Com.4. The Duties of Superioltr,r: Chap.4. 339 We will add one example more. We may fee the praftice ofpreferring God be- fore Parents in our Saviour, who moll perfe ly fulfilled theLaw ; and that intwo anfwers ofhis : The firft to.Father and Mother,when his Mother at her return find- Luke 2. 49 ing him, in amanner reprehended him, faying Ybj haft thou f dealt with ut i His anfwer was, Woteyou not that 'muff be about my Fathers buftnefs? not meaning 70- Jephs, but Gods : he was to prefer his fish, and then theirs. Vbi nibil inesediunt, ibi convenient elf,fed panda impediutit, cave ne, &c. when our earthly fathers andgover- ;tours be not our hindrance in executingGods commands then it is but meet and conve- sient todo theirs : but when they ¡hall binder ne front doing them, take heed howyou neg- kit one to do the other.` In this care obedience it difebedience. His fecond anfwer was to his Mother alone, when hebeing withher at a Mat- John a. 4, riage, and the telling him there wanted Wine, anfwered, Woman, What have I to do with thee ? which, as S. Auguffine faith, at the fistt fight may feem to be harfh ; but making this objeétion to himfelf, Nunquid venerat adnuptial. ut doceret metres con. ttmnere ? Did our Saviour come to the wedding to teach Children todefpife their Maw thers? He anfwers himfelfby another queftion ; What did Chrilt take of his Mo- ther Mary ? wherein was he fubjeß to her ? he took from her his flefh , and the would have him to do a Miracle ; could he have wrought a Miracle by his humane Nature ? No, but as he addeth Miraeolumjaiïierus non potuit facerefecundum inftr- mitatem bumanam,Jedfecundum ma'effatemdivinam; being to workaMiracle, he could not do it according to tie infirmity ofhis humane nature, but according tohis divineMa- jetty, and that was out ofher latitude. And thereforegoeth®n, quod in me to genuiffii non poteff facere miraculum, a Miracle could not be done by vertue of any thing I bad from tbee :: yet afterwards when he fuftered on the Crofs,heacknowledged her to be his Mother, as he was Man, and foprovides forher. To conclude this point out of that which path been raid , mu(l fubmit to our r Pet. z. r;: Superiours, as Saint Peter faith, how ? for the Lords fake : and in that which is right and . juff. We mutt not preferour honour or duty to them, before Religion to Epftet. 6. r. God. Saint 7erome faith ( upon the words of our Saviour ) He that loveth Father Matth.so.;: or Mother more thanme, is not worthy ofine. Ne quit pietateinReligioni anteferret,&c, left any man fhould prefer loveof Parents before Religion ; Chrift addeth, He that lò- verbfather,dve. Order is neceffary in all ouraffeEiions. After God, love thy Father, thy Mother, thy Children. But if there comes a necefiìty that the love ofParents or Children come incompetition with the love of God, and both cannot beobferved, we are to prefer the love ofGod before the ref[: and concludes,Honoranduegenerator, fed preponendue Creator, our.Parents are tobe honoured, but our Creator is to be pre- ferred, &c. But withal, left wego too far on the one fide , it is very neceffary that we fearch not too narrowly, or inquire too precifely into the commandsofour Superiours,but 2 Sam49. 24t rather, if it be in our power, obey. We fee 7oab being commanded by the;iing' to number the people, difliked it at the fidt, as feeing no reafon to do it ; yet be= caute it was a thing indifferent, hedid it. And in doubtful matters or indfferent this is the rule, rather to obey than tooppofe. Again inmatters unjuftly commanded, if they benot exprefly againft thewill of God, there may be a jut[ obedience. We fee it in our Saviours own cafe. TheTri- bute-gatherers demand tribute of him, though of the lineageof David, and in that refpel1 exempted. Heasketh Peter, Do obey ufe to receive tribute of Strangers, or of rstattm7.2+ their own Children? when Peter had anfwered him, that they tiled to receive it of Strangers, Chrift replied, then are wefree : but left we offend them, go and calf by angle, &c. and pay for thee andme. So when men will take from us it is better to yield, and to redeem our peace (as hedid) withyielding juif obedience to an unjuff Command, Vt ilium reumfaciat (faithS. Augnffine) iniquitasimperarsdi, meinnocen- tern reddat £guitarparendi; my reádinefo to obey, makes me innocent, when bis trnjuft Commands make himguilty. Concerning this point ofObedience to Superiours, the refolution of all Cafitiffs and Annötat. ;o. other Divines is, That as abfolute Obedience is due to God alone in all things without Of Obedience exception, becaufe his Will is the Rule of what is jug ; fo to other Superiours Obedience .to Authority is due in all things, which are not evidently contrary so the Command o a higher Pontes, rn citing; g, y y f aouEtfül: Vv 2 or
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