47 / 1254
Sermon+·
Ojthe
NATIVITIE.
A
a
and then declincth :tg.tinc, till we gr01v to the l01ver end of
ourilayes.
But bow–
[.'~vet~~~11ay
be (as it oft tils out) the defcent is fudden, we goe downe head-long with·
o~t
degrees, goe away in
a
moment; yet ever tlus holdeth; to
ourftelnelfe
we come not,but
by
de"rees.
·
.
I h
0
d
·
·
1
·
h
, ..
'
- Nowthirdly,thiscommmg J:lt
Jc--!!,an ovemt,atune,w1enttcommet
tuther~
Asa
3 .
.
tl
1
·s aarcat whilc,when we may
l;~y,
•
'l'{.pndumvemt hora;the
ttmets not yet come
~·ndo
ume 1cre
"
.
fi"'
5
h 1 ,
·
h
r
h
.'
"
1 . 1 1
mear,<re
isyetbutm
11tng:
o.tt eat,, amnetoo, t
atw~maytay,
vemtv'" · )'
w
11 e ne
v
h-
I
(i
.
fi
/1
Tl
.
.
l
.
h
.
a toh.7,o.
hora
the rime is now
come,
w
en
t
1e
mea ure
ts
u :
1J.t IS,
a
ttrne
t
1.er~
ts,
~v en~ttliJt
eo
m~
b
lolm u
/,
1
rhefull.
Asintheday,whentheSunnecommcthrotheMmdwzLtne: mthe
m'a-
•l·
me~
.
~en
it commeth to the point of
oppojition
with the
Moone:in
the
yeare,
when ro the
Sol.
;:~/vin
man,
when he con:meth
ro
his
fill!
yeares: for that is the
fi•ll~ef!e
oftimeche Apojlle
alleageth in three verfes bdore.
.
.
.
.
.
.·'
. And when is that when;that
ttme
thus
comrneth
to
IllS
fi•lnejfe? .fl.!!ando mijit
Detu,whctt
G
0 0
fends it : for
Time
receives his
jilting
froni Go
o.
Ofit felte,
time
is butanemjtie
meaftere,
bath nothmg mtt:
<.Many
dayes and moneths runne over our heads,
Dtes manes,
(faith the
Pfalmift:) c.Mcnfes vacl!l,
([1tth
Job:) Emptte dayes, Pfal.LXXVIII.
Ver.33.
yoidemoneths,
withoutanythingto fill them,
lob Vll.verfe
3·
.
. _ .
. ..
That which
jilleth ttme,
1s fome memorable thmg of
Gods
pownngmto tt, or (as tt!S
1t1
~!a.;
the Text) of
Hisfending,
toftiltt wtthall.
Mijit Det#
ts tt: and fo commeth Tumtobcmore
orldfefid/;thereafter as that is, which
God(endstojilt
it.
Now,many memorable
mifions
did
God
make before this
h~re
; whereby in fome mea-·
fure
He
filled
up cmainetimes oftheyeare under
Mofes,
and the
Prophets:
all which, may
well
be termed,
The implements oftime.
..
.
But for all them,
themeAji~rewas
not yet
full: filled
perhaps to a cerraine
degree,
bue
not full
rothebrimme: fit!!
it was not Cfeeing it might be
il:il!ftdkr)
till
GodfentThat,
than
which a more
full
could not
befent.
.
.
And That
He
fent, when
He fent
Hit
Sonne,
a
fuller
than whom
He
could not
fend,
nor
Time
could not
receive.
Therefore, with the
fending Hiw,
wheo tliat ,was,
Time
was at rhe
top that was the
fl!!;ando venit,
then it
was,plenitudo tempgru,_indeed.
,
And, well might that
time,
be called the
frdnef!eofiime.
For
whenH~
wasfent into the
I
world, in whom
thejjdneffi ofthe God-head_dtvelt bodily :
In whom
the Spirit
WM.
not by mea.
Co\.•·9-
fure
.:
Inwhomwas
thefitlnef!e ofgrace andtrmh:
Of
tvhofe fidnejfe we allrereive
.-
When~~~~~--~;
Hewasfent,thatwasthusfi•ll,_rhenwastimeatthefitl/.
,
·
.
.
.
Io!lllu6:
And wellalfo might it be called
thefulneffe oftime,
in ands.her regard. Fortill then,
all
z
was but
inpromi(e, inP1admves,
and
jigt~res,
and
prophecies
only, which
jilt
not, God .kntnves.,
:But when the
Performanceoftho[epromifes,
the
hod,y
ofthofe
jbadowes,
th~f•tNiance
ofvhofe
.figures,
the
fulfilling orfillingft•ll
ofall thofe
propl;ecies
came; then
camt:
the
fMnef!c oftimej_
. trulyfocalled. Tillthenitcamenor:thenitcame.
.
;·
.
,,.,;,
·
~-
1T
And well might it be called
the fit!neffe oftime,
in
a
third
re[peer. For tben,theHeit:e,'
3
(that is,rhe
World)
was come t9 his
full age:
and fo that
th~
littefi
tinte
for Him to
lx
[e'll
Eo.r:
to that, compareth the Apo!llctheirdbte then; that
th~
former times u,nder
Mofos .a.od
the-.
Prophets were asthe Nonage ofthe world
;{ttb P,edagogo,
in the
III.
Ohapter, rer.XXJIII•
.,:,;,;,xii.t,-
at their
A. B.
c.
or
r~diments,
(as in the very lafl: words befm:etbefe;) T-heir. '
"
1
efiate then, as of
children
in their minority,
little dijferi'!gfrom fervants:
Fo'l; all thinvbile,-
nondum venit
,the
firlncjfe
of
time
was not
yct'Come.
But a
til'!e
thernvas as for
man,
'fo for
ma11kind
to come to his.
full
ye:ues: Tha,t
time came
with
C
H
Jt.
1
s~r_
•s
comming,
;md
.C"
R I
s
T
s
com'('ii1g
with it, and nevertill then was
the fielpef!t
oftimr;;.bat.thep in
vas,
And let thts be enough for thts point; m<ir<:then; is
119r
ill
the
T~:r:t.
,By!';
ifany lhaflfur.,
· ther
as1c, why then, atthat age oftl1e World, theWorldwa-s nv Ius
full
age,
jull:_rheq,
and
netthet fooner nor
late{~
I
knQW many head:;,!uve beene
fitl~,qf
)levices, so fansfie
nteas
"\
cunoGry
m
that potot., But
I
l)ol,<,l_i,t fafell: ro.re():, withJhc; f\pp,file (in
>he
fcco~
ver(e) on.
~
0
"s
""~"~i·. I;~
thar
com~nt
us. Then-,was the till\
Cl
for that was
1
'fe"!<ptu.pr.t.Jimt;•m·
'!
Patre,thwmeappoinredoftheFather.
f!)r;
even amQ,Dg_wen, though(,tpe
Fat4er-!>~-
in~
dead) the Law fct,tet\1 a titl)CJ for
~he
Sozme
to cotl)C
J~
,f\is .herirageJ:
_y~,t~e_./l4(hr
lVIllg,
no
tune can
b~
pr>fixcd, ):>ut
om~ly
vthei,nt hketb Htm
to
appoint,; and
me
Father
D
here