mind to obey I have nothing to say against this first sort of Difficulties neither need I since no body dares put them in form why should I take up time to refute them I shall only say by way of Allusion Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God The Difficulties of the second Order are the Difficulties of Wit they attack the Divinity of our Saviour because they do not comprehend it their bounded understanding measures all Truths according to the extent of its own Conceptions and subjects to this Rule things that Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor ever came into the heart of Man This Earth-worm will needs measure the Third Heaven what extravagance can be greater He cannot conceive how the Father the Son and Holy Ghost are God without making three Gods of them therefore there is no such thing Would not one think hearing a Man talk at this rate that he had an infinite understanding and that he comprehended all things in the Infinity of his Conception And yet we shall find that this presuming Wit doth not understand any thing perfectly no not so much as the Nature of the most common things He does not understand himself and tho every thing be a Mystery to him yet he cannot away with the Mysteries of Religion Yet this Enemy of the Mysteries of our Religion professeth a Mystery which is at least as inconceivable as any is in our Religion For he will make us believe That a Creature hath been invested with infinite Attributes that a Creature hath been made God in Knowledge Power and Glory Pray tell me what is a Mystery if this be not and an inconceivable one too The Creature turn'd God and the Finite turn'd Infinite the most incredible and contradictory thing in the World Our Mystery indeed asserts That God humbled himself but that this was by uniting himself personally with a Creature which he took to himself amongst Men and yet this very Man that makes so many Difficulties against the Incarnation tells us of a Man that is become God by a strange kind of Metamorphosis Thus they reject the Truth and instead thereof fill their Heads with Chimaera's The triumphant Raillery of the Prophane is That one is one and one is three and then making a show of their being fully persuaded of the Unity of God they suppose the Divinity of our Saviour sufficiently overthrown Who doubts that one is one and that one is not three this is true even in our Divine Arithmetick there are Three Persons three manners of Subsisting the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost We do not say That these Three Persons are but One Person that would be contradictory but we say That these Three Persons are in One Divine Essence Three are not One neither is One Three in the same respect there is a Trinity of Persons but an Unity of Nature But you cannot conceive how Three Persons can possess at the same time the same individual Nature what then I conceive it no more than you do but is it such a strange thing that God should be otherwise than we are otherwise than all the things we see otherwise than all that we can conceive He hath assur'd me That his Nature consists in Three Persons I believe it with Submission This ought to be the Temper and Behaviour of our Understanding in the Difficulties it meets with on this Mystery The Difficulties of the Third Order are the Difficulties of Scripture Men are asham'd to propose their Heart-difficulties for in so doing they would expose their own Corruption and nothing but a Spirit of Libertinism dares openly oppose its own Light to that of Divine Revelation They rather search for a plausible pretence in the Revelation it self several places of Scripture are heap'd to-together to compose a Cloud that may hinder the Glory of the Gospel from shining forth in its full Lustre At first those Texts are hunted for that prove Christ to be Man But pray what is this to the Question These Texts prove that he is Man we say so too yea cursed be he that saith that Jesus Christ is not Man We believe that by one of his Natures he was Man as we are but this does not hinder him from being God by his other Nature Man consists of Body and Soul can we prove from the Functions of his Body that he hath no Soul He Eats he Drinks he Sleeps therefore he hath nothing else but a Body This way of arguing is ridiculous consider this Man well and you 'll soon find by the operations of his Understanding that he hath a Soul as well as a Body This we might prove by the Example of all compounds This is enough we believe that our Lord Jesus is a Person compos'd of two Natures viz. of a Divine and Humane Nature he is Flesh and Blood he hath suffered tasted Death this shews him to be Man He prayed he worshipped he was ignorant of several things this shews he was Man But he formed the World he created the Angels he makes himself equal with his Heavenly Father this proves him to be God We readily admit the Passages of Scripture that rank him amongst Men neither dare we suppress those where he is call'd God To make our Doctrine to agree with the Scripture we must hold him to be God-man Our Adversaries prove from several Texts of Scripture that there is but one God all this is time spent in vain we are all fully persuaded that there is but one God Cursed be he that admits more than one God But say they you teach that the Father is God and that the Son is God we do so and in doing so we follow the Scripture but you don't hear us say That they are Two Gods they are Two Persons in one and the same God but not Two Gods But you say That Jesus Christ is equal with God the Father and Son therefore according to you are two Beings equal in Dignity doth not this imply a plurality of Gods since two equal Gods cannot be the same God This difficulty only proceeds from hence that they pretend to be ignorant of what we say upon the Mystery of the Trinity for supposing that the Father and the Son are only Two Persons or two manners of Subsisting in one and the same Being there is no room left for this Objection The Father and the Son these Two Persons are necessarily equal by such an Equality as does not thwart their Unity because they indivisiby possess the same Nature They insist further that the Father is called the only true God This is life eternal that they know thee the only true God John 17.3 and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent What would they infer from hence What that Jesus Christ is a God but that he is a false God A Christian ear cannot with patience hear such Blasphemy and yet they must come to this before they can make those words to be
be a Man there is no need of any great Reasoning nor strength of Faith to contemplate this part of our Mystery We need only to consider our selves a little and to sum up all the infirmities of our Nature Hunger Thirst Weariness Pain Sorrow for all these our Saviour took upon him Yet is not this all he was willing to taste Death also which is as it were the Center to which all our infirmities tend and for an encrease of the Bitterness of this Cup he was willing to die a violent Death a Death accompanied with the most exquisite Pains and the utmost Shame Yet he humbled himself he emptied himself and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross In a Word we see what this Humiliation of our Saviour is he is become what we are and as if the common infirmities of our Nature had not been sufficient for him he borrowed those which human Justice inflicts upon the very worst of Criminals Nevertheless he emptied himself O the vast distance there is betwixt the one of these ends and the other O the immense interval there is betwixt the Abasement of Jesus Christ and the Glory of his Eternal Deity St. Paul passeth from one Abyss to the other from the Abyss of Glory to an Abyss of Misery Who saith he being in the form of God thought it no robbery to be equal with God nevertheless he emptied himself What a Beauty there appears in this opposition This in my mind is one of those Eloquent strains in Scripture that we ought to dwell upon with admiration I speak of an Eloquence truly great and sublime which naturally riseth from the greatness of the things themselves and not from a pleasing cadence of pick'd words Nothing can be imagin'd to have more of this character in it than these words Nevertheless he emptied himself What is admirable in this expression would be lost and spoil'd should we go about to extend it by a more ample Explication St. Paul understood the sublime Character much better than our modern Preachers when they have got hold of a Mystery they endeavour to raise it and set it forth by the abundance of their words and bring in Rhetorick to the assistance of their Divinity Their Master did not do so I mean St. Paul who ought to be the Master of all Preachers He utters the greatest things conceivable almost without speaking and in one word lays open the deepest Mystery To count words we speak much more than this our Apostle but to weigh things we speak much less We deceive our selves if we think we are able by the help of words to give a greater Idea of the Mystery we purpose to explain in doing so we only take pains to fill the Ear without reaching the heart which requires but few words as reserving to her self the right of enlargeing upon her subject by Meditations and Reflections Let us give credit herein to the Searcher of hearts who often utter things by halves and the Holy men Inspired by him do sometimes only touch upon their subjects and leave the rest for the Heart to supply St. Paul in saying nothing of what he had seen and heard in the Third Heaven saith more than if he had made a long description of the Glory of the Blessed These are things saith he which it is not lawful for a man to utter See here Believer matter indeed to employ thy Meditation until thou thy self arrive to that Place of never-failing Bliss Our Holy Apostle observes much the same measures when he delivers himself on the Mysteries of Revelation and leaves a Mystery if I may say so in those Mysteries Not as if he would withhold ought of the Counsel of God from us for what he doth not say in one place he doth in another This is a kind of reservedness which honours the Mystery and gives a greater Idea of it What Exclamations what Figures would not an Orator of the World have made use of upon that which St. Paul delivers in the 11th Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans concerning the Rejection of the Jews and the Calling of the Gentiles Whereas the Man of God wraps all up in these few words O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out He leaves the Believer in a deep contemplation on the brink of this Abyss This is Eloquence indeed We may perceive a Ray of this Divine Eloquence in the Expression of St. Paul now before us Nevertheless he emptied himself We will not go about to explain these Words for fear of lessening their force let them enter without attendance into your Hearts consider them in their genuine and natural Import I require nothing else of you save only that you would often say to your selves Nevertheless he emptied himself Christ is God Nevertheless he emptied himself This alone is enough to excite your admiration We have reason to question whether a Soul were it left to its choice would be willing to become incarnate in a Body subject to all our Infirmities Some Wise Men have frankly declar'd themselves That they would not become young again if it were in their power Probably the most part of men would not be of this Opinion especially those who have led a pleasant Life but if one should propose to them a Life of Thirty Four Years full of Miseries and to end at last by the Death of the Cross think you they would accept of a Life on these Terms A Soul would never consent to such an Incarnation and an Angel much less Return we to our Text Christ is God it was not an Human Soul it was not an Angel He is God he was God Nevertheless he emptied himself Creatures would be very unwilling to enter into Partnership with a Nature loaden with Infirmities and yet Jesus Christ the Creator was willing to empty himself An Abyss as impenetrable to Angels as it is to us Ye Angels ye are astonished to see that he hath done that which ye would not have been willing to do you cannot found the bottom of this Mystery you are as well as we on the brink of this Abyss you say as we do Oh Riches Oh Depth Christ is God Nevertheless he emptied himself He who was in the Beginning was willing to be made of a Woman in the fulness of time He who was rich became poor He who is Immortal hath shed his own Blood We make use of the express Terms of Scripture that we may not give the mind of Man the Liberty of making Oppositions now that might prove injurious to the Majesty of our Saviour He was made Man but he always continued to be God The Deity is unchangeable and was always Glorious even after that it had emptied
it self but uniting personally with the Man Jesus it appropriated to it self all the Infirmities of this Second Nature and it is true to say That God emptied himself that he was made man that he shed his Blood It would be matter of trouble to us should you believe that the Divinity of Jesus Christ passed through all these Degrees of Abasement No this is impossible it is of the Essence of God always to continue God Jesus Christ is in this respect the same yesterday and to day and for ever He has therefore only emptied himself by entring into Union with an Infirm and Mortal Man in such a manner as that the two Natures constitute only one Person much after the same manner as the Soul and Body united by the Bonds of Life make only one Person This Explication which we have thought necessary doth not hinder but that there remain still many Wonders in the Mystery of the Incarnation It is always true that the Word hath emptied it self It is always true that our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ hath found the Secret to be made Man and to humble himself for us We have in this Mystery two great Motives to Gratitude the Birth and Death of Jesus Christ The Child is born to us the Son is given to us we celebrate in one and the same Day two great Festivals Christmas and Easter It is our duty to solemnize them by a redoubling of our Zeal one only of these Mysteries claims all our Thankfulness What shall we do for a God who was willing for our sakes to live after the manner of men The Eternal Word which had no need of us hath emptied himself for to make us happy O Adorable Word Thou hadst not the same concern for the Angels that have left their Station Thou hast not clothed thy self with their Nature though more excellent than ours but hast honoured our Earth in taking it upon thee Our merciful Redeemer was willing to pass through the Womb of a Virgin there to take upon him Flesh like ours What shall we render to God for so great a Favour Let us take the Cup of Blessing and glorifie God in the Language of Angels Glory be to God on high Let us glorifie him as much as is possible for us Could we speak to the Angels as they spake to the Shepherds we would repeat to those Blessed Spirits the Words which they themselves have taught us This day a Child is born to us Glory be to God in the highest We cannot sufficiently glorifie him here on Earth do ye therefore help us to glorifie him If we be not able to render unto our Saviour all the Glory that is due unto him for his Birth what shall we say with respect to his Death which we have this Morning celebrated It was much in him to be born for us but it is much more to die for us What! have our hearts nothing to say on occasion of this Death Sure had they been dumb or insensible as to the Mystery of the Incarnation shall not the Death of Christ put life into them What can have any power over you if this Death can make no Impression upon you Pray what will be able to move you What will be able to engage you to serve God if this do not But I don't consider that I am speaking to those who for the most part have been entertain'd at the Lord's Table If all that Funeral Furniture wherewith he appears in the Eucharist if these Sacred Symbols which convey as it were the Death of Jesus Christ into your very Bowels have not been able to move your Hearts no Sermon will be of force enough to stir them In this case your heart must be altogether insensible so that Words can have no effect upon it We may suppose therefore that before your entring into this place you have fill'd your Souls with that double Solemnity to which this Day invites you and that after having seriously meditated the Birth and Death of our Saviour you have put your selves into a State of Repentance you have put on your Wedding Garments to go to meet your Bridegroom We must also suppose that you have renewed your Repentance in approaching to this Holy Table It is a hard thing so nearly to behold what our Blessed Lord hath done for us without being pierc'd and penetrated thereby At this happy meeting of your Heart with the Mercy of God you have bewailed your Sins and have promised a more holy Conversation for time to come We cannot believe that since that happy Moment you have chang'd your thoughts you are still the same and your Piety still preserves all its heat for otherwise what would be comparable to your Inconstancy what in two hours time to change your most solemn Vows and Promises into Perjuries this is scarce possible We suppose therefore that you are still in that good state even in that state of Repentance wherein you were when you communicated The only thing that still remains for us to do is to exhort you to persevere in these holy Motions We do not expect that you will always feel the same Unction or that you will be always in the same Recollection such a state is not consistent with our Frame nor with those different kinds of life to which Providence hath tied us But nothing can hinder you from performing your Promises you may live and live like Christians Were you engaged in ways of living that were inconsistent with the Spirit of our Holy Religion I would conjure you presently to quit those Professions wherein you could not be saved We must live 't is true but 't is more necessary we should be saved What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world if at the same time he loseth his own soul I can't think that amongst those that hear me there is any person whose Profession is directly contrary to Salvation but yet it is but too too visible that most Professions have their Rocks and their Dangers Snares rain down upon all the Children of Men as the Holy Spirit speaks All of you as many as are here apprehend well enough what I would say to morrow or the next day for I dare not say this day will meet with these dangers the occasions in which you have been formerly worsted will present themselves again Then be sure to call to mind your Promises to God this Day Represent this Holy Table to your Spirit recall the Solemnity of this Day be faithful to the Lord and pay your Vows to the most High We will not here run over the several Vertues to which his Service engageth you but we can do no less than specifie those to which St. Paul exhorts the Philippians upon occasion of our Lord's Example who when he was God did notwithstanding so abase himself as to be made Man yea to that degree as to die the Death of the Cross The two Vertues that are most dazling in
this Example are Humility and Charity O how happy would this Day prove might it see these two Virtues reigning in your Souls We are naturally proud and I don't know from whence that hardness and insensibility comes that we have for our Neighbour for even Nature inspires us with more Charity than appears in our Lives Proud Souls come and humble your selves in the presence of the Child Jesus he who is God was made Man that ye who are but mortal men might be persuaded to become like God Resemble him in his Humility not in his Glory He hath condescended to put himself in a Condition wherein he might be imitated It was the Crime of our First Parents That they would be as God Be satisfied ye Posterity of Adam at present it is a Vertue to be willing to resemble God Humble your selves as he humbled himself who being God was made Man He hath as you see run through infinite spaces to put himself within reach of us From Glory he hath stept down into Nothing You need not travel far to arrive at Annihilation you have no more than a step to take your Nature hath plac'd you almost on the same Level with Nothing You need only well to view and contemplate your selves and precisely keep your selves to the Idea of what you are and you 'll acknowledge that you want little of being Nothing Retire into your own Bosom set aside the Usurpations of Self-love and then tell us what you find over and above It may be your heart will bear you up against all this by repeating to you some advantages you possess as of Birth Wit Goods Employments but all this doth not much remove you from Nothing My design is not in the least to offend the Distinction which Providence it self hath established by the Variety of its Administration I have a consideration for Births Wit Merit and Employs But it were to be wished that those who have these Advantages did not glory in them and might be throughly perswaded that their Elevation doth not raise them much above Nothing Come hither and take a view of him who is infinitely above you he was God and yet was willing to become Man for this purpose he took his Birth from the Womb of a poor and humble Virgin Be not asham'd to enter into the Stable where he was born go thither to learn Humility For if you don't become like this little Blessed Child ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of heaven If the example of the Birth of our Saviour be not sufficient to humble you follow him to Golgotha where you will see an example of the most Transcendent Humility conceivable When we think of a Crucified Jesus we cannot imagine how so much Pride should be amongst Christians For shame let them no longer call themselves the Disciples of a Crucified God Should we judge of the Character of their Master by the Quality of their Manners we would take him to have been some Proud and Self-conceited Philosopher whereas indeed he was a Crucified God Do you ever seriously consider this O ye Christians You are top-full of Pride and yet believe that there is no Salvation for you but by imitating a Master who humbled himself to the Death of the Cross O let us remember for whose sake our Lord hath thus Humbled himself and we shall see what a model of Charity we have to imitate 'T is for men that our Saviour was made Man 't is for the Redemption of men that this God-man died And pray what are these men Why Dust and Ashes miserable Sinners O surpassing Charity O Depth of Riches The Lord God Merciful and Gracious abundant in Goodness What shall we say No words are able to reach such a Love as this And indeed God requires actions rather than words Love for Love Let us Love God as he hath Loved us We cannot do that for him which he hath done for us let us Love him at least with all our strength as he hath Loved us according to the unbounded largeness of his great Compassion Let us Love those whom God hath recommended to our Charity what can we say against them that hinders us to exercise this Virtue towards them They have offended us And what then Had they done us nothing but Good it would not be Charity to Love them Charity consists in this That we Love our Enemies as God hath Loved us us I say that were his Enemies Let us Forgive as God Forgives us exercise also your Charity in distributing to the Poor according to your Ability God who was Sovereignly Rich made himself Poor for our sakes Let us have compassion on those Poor which our Lord hath left with us to prove the Love we bear to him O the happy Christmas this will prove to us in case we can but resolve to practice Humility and Charity For after that we shall have been made conformable to our Blessed Lord by the practice of these two Virtues we shall have a share in his Glory which is the Crown of them Amen The Second Discourse PHILIP II. 6. Who being in the Form of God thought it no Robbery to be equal with God WE know that the Scripture often speaks of God as of man but it never speaks of man as of God the reason whereof is very evident for the Divine Nature being wholly Spiritual it was but necessary that the Holy Spirit should clothe it with some sensible Representations to the end that entring our Souls by the assistance of these Colours it might make a deeper impression upon them This is done without any danger forasmuch as the Scripture doth elsewhere unfold these Metaphors Or if there be any danger in it with regard to the simpler sort of People 't is only this of falling into an Error which hath no influence upon Divine Worship Hence it is that Scripture makes no difficulty at all to speak of God as of a man but never doth it speak of man as of God For indeed to what purpose should this be So forc'd a Metaphor would be of no use at all and would darken the Stile of the Holy Ghost instead of making it more Intelligible Neither is this the worst that is in it for by this means we should be in danger of taking man for God which is the most dangerous of all other mistakes whatsoever God is too Jealous of his own Glory to set a Creature on equal ground with Himself and he is too much concerned for our Salvation to put us to the Hazard of such a Mistake We find also that the Scripture only bestows very plain encomiums upon the very greatest of men Moses is an emphatical Instance of this After the Death of that glorious Lawgiver and Commander all the Panegyrick God bestows upon him is compriz'd in these words Moses my servant is dead This was enough for a man Josh 1.2 God took care to hide the Body of this Great Law-giver for fear