The Fourth Sunday In Lent The Gospel John 6. v. 1 Tuesday Meditation: A Plaine Path-way To Heaven Thomas Hill 1634
Gathering the Manna in the Desert
1637-39
GOSPEL (John 6:1-15)
At that time, After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw the miracles which he did on them that were diseased. Jesus therefore went up into a mountain: and there he sat with his disciples.
Now the pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand. When Jesus therefore had lifted up his eyes and seen that a very great multitude cometh to him, he said to Philip: "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" And this he said to try him: for he himself knew what he would do.Philip answered him: "Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one may take a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, saith to him: "There is a boy here that hath five barley loaves and two fishes. But what are these among so many?" Then Jesus said: "Make the men sit down." Now, there was much grass in the place. The men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down. In like manner also of the fishes, as much as they would. And when they were filled, he said to his disciples: "Gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost." They gathered up therefore and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over and above to them that had eaten. Now those men, when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done, said: "This is of a truth the prophet that is to come into the world." Jesus therefore, when he knew that they would come to take him by force and make him king, fled again into the mountains, himself alone.
Tuesday
Almighty God would have us confident in him, confident in his goodness, confident in his providence, confident in his wisdom, and for this he sendeth us the example of a natural Father, who as he knoweth what is best for his child, and when it is best, to give him, so he cannot but give him accordingly: So our heavenly father almighty God much more knoweth what and when to give and will not fail to give accordingly.
To learn us this lesson, he sendeth us to sparrows and lilies, whom he faileth not to feed and cloth: and much less will he fail us his children, if we have the confidence of children in him: for as nothing pleaseth a natural Father better, then that his child be confident in him, whereby he sheweth himself to be his true child and no bastard: So nothing pleaseth God better then that his children be confident in him.
He said unto some in the gospel first of all, before he would put them in any hope to cure them of their disease be confident, calling them son or daughter, to signify unto them, that he would have them to have the confidence of children in their parents, if thy will have their desires.
Yea he would have us to have such a faith and confidence in him that we should not doubt but rather then fail he would do miracles for us and telleth us if we have of this faith and confidence but as much as a little grain of mustard seed, we ourselves shall do miracles, and that as great as to remove a mountain, if we can be so confident as St. James adviseth us, to ask it without hesitation or doubt.
For this cause did Christ go into the wilderness to see who of the people would be so confident, as to follow him, and who would not as, no doubt there was a multitude of them that did.
And Christ said unto Saint Philip when he was in the wilderness, whence shall we buy bread to feed all these only to try him, as the Text saith.
We may as well think he went into the wilderness to try the people whether they were so confident in him as they should be, and finding them so confident as to continue with him three days not minding their corporal food through the sweetness and delight they took in their spiritual food of his doctrine & conversation, he did this miracle of multiplication of bread, saying of them in their comendation unto the disciples. Behold these people have followed me three days and if I should dismiss them without food, they would faint by the way, behold how their confidence enforced Christ even to feed them with a miracle, as indeed, the miracle fed their souls no less then the bread did their bodies.
God led the people of Israel through a wilderness almost forty years, to teach them this lesson of confidence in him.
There he gave them water to drink out of a Rock and Manna from heaven for food, to confirm them in this point; those that trusted in him, he brought them into the land of promise: those that murmured, perished in the wildernness, and were slain, with serpents, and other means, and of this Saint Paul left us this lesson. Be not murmurrers, saith he, & diffident as some of them were, & were destroyyed for it and those that be diffident in the providence of God, he saith the wrath of God id upon them: for parents are as much displeased with diffidence, as pleased with confidence of their children, and so is God.
And from them it was, that our Savior Christ did upbraided his disciples saying: When I sent you without staff or wallet did you want anything?
So he might have said unto this company, if they had been diffident in him after this miracle, when you followed me three days in the wilderness where there was nothing to feed five thousand of you, did you want? and the like he may say unto us. Have I suffered you to want at any time. for following of me? and if I have not, follow me still, and be confident, I will provide for you.
These are the fragments which Christ would have us gather up and keep in memory, that they do not perish, signified by these fragments which Christ commanded his diisciples to gather up that they should not perish, whereby we may be refreshed and strengthened in time of trail.
Almighty God would have us confident in him, confident in his goodness, confident in his providence, confident in his wisdom, and for this he sendeth us the example of a natural Father, who as he knoweth what is best for his child, and when it is best, to give him, so he cannot but give him accordingly: So our heavenly father almighty God much more knoweth what and when to give and will not fail to give accordingly.
To learn us this lesson, he sendeth us to sparrows and lilies, whom he faileth not to feed and cloth: and much less will he fail us his children, if we have the confidence of children in him: for as nothing pleaseth a natural Father better, then that his child be confident in him, whereby he sheweth himself to be his true child and no bastard: So nothing pleaseth God better then that his children be confident in him.
He said unto some in the gospel first of all, before he would put them in any hope to cure them of their disease be confident, calling them son or daughter, to signify unto them, that he would have them to have the confidence of children in their parents, if thy will have their desires.
Yea he would have us to have such a faith and confidence in him that we should not doubt but rather then fail he would do miracles for us and telleth us if we have of this faith and confidence but as much as a little grain of mustard seed, we ourselves shall do miracles, and that as great as to remove a mountain, if we can be so confident as St. James adviseth us, to ask it without hesitation or doubt.
For this cause did Christ go into the wilderness to see who of the people would be so confident, as to follow him, and who would not as, no doubt there was a multitude of them that did.
And Christ said unto Saint Philip when he was in the wilderness, whence shall we buy bread to feed all these only to try him, as the Text saith.
We may as well think he went into the wilderness to try the people whether they were so confident in him as they should be, and finding them so confident as to continue with him three days not minding their corporal food through the sweetness and delight they took in their spiritual food of his doctrine & conversation, he did this miracle of multiplication of bread, saying of them in their comendation unto the disciples. Behold these people have followed me three days and if I should dismiss them without food, they would faint by the way, behold how their confidence enforced Christ even to feed them with a miracle, as indeed, the miracle fed their souls no less then the bread did their bodies.
God led the people of Israel through a wilderness almost forty years, to teach them this lesson of confidence in him.
There he gave them water to drink out of a Rock and Manna from heaven for food, to confirm them in this point; those that trusted in him, he brought them into the land of promise: those that murmured, perished in the wildernness, and were slain, with serpents, and other means, and of this Saint Paul left us this lesson. Be not murmurrers, saith he, & diffident as some of them were, & were destroyyed for it and those that be diffident in the providence of God, he saith the wrath of God id upon them: for parents are as much displeased with diffidence, as pleased with confidence of their children, and so is God.
And from them it was, that our Savior Christ did upbraided his disciples saying: When I sent you without staff or wallet did you want anything?
So he might have said unto this company, if they had been diffident in him after this miracle, when you followed me three days in the wilderness where there was nothing to feed five thousand of you, did you want? and the like he may say unto us. Have I suffered you to want at any time. for following of me? and if I have not, follow me still, and be confident, I will provide for you.
These are the fragments which Christ would have us gather up and keep in memory, that they do not perish, signified by these fragments which Christ commanded his diisciples to gather up that they should not perish, whereby we may be refreshed and strengthened in time of trail.
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