! 312 7o bee the wife ordaugh terof a King a greater ho- aour,than to be hisMother Thedignitie of the bledVirginc. Firft, Becaufe the Greeke word ; which anfwereth to ruinimo , is neithera Negatiue,nor an Affirmatiue. Secondly, becaufe this happineffe peeing grantedvnto thofe who law and beheldour Sauior Chrift with theirrycs it is not to be fuppofed,that it fhould bee denyed to his Mother that had brought him foorth,and bredhim vp. Be- fides,the Virgine faid ofherfelfe,All nationsfhallcallmeblefed,Not onlyfor that aboundanceofgracewhich God hadbellowed vpon her but alfo for that he had inriched herwith fo many great priuiledges,whereof the dignitie of aMother wasnot the leaft. Saint Aulen indeeringthe greatneffethereof faith, That the heart couldnot conceiue it, nor the tongueexprefe it : And Anfelmus,That next to the greatneffe-of the Son, there wasnot any greatneffe either in Heauen or in Earth, which was any way comparable tothat of theMother:AndS. Bernard,That by howmuch the morewas her vicinitiewith theword ; by fomuch the more was her excellencie in Hcauen.Whence fome Schoolemen inferre,that this dignitie doth exceedal thofe othertreafures ofgrace whichweretobe found intheVir- gine. Tufline fayth ofotimpia,thathowbeit themight boaft herfelfemuchof the Kingdome of Troy, from whence the was defcended,& from otherkingdomes which the mighrciaimefrom her father, her brother,andher husband, who was Philip Kingof Macedon; yet could theglorie inno onething more,than that the was Mother toAlexander the Great,whowas Emperor oftheworld.Howmuch more ftronglyBoth this reafon hold in the moft bleufedVirginc! Yet notwithftanding all this, nothingcomparable is the dignitieofaMother to thatofadaughter ora wife. Andifithad bin left to this our molt bl'effed Vir- ginschoice,whether fhehad rather hauebeen the Mother ofGod,or his Spoufe andbelt Beloued, Thee wouldqueftionleffe hauerather chofen tohaue bcene his Beloued.And the fameis i-nplyedby thofe feueral imployments ofMartha and (mary.As the Virginwas a Mother,fhe did Marthas office,affoording her brefts toour Sauior Chrift,wrappinghim vp in his fwadlingclouts, breeding him asd attendingvpon him : But as fhewas aDaughter anda Spoufe,fhedidMaries du- tie, hauing her care Rilltyed tohismouth,and diligently lifteningto thofe hea- uenlywords that proceeded fromthence. And therearifingaquarrell betwixt thefe two fitters, which ofthem lowedour Saviorbeft;our Sauiorfoon decided thecontroúerfic,when he fayd,c?vfary bathchofen the betterpart. Andthis is made cleerein theexample of the Queene Mother,and the Prince that is heireto his Fathers Kingdome. The Queene no doubt bath a great part in the King and Kingdome ; But the Prince more, whomuff oneday commaund all. King Sa- lomonhonoured hisMother much,andas fooneas he had taken poffeflion ofthe Kingdome,he offered his feruicevnto her and that heand all that he hadwasat her commaund, but inconclufion he left that to his foone Rehobeam. ofhis own will(faith Saint Tames) begot hevswith thewordoftruth,that we huldbeas thefirff fruitsofhis creatures. Pt Simms initium, OneCommentator hathit, veprincipa- tumhábeamees, that wemayhawprincipalitie. TheGreeke, Thatwee maybee the Majorafges, The elder fonnesand heires ofhis Kingdome. In the Stockes and Linages of men , there are innumerable differences ofmore , andof leffe 5 of higher,and lower : But that which dothaduance and aduantage vs matt, is the hearing ofGods word. The glorious Doctor Saint'Aufien fayth , That which paffeth amongft Nati- ons,palfeth likewifeamongft Men. God preferred the Iewes before all other Nations 3 2Confecit taliter Omni roatieni, &c. Hehadnot dealtfowith anyother Na- tion,&c. Nor had they that oddesandaduantageof others, inregardonely of thofe Vpon the third
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