evening and morning brought him fufficient victuals, When Daniel was fhut up in the lions' den, God prepared meat for him, and fent it thither to him. And there was the faying of David fulfilled, The lions do lack and fuffer bunger; but they which feek the Lord fhall want no good thing. For while the lions, which should have been fed with his flesh, roared for hunger and defire of their prey, whereof they had no power, although it were prefent before them, he in the mean time was fresh fed from God, that fhould with his flesh have filled the lions. So mightily doth God work to preferve and maintain thofe whom he loveth; fo careful is he alfo to feed them who in any ftate or vocation do unfeignedly ferve him. And fhall we now think that he will be unmindful of us, if we be obedient to his word, and according to his will have pity on the poor? He giveth us all wealth before we do any fervice for it: and will he fee us lack necessaries when we do him true fervice? Can a man think that he that feedeth Chrift, can be forfaken of Christ, and left without food or will Chrift deny earthly things unto them, whom he promiseth heavenly things for his true fervice? It cannot be therefore, dear brethren, that by giving of alms we fhould at any time want ourselves; or that we, which relieve other men's need, fhould ourselves be oppreffed with penury. It is contrary to God's word, it repugneth with his promife, it is against Chrift's property and nature to fuffer it, it is the crafty furmife of the Devil to perfuade us it. Wherefore stick not to give alms freely, and truft notwithstanding, that God's goodnefs will minifter unto us fufficiency and plenty, fo long as we fhall live in this tranfitory life, and after our days here well spent in his fervice, and the love of our brethren, we ihall be crowned with everlafting glory, to reign with Chrift our Saviour in heaven: to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghoft be all honour and glory for ever. Amen.

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HOMILY

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SERMON

CONCERNING

The Nativity and Birth of our Saviour Jefus Chrift.

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MONG all the creatures that God made in the beginning of the world moft excellent and wonderful in their kind, there was none, as the Scripture beareth witnefs, to be compared almost in any point unto Man, who as well in body as foul exceeded all other, no less than the Sun in brightness and light exceedeth every fmall and little ftar in the firmament. He was made according to the image and fimilitude of God, he was endued with all kind of heavenly gifts, he had no fpot of uncleannefs in him, he was found and perfect in all parts, both outwardly and inwardly, his reafon was uncorrupt, his underftanding was pure and good, his will was obedient and godly, he was made altogether like unto God in righteoufnefs, and holiness, in wildom, in truth; to be short, in all kind of perfection.

When he was thus created and made, Almighty God, in token of his great love towards him, chofe out a fpecial place of the earth for him, namely, Paradife, where he lived in all tranquillity and pleasure, having great abundance of worldly goods, and lacking nothing that he might justly require, or defire to have. For, as it is faid, God Pfalm i made bim lord and ruler over all the works of bis bands, that be fbould have under bis feet all sheep and oxen, all beafls of the field, all fouls of the air, all fifbes of the fea, and ufe them always at bis own pleasure, according as be should have need. Was not this a mirror of perfection? Was not this a full, perfect, and blessed estate? Could any thing else be

well added hereunto, or greater felicity defired in this world? But as the common nature of all men is, in time of profperity and wealth, to forget not only themfelves, but alfo God; even fo did this firft man Adam, who having but one commandment at God's hand, namely, that he fhould not eat of the fruit of knowledge of good and ill, did notwithstanding, moft unmindfully, or rather moft wilfully break it, in forgetting the ftraight charge of his Maker, and giving ear to the crafty fuggeftion of that wicked ferpent the Devil. Whereby it came to pafs, that as before he was bleffed, fo now he was accurfed; as before he was loved, fo now he was abhorred; as before he was most beautiful and precious, fo now he was most vile and wretched in the fight of his Lord and Maker: inftead of the image of God, he was now become the image of the Devil; instead of the citizen of heaven, he was become the bond-flave of hell, having in himself no one part of his former purity and cleannefs, but being altogether spotted and defiled; infomuch that now he feemed to be nothing elfe but a lump of fin, and therefore by the juft judgment of God was condemned to everlafting death. This fo great and miferable a plague, if it had only refted on Adam, who firft offended, it had been fo much the eafier, and might the better have been borne. But it fell not only on him, but alfo on his pofterity and children for ever, fo that the whole brood of Adam's fleth fhould fuftain the felf-fame fall and punishment, which their forefather by his offence most justly had deferved. St. Paul in the fifth chapter to the Romans faith, By the offence of only Adam, the fault came upon all men to condemnation, and by one man's disobedience many were made finners. By which words we are taught, that as in Adam all men univerfally finned, fo in Adam all men univerfally received the reward of fin; that is to fay, became mortal, and fubject unto death, having in themselves nothing but everlafting damnation both of body and foul. They became, as David faith, corrupt and abominable, they went all out of the way, there was none that did good, no not one. O what a miferable and woeful ftate was this, that the fin of one man fhould deftroy and condemn all men, that nothing in all the world might be looked for, but only pangs of death, and pains of hell! Had it been any marvel if mankind had been utterly driven to defperation, being thus fallen from life to death, from falvation to deftruction, from heaven to hell? But behold the great goodnefs and tender mercy of God in

his behalf: albeit man's wickedness and finful behaviour was fuch, that it deferved not in any part to be forgiven; yet to the intent he might not be clean deftitute of all hope and comfort in time to come, he ordained a new covenant, and made a fure promise thereof, namely, that he would fend a Meffias or Mediator into the world, which fhould make interceffion, and put himself as a stay between both parties, to pacify the wrath and indignation conceived against fin, and to deliver man out of the miferable curfe and curfed mifery, whereinto he was fallen headlong by disobeying the will and commandment of the only Lord and Maker. This covenant and promife was firft made unto Adam himself immediately after his fall, as we read in the third of Genefis, where God faid to the serpent on this wife; I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy feed and her feed. He fall break thine bead, and thou shalt bruife his beel.

Afterward the felf-fame covenant was alfo more amply and plainly renewed unto Abraham, where God promised him, that in his feed all nations and families of the earth fbould be bleffed. Again, it was continued and confirmed Gen. xxvi unto Ifaac in the fame form of words as it was before unto his father. And to the intent that mankind might not defpair, but always live in hope, Almighty God never, ceafed to publifh, repeat, confirm, and continue the fame, by divers and fundry teftimonies of his Prophets; who, for the better persuasion of the thing, prophefied the time, the place, the manner, and circumftance of his birth, the affliction of his life, the kind of his death, the glory of his refurrection, the receiving of his kingdom, the deliverance of his people, with all other circumstances belonging thereunto. Ifaiah prophefied that be fhould be born of a virgin, and called Emanuel. Micah prophefied that be fhould be born in Bethlehem, a place of Jewry. Ezekiel prophefied that be bould come of the flock and lineage of David. Daniel prophefied that all nations and languages fhould ferve bim. Zechariah prophefied that be should come in poverty, riding upon an afs. Malachi prophefied that be bould fend Elias before him, which was John the Baptift. Jeremiah prophefied that be fhould be fold for thirty pieces of filver, &c. And all this was done, that the promise and covenant of God, made unto Abraham and his pofterity concerning the redemption of the world, might be credited and fully believed. Now, as the Apostle Paul' faith, when the fulness of time was come, that is, the perfection and courfe of years, appointed from the begin

Rom. v.

ning, then God, according to his former covenant and promife, fent a Meffias, otherwife called a Mediator, unto the world; not fuch a one as Mofes was, not fuch a one as Jofbua, Saul, or David was, but fuch a one as bould deliver mankind from the bitter curfe of the Law, and make perfect fatisfaction by his death for the fins of all people; namely, be fent his dear and only Son Jefus Chrift, born (as the Apoftle faith) of a woman, and made under the Law, that be might redeem them that were in bondage of the Law, and make them the children of God by adoption. Was not this a wonderful great love towards us that were his professed and open enemies, towards us that were by nature the children of wrath, and fire-brands of hell-fire? In this, faith St. John, appeared the great love of God, that be feut bis only begotten Son into the world to fave us, when we were his extreme enemies. Herein is love, not that we loved him, but that he loved us, and fent his Son to be a reconciliation for our fins. St. Paul alto faith, Chrift, when we were yet of no firength, died for us being ungodly. Doubtlefs a man will fearce die for a righteous man. Peradventure fome one durft die for him of whom they have received good. But God fetteth out his love towards us, in that be jent Chrifl to die for us, when we were yet void of all goodness. This and fuch other comparisons doth the Apostle use, to amplify and fet forth the tender mercy and great goodnefs of God, declared towards mankind, in fending down a Saviour from heaven, even Chrift the Lord. Which one benefit among all other is fo great and wonderful, that neither tongue can well exprefs it, neither heart think it, much lets give fufficient thanks to God for it. But here is a great controverfy between us and the Jews, whether the fame Jefus, which was born of the Virgin Mary, be the true Meffias, and true Saviour of the world, fo long promifed and prophefied of before. They, as they are, and have been always, proud and ftiff-necked, would never acknowledge him until this day, but have looked and waited for another to come. They have this fond imagination in their heads, that the Meffias fball come, not as Chrift did, like a poor pilgrim and meek foul riding upon an afs; but like a valiant and mighty king, in great royalty and honour. Not as Chrift did, with a few fishermen, and men of small eftimation in the world; but with a great army of ftrong men, with a great train of wife and noble men, as knights, lords, earls, dukes, princes, and fo forth. Neither do they think that their Meflias fhall flanderously fuffer death, as