Such as may prepare the way for Jesus Christ to come amongst us that by his coming we may deserve to serve Almighty God with purified Souls How purified By loving him and so deserving to be his Fathers Servants in a high degree indeed as fore-runners to his Sacred Son as Baptists as Angels sent before his face to prepare his wayes and consequently as men than whom greater did never arise amongst the sons of women Blessed God! to what a height of perfection doth holy Church invite her Children to day being but on Sunday last raised from their dead sleep their trance of Sin and yet no marvell for Christianity is in truth the summity or top of all perfection and of all Christians we know the Catholike to be Top and Top-gallant that is to say the highest of men which consequently so purifies their Souls as they become at least the lowest of Angels since in true morality the highest of the inferiour arrives to the perfection of the lowest of his Superiours whence we read of Saint John Baptist That he was an Angel sent before the face of Jesus Christ to prepare his wayes Luke 7. ver 27. Now lest this discourse seeme but gratuite and to have little or no connexion to the whole service of the day however we finde it genuine enough perhaps unto the Prayer see what Lessons of Purity and sanctity of Soules the Epistle gives us insisting altogether upon the highest of Sanctity mutuall peace and charity such as made the two most discordant people in the world united perfectly in one the Jew and Gentile who before they were in Christ united and had their hearts raised up to heavenly affections detested one another but once meeting both in the love of one God they became in Christ one Thing one Body of that undivided Church which hath the onely Son of God to be the head thereof our Saviour Jesus Christ Nay see further how this dayes Gospel makes of humane Soules thus raised up by mutuall love by having all one God and beleeving equally in the doctrine of his sacred Son Baptistick Saints and consequently spirits Angelicall whilst what is read to day of Saint John Baptist is spoken to us as either being or invited to be like him fore-runners to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ voices crying out in the desart of this world prepare the wayes of our Lord. O Christians O Catholicks at least remember we are now in holy Advent a time set out apart to prepare us for a worthy receiving of our Saviour at his Nativity into this world be it therefore spent as Saint John Baptist did imploy his dayes in pennance fasting praying in purifying of our Souls in raising mortall man up to the purity immortality and sanctity of Angels so shall we pray as all our Pastours preach to day which is I hope a sufficient adjusting of this dayes Prayer unto the following Epistle and Gospel of the day bidding us with one mind and one mouth glorifie God which then we doe when our practice and our Prayer is answerable to what our Pastors teach and preach unto us The Epistle ROM 15. ver 4. c. 4. VVHat things soever have been written to our learning they are written that by the patience and consolation of the Scriptures we may have hope 5. And the God of patience and of comfort give you to be of one mind towards one another according to Jesus Christ 6. That of one mind with one mouth you may glorifie God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 7. For the which cause receive one another as Christ also hath received you unto the honour of God 8. For I say Christ Jesus to have been Minister of the Circumcision for the verity of God to confirm the promises of the Fathers 9. But the Gentiles to honour God for his mercy as it is written Therefore will I confesse to Thee in the Gentiles O Lord and will sing to thy name 10. And again he saith Rejoyce ye Gentiles with his people 11. And again Praise all ye Gentiles our Lord and magnifie him all ye people 12. And again Isaiah saith There shall be the root of Jesse and he that shall rise up to rule the Gentiles in him the Gentiles shall hope 13. And the God of hope replenish you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope and in the vertue of the holy Ghost The Explication 4. SAint Paul alludes here to what was written in the old Law and makes it all wholly and entirely to have been a lessen for our instruction at least though not a rule to our actions since the abrogation of it and if he say thus of the abrogated Law much more ought we to receive and read for our instructions all thâ—â— is written in the new Law which shall remain to the worlds end unaltered But he applyes this speech particularly now to what he said in the immediate verse before citing the Prophet Davids words Psal 68. The curses of those that curse Thee have fallen upon me making Christ speak these words as taking upon his own person the Curses and Sins of the people committed against his Heavenly Father to restore to God as it were his lost honour if we may so say by assuming these Curses to himself as also by his suffering to appease the Divine wrath and in this sense he applyes his speech to the Romanes that they might convert to their instructions and comfort this which in their behalf our Saviour took upon himself namely the guilt and burthen of the Gentiles Sins as well as those of the Jewes so to ingratiate them also to his heavenly Father By the patience and consolation of the â—criptures meant the patience they teach us in their singular examples thereof and the comfort they bring us in letting us see we may by following the said examples hope for the like rewards which now the Saints in Heaven have for so the last words of this verse import 5. The Apostle calls him the God of patience and of comfort because he is infinitely patient infinitely comforting and because his Vertues are not as in Man his Ornaments but his Essence so that he is patience it self comfort it self and more if we could more express Then we are most properly of one mind one towards another when we wish and do as well to others as to our selves According to Christ as Christ was to us and as he gave us command to be saying Love one another as I have loved you This is indeed absolute perfection and this is the true Badge of a perfect Christian 6. That of one minde with one mouth c. Then we do truly glorifie God when we conforme our selves in all things to his holy Will and this we can not all do unless all our mindes be one as he is in us all to that one effect of glorifying him so when one pretends God is glorified thus and another will not
these are in number many in regard of the blessed that are saved but in the other opinion making both first and last saved soules it is hard to solve how all that are called are not also chosen since every saved soule is elected to salvation But Malâ—onat solves it thus saying out of the precedent particular assertion that the first shall be last and the last first he now makes a generall conclusion affirming many are called but not many chosen as in such a kind of way he spake in the precedent Chapter ver 23. how hard it was for all rich men to be saved because once a wealthy young man refused the counsell of holy poverty given unto him others say by many called are included all because all are many though few onely are saved others will have it that all are called to observance of the Commandements but not all to the observance of evangelical Counsels or all to grace but few to glory The Application HOw ever S. Paul in his Epistle to day seems to set us all a running over the Race of this life each upon his uttermost speed for the gaining of his own soul onely yet S. Matthew in this Gospel gives us hope we may gaine heaven for others as well as for our selves while he sets us all on work in the Vineyard of our Lord where the fruits of our labours are common though our reward be but particular 2. Hence it is this days Gospel points directly at the Pastors of Gods Church and at the missionary Priests set on work in the Vineyard of Christ for gaining soules by converting of the whole world yet indirectly it alludes to every soules particular indeavours in cultivating of their own special land in hope of gaining heaven by the sweat of their browes 3. So still we see toyle and labour is to be the life of man upon earth who forfeited all his temporall rest by Adams sinne and though our Saviour purchas 't againe an eternall rest for us in the next world yet that future rest must be gained â—y a perpetuall present labour here most justly inflicted one us for the punishment of sinne Hence we fitly pray to day as above On SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY The Antiphon LUKE 8. ver 10. TO you it is given to know the mysterie of the Kingdome of God but to others in parables said Jesus to his disciples Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer O God who seest we confide not in any of our own Actions grant us propitiously that against all adversities we may be armed by the protection of the Doctor of the Gentiles The Illustration I Have known hundreds even Priests themselves much admire at this prayer wherein Saint Paul with his best attribute is so unexpectedly brought in when not the least mention of any feast to him sacred is made by holy Church either in the office or service of the day and though I might in so hard a condition as I am now plunged into for making my designe good to day pretend it were sufficient for all the whole Church to be commanded to pray as now the mother Church of Rome doth this day unto Saint Paul whose Station is now kept in that holy City with great concourse of people thereunto yet this were to runne my selfe upon the rock of why not other Saints to be brought as unexpectedly into the prayers of the Church by this account as well as two onely are in all the year Saint Paul to day Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian upon Midlent-Thursday though we shall find every day in the year made sacred to some Saint or other by the frequentation of their stations in the City of Rome besides if this might satisfie others it must not be satisfaction to me because it comes not home to my designe of adjusting the Prayer to the Epistle and Gospel of the day unlesse we can find it as suitable to the latter as it is indeed to the former relating from first to last the whole story in a manner of Saint Pauls life though truely in the Gospel there is not one syllable of him wherefore if meditation had not helped us out this concordant designe had been very discordantly broken off but upon a day or two spent in prayer to find out some report between these parts of holy Churches services and upon remembring it was but last Sunday we were taught our life was a mere labour here upon earth and that we were all hired as labourers to work in the Vineyard of Christ me thought it was not strange this next Gospell should bring us in labouring indeed and like so many husband men sowing with corne the Vineyard we had lately ploughed up nor was it then so strange to heare us call upon the chiefe labourer now in eternall rest Saint Paul to help us with his intercession that our labours might be if not as great or as profitable at least as incessant as his were who by the common suffrages of all the Church will easily be granted to have been the chiefe Seeds-man thereof though Saint Peter were the chiefe pastor or governour and if so then it will be a most proper prayer on that day when the Gospell runns all upon sowing seed in severall grounds as to day it doth that the principall Seeds-man be called upon to help us the chiefe Preacher he that is stiled the Doctor of Gentiles or Nations for his eminence in preaching that is to say in sowing the word of God in the hearts of men and that this word is the seed to day made mention off we have our Saviours own authority to avouch it so we cannot be said to have strained this sense out of the prayer to day because it is as genuine to it as the Word of God in the parable is to the seed our Saviour doth compare it unto and look how many waies Expositors make Analogies between the Word and Seed so many waies at least shall we find this a proper prayer both to the Epistle and Gospel of the day and we may hope for the same answer from heaven whilest we complaining like S. Paul do look up thither and say we cannot confide in any of our own actions and therefore begge Almighty God will propitiously grant us in all our adversities that we may be armed with the protection of the Doctor of the Gentiles that is to say not onely by his prayer for our perseverance who were with Adam last Sunday sent to gaine our bread with the sweat of our browes but further by his protection namely by the same protection which was S. Pauls in all his temptations and difficulties the grace of God for this is that answer which was given to him in the height of his complaints Saul Saul My Grace sufficeth thee and truly the same Grace is more than an abundant protection for all the world nor can any man in the whole vniverse ask this protection with more
never served but with a commemoration made thereof upon Trinity Sunday which it alwayes falls upon and whereunto with great reason it gives place in the publick Solemnity of holy Churches service neverthelesse we are not forbidden in our private devotions to make use of the comfort which this prayer adjusted to the Epistle and Gospel proper thereunto will afford us since the Gospel and the Prayer are both read to day by way of Commemoration of this first Sunday as above and since the whole Masse of this Sunday is said at the pleasure of the Priest no double feasts occurring between this and Thursday next which is the Feast of Corpus Christi and in regard there is a world of sweet devotion in the exposition both of this Epistle and Gospel I hope it will encourage all good Christians to read both what is written upon the Blessed Trinity and this Sunday too before next Sunday come since it is but this week of all the year that they will have so much to read and which if I mistake not will seem but little neither 't is all so sweet But because the task of reading will be double I shall abridge the glosse of the Prayer and suffice my self to shew the constant connexion between this and the other parts of holy Churches Service to day by summing up the Epistle and Gospel as both teaching perfect charity while they extend it to the love of our enemies and as being both abstracted in this prayer which after an humble acknowledgment of our own weaknesse confessing all our strength is from Almighty God without whom our mortall infirmity is of no ability petitions the assistance of his grace that in doing his commands we may please him hoth in will and work And truly all his commands are included in these two precepts of charity so much insisted on both in the Epistle and Gospel namely that of loving God above all things and our neighbours as our selves which then we shall do perfectly when we love our enemies because this love will make us indeed have no enemies at all and so be as little troubled at what injury other men can do us as we should be at our selves if by chance we were causes of our own mischiefs for though we might be disturbed a little thereat yet never so much as to loose our charity or to hate our selves nor consequently can we hate our enemies if we once arrive at the perfection of that commandment which bids us love our neighbours as our selves Which that we may do this is very aptly made the Churches Prayer to day begging Gods assisting grace that in doing his commands we may please him both in work and will in work by executing his commands compleatly and perfectly in will by doing them readily and cheerfully And it is worthy our remark that on the same Trinity Sunday where we have the deepest mystery of Faith recommended by holy Church we should have also the highest act of Charity inculcated unto us that so we might see the firmnesse of our Faith to day petitioned consisted in the operation of our Love according to the same Faith and that Christian perfection is never attained till we arrive unto perfect Charity which is the nerve that links together the members of the Churches mystical body and unites them all unto their head Christ Jesus as the sinewes of natural bodies knit together the members thereof So still we see our design of connexion between all the parts of Churches Service made good The Epistle 1 Joh. 4.8 c. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God for God is Charity 9 In this hath the charity of God appeared in us because God hath sent his only-begotten Son into the world that we may live by him 10 In this is charity not as though we have loved him but because he hath loved us and sent his Son a propitiation for our sins 11 My dearest if God hath so loved us we also ought to love one another 12 God no man hath seen at any time If we love one another God abideth in us and his charity in us is perfected 13 In this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he of his Spirit hath given us 14 And we have seen and do testifie that the Father hath sent his Son the Saviour of the world 15 Whosoever shall confesse that Jesus is the Son of God God abideth in him and he in God 16 And we have known and have believed the charity which God hath in us God is charity and he that abideth in charity abideth in God and God in him 17 In this is charity perfected with us that we may have confidence in the day of Judgment because as he is we also are in the world 18 Fear is not in charity but perfect charity casteth out fear because fear hath painfulnesse And he that feareth is not perfect in charity 19 Let us therefore love God because God first hath loved us 20 If any man shall say that I love God and hateth his brother he is a lyer For he that loveth not his brother whom he seeth God whom he seeth not how can he love 21 And this Commandment we have from God that he which loveth God loveth also his Brother The Explication 8. St. John in this Epistle ver 7. had said every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God now he gives the reason thereof in this eighth verse proving the same à contrario as School-men say by an argument from the contrary assertion he that loveth not knoweth not God because God is charity or love not but that we may speculatively know God without loving him but practically or experimentally we cannot know him unlesse we actually love him For example all men know speculatively that honey is sweet but they know it practically only when they taste it And though the same argument holds in all Gods attributes as in his power in his wisdome c. since he is omnipotency and omniscience yet St. John argues thus onely upon his charity because the subject he now undertakes is the commends of Charity Again between lovers love is the main thing they delight in and much more is it so betwixt God and us for he doth not onely love us and so is our lover but is himself love nay if we say he is the love by which we love him too perhaps we shall not say amisse and S. John being wholly inamoured with the love of God breaks into the recommends of charity as the vertue himself was most excellent in and wherein he would have us most to excell So for the ground-work of what this Epistle is to dilate upon we see it begins thus God is charity both Essential and Notional Essential as it is the nature of the Deity Notional as it is distinguishing the persons and so signifies personally the holy Ghost who by love proceeding from the Father and the Son is called
bade her weep no more 14. See how soon the promised comforts of God arrive immediately as he said to her weep not he stopt the hearse and bade the dead corps arise Elias Eliseus and others did pray to raise the dead Christ to shew he was God raised this young man by command and not by prayer Yet observe he touched the hearse no marvel upon the touch of Christ who was life everlasting as being God that temporall life should be restored to the dead body that he touched this he did as naturally as a red hot iron burneth straw So did his flesh united to the Word give life to a carcasse by virtue of that hypostaticall union 15. His sitting up and beginning to speak were indeed true signes of his reviving yet Christ was pleased to take him by the hand and thereby lift him from the hearse and lead him to his mother to shew that he was so humble as he would not onely oblige but even serve his servants Nor is it any wonder that Christ the King of Heaven and Earth should perform the office of a Courtier by his civility to the noble person of this sad widdow whom he had graced and comforted by that act of his power 16. Note this miracle was a kind of Parable importing the spirituall death of souls by sinne and the reviving of the soul again by grace though here the widdowes tears were the motive for Christ to reward her by the restoring her son to life and withall many souls doubtlesse from the death of infidelitie to the life of Christianitie upon the sight of so celebrated a miracle That they were all struck with fear what wonder for their guiltie conscience might make them doubt he who could raise the dead could kill the living as easily if he list but seeing he did not so or rather lest he should do so they blessed God and said for magnifying here importeth glorifying of him he had pleased to visit his people by sending them a great Prophet for as yet they understood Christ to be no more and that he was such this very act made them believe and some doubtlesse concluded he was the long expected Messias whom they called by the name of the great Prophet for distinction sake Note the glosse observes three resuscitations from death to be made by Christ the first that of the daughter of the Archi-synagogue and that by private prayer in her fathers house none being by the second this of the onely sonne of the widdow whom he raised in publick by a word of command and by a touch of his hand the third was that of Lazarus whom with a perplexitie of prayer and tears he raised and with loud crying out Lazarus come forth as if he were undone if he had him not alive again The first of these signifies souls dead by mortall sinne of thought and those therefore were more easily raised by private prayer the second signifies those dead by mortall sin of words those are yet with more difficultie raised by command the third yet more hardly by importune prayer tears and cries to heaven as signifying those souls which are dead by mortall sinne of deed and that reiterated or habituall unto them The Application 1. ALl Expositours agree this miracle of raising the dead by a touch of our Saviours holy hand is a mere figure of his raising souls from the death of mortall sinne to the life of grace by the finger of the holy Ghost by the gift of his holy grace his holy Law which cannot touch a soul but it must needs enliven it See the explication of the last verse in the Gospel for more to this purpose 2. And who can now forbid us piously to thinke this onely sonne of the distressed widdow represents the soul of some one faithfull believer dead yet for want of charitie and revived by the tears and prayers of his tender mother the holy Catholick Church at whose intercession and in contemplation of her tears our Saviour Jesus Christ sends down the holy Ghost to touch the Coffin of this sinners heart with the finger of his grace with the gift the flame of Love and so reviving him first internally then gives him by the hands of the Priest who is Christs Vicar in point of absolution into the lap of his mother externally to live again that is to say admitted to the Sacraments and declared to be a living member as before his death of mortall sinne during which time he was not capable of any Sacrament at all as to the effect the grace thereof 3. To conclude as reason teaches every man to beware of his own danger by seeing another perish in going such a way before him thus holy Church knowing her Priests and people are many wayes liable to the snares of the common enemy and perceiving it is often by the prayers of those that stand they are raised again who fall and that this raising is a continuall mercy of Almighty God gratis given even when most earnestly implored and that the continuation of this gratuite gift is the onely means by which even all the children of the Church do not fall all at once into the death of deadly sinne but are many of them while others fall inabled to stand securely on their living legs of charitie and are governed thereby in every step they make to glory Therefore I say we are to day bid pray as above that this charitie this bountie of our Lord may govern us in all our wayes and that we may have the cleansing and the defending mercy of God continued over us lest that failing us we here fall out of grace and thereby faile of glory in the world to come On the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Luk. 14.10 WHen thou shalt be called to a marriage sit in the lowest place that he who did invite thee may say unto thee friend ascend up higher and so it shall be a glory unto thee before them that sit there Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer LEt thy grace we beseech thee O Lord alwaies go before and follow us and make us continually intent unto good works The Illustration WHat may seem as common in this Prayer to all persons times and places must not hinder it to be a very particular and apposite petition to this present time wherein it is by holy Church put up unto Almighty God purity cannot approach Tell me beloved now what single-souled devotion can compare with this that being common is peculiar unto each particular in such a sort as it there were no more but one man left in all the world even into his particular necessity would run the whole contents of all these common prayers which are not therefore lesse adapted unto every one because they are the prayers of all the world besides but rather we are sure our selves had need to say them when every man alive doth find himself concerned
identity or equality of love 40. Yes so they depend on these two as all the boughs and branches of a tree depend on the root thereof for the root of all the Law is love of God and of Gods creatures for Gods sake not otherwise hence even self-love is not lawfull but as directed to Gods honour and glory The three Laws of the first table are expressed by love of God the seven of the second table by love of our neighbour 41. This aggregation or assembly of them S. Maâ—k observes was in the Temple be it where it will this seems to assert the Doctour who was his first aggressour was either gone or at least satisfied and so silenced for now they all assault him as if they were not satisfied with him though the Doctour were and hence Jesus seems to ground his question in the following verse 42. Whereby in requitall of their tempting him by a subtile question in the Law which was the chief commandment he now undertakes to impart unto them a farre more subtile verity and more necessary instruction that so he might with good repay evil namely the truth of his being not onely Man but God not onely the sonne of David as they allowed him to be but even the Sonne of God the Messias who was expected to be the Redeemer and Saviour of the whole world and this he inferres upon them so as by force of argument out of Davids mouth out of the Scripture he makes them see clearly it must be so though they were too proud to confesse it No marvell they could not answer right to the question for when S. Peter Matth. 16. did answer the same question right our Saviour told him flesh and bloud had not revealed it but the heavenly Father who had not so illuminated these Pharisees as he did Peter 43. Observe while Christ makes in this verse a further inquiry it doth not inferre he denieth himself to be what they said truly that he was the sonne of David for so the Scripture told them clearly the Messias should be but he was willing to draw them on to a further knowledge that the Messias was also the Sonne of God and not onely the sonne of David and this out of Davids own mouth who in spirit by inspiration from heaven called him Lord a stile which fathers do not use to give unto their sonnes and that this was true he cites Davids words in the next verse saying 44. The Lord said to my Lord God said to the Messias to Jesus Christ by the instinct of the Holy Ghost who did indeed dictate unto David all the whole book of Psalms which runnes much upon the propheticall prediction of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ his coming and being the true Messias that was expected with so much fervour by the languishing world So by this quotation of the Scripture where David calls Christ his Lord they are brought to see evidently he must needs be more then his sonne else they had replied again which they neither did nor durst nor indeed could do as the last verse of this present Gospel shows By sitting at Gods right hand is clearly declared he is not onely Davids Lord but also the King of Kings and Lord of Lords true God as well as man placed above all the quiers of Angels in heaven and impowered at the day of judgement to come in Majesty trampling over all his enemies the world the devil and the flesh when he shall judge all flesh and all spirit too man and Angels and make his enemies truely his footstool when he tramples first upon them and lastly kicks them down to the pit of hell where the foot of his eternall power holds them everlastingly under him in pains and torments 45. It was time for Christ to close up the irrefragable force of his argument by shewing the Pharisees in this verse he being the Messias mentioned by the Royall Prophet was not onely Davids but Gods sonne also and whilst he inferres the greater out of Davids mouth he doth not deny the lesser though here he seems to ask how David could call his Lord his sonne when they themselves did see he must also be Davids and the whole worlds God Redeemer Judge and Saviour too 46. And their silence asserted in this verse to his inference argues their consent it was and must be true hence they were left at least to wonder at if not to believe confesse and love this undeniable truth for of these S. Augustine in his exposition upon the 109. Psalme cited by Christ sayes excellently well These proud Pharisees chose rather to burst with the pride of their swollen and sullen silence then to be taught by their humble acknowledgement confession S. Chrysostome upon the same place sayes They were struck dumb by the dart of this dead wound they had received from Christ convincing though not converting them So it often fares with Hereticks The Application 1. IT is not without designe that when the Epistle runnes wholly upon unity of spirit in the Church of Christ the Gospel is so full of example of disunion and division amongst the Doctours and Sages in the synagogue of the Jews for such were the Sadduces the Scribes and Pharisees And we may piously believe the designe of holy Church in this was to bid us beware of such spirits in our Doctours and Teachers for there is no greater plague no contagion more malignant then duplicity falsity and division in those who should cement us together by the concordancy of their doctrine and by the exemplarity of their lives 2. So when we hear the Sadduces Scribes and Pharisees pretending zeal to Christ and desirous to know which is the first and greatest commandment that of Love or that of Sacrifice we may imagine our charity though she were cleared out of the mist in her way last Sunday hath now a more malignant darknesse in her eyes an Eclipse a shade that hinders her of the sunnes influence upon her that is to say of the light of grace as if God were pleased a while to leave us to our selves to shew us that when he doth so we are darkened with the Eclipse of our judgements of our understandings as the Sadduces Scribes and Pharisees were when the force of sense was so strong in them they would not believe in the Deity of Christ because the mysteries of his doctrine were some of them above reason though never against it 3. But a farre greater Eclipse it is of grace amongst us when our Pastours our Teachers and Preachers seeking themselves and not Jesus Christ do erect Altar against Altar do bandy and contrast with one another out of self-seeking and so mislead their flocks and make them feed upon the sower and contagious fruits that grow in the eclipse of grace or that wither rather then grow that infect rather then nourish that poison rather then preserve us alive that damne indeed and do not save us that putrifie
The CHRISTIAN SODALITY OR Catholick Hive of Bees Sucking The Hony of the CHURCHES Prayers from the Blossomes of the Word of God blowne out of the Epistles and Gospels of the Divine Service throughout the yeare Collected by the Puny Bee of all the Hive not worthy to be named otherwise than by these Elements of his Name F. P. Divided into three Tomes whereof this the first Tome onely upon the Sundayes And that subdivided into three Parts The First From Advent to Lent The Second From Lent to Whitsontide The Third From Whitsontide to Advent That of one mind with one mouth you may glorifie God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 15. Vers 6. Printed in the year of our Lord MDCLII To the Honourable Walter Mountague Esquire all health and happinesse SIR IT might argue I did acquiesce too much to flesh and bloud should I dedicate this book to any of my Kindred and least it seeme presumption in me to consecrate it unto you I must beseech you to believe 't is none of mine You know I have a gallant Master for this self-deniall who said His Doctrine was not His which yet none could lay claime unto besides his sacred self How justly then may I professe this book is not mine own being all of it upon the matter either Holy Churches Prayers or Holy Text or Holy Fathers Expositions on the same And as such it is rather your Defence than any waies in need of your Protection Now least you should reply I give it then unjustly as mine own to you and more unjustly begg your Patronage thereof as of a stollen Treasure I must confesse it is indeed a pious theft but such an one as the thiefe may take at noone day from the Coffers of the Church without a Sacrifice without a blush though all the world were lookers on and such as you may safely both receive and Patronize with as small remorse as men doe Hony brought unto the Hives which openly the Bees have stollen from the mellifluous flowers of other mens Gardens as I have done the sweet Connexion that I found between the Churches Prayers and Text of Holy Writ when I assay to shew the self-same Spirit annimates them all and makes them speak one sence in diverse Languages or Dialects And this sympathy between the parts of Holy Churches service is what I here present to you as my observation rather than my worke for had it not been there before I could not now have found it out if yet I may not rather feare I loose it when I look to find it by making it appeare lesse than it is for want of being able to shew it to the full But I will not tell you by how many titles I intitle this to you least I force the Lillyes of your modestie to change complexion with the Roses of your other Virtues or least I seeme to flatter you who are not to be flattered and therefore I shall rather silence my obligations to you than betray the secrets of your bounties which your left cannot accuse your right hand of although they both are stealing merrit whilst they give their Almes in ample manner unknown to one another as he well advised who knew the best way how to make benevolences meritorious nor shall I boast your more than ordinary favours showred upon me other waies as tyes to make me give you these my labours abstracting therefore from all self-relation and looking onely on the nature of this booke I find not any man more fit to Patronize it than your selfe because as it associates all the CHRISTIANS of the universe into one SODALITIE so you that are Eminent in making every man your owne will be the greatest help to this Association which I have founded on the Word of God and Prayers of Holy Church two subjects that I know not any one more versed in than you witnesse the excellent store of both which your Missive and your Misscelania doe afford wherein you shew your selfe not onely to have the Scripture lodg'd within your heart but even the genuine sense thereof ingrafted in your understanding as appears by your admirable Explications of the Texts and Applications of them to the purpose that you cite them for which as it was a motive for me to imitate you in so in justice it obligeth me to consecrate this book to you whose whole designe is either Notion or the use of the Holy Text. Againe Sir I looke upon you as a man designed to some thing more than yet the World is privie to for your Pauline Conversion makes me think you are the Vessell of Election which our Nation may one day hope to see as overflowing as I know you are now full of Eminent Perfections this I professe I doe not mind you of to puffe you up with self-conceit for of your self it is with you as with the rest of men made up of nothing but corruption and infirmity but to humble you rather to see how much of Grace doth shine upon the dunghill of Humane Nature while your Conversion from infidelity workes in you an aversion from all singularity and renders you a man partiall to none beneficiall to all that know you even unto those that are above you to who fare the better for your virtues while their Temporalls are raised from the spirituall foundations you have laid Thus from the Court unto the Cart from the Prince unto the Begger God hath adapted you to all his Holy Ends and therefore I that aime at Unanimity in this Sodality at Unity in our Community let me attest for this the Motto of my Book Saint Pauls words to the Romanes CHAP. 15. Vers 6. have made a right addresse when I petition you to Patronize my Labours in aggregating this SODALITIE who are one man most acceptable to all for your Equality or rather Equanimity to every one as if you were Omnibus omnia factus And seriously Sir I doe honour you most for the impartiality of your affections for that you are not biassed so as to runne one way but can and doe plie unto the mark of loving all in him whom all must love which way soever you are throwne upon request of this or that body Rich or Poore Clarke or Lay-man Secular or Regular Priest so much that I believe if I had failed of this my duty in choosing you for Patron of my Book I had been chidden for mistaking in my choyce of him whom all men would have voted for as well as I the design of this SODALITY and your simpathie to that design considered Please therefore I beseech you Sir to Patronize these labours of your humble Servant who am all your own and who beg your Patronage of this first Tome for one reason more than I have heer expressed or then is known as yet to any but my self which you will well approve of when you see to whom the next Tome shall bee consecrated as this is now to you
to exhaust the Epistles and Gospels of that day whereon they are appointed to be said but this I doe infer to be avouchable of that peculiar Prayer which here is set immediately after the Antiphon Responsory and Versicle of each respective Sunday which is ever the first Prayer in the Divine Service and which the Priest doth alwayes say with an addresse unto the People turning about to them and saying Dominus vobiscum Our Lord be with you meaning in your hearts that there you may sing forth his Praises which my lips are now going to pronounce in your names and in your behalfs True it is I have at the end of every part of this first Tome set out a Trinity of Prayers appropriated each to their respective dayes which I advise all those of this Sodality to say three times a day morning noon and night whereof this Prayer we call the Collect for the Reasons above is the first The second is that Prayer which is called the Secret being the very same the Priest then sayes when he hath turned himself unto the People saying Orate Fratres c. Brethren Pray that my Sacrifice and yours may bee acceptable to God the Father Almighty And this he doth immediatly after he hath made the Oblation or Offertory of the bread and wine which he is presently to consecrate into the body and bloud of Christ as his own and the peoples Sacrifice Not that it is therefore called the Secret because the people should not be privie to it being as they are remarkably concerned therein but that it represents the nature of our offerings to God to be rather hearty than heard of rather private then publike so far forth as they are ours though 't is most true that as the Priests they are to be made in open Churches upon open Altars yet with this respect that silence shall convey them to the heavenly Majesty rather than noise and so the Prayer that offers them is for this reason among others said softly by the Priest and thence is called the secret Whereas the Collects they are said aloud And however true it be that in the old Law the Priest went out of the Peoples sight from the sanctum or Holy into the sanctum sanctorum the holy of holiest for the Reasons alledged in the Exposition of the two first Verses on the Epistle upon Passion Sunday in the second part of this First Tome yet in the new Law which did abrogate the Ceremonies of the old Holy Church hath held it sufficient to maintain the Analogie between the sacrifices of both the Laws that the Priests of the new remaining still in the sight of the People shall go at least out of their hearing by saying some Prayers secretly though still in the Peoples behalf as if they were composing the controversies between grace and nature or mediating between God and his sinfull creatures by way of sacrifice the most powerfull of all mediations imaginable And hence it is to let the People know at least this secret Prayer is said in their names by the Priest in testimony of their offering up both by and with him the present sacrifice that I advise them joyntly with the Priest to say the self-same secret to the self-same end that prayer importing over an actuall oblation or offering to God The third Prayer which is called the Post-Communion I therefore also publish here in the end of this Book because it imports the peoples thanks-giving after the Communion thereby to shew that whereas then the Priest hath received actually in his own and their behalf so they have also received in Vote in wish or desire that they were also worthy to have actually received and this being a spirituall communion at the least I desire all the devotes of our sodality in thanks thereof to say this third prayer also with the Priest because immediatly before his saying it hee turns about and makes his application to the people as above by Dominus vobiscum Our Lord be with you And thus it is evident these Prayers are very proper for the People which are never said by the Priest but with addresse to them Now if any ask the Reason why I recommend this Trinity of Prayers to be said by our Sodality three times a day truly 't is because the sacrifice being a service to the sacred Trinity wherein God is acknowledged to have the sole command of life and death in his creatures therefore in honour of the three sacred Persons of the Blessed Trinitie I recommend this triple Repetition of this Trinity of Prayers as also further that thereby our sodality may partake of all the sacrifices which are daily made throughout the world not but that the morning is the proper time of this Homage but because 't is ever day in some part of the earth when 't is night with another and so by our saying these Prayers even at night we joyn in sacrifice to God with those who say the same prayers at the self-same time by day I could animate our Sodality farther yet to this Devotion by telling them what indulgences they may gain by this not that these are purchased by money as is objected by our adversaries but given gratis namely 15. dayes Pardon from Purgatory paines for every time they say any one of the Churches Prayers those I mean that are with publick authority avowed by our holy Mother to say nothing now of fifty dayes indulgence for every time they say their Primmer office which is not granted to their Manuall Prayers but I suffice my self with this that 't is the best of all Devotions in the world to praise the Blessed Trinity and even those that love to pray to Saints must know they do it best while with their holy Patrons they adore the Universall Patron of all the Saints The sacred and undivided Trinity To conclude in saying this Trinity of Prayers they doe not onely joyntly pray with the visible but also with the invisible Priest our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who even now in Heaven dayly says the self-same Prayers as often as the Priest officiating sayes them here on Earth because our Priests are but the Instrumentall Ministers of Sacrifice the Principall is our Saviour Jesus Christ himself who in memory of his once Bloudy Sacrifice offers up dayly an unbloudy one unto his Heavenly Father and so makes that to be with God a Renovation in a Mysticall way of his bitter Death and Passion which is with us a dayly Commemoration thereof for which purpose see the Secret on the ninth Sunday after Pentecost in the book of Prayers below See further Molina in his Golden work of Priest-hood where he cites a Torrent of Fathers to avow this verity And for avowment of Jesus Christ Vocally Praying even in Heaven for us by way at least of claiming what he hath already merited in our behalfs See Cornelius a Lapide upon Saint Paul Rom. 8. ver 34. who backs himself
Church 38. Here we may note a kinde of harmonious Quire kept in the Temple at that time between Simeon and Anne since after him shee took up the Province of prophecy and therein confessed that is praised God by revealing his sacred Son to be the Messias 39. The things here done according to the Law were the purification of the Mother and the presentation of her son Iesus in the Temple which rites performed with the ornament of these Prophesies attending on them The B. virgin with her Spouse and Son returned to Nazareth in Galilee where they lived untill they fled to Egypt upon the slaughter of the Infants and whether they returned after they heard Herod was dead and there bred up Iesus but we must imagine the time between this Purification and their flight into Egypt being neer two moneths which was from February to Easter for then were the Innocents butchered all spent in preparing their little necessaries for this flight as their Asse and small burthen of cloathing or the like 40. The childs growth here mentioned was corporal as also was his strength namely that of his limbs for he was as perfect in his internals at the first instant of his Incarnation as at the last minute of his life his fulness also of wisedome here mentioned was the externall proof upon all occasions of his actions that his internall wisedome was full from the first hour of his conception and so his actions externally appeared such as argued him to be internally full of all that wisedome which was due unto him who was called the Wisedome of his eternall Father By Grace is here understood the favour and protection of his heavenly Father which was alwaies found to be speciall over him for in him here imports over him so this grace was not that internally in him but that externally over him which his heavenly Father shewed towards him yet the outward grace appeared in his actions might be an argument of his own divine grace which was in him also and gave a beauty to all his outward comportments The Application VVE shall then best present Jesus to his heavenly Father as his B. mother did to day when we are able to present our selves to God like new born Infants coveting the milk of our mothers Breast That is to say the Recovery of all those gifts vertues and graces which were in holy Baptism bestowed upon us and this is a benefit Grace gives above Nature that though men can never be by Nature little ones again yet by grace they may become as Innocent as new Baptized Infants O let us then to day endeavour so to bee when 't is so proper to indeavour it 2. Let us be content when men despise us now that we hear the son of God become the sign of Contradiction While his preaching was called seducing while his sobriety was stiled drunkennesse while his Deity was termed Devill O what man can lay claim to his Integrity and who can then be troubled to be contradicted for Gods sake when God became the very sign of Contradiction for his love to Man 3. Look every state of man upon the Patterns laid to day before your eyes Look Infants on the Infant Jesus Look youths and Virgins on the B. Virgin Mary Look married people on the Virgins Spouse Look Widdows on the Prophetess S. Anne the praying Widdow Look aged man upon old Simeon And look to him again yee Clerks yee Regulars ye Priests the men of Holy Orders See of these severall degrees so many Saints and be ye such as they So shall yee abound in those good works we pray to day may bee done by us according to the pleasure of Almighty God in the name of his sacred Son Within Octaves of the Epiphany The Antiphon LUK. 2. ver 48 49. SOnne why hast thou so done to us behold thy Father and I sorrowing did seek thee What is it that you sought me did you not know that I must be about those things that are my Fathers Vers The Kings of Tharsis and of the Isles shall offer gifts Resp The Kings of Arabia and Saba shall bring presents The Prayer VVE beseech thee O Lord prosecute with heavenly piety the desires of thy supplyant people that they may both see what is by them to be done and be able to performe what they see they are to doe The Illustration VVE were taught by the last Sundayes Prayer to beseech Almighty God to set our actions right and by the Gnomon of his own blessed will to point them out their way to direct them in their motion Now we are further taught to beg that even our desires propending us to action may not onely be begun but prosecuted with heavenly piety least good beginnings have an evill ending if not prosecuted with the same holy Spirit that began them first and lest humane piety prove but a blind guide we petition the heavenly to lead us on that so we may cleerly see what is by us to be done and seeing what it is may be able to performe our duty both to God and man yes beloved This is the clear and genuine sense of the Prayer above but how to adjust the present time to the Epistle and Gospel of the day will not perhaps easily appear unless we doe reflect upon the Feast of the Epiphany at present flowing in the Octaves thereof and consequently requiring that whilest in this Feast our Blessed Saviour was pleased to appear as well to Gentiles as to Jews in a word to all the world our generall prayer should be that we may at the same time appear to him such supplyants as he most delights in namely such as beg he will vouchsafe to shew us as well his pleasure as his person by prosecuting with heavenly piety not onely all our actions but even our desires for then we shall see him as clearly indeed as in the thick fog of this sinfull world he can be seen by humane eyes when his heavenly piety begins and prosecutes all our desires when through the glass of his heavenly piety we shall discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God whereunto the Epistle this day exhorts us to conforme our selves both in body and mind not onely in our own but in our neighbours occasions too helping them as readily as our own hands would help our hungry mouthes to meat And if we will take the Gospel as it must report to us we shall see it set to the same tune as we pray to doe for what is the result of all the Gospel but in a word to tell us Heavenly piety must be the square of all our actions Did not lost Jesus tell his sorrowing Parents this in termes when they had found him out again and began to expostulate his losse asking them if they knew not he was bound to be imployed in those things which were his Fathers will his heavenly Fathers will he meant for it was not his earthly
had each of them some quantity within them wherefore Christ to take away all colour of deceit first bids all those vessels to be filled full of water up to the top that so each person in the room might see the certainty of the miracle and the liberality of God when he pleaseth to open his bounteous hand unto us 8. This done Jesus bids them draw of the vessels full of water a cup full and carry it to the cheif Steward of the feast because he could best tell whether or not he had provided that plenty and such rare Wine as those pots full of water did afford For it was the Jewish custome ever to have some modimperatour or prefect of good order at such feasts so Christ gave him the respect of first tasting this cup of grace and the presence of such a prefect makes the company of Iesus and his Mother more avowable at the feast since where a prefect of good order was there could be no suspition at all of the least excess or disorder 9. This verse shewes us the modimperatour having found Wine come in more than he had appointed and knowing none durst provide any besides himself unless by chance the Bridegroom took the priviledge so to doe which yet was not usuall presently calls to him saying to this effect 10. This is beyond the ordinary course two wayes first that you have more Wine than I was privy too next that you have reserved to the last your best Wine for this is singular good much better than what we had before And yet the bâ—st is alwayes first served in that in case of want worse may suffice at the latter end when the tast being glutted before is not so able to distinguish the difference yet this was so superlatively rare as even to those Palates formerly glutted in a manner it did tast extraordinarily well indeed to admiration nor was it strange since the works of God are ever perfect 11. Many doubt wheither or no this were the first miracle that Christ wrought willing to believe divers former which he did in his youth though in regard Gelasius the Pope hath condemned a fictitious book published by Hereticks intituled The miraculous infancy of Jesus and full of inventions of their own it is not improbable this was the first he did after his Baptisme with any purpose to be noted for the Messias By the manifestation of his Glory here is understood the shewing of his power wherein he was glorified and for which cause the Disciples are here said to believe him to be the true Messias and the true â—amb of God who as John the Baptist had told them was come to take away the sins of the world and this miracle he chose to work at a marriage as alluding thereby to the solemnity he made this day of his own wedding between his Divine and humane nature since now he was resolv'd to discover himself to be as well God as man whence this was done mystically on the Third day after he was published by the Baptist to shew now the Third state of the world was begun The first being hat under the Law of Nature The second that under the Law of Moses and this that under the Law of Grace besides the miracle was done in the Gentiles Cana to shew Christ came to call all Nations it was also done in Cana of Galilee as importing the transmigration of possession that is amongst Christian people who are the possession of Christ as bought by his bloud and therefore are to passe yet from earth to heaven their better and finall possession The Wine he so abundantly gave imports the doctrine of Christ and his holy grace inebriating the soules of the Faithfull The Application 1. LEarn Husbands hence to love your Wives as Christ doth love his Church learn Wives to obey your Husbands as the Church obeys her Head our Saviour Jesus Christ since marriage is a Sacrament representing the union between Christ and his holy Spouse 2. Learn married people hence to moderate excesses both at bed and board for neither Jesus nor his Blessed Mother can behold excesse and they to faintifie your marriage must be there 3. Learn Parents hence to breed your Children rather to supply the Angels rooms in Heaven than for to be your own Successours here on Earth thus will the waters of humane infirmitie be turned into Wine of Christian perfection by grace moderating natures exorbitances and making peace between two fatall enemies the spirit and the flesh As the Prayer to day petitions On the Third Sunday after the EPIPHANIE The Antiphon MATH 8. ver 2. O Lord if thou wilt thou canst cleanse me and Jesus said I will Be thou cleansed Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer OMnipotent eternall God look we beseech thee propitiously on our infirmity and extend to our protection the right hand of thy Majesty The Illustration IT is remarkable to see how negatively Saint Paul in this dayes Epistle minds us of being sinners when positively he exhorts us to be Saints with the Romans for what greater signe that the Apostle found a world of infirmities in the Romans than that he stirs them up so much to Vertues contrary to the vices they abound in and thus the Epistle insisting all upon vertues is well adapted to the Gospell running all upon infirmities mystically representing vices for what else doth the corporall leprosie of the Leper or the paraliticall disease of the Centurions boy purport than the like scurvy latent diseases of sin in our Souls to those which were apparent in these two bodies Whence it was but fitting this dayes Prayer should beg to have the same right hand of God extended over us which was the cure of these temporall diseases types of our spirituall infirmities nor can we hope this will be done unless God of his infinite goodness be propitious to us and therefore we beseech him in the Prayer first to look propitiously on our infirmities and then to extend to our protection the right hand of his majesty that is to say all his power as if our vice required no less than an infinite vertue to cure it our weakness no less than all Heavens forces to protect us And since both the Leper and Paralitick saying this Prayer in effect obtained corporall cure thereby why should we doubt of Spirituall cure if we say with like Faith like Hope like Love the same Prayer to day and truly to say it with less were a confusion to Christianity that Jewes and Gentiles should exceed us in fervour of Piety besides we have yet an easier task than they in hand for their demands were no less than to have a Miracle wrought upon them by a Physicall cure without a Physicall cause unless we shall say the touch of Christs hand was a Physicall cure for all diseases whereas we onely demand a favour not a miracle a little Grace to blot out a great
in Evang. upon these words of S. Luke Chap. 21. v. 9. When you hear of warrs and seditions be not troubled at such evils because sayes hee many evils must here fore-run that they may put us in minde of evills without end and so make us avoid Temporary lest we plunge our selves into eternall evils confiding in his that wee serve a God who alâ—ne is able to cull good out of evill 30. Hence therefore the Master bids his men let the weeds grow up with the corn untill harvest let the bad men live together with the good till the day of judgement which is the true harvest indeed that brings home the whole crop of nature rectified by grace into the barn of glorie We are here to note that though formerly the word of God were called the seed or good wheat yet here the just are called by the same name as if the cause weâ—e â—xpressed by the effect for Saints are indeed the fruitfull effects of the Gospel the holy word of God On the other side sinners are the ill seed or cockle in this place specified and by the Reapers we may account are here meant the Angels that are to summon all the world to Judgement and in that summons to sever the cockle from the corn the wicked from the just binding up these in bundles as so many piles of fuell for hell-fire and ranging those as stacks of corn fit to be made bread of life for the heavenly Table of Almighty God The Application 1. SInce it is by his protecting Grace wee must hope whilst we are asleep to bee defended from the enemie who then doth machinate our mischief let it be our parts while we are awake not to sow any cockle our selves of ill manners if not of false doctrine in the field of our soules for then no marvell if while we sleep this ill seed sown by us grow up and choak the good corn sowed in our hearts by the seeds-men of holy Church the Pastors of our souls 2. Since wee are not able to avoid the alternate rest of night after a toylesome day let us at least in the day time stand upon a close guard and be sure not to sleep that is not to loose the presence of Almighty God and fall into the trance of transitory pleasures such as pash us in pieces against the Rocks of sin and under pretence of yeelding us a present momentary dâ—light purchase us eternall torments 3. Since we cannot tell even when we doe best whether we deserve love or hatred we have great reason to fear lest we may be separated at the latter day from the blessed as Cockle sit for nothing but hell fire and out of that religious fear let us work out our salvation with trembling by planting in our souls the roots and seeds of vertues and for better doing it Let us pray to day with Holy Church as above to be secured from the danger of damnation by our sole hope in the protecting and saving grace of Jesus Christ our Lord. On the sixth Sunday after the EPIPHANY The Antiphon MAT. 13. ver 33. THE kingdome of heaven is like to leaven which a woman tooke and hid in three measures of meale untill the whole was leavened Vers Let my prayer c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer GRant we beseech thee Almighty God that alwaies meditating those things which are reasonable we may both in our words and deeds doe what is pleasing unto Thee The Illustration I Have met with some prodigious wits of both sexes who conferring with me about this my designe when it was in hand would laughing say I might perhaps as well adjust this Prayer to the Epistle and Gospel of the day as I should be able to perswade them it was other than a meere paradox and if it were possible for men alwaies to meditate upon reasonable things considering how irrationally all the world was commonly distracted so as friends they advised me if I would goe on to change at least this Prayer and put some other in the place of it lesse paradoxicall in it self and more suiteable than this could be either to the Epistle or Gospel of the day which they read over and over before they spent this judgement upon me and my designe To these I answered pleasantly as me thought they spake to me though I perceived they were serious too That if they observed the Gospel it was all Parabolicall and therefore admit that were true they said it was not unsuiteable on this day to have a Prayer Paradoxicall since Parables and Paradoxes were of near allyance but further let me now ask all the world if it be not reasonable the Church should pray most fervently for that which is most hard to doe as it seemes men account it the hardest thing in the world alwaies to meditate on reasonable things and yet the harder this is to doe the more necessary it is to pray for grace at least to enable us thereunto since even â—hese prodigious wits would think a man unmannerly that should tell them th y were irrationall soules at any time and yet what difference there is between being irrationall and thinking and doing for the most part unreasonable things I doe not well know sure I am reason alwaies dictates to doe well and as sure I am that a sinne is an irrationall act as it is certainely a thing ill done nay if I had said every sinne were so farre forth against nature as it is against reason I think I should not exceed verity in that assertion and since all that men doe like men they premeditate therefore with reason we pray this day least our actions should prove unnaturall that our meditations or thoughts should be rational for none other are connaturall to men as men though often they creep upon us and so render our actions more bestiall than rationall more unnaturall than naturall To conclude though many of our actions passe among men as rationall which yet are not so indeed therefore we pray to day that really they may be so since God is not deceiveable as man is and since no unreasonable thought or deed can passe with him for reason or be pleasing to him see then if it be not very fitting to pray that corrupted Nature may by Grace be elevated to the operations suiting Nature in her best rectitude when even so she is crooked enough in the sight of God who is Rectitude Essentiall But least while we condescend to satisfie curiosity we forget our maine designe let us see how this Prayer suits indeed with the other parts of this daies service which with the Epistle it seemes to doe whilest petitioning Reason to be the guide of all our actions it puts us in mind of a rationall persisting to doe well since by Gods grace we are called with the Thessalonians to the profession of the same faith which this daies Epistle from first to last exhorts them to continue in maugre
sacred son Christ Jesus at the day of Judgement to revenge his Fathers and his own wrongs done unto them by the sins of ungratefull and mis-believing men who notwithstanding they see Christ was raised from the dead will not yet believe him to bee the Messias and Saviour of the world from which revenge or wrath those who believe in Christ Jesus are delivered that is from the damnation due to their incredulity who believe not in him or to their evill lives who though they doe rightly believe yet live not according to the rule of Faith or doe not works answerable to their belief The Application 1. AS it is huge Reason we should fly to heaven for help in humane dangers according as wee were taught last Sunday so is it very reasonable we should practise what S. Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to whilest his Lesson to them is this day read to us Namely to be mindfull of the work of our Faith c for albeit Faith elevateth Reason to believe some things that are above Reason yet it bindeth us not to doe any thing either above or against Reason and so leaves us in all our thoughts and actions to be regulated by reason 2. Hence it is great Reason that we who now profess the same Faith with the Thessalonians doe persevere with them in the works of faith such as may render us able by our exemplar lives to convert all that we converse with as wâ— hear the Thessalonians did convert all those of Macedonia and of Achaia to the faith of Jesus Christ 3 Now because our actions commonly are such as our thoughts propend and lead us to it is fitting that to bee the better able to doe reason in all our actions we should admit of notâ—ing but reason into our thoughts and meditations since we are certain whatsoever can lay claim to Reason especially such â—s is elevated by Faith must needs be pleasing to almighty God According as we are taught in the Prayer above The Gospel MATTH 13. vers 31. 31. ANother Parable he proposed unto them saying The kingdome of heaven is like to mustard seed which a man tooke and sowed in his fiâ—ld 32. Which is the least surely of all seeds but when it is grown it is greater than all hearbs and is made a Tree so that the fowls of the aire come and dwell in the branches thereof 33. Another Parable he spake to them The kingdome of heaven is like to leaven which a a woman tooke and hid in three measures of meal untill the whole was leavened 34. All these things Jesus spake in Parables to the multitudes and without parables he did not speak to them 35. That it might be fâ—lfilled which was spoken by the Prophet saying I will open my mouth in parables I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world Psal 77. v. 2. The Explication 31. OUr Saviour it seems at this time made profession to speak nothing but Parables so after he had as we heard last Sunday told them the Parable of the cockle amongst the corn here hee likens the Church to the least of grains a mustard seed sowed in a mans field that is to say scattered over the field of this world which is truly said a mans field in regard Christ who is God and man is Lord and master of this whole Universe and all over it hath planted this mustard seed his holy Church 32. And as in very truth a mustard seed is the least of all others so the Church of Christ was when first planted or sowed the least of all communities in the word But some conceive Christ himself to bee this mustard seed on whom grew as so many birds in their nests The Apostles Popes Bishops Pastours and Saints of all sorts and of both sexes Others will have the Church to be this mustard-seed little in it self at first now spread over all the world Others contend it is the Gospel of Christ his doctrine or the word of God that at first was onely sowed like mustard seed among the Jewes but now is diffused over the whole Universe In fine it avails little which of these we take the Parable is verified in them all and indeed they are all in a manner one and the same thing for all have root in Christ and are branches of him and the Analogie holds between the mustard seed and every one of these for who lesse than Christ who was the out-cast of men What Church lesse than the Primitive Church of Christ What Doctrine avowed by weaker men than his Disciples were and so consequently what word lesse than his which was exsibilated or hissed out of the world at first when it was said to be a scandall to the Jewes and a folly to the Gentiles 1 Cor. 1.23 to preach the Gospel of his resurrection And this is speciall between the word and mustard-seed that as in this seed there is a kinde of fierie quality so is the word of God as holy David sayd Psal 119. v. 140. Thy word is exceeding fierie that is servorous and hot inflaming hearts to the love of God and whereas the Text speaks of this seed growing to a tree it is indeed so in Syria where birds really build in the boughs thereof as all the members of Christ doe upon him as was abovesaid 33. This other parable of the Church or of her doctrine being like to leaven suites exceedingly therewith for as a litle leaven gives a relish to a whole batch of bread so the least Word of God hidden in mens hearts as leaven is in meal makes them rise into professions of Christian dutie and renders all their actions savourie both to God and man By the woman is here meant the Church which is the Spouse of Christ hiding the leaven of Christian doctrine in the three measures of meal that is to say in three parts of the World whereunto Christianity was then immediately designed namely Asia Africa and Europe for America hath been discovered but an hundred years agoe and whither formerly disjoyned from some one of these other three parts of the Earth by an interjected Sea as now it is we know not But this we conceive that these other three parts seemed to have been a division of the whole Earth into all the parts thereof when Noe divided the World between his three Sons assigning Asia to Sem Afirica to Cham and Europe to Japhet and this perhaps may be the literall allusion of the three measures of meal seasoned by the leaven of the Gospel Mystically Saint Ambrose applyes this leaven to the three parts of Man his spirit his life and his body or to his three appetites rationall Irascible and concupiscible So that by vertue of Gods holy Word Saint Hierome sayes in our reason we possesse prudence in our anger we lodge a holy hatred against Sin in our desires or concupiscencies we harbour a coveting of Vertue And all this in having these naturall appetites elevated to
duties The Gospel MAT. 20. ver 1 c. 1. THe Kingdom of heaven is like to a man that is an housholder which went forth early in the morning to hire workmen into his vineyard 2. And having made covenant with the workmen for a penny a day he sent them into his vineyard 3. And going forth about the third hour hee saw others standing in the market place idle 4. And he said unto them Go you also into the vineyard and that which shall be just I will give you 5. And they went their way And again hee went forth about the sixth and the ninth hour and did likewise 6. But about the eleventh hour hee weâ— forth and found other standing and he saith to them What stand you here all the day idle 7. They say unto him because no man hath hired us He saith to them Go you also into the vineyard 8 And when evening was come the Lord of the vineyard saith to his Bailiffe Call the workmen and pay them their hire beginning from the last even to the first 9. Therefore when they were come that came about the eleventh hour they received every one a penny 10. But when the first also came they thought that they should receive more and they also received every one a penny 11. And receiving it they murmured against the good-man of the house 12. Saying These last have continued one hour and thou hast made them equall to us that have born the burden of the day and the heats 13. But he answering said to one of them Friend I doe thee no wrong didst thou not covenant with mee for a penny 14. Take that is thine and goe I will also give to this last even as to thee also 15. Or is it not lawfull for mee to doe that I will Is thine eie naught because I am good 16. So shall the last be first and the first last for many bee called but few elected The Explication 1. WHen it is said the kingdome of heaven is like a man doing as this Parable relates the meaning is that in heaven it is done as here by such a man is said to be done though true it is this alludes also to the great ones in this world Let us therefore state the Parable thus By the Vineyard is meant the Church by the market the world by those called at the first the third and sixth hour are understood the Jews signfied in their forefathers Abraham Jacob and Moses called to Gods service in that sort as hee was pleased to lay his commands upon his Church or Synagogue rather by the last called are signified the Gentiles in their primitiae or first fruits the holy Apostles who were made the Pillars and Props of the Christian Church By the evening is meant the day of Judgement when every one shall receive his hire according to his labours in the Church of Christ that is the penny which was promised unto him for his pains and this penny is eternall glory to the blessed deserving well though withall by the word penny is understood pence of severall coins or rather values that is to say monie called a penny at pleasure though worth perhaps much more Again we are to note the greater reward is not given for the the greater pains but for the greater grace or greater co-operation with equall grace and according to this sense by the first are understood the blessed or saved souls by the last the accursed or damned men and Angels but divers of the Fathers explicate this Parable thus As by the first made last to understand those who have been longest Catholikes but making lesse use of time and grace than those who are later called to the Catholike Faith and yet make more profit of their little time and more use perhaps of their lesse grace than others have done So then the penny which is heaven is equally divided to each each being saved and none damned though the last called have the greater glory which makes no essentiall difference in the Beatitude common to them all that is in their genericall or objective bliss which consists in seeing God the Beatifying object whom all shall see though there shall be a difference in their more or lesse cleerly seeing this blissefull Object or Objective blisse according to their more or lesse Merit or Co-operation with the Grace given unto them in this life So though they have an equality of a most happy eternity yet shall they not be equally happy by equality of glory in that eternity of happinesse and in this sense the parts of the parable are thus to be applyed That by the day we understand the whole course of this world by the severall houres of this day we understand the particular ages thereof by the first hour from Adam to Noe by the next from Noe to Abraham by the third from Abraham to Moses by the sixth from Moses to Christ by the eleventh or last from Christ to the day of doom Thus S. Chrysostome and others Or by the day may be meant the whole time of each mans life by the severall hours his Infancie youth virility old age and decrepicie Thus S. Hierome and others But the fullest sense and that which best exhausts the whole Parable is to joyn all these together so what falls short in one will come home and be supplyed by the other for though here S. Chrysostomes enumeration of parts in the Parable seem different from S. Hieromes yet they both agree in the sense of the equall penny given to first and la t whereas the former enumeration of these parts casteth out the last from all reward and supposeth them damned souls so there are but two senses in three Enumerations of parts to this Parable And this long Preamble in the first Verse will ease us much in the explication of all the rest and shorten what is to be said upon them 2. The covenant here made with the Workmen for a pennie is the promise God makes of heaven to those that live here in the Church of Christ which is called his Vineyard according to the Apostolicall Rule of Faith including good works and co-operation with the grace of God answerable to the proportion thereof given unto us 3. The Romans first and then the Jewes under them divided as well the day as the night into twelve parts by four equall divisions answerable to their four watches or changes of their Guards The first hour of the day when the first guard mounted was from Sun-rising The third was three hours after The sixth six hours after that which was noon-day The ninth was three hours after noon The last was at Sun-setting and to these houres allude what is here said of the severall hours of mens being called to the vineyard of Christ By those who were found standing idle are meant remiss soules who make it not their studie or labour to gain heaven but expect it should be given them gratis 4. Observe here
will this avail to our design though we admit the Epistle may fitly talk of charity while the Gospel runs all upon faith since the prayer which wee must have to suit with both these vertues makes not the least mention of either Truly we must look back to some rules given us in the Preface to this work and thereunto add that there are many rare hidden things which are causes of admirable visible effects for example we see not the root whilest yet the beauty of the Tree is pleasing to our eyes In like manner if we reflect upon what we deprecate in this dayes prayer namely the innumerable evils and visible adversities we groan beneath which are all rooted in our sins wee shall then confess this prayer is not so void of coherence with this dayes service as at first it appears to be for holy Church like a prudent Mother goes the direct and shortest way to work by curing our adversities with cutting up the root or cause thereof whiles she asks humbly in this dayes prayer to bee loosened from the fetters of sin which are the causes of all our sorrows and adversities and which produce a greater blindness in our souls than was cured in the eyes of the blind man specified in this dayes Gospel Nor can holy Church be blamed to make her prayer to day generall that is a deprecation of all our adversities out of the memory of this particular misery of blindness set now before our eyes since this single corporal infirmitie is a figure of the general contagion in our souls by a world of adversities falling upon us through our reiterated sins And therefore Holy Church to day begs that by a precedent absolution from the fetters of our sins we may injoy a consequent cure of all our adversities nor is this desired absolution dissonant from our purpose since as charity is so much this day inculcated to us in the Epistle so we may remember charity was the onely cure of the greatest sinner reputed at least in this world S. Mary Magdalen for we are told many sins are remitted to her because she loved much Hence we may be confident that the best way to untie the fetters of present sin and so to take off present adversities is to love much and to conserve and augment charity But to find out the connection of parts here this I must confess was the Priests work and could hardly be expected from the Laity yet now we see Holy Church doth in this sense to day present us the prayer above we shall soon confess it is not thus understood discordant to the Epistle and Gospel of the day and consequently wee shall believe Holy Church is ever present to her self and hath reason for what she doth much beyond what our distracted thoughts are able easily to reach unto whilest we make onely a slothfull lip-labour of those holy Prayers which should be our deepest studie our most serious meditation and which so studied will be understood in their genuine sense as under correction of better judgements I humbly conceive this sacramentall or mysterious prayer is being thus expounded as above The Epistle 1 COR. 13. ver 1. c. 1. IF I speak with the tongues of men and Angels and have not charity I am become as sounding brasse or a tinkling Cymball 2. And if I should have prophesie and knew all mysteries and all knowledge and if I should have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charitie I am nothing 3. And if I should distribute all my goods to be meat for the poor and if I should deliver my body so that I burn and â—ave not charity it doth profit me nothing 4. Charity is patient is benign charity envieth not dealeth not perversely is not puffed up 5. Is not ambitious seeketh not her own is not provoked to anger thinketh not evill 6. Rejoyceth not upon iniquitie but rejoyceth with the truth 7 Suffereth all things believeth all things hopeth all things beareth all things 8. Charity never falleth away whether prophesies shall be made void or tongues shall cease or knowlâ—dge shall be destroyed 9 For in part we know and in part we prophesie 10. But when that shall come which is perfect that shall be made void which is in part 11. When I was a little one I spake as a little one I understood as a little one I thought as a little one But when I was made a man I did away the things that belonged to a little one 12. We see now by a glasse in a dark sort but then face to face now I know in part but then I shall know as also I am known 13. And now there remain faith hope charitie these three but the greater of these is charity The Explication 1. IN these three fiâ—â—â— verses the Apostle tells us charitie is the top and crown of all gifts and vertues insomuch â—t without it no other vertue profits us at all which â— Paul dilates upon in all this Chapter because he found the Corinthians apt to flatter themselves that the gift of tongues was the greatest of all other gifts And in having that they boasted of equall favour and grace even with the Apostles whereas he ended the twelfth Chapter of this Epistle with these words pursue the better gifts and yet I shew pou a more excellent way by the better gifts he means the Apostolate wisedome science counsel discretion of spirits miracles prophesie and the like by the more excellent way he means this of charity transcending all the rest and to shew he meant it was particularly surpassing their so much boasted gift of tongues he begins first to beat that errour down saying If I speak with tongues of men and Angels c. and have not charitty all is nothing worth But by the tongues of men he alludes both to the learned tongues as Hebrew Greek Latine which were ever held kinde of roots to all others as also to those all tongues or severall Languages which by the gift of the Holy Ghost many men and women even the most ignorant amongst both sexes had bestowed upon them and in particular that naturall gift of tongue which many men had in such perfection that by their eloquence and facundity of speech they were able to ravish their Auditorie and perswade them into any abominable errour schism or heresie whatsoever as we heard S. Paul professe the false Apostles did when they made him Apologize for his defect of their Eloquence See what was said upon last Sundayes Epistle v 19 20 21. to this effect All these wayes therefore he here takes the tongues of men and sayes if he were the most excellent in them yet without charity all were nothing worth Now for the tongues of Angels what he means oâ— those tongueless creatures language or eloquence it is not easie to express yet we may conceive his meaning is if Angels should take upon them the shapes of men and vouchsafe
we lack but also whatsoever we can rationally ask of him who is no niggard of his favours and while the blind man askes his sight we may conceive he askes as much as his life too for a blind man is like a visible death to all other men and a sensible one unto himself since he can feele misery on all sides but see comfort no way to which purpose see Tobias Cap. 5. ver 12. and heare Saint Ambrose Uti tristes sunt c. As the day without Sun-shine is but sad and the nights without Moone-light not so pleasing so is the life of man deprived of the light of his body his eyes for they the Sunne and Moone are as it were the eyes of the world and without their lustre the heavens themselevs do suffer a deformity of blindnesse And S. Austine upon this place saies Tota igitur vita c. Our whole lifes exercise therefore is but to cure this eye of the heart to this end hath Almighty God instituted all the holy Mysteries to this end is the word of God preached to this end tend all Ecclesiastical exhortations c. Let us therefore all cry out O Lord give us the light of Grace to see the turpitude of sinne the vilitie of concupiscence the exilitie of pleasure the atrocity of hell fire the beauty of virtue the happinesse of Paradise the eternity of Glory Amen 42. No marvel our Saviour gave so speedy a reward to so strong a Faith the cause taken once away the effect must needs cease the cause of this corporall blindnesse was spirituall coecity the blind-mans infidelity which taken away by Faith he enjoyes immediately his corporall sight and so hath the effect gone upon surcease of the cause nor need we scruple to make this exposition when our Saviour saies in expresse termes This mans Faith was his cure for if so then Infidelity was his disease 43. We cannot read this story without being moved to imitate the gratitude of the blind man in giving thankes for the benefit received as we shall be forward enough to imitate his importunity in calling to God for help in our necessities and what was his gratitude his following our Saviour magnifying and praysing of him as also did all the people that were witnesse to the benefit received that we would our selves thus testifie our own gratitudes thus get all the world to help us expresse our thanks for such benefits as they all see we receive daily and hourly from almighty God since we have an assurance if we goe as farre with him as this blind man did to his passion to his Cross to his death to his grave he will raise us with him to a new life of grace here and to an eternall life of Glory in the next world The Application 1. AS it was this blind mans Faith that made him corporally whole so was it his love and charity that made him spiritually sound that did shake off the Fetters of his affection to sinne and kept him by that meanes from all adversitie while it fastned him to the purchaser of all prosperity our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ 2. It was indeed his Charity that made him leave all other company to follow Jesus and to magnifie his Deity by proclaiming his mercy in having delivered him from misery And whither did he follow him To Hierusalem to his Passion to his Death to his Sepulcher 3. O lively Faith that did not die in this poor man when Jesus dying for him left even his Apostles tottering in their Faith O burning Charity that like a flaming lamp hung ore the Sepulcher of Jesus dead and buried Adoring then and magnifying the Divinity which never did forsake the sacred corps of Christs Humanity though his living soul had left his dead body in the grave O admirable way to shake off the shackles of sinne and to keep us free from all adversitie thus firmely to believe thus ardently to love and so to follow Jesus from his grave into his glory O for this purpose well adapted Gospel of Faith to an Epistle of Charity O well adjusted Prayer as above to both On the first Sunday of Advent The Prayer called the Collect. ROwse up we beseech thee O Lord thy power and come away that from the emiâ—ent dangers of our sinnes thou protecting we may deserve to be freed and thou delivering us we may be saved Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen So end all Prayers The Prayer called the Secret MAy these Sacrifices O Lord by their powerfull vertue bring us cleansed and more pure unto their purifying fountain The Prayer called the Post-Communion LEt us receive O Lord thy mercy in the midst of thy Temple that we may prepare for the future solemnities of our reparation with congruous homages On the second Sunday of Advent The Prayer ROwse up our hearts O Lord towards preparing the wayes of thy onely begotten Sonne that by his coming amongst us we may deserve to serve thee with purified Souls The Secret VOuchsafe O Lord to be appeased by our humble Prayers and Offerings and whereas we have no title of merit succour us with thine own supplyes The Post-Communion BEing filled with the food of Spirituall Almes we humbly beseech thee O Lord that by the participation of this Mystery thou wilt teach us to contemn Earthly and to love Heavenly things On the Third Sunday of Advent The Prayer LEnd we beseech thee O Lord thine ear unto our Prayer and enlighten the darknesse of our minde with the Grace thy Visitation The Secret MAy the sacrifice O Lord of our Devotion be continually offered up both to perform the precepts of this sacred Mystery and admirably in us to produce thy saving work The Post-Communion VVEe implore O Lord thy clemency that these Divine helps may expiatâ— our sinnes and prepare us to the future solemnities On the fourth Sunday of Advent The Prayer O Lord we beseech thee raise up thy power and with thy mighty vertue come away to our succour that by the help of thy Grace what our sins retard the indulgence of thy propitiation may accelerate The Secret ORdain O Lord we beseech thee being by these present sacrifices appeased that they may avail to our Devotion and Salvation also The Post-Communion HAving received thy bounties we beseech thee O Lord that by frequentation of thy Mystery the effect of our salvation may increase On Sunday within the Octaves of the Nativity The Prayer OMnipotent Sempiternall God direct our actions in thy good pleasure that in the name of thy beloved Son we may deserve to abound in good Works The Secret GRant we beseech thee Omnipotent God that the offering which we have made in the eyes of thy majesty may obtain us the grace of holy Devotion and bring unto us the effect of a blessed Eternity The Post-Communion BY the operation of this Mystery may O Lord our sins be purged and our just desires be accomplished On Sunday within the
the genuine sense of the Apostle in this Text who by grace here understands both the generall benefit of all mankinds redemption or reconciliation to God by Christ his passion and the speciall concourse of holy grace which Christ hath merited for every particular man and which God consequently gives to every one that thereby hee may if he will not in vaine receive it make himselfe an effectuall partaker of the said passion of Christ by cooperating therewith towards his own Salvation whereas otherwise Christ his passion remaines onely sufficient but not effectuall or actually efficatious to every particular mans Salvation 2. This prophesie reports to the second person of the Blessed Trinity thus speaking to his heavenly Father Jsaias 49.8 in the accepted time of his Incarnation and in the saving day of his passion which wrought Salvation to the whole world and when the Apostle tells us that now this acceptable time this day of Salvation is come he meanes the whole time afforded man in this world from the houre of our Saviours Incarnation and passion to the very latter day of doome is all and every minute of it so acceptable so saving that no man can use any the least instant of it in vaine if he please to serve himselfe thereof but may in any time of his whole life in any instant of that whole time by a true conversion of his heart to God and by an aversion of it from sinne save his soule though it were huge presumption in any man that had enough to doe in all his life to overcome his vices and would be so supinely negligent as never to convert his Soule and the affections of his heart to God but at some posting minute when he could no longer injoy the liberty of sinne note also though this be the literall sense of Isaias above yet the mysticall of it is that holy Lent is singled out as the most acceptable time in all the year to work out our Salvation in because we have then the assistance of the whole Church joyntly prostrate with us in Prayer Fasting and Pennance so in case our own indeavours come short yet they may now be carryed on as some men are in crowds being borne up by others when they have no footing of their own to carry them along 3. Here the Apostle seemes to put so much force in the necessity of good life in Christians such as takes off all note of scandall or offence as if all the labour of the Priests were lost unlesse the people did live according to the doctrine of the Church according to the preaching of the Pastours for so he concludes as though their Ministery might be blamed and questioned whether of God or not if the people did not live vertuous lives and without offence because men would be apt to say they were fine teachers fine Masters indeed who breed up such sinfull Scholars as give offence to others 4. And lest the people might pretend it is in vaine for Priests to Preach good life unlesse they also lead the same the Apostle both for this reason and further to let them see they were seduced by following such Preachers as without ordination or Mission tooke upon them that Ministery and did perhaps speake well but doe ill themselves falls tacitly into an Encomiastick of himselfe and of all true Ministers of Gods holy word above what was due to false Ministers by exhorting the people to such good life as they might see example of in him and the rest of the Apostles and Disciples of Christ while he saies let us shew our selves like Ministers of God instructed ordained and sent by him to Preach and lead examples of good life not obtruded upon the world by man pretending Mission and ordination who had none indeed and therefore could not truly be called the Ministers of God as onely the Apostles and their legall successours are all this he means by those words let us live as the Ministers of God then he proceeds to tell the Signes and the Tokens of such or at least the effects commonly following all such true calling ordination or mission that it renders them capable of much patience and lest this vertue should seeme but narrowly communicated by God to his Apostles here is an ampliation of it to all Emergencies or occasions wherein commonly mens patiences are truly tried that so whiles it is not limited to any one occasion or circumstance but extended to all it may appeare to be a mark or an effect of a true Minister of God since it is his gift whose every work is perfect and from this very place to the end of this Epistle the Apostle runs on declaring the marks of a true Minister of God squaring out the excellency and perfection of an Apostolicall man and of his life so that little need more to be said for explaining the verses following now we know they all drive to this end and are spoken in this sense yet now and then I shall observe in each verse something particular when the sense is deeper then it may seem to be at first reading 5. Note in this verse the Apostle exhorts even in persecutions such as was expressed above to use voluntary Mortifications namely Watching and Fasting for they are seldom inflicted as punishments of our Persecutors though even in that sense the hunger of prisons and restless nights thereof caused by the unruly company commonly in such places may also have been glanced at as things the Apostle exhorts to bear patiently 6. Chastity is here of special regard because we see the Ministers of other Churches profess it is not to be of obligation nay they wil have it incompatible with humane Nature and no way possible to be prescribed to Priests or vowed by them So by this particular mark of Chastity the Apostle distinguisheth a true Priest from an usurper of Apostolical Mission and gives this as an eminent splendour in the Catholick Church abounding in many thousands of Priests and Religious persons of both Sexes vowing and most of them doubtless if not all keeping their Vow exactly Knowledge or Science is here of special remark too since it behoves all Priests not onely to know the common Principles of Christian Doctrine but further the genuine sense of holy Scriptures and deepest Mysteries of our Faith so to enable them upon all occasions to teach to preach and to instruct the ignorant By Sweetness is here understood Meekness that since they must meet with all rudeness in nature and know all the harshness of sinners they had need of this Vertue to make their Reprehensions upon occasions more efficacious by the mildness and sweetness wherewith they exhort to good and dehort from evil life 7. By the Vertue of God is here meant either the power whereby sometimes they work Miracles or that fortitude wherewith they run through all difficulties in the practice of Christian Perfection By the Armour of Justice on the right hand and on
intrinsical flowing from the Deity The causes of this Fast were many As that thereby he might satisfie for Adams eating the forbidden Apple That his own humane Soul might be more apt to contemplation by this means That he might sanctifie the Lenten fast of forty days which he knew his Apostles would erect and deliver over for the Church to follow until the worlds end in imitation of this example he had given them When it is said That after forty dayes he was hungry this argues not but he might sooner have felt the want of meat however his divinity supplyed the defect thereof and when he was sensible of hunger afterwards it was not that he could no longer fast but to have the merit of being tempted against his holy purpose and of resisting that Temptation for our future instructions in like occasions 3. The Tempters approaching argues he came visibly in the shape of a man which he had assumed for Christ had his internals so regulated as likewise Adam by Original Justice had that he could not be tempted by any inward Suggestion against Reason nor was Adam what-ere he might have been so tempted but by Eve and she by a Serpent outwardly appearing When the Devil said If thou be the Son of God it argues he was doubtful of it for he had heard the voyce from heaven saying This is my beloved Son when Christ was Baptized as also he had heard how John the Baptist preached him to be the Messias the Son of God and yet seeing him appear to be a man and finding he was hungry as men are he tempts him to break his fast by the subtilty of telling him it would shew him to be the Son of God if he would turn stone into bread to satisfie his hunger 4. Excellent answer giving no advantage to the aggressor but repelling him rather by his own weapons turned upon him by holy Writ saying Man doth not onely live by bread but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God Deut. c. 8. v. 3. and what need he convert the stones to bread to manifest his power who with the least word of his mouth could feed the better part of man his Soul intimating thereby Prayer and Meditation to be as fit a food for the refreshment of a Christian as his daily bread the one enabling him to live eternally the other helping out a momentary breathing onely 5 6 7. The evil Spirit finding Gluttony to be no motive able to prevail with Deity flies to the medium that had wrought upon himself the Titillation of Ambition or Vain-glory when he said he would be like the Highest fondly thinking what prevailed with him in Heaven would work upon our Lord on Earth To be forsooth attended on by holy Angels though in an act of diabolical presumption Precipitation of himself from the pinacle of the Temple Too short a cloak to hide so large a sin as the Revenge thou aymest at beneath it Thou hadst thy self a Fall from Heaven down to Hell which thou wouldst now repay by giving Christ another from off the Temple where God is adored down to the ground where thy High Altar is when men adore low Creatures of the earth before their high Creator This this fond Serpent is thine aym to make thy God lye sprawling on the earth as thou dost lye in everlasting flames and this thou wouldst have done before the doors of all the holy Priests whose houses were about the Temple so to make them scorn and trample ore the God they had adored upon their holy Altars Alas how short is thy Serpentine wisdom of his that is eternal of his that sees thy specious pretexts are all deceits and tells thee so when he replies Thou shalt not tempt thy Lord thy God Deut. 6.16 How canst thou hope to Tempt hereafter any man to evil under shew of good this thou hast got to make poor man thy Master by ayming at the Mastery upon thy God To conclude by the Hands of Angels in this Text is understood their ayd for Spirits have no hands nor any other limbs or parts at all 8 9 10. Alas how poor a thing is Avarice to tempt a God withall say who is able first to give him any thing and it shall be restored Rom. 11. v. 35. Thus creatures seeme to uncreate their God in their foolish imaginations thinking him to be imperfect as themselves needy or indigent as they who yet hath made and given to the universe a being out of nothing But for the devill to presume God should adore him too for that he could not give this is a fondnesse not to be exprest as passing all imagination and so was best returned with a scorn of bidding the fond usurper know his distance go like a Lacquey at the heeles of his creator and well he was not yet reduc't to his first principle to nothing by an immediate annihilation It was indeed high time to tame his insolence when nothing but an homage due to God an Adoration would suffice him No devil no maugre thy pride Thou must adorâ— thy Lord thy God and he alone it is that thou and we and all the world must serve His are the Heavens and the earth is his and well it is thou art the Lacquey yet of him thou wouldst have Lorded over if thou couldst It is his greater glory to force thee to thy duty maugre thy proud heart then to deprive himselfe of what is good in thee thy being how bad soever thou art thy selfe and howsover despicablely miserable in that being too 11. Some doe doubt how Christ came backe to his desert of Quarentana when the devill was gone affirming the good Angels carryed him thither as the bad Angel had brought him thence but probably himselfe gave his own Divinity leave to doe that office to his body if yet we may not say it was the effect of his glorified soule and body too for they were both as glorious then as now Sure enough as soon as he was there the Angels as to their Lord and God came offering their attendance however this is for our comfort that after the devill hath tempted us if we resist we may hope the Angels will come to comfort us that need it since they did so to Christ who stood in no necessity thereof at all The Application 1. WE had the honour to be called into the field to day by the Lieutenant Generall the Priest of holy Church but we are led up to the Battaile by the Captaine Generall himselfe our Saviour Jesus Christ who hath already vanquisht all our enemies for as he dyed to conquer death and purchase us eternall life by dying so by his being tempted he secur'd us of the victory in our Temptations if we but resist the Temptor and persisting in our holy purposes Crown the Fast with our Perseverance therein such as Jesus in his hunger gave us an example of although not bound to Fast as we 2. It is a
when he had spoken to them and anger'd them as above The Application 1. SAint Paul to day hath been the Sacristan and made the Altar ready for the Priest lo here he enters in who is the Sactifice and the Sacrificant our Saviour Jesus Christ the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world And therefore enters reprehending sin as you hear in this days Gospel because he came to dye for sins And who can better reprehend then he that is himself irreprehensible as Jesus shewed he was that asks the Jews who amongst you all can accuse me of sin 2. Thus by his Lamb like Innocency is he brought bleating into Holy Church to day as was the Legal Lamb Exod. 12. v. 11. just fifteen days before the Pascal Feast that by his bleating day and night so many days together he might minde the Jews how the blood of the Lamb upon their doors did cause the Angel to shew mercy there where he had found that blood Now in regard the Blood of Christ is that which is the Safegard of the World from the not onely killing but damning sword of the Angel of Darkness therefore is this Lamb of God brought in to Holy Church to day bleating and minding Christians by the justifying of himself from sin that he is indeed the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and that brings salvation unto those who by Integrity and Innocency of Life shall accomplish the Holy Fast of Lent and so make up that happy Fold of Lambs and Sheep who know their Shepherds Voyce and who are known by him for their Compassion on him now they hear the Tydings of his bitter Death and Passion 3. And in regard the Jews should not pretend they were excus'd from having his Innocency so far as therefore to believe him God because he was an Innocent Man See how all this Gospel runs upon a pregnant Proof of his Divinity where he not onely tells them Before Abraham was I am that is to say I am who am I am Almighty God whose best Definition is his Eternal Being Nor did he say this gratis for see the stones they sting pretending this was Blasphemy can no way hurt him nor can the Flingers see whom they intend to hurt though just before their eyes because his Deity was not pleas'd they should then see his Human Person whom they thought to stone to death yet from this malicious Intention we may fitly call this Passion Sunday And therefore fitly pray as above expressing in the begg'd Propitiation all his Passion and so conclude by casting all our care upon him both for Soul and Body On Palme Sunday in Lent The Antiphon Matth. 26. v. 31. FOr it is written I will strike the Pastor and the Sheep of the Flock shall be dispersed but after I shall rise again I will go before you into Galilee There you shall see me saith our Lord. Vers Deliver me O Lord from the evil man Resp .. From the wicked man deliver me The Prayer OMnipotent everlasting God who hast caused our Saviour to take humane Flesh upon him and be crucified for mankinde to imitate the example of his humility grant propitiously that we may deserve to have both the Instructions of his patience and the fellowship of his Resurrection The Illustration YOu will have heard in the preface to this Book why the Antiphon above is not taken out of this dayes Gospell of the Masse but of the Gospell read at Blessing of Palmes Suffice it here to say they are both waters of one and the same red Sea and therefore suteable to the designe in hand and I think it will be sufficient to cast your eyes onely upon the Epistle and Gospel here below to satisfie you how this Prayer above and they agree since in them both we have the greatest examples of humility that can be given in the one Christ humbled to the very ignominy of the Crosse in the other his humble entrance that he made into Jerusalem upon an Asse to the triumph of his ignominious Death and Passion for he was pleased onely to accept the acclamations of his being King to make greater unto us that example of his humility which he desired we should imitate and which he gave us for that very end as we see this Prayer avoucheth professing that God caused our Saviour to take humane flesh and be crucified for mankinde to imitate the example of his hâ—mility whence we begge as followeth That he will grant propitioâ—sly we may deserve to have both the Instructions of his patience and the fellowship of his Resurrection Stay blessed Jesu how can we deserve this to have thee our eternall God become our Temporall Master in the Schoole of patience and which is more if more can be to deserve that we may have the fellowship of this Resurrection what fellowship can there be betwixt God and man the creator and the creature setting that aside which is betwixt the Sacred Deity and the humanity of Christ where man may in a kinde be bold to say Haile fellow well met But for us that are as much removed from Christ in dignity as nothing is from all things in the world for us not onely to hope for our resurrection out of the infinite mercy of God but to begge we may deserve it too nay deserve the fellowship thereof with Jesus Christ himselfe this I confesse seems very strange and sounds like a bold presumption rather then a modest Prayer and yet because the Holy Ghost inspires the Church to make this Prayer to day we must not feare to say it with a confidence it will be gratefull in the eareâ— of God and for that reason gratefull to him because feasible by us yet no way feasible unlesse he grant us his propitious glaunce againe by looking on us through the blooshed eyes of his Sacred Sonne then indeed we may hope for propitiation by his passion and that propitious looke being afforded us we may like Peter weep most bitterly when the like aspect was cast upon him by our Blessed Lord. Luc. 22.61 But why doe we so timorously come to that which Saint Paul so confidently leads us up unto did not he vaunt to the Colossians cap. 1. v. 24. His sufferings to have been an accomplishment of those things that are wanting of Christs Passion according as we heard in the first Lenten Sundayes Epistle See there v. 1. for in consequence to the Doctrine there delivered we pray to day that wee may deserve to have had Christ our Master of Patience and to be his fellowes in his Resurrection since then we shall deserve such a Master when we become such Scholers as Saint Paul was and as he taught us in the Colossians to be Imitators of his patience in our passions which then become the accomplishment of his when we bear them as patiently as he bore his Crosse Coloss c. 3. v. 12. and being his at least they must have
this that if any durst oppose it should suffice to answer our Lord hath need of them he who is not onely Lord of those Animals but of their Masters and of all the creatures in the world and then when you shall tel them this they will let them goe see the humility of Christ he did not say this shal command them away but they will let them goe to shew Gods commands doe not force but court our wils into consent for those who he wil have doe any thing he moves their consents and doth not wrest it from them whether they will or no the like humility he shewed in choosing so comtemptible a Beast for his Triumphant Steed but yet a creature patient and able to labour thereby to declare he was to beare a great burden not of our Saviours weight but of all the sinnes of the world lay'd upon our Saviours shoulders yet lest men mistake it is here to be observed the Asses of Iudaea were large strong and stately beasts much like unto the Mules of other Countries whence we read Iud. 12. v. 14. where seventy Sonnes and Nephews of Abdon the Prince of Israel were all mounted upon such like Asses and by this it appeareth they were beasts of esteeme as well as of strength so Christ resolving to make a kinde of Triumph chose though a contemptible yet not an unapt beast for his purpose who was resolved to shew he esteemed not the pomp of this world though he was content to be once acknowledged to deserve the stile and title of King 4. 5. As by these two following verses doth appeare it was necessary that he should take this title to verifie all the predictions that were of him by the Prophets as namely this of his Triumph into Jerusalem was by the Prophet Isaias Chap. 62. v. 11. though others conceive this place is but cited as coincident with that of Zacharie Chap. 9. v. 9. to the same purpose and so Cornelius à Lapide explicates this Text upon that of Zacharie see him for more of this subject in that Tome by the Yoke is here understood the burthen laid upon the Asses back not that Asses did then use to draw with Yokes upon their necks as Oxen doe 6. This Verse onely shews the promptitude wherewith the Disciples obeyed our Lords commands as no way doubting to finde what he bad them seek or to have been bid to bring what they should not finde and by this we are instructed not to dispute God Almighties commands nor doubt of our Powers to keep them if we go about them as he bids us and confide in his assistance for the performance on our parts 7. The reason why both the Ass and her Colt were brought was that Christ rode on them both on the Ass the longer and mountainous way of Mount Olivet on the Colt into the City but principally for the mystery couched underneath namely that Christ was to command not onely the Jews who had been used to the bridle of the Law represented by the Ass made to the Saddle but also the unback't and unbridled Gentiles meant by the Colt as the ruder people before the Law of Moses who never were bridled broken nor made fit for â—he Commands of God by any Precept or Law upon them Now the Reasons why Christ was pleased to come in this Triumph were to give a Pledge of his absolute Regal Power over all the world by coming like a King into the most famous City of the Earth to let the Jews their Scribes Pharisees Doctors and Priests see he was the Messias foretold thus coming among them by the Prophecy of Zachary above cited to shew again that he was indeed the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world while he came not onely from Bethphage as they do but in the manner they use to come in Pompe and Solemnity into the City some days before the Feast of the Pascal Lamb as the Legal Lamb was wont so to be brought in to deride the Pompe and Glory of this World by seeming to accept of it to day and resolving to renounce it as contemptible immediately when he rather chose to dye a Sacrifice for the people then to live their King Lastly to shew that his kingdom truly consisted here of Suffering however in the next world it was to be glorious and therefore even to his Suffering he went Triumphantly as giving his Holy Martyrs example to do the like in their persecutions and in going towards their Executions with Alacrity and Joy to take possession of the Crown of Sorrow before they come to their Crown of Glory 8. This was to shew they did in earnest look upon him and treat him as their King for when Kings did passe by it was usuall to strew the streets and deck them as well as could be thereby to shew their affections and loyalties to their Soveraigne by their garments we are here to understand those onely that hang loose as Coates Cloakes Scarfes and the like These boughs they had from the Mount Olivet a place full of all sorts of Flory Plants and Trees This ceremony mystically bids us cut off the luxuriant branches of our inordinate desires pluck up the flowers of our wanton sensualities and cast them at our Saviours feet as the spoiles of his grace for him to trample over and thereby to shew they shall no longer have roote in us if any soule be so happy as to have no sinnes let him cast downe then the better branches of his good works the flowers of his vertues and so bedeck the way for Christ our Lord to passe 9. Hosanna is a word compounded and signifying an apprecation of health or happinesse not much unlike to that we use to say long live the King or God blesse the King so by this word they both acknowledged him to be the Messias and the new King that had been so many thousand yeeres expected for the comfort and redemption of the people for that was imported in the words Sonne of David because the Messias was to come by promise out of Davids loynes who had raigned gloriously in Jerusalem and who came descended lineally from Abraham so the best sense of this acclamation was to wish health first to Christ their King and next to themselves as knowing the good of the people depends upon the Kings prosperity by blessing him comming in the name of the Lord they mean as the promise of our Lord God made to Abraham and in him to the people Hosanna in the highest imports thou God on high save this our Messias and in him save also us The Application 1. WHat may be added here more then was said in the Illustration of the Prayer in the Epistles Application or in the Explication of this Gospels Text is that as Jesus came to dye for all the world so he was pleased by all sorts of people to be attended on in this his Triumph into Hierusalem the whole worlds Metropolis or
Head-City by Saints and Sinners his Apostles Jewes and Gentiles by all Sects and Ages Men women and Children that so he might give an example of his humility to all the world and unto all mankind 2. But especially to great ones Nobles Princes Monarches that these may learn Pal. 61. v. 11. If Riches slow not to set their hearts upon them Nor if honored by their subjects Psal 48. v. 13. to lose their understandings and to become like foolish Beasts by taking Pride in Popular Applause but rather with the wise to say So passeth by the Glory of the world this day cry'd up a King and in three dayes decry'd to dye an ignominious death 3. As therefore Princes you are those whom Jesus represented last of all and made the least demur upon your Pompous State so learne of him to set the world at naught by a contempt thereof and thereto fix your thoughts where true joyes are live humbly dye patiently with Jesus here that you may rise and reign gloriously with him in the world to come See how to all these purposes we fitly pray as above On Easter Sunday The Antiphon Mark 16. v. 4. ANd looking they saw the stone rowled backe for it was a very great one Alleluja Vers This is the day which our Lord hath made Resp Let us exalt and rejoyce therein The Prayer O God who this day by thine onely begotten Sonne hast opened to us the doore of eternity by the destruction of death prosecute we beseech thee in us those good desires which thou preventing hast afforded us The Illustration LOoke how the Salt Sea waters strained through the loose and Sandy grounds breake into Springs that head the greatest and the freshest Rivers thus doth the red Sea of our Saviours Passion breake from his Sepulchre into the Chrystall streames of his glorious resurrection so that all the Churches Prayers will now a while taste of those living waters that doe spring from death from the Sepulchre of our Blessed Lord in such sort as if death were content to dye that we may live For we see by this Prayer holy Church esteemes Christs resurrection to be the destruction of death since he hath no otherwise then by rising againe this day from his grave opened unto us the door of eternity of eternall and blissefull life whereupon she prayes the zeale we are now supposed to have of living eternally may be perfected by God his prosecuting in us our good desires thereof which are first afforded us by his preventing grace without which indeed wee cannot have as of our selves one good thought much lesse can we doe any the least good deed Now as there can be no tidings of any greater joy unto us who even naturally desire eternall life then for holy Church to tel us it is this day bestowed upon us by Christ his rising from his grave and by his raising us to everlasting life from the eternal death of deadly same which before had swallowed up all mankinde so we ought to rejoyce to day as a dead man would to find himselfe revived and brought from the brink of eternal damnation unto a promise of eternal life and blisse O could we say this Prayer with a lively apprehension of this to be our present condition with what fervour should we say it with what joy should we repeat it over and over again and how infinitely should we profit our selves thereby nay how home should we Preach unto our Souls by praying thus Since thereby we should exhaust not onely the whole Epistle and Gospel of the day but even the Introite of holy Mass wherein the Royal Prophet Psalme 138. speaks in the Person of Christ saying I am risen and yet I am with thee He was indeed with Ierusalem many a day after he had risen from his grave to shew her whom she had crucified her Iesus if shee pleased if not her Iudge and againe in the graduall at Masse which Holy Church makes stand to day for a versicle to the Antiphon above the same Prophet Psal 117. Speakes in our persons saying This is the day which our Lord hath made let us exult and rejoyce in it hence we see how gladsome a day our Holy Mother would have this to be unto us how cheerfully she would have us say the Prayer aforesaid and withall how suiteably to the Epistle which if observed is no other then a ground-work of our Prayer in the very sense above of our holy desires given us by Gods preventing grace and prosecuted by his grace continually helping us to enter in at the doore of a new life by going out of the old gate of sinfull death for that indeed is the true meaning of this dayes Epistle exhorting us to purge away the old leaven the sinne that makes our actions not only sowre but deadly in the esteem of God Almighty who having set his teeth on edge by the leavened bread of our sins desired now to make us unleavened loaves seasoned with vertues not with vices for though Saint Paul as the Rhemists interpret this place alludeth here to our Communion at Easter according as by precept we are bound and in that sense cals the blessed Sacrament Christ our immolated Pasch whereon he bids us Feast when by the Sacrament of pennance we have purged away the old leaven of malice and wickednesse out of our Soules yet in very truth both the beginning and ending of this Epistle tels us that while we thus Feast on Christ he feeds on us who have made our selves Azymes or unleaven'd loaves of sincerity and verity which is to say pure Manchet for his heavenly Table since thus we become the new paste and Azymes of Sanctity as the Apostle cals us under the termes of sincerity and verity as to the Gospel which is Saint Mark his story of the Resurrection it is all wide open unto us even in the first clause of the Prayer above saying Christ opened this day the door of eternity by the destruction of death though it be all abstracted too even in these closing words of the Prayer thou preventing for in every deed as Christ prevented the early Maries in his rising so doth his holy Grace prevent even the first thoughts of our rising from the lazinesse of sinne into the sedulity of serving God Almighty And thus we see the whole service of Easterday abstracted in this little Prayer and consequently we have hitherto made good our hard designe thereof The Epistle 1 Cor. 5.7 c. 7 Purge the old leaven that you may be a new paste as you are Azymes For our Pasche Christ is immolated 8 Therefore let us Feast not in the old leaven not in the leaven of malice and wickednesse but in the Azymes of sincerity and verity The Explication 7. BY the old leaven Saint Paul meanes that notorious kinde of Fornication which was practized amongst the Corinthians worse then any among Gentiles as in the first verse of this Chapter the
Apostle sayes of it in termes namely to lye with their Mother in Law or Fathers wife which it seemes some one or more among the Corinthians did so openly practise that they even defended the fact or at least would not be reclaimed from it whence the Apostle orders them to be excommunicated and given as he saith v. 5. corporally over to Satan that so by this punishment their Soules may be reclaimed from that filthy sinne and saved Wherefore it is of this notorious vice by name and of all other whatsoever sort of sinnes the Apostle speakes here under the name of leaven which he would have the Corinthians to purge to cast out from amongst them for he had told them in the immediate Verse before how the least of Leaven would spoil a whole Batch of bread giving it a disrelishing taste and for this cause it was commanded in the old Law that when the Pascal Lamb was killed it should be eaten with bread purer and sweeter then ordinary such as was made without any leaven in it at all to give it the least disrelish to the taste and this Bread was by a special and proper name called Azymes which signifies unleavened bread and to this the Apostle alludes when he exhorts the Corinthians to purge out of their consciences all sin whatsoever as he insinuated when he wished them to cast out of their society by excommunication any one that should be scandalous in his life as it seems this both Adulterer and Fornicator was that kept his Mother in Law for his Concubine a sin the very Gentiles did abominate The literal Sence therefore of the Verse is exhorting the Corinthians and in them all us Christians that since our Pascal Lamb Christ Jesus is immolated sacrificed upon the Altar of the Cross for the sins of the people they and we also should remember as the Legal Pasche was to be eaten with pure and unleavened bread so the Spiritual Pasche Christ Iesus was at this Feast of Easter to be received with pure consciences clean Souls such as by Contrition Confession and Satisfaction had been purged from the old leaven of sin and more made a Spiritual Azyme or unleavened bread fit to be eaten with this Pascal Lamb this Blessed Sacrament that was now by special command of Holy Church to be received with a Christian Piety exceeding in all degrees that of the Ceremonial Law upon the onely Umbratil or Figurative Exhibition of this real Substance and Truth Besides it is worthy our remark in this place that all the Neophytes of the Primitive Church were brought in White Garments on the first Saturday after Easter to be Baptized and at the putting off their White Garments were to receive an Agnus Dei from the Bishop which was to hang about their necks down upon their Breasts in Testimony of an inward Purity of Conscience put upon their Souls at the casting off their outward Garments which were onely Figures of this Internal Candor of Conscience to this also alludes the Chrysome put upon the heads of those that are Baptized and the Candle given into their hands representing the Light of Grace to be their guides to Heaven whose Souls are pure and clean from sin Note that what we now call Pasche was originally called the Passover because it was a legal Lamb yearly commanded to be killed and eaten in memory of their preservations who had their Posts and Thresholds of their Doors sprinkled with the Blood of a Lamb as we read Exod. 12. v. 11. for a mark to shew the Angel whose houses he was to pass by or over without killing the First-born therein whereas else he was to spare none that had not the Blood of a Lamb upon their doors so by Allegory we now call Christ our Pascal Lamb because his Blood was shed to preserve from the Angel of darkness his Ireful Sword the First-born of Grace that is the Christians or the true Believers in Jesus Christ 8. And hence the Apostle in this next Verse exhorts the Corinthians and in them all Christians to make a Solemn Feast of Joy all this Paschal time that is all their life time for the seven Days of this Feast signifie all the days of our life and to feed now not upon old Leaven that is not upon pristin Infidelity And least hence it should be thought Faith alone were enough for a Christian to be saved by the Apostle addes we must not onely believe right which is to cast off the old Leaven of Infidelity but further we must do good Works and so cast off the Leaven of malice and wickedness also by taking in their places the Azymes the unleavened bread of good Works of Sincerity in our Actions of verity in our Words as the Badges of upright Christians that neither we dissemble with God nor with our Neighbour in thought word or deed but as we have vowed in Holy Baptism we shall make it good all the days of our life that so we renounce the World Flesh and the Devil and will be Loyal to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ loving him above all things as our heavenly Spouse and loving our Neighbour with all other Creatures but for his sake and in order to heavenly Conversation with Almighty God both in this world and in the next The Application 1. THe Expositors upon this Holy Text tell us it pointeth at our present Obligation to Celebrate the Feast of Easter by now Confessing and receiving the Blessed Sacrament that beeing purged thus from the old Leaven from the sinful Creatures we were formerly we may become the Saints we ought to be hence forward For though before our Saviour suffered for our sins he did converse with sinners yet now that he is risen from his Grave he hath not taken any sinner with him from the dead how then can living sinners hope to keep him company and how without him can we hope to live 2. O happy Christians in our Rising Christ who hath destroyed Death and given us a double Life by his once onely dying a Life of Grace to that we had of Nature so though we cannot hope to keep him company by living as to Nature which propends to sin and so to death yet we may hope by living as to Grace which leads to Vertue and so to everlasting Life to keep him company for all Eternity yes this may be our hope if with St. Paul each one of us can say I live now not I but Christ he lives in me 3. And thus no doubt it will be too if we can either keep what we have got in Lent the Magazine of Vertues requisite to Sanctifie that Fast and make us fitting for the present Feast or if we can but wish we had those Vertues and that we were able yet to make amends as yet we may for not acquiring them when they were easier to be had then now by reason of that Season more acceptable So good so gracious is Almighty God
seen the Example of Humane Frailty in the chief Pastour of Gods Church that since the Sword of spiritual Power was put into their hands they might also have reason to shew mercy and not to retain other mens sins being penitent fiâ—ding their own were remitted upon Repentance and it was not without Reason that Christ foretold his Apostles he would rise again and appear to them in Galilee because he knew after his Death the Apostles and all the rest of his Disciples or Friends would be both afraid to meet together in Judea and that the Jews were so malicious against Christ as they would not suffer so great a number of his Disciples as Christ had above the eleven Apostles to appear amongst them much less to make assemblies Again the Apostles were most of them Galileans and so Christ knew they would be retreating to their own homes when he was gone or soon after if he rose not presently Lastly he had himself done many miracles in Galilee and therefore chose to get belief of them all at once by this one above all the rest his rising from the dead to Life again besides Galilee imports as much as transmigration and Christ passing from Death to life chose to do it in a place proper to the mystery which was yet redoubled by his appearing to multitudes at once in Galilee to shew he found the Jews no longer worthy his aboad among them and so he passed from them to the Gentiles where he had left many Disciples besides those Twelve he chose Apostles and whereof Judas was turned Apostata and dyed despairing so when the Angel said to the Maries Go tell his Disciples he meant tell all his Friends who are many in Galilee and St. Paul 1 Cor. 15. v. 6. seems to say that at the first apparition of Christ in Galilee there were more then five hundred of his Disciples or Friends and such as believed religiously of him whom therefore he rewarded by making them undoubted witnesses of this most doubtful and much controverted Truth his rising from the dead The Application 1. THe scope of all this Gospel is to prove the real Resurrection of our Blessed Lord and by that means the Immortality of Humane Souls so to wean them from their Temporal desires and plant their Loves upon Eternity the doubt if not the ignorance whereof made them embrace the Transitory Pleasures of the World and laugh at those for fools who thought of any happiness or misery to come when this life had an end by Death 2. Hence when the Apostles preach't our Saviours Resurrection it was held a scandal to the Jews and a folly to the Gentiles because it brought the tidings of Eternity to men that knew not any thing before but fleeting time and so for want of hoping in eternal Happiness by leading holy Lives fell headlong in a trice to everlasting Misery by living viciously according as the Royal Prophet said They lead their days in Jollity and in an instant they descend to Hell 3. As therefore when our Saviour died good men began to think it folly to be good because their Vertue was not able to maintain them living still So when he rose again bad men began to fear they might as well revive to misery as happiness and consequently were more easily reclaimed from Vice and brought in Love with Vertue so that Eternity we see is made a special Root of Christianity when even a desire to live eternalâ—y is held a motive strong enough to work a Sanctity into our Souls Since Holy Church makes it her rule to day that as by Christ his Resurrection the door was open to a blest Eternity so our desires thereof may be preserved in us by him that gave them to us by his prevenient Grace On White or Low Sunday The Antiphon Joh. 20. v. 26. AFter eight days the doors being shut our Lord entring in said unto them Peace be to you Alleluja Alleluja Vers Tarry with us O Lord Alleluja Resp For night draweth on Alleluja The Prayer GRant we beseech thee Almighty God that we who have accomplished the Pascal Feasts may retain the same in our Manners and Lives by thy bounty inabling us so to do The Illustration WE heard last Sunday the Churches Prayers were now to run in a peculiar Channel of Life-giving Waters those of the Resurrection of our Lord See therefore this days Service sliding sweetly down that stream but in this Prayer I finde a Phrase so strange as needs a gloss to make it understood though it speak plain English too for how can we retain a thing that 's past as is the Paschal Feast and yet this is it we pray for to day and not onely to retain this feast in our memories but in our manners and our lives sure then the meaning is we must retain those good desires which we besought God to prosecute in us in our last Sundays Prayer and which as by his preventing grace they were afforded us so by his continued bounty we now beg ability to continue or retain them in our manners and lives Now albeit this makes the Prayer above to be as it were a recapitulation of the last Sundays Prayer since the Octave Day is a closing up one and the self same Feast that began seven days before yet we must finde a deeper sence in this days Prayer such as petitioneth we should retain the Vertues which did occur to the accomplishment of the Paschal Feast as the good desires to those Vertues and if we look back to what those Vertues were we shall finde them to be sincerity and verity or rather in a word perfect Sanctity such as might make the old Leaven in us of sin to be White Manchet of Sanctity as if it were nothing for us to make yearly Memory of Christ his Death and Passion and of his Resurrection for in these two Mysteries consist the Paschal Feast unless our selves did remain ever dead unto sin and ever alive to God by vertue of our resurrection in his holy grace assuredly this must be the sence of our Prayer to day for this is truly to retaine in our manners and lives the Feasts of Pasche that are past when we make our selves Paschall Lambes by the Sincerity and Sanctity of our lives and manners For thus we shall first by our Faith overcome the world and next by our good works give the testimony of Gods Holy Spirit being in us which this dayes Epistle so much insisteth on as the effect of our Faith and of our Victory over the world by the same Faith And to the Gospell this Prayer is literall whilst it beggs we may retaine in us that Paschall Feast which is the whole scope of this dayes Gospell telling us how our Saviour appeared in confirmation of his Resurrection to his Apostles and in the narration of Saint Thomas his infidelity exhorting us to a firmer Faith in that and in all the other mysteries of our Redemption To conclude
inward spirit or inspiration of the holy Ghost revealing as it were to man internally this truth by a speciall favour of holy unction of whom it is said 2 Ep. Ioan. cap. c. 2. v. 20. 27. He shall teach all truth and that his unction teacheth us in all things 7. This for is a proper illative he having said before the Spirit bore testimony that Christ was verity since the Spirit is one of the three in heaven that give testimony beyond all exceptions namely Father Son and Holy Ghost which is the very spirit that is mentioned testifying as above in Christ his behalfe so the scope of this verse is that all the three persons of the Blessed Trinity give testimony to man and Angels of Christ his being the Messias the Son of God sent to redeeme the world The Father in his Baptisme and Transfiguration the Holy Ghost by comming downe upon him in the shape of a Dove and by comming as sent from heaven by him after his Ascension to confirme his Apostles in grace on Whitsunday the Feast of Pentecost and the word or second person abundantly in all the mysteries of his life and death and all these three are one not in essence and divine nature onely but even in their Testimonies of him they all concurre in one and the same Truth 8. Saint Iohn having cited three divine or increated testimonies of Christ his Deity addes also three created testimonies of the same Truth the spirit water and bloud which three to make a perfect Analogy between this double Trinity he sayes are all one meaning they have all one root the Sacred Deity in which they are sanctified The water represents the Father the Bloud the Son the Spirit the Holy Ghost for as water was the first principle of all sublunary things as in the first of Genesis the creation declared so is the Father the creator of all the world and as Christ by his own bloud saved us so his Holy Martyrs by their bloud give testimony of him as the Holy Ghost taught all truth to the Apostles and their successors so that Spirit of Truth in the Holy Church beares testimony of his infallible veracity by whose holy Spirit she remaines infallible Take then this created Trinity thus by Water Baptisme by Bloud Martyrdome by the Spirit the charity of God diffused in our hearts and these three are one in way of Testimony or testifying all one thing the Deity of Christ that he was true God as well as man So they are not one in nature as the increated Trinity is but in office or Testimony they are all one and the same yet may we say they are even in nature all one too if wee make the division thus that these three human testimonies were all one in Christ as he was man that is the water and bloud out of his side and the spirit his human soule which he dying gave up to testifie he was a true man and all these three may be said one as being severall parts that integrated one whole Christ 9. This verse begins with an argument of similitude importing if we beleeve men much more ought we to beleeve God not that it implyeth as if the Testimony that holy Church gives of truth were a humane Testimony onely but yet creditable even upon that account and undoubted upon an other that though men speak yet God dictates the Truth unto them and so the Doctrine of the Church is not onely the Doctrine nor Testimony of men but also of God assisting them and thence it makes human-Divines or Divine-Men so in short the sence of this verse is whither the created or increated Trinity bear testimony of Christ his Deity it is the testimony of God himselfe either being or working infallible Truth whence Saint Peter 2 Epist cap. 1. v. 21. Sayes well The holy men of God spake inspired with the holy Ghost * So were those signes when Christ suffered in the Sun Moone Rocks c. Signes of the creator speaking in the creatures 10. For many reasons this is true first because he hath a thing testified by God secondly the testimony of God about that thing for none but God could reveale that truth of Christ being the Sonne of God This was told Saint Peter and thence he was called by Christ Blessed Matth. c. 16. v. 17. thirdly because this testimony is faith it selfe the greatest gift of God lastly because by this gift of Faith a man is regenerate and made of the devils Son to be the Son of God The Priest asking first the baptized if he do beleeve Christ and that professed then baptizeth immediately The Application 1. THe Illustration upon this Prayer gives a great help to the present Application of this Text unto our best advantage according to intention of the Holy Church for seeing by the Paschal Feast we understand the vertues that were proper thereunto we must not exclude the magazine of vertues which men have been hoarding up since Advent but especially those in Lent towards making us more capable of the benefit of our Saviours Resurrection because it is no lesse vertue to conserve what we have gotten then it was to get the thing acquired and wee shall then best conserve those vertues when by frequent Acts thereof as occasion is administred we make them perfect in us and when our selves are perfected by them 2. Now to shew the Church observes a method in her services as the three Theologicall vertues Faith Hope and Charity are the maine roots of all Christianity and of all other vertues whatsoever therefore from this time till we come againe to Advent where we first began the Rules of Christianity there are three seasons set a part for these Three Theologicall vertues which are the three last misteries of humane Redemption the resurrection whereby we are to perfect our Faith the Ascension whereby we are to perfect our Hope and the comming of the Holy Ghost whereby we are to perfect our charity as shall be said at large of each when they occurr 3. Suffice it for the present that this Epistle in the front thereof and quite throughout commends unto us the exercise of our Faith as the most proper vertue now required at our hands since we see the mystery of the Resurrection was a thing so hard to be believed that it cost our Saviour forty dayes paines to make it good by frequent apparitians in divers places unto divers persons for he had else ascended up to heaven as soone as ever he arose from his grave had it not been matter of huge difficulty to make the world from thence beleeve that he was God as well as man because he was risen from the dead and that as he being man did rise againe so they should doe that were men too the good to everlasting Joy the bad to everlasting paine no marvell then our Faith in the Resurrection be call'd the victory which over comes the world in the sence of the
wherewith the Son again knows the Father as my Father knows me to be his natural Son so he desires the Pastours to know souls to be their spiritual children and the souls again to know the Priests for their spiritual Fathers Note the Similitude here shews Analogy but not Equality since the Father knows not us to be other then his adopted Children as Christ hath by his Grace regenerated us and made us the adopted Sons of his heavenly Father while he says he yields his Life he means he lays it freely down not that it was or could be by his persecutors taken from him as the lives of his Sub-Pastours his Holy Priests may be for though they may dye willingly when persecuted yet they cannot be said to lay down their lives as Christ did for he came purposely to dye and Priests may not seek death though they are not bound to flye it neither when there is just cause of standing to it for others good again he is truly said to lay down life as being Author of it so is not the Priest 16. This verse alludes to the calling of the Gentiles besides the Jewes to the Faith of Christ and indeed to the plenary conversion of all the Nations in the world to that Faith before the day of latter judgement when all Nations shall be of one religion and unite themselves to the one visible head of Christ * upon earth namely the Pope Saint Peters successor not so as to say every man of every Nation shall be converted then for certainely Antichrist will have corrupted many that shall dye in their errors but so that some of all Nations shall be converted And if we say this hath been already verified in the Apostles converting all the world of whom it is said Psal 18. v. 5. Into all the earth hath the sound of them gone forth and unto the ends of the whole world the words of them perhaps we shall speake more literally to the meaning of Christ in this place for indeed in the time of Constantine the great by his conversion who was Emperor in a manner of all Nations there might be truly said to be one sold and one Pastor namely the then Pope of Rome as by the whole second Chapter of Saint Pauls Epistle to the Ephesians may appeare where three or foure times he repeateth making you both one that iâ— you Jewes and Gentiles both one Church of Christ built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets viz. Christ Jesus The Application 1. LAst Sunday we heard our Saviour gave his Apostles Commission to pardon and detaine sinnes now he tels them what manner of men they must be who are thus impowred namely Pastors of soules such as must feed and defend their sheep with the same fatherly love as hee the head Pastor did even with the loss of life if need be which though it be an act of the highest charity in the world yet is it rooted in the unshaken Faith of the Pastor and hath for the primary end the preservation of the like Faith in the sheep according to that of our Lord unto Saint Peter Luc. 22. v. 32. That thou once converted do confirme thy brethren in Faith 2. It is further worthy our remarke that a good Pastors care ought to be as we see in the close of this Gospel as well to gaine other soules to believe in Jesus Christ as to confirme those who are already true beleevers for it is by his sub-pastors preaching and suffering that our Saviour sayes he must have one shepheard and one fold that is to say all the world at last converted from their infidelity and made right beleevers This still maintaines the Doctrine that the end of Martyrdome is the Propagation of the Christian Faith since by the death of Martyrs even Infidels are brought to the fold of Christ 3. And since in the Epistle of this day Priests are bid to follow the example and steps of Christ in suffering in this a Pastor is most like our Saviour that his humiliation for we cannot come so farre as to exinanition to a naturall death for the good of his sheep is the raising of soules from their death of Infidelity to a supernaturall life to that of Faith in Jesus Christ When therefore our Pastors are invited to dye for their sheep it is to minde us how by our Saviours temporall death which brought him to the lowest humiliation the whole world was raised to the greatest and highest hope of an eternall life And therefore Holy Church most fitly Prayes to day as above On the third Sunday after Easter The Antiphon John 16. v. 20. AMen I say unto you that you shall waile and weepe but the world shall rejoyce and you shall be made sorrowfull but your sorrow shall be turned into joy Alleluja Vers Tarry with us O Lord Alleluja Resp For night draweth on Alleluja The Prayer O God who unto those that goe astray to the end they may returne to the way of Justice doest shew them the light of thy verity grant unto all those who by profession are esteemed Christians that they may both eschue those things which are contrary to this name and pursue those which are agreeable to the same The Illustration IT is admirable to see how many regards the Prayers of Holy Church have at once as in this besides that of the Resurrection which transcends * all the Prayers of the Church between Easter and the Ascension and besides that which is unto the Epistle and Gospel of the day as shall appear anon we see here a speciall regard unto the faint-hearted Christians who seeing Christ was dead and buryed tottered in their Faith of his Deity and went astray into a thousand Meandrous doubts in point of Faith for whose sakes that they might returne to the way of Iustice by a right beliefe Christ was pleased for forty dayes together to dwell upon earth meerly to confirme the truth of his Resurrection not onely infinitely doubted of but even held impossible and by his dwelling here so long to shew them the light of his verity which indeed was never so brightly seen as when it was made appear by his Resurrection confirming all the Truths he had taught the world before his death now that this Prayer reflects upon those tottering Christians who lived then when Christ arose as well as upon all us that succeed them see the following words point out such when the Prayer beggs that those who by profession are esteemed Christians as many were that yet doubted of the Resurrection may both eschue those things that are contrary to this name and nothing more contrary then to doubt of Christs veracity as these men did who would not beleeve he was truly risen from death to life and pursue those which are agreeable to the same that is to say may beleeve and professe their Faith in this particular or else they must disagree from all he said and taught besides if they
the same childe was first cause of pain so he is cause of comfort the like of Christ dying and rising again Sixthly both joys are excessive Great whereas they take away all sense of Sorrow So here the Passion of Christ is in this Parable supposed to be the labour or travail of the Apostles dolorous as a womans in childe-bearing and his Resurrection is supposed to be as the Birth of a Son to them after so hard a labour as they were in whilest all the world jeered and scorned them for hoping after so impossible a comfort as it was thought when the Apostle calls it a scandal to the Jews and to the Gentiles a folly St. Augustine is so acute upon this place as to say Christ compared the Apostles sorrow for his Passion to the pains of a woman in labour of a Boy and not of a Girl because those are the greatest labours of women and again he makes a special remark that the Text saith here the Mother forgets her pains not because a Boy is born but a man one that is to be the Support and Prop of her house when her self can no longer live for saith St. Augustine Christ was as it were born by his Resurrection to the World not as a Childe but as a Man conquering Death winning eternal Glory to himself and to all his Posterity to all Saints of Heaven who are the Children of his Grace 22. This Verse applies all the rest by way of Repetition to the Senses as above while it tells the Apostles this shall be their Case about him this their Grief at his Death this their Joy at his Resurrection like the travail and comfort of a woman first in labour then delivered of a Son But when he adds this Close That their joy no man shall take from them he means neither in this world nor in the next for such shall be their joy to see Christ risen who was dead that even the menace of Death to themselvcs shall be comfortable out of their assurance to share with Christ in the joy of his Resurrection if they partake with him in the pains of Death by dying for his sake Whence St. Paul boasting said who shall part us from the Love of God Nakedness the Sword Persecution Rom. 8.35 No no the love of Christ and hope of Heaven are comforts above all afflictions whatsoever whence we reade of the Apostles that they went rejoycing from the bench of the Iudges because they were held worthy to suffer contumely for the name of Iesus Act. 5.41 And this to shew that no man could takâ— away that joy which God gave them as the Text above hath told us The Application 1. IT is worthy our observation that amongst so many passages as were between Christ and his Apostles after his Resurrection this days Gospel is taken out of Saint Iohn Evangelist his Story of our Saviours Actions reporting what he said to his Apostles immediately before his Death For we see the Expositors upon the first Verse of this Gospel tell us all that is here said alludes to the Death Passion and Resurrection of our Lord as well as to his Ascension and to the coming of the Holy Ghost Then certainly our Mother Church reads us this Lesson to day with intention to draw from us such like Acts of Faith as our Saviour desired the Apostles should make when he told them he was shortly to dye and shortly to rise again 2. And since this Parable aims at raising consolation in the Apostles hearts out of the disconsolate Death and Passion of their Lord and Master by vertue of the Faith they had in his future Resurrection after his Death Assuredly it is now our parts that are Christians to make the Cross of Christ our chief content the Death of our Saviour the onely hope we have to live and his Resurrection the ground of our Faith that by vertue of his Blessed and Incorrupted Body risen from his Grave our corrupted flesh and blood shall rise again and be made partakers of those heavenly Joys which he hath prepared for all that do firmly believe in him and live according to the Rules of Christian belief 3. Note that amongst those Rules a Principal one is read unto us this day of believing firmly that all the sorrows this world can afford us are not able to rob us of the future joys prepared for us in Heaven if from erring Infidels we become right believing Christians and live according to the light of Truth The Faith of Jesus Christ that is if we do such Actions in Vertue of that Faith as We pray to day we may do say then the Prayer and see how pat it is to this Doctrine of the Church On the fourth Sunday after Easter The Antiphon Joh. 16. v. 5. I Go to him that sent me but because I have spoken these things unto you sorrow hath filled your hearts Alleluja Vers Tarry with us O Lord Alleluja Resp For night draweth on Alleluja The Prayer O God who makest the mindes of thy faithful to be of one accord grant unto thy people that they may love what thou commandest and desire what thou doest promise that amongst worldly varieties there we may fix our hearts where are true joys The Illustration O Beloved what a Prayer is here what an elevated language doth the holy Ghost speak in to day behold hold a whole Sermon in a few lines what preacher needeth other Text then this Prayer to dilate upon even till the day of Judgement shall I speak a big word upon this Prayer be it but with us as this day we pray and we are even with God himself at our journeys end and why should we despair thereof since in vain we are bid to pray for this if it were not by Prayer to be obtained beg it then beloved on your often bended knees beg it earnestly fervently heartily and doubt not but it will be granted for God doth not feed us with fond hopes of what he will not grant if we so a k it as we ought But stay how comes it that with so much plenty of Spirit we finde to day so little seeming connexion with the Epistle and Gospel which yet I am confident will prove both as it were eminentially contained in this admirable Prayer And first observe how suitable it is for holy Church to pray thus when we are now in the time that Jesus Christ prepared his Apostles to be content to leave him or at least that he should leave them How often did he command them resignation on all occasions to the will of Almighty God was not this the very form of his Prayer Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven Matth. 6.10 Hence the Church begs to day that we who believe in Christ may live all of one minde and since it is morally impossible so many men should be consenting all in one therefore we see the prayer gives that to God saying it is he
heart so hidden from others that lyes not open to the owner of it who can justly accuse himself of often making his seeming good actions causes of his own damnation whilest he even persecutes Almighty God under a pretext of serving him O sincerity of heart where art thou far from the lip that beggs it Matth. 14. v. 8. as now all Christians ought with the mother Church to do And in this case it fares with us as it did with those of whom we reade Esay 25.13 This people honours me with their lips while their heart is far off from me But could we by this hearty Prayer so convert our hearts to God as to obtain these two Vertues onely Devotion in our Wills and Sincerity in our Hearts we should need no other Ceremony to Saint us what ere were requisite besides to Canonize us nor is this Prayer lesse proper to the service of the day then to the mystery of our Lords Ascension though I confess the root of their connexions lies too deep for every one to finde it out at first but while Saint Peter bids us in his Epistle above all things love one another he sweetly tells us the non sincerity of our hearts is rooted there and that we cannot sincerely love God whom we do not see unless we do sincerely love each other with whom we daily do converse Again he tells us Charity covers a multitude of sins 1 Pet. 1. v. 22. as who should say whilest we pray for sincerity of heart we pray for charity and having that Vertue we not onely cover all our Vices but rise up with it as high as Heaven and then we speak as if we spake the words of God then we honour and serve God in all thingâ— with perfect devotion of our wills and sincerity of our hearts when we serve each other with such subjection as if in every Christian we had Christ to serve and this which is a more neer serving him even at the gates of Heaven where now he is and where we must always attend him for our happy entrance so soon as our willâ— are truly devoted and our hearts sincerely bent unto his service which then the Gospel of this day tells us they will be when taking them off from all terrene contents we set them upon an expectation of higher comforts of heavenly consolations from the Paraclete the Holy Ghost who is comming down upon us to give us all content indeed to testifie the truth of all our Saviours Doctrine and to give us grace not onely to bear patiently all severest persecutions but even to take content to dye for Jesus Christ who pleased to dye for us and not to be scandailzed when the wicked persecute the just under pretence of serving God therein since our Saviour did Apologize for them saying They knew not what they did when they butchered him upon the Altar of the Cross and since he further tells us by St. John to day the wicked will do the same to us we must remembring what he â—aid seek to conform our will to his and to serve him by our patient suffering greatest persecutions with all sincerity of heart which that we may perform we pray to day as above suitably to what our Pastors preach and can we by so praying do so too then are we risen high as heaven-gates with Jesus Christ The Epistle on Sunday within the Octaves of the Ascension 1 Pet. 4. v. 7 c. 7 And the end of all things shall approach Be wise therefore and watch in Prayers 8 But before all things having mutuall charity continuall among your selves because charity covereth the multitude of sins 9 Vsing hospitality one toward another without murmuring 10 Every one as he hath received grace ministring the same one toward another as good dispensers of the manifold grace of God 11 If any man speak as the words of God if any man minister as of the power which God admistreth That in all thingt God may be honoured by Jesus Christ The Explication 7 THe end of all shall come This doth not report to judgement but rather to the end of all those unlawfull pleasures which the Apostle found the Gentiles prone unto as beleeving that after death there was no more remaining to be said or done and consequently since they must have a total end by death both of body and soule they were resolved here to indulge unto themselves all they could and not to lose any pleasure they were able to purchase while they lived To these he sayes the end of all shall come meaning of all you can here delight in and yet you will finde there is not an end of your being by your death but as your actions while you live are lyable to the judgement and scanning of men so shall your souls when your bodies are dead be lyable to another manner of judgement so he bids them be wise and take onely lawful pleasures for they shall be called to an account of their unlawful ones when they least thinke of it who dyed in that heresie of Gentilisme believing the soule to be mortal as the body was But indeed the end which the Apostle here meanes is most properly that which is now actually come namely the last age of the world which is that of Christ and Christians as who should say the world hath stood now six ages compleat and is entered into the seventh which is the last The first age was from Adam to Noe and his flood The second from Noe to Abraham the third from Abraham to Moses the fourth from Moses to David the fifth from David to the captivity of Babylon the sixth from that captivity to Christs coming the seventh and last from Christ to the latter day of judgement whence Saint John 1. Epist C. 1. v. 15. Sayes Beloved this is the last houre and Saint Paul 1. ad Cor. 10. v. 11. These things are written for our correction in whom the worlds ends are found meaning six ages of the world are past in us and now the seventh age flowes away apace Be therefore saith Saint Peter alluding to this sense wise or prudent and so live every one of you now as if you were to close the actions of all the ages gone before you and to carry away a blessed Crown of glory with you if you make your selves secure of your happy end by leading a holy life so long as here you live For in every one of you the whole world hath an end since this is the last age of it and since it is the end that Crowns the worke he bids us be wise and watching pray that our end may be here holy to make our happiness endless in the life to come which is to have no end and here the Apostle mindful of his own error bids us take heed we fall not into the same who remembers he fell asleep when Jesus prayed in the garden and to that sleeping he imputes his revolting from his
mysteries which we have faithfully received we may be purged from sinne and delivered from all dangers On the fifth Sunday after Easter The Prayer O God from whom all good things do proceed grant unto thy humble supliants that we may thinke on those things which are good thou inspiring us and thou governing us we may put the same in execution The Secret REceive O Lord the Prayers of the faithfull with the oblations of their sacrifices that by these offices of pious devotion we may passe into eternall glory The Post-Communion GRant unto us O Lord who are filled with the vertue of the heavenly Table that wee may desire those things which are right and receive what we desire On Sunday within the Octaves of Ascension The Prayer OMnipotent Eternal God grant us ever to have our wills devoted and our hearts sincerely bent unto the service of thy Divine Majesty The Secret MAy the Immaculate Sacrifices purifie us O Lord and afford unto our souls the Vigor of supernal Grace The Post-Communion BEing replenished with thy holy Gifts grant unto us we beseech thee that we may always remain in thanksgiving FINIS THE THIRD PART Of the first TOME On the Feast of Pentecost OR On WHIT-SUNDAY The Antiphon ACTS 2. v. 1. ON this day are compleat all the dayes of Pentecost Allelujah This day the holy Ghost did appear to the Disciples in fire and gave unto them gifts of graces sent them over all the world to preach and testifie that he which shall believe and be baptized shall be saved Alleluja Vers The Apostles did speak with divers tongues Alleluja Resp The wonderfull works of God Alleluja The Prayer O God who on this day hast taught the hearts of the Faithfull by the Illumination of the holy Ghost grant unto us in the same Spirit to relish those things that are right and ever to rejoyce in his consolation The Illustration IF we look back to the three last Sundayes-prayers we shall find them all as it were preparatives to this which we now make to day of relishing those things that are right and rejoycing in the consolation of the holy Ghost And indeed our B. Saviours whole life and death had no other aim then by making God man to winn man into an affection of deity and of being content to become God and when by the last mystery of humane redemption as far as lay on our Saviours part his glorious Ascension we were brought to devote our wills and our hearts affections sincerely to the service of Almighty God now we are led into that holy School and unto that heavenly Master where we shall be taught how to set our hearts right to his heavenly Majestie and this by the Illumination of the holy Ghost which that we may do the better see how to day we pray that in the same Spirit we may relish those things which are right and rejoyce in the consolation thereof as if in this School flesh and bloud were to have no place which had so far and so long mis-led us and indeed the very Apostles themselves so long as they looked upon Jesus Christ as man they did not relish the pure service of Almighty God they were not set right in their hearts affections they doted upon flesh and bloud and so fell into the errours thereof S. Peter of denying Christ in his afflictions S. Thomas of doubting of his Resurrection but we never heard that after the coming of the holy Ghost any of the Apostles fell into those or any other errours in the rectitude of their service towards Almighty God but were alwayes in the right and took content in nothing that was wrong or swarving from the doctrine of their Master our Saviour Jesus Christ And why this Because the holy Ghost who was the Spirit of Truth had possessed them and taught them all truth and made them not onely relish it but disrelish all things that were contrary thereunto Nor is it without reason that erring man in his most solemn prayer should beg the grace of God to relish what is right for we never please our selves with what we do not relish nor do we ever relish what displeaseth us whereas to relish what is right is to relish at least what is pleasing unto God however it doth oftentimes nor please our selves and therefore in this grand day when we are to be weaned from the nurse of flesh and bloud and brought into the school of Spirit and are to ask our Master a boon now we see his hands full of bounty and benevolence we are taught to beg that we may relish and take content in whatsoever is right towards God be it never so averse to our selves because our teeth being set on edge with flesh and bloud and our mouths quite out of taste with Spirituall food nothing is of more import to us then that we may relish such meat as we must hereafter live and nourish by Spirituall consolations not earthly delectations any more for the first set us and our hearts affections right to God the last draws us headlong to death Now it will be the least of our cares to day to adjust this prayer unto the Epistle since this is altogether of the coming down of the holy Ghost into the school of spirituall comfort where he is to reade his lessons to mens hearts as this prayer tells us and as we read Jerem. 31.33 I will write my law in their hearts whence it is holy Church to day takes the Antiphon out of the Epistle rather then out of the Gospel and yet rather makes it then takes it for though the sense be the same neverthelesse the letter is not so which perhaps was mysteriously contrived to shew that as soon as the holy Ghost came down to teach the Church was able of her self to reade a lesson to her children and immediately we see S. Peter preached but indeed as the Gospels ever tell us the stories of our Saviour's life so the Acts of the Apostles tell us the history of the holy Ghost first that of the fact when and how he came next that of the effect how prodigiously he wrought in the hearts of those he did descend upon so the Epistle being to day out of the Acts of the Apostles is as the gospel of the holy Ghost made the place whence Preachers take their texts or whereunto at least they drive the design of all their Sermons And to this the prayer is apparently suited yet it is not therefore unsuitable to the Gospel also of the day wherein S. John tells us in our Saviours name he that loveth me observes my words which is in effect to say doth relish my words doth relish that which is right for nothing more right then the word of God since we may take that for verity and rectitude it self especially being taught us by the holy Ghost who this Gospel tells was to come purposely to teach us truth the truth of that word by the
shield before her against all Adversity whatsoever to be firm in her belief of the most Blessed and undivided Trinity Say then the Prayer above and see how well it suits unto this doctrine thereupon The Gospel Matth. 28. v. 18. c. 18 And Jesus coming neer spake to them saying All power is given to me in heaven and earth 19 Going therefore teach ye all nations Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and behold I am with you all dayes even to the consummation of the world The Explication 18. THe Evangelist in this Chapter recounts the apparition of Jesus in Galilee to a great number of Disciples and friends as well as unto the Apostles amongst them who were now so far fled from Jerusalem where formerly they had seen him after he arose from his grave and so confirmed them in the truth of this mystery that though in the precedent verse St. Matthew sayes some of them doubted of this truth that Christ was risen yet the meaning is not that any of the Apostles doubted thereof but some others to whom Christ had never appeared before as now he did to confirm the truth of his resurrection And Jesus coming neer not to those doubting persons but to his Apostles saying as this dayes Gospel begins All power c. But we are to observe though S. Matthew seems in this chapter to conjoyn the power of Mission given by Christ to his Apostles unto this story of his Apparition to them and above three thousand more in Galilee since he resolved to end his Gospel in this eight and twentieth chapter and write no more yet the very truth is those words were not spoken by Christ consequently to this apparition but afterwards upon the Mount Olivet when at his Ascension he gave the Apostles Mission over all the world for his valediction or last farewell unto them and in testimony that this was an Act of high Jurisdiction he tells them at the same time All power is given unto him both in heaven and earth so they need not doubt but he that gave them this Mission to all Nations this commission to preach unto them and to Baptize them had ample authority for his so doing and would by his grace from heaven second their labours over all the earth and make them fruitful to the final salvation of all Nations which was a convincing testimony of his being plenipotentiary between God and man or having plenitude of power both in heaven and earth But we are further here to note that this plenitude of power was not now so given to Christ as if he had not had it before for the Word was no sooner Incarnate then this power was begun in him though he was not pleased to mention the accomplishment or perfection thereof untill by his death and passion he had merited the same and therefore suiting to him not onely as he was God but as he was man the Messias or Saviour of the world and to him alone for to no man else was the amplitude of this power competent nay the very participation thereof is above all merit of any pure humane creature however to Christ the fulnesse of it was but due by reason of his being one person with God who as Creatour of heaven and earth had consequently full power over them both so as he could by the Ministery of his Apostles preaching subject unto himself all the Nations of the earth as stooping to the power of his Faith and Doctrine and afterwards in heaven reward this their Faith this their subjection to Christian discipline with crowns of eternal glory to shew he was chief commandant in heaven also having purchased the same by his bitter death and passion and so being able to make eternally happy in this his glorious Kingdom whosoever he pleased 19. We are here to observe when Christ bids go it is not nay it cannot be in the power of any mortal man to forbid the Ministers of Christ from going to convert nations So this Mission is Divine not humane and gives Commission to execute Gods Lawes maugre all mens prohibitions Go saith he to shew us labour pains travel diligence are the marks of those who preach the word of God nor is this labour limited to any one time or place but extends it self to all times to all nations Go sayes our Saviour teach all nations nay he adds therefore go that is to say Go because I send you that have all power both in heaven and earth go teach ye all nations as I have taught you Whence it followes the command of learning was imposed upon the people while the precept of teaching was laid upon the Apostles and their successours for in these latter it is indeed that Christ after said he would be with them unto the end of the world that is in assisting their Successours he would be with them And very great reason it is that an obligation of hearing should fall upon the people when a command of preaching was imposed on the Priest for a Schollar is acorrelative to a Master as a Son is to a Father since no man can be an actual master unless he have an actual Schollar nor can any man be a father that hath not a child And that it was a command given with an obligation to be put in present execution see how Christ tyes himself to an actual assistance thereof even to the worlds end And as he bids them go and teach all nations the principles of Christian doctrine namely those of the Catholick Church so he bids them Baptize all those whom they instruct and teach in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost to shew them the true mark of a Christian is his belief in the Blessed Trinity which is one onely God and three Divine Persons distinct each from other called Father Son and holy Ghost Nor can there be indeed a more succinct method of this deep mystery then is here expressed when the command of Baptizing in the name and not in the names shewes the unity of God and denyes the plurality of Divine nature or essence and yet the specifying of the Father Son and Holy Ghost shewes the Blessed Trinity which is in that sacred unity Whence we see the word Trinity doth import a Triunity or an Unity of nature in a Trinity of persons whence our Saviour saying by the mouth of his Apostle 1 Epist Joh. c. 5. There are three that bear testimony in heaven the Father the Son and Holy Ghost adds immediately and these Three are all one that is to say these distinct persons are one indistinct and undivided nature essence deity so as though there be three divine persons yet is there but one onely God And no marvel if upon Trinity Sunday both the Epistle and Gospel report unto this sacred mystery for it
is indeed the highest article of our Faith the first and main principle of Christian Religion But to conclude this doctrine 20. See how the beginning of this verse tells besides this mystery what the Apostles were commanded to teach the world namely to do all whatsoever Christ commanded them to deliver as the Will of God that is to say as well to do good works as to believe aright and to professe that Faith which was preached unto them and how ever Luther and Calvin pretend the Church of Christ and the right administration of the Sacraments thereof and of the divine Services had failed for many hundred of years together before they arrogated to themselves a kind of new Apostolate forsooth yet it is from hence confidently asserted by the unanimous consent of all Catholick Doctours and Divines that there neither hath been hitherto nor ever shall be hereafter till the day of doom which is the consummation or end of the world any failure in the Church of Christ nor in Christ his perpetual assistance and presence with his ever visible Church insomuch that he is ever visibly present in his perpetual visible rulers of the Church and invisibly in his continual-assisting grace and hence it is evidently proved that albeit no successours of the Apostles had those ample prerogatives which they enjoyed yet their Ministery is so the same that the Apostles was as Christ is said even to perpetuate the Apostles in their successours and his presence with them in his presence with their followers and in his assisting them as constantly as he did assist their predecessours though perhaps not as amply nor as efficaciously at all times For how else can it be true that Christ said to his Apostles he would send them another Comforter that should assist them eternally not in their persons but in their successours to the worlds end For the same are the gifts of Christ and of the Holy Ghost as far forth as they are both one and the same God Nay more Christ is even visibly remaining with the Ministers of his Church in the holy Eucharist or B. Sacrament of the Altar his blessed body and bloud being exposed perpetually to the receiving and adoration of the people more he is visibly with us in his Priests who are his visible instruments to administer the Sacraments and offer sacrifice unto the sacred Deity for though the Priest be the instrumental yet Christ is the chief and principal Priest himself it being proper to him to be both Sacrifice and Sacrificant so as in seeing the accidents of bodies we are said consequently to see the things whose accidents we see in like manner by seeing the Sacramental species we may be said to see the Sacrament the body and bloud of Christ whose accidents they are after consecration though the same species before were the accidents of bread and wine To conclude we may as truly say Christ is visibly with his Church to the worlds end as we may say a mans soul is visibly in his body that is to say perceptibly so long as a man lives and hath motion for look what the soul is to the body the same Christ is to his Church so that as the soul is the bodies natural life Christ is the supernatural life of the soul believing in him and making her self by that belief a member of his Church for as the soul makes the body move so Christ makes his Church to do according to that of S. Paul Philipp 2. he worketh all in all according to the purpose of his own holy will and again he it is that gives a will to do good and a power to put that will in execution and to perfect by him what was undertaken for him as being to his honour and glory The Application 1. IT is no marvel that to day we hear inculcated to us an explicite act of Faith in the Front and body of this Gospel while Hope and Charity are onely recommended to us in the close thereof and that but implicitely neither notwithstanding as our design of piety is laid in this work Charity is the chief vertue to be practis'd from this day untill Advent This is I say no marvel the very name of the day requiring this preference to Faith and the nature of the Feast inforcing it besides for since the proper object of Love is Goodnesse seen or understood and since the Blessed Trinity is not here seen at all but by the light of Faith therefore all the understanding we can have of it on Earth is first to believe and next to love it according as the Gospel intimates where Jesus by the vertue of Plenipotentiality given him both in heaven and earth sends his Apostles first to Teach the whole world the mystery of the B. Trinity by Baptizing all Nations in the name of the Father Son and holy Ghost and thereby obliging them to believe explicitely these Three distinct Persons are all but one simple and single God whereas he bids the said Apostles here at least but implicitely to hope in and to love the sacred Trinity in as much as he commands their Teaching all Nations to observe all his Commandments whatsoever which yet are not observeable but for pure love of the commander and for pure hope of his recompencing our obedience unto his commands Who so reads the Gospel will soon see this to be the whole scope thereof 2. What then remaines for further application but that by an actual confessing this true Faith we actually glorifie the eternal Trinity and that in the Power of each Divine Persons sacred Majesty namely in the Power of the Father creating us in the Power of the Son redeeming us in the Power of the Holy Ghost sayntifying of us we adore the Unity of these Three Persons Deity since none but God can create none but God can redeem and none but God can sayntifie a soul 3. O Happy Christians who by firmly believing this to be their obligation to the sacred Trinity can neither want motive enough for Love of God nor ground enough for Hope that by this Act of Faith they shall be defended from all Adversity since the true victrix over all our enemies is as St. John tells us 1 Ep. c. 5. our Faith which overcomes the world and consequently all Adversity Say now the Prayer above and see how patt it is to what we here are taught On the first Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Luk. 6.37 JVdge not that you be not judged for in what Judgement you Judge you shall be Judged saith our Lord. Vers Let my prayer O Lord be directed Resp Even as Incense before thee The Prayer O God the strength of those that hope in thee be propitiously present to our prayers and because without thee mortal infirmity is of no ability grant the assistance of thy grace that in doing what thou dost command we may please thee both in will and work The Illustration ALbeit this Sunday is
imperfection which is another way of verifying what St. Paul saith 2 Cor. 12.9 of vertue being perfected in infirmity then was shewed when that text was expounded 1 Cor. 12.9 upon Sexagesima Sunday St. Austin upon this text tract 7. shewes a fine progresse of Charity in perfection The fire of our charity first seizeth upon our neighbour and afterward extends it self more abroad it first helps our Brother or our kindred or friends next some stranger but at last our enemy And tract 8. Love him who is now come to dwell within you that by his more perfect possessing you he may render you also perfect 13. And this next verse shewes us a sign how to know when he is within us namely when he gives us of his Spirit of loving one another even our enemies for by this it is evident he is in us who only taught us that which onely himself could do and it followes evidently that whensoever God is in us we are in him because wheresoever God is he unites the place so to himself by his immensity as the place or subject he is in rather is said to be in him then he in it And consequently if we feel his Spirit in us that is if we love each other especially our enemies we may boldly conclude that not onely God is in us but that we also are and remain in him so long as by such dilection his Divine Spirit aboades in us 1 Cor. 6.17 he that adheres to God is one Spirit with him 14. 15. Which doctrine the Evangelist finds both so solid and so sweet that in these two verses he proves it to be as really intended by him as it is pretended taught and professed by the Catholick Church for saith he we that have seen can and do testifie that God sent his Son to save the world and by confessing Jesus to be his Son we remain in God and he in us we in him by Faith and he in us by the gift of that Divine vertue which can slow from no other source but his infinite goodnesse and bounty as St. Paul sayes Phil. 3.17 Christ by Faith dwelleth in our hearts This S. John inculcates with special regard to Ebion Cerinthus and others who at that time denyed the Divinity of Christ so for proof hereof he exposeth himself and all the Colledge of Christ his Apostles and disciples who as ear and eye-witnesses were ready to testifie the same to all the world as they all did by their glorious Martyrdomes 16. In this verse the Evangelist gives the same testimony for the charity of God being in us as he did in the fourteenth verse for Christ the Son of God being in the world that so we may be fully possessed of that Truth and inamoured on that vertue which he himself is even transported with and cannot speak but in commendations of being as it were all on fire therewith For if we mark him his words fall from him all circular like balls of fire From God he comes to Christ from Christ to charity from charity to love of our neighbours thence back to Christ again now to his charity and all to shew he moves onely in the circle or orbe of Love and cannot wheel himself out of it but windes all his speech into pleasing Meanders of that subject wherein to be lost is to be sound because who is not found in the labyrinth of charity is a lost soul and therefore St. John having gone into this Maze by the clew that leads through all the Meanders of it God himself as this Epistle began God is charity must needs come out with the same clew again which is charity both to God and man wherewith he closeth this Epistle to shew us he hath been through all the turnings and windings of love or else he could never have come out the same way he went into this re-selfing circle of charity which this verse delightfully winds us into and brings us out again for if God be charity who remains in it remains in God and God in him as a circle remains in a ring and a ring in a circle but with this difference we in him as in our increated he in us as in his created Temple where he most delights to be we rings in him as in the circle of his Immensity he circled in us as his Immensity is capable of being in a ring of creatures 17. The amorous Evangelist having told us much before how even the increated charity is perfected in our esteems by juxtaposition to our imperfections now he tells us how our created charity is perfected in us by our trust and confidence in God even when creatures may pretend most to diffide in him at the day of Judgement and he gives a strange reason for this confidence because as he is meaning as God and Christ is we also are in the world So here In this c. imports either that to this end charity was given us not to fear him our Judge who had given us the grace to love him or that really this is the perfection of charity in us that as he loved us without fear to take upon him our infirmities or imperfections and gave himself wholly into our hands to be even his Judges so we must love him by assuming as many of his perfections as we can and by freely making him our Judge without fear of receiving any hard measure at his hands if we can truly say we love him with all our hearts as he loved us when he was adjudged to death by us Or as St. Augustine sayes In this signifies it is a true signe that our charity is perfect if as the Just and Saints in heaven covet the day of Judgment so we also do that God may thereby be glorified before all the world what ere become of us because we in that case are in the world as God as Christ was in it perfectly loving and so not fearing us though he see cause enough of fear amongst so many Traytours if he had been capable of harm so if we can arrive to love God thus perfectly we may truly say we are as he was in the world without fear even of Judgment because we have no cause to fear corruption in him as he mought have had in us and therefore may come with more confidence to his tribunal then he did to ours that is may be in this world as he was without fear because we are in love for the Evangelist here proves two effects of perfect love the first is confidence in God both living and dying the second is casting away all fear 18. As in termes this verse avoucheth the second having declared the first immediately before so that as charity produceth confidence in us this confidence expelleth fear out of us and thus becomes as Aristotle sayes cause of the effect in being cause of the cause thereof But we shall do well to examine what fear it is that charity expells least by not
as above The Gospel Luk. 15. v. 1. c. 1 And there approached Publicans and sinners unto him for to hear him 2 And the Pharisees and the Scribes murmured saying that this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them 3 And he spake to them this parable saying 4 What man of you having an hundred sheep and if he hath lost one of them doth he not leave the ninetie and nine in the desert and goeth after that which is lost untill he find it 5 And when he hath found it layeth it upon his shoulders rejoycing 6 And coming home calleth together his friends and neighbours saying to them Rejoyce with me because I have found my sheep that was lost 7 I say to you that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth pennance then upon ninety nine just persons that need not pennance 8 Or what woman having ten groates if shee loose one groat doth she not light a candle and sweepe the house and seeke diligently untill she finde 9 And when she hath found calleth together her friends and neighbours saying Rejoyce with me because I have found the groat which I had lost 10 So I say to you there shall be joy before the Angels of God upon one sinner that doth pennance The Explication 1. O That we sinners would approach also to hear him in his preachers and teachers who declare his will and word unto us 2. Note the pride of these people who having a law not to touch any foul beast much lesse to eat it disdain also to come near foul souls to cleanse them and murmure at our Saviour for it 3 4 5 6 7. See how our Saviour reprehends this Pharisaicall pride and false devotion in these 3 4 5 6 7th verses following by the first parable of a shepheard having lost one sheep out of an hundred c. Where first we must note the Rhemists expound that Christ meanes himselfe to be the shepheard he speaks of the lost sheep to be a sinnefull soul who straying from the safe pastures of Gods Lawes and seeking food to her own fancie runnes headlong to hell unlesse our Saviour goe after her to bring her backe again having left in the mean time the ninetie nine in the desert that is seeming to goe with all his zeale away from them to reduce the lost sheep and leaving of them in the desert of their usuall assistance onely which he never takes away and which in comparison of that extraordinary help he gives towards converting of soules or finding out any lost sheep seems but a desert or barren help But having found the lost sheep having converted the soul again comes back to his flocke and brings them the increase of his assistance not onely in their fellow convert but even in them to behold his conversion Note our Saviour having found the sheep doth not drive but bring it home upon his shoulders Alas he will not tyre him O tender Goâ— that he is unto us This may minde us that all mankind was once this lost sheep brought home upon Christs shoulders when he carried his Crosse upon them and was crucified besides leaving the nine quires of Angels representing the ninetie nine just in the desert of admiration to see their God so lost in their conceipts to finde out us that were indeed truely lost and strayed into the very jawes of hell and damnation and having brought us home desires all his Angells to joy and congratulate with him Note that as if his joy consisted in our salvation O high expression of his love to mankinde And when he sayes that in heaven there shall be more joy at the conversion of this sinner the salvation of a man doing penance then at the perseverance of ninetie nine just he insinuates the angels have a new actuall content in the penance and saintity of man which being new seems greater then what they had before for all good men one reason is because in every man that is by penance saved they find their own losses repaired and the places of the fallen angels filled But the main reason is because they see the will of God in this fulfilled and they are in perfect conformity to his sacred will 8 9 10. By the second parable the Rhemists say is meant holy Church lighting up her candle of new Missionaries and Preachers to find out the lost soul that heresie hath perverted and having regained found the soul again invites her Priests to a congratulation with her But S. Gregory hom 34. thus explicates both the parables saying Christ is as well meant by the woman as by the Pastour For as he was God he was the wisdome of God and because upon money there is printed an image the woman saith he lost her groat when man who was created to the image of God by sinne left to be like his Creatour but the woman lighted her lanthorn because the wisedome of God appeared in humane nature for a lanthorn signifies a candle lighted in it and the light signifies the divinity in mans nature The lanthorn being lighted the woman swept her house for straight as the divinity shined through flesh mans conscience was then strooken and the house is swept when by reflexion the guilt of any mans conscience is troubled in regard an evill mind if it be not before by fear altered is never purged from accustomary vices The house then being swept the groat is found since whilest mans conscience is troubled the image of God is repaired in him And who are the friends and neighbors but those celestiall powers above mentioned that are so much nearer the supream wisdome by how much more they approximate unto it through the grace of their perpetuall vision of it The woman therefore had ten groats because there are nine orders of Angels and that the number of the elect might be filled the tenth man was created who was not quite lost from his Creatour by his sin because the eternall wisdome shining through humane flesh found him out by the light in the socket of his lanthorn Thus he What more patheticall what more rare The Application 1 AS it is evident the Scribes and Pharisees here mentioned wanted charitie whilest they grumbled at our Saviours conversation with Publicans and sinners so is it manifest that it was an act of highest charity in our Saviour to seek the conversion of those sinners by his conversation with them and consequently while our Lord goes before us with the flame of charity we are taught to light all our works this day at that heavenly fire 2. In the second place these following Parables of the lost sheep and of the lost groat tell us we are to bring up in the rere of charity as we march along the desert of this world the zeal of souls for though this be a vertue principally proper to Pastors missionary Priests yet in regard there is no state of life in this world so desolate wherein men
are not bound to have some care of others as well as of themselves if it be but to edifie and lead them on by their exemplarity of life therefore every lay-man ought more or lesse to zeal his neighbours soul and to contribute towards the saving of it in some sort or other though with intermission of his own devotions if the neighbour require his charitable assistance at that time when he would else be at his prayers 3. To conclude least even in the conversion of others souls pride or vain glory run away with ours we are still to keep the lamp of charity light at home burning within our hearts for fear it be as S. Paul said a vain labour to us though we gain all the soules in the world to heaven if we loose our own for want of regulating all our actions by the rule of love and charity to God first whereby we are secured and to our neighbour next that we may help him too Whence it is holy Church concludes her prayer to day petitioning that even in the best of Temporall goods which is the searching after other mens fooles a work of Time though a fruit of Eternitie we may be protected by the God of Love and may be ruled and guided by his charity which will carry us securely through all the allurements of Temporalitie into a safe and blissefull Eternitie Say now the prayer above and see how home it is unto this Application On the fourth Sunday after Pentecost The Antiphon Luk. 5. v. 5. MAster we labouring all night have taken nothing but in thy word we will cast our net Vers Let my prayer O Lord c. Resp Even as Incense c. The Prayer GRant us O Lord we beseech thee that by thy order our course in this world may be peaceably directed and that thy Church may injoy a quiet devotion The Illustration TWo things beloved we aske in this prayer a peaceable flowing of the course of this world and an unperturbed devotion in the Church O that we all had our desires in this or rather that we did all truely desire and pray for it doubtlesse we should then have it since holy Church we see unfeinedly petitions it while by this dayes service she exhorts us to do the like And truly one main reason why we apply not our selves to a still devotion in the Church is because we are neither at peace with one another in the world nor are content to let things flow in that channell which God hath ordered them to glide in but are ever striving to have all things go as we our selves desire For what Christian lives that hath not some grudge or other with his neighbour to say nothing of all the Christian Princes now at warres among themselves leaving the Turk and other Infidels to incroach upon them to perturb the quiet devotion of the Church and laugh us all to scorn besides But it remains to shew how this prayer exhausts the Epistle and Gospel of the Masse to day The Epistle tells us what order Almighty God hath set the world in and this prayer beggs the same course may flow peaceably according as God hath ordered it that is to say neither one man should jarre with another nor those other creatures which God hath subjected to man should repine at their subjection And I would to God man kept his course as peaceably as all other creatures under him do theirs I would to God he did as resignedly undergo those little sufferings he is here subjected unto as they deserve to be undergone in hope of the huge reward they are to have if patiently and peaceably endured see how to day we pray that we may do this What prayer then more suitable to this Epistle The Gospel tells us how sweetly Jesus Christ founded his Church to day upon the persons of the Apostles whom he calls to be the pillars thereof It tells us with what devotion S. Peter followed the first call of our Saviour it shews what miracles accompanied the Apostles being called to this ministery it declares with what peaceable piety they followed our Saviour and left all they had in the world to dedicate themselves to his devotion What else doth the prayer to day close withall then a petition that the same miraculous Institution of the Church may be continued by a like miraculous preservation of it in the self same quiet and peace of piety as it was instituted with for it is indeed a miracle to see it so preserved nor is the goodnesse of God lesse seen in this then in the other and thereby shews that this is not a prayer of one day but ought to continue and be the incessant prayer of holy Church unto the worlds end that so it may appear to be the same sweet Spouse of Christ in the end which it was in the beginning of the foundation thereof and for this purpose holy Church we see makes it her annuall prayer so must we make it our annuall practise to pray in this conformity to the preaching and prayer of our holy mother The Epistle Rom. 8. v. 18. c. 18 For I think that the passions of this time are not condigne to the glory to come that shall be revealed in us 19 For the expectation of the creature expecteth the revelation of the Sonnes of God 20 For the creature is made subject unto vanity not willing but for him that made it subject in hope 21 Because the creature also it self shal be delivered from the servitude of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God 22 For we know that every creature groaneth and travelleth even till now 23 And not onely it but we also having the first fruits of the Spirit groan within our selves expecting the adoption of the sons of God the redemption of our body The Explication 18. HEnce hereticks take their rise to deny merit of good works but in vain for the Apostle onely means that humane actions as humane are not proportionable to the glory to that reward we purchase by them and in that sense onely denies our sufferings to be able to merit heaven But this notwithstanding our humane actions as they are elevated by the grace of God in vertue whereof they became good and meritorious and are by that means dipt in the passion of our Saviour Jesus Christ so they are in some manner proportionable to the reward they purchase in as much as they are so the effects of grace and not of nature and consequently may merit to be rewarded with eternall blisse or glory because grace is as it were the seed of glory and so what grace produceth is capable of glory Thus finite actions become capable of infinite reward thus one hours martyrdome is capable of eternall glory the like of other good works 19. This verse shews the greatnesse of the longing that creatures have after heaven when it seems to make the creature expectation it self whilest
it saith the expectation of the creature expecteth rather then the creature expecteth Again by creature in this place is understood not onely all mankind but even all other creatures below man for in man as in the abstract of all their perfections they are as it were made happy when he is rewarded by having God revealed to him face to face and by his injoying him for all eternity as who should say All corruptible nature hath then the full of their expectation when corrupted man is invested with incorruptible glory And then they are truly the sons of God when they are in glory an honour which the glorious Angels have not because their nature was never assumed by the nature divine and so though they are creatures of glory in nature more perfect then we yet are they not children of God so properly as men are 20. This verse shews that angels are not understood by the word creature since as they are in fruition and not in expectation so they cannot be liable to the vanity which here men and all creatures under them are subject unto in them who are God knows too too vain By vanity therefore understand here mutability labour corruption of all those creatures that God hath made subject unto man and therefore the text adds not willingly of their own accord for the time of his being in this world but in hope to be freed from that subjection when man is made immutable and stands no more in need of this vanity or mutability in other creatures Or we may understand this vanity to be that which is in man himself whereunto he is made subject not willingly but by being guilty of the sinnes of his first Father punished with his own mortality or corruption in all his progeny who yet have hope in Christ to be made free from it and to become immortall 21. In this verse is understood that not onely man but in him all other creatures under him that is the creature it self shall not by the gift of nature or grace but by that of glory be freed from all mutability and subjection and rendered sharing in glory with the children of God that is with men who become his children by their eternall glory 22. This verse rather shews the pain that other creatures are in under man then that which he is in himself as who should say they did cry out in continuall labour till in mans glory they were delivered 23. By this verse S. Paul means that not onely himself and the other Apostles who are the first fruits of all Christians but even all Christians themselves groan within themselves expecting as well the perfected adoption of glory in them as that of imperfect adoption which they have already of Baptismall Grace because this notwithstanding they may nay often do perish but the other coming then they have the full of their expectations and not till then For the desire of man is never satisfied untill the glory of God appear in him The Application 1. IT may seem a strange piece of divinity in S. Paul or a mistake of his sense in me to dissuade men from sin by the Rhetorick or voice of inanimate creatures as if either they could speak at all or yet speak more pathetically then holy men and blessed Angels for we see how often those do speak in vain to sinners to amend their lives But who so shall have read the Expositours above upon this present Text will see they do incline to this divinity that our sinnes are so weighty as they make the whole world groan beneath the burden of them ready to split indeed and unable to keep the course of Nature being so often interrupted in that course by our unnaturall proceedings every sinne being more or lesse an act against the law of Nature it self as well as against the law of God because all Naturall operations of the creatures are glorious to the Creatour whereas every sinne is inglorious and thence offensive to the Divine Majesty 2. Hence it is S. Paul begins this Epistle first to those whose charity and love to God gives them a sense of sin and to those who are willing to amend their lives by taking patiently the present punishments of sin such as are indeed but the naturall effects thereof neither as sicknesse sorrow persecution death it self Not condigne to the glory that shall be revealed in those who bear with patience the present Passions of Time so S. Paul stiles those effects of finne and animates the just to bear them patiently in hope of Heaven a reward so great as will render all those heavy burdens light 3. But the Apostle speaks in other language here to sinners such as wanting charity have no sense of God or of future happinesse these he makes the dumbe world speak unto in the 20. verse especially of this epistle bewailing the unwilling subjection the whole creature is in to sinfull mans vanity and looking on her hope to be freed from this generall subjection by the particular salvation of some few saints of men though not untill their corrupted bodies be made as incorruptible by glory at the latter day as their souls are already by that glory blessed Yes beloved this is the genuine sense of holy Text to day it tells us all the Fabrick of the world is like to split it tells us how dumbe creatures cry out shame of man to force them so against their nature to concurre to sinne it shews the bestiality of sinne when beasts themselves that never do commit it are ashamed of beastly man are sick and weary of him are tyred in beeing forc'd to serve him in his sinfull wayes and beg their own salvation in the just at least in which sense holy David said Thou O Lord wilt save both men and beasts to confound the sinner who pursues his own damnation even to the Torment of the creatures that are not capable of sinne and yet detest it out of an innate desire of honouring Almighty God in all their operations and so detest it too as they are ready to rebell against the man of sinne in so much that holy Church in her charity makes her petition proper to the sense above as if she were afraid least mans unnaturall wayes of sinne should force nature out of that order God hath set it in of serving man and pluck a warre of all the other creatures in the world on all man kind to the disturbance of the Church in her devotion and piety which at least she begs may be quiet and unperturb'd Say but the prayer above and see how patt it is to this purpose The Gospel Luke 5. v. 1. c. 1 And it came to passe when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God and himself stood beside the lake of Genesareth 2 And he saw two ships standing by the lake and the fishers were gone down and washed their nets 3 And he going up into one ship that was
a present Beatitude After which followes well the end of the verse that we should nor fear nor be troubled at our unjust persecutours because by our patience we are as it were out of their power which aymes onely at our affliction and vexation and failing thereof leaves us free from fear of any mischief they can do us S. Laurence on the Gridiron was a good proof of this 15. It followes we do then sanctifie Christ in our hearts when they are wholly set upon him and regard not any mischief hell it self can do us when our hearts are inflamed with the love of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord. The Application 1. THe Illustration upon this Prayer tells us at how great a height of perfection S. Peter aymes in the Text of this Epistle when no lesse then an absolute sayntity is the rule he gives for Christianity And this is evident whilest we see the Apostle exhort not onely to all manner of positive but even to negative sayntity withall not onely to have us do all sort of good but to have us decline all kind of evill whatsoever not onely alwayes to do well but also never to do ill not onely finally to be Saints but never to be sinners after we have once the happinesse to be Christians 2. And to this purpose he lights up all the lamps of vertues which you see him recommend to day unto us advising that our charity march alwayes through the wildernesse of this wicked world as men do rest by night in deserts when to secure themselves from the ravenous beasts that hunt their prey by night they make a ring of fire round about them and so sleep securely now in regard we have a Noon-day devil hunts our souls by day as well as night therefore S. Peter circles us about not onely in the never dying fire of brightest charity which the devil hates and flies but with the lamps and torches of a many other virtues burning bright about us so to prevent us from the Fiends mid-day incursions as well as from his seizures in the night because the least light of virtue the least glimmering of saintity dazels the eyes of this foul fiends iniquity and makes him run away 3. Now in regard all men are apt to dwell upon their present objects with delight and to delude themselves that every sinne they do commit hath an apparent goodnesse in it at the least of pleasure or of profit therefore to day lest we should be deceived with semblances of that which is not true lest we should run after the folly-fires of the devil as after virtues or follow his flying light of seeming saintity and so lose the society of reall virtues in the desert of this world holy Church makes her prayer particular against allurements of all appearing good whilest she draws our thoughts and eyes to things invisible as if nothing we see were worthy our beholding nothing that we have worth our possessing and so perswades us altogether to covet what we have not yet to wish for what we see not to hope for what is promised as being far above what ever is or can be here possest And that we may do this she begs in the prayer above as a speciall gift of God to give us a desire of loving him unseen and the Invisibles that he hath promised us surpassing all our own desires as farre as they do our possessions The Gospel Matth. 5. v. 21. c. 21 For I tell you that unlesse your justice abound more then that of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter into the kingdome of heaven 22 You have heard that it was said to them of old Thou shalt not kill and who so killeth shall be in danger of judgement 23 But I say to you that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of judgement And whosoever shall say to his brother Raca shall be in danger of a Councill And whosoever shall say Thou fool shall be guilty of the hell of fire 24 If therefore thou offer thy gift at the Altar and there thou remember that thy brother hath ought against thee 25 Leave there thy offering before the Altar and go first to be reconciled to thy brother and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift The Explication 21. THeir justice was onely an outward shew of virtue a ceremonious observance of their own rather then a religious keeping the Law of God whereby they became servile to one another rather then children of God and therefore Christ tells us that unlesse we become more just then they were we cannot be saved unlesse our internall eye look directly at Gods honour rather then at mans will and pleasure we cannot enter into heaven which is the kingdome of God and not of man so our justice must be internall and reall not onely externally apparent as theirs was This our Saviour proves by examples out of the letter of the law as they took it without regard to the spirit thereof as we observe it or as we should at the least 22. This is clear by what follows for the Pharisees never expounded the law forbidding murder further then as to expose the murderer to the sentence of a temporall Judgement and death but in the Christian sense not onely the murtherer is 〈◊〉 guilty of eternall damnation but even he that shall without murthering as follows 23. Be passionately angry with his brother meaning so angry as to seek unjust revenge upon him in any way of violence at all much lesse of murther he shall be guilty of the severe judgement of God and not onely of man for if his anger be a mortall sinne it shall suffice to damn his soul if he die unrepentant of the sinne if but a veniall sinne yet it shall suffice to make him guilty of Gods adjudging him for it at least to the temporary hell of Purgatory fire a far greater punishment then to die by sentence of the law of man But if he shall in his anger call him Raca expresse any outward contempt or scorn of him he shall be guilty of a Councill This alludes to the order of justice among the Hebrews who punished faults of injustice by three severall sentences according to the quality of the fault and by three severall benches of Judges The first fault was call'd pecuniary or injury in money matters the Judges of that were but three The second was murder whereupon three and twenty Judges sate The third was heresie idolatry blasphemy or the like whereupon seventy two Judges sat Our Saviour who waves the first alludes to the second and third to shew the perfection of his law and compares the excesse of a contemptible expression to our neighbour besides our anger against him for so is understood by Raca to the severest of all the three judgement seats of the Hebrews which was that they called Councill when they were to consult how severely they should punish the offender for this heynous
more since there is no more time to work salvation in then that between his birth and his coming to judgement 12. This verse seems added lest any should conceive the former menaces did not belong to him in particular for such is the condition of humane frailty that who to day is a Saint may tomorrow be a sinner and therefore the Apostle bids us all stand upon our guard 13. This Greek phrase of the imperative moode Let not c. is to be understood in the Latine and English as if it were in the preterperfect tense of the indicative and would say hath not that is the temptations you have had were but mere humane namely to contention to lust to liberty and the like such as are common to all mankind but are easily avoyded by the help of grace bestowed on us by our faithfull God who as the following words assure us will not desert us in our temptations nor let us be tempted above our strength much lesse doth God as Calvin sayes thrust us on or tempt us himself nor doth he as Luther will have it impose things impossible on us to whom his grace as to Saint Paul it was is all sufficient and from whom he never takes the said grace till we reject it or by our consent to sin expell it Contrary God permits us not to be tempted but that we may thereby gain greater force to endure yet further assaults as who should say the issue of our temptation is if we will our victory and inabling us to a new if need be to a greater combat for thus much import the last words of the verse that we may be able to sustain these and yet greater onsets if we will our selves use the grace which God gives us to resist them with The Application 1. THe summe of this Epistle is to tell us Christians that what punishments were inflicted on the little children of Almighty God the Jewes who had onely the Alphabet the Elements of religion bestowed upon them will if we commit the like sins befall us too that a e the Men the Combatants the Champions of Jesus Christ honoured by him so far as to have the perfection of religion taught us by himself not onely in the delivery of his holy word unto us but in the example of his sacred person doing before our eyes much more then he expects from us because we should have no excuse from doing our endeavours in some sort at least to follow his saving footsteps 2. It will therefore behove us that are now marching our long journey through the desert of this world to the kingdome of heaven upon the feet of Christian charity to behave our selves as we were passing some narrow and loose bridge standing o're a precipice of deepest waters full of rocks sure to pash us in peices or to drown us if we fall for to this reflection the 1â—th verse and close of this Epistle lead us And by this means we shall be sure to beg both faith and hope to lead our charity over this dangerous passage lest while she thinks she stands she fall upon the sharpest rock of all before our eyes to day Idolatry by idolizing to her own inventions in seeking of her self not looking after Jesus Christ in her devotions or upon the splitting rock of Fornication by pouring out her affections on the alluring creatures of the world which she hath made by her baptismal vow solemnly sacred to Almighty God alone or into the deepest pit of Tempting Christ in her prayers by praying to God for things she should renounce and not enjoy her own inordinate desires and so indeavouring to give God law instead of begging favour at his hands to make her self God instead of captivating her rebellious will to his holy pleasure or lastly into the desperate swallowing gulf of Murmur by repining at God Almighties bounties when she sees any prosper whom she loves not especially when this murmuring arrives to the malice of envying her neighbours spirituall good 3. O beloved if this be the frequent practise of Christians who pretend charity to be their guide how ought the reflection of it to strike us into a religious awe into a holy fear into a dread indeed lest while we make a shew to men of saintity we practise iniquity And therefore holy Church to day hath made a prayer so excellently suiting to this purpose that it alone said with a heart which beats according to the lip that saies it will suffice to cure us of those evils and to secure our charity she shall hold her footing o're the narrow bridge of danger If while she prayes she perfectly renounce her own desires and beg of God Almighty only that which is agreable unto his holy will and pleasure The Gospel Luke 19. v. 41. c. 41 And as he drew near seeing the city he wept upon it saying 42 Because if thou hadst known and that in this thy day the things that pertain to thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes 43 For the dayes shall come upon thee and thy enemies shall compasse thee with a trench and inclose thee about and straiten thee on every side 44 And beat thee flat to the ground and thy children that are in thee And they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation 45 And entring into the Temple he began to cast out the sellers therein and the buyers 46 Saying to them It is written That my house is the house of Prayer but you have made it a den of thieves 47 And he was teaching daily in the Temple The Explication 41. HEre our Saviour shewed the tender bowels of his humane nature when drawing near Jerusalem the head city of his own chosen people whither he was sent by his heavenly Father to redeem them and all the world besides seeing by his al-seeing eye that maugre the exclamations of the children and people who shewed his way into the City yet he should by the chief commanders there be crucified in requital of his love he fell a weeping mixing the wine of his triumph with the water of his tears to shew us how to temper our pleasures here Three causes there were of our Saviours tears upon this city The first the blindnesse obduracy and ingratitude of his chosen people that would not receive their Messias and Saviour The second the revenge of God upon them by Titus who was to be their destruction by this ingratitude The third the losse as it were of all his own labours upon his best beloved children most of the sons of that city 42. That is if thou o my beloved city didst know as I do and that in this thy day when I come to give thee a kisse of peace from heaven being sent unto thee by my eternall Father when I enter thy gates to redeem and save thee which is indeed a thing appertaining to thy eternall
supernall grace the breasts that thou hast created 7. This verse clears all we said in the precedent and averres that the law of Moyses was rather a law of death then life a law of figure not of substance for that law did rather threaten death and damnation then truely contribute to life or salvation That it was in glory is understood by the ceremony it was delivered with of thunder lightning tempests earthquakes and the shining of Moyses face coming down from the mountain of Sinai By being figured with letters is understood literally written in the tables of stone 8 9. By the ministration of spirit is meant in these two verses the promulgation of the new law the law of grace of Christ which leads us indeed by the spirit of it into a spirituall life of glory and salvation This ministration is said to be glorious by the promulgation of it by Christ the sonne of God next by the coming of the Holy Ghost like a whirlwind in fiery tongues confirming the Apostles in grace teaching them all truth giving them the gift of prophecie of severall tongues as also the two last were given visibly to Christians in baptisme in the primitive Church as 1 Cor. 14.26 we may see and even now graces gifts and virtues are in baptisme given invisibly to all Christians The Application 1. THe Apostle in this Epistle teacheth three principall things the first how frail men are of themselves and that they can do nothing at all by their own power which is able to merit grace here much lesse glory in the next world The second how by degrees of the two Laws God brought these unapt men laudibly to serve his Divine Majesty The third how these two laws differ both in their manner of delivery and in their finall ends which they were to bring frail man unto 2. Stay then beloved this abstract of the Text premised and set before the eyes of our marching charity through the desert of this world what is her office now but that first she do walk warily not onely in regard of her own frailty but of the multitude of ambuscadoes laid in her way by the common enemy next that she give God thanks he hath betterr'd her condition now from what it was in our forefathers dayes and lastly that she do remember 't is not onely present grace she is to beg but future glory as if God had not made this world beautifull nor rich enough for his beloved but valued her alone above all the treasure of the earth and beauty of the universe to the end she might prize his promises unto her yet to come above all that he had here bestowed upon her already and consequently cast her eyes off all the vanity of present objects and fix both them and all her hopes upon the better expectation she is in 3. Thus farre assuredly we hit the Churches aim in giving us the present Text to square our actions by It remains that we conclude These greater promises require a present vigilance to keep this law of grace that is but as 〈◊〉 little key to open heavens widest gates put in our hands which key if it be broken will not let us in nor can we break it if we keep it close with in our hearts or hang it as a jewell in our ears and hearken unto nothing else but what this law commands or if we fix it still before our eyes as the lantern that must light us through the darksome wayes we are to passe lest losing sight thereof we do not onely lose our way but lose our selves indeed by falling into such offences as the law forbids not slightly neither but under pain of forfeiture of all we can expect to make us ever happy Which mischief that we may prevent we fitly pray as above The Gospel Luke 10. v. 23. c. 23 And turning to his disciples he said blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see 24 For I say unto you that many Prophets and Kings desired to see things that you see and saw them not and to hear the things that you hear and heard them not 25 And behold a certain Lawyer stood up tempting him and saying Master what shall I do to possesse eternall life 26 But he said to him in the Law what is written how readest thou 27 He answering said Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind and thy neighbour as thy self 28 And he said to him thou hast answered right Do this and thou shalt live 29 But he desirous to justifie himself said to Jesus and who is my neighbour 30 And Jesus taking it said A certain man went down from Jerusalem into Jericho and fell among thieves who also spoiled him and giving him many wounds went away leaving him half dead 31 And it chanced that a certain Priest went down the same way and seeing him passed by 32 In like manner also a Levite when he was near the place and saw him passed by 33 But a certain Samaritan going his journey came near unto him and seeing him was moved with mercy 34 And going unto him bound his wounds pouring in oil and wâ—ne and setting him upon his own beast brought him into an Inn and took care of him 35 And the next day he took forth two pence and gave to the host and said have care of him and whatsoever thou shalt supererogate I at my return will repay thee 36 Which of those three in thy opinion was neighbour to him that fell among thieves 37 But he said he that had mercy upon him and Jesus said to him go and do thou in like manner The Explication 23. 24. That is the works and person of the living God of the Messias so long being foretold so longed for to be seen so hoped in and this is the sense of these two first verses 25. This Lawyer is therefore said to tempt him because he did not ask with a sincere desire to know what to do for gaining heaven but rather to entrap him if he had said any thing contrary to the Law of Moyses by venting or abetting a new doctrine of his own 26. See how in this verse Christ frustrates the Lawyers plot referring him to the written Law contrary to the Doctours expectation 27. In this verse is grounded the Catholick doctrine that the Law is observeable against Hereticks who say it is impossible to be kept Not that the love here commanded is either to be extensive or intensive but onely comparative final and appretiative that is nothing ought by us to be loved better then God more finally then God nor more dearly or appretiatively By the heart soul and mind is here explicated the whole Will of man applyed to the love of God By strength is explicated here his endeavours and forces used to shew this love in all his actions By loving our neighbour as
you shall receive or reap corruption But the common sense is that the fruit of carnality is disease corruption death damnation that of spirit vertue life everlasting glory and salvation 9. The Apostle here exhorts to a perseverance in doing good the Priest constantly continuing to teach the Lay to learn to relieve his teacher and to work according as he is taught as if incessant reward were not otherwise to be hoped but for incessant labour So as we may understand this in two sorts we shall reap in due time in the next world if we do not cease our labours in this or we shall even in this world reap incessant reward in due time for our labours here if we labour constantly and slack not our zeales since it is the end that crownes the work either with grace in due time here or glory in due time in the next world 10. That is whilest we have time to sow the seeds of good works let us do good to all people Christians or Heathens not onely to those we catechize though principally to Christians as being domesticals and of one house with us fellow servants in the Church of Christ the true house of God The Application 1. THe last Sundayes service and this do seem to be almost the same onely that was a more general Application to all mankind this to the chosen sort of men who make up the mystical body of Christ his holy Church Wherefore S. Paul in this Epistle makes his addresse particularly to the Priests and Pastours of our soules from the first verse to the end of the fifth at the sixth he begins to tell the sheep their duty to the shepherd and so continues to the end of the eighth verse in the two last verses he concludes with an exhortation to them of perseverance in their Christian duties bidding them do good to all men whatsoever but especially to one another to the domesticals of Faith to those who have not onely Christ their Father but do professe his holy Spouse the Church to be their Mother 2. We see by the Illustration above that the Priests office to us is double the one to cleanse us by administring the holy Sacraments unto us the other to defend us by preaching praying and offering up their daily sacrifices for us Hence we must conclude our duty consists in preparing our selves worthily for receiving those Sacraments from the hands of the Priests lest we incurr the censures of unworthy receivers no lesse then our own damnation if it be the Sacrament of the holy Altar that we do receive and if any other of them there hangs a curse at least upon all who perform the work of God negligently as all unworthy receivers of any Sacraments do or the negligent hearers of any Sermons or of Masse which is the sacrifice as well of the people as of the Priest and these are peculiarly indeed the works of God as being instituted by his sacred Son nay more they are the works of his continued mercy towards us and so surpasse all other his works whatsoever because we are told his mercy is above all his works 3. Hence the Priest is put in mind further then in the Explication above with what a holy intention attention reverence and zeal of soules he ought to administer any Sacrament and also how with the like regards he ought to preach or offer up his sacrifices thereby to comply with the trust of Sayntity which both God and man have put into his hands lest he incurr the odious brand of becoming like the people so the Priest for how ever both are sinners to God yet the Priests are set apart as Saints to the eyes of men and they peculiarly were those he bade be holy as himself was holy who made them dispensers of the mysteries of God unto the people Lastly hence the Lay-men are minded with what humility reverence fear and trembling yet with what confidence comfort obedience with what Faith what hope what love with what adoration with what zeal to God Almighties honour and glory they ought to receive the holy Sacraments to hear the Word of God to assist at the sacrifice of Masse which is not onely a commemoration but even a renovation a repetition in a mysterious way of our Saviours death and passion so they are to look upon the Priest going to the Altar with the same devotion as if they did behold our Saviour going to be crucified Now that both may do this our holy Mother prayes to day as above for that special gift of God that bounty whereby it is performable that ardent charity which sets on fire the world of flesh and makes it flye out into flames of holy love unto his heavenly Majesty for by this love it is that the Church militant is govern'd and by the same love God is glorified for all eternity in his Church Triumphant The Gospel Luk. 7.11 11 And it came to passe afterwards he went into a City that is called Naim and there went with him his disciples and a very great multitude 12 And when he came nigh to the gate of the City behold a dead man was carried forth the onely son of his mother and she was a widow and a great multitude of the City with her 13 Whom when our Lord had seen being moved with mercy upon her he said to her Weep not 14 And he came near and touched the Coffin and they that carried it stood still and he said young man I say to thee arise 15 And he that was dead sate up and began to speak and he gave him to his mother 16 And fear took them all and they magnified God saying that a great Prophet is risen among us and that God hath visited his people The Explication 11. THis was a fair Citie in Galilee within two miles of mount Thabor and so had the name of Faire for Naim imports as much This made the sadder funerall and the more gladsome miracle being in so vast so famous a City into which so great a multitude such a train of people followed our Saviour 12. This seeming chance to man of two such multitudes meeting those within and those without the City at the funerall was designed by God to render more authenticall the miracle God thereby more glorified and Christ the more beloved though it is to be noted that the Jews and Romans too had their burials alwayes out of the Cities unlesse rarely for Kings who were buried in the Citie of Sion David building a place for that purpose Note this onely sonne was also her onely child hence the mothers sorrow was greater to lose in him all the whole hopes of her house being a widdow of note and so past hopes of more of that family 13. By saying to her weep not he shewed his compassion of her sorrow was such that he meant to take away the cause of her tears by restoring her son to life again and so doubtlesse she believed when he
honest ends not for lucre or unjust sordid gain the temptation whereof will cease if we make it the end of our labour to do works of charity to others such as is relieving them in their necessity And if to this end even Church-men labour they will not want the example of it given them by the Apostles who did practise the same as well as preach it The Application 1. St. Paul not knowing what better counsel to give his Ephesian Converts when he found some of them relapsing towards the old man then to bid them be renewed in the spirit of their minds and to put on the new man which according to God was created in Justice and Holinesse seemes in this to have left it as a rule of Christian perfection that the Ephesians should endeavour to be continually the Saints which first they were when God by holy baptisme snatcht them out of the bondage of the devil and made them free-born Citizens of the heavenly Hierusalem clad in the richest robes of Saintitie the purest Innocency 2. And surely holy Church can have no other aym by reading us this lesson to day then to mind our charity of walking in that saving path of Innocency by renewing her baptismal vow her holy covenant with Almighty God of loving him above all things and her neighbour as her self of renouncing the world the flesh and the devil with all their lying passion malice and injustice forbidden to all Christians in the holy Text above 3. Now because this is easier said by Preachers then done by the people and because it is impossible for men of themselves to do the least good at all the Royal Prophet saying there is not one that doth it therefore holy Church finding her children by S. Paul exhorted to no lesse perfection then the highest of Saintity and remembring that as when Adam was in Paradise God to ease his way to Saintity had shut out all Adversity both of mind and body from thence all disturbance and grief of soul all rebellion of sense against reason all disasters of the body in a word all mortality it self so the same God having pleased to bring us in to a Paradise of grace our prudent Mother hopes his divine goodnesse will also shut out all adversity from thence that we may not by disturbance either in mind or body be hindered from executing his commands better in this paradise of grace then Adam did in the paradise of Earth yet withall our holy Mother knowing the difficulty of this work to procure us this tranquillity useth all her best arts and for this end Prayes to God that it may be if not ours at least his own handy-work and if not feisible by his ordinary Power that yet it may be done by his Omnipotency or by that which yet to us is greater by his mercy and lest that mercy be mistaken she conjures him by the highâ—st of his mercies by his bitter death and passion by that mercy which doth not onely satisfie the rigour of his Justice but renders him Propitious also to us Say but the Prayer above and see if it be not home to all this purpose The Gospel Matt. 22. v. 1. 1 And Jesus answering spake again in parables to them saying 2 The Kingdome of heaven is likened to a man being a King which made a marriage to his son 3 And he sent his servants to call them that were invited to the marriage and they would not come 4 And again he sent other servants saying tell them that were invited behold I have prepared my dinner my beeves and fatlings are killed and all things are ready come you to the marriage 5 But they neglected and went their wayes one to his farme and another to his merchandize 6 And the rest laid hands upon his servants and spitefully entreating them murdred them 7 And when the King did hear of it he was wroth and sending his hosts destroyed those murtherers and burnt their City 8 Then he said to his servants the marriage indeed is ready but they that were invited were not worthy 9 Go ye therefore into the high wayes and whomsoever you shall find call to the marriage 10 And his servants going forth into the wayes gathered together all that they found bad and good and the marriage was filled with guests 11 And the King went in to see the guests and saw there a man not attired in a wedding garment 12 And he said to him Friend how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment but he was dumb 13 Then the King said to the wayters binde his hands and feet and cast him into the utter darknesse there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth 14 For many are called but few elected The Explication 1. BY this way of parables Christ did often instruct and illuminate the Jewes who were very intentive to any parabolical sense and much pleased therewith 2. By the Kingdome of heaven is here understood the Church militant which is truly a Kingdome purchased by the blood of Christ and the time when this marriage was made was when Christ became man who being the second person of the blessed Trinity was espoused to his holy Church So the King here mentioned is God the Father sending down his Son to be married to his said Spouse the holy Church 3. The servants meant in this verse were the Patriarks and Prophets of the old Law who could not prevail with the Jews to come unto the wedding feast that God had by these his servants invited them unto 4. The servants in this verse were the Apostles their disciples and all missionary Priests of the new Law of Christ These were bid tell the people invited and with great reason the wedding feast was ready for so the word dinner here imports By the beeves and fatlings are understood the Sacrifices Sacraments Sermons Martyrdomes and all other spiritual food prepared for souls in holy Church 5. By these are understood men preferring the world before God and so refusing to be reconciled for fear of loosing their estates by the penal lawes of man made against the followers of the Law of Christ The farm and merchandize are here set down in lieu of all other worldly occupations withdrawing soules from the service of God 6. These are such as did not onely refuse themselves to become good but proceeded farther in their malice by opposing others in their way of vertue in a word by persecuting the people of God the true Church of Christ Such were those who put to death the Apostles such they who now execute the Priests that succeed the Apostles in the ministery of Gods holy Word 7. This verse tells us that God perceiving the wickednesse of those who persecuted his Saints as the Jewes had done his sacred Son sent in his wrath Titus and Vespasian to destroy the Jewes to sack Jerusalem and therein to pull down the Temple of Solomon the miracle in a manner of the world So
Assyrians led barefoot in shew of their slavery Isaias went three dayes barefooted Isa 20.3.4 which he needed not have done but for this propheticall end whereas the Apostle intimates here our slavery is past and our servitude also in regard we are of slaves to the devil made now children of God and so need go no longer barefooted But the truest meaning of this place is that by being shod we shew a promptitude both in hearing preaching and practising the Word of God as who should say this promptitude were the best preparation to bring in Christianitie to all parts of the world And the Gospel of Christ is rightly called a Gospel of peace because it brings tidings of humane redemption of fraternall dilection and of salvation to those that walk therein 16. In all things imports here above all things that we must take up the shield of true faith for that is it indeed which not onely shews us to be Christians but defends us against all enemies of Christ by breaking the darts and arrows of the devil which are shot against us and are born off by this buckler of faith are received confidently and shattered against it assuredly for no temptations enter the body or the soul that are received upon this buckler By the fierie darts of the most wicked one are understood the temptations of the flesh which the devil leads us into and such are those of burning lust but easily quenched by believing God's grace is sufficient to extinguish them in us as it was in S. Paul 2 Cor. 12. v. 9. 17. By the head-peice or helmet of salvation the Apostle means the hope of heaven given us by Christ his passion for as a helmet secures the head as the chief part of man so this hope of heaven settles all our thoughts rectifies our intentions and squares our actions to the right end that makes them saving and encourageth us for the hope we have of heaven to rush in upon any danger which is between vs and that blessed home as men whose heads are armed with a helmet do break into the thickest shower of their enemies darts or swords By the sword of the spirit or spirituall sword is understood the Word of God the Gospel the doctrin of Jesus Christ whether written or delivered by the oraculous mouths of his twelve Apostles and from thence brought down unto this very time we live in 2 Thessal 2.15 Isa 59.20 21. and which shall be handed over from us to all after ages by the teachers and preachers of the Holy Church With the edge of this sword Christ slew the devil tempting him in the desert as we read Matth. 4. when he said not in bread alone but in every word that falls from the mouth of God man is fed and kept spiritually alive And thus we see a Christian souldier compleatly armed by the Apostle from head to foot with spirituall armour and weapons not onely sufficient for defensive but even to secure him in an offensive warr against his greatest adversaries The Application 1. THe 2 first verses of this Epistle give us warning of the worst encounter charity hath had as yet in all her tedious march hear how they bid her fortifie arm and stand the enemy the devil But God be thank'd ther 's a friend at hand The mighty power of our Lord. The 3d verse tels us 't is not Major Generall the Flesh who rallies still a new how oft soever we beat him out of the field nor the Leivtenant Generall the World but Captain Generall himself the worst of all the Divells hell can arm against us The spirituall of wickedness in the celestialls bids the Battel now the same that never comes to field without his Rectours Princes Potentates and all the forces he can muster up The Explication above hath fitted us to the fight and taught us the use of our armes 2. Now Charity defend thy self and us put up thy Royal standard that of Heavenly Grace fixt to the Cross of Christ See how they charge thee on thy right wing first hark how their canons roar against thy Faith while it is Deity indeed they fight against with Infidelitie Atheistry Paganisme Turcisme Heresie Judaisme Sects and Schismes as many as there are fancies in mens fickle brains See at the same time how they charge thy left wing too Thy hope of everasting happinesse This they would fool thee out of by their onely facing thee with Liberty thy birth-right with honour pleasure profit treasure and command possessions better as they say then thy best of expectations ought to fright thee from But all the main charge is against thy Faith and this too given by the Captain-General the spiritual of wickedness in the celestials he that having lost himself would lose thee too he that 's asham'd thou should'st enjoy the happinesse he is deprived of because he could not love his Maker better then himself See then the Battail's at an end if charity can love God can crown her with the victory over him that lost the day for lack of love Be sure thy faith can never fail if thou be constant in thy love since all belief is rooted in charity so we are taught Ephes 3.18 Whilest we have Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith rooted and founded in charity the same is of the Deity and all the other mysteries of Faith we do believe and all of Hope So whilest our charity keeps her Body close her virtues round about her those we call the works of love her wings are safe the day the field 's her own maugre all the enemies assaults for say beloved though we should admit which yet we must not do that Invisibles are slender motives to make us relinquish all the present pleasures of the world yet of the two Invisibles those that tie us up to goodness here are safer certainly then those that let us loose to all iniquity So by force of reason charity hath woon the day while she believes hopes in and loves the unseen Deity by having seen the sayntity of his sacred Son and in that faith that hope that love defies the unseen enemy to Deity the Devil whose seen iniquities affright us from the ruine he invites us to 3. To conclude if holy Church on the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany upon the danger of the enemy man assaulting her by night but to sow poysonous seed upon her wholesome corn did Body then and draw her self into her Guards no marvell that to day upon a greater onset she Bodies too and puts her self into her Ranks and Files indeed into Battalia and now begins her prayer in the self same words as then though being yet to make a further march she variâ—s in the latter end of her petition And because she knows the divine protection will no longer continue to set her free from the worst of adversities those spiritual iniquities that would fain cut up Religion by the roots and fool us out of doing
some private spirit that values it self above others and so to get repute will defend and spread a false doctrine under the name of the truth And truly this S. Paul intimates while he bids them be sincere not mixing adulterine with true doctrine for if so they cannot be without fault as he desires they may prove to have been at the day of judgement Nay so free he wisheth them from any offence there as they may be neither guilty of giving nor taking offence since in true Christianity no man can be hurt but by himself and therefore should not take offence or be angry at others upon any occasion whatsoever angry he means to sin 11. But instead of being guilty of offence he prayes they may be repleat abundantly filled with the fruits of justice meaning of all virtues whatsoever since every virtue is an act of justice taking justice in the large and favourable sense as here the Apostle doth All which acts we are to practice by virtue of our Saviours passion and consequently as his passion was so must our actions be to the honour and glory of God The Application 1. SAint Paul in this Epistle exhorts the Philippians to perseverance in their faith of Christ and that they may persevere makes it his instant prayer even when he was ready to lay down his life for confirmation of that Christianity he had brought them to imbrace and wherein he prayes their charity may more and more abound and testifie their sincerity and innocency of life not onely here but at the day of judgement 2. What was then the language of S. Paul to the Philippians is now the Churches unto us that are Christian Catholicks O what a saintity would that sincerity produce in us which should carry us on without offence unto the day of doom And yet we are by this Epistle here exhorted to be no lesse sincere in all the actions of our life then we shall be in that where every thought as well as words and deeds shall be sincerely opened unto all the world at least beloved if we cannot here be fully so sincere as there we must and shall be we have another lesse degree yet of sincerity recommended in this Epistle which may suffice to saint us here on earth that which we did professe at holy baptisme who were never other then Catholicks that which we did professe at our conversion who were bred otherwise when we stood resolv'd to sacrifice our lives and fortunes to the persecutours rather then not declare our selves to be converted to the Catholick Religion Yes yes beloved this sincerity at least is requisite the longest day we live since there 's no lesse an account to be made at the later doom of our walking worthy that vocation then of our being Catholicks 'T is not the name but the reality and sincerity of the thing we must account for then and consequently now endeavour for O could this sincerity attend us at our prayers wait on our words and works what a saintity would it produce in our souls both in the sight of God and man 3. To conclude what is great part of the guilt of every sin that lies upon our conscience but a meer defect of this sincerity in our proceedings Whence holy Church to day prayes in a language preaching nothing else to us but this sincerity of soul to God and man when she bids us not hope for what we ask without it and when she minds us of it in the preamble of her petition professing God alone to be our Refuge and our strength and thereby cutteth off all hope of other helps then what he must afford us so that if we think on what we say we needs must be sincere in this petition and cannot hope for help from God towards any thought or deed that is not pious and sincere in order to his honour in order to our own salvation Say then the Prayer and see how home it is to this sincerity The Gospel Matt. 22. v. 15. 15 Then the Pharisees departing consulted among themselves to intrap him in his speeches 16 And they send to him their disciples with the Herodians saying Master we know that thou art a true speaker and teachest the way of God in truth neither carest thou for any man for thou dost not respect the persons of men 17 Tell us therefore what is thy opinion is it lawfull to give tribute to Caesar 18 But Jesus knowing their naughtiness said What do ye tempt me hypocrites 19 Shew me the tribute coin and they offered him a penny 20 And Jesus saith to them Whose is this image and superscription 21 They say to him Caesars Then he saith to them Render therefore the things that are Caesars to Caesar and the things that are Gods to God The Explication 15. AFter Christ had told them the Parable of the man coming to a wedding feast without his nuptial garment Then immediatly the Pharisees consulted amongst themselves how to intrap him in his speeches 16. For which purpose they send him their instruments chosen for this purpose men of their own malicious minds and to make it worse they send as witnesses against him some Herodians men of the family or retinue of Herod a great friend of Caesars or of the Roman Empire because their hope was to wrest out something from him that might be offensive to Caesar and so to accuse him of treason Lo their subtle aggresse in calling him Master whose disciples they never meant to be but rather studied to make themselves masters of his life By the way of God they mean here the Law which leads men in the way to Heaven and since we look on thee as knowing exactly this Law and as one that is sincere and will not dissemble with us and art besides so equal to all men as thou art partial to none nor wilt flatter any one be he never so great for by respect here is understood onely impartiality to all not neglect to any 17. The reason why they asked his opinion in this was in hope he might being a Jew have been infected with the heresie of Judas Galilaeus even his own country-man who taught it was not lawfull for the Jews that were the chosen people of God to allow any sovereignty or dominion to Princes of the Gentiles as if whom God had not elected to be his favourites as he did the Jews they could not pay duty or homage to be they never so great Princes and since namely Tiberius Caesar was a Gentile hence they did hope Christ would have denied tribute to be due unto him and so they would have accused him both of heresie at home and treason abroad 18. Here we see Christ gives a testimony of his Deity because he knows their thoughts to be malicious however their words are fawning and flattering and therefore that he might follow the exact rule of an answerer he looks upon the intention of the words of the asker and he
proceeded by an Act of mutuall love between the Father and the Sonne but all confesse his procession to be from both while it is from the Father by the Sonne 14. True it is by the passion of our Saviour we are redeemed but if we ask what it is to be redeemed we cannot expresse it better then here the Apostle doth by calling it remission of sinnes for as by sinne we were made slaves to the devil so by remission thereof which we obtain by Christ his passion we are made children of God and are thus redeemed from the captivity of the devil not unlike to men freed from prison by their creditours remitting unto them their debts for which they clapt them up but we are in a more liberall way redeemed from the prison of hell that was our inheritance when Christ not we payes the debt and so it is most freely remitted to us since we neither did nor could pay it our selves The Application 1. BLessed S. Paul we have thee now in half a word the Colossians were as dear to thee as the Ephesians the Romans and all thy other Converts what thou didst write to one upon the news of their conversion by thy preaching thou dost in other terms but in the same spirit write to all the rest Again we know our holy mother the Church reads thy ancient lessons every day anew to us that we her children may be Christian Catholicks like thy happy Converts And to that purpose she brings our charity to day with thy Epistle home to her annuall journeys end as the best usher to lead her to this lifes end also and to the entrance into everlasting life that of eternall happinesse and glory 2. See how to day our holy Mother sets us all a preaching to our selves to this effect while she doth make us pray to God that he will raise up our affections to our own salvations Why Blessed Jesu is it come to that must we be courted to our own felicity can we be lesse then willing to be sav'd I dare not say it but I doubt it much And therefore holy Church I see petitions it lest we should vainly think we had advanced farre when God Almighty knows the many years that passe upon our heads are like so many labours lost and therefore at the end of every year 't is piety to think we do but then begin to wish we were but willing to be sav'd yet we must wish it faithfully sincerely earnestly and we must pray withall that God will graciously please to raise our wish to the perfection of a will at last that if we value not our selves we will not undervalue God Almighty who looks upon us as the apples of his eyes as the fruits of all his labours in creating preserving and governing the world and us in redeeming and saintifying of us for no other end but to save us at the last and that at so easie a rate as can be possible our onely cooperating with him to that happy end our onely being willing be should work in us that saintity we cannot work in our selves without him 3. To conclude the many books of controversie in the point of merit may be summ'd up all in this petition of the Churches Prayer to day so deep so copious so facund and so fecund withall is the spirit of the Holy Ghost couch'd in those teaching Prayers What is it else we say defending merit but that we must cooperate to our salvation but that the more we do cooperate the greater Saints we are but that the improvement we make of one grace procures us another greater then the former but that we so take in hand the work of our salvation as we do not think it is nor can be any work of ours but must be still the work of God in us though by us too whose onely part is to be pulling down the greater remedies of his Piety towards us by improving his lesser and to be drawing from him grace upon grace so fast untill by means thereof we render our selves a fruit of the work divine as ripe as grace can make us here ready then to be transplanted into heaven where yet the sunne of glory will mature us more so farre indeed as we shall never fear to be corrupted but shall hang upon the tree of everlasting life an ornament to the celestiall Paradise Say now the Prayer above and see how home it is to this construction in it self to this instruction of us by it if we say it in the sense above The Gospel Matth. 24.15 15 Therefore when you shall see the Abomination of desolation which was spoken of by Daniel the Prophet standing in the holy place he that readeth let him understand 16 Then they that are in Jewry let them flee to the mountains 17 And he that is on the house top let him not come down to take any thing out of his house 18 And he that is in the field let him not go back to take his coat 19 And wo to them that are with child and that give suck in those dayes 20 But pray that your flight be not in winter nor on the Sabboth 21 For there shall be then great tribulation such as hath not been from the beginning of the world untill now neither shall be 22 And unlesse those dayes had been shortened no flesh should be saved but for the Elect the dayes shall be shortned 23 Then if any man shall say unto you Lo here is Christ or there do not believe him 24 For there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signes and wonders so that the Elect also if it be possible may be induced into errour 25 Lo I have foretold you 26 If therefore they shall say unto you Behold he is in the desert go ye not out behold in the closets believe it not 27 For as lightening cometh out of the East and appeareth even to the West so shall the Advent of the Son of man be 28 Wheresoever the body is thither shall the Eagles also be gathered together 29 And immediately after the tribulation of those dayes the Sun shall be darkened and the Moon shall not give her light and the Starres shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be moved 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven and then shall all tribes of the earth bewaile and they shall see the Son of man comeing in the clouds of heaven with much power and majestie 31 And he shall send his Angels with a Trumpet and a great voyce and they shall gather together his Elect from the four winds from the furthest parts of heaven even to the ends thereof 32 And of the fig-tree learn a Parable when now the bough thereof is tender and the leaves come forth you know that Summer is nigh 33 So you also when you shall see these things know ye that it is nigh even at the
doors 34 Amen I say to you that this generation shall not passe till all these things be done 35 Heaven and earth shall passe but my words shall not passe The Explication 15. BY this Abomination of desolation Christ meant a most abominable desolation and most probably he alluded to that which was to follow namely the Romans sacking of Jerusalem as a punishment upon the Jewes for having there crucified the Saviour of the world how horrid and dreadful an abomination that was Josephus his history best describeth But mystically we may well interpret this abomination to be the sacrilegious defiling of the Temple of Solomon both by the barbarous murders therein committed by the Jews and the profaning the Altars thereof by the wicked Priests much more is this abominable when Christian Priests profane their holy Altars and become wicked Isa 24.2 as the people so the Priest of holy Church And the like abomination it is to receive the body of Christ into a sinfull soul for then he is rather betrayed into the house of the devil then received into the Temple of the holy Ghost Not unaptly also this abomination may allude to Antichrist setting himself upon the Altars of the Churches to be adored as God In fine when any of these horrid iniquities are done then we may piously imagine the Judgement of God is not far of since were it not for his mercy sake these abominations deserved immediate damnation 16. By this verse is mystically meant that when good men see these enormities done commonly in the cities they should flye from such evil cohabitations lest the houses of the city fall upon their heads and run out up to the mountains thereby to shew they are desirous of getting up as near to heaven as may be when their houses become a hell unto them Though literally our Saviour alludes to the advice he after by revelation gave the Christians when Jerusalem was to be destroyed to flye from Jurie to the mountains beyond Judea for the Roman forces had possessed those hills about Judea whereas the Jewes hearing of the Romans approaching into their countrey fled all into Jerusalem God so ordaining it for their destruction who yet thought they should in that famous city be most safe 17. They were bid flye from the tops of houses if they happened to be there when the newes came of Titus with the Romans falling upon them to shew those powers were to come like a tyde or torrent upon the Jewes unavoidably and therefore since in those daies their houses were commonly built flat on the top and their use was to eat and walk there as freely as now men do in lower rooms they were advised to make no stay for getting any goods away but immediately to run and think themselves happy if they could save but their own persons insomuch that the sudden destruction of Jerusalem is by the Historian described like to Noes floud to the burning of Sodome with fire from heaven and to the drowning Pharaoh his forces in the red Sea 18. This verse followes the strain of the former by advising immediate flight without regard to any thing else 19. This expresseth their danger who by the reason of children either in their wombs or at their breasts could not make speed enough to save themselves in regard of their burdens retarding their flight Also it alludes to the severity of Gods wrath over the Jewish Nation who to punish their sins would not spare the innocent infants of that race but leave all a prey to the devouring sword of the Romans meeting them in their mothers bellies or nurses laps 20. This shewes the clogg of winter wayes and weather forbids especially to aged men a speedy flight such as was necessary to avoid this instantaneous destruction and the Jewish Law forbidding any man to walk above a mile indeed half a mile on the Sabbath shewes that slow flight was inconsistent with this speedy danger for though Christ did abrogate the rigour of the Sabbath Law yet be alludes here to the Jewes and Judaizing Christians that were hardly brought off from the superstitions of their old Traditions Again Christ here insinuates it is vain to flye on the Sabbath because Jerusalem and so all was taken on the Sabbath day 21. There is no doubt but the destruction of Jerusalem was a calamity unparallel'd for since Almighty God in revenge of his sacred Sons being butthered therein had designed this city to exemplary punishment he was resolved to make the rigour of it such as resembled rather Hell then any horrour lesse onely note that here it is meant the particular destruction of the Jewes is unparallel'd by any particular nations destruction not that the finall day of Judgement shall be lesse calamitous to all the world then this day was to the Jewes alone 22. This place literally alludes to the Jewes as the chosen people of God and so valued by him above all others that he seems to say if they be safe none else are in danger because them chiefly he desires to preserve yet seeing they will not be gained by him he then converts his love to the Gentiles and in this sense he goes on meaning unlesse the daies of the Jewes subversion by the Romans had been shortened no flesh no Jew in all the world should be saved but for the elect for some very few converted Jews before for some in this confusion of their overthrow and for others reserved for conversion in the latter daies to make one Church as also for respect to many Christians amongst them God ordained that Titus the Commander should put a limit to the fury of the sword and after a time should give quarter even to the Jews insomuch that as Josephus writes fourty thousand of them by the mercy of Titus were saved and but for this not one Jew in all the world either would or could have escaped the sword so inveterate was the hatred of the Romans to that persidious Nation Hence we see the power of even a little virtue in man how great a sway it bears with God that for never so little good he averts a huge deal of mischief 23. Many conceive Christ here passeth from his report to the destruction of Jerusalem and falls on the day of general Judgement but it is not so for by the word then he professeth to continue his former sense and this suites well for then the Jews knowing the time of the Messias to be at hand to save themselves and to flatter such as usurped the properties of the Messias they when persecuted by one party would flye to this other that adhered to such impostours as then boasted themselves to be the Messias so our Saviour to prevent danger to such as might be carried by this meanes to infidelity foretels them what arts would be used to insnare them And there were three eminent men of this wicked faction Eleazar the son of Simon Jehu the son of Leviah and Simon the
son of Goriah each of these strove to be reputed the Messias to these therefore and their flatterers this verse alludes for these would be called Christ as the true Messias was 24. See how this verse verifies the sense of the former for of these and such like men even of Arch-hereticks in future times also our Saviour speaks here and such were David George and John of Leyden King of the Anabaptists proclaiming himself to be Christ and sending about his twelve Apostles till he was taken in Westphalia and burnt alive for his abominable heresie The signes here mentioned shall be those of witchcraft and other cheats to delude the Faithful people as Simon Magus by these arts cheated Nero and other Romans till by S. Peters intercession he was brought down from the high pitch of his artificial wings and dashed his feet in pieces to shew Gods Saints are above the devils instruments since by St. Peters prayer he was made unable to go who by fraud pretended a power to flye When he sayes by these arts the Elect shall if possible erre he meanes it is not possible morally speaking that when God pleaseth to assist his chosen people any fraud of the devil himself can delude them though in a physical sense there is no impossibility thereof since even grace notwithstanding men have physical power to sin yet supposing God have predestinated any to salvation then that may stand with infallibility by supposition which absolutely speaking would not do so Note the Reformers fondly obtrude this practise to us by exposing the B. Sacrament to adoration since therein we expose onely an invisible Deity whereas here our Saviour beats down the exposing any visible God in mans shape any to be Christ but himself and that he left himself thus to be adored till the worlds end we have it avouched from the Apostles who did practise and preach this duty to be done to the B. Sacrament 25. He means his prediction to after ages as well as that to the Jewes of their impostures so this warning serves us to beware of heresies and their divulgers 26. Christ here alludes to Simon Gerasenus son of Goriah who went into the desert and mountains raising forces under a pretence he would as the Messias vindicate the injuries done to the Jewes by the Romans the like did Eleazar above menâ—ioned and John leaders of the Zelotes onely they pretended in caves and vaults and chambers to supply the open worships due unto them in Churches and this with promise to restore them as by the Messias they did hope to be restored and thought their Captaines to be indeed Messias 27. No the true Messias comes not thus couched but his coming shall be as visible as undoubted as the lightening breaking in the East and seen even to the West here indeed he alludes to his second coming in the latter day when the world shall be all on fire from East to West 28. This he likens to be as sudden upon men as the Eagle is upon her prey and though some think he onely means the noble Eagles that feed not on dead food but on living yet his words incline to the vulturine Eagle which Aristotle mentions and tells us he feeds on dead bodies and discovering them by the smell is as soon upon them as if he see them presently Christ seemeth to humble himself to this sort of Eagles both in regard of his own body which was dead to purchase mans life and in regard it suites better with our corruption which at the latter day is the prey of this Eagle Christ Jesus who comes as fiercely upon all mankind then corrupted in their graves when summoned to Judgment as the Eagle doth upon his prey that lives by carrion to shew us there is then no hope of mercy if we prove corrupted carrion but we must be delivered over as a prey to the devouring Eagle meaning the Judge converting corruptible into incorruptible flesh their unsavoury bodies into sweet incense to burn and never be consumed nor tormented before his sacred Deity 29. See how he falls from the particular devastation of the Jewes to the general destruction of the whole world telling us hence forward the signes of this as he did before the signs of the other favouring in a sort the errour of the Apostles who did believe by his speech the day of Judgement should follow immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem though indeed he speaks thus to terrifie men from sin who after it may immediately fear Judgment and to shew that what to us is long a coming to God is ever present so he falls out of the one into the other as if they were both linked together The Sun shall be darkened by which he meanes there shall be prodigious Eclipses before this dismal day and strange interpositions of vapours to shew the dark effect of the child of darknesse sin The Moon having no light but from the Sun can give none when the Suns light is not seen The Starres shall seem to fall but cannot do so for each one is bigger then the earth yet what with comets playing in the ayr what with the dazzeling of our eyes in that circumstance the starres shall seem to fall upon us Mystically understand by Sun Moon and Starres failing here the fall of greater and lesser lights in holy Church by the terrour of the persecution of Antichrist at this time by the virtues of the heavens being moved understand their usual influence into the creatures of the earth to be disturbed yet some others think the very Angels the movers of the heavens and so called their virtues shall be as it were afraid they do fail in their offices seeing the usual course of nature inverted which may seem even to discompose their constant and unmoveable natures not that indeed it shall be so with them but onely it may seeâ— so to us 30. This sign all allow to be the Crosse of Christ which for three causes shall then appear first to shew Christ came to the glory of being Judge over all the world by his former ignominy upon the Crosse secondly to shew he was truly crucified on the Crosse for all mens redemption and therefore brings it now to confound those who were ungrateful for such a benefit especially the Jewes thirdly to shew that all who were religious worshippers of him and of his holy Crosse should now march under the banner of it into the Kingdome of heaven whence it is probable the very self-same Crosse that Christ dyed upon shall be then made up and placed there a thing not harder then for the dead to rise By the bewailing of all tribes understand that some of all tribes shall be in a bewailing case for their ineviâ—able misery then laid before their eyes By the son of man is understood Christ Jesus himself coming after his sacred banner is displayed in the clouds for three reasons first to moderate the infinite splendour of his glory