The Reverence of Gods House, Sermon

The Reverence of Gods House · Sermon

THE REVERENCE OF GODS HOUSE A Sermon preached at S^t. Maries in Cambridge, Before THE UNIVERSITIE ON S^t. MATTHIES day, Anno 1635/6.

BY JOSEPH MEDE B.D. and late Fellow of Chriſts Colledge in Cambridge.

LEVIT. 19. 30.

Reverence my Sanctuary.

Concil. Gangrenſe Anno Chriſti 325. can. 5.

foreign.

Si quis docet, domum Dei contemptibilem eſſe, Anathema ſit.

LONDON, Printed by M. F. for Iohn Clark, and are to be ſold at his Shop under S^t. Peters Church in Cornhill. 1638.

PErlegi hanc Concionem, cui Titulus eſt, [The Reverence of Gods Houſe] & digniſsimam judico, quae typis mandetur.

Ex Aedibus Lambethanis Octob. 23. 1638. R^mo in Chriſto Patri, & D^no D. Arch: Cant. Sacellanus Domeſticus. GUIL: BRAY.

p. 1THE REVERENCE OF GODS HOUSE.

ECCLESIASTES C. 5. verſ. 1.

Look to thy foot [or feet] when thou comeſt to the Houſe of God: and be more ready to obey, then to offer the ſacrifice of fooles; for they know not that they doe evill.

SOLOMON, whom God choſe to build that ſacred and glorious Temple to his Name, it hath pleaſed his holy Spirit to make alſo our principall Inſtructor how wee ought to demeane our ſelves in ſuch ſacred places. This appeares, as by that his ſolemne and p. 2famous praier made at the dedication therof, ſo alſo by this Scripture which I have now begun to reade; the firſt ſeven verſes of this chapter, if we will rightly underſtand them, being wholly ſpent upon that argument, and conteining praecepts and inſtructions fitted to the ſeverall duties of holy worſhip we are to performe, both at our coming thither, and whileſt we remaine there.

To unfold them all, were too much for the ſhortneſſe of the time allotted me: May it pleaſe you therefore to vouchſafe me your Chriſtian patience, and charitable attention, whileſt I utter my thoughts upon the words I have now read. For the better and more diſtinct explication whereof, conſider in them theſe two parts: An Admonition, and a Caution. 1. An Admonition of reverent and awfull demeanour when we come to Gods Houſe; Look to thy foot, or feet, when thou comeſt to the Houſe of God. 2. A Caution, Not to praeferre the ſecondary Service of God before the firſt and principall; Be more ready to obey, than p. 3to offer the ſacrifice of fooles; for they know not, that they doe evill. In the firſt or Admonition I will conſider two things. 1. The Place, Gods Houſe. 2. The Duty of thoſe who come thither; Look to thy feet. Of theſe in order, and firſt of the Place, Gods Houſe.

SECTION 1.

THE Houſe of God is the place ſet apart for his worſhip and ſervice, and ſo hath peculiar Relation unto him: wherewith being inveſted, it becomes ſacred & holy; not onelyonly whileſt divine duties are performed therein, as ſome erroneouſly affirme, but as long as it is for ſuch uſe: namely according to the nature of other ſacred things, which continue their ſtate of ſeparateneſſe and ſanctitie, ſo long as that relation they have unto p. 4God (wherein this Sanctity conſiſts) be not quite aboliſhed.

To erect and ſet apart ſuch places as theſe for the exerciſe of the Rites of Religion, is derived from the inſtinct of nature, and approved of God from the beginning. It began not with that Tabernacle or ambulatorie Temple which Moſes cauſed to be made by Gods appointment at Mount Sinai; but was much more ancient. Noah built an Altar, as ſoone as he came out of the Ark: Abraham, Iſaak, and Iacob, (whereſoever they came to pitch their Tents) erected places for divine worſhip, (that is, Altars with their ſepts and encloſures) without any ſpeciall appointment from God. Iaakob in particular vowed a place for divine worſhip, by the name of Gods Houſe, where he would pay the tithes of all that God ſhould give him, Gen. 28. Loe here a Church endowed! Yea Moſes himſelfe, Exod. 33. 7. before the Ark and that glorious Tabernacle were yet made, pitched a Tabernacle, for the ſame purpoſe, without the Campe, whither p. 5every one that ſought the Lord was to go. And all this was done tanquā recepti moris, as a thing of cuſtome, and as mankinde by tradition had learned to accommodate the worſhip of their God, by appropriating ſome place to that uſe; nature teaching them, that the work was honoured and dignified by the peculiarneſſe of the place appointed for the ſame, and that if any work were ſo to be honoured, there was nothing it more beſeemed, than the worſhip and ſervice of Almightie God, the moſt peculiar and incommunicable act of all other.

Nay more than this: It was beleeved in thoſe elder times, that that Country or Territory, wherein no Place was ſet apart for the worſhip of God, was unhallowed and uncleane. Which I think, I rightly gather from that Story in the Book of Joſua, of the Altar built by Reuben, Gad, and the half Tribe of Manaſſeh upon the bank of the River Jordan: which Ioſua and the Elders, as their words intimate, ſuppoſed they had done, leſt the land of their poſſeſſion, p. 6being by the River Jordan cut off from the land of Canaan, where the Lords Tabernacle was, and ſo having no place therein conſecrated to the worſhip of their God, might otherwiſe be an uncleane and unhallowed habitation. Heare the words of Phineas and the Princes ſent to diſſwade them, Ioſua 22. 19 and judge whether they import not as I have ſaid. If the land (ſay they) of your poſſeſsion be **Note that our Copies of the Lxx here corruptly read foreign for foreign.uncleane, then paſſe ye over unto the Land of the poſſeſſion of the LORD where the LORDS Tabernacle dwelleth, and take poſſeſsion amongſt us: but rebell not againſt the LORD, nor againſt us, in building you an Altar, beſides the Altar of the LORD your God.

Now concerning the condition and propertie of Places thus ſanctified or hallowed, what it is; whence can we learne better, than from that which the Lord ſpake unto Moſes, Exod. 20. immediately after he had pronounced the Decalogue from Mount Sinai: where premiſing, that they ſhould not make with Him gods of gold and gods of ſilver; but that they ſhould p. 7make him an Altar of earth (as namely their ambulatory ſtate then permitted, otherwiſe of ſtone) and thereon ſacrifice their burnt offerings and peace-offerings: he addes; In all places where I record my Name, I will come unto thee and bleſſe thee, foreign In every place where the remembrance or memoriall of my Name ſhall be; or, whereſoever that is, which I have, or ſhall appoint to be the remembrance or memoriall of my Name and preſence, there I will come unto thee, and bleſſe thee. Loe here a deſcription of the Place ſet apart for divine worſhip: It is the Place where God records his Name, and comes unto men to bleſſe them. Two things are here ſpecified; the monument, record or memoriall of Gods Name: ſecondly, His coming or meeting there with men. Of both let us enquire diſtinctly, what they meane.

I know, it would not be untrue, to ſay in generall, that Gods Name is recorded or remembred in that place upon which his Name is called, or which is called by p. 8his Name (as the Scripture ſpeakes) that is, which is dedicate to his worſhip and ſervice: but there is ſome more ſpeciall thing intended here; namely, the Memoriall or Monument of Gods Name, is that token or Symbole whereby he teſtifieth his Covenant and commerce with men. Now although the Ark called the Ark of the Covenant, or Teſtimonie (wherein lay the two Tables …i.Heb. 9 4.Heb 9:4 the Book or Articles of the Covenant, and Manna, the Bread of the Covenant) were afterwards made for this purpoſe, to be the ſtanding Memoriall of Gods Name and preſence with his people yet cannot that be here, either onelyonly, or ſpecially aimed at; becauſe when theſe words were ſpoken, it had no being, nor was there yet any commandement given concerning the making thereof. Wherefore the Record here mentioned, I underſtand with a more generall reference to any Memoriall, whereby Gods Covenant and commerce with men was teſtified: Such as were the Sacrifices, immediately before ſpoken of, and the ſeat of them the Altar; p. 9which therefore may ſeeme to be in ſome ſort, the more particularly here pointed unto. For that theſe were Rites of remembrance, whereby the Name of God was commemorated or recorded, and his Covenant with men renewed and teſtified, might be eaſily proved. Whence it is, that that which was burned upon the Altar is ſo often called the Memoriall; as in Leviticus the 2. 5. 6. and 24. chapters. Accordingly the ſon of Syrach tels us, c. 45. 16. that Aaron was choſen out of all men living, to offer Sacrifices to the Lord, incenſe and a ſweet ſavour, for a Memoriall, to make reconciliation for his people. Adde alſo that, Iſay 66. 3. Qui recordatur thure, quaſi qui benedicat Idolo. He that without true contrition and humiliation before the Lord) recordeth, or maketh remembrance, with incenſe, is as if he bleſſed an Idol. But I muſt not ſtay too long upon this.

You will ſay; What is all this to us, now in the time of the Goſpell? I anſwer, Yes. For did not Chriſt ordaine the holy Euchariſt to be the Memoriall of his Name in p. 10the New Teſtament? This (ſaithe he) is my Body, foreign, Doe this for my commemoration, or in Memoriall of me. And what if I ſhould affirme, that Chriſt is as much preſent here, as the Lord was upon the Mercy-ſeat between the Cherubins. Why ſhould not then the Place of this Memoriall under the Goſpell have ſome ſemblable ſanctitie to that, where the Name of God was recorded in the Law? And thogh we be not now tyed to one onelyonly Place, as thoſe under the Law were; and that God heareth the faithfull prayers of his Servants, whereſoever they are made unto him, (as alſo hee did then:) yet ſhould not the Places of his Memoriall be promiſcuous and common, but ſet apart to the ſacred purpoſe. In a word, all thoſe ſacred Memorials of the Jewiſh Temple are both comprehended and excelled in this One of Chriſtians, the Sacrifices, Shew-bread, and Ark of the Covenant; Chriſts Bodie and Bloud in the Euchariſt being all theſe unto us in the New Teſtament, agreeably to that of the Apoſtle, Rom. p. 113. 25. God hath ſet forth Ieſus Chriſt to bee our foreign through faith in his bloud, that is, our Propitiatory or Mercy ſeat, for ſo it is called in the Greek both of the old and new Teſtament, nor is the word I think ever uſed but in that ſenſe, unleſſe in Ezech. 43. for the Settle of the Altar.

But you will ſay, This Chriſtian Memoriall is not alwaies actually preſent in our Churches, as ſome one or other at leaſt of thoſe in the Law were in the Temple. I anſwer; It is enough, it is wont to be; as the Chaire of eſtate loſes not its relation and due reſpect, though the King be not alwaies there. And remember, that the Ark of the Covenant was not in Jeruſalem, when Daniel opened his windows and prayed thitherward; yea that it was wanting in the Holy Place (I meane that ſacred Cabinet made by Moſes) all the time of the ſecond (or Zorobabels) Temple, and yet the place eſteemed notwithſtanding as if it had been there.

You will yet except and ſay; That in the Old Teſtament thoſe things were appointed p. 12by divine Law and Commandment; but in the New we finde no ſuch thing. I anſwer, in things for which we finde no new Rule given in the New Teſtament, there we are referred and left to the analogy of the Old. This the Apoſtles proof taken from thence for the maintenance of the Miniſters of the Goſpell, 1 Cor. 9. [viz. Thus were they, Ergo ſo God hath ordained that we] will give us to underſtand: likewiſe the practice of the Church in baptizing Infants, derived ſurely from the analogie of Circumciſion: The hallowing of every firſt day of the week, as one in every ſeven, from the analogie of the Jewiſh Sabbath, and other the like. S^t. Hierome witneſſeth the ſame in that ſaying of his,Ad Evegrium. Vt ſciamus, traditiones Apoſtolicas ſumptas ex Vet. Teſt. quod Aaron, & Filii ejus, at que Levitae in Templo fuerunt; hoc ſibi Epiſcopi, Presbyteri, at que Diaconi vendicant in Eccleſia. That we may know (ſaith he) that the Apoſtolick traditions were derived from the Old Teſtament: that which Aaron, his Sons, and the Levites were in the p. 13Temple, the ſame doe Biſhops, Prieſts and Deacons claime in the Church. For we are to conſider, that the end of Chriſts coming into the world was not properly to give new lawes unto men, but to accompliſh the Law already given, and to publiſh the Goſpell of reconciliation,Matth. 5. 17, 18Matt 5:17Matt 5:18 through his Name, to thoſe who had tranſgreſſed it. Whence it is that we finde not the ſtyle of the New Teſtament to carry a forme of enacting Lawes, almoſt any where: but thoſe vvhichwhich are there mentioned, to be brought in occaſionally, onelyonly by vvay of proofe, of interpretation, exhortation, application, or the like, and not as by vvay of conſtitution or re-enacting. Meane vvhile, leſt I ſhould be miſtaken, mark vvell that I ſaid not, the Old Teſtament vvas to be our rule ſimply in the caſe mentioned, but the Analogy thereof onelyonly; that is, this regulation is to be made according to that proportion, vvhichwhich the difference of the two Covenants, and the things in them admits, and no further; the more particular application and limitation of vvhichwhich p. 14Analogy, is to be referred to the judgement and prudence of the Church.

There comes here very fitly into my minde a paſſage of Clemens (a man of the Apoſtolick age,Philip. 4. 3.Phil 4:3 he whoſe name S^t. Paul ſaith was written in the Book of life) in his genuine Epiſtle Ad Corinthios, lately ſet forth, pag. 52. foreign (ſaith he) foreign that is; All thoſe duties, which the Lord hath commanded us to doe, wee ought to doe them regularly and orderly: Our Oblations and divine Services to celebrate them on ſet and appointed times. For ſo he hath ordained, not that we ſhould doe them at hap hazard, and without order, but at certaine determined daies & times. Where alſo, & by whō he will have them executed, himſelf hath defined according to his ſupreme will. But where hath the Lord defined theſe things, p. 15unleſſe he hath left us to the Analogy of the Old Teſtament?

It followes in the text alledged; There I will come unto thee, and bleſſe thee. In the Place where the Lords Memoriall is, where his Colours, as I may ſo ſpeak, are diſplayed and ſet up, there, in a ſpeciall manner, he vouchſafes his preſence with the ſons of men to bleſſe them: or to ſpeak rotundè, Where his memoriall is, there His foreign SHECINAH or foreign is (as the Hebrew Maſters terme it) that is, His GLORY. The Gentiles aſcribed the preſence of their gods to the places where Images and Statues were erected & conſecrated for them.Hermes Triſm. in Aſclepio. Athenag. Legat. pro Chriſt. Origen contra Celſ. lib. 7. & 3. Euſeb. Praepar. Ev. lib. 5. c. 15. But ſuch perſonall ſimilitudes the God of Iſrael abhorres, and forbids to be made unto Him; yet promiſeth his preſence in every place where the Memoriall or record of his Name ſhall be; but of his owne appointment, not of mans deviſing. For thus, I ſuppoſe, is the text there to be underſtood, and to be conſtrued by way of Antitheſis or oppoſition: You ſhall not make with me gods of ſilver, nor gods of gold: p. 16An Altar onelyonly of earth or of **Verſ. 25.ſtone ſhalt thou make unto me, to offer thy Sacrifices upon. For in every place, where I ſhall record my Name, I will come unto thee, and bleſſe thee. And here take notice, that for this reaſon the Tabernacle of the Lord was called foreign The Tabernacle of meeting; not of mens meeting together, as is commonly ſuppoſed, when we tranſlate it, Tabernacle of the Congregation, but of Gods meeting there with men. I have a good author for it. For ſo the Lord himſelf gives the reaſon of the name in three ſeverall places of the Law; foreign The Tabernacle of meeting, where I will meet with you. See Exod. 29. 42. | 30. | 36. Num. 17. 4. and Maſius in Ioſ. c. 18.

SECTION 2.

THus WE have ſeene, what is the condition and property of that Place, which in my Text is called Gods Houſe. But before I proceed to ſpeak of the Duty of thoſe p. 17who come thither (which was the ſecond thing I propounded) there is one thing yet to be cleared, concerning that which I laſt mentioned; namely, How God is ſaid to come unto, to be preſent with men in one place more than another; ſeeing his Preſence fils every place, heaven being his throne, and the whole earth his footſtoole. For although we read often in holy Scripture of ſuch a SHECINAH or ſpecialitie of the divine preſence, and have it often in our mouthes; yet, what it is, and wherein the Ratio thereof conſiſteth, is ſeldome, if at all, enquired into. When we ſpeak of Churches, we content our ſelves to ſay, that Gods ſpeciall preſence there is in his Word and Sacraments: But though it be true, that the Divine Majeſty is there ſpecially preſent where his Word and Sacraments are; yet ſeemes not this ſpeciality of preſence to be the ſame with his Word and Sacraments, but a diverſe relation from them. This may be gathered, in ſome ſort, out of thoſe words of Exodus, whereupon we have ſo long dwelt, as where the recording p. 18of Gods Name, and his coming thither, are ſpoken of as two: but is more ſtrongly evinced by ſuch inſtances of Scripture, where the Lord is ſaid to have been ſpecially preſent in places where this Record of his Word and Sacraments was not; as for example, to Moſes in the Buſh, to Iaacob at Bethel, and the like. The true Ratio therefore of this SHECINAH or Speciality of divine preſence muſt bee ſought, and defined by ſomething which is common to al theſe, and not by that which is proper to ſome onelyonly.

Well then, to hold you no longer in ſuſpenſe: this Specification of the divine preſence, whereby God is ſaid to be in one place more than another; I ſuppoſe (under correction) to conſiſt in his traine or retinue. A King is there where his Court is, where his traine and retinue are: So God the Lord of Hoſts is there ſpecially preſent, where the heavenly Guard, the bleſſed Angels keep their ſacred ſtation and rendevous.

That this is conſonant to the revelation p. 19of holy Scripture, I ſhew firſt from the collection of inference which the Patriarch Iacob makes, upon that divine viſion of his at Bethel:Gen. 28.Gen 28 where having ſeen a ladder reaching from heaven to earth, and the Angels of God aſcending and deſcending upon it: Surely (ſaith he) the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. How dreadfull is this place! It is no other but the Houſe of God, even the gate of heaven; that is, Heavens Guildnall, Heavens Court; namely becauſe of the Angels. For the Gate was wont to be the Judgement Hall, and the Place where Kings and Senators uſed to ſit, attended by their guard and miniſters.

Secondly, I prove it from that interpretative expreſſion uſed in the New Teſtament of the Lords deſcent upon Mount Sinai, when the Law was given; intimating that the ſpecification of the preſence of the Divine Majeſty there, alſo conſiſted in the Angelicall retinue there encamping. For ſo S^t. Steven, Act. 7. 53. You who have received the Law by the diſpoſition of Angels, and have not kept it. S^t. Paul twice; Firſt, p. 20Gal. 3. 19. The Law was added becauſe of tranſgreſsions, foreign, ordained by Angels in the hand of a mediator. And againe, Heb. 2. 2. hee cals the Law, foreign, the word ſpoken by Angels. Howbeit in the ſtory it ſelfe we find no ſuch thing expreſſed, but onelyonly that the Lord deſcended upon the Mount in a fiery and ſmoking cloud, accompanied with thunders and lightnings, with an earthquake, and the voice of a trumpet. VVhence then ſhould this expreſſion of S^t. Steven and the Apoſtle proceed, but from a ſuppoſition, that the ſpeciall preſence of the Divine Majeſty, whereſoever it is ſaid to be, conſiſted in the encamping of his ſacred retinue the Angels: for that of himſelf, hee, who filleth the heaven and the earth, could not deſcend, nor be in one place more than another?

Yea all the Apparitions of the Divine Majeſty in Scripture are deſcribed by this retinue: That of the Ancient of dayes coming to judgement, Dan. 7. 10. Thouſand p. 21thouſands miniſtred unto him, and ten thouſand times ten thouſand ſtood before him; to wit, of Angels. VVhence we reade in the Goſpell, that Chriſt our Saviour ſhall come in the glory of his Father, that is, with an hoſt of Angels, as the Holy Ghoſt himſelfe in the ſame places expounds it. For foreign or Glory here ſignifies the preſence of the Divine Majeſty.

In the ſame ſtyle, of the ſame Appearing prophecieth Enoch, the ſeventh from Adam, in the Epiſtle of S^t. Iude. foreign, Behold, the Lord cometh with his holy Myriads, or ten thouſands. For ſo it ought to be rendred, and not as we have it, with ten thouſand of his Saints. VVherefore here the vulgar Latine comes nearer, which hath, Ecce, Venit Dominus in ſanctis millibus ſuis. A like expreſſion whereunto of the Divine preſence we ſhall find in Moſes Bleſſing, Deut. 33. The Lord (ſaith he) came **That is, came unto them reſting upon Sinai. Compare Pſal. 68. verſ. 17. or 18.Ps 68:17from Sinai unto them, (.i. unto Iſrael) and roſe up from Seir unto them, he ſhined forth from mount Paran, he came with his holy ten thouſands, or holy p. 22myriads, (for ſo it ſhould be tranſlated; then it followes) from his right hand went a fiery law for them. From whence perhaps that notion of the Jewiſh Doctors, followed by S^t. Steven and the Apoſtle, that the Law was given by Angels, had its beginning. And thus you have heard out of Scripture, what that is, whereby the ſpeciall preſence of the Divine Majeſty is (as I ſuppoſe) defined, that is, wherein it conſiſts; namely, ſuch as is applyable to all places, wherein hee is ſaid to be thus preſent, even to Heaven it ſelfe his throne and ſeat of glory, the proper place (as every one knowes) of Angelicall reſidence.

Now, according to this manner of preſence, is the Divine Majeſty to be acknowledged preſent, in the Places, where his Name is recorded: as in his Temple under the Law, and in our Chriſtian Oratories, or Churches under the Goſpell; namely, that the heavenly Guard there attend, and keep their rendevous, as in their Maſters Houſe: according to that viſion which the Prophet Iſay had thereof, Iſay 6. I ſaw p. 23the Lord (ſaith he) ſitting upon a Throne high and lifted up, and his traine filled the Temple, [Lxx, and Iohn 12. foreign that is, the Angels and Seraphims his ſtipatores; as may be gathered from that which immediately followes, where it is ſaid, The Seraphims cried one unto another, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of hoaſts; the whole earth is full of his Glory.

This King Agrippa in**De Bello Iud. lib. 2. cap. 16. Joſephus intimates, in that Oration he is ſaid to have made unto the Jewes, a little before that fatall ſiege, dehorting them from rebelling againſt the Romans. Where ſpeaking to the people hard by, and in view of that ſacred Temple, he hath theſe words: foreign, I call to witneſſe your ſacred Temple, and **To whom ſome think that voice may be referred before the deſtruction of the Temple, Migremus hinc.the holy Angels of God; namely, which encampe there.

The ſame is imployed in that of the 138. Pſalme, according to the tranſlation of the Lxx. and Vulgar: foreign,In conſpectu Angelorum pſallam tibi, adorabo ad Templum ſanctum tuum, & confitebor Nomini p. 24tuo .i. Before the Angels I will ſing praiſe unto thee, I will worſhip towards thy holy Temple, and praiſe thy Name.

And according to this ſenſe I underſtand that of Solomon in this Book of Eccleſiaſtes within a two or three verſes of my Text, concerning vowes to bee made in Gods Houſe: When thou voweſt a vow, deferre not to pay it—Better it is, thou ſhould'ſt not vow, than vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cauſe thy fleſh to ſin, neither ſay thou BEFORE THE ANGEL, It was an errour —that is, Let not ſuch a fooliſh excuſe come from thee in the houſe of God, before the holy Angels. For note, that the word Angell may be taken**As tree for trees, leafe for leaves, Gen. 3. 2, 7, &c.Gen 3:2Gen 3:7 collectively, for more than one.

For this cauſe all the curtaines of the Tabernacle were filled with the pictures of Cherubins, and the wals of Solomons Temple within with carved Cherubins; the Ark of the Teſtimony overſpread and covered with two mighty Cherubins, having their faces looking towards it and the Mercy-ſeat (foreign) with their p. 25wings ſtretched forth on high, called Heb. 9. 5. The Cherubins of glory, that is, of the divine Preſence: all to ſignifie, that where Gods ſacred Memoriall is, the enſigne of his Covenant and commerce with men; there the bleſſed Angels out of duty give their attendance.

Nor is it to be overpaſſed, that the Jews at this day continue the like opinion of their moderne places of worſhip: namely, that the bleſſed Angels frequent their aſſemblies, and praiſe and laud God with them in their Synagogues: notwithſtanding they have no other memoriall of his there, than an imitative one onelyonly; to wit, a Cheſt with a volume or roll of the Law therein, in ſtead of the Ark with the two Tables. For thus ſpeaks the Seder Tephilloth or Forme of prayer uſed by the Jewes of Portugal: O Lord our God, the Angels that ſupernall company, gathered together with thy people Iſrael here below, doe crowne thee with praiſes, and all together doe thrice redouble and cry that ſpoken of by thy Prophet: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hoaſts, the whole p. 26earth is full of his glory. They allude to Iſayes Viſion of the Glory of God, abovementioned.

You will ſay; Such a preſence of Angels perhaps there was in that Temple under the Law; but there is no ſuch thing in the Goſpell? No? why? Are the Memorials of Gods Covenant, his Inſignia in the Goſpell, leſſe worthy of their attendance, than thoſe of the Law? or have the Angels, ſince the nature of man, Jeſus Chriſt our Lord, became their Head and King, gotten an exemption from this ſervice? Surely, not. S^t. Paul, if we will underſtand and beleeve him, ſuppoſes the contrary, in his firſt Epiſtle to the Corinthians, chap. 11. verſ. 10. where treating of a comely and decent accommodation to be obſerved in Church aſſemblies, and in particular of womens being covered or veiled there, he enforces it from this preſence of Angels. For this (ſaith he) ought the woman to have a covering on her head, foreign, becauſe of the Angels; namely, which are there preſent. For otherwiſe p. 27the reaſon holds not, that ſhe ſhould more be covered in the Place of Prayer, than any where elſe, unleſſe the Angels be more there, than elſewhere. This place much troubleth the Expoſitors: But ſee, what it is, to admit a truth: for now there is no difficulty in it.

And that the ancient Fathers conceived no leſſe venerably of their Chriſtian Oratories in this particular, than the Jews did of their Temple, appeares by St. Chryſoſtome, who is very frequent in urging an awfull and reverent behaviour in Gods houſe from this motive of Angelicall preſence. As in his Homily**In Morali. 36. in 1 Cor. where reproving the irreverent behaviour of his Auditory in that Church, in talking, walking, ſaluting, and the like, (which he ſaith, was peculiar unto them, and ſuch as no Chriſtians elſewhere in the world preſumed to do) he enforces his reproof, with words that come home to our purpoſe: Non tonſtrina, inquit, neque unguentaria of ficina, neque ulla alia opificum qui ſunt in foro, taberna, eſt Eccleſia; ſed Locus Angelorum, p. 28Locus Archangelorum,regia Dei, ipſum coelum. The Church (ſaith he) is no Barbers, or Drug-ſellers ſhop, nor any other craftſmans or merchants workhouſe or warehouſe in the market place; but the place of Angels, the place of Archangels, the palace of God, heaven it ſelfe.

And in his 4. Hom. de incomprehenſibili Dei natura, towards the end; Cogita apud quem proximè ſtas, quibuſcum invoces Deum; ſcil. cum Cherubim, cum Seraphim, cum omnibus coeli Virtutibus: animadverte quos habeas ſocios: ſatis hoc tibi ſit ad ſobrietatem, cum recorder is te corpore conſtantem, & carne coagmentatum admitti cum Virtutibus incorporeis celebrare omnium Dominum. Think neare whom thou ſtandeſt, with whom thou invocateſt God; namely, with Cherubims and Seraphims, and all the Power of heaven: conſider but what companions thou haſt: let it bee ſufficient to perſwade thee to ſobriety, when thou remembreſt, that thou, who art compounded of fleſh and bloud, art admitted with the incorpore all Powers, to celebrate the common Lord of all. But all this you will ſay, p. 29the Angels may doe in Heaven? well, let it be ſo, yet is it not altogether out of our way: but the next places I ſhall bring, will not be ſo eluded.

Namely that in his 15. Homily upon the Epiſtle to the Hebrewes, againſt thoſe that laughed in the Church: Regiam quidem ingrediens, & habitu, & aſpectu, & inceſſu, & omnibus aliis te ornas & componis. Hîc autem verè eſt Regia, & planè hîc talia qualia coeleſtia, & rides? Atque ſcio quidem, quod tu non vides. Audi autem, quod ubi que adſunt Angeli, & maxime in Domo Dei adſiſtunt Regi, & omnia ſunt impleta incorporeis illis Poteſtatibus. When thou goeſt into a Kings Palace, thou compoſeſt thy ſelfe to a comelineſſe in thy habit, in thy look, in thy gate, and in all thy whole guiſe. But here is indeed the Palace of a King, and the like attendance to that in heaven, and doeſt thou laugh? I know well enough thou ſeeſt it not. But heare thou me, and know, that Angels are every where, and that, chiefly in the houſe of God, they attend upon their King, where all is filled with incorporeall Powers.;

p. 30The like unto this you ſhall find in his 24. Homily upon the Acts of the Apoſtles. Knoweſt thou not, that thou ſtandeſt here with Angels, that with them thou ſingeſt, with them thou laudeſt God with hymnes? and doſt thou laugh? See the reſt.

I will alledge but one paſſage more of his, leſt I ſhould grow tedious, and that is out of his 6. Book de Sacerdotio, not very far from the beginning, where ſpeaking of the time when the holy Euchariſt is celebrated: foreign (ſaith he) Then the Angels ſtand by the Prieſt, and the whole Quire reſounds with celeſtiall Powers, and the place about the Altar is filled with them, in honour of him who is laid thereon, that is, of his Memoriall. Compare with it a like paſſage in his 3. Hom de incompreben ſibili Det natura; Item Hom. 1. de verbis Iſaiae.

S^t. Ambroſe acknowledgeth the ſame in c. 1. Luc. Non dubites aſsiſtere Angelum, quando Chriſtus aſsiſtit, Chriſtus immolatur.

p. 31Yea Tertullian (in whoſe time, which was within 200. yeares after Chriſt, ſome will ſcarcely beleeve, that Chriſtians had any ſuch places as Churches at all) if I underſtand him, intimates as much in his lib. de Oratione c. 12. where reprehending the irreverent geſture of ſome in ſitting at the time of prayer in the Church: Siquidem (ſaith he) irreverens eſt aſsidere ſub conſpectu, contraque conſpectum ejus, quem cum maximè reverearis ac venereris: quanto magis ſub conſpectu Dei vivi, ANGELO adhuc ORATIONIS adſtante, factum illud irreligioſiſsimum eſt; niſi exprobramus Deo, quod nos oratio fatigaverit? If it bee an irreverent thing to ſit in the ſight and before him, whom thou in a ſpeciall manner honoureſt and reverenceſt: how much more is it an act moſt irreligious to doe it in the preſence of the living God, the ANGEL OF PRAYER yet ſtanding by; unleſſe we upbraid God, that wee have wearied our ſelves with praying? Marke, In the preſence of the living God, the Angel of prayer ſtanding by] that is, in the preſence of the living God ſpecified by his p. 32Angel; the latter being an explanation of the former. It is like unto that in this chapter of my Text; Say not thou before the Angell, It was an errour: yet I beleeve not borrowed thence; foraſmuch as the Lxx, whoſe tranſlation Tertullian was onelyonly acquainted with, and every where followes, have no mention of Angel in that place, but of God; rendring it, foreign , Say not before the preſence of God. Which ſhewes how they underſtood it.

I cite the paſſages of theſe Fathers thus at large, leſt I might to ſome ſeeme to broach a novelty. And though ſome of thoſe of S^t. Chryſoſtome be hyperbolically expreſſed; yet for the maine and ſubſtance of what he intended, I beleeve it to bee true, and ground my beleefe upon the authority of S^t. Paul before alledged, foreign, Becauſe of the Angels. If any ſhall ſay, whatſoever were then, they will not beleeve there is any ſuch kinde of preſence in our Churches now: I muſt tell them; If it be ſo, it is becauſe of our irreverent and unſeemly behaviour in them, which makes p. 33thoſe bleſſed ſpirits loath our companie. For though they be inviſible and incorporeall creatures, yet can they not look into our hearts, (that is God their Maſters prerogative) but are witneſſes of our outward behaviour and actions onelyonly; and it was a caſe of externall decorum, wherein the Apoſtle mentions this preſence of theirs for a motive or reaſon: For this cauſe ought the woman to have a covering on her head, becauſe of the Angels. For they love not to behold any thing that is uncomely and unbeſeeming, but flye from it: and if we loſe their company, the beſt members of our congregation are wanting.

Thus you have heard what is the dignity and prerogative of Gods Houſe. Who now that conſiders and beleeves this, (and there was a time when it was beleeved) will not ſay with the Patriarch Iacob, when he ſaw the Angels aſcending and deſcending at Bethel, Quam reverenda ſunt haec loca! How reverend are theſe places! For every Place where the Name of God is recorded is Bethel, where the Angels of God are p. 34aſcending and deſcending, that is, God in a ſpecial manner preſent and meeting with men. How ſeemly therefore, orderly and awfully ſhould we compoſe our ſelves in them? how reverent ſhould our manner be at our coming into them? which is the ſecond thing I propounded to ſpeake of. Thus much therefore of Gods Houſe; I come now to the Duty of thoſe who come thither; Looke to thy feet when thou comeſt to the Houſe of God.

SECTION 3.

LOOK TO THY FEET, foreign: for ſo the Cethib or textuall reading hath it; the Maſorites in the margine note another reading foreign in the ſingular number. But which way ſoever of the two it bee read, the ſenſe is ſtill the ſame; Look to thy foot being to be expounded plurally Look to thy feet, as in other places of Scripture. The ſymbolicall application of this precept to the purifying and ridding the minde of p. 35corrupt and fleſhly thoughts, though it be uſefull, and the thing it ſelfe true, yet I will let paſſe, as being not argumentative; and betake my ſelf wholly to the foreign or literall meaning, which the ſymbolicall or tropologicall ſignification deſtroyeth not, but preſuppoſeth. The meaning therefore in generall is: Have a care, that thy feet be as they ſhould be, when thou goeſt, (or comeſt) to the houſe of God. But what is that? Moſt of the Interpreters (ſaith Aben Ezra) compare it with that which is ſaid of Mephiboſheth, 2 Sam. 19. foreign He did not his feet, that is, He waſhed them not. So here, Look to thy feet, when thou goeſt to the Houſe of God, is as much as to ſay, Come not into Gods Houſe illot is pedibus, with unwaſhed feet. This is true, but goes not far enough. For I ſuppoſe here is an alluſion in particular to that rite of Diſcalceation uſed by the Jews and other nations of the Orient, at their coming into ſacred places; namely, that whereof the Lord ſpake to Moſes, Ex. 3. and againe to Ioſua, Ioſ. 5. Exue calceamenta tua de pedibus tuis; locus enim in quo p. 36ſtas, terra ſancta eſt. Put thy ſhooes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou ſtandeſt is holy ground.

For although the verb foreign here uſed, ſignifies properly motum à loco, that is, to goe; and not in locum, to come, (in which reſpect the rite of waſhing the feet perhaps, being a preparatory act, might agree better with it) yet is it not alwayes ſo uſed: beſides, it is an uſuall trope in Scripture, ex antecedente intelligere conſequens; which hath place here. That whereby I gather it, is becauſe the precepts following my text, whereunto this word of motion belongs foreign, (.i. in common) are, not of things to be done, when we are going to the Houſe of God, but when we are come thither: as, when thou comeſt to the Houſe of God, be not raſh nor haſty to utter any thing before God, &c. When thou comeſt to the Houſe of God, and makeſt a vow before him, defer not to pay it,—neither ſay thou before the Angel, &c.— To which may be added the latter part of my text, When thou comeſt to the Houſe of God, be more ready to heare, or p. 37obey, than to offer the ſacrifice of fooles. All, as you ſee, are of things to be done, when we are come unto Gods houſe. Therefore foreign which is common to them, ſhould rather note motū in termino ad quem; not when thou goeſt, but when thou comeſt to the Houſe of God;Accordingly the vulgar Latin hath ingrediens Domum Dei. and accordingly this admonition of care to be had of the feet, to intend ſomething to be obſerved, when we come there, rather than when we are going thither. Which was, as I have ſaid, among the Jews and other Nations, of the Orient eſpecially, that rite of Diſcalceation, or putting off their ſhooes, ſtill uſed and continued amongſt them unto this day, when they come into their Temples and ſacred places.

Which that I affirme not without good warrant, in caſe any one ſhall doubt therof, theſe teſtimonies following will ſufficiently evidence; Firſt, that ſymbole of Pythagoras, Apud I amblich. Protrept. 21.foreign; OFFER SACRIFICE AND WORSHIP WITH THY SHOOES OFF. What myſticall or ſymbolicall ſenſe p. 38he intended, I enquire not: but it is plaine, his expreſſion alludes to ſome ſuch cuſtome then uſed by thoſe who came to worſhip in the Temples of their gods.

Wherein that my collection failes mee not,Edit. Pariſ. p. 95. Iuſtin Martyr will beare me witneſſe in his ſecond Apol. where he tels us, That thoſe who came to worſhip in the Sanctuaries and Temples of the Gentiles, were commanded by their Prieſts foreign, .i. to put off their ſhooes. Which their gods learned (ſaith he) by way of imitation, from that which the Lord ſpake to Moſes out of the flaming Buſh: Looſe thy ſhooes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou ſtandeſt is holy ground. This teſtimony for the antiquity of the practice is without exception. Yet by the Fathers good leave I am prone to think, that thoſe words unto Moſes gave not the firſt beginning unto it; but were an admonition onelyonly of the divine preſence, thereby commanding the rite then accuſtomed in places ſo hallowed: and that therefore it was rather, as other religious rites, derived unto the Gentiles by p. 39tradition from the Patriarchs before Moſes; of whom both the Jews, and thoſe Nations of the Orient, which agreed with them in this cuſtome, were deſcended. Concerning whoſe preſent cuſtome, Druſius in his notes upon Ioſua affirmeth, Quod etiam nunc apud pleráſque Orientis gentes, piaculum ſit, calceato pede Templorum pavimenta calcaſſe: That even to this day, among moſt of the nations of the Orient, it is reputed a piaculary crime, to tread upon the pavements of their Temples with their ſhooes on their feet.

For the Jews in particular, that this rite of veneration was anciently uſed by them in places ſanctified by the divine preſence, Maymonides puts us out of doubt, telling us in his Bech habechirah, cap. 7. That it was not lawfull for a man to come into the mountaine of Gods Houſe, with HIS SHOOES ON HIS FEET, or with his ſtaffe, or in his working garment, or with duſt on his feet, and the like. The ſame hath Rabbi Solomon upon the 19. of Leviticus, verſ. 30.

It is further confirmed by their modern practice in their Synagogues; even here in p. 40theſe Weſterne and colder parts of the world: where though no ſuch cuſtome be in uſe, as in the Orient, nor our manners with conveniencie capable thereof; yet they ſtill obſerve it, as farre as the guiſe of the Weſt will permit them; an argument it deſcends unto them by a ſtrong and rooted tradition from their forefathers. My author is Buxtorf Synagog. Iudaic. lib. 5. c. 5. where he hath theſe words: Ante Synagogam vel Scholam ipſorum ferrum quoddam habent immuratum; ad quod quilibet calceos immundos, aut coenoſos abſtergere tenetur; idque Solomonis authoritate, qui, Cuſtodi, ait, pedem tuum—Quiſ quis crepidis indutus eſt, is eas immundas de pedibus ſuis detrahere enetur—prout ſcriptum eſt; Solve calceamenta tua de pedibus tuis, &c. .i. Before their Synagogues they have a certaine iron faſtned in a wall; whereat every one is bound to make cleane his foule or dirty ſhooes; and that by the authority of Solomon, who ſaith, Look to thy foot, &c. Whoſoever hath ſlippers on, is bound, they being foule, to put them quite off, (viz. before he enters into the Synagogue) p. 41according as it is written: Looſe thy ſhooes from off thy feet, &c.

And for the Mahumetans, what they doe in their Moſquees, Bartlemew Georgivez, who was a long time a captive amongſt them, can beſt informe us, in his Book de ritu & ceremoniis Turcarum. Quicunque (ſaith he) veniunt ad orationem, debent abluere manus, pedes, &c. poſtremò ter ſpargunt aquam ſuper capita, recitando haec verba, ELHEMDV LILLANI, (.i. gloria Deo meo:) Deinde exutis calceamentis Patſmagh dictis, iíſque ante januam Templi relictis, introeunt, alii NVDIS PEDIBVS, alii habentes munda calceamenta Meſth dicta. .i. Such as come to pray, their duty is firſt to waſh their hands, feet, &c. at laſt they ſprinkle water over their heads thrice, repeating theſe words, ELHEMDV LILLANI, that is, Glory be to my God. Then putting off their ſhooes, called Patſmagh, and leaving them before the doore of the Temple, they enter, ſome barefooted, others having a cleane kinde of Sandall, which they call Meſth: namely as the p. 42cuſtome is with us, when we pull off our hats, to weare a cap.

Laſtly, that wee may not want an inſtance among Chriſtians: Zaga Zabo an Aethiopian Biſhop, ſent Ambaſſador from David King of the Abyſſines to Iohn the 3. King of Portugal, above an hundred years ſince; in his Deſcription of the Religion and rites of the Abyſſine Chriſtians, thus informes us: Prohibitum eſt apud nos (ſaith he) ne aut gentes, aut canes, aut alia hujuſmodi animalia, in Templa noſtra intrent. Item non datur poteſtas nobis adeundi Templum, niſi NVDIS PEDIBVS; neque licet nobis inipſo Templo ridere, obambulare, aut de rebus prophanis loqui, neque ſpuere, aut ſcreare in ipſo Templo. Quia Eccleſiae Aethiopum non ſunt ſimiles terrae illi, ubi populus Iſrael comedit Agnum paſchalem decedens ab Aegypto (in quo loco, propter terrae pollutionem, juſſit eos Deus comedere indutos calceamentis & zonis accintos) ſed ſimiles ſunt monti Sinai, ubi Dominus locutus eſt Moſi, dicens: Exue calceamenta tua de pedibus tuis, quoniam terra quam pedes tui premunt, ſancta eſt. .i. It is p. 43prohibited amongſt us, that either Pagans or dogs, or any other beaſts ſhould come into our Churches. Moreover, it is not permitted to us to goe into the Church, but BARE FOOTED; nor is it lawfull for us in the Church **Eadem planè Iudaeorum magiſtri prohibent a ſuis in Synagogis fieri, apud Maimoniem Miſnae Part. 1. lib. 2. Tract. 7. De benedictionibus & conſe…r. per preces quae & in Templo olim obſervari ſolita. Et Greg. Nazian. i… orat. fun. pro patre laudat matrem ſuam Nonnam, quòd in Templo D…ine vocem quadem emitteret niſi de rebus myſticis & divinis neq…e unquam tergum altari obverteret, aut ſacrum pa…i nentum conſpueret. De quibus L… ctor pro pr… dentia ſua ſtatuat, an & q… …ſ que nobis …. conducat.to laugh, or to walk up and down, or to ſpeak of ſecular matters; no not to ſpit, hauk or hem in the Church. Becauſe the Churches of Aethiopia are not like unto that Land, where Moſes, ready to depart out of Aegypt, eat the Paſchal Lamb (where, becauſe of the pollution of the country, God commanded them to eat it with their ſhooes on their feet, and their loynes girded) but they are like unto Mount Sinai, where God ſpake unto Moſes, ſaying; Put off thy ſhooes from thy feet, for the ground whereon thy feet treadeth is holy. Thus Zaga Zabo of the Abyſſine Chriſtians, whereof he was a Biſhop. And till the contrary be ſhewed me, I am prone to beleeve that ſome other Chriſtians of the Jacobite ſect may have the like cuſtome, as it is certain that in moſt of their rites they agree with them.

Now the religious guiſe of the Jewes p. 44and other Nations of the Orient, having anciently beene (and ſtill being) ſuch as you have heard, when they entred into their Temples, or remained in them; the words of my text, Look to thy foot or feet, being taken for an expreſſion borrowed from, and alluding thereto, will have the ſame ſenſe; as if we, inflecting them to our manners, ſhould ſay; Look unto thy head (.i. have a care thy head be fitted as it ought to be) when thou comeſt into the Houſe of God; meaning that he ſhould put off his hat, or be uncovered, when he comes thither, and uſe ſuch other reverence, as is wont to accompany it. For know, that the Holy Ghoſt, mentioning or ſpecifying but one rite, is yet ſo to be underſtood, as implying therewith the reſt of the ſame order accuſtomed to goe with it; according to that uſuall trope of Scripture, by a part, or that which is more notable or obvious in any kinde or rank of things to imply the reſt; the rule whereby we interpret the Decalogue, and is the more fitly appliable here, becauſe this guiſe of Diſcalceation was a p. 45leading ceremonie to the other geſtures of ſacred veneration then uſed, as that of putting off the hat (in civill uſe at leaſt) is wont to be with us. Not as if Solomon or the Holy Ghoſt in this Admonition intended the outward ceremonie onelyonly, and no more, (that were ridiculous to imagine) but the whole act of ſacred reverence commenced in the heart and affection, whereof this was the accuſtomed and leading geſture: to wit, the very ſame, and all that which the Lord commandeth in that originall law, Levit. 19. 30. Sanctuarium meum reveremini, Reverence my Sanctuary; which Ionathans Targum explaineth; Ye ſhall goe to the Houſe of my Sanctuary with reverence; Solomon paralleleth here with, Look to thy foot when thou goeſt to the Houſe of God. For ſo is the maner of Scripture almoſt everywhere, under the name of the geſture onelyonly, to underſtand and imply the whole dutie of veneration, which ſuch geſture repreſenteth and importeth.

But as this is moſt true, ſo is it on the other ſide as falſe, if any ſhal from hence collect, p. 46That therefore the outward worſhip may ſecurely bee neglected (in time and place where and when it may be done) ſo the inward be performed. Nay the contrary follows. For if the inward worſhip be chiefly intended, when the outward or bodily is onelyonly named, as it is granted; is it not then abſurd to imagine, that where that which is not expreſly named is meant, there that which is only mentioned ſhould be excluded? Nay ſurely, where the outward is mentioned (as here in my Text) there no doubt, but the outward, in one kinde or other, is a part of the dutie commanded, whatſoever beſides it bee intended. And becauſe it is a diſeaſe almoſt proper to our time (for our forefathers were moſtly ſick of the other extreme) ſo farre to ſleight and diſeſteeme (that I may not ſay, diſdaine) the worſhip of God by the body, as to think it may be omitted and neglected, even in time and place convenient, as in Gods Houſe and publick ſervice, without all guilt of ſinne: Give me therefore leave to propound a few conſiderations, p. 47for the cure of ſuch as are ſick of that maladie. For as that which ſeemes but ſome lighter ſymptome at the firſt, if the cure thereof be neglected and contemned, often times proves fatal, and deſtroyes life it ſelfe; ſo may this. I would have them therefore conſider;

1. That we all looke not onelyonly for the glorification of our ſoules, but of our bodies in the life to come: Now a reward preſuppoſeth a work. It is meet and right therefore we ſhould worſhip and glorifie God here in this life with the bodie as wel as the ſoule, if we looke that God ſhould one day glorifie both.

2. That as the outward worſhip without the inward is dead, ſo the inward without the outward is not complete; even as the glorification of the ſoule ſeparate from the bodie is not, nor ſhall not be conſummate, till the bodie be againe united unto it.

3. That thoſe who derogate ſo much from bodily worſhip, in the ſervice of the true GOD, as kneeling, bowing, and the like, make by conſequent Idolatrie p. 48a ſin farre leſſe hainous in degree than it is. For is not Idolatrie to communicate that honour with a creature, which is due unto the Creator alone? By how much therefore the worſhip of geſture and poſture is leſſe due unto God, whē we do our homage unto him; by ſo much is the ſin the leſſe hainous and grievous, when the ſame is given unto an Idol. For I beleeve, they vvill not deny, but part of the ſin of Idolatrie conſiſts even in the outward worſhip given unto an Idol, as kneeling, bowing, and falling down before it, and the like.

4. Laſtly, that although bodily worſhip, being conſidered in it ſelf, be one of the minor a legis, of the leſſer things of the law, and the honour done unto God therby of no great value (though not of none) in his fight: yet may a voluntary and preſumptuous neglect, even of ſo ſmall a duty, be a great and hainous ſin; becauſe ſuch a neglect proceeds from a prophane diſpoſition and election of the heart. For a ſin is not alwayes to be eſteemed according to the value of the duty omitted, but from the p. 49hearts election in omitting it. Non eſt bonum per ſe (ſaith Seneca) munda veſtis, Epiſt. 93.ſed mundae veſtis electio, quia non in re bonum eſt, ſed in electione: that is, A cleane garment hath no goodneſſe of it ſelfe, but it is the election of a cleane garment which commendeth; becauſe the goodneſſe conſiſts not in the thing, but in the election thereof. So ſay I here: it is not the value of merit of the work, which aggravates the ſin in omitting the doing therof, but the election not to doe it.

Now therefore to returne to my hypotheſis. By that which hath beene delivered it appeares, That it is not onelyonly lawfull to uſe ſome reverentiall geſture, when wee come into Gods Houſe (which yet ſome think, they are very liberall, if they grant) but that it is a duty commanded by God himſelfe, and ſo no will-worſhip: As namely in that divine admonition given firſt to Moſes, and afterwards to Ioſua; Put thy ſhooes from off thy feet, &c. in that Law, Reverence my Sanctuary; in this inſtruction by Solomon, Look to thy feet when thou comeſt to the Houſe of God: That the Saints and p. 50people of God in the old Teſtament, and Chriſtians in the New, have uſed ſuch reverence: That the neglect thereof is condemned of prophaneneſſe, by the practice of Jews,**Seneca 2 lib. 7. nat. qq. c. 30. Intramus Templa compoſiti, ad ſacrificium acceſſuri vultum ſubmittimus, togam adducimus, in omne argumentum modeſtiae fingimur. Gentiles, Pagans, Mahumetans, all Religions whatſoever. If any be to bee excepted (proh pudor & dolor) it is our ſelves.

But without doubt, in this we are not in the right, nor was it ſo from the beginning. Whatſoever is dedicated unto God, in generall, or (to ſpeake in the phraſe of Scripture) whatſoever is called by his Name, that is, is His by peculiar relation, ought to be uſed with a different reſpect from things common: and Gods Houſe (as you have heard) hath ſomething ſingular from the reſt. Should wee then come into it, as into a Barne or Stable? It was not once good manners ſo to come into a mans houſe. For our bleſſed Saviour, when he ſent forth his Diſciples to preach the Goſpel, Mat. 10. ſaid, foreign, when ye enter into an houſe, ſalute it. Why ſhould we not thinke it a part of religious manners to doe ſomething p. 51anſwerable, when we come into the Houſe of God? that is, to bleſſe the Maſter thereof (you know, how farre that word extendeth) and if not to ſay, God be here, (which hath beene the forme, and is ſomewhere ſtill, when we enter into a mans Houſe) yet to ſay with Jacob at Bethel, God is here, and to teſtifie in ſome manner or other, as the Saints of God were wont to doe, that we acknowledge it; and that both at our firſt coming thither, and while we continue there; for the one followes from the other. And becauſe I paralleled before that Orientall rite of Diſcalceation (whereunto I ſuppoſed the words of my Text to have reference) vvith ours of uncovering the head, by the name of a leading ceremonie: if any ſhall therefore ask me, what other geſture I implyed thereby, as fitting to accompany this, in the caſe we ſpeak of: I anſwer, That belongs to the diſcretion of our Superiours, and the authority of the Church to appoint, not to me to determine. For here, as in other ceremonies, the Church is not tyed, but hath p. 52liberty to ordaine (having reſpect to the analogy of the old Teſtament) what ſhe ſhall judge moſt ſutable and agreeable to the time, place, and manners of the people where ſhe lives. But if I may without offence or preſumption, ſpeak what I think; then I ſay, That adoration, or bowing of the body, with ſome ſhort ejaculation, (which the Church of Iſrael uſed in their Temple, together with diſcalceation, and which the Chriſtians of the Orient uſe at this day, and time out of minde have done at their ingreſſe into their Churches) is of all other the moſt ſeemly, ready and fitting to our maners: which yet I ſubmit: namely, according to that of the 132. Pſal. ver. 7. Introibimus in Tabernacula ejus, incurvabimus nos ſcabello pedum ejus: We will goe into his Tabernacle, and worſhip before (or toward) his Footſtoole; that is, the Ark of the Covenant of Mercy ſeat; which you ſhall finde thus ſtyled, 1 Chron. 28. 2.

And according to that Pſal. 5. 8. I will enter into thine Houſe in the multitude of thy mercies; in thy feare will I worſhip toward p. 53thy holy Temple, (.i. foreign; for they ſtood in the Courts when they worſhipped) which is the forme the Jewes uſe at this day, when they come firſt into their places of worſhip, and ſo might we too, for any thing I know. The ordinary forme among the Greekes is that of the publican, God be mercifull to me a ſinner: yet ſometimes they premiſe this of the Pſalme before it.

SECTION 4.

ANd thus I have done with the firſt part of my text, which for diſtinction ſake I called the Admonition: I come now to the ſecond, which I termed a Caution; Be more ready to obey, than to offer the ſacrifice of fooles: as much as to ſay, Preferre not the ſecundary ſervice of God before the firſt and principall. Our tranſlation hath, Be more ready to heare, than, &c. whereby ſome have taken occaſion childiſhly to apply this Scripture againſt that cuſtome of a ſhort and private prayer at our firſt coming p. 54into the Church, before we joine with the congregation. For we ſhould (ſay they) rather heare and liſten to what the Miniſter is reading or ſpeaking (as Solomon here bids us) than at ſuch a time to betake our ſelves to any private devotion; which, ſay they, is but the ſacrifice of fooles. But I would themſelves who thus argue, were as wiſe as they ſhould be. For if they were, they would conſider, both that Solomon (according to the time wherin he ſpake) muſt needs meane of another kinde of Sacrifice, than what ſo looſe a notion importeth; namely of ſuch as were then uſed in the Temple he had built; and beſides that this ſenſe of theirs directly thwarts the purport and meaning of the words going before: which is, that we ought to uſe ſome ſigne of reverence when we come into the houſe of God; ſuch, as according to the cuſtome of the Weſt, is this. But though none of theſe things were, yet would this text be nothing to their purpoſe. Foraſmuch as by Hearing in this place is not meant auricular hearing, but practicall, that is, obedience p. 55to Gods commandments, according as the Vulgar hath, Melior eſt obedientia quàm victimae ſtultorum. For it is the ſame with that proverbial ſentence of Scripture, Obedience is better than ſacrifice; which Samuel uſed in that bitter reproofe of K. Saul, for ſparing Agag, 1 Sam. 15.1 Sam 15and the beſt of the ſpoile of the Amalekites, upon a pretence of ſacrificing to the Lord in Gilgal. Hath the Lord (ſaith he) as great delight in burnt-offerings and ſacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? behold, to obey is better than ſacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. The word here twice rendered obey, is foreign the ſame which is in my text, and it is an ordinary ſignification thereof in Scripture. The caſe is cleere.

But was not the offering of Sacrifice, will ſome man ſay, part of the obedience due unto the divine Law? How come they then to be thus oppoſed one to the other? Give mee leave therefore, before I give my full explication of this paſſage, to enquire and conſider of ſome others, of much more difficultie in this reſpect, yet p. 56their meaning conducing to the underſtanding of this.

There are divers places in Scripture diſparaging and vilifying ſacrifices; yea ſo farre, as if ſacrifice were a ſervice, which God neither appointed nor approved. As Pſal. 51. Thou deſireſt not ſacrifice (ſaith David,) elſe would I have given it thee; but thou delighteſt not in burnt-offerings. The ſacrifice of God is a troubled ſpirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God thou wilt not deſpiſe. Hoſea 6. 6. I will have mercy and not ſacrifice. Michah 6. verſ. 6, 7, 8. Wherewith ſhall I come before the Lord, and bow my ſelfe before the moſt High? ſhall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a yeare old? 7. Will the Lord be pleaſed with thouſands of rams, and with ten thouſands of rivers of oyle? ſhall I give my firſt borne for my tranſgreſsion, the fruit of my body for the ſin of my ſoule? 8. He hath ſhewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do juſtly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Nay Ier. 7. ver. 21, 22. he ſeemes to ſay expreſly, p. 57that he never commanded them: Put (ſaith he) your burnt-offerings unto your ſacrifices, and eat fleſh. For I ſpake not unto your Fathers, nor commanded them, in the day that I brought them out of the land of Aegypt, concerning burnt offerings and ſacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, ſaying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye ſhall be my people: and walke ye in the wayes that I have commanded you, that it may bee well with you.

Yet nothing is more plaine, than that God ordained Sacrifices at Mount Sinai. How then ſhall this difficulty be reſolved? Some, and thoſe of the ancients too, have affirmed, that theſe ordinances of Sacrifice were not given to Iſrael at firſt, nor prima intentione Dei; but were (as they call them) foreign, ſuperinducta, afterwards impoſed upon them, when they had committed idolatry in making and worſhipping the golden Calfe. But the contrary to this is alſo apparant. For to paſſe by Cain and Abels ſacrifices, and the ſacrifices of Noah and Abraham; when the Lord pronounced the p. 58Decalogue from Mount Sinai, he added this, as it were an appendix thereto: Ye ſhall not make with me gods of ſilver, neither ſhall ye make unto you gods of gold: OnelyOnly an Altar thou ſhalt make unto me, and ſhalt ſacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy ſheep, and thine oxen, &c. and this before Moſes came downe from the Mount, or the Calfe was yet made. Nay, more than all this, when Moſes and Aaron were ſent unto Pharaoh, the effect of their Embaſſie was,Exod. 3. 18. & 5. 1, 3, 8.Exod 3:18Exod 5:1Exod 5:3Exod 5:8 The God of the Hebrewes ſaith, Let my people go, that they may ſacrifice unto me, three dayes journey in the wilderneſſe. ; And when Pharaob would have given them leave to have ſacrificed to their God in the Land:Exod. 8. 27.Exod 8:27 No (ſaith Moſes) we will go three dayes journey into the wilderneſſe, and there ſacrifice to the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. What ſhall we anſwer then to thoſe paſſages of Scripture, where God diſclaimeth ſacrifice, ſaying, hee required no ſuch ſervice at his peoples hands; yea, that hee commanded them no ſuch thing, when hee p. 59brought them out of the Land of Aegypt?

For the aſſoyling of this difficultie, according to the differing qualitie of the paſſages, which are, or may be produced to this purpoſe, I lay downe theſe three propoſitions. 1. That, according to the proprietie and genius of the Hebrew tongue, a Comparative ſenſe is often expreſſed after the forme of an Antitheſis: As in that of Ioel, Rent your hearts, and not your garments: that is, more, or rather than your garments. Prov. 8. 10. Receive my inſtruction, and not ſilver: that is, rather than ſilver; as the words following teach us to conſtrue it: And knowledge rather than choice gold. Likewiſe in the New Teſtament: Lay not up treaſures for your ſelves on earth, but lay up for your ſelves treaſures in heaven. i. Treaſures in heaven, rather than treaſures on earth; have more care to lay up the one, than the other.

According to this conſtruction onelyonly, without more adoe, ſome of the aforeſaid paſſages will be diſcharged of their difficulty: as namely that of Hoſea, I deſired p. 60mercy and not ſacrifice, .i. more or rather than ſacrifice; as the following words give us to underſtand, which are: And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings; and according as the ſame ſenſe is elſewhere expreſſed; as Prov. 21. 3. To do juſtice and judgement is more acceptable to the Lord, than ſacrifice. But all will not be thus ſalved.

Wherefore I lay down this ſecond propoſition; That antecedenter it is true, that God commanded not ſacrifice ſhould be offered unto him, neither when the Law was given, nor before; but conſequenter, conſequently onelyonly. For the underſtanding whereof, we muſt know, That Sacrifice was a rite whereby men renewed a covenant with God, by making attonement for their ſinne. Therefore it preſuppoſed a breach and tranſgreſſion of the Law. But the will of God was not, that men ſhould tranſgreſſe his Law, and violate the covenant he had made with them, but that they ſhould obſerve and keep it; which if they did, ſacrifice would have no p. 61place. This is that I meane, when I ſay, That God required not, nor commanded ſacrifice antecedently, but that men ſhould keep his Commandments. But in caſe ſinne were committed, and the Articles of his covenant violated, then and in ſuch a ſtate God ordained, and admitted of Sacrifice for a rite of attonement and redintegration of his covenant with men: that is, he commanded Sacrifice onelyonly conſequenter, as a remedy if ſinne were committed. And if thoſe Ancients could bee thus underſtood, who ſay, that ſacrifice was not ordained when the Law was firſt given, but after it was tranſgreſſed; namely, if their meaning were onelyonly, that the ordinance of ſacrifice preſuppoſed a tranſgreſſion of the Law, then their aſſertion were true; but otherwiſe hiſtorically taken, it cannot be defended. Now according to this propoſition is that of Ieremy chap. 7. to be underſtood, (or if there bee any other like it:) I ſpake not unto your Fathers, nor commanded them, in the day that I brought them out of the Land of Aegypt, concerning p. 62burnt-offerings and ſacrifices: But this thing commanded I them; Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye ſhall be my people: and walke yee in all the wayes that I have commanded you, that it may bee well with you.

My third propoſition is this: That when ſacrifice was to be offered, in caſe of ſinne; yet even then God accepted not thereof primariò, primarily and for it ſelfe; as though any refreſhment or emolument accrued to him thereby, (as the Gentiles fondly ſuppoſed of their gods) but ſecundarily onelyonly, as a teſtimony of the conſcience of the offerer, deſiring, with humble repentance, to glorifie him with a preſent, and by that rite to renew a covenant with him. For Sacrifice (as I have ſaid) was oblatio foederalis. Now Almighty God renewes a covenant with, or receiveth againe into his favour, none but the repentant ſinner, and therefore accepts of ſacrifice in no other regard, but as a token and effect of this. Otherwiſe it is an abomination unto him, as whereby men profeſſed p. 63a deſire of being reconciled unto God, when they had offended him, and yet had no ſuch meaning. Hence God rejects all ſacrifices wherein there is no contrition, nor purpoſe to forſake ſinne, and keep his commandments, which are the parts of repentance. So is to bee taken that in the firſt of Iſay: To what purpoſe is the multitude of your ſacrifices?—Bring no more vaine oblations; incenſe is an abomination unto me—Waſh ye, make you cleane, put away the evill of your doings from before mine eyes, ceaſe to do evill—then (if you offer ſacrifice unto me) though your ſinnes be as ſcarlet, they ſhall be as white as ſnow, &c.— And that Iſay the laſt: To this man I look, to him that is poore and of a contrite ſpirit. Hee that killeth an oxe (namely otherwiſe) is as if he ſlew a man: be that ſacrificeth a lamb (unleſſe he comes with this diſpoſition) as if he cut off a dogs neck, he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered bloud, he that burneth incenſe, as if he bleſſed an Idoll. And ſurely, he that bleſſeth an Idoll, is ſo farre from renewing a p. 64covenant with the Lord his God, that he breakes it. So did they, who without conſcience of repentance preſumed to come before him with a ſacrifice, not procure attonement, but aggravate their breach.

According to one of theſe three ſenſes are all paſſages in the Old Teſtament, diſparaging and rejecting ſacrifices, literally to be underſtood: Namely, when men preferred them before the greater things of the law; valued them out of their degree, as an antecedent duty; or placed their efficacy in the naked rite, as if ought accrued to God thereby: God would no longer owne them for any ordinance of his; nor indeed in that diſguiſe put upon them were they. I will except onelyonly one paſſage out of the number, which I ſuppoſe to have a ſingular meaning; to wit, that of David in the 51. Pſalme, which the ancient tranſlations thus expreſſe: Quoniam ſi voluiſſes ſacrificium, dediſſem utique; ſed holocauſtis non oblectaberis (vel, holocauſtum non acceptabis.) Sacrificium Deo ſpiritus contribulatus, &c.—If thou wouldeſt have p. 65had a ſacrifice, I would have offered it; but thou wilt accept no burnt-offering, &c.— For this ſeemes to be meant of that ſpeciall caſe of adulterie and murder, which David here deploreth: for which ſinnes the Lord had provided no ſacrifice in his law. Wherefore David in this his poenitentiall confeſſion tells him, That if hee had appointed any ſacrifice for expiation of this kinde of ſinne, hee would have given it him: but he had ordained none, ſave onelyonly a broken ſpirit and a contrite heart: which, thou O God (ſaith he) wilt not deſpiſe, but accept that alone for a ſacrifice in this caſe, without which, ſacrifice in no caſe, is accepted.

Now out of this diſcourſe we are ſufficiently furniſhed for the underſtanding of this caution of Solomon in my Text: Bee more readie to obey, than to offer the ſacrifice of fooles; or as the words in the Originall import, Be more approaching God with a purpoſe and reſolution of obedience to his commandments, than with the ſacrifice of fooles; that is, Have a care, rather to p. 66approach the Divine Majeſty with an offering of an obedientiall diſpoſition, than with the bare and naked rite; but the ſenſe is ſtill the ſame, namely, the Houſe of God at Jeruſalem was an Houſe of ſacrifice, which they who came thither to worſhip, offered unto the Divine Majeſty, to make way for their prayers and ſupplications unto him, or to finde favour in his ſight. Solomon therefore gives them here a caveat, not to place their religion, either onelyonly or chiefly in the externall rite, but in their readineſſe to heare and keepe the Commandements of GOD; without which, that rite alone would availe them nothing, but bee no better than the ſacrifice of fooles, who when they doe evill, thinke they doe well. For without this readineſſe to obey, this purpoſe of heart to live according to his Commandements, God accepts of no ſacrifice from thoſe who approach him, nor will pardon their tranſgreſſions when they come before him. Hee therefore that makes no conſcience of ſinning againſt God, and yet p. 67thinks to bee expiate by ſacrifice, is an ignorant foole; how wiſe and religious ſoever he may thinke himſelfe to be, or appeare unto men, by the multitude or greatneſſe of his ſacrifices. The reaſon, becauſe the Lord requires obedience antecedently and abſolutely, but ſacrifice conſequently onelyonly: and then too, not primariò, or chiefly and for it ſelfe, but ſecundarily onelyonly, as a teſtimony of contrition, and a ready deſire and purpoſe in the offerer, to continue in his favour by obedience.

This is Solomons the Preachers meaning Wherein behold, as in a glaſſe, the condition of all externall ſervice of God in generall; as that which he accepteth no otherwiſe than ſecundarily; namely, as iſſuing from a heart reſpectively affected with that devotion it importeth. For God, as hee is a living God, ſo he requires a living worſhip. But as the body without the ſoule is but a carcaſſe; ſo is all externall and bodily worſhip, wherein the pulſe of the hearts devotion beats not.

p. 68But if this bee ſo, you will ſay, it were better to uſe no externall worſhip at all of courſe, as we doe the worſhip of the bodie in the geſtures of bowing, kneeling, ſtanding, and the like, than to incurre this danger of ſerving God with a dead and hypocriticall ſervice; becauſe it is not like, the heart will be alwayes duely affected, when the outward worſhip ſhall bee required. I anſwer; Where there is a true and reall intent to honour God with outward and bodily worſhip, there the act is not hypocriſie, though accompanied with many defects and imperfections. Here therefore that rule of our Saviour touching the greater and leſſer things of the law muſt have place:Matth. 23. 23. & Luke 11. 42.Matt 23:23Luke 11:42 foreign, foreign, Theſe things (.i. the greater things of the Law) we ought to doe, and not to leave the other (though the leſſer) undone. For otherwiſe, if this reaſoning were admitted, a man might upon the ſame ground abſent himſelfe from comming to Church upon the dayes and times appointed, or come thither but now and then, alledging p. 69the indiſpoſition of his heart to joyne with the Church in her publicke worſhip at other times: Or if he came thither, act a mute, and when others ſing and praiſe God, to be altogether ſilent, and not open his mouth, nor to ſay Amen, when others doe. For all theſe are externall ſervices; and the ſervice of the voice and geſture are in this reſpect all one, there is no difference. But who would not thinke this to be very abſurd? We ſhould rather upon every ſuch occaſion rouze and ſtirre up our affections with fit and ſeaſonable meditations, that what the order and decency of a Church-aſſembly requires to be done of every member outwardly, we may likewiſe doe devoutly and acceptably. Theſe things we ought to doe, and not leave the other undone.

But you will ſay, What if I cannot bring my heart unto that religious feare and devotion, which the outward worſhip I ſhould performe requireth? I could ſay that ſome of the outward worſhip which a man performes in a Church-aſſembly, he p. 70does not as a ſingular man, but as a member of the Congregation. But howſoever, I anſwer: Let the worſhip of thy body, in ſuch a caſe, be at leaſt a confeſſion and acknowledgement before God, of that love, feare, and eſteeme of his Divine Majeſty thou oughteſt to have, but haſt not. For though to come before God without that inward devotion requiſite, bee a ſinne: yet to confeſſe and acknowledge, by what our outward geſture importeth, the duty we owe unto him, but are defective in, I hope is not; no more than the confeſſion of any other ſinne. For our worſhip, in ſuch a caſe, if we will ſo intend it, is an act of repentance: and as the moderne Greekes are wont to call their Adorations foreign, Repentances; ſo may we in this caſe make ours to be; namely, as if wee ſaid, Lord, I ought to come before thee with that religious feare, humble reverence, and lifting up of heart, which the geſture, the poſture, I here preſent, importeth: but Lord be mercifull to me a ſinner. If any mans heart be ſo prophane and irreligious, p. 71as not to acknowledge thus much: I yeeld, that ſuch a one might better ſpare his labour, and not come into the preſence of God at all. Otherwiſe I conclude ſtill with our bleſſed Saviours determination in the like caſe, Thoſe greater things we ought to doe, and not to leave the other undone. *⁎*

FINIS.

End of the text · Joseph Mede, The Reverence of Gods House (1638)