A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 1 · Sermon 4
THE LAMBE TURNED LION. A Sermon preached in his Graces Chappell at Lambeth, Decemb. 6. Anno Dom. 1619. before his Majeſties high Commiſsioners there aſſembled. THE FOURTH SERMON.
MATTH. 12.20.
Till he ſend forth judgement unto victory.
Moſt REVEREND, &c.
THe words of Gedeon to the Ephraimites,Judges 8.2. (Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?) may not unfitly bee applyed to the written Word of God in compariſon of other bookes. Is not the gleaning of Scripture better than the vintage of all ſecular learning?Hierom. ad ruſtic. Eloquentiae torcularia non verborum pampinis, ſed ſenſuum quaſi uvarum expreſſionibus redundarent. For in theſe the preſſes of eloquence abound with leaves of words, and luxuriant ſtemmes of extravagant wit; but in it with ſpirituall ſenſes and divine ſentences, as it were the juice and bloud of the ripeſt grapes of the Vine of Engeddi. It is a point of wiſedome in man, who hath but little, to make it goe as farre as he can; and ſo thriftily inſtill it in his workes, as Nature doth her influences in ſimples, a great quantity whereof is often diſtilled to extract one drop of pure quinteſſence: whereas on the contrary, no plant of Paradiſe, no branch of a plant, no flower of a branch, no leafe of a flower, but affordeth great plenty of the water of life, more precious than any quinteſſence that Art can force out of Nature. The finers of gold, Chryſoſt. tom. 5. homil. 37.as golden mouth St. Chryſoſtome teacheth us, deale not only with wedges, ingots, and maſsie pieces of gold, but with the ſmalleſt portions thereof. And the Apothecaries make ſingular uſe in divers confections even of the duſt of gold. When Alexander the great managed his affaires in Judea, thoſe whom he imployed to gather the moſt precious oyle ofaPlin. l. 12. nat. hiſt. c. 25. Succus è plaga manat, quem Opobalſamum vocant, ſuavitatis eximiae, ſed tenui gutta, Alexandro magnores ibi gerente, toto dic aeſtivo unam concham impleri juſtum erat. Opobalſamum, thought a whole Summers day well ſpent in filling a ſmall ſhell, taking it as it fell drop by drop from the twigge. And if a skilfull Jeweller will not grind out a ſmall ſpot, or cloud out of a rich ſtone, though it ſomewhat dimme the bright luſtre thereof, becauſe the ſubſtance is ſo precious; ſhall we loſe, or ſleightly paſſe by any Iota, or tittle of the Booke of God, which ſhall out-laſt the large volumes of the heavens? for*Mat. 5.18. heaven & earth ſhall paſſe away, but no one Iota or tittle of the Word of God ſhall paſſe. The Jewiſh Rabines ſay, that great mountaines hang upon the ſmalleſt Jods in the Bible. And St.bChryſ. in Gen. foreign. Chryſoſtome will not endure a devout Chriſtian to let goe any ſyllable in the Scripture, no nor pricke, or point without obſervation. Surely, if God ſo carefully preſerve the ſmalleſt parcels of Scripture, he would have us religiouſly obſerve them. Elſe if wee content our ſelves with a generall handling of the Word of life, how ſhall wee ſatisfie the Apoſtles precept of rightly dividing the Word of God?*2. Tim. 2.15. Shew thy ſelf a workman, that needeth not to be aſhamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. The word in the originall is not foreign, dichotomizing, (the Apoſtle tyeth no man to a preciſe Ramiſticall method;) yet is it foreign, rightly cutting, or dividing the Word of truth, which cannot be done, if any ſenſible part be omitted, be it but a conjunctive particle, as this Till in my Text, which ſtandeth like an hinge in the midſt of the ſentence, turning the meaning divers wayes. If it hath reference to the death and reſurrection of our Saviour, as Cajetan & Avendanus conceive it hath, (in which he brought forth judgement unto victory, by condemning the world, & conquering both death & hell) then the meaning of the whole is this, He ſhall not ſtrive nor cry, &c. he ſhall not offer any violence to his enemies by word or deed, although he could as eaſily deſtroy them as a man may breake a reed already bruiſed, or tread out the ſmoaking week of a light ready to goe out of it ſelfe, yet he will not uſe this power, but contrariwiſe carry himſelfe moſt meekly towards them, and by his mildneſſe and patience both condemn their fury, and conquer their obſtinacy.
If it looke farther forward to the deſtruction of the City and Temple, and the overthrow of the whole Jewiſh Nation, as Theophylact and Muſculus imagine, expounding Till hee bring forth judgement unto victory, till he execute judgement upon them that judged him, and fully be revenged of them by the ſword of the Romans; then the meaning of the whole is, Hee ſhall not breake the bruiſed reed of the Jewiſh Nation, till by the victory of the Romans he ſhall execute judgement upon that Nation; nor ſhall he quench the ſmoaking flaxe of the Aaronicall Prieſthood, till forty veeres after his death the City of Jeruſalem ſhall bee ſacked, and the Temple burned downe to the ground, and by the propagation of the Goſpel, and prevailing thereof in all places, the dimme light of the Ceremoniall Law be quite extinguiſhed.
But if the word Untill carry us ſo farre as the laſt Judgement, to which St. Jerome, St. Hilary,cGuilliand. comment in Mat. Qui diebus carnis ſuae viſus eſt humilis & benignus doctor, aderit aliquando Jude…, & utetur potentiá abſolutâ, & damnavit hoſtes ſuos. Guilliandus, and many other learned Expoſitors referre it, then the whole beareth this tune: See you Jeſus now in the forme of a ſervant, how humble and meeke he is, ſo farre from killing and ſubduing his bloud-thirſty enemies by forcible meanes, that hee will not ſtrive with them; ſo farre from lifting up his hand againſt them, that hee will not lift up his voice, Hee will not cry, nor ſhall his voice bee heard in the ſtreets complaining againſt them; ſo farre from wounding the ſpirit,Cic. Catil. prim. Quos ferro vulnerare oportebat, nondum voce vulnerat. or hurting the bodies of any men, that hee will not breake a bruiſed reed, nor quench the ſmoaking flaxe. The time ſhall come, when you ſhall ſee this meek Lambe turned into a fierce Lion: He who cryed not upon earth, ſhall thunder from heaven: He who came now to ſuffer in meekneſſe, ſhall hereafter come in power to conquer: Hee who came in humility to bee judged, ſhall come in Majeſty to judge both quicke and dead: Hee who came by water and bloud; by water to waſh our ſinnes, and by bloud, to quench the fire of his Fathers wrath, ſhall one day come in flaming fire, to render vengeance to all that beleeve not the Goſpel: He who in all his life never brake a bruiſed reed, aBeza in Mat. c. 12. Tum rebellia corda confringet, non jam clemens & humilis, ſed ſeverus, & majeſtate verendus.ſhall after his death and reſurrection, when he commeth to Judgement, if not before, rule the Nations with a rod of Iron, and breake them in pieces like a potters veſſell: Hee who here never quenched the ſmoaking flaxe, hee ſhall hereafter put out the greater lights of the world: He ſhall darken the Sunne, and turne the Moone into bloud, and ſhake the powers of heaven, and foundations of the earth, and the hearts of men, and behold, he commeth with the clouds, and all eyes ſhall ſee him, Apoc. 1.7.even they that nailed him to the Croſſe and pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth ſhall mourne before him, Yea and Amen: then he ſhall bring or ſend forth judgement unto victory.
He brought forth judgement in his life, by preaching the Goſpel in his owne perſon, and he ſent it forth after his death, by the miniſtery of his Apoſtles, and doth ſtill by propagating the Church: but hee bringeth not forth judgement unto victory in the Evangeliſts phraſe; becauſe this his judgement is much oppreſſed, the light of his truth ſmoothered, the pure doctrine of the Goſpel ſuppreſſed, the greater part of the Kings of the earth, and Potentates of this world refuſing to ſubmit their ſcepter to his Croſſe, and ſaying, as it is in St. Lukes Goſpel,Luke 17.14. Wee will not have this man to reigne over us: but when the ſonne of man ſhall diſplay his banner in the clouds, and the winds ſhall have breathed out their laſt gaſpes, and the ſea and the waters ſhall roare; when heaven and earth ſhall make one great bonefire, when the ſtage of this world ſhall be removed, and all the actors in it ſhall put off their feigned perſons and guiſes, and appeare in their owne likeneſſe; when the man of ſinne, 2 Theſ. 2.3, 8.that exalteth himſelfe above all that is called God, ſhall be fully revealed, and after conſumed with the ſpirit of Chriſts mouth, and be deſtroyed by the brightneſſe of his comming: then he ſhall ſuddenly confound the reſt of his enemies, Atheiſts, Hypocrites, Jewes, Turkes, Idolatrous Gentiles and Heretikes, and breake the neckes of all that ſtubbornly reſiſt him, and then the truth ſhall univerſally prevaile, and victoriouſly triumph. All this variety of deſcant which you heare, is but upon two notes, a higher and a lower, the humility and the majeſty, the infirmity and the power, the obſcurity and the glory, the mildneſſe and the ſeverity of our Lord and Saviour; his humility upon earth, his majeſty in heaven; his infirmities in the dayes of his fleſh, and his power ſince hee ſitteth at the right hand of his Father; the obſcurity and privacy of his firſt comming, and ſolemnity of his ſecond: his mildneſſe and clemency during the time of grace and mercy, and his wrath and ſeverity at the day of Judgement and Vengeance. Ecce, tibiâ cecinimus vobis; Behold, out of this Scripture, I have piped unto you, recording the pleaſing notes of our Redeemers mildneſſe and mercy, who never brake the bruiſed reed, nor quenched the ſmoaking flaxe: now I am to mourne unto you, ſounding out the dolefull notes of his juſtice and ſeverity, which ſhall one day bring forth judgement unto victory.
But before I ſet to the ſad tune, pricked before mee in the rules of my Text, I am to entreat you to liſten a while till I ſhall have declared unto you the harmony of the Prophet Eſay, and the Evangeliſt S. Matthew; the rather becauſe there ſeemeth ſome diſſonancy and jarre between them. For in Eſay we reade,Eſay 42.3. Hee ſhall bring forth judgement unto truth, that is, give ſentence according to truth; but in St. Matthew, He ſhall ſend forth judgement unto victory, which importeth ſomewhat more than foreign (viz.) that the judgement he ſhall ſend forth, viam inveniet aut faciet, ſhall either finde way or force it, take place or make place, no man or divell being able to withſtand it. Beſides this diſcord in their notes, there is a ſweet ſtraine in the Prophet (he ſhall not faile, Verſe. 4.nor bee diſcouraged, till hee have ſet judgement on the earth) left out in the Evangeliſt. To the firſt exception the Jeſuit Maldonat ſaith, that the Syriack word ſignifieth both truth and victory, and that Saint Matthew wrote not in pure Hebrew, but in the Hebrew then currant, which was ſomewhat alloyed and embaſed with other languages; which if it were granted unto him, as it is not by thoſe who defend that the Greeke in the New Teſtament is the originall, yet the breach is not fully made up. For ſtill the originall Hebrew in Eſay, and the Greeke in Saint Matthew, which hath been ever held authenticall, are at odds: foreign in Hebrew ſignifying truth, and foreign in the Greeke ſignifying victory, and not truth. I grant the truth of Chriſt is moſt victorious, and hath ſubdued all the falſe gods of the Heathen, as the Arke laid Dagon on his face, and the rod of Aaron devoured all the rods of the Magicians: yet truth and victory are not all one. A weake Judge may bring forth judgement unto truth, yet not unto victory; as on the contrary a potent and corrupt Judge may bring forth judgement unto victory, yet not unto truth. Tully in a bad cauſe prevailed againſt Oppianicus, by caſting duſt in the Judges eyes. And Aeſchines prevailed not againſt Cteſiphon in a good cauſe. Right is often overcome by might, and ſometimes by the ſleight of a cunning Advocate for the falſe part. To the ſecond objection Beza anſwereth, that theſe words, that hee will not faile, nor be diſcouraged, till he hath ſet judgement on the earth, were anciently in St. Matthew, but of late, through the careleſneſſe of ſome tranſcriber, from whoſe copy ours were drawne, are left out. But ſith this Verſe is wanting in all the copies of Saint Matthew now extant, neither can Beza bring good proofe of any one in which this Verſe was ever found, it is not ſafe to lay any ſuch imputation upon the firſt tranſcribers of St. Matthewes Goſpel, whereby a gap may be opened to Infidels and Heretickes to cavell at the impeachable authority of the holy Scriptures in the originall languages. A ſafe and eaſie way to winde out of theſe perplexed difficulties, is to acknowledge, that the Evangeliſt, who wrote by the ſame ſpirit wherewith the Prophet Eſay was inſpired, tyed nor himſelfe preciſely to the Prophets words; but fitteth the Prophets ſenſe to his owne purpoſe, and what the Prophet delivered in two Verſes, he contracteth into one. For what is hee ſhall bring forth judgement unto truth, and he ſhall not faint nor be diſcouraged, till hee hath done it; but that he ſhall doe it effectually and powerfully? and what is that but he ſhall ſend forth judgement unto victory?
Hee ſhall ſend forth. Cal. in Mat. 1. Hoc verbum educere quo utitur Propheta, ſignificat officium Chriſti eſſe Regnum Dei, quod tum incluſum erat in angulo Judeae propagare in totum orbem.This phraſe reacheth forth unto us a twofold obſervation; the firſt touching the extent, the ſecond touching the freedome of this judgement here ſpoken of. By judgement is here meant the Kingdome of Chriſt, which muſt not bee confined to Jury, nor bounded within the pale of Palaeſtine: but hee ſent forth, that is, propagated and ſpread over the whole world, according to the prophecy of the Pſalmiſt,aPſal. 110.2. The Lord ſhall ſend a rod of thy ſtrength out of Sion: be thou ruler in the middeſt of thine enemies. Whilſt our Saviour lived upon earth, the ſoveraigne balſamum of wounded mankind yeelding a ſavour of life unto life, was kept as it were in a narrow boxe; but at our Saviours death the boxe was broken, and this precious oyntment poured out, and the whole world filled with the ſmell thereof. This doctrine touching the naturalizing (if I may ſo ſpeak) of the Gentiles into the ſpirituall Common-wealth of Iſrael, was implyed in the Metaphor of the Roſe of the field;Cantic. 2.1. I am the Roſe of the field (Chriſt is not a garden flower, for few to ſee, and fewer to ſmell unto; but a Roſe of the field, for all to gather that have a hand of faith to touch him): but it was unfolded at large to Saint Peter in a viſion of a ſheet let downe from Heaven, knit at foure corners, Acts 10.11, 12.in which were all manner of foure footed beaſts of the earth, and wild beaſts, and creeping things, &c. The foure corners of the ſheet ſignified the foure parts of the world, all ſorts of living creatures, all ſorts of men, of all kindreds, nations, and languages. The ſheet in which they were all wrapped is the Church militant. In the end of the viſion the veſſell was received up againe into heaven, Acts 10.16.to ſhew, that in the end of the world the whole Church militant ſhall be tranſported into heaven, and become triumphant. St.bOrig. comment. in Cant. homil. 1. Quemadmodum in Evangelio mulier illa quae ſanguine fluebat, archi Synagogae filiam curatione praevenit; ſic Aethiopiſſa, id eſt, Gentium Eccleſia, Iſrael aegrotante ſanata eſt. Origen repreſenteth this truth moſt cleerly unto us through the mirrour of an allegory; Though (ſaith he) the found of the Goſpel came later unto the Gentiles, yet the Gentiles prevented the Jewes in giving credit to it, and were juſtified before them; as the woman in the Goſpel, that was ſicke of a bloudy iſſue, was healed before the Rulers daughter. The daughter of the Ruler of the Synagogue, was a type of the Jewiſh Synagogue; the woman that was in a long conſumption by reaſon of her continuall fluxe of bloud, was an embleme of the people of the Gentiles, lying more than twelve ages ſicke of a bloudy iſſue, weltring in her naturall filth and bloud. Now, as Chriſt, going to cure the Rulers daughter, was touched by the Canaanitiſh woman ſicke of a bloudy iſſue, and ſhe by that touch was cured; ſo though Chriſt came firſt to heale the Synagogue, yet the Gentile Church touching the hemme of his garment by faith, is firſt healed and ſaved.
The phraſe of ſending forth judgement, expreſſeth our Saviours readineſſe in opening the treaſures of heavenly wiſedome, and unfolding the myſteries of eternall ſalvation; foreign till he ſhooteth out, caſteth out, or ſendeth forth judgement of his owne accord, as a tree doth his fruit, or the Sunne his beames.Matth. 12.35. A good man bringeth forth out of the treaſure of his heart good things. Matth. 2.11.The Sages opened their treaſures, and every Scribe which is inſtructed unto the Kingdome of heaven, is like unto a man that is an houſe-holder, which bringeth forth out of his treaſures things new and old. I have not hid thy righteouſneſſe within my heart, Pſal. 40.10.ſaith David in the perſon of Chriſt, I have declared thy faithfulneſſe and thy ſalvation: I have not concealed thy loving kindneſſe and thy truth from the great congregation. Ver. 9.I have preached righteouſneſſe in the great aſſembly, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knoweſt. And according to this fore-going type, how ready the truth himſelfe was to publiſh the Goſpel of the Kingdome, appeareth by his taking all occaſions from every ordinary occurrent, to inſtruct his Diſciples in points of heavenly wiſedome; as from a draught of fiſh to admoniſh them of fiſhing for ſoules: from Well-water, to treat of the water of life: from barly loaves, to exhort them to labour for the food that periſheth not: from burying the dead, to reprove thoſe that are dead in ſinne: from curing the blind in body, to rebuke the ſpirituall blindneſſe of the Scribes and Phariſees: from a queſtion concerning the materiall Temple, to fore-tell the diſſolution of the temple of his body, and raiſing it up againe in three daies. To conceale any needfull, eſpecially ſaving truth, is to bury the gold of Ophir, and thereby deprive not only others, but our ſelves alſo of the benefit and uſe thereof. Wherefore St.cAuguſt l. 12. confeſſ. Veritas nec mea, nec tu…, nec illius eſt, ſed omnium noſtrûm quos ad ejus communionem publicè vocas, admonens nos ut nolimus eam habere privatam, ne privemut ea. Auguſtine ſharply cenſureth ſuch as would challenge a peculiar intereſt and propriety in that which is the common treaſure of Gods Church, ſaying: The truth is neither mine, nor thine, nor his, but all ours in common, whom thou, O Lord, calleſt publikely to the communion thereof, dreadfully admoniſhing us, not to deſire to have it private, leſt we be deprived of it. In ſpeciall, the truth of judgement ought not to bee kept in, but to bee ſent forth. For to detaine any private mans goods, is but a private wrong; but unrighteouſly to detaine juſtice, which is the Kings, or the Common-wealths, or rather both their good, is a kind of peculatus, or publike theft. We laugh at the Indians for caſting in great ſtore of gold yeerly into the river Ganges, as if the ſtreame would not runne currently without it: yet when the current of juſtice is ſtopt in many Courts, the wiſeſt Soliciters of ſutes can finde no better means than ſuch as the Indians uſe, (by dropping in early in the morning gold and ſilver into Ganges) to make it runne. Pliny reporteth of Apis the Aegyptian god (whom they worſhipped in the likeneſſe of a Cow or Oxe) that hee gave anſwers to private men, è manu conſulentium cibum capiendo, Taking alwayes ſome food from their hands, otherwiſe the Oracle was dumbe. I need not to proſecute the application in this place, where, by the teſtimony of all men, and the truth it ſelfe, the ſtreame of Juſtice (if any where) runneth cleerly, moſt free from all filth and corruption. Therefore I paſſe from Chriſt his ſending forth judgement to his victory.
Hee ſhall ſend forth judgement unto victory.
There are two principall acts, or to ſpeake more properly, effects of our Lords Princely function, foreign and foreign, judgement and victory; judgement upon, and victory over all his enemies: Wee have them both in the words of my Text, Judgement which hee ſhall ſend forth, and Victory unto which. But of what Judgement or Victory the words are to bee conſtrued, the learned Interpreters of holy Writ ſomewhat differ in judgement. Some in their gheſſes fall ſhort upon the particular judgement and utter overthrow of the Jewiſh Nation by Veſpaſian, and his ſonne Titus. Others deferre the accompliſhment of this prophecy, till the dreadfull day of the Worlds doome, when by the ſhrill ſound of the Archangels Trumpet all the dead ſhall bee awaked, and the ſon of man ſhall march out of Heaven with millions of Angels to his Judgement ſeat in the clouds, where hee ſhall ſit upon the life and death of mankinde. That day, ſaith SaintdAuguſt. l. 20. de civitate Dei. Ille dies judicii propriè dicitur, eo quod nullus erit ibi imperitae querelae locus, Cur injuſtus ille ſit foelix, & cur juſtus ille infoelix? Auſtin, may bee rightly called a Day of Judgement, becauſe then there ſhall bee no place left for thoſe uſuall exceptions againſt the judgements of God, and the courſe of his providence on earth, viz. Why is this juſt man unhappy, and why is that unjuſt man happy? Why is this profane man in honour, and that godly man in diſgrace? Why doth this wicked man proſper in his evill wayes, and that righteous man faile in his holy attempts? Nay, why for a like fact doth ſome man receive the guerdon of a crowne, and another of aeJuvenal. Satyr. Sceleris pretium ille crucem tulit, hic diadema. croſſe or gibbet? the one of a halter, the other of a chaine of gold? Theſe and the like murmurs againſt the juſtice of the Judge of all fleſh ſhall bee huſhed, and all men ſhall ſay in the words of thefPſal. 58.11. Pſalmiſt, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth. And then Chriſt may bee ſaid properly to bring or ſend forth judgement, when hee revealeth the ſecrets of all hearts, diſplayeth all mens conſciences, and declareth the circumſtances of all actions, whereby all mens judgements may bee rightly informed in the proceedings of the Almighty, and all men may ſee the juſtice of God in thoſe his moſt ſecret and hidden judgements, at which the wiſeſt on earth are aſtoniſhed, and dare not looke into them, leſt they ſhould bee ſwallowed up in the depth of them. I ſpeake of thoſe judgements of God, which SaintgAuguſt. lo. ſup. cit. Dies declarabit ubi hoc quoque manifeſtabitur, quàm juſto Dei judicio fiat, ut nunc tam multa, ac penè omnia juſta Dei judicia ſenſus mentemque mortalium fugiant, cum tamen in hac repiorum fidem non lateat juſtum eſſe, quod latet. Auſtin termeth Occuliè juſta, and juſtè occulta; Secretly juſt, and juſtly ſecret: ſo they are now; but at the day of Judgement they ſhall bee manifeſtly juſt, and juſtly manifeſt; then it ſhall appeare not onelyonly that the moſt ſecret judgements of God are juſt, but alſo that there was juſt cauſe why they ſhould bee ſecret, or kept hidden till that day. Laſtly, then Chriſt may bee ſaid properly to bring forth judgement unto victory, becauſe hee ſhall firſt conquer all his enemies, and then judge and ſentence them to everlaſting torments. Of which dreadfull Judgement, enſuing upon the glorious Victory of the Prince of peace over the great Whore, and the falſe Prophet, and the Divell that deceiveth them all; from which the Archangel ſhall ſound a retreat, by blowing the laſt trump, and ſummoning all that have ſlept in the duſt to ariſe out of their graves, and come to judgement, I need not to adde any thing more in this Religious and Chriſtian auditory. Wherefore I will fill up the ſmall remainder of the time with ſome briefe obſervations upon the ruine and utter deſolation of the Jewiſh Nation, who even to this day wandring like Vagabonds in all countries, and made ſlaves not only to Chriſtians, but to Moores, Turkes, and other Infidels, rue the crucifying of the Lord of life, and the ſpilling of the innocent bloud of the immaculate Lambe of God, that taketh away the ſinnes of the World. As according to the cuſtome of our country, Quarter-Seſsions are held in Cities and Shire-townes, before the generall Aſſiſes; ſo Chriſt a little more than forty yeeres after his death at Jeruſalem, and aſcenſion into Heaven, held a Quarter-Seſsions in Jeruſalem for that country and people: after which hee ſhall certainly keep a generall Aſsiſes for the whole world, when the ſinnes of all Nations ſhall be ripe for the Angels ſickle.
Some of the wiſeſt of the Jewiſh Rabbins entring into a ſerious conſideration of this laſt and greateſt calamity that ever befell that people, together with the continuance thereof more than 1500. yeeres, and caſting with themſelves what ſinne might countervaile ſo heavie a judgement, in the end have growne to this reſolution, that ſurely it could be no other than the ſpilling of the Meſſias bloud, which cryed for this vengeance from heaven againſt them. And verily if you obſerve all the circumſtances of times, perſons, and places, together with the maner and means of their puniſhments, and lay them to the particulars of Chriſts ſufferings in and from that Nation, you ſhall ſee this point as cleerly ſet before your eyes, as if theſe words were written in letters of bloud upon the ſacked walls of Jeruſalem, Meſsiah his Judgement and Victory over the Jewes.
1. Mocking repaid.1. Not full ſixe yeeres after our Lords paſſion, moſt of thoſe indignities and diſgraces which the Jewes put upon him, were returned backe to themſelves by Flaccus, and the Citizens of Alexandria, who ſcurrilouſly mocked their King Agrippa in his returne from Rome, by inveſting a mad man, called Carabbas, with Princely robes, & putting a reed in his hand for a Scepter, & ſaluting him, Haile King of the Jewes. Note here the Jewes mocking of Chriſt repaid unto themſelves: yet this was not all.2Whipping repaid. The Alexandrians were not content thus ſcornfully to deride the King of the Jewes, they proceeded farther to make a daily ſport of ſcourging many of the Nobility, even to death, and that, which Philo ſetteth a Tragicall accent upon, at their ſolemneſt Feaſt. Note here the Jewes whipping and ſcourging Chriſt upon the ſolemne Feaſt of Paſſover repaid unto them.
3. Spitting repaid.3. And howſoever their noble and diſcreet Embaſſadour Philo made many remonſtrances to the Emperour Caligula of theſe unſufferable wrongs offered to their Nation; yet that Emperour, becauſe the Jewes had refuſed to ſet up his Image in the Temple, was ſo farre from relieving them, or reſpecting him according to the quality he bare, that he ſpurned him with his foot, and ſpit on his face. Note here the Jewes ſpitting on Chriſt repaid them.
4. The Jewes refuſing Chriſt to be their King, to flatter the Romane Caeſar, revene…d on them by Caeſar himſelf.4. In concluſion, the Emperour ſent him away with ſuch diſgrace and diſcontent, that hee, turning to his country-men, ſaid: Bee of good cheare, Sirs, for God himſelfe muſt needs right us now, ſith his Vicegerent, from whom wee expected juſtice, doth ſo much wrong us, and contrary to the law of all Nations moſt inhumanely, inſolently, and barbarouſly uſeth mee, employed as a publike miniſter of ſtate for our whole Nation. But all this in vaine; theſe wrongs fell right upon them. It was juſt with God, that they who in diſdaine of his Sonne cryed out, Wee have no King but Caeſar, ſhould finde no favour at Caeſars hands, and much leſſe at Gods, before whom they preferred Caeſar.Baron. annal. Noluerunt florem, nacti ſunt Florum praeſidem. They would none of the flower of Jeſſe, they caſt him away: therefore God in juſtice after the former troubles, ſent them by Nero's appointment Deputy Florus, 5The Phariſces envie at the peoples crying▪ Hoſanna to Chriſt, puniſhed.who robbed their Church treaſury to raiſe a rebellion, & after put them to the ſword for this rebellion: received money of them to ſave them from ſpoile, and ſpoiled them the more for it; inſomuch that the Scribes and Phariſees, and chiefe Rulers, who rebuked the people for bringing in Chriſt to Jeruſalem with branches of palmes, and happy acclamations of Hoſanna to the ſonne of David, Hoſanna in the higheſt, are now forced to bring out all the treaſures of the Temple, and Prieſtly ornaments, by them as it were to adjure the people, and beſeech them even with teares to march out of Jeruſalem in ſeemlieſt order, and with expreſſions of joy to meet and greet the Romane ſouldiers, who requited their ſalutations with ſcornes, and their gifts with pillaging them. Note here the Jewes envie at Chriſts triumphant riding into Jeruſalem puniſhed.
6. I beſeech you obſerve the circumſtances of time, perſons, and place, and you ſhall perceive that divine Juſtice did not onelyonly make even reckonings with them in every particular of our Saviours ſufferings, but alſo kept the preciſe day and place of payment. Galilee, wherein Chriſt firſt preached, and wrought ſo many miracles, firſt of all ſuffers for her unbeliefe, and is laid waſte by Veſpaſian. The infinite ſlaughter at Jeruſalem, began with the high Prieſt Ananus his death, whom the Zelots ſlew in the Temple: Sanguine foedantem quas ipſe ſacraverat aras. A lamentable ſight, ſaith Joſephus, to ſee the chiefe Prieſt, a little before clad with ſacred and glorious veſtments, richly embroidered with gold and precious ſtones, lye naked in the ſtreets, wallowing in dirt, mud, and bloud; to behold that body which had been annointed with holy oyle, to bee torne with dogges, and devoured by ravenous and uncleane fowle; to looke up… the Altar in the Temple polluted with the bloud of him, who before had hallowed it with the bloud of beaſts. But ſo it was moſt agreeable to divine Juſtice, that that order (though never ſo ſacred) ſhould firſt and moſt dreadfully rue our Lords death, whoſe envie was firſt, and malice deepeſt in the effuſion of his moſt innocent bloud. Who can but take notice of that which the Hiſtories of thoſe times, written by Jewes as well as Chriſtians, offer to all readers obſervation? viz. That the Jewes, who eſcaped out of Jeruſalem, and fell into their enemies quarter, becauſe they were thought to devoure downe their money and jewels, that the Romane ſouldiers might not finde them about them, were in great numbers after they were ſlaine, ripped7Their giving money to Judas to betray him, repaid. and bowelled; and that beſides thoſe Jewes crucified by Flaccus, whoſe deathaPhilo in legat. Alii die feſto mortuos de crucibus detraxerunt, at hic, non mortuos de crucibus, ſed vivos in crucem ſuſtulit. Philo ſo much bewailed, becauſe the execution was done upon them at their great Feaſts, without any regard to the ſolemnity of the day: there were ſo many in this laſt ſiege of Jeruſalem8Their crucifying him repaid with advantage. crucified on the walls every day, that there wanted in the end croſſes for mens bodies, and ſpaces for croſſes. Note here their price of bloud given to Judas to betray his Maſter, as alſo their crucifying the Lord of glory, was repaid with advantage. Crucified they are in their perſons (for ſome of them that conſpired Chriſts death might live till this time) or in their children and nephewes by hundreds, who cryed to Pilate when hee would have freed Chriſt, Away with him, away with him; Crucifie him, crucifie him. Their bloud is ſhed for money, who gave money to betray innocent bloud; and ſhortly after thirty of them are ſold for a piece of ſilver, who bought his life at thirty pieces of ſilver.
As wee have compared perſons and actions, or rather paſſions; ſo let us now parallel times and places. Titus began to beſiege Jeruſalem, as Caeſar Baronius exactly calculateth, upon the day in which our Saviour ſuffered: hee ſurveyed the City on Mount9Their contempt of Chriſts teares, Olivet, whence our Saviour before viewing it, wept over it. And now the Jewes have their wiſh againſt their wills, their10and their curſing revenged. Matth. 27.25. owne curſe is returned to their boſome, viz. His bloud bee upon us and our children. For ſo indeed it was, in ſuch a manner and meaſure, as never before was heard or ſeene. Beſides thoſe that fled out of the City, which were either crucified upon the walls, or ſlaine by the gates, when Titus made a breach into the City, hee ſaw all their ſtreets paved in a manner with carkeiſes, and caemented with bloud: yea, their channels ran with gore ſo full, that the beſt meanes they could think of, or uſe to quench the fire of the Temple, was the bloud of the ſlaine. And now Jeruſalem which had been ſo free in11Their ſtoning Gods Prophets, and ſpilling innocent bloud, repaid. caſting ſtones at the Prophets, and killing them that were ſent unto her, (to exhort them to repentance unto life, and ſhewed before of the comming of the Juſt One, of whom theſe later Jewes had been the betrayers and murderers) hath not one ſtone left upon another in her, Acts 7.52.but is made even with the duſt; nay, nothing but duſt, Sutton. de Tiber.and foreign, dirt leavened with bloud, the juſt temper of that Tyrants complexion, in whoſe reigne the Lord of glory was crucified.
What other concluſion are wee to inferre upon theſe ſad premiſſes but this, that it is a moſt fearfull thing to provoke the Lion of the Tribe of Judah? Who ſhall bee able to ſtand before him in the great day of his wrath, from whoſe face the heaven and the earth fled away, 1 Pet. 2.7. Mat. 21.42, 44.and their place could no where be found? The ſtone which the builders refuſed, is now become the head of the corner. Take heed how yee ſtumble on it, or lift at it; Whoſoever ſhall fall on this ſtone ſhall be broken, but upon whomſoever it ſhall fall, it ſhall grinde him to powder, Vid. mag. de burg. ſub. finem. Cent. prim. & Baron. annal. tom. 1.as it did Herod, and Pilate, and Annas, and Caiaphas, and all that were acceſſary to the death of the Lord of life. And not only thoſe that committed high treaſon againſt the ſacred perſon of the Lords Annointed, and imbrued their hands, and ſtained their conſciences with that bloud which cleanſeth us from all ſinne;1 John 1.7. but alſo Nero, and Domitian, and Trajan, and Antoninus, and Severus, and Maximinus, and Decius, and Valerianus, and Diocleſianus, and Maxentius, and all other Emperours that employed their ſwords; and Simon Magus, and Cerinthus, and Arrius, and Neſtorius, and Manes, and all other obſtinate arch-Heretickes, who employed their pens againſt him: none have hitherto eſcaped the heavie judgement of God, who have bid battell to the Chriſtian Faith, and have wilfully, and of ſet malice given the Spouſe of Chriſt the leaſt wound or skarre, either by a gaſh with their ſword, or a ſcratch with their pen. Bee wiſe now therefore, O yee Kings: Pſal. 2.10, 11, 12.bee inſtructed yee Judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with feare, and rejoyce with trembling. Kiſſe the Sonne, leſt hee bee angry, and yee periſh from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little: bleſſed are all they that put their truſt in him.
Some Interpreters by Judgement underſtand the ſpirituall government of Chriſt, which is managed in his Church with excellent wiſedome and judgement; and by Victory, the prevalent power of grace in the faithfull, wherby they are victorious in all temptations, in ſuch ſort, that though Sathan labour with all his might to blow out a poore ſparke, yet hee ſhall not be able to quench it: and that the ſmalleſt degree of faith, like a grain of muſtard ſeed, is ſtronger than the gates of hell, and is able to remove mountaines of doubts and oppoſitions caſt up by Sathan, and our rebellious hearts, between God and us. And from hence they inforce the Apoſtles exhortation to all the ſouldiers of Chriſt, to be ſtrong in the Lord, Epheſ. 6.10.and in the power of his might; not to looke who are their enemies, but who is our Captaine; not what they threaten, but what hee promiſeth, who hath taken upon him, as to conquer for us, ſo to conquer in us. Theſe are ſweet and comfortable notes, but, as I conceive, without the rule of this Text: for queſtionleſſe the Donec, or Untill, is not ſuperfluous, or to no purpoſe; but hath reference to ſome future time, when Chriſts mild proceedings ſhall be at a period, and he ſhall take another courſe with his enemies, ſuch as I have before deſcribed in the particular judgement of the Jewiſh Nation, and the generall judgement of the whole World. But if Judgement and Victory bee taken in their ſenſe, there needed no untill to bee added. For Chriſt even from the beginning of his preaching, when he ſtrived not, nor cryed, nor brake the bruiſed reed, nor quenched the ſmoaking flaxe, ſent forth judgment unto victory, according unto their interpretation, that is, wiſely governed his Church, and gave victory to the faithfull in their conflicts with ſinne and Sathan. That therefore the members of this ſentence bee not co-incident, and that the donec or untill may have his full force, I conceive, agreeably to the expoſition of the ancient, and the prime of the later Interpreters, that in this clauſe, Till hee bring forth judgement unto victory, the Prophet determineth the limits of the time of grace. Whoſoever commeth In between the firſt and ſecond comming of Chriſt ſhall be received into favour, but after, the gates of mercy ſhall bee locked up. Yet our gracious Ahaſuerus reacheth out his golden Scepter to all that have a hand of faith to lay hold on it; but then he ſhall take his Iron mace or rod in his hand, to bruiſe his enemies, and breake them in pieces like a potters veſſell. I muſt ſing therefore with holy David, of Mercy and Judgement; mercy in this life, and judgement in the life to come: mercy during the day of grace, but judgement at the day of the Worlds doom. For although ſometimes God meets with the Reprobate in this life, yet that judgement which they feele here may bee accounted mercy in compariſon of that which ſhall be executed upon them hereafter, without all mitigation of favour, releaſe of torments, or limitation of time. Now the vials drop on them, but then they ſhall bee poured all out upon them. Wherefore let us all, like the bruiſed reed, fall downe to the earth, and humble our ſelves under the mighty hand of God. Let us, like ſmoaking flaxe, ſend forth bitter fumes of ſighes for our ſinnes, aſſuring our ſelves, that now whilſt the day of grace laſteth, hee will not breake the bruiſed reed, nor quench the ſmoaking flaxe: but if we neglect this time of grace, and deferre our repentance, till he ſend forth judgement unto victory, we ſhall ſmoake for it. Cogitemus fratres de tempore in tempore, ne pereamus cum tempore; Let us thinke of time in time, leſt we periſh with time. Let us imagine that we now ſaw the Angel ſtanding upon the ſea, Apoc. 10 5, 6.and upon the earth, and lifting up his hand to heaven, and ſwearing by him that liveth for ever, who created heaven, and the earth, and the ſea, and the things that are therein, that there ſhould be time no longer. Jonas 2.8.O let us not forſake our owne mercy, but to day if wee will heare his voice, harden not our hearts, but mollifie them, by laying them aſoake in teares. Let us breake off our ſinnes ſuddenly by repentance, and our iniquities by almeſ-deeds. Now is the ſeed-time, let us now therefore ſow the ſeeds of faith, hope, mercy, meekneſſe, temperance, patience, and all other divine Vertues, and we ſhall reape a plentifull harveſt in heaven.Cypr. ad Dom. Hic vita aut amittitur aut tenetur, hic ſaluti aeternae cultu Dei, & fructu fidei providetur. Galat. 6.8. For he that ſoweth to his fleſh, ſhall of the fleſh reape corruption; but hee that ſoweth to the ſpirit, ſhall of the ſpirit reape life everlaſting. Which God of his infinite mercy grant that we may all do in heaven, through the merits of his Sonne, by the grace of the holy Spirit: to whom, &c.