Sermon Preached 14 February 1607, Part 1
A SERMON PREAched at the Crosse.
IEREMIAH. 51.9.
We would hauehave cured Babel, but shee would not bee healed: let vsus forsake her, and goe eueryevery one into his owne countrey: for her iudgement is come vp into heauen, and lifted vpto the cloudes.
THis is not spoken in person of the Angells that were set ouer Babylon (as some thinke); for Angells hauehave no charge of curing mens soules: they mourn for mens sinnes, and reioyce at their conuersion aLu. 15. 7 10.; they guarde their bodies bPsal. 34. 7.; and carry their soules to heauen cLuke 16. 22.: but the curing and conuerting of the soule hath God delegated to his Prophets, being men like our selues; that so hee might make man to louelove man, seeing the hath made man a sauer of man.
Neither is it the speech and protestation of hypocriticall and fained friends, who say thus to Babel, to make a great boast of their little louelove (tho some hold so, whose iudgement otherwise is of great respect): for the reason heere giuen is too good, and the cause too diuine, to proceede from a profane heart. Her iudgement (say they) is come vp to heauen, &c.
But rather, it seemeth to be the voice of the true Church shewing their louelove to Babell, and their longing desire to hauehave done good to their soules: Bring balme, (saith the former verse) if shee may bee healed. Heereunto, the Church answereth: For our parts, Wee woulde hauehave cured Babell, but shee could not bee healed: we did our indeuours, but found her incurable; therefore now, seeing we can doe her no good, let vsus looke to our owne safetie, let vsus forsake her, & goe eueryevery man to his owne Countrey. For now we see God will take the matter into his owne hands; seeing man cannot heale her, hee will destroy her. Her iudgement is come vp into Heauen, and lifted vp to the cloudes.
The particulars, considerable in this Text… be 4.
1. The Churches louelove to her very enemies, manifested in her desire to hauehave healed them: Wee woulde hauehave cured Babylon.
2. The malitious nature and incurable state of Babel, causing a comfortless issue of the Churches labours: Shee cannot be healed.
3. The Churches dutie, vponupon consideration of her obstinacie and incurablenesse: namely to lose no more labour vponupon her, but to abandon her and looke to herselfe: Forsake her, and let vsus goe eueryevery man to his owne countrey.
4. What becomes of Babylon being incurable, and forsaken of the Church? what further remaines for her? Vengeance and destruction from God: her iudgement is come vp into Heauen, &c.
All these are true in a double sense: namely both
| in the literall | Babylon. |
| and | |
| in the mysticall |
There is a Babell spoken of & literally vnderstood in the old Testament: there is a spiritual Babylon, mystically meant in the Olde, and literally in the New Testament. Both are spoken of in this place: the one historically and literally; the other allegorically, and in a mysterie: and this interpretation is not without warrāt; for it is ordinary with the Prophets in the old Testament, when they speake of matters literally true at that time, in & vnderunder them to point at further matters, of a more spirituall and higher nature. For howsoeuer to destroy the literall and historicall sense of the olde Testament (with some old, and many late writers that be Papists) is worthily cōdemned by the Church as iniurious to Gods word: Yet the literall sense once layd, we may then warrantably extend the text to the allegoricall sense, as far as we see the holy Ghost in the New Testament, to goe before vsus, or to giuegive vsus leaue. Thus Peter makes an allegory of Noahs Arke, and makes that business a type of Baptisme a1. Pet. 3. 20. 21: andbGal. 4, 24. &c Paul of Sarah and Agar, saith by them another thing is meant: and no lesse saith S. Iohn, of Babylon, as we shall see hereafter.
Touching the olde and literall Babylon, all these points hauehave bene long agoe verified vponupon her, since the Prophet vttred them: The Church of the old Testament would hauehave cured her: But she2 could not be healed: therfore she3 for sooke her: & God4 hath destroyed her. And touching the mysticall Babylon, the kingdome of Sathan and Anti-christ, partly they are and partly shall bee made good vppon her. The Church of the new Testament, 1 would hauehave healed her: But2 shee is found incurable: therefore when Christendome3 forsakes her, God4 will destroy her. The two first are already performed: the third is a-doing, and the fourth is sure to be fulfilled in Gods good time.
Of all these in their order.