Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A54464
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A sermon preach'd upon the occasion of the Queen's death on the 4th Sunday in Lent, being the 3d of March, 1694/5 / by W. Perse ...
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Perse, William, 1640 or 41-1707.
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1695
(1695)
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Wing P1655; ESTC R33385
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16,721
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28
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blessed Mary Sweet was thy Oyntment But Sweeter was thy Love Gracefull was thy Action but more gracefull was thy affection The Scent of the rich Perfume was quickly gone but the Sweet Odour and the fragrant Smell of thy pure and Sincere Love shall bee preserved in the Sacred Records of the Gospell as long as the world endures and the memory of that precious Oyntment wherewith thou didst anoint thy Saviours head and feet shall bee more lasting and incorruptible then the oyle of Cedar the great Preservative against the moth of time 2. Though Maryes designe was only true and unfeigned Love in this Action yet as our Saviour intimates the divine Providence had a further reach and prospect Viz That this anointeing which was common both to festivalls and Burialls should emblematically presignifye our Lords approaching Death and Passion Thus our purposes often times unawares to our selves serve Gods end and looke farther then wee direct them This Custome of anointing the Body for the sunerall and of strawing it over with rich gummes and Spices among the Jews is made plaine from the last Offices that were performed by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea to the Body of our Saviour after it was taken downe from the Crosse and before it was layed in the Sepulchre At feasts the head was generally anointed but when the Body was dresst and prepared for a funerall all parts Shared in the anointeing And if we looke into the nature and kind of this particular Oyntment which this good woman poured upon the Head and wherewith she anointed the feete of our Saviour wee shall find that as it was a very fit present by reason of the richness of the scent and the greatness of the Value to express her Love and gratitude so that likewise it was very proper and correspondent to the end to which Gods providence had allotted it Viz To foreshowe his Death and Buriall The pure confection of Nard was no dry Oyntment but moyst and fluid Whence Nonnus calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a dew or watry Substance and is reckoned among those precious Oyntments which distill out of Canes or Stalks either of their owne accord or when cut and bruised by others hence this was called Spikenard from the Tops of the Plant from which that Odoriferous Liquor issued either naturall or which it yeelded after it was bruised and wounded and in both these respects was proper to represent Christs death and Buriall Thus it foreshowd that naturall Balme his precious bloud which was Shortly after to flow in streames from all the hollow Vessells of his body And as the stalks were sometimes bruisd before they yeelded that Soveraign Balsame and as Mary brake the Albaster Vessell before she poured forth the Oyntment so his Body more white and pure then any Alabaster was bruised for our Sinnes and broken for our transgressions and from thence did issue forth that noble Iuice that precious liquor which not only by the fragrancy of the Smell as being a Sacrifice of a Sweet smelling Savour makes us acceptable unto God but also by its healeing balsamick quality cures all our inward wounds and heales all our sinfull distempers Well didst thou O Mary to diffuse thy Oyntment over the blessed body of thy Lord and Saviour the holy Iesus to mollify it against the then approaching time of his bitter and dismall Agony in the garden wherein hee was to sweat blood out of every pore for thy sake well didst thou to anoint that Sacred Head the head of the universe which was shortly to bee crowned with thornes well didst thou to anoint those feet the extremest parts which came nearest to the Earth to which hee descended for thy good those feet which had taken so many Sharpe and painfull journyes for the benefit of mankind well didst thou to anoint and Supple those feet which were to Support his Body in carrying up the heavy Load of his Crosse made heavier by our sins up that steep and craggy hill Mount Calvary and which were to drop forth a more generous and Soveraign Juice to heal all our Spiritual Infirmities Alass O Lord thou didst not need any of these to the unnecessary Ceremonies either liveing or dead Thou like the Rose of Sharon and like the Lilly of the Valley to both which thou art compared had'st as being free from all the pollutions and corruptions of our decayed Nature an innate sweetness in thee far surpassing all aromatick perfumes and as there went a healing vertue out of thy Body so likewise we may well imagine that an Odoriferous scent must needs Transpire out of that exactly temper'd Complexion and constitution Neither didst thou need either Spices or Oyntment to preserve thy body when dead and laid in the Grave for that as the Prophet David hath assur'd us could suffer no Corruption could admit of no Putrefaction And yet O blessed Jesus thou wast pleas'd to permit these usual Offices to be performed to thy self and kindly to accept of them To show us that thou dost allow of neatness and chearfulness of the Oyle of gladness and of the Wine of rejoycing and that we may be thy Disciples without wholly abjureing the use of those Creatures which thou of thy Almighty wisdome and Infinite bounty hast provided for the comfort and refreshment of mankind and to show us likewise that we may and ought to take a decent care of our Bodies after their better part their Immortal Companions have left and forsaken them seeing that which shall cre long be crumbled to dust shall by thy allquickning spirit return to itsold forme and those two old Friends be reunited never to suffer a second separation Thus O Lord both thy Life and thy Death both thy Burial and Resurrectioun and every circumstance thereunto appertaining teach us some or other good Lesson and whil'st our Meditations are concerning thee we cannot fail of wholesome Instructions 2. The second General part of the Text is the end of the Publication of Maryes good work it was done for a Memorial of her where ever vertue and goodness break forth eminently and exemplarily like the Sun in its noone-tide strength there alwayes remaines the indelible Character of a happy Remembrance The commendation of this Woman in my Text is chiefly excellent in these two respects 1. It is such a praise as shall never be in any danger to be lost it points to futurity it shall be told in Ages to come Praise not any saith the wise man before his death because such commendations are neither safe on his part that commendeth in that it begetteth a shrewd suspition of Flattery nor on his part that is commended because if he conceive the praise that is spread abroad of him to be true it is much to be fear'd that it may puffe him up with Pride and vain Glory so that the most opportune time to give Vertue her deserved commendations is when a man can neither be hurt with Flattery nor infected with
a King And To was he to whom this grateful acknowledgment was made No lesse then the King of the whole Earth And though he stand in need of none of our Services seeing the earth is his and the fulness thereof yet he kindly receives and graciously accepts what we offer with a willing and chearful heart even for our sakes that he may be provoked to scatter his blessings more profusely and abundantly upon us And therefore lookes upon his Divine Maiesty to be affronted when we show the smallness of our respect by the meannesse of our Oblation either pinching him in the Measure or which is worse giving him of that which is vile and of no estimation for the Nature and Quality of it Indeed a Mite is accepted but it is where the will is large and the ability small And this good Woman received our Saviours Praise and commendation for this Act because he expresses it in the 4th of Mark 8th v. she did what she could As she was very rich and wealthy for her substance so she show'd the Munificence of her spirit by the Price and value of her donation From whence we may observe that God accepts us according to what we have and not according to what we have not If we have but a Mite he does not look for a farthing And if we have ten thousand Rivers of Oyle he does not expect to be put off with a cup of cold Water Tho he is pleas'd rather to abate then to exact the whole of us takeing short of what he might justly require of us Otherwise were he exact to mark either what we omit or wherein we have done amisse who might be able to stand before him but still our Obedience must bear some Proportion to our knowledge our Power and our opportunities of yielding it when we do what we can then we do in Gods sight what we ought when we do what he by his Grace inables us to perform we need not question but those Testimonyes of our Obedience shall be graciously receivd as this happy Action of Mary Magdalens was when she poured a Pound of precious Oyntment on our Saviours Head for as she was not niggardly as to the quantity so was she not negligent as to the quality She would serve God of the best Abels Offering was accepted because he took of the choicest of his Flock and of the sat of it and Cains rejected because he brought of the fruits of the ground which first came to hand without picking or culling And it is to be observed that in all the Commands that God gave concerning Sacrifices or Oblations he alwayes order'd the best and the choicest to be presented for his Service nothing that was common or defective was to appear in his presence nothing that had any spot or blemish was to fall before his Altar God in some Cases abated of the Measure and quantity if the Offender were not able to bring a Lamb for a sin Offering God would accept of two young Turtles or two young Pidgeons but we never read that he dispens'd with the quality of any Sacrifice that he either received the halt or the blind But alass How little do we follow these Precepts and Commands of God How little do we follow this good Womans Example in giving the best of our store to his use and Service No rather on the contrary we are apt not only to pinch him in the Measure which few scruple at but to show our disrespect to him likewise by setting apart that which is most vile and contemptible for the sacred Portion But above all how careless and remiss are we in offering up the calves of our lips in the dedication of the Sacrifice of our Prayer unto God there be but too many who in this sense offer unto God of that which costs them nothing no not the least thought or consideration They pour sorth it may be whole torrents and streams of words but without a drop of sense or meaning of Zeal or Devotion But surely we cannot be of their minds who think that the bare performance of the Duty without ever minding of the manner after which it is performed will serve the turn who think they have sufficiently answered the end when they have mumbled over so many Pater Nosters and ave Maries and gone over such a set of Prayers or travelled so many miles bare footed to visit the Shrine of a Saint or to kiss some holy Relick But we have not learned so to serve God this is to worship him by Rote without either will affection or understanding No! As those Sacrifices were best accepted which were wholly consumed by fire from Heaven of which we have some Instances in Scripture so we may assure our selves that no Sacrifice of Prayer or thanksgiving will find any acceptance at the hand of God which is not first kindled by a Heavenly Zeal and then ascends by vertue of that holy Flame to him who presents it in the golden Censer of his own Merits to his Almighty Father Let us be careful in all our addresses unto God In all our Divine Services to be intent upon what we are about to be elevated and raised in our Spirits and how short soever our Prayers be let us indeavour they may be fervent and sincere if we offer up but two young Turcks let them not want their wings Mary we see was careful in what she presented unto Christ the scent of it perfumed the whole Room the Whole house as St. John tells us was filled with the Odour of the Oyntment And if the Acts of our Love and Charity to Christ and his Members be as unadulterate and diffusive as hers was we shall not fail of the same gracious acceptance that she met with whil'st she went to pay the acknowledgment of her thankful heart to her beloved Lord and Master Which leads me to the first end for which this Action was designed that which Mary aimed at in anointing our Saviour at this time with her costly Oyntment viz. 1. To give an ample Testimony of her Love and Gratitude her kindness and respect to her Saviour who had done so great things for her that was all she aimed at She dream'd not then either of his Death or Burial The greatest honour that could be shown to Guests of the best Rank and Fashion by the Master of the Feast was to perfume them with precious Oyntment and that this was customary among the Jews and Romans and the Greeks also I might show you were it either a matter in question or worth the dispute the only thing extraordinary in this was the Quantity and the anointing of our Saviours feet a thing unusual even where ease and Luxury did most abound And Pliny tells us that Otho did first teach Nero to besmear his feet with precious Oyntments But this as I shall snow you had a Mysterious signification which neither she nor any of the company were aware of O