TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE AND VIRTUOUS LADY,

THE LADY FRANCES,

COUNTESS OF CARBERY.

MADAM,

SINCE the Divine Providence hath been pleased to bind

up the great breaches of my little fortune by your charity and nobleness of a religious tenderness, I account it an excellent circumstance and handsomeness of condition that I have the fortune of St. Athanasius to have my persecution relieved and comforted by an honourable and excellent lady; and I have nothing to return for this honour done to me, but to do as the poor paralytics and infirm people in the Gospel did when our blessed Saviour cured them, they went and told it to all the country, and made the vicinage full of the report as themselves were of health and joy. And although I know the modesty of your person and religion, had rather do favours than own them, yet give me leave to draw aside the curtain and retirement of your charity; for I had rather your virtue should blush than my unthankfulness make me ashamed. Madam, I intended by this address not 'only to return you spirituals for your temporals, but to make your noble usages of me and mine, to become like your other charities, productive of advantages to the standers by. For although the beams of the sun reflected from a marble return not home to the body and fountain of light, yet they that walk below feel the benefit of a doubled heat: so whatever reflections or returns of your favours I can make, although they fall short of what your worth does most reasonably challenge, and can proceed but towards you with

PART III. forward desires and distant approaches, yet I am desirous to believe that those who walk between us may receive assistances from this intercourse, and the following papers may be auxiliary to the enkindling of their piety, as to the confirming and establishing yours. For although the great prudence of your most noble Lord, and the modesties of your own temperate and sweeter dispositions become the great endearments of virtue to you, yet because it is necessary that you make religion the business of your life, I thought it not an impertinent application, to express my thankfulness to your Honour by that which may best become my duty and my gratitude, because it may do you the greatest service. Madam, I must beg your pardon, that I have opened the sanctuary of your retired virtues; but I was obliged to publish the endearments and favours of your noble Lord and yourself towards me and my relatives: for as your hands are so clasped that one ring is the ligature of them both, so I have found emanations from that conjuncture of hands with a consent so forward and apt, that nothing can satisfy for my obligations but by being in the greatest eminency of thankfulness and humility of person, Madam, your Honour's most obliged and most humble Servant,

TAYLOR.

SECTION XIII.

PART III.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

Of the Second Year of the Preaching of JESUSIFORNIA

HEN the first year of Jesus, the year of peace and

WHEN

undisturbed preaching was expired, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. This feast fren. l. 2. c. 10. was the second passover he kept after he began to preach : not the feast of Pentecost or Tabernacles, both which were passed before Jesus came last from Judea; whither when he was now come, he finds an impotent person lying at the pool of Bethesda, waiting till the angel should move the waters, after which, whosoever first stepped in was cured of his infirmity. The poor man had waited thirty-eight years, and still was prevented by some other of the hospital that needed a physician. But Jesus seeing him, had pity on him, cured him, and bid him take up his bed and walk. This cure happened to be wrought upon the sabbath, for which the Jews were so moved with indignation, that they thought to slay him: And their anger was enraged by his calling himself the son of God, and making himself equal with God.

2

John v.

Upon occasion of this offence which they snatched at before it was ministered, Jesus discourses upon his mission and derivation of his authority from the Father, of the union between them, and the excellent communications of power, participation of dignity, delegation of judicature, reciprocations and reflexions of honour from the Father to the Son, and back again to the Father. He preaches of life and salvation to them that believe in him, prophesies of the resurrection of the dead by the efficacy of the voice of the Son of God, speaks of the day of judgment, the differing conditions after, of salvation and damnation respectively; confirms his words and mission by the testimony of John the Baptist, of Moses and the other scriptures, and of God himself; And still the scandal rises higher; for In the second sabbath after Snidas V. the first, that is, in the first day of unleavened bread, which rabbatov. happened the next day after the weekly sabbath, the disciples

PART III. of Jesus pull ripe ears of corn, rub them in their hand, and eat them to satisfy their hunger; for which He offered satisfaction to their scruples, convincing them that works of necessity are to be permitted even to the breach of a positive temporary constitution, and that works of mercy are the best serving of God upon any day whatsoever, or any part of the day that is vacant to other offices, and proper for a religious festival.

3

Evangel. Naz. quod S. Hieron. ex Hebr.

in Græcum transtulit.

4

But when neither reason nor religion would give them satisfaction, but that they went about to kill him, he withdrew himself from Jerusalem, and returned to Galilee; whither the scribes and pharisees followed him, observing his actions, and whether or no he would prosecute that which they called, profanation of their sabbath, by doing acts of mercy upon that day: He still did so. For entering into one of the synagogues of Galilee upon the sabbath, Jesus saw a man (whom St. Hierom reports to have been a mason) coming to Tyre, and complaining that his hand was withered, and desiring help of him, that he might again be restored to the use of his hands, lest he should be compelled with misery and shame to beg his bread. Jesus restored his hand as whole as the other in the midst of all those spies and enemies. Upon which act being confirmed, in their malice the Pharisees went forth and joined with the Herodians, (a sect of people who said Herod was the Messias, because by the decree of the Roman senate, when the sceptre departed from Judah, he was declared king) and both together took counsel, how they might kill him.

Jesus therefore departed again to the sea coast, and his companies increased as his fame, for he was now followed by new multitudes from Galilee, from Judæa, from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond Jordan, from about Tyre and Sidon; who hearing the report of his miraculous power to cure all diseases by the word of his mouth, or the touch of his hand, or the handling his garment, came with their ambulatory hospital of sick, and their possessed, and they pressed on him but to touch him, and were all immediately cured. The devils confessing publicly that he was the Son of God, till they were upon all such occasions restrained and compelled to silence.

But now Jesus having commanded a ship to be in readiness against any inconvenience or troublesome pressures of

lici semper

duodenus honoris Fulget menses imitaOmnibus ut

apex, numero

tus et horas,

rebus semper tibi militet

annus. Sedul.

the multitude, Went up into a mountain to pray, and con- | PART III. tinued in prayer all night, intending to make the first ordination of Apostles; which the next day he did, choosing out of the number of his disciples these twelve to be Apostles; Sic et ApostoSimon Peter and Andrew, James and John, the sons of thunder, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphæus, and Simon the Zelot, Judas, the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot. With these, descending from the mountain to the plain, he repeated the same sermon, or much of it which he had before preached in the first beginning of his prophecyings, that he might publish his gospel to these new auditors, and also more particularly inform his Apostles in the doctrine of the kingdom; for now because he saw Israel scattered like sheep having no shepherd, he did purpose to send these twelve abroad to preach repentance and the approximation of the kingdom; and therefore first instructed them in the mysterious parts of his holy doctrine, and gave them also particular instructions together with their temporary commission for that journey.

"For Jesus sent them out by two and two, giving them power over unclean spirits, and to heal all manner of sickness and diseases, telling they were the light, and the eyes, and the salt of the world, so intimating their duties of diligence, holiness, and incorruption; giving them in charge to preach the gospel, to dispense their power and miracles freely, as they had received it, to anoint sick persons with oil, not to enter into any Samaritan town, but to go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to provide no viaticum for their journeys, but to put themselves upon the religion and piety of their proselytes; he arms them against persecutions, gives them leave to fly the storm from city to city, promises them the assistances of his Spirit, encourages them by his own example of long sufferance and by instances of divine providence expressed even to creatures of smallest value, and by promise of great rewards to the confident confession of his name; and furnishes them with some propositions, which are like so many bills of exchange, upon the trust of which they might take up necessaries, promising great retributions not only to them, who quit any thing of value for the sake of Jesus, but to them that offer a cup of water to a thirsty disciple; and with these instructions they departed to preach in the cities.

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