Faith how laid to be great afterAíhwednefday. Serm.3. 37 But for thofe that beleeue at certainetimes,but in time oftemptation yeeld and giueoff, of them ourSauiour faith, That theyhauebut fmall (tore ofFaith. Ineuerie one of thefe kinds fogreat was theCenturions Faith, That our Sa- uiour Paid ofhim, Non inueni tantamfidem,lhawnotfaundfomuchFaitIi,&e. Firft ofall, hedidbeleeue, That hecouldhcalehis Seruant, whonow lay at the point of death. Not like the Father, who having his fonne poffeffed with aDeuill, fpakedoubtingly toour Sauiour Chrift,Si quidpotes, adjuva me,ifthou canf1 doany thing,helpe me. Secondly,he did beleeue, That he wasable to cure him onely byhis worde, orto fpeake better, byhis Wilonely. Not like the Archifynagoguian, whode- firedhim, That he would lay his handvponhis daughter. Thirdly, hee did beleeue, That heecould curehim though hee were abfenr. Not like Regulus, who was earneft with him, tomake all thehaft he could vnto his houfe,beforehis fonnewere dead. Nor: like .Martha; who Paid, Domine, fifuiJshicfrater meus nonfuiffit naortuua , Lord, if thou hadf beenehere mybrother hadnot died.' Fourthly, hedid beleeue, That ourSauior was God andMan.Not like thofe that Paid, Homocutefis,facis teipfumDeum, Thouart amangmakefl thyfelfa cod. Saint Hieromé feemes tobeeofopinion, Thatthis his Faithdidnot reach fo farceas the myfterieof the Trinitie : but it was much that fuch a frefhwater Souldier fhould on thefudden attaine tothe higheftof that knowledge. Great likewifewas his Faith in regardof the difficultie. What greaterdiffi- cultic, thant obeleeue, That that man, on the one fide fo paf able and fubieét to paine, was on the other fide fopowerf'ull and impafìîble ' This was it that was foolifbnefl'eto the Gentiles,anda fcándall tothe Iewes. Itwas likewife great , in regard of thofe flender argumentsand reafons to moouehim thereunto : Forhe hadneither read theScriptures, nor theProphe- cies thatwere ofhim, nor did knowChrift, but by the fame & report that went ofhim, nor hadfeene manyofhis miracles,for Chrift hadnotthendone many. As it is notedby Saint Chryfaflome. Itwas alto great, inregard of it'sfirmenefle and conftancie , as origen bath obferued; for our Sauiour proou'dand try'dhim, as hee did t.4braham, and as hedid thewomanof Canaan, when hePaid Ego veniam &wadeeum,l willcome andhealebim. This was agreat proofe of-his Faith, but heewas as flumeas the Rocke; fo that ineuerie oneof theferefpeds his Faithwas great. Ifanyman (hall aske, How great (I pray) was this Faith ofhis c I anfwere, Greaterthan Chrift found in the Peopleof Ifraell,to whomhehadpreached, and for wholefake he had wrought fo manymiracles. Tertulliandeclareth this greatneffeof Faith in that manner, that the comparifon cuttethnot offthe Pa- triarkes alreadie paft,nor the Ifraelites to come; but extendeth it felfeonely to thofe thatwereprefent,whofeFaith hehad made triall of. Secondly, for that itraune greater difficultie than that ofhis Apoftles and Difciples ; in regardofthofe leffe forcible arguments and reafons.to leade him thereunto; asalto inrefpeâofthat (mall painesthat hadbeene takenwith him: For Chrift fought after his Apoftles and Difciples, and tooke them from their T.adesand occupations, manifeftinghis glorie vnto them. Accordingto that of ;îaint John, c Manifi/lauitgloritonfuam,rcrediderunt difipulieiva,Hemanifefled hisglorie,andhisDifciplesbeleeued. But the Centurionwas inuited only by his Faith, to acknowledge Chrift,and tobeleeuetruly in him. Laftly,his Faithwas greater in it'sproportion; As our Sauiour laid, That the D muftard- Marke. y. ytath. p. lohn. t. Hiero.Iib.ad- wed.Uaff. chriAft. Hom. zz. Imper/.
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