Ofthe NAT IVI T i &. 1 ,, Sermon 12. , ----------~~----------~~~~~~--~--------~----------· A figne, cum externa rejicit,qte'odjibift~!Jicit; in that, He cafts from Him ·all outColof.:.;. 7 ward lignes and meanes, :hat Heis,efpimfelfe, all-ftefji~ient ~ & n~llainriiget nifi fe; and ne~dsnopower but hts owne. Hts Crat'hand·He wtll bnngxhJSwo~ke,to paffe. I:I~sgloria in exceljis will behoc iffo exceljior;Hisglorieonhigh,Comuch thehigher,for thts. Ever; Bur,now, m~re than ever.=And,in all Hisjignes ; but, in this, more glori' ous,thenmany,nay thenmall ofthem. And [oHo' eritjignum, thisjhall be tb.e$ighe, fl1all be,and lho4ld be,both. • .. · But, I waive all the!e. and fay lixtly: Make of the Signe;wliai ye will; If-skills not what it be; neverfo meane: Inthe nature of asig1,1e; there is nothing, but·ir may be fuch; All is,in the thingjignijied. So it carrie us to a richSignattlm,and worth the finding,what makes it a matter,how meane theSigne be~ Wearefel)t'tO aCrib;Nor to an emptyCrib; C Ha I s T is in it. Be theSigne never fo limple; theSignatllm i~ carries us ro,makes amends. AnySigne,wirh fuch arSignattem, .· And,I know not the man fo fquemifh,but if,inHis.ftable, and under His mal}ger~ . there werea treafure hid,and he wtre Cure of it; but,thither he-would, a,nd pluckeup the planks, and-digge and rake for ir, and benever.a whit offended with the home– Iinelfe of the place. If then Chrift be a'treaCure (as, · in Him are4/lthe trea[ttre.s of the wijedome andbotmty of God) what skills it,what be His Signe. With this,with any other, CHRIsT is worth thefinding. Though theCratch be not worth the going to, CHRIST is worth the goingfor. Heisnotworrhyof CH.RIST;thatwillnptgoe any whirher,ro find chri.ft. Lafrly,I would faine know, why fhould rhejhepheards, why lhould anyrbeafha. med,ofrh<s Signe.? theAngelsare not: Non embefoit iptil q11odprJdi(at,No inari pro– daimes orpreaches of that ;makes aHymne of that,be is Ajha111edof. And (Indeed,) why fhould theAngelsbe afhamed to report it, feeingChriftus non eft confr•fus, CkrijJ is not afhamed toweare it. And ifHe be nor, foro bee{o11nd, neverlet us be, fo .to jndHim. · . , r' ' .• I conclude then: They that wi!lhaveaSaviotiTwithout fuch·aSign!,he.filby for the IewesMejfi.u, or get them, for their S~ne, to fame body elfe. The Angell bath none; The Go.JPellknowes none,but this: We mufl take Chriftas we .finidHim; &ratehand all. The invention ofthecratch,and the invention ofChrift fall both upon one Feafl; thisday,both:No feveringofthem.All which(! rrufl)~y. this,(hew.plain– ly; the Signe was well affigned, by rheAngell: andCo (1 hope) wewill not!et the fhepheards goe alone,but goe along with them too,for compartie,to findChrift, m hoc Signo,bythisSigne. · . · .• But thecratchisgone,many yeares agoe: What is our Signe now~ WCJY;·II(ha:r was this Signe aJigne of~ There needs no ftreining :ttall ; ofhtemititie(deere.:)~igntem hr~mile, Sigmem humilis. Not alwaies fo; not with us; where, thehight.ftminds will ufethe lowe.ftjignes: but,with Chrift; with fuch in who!Il is the mind of Chrift, there is no odds at all. Ye may firikea tally betweenethcSigne and theSignatmn. Htlmilitie, then: We lhall find Him,bythat Signe, where we find lltmzilitie, and not faile: and where that is not,be furewe !hall never find Him. This tlay 1 it is notpoffi– ble to keepe of this theme : we cannot but we mufifall upon it; .it is fowoveninto everyText, there is no avoyding it: Bur, of all, into the Signe,mofi of all. Sucha Signe,ofCuch Htemitity,asnever was. , Signes are taken for wonders: (Mafter we would faine fee aSignt, that is, ·amirtt– cle.) And,in this fenCe,it is aSigne,to wonder at. Indeed,every word (here) is ;t won– der : r; Cp{~,, an infant;Verhtlm infans,theWordwithout aword; th~ .tternallWordnot hableto Cpeakea word;' A wonder Cure. • And the '"'1>""'1-'a,,Swadled; and that a 1vonder roo. He,that(as in thq8.oflob hefaith)taketh thevaft bodieofthe maineSea, turnes it to andfro,M alittle child,and rolls it aho11t with thefwadling bandS:ofdarkne/Je; He,to come tht<S into clorets,himfelfe ! l But yet,ail is well; All children are fo : )3ut, inpr..fepi, that is it,there is the wonder. Children lye not there; He doth : Ther~ !ietl1. He; the Lordofglorie,wirhout a!lgl~rie. Inll:ead of aPalace, apoore.ftable;of acr4dteof fiarc, a beall:s cratcb l No pillow, but a lock of hay> No hangings, but dufi and
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