A SERMON OF The NATIVITY of our LORD, Preached before the Queen Dowager, IN Her Chapel at Somerset-House, On Christmas Day. 1686.  
By Thomas Godden D. D. Preacher in Ordinary to her Majesty.  
Published by Her Majesty's Command.  
LONDON, Printed by Henry Hills, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, for his Household and Chapel. 1686.   

A SERMON Preached before her MAJESTY THE Queen Dowager On Christmas day, Anno 1686.  LUKE 2. 15. 
pastors loquebantur ad invicem, transeamus usque ad Bethlehem, & videamus hoc verbum quod factum est, quod Dominus ostendit nobis.  
The Shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even to Bethlehem, and see this word which is made (or this thing which is come to pass,) which our Lord hath made known to us.  

THE fullness of time for the Redemption of Man being come, a time, when all things were in quiet silence, and the Night was in the midst of her swift course, the Omnipotent Word of the Eternal Father descended from his Royal Throne, and took up his lodging in a Stable of Bethlehem. No sooner was he arrived there, but he presently dispatched an Angel to carry the news of his Birth to certain Shepherds, who were at that time keeping the watches of the night over their Flocks in the Fields adjoining. The Messenger, to show that he was the Minister of the Sun of Justice, clothed himself with a glittering Robe of Light, and so great was the Brightness which enlightened the place, that the Gospel calls it, Claritas Dei, the Brightness of God; 
Psa. 138. 11.  and those words of David may be said to have been then literally fulfilled, Nox sicut dies illuminabitur, that the Night should be as light as the Day.  
The Shepherds terrified as well with the presence of the Angel, who stood beside them, as with the unusualness of the Light, which shone round about them, were ready to fall to the ground for fear, when the Heavenly Ambassador bid them be of good cheer, for that he came not to bring them tidings of dread and terror, but of joy, and great joy to them, and to all People, that on this Bright day there was born in Bethlehem, the Saviour of the World. And that their own experience might further satisfy them of the truth of what he had said, he gave them a Sign, by which, if they would take the pains, they might find the Newborn Infant, Hoc vobis signum, This, said he, shall be to you a Sign; you shall find the Infant wrapped in Swadling-clothes, and laid in a Manger: O King of Glory! Is not this the day in which the Angels invite the Daughters of Zion to go forth, and behold thee in the Diadem with which thy Virgin-mother Crowned thee in the day of thy Espousals in her purest Womb? And must a Manger be thy Cradle? O Treasure of Heaven! who would have sought for thee in a little Hay or Straw? Who would have thought to have found thee in a Manger of Beasts? Surely the Shepherds, who were terrified with the Light, must have been much more surprised with the seeming disproportion of the Sign, had not a multitude of the Heavenly Host presently joined themselves with the Angel, praising God, and saying, Gloria in altissimis Deo, Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.  
With this Canticle of Joy the Angels returned into their former Heaven above, 
Stabulum visum est esse Coelum in Terra. Epiphan. Orat. de Deipera.  and where may we think were the Shepherd's Souls▪ but in the new Heaven below in the Stable of Bethlehem; and that their Bodies might be there too, to pay a double homage to this Newborn King, Loquebantur ad invicem, They said one to another, Let us now go even to Bethlehem, and see this word which is made, which our Lord hath made known unto us. And the resolution was no sooner taken, but presently put in execution. But give me leave, devout Shepherds, to ask you, whither away so fast? Were not you keeping the watches of the Night over your Flocks? And will you now leave them in the open Fields? Are you not afraid, that they may go astray in your absence, or the Wolves break in and devour them? No, we are going to find out the Lamb, which is come to take away the sins of the world: This Lamb will take care both of the Shepherds and the Flocks; And should we sustain any loss for his sake, it would still be our greater Gain. Piously resolved indeed; But have you forgotten what happened of old to another of your Profession, when God appearing to him in the Bush, he said as you do now, 
Exod. 2.  I will go and see this great Sight? Have you forgotten, I say, how he was commanded not to draw near, but to stand at a distance, and put off his Shoes; and how he turned away his Face, that he might not see? And are you not afraid to meet with the same prohibition he did? Nothing less. The Scene is now changed. God in a Burning Bush is an Object of Terror indeed; but God in Swadling-clothes and laid in a Manger, is so great an Attractive of Love, that we fear nothing but to lose time to go to see it. They went therefore with haste, and being admitted by the Sacred Virgin, (whose leave no doubt they would ask) to see and adore their Newborn Saviour, the Evangelist says, That they returned glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, as it had been said unto them.  
This is the Sum of what is contained in the second Gospel of this Great Day. What I have made choice of for the Subject of your present Entertainment, is the Pious Resolution of the Shepherds to go to Bethlehem. That we may enter with like Devotion into the consideration of this Great Mystery, and return, as they did, glorifying and praising God for all we shall hear and see, let us instead of ask leave of the Virgin-Mother to visit the Manger, humbly beg her Intercession at the Throne of Grace, for a Blessing upon my Endeavours, saluting her with the words of the Angel,  
Ave Maria.   

Transeamus usque ad Bethlehem, etc.  The shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even to Bethlehem, and see this word which is made, which our Lord hath shown unto us. 
'Tis the Opinion of St. Cyprian and others of the Fathers, that these Shepherds at the same time that the Angel made known unto them the Nativity of the Saviour of the World, the so long expected Messias, had their understandings illuminated by the Holy Ghost, to know and believe, that it was He of whom the Prophet Esay had foretold, that his name should be called Emmanuel, that is, God with us, and who should verify those glorious Attributes given him by the same Prophet of Admirabilis, 
Isai. 9 6.  Deus, Fortis, Princeps Pacis, that is, of Wonderful, God, Mighty, and Prince of Peace. Magisterio Spiritus Sancti intus edocti, quem Parvulum vident confitentur Immensum. And hence it is, that whereas the Words of my Text in the Original are capable of a double Translation, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  that is of being rendered in English, Let us see this Thing which is come to pass, or let us see this Word which is made, I have made choice of the latter with Venerable Bede, 
Verbum quod semper erat, videamus quomodo pro nobis factum sit. Quod enim videre non poteramus, dum erat verbum, videamus factum, quia Caro est.  as more suitable to the Intention of the Shepherds, and more expressive of the Mystery we celebrate this day of the Word being made Flesh for our sakes.  
Taking the Words therefore in this sense, two things offer themselves at the first View to our Consideration. The first is, the Resolution of the Shepherds to go to Bethlehem, Transeamus usque ad Bethlehem. Let us now go even to Bethlehem. The second, the End they proposed to themselves in going thither, which was to see the Word which was made. And accordingly I shall divide my Discourse into these two Principal Parts. In the first I shall let you see the Devotion of the Shepherds in so readily resolving to go seek their Newborn Saviour. In the second, the End we are to propose to ourselves in seeing this word which was made Flesh, as the Creed declares, for us men, and for our Salvation. For us men, I say, as the Object of our worship; and then again, for our Salvation, as a Pattern drawn by God himself for our Imitation.  
I begin with the first, the Devotion of the Shepherds in their Resolution to go to Bethlehem.  

The First Part.  
Devotion, as it denotes a particular Virtue, is defined by St. Thomas to be a Preparation or disposition of the Will, 
Sum. 22. q. 82. a. 1o.  by which a man promptly and readily, tradit se, giveth himself up, or (as we use to say) devotes himself to execute the things which belong to the service of God. Some of these things are expressly commanded by God himself, others intimated only or commended, as pleasing to him. And whereas there is this difference between them, that every Command of God is a sign of his Will, but every Signification of his good pleasure is not a Command, 'tis manifest, that as the Perfection of Devotion on consists in a readiness to comply with both, so it shows itself chiefly in the Execution of the latter. And such was that of the Shepherds of my Text. They went to find out the Newborn Christ, without being commanded. The Angel, as you have heard, gave them a Sign, by which, if they would take the pains, they might find him, which was that they should find him wrapped in swadling-clothes, and laid in a manger. But it is no where expressed in the Gospel, that he bid them go. We do not read that the Angel said unto them, Ite pastors, Go to Bethlehem; but only, Hoc vobis signum: This shall be to you a sign, and yet they presently resolved to go. And we need not go far to seek the Reason. The Angel in the Proclamation he made of Peace upon Earth, when he returned to Heaven, sufficiently signified them to be men of good will, that is, 
Psal. 1.  as holy David describes such Persons, Men, whose Wills are in the Law of God: In lege Domini voluntas ejus: 
Psal. 36. 31.  and the Law of God in their wills. Lex Dei ejus in cord ipsius. And where the Will and the Law are thus reciprocally in each other, in order to the Service of God, a Command serves but for a Sign, and a Sign becomes a Command.  
1. To Men of Good Will, a Precept serves them but for a Sign, to point out what they are to do. And this is what the great Apostle St. Paul gives us to understand, 
1 Tim. 1. 9  when he says, that Lex Justo non est posita. The Law is not made for the Just man, but for such as are unjust and refractory. And why not for the Just Man also, if he cannot be just without the Observance of it? But because, as you heard before, the Will of a Just Man is in the Law, 
St. Aug. in Psal. 1.  and not under the Law. 'Tis on thing says St. Austin to be in the Law, and another to be under the Law. He whose Will is in the Law, Secundum legem agit, acts indeed conformable to the Law. But He whose will is under the Law, Secùndum legem agitur, is driven or forced by the Law. The Law like a severe Adversary stands over him with threats and menaces to compel him to the performance of what it commands; and therefore our Saviour, as the same St. Austin expounds his words, 
De Sermon.  Matth. 5. 24. bids us to agree with this Adversary, 
Dom. c. 21.  that is, to conform our wills to his, quickly whilst we are in the way of this life, lest at any time, (and we know not how soon) he deliver us to the Judge, and the Judge to the Officer, and we be cast into a Prison, from whence there shall be no delivery, till we have paid the uttermost farthing, Nihil sic adversatur peccantibus ac praeceptum Dei, Nothing so opposite to sinners as the Law of God; because their Will is in the Sin they would commit, and not in the Law. Nothing so agreeable to the Just as the Law, of God, because their Will is in his Law that they may not sin. To those the Law is a weight which lies heavy upon them, and presses them down; to these, it is a weight also, 
St. Aug. In Psal. 59  but such as that of Wings, which bears them up, and carries them, Christi sarcina pennas habet, to those it is a Kerbing Bit, which restrains their licentious and irregular appetites; to these a Gentle Bridle, 
Froenum quo pulchrè agitur St. Chrisost. Hom. 2. in 1 Tim. 1. In morali.  which serves only to turn them into the way they are to go: To those, it is a Rod of Iron, which compels them for fear not to do, what otherwise they would, Reges eos in virga ferrea, thou shalt rule them, (that is the Refractory) in a Rod of Iron. 
Psal. 2. 9  To these a Rod of Direction, to point out to them, what their Wills are ready to perform. Virga directionis, Virga Regni tui; The Rod of thy Kingdom (and such are the Just) is a Rod of Direction. In a word, 
Psal. 44. 8.  such is the force of Love, that if it possess the Heart, that which is a Precept to the unjust and refractory, serves but for a Sign to men of Good Will. But this is not all. 'Tis the Property of Love to dilate the Heart it possesses, and render it so pliant to the motions of Grace, and ready to execute what is pleasing to God, that,  
2. To men of Good Will a Sign becomes a Command. Their hearts like that of David are doubly ready, Paratum cor meum, Deus, Paratum cor meum, ready to do what God commands: And again, Ready to do what he signifies only to be his Good will and Pleasure. Their Will (as I said before) is in the Law of God, and the Law of God in their Will. And what is the Product of this Happy Union, but that the Will, as considered in the Law changes a Command into a Sign, because it performs it willingly; and the Law, as considered in the Will, improves that which is but a Sign into a Command; because the Will performs it exactly. This is the Happy State of Men of Good Will, Let them but have a Sign, an Intimation of what they are to do; Their Hearts are ready, and they presently set themselves to put it in execution.  
What moved the Wisemen of the East to undertake so long and dangerous a journey, to find out, and adore the Newborn King of the Jews? All the Account they give of it, is, vidimus stellam ejus, that they had seen his Star, that is his Sign, in the East. They had heard, if not read, what Balaam had prophesied of old, that a star should arise out of Jacob. 
Num. 24. 17  They expected the rising of this Star; and no sooner did it appear, but, as the Church represents their devotion in one of her Antiphons', they said one to another, Hoc signum Magni Regis est, This is the Sign of the Great King, who is to be born, Eamus & inquiramus eum, let us go and inquire him out, & offeramus ei munera, Aurum, Thus, & Myrrham, and offer to him Gifts, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. And what can be more Parallel to the devotion of the Shepherds in my Text? No sooner had the Angel given them a Sign, by which they might find out the same Newborn Saviour of the World, but presently they said one to another, Transeamus usque ad Bethlehem, Let us now go even to Bethlehem. Those wisest of Kings saw but the Sign, and went without delay, vidimus & venimus. These faithfullest of Shepherds heard but hoc, vobis signum, this shall be a Sign to you, and went with haste, venerunt festinantes. O the Incomparable Devotion both of Kings and Shepherds! How happy should we be, would we follow their Example, and not neglect, or (which is yet worse) reject so often as we do the Holy Inspirations which God is pleased from time to time to give us for the amendment of our lives, and settling ourselves after a more serious manner to his service, to comply with the modes of the world, and our own Ease and Humour? O how different is this Comportment from that of these Kings and Shepherds? A Sign is to them, a Precept, and an Intimation in lieu of a Command. And by whom may we think were they inspired with this devotion, but by the Divine Infant himself, whom they went to seek, of whom Albertus Magnus saith, Voluntas & Complacentia Patris Summum Praeceptum fuit, that the Good Will and Pleasure of his Father, in order to man's Redemption, was to him as the greatest and strictest of Commands.  
God, when he vouchsafes to speak to us of himself, is pleased to speak to us after our own manner, and in our own language; And we can speak no otherwise of him. Whatever we affirm, says the Great St. Dennis, 
Affirmationes de Deo sunt incompactae. St. Dionys.  of God, is by reason of the narrowness both of our thoughts and words, incompetent and unsuitable to what he is in Himself, as always carrying some tincture of Imperfection in it. Whilst therefore I endeavour, as I may, to express what my own low Thoughts have been able to conceive of this Gracious Concurrence of the Son, with the Good Pleasure of his Father, in relation to the great design of his Incarnation, and perhaps in words not reaching my own Conceptions, your Pious and Charitable attention, will, I hope, help to supply the defect of the one, and make allowance for the other.  
The Eternal Father (whose Goodness is equal to his Knowledge,) foreseeing from all Eternity the Fall of Man, out of the Bowels of his Mercy, designed forthwith to repair it, and that by the Incarnation of his Son. This amongst many other means, which were present to his Infinite Wisdom, he was pleased to make choice of, as most conducing to his own Honour, and the redress and advantage of man. But how was this Great Design to be brought about? By laying a Command on his Son to take our Nature upon him? 
St. Tho. 1. p. q. 43.  No, For, (as St. Thomas observes,) a Command supposes Inferiority in the Person to be commanded; and Catholic Faith tells us, that in the most Holy Trinity there is no Inferiority or Subjection: No one of the Persons Higher or Lower, Greater or Less than another, but as they are All Co eternal in Duration, so are They Coequal in Dignity and Authority. There could be no place for a Command, where there was no Inequality; Nor even for Counsel, as supposing an Advantage of Wisdom in the Giver, in respect of the Person to whom it is given. What then remained, but (if I may be permitted to speak according to our imperfect and incompetent manner of conceiving in this Life) an Intimation of the Father's Good Pleasure to his Son; presenting him in the Comprehensive Knowledge, which he communicated to him of all things both Future and Possible, together with his Essence, a Prospect (as I may call it) of a Humane Body, so to be framed, as might serve for a decent Tabernacle for the Divinity to dwell in, and a fit and proper Instrument for Him, who was the Word, to accomplish the Redemption of man, by uniting himself to it. How readily he concurred with his Consent to this Gracious Intention of his Father, thus communicated to him, is seen by the Blessed in Heaven, in the Unity of one and the same Will in Both; but can be discerned only by us in this state of Obscurity in its Effect, as in a Glass which reflects the Beams that are darted upon it. And such is the account which the Royal Prophet gives of its Execution in his 39th Psalm, where he represents the Son at his coming into the World, addressing himself to his Father in these words, Sacrificium & Oblationem noluisti, I see, O my Eternal Father, that Sacrifices and Oblations are rejected by thee, as insufficient to make satisfaction for the sins of men, and to appease thy wrath so justly enkindled against them. But withal I see, Corpus aptasti mihi, that thou hast framed a Body fit for me, and me alone, as the means thou hast made choice of for this great work. And what follows then, but Ecce venio, Behold I come?  
Nor was a like concurrence of the Holy Ghost wanting to the completing this Great Design, as may be gathered from those words of the Angel to the Blessed Virgin on the day that it was to be put in execution, when he told her, that the Holy Ghost should come upon her, and the Power of the Most High should overshadow her, and therefore the Holy Thing, which should be born of her, should be called the Son of God. Thus as the Great St. Leo excellently observes, 
Serm. 3. Pentecost.  Divisit sibi opus nostrae reparationis misericordia Trinitatis, the Three Persons of the most Sacred Trinity, in that coeternal and mutual design they had of repairing lost man, divided (as I may say) the work of his Redemption amongst them, not by way of Command, but out of that pure Mercy and Goodness, which is the same in them All. Pater (as the same St. Leo goes on) ut propitiaretur; Filius, ut propitiaret; Spiritus Sanctus, ut igniret. The Father, by communicating together with his Essence his Propension to accept of a Propitiation for the sins of mankind: The Son, by mutually concurring to make the propitiation; and the Holy Ghost, by as readily undertaking to execute what was the Good Will and Pleasure of Both. From all which it appears, that though the Son (the decree of the Incarnation supposed) received a Command from his Father to lay down his Life for the Redemption of Man, (as considered subsisting in our Humane Nature, and in that consideration Inferior to him) yet the Source and Origin of his undertaking to make a Propitiation for our sins, was not any Precept (of which, as considered subsisting only in the Divinity he was not capable, being equal to his Father,) but a communication only, he received in his divine Procession from him, of his good will and pleasure, that he should unite himself personally to our humane nature to redeem us. And as he, most willingly and readily concurred with this gracious design, (but in a manner infinitely transcending what the understandings of the Highest Angels are able to comprehend;) So as soon as he was born into the world he inspired the Shepherds to do the like: He only gave them a Sign or Intimation by which they might find him, and presently without delay they resolved to go seek him out. Loquebantur Pastores ad invicem, The Shepherds▪ said one to another, Let us now go even to Bethlehem.  
Thus, Dear Christian Auditors, was this Divine Lover of our souls pleased both to prove and make known to us the devotion of the Shepherds, when he came into the world: And now that he has finished his dispensation upon Earth, and is returned to Heaven; has he left us no Sign of his Good Will and Pleasure, to provoke our Love, to solicit our affections and show our devotion to him? Yes: Corpus aptavit nobis, he has left us also a Body, the same Body which his Father framed for him, and he gave to the Shepherds; but in a different manner to them and to us: to them as wrapped in Swaddling clothes, and laid in a Manger: Hoc vobis signum. To us, clothed with the forms of Bread and Wine, and laid upon the Altar, Hoc nobis Signum. And what greater Sign could he give us of his Love, than to give us that very Flesh to be our Food, which he had given for the Life of the World? Admirable is the Reflection which St. 
Hom. 61. ad Pop. Antioch.  Chrisostom makes upon this passage. Mothers, says he, oftentimes put forth their Children to be nursed and fed by others, 
Ego autèm non ita; sed carnibus meis alo, & meipsum vobis appono, vos omnes generosos esse volens, etc.  But not so I, (and he speaks in the Person of Christ,) I feed you with my own Flesh; I set myself before you for food, so to breed Generous Spirits in you, and fill you with hopes of future Glory; since you cannot think, but that I, who have given myself to you here, will do it in a much more excellent manner hereafter. 
Volui Frater vester fieri.  That I took Flesh and Blood upon me, was out of the desire I had to become your Brother; 
Vobis vicissim ipsam Carnem & Sanguinem, per quae Cognatus vester factus sum, trado.  and now behold I give the same Flesh and Blood to be taken by you, by which I became so nearly related to you. These are the words of that Great Father and Light of the Church St. Chrysostom, by which he declares the Faith of the Church of his time (which was between the Third and Fourth of the four first General Councils) to be the same which the Catholic Church professes at this day.  
And now, dear Christians, that this Divine Lover of our Souls has left us so great a Sign and Pledge of his good Will and Love, shall we not make haste with the devout Shepherds to go to Bethlehem? Bethlehem in English signifies The House of Bread. 
St. Greg. Hom. 8. in Evang.  And St. Gregory observes, that our Lord would have the Place in which he was to be born, to be called long before by this name, to signify to us, That He who appeared there in our Flesh, is the Living Bread, which came down from Heaven to nourish the Souls of his Elect to everlasting Life. And now, as I said, that he has given us so incomparable a Sign of his Good Will and Pleasure, shall we not make haste with the Shepherds to Bethlehem? Shall we let this Holy Time pass over, or rather shall we Trifle it all away in Pastime and Merriment, without ever approaching to this Holy Table? Such was the Fervour of the First Christians, that they were wont to communicate every day. And necessary it was in those times of Cruel Persecution, to arm themselves daily with the Bread of Life against the fear of Death. But no sooner was Peace restored to the Church in the beginning of the fourth Age, but Piety began to languish; (So much more hard is it for Virtue to bear up against a Prosperous, than an Adverse Condition) which gave St. Chrysostom, before that Age was ended, cause to inveigh so frequently as he does, against such as were present at the Divine Mysteries, without communicating. But the Malady went on increasing, and Christians grew so tepid in the performance of this Duty, that the Council of aged in the beginning of the sixth Age, 
Conc. Agath. An. 506.  thought fit to declare, that those who did not communicate at the Three Great Feasts of the year, Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide, were not to be believed to be Catholics, nor reputed for such: And the Council of Tours in the beginning of the Eighth Age, 
Conc. Turon. 3. An. 813.  found it necessary to admonish them anew to communicate, if not oftener, yet three times at least in the year, viz. at the three aforesaid Feasts. And if the Church in these later times, as still more remiss, have thought good to lay no farther obligation upon all the Faithful of both Sexes, than of receiving once a year, and that at Easter, yet the Addition of the words, ad minus, (that it must be done then at least) sufficiently shows the desire she has that they would do it oftener, and that a Command were not at all necessary to compel, where there is so great an Attractive of Bounty to invite. Lex Justo non est posita. This Law was not made for the Just, for men of Good Will, who are led by the Spirit of Love, but for such servile and degenerous Spirits, as are acted only by fear of Punishment: And it is much to be feared, that those who in this matter, will do no more than just what the Letter of the Law obliges, would not do that neither, but for fear of the Censure annexed.  
O the Prodigious sloth and negligence of such careless Christians, whom so great Signs and Pledges of their dear Saviour's Goodness cannot draw, without the necessity of a Precept to drive them to him! What will they pretend for their excuse? That they cannot, that is, will not leave their Sins? Few will be willing to own this, but such as have lost all fear of God's Justice, and care of their own Souls. Will they say they have no time? But has God then given us 365 days in a year, and shall not we afford to give him one at least in the hundred? Or finally, will they pretend, that they do not find themselves worthy to come oftener than once a year to this Divine Table? This indeed carries some show of Religion in it, 
St. Cyril. Alex. l. 4. in Jo. c. 17.  but such as St. Cyril doubts not to call damnosam Religionem: Amischievous sort of Religion, which the Devil makes use of to persuade remiss and slothful Christians, to deprive themselves of the Food of Life: But alas! as the same H. Father saith, if they find themselves not worthy now, when will they make themselves so? will it be easier to do it after Ten or Twelve months, than after One, or Two, or Three? Or will it require less pains to make themselves worthy, after their sins by long continuance, and repeated Acts, have taken deep root in their hearts, than whilst they are yet Green and Tender? Caveamus ne loco laquei damnosam Religionem Diabolus nobis praetendat, Let us beware, that our Enemy do not ensnare us to our ruin under a feigned pretence of Religion: or rather, let none be deluded with such irreligious pretences as these to make him abstain from frequenting this Holy Table. And that we may do it worthily, let us go with these devout Shepherds to Bethlehem, and there see the Word which is made Flesh for our sakes, first to adore him as our God and Saviour, and then to adorn our souls with those virtues of which he has given us so precious an Example, which is the subject of my Second Part.   

The Second Part.  
Videamus hoc verbum, quod factum est.  
Let us see this Word which is made.  
'Tis so natural to man, who draws all his knowledge from the impressions of his Senses to desire to see what he is to worship, that not being able to see the true God with his eyes, he fell to worshipping the Creature, 
Rom. 1. 23.  rather than the Creator, changing as St. Paul says, the Glory of the Incorruptible God into an Image made like to corruptible man, and to Birds and fourfooted Beasts, and Creeping Things. Thus did they become vain, as the same Apostle says, in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened, resolving to worship what they saw, because they could not see, whom they were to worship. Four thousand years had this error overspread the World, excepting only the little corner of Judea, when God commiserating the sad condition of man, 
Serm. 147.  and knowing, as St. Peter Chrysologus says, visendi se desiderio cruciari, lassarique mortales, with what anxiety men desired to see him, and that nothing could content them, but a visible deity, unde se visibilem faceret, hoc elegit; out of his Infinite Goodness was pleased to take upon him the nature of Man, that he might be seen by them. This remedy alone was left to cure the blindness of humane nature, because this Object alone was able to draw the Eyes of Men from all other visible things, and fix them upon itself. And of this our Saviour himself was pleased to give us a Figure in the miraculous cure he wrought upon the Blind man, Joh. 9 by anointing his Eyes with a mixture made of his sacred spital and the dust of the Earth, in which was represented the union of the divine wisdom with humane nature, caecatis luminibus, (as St. Anselm elegantly expresses it) collyrium suae Incarnationis apponens, applying the Eyesalve of his Incarnation to the Eyes of Men, that those who could not behold him in the splendours of his divinity, might see him appearing in the form of man. O the Riches of the Goodness and Mercy of God, in condescending thus graciously to the weakness of our nature, and making himself visible, to satisfy the desire we had of seeing with our Eyes the God whom we are to worship! This the devout Shepherds did, as you heard before, when they found him in his Crib; and this must we do, as often as we present ourselves before him at his Altar.  
But was this all? Was this the only End, why he was pleased to appear to us in this visible manner? 
S. Aug. l. 83. Quaest. Q. 25  No: St. Austin tells us of a farther design he had in it, when he says, Sapientia Dei hominem ad exemplum unde viveremus suscepit, that the wisdom of God, that is, God the Word, the second Person of the Trinity, took the nature of man upon him, to give us an example how to live well by living like him. 'Tis the particular Privilege of this Divine Word made Flesh for our fakes, that whereas other words are, properly speaking, the Objects not of the Eyes, but of the Ears, this Word not only speaks to our Ears by his Doctrine, but much more to our Eyes by his Example. And hence it is, that that great devote of our Saviour's Nativity, St. Thomas de Villa Nova, calls the Manger, in which he first appeared, 
Serm, 1. de Nat. Dom.  Magna Cathedra, the Great Divinity-Chair or Pulpit, which his Eternal Father had prepared for him, as soon as he should make himself visible in our nature, to teach us the Doctrine of Salvation.  
Draw near then, O Christian Souls, and hear, or rather see (says this Holy Saint) the Lessons which the Word made Flesh preaches to your Eyes from the Pulpit of his Crib. Discite Paupertatem, Learn of me, says he, to be truly Poor, that is, you who are Poor not to repine at your condition, and you who are rich, not to set your hearts upon the riches of this World, but to abridge yourselves in superfluities to communicate to those who are in want, because I who am the Lord of the Universe, and can dispose of all that is in it, at my pleasure, have no other Mantles to shroud my tender Body, but such as a Poor Carpenter's Spouse could provide me with, and no other Cradle to repose my head in, but a Manger. Discite Humilitatem, 
Phil. 2. 3.  Learn of me to be truly Humble, each esteeming other better than themselves; because I, who am the most High, have humbled myself so low, as to become the Companion of Beasts. Discite Mansuetudinem, Learn of me to be truly Meek, forgiving from your hearts those that offend you, since I, who am the Person offended, do here water my hard Couch with my Tears to make an atonement for the sins you have committed against me. Discite Patientiam, Learn of me to be Patient in all your sufferings, because I, who am Omnipotent, lie here exposed in an open Stable to the contempt of the World, and the rigour of the Elements. Discite Obedientiam, Learn of me to be Obedient to your Superiors, because I, who am the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, have submitted myself as a little Infant to the disposal and conduct of a young and unexperienced Virgin. Discite Charitatem, Learn of me to love your Neighbours for my sake, since I, who am true God of true God, have made myself man for yours. Discite denique verum bonorum omnium hujus saeculi contemptum. Lastly, Learn of me a true and real contempt of all the Goods of this World, since I, who am the wisdom of God, have despised and rejected them as false and counterfeit, to teach you by my example the true way to Heaven.  
These are the Lessons which this divine Word preaches to our Eyes from the Pulpit of his Cribb. And if the Scholars of Pythagoras had so great a veneration for their Master, that whatever he said, they believed it, because he said it, quia ipse dixit; Now that a greater than Pythagoras is here, now that God himself is become both our Master, and Pattern in his own Person, shall we not much rather do what we see him do, quia ipse fecit, because he has done it, and not only so, but quia ipse factus est, because himself was pleased to be made man, that we might see him with our Eyes, and learn from his Example the true way to Bliss? And when shall we do it, if we do it not now?  
Holy David, astonished, (as we may say) to see the general depravation of Mankind in his time, how their hearts were bend upon nothing, but the Love of the things of this world, as their only happiness, calls upon them to bethink themselves of their Error in these words, 
Psal. 4. 3.  Filii hominum usquequo gravi cord! Ut quid diligitis vanitatem, & quaeritis mendacium? O ye sons of men, how long will you let your hearts lie grovelling upon the Earth! Why will you set your affections upon vanity, and seek after a lie, meaning the transitory and deceitful goods of this world? And St. Austin to extenuate, 
St. Aug. in Psal. 4.  as it were, in some measure their fault, subjoins, Saltem usque ad adventum Filii Dei error vester duraverit, that possibly this error of theirs might continue till the coming of the Son of God into the world. But then considering the depraved lives of too many Christians, he changes the Prophets usquequo, and cries out himself Quid▪ ultra graves cord estis? O ye sons of men, why are your hearts still possessed with this Error, now that the Son of God is come in the Flesh to teach you the true way of Life? Quando habituri finem fallaciarum, si praesente Veritate non habetis! O, when will you make an End of suffering yourselves to be cheated with the Fallacious Maxims and Fashions of the world? if you do it not now that Truth itself has taken a Body, and presents itself visible to your very Eyes to teach you by its own Example what you are to choose, and what to avoid.  
Is it possible, dear Christians, that we can think that to be Good and desirable, which He, who is Truth itself, has rejected and contemned, or that to be vile and contemptible, which He has made choice of and embraced? If our Judgement and Conduct be not conform to his, one of the two must follow, Either that he was deceived, or we are mistaken. And no doubt, but the mistake will be found to be on our side, if we think to go to Heaven by any other way, than that by which He went himself. If He who was Innocent, chose not only to walk upon Thorns in this World, but wore them for a Crown upon his Head, must we, who are the Criminals, expect to have the way strewed with Flowers, and our Temples crowned with Garlands of Roses? Let me tell you, dear Christians, that 'tis as much an Article of our Faith to believe the way to Heaven, as to believe Heaven itself: And if He who has told us, there is such a Place prepared for us, as Heaven, if we take the Right way to it, has told us also, 
Matth. 7. 14.  that that way is no other, than what himself calls, The straight way, viz. the mortifying of our sensual appetites, renouncing the Pomp's and Vanities of the World, crucifying the Flesh with its inordinate desires, bringing the body into subjection to the spirit, by Praying, Fasting, and other Penitential Works, giving what is above necessity, and true Christian decency, in Alms to the Poor, denying our own Wills, patiently bearing the Afflictions and Crosses which God sends, meekly forgiving those that offend us, and the like Christian Duties; either we believe this to be the only way to Heaven, or we do not? If we do not, why do we believe there is such a Thing as Heaven at all, since He who has told us the one, has told us the other also. When he said of himself, Ego sum via, 
Joh. 14. 6.  veritas & vita, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, he placed Truth in the middle, between the Way and the End, as Equally engaged for both.  
But then again, if we do believe, the straight way, and which himself made choice of, to be the only way to Heaven, why do we choose to walk in the Broad and beaten Road of the world, as if that would bring us thither? Is it by pleasing the Senses, pampering the Body, mispending the time which God has given us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, in indulging to our own ease the best part of the day, and throwing away the rest in vain, and too often Criminal Conversations and Pastimes, and the Riches He has bestowed upon us, to secure our own Salvation by relieving his poor and necessitous Brethren, in purchasing to ourselves, all that may conduce to the gratifying of our Fancies, and the satisfying of our sensual appetites; Is it, I say, by doing these things, that we can think at last to arrive at Heaven? O no; we are convinced of the contrary both by the Doctrine and Practice of God himself made Man for our sakes. And when shall we put an End to this fatal Cheat, if we do it now? Let us then no longer suffer ourselves to be deluded with the vain and transitory things of this world. But transeamus usque ad Bethlehem, passing over, let us with the devout Shepherds go to Bethlehem; and see this Word which is made Flesh for our sakes, which our Lord hath shown unto us. Let us in a word, see and do according to the Pattern which is shown us in the Manger, purifying our hearts from all sinful affections, and transcribing those Virtues, of which this fair Original has given us so lively an Example, into the Copy of our own lives. So shall we be prepared worthily to receive him here under the Sacramental Veils, in which he lies wrapped upon the Altar, no less truly, than he did in his Swadling-clothes in the Manger; and be found worthy, when he shall come the second time into the world with great Power and Majesty, to behold him face to face in his Glory; which God of his Infinite Mercy grant us all, to whom in Unity and Trinity be all Honour and Glory now and for ever. Amen.    
FINIS.