Of the love of our only Lord and Saviour, Iesus Christ: Both that which he beareth to vs; and that also which we are obliged to beare to him. Declared by the principall mysteries of the life, and death of our Lord; as they are deluiered [sic] to vs in Holy Scripture. With a preface, or introduction to the discourse.

Of the vnspeakeable Loue of our Lord Iesus, in ordey∣ning, that the greatest part of his diuine Do∣ctrine should remaine in wryting: and of the great benefit which growes to vs by the holy Scripture.

CHAP. 36.

HOw clearly is our mercifull God, as good as his word, in fulfilling the pro∣mise which he was pleased to make to vs by the mouth of the Prophet Esay:* 1.1 Non faciet auo∣here à te vltra, Doctorem tuum; & erunt oculi tui vi∣dentes praeceptorem tuum &c. and againe by the Prophet Ioel: Filij Sion exultate, & laetamini in Domino Deo vestro, quia dedit vobis Doctorem Iusti∣tiae. Our Lord will not make thy Doctour fly away any more; and thine eyes shall see thy(a) 1.2 Teacher. And thine eares shall heare the word of him, who admonis∣heth thee behinde thy backe. This is the way, walke you in it; and decline you neither to the right hand, nor to the left. Reioyce yee children of Sion, and be ioyful in the Lord your God, because he hath giuen you a Doctour of Iustice.

That God did giue vs this Doctour for the instruction of our soules, we know by faith; and we feele by grace; and the Church his Spouse, is dayly recomending it to our me∣mory. But(b) 1.3 that yet, he was so to be heere, as neuer to remoue, euen as it were, his visi∣ble instructing presence from vs; this blessing is chiefly affoarded to vs, by the holy Scrip∣ture. For therby we are dayly, and howerly told, so many particulars of his sacred person; how he lookt, how he walkt, how he spake, how he groād, how he wept, how he prayed, and how he preached; so that besides his reall presence in the B. Sacrament (for vpon that I shall reflect heereafter) we esteeme our selues to haue him still euen personall, after a sort, amongst vs, and to be as it were, chayned with our eyes, to that diuine countenance of his, and vvith our eares to those heauenly vvords, and vvith our harts to those immense benefits, vvhich vve find him to haue povvred vpon our fore fathers, and by them on vs.

Our Lord forbid,* 1.4 that vve should be like that horse or mule which hath no vnderstanding; but vvhen the Maister hath fed him full, and fat, doth abuse his care, and giue him perhaps a kicke, insteed of doing him painefull seruice; yea and that for nothing else, but because he had bene so liberally fed. For euen such shall we be, if the riches of Gods mercy towards vs, should incline vs rather to a fastidious kind of contempt, then to an obsequious reuerence & respect. If our(c) 1.5 Lord IESVS had not bene so

gratious, as to inspire his seruants to write his story; or to enable his Church to preserue it from the consumption of tyme, and the Canker of Heresy, and the inundation of In∣fidelity; how willingly would we haue sould our selues into our shirts, to haue obtayned so great a fauour at his hands? If we should only haue knowne, that when our Lord liued on earth, he had conuersed with men; & had ex∣pressed himselfe to thē, at large, by words; so∣metimes by way of Sermōs, sometimes of Pa∣rables, sometymes at meales, sometimes in the working of miracles; That he spake at large,* 1.6 at that supper which was the last he made on earth; and in the Garden,* 1.7 when he boyled himselfe in a bath of bloudy sweate; & vpon that Crosse when he left his most pretious life, in the midst of cruell torments, and most bit∣ter scornes which brake his hart, (though in∣deed he dyed, of pure loue to vs) but yet with∣all that those words of his, were lost, & that they had not beene kept vpon record; or if they had been kept, that now they could be found no more: What labour, I say, would we not endure; what charge would we not vndergoe; what danger would we not in∣curre with ioy, so that by meanes therof, one word of his might be recouered and knowne? And in that case, how should we be still soun∣ding it out with our tongues; and on grauing it vpon our harts, and entertayning our selues, day & night, in the cogitatiō & contēplation therof? But(d) 1.8 now it may be feared, that

plenty it selfe, hath made vs poore; and fami∣liarity hath bred contempt; and that our quea∣sy stomacks, are ouercome and gone, through the only smell of such a sumptuous feast as we are inuited to; whilst such a world of those very words, which Christ our Lord did vse in holy Scripture, are set before, not only our mind, but euen our very eyes and eares, by our holy mother the Church. If it be so, let vs pray, that heerafter such a great ingratitude may be farre from vs; and let vs beginne to cast our harts; at the feete of our Lord, for so incomparable a fauour.

The Canon of this holy Scripture, is therfore that which doth containe, as hath been said, the chiefest part of that diuine Do∣ctrine, which our Lord IESVS came to teach on earth. I say the chiefest part; for it is not al. But our Lord IESVS taught many things, both by himselfe, and by his Apostles, which we are all obliged to beleeue, and yet they are not expressed in holy Scripture. And so he told his Apostles and Disciples: That(c) 1.9 he had many things to say to them, but that then, they were not capable therof. And the Text it selfe doth also affirme, that he conuersed with them betwene his Re∣surrection and Ascension, discoursing by the space of Fourty dayes,* 1.10 of the kingdome of God, which is his Church. And it cannot be, but that then, he told thē of many of those very things, wher∣of he had knowne them to be incapable till that tyme; and yet the holy Scripture giues very little account therof. The Baptisme of

infants was not particularly taught in holy Scripture: the Sacraments indeed were institu∣ted, by our B. Lord; and S. Paul said,* 1.11 he would giue particular orders, in that of the blessed Sacra∣ment, when he should arriue with the Corinthians; but what those orders might be, we can know no otherwise, then by the tradition of the ho∣ly Church. The Sabaoth, was translated from the Saturday, to the Sunday. Many Ceremonies of the old Law were abrogated, and some of them permitted, as namely(f) 1.12 Circumcision, with many others; and some euen commaunded for a tyme, as the abstayning from the eating of bloud, or strangled meates, and the like. But how long, or short that tyme was to be, we haue no newes out of holy Scripture. Nay this Canon of the very Scripture, it selfe, wherin we are so happy as hath bene said, and whervpon the Aduersaries of the Church, for the disguysing of their disobedience and pride, will needs pretend to relye, as vpon the entiere rule of Faith, & the sole Iudge of controuersies in reli∣gion, is no way declared to vs, by any one text of holy Scripture. But it is only authorized (in respect of vs) by the voyce & sentence of the holy Church. Many, & many other instāces might be also giuē; by the cleare light wherof, it would appeare, that the whole Doctrine of our Lord, is not conteyned in holy Scripture.

Nor(g) 1.13 can it be truly said to be all cō∣tayned there, in any sense, vnlesse it be, be∣cause the holy Scripture, doth plainely shew the markes of the true visible Church of Christ

our Lord; and doth teach, that the decrees therof,* 1.14 are to be obeyed in all things, with∣out appeale. Which Church, because it posses∣seth, and dispenseth that whole Dopositum of true Doctrine, concerning the seruice of God, which S. Paul did so recommend to S. Timo∣thy, the holy Scrpture,* 1.15 may in some sense, be sayd, to containe the whole doctrine of Saluation; because it sends vs to the Church, which doth indeed particularly containe and teach it all. But neuerthelesse, it is certaine, and we still confesse it agayne and agayne, to the vnspea∣keable ioy of our harts, that the holy Scripture it selfe, holds the greatest part of the Doctrine of Christ our Lord. And therfore (as I was saying) much of that which I deliuered before, concerning the excellency of his Doctrine, both may, and ought to be most fitly applyed to holy Scripture. And because there occurreth somewhat concerning the particular eminen∣cy of this holy booke, which hath not particu∣larly bene touched before, I will heere the rather reflect vpon it, because we may easi∣ly see thereby, the dignity of our Lords loue therin.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Isa. 30.
• (a) 1.2

  A most tender ex∣pression of the lo∣ue of God in the tea∣ching of man.
• (b) 1.3

  The holy Scripture doth most liuely re∣present Christ our Lord, as it were, to our ve∣ry eyes.
• * 1.4

  Psalm. 32.
• (c) 1.5

  Consi∣der well of this truth.
• * 1.6

  Ioan. 14.
• * 1.7

  Luc. 22.
• (d) 1.8

  They haue little knowled∣ge of God who grow not in lo∣ue and re∣uerēce to him, the more they treat with him.
• (c) 1.9

  The proofe of Traditiō Ioan. 16.
• * 1.10

  Luc. 1.
• * 1.11

  1. Cor. 11.
• (f) 1.12

  S. Paul did cir∣cumcise Timothy. Act. 15.
• (g) 1.13

  In what sense the holy Scripture may im∣properly be said to contayne the whole Doctrine of Christ our Lord.
• * 1.14

  Matt. 18.
• * 1.15

  1. Tim. 6.