5. But you will say, the good
will of a friend towards me, although I cannot see it, yet can I
trace it out by many proofs; but you, what things you will us to
believe not being seen, you have no proofs whereby to show them. In
the mean time it is no slight thing, that you confess that by
reason of the clearness of certain proofs, some things, even such
as are not seen, ought to be believed: for even thus it is agreed,
that not all things which are not seen, are not to be believed; and
that saying, “that we ought not to believe things which we see
not,” falls to the ground, cast away, and refuted. But they are
much deceived, who think that we believe in Christ without any
proofs concerning Christ. For what are there clearer proofs than
those things, which we now see to have been foretold and fulfilled?
Wherefore do ye, who think that there are no proofs why ye ought to
believe concerning Christ those things which ye have not seen, give
heed to what things ye see. The Church herself addresses you out of
the mouth of a mother’s love: “I, whom ye view with wonder
throughout the whole world, bearing fruit and increasing, was not
once such as ye now behold me.” But, “In thy Seed shall all
nations be blessed.”1659
When
God blessed Abraham, He gave
the
promise of me; for throughout all
nations in the
blessing of
Christ am I shed abroad. That
Christ is the
Seed of
Abraham, the
order of successive generations bears witness. Shortly to sum up
which,
Abraham begat Isaac,
Isaac begat Jacob,
Jacob begat twelve
sons, of whom sprung the people
Israel. For
Jacob himself was
called
Israel. Among these twelve sons he
begat Judah, whence the
Jews have their name, of whom was
born the
Virgin Mary, who bore
Christ. And, lo, in
Christ, that is, in the
seed of
Abraham, that
all the
nations are
blessed, ye see and are
amazed: and do ye still
fear to believe in Him, in Whom ye ought rather to have
feared not
to believe? What? doubt ye, or refuse ye to believe, the
travail of
a
Virgin, whereas ye ought rather to believe that it was fitting
that so
God should be
born Man. For this also receive ye to have
been foretold by the
Prophet;
1660
“Behold, a
Virgin shall conceive
in the
womb, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His
Name
Emmanuel, which is, being
interpreted,
God with us.” Ye will
not therefore doubt of a
Virgin bringing forth, if ye be willing to
believe of a
God being
born; leaving not the governance of the
world, and coming unto men in the
flesh; unto His Mother bringing
fruitfulness, not taking away maidenhood. For thus behoved it that
He should be
born as Man, albeit
1661
He was ever
1662
God, by which
birth He might
become a
God unto us. Hence again the
Prophet says concerning Him,
“Thy
Throne, O
God, is for ever and ever; a
sceptre of right, the
sceptre of Thy
Kingdom. Thou hast
loved righteousness, and
hated
iniquity; therefore
God, Thy
God, hath
anointed Thee with the
oil
of
gladness above Thy fellows.”
1663
This
anointing is
spiritual,
wherewith
God anointed God, the
Father, that is, the Son: whence
called from the “Chrism,” that is, from the
anointing, we know
Him as
Christ. I am the
Church, concerning whom it is said unto Him
in the same Psalm, and what was future foretold as already done;
“There stood at Thy right
hand the
Queen, in a vesture of
gold,
in
raiment of divers colors;” that is, in the
mystery of
wisdom,
“
adorned with divers
tongues.” There it said unto me,
“Hearken, O
daughter, and see, and incline thine
ear, and
forget
thy own people and thy
father’s
house: for the King hath desired
thy
beauty: seeing that He is the
Lord thy
God: and the
daughters
of
Tyre shall
worship Him with
gifts, thy face shall all the
rich
of the people entreat. All the
glory of that King’s
daughter is
within, in fringes of
gold, with
raiment of divers colors. There
shall be brought unto the King the maidens after her; her
companions shall be brought unto Thee. They shall be brought with
joy and
gladness, they shall be brought into the Temple of the
King. Instead of thy fathers, there are born unto thee sons, thou
shall set them as princes over the whole earth. They shall be
mindful of thy name, even from generation to generation. Therefore
shall the people confess unto thee for ever, and for ever and
ever.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
