where somewhat to learne to get the wisdome of this world which GOD will destroy q 1. Cor. 1.19 and bring to nothing ought not wee that are children in vnderstanding that naturally cannot perceiue the things of GOD r 1. Cor. 2.14 that know nothing as we ought to know Å¿ 1. Cor. 8.2 to compasse sea and land if the candlesticke of the Gospell should not stand in our habitations that wee might follow Christ Iesus sit at his feere t Luk. 10.39 heare his preaching and learne the wisedome of God in a mistery euen the hidden wisedome which God ordayned before the world to our glory a 1. Cor. 2.7 Iacobs sonnes when the Famine was in the Land of Canaan went downe into Egypt once againe to buy foode for the famine of their houses b Gen. 42. 43. and shall not the true Israelites be as wise for their Soules as they for their bodies Labour more for the meate which endureth to euerlasting life which the Sonne of God shall giue vnto them then they for the meate that perisheth c Ioh. 6.27 And with Cornelius fetch Peter from Ioppae to speake vnto them words whereby they may be saued d Act 10.5 when he is not to be had at Cesarea Pharaohs daughter beeing to be married to Solomon which marriage was a Type of the misticall vnion betweene Christ and his Church must forgett hir owne people and hir Fathers house that she might be brought in to the King and hee take pleasure in her beautie e Psal 45 10. and they that will bee the spouse of Christ married vnto him in louing kindnesse and in mercy f Hos 2.19 must shake off all carnall affections to Countrie or Kinred to the World and the things of the World which hange on like so many clogges to keepe them backe lie in the way like so many Lyons to hinder them that they may runne after him and bee brought into his chambers g Cant. 1.7 must hate Father and Mother c That they may come to Christ and bee his Disciples h Luk. 14.26 And to bring the best Wine at the last to take for an example him that was the friend of God i Iam. 2.23 and Father of the faithfull k Rom. 4.2 Abraham when he was well striken in yeares being seauenty fiue yeares old so that hee could take no pleasure in trauelling getteth him out of his owne Countrie and from his kinred and fathers house where they serued other Gods l Ios 24.2 leauing all that he might goe into a Land which God would shew him to builde an Alter there vnto the Lord and call vpon his name m Gen. 12.1.2.7 and if we be Abrahams children and of the houshould of faith wee will doe the workes of Abraham herein a Ioh. 8.39 otherwise as Abraham shewed his faith by this worke of his in going out from Idolaters and separating himselfe from amongst them and comming into the Land of promise where hee serued the Lord for that that was a fruit of his faith the holy-ghost witnesseth b by Faith Abraham when he was called to goe out into a place which he should after receiue for an inheritance obeyed So on the other side mens little faith or rather flatte infidelitie is showne and knowne as well as if it were written in their fore-heads with a penne of Iron when with the rebellious Israelites in Moses time for the loue of the flesh pots of Egypt they would rather tarry in Egypt b Num. 11.5 where they cannot Sacrifice to the Lord without the abhomination of the Egyptians c Exo. 8.26 then goe out into the Land of Canaan where they might freely Sacrifice vnto him when with the Idolatrous Iewes in Ieremies time d Ier. 44.17.18 they can burne incense in Egypt to the Queene of Heauen and poure out drinke offerings to her to enioy plenty of victuals and keepe themselues out of want when with Lot they can pitch their Tents neere Sodome for the pleasantnesse of the Countrie e Gen. 13.10.12 when with Martha they trouble themselues about so many worldly matters that they can neuer bee at leasure to heare Christ f Luk. 10.42 and with those in the parable they preferre Farmes Oxen Merchandise Pleasures Profits all before their spirituall marriage with Christ g Matt. 22. yea with the Gergesens will rather thrust Christ out of their coasts then loose their hoggs to enioy him h Matt. 8.34 and to come neere vnto our selues beloued where shall faith bee sound amongst the men of this generation who when Christ is not now per longinqua querendus to be sought farre off when his word is not in Heauen that we should say who shall goe vp into Heauen for vs and bring it vs nor beyond the Sea that we should say who shall goe ouer the Sea for vs and bring it vs but is very neere vs a Deut. 30.12.13 and dwelleth plentiously amongst vs yea when hee himselfe dwelleth amongst vs hath his tabernacle in our costs from on high hath visited vs and walketh in the midst of our Candlestick b Reu. 1.13 when his Kingdome is come neere vs will not goe out to meete him will not with Nathaniell come and see him c Ioh. 1.46 with Zacheus stirre a foote take a little paines to see him d Luk. 19.4 nor with Dauid desire to come into his Temple to behold his beautie e Psal 27.4 to heare with their eares to see with their eyes and to handle with their hands him being the word of life f 1. Ioh. 1.1 who when he riseth vp earlie and sendeth vnto them his prophets wisemen and Scribes will not receiue his prophets in the name of a Prophet but account the preaching of his word foolishnesse g 1. Cor. 1.23 and are ready with the Athenians to say of them that bring it what will this babler say h Act. 17.18 Surely these men would be farre enough from going farre with these wise men to seeke him if they will not receiue him when hee commeth amongst them if now when he standeth at their doore and knocketh they will not let him in with Zacheus receiue him to house If when hee hath his house amongst them they will not come into his Courts nor worship him in the assembly of his saints amongst the old people of the Iewes all the males must three times in the yeare appeare before the Lord in the place which he should choose to put his name in euen in the feast of vnleauened Bread in the feast of weekes and in the feast of Tabernacles Some of them then must come from farre the Land being in length from Dan to Bersheba one hundred and sixtie miles in breadth from Ioppa to Bethlehem fortie and sixe miles i Deut 16.16 And to what a number all the males appearing Hieron Epist
Luke 19.41 but are content that their legions of sinnes which possesse them as so many deuills for Quot crimina tot Doemonia saith Bernard how many sinnes so many deuills should say vnto Christ when hee commeth to cast them out as the Deuills that hee came to dispossesse art thou come hither to torment vs before the time g Matt. 8.29 and who when they should heare Gods voice to Day h Psal 95.7.8 putit of till to Morrow as i Exo. 8.10 Pharaoh did praying for him k August in confession Quamdiu cras cras quare non modò quare non haec horâ finis turpitudinis meae saith Saint Austin How long to morrow to morrow why not now why in this very houre is there not an end of my filthines Now this first circumstance of Christs birth is amplified eyther by the place or the time the place In Bethlehem of Iudea it maketh no matter whether wee reade here Bethlehem of Iudea or of Iudah Iudea beeing put not for the whole Countrie of the Iewes but for the Tribe of Iudah as else-where Ioseph hearing that Archelauâ— raigned in Iudea would not goe thither but turned aside into the parts of Galilie a Mat. 2.22 Now this addition serueth here for a distinction betweene it and another Bethlehem in the Tribe of Zabulon b Iud. 19.15 duae Bethlehem sunt saith the ordinary glosse there are two Bethlehems one which is in the Land of Zabulon another which is in the Land of Iudah which was first called Ephrata And for this Bethlehem the place of Christs birth Saint Austin hath well obserued that c August de concord Euangel Matthew and Luke doe agree concerning the Citty of Bethlehem but how and for what cause Ioseph and Mary came thither Luke declareth Matthew omitteth When our Sauiour then was conceiued in the wombe of his mother at Nazareth and by all likelyhood should in her purpose haue beene borne there both Ioseph and Mary are compelled by the decree of Augustus Caesar to goe to Bethlehem the Citty of Dauid to be taxed there because they were of the house of Dauid d Luke 2.4.5.6 God so making a way for the accomplishment of that Prophecie which fore-told the place of his birth Oh come hither then and behold the works of the Lord yea the mightie hand of our God who as in the great worke of the Creation hee made the light out of darkenesse so in the wonderfull workes of his prouidence and preseruation can out of the euill actions of men and deuills bring forth good and turne those things which they doe for the satisfying of their sinfull wills to the executing of his holy and righteous will Deus suas voluntates vtique bonas implet per malorum voluntates vtique non bonas saith Austin e August in Enchirid cap. 101. God can fulfill his wills beeing good by the wills of wicked men that are not good Thus when Iosephs brethren thought euill against him in selling him for a slaue into Egypt God meant and turned it to good to saue much people aliue thereby f Gen. 50.20 As then the expert Phisitian can so temper and compose the poyson of Serpents that it shall bee a preseruatiue against poyson so the great Phisition of our Soules did so master and ouerrule the poysonfull action of the traytor Iudas who betrayed his Master and through couetousnesse made merchandise of him that his shipes became a plaster to heale vs a Isa 53 5. and the selling of him made him ours as Rabanus saith sweetely Exulta Christianae b Rabanus apud Ludolphum de uâ—ta Chri. part 2. part 52. And reioyce O Christian for by the merchandize of thine enemies thou hast gotten the victory that which Iudas solde and the Iewe bought thou hast gotten for Christ is ours not the Iewes which bought him But because the things which befell our Sauiour in the dayes of his flesh came not to passe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c Luke 10.31 By chaunce but were done either for the fulfilling of some promise or prophesy or for the expressing of some mistery let vs a little examine why Bethlehem is the place of his byrth Not to heape vp al that might be said heerein it was in respect first either of former prediction secondly present condition thirdly or future signification first of former prediction hee that came in the fullnesse of time would be borne at Bethlehem for the fullfilling of former both prophecies and promises for so it was fore-prophecied that out of Bethlehem Iudah should he come forth that was to be ruler in Israell d Micah 5.2 And heere by the way the very place of his byrth doth serue like a Iohn Baptist e Ioh. 1.29 to point out to demonstrate him to be the Lambe of God the verie God the very Christ f Ioh. 4 29. so that as the things which Iohns desciples that he sent vnto Christ saw and heard the works that he did did testifie of him so the place where hee was borne sheweth that this is hee that should come and none other is to bee looked for g Matt. 11.3.4.5.6 And so it was fore-promised to Dauid yea bound with the indissoluble bond of an Oath that God would not shrinke from that of the fruite of his wombe hee would set vpon his Throane h Psal 132.11 yea such a seede which should endure for euer and whose Throne should bee as the Sunne before God a Psal 89 36. which must necessarily bee vnderstood of that blessed seede of the Woman which should bruise the Serpents head b Gen. 3.15 of that branch that should grow out of the roote of Iesse c Isa 11.1.2 at whose conception the Angell promised to the Virgin that God should giue vnto him the Throane of his father Dauid c. d Luk. 1.32.33 And then where should this seede promised to Dauid be more fitly borne then in that Towne which was especially denominated of him the Citty of Dauid and where hee himselfe was borne where should the roote of Iesse first sprout out but in Bethlehem the towne of Iesse the Bethlehemite e 1. Sam. 16.1 Now that I may referre all things to edification and instruction I cannot but cry out with our blessed Sauiour f Matt. 13.6 Happy are our eyes that see or may see heere is this particular the truth of that generall laid downe by the Apostle That all the promises of God made in Christ are in him yea and in him Amen g 2. Cor. 1.20 hath he said and shall hee not doe it hath he spoken and shall hee not make it good h Num. 23.19 It is one of his properties wherby he proclaimed himselfe to Moses and would bee knowne to the whole World to be aboundant in truth i Exo. 34.6 that is such an one as keepeth couenant and mercy with his seruants
doe and of all the circumstances that make this worke of theirs so commendable yea so admirable vnto vs. For it is a ruled case of the Logitians that Vltimus finis solus perfecit tam agentem quam actionem The chiefe end alone doth make perfect as well the doer as the action againe Qualis finis talis actio such as the end is such is the action so that to haue come presently vpon Christs birth and that when bloody Herode raigned to haue come so far a iourney euen out of the East to Hierusalem the place that God had chosen to put his name in to haue enquired so solemnely for the new borne King of the Iewes and to haue beene ledde thither by the guiding of a starre had beene nothing if the end had not commended the action yea had beene abhominable rather then admirable if they had come not to worship him as they both professe and purpose but to worry him as Herode intended when hee would haue gone vnto him howsoeuer hee pretended to adore him Wee may heere then as in a glasse see what should be the very finall cause and end of our comming vnto Christ who though he be not bodily present with vs yet secundum â—aesentiam maiestatis a August tractat 50. in Ioh. is euer in the assembly of his Saints which is to yeeld him the homage that we owe vnto him the honour that is due vnto him either in bringing our oblations and sacrifices vnto him or in receiuing from him the treasures that hee doth impart vnto vs by his Word and Sacraments All other ends that men propose to themselues in comming vnto him are not ends but rather aberrations from the true end And as it were better neuer to know the way of righteousnesse then after knowledge of it to turne from it a 2. Pet. 2.21 so better it were neuer to come to Christ at all then to marre our comming in the end thereof to cause that quod officio videtur bonum in the worke seemeth to be good to be ipso non recto fine peccatum a sinne for want of a right end b August contra Iulianum pelagian lib 4. cap. 3. For thus men doe when eitheir they come vnto him for the belly and for pleasures as the people followed him for Loaues and as Bernard complayning of pompe and luxury of the Clergy of Popery in his time said pro huiusmodi volunt c d Bernard sermon 37. super Cantica c Ioh. 6.26 For these matters they wil be and become rulers of Churches Deanes Archdeacons Bishops Archbishops or for honour and preferment like to Zebedeus sonnes who desired to sit one on his right hand the other on his left hand in his glory e Mar. 10.37 or like to Diotrephes for loue of preferment f 3. Epist Ioh. 9. or of curiosity because they would see some great workes wrought by him as the Pharisees and Sadduces come to him desiring him that he would shew a signe from heauen g Mat. 16.1 and as Herode who desired to see Christ because he hoped to haue seene some miracle done by him h Luk. 23.8 or of Hypocrisie because they would put a faire Vizard vpon a foule face and couer their euill deeds with a good profession being as Saint Austin speaketh in superficie boni in alto mali good in the out side bad in the inside or of vaine glory as our Sauiours brethren would haue had him gone vp to the feast of Tabernacles that he might be knowne openly i Ioh. 7.3.4 and that with the Pharisee they might seeme better and holier then other men k Luk. 18.11 that with Simon Magus they might seeme to be some great men l Act. 8.9 sunt qui scire volunt vt sciantur saith Bernard m Bernar serm 36. super Cantica There are some that would haue knowledge that they might be knowne againe or for their corporall neede onely as the nine Lepers that roare out for mercy that they may be clensed but haue not a word of praise in their mouthes to glorifie God with when they are deliuered a Luk. 17.17 or which is worst of all out of malice and mischiefe as the Pharisees Disciples and the Herodians came vnto him to entangle him in his talke b Mat. 22.15 as the officers sent by the High Priests to take him c Ioh. 7.32 and as Iudas one of them that did eate bread with him to betray him d Mat. 26.47 But to speake somewhat of this honour that they giue here to Christ it is the opinion of some e Caluin Musculus that they giue vnto him ciuill adoration as taking him to be a great Prince not religious adoration as acknowledging him to be God But in mine vnderstanding both all Antiquity and the truth it selfe stand on the other side Putas adorassent infantem c. saith Chrysostome f Chrys in opere imperf in Mat. homil 2. Thinkest thou that they would haue adored an infant that did not vnderstand the honour of adoration vnlesse they had beleeued that there was some Diuine power in him Therefore they gaue this honour not to his Childhood that vnderstood nothing but to his God-head that knew all things Nec apud sensus eorum g August serm 29. de tempore c. Neither in their vnderstanding doth the basenesse of his birth diminish the glory of his God-head with their eyes they see man by their seruice they confesse him to be God he was scene in the Manger but hee did beare rule in Heauen And therefore the Wisemen humbled themselues because they saw the starres doe him seruice For they knew him to bee God to whom the heauenly creatures yeelded their seruice And Athanasius reasoneth well in this case Quomodo in stabulo c h Athanasius lib. de incarnat How doe they adore him that lay in a stable and a manger if they imagine him to bee nothing but a man How doth Herode say that he would adore him also In vaine truely had God taught them by so vnusuall a miracle that they should adore a man onely and not God also It is then religious and diuine honour that they giue vnto him as God Let me here then shew you a mystery which is how Christ being both God and man is to bee adored Although then the Godhead bee the propper obiect to which adoration is propperly directed yet is not the Godhead adored without the manhood but by reason of that strict band of the personall vnion of the two natures Christ as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God and man is to be adored with one only adoration which adoration is giuen Obliquè a August in Psal 58. In an indirect manner to the manhood in regard that it is the Manhood of the Word and receiued into the vnitie of the second Person Dominum rerum creatarum saith Athanasus b Athanas contra Arrianos c. We doe adore the Lord of all created things the Word being made flesh For although the flesh of it selfe be a part of things created yet it is become the body of God neither therefore doe wee adore this Body a part and separated from the Word neyther when wee are about to adore the Word doe wee separate it farre from the flesh but because wee know as hath beene saide that the Word was made Flesh Wee acknowledge it now manifested in the flesh to bee God Who then is so gracelesse as to speake so to the Lord stand aside from the Body that I may adore thee Or who is so wicked that with the Iewes because of his Body hee will say vnto him Why doest thou beeing a Man make thy selfe God And for this adoring of the Word being made flesh with one only adoration wee haue the Anathematisme of Cyrill in the Ephesine Councell which is the Third Oecumenicall Councell c Tom 1. Concil in Concil Ephesine Anathematismo 8. Si quis c. If any one doth not adore Emanuell with one only adoration and giue him one only glory according to that the Word was made flesh let him bee accursed It is then but a prophane noueltie both of words and Doctrines not only in the Papists to giue a seuerall kind of worshippe which they call Hyperdulia a Seruice a steppe higher then that which they giue to Saints and Angells Soli humanitati Christi d Bellarm. lib. 1. de beatit Sanctorum cap. 12. To the Manhood of Christ alone but also in the Vbiquitaries who contend for the adoration of the humanity of Christ properly and seuerally by it selfe a Barbaróssa in quinquagessima Adoratio Latriae saith Aquinas b Thomas in 3.2 quest 25.25 arti 2. The adoration of Latria or Diuine Worship is not giuen to the humanity in respect of it selfe but in respect of the Diuinity to which it is vnited and Cyrill saith c Cyriâ—l ad Theodos that wee doe not adore Emanuell as a man for that were dotage deceit and errour for in this wee should nothing differ from them which worship the creature c. Let them that haue eares then heare these deepe mysteries of their faith and the Lord giue them vnderstanding in all things that they may so adore and glorifie God manifested in the flesh so honour the Sonne serue the Sonne that the Father may honour them d Ioh. 12.26 and giue them Glory with him To this Father and Sonne with the Holy Ghost a Trinity in vnity and an vnity in Trinity be Honour and Power euerlasting Amen The end of the third Sermon