though but Ceremonies God prescribes them and though they be Jos 22. 10. but of Mans Institution he allows of them Such signs do not confer Grace ex opere operato not by any real efficacy no nor yet by way of impetration they cannot do it They have no Natural Power no divine Promise for it But they are fair Objects to excite and refresh the Memory And he that will either eschew evil or do good must first remember that it is his duty and in this sence and to this effect every monument of Gods Justice every remanent instance of the Divine Mercy may become sacramental to us But had Almighty God left himself and his Servant Aaron without witness hitherto No those 250 men with Corah and some Numb 26. 10. others they became a sign And the brasen Censers of those that offer'd incense were made a sign too they were converted into plates for a covering of the Altar to be a Chap. 16. 40. Memorial unto the children of Israel They could not approach the Altar but the reflection of those plates was a cleer conviction of their late Miscarriages But when men will proceed in their sin after judgment they provoke God to erect more signs to upbraid their stubbornness and ingratitude when they importune him contrary to his express Revelations they get nothing by it in the end but the brand of a more lasting infamy For 4. This Rod is kept in signum Rebellium filiorum Israel for a token against the Rebels God had past an Act of oblivion upon Moses's Intercession in favour of this People Numb 14. 21. Dimisi peccatum populi hujus juxta verbum tuum But God forgets our sins upon condition we keep a Record and repent of them If we do repeat them we revive the memory of our past transgressions and set up a light by which those dim characters of our guilt over which the hand of charity had drawn a curtain become legible And yet even here the inestimable Goodness of God is remarkable he does so mercifully chastize their pride that the testimony of their contumacy shall be the means of their cure a provision for their amendment and an Antidote against the peril of Recidivation This Rod is to be kept for a token Vt quiescant querelae ne moriantur To take away their Murmurings from me yea and against me too for they were not so much against Aaron as against the Lord That they die not and that was the Design in this Transaction Vt quiescant querelae to silence and still their Murmurings Ambition is restless and knows no bounds Cogitet qui honorem affectat tempestatem se affectare He that affecteth Honour does court a tempest for Quid est potestas culminis nisi tempestas mentis Philo. Such as climb the pinnacle of Ambition are psal 106. 16. tossed with the greatest tempests These Israelites began with Envy proceeded to Murmuring and at last grew insolent even to an insurrection they make a forcible entry upon the sacred office and commit a notorious riot wherein many thousands perish God having installed Aaron and his Sons in the Priests Office added this sanction to the Numb 3. 10. establishment The stranger that cometh near shall be put to death Yet their Ambition was grown so great and their Animosities so high That God saw it time to take up the quarrel else all the Tribes had died in it The earth swallowed them up and yet they murmured The Fire consumed them and yet they murmured The Plague made havock of them and yet they murmured And this spirit of perversness was so great a provocation to a noble and ingenuous nature God could not but be severe in punishing Numb 14. 10. of it They had rejected their Guides and were ready to stone any charitable Informer Nothing but a lasting miracle can shame and silence them Aarons Rod inshrin'd in the sanctuary must compose their spirits and make peace betwixt God and them betwixt them and themselves If it cannot heal their perversities it will so far charm them into temper as to bridle and restrain their boldness They will now suffer Aaron quietly to perform his Office and his Ministry will be a means to keep off future judgments And to this end the Lord said unto Moses Bring Aarons Rod again before the testimony to be kept c. What Aaron was amongst the Tribes of Application Ifrael the same upon the matter is the Bishop in his Province and Corah was the figure of such as make Rents and Schismes in the Church of Christ who are therefore said to have perished in the gainsaying of Corah as Jud. Ep. v. 11. in their Representative And yet Good God! What an Insurrection hath been made amongst us upon that account Aaron he was voted down and deposed and in fine you cannot forget what became of Moses But to make haste out of that wilderness and from amongst those fiery serpents that stung so deadly Moses must be recalled to appease our tumults to still our murmurings and settle us in Tranquillity To this end Dixit Dominus The Lord spake unto his Majesty not Immediately by a voice from Heaven but by the voice of holy Scriptures and ancient Councils by the voice of Reason and Experience by the voice of fundamental Laws and Customs by the voice of Orthodox Fathers and dutiful Sons by the voice of Royal blood and by the voice of our great disorders and confusions Many Cobwebs were to be swept down from our Church-windows and much rubbish to be swept out of our Church-doors and much dust to be brusht off the garments of inferiour Priests and Levites some things were amiss in the house of God and no such Rule as Aarons Rod to square out a Reformation These were the Lords voice crying unto Moses to the King refer virgam bring the Rod again c. But had we not a Rod already A rod with a vengeance a Rod of Corah's own stock of Corah's own gathering Floruit virga Ezek. 7. 10 11. germinavit superbia iniquitas surrexit in virga Ours was just of the same constitution The Radix the root of it was iniquity and that branched out into oppression and violence A rod of Iron this was that broke the Royal Scepter and beat down the Royal Branches and dasht the Church in pieces A ragged staffe whose fangs were steel'd with Malice and died with innocent blood It knockt down Moses and thrust out Aaron away with such a Rod and God be thanked this Rod of the wicked did not rest upon the lot of the Righteous though it was somewhat long in motion rowling up and down yet it did not it could not rest it was acted by such a vertiginous spirit This Rod was at last thrown away and Moses restored And the Lord said unto Moses bring Aarons Rod again before the testimony Not a Rod of Aarons own growth or gathering but a
plant which the Heavenly Father hath planted For no man taketh this Heb. 5. Honour to himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Our Rod is that which undoubtedly sprung from the root of Jesse As Joh. 20. my Father sent me so I send you Out of that ground it shooteth up in the Church of God and all Antiquity sets forth the Lineage of it in the visible succession of Bishops from the Apostles in the several Churches of their plantation In Tabernaculum Bring it into the Tabernacle there it hath the Approbation of Gods eye the protection of his Presence From hence therefore it must take direction to minister in subordination to the Authority and Honour thereof there it is installed ut servetur in signum lodged there in safety obliged therefore to serve the Interest of the Church which is the Interest of God and of immortal Souls In order hereunto it is set up in signum for a sign Yes and in signum ad sagittam too as a mark for the Arrow It is the Prophets complaint Behold I and the children which God hath given me are for signs and wonders It was our Saviours own lot he was set up in signum contradictionis a sign liable to great contradiction against him they shot out their Arrows even bitter words And if so bold with Aaron himself they will not forbear his substitute if they forbear not the chief Bishop they will not spare his shadow As long as Aaron is set up for a sign in the Church there will be found such Archers we have them in our Text with their quiver full of bitter Arrows nay their Arrows are upon the string and upon the flight too As long as they continue to be filii Rebellionis while they retain their froward disposition non quiescunt querelae we shall never be free from Murmurings But are there any of this breed left in our Israel Has not the Gracious Act of oblivion quite extinguished this unquiet spirit 1 Sam. 15. 14. If it has what meaneth then this lowing and this bleating which we hear Are there not a many Murmurers attempting to exasperate the people into a new insurrection that they may once more wrest the Rod out of the hand of Aaron And do these men look for a sign too yes they do and they might see a wonderful sign from heaven if they were not blinded with pride and prejudice and an obstinate Spirit Ecce Dominus behold the Lord himself hath given us a sign Dedisti Psal 69. 6 7. metuentibus thou hast given a token for them that fear thee At the tears and prayers of the Church God saved her with the wholsome defence of his own right-hand For the change amongst us by the Restauration of the King was no other than mutatio dextrae Altissimi wrought by the right-hand of the most-high A sign from heaven this was without all peradventure Yet these men are not satisfied they look for and preach for and pray for another sign and what sign would they have The seven Angels with the seven Apoc. 15. plagues and vials of Gods wrath Would they have more fire come down from heaven Alas They know not what spirit they are of He that came not to destroy mens Souls but to save them did not ordain Aarons Rod for such a sign If that Rod did turn Num. 20. 9. the rock into water as some have imagined yet to be sure it did not turn the water into blood It may bring forth contrition and refreshment but not destruction It bodes better things to mankind even to these Refractory and stubborn children 'T is signum salutare ne moriantur A soveraign preservative That they die not That is the end for which the Rod is introduced and deposited in the sanctuary This 2 Cor. 10. 8. Power of Discipline Dedit nobis in aedificationem God hath given it for edification saith the Apostle and not for your destruction And yet he hath taught us to distinguish betwixt yours and you Something 2 Cor. 10. 8. was to be destroyed in them though not their Persons yet their Carnalities their vices their Schismes and Disorders These works of the flesh The Rod is to be administred in interitum carnis for the destruction of the flesh That the spirit may be 1 Cor. 5. 5. saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Mortification is the way to life and Reformation Jam. 5. ult the door of safety He that converteth a sinner from the errour of his way shall save a Soul from death This is the right Method Gods Method in the Text et quiescant querelae c. Thou shalt quite take away their Murmurings c. We see then why the Rod is placed in the sanctuary not so much for Aaron's own advantage that he may pride himself in the Power and Beauty of it but for the benefit of others even of such as do most oppose it The remoter end is ne moriantur that they die not but in order to this the immediate end is Vt quiescant querelae eorum to still their murmurings The oure must begin here care must be taken in the first place as much as is possible to take away their complaints and murmurings and how shall that be effected Why Virga est mater disciplinae the Rod will open the eyes if it be administred with 1 Sam. 14. 27. a little honey applied to the top of it when the asperity is sweetned with mildness and compassion The Rod and reproof giveth wisdom Pro. 29. 14. If the viper be beaten with a rod it takes away his venom and he becomes an excellent Antidote against poison If we cannot heal their perversities at least we may still their murmurings And to this end the constitution of the Rod is very considerable It must be a streight Rod that the infliction Deut. 25. 2. may be equal to the fault est enim verus praesul virga recta aequaliter justitiam exercens atque semper vigilans It must be a solid Rod H. P. ad Ez. 3. to support the weak and a smart Rod to correct the wicked and a stiff Rod to defend the Innocent Or to keep still to the Metaphor it should have these properties It should be 1. solid 2. vital 3. florid and 4. fruitful 1. A solid Rod not hollow loose or spungy Ezok. 19. 11. Chap. 2. 4. 6. Chap. 3. 8 9. like a cane For it is concern'd many times to encounter with a Rock the heart of flint and the face of brass and therefore it had need be solid and steel'd with Resolution that it may not yield to the applications nor receive the impressions of an importune and stubborn spirit 2. It must be a vital Rod and they say Aaron's Rod did never wither was never barren after it was deposited in the sanctuary And this life must appear in a threefold germination it must bud 1.
a vital eye 2. a vital tongue 3. a vital sting 1. A vital eye and so it must be virga vigilans like that of Jer. 1. 11. Jeremy A watching Rod. 2. A vital tongue and so it must be virga clamitans like that Mic. 6. 9. of Micah a preaching Rod. 3. A vital sting and so it must be virga stimulans like that of St. Paul a goading and a quickning 1 Cor. 4. ult Rod. 1. It must be a watching Rod Vigilat autem virga cuncta populi peccata considerans ut percutiat et corripiat delinquentes I have Hieron in Jer. 1. 11. Ezek. 33. 8. Heb. 13. 17. and 2 Tim. 4. 5. made thee a watchman saith the Lord to the Prophet The very essence of the Bishops Office consisteth in a superintendency his work is to watch for Souls 2. A preaching Rod if it be a genuine Rod of Aaron it will speak to every man and to every sin in its own Language And St. Chrysostom tells us that two things are requisite for corection and reproof 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a discreet mildness with an ingenious liberty of speech Plus tamen erga corrigendos agat benevolentia quam severitas plus cohortatio quam commotio plus charitas quam potestas saith Leo. Kindness is more prevalent towards the correction of Delinquents than severity charity of more efficacy than an imperious Power For some dispositions as St. Austin observes are wrought upon magis docendo quam jubendo magis monendo quam minando more by Perswasion than by 1 Cor. 4. 21. menaces such dispositions as are unrelenting at the spirit of meekness to such other applications are highly necessary and upon this account the Rod is 3. Virga stimulans a smart and goading Rod and in this case the great Apostle out of very charity resolves to use sharpness 2 Cor. 13. 2 10. The virtue of good-men is not sine cuspide vel aculeo not without some sting and there are some tempers will require it Yet I would not have this Rod turned into Exod. 7. 12. 2 Tim. 3. 8. a Serpent unless it be with a design to swallow up the Rods of Jannes and Jambres when they bewitch the People to withstand Moses If any be so obstinate that they will not be corrected by Aaron's Rod neither obedient to the voice nor awed by the eye nor quickned by the sting of it especially if any be so insolent as to wrest the Rod out of Aaron's hand if he provokes Aaron to appeal to Moses and Moses's Rod be thrown out after him and that becomes a Serpent to him he may thank his own stubbornness for that Transubstantiation for instead of a gentle Rod he deserves to be whipt with Scorpions The Prophet Jeremy saw a Rod Jer. 1. 12 13. and a seething Pot too and it is the observation of Origen Si ergo tali virga Disciplinae non emendaris in cacabum mitteris cacabus in Psal 38. Homil. 2. succendetur If the Rod of Discipline cannot reform thee thou shalt be cast into the seething Pot to be consumed 3. It must be a florid Rod some leaves it should have not broad enough to lodg or shelter Serpents but soveraign to heal and then to hide the scar and blemish of the infirm and surprized Patient But some sores are so deep foul and offensive they must be drawn and laid open in order to their cure to furnish leaves to cover such is to skin over an old sore till it rankles till it become more noisome and contagious But to make the Rod florid it must have blossoms as well as leaves It is expected whatever Habits are in fashion amongst others that the Priests should be cloathed with righteousness and salvation that they should be endued Psal 132. 16 with the flower of Learning and the beauty of Holiness And why should not this have the advantage of Wealth and Honour to adorn and dress it up as well as other Rods Though such Secular accessions cannot make it the more Sacred yet they may make it the more awful which will make it also the more serviceable both to the Church of God and to Moses his Vicegerent And this would be a means to make it what it should be 4. A fruitful Rod some perhaps do really mind nothing but the leaves and blossoms to cloth and adorn them So they may be kept warm and gay they care for nothing else But as Leo hath it Tua Conscientia honorem Ep. 93. Chap. 16. sibi debitum vindicant qui pro animabus sibi creditis non laborant Bestiae irruunt septa ovium non claudunt Fures insidiantur excubias non praetendunt Morbi crebrescunt remedia nulla prospiciunt Feed Mic. 7. 14. thy flock with thy Rod saith the Lord to his Prophet The flock must be fed and to that effect the Rod must be fruitful There are bitter Almonds whose virtue is to allay the fumes digest the crudities and dry up the inundations of Intemperance to open Obstructions those of Covetousness and Oppression to expel the wind that flatus of pride and vanity to purge the reins and the inner man of all inordinate lusts and passons and very useful to smooth the skin of a Christians outward conversation to make it beautiful and lovely And there are sweet Almonds too which afford an oyl and milk to close the wounds of a broken heart to refresh the weak to cool the Calentures of distempered Consciences and bring them to repose and comfort When we have such solid and such vital such florid and such fruitful Rods as these set before the flock Methinks we should all be of Jacobs breed our inward conceptions and outward productions our hearts and our works should be of the same complexion by the transforming Power of a happy imitation To conclude life consisteth in motion and the vigour of life discovers it self in the quickness of that motion and even by the constitution of his Rod Aaron is instructed to use Expedition in the Administration of his Discipline For the Almond-tree hath its name from the forwardness of it's productions When causes which fall under the Inspection of this Rod are kept too long before they come to a Decision this is an ill sign and provokes justly to complaint and murmuring It argues the Rod to be blind or dumb soft or stupid without sting or life not like the Rod that shoots up by Gods appointment for that Jer. 1. 11 12. is followed with a speedy sentence and a due execution Let the Rod be Expeditious in its Process that there be no cause of murmuring upon that account and then men will stand in awe of the sting and reverence the eye and obey the voice of it And not only so but finding shelter and protection in the leaves Beauty and Ornament in the blossoms Food Physick and refreshment in the fruit they will delight to dwell under the shadow of it When they see it Soveraign to heal and sweeten all our bitter waters of strife they will really believe of this what the Jews do but fable of that other That it descends from the tree of life They will cry out Servetur endeavour to have it flourish and pray that it may be preserved and prosper in the Church amongst us to the Worlds end Amen FINIS