The Seraphims Wings to Raise Us Unto Heaven, Sermon 1 – Title page 2
THE FIRST SERMON.
CANTICLES 8. ver. 6.
Set me as a Seale vponupon thy heart, and as a Signet vponupon thine arme.
THough all Scripture be giuen by inſpiration, and is profitable to inſtruct, and to reprooue, that ſo the man of God may be perfect in eueryevery good worke: yet is there none more ſutable with the reſt of Gods Arke, and the peaceable condition of his Church, then what is now before me. It is written by Solomon, a King of peace; it is framed into a ſong, the voice of peace; it begins with a Kiſſe, the ſigne of peace; it is ſpent in LoueLove, the bond of peace, it runs vponupon him, that is our peace; and hath not onelyonly made peace our borders, but ſet at peace through the bloud of his Croſſe, the things in earth, and the things in heauen. This peace is moſt comfortably ſhadowed forth vntounto vsus in the myſticall Dialogue of this Sacred Epithalamie; where vnderunder the rine and the barke of things viſible and corporall, we draw neare vntounto the flower and the pith of that which is inuiſible & ſpirituall: for what the Apoſtle writes of the Law, foreign the Law is ſpirituall; that Nyſſen extends, to this ſong: foreign, This ſong is ſpirituall, and will not abide we ſhould continue in the outward court and naked letter, of ſprings, riuers, gardens, vineyards, breaſts, towers, ſpices, ointments, or whatſoeuer may delight the organs of our ſence: but drawes vsus to a higher meaning, agreeable to the Maieſtie of God, and the diuine ſublimitie of his vndefiled goodneſſe, till hauing pluckt the vayle from off the face of Moſes, we behold with pure eyes the tender bowels of his vnſpeakable louelove, to that Aethiopian Queene, the blackneſſe of our nature; the ſacred Vnion, and Sacramentall coalition, of God and man, Chriſt & his Church, in the cords of louelove, and the bands of merciemercy, for there is no ſimilitude able to reach the depth hereof, ſhee will euer be in his ſight, he will euer be in her thoughts, ſhee will be engrauened in the palmes of his hands, he will be placed as the ſignet of her arme. Shall I tell you the claime of this intereſt, it is LoueLove, for that was ſtrong as death, and cruell as the graue: he ſpared not his life vntounto death, but gaue it as a ranſome for the ſinnes of many, and ſealed it with his bloud, crying to her as Galba to his ſouldiers: Ego veſter vos mihi, I am wholly deuoted vntounto you, you are wholly deuoted vntounto me: therefore will hee bee as a ſeale on her heart, and as a ſignet on her arme: foreign
Put me as a ſeale on thy heart, and as a ſignet on thy arme: The words of the Text are as a ſacred armorie, where you hauehave a ſhield for the hand, and a couer for the heart; or as an heauenly wardrobe, where me thinkes I ſee the cloake and the ring, which Iudah left with Tamar, the ratification and aſſurance of ſpirituall grace, and euerlaſting holineſſe, they hold ſome Analogie with the offices of ſtate the ſeale and the ſignet, here is a ſeale, a broad ſeale for the largeneſſe of our hearts: Put me as a ſeale on thy heart, here is a ſignet, a little ſignet for the roundneſſe of our armes.
As a ſignet on thine arme. Pauca at ſalutaria, expedita at ſancta, (as we reade in Saluianus) ſhort and holy, few and wholeſome, breefe in words and precept, but in ſence durable and permanent. That which I ſhall punctually diſtinguiſh vntounto you, is firſt the habit and ornament of the Church, that is, Chriſt and his righteouſneſſe implyed in the affixe of my Text, foreign Put me, or ſet me.
Secondly, the Part and the Subiect to be adorned, that is, the heart and the arme: Put me on thy heart, and on thine arme.
Thirdly, the figure and ſemblance, that is, a ſeale or a ſignet. Put me as a ſeale on thy heart, and as a ſignet on thy arme.
Laſt of all the ſuperinduction, with a foreign in the Originall, which is vponupon, or the circumpoſition, with a foreign, in the Septuagint which is about. Put me as a ſeale on thy heart, and a ſignet about thine arme. All this is gathered, and recapitulated in that of Paul to the Romans, Put ye on Chriſt Ieſus, and take no care for the fleſh to ſatisfie the luſts thereof. But more perfectly in the ſame Apoſtle, to his Corinthians, Ye are bought with a price, therefore glorifie God, in your bodies, and in your ſoules: for they are his. He will be on thy heart, by Faith and Truth, and inward ſanctification: he will be on thy arme, by louelove, and holineſſe, and outward manifeſtation. He will be here, and he will be there, as a ſeale, or a ſignet: that bearing the markes of Chriſt Ieſus, in our bodies, wee may be like thoſe thouſands of Iſrael, who were ſealed in their fore-heads: ſealed and ſelected vntounto the Lord, againſt the day of our redemption. Put him on thy heart, for he is the wiſedome of God: Put him on thy arme, for he is the power of God: Put him on thy heart, for he is the life of thy ſoule: Put him on thy arme, for he is the ſtrength of thy fleſh: Put him on thy heart, for he is the onelyonly begotten Sonne of God, who liueth in the boſome of his Father: Put him on thy arme, for he is the mighty Redeemer of the world, that ſitteth on the right hand of God in the glorie of the Father: Put him on thy arme, that he may direct thine actions: Put him on thy heart, that he may ſettle thy affections: Put him as a ſeale, and ſignet on both, that he may know thee for his owne, and bind thee to himſelfe with an euerlaſting couenant. Quid enim prodeſt, ſi Deum geſtamus in fronte, & vitia in animo recondamus? as Saint Auguſtine hath obſerued, What auailes it to hauehave God in the fore-head, ſo we treaſure vp wickedneſſe in the conſcience? If he be on thy heart by ſtudie and meditation, he will learne thee knowledge, and make thee vnderſtand the myſteries of his croſſe, and the righteouſneſſe of his kingdome: If he be on thine arme for practice and imitation, he will order thy goings, and make thee delight in the way of truth, and the cuſtodie of his precepts. If he be as a ſeale on the doore of thy heart, and the poſts of thy arme, thou ſhalt not onelyonly eſcape the puniſhment of the deſtroying Angell: but exalt thy horne, and triumph with the Lord, and reioyce exceedingly in the power and glorie of his ſaluation. Thus doth God call vponupon vsus, but it is for our good and comfort. There is much pleaſure in that we louelove, though ſometime abſent: but then is our ioy full, and there is life in it, when that we louelove is at hand and preſent: Therefore will he be in oculis, & in oſculis, as the ſignet of our arme, for ſight and preſence; as the ſeale of our hearts, for delight and remembrance.
Put me as a ſeale on thy heart, and as a ſignet on thine arme. Hitherto wee hauehave lookt vponupon the words of the Text, as ſo many coynes of gold & ſiluer, I ſhall now put them in the ballance of the Sanctuarie, and take their ſeuerall value, that ſo I may proceed to my firſt obſeruation, Chriſt and his righteouſneſſe, implyed in the affixe of my Text foreign Put me, or ſet me.
Some play the Criticks, and would hauehave the Church to ſpeake vntounto Chriſt, not Chriſt to the Church, becauſe the affixe is not maſculine, but of the ſeminine gender: indeed if points and vowels had bene equall with the Originall, and not inuented after by the Iewiſh Rabbins, they might deſerue hearing: but ſince it is otherwiſe, our ſafeſt courſe is to run with the Fathers, I meane Theodoret, and the reſt, who make Chriſt the ſpokeſman, and that for himſelfe, foreign Put me and ſet me.
Great and wonderfull, is the beautie of the creature, ſuch as might bewitch the heart of man, with the inchanting cup of deceitfull vanitie: but whether yee looke vponupon the brightneſſe of the ſtarres, whether ye behold the glorie of the Angels, whether ye conſider the treaſures of the deepe, whether ye admire the power of the elements, from the center of the earth, to the circle of the heauens, there is nothing ought to be as a crowne to vsus, ſaue that gracious light, which ſhined to Moſes in the buſh, and ſate in the Tabernacle amidſt the golden Cherubins. It is the word of Chriſt muſt be as the iewell of our eares, it is the yoke of Chriſt, muſt be as the chaine of our necks, it is the faith of Chriſt, muſt be as the girdle of our loynes, it is the iuſtice of Chriſt, muſt be as the clothing of our nakedneſſe: his croſſe our ſtandard, and his bloud our colours. What is the glorie and boaſting of Chriſtians, but in him that died for vsus, in that name which is aboue eueryevery name, in that name, in that name whereunto wee are baptized, and wherein we are bleſt? O thou Lord of hoaſts and King of Iſrael, we adore thy maieſtie, we honour thy merciemercy, the ſacrifice of thy fleſh, the oblation on the croſſe, the price of our redemption, the riches of thy ſaluation, whereby thou haſt paid our debt, and reconciled vsus to the Father. Therefore ſaith that choſen veſſell, God forbid I ſhould glorie in any thing, but in the croſſe of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt: whereby the world is crucified to me, and I vntounto the world: If any man preach other then yee hauehave receiued, let him be accurſt: If any man receiue other then we hauehave preacht, let him be accurſt. Saint Bernard giues the reaſon: Alijs rebus non tam ornati, quàm onerati ſumus. Other things are more cumberſome then profitable: it is well if they prooue not hurtfull and pernicious, like that fatall habit, which the Turkiſh Emperors vſed to caſt on thoſe whom they meant to execute, famouſly knowne by the name of deaths mantle, in their ſtories. What meaneth that of Chriſt for himſelfe? Without me yee can do nothing, but in me ye hauehave life eternall? Or that of Paul againſt himſelfe, Was Paul crucified for you, or were ye baptized into the name of Paul? But that wee ſhould be wholly fixt on this obiect, and drawne from the louelove, and the ſeruice, and the fooliſh admiration of eueryevery creature. No man likes his friend, ſhould louelove his gift better then himſelfe; and ſhall the Lord be pleaſed with ſuch, that care more for his bleſſing, then for his goodneſſe? I will not ſay, but that he is moſt readie, to looſe the bands of Orion, and to power downe the ſweete influence of the Pleiades, as ſo many golden ſhowers in the boſomes of his ſeruants: yet is it his pleaſure, wee ſhould ſet more by his perſon, then by his fauours. Aurum in arca, Deus in conſcientia (ſaith that learned Father Austin) God in the heart, is like gold in the coffer. Health to thy nauell, marrow to thy bones, cheere on thy table, muſicke in thy feaſts, ſweetneſſe in thy pleaſures, ſecuritie in thy honours, ſtore in thy garners, plentie in thy vineyards, increaſe and fulneſſe of all thy ſoule doth louelove, or imagine. Yet may we delight in the temporall benefits of our ſpirituall Iſaac: the fatneſſe of the earth, and the dew of heauen, ſo it be with relation to his glorie, Non ad corruptionem, ſed ad conſolationem, non ad illigandum ſed vtendum, (as Saint Auſtin hath diſtinguiſhed it) not to corruption, but to conſolation: not to be entangled with their vanitie, but to be refreſht with the lawfull vſe of their ſupply and vertue. It is not ſaid, he that loueth father and mother, is vnworthy of me: But he that loueth father, or mother, or brother, or ſiſter, more then me, is vnworthy of me: Neither is it a poſitiue vſe, but a comparatiue that is here reſtrained. Well may the ſeede of Abraham embrace riches, and honour, and iuriſdiction, and power, and due obſeruance (as it were) from the ſheaues of their brethren, together with the ſweet encreaſe of the Sunne, and the ſweet encreaſe of the Moone, as a reward of pietie, or the ſmell of a field, which the Lord hath bleſt: but if it be more then him, they are vnworthy of him: or if it be not for him, they are vnworthy of him: and therefore ſaith Ambroſe, In omnibus iſtis fragret odor Chriſti, In all this let the ſauour of Chriſt be fragrant, and his louelove abound? Yea let it be predominant, and ſupereminent, as oyle on the top of water: that our water may be turned into wine, the rainy delights of watry pleaſures, into the ſweet wine of true ioy, and ſpirituall gladneſſe. It was the pride of Seneca, and he boaſted much, Vbicunque ago, Demetrium circumfero, that whereſoeuer he went, he bare Demetrius with him, O that we could ſay the like of God! Vbicun que ago, Deum circumfero, Whereſoeuer I go, I beare Chriſt Ieſus with me: the ſecret of my boſome, is as the houſe of Zacheus; where he was receiued with chearefulneſſe, and alacritie, it is not a materiall crucifixe, or a viſible picture, wrought in gold, or framed in ſiluer, but the ſweet remembrance of my bleſſed Sauiour, that is euer with me: the print of his louelove, the example of his vertue, the image of his goodneſſe, the record of his merciemercy, all the miracles that he wrought for my conuerſion, all the precepts that he gaue for my inſtruction, all the miſeries and indignities that he endured and ſuſtained for my libertie and ſaluation: the power of his death, the triumph of his croſſe, the glorie of his riſing, the comfort of his appearing is that which I bind, as ſignes vponupon my arme, and lay as Camphire betweene my breaſts. Vbicunque ago, Deum circumfero. Whereſoeuer I go, I beare Chriſt Ieſus with me: as the lot of mine inheritance, as the crowne of my felicitie: foreign (ſaith Alexandrinus) the friend of my boſome, the companion of my ſtudie. It is the light of thy countenance, that was ſtampt vponupon vsus: and it is the light of thy countenance that muſt ſhine within vsus: if euer wee be as the Moone, faire, and beautifull: Whence ſhall the image of God, deriue her beautie, but from God? Whence ſhall the Spouſe of Chriſt, take the ornaments of grace, and comelineſſe, but from the treaſure of his righteouſneſſe? Adultera anima (ſaith Auſtin) that ſoule is wicked, and adulterous, guiltie of ſpirituall fornication, which embraceth the creature, and leaueth the Creator. There is no helpe for vsus, but in that fountaine, which our Fathers thirſted in the wilderneſſe. It is with the heart of man, as with the hand of Moſes: when he pluckt it out of his boſome, it was foule and leprous, when he put it in, it was faire and comely. Chriſt is our boſome, and the cure of our leproſie, the refuge of his Sanctuarie: without him we are foule and leprous, with him honorable and glorious, ſanctified and purged, from the leproſie of ſinne, and the filth of iniquities. We reade in the Stories of the Church, that when Antioch was troubled with a lamentable earthquake, Euphremion the Biſhop receiued an Oracle, that eueryevery one ſhould write, Chriſtus nohiſcum, Chriſt be with vsus, vponupon the doores of their houſes: which being done, the earthquake ſtayed, and the inhabitants were comforted. I know not how true that was, ſure I am, if the faith of Chriſt be written vponupon the doores of our hearts, it will not onelyonly ſtay the feares, and the earth-quakes of our weake fleſh, and ruinous habitations: but make ſtrong our bars, and ſtabliſh the foundation of that ſpirituall building, that new Ieruſalem, which came downe from heauen, and is like vntounto a Citie that is at vnitie within it ſelfe. Thus you ſee there is much ground for a foreign Put me, and that we ſhould rather forſake nets, & ſhip, with Iames & Andrew, yea the whole world, & our ſelues to boote, then not to cleaue to him, that is aeternum gaudium, the fountaine of life, the author of bleſſedneſſe, the glorie of his Church, the honour of Paradiſe, the euerlaſting ioy, and great reward of men and of Angels: that when the Prince of this world ſhall come, we may take vp the words of our Sauiour: Venit, ſed nihil inuenit. Indeed he came, but he found nothing in me, Iohn 14. 30. Yet there be that do more affect foreign then foreign, as Nicephorous writeth in hiſtorie. The image of Caeſar, more then of Chriſt. That which theeues may ſteale, and the moathes eate, and the ruſt conſume, more then him that abides for euer. Others like the Gergaſens, driue him out of their coaſts, and will not abide he ſhould come neare their houſes, if once they ſee him in his diſtreſt members, whether blind, or lame, or ſicke, or naked, they cry with thoſe Diuels in the Goſpell. Quid tibi & nobis fili Dauid? What hauehave we to do with thee ô thou Sonne of Dauid, doſt thou come to vexe vsus and trouble vsus before the time? Yet there he is, and makes profeſſion of it. Eſuriui, it is I, that was an hungrie, and ye gaue me no meate: it is I, that was athirſt, and ye gaue me no drinke: it is I, that was naked, and ye did not cloath me: it is I, that was in priſon, and ye did not viſit me. Here might I knocke at the conſciences of many, & examine what it is they lay to heart. Hath not pride ſhut Chriſt out of the heart of the vaineglorious? Hath not pleaſure ſhut Chriſt out of the heart of the voluptuous? Hath not profit ſhut Chriſt out of the heart of the couetous? Hath not ſtrife, and enuie, and contention, and diuiſion, quite ſhut him out of the heart of the turbulent and ſeditious? Theſe are thy Gods ô Iſrael, which lead thee backe into the darkneſſe of Aegypt, Lares & Penates, thoſe Idol gods that ſet vp altars in thy heart and rule in the temple of thy body. So that Chriſt may ſtand at the doore, and knocke, till his head be full of dew, and his lockes with the drops of the night, there be few will let him enter, crying as he doth in my Text, or rather in the Goſpell, Volucres nidos, & vulpes foueas, the birds hauehave their neſts, and the foxes their holes: but the Sonne of man hath not whereon to lay his head. Yet is there a double place due to him, the one without, the other within: the one on the heart, the other on the arme. And ſo I paſſe from the ornament, to the ſubiect, from Chriſt Ieſus the Biſhop of our ſoules, to our hearts the ſea, and palace of his reſidence.
Put me on thy heart, and put me on thy arme.
foreign, (as Nyſſen writes in the life of Moſes) heart and arme, are emblematicall, the one of contemplation, the other of action. Both due to God, and his ſeruice, but firſt hee calls for the heart, like wiſedome in the Prouerbs. My ſonne giuegive me thy heart. If our heart be the ſeate of louelove, what is God but louelove? If our heart be the keepers of our treaſure, What is God but our treaſure? he lay in the heart of the earth three dayes when he was abaſed: but now he is exalted, let him reſt in the earth of our hearts, from day, to day, and from generation, to generation. Though he be Lord of all, and command eueryevery part, yet there would he ſet vp his throne, and place the ſepter of his dominion, as in the Metropolis of his Kingdome. It is fitly reſembled to a Caſtle, which being taken, and ſurprized, the whole Citie is forced to yeeld: the vnderſtanding her intelligence, the affections her counfellours, the ſences her watchmen, the members her ſeruants: Yet if the Lord do not keepe the Citie, it is all in vaine, and therefore ſaith the Euangeliſt, Intrauit Ieſus in Caſtellum. The Lord went into the Caſtle, or intrabit Ieſus in Caſtellum, the Lord ſhall go into the Caſtle, that ſaluation may be our walls, and praiſe our gates. For if Satan get but footing, all is loſt: Ieruſalem will be as a heape of ſtones, and the abomination of deſolation will light vponupon our Citie. It was a controuerſie betweene Plato, and Galen, whether the heart, or the braine, were the ſeat of life, and motion: but the Church reſolueth determinately, that our heart is the receptacle of heauenly grace, and ſpirituall inſpiration. In the naturall man it liues firſt, and dyes laſt: in the ſpirituall man it liues firſt, and dyes laſt. Let the eye be darke, how great is that darkneſſe? let the heart be dead, how great is that deadneſſe? a goodman bringeth forth good things out of the treaſure of his heart; an euill man bringeth forth euill things out of the treaſure of his heart. For as there is life in the heart: ſo out of the heart, proceedeth thefts, and murders, fornications, and adulteries, the 15. and the 19. of Mathew. Be aduiſed then, who it is you place there. If Chriſt knocke let him not ſtay, he alone is that fire, which is able to ſoften thy heart, though hard as iron, or impenetrable as the adamant, and make it, like melting waxe in the midſt of thy bowels. He alone, is that bread, which is able to fill thy heart, the ſeuerall Angels of that capacious Trigonum, with the immenſitie of his preſence. O let him not ſtand onelyonly in thy forehead by ſhow, and profeſſion: but call him into thy heart, by faith, and prayer, and deuout acknowledgement, and religious inuocation; elſe are ye like thoſe that go into the Sunne, not for heate, or warmth, but to be ſeene, and to be admired: ſhall he cry to theſe, Vulneraſti cor meum, thou haſt wounded my heart, thou haſt wounded my heart with one of thine eyes; and wilt not thou make anſwer, Paratum eſt cor meum, my heart is readie, ô God, my heart is ready? O the true Iſaac, and beloued of his Father, this is that deare, and onelyonly beloued ſonne, which he will hauehave thee offer. Almes, merciemercy, repentance, charitie, inſtruction, propheſie, contrition, humiliation, or whatſoeuer we can performe without a heart, is but as an offering without ſalt, and makes but an hatefull and prodigious ſacrifice. If the Pſalmiſts reioyce, it is in the innocencie of heart. If the Apoſtle exhort, it is to ſimplicitie of heart. If the Lord be pleaſed, it is with vprightneſſe of heart. If the Law be ended, and the Goſpell eſtabliſhed, it is in louelove, from a pure heart and a good conſcience. The end of the Law is louelove, from a pure heart, and a good conſcience, and faith vnfained. I remember God charged the Prieſt to ſanctifie the breaſt of their ſhake offering, as well as the ſhoulder of the heaue offering. That we might ſee, it is not ſo much the outward man, as the inward, wherein he delighteth, neither is it enough to beare Chriſt in the head, as Minerua did Iupiter, vnleſſe we beare him in the heart, as Mary did our Sauiour. Grauidare potuit, grauare non potuit beatam virginem. He might well fill her wombe with the glorie of his fleſh, he could not burden her, with trouble of his preſence: How then will they ſatisfie this demaund, that hauehave no heart vntounto goodneſſe? The armie Philopoemen is likened vntounto a man, that hath legs & feete, but no belly: becauſe they wanted money, which is the heart of warre: ſo I feare in the Church militant, there be diuerſe that hauehave legs, and feete, but no bellie: they hauehave the legges and the feete of outward conuerſation, but they want the heart and the belly of inward deuotion. Non vitae ſed famae negotiatores, (as Tertul. makes the charachter) ſuch as negotiate and trade more for a good name, then for a good life: for a good report, then a good conſcience. If the Lord will be on the eare, who ſo readie to attend his word, and to call for a Sermon? If the Lord will be on the tongue, who ſo forward to confeſſe his name, or to ſpeake of Religion, till they hauehave turned Sacramentum in ſermonem, (as Saluianus ſpeakes) the ſacred vſe, of his glorious name, into vaine babling, and the fooliſh contention of words and trifles. But let him call for the heart, they are quite blanke, either it is loſteth the cares of this world, or ſold to worke deceit and wickedneſſe. Thus hauehave they a ſhew of godlineſſe, but denie the power thereof, like fidlers, that are more carefull in tuning their inſtruments, then in tuning their liues: their tongues are their inſtruments, if they be in tune, and the ſtrings thereof well ſet, to faire language and glozing hypocriſie, all is well: they hauehave done their parts, and dutie, I know not whether I may ſay they hauehave no heart, or a double heart, foreign as Hebricians vſe to ſpeake, a heart, and a heart, one for Chriſt, another for Belial, one for God, another for the Diuell. Sure I am, they are cardiaci, and fall vnderunder the curſe, the wiſe man hath denounced, Vae duplici cordi, Woe to the double heart, for the Lord will not part ſtakes with any, neither hath righteouſneſſe any communication with vnrighteouſnes. They are not many hearts, but one, that he deſireth, howbeit the conditions thereof be diuerſe. For it muſt be a new heart, and a cleane heart, & a ſound heart, and a broken heart, renewed by his word, clenſed in his bloud, ſound by the truth of doctrine, broken by the contrition of ſpirit, elſe will he forſake the tabernacle of our body, and abhorre both heart and arme, which is the ſecond receptacle of our Sauiour.
Put me vponupon thy arme.
For though LoueLove precede Faith in order of perfection, yet Faith precedes LoueLove in order of generation; did the Prophet begin to ſpeake before the heart waxt hot, and the fire was kindled in his breaſt? Firſt beleeue with thy heart, then confeſſe with thy mouth, yet ſo that heart, and mouth, and hand, and arme, may go together. Good workes ioyned to Faith, are as a ſtrong building on a good foundation: the building of gold, and ſiluer, vponupon that ground which is laid of old, I meane Chriſt Ieſus. Mary had no ſooner borne Chriſt in her wombe, and preſented him in the Temple, but Simeon takes him in his armes, and embraceth him ioyfully. For we muſt not be aſhamed of our profeſſion, but carrie the enſigne of our Sauiour openly before vsus, that ſo the vertue, and the patience, and the meekneſſe, and the obedience of Chriſt Ieſus, may be found in eueryevery part; but chiefly in our actions. Chriſt on the heart, is like ſeed on the earth: Chriſt on the arme, is like corne on the eare. Chriſt on the heart, like a tree planted by the riuers of water: Chriſt on the arme, like a tree bringing fruit in time of Autumne, and therefore true Religion, and vndefiled before God, is practicall, and operatiue, in the workes of merciemercy: To viſit the fatherleſſe, and widowes in aduerſitie: and to keepe our ſelues vnſpotted of the world. If our lips drop hony, by the preaching of his word, and the ſweetneſſe of his doctrine it is good and commendable, but if our hands drop myrh, by the crucifying of him, and the mortification of our earthly members by the obedience of Chriſt, and the perfect imitation of Chriſtian holineſſe, it is moſt comfortable and heauenly. There be that follow the paths of Chriſt, and (to vſe the words of Saluianus) Patentiora faciunt Domini veſtigia, they make the footſteps of our Sauiour more plaine and eaſie, by the example of their vertue, and the euidence of their bountie. Theſe be they which beare him in their armes, and carrie him as a lampe burning in their hands for the benefit of others. Do men gather figs of thornes, or grapes of thiſtles? Ye ſhall know them by their fruite. And as Chriſt ſaid of himſelfe, interrogate opera, aske my workes, for they ſpeake of me: ſo may we ſay of them, interrogate opera, aske their workes, for they ſpeake of them, looke not on the face, regard not the voice, they may hauehave the voice of Iacob, but the hands of Eſau: enquire of their workes, they beare witneſſe of them, and are the ſureſt markes of eueryevery Chriſtian. Auditur cum videtur ſaith Tertullian, A good Philoſopher is beſt heard, when hee is ſeene; and a true Chriſtian beſt knowne, by the glaſſe of his life, and the preſident of his actions. It is a good reſemblance that ancient Father vſed in his Moralls. Alis feriunt, vbi opera ostendunt. The works of the Saints, are as the wings of the Cherubins that touch one another: for as they ſmite one another by their wings: ſo we excite one another by our workes, and prouoke (as it were) to godlineſſe of liuing, remember then (I beſeech you) the end of your vocation, that ye are the workmanſhip of God, created in Chriſt Ieſus to good workes: That he gaue his life for you, to the end you might be a peculiar to himſelfe, zealous of good workes: die vntounto ſinne, liue vntounto righteouſneſſe, caſt of the workes of darkneſſe, put on the armour of light, that ye may be worthy of the Goſpell of Chriſt, and the doctrine of our Sauiour in all things may be honoured. Ye are they, of whom the Apoſtle doth trauell in birth, that Chriſt may be formed in you, and you transformed into him, as well in arme as in heart, as well in body as in ſpirit. O let it neuer be ſaid of theſe bleſſed armes, the armes of your workes, as Milo ſaid of his armes, the armes of his fleſh, Hi mortui ſunt, they are dead, and there is no life in them. But let the power, and the courage, and the vigour, and the Spirit of Chriſt Ieſus, quicken and make ye vigetatiue in all goodneſſe. Anatomiſts do obſerue, there is a veine runnes from the heart to the arme, and bounds on the finger, where the ring is worne, if Chriſt be our ring and ſeale, he muſt be ſo on the arme, that he leaue not the heart, ſo on the heart, that he reach vntounto the arme, for direction of faith and manners. Here might I call heauen and earth to record, and witneſſe before God and his Angels, how iniuriouſly we are traduced, to deſpiſe the Law, and not to care for the decalogue, to rely vponupon a naked faith, without the fruite of holineſſe, or the obſeruation of his precepts. Oh thou which bindeſt thy words, as ſignes vponupon our armes, and as frontlets betweene our eyes, pleade our cauſe, and vindicate vsus from this calumnie: tell theſe men, thou art not onelyonly as a ſeale vponupon our hearts, by the knowledge of thy truth, but as a ſignet vponupon our armes, by the conformitie of life, and the exerciſe of holineſſe. And ſo I haſten to the ſeale, and cloſure of diſcourſe: which is the forme and ſemblance, and that is a ſeale or a ſignet.
Put me as a ſeale, and a ſignet. Well may hee be tearmed a ſeale, that is, the brightneſſe of his Fathers glorie, and the engrauen forme of his ſubſtance, but that which is here a ſeale or a ſignet, is onelyonly foreign in the Originall. A ring, or a ſeale, that as we hauehave borne the image of the earthly, ſo we may beare the image of the heauenly, by ſimilitude and conformitie to our Sauiour: whether in his obedience and his righteouſneſſe, or in his patience and his ſufferings. For as no ſiluer is currant, vnleſſe it beare the image & ſuperſcription of the Emperour: ſo there is nothing auaileable before God, without the ſtamp of his Sonne, and the character of our Sauiour. Thoughts, vowes, meditations, prayers, intentions, actions, are but vaine and friuolous, and will neuer be able to purchaſe heauen, vnleſſe they be ſealed in Chriſt, and the aſſurance of his merciemercy: in whom all the promiſes of God, are yea and Amen.
This made the Church in her Liturgie, ſeale vp her petitions in the name and mediation of Chriſt Ieſus: in all her ſupplications, and interceſſions, ſhe doth adiure God, and bind him (as it were) by this ſeale, Per Ieſum Chriſtum Dominum noſtrum, Through Ieſus Chriſt our Lord, through Ieſus Chriſt our onelyonly mediator and redeemer. I will not draw my Text to the Croſſe in Baptiſme, becauſe it is not ſaid, he will be a ſeale, but as a ſeale, and there is a good meaning of that in Saint Auſtin, Deus amat ſignorum ſuorum factores, non pictores: Yet let me tell the turbulent Schiſmaticke, and factious Noualiſt, that it is an ancient Ceremonie, deriued from the Primitiue Church, grounded vponupon reaſon, and obſeruation. For what is the ſigne of Chriſt, but the Croſſe of our Sauiour, are not the Sacraments of God, the ſeales of God? wherein we are ſealed and confirmed, by the arrabon and witneſſe of his Spirit? As the doores and threſhold were ſigned with the bloud of the Paſchall Lambe: ſo it is the bloud of Chriſt, our true Paſſouer, that doth ſeale both our hearts, and foreheads; I do not ſay with Austin, Repellit exterminatorem, ſi Chriſtū inueniat habitatorem, Though in his 50. Tract vponupon Iohn, it be twiſe repeated, within the ſpace of ſixe lines. Yet let me borrow ſo much from that learned Father, Nihil olim in carne intolerabilius, nihil modo in fronte glorioſius. Heretofore there was nothing more bloudy, and intollerable to the renting of our fleſh, and the tearing of our bodies: Now there is nothing more glorious, and honourable, to the acknowledgement of faith, and the beautifying of our foreheads. But what meanes the ſeale of my Text? And why is he deſirous to be as a ſignet? Take it actiuely, take it paſſiuely, for the impreſſion that is made, or the ſeale and ring, that maketh the impreſſion, it is diuerſly vſed, and hath many ſingular effects, Ad cuſtodiam, ad notificationem, ad gratiam, ad confirmationem: For beautie and exornation, that his glorie may ſhine in vsus, for diſtinction and notification, that we might be knowne from ſtrangers, for cuſtodie and preſeruation, that nothing go in nor out to annoy and hurt vsus. For aſſurance and confirmation, that we be not drawne from God, or relinquiſh the truth of our profeſſion. Thus are wee become as an encloſed garden, or a fountaine ſealed vp, like that Eaſtgate in Ezechiels Sanctuary, which was ſhut and might not be opened, leſt any ſhould enter. Open locks tempt theeues: but that which is ſealed remaines inuiolate. So if Faith, and Truth, and hope, and ioy, and the graces of the Spirit, and the myſteries of our ſaluation, be not ſealed in Chriſt, they may be ſtolne from our hearts, and become a prey to the enemy. But if they lie vnderunder this ſeale, they are faſt and ſure: No hereſie, no vanity, no crueltie, nor policie, ſhall be able to rob and ſpoyle vsus of our glorie. Well may Satan come in, like a theefe by the windowes, and enter through the paſſages of our ſence: if once he eſpie this ſeale vponupon the heart, he will recoyle, and fly backe. It is a ſtrong munition, able to repulſe, and exterminate all the diuels in hell, though multiplyed and banded in troopes and legions. Now we hauehave the force of the Originall, and the emphaſis of Septuagint, the one vponupon, the other about, he will be vponupon our hearts to ſuppreſſe the euill that is within, and to preuent the danger that is without, he will be about the arme, that wee may be enuironed on eueryevery ſide, and ſecured from the inrode of ſpirituall wickedneſſe. Should I diſtinctly proſecute the ſeuerall vertues of this ſeale, you might call for a ſeale vntounto my lippes: and therefore I labour to be ſhort. Yet is there one meaning of this Embleme, which I may not forget, and that is louelove, and honour, with a deare reſpect, and moſt precious eſtimation. Conſider that of Ieremie, If he were as the ſeale of my right hand, yet would I plucke him thence. Remember that of Haggai, I will make him as the ſignet of mine arme, becauſe I hauehave choſen him: what doth this ſound, but of grace and fauour? It is the ſeale of our ring, and the image of our friend, whereof we are proud and boaſt.
Ventilat aeſtiuum digitis ſudantibus aurum: Thus will he be as the ſeale of our hand, or as the gemme of our finger, that he may be held more deare and pretious, then thouſands of gold and ſiluer: For what is more ſweete, what more pleaſing, what more glorious, what more honourable, then Chriſt Ieſus? at whoſe beautie, the Sunne and the Moone are abaſhed, on whoſe face the Angels looke with admiration, and aſtoniſhment. His power made vsus, the power of his God-head: his weakeneſſe ſaued vsus, the weakeneſſe of his manhood. Therefore may he iuſtly ſet his marke vponupon vsus, yet is it not the rubie, or the chryſolite, or the ſaphir, or the diamond, or any other pretious ſtone, that he would ſtocke and graft in vsus, but himſelfe, the image of himſelfe, more deare and precious, then all the world beſide. O that we did eſteeme him as a rich pearle, or iewell of great price, and incomparable value, and not onelyonly ſo, but in this imitate Cleopatra, put him into our draft, and traiect him into our bowels, with the hunger and thirſt of righteouſneſſe. We know the zeale of that Theban Captaine, when being brought into the campe halfe dead, he asked whether his ſhield were taken by the enemie, as if nothing elſe were to be regarded; and when he found it ſafe, he began to kiſſe it and reuiue againe: Such ought to be our zeale toward Chriſt, the ſhield of our defence, and the ſeale of our redemption. What is the Church but as a garden? What are we but as ſpirituall Bees? O let vsus ſucke the flowers, and draw the ſweetneſſe, and neuer reſt, till we hauehave made a hiue of our ſoules and bodies: that our hearts may be as waxe, ſoftened, and mollified, for the impreſſion of this ſeale, and nothing but this, I meane, Chriſt Ieſus and him crucified. The place he chuſeth for himſelfe, is the heart, by faith and confidence: the arme, by louelove, and charitable operations: and that as a ſeale, or a ſignet, for eſteeme and dignity. Let me therefore once more beſeech you, that you would all be keepers of this ſeale, without which nothing is to bee held: but chiefly the houſe of Aaron and the Tribe of Leuie, whether God hath placed vsus, as the ſignet of his arme, iudge you, there is peace within our walls, and plenteouſneſſe within our palaces, we ſit vnderunder our vines, and our figtrees, and there is none to make vsus affraid: our ſonnes grow vp as young plants, and our daughters as the poliſht corners of the Temple: our garners abound; and are full of all manner of ſtore, our ſheepe bring forth thouſands, and ten thouſands in our folds: our oxen are ſtrong to labour, and there is no decay, no leading captiue, no complaining in our ſtreets. Thus hath he put vsus, as the ſeale of his heart, and as the ſignet of his arme, by the care of his louelove, and the tenderneſſe of his affection. Not to do the like with him, and to anſwer louelove by louelove, were great inhumanity, wonderfull impietie: he doth not ſo with other Nations, he rather maketh them as a marke to ſhoote at in the fierceneſſe of his diſpleaſure: but let vsus neuer forget his abundant louing kindneſſe, crying with Saint Bernard, Sufficit amor Chriſti, the louelove of Chriſt ſufficeth, in him alone we are rich, and hauehave enough: he is very ſweet and delectable, the reſt of our labour, the ſtay of our pilgrimage, the comfort of our heauines, the pledge of bleſſedneſſe. That as now we are as the ſeale of his left hand, by temporall fauours: ſo hereafter we may be as the ſeale of his right hand, by his euerlaſting mercies. Which the Lord grant, for the merits of his Sonne, to whom with the Spirit, three perſons, and one God, be honour, and glorie, power, and maieſtie, this day and for euer. Amen.
Triumphus CHRISTI: Chriſts Triumph.
AVG. Ser. de Temp.
Didicit coelum portare hominem, & ſub pedibus Chriſti, famulantia aethera iacuerunt.