tion in men, that our Redeemer should enter on the world in a manner so peculiar and miraculous: for who that heareth of such an event can forbear to mind it, and ponder on it? who can doubt him to be the Son of God, whom by sufficient and certain attestation he learneth to have been conceived without any concurrence of man? who will not readily defer high veneration to him who appeareth in a manner so glorious and supernatural ?

3. Moreover our Saviour was born of Mary; of that singular person determined and described in the gospels; of her that was espoused to and did live with Joseph; with Joseph the carpenter; who was born in the town of Bethlehem, who lived in the city of Nazareth in Galilee; who both according to natural and legal extraction was descended in a direct lineage from king David, being, as St. Luke saith, of the house and family of David,' and who by consequence did lineally come from Abraham. She herself was also of the same stock and family; as may be collected from circumstances intimated in the story, and certainly may be deduced from the prophecies concerning our Saviour's stock, with the assertions implying their accomplishment.

Of Mary therefore, by blood and progeny a princess, extracted from the most illustrious stem on earth; not only famous among men, but (which is infinitely more) especially dear to God; who yet in external condition was very mean and poor, living obscurely in habitation with an artisan, of a painful and not gainful trade.

As for her personal qualifications, they were excellently worthy; for in disposition of mind she was very religious and devout toward God; in the temper of her spirit, very sweet and calm, very modest, meek, and humble; such the passages oceurring in the gospels concerning her do show her to have been; such particularly that most excellent hymn ejaculated by her (wherein we may discover a spirit ravished with the most sprightly devotion imaginable; a devotion full of ardent love, of humble thankfulness, of hearty joy, tempered with most submissive reverence) demonstrateth her to have been.

Of a mother so related and so qualified, our Saviour was born; both which points was requisite.

She was so related for the declaration of God's truth, fidelity, and constancy, in accomplishing those ancient predictions and promises made to the Fathers; to Abraham, that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed;' to David, that of the fruit of his loins God would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;' concerning whom, as by many passages in the gospel it appeareth, God's people had a general expectation and persuasion that he should be the rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch growing out of his roots;' in whom the horn of David should bud ;' who should raise the tabernacle of David that was fallen, and rule over the kingdom of Jacob for ever:' and that our Lord should be born at Bethlehem, that he should be called a Nazarene, were circumstances touched in the prophets, for the verification whereof it was needful that the mother of our Lord should be thus related.

She was also to be so duly qualified, as to her state and mind; being homely in state of life, and holy in disposition of mind; to signify that God did not so much regard the outward pomps and appearances of this vain world, as the inward frame and temper of spirit.

It is indeed no small disparagement to those empty glories, which men are wont so hugely to admire, and it may be a strong inducement to a moderate esteem of them, if we consider it, that God did not choose for the mother of his Son, and Saviour of mankind, a visibly great princess, or any to appearance honorable, splendid, or wealthy personage; but her that was espoused to a mechanic artificer, her that was only rich in grace, and decked with interior endowments; adorned (after the garb which St. Peter recommendeth to women) with the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible purity of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price.' This is the reflexion which she herself did make on the matter; for this her soul did magnify God, because he had regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; he had showed strength with his arm, he had scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts; he had put down the mighty from their seat, and had exalted the humble and meek; he had filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he had sent empty away.' This showeth the extreme folly of contemning the poor, to whom

commonly God expresseth so special regard, who are capable of so high favors, who have so glorious consorts of their state.

Such a person did the Son of God choose to bear himself, to bear duty unto, to confer that special favor and eminent honor on; an honor, among all exterior honors the highest that ever was vouchsafed to any of human kind, or indeed to any mere

creature.

I say of exterior honors; for spiritual advantages our Lord himself doth teach us in our esteem to prefer above this great privilege; they being toto genere, superior, and placing us in a nobler relation to him than this; Whosoever,' saith he, 'shall do the will of my Father that is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother;' the same in a more excellent manner and sublime degree is allied, is endeared to me, that he can be on the score of any carnal kindred: the conformity to him in our mind and affections doth render us nearer to him than any cognation of blood; the having him formed in our hearts is more considerable than the bearing of him in the womb.

Indeed, the mother of our Lord herself, although as such she was kexaрirwμérn, especially favored and graced, and blessed among women; although on that account all nations must esteem and call her blessed; although worthily she did in that respect acknowlege that God had done μeyaλeïa, magnificent and mighty things for her; yet really, in just esteem, to have Christ born in her soul, to have participated of his divine grace and presence in her heart, the Holy Ghost's having produced a spiritual birth of holy dispositions in her, was a nobler honor and a truer happiness than that; neither would it,' as St. Chrysostom saith, have been anywise profitable to her, if she had not been virtuous, to bear Christ in her womb, or to bring forth that admirable birth;' this our Saviour plainly declared, whenas a good woman, transported by the ravishing excellency of his discourse, did cry out, Blessed is the womb that bare thee,' he thence took occasion to say, 'Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God and. keep it.'

Chrys, in Matt. xii. 50.

We might also here farther observe that our Saviour on other good accounts willingly did choose so mean a parentage; namely,

That he thence might have readier opportunity to undergo and taste the greatest inconveniences and hardships incident to our nature, thereby more fully meriting and suffering for

us.

That he might have occasion to exemplify the most difficult virtues and duties, (humility, meekness, patience, contentedness,) showing us how we should virtuously comport with the lowest state; how we should cheerfully sustain wants, labors, pains, and disgraces; how we should contentedly be destitute of all the glories, riches, and pleasures of this world.

That also the divine power and glory might appear more conspicuously through his worldly state of impotency and baseness.

That he might insinuate the nature of his kingdom not to consist in secular pomp and puissance, but in spiritual power

over the hearts of men.

That he might discover wherein our happiness doth consist; how little any thing, which is high in vulgar esteem of men, is an ingredient thereof: and what is the true grandeur of a man; not his outward garb and retinue, but his inward virtue and goodness.

Finally, this relation of the blessed Virgin to our Lord, as it should beget a precious esteem and honorable memory of her, (for let that mouth be cursed which will not call her blessed, let the name of him be branded with everlasting reproach of folly, who will not prefer her in dignity before any queen or empress,) so it should not serve to breed in us fond opinions, or to ground superstitious practices in regard to her, as it hath happened to do among divers sorts of Christians; especially among the adherents to Rome. For,

They (out of a wanton mind, but in effect profanely and sacrilegiously) have attributed to her divers swelling and vain names, divers scandalously unsavory, some hideously blasphemous, titles and elogies, as alluding to, so intrenching on, the incommunicable prerogatives of God Almighty and of our blessed Saviour; such as the Queen of Heaven,

the Health of the World, the Mother of Mercies, the Spouse of God, Our Lady, (as if, beside our unus Dominus, there were una Domina in the church, forgotten by St. Paul,) with the like.

They ascribe to her the most sublime attributes of God, together with his most peculiar actions of providence and protection over us, yea of redemption itself.

They yield acts of religious veneration (prayer and praise) to her, and those in a very high manner and strain; professing not only to serve her religiously, (which the holy Scripture chargeth us to do in regard to God and him only,) but veρdovλever, to do more than serve her, or to serve her with exceeding devotion.

Who commonly do at the end of their works join, Praise be to God and to the blessed Virgin;' as if she were to share with God in the glory and gratitude due for blessing or success on our performances.

All this they do, without any plain reason, any plausible authority, any ancient example, yea manfestly enough against the best reason, the commands of God, the doctrine and practice of the primitive church, all which do conspire in appropriating religious adoration to God alone; neither the holy Scripture nor the first Fathers excepting the blessed Virgin from the general rule, or taking notice of her as an object of our worship, but nipping the first essays of such a superstition in the Collyridians.

Such groundless and foolish conceits, such dangerous and impious practices, we should carefully beware; the which, as they much derogate from God's honor, and prejudice his service, and thwart his commands, so they indeed do rather greatly discredit, injure, and abuse the blessed Virgin, (making her name accessory to such enormous scandals,) than they do bring any honor, or do any right to her.

And I doubt not, but, ei ris aio@nois, if she from her seat of bliss doth behold these perverse services, or absurd flatteries of her, she with holy regret and disdain doth distaste, loathe, disdain, and reject them; with a Non nobis Domine, Psal. 115. 'Not unto us, O Lord;' and with the angel in the Apocalypse, "Opa un, See thou do it not.'