Sutcrs neuerto berepulfed the fecondSundayt.l Lent. Ser.i4. but with muchmiidnelfe. thanabilitie. Iris proper to God (faythAr otk)tódoewhatheewill; toMari; todoe what he can : But now the.World is turnedtopfituruie; Goddoes what .hee can ; andMan,what he will. Saint Bernarçlin an Epift. ofhis,,cómplaineth of theEcclefiafticall prouifionswhich weremade in his time;Theyleapt. (fatih bee) from the Ferula to the Crofyers-fiaffe; being gladder to fee themfelues freed fromthe Rod,thanoftheHonours that wqre throwne vponthem. Seneca called that, ThegoldenAge, wherein Dignities were conferred on thofe that deferued.theni ; condemning the Age whereinhee liued,to bee the Yron Age. But I fay, That this prefentAgewhich:we now inioy, is thehappieft that euer our Churchhad : For,in thofe former times, thofe that were the learncdeft and theholieft men, fled into the Defarts, andhid themfelues in Caues , that theymight not bee perfecuted with Honours : Forthey had noSooner notice of a holyman, (albeit hehued cooptvphr.a corner but that they forced him : thence, clapping aMiter ,on head, and. other dignities : And there are verie ítrange Hiftories of this truth. But to all thofe .that_ liuenotA in there times, I cangiue them tildeglad tydings, That they may inioy their quiet, and fit peaceably at home intheir privat lodgings,reftingCafeand fecure,thatthistrou- ble fhall not cometo their doores ; fornowadayes, ónely fauour, orother by- refpeéts ofthe flefh, haue prouidedaremedie forthiseuill. Non eft meum. dareFr/obis. It lies not inme togiueyou Chrift would rather feemeto leffenfomewhat of his power, thanto leffen any thing ofhis loue. And therefore hedoth not fay, I will not doeit ; for that wouldhaueBeene too fouleand churlifh aword in the mouth of fomild aPrince, and he fhould therebyhaue done;wrong tohis own will, whodefires that all might haue;fuch feats as they did fue to tit in. Saint Ambrofe vnfoldethour Sauiours meaning, Bonus Dominus maluitd imularede jure, quam decharitatedeponere, Hehadrather they,fhould quejiion hisright than-his loue. The felfe fame DoEtorfaith,That he madechoice rather of ludo thanany other, though to man it might feeme, that heethereinwronged hiswifedome; for the World might from thence take occafion tofay, That he did not know how to diftinguifli ofmen,being that he had madechoyce offuch an ApQítle. But this was done out ofhis efpeciall prouidence, (faith Saint Ambrofe) ih fa- vour of his loue : Forhe being in our opinion, to runne thehazard ofhis wife- dome or hisloue, he had rather ofthe two fufferinhis wifedome; for no man couldotherwife prefume ofhim, but that he loued Inda. TheHiftory oflonas proues this point, who refufed to go to Niniuie; it feeming vnto him,that both Godand himfelfe fhould(as2\azianzen faith) be difcredited in theworld. But hewilled him the fecond time, That he fhould go to Niniuie, and that he fhould preachvnto them, retfortiedayes, andNiniuiefhallbe ouerthrowne. At laft heewas carried thither perforce,whither heewould or no : And the reafon why God carried this bufineflè thus, was, That if afterwards hee fhould not deflroy this Citie, he might happely hazardthe opinionof hispower, but not ofhis loue. Thnike is repeatedbySaintChryfaflome. lonas did likewife refufe to goe to Niniuie, that he might not at laft be found aLyer; efreeming more theopinionofhis truth, thanofhis loue. Hence ari- fethin the Prelatsandthe Princes,this word 2olumus, Wee willnot haue itfo; which fauours of toomuchharfhneflè and tyrannic. Sic vole, fic jabeo , fit pro rationvoluntas, Theirwill is a Lam veto them . But he that fnall make more rec- koningof the opinionofhis willingnefTTe, and ofhis Ioue, thanofhis power, V z and .231 1o44b.3.4.
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