A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 6 · Sermon 62
ABRAHAM HIS PURCHASE. A Sermon preached at the Conſecration of the Church-yard incloſed within the new wall at Lambeth. THE LXII. SERMON.
ACTS 7.16.
And were carried over into Sechem, and laid in the ſepulchre that Abraham bought for a ſumme of mony of the ſons of Emor, of Sechem.
UPon the hearing of my Text read, I ſuppoſe many looke for a Funerall Sermon, and have already ſo chriſtened my future diſcourſe in their preconceits. For here is the carrying of the dead, and the interring, together with a place for buriall,aGen. 22.7. purchaſed by Abraham for him and his heires for ever. But as Iſaac ſaid to his father Abraham, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the Lambe for a burnt offering? ſo they may reaſon with themſelves, Behold the bearers, and a ſepulchre, and the ground, but where is the corps to be laid in it? My anſwer hereunto muſt be a thankſgiving to God, whoſe mercy hath altered the caſe with us, becauſe his compaſsions faile not. It ſtood lately thus with us, when the waies of Sion mourned, becauſe none walked in them; and the gates of the Sanctuary lamented, becauſe almoſt none, ſpecially of the better ranke, who left us deſolate, entred at them. Wee ſaw with weeping eyes and bleeding hearts a preſſe as it were of dead corpſes, and many ſuing for a reverſion of a void roome in our dormitory; but now (God be bleſſed) we have a place given for buriall, and no corpſes at this preſent to take reall and corporall poſſeſsion thereof. Howbeit, becauſe what hath be fallen us heretofore, may alſo hereafter, and if death ſhould ſtrike any at this preſent without a writ of removall, which cannot bee ſued out of any court for ought I know againſt the dead, wee know not where to beſtow them: wee could doe no leſſe in Chriſtian charity and providence, than procure the bounds of our Golgotha to be enlarged. For though other houſes and tenements ſtand void with us, the grave ſhall never want gueſts, nor the Church-yard and vaults under ground tenants againſt their will. All men and women are flowers, and all flowers will fall, and when they are ready to fall, we ſhall have ſlips (I feare) but too many to plant this parcell of ground which wee have gained in by the gift of the father of this Sichem.
But hereof hereafter, when I ſhall have opened my Text, and the ſepulchre in it, and who were interred there, and how they came thither. If in any Text almoſt of the whole Scripture, ſurely in this the coherence needeth to be handled. For at the firſt ſight this relation of the buriall of the Patriarchs ſeemeth to have no affinity at all with Saint Stephens apologie for himſelfe againſt the Jewes, who charged him with blaſphemy againſt Moſes, and againſt the Law. Now as in a ſhooting match a ſtander by can hardly diſcerne the flight of an arrow, unleſſe he marke the Archers aime, and obſerve the flight-ſhaft as ſoon as it is delivered out of the bow; ſo unleſſe ye marke Saint Stephens aime, and obſerve how he entereth into this ſtory of the Old Teſtament, ye can hardly diſcerne how direct it is to his maine ſcope and purpoſe. But ſo it is, that as he that ſhooteth farre draweth his arrow backward up to the head; and as hee that leapeth forward fetcheth his feeze a great way backe: ſo doth Saint Stephen here ſeem to give ground, and recoile a great way backward; but it is to come on with more force, and powerfully to confound the Jewes, who began not now to perſecute the Saints of God, and Witneſſes of Jeſus Chriſt, but in all ages had done the like. Fabius Maximus (asbLiv. dec. 3. l. 2. Livie writeth) kept aloofe off from the Carthaginian army upon a high hill, till hee ſaw that Hannibal had foiled Minutius in the plaine; but then hee falleth upon him, and routs all his troupes: whereupon Hannibal uttered that memorable ſpeech, I ever feared that the cloud which hovered ſo long upon the hills would in the end powre downe, and give us a ſad ſhowre. Saint Stephen like Fabius for a great while keepeth aloof off from the Jewes, and his diſcourſe reſembleth a darke cloud hovering on the top of a hill, which on the ſudden in the end rained downe upon them, and cauſed a bitter ſtorme, for killing firſt all the ſervants ſent to them by the Maſter of the Vineyard, and laſt of all his Sonne. The Jewes bragged much of their fathers; Saint Stephen by epitomizing the ſtory of the Old Teſtament, ſheweth unto them that they ought rather to be aſhamed of them, in whoſe wicked ſteps notwithſtanding they trod, and were now (as their fathers ever had bin) a ſtiffe-necked people, of uncircumciſed eares and hearts, reſiſting the ſpirit of God, and cruelly perſecuting thoſe to death, who ſhewed before of the comming of the juſt One, of whom (ſaith he) ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: who have received the Law by the diſpoſition of Angels, and have not kept it.
The accuſers of Saint Stephen articled againſt him, that hee had uttered blaſphemy againſt the Law of Moſes, and againſt the Temple, becauſe hee taught that the ceremonies of the Law were fulfilled in Chriſt, and that the ſhadow ought to vaniſh, the body being come in place. Saint Stephen anſwereth for himſelfe, that the doctrine of the Goſpel was ancienter than the Law or the Temple, and that all the furniture of the Temple and Arke were made according to the patterne in the Mount, and had a reference to heavenly and ſpirituall things revealed in the Goſpel: that God was now to be worſhipped in ſpirit and truth, by faith in Chriſt now come, as hee had been by the fathers before the Law in Chriſt to come, who by faith gave charge that their bones ſhould be carried out of Egypt, and buried in the land of Canaan, beleeving that God would certainly performe his promiſe made unto their poſterity, firſt of the reall poſſeſſion of the earthly, & after that of the heavenly inheritance by the ſeed of Abraham, in whom all Nations are bleſſed, Chriſt Jeſus, that ſhould be born in that land. What they gave in charge was accordingly performed, as ye heare in the words of my Text, So Jacob went into Egypt and dyed, he and our fathers, and were carried over into Sichem, and laid in the ſepulchre that Abraham bought, &c.
Ye ſee the coherence, but ye cannot yet diſcerne the truth of the relation, becauſe there is a miſt on the words, which hath cauſed many to miſſe their way; and it cannot bee otherwiſe diſpelled, than by cleering this whole relation of Saint Stephen, and comparing it with the narration of Moſes.
1. It is evident out of Geneſ. 23.16, 20. that Abraham for foure hundreds ſhekels of ſilver bought the field of Ephron the Hittite, which was in Machpelah, and therein a cave to bury the dead.
2. It is evident out of Geneſ. 33.19. that Jacob bought a parcell of a field where he had ſpread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor Sechems father, for a hundred peeces of mony.
3. It is evident likewiſe out of Geneſ. 50.13. that Jacobs ſons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field in Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a poſſeſſion of a burying place of Ephron the Hittite before Mamre.
4. It is evident out of Joſ. 24.32. that the children of Iſrael brought the bones of Joſeph out of Egypt, and buried them in Sechem in a parcell of ground which Jacob bought of the ſons of Hamor the father of Sechem for a hundred peeces of ſilver, and it became the inheritance of the children of Joſeph.
Now the points of difficulty are three:
1. Whether all the Patriarchs were buried in Sechem, or only Joſeph. For in the booke of Joſuah there is mention made of none buried there but Joſeph; yet Saint Stephen here ſpeaketh in the plurall number, Our fathers dyed, and were carried over into Sechem. And Saint Jerome, who lived in thoſe parts writeth, that in his time the ſepulchre of the twelve Patriarchs was to be ſeen in Sechem.
2. Whether Abraham or Jacob bought this field wherein they were buried. For both bought ground for buriall, but not at the ſame rate, nor in the ſame place, nor from the ſame Landlords. For Abraham paid for his purchaſe foure hundred peeces of ſilver, Jacob an hundred: Abrahams lay in the country of Heth, Jacobs of Sechem: Abraham bought it of Ephron the Hittite, Jacob of Hamor the Sechemite. If the Patriarchs were laid in a ſepulchre at Sechem, it could not be that which Abraham bought: for that was not in the tenure and occupation of the Sechemites, but of the Hittites.
3. Whether Hamor were the father or ſonne of Sechem. For in Geneſis we reade, that he was the father of Sechem: but in the Acts many tranſlate foreign, the ſon of Sechem.
1. The firſt doubt may be thus cleared. Joſeph alone was buried in Sechem, and reſted there: but the other Patriarchs were at the firſt buried at Sechem, but afterwards removed from thence to Ephron, and were buried all in Abrahams vault or cave: thus Joſephus & S. Jerome are eaſily reconciled. For though the bones of them all lay in Ephron, yet at Sechem there might be ſome monument of them remaining, as empty tombes with ſome inſcription.
2. The ſecond difficulty is much more intricate, and thoſe who have ſtroven to get out of it have more intangled themſelves and others in it. Calvins anſwer is ſomewhat too peremptory, that there is an errour in all our copies of the New Teſtament, and ought to be corrected: and though Beza goe about to excuſe the matter by a ſemblance of ſome like miſnomer in the Goſpel, yet this his obſervation, unleſſe he could produce ſome ancient copies, wherein ſuch miſtakes were not to be found, openeth a dangerous gap to Infidels and Heretickes, who hereby will be apt to take occaſion to queſtion the infallible truth of the holy Writ. Canus in going about to take out the blot, maketh it bigger, ſaying, that Saint Luke erred not in relating Saint Stephens ſpeech, but that Saint Stephens memory failed him, and that through errour or inadvertency hee confounded Jacobs purchaſe with Abrahams. This anſwer commeth neere to blaſphemy: for no man doubteth but that Saint Stephen in his ſpeech ſpake as hee was inſpired by the holy Ghoſt. Therefore Lyranus, Lorinus, and many others, think to ſalve all by putting two names upon the ſame man, whom they will have ſometimes to be called Ephron, ſometimes Hamor: but they bring no good proofe out of Scripture for it; and though they could make Ephron and Hamor the ſame man, yet they can never make the cave in the land of the Hittites, and that in the land of the Sechemites to be one and the ſame parcell of ground.
With ſubmiſſion to more learned judgements (quia hic Delio opus eſt natatore) I take it that either foreign ſhould be rendred by, & joyned to the word foreign, and a comma at foreign, and ſo the ſenſe is, That the Patriarchs were tranſlated into Sechem by the Sechemites, and laid in Abrahams ſepulchre which he bought for mony: or foreign to be underſtood, and then the meaning will be this, That ſome of the Patriarchs were laid in Abrahams ſepulchre, ſome in the field that Jacob bought. Thus then (according to the originall) wee may render this verſe, And they were carried over into Sechem, and laid in the ſepulchre that Abraham bought, beſides that which Jacob bought of Hamor, that is: Jacob dyed, and our fathers, and ſome of them were beſtowed in Sechem in the cave which Jacob bought, and ſome of them in that which Abraham bought.
3. The third doubt is eaſily reſolved. For Hamor was the father of Sechem, as we reade Geneſ. 33.19. neither doth S. Stephen gain-ſay it: for his words are foreign, of Sechem, which ſhould have been tranſlated the father of Sechem, as Herodotus in Clio ſaith, foreign, and in Thalia, foreign,Mar. 15.40. and Saint Mark, foreign. Adraſtus of Mydas, to wit, the father of Mydas; Cyrus of Cambyſes, that is, the father of Cambyſes; Mary of James, that is, Mary the mother of James.
The miſt being thus diſpelled, we may cleerly ſee our way, and readily follow the Patriarchs in the funerall proceſſion from Egypt, firſt to Sechem, and afterwards to Ephron.
And they were carried over, &c. This tranſportation offereth to our religious thoughts two acts:
1. Of Piety,
2. Of Charity.
both ſignificative and myſticall. For the carrying the Patriarchs bones from Egypt to Canaan, ſhadoweth our removall after death from Egyptian darkneſſe to the inheritance of Saints in light; and the laying them by the bones of Abraham may repreſent unto us how the ſoules of all the faithfull immediately after they were ſevered from their bodies, are carried by Angels into the boſome of Abraham. The firſt I call an act of piety or religion, becauſe the Patriarchs before their death by faith gave charge of their bones; and their poſterity executed their laſt Will in this point, to profeſſe their faith in Gods promiſe, which was to give the land of Canaan to their ſeed for an inheritance, and accordingly by their dead bodies they tooke a kind of reall poſſeſſion thereof.
And they. As by a Synecdoche the ſoule is put for the man, Anima cujuſque is eſt quiſque; ſo by the ſame figure the corpſes of the Patriarchs are called the Patriarchs. Poole elegantly called his dead body his depoſitum: Scaliger his relique: Saint Paul the tent-maker agreeable to his profeſſion, called it an earthly tabernacle. And although indeed it bee but the casket which containes in it the precious ring, our immortall ſpirit, yet in regard of the union of it to the ſoule, and becauſe it concurreth with the ſoule to the phyſicall conſtitution of a man, it may by a figure be called a man.
Yea, but had the Patriarchs no priviledge, but muſt they goe the way of all fleſh? They muſt: for earth is in their compoſition, and into the earth muſt be their reſolution. As the world is a circle, ſo all things in the world in this are like a circle, that they end where, or as they began. The vapours that are drawne up from the earth, fall downe againe upon the earth in rain. The fire that deſcended at the firſt from the region of fire in thegPickolom. Phyſ. hollow of the Moone, aſcends up thither againe. The waters that flow from the ſea returne backe to the ſea: in like manner the ſoule of man, which was infuſed by God, returneth to God that gave it; but the body, which was made of red earth, returneth to duſt as it was. We need not inquire of Scripture where reaſon ſpeaketh ſo plaine, nor interrogate reaſon where ſenſe giveth daily teſtimony to the truth. Every paſsing bell rings this leſſon in our eares: Omnis loculus locus eſt; every coffin is a topicke to prove it: every grave layes it open to us: every ſpeechleſſe man on his death-bed cries out to us, Memento mori, quod tueris eris.
Were carried over into Sechem. The life of man is a double pilgrimage:
1. Of the outward man.
2. Of the inward man.
The outward travelleth from the cradle to the coffin, the inward from earth to heaven. Of all creatures man only is properly a pilgrim on earth; becauſe he alone is borne, and liveth all his time here out of his own country: of all men the Patriarchs were the greateſt pilgrims, both in life and death; for they ſpent all their life in weariſome and dangerous peregrinations, and after their death their bodies went as it were in pilgrimage, and there viſited firſt Sechem, and then Machpelah, where they tooke up their reſt. It is the uſuall wiſh and proverbiall ſpeech of men, Though I toile and moile here, yet I hope one day I ſhall reſt in my grave. No man can promiſe himſelfe ſo much: for not only the bodies of men accurſed of God have been digged out of their graves, to teach us, that there is no ſanctuary for a wicked perſon living or dying; but even Gods ſervants have been oftentimes removed out of their earthly beds, ſome in honour to them, and others out of malice again… …em, to diſhonour and diſgrace them. The bodies of Gervaſius and Protaſius, Martyrs, were tranſlated from a blind and obſcure place in Millaine where they lay, to a more celebrious and illuſtrous Church, to doe them the greater honour: on the contrary, Euſebius writeth, that divers Martyrs in France were by the Gentiles plucked out of their graves, and burnt to aſhes, and their aſhes caſt into the river Roan: and the Papiſts, as if they would make it knowne to the world that no Painims or Gentiles ſhould out-do them, in wreaking their malice againſt the profeſſors of the truth, both digged up Wickliffes and Peter Martyrs wives, and Paulus Fagius their bones after they had been long interred: Nec livor poſt fata quievit. The Tombe-ſtone is ſaid to be the bound of malice, and death a ſuperſedeas for envie and all uncharitable proceedings: yet blind zeale in perſecuting the members of Chriſt Jeſus exceeds theſe bounds, and all termes of common humanity. O unheard of cruelty, ſaith the bleſſed Martyr SainthCyp. de lapſ. Saevitum eſt in plagas, & jam in ſervis Dei non torquebantur membra, ſed vulnera. Cyprian, Their rage falleth upon the ſtripes of Gods ſervants, and they now torture not ſo much their members as their wounds. We may goe on further, becauſe Popiſh cruelty hath gone on further, and ſay: Saevitum eſt in cadavera, ſaevitum eſt in oſſa, ſaevitum eſt in cineres, ſaevitum eſt in manes: the rage and malice of Papiſts againſt Proteſtants is not ſatisfied with their bloud, nor expireth with their life; they fall like ſavage Jackals upon their carkaſſes, they digge up their graves, they rifle their coffins, they burne their bones, they perſecute their ghoſts; and this is their charity which they ſo much bragge of. But I leave them, and come to the ſepulchre which Abraham bought, where the Patriarchs were laid.
And were laid in the ſepulchre. Though it little import the ſoules of Gods Saints in heaven what becommeth of their dead corpſe on earth, no more than it concerneth a newly elected King, when hee hath his Princely robes on him, what becomes of his old caſt ſuits of apparrell: in which regard SaintiAug. confeſ. l. 9. c. 11. Nihil longé eſt à Deo, nec timendum mihi ille ne agnoſcat in fine ſaeculi unde reſuſcitet. Monica told her ſonne at her death, that ſhee tooke no care where ſhee was interred; yeelding this for a reaſon, It is nothing to mee (ſaith ſhee) whether I lye farre from home, or from any Church; I am ſure nothing is farre from God: neither doe I feare but that hee will find mee at the laſt day, and raiſe up my corpſe whereſoever it lies. Yet becauſe the bodies of Gods Saints were temples of the holy Ghoſt, and ſerved as inſtruments in the performance of all duties of piety and charity; our piety and charity in ſome reſpect extendeth to them: piety I ſay, not to worſhip them, for that is idolatrie; not to pray to them, for that at the beſt is foreign, will-worſhip, and unwarrantable devotion; not to pray for them, for that is ſuperſtition: but to give God thankes for them, and to expect their and our joyfull reſurrection: charity to preſerve their good name alive, and to bury their dead corpſes, although I grant with SaintkLib. 1. de civit. Dei, c. 12. Omnia iſta curatio funeris, conditio ſepultu…ae pompa exequia…um m…gis ſun… ſolatia vivorum quàm ſubſidia mortuorum. Et c. 13. Si enim paterna veſtis & annulus tantò charior eſt poſteris, quantò erga parentes major eſt affectus, nullo modo ſpernanda ſunt corpora, quae utique multo familiarius atque conjunctius quàm quaelibet indumenta geſtamus. Auſtine, that the care of funeralls, and pompe of herſes, and rites of buriall are rather comforts of the living, than helpes of the dead: yet with the ſame Auſtine I cannot but acknowledge that the bodies of our parents or friends may challenge more affection and reſpect to them, than the apparrell ring, or jewell they wore, which yet wee make great account of, and carefully keep for their ſake. Doth not Nature her ſelfe teach us this worke of mercy to the dead? Doe not ſome birds that are loving to man, if they ſpy a dead corpſe in the wood, cover it over with leaves? Doth the young Phenix (aslAnnal. l. 10. Phoenici cura primo ſepeliendi patris, ſublato myrrhae pondere ſubit patrium corpus, & in Solis templum perfert. Tacitus writeth) as ſoone as ever it hath life, take care of burying the parent, carrying his corpſe with a quantity of Myrrhe, and laying it in the Temple of the Sunne? and ſhall not men endued with reaſon and underſtanding doe the like not onelyonly to their parents and friends, but even to ſtrangers and their very enemies, eſpecially if there bee worth in them? Alexander the great opening Cyrus Tombe, ſet a crowne upon his Herſe, and carefully ſhut it againe. Hannibal gave Marcellus the Romane Conſull an honourable buriall, put his aſhes in a ſilver pot, and crowned it with a crowne of gold, and ſent it to his ſonne to interre it. (To ſpeake nothing of Cannibals, man-eaters, and other ſavages) all civill people in the world bury their dead, though in a different manner, and with ſeverall rites. The Jewes waſhed, the Egyptians embalmed the corpſe, the Romanes burnt them with ſweet perfumes, and kept the aſhes in an urne or pot: the Ethiopians curiouſly paint them, and lay them in a glazed coffin: the moſt common and moſt agreeable to Scripture is interring the corpſe. Moſes alludeth to it:mGen 3.19. Duſt thou art, and to dust ſhalt thou returne: and Solomon, nEccleſ. 12.7.Then ſhall the duſt returne to the earth as it was: and David, oPſal. 30.9.What profit is there then in my bloud when I goe downe to the pit? ſhall the duſt praiſe thee? or ſhall it declare thy truth? The Greekes for the moſt part, and other Nations alſo, excepting thoſe above named, interred their dead: and thereforepPlin nat. hiſt. l. 2. c. 63. Haec naſcentes excipit, natos alit noviſſimè complexa gremio jam reliquà naturà abdicatos, tum maximé ut mater operiens, nomen prorogat ti…ulis, &c. Pliny calleth the earth our tender mother, which receiveth us into her boſome, when wee are excluded as it were out of the world, and covereth our nakedneſſe and ſhame, and guardeth us from beaſts and fowles, that they offer no indignity to our carkaſſes.
Now becauſe it is to ſmall purpoſe to beſtow the dead in roomes under ground, if they may not keep them, Abraham wiſely provided for this: for hee laid downe a valuable conſideration for the field where the cave was.
Were laid in the ſepulchre that Abraham bought for a ſumme of money. As Abraham here bought a field out-right, and thereby aſſured the poſſeſſion thereof to his poſterity; ſo by his example the Synagogue under the Law, and the Catholike Church under the Goſpel, eſpecially in dayes of peace, ſecured certaine places for the buriall of the dead, either purchaſed for money, or received by deed of gift: and after they were poſſeſſed of them, ſequeſtred them from all other, and appropiated them to this uſe onelyonly; by which ſequeſtration and appropriation all ſuch parcells of ground became holy, in ſuch ſort that none might otherwiſe uſe or imploy them, than for the buriall of the dead, without ſacriledge or profanation. As the holy oyle ran from Aarons head to his body, and the skirts of his garments, ſo holineſſe ſtayeth not in the Chancell as the head, but deſcendeth to the whole body of the Church and the Church-yard as the skirt thereof.
Miſtake mee not, brethren, I ſay not that one clod of earth is holier than another, or any one place or day abſolutely, but relatively only. For as it is ſuperſtition to attribute formall or inherent holineſſe to times, places, parcells of ground, fruits of the earth, veſſell, or veſtments; ſo it is profaneneſſe to deny them ſome kind of relative ſanctity, which the holy Ghoſt attributeth unto them in Scripture, where wee reade expreſly of holy ground, holy daies, holy oyle, and the like. To cleare the point wee are to diſtinguiſh of holineſſe yet more particularly, which belongeth
1. To God the Father, Sonne, and Spirit by eſſence.
2. To Angels and men by participation of the divine nature or grace.
3. To the Word and Oracles of God by inſpiration.
4. To types, figures, ſacraments, rites and ceremonies by divine inſtitution.
5. To places, lands, and fruits of the earth, as alſo ſacred utenſils, by uſe and dedication: as
1. Temples with their furniture conſecrated to the ſervice of God.
2. Tithes and glebe lands to the maintenance of the Prieſts.
3. Church-yards to the buriall of the dead.
Others come off ſhorter, and dichotomize holy things, which ſay they are
1. Sanctified, becauſe they are holy, as God his name and attributes, &c.
2. Holy, becauſe they are ſanctified,
1. Either by God to man, as the Word and Sacraments.
2. Or by man to God, as Prieſts, Temples, Altars, Tables, &c.
Of this laſt kind of holy things by dedication, ſome are dedicated to him
1. Immediately, as all things uſed in his ſervice.
2. Mediately, as all ſuch things without which his ſervice cannot be conveniently done; and here come in Church-yards, without which, ſome religious workes of charity cannot be done with ſuch conveniency or decency as they ought.
The Church is as Gods houſe, and the yard is as the court before his doore: how then dare any defile it, or alienate it, or imploy it to any ſecular uſe for profit or pleaſure?
To conclude, all Church-yards by the Ancients are termed foreign, dormitories, or dortories, wherein they lye that ſleep in Jeſus. Now it is moſt uncivill to preſſe into, or any way abuſe the bed-chamber of the living, and much more of the dead. What are graves in this dormitory but ſacred veſtries, wherein we lay up our old garments for a time, and after take them out, and reſume them new dreſſed and trimmed, and gloriouſly adorned, and made ſhining, andſMar. 9.3. exceeding white as ſnow (ſo as no Fuller on earth can white them?) Theſe ſhining raiments God beſtow upon us all at the laſt day, for the merits of the death and buriall of our Lord and Saviour. Cui, &c.