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.

How carefull we must be, not to berash in the vse of holy Scripture: and of the great obscurity therof.

CHAP. 37.

FIRST therfore, for our comfort, and to the end that no place at all might be left for doubt, he was pleased that it should be written by the spirit of God; wherby(a) 1.1 it growes to be as true, as truth it selfe. And in this we are of so firme beliefe, as that there is not one little in it, for the defence wherof, from the least aspersion of the least iniury, or errour, we are not willing to lay down a mil∣lion of liues. This is an homage which we neither owe, nor pay, to any other booke. But to this, it is most due, both for the irre∣fragable truth, which it carrieth; and for the loue wherwith our Lord resolued, that in ca∣ses which did so much concerne vs, he would haue vs know his mind. Yet heerin his mea∣ning was, that still for our relying vpon the true sense thereof, we should be ruled, by our betters. For els how(b) 1.2 infallible soeuer the holy Scripture were, in it selfe; we might make it, through our fault, an occasiō of being much deceaued, in the beliefe and worship of Almighty God; through the abundance of dif∣ficulty, vvhich is therin, as vvill soone be shevved. In the meane tyme, let vs cōsider the supreme nobility, which the spirit of God hath

vsed, in conueying his sense, into these words.

Though vvhy doe I speake of any sin∣gle sense, as if there vvere but one; vvheras indeed, as it treats of high things after an h̄∣ble manner, so though it treates of but a fevv things, it, doth it yet, after a copious manner; Alta humiliter,* 1.3 & pauca copiosè, as S. Augustine saith. And the same excellēt Saint, doth proue els vvhere at large, or rather he doth not so labouriously proue, as take it from a knovvne and certayne truth; That out of few, and they, the selfe same words,* 1.4 a great number of most true senses may be drawne. He sayth moreouer, That he can see no reason,* 1.5 why the man who wrote them (vvhich in his case vvas Moyses) should not be beleeued to haue knowne, and seene all those senses, in those words; (Per quem, Deus vnus, sacras literas, vera, & di∣uersa visuris,* 1.6 multorum sensib us temperauit.) He by whose ministery, our Lord did accomodate, and tem∣per the words of holy Scripture, to the seuerall, and yet all true senses, which many men would picke out from thence. The Saint, doth else vvhere, make the case his ovvne, and deliuereth himselfe in this manner. If(c) 1.7 I had bene Moyses, and that I had beene inioyned to write the booke of Genesis, I should haue wished to haue had such a guift of speach, and such a way of composing; as that they, who could not yet vnderstand, in what māner God createth, should not sly off, from the words, as being too hard for their capacity. And yet they againe, who were able to vn∣derstand it, (into whatsoeuer true sense or meaning they might haue come, by their consideration therof) might haue found, that the same, had not bene

left out in those few words, which thy seruant vsed. And if any other man should yet, in the light of truth, haue seene some other sense; neither should that al∣so, haue been found wanting in his words. And this discourse he shutteth vp, with saying shortly after; I will not therfore, O my God, be so precipita∣ted in my iudgment, as to beleeue that man, not to haue deserued this fauour at thy hands. Without doubt, Moyses meant, and thought, by those words, when he wrote them, whatsoeuer we are able to find true therin; as also whatsoeuer therin, is to be found, though we cannot find it, or at least not yet. How(d) 1.8 no∣ble and how excellent a thing doth it appeare by this, that the holy Scripture is. And how great a benefit, and withall how high an ho∣nour hath God imparted to man, by putting such a booke into his hand, as wherof S. Au∣gustine saith els where, That our B. Sauiour is God humaned; and the holy Scripture is God proclaymed, or preached. And we may, by this excellent meanes, both heare what he saith to vs when vve vvill, and make him also heare, whatsoe∣uer vve haue a mind to say to him.

The supernaturall excellency of holy Scripture, is euident, not only by the multitu∣de of true senses, vvhich euen the same words affoards; but by the misterious expression which it makes of the very things othervvise. We may see (saith Fa. Salmerõ) in those Canonicall bookes, certaine most high sublime senses & meanings;* 1.9 vested ouer, with a poore & humble garment of words; as if it were a kind of diuinity, vnited to the humanity; Or as a Christ laid in a Maunger, wrapped in clouts;

so as that euen therby, the height of holy Scripture doth appeare. It is also contriued, with such a kind of temper, that sometymes it is obuious, and of easy accesse; and someytmes againe, very obscure, & hard. Thus sayth Father Salmeron.* 1.10 And S. Augu∣stine giueth this iudgment of it, That it is not a thing vnderstood by men who are proud, nor yet dis∣couered to such as are children. But that it is humble in shew, and sublime in substance, and ouershadowed with mysteries.

This follovving proposition, at the first sight, may seeme perhaps a little strange, That from the very difficulty of the holy Scripture, to their vnderstanding, for whose instruction and com∣fort it was written; an argument should be fetched to proue the greatnes of Gods loue euen therin. But in it selfe the thing is most sincerely true,* 1.11 & I vvill hope to make it cleere (by the helpe of that good man in the margent) out of the excellent fruits vvhich grovv to vs by this very obscuri∣ty. I vvill first procure to prooue, both out of him, and the glorious S. Augustine, that indeed it is very obscure, and then hovv it grovves to be so; though the pride of Sectaries be so great, as to make euen the profoundest Do∣ctrine of Christ our Lord, to be most easy, vvhensoeuer themselues vvill vouchsafe to be the Doctours of it.

S.(e) 1.12 Augustine vvho may vvell goe for one of the vvonders of the vvorld in point of vvit, did auovv in his Confessions (vvhether his humility vvould or no) that vvhen he was not tvventy yeares old, he vnderstood Aristot∣les

Predicamēts vvithout any teacher at al. And there he taketh God to vvitnes,* 1.13 That of himselfe he read, and vnderstood all the bookes, that he could procure, which wrote of any of the liberall arts. And afterward hath these vvords: Whatsoeuer I read, concerning the arts, either of Logicke or Rhetoricke; whatsoeuer of Geometry, Musicke, and Arithineticke, I vnderstood without any great difficulty, and with∣out the instruction of any man, as thou O Lord my God, dost know. And yet to see how the same S. Au∣gustine, (being not afterward, at the only age of twenty, but more then twice as many yea∣res (when he wrote the booke of his Confes∣sions) doth well shew how farre off he held himselfe, euen then to be from being able to vnderstand the holy Scripture; be but pleased to read the second Chapter of his eleauenth booke, where he begs light and strength; and coniures our Lord by so many-many titles to inspire him with the vnderstāding therof, with so ardent affection, and almost affliction of minde, that it would in a manner, halfe greeue ones hart, to see him in such straites. See also, in another place, if the eye of his soule (with hauing in it such a deale of the Eagle as it had) did not tremble, and dazle, with be∣houlding the mistery, and maiesty of holy Scripture. For thus he saith, speaking of the first words of the first booke, which is that of Genesis. Mira est profunditas &c.* 1.14 Wonderfull (saith the Saint) is the profoundnes of thy words, wherof yet behold, the superficies, or appearance, doth euen smile vpon vs little ones. But yet the profoundnes ther∣of 〈3 pages missing〉〈3 pages missing〉

in the same holy Scripture,* 1.15 as is aboundantly proued by Salmeron, and (amongst other in∣stāces) he sheweth how the Prophet Osee saith of his owne prophecy, in the end therof, Who is wise that he may vnderstand these things; and who is intelligent, that he may know them? Which im∣plyeth not yet, an impossibility, but only a great difficulty,* 1.16 as S. Hierome notes. And S. Pe∣ter affirmeth, that there were some passages in the Epistles of S. Paul hard to be vnderstood, which vn∣stable, vnlearned people, did peruert towards their owne perdition; as they also did other scriptures.

So they also doe, in these dayes, wher∣soeuer heresy hath set her clouen foote. And that complaint is most iustly made in these sad tymes of ours,* 1.17 which S. Hierome made in his tyme. Agricolae, Coementarij, fabri metallorum &c. Clownes, Daubers, Smythes, Wood-cleauers, Butchers, Dyers, and the like, cannot learne their trades, with∣out a teacher. But euery prating old woman, euery doting old man, and euery wrangling Sophister; and in fine, who will, may presume to lay hold vpon holy Scripture, and to tosse it, and teach it, before they haue learnt it. And for my part I confesse, that in my life I haue nor heard of many thinges, which might make a man laugh and weepe both at once; then, that one passing once in a pri∣son of London, from one chamber to another with a candle in his hand, which the winde blew out; and stepping in hard by to light it in a little Sellar, where Ale and Beare was to be sould, he found the Tapster very graue∣ly leaning vpon a barrell, with his Byble ly∣ing

open before him. And forsooth he was in study of the Prophesy of Ezechiell. So that I know not whether ignorāce be more blind, or pride more bold. But these kind of men may learne to be confounded when they con∣sider that euen the B. Apostles, after they had heard so many Sermons and Parables deliue∣red and expounded by Christ our Lord him∣selfe: And after hauing inioyed his diuine cō∣uersation for the space of three yeares together, were yet so farre from vnderstanding the sense of holy Scriptures, that our Lord himselfe was fayne, immediatly before his Ascension, to ap∣peare to them expresly for this purpose, that he might instruct them, and open their meaning to them. Which may sufficiently serue to shew how full of difficulty they are in thēselues, & how impossible to be vnderstood but by the particular fauour of that Doctor of our soules.

Notes

• (a) 1.1

  The infallible truth of holy Scripture.
• (b) 1.2

  How∣soeuer holy Scripture is infalli∣bly true in it selfe, we shall grow into errour by it vnlesse it be inter∣preted by the Church.
• * 1.3

  Confes. l. 12. cap. 30.
• * 1.4

  Ibid. c. 25.
• * 1.5

  Ibid. c. 31.
• * 1.6

  Ibid. c. 26.
• (c) 1.7

  S. Au∣gustine shewes the varie∣ty of sen∣ses, of ho∣ly Scrip∣ture; and why he that wrote it did vn∣derstand those di∣uers sen∣ses.
• (d) 1.8

  The Nobility of holy Scripture.
• * 1.9

  In his pro∣legomena. 2.
• * 1.10

  Confes. l. 3. c. 5.
• * 1.11

  Salmeron in Proleg. 2.
• (e) 1.12

  The great obs∣curity of holy Scripture.
• * 1.13

  Confes. l. 4. cap. vlt.
• * 1.14

  Confes. l. 12. c. 14.
• * 1.15

  Proleg 2. fol. 10.
• * 1.16

  Iu Proaem. l 1. Com∣ment. in Ose. 2. Pet. 3.
• * 1.17

  Epist. 13. ad Paul.