BY MASTER HUGH LATIMER, AT GRIMSTHORPE, AN. 1552.
Luke 2:6, 7<420206>.
And it fortuned that while they were there, her time was come that she should be delivered: and she brought forth her first-begotten son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
I Shewed you yesterday, right worshipful audience, what was the
occasion that Mary, the mother of Christ our Savior and Redeemer, came to Bethlehem, where as it was prophesied that he should be born. The occasion was this: Octavius, being emperor over that great empire of Rome, at that time when Christ should be born, (as it was prophesied he should be born while the second temple stood;) now this Octavius sent out a general proclamation, that all countries underneath his dominion should be taxed, and to give him a certain money. Now God intended another thing. Octavius with this proclamation sought nothing but to fill his purse, and to make money; but God sought occasion that way to fulfill his prophecy: for it was prophesied a long time, that Christ should be born before at Bethlehem. Now she could not come thither except by some occasion; and therefore this was the occasion, namely, that she should come and be taxed, and pay a certain money to the officers. And here we shall consider and weigh the obedience that Mary, the mother of Christ, and her husband shewed toward the magistrates; that she was content to take such a great journey in hand with her husband Joseph, to shew herself obedient unto the magistrates. And here I took occasion the last time to speak somewhat of obedience, how we ought to shew
ourselves obedient in all things which be not against God. I think of this matter we cannot speak too much; for it is a thing most necessary to be known. For if the parents of our Savior were content to be obedient unto a heathen king, how much more should we shew ourselves obedient unto our natural king, which feedeth us with the holy word of God, and seeketh not alone our bodily health and wealth, but also the health of the soul! How much more ought we to reverence him and honor him, which
not tyrannously ruleth over us, as Octavius did over the Jews, but most lovingly governeth and ruleth us, seeking not his own commodities, but our good estate!
Now by this occasion, as I told you, namely, to shew themselves obedient, came Joseph and Mary unto Bethlehem; a long journey, and poor folks, and peradventure on foot: for we read of no great horses that she had, as our great ladies have now-a-days; for truly she had no such jolly gear. Now he that would shew the good behavior that was between them two, he must surely have much time. We read of no falling out between them, or any ill behavior that was between them. f177 Wherefore all husbands may learn by Joseph to do their duties toward their wives;
and again, all wives may learn by her.
Well, she was great with child, and was now come to Bethlehem. A wonderful thing to consider the works of God! The emperor Octavius served God’s purpose, and yet knew nothing of him; for he knew not what manner of man was born at that time when his proclamation was sent out. But John Baptist, that went before our Savior Christ, he shewed what manner of man Christ was, when he said, Ecce Agnus Dei, qui tollit peccata mundi; “Lo! f178 the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.” By these words is shewed to what end Christ was sent into the world, namely, to take away sins. And before this, Zachary, the father of John Baptist, fell out f179 in praising of God, saying, Benedictus Deus Israel, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up a horn of salvation.” Now if Zachary because of the birth of John rejoiced in God, how much more should we laud and praise God, that Christ our Savior himself is born! for John Baptist was the precursor. He was but a servant of God; yet
Zachary his father so much rejoiced in him. How much, I say, shall we praise God, that the Lord above all lords hath taken upon him our humanity, and is made man, for this great benefit! that he would
vouchsafe to humble himself so much, as to take our nature upon him, for this cause, to deliver us out of the hands of the old serpent, the devil, in whose kingdom and dominion all mankind should have been, if this Savior had not come into the world! And thus his first coming is but very poorly, without any jollity or pomp; but his second coming (as I have told you many a time before) shall be a glorious coming, a beautiful coming:
for he shall come accompanied with all his angels; he shall come with such clearness, that the sun and the moon shall be darkened at his
coming. Not that the sun itself of her f180 substance shall be darkened: no, not so; for she shall give her light, f181 but it shall not be seen for this great light and clearness wherein our Savior shall appear. Now at the first he is come, not with glory or majesty, but with great poverty and misery, which he hath sustained for our sakes.
We have here to consider the great benefits of God, the almighty Father, that it hath pleased him, through his great goodness and love which he bare towards us which were his enemies, that it hath pleased him, I say, to give unto us for our sakes his only Son into these miseries and calamities, and to suffer him to take our nature upon him, and to deliver us with f182 his most painful and grievous passion. We cannot express the worthiness of it; but though we are not able to express it, yet we must do as much as we can.
Now for to come to the knowledge of this benefit, you must consider, first, what he was before he was incarnate and made man: for when we know what he was before he was made man, then we shall know what he hath done for us. Now, therefore, you must know, that he was the natural Son of God, yea, God himself, the Lord and King over heaven and earth;
through whom all things were made and created, and by whom all things are kept and sustained, ruled, and governed. That same God, that same Son of God, refused not to humble himself far beyond all measure, to take upon him such a vile nature; for he was made very man. You must not think as the Arians f183 did, which said that he was not a very man, nor suffered very pains upon the cross, but had a fantastical body. And I know where there was one of such an erroneous opinion, not many years ago; he belonged to a great man at that time. Therefore, I say, we must beware of this opinion, and believe steadfastly that he was a very natural man, sin excepted. Again, we must believe that he was God’s Son, not by adoption, as we be; for we all be adopted and taken for the children of God. But he was before the world began with God, the very natural Son of God, and God himself; very God’s Son without a mother, like as he was very man without a father. I will prove him to be very God, because we are commanded to call upon him. :Now ye know that to call upon God is to honor God. And God saith in his word that he will give his honor unto nobody; but Christ hath the honor of God, therefore he must needs be very God. And here we have occasion to be sorry that we have called upon the saints; and so deprived God of his honor and dignity, and made them Deos tutelares, tutelary gods. But Christ is he on whom we
must call, and put our confidence in: for it is written, Adorabunt eum omnes reges terrae; “All the kings of the world shall honor him, and call upon his name.” And therefore here it appeareth most manifestly that he is very God, coequal unto the Father after his divinity.
You have heard this day, in the service of St. Stephen, how he called upon Christ, saying, Domine Jesu, suscipe spiritum meum; “Lord Jesus, take thou my spirit.” The Jews stoned him, but he made his prayer, saying, Domine Jesu, suscipe spiritum meum; “Lord Jesu, take my spirit;” f184 lifting up his eyes unto heaven, signifying that Christ is very God; which thing, no doubt, St. Stephen would not have done, if Christ had not been very God. Now, this day is St. Stephen’s day, which was put to death because he rebuked the stubbornness of the wicked priests and bishops; which bishops stirred up false witnesses against him, and so stoned him: but well is he that ever he was born. Now, therefore, if you will worship St. Stephen, I will tell you how ye shall worship him.
Consider his faith and heartiness which he had in God’s cause, and pray unto God that thou mayest have such a strong faith too, f185 that thou mayest be ready to forsake the world, and suffer for the word of God, like as he hath. f186 And, further, pray unto God that thou mayest have such a strong faith to pray unto him, as St. Stephen had. This is the right worshipping of St. Stephen, to follow his ensample, and f187 not to call upon him. But I marvel much how it chanced f188 that upon this day we were wont to let our horses blood: f189 it is like as though St. Stephen had some great government over the horses, which thing no doubt is a vain invention of man. We ought to commit ourselves, and all that we have, under the governance of God, and not to be so foolish as to commit them unto saints. God grant us that we may say with a good faith, from the bottom of our hearts, Domine Jesu, suscipe spiritum nostrum, “Lord Jesu, receive our spirits!”
Further, Christ himself shewed most manifestly what he was, for he hath witnesses enough; the Father, the Holy Ghost, John Baptist, and the works which he did: and finally he himself witnesseth what he is; for he saith, Qui credit in me habet vitam aeternam; “He that believeth in me hath everlasting life.” Here is evidently f190 shewed by his own words what he was, namely, the Redeemer of mankind, and very God; for nobody can give everlasting life save only God. But Christ giveth
everlasting life; ergo, he is very natural God. Item, f191 in another place he saith, Quemadmodum Pater mortuos suscitat, sic et Filius; “Like as the
Father raised up the dead, so doth the Son too.” Where it most manifestly appeareth that he is equal unto the Father; they work their works
together unseparably. This I say unto f192 you to the intent that you
should consider with yourselves what Christ hath been before he took our nature upon him: and again, to consider what he hath done for us, and how exceedingly he hath humbled himself.
Now I will shew you what man is of his own nature, left unto himself; but I will not speak of that singular Son of man, which was Christ, for he had two natures in unity of persons: he was very God and very man; he was a privileged man from all other men; that man never sinned, therefore I speak not of him: I speak of the nature which mankind hath inherited of Adam after he had sinned; for as he was, that is, a sinful wicked man, disobedient unto the word of God, such he brought into the world. Now what is man, what is the nature of the son of Adam? I speak not of Christ, for he was not born of the seed of Adam. When we know what man is, then we shall perceive what great benefit we have received of God, the Father Almighty, in that he hath sent his only Son to be a sacrifice for us, and to help us out of the estate of damnation, and to remedy this impureness of our nature. Now this our nature David, the holy king and prophet, describeth with few words, saying, Ecce iniquitatatibus natus sum et in peccatis concepit; “Lo, in iniquity am I born, and in sin hath my mother conceived me.” Which words are not so to be understood as though the act of generation, and the lawful use of matrimony, be defiled and unclean before God. He speaketh not here of the lawful bed-company that is between married folks: for this hath his warrant in scripture, in God’s book; therefore he speaketh not here of the company that is between man and wife: but he will f194 signify by his words what he had inherited of his parents, of Adam, namely, sin and wickedness: and he speaketh not of himself only, but of all mankind. He painteth us out in our own color; shewing that all we be contaminate, from our birth, with sin, and so should justly be firebrands in hell world without end. This the holy prophet shewed in these words, to put us in remembrance of our own wretchedness; to teach us to despair of our own holiness and righteousness; and to seek our help and comfort by that Messias whom God hath promised our forefathers, and now hath fulfilled the same promise.
Another scripture signifieth unto us further, what we be of ourselves, of our own nature: for it is written, Omnis homo mendax, “All men are
liars;” therefore man is not clean, but full of falsehood and deceit, and all manner of sin and wickedness: yet we may learn what we be of our own nature, namely, poisoned and corrupt with all manner of uncleanness.
Another scripture we have, which sheweth us in the same thing: f195 Dominus de caelo despexit, et omnes declinaverunt, simul inutiles facti sunt; “The Lord looked down from heaven, to see whether any man be
f196 that did well; but they are f197 all declined, they were all naught together.” God looked down to consider whether there were some that had understanding of him, or not. What brought he to pass? What found he when he made inquisition? Marry this, Omnes declinaverunt, “All men have declined from God; there was not one that did good, no not one.”
Here we may perceive what we be of ourselves, of our own nature. And, again, here we may see what Christ, the Son of God, hath done for us;
what inestimable benefits we have received at his hands, namely, to suffer for us and to cleanse us from all our sins and wickedness; to make us just before the face of God; to purge us from all iniquity, as well from original sin as actual: for if he had not done so, we should never have been able to escape the wrath of God. For, Quicquid natus ex carne caro est,
“Whatsoever is born of flesh is flesh;” that is to say, is sinful, wicked, and so destitute of the glory of God, and the child of the devil. If Christ had not been come and cleansed our filthiness, if he had not suffered death for us, we had perished. Now afore f198 he suffered, he was born and lived a great while in the f199 miserable world; or else he could not have suffered if he had not been born, for no man can suffer before he be alive. Further, it is written in God’s book, Conclusit Deus omnes sub peccato, ut
omnium misereatur; “God hath concluded all mankind under sin;” so that all mankind was sinful, and destitute of the favor of God, save only Christ.
Wherefore, I pray you, have I rehearsed all these scriptures? Marry, to this intent I have rehearsed them, to bring :you to knowledge how great need we have had of Christ: for no doubt if we had not had him, all mankind should have been damned, yea, the best of us, world without end. But that we have deliverance, that the kingdom of heaven is opened unto us, that same brought he to pass with his passion; for he took upon him our nature, and so deserved for us everlasting life: for by him we have it, and therefore we must thank him for it, we must to him give all honor and praise.
It is a great unity between the two natures in Christ, between the manhood and Godhead: for the body and the soul make a man, but the manhood and the Godhead are joined so together, they make but one Christ, and yet they are not confounded; so that the Godhead is not turned into the manhood, neither the manhood into the Godhead. And thus Christ, which was very God and very man, died not for himself nor of necessity, for death had no right unto him, because he was without sin;
but he died for our sakes, willingly, without any compulsion, moved by the great love that he bare unto man: and therefore he saith, Nemo tollit animam meam a me, sed ego repono illam; “No man taketh away my life, but I myself put it away; but I will receive it again. I am willing to die, for with my dying f200 I will destroy the kingdom of the devil; and by my death all mankind shall be saved.” And here he shewed himself what he was, namely, very God; for he had power over death, and not death over him: and so he died not by compulsion nor necessity, but willingly;
for it was his will and pleasure to help us, and deliver us from our wretchedness; for nothing could help us else but the death of the eternal Son of God.
And here you may note, by the way, what a heinous thing sin is before the face of God; how he abhorreth sin, that he would be with nothing reconciled, save only with the death of his Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
And this shall make us to hate sin, and avoid all occasions of sin, and not to fall willingly and wittingly into all kinds f201 of sin again; but rather to live uprightly and godly, according unto his will and commandment:
seeing that he beareth such a loving and fatherly heart towards us, that he spared not his only Son, but gave him even to the most vile and
painfullest death for our sakes, for our sins and wickedness’ sake.
David, that holy man, when he considered this great benefit, what saith he? He fell out into these words, Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae tribuit mihi? “What shall I give unto the Lord for all those things which he hath given unto me?” Then he made himself answer, and saith, Nomen Domini invocabo, “I will call upon the name of the Lord:”
Calicem salutaris accipiam, “I will take up the cup of health;” that is to say, “I will bear f202 his cross, that he shall lay upon me, willingly, without any grudge and murmuring.” Now, therefore, let us say so too: “O Lord, what shall we give unto thee again? What amends shall we make thee, seeing thou hast given us thine only natural Son, which took upon him a
f203 vile nature, and suffered most painful death?” For that we have a