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Sermoni2: «Of the Hoty Guosrt.
“23 prhence,wefee, and hows Now, from whom. The pattyina wordis Gap... Hehad faid as
much before. ( Verfe'5. ) If anyilack wifdome; let hin: ask it of. God; Haw comes He (here) .ro
afethis fomewhat unufual term ‘the ‘Father of lights? Ithad been (to our thinking ) more pro-
-. per tohavefsid,. from G ov-the Author of all good things. No, there isteafonforit. ‘For fay; yy
they'are, they came. down from ‘above’: -when we caftup our eyes thither, we can fee no further ,
our fight can reach’ no higher than the fights, than the /ights there above. . And fo, fome you have ,
that hold:,’ they come fromthem, de /uminibws, from the Lights: that fucha conjuntlion or afpeét of
-them, fach a conffellation, or ‘horofcope ; fuch a pofition of fuch and. fuch Planets, produce very much
good.’ Thisisin Affrolgy , but notin Theclogy.”. mi. mrardade ( of wihich word come the Plarets.)
faith S. Zames , Wander notafter the wandering. tars: de luminibus’, isnot it; de Patre Leminum
isthe right: - So, the Father of lights wes purpofely chofen, todcaw.usfrom the lights. . That, not
they, they arenot, (not the children ; )* The Father, he itis, ‘from whom they, come, The lights 2
No , them He made to do ‘fervice,: “Nay, the" Angels above them’, ;He made to be miniftring (pi-
- rits:for our good.’ ‘Be not deceived, with this neither :. To lift up our eyes to the hoft cf Heaven,
and no further ¢ burbeyond them, to the Father of them all’, «and then you are where’ you
fhouldbes) Dypbites
"This may be one reafon. * But further if you ask,. why not rather of wil good ; as He began , whiy
isHe gone fromthat term, to this of /ight ?. ‘The anfweris eafie.; If we peak of gifts , light itis
princeps-donorum Dei , the firit gift Go p beftowed upon the world, and fo will fic well If of
good , the firit thing of whichit isfaid, vidir Deses quod bona , was light: and {0 fit, that way too,
If you fpeak of perfeét; fo perfeé# it is, esit isdefired forit felf, we takecomfort in fezing'ic, wedelight
to feeit; though we fee nothing by it, noching but the /ighr it felf ( obferved by Sclomon, Ecclefiaft.
IT. S. : :
a nd for good: fuchis the nearnefs of affinity, fuch ( I may fiy ) the con-mturality between
light and good; asthey would not be one without the other, . All that good is, loves the /ighr,would
cometo the /igh?, would be made manifelt, defires no bsfoel tohideir, buta candleftick, to thew
itforth to all the world, That they might be fearched with’ Lanthorns , to have the fecrets,
the hidden corners of their hearts looked into , that the Father of Lights would grant them fo
tobe. - fod Do
For perfett? {0 perfeét athingisthe ight, as God Himfelf is fd to be light: 1 Joh.1. 5.
His Son our Saviour, tobe light of lights, the.trve light that lightneh every onze that cometh into
the world. | His Spirit, light ; fois our Cobe&t :. God which as upon this day haft tanghr the hearts
of thy faithful people, by fending to them the light of thy Hely ‘Spirit. The Angels that be good,
be Angels of light. Yea whattoever here on earth is perfect: the King is called’, the Lighr of
‘Track, The Apostles called, Laces mandi, and the Saints of God , \ where ever they be in
the “World , thine as /ights in it... That upon the matter, Father of good, and Father of light,
isall one. oe i
°°“ pater Luminis would haveferved , ifwerefpect but this, but the nature, What fiy youtothe
“ pumber? Itis leminum : why, of lights inthe plural? Thotis, to give light to what we. faid be-
fore, ofthedivers degrees ofthe givings, and of the gifts of God, Inthe frmament, there is one
light of the Su, another of the AZoom, and yet another of the flarres : and,.in the ftarres; one differeth
from another in sory. Goed every one, though not fo perfeét, one asanother, He that made the
bright [un in. all bis glory, He made the dimmef? Starre; allalike from Him, He like the Father
ofvall os ‘
mall. e
*" Befides, He fers them down in the plural [ /ights]] for that the oppofite (tesebre ) is a plural
ord (and indeed hath nofingular) for, they are meny, .and fo need many /ights :0 match them,
bereis the fenfes outward darknefs , thereisthe darknefs of the s#mard man, both the darknefs
ofthe anderftanding by ignorance and errosr ,’ and the darkne/s of the will and heart by hatred and
malice, 1 Pob.2.9. Thereis the darknefs of adverfity in this world, the hither darkweft, there is
fomelittle /ight init : And thereis the blackye/s of darkuefs, the utter darkvefs of the worldto come,
no manner /ight stall,’ Nothing to be feen, but,to be heard; nor to be heard, but sreeping and wailing
and guafbing of teeth. - - . ,
“ro match thefe fo many darkueffes. there behoved to be as many lights, and fo, Pater luiminim
“ comesin, not Jzminis.. As,to march the many miferies ofour nature , there were es many. mercies
requifite, annfohe, Pater mifericordiarsm , not mifericordie ( withthe Apoffle ) of many, not of
- onealone. Weneedthe number,as wellas the thing; tohavea multitude, a plurality of: mercies , to
have plenteous redemption , to hauc xaew-mavmisuney, great variety ‘of grace , and that over-z-
_ bundant grace’, that we might reft affured , there is enough and enough , in the: Father of
lights, tomafter and to over-match any darknefs of the Prince of darknef& , what. or how*many
foever. we :
Shall I thew you thefe lights? | Nor the vifible, ofthe Sun, Moon, and Starres, or fire or candle ,
Tpafsthem. "Belides them there is two inus,:.1. The fight of Nature, forrebelling againtt which,
allthat are without Curt s T, fuffer condemnation, Solomon calls-it the candle of the Lord fearch-
ing even the very bowels (Proverbs 20. ) which thoughit be dimmeand not, perfect’, yet good it is:
though lame, yet(as Afephibsfberh ) itis Regia proles, Of the blood royal, ¢ 2. There is the light, of
Gon's Law: Lex, Lux (faith Solomon ) totidem verbis, Prov. 6. and his Father ,.a lanthorne
to his fer.’ Nay,inthe nineteenth Plalme what he faith at the fourth. verfe; of the fin at’ the eighth
he faith the fame, of the Law of Gods sights, both, 3. The dight of prophecy,, as of a candle shat
: : frineth
495
1. From whond
A patie lumi=~
num,
hy leninum
of lights
Heb. 1.14+
The V1, Ertory
Gen.1.3348 *
Joh.3.212
Mat.§.193
Joh. 149.
2Sam.2417,
Mar.§.24
Why tuminins
not luminis.
1Cor,15.46.
Jude 13.
Mat.3.a2¢
2Corer.33
Pia.r30 7
IPet. gastos
1Tim. 1.145
Provez0.27." *
Prov.6.23,
Piarrg.168$.
alcunr,