MicJ.f.i. Ojthe NATIVITIE. Sermon 6. that, and tdsusl He ii the ondy beg_ottm, and fo ofthe fubftaiue ofHi~Father, (very God, ~Jverj God,) as all begotten fonnes be. The Word, tO !hew Hisproceedingpure, and meerely {piritt~ali: theSonne, to !hew,that for all that, it is tme andfubjlanPiall, Trulyconjtebjlantiall With the Father,asrheSonne; but in all clcane and pure manner conceived, as theword. The Son11e, though he beconfuhftantiall; yct the petfon oft-!is Father may have~ 6ting long before Him. TheWordmakes amends for that.For,themindes conceiving, and themindecannot be fevered amoment; ifone be eternaU, both are. So then, as the Sonne, He is con{ubffantiall: as theWord, He is coeternal!. · Bur, he begins with theWord. His care being, fidl: to tell us ofthe ptlrenejfe of Hisgeneration, before of Hisgeneration it felfe : but after, by little and little, unfol– deth Himfclfe and tels,He is fo the Word, as the Sonne alfo. Indeed, irwas bell: be– ginning with theWord. That termethe HMhm Wife-men, the Philofophers, would never ll:umble at, but brooke it well enough: As (indeed)they did, nor with appro– bationone!y, but with highadmiration) reade and magnifie the beginning ofthis Go. !fell. WirneffeTert. in Apot. Ettf,;nprllpar. Augtijl.de Civit.ro.and Theodor~t. ltwas conformcttl theirreafon: fl!!'od Deus ab .:terno intelligit, and that N<, and A!:r@-. the conceivingofthe minde, and the mindemull: ncedsbecoeternall: theminde never with– our it: as the Prophet faith, Egre({uujttsa diebt« 11ternitati>. This for theWord, of • much mor~thar might -be faid o(it. ~';,~":.< Fltfb, As theWord, and rhe only begotten refcrre to one: fo doth Caro,1nd in nobit,Flefo and in 116' ;thatis, fuchftejhas is in t«, Httmane (lejl>. 1. To expreffe theVnion fully, a berterword could nor be chof~n. Iris a parr,forthewhok; and the worfer parr, forthe whole,ofpurpofe. For, in this cafe, our nature is bell: fer out, -by the worfer part. For, this we know; ifthe worfebc taken, the better will not be left behinde. If He •bhomnotcheftefh, ofthespirit there will be no qucflion. More forcible it is, ro fay, He 1v.umadejlej!>, tha" He wa~ made man; though borh be rrue. He vo11ch. fafedt~bmme mall, nothing fo much, as robecomeJlejh, the very lowell: and bafell: , 3 partofman. . Befides, from the Flefo (as from Eve) came thebeginning oftranfg~ejlion,long.:. ing afterche forbidden fruit, refufed theWordquite; Co, ofall other, lea!Uikdy to be taken. The Wordnot refufing ir, the reil: have good hope. Bur, there is a kinde ofnecel!iry, to ufe the termeflefh. IfHe had f.1id Man,man maxbctakenfora Perfon. HetookenoPcrfon, bur our Nature He tooke .-j!ejh, is no Per{on, but Natt1.re onely ; and fo bell: expreffe•h it. And iffotde, ir might have beene taken, as ifHe tooke notthe flefh, but mediante anima ; but, fo He did not, but as im-: mediately, and as foone, theflefo, asrhe (o<~le: in oneinll:am both. 4 Ycrone more. It will nor be amilfe to tell you; The word, thatis He6rewf~ ,10::1_ . Jlefo, the fame is alfoHebrew, forgoodtydings, (as we call ir, the Gofpell.) Sure, not 1111ilm P~el. withmit the Holy Ghofl fo difpenfing it. There could be no other meaning; but that, fame Incarnation, or Making Jlef/,, fhould be gencmlly go•d newesforrhewhole world. To let usknow,rhisgo6d tidings is come ro paffe,Herells us,theWord is now _becomeflejh. >.PtrbumC•'• Thus, why Jlefh: now, why theWodjlefo. Caro Verbumwas our bane; Jlejb :!'e ~;~.be- would be theWord; nay,wifer rhan theWord,and know what was evi//,be•terrhan it. If CaroYerb11m, o•1r bane; then, Yerbum Caro, our remedie. Vcrrcl Col.1.,6,z7. Sure!y,if theWordwould becomeftefh,it wereC{o) mofi kindly. TheWord,was pars l.tfa, the party that was moll: offended. IfHe would undertake it; if He,againft wtom the offencewas, would be Author of rhe reconciliation, there were noneto thar: It were ({o) mofiproper. · But,in another refpeet,He were fit too. He hadfaid above: Allthings were made hy Him: a kinde ofmeemeffe there were, utper quemfac1a omnia,per eundemrefec1a, He that firll: made them, fhould refiore them; He that built,repaire; So is befi, ever. ~ohn 1 1 f, Artd indeed,Sic oportet implereomnemjuftitiam,that were the way to fulfil! alljt'.ftice; Iftllewordwould takejle/h,hemight makefull amends for theftejl>eJfault,it\ rejeCling the
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