Page:Douay Rheims Bible 1635 edition.pdf/25

Adam. ANNOTATIONS. CHAP. II.

2. The seuenth day.) Al creatures being made in their kinds in six dayes, complete & perfect, God not needing (as men often doe in their workes) to perfect, polish, or amend the same, rested the seuenth day: & therfore the natural perfection of Gods workes is attributed to the seuenth day, and the supernatural perfecting of men in eternal life, after the Resurrection, is attributed to the eight day, as S. Augustin and other fathers teach. And for this cause God blessed and sanctified the seuenth day: and after we haue in the Decalogue or ten commandements, that this day al should rest and abstaine from workes, yea and keep it festiual, occupying themselues in spiritual exercises, seruice, and special worship of God, as the Iewes did euen til Christs and his Apostles time, praying & hearing the word of God read & expounded in the Sabboath day. Wherby we see that distinction of dayes pertaineth to Religion the people of God thus obseruing the Sabboth in memorie of the Creation, and diuers other feasts, in memorie of other benefits. And we now keep the Sunday holy in memorie of Christs Resurrection, & other feasts in grateful remembrance of other Mysteries of Christs Nativitie, the comming of the Holy Ghost, & the like. Yea also feasts of his Blessed Mother, & other Saints, for the benefits receiued from Christ by them, & for more honour to Christ in them. So this Catholike obseruation of feasts is neither Iudaical (which also in the Law was good, but good but now is abrogated) nor heathnish, for we honour not Iupiter, nor Iuno, nor anie false God or Goddesse, but our Lord God Creatour & Redeemer, & for his sake his best seruants. Wherof see the Annotations in the English new Testament. 4. chap. to the Galathians. Wherto we here only adde these wordes of S. Basil, which may serue for a general answer to the most common obiection. ''Honor seruorum redundat in communum Dominum. The honour of the seruants redoundeth to the common Lord, or Master''. So, saith he, the honour of Saints is the honour of Christ their Lord and ours.

17. Of the tree of knowledge.) Besides the law of nature, by which Man was bound to direct al his actions according to the rule of reason; & besides the supernatural diuine law, by which he was bound to beleue, & trust in God, & to loue him aboue al things, hauing receiued the guifts of faith, hope, and charitie; God gaue him another particular law, that he should not eate of the tree of knowledge of good and euil. And that for two special reasons, which S. Augustin noteth vpon this place. First, that God might declare himselfe to be Lord of man. Which was absolutely necessarie for man, & nothing at al profitable to God, who nedeth not our seruice, but we without his dominion should vtterly fal to nothing. ''Nec enim ipso non creante, &c. For he not creating vs, neither could we haue bene, nor he not conseruing us could we remaine, nor he not gouerning us, could we liue rightly. Wherfore he only is our true Lord, whom not for his, but for our owne profite & saluation we serue.'' The other reason was, that God might giue man matter wherin to exercise the vertue of obedience, and to shew himselfe a subiect of God. Which could not be so properly & effectually declared by keeping other lawes, nor the enormitie of disobedience appeare so euidently as by fulfilling of Gods wil commanding him, or by doing his owne wil, moued to the contrarie, in a thing of it-selfe indifferent, & only made vnlawful, because it was forbid. But let vs heare S. Augustines owne wordes. ''Necporuit melius aut diligentius conimendari quantum malum sit sola inobedientia, &c. Neither could it (saith this great Doctour) be better, nor more exactly signified how bad a thing sole disobedience is, then where a man became guiltie of iniquitie, because he touched that thing contrarie to prohibition'' Rh