[Sermones "Dormi secure" de tempore]

petty kings compared to Him. Of this king, it is said in Isaiah 23: "The Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, our king, etc." He is called our judge because He will judge us all. Our lawgiver because when He came into the world, He gave and left us a new law, that is, the evangelical law. For this is a precious, glorious, and immaculate law, etc. He is called our king because He rules us. Psalm: "The Lord ruleth me, etc." This king had five conditions which every good king ought to have, and every good Christian who is king of himself and his own senses, namely: justice, wisdom, power, meekness, and humility. The meekness of this king of ours is shown to have been present in three things at the present. The first is in the benign calling of sinners to repentance and in their sweet reception, as is evident in Matthew the apostle and Mary Magdalene. Item, He is meek and benign in the sweet reception of sinners. Joel 2: "Turn to the Lord your God, for He is benign and merciful." The second is in the listening and granting of the prayers of the penitent and the cries of the poor crying out to Him, because He sweetly hears them. Psalm: "The Lord hath heard the cry of the poor." The third was in His sweet response. Matthew 27, Jesus said to the traitor and those seeking Him: "Whom seek you?" They said: "Jesus of Nazareth." He said: "I am He." We ought to have this meekness, because Proverbs 13 it is said: "A soft answer turneth away anger, but a harsh word stirreth up fury." Thus certainly the meek

shall inherit the earth. Psalm: "The meek shall inherit the earth, etc." Therefore, tell the daughter of Sion: behold, thy king Christ comes to thee, that is, for thy benefit: just, wise, powerful, meek, and humble. Daughter of Sion, that king is called "thine" because He was born for thee, made poor for thee, suffered hunger and thirst for thee, was struck with scourges for thee, wounded for thee, died and was crucified for thee. Therefore it is said in Isaiah 9: "A child is born to us," and for us, "a son is given to us," and given for us unto death. The third remains to consider how our king comes and to what He is said to come. It must be known that He comes in a threefold way: namely, into the flesh, into the mind, and for the manifestation of judgment. The first advent was very desirable. The second sweet and delectable. The third is cruel and terrible. Of the first advent, Haggai 2 says: "The Desired of all nations shall come." Certainly, the ancients desired this advent, saying Isaiah 63: "Oh that Thou wouldst rend the heavens, etc." Concerning this advent of the new king, we ought to do four things that are accustomed to be done regarding the advent of any new king. First, that we ought to rejoice much regarding His advent. Phil 4: "Rejoice in the Lord always." Truly we ought to rejoice concerning the advent of Christ in the flesh, just as servants rejoice in their freedom, and captives in their liberation, and the sick in their health, and the blind in the recovery of their sight, because "a light hath sprung up in darkness for the upright of heart." And just as the lost rejoice in their salvation, and the dead in their resurrection. For all these things, Christ came into the world, etc. The second is that concerning this