Sermon I(. Ofthe NATIVITIE. 99 Theirdijlance,in place,grew from their dijlance,inaffec1tonefl.rangedone from rhe other. That theymeet not, I w1ll nor ~ay: bur, thatthey meet not thus, ever before. Elfe,whar remarkablethmg were there m thts Meetmg,orworrh the compofing of a P[alme,ifit had binfam1ltar wHh them,thus tom_m every orher,nay,any other day ~ . . Howcamcrheyrhcn afunder, rhat1t il1ould b, amarvell to feethem meet l Srnce or.hmflve– (naturally) they are nor ll:rangers;allfoure,m the bofome ofG o D from all eternity; ;~;~;/:/::!:"" Attribtites(allfoure) ofH1s tmdtvlded Effmce. So,not d!Ylded,ofthemfelves: Nor, ofrhemfdves, then. That they were divided,itwas about us; rhe quarrell ours, rhat made thempart company. Thus I gather Jt: If, at C H R ~ s T s btrth theymet: ar Adat~~sf•ll theyparted, If, whenTruth wasborne on earth, they came together: when!! fi Trt~lh perqhedfromthe earth,theyfellinfunder: That was,when thelirll: lye was told, d:~,[:~.Aand beleeved, (and rhat was neqt~aqteam monemmt, byAdam,) and thereby Go n G much wronged. So rhar Adam'scaufe it was,(and fo,ours)thar lirll: dividedheaven; '"·l+ yea, the very Attribtttes,i~ G ~ D (we fee,) and fo (in afort) Go n Hirnfe!fe. So they parted lirll:. It could nor oe fa1d (by t+Je .4pojlle) that C n R 1 s T p.<cijiedAllthmgs in Col.uo. heJvCIMnd in earth: 1frhere had not, mheaven, beene fomewhar robe taken up. For all this yer,l deny nor,but they might and did meet,oncebefore,Bur,it was an Soth<ir 6rl! ~bviavertlllt,withoutanofmlat£ (imt: Never,both thefe,nll now.Out of CHRIST, mwmg ~as and before His birth,they met inoppojition: InC H a 1 s T, and at His birth, did thefe "''fP'fi"••· foure Lights come eo meet,and to be inconjunilion,now.Theymet before, obviave. ~unt:but,in ll:eadofo(cu!at£,it was dltercat£ {tmt.While Mercy andPeace would have .Adams and our cafereleeved,Rtgbteorfne!feandTmth would by no meanes endure it. The plea is drawenup and reported at large, byBernard, in his lira Ser'!'onupon the .Anntenci 4 tion. Mercy began: (for out ofher readmelfe t? doe good, lhe1s,here, lhe is Mrcl<r pt11• everformofi :) Her inclinationis, or rather, {he herfelfe lS an inclination, topitie fuch, · as are in mifery; and,iflhe can,to releeve them: yea,though rhey deferve tr not. For (which is the comfort ofthe miferable finner) lhc looks not to the partie,what he is, or what he hath done,ordeferved; bur,what hefuffers,m how wofull and wretched a cafe he is. And her ple'l,iS : Ntmquid in vanum.? Wh•t lrath God made allmen for r:ai.8H7·Jo. nought! Whatprofit iJ in their bloud I It will make Go D s enemies rejoyce, Thither it pf 1 8 Y· will come; if GoD caa them cleaneoff: Whatrhen, Will Hu4l themoff ferever, •. 7 .... willHt be no moreintreated l HathGo n forgotten tobegraciom ? With thefe and fuch Pfal.n- 7 ,s. likepiifrf~~rri (as he plls them) did lhe enter imoGods bowels,and make them yerne, and melt intocompallion. And certainely, ifthere were none to ll:and againll: us, tltere werehope,Merciehad prevailed. But,Tmthmull: be heard too, and lhe!ayes in jull: matter of exception :Pleads, TrutbrRcply. Dem erat Verb11m; What is God but HisWord? and His word was, as ro<...Ad•m, Ioh" 1 ·'· morte morieri<; So, to His Sonnes, anima 1"" peccav~rit,The forde thatfinneth,that G'"·'·'T· Joule fhall dye. Go o may not falfifie His Wprd: His Word is the Tmth: falfifie the Jhck.•S , 0• Tmth l That may not be. And then ll:eps upRightmfneffe, and feconds her: that Gon as He is true in Hi< Rigl>tmforffe word, fo is Hee RighteottS in all HiJ workes: So, to reddere Jrmm cuique, to renderf«onJmg her. e hi" h · h' d dr I fi f/. d h Pfa1.•41·'7· ac usowne,toeveryone,r at,ts _1s ue;an rotone mget, •pen i11mpeccati,t e waguofjin,(that!s) death. God forbrd,theltedgeofthe w1rldfhouldjt~dgeunjtejlly: that Rom.6.>J. were,as (b~fore) tomakeTmth falfe,[o ~her~) to doe Eight wrong. Nay, Jtwenrfurther, and they made lttbetr owne cafes. What lhall become of me(faidRighteotfneffi? ) What ufe of Iu.ftice,'if Gon will doe no Iu.ftice,ifHefpare finner~ ~ And what ufeofme(faith Mercie,) ifHefparethem nor~ Hard hold there Aas, •na~nuchas, Perii, n,ifi komo moriatter(faid Righteou{ne/[e) I dye,ifhc dye not : . ndPem, nift Miferrcordtam confequatur (faid Mercie) if he dye, I dye roo. To thts . It came : And in thofe termes brake up themeeting, and aw.ty they went one from ~cother. Truthwent imo exile,as a ll:ran"er upon earth: -----'Ierr/15 Ajlr.ea reliquit, The 6rfi m«· ~coknfined her felfe inHeaven : where,[~aliencd l11e was as 01e woitld not fo much ~;g bto!<rn as 00 edownehither upon us. ' '· · c.Merc.e, f'neeftaid below ll:ill : t~bi enim c.Mifericordia ijfet (faithH11go well) ft, K2 cum
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