Chap. 1 .Seer. x · Looking tltJto fef:u. Booic II'r. this great work ; the one to come upon the Virgin , the other to over-jh.!ldow her ; by t ~e fidl: is figni fied the extraordinary work of theHoly Gho£1: in fafhioning the humane nature ofCl1rifr, as it . was faid of Sempfon, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him (i.) Judg0 , 1 G The Holy Gho£1: infpired him with an extraordinary fl:rength ; fo · the Spiri t of the Lord came upon her, (i.) the Holy Ghoft wroug~t in her in an extraordinary way. As for inllance1 in .ordinary generation our fubfrance and parts arc framed fuccefiive ly byclegrees , as firfl: thefeminal humour becomes an Embryo,then a body inorganicai, then are fafhioned the liye~, heart, and brain , and rhenthe rell: one afrer another ; and It IS at leall fourty dayes bef?re the body of a c~i ! d 'b e full y formed: now it w~s otherwife w1th the bodyofChnft , for m the very mflant of hts conception , he wasmade perfect in body and foul, void of finne, and full ofgrace ; in the veryinftant ofhis conception hewasperfectly framed , and inllandy united unto the eternal Word, perfect God and perfect man. Sblrely this was extraordinary , and this ts the property of the hol yGhoft fubito operari, to work in- . ftantly, and perfeCtly, asfoon asevn· the fl efh was conceiv!!d,it tfug.l.dcfideai. was prefently united and maJe the fl efh of t he Son of God , it wasfud- f ct.c.I S. denly made , perfectly made, hohly made. The fecond action afcribed to the holy-Gho1l:, isadumbration, or overfhadowing of the Virgin: this teacheth us that we fhould noF fearch overmuch into this great myt1ery, alas ! it is tQo high for us: ifthe courfe ofordi_nary generation be a fecret, -how pa fl: all comprehenfion is this extaordinary operation· ? the holy Ghoft did ca£1: a ihadow over the Virgin, and withall a fhadow over this myftery; why fhould we feek a clear light, where God · hifl!ielf will have a fhadow? I k.,now t he Wo rd waJ made Jl efo, ( f:11 th Chryfoftome) but how he was made I /znow not. - Cbry(. bom f r. Inwayofconfutation, this word conception is the bane of ·I,U/C. diverfe herefies, I. That of the Manichee who held he had no true body_; if fo, as one fay~s well, 'that had been -z:irgodecipjet, not c01mpw , rather a dece!VIng ofus-, then a concetving ofhim. 2 : That of the V alentinian revived lately in the Anabaptifl: who hold that he had a true body but made in heaven and fen ~ in t~ ~he Virgin l1ere_ ~n the earth; an~ i~ !<Y,that had been v irgo rre~pet , not ccncrpret , rather a receiV!ng, then conceiving ; yet I cannot but wonder how confidently the Anabaptifis tells us, M m z that
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