A BOX OF Spikenard Newly Broken.
The Queſtion propounded by Richard B. which was the occaſion of this Treatiſe.
Queſt. WHether the Nativity of Chriſt, commonly called Chriſtmas-day, ought to be celebrated; R. B. denyeth it, and endeavours to prove the contrary. His Arguments are theſe 14 following.
2Arg. 1. There is nothing in the World a Duty, which God hath not made a Duty; But God never made this a Duty: Ergo, it is no Duty.
Arg. 2. If I ſhould obſerve this Day, I am afraid leſt I ſhould deny the perfection of the Scriptures?
Arg. 3. I am fearful leſt by doing ſo, I ſhould arrogate the making of a Day to my ſelf: for if I ſhould do ſo much as in me lyeth, I ſhould make a Day to my ſelf.
Arg. 4. I am fearful leſt by ſo doing, I ſhould ſet up a Day againſt God.
Arg. 5. It is the Devil's policy to imitate God, and when he will be holy, he will be holyer then God; and when he ſeeth God will have a Sabbath to be kept, then he will ſet up a Day, and he will have a Chriſtmas Day to be kept, and he will have his Pictures in the Churchwindows, and the Croſſe made on the Childrens foreheads in Baptiſm?
3Arg. 6. I am fearful, leſt I ſhould be condemned for accuſing God for want of Wiſdom, and ſo make my ſelf wiſer then God, as though he knew not what ſhould be done as well as I, and ſo derogate from the Wiſdome of God.
Arg. 7. I am fearful of being more inexcuſable for my ſin.
Arg. 8. It ſeemeth to me a vain and needleſſe thing, Firſt, becauſe God hath ſet apart a Sabbath, the Lords Day, for this purpoſe to meditate upon God's love in redeeming the World; Secondly, Becauſe I never heard a good Argument for it.
Arg. 9. It is an impoſſibility to keep it, and God never made an impoſſibility, a duty: no man knoweth certainly on which day Christ was born.
Arg. 10. I obſerve God hides things purpoſely from us, to ſee whether we will do any thing on our own heads.
Arg. 11. It hath not bin the practiſe of Chriſtian Churches to obſerve it?
4Arg. 12. In all doubtfull Caſes a man ought to go on the ſureſt ſide: Now I am ſure, It is no ſin not to keep it, but am not ſure, It is no ſin to keep it.
Arg. 13. This time ought not to be celebrated; for there is more ſin committed in theſe 12 Dayes, then is in all the year after, in Drunkenneſſe, Gluttony, &c.
Arg. 14. God bleſſeth his own Day, the Sabbath, but hath not bleſſed this, with ſucceſſe?
Here followeth the Anſwer of Thomas M. to the forerecited Queſtions and Arguments: and herein, the honour of Chriſt his Nativity is Vindicated, or the Solemnity of his Birth-day (which is commonly called Chriſtmas-day), avowed and averred, (i. e. ) juſtified and maintained to be lawful and good: Even in this Anſwer to fourteen arrogant Arguments, or weak Linſey-Woolſy Reaſons, which have been of late eventilated, and divulged in writing to the contrary.
Anſwer to the firſt Argument.
You may remember that the firſt Argument runneth thus; There is nothing in the World a duty which God hath not made a duty.
But God never made the Celebration of the Nativity of Chriſt a Duty, Ergo, it is no Duty.
Though this Argument is Scholaſtically and Syllogiſtically propounded, yet I ſhall be ſo bold as to deny the Minor or ſecond propoſition, and that for theſe Reaſons: for although it be not in words plainly expreſſed, yet in ſenſe it is ſignificantly and ſufficiently implyed, and, by way of neceſſary conſequence, may be deduced and gathered out of the firſt Chapter of the Epiſtle to the Hebrews, at the 6. Verſe. When he bringeth forth his firſt begotten Son into the World, He ſaith, And let all the Angels of Gods worſhip him; and for proof hereof, to ſhew the ſweet harmony and conſent of both Teſtaments, the Old and the New, and that one and the ſame Spirit ſpeaks in both: For the6 ſame God is Author of both, and the ſame Chriſt is Subject of both; inſomuch that each Teſtament is in other: for in the Law there is an hidden Goſpel, and in the Goſpel a revealed Law; Being like the two Cherubius on the Mercy-Seat, whoſe faces looked one towards the other, Exod. 15.20. St. Paul alleadgeth that in Pſal. 97.7. And howſoever the ordinary reading of the Pſalm is, worſhip Him all ye gods; yet the Apoſtle Interprets it of Angels directly, ſaying according as Tremelius renders it out of the Original, Incurvanto ſe, bonorem exhibentes ei, omnes Angeli; Let all the Angels of God worſhip Him: For ſo we find it to be true indeed, and ſo it was at Chriſt's Birth, and upon the very Day of his Nativity; That one Angel firſt reports it to the Shepheards of Bethlehem; and many other of thoſe Celeſtial Choriſters ſing Praiſes to God for it; Fear not, ſaid Gabriel, for Behold, I bring you good tydings of great joy, which ſhall be unto all Nations; For unto you is born this Day in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord; and ſuddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the Heavenly Hoſt7 prayſing God, and ſaying, Gloria Deo in Excelſis, &c. Luke 2.13.14. Now I inferr from hence, that theſe Angels came not about this Errand without ſome ſpecial Commiſſion and Command from God, and therefore it was a Duty Commanded and Given in charge to them; Now, if the Angels for whom Chriſt came not, were to performe it; How much more ought we Men to obſerve it, for whoſe ſake, and for whoſe Salvation he was Incarnate, and became Man; for verily, He took not on Him, Naturam Angelorum, ſed Semen Abrahami,Heb. 2.10. not the nature of Angels, but the ſeed of Abraham, ſaith the Apoſtle. Dubartas.Wherefore the Angels, As they are called by a Divine Poet, The ſacred Tutors of the Saints, and the guard of God's Elect, &c: So they may alſo be called Tutors and Inſtructors to us, to inſtruct and teach us this Leſſon, and may be alſo exemplary Patterns and Precedents to us, in the practiſe and performance of this Duty. Anſwerable and agreeable hereunto, is the plat-form of our grand Maſter, and bleſſed Lord and Saviour Chriſt Jeſus; who hath taught us in the third Petition8 of that his moſt abſolute and perfect Prayer, to pray thus, Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven: wherein we are taught to pray, (as all the beſt Orthodoxal Divines do expound it), that the will of God may be obeyed, and done by us as Chearfully, Speedily, Faithfully, Conſtantly and Continually: as it is done by the Angels in Heaven. And therefore as the Angels melodiouſly chanted it here on Earth at the Birth of Chriſt: So let us likewiſe unanimouſly celebrate, & ſet forth his praiſe, and ſay, Glory be to God on High, in Earth Peace, good will towards Men. We bleſſe Thee, we praiſe Thee, we glorifie Thee, we give thanks to Thee for thy great Glory. Theſe words were at firſt added to the Heavenly Carroll of the Holy Angels, by that famous Biſhop Hilary, and uſed by him in his own Church, Anno 340. So ſaith Caſſander's Litturgy, Cap. 22. And that this is a Duty expected and required from us, upon good ground, and ſpecial Reaſons and Cauſes that ſhould move us hereunto, grave St. Austin tells us wittily, and profoundly, This Quaery hath a ſufficient Quaery, Quia verbum caro factum eſt,9 & habitavit intra nos, Becauſe the Word was made fleſh, and dwelt amongſt us, & vidimus Gloriam, and we faw his Glory (ſaith St. John) as of the onely begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth, John 1.14. Wherefore as thoſe Perſian Sages (who were both Wiſemen and Kings) being led by the guidance, and aſſiſtance, and direction of a Starr to the place of Chriſt's Birth, and there did adore and worſhip Him, and preſented gifts unto Him, Gold, Frankincenſe, and Myrrh, Math. 2.10. and this their coming made to the greater condemnation of the Jews, and to ſhame their blockiſhneſs and blindneſs, their ſluggiſhneſs carnality and infidelity, who ſtanding hard-by, ſaw not ſo much as they who came from far, according to that ſpeech of Leo, Veritas illuminat magos, Infidelitas obcoecat magistros: So it is to be feared, leſt the Lord for our contempt of Chriſt, and the unſpeakable benefits that we have received by his firſt coming in the fleſh, leſt the Lord (I ſay) for our ingratitude, and for our careleſſeneſſe and carnality, take his Word from us Chriſtians, as he did his King•om from10 the Jews, and give it to ſuch as we think to be moſt alien from God and his Goſpel, even to Moors, and Tartars, Turks, and Infidells, who perhaps may bring forth better fruits of Obedience and Thankfulneſs than we have done and ſo riſe up in Judgment at the latter day, and condemn us; for if wiſemen, brought up in Gentiliſm and Idolatry, come to Chriſt and believe, what excuſe then belongs to the Jews? So if Infidels and Pagans believe and obey, What ſhall become of us, Chriſtians, who want both Faith and Obedience? Thus much for the anſwering of the firſt Argument.
Anſwer to the ſecond Argument.
The Words of the ſecond Argument are theſe, If I ſhould obſerve this day, I am fearfull leſt I ſhould deny the Perfection of the Scripture; for in the Scripture all things are contained which are neceſſary to Salvation, and all things which are needfull to be believed, and done by a Chriſtian man, for the attainment of Salvation. But the Celebration of Chriſt's Nativity is not contained therein; Ergo,11 If I ſhould obſerve this, I ſhould deny the Perfection of the Scriptures.
To this I anſwer, That the Article of our Faith, touching Christ's Incarnation and Manifeſtation in the Fleſh, is both commended, and commanded, in the Scripture; and I refer you or any other indifferent Man, not onely to our Apoſtolicall Creed, which, although it be not Protocanonical Scripture, yet (as Ambroſe ſpeaks) it is the Key of the Scripture, and (as Auguſtine terms it) a plain, ſhort, abſolute, ſumm of all holy Faith: It is indeed a ſweet and brief Compendium and Abridgment of the whole Goſpel: But alſo I referr you to the learned and authentick Creed of judicious Athanaſius, (which is an accurate and compleat Expoſition of the former;) who ſaith, Quicunquevult ſalvari &c. Whoſoever will be ſaved, it is neceſſary to his everlaſting Salvation, That he believe rightly in the Incarnation of our Lord Jeſus Christ: For the right Faith is, That we believe and confeſs, that our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the Son of God, is God and Man: And when did He become Man? or when was12 God manifeſted in the Fleſh, but on this day? And what fitter day can there be, to confeſs this Faith, than on the very ſame day he was born? For this is to perform, Opus diei in die ſuo. And this hath been both done and authorized, or allowed of, alſo to be done, by as ancient, learned, godly, and zealous Doctors and Divines, as ever the whole Chriſtian World affoarded, ſince the firſt appearance of Chriſt in the ſhape of Man; even by thoſe Chariots & Horſemen of Iſrael, who were the chief Orient and reſplendent Lights of the times, the Glory of the Churches, and the only Diamonds, Pearls, and Ornaments, of the places where they lived, men famous and renowned in their Generations; namely, St. Cyprian, St. Ambroſe, St. Auguſtine, St. Bernard, St. Chryſoſtome, Baſil, Cyril, Beda, Theophylact, Euthymius, Ludolphus, Eraſmus, cum multis aliis, &c. whoſe Sermons, Homilies, and Orations, for this day's Solemnity, are both extant and eminent: and might be made alſo evident and apparant (if need were), ſufficient to convince and ſtop the mouth of any peeviſh and perverſe Antagoniſt13 or Gainſayer whatſoever. To theſe we may add (Dia Poemata) the Divine Poems of thoſe ſweet, mellifluous, Chriſtian Poets, Palladius and Prudentius, made in an honourable memoriall of our bleſſed Lord and Saviour's Nativity: And what if we mentioned here the rate Prophecies and Praedictious of the Sybillaes of old, who foretold us of theſe things; and the very Heroicall Verſes, and ſtately Genethliacon's of Heatheniſh Poets, who lived both before ſome of them, and otherſome alſo about the time of the Birth of Chriſt, who received their Raptures and Enthuſiaſms, not onely from Sybilla or Apollo, but as ſome think, and are bold to conjecture it, from the Spirit of God.
This was it that made Virgil to raiſe up his Muſe to a higher ſtrain, Eclog. 4.
14For now return the daies of Peace, now the new Progeny is ſent from Heaven; behold, all things ſhall then rejoyce and be glad.
Tully, in Lib. Divinationis, gives this Obſervation out of Sybil, that ſhe propheſyeth of a King to come, Quem Regem colere debemus, ſi velimus eſſe ſalvi; which King we muſt worſhip if we would be ſaved. And this King ſhould aboliſh all falſe Religions whatſoever. Now concerning all theſe, if you ſhould cavill and object againſt them, or any of them, and ſay, What is this to the Scripture? Then will I anſwer you, as our Saviour anſwered the Phariſees, finding fault with his Diſciples, for their crying Hoſanna before him, when he ridd into Jeruſalem; I tell you, that if theſe ſhould have held their peace, the very ſtones would cry out and applaud Him. Well then, Have all theſe doted and delired in their writing concerning this thing, namely, the ſolemn Obſervation of this high and feſtival Time, in honour of the World's moſt gracious, and glorious, and bleſſed Redeemer? and are you the onely wiſe man (as it were) that is now left upon the Earth, to correct15 them and direct us? have all theſe erred? Even ſo will we. And more ſweet ſhall our Errour be unto us with theſe, (I ſpeak eſpecially of thoſe ancient and reverend Fathers of the Primitive Church, whom I named before,) who, I dare ſay, were all, and every one of them, as fearful to offend God, in denying the Perfection of the Scriptures, as you for the very life can poſſibly be; more ſweet, I ſay, ſhall our errour be unto us, with theſe, of whom we make no queſtion, but that they are all bound up in the bundle of life, with the Congregation of the firſt-born, than a new and recent device and purpoſe, of burying the Anniverſary remembrance of this day, in the ſilent Night, and darkſome Grave of everlaſting Oblivion, obtruded unto us by you, and ſuch as you, who take upon them to be the grand Reformers of theſe times, and great Undertakers, and principal Innovators, of all ancient, lawful, and laudable Cuſtomes whatſoever. Let others affect Novelty how they pleaſe; for my own part, I ever reverenced and admired Antiquity, eſpecially when I have found it in the way of Verity; and If I were16 worthy to admoniſh our young, upſtart, malapert, Maſters of theſe times, I would wiſh them to remember what grave St. Austin ſaith in his 118 Epist. & cap. 5. Ipſa mutatio conſuetudinis, etiam quâ adjuvat utilitate, perturbat novitate.
Auſwer to the third Argument.
The words of the third Argument are theſe, I am fearfull leſt I ſhould make a day to my ſelf, &c.
Sir, I wonder whether your Lectureday is not a day made to your ſelf? I doubt not but you have done as much as in you lyeth concerning your Lecture-day, and both extoll and preferr it before the day of Chriſt's Birth; For this day hapning, not long ſince, to be upon your Lecture-day, you did not ſpare to ſpeak it, nor bluſh to give it out in the Pulpit, (as I was credibly informed by ſome that heard you;) That if that day had not hapned on your Lecture-day, you had not then preached; ſo that your day, muſt by all means, be obſerved and kept ſtrictly and praeciſely, but our Saviour's day muſt be ſcornfully17 ſlighted and neglected, as a day not ſcarce fit to be named, much leſs to be celebrated and regarded with honour. But I ſay, Let his Birth-day be celebrated, yea, all praiſe and Glory be unto him, who was born and died for our Salvation, Amen.
Anſwer to the fourth Argument.
The fourth Argument is this, I am fearfull, leſt by obſerving this day, I ſhould ſet up a day against God.
To this I anſwer, If you obſerve and celebrate this day, you ſet not a day up againſt God, but for God: for that which you do for Chriſt, you do for God, for we know that God and Christ are not divided, but He and the Father are One, they are his own words, John 10.30. Ego & Pater Ʋnum ſumus: hoc eſt, ſubſtantialiter Idem, & in Perſonis Diſtincti: In which few words, both the Hereſy of the Arrians and Sabellians is ſufficiently confuted. For, as learned Athanaſius obſerveth, (who for this was happily called the World's Eye, becauſe he did ſee ſo much, and pierce ſo18 far, into this unſearchable and ineffable Myſtery) we muſt neither confound the Perſons with Sabellius, nor divide the Subſtance with Arrius, for there is one Perſon of the Father, another of the Sonne, another of the Holy Ghoſt, but the God-head of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghoſt, is all One; the Glory equal, the Majeſty co-eternal; ſuch as the Father is, ſuch is the Son, &c. And therefore the Glory, Honour, and Worſhip, that is done to the One is done to the other, or is both due, and ought to be done, to the other. How then can it be otherwiſe, that the leaſt Homage. Honour, and Duty, that is done to Christ on this day, is accepted of God, if it be done in Faith and Obedience? Why then do you ſay, That by keeping this day, you are fearful leſt you ſhould offend God, and ſet up a day againſt Him? It may be you will object, and ſay here, as you do in your thirteenth Argument, that God is in many places much diſhonoured by the great Abuſe and Diſorders that is committed at this time. To this I briefly anſwer by the way, according to that true and well-known Rule, The Abuſe of any19 good thing cannot abrogate or take away the right and lawful Uſe of it; and therefore why ſhould you fear, when there is no ſuch juſt cauſe at all to fear? Remember what Christ ſaieth, Luk. 9.48. Whoſoever ſhall receive me, receiveth Him that ſent me; and in the ſame place, and upon the very ſame occaſion, when John told Him ſaying, Maſter, we ſaw one caſting out Devils in thy name, and we forbade him, becauſe he followeth not with us; But Jeſus ſaid, For bid him not, for there is no man which ſhall do a Miracle in my Name, that can lightly speak evill of Me; for he that is not againſt us is for us. And I am verily perſwaded in my Soul and Conſcience, that whoſoever is truly, really, and ſincerely, addicted and devoted to Chriſt, neither can, nor will, ſpeak a word amiſs againſt the due Feſtivity and Solemnity of this day; thus (as the Apoſtle ſpeaks) Rom. 14.5. One man eſteemeth one day above another, another eſteemeth every day alike; Let every man be perſwaded in his own mind, he that regardeth a day regardeth it to the Lord; and I am perſwaded, if any man regard this day as he ought to do, the Lord will both regard & reward him for ſo doing.
Anſwer to the fifth Argument.
The fifth Argument is this; It is the Devil's policy to imitate God, and when he will be holy, he will be holier then God, &c.
Sir, This Argument is as ſtrange ſtuff as ever I have either ſeen, felt, heard, or underſtood; for although the antecedent part cannot be much misliked, it being taken pro conceſſo, & confeſſo, for a thing granted and confeſſed to be true, that it is the Devils policy to imitate God (for in many things he is God's Ape, as ſome Divines compare him), ſeeking to counterfeit and reſemble him as an Ape doth a Man, in ſuch geſtures and tricks which he uſeth; and where God will have his Church he will have his Chappel, and he will have his Exorciſms, and Charms and Spells inſtead of God's-ſpell, (i. e. ) the Goſpel; but your Sequel or Subſequent, is a meer new fangled Parodox, and a Propoſition, or rather a Suppoſition, which is not onely abſurd, but ridiculous; not onely erroneous, but alſo21 blaſphemous; and may be ranked and reckoned amongſt thoſe evil-ſurmiſings, and perverſe diſputings which are mentioned by the Apoſtle, 1 Tim. 4.5. and are utterly condemned by him: but let us examine what you ſay in the latter part, viz. That when the Devil will be holy, he will be holier then God; And is that poſſible? But you inſtance for an example thus; When he ſeeth God will have a Sabbath to be kept, then will he ſet up a Day, and he will have a Chriſtmas day to be kept; ô monstrum, horrendum, what a horrible, terrible ſecret is this! Is Saul among the Prophers? is Sathan among the Saints of God? Is it poſſible? or, it is probable? or, is it any way likely to be true? That he that was (even like the great Turk) an Enemy to Chriſt and all Chriſtendom, ſhould ſo far be a friend and favourer of Chriſt, as to be a prime and forward Erector, Abettor, and Setter up of a Day for the celebrating and ſetting forth of his Praiſe and Honour: Alas! if this be ſo, in what a lamentable and pittiful caſe are we, and how have we and our forefathers been led hoodwinckt (as it were) and blindfolded all this while, and have been taken22 in the ſnare of the Devil, and be Captive by him at his will, 2 Tim. 2.26. We have ſure ſerved a very ill Saint all this while, if, like the People of Callicut, we have worſhipped the Devil in obſerving that Day which you affirm he hath ſet up; but I ſay it is not ſo, Good Sir, for toto erras coelo, you are fouly and groſly deceived in this point. Shall you, or any man alive make me believe that ever the Devil had any deſire or inclination this way, to propagate or promote the Cauſe of Chriſt, or of his Goſpel; who was ever an Adverſary, bonis incoeptis in germine, and whoſe continual and daylie practiſe is, ſuffocare Dei filios, dum parvuli ſunt, to ſmother and murder the Children of God while they are little ones. Was it not he who ſtirred up Pharoah at the firſt, and moved him to command and charge the Midwives to drown the male-children of the Hebrew Women ſo ſoon as they were born, Exod. 1.22? And was it not this Merchant or Factor, or rather that old Serpent, called the Devil and Sathan, who went about the ſame deſigne at Chriſt's birth? did not he inſtigate Herod to ſend his Men of Warr, and to kill all23 the young Children of Bethlehem from two years Old and under, intending thereby to murder Chriſt in Infancy and Childhood: wherefore, as devout Bernard cryeth out in the like Caſe, ſo may we; ô malitia Herediana naſcentem perſequi Chriſtum, & naſcentem perſequi religionem; O Herodian malice, to perſecute Chriſt and his Religion in their minority, to deſtroy the Sprigg, leſt it become a Tree, and break the Egg, leſt it prove a Dove, O diveliſh malice indeed! for (as Expoſitors upon the place aptly obſerve, and apply it thus) Herod repreſents the Devil,Apoc. 12.4 who ſtands before the Woman in the Wilderneſſe great with Child, ready to devour her Babe;Gen. 3.15. He knew that the ſeed which ſhould break his head, was to be born of the Jews, and therefore cauſed Pharoah to murder all the Hebrew Males, Exod, 1. And ſtirred up Haman to deſtroy the whole Nation of the Jews, Eſther 3. And Athalia to kill all the ſons of David. 2 King. 12. And ſo ſoon as the noiſe was of Chriſt's Birth, Herod was troubled, and all Jeruſalem with him, Math. 2. And he ſent incontinent to cut the throats of all the Children24 in Bethlehem; yea, more then this (if if you will believe Joſephus, who is a credible Author, and a ſufficient Reporter of that which was true, being testis oculatus, an eye-witneſs of many things which he wrote of, and ſaw them acted and done before his eyes) this malicious crafty Fox Herod (as he tells us lib. antiquit. 10.) put to death almoſt all the Nobility of Juda, and burned the Genealogies of their Kings and Princes, commanding a Pedigree to be drawn out for himſelf, as deſcending from the Kings of Juda. This was a right Matchiavilian policy, and a deep ſleight and ſtratagem of Sathan, to extirpate and eradicate the name of Chriſt, and the name of Chriſtians for being a People from under Heaven: How then ſhall we think, or believe it, that he hath any will or deſire to ſet up a Day for Chriſt, or to have him worſhipped or adored, who ſet upon Chriſt in the Wilderneſſe, and tempted Him, by proffering the whole World, and all the Kingdomes and Glory of it to Him, if he would but ſall down and worſhip Him: So that you plainly ſee, he had rather be worſhipped himſelf, then to have Chriſt to25 be worſhiped; All his chief aim is to have the Power and Kingdom of Chriſt to be leſſened and diminiſhed, and his own Kingdome to be enlarged and advanced. But what did our Saviour anſwer? or how did he reſiſt his temptation? Why, ſurely he defied him, and put him from him, with an Apage Satana, Avoid Sathan, or get thee hence Sathan; For it is written, Thou ſhalt worſhip the Lord thy God, and Him onely ſhalt thou ſerve, Math. 4.10. As if he had ſaid, If thou wilt not worſhip and ſerve him in Faith and Love, thou ſhalt be compelled to worſhip him in fear and trembling: and for this end is he reſerved in everlaſting Chains under darkneſs, unto the Judgment of the great day, ſaith St. Jude in his Epiſtle, at the 8. ver. As for Chriſt we know that all Power is given unto Him, both in Heaven and Earth, Math. 28. And this was it that the Angel Gabriel intimated to the Virgin Mary, when he ſaluted her with that firſt happy and ever-joyful news of bringing forth a Son; He ſhall be great (ſaith he) and ſhall be called the Son of the Higheſt, and the Lord ſhall give unto him the Throne of his Father David, and he26 ſhall Raign over the Houſe of Jacob for ever, and of his Kingdom there ſhall be no end: Semper regnabit quem mater virge generabit, It was the anſwer which Octavius the Emperour received from the Oracle, concerning his Succeſſor. And David himſelf foretold as much of him; ſaying, Pſal. 145.13. Thy Kingdome is an everlaſting Kingdome, and thy Dominion endureth throughout all Ages.
Anſwer to the ſixth Argument.
The ſixth Argument is this, If I ſhould celebrate this Day, I am fearful lest I ſhould be condemned for accuſing God for want of wiſdome, &c.
To this I anſwer, As our Saviour ſaith, This is the condemnation (or this is the cauſe of mens condemnation as Beza interprets the place), that light is come into the World, and men loved darkneſſe rather than light, becauſe their deeds are evil. For in Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light ſhined in darkneſs, and the darkneſſe comprehended it not, John 1.4, 5. (i.e.) The darkneſs that was in the Gentiles27 thoughts and cogitations, and the Vail of blindneſſe that was upon the hearts of the Jews,2 Cor. 4.15 when Moſes was read unto them, cauſed them that they could neither apprehend nor comprehend this light; And therefore they are both cenſured and condemned by the Apoſtle for want of wiſdome, and for want of a diſcerning Spirit, 1 Cor. 1.21, 22, 23, 24. For after that, in the wiſdome of God, the World by wiſdome knew not God; it pleaſed God by the fooliſhneſſe of preaching [or by that preaching which the wiſe men of the World counted fooliſhneſſe] to ſave them that believe: for the Jews require a ſigne, and the Greeks ſeek after wiſdome; but we preach Chriſt Crucified, unto the Jews a ſtumbling block, and unto the Greeks fooliſhneſſe: but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks; Chriſt the Power of God, and the wiſdom of God: becauſe the fooliſhneſſe of God is wiſer then Men, and the weakneſs of God ſtronger then Men. And therefore I wire you not, for being careful and chary of accuſing God for want of wiſdom, as they did: and yet whereas you ſay further, you are fearfull28 leſt you ſhould make your ſelf wiſer then God, as though He knew not what ſhould be done as well as you, and ſo derogate from the wiſdome of God, and herein ſo far as I conceive your meaning, you ſeem a little to derogate from the wiſdome of God, thinking your ſelf not bound to keep this Day, becauſe God in his wiſdome hath not directly revealed, or particularly nominated and ſet down in the Rubrick and Ephemeris, or in the Regiſter or Calender of his Word, what day his Son Chriſt was born, and there injoyned and commanded it to be obſerved and kept, which, albeit he hath not done it immediately from his own mouth: yet mediately or miniſterially hath he done it by that heavenly Trumpeter of his, the Angel Gabriel, who particularly did Preach, promulgate, expreſs and declare it openly in the Fields to thoſe Shepheards of Bethlehem;Luke 2. for this thing was not done in ſecret, nor in a corner. Now I proceed to the ſeventh Argument.
Anſwer to the ſeventh Argument.
The words of the ſeventh Argument are theſe; if I ſhould obſerve this day, I am fearful lest I ſhould be the more inexcuſable for my Sins.
Sir, This quirk or tranſcendent ambiguity (as I may ſo call it) is but petitio principii, and no better than idem per idem, (i. e. ) no more then you have ſaid in ſome of the former: yet, in this caſe I will not ſay to you as Chriſt ſaid to Peter,Mar. 14.21. when he adventuring preſumptuouſly to walk upon the Water, was afraid, and his heart deceiving him, or rather his Faith fayling him, he began to ſink; immediately whereupon, Jeſus ſtretched forth his hand and caught him, and ſaid unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didſt thou doubt? So, wherefore do you ſear, leſt, if you ſhould keep this Day, (I mean) the Day of Chriſt's Nativity, that then you ſhould be the more inexcuſable for your fins? What, do you conceit that your carefull and conſcionable obſerving of this time ſhall add to the weight of your ſins? or30 increaſe the meaſure and number of your impieties? What a ſtrange and wonderful, anxious and penſive ſurmiſing, and prejudicate or prepoſterous miſdeeming is this? Wherefore as our Saviour cheared and comforted his Diſciples againſt the Perſecutions and Tribulations which they feared would befall them after his departure from them, John 14.1. So let me, with your leave, a little rectifie, and direct you in this point; Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe alſo in me: and I verily believe it, and am ſtrongly perſwaded, that in doing this thing which, you ſay, you are fearful to do, leſt you ſhould be the more inexcuſable for your ſins; you ſhall be ſo far from being accuſed and condemned for it, that it ſhall rather be a means to excuſe you, and a help to hide and cover your ſins at the day of Judgment: and all the harm I wiſh unto you or my ſelf, or to any of the deareſt and neareſt Friends that I have in his World, is, that we had no greater Crime or Offence then this to anſwer for, at the great and terrible Day of our general and common appearance. For then ſhould we be acquitted and31 diſmiſſed with that ſentence of abſolution; I mean with that joyful and comfortable, and ſoul-reviving ſentence of Venite Benedicti, Come ye bleſſed: And for your further ſatisfaction herein, and better confirmation of that which I have affirmed and averred: Let me give you a hint and inſtance of it, in that one and remarkable example of Mary Magdalen, who though ſhe were a notorious Malefactor, and a great and grievous Sinner,Luke 7. as the Hiſtory Evangelical effigiates, and ſets her forth unto us: yet, hearing that Jeſus ſate down to meat in a Phariſee's houſe, ſhe preſnmed and made bold to go into the houſe; and bringing an Alablaſter-Box of Oyntment, ſhe ſtood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to waſh his feet with tears; and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kiſſed his feet, and anointed them with the Ointment. Now when the Phariſee which had bidden him, ſaw it, he ſpake within himſelf being diſcontented; ſaying, This man if he were a Prophet, would have known who, and what manner of Woman this is that toucheth him: for ſhe is a Sinner: And Jeſus anſwering, ſaid32 unto him, Simon, I have ſomewhat to ſay unto thee; and he ſaith, Maſter ſay on: There was a certain Creditor who had two Debtors, the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty; and when they had nothing to pay, He freely forgave them hoth: tell me therefore, which of them will love him moſt? Simon anſwered and•aid, I ſuppoſe that he to whom he forgave most, and he ſaid unto him, Thou haſt rightly judged: And he turned unto the Woman, and ſaid unto Simon, Seeſt thou this Woman? I entred into thy Houſe, Thou gavest me no water for my Feet, but ſhe hath waſhed my Feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head; Thou gaveſt me no kiſſe, but this Woman ſince the time I came in, hath not ceaſed to kiſſe my Feet: My Feet with Oyl thou didſt not anoint, but this Woman hath anointed my Feet with Oyntment: Wherefore, I ſay unto thee, Her ſins which are many, are forgiven; for ſhe loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the ſame loveth little: Where the Argument is not (as learned Fulk obſerveth, and as the whole diſcourſe of the Text makes it manifeſt) from the Cauſe to the Effect, but from the Effect33 to the Cauſe, Many ſins are forgiven her, therefore ſhe hath loved much; (for our Saviour had caſt ſeven Devils out of her), therefore ſhe had good cauſe to love him much, for to whom little is remitted, he loveth little, wherefore our Saviour preferrs and extolleth her kindneſſe both above, and before the entertainment of the Phariſees Houſe. So that, if we in like manner do ſhew our love to Chriſt freely and chearfully, in celebrating the memoriall of his Birth, as ſhe did in token of his Burial, we ſhall not onely be excuſed but accepted as ſhe was; for as St. Mark relates the ſame ſtory more briefly, Mark 14. 4. When there were ſome that murmured at it, and had indignation within themſelves; ſaying, Why was this waſte of the Oyntment made, for it might have been ſold for more then three hundred pence, and have bin given to the poor? But Jeſus ſaid by way of Apology for her, Let her alone, Why trouble you her? She hath wrought a good work on me: for you have the poor with you alwayes; and whenſoever ye will, you may do them good, but me you have not alwayes: She hath done what ſhe could, ſhe is come aforehand to anoint my Body to the Burying. Verily34 I ſay unto you, Whereſoever the Goſpel ſhall be preached thorow out the whole World, this alſo that ſhe hath done, ſhall be ſpoken for a memoriall of her, (i. e. ) for a memoriall of her love, of that good work that ſhe hath bestowed upon me. Wherefore as St. Auſtin anſwers ſome who made a queſtion, How it was poſſible a Virgin ſhould bring forth a Child, Fides adſit & nulla quaeſtio remanebit; So I ſay to you, Si amor adſit timor, iſte removebit, if you love Chriſt in ſincerity, as you ought to do, then this fear will ſoon remove, and expell ſuch timorous Niceties, and frivolous Scrupuloſities out of your mind: for what ſaith the Apoſtle St. John, There is no fear in love, but perfect love caſteth out fear; becauſe fear hath torment, or fear hath painfulneſſe 1 John 4.18. And let this ſuffice for the anſwering of the ſeventh Argument.
Anſwer to the eighth Argument.
The words of the eighth Argument are theſe, It ſeems to me a vain and needleſs thing: &c.
35To this Argument I anſwer firſt in the words of the Roman Oratour, Quaedam videntur & non ſunt, ſome things ſeem to be that which they are not; for according to the Opinion of the Philoſopher, Quandoqueſenſus fallitur circa proprium Objectum, ſometimes the ſenſe is deceived about its proper Object; as when a Man ſeeth a Buſh a far off he takes it to be a Man, which when he cometh neer it, he finds it to be no ſuch matter: even as the Man in the Goſpel, having received a little glimpſe and glimmering of his ſight, thought he ſaw men walk like Trees, (i.e.) he took them to be as bigg as Trees, becauſe the Organ of his Eye, being not ſufficiently cleanſed, he could not otherwiſe diſcern them, Mark 8.24. But it ſeems to you to be a vain and needleſs thing. What? Is it a vain and needleſs thing to ſerve God? It ſeems there were ſome who both thought and ſpake ſo in, Malachi's time:Mal. 3.13, 14. but their groſs error and their madneſs was reproved by the Prophet; even as St. Peter tells us that Balaam was rebuked for his Iniquity: the dumb Aſſe, ſpeaking with Man's veice, forbade the madneſs of that falſe Propher, becauſe he loved the wages36 of Unrighteouſneſs, & went beyond his permiſſion, being blinded with the hope of Bribes and Rewards of Divination;2 Pet. 2.16. and, Is it (think you) a vain thing & unprofitable to ſerve the Lord? as Eliphaz the Temanite ſaith, Job 4.7. Who ever periſhed being innocent. So, who ever waited on the Lord and went away unrewarded? He that ſerveth himſelf ſerveth a Fool; He that ſerveth the Devil ſerveth his Enemy; He that ſerveth the World ſerveth his Servant; The onely true freedom is, to ſerve the Lord: For Godlineſs with Contentment is great Gain (ſaith the Apoſtle) 1 Tim. 6.6. yea, it is profitable unto all things (ſaith he) having promiſe of the life which now is, & of that which is to come, 1 Tim. 4.8. How then can you juſtify or affirm it to be a vain & needleſs thing to ſpend this time in the publick Worſhip and Service of God; namely, in the duties of Piety, and exerciſes of Religion, in hearing of the Word, & in offering up Prayers & Praiſes to God, celebrating it, & lauding his holy and glorious Name, with Pſalms, and Hymns, and ſpiritual Songs. ſinging and making melody in our hearts to the Lord,Eph. 5.19, 20. giving thanks alwaies, for all things, unto God37 and the Father, in the Name of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. And eſpecially, and above all things, giving thanks for this one thing; I mean, that ineſtimable benefit and unſpeakable gift which God beſtowed upon the World at this time. And me thinks, to this end and purpoſe we may very well encourage and ſtirr up our ſelves with the words of David, and ſay as he doth Pſal. 69.31, 32. I will praiſe the name of God with a Song; and magnify it with thankſgiving, this alſo ſhall pleaſe the Lord better than a Bullock which hath horns and hoofs; yea this ſhall be as precious and odoriferous in his Noſtrils, and no leſs pleaſing and acceptable in his ſight than that right & coſtly Spikenard which was ſpent to anoint our Saviour's feet withall; although it be ſaid of that, That the whole Houſe wherein our Saviour was at that time was filled and perfumed with the odour of the Oyntment, Joh. 12.3.
But the Reaſons you alledge, to prove it to be a vain and needleſs thing to obſerve this day, are in the next place to be examined and conſidered; the firſt whereof is this, as you affirm it, becauſe God hath ſet apart a Sabbath, the Lord'sday,38 for this purpoſe, to meditate upon God's Love in redeeming the World, and this ſeems to be an indifferent good one; yet you know, or at the leaſt cannot but know, that the Sabbath, or the Seventh day, was at the firſt ordained, ſanctified, and ſet apart, onely in remembrance of the World's Creation, as it appears in that paſſage or Concluſion of the fourth Commandment, Exod. 20. For in ſix daies the Lord made Heaven and Earth, the Sea, and all that in them is: Wherefore the Lord bleſſed the Seventh day, and hallowed it: For this Commandment is hedged in on every ſide, leſt we ſhould break out from obſerving it; with a Caveat and ſpeciall Memorandum before it, Remember &c. and with two Reaſons after; one drawn from the Equity of the Law, and the other taken from the Law-giver's, or the Law-maker's, own Example: Six daies ſhalt thou labour; As if God ſhould ſpeak thus, If I permit thee ſix whole daies to follow thine own buſineſs, thou mayeſt well afford me one onely for my own Service; but ſix daies ſhalt thou labour and do all thine own work, therefore hallow the Seventh in doing my39 work. Six daies ſhalt thou labour; whereupon, both Reverend Calvin, and that learned Gentleman B. Babington, who was once Biſhop of this Dioceſſe, a man of no mean Note, but of good Report both for Life and Learning, do obſerve, That theſe Words (Six daies ſhalt thou labour &c.) are a permiſſion, or a remiſſion of God's right, who might challenge all, rather than an abſolute Commandment: For as Judicious Perkins hath alſo delivered it in his Golden Chaine, for a ſound, Orthodoxal, and undeniable Theſis,Catenâ aureâ, cap. 13 The Church upon juſt occaſion may ſeparate ſome week daies alſo to the Service of the Lord, and reſt from Labour, Joel 2.15. Blow the Trumpet in Zion, ſanctify a Faſt; call a ſolemn Aſſembly. And as daies of publick Faſting for ſome great Judgment, ſo daies of publick Rejoycing for ſome great Benefit, are not unlawfull, but exceeding commendable, yea, neceſſary: And you cannot in Modeſty, and I hope you will not for Shame, deny this to be the Truth; for beſides the ordinary Sabbath, among the Jews, they had their Sabbaths, and their new Moons, and appointed Feaſts; yea, Almighty God40 himſelf ordained, in the old Teſtament, divers and ſundry Feaſts, to put his People in mind of his great Benefits beſtowed upon them: Amongſt the reſt there were three ſolemn Feſtivals every year; namely, the Paſsover, the Pentecoſt, and the Feaſt of Tabernacles, as we read in the 16th of Deuteronomy; The Paſsover was inſtituted in remembrance of the deliverance from Egypt's bondage; Pentecoſt, in remembrance of the Law, given in Mount Sinui; The Feaſt of Tabernacles, in remembrance of Iſrael's dwelling in Tents forty years in the Wilderneſs: Now, as Hemingius obſerves in his Postil. dom. 1. poſt Epiph. inſtead of thoſe three Jewiſh Feaſts, our Chriſtian Church (which may challenge as much Liberty as the Jewiſh, if not more) hath ſubſtituted Chriſtmas in honour of Chriſt's Incarnation; Eaſter, in honour of Chriſt's Reſurrection; and Whitſuntide, in honour of Chriſt's confirmation of the Goſpel, by ſending unto us the Holy Ghoſt at that time; So that we ſay, according as St. Auſtin ſaith in his 108 Epist. cap. 1, Celebrantes Anniverſariâ ſolemnitate Paſcha, reliquasqueChriſtianas diêrum Feſtivitutes41 non obſervamus tempora, ſed quae illis ſignificantur temporibiu: (i.e.) In celebrating Easter, and other Chriſtian Feaſts, we do not ſo much obſerve the times, as the things that are repreſented and ſignified unto us at thoſe times. If then it be granted, as it cannot be denied, according to your words, that God hath ſet apart a Sabbath (which is our Chriſtian Sabbath) and is called the Lord's Day, becauſe the Lord roſe from death to life on that Day, and that on this day (in that reſpect) we are to meditate on God's Love in redeeming the World; if we muſt do this once every week in an ordinary courſe, how much more may the Church and Spouſe of Chriſt appoint, and ſet apart, one day in the year, after an extraordinary manner, to meditate, and muſe, and think on his Love in redeeming her from the hands of all her Enemies; for ſo indeed the holy Prieſt Zacharias tells us, in his Song called Benedictus, That this was the main End of our Redemption, Luk. 1.74. that we being delivered out of the hands of our Enemies, might ſerve him without fear, in holineſs and righteouſneſs, all the daies of our Life: Whereupon I infer, That42 if we muſt ſerve him all the daies of our life, as he may juſtly challenge and require it at our hands, in regard he hath redeemed us, How much more ought we to meditate on his Love, not onely once a week, but alſo once in every year praiſe his moſt Holy Name after a more ſpeciall and ſingular manner? For at this time eſpecially and particularly, it may be ſaid of Him, as the Pſalmiſt doth Pſal. 111.9. He ſent Redemption unto his People; He hath commanded his Covenant for ever, holy and reverend is His Name.
But, in your ſecond Reaſon, you ſay That you never heard a good Argument for it: Well, be it ſo as you ſay, yet I dare ſay, that you ſay it, not ſo much out of your Ignorance, as through a miſconſtruction and ſiniſter Interpretation of that which you have both heard and read concerning this thing: Wherefore for anſwering you, firſt, Hoc tibi innoteſcere velimus, we do you to wit, or would have you to know and underſtand, That albeit the gray-headed Antiquity and Authority of our dear Mother, the Church of England, and the uniform Diſcipline with Us eſtabliſhed,43 for ſome Centuries of years, making and conſtituting it an antient and laudable Order, and generally approved Cuſtome, may be a ſufficient Plea, Argument and VVarrant to perſwade you, or any other rational man to conſent and conforme unto it; for what ſaith grave St. Auſtin, He that will have God to be his Father, muſt acknowledge the Church of God for his Mother: and then, let every Member of this Church remember that good and wholeſome advice of Solomon's, Prov. 11.8. My Son, hear thy Fathers Instruction, and forſake not thy Mothers teaching: For St. Auſtin tells us in his Epiſt. 118. Extremae eſt dementiae ſeu inſolentis inſaniae, ea negligere〈◊〉repudiare quae tota obſervat eccleſia. It is extream folly, and inſolent madneſſe to neglect and refuſe, to obſerve thoſe things which the whole Church (whereof we are born Members) doth obſerve; yet for your better ſatisfaction herein, I have a deſire and purpoſe to bring in a few Arguments, which perhaps may be thought by ſome to be as good, and ſtrong, and forcible for the keeping of this Day, as any you have hi her to urged, or may44 hereafter deviſe and produce, againſt it.
The firſt that I ſhall propound and preſent to your quaint and curious and ſupercilious cenſure, or to your Auſtere and Rigid conſideration, ſhall be the Legality and lawfulneſs of Ordering and Ordaining, and ſetting apart of ſome dayes of publick Thankſgiving, and holy rejoycing to the Lord for great Benefits, and publick Bleſſings received; which, if this day of Chriſt his Incarnation and Manifeſtation in the fleſh, might be but ſet up and celebrated amongſt the reſt as it deſerveth, I am perſwaded it would contend and ſtrive ſo for the Superiority and Preheminence above the reſt, that it would even devour and ſwallow the reſt up, as Aarons Serpent did the Serpents of thoſe Egyptian Magicians and Praeſtigiators; or excell them, and caſt them down, as the Ark did Dagon; or as the Image of Chriſt when it was placed by the Senators at Rome in the Capitol, threw down the Image of Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and others of their feigned heatheniſh gods, as Enſebius and Nicephorus report it for45 truth; and the Men of this Generation would ſoon condeſcend and yield to this motion, and not deny nor gain-ſay this reaſonable propoſition, if they were not too much like thoſe blind and blinded Phariſees among the Jews, who were for the moſt part, culicem excolantes, & Camelum deglutientes, apt and inclined to ſtrain at a Gnat, and ſwallow a Cammel, Math. 23, 24. For if it be lawful to give God thanks for Corporal and Temporal Deliverances, How much more for our Spiritual and Eternal Deliverance by Chriſt, from the thraldome of ſinne and Sathan; Again, If it ſhall be thought lawful and allowable to praiſe God for the ſpilling of blood,2 Kings 6. and deſtroying of Mens lives, (which yet neither the Prophet Eliſha,2 Chron. 2.8. nor the Prophet Oded would allow of;) how much more then ſhall it be lawfull and commendable to praiſe the Lord for the ſparing and preſerving of Mens lives, and for the ſaving of their Souls, and freeing or delivering both their Bodies and Souls from the everlaſting pains and torments of Death and Hell; For the Son of Man came to ſeak and ſave that which was loſt, and God ſent not his Son into the46 World, to condemn the World, but that the World through Him might be ſaved, Joh. 3.17.
The ſecond Argument which I ſhall here ſet down for the ſolemnity of this Day, I will make bold to borrow from the words of St. Auſtin, which, I do not onely conjecture, but preſume, were Preached and Delivered by him on the very Day; we find them recorded in his Serm. 2. & 4. de tempore; Behold (ſaith he), all of us are bidden on this Day to a Marriage, for Chriſt came out of the Virgins Womb, as a Bridegroom out of his Chamber; the Godhead was joyned unto the Fleſh, and the Fleſh unto the God-head, and theſe two were coupled together; and, after an ineffable manner, in an ineffable Marriage made one. The marriage-Chamber was the Virgins Womb, (which he abhorred not) out of which that Sun of Righteouſneſs, Chriſt Jeſus came in the day of his Birth, as a Bridegroom out of his Chamber,Pſal. 19.5. and as a ſtrong man joyfull to run his race. For the Son of God, knowing that according to the eternall decree enacted in the Court of Heaven,47 our Salvation could not be perfected before he was Incarnate;Gal. 4.4. in the fulneſſe of time, came down (ſealing our Redemption) with rejoycing of Spirit, and gladneſſe of heart, exſuiting, trium phing, and preparing himſelf to the deſired work of his mediatorſhip. Long had the Church waited and prayed for this coming of Chriſt in the fleſh:Iſa. 64.1. O would God thou wouldeſt burſt the Heavens, and come down:Cant. 8.1. O that then werſt as my Brother, which ſucked the breaſt of my Mother, partaking the ſame humane nature with me. I would find thee without, here below on Earth, I would kiſſe thee, and familiarly intreat thee without the reproach of the World. Then I would lead thee, and bring thee into my Mothers houſe, though now I am penned up in the Straights of Judea, I would bring thee into the Light and Knowledge of the Univerſal Church, whoſe Daughter I am; and herefore he was worthily called deſideratus omnium gentium,Hag. 2.7. the deſired of all Nations: but when he came, he came merily; with nimbleneſs of Spirit, zeal of Piety, fervency of Love, as the Church eſpying him, joyfully relates it; It is the voice48 of my well-beloved,Cant. 2.8. Behold, he cometh leaping by the Mountains, skipping by the Hills: My well-beloved is like a Roe or Hart. He came flying on the wings of the Wind, he out-leapt Gabriel the Archangel, and came to the Virgin before him, by the Teſtimony of the Angel himſelf:Luk. 1.27. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Behold, Gabriel left Chriſt in Heaven, but finds him in the Womb: How ſo? Volavit & praevolavit ſuper pennas vontorum, he flew, and out-flew him on the wings of the wind; he ſent his Meſſenger, but (like Ahinoaz) got before him. Will you ſee his Jumps? He lept from Heaven into the Womb, from the Womb to the Manger, from the Manger to the Croſſe, from the Croſſe to the Grave, from the Grave to Heaven again: from whence we look for, and expect his ſecond coming. David ſang of this his alacrity;Pſal. 20. The King is glad of thy ſtrength (O Lord) and exceeding joyfull of thy Salvation, Quia verbum caro factum est, & habitavit in nobis; becauſe (ſaith Augustine on thoſe words), The Word was made fleſh, and dwelt in us, the Day of Chriſt's Nativity was49 his Day of Feſtivity, his Birth Day was his Mirth Day, for then his Mother Crowned him with the Crown of his Incarnation; which was the Day of his Eſpouſals, or the Day of the joy and gladneſs of his heart, as it is ſo called, Cant. 3.10. This is a great Myſtery (ſaith Paul), but I ſpeak concerning Chriſt and the Church; &, ſine dubio, magnum est pietatis myſterium; And without controverſy great is the Myſtery of godlineſs; How God was manifeſted in the Fleſh, juſtified in the Spirit, ſeen of Angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the VVorld,1 Tim. 3.16. and received up in Glory; and He being thus aſcended and received up into Glory; for the Heaven muſt receive Him (in regard of his bodily preſence) untill the times of reſtitution of all things, ſaith Peter, Act. 3.21. And thus, leaving his Spouſe the Church as a VViddow, as He hath enjoyned and Commanded her in the Goſpel to think upon his Love, and oftentimes to remember him and his Death, eſpecially as often as ſhe receiveth the bleſſed Sacraments of his Body and Blood: So ſhe for her part thinks it meet not onely to Commemorate his50 Death, but ſometimes, alſo eſpecially once a year to Congratulate and Solace her ſelf in remembrance of his Birth; That happy and joyful Marriage day which was once Solemnized betwixt her and that great King of Glorie's Son, who now ſitteth at the right hand of his Father in Heaven: even as I have alſo obſerved it to be the faſhion and condition of many good and honeſt Couples whilſt they live on Earth together, to keep a ſolemn remembrance every year of their Wedding day, even untill their Dying day: So ſhould every good Chriſtian and faithful Soul keep a due and perpetual remembrance of her Loving Lord, and gracious Head and Husband, Chriſt Jeſus. As it is reported of that famous Artemiſia, That to ſhew her love to her dead Husband Mauſolus, ſhe took the aſhes of his Urne or Pitcher, and mingled them with her Drink, and ſo intombed his dead Carkaſſe within her living Body: And it is ſaid of bleſſed Ignatius after his Martyrdome, that theſe words were found written upon his heart (ſo it were to be wiſhed that they were alſo ingraven and imprinted in Ours) Amor mens crucifixus, my51 Love Chriſt Jeſus was crucified for me. But perhaps here you, will object, and ſay, that this is Symbolica Theologiae, and that it is not Argumentativa, (i. e. ) that it is an Argument Rhetorical rather than Dialectical. What ſay you then to Theologia miraculis confirmata: which ▪ in the third place I ſhall alleadge; namely, the ſtrange accidents, and wonderful effects that happened at the Birth of Chriſt, or rather thoſe rare and ſingular miracles that were acted and done near about the time of his Nativity: For a little before, this was it that made a young Babe while he was yet in the Womb of his Mother to Spring and Sprout, and leap therein for joy; yea,Luk. 1.44. this was it that made an old man that was dumb before, to ſpeak, and to praiſe the Lord with a ſong; and ſay,Luke 1.6, 8. Bleſſed be the Lord, &c. And this was it that moved another old man, after he had ſeen the Lord Chriſt to hold him in his arms, and deſire life no longer. He was ſo much raviſhed and overjoyed with the ſight of his Saviour, that he preſently chanted out Cantionem Cygneam, that ſwanne-like ſong, Lord, now it is enough, and I am abundantly ſatisfied52 becauſe thou haſt fulfilled my deſire, in performing thy promiſe to me, that I ſhould not ſee Death before I had ſeen thy Son.
To theſe we may add the apparition of that glorious Starr which ſhewed it ſelf unto the Wiſe men of the Eaſt, about the time of his Nativity: which was not an ordinary Starr, but extraordinary and miraculouſly created at this time, for this very end and purpoſe, not onely to ſignifie, but to dignifie and ſet forth the Birth of Chriſt,Math. 2. for ſaid they, We have ſeen his Starr in the East, that is, the Starr which he hath newly made, to teſtifie unto the World, that he is born. It differed from other Starrs in Place and Motion, in Luſtre and Brightneſſe. Haec ſtella quae ſolis rotam vincit decore ac lumine, ſaith Prudentius of this Starr; it hath another way then the way of the Starrs from the Eaſt to the South, from Perſia to Palestina, it appeared not when other Stars appeared; It ſhined in the day, Other in the Night; it did appear & was hid, it was hid and did appear. It ſhewed it ſelf before they entred Jeruſalem, and hid it ſelf while they were there: but53 ſo ſoon as they left Herod and the City, it did ſhew it ſelf; and went right forwards in a ſtraight courſe towards Bethlehem, no otherwiſe then the Cloud and Pillar of fire went before the People of Iſrael at their departure, and going out of Egypt into Canaan: It kept not the ordinary courſe of the Starrs, nor any proper way, for it went that way which the wiſe men would go, and when they would ſtand ſtill, then that ſtood ſtill; yea, it did not keep aloft like other Starrs, but it deſcended to ſhew the Meſſiah: the Meſſah ſo poor, ſo baſe and contemptible. Whereupon it is that St. Auſtin calleth it, magnifica lingua caeli, the ſtately congue of heaven, appointed by God, as it were, to reveal and preach unto the wiſe men that Chriſt was that Starr of Jacob, propheſied of by Balaam, Numb. 24.17. that he was Stella illa ſplendida & matutina, that bright Morning Starr, Revel. 22.16. and that he was Oriens ab alto, that dayſpring from high, that came to viſit us, and to give light to them that ſit in darkneſs, and in the ſhadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of Peace, as that holy Prieſt Zacharias telleth us54 comfortably in his ſong, Luke 1.75. Wherefore, as the Roman Orator ſpeaks, ſo will I here ſay, Nihil horum era vultusquemovernunt? and as the Roman Poet elegantly, Quid ſatis est, ſi Roma parum: ſo will I be bold here to ſpeak it, Quid ſatis erit illi, cui non ſufficient iſta? If theſe things will not ſerve to convince you, I know not what will? Mark. 16. •6.For, if neither the VVord, nor Miracles, nor the VVord confirmed by Miracles, will prevail and work upon us to make us believe; then I ſay, as it is in the 16 of Luke at the laſt verſe, If they hear not Moſes and the Prophets, neither will they be perſwaded, though one roſe from the dead: Yet, willingly would I add here one ſtrange thing more or two, (which are no more ſtrange then true) as a Corollary and Appendix to the former; which though they were not Synchroniſms, or things Contemporaneous with the Birth of Chriſt, yet the People of our Nation, and our own Countrymen can witneſſe them to be true, as I relate them; The firſt is the Thorne at Glastenbury in Sommerſetſhire, which was commonly called Joſeph's Thorne: which for many hundred55 years together, even (as it is to be thought) ſince the firſt arriving of Joſeph of Arimathea there, which was within five years after the Death and Reſurrection of the Lord Jeſus, (as that antient Hiſtorian of our Nation, the Golden-mouthed Gildas reporteth) this Thorne conſtantly budded and ſhewed forth its green leaves, fair, freſh and flouriſhing on this Day every year, to the great admiration of all Spectators that came of purpoſe to behold it; and this was no other then a Miracle, and may ſerve for our confirmation in the faith of Him, who, for our ſakes was contented to wear (Coronam Spineam) a Crown of Thornes: Or it may well be ſuppoſed, that ir flouriſhed on this Day, to teſtifie the truth of his Nativity, and to ſignifie the flouriſhing Eſtate of the Goſpel by Him, which ſhall proſper and flouriſh, manger the head and hatred of all Gain-ſayers. And although this Thorne be now, as they ſay, cut down by ſome ſpightful and malignant Zoilus; yet, thoſe ſufficient men of our parts, who, with their eyes have ſeen it, and beheld it, will ſtill talk of it, and tell it to their Children, not for an56 old Wives Fable, but for truth; and one Gentleman among the reſt of good rank and quality in theſe Parts (who is a man well affected and devoted to the power and purity of Religion) for that Thorn's ſake, having ſeen it, doth ſtrictly, and carefully, and conſcionably keep this Day, and is reſolved to obſerve and keep it ſo long as he liveth.
The other rare and ſtrange thing, are the three pitts of Durham, commonly called Hell kettles, which are adjoyning near unto Darlington, whoſe Waters are ſomewhat warm; theſe are thought to come of an Earth-quake, which happened in the year of Grace, 1179. whereof the Chronicle of Tinmouth maketh mention, whoſe record is this; That on Chriſtmasday at Oxen-Hall, in the Territories of Darlington, within the County of Durham, the ground heaved aloft, like unto a high Tower, and ſo continued all that day, as it were unmoveable, untill the evening, and then fell with ſo horrible a noiſe, that it made the Neighbourhood-dwellers much afraid, and the Earth ſwallowed it up, and made in the ſame place three deep pits, which are there57 to be ſeen for a Teſtimony unto this Day. Here then we may apply that of the Pſalmiſt, and ſay, Tremble thou Earth at the preſence of the Lord, at the preſence of the God of Jacob, which turned the hard Rock into a ſtanding Water, and the flint ſtone into a ſpringing Well, Pſal. 114.7, 8. But whilſt I am relling you a ſtory of a Thorne-Tree, and of deep pits of Water, you bring me into another difficult and thorny queſtion, and plunge me, as it were, in a deep pit of non plus, or nil ultra; and into ſuch a quick and and quagmire of troubleſome meditation, that I ſhall hardly get out of it; the Quaery is this ninth following.
Anſwer to the ninth Argument.
The ninth Argument is this; It is an impoſſibility to keep it, and God never made an impoſſibility a Duty: and, that no man in the World knoweth certainly what day Chriſt was born on.
To this I anſwer, although I firſt ingenuouſly confeſſe, according to that Adage, Davus ſum ego, non Oedipus:58 for it is true which Chryſoſtome ſaith, Praeſtat probâ ignoratione detineri quàm falſa opinione mancipari. It is eaſier to plow in the plain, then in the ground new-ſtocked; better to write on a paper free from writing, than on that which is full of lines; and more eaſie to reach the ſimple, then him that is opinionated of his own knowledge: Better it is for a man, and more commendable to confeſs a little ignorance, then to boaſt of too much knowledge; wherefore, as Beza on that place in 1 Cor. 11.10. For this Cauſe ought the Woman to have power on her head, becauſe of the Angels gives no other note but this, Quid hoc ſit, nondum mihi liquet, wherein he confeſſeth, he did not underſtand, as yet, what the Apoſtle meant by theſe words: So if we ſhould here yield and acknowledge that we do not certainly know what day Chriſt was born on:Vaux. yet, As a late Starrgazing Speculator takes upon him in his Almanack, to define the year of Chriſt his coming to Judgment, but dare not preciſely ſet down the day and hour of his coming; So perhaps we ſhall here endeavour, pro Noſſe & Poſſe,59 to calculate and diſcover unto you the year when our Saviour Chriſt was born, if not the day. And for this I ſhall referr you to the Rhemiſts Marginal note on the ſecond of Luke, which reports unto us that in the year from the Creation of the World 3199, from Noah's flood 2957, from the Nativity of Abraham 2015, from Moſes and the coming forth of the People of Iſrael out of Egypt 1510, from David anointed King 1032, from the firſt Olympias 800, from the building of Rome 752, Hebdomada 63, according to the prophecy of Daniel (c. 9.) that is in the year 440, or thereabout; in the ſixth age of the World, when there was univerſal Peace in all the World: the eternal God, and ſon of the eternal Father, meaning to Conſecrate and Sanctifie the World with his moſt bleſſed coming, being conceived of the Holy Ghoſt nine Months after his Conception; Jeſus Chriſt the Son of God is born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the year of Caeſar Augustus 42 (Uſuard in the Martyrol)**And then why ſhould not the 25 of Decem. be as ſolemnly obſerved, and kept, as the 5 of Nov. December 25 according to the common ancient ſupputation. But it may be, you will object againſt this, &60 becauſe it comes from the Rhemiſts, you will miſlike it, and diſdain it; yet nevertheleſs (I ſay) becauſe it is not thwarted nor contradicted by Calvin, nor Beza, nor Fulke, nor any other of our late Proteſtant Writers; I ſee no juſt Cauſe or Reaſon why we ſhould reject it, but rather receive it, Fide hiſtoricâ, and believe it for truth, as it is faithfully and exactly related by them for a ſufficient Author, and ancient Chronologer, or Reporter of that which was nothing elſe but a true ſtory, and cannot be denyed or diſproved; yet, put the Caſe here that we neither do, nor cannot certainly know the Day whereon Chriſt was born, therefore ſhall it be thought a thing impoſſible to keep it? Then by the ſame Rule and Reaſon, you may as well ſay, It is impoſſible to keep the Sabbath day:H. Wolphii Chronol. lib. 2 p. 1. p. 92. For the Commandement doth not ſay, remember to keep holy the ſeventh day, next following the ſixth day of the Creation; or this or that ſeventh day; but indefinitely, remember that thou keep holy a ſeventh day. And to ſpeak properly, as we take a day for the diſtinction of time, called either a day natural conſiſting of61 twenty four hours; or a day artificial conſiſting of twelve hours, from Sunriſing to Sun-ſetting: and withall conſider the Sun ſtanding ſtill at noon in Joſhua's time the ſpace of a whole day,Joſh. 10.12, 13. and the ſame going back ten degrees (viz. five hours,2 K•ng. 26.11. almoſt half an arificial Day) in Ezekias time; the Jews themſelves could not keep this Sabbath upon that preciſe and juſt diſtinction of time, called at the firſt, The ſeventh day from the Creation; therefore in ſuch difficult and doubtful Caſes, the beſt way is to be ordered and guided, and reſolved by the Judgment and Diſcipline and Direction of the Church wherein we live: for ſhe is our Mother, ſaith Calvin,Lib. Inſtit. 4. C. 1. Sect. 4. foraſmuch as there is no other entry into life, unleſs ſhe conceive us in her Womb, unleſs ſhe bring us forth, unleſs ſhe feed us with her Breaſts, and keep us under her Cuſtody and Governance, untill ſuch time as being unclothed of mortal fleſh, we ſhall be like unto Angels. Again in his Lib. 4. Cap. 10. Sect. 30. He ſaith of the Church and Church-Ordinances, that in outward diſcipline and Ceremonies, the will of God was not to62 preſcribe each thing particularly what we ought to follow, becauſe he foreſaw this to hang upon the State of times, and did not think one form to be fit for all Ages) herein we muſt fly to thoſe general Rules which he hath given, that thereby all thoſe things ſhould be tryed, which the neceſſity of the Church ſhall require to be commanded for order and comelineſs. And foraſmuch as he hath therefore taught nothing expreſly, becauſe theſe things both are not neceſſary to Salvarion, and according to the manners of every Nation and Age, ought diverſly to be applyed to the edifying of the Church; therefore as the profit of the Church ſhall require, though it might be thought convenient as well to change and abrogate thoſe that be uſed, as to inſtitute new: yet, I grant it indeed, and muſt needs confeſſe it, That we ought not raſhly, nor oft, nor for leight and trivial Cauſes to run to Innovation, but what may hurt or edifie, Charity ſhall beſt be judge: which if we will ſuffer to be the Governeſs, all ſhall be ſafe. And in the next Section at the latter end thereof; It is alwayes meet, ſaith he,63 for the publike worſhip and ſervice of God, that there be both certain dayes and appointed hours, and a place fit to receive all, if there be regard had of the preſervation of peace. For how great an occaſion of ſcandal, brawling, and contention ſhould the confuſion of theſe things be, if it were lawfull for every man as he liſteth to change thoſe things which belong to common State; foraſmuch as it will never come to paſs that one and the ſame thing ſhall pleaſe all Men, (it being an old and true ſaying, difficillimum eſt omnibus placere) if things be left (as it were) at randome, and in the middeſt to the choice of every Man to do what he pleaſeth, to have a Pſalm, and a Doctrine, and a Revelation, and an Interpretation by himſelf, as the Apoſtle ſpeaketh with a kind of Indignation and Increpation of them that uſed it, 1 Cor. 14.26. If any man therefore do Carp and Cavil againſt us, and herein will be more wiſe then he ought, let him ſee himſelf by what reaſon he can defend his own preciſeneſs to the Lord. As for us, That ſaying of Paul ought to ſatisfie us; If any man ſeem to be64 Schiſmatical and contentious, we have no ſuch uſe, we have no ſuch Custome nor the Churches of God, 1 Cor. 11.16. Where we may perceive that that good Man and faithful Paſtor of Geneva, though he liked not the Maſſe, yet he preached Chriſt ſincerely, and maintained and defended his Church, and laboured by all means to preſerve, Tunicam ejus inconſutilem, his ſeamleſſe Coat to be without brack or breach, Sector Schiſm, Rent or Diviſion at all; but ſtill to continue pure and undefiled without ſpot or wrinkle, or any ſuch thing. I will then conclude and ſhut up this paſſage with the witty Sentences of St. Auſtin, Contrarationem nemo ſobrius, contra Scripturas nemo Chriſtianus, contra eccleſiam nemo pacificus ſenſerii. And if we will be the Children of the Church, as we profeſſe our ſelves to be, then let us hearken what the wiſe man ſaith: Ecclus. 3.1. The Children of wiſdome are the Church of the Righteous, and their exerciſe is Obedience and Love.
Anſwer to the tenth Argument.
The words are theſe, I obſerve, God hides things on purpoſe from us, to ſee whether we will do any things on our own heads.
I anſwer, This Argument is derived de profundis, and drawn or fetched ab abſconditis & ſecretis. 'Tis true, and we cannot much deny it; For He hideth, or concealeth from us, his Decree of Election, and final Dereliction or Reprobation,Rom. 9.13 becauſe he will have Mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardneth; And this he doth, becauſe he would not have us like curious Bethſhemites to pry into the Ark of his Secrets, but rather to work out our own Salvation with fear and trembling,Phil. 2.12. as the Apoſtle St. Paul ſpeaks; and as the other Apoſtle teacheth and exhorteth us,2 Pet. 1.10. to give all diligence to make our Calling and Election ſure. And now is this to be underſtood? why, ſurely thus, if I be not deceived; ſure to God. I need not, I cannot,2 Tim. 2.19. the Foundation of God ſtands ſure enough of it ſelf, and66 the Gifts and Calling of God are without Repentance, Rom. 11.29. (i. e.) Sine mutatione stabiliter fixa ſunt, ſaith St. Auſtin, they are irrevocable, immutable, and unchangeable; but, Sure to my own Soul, I may, I muſt, by all means labour and endeavour to make and effect it, or elſe this Precept is in vain, of giving all diligence to make our Calling and Election ſure. Secondly, He hideth the hour of every particular man's death, and the day of the generall Judgment, from us, and reſerveth them in the private Cabinet of his own Foreknowledgeſhip;Act. 1.17. For it is not for us to know the times and the Seaſons which the Father hath reſerved in his own Power: And this he doth for this very end, as an ancient Father of the Primitive Church hath told us truly and eſpecially, Ideò latet ultimus dies, ut obſervetur omnis dies, It is to make us careful and watchful, every day and hour, of that laſt day and hour, Omnem crede diem, &c. And doth not our Saviour himſelf tell us as much, and forwarn us, both in the 24. and 25. Chapter of St. Matthew's Goſpel, Watch therefore, for ye neither know the day nor the hour wherein67 the Son of man cometh; But whereas you ſay that God hides things on purpoſe from us, to ſee whether we will do any thing on our own heads, I perceive your meaning is, that God hath ſo hidden and concealed the day of Christ's Birth from us, to try whether we will celebrate and obſerve it, or no, as both you and others of your Fraternity have made the Compariſon, and vented and vaunted it in the Pulpit, touching the body of Moſes, how God ſhould bury it Himſelf in ſome ſecret place, and keep it from the Knowledge of the Children of Iſrael, leſt they ſhould worſhip and adore it: So you would have the Remembrance of this day to be buried for ever, and quite obliterated and forgotten, leſt we ſhould commit Idolatry to it. Now, touching the body of Moſes, we know it was buried by God, as appeareth, Deut. 34.6. that no man ſhould know where his Sepulchre was: Therefore, as learned Fulk anſwereth the Rhemiſts on the Epiſtle of Jude, at the 9th. verſe; It is like, the Altercation and Combat that is there mentioned to be betwixt Michael the Archangel and the Devil about it, was immediately before68 that time, when the Devil deſired to have the Body of Moſes diſcovered, that it might be abuſed to Idolatry; as it alwaies hath been the practiſe of Sathan to perſecute the Saints while they live, and to make Idols of their Bodies when they are dead. That ancient Father which wrote the Book De Mirabilibus Sacrae Scripturae, which goeth under the name of St. Augaſtine lib. 1. cap. 35. writeth thus of the body of Moſes; For two Cauſes, as wiſe men ſay, No man was privy of his death, nor of his Sepulchre; Firſt, That no man ſhould ſee that face, which had ſhined through the familiarity of the Lord's Speech unto him, ſtricken down or dimmed with the heavineſs of Death. And then Secondly, leſt the People of Iſrael, if they had known where his Sepulchre was, ſhould have adored it. Wherefore, as moſt men think, he carried away with him the Rod wherewith he had done Wonders, leſt it ſhould have been adored; ſeeing the Children of Iſrael did afterwards adore the Serpent which he made.
But there cannot be the ſame reaſon for the burying of Christ's Birth-day, as69 was for the burying of the Body of Moſes; It is but a lame Similitude, neither can the Compariſon be aequivaleut, or any way co-incident or correſpondent; for Moſes was but a Servant, Christ a Son; and the Servant abideth not in the Houſe for ever, but the Son abideth ever, Joh. 8.35. Moſes was a Type and Shadow, Chriſt the Body and Subſtance; the Shadow vaniſheth, but the Body and Subſtance remaineth. Beſides this, the one was but a Man, the other God, even God and Man; and ſhall that be counted Idolatry and Superſtition, which is a holy Worſhip, and devout Service performed to the true God? So that Moſes muſt yield, ſubſcribe, and give way to Chriſt; when he is preſent, the Law muſt depart out of the Conſcience,Iſa. 28.20. and leave the Bed which is ſo ſtrait, that it cannot hold two, to Christ alone: For the Law came by Moſes, but Chriſt hath put an end to the Law, and ſo Grace and Truth came by Jeſus Chriſt,Joh. 1.16. (i. e.) Joy, and Liberty, and Freedom, and Juſtification, and Redemption; for if the Son once ſhall make us free, we ſhall be free indeed. For there is a great Antitheſis, even a great deal of70 diſtance and difference, betwixt Moſes and Chriſt, the Law and the Goſpel; the one being the miniſtration of Death & Condemnation, and the other the miniſtration of Righteouſneſſe and Life eternal, 2 Cor. 3. And therefore I ſay, to conclude this Point, that this day is not ſo hidden and obſcured from us, but that the very dawning and breaking thereof is diſcovered and deſcryed: For, did not the heavenly Herald proclaim it in the fields of Bethlehem? and did not the Shepherds find it to be true, that very day, according as the Angel had told them? and ſhall we think that there were no Regiſters nor Records of it in that City wherein he was born? and did not that Starr in the Eaſt, ſignifying this Day-Star from on high coming to viſit us; did it not directly point the Wiſe-men to the place of his Birth? Yea, And Chriſt himſelf told the Jews of this his day,Job, 8.56. ſaying, Your Father Abraham rejoyced to ſee my day, and he ſaw it and rejoyced: Hic Dies Domini uil aliud ſignificat quàm Adventum Christi in carne, This day of Chriſt (ſaith Beza, on that place in John) ſignifieth nothing elſe but his firſt coming71 in the Fleſh, which many Prophets and Kings deſired to have ſeen as well as Abraham; for the Meſſias is called The deſire of all Nations, Hag. 2.8. of whom the Prophets enquired, ſearching when or what time the Spirit, which was in them, ſhould declare the Sufferings which ſhould come to Chriſt, and the Glory that ſhould follow, 1 Pet. 1.11. When Balaam had prophecyed of Christ, There ſhall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter ſhall riſe out of Iſrael, Numb. 24.17. he brake forth into this Paſſion; Alaſs! Who ſhall live when God doth this? As if he ſhould have ſaid, Happy men are they, who ſhall ſee that glorious Star, and Sun of Righteouſneſs, coming out of his Chamber as a Bride-groom; giving light to ſuch as ſit in darkneſs, and in the Shadow of Death: Oh that thou wouldeſt break the Heavens and come down, ſaid the Prophet, Iſa. 64.1. Good old Simeon looked long for this day, and with an earneſt deſire waited for the conſolation of Iſrael: So did alſo Joſeph of Arimathaea, that honourable Counſellor & great Friend and Well-wiſher to Chriſt; for he alſo himſelf was one of them who72 waited for the Kingdom of God, Luk. 23.51. So did that ancient and reverend Father St. Auguſtine, of whom it is reported that he wiſhed he might have ſeen three things eſpecially, Rome in her Glory, Paul in the Pulpit, and Chriſt in the Fleſh. If the Queen of Sheba reputed the Servants of Solomon happy, for that, attending about his Throne,1 King. 10.8. 1 King. 4.33. they heard his Wiſdom difcourſing of Prees, from the Cedar that is in Lebanon, even unto the Hyſſop that ſpringeth out of the Wall: How bleſſed and happy then may we think were the Diſciples of Christ, in hearing a greater than Solomon, Math. 12.4. and in ſeeing him who was fairer than the Sons of Men, Pſal. 45.3. and in whom alſo are hid all the Treaſures of Wiſdom and Knowledge, Coloſ. 2.3.
Anſwer to the eleventh Argument.
In the Eleventh Objection you ſay, It hath not been the Practiſe of Chriſtian Churches to obſerve the Birth-day of Chriſt.
73To this I ſay, you deſerve a ſharp rejection, and a ſerious and ſevere reprehenſion. For it is a meer falſhood, and a groſſe and manifeſt untruth; and I wonder that a man of your account, Countenance and gravity, ſhould ſuffer ſuch an unjuſtifiable thing, to fall either from your tongue or pen; for I ſay, contrarium hujus argumenti est verum, &, credat Judaus Apella, non ego, believe it who will, for I cannot otherwiſe be perſwaded, but you ſpeak herein that which is contrary to truth: for, beſides that it is well known among the Learned, eſpecially by thoſe who are converſant in the large Volumes, and accurate writings of the Ancient Fathers; It hath been the annuall and conſtant Practice of the Primitive Church to obſerve it; eſpecially in the time,Auguſt. 118. Epiſt. cap. 7. and ſince the time of Conſtantine the Great, who gave peace to the Church and commanded this Feſtivall time among divers others to be obſerved. Witneſſe Auguſt. con. Aimant. c. 16.118. Epiſt. and in divers of his Sermons de Tempore, eſpecially in his ſecond and fourth Sermon de Tempore. Witneſſe Fulgentius de dup. Nat. Chriſti,74 witneſſe Ambroſe de Incarnat. Domini, witneſſe Bernard in his firſt Sermon in Nat. Domini. for that ingenuous and Religions man, that witty and Godly Father of the Primitive Church, preaching on this day, in that his firſt Sermon, and towards the latter end of it, uttered theſe words, and ſaid, Brevitas temporis cogit me contrahere & coarctare Sermonem meum; the ſhortneſs of the time conſtraineth me to ſhorten my Sermon, at this time; & ne cui vestrûm ſit mirum, ſi brevis eſſe laboro, Let none (quoth he) wonder if my words be ſhort, ſeeing on this day, God the Father hath abbreviated his own Word: For whereas it was ſo long and ſo large, that it filled Heaven and Earth (Jer. 23.24. ) it was on this day ſo ſhort, that it was laid in a Manger: I wiſh here unfainedly, with the ſame devour Bernard in his Sermon in Natalem Domini, that as the Word was made fleſh, ſo our ſtony Hearts may be made fleſh alſo; that we might alwayes meditate on his Sacred Meſſage, and his. Heavenly Goſpell: Unto you this day is born, in the City of David, a Saviour which is Chriſt the Lord: For all our ſound comfort ſtands75 in happineſſe, and all our happineſſe is in the Fellowſhip and Communion with God, and all our Fellowſhip and Communion with God, is by Jeſus. Christ, for ſo that good Divine St. John, tells us in his 1 Epiſt. cap. 2.3. Wherefore alſo, St. Austin uſeth a moſt excellent acclamation, to this purpoſe, in his ninth Sermon de Tempore, which as it is probable, he alſo preached on this day, ô beatum vagitum Infantuli beati, oh the bleſſed crying of a bleſſed babe, by which every faithfull ſervant and Son of God, eſcapeth eternal howlings in Hell; ô ſplendidum & Glorioſum praeſepe! Oh famous and glorious Manger, in which our Souls Manna lay! 〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the bread of life that came down from Heaven, on which if a man once, &c. ô quàm dites: ſunt panni tui! Oh how Rich and Honourable are the rags which have made plaiſters for our ſores, even for our ſins! I will ſhut up this paſſage with a Hymn of Prudentius.
And what ſay you now to theſe things before ſaid? Can they not yet perſwade you to yield, that it was the practiſe of Chriſtian Churches in Antient times to obſerve it? Yet put the caſe, or ſuppoſe it was not; you cannot, yea, I hope you will not deny, but it hath been the practiſe of theſe our Churches of Great Brittain, I mean the Churches of England, Scotland, and Ireland, for divers Centuries, or hundreds of years to obſerve it; for they are both Chriſtian, and reformed Churches, and therefore, unleſſe you mean by Chriſtian Churches, the old Browniſts of Amſterdam, or the new Anabaptiſts, and Antipaedobaptists of England, and other the like proud and phantaſticall, and Phariſaicall Sectaries, and Separatiſts that are amongſt us, in theſe Giddy and unſetled times of ours, who think there is no true Chriſtian Church, but what is of their chooſing, planting, and erecting; who, like the Jews of old, cry Templum Domini, or like the Papiſts, who will have no Church to be a true Church, but their Church at Rome; who ſtand upon their Pontificatibus, and are77 all for the juſtification of their own Opinion, ſaying as thoſe Juſticiaries of old did, Eſay 65.5. Stand by thy ſelf, or ſtand far off me, come not near me, for I am Holier then thou, &c. And here I could tell you a thing (which perhaps alſo you are not ignorant of) that the late upſtart Seraphicall illuminated Independents, (as it is commonly thought) are likely to joſtle and thruſt the proud, rigid, Fantaſticall, and Phariſaicall Presbyterians out of their places, even as they have cunningly ſupplanted, and undermined the Reverend Biſhops, and their conformable Clergy out of theirs, neque enim lex juſtior ulla eſt, Quam necis artifices, &c. Indeed I never heard nor read of any Chriſtian Churches, but have obſerved this day; and therefore howſoever ſuch factious and Schiſmaticall Wild-brain'd Zelots of our time, refuſe to do it, and both write and ſpeak againſt it, yet we know that all the Antient Fathers of the Primitive Church, did celebrate it with great Solemnities, as Mr, Fiſher in his Vindication of our Goſpell Feſtivalls, hath wittily obſerved in his fifth Section, even Cyprian, Baſil, Nazianzene,78 Ambroſe, Epiphanius, Jerome, Chryſoſtome, Fulgentius, alledging and producing their very words, which they preached on this day, and proving it withall, punctually plainly, and directly, that it was the 25th day of December that Chriſt was born on: And further, to confute your palpable Errour, he tells us there, That the Churches of Helvetia, Bohemia,Leye Sunday a Sab. pag. 173. Dr. Rayn. Confer. with Hart. c. 8. S. 2. Bremen, Auſpurg, the Churches of Savoy, Poland, Hungary, Scotland, France, and the Low-Countries, do allow the Feaſts that belong to Chriſt, his Nativity, Circumciſion, Paſſion, &c. The Churches of Denmark, Sweden, and all other Lutheran-Churches, do ſolemnly obſerve the Feaſt of the Nativity of Chriſt, and on that day uſe proper Hymns of Thankſgiving, made by Martin Luther himſelf;Perth. Aſſembly refuted. pag. 85. the Church of Geneva doth celebrate the day of his Nativity: wherefore (as he ſaith here for a Concluſion) ſeeing we are compaſſed about with ſo great a Cloud of Witneſſes, we muſt, according to the truth, affirm, That the Celebration of this Feaſt, is confirmed by the judgment of the Chriſtian Church in all ages. So we conclude againſt you, that your eleventh79 Aſſertion is a meer falſhood, and manifeſt untruth, and no more to be credited or believed, then that vain fancy, and fond ſurmiſe of yours, I mean the Fable and ſtory you tell us of in your Saints Rest, touching the raining down of Manna, on the Leads of the Church at Bridgnorth when you preached there: For ſome Gentlemen of worth in thoſe parts, have credibly reported it to be nothing elſe then the ſeeds of Hips and Hawes, being the excrements of Rooks and Jack-dawes, which they there had voyded.
Anſwer to the Twelfth Argument.
The twelfth Argument is this, In all doubtfull Caſes, a Wiſe man ought to go on the ſureſt ſide, and I am ſure it is no Sin not to keep it, &c.
I Anſwer, in this Allegation you ſeem to play the part of a Wiſe man; but in my Opinion you are onely wiſe in your own conceit; for my part, this I am ſure of; Firſt, in reſpect that Chriſtmas day being the day of our Lords Nativity, is the Lords day,Cant. 4.9. and by his ſpouſe80 the Church is ſet a part to Gods publick worſhip, and our Souls edification, therefore it ought clearly to be eſteemed above any other of the common Week dayes. And for people on this day, willfully and contemptuouſly, to follow their ordinary (though at other times lawfull) vocations, or Callings, is in the firſt place, a breach of the fourth Commandement, for the day of Chriſts Nativity, is a Sabboth or Reſt to the Lord, and God will have us to keep holy the Sabboth or Reſt-day. Next, it is a deſpiſing,Perk. caſes of Conſc. l. 1. c. 5. Sect. 5. and diſhonouring of their Mother the Church, which, whoſoever are guilty of, not onely ſin againſt the fifth Commandment, but by our Saviour himſelf, we are Injoyned to account all ſuch as Revolters from the Chriſtian faith, Heathen men, and Publicans, Matth. 18.17. Laſtly, it is a ground and inlet to the violation of all order and decency in Gods Service, which is expreſſely condemned in Holy Scripture: and if to break Gods Commandements,1 Cor. 14.40. to contemn his Churches Authority, to become Heathens and Publicans, and to overthrow all order and decency in Gods Services, be ſins and81 Offences to God; Then muſt we conclude, that not to keep this day, muſt needs be a ſin; and that to work, or follow our vocations on Chriſtmas day, is a great and high offence, or indignity offered unto God, and his Church. And how then are you ſure it is no ſin not to keep it, but that your erronious Conſcience tells you ſo, and yet is it ſo nice and tender? on the other ſide you are not ſure, it is no ſin to keep it; this is the other part of your Dilemma, (for this is called in the Schools Syllogiſmus cornutus, or Syllogiſmus Crocodilinus) Well, ſat verbum Sapienti; If a word to the Wiſe may ſerve the turn, then will I anſwer you in a word: for although you are perſwaded, and ſure in your ſtrong Conſcience, that it is no ſin not to keep it; yet we, on the other ſide, in our weak Conſciences, are perſwaded, that it is a ſin if we keep it not: And therefore if you remember, the Apoſtle's rule is, Let not the ſtronger Chriſtian deſpiſe the weaker,Rom. 13.3, 4. eſpecially in ſuch a Caſe as this, Let not him that eateth deſpiſe him that eateth not, and let not him that eateth not, judge him that eateth, for God hath received him;82 Who art thou then that judgeſt another man's Servant? to his own Maſter he ſtandeth or falleth, yea he ſhall be holden up, for God is able to make him ſtand. One man eſteemeth one day above another, another eſteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully perſwaded in his own mind; he that regardeth a day regardeth it unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it: He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks: For none of us liveth to himſelf, and no man dyeth to himſelf, for the Kingdom of God is not Meat and Drink, but Righteouſneſs, and Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghoſt; and he that in theſe things ſerveth Chriſt, is acceptable to God and approved of Men. Let us therefore follow after the the things which make for peace, and things wherewith we may edify another, for meat deſtroy not the work of God; all things indeed are pure, but it is evil for that man who eateth with Offence. It is good, neither to eat Fleſh, nor to drink Wine, nor any thing, whereby thy83 Brother ſtumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak; You ſee how wary the Apoſtle is, to adviſe us in and for things indifferent. not to be offended one with another, but to uſe all good Chriſtian moderation and diſcretion, & not to abuſe our Chriſtian Liberty, to the Scandal and Offence of our weak Brethren.
Anſwer to the thirteenth Argument.
The thirteenth Argument is, That this day ought not to be celebrated becauſe there is more Sin committed in theſe 12 dayes than is in all the year following, viz. in Drunkenneſs, &c.
Oh Sir! This Argument and your laſt, are the leaſt and the weakeſt of them all, & therefore I ſhal more eaſily anſwer them, & briefly conclude. To this 13th I ſay as I did before, The Abuſe of a thing, that in it ſelf is lawful and good, cannot juſtly aboliſh or take away the lawful Uſe of it; For the beſt things that ever God created have been abuſed through Man's Corruption; even the whole84 Creature is ſubject unto Vanity, that is, to Deſtruction, becauſe of Man's ſin, Rom. 8.20. The holy Temple of our God hath been prophaned and defiled, and made a den of Theeves, and a Cage of unclean Birds, and a very Stable for Barbarous Souldiers Horſes to Lodge in, in theſe late uncivil Warrs; the holy Sabbath of our Lord hath been polluted, his Word and Sacraments abuſed: Yea, becauſe the Scriptures are in ſome places ſomewhat hard to be under••ood, therefore thoſe that are unlearned and unſtable, do wreſt them and perven them to their own Deſtruction,〈…〉P••. 3.16. And becauſe of this, muſt the Scriptures be rejected, and not peruſed? Becauſe the good Creatures of God are abuſe〈◊〉ſome ungodly and wicked Miſcreants, therefore muſt the Creatures be refuſed, ſeeing every Creature of God is good, and nothing ought to be refuſed,1 Tim. 4.4. eſpecially if it be received with thankfulneſs: for i•is land••ed unto us by the Word of God. 〈◊〉prayer. The like may be ſaid of〈◊〉Sanctuary of our God, of the Sab••…〈◊〉the Sacraments; for unto the〈…〉things are pure; but unto85 them that are defiled and unbelieving, is nothing pure, but even their minds and conſciences are defiled, Titus 1.15.
But you affirm, and that peremptorily, that there is more ſinne committed in theſe Twelve Days, than in all the year after, in Drunkenneſs and Gluttony: And how are you ſure of this? for it is impoſſible that you ſhould prove this to be true. Can God be more diſhonoured in Twelve Days, than in twelve Moneths? Although a bare Denyall might ſerve here for a ſufficient anſwer: yet put the caſe that many men, being at this time apt and addicted, genio ſuo indulgere, to give way to their unbrideled luſts, and diſordered affections, in the free uſe of God's Creatures, ſhould be exceſſive in their Eating and Drinking, and ſo exorbitant and extravagant in other vain Recreations, and idle Gamings and Paſtimes, that God may hereby be ſomewhat diſhonoured, and this bleſſed time of his Son's Nativity abuſed, men a little forgetting the right and proper End wherfore at firſt it was inſtituted and ordained: Yet conſidering the many good, and gracious, and bountifull Deeds, that heretofore have86 been done at this time, the gallant Hoſpitality, the free and generous Houſekeeping, by our worthy, noble, and renowned Gentlemen, and our rich, honeſt, able, and ſufficient Yeomen, by relieving the Poor, helping Widows and Fatherleſs Children, cloathing the Naked, feeding the Hungry, viſiting the Sick, and thoſe that were in Priſons. Take but a Ballance, or a pair of Scales, and lay theſe many good Almſ-Deeds and Works of Piety and Charity in one Scale, and put the Evil Deeds that have been committed in the other Scale, and I dare ſay the good deeds ſhall outweigh the bad,Zac. 5.7. though they be as heavy as maſſa plumbi, a Talent of Lead. And this which I have here written, hath more probability and likelyhood of truth in it, than that which you affirm, in ſaying there is more ſin committed in theſe Twelve Days, than in all the year after. But you had ſpoken more properly and truly, if you had ſaid, There are more good Deeds done by ſome good minded and charitably diſpoſed Chriſtians, in theſe Twelve Days, than in all the year after. Yours is a falſe aſſertion, and a groſs abſur'd87 aſſeveration: and I verily think, that you vent it to skar and deterr men from keeping any Chriſtmas at all, becauſe ſome ignorant, diſſolute, and deboiſt Fellows do ſpend this time idely and vainly in exceſſive eating and drinking, ryoting and revelling, &c.
But our pious Anceſtors, of famous memory, were ſo addicted and devoted to the Reverence, and religious Obſervation of this Time, that they ſpent it in a ſober, civil, and careful manner, being thankful to God, and rejoycing in the Lord, for that ineffable and inaeſtimable Benefit and Bleſſing which he beſtowed upon the World at this time; and therefore they were willing and contented, freely and cheerfully to part with their goods, and impart them to the poor, in plentifull manner: And this they did for his ſake alone, who, being rich, for their ſakes became poor, that ſo they, through his Poverty, might be made rich, as the Apoſtle elegantly expreſſeth it, and ſetteth forth the Grace of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, in a moſt ſweet, and gracious, and glorious manner, 2 Cor. 8.9. But where is our Bounty, or our Benificence? Where88 is our Charity, Liberality, and Hoſpitality, in theſe cold degenerate and Apoſtate times? That witty Saying may here be verified, How that one handful of old Friendſhip, is better than an an armful of new Courteſy; For all our Love and Charity, in theſe daies, is turned into nothing elſe but meer verball and external Complement, ſo true is that of the Apoſtle, Tit. 1.16. Men in theſe daies profeſs that they know God, but by their works they deny him, and therefore they are abominable and diſobedient, and to every good work, reprobate.
Anſwer to the fourteenth Argument.
The fourteenth is this, God bleſſeth His own day, the Sabbath, but hath not bleſſed this with ſucceſs.
Int his your ultimum Refugium, you think you have paid it home, and bitt the ver•Nail on the head: But, Good Sir, What could you ſay, If any man ſhould ask you, Why God hath not bleſſed this day? For it hath been proved, that this day is aequal and aequipollent89 with the Sabbath; and if he hath bleſſed the one, ſo queſtionleſs he hath bleſſed the other, and ſanctifyed it, and ſet it apart, for a holy Convocation, and thankful Commemoration, of the Birth and Nativity of his onely begotten Son; and that in the 118 Pſalm, may fitly and properly be applyed unto it, This is the day which the Lord hath made, (i. e. ) which the Lord hath magnifyed, and advanced, and fingled out, and ſelected, for a more peculiar end and purpoſe than other ordinary daies of the year are; And this Interpre•ation of the Word, that place in the 1 Sam. 12.5, 6. doth well approve of, and allow it: This is then the day which the Lord hath made; yea, this is the day wherein the Lord Himſelf was made, ſaith Euſebius Emiſſenus. Therefore we will rejoyce and be glad in it; Fear not (ſaid the Angel Gabriel to thoſe Shepherds of Bethlehem), for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy; ſo that here good Tidings do attend it, and great Joy doth accompany it, which ſhall be unto all People: for unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Chriſt the Lord. 90And that the Lord hath bleſſed this day with ſucceſs, the goodly fellowſhip of the Prophets, and their harmonious and unanimous conſents, ſhall bear me witneſs. Firſt, That Evangelical Prophet Iſaiah propheſyes of it, ſaying, Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; Datus ex Divinitate, natus ex Virgine, ſaith Euſebius Emiſſenus on the words, excellently; In that he is ſaid to be born, it betokens his Manhood; in that he is ſaid to be given, it ſignifies his Divine Nature: The Hypoſtatical. Union of both doth make one and the ſame〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, or one Immanuel, (i. e.) God with us: The Government is upon his ſhoulder, his Name ſhall be called Wonderfull, Counſellor, the Mighty God, the Everlaſting Father, the Prince of Peace; the Increaſe of his Government and Peace ſhall have none End, he ſhall ſit upon the Throne of David, and upon his. Kingdom, to order it, and to eſtabliſh it, with Judgment and with Juſtice, from henceforth even for ever: The z•al of the Lord of Hoſts ſhall perform this, (i.e.) his ſingular Love and Care for his Elect ſhall effect it. And doth not God bleſſe this day then with91 ſncceſſe? and doth not the Princely Prophet David alſo ſing of this Alacrity, and chant it to the Tune of his Harp and Viol, and ſet forth the happy and proſperous ſucceſſe of this Day, and the flouriſhing Eſtate of the Church, by the Kingdom, and coming of Chriſt in the Fleſh? The Lord ſaid unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand untill I make thine Enemies tpy Foot: ſtool, in Mat. 22.44. we find that Chriſt Himſelf giveth the Interpretation hereof, and ſheweth that this cannot be properly applied unto David, but to Himſelf; and this appeareth by the words that follow in that Pſalm,Pſal. 110.1, 2, 3. The Lord ſhall ſend the Rod of thy Power out of Zion. For out of Zion hath God appeared in perfect Beauty, Pſal. 50.2. And from thence, this Rod and this Power of his ſhall ſtreth forth it ſelf throughout all the World; and this Power chiefly conſiſteth and ſtandeth in the Preaching of his Word; and by this Rod, and by this Scepter of thy Kingdom, which is a right Scepter, be thou Ruler in the middeſt of thine Enemies; thy People ſhall come willingly at the time of aſſembling thine Army in holy beauty, (i.e.) by thy Word,92 thy People ſhall be aſſembled into thy Church; whoſe Increaſe ſhall be ſo abundant, ſo plentiful, and ſo wonderful as the drops of the Dew of the Morning; For it is ſaid, The Youth of thy Womb ſhall be as the Morning Dew, or (as the ordinary Reading of the Pſalm is), In the Day of thy Power ſhall they offer thee Free-will-Offerings with a Holy Worſhip; the Dew of thy Birth is of the Womb of the Morning. Which howſoever ſome Interpret it of the Birth of Chriſt, yet Junius and Tremelius do underſtand it to be innumera illa multitudo electorum quae comparebit in eccleſia tanquam ſtillans ros à coele, & ſub auroram depluens, That innumerable multitude of the Elect, which ſhall be as viſible and apparent, and as abundant in the Church, as the dew which diſtilleth from Heaven, and lyeth on the face of the Earth in the morning; as we know the Elect elſe-where in the Scripture are compared to the Starrs of Heaven,Gen. 22.17 and to the ſand which is upon the Sea-ſhore for multitude; the Prophet Haggai hath alſo foretold of theſe things, ſpeaking of the peace, and plenty, and glory of the Church of God,93 that ſhould be by the Kingdome and coming of Chriſt: Thus ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, ſaith he, Yet a little while, and I will ſhake the Heavens and the Earth, and the Sea, and the dry Land; and I will move all Nations, and the deſire of all Nations ſhall come, and I will fill this Houſe with Glory, ſaith the Lord of Hosts. The deſire of all Nations ſhall come; (i. e.) Chriſt, for in Him are all things that can be deſired, and all Nations ought to look for, and deſire Him; and therefore in this ſenſe He is called Rex gentium, the King of Nations, becauſe all Nations ought not onely to ſeek and deſire Him,Jer. 10.7. but alſo to ſerve Him and obey Him: And doth not alſo the Prophet Zachariah ſay as much? For he propheſied much about the time as Haggai did, and was ſent of the Lord to help him in the labour, and to confirm the ſame Doctrine, even when the time of the 70 years Captivity, propheſied by Jeremiah, was expired; and he paralleleth or compareth that time of their deliverance from Captivity, to this happy time of our ſpiritual deliverance from the thraldome and Captivity of Sin and Sathan; ſaying, Zach. 949.9. Kejoyce greatly O Daughter of Zion; ſhout for joy O Daughter of Jeruſalem; Behold, Thy King cometh unto thee; He is juſt, and having Salvation; He is meek and lowly, Riding upon an Aſſe, and upon a Colt the foal of an Aſſe. And I will cut off the Chariot from Ephraim, and the Horſe from Jeruſalem, and the Battle-bow ſhall be cut off; and He ſhall ſpeak peace unto the Heathen, and His Dominion ſhall be from Sea even to Sea, and from the River (i. e. from the River Euphrates) even to the Ends of the Earth. Here is ſucceſs enough, if we obſerve it; for His Dominion ſhall be from Sea to Sea, that is, from the Red Sea, to the Sea called Syriacum: and by theſe places, which the Jews knew well enough, he meant an infinite ſpace and compaſs over the whole World. As for Thee alſo, (i. e. as for Thee Oh Daughter of Zion and Daughter Jeruſalem) by the blood of my Covenant, (i. e. ) the blood of Chriſt, Thou ſhalt be ſaved; and by this blood I have looſed, or I have ſent forth the Priſoners out of the pit, (i. e. ) not the pit of purgatory, or Limbus patrum, as the Papiſts would have it underſtood;95 but out of the bottomleſs pit of Hell, wherein there is no water; (i. e. ) no Comfort, no Cooling, no refreſhing at all, for they that are there, are alwayes ſcorched and tormented in theſe infernal, eternal, and unquenchable flames without any hope of eaſe or end at all, as it may appear by the confeſſion of Dives; Turn ye then to the ſtrong hold, ye Priſoners of hope, even to Day do I declare that I will render double unto Thee; that is, double Benefit, and proſperity in reſpect of that which your Fathers enjoyed, from David's time to the Captivity, as ſome Interp•e•the place; or, as others think, by double in that place, may well be underſtood a double deliverance; not onely a Temporal and Corporal, but a Spiritual and Eternal deliverance; no onely a deliverance from 400 years bondage in Egypt,Act. 7.6. or from 70 years Captivity in Babylon, but from the everlaſting bondage, Captivity, and Thraldome of Sin and Sarban. Wherefore comfort ye my People, doth your God ſay by the mouth of the Prophet Iſaiah,Iſa. 40.1. Speak ye comfortably to Jeruſalem, and cry unto Her, that Her warfare is accompliſhed, (i. e.) That96 the time of Her affliction is ended, and that Her iniquity is pardoned, for She hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her ſins, (i. e. ) as ſome underſtand it ſufficient correction for all Her ſins, inſinuating that the Lord will afflict his People no more ſo long, or ſo ſharply, becauſe his Loving-kindneſs hath overcome his heavy diſpleaſure; ſo ſaith Jerome and Calvin, the word [double] ought to be taken for enough, or full, as it is uſed by the ſame Prophet, or as ſome interpret it,Iſa. 61.7. double grace for double grief; as Jeruſalem had a double puniſhment, one in her Soul, another in her Body; ſo now, ſhe ſhall have by Chriſt a double bleſſing, vix. in this World Collation of grace, and in the World to come poſſeſſion of glory: or a double favour; Firſt, in that her travail is ended; Secondly, For that her ſin is pardoned: or double, that is, as Vatablus and Arcularius expound it, many benefits, a certain number being put for an uncertain, (which is an uſuall Hebraiſm in the old Teſtament,) for the ſufferings of Chriſt are a ſufficient propitiation for all her ſins,1 Joh. 2.2. and for the ſins of the whole World: yea, where97 ſin abounded, there grace ſuper-abounded, ſaith Paul, Rom. 5.20. For, that place in Eſay before alleadged, is, a direct propheſie concerning the coming of Chriſt in the fleſh, and the happy ſucceſs of this Day, as both Muſculus and Hyperius and Calvin do expound it; and the coming of Chriſt in the Fleſh (you know) is the conſolation of Iſrael, and comfort of Jeruſalem, (for ſo it is called, Luke 2.25. ) and this comfort the God of all comfort will have proclaimed unto Jeruſalem by the mouth of all his Prophets and Preachers, which have bin ſince the World began, and ſo we find in holy Writ, that he ſtirred up Daniel, Haggai, Malachi, Zachariah, Ezra, Nehemiah, and other; (untill the coming of Chriſt himſelf) who did alwayes exhort his People, to be of good chear, and to be of good comfort in the midſt of all their afflictions and tribulations, and ſtill to hope againſt hope, as our Father Abraham did:Rom. 4.1• So Zacharias, in his Hymn, openeth his mouth, ſaying, Bleſſed be the Lord God of Iſrael, for he hath Viſited and Redeemed his People, rayſing up the horn of Salvation unto us, as he ſpeak by the98 mouth of all his Prophets, which have been ſince the World began; So St. Peter in his Sermon, ad populum, all the Prophets from Samuel, and thenceforth, as many have ſpoken, have likewiſe foretold of theſe dayes; and to Cornelius, that pious and famous Captain of Caſarea, Acts 10.43. To him give all the Prophets witneſs, That through his Name, all that believe in Him ſhall receive remiſſion of ſins: Now with what face can any man ſay, That God hath not bleſſed this Day with ſucceſſe, ſeeing this Day hath produced ſo many good & gracious effects, glorious wonders, and theſe not only in the Earth, but alſo in the Heavens; for if we will believe Venerable Beda, it was ſo, nato Domino, ſtellae dederunt lumen in Cuſtodiis, & laetatae ſunt; plus namqueſolit•luxêrrent ei cum Jocunditate, qui fecit illas, quaſi ſign is ſic conclamantes, Hic eſt dominus noſter & non aeſtimabitur alius: The Staris at His Birth did ſhine more clearly and chearfully then their cuſtom was; becauſe their Maker was then born, ſeeming to tell us; This is the Lord our God, and we muſt look for none other. Here me-thinks, alluding to that excellent ſaying in Job, I cannot chuſe but argue and inferr upon it; Did99 the Starrs of the morning praiſe him, the wiſe men of the Eaſt rejoyce, and ſo the Shepheards, and all the Children of God (i. e. ) the Angels rejoyce and ſing? Job 38.7. And why then ſhall we be dumb and ſilent? and not break forth into the like Exultation, Jubilation, and Rejoycing? And have we not a warrant ſo to do, Pſal. 33.1. Rejoyce in the Lord, Oye Righteous, for it becometh well the just to be thankful; Rejoyce in the Lord alwayes, and again I ſay Rejoyce, Phil. 4.4. Yea, let the heart of all them rejoyce that ſerve the Lord. Let us then here a little correct our Selves and recollect our Spirits, as thoſe four leprous men did, who returned from the ſpoyl of the Syrian-Camp; and ſay, We do not well, This Day is a Day of good tydings, and ſhould we hold our peace? For mine own part, let the Leproſie of thoſe men cleave unto my skin, if it be not as joyful a thing to me to record, and recount, to commemorate and congratulate the honour and happineſſe, and good ſucceſs of this Day, as ever it was to them to carry the happy news of the flight of Aram: Rejoyce then O ye Heavens, and be glad O Earth, for100 on this Day Heaven and Earth were reconciled, and God was made Man to make peace between God and Man: Rejoyce, O Grandfather Adam, for on this Day, that firſt promiſe made unto thee concerning Chriſt, began to be fulfilled, How that the ſeed of the Woman ſhould break the Serpents head, Gen. 3.15. Rejoyce, father Abraham; for on this Day in thy Seed All the Nations of the Earth are bleſſed, Gen. 22.18. Rejoyce, King David; for on this Day God hath of the fruit of thy Body, ſet a King upon thy Throne, Pſal. 132.11. Rejoyce, ye Prophets of the Lord; for all your prophecyes on this Day were fulfilled. Rejoyce ye that are ſick, for on this Day the Phyſitian of the World was borne. Venit de coelo magnus Medicus, Qui per totom ubiqueJacebat agrotus, ſaith St. Austin. Rejoyce ye Virgins, for a Virgin on this Day brought forth a Son: Rejoyce ye Children, for on this Day the great God became a little Babe: Let all People, Jews, and Gentiles; Bond and Free; High and Low; Rich and Poor, one with another: Let all rejoyce together, for that He who was in the beginning without any101 beginning; for He is that true Melchezedeck, who is〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, having neither beginning of Dayes, nor end of Life, Heb. 7.3. And therefore in this ſenſe is Styled an everlaſting Father,Iſa. 9.6. becauſe he is the Author of eternity to all Creatures, for that He who was in the beginning, before all beginnings, and in a time when there was no time meaſured or limited out,Gal. 4.4. yet in the fulneſs of time was made of a Woman, and wrapped in Swadling-Clothes; for that He who〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉,Luke 2.7. the Word became Infans in cunis vagiens, an Infant not able to ſpeak one ſyllable; ſo that He, who was God, did vouchſafe to become Deus nobiſcum, God with us; yea, and to dwell amongſt us, appearing in the ſhape of a Man; for as the Apoſtle exellently expreſſeth both his humiliation and exaltation, thus ſaying,Phil. 2.7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Ipſe ſeſe exinanivit (i. e. ) as Theodore Beza neatly expoundeth it, Quaſi ex omni ſeipſum ad nihil redegit, (i. e.) He that at firſt made all things of nothing, did afterwards make nothing of Himſelf for Man's ſake, He made Himſelf of no Reputation, and took upon Him the form of a Servant, and was made in the102 likeneſs of a Man; and being found in faſhion of a Man, he humbled Himſelf, and became obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Croſs: Wherefore God alſo hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every Name, That at the Name of Jeſus every knee ſhould bow, of things in Heaven, of things in Earth, and of things under the Earth: and that every tongue ſhould confeſs that Jeſus Chriſt is Lord to the glory of God the Father. To which God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoſt, three in one, and one in three; one immortall, inviſible, indiviſible, incomprehenſible, and one onely ever wiſe God; be rendred and aſcribed (as of due belongeth) all Honour and Glory, Power, and Praiſe, and Obedience, both now and for ever more Amen.