IN Ierusalem there was a poole, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda, hauing fiue porches Ioh. 5.2., many glorious things are spo­ken of that city of God, Psal. 87.3. Be­thesdas poole is not the meanst of her monuments; Tertullian Tertull. out of the Chalde calles it Bethsetha the house of sheepe, and the text saith it was neere to the sheep market: Euthymius Euthym. Beth-hesda, the house of mercy: and so Tremellius out of the Syriacke, the house of benignitie, giuing this reason of the name, because the Lord did here heale all infirmities: for as Saint Ioh. 5.3. Iohn testifieth in these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blinde, lame, withered waiting for the mouing of the water: Hither came our Sauiour, Expectabant Angeli descensum, & ecce Iesum noni testamenti angelum, saith Beda Beda., they expected the Angell at a certaine time, our [Page 2] Sauiour came thither at the solemne time, the time of the Ioh. 5.1. feast. [...]. Cyrth thinkes this feast to be Pentecost, but [...]. Ire­n [...] and [...] Rupertus tell vs, this feast was the Passouer, not onely because by the name of the feast the Passouer is commonly vnderstood in the Gospell, but also because euery yeere of his preaching heed d some speciall worke, against the time of the Passouer, at the Passouer he droue out the buyers and sellers out of the temple. At the Passouer, he fed fiue thousand, with the fiue loaues and two fishes, at the Passouer he suffered, and at the Be [...]. [...]. H [...]rm. tom. 2. p. 165. [...] Ir [...]. & Rup. Passo­uer, he came to the poole of Bethesda, where the blinde, and lame, and withered, and diseased lay: Blessed Saui­our, in the Synagogue was thy seat, thou wast wont to teach in the temple, Bir. the ship, the mount, the desert, were thy places of abode, o thou fairest of the sonnes of men, what dost thou in the houses of the sicke! in the Hospitalls of the diseased! O thou redeemer of mankinde thou knewest the whole head was sicke, and the whole heart was heauy, therefore camest thou from the mountaine of spices to this valley of teares: All the world, was as this poole in all parts whereof as in these porches, lay the lame, and diseased, our Sauiour tooke notice of the infirmities, nay tulit, nay more sustulit, he tooke on him, and tooke from vs, all our infirmities [...], as Damascen Damascen speakes; he tooke on him all our miserable, hee tooke from vs all our damnable infirmities, left no place vnlookt for to finde vs, sought the lost groate in the house, lost sheepe in the wildernesse, lost son in the world, and left no place either vnsought or vnsanctified, sanctified the house in his conception, the stable in his incarnation, the fields by the message of his birth, the riuer by the blessing of his baptisme, the sea-shore by his teaching, the valley by his healing, the garden by his praying, the Temple when hee was offered, and the mount when hee suffered, hee hath consecrated and hallowed hospitalls as holy places by Bethesdaes poole, and her porches, whether at the Passo­uer, [Page 3]the great feast hee entered and cured the man im­potent for many yeeres Ioh. 5.9.

Blessed and beloued, this day is that scripture fulfilled in our eares, this honourable Citie is as Ierusalem, this spittle as that poole, your hospitalls as those porches, this Easter as that Passouer, heere are the lame, blinde, may­med, and the diseased: shall we now pray that the An­gell may descend to moue the waters? No, the Angell hath descended, the blessed Angells of the Lord are wit­nesses to you, that the waters are stird, that you haue cast your bread vpon the waters, and the blessed spirit of God hath promised Eccles. 11.1. that after many daies you shall finde it. Our Sauiour himselfe hath assured you, that when two or three Math. 18.20. are gathered together in his name, he will be in the midst of them, how much more is hee now present, in the great congregation, hee neuer saw the multitude but he had compassion on them, either hee fed Mark 6.34. the multitude, or taught Ioh. 6.5. the multitude, or Math. 4.24. healed the multitude, or blessed Math. 5.3. the multitude. In the fifth of Mathew, when he had healed them in the vally, hee taught them after in the mount, and beginning to teach them hee first blesseth them, that is his first Sermon, wee read of, Math. 4.24. Math. 5.3. the first word of that first Sermon is blessing, and the first blessing a blessing for the poore Math. 5.3. The cause of the meeting of this multitude, at this solemne Passouer, is that this honourable Citie an ancient mother in Israell may receiue a blessing for her blessing poured out vpon the poore: Domine ex ore infantium perfecisti laudem, as wee may say with the Psalmist Psal [...]. 2., Lord wee haue heard and seene that out of the mouthes of these babes and little ones thou hast ordeined strength, Ioh 11.5. and perfitted thy praise, Lord wee haue heard, and seene, the blinde see, the lame walke, the vlcerated clensed, the dease heare, and to the poore the Gospell is preached. O Lord holy and reue­rend is thy name Psal. 111.9. blessed be thy name for euer and e­uer. Leuit. 21.18. There was a time that some sort of people were by [Page 4] proscription banished the temple, Cacus & Claudus non intrabunt in templum, an order among the Iewes neither the halt nor blinde must enter into the Temple, which Law seemeth strange, not only seeing that Caeci and Clau­di among the Romanes as Plutarch Plut. in vita Coriolam. noteth were the surnames of chiefe families of note, but also because the Iewes themselues, descended originally from the blinde and lame, for Isaack the son Gen. 27.1. of the father of the faith full was blinde, Gen. 32.31. and Iacob the sonne of Isaack himselfe the father o the Patriarches was lame: But this custome is antiquited, and now not only, the doore of the Temple is open, but the vetle of the Temple is broken and the master of the fea [...]th wh [...]en [...] his seruants into the streetes and lanes of the Cu [...], to bring in [...], the beggers, and maimed, and halt, and blinde, our Churches are op [...]n to receiue the poore, Luk. 14.21. vnto the poore the Gospell is preached, they are not onely cured in Bethesdae? poole, but councelled in this place as in Salo­mons porch, they are not onely cured in the soares of A­dames bodie, but prepared for the companie of their brother Lazarus in Abrahams bosome, Math. 5.3. and therfore I say with our Sauiour blessed be the poore, Psal. 41.1. and with the Psalmist blessed be they that consider the poore, Deut. 33.1. a bles­sing as ample as euer Moses wished Israel, the good-will and blessing of him that dwelt in the Bush, Deut. 33.16. be vpon you all, the Lord blesse you with the blessings of heauen a­boue, the blessings of the deepe beneath, the blessings of the fields and fruites, the blessing of the barnes and bas­kets, the blessing of City and Countrey, and the blessings of both testaments, of both lifes, of both worlds, be vpon you all from this day forth for euermore.

I am not yet you see entred into the tent of my Text, my meditations are yet as the affring betwixt the porch and the altar, or rather yet we bee in atrio the entrie, I must not go thorough the Temple, and neither must I stay at the kings pillar, nor the Priests altar, the holy oint­ment [Page 5]in this historie is neither belonging to the Corona­tion of the King, nor Consecration of the Priest, nor Dedi­cation of the holy place. This storie tels vs of the anoin­ting of our Sauiour, and his vnction was rather (saith Ierome) spiritualis then ritualis: Ierom. in Isay. hee was a Priest neuer anointed as a Priest, and a King neuer anointed as a King. God anointed Iesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost, saith S. Peter; Acts 8.38. God euen thy God hath anointed thee with the oile of gladnesse aboue thy fellowes, saith the Psalmist. Saul was anointed but with a viall of oile, Psal 45.7. 1 Sam 10.1. 1 Sam. 16.1. Dauid with a full horne of oile, but he is anointed aboue hi fellowes, with the oile of gladnesse, from the crowne of his head, to the skirt of his garment. Vers. 8. Therefore saith Iudas, [...], To what purpose is this waste? Anointed by the Father, anointed by the Holy Ghost, anointed with oile of gladnesse? Vnctio spiritualis, saith Innocentius, agit & auget proculdubio quod designat. Im. oc. de sacr. vncti. nu. What needs this anointing, especially from a woman a wo­man weake by hersex, wicked by her sinne; a woman, if the most, and best, and ancientest Interpreters bee not de­ceiued, sinfull for her life, hatefull for her lust: a notorious enormous publike Publican, Citie sinner. Magdalena lena, Magdalen possessed formerly with seuen Deuils, Luk. 7.37. she of all others, she to be so bold, to powre her oile vpon the head of her Sauiour. Modest was that miserable woman, that trembled when shee touched, and durst not touch him, but the hemme of his garment. This sorrowfull solitarie soule in the spring of her repen­tance, washed his feet with her teares, no more but his feet, stood behinde him, kneeling, weeping, washing, wiping his feet, kissing his feet, anointing his feet with a box of ointment, and behold the dew of her deuotion falleth not, the Sunne of righteousnesse draweth it vp. Aarons oile was deriued from the head to the feet, Luk 7.47. Magdalens oile from the feet to the head: Dilexit multum, was her first reward, She loued much; and Loue is not ruled with [Page 6] reason, but with loue: it neither regardeth what can bee, nor what should be done, but only what it selfe desireth to do. No difficultie can stay it, no impossibilitie appall it. Greg. de Mar. Magd. Gregory speaketh of her, Amanti semel aspicere non sufficit, vis amoris intentionem multiplicat vnctionis; Loue doubled this duties, for Loue is title iust enough, and armour strong enough for all assaults, it selfe a reward of all labours. Affection like a fiery Cherubin flies from anointing his feet to his head. Iudas, aske no other rea­son, Dilexit multum, shee loued much. There was no Disciple Sathan could fasten on to betray our Sauiour but Iudas: the bagge was a curse to Iudas, as well as the soppe at the supper. Iudas that carried the bagge, was hee (as Ioh. 12.4. S. Iohn tels vs) that repined at the bountie of the loue and labour of this woman: Iudas censures it, our Sauiour commends it: Iudas murmureth: Let her alone, Why trouble ye the woman, saith our Sauiour: Where­fore is this waste? saith Iudas. It is a good worke, saith our Sauiour; it might haue beene giuen to the poore saith Iudas: The poore yee haue alwayes, but mee yee haue not, saith our Sauiour. It might haue beene sold for much, saith Iudas: In that she hath powred this oint­ment on my body, she did it for my buriall, saith our Sa­uiour; and addes this for a Corollarie, Wheresoeuer this Gospell shall be preached through the whole world, there shall this that this woman hath done be told for a memoriall of her. Our Saui [...]ur gaue many gratious testimonies of many in the Gospell: Iob. 1.17. of Nathaniel, Behold a true Israelite; of the Centurion, I haue not found such faith in Israel; of the b Canaanite, O woman, great is thy faith; of the sinfull woman Magdalen, Much is forgiuen her, be­cause Luk. 7.47. shee loued much: But all these are farre short of Maries sweet smelling memoriall. A time there was that our Sauiour commended Luk. 10.42. Mary for her hearing him, aboue Martha for entertaining him, Mary hath chos [...]n the better part, which shall not be taken from her. [Page 7] Non opus repreh [...]ndit, sed munus aistinxit, saith Aug. de verl is Dom [...]i, ser. 27. Austine: But now Mary takes vpon her Marthaes dutie, and is as much honourable in entertaining as Martha, as shee was in hearing as Mary: shee hath chosen our Sauiours head to anoint, she hath chosen the better part, which shall not be taken from her. For wheresoeuer this Gospell shall be preached, &c.

I finde good workes ranked into two files, the offices of Deuotion, as Almes, and such like, which be opera mi­sericordit; and the duties of Religion, as Praiers, Repen­tance, sanctitie of the heart, mortifying of the members, cleering of the conscience from dead workes to serue the liuing God, furthering by all our endeuours the glory of God; these be opera iustitiae: The former bee manuum sacrificia, the latter cordium sacrificia: In the first the wi­thered hand is only healed, but in the second the dead is raised: the first seedeth Christ in the members of his manhood, the second yeeldeth Christ the honour of his Godhead: the first is [...], the second [...]: the first is the washing of Christs feet, the latter the an­nointing of his head: Magdalen a sinner may annoint his feet, but Mary a Conuert only may anoint his head▪ The first is as the Widowes mite, a good worke, and not vn­rewarded; but the second is Salomons offering, honoured and proclaimed: the first as the dawning of the day, the second as the snining of the Sunne. Both these haue glo­riously appeared in this your Citie, and the former the anointing of Christs feet, the feeding, cloathing, healing of his hungrie, naked, sicke and weake seruants, hath beene often vrged in this place; and well it is, that so it is: for farre be it but wee anoint Christs feet, seeing he wash­ed his seruants feet Ioh. 13.5. : farre be it but Almes should euer haue their honour. Paul was Collector for the poore 1 Cor. 16.1. , and our Sauiour was Ouer-seer for the poore Luk. 21.4. : Almes are the fruit of the Saints Rom. 15.28. , and an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing vnto God Phil. 4.10. : [Page 8]These ought you to haue done, and not to leaue the other vndone; Matth. 23.23. for as Peter said to Christ, so Christ saith to vs, not my feet only, Ioh 13.9. Chrysost [...]m. Augustin. Ambr [...]s. Orige [...]. Chriso [...]. but my head: for as the starre of my Interpreters leadeth mee, though by diuers lines, yet in all of them there is but one and the same light, the anoin­ting of Christs head is veneranda meditatio diuinitatis, & deuota contemplatio passionis & resurrectionis, a reuerend awfull meditation of Christ his diuinitie, and a deuout contemplation of Christ his blessed, yet bloudie Passion, and of his great and glorious Resurrection. Aarons head was anointed with bloud and oile Leuit. 8.30. ; wee must anoint our Sauiours head with our oile, seeing he hath anointed our heads with his bloud, for the blessing of his bloud is vpon vs and vpon our seed for euer. It is Christs speech to the Church in the Canticles, Dul [...]iora vnguenta quàm aromata, Cant. 4.10. Thy ointments are sweeter then thy spices. Of all the ointments in the whole Booke of God, none so sweet as this: The holy ointment appointed by God, continued but till the Captiuitie; then the holy fire went out, the holy Arke was spoiled, and the holy oile spilt. Ni­hil tam diffusivum, Beru. ac oleum, nothing of so spreading a diffusiue nature as oile, no oile euer so diffusiue, as this. Aarons ointment was odoriferous and diffisiue, but from the head to the beard, and so to the body, as it was vsed, so it wasted. Elias oile diffusiue and miraculous was spent and wasted not, spread ouer all the house, for the suste­nance of a Prophet, Kings 17.15. a Widow, a childe, a whole familie, a whole yeere, so long continued, but then confined. Elishaes oile was diffusiue and pretious, and the more powred out, the more increased: it filled all the widowes vessels, all her neighbours vessels, filled all the vessels shee could borrow, and paid all the debt that her husband had bor­rowed; but when it had supplied the widowes want, the fountaine failed. But neither Aarons holy vessell of oile, nor Samuels viall, nor Dauids horne, nor the widow of Zareptas cruise, nor the Prophets Widowes Pot of oile, [Page 9]nor the Alablaster box of the sinfull womans ointment, so pretious, so permanent, so odoriferous as this Saints oint­ment, which as the Orient Sun is euer in the full. S. Iohn tels vs, Iohn 12.5. that the house was filled with the odour of the oint­ment: but our Sauiour tels vs, the whole world shall bee filled with the odour hereof, for wheresoeuer this Gospell is preached through the whole world, &c. It is sweet in all nostrils, not in Bethany only, or Galilie, but [...], where­soeuer; nor as a Storie, or Parable, but [...], a Go­spell; nor as a Rubricke or title of a Gospell, but [...], a Gospell of it selfe, this Gospell; nor a Gospell as the talent hid in the banke, or the candle vnder the bushell, but [...], a preached Gospell; nor a Gospell prea­ched only in Canaan, or on the other side Iordan, but [...], throughout the whole world; nor so preached, as that the Act shall bee remembred, and the Author neglected, but [...], this that this wo­man hath done; nor so preached, as that the memory of this that she hath done should euer be forgotten; [...], shall bee told for a memoriall of her. This were enough. The oile was pretious, but the box of ointment could not be so pretious as now it is fa­mous; a stranger increase then the growth of a graine of mustard seed, that is least of all seeds, Matth. 13.32. yet greatest of all herbes: but this miraculous ointment farre beyond that, it shall spread so farre as the Gospell shall bee preached, through the world, and shall be preached as long as the world shall be continued. Ecce Prophetiam & Prophetam, Euangelistam & Euangelium; it is a Prophecie and a Go­spell, spoken by a Prophet and an Euangelist. All the Prophets prophecied of Christ, and behold Christ pro­phecieth of Mary: All the Euangelists wrote the Gospell of Christ, Christ preach [...]th, and prophecieth, and proclai­meth thi [...] Gospell of Mary▪ and sealeth his prophecie and preaching with an oath, [...], Verily I say to you, Wheresoeuer, &c.

She brought a box of Alablaster, her box not emptie, not mustie. Boxes of Alablaster may be like the Pharisies Sepulchers, carrying faire titles without, corrupt carcases within. The box might be pretious, the ointment poiso­nous: but as her box was no stained Alablaster, for the box was pure; so the ointment pretious: As the oile was enough in that little box to anoint her Sauiours head and body; so the Alablaster was enough to build a mo­nument for her body and memory. Babylon thought to be famous for a Tower, the R [...]ubenites for their monu­ment built an Altar, Absalon for his memoriall set vp a Pillar, Hercules vpon two Promontories erected for a per­petuall remembrance two Pillars, 1 Machh. 1 [...].27 Simon Macchabeus set vp seuen pillars for a Sepulchre of the Macchabees, Artemisia for her husband made a Royall Tombe, one of the wonders of the world, with 36. pillars. But all, all the Statues, Tombes, and Obelisks, and Piles, and Pillars, and Piramides, and Ornaments, and Monuments, in the whole world, are nothing to Maries memoriall, built out of this small box of Alablaster.

I haue yet but shewed you the box, at most but ope­ned it: now as the Spouse speaketh, Cant. 1.3: because of the sauour of the good ointment, her ointment must be powred out.

In this box of ointment there is the Prophecie of a Go­spell: The whole Bible is but Prophecie and Gospell, they be both in this box. Beautifull is the box, odoriferous is this of all other ointments: Sacred is the Prophecie, glo­rious is this of all Gospels: neuer any prophecie so inlayed or invellopd with a Gospell, euery word the Gospell, euery word the Prophecie: in which Prophecie, or Gospell, or Prophecie of the Gospell, obserue two generall parts, The two great lights of heauen, the Sunne and Moone, for as God giueth light to the Sunne, and the Sunne to the Moone, so Christ giueth light to this Gospel, & this Gospel life to Maries memoriall. 1. The Promulgation of the Go­spell, This Gospell shall be preached, &c. 2. The Proclamation of Maries memoriall, Mention shall be made of this, &c.

In the first generall part, obserue first the sub­iect, the Gospell, not a Storie, or Parable, but a Gospell, Euangelium Regni Matth. 4.23., Euangelium Dei Rom. 1.1., Euangelium Chri­sts Phil. 1.5., Euangelium salutis Eph. 1.13.18., Euangelium mortis & resurre­ctionis Christs, as my Interpreters tell mee, the Gospell of the passion and resurrection of our Lord and Sauiour. 2. The publishing of this Gospell, the Gospell shall bee preached, not written only, and laid vp, as the Tables in the Arke; not read and repeated only, as Moyses Law in the Synagogue; not endorsed on the doores, as the Pro­phecies were on the Temple; not inscribed or embrodered on the Philacteries, as the Pharisies did the Decalogue; not tied vp in the napkin of silence, or buried in the banke of negligence, but proclaimed and preached; This Go­spell shall be preached. 3. The extent of this preaching, This Gospell shall be preached in the whole world, not in some Cantons or Corners of the world; not on the Mount only, as Moyses gaue his Law; not in the valley only, as Iehoshaphat gaue his thankes; or in the wildernesse, as Iohn Baptist gaue his warning; but in the whole world, from one Sea vnto another, from the Riuer vnto the worlds end: This Gospell is gone throughout all the earth, and this sound vnto the end of the world. This Gospell shall be preached in the whole world.

In the second generall part obserue first a particular act which must follow the generall preaching of this Go­spell; this expressed by the words, This done, in the seuenth verse, [...], precious ointment, in the tenth, [...], a good worke, verse 11. preferred be­fore other good workes, as before giuing to the poore, The poore ye haue alwayes, me ye haue not alwayes; verse 12. commended not only for the excellencie of the act, but the opportunitie of the time, In that she powred this ointment on my body, she did it for my buriall. Our Sauiour ioyneth, This Gospell shall bee preached, and this. Secondly, the Author or Actor of this [Page 12] deed, Math. 16.7. this woman, Matthew sayes no more, I here came vnto him a woman hauing an Alablaster box, Marke saith no more Mark. 14.4. then Mathew, Saint Ioh. 12.3. Iohn [...]ames this woman. Mary tooke a pound of ointment; A blessed woman, as blessed as euer any, but onely shee whom all generations shall call blessed. This woman, ho­nour of her name, ornament of her Tribe, the glory of her sex, admitted to annoynt the head of our Sauiour: Iohn Baptist the greatest of the sonnes of women, not admit­ted to performe so much a [...] this woman, he baptised with water, she annoints with oile, baptisme common to the com­mon people, vnction annointing of the head, proper to the King the head of the people, this woman did this, she an­nointed the King of Kings, therefore our Sauiour tooke so gracious notice of it, this that this woman. Thirdly, the memoriall hereof, this that this woman hath done, shall be told in memoriall of her. Maries memory is continu­ed by Christ, by the Church, by the Disciples, by the Saints in all ages, sooner heauen and earth loose their stations, sunne and moone their motions, winter and summer their seasons, all the world shall sooner vanish, and the frame of nature perish then this memoriall faile to re­maine among the posterities, this that this woman hath done, shall be told for a memoriall of her. Lastly, it shall be wheresoeuer, in euery place where the Gospell is read, or heard, or preached, Maries memory followes our Saui­our as the marigold the sunne: Mary that followed Christ to the feast of the Pharisie, to the house of the Leper, to the graue of Lazarus, to the Crosse, to the Sepulcher, to the Garden, to Galile, now followes our Sauiour ouer all the world, for wheresoeuer the Gospell is preached. You see here be no lesse then seauen particulers, a whole weeks worke, nay more a iourney ouer all the whole world. This is onely the comfort, as the wisemen were lead by the light of a starre, so we shall go by the light of the Gospell. And to settle your attentions, I beganne at the marke of my [Page 13]meditations, beginning as S. Marke beginnes his first chapter, The Gospell of Iesus Christ, wheresoeuer this Gospell.

Nomen Euangelij nomen gaudij, saith the glosse, the name of Gospell is a name of gladnesse, 1 Glosse. sweete is this name, and the Saints loue it well. The name of Law was strange, a name not so much as knowne to the Grecians in the time of Homer, as Iosephus Ioseph. contra Appion. lib. [...]. against Appion obserueth that the word [...] is not so much as once vsed in all the writings of Homer, Scapula pag. 10. but the name [...] as Budeus obserues is found in Homer, Euripides, and Aristophanes, and Atheneus, and Plutarch, wherein we see as neither the Iewes Law, no nor the name of it, was knowne a long time to the Gretians, so the name of Gospell before the Gospell was known to the Gentiles, & a name vsed for glad-tidings among the Gentiles, as if it were most pro­perly the light of the Gentiles: the 70. Interpreters vse it as oft as they meete with Basar or Besora which signi­fie to deliuer a message, or be a Messenger. Saint Luk. 1.1. Luke tells vs [...], many tooke in hand to write this Gospell. And Theophilact vpon those words Theoph. in 1. Luke. saith attentarunt quidem Pset [...]doapostols, non perfecerunt: Cle­mens Alexandrinus tells vs the Tatiani had a Gospell se­cundum Egiptios: and Epiphanius that some had a Gospell secundum Hebraeos. Gnostickes had the Gospell of Philip, and the Maniches the Gospell of Thomas, and others the Gospell of Matthias: But Basilides of all others as Saint Hierome obserues was the most bold and blasphemous, that durst write a booke and entitle it his Gospell. But as all the Fathers confuted those heresies, and stopped the mouthes of these blasphemies, so especially Irenaeus by the foure windes, Saint Hierome out of Zacharies vision Zach. 6.1. by the foure Chariots, and Saint Austin out of Ezekiels vision Ezek. 1.6. by the foure Cherubins, shew there be no more but foure Euangelists, and these foure to concurre to one quatuor Euangelia esse vnum Euangelium, et si aliud at­que [Page 14]aliud ob personarū differentiam, vnum tamen ob eorum quae loquuntur consonantiam, saith Chrysostome: the Gospell is therefore the glad-tidings of God to saluation, Chrysost. tom. 4. in Epist. ad Gal. brin­ging the ioyfull message that Iesus Christ came into the world to saue sinners: the Law was [...], 2 Cor. 3.7. but the Gospell [...], The Law of death was turned into the Gospell of life, and therefore was Moses in the transfiguration with Christ, because the Law of Moses was transfigured by the Gospell of Christ Now the Gospell doth consider Christ especially either as hee was corpus carnis in his incarnation, in the veile of flesh or as corpus mortis, in his Passion as hee was in the shad­dow of death, or as primitiae resurrectionis, in his resur­rection, and triumph ouer death, and as in all other of Christ his passages, so especially in these the Gospell is the glad-tidings: it was glad-tiding in his birth, when the Messenger was an Angell, the message a Gospell, but when the Sauiour of men and Angells deliuers a Gospell much more it is glad-tidings. So is it here where our Sauiour the Authour of the Gospell deliuers a Gos­pell. This Gospell: and what this Gospell is is expressed in the second verse, it is the crucifying of Christ, in the twelfth verse the buriall and resurrection of Christ and indeed these of all other, are the glad-tidings of the Gos­pell, for the Passion and resurrection of Christ are the lines, that the Patriarches and Prophets beheld by the perspectiue of faith in the beautifull peeces of Gods promises, these aboue all, bee the glad-tidings, euen this Gospell of Christs death and triumph ouer death: the Angells in Christs resurrection told the women Luk. 20.6. Remember how he spake vnto you in Galile, the sonne of man shall be deliuered into the hands of sinne­full men, Luk. 24.6. and be crucified, and the third day rise againe. Indeed this was the Gospell, and this Gospell he especi­ally taught his Disciples, and hee taught his Gospell e­specially in Galile, when he came into Galile hee taught [Page 15]his Disciples the sonne of man shall bee deliuered and killed, and rise the third day, Mark. 9.31. Math. 9.31. while they a­bode in Galile he taught his Disciples the sonne of man, shall be betraied into the hands of men, they shall kill him and be shall be raised againe the third day, Math. 17.22. Math. 17.22. when he came towards Ierusalem from Galile, he taught them this, the Sauiour of man shall bee deli­uered to the Gentiles, shall bee crucified and the third day shall rise againe, Math. 20.19. going to Galile, Math. 20.19. in Galile, throughout Galile, comming out of Galile hee taught his Disciples his Passion and resurrection. Galile as Ierome and others, signifieth transmigrationem, Ierom. interp. Nom. Heb. a de­parture a transmigration. It was the Gospell of Galile, of his transmigration, he did teach this Gospell of trans­migration, in the Land of transmigration, it was trans­migration from life to death by his Passion, from death to life by his resurrection. The whole Gospell is an E­pistle sent from God saith Austin, Euangelium Dei, episto­la de caelo missa: Austin. And it representeth Christ vnto vs spi­rantem, docentem, mira patrantem dira patientem, preach­ing, teaching, accomplishing wonderfull suffering sor­rowfull things, Basill. as Basill speakes this death the ministery of our life, the life of man, but death of sinne, death of Sathan, in the death of our Sauiour. This is a Gospell of glad-tidings, and is it glad tidings? to heare that such a person as the sonne of God, Math. 13.99. Mark. 15.39 suffered such a Passion as the curse of the Law, Gal. 3.15. by so great a compassion, as to doe it for his enemies. Rom. 5. That in his birth he was placed among beasts, then tempted by Deuills, then persecuted by Tyrants, then condemned by murtherers, then crucified among theeues, and thus he did liue, thus he did die. To heare him contemned for his progeny, a Carpenters sonne; for his Prouince, a Galilean; for his profession, a Samaritan; his Disci­ples Law breakers, his doctrine treason, seducing the people, his miracles impostures, casting out Deuils by [Page 16] Beelsebub, his company Publicans and sinners, for his whole life breaking the Sabbaoth, a bibber of wine, working by the Deuill, possessed with the Deuill: Ther­fore hee must die. If it bee glad-tidings? to heare of [...], Nazianz. as Nazianzene collects, them of the stripes, and scoffings, and spittings, and thornes, and crosse, and nailes, and speare, and sweate, and bloud, and wounds, and distresfull crie, and horrid death: to heare and see this prodigious Tragedy, in a theatre of dead mens bones, couered ouer with ruth­full darkenesse, Angells, Diuells, rockes, graues, the whole vniuers and Creature concurring to this specta­cle, onely the sunne absenting, abhorring to see such a death, Alle [...]tus. Supplicium quo nullum maius, opprobrium quo nullū vilius, the graue and hell, yelling out their griefe, for the wonder of our redemption, by this wofull passion.

If this be [...] glad tidings? as who dare deny it to be, for if Appian writing of the murther of Tully en­dorsed his letter, [...], Carrying good newes to Anthory: then how glad, how good, those tidings of the death of Christ; If it bee glad-tidings, as who can deny it to be? vnlesse they bee enemies to the crosse of Christ, and seeke to euacuate the crosse of Christ, 1 Cor. 1.17. whereas Christ hath reconciled all things by his crosse, Coloss 1.20. and shine enmity by his body on the crosse, Ephes. 2.16. and the power of God is the preaching of the crosse, 1 Cor. 1.18. The crosse being non patibutum Patientis, sed tribunal Trium phantiss, as Ierome calles it: If in the stormy winter of his death, Hi [...]on [...]. such life, then what lustre, what glory, what beautie, what life of life, in the spring of life. The crosse of Christ is the onely knowledge of a Christ an, 1 Cor 2.2. The excellencie of his knowledge, Phil. 3.8. The glorie of his knowledge, Gal. 6.14. Which made the Apostle crie out God forbid, that I should glorie in any thing but in the crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ. But [Page 17]looke how farre life surpasseth death, so farre is the ioy of the Resurrection aboue the Passion, no tongue can expresse this noble act of the Lord his blessed and tri­umphant Resurrection, Mori dignatus est ex voluntate, Tertull. sed resurrexit ex potestate, saith Tertullian; when neither bowells of the earth, nor ligament of the graue, nor sor­rowes of death, nor power of hell, able to containe him, but that Christ is risen againe, Christ is risen from the dead, a [...] [...]he best time of the whole yeere, the time of the great Passouer, first day of the weeke, best day of the yeere, first houre of the day, at dawning of the daw­nie day, Math. 28.1. rising of the sunne, Mark. 16.1. early in the morning, Luk. 24.1. early while it was dark, Iohn 20.1. Oritus ex alto, oriens ex imo, hee that was the resurrection and life, rose by his resurrection vnto life, and became the first fruites of the dead, 1 Cor. 15.20. first begotten of the dead, Reuel. 1.5. first borne of the dead, Coloss. 1.18. first of those that did arise from the dead, Acts 26.23. Here is glory, and ioy, and glad­tidings, and if euer the soules of the Saints and seruants of God, were transported out of their bodily senses, it should be at this Gospell that I bring vnto you of glad­tidings, of great ioy that shall bee to all people, that Christ is risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that sleepe; Christ is risen from the dead, and now dieth no more, Christ is risen from the dead, death where is thy sting? graue where is thy victorie? thankes be giuen vnto God, who hath giuen vs victorie by our Lord Iesus Christ. It may seeme to be collected, that this Gospell, is the Gospell of the resurrection not only in 32. vers. when I am risen, I will go before you into Galile: but more manifestly out of the 12. vers. In that shee pou­red this ointment on my body, she did it for my buriall: why was the body annointed for the buriall, but in respect of the resurrection of the body? Saint Paul asketh the question, why are they baptized for the dead, 1 Cor. 15. if no [Page 18]resurrection of the dead? why an annointing of Christs body, vnlesse because of the resurrection of his body? Resurrectio Christi complementum omnium promissionum, saith Aquinas, Aquia. without which, no promise performed, no prophesie fulfilled, no mysterie reuealed, no body redeemed from the power of death, no soule could re­ceiue the Gospell of life; Christ tooke vpon him the name of the resurrection, Ioh. 11.25. Iob. 11.25. gaue no signe but of the resurrection, Math. 12 39. Math. 12.39. shewed his power, wrought our righteousnesse, by no meanes so euidently as by the resurrection, Rom 4.25. Rom. 4.25. taught his Disciples, no doctrine so frequently, in 6. Chapters in Mathew, in 5. Marke, in 4. in Luke often in Iohn, mention of his resurrection: so that especially this Gospell is the Gospell of Christs resurrection from which root ariseth this fruitfull branch of doctune: Doct. The resurrection of Christ is the most glad-tiding, of the Gospell, and con­teineth in it the summe of the whole Gospell. So S. Au­stin, Resurrectio Christs tota fides Christianorum. Austin. The re­surrection of Christ is the whole faith of Christians: So Bernard, Bern. vis Euangelij Epitomen, en resurrectionem, wilt thou haue an Epitome of all the Gospell, behold the resurrection: Hilary. So Hilary, Resurrectionis testimonium pro­prium munus Apostolorum, The testimonie of the resur­rection is the chiefe office of the Apostles. The reasons of this doctrine are many, without this all the mysteries of our redemption were vaine: Please but to walke into the spring Garden of the resurrection the 15. of the 1. Cor. where the Apostle sheweth that if it were not for the resurrection of Christ that are already a sleep are perished, 1. Cor. 15. they that are aliue, are in their sinnes, and therefore dead, twise telleth them your faith vaine, our preaching vaine, and wee and you of all men most mi­serable, Hearers and Preachers, and liuing, & dead, and all miserable. Death should wound vs vnto death, the graue shut her mouth vpon vs, the deuouring throate of [Page 19]an open Sepulchre close her iawes vpon vs: our portion onely in this life, and we no better then the life of beasts, temples, and Bibles, and faith, and hope, and heauen, and all in vaine, were it not for the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Againe the resurrection of Christ in that one act comprehendeth all the acts of the Gos­pell; here is Christs incarnation, hee tooke flesh againe vpon him, here is his conception as before a virgine mother, so here a virgine sepulchre, here is his baptisme, as he came out of the waters, so now hee commeth out of the earth, as in the temptation after fourtie daies hee came from the wildernesse, so hereafter fourtie houres he commeth into the world, here is his transmigration, whereby he is translated from death to life. In his re­surrection the confluence of all his miracles, hee that gaue sight to the blinde, openeth his owne eies, and eares to the deafe, openeth his owne eares, and speech to the dumbe, openeth his owne mouth, he that badde the lame man arise and walke, ariseth from death and walketh, and herein worketh the greatest miracle that euer hee did: Non suscitauit alterum sed se seipsum, Bern. nec suscitatiosed resurrectio, saith Bernard, Hee raised not vp another but himselfe, and it was not passiuely to bee raised by another power, but actiuely by his owne, not a raising but a rising. So that this of all others is the summe of the Gospell, neuer glad-tidings till now, ne­uer so glad, so good-tidings as now, Bona: In nascendo contulit consortium naturae, in patiendo beneficium gratiae, in resurgen­do complementum gloriae: In his birth hee conferred the fellowship of nature, in death, the benefit of grace, in rising, complement of glory, saith Bonauenture. Herein, onely herein he brought defunctis vitam, peccatoribus ve­niam, Sanctis gloriam: Life to the dead, pardon to sin­ners, glory to Saints, as Bernard speaketh. Therefore we reioyce, and hereby our ioy shall bee full: Surrexit Christus exultet vniuersus mundus, The ioy of this time, [Page 20]like that of the Spouse in the Canticles, which may be ap­plied to Christs resurrection; Arise my Loue, my faire one, the winter is past, the raine is oner and gone, the flowers appeare in the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, the voice of the Turtle is heard in our Land, the Figge-tree putteth forth her greene figges, and the Ʋines with their ten­der grapes yeeld a good smell: Arise, my Loue, my Doue, my Faire one, Austin. and come away Exultet vniuersus mundus, Let the world reioyce and all that are therein. The righteous branch of the root of Iesse hath reflourished, the Lion of the Tribe of Iudah is awakened, our Phenix is risen from his owne ashes, our Eagle renewed his bill, our Ioseph is brought out of prison, our Sampson hath carried away the gates of Assah, our Mordecai is exalted, our Daniel de­liuered from the denne, our Ionas is cast vp by the whale, our Lazarus restored to life, our Glory, our Gospell, our Glad tidings, our Christ is risen from the dead.

Let vs then aboue all other meditations reioyce in the knowledge of the Gospell of Christ, Vse. and especially in the remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord and Sa­uiour Iesus Christ, seeing that as the Gospell is the pow­er of God to saluation, so the resurrection, of all other parts, hath manifested the power of our redemption, from the graue, from sinne, from death, from the Deuill. Let vs reioyce in the resurrection of our Lord and Saui­ur, seeing by this hee shall raise our vile bodies, to bee like his glorious body. Let vs with all care embrace this faith, seeing the bright morning starre which was dark­ned by death, hath recouered light, let vs be sure he will bring vs out of darknesse into the light of his countenance. Abraham saw the day of Christs birth, G [...]eg. Mor. Esay fore saw the day of Christs death, Iob saw the day his dunghill. Let vs beginne the first resurrection from sinne to grace, that wee may be raised from nature to glory. Of all the Feasts of the whole Church in the whole yeere, wee haue none [Page 21]like this: the Church inioyneth the rest, Scripture com­mands this: S. Paul giues an iniunction for celebrating of Easter; [...] Christ our Passeouer is offered for vs, 1 Cor. 5.7. let vs keepe the Feast, our Passeouer, for vs let vs, Nostrum, Nobis, Nos. Christ the Passeouer indeed, as hee was offered, and our Passeouer as he was raised, passing from death to life: Let vs then keepe this Feast. Pauls iniunction is an Epi­stle for this Gospell, of this Feast. All the Saints on earth through the Christian world, keepe this Feast, as their ioy and Iubile: All the Angels in heauen (saith Cyprian) obserue the same; Cyprian. Ipsi Angeli eius gaudia Paschata agunt in coelestibus. Let vs then obserue these solemnities, in the meditation of this Gospell, with all reuerence to this glad tidings of Christs resurrection. Let vs keepe the feast, not with old leauen, not with the old leauen of malice and wickednesse, but with the vnleauened bread of since­ritie and truth. Let the dead burie their dead; let vs bring forth some fruits of the Gospell, to arise from dead workes, to serue the liuing God. Epicures, Basilidians, Sadduces, Saturnians, denie the truth of Christs resurre­ction: let not vs denie the power. Which we doe if wee bring not forth the fruits of the Gospell, if we cast not off the workes of death and darknesse. Christ appeared first to Mary Magdalen, and sent her to be the first messenger to Peter; Christ to Magdalen, Magdalen to Peter, Mag­dalen the greatest sinner among women, Peter the greatest sinner among men; Magdalen to Peter, Magdalen clean­sed of seuen Deuils, sent to Peter pardoned of three deni­als. Let Magdalen and Peter preach this to you, or ra­ther Christ himselfe, and this day if ye will heare his voice, Psal 95.7. harden not your hearts. Beloued, hee that is risen from the graue, is not risen in all your hearts; with the Phari­sies yee haue laid a stone, and the Deuill he hath laid the watch, and that heauy graue stone of sinne sealed downe, presseth downe soules: few will be raised, few shall bee [Page 22] saued. The hypocrite dares not rise, hee hath so many shapes, he feareth God will not know him, if he meet him. The harlot cannot rise, shee is a dead soule in a painted Sepulchre. The drunkard would rise, but hath neither hand nor foot to help himselfe, the earths monster, and his owne murtherer. The Gallant like Lazarus in the graue, is fast bound, is close prisoner to his owne clothes. The Vsurer is Iaylor to other mens bonds, and bondslaue to his owne money. The Courtier of all other is most carefull to rise, yet no man sleepes longer, either fettered with hopes, or ensnared by fancie, or bewitched by fau [...]ur, but beginning with false footing, fals, and lies by it. The plaine Country man riseth vp early, goeth late to bed, ea­teth the bread of carefulnesse, obserueth how dearth ari­seth, but for other rising, he beleeues it is enough if hee shall rise at the last day. The Citizen, of all other is most likely to arise, the Citie being the Sea into which all the fresh riuers runne, though many ships here suffer ship­wracke. The Citizen is willing to rise, for it is impossi­ble how he should sleepe, and as worthy to rise as any; he is the States Treasurer, and the Lands Pillar, and sure the Citizens rising would be blessed if hi [...] staires were not crooked. We our selues that preach the resurrection, can­not rise, because we will not heare our selues. The Church as well as Church-yard is full of dead bodies: willingly would many of vs rise, though by Simon Magus ac­quaintance: others would rise, but they haue no An­gels to put them into the Poole: others are risen, and worse then Magdalen, neuer preached since their resur­rection. Beloued, these are not the fruits of the Gospell, not the fruits of the resurrection. I am no Satyre, nor this place a Pasquill: I acknowledge many, and many blessed seruants of God, to be fruitfull in this doctrine, in Church, Court, Citie, Countrey: yet be there not in this Auditorie, that would be more heartily inflamed with some other Gospell then this Gospell, some other doctrine [Page 23]then this of the Resurrection? Som [...] [...] Ca [...]iz [...] would willingly heare this Tex [...] pra [...]ised, Owe noth [...] to any man but loue: and some poo [...]e Creditors this T [...]x [...] vrged, The good man is m [...]rcifull, and lendeth. Some grea [...] Lawyers desire to heare this Text pressed, The Law is good, if a man vse it lawfully, 1. Tim. 1.8. but some poore Clients this Text opened, Brethren, there is vtterly a fault among you, that yee goe to law one with another, 1. Cor 6.7. The Glutton would no Text but this, Goe eat of the fat, and drinke of the sweet, Nehemiah 8.10. The I surer none but this Text, A wise man put out his Talents to vse, Mat. 25.14. The Country man would heare the Citie and Countrey compared to Pharaohs fat and leane kine, the one deuouring the other. The Citizen and Countrey man would heare that Christ was first persecuted by the Court, at his birth by Herod and his Court, at his death by P [...]late and his Court. Of all Texts, there is one tedi­ous to all in Countrey and City. Yet in the meane time the poore Minister hath found the Text, and preached it, though it takes no successe, and it is a Text to be taught all, and his Text is Deut. 14.22. Deut. 14 22. Thou shalt truly tithe of all thy increase. And he is bound to preach this, for how can he preach vnlesse he be maintained? and bound be­cause hee heareth God curse where man denieth tithe. Reade when you come home, with horrour, Mal. 3.8: Mal. 3.8. Will a man rob God? yet yee haue robbed mee, saith the Lord. But yee say, Wherein haue wee robbed thee? His answer is, In tithes and offerings, therefore yee are cursed with a curse. But I forget my selfe. Christs salu­tation in the resurrection was Peace be vnto you, and I bring to you a Gospell of peace. Arise therefore thou that sleepest, if Christ shall giue thee life, let not Adams ap­ple, Achans wedge, Esaus broth, Babylons cuppe, Iudas soppe, betray thee; the snares of Sathan, fetters of the flesh, chambers of death, workes of darknesse, chaines of hell, enthrall thee; arise by Christ, to Christ, with [Page 24]Christ, as if yee had embraced this Gospell of Christ, seeing this Gospell is a preached Gospell. My second passage.

Preaching is the ordinary meanes to worke beleeuing. It is the Trumpet of Esay, the Cymball of Dauid, the sound of Aarons bels in the Sanctuarie, the sauour of life vnto life vnto them that beleeue. It is a speech to men to edi­fication, exhortation, 1 Cor 14.3. comfort, 1 Cor. 14.3. Preaching is the cesterne to conuay life and beleefe to the soule, the knife to diuide the Scripture, the key of the Kingdome of heauen, Ier 23.29. Rom. 1.16. Ier. 23.29. Esay 55.11. Eph [...]s. 6.17. Heb. 4.12. a fire, Ier. 23.29. a power, Rom. 1.16. a ham­mer, Ier. 23.29. a shower, Esay 55.11. a sword, euen the sword of the spirit, Ephes. 6.17. A sword sharper then a two-edged sword, Heb. 4.12. The Proclamation which the Lord hath vsed by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the world beganne, whereby God hath euer sele­cted a vocation of men, to deale betwixt God and man, whose preaching in their ministerie is aboue all other Ora­torie, as the Schooles obserue, Aquin. All [...]rt. Dicere infra, Docere circa, Predicare supra: Wee speake of things beneath vs, our teaching is of those things about vs, but preaching is of things aboue vs. In the Primitiue world the first borne was the Priest and Preacher to the familie. Before the Floud, Enoch a Preacher of Righteousnesse, Iude 14. At the Floud, Noah a Preacher of Righteousnesse, 2 Pet. 2.5. Before the Law, Melchisedecke a King and Priest, Gen. 14.18. In the Law, Salomon a King, a Preacher, Ec­cles. 1.1. The Lord neuer intended his word should be laid vp only as the Tables of Moses, or the sword of God­liah, or the Kings Treasurie in the Temple, but ordained an Eccl [...]siasticall Hierarchie for his Church by a Tribe of his chusing, to breake the bread of life to his chosen. Aaron so honored with the Miter, Censor, Altar, Crowne, royall roabes, Deut 33.10. and miraculous rod, he and his Tribe were inioyned by God to teach Iacob his iudgements, and Israel his Lawes, Deut. 33.10. The very forme of our [Page 25]preaching was practised by the Leuites vnder the Law, Nehemiah 8. verse 2. The meeting of the Congregation, verse 3. Place in the street neere the water gate, 4. Esra the Priest stood in a Pulpit made of wood, 6. His Praier before Sermon, the Prophets Amen, 5. His opening the booke, 8. His reading the Text, opening the meaning, giuing the sense, causing them to vnderstand. Thus preaching vnder the Law. Vnder the Gospell it was the ministerie of reconciliation, the promulgation of the glad tidings of the Gospell, and the imploying of the Talent God bestoweth, Talentum quod creditum, non quod inuen­tum, saith Lirinensis; A Talent receiued, not deuised: Lirinens. Then by preaching hearing, by hearing faith obtained. Neuer was there so large a Commission granted, as the Commission of preaching, Goe into all Nations Matt. 28.19. And as large was the execution, for they preached in euery City, Acts 15.21. in euery Church, Acts 19.23. in euery place, Mark, 16.20. at euery time, in season, out of season, 2 Tim. 4.2. to euery creature vnder heauen, Mark. 16.15. The Gospell was thus generally prea­ched, and to the end of the world must be preached. From which word preached, as out of a fountaine, ariseth this streame of Doctrine: The preaching of the Gospell is both the especiall ordinance, and great blessing of God. The rea­son, because it is a light to them that sit in darknesse, and a light that God hath appointed to bee carried before his people. A light indeede, to them that sate in dark­nesse, where the Prince of darknesse, and power of darknesse, and workes of darknesse, and shadow of death, did ouerwhelme them. There neuer was so great miserie in Israel, as when no Prophet to teach them. Three espe­ciall remarkable wants, all harbingers of woe to Israel: No Smith in Israel, 1 Sam. 13.19. No King in Israel, Iudges 18.1. No Priest in Israel, 2 Chron. 15.3. the last of all the rest most miserable. As dolefull, as fearfull, is Dauids complaint of that time, Wee see no tokens, there [Page 26]is no Prophet more, no man of God in the Land, no man that vnderstandeth any more, no teaching, no Law, no peace, no God among them, because no Priest among them. [...]: H [...]mer. Ili [...] l. [...]. All things ouerthwart, declining, crooked, nay cursed. The word therefore is a light vnto our feet, and a lampe to our paths, and the preaching of this word so necessary, that as without hearing no beleeuing, Rom 10.14. so no hearing without preaching, Rom. 10 14. And where no preaching, the people perish, Pro. 29.18. I denie not that reading is a blessed exercise, Reu. 1.3. and blessed is he that readeth, Reuel. 1.3. A great part of S. Austins conuersion is imputed to his reading of a place of Scripture: but sure I am, that the Promise is annexed to preaching; and S. Austin confes­seth, A [...]stin C [...]f [...]s that by S. Ambrose preaching he was especially con­uerted. So in his confession to God may be collected: Ad cum Deus per te ducebar nescius, vt ad te per cum sciens ducerer. Austin. It was preaching rather then baptizing, wherein our Sauiour was exercised, Iohn 4.2. Fecit mira, dixit multa, saith Bernard; hee wrought miracles, hee spake Oracles. Bern. But as if hee had onely come to the world to preach, he proclaimes himselfe, Luk. 4.18.19. The spirit of the Lord is vpon mee, Luk. 4.18. and hath anointed mee to preach, to preach the Gospell to the poore, to preach deliuerance to the captiues, to preach the acceptable yeere of the Lord. In the Primitiue Church they traueld, & thirsted, & hungered, & laboured, & sweat, and bled, and died, and compassed sea and land, for the obtaining of this Iewell; and in that Infancie of the Church, hauing found preaching, though as the Wise men Christ in the cratch, they adored it. The Ecclesiasticall Storie is plentifull herein, not to bring forth in this Sunshine the sacred Lampes burning in those golden candlestickes, Polycarpus, Ignatius, and Clemens, and those many Disciples of the Disciples of the Lord. Iustin Martyr records in his time holy mee­tings, reading, preaching, an houre euery Sabaoth. [Page 27] Tertullian testifieth, Tertull. that all the meetings of Christians were celebrated with holy Sermons. The Councell of Mentz ordained that euery day of the Lord the word of the Lord should be preached, & at the length great was the multitude of the Preachers, the Gospell deliuered euery where by preaching, as by the only means to bring saluation. And sure if any part of the Gospell might haue beene deliuered sufficiently without preaching, [...], this Gospell, the Gospell of the resurrection might; for after our Sauiour had shewed himselfe aliue by infal­lible proofes, Act. 1.3. as Luke speaketh, Acts 1.3. such as Aristotle calleth [...], prouing his resurrection to all the senses; by the sight, hee shewed, and they saw his wounds; by hearing, he spake, they heard, Peace be vnto you; by tasting, they ministred, and he tasted broi­led fish; by the touch, Thomas doubted, and the Lord constrained him to touch his wounds; by the smell, the Lord breathed on them, and they receiued the holy Ghost. Nature seekes but to sense, the fiue senses fiue porches of Natures Palace. In euery sense the Resurre­ction of Christ proclaimed, that [...], this Gospell must be preached. When no circumstance of time, or place, or person, vnmanifested, appearing the day of his resurrection early in the morning, late at night, both times of day; to the Disciples abroad and in the house, both places; to Souldiers and Apostles, both conditions; Iewes and Gentiles, both religions; men and women, both sexes; liuing and dead, both estates; when friends, fo [...], Disciples, strangers, Angels, Deuils, bare witnesse, and graues opened their mouthes to proclaime this point, yet [...], after the horrour of the Earth-quake, rolling the stone, seeing the clothes, hearing the Angell, witnesse of the women, satisfying Thomas, eating, speaking, walking, breathing on them, breaking bread with them, bodily presence 40. dayes among them, hauing beene seene to more then 500. at once, 11. Disciples being [Page 28]witnesses of this, another must be added to be witnesse to preach the resurrection, Act. 1.22. not caeterorum tantum, sed re­surrectionis testem, Chrysostom. saith Chrysostome. So necessarie is preaching the Gospell, no Gospell without preaching.

Let vs then embrace the preaching of the Gospell with gladnes, Ʋse. as that which is able to saue our soules at the great day, the kingdome of God, by the preaching of the Gos­pell is among vs, let him that hath an eare heare what the Spirit saith, Hos. 8.12. Were the things of the Law honourable? Hos. 8.12. How much more should the gracious word brought vnto vs, by the preaching of the Gospell: Was the second person of the Trinitie called the Word, and that Word made flesh; and the third person the holy Ghost came downe in tongues of fire, and those tongues on­ly giuen to preach that word, how then should our harts burne within vs, to enflame vs to the desire of these spiri­tuall things? It is much that Enoch and Elias both Prea­chers, of all other were taken vp to heauen, that Lot and Noah both Preachers, of all other were saued from the double deluge of fire and water, that Moses & Elias both Preachers of all sorts of men vnder the Law, were chose to be with Christ in his transmigration, that kings haue beene Preachers Melehisedech a King Priest, Dauid a King Prophet, Salomon a King Preacher. But that which is aboue all, is that Christ Iesus that came into the world to saue sinners, that came to enrich it with his grace, to confirme it by his example, to redeeme it with his bloud, came to instruct it with his doctrine, and to preach this Gospell. For his sake, wee therefore as Pil­grimes, and strangers, beseech you that yee receiue not the word of God this grace of God in vaine: By the ten­der mercie of God wee beseech you, though yee deny the dignitie of preaching, yet acknowlege the power that hath called you to this inestimable light. Saint Peter tells vs of [...], 1 Pet. 2.13. subiection of the people to the Pa­stor; and Saint Paul of [...], the authoritie of the [Page 29] Pastor ouer the people, I presse neither, but I call for the acknowledgment of the power of preaching: Paul warns frequently that they dispise not Timothy, obey them o­uer you, they are worthy of double honor that are ouer you haue them in singular loue, and esteeme them highly that are oure you in the Lord, by authoritie this may bee ex­acted, but better by charitie to bee expected. Miserable men! wormes and no men, what are wee? clods of earth, clothed with infirmitie, and mortalitie as ye are, peeces of clay hewen out of the same pit as yee are, wee are but fragments of men, tinkling cimballs, broken cesternes, cor­ruption equally acquainted with vs as you: yet wee are the Embassadors of Christ, his strength is in our weakenesse, and he that hath said dispise not prophesie, hath enioyned not to dispise Timothy. Beloued, it yee desire saluation, dispise not Preachers, nor preaching, I neede not vrge this in this City, where the Lord hath as many acres of good Christians, as in any such quantitie of earth in Christendome, yet if as in Iob, so in this assembly now the sonnes of God are come to present themselues before the Lord there be a Sathan here, so heere, any sonne of per­dition that is a scorner of Preachers, into whose loathsome body Rabshekah is stolne from hell, filling his mouth with blasphemie, against Gods ministerie. Let him know that Ieroboam a kings hand was withered, when hee onely would lay hold on a Prophet: that 2. Captaines, 1 King. 13.4. 2. fifties fired from heauen when they onely would apprehend a Prophet: 42. children torne in peeces, 2 King. 1.10. by wilde beares, who only as children mocked a Prophet: 2 King. 2.24. 250. deuoured by fire, Corah and all his complices, the men, houses, goods, all deuoured by the earth, Numb. 16.35. who onely rebelled againsta Prophet: Nay Miriam a holy women, stroken with a loathsome leprosie onely for a murmure against a Prophet. Neither King, nor Priest, neither Iudge, nor Militarie man, neither Captaine, not Souldier, neither man, not woman, neither women, nor children, haue esca­ped [Page 30] vengeance fot wronging Prophets: and as if all Gods creatures were ready nor onely to assist them, but rel [...]eue them, euen the most sauage creatures. Crooping Ra­uens fed Elias a Prophet, raging Lyons preserued Damelia Prophet: Chr [...]s [...]st. Aues pascunt ferae parcunt, homines seuint, faith Chrysostome. Beloued, I onely cast this, dart, at the despe­rate Atheist, who contemnes preaching, and is onely wittie in this kinde of wickednesse. Let it bee your care, yee watchfull Senators of this great Citty to giue all en­couragement to this holy exercise, when it was threatned by some popish Courtiers, in the siry raigne of Queene Mary that the Court should be remooued from the City, which would cause the Cities pouertie, it was nobly and resolutely answered by the Lord-maior, they feared not, vnlesse they could also remooue the currant of the Thames. Beloued, so long as the currant of the Gospell shall engirt your Citie, well are ye, and happy shall yee be. Giue all Christian encouragement that the sound of preaching may be heard in your streetes; it were a bles­sed suite that in your plantation of IRELAND that Land of IRE, where Gods wrath hath abounded for the want of the Gospell, yee endeauoured by those reuerend Byshops that his sacred Maiestie placeth there toset­tle faithfull, painefull Preachers, in your new Citties: The Londiner may plant, the Courtier may water, the Preacher onely by Gods assistance must bring soorth the encrease. Plat. There were sometimes no Physitians in Athens, one wondered at it, and questioned it, but receiued this answere, because no reward for Phisitians: Yee haue Preachers as plentifully as any Citie of the world, you may blesse God for this: They haue in some places among you, as bountifull rewards as men of any vocation in the world, they may blosse God for this: Lawyers may watch ouer and deuour your states; Phisitians watch ouer and destroy your healths: Only preaching is able to saue your soules. All ha [...]e neede of this: Many worthy consecrate their sonnes to this; some [Page 31]good soules I hope take comfort in this. Beloued, if there bee any consolution in Christ Iesus, if any comfort of loue, if any fellowshippe of the Spirit, if any bowells and mercies open your hands, and at length bring foorth fruits of such plentisull prea­ching. Sit ye idle in the market, idle in the vineyard, idle in the Temple? The trumpe of an Archangell will terrisie you, the song of mercy shall be silenced, the voice of the Turtle shall cease: Athens was Mater studiorum, nouerca virtutū: Shall London abound in preaching, and abound in sinning, what is this, but to kill the Prophets, and build their Sepul­chres It was Diues charitie, to send out from the dead, to preach to his brethren; But now it is our Sauiours mercy he is risen from the dead, and is come to preach the resurrection, and the life, and you partake those things, which the Angells desire to looke into, and are neuer satisfied with looking therein, 1 Pet. 1.2. where­fore I beseech you, Blessed and Beloued, by the care yee haue of your owne soules, by your hope of saluation, by all the mercies of God, by all the merits of Christ Ie­sus, by his agony and bloudy sweate, by his crosse and passion, by his pretious death and buriall, by his glorious resurrection, & ascension, let not your preaching of life, be the sauour of death. Let at length preaching, purge your streets of vnlawfull-gaine, clense your shoppes of deceit, melt your salse ballances, quench your lust, coole your lusts, abate your pride, asswage your malice, confound your couetous vicious deuises; that you may be restored to righteousnes, and holinesse, to the Image of him that hath called you: I should not end this point till you beginne the practise, but the starre leades mee, I must follow further, for this Gospell goeth further, this Gospell shall be preached through the whole world. My third part.

There was light in Goshen, when darkenesse in all E­gypt: 3 that was strange, but there was darkenesse in the Temple, when all the earth was full of glory. Esay 6.3.4. Glory in the earth, in the whole earth, the whole earth full of glory, [Page 32]and the Temple full of smoake, it is more strange then that in Sodome, a iust man was found, when in Ierusalem there was not one good man. Darknesse in the Temple, when light in all the world? If the eye be darke how great is that darknesse? Origen. in Esa. 6. Origen tells vs, this was a manifestation of the preaching of the Gospell, to the Gentiles, and a blinding of the eyes of the Iewes. But our Sauiour was sent rather to the Iewes then Gentiles, I am not sent but to the lost sheepe of the house of Israell, go not into the Gentiles, but to the lost sheepe of the house of Israell, here is that light as in the Temple, and darknesse ouer all the earth, and cruell habitation? How shall this Gospell bee preached throughout the world, when the Gentiles the greatest part of the world were denied the Gospell? Saint Hierome answereth that the Lord would not partake the Gospell to the Gentiles, Hierom. before it had beene offered the Iewes; It was Paul and Barnabas speech, Act. 13.46. It was necessarie that the word of God, should be first spo­ken to you, but seeing yee put it from you, loe wee turne to the Gentiles: Heere the Temple was full of smoake, and all the world full of glorie. The Iewes indeede had a light and whether this light were the seate of the Church, or scepter of the Kingdome, or Law of Moses proper it was to the Iewes. It was but lucerna a lampe, and at length extinguished: But when the light was conueied to the Gentiles, it was Lucifer the day starre sprung in their hearts, 2 Pet. 1.19. Saint Peter so distinguisheth, 2 Pet. 1.19. the Law was [...] a law shining in a darke place, the Gospell [...] the day starre in the dawning of the day, well might our Sauiour be called the light of the Gentiles, Ch [...]s st m for he appeared by a star to the Gentiles: Quare per stellam, quare magis per stellam, saith Chrysostome, as the mother of Sisera answereth her selfe so doth he, the star was as fit a signe for the Magi as the lambe for the Shepheards, the lambe was borne, Shepheards are first told, of the lambe among the Iewes: the light of [Page 33] Israell appeared, men in the starres are directed by this star, Christ Iesus is the bright morning star, Reu. 22.16. hee must be the light of the Gentiles, Lucerna Moses, Lu­cifer Christus, Iohannes vox, Christus verlū: Moses was e­nough for Ierusalem, the Church of the Iewes the day­star must be the light of the Gentiles, Iohn Baptist the voice enough for the wildernesse, Chrysost. Christ the Word prea­ched through the world. Ante resurrectionem, ne abteritis post resurrectionem, ite predicate, before the resurrection, this commandement go not into the way of the Gentiles, after, go teach all nations: This text is then the prophesie of the generall preaching of the Gospell after the resurre­ction. Our Sauiour being driuen out of the Temple, presently healed a man blinde from his birth: Theoph. Nazianz. Bede. Aquin. the Greeke Fathers, and of the latine, Bede, Aquinas, and others, expound this of Christ being driuen from the Iewes, he healed the Gentiles blinde from their birth. Many col­lections to this purpose the destroying Angell in the pesti­lence in Dauids time, sheathed his sword, not ouer the house of a Iewe, but ouer the house of Araumah a Iebu­site, a Gentile: The Arke was brought home, not to Dauids house, but to the house of Obed Edom, a Gittite, a Gentile: Before, Abrahams buriall place, was purcha­sed of a stranger, a Gentile; the place to build the Tem­ple bought of a stranger a Gentile, the field on which the Iewes bestowed Iudas 30. peeces, was bought to bury strangers Gentiles, Iob from Hus, Ruth from Moab, Ra­hab from Iericho, Salomons wife from Egipt, the famous Queene from Sheba, first fruites of the Gentiles; the Wisemen that came to Christ, the Centurion the honou­rable Souldier, Zacheus the great Vsurer, Stephen the first Martyr, Cornelius the Captaine, Simon the Tanner, Queene of Candaces Eunuch, were all Gentiles. I deny not but some parts of the Gospell were knowne, to the heathen before they were preached, that Christ should be borne, the Sibills foretold it, that hee should bee the [Page 34] Redeemer, Tully de diuinatione: Of his miracle, Tacitus is not silent in his 5. booke: Of the Wise-mens starre, Pliny in his 2. booke: Of the Innocents, Macrobius in his Sa­turnals: that Christ was the word, Plato in Timaeo: that by this word all things were made, Amitius the Platonist ac­knowledgeth: that Christ suffered, Dionisius the Atheist: But this was not enough, our Sauiour that would haue all men saued, and to come to the knowledge of the truth, would haue all the ends of the world to heare of the saluation of our God. He sent the Apostles to all nations: Peter into Antiochia, Iohn into Asia, Iames to Syria, An­drew to Scithia, Phillip into Gallia, Thomas into Parthia, Bartholomew into Armenia, Mathew in Ethiopia, and Simon Zelotes into Mesopotamia, and vnto this Land, [...], either Saint Paul as Theodoret affirmes, or Saint Peter as Baronius, or Ioseph of Arimathea as most deliuer: So that it is not only as the Psalmist sang, Praise the Lord ye house of Leui, praise yee house of Aaron, praise the Lord yee house of Israell, but praise the Lord all yee Nations, praise him all yee Gentiles, all they that feare the Lord praise the Lord in all places of his Do­minion, praise the Lord, Psal. 117.1. for the sound of the Gospell is gone out into all the earth, and the preaching thereof vn­to the ends of the world, from which light of the Gentiles, we gather this light of Doctrine, Doct. That all the world shall see the saluation of our God; the Reason, because hee will haue all inexcusable, send to al, come to all, preach to all, in all places of his Dominions: It was his Law in Deut. Deut. 10. 10. that no Citty should be destroyed before he offered Peace vn­to it, and though hee alwaies haue his iudgement ready, his bow bent, his arrowes prepared, his sword sheathed, his cuppe mingled, his weapons burnished, yet before his storme of iudgement, he sends a showre of mercy, warning before woe: Euen Niniueh, and Tyrus, and Babylon, and So­dome had warning; before hee will iudge the world with righteousnesse, he will shew them the light of his counte­nance, [Page 35]his way shall bee knowne vpon earth, his sauing health among all nations: But is this fulfilled, it was Da­uids prophesie, their sound is gone into all Lands, Psal. 19.5. Psalm. 19.5. Esayes proclamation, Hearken ô yee Iles, heare yee people that dwell from farre. Esay. 49.1. Math. 28.20. Esay 49.1. Christs iniunction, Go teach all nations, Math. 28.20. Remission of sinnes shall be preached to all nations, Luk. 24.47. Mark. 16.20. Luk. 24.47 they preached eue­ry where, Mark. 16.20 It is true, Quoad ad vitam crea­uit, ad veniamre dimere voluit. I will poure my Spirit (saith God) vpon all flesh, and againe, all flesh shall see the salua­tion of God, and all the ends of the world haue seene the saluation of our God. Chrysostome, Euthimius, Theophi­lact, Euscbius, Anselme affirme this generall publicati­on, and Chrysostome vpon Math, thinketh it was accom­plished before Ierusalem was demolished. But Origen, and Ierome, and Ambrose, and Austin. and Gregory, and Bede, and the Authour of the imperfect worke vpon Mathew, and most of the Moderne, thinke that this Gospell was not then, or is now so generally knowne, because this is the last signe of the last dayes: Cyrill, Damascene, Cyrill Damascen. Theodoret. Austin in hunc locum. Theodo­ret, expound those places, non adhuc esse vniuersalitatem praedicationis, sed esse implendā hanc vaticinationē successione temporis: Austin to this purpose, verba Matthei non ad­huc completa, sed esse complenda, Aquinas, to the same purpose, Vera sunt Mathei verba, Reuel. non respectu generalis praedicationis, sed propter certitudinem diuinae praeordinatio­nis. It is Saint Ambrose obseruation, that the Elders spake to the Lambe, Redimisti nos, ex omni tribu, lingua, populo, natione, non dixit omnem tribum, omnem populum, omnemlinguam, herein incomplete generis distributio, as in this go teach all nations, that is some of all. But this au­swere is not full: The best answere of the former Authors is Thomas, vtitur praeterito pro futuro, or this Euangelis fa­ma in omnibus gentibus praedicatur, at Ecclesia in omnibus Gentibus non adhuc aedificatur: Aust. ad Hesich. And Zanchius concludeth all, Certum est Euangelium ad omnes gentes pertinere, non [Page 36]adhuc ad omnes pernenire; for in the time of Saint Austin there were as he witnesseth some Nations quos nec acce­perant, ne (que) andiuerant. For the Gospell in the primitiue Church was Orbis ludibrium, & opprobrium. And long after in the time of Prudentius, Prudent. Nunc dogmanobis Christi­anum nascitur post euocatos demum inde consules. It was a Prophesie, euery age fulfilleth a peece of it, the neerer the world to the consummation, the more generall should be the Gospells publication. Minut. Fel. Ingratinos, saith Min: Faelix, we are vnthankfull, the Gospell groweth more ripe in our time, Copern. some think the sun euery yeer descendeth so much neerer the earth, certainely the Gospell in euery age, shi­neth more plentifully in the world. The Gospell shall be preached through the world, blessed are they that haue a hand to helpe such a worke. That it is by Scrip­ture said to haue beene preached to all nations, that speech is to be referred, either to Prophecie, or to be vn­derstood by the Synecdoche, or Hyperbole. Certaine it is, that yet it is not so preached, & as certain that this Gospel shall be preached. Lyra vpon the words of Christ go teach all nations, Lyra. Hic diuulgatio Dominicae resurrectionis, behold by this Commislion a diuulgation of Christs re­surrection, and of all the parts of the Gospell, that euer haue beene published, none more generally then this. The Scribes asked a signe, Christ giues them no signe, but of the Prophet Ionas: Math. 12.39. the Pharises they asked a signe, Christ answers, no signe, but the signe of the Prophet Ionas: Mark. 8.11. At the same time Saduces came, and haue the same answere, Math. 16.4. no signe, but of the Prophet Ionas: Iewes, Scribes, Pharises, Saduces, no signe, but of the resurre­ction. Aboue all other duties, Act. 1.8. he required his Apostles should in Hierusalem, Iudea, Samaria, and vnto the vt­termost parts of the earth bee witnesses to him: of all o­ther points, witnesses of his resurrection. Therefore Peter first, Act. 1.22. Act. 2.32. in his first Sermon in Ierusalem witnesseth that God hath raised vp Iesus: Peter and Iohn preach this [Page 37]to the Sadduces, The resurrection of Iesus, Acts 4.2. Paul and Silas testifie this to the deuout Greekes, Christ that hath suffered is risen, Acts 17.3. And of all other Apostles, Paul as if he had beene the Apostle of the re­surrection, is most plentifull. No Prophet, no Apoctle euer more abundant in any point, then he in the resur­rection. To the Romans, Christ rose againe for our righ­teousnesse, Rom. 4.25. To the Corinthians, Christ died and rose againe, 2 Cor. 5.15. To the Thessalonians, Christ died and rose againe, 1 Thess. 4.14. To the Philippians, The power of Christs resurrection, Phil. 3.10. To Timo­thie, The resurrection of Christ who abolished death, 2 Tim. 1. In a word, he preached no other Doctrine to the Grecians of Thessalonica, to the Stoicks at Athens, to the Scribes and Pharises in Ierusalem, to Festus and Agrippa at Caesarea: In euery Court where he was questi­oned, he crieth out, I stand for the resurrection of the dead, as if ready to preach through the world that this Gospell is to be preached to all Nations.

The vse of which point, Vse. of the generall preaching of the resurrection of Christ through the world, should stirre vs vp to a thankfull acknowledgement of the plentifull enioying of this mercy. It is the manifold grace of God, 1 Pet. 4.10. The exceeding grace of God, Rom. 5.15. 1 Pet. 4.10. Rom. 5.15. 1 Tim 1.14. Psal. 130.7. The superabundant grace of God, 1 Tim. 1.14. The plente­ous Redemption of the Lord, Psal. 130.7. That wee that sate in darknesse, and in the shadow of death, haue seene this great light: that wee haue euen from the beginning of the faith receiued this faith. I know our Aduersaries doe claime the honour of conuerting our Nation: Were it so, we might complaine that the Euill man hath sowne Tares. But as the field was sowne with seed by the hus­bandman before the Aduersarie sowed Tares, so wee had Religion before they knew Superstition. They attribute much to Austine their Monke, who was as farre from the steps as time of blessed S. Austine. For which Monk, it [Page 38]is vpon record, that neither his pride could stoope to such a labour, Gildes. B [...]de. Gen. 22.14. I [...] B [...]nger in Wal [...]s one and twenty hun­dred Monkes, 1. Archbishop, and 7. [...]eac [...]d [...]ops in tho [...]e parts of [...] Saxon Chron of Peterborough Au [...]in the blacke bloudy proud an [...] l [...]ng Monke in his spleene to [...], d [...]ew infinite bloud, and d [...]stroyed more b [...]d [...]s then euer Po­perie saued soules. nor his learning deserued any such honour. Gildas and Bede, and our owne Chronicles tell vs, that the ancient and noble Britaines first receiued the faith among vs, as if Dominus i [...] monte, the Lord would bee worshipped first in the mountaine. Then Britaine was the fleece with the deaw, and all the surrounding Coun­tries as Gedeons fleece drie; though now this, as Gedeons fleece full of deaw, and the mountainous parts as Gede­ons floore now drie, by the desolation of the Church there, and by the negligence, or ignorance, or indulgence, or all, of those that should ouersee it. But for that Mounte­banke Austine the Monke, hee supplanted Religion there, neuer planted it here. Beda mentioneth his prodigious insufferable pride, which made the reuerend British Bi­shops refuse him. If he were our Apostle, or Euangelist, as Hierome said to Iouinian, Si Apostolus, If he were our Apo­stle, where did he preach? If our Euangelist, what did he write? As Varus spake of Ʋalerius, He entred the Land poore, and left our Church poore; hee caused the death of many bodies, and it is doubt he neuer gained soules. It hath beene our Aduersaries generall claime, as that madde man in Athenaeus, who claimed all the ships came into the harbour; or as the Deuill on the Pinnacle, All the Kingdomes of the earth: so they claime to bee the only conuerters of Nations, and they the generall Preachers of the Gospell. Whereas they neuer yet prea­ched wheresoeuer they came but vpon one especiall Text; and in all parts of the world where they haue beene, they haue preached that so powerfully, that their hearers haue wept, and bled, and died for learning that Doctrine. Their Text is, Matth. 10.34. I came not to send peace, but a sword. Looke but vpon the estate of India, which as Vesputius testifieth was conuerted by S. Thomas, where yee may finde more cursed Prodigies then euer the Sunne beheld in any Mappe of miserie: [Page 39]where the Romish Apostles did exceed Cain, or if possibly Iudas; where they rauished, and then murthered Queens, tore infants in peeces, cast men to mastiues, cut children in collops to feed dogges: Happy was his inuention most bloudy. Men neuer did the like, Deuils could doe no more, Vessus. Religion was there (as Vesputius iustifieth) long before the Gold-hungry, bloud-thirsty Portugall or Pope, was heard of; Churches erected, Bishops esta­blished, whole Countries baptized. Orosius and Lum­mius, and Iunius, and Baronius, tell vs, that S. Thomas who conuerted the Countrey, lieth buried there, and that from his time they haue had Patriarkes, and Bi­shops, and maried Priests, and Sacraments among them. The Romans descended from Edom, say the Iewes, Edom had a name of bloud, Mount Seyr was their possession, the Hill of bloud, and Acheldama their purchase, the Field of bloud: The name of bloud, and possession of bloud, is in the Romish Religion. Our English when once they grow Romish, against the Nature of our Nation, become bloudie, which I impute to the The Vine­yards & some parts of the English Col­ledge in Rome are seated in bloudy Neroes ruines. situation of the English Colledge in Rome, which is founded on the ruines of Ne­roes house. But of all the stories of Christians or Hea­thens, of all the Tragedies plotted in hell, acted vnder heauen, neuer any so horrid, as the bloudy Baptisme of India by the vmbragious Iesuites. They haue long inten­ded the second part of that Tragedie to be acted here. God grant their rods and scourges prouided in 88. be not growing Serpents and Scorpions to bring on Gods bitter seueritie to plague our base securitie. The Gospell is not further gone into all the world, then their crueltie is knowne. Nulla posterit as taceat, sed nulla probet. Beloued, Seneca. wee enioy the Gospell in a more gracious manner then any part of the world: wee enioyed it with the soonest, yea and before many parts of the world. When Brith­wald the Monke, before the Conquest, was carefull about succession of the Crowne, hee had a vision, and heard a [Page 40] voice, That the Kingdome of England was Gods owne Kingdome, and for it God himselfe would prouide. Boniface writing to Edward the first, giues testimonie, Anglicanam Nationem non esse subalternam, that this was one of the principall Nations of Christendome. And in the dayes of Henry the seuenth, the Spaniard challenging the chiefe place in a Prouinciall aboue the English, Iulius the second sentenced it for England before Spaine. I speake not this as if the Popes fauour could doe vs ho­nour. For both that Testimonie, and the Title Defensor Fidei, we are no more beholden to the Pope, then to his elder brother Caiaphas the High Priest for his Expedit. God hath not dealt so with other Nations: we can fetch our Testimonies from better Authors. About the 400. yeere, Chrysos [...]homil. quod Christus Deus. Hilar. de Syno­dis. Athanas. Apo­log. secund. Chrysostome witnesseth, Insulae Britannicae in ipso Oceano positae, senserunt virtutem Dei. Before this, in the 360. Hilary writes, Prouinciarum Britanicarum Episco­pis. Yet before this, in the 300. Athanasius, Episcopi Bri­tanniarum sese ad Concilium contulerunt, speaking of the Councell of Sardis. Yet a Century before this, in the 200. yeere Tertussian witnessed, Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca subduntur Christo. Yet in the very first Cen­tury, in the very beginning of that Century, Nicephorus records it, Nicephorus. Simon Zelotes doctrinam Euangely ad Insulas Britannicas profert. More then all this, who could sooner haue this doctrine of the resurrection, then we? Who could teach it surer then Ioseph of Arimathea, whom the most affirme to preach, and liue, and die with vs? God hath not done so with all Nations. Shall it be said of vs, that is obserued of the first borne in the Old Testament, Priores peiores, the first borne, worst bred? Had wee the Gospell sooner then others, and haue brought forth lesse fruit then others? In Iurie was God knowne, his name was great in Israel: At Salem in his Tabernacle, and his dwelling in Zion. But the holy Citie became a harlot, a cage, a cane, a denne, a dungeon of desolation, because she [Page 41]embraced not those things belonging to her peace. Be­loued, our Sauiours words be thunderbolts, Luk. 13.3. twice repeated, Luk 13.3. Except yee repent, yee shall all likewise pe­rish: Let them not be as bruta fulmina, as lightnings fal­ling on beasts, not comming to obseruation. Pli [...]. When Xauerius came to preach to them of laponia, and the people were strangely affected, accusing God to be nei­ther mercifull nor iust, if none could bee saued without this Gospell, expostulating why had so many regions not knowne it, how miserable their parents, friends, neighbours were, who were dead without this Gospell, the poore Indians with wounded hearts, and streaming eyes, were answered, that the more carefully they should re­ceiue this light, because it was denied to others, though offered to them. God was the Answer, though a Iesu­ite the Author. Beloued, the Gospell that bee preached through the whole world, but God hath not dealt so with all Nations as with vs. Our Land is Paradise, here is the tree of knowledge: that tree of alltrees was Adams curse. If our knowledge swell, and our conscience pine, if wee conceiue in the eare, and be barren in the heart, if wee grow rash in censuring, peremptorie in talking, fasti­dious in hearing, hard-hearted in obeying, hypocriticall in professing, let vs not deceiue our selues, our faith is a vaine presuming, our holinesse hypocrisie, our zeale furie. and better were it not to haue knowne the way of truth. But I hope better things of you all, and therefore I cast Anko [...] for my first part, and make more haste with that that followeth. The time is pretious, and my ointment is very pretious. Wheresoeuer this Gospell, &c. I now be­ginne with the vniuersall promulgation of this ointment. This that this woman hath done, &c. First of the Act, This.

This.] And what was this? 2. Part. They that take this woman to be Mary Magdalen, obserue that she neuer came to Christ, but fell at his feet. In the house of the Le [...]per, [Page 42]Luk. 7.38. When she besought him for Lazarus, Iohn 11.31 When she heard him preach, Luk. 10.34. After his resurrection, Matth. 28 9 When she anointed him, Iohn 12.3. A thing most commendable. But this is not the This that is so commended. There is one strange cir­cumstance in this act of her anointing, neue done to any but our Sauiour, and neuer to our Sauiour but by this woman, She wiped his feet with the haire of her head, the greatest humilitie that might be: The more humble, the more happy. Hierome Nunquid decrat isti mulier [...] sudarium, v [...]l lin­teolum aliquod, saith S. Hierome: Was her cintment so pretious, and she so poore, that shee could not bring a Napkin, or cloth, or handkerchiefe? Nihil dignius capillis, nihil proprium magis: What more dainty? What more worthy? Shee wiped her Sauiours feet with the haire of her head. If it were our Sauiours promise to the iust, The haires of your head are numbred, and, Not so much as a haire of your head shall perish; then happy of all the Iust was Mary, happy the haires of her head, which wiping her teares from the feet of our Sauiour, wiped away the faults of her owne soule. This was honourable, but this is not the This that is so commended. The ointment was choice, and her choice of the ointment is commended. It was Spikenard. India is not honoured for Gold, Babylon for Corne, Tyrus for Purple, Libanus for Cedars, Arabia for Spices, Persia for Oiles, more then this oint­ment aboue all ointments is honoured. Euery Euangelist hath a seuerall attribute to honour this ointment: [...], Mark. 14 3. very sumptuous ointment, so Plutarch vseth the word [...]; S. Iohn [...], very honourable oile, Iohn 12.3. so Athenaeus vseth the word [...]; our Euangelist [...], ointment of greater honour, and dearer price, Matth. 26.7. so Suidas vseth the word [...]. Nay Iudas gi­ueth the ointment praise enough, though he condemne the act, though he murmur out, To what purpose is this [Page 43]waste? which was a strange question, that the sonne of perdition should aske Quorsum perditio haec? when neuer any thing was lost by our Sauiour, but this sonne of perdi­tion, whose damned murthering murmur this was, Quor­sum perditio? Peraitio tua exte Iuda, Iudas, thou sonne of perdition, thou art thy owne perdition. But Iudas (I say) did praise this ointment, nay praise it more then any other, esteemed it farre more worth then hee esteemed his Master, for he sold his Master for 30. peeces, in the 15. verse of this chapter, and val [...]ed this ointment at 300. pence, Iohn 12.5. The ointment was Spik [...]nard, pretious, very pretious, yet it is not the ointment that is so praised. This is not the This: What then was this This? Sure though not the ointment, yet the anointing might be so commended. It was indeed much that shee bought, and brought, and vsed the ointment, imployed her ende­uour, and her earnest labour, in the anointing of Christ. We neuer reade that our Sauiour had any gifts giuen him, but Gold, and Spices, and Ointments: The Wise men offered Gold, as to a King; and Spices for Incense, as to a God; and this woman ointments twice, as to a Man: Royaltie is noted in the Gold, Diuinitie by the Incense, Mortalitie by the Ointment. So Christ applieth it in the 12. verse, In that she powred this ointment on my body, shee did it for my buriall. Neuer was he otherwise anointed: He was anointed (saith Damascene) spiritually. Damase. Corpus diuinit ate sua vngens vt Deus, vnctus vt homo, quandoqui­dem & hoc & illud est. Otherwise corporally he was not anointed, he needed not, hee vsed no other ointment, yet fit it was this woman should so anoint him, though not fit to anoint him as Aaron the Priest was anointed, Leuit. 3. or Dauid the King, 1. Sam. 10. or Elisha the Prophet, 1 Kings 19. for wee haue receiued anointing from him, saith S. Iohn, 1 Iohn 2.27. yet I say fit it was, for it was a Prophecie, that Christ should be so anoin­ted, Psal. 23 5. anointed so at the Table, Psal. 23.5. Thou prepa­rest [Page 44]a Table before mee, saith the Psalmist, thou anoin­test my head with oile. This is somewhat, yet this is not the This that is so commended: somewhat it is, yet, what it is wee know not. It was our Sauiours speech, When thou fastest, Matt. 6.17. Lyra. anoint thy head, Matth. 6.17. Palestinis mos erat in Festis caput vngendi, saith Lyra; In Palestine they vsed in their Feasts to anoint their heads. But our Sauiour altereth that custome, When thou fastest, anoint thy head. In this act the command of our Sauiour, and the custome of the Countrey, though contrary one to the other, are fulfilled. Christ at the feast is anointed, this was the custome of the Countrey; Mary fasteth and anointeth her head, her head was Christ, here is the com­mand of Christ: this is the This, She anointed her head Christ, in the 7. verse she anointed the head of her head Christ. Not the [...]ile, though pretious; nor the endeuour, though laborious; nor the action, though religious; but the ma [...]ner of the action made the ointment odoriferous. God (say the Canonists) loueth Aduerbes better then Adiectiues: Non quàm bonum, sed quàm bene; Not the matter, but the manner receiues the commendation. It is Origens note, Luk. 7.37. that the ointment of the sinfull woman in Luke hath no commendation: A woman that was a sinner in the City, brought an Alablaster box of ointment, shee brought ointment, but Mary very pretious ointment; she anointed his feet, but Mary anointeth his head: Mary hath chosen the better part. Chrisolog. At quaenam haec huius capitis vnctio? saith Chrisologus: What meant this anointing of his head? For it may seeme rash, and rude, that a wo­man how good soeuer, should suddenly when our Saui­ur sate at meat, powre ointment, how pretious soeuer, vpon his head, and face: Either there is some mysterie in it, or it had neuer beene so commended. Some tell vs that herein was Agnitio Diuinitatis, o [...]hers Contemplatio Resurrectionis, to which the Text giueth warrant, others Confessio Maiestatis & Gloriae Christi. Origen on this place, [Page 45] Opus bonum quod fecimus propter Deum, Origen. & secundum De­um, & ad gloriam Dei, est vnguentum super caput Christi effusum. And Chrysostome applieth it so; Chrys st. Caput Christi vngas, si omnia in Christi gloriam referas. S. Bernard the same words; Gloria quae ex bonis actionibus proficiscitur, Bern. ad Deum referenda. Contrition by repentance doth wash Christs feet, Deuotion by faith anointeth his head, Almes doe anoint his feet, Praier powres the ointment on his head, Workes of mercy may wash his feet, but yeelding him due glory doth anoint his head: This is the This receiueth this reward, Shee gaue glory to God by this action; by this vnction, her light did shine before men, and she did glorifie her Father which is in heauen. And now her sweet sauouring ointment yeelds vs this assured sa­cred Doctrine: Good workes be not accepted by God, Doct. vn­lesse such as are directed to the glory of God. The reason, Where the end is wanting, the action is halting, and God will receiue no lame or blinde sacrifice. If I seeke to please men, saith Paul, I should not bee the seruant of Christ, Gal. 1 10. If wee receiue the witnesse of men, if wee seeke glory, by any good worke among men, wee anoint our selues, not Christ, not his head, not his feet, but our selues. In such a case, Fumus flammam suffocat, Seneca. saith Seneca, the smoake choaketh the fire, and the froth of ostentation riseth no sooner, but falleth to the depth: There is the worme in the gourd, rust in the gold, a fire commeth out of the bramble to deuoure the Cedar. Tully cals Demosthenes, Teniculum Demosthenem, because it pleased him going in the street to heare euen women and water-bearers whisper, Hic est ille Demosthenes. A wise man will not, a good man cannot entertaine thoughts of vaine-glory, which doe strangle all worthy holy actions. In such a case, the worke (though neuer so seemingly good) is but a fooles wonder, and the Au­thor but a wise mans foole. Vaine-glory cannot swell so high, but vengeance will sit aboue it; nor lift vp it selfe so [Page 46]lofty but God will euer ouer-looke it. Our Sauiour nei­ther desired, nor accepted the glory of the world, looking with no other eye thereon, then Phisitians on the diseases of their Patients, his profession was I seeke not my owne glory, Ioh. 8.50. They that thinke, that they possesse all things haue nothing, 2 Cor. 6.10. They that are proud of knowledge know nothing, 1 Tim. 6.3. He that thinketh himselfe to be something, is nothing, Gal. 6.3. S. Paul in nothing beyond the chiefe Apostles, confesseth him­selfe nothing, 2 Cor. 12.11. Our blessed Sauiour conclu­deth this point, if I honour my selfe my honour is nothing, Ioh. 8.54. and therefore our aime of our actions, should be as this of Mary, to the honour of our Master, that all things may bee done to the glory of God the Father.

The Vse whereof, Ʋse. as it should euer bee welcome, so e­specially most holesome now to purge all Pharisaicall lea­uen of hypocrisie and vaine-glory, in the blessed occasion of our meeting which is as the anncinting of Christ, and I doubt not entended to the glory of our gratious God, yet seeing Sathan is euer busiest in the best actions, let euery man stand in feare, that hee deceiue not his owne soule: The temptations of vaine-glory of all other are most full of danger, most full of doubt, hardest to be knowne, not as the insinuations of other vices, open and plaine, but priuy and craftie, creeping vpon a man, with a Spanish low complement, binding the eyes with a cobwebbe vaile of vanitie, and then with a false key of selfe-loue opening the heart to draw in that Spirit which turneth Angells into Deuills. Beloued, your alabaster box is faire, see your ointment be sweete, Hierem. In hoc genere Marmoris vnguenta ser­uantur illibata, saith Ierome; farre be it that in an alabaster box there should be poison, or in the censor of your in­cense, an vnsauory persume, yee haue annointed the feet of Christ, and I hope great is your reward in heauen; yet the sinner did so much, Faemina peccatrix in ciuirate, shall [Page 47]I say? the sinfull Citie hath done no more, then that in­famous sinner in the Citie, I will not, I must not, I hope I may say the holy Citie, the Cittie of God hath annointed the head and feete of her Sauiour to the glory of God, this worke that yee haue done is [...], a good worke, these little ones are the Lords feet, let not the best heere, despise one of these little ones, for I say vnto you, that in heauen the Angells doe alwaies behold the face of the Father which is in heauen: Let other places bee honoured for o­ther blessings in them, Venice for riches, Bononia for fruits, Naples for nobilitie, Millane for beauty, Rauenna for antiquity, Florence for pollicie, but of all Christian Cities, This of yours, for this Nurserie of your Insants and Orphans hath excelied. I denie not but besides this, many other Porches of Bethesdas poole, are blessed by you, when I come to the memoriall which is as the Mart, ye shall haue the Catalogue; But this is the best and most blest of all your good workes. It was a lamentable crie in Ierusalem, Parvuli panem petunt, & nemo est qui frangit illis, The children crie for bread, and there is none to giue it them, the children, the younglings, sucklings, babes, Lament. 4. and latter births, they that could neither stir to get it, nor labour to gaine it. Parvuli panem petunt, the weake sicke, infant in­nocent tenderlings, not able to continue fasting, nor to suc­cour themselues by feeding, in Ierusalem they perished, nothing in the Lamentation more lamentable: But here they are nourished, blessed be the Lord, our Ierusalems brests be not drie, dearth hath not threatned death, plen­tie, bountie, mercie, had fed these poore children, Gods promise, grace, and glory, will reward it. I will not presse you, that are so gratiously forward, nor tell you that somewhat is wanting yet, that Ierusalem was plagued, for not building of her decayed Temple, which was the glo­ry of her Cittie, nor encite by any arguments further then Haggai inciteth you, Hagg. 1.9. I will not tell you that Christendome hath not a more glorious foundation [Page 48]then you haue to worke vpon, for you are sure to builde vpon faith Pauls Church.: All that I moue is this, that this vncleane, leprous, idolatrous place may be clensed, no time so fit as the Passouer, the first time that Christ came into the Temple, Christ draue the buyers and sellers out of the Temple, and Rupertus tells vs it was at the Pass [...]uer. It is questioned, why Mary Magdalen, in Luke, came to Christ being such a sinner, Pupertus lib. 5. in Iohan. with a box of oin [...]ment, and answered vnguenta attulit quis nouit quod peccata ante Deū fatt [...]la, ideo adducit vnguenta oderifera, Beloued yee had neede, to present your selues to God, the many sinkes of sinnes in this Cittie, they onely bring the plague Gods an­ger and your danger, come not without your ointments, kisse the sonne, least he be angry, and yee perish from the right-way, offer sweete ointments, and in a sweete place, sanctifie your selues, and your ointments, and place, yee present it in; A woman perfumed a Lepers house once, and the house hath smelt of the sauour euer since, at length persume this place, and doe this and whatsoeuer you doe, to the glory of God: This is the this that receiueth the commendation, for this act, the Author a woman is honoured: which is my next part: This that this woman hath done.

This woman, A s [...]n. Euae à Diabolo mutuarit peccatum, Eue the first woman, tooke vp sinne from Sathan vpon her bare word, Adam by consenting v [...]aduisedly subscribed to the bond, vsura creuit posteritati saith Austen, but the burthen of the interest, euer since lay heauy on their po­steritie: the woman was first in the transgr [...]ssion, but no wonder, for if Lucifer an Angell, first fell in heauen, it is not strange that a woman fell in earth, in Paradise was the quarrell, euer since was the battle, the Serpent lost the field, though the won an lost the garden, God gaue the wo­man the honour and the victorie in the day of battle: Se­men mulieris, the seede of the woman shall breake the Ser­pents head, all the quarrell since is for the broken head. [Page 49] Draw thy sword, and slay mee, Iudg 9.54. saith Abimelech to his Armour-bearer, when a woman had wounded him, that they say not, A woman slew him, Iudg. 9.54. Sathan was as Abimelech wounded by a woman. In all the Scrip­ture yee haue scarce any example of any woman that wounded a man, but still she aimed at the head. When Iael slew Sisera, shee nailed his head to the ground, Iudg. 4.21. Iudg. 4 21. When Sheba rebelled, and Ioab besieged him, a woman crieth to the Captaine, The head of Sheba shall be cast ouer to thee, 2 Sam. 20.21. 2 Sam. 20.21. Iudg. 13.8. When Iudith slew Holofernes, she smote away his head from him, Iudg. 13.8. When the woman slew Abimelech, she cast a peece of a milstone on his head, Iudg 9.53. Iudg 9.53. I am neither friend nor stranger to strange Allegories. These be semblances of the womans breaking the Serpents head. But the wo­man in my Text is anointing her Sauiours head, a worke that no woman did but she, and therefore she to bee ho­noured among women. Yet who this woman was, wee may sooner question, then know. Nec siue ex curiositate, siue ex praesumptione, disquirere cupiamus, saith Kemnitius: and his counsell is good, Kemnitius hanu. Euang. in bunc locum. presumption and curiositie in questions are to be auoided; yet the Truth is so to bee embraced, as that negligently to refuse knowledge, is a dull superstition. The wise should neither bee Scepticks, nor Guosticks: Curiositie is dangerous, Ignorance is odious. Oculos habemus Talparum, non Aquilarum: It is true, and it is our miserie; yet to haue no eyes, or hauing, to stop our eyes, is base blindfolded Idolatrie. Maries face is not as Moyses face, it hath no vaile, wee may looke vp­on it, and aske, Magdalen, art thou Lazarus sister, or shall wee looke for another? Ʋnlgatissima opinio, Kemnitius. saith Kemnitius, ipsam fuisse peccatricem illam: It was the most commonly knowne opinion, that this woman was the sinner in Lukes Gospell. And howsoeuer some thinke that the thrice anointing of Christ was performed by three women, Roffens. de tribus Magdalenis. which Roffensis (the Beau-clarke of his time) [Page 50]confuteth in three bookes, yet the generall streame of all antiquitie, and the opinion of the Church, (as Roffensis by impregnable arguments proueth) is this, vnicam esse Magdalenam, candem (que) bis vnxisse Christum. It is a con­fused and perplexed question, I confesse, & plus subtili­tatis quàm vtilitatis habens, as Erasmus spake: and how­soeue it be none of those Cobwebs, wherein some Mon­kish flies haue beene caught by their cunning, yet may it seeme as intorteled and intangled a question, as any in the Harmony of the Gospell. Only I wonder that they that are so opposite in the deniall of it, take not Archidamus counsell, to bring more strength, and lesse sting in their argunents; this were more courage, and lesse rage. Faber St [...]pulensis cals it a lie: Faber [...]ay. Roffensis answereth, Simendacium, profecto solenne mendacium & celebre, imo nihil celebrius; for in the Greeke Church many beleeued (as Origen con­fesseth in his 33. Homilie on Matthew) that the woman that anointed our Sauiours feet in Luke, Orige [...]. is the same that anointed his head here: and howsoeuer Origen himselfe may seeme doubting herein, yet in his first Homilie on the Canticles he is resolute for it, and so are many other of the Greeke Church. Theophiles, Seuerianus, Eusebius, Ammonius, Gregory Nazianzene, and Chrysostome, whom though they vouch as the chiefest of the Westerne Church against, Chrysostome. yet acknowledgeth it in his Homilie on the treason of Iudas. All the foure Latine Fathers af­firme this; Hierome in his Proeme vpon Osea, Ambrose in his Comment vpon Luke, Gregory in his Morals, and S Austine reconciling the Euangelists, thus; Ego quidem nihil aliud intelligendum arbitror, nisi quod non aliam fuisse muliere in quae peccatrix tum accessit ad pedes Iesu, sed can­dem Mariam bis hoc fecisse. Beda and Leo, and many others, all the Schoolemen, especially Albertus and Aqui­nas, most confident in it. Albertus vpon the 7. of Luke, hauing repeated the opposite Authors, concludeth, Et sic procerto Deus fecit duo luminariamagna, duas Marias, ma­trem [Page 51]scilicet Domini, & sororem Lazari, quam & pecca­tricem fuisse constat. Aquinas on the 12. of Iohn reciteth and confuteth the contrary arguments, and therein and in other places concludeth this woman to be that Mary the sinner, that anointed his feet in Luke as a Sinner, and now anointeth his head as a Saint. To these I might adde a cloud of witnesses, which if they were not thought clou­die, might cleare the point. But I know this time and place is vnfit for Paradox. To affirme rashly, were per­emptorie; to denie resolutely, were follie. This is a wanton Age, and we rather bring the eares of curiositie, then the hearts of obedience: With the Athenians, wee aske for newes; but with the Bereans, we should search the Scrip­tures. The most probable argument that is brought to confirme this doubt in question, Ioh. 11.2. is out of Iohn 11.2. where the act of anointing Christ, and the name of her person is mentioned. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her haires, whose brother Lazarus was sicke. Here is one anointing of Christ. Ioh. 12.3. In Iohn 12.3. there is another mention of anointing, Then tooke Mary a pound of ointment, of Spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Iesus, and wiped his feet with her haire. Faber and others answer, both these are one, the first related by anticipation, vsuall in the Gospell, when a thing is spoken of as done, before it be done. Roffensis answers, Roffens. de tribus Magdalenis. that in all S. Iohns Gospell there is not one anticipation, howsoeuer in other Euan­gelists some few, yet in Iohn none, nothing related by the tense of the time past, that was to bee future, at that time not finished. Iohn 12.4. he speaketh of Iudas, Iudas qui traditurus, non qui tradidit: Againe, Iohn 6.71. Iudas qui traditurus, non qui tradidit. Iohn 7.39. Hoc dixit de Spiritu quem essent accepturi, non quem accepissent: where­as Iohn 11.2. he speakes of Mary in the Participle of the time past, [...], which Beza renders, Vnxit, extersit, she had anointed, she had wiped, as done [Page 52]already, and after in Iohn 12.2. mentions that other anointing. Ioh. 12.2. Arguments of probabilitie there may bee many: Shee that in Luke anointed Christ, was Mary Magdalen, so our last Interpreters in the contents of the seuenth chapter tell vs, the fire of her affection strangely inflamed her heart in her loue to her Lord. Christ giueth her this testimonie, She loued much; and whose loue to Christ was euer so registred as the loue of Lazarus sister? Is it probable, I say is it possible, that she that so loued the Lord in his life, should neither at his passion, nor after his passion, nor in his resurrection, afford any token in her weeping, hauing lost whom she loued, or by watching to finde whom she lost? In all the foure Euangelists, no word of Mary, Lazarus sister, at the passion, or after the passion, or in his resurrection, vnlesse it be by the name of Mary Magdalen. Lazarus sister was frequent in weeping, went to Lazarus graue weeping, came and fell downe before Christ, Iohn 11.33. weeping, and who more aboun­ded in teares then Mary Magdalen? not only in the house of Simon, where she not only wet, but washt Christs feet with teares, but her teares at the Crosse, at graue, at gar­den, her eyes seeming to be the Cymbals of her sorrow, all things inuiting her to the wofull exercise of weeping. Adde hereunto, that whensoeuer Mary, Lazarus sister, came to Christ, she fell at his feet: so did Mary Magda­len. Lazarus sister vsually called Christ Master; The Master is come, saith Martha to Mary, Iohn 11.28. Mary Magdalen comming to seeke her Sauiour at the Sepulchre, Christ calling her Mary, she answereth by the former word Master: both followed him, both frequently heard him, both anointed him in the house of Simon, as the Gospell testifieth both in the house of the same Simon, in the same place, at Bethany, as Ambrose collecteth, both brought boxes of Alablaster, both wiped with their haire, both actions commended; and therefore it is most pro­bable, that both were performed by the same woman, [Page 53]otherwise it should seeme strange, that this Gospell, should make this mention of this act of this woman, with this so­lemne memoriall, and wee should bee vncertaine who this woman is. I submit these collections to the Reue­rend, and learned: The Cynicke will not be satisfied, the Scepticke cannot, and for the Curious querulous Pioner that onely brings his eares, not his heart, I desire neither to please, nor easily to displease him. All I say is this, there be blessed seruants of God of both opinions, opinion is no determination, it is no article of our faith, flesh and bloud is blinde in the best things: we see but in part, wee pro­phesie but in part. Onely I wonder that this loud sounding solemne Prophesie of this Gospell, and this work and this woman should be so stifled, and strangled, by the crooked lines of contrary Interpreters. This woman saith my Text, from whom as from the wombe of my Text we receiue this Doctrine, Doct. the Lord giueth much honour to the woman as to the weaker vessell, in that his spirit re­cordeth the least holy duties performed by women: the Reason, is to manifest that as the woman was the occa­sion of sinne and death, so by Christ shee is made toge­ther coheire of the grace of life. Sure Gods Spirit hath some especiall end in it, to giue comfort and encourage­ment to that weake sex, by taking an Inuentory of the particular acts in Scripture, performed by women, not onely the chamber prouided by the Sunamite for the Pro­phet, 2 King. 4.10. but a nights lodging afforded Ioshuas spies, 2 King 4.10. by the Inne-keeper Rahab, Iosh. 2.1. Iosh. 2.1. and a small measure of oyle and meale, by the widdow to Elias, 1 Kings 17.14. these are vpon record and loose not their reward, Magdalens box, Maries choice, 1 King. 17.14. Marthaes cheer­full entertainment, the Sulamite, Sunamite, Caananite, the woman of Samariahs pitcher, the poore widdowes mite, are not forgotten, which is enough to put the life of religion into the hearts of women, to see euery little du­tie of theirs so well accepted. And sure many of them, [Page 54]haue beene both partakers of great mercy, and instru­ments of Gods glory, as in their owne lifes, which as lamps gaue light to their vnbeleeuing Husbands, so in gouerning their familie, and in instructing their children, so was Bathsheba a blessed mother to Salomon, Loys to Timothy, Maxima to Basill, Monica to Austin, Pulcheria to Theo­dosius, Helena to Constantine: in the sex where sinne hath abounded, Grace hath superabounded: But none of all that sex, the blessed Virgin onely excep­ted, hitherto euer receiued such an honour as this wo­man; many daughters haue done vertuously, but thou ex­cellest them all. Pro. 31. I deny not but Sathan that blasted Para­dise, hath much blemished the honour of this sex, hee made choice of a woman, to bee the first engine, and in Paradise by this wheele he turned about the world, and since Dalila was the trappe for Sampson, the daughter of Pharaoh for Salomon, Iesabell for Ahab, almost all the he­resies, though fathered by men, yet furthered by womens wit, Helena furthers Simon Magus stratagem, Phioume­na her Apelles, Montanus hath his Prisca, Donatus his Lucilla, Priscillinus his Galla, Arius assisted by Constan­tines sister, and Nicholas the Deacon hath a consort of such Companions; and of all Creatures that euer GOD created, there bee no such ensnaring attractiue loadstones and loadstarres to Superstition and Idolatry as women. Yet as Ieremy spake of the figges, the good figges were ve­ry good, I [...]r. 24.3. and the euill were very euill, Ier. 24.3. So the good women are very good, and such were those holy wo­men in old time, who trusted in God. And as the Deuill neuer found of such an engine as the woman, so neuer such an enemie aga [...]nst him as the woman: Piumsane, faith­full and pittifull, [...]u [...]n. and sanctified is this sex, saith Austen, and the honour done by our Sauiour vnto them, hath much exalted the humble and meeke; for besides that the Ʋirgin concceiued him, and Elizabeth in the house pro­phesied of him, euery passage of his life had some women [Page 55]to attend him. Hanna in the Temple reioyced to see him, and Magdalen at the table washt and annointed him, and Martha with a great feast entertained him, and Mary her Sister poured ointment on him, and Iohanna and Susanna and many women ministred of their substance to him: the Daughters of Ierusalem wept for him, sun­dry women with infinite sorrow, attended him at the crosse when his Disciples fled from him, and women came to the graue, though Ioseph and Nichodemus had bestowed a hundred pound of Mirrh and Aloes, as well applied as Art or Deuotion could deuise, yet women came to embalme his body, and whom they found wanting to annoint, they sought weeping to lament. This honourable testimonie, of this holy woman, giueth full assurance of our Sauiours acceptance of the seruice of that sex, if they be sanctifi­ed, seeing hee ioynes with this Gospell, this woman, and this worke.

The Vse whereof, should incite all Christian women to serue the Lord, that in the day of retribution, Ʋse. they may receiue reward from the Lord. S. Austen maketh this Vse; Quum foenum eruerit, slos deciderit, Austin. verbua [...] Do­mini manebit, when the grasse and grace of beauty, and the flower of mortall frailty shall fall, the word of the Lord shall endure for euer. Christian Matrones be yee ambitious of the beauty of the daughter of Zyon, and re­member yee that supercilious sailes of vanitie and vaine glory, as they are the vnfitting fashion of the Court so the worst infection of the Citie. Much ornament is no good signe, painting of the face argues an ill complexion of body, a worse mind: Truth hath a face both honest and comely, and lookes best in her wone colours. The Lord threatneth in Esay to ransacke the womens wardrope, and to take a­way the tinkling ornaments, and their caules and round tires, Esay 3. and chaines, and bracelets, and musters, and bonnets, and headbands, and tablets, and earnings, and mantles, and wim­ples, and Iewells, and hoods, and vailes, and crisping pinnes [Page 56]and threatneth, A [...]sten. lamentation and mourning, and desolation to those daintie Creatures that sate at ease in Sion: God is the same your sinnes the same, your warning the same. Nuptae Susannam, Anna vidus, virgines Mariam cogitent, saith Austen: I might remember you how hatefull the memorie of some women are, a Diblaim or Dido, Infaelix Dido, nulls bene nupta, marito: Such are the sexes curse, and the earths dregges of corruption. I might remember you, of our Debora, blessed Elizabeth a woman after Gods owne heart, the glory of the Christian, and enuie of the Infidell world, who was such a nursing mother to our Land and Church, that the cause of Religion, doth owe more to that one Queene, then to many Kings that were before her. But the time as well as the feast keeps Passouer, and I follow. All women must needs confesse that they can neuer honour him enough who hath hono­red them so farre, as to make them the first witnesses of his resurrection, Hugo. and hath as Hugo obserueth principally deserued the loue of women in that hee vouchsafed to be borne of a woman, that when it was granted to no man, to be the father, it was performed to a woman, to bee the mother of Christ: wherefore ye Ladies, which like the lyllies of the field, toile not, nor spinne not, and yet Salo­mon in all his royaltie not arraied as one of these. If euer yee had pitty on the fruite of your wombes, take pittie on your soules, pamper not your bodies to murther your soules. Cloath not Hagar with the colour of the Raine­bow, and let Sara, the soule, the Kings daughter sterue. Flatter not your selue, worms made your cloathes, worms eate your bodies. Alas wantons, and wormes-meate, what be yee? what shall become of yee, if ye neglect the mes­sage of saluation? No oyle for your lampes! no ointment for your heads; Holinesse should become the house of God for euer, if ye are his, ye are his houses, to dwell in, and nothing can better become yee then holinesse. Beau­tie natures frailtie, affections fancie cannot better become [Page 57]yee. Apparell, nakednesse garment, follies garnish, Adams fig-leaues, and beasts leauings, cannot better become yee: Gold and siluer, the Wise-mans drosse, but the Miserables darling, the earths gifts, and mineralls garbage, cannot better become ye; Wit, vertues wanton, fooles wonder, vices friend, and the worlds fauorite, cannot better become ye. Embrace, annoint, kisse, loue, solace, onely in the con­templation of your sauiour. No snake in this garden, no worme in that gourd, be ye amiable as Rahell, wise as Re­becca, obedient as Sara, diligent as Martha, but withall religious as Mary who receiued this Testimonie, where­soeuer. I am at length come to her memoriall: my third circumstance of the second part.

Saint Chrysostome makes mention, In 1 Cor. 4. hom. 14. of the women of Corinth, who had a custome to set vp lights or tapers at the birth of euery childe, with proper names, and looke what name the taper bare which lasted longest in the burning, they transferred that name to the childe: our Lord hath put vp a burning lampe for a perpetuall monu­ment of Mary, her name, and her ointment shall neuer haue an end, Quanto huius seminis benedictio satio parca, messis abundans Augusta vena, spatiosi maris, quantum pretium praetiosae meris. No Iustes, nor Olympiads, nor Iubiles, nor ages, nor Plato his longest yeare, nor the long liued mo­tion of the ninth spheare, shall terminate, or antiquate, this memoriall. In this Gospell I should looke for a monu­ment vpon Christs sepulcher: Esay It was Esaies Prophesie gloriosum erit eius sepulchrū; Alexander may haue Europe and Asia, and all the world represented on his Tombe, Cyrus on his, Hic Persarū Domitor, Themistocles on his, En memoranda facta Themistocles, yet neither Alexander against Barbarians, Themistocles against the Persians, E­milius against the Macedonians, Marcellus against the Scithians, or Scipio against the Carthaginians had euer the like victory in the field, as Christ had in the graue, nor doth this victorie want a memory euer vpon the mo­nument [Page 58]of his Sepulchre. For as Alphonsus had this, Al­phonsus iacet hic, so Christs Sepulcher this inscription, Luk 24.6. Surrexit Christus, nonest hic. That memori­all is by an Angell, but Christs memoriall is by Christ himselfe: A more ample memoriall then euer Christ gaue any, neither Peter first called, nor Iohn best belo­ued, nor Iames his neere kinsman, none of these pillars as Paul calleth them had such a Pillar erected as Maries memoriall, Christ buildeth a memoriall out of Maries box, because she poured her oyle on his body, and this is a memoriall, not of him, but of her: Erasmus obserueth that [...] is a solemne monument, an honourable memoriall: Chrysostome on Mathew wonders at the e­ternitie of this memoriall, nec insignis persona, nec multi­tudine testium celebrata, nec in Templo, nec in Theatro, sed in domo, & in domo leprosi confecta, No noble personage, not done in the Temple or Theatre, or before a multitude of witnesses, but in a priuate house, in the house of a Leper, when the Disciples were onely present, and yet saith Chrysostome, the famous deedes of Kings and Em­perours is silenced, they which built cities, erected wals, fought battles, attained Trophies, subdued nations, though they erected statues, and made ordinances, for celebrating their memorialls, yet their memoriall is perish­ed with them, when as this act of this woman, is recor­ded, and this is the woman whose praise is in the Gos­pell. A priuate woman, in a priuate manner, in the priuate house of a Leper to poure out a small box of ointment on Christs head. Say her loue was great, and her act was good, and her oyntment were pretious, notwithstanding that of Claudian, in greater acts hath beene true, Minuit presentia famam quanto magis illam minuit notitia: Fame is an infection, acts reported are either portentious, beyond truth, and by bignesse they breake, or else so cankered with the rust of vntruth, as being lessened they liue not. It is true many haue sought honour by building, wherein [Page 59]they haue thought to leaue perpetuall monuments, and what are all these, but M [...]mons ryots, and times ruines, making the earth to groane vnder the burthen it bear­eth. Where is Neroes house of gold, or Dioclesians hot bathes, or Anthonies water workes, or Augustus forum, or Cornelius Theatre, or the Amphitheatre of Statilius, or Dianas Temple, or the Mansolian Tombe, or Octanias gate, or Liuias gally, or Apolloes Church, or Iupiters Ca­pitoll? It is a very poore monument, how immense, how sound that lime, and stone, and wood, and timber, and dust, and ashes, must pile for a memoriall to posteritie, when time, and storme, and winde, and weather, and moath, and rust, and ruine doe corrupt it. There was a monument bestowed on a Viceroy of Spaine, Propter nos & nostram salutem, descendit ad inferos: and many such great ones, to the shame of their posteritie deserue no better memorie. When as Maries ointment smels sweete ouer all the world, whose memoriall yeelds this Doctrine, The good workes of Gods Saints, shall bee had in euerlasting remembrance. The reason, Doct. because they shall bee exemplary to posteritie, and incitements to Gods glo­ry. In Nehemiah 3. there is a list of the Benefactours that built the wall of Ierusalem, Neh. 3. not onely their families and their Tribes, but their trades, the Marchants, and the Goldsmiths are twise named, the whole trade and com­pany are named, and one, in the 8. verse, and Apothe earies sonne is named, and after seuerall men, and euery mans seuerall worke. The righteous saith Dauid shall be had in euerlasting remembrance, Psal. 112.6 [...], blessed and long liued saith Chrysostome. Blessings are on the head of the Iust, the memory of the iust is blessed, Pro. 10.7. the remembrance of Iosias as the compositi­on of a perfume, Eccles. 49.1. The heathen thought for euer to be remembred, for their famous inuentions, Cad­mus for letters, Pithagoras for numbers, Sidonius for mea­sures, Aesculapius for medicines, Lycurgus for Lawes, [Page 60] Arte for arts, Hercules for games, but how few take no­tice of this fame, when that the godly neglected on earth are registred in heauen, and emblasond by Gods sentence and sanction. Non sic impij, non sic, the vngodly are not so, they perish, and stinke, and rot, the countenance of the Lord is against them, to roote out their remembrance from the earth, Psal. 34.15. vt puluis platearum, lutum pa­tearum, lanugo plantarum, vt limus, fumus, festuca, patea, spuma, as chaffe of the sloore, dust of the streete, mosse of the trees, drosse of the siluer, foame of the sea, froath, smoake, vapours, meteors, and most momentany things, whereas the godly are euer honoured, their gratious acti­ons honoured, their glorious examples imitated. It were honour enough for good men, if they were onely admi­red, for Gods blessing and bountie vpon them in this life, that they are, as signets on his finger, starres in his hand, apples of his eye, that they shall slourish as the Bay-tree, the Oliue, the Myrh, the Palme, the Cedar of Lebanus; that their names bee in heauen, Luk. 10.20. their mem­bers in his booke, Psalm. 139.19. their meate commeth from his hand, Psalm. 145.15. their bones kept by him Psal. 34.21. Their haires numbred by him, Math. 10.30. Their teares reserued with him, Psal. 50.7. But that no good worke, shall passe vnrewarded by him, not a lit­tle meate to his Prophet, or a nights-lodging to a spie, or a little ointment, or a cuppe of cold water, or a mite misse a reward, or monument; for wee had not heard of the poores treasury in the Temple, had not the poore widdow cast in her mite into the treasurie, which mite is treasured vp, and hath a mention, as is this worke of this woman in this Gospell.

The vse whereof should confound, Vse. at least confute the miserable mucke-wormes and penurious money-mongers, who neuer did any good, arrestable to God, auaileable to their soule, profitable to their neighbour, that came na­ked into the world, and will goe naked out of the world, [Page 61]whose only godlinesse is gaine, who doe base homage to that which should be the basest drudge, who are so farre from being guiltie of doing good, that for small aduan­tage they will be content to lose all friends, to pine their bodies, and damne their soules. Is it possible (had not Sathan possessed these seruile slaues) that a humane soule should liue in a body so base, which makes a liuelesse peece of earth his God? Cultor Mammonae, seruus pecu­niae, sectator auaritiae; pro pecunia Hypocrita, in pecunia Apostolus, ex pecunia Idololatra; who like a true Chy­mist, turnes euery thing into siluer, both what he should eat, and what he should weare; and that hee keepes, is to looke vpon, not to vse, which he feares to keepe, and abhorres to lose, who as hee liues without loue, so dies without teares, without pitie, saue that they say it was pitie he died no sooner. What shall become of these that protect what they worship, and want what they abound in? They shall perish, their memoriall shall perish, and well were it, if as their bodies perish, so their soules might so perish as to be no more. But how truly should it possesse your soules with ioy, blessed and beloued, who haue fed, and cloathed, and cured, and visited, the weake sicke mem­bers of Christ Iesus? Your almes is come vp before God, and as the smoake of the Incense, from the Censor of the Angell, or the Golden Altar, before the Throne. Yee faithfull Deputies of your Master, blessed are yee, great is your reward in heauen, you that are the trustie Trea­surers of the poore and needie, and all yee the approued Gouernours of the Hospitals of this Citie, ye are the exe­cutors of Christs Legacie, which was only this, The poore yee shall haue alwayes with you: for when hee bequeathed his Church to his Disciples, and his garments to his Soul­diers, his mother to Iohn, and his body to Ioseph, but the poore he commended to his Church, and you are some of his executors, and haue the poore alwayes with you. It is the speech of Bonauerture, Hoc piarum mentium est, vt [Page 62]nihil sibi tribuant: It is the propertie of holy mindes, that they attribute nothing to themselues, but onely to the grace of God. I would not blast you with an infectious breath of flatterie, or with this pretious balme breake your heads; nor would I be sparing to giue your memo­riall what God hath allowed you, seeing you are so free in paying those Legacies that Christ hath appointed you. It is no small honour to be one of the Masters of an Hospi­tall: Stephen [...], Stephen the first Martyr, and first Deacon, was no other then Treasurer for the poore: Paul was Collector for the poore, and Christ himselfe Ouerseer for the poore; for our Sauiour euer comming into the Temple, cast his eye to see what was cast into the Treasurie for the poore. It should be no small ioy to your soules, to consider that God vouchsafeth the name of righteousnesse to Almes-deeds: [...] Iustus. Misericors. Hier. [...], Psal. 112.9. Hee hath dispersed and giuen to the poore, his righteousnesse endureth for euer. So S. Paul re­hearseth it, 2 Cor 9.9. where the fruit of righteousnesse is esteemed righteousnesse, and is assured of an eternall me­moriall. You, and your Almes-deeds, and your Almes­men, and your Almes-houses, shall be had in euerlasting remembrance. He that hath left this woman for this worke this memoriall, I doubt not but his gratious presence is with vs, his blessed eyes ouer vs, his sacred eares open vnto vs, this morning to heare this memoriall of your bounty and mercy, and to receiue this account of the Talents that this yeere he hath trusted you with.

• CHildren kept at this present at charges in Christs Hospitall, in the house, diuers places in the Citie, and with sundry nurses in the Country—736
• Children put forth Apprentises, discharged and dead this yeare out of Christs Hospitall.—59
• There hath bin cured this yeare past in S ^t Bartholmewes [Page 63]Hospitall, of Souldiers & other diseased people.—512
• There is in the said Hospitall vnder cure at this pre­sent.—235
• There hath beene cured this yeare past in S ^t Thomas Hospitall, of Souldiers & other diseased people.—826
• There is in the said Hospitall vnder cure at this pre­sent—236