A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 4 · Sermon 35 · Part 5
The ſpirituall and morall interpretation of the Rehearſers text, with a concluſion of the whole.
THus have I now at length preſented to your ſpirituall view the breſt-plate of Aaron, decked richly with foure rowes of precious ſtones, ſet in boſſes of gold. To the foure rowes I have compared the foure methodicall Sermons which yee have heard; the Jewels in the rowes both to the parts of the Speakers, and to their precious doctrine, the emboſſement of gold to their texts: aOrat. pro Cluent.now becauſe as Cepaſius in Tullie, poſtquam diu ex intimo artificio dixiſſet reſpicite, reſpicite, tandem reſpexit ipſe: ſo it hath beene the manner of the Rehearſers, after they had fitly reſembled the Preachers, to make ſome reſemblance of themſelves and their office. Sacra haec non aliter conſtant.
I intreat you, right worſhipfull, men, fathers, and brethren, not to think that I have ſo far forgotten modeſty, as to ranke my ſelfe with the meaneſt of the Jewels in theſe rowes, nor the texture of my diſcourſe to the emboſſements of gold wherein they were ſet: yet not quite to change the allegory, I finde among the Lapidaries a ſtone which ſeemes to me a fit embleme of a Rehearſer; it is no precious ſtone, though it be reckoned with them bybPlin. l. 37. c. 9. Pliny and others, becauſe at ſome times it repreſenteth the colours of the rainebow, non ut in ſe habeat colores arcus coeleſtis, ſed ut repercuſſu parietum illidat: the name of the ſtone is Iris: whereunto I may make bold to compare my ſelfe, becauſe in ſome ſort I have repreſented unto you the beautifull colours of theſe twelve precious ſtones, as the Iris doth the colours of the Rainebow; non per inhaerentiam, ſed per referentiam: and therefore I reflect all the luſtre, ſplendour, and glorie of them, firſt, upon Almighty God, next upon the Jewels (the Preachers) themſelves. Pliny maketh mention of a ſtrangecNat. hiſt. l. 2. c. 105. Pluvius in Hiſpania eſt, qui omnes aurei coloris oſtendit piſces, nihil extra illam aquam caeteris differentes River in Spaine, wherein all the fiſh while they ſwim in it have a golden colour, but if you take them out of it, nothing at all differ in colour from other: in like manner, I doubt not but that many things ſeemed excellent and truely golden in the torrent of the Preachers eloquence, which, taken out thence, and exhibited to you in my rehearſall, ſeeme but ordinary. Howbeit, the whole blame hereof lieth not upon me, but a great part of it upon the very nature of this exerciſe, to which it isdMat. 3.3. eſſentiall to be defective. The Preachers were voyces like St. John Baptiſt, the Rehearſer is but the Eccho. Who ever expected of an Eccho to repeat the whole voyce, or entire ſpeech? ſufficient it is that it reſound ſome of the laſt words, and them imperfectly: it implyeth a contradiction, that a faire and goodly picture ſhould be drawne at length in a ſhort table:eQuintil. inſtit. orat. l. 10. c. 2. Quicquid alteri ſimile eſt, neceſſe eſt ut ſit minus eo quod imitatur, ut umbra corpore imago facie, & actus hiſtrionum veris affectibus: neceſſe eſt ut ſemper ſit poſterior qui ſequitur. The ſhadow alwayes comes ſhort of the body, the image of the face, imitation of nature. If I ſhould have given due accents to each of their words and ſentences, I ſhould long agoe have loſt my ſpirits; and I may truely ſay with St. Paul, though in another ſenſe,f2 Cor. 2.10. What I have ſpared herein, for your ſake have I ſpared as well as for mine owne, to eaſe you of much trouble; and now, after a very ſhort explication and application of mine owne text, I will eaſe you of all.
gJoſeph. antiq. Jud. l. 3. c. 8.Joſephus worketh with his wit a glorious allegorie upon Aarons garments: The Miter (ſaith he) repreſented the Heaven, the two Onyxes the Sunne and Moone, the foure colours in the embroidered Ephod the foure Elements, the Girdle the Ocean, the Bells and Pomegranates thundering and lightening in the aire, the foure rowes of ſtones the foure parts of the yeare, the twelve ſtones the twelve ſignes in the Zodiacke, or the twelve moneths in the yeare. St.hEp. 128. Quatuor ordines quatuor puto eſſe virtutes, Prudentiam Fortitudinem, Juſtitiam, Temperantiam &c. Jerome taketh the foure rowes for the foure cardinall vertues, which, ſubdivided into their ſeverall ſpecies, make up the full number of twelve. Although I dare not with Origen runne ryot in allegories, yet I make no queſtion but that we ought to conceive of the Ephod, not as of a veſtment onelyonly covering the Prieſts breaſt, but as of a holy type or figure vailing under it many celeſtiall myſteries; and eſteeme the ſtones ſet in theſe rowes upon the Ephod as precious, or rather more in their ſignification than they are in their nature. In which reſpect they may be termed, after a ſort, ſo many glorious Sacraments, ſith they are viſible ſignes of inviſible myſteries, which I am now to declare unto you. St. Paul in the Epiſtle to the Hebrewes proveth manifeſtly Aaron to be a type of Chriſt, his actions of Chriſts paſſion; whereunto we may adde his ornaments of Chriſts offices, Kingly, Prieſtly, and Propheticall. For he is our Hermes Triſmegiſtus; Mercurius Termaximus.Hermes, becauſe he is the Interpreter and Declarer of Gods will; and Triſmegiſtus, that is, thrice greateſt, becauſe he is the greateſt King, the greateſt Prieſt, and the greateſt Prophet that ever came into the world. The Mitre, Diadem-like, compaſſed, as Joſephus writeth, with three circles like a triple Crowne, apparently ſeemeth to me to prefigure the Kingly office of our Saviour, whereby he ſitteth gloriouſly in the heart of all the Elect, ruling them by the golden Scepter of his word; As evidently the front-plate of pure gold, engraven with holineſſe to the Lord, and breaſt-plate with Urim and Thummim, repreſenteth Chriſts Prieſtly function; according to which he beareth the twelve Tribes, repreſenting all his Elect before God for a remembrance, and preſenteth their prayers, and them, and himſelfe for them, to his Father. For, that Thummim, that is, perfections, is an empreſſe becomming none but our Saviours breaſt, all Chriſtians will eaſily grant; and that Urim, that is, lights, are an Embleme of the divine nature, Plato profeſſeth, ſaying, Lumen eſt umbra Dei, & Deus eſt lumen luminis, Light is the ſhadow of God, and God is the light of light it ſelfe. For, Chriſt his third office we need not goe farre to ſeeke it; for the Bells of Aaron ſound out the preaching of the word, and the Pomegranates ſet before us the fruits thereof, and both his entire Propheticke function. If there lie any myſterie hid in the numbers, we may conceive the foure rowes of ſhining ſtones anſwerable to the foure Beaſts in the Revelation, full of eyes, either prefigured by foure Evangeliſts, or the foure orders in the Church Hierarchy, Apoſtles, Evangeliſts, Doctors, and Paſtors: as for the twelve ſtones, doubtleſſe they had ſome reference to the twelve Apoſtles; for in the 21. chapter of thehApoc. 21.14. Revelation, where theſe twelve precious ſtones are mentioned, it is ſaid expreſly, that in the wall there were twelve foundations garniſhed with all manner of precious ſtones, and in them the names of the twelve Apoſtles of the Lambe.
You have heard the myſticall interpretation; lend I beſeech you an eare to the morall.
1. Firſt, theſe glorious veſtments and ornaments of Aaron ſet forth unto us the dignity of the Prieſts office:i2 Cor. 3.7, 8. and if the miniſtration of the letter were glorious, ſhall not the miniſtration of the Spirit be much more? Yes, how dark and vile ſoever our calling ſeemeth to the eyes of the world, it ſhall one day appeare moſt glorious, when they that turne many unto kDan. 12.3.righteouſneſſe ſhall ſhine as ſtarres in the firmament for evermore.
Here I cannot conceale from you, thatlIn Exo. c. 28. Cappo one of the Popes Botchers taketh meaſure of Aarons garments, to make maſsing veſtments by: as before him Durand hath done in his booke intituled rationale divinorum, where he ſaith, Noſter Pontifex habet pro feminalibus ſandalia, pro lineâ albam, pro balieo cingulum, pro podere tunicam, pro Ephod ſtolam, pro rationali pallium, pro cidari mitram, pro lamina crucem: juſt; but where is the cauſible? in Latine caſula, ſic dicta, quaſi parva caſa, ſaith hee, becauſe it cloſeth the Prieſt round as it were with a wall, having a hole for him to put out his head, like a Lover, to let out ſmoake, ſignifying, that the Prieſt ought to be like a little cottage with a chimney in it, heated with the fire of zeale, ſending up hot fumes of devotion, and letting them out with his breath at the LOVER of his mouth. But I will not put them to ſo hard a taske, as to parallel each of their veſtments with Aarons: all that I ſhall ſay to them for the preſent is this, That the neerer they prove their veſtments to come to Aarons ornaments, the more ceremoniall and typicall they prove them; and conſequently, more unfit to be retained now by Chriſtians, if the Apoſtles argument drawne from themHeb. 10.1. vaniſhing of the ſhadow at the preſence of the body be of any force: therefore let the obſervation of Cappo paſſe with a note of plumbea falſitas, not aurea veritas, wherewith he graceth it.
2. My ſecond obſervation is, that God both firſt beginneth with the breaſt, and appointeth alſo the moſt glorious and precious ornaments for it:nExod. 28.4. The garments ſhall be theſe; thou ſhalt make a breaſt-plate, an Ephod, &c. after followeth the mitre, to the making whereof blew ſilke onelyonly and fine twined linnen is required, with a plate of gold on it; but for the breaſt-plate, cloth of gold wrought about with divers colours, plates of gold, and foure rankes of the richeſt jewells in all the treaſury of nature are appointed: all this, as we may piouſly conceive, to ſignifie, that God beſt eſteemeth the breaſt and heart, and not the head: My oPro. 23.26.ſonne, give mee thy heart. Our heavenly Father preferreth enflamed affections above enlightened thoughts: he cannot bee received or entertained in our narrow underſtanding, yet will heepEph. 3.17. dwell in our hearts by faith, if we enlarge them by love. Cecidit Lucifer, Seraphim ſtant aeternâ incommutabilitate, & incommutabili aeternitate, the Angels which had their names from light fell like lightening from heaven; but the miniſtring ſpirits, which are by interpretation burning fire, hold yet their place and ranke in the Court of God. Let ambitious ſpirits ſeeke to ſhine in Aarons mitre, or at leaſt to be caracter'd in the Onyx ſtones on his ſhoulders: my hearts deſire was, and ever ſhall be to be engraven in one of the jewells upon the breaſt-plate, to hang with the beloved Diſciple upon the boſome of my Saviour.
3. Thirdly, I obſerve yet again, that the names of the twelve tribes, which were before written in the Onyx ſtones upon the ſhoulders of Aaron, are here engraven againe in the rowes of jewels hanging neere his heart: which, as it repreſenteth Chriſt his both ſupporting and affecting his choſen; ſupporting them on his ſhoulders, & affecting them in his heart: ſo it teacheth all the Miniſters of the Goſpel to beare the names of Gods people committed to their charge, not onelyonly upon their ſhoulders, by ſupporting their infirmity; but alſo upon their hearts, Ver. 29. by entirely affecting them above others; and above all things Gods glory in the ſalvation of their ſoules. IfqJohn 21.15. thou love me, ſaith Chriſt, feed my ſheep; if you deſire that Chriſt ſhould beare you on his heart before his Father, beare you the names of his Tribes (his choſen) on your hearts before him.
4. Fourthly, you may eaſily diſcerne, that the ſtones, as they are of ſundry kindes, and of different value, ſo they are ſet in divers rowes, 1. 2. 3. 4. which illuſtrateth unto us the divers meaſures of grace given to beleevers in this life, and their different degrees of glory in the life to come. All the ſtones that were placed on Aarons breaſt-plate were Urim and Thummim, that is, reſplendent and perfect jewells; yet all were not equall: ſome were richer and above others in value, as thoſe in the ſecond row; even ſo all the elect are deare to our Saviour, yet ſome are dearer than others: he entirely affected all the Apoſtles, yet Saint John, whorJohn 21.20. leaned upon his breaſt, was neerer to him than any of the other: all the Jewels were ſet in gold in their emboſſements, yet one was ſet above another; in like maner all the faithfull ſhall ſhine as ſtarres in the firmament, yet ſome ſhall be ſet in a higher ſphere than others: for as the Apoſtle teacheth us, there isſ1 Cor. 15.41. one glory of the Sunne, and another of the Moone, and another of the Starres; for one Starre differeth from another in glory, and ſo ſhall be the reſurrection of the dead.
5. Fifthly, looke yee yet neerer upon theſe ſhining ſtones, and yee ſhall finde, that they will not onelyonly delight and lighten the eyes of your underſtanding; but alſo heate and enflame your devout affections. They are as twelve precious bookes, wherein you may reade many excellent leſſons printed with indeleble characters. You ſee cleerly here the names of each of the Tribes in ſeverall engraven; let your marginall note be, God hath from all eternity decreed a certaine number of Elect to bee ſaved, and hee hath written their names in ſeverall in the booke of life.
6. Sixthly, obſerve that the names of the Tribes are not written in paper, nor carved in wood, but engraven in ſolid and precious ſtones with the point of a Diamond, never to be razed out: let your interlineary gloſſe be, None of thoſe whoſe names are written in the book of life can be ſtricken out. For there is no blotting, interlining, nor variae lectiones in that booke; ſtars there are, but no obeliskes: the Elect therefore though they may fall grievouſly and dangerouſly, yet not totally nor finally. Stella cadens non eſt ſtella, cometa fuit. Were you, beloved, but emboſſed or enammeled in the ring upon our Saviours finger, you were ſafe enough; for no man can plucke any thing out of our Saviours hand: but now that you are engraven as ſignets on our Saviours heart, what can be your feare? what may be your joy?
Is it ſo? doth our high Prieſt ſet us on his heart? and ſhall not wee ſet our heart on him? ſhall we eſteem any thing too deare for him, who eſteemeth us ſo deare unto him? Hee who once upon the Croſſe ſhed his heart bloud for us, ſtill beareth us upon his heart, and eſteemeth of us as Cornelia did of her Gracchi, and preſenteth us as it were in her words to his Father, Haec ſunt ornamenta mea, theſe be my jewels.
Doth he make ſuch reckoning of us? and is it our deſire he ſhould doe ſo? then for the love of our Redeemer let us not ſo diſhonour him, as to fill the rowes of his breaſt-plate with glaſſe in ſtead of jewels; let us not make him preſent to his Father either counterfeit ſtones through our hypocriſie, or dusky through earthlineſſe and worldly corruption; let us rub, ſcowre, and brighten the good graces of God in us, that they may ſhine in us, & we may be ſuch as our Saviour eſteemeth us to be, that is, orient and glorious jewels.
The ſumme of all is this: Yee have heard of foure rowes of precious ſtones ſet in boſſes of gold upon Aarons breaſt-plate; and by the foure rowes you underſtand the foure well ordered & methodicall Sermons by me rehearſed: by the jewels, either the eminent parts of the Preachers, or their precious doctrines: by the emboſſments of gold, in which theſe precious gems of divine doctrine were ſet, their texts: nothing remaineth but that the breaſt-plate being made, you put it on; and as Aaron did, beare it on your hearts. By wearing & bearing it there, you ſhall receive vertue from it, and in ſome ſort participate of the nature of theſe jewels; in modeſty of the Ruby, in chaſtity of the Emrald, in purity of the Onyx, in temperance of the Amethyſt, in ardent love of the Carbuncle, in invincible conſtancy of the Adamant, in ſacrificing your deareſt hearts bloud and affections to Chriſt, & in paſſion for him (if you be called thereunto) of the Hematite. You ſhall gloriouſly beautifie the breſt-plate of our Aaron, who hath put on his glorious apparrell, and ſacred robes, and is entred into the Sanctum Sanctorum in heaven, and at this time beareth our names on his breaſt for a remembrance before God his father; and long it ſhall not be ere he come from thence, and all eyes ſhall tApoc. 1.7.ſee him, and all kindreds of the earth ſhall mourne before him: then ſhall he ſay to us, Lift up your heads, looke upon my breaſt, reade every one your name engraven in a rich jewell. You were faithfull unto death: therefore ſee here now I give you a crowne of life; behold in it for every Chriſtian vertue a jewel, for every penitent teare Chryſtall & Pearle, for every green & blew wound or ſtripe endured for me an Emrald and a Saphir, for every drop of bloud ſhed for the Goſpel a Ruby and an Hematite: weare this for my ſake, and reigne with mee for evermore, Cui, &c.