A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 6 · Sermon 63
THE FEAST OF PENTECOST. A Sermon preached on Whitſunday. THE LXIII. SERMON.
ATCS 2.1.
And when the day of Pentecoſt was fully come, they were all together with one accord in one place.
SAintaHom. in die aſcenſ. foreign. Chryſoſtome, comparing the works of redemption with the works of creation, obſerveth, that as the Father finiſhed the former, ſo the Sonne the later, in ſix dayes eſpecially: in memorie whereof his deareſt Spouſe, the Catholique Church, hath appointed ſix ſolemnities to be kept by all Chriſtians, with greateſt fervour of devotion, and higheſt elevation of religious affections. Theſe are Chriſt his
1. Virgin birth.
2. Illuſtrious Epiphanie.
3. Ignominious death.
4. His powerfull reſurrection.
5. His glorious aſcenſion.
6. His gracious ſending downe of the holy Ghoſt.
The day of
1. His incarnation, by which he entred into the world.
2. His manifeſtation, on which he entred upon his office of Mediatour.
3. His paſſion, on which he expiated our ſinnes.
4. His reſuſcitation, by wch he conquered death & the grave.
5. His triumphant returne into heaven, on which hee tooke ſeizin and poſſeſſion of that kingdome for us.
6. His viſible miſſion of the holy Ghoſt, in the ſimilitude of fiery cloven tongues, on which he ſealed all his former benefits to us, and us to the day of redemption.
This laſt feſtivall in order of time was yet the firſt and chiefeſt in order of dignity. For on Chriſts birth day hee was made partaker of our nature, but on this wee were made partakers after a ſort of his: in the Epiphany one ſtarre onelyonly ſtood over the houſe where hee lay, on this twelve fiery tongues, like ſo many celeſtiall lights, appeared in the roome where the Apoſtles were aſſembled: on the day of his paſſion he rendred his humane ſpirit to God his father, on this hee ſent downe his divine ſpirit upon us: on the reſurrection his ſpirit quickened his naturall body, on this it quickened his myſticall, the Catholique Church: on the aſcenſion he tooke a pledge from us, viz. our fleſh, and carried it into heaven, on this hee ſent us his pledge, viz. his ſpirit in the likeneſſe of fiery tongues, with the ſound of a mighty ruſhing wind. After which the Spouſe, as Gorrhan conceiveth, panted, ſaying,bCant. 4.16. Awake, O North wind, and come thou South, blow upon my garden, that the ſpices therof may flow out; let my Beloved come into his garden, & eat his pleaſant fruits. The wind ſhe gaſped for, what was it but the ſpirit? and what are the fragrant ſpices ſhee wiſhes may flow, but the graces of the holy Ghoſt, which David calleth gifts for men in the eighteenth verſe of the 68. Pſalme? the former part whereof may furniſh the feaſt we lately celebrated, with a fit antheme, Thou haſt aſcended up on high, thou haſt led captivitie captive: the later may ſupply this preſent, thou haſt received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious alſo, that the Lord God may dwell among them. Bleſſed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our ſalvation: for on this day Chriſt received gifts for his Church, the gifts of faith, hope and charitie, the gift of prayer and ſupplication, the gift of healing and miracles, the gift of prophecie, the gift of tongues, and the interpretation thereof. Verily, ſo many and ſo great are the benefits, which the anniverſary returne of this day preſenteth to us, that as if all the tongues upon the earth had not beene ſufficient to utter them, a ſupply of new tongues was ſent from heaven to declare them in all languages. The new Teſtament was drawne before, and ſigned with Chriſts bloud on good Friday; butcEpheſ. 4.30. Grieve not the holy ſpirit of God, whereby yee are ſealed to the day of redemption. ſealed firſt on this day by the holy ſpirit of God. Chriſt made his laſt Will upon the croſſe, and thereby bequeathed unto us many faire legacies: but this Will was notd1 Cor. 12.4, 5, 8. There are differences of adminiſtrations, but the ſame Lord: and diverſitie of gifts, but the ſame ſpirit. For to one is given by the ſame ſpirit, the word of wiſdome, unto another the word of knowledge, by the ſame ſpirit. adminiſtred till this day; for theeAnd 2 Cor. 3.8. How ſhall not the miniſtration of the ſpirit be rather glorious? miniſtration is of the ſpirit.
Yea, but had not the Apoſtles the ſpirit before this day? did not our Lord breathe on them, (John 20.22.) the day he roſe at evening, being the firſt day of the weeke, ſaying, Receive yee the holy Ghoſt?
The learned anſwer, that they had indeed the ſpirit before, but not in ſuch a meaſure: the holy Ghoſt was given before according to ſome ghoſtly power and inviſible grace; but was never ſent before in a viſible manner: before they received him in breath, now in fire: before hee wasfCalv. in Act Anteà reſperſi erant, nunc plenè imbuti. ſprinkled, but now powred on them: before they received foreign, but now foreign: before authority to diſcharge their function, but now power to worke wonders: before they had the ſmell, now the ſubſtance gAug. hom. de Pent. Nunc ipſa ſubſtantia ſacri defluxit unguenti, cujus fragrantia totius orbis latitudo impleretur; & iterum adfuit hoc die fidelibus, non per gratiam viſitationis & operationis, ſed per praeſentiam majeſtatis.of the celeſtiall oyntment was ſhed on them: they heard of him before, but now they ſaw and felt him
1. In their minds, by infallible direction:
2. In their tongues, by the multiplicity of languages:
3. In their hands, by miraculous cures.
S. Auſtine truly obſerveth, that before the Apoſtles on this day were indued with power from above, they never ſtrove for the Chriſtian faith unto bloud: when Satan winnowed them at Chriſts paſſion they all flew away like chaffe. And though S. Peters faith failed not, becauſe it was ſupported by our Lords prayer, Luke 22.32. yet his courage failed him in ſuch ſort, that he was foyled by a ſilly damſell: but after the holy Ghoſt deſcended upon him and the reſt of the Apoſtles, in the ſound of a mightie ruſhing wind, and in the likeneſſe of fierie cloven tongues, they were filled with grace, and enflamed with zeale, and they mightily oppoſed all the enemies of the truth, and made an open and noble profeſſion thereof before the greateſt Potentates of the world, and ſealed it with their bloud, all of them ſave S. John; who had that priviledge that hee ſhould ſtay till Chriſt came, glorifying the Lord of life by their valiant ſuffering of death for his names ſake. In regard of which manifold and powerfull eff…cts of ſending the ſpirit on this day, which were no leſſe ſeene in the flames of the Martyrs, than in the fiery tongues that lighted on the Apoſtles, the Church of Chriſt, even from the beginning, celebrated this feſtivity in moſt ſolemne manner; and not ſo onelyonly, but within 300. yeares after Chriſts death, the Fathers in the Councels ofhConcil. Elib. c. 43. Cuncti diem Pentecoſtes celebrent, qui non fecerit quaſi novam hereſem induxerit pumatur. Eliberis mounted a canon, thundring out the paine of hereſie to all ſuch as religiouſly kept it not. If the Jewes celebrated an high feaſt in memory of the Law, on this day firſt proclaimed on mount Sinai; ought not we much more to ſolemnize it in memory of the Goſpel now promulgated on mount Sion by new tongues ſent from heaven? If we dedi… peculiar feſtivals to God the Father the Creatour, and God the Sonne the Redeemer; why ſhould not God the holy Ghoſt the Sanctifier have a peculiar intereſt in our devotion? S.iSerm. in die Pent. Si celebramus ſanctorum ſolennia, quanto magis ejus à quo habuerunt ut ſancti eſſent, quotquot fuerunt ſancti? ſi veneramur ſanctificatos, quanto magis ſanctificatorem? Bernard addeth another twiſt to this cord, If we deſervedly honour Saints with feſtivals, how much more ought wee to honour him, who maketh them Saints? eſpecially having ſo good a ground for it, as is laid downe in this chapter and verſe:
And when the day of Pentecoſt was come. As a prologue to an act, or an eeve to an holy day, or the Paraſcheve to the Paſſeover, or the beautifull gate to the Temple; ſo is this preface to the enſuing narration: it preſenteth to our religious thoughts a three-fold concurrence:
1. Of time.
2. Of place.
3. Of affections.
Upon one and the ſelfe ſame day, when all the Apoſtles were met in one place, and were of one minde, the ſpirit of unity and love deſcendeth upon them. Complementum legis Chriſtus, Evangelii ſpiritus; As the deſcending of the Sonne was the complement of the Law, ſo the ſending of the ſpirit is the complement of the Goſpel: and as God ſent his Sonne in the fulneſſe of time, ſo he ſent the ſpirit, foreign, in the fulneſſe of the fiftieth day. When the Apoſtles number was full, and their deſire and expectations full, then the ſpirit came downe, and filled their hearts with joy, and their tongues with foreign, Magnifica Dei facta, the wonderfull works of God, verſ. 11.
That your thoughts rove not at uncertainties, may it pleaſe you to pitch them upon foure circumſtances.
1. The time, when.
2. The perſons who, They.
3. The affection or diſpoſition, were with one accord.
4. The place, in one place.
1. The time was ſolemne, the day of Pentecoſt.
2. The perſons eminent, the Apoſtles.
3. Their diſpoſition agreeable, foreign.
4. The place convenient, in an upper roome at Jeruſalem, where Chriſt appointed them to wait for thekAct. 1.4. promiſe of the father.
1. Of the time. In the Syriacke and Latine wee read foreign or dies, dayes, in the plurall number: but in the originall, foreign, the day in the ſingular. The Syriacke and the Latine had an eye to the whole number of dayes, which now amounted unto fiftie: the originall deſigneth in the ſingular the preciſe day which made it up fiftie, the day by the acceſſe whereof to the 49. the number of foreign, or fiftie, was made complete. Word for word according to the originall wee ſhould thus reade my text, foreign, in or upon the fulfilling of the fiftieth day from the feaſt of firſt fruits. Metall upon metall is no good Heraldrie; yet feaſt upon feaſt is good Divinitie: eſpecially when the one is the type, the other the truth. For this reaſonlforeign. Severianus conceiveth that our Saviour was offered up for our ſinnes on the croſſe, the day and time of the day when the Paſchall Lamb, according to the Law, was to be killed, to ſet the face to the picture, the truth to the type, that the body might as it were drive out the ſhadow, and occupie the ſpace thereof. And in like mannermIn haec verba, ut oſtenderet & tum ſpiritum ſanctum legem tuliſſe, & nunc legem ferre. Theophylact imagineth that hee ſent the ſpirit fiftie dayes after, when the Jewes kept a feaſt for the Law, to ſhew that as then the holy Ghost proclaimed the Law, ſo now alſo: then the law and covenant of works, now the law of faith and covenant of grace. S.oAug. hom. de Pent Sicut 50. poſt paſcha die lex lata fuit manu Dei ſcripta in tabulis lapideis: ita ſpiritus, cujus officium erat eam cordibus inſcribere, condem diebus poſt reſurrectionem Chriſti, qui eſt paſcha noſtrum, implevit, quod in legis promulgatione figuratum erat. Auſtine giveth another relliſh of his owne; As (ſaith he) fiftie dayes after Eaſter the Law was given, written by the finger of God in tables of ſtone: ſo the ſpirit, whoſe office it is to write it in the hearts of men, juſt ſo many dayes after Chriſts reſurrection, who is our Paſſover, fulfilled that which was figured in the publiſhing of the Law. S.pChryſ. hom. de Pent. foreign, &c. Chryſoſtome ſtriketh upon a different ſtring, yet maketh good muſicke: others fetched the congruitie from the Law, hee from nature. What, ſaith he, is Pentecoſt? It ſignifieth that ſeaſon of the yeare, wherein the Jewes thruſt their ſickle into the corne-harveſt. In like ſort the Lord of the harveſt diſpoſed that now the Apoſtles ſhould put their ſickle (the ſickle of the Word) into the harveſt of the world and reape it. I ſhall not need to ſtraine farther for congruities, S. Cyrill and S. Ambroſe give me the hint of another ſynchroniſme; for they affirme that on this day the Angell deſcended into the poole of Betheſda, and after the troubling the water cured the ſicke whatſoever the diſeaſe was. And what fitter day could have beene thought upon for the holy Ghoſt to deſcend, to beſtow the gift of miraculous cures, than upon this day of healing? I could tell you of the Jubilee, which fell upon the fiftieth yeare, in which all poſſeſſions returned to their former owners, and acquittances were given for all debts: but becauſe the beſt ſtomacks rather deſire ſolid than ſweet meats, I therefore content my ſelfe at this preſent withqCalv. com. in Act. 2. Feſto die quo ingens multitudo Hieroſolymae confluere ſolebat, editum eſt miraculum quo illuſtrius redderetur. Calvin his obſervation upon the circumſtance of time. This ſolemnitie being next to that of the Paſſover, was the fitteſt time to make the miracle wrought upon it more illuſtrious. For this reaſon Chriſt came up ſo often to Jeruſalem at their ſolemne feaſts, and S. Paul made haſte in his journey that he might be there at the feaſt of Pentecoſt, to win more ſoules by the preaching of the Goſpel, in a time of ſo great confluence of people from all parts. There is no fiſhing to the ſea, and now it was full ſea at Jeruſalem, all the cities in Paleſtine like ſo many rivers emptying themſelves into it. The gift of tongues could not at any time ſo fitly have been beſtowed as at this, when there were preſent at Jeruſalem men of everie nation under heaven, Acts 2.5, 6. To convince all gaine-ſayers of the miracle, What are theſe (ſay they) that ſpeak? Are they not Galileans? How then heare we every one ſpeake in our owne tongue where wee were borne? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and they that dwell in Meſopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Bithynia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Aegypt, and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and ſtrangers of Rome, Jewes and Proſelytes, Cretes and Arabians, we doe heare them ſpeake in our tongues the wonderfull works of God, verſ. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, As we read in the 19. Pſalme, verſ. 2. Dies ad diem eructat ſermonem, & nox ad noctem oſtendit ſcientiam; Day unto day uttereth ſpeech, and night unto night ſheweth knowledge, or giveth intelligence: ſo here, Lingua ad linguam eructat ſermonem: the tongues of men of all nations gave teſtimony to the miraculous gift of tongues in the Apoſtles. It is the wiſdome of State, to appoint beacons to be ſet up on the higheſt hils, to give notice to all the Countrey. And Chriſt himſelfe commandeth us not to hide a candle under a buſhell, but to ſet it on a candleſticke, that it may give light to all that are in the houſe. And in this conſideration thoſe Preachers of the glad tidings of ſalvation, who have had the beſt foyle of modeſtie to ſet off the lustre of their knowledge, have yet been deſirous to deliver their Embaſſage from God to men in the fulleſt aſſemblies: not to gaine thereby more applauſe to themſelves, but more ſoules to God. When the eares ſtand thicke in a corne-field, not a drop of raine falleth beſides them on the ground. And this is a principall end of our celebration of Chriſtian feaſts, to draw multitudes together to heare Chriſt preaching by his Miniſters, and working ſtill miraculous cures upon the ſoules of men, by the Sacraments adminiſtred in the Church. And ſo from the holy day, I proceed to the ſacred perſons aſſembled on it, viz. the Apoſtles.
They were all together. Beza telleth us of an ancient manuſcript, in which he found the ſubſtantive added to the adjective omnes, viz. Apoſtoli, which words though I finde not in our copies, yet by comparing this verſe with the laſt of the former chapter, it appeareth that the all here muſt bee reſtrained to the Apoſtles, or principally meant of them; for they were, as S. Auſtine ſetteth themrAug. ſerm. de Pent. Tanquam duodecim radii ſolis, ſeu totidem lampades veritatis totum mundum illuminantes. forth, twelve beames of the ſunne of righteouſneſſe, or twelve great torches of the truth enlightening the whole world. They were as the twelve Patriarks of the new Teſtament, to be conſecrated as oecumenicall Paſtours throughout all the earth: they were as theſExod. 15.27. twelve Wels of water in Elim, from whence the chryſtall ſtreames of the water of life were to be derived into all parts: they were as the twelve tApoc. 12.1.ſtarres in the crowne of the woman which was cloathed with the ſunne, and the moone under her feet: and as the twelve uApoc. 21.14.pretious ſtones in the foundation of the celeſtiall Jeruſalem.
The preſent aſſembly in this upper roome was no other than a ſacred Synod; and in truth there can be no Synod where the Apoſtles or their ſucceſſours are not preſent, and Preſidents. For all aſſemblies, how great ſoever, of Lay-perſons, called together about ordering eccleſiaſticall affaires, without Biſhops and Paſtours, are like to Polyphemus his vaſt body without an eye: Monſtrum horrendum informe ingens cui lumen ademptum.
But when the Apoſtles and their ſucceſſours, Biſhops, and Prelates, and Doctours of the Church are aſſembled, and all are of one accord, and bend their endevours one way, to ſettle peace and define truth, Chriſt will make good his promiſe, to be in the *Matt. 18.20. When two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the middeſt of them. And,middeſt of them, and by his ſpirit to lead them into xJohn 16.13. When the ſpirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.all truth.
With one accord. All the ancient and later Interpreters accord in their note upon the word accord, that Animorum unio & concordia eſt optima diſpoſitio ad recipiendum Spiritum ſanctum: that Unitie and concord is the beſt diſpoſition of the minde, & preparation for the receiving of the holy Ghoſt. The bones in Ezekiel wereyEzek. 37.7, 8. joyned one to another and tyed with ſinewes, before the wind blew upon them and revived them: ſo the members of Chriſt muſt bee joyned in love, and coupled with the ſinewes of charitable affections one towards another, before the holy Spirit will enlive them. Marke (ſaith S.zSerm. de Temp. Membrum amputatum non ſequitur ſpiritus: cùm in corpore erat vivebat, preciſum amittit ſpiritum. Auſtine) in the naturall body, how if a member bee cut off, the ſoule preſently leaveth it; while it was united to the reſt of the members it lived, but as ſoone as ever it was ſevered, it became a dead peece of fleſh: ſo it is in the myſticall body of Chriſt; thoſe who ſever themſelves by ſchiſme or faction from the body and their fellow-members, deprive themſelves of the influence of the holy Spirit. Peruſe the records of the Church, and you ſhall finde for the moſt part that faction hath bred hereſie. When diſcontented Church-men of eminent parts ſided againſt their Biſhops and Superiours, Gods ſpirit left them, and they became authours of damnable hereſies. This was Novatus his caſe after hee made a faction againſt Cyprian: Donatus after hee made a faction againſt Meltiades: Aerius after hee made a ſchiſme againſt Euſtatius: and doe we not ſee it daily in our Separatiſts, who no ſooner leave our Church, but the ſpirit of God quite leaveth them, and they fall from Browniſme to Anabaptiſme, from Anabaptiſme to Familiſme, and into what not? The Church and Common-wealth, like the*Plin. l. 2. nat. hiſt. c. 105. Lapis Tyrrhenus grandis innatat, comminutus mergitur. Lapis Tyrrhenus, while they are whole ſwimme in all waters; but if they be broken into factions, or crumbled into ſects & ſchiſmes, they will ſoone ſinke, if not drowne. And ſo I paſſe, foreign from their unanimitie of affection, to their concurrence in place.
In one place. The laſt circumſtance is the place, which was an upper chamber in Jeruſalem. The Apoſtles and Diſciples ſtayed at Jeruſalem after the aſcenſion of our Lord, partly in obedience to hisaActs 1.4. command, which was not to depart out of Jeruſalem till they were indued with power from above: partly to fulfill the prophecie, thebEſay 2.3. Law ſhall goe out of Sion, and the word of God out of Jeruſalem. They kept all together out of love, and for more ſafetie; and they tooke an upper chamber that they might bee more private and retired, or becauſe in regard of the great confluence of people at this feaſt, they could not hire the whole houſe: or as Bernardinus conceiveth, to teach us that the ſpirit ofcCom. in Act. Ut diſcamus quod datur ſpiritus iis qui ſe ab imis attollunt, & rerū ſublimium contemplatione ut cibo ſe oblectant. God is given to ſuch as raiſe up themſelves from the earth, and give themſelves to the contemplation of high and heavenly myſteries.
Now to deſcend from this higher chamber, and to come neare to you by ſome application of this text: It will be to little purpoſe to heare of the Apoſtles preparation this day, if wee prepare not our ſelves accordingly: to diſcourſe of their entertainment, and receiving the holy Spirit, if wee receive him not into our hearts. It is a mockerie, as Fulgentius hath it, Ejus diem celebrare, cujus lucem oderimus, To keepe the day of the Spirit, if wee hate his light. If wee deſire to celebrate the feaſt of the Spirit, and by his grace worthily receive the Sacrament of Chriſt his fleſh, wee muſt imitate the Apoſtles and Diſciples in each circumſtance.
1. Rely upon Gods promiſes by a lively faith, of ſending the ſpirit of his Sonne into our hearts, and patiently expect the accompliſhment of it many dayes as they did.
2. Aſcend into an upper chamber, that is, remove our ſelves as farre as wee can from the earth, and ſet our affections upon thoſe things that are above.
3. Meet in one place, that is the Church; to frequent the houſe of God, and when we are bid, not to make excuſes, but to preſent our ſelves at the Lords boord.
4. Not onelyonly meet in one place, but as the Apoſtles did with one accord, to reconcile all differences among our ſelves, and to purge out all gall of malice, and in an holy ſympathy of devotion, to joyne ſighs with ſighs, and hearts with hearts, and hands with hands, and lifting up all together with one accord, ſing, Come holy Ghoſt: ſo as this day is Pentecoſt, in like manner this place ſhall be as the upper roome where they were aſſembled, and we as the Apoſtles and Diſciples, and the Word which hath now beene preached unto us, as the ſound of that mightie ruſhing wind which filled that roome: and after wee have worthily celebrated the feaſt of the Spirit, and adminiſtred the Sacrament of our Lords body and bloud, wee ſhall feele the effects of both in us: viz. more light in our underſtanding, more warmth in our affections, more fervour in our devotions, more comfort in our afflictions, more ſtrength in temptations, more growth in grace, more ſettled peace of conſcience, and unſpeakable joy in the holy Ghoſt: To whom with the Father and the Sonne bee aſcribed, &c.