The Seraphims Wings to Raise Us Unto Heaven, Sermon 3 – Title page 4
THE THIRD SERMON.
HEBR. 9. 12.
By his owne bloud did he once enter the holy place, hauing obtained an euerlaſting redemption for vsus.
VNction is ſacred, and neuer vſed but to Kings, or to Prieſts. Chriſt was both, and therefore a Chriſt indeed: the annointed of the Lord, and the Lords annointed: annointed with the holy Ghoſt and with power, annointed as a King, and fought himſelfe for vsus: annointed as a Prieſt, and gaue himſelfe for vsus: the combat with Saran, the oblation to the Father, who ſware, and will not repent, Thou art a Prieſt for euer after the order of Melchiſedech. I might reſemble the Prieſthood of Chriſt, to that of Aaron, were there not diſſimilitudes and antitheſes, as well as ſimilitudes and conueniences, both had their temple, that earthly, this heauenly: both were to make entry, hee often, Chriſt once: both came with bloud, he of bulls, and of goats, Chriſt of his owne, moſt deare and pretious: both ſought redemption, he temporall & to be renewed, Chriſt eternall, and conſummate, not for himſelfe, but for others. All which the Apoſtle doth inſinuate in this briefe Synopſis.
By his owne bloud entred he once the holy place, hauing obtained an euerlaſting redemption for vsus.
What then do wee obſerue in the words of my text? but a ioyfull proceſſion and miraculous penetration of our high Prieſt into the holy of holies? Thoſe inward chambers of vnapproachable light, and vnſpeakable glorie: where you muſt firſt note the way or paſſage:
It is bloud.
Secondly, the benefit or aduantage.
It is redemption.
The bloud his.
The redemption ours.
The bloud once ſhed.
The redemption for euer purchaſed.
By his owne bloud entred he once the holy place, hauing obtained an euerlaſting redemption for vsus.
By his owne bloud, there is the expiation, and ſatisfaction of our iniquities.
Did hee enter the holy place, there is the eleuation and prerogatiue of Chriſt Ieſus?
Hauing obtained an euerlaſting redemption for vsus, there is the ſaluation and libertie both of our ſoules and bodies, from the power of darkneſſe and the hand of the enemie.
When Hannibal paſſed the Alpes, he made his way with vineger:
—Et montes rupit aceto:
(as the Poet hath obſerued) though our Sauiours cup were mingled with gall and vineger, yet was it not enough: his ſide muſt be opened, & his moſt pretious heart bloud muſt be ſpilt, that he may tranſcēd thoſe heauenly Alpes, and make way for our redemption. Whence is that of Bernard, Sanguis Domini, clauis Paradiſi: The bloud of Chriſt, is the key of Paradiſe. Neither may he lift vp the head, vnleſſe hee taſte of the brooke. How ſhall the corne be laid in the garner, before it bee threſhed on the floore, there is no entring into the wineſeller of the King, but through the wine preſſe of the croſſe. Will you ſee the grape the ſweete grape bruſed, and trod by the foote of pride, and the malice of the aduerſarie?
He enters by his bloud.
Will you ſee the wine, the pleaſant wine, ſtreame and flow to the ſaftie of men, and the ioy of Angels?
There is redemption for vsus.
By his owne bloud entred he once, the holy place, hauing obtained an euerlaſting redemption for vsus.
I hauehave now opened the veine of my text (as it were) and let it bloud, ô let not one drop fall to the ground, but water your ſoules with ioy and gladnes: it is the ſweeteſt oyle and pureſt balme, that I can poure into your veſſels, as honie from the rocke. And ſo I begin with the words in order, foreign By his owne bloud.
As the naturall life of man, ſtands in the bloud of his fleſh: ſo doth the ſpirituall life of the Church, ſtand in the bloud of Chriſt. If that had not beene ſhed, wee had all periſhed: notwithſtanding, the yearely, and the monthly, and the daily, and the hourely ſacrifices, of that Leuiticall Prieſthood. I will not trouble you with their ſeuerall kinds, whether Hilaſticall, of peace and reconciliation for ſins committed: or Euchariſticall, of thankfulneſſe and gratulation for benefits receiued: Sure I am, they were types and reſemblances, hauing their vertue and acceptance from the bloud of Chriſt, which ſpeaketh better things, then all the bulls, and the goats, the rammes, and the calues on a thouſand mountaines. For Chriſt is our Paſſeouer, and it is the ſprinkling of his bloud that muſt purifie the veſſels of our Sanctuarie. Who ſhall take away the ſins of the world, but the Lambe of God? or what ſatisfaction to bee made without price of his bloud, that is, foreign (as Niſſen ſpeakes) the aboliſher and deſtroyer of Moſaicall rites: but the eſtabliſher and confirmer of ſpirituall righteouſneſſe? This made the Lord cloathe him with a garment dipt in bloud, Apoc. 19. and verifie that Propheſie of Iudah, foreign He ſhall waſh his coate in wine, and his cloake in the bloud of grapes. Caro eius, ſtola eius, (ſaith Ambroſius) his coate, is his fleſh, and his cloake is the puritie of his manhood: that hides our ſinnes and couers our infirmities. This did he waſh, and rence, and purge, and clenſe, in the bloud of grapes, that he might conſecrate the whole bodie of his Church, and preſent her glorious to the Father without ſpot or wrinkle. Whence is that elegant ſpeech of learned Auſtin, Non vis habere maculam, lauare in ſanguine, non vis habere rugam, in crucem extendere. Wilt thou hauehave no ſpot, be thou waſht in the bloud of Chriſt: wilt thou hauehave no wrinkle, bee thou ſtretcht vponupon his croſſe. Oh the ſtaine and pollution of our ſinnes, that will not bee purged without the bloud of Chriſt Ieſus? O the bowels and compaſſion of our Sauiour, that is prodigall of his life to purge our iniquities, hee tooke from vsus the death of his fleſh, and ſpilt for vsus the bloud of his life, or rather as the text is read by Hierome, Sanguinem animae, the very bloud of his ſoule. Hic eſt ſanguis noui foederis, this is the bloud of the new Couenant, which is ſhed for you and for many: ſhed and ſhowred on the face of the whole earth in great plentie and abundance: that it might worke in vsus the fruite of good liuing, and produce thoſe heauenly flowers of louelove, charitie, patience, humilitie, deuotion, pietie, and whatſoeuer is moſt pleaſing to the Lord of glorie. Indeed God tooke a Ramme for Iſaac: but if his owne Sonne do not come with his owne bloud, there will neither be entrance for him, nor redemption for vsus. Hee is the Ramme that was caught in the buſh of thornes, and muſt be a ſacrifice for all the ſonnes of Abraham. It is his bloud that ſtickes vponupon the doores of the Iſralites, and to this day keepes away the deſtroying Angell from the Tabernacles of the Chriſtians. Well might the Iewes hauehave ſpared that ſcarlet robe which they caſt vponupon his loynes, for before they had left him, they made ſcarlet of his fleſh, died and dipped in the bloudie torrent of his roſie paſſion. The beſt ſcarlet is but dibaphum, twiſe died, but his once, and againe, and a third time, yea there were ſeuen effuſions of his bloud, as ſo many ſtreames from the head of Nilus. The firſt as ſoone as hee was borne, when they tooke away the fore-skin of his fleſh, and ſpilt his bloud before it was well receiued. A ſecond in the garden, when he was caſt into a bloudy ſweat, the curtaines of Solomon were rent, and the pores of his body were opened, whilſt eueryevery part ſent forth bloud and water trickling on the ground. The third in his ſcourging, when they plowed his backe with whips, and made long furrowes on his ſhoulders: A fourth at his coronation, when they placed him as a roſe among thornes, and ſet a prickling crowne on his head, the white roſe became red, and the puritie of his innocencie tooke colour from the miſery of his ſufferings. The fift, in the nayling of hands: A ſixt, in the piercing of his feete, but the ſeauenth and laſt, when his ſide was opened, and the depth of his wounds diſcouered, the tenderneſſe of his bowels, the iron went into his ſoule, the ſpeare toucht his very heart, that hee might hauehave a feeling and ſympathie of our infirmities. Now did the ſpouts runne, and the fountaines ſtreame with the ſweetneſſe of the grape: and though he were faſtened on the croſſe, yet died he like Seneca in a bath, not of water, but of bloud, and that his owne, once ſhed, but euer ſpringing to ſafetie and redemption: that it might drowne our ſins, and purge our ſoules, and quench that ſierie blade which the Cherubin hangs ouer the gate of Paradiſe, to keepe vsus from the tree of life, the portion of our inheritance. Where but on the croſſe? when but at the effuſion of his bloud, did hee ſay to that curſed malefactor, Hodie mecum eris in Paradiſo, this day thou ſhalt bee with me in Paradiſe? Then were the gates of heauen ſet wide open, and there was a way through bloud to that euerlaſting portion which he tooke from the hand of the Amorite, by his ſword, and by his bow: his ſword, his word, his bow; the myſterie of his incarnation: where the maieſtie of the Godhead, ſtoopt to the weakeneſſe of the manhood, and bowed (as it were) to the ſtrings of humane frailtie.
In vaine then do men crucifie themſelues, and are perſwaded that martyrdome is the onelyonly way to heauen, like thoſe Prieſts of Baal, and foreign of Rome, that teare their fleſh with hookes and whips, the bloudie inſtruments of voluntarie pennance: as if they would redeeme the tranſgreſſions of their ſoules, with the fruite of their bodies, and expiate diuine iuſtice, with the cruell butchering and moſt vnnaturall oblation of their ſonnes and daughters vntounto Idols. It coſt more to redeeme ſoules, neither ſhall any deliuer his brother by the execrable practiſes of ſo great impieties. Nor by Orizons, nor by Dirges, nor by Pardons, nor by Indulgences, or the like inuentions of ſuperſtitious dotage. In this caſe we may vſe the words of Saluianus, Semper redempti, nunquam liberi. They are euer redeemed, but neuer freed. For we are not bought with things corruptible, but with the pretious bloud of Chriſt, as a Lambe without ſpot: If the Sonne free vsus, then are we free, and where the Spirit is, there is libertie. Qui melior aduocatus ſaith Ambroſe, what better aduocate, then hee which gaue himſelfe for vsus? Are not the figures ended, and the ceremonies aboliſhed? Is not the Temple deſtroyed? and the Prieſthood of Aaron quite extinguiſhed? Let the Iewes meete, and ſeeke to repaire their temple, fire ſhall breake from out the earth, as in the dayes of Iulian, to deuoure them, and roote out their foundation; for we hauehave no Prieſt, but Chriſt, no altar, but his Croſſe, no ſacrifice, but his fleſh, no ranſome, but his bloud, no incenſe, but deuotion, no fire, but the Spirit, no temple, but heauen, no order, but that of Melchiſedech, which ſtands and abides for euer. And let all ſuch know, that wallow in fleſh and bloud, the bloud of their ſinnes, and the bloud of their iniquities, that delight in bloud, and make no conſcience how they ſpill innocent bloud, Chriſtian bloud, that are ſet vponupon miracles, and labour to conuert water into bloud, colour ſeas, die riuers, as if they would ſayle and ſwim to Paradiſe through bloud of their enemies: that Chriſts bloud may witneſſe againſt them, and charge them with the bloud of their ſlaine, which hee ſo dearely purchaſt: that as his bloud calls for pardon, ſo their bloud calls for vengeance, and may one day come vponupon the deſperate malefactor without repentance to his ruine and confuſion. Whence is that reſolution of Anaſtaſius the Emperour, cited by Euagrius in the third booke of his ſtorie, Quod nihil velit aggredi, that he would aduenture no exploit, though neuer ſo honourable and glorious, if he thought it might coſt him a drop of bloud. But ſuch mildneſſe requires a golden age, & that we cōdemne is the brutiſh violence of ſauage furie. It were good ſome bloud were let in vsus: not the bloud of our fleſh, but the bloud of our ſoules, I meane the luſt of our deſires, and the heate of our affections. For (as Bernard ſpeakes) Sanguis animae, voluntas mea. The bloud of my ſoule, is the will of my heart, and if there were a vent made for the corruptions thereof, wee ſhould find a more eaſie paſſage into heauen; for there is a ſpirituall galarie and milken path, that leadeth vntounto God, euen truth and holineſſe, puritie and righteouſneſſe, our hearts being ſprinkled from an euill conſcience, with the bloud of Chriſt, and aſſured confidence in the merit of his paſſion. O the rubricke, and witneſſe of eternall glorie, that makes vsus Saints in the kingdome of heauen, and waſheth our ſoules from their ſpirituall leproſie. How ſhould we adore the Sacrament of his bloud, how ſhould wee thirſt after the fountaine of his bloud? Crying with our Sauiour in the Goſpell, ſitio, I am a thirſt? He thirſts after our good, let vsus thirſt after his bloud: He thirſts after our ſaluation, let vsus thirſt after his righteouſneſſe: till our bloud-thirſtineſſe take away our bloud-guiltineſſe, and his bloudie wounds cure our bloudie iſſue, the naturall fluxe of originall impuritie: that it may bee true in vsus which is ſpoken of the Diſciples, foreign, Riuers of the water of life ſhall flow out of their bellie. The wild beaſt finds ſweetneſſe in the bloud of man, and hunts for it: Shall not wee more in the bloud of Chriſt, and thirſt for it? it is milke to the weake, and makes him ſtrong, it is wine to the ſtrong and makes him chearefull. O bee not ſlow to frequent the Temples, and to louelove the ſeruice, and to honour the ſtones, and to worſhip the alters, where ſo grieuous a veine is opened to the houſe of Iſrael. When Vitellius came into a field of bloud, died with the ſlaughter, and ſtrewed with the bodies of the dead: others were annoyed, he onelyonly cryes out, Optime hostis occiſus, melius ciuis. There is a good ſmell in the bloud of an enemie, much better in the bloud of a ſubiect. A moſt inhumane ſpeech, and full of tyrannie: but had he ſaid, Optime hoſtis, melius Chriſti. There is a good ſmell in the bloud of an enemie, but much better in the bloud of Chriſt, that had bene religious pietie, which is now recorded for outragious crueltie. For indeed it is his bloud that is the ſauour of life, and ſmell of a field which the Lord hath bleſt, that fills the noſtrils of our heauenly Father, and makes him forget the ſtinke of our wounds, and the putrifactions of our iniquities: whilſt he ſtands like Phineas, to mediate for vsus in that holy place, where now hee makes his entry, and ſo I paſſe from his humiliation to his exaltation; from the key of his bloud, to the cloſet of his glorie.
Hee entred the holy place: The ſonnes of Iſrael came to their earthly Canaan through the red ſea: the Sonne of God to that heauenly Canaan through a ſea of bloud: that flowed with milke and honie, this with the ſweetneſſe of peace and glorie: that a land of holineſſe, this a place of holineſſe, where peace, and holineſſe, and truth, and righteouſneſſe, hauehave taken vp their reſt, and made their habitation. For holineſſe becomes the houſe of God for euer, perfect holineſſe, vniuerſall holineſſe, with a vniuerſality of time, it is for euer: with a vniuerſality of ſubiect, it is ſo that no vncleane thing may enter. It was a good inſcription which a bad man ſet vponupon the doore of his houſe: Per me nihil intret mali, no euill may paſſe through me, whereupon ſaid Diogenes, Quomodo ingredietur Dominus? How then ſhall the maſter get into his owne houſe? I know not how it may agree with our manſions vponupon earth, ſure I am, the firſt part is moſt conuenable with that coeleſtiall Bethel, the gates of heauen, and bleſſed ſanctuarie of eternall righteouſneſſe. For whatſoeuer is there, is holy, the Saints holy, the Patriarchs holy, the Martyrs holy, the Prophets holy, but the Lord himſelfe moſt holy and bleſſed, neither is this holineſſe originall in thoſe coeleſtiall bodies, but deriuatiue from the Lord of all things. It is he that ſanctifies and makes them holy: times, places, men, Angels, names, ceremonies, veſſels, inſtruments, things animate, things inanimate, with the gracious ſpirit of his ſauing righteouſneſſe. They are holy, becauſe the Lord is holy: and muſt needs ſubſcribe to that great foreign, of the Cherubins, Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God, almightie, which is, which was, and which is to come. But wherein ſtands the differerence, betwixt the holineſſe of God, and the holineſſe of his place? Deus ſanctus, quia ſanctificans, the Lord is holy becauſe he ſanctifies, and is not ſanctified: that is holy, becauſe it is ſanctified, and cannot ſanctifie: elſe might Adam hauehave continued holy, as long as hee was in Paradiſe: and the diuell, as long as hee was in heauen: but the one was caſt out, and the other was caſt downe: that ſo the holy one might come into the holy place: and ſay with the Prophet, Deus & non homo, I am God, and not man. The holy one of Iſrael in the midſt of thee, Hoſ 9. 11. For though hee were humbled vntounto death, and lay melting on the fornace of his croſſe: yet was he exalted vntounto life, and ſnatched as a brand out of the fire, and that (as Saint Ambroſe ſpeakes) In vmbraculo nubis, vt foueantur vulnera paſsionis. In the coole ſhade of a ſpreading cloud, to qualifie the heate of his bleeding wounds. Neither is there any Chriſtian but may diſcerne, as farre with the ioyes of faith, as euer Stephen did with the eyes of his body: when hee ſaid, Behold, I ſee the heauens opened, and the ſonne of man ſtand at the right hand of God. Luke ſaith hee ſtands, Dauid he ſits, yet are they both true: he ſits as a Iudge, for the Lord hath giuen all power to his Sonne: he ſtands as an Aduocate, For we hauehave an Aduocate with the Father Ieſus Chriſt the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our ſins. The one ſhewes the greatneſſe of his Maieſtie, the other ſhewes the obedience of his miniſtry: whilſt hee takes the cenſure of his fleſh, and fills it with the coales of the altar, and preſents the ſupplications of his Church, and makes the ſmoake of thoſe ſpirituall odours, aſcend before the Lord, as from the hand of an Angell. O the gracious entrance of our triumphant Sauiour into that heauenly tabernacle; before hee was from the earth earthly, now hee is from heauen heauenly. There be heauens corporall, there hee is by the preſence of his body: there bee heauens myſticall, there hee is by the influence of his Spirit. For the ſoule of eueryevery Chriſtian may bee likened vntounto heauen, in the corporall heauens, yee hauehave a Sunne to giuegive light in the myſticall heauens, yee hauehave Chriſt to bee your guide in the corporall; yee hauehave Starres that ſhine by night, in the myſticall, ye hauehave vertues eminent and conſpicuous, that ſhine in the night of aduerſitie, and the darkneſſe of tribulation: in the corporall, yee hauehave continuall ſerenitie, in the myſticall perfect tranquilitie: in the corporall ye hauehave an extenſion of parts, in the myſticall of charitie: the louelove of God being ſpread abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghoſt, and our bowels yearning with mercy and compaſſion towards the afflictions of our brethren. So that God is ſtill in the holy place, there will he dwell, there is his reſt for euer. Though we ſeldome frequent the place of his Sanctuary, ſome perhaps once a yeare, as the high Prieſts did the inward Tabernacle, ſome perhaps once in their liues, as Chriſt did this heauenly Tabernacle, yea I feare many leaue the holy place, and chooſe places moſt vnholy and defiled: defiled with ſuperſtition and idolatrie, defiled with riot and luxurie, defiled with extorſion and crueltie, defiled with vncleanneſſe and impuritie, where the Sunne may ſcarce peepe without feare of darkening, or the light without danger of infection. O the deplored eſtate and lamentable condition of ſpirituall Gadarens, and Daemoniacall Chriſtians, that abide in graues, and lie (as it were) in the deepe of hell: that ſticke in the mire and clay, or rather in the ſinke and iakes of abhominable pollutions and Heliogabalian filthines. How do they depart from the liuing God, and forget the footſteps of their Sauiour? The place where he goes is holy, the ground where hee ſtands holy, and as hee is holy in his words, ſo is hee holy in his wayes. O let there not bee ſuch a diſtance betwixt head and members, lift vp your heads, raiſe vp your thoughts, though your bodies lie on the earth, let your ſoules be in heauen, nay be yee a heauen vponupon earth, ſhining with truth, eſtabliſht with hope, adorned with righteouſneſſe, extended with lour, hung and ſpread with thoſe gracious clouds of knowledge and inſtruction, that Chriſt may bring his Father and come into your holy place, and caſt out the bond woman, and take his reſt as in a ſanctuarie. Vbi habitabo? (ſaith Auſtin in the name of God? Where ſhall I dwell? Doſt thou thinke I will abide in the ruinous building of thy collapſed nature, and depraued affections? or in the ſordid building of thy ſtaind actions and wicked pollutions? Surely no: I looke my houſe ſhould be cleane ſwept, and garniſht with the flowers of vertue, as the Diamond or the Carbuncle, foreign (ſaith Nyſſen) he that is Lord of honour and glory, will not bee owner of that which is diſhonourable and inglorious. If hee would not ſuffer the vncleane ſpirits to name him, hee ſhall not ſuffer the vncleane men to enioy him: they cryed, and were rebuked, if they cry, they may bee refuſed. Awake then and conſider whoſe temples yee are, this is the will of God, euen your ſanctification: This is the will of God, euen your glorification. O my brethren, me thinkes I ſee the names of all that ſtand before me, written in the booke of life, and I ſeeme to reade through that ſea of glaſſe, the diuine pedegree of your ſacred race and heauenly genealogie. There is Abraham your Father, and Iſaac his ſonne, or rather Iacob, to whom the promiſes were made: yea there is God your Father, in whom all the families of heauen and earth are named, and Chriſt his Sonne, fleſh of our fleſh, and bone of our bone, together with that Spirit, by whoſe grace we are knit and linkt in one fellowſhip and communion: there is the ring and the robe, which the Angells, which bee his ſeruants ſhall caſt vponupon vsus: the ring of endleſſe bliſſe and interminate happineſſe: the robe of perfect iuſtice and immortall holineſſe. Why do not we mooue as the clouds, and flie as the Doues vntounto our windowes? Why is not our heart together with our treaſure? nay with our fleſh, and with our bloud, with our ſtrength, and with our glorie? He is gone before, that we may follow after, firſt by contemplation, then by conuerſation, till at length we be inducted into mount Sion, the bleſſed Temple of our ſpirituall Ieruſalem: hauing not onelyonly quiet and peaceable, but actuall and corporall poſſeſſion? Now we hauehave Ius ad rem, then wee ſhall Ius in re. Now wee are inueſted with right and power, then we ſhall be ſuperinueſted with immortalitie and honour: like thoſe bleſſed Elders that worſhipt the Lambe, which doth wipe all teares from their eyes, and guide them to thoſe fountaines of liuing waters. Did wee conſider how great and excellent things God hath promiſt to all that louelove him, in the heauens, our hearts would bee turned and ſet more by the holy place, then by the honourable place, or the place of cuſtome, and of ſweetnes, or the place of maieſtie and of greatneſſe: there is the flower of wheate, and the abundance of delight; Riuers of oyle, and flouds of peace, in compariſon whereof our ioy is heauineſſe, our fulneſſe vacuitie, our pleaſure bitterneſſe, our riches pouertie, our beautie aſhes, our comelineſſe deformitie; It is Dauids note, that God hath ſet the wicked as a wheele, and the reaſon is giuen by a learned Father, Anterius cadit, poſterius eleuatur; The former part turnes downe, the hinder part turnes vp: ſo they incline and how downe towards the glorious brightnes of that which is before and permanent: but riſe, & are lifted vp towards the emptie ſhadow of that which is paſt and tranſient, let them be as a wheele, ſo wee be as a Chariot, or an Eagle mounted and ſoaring towards the place of viſion, where Chriſt ſits in the glorie of the Father. Sequar illum, quem mea occidit tarditas, was the ſpeech of Caſsius, when Brutus had bene ſlaine by the ſtay of his aide, and the negligence of his armie. I will follow him, that my ſlowneſſe hath put to death. They are our ſinnes that hauehave put Chriſt to death, the ſlowneſſe and backwardneſſe of our hearts and vnderſtandings, to do any thing that is good. O let vsus follow him in the bearing of his croſſe, and the entrance of his glorie. Sequar eum, quem mea occidit prauitas. I will follow him whom my ſinnes hath put to death, but his owne power hath raiſed to life, that he may triumph and be exalted, and ſeeme wonderfull in the holy places, by working our peace and obtaining our redemption, which is the fruite and benefit of all our trauell: and expects the ſhort continuance of our frailtie and patience. foreign, hauing found an eternall redemption for vsus.
Sinne is the aduerſary that deliuered man bound to God, as to the Iudge: God the Iudge that deliuered man bound to Satan, as to the Iaylour. Hee was bound to the diuell in the ſeruice of vnrighteouſneſſe: he was bound to God for the puniſhment of his tranſgreſſions, but now hee is redeemed from both, and this ſtands (as the Schooles note) in the price, and the ſolution, the price the bloud of Chriſt: the ſolution, at the death of Chriſt. In that he died, we hauehave the ranſome of our ſinnes: in that he died but once, we hauehave the ſufficiency of that ranſome: for with him there is plenteous redemption, and for vsus eternall redemption.
Eternall, in reſpect of Gods decree: which is before time. Eternall, in reſpect of thoſe which are redeemed, they are immortall ſpirits. Eternall, in reſpect of the worke it ſelfe, which is perfect and abſolute, neuer to bee aboliſht or renewed: From the bricke and the clay of foule acts; and more then Aegyptian ſeruitude: but the originall is more Emphaticall then our tranſlation. foreign, Hauing found an euerlaſting redemption.
Whereby we vnderſtand that it was ſought with paine, and griefe, and ſorrow, and trauell, vnderunder the heauie yoke of his intollerable croſſe, and vnſupportable agonie; yet ſo little doth he eſteeme whatſoeuer he endures, that he counts that found, which he dearely bought: foreign, Hauing found an euerlaſting redemption.
Which indeed is full of comfort, and ſounds as muſicke to the eare, for as in a chaine, hee that takes the firſt linke, drawes on all the reſt; ſo in the golden chaine of our ſaluation, redemption is that which drawes on all the reſt: if we be redeemed, we ſhall be iuſtified, if we be iuſtified, we ſhall be ſanctified, if we be ſanctified, we ſhall be glorified: ſo that to be redeemed, is all that can bee imagined, to eſcape the feare of death, to receiue a crowne of life, to put on white robes, to iudge the Tribes of Iſrael, and to poſſeſſe that which is farre more excellent, aeternum gloriae pondus: an eternall weight of glory. It is like a cluſter of grapes, where all the benefits of Chriſts death and mans ſafetie are heaped and treaſured vp together: and therefore ſaith Chryſologus, Plura nobis parta, &c. Wee got more by the tree of the croſſe, then euer wee loſt by the tree of Paradiſe.
What ſhall I mention, the dreame of Saint Origen? That promiſeth redemption after a thouſand yeares, to the diuell and his Angels. Sure I am it is (for vsus) and that it is for vsus alone, is manifeſt by his incarnation: for that is redeemed, which at firſt was aſſumed: hee tooke not the Angels, but the ſeede of Abraham, and therefore hee ſaues not the Angels, but the ſeede of Abraham. Wee are the heritage which he redeemed with his pretious bloud, agreeable to that of Fulgentius, Id ſolum in corpore regnantium, quod praeceſsit in capite ad coelum: Wee that receiue his word beleeue his promiſes, admire his louelove, embrace his mercies, crying with theſe ſoules vnderunder the altar, to him that was made a ſacrifice vponupon the altar, how long ſweet Ieſu? Holy, and true, wilt not thou auenge our bloud vponupon thoſe which dwell vponupon the earth?
I know not how this moues you, mee thinkes it ſhould worke vponupon the ſenceleſſe creature, and rayſe vp children vntounto Abraham, from the very ſtones: or rather, praiſe and glory, thankes and honour, to the God of Abraham, from the ſtonie hearts of moſt obſtinate and rebellious children. If Galen made profeſſion, when he lookt vponupon man in his firſt creation, that if all the members of his body had bene tongues they would not hauehave bene ſufficient, to expreſſe the glory of the Lord; how ſhould wee magnifie the goodneſſe of our Sauiour, that beheld man in his ſecond creation, deliuered from the bondage of ſin; and tranſlated into the glorious liberty of the ſonnes of God: redeemed from the curſe of the Law, and cloathed with the righteouſneſſe of Chriſt Ieſus? That ſo he may ſhine as the ſtars of heauen, in thoſe euerlaſting ſpheeres of ſafetie & protection. When Flaminius had deliuered many Cities of the Grecians, and made open Proclamation of their libertie: they lifted vp their voyces, and cryed for ioy till the birds of the ayre were aſtonied, and fell dead before them: See beloued, here is a generall Proclamation, of ſaftie and redemption, not from the Conſull of the Romanes, but from the Doctor of the Gentiles, not to the Cities of Greece, or the inhabitants of Iudea onelyonly, but to all the Nations and countries vnderunder heauen, bond and free, Iew and Gentile, they are all deliuered, and hauehave receiued vnfranchiſement from their ſpirituall captiuitie. O that our hearts were enlarged rowards God, and the loud ſhout of our ſpirituall reioycings, and doubled Haleluiahs, might be as a clap of thunder, to fright the Prince of the ayre, and flat the top of vaine thoughts and proud imaginations, that neſtle in the clouds, till they ſinke and lie dead before vsus. I wiſh that of Bernard might be an incentiue to your deuotion, and blow the coales of true louelove and Chriſtian pietie in all that heare me. Quam bonus & ſuauis es Domine Ieſu, &c. O ſweet Ieſu how good and pleaſant art thou to all that ſeeke thee! The Redeemer of ſuch as are loſt, the Sauiour of thoſe that are redeemed, the hope of ſuch as wander, the helpe of thoſe which labour, the comfort and refreſhing of eueryevery bleeding ſoule, that runnes after thee in the ſweate of teares, and the painefull anguiſh of their croſſe and miſerie: Great is thy name, and moſt worthy to be praiſed, and let all the creatures, both in heauen and earth giuegive thankes vntounto thee, for the humilitie of thy paſſion, the glory of thy exaltation, the might and power of thy victorious triumph and euerlaſting redemption: Thou haſt ſaued vsus from death, and inſtalled vsus in the holy place, that we may ſtand before thee, and draw neare with boldneſſe vntounto the throne of Grace, not with a few peeces of ſiluer, as the Iewes bought thee, but with many drops of bloud ſpilt vponupon the earth: This is it that dies our robes, and turnes our ſackcloth into ſcarlet: that annoints our ſoules, and makes vsus Kings and Prieſts to God the Father, or rather a ſanctuarie of his Spirit, and liuing temples of the holy Ghoſt. What remaines, but ſince he hath giuen himſelfe for vsus, wee giuegive our ſelues to him, our ſoules, which he hath redeemed, our bodies which he hath ſanctified. O yee houſe of Iudah and men of Iſrael, get ye into the holy place, the cloſet of your hearts, the ſecret of your conſciences: looke vponupon the wine that runnes, and the hony that ſtreames from the treading of the grape, and the opening of the rocke: conſider the ſharpneſſe of his death, if there were any ſorrow like vntounto his: the ſweetneſſe of his louelove, if there were any mercy to be compared with his: and let your ſpirits melt, and bleed, and diſtill, and bee power'd forth into a ſweet ointment and great libution: for the merit of his death, and the benefit of your redemption. Martialls Flie play'd ſo long vnderunder a tree, that at length it was wrapt in amber, and congeal'd in the drops that came from the boughs.
Sic modo quae fuerat vita contempta manente,
Funeribus facta eſt, nunc praetioſa ſuis.
The beſt of vsus are but wormes, let vsus not deſpiſe to be as this Flie; ſtill houering about the tree of the croſſe, and the ointment of his bloud: till wee be wrapped, and cloſed, and buried, and entombed, in the pretious amber of his bleeding wounds, and the ſacred gum of that tree, which growes in the midſt of Paradiſe. For if we ſuffer with him, we ſhall raigne with him, and if we bee conformed to the ſimilitude of his death, we ſhall bee transformed to the image of his glory. Effundam de ſpiritu meo, ſaith God the Father, I will powre out my Spirit vponupon all fleſh. Effudi de ſanguine meo, ſaith God the Sonne, I hauehave powr'd forth my bloud for all fleſh. See the price of your redemption, and the pledge of your ſaluation: by this ye enter the holy place, and are aſſured of that kingdome, where neither height, nor depth, nor things preſent, nor things to come, nor life, nor death, nor any other creature, ſhall bee able to ſeparate vsus from the louelove of God, which is Chriſt Ieſus. O Lord enflame this louelove in vsus, and crowne this hope on vsus, for the bitter death and meritorious paſſion of thy Sonne and our Sauiour, to whom with the Father, bee aſcribed all honour, and glorie, power and dominion, throughout all generations. Amen.
Sanctorum GLORIA: The glory of the Saints.
GREG. Mor. lib. 6.
Quia in hac vita diſcretio operum erit in illa diſcretio dignitatum.
LONDON, Printed for ROBERT ALLOT.