the bones of them that have been or shall be interred here rest in peace untill a joyful resurrection Let heavenly goodness be on all those that shall here be wedded in lawful Matrimony remembring it is the mystery of Christ and his Church made one with him O let the most Divine Sacrament of Christs Body broken and his Bloud shed for us be the savour of life unto all that receive it Sanctify to holy Calling such as shall be ordained Priests and Deacons by Imposition of hands And we heartily pray that thy Word preached within these walls may be delivered with that truth sincerity zeal and efficacy that it may reclaim the ungodly confirm the righteous and draw many to salvation through Jesus Christ c. BLessed and immortal Lord who stirrest up the hearts of thy faithful people to do unto thee true and laudable service we magnifie thy Grace and the inward working of thy holy Spirit upon the heart of our gracious Soveraign Lord King CHARLES his Highness James Duke of York and his most Religious Dutchess and all Dukes Dutchesses Nobles and Peers of this Realm with our most gracious Metropolitan and all Bishops and others of the holy Orders of the Clergy all Baronets Knights and Gentry Ladies and devout persons of that Sex and for all the Gentry and godly Commonalty for all Cities Burrows Towns and Villages who have bountifully contributed to re-edify and repair this ancient and beautiful Cathedral which was almost demolished by Sons of Belial But these thy large-hearted and bountiful servants have raised up this Holy Place to its former beauty and comliness again Lord recompence them all sevenfold into their bosom As they have bestowed their temporal things willingly and largely upon this holy place so recompence them with eternal things and with increase of earthly abundance as thou knowest to be most expedient for them Let the Generation of the faithful be blessed and let their memories be precious to all posterity O Lord this is thy Tabernacle it is thy House and not mans perfect it we beseech thee in that which is wanting to accomplish it And for all those thy choice servants whose charitable hands have given their oblation to raise up again this sacred Habitation which was pulled down by impious hands give them all thine eternal Kingdom for their Habitation Amen O Thou Holy One who dwellest in the highest Heavens and lookest down upon all thy servants and considerest the condition of all men now we have begun to speak to our Lord God who are but dust and ashes permit us to continue our prayers for the souls health and external prosperity of all those that are concerned in this place Be favourable and merciful to the most reverend Father in God Gilbert Lord Archbishop of Canterbury our most munificent Benefactor under whose Government we reap much peace good order and happiness O Lord be merciful to me thy Servant the most unworthy of them that wear a linnen Ephod yet by thy providence and his Majesties favour the Bishop of this Church and of the Diocess to which it belongs Be a loving God to the Dean Archdeacons Canon Residentiaries Prebendaries Vicars Coral and to all that belong to this Christian Foundation Bless them that live and are encompassed in the Close and Ground of this Cathedral Pour down the plentiful showers of thy bounteous goodness upon this neighbour City of Litchfield the Bailiffs Sheriff Aldermen all the Magistrates and all the Inhabitants thereof Lord we extend our petitions further that thou wilt please to bless all that pertain to this large Diocess for all the Clergy of it that they may be godly examples to their Flock that they may attend to Prayer to Preaching and to administer thy holy Sacraments and diligently to do all duties to those under their charge that are in health or sickness O Lord multiply thy blessings upon all Christian people in the several Shires and Districts belonging to the Government of this Bishoprick and keep us all O Lord in faith and obedience to thee in loyalty to our Soveraign in charity one toward another in submission to the good and orderly Discipline of the Church And save us from Heresies Schisms Fanatical separations and all scandals against the Gospel And guide us all to live as becometh us in the true Communion of Saints Grant all this O Lord for Jesus Christ his sake To whom with Thee and thy Holy Spirit be ascribed and given c. PRevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Then the Bishop pronounced a solemn Blessing upon the whole Administration performed and upon all that were present Then followed the Service of Morning Prayer for that day two especial Anthems in extraordinary being added Provision was made instantly for Alms to the Poor And in a very stately Gallery which the Bishop erected in the House where he lived his Lordship annexed to the precedent Solemnity a Feast for three days First to feast all that belonged to the Choir and the Church together with the Proctors and other Officers of the Ecclesiastical Courts On a second day to remember God's great goodness in the restauration and reconciliation of the Church He feasted the Bailiffs Sheriff and all the Aldermen of the City of Lichfield On a third day to the same purpose in the same place He feasted all the Gentry Male and Female of the Close and City He would often afterwards give God thanks who had accepted him as an unworthy Instrument to build him an House that what he could not accomplish at Holbourn in his younger years when he was more able to take pains yet He had now enabled him to do in his old age and far worse times when he found by experience the Wars had exhausted not only the Wealth but Piety of the Nation and that it was far easier under Charles the First his Reign to raise an hundred pound to Pious Vses than now ten pounds So some observe that in the Primitive Church Charity ebb'd lower and lower till the stream quite dried up the first examples thereof were most bountiful to provoke the liberality of following Ages Barnabas gave all his Possessions and so did many others Ananias divided half or thereabouts but the next Age minced it to a considerable Legacy and then it fell to Charity in small money afterwards to good words only as St. James sayes and I pray be comforted sed ecquid tinnit Dolabella seldom one cross or coyn dropt from them the like he observ'd in our own Church in the Ages past and present when Christianity was first planted among us our glorious Founders built Colledges and Cathedral Churches the next rank of Benefactors endowed Schools and Parishes after Ages gave
we are lead to place and persons of a little better condition to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night from the shepherds by a manifest ascent to the Apparition of an Angel the Angel of the Lord from one Angel to a multitude which is much better a multitude of the heavenly Host from that noble Army to him who is greater than all the Angels a Saviour which is Christ the Lord And lastly from that Saviour on earth to his most excellent dominion in heaven Gloria in excelsis glory be to God on high And as in our Church Service we do or should shut up every Psalm with that devout Doxology Glory be to the Father c. as if that were it which gave every Psalm his tune and relish so glory be to God on high is a verse which may most fitly be said or sung to every circumstance which belongs to the birth of Christ He was laid in a Manger glory be to God on high for that humility proclaimed by Angels glory be to God on high for their attendance and ministry manifested to Shepherds glory be to God on high for instructing their simplicity finally to comfort our hearts that night and darkness are dispelled a glorious beam of light made the earth glister where they stood and therefore glory be to God on high for the comfort of that heavenly illumination and glory The Text which I have read unto you contains those particulars which are most natural to heaven and most proper to earth things most truly celestial are Angels and Light and glory all these did joyn together to solemnize this great Nativity when tidings came unto the Shepherds and that which properly savours of earth is fear especially 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 great fear and shepherds not able suddenly to entertain heavenly visions were sore afraid If you will fully know how and in what triumphant manner these tidings were declared from heaven and withal with what astonishment they did possess the earth lend me your attention to these four parts in general 1. Here is Gods Minister imployed to divulge the Incarnation Loe the Angel of the Lord. 2. The pomp and solemnity which the Angel brought with him the glory of the Lord did shine round about 3. Here are the persons though I have spoke largely of them heretofore I say the persons honoured both with that messenger and that solemnity the Angel came to them the glory shone round about them they were Shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night 4. How this Angel and that shining glory did affect these poor men they were sore afraid And for your parts dearly beloved so prepare your souls so to meditate upon Christs Birth that when you promise your selves after your dissolution the joy of Angels and glory shining round about you remember to temper presumption with the Shepherds fear and reverence and again when weakness and little faith are sore afraid be mindful that Christ was born to bring us to that light which knows no darkness and to everlasting glory So knit them into your heart as they are most divinely woven into my Text And loe the Angel of the Lord came upon them c. And first be ready to hear how Gods Mnister was employed to divulge the Incarnation Loe the Angel of the Lord came upon them touching whose Apparition five interrogatories must be answered Quis what Angel this was of all the heavenly Hierarchy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it should seem one of conspicuous glory the Angel of the Lord. 2. Quando when he came I believe instantly after Mary was delivered Ecce loe he came that note demonstrative expresseth the celerity 3. Quomodo the true substance of an Angel is not visible and apparitive to men he came in some fashion altered from himself ecce it was wonderful loe an Angel 4. Quo situ how he did apply himself to the Shepherd de coelo supervenit says one Translation he stood above them astitit juxta illos says another he stood near unto them we say he came upon them 5. Quare why men were not accepted to do this office to manifest the Birth of Jesus but loe an Angel of the Lord. 1. Quis and who was this Angel of all the heavenly Hierarchy modest ignorance is better than presumptuous knowledge doubtless the Holy Spirit had given him his Name in this place if it had concerned our edification yet he was no novice but St. Cyprian himself that ventured to call him Gabriel Veniunt in Bethlehem quam praedixit Gabriel invenitur Emanuel that is the Shepherds came to Bethlehem as Gabriel had taught them and there they found Emanuel who is God with us Surely so Divine a Father would not bolt out without a mark to aim at and I discern some colour for that conjecture out of a Grammatical Article Zachary was visited by a messenger from heaven as he was doing his office in the Temple Luke 1.11 There appeared unto him an Angel of the Lord but verse 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Angel Gabriel was sent to the Blessed Virgin in the City of Nazareth and as if he were to be known from that holy Spirit who came to Zachary by this emphatical Article being once named Gabriel from thenceforth he is spoken of according to his office the Angel of the Lord. Surely he was one of the most glorious attendants of heaven one of those principal Seraphins that stand always before the throne of God the business about which he came was of the highest nature that ever was sent from Heaven to Earth and therefore who should undertake it but as great a creature as the Heaven and Earth afforded But the School Doctors say otherwise who build upon the groundless curiosities of their adulterate Dionysius list to their speculation forsooth that Cherubins and Seraphins Thrones Principalities and Dominions are vertues of the highest rank and order always resident in the Orbs of Heaven never giving attendance to the Militant Church beneath But that commonly stiled Archangels and Angels in which degrees they place this Gabriel they have intercourse and messages as God appoints them to the world below A brave president if you mark it for their lazie Cardinal Prelates that the active Angels such as proclaim and preach Christ should be the underlings to the rest and to pretend that there are others of no such troublesome office and employment that are the superiour principalities Well as it is probable with St. Cyprian to say this welcome Messenger was Gabriel so it is more probable to hold against Dionysius his conjectures that this glorious Herauld who came to publish a Saviour to the world was one of the mightiest and chief of the Cherubins loe the Angel of the Lord. 1. The next interrogatory is quando at what time and season the Angel came Ecce venit surely he made no stay but came with great expedition after Christ was born if it were not in the same
to be ministred unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many Unto us therefore the mercy of God is most frank and liberal a gratuitous blessing a good turn as freely bestowed as ever was any so that we who received it conferr'd nothing unto it but on Christ's part he laid down a ransom of a most just compensation Fourthly As all mankind that is flesh and blood in every man and woman is honoured by his Visitation so all without exceptions are beholding to his Redemption Zachary the Priest with all his innocency who is said to have been blameless and righteous before God yet he blesseth God that he was redeemed Job a man so holy that God bears witness to him so upright that the Devil could not except against him yet glad he was to take notice of a Redeemer that was his anchor upon which he stayed himself I know that my redeemer liveth The blessed Virgin no doubt as holy a creature as ever walked upon the earth yet her Spirit rejoyced chiefly in this that she had a Saviour Great is thy benignity O Lord that thou hast given us a joyful recovery from an oppressing pestilence that thou hast given us all things necessary for life and sustenance greater is thy goodness that thou hast given us grace to repent to call upon thee to direct our heart in thy command and to believe in thy saving health but this is the most superabundant blessing of them all that since we are odious and unprofitable in thy sight with all our imperfect righteousness thou hast repaired us again by giving thy self a redemption for us Thrice happy therefore that we know with Job that our Redeemer liveth and comfort your hearts thus he came to redeem that which was lost therefore he will not let that be lost which he hath redeemed Having thus spoken of the benefits of Visitation and Redemption I should leave my Treatise very imperfect if I should not speak of the Receivers very briefly therefore concerning them upon whom all was conferr'd he hath visited and redeemed his people It is certain that the generations of mankind are meant by this word the Sons and Daughters of Adam and none others The Angels are called his servants his ministring spirits his messengers c. but they are never called his people Godly Bishops and Fathers of the Church have drawn out certain streams from the love of Christ by which the Angels should receive some utility St. Austin says his light did shine before them his example did kindle a desire in them to excel in zeal and obedience Bernard says Qui evexit hominem lapsum dedit Angelis ne laberentur that is he whose redemption prevailed to raise up man after he had fallen it confirmed the Angels in grace that they should never fall He brought us out of captivity he preserved them that they never came into captivity but that which these speak of that should turn to the utility of Angels it came from the power and good will of his God-head not by virtue of his mediatorship being made God and man to reconcile those to his Father who had offended The Schoolmen say though he was not Incarnate for the Angels nor shed his Blood for their sakes yet the fruit of his redemption did in some wise redound to them because it compounded the friendship between Angels and men whereas they were our enemies in Gods quarrel before our peace was procured by our Saviour Well this comes to nothing on the Angels part it is neither dignity nor commodity to them but unto us therefore we are the clear gainers by all the profit that my Text brings in he hath c. In a strict phrase we know who they were that had the happiness to be called his people for many ages his covenant was made with the seed of Abraham and with the children of Jacob but when they ceased to know the Lord and to obey him this Covenant was broken and it is very remarkable how zealously God did manifest it that his love was turned away from that Nation Hosea i. he made the children of that Prophet signs and tokens unto them calling his Daughters lo-ruhamah I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel and he called his Son loammi for says he ye are not my people and I will not be your God ver 9. You see in that place that God hath as it were torn the hand-writing wherein the Covenant was made it is cancell'd and it will not profit them That people lost their share in this redemption because they knew not the true redeemer nor minded the true redemption Light came into the world and they loved darkness more than light they knew not their Redeemer the holy One of Israel In the matter of redemption also they were quite mistaken never drawing their care inward to the use of their soul but gaping for a Champion that should fight for them against the Romans so they were neither delivered from the bondage of the Romans nor from the power of the Devil Where then shall we look for his people beloved not in one angle of the world but among all Nations both Jews and Gentiles God spake once and twice says the Psalmist first to the old Church of the Jews than to the new Church of the Gentiles and as many as call upon him faithfully they are his people and he is their King And that you may be sure the Gentiles have their interest in him the first in all the holy Scripture that calls him a Redeemer is Job and Job is a Gentile In every Nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him says St. Peter Acts x. 35. Nay that which Zachary utters restrictively he hath visited and redeemed his people the Angel as one more indifferent to all parties says I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people So St. John as liberally and largely as the Angel he is the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins only but for the sins of the whole world 1 Epist chap. ii ver 2. says Prosper very well a Father that was very cunning in this point Poculum immortalitatis habet in se ut omnibus prosit sed si non bibitur non medetur The cup of immortality is in his hand to bring all men to eternal life but it will cure none of their sins but those that drink of it To conclude all Christ came especially into the world for his Church sake and more especially in his Church for those that are called according to his purpose he came to purchase unto himself a people zealous of good works They were to be purchased and made his people they were not his people before he came unto them Non veniens suam invenit plebem sed visitando eam fecit if he had not visited them and redeemed them and taught them and given them of his spirit
exercise the works of Charity to cure the sick to heal the impotent The Donatists penn'd up the Church of Christ within the limits of Affrica for in the Song of Solomon God says to the Spouse mystically Vbi pascis Vbi cubas sub meridie Cant. i. 7. Tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon As if the true Church therefore were limited to those Southern parts or Meridian Is it not as wonderful to fetch the Cardinalitian dignity of the Church of Rome from this Text 1 Sam. ii 8. Domini sunt cardines terrae The Pillars of the earth are the Lords and he hath set the world upon them Or Adoration of Images from this Text that Jacob worshipped leaning upon the top of his staff Heb. xi 21. And is not a Lay Presbytery screwed in to govern the Church instead of the most ancient Hierarchy of Bishops from this quite mistaken Citation 1 Tim. v. 17. Let the Presbytery the Elders that rule well be accounted worthy of double honour especially they that labour in the Word and Doctrine I will not put my self to the task to go any further in this reckoning for all Schisms and Heresies and almost all sins will shroud under the Patronage of the Word of God Yet such is the pureness of that Fountain that it is not pudled though dirty Swine do wallow in it nay though the Devil himself run headlong into it as he did into the Sea Here he tumbles about in this Psalm to cast dirt upon it yet the Psalm is no whit less sacred and venerable than it was before Et malè quod recitas incipit esse tuum as he did use it most blasphemously it was not Scripture but rather Magick and Incantation For first according to St. Hierom the Psalm pertains not to Christ but to his Members they have the promise that they shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty and the Arrians who did mainly contend against the Orthodox that David made the Hymn upon Christ and not upon pious men do but follow the Exposition of the Devil But of this hereafter 2. He did quite abuse the meaning of the Prophet The Angels are appointed by God to keep the faithful in safety against their enemies but the promise extends not to him that will throw himself into danger and be his own greatest enemy 3. He curtalled the holy Scripture and left out these most emphatical words In omnibus viis tuis that God shall keep thee in all thy ways Surely he was ashamed to mention these words for it can be none of a mans ways to cast himself down from a Pinacle of the Temple Diaboli est truncare autoritates this is a devillish craft which God abhors to lop off somewhat of the Scripture that the remainder may do hurt If any man shall take away from the words of the Book of this Prophesie God shall take away his part out of the book of life God is most highly abused when his sayings are mangled and misreported How much more when a whole Commandment and of principal consequence against worshipping of Images is omitted in many Missals I know not upon what pretence of brevity Even among men 't is taken for the sign of a most contumelious affection to report one Sentence or one Comma of a mans speech without the supplement of all Circumstances As Serapion served Severianus If thou diest a good Christian says Severianus and not an arrant Reneigo Christ was never made man Serapion brings him to his answer for this Heresie that he maintained Christ was never made man Thus the Devil had what he pleased and made use of what he lust in the Psalm and so like a broken glass it was for no service Fourthly says St. Ambrose why did he not go on to the end of the Psalm at least why did he not take in the very next verse Psal xci 13. Thou shalt tread upon the Lion and Adder the young Lion and the Dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet Quare siles super Aspidem Basiliscum nisi quia tu es Leo Basiliscus Satan is the Lion and the Adder whom not only Christ but every good member of his flock should tred under his feet these were his own names therefore he durst not recite them And yet the time was I can tell you when the Devil made as good use of that verse as he did of the precedent verse when he tempted Christ it seems he loves to be tempting with this Psalm but thus it was Pope Alexander the third persecuted the Emperour Frederick Barbarossa by Arms and Excommunications till he brought him upon his knees and lower than his knees in all servile and base submission and Alexander setting his foot upon the Emperours neck a scorn which Alexander the Great never put upon Darius insulted over him with that verse which next follows the Devils quotation in my Text Thou shalt tread upon the Lion and Adder and shalt trample the Dragon under thy feet Nothing makes worse corruption than that which is best of all wnen it is marred and spoyled and nothing makes worse sense than the Oracles of God when they are perverted And as Samson having his Locks cut off wherein consisted the spirit of Fortitude was weak as another man so the Scripture mutilated and mangled having not the native and wholsom interpretation wherein the efficacy of the Spirit consists is of no force or validity The Devil himself was not afraid of the name of Jesus when it was not rightly used Acts xix The holy Incense was to be offered up in the Lords Censors so the Scripture hath a right savour in it when it is offered up with the meaning of the Holy Ghost Delaiah brought a false Prophesie to Nehemiah to hide himself from his enemies in the Temple but Nehemiah would not hear him Chap. vi 10. 'T is a grace of God which every one of us should beg often upon our knees that he would open the true meaning of the Scripture unto us Who hath the key of David that openeth and no man shutteth that we may not distort those good Lessons to our perdition and by our own ill digestion convert the most sincere milk of the Word into the rankest poyson These two cautions shall be the conjunct uses of this Point First that ignorant men be not removed from the truth by misconceiving such doubtful places of Scripture which are fittest to be argued by them that sit in Moses Chair It is a laudable conjecture of a modern Author that the Devil knew our Saviour was not brought up in the Schools of knowledge all the Jews could descant upon it Whence hath this man learning Is not this the Carpenters Son And therefore he mis-scited the Scripture unto Christ as unto an illiterate person that could not discover him Every man is not an Apollos mighty in the Scripture some
bodie nor with our substance He shall have neither our goods nor our knee but likely we put it off He shall have our soul why this is only to give God his thirds as a reverend Father saies to compound like Bankrupts and give him two parts less than we owe him and yet we look for ten thousand times more than He owes us We have some that are to be suspected for a kind of Sadduces among us that believe no resurrection of the body else they would never palter with discipline but be more forward in the prostration and worship of the bodie than the Church could be to command them Some have given a great blow to this duty by harping upon the bare words of S. John and not digesting the true meaning of his Text Joh. iv 23. The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth Mark the occasion why this was spoken and the words precedent The woman of Samaria moved a doubt whether God was to be worshipped at Jerusalem as the Jews taught or at Mount Girizin as the Samaritans taught Now the Samaritans worshipt God falsely they worshipt they knew not what says Christ The Jews held strictly to Moses Law and observ'd figures and shadows of things to come which were all to give place and vanish upon the incarnation of our Lord. Now it is easie to discern the substance of our Saviours answer what it is to serve God in spirit and truth Truth is opposed to the false superstition of the Samaritans Spirit is opposed to the Jewish figures and sacrifices And Christ tells the woman God will neither be served any more after the Samaritan way or Jewish way but after the newness of the Gospel The hour cometh and now is when ye shall neither worship the Father in this Mountain nor at Jerusalem but they shall worship him in spirit and truth Do these words exempt the worship of the body nothing less The word spirit is not taken there for the soul divided from the body signifying only an internal act of the spirit but for all manner of virtuous actions as well external as internal which proceed from the grace of the Holy Spirit being acceptable to God because the Holy Spirit brings them forth not because they are figures of things to come I will sing with the spirit says St. Paul 1 Cor. xiv 15. and yet singing is a bodily action He did worship in spirit when he said For this cause bow I my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Ephes iii. to come to a point Remember therefore how we adore God in spirit when we adore him with those outward gestures of the body to which we are stirred up by the Spirit of truth And so much of the first member of my Text which I laid out to be handled by it self the Lord God is to be worshipped The next duty is the other Pillar of Religion which upholds the Church of the Elect the Lord God is to be served By worship you know already we understand all humble outward devotion and reverence Now by service you must conceive the inward conformity of the heart to all duty and obedience The will of the Lord is revealed to us two manner of ways Either as he doth promise us blessings and benefits and assures us great rewards in the Kingdom of heaven Or as he doth stipulate and covenant with us what we shall do to obtain his favour In the former respect as he hath given us the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth most liberally and as he doth promise greater fruits of his mercy most graciously we fall down and worship him for his benefits but as he doth condition with us to do somewhat for his sake that he may leave a blessing with us we serve him faithfully and bind our inward faculties our soul and our mind to be prompt and ready to execute all obedience That you may the better compose your hearts to attend Gods will in all things and to serve him I will supply your knowledge with these few motives following First There is no other Lord beside our God properly called 1 Cor. viii Though there be that are called Gods as there be Gods many and Lords many that is by opinion and nuncupation but to us there is but one God the Father of whom are all things and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him And again Eph. v. 4. One Lord one Faith one Baptism one God who is above all and through all and in you all Super omnes dominio per omnes providentiâ in omnibus justificatione Above all by his Dominion through all by his Providence in all by sanctifying us with his grace and justifying us from sin He that is subject to none inferiour to none independent of himself in all his power He may well be called a Lord and such a Lord deserves to be served Petty Magistrates hold of Princes favours and Kings hold their tenure under God Therefore some of the Roman Emperours having the perceivance that they could command nothing absolutely if he that sate above the heavens did stop it they would not be called Domini because themselves were servants in relation to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords therefore their circumscribed power did not answer the title When the Scripture brings in the most High the saying is Haec dicit Dominus Thus saith the Lord. If we would examine this after the stile of man you would say Lord of what Why universal Lord without any particular designment Specifications to be Lords of this or that are earthly phrases are notes of minority Attalus the Martyr was askt what name that Lord had whom he served Says he Qui plures sunt nominibus discernuntur qui autem unus est non indiget nomine Where there are many Lords they must be distinguish'd by their properties but what need that Lord a name for distinction who is the only Ruler by himself without any equal or partner in his dominion now since we must serve for sin hath brought servitude into the world whom would a man choose to serve but that only Lord to whose sheave all other sheaves do bend and who only hath authority Secondly In all service you will consider in what state and place it puts you Do so in this and spare not But let St. Peter be the Judge 1 Epist ii 9. Ye are a chosen generation a royal Priesthood an holy nation a peculiar people There is royalty in the very service Cui servire est regnare To do him service is a Kingly Ministry Nay there is more in one of our Church Collects in one Line of it than in the most Augustious title of a King God whose service is perfect freedom A King may be so much subject to naughty passions as he shall be in vile thraldom to his own sensualities and so
of St. Austin where doth he say that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is another species of religious worship which is divers from latria I cannot find that nor they neither yes it is extant that He teacheth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is an honour to be given to Angels and Saints but doth he say that honour is an inferiour part of religious worship at no hand nor of religious worship I believe mistakes have past on both sides that worship hath been divided by our Divines into religious and civil without further explication for some acute wits have objected that the honour given to a person is grounded upon some excellency in him but excellency is threefold therefore there must be a threefold honour or worship there is the divine and infinite excellencie of God which requires an honour peculiar to it self of the highest strein then there is humane excellencie consisting in such honour and reverenced qualities as men have to which a civil reverence is to be paid Between these there is another excellency which is supernatural that grace and glory which the Angels and Saints have here they demand that some honour above the ordinary civil garb should be paid to supernatural excellency This I believe S. Austin for want of words called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but never meant it was a religious expression But to make things clearer I have divided worship before into three parts the first is of most holy religion to God alone the second of civil subjection to our Superiors honour to whom honour belongeth as the Apostle says but the third must not be forgotten when we give moral reverence to some not upon the relation of being subject and under them for excellent endowments so Kings have faln down prostrate before Prophets so Abraham bowed down to the three Angels and this moral reverence is greater or less as we apprehend the person to have natural or supernatural excellency This surely was St. Austin's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so the meaning of his distinction is tolerable but he states a difference in words which are not to be differenced as I will declare it briefly The words both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 either of them stand for all sort of worship confusedly of religion of moral reverence and of civil subjection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 each word in Eustathius denote a Servant if there be any odds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the more enthralled and captivated Servant for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the hired Servant a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies the wages of an hired one But an hirling is at his own choice whether he will do a mans work or no but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Bond servant part of his Masters possession he mustgirt him to his work and cannot avoid it therefore we are Gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Servants that must do his will his Bond-servants we ought to obey him in all things though He had covenanted to give us no wages 'T is the greater subjection if you stand upon words and therefore due to the greatest I press further that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Scripture stands not only for holy service but for civil observance Matth. xviii that Servant that owed his Master more than he could pay fell down and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he worshipt him but evidently Levit. xxiii 3. The Seventh day is a Sabbath of rest an holy Convocation ye shall do no work therein 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so it is in the 72. which must not stand for Religious that is the day proper but for secular tasks and businesses Once again let me strike upon the same Pin How often do both these words present unto us the same thing Even Gods holy service Rom. i. 9. God is my witness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whom I serve in the Spirit In the same Epistle Cha. xvi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they serve not our Lord Jesus Christ And nothing more fairly markt out that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a Religious relation is only due to God then that Text Gal. iv 8. St. Paul tells the Galatians that while they were Gentiles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ye served them that by nature were not Gods The Argument is fix'd on this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 religiously belongs to the true God and not to Angels Saints or any nuncupative Gods So the Arrians were accused of Idolatry by Athanasius because they professed to worship Christ and yet confessed him not to be God eternal coequal with his Father They had no such distinction as latria and dulia to shift the Objection I have been compelled to fight with words I know with little profit to the ordinary hearer but the skilful will bear me witness these things could not well be omitted upon this Theme Now I come to ponder the meaning of the distinction yet no Pontifician whom I have read hath made a clear meaning of it Yes some will say they hold latria is a supreme religious Adoration to be given to God alone Dulia is an inferiour religious worship aptly given to persons or things of some supernatural graces or divine relations That is God hath his due reserved the Angels the Saints and their Images and Reliques are worshipped Absque latria which is to say in strictness of Grammer they worship them without worship For latria put in English is Worship But I leave that and demand here are two Religious Worships in their Church the one to God the other to some of his Creatures what belongs to the one that doth not to the other if both be religious Do they differ in degrees only That the intention of the heart is bent more earnestly to honour the one and with less zeal and ardour the other That is no real difference for so the same man praiseth God with more vehemency of spirit at one time than at another Or is it diversified to be another species of Religious Worship by performing the same external garbe and the like internal honour to the Creator and to the Creature but with this odds that the Devotee doth apprehend God as an infinite essence but the created substances as fellow Servants and therefore no way to be worshipped above Servants with God-like honour This I think is all that can be said I have read no more said for it yet this is nothing for so the understanding only conceives a different object but it is not demonstrated that the will or the body brings forth several acts of Worship And it is enough to overthrow their errour if they would mark it that they say how they consider it is but a Creature which they adore with dulie or secondary religious Worship for the foundation of all religious Worship is Excellentia infinita apprehensa sub ratione primi principii summi
Shepherds and not like Wolves That is the just Latitude of this Precept This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear him The first part of the Text would require much more to be spoken but here must be the end of that because much more remains behind Therefore in the second Point that the Church might the better admit Christs sole Authority to hear him and no other all other persons of excellency vanisht and he was left alone The Disciples lookt up says St. Matthew and lookt about says St. Mark and when the voice was past Jesus was found alone Whether they that come back from the dead depart from us again as did Moses and Elias in this place or whether our living Friends whom we tender dearly go from hence for ever unto the dead let this comfort remain with you that the best Friend of all sticks by you Christ is with you and stays behind And much better it is to find him alone than all the world beside without him Vnus Iesus satis superque nobis est So I think Gregory It is an happy solitariness to be forsaken of all other and to be left with him alone St. Austin enumerating the several Temples which the Romans built to their Deities reckons up one for Vertue another for Felicity another for Fortune Says the Father If the Heathen had been wise men at least they would have spared the Temple of Fortune and made no use of that Quid ei sufficit cui virtus felicitasque non sufficit He that hath vertue and felicity hath enough or he will never be contented So he that can keep our Saviour hath the fulness of joy abiding with him and he cannot choose but be satisfied What small hearts-ease had the Blessed Virgin to find all her Kindred at home and to miss him And if his Room be empty the house is in a pitiful case though it be furnish'd with all manner of store beside When the whole World was lost in the Deluge of waters one Ark was unto Noah instead of all the world beside to save him so when all things flit away and consume by little my Father and Mother forsake me our friends our means our strength our health our life Tu autem Domine non dereliquisti one Redeemer is all and more than all As when the leaves drop off from the Tree yet the Sun continues to comfort it and make it spring again so the reliefs and pleasures of this Age shall wax old with time and be shaken off as the leaves before the wind but nothing shall separate us from the love of God and nothing shall separate God from the love of us And as Christ is enough for all so this one reason is suficient why the Disciples found him alone yet I have another to spare which is this Postquam legis Prophetarum umbra decessit omnia in Evangelio reperiuntur When the Shadows and Types of the Law and Prophets are dispersed away the Gospel abides for ever and is the true repertory of all things that belong to salvation The Law of Moses is a killing Letter no flesh living shall be justified by the works of the Law The Spirit of Elias breaths nothing but fire and perdition to them that sin against the Lord. O God what will become of us miserable offendors if we meet with such as these O remove these away and let us find Jesus alone who came into the world to seek and to save that which is lost A poor Prisoner must needs suspect that he should have a bloudy trial when such angry Judges came from heaven as Moses and Elias let them rise off from the Bench and depart and leave our cause to be heard before a Saviour so full of pity who is all bowels all compassion An potior judex Puerisve quis aptior orbis He will not recompence us according to our misdeeds but deliver us from the Tormentor The poor woman taken in Adultery had a sweet taste of this Doctrine Christ cast a scruple of conscience before her bitter Accusers which made them slip away one after another then the day began to go on the poor sinners side When Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst Joh. viii 9. Beside I have repeated it to you very often that the Transfiguration was an Idea or Model of the Resurrection and therefore Christ was left alone to let you see the condition of that period of time when all things shall pass away at the end of the world Vt Deus maneat omnia in omnibus when Christ shall be our portion alone and the glory of every thing in earth shall vanish and come to nothing And he alone is an hundred fold those all things else which we enjoy'd in this life according to the reckoning of the Gospel and yet that is but a modest comparison a finite proportion for an infinite In this course of life which now we lead every man acts his part in the mutual Communion of Saints and we have all need one of another For as the members depend upon the head so every member doth want his fellow member to support him the hand cannot say it hath no need of the foot nor can the eye say it hath no use of the ear we must have the help of Moses and Elias and all those bright shining stars that have gone before And the Ages to come shall acknowledge that they were the better for the help of those good men which these times produce But after the final consummation of all things we shall no more be put to these shifts to require the assistance one of another though there were no Moses no Elias no Peter no James and John yet every one shall be perfect in Christ and shall be filled with the fulness of him that filleth all in all St. Hierom in a certain Epistle to Amandus takes upon him to interpret the words of St. Paul 1 Cor. xv 28. on this wise All things shall be subject unto him that God may be all in all Says he our Lord and Saviour is not now all in all but according to the several distributions of his gifts a part only in every several man For example Wisdom in Solomon Zeal in David Patience in Job Interpretation of dreams in Daniel Power of Miracles in Paul Faith in Peter Virginity in John In caeteris caetera but when the end of all things shall come then he shall be all in all Vt singuli sanctorum omnes vertutes habeant ut sit Christus totus in cunctis That every Saint may be filled with all vertue and the fulness of Christ may be in all alike And so far on the second part that Jesus was found alone This is the Argument of the third part of the Text that when God from heaven had commanded the Disciples to hear his Son and left him alone to be heard instead of the Law and the Prophets Christ
xiv 8. Briefly the Gospel was now to launch forth and to flote upon the waves of many trials and persecutions and therefore it had need of a Helm to turn it about whithersoever the Governor listeth and that little Helm is the tongue Jam. iii. 4. I told you even now that the wantonness of the eye had a gracious vision to amend it so here came a remedy from Heaven to correct the iniquity of our mouth which is the very forge of Hell and a tongue descended from above to sanctify it As the Devil can put no worse thing into us than an evil tongue and then it becoms the worst member that we have Jam. iii. 6. so God can send us no better thing from the store of his mercies than a tongue to praise him and then David calls it in the old Translation of our Psalms the best member that we have Psal cviii 1. We had need to let that Prayer come in often among our earnest supplications that God would touch our lips with a coal from his altar as he sent a Seraphin with that blessing to the Prophet Isaiah It is very meet that we consider in our vote with the Psalmist Set a watch before my mouth pone ostium circumstantiae as the vulgar Latin hath it make such a door for my mouth that I may look to every circumstance of every syllable that passeth out Oret lingua ut dometur lingua Says St. Austin O let the tongue pray for it self that it may be ruled how often trips it in swearing how often doth it murmur in discontent in boasting above measure in pride lofty in anger furious in perjuries blasphemous in curses bitter in vain talking never quiet glib as honey in hypocrisie subtle in lying smooth in deceiving impudent in flattery What a happy thing it is to have a fence about the lips that no such evil spirits as these may come in or out and notwithstanding all these exorbitancies of the mouth to which we are so obnoxious God can purifie our speech and season it with salt that it shall not corrupt For if man by wit and industry can tame wild beasts which he hath not made can not the Lord much more tame the tongue which he hath made a Watch can suppress and curb those in that would break out of their holds and the Lord can make such a door for our lips as shall inhibit all the petulancy of vain breath and shut and open for his own glory Ostium aperitur clauditur says Gregory unto it a door is made to let our friends and familiars in but to keep out theevs and robbers so the tongue must be open to confess our sins and shut if hypocrisie shall attempt to excuse them the mouth must be open unto the praise of God and barred against our own commendation it must be open to teach the humble but shut and silent if the obstinate will not learn for answer not a fool in his folly says Solomon He that openeth and no man shutteth he that shutteth and no man openeth can give us this power from above to speak unto his praise and to be silent unto evil therefore the Holy Ghost descended in the apparition of a tongue To pierce further as far as observation will give me leave upon this point as the tongue naturally is an instrument of two functions of speaking and of tasting so these extraordinary tongues were destined for two properties to preach the Gospel and to discern spiritual things in their true gust and sapor The first intent was to give the Apostles a door of utterance to proclaim salvation to all that were prepared to hear and that all men should confess with boldness that Jesus is the Christ The Spirit came in the former verse like a rushing mighty wind that was for inspiration for the Apostles own sakes to sanctifie themselves but the gift of tongues was for elocution to impart the benefit to more than themselves This is the antient gloss of the Fathers upon my Text especially Gregorie's and that in two places Pastores primos in linguarum specie spiritus sanctus insedit quia quos repleverit de se protinus loquentes facit the Holy Ghost sat upon the first Pastors of the Church in the shape of a tongue for whomsoever of that rank the Divine Spirit fills he opens their lips to preach the Lord Jesus In both of St. Pauls Epistles to Timothy one of his Injunctions upon a Bishop is that he should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 apt to teach In his admonitions to Titus the same lesson again A Bishop must be able by sound doctrin to exhort and convince gainsayers Tit. i. 9. and St. Hierom says very truly how that character is more appropriated to a Bishop than all the rest the rest ought generally to be found in all holy Christians not to be given to filthy lucre nor to quaffing of wine to be the Husband of one Wife to be hospital just unblameable but this is intrinsecal first to Episcopal then to Priestly vocation to be cymbolum mundi the loud Cymbals of the world the tongues of the Church to be apt and painful to teach And therefore Espencaeus though of the Roman party exclaims much against the Pontifician Bishops for giving Monks and Friars licence to preach who are no Successors of the Apostles and therefore never received an Evangelical tongue in their Predecessors but says he the Prelates that ought to do that work themselves will not and therefore they grant licence to those to teach the Gospel who ought not but he cries out unto them to live according to St. Pauls Canons charged upon those two famous Bishops Timothy and Titus and then eant Episcopi se a docendi necessitate si possint excusent mark that Reverend Fathers says he and excuse your selves if you can from the necessity of preaching No there is no excuse for these tongues descended now after a mighty rushing wind quasi exeuntes è loco tonitrui as if they had been bolts after a clap of thunder to signify that these are the Trumpets which God sends forth to call us to repentance before the day of Judgment Ante adventum judicis ipsi clamando gradiantur says Gregory And howsoever some may justly attain to such place in the Church as to sway the Staff of Government in their hand yet they must remember that they are never released of this duty that their tongue must edify In the old Book of Ordination in this Church as well as in the Church of Rome the Bishop Elect at his Consecration had the Bible given him in one hand to teach and the Pastoral Staff in the other hand to govern the Flock It was never meant he should let fall the Book out of one hand and hold the Staff in both nay beware he be not beaten with the Staff that lets go the Book Latratu baculo rabies luporum deterrenda est
the Spirit of grace and strive to put off the incomprehensible work of God with a jest These men are full of new Wine So that as soon as God sent firy Tongues from heaven upon his Apostles the Devil likewise raised up firy Tongues from Hell and put them in the mouth of his Apostles Envy and despitefulness cares not what reproach it puts upon good men though there be neither sense nor probability to make it credible That is right 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word which is here used to vent any thing against the credit of holy persons whether it be right or wrong It was impossible they should perswade it in any one that they were overtaken with new Wine for there is no such liquor to be had in May not till September at the soonest But slanders use to rove at random And new wine say the Greeks will sooner intoxicate than old 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But what sign was there to make the objection credible that the Apostles were drunken Did their tongues falter Were their eyes red Was the Gesture foolish I know no man but Carthusian who goes about to invent a sign which should put the Jews into that unlikely suspicion that as the face of Steven when he was full of the Holy Ghost did shine with brightness so the countenances of the Disciples had a splendour and ruddiness in them with the fire of the tongues which sate upon their heads which made the rash Gazers conceive that they were inflamed with drink As the countenances of many that are most sober being red with the heat of the Liver make the uncharitable surmise that they are intemperate so I remember a story that Cassius Bishop of Narnia was despised by King Toteila because he was high coloured whereas Cassius was most abstemious but high coloured by natural infirmity Another thing concurred that it was the Feast day of Pentecost wherein the Jews were wont to rejoyce yet it was not their wont to solemnize the day with Feasting till the morning Sacrifice was offered up and that time was not yet come Therefore St. Peter answers That these men were not drunken for it was but the third hour of the day They that are scandalous in the sin of drunkenness use not to be gone so soon They that are drunken are drunken in the night says St. Paul that is most usual Although some do spend the whole night in quaffing untill the morning In lucem semper Acerra bibit Some prevent the rising of the Sun and are scarce sober one hour of the day whose souls lie under the Prophets woe Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning to follow strong drink Isa v. 11. But Peter did not strive to make an invincible refutation of their slander because their scurrility was so improbable and ridiculous and a defence which is over-anxious makes a good cause suspicious Had the accusation been true it had deserved a scorn as Noah was derided when he was drunken The drunkard makes himself an Ape for Boys to sport with his brutishness a natural fool is not such an object for derision and laughter So that passively it is true what Solomon says Wine is a mocker Prov. xx 1. It exposeth it self to the flouting of vain persons here and shall reap the scorn of God hereafter But says St. Cyril the wickedness of man shall turn to the praise of God and this slander of the Jews shall expound some Prophesies of Scripture and the mystery of the Holy Ghost It is granted says the Father the Apostles on this day were full of new Wine Novum verè erat illud vinum novi Testamenti gratia that is it is the grace of the New Testament which makes glad the heart of man Inebriabuntur pinguedine domus â—uae the Vulgar Latine keeps that word Psal xxxvi 8. we read They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures And again Cant. v. 1. I have drunk my wine with my milk meaning both the comfort and the nourishment of the Gospel O friends drink yea drink abundantly O beloved To this pertains another Psalm of David xxv 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies thou anointest my head with oyl my Cup runneth over Here is the oyl of the Spirit here is the Table of the Lord here is the Cup of Christs bloud an overflowing Cup sufficient to save a thousand worlds This Cup is that which ravisheth our Souls and carries up our Spirit to Heaven to partake of the body and bloud of Christ when we come to his holy Table this is Sobria ebrietas non madens vino sed ardens Deo This is a sober drunkenness an inflammation not with Wine but with the love of the Lord Jesus Happy were these Apostles that were drunken with drinking of him who says I am the Vine and ye are the branches But here is the difference between the meaning of these Scoffers and the meaning of those that make it an heavenly mystery he that is drunken with Wine looks like an incarnate Devil he that is drunken with the Spirit looks like an incarnate Angel I will stay a little while more not very long to shew how the mighty gifts poured out upon the Apostles on this day was a spiritual drunkenness First excess of Wine procures forgetfulness of things past so the Mission of the Holy Ghost made them that were converted to Christ forget the Ceremonial Law of Moses saving that little that was tolerated for a time to satisfie the weakness of the Jews it was laid aside as if it were quite dead and out of remembrance Thus St. Paul doth as it were make his Shears to pass between the Old and the New Law forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before Phil. iii. 13. Upon that accident that there wanted Wine at the Marriage in Cana the Gloss says Vetus legis vinum defecerat in nuptiis Ecclesiae none of the Wine of the Law remained at the Marriage of the Christian Church it was tilted and spent Secondly He that is giddy with wine makes no distinction of persons knows not his Friends from his Foes So he that is full of the Spirit renounceth all friendship affinity parentage in respect of the engagements of holiness and Religion Per calcatum perge patrem If thy Mother hold out her Breasts to entice thee from God if thy Father stop thy way shut thine eyes against the one tread upon the other make no respect of persons in that cause It is the praise and a most magnificent one which Moses gives to Levi Deut. xxxiii 9. Who said unto his Father and to his Mother I have not seen him neither did he acknowledge his brethren nor knew his own children Thus the mighty working of God works an extasie in his Servants that they care not for
our charity though above the definition of our judgment And thus I would rise up into pious credulity of their salvation for our Church hath a pious credulity at their burial As the longer proportion of afflictions usually falls upon them that can more patiently suffer them and God lays his burden upon them that can best bear it so let our charity infer that he makes the bed of their sickness be long and tedious that had need of large repentance and takes them away suddenly that are best prepared St. Austin fills up this very doctrine with the instance of Lots Wife Magis est hoc exemplum eruditio nobis quà m condemnatio ipsius this Pillar of salt stood there rather for our instruction than for our condemnation And God doth often chastise his own in the flesh as well with sudden as with lingring correction to save the soul from the wrath to come Filii Aaronis castigati sunt non damnati says Gregory Nadab and Abihu were chastised and suddenly slain for offering strange fire but not damned So the old Prophet that was rent by the Lion for his disobedience lived and died an holy man in all the reputation of Israel Luther pleads thus for Lots Wife that in the general course of her life she was faithful and holy left Vr of the Chaldaeans to come away with Abraham from that sink of Idolatry and with Lot her Husband Gen. xii 5. and she stuck close to her Husband in this Exile out of Sodom Therefore it is to be credited that her former faith did not leave her though her soul had but a short moment to call for mercy I wonder the Jesuits should extenuate her sin to be but venial and yet make her a castaway For Lorinus says he would grant she was saved but that all their Authors were against him Lenior placet sententia quamvis Patronum non reperiam Nay I think the best of her in charity not by lessening her sin but by extolling Gods mercy Some of the Rabbies make a toy of it that she became a Pillar of Salt because she would not set Salt before the Angels whom she had received the night before in hospitality The Hebrews will write sometimes as if they were wiser than men sometimes scribble as if they were foolisher than children The fault was a vast one she cast away that which the Lord would have saved in regard of her self desperately of the Angel contumeliously of her Husband and Daughters scandalously of God and his favours unthankfully yet her last gasp might be illuminated by the Spirit to commend her soul into the hands of her gracious Father To which Father and the Holy Spirit together with Jesus Christ be all glory and honour AMEN A SERMON Preached at WHITE-HALL NUMB. xxi 7. Pray unto the Lord that he take away the Serpents from us I Preach of a People that travelled fourty years in a Wilderness wherein there was neither pleasure nor plenty that came in the end to the Land of rest I preach to a People that are willing according to the boundaries of our Church to number fourty days of Abstinence to be spent without plenty or pleasure to keep them in breath for true repentance that they may find rest for their Souls The People of whom I preach when they were in one of their last journeys at Salmonah I am sure in the last year of their travail were stopt by firy Serpents before they got into the Land of Promise And you to whom I preach are brought into the Land of the Living by the conduct of Joshuah the Servant of the Lord. And though we are come out of a Wilderness and are within the borders of our Canaan God be praised yet we cannot be quiet for Serpents Which puts this word into my mouth to day to avert the malice of the ungodly Pray c. The way wherein I mean to handle the Text is in two parts a Punishment for sin and a Repentance for sin The sin of the Nation must be considered in both and before both And that was murmuring as you may read it in two verses before Indeed it hath that name and another 1 Cor. x. 9 1◠Let us not tempt Christ as some of them tempted and were destroyed of Serpents neither murmur as some of them murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer Yet the stubbornness and the very back-bone of their sin is murmuring That was their guilt and the same is ours and the worse in us because we offend under the grace of a better Covenant The punishment of the sin of the murmuring Israelites was annoyance by true and real Serpents strictly and in the letter they were no other On our part nothing toucheth us of that nature but we are plagued with Serpents that are far worse as will appear in their ranks and conditions hereafter to be unfolded The repentance for their sin is seen two ways First that they fly to the remedy of Prayer For the Soul which God did breath into Man cannot shake off this principle that all succour comes from above for which it must breath out it self to God Secondly that they fly to that Prayer which comes out of the mouth of Moses That Moses with whom their whole Host was just before offended he is so generally in their good opinion thank the Serpents for it that he must now be their rescue and Advocate and none but he make their peace with God Thou Moses pray unto the Lord that he take away the Serpents from us Now you see what you are to look for out of the Text and in what order and that before I come to the Punishment I must look out a sin for affliction riseth not out of the dust neither doth trouble come out of the ground Job vi 5. Gods hand sends them and Mans sin brings them And this was brought on by repining at Gods mercy and quarreling at Moses his Minister Their tongues run as if they had drunk deep of Viper wine so the Lord sent Serpents among them They that serve God for temporal things and are too eager to get them cannot choose but fall into the tentation of murmuring Such was this People not one Tribe better than another that grumbled upon the lightest thing that crossed them that it was not God that brought them out of Egypt but a trick of Moses to be a King over them But being now more impatient than ever they insist upon two things as ver 4. that the soul of the People was much discouraged because of the way And why so they were not turned aside from the Land of Promise the Journey had been long but the fourtieth year was even spent the worst was past and six moneths would give them possession They could not complain of weariness their feet never swelled Deut. viii 4. Only they were foundred in their patience and would not stay a little while till the time was come which God had
especially overtop the Mountains and his voice delighteth to shake the Cedars of Libanus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. says Plutarch Among Mariners not one that dies a quiet death among ten but among evil Kings not one among ten thousand As their life is infectious unto many so is their doom dreadful unto many and that is the second reason why he was smitten Thirdly The people were not altogether free from chastisement I am sure not free from terrour in Herods castigation Look now upon him that was your Idol look ye Sidonians upon the empty cloud which you did blow into the air nay above the heavens with the breath of your mouth How is it vanished and come to nothing Imagine Beloved with what astonishment the whole Assembly was dissolved if their Consciences were not as full of Worms as Herod's body Fourthly Says St. Chrysostom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To enlarge the Fathers meaning Clemency and Justice when they meet together attend how they may punish few and save many Vt poena ad paucos metus ad omnes perveniret Wherefore judge in your own reason if Herod had been spared and a great Assembly punished they all were sure to perish he perchance might be amended but if Herod suffer the Malediction one man feels the smart and the whole Assembly may repent and be saved Fifthly and lastly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says the same Father Let the Rabble go home in peace for this time they were not all white for harvest upon that day but behold the end Where is Caesarea now Or who almost knows the Sidonian They have learnt to know by dear experience that Thunder and Judgment is the Voice of God and not an Eloquent Oration The Sum and Doctrine of this Point is thus much First It is dangerous for a Magistrate it is certain Judgment for men whom God hath blessed with honourable and plentiful fortunes to defile themselves with scandalous vices You have Plenty in your Houses What need you to be unjust Your State is able to subsist by it self What need you to flatter You may have Families and Wives and Children Why should you be Adulterers Your Provision is not scanty Why do you eat and drink in excess as if they were things which you had not daily It is not for Princes to drink Wine that is not unto Drunkenness says the Prophesie of Lemuel which his Mother taught him A nullo periculo fortuna principum longiùs abest quà m ab humilitate The worst thing which happens to a magnificent life is that it is not obnoxious unto humility Secondly It is no less dangerous when a whole Kingdom and City or any collected multitude set their face against heaven Judgment may seem to have forgot them as these Sidonians departed safely in my Text but in time the Lord will root out such a Nation Well then when the flattering Assembly had deserved a vengeance Herod only carries it to his grave What shall I say As the Child that threw a stick at the dog which barked at him and hit his Mother-in-law who had long afflicted him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I meant the Dog but it is well as it is says the Child so that Princes may see they have no priviledge to be flattered whatsoever the People deserved Gods judgment fell not amiss upon Herod and he was smitten Tantus periit the second thing follows Tantus à tanto he was smitten by an Angel of the Lord. If these men says Moses concerning Core Dathan and Abiram If these men die the common death of all men if they be visited after the visitation of all men then the Lord hath not sent me Strange Wickednesses procure strange kinds of Death If the Earth will not avenge them the Angel of the Lord will come down and fight Do the Trees of Paradise deserve to have a Cherubin set before them with a flaming Sword And shall not all the Host of heaven stand about the Majesty of the Most High and see the honour of his name preserved But there is a controversie whether this Angel were not one of the evil Spirits now commanded to inflict a disease upon Herods bowels For say they it were as great a torture for the Devil to punish Herod for Pride as for Herod to suffer it because it calls their own sin to remembrance for which they are fettered in chains of darkness And Josephus gave the occasion to this opinion augmenting the story of Herods death with this circumstance that an Owl at this very moment perched upon the silken strings of his Canopy which the King took to be a Presage of his death and was no doubt a tenour substituted by Satan 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As Homer says a Bird of fatal Praediction and such a one is said to have affronted Innocent the Third as he was declaring his own Title in the Council of Lateran For my part I am not averse to believe Josephus in this part of the Story because in all other points he doth follow the Evangelist And the sight of some uncouth Creature is able to put an evil Conscience into a perplexity worse than death Every thing is dismal to a guilty mind like Archimedes his Engines dreadful to the Romans if a Timber-log or Cable-rope did but shew it self upon the Walls of Syracusa But though the relation of the Owl be true the Spirit of God would not mention it in holy Scripture lest it should encrease our ignorance who are superstitions to be afraid of the crossings and apparitions of beasts and such other casualties Let it be then that this evil Vision affrighted Herod yet it is more likely that the Angel was one of the blessed which smote him that he died For although the good Angels are sometimes called evil ones ab effectu as the Psalmist says of the Israelites that God sent evil Angels among them yet the unclean Spirits are never stiled by this honourable compellation to be called the Angels of the Lord. And give me leave to please my self a little in this conjecture God would not permit vengeance of death to be executed against a King by any power inferiour to an Angel of light It is the priviledge of their Unction their immediate subjection to God alone which exempts them from the hand of all other authority yea from the fury of infernal Spirits Wherefore the Jesuits own tender conscience which is as soft as Flint dare not say that a King is obnoxious to death till some unnatural Sentence of deposition go before Which resembles methinks the very first passage in Aristophanes You dare not strike me says Charion the Servant having a Crown upon my head 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says his Master I will first take your Crown from you so first the Jesuits lay down rules of Arts to depose Princes and then their Devil ships say that you may use them as you will Well though Herod deserved the worst
desired him to add two Collects naming first that for the second Sunday in Lent and then afterward that for the first Sunday after Trinity both most pertinent to that great occasion and then to give the Blessing which being done he thanked him heartily with a faltring speech whereby the Company plainly perceived that with the end of his Prayers he drew near the end of his mortal life and desired to be left alone and so all departed the Room save a couple of Servants who within half a quarter of an hour gave notice of his placid departure with as gentle a transmigration to happiness as I think was ever heard of Thus I have declared sincerely the Life the Sickness the Departure of this worthy Christian Prelate who lived as good men desire to live and as many men that are but shadows appear to live and then departed with as easie an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as any man could desire to die His Funerals onely remain which were performed by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Scattergood his Lordships Chaplain in the Cathedral Church where He was interred neer the Body of his Predecessor Bishop Langthon as old people said both great Benefactors to that Church under a fair Tomb erected by the Piety of the most accomplisht Sir Andrew Hacket his Eldest Son and Heir both of his Estate and Virtues He was attended thither by multitudes of the Loyal Gentry and sorrowful Clergy of his Diocess all desirous to pay the utmost dues and rights they were able to his Memory thinking no Flowers too sweet for his Herse and no Box of Ointment too costly for his Burial all admiring his past Diligence sage Government admirable Ministrations and bewailing the great and universal loss by his Death Quantum praesidium Ausonia quantum Tu perdis Iule O Diocess of Lichfield what a Father hast thou lost O University of Cambridge what a Friend O House of Aaron what an Ornament O Church of England what a Saint Sic ora ferebant But we will no more deplore his Death or repine that He is taken from us but rather rejoyce and give God thanks that we ever had Him and that He lived so long with us This World was not worthy of Him who was fitter Company for Angels and Stars of Heaven then Clods of dust and bloud below and therefore God took Him from this Dunghil to stand before his Throne Where we leave thee blessed Soul among the Angelical Choir joyful in the illumination of the holy Trinity and ravisht with thy contemplation of the Divine and unconceivable glory We will endeavour not only to read and admire but practise all thy holy Counsels which now sound more loud from thy Books and Writings then they formerly did from thy rare Discourses and Preachings We ascribe the glory of all to God and will compose our selves to imitate thy Graces and Virtues O Divine Hacket whose Name is renowned and Memory for ever blessed And will hereafter listen with patience for the voice of the Arch-Angel and Trump of God for the Resurrection of the Dead the Renovation of the World the Creation of the New Heaven and New Earth at the glorious appearing of Christ Jesus with all his holy Angels and Saints and then in the Number of godly Prelates and faithful Doctors of the Christian Church I shall see again my Bishop and Father and hope to be seen of Him in Glory AMEN Come Lord Jesu come quickly OPTIMO PATRI PIENTISSIMVS FILIVS ANDREAS HACKET MILES F. F. JOANNIS HACKET Episc Lichf Coventr cinerib sacrum PRimaevae pietatis Et summae eloquentiae Praesulem Ecclesiae Anglicanae fidei orthodoxae Assertorem strenuum Concionatorem etiam ad ultimum assiduum Et Superstitionis Babylonicae tam maturum hostem Vt penè in cunis straverit Loyolitas Raro exemplo Vt Poeta praeluderet Theologo Vitae denique integritate innocentiâ Morum suavitate candore Charitate ergà pauperes eximiâ Et liberalitate erga suos insignem typum Verbo omnia Joh. Williams Metropol Ebor. Patroni sui Ectypum Desine ulterius quaerere Ista omnia Tabula haec unico in Hacketo exhibet Adversus positum caetera marmor habet Obiit 28. Oct. 1670. sub anno aetatis suae 79. Sistamus ergo Morae pretium est scire Quis demum Langthono claudit latus Solus HACKETUS tanto dignus contubernio Cujus piae liberalitati debetur Quod Langthoni cineres non frigescunt Aedis Cathedralis Lichfieldiae Instanrator illic Restaurator hìc jacet Ecclesiae Anglicanae antistitum par ingens Eóque ingentius quòd sibimet pares Scire vis Lector Quà m multis ille bonis flebilis occidit Schola regia Westmonast Alumnum Collegium SS Trinitatis Cantabr Socium Ecclesia S. Andreae Holbourn Quadragenarium Rectorem Et Cheam in agro Surriensi Quadragenarium Rectorem Aedes D. Pauli Residentiarium Sedes haec Episcopalis dignissimum sibi Praesulem abreptum deflet Sed ludo te Viator Dum inter mortuos refero Eum VIRVM Quem restauratae Pauli reliquiae Ceddae ruinae Quem Hospitium Episcopale SS Trin. Coll. de novo extructum Et Cantabr Bibliotheca libris cumulatè aucta Longum dabunt superstitem At the head of the Statue upon the Monument is ingraved I will not suffer mine eyes to sleep till I have found out a place for the Temple of the Lord. Psal 132. At the Feet Quam speciosa vestigia Evangelizantium pacem The Motto of the Coat at the Head of the Tomb Zelus domus tuae exedit me On the opposite Coat at the Feet Inservi Deo laetare Upon the Grave-stone that covers the Body in the Isle contiguous to the Monument JOHANNES HACKET Episcopus Lichf Coventr heic situs est THE FIRST SERMON UPON THE INCARNATION LUKE ii 7. And she brought forth her first born Son and wrapped him in swadling cloths and laid him in a Manger because there was no room for them in the Inn c. THis is a part of that joyful news which God did impart at first unto the Angels which the Angels in the twelfth ver did reveal unto the Shepherds which the Shepherds in the seventeenth verse made known abroad and thereby at first perchance it came to St. Luke which St. Luke made known in this Gospel to the Church which the Church from time to time hath delivered unto us which I at this day deliver unto you and which you must tell unto your Children that one Generation may comfort another with it unto the ends of the World I am in love with my Text but how shall I open and dilate my joy upon it No that most venerable name Mary the blessed Mother of our Lord knew not how to do it For although when Gabriel brought tidings unto her that she should conceive then she could come out with a strange word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if her spirit friskt and danc'd within for gladness
went out of Babylon to repair Hierusalem arose in the night and went their way Nehem. 2.12 And thirdly the great Redeemer who should pluck us out of the mire and draw us out of the bondage of Sin his fame is spread abroad when the Shepherds kept watch over their Flocks by night Nay almost no work of extraordinary worth and efficacy toward and after the time of the Passion but it fell out when darkness was upon the face of the earth To let his Birth alone and to say no more than my Text doth Excubarunt noctu the poor men heard of it that lay abroad in the night His Agony in the Garden took hold on him by night when the world was in a dead sleep his own Disciples drowsie and could not watch with him one hour He suffered when the Sun was darkned and the Stars gave no light Finally He arose out of the Sepulchre before any body was stirring in the morning What is the meaning of this Even to shew that we were dumb and still passives in all the work of our Redemption we slept and thought not of help and succour when it was plentifully supplied for our salvation when no soul awoke to think of blessing in the dark night of Ignorance Christ was born We are supine in our sins like men stretcht upon their bed when he sweat drops of bloud We regarded not his Passion when he suffered we were careless when he arose for our justification But of the time let this suffice to be spoken That which made up the fourth and fifth parts of my Text is concerning the persons they were Shepherds and they were many Shepherds so many as made a Plural number And there were in the same Country Shepherds c. The heathen make much ado and relate it not without admiration by what mean and almost despised persons the deep knowledge of Philosophy was first found out and brought to light As Protagoras earning his living by bearing burdens of wood and Cleanthes no better than a Gibeonite fain to draw water for his liberty Chrysippus and Epictetus mere vassals to great men for their maintenance yet these had the honour to find out the riches of knowledge for the recompence of their Poverty but the day shall come that these Philosophers will wonder that they found out no more than they did and be astonished that silly Shepherds were first deputed to find out one thing more needful than all the World beside even Jesus Christ Tiberius propounded his mind to the Senate of Rome that Christ the great Prophet in Jury should be had in the same honour with the other Gods which they worshipt in the Capitol The motion did not please them says Eusebius and this was all the fault because he was a God not of their own but of Tiberius invention So lest great men and Rulers of the earth should disdain at a Saviour which was not of their own discovery but found out by servants that kept their flocks I will make it good by reason that the Angel pickt out very choice persons for the business the Shepherds of the Field It is truly and modestly observed by Tolet Causa cur pastores visitantur est Dei beneplacitum multae autem congruentiae Why shepherds were visited by the Angel rather than men of another trade or calling and in particular why these Shepherds rather than all besides of the same Vocation no cause can be assign'd but the meer will and favour of God but his pleasure having done the deed much may be said to approve it why it is fit and convenient To be a Shepherd is a life of great servitude and poverty as Job says they spend their time desolate and solitary in the Wilderness and for vile company they are set with the dogs of the flocks and these were fit to be the first partakers of the Gospel because it is powerful in Spirit but base and contemptible according to the Flesh A sapientibus non quaerit testimonium qui parvulis se revelat he baulks the Pharises and Princes of the people and seeks the testimony of Shepherds because he reveals himself unto those that are lowly in their own eyes and poor in Spirit none more unlikely than they to do a message for Almighty God When Samuel came to Ishai and askt for his Sons that he might pick out the man whom the Lord had chosen Ishai presented the most likely as he thought indeed all but one There is one more says he in the field that keepeth sheep O says Samuel let that David be sent for from following the Ews great with young Surely thinks the Prophet because he hath been despised and neglected he is the man whom God hath in store to govern Israel Weak and impotent means are the fittest for the Lords choice that men of action and authority may not attribute that unto themselves which is only the doing of the Lord. Praevalet imperitia in rusticitate Pastorum says S. Austin When such ignaroes as these were sent abroad to tell in the City what they had heard and seen the world could not say they were enticed by Eloquence the enemies of the Faith could not say that crafty Philosophy got ground upon the simple but as the Devil chose a Serpent a wise creature above all the Beasts of the field and all that are in the water to destroy the world by subtlety so Christ chose Shepherds out of the Field and Fishermen out of the Water as the chief means to repair the world by innocency and simplicity 1 Cor. 1.26 Brethren says St. Paul you see your calling for so Erasmus will read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the present tense because the thing was open to all mens knowledge and perspicuous but what did they see so plainly not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called but foolish things were chosen to confound the wise c. Two things are to be drawn from hence first that we distort not the Scripture as if it pronounced nothing but confusion to the rulers of the earth let not the honourable person hang down his head as if power and wisdom and noble blood and dignity were causes of rejection before God no beloved Isaiah foretold that Kings should be nursing Fathers and Queens should be nursing Mothers of the Church but it is often seen that the benignity of nature and the liberality of fortune are made impediments to a better life and therefore Nobles and Princes are more frequently threatned with judgment I adjoyn moreover that the Scriptures speak more flatly against illustrious Magistrates than the common sort for if God had left it to men whose tongues are prostituted to flattery they had scarce been told that their abominable sins would bring damnation 2. The comfort of the poor is never to be forgotten in this point the servile life of a poor Shepherd is as fortunate as great exaltation when it
minute or hour yet it was in a short space after for he tells them in his Message This day is born unto you in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. When God was to destroy a people he thought it fit to make it known unto Abraham shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do Gen. 18.17 much more when he was to save a people he would immediately reveal the thing in hand and loe the Angel of the Lord as who should say shall I hide from these religious careful Shepherds the thing which I have done for their salvation Let us compare in a word Christ manifested to the Shepherds to the Wisemen of the East to Simeon and Anna in the Temple to the Shepherds he was made known the same day that his Mother brought him forth to the Magi of the East as the most ancient do collect twelve days after upon the Feast of the Epiphany to Simeon and Anna forty days after he was born when Mary according to the Law came to the Temple to be Purified The Shepherds were Jews and he was made known incontinently to them prefiguring that the first-fruits of the Gospel should be preacht before them at Jerusalem the bread of life should first be broken to the Children before the dogs had the Crums which fell under the Table Those Easterlings that brought gifts to his Cradle of Gold Myrrhe and Frankincense they were Gentiles and the Apostles were sent to them in a little distance of time after the Feast of Pentecost when it was illustrious that all Tongues and Nations should praise the Lord in their own Language Yet again there shall be another Revelation of the Gospel to the Jews after forty days numerus certus pro incerto when the Gentiles have had their part Simeon and Anna shall enjoy them that is in the fulness of time and in an hour that we do not think of a remnant shall be collected God will gather together the out-casts of Israel and the dispersions of Sion Once it was ecce Angelus Gods Minister stood in the midst of them in this Text pointing the Messias with his finger who then was in the City of David now after much attendance after many an ecce many a long look the glory of Israel shall be revealed unto them So much for the time of this Apparition 3. Loe or behold an Angel soft a while and let us ask in the third circumstance quomodo how we should behold him a Spirit hath not flesh to be seen or bones to be felt in what fashion therefore did he alter himself surely it well deserves Ecce Angelus a note of Admiration for the manner was wonderful Beloved if the Eternal Son of God did not abhor the Virgins Womb those ministring Spirits whom he commands could not abhor the shapes of men they appeared every way in the same form and fashion wherein we walk upon earth Yet thus we distinguish them from our selves our bodies are begotten theirs were created our flesh propagated from the loins of Adam their substance made extraordinarily not according to nature but by the finger of God our soul quickens the flesh which it possesseth and makes it live their bodies which they assum'd had not vivification by the breath of life but only serv'd them for motion and representation our bodies have the instruments of outward senses to convey sensible things to the fancy and so to the understanding they had eyes and ears and other sensible organs non ut sentiant sed ut corpus perfecte representent says the great Schoolman not to exercise those senses but for an ornament and complement sake lest their bodies should seem monstrous and formidable to the beholders Finally their bodies after they had appear'd to discharge their embassage vanisht into elements never to return again into that composition but our bodies shall revive out of that dust into which they were dissolv'd and live for ever in the resurrection of the righteous Some have so commented upon the Apparitions of Angels in holy Scripture as if they had not truly taken humane shapes the better to communicate their business to men but God deluded mens eyes and bred this thought in their fancy as if they had seen that which was not visible I confess there are prophetical Visions in holy Text when the fancy of certain Prophets was perswaded it saw that which it did not see it was a Divine passion which made Ezechiel think he saw beasts with wings and wheels under their feet chap. 1. It was a mere Divine passion which made Daniel suppose he saw the powerful ram push down all other beasts with his horn on the banks of Vlai Dan. 8. These objects were conceived by none but by them single Prophets no other eye could be partaker of it Now on the contrary that 's no prophetical Apparition but a real object which is equally visible to all spectators therefore the Apparition of Angels was not imaginary but substantial for loe the Angel of the Lord was seen of all the Shepherds and the Angels which Lot entertained were conspicuous not to Lot only who was a just man but equally to all the vicious Sodomites And so much for the fashion wherein he did appear not as a spirit but in the shape of a man and therefore Ecce Angelus loe an Angel of the Lord. 4. The next doubtful question is Quo situ after what manner the Angel took his place when he came unto them the Grammarians are at odds what 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should mean whether he hover'd above their heads in the air or stood in the same level near unto them Beda prevented this quarrel and accepts of both interpretations Sunt juxta nos per amorem supra nos per authoritatem they stand near unto us by their love and they stand above us by their authority Surely if Christ had not been born to reconcile us to his Father we had not been worth the coming near we had been no company for those holy Seraphins but since he vouchsafed to take flesh and blood the nature of man came into respect and reverence the enemy shall not approach to hurt it but those auxiliary troops of heaven pitch their pavilions round about it supra juxta planting themselves as a fortress for our head and as a buckler for our arm And indeed those are the chief things that need good influence and assistance knowledge and action head and hand Some are secret inventors of mischief plotters and contrivers of disturbance their brain is a mint of oppression where is Angelus superveniens the Angel above Some know their Masters will but they do not do it nay quite contrary fear or favour wrings ill effects from them where is Angelus astans they want a good Angel at their elbow Where is Michael the great Prince Qui stat pro filiis populi tui which standeth for the children of thy people Dan. 12.1 But whether
no light Light is of the same time and antiquity with the Sun it self which brings it forth 3. Damascen collects truly that the Son of God is inseparable from his Father even as light cannot be taken away or parted from the Sun 4. Another observes how pure a generation that is with which the Father brings forth the Son because light though it be but a creature yet it is a pure and a spiritual quality and comes forth by no contaminated or polluted procreation 5. It extends further to resemble how the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son even as that comfortable warmth which cherisheth Plants and every living thing issues joyntly from the Sun it self and from the light thereof By this it appears how suitably a beam of admirable light did concur in the Angels message to set out the Majesty of the Son of God and I beseech you observe all you that would keep a good Christmas as you ought that the glory of God is the best celebration of his Sons Nativity and all your pastimes and mirth which I disallow not but rather commend in moderate use must so be manag'd without riot without surfeiting without excessive gaming without pride and vain pomp in harmlesness in sobriety as if the glory of the Lord were round about us Christ was born to save them that were lost but frequently you abuse his Nativity with so many vices such disordered outrages so that you make this happy time an occasion for your loss rather than for your salvation Praise him in the congregation of the people praise him in your inward heart praise him with the sanctity of your life praise him in your charity to them that need and are in want This is the glory of God shining round and the most Christian solemnizing of the Birth of Jesus Secondly This lightsome apparition about the Shepherds 't is Typus claritatis Evangelicae a type of the light and perspicuousness which is genuine and proper to the Gospel The Law of Moses was given to the people when the hill of Sinai was full of mists and dark pillars of smoke for there were many things delivered to that Nation of the Jews which were wrapt in darkness and in thick pillars of obscurity Types and Ceremonies were difficile to be understood but the faithfulness of the Gospel is as clear as the light and the righteousness of Gods promise as the noon-day The Law was lucerna pedibus meis a candle unto my feet and so says Solomon the Commandment is a lamp Prov. 6.23 Nay as if it were not a clear burning candle David says it is Lumen in laterna Thy word is a lanthorn unto my feet as if the old Law had been no other then a candle under a bushel as it is in the Parable but the Gospel is a light as great as the Sun in the firmament a candle upon a hill Posita super candelabrum Catholicae Ecclesiae says St. Ambrose and the Catholick Church over all the world is the candlestick to hold it This is not a splendor upon the face only as it befel Moses but it is splendor circumquaque says my Text it shines round about and no corner in all the Church which is Christs Family but it hath been enlightned A candle will suffice to give all men light that are in the room where it shines but it is such a light as doth not warm or cherish you So the Law was a candle whereby he that read might learn and know the will of God but it did not warm or comfort a man nay it left a man quivering and shaking extream chill and cold at the heart for it is written Cursed is he that doth not keep all these sayings and do them therefore the Gospel is a better light it gives light and withal heat and comfort zeal and joy to them that receive it as it is in the next verse Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy How proves he that why there is born unto you a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. It is Bonaventure if I mistake not that says upon my Text Claritas Dei circumfulsit non tantum exterius in corpore sed etiam interius in mente the light shin'd outwardly to the Shepherds and inwardly in their hearts that 's round about in full compass both in soul and body O you all presume that the light of the Gospel hath shin'd upon you as well as upon another you know Christ and his redemption and that 's enough for your share but do you find any comfort in it are you warm at the heart if you be cold in your profession not caring which way Religion stands or falls indifferent whether Christ be worship'd this way or that way then the light doth not shine round about you you have it without but not within Thirdly The dark night was brightned with a shining Cloud at our Saviours Nativity to signifie that he should be Lumen solatii in nocte tenebrarum a light of consolation to them that sate in the dark night of persecution and misery Mary Magdalen came to the Sepulchre early when it was yet dark she wept and afflicted her soul that she found not the body of Christ in the Sepulchre and loe it was very early and yet dark a season to increase sorrow but behold an Angel whose countenance was like lightning and his rayment white as snow did enlighten her heart and chear'd her spirits that Christ was risen from the dead Thus light did arise unto the faithful in the darkness of their heaviness Take another instance of sorrow which was hard at deaths door Peter was kept in chains in prison and one says he had no better room than the lowest dungeon Carcer erat teterrimus obscurissimus ne die quidquam lucis admitteret it was such a dark corner that there was not a chink in it to take in light in the day time yet an Angel came to him anon before the hour when he lookt for death which was long before the morning and a light shined in the prison Acts 12.7 And though no outward beam of light glance miraculously upon the Saints in their chains and captivity yet the comforter even the Holy Spirit will not fail to lighten their darkness within as David said in the midst of my sorrows thy mercies O Lord have refreshed my soul The Fathers of yore who were present at the execution of many Martyrs give us the report what unspeakable gladness was reveal'd unto them from above in their fiery trial the fiery flame which consum'd them was like the light and shining of an Angel to solace them Martyr est velut fracta Gedeonis lagena tunc emicat vincit it is the saying of Hugo Every one of Gideons Souldiers had a pitcher and lamp in it they broke their pitchers their lamps blaz'd and they had the conquest of their enemies so says he our body is an
life of Christ and so forth we go on with chearfulness to abandon fear The Fathers note it in the Cratch of the Manger where he was laid a place made unclean with the dung of beasts but ipsa stercora mundefecit As his presence did purifie the room albeit the filthiness of the dung so his Nativity hath cleansed as many as believed in him albeit the loathsomness of their iniquities I have but one thing to say more to this point noted as I remember by Gregory out of the Genealogy of his birth Mat. i. thrice fourteen Generations are reckoned up and but four women incidentarily put into the Catalogue Judah begat Pharez of Thamar Salmon begat Booz of Rahab and Booz begat Obed of Ruth and David begat Solomon of her that had been the Wife of Vriah No women cited in the Chapter but these four three of which had been unchast ones very Strumpets to chear up the penitent sinner that their sins and his and the sins of all that believe are done away by him by him that is above all names the Son of God who came into the world to purge us of our filthiness therefore the true mirth of Christmas is to say with David Psal xxiii 4. Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me to save me from destruction Thus far I have enlarged the Angels comfortable Preface to the Shepherds Fear not that they should not be dismayed either at the light of glory which shined about them or at their own unworthiness which was a darkness within them or at the malediction of the Law which pleaded condemnation against them for the Birth of Christ as I have shewed was a remedy to take all malignity from them Perchance if the Angel should come amongst us in these days of slumber and security he might spare that part of his Message For where 's the man that humbles himself as he ought as if there were any evil to come We are all confident and void enough from fear if that be good Therefore I come now to lay the second part of my Text to the former how we should not be afraid not with an immoderate fear not with a desperate damning fear which dogs a sullen unrepentant sinner up and down but there is a pious reverential fear which well becomes the Saints and now I proceed to speak of those particulars The Schoolmen very rightly consider fear two ways Quà donum quà passio gift of the good Spirit of God one way and another way as it is meerly a natural passion And first I will speak of it as it is a gift of the Holy Spirit Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor says Statius not so soundly that fear was the first thing in the world that made a God But I am sure that want of filial and awful fear is the first thing that will make an Atheist and perswade a man there is no God The Prophet Isaiah could say no worse of the Idols made of stocks and stones but that we should not be dismayed at their Godship they could neither do good nor hurt But if we will revereri we must vereri there can be no true worship of God without a sollicitous and most anxious care not to displease his Majesty He that is not conscientiously afraid to offend doth most of all offend When Zacharies mouth was opened and began to divine of this day Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited his people fear fell upon all that were round about him Luke i. 65. it fell upon them indeed even as the Holy Ghost fell upon the Apostles at Whitsontide Acts ii In like manner when the Widows Son of Naim was raised from the dead by the word which Christ spake Fear came upon all that were there and they glorified God Luke xvii 16. Surely they had not glorified God as they ought if that fear had not come upon them One instance more 1 Kings iii. 28. All Israel feared Solomon when they saw the judgment of God was in him And shall not all the World bow down with reverence and astonishment when they know that the power of all judgment is in God himself But as for this filial devout fear perhaps we love to hear of it for the Angels themselves cover their faces with their wings standing before the throne of the most high Isa vi as if the Majesty of God were awful and dreadful unto them And indeed a sollicitousness to do the will of God because he is good and gracious the study of the heart which is wary and circumspect not to decline from his Law if you will call this fillial fear it may become an Angel for David speaks of it as if it should endure in heaven Psal xix 9. The fear of the Lord is clean and endureth for ever This is it to whose perfection we must aspire to live justly and soberly though there were no Hell at all but purely out of the principle of love and zeal to the honour of our heavenly Father and what a becoming thing it is unto Religion to approach to divine Prayers especially to the Table of the Lord with an awful duty as if we were afraid to speak to God or to touch the crums of his heavenly banquet Is not this better than to thrust our selves into such coelestial actions with a sawcy familiarity without fear or wit What is more comfortable than to taste of that Cup which betokens the precious bloud that was shed for our sins And yet the Greek Fathers term it usually 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tremendum mysterium a mystery to be trembled at when we partake thereof Assuredly we may presuppose that when Mary took the clouts into her hand to wrap about her Infant when Joseph did assist as it were in the office of a Father when the Wisemen offered their gifts when the Shepherds came out of the fields into Bethlem and peept in where Christ was laid to see what was done every action of theirs was mixt with reverent fear and joy they stood amazed they prostrated themselves there was no more spirit left in them as it is said of the Queen of Sheba when she beheld the royalty of Solomon therefore the Angel forbids not but after this sort they should dread the Lord with a filial and reverential fear Nay I go further the Angel would not disapprove of that fear which trembles at the wrath to come and endeavours to live unblameable because God is an avenger of unrighteousness for to discredit this fear by calling it fervile and to dehort Christians from it against which stone some I know do stumble it shall not be my Doctrine I hold it not safe and warrantable If they take fervile fear in that notion in which the Sententiaries do take Attrition that is to be displeased at our sins only because judgment will follow but neither sorrowing that God is
dishonoured nor declining bad occasions nor intending renovation of life this hath not a grudging of true Religion in it it is no more than the trembling of an unregenerate mans conscience who hath not tasted of the heavenly gift But if you say that man hath a servile fear who dares not but do his Masters will lest he be beaten with many stripes be not ashamed of this fear Our Saviour goes it over and over and commends it again and again Luke xii 4. Fear him which hath power to cast into Hell yea I say unto you fear him The fear of the Lord says the Wiseman is the beginning of wisdom How is it the beginning Why Faith is the first cause of Religion and fear is the first effect as the foundation is the beginning or an house so after true conversion it begins to go on from vertue to vertue and this is the first ground work that it lays Stand in aw and sin not Psal iv It is such a beginning that I will say this it is impossible to come to a true consolation in Christ without it Serve the Lord with fear and rejoyce with trembling Psal ii 11. Timor Domini est fidei fundamentum firmamentum says St. Cyprian Faith which includes our hope in Christ had no firmness nor sure footing but that it knows in it self it fears the Lord Love fell asleep with her beloved in her arms Cant. iii. i And her beloved was gone in the mean time So if their be not a mixture of fear with our love it falleth asleep it waxeth secure and loseth her Beloved If the comfort of our joy be not allayed with some fear 't is madness and presumption Again if our fear be not intermixt with the comfort of some joy 't is sullenness and desperation As the Earth cannot be without Summer and Winter to make it fruitful the pleasure of the one and the austerity of the other make up the revolution of a good year so Faith is the Parent both of a cloudy fear and a smiling hope Faith begets fear in us in regard of our own weakness and hope in regard of the goodness of God hope ariseth out of the faith of the Gospel and fear out of the faith of the Law These cannot be parted Indeed servile fear is an unpleasing word because it grates our memory with this remembrance that our nature is in bondage and that we are Thralls and Captives to death and punishment and therefore the words of Aquinas are very weighty Timor servilis bonus est sed servilitas ejus est mala That bondage which makes us liable to judgment is naught but the fear which issues from a conscientiousness of that bondage flying to God that it may fly from judgment is holy and good Briefly let them thus be compared together a filial fear which loves God for his own goodness is like a bright day which hath not a cloud to disfigure it A servile fear that dreads God because it dreads the wrath to come is like a day that is overcast with clouds but it is clearer than the fairest moon-shine night It is good to have the spirit of Adoption but it is better to have the spirit of bondage than the spirit of slumber it is good to be in Canaan but it is better to be in the Wilderness than in Egypt it is good to be a Child but it is better to be a servant than a stranger to the Lord. David most sweetly puts them together Psal xxxiii Behold the eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him and that put their trust in his mercy So I conclude this Point that the Angels Nolite timere fear not doth neither cry down filial fear which is the modest bashfulness nor yet servile fear which is the sharp spur of true Religion Hitherto we have spoken of fear quà donum as it is a gift of the holy Spirit Now that I may make my discourse complete I must speak of it quà passio as it is a sensitive passion and so when it is moderate it is tolerable when it exceeds and will not hearken to the governance of reason it is condemnable I will speak but a few words of the first Nature is excusable when it shrinks from those things that would offend it and desires to save it from harm by fair and direct means for in such a case our conscience pleads that there is a reasonable cause and occasion These are Aristotles words upon the Point that a man were stupid or mad 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That it is neither dismay'd at violent tempests on the Sea nor at earthquakes on firm Land like the fool-hardy and confident Celts in Scythia But the day doth admonish me to take my instances from our blessed Saviour and so I can no example so fit for Allegation For why did Christ and his Mother fly into Egypt soon after he was born when Herod was in a fuming chase Why did the Angel admonish Joseph to do so in a dream The Lord could have saved him as he did Elisha the Prophet in the midst of his enemies whose eyes he blinded that they could not see him And again says the Text when he returned out of Egypt he went aside to dwell in the Coasts of Galilee for fear of Archilaus that reigned in Judea in his Father Herod's stead Great caution as might be and yet all this needed not but because our Saviour would allow a circumspect fear in time of persecution to shift for life Moreover you must not think that Christ did fear as we do will nill we upon the compulsion of necessity for he had all passions and humane infirmities under subjection so that he could be cast into no consternation but when his own will did consent and accord unto it yet he chose a fit time to cast himself into a great agony of fear when he sweat drops of bloud in the Garden lest we should think it a sin at all times to be afraid upon just occasion This then is another fear which belongs to our allowance but there is a fear which hath a Nolite set before it an immoderate horror of heart a symptome of desperation or at least of infidelity and diffidence this is that quivering with which God strikes his enemies as a tree is shaken by the wind to unfasten it from the root That mark which he set upon Cain was a continual trembling at the sight of man and beast Pharaoh was never at rest in his mind lest the Children of Israel should grow too fast and multiply so much that they would be too potent for the Tyrant that opprest them He sent darkness to astonish the Egyptians and they were troubled with strange Apparitions Wisd xvii 3. He sent such a Panick fear among the Syrians that they verily believed they heard the noise of an Host and Chariot wheels when there was no such thing so they fled and left to besiege
desiderium expletur All misery shall be excluded from our happy estate and all our desires fulfill'd And both these two are most remarkable in this Angelical Congratulation First the depulsion or sending of all manner of evil and misery from our blessed estate in these words The Angel said unto them fear not Secondly The inclusion of all those joys and solaces that can be askt that 's laid open in Evangelizo Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people Privatively the messenger cashier'd all discomfort nay positively he brought great comfort which twain put together make up the complement of our final beatitude and are both deduced from the blessing of the Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Christ The first general branch wherein the Angel promis'd a deliverance or award from all manner of evil that might make the Shepherds sorrowful I have done with that and there I leave it I come now to the second general branch which abounds much above the former where not only evil is dispell'd but a chearful benediction succeeds in the place Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people Wherein that no title may be lost of such heavenly comfort first note the Angels Trumpet with which he proclaims his errand Ecce behold Secondly the errand consisting in no less than seven branches of benediction 1. Ecce ego says the Angel Behold I bring unto you the tearms were much amended between Heaven and us that the Angel came unto us upon a peaceable message 2. Ecce Evangelizo he was no Lawgiver that was terrible but an Evangelist 3. The sweet air of the Gospel hath some harsh tidings to take up the cross and endure unto blood and death but these were tidings of joy 4. Joys are of several sizes this is a great one nay none so great 5. Joys and great ones are quickly done this is gaudium quod erit joy that shall be and continue 6. A man may be a conduit-pipe to transmit joy to others and have no benefit himself this is gaudium vobis joy to you to every ear that hears it 7. A good nature would not engross a blessing but desires to have it diffused and so was this Gaudium omni populo joy to all people And of these severally as I have put them in a rank Before the Law was delivered at Mount Sinai the voice of a Trumpet was heard in the Camp of Israel which sounded long and waxed lowder and lowder Exod. xix 19. A Trumpet was a sign of hostility and of warlike preparation The Law indeed came like an enemy to condemn us for we were not able to stand before it but Christ who was the end of the Law made way to his own manifestation by the articulate voice of an Angel as if it had been the voice of a man to intimate that the Prince of Peace was approacht near unto us ecce behold Out of which word standing in this place I note three things admiration demonstration and attention 1. Ecce see and admire this is the greatest wonder that ever was Name any thing unto me that ever was made and I am confident to say this is stranger to mans apprehension than any thing that ever was made the Incarnation of the Son of God If you love to cast your eyes upon that which is miraculous look this way and see the greatest miracle that ever was brought to light In the beginning was the word and no word can utter how it was made flesh in time The eternal Creator was made man of the substance of a woman and yet his hands did make and fashion the substance of his Mother The word by which the world was made became an Infant in the cradle and could not speak He that bears up the pillars of the earth was born in the arms of Joseph and carried into Egypt The Infinite Majesty that hath made the bounds of heaven and earth being himself without limits or circumscription was bound with swadling clouts and laid in a manger It is not safe to proceed into many of these inquisitions lest astonishment overwhelm us St. Paul was wary and came off thus from the wonderment thereof Without controversie great is the mystery of godliness God was manifest in the flesh as who should say the Temple of Solomon had things of much secresie within the Veil the Ark the Cherubims the Propitiatory the most Holy of Holies the Church of the New Testament hath things as wonderful and mysterious as those arcana fidei recluse and admirable secrets of Faith the manifestation of Christ in the form of man Ipsi quoque Angelorum primati incognita says Dionysius the Primate of Angels in the triumphant Church is not able to sound the depth of it So then you see this word is a preface to an extraordinary miracle ecce behold Secondly To cry out unto the Shepherds behold is an Adverb of Demonstration things hard by make us look towards them more than those that are further off we sit still and muse upon that which we hope will come to pass but when we hear the bridegroom coming then we busle and look out The Prophet would not say barely Thy King cometh O Sion but Ecce Rex tuus behold thy King cometh O what an alteration this was when the invisible God came to an ocular demonstration and though he be now ascended up to Heaven yet he hath left his Spirit in our hearts that we may say with the Apostle Dominus prope est the Lord is at hand And though the senses of our body do not fix themselves upon him yet Faith will perceive him strongly and certainly that he is truly present Faith will assure it self how he stands at the door and knocks and how it hears his voice Furthermore let this demonstrative direction put you in mind to live so justly and inoffensively as if you did always behold God in the flesh Elias made the right use of this doctrine when he took an oath Vivit Dominus in cujus conspectuâ—sto as the Lord liveth in whose presence I stand Well says Rubanus upon it the just Prophet demeans himself as one that stands in Gods presence in this life and he shall surely keep his rank in the same place in the life to come Ecce natus says the Angel Behold the tidings of a Saviour as if nothing else had been worth our consideration and how many be there that demean themselves as if they car'd not whether they heed it or no. But thirdly Ecce behold it doth not beg but command attention when the Lord sends a messenger is it not fit to note him diligently and to ponder his sayings in your mind Philo says that those two words of Moses Deut. xxvii 9. Take heed and hearken O Israel are the sum of all the precepts in the Law Hearken O daughter and consider incline thine ear says
is the brightness of his Fathers glory and the express image of his person Upon those words of the Apostle Col. iv 18. the salutation of me Paul with my own hand says S. Chrysostom it was great comfort to the brethren to see salutations and greetings and wishes under Pauls own hand Some comfort it might be but far short of this to see not only the word of salutation but the word of salvation dwell among us the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth As Pliny said to Trajan of his virtuous Wife Nihil sibi ex fortuna tua nisi gaudium vendicat she desired no further interest in his good fortune but to rejoyce and to be glad at his felicity so the righteous man leaves the wide world for the children of the world to share it among them Nihil sibi nisi gaudium vendicat all that he challengeth for his own is the Blessed Virgins solace and My spirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour O my beloved it cannot be uttered what tranquility and joy is in that heart which seriously apprehends those evident signs that God is reconciled unto us Those heavens which Pythagoras spoke of that they were never without concent and harmony that Fable being moralized is agreeable to nothing but to that soul which is comforted in the mercies of Christ Semper illic serenum est it is like the state of the world above the Moon it is ever fair and clear in that place without any storm or tempest it is like the tribe of Zabylon situated in a safe harbour close unto the tumultuous Seas Aliorum videt naufragia sed ipse salvus est it looks forth upon the Seas and sees how some are tost in perilous waters how some are shipwrackt and cast away but it self is safe under the shadow of Christ and in no such terror or calamity The ordinary comforts of this world which concur to the being and to the well-being of nature may be wanting perchance to a true servant of God these may a little abate the courage perhaps it makes us appear says St. Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as sorrowful 't is but as if it were so Tanquam lugentes as sorrowful but always rejoycing The tongues of men and Angels are not able to devise a message of joy more sweet and allective than this that our severe Judge hath sent his Son to be our Mediator and that Mediator to be our Judge and that Judge to be our Brother for so he calls us by that term of intimate affection This is such a demulcing comfort to a sin-wounded conscience that it leaves our heart in St. Austins phrase to be Thalamus Dei palatium Christi habitaculum Spiritus sancti the marriage-chamber of God the courtly Palace of Christ and the habitation of the Holy Ghost This is the proper joy of Christs Birth with which the Angel did accost the Shepherds the delight and serenity of a good Conscience It is agreeing to the solemnity of this time to speak also of the other branch of joy which is sufferable and may be warranted which is called Risus ad naturae recreationem pastimes and delightful exercises to refresh the sadness of the heart And if there be any man whose strictness will allow of no sports or pleasurable jocundities at this season of our Saviours Nativity let me tell him that such austerity is groundless and hath no foundation in the Word of God and to censure all innocent relaxation of mirth because with some men and in some places it is done with excessive vanity and riot he wants a grain of Charity Shall we build no houses to put our head in because fools built a Babel shall we plant no Vineyards because Noah was overseen shall we forswear courtesie because Absalom's kindness was full of flattery what is another mans sin to my harmless mirth Joy is in the Text and if there be harmless joy in the time no judicious man will disallow it But why do sickly men imagine that all meats taste rank and unsavory it is the ill affection of their own palat Why do Boat-men think that the shore goes from them because they go from the shore So the heart of churlish men is undelightsome and that makes them to think all delight is vicious There is a time to weep and a time to laugh says the Wise man Eccles iii. 4. And what time more convenient for rejoycing than this when Solomon dedicated his Temple to the Lord first he magnified God in a solemn prayer then all Israel kept a Feast and a joyful holy day This Temple was but a figure of Christ the everlasting Priest these are the days wherein we celebrate the dedication of this Temple and after we have magnified Gods name in solemn Prayer for his mighty work we may chear and refresh our selves with joy in a lawful measure of innocency and sobriety Why should we lowre and look sad like those hypocrites the Pharisees who had nothing in them but a form of outward austerity True joy cannot contein it self in a contemplative meditation it will exult it will break forth like John Baptist in his Mothers womb who rejoyced in the Spirit that Mary had conceived the Messias in her Womb. Nor was that all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Babe sprang and leapt for gladness Whatsoever mirth is honest and lawful whether spiritual or civil joy the Angel gives liberty to the Shepherds to use it Behold I bring you tidings of great joy The spiritual and the innocent civil joy are both native and proper to these festival days of the Birth of Christ but by our abuse that which is most frequent and common is the third member of the distinction which is sinful Risus ex immoderata turpi laetitia a mirth bestain'd with riot and all kind of offensiveness It is time to cry down the noise of all immoderate and wicked pleasures with an heavenly song How different are our tunes of beastliness from that which the children of Jerusalem did sing upon the Advent of Christ Hosanna to the Son of David Hosanna in the highest How different were their modest garments from that pomp and pride which divers of us do bear upon our backs they spread their garments in the way to entertain the King of Glory Christ would not have honour'd yours with his feet he would not have trod upon your Peacock attire which is so vain and alterable O beloved what an incongruity is this Christ came down from Heaven to dwell among us and you rake Hell for merriment to make him welcome If a Jubilee come once a year wherein you have indulgence for a sweet relaxation in Sports and Festivals must you needs lose your wits exeat Cato as if no sober man all that while were fit for our company If you will spend a few days of solace and recreation so wickedly so untowardly do you not deserve that God should turn your Feasts
better tidings to you Israelites than to any other Nation if you will accept them The Son of God came of their Fathers according to the flesh in their Country he came to preach daily and no where in the world beside in their eyes he wrought his Miracles and upon their bodies he practis'd his wonderful power to cure their Diseases to make their Blind to see and their Lame to walk He professed himself to be more devoted to their welfare than to all the earth beside before the Canaanitish woman I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel They were his he did acknowledge it he was theirs but they denied it he came to his own but his own received him not To abreviate my discourse in this point Evangelizo vobis they are glad tidings to you because it is given to you to hear the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven for blessed is the ear that heareth the things which you hear Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God It is flat cheating in the Devil to put dubitation into mans fancy on this wise I am partaker of the outward word but I know not whether God have gone any further with me to give me his inward Spirit to quicken that seed unto immortal life Beloved as Christ did institute both Bread and Wine to be the outward Elements of the Sacrament of his Body and Blood Bread is the substance of food Wine causeth the concoction and makes it comfortable food So the word preacht is the food of life and God never lets it go alone without some drops of the Wine of his Grace to make it nourishing and beneficial Jude xiii 23. Manoah the Father of Sampson cries out to his Wife we shall surely die because we have seen God Nay says she If the Lord were pleased to kill us he would not receive a burnt-offering at our hand Neither would he have shewed us all these things nor would at this time have told us such things as these So let me answer all dubitative Christians unless the Lord did desire thy salvation he would not put his Word into thy ear nor his Sacrament into thy mouth The Gospel is an happy annuntiation to every one that hears it unless he quench the Grace which is offered unto him Evangelium omni populo the tidings are auspicious to all people To all people Trahit sua quemque voluptas There are so innumerous many fond pleasures desires vanities affections in several appetites can any thing satisfie them all yes it is relishable to every palat that will taste it though the true delight apprehended is included among the small number of the Elect yet it is given to all and no man shall say he is lost for want of a Redeemer and a sacrifice for his sins Cum omnibus scriptus significavit omnes says Origen He was taxed in his Mothers Womb by Augustus Caesar when all the world was taxed to intimate that he did communicate himself to all the world that after that conscription of their names in Caesars enrollment whosoever believed in him his name might be written among the Saints in the book of Life In the first lesson read upon Christmas-day thus you have it Isa ix 3. They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest and as men rejoyce when they divide the spoil A good Harvest is not welcome to one Village but it is gladsome to the whole Country round about and when spoils are divided after the vanquishing of an Enemy every Souldier is enricht and hath his share Such a communicative blessing is our Saviours Incarnation every man fills his bosom with the sheaves of the harvest every Christian Souldier that fights a good warfare plucks somewhat from the spoils of the Enemy The dew of thy birth is as the womb of the morning A learned Father of our own Church transposeth the Versicle on this wise Thy birth from the Womb is as the morning dew which waters the whole earth As the walls of Jericho fell down before the sound of the rams horns so the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile methinks it fell down flat to the ground at this blast of the Angels trumpet in my Text that these were glad tidings not toti populo but omni populo not to the whole people of the Jews but to all the people of the world The wall of discord is taken away in the universe which parted those two great houses and shall not the sweet welcome of the Birth of Christ take away a wall of partition between thee and thy neighbour which is in thy heart Can you out of enmity and hatred wish sorrow unto any when God wisheth joy great joy unto all dost thou envy at the prosperity of thy brother when the Lord would have the same glad tidings common to you both Lay down old grudgings and quarrels with the old year and begin the new year with a new reconciliation in love unfeigned and true meaning Charity and the Lord renew a right spirit in us all Amen THE SIXTH SERMON UPON THE INCARNATION LUKE ii 11. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. THE Angel hath made a brief Sermon upon a great occasion The occasion is the Incarnation of our Lord and who can be so copious upon that subject as the Mystery requires yet the Sermon which the Angel preacheth is neither a whole Chapter nor a whole Gospel but three verses of a Gospel In the multitude of words a great deal is lost unto the hearer the good application of a little whatsoever we think will yield the best fruits of increase But for such divine joy as is here proclaimed it was fit to roul it up in a small pill and to minister it to the audience in a little quantity How is it possible for frail flesh to subsist and not to be dissolv'd for gladness if the Angel had continued his tidings with such matter as he begun a Saviour is born unto you a Saviour is born no petty redeemer but the Lord strong and mighty a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. O it was provident care after the Shepherds had heard a little to tell them no more at once but rather to send them away into the City that they might see the rest After Israel had shaken off the Chaldean slavery and the Lord had turned the captivity of Sion David knew not how to express their astonisht joy but thus they were like unto them that dream as Livie says of the Grecians when the Romans that conquer'd them sent them unexpected liberty Mirabundi velut somni speciem arbitrabantur they received the tidings as if it had been a pleasing dream and themselves scarce awake So our sins have so much discomforted our hearts that our spirits are confus'd and faint if we receive all the comfort that God sends at once like a strong
requisite additions and put it out of question The Wisemen adored him with costly Gifts after the manner of an earthly Prince The Angels glorifie him with Hymns and Praises after the Majesty of God In every respect this is the greatest testimony of Christ in all the Scripture excepting where God used his own voice immediately from Heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased These things are but said now I will prove it in the prosecuting of the parts which are these The Messengers the preparation to the Message and the Message it self or the Choristers the preparation to their Musick and then the Anthem The Choristers are 1. Heavenly ones 2. A multitude 3. An Host or an Army of them Their preparation is twofold With much suddenness suddenly there was with the Angel and with much chearfulness for they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 singing praise unto God The Anthem it self hath three rests in it Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and good will towards men And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly Host these are the Choristers that sung the Carol and the first thing we note in them is that they were heavenly ones Many things in the former Verses of this Chapter were exceeding mean if I may not say vile and sordid touching our Saviours Nativity but this portion of the story is of another nature and very honourable the more his Divinity had hid it self in Clouts in Flesh in a Manger the more it is illustrated by a glorious testimony The Earth afforded him one of the worst places it had the Heavens afforded him their very best attendance the Angels These heavenly Spirits you see gaze not upon the Work of our Redemption nor upon the Oeconomy of the Church as idle Spectators but they were imployed from the beginning in all the works of the Lord Job xxxviii 7. Who laid the corner stone of the earth when the morning Stars sang together and all the Sons of God shouted for joy Some Expositors infer from hence that the Angels applauded and praised the Lord for the Creation of the world for the Chaldee Paraphrase instead of the Sons of God reads it Acies Angelorum the Army of Angels And the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when the corner stone of the earth was laid all my Angels praised me with a loud voice St. Chrysostome says upon it that the Angels admired to see the beauty of the world beneath they were astonished to behold the degrees of the Elements the multitude of all sorts of Creatures their Order Number and measure And by so much were they transported with the beauty of Gods Excellency more than we and of all his Works by how much they did better perceive that they were wrought with infinite and inexplicable wisdom This apprehension of the Fathers upon those words of Job I think is not to be refused Anastasius Sinaita is cited to go a great deal further that on the fourth day of the Creation the Angels saw the Sun rise in the morning from under the interposition of the Earth and presently they bethought them how Christ Sol justitiae should be born of a pure Virgin and dwell upon the earth and immediately they sung this very Song Gloria in excelsis as a prevention or prediction what should be sang upon this day almost four thousand years before it came to pass But this conjecture supposeth one of these two things scarce to be admitted either that these heavenly ones foresaw the fall of Adam before it came to pass as well as God and that the Son of God should be given in the flesh for a Propitiation to be the remedy or else another scholastic quidlibet must be received that Christ was so the head of the Angels that he should have been Incarnate and the Angels saved by faith in that Incarnation though Adam had never faln which is but harsh in the delivery This is the true Doctrine and the right descant upon the Point these Spirits that dwell in Heaven rejoyced for the Creation of the Earth when the Foundations of it were laid as Job says how much more would they bear a part and triumph for our sakes at the Restauration and the Redemption of the Earth Yet now we are at the truth mistake not the reason of their joy as some have done let me but touch upon a petty error and so proceed to the true causes It is supposed by many that the Angels are ready to attend the Church with all their help and diligence and exceeding glad in our prosperity because they receive an augmentation of their blessedness by their pious Ministry towards the Sons of men Now this savours of a little servility me thinks as if those holy ones did not communicate themselves to be safeguards and watchmen over us without expectation of reward but Biel presseth it further Tum sequitur si homo non fuisset creandus Angelus non habuisset beatitudinem It would follow that Angels had never come to the height of their beatitude unless men had been created nay it will follow further they should come short of their full beatitude unless man had sinned and disobeyed Gods Commandment Let me lay down more sufficient reasons therefore for your further satisfaction First The Angels had always done their best to pitch their Pavilions round about us and to keep us from the tyranny of the Devil but they perceived that their protection was not a saving Medicine it would not cure it would not keep us in life but it bred them great content and joy when Christ did manifest himself in flesh upon the earth to heal our sores and bruises and to overcome that strong man for us and spoil him generally to supply in himself whatsoever was defective in their abilities This is Origens reason and his Simile follows as if many unexpert but well affected Physicians should spend their pains to no profit about a sick person whom they would fain recover and hearing that one of renowned skill 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was come into the City who would undoubtedly restore the languishing party all the rest that had attempted it did much congratulate his coming So our heavenly Friends the Angels could not speed us as they desired but as soon as they saw the Prince of Physicians was come into the world first one Angel appeared the Prolocutor of the whole Host and he broke with the Shepherds about good tidings of great joy to all People This day is born c. All this while the rest of his consort hovered in the air and at last became visible and discovered themselves in a Volley Apparuerunt cum illo Angeli says the Syrian Paraphrast exulting and praising God that the Lamb was yeaned that should take away the sins of the World Secondly The fruit of this birth came to us and not to them Nusquam Angelos Christ took not on him the
seed of Angels but the seed of Abraham yet they are as forward in praise and thanksgiving as if the benefit had been their own Let the envy of wicked natures envy at this that God hath such good servants as are possessed with exceeding joy not for their own but for their fellow servants happiness O most Angelical perfection to account of the blessings that fall upon our brethren as if they descended upon our selves This heavenly Host did sing with mirth upon our Holy day but it is the Devils manner to houl and cry at the good of others if Christ came to save a man they rore that he came to torment them before the time Since the deliverance of poor distressed men was the Devils pain let the salvation of all those upon whom the faith of the Gospel doth shine be our rejoycing The foundation of Lycurgus his Commonwealth among the Spartans was Ne scirent privatim vivere that they should not accustom themselves to think of the private but of the publick good and it is the foundation of charity among Christians Nescirent privatim gratias agere that they should not restrain their thankfulness to their own peculiar but to extend it for favours which do befall every member in the Church of Christ Thirdly The Choire of heaven sang praise unto God on this day to set us in whom it concern'd to us a Child is born and to us a Son is given Shall the standers by pour out their Jubilee and will we hold our peace Will we make it no holy day when it only concerns ours and not the Angels redemption Was it not opprobrious to the Scribes and High Priests and Pharisees that a troop of Wisemen should beat out a journey of twelve days perhaps and peradventure more and bring all the precious gifts with them that those Eastern Countries afforded and all this to honour him that was born King of the Jews and yet his own people neither visit upon those reports nor search for him suffer him to fly away into Egypt and never miss him he came unto his own and his own received him not And when Satan stands forth to accuse the Sons of men will he not as much cast it in our teeth the Angels began a pleasant Song for your sakes and you ungrateful whose nature he took upon him did not follow they piped unto you but you did not dance He came unto his own and his own rejoyced not Fourthly Gregory puts in his conjecture among the rest Dum nos conspiciunt recipi suum gaudent numerum impleri Lucifer and his adherents whose rebellion had cast them out of Heaven did break the numbers of the glorious Angels and make them less therefore they break out into singing because the rooms of those collapsed Angels shall be filled in Heaven with those penitent sinners on earth that walk by Faith and newness of life as Peter and the rest no doubt were much comforted after Judas had fall'n away from his place by transgression that Matthias was numbred with the eleven Apostles The Church of Christ hath lost ground in great shares of Europe and Asia but what happy tidings are those and I trust they shall be better and better when we hear that souls are gained as fast in the furthest India and remotest America The Lacedemonians had a choice band of Souldiers which they call'd their immortal Phalanx because the number was always kept full at the instant almost when one of the band died or was slain another was elected into the order So the true flock of Christ is certain and invariable the number cannot be wrong'd many Apostates slide away yet elsewhere many millions are added to the Church This augmentation of them that are lost makes the Angels glad and sing Glory be to God on high Fifthly and lastly since the eternal Son of God did inhabit upon the earth the earth was become an amiable theatre for heavenly creatures to play their parts upon And as the Poet flatter'd Augustus Caesar that the spirits of the Decii and of the Scipio's wisht they had been reserv'd to have lived in his happy Reign so we may say and yet in no flattering phrase that the Angels either wisht themselves incarnate or else to minister to Christ continually upon earth in their incorporeal condition As the Saints arose out of their graves in their bodies and descended out of heaven in their souls and appeared unto many in the holy City of our Saviours Resurrection so the Cherubims came down from the firmament above and made their apparition in a visible form to celebrate the mystery of his Incarnation Not one of the Fathers but have wrote resolutely without doubting that Angels are part of our assembly in these Congregations ever since and most intelligently do so interpret St. Paul 1 Cor. 11.10 The woman ought to have power of her head because of the Angels that is to do nothing immodestly or unchastly because the Angels would be witnesses of their impudency And thus far on that point how the celestial chantors that modulate their tunes continually before the Throne of God these were the organs and well tuned Cymbals that welcomed Christ with a Song of Joy unto the earth But beside their heavenly nature they were a multitude a numberless concourse of them as some think even the whole company of Angels ten thousands of thousands that minister before the Throne of God as the Prophet Daniel speaks the windows of heaven were opened and Seraphins came down as thick as rain It is hard to say whether it would not have been pain and grief for any of those blessed Spirits to have staid behind though it were in Heaven whether they could have quieted their own desires to be absent from this occasion I am sure St. Paul leaves out none of them but cites them altogether Heb. i. 6. When he brings his first-born into the world he saith and let all the Angels of God worship him Another says and that 's Salmeron the fields of Bethlehem could not contain all the Angels supposing as it is truth that they appeared visibly Sed ex omni hierarchia aliqui advenerant sicut in militia sunt multi ordines but some appeared out of every Hierarchy instead of all the rest as sometimes certain choice Souldiers are pickt out of every Squadron in an Army It was a matter of great consequence never any tidings of such weight were brought into the world before and reason good then that divers should come to testifie it and it was matter of great praise as ever shall be sung and reason good then that many should come to celebrate it If you will argue what would barely have sufficed I confess though fewer had preacht Christ in the audience of the Shepherds and though a multitude of this multitude had been spared yet the tidings would effectually have been believed and the whole world have been partakers of them But it is no contradiction
Army which Pharaoh knew not how to withstand or which way to drive them back unless Moses prayed for him But more eminently than all other creatures the constellations of Stars are very frequently in holy Scriptures called the host of heaven as Deut. xvii 3. If there be any found among you which hath worshipped the Sun or Moon or any of the host of heaven bring forth that man or woman and thou shalt stone them with stones that they dye 2 Kings xvii 16. The reason is given why Salmanasar the King of Assyria took away Hoshea the King of Israel and the ten Tribes into captivity because they made them two Calves even molten Images and worshipped all the host of heaven and served Baal There is admirable order indeed in the Stars of the Firmament as in a well-marshall'd Camp the Planets one above another the Sun running his course in the midst as in the main battel nay there is virtue and influence in them to overthrow Gods enemies but the knowledge after what manner they fight against sinners is too excellent for us to attain unto it but Deborah the Prophetess said it that the Stars in their courses fought against Sisera Judg. v. 20. Josephus says upon that story that hail and thunder and winds were raised up by some planetary aspect which did great annoyance against Sisera and the Midianites Like as Livy says that the brightness of the Sun and clouds of dust blown about by the winds fell both together into the eyes of the Romans when they lost their whole Army at Cannae and the heavens above caused those incommodities almost to their utter destruction So Claudian sings of Theodosius the Emperor's Victory that the heavens above did fight of his side against his enemies O nimium dilecte Deo cui militat aether therefore the Stars whether you regard their order or their efficacy are rightly called an heavenly host And if these visible lights which the Lord hath set in the firmament to distinguish day and night are a celestial battel how much more the Angels whom God hath made invisible by nature and as fierce as fire in activity Who maketh his Angels spirits and his Ministers a flame of fire So Elisha presented a muster of them to his servant not simply as an host but as a fiery host the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha 2 Kings vi 17. Scarce any Prophet but touches upon it though darkly and mystically that the Angels are a militia ready to war and fight David Psalm xxxiv 7. The Angel of the Lord castrametatur encampeth round about them that fear him Is there any number of his armies meaning there is a multitude of heavenly Spirits assisting before the throne of God continually Job xxv 2. Who hath created these things that bringeth out their host by number Isa xl 26. I saw in my vision and behold the four winds of heaven strove upon the great Sea Dan. vii 2. And these says St. Hierom were the four Angelical powers to whom the four principal Monarchies of the world were committed But before any other Prophet of God mention'd that warlikeness which is in Angels Jacob did Gen. xxxii 2. when he was returning with his wife and children into Canaan the Angels of God met him and when Jacob saw them he said This is Gods host and he called the name of the place Mahanaim Mahanain is of the dual number and signifies two several Camps whether he meant the troop of Angels that came to guard him for one and the servants of his own family for another or rather as a learned Author says he saw a band of Angels before him and another behind him The Angels that particularly protect Palestina receiv'd him into that Country and they that were Guardians of Mesopotamia delivered him up and brought him thither You see that the phrase of our Evangelist is confirm'd by all the Prophets in the Old Testament but if it appear that Christ himself hath said as much you will believe the more that the sense is very useful and mystical Why Josh v. 14. when Joshua was about to besiege Jericho he lift up his eyes and saw a man over against him with his Sword drawn in his hand says he Art thou for us or for our adversaries and he said nay but a Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come Many Pontificians had the rather say this was an Angel because Joshua worshipped to help out their bad cause of the Worship of Angels but Andreas Masius proves it learnedly that this was Christ himself who conducted the people of the promise into the Land of Canaan even as he shall bring all his Elect into the Kingdom of Heaven and many times shew'd himself in a visible form as a man unto the Patriarchs to learn them the Faith of his Incarnation in the fulness of time The same Masius cites some words out of one Moses Gerundensis a Jewish Cabalist which I cannot omit says the Jew There is one principal Angel the Prince of all the rest who is the face of God for it is said Exod. xxxiii 14. Behold I will send my presence or my face before thee You know how this agrees with Christ the second Person in Trinity who is called the express image of his Fathers presence Heb. i. 3. The Cabalist goes on The Jews did much desire to see that principal Angel who he was they could not know him by any prophetical vision nor by their Law whereas the face of God can be nothing else but God himself and God promised of him to the people He shall be kind and gentle to thee neither shall he hold thee to the strict and rigid Law but shall deal favourably and mercifully with thee A most manifest description of Christ and his Kingdom but that his Jewish obstinacy would not let him see it This we gain out of it Christ is General of the Angels and they his Army Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabbaoth that is of Hosts as we say it and sing it often in our morning Hymn These being under the banner of Christ are the Chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof These did once turn the point of their Sword against us now Christ hath reconciled all things in heaven and in earth and they made this armilustrium this training in warlike ostentation at the birth of Christ to give us knowledge and comfort that they will turn their arms against our enemies That the Kingdom of Satan should be thenceforth brought under and supprest that the strong man should be cast out of his house and spoiled of all his munition Therefore this Canticle of theirs is an Epinicium or Song of triumph for a victory assured or obtained Like the joy of them that divide the spoil says the Prophet Isaiah upon the occasion of the Birth of
glory of God and the firmament shews his handy work About beatitude or final felicity there have been great disputes whether it should consist in action or in contemplation but the best resolution of the problem is that praise consisting partly in contemplating the great goodness of the object to be praised partly in the fruit of the lips which sends forth that honour our blessedness shall consist in giving land to the Holy Trinity and unto the Lamb that sits upon the Throne for evermore Vidisti vilia audi mirifica says St. Ambrose upon these words that which the Shepherds saw with their eyes was a little Infant poorly brought forth into the world and cast aside neglectfully in a corner of a stable but that which they heard with their ears was strange and admirable both that all the tongues of men should glorifie this child and that the Angels who by nature had no tongues assumed bodies for that hour that they might speak with such a mouth with such a voice with such a dialect and language as men use to do and fill the world with praises of his name who made himself an improperium a derision and scorn unto many to take away our infamy and therefore worthy to be praised The Devil feigned the tongue of man to delude our first Parents that they should be made like unto God the good Angels also frame a voice in the air like unto the tongue of man to dissolve the works of the Devil and to teach us that God is made like unto us Let the Serpent hiss at it this heavenly host which consists of our friends and protectors doth sing it out and warble it Coelesti quadam ineffabili modulatione says the ordinary gloss with a celestial harmony far transcending all humane musick and above all possible Relation A Nurses lullaby will sing a Child out of crying and frowardness and make it still but it had need be a singing Angel nay the concent and harmony of all the Angels that should chear up our hearts with the gladness of a Saviour and wipe away all tears from our eyes when before we knew our selves dead in sins and trespasses And it is good to take it at the best sense great comfort it is that these holy Ministers of Heaven came with singing and exultation It was a sign that there was a great change wrought in the world and favour and propitiation come about to the full desire of our heart Angels have been sent with fire and brimstome as against Sodom and Gomorrah with wrath and reproof to make all the children of Israel to weep Judg. ii with a Sword and with the noisom Pestilence when David had sinned in numbring the people but all this horror and dreriment is cast aside by the birth of Christ says St. Chrysostom and Angels come with Anthems and Carols of praise Thus the Lord hath put a song of thanksgiving into our mouth for he hath done marvellous things If Asaph and that Choire did lift up their note with all sorts of musical instruments in the Old Law while the Sacrifice was burning upon the Altar I am sure we have much more cause not in imitation of Asaph but of the Angels to praise the Lord with Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs Luther I know not upon what reason unless it were because the Angels in my Text did begin the Gospel with melody he makes Psalmody to be one of the notes of the Orthodox Church of Christ The voice of man certainly is to praise God in its best tunes and elegancies and the reasons why musical notes are most fit and necessary amidst our Christian Prayers are these four 1. Rules of piety steal into our mind with the delight of the harmony The Agathyrsians even to Plato's days were wont to sing their Laws and put them in tune that men might repeat them in their Recreations 2. It kindles Devotion and fills the soul with more loving affections Make a chearful noise to the God of Jacob says David As the noise of Flutes and of Trumpets inspire a courage into Souldiers and enflame them to be victorious so the Psalms of the Church raise up the heart and make it leap to be with God as if our soul were upon our lips and would fly away to heaven 3. An heavy spirit oppresseth zeal and that service of God is twice done which is done with alacrity and our Christian merriment by St. James his rule is singing and making melody to the Lord. When our Saviour and his company were sad the night before his Passion to put away that heaviness they sung an Hymn when they went to Mount Olivet 4. To sing some part of Divine Doctrine is very profitable because that which is sung is most treatibly pronounced the understanding stays long upon it and nails it the faster to the memory It was a Law of Numa among the Romans Nihil oportet in transcursu à diis petere sed ubi vacat est otium we must ask nothing of God by snatches but with sober deliberation And as our Parochial singing of Psalms is very sweet and requisite wherein all or most of the Congregation bear a part so it doth well become Princes Courts and Episcopal Churches to have more curious and sumptuous musick of several Instruments and a skilful Choire appointed to execute it It is semblable to that of my Text where the Angels sung the Service and the Shepherds gave them audience If some wayward humors say this Choiral Musick hath no relish with them it doth not help them in the practice of Religion they understand it not I answer they accuse themselves of many faults in their own complaint 1. That they understand not that which they have by roat if they would mark it 2. They are malicious that would deprive them of that sweetness who are much affected with it 3. It is arrogancy in a high nature to wish that their own ignorant immusical unfashion'd humour should be a prescription to a whole Church To conclude all I come from publick Church Musick to our private delight in holy Songs S. Hierom testifies that in his days as they walkt about the Market as they sailed in Ships as they were busie at Work they sung some holy Ditties It is our solace at home our recreation abroad says St. Basil Neither is it irksome to any but to the evil spirit for the evil spirit went out of Saul when David played upon his Harp and David was no profane Minstrel but a Divine Singer But I read of two sorts of Hereticks that quarrel'd it the Arrians dislik'd singing of Psalms because the Orthodox Christians did use it and the Manicheans because they condemn'd the whole Old Testament Insani sunt adversus medicamentum quo sani esse potuissent They are furious to find fault with that which would have healed their fury But we have learn'd to praise the Lord with our best skill with our
be to God on high because he hath made peace on earth Lord let me not be at war with my own heart though all the world should defie me and set themselves against me As a continual dripping of humors upon the lungs consumes the body so a continual disquieting of mind as if viols of anger from heaven were ready to be poured upon it breeds such an anxiety in the whole man that he will wish his whole substance were dissolved into nothing O thrice happy when God sends that serenity of favour into our thoughts and cogitations to make us truly say with David Turn again unto thy rest O my soul Psal cxvi 7. This is that peace which the world cannot give This is St. Paul's confidence against all opposers Who is he that condemneth it is Christ that justifieth When the Wise men askt Where is he that is born King of the Jews Herod was troubled and all Jerusalem with him So sore troubled that he would not spare poor inoffensive babes who could not offend him no not his own babes as some say who were the pillars of his family when he thrust his sword into them he digged into his own bowels No man is able to express what a discomfortable mutiny this wretch had within himself No plague like a wounded disturbed spirit whereas old Simeon that saw death at the door that felt one foot in the Grave was exhilerated for all that through the joy which he had in Christ and warbled that Swan-like Dirge over his own Grave Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace Wherefore if there be any of you which have a conscience sorely wounded with horror and even tempted to despair which God forbid chide it with David out of that dreadful moode Why art thou so sad O my soul and why art thou so disquieted within me Hath not Christ said there is peace between God and thee and dost thou say there is enmity foolish heart shall I not rather believe the tidings which an Angel brings than that which thou dost suggest and doth not he say Peace on earth Whosoever will not be cheared up will not be comforted will not be established with hope from this sweet proclamation which the Ministers of Heaven sang unto the Shepherds it had been better for him that he had never been born nay I speak it with reverence to God and condemnation to such a one it had been better for him that Christ had never been born because he receives not the Son of God into his heart neither believes in his Redemption Many flagitious sins do make men as execrable before God as the devil himself but he that despairs of Gods mercies as if Christ would not keep his Covenant of peace with him I may truly pronounce it against him that he is even possessed with a devil O cast forth that evil Spirit and be resolved the Lord would never have sent his Angel to sing the Hymn of peace unto men but to revive our souls and to raise them up from dust and despair because he is gracious and favourable to all penitent sinners And thus you have heard that upon the occasion of this blessed Nativity of Christs the Angels have congratulated both heaven and earth as David foretold it Psal xcvi 11. Let the heavens rejoyce and let the earth be glad The congratulation to men on earth hath been unfolded in two members that there is peace above us which passeth all understanding and peace within us such as the world cannot give Thirdly It follows they sing and rejoyce for our sakes that there is peace without us and on every side a good way laid open to take away all Schisms strifes divisions debates and as Solomon says in his mystical Song the voice of the Turtle is heard in our land What a hurly burly was in the world before Christ made his Church one body out of all Languages and Nations They that professed the Law of Moses you know had no communication with those millions of millions that knew no Schoolmaster to teach them but the law of nature Among those few that were zealous of the Law the Jew forsook them of Israel of the ten Tribes for Rebels and Idolaters Among the Jews the Pharisee condemned the Sadducce for an Heretick Then the Samaritan had an antipathy both against Jew and Israelite and all these accounted of the Gentiles no other ways than as bond-slaves of the Devil Here was nothing but hate and defiance between one Sect and another over all the world until Christ broke down the wall of separation made of two one invited them all to embrace and to greet one another with an holy kiss Thus the Prophet Isaiah upon it Chap. xix 23. in his stately but dark eloquence In that day shall there be a high-way out of Egypt to Assyria and the Assyrians shall come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria and in that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and Assyria that is there shall be traffique and friendship and conversation together from one Nation to another over all the earth And indeed National feuds are the more odious and unchristian by how much Christ hath called all people to the sprinkling of the same water and to alike participation of his Body and Blood at the same table And it was well apprehended of one that God hath given unto men more excellent gifts in the skill of Navigation since his Son is born than ever they had before that he might shew the way how all the Kingdoms of the earth should be sociable together for Christ hath breathed his peace upon all the Kingdoms of the world Then I descend from generals to specials The Angels did not only see that our Saviour had built a wall of Charity as it were about the whole earth and made it one but that his Gospel is the love knot and band of agreement between one member and another in all particular persons It turns the hearts of the Fathers unto the Children and of the Children unto the Fathers it makes peace conjugal between man and wife for Marriage is a Mystery of Christ and his Church and the instance which the Apostle lays before us is how Christ loved his Church and laid down his life for it It attones variances between Neighbour and Neighbour for it calls upon us to forgive and put up injuries it non-suits many actions of trespass between man and man with St. Pauls sweet proposition to the Corinthians Why do ye not rather suffer wrong That jangling fellow in the Gospel that came to Jesus to give him authority for his contention Dic fratri ut mecum dividat Master bid my brother that he divide the inheritance with me our Lord put him off and would hear of no division Such motions did jar in the ear of him that was the God of reconciliation The Law of Moses either was or did seem to be vindicative an eye for an eye
Blessed is the Womb that bare thee and the Paps whcih thou hast sucked But he said Yea rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it THis is the Sons day and not the Mothers This is Christs own day and not Maries Therefore it is not for the Wombs sake but for the Fruit of the Womb not for the Paps of a mortal woman but for the Infants sake an immortal God that I have chosen this Text. A good Israelitess she was that magnified Christ on this manner though she was not spoken to yet her heart was full and she must speak for her joy would have stifled her if she had not uttered it If you mark the Context of the Chapter immediately before these words our Saviour had taught his Disciples to pray most divinely he had cast out devils most triumphantly he had answered the Calumniations of the Pharisees most rationally he had put on glorious apparel as the Psalmist says and girded himself with strength While these wonderful works were fresh in memory the Lord from on high could have sent Legions of Angels to magnifie his Son and to praise him with celestial Canticles But to strike the greater shame into the Pharisees that had blasphemed him he stirs up a woman a nameless one a poor Plebeian one not admitted near him she stood afar off and was fain to speak aloud to be heard Blessed is the Womb that bare thee and the Paps which thou hast sucked It was a free acclamation a sudden start a passion that came from her spirit ex tempore and that I may give Christ his full honour and attribute no more to the woman than is truth she prophesied in this saying of greater things than at that time she understood The Holy Ghost gave her the priviledge to be the tongue that delivered this Congratulation but it remains to us to lend it an heart that we may truly conceive it For the inward sense of it is the gladsom contents of this day blessed be the Father of all mercies for the Incarnation of his Son that he was made of a woman for our sakes and blessed are all mankind that he hath taken flesh of our flesh and that he is made partaker of our humane nature But because it would not prove our benefit that he was born for us unless he be born in us likewise by faith and obedience it follows to make our joy and crown complete yea rather blessed are they that hear c. The parts are as manifestly two as the two hands wherewith we handle First Blessedness offered to us in Christs Incarnation Secondly Blessedness made complete in our own application The woman begins the Text in the first part Christ finished in the second She said well for his Incarnation Blessed is the Womb that bare thee He makes it much better by stirrig us up to the use and fruit of it yea rather c. She blesseth Christ and Christ blesseth us she would have all felicity to rest in him he would have a share of felicity to be derived to us A pretty strife between a devout Creature and a merciful Creator between an humble Servant and a bountiful Master between a true faith that heaps all honour upon God and between a gracious God that heaps the treasures of his riches upon a true faith To begin with that which the woman said it must be considered two ways in a Litteral sense such as flesh and bloud revealed to her And in a Prophetical sense above her understanding such as the Spirit of God hath revealed to us Blessed is the Womb that bare thee And so it was indeed according to the Latitude of this womans natural understanding For first she knew at large that it was a blessed thing to be an Instrument or conveyance of any great good unto others Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber be blessed shall she be above women in the Tent Judg. v. 24. Shee had done her part to work deliverance for Israel And when Judith had sped in her adventure to cut off the head of Holofernes says Oziah Blessed art thou of the most high God above all the women upon earth Judith xiii 18. A good Messenger is called an happy and the feet of those are pronounced beautiful that bring glad tidings of peace It is a narrow and an abject conceit of some that think themselves fortunate and at the best when they receive and take in all that can be heapt upon them These men measure felicity backward for beatius est dare quam accipere it is more blessed to give than to receive Though that Maxim be not extant in any of the Evangelists St. Paul tells us upon his credit it was our Saviours The souls of them that are converted to true holiness shall bless the lips of the Priest the poor shall bless the liberal after Ages shall bless publick Spirits that do famous things and are provident for Posterity A Cistern that contains the waters poured into it is much inferiour to a Fountain that sends them forth It is nothing so laudible to be wrought upon as to work that which is honourable Even the Parents that have enricht the world with such as are ornaments unto it benediction reflects upon them for it because they are Conduit pipes of publick felicity Yet all those that have made others happy by their gifts and qualities had been for ever unhappy themselves if the Child that was born this day had not suckt the breasts of a Virgin O happy Parent whose Womb contained all the treasure that maintains the whole earth Somewhat she collineated at this meaning that said unto our Saviour Blessed c. And each Parent partakes in this reason that it is joy and honour to them to have a renowned Son and it may be this woman was partial to her own Sex that contented her self to speak of no more than the womb of the Mother In strict Divinity indeed her words are admirable for Christ had no Father according to the flesh but that is more than I collect out of St. Luke that she mentioned not his Father for that reason But in all humane births that prove successful and glorious the loyns of the Father are blessed as well as the womb of the Mother and the glory of children are their Fathers Prov. xvii 6. Yet in the next construction of mere natural capacity it was proper to say for his sake blessed is the womb because barrenness was a curse and fruitfulness of children a blessing They that propagate a faithful seed upon earth give the means to replenish heaven with Saints it is that wherein we exceed Angels to beget Sons and Daughters in our own likeness and to continue a Generation like our selves makes mankind by succession as incorruptible as the Angels God blessed all living Creatures mark that God blessed them and said unto them be fruitful and multiply Gen. i. 28. Though the Lord said
can have no help from thence to understand it Erasmus says it is a particle Quae nec affirmat nec negat it neither assents to that which the woman uttered nor yet contradicts it but leaves it in medio untoucht and unanswer'd The Jesuit Maldonat will make Calvin his adversary many times where he is not and lays to his charge this impiety that Christ should cross all that was said before 'T is not so that the Womb is blessed which bare me no blessed are they c. Calvin God wot hath no such asseveration but thus Fere pro nihilo haec ducit Christus longe est inferius c. But 't is large in this form it cannot be denied says he but that God exalted Mary to the highest honour when he elected and destined her to be the Mother of his Son but Christ reputes this as nothing and much inferiour to the other to hear the word of God and keep it is there any offence in this not any And what if it be Maldonats own opinion in other words thus he Vtrum que quod dictum est quod dicendum affirmat sed dicto dicendum proponit Our Saviour affirms that the woman said true Blessed is the womb c. And he affirms it was blessed to hear the word of God and keep it but he prefers the spiritual blessedness of hearing the word of God and keeping it before the natural blessedness to bear him in the womb This is most true and runs thus in St. Austins elegancy Beatior Maria percipiendo fidem Christi quam concipiendo carnem Christi O sacred Virgin much more happy in entertaining the Faith of Christ than in conceiving the Flesh of Christ For the second Covenant which is the anchor of Salvation is Crede vive believe and thou shalt be saved not uterum gere vive bear the Son of God in thy Womb and thou shalt be saved Eusebius Emissenus speaks enough to have angred Maldonat yet sound and good in true construction She whom thou dost magnifie was not therefore blessed because she was my mother and bore me Sed quia verbum audivit audiendo credidit credendo custodivit but because she was glad to hear my word and what she heard she believed willingly and what she believed she practised diligently Her own Cousin Elizabeth extended her salutation to this sense Blessed is she that believed for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord Luke i. 45. A quip for her own Husband Zachary by the way who had a message brought him by an Angel and gave no credit to it and was strucken dumb for incredulity but Mary had all applause and congratulation from heaven and earth from Angels and men because she heard the word and believed it Nay Christ himself hath confirmed this construction most sharply and emphatically Mat. xii 48. Who is my Mother and who are my brethren and he stretcht forth his hand to his Disciples Behold my mother and my brethren for whosoever shall do the will of my Father that is in heaven he is my brother and sister and mother And if it would not profit Mary to have given the bread to such a Son without Faith and obedience how can any other carnal respect and advantage do us good fleshly consanguinities and prerogatives make additions in a coat of armory but we must stand before the tribunal of God disrayed of all such circumstances A wise Heathen could taunt at them that boasted the smoky Images of their Ancestors Vt quod in fructu non teneas mireris in trunco says St. Hierom as eloquent as any of the Heathens Shall we commend the stock of a tree when we cannot commend the fruit Finally St. Paul divorceth the Jews and all others from pretending a carnal propinquity with Christ says he We know no man after the flesh yea though we have known Christ after the flesh yet now henceforth we know him so no more 2 Cor. v. 16. The Mother whose paps he suckt must not glory that she fed him but that he fed her and gave her living waters of his Word and Spirit to drink Yea rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it I must not and if I would I have no time set forth before you what a secundity of error there is in mans heart about the notion of blessedness Our Saviour confines our stragling imaginations to this rule that no good thing of a subordinate condition can stile a man happy 't is a title to be given to that immense communication of good when the soul shall enjoy the fulness of him that filleth all in all But the means that impetrate a reward and the reward it self are knit so individually together that nothing is enjoyed in the one but is affirmed of the other And he that goes the right way to the eternal joys above is canonized happy as if he were in those joys already Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it The Kingdom of God is not meats and drinks but a pure and a righteous spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says St. Basil very truly a pure and a sanctified soul is the first ascent of happiness And this is tried by two particulars first if we treasure up the precious things of God in our ear then if we transmit them to a more inward and a safer place and treasure them up in our heart Whether your consciences be sometimes vexed with a Sermon or whether your heart be pricked or whether the Doctrine delivered be most opposite to your appetite in way of profit or pleasure or reputation yet still remember it is a blessed thing to hear and a great honour to dust and ashes that God will speak unto you And he that is cloy'd with hearing hath such a surfeited constitution that he is cloy'd with blessedness Mary her sitting attentive to hear our Saviour was unum necessarium not a thing well done but yet indifferent and at her own choice whether she would do it or no but it was unum necessarium a necessary part of obedience which concerned her salvation The Lord from heaven began his law with the command of hearing hear O Israel Deut. iv 1. And so the voice of the Father from heaven began the Gospel This is my beloved Son hear him The fault of this age to speak the truth is not in this that there want hearers for excepting some few that think themselves wise enough already and that they need not learn and excepting some irreligious and profane ones that refuse true wisdom and never think of their latter end but the generality in all places will not stick to shew their duty in hearing but with divers they are mens gifts and persons which they admire and follow if those men teach whom their ear tasts or if it be such kind of teaching as they will only like in their prejudicate
Observation of days touching the very labour of the Cattel in the field and what not It was a burden as the Apostles testifie which neither they nor their Fathers were able to bear yet there was sweetness in all this because it was done for the Lords sake though the task had been stricter David did well set forth the condition of the Law unto what great bondage it did captivate a man in these words Behold O Lord how that I am thy servant I am thy servant and the son of thine handmaid a servant in extremity of thraldom and therefore it was repeated a Servant born for partus sequitur ventrem he must needs be so that was the Son of an handmaid he was born to be circumcised and to be a debtor to the whole Law Such were all they that boasted themselves to be the only freemen in the world because they were the Sons of Abraham Nay Simeon was not only such a Servant as I have hitherto described bridled under the Pedagogy of Moses Law but out of the relative terms of my Text I will shew that he was in greater subjection and aw for how doth he call the Lord here Not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Lord that had power of life and death over his Vassal you shall not find it used again in all the four Evangelists 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says Favorinus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Lord of a bondman 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of a freeman that is an hired servant I have plaid the Critick enough such servants those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were anciently called so not because they were paid for their labour which they did undergo in drudgery but because they were taken by hostility and their lives were forfeited to the Conquerour who had power to slay them yet spared them and resigned them up into their hands that would lay down a ransom for them So Simeon confesseth that God had the power of life and death over him when he might have killed him out of his clemency he spared him Behold a Servant then and such as he was such were all the Jews a man under the yoke of the Law and under the power of death But behold as this day the Deliverer was born and did quite change the copy of our service Christ as God did put the Church under the servitude of the Law but being made man he hath exempted us to the liberty of the Gospel and though we shall all die through that sentence which cannot be repealed yet if we believe that he hath given himself a ransom for us and live unto righteousness we shall not die unto condemnation But that you may know what kind of servants they are that retain to that family whereof God takes the care and administration mind the character of Simeon which the Holy Ghost gives him in the verses preceding my Text for his Calling it is obscurely past over thus there was a man in Jerusalem Galatinus says out of the Rabbins that one Simeon the just was the Master of the great Doctor Gamaliel and that may very well light upon this Simeon Much hath been urged to prove him to be a Priest but to no purpose Salmeron and Tolet alledge that when a child came to be presented to the Lord the Priest took the child out of the arms of his Mother and did not restore him again till he was redeemed for five Shekles of Silver according to the Law Num. xviii but how will they prove that a Child might not light into the arms of some other incidentally as well as into the arms of the Priest Yea but Simeon blessed Joseph and Mary ver 34. that is a Sacerdotal action Nay not always old Jacob blessed Pharaoh and every Prophet is an instrument of Benediction At the last heave says Tolet it is an old tradition of the Church to paint him in a Priestly Vesture an hard refuge when they refer us for a proof to Pictures and not to the Word of God Whether the Priesthood or the Layty may challenge him for theirs I know not one thing I know that he was a just man and waited for the consolation of Israel a pious holy Father a frequenter of the Temple a man uncompounded with the world but this was his righteousness that he lookt for the blessed off-spring God and man whom the Lord would send to redeem his Saints You will say perhaps did not all the Jews expect the Messias What did he more than other men Why herein he did exceed them that they did not look for such benefits from the Messias as Simeon did such spiritual refreshment for the soul and for the spirit Then the common sort of people lookt for Christ afar off he lookt for him just at that time near at hand As Joseph of Arimathea is said to look for the Kingdom of God that is to see Christ incarnate even then in the fulness of time Luke xxiii 51. Again others waited for Christ but carelesly without any earnest affection Simeon even languisht with longing and did passionately desire it St. Austin says that he did continually pray for the coming of Christ and often repeated that of David Psal lxxxv Shew us thy mercy O Lord and grant us thy salvation and then God answered him that he would fulfill his hearts desire Nicephorus tells us a vagrant story that Simeon was reading those words Isa vii Behold a Virgin shall conceive a Son and being sollicitous what that place should mean an Angel appeared and told him he should not die till he had seen that Babe with his eyes of whom Isaiah Prophesied This is certain the Holy Ghost had given him some great assurance of it The Spirit was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ver 25. not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only in him but upon him which signifies extraordinary assistance as when it is said the Spirit of the Lord is upon me Isa lxi You see now with what endowments of heavenly graces Simeon was enricht before he called himself the servant of the Lord. His modesty would give himself no better title yet our Saviour speaks better things of those that believed Henceforth I call you not servants for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doth but I have called you friends c. Joh. xv 15. It is not the meaning that we shall ever out-grow the name of servant for even at the day of judgment in the time of our reward it shall be said Well done good and faithful servant But here it is we are all servants by debt and nature the Gospel stiles us friends by Covenant and Composition Before Christ was revealed God dealt with them of the Synagogue as with servants he did not reveal the mysteries of the Trinity of the Incarnation of the coming of the Holy Ghost if he did reveal them to the Prophets it was ex privilegio not ratione status it was by
the word of men though they call themselves the Church for the children of men are deceitful upon the weights they are altogether lighter than vanity it self To draw this Doctrine streight and even upon the Text 1. Many will alledge Simeons example and say they could willingly die if they might see this or that come to pass Pray observe that such as these seldom or never see their desire come to pass because they fabricate vain hopes to themselves without the word of the Lord. 2. When that which they long'd for doth come to pass they are content to redeem it with any Physick or cost that they may not die for all their bragging like the woman in the Fable that was miserably poor and gathering sticks for her fire and herbs for her sustenance being vexed with extreme want she bursts out into this frowardness O that death would come to me Says the Fable death did come to her to know what she would have Help me up with my bundle of sticks says she I have nothing else to say to you But this is the sum of this point all our petitions are but avaritious craving or unchristian presumption unless we say Lord let it be according to thy word And now I shall end my Sermon in that point wherein Simeon desired to end his life it is the reason upon which he stood why he would depart because he had seen that which his soul waited for before it flitted away For mine eyes have seen thy salvation which is to this effect the Redeemer is come let my fetters therefore be broken off my joy is excessive and superlative this frail flesh cannot contain it The new Wine is poured in O let the old bottles break Thou hast granted me more than ever thou didst grant to any Prophet upon earth therefore exalt me to thy Saints in heaven For all the Prophets could get no more than this answer that a Virgin should conceive Immanuel that is God with us should be born and their posterity should not fail to behold him in after ages but says St. Paul all these died in Faith not having received the promises themselves but having seen them afar off Heb. xi 13. Now this Patriarch did far exceed all the Prophets that he saw the Messias with his own eyes and none other And mark the Pleonasmus not contented to have said I have seen thy salvation He doth denote the assurance of the act that he was not deceived hisce oculis vidi I have seen him with mine eyes it is the very Jesus that shall save the world I cannot be deluded as Vlysses speaks to Circe in Homer that she should re-transform his associates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 distinguishing true sight from phantastical Nicephorus a most corrupt Historian hath a tale by himself that Simeon was so far stricken in years that he had been long blind and as soon as ever this heavenly babe was brought near unto him he recovered his sight and therefore he magnifies God that his eyes were restored to see the object of all objects the blessed Child Incarnate and is it likely that St. Luke would have concealed such a miracle if it had been true and would God have let us receive it from so corrupt an hand as Nicephorus The Scripture says ver 27. of this Chapter He came by the Spirit into the Temple not that he was led like a blind man There are some conjectures that rove at random likewise by what means he should discern such Divine glory in our Saviour Admit there were other Infants presented in the Temple at the same time how did he perceive that this was the Son of the most high rather than any of the rest I find one Author shoot his bolt that a celestial splendor came down from Heaven and shone round about the Child I find another Author more superstitious than this that the Blessed Virgin was compast about with a cloud of glorious light in the place where she stood and so that honour should terminate it self upon her and not upon Christ This is to trifle in a most serious matter for certainly the suggestion of the Holy Ghost within him was enough to direct him without any external cognizance and therefore Nyssen says well Blessed were the eyes both of his soul and body his bodily eyes did see the happiest sight in heaven and earth but the eyes of his soul did respect that which is invisible His bodily eyes did see God made of a woman an object more beautiful and estimable then even Paradise it self when Adam saw it at the best Nay more beautiful than the whole Revelation which S. John saw in heaven excepting Christ himself whom he saw upon his throne Abraham would have given his portion in the promised land to have seen him David his Kingdom Solomon his revenews of Ophir and therefore no wonder if Simeon triumph in it that the eyes of his body had seen him But what the eyes of his soul did pierce into is magnum auctarium an huge addition They did see his salvation and salvation cannot be comprehended but by a lively and an effectual Faith They did see 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cornu salutis as old Zachary calls it in whom God had reposed all the stock and treasure of salvation But why thy salvation and not rather ours had it not been more proper to say mine eyes have seen mine or our salvation There is no difference in effect one saying is as proper as the other salutare tuum for he is the Son of God the gift of God to us the holy One conceived by the Holy Ghost and in those notions Gods salvation as David says the Lord hath made known his salvation Psal xcviii 2. Again salutare nostrum for he came to redeem us and to give himself a ransom for us and so he is our salvation As if Simeon had said this is he after whom Jacobs heart panted Gen. xlix 18. I have waited for thy salvation O Lord. This is he of whom Isaiah foretold All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God chap. lii 10. He comes with much impotency and weakness to be presented in the Temple and to be redeemed after the custom of the Law with five shekels of silver but he will redeem us both from the bondage of the Law and from the bondage of sin with the five wounds of his body If such salvation as this were only to be glanced upon perfunctorily this sage Israelite would have been contented to have seen him and rested there but forasmuch as we must incorporate our Saviour in our souls and endeavour that there be a real union 'twixt Christ and us therefore in the verse before my Text Simeon took up our Saviour into his arms and St. John makes that a great mystery of his own and his brethrens happiness that their hands had handled the word of life Quod Simeon ulnis gestavit nos fide
hath redeemed his people Take the whole verse now together which is the exordium of this Prophetical Song and it contains two parts the magnifying of the divine goodness and the reason rendred why it was fit to break out into that devotion In the first here is the comprehension of all praise in this word blessed Secondly the comprehension of the divine titles the Lord God of Israel The next general member why this praise is given is drawn from two acts that God hath visited and that he hath redeemed And the Object of both those acts is it which makes it praise-worthy and thanks worth he hath visited his People First of all here is a full ascribing of all glory to God in this word blessed O how Zachary did meditate this all the while he was dumb O how much he desired all the while his utterance was stopt to bring forth these good words to the honour of his Maker He kept silence a long time from this heavenly Canticle but it was pain and grief unto him Now his mouth was opened with the key of the Holy Spirit to discourse of the wonderful works of God and it was a blessed thing that as soon as he was able to talk this was the first language that flowed from him Blessed be the Lord. Two things are the grace and dignity of our Elocutions Deum laudare verum dicere to praise the great Majesty of Heaven and to tell the truth upon Earth but why do I divide them two which will most properly fall into one For no truth so clear and evident as that the name of Christ is blessed for evermore They that speak the truth of him must speak well of him and whosoever blasphemes his honour is a Liar and an Antichrist As Hezekiah paid the Tribute which Sennacherib imposed upon him out of the Treasure of the house of the Lord and out of the Gold which over-laid the doors of the Temple 2 Kings xviii 16. so the praise of God is the chief treasure of our heart the chief thing that belongs to this holy place the very Gold of the Temple therefore when we magnifie his name we pay him Tribute out of the best thing which the Church can afford Neither is there any good business of Religion whereof we may be so confident that we are in a right course and do not swerve Our Belief may be grounded upon strong errors as it is among Hereticks Our Zeal may be transported into Faction as it is among Schismaticks Our Repentance may be slight and superficial as it is among Hypocrites We may be too forward in our Hope having no firm assurance from the fruits of a good Conscience Too free of our Charity when we do not distinguish who are fit to receive it Too prodigal of our Commendations when we do not note mens Actions whether they deserve it but be as copious as you will in magnifying your Creator and Redeemer and you are certain the work is very good most certain that you cannot tread awry Yet Satan and our own negligence are able to frame an objection against any truth which is most demonstrative What will our sluggish spirit say The honour of God doth not depend upon the fame of this World His glory cannot be raised higher than it is by our Jubilees and Songs or by our Instruments of Musick no though we could praise him as loud as claps of Thunder But for all this will you be content to glorifie him if it will bring your self to honour though it be no amplification to the Majesty of God Agreed then And first it is an high advancement that he will permit us to do him that homage though we should have no recompence for our labour it is abundantly rewarded that he will give us leave to exalt him he hath not dealt so with all people Unto the ungodly said God Why dost thou take my name within thy lips As it is an honour to the Magistrate that God hath committed the Sword of Justice to their power so it is an honour to every Christian that he hath permitted unto us to talk of his honour it is an Angels life continually to bless him and sound forth his glory Therefore that parcel of the Psalm may look this way let the praise of God be in their mouth and a two edged Sword in their hand the one is as great a priviledge belonging to us as the other to a Magistrate Secondly St. Peter grants it generally to all godly people Yè are an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual Sacrifices to God 1 Pet. ii 5. What is the spiritual Sacrifice but Praise and Thanksgiving Therefore let us offer up the sacrifice of praise sweetly and devoutly and all Christians shall become Priests in that respect and the holy portion of God and having offered up this visible sacrifice of praise we our selves in our hearts shall become the invisible sacrifice of God and bring oblation upon oblation unto the Altar it is nothing worth unless your own soul be the principal Oblation I press this the rather because it is so ill forgotten in the Roman Missal For they that do so often trouble your ears with their sacrifice and their Altar have not one word in their Missal that we or our souls should be a reasonable holy and living sacrifice to God Thirdly In giving glory to the Lamb and to him that sits upon the Throne we do not give but receive for no man can ascribe much praise to God but out of a large capacity of faith no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost no man can speak of the King of Kings according to his due excellency but it will procreate devotion and reverence therefore though Gods honour be in the same state that it was before yet your soul is in better state than it was before by praise and glorification Fourthly We do all agree with St. Paul that Charity is greater than the two other Theological Vertues greater than Faith that believeth all mysteries greater than Hope that expecteth all Promises and therefore greater because it shall abide with us in the Kingdom of Heaven when the other two shall vanish away So to laud and magnifie our Omnipotent Creator is far above all other acts of Religion because nothing else shall abide with us when we see God face to face There shall be no confession of Christ our Mediator for none shall deny him there shall be no fasting for man shall eat Angels food and have no need of nourishment no Alms shall be given for it is life without want and scarcity no Prayer for forgiveness of sins no hearing of the Word no sufferance of the Cross no intercession for them that suffer but the praise of God continueth and supplieth all the rest uncessantly we shall cry out Holy holy Lord God of Hosts which was and is and is to come Therefore it is called blessing of God because it
commanded to be made unless he had dominion over them that is unless he were Lord over them before they were made Rom. iv he calleth things that are not as things that are therefore he hath authority as a Lord over things that are not as much as over things that are The fair conclusion of it is the actual relation of the Creatures to his dominion began in time but their subjection to his will and power is for ever therefore God is the Lord from all eternity Whatsoever distinction may be put between these names yet when we praise God let us do as Zachary doth joyn them both together when we confess him let us do so likewise as Jonas did I am an Hebrew who worship the Lord God that made heaven and earth When we say our Belief let us do the same even as the Nicene Fathers did before us I believe in one God and in one Lord Jesus Christ And if you please your selves to distinguish accurately upon such Titles because St. Paul hath said that there be Gods many and Lords many let us distinguish between them and this supreme one the Lord God of Israel who is blessed for ever more Christ says the Scripture calleth them Gods to whom the word of God came Joh. x. 34. That Scripture is Psal lxxxii 6. I have said ye are Gods and ye are all the children of the most high From thence and from my Text you may state a profitable difference 1. Dixi I have said ye are Gods he hath said it and that made them so unless he had Godded them they had had no such pre-eminence What they have it is by entitling and nuncupation 2. Dixi Dii estis there are many of those Gods not only every Prince and Ruler chalengeth it by his Crown but every Christian hath his interest in it by adoption of filiation So I cited it from the mouth of our Saviour before the Scripture hath said they are Gods to whom the Word of God came 3. Estis ye are for a while ye are and after a while ye shall go from hence and be no more seen ye shall die like men but the true God abideth for ever 4. These heathen Semi-gods these that carry that badge upon earth shall not only die like men but like sinful men for it follows in the Psalm that when they fall God shall arise to judge the earth after they have judged they shall be judged upon it hereafter how they have judged But O man thou must not reply against the God of heaven his judgments are indisputable 5. The ever blessed God is praised in every thing that pertains unto him he is praised in all places of his dominion he is praised in all his works He hath done all things well say the people of Christ but among the actions of the best men Sunt bona sunt quaedam mediocria sunt mala plura Among some good there is much evil among some flourishing sprigs of praise there are divers dead boughs of frailty 6. These Nuncupative Gods preside over Civil Governments each of them is a golden head over his own Political body but Christ only is head of the whole Church from whence the whole body increaseth with the increase of God he alone is the Lord. And it is likewise upon some remarkable appropriation that the Psalmist says the Lord is his name he bears it certainly with many notorious marks of difference from all the Lordlings in the world First The dominion of man is joyned with some servitude in the Master for he that stands in need is a servant to his own necessities and the Master stands in need of the drudgery of the labouring man as much or more perhaps than that drudge stands in need of the wages of the Master But all our service is of no use or benefit to the King of heaven I said unto the Lord thou art my God my goods are nothing unto thee Psal xvi and therefore says St. Austin God did not make the world from all eternity to shew that he did not want the help of his Creature Secondly All things serve the Lord above nothing is hidden from the Scepter of his dominion but man in the highest Office upon earth is confined to a small scantling of authority he can command the body of his Vassal but not his soul He cannot command his Grass to grow or his Trees to bear or his Cattel to encrease or the weather to be seasonable But as the people said in admiration of the Miracles of the Son of God Who is this that commandeth the Winds and Seas and they obey him Thirdly All the Lordship upon earth is subalternate and dependant from a greater command Masters do that which is just unto your Servants knowing that you also have a Master in heaven Col. iv There is but one Lord and none but he that is responsive to no other the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Our Saviour though an unscrutable Abyssus of humility assumed that unto himself Ye call me Master and Lord and ye say well for so I am Joh. xiii 13. Such a Lord to whom all the Sons of men do bow and obey Such a Lord that though he were Davids Son yet David in spirit calleth him Lord The Lord said unto my Lord sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstoole Lord of all things by the Essence of his Godhead Lord of all things in his Manhood by the Hypostatical Union but by special interest Lord of all those whom he redeemed with his most precious bloud Lord God of Israel in which numbers as soon as ever he believed Thomas concluded himself saying My Lord and my God As we have the Humanity of Christ expressed in the two subsequent actions so we have as surely his Divinity set forth in these Titles the Lord God of Israel But that God that filleth the heaven of heavens and that Lord who hath stretcht out the line of his power over the whole earth he is Canton'd in this Text to a little Region of the earth but a Molehill in respect of the extent of his Majestie the Lord God of Israel It was not with Zachary the Priest in this elegant Canto as it useth to be with other Poets who out of affectation do strain their Poetry to make honourable mention of their own Country where there was neither cause nor merit But this holy Prophet had sufficient warrant from the Spirit which cannot err to nominate him the Patron of this people rather than of any other the God of Israel and that for two reasons Propter notitiam verbi propter promissiones seminis benedicti First The Oracles of the Scriptures were committed to them and God was not truly worshipped any where but in the Synagogues of the Hebrews and therefore says the Psalmist Notus Deus in Israele God is well known in Israel there they knew him that he was to be adored that he
to comfort us whether coals of fire be kindled at his nostrils to consume us or whether he blow upon us with the breath of his compassion to revive us whether he give or whether he take away you know what follows in Job The effects upon our bodies are divers but the effect upon our spirit should be one and the same do you say Blessed be the name of the Lord. But to visit is also taken in good part as an act of grace and compassion Exod. iv 31. the people had heard that the Lord had visited Israel and looked upon their afflictions then they bowed their heads and worshipped Thou hast granted me life and favour and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit Job x. 12. And once more for all Thou visitest the earth and dost greatly enrich it with the river of God Psal lxv And welcome be that visitation which brings with it peace and good will such was the appearance of him that was born this day of a pure Virgin he did look out his sheep and visit them as a Shepherd doth visit his flock Ezek. xxxiv so the people of the Jews did well express the significancy of the word when our Saviour raised up the widows Son of Naim to life again a great Prophet is risen up among us and God hath visited his people Luke vii 16. God could have sent his Son to have judg'd the world but he did not send him to condemn us but that the world through him might be saved This is a benign and a courteous visitation But because the word will extend to divers particulars of grace and love I will do it right to lay them forth distinctly 1. To visit is the work of one that comes to do a charitable office to a sick person according to that place Mat. xxv I was sick and ye visited me So Christ came into this world because it languished of a sore disease Miseri erant quos visitavit captivi quos redemit we were far gone in the infirmities of sin when we had need to be visited we were wretched bond-men under the yoke of Satan when we had need to be redeemed Visitavit Dominus plebem longa infirmitate tabescentem says Bede upon my Text long had the Jews consumed in their sins faint and feeble they were destitute of all spiritual succor near to the brink of death then came the great Physician to bind up their wounds and to heal the broken heart as virtue went out of him and he healed all manner of fleshly griefs if they did but touch him so much more now he is in heaven he is an indeficient fountain of virtue and whosoever toucheth him by a living Faith he shall be cured of his ghostly imperfections or at least their malignity shall be asswaged 2. Visitare in the Latin tongue is a diminitive from videre to see a thing in a glance and so to pass it by without any great heed but the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is used in my Text is a Composit and is more than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is rem penitus inspicere cujus egeat to look upon things very remarkablely with that purpose to know what it wants In the tenth of St. Luke the Priest saw the man that was wounded and passed by the Levite looked on and passed by but the Samaritan saw him and had compassion of him that was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to look on him with a commiserating eye and a tender heart and to none can it be so well applied as to the Son of God he looked upon us stedfastly and with a melting mercy he looked upon us as if his very bowels were in his eyes 3. To give a visit to another is a voluntary courtesie an act of kindness that hath no compulsion or unwillingness in it for he that visits any place or persons if he did not like them he might keep away but you cannot imagine more promptness and readiness in any one than there was in our Saviour to be humbled to that baseness to take our nature upon him When the Prophet had said Sacrifice and meat-offering thou wouldst not have but a body immediately follows Christs willingness to accept the motion O my God I am content to do it loe I come to do thy will O Lord Heb. x. how could any thing be entertained more heartily more chearfully he that says in Solomon hearken unto me ye children and blessed are they that keep my ways he says also my delights were with the sons of men Prov. viii 31. 4. There is not only willingness but friendliness in the appellation no man visits another but in the profession of a friend therefore St. Paul says upon the Incarnation Tit. iii. 4. the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it was a sign that he did not abhor us nay that there was peace and bounty toward us because he did condescend to have such familier conversation among us When God talked with Moses face to face the Scripture expresseth with the admiration of Gods love that he talk'd with him as one friend talketh with more but to dwell among us and visit us as one neighbour and well-willer doth another surely there must be much more amity and familiarity in that strain of love This very word therefore that he visited us is enough to exalt us to be the friends of God Because he frequented the company of those that had led scandalous lives to call them to repentance the Pharisees gave him a character that he was a friend of Publicans and Sinners and Lazarus is called his friend John xi because he did often resort to Bethany to the house of his Sisters Mary and Martha Beloved since this visitation hath declared us his friends let us be at enmity with all those things which are opposite to the glory of Jesus Christ. 5. It is more than all which I have said before that he hath visited us that he did burst the heavens to come down that is offer violence as it were to the God-head to unite it in one person with our corruptible substance God spake in times past to the Fathers by the Prophets but in these last days he spake unto us by his Son nay he sent unto us his Son The Prophets were holy men yet they were but men here was a nature that visited us far more perfect than theirs theirs the nature of Almighty God They were faithful servants in the house of God but a servant is an unperfect condition in comparison of a Son neither were we visited by any of the sons of men but by his own Son the Son of God You know that they of Lycaonia were strangely taken with it Gods are come down among us in the shape of men when they supposed Barnabas to be Jupiter and Paul Mercurius since they were in such an extasie at their own deceit how should we be affected with the
Father David I lay the point now with all evidence and perspicuity against the infidelity of the Jews 1. God did promise the Scepter unto Judah Gen. xlix 2. Judah had it in David and Solomon 3. It was threatned to be taken away and never restored again and so it was in Jeconiah 4. Whereas the family droopt and decayed the promise was that it should reflourish in Christ 5. That it should be a Kingdom greater than ever was before extended from the flood unto the worlds end Lastly that it should stand and dure for ever In all things the Gospel consents with Moses and the Prophets and the blind Jews that will contradict it even Judah shall be scattered with this horn Zach. i. 21. and be broken in pieces with the Scepter of this Kingdom but as the Prophet infers well if I be Lord where is mine honour and if Christ be a King where is our obedience God hath anointed him with his horn of power to be a King O that the unction of his Grace may distil upon our hearts that we may serve and fear him Concupiscence says I will reign Ambition says I will reign the Devil says I will reign the world says I will reign but a good Christian will say Non habeo regem nisi Dominum Jesum There is no King that shall command my conscience but Jesus Christ he is the horn of my salvation The points remaining shall take up no long time the next that I come to is the verb of action how God did raise up this horn of salvation you may know the meaning of this by our own vulgar phrase for it is our usual saying that God raiseth up friends to a miserable man when his relief and deliverance come through those means which he never expected The house of David had ennobled the Kingdom of Israel more than any other tribe or kindred that came out of the loins of Jacob is freed the Nation from the oppression of the Philistines expulsed the Jebusites out of the Imperial City reared up the stupendious fabrick of the Temple contrived the service of the Priests and Levites into admirable decency brought them into great respect with Foreign Princes All this came to them by the Son of Jesse and Solomon that succeeded him But in process of time the lineage of David was quite eclipsed that stately horn was broken especially when Herod ruffled it the poor remnant of the kindred pluckt in their head and durst not with any safety own themselves to be of that progeny Loe the inconstant state of humane things the sons and daughters of David who were the Princes of that Kingdom were become poor artisans and inmates in by-places and nothing was so beneficial to them as to be forlorn and despicable Now chops in another alteration more strange than all that had been before a Virgin of a most private fortune in that stock not lookt upon not thought upon to repair that decay she conceives a Son by the power of the Holy Ghost in whom the honour of David's house was more exalted than if he had subdued all those Countrys which Cyrus and Alexander made tributary to their Empire This is according to that Prophesie which James applied to our Saviour Acts xv 16. in that solemn Council of the Apostles after this I will return and will build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen down and I will build again the ruines thereof and will set it up This kindred in whom the Majesty of Judah did once rest nothing could be laid more flat than it in the revolution of a few ages and of a suddain this diminution was repaired no flesh and blood was ever more advanced than that house if they did not bid defiance to their own honor that Jesus Christ came from them according to the flesh This did David foresee and presageth it to his own generation Psal cxxxii I will make the horn of David to flourish but the Verb decomposit in the Septuagint is most significant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will make it sprout up again as when a tree is cut down and the stock appears to be dead but a little branch springs out of the root grows high and tall and fills up a better room than the trunk which was felled But the Jew complains to this day that he can perceive no such redintegration of the house of David O who is so blind and sensless as that Nation who would not receive him that came to be their glory and being plagued for their unbelief they will not perceive their punishment and misery the horn is raised up and the beast out of which it grew will not own it or acknowledge it But the promise of God cannot be made of none effect through their infidelity There is room enough beside in the world to receive him though his own exclude him the horn is raised up though the Rebels of the house of David reject him The condition of our humane nature was most innocent and Angelical in the first Creation we sinned we fell our boughs of glory were lopt away our fruit of holiness was shaken from it our substance was involved in the general curse of the earth to bring forth nothing but thorns and briars Thus we continued a despised mass of corruption till our horn was exalted in the Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Then was our nature advanced to one hypostasis with God himself as if a Giant should bear up an Infant upon his shoulders so we that pass'd for no better than blood temper'd with dirt are become as it were emulous with the thrones of heaven by this assumption of our manhood into his person because he took not upon him the seed of Angels but the seed of Abraham And as all that are born of women have some access of dignity because Christ took the similitude of our nature so the Church superabounds in two priviledges first as Gregory notes upon such words as these 1 Sam. 2. that it is said to the Priests of the Gospel whose sins ye remit they shall be remitted c. yet the like was never said to the Priests of the Law because remission of sins was brought to pass by him that was made man therefore from that time forth men were made the Ministers of Pardon and Absolution that 's the horn of the Church the power of the Keys Secondly God hath replenished us that are called by his name with a great abundance of the Holy Ghost and since Christ was made flesh he hath poured out of his spirit upon all flesh Loe these are the ascensions by which we climb up into heaven through this mercy that the Lord God of Israel hath raised up unto us an horn of salvation Now follows the third part of the Text to the end the Jews might know that this was the Messias which they expected here 's his lineage exprest according to the words of the Prophets he was raised
is in the new Temple of Jerusalem above the Stars that doth secretly teach the heart As the times go the efficacy of grace had need be stiffly maintained against bare outward means Mark the consent of antiquity upon this Point Non satis fuisset stella nisi adfuisset fides illustratio sancti spiritus says St. Ambrose they had never moved so far for the Star alone without the illumination of faith and the holy Spirit Fulgentior veritatis radius eorum corda perdocuit says Leo certain impulsions and illustrations of the holy Spirit gave them understanding and will to come to Christ Deus direxit eos tam in viâ morum quà m in viâ pedum says Chrysologus God did direct them both in their inward and in their outward ways The natural man is not able to discern the things that belong to God let these alone to themselves and shew them a bright Lamp from heaven and they would have thought of any thing as soon as of this question Where is he that is born the King of the Jews Suppose they had certain Traditions in their Schools that when such a Star was seen the Messias was come into the world yet no man could apply himself to seek out Christ and worship him but by the Spirit of God Every man is full of his conjectures who should deliver the expectation of the Messias to those remote Gentiles whether Daniel or some other Prophet that was in the Chaldean Captivity Or whether Balaam who lived in the Mountains of the East a thousand years before Daniel Nay another Author puts it upon Seth that he left a Prophesie concerning such an occasion which should fall out against the birth of Christ and that the Wise-men of the East appointed twelve men of their Colledge to watch that Star every year from the beginning of Autumn to the Winter and when one of those twelve died they supplied the number that their Watchmen might never fail Some Predictions they had I will not contend about it preacht to the outward ear yet this had been but sounding brass and empty words if the Lord had not secretly moved their heart What you will say and was the Spirit diffused even among the disperced of the Nations that lived without the Law Yes Beloved that was more than seldom seen as the spirit of grace was in Cornelius to send up Prayers and Alms to heaven before he knew what it was to be baptized unto remission of sins in the bloud of Christ The spirit of direction was upon Cyrus an heathen 2 Chron. c. ult 22. he was admonisht from God to build the Temple The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the King of Persia And the spirit of Divination or Prophesie was upon the wicked Soothsayers of the Philistins 1 Sam. vi 9. they divined if the Cart in which they put the Ark of the Lord went up straight to Bethshemesh to its own Coast then the Lord had laid evil upon them for detaining it and so it came to pass 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says St. Chrysostom God did make the Event answer to the Prediction of those wicked Soothsayers No opposition therefore in this but the Spirit bloweth where it listeth even among the dispersed of the heathen even among these Wise-men of the East Dedit aspicientibus intellectum qui prestitit signum The grace of God was in their understanding and his signs and wonders in their outward eye And so much of their first Assertion what God had wrought for them We have seen c. Said I even now that the benediction of the Spirit was upon them So it is evident by the last part of my Text their second Assersion what God had wrought in them and are come to worship him Many might come a journey to see him as well as they for that Herod that cut off John Baptist his head desired of a long time to see him Many might see the Star as well as they and be never the better for sundry saw as great signs and miracles that never believed Many of the Scribes knew where he was to be born and were able to tell the Wise-men when they knew not the matter lies not therefore in venimus or in vidimus but in adoramus this is their praise and this is their piety that they came to worship him and that they profess they will worship him though they knew him to be but an Infant new born and never scan the case in what condition they may find him The Queen of the South came as far as these men did but she found a King in all Royalty and such a glorious Court as never was the like these men found a Child in a Cratch the poorest and most unlikely birth that ever was to prove a King no sight to comfort them not a word that came from him for which they were the wiser and yet they were as good as their word they did fall down and worship him and more than worship him present him with their gifts Why should not they humble themselves to the earth when they saw the Stars above did obey him and wait his attendance You will say If we could see such a Star as they did the obstinate would be more convinced to do him worship but it will be more acceptable to worship him though we have not seen Beside They adored him when he was so little in his humiliation who will be slack to perform that homage now he is so great in his glorification I will rather regard the time than dispatch all that remains But one thing is to be spoken of that some take the very foundation of this Point from us namely that the worship of the Wise-men was no religious worship they came not to exhibit a pious veneration to Christ as to the Eternal Son of God but they saluted him with their bended knee as the Persian manner was to behave themselves before their Kings But why should Persians tender such civil worship to one that was none of their own Kings but the King of the Jews One would answer it thus to ingratiate themselves into him betimes if happily he should become the Oriental Monarch in his elder years A conjecture too slight for his great judgment that uttered it Is it possible that wise men should conceive in him no more than a man and yet do him all Princely honour lying in the Cratch of a Stable Are they such men as were admonisht in a dream by the divine Oracles which way to return home and yet shall we interpret their actions politically and not after a divine manner St. Chrysostom says They did both adore him in Bethlehem and preach of his heavenly Kingdom when they came home into Persia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Ambrose is for the same they worshipped him being a little babe in swadling clouts Vtique parvulum non adorassent si parvulum tantum credidissent But
of his faith and they are spiritual qualities wonted to go hand in hand Take the Centurion for an example who protested against our Saviours coming under the roof of such an abject sinner and incontinently Christ gave him this Encomium I have not found so great faith no not in Israel Attend to this comparison What means our Saviour That this Centurion was the most faithful of all believers Cajetan I think puts home to the true sense of the words 1. Non dicit non inveniam sed adhuc non inveni He doth not say I shall not find so great faith when after my Ascension the whole mysteries of salvation shall be revealed but as yet in the beginning of my manifestation I have not found so great faith 2. Christ did seek for increase of faith among the Jews by Preaching by Signs and Miracles and he found more in this Centurion than in any other since the time of his Preaching whereof the second year did run on but those words are no denial that there was not greater faith in the blessed Virgin his Mother and in John the Baptist for they believed before he began to Preach and before he began to do Signs and Wonders in Israel Therefore the Centurions faith was greater than any that were drawn to believe by Doctrine and the power of Miracles in which respect John the Baptist transcends the Centurion for he had not heard a word fall from our Saviour's mouth he had neither seen nor heard of any mighty work wrought by his hand nay he did not so much as know his face till even now that he came to Jordan and yet he knows and confesseth that he was the Lamb without spot and wondred that he should come to be wash'd in the Baptism of Repentance Bernard speaks to these words upon it Valde humiliaris Domine Lord thou wert marvellously humbled almost so far that thou couldst not be discerned only John perceived thee who thou wert Qui per utriusque mater ni uteri parietes te cognovit Yet he knew thee through the womb of his own mother Elizabeth through the womb of thy blessed Mother Mary thou couldst not be unknown to him through those double walls but he leapt for joy Here Expositors have made some work for our resolution upon a double doubt I have told you that our Prophet gave Christ a welcom into the world by springing in his mothers womb Yet he professeth that when he came to Jordan he knew him not but he that sent him to baptize told him it was he upon whom the Spirit should descend from heaven like a dove Joh. i. 33. Yet we see in this Text he knew him and forbad him to be baptized before the Spirit descended upon him in any bodily shape St. Hierom hath not waded to the depth of the answer for here he sticks that John at the first view perceived he was the Son of God yet knew not till he saw the visible sign of the Holy Ghost upon him that he should save the world through the cleansing of water This cannot hold for before John had seen him this was part of his Doctrine He that commeth after me shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost S. Austin was troubled with an error of the Donatists that the Baptism of an Heretick or wicked person had no efficacy to cleanse the party baptized This pestilent opinion was fresh in his days to be refuted and very strongly he proves this conclusion That Baptism is of soveraign vertue by the power of him into whose name we are baptized neither is it corrupted through his fault by whom it is administred Therefore as most men use to do he draws this Text to his purpose Innotuit per columbam Dominus non â—â— qui se non norât sed qui in â—o aliquid non noverat John knew the Messias by the token of the Dove not simply for he knew somewhat before but respectively through that sign He learnt somewhat which he knew not before namely that the vertue of Baptism was not imputed to the Servant but to the Son of God by whom we receive the Holy Ghost This exposition supposeth what we must not grant that so great a Prophet as John was not ignorant how the gift of God which sanctifieth the heart cometh only from the Lord of light St. Chrysostoms answer me seems is best both for soundness and perspicuity When Jesus came to John John did apprehend him by a double knowledge both by a sudden inspiration and afterward by the sluttering of the bird upon his head The infinite wisdom of the Father had so disposed that Christ after his coming out of Egypt lived at Nazareth till about thirty years of age All this while John lived in the Wilderness of Judea had contracted no familiar acquaintance with our Saviour nay had never seen his face till they meet at Jordan left the Pharisees should say when John bare testimony of him all was devised between them as plots use to be laid by them who are of intimate familiarity But as soon as ever the Eternal Son of God shewed his head at the brink of waters the Spirit suggested unto John This is he whose way thou art sent to prepare as when David came out of the field and was brought before Samuel the Lord said in secret to Samuel Arise anoint him this is he And for his further confirmation the Promise was kept which was made unto him about the descending of the Dove whereby he had an experimental object to strengthen his faith and a warrant from that illustrious miracle to preach him to the Jews with greater confidence and authority Therefore he knew him not till even hard before the Dove came down and was completely confirmed when the Dove fate upon him O great faith which embraced the Lamb of God and fell down at his feet in all humility as soon as one spark of illumination was kindled in his spirit before a visible sign appeared and to shew that here after faith shall be rewarded with the vision of God it was given to him to see the Spirit in the form of a Dove Let this be the end of the first general part of the Text. In the next part this holy Saint makes profession of his own vileness and infirmity I have need to be baptized of thee From which words I will speak to these three particulars 1. How far forth it is to be understood that there is a need to be baptized 2. That John was not clean from sin for he makes his moan that he had need to be baptized 3. He looks for that Baptism from none but Christ a testimony of the next Theological vertue As if he had said And now Lord what is my hope Truly my hope is even in thee I have need to be baptized of thee and comest thou to me For the first of these we have need of that which God hath set down by his own
be yet it is a sweet consolation that we have a general taste of Gods Mercies and gracious Promises towards them but no good Christian can choose but think so divinely of the Sacraments that our comfort is more perfect and better satisfied when they had the special seal of grace before they departed And if any mans fancy lead him to hold that both shall be glorified yet where the honour of the Sacrament lights the greater glory shall follow I had rather assent to this opinion than gainsay it though I know not how to prove it And let me end this Point as he begins his Poem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Water is the best Element in the world The Air for natural life the Water for spiritual And my exhortation is that you endeavour to see the Sacrament conferred upon all Infants as far as it is possible because John says I have need to be baptized I must now proceed to shew that John found imperfection in his own heart and therefore thus bemoans himself I have need to be baptized Two Expositions I suppose are natural to this Point 1. I have need to be baptized with thy Spirit and to receive thy grace 2. I desire that the infinite merit of thy bloud-shedding may be applied to me for the washing away of my sins The Baptism of the Spirit is the infusion of heavenly grace into the soul and John confesseth he had need of it Need I mean of the increase thereof although he had it in great abundance as soon as he was sent to prepare the way of the Lord. Abraham was circumcised in his old age and yet was justified before he received Circumcision Rom iv Cornelius was baptized having received comfort before from the Angel that his Prayers and Alms were pleasing to God When great multitudes of the Gentiles had their hearts touch'd from heaven says Peter Can any forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we Acts x. 47. In these instances it is seen that some grace did prevent the Sacrament and yet the parties who had received the Holy Ghost came willingly to be baptized For God doth not give all his grace at once or twice but more and more is added and supplied to the former Dose and though the outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day therefore the holiest Prophet alive while he carries flesh upon his loyns may say and ought to say I have need to be baptized of the Spirit This interpretation is accepted of all sides and what rubs can the other find that John did implore the mercies of Christ for the washing away of his sins Though he in a mortifying phrase and most contrite humility may seem to put himself in the number of sinners and so I have cited St. Ambrose making that sense of his words Tu venis ad me peccatorem Dost thou come to me a sinner Yet there are some that say unto him as Peter did to our Saviour Master spare thy self So they to another purpose spare thy self do not condemn thine own innocency thou art not polluted neither hadst thou any corruption in thee which could extend unto a mortal sin for it is written Luke i. 15. He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mothers womb That John was sanctified before he was born is it which hath made the scruple This is the doubt then which I am to clear that a man sanctified from his nativity I before his nativity may be a sinner whose iniquities have need to be washt away in the bloud of Christ To be sanctified from the womb it is a word of divers constructions and when I have named them all choose ye which you will and my conclusion will be inviolable First It hath been usual to say such Infants were sanctified from the beginning of their life to whom God hath very soon demonstrated some extraordinary favour So St. Ambrose says of Jacob the Patriarch that it was a sign of grace in him before he was born that he wrestled with Esau in the womb of Rebecca Ephraim the Syrian says as much of Moses that a divine blessing was upon him as soon as he was exposed in the Ark of Bulrushes because Pharaohs Daughter when she lookt upon him could not choose but pitty him Yet neither of these were so undefiled in their way but that they had need of remission of sins Secondly St. Austin hath this interpretation that to sanctifie him from the womb is not to pour extraordinary grace into the Infant at that rawness of age but to ordain him in due time unto Sanctification Sanctificavi i. e. destinavi sanctificare it is spoken of as a thing done in the present because Gods Predestination is sure from the first conception As the Gentiles are called the children of God before the Doctrine of faith was preach'd among them because they should be made the children of God as it is written Joh. xi 52. that Christ died not only for that Nation of the Jews but for the children of God that were scattered abroad the instance is in Jer. i. 5. I knew thee before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified and ordained thee a Prophet unto the Nations Even Maldonat confesseth out of these words he was sanctified because from the first minute of life he was ordained to be sanctified Non per inspirationem Prophetiae sed per destinationem not as if he were inspired so young but so young in the eternal Council he was appointed to be inspired It is in effect as St. Paul offers himself to us in the like phrase Gal. i. 15. It pleased God who separated me from my mothers womb and called me by his grace To separate from the womb is the same as to sanctifie from the womb Separare est à patre matre rebusque terrenis rem segregare Deo consecrare It is to draw a thing from Father Mother and all earthly relations and to appropriate it to God And yet this Apostle sighs it forth that he is the greatest of sinners and yet separated or sanctified from the womb And surely it is a Text of validity to prove that Jeremy was not cleansed from the foulness of Original sin for he reviles the day of his birth because it brought forth nothing but a miserable sinner Cursed be the day wherein I was born let not the day wherein my Mother bare me be blessed Jer. xx 14. I am very loth to lay any faults to the Saints of God yet after all answers and shifts I cannot see but that Jeremy in those words is guilty of great impatiency Thirdly To be sanctified not only from the womb but even from the earliest minute of life in the conception is to be endowed with eminent motions of grace not usual to other Infants and so it was in John the Baptist in whom two things of Gods especial
Prophet by prostrating himself did bring life again into that which was dead so Jesus by making himself an ignominious reproach to the world did justifie and acquit those who were appointed to everlasting death Thus you see why our Saviours answer strikes upon the circumstance of that present time Suffer it to be so now He came in the form of a Servant and as long as he emptied himself in that shape he would do the duties of a Servant Sine modo now I will be baptized of thee in water hereafter I will baptize my Church with the Holy Ghost and with fire As yet I stand for one of the multitude as yet the Holy Spirit hath not descended upon me to make me manifest to the world that I am the Son of God therefore suffer it to be so now Mark I beseech you how in the lowest depression of a servant he keeps the Majesty of a Lord For he makes himself a servant by his own command Sic volo sic jubeo it is my own pleasure to make my self a worm and no man yea a very scorn and derision of them that are round about me As Cesar did not lessen his own dignity because he would both command as General and yet work in the trenches like the meanest Pioneer Dux consilio miles exemplo and as Helen the Mother of Constantine was not under the honour of a Princess because she would dress the Blains and Ulcers of poor Cripples in the Hospital So the mighty Son of God was not diminished in his glory because he put himself into the rank of abject ones by his own yielding and accord not by compulsive necessity His obedience did not spring from any legal servitude as one whose Parents did beget him in bondage nor from any penal servitude as one that was enthralled by trespasses or violent captivity But he did put his neck into the yoke and did appoint himself certain years of misery and abasement therefore he lays his authority upon the Prophet that it should be so Suffer it to be so now And is not this example worth the learning That God is better served by him that hath a yielding spirit and will stoop in humility than by him that is stiff to maintain the honour of his person and will not condescend for the advantage of much good from his place and dignity You shall have them that will defend Augustine the Monk that would neither veile his head nor bend his knee to the Brittish Monks of this Island that were met to receive him Forsooth such courtesie did not become him because he was the Nuncio of the Apostolical See There was a great Clerk that bolstered up the fiery humour of Pope Paul the Fifth in the Venetian quarrel and bad him keep his dignity inviolable whatsoever became of peace with this Text to enflame him Arise Peter kill and eate O if there be any such evil Monitor that provokes you to stiffness and stubborness by the consideration of your Greatness and Principality answer him with our Saviour Sine modò frater whatsoever I be in pre-eminence of honour let me forget it now many things unworthy our person must be swallowed up for the glory of God When Shimei reviled David Abishai would have had his head for it suffer it to be so now says David though he were the King of Israel I must pass it over without revenge it is the Lord that will afflict me There are such as will blow coals especially to incense great men if their inferiours chance to trespass Are you not noble Of ample fortunes Of great power and reputation And will you not crush an underling that affronts you But such injuries as your bloud could not put up your office which you sustain must remit that you are members of Christ linkt together in love which is the bond of perfection Christs Office of Mediatorship made him be contented with those abasements which where far unworthy of his Majestical person But suffer it to be so now c. This Point which I have latest handled was the strict command of Christ over John Baptist as his Lord in that which follows as a Preceptor he teacheth his Disciple and gives him reason that he might know upon what ground he must obey Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness in which reason so many words so many notations six in all which will require discussion 1. What signification the word righteousness hath 2. What is required to fulfil it 3. How it was fulfilled in this Baptism for our Saviour hath put an Emphasis upon the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus I must fulfil it 4. How it can be said that the coming to Johns Baptism was the fulfilling of all righteousness 5. Why the Proposition speaks of more than one of us in the Plural 6. That Christ did fulfil all righteousness at this time not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a strict necessary rigour but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for decency sake because it did become him So you see every word is ponderous and observable Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness Of these as the scantling of the time will permit The significations of the word righteousness or justice are four First It is the name of all vertue taken in the lump where none is wanting So did the Philosopher state it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justice is not a part or a fragment of Vertue but the whole continent of it And so it is to be found in God only and in no other Creature And thus our Saviour did fulfil all righteousness because we had fulfilled all manner of wickedness And so St. Chrysostom understands this place that to make our peace with God Christ was tied to the exact performance of all the Commandments Secondly Justice is one particular branch of Vertue which is thus defined Constans perpetua voluntas jus suum cuique tribuendi A constant and perpetual resolution to give every man his own And St. Paul puts it in one Precept Rom. xiii 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Render therefore to all men their dues And Christ was most respectful to see that every one had their own both in heaven and earth according to that most admirable principle Give unto Cesar that which is Cesars and to God that which is Gods Thirdly Justice is taken for faithfulness in our word and being exactly true in our promises and certainly lying is a fraudulency most opposite to Justice Thus did our Saviour shine in righteousnes full of grace were his lips neither was any guile found in his mouth Yea let God be true says the Apostle and every man a liar that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and overcome when thou art judged Rom. iii. 4. Fourthly Righteousness doth many times very properly signifie that integrity which is found in a man according to that special Office which he sustains There is a particular Justice belonging to every state and condition of
volume of thy book it is written of me that I should fulfill thy Law then said I loe I come 2. He fulfilled the Moral Law not only by giving it the right interpretation but by exact obedience whereupon he said Which of you can accuse me of sin 3. He gave life to the Ceremonies pointing to their true meaning as instead of the Circumcision of the flesh exhorting to the Circumcision of the heart 4. Whereas the judicial Law of the Jews did mention temporary and corporeal rewards and punishments Christ changed that stile of speech into spiritual and eternal No doubt but Christ did fulfil all righteousness for he came not to do his own will but the will of his Father his justice was multiformous in all the actions of his life from his Cratch to his Cross yet my Text says that he did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thus by receiving Baptism by that one act fulfil all righteousness I know not one bad interpretation upon that Point which is rare among Expositors to be so divers in their judgments and yet all allowable One says it is meant quoad inchoationem justitiae that so it behoved him to begin the course of righteousness That was but one act of his humility but the first wherein he did manifest obedience So Baptism is the first step that we make into the Church of Christ therefore because light was the first thing that God made among his visible Creatures and Baptism is the first of his spiritual graces it hath ever been called in the Greek Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the illumination of a Christian it is the day of inauguration when we first claim right unto our title of the Kingdom because we are adopted the Sons of God Surely the ordinary gloss conceits the words otherwise but very profitably Righteousness is either Legal which consists in an exact obedience to all the Commandments of God Or else Evangelical which knows Salvation is not attained unto by the works of the Law but thus Repent and believe and thou shalt obtain remission of sins therefore Christ speaking in the person of us who are his members says to John 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus must we fulfil all righteousness by calling upon men to repent and be baptized in the true faith and their sins shall be covered and blessed is that man or righteous is that man to whom the Lord imputeth no sin This was the Doctrine taught in the Church every where three hundred years past and more Omnis justitia impletur ex gratiâ All our righteousness is fulfilled through grace and not through works Ut nullus ex operibus neque ex arbitrio glorietur they are the words of the gloss to the end that none may boast of works or in the power of his own free will but acknowledge himself guilty of damnation and obnoxious to the dreadful justice of God let us fly to that grace which freely washeth away our sins Thus it behoveth us to fulfil all righteousness Chemnitius makes this apprehension of the Text. Christ did omit no means to reconcile us to his Father that we might be justified before him and this he brought to pass two principal ways 1. When he gave himself an Oblation upon the Cross to take away our sins 2. When he did institute the means and instruments to apply that meritorious satisfaction unto us on this wise therefore he did fulfil righteousness by sanctifying the Sacrament unto us which is the especial medium to apply the righteousness of faith to every one that shall be saved Another and the last sense of this word that likes me also consists in these terms By receiving this Sacrament of Baptism we are tied as far as we are able to fulfil all righteousness It behoveth them that profess the true Faith to keep themselves undefiled from the world and to be holy unto the Lord. As Rachel cried out to Jacob Give me children or else I die so a sincere faith cries out unto the conscience Let me bring forth good works or else I shall be a dying faith and altogether unprofitable Do we make void the Law through faith Says St. Paul God forbid yea we establish the Law Rom. iii. 31. So it appears how righteousness buds forth from Baptism our conscience being watred with the heavenly dew of that Sacrament it makes us fruitful with good works Sed in istôc nequaquam sunt omnia will some man say Will that serve instead of all righteousness For our Saviour saith Thus it behoveth us to fulfil all righteousness God gave the word great was the company of Interpreters and his Spirit is in them all You shall hear the several consolations which they pick out from hence 1. To be a perfect teacher and a perfect doer of Gods will these are Tabor and Hermon the two fruitful hills upon which the blessing of the Lord descends To be a Teacher and not to do well is very bad like Hophni and Phinehas those dissolute Priests who polluted the holy Sacrifice To do well and not to teach is laudable and good but it is not excellent for to be an instructer and a doer is a degree of perfection beyond it Omne tulit punctum it is more blessed to give instruction than to receive therefore our Saviour was abundant in both Praeivit in exemplo quod verbo docuit He did lead the way of obedience by example and afterward did preach it to the people Blessed is he therefore that is not only a teacher but a doer of the word this is to fulfil all righteousness 2. Suum cuique there are but three heads from whence all justice is distributed and they may be drawn out of this Baptism for by receiving Baptism we are obedient to the institution of God we provide a salutiferous medicine for our own soul and by letting our light shine before men we do edifie our brother But to render that which is due to God to our own soul to our brother is to be perfect in every line of justice therefore in the universality Christ might say thus he did fulfil all righteousness 3. Says St. Austin Quid est impleatur omnis justitia Impleatur omnis humilitas The Son of God had this meaning how he fulfilled all righteousness because he condescended to the lowest step of humility for there are these three fallings as I may say one lower than another To be subject to a Superiour and not to prefer himself before an equal is justitia sufficiens sufficient humility and no want To be subject to an equal and not to prefer himself before an inferiour is justitia abundans that is not only justice enough but large and abundant humility but to be subject to an inferiour yea the most mighty God to be subject in Baptism to his Creature this is justitia perfectissima most perfect lowliness none can submit it self more and thus indeed to make the pride of base man to blush who
is but dust and ashes Christ did empty himself of his glory and fulfilled all the righteousness of humility The fifth word of consideration is the plurality of persons spoken of in the Proposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus it behoveth us to fulfil all righteousness It was fit indeed for our Lord Jesus to perform all obedience to the Law in every tittle and minim that is commanded because it lay upon his person to undo the curse of the Law Surely Johns name must stand for a cipher in that work for Christ alone trod the Wine-press of his Fathers wrath neither John nor any of the Saints were made co-partner with him in our redemption By his one Oblation of himself once offered he made a full perfect sufficient Sacrifice and Oblation for the sins of the world What means this saying therefore in the Plural Thus it behoveth us Take again what the Spirit hath supplied for exposition of this word in divers manners One way it is satisfied that Christ according to that excellent power which is in him speaks of himself regally as of many Joh. iii. 11. We speak that we know and we testifie what we have seen and yet Christ only spake to Nicodemus Again it is a sweet consolation that after the taking of any Sacrament we are no more one and one and so to be reckoned single by our selves but Baptism and the Lords Supper are the very bonds of perfection and make us all members of one mystical body the Scripture is admirably accurate in this particular as 1 Cor. xii 13. By one Spirit we are all baptized into one body and have been all made to drink into one spirit Here it appears that we are become one spirit by drinking one cup of the Lord and one holy lump because we are sprinkled with one spirit in the water in the name of the Lord so our Saviour phraseth the sentence of my Text according to this mystical union Thus it behoveth us to fulfil all righteousness One other Paraphrase is very plain and literal and perhaps therefore the more natural John was loth to put his hand unto the water to cast it upon the head of Christ his Master rectifies his error and tells him it must be done it is expedient for both Obedience is required in the Servant humility in the Lord thus it behoveth us on both sides to fulfil all righteousness Take the last conjecture of the word with you and as I approve it the most useful Christ was made righteousness and sanctification for us by shedding his innocent bloud which is testified in the water of this Sacrament He alone is the meritorious cause of our Salvation But the application of this justice is not to be expected to fall upon our heads without ordinary means and such instruments as God hath appointed Ye are Gods Husbandry says St. Paul to them of Corinth but we are labourers together with God 1 Cor. iii. 9. He regenerates by his word which is committed to the lips of sinful men he cleanseth and sanctifieth his Church by the washing of water whereof we are made dispensers therefore our Saviour hath joyned this Prophet to himself not by way of merit God forbid but by way of instrument and ministry in the work of our redemption thus it behoveth us to fulfil all righteousness Now I shall end this Text in a word that Christ did fulfil all righteousness at this time not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a strict necessary rigour but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for decency sake because it did become him Thus it becometh us c. Many abasements our Saviour did endure and became obedient in many parts of humility which could not be exacted at his hands in strict justice as he took our nature upon him but they were certain voluntary strains of lowliness which were full measure pressed down and running over As for his dolourous Passion of the Cross that could not be escaped it was the cup which he must drink to satisfie for the sins of the world therefore he preacht to his Disciples in this unavoidable expression Nonne oportuit c. Ought not Christ to have suffered and thus to enter into his glory But to stoop like one of the multitude to the Baptism of John was not of absolute necessity but a decency which did well befit his humiliation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thus it becometh us c. A comliness in every one is to be observed according to his Christian calling and decency though necessity were set apart will prevail much with tractable and honest dispositions Some will bend to nothing but to that which is clearly exprest in so many words out of the sacred Text. But what if decorum require it to be done though it be not in specialty contained in Scripture but in general Maxims why surely then it cannot be neglected if we will offer up to God a perfect Sacrifice Whatsoever is fitting for an outward sanctification of a sincere heart you cannot omit it without maiming that ingenuous comliness which is required at our hands This is not my own fancy for I observe it frequently in St. Paul that he argues from that which becometh a Christian 1 Cor. xi 13. Judge in your selves is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered 1 Tim. ii 10. Let the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefastness and sobriety not with broidered hair But as becometh women professing godliness Eph. v. 3. Fornication uncleanness let it not once be named among you as becometh Saints Where is that wrangling excuse now for all your pride and bravery Will you be stiff in your opinion that you may paint and powder and crisp and clip hair and use all those Island dog tricks about your head because the Bible doth in no place by name condemn these things Beloved if the Spirit of God had penn'd a thousand Bibles more they could not have contain'd the Catalogue of all those Peacock fashions into which you transform your selves from time to time therefore one rule stands for all that you must do as becometh women professing godliness and remember that there is a decency to be attended in Christianity I will not say to you as St. Paul did to the women of Corinth Judge in your selves if this be comly We should have wise reformation for all faults if you were made the judges who are quite addicted to vanities Who shall tell you then what is decent for Christians Will you rather believe the handmaid that attires you Or the Waiting-woman that hath wages to flatter you Or those Gallants that call themselves your servants and would have you proud that they may idolize you Will you believe these rather than the Priest of God whose soul must answer for every word he teacheth you Learn from him what it is that becometh you to fulfil righteousness Much might be enforced from hence likewise to commend unto you all the Ceremonies so exactly
Person of the Trinity did fight against them they resisted the Spirit of God and the same Spirit resisted them Certainly you shall confess out of holy Scripture that not only these but all other refractory men are inchanted with a kind of Sorcery who are contumacious and will not believe what the Word of God doth evidently perswade them 2 Tim. iii. 7. There are some says the Apostle ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth for as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses so do these also resist the truth men of corrupt minds reprobates concerning the Faith There are some who are always learning why there is no hurt in that nay it is most worthy of praise Seek the Lord and your soul shall live says David seek his face evermore My often named St. Austin hath a pure meditation upon it Quaeramus inveniendum quaeramus inventum ut inveniendus quaeratur occultus est ut inventus quaeratur immensus est That is seek the Lord that he may be found seek him when he is found be ever learning His glory is hidden secretly therefore he must be sought that he may be found And his glory is immense and infinite therefore seek him evermore when he is found But how comes it to pass that such as are always learning never come to the knowledge of the truth Because they deceive themselves and think that God hath made them wiser than their Teachers They will do nothing unless their own ignorant surmises and private spirit and doating revelations give them satisfaction There are labourers great store in the harvest you cannot say that you want Teachers I would we had not cause to complain that we want Learners Every illiterate man is as peremptory in his own opinion as if he were not a Disciple but a Judge of Divinity and if they be checkt for perverseness that they will not let the Pastor of their soul perswade them they are ready to reply as Zedekiah the false Wizzard did to Michaiah Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from us to you Take heed of this stiff-neckt perverseness as well in Civil matters as Spiritual 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says the best Poet let us condescend one to another I to you you to me and reach out our arms to hold peace and charity fast between us As for the obstinate and contentious they are far from the spirit of John Baptist who knew himself to be most insufficient to baptize our Saviour yet after one words direction he obeyed and Then he suffered him And this is enough to be spoken of the first part of the Text unless some turbulent spirits among you do still resolve to be obstinate in their obstinacy John refuseth no more and the impediment of this famous baptizing is removed away so the instrumental cause being aptly prepared now follows the effect Jesus was baptized The reasons for which Baptism I will first pass on and then some meditations of Use upon it I draw the reasons why Christ submitted his own Person to be baptized into five heads First that an Institution so poor and despicable in it self might not be contemned for what can be said more to give it warrant and authority than to say Thus my Saviour was washt in Jordan What so divine an instigation to press us all to come unto the floud of living waters to thirst for that immortal spring of grace than this that the Son of God himself did not decline to be partaker of the Baptism of Repentance To what end did he apply that remedy to himself whereof most manifestly he did not stand in need but that sinners should wishingly affect it for their souls health whose infirmities before the eyes of God and men do want a remedy Christus recipiendo Johannis baptismum instituit suum John did neither point to any Prediction to enable him to baptize which was spoken of by the Prophets no miracle from heaven did shine upon his labours that all men might say this is the finger of God the Scribes and Pharisees although they durst not gainsay because of the people yet they did not encourage and applaud his Ministry this Ceremony therefore had faln away like water which is spilt and cannot be gathered but that the mirrour of heaven and earth that draws all men after him came to Jordan to be baptized of him God dwelleth in light incomprehensible and he is too great to be imitated by man Man himself is a creature of much corruption and is a most ticklish uncertain example to be immitated by man the wisdom from above therefore did provide for us in the safest wise Vt videret homo quem sequeretur Deus factus est homo says Leo To set up a spectacle fit for our eyes to look upon God himself was made man And as our own Histories report of Cesar being somewhat reproachfully repelled by the ancient Brittains insomuch that his Cohorts kept themselves in their Ships and durst not land at last Cesar cast forth the chief Ensign their Eagle upon the shore waded forth himself into the waters and bad the best daring spirits to follow him So to make my Parallel complete the beginning of the next Chapter manifests that we have a Ghostly enemy to encounter our Ensign is not an Eagle but a Dove that came down upon the waters our Commander is the mighty God who first casts himself into the waters of Jordan that we may follow him and at the same Sacrament defie the Devil our enemy and all his works A comfortable General that would wear his own Colours 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says St. Paul The author and the finisher of our faith Heb. xii 2. which Text may comfortably be reduced to the two blessed Sacraments for in his Last Supper he was the Author of our Faith most probably it being supposed that first he eat bread after he had blessed it and then gave it to the Disciples In Baptism he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the perfecter and finisher of faith for John did begin that wholsome Ordinance and Christ did finish it and stampt a Seal of Authority upon the Institution because himself was baptized Secondly Christ was not only baptized to seal the Sacrament with his Priviledge and Licence but in that act he did sanctifie the waters to the blessing of his Church If Naaman had not been filled with the disease of Leprosie Elisha had not sent him to Jordan to wash and be clean If there had not been some impurity upon the best of the Apostles our Saviour had omitted his Ceremony to rinse their feet in water and to wipe them with a Towel Because every Infant is polluted with bloud from the nativity Occiso magis quam nato similis says Seneca more like to one that is killed than to one that is born therefore it is rub'd with water to take away all defilement So unless much filthiness did inhere in every child
of Adam the Sacrament of waters had not been ordained as if we were refined with Fullers Sope. There are but two Baptisms spoke of in the New Testament the one of Water the other of Fire and both are put together for the use of our impurities that all defilement may be driven out Molliora per aquam duriora metalla igne expurgantur If there be spots in Linnen or in any thing that is soft and supple we take them out in water if it be dross in stubborn Metals we decoct it and scum it off in a furnace of fire So our nature is most soft and supple to contract every kind of iniquity as easily as a cloath is stain'd And our heart is hard like iron stubborn and refractory to forsake iniquity therefore God applies Water and Fire to purge us to the bottom Water in the outward Laver Fire in the inward Spirit so by Christs humility who vouchsafed to dip himself in such water as we do he merited of his Father that we should be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire Non mundari voluit sed mundare Jordanem says St. Ambrose he came not to be cleansed but to cleanse the River Jordan and all other waters for the mystical washing away of sin Unus mersit sed lavit omnes unus descendit ut ascenderemus omnes One Jesus dived into the River that we might all rise up from the death of sin one man descended into the Pool in great humility that we might all ascend up into glory Therefore if any man ask why he that was whole in every part would step into Bethesda as if he were diseased why the immaculate Son of God would wash with sinners Let him take this answer That he was brought to Baptism even as the Spirit came down upon him anon after from heaven in the shape of a Dove It was not for want of the Spirit before or that any thing could be added to that plentiful grace which did inhabit in him but to call for the Holy Ghost that it might rest upon his Church So it was not for want of cleanness that he suffered such a Ceremony at Jordan to be done unto him as belongs to them that are impure but to make the Sacrament vertuous and powerful for them that should take it after him Pro nobis Christus lavit imò nos in corpore suo lavit all our defilements if we repent and believe are wash'd away upon his body There were certain legal cleansings with water in the Statutes of Moses Figures of things to come and ordained to satisfie for pollutions that hapned through chance and ignorance but Christ submitted himself to the Ordinance of the New Testament and avoided them For 1. They were Figures what should he do with such things that was the very truth 2. They appertained to the polluted What reference could they have to him that is immaculate 3. They were appointed for trespasses of ignorance What application could they have to him who knows all things in heaven and earth and under the earth And lest he should be mistaken for one in the rank of sinful men as if he came to be baptized for the same end that we do John pronounceth him holy after the strictest manner in another Gospel not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says St. Chrysostom behold him that is without sin but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 behold him that taketh away the sin of the whole world his soul must needs consist of nothing but untainted righteousness He did communicate in his Last Supper with his Disciples and this was his difference from them he took the Bread when he had blessed it Ad spirituale solatium non ad augmentum gratiae not to augment grace and charity as we do but for the delight of his Spirit So it delighted him to sanctifie the waters of our new Birth to the washing away of our sins Vnde ista vertus aquae St. Austin speaks like one astonisht Whence comes it that the poor Element toucheth the skin and mundifieth the heart But even from him whose hem of his garment an impotent woman took in her hand and Christ perceived that vertue was gone out of him and as you must not conceive any Physical inherent vertue was in his cloaths to stop an issue of bloud as there is in some stones and herbs which in their substance are medicinal so you must not mistake as if Christ had sanctified all Rivers that a strange hidden vertue is infused into such water as is blessed to baptize whereby ex opere operato by the meer aspersion the soul should become unpolluted but by this act of our Saviours it was ordained and instituted to be the matter of that Sacrament which should sanctifie the Children of God Neither doth the Doctrine of this reason stretch so far as if God could not have caused Jordan and all other Fountains to take away pollution though Christ had never been washed in his own Person for that immortal Laver is the medicine of our souls because the vertue of the Holy Ghost is upon it Spiritus novit locum suum as many of the Fathers when the world was first made the Spirit moved upon the waters and he keeps the same place in our New Birth when we are made again children I mean by adoption and grace and so far of the second reason Thirdly It appears from hence what the Prophet Isaiah foretold Chap. liii 6. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all because he hath received our sins upon him and offered himself as bail for us to his Father to discharge us from malediction therefore he was baptized in the form of a sinner and was reckoned among those that had need to be wash'd for their sins In all things it behov'd him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and a faithful High Priest Heb. ii 17. Nazianzen makes all things consist in these three Points man may be said to be born thrice 1. A miserable Infant from his mothers womb 2. He is regenerate and born again by water and the holy Spirit 3. He is brought to life again at the last day when the Grave shall give up the dead in every one of these Christ was made like unto man by his Nativity by his Baptism by his Resurrection But to be made like unto us in Baptism was more against his dignity than both the rest in some comparisons His Mother brought him forth indeed in the form of a poor helpless Infant yet you will grant that to be an Infant is the order of nature and not a misery He did overcome death at his Resurrection nothing was ever done more triumphantly he did overcome such enemies which to that time had been unvanquishable but he came to Baptism in the person of many sinners that as he had honoured our nature in his Birth so he might purifie it in Baptism to be made sin
and fell to them again seven times and no less and never made an end till his Servant told him he saw a little cloud rising out of the sea He that will give over for seven times seven repulses and will not be importunate with the Lord it were pity his desires should be successful Such constant such contrite devotion how can it choose but pierce the clouds The High Priest went once a year into the Holy of Holies with the perfume of Incense What is Incense but Prayer What is the Holy of Holies but the Kingdom of heaven O that you would believe which I am sure you ought to do that no part of Piety is so beneficial to the soul as Prayer You will remember my saying perhaps when you are upon the bed of your last sickness that Prayer is the Key to open the gate of heaven that Prayer is that address of the soul with which God appointed we should draw near unto him Now I know the most of you had rather spend your pains another way but at that last hour of anxiety unless God forsake you for your sins your heart will be intent upon nothing but upon zealous Prayer It is but a circumstance drawn into my Text from another Evangelist therefore I will pass it by with Bedes observation that Prayer is an active and a passive Benediction it draws God to us and by the same motion draws us to God as if a ship lay at Anchor tost upon the waves you may pluck the Cable with your hands and think to hale the ship to you but the Cable being of stronger tack will pluck you to the Ship The Prophet Isaiah in his Prayers was confident he could not be denied therefore he cries out O that thou wouldst burst the heavens O Lord and come down Our High-Priest Jesus offered the sweet odours of his Prayers unto his Father and loe the heavens were opened unto him The second consideration of the first Point is ended but I would you would diligently begin to practise it Thirdly I shall recite it before you how this Miracle fell out to glorifie Christ Therefore the Text says Loe the heavens were opened to him opened manifestly for the view of all beholders that were present but opened unto him because it was meant for his inauguration to honour his Mediatorship who came to redeem mankind from the curse of endless death and captivity Therefore imagine not as if the whole heavens did seem unveiled to discover all their glory but only so much of the Firmament did spangle like a Canopy advanced in state over our Saviours head as might betoken his Celestial Dignity The Father at this Baptism proclaimed him from above to be his well beloved Son and to make us understand that his love where it lights consists not in sweet words of affection only he did attire the Air in most Princely beauty to honour his well-beloved in whom he was well pleased Contrariwise at the Passion of Christ the Sun denied his light to the earth and the Regions above did never look so terrible as then with black clouds and darkness for he carried the malediction of us all upon him and it was a day of wrath and vengeance when God took punishment upon all iniquity We read of no Angel that was near to behold him at that dolorous hour upon the Cross belike it was a sight so ingrate and pitiful to behold that they withdrew themselves but at the triumph of his Baptism it is not mine but St. Austins opinion that the heavens which reach as far as the habitation of all blessed spirits were opened Vt in coelestibus esset miraculum de his quae agebantur in terris that the Angels might take this amiable spectacle into their view of those things that were done upon earth for would it not ravish the Powers of Heaven to peep into this Mystery that the Son of God should stoop so low in the River Jordan That a mortal man should hold up his hand above his head to baptize him When Israel came out of Egypt and the house of Jacob from the Babylonish bondage the deliverance was so gladsom to the Land of Canaan to receive her ancient Inhabitants again that the Mountains skipped like Rams and the little Hills like young Sheep When the Apostles prayed among them that were converted and had received the Holy Ghost the place was shaken where they were assembled as if the ground could have cleft for joy Acts iv 31. Then could the Heavens contain to burst themselves for joy when Christ was initiated into his Royal Office The Earth was obsequious to the honour of such as were earthly the Heavens did honour Christ at his Baptism for the second man was from the heaven heavenly Now I come to fill up the last thing considerable in this Miracle what joy and comfort the opening of the heavens affords to all them that believe in Jesus The heavens were opened the Dove descended a voice from above proclaimed the good will of the Father to rejoyce our hearts that the immortal Laver of Baptism is able to cast all those blessings upon us not that all those were not in Christ and due to him before the Sacrament For did he then begin to have the Spirit rest upon him who is of the same eternal substance with the Spirit Or was that the first time when the heavens were opened to him of whom it is said of old Heaven is my seat and Earth is my foot stool Nor did his Father then begin to call him Son for we read in the book of the Psalms Thou art my Son this day that is from all eternity I have begotten thee When God spake and answered our Saviours Prayer from Heaven Christ turns to the Jews saying This voice came not for me but for your sakes Joh. xii 30. Likewise he might expound upon the opening of the heaven this was not for me but for your sakes Restincta est aquis baptismi romphaea flammatilis quae claudit paradisum says Ratbertus A fiery flaming Sword debarr'd the way into Paradise by Gods appointment which flame is mystically quenched in the Baptism of our blessed Mediator and now as if the Angel had said I will stop the way into Paradise no more the Heavens were opened And if Marriage be called honourable inasmuch as he vouchsafed his Presence at a Marriage at Cana in Galilee then Baptism is most honourable and blessed because he was more than present at it He came in his own person from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized To what purpose should this Scripture say Loe or behold the heavens were opened Unless it were a continual opening from that time to this how could we behold it If open and immediately shut again it were not so proper to say unto us behold But if they always stand open by the meritorious Redemption of Christ then it is an apt Phrase to say Behold the Heavens were opened
Saints but would not have them forget Zeal Ne dolum habeas in columba demonstratum est ne simplicitas frigida remaneat in igne demonstratum est Guile and circumvention are to be banisht from Christianity if the Dove sit upon your head it will instill simplicity but simplicity may be chil and faint in a good cause therefore if a Pillar of fire sit upon your head it will infuse fervency There was no fire wanting in Stephen the Martyr when he did asperse the Jews with all manner of disdainful reproaches because they were stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart There was no Dove-like simplicity wanting because he prayed for them that stoned him And so far of the second point how aptly the Spirit came like a Dove upon Christ at his Baptism in cloven tongues and in fire upon the Apostles at the Feast of Whitsontide The conclusion of the Text rests now upon this Point that the figure of the Dove sweetly doth admonish us concerning many properties of the Holy Ghost It sate upon Christs head not to enrich him with any heavenly treasure which he wanted before but to derive the manifold issues of sanctification into our heart Solus injuriis se subdidit Dominus sed solus gratiam non quaesivit says St. Ambrose all manner of ignominies and buffetings all manner of injuries upon the Cross our Lord and Saviour took them to himself alone but the coming down of the Spirit that he took not to himself alone I will pray unto the Father and he will send you another Comforter Open your heart wide therefore and this Dove will fill it A dumb creature ye know and may signifie many things and because I am perswaded the Holy Ghost came down in that shape which had the largest number of significations for the advancement of piety therefore I will hold me to my task to collect all that are profitable and omit none And because it bears a similitude which will increase into many applications I will enter upon that occasion first therefore it is animal foecundum it is a bird of a most teaming fertility and whether any bird that flies doth breed oftner I am not certain I believe not many such fecundity there is always in a lively faith Like the trees of Eden always bearing fruit never without some good work either the tongue is praying or the ear is hearing or the heart is meditating or the eye is weeping or the hand is giving or the soul is thirsting for remission of sins and every pious action is like a Pomgranate in Aarons garment full of kernels to betoken it will seed farther and spread in infinitum This is faiths fertility therefore the Spirit harboured himself in the shape of a Dove Secondly The Gall is the drought of cholerical matter in mans body out of that distemper proceed anger revenge and malice but the Dove hath no gall or if Aristotle hath observed it better than others so small a one that it can scarce be perceived So the Spirit loves to inhabit in a mild and gentle soul without wrath and fury The wrath of man worketh not the will of God for his will is mercy and forgiveness The Dove will intreat for Miriam as Moses did and sheild off the revenge of David from Nabals folly as Abigail did and crave pardon of Philemon for his fugitive servant Onesiphorus as Paul did The bruised reed shall not be broken and the smoaking flax shall not be quenched therefore when James and John called for fire from heaven upon the Samaratans their check was Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of as who should say ye have forgot the coming down of the Dove Thirdly The harmlesness of that bird is notable it hath neither beak nor talons to tyrannize over smaller Creatures Sine armis extra sine felle intus the smallest flies or gnats may hum about it and take no harm for it devours nothing wherein there is life There is not I dare pronounce it a more Saint-like ornament in any Christian than a Dove-like innocency Devour not one another by greedy gaining by racking oppression by strict advantages by extortion by treacherous blind informations He that wrongfully fleeceth his neighbour of all his substance to increase his own store would eat the flesh likewise from his brothers arm like a savage Cannibal if he wanted sustenance The spoyls which you have robb'd from others perhaps they shall be found upon thy back at the dreadful hour of judgment but wil our Saviour say thou didst not learn this thou extortioner from the Dove that sate upon me Fourthly The Dove feeds cleanly not upon Carrion like Vultures Corvi de morte pascuntur Crows peck upon dead carkasses but it picks up grains of corn and the purest fruits of the field Me thinks in this propertie I see the Spirit invite us to the Table of the Lord What corn-food so pure as that which our Saviour brake and gave to his Disciples saying Take eat this is my body Non hoc corpus quod crucifigetur c. not as St. Austin glosseth my very body which shall be crucified and my very bloud which shall be spilt that was the gross understanding of the sapernaits to think our Saviour meant his fleshly body The Dove is no devourer of that fleshly body of Christ which he assumed from the Virgin Mary but it satisfies its spiritual hunger with those pure crums of bread which are the Sacrament of his body Fifthly It is impossible to teach a Dove to sing a chearful tune for nature hath ingrafted in it a solemn mourning Gemitus pro cantu and it is the Spirit that puts compunction into our spirit with groans unutterable Sometime hang up the Harps of mirth and sit down and weep You never read that God will honour your joy in his eternal remembrance you are sure he will not forget your mourning says David Psal lvi 8. Thou tellest my slittings put my tears into thy bottle are not these things noted in thy book Yea not only doth he bear them in mind and keep them in register but if some Interpreters erre not he wears them upon his head Cant. v. 2 My head is filled with dew says Christ and my locks with the drops of the night as if he wore our tears says the Paraphrast like drops of Pearl upon his head Dry eyes and unrelenting hearts are the curse of God Ezek. xxiv 23. Ye shall not mourn nor weep but ye shall pine away for your iniquities Sixthly The Holy Ghost useth the wings of Angels the wings of the wind the wings of the Dove a bird of strong flight for the Spirit is swift in operation what he doth he doth it quickly Nescit tarda molimina Abraham ran forth to meet the Angels that drew to his Tent Sarah made ready quickly three measures of fine meal Abrahams young man ran to the Herd to fetch a Calf tender and good Nemo piger est
for the value of the benefit would compel us to love our Redeemer better than our Maker So Bernard Plus nos ad charitatem excitat redemptio quam creatio Therefore God could not so dispose for our souls that occasion should be given to love an Angel or Saint better than himself the King of glory The Son that sits at his right hand is the Person in whom he is well pleased who thought it no robbery to be equal with God He alone was fit for this dispensation who by an exceeding mystery did receive and accept the Sacrifice of reconciliation as God offended in his divine nature and yet did offer up that Sacrifice to the divine nature being the Mediator God-Man The close of all is sweet like the rest that the Father is pleased in all things both in heaven and earth by the reconciliation of his Son Reconciliation is the knitting up of Friends into amity again and reducing them to concord that were enemies Then how can it fitly be said that God is reconciled with his Sons whom he loved from everlasting Says Beda to it Deus miro modo quando nos oderat diligebat He loved us according to that nature which he had made and hated us according to that sin which we had made Neither is the Father so said to be reconciled to us upon earth as if he loved us at any time now when before he did not Sed quia per hanc reconciliationem sublata est omnis odii causa says Aquinas but because by this act of reconciliation all cause of anger and displeasure was taken away I mean our sins were covered and the righteousness of Christ imputed to us And as the Angels minister to us so let me minister one speculation about them to the Text. God is pleased in Christ both with things in earth and with things in heaven No question but Christ is head of the Angels as well as of men for they as well as other members receive direction from Christ and are illuminated by him so that an influence is poured on them from Christ as members take from the head but as one distinguisheth judiciously Influens in Angelis non est finis incarnationis sed quiddam incarnationem consequens It was not put into the ends why he was incarnate to infuse vertue into the Angels but it is a gracious consequent which fell out upon it This perhaps will not be doubted of But how can it be said that he did reconcile unto himself things in heaven that is the Angels by the bloud of Christ They had never made any rupture with the friendship of God as men had and could they be reconciled Certainly the word Reconciliation properly taken is only agreeable to us who were Sons of wrath but are become elect and precious through Christ But Analogically it is truly said the Angels were reconciled in Christ because he obtained for them to be confirmed in grace and to be so established in the divine favour that it was impossible any breach or rupture should come between therefore this establishment in grace to them is the same that reconciliation to us That beatifical and glorious eternal life which the Angels have with God is a reward far above the merit of any Creature Therefore Angels are admitted into that glory not by condignity but as they challenge Christ for their head and themselves members of his triumphant body Paul therefore adjures Timothy before God and the elect Angels There is no election either of Angels or men but with respect unto Christ and the good Angels are called the Sons of God Job xxxviii not as begotten of him for Christ is the only natural Son as I have said before but because they are adopted through Christ therefore this is the beloved Son in whom with Men and Angels God is well pleased But to us especially this benefit is extended who were perfect enemies but being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN XXI SERMONS UPON THE TENTATION OF OUR SAVIOUR THE FIRST SERMON UPON Our Saviours Tentation MAT. iv 1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the VVilderness to be tempted of the Devil I Have already entreated before you of many things concerning our Lord and Saviour his Incarnation Circumcision Adoration by the Wise-men about his Baptism in Jordan Let us not rest here but say as that devout man did unto him Luk. ix 57. Lord I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest Therefore I invite your attention to go with me into the Wilderness another passage of his pomp and victories and to see him tempted of the Devil In Num. xxi 14. a Book is mentioned which was called the wars of the Lord. Rupertus says very well that the whole Scripture will not unfitly bear that name Quid aliud continetur vel agitur in sacrâ Scripturâ nisi bellum certamen verbi ad destructionem peccati mortis What is contained and agitated throughout all the contents of that divine Book but Christ warring and striving to destroy sin and death And if the whole Scripture were summed up into one Chapter you might draw out this Verse for the Contents Gen. 3.15 I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between her seed and thy seed As if the Lord had said the Devil hath drawn my servants to consent to him Facti sunt socii consentanei rebellionis they are agreed like friends and have conspired in one rebellion against me but I will dissolve this friendship and turn it into hatred I will break this agreement and turn it into opposition I will divide them into an enmity that shall never be reconciled Three things I admire especially in the dispensation of Gods providence herein First We were his enemies rather than the Devils yet when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son Rom. v. 10. Secondly It is well for us that the Lord said ponam inimicitias he would make the quarrel between us and Satan break out into an open enmity It is an act of his most gracious wisdom to take away those weapons from the Devil wherein he was so cunning Leave the Devil to his wiles and deceipts and he goes away a conquerour proclaim him an open enemy and we have far more advantage against him Thirdly To the end this great Adversary might be beaten and vanquished to our hand our Saviour fought a combat with him in the Wilderness and overthrew him the narration of which great enterprise begins thus as I have read unto you Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil In the handling of which verse it will be worth the labour to insist upon these five things 1. Here is the hinge upon which all the story turns Christ was tempted 2. We must work somewhat out of the consideration of the Tempter the Devil 3. The
since he was tempted of Satan Lord let me not fight alone lest my foes prevail against me Thus tentation begets fear and fear begets prayer and prayer calls for succour and heavenly succour will assist us to be conquerours Gregory incloseth it in his meditation Vnde pertimescit homo enerviter cadere inde accipit fortiter stare that tentation which makes a just man distrust he shall fall affordeth him occasion to set his feet upon a sure place Cast not your selves therefore into tentation Brethren but when you are in them endure them with joy and courage as it is said of the Machabees that they fought with chearfulness the battels of Israel so go on with alacrity against those innumerable evils that take hold upon you The just man triumphs with David against the powers of darkness as if he saw them already made subject unto him they are cast down and faln but we are risen and stand upright Pelopidas being environed with an Ambush alas says his Lieutenant we are faln into the hands of our enemies And why not rather our enemies faln into our hands says Pelopidas So let not the name of Satan and tentation be dreadful unto you he hath more cause to fear he shall be repulsed than you have reason to fear he shall prevail since Christ hath blunted his weapons in this conflict The Fathers call that verse the Saints Jubilee after their trial with the evil one Psal lxvi 12. We went through fire and water but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place And therefore I bequeath St. Pauls exultation to your use Thanks be to God who hath given us victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Fourthly Christ was tempted to give us an example how to encounter with the roaring Lion and to win the Mastery As a young Learner will observe diligently every ward and thrust that an experienced Gladiator makes so the Holy Ghost hath set down for our advertisement every passage how Christ did turn and wind the delusions of the Serpent These things had need to be scanned beloved we had need to be cunning at our fence for if the Devil sought our overthrow in Christ how much more will he do it in our selves If these things were done to the green wood what will be done to the dry But mark how the man of Gods right hand chased away the enemy mark how he demeaned himself from first to last and you are fortified with the best president that ever the world afforded Ut cujus munimur auxilio ejus erudiremur exemplo says Leo he looks upon our conflicts from heaven and helps the weaker side both by the presence of his grace and by the president of his example Observe him that we might instance in all his ways retiring into a desart from the contagion of the world observe him fasting observe him drawing his shafts out of the quiver of the holy Scripture to maintain his cause and say this is the true Charm to make the evil Serpent break as Daniel in the Apocryphal story choakt the Dragon with lumps of strong confection Christ himself could not receive increase of the Spirit either by being baptized or by being tempted for he had the fulness not of sufficiency but of abundancy before without measure but it was for the proficiency of his members that were under him And therefore the Schoolmen have a disceptation since Christ was much greater than the Angels and did far excel them in grace why he should be tempted of the Devil For we do not read that any of the Angels confirmed in grace were ever tempted One of them answers Quia Angelus non habet membra sub se quomodo Christus habet Christ is head of a body and hath members under him to give erudition unto by his example and so have not the elect Angels Wherefore if the Children of Israel lookt up by faith upon the brazen Serpent in the Wilderness that they might be healed when they were wounded how much more should we look attentively upon Christs Tentation in the Wilderness that we may not be wounded of the Serpent The Fathers in their piety say it is easier to avoid ten sins that compass us round about and have not yet taken hold of us than to recover our selves sound again from any one sin that we have committed It is the Angelical part of Christianity to take out this Lesson Prevent us O Lord from evil in all our doings There is a great deal of the old man and his ragged lining in the best repentance You may learn repentance from Christs Gospel but not from Christ himself but innocency and clearness of life and to be impregnable against tentations not Verbum Christi but Christus Verbum not the Word of Christ but Christ the eternal Word makes you cunning in that by his own example He that knows not the experience of many tentations doth not well know himself says St. Austin Nescit se homo nisi in tentatione discat se But he that knows not the experience of Christs combate will not know how to deal with tentation Fifthly Says Bonaventure very acutely he began in the ministry of the Gospel first to refute the false Doctors before he taught his Disciples the truth first to beat down the Synagogue of Satan and then to build the City of God First root up the Tares and bind them in bundles and then dress the Wheat A Bishop must be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince gainsayers Tit. i. 9. Conviction of falshood requires the greater care and diligence and the great Bishop of our souls begins with that How soon were all divinity learnt What little pains would go to Preaching and Exhortation if it were not that Heresies and Falshoods beget us a most laborious drudgery to refute them Innumerable errors are disseminated that they are like Augias his Stable so foul that they are never to be cleansed It held our Saviour forty days in the Wilderness to untie all the knots of Satan and thus we must build up Hierusalem like Nehemiahs builders with the Sword in one hand with the Trowel in the other Having the Sword of the Spirit to cut in twain the snares of the wicked one you shall the sooner build up the walls of Sion Sixthly And then I take off my hand from this Point Let no man say I am cast out from the face of the Lord because he is beset with daily tentations God had one Son that was free from sin but he hath no Son that is free from the incumbrances of Satan If there be no more in it than an outward occasion cast before you to try if you will bite which is Exterior pulsatio as a man that comes not into the house but stands without and knocks at door This is your praise in the highest respect that your vertue is impenetrable As the Lord sent a blast upon Sennacharib and made him return to his
corruption that is in us and to be the Sons of God Because there is mention of a good Spirit immediately before my Text that descended from heaven upon him in the shape of a Dove and all the business after my Text concerns an evil Spirit that assaulted him with many tentations therefore the quaere ariseth which of these did lead him into the Wilderness The Syriack determines it plainly Ductus â spiritu sancto he was led by the Holy Ghost And it is of more moment that certainly the Syriack Paraphrase took it from St. Luke Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they that understand Grammer and the original Text do easily discern that the same word in the same sentence implies one and the same thing the latter being an effect of the former for being full of the Holy Spirit he was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness And I will parallel it plainly anon with that of St. Paul Acts xx 22 Behold I go bound in spirit to Jerusalem Moreover the Devil approached not unto him till after he had fasted forty days he began to be an hungry for he had no motive to begin his tentations till he perceiv'd he was in the distress of hunger like a weak man Therfore it was not Satan that carried him into this place where he fasted for then the tentation had begun before he had set foot in the Wilderness The case is clear to say no more of the first Point that the Spirit which led him was the influence and impulsion of the Holy Ghost The second thing to be askt is how the Spirit did lead him This can be conceived but two ways Either by inward instigation or removing him suddenly from one place to another which is called outward translocation Each way may be admitted for both are according to Analogy of Faith and both are favoured out of the Greek Text of sundry Evangelists You shall read in St. Luke Chap. iv 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was led by the Spirit which doth imply that the Holy Ghost did inwardly inspire that resolution into him and did assist continually while he abode in the Wilderness You shall read in St. Mark Chap. i. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness as if he had been transported thither in some wonderful rapture And my Text is read thus in St. Mathew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He was led up of the Spirit The Proposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sursum to lead up hath either regard to the situation of the Desart which was by far the higher ground in respect of Jordan where our Saviour was before Or else that he was exalted from the earth and carried away by the Spirit through the air untill he came unto that place where he spent forty days in Prayer Fasting and Meditation I dare not contend out of the Scriptures but that the Spirit wrought both ways upon Christ both carrying his body into the Wilderness and instigating his mind No unusual thing in the first sense for the Spirit to transport a body suddenly through the air without the motion of the feet to a place of far distance And although the whole Trinity God the Father the Son and Holy Ghost concur to that action and produce it or perhaps appoint an Angel to be the instrument yet it goes under the name of the Spirit because that Miracle impresseth a strange vertue into a material body as if it were spiritual How Enoch and Elias were translated on high in their bodies I have declared my mind not long since And surely before Elias his last translation into heaven this did befall him often times Obadiah was jealous of it 1 King xviii 13. It shall come to pass when I am gone from thee the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not What Ezekiel reports of himself I cannot say but it was rather an imaginary than a real rapture but thus he Ezek. viii 3. The hand of God took me by a lock of mine head and the Spirit lift me up between the earth and the heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem This could not be imprinted in his imagination but that it was possible to be done really And Gregory meditates well upon it Every regenerate person during the time of this mortal flesh is so lifted up between heaven and earth Adhuc ad superna plene non pervenit sed tamen ima dereliquit His conversation and his heart are not altogether in heaven but they are higher than the earth What a direct instance is that of the Prophet Habakkuk He was carrying food to the Reapers in the Land of Jury and the Angel of the Lord took him by the crown and bare him by the hair of his head and through the vehemency of the Spirit set him in Babylon Neither need this be rejected for Apocryphal since there is an example to match it Acts viii 39. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip who was then at Gaza and he was found at Azotus which two are forty miles distance after the best descriptions of the Holy Land A Faith that is but linum fumigans a dusky faith and shines not clearly may easily admit this for if the birds can cut the air with their gross wings naturally who will not be perswaded that God can make the body of man more nimble and fit for such a motion by his supernatural power But I marvel at those Expositors who are squemishly conceited against that opinion that they did not frame this objection God doth not use to work Miracles only to shew tricks as one would say no necessity requiring Then cui bono Why might not Christ have gone into the Wilderness step by step What occasion of moment should urge the Spirit to transport him Beloved it was thus far expedient that Christ should vanish and no man know which way he was departed that he might avoid the honour which the multitude would have done him upon that voice which came from heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased So in the sixth of St. John after the miracle of feeding some thousands with a little bread and a few fishes Christ perceived that they would take him by force and make him a King therefore he made a sudden departure none knew whither till his Disciples met him walking upon the Sea in a dark night and a great storm Mat. xiv 23. This is reason then sufficient to decline the people who were astonished at the testimony which was given him from heaven that the Spirit snatcht him away in a rapture into the Wilderness Why this interpretation of the word should not take with you I know not but I am sure the next must take 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He was led by the Spirit that is the Holy Ghost did inspire this heroical
resolution into his humane nature to fight with and to overthrow the tentations of the Devil I shall reach this doctrine unto you the better upon certain questions And first what needed this Preface of all other before this mighty work that he was guided by the Spirit What action throughout all his life did not deserve the same commendation A young Rhetorician dedicated an Oration to one Antalcidas What is the subject of your Oration quoth he Says the young Orator the praise of Hercules Fie man says Antalcidas what needless pains have you taken Who did ever dispraise Hercules So it may seem as redundant an expression to say that Christ was led by the Spirit at this time for through the grace of Union and the grace of Unction he was always conducted by the Spirit It is sufficient for answer to this that this was the first exploit of those that Christ did act to shew he was the Christ and the Mediator of God and man therefore this clause being prefixt to the formost of his actions is a title to all the rest he was led of the Spirit 2. It is not to be taken per modum inhaerentiae that he was now full of the Holy Ghost as if he had received a larger measure than he had before but by way of manifestation for the Spirit even now had visibly descended upon him in the shape of a Dove Semper fuit actus à spiritu sed jam maximè ejus vis apparuit the common gloss of the best Writers The Spirit did always lead him and dwel in him but now it did appear and put forth its strength I move another question be not offended that I move these hard things as it were by way of Catechism are the leadings of the Spirit of more sorts than one Yea these two are degrees one above another The first is general to all the Sons of God for they are all stirred up to faith and hope and good works by a divine illumination If ye be led by the Spirit then are ye not under the Law of the flesh Gal. v. 18. The second is special to the chiefest and principal Ministers of God as Kings Prophets and Apostles when Saul was anointed King over Israel the Lord gave him another heart his Spirit came upon him and he Prophesied So Christ our anointed Prophet prepared himself for a famous enterprize and he had the badge of Gods good liking The Spirit came upon him or he was led by the Spirit Suffer but one interrogatory more and it is this Did the Spirit thrust on Christ and as it were hale him with compulsion at this time So a man might hap to fall into that error by St. Marks words The Spirit driveth him into the Wilderness And the Vulgar Latine gives the same offence Luk. iv 1. Agebatur a spiritu he was pusht on by the Spirit For answer hard words are soon mollified by good construction The very Heathen could say Generosus est animus hominis magisque ducitur quà m trahitur Mans will is a free generous thing and had rather be led fairly than drawn forcibly Therefore the other Evangelists must be expounded by St. Matthew that the Spirit led him by illumination and propounding the will of his Father unto him not by violence and coaction So Cajetan Non vis significatur sed efficientia impulsus spiritus All was done by the efficacy and motion of the Spirit nothing by compulsion Some there are who care not what old Pillars of Divinity they pull down to set up their new devises that hold that Christ did obey his Father and the Divine Law with so much liberty and freedom that it were no offence to say Christ could not have obeyed his Father not have kept the Law and so by consequent have sinned and whereas it is certain he did not sin they will neither allow that the Hypostatical Union was the cause of it O strange Theologie nor yet the grace of Unction wherewith he was anointed above his fellows O strange impudency Neither of these was fundamentum impeccabilitatis And all this to maintain that because he did merit by his obedience his will was not determined to do good but left indifferent to good or evil Away with this over audatious disputing Christ could not but fulfil all righteousness I must do the works of him that sent me Joh. iv 9. All good things conducible to the work of a Mediator were necessary to be done And it was necessary Gods will being declared that it should be fulfilled of Christ although he was not necessitated by a violent determination but moved willingly and obediently unto it by a certain perswasion Non necessitatus erat sed propter illud quod necessarium erat sponte motus says Abulensis The object propounded was necessary to be done of him though he accepted it with much alacrity and desire and no way driven by constrainment Therefore this was not like Peters case Another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest not Joh. xxi 18. But the hand of the Lord was with him and carried him whither he liked himself Non invitus aut captus sed sponte liberè venit says St. Hierom He was not drawn on as if his own will drew back but rejoyced as a Giant to run his course To say no more but this Oblatus est quia voluit It was his own good will that he was slain for the sins of the world it was his own pleasure not to dread death and it was as much his own pleasure to grapple with tentations And so much for that question how the Spirit did lead him into the Wilderness You shall now be partakers of the third thing why this passage is inserted into the story that he was led up of the Spirit Good reasons are rather to be esteemed by their weight than their multitude take these few to content you 1. The Spirit is said to lead him because de did not run on blindfold but knew the task which he undertook he foresaw the difficulties that he would meet and weighed them in the balance of judgment and discretion Non ignarus sed consilio ducebatur says St. Ambrose The counsel of the Spirit did enlighten him to see what he had in hand Saul thought that David was but a fool-hardy Stripling and knew not what a perilous thing it was to fight with such a Giant as Goliah Thou art but a youth and he a man of War from his youth thou art not able to go against this Philistine But David shewed the reason of his confidence the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the Lion and out of the paw of the Bear he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine He had considered Gods mercies and protection therefore he was led by the Spirit into that noble action Beware to plod on like Balaam with our eyes shut never discerning what is
before us Try all things and prove your own heart if you understand which way you walk unto the Lord. Ephraim feedeth on the wind and followeth after the East wind wherein the Prophet deciphers them that know not what they seek after or at least how they would comprehend it Some eat and drink their own damnation because they discern not the Lords body they come by custom to the Table of the Lord not with solemn and faithful preparation these are not led by the Spirit Some lay their hand to this Plow to preach the Kingdom of Christ but never bethought them seriously what it was to bear the Ark of God upon their shoulders they took the Priests Office upon them only for the hire and wages but never examined whether they were inwardly called these were not led by the Spirit The Widows in St. Pauls days who were to continue in supplications night and day these were not to be taken into that Society which attended the Church under threescore years of age and such as had been diligent in every good work In after Ages out of more presumption than due care some were accepted to take the vow of continency upon them at the age of forty Others more dangerously admitted Virgin Votaries at the age of twenty five And now every youngling at the age of fourteen is solemnly received to be incloystered in an unmaried estate for ever before they know the hazard of their own frailty the iron bondage of such a Vow or how to avoid the continual tentations of most discontenting melancholy these took their snare upon them by fond enticements and ignorant devotion they were not led by the Spirit This was St. Ambrose his reason of this phrase 2. The next owes it self to St. Hilary Non aliter tentatus est quà m spiritûs permissu auxilio He was led by the Spirit that is he maintained this quarrel against the Devil by the permission and assistance of the Holy Spirit The Holy Ghost is not an idle Spectator but a party that leads us by the hand and holds up our hands to conquer these Amalekites as Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses The Apostles were like things shut up that durst not come abroad till they were filled with the Spirit that had no heart to offer themselves to the trial of any affliction but kept out of the way But in Gods help as David says they leapt over the wall and ventured forth out of that narrow imprisonment and to make some satisfaction for that privacy when they lived as recluses they travelled boldly through all places of the world baptizing all Nations in the name of the Lord Jesus What durst they not do for the honour of God when they were led by the Spirit The Children of Israel made no scruple to pitch their Tents within the borders of their enemies if the Pillar of cloud did remove before them so wheresoever the grace of God doth carry a man Gods glory being his undoubted end without all vain delusions and carnal reservations he may be bold to venture As we read of Sampson that before he did those great and heroical exploits against the Philistines he was possessed with the Spirit of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him when he slew a thousand of the Philistines with the jaw-bone of an Ass Judg. xv 14. So it holds in the works of Regeneration Patience Obedience denying of our selves taking up the Cross of Christ mortifying the body of Sin these cannot be done unless the Spirit of the Lord do move upon us But according to the method of the Psalm first we must trust in God to pluck our feet out of the snare before he lead us in the right way and set us upon a rock of stone where we shall not be moved First lead us not into tentation that is leave us not to our selves and then bear us on Eagles wings and bring us to himself Exod. xix 4. We do not so much deprecate in the Lords Prayer that we should not come near the assault of any tentations as that we may not be drawn into the midst of them and there left unto our selves Most excellently the Apostle Heb. xiii 20. The God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus through the bloud of the everlasting Covenant he will bring us out of the Pit-falls of the Devil that is implied for it follows he will make us perfect in every good work to do his will Aristotle hath a rule in his Rhetoriques how that must needs be an excellent thing which the worst men desire they may seem to have though they want it As liberality must needs be a graceful vertue for few are so sordidly covetous but that they love to be accounted liberal So the guidance of the divine Spirit necessarily must be the most laudable principle of all humane actions for there is not so palpable an hypocrite that will confess he was led by his own Concupiscence or seduced by his Passions no he will pretend it is the fear of God and his Conscience that doth lead him in all things What wonder if Christian Hypocrites have such conceits For the King of Assyria a Most prophane Blasphemer thought it was the best way to make the same pretension when he came to pluck down the living God Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it The Lord said to me go up against this Land to destroy it And I would it were not the disgrace of these times that many such live among us who have their secret stratagems and desires to make havock of the small revenue of the Church and to pluck down the glory and dignity of it but with the same ungodly flourish that the King of Assyria made We are led by the Spirit the Lord said unto us go and destroy this as they most impudently and ignorantly call it Superstition I will give them the Prophet Ezekiels woe for their reward Ezek. xiii 3. Thus saith the Lord God woe unto the foolish Prophets that follow their own Spirit and have seen nothing These are led on by their fury to bring to pass the works of the evil one not led by the Spirit as our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our Arch-leader was to overcome the tentations of the Devil The third reason is out of St. Chrysostoms Quiver and I cannot exceed beyond that at this time Non simpliciter profectus sed abductus God did inspire the Evangelists to write in this manner how Christ was led when he went into temptation rather than that he went of himself simply without more addition because no man should offer himself rashly and voluntarily to be tempted unless God did put some constraint and impulsion upon him It is a most cautilous note if you observe it for take the matter right and consider Christ in himself alone without respect of leaving an example
you Without me you can do nothing so our Saviour Had he said without me you can do little or without me you can do no excellent thing or without me it will be hard and difficult for you or without me you can perfect no good work then there had been some evasion for a man to trust in his own abilities but to say without me you can do neither much nor little greater things nor inferiour things with ease or with difficulty neither finish nor begin this chops off all boasting in the powers and industries of the natural man Without me ye can do nothing The Eunuch plainly felt this impotency and when Philip askt him Vnderstandest thou what thou readest Says he How can I unless some man should guide me As the sick person complained at the Pool of Bethesda he wanted some man to put him in when the water was troubled Verè homo fuit illi necessarius sed homo ille qui Deus est Says St. Austin He wanted a man indeed to cure him but no other than he that is God and man Jesus Christ So the Eunuch wanted no other man to guide him but he that was made the Son of man that we might be made the Sons of God And upon those words of the Eunuch thus St. Hierom. We come not to walk in the paths of life Sine praevio monstrante semitam Without celestial aid to prepare the way and go before us Let me strike these two strokes more upon this point and I have done with it first when I say nature is so unfit to produce any good so indisposable to attain the Kingdom of heaven let no man say Why should I strive then against the stream of my inbred corruptions I will give my self over to work all filthiness with greediness This is a devillish resolution But rather say I will be very instant in prayer with my God that he will take away this heart of stone and give me an heart of flesh For in the like case the Tongue can no man tame it is an unruly evil full of deadly poyson Jam. iii. 8. So St. James It is not his meaning that we should suffer this unruly evil to do what it list and permit it without any manner of reformation but with all contention of heart to implore the divine assistance that this member of unrighteousness may become an instrument to serve the Lord. Secondly Those Nations whom we perceive to be led by the viciousness of their own nature and not to be led by the spirit we cannot say without great error and obstinacy that these are appointed to everlasting life if the heathen had sufficient means of salvation what priviledge had we in the Church who have the Word and Sacraments and the infusions of sanctification to make them profitable Thou knowst Lord why these do sit in darkness and in the shadow of death Bonus es in beneficio certorum justus in supplicio ceterorum says St. Austin Thou art very good to those to whom thou art gracious thou art very just to those that are punished This is St. Pauls doctrine up and down Eph. ii 12. It cannot be controuled He describes the wretched estate of the Gentiles before salvation appeared unto them We were aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world How can it be affirmed that they want not help to bring them out of this captivity of sin When St. Paul says Spem non habentes they have no hope This is the condition of nature which is not aided by the Spirit 2. Now I will unfold how we are led by initiating or preventing grace when we are first made partakers to taste of the hope of a better life In this Point I will annex the explication of two things First That there is such an initial preparatory grace in them that are not yet justified and converted 2. That in the first entrance of it the Spirit doth produce it in us solely and entirely the will of man conferring no strength at all Concerning the former of these two conclusions I say there are many good internal effects wrought by the power of the Word and the illumination of the Holy Ghost which enter into the hearts of them that are not yet converted as some knowledge of the divine will sense of sin fear of punishment grudgings of sorrow some earnings to be delivered some hope of favour This is a middle state between natural corruption which is altogether enmity with God and between perfect regeneration when we are called to adoption of Sons I marvel this should not be easily admitted for these reasons The Philippians had fellowship in the Gospel St. Paul calls this the beginning of a good work in them and he trusts God would perform and finish it Phil. i. 6. Yet more clearly Heb. vi 4. he shews there are antecedent portions of grace in many before they are converted and made heirs with Christ yea in such as never were ingrafted lively in Christ he calls it thereby the name of illumination tasting of the heavenly gift tasting of the power of God tastings of the Word of God and in some wise being made partakers of the Holy Ghost Yet these having but these first preparations of grace may backslide crucifie the Lord of life and put him to an open shame The similitudes which are used to shew how grace doth possess the soul do plainly shew as much 1. As in natural generation there are many previous dispositions which go before the introduction of the soul into the matter So there must be many antecedent preparations of the divine blessing before our spiritual regeneration that we be born again and become the Sons of God 2. Gratia se habet ad animum sicut sanitas ad corpus Grace doth raise up the soul from sin as health doth affect the body and bring it out of sickness but there is a middle state of recovery before health be perfectly regained so there is a previous illumination and good direction in the mind and will which go before our conversion that we be actually made the living members of Christ Some are afraid to call this grace and yet they cannot avoid it for they are compelled to call it auxilium Dei a special help of God flowing from his providence Sometimes they abhor not the name but say it is gratia reprimens an assistance of God whereby such as are not converted may repress the occasions or commissions of some heinous sins Either they allow it to be as much as true grace or no better than nature for many evils may be avoided and repress'd by nature no good thing can be done without grace It is therefore that internal calling wherewith God doth seriously invite those to repentance and belief in Christ who have the tidings of salvation brought unto their ears I say I speak of those only who are
called to hear the word of faith and of none other God might have left them in their bloud as the Prophet Ezekiel speaks and given them over to the reprobate sense of their own mind but because he requires a new Covenant from all those to whom Christ is preached therefore he gives them new abilities lest he should seem to invite them in vain but being supplied with these internal excitations of supernatural help they are unexcusable This is the way to give God the glory and to make all the hearers of the Word know what talent they have received But the force of exhortations and expostulations were taken away if a sinner were converted by Enthusiasms and sudden inspirations If God would immediately bring a man to himself without feeling of his sin without hating it without desiring pardon it were superfluous to say We beseech you that ye receive not the grace of God in vain I marvel you are so soon removed from him that called you to the grace of Christ Gal. i. 6. They that heard St. Peters Sermon Acts ii 37. at the beginning of it were unbelieving and rebellious Jews before he had ended they were terrified felt the guiltiness of innocent bloud upon themselves desired freedom submitted themselves to direction Men brethren what shall we do All these were good internal effects but as yet they were not converted and regenerate as yet unbelievers for had they believed they had never made that question What shall we do They come to that in the next verse says Peter Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins Well they followed this counsel and then at the soonest and not before they were justified in Christ for thereupon it is said There were added unto the Church above three thousand souls So I have made that conclusion undeniable I think that Christ doth produce some effects of initial grace before conversion The next conclusion is that since the natural man hath no powers in the freedom of his will to do good therefore the first effects of grace that are brought forth in us the Holy Ghost doth produce them solely and intirely the will of man conferring no strength at all As the ground receives the seed which is cast into it so a natural man takes the good seed from God which he casts into him passivè receptivè only passively and by way of reception Even they that will not be beaten off from their tenet but that the will of man hath some cooperancy with Gods grace in the act of conversion yet they give their suffrage to this doctrine that this preventing grace or grace of preparation is res infusa not comparata a thing infused from above not gotten by our diligence or acquired even as the air doth not dispose it self to admit the light of the Sun but is illuminated by the presence of the Sun They are best known by the name of Semi-pelagians who would not admit this truth for it was taught in their School that the beginning of faith was from man and the increase from the power of the Holy Ghost But why did they teach that the beginning of faith was from man Because they imagined that the talent of grace was promised to them that used the talent of nature well Habenti dabitur to him that hath it shall be given But I would have them find me any such Covenant in all the Scripture which God made with man that such as negotiated the talent of nature well should have an increase of grace for their reward It is a trespass and a foul one to bely a man and to father Covenants upon him which he never made the offence is greater to alledge Covenants from God and yet no tittle leaning that way in all his Testament The powers of nature are blindness of understanding obdurateness of will perverseness of affections what reward can be due to these but eternal death When thou wert in thy bloud Ezek. xvi that is when thou wert under the loathsom filthiness of sin and under the condemnation of death I said unto thee live that is I began to extend my mercy of vivification upon thee The beginning and introduction of all Christian vertue is to think of God From whence comes this From any good parts wherewith we were born Go to the fountain of wisdom and ask there We are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing of our selves but our sufficiency is of God 2 Cor. iii. 5. The next a b c and first rudiment of goodness is to pray to God Is nature a sufficient Mistris to teach you that Is it not the Spirit which the Lord sends into us crying Abba Father I will pour upon the house of David the Spirit of grace and supplications and upon the Inhabitants of Jerusalem Zach. xii 10. Thus St. Austin proves that the very firstlings and proems of all our Christian dispensations are from God because St. Paul said I obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful 1 Cor. vii 25. Misericordiam consecutus sum ut fidelis essem non ut fidelior essem That I was made faithful or had any faith it was the benefit of God and not only by way of increase or augmentation that I was made more faithful otherwise we should lead the Spirit to take his aim from us and not be led by the Spirit a Passive Verb and fit to express that we are merely passive in the first preparations of faith I shall speak anon touching that efficacy of the Spirit upon the heart of man But touching the work of preparatory grace in the first onset it brings illumination with it it dispels darkness from our understanding it makes us perceive we are gone astray in our sins like sheep that are lost it makes us know God is to be feared it makes us discern that we are in a wretched estate this illumination cannot be resisted Mens nostra ipsum scire effugere non potest Philosophy doth dictate that we cannot repel the knowledge of a thing palpably demonstrated before us though we would it pierceth as easily into the mind as a needle through a thin cloath Yet I do not say this grace which first possesseth the soul and makes it willing to good motions which was most averse before doth compel a man or force him compulsion is a word of hostility rather than of favour It comes with that sweetness and authority together that it will not be said nay Thus we are led by the Spirit in the first introduction of preparatory grace The third thing to be considered is how the Spirit doth lead us all the while we use this preparatory grace before conversion St. Austin comprehended all in this short rule Primùm gratia Dei operatur bonam voluntatem deinde per eam First Gods grace doth effect a good will in us and then by that will so illuminated and excited it produceth
nature Non agunt sed aguntur So in the act of renovation we are not fellow-workers but are led and carried whither the Spirit will And as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God Rom. viii 14. 4. We know divine mysteries best by negative expressions and therefore I go on fourthly that this immission of efficacious grace is no violent compulsion upon the will Compulsion I said was a word of hostility and not of favour When God doth his work in us throughly energetically that it shall not fail by a Catachresis it is called a coaction So it is said in the Parable to them that were sent to bring in the blind and the lame Cogite intrare compel them to come in I say this is a Catachresis so Prosper the great director of this way that I take Hanc abundantiorem gratiam ita credimus potentem ut negemus violentam We believe this eminent abundant grace worketh with great power but not with violent compulsion For because of those previous preparations I spake of which make us know and have some desire of heavenly things God saves no man against his will therefore it is no violent attraction for no man is ordinarily saved that hath positive repugnancy though in the momentary act of conversion he doth add no auxiliary co-operancy Nay so far is this most abundant benediction of the Spirit from offering coaction and force to the will that the will of a regenerate man doth instantly shew its complacency and turn it self to God This efficacious motion is infused from God and in the same moment exercised and put into act by man for to that end it was inspired by God that man should produce the act of believing and adhering to Christ This is an Altitude for faith to look upon Voluntas est subjectum istius volitionis causa suae volitionis in eodem instanti I think verily the not marking of this hath caused much debate that the will of man in the act of conversion is the subject upon which God works faith and it self the cause which doth produce the act of faith in the same instant They have my suffrage that say how these two cannot well be divided in time one from another Gods operation converting a sinner to be his Son and the act of believing in that man converting himself to God no object can be for a moment in the will but it must affect it one way or other but in order of nature Gods inspiration is first to be conceived and then mans embracing and assent Thus it appears the agitation of this divine motion is not by force and compulsion but with a sweet and fatherly attraction and the effect is no way rough and against nature but above it For to limit and determine the indifferency of the will is not the destruction of free will but the perfection witness the Saints and Angels who are confirmed in grace that they cannot sin If the Son make you free then are ye free indeed which is thus expounded by the Apostle Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty 2 Cor. iii. 17. Fifthly I annex that the powerfulness of this converting grace is not well expressed when it is entitled but a moral perswasion The hearts of Kings and surely of all other men whose power is less free are in the hand of God and he inclineth them which way he will perswasions may labour upon the affections it is the scope of an Orator but the most flexanimous Rhetorician that ever spake cannot be said to have the hearts of his Auditors in his hands that is a phrase out of humane capacity What moral perswasion was there in this Christ called Peter and Andrew James and John and Mathew from the receit of custom and they left all and followed him Shew me any ground here for moral perswasion that is probable allegation of reason Not a word more spoken than follow me or perhaps I will make you fishers of men few words God knows But a mighty efficacious impression was secretly instilled into the heart there it was it must needs be that celestial irradiation which made them leave all to follow Christ whose outward appearance was most contemptible and his society according to the wisdom of the world most dangerous Perswasion can but propound an end and as every man is affected so he likes the end which is offered We that disperse the Word have the Office to perswade you to the Kingdom of heaven but God forbid he should bring us no further The Devil can suggest and perswade likewise and prevail above his Makers perswasions as it appears Gen. iii. therefore ascribe the honour due unto the Lord that his Spirit is more efficacious to produce good than Satan to produce evil therefore his work consists not in perswading but in governing and inclining the heart Finally To dispatch this Point I said this potent and infallible assistance of converting grace doth well consist with the Promises and Threatnings and Exhortations of holy Scripture There are other matters objected against this but at the last you will find all sticks at this knot For after some wrangling in the end it is confest God can restrain the liberty and indifferency of the will and make it bring forth what act he please and it must be allowed that the taking away that liberty to work either good or evil is not the destruction but the perfection of the will The angry question is Whether the removing away that liberty and indifferency from the will in the act of conversion can consist with this order that a man shall be commanded to convert himself to God upon the condition of eternal life and upon the commination of Hell fire Now I must tell you this was the very thing that Pelagius quarrelled St. Austin for saying Da Domine quod jubes jube quod vis Give me to do what thou commandest O Lord and then command what thou pleasest But take all my answers like grapes upon a cluster 1. They that make this objection know we are commanded to have the first grace of illumination and they acknowledge it is freely and merely wrought by God Why then do they stumble at converting grace that conversion should be commanded us and God altogether cause it and yet allow it in preparatory grace 2. Doth not the Scripture frame our tongue to speak thus Make you a new heart and a new spirit Ezek. xviii 31. there is a command I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you Ezek. xxxvi 26. there he doth execute in us what himself commanded It is to be magnified and admired not to be disputed of when God will work that good by his Spirit within us which he might in rigour without that extraordinary help exact of us 3. Whither will Divinity be tost about if this be not certain That our just and omnipotent Lord commands
such excellent things which we cannot attain to perform that we may be excited to pray unto him for succour with a vehement and a flagrant devotion 4. He commands and he fulfils and he rewards crowning his own gifts and no works of ours that glory may be ascribed to his name for evermore The Synodal Epistle of all the Affrican Bishops St. Austin being one of the Society encourages me that these answers are far more reasonable than the objection Jubet Deus homini ut velit sed Dominus in homine operatur velle jubet ut facias sed operatur facere He hath charged us to will that which is good but he effecteth that willingness in man he says Do and thou shalt live his grace enables thee to do and thou shalt live for ever Let this suffice to teach you how we are led by the Holy Spirit in converting grace and I think it most comfortable to put our hope in God and not in our selves Cursed is every one that putteth his trust in man Jer. xvii 5. To dispach all I will be brief in the fifth Point how we are led by subsequent grace and sanctification which co-operates and assists us after our conversion this is that truth wherein all dissensious parts conjoyn and accord That Voluntas liberata concurrit ad bonum opus eliciendum cum gratiâ divinâ the will of man having conquered the dominion of sin by converting grace is made free and then it freely conjoyns it self with Gods grace to produce a good effect Then it lies upon our own diligence never wanting the directing vertue of the Spirit to increase the good gifts of Sanctification by acts of often doing well then we do further and promote those holy inspirations to a plentiful or unplentiful increase This is not passively to be led by the Spirit but to walk in the Spirit as it is Gal. v. 16. Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh In a word this distinction reacheth over all which can be said upon this matter There are some actions which principally concern the well being of a justified man without which regeneration cannot consist these are they the turning of the heart to God a true belief a faithful conclusion of our life in the fear of God and the peace of a good conscience justifying grace doth so attend the production of these actions that the Lord in his own good time makes us able for these things willing to do and actually to perfect those necessary parts of salvation Other works of obedience as to do this or that good to shun this or that evil all these especilly and particularly considered do not concur to our saving health as to the very making or marring of it In the practice of all these particular good instances the motions and conduct of the Spirit are never wanting to them that are regenerate more or less but sufficient to have kept them blameless in every particular but in many of these we sin often and are wanting to the co-operation of grace through our own stubbornness in the will and sensuality in the affections I will conclude You see how diversly we are led by the Spirit how many sundry ways we are assoiled from Sin and Satan by the direction and efficacy of grace The natural man is able of himself to bring forth no spiritual good work The Lord doth totally and with no assistance of vitiated nature bring forth the first good preparatory grace in the will From thenceforth unto conversion this previous preparatory grace is made effectual or uneffectual by mans free-will In the act of conversion and renovation wherein all the controversie about free-will is moved the Lord doth turn our heart unto himself the will for the act being the passive subject and at the same instant it is the cause of a good action in turning it self to God in subsequent grace unto the end of our life the will being made free from the dominion of sin works together with the motions of celestial inspiration This is the sum of all If any thing be delivered too briefly impute it to the compass of the time If any thing be hard to be conceived impute it to the deep discourse of the matter If any thing be defective in the discourse give Gods grace the glory of all and impute it to my infirmity THE FOURTH SERMON UPON Our Saviours Tentation MAT. iv 1 2. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights he was afterwards an hungry MAny things were rightly applied by him that compared the success of the Children of Israel upon their entrance into the Land of Canaan with the circumstances of this combate between Christ and Satan 1. the Israelites were miraculously brought through the Red Sea so the first glorious Apparition of our Saviour which went immediately before this business was the Baptism which he received of John in Jordan 2. The Israelites pass from the Red Sea into a great and solitary Wilderness So our Saviour was led after his Baptism into the greatest Wilderness of Judaea a place uninhabited by man for he was with the wild beasts Mar. i. 13. Then the Israelites were in great distress for foot hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them And Christ had nothing to eat in that place he fasted forty days and forty nights and was afterward an hungry 4. As the Israelites were pined with hunger so they had bloudy Wars with all the Nations of Canaan many a time have they fought against me might Israel then say So many a time did the Legions of Hell attempt me might our Lord and Saviour say yea many times did the powers of darkness compass me about but they have not prevailed against me On the one side here was first the Red Sea then a journey into the Wilderness then scarcity of Food then War and fighting So on the other side here was first a Baptism then a sequestring into the Wilderness then a long Fast and then a long conflict with the Prince of Devils Moreover the men of Israel did appear in that forlorn and despicable fashion before the Canaanites that they were much scorn'd and vilified so God provided we seemed in their sight but as Grashoppers said Caleb and Josuah this drew the Kings of Canaan forth to beat them back and so were overwhelmed in their own pride and cruelty Thus in all points did our Saviour deal with Satan the Eternal wisdom against the wisdom of the Serpent He flies into the Wilderness as one abandoned of the World there he continues in great necessity as one whom none would succour not a morsel of food supplied him by God or man Adversarium non virtutis jactatione sed infirmitatis ostentione provocat thus he provokes and draws Satan out against himself not by a boasting challenge but by the appearance of
up an whole loaf every day when Anthony the Eremite came to keep him company If this were alledged as some stick not to do it to illustrate the Verse which Christ quoated I think Satan would rejoyn Where had you this tale This is a Legend of mine own fiction There are other examples which I rank'd in order before like a file of Souldiers to conquer the Devil and the richest and newest which was at our Saviours hand was that of John the Baptist who found a good diet in the Wilderness to make him temperate and serve God out of Locusts and wild honey The motion which the Tempter made being thus examined in the true Explication of Christs answer proves to be as unreasonably sensual as Esaus urging for Jacobs Pottage he would seek no further for any meat that he must have though it cost him dear like Philoxenus in Aelian that could not pass by the steam of a Cooks shop but he must take a bait where his sent did lead him So Satan to our Lord go not into the Towns or Villages near at hand satiate your appetite just at this present and without delay even where you stand Command that these stones be made bread And should not man wait Gods leisure and time when he wants bread since the beasts of the Forrest when hunger rouzeth them out of their Dens know not readily where to get their meat and yet are content to seek it of God the Fowls of the air have no barns to lay up store not a grain of Corn before hand yet they flutter out and pick up and down and at last return home contented Not unusefully therefore doth one change the words of this first Proposition into this Paraphrase Man lives not by bread alone Non cibo parato vivit homo sed qui sponte se offert Man shall not live alone by that which is artificially cook'd and provided but even by that which nature suppeditates as John Baptist lived by Locusts and wild honey and so the Patriarchs before the floud lived altogether upon fruits and herbage and upon the voluntary offrings of the Springs and Mountains Si ad naturam vivitur tam superfluus est coquus quà m miles says Seneca If Nation would not rise up against Nation what use were there of Souldiers and if men would give their body but just as much as would content nature there were no use of Cookery Yet God doth suffer our nature to exceed in the use of his blessings that we may abound with thankfulness but if the Patriarchs did praise and bless Gods name more for a few Sallets than we do for all the luxuriant store that the Fields and the Sea afford then their Temperance should judge our Gluttony and their Thanksgiving shall condemn our Unthankfulness But so far of the first Proposition Man shall not live by bread alone that is man is not necessarily bound to ordinary sustenance The second follows in this sense and interpretation God can nourish man by every word that proceedeth out of his mouth every way that it liketh and pleaseth him Whatsoever the Constitution and Decree of the Lord is that is called his Word Verbum appellat quia verbo omnia creavit dixit facta sunt He that spake the word and all things were made a word and a deed to him is all one And therefore the Shepherds in the Eclogue which they had together about going to Bethlem to find Christ use this speech Let us go see 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This thing which is come to pass is very right sense but in the Greek it is this word which is come to pass Gods words are not faithless nor full of vain ostentation as mens are his words were as those were which Daniel says were written with a hand upon the wall for his hand doth hold his word to execute and bring it to pass To make you a little further acquainted with the Phrase of Scripture Egressus est sermo ex ore is an Hebraism to signifie the resolute pleasure both of God and man The thing proceedeth from the Lord says Laban We cannot speak unto thee bad or good Gen. xxiv 50. A Domino egressus est sermo the word proceedeth from the Lord that is he hath decreed it and we cannot withstand it In like manner the Idolaters contest with Jeremy Chap. xliv 17. We will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth to burn Incense to the Queen of heaven that is after the swing of desperate sinners they would do what they list The insisting upon this Phrase is not in vain but the very key to open the plain effect of Christs answer which very profitably leaves us to make use of it in a double construction First says Tolet Verbum quod procedit ex ore Dei est res quam Deus in victum hominis destinavit Man shall live by every word that goes out of the mouth of the Lord that is by every thing that he will bless and appoint for the use of sustenance unto him And so Abulensis doth instance and exaggerate it the Lord is not that Father who if his Child should ask him bread would give him a stone but if he would infuse the vertue of nourishment into boards into stones yea into the flesh of Serpents we should prosper with them better than with all the Cullesses and Electuaries in the world How unsearchable are the ways of the Almighty how the Infant from the first conception is nourisht in the Mothers Womb When Philosophy hath spoken what it can the chief part must be left to Divinity to say it is fed by the word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God such things as would poyson one Creature are delicate dainties to fatten another It is as God hath allowed every thing for man and beast in their own kind that we might allow him his glory Secondly Man shall live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord that is by all his Promises and by every Vocation which he hath sanctified to relieve us And this agrees most aptly with Christ himself in the dispensation of his Mediatorship and with the instance of the Children of Israel who were fed with Manna in the Wilderness This is the prime rule which leads every man into some hope of prosperity that manageth an honest Calling That every one shall live and thrive who holds him to that way which God hath appointed him The Israelites journeyed from Egypt into the Wilderness not of their own head and will but by Gods Ordinance why it was impossible they should famish doing as he commanded them So Christ went not rashly into the Desart but he was led by the Spirit he did as the Lord would have him do this was his Vocation therefore though he could not make stones become bread God would find him sustenance some other way No conscionable man will set his servants to
violence there is no insequent time to call for grace and mercy But 3. since violence overcame them the sin was none of theirs but the Ravishers As St. Austin said of Sextus Brutus and Lucretia Duo fuerunt unus commisit adulterium the sin was wrought between two and yet one only committed adultery because Lucretia was forced But you will say and why doth St. Paul put Samson in the bedroul of the Patriarchs that had obtained the Promise if every one that is guilty of his own violent death be a Reprobate St. Austins answer is Latenter à spiritu sancto jussus est Samson had departed out of this world a Cast-away if he had not been prompted to pull down the Theater of the Philistins by some inward motions sent from God But some litigious one will say Was any sin ever committed but such an answer will make it a vertue Beloved Samsons case was not every mans for first he had extraordinary Revelations of the Spirit God did work many Miracles by his hands Secondly Samson prayed that his strength might be restored that he might be avenged of the Philistines and the Lord did give him strength for that purpose beyond the capacity of a natural man Put these together and they make a particular case that he above any other of the like sort was directed by the Spirit to pull down the house upon his enemies But in my own private judgment I have ever thought that Samsons care was not to bring certain death upon himself but only to hazard his life in a great venture which is lawful in Military Stratagems against enemies as to enter a breach upon the mouth of a Canon a Souldier may come off with safety but it is odds he dies for it A Seaman being boarded blows up the Deck he may escape himself but his chance is very hazardous and for ought any man is able to say to the structure of this house which Samson pluck'd down he saw no possibility but he might escape although he profest he would adventure to die with his enemies a mixt case it was not very hopeful nor quite desperate Howsoever St. Austins answer as I have illustrated it unto you is very satisfactory that he was moved unto it by some special instinct from God And so far upon this Point wherein I have laboured to let you see that the Devil hath not a more poysonous Arrow in his Quiver than to excite one to kill himself Bear with me if I have been copious in it Who can say enough against a sin so horrid so unnatural so unpardonable It did not content the Devil that Christ should fall from the Pinacle unless it were his own voluntary act If thou he the Son of God cast thy self down After this demand of Satans I propounded to intreat upon what supposition it was demanded If thou be the Son of God This thorn is yet in his foot and pricks him he would fain put it out of doubt whether this were the eternal and only begotten Son of God And he follows the search in these words as if he were no Infidel but by way of Concession yielded this thou art the Son of God therefore it can be no harm to thee to cast thy self down from a Pinacle of the Temple Which is as St. Paul writes If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead he was certain to atttain unto it and therefore that IF is a Particle of Modesty not of Hesitation As Ribadenira says of Father Ignatius that he halted of the wound which he received at Pampelune but so little that the most curious could scarce discern that he halted So Satan distrusts whether Christ were the promised Messias but so artificially that he would not seem to be distrustful But distrust he did and did rather presume Christ was no more than some excellent Prophet than otherwise For he knew that God could not be tempted the crafty Angel had that understanding therefore he hoped mainly he did but bicker with a man And a certain Expositor plaies wittily upon this notion that St. Matthew St. Mark and St. Luke deliver the manner of this tentation but St. John speaks not a word of it For as he collects the other three begin their Gospels with Christs temporary Generation how he was made man St. John begins thus In the beginning was the Word from the generation of God but because God cannot be tempted at all he found no place in his Gospel for this story Well because Christ eschewed the Tempters craftiness in the former bout and held him yet in suspence he lifts at him now with all his strength and thinks to be upon the rack no longer this second If thou be the Son of God shall discover all he doth not doubt it Et verbo facto est exploratio It is an exploration driven home both by word and fact 1. He took him up to the Pinacle Would he be taken along by him if he were the mighty Son of God Why not As an invincible Champion that dare fight upon any ground with his Adversary 2. The Messias was expected both at the holy City and at the Temple and he brings him unto both to see if he would acknowledge his Kingdom The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Sion Psal cx 1. And again The Lord shall suddenly come to his Temple even the Messenger of the Covenant whom ye delight in Mal. iii. 1. Yet Satan could gather nothing from this for he made himself invisible in this transportation and was not seen Hereafter at his own season the whole City and Temple shall ring of him Behold thy King cometh unto thee meekly upon an Ass 3. He popp'd in a place of the Psalm but hereafter more of that very perversly hoping Christ would declare himself and say the application of this Psalm belongs to all the holy Saints but not to me that am greater than Saints and Angels But Christ spared that labour and gave him Scripture for his Scripture 4. Upon the tentation it self he presumed it would perfectly come to light who he was For if he cast himself down thinking he should be safe as when he pass'd through the air and yet catch hurt it is as he could wish Or if he catch no hurt and cast himself down that Miracle must allow him to be the Son of God All this the wisdom of our Redeemer declined proving that mans life must not be cast into danger where there is no necessity thus you see the Devil laboured hard and yet could not resolve the Riddle that troubled him If thou be c. And now let me shew you that this vile Connexion which he hath made is against all reason and consequency If thou be the Son of God cast thy self down There is as little Logick in this Hypothetical Proposition as there is Divinity in that verse of Davids Psalm as he hath quoted in the
this lower Region God hath committed the Children to the nurture of the Parents the Woman to the safeguard of her Husband the Subject injured to the justice of the Magistrate the Sick and Impotent to the refection of them that are whole the Poor and Naked to the liberality of the Rich. Every weak and distressed is appointed his Protector by Gods Ordinance that is strong and whole and that Patron that looks not to those poor Clients with whom he stands incharged let him take heed that himself wants not a Patron when he looks for Christ to be his Advocate But when a whole Nation of true Believers nay when a whole world of Christians have been persecuted all at once Who looks to that God And will give them the wages of wicked Servants that should have been nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers to his precious Portion and yet had their chief hand in the Tragedy against it And because the whole earth sometimes fails of their duty towards the Church therefore the Lord hath his Angels in store as the last and infallible refuge that the less we are beholding to the Earth we may acknowledge our selves the more beholding to Heaven If Davids bowels earned for a rebellious Son and gave all the Captains charge Deal gently for my sake with the young man even with Absalon Verily the Lord will put his Ministers upon that good Office to be a Wall of protection to his obedient Sons Aut eripient periculum aut eripient animam Either they will take your afflictions from you or take you from your afflictions The Angel of the Lord tarrieth round about them that fear him and will deliver them And though the Devil meant nothing less than truth in his Sermon since he would needs preach let us lay hold of this for a true ground that the good Angels are very certain to keep their charge as they are commanded they are like the diligent Souldiers under the Centurions authority He says unto one go and he goeth and to another come and he cometh But their charge is set and appointed them it is not in their own free choice to lend their assistance where they please So the Schoolmen draw many questions to this Principle Non sunt liber â potestate praediti sed ministri ad nutum Domini The reason is twofold First All things must be done in order and without direction and appointment whom the Hosts of heaven should guard how far and at what time the Discipline would be altogether confused in that heavenly custody Secondly The knowledge of those blessed Spirits is finite they are not present at all our troubles which we suffer on earth they being far remote in heaven they know not the groanings of the heart it is out of their Sphere to apprehend what succour is needful for Infants that cannot moan themselves that cannot ask it of all these things they must be made acquainted and then their Province is allotted unto them by the especial Commission of God Wherefore as they are given by nature and grace to love Mankind so by a special Mandate and charge they are bound unto it Peter imputes his deliverance out of Prison to the Angels Ministry but principally to the Lords word and authority he doth not say that the Angel pull'd him out of danger of his own motion but now know I that the Lord hath sent his Angel and hath delivered me from the hand of Herod and from the expectation of all the people Acts xii 11. It was a good speech of Jonathans 1 Sam. xiv 6. There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few Had he but added one thing more the speech had been complete and full of faith there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few or by none at all Then to what use serves the Auxiliary custody of Angels when the strength of all protection is in God alone without the subordinate performance of any Creature To dissolve this Question into many Answers First They that say their Creed and understand it that God is the Father Almighty and have the Theorie that his vertue by it self is all-sufficient yet when it comes to the experience and practice they will boggle and be much unconfident of their own security if some powers which are ordained of God and more familiar to us than his infinite Essence be not promised to relieve us in the day of our Visitation Israel had great cause to have strong affiance in him that had brought them out of the Land of Egypt yet a weak Plant had need of a Prop to be bound unto it and therefore their Charter was thus enlarged Behold I send an Angel before thee to keep thee in the way and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared Exod. xxiii 20. This was ex abundanti somewhat given above that which needed for the rudeness and infirmity of our faith Secondly The Ministry of those blessed Spirits is used here below not for the defect of the supreme power but to shew his Majesty and Dignity as earthly Princes have their Stipatores some bands of Noble Gentlemen to stand about their Person rather for Pomp than necessity Yet it begets obsequiousness and awe unto their Majesty Pavorinus a man of rare skill in Learning whensoever Hadrian the Emperour discoursed with him condescended in all things to let the Emperour overmatch him and when his friends thought it too much obsequiousness Favorinus thus excused himself I will permit him to be more learned that hath thirty Legions of Souldiers under his command So the imployment of that heavenly Host lends no assistance to God but proclaims him that hath so many terrible Ministers to command to be most dreadful and glorious and who is able to stand before his Host Thirdly The Angels and Saints shall make up one Triumphant Church in heaven the whole body of things in heaven and things on earth being gathered under Christ the head therefore they are knit together in these good Offices of defence and guardianship as a taste of that unity which shall be complete hereafter And indeed it is through Christ that these parts are recollected together which were disjoyned before It pleased the Father to reconcile all things unto himself in him whether they were things in heaven or things in earth He is that Ladder upon which Jacob saw Angels ascend and descend and so Christ speaking of that reconciliation which he had wrought told the High Priests Hereafter ye shall see the heavens open and Angels ascending and descending Fourthly Aquinas doth thus excogitate There are two ways wherein man stands in need of help to have grace infused into him and to be guided and assisted in perfecting that which is good Deus immediate hominem inclinat ad bonum infundendo ei gratiam God only and immediately doth infuse supernatural grace into the heart Sed inveniendae sunt
congruae viae ad perficiendum bonum But in the ways which are of advantage to finish and absolve that which is good we are under the care and diligence of those ministring Spirits even as Satan hath confess'd it in my Text He shall give his Angels charge concerning thee And so much for the Supreme assistance which the Devil did promise Christ I have begun to touch upon the instrumental helpers as they were under the Lords appointment but now I will finish the time with a more large Explication of their aid and protection and in their hands they shall bear thee up c. Hortensius the Orator commended the brave quality of Eloquence to the heavens that himself might be lifted up to heaven in the commendation So the Tempter spares not to give the Angels their due and much more than their due that his own presence and assistance might be the more regarded For this is the cunning of it Habes Angelorum custodiam ego ipse Angelus lucis sum The Angels are all your Servants to attend you and I that am so near at hand unto you am an Angel of light Well for his part he shall be detected to his shame what he is after the third Tentation howsoever he roves extreme wide from the scope of the Prophet David Scriptum est ad corporis consolationem non ad capitis This promise of Angelical safeguard belongs not to the tuition of the head who is above all but to the consolation of the body The beginning of the Psalm receives the righteous into the Sanctuary of the most High and he shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty but Christ is that Almighty under whose shadow the Angels themselves are received So Origen retorts should the Angels watch left he dash his foot against a stone Nisi Iesus adjuverit Angeli offendent pedem suum yea unless Christ be about their paths and about their ways the Angels shall dash their foot against a stone and never rise they borrow their illumination their confirmation in grace their whole subsistance from Christ and not he from them What could be more spightfully cast forth than this comparison of the Tempters What could be more contemptuous to Christs glory than to make him a Pupil of the Angels What more opprobrious to all faith As if we did fly to such a Saviour who was not sufficient to keep himself but had a convoy of Gods best Servants to deliver him So the Jews following their Father the Devil frumpt him upon the Cross Let us see if Elias will come and help him when he called not upon Elias but twice together upon God The Lamb of God when he was so flouted by the Jews yielded up the Ghost and did not contradict them because they deserved for the hardness of their heart to live and die in their errour so he did not vindicate himself from this indignity of Satans that he was Lord of the Angels and not under their Pupillage Satan would have laid his ear to that but it might not be discovered unto him that he might still lie upon the rack of doubtfulness and infidelity manger all his Tentations Christ was not ashamed to let his Prophets and Apostles say thou madest him a little lower than the Angels Heb. ii 7. But the next words do recompence that humiliation Thou crownedst him with glory and honour and didst set him over the works of thy hands But how lower than the Angels will some man say Not ratione naturae assumptae not because he took flesh of the blessed Virgin for he keeps that body in his glory and yet as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God and man he is Prince of all the Angels But thus it is best read thou hast made him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a little while lower than the Angels in his Mortality in his Passion while he lay in the Grave before he rose from the dead but after that no longer in any respect lower than the Angels Satan shall see and malign that after the tentation is finished at the eleventh verse of this Chapter Angels will come and minister unto him as honourable Servants not as Jobs Friends who were his Allies and equals He shall see at his Agony an Angel from heaven comforting him Non ad necessitatem sed ad servitutis exhibitionem says Remigius Not as one that had need to bring help but that ought to give attendance Nay because you read Acts i. passively that Christ was taken up into heaven and that two men meaning two Angels stood by in white apparel therefore St. Austin says that Angels bore him up in their hands into heaven not because he should fall if they had taken away their hands but they were delighted marvellously in that homage and imployment And thus the Father amplifies it The Lord hath said heaven is my seat Quia coelum portat Deus sedet ideo coelum melius non est If the heaven be his seat and carry him yet is not he much better that sits upon it So is Christ much better than all the Angels though it should be granted to Satan that they did bear him in their hands But for our part to whom this benefit is meant let us own it and confess it is our Psalm it is our consolation those hands of the Angels are reacht out to hold us weak ones up left at any time we dash our foot against a stone They pluckt Lot and his Family out of Sodom they guarded Jacob from the wrath of Laban they went before the Israelites through the Wilderness and through all their trouble they filled all the Mountains round about to protect Elisha they destroy'd the Host of Sennacherib and saved the holy City We are not only Oves in medio luporum Sheep in the midst of Wolves but also Oves in medio Angelorum Sheep in the midst of Angels over every Wolves head there is an Angel so that we are hoop'd about both above and below Above for our defence below for our perdition What should move the very Heathen to harp upon this string Or who did light their Candle to find it out One of them speaks thus roundly to the matter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there are certain Angels appointed about the earth who are Guardians and Bishops or over-lookers of all humane actions Surely that which moved them to this Sentence must be to consider what plots and conspiracies against the innocent are often revealed in a way clean contrary to the reach of mans wit what mischiefs are prevented by that which we call Chance and Fortune that is by the way of Gods secret Providence which cannot be discerned And what comforts flow into the minds of the distressed which no mortal man could administer Good reason will conclude some heavenly Ministers must be the Instruments of these strange and unlook'd-for blessings or they could never come to pass In these straights of time take these
as they were bidden and that bidding made it no intrusion upon their Fathers Providence The Lord also bad Gideon bring his Souldiers down unto the water and he would try them by a sign which of them should go against the Madianites the Lord did say it and therefore it was fit for him to obey that miraculous direction And Divines agree that it was not a fair answer in King Ahaz when God bid him ask a sign either in the depth beneath or in the height above he answered I will not ask neither will I tempt the Lord for the favour was propounded unto him both for his own part to increase his faith and much more for the instruction of all the people therefore he should have ask'd it But sometimes though upon no express command yet holy Prophets upon some divine instinct have tempted God to grant them a sign above the common and ordinary way of nature and yet their asking was laudable as Gen. xv God is very gracious to Abraham in all the passages I and commends him for his faith yet Abraham says Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit this Land of Canaan And a miracle was wrought to establish the Promise unto him Thus you must interpret wheresoever in holy Scripture you find such eminent men ask a sign to whom God talkt familiarly or poured Revelations into them or spake unto them in Visions that they had a Prophetical instinct for it which maks their case different from us that walk by ordinary faith Now I pray you mark that many times wicked people undertake things of a strange condition by instinct and bring them to pass but it is not Prophetical for it is an instinct of which themselves are not aware as the Mariners were prompted by instinct no doubt to cast lots and the Lot fell right upon Jonas yet they had no feeling that the hand of the Lord was in it But it is a Prophetical instinct which makes the act warrantable when the party imployed in it by God knows it and understands it to be such and concurreth with God as well in will as in the work Eliezer Abrahams Servant was sent to provide a Wife for Isaac and coming to Mesopotamia to the City of Nahor he makes this Prayer O Lord God of my Master Abraham send me good speed this day Loe I stand by the Well of water grant that the Maid to whom I say bow down thy Pitcher I pray thee that I may drink if she say drink and I will give thy Camels drink also may be she that thou hast ordained for thy Servant Isaac And it was so in the event The Scripture makes no description of this Eliezer for a Prophet yet if he felt a motion from God to try the Marriage this way good and lawful if not howsoever God let it come to pass for Abraham and Isaacs sake the course was not excusable but superstitious The like judgment I pass upon Jonathan for God only knows by what inspiring or revelation he did this he went up against the Philistines with his Armour-bearer and he resolves if they say come up unto us we will go up For the Lord hath delivered them into our hand and this shall be a sign unto us Though some say this was not to doubt of Gods excellency but of their own act yet that distinction avails not to explore the success of your own act by means unordained for that use unless divine instinct do help it is a vicious tentation Yet this I will add Jonathans act may be rescued from being tax'd for a tempting of God and exposing themselves to most doubtful peril in that two of them fought with an whole Host for the place was narrow where they could grapple but one to one and Jonathan had the upper ground and the Promise was ratified in the Book of Moses That one of them should chase an hundred and two of them put a thousand to flight Therefore Gods Command or his Promise or a Prophetical instinct do qualifie those things to be vertuous actions which otherwise were tentations ill adventured to anger the Lord. Thirdly Weighty and extraordinary callings had need of a mighty faith to undergo them and such men of old had a liberty allowed unto them to try their Vocation by some sign or some powerful work of God both for themselves and principally for the people that were committed to their governance As Moses pleaded when he was destined to be the Captain that should bring Israel out of Egypt Loe they will not believe me nor hearken to my voice they will say the Lord hath not appeared unto thee presently he was satisfied God bad him cast forth his Rod and it became a Serpent This the Lord did bear withal and let him require an extraordinary Warrant for an extraordinary Function So Gideon being a poor Thresher was called upon by the Angel to sight for Israel against the Madianites he deprecates that the Angel would take it no offence if he desired the encouragement of a Miracle to raise his faith to an eminent pitch Be not angry with me let me prove thee once again with the Fleece let it now be dry only upon the Fleece and let dew be upon all the ground To a private man this demand had been sin but to Gideon to sustain that excellent person which the Angel imposed on him at least it was tollerable Fourthly and finally there is a speculative inquiry or Antecedent to prove Gods will and power by Signs and Tokens and that is unlawful and there is an experimental or consequent one to enquire after Gods goodness in a mans own self by descending into the effects and enumerations of his mercies and proving our own Spirit and that is lawful So Mal. iii. 10. Bring ye all the Tithes into the store-house and prove me therewith saith the Lord of Hosts if I will not open the windows of heaven unto you It were sinful to pay Tythes to that end as if you would tempt God by that conclusion whether he could open the windows of heaven and help you with store but consecutivè the trial is good do you that and God will do this put it to the success if the Lord do not treble his bounty unto those that pay him his Tythes and Offerings this is to taste and try how gracious he will be to our obedience not to put him to such effects as we imagine in the capreols of our own fancy for that is a culpable tentation So this Point being traversed as much as I intend and the time will give me leave I leave it behind me and proceed to the next What are the general heads of those presumptuous ways wherein the party sins that tempts the Lord And surely one principal and notorious offence is committed when a man exposeth his life to unnecessary dangers upon an ill-grounded confidence that God will bring him off with safety Upon this
Spirit to a great and an high Mountain and shewed him the New Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God Rev. xxi 10. So the hand of the Lord brought Ezekiel and set him upon a very high Mountain to see the new City and the new Temple Ezek. xl 2. Yet these were but raptures or illuminations of the fancy after a divine manner and no more But if Satan plaid the Mimick to imitate God specially in this action there is much likeness in a case which I have not yet remembred But thus The Lord spake unto Moses Deut. xxxiv to go up to the top of Mount Nebo before he died and from thence he shewed him all the goodly Land of Promise from Dan even to the Land of Jericho which the Children of Israel should possess whom he had brought out of Egypt This is it certainly which the Tempter imitated and like a presumptuous fiend placeth not Moses a servant of the Family but Christ more excellent by far than Moses not upon Mount Nebo without the Land of Canaan but upon an hill near unto Jerusalem not to see one Territory and there to die and not enjoy it but to see all the Kingdoms of the world and to take them in possession A man may see with half an eye this was to vilifie Gods Miracles and Promises and to extol his own But that must be more copiously touch'd in the sequel Enough of the second Point the third is to this purpose by what gate or passage the Devil would bring in his Tentation and that is by the eye Ostendit illi He shews him all the Kingdoms of the World There is nothing so soon enticed and led away as the eye We are almost all like Labans Sheep every mans heart conceives as the delight of his eye doth impress upon his fancy O these fair Orbs which the Workman made to be the casements of light but they open to let in death into the soul There it began to shew it self to be an Instrument that had lost all purity when Adam and his Wife were called and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the Trees of the Garden Whereupon says St. Austin when Adam had a pure conscience he had a single eye and loved to stand before the Lord Postquam peccato sauciatus est oculus caepit lucem formidare divinam But when his eye grew sin-sore his guiltiness would not let him look upon the divine splendour Refugit in tenebras veritatem fugiens umbras appetens Now it had rather seek out secret places and dark empty shadows than the eternal truth Here the eye began to fall from its primitive honour and ever since it became pernicious Says the Son of Sirach What is created more wicked than an eye wherefore it weepeth upon every occasion Eccles xxxi 3. St. John reduceth the whole brood of sin to these three Seed-plots all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life First there is Achans eye that lusteth after Silver and Gold and costly Babylonish Garments such eyes commit thievery upon all costly things that they behold Some would have all as far as they can look Hell and destruction are never full so the eyes of man are never satisfied says Solomon Prov. xvii But this is not all there is Shechems eye that lusteth after the beauty of Dinah Nay less than the lively Person a very Picture is able to strike the eye and dead colours can inflame it with lasciviousness Ask Ezekiel if it be not thus Cha. xxiii 16. Aholibah saw men pourtrayed upon the Wall the Images of the Chaldaeans as soon as she saw them she doated upon them and sent Messengers unto them into Chaldaea And not unusually this malignity hath extended to spiritual fornication for it is often alledged that the workmans cunning and beauty of the Image hath bewitch'd the eye and drawn the vain beholders to commit Idolatrie and these fair lights thus degenerating to be the brokers of wanton sins are called by Plato 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Panders and Bawds to corrupt the Soul And yet there is another capitol mischief imputed to the eye by St. Austin Ad concupiscentiam oculorum pertinet nugacitas spectaculorum Gazing after all manner of vanities and spectacles of bravery filling the mind with rank effeminateness and idleness casting away most unthriftily the good hours of our life to see and to be seen The Theaters are not large enough now adays to receive our loose Gallants Male and Female but whole Fields and Parks are thronged with their concourse where they make a muster of their gay cloaths acd that day is counted the luckiest of the Week not wherein they have done God most faithful service but wherein they have glutted their eyes abroad with gaudy Gallantry Did Solomon mean such as these can you tell when he said The eyes of a fool are in every corner of the earth But I am sure they are of a condition much better than these whom Christ meant Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Mat. v. 8. Such as are not of a very strict conscience to look to their integrity think they may easiy defend themselves against this charge for is not every thing which is visible made to be seen And more fit to be seen if it be a comly piece of Art or Nature St. Bernard brings in Eve excusing her self for looking upon the forbidden fruit Oculos tendo non manum non est interdictum ne videam sed ne comedam That is May I not cast mine eye toward the Tree I do not reach out my hand to it The Tree is pleasant to the eye and though I am forbidden to eat yet I am not denied to look at it The Father takes upon him to answer as if he had been by to talk with her Hoc etsi culpa non est culpae tamen indicium est The darting of the eye formally is not the transgression of the Commandment but it begets the transgression of the Commandment Behold the heaven and the earth and all the works of the Lord which he hath made in such manifold wisdom the invisible things may be understood by things which are seen and the well-governed eye shall teach the heart to glorifie God Wherefore mark the consequent what passions your eyes beget in your soul examine your own frailties prove your strength and your weakness keep your innocency and look your fill but turn away your eyes when you perceive that the devil shews the Object Job said his heart should not walk after his eye that his eye should not stray from reason But what if the heart chance to wander after the eye What remedy then Christ never gave a more angry Precept in all the Gospel than upon this occosion If thy right eye offend thee pull it out and cast it from thee 'T is an Hyperbole so all
thing cannot be in the same understanding Secondly neither did the evil spirit fortifie the sight of Christ or put virtue into his eye to make it see more than the organ did see before non quod visum ejus qui omnia videt amplificaverit the Lord of Heaven and Earth indeed is able to put strange perspicacie into the eye of man if he please to make him see things clearly and distinctly at a mighty distance so he caused Moses at 120 years of age to go up to mount Nebo to look upon the land before him and to die there First God put courage into his heart to go thither to die with as much chearfulness as if he had been invited to some Festival entertainment secondly he put virtue into his aged eye to see all the remote Regions as perfectly as if they had been Valleys close by and all lying under mount Nebo on which he stood Now as for the eye of Christs body surely it needed no such amplification of visual virtue for assume it for granted that all parts of his humane nature were so perfect that his eye could clearly behold any thing though at never so far distance I mean how far soever the visible object could cast a species no gross opacous body casting it self between for Christ being made like unto us in all things sin onely excepted I allow no possibility to any created one to see through the thick interposition of earth and stones that Lynceus was able to do so Poets did invent in in a Midsummer Moon But I resume no species could multiply to our Saviours sight and fall upon it with never so acute angles though the distance as long as between a star in the highest Region and this earth but he could clearly receive the object as present at hand before him Having such virtue in his eye he could receive no amplification neither could any visual virtue upon the highest Mountain on earth make him to see all the Kingdoms of the World ot once for Philosophers grant enough that an object may appear in one Horizon to an excellent sighted eye three hundred miles off and more they think impossible Nor thirdly did Satan work any perturbation in Christs phansie to make him imagine he saw that which indeed he did not To be conceited that things are present and before a man which indeed are not if it fall out in ones sleep it is no more than a dream if it come to pass by Gods working supernaturally it is a prophetical illumination so God wrought such wonderful passions upon the fancies of Ezekiel and St. John and the Monks say that it pleased the Lord to shew unto St. Bennet in a trance a little before he died all the Kingdoms and Empires upon the face of the earth but if such a thing come to pass by the Devils mists and devices then it is praestigiation or delusion but Satan had no such power to abuse the senses or the spirits of our blessed Lord moving disorder in his body or in his head by which course only he can procure fanciful and vain imaginations of things that are not Besides if this shew had been no more but deluding the fancie to make it credulous he saw the whole world when he did not what needed he make choice of an exceeding high mountain to go up to that That might be done every where and he might as easily work it into his fancy that he was upon a mountain when he was not as to see a most ravishing object of all the earth when he did not But that which I said before is most convincing that Satan had no power to disturb our Saviours fancy inwardly neither is He that is above the wisdom of men and Angels subject to delusion As it was impossible to be brought to pass after these wayes that I have toucht upon to represent all the Kingdoms of the World before our Saviour so there are other wayes how this might be done without any flat contradiction or absurdity As First Satan is able if God permit him to compose certain species or models of all the Kingdoms of the world bubbles as I may call them in the air to last for a little while for the twinkling of an eye and so to vanish and for the better colour of his jugling that they were the real Kingdoms of the World and not their counterfeits he assumed Christ up into a most lofty prospect These are delusions not in Christs fancy which I disclaimed before but without him Nor were they any delusions unto Christ at all because he knew them what they were that they were not true but feigned images The most piercing objection that can be made is then he did not shew any Kingdom unto Christ but only the glasses and models of them all So it must be indeed by this description yet they are called the Kingdoms of the World per modum signi because the glory of the World was cunningly display'd in those counterfeits Secondly though it be past the skil of man to perform for I am no Rosicrucian yet it is not past the capacity of man to imagine it possible how Satan might make the species of all the Kingdoms of the World conjoyntly be seen before Christs eye by refractions per artem speculorum positorum in commodâ habitudine one terse clear body like a Glass receiving the shadows or species of things from one to another and in a very quick instant all display'd in the air round about that Mountain being fitly prepared to receive such fractions But I will not trouble you nor my self with such intricate optical Philosophy as must make this good But thirdly I am most strongly possessed with that way which is most easie and obvious though it be pelted with objections that Satan shewed our Saviour all that pleasant Country that might be seen from the top of the Mountain and did indigitare or monstrare shew the rest by pointing to the flourishing Monarchies of the World which way they lay as in a Cosmographical Sphere But this exposition will be cavill'd with that he could not be said properly to shew all Kingdoms Not so properly indeed as He that travails through every Region but secundum ultimum posse he shew'd him all as far forth as his skil and power would permit him Neither is it necessary to hold so hard to the Text that every angle of the world was made apparent and nothing unshewn The note of universality stands oftentimes for multitude He shew'd him the most part of the Kingdoms of the world or perhaps all that had glory in them that is Victory Peace Civility not barbarous savage Nations who had neither Cities of munificence nor Laws of good government nor wealth nor honor nor any thing desirable Others that can oppose this opinion and yet give no sensible reason of their own to expound this Text but these object that discourse must take up some time if Satan
worship the Lord there with pure and undefiled service he wandred away from this regal fortune to keep sheep in the Wilderness O most magnanimous servant of God that had rather keep sheep with a pure conscience than be a King among Idolaters for how much wiser is it to purchase eternal felicity with a little miserie than to heap up eternal miserie by enjoying a little felicity There are things to come far more precious than these which the tempter extols but alass he did offer nothing to speak of to countervail the loss of a soul when he mouthed these words as a donative which could not be refused all these things will I give thee Finally to go but one deliberation further though Satan was incredulous and would not be perswaded that Christ was the eternal Son of God consubstantial with the Father that had taken our flesh in the Virgins womb to redeem us yet he could not but observe how holy and zealous He was in all his waies endowed with sanctity beyond all the Prophets that ever liv'd therefore this Tentation must needs be ill placed and most unseasonable for God is all manner of riches to those that serve him unfeinedly and with an upright heart Plenitudo deliciarum sufficientia divitiarum Deus est no strong line but a sweet and most emphatical meditation of St. Austins Where God abides there goes with him the alacrity of all delight and the inheritance of all riches Where was St. Pauls Exchequer think you in what corner of the world did his rents lye that he wrote to the Philippians I have all and abound Philip iv 18. Satan cannot be so shameless to offer any thing to him that hath all already there 's work for an Auditor let him cast up those sums if he can and make them even 2 Cor. vi 10. as having nothing and yet possessing all things such Apostolical spirits those few that are measure themselves wealthy not by the weight of silver and gold but by the grace of God which inhabits in them and doth enable them to refuse more than Satan can pretend to give There was somewhat else which St. Peter lookt for that was not in the Inventory of all this baggage which the tempter would impart to Christ these are his words Lo we have left all and followed thee what shall we have Mark x. 28. this is odd you will say to leave all and then to fall a demanding and looking for more but first he lookt for the promise of the coming of the Holy Ghost which David pray'd for Encline my heart unto thy law and not to covetousness rather a dram of virtue than a talent of fortune Secondly he lookt for the glorification of body and soul where Satan shall no more stand at our right hand to tempt us where the spirit shall be ready and the flesh as willing to fall down and worship the Lord for evermore Amen THE SIXTEENTH SERMON UPON Our Saviours Tentation MAT. iv 9. All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me St. Luke more largely renders it thus chap. iv 6. All this power Will I give thee and the glory of them for that is deliver'd unto me and to whom soever I will give it if thou therefore Wilt Worship me all shall be thine YOU heard before what vast sums of wealth the great Prince of the riches of this World did commend out of his most abundant but deceitful liberality to our Saviour all these things will I give thee Solomon had a mighty Tribute 666 talents of gold yearly and silver as the stones of the street all his vessels were of pure gold silver was not anything accounted of in the daies of Solomon Yet the whole revenue of Solomon was but beggerie to those comings in which Satan promised in this place haec omnia whatsoever the globe of the earth conteins without exception or deduction But as if the Tempter would exceed himself and rise above all expectation his mouth speaks greater things by far in that which follows now to be handled than in those particulars which I opened before for he will engage to make our Saviour Lord of all the Kingdoms in the World all this power will I give thee and the glory of them he should have that into the bargain Pompey the great saith Livie made the Romans Lords of so much land by his successful victories that unless he had taken so many captives as he did the land could not have been till'd and occupied and again he made them Lords of so many captives that unless he had seiz'd upon so much land the captives could not have been received and harbour'd So the Devil offer'd our Saviour so much wealth that unless he had promis'd to give him all the honour of the world it could not have been spent and again he offer'd him so much honour that unless he had promised him all the wealth in the world it could not have been maintein'd But what will all this come to here 's a shower of wealth and glory pour'd down what thunderbolt comes after it timeo Daneos dona ferentes shut the gift out of doors till ye know the condition why it should be receiv'd a wise man will be as careful lest any thing should be basely given him as he will be circumspect that nothing be unjustly taken from him for many times the intent of pernicious liberality is to make a man incur the foulest sins in the world to avoid ingratitude The woman had a cup of gold in her hand but it was full of abomination Rev. 17.14 so the purpose of this great gift is to take the Devils Damm with a Dowry to be raised up on high above all the Dominions of the Earth ut lapsu graviore ruat then to fall down from that height and to commit Idolatry What were the several particulars which I charged upon the whole Text the last time it will be fit for me to repeat and for you to hear First wherein the forcible enticement of this last Tentation consists in giving a speeding word I told you and very provocative dabo I will give thee Secondly what and how much he would give and that 's twofold First as a Mammon of iniquity all riches and possessions that the eye could see and as a Lucifer of pride the power of all the Kingdoms of the World and the glory of them Thirdly he shews Christ his evidences quo jure by what right and authority he can make over all this unto him in those words for that is deliver'd unto me and to whomsoever I will give it Fourthly and lastly every bait hath his hook under it this promise hath a most impious condition annext unto it if Christ will fall down and worship him I have spoken of the former part of the gift which this insolent Braggart made ostentation to bestow he would put all the riches of the world into one donative
all intermeddle with the disposition of earthly Kingdoms either to restrain or depose Princes though tyrannical or heretical or blasphemous Their conversion is to be zealously prai'd for in the mean time their yoke is to be born with patience and we must kiss the scourge of God The Sorbon Divines of Paris do generally carry this badge and the Protestant Churches unanimously speak this Language The second Tenent is that the Temporal Soveraignty of the whole world is inherent in the Office of Christs Vicar as they call him to give change alter or confirm the Titles of particular Princes as his infallible judgment shall lead him Let every brain that is not distempered judge what a Doctrine this is Non sani esse hominis non sanus juret Orestes The third Tenent which Cardinal Bellarmine and the Jesuitical Pack maintain is a modification of the former The Pope hath no temporal Soveraignty at all annexed by vertue of the Papacy but Indirectè in ordine ad spiritualia indirectly and to remove the impediments of the common good especially of the Church he might send to the people by his Briefs that they owe no subjection to a wicked King that he could take off their Oath of Fealty and free them from Perjury that he hath power to excommunicate such Princes and translate their Kingdoms from them to such as he shall adjudge to be more Catholick Whether he will arm the Son against Father the Brother against the Brother a Rebel against his true King all these have been done why it lies In scrinio pectoris he may collate the Dominions of such Princes on whom it liketh him Pray you how much doth this opinion differ from the second You may easily find it is but white money turned into Gold and comes all to one payment For the Bishop of Rome is made the Judge himself when a Kingdom wants a fit Governour for the good of the Church for the wholsom administration of Justice since therefore all Regal Authority hangs upon Papal discretion it comes all to one pass with that most impudent second opinion which says the Power and glory of the Kingdoms in the world are absolutely in his donation It is no toying in so main a cause as this which concerns the Crowns and Scepters of all Sacred Princes therefore I will demonstrate that I plead against them according to the charge of their own Bill Thus Baronius to begin with him who speaks his mind in these words for his holy Father whom our Lord Jesus Christ the King of glory hath constituted a Prince over all the Kingdoms of the world Augustinus Triumphus All Power and Royalty is subdelegated from the Pope to other Princes No man can give him any Soveraignty which he had not by right before Nec Constantinus dedit quicquam Sylvestro quod non prius erat suum says he The Canonists talk of Constantines donation to Sylvester giving him the temporal Principality of Romania he gave him nothing but that which was his own before that and all beside was St. Peters Patrimony And some of them stake Scripture to prove it but most untowardly as that all power is from God therefore all power Regal and Imperial from Christs Vicar Yet more sinistrously from those words If I be lifted up I will draw all men after me that is if I had an Army strong enough I would recover all the Seigniories of the earth into mine own hand Practice is a plainer Argument than Book-words I will satisfie you then in that Alexander the Sixth a giver that will do but small credit to the gift but such as he is take him with all his faults he bestowed the whole West-Indies upon Ferdinand King of Spain Ex merâ liberalitate motu proprio as the Patent ran Their own Histories say that Athabaliba King of Peru maintained his Royalty by fighting against that Grant till he was taken Prisoner in Battel and then cried out that Pope could have no vertue or reverence to the God of heaven that gave away another mans Dominions from him but I will bring the case home That Bull which Pius the Fifth signed with his own Seal wherein he excommunicated the most blessed Queen Elizabeth hath this Line in it touching his own authority to use that incomparable Lady so unchristianly Hunc unum super omnes gentes omnia regna principem constituit God had constituted him over all Nations and over all Kingdoms O what vaulting spirits are these which run in the Veins of wretched man This forgetful Prelate grant him his own asking from whence his original came and it is from a most humble Apostle whose actions being all of them recorded not any one do lean toward Soveraignty or Principality Yet his Successor in challenge exalted above all that is called God will be a parallel Line and side with him in my Text who makes nothing to dispose of all the Regal Dignities in the world All this power will I give thee c. Let this be enough which I have said to have been discoursed upon the immensity of that honour which Satan challenged to be in his Jurisdiction I proceed to shew upon whose shoulders he would be content to lay it upon our Lord and Saviour Tibi universam hanc potestatem As for the thing it self he wisht that Christ had it in good earnest I make no doubt of it namely that his fortune had been to be an earthly King to be a Caesar Caesarum the Conquerour of all the Dominions in the world rather than such a one he suspected him for that Messias that came to redeem his People and to invite the Nations far and wide over all the earth to the fear of the Lord. Let him be all in all in a temporal Kingdom rather than Saviour that came to erect the spiritual Kingdom of faith to the subversion of the powers of darkness Conceive now unto your selves as if he had spoken more largely on this wise to Christ I find you hungry and forlorn in this Wilderness neither train to attend you nor food to cherish you Alas that such a one as you should be thus negglected 't is pity you are not honoured enough according to the great gifts of sanctity that are in you Why you are worthy to be Lord of the whole world if promotions went by desert And will you live in Famine and Scorn and Humility and at last be crowned with thorns and crucified Nay follow my directions and you shall be crowned with Gold and sway the whole Universe with a Scepter All this power will I give thee and the glory of them It came to pass with our Saviour after this Proposition as it befell chaste Joseph in the house of Potiphar He would not be incontinent yet upon defamation of incontinency he was clapt up in Irons So Christ would no such Kingdom as Satan offered yet upon suspicion that he went about to make himself a King his
death was contrived and his accusation laid before Pilate he that maketh himself a King is not Cesars friend I have often both read it and seen it that Pride Vain-glory Faction and I know not what have been laid to the charge of the Innocent by some uncharitable mouths who have spread it so far that for all their innocency they could never wipe off the stain Many times the more they decline those crimes the more occasion is taken to accuse them Every thing that Paul could say or do to purge himself wrought him envy and misreport that he was turbulent and a mover of sedition He could never shake it off with all his meekness and modesty Well if mischief and defamation must have their course the remedy is easie though it be desperate commend your innocency to God The Lord of life himself was haunted with a wrong opinion from the time that Satan made this motion to his death that he had a purpose to be a Monarch and to display his Banner against Cesar in the quarrel of the Jews for their ancient liberty The people would have made him a King Joh. vi and he hid himself out of the way yet that would not acquit him his very Disciples not seldom but even till after his Resurrection till they saw him taken away to heaven lookt for honourable command and superiority under him It cost the sweet Babes of Bethlem their lives that the Wisemen of the East called him a King It lost him his own life as I toucht upon it before that the children of Jerusalem entertained him with that acclamation Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord Luk. xix 38. That question was and is scandalous to the Jews was and is a stumbling-block to some Gentiles what manner of Kingdom belonged to Christ as he was man Before ever the Magi of the East said Where is he that is born King of the Jews The Angel upon the first tidings of his Incarnation told the blessed Virgin his Mother The Lord shall give unto him the Throne of his Father David And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shall be no end Luk. i. 32. From hence some Papalins whom I formerly refuted stile him a Temporal King who bequeathed all his Dominions to his chief Apostle St. Peter and he to one that is his Successor if it please God in all but his Sanctity Then the perfidious Jews object since the Prophets say that the Messias shall be a King and sit upon the Throne of David the Messias is not yet come because Christ did not triumph and exercise Lordly authority upon the Throne of David To draw out truth against both these at once like a two edged Sword I lay down these three things 1. That neither the Prophets nor St. Luke do teach that Christ had a Temporal Kingdom 2. That he had Dominion given to him by his Father over all earthly things but not by way of ruling all things like a King in his Kingdom 3. In most proper and safe construction we must say his was a spiritual Kingdom I will be brief in all these especially in the former To make much ado that Christ had no temporal Kingdom were to light a Candle at Noon-day The case is clear for I hope we will believe him rather than his enemies These are his words Joh. xviii 36. My Kingdom is not of this world if it were my servants would fight for me that I should not be delivered to the Jews but my Kingdom is not from hence He meant say some Papalins that the world gave him no Kingdom neither chose him a King yet he doth not deny but he received an earthly Kingdom from God A most empty Objection For Pilate sate his Judge to examine if he made himself a King to injure Cesar The same Pilate liked his answer so well that he told the Jews he found no fault with him But would Pilate have put it up if he had answered no better That he claimed a Kingdom indeed by a right and title derived from heaven frivolous and the Cavil of the Jews comes to nothing that God would set the Messias upon the Seat of his Father David Stretch not the Phrase too far and the meaning is 1. The Messias should come out of Davids Loins 2. And be a King as David was 3. Not after that way an earthly Potentate but after a more noble glorious perfect way than ever David governed And I pray you how could it be that he should be a King over Judah and Israel as David was when that Kingdom was taken away from Davids house before Christ was born and a Prophesie denounced it should never return to that house again So it was foretold to Jeconiah Jer. xxii 30. Write this man barren there shall be no man of his Seed to sit upon the Throne of David and to have power any more in Judah In a word Scripture elsewhere shews that to sit upon Davids Seat was to have the Jews subject unto him not after a carnal way but to be worshipped of them in spirit and to enjoyn them to keep his Laws and Commandments for their salvation So it is Hos iii. 5. They shall seek the Lord their God and David their King and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days Secondly I said Christ had Dominion given to him by his Father over all earthly things but not by way of ruling all things like a King in his Kingdom for by uniting the Humane Nature to the Godhead through the admirable influence of that Hypostatical Union So the very Manhood was made Lord over all things according to those places Mat. xi All things are delivered unto me of my Father And in these last days he spake unto us by his Son whom he made Heir of all things Heb. i. 2. And that you doubt not how he had power over all things as being man united with God he whose name was called the Word of God had a name written on his thigh King of Kings and Lord of Lords Rev. xix 16. Super femur mark that Vpon his thigh that is upon his Humane Nature Now this in him was of a more eminent and sublimed condition than all Regal Authority on the earth It came to him the most glorious way that ever was by the Hypostatical Union not by Conquest Inheritance Election Donation or any earthly sort 2. His power reacheth not only to command the outward actions but the very thoughts and conscience 3. He is over things sensible and insensible Men and Angels quick and dead heaven and earth and the very Regions of darkness 4. When men die their glory perisheth with them but of this mans Kingdom it is often testified there is no end Yea after his death he rose again and then began his Dominion to be most absolute by many exteriour works It was his pleasure oftentimes to exercise
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 get thee behind me Satan which confutes those Expositors that consulted no further than St. Matthew and have made quiddetts upon it that Christ did not reprehend St. Peter Mat. xvi with the same chiding that the Devil hath here Yes even the very same because Peter suggested most carnal counsel from the evil one he suffred this reprehension Get thee behind me Satan But I leave to touch that any further it is not in the Verge of my Text. This is the first time throughout all the three Tentations that Christ calls him by name Satan And surely Cajetan says well upon it Quia manifestavit se esse principem mundi Christus non ei amplius respondit ut homini Because he manifested himself to be the Prince of this world Christ communes not with him now in the former key as if he were a man And unless he had revealed himself perhaps our Saviour would have forborn to detect him that himself might have remained undiscovered to be the Son of God Well though the Tempter borrowed shapes before to hide himself notice is taken now what he was and with much passion our Lord shook him up Get thee hence Satan Our Saviour passed over the two former Tentations mildly but purposes of Idolatry deserve no meek answer The irreverent usage of Gods House when it was defiled with money-changers and the most irreverent abuse of Gods glory in this Text stirred up fire in Christ more than in all other cases and made him hot and vehement Moses the meekest man on earth that would resent no injuries against himself when God was dishonoured in the Calf which the Children of Israel worshipped his anger was so kindled that he threw stones at the Idolaters and broke the Tables which he had in his hand as who should say the Law is broken Let not Gods quarrel want a Patron in you and you shall not want an Advocate with the Father in Christ But what did Satan suffer upon this rebuke What was he the worse for it You can scarce imagin how to conceive more punishment out of so few words than some contemplative men have collected from these First If the High Priests servants were terrified and fell backward when no more was said unto them but Ego sum I am he then what amazement must this reproof strike Get thee hence get thee far from me thou presumptuous Spirit This did not only cast him to the ground but even bruize him under our Saviours feet Rom. xvi 20. The least check from the Lord is able to make the stoutest stomach look pale as death When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for sin thou makest his beauty to consume away O if that dreadful Judge speak one word of anger who is able to abide it Secondly To be commanded away by one that appeared a man of weakness and infirmity what a great fall was this from that high opinion which even now the Devil had of himself He went away says Chrysologus and was fain to give glory to him of whom he askt adoration He boasted of giving a Kingdom to Christ and Christ gives Law to him and he must obey it Before he would be Christs Leader he lead him to the Mountain he took him nay carried him to the Pinacle of the Temple now he is compelled to change places and come after Get thee behind me Satan Yet I do not say he hath the dignity to come immediately next after Christ Solo Deo minor that is the title of anointed Kings upon earth Nay this reproachful word Get thee behind me deposeth him under all the servants of God Non retro Christum solùm sed post omnes qui spiritum Christi habent ire cogitur He is not only set beneath the Son of God but is an underling far after all those in the Church that have the spirit of Adoption Thirdly You know that this word Get thee behind me was a word of hostility in Jehu's mouth What hast thou to do with peace Get thee behind me So this rebuke proclaims the Devil an enemy whom God drives away and puts him out of his view and sight like an antipathy to the Godhead Ejicitur à facie Dei as one says he was cast behind God hid his face from him he should never more see the beams of that comfort Fourthly It is not expressed whither Christ did banish him when he charged him with his Vade Get thee hence to some woful banishment that is certain but to what degree of woe is most uncertain The Devils not long after this story in spight of their infidelity acknowledged him and trembled for fear which way he would send them Therefore they besought him that he would not send them into the depth In abyssum into that inestimable depth of woe in the nethermost Hell Luk. viii 31. And some do so interpret Get thee hence as if Satan before these Tentations were cast out of heaven into the earth but from this time that Christ rebuked him and bid him avant further he was cast from the earth into the lowest darkness They are questions not to be heeded which some move whether the Prince of the air were bound fast by these words that he should hurt the earth no more by his own person but by his instruments Or rather whether not until anon before our Saviours Passion at those words Now shall the Prince of this world be cast forth Or whether the binding is to be accounted from some other time Apoc. xx Tyrannis vivit tyrannus occidit Whether the great dragon so called be chained up or not God knows his tyranny and mischief lives in the power of other instruments all the Church of God knows that by experience Fifthly These words Get thee behind me Satan are our Saviours epinicium or Song of triumph that he hath conquered the Adversary both for his own peace and kingdoms sake and for the members of his body So many gross sins were reformed throughout all the world from this time forward especially in the redress of Idolatry that some say the malicious weapons of Satan are rebated and their edge taken off Indeed if it be meant with this distinction that follows the doctrine is acceptable the Devil hath less power since Christ came unto us in the flesh then he had before Non quod demonum sit imminuta virtus sed quod fidelibus per Christum abundantior concessa est gratia The Devils are as malicious as instant as operative as cunning as ever they were but since the holy Ghost hath put upon us the Armour of light since grace hath abounded through Christ we are better able to resist our Ghostly Enemies To conclude all whosoever is tempted of his own evil concupiscence let him spend no time to please himself with the first motions of sin but let him rebuke his own heart instantly in these words Apage Satana get thee hence away depart from me Satan Conjure
wrong opinions that offend against it For whatsoever things they are to which men do offer religious worship and service beside the Lord let them distinguish that they do it improperly with a less religious worship with reference to Almighty God let them slick it over with what gloss of wit they please I am on the Lords side and in his behalf I plead that they run into some kind of Idolatry But first plainly and affirmatively without rubbing against the adversary's errors that God only is to be worshipped and served In the first place I must not conceal from you this word upon which we stand so much and good reason for it but this word Only is not to be found in that verse which is quoted by our Saviour Deut. vi 13. the margent of your own Bible and indeed all Expositors ancient and modern hold that to be the very Scripture which Christ doth here apply and thus you find thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him and shalt swear by his name I but 't is not written there thou shalt serve him only Hath He added to the word put case He should add to the word as in this instance He did not but put case He should it were free for him but for none else to do it He may do what He will with his own After Moses had finished the Law and the Lord had said thereupon cursed is he that addeth unto it yet the book of the Psalms and the Prophets were put to it and after all these the Gospel and the whole New Testament was added yet none of those were the patches of mans wit but the increase and supply which God himself gave to his own eternal Oracles Yet I give not this answer as if Christ had thrust one syllable into the Law to give it more sense and authority than it had before He came to fulfil the Law but not to overfil it For first Christ said nothing but that which is written if not here yet in another Prophet and one spirit is in all the Prophets consult with Samuel 1 lib. chap. 2. v. 3. Prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve him only that 's down right as my Text hath it I need not give it a grain to make up weight Then there 's for Satan he cannot say but he was refuted with very Scripture Secondly let us keep unto those words of Deuteron for surely those were intended and the word only is there in effect the next verse makes it good that it could not be excepted Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him Well but will God admit any partner otherwise we must serve him alone just so for it follows ye shall not go after other Gods of the Gods of the people that are round about served him and no other God whatsoever Why then it is a clear aequipollencie in Logick thou shalt serve him only The Devil is most perverse and litigious yet he never denied it Thirdly be satisfied yet further that the 72 Translators so called having the right understanding of the Text that God commandeth all glory and worship and divine service to himself without comperes or sharers they render the Hebrew in those Greek words which our Saviour quoted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 him only shalt thou serve Now all do yield that the five books of Moses were translated by those 72 Jews of great learning whom Eleazar the High-Priest sent to Ptolemy Philadelphus for that purpse So much both Philo and Josephus acknowledge though they speak of no more Occasion is taken from hence by some to cry up that Greek Translation of the Old Testament because our Saviour alledgeth these words as those Septuagint have made them up and not as they are in the pure original Hebrew I will not stand upon this Theme any long time but say much in brief First that St. Paul layes a firm ground how the Jews had the Oracles of God committed to them it was one of their National Privileges therefore their tongue is the matrix and fountain from whence we are to expound what the Holy Ghost hath delivered in the Old Testament I deny not but the Jews themselves might use the Copies of the Greek Language for there were many of them and some conjecture that where we read of certain Hellenistae Greeks that came to our Saviour in the Gospel they were those Jews that rather used the Greek Translation than the Hebrew perhaps being more easie to their capacities for their common speech in those daies was Syrian and Hebrew was taught in Sholes as we teach Latin therefore some suppose there was a Faction of Hellenists among them they and the Scribes who damned all Scripture which was not in their own Hebrew tongue being upon all occasions at hot variance So you find there was a murmuring of the Graecians against the Hebrews Acts vi 1. To return to my conclusion some Jews did not abhor to read their own Law in the Greek tongue yet these were but a Faction for when St. Paul saies the Oracles of God were committed to them and by way of high privilege he must mean it of that idiom which their Fathers spake wherein it was first wrote and whereof their learned men for the present were the Doctors Secondly though the Hebrew was and is the authentique language for that part of Scripture yet there was a most venerable Translation of it into Greek which our Saviour the Evangelists and Apostles used it kept the sense yea the words of the Hebrew for the most part so exactly that our Saviour who taught the Law according to it did say one jot or title of the Law should not perish St. Hierom says if that Translation had been purely extant he would have spared his own pains and not have undergone so laborious a task to turn the whole Old Testament out of Hebrew into Latin Thirdly that pure Greek Translation was used by our Saviour though not in Greek words but in Syriac not as preferring it or matching it with the original authentique Hebrew but partly because it was most frequent and most known for they all spake the Greek tongue in all the hither parts of Asia after Alexander the great had exalted the Graecian Monarchy partly to import that a door of faith was now opened to the Gentiles and that they should reap those heavenly things since the Jews thought themselves unworthy of them Fourthly this Greek Translation which at this day goes under the name of the 72 is of far less value and authority than that which was so honour'd with our Saviours mouth for I will believe St. Hierom in this case being a most exact Linguist rather than those Fathers that took languages upon trust but thus He. Germana illa antiqua translatio corrupta est violata ac pro varietate regionum diversa feruntur exempla That old genuine Translation was corrupted and violated and several Copies of it
make supplications unto them When I commend my self to the Prayers of any man upon earth I attribute nothing unto him falsly as divine he hath ears to hear me he hath memory faith and chariry to commend his brethren to God But when I do the like to the Saints granting the distinction that they call upon them to intercede not to perform their request but when I do the like to them I make them stand in the place of God to hear all men every where at once perhaps lifting up their voice nay perchance no more than the thought of their heart unto them Solius Dei proprium est ubique omnes audire exandire It is the excellency of God alone to hear and attend to all men in all places at once Therefore he makes an Idol of that Saint in whom he supposeth as much vertue and excellency to hear him how much soever distant as is in God himself I omit burning Incense to their Shrines making Pilgrimages to their Sepulchres Building Churches wherein their memory may be worshipped and invoked And making Vows in their names which is one of the flowers of Gods eternal royalty They that are such earnest Devotees to Creatures and think there is not work enough for a Christian to worship God alone deserve that gross delusion which hath started from some of their own Confessions that many names are enrolled for glorified Saints and great Patrons of the Church whose souls are tormented in Hell Let God be worshipped for the holy Prophets Apostles and Martyrs departed so shall we our selves we trust one day have a place in that Coelestial Quire where the Lord our God is only worshipped and he only served day and night without ceasing AMEN THE TWENTIETH SERMON UPON Our Saviours Tentation MAT. iv 10. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve I Am come to this Text again in the zeal of Elias to let no kind of Idolater be unrebuked that doth not worship the Lord and serve him only according to these words which were Law at first and our Saviour by reciting them hath made them Gospel Take the Priests of Baal says that holy man and let not one of them escape 1 King xviii 40. I will trace his steps in this cause and will rather be a man of contention as Jeremy became by taking the Lords part then suffer Rags and Reliques Stocks and Stones to have an attractive virtue more than magnetical to draw religious honour and adoration unto them If men would hold their peace these things which I now proceed to arraign and condemn for having holy worship done unto them have no tongues to defend themselves They are not Angels or Saints departed they have neither life nor motion in them neither the Cedar that grows in Libanus nor the Hisop that grows on the top of the wall but the Trunck of the Cedar and such other things as Art hath made unfit for any further benefit of nature 'T is strange that sharp-witted men will take pains to extol such dull inanimate things as can never thank them And concerning inanimate liveless things how superstitiously such glory as belongeth to God alone hath been imparted unto them I shall spend my labours at this time for concerning rank Heathen Idol Gods imaginaries Deities and concerning the Host of Heaven above and the Spirits of darkness beneath how they are idolized by some I have maintained the judgment of our Church before But our quarrel against the Pontificians to vindicate all religious worship latrical and dulical to the Lord of Heaven alone is like a Suit in Law that holds many Terms as long a quarrel as upon any other common place in all Divinity I am in hand at this time with the same Controversie again to protest against four things namely 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Religious adoration of the Reliques of Saints 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Religious adoration of the Elements in the Lords Supper 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Religious adoration of the Sign of the Cross and that most stiffely and impudently maintained 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Worship of Pictures and Images whether resembling Christ or his Saints Wo is it for the Church of Christ that we must spend an hour in these dissentions but what peace can there be while these Idolatries are maintained under the name of great devotion and anathema denounced against them that cry out for the Lord and for his Christ to them glory and worship and to none but them And now I have sounded the trumpet to this battel I betake me to the particulars propounded First that Religious adoration of Reliques confronts the verity of my Text c. But in the Exordium if any one shall ask how do our Opposites worship or serve Reliques or any of the aforenamed I will satisfie him that for the intentions of their heart in their inward reverence towards these things we could not accuse them but that they profess and teach it is religious and holy honour for if it were no more than precious estimation to some of those things we would not disfavour their practice but consent unto it and for their outward behaviour which expresseth the affections within judg if this be not to worship to kneel unto to kiss those things to prostrate the body to hold up the hands and eyes and uncover the head before them judg also if this be not serving of them censing of perfumes in those places lighting candles to honour them adorning with the richest cost of jewels and gold Circumgestation Procession Supplication Festival days appointed for their service and as much as all these Guilds and Religious Orders appointed to attend them This is square and open dealing that I impute Idolatry and Will-worship unto them upon grounds of practice and confession Nay I have not said all no not by half touching that over respect which is done to the Reliques of Christ and his Saints They exalt them above the Altar St. Ambrose thought it a great honour for himself or any deceased Bishop to lye under the Altar they call that adoration which is given to them meritorious The Priests teach the people that there is a kind of grace communicated to those Reliques they take Pilgrimages to them swear by them carry parts about as Prophylacticks against bodily and ghostly evil and pronounce indulgence for venial sins to them that fall down and worship them Beside the main sin see the uncertainty of all this Of Saints they have mightily multiplied the number and of their Reliques far more than is possible to belong unto them Yet it is impossible to know by faith who are Saints deceased but those whose memorial is recorded in Scripture and for their Reliques it is not denied they are conjectur'd at by mere humane credulity The bones of a Varlet may be carried in procession for the bones of a Martyr decem millia talium rerum Romae fiunt says L.
Saviours triumph I will break the words into these two even parts The Decession of Satan and the succession of the good Angels As there is but one Comma in the Grammatical reading so there is but one part divided from the other Then the Devil leaveth him there is the decession of the evil Spirit And behold Angels came and ministred unto him there is the succession of the good To these somewhat now directly and distinctly Then the Devil leaveth him I will propound four Questions to it and answer them in their order When Satan left Christ Why he left him To what place he went upon the leaving And if ever he returned again after he had left him All these have reference to this Text and to the Antecedents of this tentation as I will declare in their severals The first question When he left him Is answered by St. Luke Chap. iv 13. when the Devil had ended all the temptation He had run out his line and tried all his strength our Saviour stood it out till his Enemy tilted the very dregs of his Gall and drew them out He that undertakes an ill cause cannot except but the hearing of it was very fair if he may plead out his matter till he can say no more so the Tempter cannot say he was cut off before he came to a period he was provided of better Arguments but he was stopt from proceeding he could not make these cavils for shame for his departure was not commanded untill he ended all his tentation Like the Martyrs of old who lived and died in the best times of grace it is recorded in their Diptychs that their patience did weary their very tormentors So the innocency of Christ did weary the malice of the Devil to assault it his constancy to Gods honour did nonplus the Blasphemer that he knew not which way to turn him or upon what occasion to ground another temptation St. Ambrose says that Satan had run over all manner of wickedness in those three motions which go before my Text And that the Scripture would not have said he had ended all his mischief Nisi in his tribus esset omnium materia delictorum unless all naughtiness were couched in the triple mystery of iniquity which preceded And to make this interpretation good out of the mouth of two Witnesses St. Austin concurs in these In Diaboli tribus propositionibus tota iniquitas in Christi tribus responsionibus tota justitia All kind of sin is thrust together in the Devils threefold Propositions and all kind of justice is comprehended in our Saviours threefold answers St. John says that there are three roots which supply matter to all the fruits of impiety the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life I know it may be fetcht about and some wits have tried it that the three former devises of Satan do belong to this division Gluttony or commanding stones to be made bread is that which is otherwise called the lust of the flesh Ambition or vaulting from the Pinacle of the Temple to be gazed upon stands for the pride of life Covetousness which would be owner and possessor of all things in the world is ascribed to the third general sin which is the lust of the eye thus some of the Fathers have fitted these three particulars of tentations and the three seed plots of sin in St. John one to one I will not say how properly a searching wit may compass in any thing But all the three ways of Tentation are exactly to be observed from hence from no part of Scripture more exactly and so he may be said to have ended all his tentation For some are tempted through infirmity some through ignorance some are emboldned in open and prophane malice to defie the Lord. When it was motioned that he should make stones of bread he laid siege as he thought to his hunger and infirmity which could not well withstand it when he incited our Lord to fall down from a Pinacle of the Temple it was to make him destroy himself through ignorance expecting in vain that Angels should come between him and harm to succour him Lastly when he urged Christ to fall down and worship him he required a sin of most obstinate malice and flat Idolatry By Infirmity by Ignorance by Malice these are all the ways that the Tempter works therefore having run through all these it may pass for current that he had ended all his temptation I infer but one thing from hence that those Spirits are become merely diabolical and poysoned all over with hell that spare no kind of sin that they can commit but defie the Lord as far as the Devil can thrust them on such as swear all kind of Oathes in their wrath commit all kind of extorsions in their Covetousness defile themselves with all kind of lust and drunkenness in their intemperance Herods cruelty had no stint he slew omnes infantes all the Infants of two years old in Bethlem Israel went a whoring after strange Gods till they had committed all kind of Idolatry and made them high places upon every Mountain says the Prophet Thou hast spoken all manner of lies that may do hurt O thou false tongue says David Though the Character which I shall give was Neroes it agrees to all them who sin as much as life and strength and means and opportunity will suffer them He grew by degrees so infinitely wicked that nothing can be fathered so horrible upon him which his sutable manners would not render credible Nothing can be pleaded for such but that they deserve an infinite punishment who would sin in infinitum if they could When they have ended all the sins they can commit they shall be commanded to their own place of eternal woe as Satan was when he had ended all his temptation The question why he left Christ is the next in order to which I will answer many ways First quia jussus he was bidden depart and therefore there was no staying for him Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered let them also that hate him fly before him The Lord hath set every thing in its place and order and what is there which he cannot root up and displant again If he say unto this Mountain be thou cast into the Sea it shall be carried away with the breath of his mouth Or unto Adam get thee hence out of Paradise or unto any Nation be thou carried away into a strange Land or unto the whole heaven and earth pass away and be gone they shall pass away and be rouled up as a garment And to come to the likeness of this very case in my Text when Christ threw out sundry evil Spirits with a word the Jews were amazed and spake among themselves saying What a word is this For with authority and power he commandeth the unclean Spirits and they come out The Magicians and Sorcerers can cast out Devils
off and abandon their Society and he shall find heavenly comforters in his soul as if Angels ministred unto him Qui expellit à se Satanam allicit ad se Angelos Bid Satan get him hence and the Angels take it for an invitation that they should pitch their Pavilions round about you Lot lived like a stranger in his own City and conversed not with the men of Sodom they called him a stranger he shut himself up and barr'd his doors against those filthy people What could he do more to keep the ungodly from his very sight as David said Thus estranging himself from the conversation of pernicious sinners he made himself sit to give hospitality to Angels A good Lesson for these times wherein ribbald roaring company is rather sought for than declined A strange thing that a Christian who feels some comfort in Christ and desires salvation in his bloud should with so much affection and longing thrust himself among them whose desperate behaviour is easily perceived if repentance help not to tend to utter damnation St. Paul was weary of his own body called it a body of death and groaned to be delivered from it because the Flesh rebelled against the Spirit Did he loath himself that he might love Christ the more And will you invite those into your friendship and fellowship that blaspheme Christ Shake off this dust from your feet all prophane intemperate lascivious persons from your familiarity if either you expect that God should give his Angels charge of you in this life or make you partakers of their fellowship of heavenly glory in the life to come The next thing towards which we turn our eyes at this word behold is the alteration of rest and quietness before there were assaults and troubles and molestations all this is changed in a moment into peace and tranquillity which shall be the certain issue of all those that fight a good fight with patience Semper asperiora laetiorum vicissitudine mitigantur Rough beginnings have joyful events by the temperature and vicissitude of Gods gracious mercy Such as were called prosperous among the heathen most usually the best share of their fortune was in the forepart of their life and their end was lamentable the seven first years in Pharaohs dream did betoken plenty but the seven last years famine and scarcity the head of Nebuchadonosors Image was of Gold and the toes of Clay the rich man had a great time of gathering more than he knew where to bestow it but in one night lost his soul and all This is an unkind and an unnatural method to taste the sweetest at the top of the Cup and after a little sipping to have our teeth set on edge with Aloes Doth it not taste better when the gracious providence turns the lot thus First a Deluge and then a Rainbow First a Captivity and then a joyful return First a Dioclesian and then a Constantine First the impugnation of the Devil and then the Congratulation of Angels Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour untill the evening says the Psalmist There is a time to give the body a cessation from toil and do you think the Lord doth not measure out when he will give the soul and spirit relaxation from misery As a stranger is received at night and bids God b'you in the morning so indignation and the severity of chastisement are stangers unto the Lords clemency he calls vengeance Peregrinum opus his strange work Isa xxviii Therefore it shall be dismissed from him like a stranger after it hath staid a while Heaviness may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning Psal xxx 6. Tentations have their bout and the storms of hell their period but the good Angels know their qu when to enter and to turn the scene Behold the Angels came and ministred unto him And once more this note of admiration Behold bids us regard to what alteration of dignity the truly humble are called Recusavit dominatum in homines habet imperium in Angelos Our Saviour turn'd away from that ambitious suggestion All this power will I give thee and the glory of them He desired not to have a Kingdom in this world or to have the pre-eminence of men and loe the pre-eminence over Angels is given unto him And it is more dignity to have two Angels minister unto him than to have ten thousand Kingdoms Every part of Christs humility was inlaid with honour to recompence it To be laid in a Manger was not so vile as it was most magnificent to be adored of the Wisemen of the East to be visited by Shepherds was not so contemptible as it was most glorious to be proclaimed of Angels To ride upon an Ass was not of such debasement but the cry of the children made amends Hosanna blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord. It savoured not so much of infirmity to be tempted of the Devil but it is supplied as much with Majesty to be attended by the Cherubins No part of his humility went without a reward from the first to the last nay the last part had amends made for all He humbled himself unto the death even unto the death of the Cross propter quod wherefore God hath highly exalted him c. Humility was his direct way to glory but we think we are out of the way to promotion unless we shift and shuffle for the highest place and the chiefest room in the Synagogues The first shall be last and the last shall be first This is a riddle to them that love to set their feet upon a rising ground Yet David hath laid a curse upon preposterous ambition that it shall decline That which should have been for their wealth says he let it be unto them an occasion of falling The holy Father Basil lost no honour in this life by shunning the dignity which was intended him and flying away into obscurity when he was called to be a Bishop The Apostle Bartholomew is reported in some histories to have been of the bloud royal of the Kings of Egypt Was it any diminution to him to have left all to be a poor Disciple Is there any Christian King that doth not wish he had rather born his Office of Apostleship than have swayed a Scepter When Princes die their honour shall not follow after them but those twelve humble ones of our Saviours train shall sit upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel If spiritual thoughts will lift a man up to heaven an humble man is mounted above the earth all the while he seeks those things which are above Themislius an holy man put this Lesson in so pure a verse as it is beyond translation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his heart sunk down when ambition puft him up but he felt his feet upon the Angels Ladder going up when humility cast him down Our Saviour despised all the Kingdoms of the world and the glory
I have read unto you I am proceeded in this subject and by so much as I have read in these two Verses St. Luke hath more than the other two Evangelists to wit that Moses and Elias talked about Christs sufferings in Jerusalem and that Peter James and John were asleep and waking of a sudden were startled at the transmutation I have spoke severally the last day in what bodies Moses and Elias did appear now I proceed to these persons that appear And because I must not break the joynts of an History I take the parts whole thus First With what fitness these two were presented rather than any other for celestial witnesses Moses and Elias Secondly What they meant by this communication to speak of his Passion and Sufferings They spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem Thirdly That the earthly Witnesses Peter James and John were asleep at the beginning of this Miracle But Peter and they that were with him were heavie with sleep Fourthly The mists of drowziness were dispelled they did awake and then they saw the Vision and as the next Verse will prove it they heard the conference To these do you give Attention and I my Exposition The Lord did not pick twain out of so great an host of blessed Spirits to stand upon Mount Thabor but that there was some hability and fitness in their persons rather than in any other And the first mark eminently stampt upon them for this work is this The Law and Prophets do equally and concordiously bear witness to Christ Moses the first handler and publisher of the Law Elias the greatest by far of all the Prophets O Elias how wast thou honoured in thy wondrous deeds And who may glory like unto thee Ecclus. xlviii 4. As the Kings Coin is stampt on both sides so the Gospel like a piece of currant Metal is engraven on the one side with the ancient testimony of the Law on the other side with the strong Predictions of the Prophets Says Philip to Nathanael We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write Jesus of Nazareth the Son of Joseph Joh. i. 45. But Peter might go further and say We have seen him attended and waited on by Moses and the Prophets The Law and the Prophets and the Gospel make good Musick when they are three parts of one song but if you make several Airs or several Ditties of them you mar all good harmony We see Moses and the Son of God together says St. Ambrose so often as we read that portion of St. Matthew Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul and with all thy might We see Elias and the Son of God together so often as we read that desire inflamed to maintain Gods honour I have been very zealous for the Lord of hosts 1 Kings xix 8. That zeal made Elias fast forty days and eat nothing And Christ doth answer it again The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up O how amiable it is to unite Moses and the Prophets and the grace of Christ all together to look upon them in one prospect to enterline the Old Testament with the New But if you part Moses from the Prophets or the Prophets from Moses or both from Christ you shall not find any glory in them The Samaritans received no Scripture but the Books of Moses The Jews receive none but Moses and the Prophets The Christian puts them all together and so Moses and Elias appear with Christ in glory And although many things are very difficult to be understood in the Old Testament in some places we do see Moses plainly in some places he is hard to be understood yet this Miracle gives us comfort that in the holy Hill of God in the glorification of heaven there we shall see Moses and Elias all that is wrote in the Law and the Prophets very clearly and that one jot or tittle is not perished which the Penmen of holy Writ did foretell should come to pass For example in Exod. xx 19. the Children of Israel cry out to Moses Speak thou with us and we will hear but let not God speak with us least we die To this demand God makes a full and explicite answer Deut. xviii 18. They have well spoken I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee they shall hear him Here is a middle way difficult to be understood neither would God speak unto them in thunder to terrifie them and Moses could not abide always to be their Speaker as they would have it but a Prophet should come like unto Moses like unto him in humane nature but far more admirable in grace and power Why behold this dark mystery is expounded at this Transfiguration for Moses is brought to confess of Christ this is the Prophet spoken of like unto me whom you are bound to hear For the glory which was seen now the affrightment which took the Disciples the bright cloud which overshadowed the place all these hapned now even as it was at Mount Sinah call to mind what Covenant was then made and how this is the time to fulfil it Thus you see how Christs glory makes the Law and the Prophets intelligible which is the first reason why Moses and Elias did appear in glory Secondly These are they that had undergone many sorrows upon earth for the defence of their God and after much tribulation did win the crown of life in whose faces the Disciples might behold that through fire and water through cross and calamity through ignominy and dishonour we must enter into glory None so famous for exposing their lives to all dangers as Moses and Elias There was but a Bulrush between Moses and death when he was set afloat to be drowned in his tender infancy And if Jezebel and all her Gods could cut Elias throat she swore he should not have a day to live 1 Kings xix 2. What sharp encounters had the one with Pharaoh What dismal threatnings did the other denounce against Ahab The one was driven out rudely and violently from the presence of Pharaoh The other banished himself into the Wilderness and could not be found for three years Here were a fit couple that could shew their long Pedigrees of afflictions to be called the Sons of God These were fit indeed to preach of Christs Cross and of his sufferings at Jerusalem They that suffered much might aptly and confidently commend the sufferings of the body to the Disciples Si vis me flere dolendum est primùm ipsi tibi And here John and James the two ambitious brethren might see of what condition it behoved those men to be who in our Saviours Kingdom should sit the one at his right hand the other at his left What had they done for their Lords sake as yet when they askt that bold demand but to walk with him in Judea to travel from place
industry that can attain to such excellent things but by Gods grace and clemency Yet we must not think to fold onr arms together and sleep out our time with Solomons Sluggard and yet be made happy we must awake from sin before we receive the hope and comfort of that future glory in this life and we must awake from death before we can see God and his glory face to face hereafter O that we could awake from the sluggishness of the flesh and open our eyes illuminated by faith then we should see many admirable mysteries which now pass away from our knowledg and we never seek them out Wake thou that sleepest stand up from the dead and Christ shall give thee light There is an eye-salve of Prayer and humility and long-suffering in these dayes of trial to dispel the mists of darkness which obscure our faith and when we awake up after thy likeness O blessed Jesus we shall be satisfied with it AMEN THE FOURTH SERMON UPON The Transfiguration LUKE ix 33. And it came to pass as they departed from him Peter said unto Jesus Master it is good for us to be here and let us make three Tabernacles one for thee and one for Moses and one for Elias not knowing what he said UPon my entrance into the handling of this beautiful miracle of the Transfiguration we found Christ at Prayer and he continued in that exercise by himself alone for he needed not to have his Petition recommended to his Father by any other mouth by any Intercessor in Heaven or Earth He indeed prays for every mans wants but in all the Gospel throughout no man prays for him Pro quo nullus interpellat sed ipse pro omnibus hic unicus verusque mediator est says St. Austin He in whose behalf no man sollicits the Father to bless him and he whose Lips bless every man this is the true and only Mediator of Mankind But though we found Christ at Prayer yet we did not find his Apostles waking to say Amen If God be for us who can be against us Rom. viii 31. I answer the Apostle though God be for us all a man may be his own Enemy and fight against himself Christ was occupied in Prayer Who could be against Peter when his Master was on his side But Peter slept while his Master prayed therein he was against himself Thrice our Saviour rose from Prayer in the Garden and found him sleeping therefore the watchful Cock was a sign unto him soon after that he had denied his Master thrice So to lay this upon our own building if the three Disciples whom Christ took with him to Mount Thabor had imployed their time in watchfulness and Religion as their Master did doubtless the Lord had guided their understanding in the right way but because they laid them down to rest when they should have prayed and did not lift up their hands as an Evening Sacrifice therefore the Lord sent upon them the Spirit of slumber Rom. xi 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an imagination as dark as the darkness of Egypt in which they could discern nothing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Aquila reads it Isa xxix 10. a strong drowziness which is in the manner of a Lethargy a Spirit of error and stupidity Loe what words do come from Peter in my Text let him shake himself as Samson did when he came out of sleep and he shall find that the Spirit of the Lord was gone from him He did not watch and pray that he might not fall into error therefore he slept and fell into error that he might pray to come out of it Because his tongue was tied when it ought to speak therefore when he began to speak he knew not what he said And that shall appear unto you both this day and once again God willing upon this whole Verse which I have read At this present I have bounded my meditations to go but half way It came to pass as they departed from him Peter said unto Jesus Master it is good for us to be here All this matter must not be drawn into an heap but into this order 1. What came to pass which caused Peter to speak now when he had been silent before Why Moses and Elias were taking their leave and he would have retained them It came to pass as they departed from him Peter said 2. To whom he did direct his speech not to his fellow servants Moses and Elias but to his Master Peter said unto Jesus Master 3. That his Disciple went about to teach his Master in the words following Master it is good for us to be here Those being the words of especial use to spend our time upon I will enlarge my self to shew that they contain three things to be well allowed and six things to be doubted of that I may not say condemned 1. At the first blush that he saw Christ in glory he said it was bonum he was excellently delighted with it for the glory of the Gospel is no affrighting thing but a delectable object 2. He said true it was bonum nobis good for us for God doth shew his glory for us and for our satisfaction 3. It is as true that it is very good to be continually present with his glory and never part from it O it is the best of all goods to enter into the joy of our Master Thus far he built upon a Rock his foundation is infallible In the rest he builds upon the sands yet to censure the errors of so great an Apostle with modesty I will contrive all that is objected against him into six questions 1. An bonum non videre mortem Whether it were good for us not to see death 2. An bonum non affligi If it be good to remain in pleasure and not be afflicted 3. An bonum sit in terrâ manere Whether it could be good to dwell always upon the earth 4. An bonum sit quod paucis solummodo bonum Whether that can be a true good which is restrained to few Bonum nobis if it were not enlarged beyond those that were present 5. An bonum consistit in aspectu humanitatis Whether it could be the supreme good of man to behold the Humane Nature of Christ only beautified without the revelation of his divine glory 6. An bonum sit Christum non crucifigi If it could be good for them that Christ should entrench himself in Mount Tabor and never go to Mount Calvary to be crucified These are the parts of the Text not one to be spared They shall not trouble you with length though they do with multitude I begin with the occasion which moved Peter to speak it was the departure of the two Witnesses Factum est cum illi discederent ab eo dixit He was ever prompt to speak and now he could not hold when those two the most heroical Prophets that ever had lived did now come from another world and
is like Gods Rainbow in the Clouds not only a beautiful but a merciful Token a Bow with the string towards the earth so that it is not prepared to shoot arrows against us As Pliny said to Trajan of his virtuous Consort nihil sibi ex fortunâ tuâ nisi gaudium vendicat so all that a Christian challengeth for his own is the blessed Virgins solace My spirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour Beloved they forget that God is called the Father of mercies and the God of all consolations they forget that since Christ is come in the flesh the Dove is returned with the Olive branch of peace in his mouth who fill the minds of men with melancholly desperate doubts and do oftner cast before them black stones of condemnation than white stones of absolution Chearfulness and a delightsom countenance becomes the Disciples of Christ howsoever the austere Pharisees censur'd our Saviour himself for a Winebibber and a Glutton because he was sociable and did not always lowr and pout after their hypocritical fashion St. Chrysostom neither lived with content to his own heart nor gave content to other because he was untractable to all manner of joyful familiarity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was so earnest for sobriety that he run into a Cynical austerity Some not unfitly I think contend so much that a Christian is to deport himself in a sweet consolatory fashion that they understand Solomon to that meaning Eccl. ix 8. Eat thy bread with joy and let thy garments be always white as if none should put on mournings for the Gospel sake unless they wanted a good conscience to rejoyce in Christ Though the splendour of the Law was terrible yet the glory of the New Testament is amiable bonum est says St. Peter it is a good thing to see the Majesty of our Saviour in perfect beauty Secondly Thus far the Apostle gave a right judgment upon the vision and thus much further that he said it was bonum nobis intended not so much for Christs exalted bravery as for our good When I began this Miracle I cited a rule out of Damascen and I repeat it again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the impulsive cause of all things that our Saviour did upon earth was the love which he did bear to the generation of men yea the Lord hath made man the scope of all his other works in a subordinate way to his own glory For man is made to serve the Lord and the earth is made to serve and supply the use of man and both ways man is made happy and not God says Lombard Et quod accepit obsequium à creaturis quod impendit Deo either to take homage from the Creature or to do homage to the glory of God All things are ours says St. Paul whether it be the world or life whether it be the World as the Vassal of our service or Life eternal as the Crown of our service When our Saviour did exhibit himself in this rare feature at Mount Thabor quorsum haec was it not to catch our hearts and affect them with the vision he did not present himself as Agrippa and Bernice did Act. xxv 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with great pomp and estate to shew the regal lustre of their Royalty no the very Heathen were contented to say that the supreme power of Heaven must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 contented with himself and needed no accessories to set forth his honour as Caesar spake in a lofty contempt to his mutinous Souldiers an vos momenta putatis ulla dedisse mihi so it would sound better from Gods mouth All the creatures upon earth cannot confer a scruple or the least moment to advance his excellency Christ was not contemptible by being made humble nor more renowned than he was before by appearing in Majesty Every way he is unobnoxious to the censure of man because every way he made himself fit for the good of man and when he joyned both humility and glory in one act both were for us See his lowly modesty when he rode upon an Ass to Jerusalem see his triumphs of dignity at the same time in those popular acclamations Hosanna to the Son of David blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. But all was to this end that we might see and hear the honor of God and the fruit of our own salvation all the brightness which shin'd upon him in Mount Thabor was to enlighten our darkness Bonum est nobis says Peter it is good for us 3. Yet once again I will speak that the Apostle did speak the very truth in a third Point it was good to be continually present with Christs glory and never part from it Bonum est esse hic there is no mutation in perfect joy but an abiding for ever We cannot change for the better to go from the beatifical presence of God how could Peter choose but desire to hold him to that when he had begun to taste of it I have read in some obsolete stories of Lazarus who was raised to life after he had been dead four days and some others of the like kind that their soul had seen a little of the happiness of the life to come and being brought again into the body by the word of Christ they were never seen to laugh or smile either because they knew better than others that there was no true joy upon earth or because they were melancholy to have their happiness interrupted My soul longeth and fainteth for the Courts of the Lord says David Psal lxxxiv 2. If he could faint with desire to obtain that which he had never seen how might this Disciple faint and languish to leave that which he had seen Old Anna the Widow departed not out of the Temple of God day nor night which is as much in effect as if St. Luke had said Whatsoever place is called by Gods name deserves our frequent company and I say unto you of this house where now we are which is called by his name Bonum est nos esse hic it is good for us to be here St. Chrysostome tells me of some great Princes in his time that desired upon their death-bed to be buried in the Porch of the Church that although they were taken away from being present at the holy Service which they were wont to love yet their bodies even in the Grave might as it were be door-keepers for ever in the house of God I will conclude this general part with Bernards words Quid aliud videtur bonum quam in bonis animam demorari quandoquidem adhuc corpus non potest What is good for a man but that his soul should abide and persevere in good meditations and good works since there is no good place of continuance upon earth to receive his body You have the flower of St. Peters Speech bolted out but there is more bran remaining in six Conclusions that
Worship not one for Christ c. Herein as Peter knew not what he said so he said somewhat which Expositors wonder how he should know namely he calls these men Moses and Elias but how was it revealed to him The Text intimates how they spake to Christ but no where that Christ spake to them and used their names to make them familiar and well known And certainly he had never seen so much as their Pictures to make himself acquainted with the fashion of their countenance The Jews did hold themselves so strictly to the Letter of the Second Commandment that they made no Picture or Graven Image without Gods especial Commandment To resolve this doubt almost every Writer hath laboured to make his own ingenuous conjecture most probable Says Theophylact Moses might say Thou art the Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the World whose Passion I prefigured in the institution of the Paschal Lamb And might Elias say Thou art the Christ whom we believe shall rise again from the dead and that thy power over death might be believed I raised up the Widows Son to life Another way says Christianus Druthmarus Elias might say ascend on high and lead Captivity Captive even as I mounted up to heaven before Elisha Then Moses might vie with him Do thou deliver thy Saints from Hell even as I brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt Did both express that they two had fasted forty days and that they alone above all others had that symbolical mark with Christ Might not the one bring the two Tables of the Law in his hand as if they were his Escutchion by which he would be known And the other perhaps came in his Chariot of fire that bore him up to heaven that is a fourth way So wise an Author as Tolet might have taken any of these conjectures rather than his own forsooth that Elias came as he is described 2 Kings i. 8. An hairy man with a girdle of leather about his Loins and Moses came as their vulgar Latine most ridiculously sets him forth Cum cornutâ facie with Horns for where we read his face shined according to the Hebrew they read his face had horns Indeed this would well become some of their late Canonized Worthies who do rather deserve horns to be fixed to their heads for Monsters than the irradiation of beams for glorified men Zachary Chrysopolitanus hath a Scholastique way by himself Nec probo nec improbo That Peter and the other two Apostles were partakers of some heavenly glory when they saw the Transfiguration and therefore had that spark of happiness to know all persons whom they saw intuitivè as if they had been glorified So he discerned these to be Moses and Elias whom he had never seen before by that gift of grace whereby every Saint shall know all the Society of Saints by name after the Resurrection I will not enter upon that Theme to enlarge this opinion whether we shall know one another perfectly in the life to come Luther very judiciously held the affirmative part the very same night that he gave up his Spirit to the Lord. But to Zacharies opinion I give this dash that Peter was no partaker of glorified qualities at this time especially by way of knowledge and the gift of discerning For he knew not what he said There are reasons to be glanced at before I leave this Point why Peter would impale Moses and Elias in Mount Thabor in his Tabernacles to keep his Master company First he thought says one that none were more gracious with God to be fed miraculously with corporal sustenance so that for their sakes they should all have food enough Moses obtained Manna to fall from heaven about the Tents of the Israelites for forty years at his desire he brought Quails and opened the hard Rock so that waters flowed out And the very Ravens that use to devour all they can get they did spread a Table for Elias and brought him bread and flesh Secondly Fain would Peter defend his Master that he might not be delivered up to the high Priests to be crucified Now he bethought how near Moses was to drowning and his life was preserved how near to be stoned by the people and yet protected Num. xiv How violent was Jezebel against Elias and yet he escaped These had been very fortunate in their preservation therefore he would make Tabernacles for these to dwell with Christ Thirdly If Mount Thabor should happen to be environed with enemies that came to hale them to judgment why Peter may surmise let Moses have a Tabernacle here and he can bring Plagues upon Plagues against them that will meddle with Christ as he did upon Pharaoh and all his Host Let Elias have a Tabernacle here and he will call for fire from heaven to devour their Captains These are the glosses of ancient Writers but I would not confidently say it that the Apostle had all or any of these weak policies in his head when he spake these words Surely he had not time to confer with John and James no nor upon the sudden starting of fear any leisure to roule things in his own reason much less to apply reason to Divine Faith It was an extemporary Ejaculation and a very infirm one not knowing what he said All the first part of my Text was zeal to Christs glory the next part shews it was Zeal not according to knowledge not knowing what he said Upon these words some have quite mistaken the fault some have aggravated it too much some have excused it too far some have delivered their mind as I conceive with reason and moderation The Historiographers of Magdeburg in the first place conceived the case amiss who thought that Peter would have three Tabernacles built upon that flore in memory of the Transfiguration whereas he would have made his Fabrick not for the remembrance of the work that was past but for their cohabitation for the time present and to come In the next place Origen lays so great a crime to the Apostles charge that he says a Diabolical Spirit seduced him to say these words to impedite his Masters Passion for in the sixteenth Chapter of St. Matthew when he disswaded Christ from his sufferings Christ said unto him Get thee behind me Satan therefore all such seducements as this was must be Satanical St. Mark knew the reason of Peters transgression better than Origen this is all that he says Mar. vi 9. He wist not what to say for they were sore afraid It was not the evil Spirit of darkness but the spirit of fear that misguided him And as for the Passion of our Lord who more ready than Satan to hasten it Did he not put it into the heart of Judas that he might procure the death of Christ Did not Christ say to the Jews You are of your father the Devil and you would fulfil his desires when they sought to kill him Joh. viii It was too
he called unto Moses out of the midst of the Cloud Some more veneration certainly redounds to the Divine Majesty by drawing a Veil before him that his glory may be kept secret The Mercy-seat from whence God promised the Children of Israel to tell them all things whatsoever they should do it was covered with the wings of the Cherubins that every rash eye might not behold it But this was not all that a shadowed darkness should beget veneration there was another reason that men might see no manner of shape or resemblance to make them figure the Lord in any form and commit Idolatry I will take Salmeron the Jesuit at his word in this Notation Ne si aliqua effigies videretur Deus pingeretur a Cloud did invelop the glory of the Father whensoever he spake that men might not say they saw his likeness and therefore paint or carve an image like unto him And since the Lord continues to speak out of a Cloud as well in the New Testament as in the Old surely his purpose continues the same to bridle our inclinations to Idolatry O that men knew what this Cloud meant and they would never be so forward to make the Images of God and they that will not learn that wholsom lesson from the Pillar of Cloud shall be consum'd by the Pillar of Fire Let us come from the substance of it to the qualities and certainly St. Matthew hath left us matter to work upon that he says it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a bright Cloud it seems it lookt like that part of Heaven which we see in a fair night and is called via lactea the Milky way which is the concurrence of the light of many small Stars as if it were a Lane made or paved with dimpling Stars Such a Cloud must needs be more delectable than the clearest Summer day which had no thickness in the air but were all serenity And such it must be in a great measure in Aquinas's interpretation for when Peter talkt of Tabernacles close shady Arbors to keep out the light of the Sun he was thus confuted says Aquinas that light did rather become the Saints than shady darkness Claritas mundi innovati erit sanctorum tabernaculum when there shall be a new Heaven and a new Earth bedeckt with infinite light that 's the Tabernacle of the Blessed which shall abide for ever But the chief reason was to fulfil that promise which David knew should be performed the Lord shall make my darkness to be light here was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World Jesus Christ it is He that came to bring a Lantern to our feet and a Light unto our paths that we should not stumble and fall In the Old Testament the Clouds where God appeared were densissima tenebrosae thick and dark Clouds Exod. xix 16. vapours and pillars of smoak in the New Covenant the darkness is dispersed and the Cloud remaines white and of a pure lustre For the first Testament is full of Ceremonies and Shadows of things to come the Covenant of Faith in the Gospel exhibits the manifest and open truth says Paschasius Ratbertus it was neither a fiery Cloud nor a dark Cloud but a brightsom quia non in igne terroris nunc venit non in caligine caecitatis sed in lumine veritatis the terror of fire is overpast the mistiness of Clouds is cleared truth comes forth like the morning and is ascended to the height like the Sun at noon day Nay as the things to be believed are clear so there are no mists and fogginess in their affections where the spirit of grace will abide Non calligat affectibus hominum sed revelat occulta says St. Ambrose Our depraved imaginations shall not make the truth a lie but God shall bring to light the hidden things before the eyes of all men What 's the whole Gospel indeed but nubes lucida a very Cloud in it self but made lightsome and perspicuous by the gift of interpretation For although the Veil of the Law is removed away yet even among the Evangelical Writers there are says St. Peter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 certain things hard to be understood the Incarnation of our Lord the Resurrection of the Dead the ineffable mystery of the Holy Trinity still we are in nubibus these are thick Clouds and it is impossible for the natural man with the dim eye of nature to see through them without doubt great is the mystery of godliness God manifested in the flesh Faith is a very mysterious thing but that the cloud is illuminated by the revelation of the Holy Spirit and as he that sees through the Water or through a Cloud suppose an Oar through the Water or the Sun through a Cloud will rather trust to his judgment than to his outward sense which would much deceive him so because we do all see the secrets of God through a thick Cloud let us rather trust to our faith than to our reason there are many strong delusions incident to reason because it looks through the clouds of sin and infirmity And Beloved as for the Priests that should keep the Key of knowledge what is their Office and Calling but to make Clouds appear bright And therefore Christ said of his Apostles Vos estis lux mundi Ye are the light of the world Though now adays it is the fashion of many to make that which was lightsom before appear as duskie as a Cloud Such as especially about Gods unsearchable decrees tangle knots and ravel Divinity that you shall find no end And after much is spoken or written you may say Incertior sum multó quà m dudum I was in a Cloud before that was dark now I am in a smoak that puts out my eyes All the light which some voluminous Compilers afford which would teach men Gods secret purpose in their Election and the way of their own heart in their Conversion both which are inscrutable it is like a Candle in a Thieves Lanthorn perhaps they see a little themselves but I am sure no body else shall be the better for their light Finally to end this Point God who can colour a thick Cloud with whiteness and make it transparent is able to lay the dark conveyances of our hypocrisie conspicuous and naked before him Laban could not find his Idols because Rachel had hid them in her Tent but God can discover those sins which are our greatest Idols though we have set them up in the inmost corner of our heart If the Spirit of Elisha went along with Gehazi when Gehazi ran after Naaman to take a Bribe then the Lord that gave that Spirit to Elisha traceth along all the Compacts of Simony all the fine conveyances of Bribery all manner of Corruption though it be dark as midnight The fire shall try every mans work of what sort it is 1 Cor. iii. 13. When it once catcheth fire it will be
could be suspected like Cato that came into the Theater at one door and went out at another Ideo tantum intrarunt ut exirent Surely the Disciples thought if these would have staid they could have hung at their lips and heard the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven from their mouth No says the voice let them go here is one that is the chief Master in Israel far above Moses and Elias hear him Moses will stand dumb while he speaks and this is Moses his own Doctrine concerning Christ A Prophet will the Lord your God raise up unto you like unto me hear him Deut. xviii Moses confesseth of himself O Lord I am not eloquent I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue therefore hear not him Exod. iv 10. Elias is rigid and severe and will call down fire from heaven hear not him Peter knew not what he said in this very story David said it in his haste but it is very true upon deliberation all men are liars Lying is not all that is naught in the mouth of man filthiness and blasphemies issue from some uncircumcised lips no ways fit to be heard as Eliakim the servant of Hezekiah besought that odious tongued Rabshekah to speak in such a language as few or none might understand him The talk of him that sweareth much maketh the hair stand upright and their brawls make one stop his ears Ecclus. xxvii 14. In a word men may bewitch us with their fair words not to obey the truth but we are sure how all that Christ speaketh is just and righteous therefore let men vanish away the truth of the Lord abideth for ever hear him Again the Disciples might be confused not only for the departure of Moses and Elias but because the form and fashion of Christ did return to his wonted humility the fashion of his countenance did no more look like the Sun neither was his rayment white and glistering what amends can be made for this loss But that God declares our happiness consists not in seeing but in hearing His Person must ascend unto the Father and his glory dwell there but his Word abideth for ever if we keep his sayings we are Christs and Christ is one with us hear him Be it the abrogation of Moses Law be it the contempt of the world the denying of our selves the sufferance of the Cross the losing of our life all is one his roughest Precepts are to be obeyed hear him indefinitely without restriction or exception As the Blessed Virgin his Mother said unto the Servants at Cana in Galilee Whatsoever he saith unto you do it Joh. ii 5. Be the Commandment great or small it claims obedience whosoever breaketh one of the least Commandments and doth not repent him shall be counted the least in the Kingdom of heaven Some man I know hath framed this cavillation already in his own heart if Jesus Christ were now upon the earth as sometimes he was in the Land of Jury who would not travel over Sea and Land to hear him This Precept should be kept with all alacrity Indeed the words which dropt from his own lips were most winning and pathetical Therefore this voice might justly challenge the Jews to give him fair audience and hear him speak and they could not refuse him If Tertullian presumed in his Apologetick to the Emperor that the Christian cause in his days had never been cried down if it might have been heard speak in the trial of judgment much more must it hold in the person of Christ himself Nolentes audire quod auditum damnare non possunt The Judges would not hear our Plea says Tertullian for had they heard us with patience they knew they could not cast us so the gracious words which fell from our Saviour made those Officers relent at least if not repent that were sent to betray him Never man spake like this man Joh. vii 46. They brake out into that passion before the Pharisees They had heard but little from Christ says St. Chysostome yet enough to turn their hearts from that purpose which they were sent to execute Cum mens fuerit incorrupta non longis sermonibus opus est Few words will prevail where the mind brings no corrupt passions to hold off the truth This is to shew that the Oracles which the Son of God spake from his own mouth were most moving and gracious that tongue was able to charm the very Devils to obey him Why Beloved we do hear him speak continually in the Church as verily as if he were now among us and preach'd daily as sometimes he did in the Temple at Jerusalem So St. Paul commends the Thessalonians that his Doctrine took with them as if they had heard Christ himself Ye received it not as the word of man but as it is in truth the Word of God For whatsoever we believe if you ask after the formal cause of faith the answer is neither because the Apostles writ it or the Church delivered it or such to whom God hath commited the dispensation of the Word do preach it but because God reveals it the formal cause of all faith is divine revelation therefore hear Christ speaking among you to this day not by the instrument of his own tongue but by the revelation of his Spirit I say the formal cause of faith is divine revelation but the Church is the mouth that utters it And therefore because the Church is the Pipe which conveys those sacred mysteries which Christ reveals our Lords own sentence was If he will not hear the Church let him be unto thee as an Ethnick The meaning is while the Church directs you in a right line The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses Chair all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe observe and do You hear what awful submission is due to them who are sent from God to teach you Perhaps you will demur upon those words of our Saviour For in that same Chap. Mat. xxiii 16. Christ calls the Pharisees blind guides reproves their interpretation of Scripture for saying If a man swore by the Temple it was nothing if he swore by the Gold of the Temple he was a debtor Generally he gave his Apostles a caveat Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees not meaning their Bread but their false Traditions But take our Saviours exhortation in a right construction and thus it is all that the Scribes and Pharisees recite out of Moses and the Law observe and do They are the mouth of God by their place and calling When they speak the truth all is one whether you hear them or Christ or God speak from heaven it is the same Gospel and all have but one intendment He that receiveth you receiveth me and he that heareth me heareth him that sent me you know who spake it This voice did not purpose the present Age should hear Christ only but that the future Ages should hear his Priests when they speak like
of Heaven and all the Stars thereof Moreover Vna Sabbati litterally rendred is not the first but one day of the Week because one is the first ground to begin numbring and Theophilact says the Lords day is called the one day of the Week either because it is the only day from whence the blessing is procured for all the rest or besides it is a figure of the life to come Quando una tantum dies est nequaquam nocte interpolata when there shall be but one day for ever and no night of darkness to interrupt it Thus much of the words The matter of the Point is of a more profitable use And hence I begin that as God the Father upon the first day did begin to make this visible world of Creatures so Christ rose the same day from the dead to signifie that a new Age was then begun Resurrectio est alterius mundi spiritualis creatio says Justin Martyr The Resurrection is well called a creation of a new spiritual world On the first day of the Week God said Let there be light and he divided between the light and the darkness Verily on that wise on the first day of the Week God brought the light of the world out of the darkness of the Grave and the life says St. John was the light of men Now this infinite work to tread death under feet and to bring all flesh out of corruption into the state of immortality being more eximious than to make man in a possibility at first to die and perish therefore all Christian Churches have desisted to meet together at holy exercises upon the Sabbath of the Jews and the first day of the Week is the day appointed to sanctifie out selves unto the Lord for what reason I will now unfold and it is a case of no small perplexity And let me auspicate from the Text and Authority of Holy Scripture and these places following do conspire to verifie the Truth Acts xx 7. Paul abode seven days at Troas the seventh day of his abode was the first day of the Week then and not before it seems upon the first day of the Week when the Disciples came together to break Bread that is to partake of the Lords Supper Paul preacht unto them This seems to approve that in the Apostles time it was no more in use for their Disciples to meet upon the Sabbath but as well to honor the Resurrection as to separate from the Rites and Customs of the Jews in the Spirit of God they did convene together on the first day of the Week From Preaching and Administring the Holy Communion let us come to Collection of Alms. 1 Cor. xvi 2. Vpon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him that there be no gatherings when I come How can this be expounded but that distributions were made to the poor upon the first day of the Week in their most solemn Assemblies For if the meaning were that every man should set apart a share of his own gains upon that day in his private Coffers and not in the publick Treasury when their Congregations were together then Collections had been to be made from house to house when Paul was to come who desires it might be laid up in readiness as it were in one stock before 'T is pity we are faln from that good order but in the most antient Church I find that they never miss'd to carry the Poors Box about every Lords Day witness this place of St. Cyprian Locuples es dives Dominicam celebrare te credis quae Corbanam omnino non respicis Thou that art rich and wealthy dost thou imagin thou keepest the Lords Day as thou oughtest and dost cast nothing into the Treasury Thirdly as the last day of the Week when God rested from his works was called the Sabbath of the Lord so it is of much moment to the point that the first day of the Week is called the Day of the Lord or the Lords Day Rev. i. 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lords Day as it appears Rev. i. 13. John was walking on the Sea shore meditating upon holy things in the Isle of Patmos Very probable that there was no solemn meeting to praise God as it ought to have been among those Pagan Islanders otherwise John had not betaken himself to solitary Meditations but see how he was recompensed Nactus est Doctorem ipsum Deum quando fortasse deessent quos ipse doceret when he was disconsolate because he wanted Auditors to teach God preached unto him the Mysteries of the Age to come But to enforce the Text forenamed for an Argument we have but two things in the New Testament called the Lords the Sacrament is called the Supper of the Lord 1 Cor. xi 20. and this day of Christian Assemblies is called the Lords Day the Lords Prayer and the Lords House are good Phrases but our own not the Scriptures but as we keep the Feast of Passeover no more but instead thereof eat the Lords Supper so neither do we observe the Jews Sabbath any more but instead thereof we keep the Lords Day Thus far I have prest the Authorities of Sacred Scripture The Authority of the Primitive Church and so downward to this Age will convince it clearly against any that is obstinate Ignatius was St. John's Scholar and as if he had learnt of his Teacher he writes thus Let every lover of Christ celebrate the Lords Day which is dedicated to the honor of his Resurrection the Queen and Princess of all days Justin Martyr commands the same day to be kept holy to the Lord every Week in his 2. Apolog. So doth Tertullian more than once and I cited St. Cyprian before The Council of Laodicea speaks thus resolutely Anathema to all those that rest upon the Sabbath let them keep the Lords Day when they observe a vacancy of labor and do as becometh Christians The great Council of Nice doth not command the first day of the Week to be kept holy but supposeth in the 20. Canon all good Christians would admit that without scruple and then appoints other significant Ceremonies to be kept upon the Lords Day from Easter to Whitsontide I need not reckon downward after the Nicen Council because in one word I have not heard or read that it was opposed by any of the Fathers They knew that an appointed time must be allotted for every necessary Duty and certainly upon the abrogation of the Old Sabbath not Man but God did appoint a time for so necessary a thing as the religious Service of his Name Christ made an end of all Sabbaths by his own Sabbath lying all that day and night in the Grave and to hold that the Sabbath which is but a Shadow is to continue is to hold that Christ the Body is not yet come yet that being laid apart let us
our Lord who is head of the body above all the members of the body that the Scriptures did indigitate he would rise again the third day after his death and burial but neither day nor year nor age is specified of the general Resurrection when our Carkasses shall be raised up to incorruption It is a common rule and best exprest in Bernards words Dies ultimus salubriter ignoratur ut semper praesens esse credatur It is good and useful to be ignorant of the day of judgment that we may always think it to be at hand and imminent And whereas the custom hath held in all Christian Churches since the Apostles I know not any custom which hath found less contradiction for this hath found none at all to gather all persons that can examine themselves to the Lords Table at the Feast of Easter among other sound and fruitful reasons rendred this is one because it is no imprudent conjecture that God will raise our bodies out of the Grave about the same season of the year that his own body was brought back again from the dead It is fit therefore to sanctifie our vessel at this time as well to eat his flesh and drink his bloud by faith as to make our Lamp ready to meet the Bridegroom And that he may not come upon us unawares like a flash of lightning let us send up our prayers unto him with much zeal and strong intercession as St. Hierom says like a clap of thunder Another varies the meaning why the Angel had this fashion in his countenance on this wise Aspectus sicut fulgur quia omnia abscondita erunt clara This lightning in his Aspect doth betoken that our most hidden sins shall be revealed and that all things shall lie naked and open before the judgment of Christ To what purpose doth Adam hide himself in the shade of the Garden Or Jonas lie concealed under the hatches of the Ship Or Saul imprivacy himself in a Cave Or Benhadad run into an inward Chamber Doth the Adulterer look for impunity that he walks to his stallion by twilight Or the Thief that he gets his prey in the darkness of the night Nec teste quisquam lumine peccare constanter potest sayes Prudentius Some have that check of modesty in their bloud that they cannot sin with alacrity where there is any light if there be but a Candle in the room they must put it out miserable shifts and mists raised before their eyes by the Devil who can work no greater infatuation among the wicked than to puff them up with this blind error as if they had Gyges ring upon their finger that they might walk where they would and never be discerned But the lightning will pierce into every corner those eyes of Christ which are likened to a flame of fire Rev. i. 14. let nothing escape them unrevealed and as a Burning-glass transmits the beams of the Sun to shine upon those things which it will set on fire so Gods eye is upon all the works of ungodliness both to view them and to revenge them with everlasting fire If Elisha could say that his heart went along with Gehazi when he ran after Naaman to take a bribe doth not the Spirit of the Lord much more attend all secret compacts of bribery and corruption If Elias could tell Ahab all the conspiracy that He and Jezebel had closely framed against Naboth so that Ahab cried out in astonishment Hast thou found me out O mine enemy then no innocent bloud shall be spilt without witness no Inheritance craftily wrung from the true possessor but the God of Elias shall challenge them for it so that the wicked shall be astonished and say hast thou found us out O Lord and are all our misdeeds before thee To end this point let the good Christian say with David Blessed is the man whose unrighteousness is forgiven and whose sins are covered not so covered but that thou O God knowest them all together St. Hierom says it thus Peccata deleta per poenitentiam nunquam patefient they shall not be discovered to our shame before Men and Angels at the publique reckoning of all faults or at least their deformity and that guilt in them which calls for vengeance shall be covered and though our sins be known yet it shall be to our triumph and praise if we be truly penitent and detest that in our selves wherein we have rebelled against a loving Father And so far on the first point that the countenance of the Angel was like lightning which teacheth us that there will be great terror to the wicked at the solemn day of the last Resurrection that Christ will come suddenly like the lightning out of the clouds and that the light will discover the most hidden wickednesses of the Sons of men I call'd you know this first verse upon which I entreat a description of Gods Watchman and by that name Angels are often called in holy Scripture I saw a Watchman and an holy one come down from above Dan. iv 13. This Angel in the superior parts had an aspect like lightning and from thence downward his raiment was white as snow The times are taxt that there are some such who come to Church to see faces and to look upon gay clothes I am afraid I may believe it Why here is employment in my Text for such Auditors though they be the worst that can come to a congregation as we have lookt our fill upon the countenance of the Angel so now I refer you to look upon his clothing Look over all the Apparitions of Angels in the Old Testament and in the Gospel till you come to this place you shall never read that they had apparel or what kind of apparel they did wear This is the day for whose sake they took a new Habit a new Comportment a new Splendor and these three things are taught us in this Raiment white as snow puritas gaudium gloria First that purity belongs to all those that hope for the resurrection of the just So St. John 1. Ep. iii. 23. We know when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is and every one that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure And although the Angel did personate this purity only in the outward superficies yet our instruction rests not in that but refers us to the purity of the heart The pattern which is set before us is far from a fair semblance without a good inside no 't is extra albedo intus Angelus great pulchritude without and within an Angel That grace to the outward eye which man saw is nothing to those internal invisible graces which only God saw Sometimes one may be compared in holy Scripture to be as white as snow and yet be impure Gehazi went out from the presence of Elisha a Leper as white as snow and therefore David knew that the purity of the
the first day of the Week We are not those that esteem one day more than another as it is the mere flux of time but we are those that must remember how God hath glorified himself in one day more than another and never so much on any as on this day The first day of the Week As God the Father upon the first day did begin to make this visible World of Creatures so Christ rose the same day from the dead to shew the beginning of a new Age. Resurrectio est alterius mundi spiritualis creatio says Justin Martyr The Resurrection is well called a Creation of a new spiritual world On the first day of the Week God said Let there be light and he divided between the light and the darkness Verily in the same sort upon the same day God brought the light of the world out of the darkness of the Grave and the life says St. John was the light of men Now this infinite work to tread death under feet and to bring mankind out of corruption into the state of immortality being more eximious than to make Adam in a possibility to die and perish therefore all Christian Churches have desisted to meet together at holy exercises upon the Sabbath of the Jews and the first day of the Week hath been solemnly appointed from the Apostles even to this Age to sanctifie the name of the Lord in publick Congregations It is but a fretful question which is too much agitated now adays since the first day of the Week is designed to be sanctified to the praise of God from the Resurrection of our Saviour what time we may borrow for the use of domestical affairs and harmless recreations He that is perswaded in his conscience no part of the day must be spared from Gods Service let him so do according to the resolution of his conscience no man can be offended that he is earnest for his own part to keep the whole day unto the Lord. Again he that is perswaded that the Lord must have his due service on that day but that he is not tied to a strict Sabbatical servitude surely his knowledge is good and he may use his liberty but without scandal to his brother To the first I say be a zealous Christian in keeping the Lords day but be not a Jew in opinion To the other I say give thanks to God for the freedom to which he hath called you and that he hath eased your shoulders from the servil burden of the Jewish Sabbath but be not a Libertine in practise And this is the sum of that which I will say to the first Point that this marvellous work was done upon the first day of the Week Now the Holy Ghost hath not only satisfied us with the designation of the day but because the more particularity the more certainty therefore the Spirit hath condescended to name almost the hour of the day so that I am sure we may guess near upon the time for it was early on the first day of the Week which denotes two things that the Lord made haste to rise from the dead to comfort the Disciples and that Mary Magdalen made haste to comfort herself with coming to the Sepulcher Christ started up suddenly out of sleep like Samson before the powers of hell those Philistines were aware of him To this it may be David alluded in Exurgam diluculò Awake my glory awake Lute and Harp I my self will awake right early Nescit tarda molimina spiritus sancti gratia Be not you slow in paying your debts to God God is ever before-hand in fulfilling his promises to you The words in the Second Psalm which are applied Heb. i. to our Saviours eternal Generation are referred by the same Apostle Acts xiii 33. to his Resurrection Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee I cannot pass it over that the Vulgar Latine reads it Ante luciferum genui te Before the Morning star have I begotten thee Very fitly to this Doctrine which I teach that Christ rose early this day before the Morning Star appeared Now that one Scripture may not seem to fall foul upon another these two must be reconciled how he that rose so early ante luciferum how he can be said to be three days like Jonas in the belly of the Grave The answer is you must measure these three days by a Synechdoche He was buried towards Evening upon the Jews day of preparation and so lay interred some part of Afternoon and all that night Upon the Jews Sabbath he rested in the Sepulcher all day and all night Upon the first day of the Week he continued in the state of death some hours of the Morning and very early he came forth an eternal Victor he fulfilled the Scriptures therefore and withal he made haste to fulfil his Promise upon the third day Euthymius expresseth it more elegantly than I can Quòd citiùs quà m sit constitutum efficitur potentiae est quòd tardiùs imbecilitatis Christus non solùm promissum explevit sed etiam gratiam velocitatis addidit To be tardier than our promise is a sign of some let and infirmity to be before hand with a promise is a sign of power and efficacy The promise of the Son of God was that in three days he would build up the Temple of his body again he did so and more than so soon after the third day was begun Behold the performance of his word and the sudden dispatch of his favour joyn'd unto it So we have seen both his truth in the Promise and his love in the speediness of the act doing above his promise Moreover I would have it be mark'd that as he rose early so he was sought early by Mary Magdalen The desire of Christ held her eyes waking and I believe she had took but small rest since Christ was crucified as soon as it was possible to have access to his Monument she came unto it I know not whether you are to learn it but it was not the usual manner of the Jews to bury their dead within the Walls of their Cities to a Garden you know the Corps of our Saviour was carried into the Suburbs of Jerusalem therefore she was compelled to attend till the Gates of the City were opened and passage being made she came before the break of day to the Sepulcher And believe it she sped much the better that she was such an early visitor do not imagine but the eye of the Lord unto this day is upon those that make haste to come unto the threshold of his sacred House and they are greatly deceived that think they shall find God as soon if they come late to Church as if they come early I pray you tell me is there any part of the Service so mean and unuseful that you can be content to spare it Or do you think that God is asleep and by that time the Congregation hath rouzed him up then
also thinks to elude the Scripture with a distinction that his holy Mother did first see him on this day non ad confirmationem dubii sed ad consolationem gaudii not to confirm her faith so he appeared first to Mary Magdalen who wavered and distrusted but no fill her with gladness If these things were so why did not the Book of God explain them if these things be not so why do they pretend Tradition without authority The truth is Gerardus a learned Lutheran hath taught us with more likelihood than ever any before how some unwary Clerks stumbled upon this error Epiphanius in his 68 Heres against the Marsalians lapsing in memory alleageth the words of Christ Touch me not to be spoken to his Mother when he first rose from the dead which indeed were spoken to Mary Magdalen and from hence came the misprision that he appeared first to his Mother when he rose from the dead Not out of desire to quarrel any thing that might justly concern the honour of the Blessed Virgin but for truths sake I have vindicated this Scripture that Christ first appeared to Mary Magdalen she saw his resurrection in the first bud and not only as others did in the blown flower You might have imagined this favour would have faln upon his Apostles or upon Joseph of Arimathea the Lord of the Soil where he first appeared but he was first found of her that first sought him especially he came first to her who gave greatest attendance to meet with him She brought a company of women with her to the Tomb before the Sun rose they were all vanisht but her self She fetcht Peter and John they came and lookt in and shrunk away Their going away commends her staying behind she held out to the last till at last her joy was fulfilled Reason good that those that run longest in the race should be first rewarded Our patience I fear is not so firm and stedfast as hers was if we have not every thing we ask for at the first we think our zeal is prejudiced and we utterly give over as if God were not our King on whom we waited but our Servant that must come at the first call Whereas you shall never speed with a twitch and be gon but with importunity and pertinacy The Kingdom of Heaven is gotten by violence and the violent take it by force But beside as all note it was her great love to Christ that made her partaker of the first-fruits of his glory a love that hath great perfection in it in contraries in the hardiness of her courage and in the softness of her mourning In the hardiness of her courage for do you know upon what pikes she run to stay so long at the Sepulcher of our Lord. As Thomas noted into what danger our Saviour embarked himself when he told his Disciples Lazarus is dead and we will go unto him Let us also go and die with him says Thomas So there were Souldiers abroad to watch the Sepulcher Spies in every corner from the High-Priests to mark who did confess and honour our Saviour to go to his Tomb much more to stay at it was in effect to say let us go and die with him we care not for our lives But true love esteems it sweet to suffer for his sake to whose memory their affection is constantly devoted And she that was thus magnanimous to die for him was a true woman in compassion and wept exceedingly because his body was lost They were tears mistaken as most tears are unless we weep for our sins As one says well our life is full of false sorrows and false joys we laugh when we have no cause to be merry and we weep when we have no cause to be sad So Mary laments that Christs body was not in the Sepulcher which truly known was the greatest cause of rejoycing that ever the world had No mans injury had brought that to pass but his own power and glory yet certainly her weeping was reputed as an office of love and zeal because she did it ignorantly out of a pious intention and we are all so addicted to profuse mirth that God doth seldom make a bad construction of mourning But alass how often do we lose God by sin through our own default which is the worst taking away of all and yet we afflict not our heart at the mischance we grieve not for it O weep for the light of that grace which we often lose and the day-spring of comfort will rise again in our consciences But it may be for all this Christ would not first have appeared to her after he was risen but that she was one out of whom in times past he had cast out seven Devils To the letter of the words be thus much said before I come to make application out of them the story runs concerning this Party that she had led a very wicked and a scandalous life for which she suffered this judgment from the Lord and very deservedly that she was made a prey to the Devil and seven evil spirits entred into her possest her wrackt her and tormented her But if seven evil spirits should take up their quarter in every Strumpet in these days wherein they abound I think their would not be Devils enough in Hell to furnish them I know that some who dip their Pen too much in allegories expound it not as if the very Devils themselves but as if the seven deadly sins had taken up their seat in her This is wrong for Luke viii 2. we find that there were with Christ certain women that had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities among whom was Mary Magdalen out of whom went seven devils Therefore it is not to be gainsaid but she was really dispossessed of seven infernal spirits that had entred into her Upon the account of this benefit she began to turn her heart to the fear of the Lord and grew up from grace to grace till no Disciple of her sex was more godly in her profession more servent in love more sincere in amendment of life Now out of all the Train that believed in the Name of the Lord he chose this convertita whom he had so mightily raised up to newness of life from the power of Satan I say he selected such an one to appear first unto her that the Church might know that such humble sinners as were partakers of his greatest mercy should also be partakers of his greatest glory And let every conscience which hath been opprest with the burden of iniquity refresh it self with this hope that our Redeemer liveth to gather those unto him whose iniquities have been many but they are washed clean in his bloud and are buried in his Grave As you have those comfortable words sounded in your ears before the receiving of the Lords Supper Come unto me all ye that are weary c. But thus Christ did as it were celebrate the resurrection of the body from
upon them to make them loiter from their daily necessary labour but it was an high solemnity as fell out in all the year Dies celeberrimus sanctissimus as the Vulgar Latin reads it Lev. xxiii 21. where we read that then they should proclaime and call an holy Convocation So I have summed up the three occasions of this Feast in the Old Law first to give thanks for their deliverance from bondage Secondly to honour the day wherein first they received the Law at Mount Sinah and thirdly to offer up the first fruits of their Harvest will you see now how aptly the gift of the Holy Ghost was distributed at the same time When the day of Pentecost c. First Whereas the Jews did celebrate at the Feast of Pentecost their enfranchisement from the house of bondage so the benefit of liberty was augmented this day much more than ever it was before This Satan knew well enough and therefore the longest thing wherein he held the Church in ignorance was about the sending of the Holy Ghost long after the name of Christ and his power was received whole Cities and Societies confessed they had not so much as heard whether there were an Holy Ghost or not Ignorance in those Points which are necessary to salvation is the greatest thraldom and captivity in the world False Prophets says S. Paul do lead captive silly women laden with sins 2 Tim. iii. 6. I spake not only of such as sate in the darkness of death and were lost these were like Samson in fetters having their eies put out but the Disciples the flower of Christs train saw nothing in holy mysteries as they ought to see till the influence of this glorious day cleared there eye-sight their eyes were held their hearts were held they knew not which way their Redemption was brought about and how Israel was restored Our Saviour took out but one Text in all the New Testament it is out of Isaiah and it is to this very purpose that the Spirit of God redeemed us out of the captivity of ignorance the place is extant Luk. iv 18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind to set at liberty them that are bruised This comes home to the matter I am sure Yet moreover this is a day of restitution unto liberty because it dissolved the Church from the tye and yoke of Levitical Ceremonies from those multitude of Statutes which overwhelmed the people with observation As Pharaoh was drowned in the red Sea so the tenure of Mosaical Ceremonies was drowned in the bloud of Christ which was shed upon the Cross and on this Feast we received the Seal of the Spirit that we were rid of them all So far I have demonstrated that at this time we shook off the bondage of Ignorance and Ceremonies which makes it a feast of Pentecost to us Christians as well as it was to the Jews Secondly You shall find the other correspondency marvelously kept between the Law and the Gospel Christ at his death was slain not only as the Paschal Lamb but even when the Lamb was slain on the Feast of Passeover Now from the Feast of Passeover or rather from the second day of sweet bread reckoning fifty days the Children of Israel came to Mount Sinah and there received the Law which was kept ever after with a most sacred memorial so fifty days after Christ rose from the dead the Apostles and the Church received the Spirit of Sanctification And I am sure we have much more cause to renown our Pentecost than the Jews had to honour theirs If the Law which was the ministration of death was so thankfully remembred how much more the dedication of the Gospel For this day as the Fathers say very well was the first dedication of Christs Catholick Church upon earth They were made the Sons of the bondwoman by the Law we are made the Sons of the free-woman by the Spirit We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but we have received the spirit of adoption Rom. viii 15. A sinner could have no comfort in the Pentecost of the Jews they had the Law and that condemned them this was miserable comfort We have gladsom tidings this day not from Sinah but out of Sion which bids us live by faith in Christ In no other Feast of the Jews might Leaven be eaten it was an hainous transgression but the two loaves of the first fruits were to be baked with Leaven which were dedicated to God at this Feast Lev. xxiii 17. Expositors say no more to it but thus Leaven was put into the dough of new corn Vt panes sapidiores essent to make it more savory certainly so vulgar an interpretation is much under the meaning of the Holy Ghost I would rather say it had a mystical construction that Leaven was allowed at this Feast to intimate that the Holy Spirit would bear with the leaven of our nature with our sins of frailty and infirmity And it is observable that this is the number of the Jubilee every fiftieth year was the Jubilee year which was a time with the Jews to restore all men to their Lands which were sold away by ill-husbandry and a general forgiving of all debts So this day was a true Jubilee for remission of Trespasses it was at this time that Peter preach'd remission of sins to all that did repent and believe to all without exception for says he the Promise is to you and to your Children and to all that are afar off even to as many as the Lord our God shall call So I have shewed that we received the divine Spirit of grace at Sion at the same time that they received the terrible Law at Sinah which makes it a greater Feast of Pentecost to us Christians than it was unto the Jews Thirdly We agree no less with them in the next similitude for keeping this day The Israelites according to the early maturity of corn in that climate began to put their Sickle at this time into Wheat Harvest so the Apostles from this day forward went forth to reap that which the Prophets had sown gathering much fruit unto eternal life and bringing the Wheat of God into his Garner unto the everlasting praise of the glory of his grace Their Barly Harvest such was the condition of their Soil and Husbandry begun at Easter their Wheat was begun to be cut down seven weeks after at Whitsuntide and the latter was called Tempus primitiarum the Time or Festival of First-fruits which were presented to the Lord. So God breathed his spirit into man at the creation of Adam that was the first Harvest which spirit being choked by him and coming to nothing this day there was a second emission of the spirit into man fully to restore and renew him again Now the two Loaves
of First-fruits which at this time by the Levitical Sanctions were waved to the Lord are rendred after the spiritual gloss of our Church to be amor Dei proximi the love of God and the love of our Neighbour and these must be weaved or heaved up after their manner what 's that why our integrity and piety must shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father that is in heaven Beloved here 's the difference they gave first-fruits of earthly things this day unto God but this day we celebrate the memorial how God gave First-fruits of heavenly things unto man In Rom. viii 23. St. Paul speaks of the first-fruits of the spirit in a diminutive sense as the inchoation of grace the enlightning of faith the hope of better things that what he hath begun in us he will perfect but the first-fruits of the spirit which the Church reapt this day was that which sanctified the whole lump for ever after for this last correspondency and for the other forenamed the Apostles in a most acceptable time expected the Holy Ghost when the day c. A most delicious gift poured out from God in the very strength and deliciousness of the year A festival time it was you have heard and such a Festival as brought a Concourse of many Nations to Jerusalem so it appears in this chapter I have my authority from St. Ambrose that the Lord had this time much in mind to do it honor many years before for some Jewish Tradition hath encouraged him to say that the certain season when the Angel came down to the Pool of Bethesda to trouble the water that whosoever stepped in first might be made whole of his disease it was but once a year and that once was the Feast of Pentecost Mark how the Lord design'd out that day for his Angelical Miracle I will not engage my self into that Chronological question whether our first Whitsunday when the Holy Ghost appeared in firy tongues was the very Pentecost of the Jews or rather the day after To the latter opinion many incline upon that slight reason because St. Luke writ this Story of the Acts 28 years after Christ's ascension into heaven and then the Jews Pentecost was abolished the doubt is much uncertain wherefore I let it pass But I can assure you that in very ancient times of the Christian Faith yea in the most ancient if Clement his Constitutions were warrantable this day was kept with as high honour and devotion as the zeal of our Forefathers could excogitate Says Eusebius lamenting that his Master Constantine the Emperor died at the same time if I should call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Holiday of Holidays we should not erre He adds that it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it had honour done it seven weeks together This in my apprehension refers us to three things First the Church was wont to sing that chearful Anthem of Alleluia every Sunday from Easter to Whitsuntide an arbitrary Ceremony at the discretion of every particular Church and our Church of England since the Reformation continued the custom according to the first Liturgies set forth in Edward the sixth his Reign to sing or say alleluia from Easter to Whitsuntide at Morning Prayer 2. By the ancient Prescript no Fasts were bidden all those seven weeks nothing but joy and exultation was heard and practiced 3. During all that space they did not kneel at time of Prayer but stand upright looking towards Heaven from whence the Holy Ghost descended Nefas erat de geniculis adorare in Tertullian's time these were ancient Rites and Prescriptions to magnify this day in the beauty of holiness But whereas Eusebius adds that Christ ascended into Heaven the very same day the Holy Ghost descended this was his oversight though not his alone who would not pick the right sense Act. i. 3. that Christ was seen of his Disciples but fourty days speaking of the things of the Kingdom of Heaven therefore on the fourtieth day he was taken from them into Heaven and ten days after the plentiful showers of grace did rain down upon the Church the time is so precisely noted says Isidor Palcusiot to refute that proud Heretick Montanus who said the great promise of the Holy Spirit was not fulfill'd at the Feast of Pentecost but long after in his days This is the glorious day which the Lord hath made wherein he summ'd up the complement of all his benefits as the sixt day was the complement of the Creation All other preceding mercies were but words to this the Holy Ghost is the Seal or Signature of those words to make the deed the stronger in quo signati estis Eph. iv 30. in whom ye are sealed unto the day of Redemption Rejoyce in this day and keep it holy before the Lord not in decking the body in full diet in sport in idleness but in thankfulness in purity of mind in spiritual consolations in the feast of a good conscience and ever set before you at such seasons what Gregory said Quid prodest interesse festis hominum si contingat deesse festis Angelorum What profit is it to keep holiday with men if we should be excluded from keeping holiday with Angels for evermore So much for the time of the Holy Ghosts coming I repent me not that I have been long in it for it was most material The persons that received this power from on high are next in the way of my discourse omnes all of them Many there are that understand this note of Universality collectivè not as meant of all that were present but of all the Apostles The whole Church was gathered together for the Election of a new Apostle that 's apparent in the former chapter and the lot fell upon Matthias The number of names together were about an hundred and twenty Among these there were divers women Mary the Mother of our Lord is expresly mentioned for one of them these continued together in prayer and supplication even until the time that the Holy Ghost did fill the Room Now I would put the case into this distinction whether the spirit came down upon them all upon them all in some great measure no question but not upon them all with the same virtue and power and illumination Many talents of rare perfections were distributed among all the Believers that were present men and women for else Peter had not applied the place of the Prophet Joel so pertinently ver 17. of this chap. In the last days I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh your sons and your daughters shall prophesie your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions St. Hierom leans to this side and says that the mighty gift of grace was given to all that believed even as God took the spirit of Moses and gave it to the 70 Elders and it came to pass when the spirit rested upon them
the name of the whole Congregation to offer up two Lambs of the first year for a Sacrifice of Peace-offerings You will say that 's no strange matter to present a Peace-offering to the Lord true indeed particular persons did it often in their own behalf but Maimonides observes it that the publick Body the Vniversal Church of the Jews never offered any Peace-offering but at the Feast of Pentecost O who will work this work for the Militant Catholique Church that we may say of all the parts of it omnes unanimiter they conclude all for the Orthodox Faith with one accord Some strange salvation must drop out of the clouds we know not how to work this Attonement yet on both sides let every man take heed he make not the rent bigger with more obstinacy and greater separation sweetly did a meek Moses of our own Church write there will come a time when three words uttered with charity and meekness shall receive a far more blessed reward than three thousand Volumes written with disdainful sharpness of wit It may seem a wonderful and unanswerable scruple that many in the former Ages of the Church did so much transcend us in these dayes for gifts of Miracles gifts of Devotion and Learning for Watchings and Fastings for Industry and assiduous diligence for most prosperous success in winning many Souls to the Kingdom of Heaven but the true cause is that their unanimity and pious agreement opened a wide gate to admit sanctification into their breast and our discords exclude it No spirit can give life to Members dismembred unless they be first united and compact together Ezekiel knew not how scattered bones could live but the bones came together bone to his bone and then the breath of the Lord came into them and they lived and stood upon their feet Ezekiel xxxvii 10. The Scribes and Elders of the Jews in few years after our Saviour was crucified were like broken bones scattered and divided like as one breaketh and heweth wood every year by bribery or calumniations the High Priest lost his dignity and a new one was substituted Josephus most impartially hath related that there was no care of Religion no zeal for the Law among them because there was nothing but bandings and factions in their Synagogues Here was no accord and therefore no Holy Spirit came down into their habitations Against the Congregation of the famous first Nicene Council the Fathers that met together it is not to be concealed forgat themselves so far that they put up innumerous Bills of complaints one against another before the Emperor Constantine The Emperor knew this was a most repugnant beginning to the good work they had in hand to enter into the consideration of Christs business with distracted enmities therefore he threw all their bills and brables into the fire and then bad them proceed in the name of Christ and in the grace of his Holy Spirit Their heart is divided now shall they be found faulty says the Prophet Hosea chap. x. 2. A contentious stickler that loves to be the head of a Faction and to disjoynt things out of peace and quietness I wonder whether ever he thinks how the Apostles were composed and prepared when they received the Holy Ghost Fuerunt omnes eâdem animatione simul in unam so St. Austin reads they had one heart and one mind and one inclination to advance the Kingdom of Christ they were all with one accord in one place I enter now upon the last part of all that I may find the way out of my Text and conclude it is the other Preparation for the coming of the Holy Ghost as all the Disciples were knit in vinculo pacis in the bond of peace and concord so they were united together in vinculo spei in the bond of hope by patience and expectation they were ejusdem unanimitatis and ejusdem longanimitatis they kept together for the promise of the Holy Ghost till fifty days were fulfilled God made the Israelites number fifty days after their coming out of Egypt before the Law was delivered ut adventus sui desiderium accenderet to make their hearts burn within them with longing for his coming so he put off the coming of the Holy Ghost for the same space of time to make them think of his promise with eager expectation The Jews called it the Feast of fifty days and the Feast of weeks for whether we reckon by days or weeks or years we must wait the Lords leisure and say expectans expectavi Psal xl 1. I have waited patiently for the Lord and say with our Saviour not my will but thy will be done that is not my time but thy time be fulfilled Where is the faith where is the humility of those rash spirits that will not tarry the fulness of time but have all things at their whistle by and by or quarrel with God as if he had forgot them They received this blessing of wonderful grace that were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 long abiders in the 13. verse of the former chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or perseverantes ver 14. such as continue till the day of promise was fully come He that believeth let him not make haste says the Prophet Isaiah God will do all things by his own leisure and maturity if he happen to stay stay for him Habak ii 3. for at last he that cometh will come and then he is no flitter his gifts are without repentance and he will abide with us for ever AMEN THE SECOND SERMON UPON THE Descent of the Holy Ghost ACTS ii 2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and filled all the house where they were sitting THE Feast of Christs Resurrection and the Feast of Whitsunday or coming of the Holy Ghost are distant one from another fifty days in space of time but are as near to themselves as the bark unto the tree in real substance and in spiritual conjunction In the Resurrection the strength of Hell was weakened for us In the descending of the Holy Ghost the vertue of Heaven was made powerful in us In the first the doors of the Grave were unlock'd that we might not be held in death In the other the windows of heaven were opened that we might be partakers of the life to come The Resurrection reduceth the soul into the body again which was dissolved by the sin of Adam The coming of the Holy Ghost doth again reduce grace into the Soul when original Justice had been taken from it by the same mans transgression These are parallell'd in primo gradu and the comparison may reach a little further to our present business that there was a great noise caused at Christs rising For behold there was an Earthquake Mat. xxviii 2. And loe as great a noise from above at the coming of the Holy Ghost for behold there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind These two honourable Feasts
utterance ALL the joy which we celebrate for the famous acts of Christ is irksom to the Devil and the particular Solemnities which we keep are grievous to those that shut their eyes against the truth Upon the yearly day of our Saviours Nativity the Jew is sad and displeas'd because he believes not that he that was born of Mary a pure Virgin was the Son of God and the Messias whom their Fathers lookt for that should sit upon the Throne of David for evermore Upon the high Feast of his Resurrection the Sadducee gnasheth with his teeth because he denieth that the dead can be raised to life So upon this triumphant Feast wherein we abound with comfort for the sending of the Holy Ghost the Pelagian is malecontented who is an enemy to the efficacy of Grace and the more cause we have to maintain the dignity of it and to be throughly disciplin'd what the Holy Ghost hath wrought for our Soul because the Church is miserably soured of late in all places with the leaven of Pelagius Again as all the parts of our Saviours Mediatorship were several degrees to advance our Salvation and like the several steps of Jacobs Ladder to bring us nearer and nearer to Heaven so in this comparison the sending of the Holy Ghost is the loftiest degree and as it were the top of the spire which is next neighbour to the Kingdom of Glory for as man in his first creation had but an incomplete being till the Lord breathed into his nostrils the breath of life so man in his reparation was but incompletely restored till Christ did send the Comforter to infuse into him the breath of sanctification This day therefore is the concluding Feast of all the great days wherein we rememorate the noble works of our Lord and to go further this Text is the upshot of all the blessings that were conferred upon the Church in this happy day Christ took our nature upon him that he might die for our sins he suffered and was crucified that he might reconcile all such to his Father as would repent and believe repentance and faith to please God cannot enter into the heart of the natural man by his own abilities a power from Heaven must be the means to bring that about which is so repugnant to our corrupt nature Traverse over the mystery of our Redemption and you shall find that the work is at a stand till supernal grace poured in do draw it forward as Physicians say that spiritus est ultimum alimenti the last concoction and the most refined part of our nourishment is that which makes the spirits so the donation of the Holy Spirit is the accomplishment and final resolution of all the benefits which we partake in Christ And the last payment collated by that precious liberality to enrich the Church for ever is here in my Text nay indeed it was but a preparation before the talent of grace was not tendred till now That which was set forth in figure in the former verses is here exhibited in real substance Before a rushing wind made a noise here was the very thing imparted which was shadowed by the wind before certain firy tongues made a glittering that sat upon their head now their own tongues became most fluent and voluble with wonderful eloquence In brief to the exact building up of the Church two things were requir'd which are not wanting but abound in this verse First that the Lord should speak unto the Heart Secondly that he should speak unto the Ear by an invisible word and by a visible He spake invisibly to the Heart when they were all filled with the Holy Ghost he spake visibly to the Ear when his Ministers began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance Nay more to gather a Society together whose Labours should be dispread over all the world it was expedient that the Lord should confer both ordinary and extraordinary Gifts upon them His ordinary Blessing and indeed nothing is blest without it is some quantity of Sanctification his extraordinary Blessing is twofold to send such as are not lightly sprinkled but filled with the Spirit and to speak with divers Tongues that their sound may go forth into all the World Yet again to shew the Amplitude of Gods allowance to his Primitive Church he makes a double provision first for every Disciple as he is one Member of this Body and so all and every one of them were filled with the Holy Ghost and then he provides for all the Members of his Body junctim in one union and communion they began c. so that here 's the inward and the outward blessing the ordinary and the extraordinary the particular and the universal The inward ordinary and particular blessing is this that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost If you look for the provision with which the Primitive Church was stored look for it in this Chapter and you will find out upon judicious survey that there are three things which make it plenteous with all manner of store Pastores Verbum and Spiritus First certain Pastors allotted to the sacred Function to guide the souls of the People 2. the Word of life which is put into their mouth to be preacht unto all Nations 3. The Spirit of grace accompanying the Word to make it fruitful and prolificous in the hearts of them that hear it and obey it That some were ordeined Pastors and Bishops to teach and rule the Church that 's clear the Apostles met together in Jerusalem with one accord as Christ had appointed and the Cloven Tongues which came from Heaven sat upon each of them that was their Commission to take their Bishoprick upon them that the Word was delivered unto them which they should preach and Elocution to impart that Word to every Kingdom and Language that 's as clear Eight times in this one Chapter St. Peter quotes the Scripture of the old Testament and with divers tongues according to the capacity of all the Nations and Languages that were met together and that the Holy Ghost was infused with much abundance at the same time that 's as clear and pregnant as the rest 't is twice gone over in my Text both in the beginning and in the end they were filled with the Holy Ghost and the Spirit gave them utterance A Church without lawful Pastors is but a Synagogue of Schismatiques a Pastor without a Tongue is but an Idol Shepherd or a dumb Dog a Tongue without the power of the Spirit is but sounding Brass or a tinkling Cymbal As St. Paul said of the three grand Theological Virtues Now abideth Faith Hope Charity these three but the greatest of these is Charity so I say of these necessary parts that constitute the Church the Ministry the Word and the Spirit but the chiefest and most excellent of these is the Spirit In some strange manner God may have a Church without a consecrated Priesthood as when Adam and
these persons and to this season not to these persons for it is most likely that none but the Apostles were partakers of the Divine illumination which came from Heaven upon this day and the Apostles no man calls it in question had the talents of that grace delivered unto them which saved their souls Ir is a masterless and a false fame that any castaways were in the number of these that were filled with the Holy Ghost Christ himself is said to be full of the Holy Ghost Luke iv 1. and the Blessed Virgin gratiâplena full of grace and St. Stephen the Captain of all Martyrs full of the Holy Ghost Acts vi and Barnabas the Son of Consolation full of the Holy Ghost Acts xi None but such as were peerless Saints are deigned with that praise to give this scruple a full satisfaction regard the time and season wherein this dew of heaven did drop down into the Fleece of wooll it is the day so long before promised wherein the Spirit should be poured out upon all flesh the scaturigo the first spouting out of the Spirit and do you think that this being the original from whence the spring began that all the best Balsams and Liquors did not flow into them that received it I resolved therefore that these persons in my Text did not only partake such gifts as made them wonderful in the eyes of the world but such also as made them holy and acceptable in the sight of God that is it did not only speak in their tongues but it was diffused in their hearts To end this matter remember what manner of spirit that is which God bestows it is from above it is holy it is not our own but Christs a Spirit from above and not from beneath as St. Paul says Now we have received not the spirit of this world but of God 1 Cor. ii 12. Spiritus mundi est per quem arripiuntur phanatici says St. Ambrose that 's the spirit of this world with which phanatical men are led which drives them into contention or vain glory but they are enemies to peace and savour not the things which belong to God And since we are bidden to deny our selves if we will be Christs Disciples we must also deny our own private Spirit and submit our selves to the Spirit of the Church which is the Spirit of God for our Saviour hath promised to be with it unto the end of the world Take heed of this hot windy humour which makes some cleave pertinaciously to their own imagination and attribute far more to their own ignorant judgment than becomes them The Spirit of the Prophets is subject to the Prophets but if any one think that some new mysteries are revealed to him which the Church never heard of before and begin to trouble our peace with his falsesly pretended raptures and enthusiasms I say unto such in Ezekiels words Woe unto the foolish Prophets that follow their own spirit and have seen nothing Thus far I have spoken of the Gift which was given to the Apostles to supply the room of Christ himself now he was gone and ascended into Heaven Hominem portavit in coelum Deum misit in terram says St. Austin he carried away his Manhood into Heaven and instead thereof he sent down God unto the Earth I mean the Holy Ghost and this Gift more worth than all the world beside is his usual and continual favour but the measure of it is more than ordinary repleti sunt omnes they were all filled with the Holy Ghost And Leo did very well to mark it that this was not spiritus inchoans but cumulans not the initiation but the accumulation of the Spirit the augmenting of the old stock which the Apostles had in a good quantity before not the beginning of a new They had the Spirit before as appears particularly in St. Peter when Christ told him he had prayed that his faith might not fail therefore he had a portion of faith In general it is most manifest that Christ breathed on them all and said Receive ye the Holy Ghost But as it appears by Elisha's request to his Master Elias there are single and there are double Portions of the Spirit there is a single Talent of Grace given to one Servant two to a second and five Talents committed to him that was most entrusted by his Master there are such as have a little of this Manna in their Omer and them that have it top full And these that received the Holy Ghost at this Feast were such as were not sprinkled but replenished with it quibus nulla pars animae mansit carens spiritu sancto says Cajetan the fruits of sanctification did not grow thinly in them here a berry and there a berry upon the top of a bough but pious conformity to Gods will obedience and the fear of the Lord were in every faculty of their soul and body The Romanists oftentimes put in such impertinent cautions that their bedging in of some needless exception lays waste the truth of God Among others of that bad stamp this is one that the Apostles and other holy men are said to be filled at this time with the Holy Ghost because an Increase was put to that which they had before but the Blessed Virgin was so full before that she received not any new addition or if she received a new distillation of it now illud erat ut in nos tantum effunderet says Lorinus it was for our sakes that it might overflow and be transfused from her to us even as Christ was full of grace and truth from the first moment that he was incarnate and yet for our sakes the Spirit came upon him when he was baptized in Jordan Matth. iii. a most scandalous comparison between the Infinite and the Finite between the Creator and the Creature for though Christ thought it no robbery to be equall with God Philip. ii yet it is a great robbery of the Divine honor to make the Blessed Virgin equal with Christ But to keep to mine own work the Apostles had an earnest penny of the Spirit before but they came to the fulness of it by degrees first they were baptized and so had an introduction unto sanctity afterward Christ breathed on them that was their proficiency last of all came this mighty rushing and cloven tongues as it were fire and sat upon each of them that 's their perfection by nature and of themselves they were of the earth earthly but they were regenerate and born again in Baptism that 's an Element above the Earth The next step of their heavenly promotion was that the Lord breathed on them so the Air is above the Water In conclusion the Holy Ghost came down upon them in fire this is a sign that they were now full to the brim for that 's the Element which is above the Water and the Air and is the next to Heaven And well may it be called a
fulness not that the Vessel of any of their hearts was so replenisht but that God could have poured in more if it had seemed good unto him for nothing but the essence of God is all sufficient and can admit of no augmentation but never was there such copious measure of it either diffused among the Israelites in the Old Law no nor imparted to us Christians since this Generation did leave the world Rupertus says upon it it was now now when this Ocean of the Spirit was poured out that the Devil was bound and cast into the bottomless pit though that is rather to be ascribed to the virtue of Christ's Passion and to his bloud shed upon the Cross When Mary poured a Box of Spiknard very precious upon our Saviour's head Judas grumbled and said quorsum perditio to what end is so much waste and lest any profane person should so gibe at this blessing and say to what end was so much plenty and superfluity of the Spirit take these reasons with you for your use and instruction and I will begin with two Maxims of reasons 1. Si natura non deficit in necessariis multò minùs spiritus sanctus if Nature is furnisht with all instruments and faculties fit for its work surely the Holy Ghost would not be scanty in any thing that should conduce to resound the Glory of God over all the world 2. Speculative men tell us tantum medii sumendum est quantum ad finem conducit he that is a wise Appointer will lay forth so much means as will bring the end to pass Put these together and it will follow that here was neither too little nor too much nothing wanting nor yet to spare The work of the Apostles was the greatest Task that ever was put upon mens shoulders Christ gave them one Commission which might be discharg'd with some moderate pains and adventures to preach unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel Their second Commission might seem unto flesh and bloud insupportable Go and teach all Nations c. How much ground was to be trod how many deaths to be hazarded how many subtle Philosophers to be convinced we preach unto them that are brought up in Religion and are glad to hear us they were sent to those that stop their ears at them and could not endure the name of Christ their heart therefore their judgment their courage their patience did require a far other proportion of the Spirit than will suffice a common Christian their filling must be more abundant because they were to empty it out to so many And unto whomsoever God hath imparted more copious grace let him not despise his Brethren but let him use that plenteous Gift for the benefit of many for the edification of the Members of Christ's Body or else the blessing that did adorn him will condemn him The next thing we learn is that we must strive and contend and pray for the fulness of the Spirit it is not every Modicum and pittance of it which will content him that truly loves the Lord. The Son of Syrach says of that wisdom which sanctifieth all things They that eat me shall be hungry and they that drink me shall yet be thirsty Ecclus xxiv 21. And very certain none so eager to have more grace as they that have a liberal portion already None so instant to get ten Talents as he that hath received five Let Elisha have some enlightnings of a Prophetical Spirit and then he makes bold to ask that a double portion of Elias his Spirit may rest upon him Gregory says it is the property of the fruits of the Spirit Cum non habentur in fastidio sunt cum habentur in desiderio They that have them not either never miss them or think vilely of them they that have them do insatiably desire them It is a sign of a disdainful lothsomness in nature to come to the Fountain of living waters and to do no more but sip and wet our lips with it He that hath a truly heavenly gust of it pleno se proluit alveo As St. Paul phraseth it We are all made to drink into one spirit 1 Cor. xii 12. Still we shall call for more and more not because want and driness doth afflict us but because desire doth please us Nemo primo statim die ad satietatem potatur spiritus sancti says Calvin no man is made Christian enough in a day to go to the Kingdom of heaven unless it be in such a rare example as that was of the penitent Thief It is a false spirit that says unto any mortal man it is well if you can keep at this stay and prove no worse I know the greatest part of indifferent Christians are so affected to carnal content that if it were possible to measure out to a drachm what quantity of righteousness would serve them to be endued with that they might attain salvation they would reach so far if the grace of God would assist them but would take no care to seek any further I say if they knew the trick how to make just a Saint and no more they would spare a labour for seeking beyond that Point and for the rest sacrifice to carnal security Christianum esse probant minimum esse non probant as St. Hierom speaks they do not love a man unless he be a Christian And again they will not love him if he be a vehement and an earnest Christian to serve the Lord. Certainly it is a sign that there is no sanctification in that conscience where there is not a studious longing of the soul for an augmentation The learned among the Heathen love to talk of strange Creatures and Plutarch tells of a fish whereof if a man taste but a little it is hurtful if he eat it up all it is medicinal True or false be his story it comes fit to be applied a little holiness will vanish away like a morning mist as Hosea speaks nay it is prone to turn to mans hurt for when there is but little of it it turns to hypocrisie but as God hath given us plenteous redemption in Christ so we must return him plenteous faith and plenteous obedience with all our heart and with all our soul and love our neighbour with a plenteous love even as we love our selves and that is to be filled with the Holy Ghost Let this be the conclusion of the first part of my Text the inward donation of the Spirit the outward exercise of it remains to be handled They began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance The Spirit which is signified by the wind and inspiration is necessary to all Christians who are invited to faith But as it appears in Tongues so it was requisite for them only that were sent to teach all Nations That is if God had meant only to make good men of them the wind would have sufficed but intending to make good Apostles of
them should have no inspiration to speak Salmeron is much troubled that he could not give that magnificent report to his Associates that they spake with new Tongues by inspiration in India as well as the Apostles did when they were sent to teach the Gentiles But because he would not have his Order give ground to the Apostles see the stomack of the man he makes this comparison that it is no less Gods benefit and grace to take pains to learn a strange tongue than if it were immediately poured out from heaven nay says he In illâ adipiscendâ plus meriti positum est It is more meritorious to atchieve it by much industry than by inspiration as it is more praise-worthy to raise up a fortune by a mans own diligence than to have it bequeathed him by inheritance I was astonish'd when I read this that this Loyolite should dare to compare and to prefer himself and such like even before the Apostles of our Lord and prefer their smattering in Tongues before the mighty Miracle of this day the greatest that ever was granted to men I confess it is the wisdom of God which teacheth learned men their exact insight into the Sacred Tongues and the Lord hath furnish'd many Heroes of the Reformed Churches with such exquisite skill in that kind far beyond our Adversaries that out of their over-flowing envy they have called us Pedants and Gramarians But God be thanked many of our Linguists are able to communicate in Speech with those of the world beneath which is a sign to me that God is gathering the world unto him by the calling of all Nations and hastening his Kingdom These being the general extractions of this last part of the Text both touching the matter of it and touching the end for which it was done which is the form of it I will spare much of that which remains rather than exceed my time upon this day and yet I will rather point at the particular inferences than quite omit them 1. It is to be collected from the persons that received this utterance of Tongues that the Tongue is a member of diligent employment in an Apostle for how can he discharge St. Pauls Canons to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 apt to teach fit to reprove and exhort unless he open his lips in the great Congregation that his mouth may shew forth the praise of the Lord. But remember that this hability was only infused into Apostles and Teachers How shall they speak unless they be sent Let others be contented with that monition He that hath ears to hear let him hear Suarez the Jesuite makes the case of the Blessed Virgin to be transcendent that she did not only receive the power from heaven to speak with divers Tongues on this day but she was able to do as much long before Therefore she conversed with the Wisemen of the East and had skill in their Eastern Tongue and when she fled away into the Land of Egypt with our Saviour she wanted not the knowledge of that Language Cajetan denies that ever she had this gift of Tongues For to what end It was not her part to preach unto the Gentiles And for the coming of the Wise men of the East my answer hath more likelihood than Suarez objection that they brought Interpreters with them For they asked at Jerusalem Where is he that is born King of the Jews And all the people understood them Let this grace therefore be ascribed only to the Apostles and to such as in those days joyned with them in the same labour 2. When they had these Tongues 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they began to speak But first they were endued with Spirit and then with a Tongue to speak God doth first cleanse the mind within and then he puts his Word into the mouth of his Pastors Unless the heart have a sincere feeling of that which it speaks there will be a jarring in the Tongue as in a Bell that is crackt or an Instrument that is broken Without the help of the air the Organ of the natural voice cannot speak and without the Spirit there is no speaking in the name of God Why dost thou take my Laws into thy mouth since thou hatest to be reformed The Exorcists of the Jews that had no faith the Devil flew upon them when they began to speak of holy things Jesus I know and Paul I know but who are ye 3. Mark what an alteration the impression of the Holy Ghost makes in our very speech Now they begin to speak with boldness with Parthians Medes and Elamites with all Comers Jews and Gentiles Nay ye shall be brought before Kings says our Saviour yet fear not to profess my name Dabo vobis os loquelam Here was a great mutation since that time that Peter could not hold parly with a silly Damosel but he faltred We have tongues now adays but certainly we are empty and have none of this Spirit or else we would be bolder in delivering the Message of the Lord. Thirdly They began to speak with other Tongues Moses habuit linguae balbutiem as one says Moses that brought the Law had scarce the use of one Tongue he confessed he was of a slow speech and of a slow tongue Exod. iv 10. But the Gospel was not terrible like the Law which would make the tongue of him that brought it to falter and tremble but it is sweet upon the tongue and full of grace were their lips that brought it 5. Wherefore this variety of Tongues but that all may praise the Lord as well publickly as privately in a known Language What a tyranny it is in the Roman Church that the Common People in the time of Mass are edified by nothing but the mopping and nods and gestures of the Priest Lyra confesseth that if their vulgar Auditors understood to what they said Amen they would serve God better be converted sooner and answer much more devoutly to the words of the Liturgy 6. When the Apostles spake it was not with the demonstration of humane wisdom but with the power of the Spirit as the Spirit gave them utterance And yet it was not baldly and rudely performed for my Text says the Spirit gave them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sententiosa mirifica loqui says Beza To speak sententious and admirable matter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says St. Chrysostome they were Apophthegms and ponderous sayings which they brought forth they spake Magnalia Dei the wonderful works of God ver 11. Yet now adays that is said to be spoken by the Spirit and nothing but that which is frothy and windy and perhaps never a wise word spoken and other men that have care of every word which they deliver in the sight of God and in his name that is studied affectation or some such bitter censure Whereas St. Paul requires in Titus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sound and learned doctrine Tit. i. 9. And St. Peter If any man speak let him
a little extemporary acquaintance and no more with that to which they say Amen Next let every man preach that challengeth he hath the gift sorrily God knows and then he knows that Preaching will come to nothing as well as Prayer Beware that you let not our great Adversary subvert all Piety and Religion by these encroachments bad men may mock holy Ordinances but God is not mocked Fear the Lord reverence his ways receive the blessings of the Spirit with thanksgiving and praise rule the Tongue to glorifie him that made it to set forth his honour that gives it utterance AMEN THE FIRST SERMON UPON THE CORONATION PSAL. cxviii 24. This is the Day which the Lord hath made we will rejoyce and he glad in it THE words which I have selected to preach upon are part of a Psalm which excels both in the Letter and in the Spirit rich in the litteral sense copious in the spiritual the Kingdom of David set forth magnificently in the one the Kingdom of Christ glorified in the other Sometimes the ditty of the Song points directly at the Throne of David and sometimes at Christs Triumphs over his Death and his victorious Resurrection I cannot choose between them both but think of the Country of Mesopotamia the fruitful Garden of the world girt about with waters the Rivers did flow in and out in all quarters of the Land and the Land was much more pleasant for the windings and intricate Maeanders of the Rivers So this Hymn hath a most delightful alternation in it skipping often from Christ to David and from David to Christ with sundry melodious changes as if it purposed to make the Reader lose himself if he did not curiously note the Narration There hath been much ado among Expositors whether the Psalm should concern them both or only one of them choose you which you will Some refer it all to David and to the rejoycing of the People in his behalf that they saw him happily inaugurated King of Israel after he had been long kept back by the House of Saul and many other potent Enemies The Jewish Rabbins make no other construction of it and they follow the Chaldee Paraphrast who doth thus read the 22. verse of this Psalm the Builders did reject the youngest of the Sons of Jessai and would not let him reign over them but he hath deserved to be received for their Prince and Governor therefore we will keep holy day and rejoyce Thus Vatablus and Isidore Clarius and many others of this latter Age have dived no further than into the superficies of this Scripture that is into so much and no more than concerned the Monarchy of David But they did not see into the bottom that lookt no further for the Antient Fathers of the Church not one but all have discover'd so manifest a Prophesie concerning our Saviour that nothing can be clearer It is a general rule that David in most of his Psalms had more regard to Christ than to Himself in this more eminently than ordinary so that the New Testament is full of the application Pick out the 22. verse The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner according to three several Gospels our Saviour demonstrates that himself was the Stone which the Scribes and Pharisees refused but God had exalted him to be the Head of the Church both ih Heaven and Earth St. Peter proves as much in the audience of many thousands of the Jews and none of them did contradict him Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom ye crucified this is the Stone which is set at naught of you Builders which is become the head of the corner ver 26. of this Psalm Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord I doubt not but all the loyal hearts of Juda and Jerusalem did congratulate David in those words when he entred into the Royal City but all the Multitude of the People applied them to the Advent of the Messias Hosanna to the Son of David blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord Matth. xxi 9. And indeed St. Hierom says that the Jews in their Liturgy of old were wont to read this Psalm in their Synagogues for the Messias sake and did put it among those Prayers in which they did heartily desire the coming of Christ the Lord Nay says Cajetan the 17. verse can become the mouth of no mortal man but it is the voice of the immortal Son of God to say I will not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. Therefore those Authors that had the most judicious Palat have acknowledged that sometimes Davids matters are brought into this Psalm and sometimes Christs nay sometimes both of them in one verse as in my Text. The begining of the Psalm says St. Chysostom was a Celebration for the setting on the Crown upon the head of the King of Israel but ex improviso mutavit argumentum in a sudden extasie the Prophet changeth his argument and speaks of Christ nay says Euthymius if a man will be acquainted with the stile of the Propets let him remember that this is their custom intercidere solent sermones in rem aliam transire ne adversarii manus injiciant they use to break off abruptly and fall from one thing to another lest if the Enemies of the Truth did understand them they would make away those holy Writings to the irrecoverable loss of the Church of Christ This was necessary to be premised that you might know what to look for out of my Text namely David's Day in the Letter and Christ's Day in the Spirit In the Case of David no man doubts what day is pointed at surely it is the day of his Inauguration when after much resistance made by his Enemies at last he did enjoy the Scepter of all Israel quietly and peaceably and there was an Holy-day instituted to remember it with sacred Solemnity The Lord had made that Day happy unto David and the People did celebrate it in a joyful and religious manner I need not to tell you how proper that construction of my Text is to this Day wherein God hath settled our Anointed Sovereign over all the Kingdoms of his Father and I trust you profess your due thankfulness to God for his most pious and religious Reign and that we have great cause to rejoyce and be glad in it But which is that among all the days of Christ which God did make more transcendently than the rest there 's a little scruple in that point I find one or two refer it to the day of his Nativity but their reasons are weak and they are no considerable number to be followed St. Hierom and St. Austin are in the right I think for they apply it to the whole time of the Gospel wherein the terrors of the Law are broken and all things are most sweet and pleasant to penitent Believers Behold now is the acceptable Time now is the
be our Intercessor with his Father and to prepare a place for us Whitsunday or the Coming of the Holy Ghost is like a fair Land-mark to instruct the most unlearned that though our nature is most corrupt and averse from all good motions yet the spirit is poured into us whereby in some weak measure we become obedient Children and cry Abba Father These are the Days which the Lord hath made and when we devote our selves to magnifie him upon these occasions they prove the best means to teach us the Catechetical and fundamental points of faith And as Christ was great in himself and in those works of grace so He is great in the Angels of Heaven great in the Apostles in the Evangelists in all Saints and Martyrs and the choice is made by our Church of the Flower of all occasions in this kind publickly to praise the Lord and it is very fit I say that there should be a sensible difference between these and common days both for our thanksgiving and for the profitableness of our piety Gods works are all worthy of observation but not at all times alike to be remembred for as the Lord by being every where doth not give unto all places one and the same degree of holiness but the Church is more sacred than the High-ways of the Field though Gods Immensity and Omnipotency is alike in both so neither is one and the same dignity competent to all times although the Omnipotency of God doth work in all times but as his extraordinary presence hath hallowed and sanctified certain places so they are his extraordinary works which have worthily advanced certain times for which cause they ought with all men that honour God to be in more honour than other dayes I should add two things more that are very ponderous to confirm this truth one from the practice of some holy persons in the Old Testament whose constitutions God approved the other from the practice of our Fore-fathers in all Ages and 't is fit to tread in their steps in things that are laudable honest and indifferent but this shall not be hudled up I will dilate it hereafter To dispatch all beside our holy due of the Lords Day we are now to celebrate the Kings Day and for good reason in all equity we ought to do some Religious Service on His Day who is the Defendor of our Religion Next under the Providence of God who but the King doth maintain the Truth among us therefore on what day of the week soever this Day lights it becoms us to set open the Door of the Church and to praise the Lord because we have freedom to come to Church all the year by his grace and protection We have no Romish Superstition no Anabaptistical or Presbyterian Anarchy to make this holy place irksom unto us God be praised that has given his Anointed a faithful heart to serve him and to uphold his People in the right way that they may hold up clean hands to Heaven I do read that Constantine celebrated an yearly Feast for his Victory against Licinius I read that the Church of Alexandria celebrated a Day yearly wherein the waters asswaged after a great Inundation I read that Alexius Comnenus appointed a perpetual Holiday for the memory of the famous Emperor and Lawgiver Justinian nay St. Ambrose calls to mind that Felix Bishop of Cuma kept that day every year in a magnificent manner to God wherein he was consecrated Bishop Thus former Ages have given us light that we keep in the Circle of that which is lawful when we adorn the Anniversary Day of the Inauguration of our most noble King with joy and festivity in the sight of God and first let us confess the Lords benefit towards us and say as the People did of Solomon Because thy God loved Israel to stablish them for ever therefore made he thee King over them to do judgment and justice 1 Chron. ix viii Secondly let as put up Prayers and Intercessions to the Divine Majesty to give great prosperity to our Anointed Sovereign to his Royal Consort and to their Posterity for ever AMEN A SERMON UPON THE RESURRECTION PSAL. cxviii 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made we will rejoyce and be glad in it IF you have ever seen a piece of Coin stamp'd with one face upon the fore-side and with another upon the reverse then set that fancy before you to understand the double sense of this Text. First If you ask according to the Letter whose Image and Superscription is this I tell you and I have told it you once before it is Davids And this is the triumphant Hymn of the devout men of Israel exulting that God had given them such a King to go in and out before them If you ask according to the Spirit to whom this Verse belongs most certainly it aims at Christ and that two ways either calculating this Day for the whole Age of the Gospel that is the day which God hath made to put gladness into his chosen through the remission of our sins because the day-spring from on high hath visited us Or else in a more eminent sort it is the joyful acclamation of the Church upon the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus that being the most honourable and most welcome of days because the Resurrection hath ever been esteemed the most glorious of all the works of the Gospel I have spun out the first of these concerning David to the last thread now my Web which is upon the Loom is concerning Christ that is I have given unto Caesar that which is Caesars and it is very expedient as the more principal duty to give unto God that which is Gods Indeed I cannot say that I am come to the heart and to the vitals of the Text till now till now that I apply it not as formerly to the Lords Anointed but to Christ himself our Lord anointed And I have clear way made me for this interpretation as clear as I can wish for never any that have received the Book of the Psalms for spiritual and divine melody but do reckon this Psalm and especially this part of the Psalm to belong to Jesus the Author and finisher of our Salvation The Doctors of the Jews says St. Hierom did use to sing it in praise of the Messias And the Doctors of the Christians must be all of one Chorus to chant it merrily to the Son of God because four places of the New Testament that is witness enough have made a challenge unto it that this Psalm is an Allelujah or Hosannah to the Son of God And because the words of my Text are obvious to be recited upon any memorable and plausible occasion sometimes they have been drawn to congratulate humane affairs yet with this reservation that none under heaven hath a true interest in them I read that in the second Constant Council held under Justinian the Emperour Johannes Presbyter as he was
can we spend our time more profitably than to speak of time as it is to be referred and allotted to the glory of him that made all time But that I may leave no part of my Treatise naked but cover that which I shall run through with some portion of my Text I must put you to call to mind what I delivered in general in two Sermons that these words excel both in the Letter and in the Spirit In the Letter they are part of a Psalm which was sung for Davids sake and for that Festival which the People kept to God for his Inauguration when he was made King over Israel In the Spirit they reach to Christ as David in most of his Psalms had more regard to Christ than to himself and that with two interpretations By some the whole Age of the Gospel is entituled the day of Christ for through the Gospel the terrours of Sin and Death and Hell are broken and we are comforted on every side to rejoyce and be glad By others among all Evangelical days the Feast of the Resurrection is pickt out by way of eminency for never did the Sun shine upon any day wherein we had more cause to triumph and be joyful than when the Son of God having been crucified for our sins did rise from death the third day to conquer mortality and corruption that we might live forever These Points being dispatcht in their proper season what is left to be handled Two things of great moment Beloved First the Resurrection of Christ did not only sanctifie that one day wherein he rose but occasion was taken from thence to sanctifie the first day of every Week to the Lord because Christ rose on the first day Hence I am your debtor to shew how this and every Sunday is the day which the Lord hath made and we must rejoyce and be glad in it Secondly Forasmuch as an holy day was appointed that all Israel might worship Jehovah for that precious benefit that so good a King as David was reigned over them therefore the Ordination of Festival days to profess thanksgiving for the high and excellent works of God becometh the Church for so good a sanction and becometh the righteous to be joyful in them Then of the Lords day for our ordinary Assemblies in Gods House and of holy Festivals for our extraordinary Assemblies these are the matter of my ensuing Discourse which I will follow upon the touchstone of truth and for the benefit of your edification Concerning the day which we keep weekly in the name of the Lord I must speak of it two ways in reference to Gods making and our rejoycing in reference to the Divine Sanction and out Sanctification The Divine Sanction of the day must be traversed in four Points 1. What ground we have for keeping the Lords day in the fourth Commandment 2. What ground we have for it from the Resurrection of Christ 3. What ground we have for it in the Gospel from the Precept of Christ or his Apostles And 4. What ground we have for it from the practise of the Apostles and from the practise of the Church in all ages In this piece of a Sermon I will deliver you my mind upon this Controversie which now adays makes voluminous disputes First It is manifest that the Fourth Commandment hath another air and Constitution in it than the other Nine Those Nine being consonant to the light of natural reason so that they bind the Conscience without a Law-giver this is neither principle or necessary conclusion of natural reason in such a clear manner as that a judicious man shall be forced upon understanding the terms to yield assent unto it And I wonder that any one should stumble so grosly to say that it is natural Law to keep every seventh day that is the last day or the first day of the Week holy when the distribution of time into Weeks is arbitrary and not natural This Commandment therefore having a composition in it diverse from the rest it hath somewhat in it particular to the state of the Jewish Synagogue and somewhat that binds the Christian Church For it doth not stand for a Cypher in the two Tables at this time as if the force of it were expired but there is somewhat in it which is Moral and obligeth mankind unto the end of the world The enforcement of the seventh day in strict and Sabbatical rest is out of date as well as the rest of the Pedagogical Ordinances of Moses But there is this Kernel within the shell that holy Assemblies are for ever to be called together at fit and convenient times to praise the Lord nay further reason and gratitude cannot imagine a more fit and convenient time than the constant solemnizing of a Seventh day nay than the constant observation of this Seventh day the first day of the Week Therefore I determine that we ground the keeping of the Lords day upon the fourth Commandment not upon the Letter of it for that were Jewish but upon the natural equity or moral contents of it We recede from the Letter as much as can be for they rested and we work on their Sabbath but to rest on the seventh day and to work on the seventh day cannot flow out of the same Statute For the moral equity we give all diligence to obey it and he that rejects the Lords Day or violates it transgresseth the Fourth Commandment because though neither that day there mentioned nor the determination of a Seventh day is absolutely commanded yet it is deduced out of it by consequence It is enough to have general and common Rules for Ecclesiastical Orders of time and place under the liberty of the Gospel And God gives us the light of discretion to draw out special rules at what time in what place with what Decorum and Order to meet together and if the governance of this discretion be not observed the Spirit of the Lord is disobeyed The Lord hath not given over his interest in our time but that we must allot some days and hours to his Service as it were for the redemption of all our time which is due unto him Neither hath he given us a vagrant liberty to serve him when we will but the out-goings of the Morning and Evening must praise him and we must often throng together at solemn times to worship him To go further though the Commandment hath not prefixt us a day for it prefixt no definite day but the Sabbath to the Jews yet it hath given us light what ought to be done by way of prudent Constitution viz. that we of the Evangelical Kingdom should grievously sin if we did not voluntarily devote as much time to the honour of God as the Jews were bound to do And then since the Lord did enforce why that day was enjoyned to them it was the day wherein the Lord did rest from his work and it was most pious that they should remember the benefit
they be driven from the presence of God And I pray you what credit is it to our Church to make such a bustle as some private men have done about scandalous Ministers as if the Clergy were grown so disordered that the most necessary thing to be provided for in the Weal Publick were new Laws for the rectifying and deprivation of scandalous Ministry When sundry Petitions were put into the hand of Constantine the Great at the famous Council of Nice against some Bishops and Priests and Deacons he threw them all into the fire with this answer He would not have complaints in that kind so publick but if he knew how to cover their trespasses he would cast his own royal Robe upon them As you wish that God might not be despised as you wish the Jesuits might not triumph at your Ministers beware to make such a mountain of that which private advertisement might better rectifie Many of my Brethren of good parts are unfurnish with means and where poverty and wit meet together I confess they seldom make an honest man between them God give them grace to bear their wants more religiously and with less scandal but I hope you will not think the whole Loom is bad because the List is coarse But for those that are so ready to blur their reputation whom God hath appointed to burn Incense before his name that is to pray for his people is it not a sign that God is despised by them Fifthly To step into the observation of a judicious Commentator it is an apparent disgust of contempt Minimè ad minas contremiscere not to tremble at his anger that threatens Primos in orbe Deos fecit timor says Statius not so soundly that fear was the first thing that made a God but I am sure that want of fear is the first thing that will make an Atheist and perswade a man there is no God The Prophet Isaiah could say no worse of the Idols made of stocks and stones but that they could do no evil that we should be dismaid at them Isa xli 23. Every part of our Saviours Passion was undergone to satisfie in the kind wherein we had most prevaricated Our Extortion wounded his hands our Gluttony gave him Gall to drink our want of fear put him into the strongest part of his Passion that Agony full of great fear in the Garden when he sweat drops of bloud as for them that hear lamentations read unto them that have heard the vengeance of Captivity and the Sword threatned to a wicked Land and yet their heart is not quail'd their courage is undaunted it shall fall out unto them as it did unto the Philistines they brought out Samson to play before them and made a mocking-stock so long of his Arms of Steel that at length he plucked down their Temple about their ears and brained them A filial fear that loves God for his goodness is like a bright day that hath not a cloud to disfigure it a servile fear that loves God for fear of the wrath to come is like a day that is overcast with clouds but it is clearer than the fairest Moonshine night It is good to have the Spirit of Adoption but it is better to have the Spirit of bondage than the Spirit of slumber It is good to be in Canaan but it is better to be in the Wilderness than in Egypt It is good to be a Child but it is better to be a Servant than a Stranger to the Lord. The Lions roar and the Beasts of the Forest are moved at his mighty voice the winds arise and the sowls of the air flutter and lay them down in their Nests the thunder-claps rend the air and the Spirits of Princes are dismaid and troubled but if the God of the Winds and of the Seas and of the Thunder threaten and menace us for our sins shall we not much more dread his fury and look pale at his indignation But when we bear all prodigious signs and wonders without crouching when we esteem not the terrours God help us that are now round about us is it not a sign that God is despised Sixthly To take another Arrow out of the same Quiver it is a sign we under-value the power of another Minimè ad opem ejus consugere not to fly to his help when we had need of relief so when the Israelites blurted at Saul as if he did not look like the man that could lead out their Armies against the Philistines Nunquid iste salvare potest Israelem Can such a man as this save Israel It is a manifest token that they did despise him God is much offended when we neglect him in prosperity and he is no less displeased when we do not fly to him in misery You are for the God of Ekron in your sickness says the Prophet to King Ahaziah when he sent thither for remedy is it because there is no God in Israel A word if you mark it that relisheth of most sharp indignation it is because there is no God in Israel Invoca me Psal ◠Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will hear thee Invocantibus miseteri desiderat qui monet ut invocetur says Gregory God hath a great good affection to be gracious unto them that invoke him when he puts us in mind to be invoked The Children of Israel were miserably oppressed with bondage under Pharaoh yet their curs'd hearts had rather put up their wrongs and suffer them than be beholding to the Lord for their delivery Trajan had rather pine away with Leprosie than call upon the name of Christ whose Servants he had persecuted Wizzards and cunning Soothsayers so called some run to these for relief Tutelary Angels that have the Patronage over several Kingdoms so well do they know what God hath appointed in Heaven imaginary Saints that are fortunate in expelling some particular disease as it is thought some run to these for protection Non defensoribus istis our hope is not in such miserable comforters as these but the Lord is our refuge in the day of trouble If we say unto the needy that God is his portion and he must not steal if we say unto the sick that the Prayer of the Faithful availeth much he must not fret and be disquiet and yet he rageth and curseth at his afflictions if we say to the opppressed that God will judge their cause and yet they desire to break the net that held them in by violence and to take private vengeance into their hand Where is their patience Where is the testimony that they fly to the Almighty in the evil days Is it not a sign that God is despised Seventhly and lastly to end this Point let me borrow but the speech of the angry Goddess when she thought she should be contemned Et quisquam numen Junonu adoret Praeterea aut supplex aris imponat honorem that is when Sacrifice comes not in plentifully to the
mea c. The preservation of the innocent doth necessarily follow upon the detection of their enimies yet a question stands in my way and I must remove it both in this place and elsewhere Why God doth more often express how the treacherous-hearted are inclosed than how his Children are delivered Because their wickedness doth more deserve shame and detection than our slender righteousness can deserve preservation and therefore they are pointed at more visibly inde educet c. Here are two discomforts for all those that lay baits against the soul of the righteous 1. Inde educet thence he will take them Gods eye is never off though they dig into Hell 2. Manus ejus educet though Hell be on their side yet this hand is mightier and will break them in pieces like a Potters vessel For the first The eyes of God are upon the conspiracies of men like burning-glasses and cast a light upon those things which afterward they will consume to ashes The very Heathen says Clemens of Alexandria thought that nothing did more completely make a God than to see all things and to be seen of no man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wherefore one says of the Crocodile that the Egyptians in that vain Idol did resemble a God Quia ex omnibus aquaticis habet oculos obtectos ut cernat nec cernatur It hath eyes so befilmed that perceives afar off and is not perceived What should we light Candles to the Gods in the day time says Seneca giving that wipe as I think to the Jews Quoniam lumine nec Dii egent ne homines quidem delectantur fuligine For neither God can stand in need of Candle-light and men can take no great pleasure in smoke In vain then shall sinners earth themselves in Vaults and make Sellers their secret Pavilions to hide their head Though Mountains were tost upon Mountains between heaven and them yet is not the eye of Gods Divinity more active than Christs Humanity Though the doors be shut to enter in and come unto them I will search Jerusalem with Candles saith the Lord Zeph. i. 12. That is not all the grave shall open and give up her dead The Grave is a place deep and hidden but Hell is a darker corner than that yet Satan himself appeared before the Lord. Job i. But above all darkness the thoughts of the heart are most obscure and the secrets of all hearts shall lie naked before him Quo fugis Encelade quascunque accesseris oras sub Jove semper eris You are as near to Gods eye in the utmost part of the Sea as standing before his Altar But secondly that the counsels of evil men may be of no effect as the eye of God is always open so is not his hand folded up in his bosom but his hand shall take them thence that hand which never any saw alone but King Belshazzar and you know what followed his Kingdom departed from him Indeed all the parts of the body which are made both for defence and offence are attributed unto God for the confusion of his enemies From the arm to the hand from the hand to the finger from the finger to the least touch if he do but touch the Mountains they shall smoke Against great invasions there is brachium Domini a stretched out arm to deliver Israel from Egypt But when he will fashion out deliverance with wonderful salvation as if a workman had wrought it curiously with a tool then the Prophets speak of the hand of God but when the Lord doth demonstrate his great affection and give us to learn some godly lesson by deliverance Verè digitus Detest hic that is a token of the finger of God His finger beloved doth always point his arm is always stretched his hand is always open And as Vegetius said of Chariots armed with sharp Sithes that at first they were made for terrour and afterward forscorn So is it with all malicious practises which are beaten a while upon the forge and Blacksmiths are busie at the fire to hammer out some Engine for our affrightment but the Lord comes down and brings victory to his Chosen that he may go up on high like a Conquerour with a merry noise and as the Lord of Hosts with the sound of the Trumpet Holy Bernard was toucht with a spice of vain ambition in a godly Exercise but recovering himself casts away Satan with these words Nec propter te hoc opus coeptum est nec propter te finietur So we may be bold to say in the name of our God touching our Religion it was neither reformed for Satans sake neither shall it be deformed by his Conspiracies Propter salutem duorum hominum duo millia porcorum perierunt says St. Austin upon Mat. viii that two men might be saved from the Devils that possessed them two thousand Swine ran headlong and perished in the Sea Much less will the Lord suffer so great a flock as he hath in this Kingdom to be yielded up to the prey of the hunter or that the wild Boar of the wood should root it up Quamvis ad inferos though he should root and dig to Hell c. When John and James would have called for fire from heaven Christ rebuked them saying You know not what spirit you are of as who should say that is not the Spirit of the Gospel O beloved they that would call up for fire from Hell what Spirit wot you are they of Why that that ever was and ever will be the spirit of the Jusuite Papalins God rebuke them Lord how often have I said with my self surely the calamity of the poor Indians is much to be lamented whom God hath delivered over into mens hands of such bloudy Religion certainly the report of those Millions whom they slew with the Sword is as true as lamentable For what would they not do against savage men that worshipped Devils and are forlorn of God who would have caused the Channels to run with bloud in that Kingdom where Christ is truly praised But the hope of the Hypocrite says Job shall be swept away like the Spiders Web. Spiders Webs you know are spun from the vapour of their own poison from within their secret bowels So are the devices of the treacherous Spiders Webs are woven in the darkest and most unfrequented corners of the house so are the devices of the treacherous Spiders Webs are long a framing with much curiosity but a feather sweeps them away in a moment so shall be the devices of the treacherous But admit that God be so careful for us and so powerful against tyrants that seek after our soul Vt te ipsum serves non respicis shall we cast all the burden of our safety upon Gods providence Because Christ is praying and watching in Mount Olive◠shall Peter sleep Is it enough to have a Sermon of Thanksgiving to day And an Anthem to sing an holy Jubilee And leave all the rest
relate but that he finished this life I cannot say it His years are numbred before my Text like other mens three hundred sixty five just as many years as there be days in an usual year after the motion of the Sun not that this reckoning is the term of his life but the term of that time that he conversed with men As Tertullian glosseth upon St. Pauls words I am crucified with Christ How crucified and yet live Per emendationem vitae non per interitum substantia by the reformation of his life not by the loss of his life So Enoch had a period when he left to be with men Per emendationem vitae non per interitum substantia By an exaltation to a better life not by the corruption of his body As the men of Israel would not let Jonathan suffer death though Saul had given Sentence against him What say they shall Jonathan die that hath wrought such great salvation in Israel So when the Spirit of the Lord had testified what a Prophet Enoch was a perfect obedient that abhorred Will-worship a stiff maintainer of Gods part against the Devil and all his Instruments 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a friend a familiar acquaintance a walker with God Upon this testimony Mercy opposeth Justice and though the Lord had said to Adam and to all that were in his loyns Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return What says Mercy shall Enoch die an example of repentance to all Generations So the stroke of death was diverted that he saw not the Grave and Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him The partition which I framed upon the whole Verse was on this wise first how uncorrupt Enoch was in his ways he walked with God and secondly that he did not see corruption And this second Point which is reserved for this hours labour is to be handled in two several heads the former I will call Enoch's passage out of this world He was not The latter his reposure in another world For God took him His place was left empty among the Patriarchs below and he filled a room among the Thrones and Angels above Upon these two I shall handle many particular Doctrines before you And he was not a concise phrase you see and brevity will breed obscurity especially put this unto it that it is a form of speech which is not used again in this sense to my remembrance in all the Scripture But the sense is made plain by St. Paul Heb. xi 5. By Faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death He had a passage out of this world without any dissolution of the soul from the body In the same body that he pleased God says Irenaeus he was translated being never uncloathed of the flesh that he might put on immortality That this truth may be carried the clearer I will debate it a little with them that oppose it and with them that qualifie it Some of the Hebrew Rabbines as I find them quoted because they consult not with the authority of the New Testament think they are not convicted by the Old Testament but that they may conclude how Enoch died and was taken away in an early Age as those times went much sooner than his Forefathers As if this Verse did rather bemoan him for his untimely departure than renown him for some glorious favour which did befal him The phrase indeed if we look no farther will bear it both in sacred and in heathen Writings to say of one departed fuit he was but is not this was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a fair way of language to avoid an unpleasing word Yet the phrase doth not always stand in that sense but hath a double acception and both in one verse that you may the better carry it away Gen. xlii 36. Jacob there bemoans himself for the waat of two Children Joseph is not and Simeon is not the one he took to be dead indeed the other to be in fast hold and taken from his eyes removed where he could not come at him as Enoch was but no more So the Chaldee Paraphrase explains the meaning of Jacob Joseph non superest Simeon non est hic Joseph is quite lost and Simeon is not here The phrase then accords very well with that place of the Hebrews by faith Enoch was translanted that he saw not death And my Text must incline to that exposition for two reasons First that the Lord took him stands for a consequent that he was pleased in him it is the reward as you would say that he walked with God not that there is a necessary and perpetual coherency in it that whosoever walks with God should be exalted into Paradise and not see corruption but Enochs righteousness by a priviledge of favour was so requited a favour then being understood in those words it cannot be the sentence of death upon him it is impossible Secondly in this Chapter the last word that the Holy Ghost gives of Adam is Et mortuus est and he died so of Seth so of Enos so of Cainan so of all the Antecessors of Enoch wherefore unless Enoch had some other issue out of this world diverse from the rest which was by translation without death why should it be said of him so differently from all others he was not for the Lord took him So I have corrected the great error of those Hebrew Doctors who would lay Enochs honour in the dust But I suppose the general Exposition of the Jews was right and according to St. Pauls doctrine For Paul wrote to the Hebrews that he saw not death knowing the tradition was commonly so received among them and the Chaldee Paraphrast who lived straight after Christ was of the same judgment beside one of great note among them says he was disarrayed of the foundation corporal and cloathed with the foundation spiritual which words I conceive do jump with those who oppose not the Scripture that he saw not death far be it from them but they have a qualification for the meaning of it that death is taken two ways most properly for the separation of one essential part of man from the other the body from the soul a loath to depart it is a most unwelcom dissolution a punishment upon the sin of our first Father which was remitted to Enoch improperly it is no more but the separation or extinction of corruptible qualities from the soul and body one whom I named even now called it the disarraying of a man from the foundation corporal and so Enoch was purified altered made quite another man in the very moment that he was wrapt up to heaven This evacuation of corruptible qualities from the flesh is called death by some very good Authors in our own Church and so Procopius much more ancient than they Mirabili modo mortis defunctus est ad vitam coelestem translatus it was a rare and admirable kind of death he suffered
being caught up into the clouds to live with God for ever Their judgment is right that he was disarrayed of all malignant qualities sin and mortality which belong to the soul or body But I wonder they should call these by the name of death for it was no otherwise with Enoch than it shall be with all men and women whom Christ shall find upon earth at his second coming St. Paul says they shall not die but they shall be changed that changing is no death for change and death are membra dividentia in the Apostle and cannot be confounded Now I have brought you out of all incumbrances of wrong opinions to the clear truth Enoch was not How He ceased not absolutely to live but he ceased to live any longer in a corruptible Tabernacle he prevailed above the sentence which was pronounced against Adam by the Judge of quick and dead Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return Mortality came from disobedience against the Commandment neither is it possible for any mere man to attain to such a measure of obedience as to deserve immortality do not imagine this holy Saint was without sin so that death could claim no dominion over him St. Chrysostome who speaks much for Enoch how the Lord rewarded his integrity with incorruption says no more but that he received Gods Law not that he kept it inviolably 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God kept him alive that received the Commandment that received it willingly and with an earnest heart to keep it But how was that Statute dispensed with you will say it is appointed to men once to die and after that comes judgment Heb. ix 27. An easie dispensation will serve for that for it was no otherwise with this man than it shall be with all the earth at the last day when the Inhabitants of the world shall not be uncloathed of skin and bone but be changed into an incorruptible perfection in the twinkling of an eye But that you may not wonder at Enochs case as if justice had connived and forgot it self remember this rule in St. James There is one Lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy Jam. iv 12. Mark that there are Judges constituted under the Law and it is not in them to save life where the Letter of the Law condemns for the Law governs them and not they the Law but there is a regent and principal authority whose clemency is above the Law That speech of Senecaes is as trivial as any Proverb Occidere contra legem nemo non potest servare nemo praeter te Every Varlet can kill a Citizen against the Law none but the Supreme Magistrate can save a Citizen against the Law You see then by what rectitude of justice Enoch might be exempted from death albeit we were all sentenced to become dust and clay out of which we were made because God is the most supreme independent Judge of all the world and may mitigate the severity of his own decrees Why should not his mercy preserve where it will And if he will preserve who can destroy Is there any curse but he can turn it into a blessing Where the Lord pleaseth to sweeten a bitter cup Poverty shall not be grievous nor ignominy dishonourable nor sickness painful nor life mortal A thousand fell before this Patriarch and ten thousand at his right hand but he was impassible and did not die He was not for the Lord took him Because the Septuagint Translators concur with St. Paul in one reading it is due to my Text to let it be known how they have enlarged this concise phrase And he was not in their words is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He was not found And Clemens the Scholar of St. Peter and Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it was not found that he ever died He appeared not and yet the Lord killed him not so the Chaldee Paraphrase For as St. Jerom said figuratively of the sweet end that Nepotian made that he did Migrare non mori And St. Bernard as much of Hubertus that he did Abire non obire Those pious men might rather be said to have gone a journey out of the way than have died so very properly and without a Metaphor it was true of Enoch that he did not die but was retired out of the way where he could not be found It seems he was much sought for as certainly good men will quickly be missed Antigonum refodio as the honest mans saying was he would have scrap'd the just King Antigonus out of his Grave when he was departed Though Elias was manifestly taken away into heaven yet the Sons of the Prophets besought Elisha that fifty strong men might go seek him lest the Spirit of the Lord had cast him upon some Mountain or into some Valley I could not blame them to wish they might find him again So says one upon that inquisition was made for Elias Enochus cum raperetur fortasse diu inquisitus fuit It may be Enoch was much inquired for in many places after God had took him Selneccerus says that the Lord exalted him up into the clouds Coram totâ Ecclesiâ praecipuis Patriarchis a great Congregation of men and the chief Patriarchs looking upon it Bolducus the Capuchin more particularly yet both altogether uncertainly using their own divinations Tulit eum Deus in nube in quâ apparebat ministranti God took him away in a cloud wherein he appeared as Enoch ministred unto him in the time of Sacrifice If this were done before a throng of Witnesses they might think it no more than a rapture for a little time as Paul was taken up into the third heavens for a small space and afterward restored to the Church They might search and hope to enjoy him again but he was not found the more was their loss that they wanted him the more was his happiness that he was quite gone and wanted nothing But Luther is of opinion that he was retired alone to walk with God in Prayer and sweet Meditations and then the Lord lifted him away to the habitations of the blessed when none were privy to it Seth and all the other Fathers of the Church knew not what was become of him his Son Methasalem and his Family look'd for him with sad hearts as Joseph and Mary sought for Jesus sorrowing no doubt they suspected the malice of the Caiâ—ites they thought he was slain like innocent Abel and privily buried Perhaps it was not revealed in a long time after what was become of him But as the Romans were highly discontented with the loss of Romulus their Founder and would not be satisfied till Proculus swore he saw him carried away into Heaven So when the Patriarchs had sate down sorrowing because they found not the very Gem of the Church the righteous man Enoch it made their gladness the greater when they knew the Lord had translated him alive into Paradise Now I proceed The benefit of it
Lord and took of every clean Beast and of every clean Fowl and offered burnt offerings on the Altar And the Lord smelled a sweet savour IT is impossible to choose a better method than Elihu did to find out wisdom Repetam scientiam meam à principio Job xxxvi 3. I will fetch my knowledge from far or from the very beginning But why do I call it Elihu's method When behold a greater than Elihu impugning the frivolous divorcements of marriages among the Jews which then had common passage doth thus overthrow them Ab initio non fuit sic It was not so from the beginning From which words I am bold to pronounce that this must be the leading rule of Divine Learning that all Religion must be tried and allowed from the first and most ancient Ordinations Now we have four Ages to run through upon that examination First for the Age before the Floud whereof Almighty God hath left us a very short and confused memorial I will not say as some do that the Church began when Enos was born to Seth although we find it written Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord Gen. iv ult Nor from the Sacrifices of Cain and Abel for the tradition of the Hebrews hath reason in it that Adam himself had often sacrificed before but the first hint of Religion in that Age is at this mark where the Lord made woman and brought her unto man which was a mystery of Christ and his Church Eph. v. 12. Secondly if you will know how the fear of God was first professed after the Floud it is written in my Text. Thirdly If you will be acquainted with the first institution of the Mosaical Law enquire for it at that time when God appeared in glory at Mount Sinai And fourthly If you will search to the bottom when the Law was quite abrogated and the Gospel was purely in force reckon from the coming down of the Holy Ghost at the Feast of Whitsontide Among these four I have wittingly light upon the second that I may entreat before you how Religion was first managed presently after the Deluge under the Law ot Nature For this seems to me to borrow somewhat of all the rest so that speaking of this one they will all be remembred The Mystery of Christ and his Church knit together is not here forgotten where the clean Beasts and the clean Fowls are laid upon the Altar The Sacrifices of Moses Law certainly were patterned by this example and the inspiration of the holy Spirit must needs be in the Sacrifices work from whence the Lord smelt a sweet savour If your attention be now ready to receive the distribution of these words into their several parts they may thus be divided into two principal branches here is the material part and the formal part the body and the soul of that Divine Worship which Noah performed unto the Lord. He builded an Altar unto the Lord and took of every clean Beast and of every clean Fowl and offered burnt offerings on the Altar that is the matter the visible body of his good work And the Lord smelled a sweet savour there is the invisible part or the Soul The material outward work contains these three things 1. That he offered burnt offerings 2. Of every clean Beast and of every clean Fowl 3. Vpon an Altar which he built And Noah builded an Altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings on the Altar In the formal part there are two things to be spoken of sensibile and sensus The sensibile that this Sacrifice had a sweet savour 2. There was a quick sense that took it and that is the Lords the Lord smelled a sweet savour And Noah builded an Altar c. I take the material part first in hand and this is the principal composition in the matter that Noah offered burnt-offerings to the Lord. This was it I perceive why Noah thought it long till the Floud were asswaged and sent one bird after another to learn if the waters were faln that he might come forth and worship him with an holy Worship that made both the Flouds and the dry Land As a conscionable man recovering from a perilous sickness which brought him even to deaths door thinks every hour seven till he present himself in the Church before the Lord that he may praise his name in the Congregation So the heart of this Patriarch had been so long full of meditations all those days that he was shut up in the Ark how he and his Posterity alone were preserved from the common Deluge that his desires grew restless and he sent forth the Dove three several times and no less to bring him better news if he might come forth and do his homage for the possession of the Earth upon an Altar of earth and that the Incense of his devotion might smoke up to heaven in Sacrifice Now I lift up this example before you to let you behold why we are born and for what use we have our Station in this Globe of Creatures The Lord hath opened our Mothers Womb to bring us forth into the light as he opened the door of the Ark to set Noahs feet in a large room We were shut up in a place which God had appointed for us till our passage was made into the world almost as long as he now we have our egress and the liberty of the Earth and Air. To what end all this What is appointed for man Which way should his business tend To enjoy the pleasures of the Age To extend our appetite over the abundance of all things which the earth affords To build and plant To be renowned and leave a Posterity behind us No that account is ill cast up for you may see in this condition of Noah that he and all that were with him were let forth of the Ark as a people then born again into a new world and the end was to offer up spiritual Sacrifices with a clean heart and while we have any being to praise the Lord. When the Angel had delivered the Apostles out of the common-Prison into which they were cast says he Go stand and speak to the people in the Temple all the words of this life So we are set at liberty from our Mothers Womb from that Ark to which we were committed for a time that we may go to the Courts of the house of our God even as Noah came abroad and took seisin of the earth immediately to make an Altar thereof and thereon to offer Sacrifice to the strength of his deliverance The question will be what direction the holy man had to worship the Lord with this kind of Service Lay it down for that which must be granted He that makes his own brain the model of his Religion shall have little thanks for his forwardness Ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto his name honour of Duty and Precept is best that which is redundant and of
the time of the Gospel lumen super montem nay super coelum more than a candle upon a hill even as the Sun it self in the firmament Christus fuit in spicâ in fide patrum in similâ in doctrinâ legis post humanitatem assumptum panis formatus Christ was in the faith of the Patriarchs like corn in the ear in the faith of the Law like corn ground into flower but since the word took flesh and dwelt among us He is in our faith completely as when corn is made into bread The Patriarchs in their Burnt-offerings did hope for him the Levites in their Sacrifices did look for him more near at hand but we have him really exhibited in our Sacrifice and if we have a Sacrifice left unto us likewise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to St. Chrysostom we do commemorate the Sacrifice of the Cross where we do not profess that then Christs Body is slain or then his Bloud is shed but we remember all his sufferings past we look for his grace at that present and we hope for his coming hereafter in glory And so much upon those three reasons why God did institute Religion of old to be discharged in sacrifice Noah had all these things in his heart as I will shew when I come to speak of the sweet savour Now although the value of a gift consists not in the plenitude of the thing given but in the good affection of the giver yet the Sacrifice of Noah wanted not fulness and weight it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Septuagint expressed all that he brought to the Altar was burnt and nothing reserved as God bad Abraham offer up Isaac for an whole burnt-offering Under the Law of Moses those kind of Sacrifices were the principal in three regards 1. It was an Offering completely burnt and nothing must remain of it 2. It burnt all night upon the Altar until the morning Levit. vi 8. 3. As St. Austin truly adds holocaustum est totum incensum sed igne divino at first of all that Sacrifice was lighted from heaven with fire that did consume them there came a fire out from before the Lord and consumed upon the Altar the Burnt-offering Levit. ix 24. and when Nadab and Abihu brought other fire in their Censers to add it unto the fire of that Altar which came from heaven a fire went out from the Lord and devoured them Literally you see what an whole Burnt-offering was mystically it imported such an exact yielding up of the Soul and Body to the Lord wherein we dedicate all our faculties unto his service from the bottom of our heart reserving nothing unto our selves with Ananias and Saphira but with the commendable Widow casting our two mites even all we have into the Corban and whatsoever we do to please the Lord it must be kindled in our breast by celestial motions as it were with fire from heaven A man may give all he hath unto the poor is that an whole Burnt-offering simply by it self no a man may give his body to be burnt is not that enough is not that all he can do no St. Paul says neither this nor that shall profit you if you have not charity Be perfect in the study of all good vertues but have the fire of divine love with them do all to the honor of God The whole Burnt-offering which is first mentioned in Noah's piety is then acceptable when God doth inflame it with the fire of his holy Spirit from heaven I will hold you no longer upon the first point the second consists herein of what kind and species Noah did offer unto the Lord of every clean Beast and of every clean Foul. God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good it is no variation of sense to say God saw every thing that He had made and behold it was very clean All creatures are clean to him Peter learnt it in a trance that we might not doubt it waking What God hath cleansed let no man call it common Nothing is properly impure in his eyes but sin and the works of the Devil How comes this distinction then of clean and unclean Beasts in the Holy Scripture two ways ex Traditione ex Lege by Tradition before Moses and then more amply and particularly by the Law of Moses I will begin a notioribus from the information of the Law which will direct us far better than the dark steps of Tradition Twelve chapters and no less are spent in the Book of Leviticus to discriminate clean things from unclean wherein some things are called unclean for two uses quoad esum quoad sacrificium some things were impure and not to be eaten some things impure and not to be sacrificed the 11. chapter of Leviticus doth enumerate both fouls and Fishes and creeping things which were unhallowed meat and for the Beasts which are permitted for food they are summ'd up in two rules if they divided the hoof and chewed the cud they might be eaten and all the rest to be forborn But God was far more strict in appointing himself sacrifice than in appointing of us food for first many sort of Fishes were clean food yet none of them were clean Sacrifice they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they have no bloud or at least abound not with bloud and so not fit for the Altar 2. Many sort of Fouls might be serv'd up to the Table yet none but Turtles and Pigeons were fit to be offered in the Temple and Sparrows in the expiation of leprosie 3. Among all Beasts that divided the hoof and chewed the cud none but Beeves and Sheep and Goats were to be slain in that religious service unto the Lord the Hart and the Roe-buck might be eaten Levit. iv so you see here is a great difference between clean meat in the Law and clean sacrifice As the wits of men will expatiate upon all things so from hence they take leave to ask why the Lord did call one thing clean and another unclean But first I shall tell you all Gods words are undisputable and to argue why He did it is rather to dishonour than to understand his commandment Humility will sit down contented with this answer but I will go further to satisfie the itching inquisitions of our heart And first I will joyn another question to elucidate this Why was Adam restrain'd eating of the Tree of knowledg of good and evil for the same reason some living things were made unclean and unlawful unto the Jews to make them know the Earth is the Lords and the store thereof and He gave Man Dominion over the Creatures but with exception that man was subject to Authority of touch not taste not where he laid his prohibition 2. As Images are called by some Laymens Books so the mark of cleanness and uncleanness set upon some Creatures made them visible Sermons what cleanness did become the Saints a clean hand that hath
Adversary But why should the Messias do all the Creatures that honour to be esteemed clean Hath God care of Oxen The Jewish Rabbi ventur'd not upon that question but Irenaeus answers it omnia purificata sunt per sanguinem Christi Christ hath set the Church at liberty to be debarred from nothing which God hath made and the uncleanness of the beasts is now accounted cleanness because our filthiness is washed away and made clean in his most precious bloud That which was commonly usurped among the Gentiles throughout all the world was branded for unclean and therefore Peter said Lord I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean but now the stile is chang'd and that which is most common is most clean Our riches are made clean by being scattered abroad and communicated in charity the Word of God is most clean and undefiled whose sound is gone forth into all Worlds Prayer and Preaching are best when they are performed in the Congregation and are most publick The holy Eucharist is cibus communis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Communion of the body of Christ and yet it is so pure a food that being eaten by faith it purifieth the heart and conscience above all things To the clean all things are clean but because we live in the contagion of the evil World and he that toucheth pitch shall be defiled and because our own heart is an impure fountain from which the streams of bitterness do continually flow Cleanse the thoughts of our heart O Lord by the inspiration of thy holy Spirit that we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify thy holy Name by Christ our Lord. AMEN THE SECOND SERMON UPON NOAH GEN. viii 20 21. And Noah builded an Altar unto the Lord and took of every clean Beast and of every clean Fowl and offered burnt offerings on the Altar And the Lord smelled a sweet savour THis is our Sacrifice which we offer unto God at this time to preach of Sacrifice and Preaching hath a great similitude with the Law of the Peace-offering Deut. xxvii 7. Thou shalt offer Peace-offerings and shalt eat thereof and rejoyce before the Lord thy God So we are come together to speak unto the honour of God and to make our selves perfect in his ways and Testimonies to do them We offer unto the honour of our Saviour and eat of our own Offering which is the very condition of a Pacificatory Sacrifice Now that I may bring nothing unto the Altar but that which is pure and clean the Lord grant that he will circumcise my lips and put a right Spirit into my Meditations Among the Beasts such a one was clean that parted the Hoof and chewed the Cud upon which St. Chrysostome deviseth this interpretation to divide the Hoof is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to divide the Word of God aright in St. Pauls Phrase To chew the Cud is to ruminate upon sacred things to roul them in our understanding and to examine them maturely not to admit or swallow down Divine Mysteries rashly with slight and undiscoursed credulity That we may chew the Cud in this Fathers sense I take these words upon which I have lately spoken again into my mouth to make further proof what is contained in them And lest confusion should make all that is to be said unprofitable I will divide the Hoof after the condition required in a clean Sacrifice I have declared before that there are two principal branches to be noted in the Text the material part and the formal the body and the soul of that Divine Worship which Noah offered unto the Lord. In the material part again are two contents the Gift and the place which sanctified the Gift The Gift was an whole burnt-offering of every clean Beast and of every clean Fowl the place was the Altar which he made and Noah built an Altar to the Lord. These are the visible body of the work The invisible part or the soul consists herein that the Lord smelt a sweet savour and that hath two members in it sensum and sensibile first the sweet Odour which did exhale from the Sacrifice what it was secondly a quick sense that took it the Lord smelled a sweet savour I did not dispatch all the material part when I first handled these words for accounting it a less fault to be abrupt than tedious I proceeded upon no more than the consideration of the bare Gift a Burnt-offering of every clean Beast and of every clean Fowl At this time I have measured to go a little further without prolixity I shall speak God willing upon the place that sanctified the Gift and Noah builded an Altar unto the Lord and upon the quick sense which did apprehend the sweet Odour it was even he who is present at every part of clean devotion and delighteth in it the Lord smelled a sweet savour From whence I will meditate 1. That the time was but new over that God destroyed almost the whole World see how soon he is pleased after his great wrath and with what small seeking 2. When we do any thing well there is joy in heaven 3. Many pious offices which stink in the Worlds opinion are sweet before God 4. There is no greater encouragement to do well than that we are sure it finds grace in the eyes of our heavenly Master it is sweet in his nostrils and he will reward it Of these as I have divided them And Noah builded an Altar c. The whole Earth had been overwhelmed for a long space with the waters of the Deluge in plain terms it was all under malediction but Noah builded an Altar of the tuâ—f and mold of the earth and so brought it again into good use and service and sanctified the whole Element to the Lord. Truly God that revealed unto Noah that he should make an Ark and be saved in the common Calamity deserved to have an Altar erected at his hands that thereon he might adore his Saviour The Jewish Rabbines are so punctual in their curiosities that they go about to tell us the very Plot of ground on which this Altar was raised and many things more of great fame to happen in the same place I am sure you will say the report is very strange if it be credible But this Ben-Maimon adventures to say that it is a Tradition by the hand of all where David built an Altar on the Threshing Flore of Araunah Solomon built a Temple and Abraham made ready there to offer up Isaac and Noah built this Altar in the same standing when he came out of the Ark that there was the Altar where Cain and Abel did first offer before Noah nay that the first man did offer an Offering there soon after he was created and yet he goes further our Wisemen say Adam was created out of the very earth of the same place There is no mediocrity in these mens conjectures and therefore I give them over without commending them Wheresoever
more with these bodily senses than with the inerrable light of Divine Truth is an extreme indignity A grave Patrician would be grieved that the deposition of a noted Varlet should be heard against his innocency And will you hear the objections of sense and reason against that sacred evidence Thus saith the Lord that were to trust to darkness before light the Flesh before the Spirit to lying vanities before unalterable and eternal truth But to her senses this Infidel would appeal and they would instruct her sufficiently whether it had gone with Sodom so ill as it was foretold And was she sure to be satisfied by looking back I greatly doubt it a mist might rise up like the smoak of a Furnace and she conceive it to come from fire when it did not Or the Sun might shine upon the waters in the Plain and she misdoubt that the waters were become bloud as the Moabites were so mistaken Doth not a late Historian tell us of the whole Watch of a City that misdoubted a Field of thistles a far off was a Troop of Pikemen that encamped there to besiege them Was ever man more cautious according to humane rules than St. Thomas the Apostle He would trust no mans reports that his Master was risen from the dead he would see somewhat neither would he trust his own eyes he would feel too nay he would not trust his fingers ends in small wounds but he would wallow his whole hand in the rent of his side For all this wariness he might have been deluded The Syrians saw Elisha and yet wist not it was he The Sodomites felt all night at Lots door and were still to seek Old Isaac held Jacob fast and was deluded the hands are Esau's hands says he and yet they were not And will this woman trust her eye-sight and at a distance rather than Gods peremptory assertion O trust not in man trust not in these fallible humane means Our senses are bruitish Nature is corrupt Philosophy is vain but Faith leans upon that strong pillar the revelation of the Spirit from above which cannot falter and to lie it is impossible And as this woman was called an incredulous Soul because she looked back to see whether vengeance had passed upon the Cities of the Plain as the Angel of the Lord had foretold so for want of faith touching the caution which was given to her own person she fell into presumption and by presumption into death it would not sink into her thoughts that God was in earnest that as many of their Troop as looked behind them should be consumed she thought they were big words to scare timerous persons such as Prophetical men in their zeal did every day denounce against sinners yet they liv'd and rub'd on that took their own liberty to disobey for God was gracious and would not suffer his whole displeasure to arise against miserable sinners Feel feel the pulse of your own conscience I beseech you tell me if it do not beat disorderly Doth it not confuse you to call to mind that this infidelity this in ipso genere hath betrayed you to the tentations of Satan more than all his snares beside that desperate courage which you assume to your selves upon some hope of impunity is it not the spur to all transgression God is gentle and of long suffering his minacies are terrible but his dearly beloved Son and our only Saviour is merciful sed exorabile numen fortasse experiar says the Heathen his loving kindness is soon entreated This is a bastard faith of our own to subvert the true faith which is begotten by the Spirit A Diabolical infusion that God doth menace out of policy that which He never meant to make us obsequious by the shadow of his scourge but remember that non moriemini was a lie 'T is the Serpents Master-piece to expel all faith and fear out of our mind for they go hand in hand together and to break our necks with confidence A barbarous beastly kind of life says Aristotle hardned the Scythians that they neither feared Thunder nor Earthquakes but it is infernal witchcraft that makes obdurate hearts believe that all the woes and curses in the Gospel are but a strong noise terrible while it is heard but comes to nothing Quotidie Diabolus quae Deus minatur levigat says Gregory God affirms the Woman doubts the Devil denies O unhappy they that think Truth it self may be deceived and give ear to a deceitful spirit If all the maledictions against Impenitents were not indubitably to be expected Christianity were but fainthearted superstition Religion nothing but panick fear Faith not the Evidence of things to come but a devised Fable and the sacred Scriptures in all penalties and threatnings a vizard of mockery But as sin brought punishment upon us so let the certain expectation of punishment bring us out of sin Remember Lots Wife the only memento that Christ fixeth upon any Story of the Old Testament The less she believed the less she feared but the less she feared the more she smarted What God hath threatned will not be declin'd by our contrary opinion Though Christ shed his bloud to save a sinner God will not lie to save a sinner No title of his Word shall fail no not to save an hundred thousand souls out of the infernal pit I am come to the utmost portion of the hour and not to the utmost of the first part of my Text by three points She fainted in well-doing she neglected mercy and was slow to save her self she contemned the benefit of preservation in respect of that which was taken from her But as Logick convinceth more than Rhetorick as the fist knit together is stronger than the hand spread abroad so all this will be most doctrinal in one point that she relapsed and sunk after she was in fair speed to obtain mercy because she fell in love with wicked Sodom again from whence God had withdrawn her This is her crime which Philo exaggerates more than once aestu refluo retrosum absorpta she was like a Ship sailing with full sails from the sinful delights of the World but the contrary winds and tides of concupiscence carried her clean back again Josephus accuseth her worse upon the same charge that though her feet came from that impious City yet her heart staid behind Et saepius tardavit vertendo se ad civitatem she stood still more than once to take her full view of that loss which she so much bemoaned nor was it at the first turning about as he says that she was turn'd into a pillar of salt The very Apples of Sodom remain as a token against her to this day which put forth at first as if they would grow to be very delicious in the taste and in conclusion they pulverize and become sooty ashes So Lots Wife ran well at first but in the midst of her course nay almost at the end she fainted and stuck fast
spoken of the punishment of Lots Wife as in reference to a Carkass now I proceed to speak of it in reference to that into which she was turned as to the Sepulchre She became a Pillar of Salt Exemplum sine exemplo that is the first thing I collect out of it it is new and singular without any thing to match it The justice of the Lord may say upon this in the words of the Prophet Isaiah Remember ye not the former things neither consider the things of old behold I will do a new thing Isa xliii 19. To kill a Transgressour with such a death as never any died before must needs be remarkable Moses bid the Israelites mark it in Core Dathan and the rest of that Rebellion that they had incurred a great displeasure Num. xvi 29. If these men die the common death of all men if they be visited after the visitation of all men then the Lord hath not sent me but if the Lord make a new thing c. then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. Sceleratius commissum est quod est gravius vindicatum says St. Austin Great impiety went before when it was revenged with such great severity But that is not all for surely there is a kind of singularity in the sin where there is such a singularity in the judgment as to slay the Delinquent in that manner as was unheard of to all former Generations You will say there was nothing new and singular in this womans sin disobedience unthankfulness infidelity relapsing these are common cases vulgar faults committed a thousand times over I grant it but do you ever read that God was so soon forgotten by any one while the memory of so great a deliverance was fresh and warm and while an Angel of the Lord was present and before her eyes to aw her and instruct her Never did any sinner so wilfully cast their life away and therefore never was any humane creature so strangely congealed into a lump of Salt Core and his band of Rebels were swallowed quick into the lowest Pit Ne terram contaminarent sepulchro says St. Ambrose that the interring of such odious corpses might not defile the earth and since that time many others have been so devoured by the open jaws of the ground in an Earthquake But the Grave did never admit the dead body of the sinner there it was left between heaven and earth never the like done before or since because she wavoured and doubted whether she should still look up to heaven or look back to that portion of earth from whence she was escaped It was a Statute of grace and mercy that the body of a Malefactor put to death should be buried soon after his execution The Gibeonites indeed when the Sons of Saul were delivered up to them did use them after their heathenish manner and let them remain for a publick spectacle many months after they were hanged on a tree but God was more pitiful as it is Deut. xxi 23. If a man have committed a sin worthy of death and be put to death his body shall not remain all night upon the tree thou shalt in any wise bury him that day that the Land be not defiled The monument of Gods curse was not to remain visibly in that place but burial was to abolish the curse from appearing in the Lords Land This is the particular instance in all the Scripture this of Lots Wife where God did leave the Malefactor slain to be seen above ground for many Ages after I think I have proved it a new and unheard of punishment For the righteous Judge hath new kind of blessings for some holy ones that were never known before and he hath new kind of revengeful Arrows in his Quiver for his rebellious enemies such as were never felt before A new kind of sustenance shall be found out for Elias in the Wilderness a new kind of remedy to cure Hezekiahs sickness a new way to save Jonas in the belly of a Whale a new form of Gaol-delivery for Peter out of Herods Prison And as men are full of new inventions and excogitate unheard-of Pride and Luxury fresh ways to serve the Devil which were never known before so God doth fill the earth with new Plagues to correct them Novae febrium terris incubuit cohors strange symptoms of Fevers rage oftentimes which put Physicians to a new study That murrion or Morbus vervecinus Anno 1580. of which thousands died in Germany and Italy was a new infliction of mortality never wrote of by any Artist in former Ages The Sweating sickness called the English sweat over all the world was first inflicted upon England in the Reign of Henry the Seventh Our Histories are silent if there were any such Malady among us in former Ages And I need not to remember you that Columbus his return out of West India brought the first contagion of deserved loathsomness upon Fornicators which for reverence to your ears I will not mention It is the singularity of our sins which is justly requited with such singularities of chastisement It is too vulgar that every little Cross will make us fall into a bitter expostulation An quisquam hominum est aequè miser Was there ever the like that hapned to any man None so wrongfully defeated for want of justice none so perfidiously betrayed by false friends none so continually afflicted with recurrent sickness These discontents are nought and peevish there is none but the Son of God can justly complain Was ever any sorrow like my sorrow But if you be truly perswaded that your calamities are new and unheard-of lay it to your conscience and examine your self upon it that you are made an example like Lots Wife because of some unparallel'd and matchless disobedience Yet some kind of new punishments rise out of natural causes so did not this for it is miraculous and supernatural to be turned into a Pillar of Salt The Heathen have many devices in their elaborate Fictions of Men and Women metamorphosed into Plants and Stones indeed into all kind of Creatures Celestial and Terrestrial and surely that which provoked their busie wits was to tell some things as strange in fiction as this story in my Text is infallible truth Nay this narration of Lots Wife how she look'd back to Sodom and so perished set their inventions so much on work that the heathen grounded a particular Fable upon it how Orpheus had Pluto's license to bring his Wife Eurydice out of hell if he kept this condition not once to look back upon her till he had brought her safe to earth out of those shades of darkness but he could not refrain out of fondness to cast back his eyes upon her and so lost his longing Blessed are they that have the spirit of understanding for you see that the best use that the heathen made of sacred Scripture was to turn it to the worst And as these Poetical heads
appointed Which is the fountain of all discontent not to stay Gods leisure and to complain of his Providence as if he had broke his day Such will fall into a passion as if they wanted ease and that the ground was not soft enough under their feet though the way should lead them to the Kingdom of Heaven But a true faith expects Gods leisure from day to day will neither faint nor fret that his suit hangs long in the Court of Requests Many sores will never be well healed unless they be long dressing and many deliverances will never be throughly perfect unless they be long settling and many mercies are like seed in the ground and will be long growing A second Instance of grudging is in the 5. verse Our soul loatheth this light bread Is that a fault in bread to be light see how they commend it in dispraising it I am sure they came lightly by it It fell like a hoar frost about their Tents they neither ploughed nor sowed nor reaped they did but stoop and gather it they lived as easily as young birds in the nest when the Dam puts meat into their mouths They did not see how God did take away the curse of Adam from them to eat bread in the sweat of their brows Let them look to this and make use of it that are of the best rank that God do not lay this sin to their charge on this wise you labour not at all yet you want not you have store enough and ease enough into the bargain yet never content They that work hard for one dayes food depend upon God and call upon him more than they that have before hand for a year nay sufficient for an age Now put both the exceptions of the Israelites together for their bones and their belly for their journey and their bread and you see a little painfulness was repined at as a great deal of misery and a great benefit slighted for but a little favour But was there so much evil in this sin to cause a flight of Serpents to fall upon the Camp I believe so and I will prove it First there are two sins so scandalous to the Jewish Nation that Philo conceals them nay Josephus out of more love to his Country then fidelity in History never remembers them those be the worshipping of the Golden Calf and this serpentine sin of murmuring at Salmonah Therefore this artifice of Josephus tells you that murmuring was one of the two sins of the first magnitude Secondly it is a filthy crime to obscure great benefits under a black cloud of unthankfulness They murmured at Moses whom no praises could sufficiently extol for his rare deservings He brought them out of Egypt and made them all free men that were slaves What recompence could they make him for their liberty They were beholding to him for one thing more which was greater than all the rest to uphold them in true Religion and the right Worship of God so that it was said of them and of no other Nation in the Earth Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God Deut. xii 2. In all things he ruled them with a faithful hand yet they were ever at this key O that it were otherwise that it were better thus and thus which were no better than Nebuchadonosor's Dreams he knew not himself what he had dreamt of when he was awake The use of it from their error is that we should sit down and count how many blessings we have received and be thankful rather than fret at a few imaginary inconveniences which I can puff away with a little breath as easily as a downy blow-ball O all ye works of the Lord which he hath wrought in England in less than two years praise him and magnify him for ever We have cause to frame a ditty balsamed all over with a perfume of thanksgiving for all things that God hath done for us from the center of the Earth to the top of Heaven Thirdly God hath laid a great burden upon the shoulders of the Ruler to provide for the safety of so many millions and what reward hath he in this World but acceptance and encouragement from his Lieges This was the comfort of David 2 Sam. iii. 36. Whatsoever the King did pleased the People But if so much merit meet with frowardness then says Moses I cannot bear your cumbrance burden and strife Deut. i. 12. And if they weary the good spirit of Moses doubtless they shall receive the recompence of their own bitter spirit Nay if the Ruler be not the better for your good word let him not be the worse for your undutiful language A reasonable thing as can be askt If you will not honour him do not murmur at him that 's the least that can be required and too little in conscience But we must get what we can from bad debtors To be short in this point if you speak evil of that which you are bound to praise if you fall foul on the ways of God because you will not wait his leisure if you pick quarrels at good things for which you are bound to give thanks I appeal not as I might to mans judgment to dry up the filth that runs from faction with the spunge of the Laws I refer them to God and to the Host of his venemous creatures which he will send to correct their poisonous tongues The sin is like to nothing more than an Asp or Viper no serpent so much a serpent as a murmuring spirit therefore such a punishment was a fit cover to clap upon such a sin The Lord sent serpents among them A Judgment 1. vile 2. painful 3. strong 4. incurable First a vile one to die serpent-bitten was inglorious to the warlike stomach of that People their sword could not help them and if they kept not in their Tents like Prisoners one of these Sergeants of God would shoot through the air and clap upon them Let no man say a woman slew me says Abimelech Judg ix 54. Let not the uncircumcised thrust me through says Saul 1 Sam. xxxi 4. But this was far below them both and most opprobrious to humane nature For as the Devil could not choose a viler creature wherein to tempt us so there is not a meaner on earth to chastise us They might be for ought we know created on purpose for this office of wrath as the Frogs and Locusts in Egypt or gathered from all quarters to fall thick upon their Camp as Quails were brought from all places to feed them there might be store of them in the Wilderness before now but never stirred up till now to do execution I define it not but which way soever they came they were never a whit the better It is a reproach upon man who had the dominion of the Creatures and saw them all put under his feet that every paultry worm is able to turn against him and bring him to the dust Marvel not
the Lord then Hezekiah chatters like a Swallow the day of trial begins to be nearly discerned But how much better is it to do this in your health and before your strength faileth There is nothing more sorrowful to the Devil than the godly sorrow of the Saints When his tentations come upon you open the flood-gates let in the sluces and drown them The Ark was made to float upon the Waters when the wicked world was drowned So the true Church of Christ shall be carried in safety upon the streams of devout tears Weep and lament the evil days that are past and be comforted that there is an Age an Eternity to come when God will wipe away all tears from our eyes Onward now to the next Point the third part of that remedy which Nehemiah used to cure the wound of a troubled soul says he I mourned certain days The heavenly water which fell from his eyes brought forth no weeds but sad and serious Repentance which ejected all light joy The Israelites in their days of distress had some outward badges of mourning as covering the head and lip not washing the face not combing the hair putting on Sackcloth or other sad rayment or such like Which whether they were to be seen in Nehemiah as I cannot affirm so I will not deny for I incline to perswade my self that he wanted not those outward marks and habilements of sorrow that the habit and grizly uncomposedness of his body might utter the affections of his mind But that which pleased God was the sorrow of the Heart and not of the Garment It is the distress of the soul with inward anguish that knocks at heaven for mercy and comfort will sooner shine upon them that cover themselves with darknâ—â—s and will not be comforted Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted Mat. v. 4. It is not a punishment but a gift of God to be endued with godly sorrow And all his gifts put together make a treasure of felicity Cum te video in conspectu Domini suspirantem spiritum sanctum non dubito aspirantem Cyprian de caenâ Domini When I see thee breath out sighs upon earth I discern that God hath breathed into thee his holy Spirit from heaven Now the same Spirit took on him the shape of a Dove when he came down from heaven to sit upon our Saeviour at his Baptism It is impossible to teach a Dove to sing a chearful note for Nature hath ingraffed in her a solemn mourning Gemitum pro cantu it doth not sing like other birds but groan and it is the Spirit that puts afflictive thoughts into our Spirit with groans unutterable O hang up the Harps of mirth for a while and let them remain untuned Lament the days wherein we have provoked the Lord to give us nothing but lamentation You never read that God will honour your joy to keep it in his everlasting remembrance but you are sure he will not forget your mourning says David Psal lvi 8. Thou tellest my flitting put my tears into thy Bottel are not these things noted in thy Book Nor doth he merely bear them in mind and keep them in his Register but Figuratively as some interpret it he wears them upon his head for says Christ Cant. v. 2. My head is filled with dew and my locks with the drops of the night as if he wore the tears of our mourning like drops of Pearl upon his head Dry eyes and unrelenting hearts are the curse of God as it is Ezek. xxiv 23. You shall not mourn nor weep but ye shall pine away for your iniquities Do you love to be heightned in your pleasures To be always conversant in joy and voluptuousness Would you never be wrinced with any sorrow for your sins O what a mischief is this which you long for If you do not mourn at some seasons if you do not fall into pious contristation you shall pine away in your iniquities I may not forget the continuance of Nehemiahs mourning it lasted certain days As a watry Moon breeds foul weather for an whole month after So when he began to be a mourner for the sins and scourges of his people he persevered till it came to some magnitude of afflictive compunction Nothing will come to any large increase in an hour therefore he produced his sorrow longer and longer and mourned certain days Not first a sigh and suddenly a flux of laughter upon it not humbled in fasting to day and pampering the body in all excess and riot to morrow Are there none here that will be so fickle and change so soon God grant it For a short acquaintance with godliness is soon forgotten He that catcheth at Repentance by sudden fits will never lay hold of it Insist upon good motions protract them to day and to morrow and continue many such days together that Piety may have its perfect course When you will scarce hold out the length of an hour nay hardly the length of the Lords Prayer but your mind is drawn off from the survey of Repentance you have done as good as nothing They that first did distribute apt times and seasons in the Church for the Service of God contrived forty days together in Lent for religious sorrow and humiliation a long time of perseverance indeed that we might be perfect in the Lesson As Moses continued forty days together in the Mount that he might be perfect in the Law of the Lord. All that I bend towards in my instruction is this That forasmuch as we have but this one day allotted for our exercise of extraordinary Prayer and Mortification the benefit may dispread unto to morrow and the morrow after and so spin it out that we may keep time with Nehemiah and say we have mourned certain days But why hath he not expressed how long he continued in this sad habit of repentance I mourned certain days and wherefore are his certain days so uncertain Because he did not keep reckoning with God and take a precise account how much service he did him as the Pharisee had it at his fingers ends I fast twice a week and as the most are perfect to number their few good deeds I give so much yearly to the poor I frequent the holy Communion so often I go now and then on working days to morning Prayer And perhaps before night some will break out into boasting how many hours they have spent at Church upon this solemn Fast This is to serve God by weight and measure and to score up every good minute we have spent lest the Lord should forget it But Nehemiah doth not make ostentation of the just length of time which he spent in devotion and sorrow but closeth it up indefinitely in this manner I mourned certain days And this mourning drew on another exercise of religious affliction which denominates the Piety of this day He fasted It is very proper that this partner should go hand in hand
neither thrive abroad nor at home Pyrrho haec Samnitibus I can wish our Enemies no greater harm than such corrupted minds That Pyrrhus it is in Plutarch was a rambling Warriour and cared not whom he oppressed Says Cyneas to him his best Counsellor Shall we live thus always No says Pyrrhus when we have vanquished the Romans Compotabimus in otio vivemus We will drink stoutly and live merrily His Horse would have said as much if he could have spoken that when his service was done he would stand in the Stable and eat his Provender But the end of War is Peace and the end of Peace is to die unto Sin and to live unto Righteousness These are the last words I have to say now In the justness of our Cause confidence of Faith fervour of Prayer amendment of our Lives United Hearts and in our Religious and Noble ends we commend our most serene and excellent Admiral the whole Royal and gallant Expedition which he manageth to God In whom alone is our help For there is none that fights for us powerfully and irresistably but only thou O God To which God c. A SERMON UPON PROV iii. 3. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee THE Children of Israel were exhorted from their Prophet Moses to write the Law upon the Posts of their doors and to have Copies of it in the Fringes of their Garments as if the whole Land of Jury had been bound into one Sacred Volume to make a Bible for them This was Mandatum latissimum as David said a Commandment exceeding broad but a Proverb being by the very interpretation of the name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as St. Basil says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a quaint speech used in every street of the City and every high way of the field it is more vulgar and common than the Law it self that thou maist be unexcusable O man when his words are gone forth into the ends of the world Now in this brief essay which I have read unto you as the Heathen were wont to set up the Image of Mercury in the turnings of high-ways to direct Passengers their journey which was called Mercurialis acervus so King Solomon in these words hath reared up a Pillar in the broad way to instruct our ignorance which is ready to turn aside and wander like the lost sheep that whithersoever we set our face we keep this Via Regia the Kings high way Let not c. Mercy and truth so excellent a workmanship that I reverse what I said before it is not like a Pillar set up for an heathen Idol but rather Solomon hath made a new Cherubin for a new Temple a Cherubin with two wings stretched out upon our soul The wings are Mercy and Truth which either bear up the body to heaven as David says My soul flieth unto the Lord before the morning watch I say before the morning watch Or if it grow laden with sin that so great a burden cannot be supported these wings can fly away alone these vertues will be gone like Elias in his firy Chariot for a wounded Conscience who can bear it But if it be true that Tertullian says Omnis spiritus ales est Every Spirit is winged to fly much more let the Spirit of every regenerate man be this Avis Paradisi that our soul may say as David the Sparrow hath found her a nest and the Swallow a place to lay her young ones even thine Altar O Lord of Hosts and being thus fledg'd Mercy and Truth shall not forsake us Out of which words I collect these parts in order The first wing of a Christian soul is Mercy He shall protect me under his wings and I shall be safe under his feathers so God was merciful unto David and mercy is a Wing Secondly The next that answers unto it is Truth For the word of the Lord is that flying roul which Ezekiel saw and the Word of the Lord is the truth it self so that Truth is a wing Thirdly Note their conjunction Mercy and Truth they are coupled together Mercy and Truth are met together righteousness and peace have kissed each other they met long ago in Christ the head and we must not part them in his members Fourthly You must know that we may be so careless in our holy Profession that we may be stript of all the good endowments which we had Mercy and Truth may forsake us and then say we had them Lastly If we look to our part the gifts of God are without repentance ne deserant let them not depart there is a careful way whereby we may imp these wings from flying that they shall not forsake us else ne deserant were sounding brass and no true doctrine these are the five Lamps it remains I put oyl into them I begin at Mercy the fairest Omen that ever the World had in it The unmerciful brethren of Joseph consulted to put the blame of their cruelty upon the beasts we will say a cruel beast hath devoured him It is very well that they durst not profess themselves to be men who were so barbarous But neither is â—t in every beast of the field to be stony hearted The fouls of the air are gentle in their kind witness the Ravens that fed Elias and for the Cattel upon the hills the Ass forsook not his old Master the Prophet that was rent by the Lion The meanest of Creatures then have mercy by instinct of nature yea and the most glorious also dread not the Angels though they be called flaming spirits but rather consider what pity they have shewn in their Function towards the Sons of men To execute Gods wrath few do always come down as loath to be Ministers of indignation One destroying Angel appeared to punish Jerusalem one alone brought weeping news to Bochim Jud. ii Three appeared unto Abraham to bring him the joyful Message of a Son but their company grew less by one and but two of them brought tidings to Lot of the vengeance of Sodom But Elishas Servant saw Chariots and Horsemen and thousands in the Mountain to protect them To publish peace and joy heaven it self as I may so speak it was empty and there appeared a multitude of the heavenly Host to the Shepherds and sang praises unto God surely then one of their wings is Mercy But we must fetch our example further than the Angels let us go boldly to the throne of grace and fetch it from the third heavens Be you merciful with a sicut says our Saviour as your heavenly Father is merciful And if we cast our eye upon that pattern it blossoms like the rod of Aaron into these two buds condonationem and donationem First To forgive and remit sins Secondly To give liberally as God hath enabled us In the first I will thus proceed First that it is Gods nature and property to forgive secondly that man should rather forgive than God It did well deserve record
no not in Israel Nor is this a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Heathen called it an embasement of a good courage for the humble man hath the loftiest mind of all others if it be well observed for he reckons not by the magnificent pomp and praise of the World though he have no little part in it but esteems God and nothing else to be his glory and because he doth give God the glory in all things that are excellent therefore he doth invite the Spirit of Grace unto himself by a religious policy as thus Grace is no longer Grace than you confess it is conferred by meer gift and frank benevolence The proud is so arrogant in all his thoughts that he would not yield to that he thinks it was his due which could not justly or at least congruously be denied him Needs must the rain fall down from such a steepy Mountain and where will it find a place to rest but in a little Valley in a lowly heart which magnifies the love and favour of Christ for the gift of the Spirit above all things but we had no right to ask it because we were sinful we had no understanding to desire it because we were foolish it is omni modo gratuita a good turn freely bestowed in all respects why do you not see says Bernard gratia nullibi nomen suum tuetur nisi in humili the Grace of God should quite lose its nature unless it dropt upon the humble man sink down therefore like a valley to receive this water for the Lord resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble 1 Pet. v. 5. Secondly The Spirit holds this Analogy with water it washeth away all filth from the soul and maketh the heart clean which was defiled No superstition hath lasted longer or spread further than one I shall name unto you that an external sousing of the body in water did quite take away the guilt of all those sins which had been committed by the body So Euripides as wise an Heathen as any in the pack 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dive but into the Sea and it would rense away all their iniquities then the Jews encurred this errour by that corruption which the Romans brought among them especially the Pharisees who if they had walked in the streets or been in the Market presently washt as soon as they came home lest they had toucht or been toucht by somewhat unawares which was defiled by the Gentiles And if they washt all was well No marvel therefore if the savage Moriscoes have a strong fancy to this day how their filthiness is purged away if they bath in some river water every morning It is more strange that the Russian Christians in these times should attribute secret power to such an idle Ceremony but most foppish of all that the Priests of Rome would lead their whole Church into this delusion that venial sins are done away if a few drops of an hallowed casting bottel light upon the gaping people and many a shrewd knavery passeth under the name of a venial sin as it is to be seen in their Cases of Conscience Against all their errours which I have recited I lay my conclusion again nothing but the grace of God that water indeed which is above the heavens doth wash away all filth from the soul and make the heart clean which was defiled The which will appear the better by noting this preeminence in their difference Elementary water well applied takes away all impure soil that cleaves to a vessel But can it add a brightness to the Vessel better than it had in the first making No you will say that is not to be expected I but such is the operation of inward grace when it maketh clean an earthen vessel is still no better than earth when it is rensed in a River but if the Spirit from above abide within us if it wash and sanctifie this Vessel of clay it overlays it with Gold and makes it more precious by far than ever Then but a word spoken with grace and in due season is like apples of gold with pictures of silver says Solomon O how much have we need of it We are all black before God like the Children of an Ethiopian says the Prophet Amos. We have Vultus adustos faces as if they were scorched with flames Jer. xiii 8. And of others whom God did begin to loath their visage is blacker than a coal Lam. iv 8. Black will take no colour we use to say there is no help for it either by Art or Nature but if the supernatural hand be stretched out upon us then the Blackmore shall change his skin and the Leopard his spots As the bloud of the Mother after the birth of her Child keeps not the colour of bloud but becomes milk in her breasts so after we are begotten again by the Spirit and bring forth the fruits thereof our bloudy sins shall become milk and though they be read as Scarlet they shall be white as snow Isa i. 18. Yea the Prophet says of Jerusalem while it served the Lord her Nazarites were whiter than snow purer than milk Lam. iv 7. Doth not David promise as much unto himself if the Lord would renew a right spirit within him Lavabis me dealbabor super nivem Thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter than the snow As if by the Sacred Unction from heaven his soul should have a new beauty which it never had before a plain Transfiguration such as our Saviours was in the Mount so that no Fuller upon earth could make a thing so white Solomon in all his Royalty was not cloathed like a Lilly of the field But take Solomon in his repentance whereof I perswade my self and his soul was much whiter than any Lilly in the field This is a superlative vertue wherewith the water in my Text is endowed to cleanse that which was foul from every spot and to make it surpass the whiteness which it had by nature Thirdly Happy is the tree that grows by the Rivers of waters No Plant can prosper unless sap and moysture nourish it So Grace is that coelestial water which supplies the root within us it makes the conscience abundant in good works and without it it is impossible to bring forth the fruits of righteousness Mark the rain which falls from heaven and the same shower which dropt out of one cloud increaseth sundry Plants in the same Garden according to the nature of the Plant. In one stalk it makes a Rose in another a Violet divers in a third but sweet in all So the Spirit is a moistning dew which works rare effects in several dispositions and all most acceptable to God Is your Complexion Cholerick Try thine own heart if it be apt to be zealous in a good cause If it be so it is the fruit of the Spirit that works upon your constitution Is Melancholy predominant The grace of God turns that sad
it 2. It makes us leave to thirst after vain delights by little and little 3. He that satiates his spirit with it in this life shall be discharged from all manner of thirst hereafter when he changeth this life to live with God for ever The first of these Propositions begets this lesson where sanctification hath moistned the inward man to the bottom and to the root there the heart is restless till it obtain a larger abundance of the spirit After this manner a good Proficient gains upon Gods blessing step by step Thou hast given me to know thee O Lord but confirm my faith also to believe in thee nay give me not onely to believe but to suffer for thy Names sake so shalt thou try and examine if there be any way of wickedness in me or if thou hast not reserv'd me for the Cup of afflictions yet prove me throughly by obedience grant that my works may please thee that I may do thy will on earth as it is in heaven Make thy Laws sweet unto my mouth sweeter than the honey and the honey-comb Such a one is Marcianus the Anchorite chronicled by Theodoret One of his ancient acquaintance being in chase after his Game found him alone in a Desart What make you so far from your friends says the Huntsman and what make you so far in the Woods says Marcianus I am hunting for a Beast says he and I will not leave till I have taken it and I am hunting for my God says Marcianus and I will not leave till I have found him Such a one by Procopius his description was Justinian the Emperor and such an Example was worth a thousand nulla honorandi Dei satietas cum cepit he was never cloyed to do God honor he never thought his duty was enough in Religious service The more we bend our affection to heavenly things we shall be enflamed with more devotion as devotion encreaseth the more help shall be added the more help the more diligence and the more diligence the more glory Nemo primo statim die ad satietatem potatur says one of the Moderns No man is made Christian enough in a day to go to the Kingdom of Heaven unless it be in such a rare example as that was of the penitent Thief It is a false spirit that says unto any mortal man it is well if you can keep at this stay and prove no worse Yet I know the greatest part of indifferent Christians are so affected to the love of the World that if it were possible to measure out to a dram what quantity of righteousness would serve them to attain to salvation they would reach so far if the Grace of God would assist them but they would seek no further I say if they knew the trick how to make just a Saint and no more they would spare a labour for seeking beyond that point and for the rest sacrifice to carnal security Certainly there can be no living water already where there is no thirsting for more Whatsoever you know or hear of that any Saint living or departed hath done for Gods sake it is a shame for you if you do not covet to do as much or more than that at least if you be not sorry that your frailties make you come short of the best Speak thus to your own heart Should any of thy Servants love thee better than I should any of thy Disciples be more obedient than I for none of thine Elect is so much indebted to thy Passion as I am because none had so many sins to be forgiven Thus your Soul must thirst to be the nearest that shall stand before the presence of the Lord and count your self extreme lag in perfection until you desire to come equal with the principal Saints Lord let me love thee as Peter did Lord let me love thee more than these Some cried Hosanna and shouted for ioy when our Saviour went to Jerusalem some cut down branches of Palms that was a more real expression of his welcome some spared their Garments from their back and laid them in his way These were the formost in affection and what a becoming thing it was to be the best of all those that ran forth to meet our Saviour but as if one should wish always to be a Child and never come to manly growth so is a lumpish Christian who perswades himself that a moderate competency of righteousness is best let others if they will strive to be those green Olive trees that flourish in the House of the Lord. The learned among the Heathen love to talk of strange Creatures and Plutarch tells of a Fish of which to eat a little is hurtful to eat it up all is medicinal True or false be the Story it comes fit to be applied Christ promiseth no blessing to him that doth but wet his lips with this living water a little spattering holiness will turn to hypocrisy the vertue of it abides with those that drink deep for the preserving and cherishing of a spiritual life and the thirsty Soul the more it drinks up the more it will cry out give me ever of this water to drink The second Experiment is this the water which Christ gives turns the edg of the appetite quite from this world and makes us leave to thirst after all other delights he that drinketh of this water though concupiscence cannot quite be rooted out yet he shall never long greedily after carnal lusts He that doth not hate his own Soul cannot be my Disciple is not this a Paradox for what shall it profit me to love all things else if I hate it well love it as it is Christs Soul altogether ravished with the love of him hate it as it was thine own Soul altogether ravished with the love of the world Tunc animam nostram benè odimus cum ejus carnalibus desideriis non acquiescimus says Gregory as a man seems to be ill affected to another if he deny him that he sues for so such heavenly resolutions by a Catachresis are called the hate of the Soul when we deny it satisfaction in foolish and earthly inclinations He that hath called promotion to honour or the fatness of riches or luxury or any such thing the darling of his heart it was for want of this water in my Text to cool the inflammation of his fever but if ever he receive a dose of it the new Wine is put in a new Bottle and both shall be preserved The grace of God doth supply the place of a Cherubin that stood with a flaming sword to keep Adam out of Paradise so the Holy Spirit will give the watch-word and cry out in the time of tentation turn aside and enter not into the paths of these pleasures these are not the Paradise into which you should come if you do there is a Sword that will cut you in twain and give you your portion with Hypocrites St. Austin observs upon the
it had been dried before the fire now that and bread made of Barley had need to be washed down But what said the Roman Captain to his Army Nilum habetis vinum quaeritis they that had the whole River of Nile before them need not complain of thirst so they that were near to the Sea of Tiberias took no thought for any other Beverage it was a Lake of wholsom and fresh water which after the custom of the Jews is called a Sea if it be large and spacious and with that they were contented to quench their thirst Our Saviour furnished them once with wine at the joyful Solemnity of Marriage they lookt not for the like at every occasion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is a pleasant liquor says the Poet but it is the Milk of Venus They declined all incentives of lust and lived almost after Daniels rate with pulse and water When Christians lived among the Heathen they were detected by their parsimony and moderation of diet though it were to save their lives they could not gurmandize like Epicures Nos oleris comas nos siliqua faeta legumine paverit innocuis epulis says Prudentius by temperance and fasting they got the mastery of the concupiscence of the flesh But above all Christians especially sobriety descended from the Apostles upon Ecclesiasticks it deserved a censure in them to exceed in delicious fare the Canons are extant and the proofs are authentique that the great and solemn Fasts of the Church well known to us were observed by them a good while before they were admitted by the People None know better than we says St. Austin that when temperance directs us to deny our selves those things that are lawful we are the better instructed to shun the sinful works of the Devil which are altogether unlawful The Apostles are our Forerunners in this frugality or rather austerity of food and yet to see that for all this they were scandalized for riotous libertines The imputation against them according to St. Matthew is this that they did not fast when the Disciples of John did In St. Luke more palpably spiteful they tell our Saviour that his Disciples did eat and drink why not would they have them macerate themselves with wilful famishment but could envy it self lay excess or intemperance to their charge I would we were as clear from the fault as they we that abuse the fertilness of our Land to rankness of gluttony we that pay more to the belly than we owe to the whole body who almost is not an Apicius that can maintain it what sin did ever grow up in any State to a more prodigious extremity but if the droughts of three years successively threatening dearth and scarcity will not affrighten this sin from our Table it is not a piece of a Sermon that will beat it down Yet I pray you remember that sharp Epiphonema of the Parable These three years have I come and found no fruit cut it down Nay God defend Why then expiate your surfeitings with Apostolical abstinence and forget not what a thrifty pittance they had in store even five barley loaves and two fishes And was this all and were they pleased that Christ should take that little from them and give it away to strangers yes it appears by Andrews answer they did not grudg it We have no more it is as good as nothing to feed such a multitude This implies as if he spoke the rest they shall have it all and much good do them if that will content them And was he so willing to part with that which was necessary for his own sustenance he had no more And will not we bestow our superfluities upon them that want Every luxuriant Vine must be largely pruned and he that hath much must scatter bountifully The Vine doth not miss the redundant branch and a rich mans Purse is like a River that doth not fall for a spoonful of contribution But when a poor man conjects heartily to any pious use his faith is proved as well as his charity is exercised for it is a sign that he believes that God will sustein him though he have emptied himself of all his substance in a small Oblation There are three things says Gregory that are most holy Sacrifices castitas in juventute sobrietas in ubertate liberalitas in paupertate liberality in poverty chastity in youth moderation in plenty And St. Chrysostom infers it from the readiness of the Disciples to part with all their homely Viands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 maunder not that you are scanted and have but little he that hath any thing hath somewhat to spare to lend to the needy When the poor Widow had conferr'd two Mites no less than all her living unto the godly uses of the Temple Christ avouched it in her praise it was more than all the rich ones had bestowed That is not by absolute but by proportionable quantity as Aquinas states it not measuring the magnitude of the Gift but the sincereness of the Charity Non perpendit quantum sed ex quanto proferatur says Bede God doth not estimate how much was given but out of how much it was taken It was more for her to give two mites than for Zacheus to give a talent So it was more for these Disciples to surrender up their five loaves and two fishes than for another to keep open house for all the poor in Jerusalem And these shall be the limits of the first point our Saviours bodily preparation to the ensuing Miracle accepit he took the loaves And what more beside accepit For the Miracle came not off without another preparation and that is Ghostly Postquam gratias egisset after he had given thanks Best take it with the full allowance as the other Evangelists have enlarged it that beside giving thanks he looked up to heaven and blessed So then before he brought the sign to pass he glorified his Father three ways with his Eye he looked up to heaven with his Tongue he gave thanks and with his Spirit he blessed If you will scan the value of an action by the rarity of it in holy Scripture and by the incidency upon none but great occasions then both these do concur in this that Christ looked up to heaven I call it to mind that it hapned three times that is not often now at this instant when he was about the miracle of the Loaves Once again when he raised Lazarus to life Joh. xi 41. And once more when he began his Prayer to his Father but a few minutes before he was apprehended to be crucified Joh. xvii 1. And the Tradition is of long continuance that he lifted up his eyes to heaven the fourth time when he consecrated the Elements at his Last Supper The Liturgies ascribed to St. James and St. Mark do remember it and upon the credulity of the example the Canon of the Mass in the Church of Rome commands it At all times you
the Apostle from him that sent him What if the Lycaonians are so ravished with the actions of such Instruments that they acknowledge no God but Barnabas and bring forth Sacrifice to offer unto Paul and not to Christ Why there is no remedy against wilful blindness There is a beam as big as the whole â—arth in their eye that will look about them and not above them Choose you whether you will be dazled with that vertue which our Saviour hath given to his holy Servants but this is the tenure of their Commission Joh. xiv 12. He that believeth on me the works that I do shall he do also and greater works than these shall he do That is multiply Loaves and Fishes as I have done and multiply them more than I have done Are you scandalized at this Truly I confess it is a word of no easie digestion that any Saint or friend of God should do greater works Majora If Christ had not said it who could have heard it with patient ears He doth not mean the works of the Law for no man ever did the like because none but the unspotted Son of God fulfilled the Law He doth not mean the works of Redemption and Salvation they were so proper to his own person as the Angels were not good enough to have any fellowship in them He means his Miracles most certain they were called works and none but they by the popular estimation For without them all that had been done beside to their palates had been impertinency or idleness But how shall we measure one by another that greater Miracles were brought forth than those which he effected Well enough says St. Austin For was it not more for the sick to be cured by the shadow of Peter passing by than by touching the hem of our Saviours Garment And again our Lord did cure diseases by speaking the word and laying on his hand yet the world was more amazed that evil Spirits were cast out of the Possessed if but an handkerchief was applied which was brought from the body of Paul And another Father it is St. Hierom puts it home that mightier things should be brought to pass at this day than ever were seen since the Creation if there were any just cause to declare the glory of God by such wonders If you say where is the promise that a Fig-tree should wither away and a Mountain be removed into the Sea when a strong Believer should say the word Did any Apostle or Martyr make trial and accomplish it Nevertheless says the Author the Promise is in force and if there were just occasion to pray unto the Father it should be executed Such things are not unproduced as it were upon emulation because the story of Christ you may think hath nothing to parallel such vast Miracles When the hour shall come to glorifie the Gospel such works shall be brought to pass which are apted for that end perhaps less perhaps greater than in former Ages Finally if it should be brought to pass at this day that twenty thousands were fed with one Loafe you should not say true if you affirmed it were a greater Miracle than Christ did for Jesus Christ yesterday and to day is the Author of that very Miracle So Theophylact hath a subtil note upon that Text of St. John that Christ did not say He that believes shall do greater things than I How was that Not of themselves possible when they did nothing of themselves but by him and his Spirit but thus they shall do greater things than these viz. when I assist them and they pray unto the Father So let us honour God in his Saints as that we rob not the Lord of his honour When he that is mighty hath magnified his Servants to do great things give unto the external cause all moral veneration but give unto the supernal cause all religious adoration None did distinguish upon this with a more singular dexterity and unanimity than these five thousand that were fed so marvellously in the Wilderness What they received was from the Disciples and from none beside and that which they received if it swelled miraculously in Christs hand it exceeded much more in the hands of the Disciples and yet the People were so prudent in taking the right way that they baulked the Disciples and glorified Jesus they found out the Founder and discerned him from his Instruments As it is a Proverb in Nazianzen Vestem consuit Istiaeus caeterum induit Aristagoras Istiaeus made the Coat Aristagoras did but wear the Coat So Christ made the Miracle the Apostles were no more than the representers or the publishers of the Miracle This was espied not by one or two but by the whole Assembly that had met in the Desart and they pick out Christ from the herd of the Disciples him they proclaim to be the Prophet that should come into the world they worship him they design him to be their King and nothing that appears was devised to gratifie the Disciples for they were not the primary Agents in whom supernatural power was immanent and habitual but Balislae Spiritus Sancti the Engines of the Holy Ghost that uttered forth such vertue as they received by his infusion As the gift of Prophesie is not born with the soul but comes by inspiration Or as the Peripateticks say that the Intelligences assist the Orbs of heaven and move them about but they do not move by a soul that informs them So it was not a native and ingenite quality which the Worthies of the Primitive Church had to speak with Tongues and to effect Wonders but an adventicious vertue according to the pleasure of him that distributes where he pleaseth In Christ the power is absolute home-born undependent in his Ministers it was but borrowed derivative dependent in him that was the brightness of his Fathers glory it is original and essential in his Servants it is gratuitous and accidental in him it is without measure and infinite in theirs it is limited and finite Far be it from us then to think that it gave the Disciples any precedency no nor equality no nor the least degree of comparison with their Master because when they distributed to them that sate down the Loaves increased in their hands more abundantly than they did in Christs I am now past the first Point the extraordinary grace that descended upon the Disciples but we that would walk in their steps according to the ordinary grace of God shall make more use to look upon them as boni viri and boni Pastores First As good men that gave liberally as God enabled them And the former grace would bear no price at all if it wanted this Though I have all faith so that I could remove Mountains and have no charity I am nothing but with this it makes a propitious conjunction As fast as Christ gave unto them they gave unto those that were in need Tu vade fac similiter There
trials of obedience Yet though their number was so great and cumbersom their weight had been more easie if they had been plain and perspicuous but the people underwent much geare and I think not one among an hundred did know the signification The substance of Religion was so darkly involved in the Types that happy was that Prophet or Prophets Son that could crack the shel to eat the kernel Who of the Vulgar rank could penetrate into the moral signification of those vices which were forbidden in the unclean Creatures Vt homines mundarentur pecora culpatu sunt says Tertullian The Law did seem to loath some beasts that we might know what God did love Was not the Salvation in Christ propounded to them in Signes And his death resembled in a Bullock slain at the Altar And what small comfort was there in that Pardon which was not intelligible to the poor Offendor Luther says well upon my Text that mans knowledge is unshackled it is at liberty when he discerns the naked truth in it self Cognitio est ancilla quando subjecta est velaminibus figurarum Our Wisdom is made a bondwoman subject to the captivity of Ignorance when it sees nothing but in the dark Glass of typical Obumbrations Thanks be to God that we are Scholars of the New Testament We are called to the manifestation of faith and love in Christ that we do not grope in darkness but walk in light for the Gospel is like a Glade which is cut through the grove of ancient Ceremonies Let me speak to this point once more Beside their excess in number and their cloudy obscurity there were unpleasing remembrances in them some that seemed to be mysteries of grace were likewise mystical Exprobrations and therefore referred by good Expositors to the hand-writing of Ordinances which is against us Col. ii 14. For Ceremonies take them not as Sacraments or Circumstances of Evangelical Service but as Yokes of the Law Nihil aliud erant quà m miseriae humanae publica professio They were imprints of humane misery not Expiations but Confessions of our iniquity Circumcision it accused the Israelites that they were born in sin Their frequent washings did testifie that there was filthiness in the Object The life of the Sacrifice spilt upon the ground pronounced him guilty of death that brought it to the Lord. I go no further because I would be compendious and I have said enough for this discovery that the Law of Ordinances was our Adversary But thanks be to that Saviour who blotted out the hand-writing payed the grand debt which we did owe and discharged the interest likewise when he evacuated the Levitical Ceremonies which is the first mark of the freedom of Jerusalem Yet be advised that we do not claim more immunity by this Chatter than is granted for that is ordinary to stretch out the name of liberty like cheveril Leather to what length we please some have assumed that they have good ground to blow up all our Modern Ceremonies with this Mine because Jerusalem is free from the yoke of Ordinances It is true our Jerusalem is free and therefore we are free for partus sequitur ventrem the Church appoints her own Orders of decency now and is not appointed nothing is imposed upon it with bond of necessary and perpetual observation the principality is upon her shoulders to make her Children submit to her prudent Constitutions But if particular men might challenge interest in this freedom as if they had scope to serve God with what order and comliness they pleased this were an uproar and not a freedom and a looseness like that of mad men when they have broke their Chains Certainly the liberty which God hath granted in setting our feet at large from these things with which the Priesthood of Aaron was charged it was to accommodate us with great grace and favour but if this should repel the bringing in of those Ceremonies which are means to beget the greater veneration of Religion the bounty of God which cannot be would turn to a prejudice his blessing to a cross and such as love the welfare of Sion might cry out O Lord we are oppressed with liberty Touching the substance of divine Worship it is written with Gods own finger in holy Scripture we must not add unto it Only God is pleased to try our judgment how we will administer it in the particular fashion His Worship is the Bread of Life sent down from heaven and not invented upon earth but for the manner of his Worship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Clemens says of humane Philosophy it is like the sauce in which the bread is dipt to make it savoury to this conditement Jerusalem is allowed to put her skil providing for comliness and honesty as a wise dispenser of the mysteries of God Was ever any thing of moment transacted without some graceful solemnity Or is man so governed by the Spirit that he can lift himself up to Heaven sufficiently by interiour Meditation I forget not that some will say yea the Body also serveth God by the tongue And I allow it for an excellent way to warm our zeal with the loud voice of prayer But this warmth will quickly cool unless some devout actions concur together and deeds are far more durable in the fancy than the memory of speech either to teach the understanding somewhat which it ought to consider or to move the heart to due reverence and regard which it ought to have in the performance of sacred matters Here let the new Jerusalem act her part this is her liberty to enjoyn such Ceremonies for the eye as may prepare the heart the better to feel the power of the grace of God and to prescribe such visible signs as will leave a deeper print behind them than bare exhortation I will add that by this power bequeathed to the Church some Jewish Ceremonies may be reteined as far as the state of the things will bear if they be followed only for outward order and not returning to that obstinately which must be disannulled because Christ is come in the flesh I confess that Spiritual Worship is best for it is most correspondent to his nature whom we worship God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit This is the reason that he says he hates Incense and effusion of bloud at his Altar such kind of service hath no assimilation with him who is incorporeal give him the Sacrifices of righteousness of prayers and mercy and thanksgiving qui corpus non est umbram non habet Approach not to him with shadows for he is a Spirit and not a Body yet in respect of us though not of himself he entertains the lowliness of bodily Worship as it hath a conveniency and conjunction with our nature The Lord is a Spirit and he even he alone gives law how he will be worshipped in spirit but we that worship him are bodily creatures and
disputation but to inward examination how you look to be freed from the fire of Hell when you shall stand before the Judgment Seat of God Will you trust to inherent righteousness and say it will be well for me this good I have done Or to the imputed justice of Christ which is true and perfect justice and pleaseth the eyes of God O there is no ground can be laid for peace and salvation but in his righteousness that justifieth a sinner They that carp at this take them from their sentences and quodlibets and search what they say in their Books of Devotions Manuals of Prayer Graduals of love and repentance Meditations of Death then nothing comes from them but O Lord deliver us O Saviour redeem us O Son of God remember not that which is past then they never fly to the bloudy Altar of the Law but to the Sanctuary of the Gospel In a word whosoever refers his justification in any part to a legal righteousness is yet in bondage but Jerusalem which is above is free It is this Covenant of Faith that turneth away the captivity of Jacob. Now under the Discipline of Faith the Spirit attracts us by love and meek perswasions it doth not threaten and bend the fist at us as the Law did and that 's the third part of bondage which our Jerusalem hath escaped it is not awed with compulsion and fear but it follows the direction of the Spirit with gladness which is the next step to the state of Angels It is not good for a Child to be too much scar'd by Praeceptors and Governours such nipping weather is an enemy to a flourishing Spring Then imagine what a shivering Ague it was to the Israelites Sons of God but not yet come to age as St. Paul describes them to struggle with so many austere Statutes as Moses gave them Scourgings loss of eyes loss of limbs burning stoning forfeiting the life of a man for the trespass of a beast losing the right hand for a casualty a moral man that knew not the strictness of Gods Judgments would say for a trifle Add unto these so many pollutions circumstantial natural that could not be helpt to be expiated with continual cost and labour add above all these that noise of Malediction louder than thunder Cursed is he that doth not continue in all the words of this Law to do them amidst these terrours that came so thick as they were good to bridle stubbornness so many generous resolutions of the mind that would have put forth must needs be suffocated The Angel of God when he came with a message from heaven and would have it intelligently received likely he began with this Preface Fear not Nay God did deliver this People from the fear of Pharaoh and his Host before ever he would give them a Law to serve him Men that are held to their Tasque by minacies Magis aguntur quà m agunt He that doth a thing out of love is carried to it by an internal complacency he is a self mover and the action is his own he that goes forward to his Tasque because the scourge is behind him the action is not his own raptatur ad obsequium his will rows against the stream but the Tide is so strong that it carries him with it by Coaction And that harvest of obedience which is reapt with the Sickle of stern dominion and threatning when all is done it is not worth the bringing into the barn For it keeps a man that he dares not break out into a scandalous transgression of the Law Is not that all The External Act is smooth and conformable to justice But what reformation is there all that while in the heart It is not fear but love which takes upon it to cure the concupiscence which is in the mind If there be no better School-master than fear the body may worship God alone and the mind remain an Idolater A longer declaration of this there needs not We all know that a Palsie of fear will shake Judgment out of the wit The Oratour that pleaded upon peril of his life Lugdunensem rhetor dicturus ad aram he would pronounce but badly and surely much of the imperfections of the Jews may be imputed to this that the Law did subject them to the Spirit of Bondage It is the Spirit of the New Testament which turns us about and sets us free from the superciliousness of the Law and it would have us please the Lord for his mercies sake and out of the sense of his goodness it exhorts us that our service should grow out of his favours and our duty out of his bounty and benefits so shall there be alacrity and readiness in the soul to all manner of vertue as well as passive obsequiousness in the body The Schoolmen observe it rightly that filial fear which is the freedom and ingenuity of obedience riseth out of the love of God but servile fear which is a plain captivity of Spirit riseth out of the love of our selves The Servant who goes through his Tasque that he may not suffer correction would do as much as may keep his skin whole that is for love of himself A Son that honoureth his Father and rejoyceth to hear his voice seeks his Fathers glory that he may receive of his glory and this is purely out of the love of God No wonder therefore if this hath redounded to far more fruits than ever the tree of the Law did bear which was pelted and beaten For as one hath noted it well Gods Church hath increased more by the love of God than by the terrour which he sent in the old time but when persecutions were rife it increased more by the terrours of men than by their love The use of it is that we serve God as those that are past the Spirit of bondage reverently with fear and chearfully without fear Faith is the great promoter of reverential fear and breeds in us an awe of Gods Majesty and a dread of his glory as the Cherubins do cover their faces with their wings before him This is clean and pure refined in the flame of love caused neither by sin nor punishment but it reflects upon the baseness of our own substance the Creature compares its own vileness with the infinite excellency of the Creator and so approacheth with all due distance of humility But Faith again cools the inflammation of servile fear with the water of Baptism wherein we were sprinkled with the bloud of Christ It teacheth us to decline offences with all care and study not to escape punishment but out of gratitude to him who hath done so great things for us It ingenders an ardent sollicitousness to be unblameable not because the wrath of the Lord is terrible when he is displeased but because his Mercy and Redemption deserve to be recompenced with all manner of obedience Labour for that integrity which is expected from one that is free from sin but a servant to
the old Greek Proverb goes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in every Pomgranat there are some corrupt kernels so there are some wicked ones in every Church 4. As the seeds of the Pomegranat are of a bloudy colour so the Robes of the Apostles and others the best kernels of the Church were red in the bloud of Martyrdom but made white in the bloud of the Lamb. The sum is in the whole Pomgranat in the lump we are the Body of Christ but take us one by one and consider us as sometimes we were darkness and now light in the Lord and that this fire was kindled in us all from the Altar of Christ Jesus and by them that minister at it so Jerusalem which is above is the Mother of us all For the most proper work of a Mother is to bring forth Children and the most proper work of a good Mother is to bring them up And because of these two Solomon in the same Canticle hath used this appellation which my Text doth I will bring thee into the House of my Mother that is the Church And though he were the greatest King one of them that ever the Earth saw yet it is no disparagement to him to call that his Mother which God calls his Spouse I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and faithfulness Hos ii 19. The Bridegroom hath taken this Bride unto him and their Offspring are multiplied and happy are those and none but they who are the legitimate Children of this sacred Marriage The Font of Baptism is the Womb of the Church the Spirit that moves upon the waters to sanctify them is the Father and from these two are brought forth the Sons of the Most High that shall dwell in glory for evermore And because of this indissoluble connexion between the Holy Ghost and this Spouse who is always present with it St. Austin notes that she must not only be a fruitful Mother in abundance of issue but also a pure Virgin because she knows none other Husband Ecclesia virgo est parit Mariam imitatur quae Dominum peperit the Church is both a Virgin and a Mother like the Mother of our Lord although a Mother yet of unquestioned virginity St. Ambrose runs more division upon the same string on this sort Sancta Ecclesia immaculata coit◠foecunda part◠virgo est castitate mater prole the holy Catholick Church keeps her Bed immaculate and yet her Offspring is innumerous a Mother by perpetual propagation and yet a Virgin by perpetual chastity Parit nos non dolore membrorum sed gaudio Angelorum nutrit nos non corporis lacte sed Apostolorum she is delivered of us with no pain or sorrow but with the joy of the Angels in Heaven she feeds us not with the breasts of a woman but the Milk of the Apostles which is better than Nectar to the Soul and the Manna that comes down from Heaven It is yet more admirable what God hath wrought upon this Jerusalem by demonstration of the Spirit and of power We are the dispersions of the Gentiles that are now the People of the Lord we were as a Strumpet that went a whoring after Idols and God hath betrothed this Church unto him and made it an unpolluted Virgin I deny not but lament it that there are some Christian stations affected towards Idolatry which renews the infamy of our ancient whoredoms But whatsoever our Mother is now our Grandmother was chaste and pure in Hegesippus dayes Take it in that sincerity of practice and Doctrin and then you may see the mighty works of Christ to turn an Harlot into a Virgin and a Virgin into a Mother Magna est sponsae singularis dignitas meretricem invenit virginem fecit says St. Austin this is the great and singular dignity of the Bride which hath prepared her self to meet the Bridegroom that comes from Heaven he hath changed her whoredom into virginity and multiplied her virginity into foecundity that she is the Mother of us all You see the Mother through whose Ministery every Christian is born again of water and of the Holy Spirt neque parcit unigenito pro sic genito the Father did not spare his only begotten Son that we might be thus begotten But is there no more that belongs to a Mother than to bring forth yes says Clemens Alexandrinus and I quote him because he speaks of the Church every thing that brings forth is obliged by nature to supply nourishment unto that which it brings forth I am not so rigid but I will grant that in cases of weakness and divers accidental indispositions that which nature doth ordinarily urge and provide for may be dispensed but this rule is born with every Female that which is so fruitful as to be a Mother should be so careful as to be a Nurse And so is the Church Not only Moses the Law-giver carried the People of Promise as a nursing Father carrieth his Child Num. xi 12. by tenderness by ordering their steps by breeding them in good Precepts and Laws but the Apostles were much more laborious to feed the Christian Proselytes with the Word of life that they might grow up from grace to grace unto the stature of perfect righteousness I have fed you with Milk says St. Paul to the newly converted Corinthians 1 Cor. iii. 2. and he suppeditated stronger meat to them that could digest it And for all manner of sweetness and forbearance he behaved himself gently among the Thessalonians as a Nurse cherisheth her Children 1 Thes ii 7. Every Rule and Doctrin which is delivered sincerely and in truth is Milk to those that thirst to drink of the Well of salvation Honey and Milk are under thy tongue says Solomon speaking of this Mother and Nurse Cant. iv xi Milk is a pleasant food so is the Gospel to them that have a spiritual taste there is no Aloes or bitterness in it but to them that have a carnal palat It is Antalcidas his answer in Plutarch to one that asked how he might speak that which might be accepted says he Si loquaris jucundissima praestes utilissima if you will deliver that which is most pleasant and season it with that which is most profitable so that which is sucked from the Breasts of this Parent arrides the taste with sweetness and it is as profitable as sweet and called Milk because it is a most growing nourishment 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Naturalists as they were accounted plain and innocent above all other People so they did excel for health and magnitude of body Be admonished therefore that such Christians as wax not better and better take some other thing for their nourishment than the Milk of the Church which doth not prosper in them If you do not grow and add virtue to virtue you have chosen a Nurse with dry breasts and whose complexion is diverse
apt to be separated I suppose an Epicure may lose his conscience in a mist for a little while and dispute it like a Galenist that the soul is nothing else but the temperature of the first qualities and so in death extinguished but can you imagine that the Spirit it self doth not often give him the lie and say within his breast you do me wrong I am immortal Verily I believe that they that put it off doubtingly and would be uncontrouled in their voluptuousness it may be it is not so are often tormented with the other part of the opinion it may be it is so If you will hear this truth upheld out of holy Scripture there is no resistance or cavillation against it Because I will not tie my self to every Text which chimes that way I will choose compendiously where others have made choice before me The Sadduces being stiff opposers against the separated existence of the Spirit and yet commending themselves in the Holy Patriarchs from whose Loyns they descended our Saviour selected that Scripture above all other to convict them which would catch them in their own net I am the God of Abraham the God of Isaac the God of Jacob God is not the God of the dead but of the living How was God the God of Abraham unless he lived And in what did Abraham live but in his soul which was divorced from the body Irenaeus admires that any one should doubt of the souls perseverance after death since the enarration is so â—lear that the rich man saw Lazarus in joys when himself was tormented St. Hierom sets his rest upon those words Mat. x. 22. Fear not them that kill the body but are not able to kill the soul St. Austin recommends the words of Stephen to nick the Point without all contradiction Lord Jesus receive my Spirit Si animus moriturus esset causae nihil foret cur animum potiùs quà m corpus commendaret Aquinas against the Gentiles lays his strength upon that place of St. Paul 2 Cor. v. 8. We are confident and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with God One quotation were enough then how forcible are all these together He must be a beast in understanding that knows not that the souls of good men are Angels in reversion There are others that profess so much faith that the soul hath a state of happiness in reversion to those that die in the favour of God But that it comes not to any gust of this happiness till the end of the World For the soul say they falls asleep when the body perisheth that is it dies together with the body and when the flesh shall be quickned again and gathered out of the dust then the soul shall live again when both it and the body shall be exalted in the Resurrection I do not create Monsters to fight with all St. Austin found such Hereticks in his days he calls them Arabians who taught it every where that the Soul had no being after death till in the consummation of the World they both obtained together a joyful Resurrection Nay these Tares were sown long before St. Austin lived Irenaeus took the pains to root them up in his Age and he confutes them out of my Text says he how did St. John see the souls of the Martyrs who had been slain for the Testimony of Christ if the Soul should cease to be till the final Resurrection And if a Caviller shall say it doth not cease to be but it lies quiet and senseless in a trance Irenaeus blunts the point of that objection because in the next verse they desire vengeance for their bloud that was shed but principally because in the eleventh verse they are clad in white garments which are cognizances of their joy and glory and doubtless they wear them not sleeping but waking And do not think that I rake in the ashes of ancient Heresies that are quite forgotten For the Anabaptists in their Theses Printed at Cracovia Anno 1568 have this position We deny that any Soul hath a separated being after death that was a devise invented by the Papists to maintain Invocation of Saints and Purgatory this is Popery trimly reformed and according to that Proverb of the Jews they cast out Devils through Beelzebub the Prince of Devils And even at this day a new Generation of Vipers risen up at Racovia in Polonia do pledge the Anabaptists in the same cup namely that there is a futurition of glory for the soul when the whole Fabrick of man shall be redintegrated again in the Resurrection but they profess they cannot tell whether in the mean time there be any such thing extant as a separated soul yet St. Paul says he desires to be dissolved and to be with Christ And yet Christ told the good Thief that day he should be with him in Paradise And yet the Souls of just men departed do follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes Rev. xiv 4. These instances are more perswasive I am sure than that which they pretend that the Just do rest from their labours What rest in Gods name do they dream of They are not in a profound trance without motion or action as Adam was cast into a deep sleep when Eve was taken out of his side but it is a rest when the Spirit doth acquiesce in the Vision of God as David said Turn again unto thy rest O my soul for the Lord hath rewarded thee There are some that I must afford a little Patronage who are accused to lean to the Anabaptists in their opinion that do nothing less It was allowed for 1400 years as a Problem wherein Christians without breach of charity might have Latitude to dissent granting that the soul after the dissolution from the body was received into the joys of heaven whether it be not sequestred in some distance from the highest heaven where the invisible God doth chiefly reign in Power and Majesty till the whole Body of the Saints be accomplished It is well known what way St. Bernard took Nec sancti sine plebe nec spiritus sine carne That such as die before us shall not see the Beatifical Vision of the holy Trinity without us nor without their own body and that an integral Beatitude is not given but to an integral person And Calvin hath taken his freedom to be of the same mind says he Christ himself only is entred into the supreme Sanctuary of Heaven Et solus populi eminus in atrio residentis vota ad Deum defert and he alone commends the Petitions of the Saints to his Father whose Spirits attend in the outward Courts Those over-awing Fathers of the Florentine and Tridentine Councils have defined it indeed as an irrefragable Article of Faith that the Saints enjoy the most perfect Vision of God immediately after death What is that to us who will not lose our moderation in indifferent points for their
sakes But Cornelius à Lapide the Jesuit puts the infamy of an Anabaptist upon Calvin as if he had taught that the soul departed had no sense or taste at all of the glory of God Why did he not censure Ambrose and Bernard Why did he not spit his venom upon Pope John the XXII There was good reason for that if we may believe Gerson a most grave Author of their own part But Calvin was the first that ever I met withall who writ a voluminous Treatise to prove that the souls of good men after this life have their quartering and Mansion in Heaven that they are not insensible of their state or benummed in sleep or fettered with darkness but that they praise the Lord continually and Christ that redeemed them which is consonant to this Point of my Text that John saw the souls under the Altar Yet I like not their way who are so careful to teach the people that the souls deceased do not sleep that they keep themselves waking with a thousand Fictions and Impostures there is scarce one leaf written of any Saint in the Church of Rome especially of the modern ones but you shall meet with two or three sprinklings in it how his soul appeared in this or that manner to his friends upon earth their posthumous miracles after their death exceed the number of those which they did when they were living And if any thing be out of order it is straitway rectified with an apparition And from whence think you the Elf or Goblin comes that appears From a place where I am sure this good Apostle saw no souls from the correction house of Purgatory Their Larvae or night-walking souls are their best Doctors for the confirmation of that opinion Ask Gregory the Great else who could urge little beside to gain credit to his opinion for the temporary chastisements of the faithful after this life but as the dead came and made relation to their surviving acquaintance Some silly men were first affrighted out of their wits with a gastly Vision and then guess you who it was that taught them points of Religion But four ages ran out after Gregories time before this cousenage grew trivial and common Gregory the Fourth in the year 835. decreed that a Solemn Feast should be held over all the Church to the memory of all the Saints in heaven that whatsoever was not fully performed in the Feasts and Vigils of particular Saints might be consummated on that day this was nothing to the puling souls detained in the prison of temporary castigation But almost two hundred years after Odilo the Abot of Cluni in commiseration to them that were departed in his own Monastery dedicated a day for the relief of their souls not yet admitted into heaven And Pope Jo. XVIII anno 1007 taking light from Odilo commanded the Feast of all Souls to be general in all places The Devil wanted nothing but the opening of this door to beat down all opposites with apparitions And let the Readers mark it that from that Age not a Book was written not a Chapter of a Book but it relates what Nocturnal Mercuries appeared to bring tidings from Purgatory Some Jangler will catch at this and say Belike you reject all Apparitions of the dead for lies or Demoniacal Impostures If I should I had Tertullian to abet me Omnem mortuorum exhibitionem incorporalem praestigias judices All incorporeal Phantosms of the dead are juglings and delusions And if any point of doctrine depend upon the sleeveless Errands that the souls departed bring I do renounce them for delusions We have Moses and the Prophets and we are certain their Spirits are ever to be preferred before any Spirit that comes from the dead For the living to go to the dead says the Prophet Isaiah none of that but to the Law and to the Testimony Isa viii 19. Rabbi Maimon says that some superstitious Jews would burn Incense among the graves that the dead might come and talk with them And therefore God said that man should be cut off from among the people that sought the truth among the dead Deut. xviii 11. Yet I deny it not but that the divine power hath sometimes presented the Saints departed to communicate with the living as they that appeared in the holy City to testifie our Saviours Resurrection Mat. xxvii Likewise in the 2. of Mach. Chap. ult Onius who once had been High Priest he was exhibited being dead to Judas Machabaeus that is another instance if you have any stomack to that Historian But the upshot is that Souls have been seen in heaven that was the Vision of St. John so Souls may be sent from Heaven but not from Purgatory Through fire I confess these souls had passed which the Apostle saw yet not through that subterraneous fire which they imagine but through the fire of Martyrdom and persecution He saw the Souls of them that were slain for the Word of God and for the Testimony which they held And if it be true as none of the worst Expositors conjecture that the computation of the fifth Seal opened immediately before the words of my Text is rightly calculated at what time Dioclesian did cease to make havock in the Church it was a very fit time to see souls in heaven slain for the Word of God it was thwackt with Martyrs like an hive with Bees For burning of Churches for massacring of Christians for Proscription of Innocents no Persecution was ever like it It lasted ten whole years without ceasing and in the first year of his Reign in Egypt only an hundred forty and four thousand Christians were put to death beside seventy thousand that were banisht insomuch says Scaliger that the Epocha of Dioclesian is called the Epocha of the Martyrs in Chronology Who would have thought that the Posterity of Cham a Generation branded with dark and unlovely visages should have afforded so many sacrifices to be offered up unto the glory of Jesus Christ Well might the Church of Aethiopia sing the Canticle of Solomon I am black but comely O ye Daughters of Jerusalem And not only these but exceeding great numbers of Bishops Priests and People in all quarters of the habitable world a long bedroll of faithful men and women in this Island did taste of the bitter Cup under the same Tyrant Fathers lost their Children Children lack'd their Parents the Wife missed her Husband and one friend another whom St. John hath found altogether making up one Chorus of blessed Spirits and while Rachel the Church below mourneth for her Children Jerusalem which is above the Mother of us all rejoyceth for them Martyrdom is the way to sublimate death into a Cordial which was a poyson the means to make that a blessing which was a curse upon our nature A Traffick proper to none but to the Citizens of the supernal City to secure our whole adventure not by assuring but by losing their life It is not only the
served under Decius the Emperour in Affrica banished hundreds of Christians out of Affrica threatning death unto them if they returned Divers of them did creep in secretly giving reason that they came to comfort their Brethren and to strengthen them in the faith St. Cyprian writes to them out of Prison to exile themselves again and to return no more else if they suffered they should be reputed not for Martyrs but for Malefactors I will not load them with envy though it be true that many of their Tenebrioes crept into England with damnable intentions make the best they can of their own actions St. Cyprian says if banisht men will enter into a Realm against the Law they shall die as Malefactors It is the Cause and not the Punishment that makes a Martyr What more trivial If a Virgin choose to die rather than to be ravished she is slain for the Word of If a good man be ruined rather than give his assistance to the ruine of an innocent it is for the Word of God c. But if he be brought to the Stake for confessing there are no Gods made with hands and that Jesus Christ God and man is the Saviour of all that believe if he stand to it and will not flinch for any terrour that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to hold his Testimony then he is slain for the Word of God and for the Testimony of the Lamb as the Dragon fought with them that kept the Commandments of God and had the Testimony of Jesus Christ meaning such as were holy and faithful very godly in their works very Orthodox in their belief This is that mixture of sweet Spices in whose exhalation a Martyr becomes an odour of a sweet savour unto the Lord. They were victimae altaris and thymiamata altaris Sacrifices slain upon the Altar of burnt-offerings and therefore became sweet Spices offered up upon the Altar of Incense which shall be the conclusion of this Point and the beginning of the next where the Apostle did behold those Saints that had exchanged their lives to glorifie God under the Altar And where doth St. John mean Where about is that Every curious itching ear will be more attentive to it than to any instruction that can be raised out of the Text A Traveller that asks his way if many of the Country Folk be present at his question it is ten to one but they will diversifie in their opinions and set him in so many ways that he shall never be wiser for their direction So I have consulted with more than a few Expositors to learn where I may find this Altar and not miss of it one points this way another that way Et incertior sum multò quà m dudum Among their variety of directions I know not which way to move Cosmography is a very easie part of learning to design the confines or distances of City from City Kingdom from Kingdom But it is one of the most difficult tasks in Divinity to understand the several quarterings and Mansion-places of heaven I confess I have no skill in Ouranography But to cut off all Proem I will be brief in my relation what is said to it and more brief in my determination The discordious opinions may be drawn to three heads some mean by the Altar an allotted place some relate it to the condition of their body some refer it to the state and condition of their Spirit Whosoever give the words a local meaning that the Souls were under the Altar they all agree in this that it imports that the Saints are kept back awhile from the uppermost part of Heaven where the Angels do offer up Praises continually upon the Altar of Incense which is next to the Holy of Holies and they that have not the nearest access to the Vision of God in form of Prophetical speech may be said to be under the Altar Some who pitcht upon this Interpretation had such fumes in their heads that they did not see the light Tertullian conceived that their Mansion was an earthly Paradise whither Enoch and Elias are translated Origen you may be sure hath some roaving excursion it is thus that the souls of the Faithful are put to School in some secret places before they go to heaven where they are purified from ignorance by degrees and then exalted Victorinus Afer a better Rhetorician than a Divine thinks that to be under the Altar is as if the souls were under the earth in some ample and pleasant regions like the Elysian Fields All these are humane Phantasies and I slip them aside But the most beaten rode to this purpose is that the souls of the Martyrs have a remuneration for their labours and sufferings past but not a consummation of that glory which shall be revealed unto them a share in Heaven but not a possession in the highest Heaven In atriis non in domo They are kept a loof off from the perfect Vision of God in the fulness of time they shall see him face to face Which is Bernards meaning when he says the blessed that are under the Altar because they are admitted to see the Humane Nature of Christ and not the Divine Not so as if totally they did see nothing of the Divine Nature but because they see it with less perspicacity than they shall hereafter so St. Ambrose and St. Hilary close with him And St. Chrysostom upon the Eleventh to the Hebrews Praeveniunt nos in certaminibus non praevenient in coronis they have fought a good fight before us but they shall not be crowned before us not because our Resurrection shall be at once the words will not bear it and the body is but the Robe which we shall put on the glory with which we shall be filled brim full that is the Crown which we shall wear in our Fathers Kingdom I know this is much distasteful to the Prelates of the Florentine and Tridentine Councils who have defined that the pure Souls in heaven enjoy the clearest Vision of God before the day of Judgment and want nothing to their integral happiness but the resuscitation of their bodies It may be so as they will have it But I am contented to say their state is Heaven and will go no further Neither can I see cause why the Churches of Christ should dissent if one say without pervicacious obstinacy the Spirits of righteous men are in the highest Heaven and another will say nothing peremptorily but that they are in Heaven indeed and do live with the Lord. Malo timidus esse quà m temerarius The Conclusion now is thus much That if this be granted for a Local Posture that the Souls are under the Altar there is nothing against Analogy of Faith to say they are in the outward Rooms of Heaven and stay there in expectation of more abundant glory Secondly Some relate this to the condition of their bodies And the Jesuits Ribera and à Lapide will have no
denial but that they have brought the Point to the true Touchstone I quoated somewhat out of St. Ambrose before that the bodies of some who gave up their life for the Faith were interred in the Church under the Lords Table which with reference to the representation of the Sacrifice of Christ Crucified is figuratively called an Altar St. Austin confirms it There let their dead corpses be interred where the death of our Lord is continually celebrated And in later years when they studied for increase of Ceremonies every principal Church under the Pontifician command hath a Vault under the Altar where the supposed Reliques of the Martyrs or the Reliques of supposed Martyrs are reserved Out of these Ritual Forms the Jesuits interpret St. John that he saw the Souls of them that were slain for the word whose bodies lay encombed under the Altar and whose Reliques were kept there in custody They had need of a long Figure to bring these ends together Neither shall they ever perswade me that St. John bends his aim at a Custom of Sepulture which began above two hundred years after he wrote his Prophesie No toleration can be found for the burial of the Martyrs in those holy places till the Pacificous Reign of Constantine the Great And how did the Church understand this Scripture in the mean time A Modern Writer of our own handles it much more learnedly to the same relation He notes it very acutely that the Theater wherein St. John saw all his Visions hath a resemblance in every part to the Camp of Israel and to the Tabernacle of Moses in the Wilderness it is enough to have named it Now the Apostle being acquainted by the Spirit what innumerous Troops of Martyrs should be slaughtered he saw as it were the Altar of burnt-offerings belonging to the Tabernacle and the Saints that were sacrificed to God were under it not as ashes are underneath that fall through a grate but they lay like beasts newly slain at the foot of the Altar that is sprauling upon the ground before the Altar The Soul then is taken by Synechdoche here for the whole man or according to the usual style of Scripture for the body of the man The conjecture I think may pass for probable and judicious There is but one thing to disparage it it is but one mans conjecture But if you will hear that which hath judgment to commend it and multitude of Authors it is likely to be found among them that in the third place refer this figuratively to the condition of their Spirits Yet I mean not him that says the Ark and the Covering thereof did represent Gods Mercy Seat but the Altar did represent his Justice for it was the place of fire and bloudshed and that these souls were under the Altar that is under the Justice of God to be avenged of their Adversaries It is nothing so for as it appears by them that fled unto it for refuge the Altar was a place of Propitiation The Altar here by the greatest number of votes is He that mitigates the stern Justice of his Father Jesus Christus Agnus propter mactationem Altare propter propitiationem He is all by whatsoever we are reconciled to God the Altar the Priest and the Sacrifice St. Gregory proves it that the Altars of the Levitical Service were express Types of him for either they were to be made of rude earth Temeraria de sespite altaria in Tertullians words or of rough and unpolisht stones Exod. xx Wherefore of earth but to betoken the Incarnation of our Lord Quicquid offerimus Deo in altari terreo i. e. in fide Dominicae incarnationis solidamus Whatsoever we bring unto God lay it upon the earthen Altar upon this faith that Christ was incarnate to save his people from their sins When the Altar was made of stone it was rough and unpolisht and in those materials likewise we shall meet with Christ For he was the Living Stone in Daniel cut out of the Mountain without hands neither was he polisht by Art by Education or by any thing that man can put into him as he came from the Quarry from the Womb of his Mother he was full of Grace and Truth This standing is firm that the term of Altar agrees well with our Saviour many reasons may be easily rendred why the souls of the Blessed were under the Altar 1. Says Estius a little too slightly They have not yet attained to be like the glorious body of Christ they have not resumed their Carkasses as He is risen from the dead they are yet below His dignity and so under the Altar 2. The Just that died in the Lord in the Old Law are said to be in Abrahams bosom because they professed the Faith of Abraham so they that died in the Faith of the Gospel that Christ is the Altar upon whom all our works that please God are to be offered up their Souls are under that Altar 3. As Lazarus the poor man full of Piety is said to be in Abrahams bosom as if he were placed in heaven next to Abraham so the godly Martyrs are next to the Altar for dignity of glorification next to Christ himself and wheresoever the Carkass is thither will the Eagles be gathered together Luk. xvii Lastly Which takes me most the persecuted Saints had no shelter on earth to defend them now their souls are at rest disquieted with no fear under the protection and custody of Christ Under him we are in safety upon earth and no man can take his sheep out of his hand and under his Wings we shall be safe in Heaven for ever yea and though we have the faith of Martyrs to spend our life for the love of God yet our hope is not in ourselves but to be covered with the Altar to run to Christ as to our Shield and Buckler without his Merits to assoil us from our sins Martyrs cannot appear before the face of God O prepare your selves to come unto this holy Sanctuary He that comes with an hypocritical Conscience to partake of the Altar of the Lords Table he shall find no place for his Soul under that Altar which is above And take heed of high imaginations and exalted thoughts Our state in Heaven is subter and not super And all subters in this World are not worth a good mans thought to reflect upon them Let me be an underling let me be abased let me go down to the lowest Room let my Spirit aim at nothing but to be Templum sub altari the Temple of God here that hereafter I may rest under the Altar in life everlasting AMEN A SERMON UPON REVEL vi 10. And they cried with a loud voice saying How long O Lord holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our bloud on them that dwell on the Earth NOthing may seem more out of order than these words are at the first reading but their true scope is to put that in
rogat negare docet A saint Petitioner addresseth himself as if he meant to be denied But when you find a robustiousness in your Spirit that you are set to wrestle with God to cry out and not to give over it is an enlightning that you shall prevail but all the while that you are sluggish in asking it is an ill Presage that the time of mercy is not come Yet secondly Though the Lord be but modestly or rather remissly called upon for pardons and blessins out of his indulgence he will meet with our desires and crown them Two of Johns Disciples said unto our Saviour no more but this Rabbi where dwellest thou They did scarce knock at door and yet Christ invited them into his Train he bad them come and see But his sufferance and patience is so great that yellings and clamours must awake him before He be stirred up to vengeance He forgives one injury connives at another bears with a third and fourth it may be a year runs on perhaps seven perhaps an Age and Oppressors slide away without a check at last when their insolencies make a noise over all the Earth and roar like Bulls of Basan then the Avenger awakes out of sleep like a Giant that is refresht with Wine Thirdly Oppression and tyrannizing over the poor and helpless make the loudest clamours of any sins in the ears of God they will follow the unjust Rulers of the world like an heard of Wolves howling and yelling and tear up their Carkasses out of their very Graves There are but four sins that are said to cry in all the Scripture the bloud of Abel Gen. iv and that was for Oppression The bondage of the Israelites in Egypt and that was for Oppression The hire of the Labourer kept back by fraud Jam. v. 4. And that was for Oppression And the licenciousness of the Sodomites Gen. xviii who among their other crimes did most injuriously insult over Lot because he was a stranger and so you see that even their exorbitancy was not without Oppression Do not the tears run down the Widows cheeks And is not her cry against him that causeth them to fall Eccl. xxxv 15. You see that pious Author ascribes a crying and a clamour to the tears of the Widow and that also is for Oppression therefore I am sure it will be the Oppressors own turn to cry at the last in the place where there is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth Cast your eye back now to the two former Points which I have handled to bring on the next the Souls of the righteous that have shed their bloud for the Testimony of Christ make Prayers that their slaughter may be revenged Fatal tidings to their Murderers the Martyrs cry out vehemently to have their Petition sign'd with a Fiat ut petitur a dismal exclamation to their Persecutors Nor is it one shreek and away but cry upon cry followed with instance and importunity They will never give over till vengeance light at last on their Enemies Witness this Vsque quo How long Lord The Author of the Second Book of Esdras Chap. iv 35. alludes to these words on this manner Did not the Souls of the righteous ask questions of these things in their Chambers Saying How long shall I hope in this fashion When cometh the fruit of out reward Surely he meant that the Saints begg'd continually for the augmentation of their triumph by the Resurrection of the body Others suppose it to be a vehement efflagitation that God would collect his Church into one body in Heaven and reveal his glory and that nothing doth hinder this but the destroying the man of sin and his adherents who have crush'd the Servants of God with a rod of Iron therefore they press it passionately that those that let the second appearance of Christ in glory may be taken out of the way St. Austin in one place exhorts his Auditors to holiness of life with this perswasion that the Saints in Heaven are hindred of their desires by our remissness in Piety We must accomplish the number of our good works before the end of all things come Et dum nos retardamus sanguis martyrum inultus est While we dispatch not apace to do our tasque the wicked flourish in their pomp and power and the bloud of the Martyrs is unrevenged All that draw this Line you may note it they apprehend that the words of my Text are the personal complaint of the Souls under the Altar and not the interpellation of their injuries I quarrel not the opinion for it is modest and rational But I will help it out of the briars of one scruple No man is so censorious to impute it to the Society of the Blessed as if they contended with Gods Justice that he delayed them they are cleared from all such impatiency or expostulation because they call him holy and true But we may ask what they mean to solicite him with Vsque quo's For they know that his Decrees are fix'd and that one minute of that time which he hath set shall not be broken though all the Angels made intercession The answer is to this and such case Preces fidelium antecedenter se habent ad Dei decretum non consequenter The Servants of God pray for Mercies or Judgments to be hastened abstracting from the Divine Decrees for though the Decrees cannot be refixed yet we are encouraged to beg for that which is conducible to our own necessities But the readiest way to put off all objections is to hold to my Fifth Conclusion that not the Martyrs themselves but the wrongs which they endured exclaim against their Enemies the atrocity of them doth seem to plead that the Lord should send his swift thunderbolts against cruel men they seem to cry out a day is too much to let them breath any longer they deserve not to be reprieved a minute till they go down to Hell O well is it for them that have been nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers of the Church They are secure among these vociferations for vengeance O how happy will it be for Moses and Samuel and Daniel that they have hurt no man that they have oppressed no man O what quiet of conscience have they that are clear from the bloud of all men for it is but a little season and the pride of Tyrants shall have a fall God tells the Martyrs so in the next verse Quod petendo esuriunt praesciendo satiantur They spake thirstingly to see the doom of their Enemies and here they are satiated with this Prediction that it will be after a little season but a little season indeed in respect of Eternity for Christ shall reign for ever Neither is God slack as men count slackness for that which is done in a fit ordination at the right minute that is fruit taken in its season and there is no tardiness at all Let Sion rejoyce let the desolate be comforted the
to believe in him nay if he had not given them his Body to be meat that whosoever eateth thereof might not die but live for ever they had never been his people Lord draw us and we will come unto thee visit us and we shall be healed redeem us and we shall be made free make us thy people and we will serve thee and praise thee and bless thee all the days of our life Amen THE TWELFTH SERMON UPON THE INCARNATION LUKE i. 69. And hath raised up an horn of Salvation for us in the house of his servant David THe Spirit of God is so constant to the same matter to the same phrase of speech in Holy Scripture that there is no Text of prime Doctrine in the New Testament but likely you may fit it as it were verbatim out of the Old I put you in mind of it at this time because David hath not only comprized my Text but all this Song of Zachary into one verse Zachary having been dumb for nine months his unspeakable joy at last burst out like a River which hath been stopt and flows forth in a full gush when the Sluce is open Now whereas when he found his tongue and began likewise to Prophesie his Wife and Kindred who were the Assembly that heard him expected no doubt that in the first instance after he broke silence he would speak of John the Baptist a child of much wonder and expectation whom the Lord had sent unto him in his old age yet he did not so but he took the rise of his Prophesie from a mightier work by far he begins with the Bridegroom and then proceeds to the friend of the Bridegroom He begins with the Saviour and then speaks of the Servant he begins with the bread of life and then goes on to the voice of the Crier he was sent unto the Jews to invite them to eat of it He begins with the glorius King sprung out of the house of David and concludes with his own Son that was the torch-bearer to carry the light before him Of both these thus the Psalmist with most admirable brevity Psal cxxxii 18. There will I make the horn of David to bud I have ordained a lanthorn for mine Anointed The horn or excellency of David is Christ Incarnate the Lamp ordained for that mighty King was John the Forerunner whom the Evangelist of his own name calls a burning and a shining light 'T is St. Austins Exposition and so natural to the sense of the Psalm that it hath gained upon me to follow it Yet there is great odds between Faith in spe in re between the prenuntion and the event of these mysteries between the promise of the Sun rising and the light which shines visibly upon the world between the knowledge of Salvation which was drawn nearer to the Church in Zacharies days than it was in Davids when it was further off In the one it is faciam I will make the horn of David to bud in the other it is feci the counsel of God is actuated he hath raised up an horn David was bold to sing it forth that God would perform his Promise Zachary was more bold to speak in the Preter-tense that he had performed when it was but in fieri when the Web was yet upon the Loom Christmas day was not yet come it was half a year off before the time was appointed that a Virgin should be delivered but Zachary knowing the certain execution of Gods Word hath made Christmass day in the Text. He doth not only bear witness to our Saviour though yet an imperfect feture after three months conception as if the Child were born but as if he were in his most able growth in perfect strength of years in perfect execution of his power in the perfect glory of his Kingdom And hath raised up an horn of Salvation for us in the house of his servant David Now to prepare you to receive the division of the words you may easily mark that whereas the former verse contains a general profession of Gods mercy to his Church he hath visited and redeemed his People this verse contracts it to the particular instrument through whom we are all blessed as who should say God hath given Redemption to his People yet there is no redemption to be lookt for but in Jesus Christ he hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David The principal word of the Text therefore is that which is in the midst An horn of salvation it is the Periphrasis of Christ I will begin from thence 2. I will declare how God did raise up this horn of salvation when Christ was born 3. Here is the Lineage of our Saviour according to the Flesh he was raised up in the house of David in the house of David his Servant Lastly Here is the use and fruit of his birth which belongs to us that is to as many as have the same faith in him that Zachary had when he opened his mouth to utter this Prophetical Song And hath raised up c. In the former verse Zachary says that he would bless that is praise and Magnifie the Lord God of Israel And hath he not made good his word Yes surely for the praise of the most high cannot be exalted in the tongue of a sinner more than in this attribute to call him an horn of salvation There was more obedience and faith in it I will not call it merit but I say it exprest more obedience and faith that this devout Priest should call a Child nay a feture but of three months conception as yet curdled like milk as Job says in his mothers womb the horn the strength of our salvation than for the Angels and Seraphins to sing continually before the Throne of heaven Holy holy holy Lord God of hosts the Angels extol that infinite Majesty which they behold in glory This person confest all that his tongue could utter to the honour of his Redeemer when nothing was actuated nothing yet in being to be seen and when the time came that it should be seen nothing could be more infirm in appearance Yet neither the inevidence of the object before he was incarnate nor the parvity and outward meanness of the object when he was to be incarnate do stumble his faith but he makes as great a noise to advance his dignity as words would give him leave an horn of salvation Salvation salvation is our tree of life restore the Church to that O Lord and there is Paradise enough in it though we be shut out of Paradise It is one beam and the very principal of that inward light in holy Scripture which shines in the Meridian of us Christians and makes us resolve by a secret contract between us and faith that it is the the Word of God because it treats constantly and in every part of it touching the means of salvation But the Volumes of heathen men