The History of the Woman of Great Faith, Verses 24-26
Marke 7.24, 25, 26.
And entred into an houſe, & would hauehave no man know it: but he could not be hid.
For a certaine woman whoſe young daughter had an vncleane ſpirit, heard of him, & came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greeke, a Syrophenician by nation: and ſhee beſought him that hee would caſt the Deuill out of her daughter.
IN theſe words (which we take vp for ſupply of what S. Matthew hath not) we hauehave the other occaſions of the following conference, where (concerning it) the Euangeliſt S. Marke ſpeaketh of certaine adherent circumſtances, and (then) of the occaſions themſelues: and firſt, there is a barre ſet againſt the womans comming to Chriſt (for he would not bee knowne): and then it is remoued; for he could not be hid. Chriſt neuer ſhewed himſelfe, but his power was great, full of excellencie and wonder: yet as Ioh. 7.3 6.10. ſo here, hee ſhunned all openneſſe. He was alwaies worth the ſeeing; yet, here and now he would not be knowne. And now this humble minde in Chriſt, who (though he might hauehave honoured himſelfe) would not; Doct.doth teach all Chriſtians to bee humble in their gifts. When Chriſts brethren would hauehave him to get credit by ſeeking to be openly knowne, he would not ante-date his fathers time, nor goe openly to the feaſt, but ſecretly, and in no ſhew, Iohn 7.4.10. In the Chapter before, ſome would hauehave made him a King: but his hand (ſuch as it was then) being not fit to hold the Scepter, he got him frō them to a mountaine, where was no companie, Iohn 6.15. Further, he commandeth his to learne of him; and what is the leſſon? it is to bee meeke and lowlie in heart, Mat. 11.29. Hereupon the Apoſtle S. Paul biddeth Chriſtians to cary the minde that was in Chriſt, who emptied himſelfe of all outward glorie, and made himſelfe of no reputation, Phil. 2.5.7. ſo humble he was in his rare excellencies and high place, that he waſhed the feet of thoſe, who ſhould hauehave worſhipped at his feet, Iohn 13.5. and thus Chriſtians, (though of neuer ſo great gifts, and eminent place) ſhould be humble in them: for what are their drops to his full ſea? Reaſons.the reaſons. Firſt, much good will come vntounto vsus by doing ſo: for, where the ambitious and proud are toſſed vponupon a reſtleſſe ſea of cares, we ſhall finde reſt vntounto our ſoules, Matth. 11.29. where they hauehave a ſtorme of perturbations in their mindes, wee ſhall finde nothing but a ſweet calme of quiet affections in them. Secondly, it ſhall be for our greater honour: for, they that humble themſelues ſhall bee exalted, Luke 14.11. Men ſhall loſe nothing by humilitie, as they ſhall get nothing by pride: by which what man euer made a ſauing bargaine? the lower or deeper we lay the foundation, the ſtronger the building is, Luke 6.48. and ſo, the humbler in grace, the ſurer of grace: and who hauing any good thing, would not bee ſure of it? Thirdly, by pride in our gifts, wee pull from God to take to our ſelues (as our owne) that which is his: and can this glorying be good, which is ſo vniuſt?
The vſe is for reproofe of th…ſe that ſwell (as if they had a T…panie) becauſe their gifts exceed the common rate of vulgar or ordinarie. VſeChriſt would not be knowne, but ſuch would not bee hid. Moſes countenance ſhone, and he knew it not, Exod. 34.29. theſe knovv all and more too: but (thus,) following their owne ſhaddow, they driue it further from them: the way to catch it, is to fall downe vponupon it: ſo, they that praiſe themſelues with ſo lowd a voice, loſe the ſhaddow of honour which they ſo purſue, where they way to get true honour is to fall low in the opinion of the beſt they doe. He that will enter in at a ſtrait and low gate, muſt ſtriue and goe low: ſuch a doore of entrance, we hauehave into Heauen, Matth. 7.14. and what going in (then) without an humble and low minde? proud members cannot belong to an humble head. Such is our head Chriſt: and (therfore) no humilitie in vsus, no affinite with him.
So much for the barre put, the ſame remoued followeth in it, and in the reaſon of it.
But he could not be hid.
THere was a barre in the dore of the womans comming to Chriſt; for it was ſaid that hee would hauehave none to know where he was: but here it is taken out, for, he could not be hid: that is, the fame of his miracles & teaching could not bee kept within the wall of Iudea, it flew out to thoſe that dwelt in Tyre and Sydon (colonies of Phoenieſa) And further, Herod heard many things of him, Luke 23.6. his Doctrine and workes made him much ſpoken of in the Kings court: and here, vponupon the legs of the ſame report that went of Chriſt, this woman came vntounto him: for it is ſaid V. 25. that ſhe had heard of him: Doctr.where wee ſee that God hath meanes (euen out of the Church) to bring thoſe to his ſaluation that are appointed vntounto it. When Iſrael went out of Aegypt, a great multitude went out with them, whereof ſome (no doubt,) euen in Aegypt, had learned the way to Iehoua, Exod. 12.38. Iethro had few ordinarie meanes (indeed none) to be as he was: for, he was not in the Church to hauehave them, and hee was Prince of Midian, Exod. 2.26. yet was the father both in Law and in counſaile to Moſes, Exod. 18.14. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. and what meanes had Iob from the Church, when the Church was but in his owne houſe, and where (out of it) were none but the wilde of the nations? Iob 1.1. Further, was not Ruth a Moabiteſſe made an Iſralite out of Iſrael? Ruth 1.4.16 17 a little maid carried out of Iſrael young, and bred in Naamans houſe (no houſe for the knowledge of the true Iebova) yet did forget the Prophet that was in Samaria, 2 King. 5.2, 3. and what meanes had ſhee in Naamans houſe to preſerue the knowledge of him? and what meanes had the widow of Sarepta (which was in Sidon) to whom Elijah was ſent, 1 King. 17.9. had ſhe any Church meanes: yet her name is in the role of the bleſſed, ſo happy, that a great Prophet was commended to her. Luke 4.26. the like of Naaman the Leper, who (of all the Lepers in Iſrael) was onelyonly made cleane by Eliſha, Verſe 27. In the captiuitie many of the people of the land became Iewes, Heſt. 8.17. Was that conuerſion made by an ordinary way? And ſo we ſee that out of the Church, there are meanes other than Church-meanes to bring thoſe to life that are ordained to it: the reaſon, ſaluation is the Lords, that is, Reaſons.it is in his hand & beſtowing; and therefore he can giuegive it in what hand, either of meanes, or no meanes, as beſt pleaſeth him. When the woman in the wilderneſſe could not vponupon on her feet goe, from the Dragon that purſued her, God gaue her wings to flie from him, Apoc. 12.13, 14. So, when wee hauehave not the feet of the meanes to goe from deſtruction in an ignorant eſtate: God can giuegive wings without meanes to ſaue vsus, when ordinary tillage failes, as in the wilderneſſe he did; he can plow the heauens, & raine Manna: for his time is to worke when meanes faile, who can worke without them. Secondly, the winde bloweth where it liſteth, Ioh. 3.8. and if the winde, ſhall not hee that moueth in the fearefull windes? Thirdly, to conclude God within meanes, is to denie him to be Almighty: but he can doe whatſoeuer (by what way ſoeuer) pleaſeth him, both in heauen and earth, Pſal. 135.6.
The vſe is, Vſe 1.(firſt) for inſtruction, teaching, that if God hauehave meanes for the ſaluation of the Elect out of the Church, then we need not to doubt but many of our Elders, liuing in Poperie, were ſaued: for as God had an Arke for Noah, and for thoſe that with him entred into it, in the generall floud, Gen. 7.7. So we feare not to ſay, that God had his Arke of ſaluation for thoſe our beleeuing Fathers, who in that generall floud of poperie, did caſt themſelues wholly vponupon the merits of God in Chriſt, though confuſedly, and by vnknowne meanes, and in this ſence, where our Papiſts obiect and ſay; Doe yee thinke that all your forefathers that liued and died in the aire of poperie were damned; I doubt not but we may ſafely anſwere, and that with the voice of God, that all did not, and that God had among them, more than his ſeuen thouſand, that in the baſtard Iſrael of that age, did not bow the knee to the Baal of Rome, 1 King 19.18. Many (I doubt not) were ſorie that the miſt of the time being ſo thicke, they could not ſee whither they went, and therefore prayed for Gods extraordinarie thred in that labyrinth of ignorance, and had it; for with application to ſuch we may ſay; the time of that ignorance God wincked at, and was mercifull to ſome in it, though not by an ordinarie rule Act. 17.30.
The ſecond vſe is for comfort to thoſe who by ſome long ſicknes are kept as with ſome chaine, Vſe 2.from Church aſſemblies; ſo it bee their trouble that they cannot bee in place, and the like to thoſe that hauehave, and long hauehave had an impediment in their hearing: for, he that hath a way out of the Church to ſaue his, hath no ſhorter arme in the Church, (the ordinary meanes failing) to bring his, by an extraordinarie way, to his ſaluation. Some would gladly hauehave a Preacher, and bee as glad to heare him: but they are not able (themſelues) to prouide one, and they that are able, are not the Merchants of that pearle, Matth. 13.45. In this caſe and when no Preacher is neere, let them remember that God can fi…d them by a Reader, as he fed Elijah by a Rauen, 1 King 17.6. But it is not ſafe to truſt to a miracle, when by our conuenient trauell, we may heare a Preacher, not breaking the Churches peace. For then we muſt doe, as it was prophecied we ſhould doe: run to and fro, that knowledge may increaſe, Dan. 12.4.
The reaſon why Chriſt could not be hid followeth.