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Sermon
5·
Ojthe
NATIVITIE.
little way in the fecond Chapter; and we have already, three
No!itimerc's
in it: and all, as
here, at the comming ofan Angel!•.
•J:earr not Z•<harte,
(Chap.!:
I
3•)
So he w:\s
afi·a!d.
,
Feare not JJ1arie,
(Chap.
I.
3o.) So, fhe was
a.fr.1!d•.
1
And now,
Fearenot thefe
here, That
it feemes
to
be gener:lll,
to
feare,
aran
LAnge!s
appeanng.
What was
it~
Ir was nm
rhcfearcof
an
evt!l conjCJCncc :
They were aboutno harme.
~~."'h"
zach,rriewas
at Chmch at hts
office;
The blcffed
Vtrgm
~~doubt
not)bleffedly tmpLoved:
,
Thefe here, doing their duty;
Watc~mgoverthar
jlocku vy mght'
Yet,
feared,
all. What
Of'"""·
lh
Id
rhc
matter
be~
It
is
a plamt ltgne, our
Natur~
ts fallen from her ongmall: Heaven,
:.mc~/'wearenot
in the tcnncs, we lhould be: not the beltofusall .
.Angels
are the Mcffengers ofHeaven.
M~ffengers
ever come with tydings; but whe-
:i:!'~~~cl.
ther good or bad, we cannot tell. Here comes an
Angdl
With newcs from Heaven:
w~1at
ewes he brinas we know nor, and thnefore we
feare,
b~caufe
we know nor. Whtch
fuewes all is
n~t'well
berweene heaven and us; that uponev'ery comming ofan
Angel!,
we
promife our [elves no better newcs from thence; but lhll arc
afraid
of
th~mdlages
and me[–
[enaers that comes from that pbce.
"Thatthemeffage then may proceed, this
flare
mull: be
r~mrwed
.. In a troubled water,
:J,~:;~
no face will well be feene: nor, by arroubled uunde, no mdfage rece1ved, ull tt be ferled,
To'fettle them then for it; no other way, no other word to begin with, but
No!ite timere,
feare
not,
and that is ever the Angels beginning. Such is our infirmity, ever he mull: begin
with thefe two words,
Nolt mnere,feare not:
And fo he
dothjeven
tunes m this Gofpelh
But,fean will not be cJ/l: out with a couple ofwords, till they fee fome rcafon to quiet
1
them. And no betterrc>fon, than
to
fl1e·w, they have no reafon
to
feure.
For, fcare is the
For,
no
ia
expeCtationof evill, and there
is
noevill roward them: and fothey have no teafon to
flare;
'Jd"gr.
~
11
odtrepid•vmmt
timore, uhi non erattimor.
As if he fhould fa:[; Angelshave come with
Pfl.
5l·f·
1
veepingnewes, asl11de z.v.5.
Ifi were fuch an one, tfi came wtth f.1d rydmgs, ye had rea–
[on,yemight
feare.
But now, your
terrot~rgroweth
out of
error.
You are mtll:aken mme,
I am no fuch Angell; I am
Angelm Evangelzzam,an
Angel! with a GoJpell,onethat comes
with no
badnewes.
Fearen~tthen.
There is no evill toward.
No evil!: and that were enough for
feare not.
But here is a further matter; Not onely
z
privative, I bri11gno if!;
bur
pojitive, I bringyo11goodnewes.
And
good newes
is
'l'(g!ite timere,
~~~.~:.d
and fomewhat befides,(thar is)
Feare not,
but,
be ofgoodchme.
They be two degrees phin-
ly, though one be inferred ofthe other.
Feare
no ill, rhcreis none
to feare;
there is
no ill,
nay there
isgosd
towards.
For,good newes
is good, in that it reprefems the good it felfe to us
before it come. Iris but words: true: Bur fuch words made
Iacob revive agaiie,
when hee
G"l.if·'7
was morerhanhalfe dead,
eventhegooAnerves ofiojephs welfare. Ifl migiJt blit heare goodty-
'
dings
(faith
David, when his hones rrme hroken) it would makemerveUagaine: TharSdlomon
l'f>!.
1 .•.
s.
{aid well,
A good mefferzger
is
agoodmedicine.
·
.
.
l'•<>·••·•t
Specially, this here which is fo good, as it carrieth away rhe name from the rea, to be
called
The Goffell,
or, the
gladtydings,
as if none fo
glad,
nay, none
gladat aft
without it.
It is(faith the Aport!c)
odor{ttavilatzs,a
comfortable fweet favour. It
is
(faith rhe wife man) •
Cor.
u.
d~cedoani1Ju,
&
fanittUofinm,
the fweetneffe of the foule, rhe very health ofthe bc;mes.
p,
0 • 16
\t
Iusfuch (fatth the Prophet)
tU theltps areprectom,andthefeet bwttifit!l,ofthemthat brm:tzt,
Eby 5
•.
7 •
that
_aSaviottr is borne,
asby whom,
things in heaven and things in earth,
Men and
}~hgels
Cot. ..
00 •
(whtch were in
foare
one ofanother)
are{et atpeace, and love :
and
Love'cajlcth011t (eare,
g:-
xioh , 4 •
veththetrueNo/itimere.
·
,~.
Good newes
ofjoy:
For, of
good newes,
there are more fons than one.
Goodnerves
it
3 __
had beene, tftt hadbeene but
E_v_angelizo_v~bi<
Spem.
Newes
~f
good Hope :
that had
beene·~~~~:g•
•
(llough, for
Noltte ttmere.
Thtstsmore, tt!S
ofJoy.
I wot well, there is":!
joy
in hope,
Spe
Rom.u.
gaodentes,
fa1rh theApoll:le : But that
joy
is not
(td!, tillthefulnejfeof time come.
Nor it is
'~·
not~etfeCl:,for
it is allaiedfomewhat, with an unpleaGna mixture which is
Spes dijfertur,
~~
16
'!
:and:hat(as the wifeman faith)
affligit animam : Hope deferred afjlic1eth the{ottle. G,wdittm
Jf,~,;i;;
•
sl,"
IS
norh10g to
Gaudi11m Rei :
thehope
defttttN"o,
ofa thin" to come hereafter, nothina to
t
eactuallfruitionofa thingprefent.
~
. "
And tndeed, this dayes newes, it was ever
Evangcli
11
m Spi:
ever in the future teofe,
..
.
before. Even the very lall:bcforc this, to the bleffed Virgin,
Em cMcipies,
Thonfhalt'co~·
r.""''·l (
m'lli';-