O Our Sauiourcouldnotbetempted, %ppn the flf `1 O eitherbytheWorld or the Fletti. I Our Sauioun Fart how dif fering from ofMofcs and Why our Sa- uiourwould bee hnnger;e. almoft for loft. Funical:a triplex dlffrcile rumpttur , Athreefoldcordis not eafily bro- ken. That a twinethread, or a fingle (lender wand is foone broken ; but a three- fold cord,or abundle of ftickes,had neetle ofa ftrong arme to cracke them in twainc. The ordinarie vfe of fighting is, one againft one : And the Prouerbe faith, XequeHercules contra duos, Not Hercules again( two. But when this Squa- dron ofthe world,the flefh, &the Deuil íhal come againftyou,it Heal be extream raftneffe to ftaywiating for him . When Sodome was fet on fire theAngell faid toLot, Sauethyfelfein the Mountain : he replied, Not fomy Lord,There is acity hereneere to Hie vnto ; Nunquidnonmodica eft ? Is itnot a littleone ? ô let me efcape thither,andmy foule (hall line : As ifhee fhould haue faid, I know that in great Cities there is no hope oflife and fafetie ; for ifwee could in them be fafe, the Scripturewouldnor fo ofi;en inculcate in our cares , Polite de medio Babilonis. Cum jeiunaffetquadraginta diebtts, &quadragints nottibus,poßea efurÿt. Whenhehadfafiedfortiedayes andfortienights, hewas afterwards hungrie. Saint Luke faith, That all this whileour Sauiour had eaten nothing,Et nihilmanduca- uit indiebus illis ; Cannonizing by thisad the fanetitiy ofFafting.S.Auflcngoes about to paralell this our Sauioursfattingwith that ofMofes whofatted twice P b fortiedayes ; andwith that ofElias, whofatted once in the fame manner fgni- lying thereby,that the Gofpell was not contrarie to the Law, nor the Prophe- cies foretoldby thole holyProphers.But there was thisdiffrencebetwixt theirs, and that ofour Sauiors fatting ; that Metes andEliaswere notahunger'd neither in,nor after their fafting;but Chriftpofleaefurÿt,hehad nofooner ended his fa- fting,buthunger feifedonhisbowells : And the reafon thereofwas(as Maximal, renders it) that GodtoThewhisgreatneffe and his power, did inwardly fuftaine and feede them ; but our SauiourChrift hauing in him on the onefide the power ofGod, and onthe otherfide the nature ofman,Whenbehadfafledfortiedales and fortienights,hewas afterwards an hungrie. From thole fortiedayes that Defert tookehisname, beeing called&went& na. It is a rough and rugged Mountaine, fome foure miles from Iordan, where our Sauiour was baptized, and two from Ierico. Andbecaufe it was fucha wild and folitarie place,Saint Marke addeth, Eratquecambeflÿs, in token there was no bettercompanie there: And theythat makedefcriptionofthe HolyLand, re- port, That thereare bredthereinmany blackeand feare full Vipers. When hehadfafledfortiedayer. That voyce from Jordan, rh1 it mybelouedSoø, made theDeuillthe eagererto fet vpon him and ro challenge himthe Field. But SaintChryfoflomefaith, that this our Sauioursfatting kepthim (fillaloofe off from him, and made him fo cowardly,that he was affr'aid toventure vponhim : andtherefore did ourSauiourof purpofe fubmit himfelfevnto hunger, that the Deuill might therebybe encouraged tocome on the more boldly. Thomas no- teth ir, That Fatting is fuch aweapon, thatthe Deuilldares not tocomewithin the reachof it;for it makes Men tobelikevnto Angels:And euerfince thatLa- cferfell from Heauen,he bath lined 'hi infaareofhisown fhadow.Leothe Pope faith,Thatthere are a certainefortofterribleDeuills,againft whom no conru- rations nor exorcifinescanpreuaile ,ordoeanygood; onely they cannot with- ftandthe force of Failing. And of thefeour SauiourChrift faith, Thiskindof J»uill la not tailsut,but byPrayer andFafling. Saint /14i faith, That our Sauiour ,Chrift would not confent, that the Fiefh which hee had takenofour nature vas
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