First Because God being Creator of both it is fit that hee should bee serued by both Secondly For mans satisfaction For in regard that Man cannot see mans Faith nor that pittie and compassion that he beareth in his bowells it is requisite that he should manifest the same by some outward signes for he can hardly shew himself religious towards God who is irreligeous towards Man And therfore it is said With the heart we beleeue vnto Righteousnes but with the mouth we confesse to Saluation Occasion is offered to receiue the Sacraments or a necessitie of giuing a testimonie of our Faith here euery Christian is bound to manifest the same by outward signes Thirdly The sanctitie and holynesse of the Soule doth giue force and vertue to that of the bodie and that of the bodie doth confirme and augment that of the Soule the heart giues vigour and vertue to deuout eyes to hands lifted vp and to knees humbly kneeling on the ground And these outward ceremonies doe strengthen increase and inflame the Spirit and inward deuotion Saint Augustine saith That God hath no need of these ceremonies for the better manifestation of our mind but that Man hath need thereof for to kindle stir vp more zeale and feruour in himselfe being that by them the hearts affection is the more set on fire And Saint Cyprian That by humbling our selues vpon our knees in the sight of God we are not to endeauour to please and serue him onely with the thoughts and meditation of the soule but also with the disposition of the bodie and the voyce of the tongue Dauid drawing neere to his end a little before he died did much indeere this Doctrine to his sonne Sâ—lomon Haue a care that thou keepe the commandements of thy Lord thy God and all the ceremonies belonging thereunto as it is written in the Law of Moses that thou maist prosper in all that thou doost and in euerie thing whereunto thou turnest thee But their heart is farre off from me The whole man take him all together may make sweet musicke in Gods eares like vnto an Organ which by different Keys makes different sounds but God delights most in the musicke of the heart for the lips the feet and the hands being capable of suffering violence the heart is not subiect thereunto The cleannesse of the heart ought to performe the exercise of all the vertues but Fastings Prayers and Almesdeeds comming forth of a soule heart like waters flowing from a foule conduit corrupt those wholesome waters Abhominatio est mihi saith God by Esay This is to put new patches into an old garment and new wine into old stinking Vessells Saint Augustines saith That that which God principally forbids in the Decalogue are the desires of the heart whereunto the Schoolemen ad the exteriour act though there is no wickednesse like to the inward wickednes and if the outward be more punished it is because of it's more hurt through it's ill example The workes of Vertue are not all equall yet al of them haue one ground foundation which is the loue feare of God Abraham was charitable Dauid humble Eliah zealous Moses milde Iob patient Martha solicitous Marie deuout God must be paid in al these seueral coines Let euerie man looke vnto the cleannesse of his owne soule and let him exercise himselfe in that which he is able crying out with the Psalmist To thee will I confesse in the vprightnesse of my heart It was a great goodnesse of Gods mercie towards vs to place our felicitie and our good in a thing so proper vnto vs that no man is able therein to hinder vs. If he had inioyned vs Fasting wee might haue complained of our weakenesse if Almesdeeds we might haue complained of our pouertie and so haue excused our selues but for the keeping cleane of our heart and for to loue and feare our God as none can 〈◊〉 vs thereof so none ought to outstrip vs therein For the expences of the Sanctuarie neither might the Rich offer more nor the Poore lesse and this was a type and figure of the spiritual offering of our â—oules wherein we are all equal alike and that not without the great prouidence of Heauen to the end that no man might haue cause to alledge an excuse Hast thou trauelled abroad to plant Gods Religion amongst Infidels No Hast thou kept thy bodie vnder by disciplining thy selfe No Eatest thou flesh in Lent Yes For thâ—se things euerie one may alledge many excuses but for the foulenesse of
the heart there is no excuse We read in the Legend That the Deuil met with Machariâ—s and told him I haue the odds of thee in a thousand things thou fastest and I neuer eat thou watchest and I neuer sleepe thou sometimes takest paines and I am neuer idle yet thou hast one great aduantage of me to wit thou hast a cleane heart and myne is full of rancor and malice c. This people honours me with their lips but their heart is farre from me This is an excellent Lesson for those that pray and sing in the Quire that prayer which is onely with the tongue God makes little reckoning of it Saint Cyprian sayth That the Church doth admonish the People that at the time of diuine Seruice they should haue their hearts in Heauen Sursum corda And although their answer be Habemus ad Dominum yet many doe repeat it by rote like Parats without any kind of attention at all Thou desirest of God That hee would heare thee when thou art so farre off from thy selfe that thou doost not heare thy selfe and wouldest haue him to be mindfull of thee when God knowes thou doost not mind thy selfe It is a wofull thing that men should say Seruice as if they did not say it and that they should pray as if they did not pray and that they should sing as if they did not sing The Lateran Councell saith Studiosecelebrent deuote quantum Deuâ— dederit And they willed it so to be done In virtute sanctae obedientiae Saint Paul Be fulfilled with the Spirit speaking vnto your selues in Psalmes and Hymnes and spirituall Songs singing and making melodie to the Lord in your hearts Whereupon Saint Hierome saith Audiant hi quibus psallenâ—i in ecclesia officium est Let your singing men giue eare to that which they sing in the Church And Gratian puts it in the Decretals And the Glosse saith Non clemens sed amans clamat in aâ—re Dei It is not the loudnesse of the voyce but the louingnesse of the heart that rings in Gods eare In a word The power of Prayer must come from the Soule Saint Gregorie saith That Abels Sacrifice was so well accepted of God because hee had first offered the same in his heart and that it was not so much esteemed for that it was of the best of his flockes but for the deuotion wherewith he offered it vp And Cains out of a contrarie respect so sleightly regarded But in vaine they worship me teaching for Doctrine mens Precepts By these Precepts of men he vnderstandeth those which are contrarie to the Lawes of God as it is well noted by Irenaeus And in those dayes there were verie many among them as Thomas Saint Hierome and Epiphanius hath obserued Saint Paul sayth as much Improoue rebuke exhort for the time will come when they will not suffer wholesome Doctrine but hauing their eares itching shall after their owne lusts get them a heape of Teachers and shall turne their eares from the truth and shall be giuen vnto Fables Where Faith is indangered there must wee not vse a soft and smooth hand Now the Pharisees following Iewish Fables and applying themselues to the precepts of men did turne away from the truth they placed their holinesse in outward ceremonies they receiued the offerings of stolne things God abhorring nothing more The Saduces did denie the immortalitie of the soule the resurrection of the dead finall judgement reward and punishment The Galileans denied obedience to any saue to God The Herodians did beleeue that there was no other Messias but Herod The Esseni that men ought not to sacrifice in the Temple nor sweare vpon necessitie nor haue proprietie of goods To all these our Sauiour sayth They worship mee in vaine They do but loose their labor in honoring me and in seruing me That which goeth into the mouth defileth not the man c. There is no meat in it's owne nature that hurteth the soule Saint Paul saith To the cleane all things are cleane but to the vncleane nothing is cleane For the sinne is not in the meat but in the vse thereof and when we ought to abstaine God saw all that hee had made and lâ—â— it was very good The forbidden tree was good but it was Adams disobedience that made it bad Euery creature of God is good saith Saint Paul and nothing ought to beerefâ—sed if it be receiued with thankes giuing But the forge wherein this is ill forged is the heart Out of the heart come euill thoughts The heart in Scripture is sometimes taken for the Vnderstanding Their foolish heart was full of darkenesse Sometimes for the Will Where is their treasure there is their heart allso Sometimes for the Memorie Let not my words depart out of thy heart all the dayes of thy life And sometimes for the soule Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thy heart From a good soule come good thoughts and good workes and from an euill soule euill thoughts and euil workes As this fountaine is so are the waters that flow from thence either troubled or cleere And as to repaire a sicknesse wee must haue recourse to it's cause so all your Saints adresse themselues to the soule Dauid desired of God that he would giue him a new heart fearing that the heart that now he had would neuer leaue it's woonted trickes but runne according to it's old byas Create in me a cleane heart ô God and renew a right spirit within me And if that may not be done then he desires an Amplius laua me Wash me till my spots be taken away and that I be whiter than the snow Fiat cormeum immaculatum in iustificationibus tuis c. At the doore of Paradice God placed one or many Cherubims For Cherubin is there in the plurall beeing set there to cowe Man and to keepe him backe So many Cherubims were not set there for Man onely but for the Deuill who had taken of the fruit of the tree of Life and deliuered it vnto Man But the Deuill is farre more greedie of the heart of Man than of the tree of Life And therefore we are to desire of God that he will bee pleased to set a guard vpon it From the heart comes Murders Adulteries Fornications Thefts false Testimonies and Slanders Here is a powerfull hellish squadron which assaults the heart Saint Paul makes a larger muster of all these souldiers These are the knowne workes of the flesh dishonesties filthinesse vncleanenesse fornications adulteries witchcrafts sorceries enmities contentions emulations angers debates dissentions enuies drunkennesse and murder There are no countries regions nor cities sayth Saint Chrysostome that containe such a companie of enemies and all of them conspiring against a poore miserable heart What so many rauening wolfes against one silly sheepe so many greyhounds let slip against one cowardly hare so many kites against one single chicken so many eagles against one poore pigeon
should come from the Stocke of Dauid Now whither it were that this Cananitish woman by giuing him this attribute thought with her selfe That he had some obligation to fauour the Gentiles for the first Troupes that Dauid had were of fugitiue Slaues and Forreiners which came to his ayd Et factus est eorum Princeps or whither the power that she saw he had in casting out Deuils wrought thus vpon her or whither the much honour that hee had alwaies shewne to women or all of these together were motiues of her pretension I cannot tell you but sure I am that shee did beleeue That our Sauiour Christ came into the world for to saue sinners and for the generall good of all Mankind for the Iew and for the Gentile and that the Deuills were subiect vnto him differing therein from the Pharisees who made him Belzebubs Factor and that there was no disease so incurable which this heauenly Physition was not able to cure and that he had past his word to the greatest Sinners That if they should call vpon God for mercie and beleeue in his sonne Christ Iesus whom he had sent into the world he would free them from forth the depth of their miseries Non respondit ei verbum He answered not a word Origen and almost all the rest of the Saints judge this silence of our Sruiour to bee verie strange in regard of the strangenesse of the circumstances First of all Because that Fountaine saith Origen which was alwaies woont to inuite and call vs to drinke doth now denie water to the Thirstie the Physition that came to cure the Sicke refuse to helpe his Patient that Wisedome which cried out in the Market place with a loud voyce Venite ad me that it should now remaine dumbe Who may not stand amased at it O Lord thou doost not onely accept of Prayer but doost like of the bare desire to doe it not onely of the lips but of our willingnesse to mooue them Et voluntate labiorum illius non fraudasti eum saith Dauid And Wisedome Optaui datus est mihi sensus When I prayed vnderstanding was giuen me and when I called the Spirit of Wisedome came vnto me Secondly That those prayers cries which come not from the heart should notbe heard it is not much Aufer à me tumultum carminum tuorum saith Amos Take thou away from me the multitude of thy Songs for I will not heare the melodie of thy Viols And all because they were not from the heart And in another place Populus hic labijs me honorat corde autem longe est They honour me saith Esay with their lips but their heart is farre from me But this Cananitish woman did by her voice expresse her hearts griefe and most true it is That parents many times louing their children better than themselues are more sencible of their sorows than of their owne Thirdly it being so pious a businesse as the freeing of her daughter from the torment of the Deuill and being sent besides of God into the world Vt dissoluat opera Diaboli the Apostles as well pittying the daughters miserie as the mothers sorow besought our Sauiour in her behalfe saying Dimitte illam Fourthly There must be some great matter in it some extraordinarie reason why Christ should bee now more dumbe than at other times But of that wee haue spoken elsewhere Clamaui per diem non exaudies nocte non c. they are the words of the sonne of God to his eternall Father What ô Lord sayth hee shall I call vpon thee night and day and wilt thou not heare mee Thy silence can bee no scandall vnto mee because I know the secrets of thy heart and thy loue towards mee Marry vnto others it may giue great offence In the former Chapter of this Storie wee haue giuen some reasons of this silence Of those which haue since offered themselues let the first bee that of S. Chrisostome If our Sauiour Christ sayth he should haue made present answer to the Canaanitish woman her patience her perseuerance her prudence her courage and her faith would not haue beene so much seene nor manifested to the World So that our Sauiour was not dumbe out of any scorne or contempt towards her but because in the crysoll of these his put-byes and disdaines hee might discouer the treasure of her Vertues And for this cause did Christ heape so many disgraces vpon her one on the necke of another one while not seeming to take any notice of her griefs another while stiling the Iews children and her selfe a dog Wherewith this poore woman was so far from being offended or taking any exception at it that humbly casting her self downe at his feet shee did worship and adore him allowing all that he sayd to be true that these disgraces were worthily throwne vpon her confessing her selfe to bee no better than a dog yet notwithstanding shee comes vpon him againe with an Etiam Domine Yet the crums ô Lord c. That with kind words and faire promises and other gratious fauours God should incourage his souldiers put strength and boldnesse into them and winne their loue and affection it is not much but that with disdaines and disgraces they should receiue augmentation and increase like Anteus who the oftner he was by Hercules throwne to the ground the abler and stronger hee grew it is more than much Hee that is in Loue hath his affection rather inflamed than abated by disdaines And this Canaanitish woman was falne so farre in loue with our Sauiour that his neglecting of her could not quench the heat of her affection In a word because to fight against the disfauours of God is one of the greatest proofes that a Soule can make of her prowesse that this womans valour might bee the more seene Non respondit ei verbum Hee answered not a word c. The second is of Saint Gregorie Many times saith he God doth defer this or that fauor which we beg at his hands and for no other cause but that he would haue vs to perseuer in Prayer God is so well pleased that wee should pray and sue vnto him that with him hee is Magis importunus qui importunat minus Most troublesome that is least troublesome Saint Austen sayth that out of the pleasure and delight that hee taketh therein God will haue vs to intreat him euen for those things which are alreadie decreed vpon in his diuine Councell And as his prouidence giues vs the fruits of the Earth by the meanes of trauell and tillage so he giues vs many good things many rich blessings by the means of prayer Abrahams posteritie rested verie secure in regard of the promise which God had made vnto them And yet for all this would hee haue Isaacs prayers to bee the meanes that Rebecca of barren should become fruitfull There was great certaintie that God would send raine after that great
should bee a Lord and Ruler there is a necessitie in it And that there should be a greater Lord there is a greater necessitie in it For Man had neede of the creatures and God made him Lord ouer them If a man could runne as fast as a horse hee were not Lord ouer the horse if he had the clawes and strength of a lyon hee were not Lord ouer the lyon But in Heauen there is not any the least signe of necessitie for there both the Sunne the Moone the Creatures Fountaines Plants Fruits Flowers and Houses are all superfluous So that Peter when hee talkt of building Tabernacles he knew not what he sayd Adhuc eo loquente eccè nubes lucida And as he yet spake behold a bright Cloud Scarce had Peter ended his speech when a bright shining cloud like a glorious Curtaine ouerspred them all Thomas sayth That in this cloud the holy Ghost descended downe as hee did in that Baptisme in the forme of a Doue Theophilact That in the old Testament God appeared in darke clouds which strooke terrour and amasement but now he comes in a bright cloud because he came to teach and to giue light The holy Ghost is the Author of the light of our soules Wisedome cals him Spiritum intelligentiae The spirit of vnderstanding And the Church dayly begges of him that hee will lighten our darkenesse and illuminate our sences Accendâ— lumen sensibus From the cloud there went out a voice like vnto thunder which sayd This is my beloued Sonne heare him And Saint Chrysostome hath noted it That Moses and Elias disappeared and were not to bee seene to the end that the Disciples might vnderstand that this voice was onely directed to our Sauiour Christ. Howbeit hauing seene beefore in his face that treasure of glorie and Peter hauing acknowledged him to bee the Sonne of the euerliuing God in the name of the whole Colledge and Societie of the Apostles it could not bee presumed otherwise The voice beeing past the cloud vanished and the Disciples remained as dead men Our Sauiour Christ quit them of their feare and comming againe to themselues like those that are awakened from a heauie sleepe they saw none but onely Iesus in the garden They were falne all asleepe and they slept so soundly that our Sauiour Christ could hardly wake them Heere likewise they failed for they awaked with an earnest desire to enioy that glorie which they had seene but they did not see it any more First because those eyes that shut themselues to labour do not deserue to see such glorie Secondly because vpon earth though it be from Heauen no good can continue long Thomas saith That the body of our Sauiour Christ did inioy this glorie as it were by transition or a passing by And that those glories which are enioyed here on earth are short momentarie they are no better than grasse and hay which are soone cut down withered they are Winter Sun-shinesand Summer-Floods soone gone Mans dayes are like the grasse and as the flowre of the field so shall hee flourish But that the glorie of God should stand vpon these ticklish tearmes I cannot wel tell what to say to it nor doe I know which is the greater miracle of the two either that the glorie of the Earth should continue or that of Heauen haue an end But the truth is those goods do not last long with vs which Heauen it selfe communicateth vnto vs. Saint Bernard sayth That those pensions which God bestows on his friends are verie good but verie short Saint Austen That it is a sweete but a short good that God giues vs in this World Hugo de Sancto Victore That Gods Regalos or Regales delitiae haue two discountings or diminutions of debt in this life The one that they are not full the other that they are not long for a cloud presently comes and ouershadowes them Saint Bernard treating of the cherishments and comforts of the Spouse vnder the name of kisses saith Heu rara hora parua mora One while he saith that he suffered his thoughts to be carried away with the sweetnes of these daintie delights conceiuing it to bee a great happinesse but then hee sayth againe O si durasset Those that trauell abroad reserue all their content they take therin for their Countrie so that their ioy shal not only be ful but permanent They shal be drunke with the plentifulnes c. Of Nebridius a friend of his Saint Augustine saith And he applieth his mouth to that Fountaine from whence he drew all his happinesse Pro jucunditate sua sine fine foelix Happie for the pleasure of it without end Ipsum audite Heare him Here the World did receiue so great a good that the Father did giue vs his Sonne to be our Master and Law-giuer So that it lyes vpon him to teach vs and vpon vs to obey him Tertullian sayth That the presence of Moses and Elias made much for that present purpose but more now their absence for that it gaue vs thereby to vnderstand That this supreame Master and Lawgiuer did far outstrip the office of Moses and the zeale which Elias had of the Law Quasi jam offâ—cio honore perfunctis For in this best beloued sonne of God Iesus Christ two things are to be seene the one as he was a Lawgiuer the aduantage that he had of the Law the other That Moses was now put to silence and that we were onely to hearken to our Sauiour Christ. At his Baptisme that verie selfe same voice was heard This is my beloued sonne but we find not there an Ipsum audite Heare him Not notifying him then to the World for a Master so that it seemeth that this was reserued for our Sauiour Christ against he had past ouer the rigour of Fasting and Pennance signifying That God placeth not him in the office of a Preacher who hath not run through these strict courses Bene patientes erunt vt annuntient Christ had no need to doe pennance but thou hast great need to doe so Locus est communis Descendentibus illis c. And when they came down from the Mount he charged them to say nothing to any man He inioyned them silence First saith Saint Hierome Ne incredibile videretur lest the greatnesse and strangenesse thereof should make men to thinke it to be an old wiues tale And if Christ said to Nicodemus If when I tell yee earthly things yee beleeue not how will yee be brought to beleeue those high and heauenly mysteries of the Kingdome of God Here occasion may bee taken to taxe those who comming from beyond the seas are all in their Hyperboles abusing others eares with their loud lyes but giuing the lye most to their owne soules Secondly He inioyned them silence for that the fauours and regalos which thou shalt receiue from God in priuate thou art not to bring them vpon the stage in publique or to
vnto thee All these bals of wilde fire were no more than thy hardnesse of heart had neede of But those sinnes of this Samaritan and those of this Adulteresse were sinnes of weakenesse and these must be discreetly dealt withall by the soules Phisitions There are some that we must preach nothing vnto but thunder death hell and damnation Others grace and mercie and win them to amendment of life by affectionating them to the delights of Heauen Considering thy selfe least thou be also tempted For if thou bee sharpe tart and bitter against weake consciences God may chance to suffer thee to fall into the like frailties Iudge charitably of thy neighbour and censure him by thy selfe and seeke rather to comfort than cast downe a soule c. Lord giue me of this water How powerfull a thing is priuate interest This woman found excuses not to giue but none not to aske The Antients did paint forth Interest in Mercurie the god of Wisedome with a bunch of keyes in his hand for the couetous man opens another mans brest for to receiue thence and shuts his owne that he may not giue and for both these things he is verie prudent and wise The Pharisees had many reasons and places of Scripture for to persuade themselues that Iohn Baptist was not their Messias to wit for that hee was of the Tribe of Leui that he wrought no miracles that hee liued in the wildernesse and remooued from the conuersation of men contrarie to that prophecie of Baruc Cum hominibus conuersatus est He dwelt among men The only thing that did speake for him was That he was a holy man and a Saint of God and as Saint Chrysostome hath noted it this one reason they pretended should preuaile against al the rest because it was in fauour of their owne particular interest And it is a strange case that the holynesse of Saint Iohn should bee sufficient to make them to conceiue that he was the Messias but not sufficient to make them doe that which he commanded them Voca virum tuum Call thy husband Theophilact gathers this note from hence That Christs willing her to call her husband was to aduise vs that a wife is not to craue or receiue any thing no not so much as a pot of water without the leaue of her husband and by order from him being so made one flesh and so one spirit by marriage that they are not to be seperated Malachie treating of a married wife saith Nonne residuum spiriâ—â—â— eius est Is she not the remainder of his breath Whither the allusion bee made to the formation of Adam as Saint Chrysostome hath obserued for that with the same respiration wherewith God had created the soule in Adam hee likewise created that of Eue or whither it haue relation to the husband for that the selfe same spirit which giues life vnto him is to giue the same likewise to his wife Saint Augustine in a mysticall kind of meaning vnderstands by the man the vnderstanding but the plainer truer meaning is That our Sauior in willing her to call her husband would therby giue her occasion to confesse her fault not to dismerit the mercie that was offered vnto her for to draw from a womans brest such immodest and dishonest weakenesses will require a great deale of dexteritie and cunning The seruant that ought ten thousand talents presently confessed the debt and the King forgaue it him Inconfessione debiti solutionem inuenit His confession was his solution so saith Saint Chrysostome But he was a man and his fault lesse foule but for an old woman to lie at rack and manger with her Louer in these her elder yeres will aske much labour and no lesse skill to bring her to confession Obstetricante manu eius eductus est coluber tortuosus To take the subtill winding Snake out of mans bosome we had need of Gods helping hand that 's the Midwife that must doe it For to sinne saith Saint Chrysostome the Deuill putteth great confidence into the brest of a sinner but to confesse the same he infuseth far greater shame so that dishonestie doth not onely disjoyne vs from God but remooues vs like the Prodigall sonne a great wayes off from him in regionem longinquam into a farre Countrie God hath giuen vs so noble and so gentleman-like a nature saith Saint Hierome that Sinne doth make vs melancholly and sad but Vertue cheerefull merrie And from hence saith Saint Augustine arise those remorcements of conscience those inward stings of the soule which like the flies of Aegypt disquiet a Sinner Our Sauiour Christ therefore did here make mention of her husband Como mentado la soga en casa del a horcado as if one should talk of a halter in the house of one that hath bin hang'd to the end that her sinne might trouble her conscience worke some remorce in her and make her to confesse the foulenesse thereof to the intent that by this meanes she might come to tast of the liuing water Thou hast had fiue husbands and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband S. Chrysostom saith That not any one of these was her husband some modern authors follow this his opinion And this may be grounded vpon that which Saint Hierome hath in an Epistle of his to Rusticus Post sex viros inuenit Dominum After six husbands she found the Lord. Irenaeus saith That all saue the first were Adulterers But these seuerall sences suit not with this Text. Athanasius saith That they had a Law in Samaria that they might not marrie aboue fiue times and that the incontinencie of this woman was so great that hauing buried fiue husbands she tooke a friend into her house to whom Saint Hierome adding those fiue which had beene her husbands truly and indeed said Post sex viros After six husbands And though these were not Adulterers yet is it sufficient proofe that Sensualitie is a brackish kind of water which causeth more thirst and for that Woman is an impatient creature and much subiect to long after this that other thing Ecclesiasticus stiles her Multiâ—â—la If she be thirstie and one cannot satisfie the same she will solicite sixe nay sixtie to allay this her thirst And therefore Saint Hieroâ—e equalls viduall continencie with virginitie in regard of those her forepassed pleasures for like the Phoenix she reuiues againe by kindling the fire with the wings of her owne proper thoughts and therefore in that respect preferres chast widdowhood before Virginitie For in euerie kind of vice one sin calls vpon another but it is most seene in these two to wit sensualitie and heresie And this peraduenture is the reason why the Scripture commonly calleth Idolatrie Fornication Saint Ambrose treating of 〈…〉 in lawes burning fits of her Feauer saith Forâ—asse in typâ— mulierâ— illiu◠〈…〉 languebat varijs criminum febribus Peraduenture in the figure of that 〈…〉 flesh languisheth vnder the Feaâ—ers of diuers
his warrant Elisha said vnto Elias by way of petition I pray thee let thy Spirit be doubled vpon me This was a hard suit Theodoret askes the question Wherein the difficultie did consist And he answereth That it did not consist in miracles nor in grace but in that Elias his Spirit was so sharpe and so bitter I destroyed the Israelites with fire from Heauen and punished that people with three yeres famine if my spirit should be doubled vpon thee vpon the like occasion thou wouldst consume them all and make an end of them at once He lift vp himselfe When he was to giue sentence he stood vp for albeit a Iudge should in the medijs incline vnto mercie yet in principio and in fine hee ought to deale vprightly and exercise integritie Let a Iudge vse a Delinquent with a great deale of courtesie and sweetnesse let him seeke out all the meanes that he can to saue him and to set him free but in the apprehending of him and the sentencing of him let him be vpright and sound in that hee shall resolue vpon And in point of Iustice let not the beame of the ballance lean aside nor his fancie ouersway him nor any feare of great mens displeasure terrifie him Gratious anâ— righteous is the Lord therefore will he teach sinners in the way The Lord as he is sweet and gratious so is he vpright and iust and therefore it is fit that a Iudge should not onely know the Law but should also sincerely execute the Law not interpreting the same according to his owne pleasure but according to reason and equitie With his finger he wrote on the ground All that comment vpon this place do agree in this That he wrote in this manner and why he did it And first of all Saint Hierome saith That hee wrote on the ground the sins of those that had accused this Adultresse According to that of Ieremie They that depart from thee shall be written in the earth their names shall not bee registred in the booke of Life wherewith he left them confounded and ashamed and did prooue thereby vnto them that they had neither any zeale to the Law nor any desire to obserue the same This was a blazoning forth of the honour and glorie of our Sauiour Christ beyond that of the Romans here was a parcere subiectis to the purpose and a debellare superbos with a witnesse And whereas the Scribes and Pharisees set vpon him in this their pride and brauerie when they saw their own sinnes set downe before their eyes which to a Sinner is a terrible and most fearefull sight they let fall their plumes and hung downe their heads for shame being so basely deiected as none could be more I will lay all thy abhominations before thee O this is a sad and heauie spectacle What humane eye can indure to behold them especially when God shal raise vp our old sinnes which we thought had beene forgotten and buried in the pit of obliuion O how true is that of Ieremie and how pat to our present purpose The yoke of my transgressions is bound vpon his hand they are wrapped and come vp about my necke My heauie sinnes are continually before his eyes as he that tieth a thing to his hand for a remembrance the horrour whereof hath made my strength to fall What a dismall thing is it to see those my wickednesses which I thought had beene quite out of his remembrance and that he had cast them behind his backe to be brought before my face and he to hold the beadroll of them in his hand written in great capitall letters Circumuoluta sunt in manu eius like a piece of corke vnder a clew of thred Esay paints forth certaine impudent and shamelesse Sinners and presently anon after saith Their destruction is written downe and when I see my time I will speake thereof O how doth Iob complaine hereof Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possesse the iniquities of my youth He calls these bitter things the sinnes of his youth Saint Chrysostome saith That hee borrowed this metaphor from a Iudge who takes the penne in his hand for to pronounce sentence setting downe the offences of the Delinquent And therfore Iob saith I see that thou lookest narrowly vnto my paths as though thou wouldest pronounce sentence against mee And therefore Saint Hierome saith That Christ wrote on the ground And as a Iudge exposeth a Butcher to publique shame by hanging his false weights about his necke so thou ô Lord hauing readie written in thy hand the yoke of my transgressions thou exposest mee to shame by wrapping them about my necke Saint Ambrose sayth that our sauiour wrote that which Ieremy prophecied of Ieconiah Terra terra sâ—r be hos viros abdicatos O Earth earth write these men destitute c. And in one of his Epistles he sayth Thou seest a moat in thy neighbours eye but not the beame that is in thine owne A late Commentator hath this note hereupon That our Sauior wrote downe the sinnes of this Adulteresse that he might see them satisfied bearing himselfe like a pittifull Iudge who freeth a poore debtor but takes a note of the debt that is to bee payd Wholly to forgiue the same the party not beeing satisfied could not stand well with his Iustice and to condemne her wholly could not sute well with his Mercie And therefore he was bound to pay the debt for her Supra dorsum meum fabricauerunt peccatores Another letter sayes Scripserunt He entred into bond for vs all But although it be most certain that he wrote some letters or some sentence against the sinnes of these her accusers and therefore the Greeke text sayth Hoc digito scribebat in terra yet what that was which hee then writ there is no certaintie thereof And it is a great indicium or token that they did not well vnderstand those Characters because vpon that writing they did not depart and goe their way But vpon those words which our Sauiour afterwards said vnto them Qui sine peccato est Let him that is without sinne And presently thereupon the Euangelist addeth Audientes haec vnus post alium abijt That hearing these things they went their way one after the other Secondly Saint Austen saith That he wrote on the ground for to signifie that the names of the Accusers were not writ in Heauen Alluding vnto that which he said vnto his Disciples Reioyce because your names are written in heauen Or for to show that it was he himselfe which with his own finger had writ the Law in those Tables of stone and withall to intimate that the new Law was not to bee written in ragged stone but in fruitfull ground not in the roughnesse of the Law but in the softnesse of Grace And Saint Ambrose in the Epistle formerly alledged doth in a manner repeat the verie same words So that by all these circumstances
the Chronicles deliuereth the same vnto vs and of Adam the Schoolemen do affirme That he could hardly haue giuen all things their proper names as Saint Chrysostome hath obserued it if God had not infused that knowledge into him to call them after that fitting and conuenient manner And this knowledge was communicated to Christ euen from the verie instant of his conception by meanes whereof hee saw all things in their proper species besides that blessed knowledge whereby he saw them in God as in a glasse Of this infused knowledge Saint Iohn saith God gaue not the spirit by measure vnto him but it was without limitation for hee that is sonne and heire to his father is not to be stinted as those that are seruants And therefore it is said The Spirit of the Lord shall rest vpon him the spirit of wisedome and vnderstanding the spirit of councell and might the spirit of knowledge c. This infused knowledge was setled in others by fits not in all times all places nor so generally in all things as in our Sauiour Christ from whom it sprouted as water from a Fountaine That fountaine of the Rocke strucke by the Rod of Moses it had beene a foule sinne in the Israelites to haue searched into the veins of Nature whence these waters gushed out and not to thinke on Gods grace from whence this fauour flowed And no lesse absurde was it in the Iewes to seeke in the Schooles and Vniuersities after those veines of liuing water of that diuine learning of our Sauiour Christ which was that true rocke and not to direct their eyes towards God who is the true giuer of knowledge Lastly It was a foule fault in them to thinke that God is tied to humane meanes knowing quod Deus scientiarum Dominus est That God is the Lord of sciences and that it was the Holy-Ghost that taught and instruucted those the Prophets taking one from following the heards of Kyne Oxen and another from keeping of Sheepe Non sum Phopheta saith Amos of himselfe I am not a Prophet nor the sonne of a Prophet but a Heardsman of Tekoah And of Dauid it is said That he tooke him from the Sheepefold following the Ewes with young He indewed Daniel being a child with wisedome and Ioseph with vnderstanding to declare King Pharaohs dreame Nor was it needfull for him to draw these men out of the Schooles of Athens nor to take them from forth the Vniuersities of Greece c. As soone as euer our Lord God had discouered to the glorious Apostle Saint Paul the beames of his light he presently departed to Arabia and to Damascus to preach the Gospell hee might haue gone first to Hierusalem to take acquaintance of those other Apostles of more antient standing and to conferre with them what he should preach but this did not seeme vnto him a conuenient meanes to credit his Doctrine Nec veni Hierosolimam ad Antecessores meos to the end that the Gentiles might not presume that this his Doctrine was of the earth and not of Heauen as afterwards he told the Galathians The Gospell which was preached by me is not afterman neither did I receiue it of man neither was I taught it but by the reuelation of Iesus Christ. And the Ephesians What I receiued from the Lord I deliuered vnto you But because the Iews did surpasse all the world in passion and malice they did attribute all to the Deuill whom the Gentiles had made their god My Doctrine is not myne c. The Commentators make three expositions vpon this place My Doctrine is not myne but I haue receiued it from my father The Doctrine of the Father and of the Sonne as he is God is one and the same as is their essence nor is there any other difference more than that he hath receiued it from the Father but as he is man it is in it selfe diuers as is their nature because it is an accident and an infused habit though the truth thereof in both is one and the same Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine expound this saying of our Sauior as he is man and that this Doctrine of his was not his but of his father that sent him abroad to preach and publish it to the World And the same Saint Augustine in some other places deliuereth it of Christ as he was God but affirmeth in the end That it may be interpreted either way Saint Cyril Saint Chrysostome declare this of Christ as he is God but which way soeuer you take either sence doth signifie That Christ is the Sonne of God The second Exposition is My Doctrine is not myne that is It is not onely myne but his that sent me And this sence and meaning is founded vpon many places of Scripture wherein this Negatiue Non is the same with Non solum Not onely As for example It is not yee that speake but the spirit of the father which speaketh in you i. Not you alone but the spirit of the Father Againe Doe not thinke that I alone will accuse you to the Father there is another also that accuseth you euen Moses in whom yee trust because yee beleeue not that which he wrote of mee that is Hee doth not only beleeue in me Thirdly He that beleeueth in me doth not beleeue in me but in him that sent me In the fourth place Whosoeuer shall receiue me receiueth not me but him that sent me That is Not onely me Lastly I laboured more aboundantly than them all yet not I but the grace of Godwhich was with me The third It is not myne nor did I inuent it nor is it the Doctrine of men but of God Many Philosophers haue out of an ouerweening conceit gon a wandring and inuented new sects and strange Doctrines that they might haue the honour to be accounted authours of nouelties answerable to that which God said of certaine false Prophets They speake a vision of their owne heart and not out of the mouth of the Lord Woe vnto the foolish Prophets that follow their own spirit and haue seene nothing And it is Antichrist that shall be called Pater errorum The father of errors Our Sauiour Christ teacheth vs here two things The one That God is the Fountaine of Wisedome and that as the Earth cannot yeeld it's fruit without water from Heauen so the heart of man cannot affoord any fruit without the Doctrine of God Concrescat vt plunia doctrina mea flâ—at vt ros eloquium meum The Husband in the Canticles was willing to insinuate as much when he compared the brests of his Spouse to two little Kids Duo vbera tua sicut duo hinnuli Caprae Thy two brests are like two young Kids that are twins which feed among the Lillies pouring forth in due season their milke vnto vs in a plentifull manner Some Commentators vnderstand by these two brests the two Testaments which like two brests spring aboundantly communicating
Fastings are payable to the Soule Prayers to the Goods Almes and these debts are so many darts in the Deuills sides It did belong therefore to our Sauiour Christ as being our elder brother and the Guardian of our Soules to disanull this sale Saint Paul saith That whatsoeuer act Adam had done as the chiefe head and principall root of Mankind our Sauiour Christ had now cancelled the same vpon the Crosse Putting out the hand writing of Ordinances that was against vs which was contrarie vnto vs he euen tooke it out of the way and fastned it vpon the Crosse. And for as much as euerie man through his manifold sinnes sells himselfe ouer and ouer to the Deuill not once but many times it was fitting that our Sauiour Christ should as often blot and cancell this bill and make it to be of none effect And here saith our Euangelist Erat Iesus eijciens Daemonium Iesus was casting forth a Deuill This word Erat implying the difficultie of getting him out as also the long time of his continuance there Erat Iesus eijciens Daemonium Christ did not presently cast out this Deuil but stayed and paused a while vpon the matter shewing thereby that it was not so easie a thing to bee done as some thought it to be but rather full of difficultie What can there bee any difficultie for God to doe Is it possible that any thing should seeme hard vnto him The Saints of God and learned Doctours of the Church render some reasons thereof on our part some on the Deuills and some on our Sauiour Christs On our part God hauing free and absolute power ouer our Will Who is able to oppugne his omnipotency When Lucifer his followers playd the Rebels in Heauen it seeming to God too base an Office to punish them by his owne person he commanded Saint Michaell the Arch-Angell that hee should throw them thence like thunderbolts These Deuills beeing thus tumbled downe headlong from that so high a Tower they sought out another stronger hold wherein to defend themselues which was Man and making themselues masters of this Fort they made fast the Windowes and the Doores shutting close the Eyes Eares and Mouth of Man God himselfe in our person laboured to put them out But Man abusing that libertie which God hath left vnto him resigning it vp into the Deuills hands is the onely cause that they maintaine and defend this Fort against God Gregorie Nazianzen saith That wee play the Traytors and conspire against God against his Crosse and against his Bloud by selling our selues dayly anew vnto the Deuill Our Sauiour Christ had payd the ransome for all our sinnes vpon the Crosse tearing that our handwriting obligation in pieces which we had made ouer to the Deuil But we as if we repented our selues thereof make him a new bond and bind our selues anew vnto him Which is a great basenesse in Man Wilt thou receiue an Apostata a Traitour a Fugitiue and one that is condemned for euer to the Gallies There is no Inne halfe so vile or so bad as thy Soule For if this harbour a theefe or a murderer or a robber on the highway-side it is vpon hope of profit But thou doost not onely giue him entertainement but also spendest thy purse vpon him and doost protect and abett him against God So that God hath a great deale more to doe with poore silly Man being but as a worme of the earth than with the greatest Deuill in Hell There is also another reason on our part To wit The so often repeating of our sins ouer and ouer their antient standing and their spreading like a Cancker still farther farther vpon our soules Insomuch that it will find God worke cannot chuse but cost him much labor And the sores of our sins may be in that desperat case that he is not able to cure them by ordinary means but must vse therin some great and strange Miracle Thou puttest foorth to Sea thou saylest in the same ship with another passenger thy friend and acquaintance ye Cabbin togegether eat together and sleepe together continuing in this louing league of friendship some six moneths or more Thou boordest thy selfe with thy neighbour liuest vnder the same roofe with him some thirty yeares and vpwards and all this while ye continue verie good freinds Sure it must be a very great occasion that must part yee twaine and either coole or blot out this your so long grounded affection But if besides this tye of friendship thou take extraordinary contentment in it there is no gaine-saying of it Such a one thou art wont to say she is my Life my Soule my deere Heart deerer vnto mee than mine owne eyes Though thou hast liued thus and thus many yeares and so much to thy content and delight in conuersation and friendship with the Deuil though I must confesse it is a hard matter to come off handsomely from him yet God hath wrought thy freedom but at a great price and hath brought thee off cleere but with much paine But let me tell thee withall that when thy demoniated soule shall place all it's whole pleasure and delight in the Deuils company make him her best beloued hug him in her armes and spred out the lappet of her garment for him then shal it be in my Letanie Lord haue mercie vpon thee For when sinne growes to that height it is almost out of reach to doe any good vpon it Pope Clement saith of Simon Magus that he could not be cuâ—ed Quia voluntarie agrâ—tabat Because he was willing to be sicke And that his soule had made such an inseperable knot with the Deuill Que quien le apartara le matara That he that should pull him from him must pull away life and soule together Saint Marke tels vs That his Disciples being not able to dispossesse a young man of the Deuill they brought him to our Sauiour Christ. And hee demaunding of them that brought him vnto him how long he had beene tormented with him They answered From his childhood Our Sauiour healed him But I remember the Text sayes Factus est sicut mortuus ita vt multi dicerent quia iam mortuus est Hee was as one dead in so much that many sayd He is dead This young man was so wedded to the Deuill that many could not pull him from him and being taken from the Deuill he was as a dead man He had kept him companie so long that the Deuill was to him as his life And this is the marke of such persons as giue themselues ouer to the pleasures of this World For liuing without them but three dayes in the Holy-weeke they thinke themselues dead On the Deuils part there are likewise many forcible reasons First of all This foule Fiend leaues a Soule so blind so deafe and so dumbe that he doth not feele the hurt of so infamous a dwelling And therefore the Church vseth to pray
against the Spirit of Fornication Seneca calls a woman The Sepulchre of Vice and there is no dumbe man so dumbe nor no blind man so blind as hee that lies dead in the Graue nor no lesse blind and dumbe as hee that is buried in the fond affection of a woman Melior est iniquitas viri quam benefaciens mulier Thy enemie will doe thee lesse harme than thy Mistresse The worst that he can doe is to kill thee and take away thy life but she will take from thee thy goods thy life and thy soule Dauid giuing thankes vnto God for freeing him from his former troubles sayd Dirupisti Domine vincula mea Thou hast broken ô Lord my bonds in sunder What bonds were those Ecclesiasticus answers Vincula sunt manus illis The embracements of a woman And in another place hee saith Eruisti animam meam ex inferno inferiori Thou hast brought my soule out of the lowermost Hell It seemeth that he stileth this lowermost Hel his Adulterie and that this should bee the sence of it there is great reason for it for that is the lowermost Hell from whence God speaking according to our vnderstanding can draw a man out with greatest difficultie For though God could with a great deale of ease haue taken Iudas out of the Hell of the Damned yet hee could nor but by some extraordinarie meanes feteh him from the Hell of his treason Iob jumping vpon this conceit drawes his comparison from the hard labour of a woman in trauell Obstetricante manu eius eductus est coluber tortuosus Wherein we are to consider the diligences which a Midwife vseth when that which is to be borne comes athwart crosses nature in it's common course but what a doo would there be if this birth should prooue to be a Snake or a Serpent Secondly The difficultie lies not so much in the Deuills strength as in his subtiltie Erat Serpens calidior omnibus animalibus terrae He doth not say he was stronger but subtiler For to hunt in thicke and bushie Mountaines we had need of more trickes and deuices than if we did hunt in an open and champian Countrie We must haue good store of weapons ginnes nets and Ferrets which may creepe in without any noyse Ipse liberauit me de laqueo venancium The Apocalyps paints out the Deuill in the forme of a Locust but armed hauing the face of a man the haires of a woman and the mouth of a Lyon Hee compares him to a Locust because he deuoures and destroyes all His meanes he maketh Mans deceiuing Womans inticing and the Lyons crueltie Thirdly The difficultie likewise consisteth in the Deuills pertinacie and obstinacie who neuer ceaseth to plie and importune thee And if at any time thou make thy peace with God the Deuill will not suffer it to last long and conuerting it but into a truce for a time he returnes backe againe to this cleane as thou thinkest swept house of thine but the broome through some default or other hath not swept away all the filth and the durt The Deuill will leaue thee for a time but like a fit of an Ague he will returne againe vnto thee That Feauer is not perfectly cured that comes againe the third day nor that house clean where the durt stickes in the floore He that onely ouercomes and not kills his enemy cannot rest secure especially where there is an impossibilitie of peace The Deuill being ouercome growes more fierce than before What will hee doe then if he take thee vnprouided That Soldier which whilest the warre lasts leaueth off his Armes and carelessely walkes vp and downe such occasions may offer themselues vnto him that he may too late repent him of his follie That valiant Captaine Ehud mentioned in the booke of Iudges feigned that he had something to impart to King Eglon in priuate and they withdrawing themselues into a Sommer Parlor where they sate all alone there being warres betweene them at that time putting forth his left hand and taking a dagger from his right thigh he thrust it into his bellie and the haft entring in after the blade it was buried in the fat that was about it Whereas this King had he done well hee should not considerng there was warre betweene them haue gone disarmed What saith Saint Paul vnto thee Accipite Armaturam Fidei Those weapons of Faith together with it's Armour are of more inchantment against Hell than those which the Fables feigne to be wrought by Vulcan That which imports a Christian is neuer to goe without them because he is in a continuall warfare On Christs part there is also some difficultie because this Victorie must bee performed with triumph Iob discoursing of the Deuill in that metaphor of the great Leuiathan God said vnto him Canst thou draw out Leuiathan with a hooke and with a line which thou shalt cast downe vnto his tongue Canst thou cast a hooke into his nose canst thou pierce his jawes with an Angle c. Thou wilt say thou canst but I hardly beleeue it To conquer the Deuill thou wilt thinke it no great matter and that the victorie is not so glorious as it makes shew for Bee it so but to fetter and manacle him in that manner that little children may play with him without any danger this is something to the purpose Vniuersa arma eius aufer in quibus confidebat This is a taking away of his sword and beaâ—ing him with the scabberd than the which nothing can bee a greater scorne vnto him The Roman Emperours for the better celebration of their victories with Triumphs did much grieue in the deaths of those whome they had conquered Marcellus sorrowed for the death of Archimides Caesar for that of Cleopatra because it seemed to be an eclipse to the glorie of their triumphs But it was fitting that our Sauiour Christ should bee partaker of this glorie and enioy so glorious a Triumph Expolians Principatus potestates traduxit confidenter Palam triumphans illos in semetipso Et illud erat mutum And that was dumbe Saint Luke makes him dumbe Saint Mathew blind And from his dumbnesse those that comment thereupon inferre his deafnesse Saint Chrysostome Tertullian and Saint Hierome say That the Hebrew word Cophos signifyeth Dumbe and deafe and our Interpreter translates it in the seuenth of Marke Surdum mutum To Tytus Bostrensis Lyra and Euthimius it seemeth that hee was not deafe for that his dumbenesse not being naturall the Deuill might make him dumbe but not deafe leauing him his hearing for his greater torment And that was dumbe He being both blind and deafe Saint Luke makes mention that he was onely dumbe Which he purposely did as Saint Austen hath obserued to signe out vnto vs the greatest ill that could befall him For as long as a sinner hath a tongue he need not to despaire Iob beeing become as it were a Sieue vpon the dunghill