True Happiness, Section 2
SECTION II.
Of the authour of happinesse.
From the Lord.
YE have heard the first part of this doctrine concerning (on… thing) followeth the second concerning the authour of happinesse, God the fountain of happinesse.and this is the Lord Jehovah. One thing have I sought of the Lord. This is clear, both by the properties of a fountain, and some instances. The properties of the fountain of happines are three: That it be happy it self; that it impart happinesse to other without diminishing it self; and that it preserve that happines it imparteth. These three are proper to God alone, for he is the*Cant. 5. 4. 16. fountain of the gardens, and well of living waters: *Psal. 36. 9.With him is the fountain of life, and in his light we see light: *Jam. 1. 17.And he is the father of lights, from whom every good gift and donation cometh down. 1 A communicating good.Next, though he impart happines to all,2 Not decaying. yet his fulnesse is never diminished. Though all the vessels of the world were set at the sea shore and filled, the sea would not be known to be lesse. If this be in the creature, how much more in the Creatour? And therefore the apostle crieth out,Rom. 11. 33. O the deepnesse of the riches. It is a deep richnesse that cannot be sounded, and a rich deepnesse that can neither be lessened nor exhausted. All the happines of men and angels do not impare it, but it abideth ever the same fulnes. Before it imparted it self it was full, and by that imparting it hath a greater manifestation without either diminishing or augmenting.
Thirdly,3 Preserving what he giveth. he preserveth the happines that he giveth, for none can *Joh. 10. 28.pull his sheep out of his hand: *Joh. 6. 37.and all that the Father giveth me, saith Christ, they come to me; and these that come to me, I cast not away, but shall present them at the last day. In Adam we were blessed, but left to our own free-will, and that free-will overthrew us: we were like a fair lock without the backsprint, and therefore Sathan like a jugler shot the lock with the first temptation. But now renewed in Christ, our will hath the backsprint of a confirming grace.*Jer. 32. 40. I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
Three instances prove the same: The first is from reasonlesse creatures,Three instances. the lion roareth for meat, the dog howleth, the ox loweth for fodder, &c. these creatures have no sense of God, but of their own necessitie, and nature directeth them that way to implore the authour of nature for help.*Psa. 145. 15 The eyes of all things wait on thee. The second is in children, who being either afraid suddenly or provoked, cry on God. Though then they be neither sensible of the work of reason nor of grace, yet God giveth them these beginnings of amore resolute seeking to him, while they call to him as the fountain of their safety. The third instance is of men come to age, and these either hypocrites or atheists, for I need not speak of the godly who openly professe him the fountain of their happines. The fashioned prayers of the hypocrite, though they be without his heart, proves God to be this fountain: and the forced prayers of the atheist in his necessitie, telleth likewise that he is the fountain of happines.
From this ground we have first some errours to refute, and then our dutie to learn. The errours about the fountain of happines are dangerous.
First,Pagans sought happines of themselves. the Pagans made themselves the authours of it in thinking they had a sufficiencie by nature to deserve and work their own happinesse. They knew not that man was made good in Adam, that he fell, and is now corrupt, and hath need of regeneration: But they thought he was never better than he is now, and that he may be better by the right use of his naturall sufficiencie. This was Sathans craft, for he knew that man had a naturall notion of happines, and a care to finde it, therefore he set both these wrong, and made man think he needed not go out of himself for happines. This was not in the grosser sort only, who placed happines in pleasure and bodily things, but even in these Philosophers who placed it in the gifts of the minde and vertuous actions, they were puffed up with pride of their own strength both to work these actions, and to ingage their gods to give them happines, as the just fruit and consequent of their vertue: So they ascribed not things to their authour, but to nature, Non authori attribuebant, sed naturae, autsuae industriae. Ber. Cant. 6. & 22.or their own industrie and vertue. And yet in vain they either disputed or conceited of vertues which they had not without him: So they could finde no true happinesse, because they sought their own happinesse, and they had no true vertues who had not the Lord of vertues.
They contemned their gods.But Sathan led them on farther to contemne their gods in the matter of happinesse: aNon invenerunt felicitatem veram, quia suam voluerunt felicitatem. Aug. epist. 48.for they sought it not from any of them; and it was long ere felicitie was made a goddesse, and being made, the Romanes assigned her a place without the ports. If they had worshipped her according to her name, they might have neglected all other gods beside her. It is a wonder how godlesse they were about the multitude of their gods; for they imployed their select gods in base offices, for begetting, bringing forth, and nourishing of children, for their food and trifling busines, whereas they neglected Mens (of whom they held the soundnes and goodnes of their minde) in respect of Venus, Ceres and Bacohus; in all which they testified they were more brutish than reasonable. And lastly to tell the conceit they had of their own felicitie, they gave to their greatest gods (Jupiter and Juno) their names from helping only, as though they had power to do their own turn, and lacked nothing but some small and accessorie help of the gods. They took the greatest part of the work to themselves, and the greatest praise, and so made themselves their own gods, and gave no other respect to the gods but of servants without any relation to happines. They sought trifles from their greatest gods, and greatest things from their triviall and basest gods, but sought happinesse from none of them.
The same errour Sathan brought in the church by Pelagius, he is the father of that spirituall pride,Pelagius the father of that pride. that naturall man is able to purchase happines, and needeth not grace for efficacie, but for facilitie of working. And that he is so sufficiently disposed to receive grace, that he needeth no more but a generall offer. After that Sathan for three ages had laboured to make the Godhead contemptible by innumerable errours he turned him to exalt and deifie humane nature by Pelagianisme, and put such a trick upon the church, that he turned mans free-will in a seat of war against the grace of Christ, and themRadix peccati libertas. Basil, 128. root of all our miserie in the root of merit, and the cause of our first and perpetuall falling in the cause of happinesse. He was craftie in his choice, for it is the strongest power of the soul, and hath a naturall indifferencie to diverse things, and a libertie in working, and therefore the most fit power either to present as a counterfeit of grace, or to imploy as opposite to grace.
The papists have followed both:Popish pride. They are busie with many gods, and though they seem to imploy them about happines, yet they take more of the work to themselves, and do share salvation with God, as to make him only a common helper, turning our Iehovah in the Pagan Iupiter. nNon intelligit divina beneficia qui se tantummodo … Deo juvari putat Lactant. 1. 11.This was justly taxed of one who said that this name of helper did not expresse a divine power, but an humane, and that Iupiter and Iuno had their name from helping, which do not agree to God, because it is mans work to help:—And again, he understandeth not divine blessings, who thinketh that he is only helped of God.
It is more dangerousoPericulosius erratur de Deo quàm hominibus. Aug. Lib. Arb. 3. 21. to erre about God than about man, but they erre about both, for they make God but a cypher by their morall swasion, only offering grace, and not conferring it, and ascribe to him but a help without a principall and effectuall working. But they make their own will mistresse of her actions, and not subordinate to the will of God, nor taking influxe nor determination from grace, but determining it self as a naturall principle which they have of Adam: And whereas sometime they were content to call the will a power partly passive, partly active, now since they are Jesuited they will have it with Pelagius a meere active power as another principle, beside God which properly is a pure act. Herein they usurpe upon the grace of God, even as the Pope did upon principalitie; for as he (void of civil power in himself) begged some of it from Princes, and in end overthrew them: So they who craved at the beginning some power to free-will, make it now an usurper against grace. They are ingrate to grace, giving it no thanks for its work, and exalt their own nature as sufficient of it self without grace to salvation; They take the glory of the work to themselves, and are not content with the glory that God worketh. They make him only a witnesse to their work, and ingage him to recompense their pride with salvation, which deserveth to be condemned. This of old was justly called anpEst av…rsio à Deo, cùmille, cui bonum est Deus, vult ipse sibi bonum. esse. Aug. Lib. 3. …4, 25. aversion from God, when he, to whom God is happinesse, will be his own happinesse, as he is his own God. But man is better, when he forgetteth himself for the love of the unchangeable God, or when he altogether contemneth himself in comparison of God. But if he please himself to the perverse imitation of God while he will enjoy his own power, then he is so much the lesse as he desires to be great. For while the will turneth from the common good to the particular, it is separate from it, when it will be of its own power.
This is pride, the beginning of all sin,Aug. Lib. Arb. 2. 19. Happinesse is Gods gift. and the beginning of mans pride is to fall from God. For malitious envie, joyned to Sathans pride, made him to intise and perswade man to that same pride, whereby he found himself damned. He would be equall with God, and free from his dominion. This is the mother of the Frank-arbitrians pride. I touch this not for any delight in controversies, but to shew that their question of free-will is of no lesse moment that Whether God in Christ, or we be the causes of our happinesse; or whether we are saved by the good will of God or our own free-will. Therefore God in wisedome made Luther to clear these two joyntly. Our happinesse in the grace of Christ, and our miserie in our naturall will, which justly according to scripture and pure antiquitie he called it slavish-will, and affirmed that the proud exalting of nature by her patrons, was the cutting of the throat of grace. If in a aQui puer…li animositate gratis servari nolunt, meritò non servantur. Bernard. The multitude uncertain in their search.childish pride we will not be freely saved, justly we are not saved at all. The dissembling of our miserie is the excluding of Gods mercy.
Another errour about the fountain of happinesse is in the multitude: They seek it by ghesse, bPsal. 4. 6.Who will let us see good? All is here uncertain, an unknown happines, wished with a wandring desire from an unknown authour. If Sathan came in their way who offered all the kingdomes of the earth to Christ, they would soon agree with him: And some go so far on as to covenant with him expresly for to satisfie their wicked desires of riches, honour, revenge, pleasure, &c. They are the shame of men and Sathans mockingstocks, who first inflaming them with excessive desire, blindeth them both with imaginary satisfaction, and the price of it: they value a shadow at no lesse price than the losse of soul and body eternally. There be also many who seek happinesse of him, though not in so expresse a bargain, they care not to loose their credit, honestie, and conscience to come to their desire, and to oppresse or deceive their neighbour to make themselves great. They bargain with Satan as well as the other, and there is no difference between them, but that the first expresly covenanteth with him, and the second serveth him without a covenant. Both seek happines by the meanes of sin, & shall have the same punishment in hell, except they repent.
Others again as the Mathematicians, make the fountain of their happinesse neither God nor their own will, Mathemacians are fatuous.but a fatall necessitie, which they fetch from the stars: They deny cMathematici providentiam tollunt. Naz. Monod. 772. Aug. Psal. 51.providence, they are deceived, and deceive others, and speak many lies against God: They say (Not unlike to our Libertines who lay all their sins on God) that mans own will committeth not murther, but Mars; and that mans will committeth not adulterie, but Venus. This is to turn men Atheists towards God, and brutish towards themselves, that they shall neither thank God for blessings, nor blame themselves for sin, and so to turn themselves from God and themselves and from religion the bond betwixt both.
Followeth our dutie to hold God for the only fountain of our happinesse: God the fountain of happinesse.We got it first of him in creation, and cannot finde it of another, though we lost it in our fall, yet it ever abideth in him, and is recoverable when we return. We have right to it by our election, it is offered to us in the promise, and conferred upon us in our conversion, and shall be perfected in glory. Let us therefore dRevertamurne evertamur. Aug. Conf. 4. 16.return, lest we be overturned. In our creation our soul was set towards God alone, and by our fall we turn back on him: it is now only the right set of our soul to look to him again for happinesse: This should not be by occasion only, but we should adhere to him continually and dwell at this fountain: Peter said, Whither shall we eJohn 6. 68.go? Thou hast the words of eternall life: and it was Maries praise that as she choosed thisfLuke 10. 42. one necessary thing, so she set her self down at the feet of Christ where she might finde it: The happie man is as the tree that groweth by the rivers of waters. Psalme 1. 3.When frost hath bound up the face of the flouds, birds and beasts do haunt living springs, so should all that care for true happinesse dwell continually at this fountain of living waters.
God is not a sealed up fountain reserving his goodnesse to himself, but runneth over continually:He communicateth it freely to us. He was ever happinesse it self, and yet by creation would bo…h reveal and communicate that happinesse to us: And though we lost it, yet still he runneth over more abundantly to us in Christ, and a part of this overrunning is his grace, making us to seek happines: We have a confused notion of it by nature, but he cleareth it by his word and spirit, and it is the work of his speciall grace, that maketh us both seek and finde it in him alone.Admonitio ab ipso fonte emanat. Aug. Vit. Beat The instruction wherewith he dealeth with us to seek God, floweth from the fountain it self. But this is an unspeakable goodnes, that rather than we receive not grace, he will send his own Son in our nature, and turn that our nature, which he assumed to a personall union with the word, in a conduit to convey grace unto us: The humane nature of Christ is as a chanell between this fountain and the faithfull for the influence of grace. It is sayd to the Godhead by a personall union, & to the heart of every beleever by a spiritual union. God and we were more distant than heaven and hell: and how should that fountain communicate its goodnes to us, but by that chanell of our own nature? in Christ we receive it both kindly and largely: He is the fountain of grace, as God one with his Father: he hath deserved it by his obedience, and dispenseth it to us ashEst Deus quò itur, est homo quà itur. Au. Civ. 11. 1. Gen. 29. 2, 20. God-man. So we receive grace by a kindly convoy. This is better than Labans Well, for none could drink of that till the stone was rolled off. But this fountain is alway open to the house of David: Zach. 13. 1.And the first shot of these overrunning waters roll this stone of hardnes from our heart, when his grace softneth our heart to receive more grace.John 4. 11. And though Jacobs Wel had water, yet they who came to it had need of a bucket, and coard to draw: but this fountain furnisheth both the bucket of an earnest desire, and the coard of a strong faith: Even he who saith,Psal. 81. 10. Act. 16. 14. Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it, doth open our heart with Lidia's, and maketh us to receive his grace largely.
This is the sweet respect that this fountain of happinesse hath to our miserie, to prevent us with exciting grace, to draw us with effectuall grace, and to communicate this happinesse to us, that our miserie may be happie in him. Before we loved iNon dilectus fecit nos, &c. Aug. Lib. Arb. 3. 20.him, he made us, when he kythed his love to us, he renewed us, and being beloved of us, he shall perfect us. I close this point with Solomon, O fountain of the gardens, O Well of living waters. Arìse, O north, Cant. 4. 16.and come O south, and blow on my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out: Let my welbeloved come to his garden, and eat his pleasant fruit.