into those Mansions of which they had been by him sufficiently inform'd At this Thomas far from acknowledging any suchinformation complains in the 5th verse that they were ignorant both of the place and the way to it Our Saviour answers that the place was no other than the Society of his Father whom they had sufficiently known by conversing with Him This far from removing the mistakes of the Apostles gave occasion to the discovery of a far greater ignorance in them For in the 8th verse Philip desireth him to shew the Father to them thereby manifesting how widely he had hitherto mistaken the Doctrine of Christ and what gross notions of the Father he entertain'd So strange an ignorance drew a sharp expostulation from our Saviour Have I been so long time with you and yet hast thou not knoâ—…n me Philip ver 9. Thereupon declaring unto him what sufficient means he had already given them of knowing the Father and promising to enable them yet further to a more perfect knowledge of him by sending the Comforter the Spirit of Truth He assureth them of a more clear and express Revelation of this matter at his Resurrection by manifesting himself and consequently the Father to piously disposed Persons who loved him and kept his Commandments Although he intended not to manifest himself in the same degree and manner to the whole World At this Judas Lebbaeus seems to be astonished and in a passionate exclamation which includeth somewhat of despair in it saith unto him ver 22. Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thy self unto us and not unto the World as imagining this illustrious manifestation to be no other than taking possession in a solemn and magnificent manner of that Glorious Worldly Kingdom which himself with the other Apostles in vain expected to be founded by their Master Such strange mistakes of which the meanest Christians would be ashamed in the present Constitution of the Church might justly be admired to have proceeded from those who were the familiar attendants of Christ through a Triennial Preaching Acquainted with all his Discourses and honoured with a familiar Conversation if we enquir'd not more narrowly into the causes of things and reasons of the divine dispensation OurSaviour himself seems not in the least to be surprized at it But only after a short answer to Lebbaeus his question hence taketh occasion to renew the promise of that remedy which he had ever design'd and often before promis'd I mean the Mission of the Holy Ghost in these words These things have I spoken unto you being yet present with you But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my Name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you As if he should say These answers I have briefly given to your doubts and scruples such as the shortness and necessity of the time would permit which still remains to me to be spent in your company I had before sufficiently explained all these Mysteries to you Provided your minds by removal of all prejudices by ordinary endowments of right apprehension and using due diligence had been rightly disposed to receive them But since you still continue ignorant of those great Truths and infinitely mistake my Doctrine And not only so but suffer your selves to be possess'd with terror and amazement at the news of my departure I will not forsake you or leave you destitute of the means either of consolation or better instruction but abundantly provide for both by sending to you after my Ascension another Comforter Even the Holy Ghost whom the Father at my Intercession and for my sake will send unto you He shall erect your drooping Spirits and remove your grief by administring consolation to you And dispel your Ignorance by enlightning your minds with clear notions and true Interpretations of whatsoever I have Taught unto you and recalling into your mind all those Doctrines and Lessons of mine which you may have forgotten These words being thus explained represent to us I. The promise of sending a Comforter II. The Person to be sent the Holy Ghost III The Office to be performed by the Holy Ghost when sent Which however various is perfectly included Either in the diverse significations of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Comforter which may be taken as an Advocate a Monitor or a Consolator Or in the annexed action of Teaching thâ—…m all things and bringing all things into their remembrance whatsoever Christ had said unto them At present I shall consider no more than the latter branch of the Third Point that is the Office of Teaching the Apostles which was to be performed by the Holy Ghost And in handling this I shall in the first place inquire what were the Causes and Reasons of this prodigious Ignorance of the Apostles after so long and so excellent Instruction Secondly I shall prove that the permission of this Ignorance till the sending of the Holy Ghost was not in the least repugnant to the Divine Wisdom or the design of the Gospel Thirdly I shall draw some few conclusions from both First then the Causes and Reasons of this so long continued Ignorance of the Apostles Of these I take the chief and most fundamental one to have been their Ignorance of the true sense of Scripture For the better explaining of this Cause I will premise some few Observations As 1. The Conformity of the Life and Actions of Christ to the Prophesies of the Old Testament was to the Jews the best and principal Argument of the Divinity of Christ of his Divine Mission and the Truth of his Revelations Miracles indeed might create a great probability of the truth of these Articles But such a conformity alone could demonstrate it since Miracles were common to inferâ—…our Prophets and sometimes even to false Prophets But an intire agreement of the precedent Prophesies was appropriated to the sole Person of the true Messias This appears from the nature of the Old Testament and end of writing it which taken in all its parts is chiefly designed to point out the future Messias by certain plain Notes and Indications whereby he might easily be discover'd to the Jews The Historical Books are imployed in describing his Genealogy The Psalms and Prophets in foretelling the time of his coming the manner of his Life his Passion Resurrection and Doctrine Now it would be highly injurious to the Wisdom of God that he should professedly cause so many Books to be written chiefly to design the Messias And yet design him by such Characters as should not be proper to him alone but might be common to other Persons So that the agreement of those Prophesies to the Person of Jesus Christ was to the Jews a most demonstrative proof that he was the true Messias Miracles indeed were in their respect also necessary to him But that chiefly because it was before Prophesied of the Messias that great and
them When ye have lift up the Son of Man then shall ye know that I am He. And this in some measure mitigates and excuseth the present ignorance of the Apostles that they had not yet seen the completion of the last and greatest Acts of Christ particularly his Resurrection Lastly To say no more the extraordinary Gifts and Graces of the Holy Ghost were not yet poured forth Of these Gifts none of the least was a due preparation of Will and penetration of Judgment to conceive rightly the sence and meaning of all Divine Revelations and Mysteries This was afterwards plentifully poured down upon the Apostles as upon this Day but before that time was not conferred on them That the want of this extraordinary assistance of the Holy Ghost was a main cause of their Ignorance is plainly insinuated by all those Texts wherein Christ promiseth to the Apostles the Mission of the Holy Spirit to dispel their Ignorance and enlighten their understandings as in the words of the Text and John XV. 26. But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father he shall Testify of me and when He the Spirit of Truth is come He will guide you into all Truth The ordinary assistance of the Divine Spirit had indeed all along accompanyed the Apostles which had been abundantly sufficient when added to the Motives of Faith and advantages of Instruction which they received from Christ to inform them in all things necessary considered as private Persons if they had removed all prejudices and used due attention and reason but the extraordinary Inspiration of the Holy Ghost being not necessary was not yet conferred on them For the Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified St. John VII 39. These were the principal causes of that Ignorance of the Apostles which we proposed to inquire into of that misapprehension of the Nature of our Saviours Office and Design which so eminently appears in the context as we before explained it which disabled them from considering the consequence of his Miracles For their heart was hardned Mark VI. 52. by reason of which They understood none of these things his Passion and Resurrection and this saying was hid from them neither knew they the things that were spoken Luc. XVIII 34. which caused the words of the women relating to the Resurrection of Christ to seem to them as idle Tales and incredible Fables Luc. XXIV 11. and the indignation of which drew from Christ that sharp Exprobration O ye of little faith Mattâ—… VIII 26. That this Ignorance ought not in the least to surprize us or induce us to entertain any thoughts prejudicial to Christianity it self appears from the Reasons which I have already assigned to it but will more fully be manifested in considering the second Head proposed which was To shew That the permission of this Ignorance till the sending of the Holy Ghost was not in the least repugnant to the Divine Wisdom or the design of the Gospel This will evidently appear from these two Considerations I. That it would be incongruous to the Divine Wisdom to use any extraordinary methods in removing the Ignorance of the Apostles and perfectly informing their Understandings until such Information not being possible to be obtained by the ordinary methods of Instruction should become absolutely necessary to the being of the Church II. That such a perfect and plenary Information was not necessary to the Apostles till after the Ascension of Christ. The first of these Propositions naturally follows from that known truth and received principle that God never worketh Miracles without necessity nor recurreth to extraordinary causes while natural and ordinary will suffice However fully to evince this matter and clear all remaining doubts I will consider all the possible methods of perfectly instructing the Apostles before the Ascension of Christ when the natural and ordinary means failed and demonstrate that God could not use any one of them without being injurious to his Wisdom and Honour These extraordinary methods may be reduced to these three Heads First God by his Almighty power might have over-ruled their understanding and without expecting the assent of the Will violently imprinted a perfect knowledge of his Revelations in it or even forced the Will to assent to it although it had not yet discoverd the truth of it But nothing can be imagined more injurious to the honour of God than a proceeding of this kind to prepare the way for Religion by violating those Priviledges of reasoning and free will which he at first conferred on them which were in truth to make Mankind happy by destroying their Nature Secondly our Saviour having already abundantly convinced the Apostles of the Divinity of his Mission and consequently of his Infallibity might have plainly and openly revealed to them all the Mysteries of his Religion and future Actions to be yet performed and required their immediate Assent to them without taking care to satisfie them at the same time of the truth and reasonableness of such Revelations by their Conformity to all precedent Revelations or the Law of Nature but this also was irrational in it self and consequently unworthy of the Divine Wisdom and might justly have been esteemed unsatisfactory by the Apostles For as they were fully convinced that our Saviour was a Divine Person so were they no less that all the precedent Revelations were delivered by inspired men and consequently deserved the same degree of Assent which his could do So that if the least repugnance between the Doctrine or Life of Christ and the ancient Prophesies could have been difcovered they were not in the least obliged to assent unto them Nay to a full and unexceptionable Proof of the truth of his Revelations it was not only necessary that no repugnance between them and the predictions of the Old Testament were discovered but also that an entire Conformity should appear Since the true Messias was by God designed to the Jews under those two Characters of extraordinary Miracles and perfect agreement of Life Actions and Doctrine to the precedent Predictions and Revelations and consequently could not be evidently distinguished without the concurrence of both those Proofs And indeed such an arbitrary Command of a blind Assent to any Revelations confirmed by Miracles without a previous Examination of the truth of them is so absurd and repugnant to the Laws of reasoning that it could not be used by Christ himself even in respect of Heathens For such a resignation of the Understanding could rationally be made to no other Authority than an Authority founded upon Arguments of greater Credibility than can be found in any other Case But such is not the Authority derived from Miracles for all objects of Sense and necessary Deductions from reason include at least an equal many a greater degree of Credibility I mean not hereby that any truths whatsoever can have a greater certainty than
to be founded by the Messias or expected from him which so long clouded the Understandings of the Apostles and hindred them from entertaining true Notions of that Mystery although having the Happiness to be brought up in a Christian and Orthodox Church we suck in true Notions of the Christian Religion in general even from our Infancy yet the prejudices which arise from our Passions and corrupt Affections are no less violent and betray us to no less fatal mistakes These not only defeat the Benefit of that assistance of the Holy Ghost in the Inquisition of truth which God hath promised to all well disposed Persons who rightly ask it of him but also directly introduce the foulest and most pernicious Errours by prompting us to form such Notions of Religion as may be most adapted and favourable to those corrupt Inclinations And this diligence in the Inquiry and Examination of our Religion will be so much the more necessary if we consider that God had indeed provided an effectual remedy for all the mistakes of the Apostles by the plentiful Effusion of the Holy Ghost upon them but hath left us to the ordinary Emanations and Assistance of the Divine Spirit which will lead us into all necessary Truths if our own Endeavours be not wanting but upon defect of those or any other due disposition of the mind will not only not produce this happy Effect but also depart from us II. The Sense of this great and inestimable Benefit conferred this day upon the Apostles and then upon the whole Church and our selves in particular ought to excite us to the utmost gratitude and engage us to endeavour not to render our selves unworthy of it at least not permit our selves to be ungrateful for it For this Benefit was not confined to the persons of the Apostles it brings down with it many great and inestimable advantages to the Church which continue till this day By this we are assured that the Christian Religion hath received the last degree of Confirmation by this we know that Christ hath really ascended into Heaven and there taken possession of his Kingdom that however he hath removed his corporeal Presence he still continues to be present with us by the Influences and Operations of the Holy Ghost that he ceased not at his Ascension to govern and take care of the Church but abundantly provided for the necessity and convenience of it by sending the third Person of the ever Blessed Trinity who might actuate and direct it and performing the Office of a Paraclet teach exhort comfort and intercede for every single Member of it By this the drooping Spirits of the Apostles were erected their Fears dispelled and their Minds enlightened by this the truth of the Christian Religion was put past all Dispute and the Church invigorated with such an assurance of Divine assistance as might secure it from all Dangers and place it beyond the rage of men or fury of Tyrants We also at this day partake of the blessed Effects of this great Benefit we share in the Joys of the Apostles and experience the Influences of that Divine Spirit By this they were inabled to convey down to us infallibly the Christian Religion and found a Church of which to be Members we esteem our greatest Happiness By this Spirit we are united to the Body of the Church to Christ our Head and to one another By this we are excited to vertue and the practice of our Duty are assisted in the search of Truth are comforted in Afflictions and upheld in Dangers This Spirit our Saviour promised ver 16. should abide with us for ever not in that measure indeed and abundance which was conferred on the Apostles but according to the proportion of our necessities and the Improvement of that present Portion which is already conferred on us Let us endeavour by an exact discharge of our Duty and daily improvement in Piety to augment our Interest in the benefits of this Day and favour of the Holy Ghost at least let us take care least by our negligence and degenerate Behaviour we forfeit our Title to them both Lastly as we are obliged to admire and celebrate the infinite Goodness of God in bestowing upon the Church the diffusive Presence of the Holy Ghost by his Mission as upon this Day so are we no less engaged to be thankful for his particular Presence in the Holy Sacrament since this not only gives us a firm assurance of the continuance of that Presence which was at first granted as so great a Blessing to the Apostles but also derives down upon all worthy Communicants as far as is necessary to them the same Gifts and Graces which the first Descent of it procured to the Apostles By this means we may not only commemorate but act anew and experience in our selves all the Glories of this day by receiving into our Souls a plentiful Effusion of the same Spirit But then as several previous Dispositions were required in the Apostles to qualifie them for the reception of so great a Benefit so must we prepare our selves for the Participation of so great a Mystery with no less diligence and caution that as they firmly believed and constantly expected the Promises of our Saviour although he had removed his Corporeal Presence from them so we should without any Fluctuation believe the certain performance of all those Graces which are promised to all worthy Communicants and that however his natural Body is absent from us yet he is really present in the Elements by the Efficacy and Operation of the Holy Spirit that as they prepared themselves for the reception of the Holy Ghost by an intire Resignation of their Wills to his influence and direction so we should fit our Souls for the Entertainment of all those Graces conferred in the Sacrament by a perfect Resignation of our selves to God and steady Resolution of performing his Commands And that as they in order to obtain the promised Mission of a Comforter met all together with one accord in one house so we in order to receive the mighty Benefits of this Sacrament should be united in perfect Charity to one another If any of these due Qualifications be wanting we shall be so far from obtaining any share in the Benefits of this Day or Commemorating as we ought the wonderful Mission of the Holy Ghost that we shall forfeit our Title to all the Benefits of the Gospel and do despight to the Spirit of Grace Now to God the Father God the Son c. The Second SERMON PREACH'D Septemb. 16th 1688. At LAMBETH CHAPEL Philip. II. 5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus OUR blessed Saviour hath not only revealed to us the whole Will of God in relation to Mankind and thereby given to us a most excellent and truly Divine Religion but also set us a most perfect Example of Holiness and universal Righteousness in the whole Conduct of his Life therein exceeding all other Lawgivers
are above so fit our selves for the Reception of his Representative Body in the Holy Sacrament that we be not unworthy after Death to be received unto the Society of his Natural and now glorious Body in Heaven Where he sitteth on the right hand of God To him with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed all Honour Power and Glory henceforth and for evermore The Fourteenth SERMON PREACH'D May 4th 1689. At LAMBETH CHAPEL Joh. XIV 1. Let not your heart be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me OUR Lord and Saviour being now ready to leave the World and return to his Father endeavoured by many Preparatory Discourses to confirm the Minds and dispel the Anxiety of his Disciples who began to despond at the News of his approaching Departure This to them not yet fully understanding the design of Christ's Coming seemed a total Dereliction of them and abandoning them to the World They had forsaken all the present Conveniences of Life when they entred into the number of his Disciples and had all along shared in the Miseries and Hardships that their Master was content to endure on Earth in hopes of partaking at last in the Glories of that temporal Kingdom which they fondly imagined he would found on Earth With these Hopes they supported themselves under all their Calamities and busied themselves in proposing imaginary Methods of enjoying what they so long and so earnestly expected We find them disputing who should be the greatest Officer or the principal Favourite in this Kingdom who should sit on his right hand and on his left And now that after their Lord had entred into Jerusalem in a triumphal manner their Hopes were enhanced and Expectations grew higher as believing the Completion of them to be at hand and that this glorious Kingdom of the Messias would immediately commence When on a sudden all their Hopes were dashed and their imaginary Happiness overthrown by a free and open Declaration of their Lord concerning his Sufferings and ignominous Death which now drew near and were immediately to be accomplished In what Confusion and Anxiety must we then conceive them to have been when not only their Hopes and therein in their own Opinion the Fruits and Reward of so many Labours so much Hardship undertaken and endured in prospect of their Preferment in a temporal Kingdom to be founded by their Master were in an instant overthrown and cancelled When not only themselves were to be dispersed as sheep having no Shepheard exposed to the Derision Insults and Persecution of the Jews who as our Lord foretold should even force them to deny their Master and thereby renounce all Title to any share in the Glories of his Kingdom When they were to be left alone without any Head to direct comfort and protect them When not only all these Calamities were to come upon themselves but also their dearest Lord and Master was to be delivered up to the Rage of wicked Men to be treated with the utmost Indignities and at last Crucified as a Malefactor What Distraction must they then have suffered when so many contrary Passions Love of their Master and fear of their own Misery Deprivation of past hopes and Despair of future Happiness wrought together in their Minds They retained still indeed some faint Hopes of the Resurrection of their Lord after three days Imprisonment in the Grave who should then enter upon his Kingdom and satisfie all their Expectations but alas even these remaining Hopes are dissipated by our Saviour's acquainting them in this Chapter that immediately after his Resurrection he was to leave the World and go unto the Father In this disconsolate Condition of the Church our Lord seeks to chear up the Spirits and remove the Despair of his Followers by representing to them the necessity of his Suffering That thus it was written and that thus it behoved Christ to suffer by giving them the Promise of the Holy Ghost who should both Comfort Instruct and Guide them by assuring them this Comforter could not be sent untill himself first returned to the Father and by his Intercession should obtain the Mission of him that although his Bodily Presence should be taken from them yet that it was for their good and that he would ever continue to be present with them by the influences of his Government and Blessed Spirit by interceding for them continually with the Father by promoting their Requests in the Court of Heaven by pouring down his Gifts and Graces on them and watching over them with a constant Eye of Providence but above all in preparing Mansions for them in Heaven to receive them after Death and the Final Completion of their Labours upon Earth Upon all these Accounts he bids them not be troubled in their Hearts for his Departure and the temporal Calamities which they fancied would ensue upon it and for an Argument of Consolation says to them Ye believe in God believe also in me As if he should say You cannoâ—… deny that it is both your Duty and Safety also to trust in God considered only as the Creator and Governour of the World to resign up your Wills to his difposal and upon firm assurance that he both knoweth and willeth what is best for you rest contented in all the various Conditions of Life If you consider him as the Author of your Religion in which ye have been brought up ye have yet much greater reason to rely upon his Care and Providence in all doubtful Cases and Distresses as having often experienced his peculiar Kindness to your Church and Nation in many and wonderful Instances which were therefore at first recorded that ye might from thence conceive assured hope of the Divine Goodness and Providence interposing in your behalf in all Calamities as it is in the LXXVIII Psalm He gave Israel a law which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children To the intent that when they came up they might shew their children the same That they might put their trust in God and not to forget the works of God If for these Reasons you are content to trust in God and depend on him for relief in your Afflictions for much greater Reasons ye ought to confide and relye upon my Promises of Assistance to you and constant Care of you even after I shall be removed from you inasmuch as ye have received from me more manifest Assurances of the peculiar Favour of God to you than ever were indulged to any part of Mankind to the Patriarchs or the Jews My Ability to do all this you cannot doubt As knowing who I am and what place I bear in Heaven or if ye should not believe this merely for the Consideration of the Divinity of my Person yet believe me for the very works sake Ver. 11. being convinced by so many Miracles as I have wrought for your Satisfaction that I am able to perform whatsoever I Promise to you And then for my willingness to do it you have