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Show How tlie sp,o11fe qfC~rifl it iH .a LiUJ 41111Mgfl 'thorn~ i feed like the duff of the tdrlh, and a feed like the Star/ of Hea~tn, a flmy and dully feed;fo the Church hath a (eed after the Spirit, and a feed afm tbe flrj1J. The Daughters here fpoken of mull be fuch to whom the Similitude ofThorns will agree, they mull be wicked perfons. Non bon.e jili.e qu,e pung11n1, faith Bernard; they are evil daughters that prick. The only quefiion is, Whether by Daughters here be meant, 1be Heatbm who are the Do~ughters of the World; or fuch as are within the bofome of the_Church falfe ProfetTors; and thefe again are, I· Profane perfons. 2. Secret hypocrites. Hypocrites and Apoflates;thefe are all daughters by the Mothm lide,but not by the F &thlrJ.S pin,e propter malignit&tem mort<m,fili.e propter communionem Sacrammlorum,foith A11g, Origen faith, He would never have cal· Jed them Daughters, that had no relation to the Church as her Mother. Therefore both he and Gregory and Lyra and fome others underllood it of here ticks and falfe profelfors. But Hierom ~nd others more largely interpret it : I f~e no reafon to rellrain It, b1.1.t underlland byDaughters,all thole who are not begotten •fGod, though born of men, yea born ill th~ Church:filitH vocat, eff,min,atoJ a11im01 pe<cat~rum ( faith de Poll!!; ) he calls all the elfeminate ' Souls of !inner~, Daughter~. The fence then is this; that look, In the field as a Lilly is amongfi Thorns, fo is every believing Soul amongll any forts of wicked men, whether they be profane perfons, or Hypocrites,Heathens,or Hereticks, and Apollates. The third thing which I have to enquire upon,i> the Apmefi of the Similitude: we have found out the b(laved Lilly; we have alfo found out the grieving 1hmu, aod the D~ughter1 f'tpteftnted by them. But. 3. Q:..Wlry doth ow Savi•ur com(><lre hu beloved,coltVerjing ~ith the Dau~btm •f the W6rltl, to the feituation of a Lilly arnongft Thorn! ? I lind Interpreters divided in the Interpretation o[this Metaphor: fome think that Chrill,here commends his Spoufes b~auty, and !ledfallnefs; others, that he minds her of her afflilled Stale : Or hers again that by this Similitude he tl)inds he"' ofher Duty; ?thers that he minds her ofhe~ Succour and Safety; we will take 10 all four, and fpeall to each d rfiinctly. '.·~ As the LiUy (though amongll. Thorns) is a beawtifu.l, lovely, tlmvzwg plant·; f? is tPtry truly· believing Soul; fo is the Cbttrch nf G~d, amongll w~cked and ungodly men. Into this fence I find liJ141or, TrtmtlhN~, Dtod111e, Milritm11, Aqt~iHM, and the Dutch Annolatorl, HzHV tl!t spo'ltfe ofC'hrifls 11 iH 1t LiUJ amongft Thorns? 'Ann•talorJ, expounding my texr. T his is the nature of a rme Lillium, ip[as Believer; he abides a Lilly though amongll Thorns, a white and P"'genw Pd , lovely Lilly. It is .Bernard' I note, 'I_hat th~ LiFy doth beautify the J[:p·,~: ~;,:ft:';_ Tbur111 that rend zt. T he true Behever IS never transformed by re "'" ceflat. his AJJlilliOIIJ, Hear the Church Glorying in this, Pfal. 44· 17. Bernard. in AU thif if come upon U<, y et have we not forgotten thy prectpt1 ; loc, neitber bave rn dealt f a/fly in thy Gvvenant. Lot was a Lilly amongll Thorns ; he kept a RighteoU< Soul, in the middell of a wrcked generation of Sodomites. N03b was a Lilly amongtl: Thorns, he was a Preacher of rlghteoufi1efs in a time when all f/'fh bJd cor-rttpted their ways. C41eb was a Lilly amongll Thorns, he walked fully with God, when all Ifrael was in a mutiny. Obadi•b was a Lilly amongllThorns( there grew nothiug elfe in.4habs Court;)yet there he hid Fropbm by fifty in a Cave. You (ha II obferve of grafs growing arnongflThorns,that it grows higher than the other grafs of the Field, •cis Maria1u's note. ~od Sponte nafcit~tr l£tiu prodit. The Lilly amongll Thorns,faitl1 he, is the fairell and moll glorious Lilly; it appears fuch becaufe amongll Thorns which appear un-lovely: It is fo,for(faith he) there it comes up alone,and the flower that comes up·naturally, comes up fairell ; experience Cheweth it, that Grace never grows fo fair as amongll Thmu. 'Tis like the Palm-tree, the way to make it flouri(h is to tread it under foot. ,Ifi would feek for a pattern ofChrHlianity, I would look for it in a Nrds Court. The lire fcorcheth moll in the col dell weather : The enmity of the cold makes the internal heat greater ( being more contracted:) There's none fo watchful as thofe that lodg in their enemies quarters: , Let a Chrillian be amongfl flowtrs; let his converfe be with none bur f4ch as are like himfelt; he neither lheweth fo glorious, nor indeed is fo; the Sun of profperity tempts olfhis garments, and he often walks naked. It was an old obfervation that when the Church had Wooden Cba/icu !he had Golden Priei11, but when 01e ·came to Golden Cbalicu, (he was ferved with wooden Prief!t, Chrillians are never fo humble never fo Holy as when they are moll amongll Briars and Tho;ns. The reafo~ why the true Believer ( though among£\ Thorns) is a LiUy !1iU, is, becaufe he is bred of an i11corrt1ptible Seed; the Apofile calls it theferd ofG•d. There are flowers which ( according to their foil ) change rheir beauty (at leall;) but the're are other plants, that let them grow where they will, they are llill the fame, fuch a one is every true Believer. The painted hypocrite hath only the D2 colo11r' |