The Sin Against the Holy Ghost, Sermons · Sermon 9
THE NINTH SERMON, TRANſlated into Engliſh by a learned ſtudent in Divinitie.
HEBR. 10. VER. 30.
30 For we know him that hath ſaid, Vengeance (belongeth) vntounto me: I will recompenſe, ſaith the LORD. And againe, The LORD ſhall iudge his people.
I Nothing doubt, Beloued in our Lord and Saviour Ieſus Chriſt, but yee will pardon me, if I altogether abſteine frō a long, impertinent, and farre fetcht enterance, wherewith ſome vſe to pleaſe themſelues. I will not long hold you; but come to the ſtate, & principal propoſitiō & ſumme of theſe words: which is, that the Hebrews, as alſo all the faithfull, of which number we are, muſt not fall away from Chriſt, but firmly continue in that calling and profeſſion, which they hauehave once vndertaken. If there be any, which hauehave not a true feeling and touch of this the Apoſtles moſt louing invitation to be conſtant in the faith of Chriſt, they are altogether dead in their ſinnes. But they which liue by the power of God with Chriſt, are wonderfully affected, when they heare ſuch puniſhments denounced. And no maruaile. For here we be taught by plaine expreſſe words, that God will certainely moſt ſeverely be revenged of thoſe, who doe willingly ſinne, after they hauehave receaued the knowledge of the truth. He that ſhall willingly ſinne after the knowledge of the truth; he that ſhall wilfully caſt away the grace which he hath receaved; he that ſhal depart from the death and blood of Chriſt, not by any particular ſin, but by a totall renoūcing of the faith: to him there remaines no more ſacrifice for ſinnes, but a fearefull looking for of iudgment, and violent fire, which ſhall devoure the adverſaries. Theſe things are plainly deliuered in the 26 and 27 verſes.
26 If wee ſinne willingly after that wee hauehave receaved the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more ſacrifice for ſinnes;
27 But a fearefull looking for of iudgement, and violent fire, which ſhall devoure the adverſaries.
The propoſition is in it ſelfe ſo certaine and perſpicuous, that the gates of Hell ſhall neuer prevaile againſt the truth therof. But becauſe we are dull and ſlow of heart to beleeue all things, which the moſt holy witneſſes of Chriſt hauehave ſpoken: therfore the Apoſtle doth here apply himſelfe for our good, and doth ſtrengthen and proue the foreſaid truth, with a double argument. The firſt whereof is drawen from a compariſon with ſmaller matters. The ſecond, from Gods owne words. Both the arguments are very fit and appoſite; one to refute the Iewes, the other to excite, and ſtirre vsus all vp.
The firſt argument is expreſſed, verſ. 28, 29. wherein that ſpirit of truth which the world cannot receaue, doth aſſure the faithfull, that all they ſhall certainely die, which deſpiſe MOSES law; and ſo the ſame spirit doth as it were lead vsus by the hand to a ſerious and earneſt meditation of that moſt bitter puniſhment, wherewith all thoſe queſtionleſſe ſhall bee tortured, which tread vnderunder foot the Sonne of God. What could be ſpokē more plainely? what more forcibly? Hee that despiſeth Moſes law, dyeth without mercy, vnderunder two or three witneſſes, v. 28. Of how much ſorer puniſhment, ſuppoſe yee, ſhall he be worthy, which treadeth vnderunder foot the Sonne of God, & counteth the blood of the Teſtament, as an vnholy thing, wherewith he was ſanctified, and doth deſpite the spirit of grace? v. 29.
We hauehave the ſecond argument, verſ. 30. and it is grounded vponupon two teſtimonies, which are recorded, Deut. 32. The firſt verſ. 35. Vengeance belongeth vntounto me, I will recompenſe ſaith the LORD. The ſecond ver. 36. The LORD ſhall iudge his people.
The ſtrength of theſe teſtimonies is nothing weakned by that which goes before, foreign, wee knowe him that hath ſaid; we knowe, God is not as man that he ſhould lie; wee knowe, he is alwaies like himſelfe; wee knowe hee doth never repent of thoſe things, which he hath ſaid.
foreign] We knowe him that hath ſaid it; vengeance belongeth vntounto me, I will recompenſe, ſaith the Lord: and againe, the Lord ſhall iudge his people. The proofe of this doctrine the Apoſtle doth elegantly conclude verſ. 31. It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God. By which men being warned of the fearefull ſeveritie of Gods iudgement, may learne ſo to apply themſelues, that they never fall from Chriſt.
It is a fearefull thing. But to whom? To the faithful? No. Holy David, when by Gods commandement the Prophet Gad offered him the choiſe of three evills, I am, ſaith he,2. Sam. 24.14. in a wonderfull ſtreight, let vsus fall now into the hand of the LORD, for his mercies are great. So then to them, which liue by faith, it is not a fearefull thing, to fall into the hands of God.
On whom then falleth this feare? Truely vponupon all the wicked, and vnbeleeuers, but eſpecially vponupon Apoſtataes, thoſe which fall from Chriſt, forſake the true religion, and betray the Goſpell.
But yet theſe liue. Liue? yea, liue to bee olde; are luſtie, and ſtrong Peace is in their habitations, neither hath God laid his ſcourge vponupon them: they toyle not themſelues as others doe, Pſal. 73.5.neither are they plagued like other men. They gird thēſelues with pride, as with a chaine, and cloath themſelues with crueltie, as with a garment.
Harken now, and be learned,Pſal. 73.8. yee that ſet your face againſt Heaven. Hence yee may learne, that our God is a living God, that God it is, who with his yron rod wil breake the ſtifnecked,Pſal. 2.9. like a potters veſſell: that this is the God, beſide whom there is no other, that it is he alone, who both can, and will deſtroy the wicked man, both ſoule and body, in hell fire. It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
foreign: as the Greeke Epigrammatiſt ſaith.
Inſuave eſt, quicquid nimium eſt; nam dicitur, olim Mel quo que , ſi immodica eſt copia, bilis erit.
Too much of any thing is vnpleaſant & diſtaſtfull; neither is it good to eate too much hony, Prov. 25.27.becauſe it turneth into choler. Therefore I will endeavour, Beloued in our Saviour Ieſus Chriſt, to ſpeake ſo, and ſuch things, which ſhal not be diſtaſtfull vntounto you. I will not repeate thoſe things which I hauehave heretofore ſpoken of the Propoſition, and of the firſt argument, by which the propoſition is confirmed. I wil briefly declare the force of the ſecond argument which is conteined in the 30. verſe; Wee knowe him that hath ſaid, Vengeance belongeth vntounto me, I will recompenſe, ſaith the LORD; And againe; The LORD ſhall iudge his people.
In which verſe I thinke three things eſpecially worthy our obſervation.
The firſt, that God is true in all his promiſes and ſayings, Which I gather out of theſe words, VVee knowe him that hath ſaid.
The ſecond, that God will revenge himſelfe, not only of thoſe iniuries, which are done to himſelfe, but of thoſe alſo, which his people ſuffer. This the words imply, that immediatly follow, Ʋengeance belongeth vntounto me, I wil recompenſe, ſaith the LORD.
The third, that God will moſt ſeverely and ſharply puniſh his owne people. This is contained in the laſt words, The LORD ſhall iudge his people.
From the firſt of theſe I wil beginne my intended diſcourſe, and therewith conclude. It is a common ſaying in the Schoolmen, Deum non tantùm verum eſſe, ſed & ipſam eſſe veritatem, that God is not only true, but truth it ſelfe; Truth in himſelfe, in his workes, and in his words.
God is truth, in himſelfe, both becauſe he is moſt truely that, which he ſeeth and knoweth himſelfe to be, to wit, the eternal and moſt perfect eſſence, and being; as alſo becauſe hee is the forme and beautie of all things, which are without him, according to which all things that be, muſt bee conformed and proportioned.
God is truth in his workes, both ordinarie, ſuch as are the workes of Creation, and governement of the world; and alſo extraordinarie, by which I meane miraculous workes, and ſuch whereby he preſerues his faithfull Church.
Laſtly, God is truth in his words; truth both in VERBO INCARNATO, that incarnate word, the true ſonne of God, God & man, vtro que vero, both a true God, and true man; a true Prophet, Prieſt, and King: and he is truth alſo verbo ſcripto, in his writtē word, of which one IOTA ſhall not paſſe, till all things be fulfilled. Nay, Heaven and Earth ſhall ſooner paſſe.
So many waies God is ſaid to be true, and truth it ſelfe, nay Sua ipſius veritas, his owne truth, and truth of himſelfe. I paſſe over many things. Truely, ſeeing the knowledge of heavenly doctrine, which is neceſſarie for vsus to ſalvation, is to be drawn only out of the divine fountaine, the written word of God, wee muſt not ſeeke for it in the muddie chanels of heathen Philoſophers. Wee hauehave the moſt pure word of God, that immortall ſeed, delivered over to vsus from the ancient Patriarchs, & Prophets. Why ſhould we not take delight, and ſpend our daies therein? The Chriſtian world is ſo corrupted, that there is nothing ſo improper, which to one or other ſeemes not moſt elegant. I ſay not, that one ſpends his time in the ſtudy of the Laws another in Phyſicke, a third in the liberall ſciences. I know that Lawiers houſes are counted oracula civitatum, and that, when they ſit as iudges, they are called Gods by God himſelfe. I know theEccleſ. 38.1. Phyſitian is to bee honoured, becauſe God hath created him. I knowe, that liberall Arts and Sciences are praiſeworthy, and of ſo great vſe, that they may adorne and ſet forth Divinitie. Yet this I will ſay, that many are ſo incenſed with theſe ſtudies, that they afford no time for the hearing, reading, or meditating, of the word of God.
If theſe deſerue reproofe, what ſhall wee ſay of thoſe, who ſpend the flowre, and ſtrength of their wits in divulging wanton and ſcurrilous Poems? Which though they be diſtaſtfull to men of graue and ſetled iudgements, yet marvaile it is, if they taint not and infect young mens maners. The bookes themſelues deſerue no better, in my iudgement, then to bee made caſes to wrap in pepper, and other ſpices, yea to bee burned as were thoſe magicke & curious books, mentioned, Act. 19.19.
Againſt ſuch libellers I will not vſe bitterneſſe; they may learne, if they will, of the Preacher, who, being endued with heauenly wiſdome, doth checke all thoſe which ſhall write vaine things.Eccleſ. 12.12. Heare how modeſtly he doth it, There is none end in making many bookes; the moſt wiſe ſonne of David ſtaies not here, but adds, Much reading is a wearines to the fleſh. In which words he hath ſtamped a note of infamie vpō better learning, if it be not referred to the glory of God. So farre is this wiſe Preacher from approuing thoſe, which delight themſelues in reading prophane and wicked bookes.
Our age is full of ſuch. Moſt of vsus, ſtudents in the Vniverſitie, hauehave ſo prevented our wits, that we had rather runne after vanities, then, with any the leaſt ſweat of our browes, acquire to our ſelues the hidden treaſure of heavenly wiſdome. We cō mit two evills; Ierem. 2.13.we hauehave forſaken the fountaine of living waters, to digge our ſelues pits, pits that can hold no water. Which wee would never do, if wee knew, that the only true God, were a moſt earneſt defender of himſelfe, a moſt ſevere revenger of his enimies, & a iuſt iudge of his people. If we knewe him, we would not liue as we doe, but worſhip him with a true heart, & keepe his commandements. The more is the pitie, that wee ſtill hold our minds enſnared in the bonds of mans corrupt nature. We looke not aboue the earth: quicke ſighted we are in earthly affaires, but blind and dull in the contemplation of heavenly things.
Our nature is ſo corrupt, that wee knowe nothing of the things of God.Matth. 16.23 Depart from me SATAN, thou art an offence vntounto me, becauſe thou vnderſtandest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men. God doth moſt iuſtly complaine Ierem. 4.22. that his people is fooliſh, and hauehave not knowne him. The Prophet Hoſea, chap. 5.4. complaines of Ephraim and Iſrael, that they hauehave not knowne the Lord. The Apoſtle doth warne Titus, chap. 1. ver. 16. that there are mē, who profeſſe they knowe God, but by workes deny him, and are abominable, and diſobedient, and vntounto every good worke reprobate. Their mindes and conſciences are defiled. They profeſſe they knowe him, whō they doe not knowe, becauſe by workes they deny him. St Iohn, ſpeakes moſt plainely, 1. Ep. chap. 2. verſ. 4. Hee that ſaith I knowe God, and keepes not his commandements, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
If theſe things be true, ſo ſurely ſealed to vsus in holy writ; if that be moſt certaine, which the Apoſtle ſaith of the Gentiles, Rom 1.21.that they knewe God, although they never gaue him glory, nor thanks; if there bee no falſhood in this, which is ſpoken in the name of all the faithfull, We knowe him that hath ſaid; it will not be from the purpoſe if I briefly ſhall ſhew, how diverſly men hauehave thought of God.
There is no controverſie, but that in the mind of man there is naturally a ſenſe and feeling of God, and his divine nature. This was ſo manifeſt to the Heathē, that one of them affirmed for certaine, that there was no nation ſo barbarous, no people ſo rude, but were fully perſwaded there was a God. Which ſhewes, that in the mind of man there is a deepe impreſſion of the divine nature. For if any man would ſequeſter and abſtract his thoughts from the ſtudie of earthly things, and conſider the whole fabrique of this world, which is both moſt beautiful, and governed with excellent lawes, truely hee cannot chuſe but think, that there is ſome one, who hath created all theſe things, & to them created hath appointed thoſe bounds & limits which they cannot paſſe. Hee that will thus bethinke himſelfe, will ſoone begin to knowe, what God is. For when hee ſhal knowe him to bee the Creator of all things, and therefore to bee before all things created, he then hath in himſelfe an evident teſtimonie of Gods eternitie.
The wonderfull motions and effects of the ſeverall parts of this vniuerſe, will giuegive a man notice of the infinite power of it's Creator. The excellent diſpoſition, beautie, and conveniencie betweene the ſeverall parts, will forceibly lead a man to the admiration of the Creators wiſdome. The conſtant courſe and order of the worlds frame will tell a man, that God is truth. Let him not here ſtand amazed; but if he will conſider the vſe and profit which the ſeverall creatures yeeld to man, hee cannot, vnleſſe he be vngratefull, but be aſſured of Gods goodnes. Let him looke downe from the Heaven to the earth, conſider the flowers of the field, the foules of the aire, and the leaſt living creatures that be, if he will but conſider their forme, and agilitie, will he, nil he, hee muſt needs acknowledge a puiſſance aboue mans. Let him reflect his eies vpō himſelfe, conſider the diſpoſition and vſe of his owne members, and he hath matter enough of Gods power, wiſdome, & goodneſſe. Moreover, let him conſider the examples of Gods iudgements, wherewith hee doth either defend his faithfull ſervants, or puniſh his enimies, and he ſhall acknowledge moſt plaine tokens of Gods merciemercy and iuſtice.
Wee hauehave thus ſeene opened, and hauehave read in, the booke of nature, wherein the eternall King of kings is declared to bee moſt mightie, wiſe, true, good, bountifull, and iuſt. This is that knowledge of the Divine power, that knowledge of God, which S. Paul. Rom. 1. affirmes to hauehave beene written and engrauen in the minds of all men, leſt they ſhould hide their impieties and wickedneſſe vnderunder the cloake of ignorance.
Now, beſides this knowledge of God, which we hauehave learned in the booke of his Creatures, there is a more perfect knowledge to be learned in the booke of his Law. It is an excellent gift and bleſſing of God, that for the inſtructing of his Church, he hath not only vſed dumb maſters, but opened his owne moſt holy mouth, to aſſure vsus, that hee alone is the chiefe God, who is to be feared, honoured, and worſhipped. This knoweledge of God which wee hauehave learned out of his owne mouth, and written word, ſpreadeth it ſelfe over the whole Church. The Iebuſite dwels with thoſe of Ieruſalem; the nettle and myrrhe grow together, the goats and lambes feed together, both good and bad fiſhes are taken in the ſame nette, in Gods field lilies growe among the thornes, and tares among the wheat. Such is the condition, ſtate, and forme of the viſible Church; wherein are mixed with the Elect, faithfull, and Godly, the Reprobate, infidels, & wicked. Both theſe are called to heare the word of God, and are thence taught, that there is but one only God to be honoured, feared, and worſhipped.
There remaines, the only and moſt perfect knowledge of God, to be drawen from the booke of Faith, by which we are illightned to the hope of eternall life, by which alone, wee, that were dead, are revived; by which alone we confeſſe & acknowledge God, not only as he is the Creator of the world, and ſole arbiter of all things therin, but alſo as Hee is our Redeemer in the perſon of a Mediatour.
Theſe are the ſortes of knowledge, which men hauehave of God. By the book of Nature, we know Deum eſſe, that there is a God; by the booke of the Law, wee know hee is to be worſhipped, honoured, and feared; by the booke of Faith, wee beleeue that he is our Saviour. This laſt and moſt perfect knowledge of God, the only true, and wholeſome knowledge, infuſed into the elect only by the grace of the Goſpell, and illightning them, is that knowledge, which the Apoſtle here vnderſtands, when he ſaith, We knowe him that hath ſaid.
In which words there is a great power and force to moue vsus: as if he ſhould hauehave ſaid; what? doe not we thinke, doe not we beleeue, that thoſe, which deſpiſe Chriſt, & tread his blood vnderunder foot, ſhall be grievouſly tormented? Wee knowe him that hath ſaid, Vengeance belongeth vntounto mee.
We, that are giuen to Chriſt by the Father, choſen out of the world, deliuered out of the power of Satan, doe ſurely knowe him that hath ſaid, Vengance belongeth vntounto me. Wee certainely knowe, what maner of God he is, how iealous, iuſt, ſevere, and an incorrupt avenger he is. He will not ſuffer himſelfe to be deſpiſed; he hath ſaid, Vengeance belongeth vntounto me, I will recompenſe. Hath he ſaid it, and will hee not performe it? Yea, ſaith Balaam, The mightie God, is not as mā, that he ſhould lie, Num. 23.19.nor as the Sonne of man, that it ſhould repent him. There is greater vehemency in that which follows, Hath he ſaid, & ſhal he not doe it? hath he spoken, and ſhall he not accompliſh it? If this ſonne of Boſor cannot prevaile with vsus, becauſe hee loued the wages of iniquitie, then let vsus heare Samuel confeſſing as much, 1. Sam. chap. 15. verſ. 29. The ſtrength of Iſrael, will not lie, nor repent, for hee is not as man, that hee ſhould repent: let vsus heare the Apoſtle, Romm. 9.19. Who (ſaith he) can reſiſt the will of God? let vsus heare God himſelfe, Malach. 3.6. I am the Lord, I change not. Which although S. Hierome thinke ſpokē, that we ſhould not thinke, that God changeth the nature of his divinitie, yet St Auguſtine vnderſtands another thing by theſe words, to wit, that in God there is no mutation of will and purpoſe. A very fit interpretation, agreeable to the rule of the Schoolemen, Ʋoluntatem Dei, quocūque ſeſe vertant creaturae, manere ſemper invictam atque immutabilem: That howſoever the creatures turne, & be changed, yet God is never changed. I am the Lord, I change not. Though your wickedneſſe change you to the worſe, & my grace, to the better, yet I am not changed. Cum vos mutaverit & in deterius culpa veſtra, & in melius gratia mea, ego non mutor. I ſay no more. By that which I hauehave ſaid it is manifeſt, that God in all his ſayings and promiſes is true, and ſo acknowledged by the faithfull: Wee know him that hath ſaid] Hee hath ſaid, he will doe it, he will performe it. He hath ſaid, Vengeance is mine I will recompence. Of this ſaying in the next.
Let thy face ſhine vponupon vsus, O thou moſt high. Grant we beſeech thee, that the truth which ſhines in thy word, may giuegive vsus light in the darkneſſe of this world, that ſtudying it dayly more & more, we may finiſh our courſe according to the ſame truth, til we fully enioy that most bleſſed quietneſſe, which thy only Sonne, our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, hath prepared for vsus, to whom with thee and the holy Ghoſt hee all honour and glory, now and ever. AMEN.