To Be Worshipped, and of his Divine Power. The Eighth Sermon
IT remaineth that, after we have expounded the mysteries of the Son of God our Lord Jesus Christ, we consequently speak of the Holy Ghost and of his divine power and operation. For unless he inspire our minds and rule our tongue, we shall never be able worthily or profitably either to speak or hear anything concerning him. For as no man knoweth those things which are of God, but the Spirit of God; so men fetch the understanding of heavenly things and the knowledge of theHoly Ghost from nowhere else than from the same Spirit of God. Let us therefore pray and beseech God the Father, that by his Son Jesus Christ he would vouchsafe to enlighten our dark and misty
[2 Filius Dei, qui fecit nos, factus est inter nos, et rex noster regit]
[nos..et ideo Christiani (sumus) quia ille Christus. Christus a chris-]
[mate dictus est, id est, ab unctione. Reges autem ungebantur et sa-]
[cerdotes; ille vero unctus est et rex et sacerdos. Rex pugnavit pro]
[nobis; sacerdos obtulit se pro nobis. Quando pugnavit pro nobis,]
[quasi victus est, jure autem vere vicit. Crucifixus est enim, et de]
[cruce sua, in qua erat fixus, diabolum occidit, et deinde rex noster.]
[Unde autem sacerdos? Quia se pro nobis obtulit. Date sacerdoti quod]
[offerat. Quid inveniret homo quod daret? Mundam victimam? Quam]
[. victimam? Quid mundum potest offerre peccator? O inique, O im-]
[pie, quicquid attuleris immundum est. Queere apud te quid offeras,]
[non invenies: queere ex te quid offeras; non delectatur nec arietibus,]
[nec hircis, nec tauris: omnia ipsius sunt, etsi non offeras. Nihil]
[mundum invenit in hominibus quod offerret pro hominibus: seipsum]
[ergo obtulit mundam victimam, hostiam immaculatam.Non ergo]
[hoe obtulit quod nos illi dedimus; imo hoc obtulit quod a nobis ac-]
[cepit, et mundum obtulit. Carnem enim. de utero virginis (accepit),]
[i ut mundam offerret pro immundis. Ipse rex, ipse sacerdos: in eo le-]
[temur.—August. Enarrat. in Psal. 149. Opp. Tom. vir. fol. 361. col. 1.]
[Par. 1532.] [3 consequenter, Lat.; next.] [{ Dominum nostrum, Lat. omitted; our Lord.]]
minds, by sending this his holy Spirit into our hearts, and to direct us in the sincere way of truth according to the holy scriptures.
And first of all it seemeth not unprofitable to expound the word, spirit, because in the scripture it is diversly taken and very often used; so that not seldom times he shall greatly err, which is ignorant of the force of that word. Spirit properly is the signification! of an element, signifying air, wind, breath. In that signification we read this spoken of our Saviour: “The wind bloweth where it lusteth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth.” And Paul saith: “If I pray with an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is made unfruitful” Lo, the apostle useth spirit for the breath or voice; for he joineth it to the tongue, and setteth it against the mind. By a metaphor it is translated to every bodiless substance, and is set against the body. Spirit therefore signifieth an angel, either good or bad. For the prophet (whose words Paul hath also rehearsed) saith: “Which maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire” And again: “Are they not all ministering spirits Ὁ These testimonies are understood of good angels. When the scripture speaketh of evil angels, commonly it addeth somewhat, as an evil spirit, or an unclean spirit. We call also spirits or ghosts, which have taken some shape that cannot well be discerned, spirits. So the apostles not believing that the Lord was risen again with his true body, when they saw him they thought they had seen a spirit: to whom, Shewing his feet and his hands, he saith, A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.” Again, spirit is taken [ῸΡ the breath of life; as with the Latins, to breathe? is to live, to leave breathing? is to die. David saith: “When thou givest it them, they gather it; when thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good. When thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; when thou takest away their breath, they die, and are turned again to their dust.” And the Lord in Moses saith: “I will destroy all flesh, wherein there is Preath of life” The reasonable soul also of man is peculiarly called spirit, insomuch that spirit is very often taken in the [1 nota, Lat.]
[2 spirare, Lat.] [3 expirare, Lat.]
holy scripture for the reasonable soul of man. For in the gospel thou dost read, “Jesus, when he had bowed down his head, gave up the ghost,” (or the spirit). And thou dost read of the holy martyr Stephen, “They stoned Stephen calling on and saying, Lord Jesu, receive my spirit.” For Solomon said before: The dust shall be turned again unto earth from whence it came?, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” And sometimes spirit signifieth the affection and motion, readiness and provocation of the mind. For Solomon saith: “A man that refraineth not his appetite,” or spirit, “is like a city which is broken down.” Thou mayest oftentimes find in the scriptures the spirit of pride, anger, lust, or envy, taken for a proud, angry, lustful, or envious affection. Also in Luke xiii. the very sore disease, or source of sickness, is called the spirit of infirmity. The spirit also signifieth those spiritual motions which the Holy Ghost stirreth up in the hearts of the saints, yea, and the very gifts poured into the hearts of men by the Spirit; which in every place in Paul is to be seen. Elsewhere spirit is opposed against the letter, the body, the figure, the type or shadow; and is used for a more high or mystical meaning, and for the very pith of the thing; as when Paul saith: “The circumcision of the heart is the circumcision which consisteth in the spirit, not in the letter.” And again: “The Lord hath made us able ministers of the new Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter Kkilleth, but the spirit giveth life.” Therefore thou mayest find spirit to be taken for inspiration, revelation, and doctrine. Tor John saith: Believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they be of God or not.” And again: “Quench not the Spirit, despise not prophecies.” Last of all, God is called that unmeasurable and unspeakable power of the Spirit. “God,” saith our Lord, “is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” By this means the word spirit is common to all the persons of the reverend Trinity: howbeit it is peculiarly applied to the third person in Trinity, of whom we make this sermon.
And albeit the Holy Ghost, forsomuch as he is God, can be compassed within no limits, (for by his own nature he 15