Eighty Sermons, Easter · Sermon 20
SERMON XX. Preached at S. Pauls, in the Evening, upon Eaſter-day. 1625.
JOHN 5.28, 29.
Marvell not at this; for the houre is comming, in the which, all that are in the graves, ſhall heare his voice; And ſhall come forth, They that have done good, unto the Reſurrection of Life; And they that have done evill, unto the Reſurrection of Damnation.
AS the Sun works diverſly, according to the diverſe diſpoſition of the ſubject, (for the Sun melts wax, and it hardens clay) ſo do the good actions of good men: upon good men they work a vertuous emulation, a noble and a holy deſire to imitate, upon bad men they work a vicious, and impotent envy, a deſire to diſgrace, and calumniate. And the more the good is that is done, and the more it works upon good men, the more it diſaffects the bad: for ſo the Phariſees expreſſe their rancor and malignity againſt Chriſt,J…n 11.48. in this Goſpel, If we let him thus alone, all men will beleeve in him; And that they foreſaw would deſtroy them in their reputation. And therefore they enlarged their malice, beyond Chriſt himſelfe, to him, upon whom Chriſt had wrought a Miracle,John 12.10. to Lazarus, They conſulted to put him to death, becauſe by reaſon of him, many beleeved in Ieſus. Our Text leads us to another example of this impotency in envious men; Chriſt, in this Chapter had, by his only word, cured a man that had been eight and thirty yeares infirm; and he had done this work upon the Sabbath. They envyed the work in the ſubſtance, but they quarrell the circumſtance; And they envy Chriſt, but they turn upon the man, who was more obnoxious to them; and they tell him,John 5.…. That it was not lawfull for him to carry his bed that day. He diſcharges himſelf upon Chriſt; I diſpute not with you concerning the Law; This ſatisfies me, He that made me whole, Ve…. ….bad me take up my bed and walk. Thereupon they put him to finde out Jeſus; And when he could not finde Jeſus, Jeſus found him, and in his behalf offers himſelf to the Phariſees. Then they direct themſelves upon him, and (as the Goſpell ſayes) They ſought to ſlay him, becauſe he had done this upon the Sabbath: And,V. 16. as the patient had diſcharged himſelf upon Chriſt, Chriſt diſcharges himſelf upon his Father; doth it diſpleaſe you that I work upon the Sabbath? be angry with God, be angry with the Father, for the Father works when I work.V. 17. V. 18. And then this they take worſe then his working of Miracles, or his working upon the Sabbath, That he would ſay, that God was his Father; And therfore in the averring of that, that ſo important point, That God was his Father, Chriſt grows into a holy vehemence, and earneſtneſſe, and he repeats his uſuall oath, Verily, verily, three ſeverall times: Firſt, ver. 19. That whatſoever the Father doth, He, the Son, doth alſo, And then ver. 24. He that beleeveth on me, and him that ſent me, hath life everlaſting. And then again, ver. 25. The houre is comming, and now is, when the dead ſhall heare the voice of the Son of God, and they that heare it ſhall live. At this, that the dead ſhould live, they marvelled; But becauſe he knew that they were men more affected with things concerning the body, then ſpirituall things, as in another ſtory, when they wondered that he would pretend to forgive ſins, becauſe he knew, that they thought it a greater matter to bid that man that had the Palſie, take up his bed and walk, then to forgive him his ſins, therefore he took that way which was hardeſt in their opinion, he did bid him take up his bed and walk; So here, when they wondred at his ſpeaking of a ſpirituall Reſurrection, to heare him ſay, that at his preaching, the dead (that is, men ſpiritually dead in their ſins) ſhould riſe again, to them who more reſpected the body, and did leſſe beleeve a reall Reſurrection of the body, then a figurative Reſurrection of the ſoul, he proceeds to that which was, in their apprehenſion, the more difficult, Marvell not at this, ſayes he, here in our Text; not at that ſpirituall Reſurrection by preaching, for the houre is comming, in the which, all that are in the graves, &c. and ſo he eſtabliſhes the Reſurrection of the body.
That then which Chriſt affirmes and avows, is, That he is the Son of God;Diviſio. and that is the firſt thing, that ever was done in Heaven, The eternall generation of the Son: that, by which, he proves this, to theſe men, is, That by him, there ſhall be a reſurrection of the body; and that is the laſt thing, that ſhall be done in Heaven, for, after that, there is nothing, but an even continuance in equall glory. Before that, ſaies he, that is, before the reſurrection of the body, there ſhall be another reſurrection, a ſpirituall reſurrection of the ſoule from ſin; but that ſhall be, by ordinary meanes, by Preaching, and Sacraments, and it ſhall be accompliſhed every day; but fix not upon that, determin not your thoughts upon that, marvaile not at that, make that no cauſe of extraordinary wonder, but make it ordinary to you, feele it, and finde the effect thereof in your ſoules, as often as you heare, as often as you receive, and thereby provide for another reſurrection, For, the houre is comming, in which, all that are in their graves, &c.
Where we muſt neceſſarily make thus many ſteps, though but ſhort ones. Firſt, the dignity of the Reſurrection, marvaile at nothing ſo much, as at this, nothing is ſo marvailous, ſo wonderfull as this; And ſecondly, the approach of the Reſurrection, The houre is comming; And thirdly, The generality, All that are in the graves; And then the inſtrument of the reſurrection, The voice of Chriſt, that ſhall be heard; And laſtly, the diverſe end of the reſurrection, They ſhall come forth, they that have done good, &c. God hath a care of the Body of man, that is firſt; And he defers it not, that is next; And he extends it to all, that is a third; And a fourth is, That he does that laſt act, by him, by whom he did the firſt, The Creation, and all betweene, the Redemption, that is, by his Son, by Chriſt; And then the laſt is, that this is an everlaſting ſeparation and divorce of the good and the bad, The bad ſhall never be able to receive good from the Good, nor to doe harme to the Good, after that.
Firſt then, Chriſt ſaies, Ne miremini, Marvaile not at this, Ne miremini.not at your ſpirituall reſurrection, not that a Sermon ſhould worke upon man, not that a Sacrament ſhould comfort a man, make it not a miracle, nor an extraordinary thing, by hearing to come to repentance, and ſo to ſuch a reſurrection. For though S. Auguſtine ſay, That to convert a man from ſin, is as great a miracle, as Creation, yet S. Auguſt. ſpeaks that of a mans firſt converſion, in which the man himſelfe does nothing, but God all; Then he is made of nothing; but after God hath renewed him, and propoſed ordinary meanes in the Church ſtill to worke upon him, he muſt not looke for miraculous working, but make Gods ordinary meanes, ordinary to him. This is Panis quotidianus, The daily bread which God gives you, as often as you meet here, according to his Ordinances; Ne miremini, ſtand not to wonder, as though you were not ſure, but come to enjoy Gods goodneſſe, in his ordinary way here.
But it is,Hoc. Ne miremini hoc, Wonder not at this; but yet, there are things, which we may wonder at. Nil admirari, is but the Philoſophers wiſdome; He thinks it a weakneſſe, to wonder at any thing, That any thing ſhould be ſtrange to him: But Chriſtian Philoſophy that is rooted in humility, tels us, in the mouth of Clement of Alexand. Principium veritatis eſt res admirari, The firſt ſtep to faith, is to wonder, to ſtand, and conſider with a holy admiration, the waies and proceedings of God with man: for, Admiration, wonder, ſtands as in the midſt, betweene knowledge and faith, and hath an eye towards both. If I know a thing, or beleeve a thing, I do no longer wonder: but when I finde that I have reaſon to ſtop upon the conſideration of a thing, ſo, as that I ſee enough to induce admiration, to make me wonder, I come by that ſtep, and God leads me by that hand, to a knowledge, if it be of a naturall or civill thing, or to a faith, if it be of a ſupernaturall, and ſpirituall thing.
And therefore be content to wonder at this, That God would have ſuch a care to dignifie, and to crown, and to aſſociate to his own everlaſting preſence, the body of man. God himſelf is a Spirit, and heaven is his place; my ſoul is a ſpirit, and ſo proportioned to that place; That God, or Angels, or our Soules, which are all Spirits, ſhould be in heaven, Ne miremini, never wonder at that. But ſince we wonder, and juſtly, that ſome late Philoſophers have removed the whole earth from the Center, and carried it up, and placed it in one of the Spheares of heaven, That this clod of earth, this body of ours ſhould be carried up to the higheſt heaven, placed in the eye of God, ſet down at the right hand of God, Miremini hoc, wonder at this; That God, all Spirit, ſerved with Spirits, aſſociated to Spirits, ſhould have ſuch an affection, ſuch a love to this body, this earthly body, this deſerves this wonder. The Father was pleaſed to breathe into this body, at firſt, in the Creation; The Son was pleaſed to aſſume this body himſelf, after, in the Redemption; The Holy Ghoſt is pleaſed to conſecrate this body, and make it his Temple, by his ſanctiſication; In that Faciamus hominem, Let us, all us, make man, that conſuitation of the whole Trinity in making man, is exerciſed even upon this lower part of man, the dignifying of his body. So far, as that amongſt the ancient Fathers, very many of them, are very various, and irreſolved, which way to pronounce, and very many of them cleare in the negative, in that point, That the ſoule of man comes not to the preſence of God, but remaines in ſome out-places till the Reſurrection of the body: That obſervation, that conſideration of the love of God, to the body of man, withdrew them into that error, That the ſoul it ſelf ſhould lack the glory of heaven, till the body were become capable of that glory too.
They therefore oppoſe God in his purpoſe of dignifying the body of man, firſt, who violate, and mangle this body, which is the Organ in which God breathes; And they alſo which pollute and defile this body, in which Chriſt Jeſus is apparelled; and they likewiſe who prophane this body, which the Holy Ghoſt, as the high Prieſt, inhabites, and conſecrates.
Trangreſſors in the firſt kinde, that put Gods Organ out of tune, that diſcompoſe, and teare the body of man with violence, are thoſe inhumane perſecutors, who with racks, and tortures, and priſons, and fires, and exquiſite inquiſitions, throw downe the bodies of the true Gods true ſervants, to the Idolatrous worſhip of their imaginary Gods; that torture men into hell, and carry them through the inquiſition into damnation. S. Auguſtine moves a queſtion, and inſtitutes a diſputation, and carries it ſomewhat problematically, whether torture be to be admitted at all, or no. That preſents a faire probability, which he ſayes againſt it: we preſume, ſayes he, that an innocent man ſhould be able to hold his tongue in torture; That is no part of our purpoſe in torture, ſayes he, that hee that is innocent, ſhould accuſe himſelfe, by confeſſion, in torture. And, if an innocent man be able to doe ſo, why ſhould we not thinke, that a guilty man, who ſhall ſave his life, by holding his tongue in torture, ſhould be able to doe ſo? And then, where is the uſe of torture? Res fragilis, & periculoſa quaeſtio, ſayes that Lawyer, who is eſteemed the law, alone, Vlpian: It is a ſlippery triall, and uncertaine, to convince by torture: For, many times, ſayes S. Auguſtine againe, Innocens luit pro incerto ſcelere certiſsimas poenas, He that is yet but queſtioned, whether he be guilty or no, before that be knowne, is, without all queſtion, miſerably tortured. And whereas, many times, the paſſion of the Judge, and the covetouſneſſe of the Judge, and the ambition of the Judge, are calamities heavy enough, upon a man, that is accuſed, in this caſe of torture, Ignorantia Iudicis eſt calamitas plerumque innocentis, ſayes that Father, for the moſt part, even the ignorance of the Judge, is the greateſt calamity of him that is accuſed: If the Judge knew that he were innocent, he ſhould ſuffer nothing; If he knew he were guilty, he ſhould not ſuffer torture; but becauſe the Judge is ignorant, and knowes nothing, therefore the Priſoner muſt bee racked, and tortured, and mangled, ſayes that Father.
There is a whole Epiſtle in S. Hierome, full of heavenly meditation, and of curious expreſſions: It is his forty ninth Epiſtle, Ad Innocentium: where a young man tortured for ſuſpition of adultery with a certaine woman, ut compendio cruciatus vitaret, ſayes he, for his eaſe, and to abridge his torment, and that he might thereby procure and compaſſe a preſent death, confeſſed the adultery, though falſe: His confeſſion was made evidence againſt the woman: and ſhee makes that proteſtation, Tu teſtis Domine Ieſu, Thou Lord Jeſus be my Witneſſe, Non ideo me negare velle, ne peream, ſed ideo mentiri nolle, ne peccem: I doe not deny the fact for feare of death, but I dare not belie my ſelfe, nor betray mine innocence, for feare of ſinning, and offending the God of Truth; And, as it followes in that ſtory, though no torture could draw any Confeſſion, any accuſation from her, ſhe was condemned; and one Executioner had three blowes at her with a Sword, and another foure, and yet ſhe could not be killed.
And therefore, becauſe Storie abounds with Examples of this kinde, how uncertaine a way of tryall, and conviction, torture is, though S. Auguſtine would not ſay, that torture was unlawfull, yet he ſayes, It behoves every Judge to make that prayer, Erue me Domine à neceſsitatibus meis, If there bee ſome caſes, in which the Judge muſt neceſſarily proceed to torture; O Lord, deliver me, from having any ſuch caſe brought before me.
But what uſe ſoever there may be for torture, for Confeſſion, in the Inquiſition they torture for a deniall, for the deniall of God, and for the renouncing of the truth of his Goſpell: As men of great place, think it concernes their honour, to doe above that which they ſuffer, to make their revenges, not only equall, but greater then their injuries; ſo the Romane Church thinks it neceſſary to her greatneſſe, to inflict more tortures now, then were inflicted upon her in the Primitive Church; as though it were a juſt revenge, for the tortures ſhe received then, for being Chriſtian, to torture better Chriſtians then her ſelfe, for being ſo. In which tortures, the Inquiſition hath found one way, to eſcape the generall clamour of the world againſt them, which is to torture to that heighth, that few ſurvive, or come abroad after, to publiſh, how they have been tortured. And theſe, firſt, oppoſe Gods purpoſe, in the making, and preſerving, and dignifying the body of man.
Tranſgreſſors herein, in the ſecond kinde, are they, that defile the garment of Chriſt Jeſus, the body in which he hath vouchſafed to inveſt and enwrap himſelfe, and ſo apparell a Harlot in Chriſts cloathes, and make that body, which is his, hers. That Chriſt ſhould take my body, though defiled with fornication, and make it his, is ſtrange; but that I, in fornication, ſhould take Chriſts body, and make it hers, is more. Know ye not, 1 Cor. 6.15. V. 16.ſayes the Apoſtle, that your bodies are the members of Chriſt? And againe, Know you not, that he that is joyned to a harlot, is one body? Some of the Romane Emperours, made it treaſon, to carry a Ring, that had their picture engraved in it, to any place in the houſe, of low Office. What Name can we give to that ſin, to make the body of Chriſt, the body of a harlot? And yet, the Apoſtle there, as taking knowledge, that we loved our ſelves better then Chriſt, changes the edge of his argument, and argues thus, ver. 18. He that committeth fornication, ſinneth againſt his own body; If ye will be bold with Chriſts body, yet favour your own: No man ever hated his own body; and yet, no outward enemy is able ſo to macerate our body, as our owne licentiouſneſſe. Chriſt, who tooke all our bodily infirmities upon him, Hunger, and Thirſt, and Sweat, and Cold, tooke no bodily deformities upon him, he tooke not a lame, a blinde, a crooked body; and we, by our intemperance, and licentiouſneſſe, deforme that body which is his, all theſe wayes. The licentious man, moſt of any, ſtudies bodily handſomeneſſe, to be comely, and gracious, and acceptable, and yet, ſooneſt of any, deformes, and deſtroyes it, and makes that loathſome to all, which all his care was to make amiable: And ſo they oppoſe Gods purpoſe of dignifying the body.
Tranſgreſſors in a third kinde are they, that ſacrilegiouſly prophane the Temple of the Holy Ghoſt, by neglecting the reſpect and duties, belonging to the dead bodies of Gods Saints, in a decent and comely accompanying them to convenient Funerals. Heires and Executors are oftentimes defective in theſe offices, and pretend better employments of that, which would be, (ſay they) vainly ſpent ſo. But remember you, of whom (in much ſuch a caſe) that is ſaid in S. Iohn, John 12.6.This he ſaid, not becauſe he cared for the poore, but becauſe he was a Thiefe, and had the bagge, and bore that which was put therein: This Executors ſay, not becauſe they intend pious uſes, but becauſe they beare, and beare away the bagges. Generally, thy opinion muſt be no rule for other mens actions; neither in theſe caſes of Funerals, muſt thou call all too much, which is more then enough; That womans Ointment poured upon Chriſts feet, that hundred pound waight of perfumes to embalme his one body, was more then enough, neceſſarily enough; yet it was not too much, for the dignity of that perſon, nor for the teſtimony of their zeale, who did it, in ſo abundant manner.
Now, as in all theſe three waies, men may oppoſe the purpoſe of God, in dignifying the body, ſo in concurring with Gods purpoſe, for the dignifying thereof, a man may exceed, and goe beyond Gods purpoſe, in all three. God would not have the body torne, and mangled with tortures, in thoſe caſes; but then, hee would not have it pampered with wanton delicacies, nor varniſhed with forraigne complexion. It is ill, when it is not our own heart, that appeares in our words; it is ill too, when it is not our own blood, that appeares in our cheekes; It may doe ſome ill offices of blood, it may tempt, but it gives over, when it ſhould doe a good office of blood, it cannot bluſh. If when they are filling the wrinkles, and graves of their face, they would remember, that there is another grave, that calls for a filling with the whole body, ſo, even their pride would flow into a mortification. God would not have us put on a ſad countenance, nor disfigure our face, not in our faſtings, and other diſciplines; God would not have us marre his work; nor God would not have us goe about to doe his laſt work, which he hath reſerved to himſelfe in heaven, here upon earth, that is, to glorifie our bodies, with ſuch additions here, as though we would need no glorification there.
So alſo in the ſecond way of giving due reſpect to the body of man, a man may exceed Gods purpoſe. God would not have the body corrupted and attenuated, ſhrunk and deformed with incontinency, and licentiouſneſſe; But God would not have that ſparing of the body, to diſhonour, or undervalue, or forbeare mariage, nor to fruſtrate that, which was one of Gods purpoſes, in the inſtitution of mariage, procreation of children. Mariage without poſſibility of children, lacks one halfe of Gods purpoſe in the inſtitution of mariage; for, the third reaſon of mariage, after the other two, (which two were, for a Helper, and for Children) which is, that mariage ſhould be for a Remedy, that third came in after; for at the time of the inſtitution of mariage, man was not fallen into any inordinate concupiſcencies, and ſo, at that time, needed no remedy. Mariage without poſſibility of children, lacks one of Gods two reaſons for children; but mariage with a contract againſt children, or a practice againſt children, is not (ſayes S. Auguſtine) a mariage, but a ſolemne, an avowed, a dayly Adultery. To chooſe to be ill in the ſight of God, rather then to look ill, in the ſight of men, is a perverſe, and a poyſonous Phyſick. The ſin of Er, and Onan, in maried men; the ſin of procured abortions, in maried women, doe, in many caſes, equall, in ſome, exceed, the ſin of Adultery; To rob a husband, or a wife, of a future child, may be in the wife, or husband, as great a ſin, as to bring a ſuppoſititious, or a ſpurious child, into the Fathers inheritance. God would not have the comelineſſe, the handſomeneſſe of the body defaced by incontinency, and intemperance, but he would not have the care of that comelineſſe, and handſomeneſſe fruſtrate his purpoſe of children in mariage.
And as in thoſe two, (God would not have the body tortured, nor mangled, God would not have the body deformed by licentiouſneſſe) ſo, in his third reſpect to mans body, God would not have the bodies of his dead Saints neglected, Gods purpoſe may be exceeded too. Gods purpoſe therein is, that all men ſhould be Decently; and Honourable perſons, Honourably buried; but his purpoſe herein is exceeded, when any ragge of their skin, or chip of their bones, or lock of their haire, is kept for a Relique, and made an Univerſall balme, and Amulet, and Antidote, againſt all temporall, and all ſpirituall diſeaſes, and calamities, not onelyonly againſt the rage of a Feaver, but of hell it ſelfe. What their counterfait Reliques may doe, againſt their counterfait hell, againſt their Purgatory, I know not: That powerfull, and precious, and onelyonly Relique, which is given to us, againſt hell it ſelfe, is onelyonly the Communion of the body, and blood of Chriſt Jeſus, left to us by him, and preſerved for us, in his Church, though his body be removed out of our ſight.
To end this, Miramini hoc, marvell at this, at the wonderfull love of God to the body of man, and thou wilt favour it ſo, as not to macerate thine owne body, with uncommanded and inhumane flagellations, and whippings, nor afflict their bodies, who are in thy charge, with inordinate labour; thou wilt not diſhonour this body, as it is Chriſts body, nor deforme it, as it is thine owne, with intemperance, but thou wilt behave thy ſelfe towards it ſo, as towards one, whom it hath pleaſed the King to honour, with a reſurrection, (which was our firſt) and not to deferre that reſurrection long, which is our next ſtep, Venit hora, The houre is comming.
Non talem Deum tuum putes, qualis nec tu debes eſſe, is excellently ſaid by S. Auguſtine: Venit hora.Never preſume upon any other diſpoſition in God, then ſuch as thou findeſt in thine own heart, that thou art bound to have in thy ſelfe; for we finde in our hearts, a band of conformity, and aſſimilation to God, that is, to be as like God as we can. Therefore whatſoever thou findeſt thy ſelfe bound to doe to another, thou maiſt expect at Gods hand. Thou art bound to help up another that is fallen, therefore thou maiſt aſſure thy ſelfe, that God will give thee a Reſurrection: ſo, thou findeſt in thy heart, that the ſoul of an almes, the ſoule of a benefit, that that gives it life, is the ſpeedy, the preſent doing of it; Therefore thou maiſt be ſure, that God will make ſpeed to ſave thee, that he will not long deferre this thy reſurrection, horavenit. S. Auguſtine comparing the former reſurrection, which is the ſpirituall reſurrection of the ſoule, ver. 25. with this in the Text, which is the reſurrection of the body, obſerves, that there Chriſt ſayes, hora venit, & nunc eſt, the houre is comming, and now is; becauſe in every private inſpiration of the Holy Ghoſt, in every Sermon, in every meeting of the Congregation, the dead may heare, and live; nunc eſt, they may doe it now. But that in this reſurrection in the Text, the reſurrection of the body, it is not ſaid, nunc eſt, that the houre is now; for, the Son of Man who ſayes it, (as hee is the Son of Man) knowes not when it ſhall bee; But hee ſayes Hora venit, It is comming, and comming apace, and comming quickly, ſhortly.
As ſoone as God had made man, he gave him his patent, Dominamini, Dominion over the Creature; As ſoone as Man was fallen, God gave him the promiſe of a Meſſias; And of his ſecond comming, himſelfe ſayes, Ecce, venio citò, Behold, I come ſpeedily: Venit, he comes, he is upon the way; and Ecce, venit, Behold, he comes, he is within ſight, you may ſee him in his fore-running tokens; and Ecce citò, as little way as he hath to goe, he makes haſte, And there is a Jeſuit that makes the haſte ſo great, as that he ſayes,Maldon. Howſoever S. Auguſtine make uſe of that note, that it is not ſaid in the Text, Nunc eſt, That the houre of the Reſurrection is now, yet he does beleeve, that Chriſt did ſay ſo, though the Euangeliſt left it out. We need not ſay ſo; we doe not; ſo much leſſe liberty doe we take in departing from the Fathers, then the Romane Authors doe: But yet, ſo as S. Iohn ſpeaks, Hora noviſsima, This is the laſt time, (Now there are many Antichriſts, 1 Joh. 2.18.whereby we know that this is the laſt time) And ſo, as S. Peter ſpeaks,2 Pet. 3.8. Be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thouſand yeares, and a thouſand yeares as one day: So as this Nunc may ſignifie Vltimum ſtatum, The laſt courſe of times, the time not of Nature, nor of Law, but of Grace; ſo we admit that addition in this Reſurrection too, Hora venit, & nunc eſt, The houre is comming, and now is, becauſe there are no other meanes to be hereafter inſtituted for the attaining of a happy Reſurrection, then thoſe that now are eſtabliſhed in the Church, eſpecially at a mans death, may we very properly ſay, Nunc eſt, Now is the Reſurrection come to him, not onelyonly becauſe the laſt Judgement is involved in the firſt, (for that Judgment which paſſeth upon every man at his death, ſtands for ever without Repeal, or Appeal, or Error) but becauſe after the death of the Body, there is no more to be done with the Body, till the Reſurrection; for as we ſay of an Arrow, that it is over ſhot, it is gone, it is beyond the mark, though it be not come to the mark yet, becauſe there is no more to be done to it till it be; ſo we may ſay, that he that is come to death, is come to his Reſurrection, becauſe he hath not another ſtep to make, another foot to goe, another minute to count, till he be at the Reſurrection.
The Reſurrection then, being the Coronation of man, his Death, and lying downe in the grave, is his enthroning, his ſitting downe in that chayre, where he is to receive that Crown. As then the Martyrs, under the Altar, though in heaven, yet doe cry out for the Reſurrection; ſo let us, in this miſerable life, ſubmit our ſelves cheerfully to the hand of God, in death, ſince till that death we cannot have this Reſurrection, and the firſt thing that we ſhall doe after this death, is to riſe againe. To the child that is now borne, we may ſay, Hora venit, The day of his Reſurrection is comming; To him that is old, we may ſay, The hour is come; but to him that is dead, The minute is come, becauſe to him there are no more minutes till it doe come.
Miremini hoc, Omnes.Marvail at this, at the deſcent of Gods love, He loves the Body of Man, And Miremini hoc, Mervaile at his ſpeed, He makes haſte to expreſſe this love, Hora venit, And then Miremini hoc, Marvaile at the Generality, it reaches to all, all that are in the Grave; All that are in the graves ſhall heare his voice, &c. God hath made the Body as a Houſe for the ſoule, till he call her out, and he hath made the Grave as a Houſe for the body, till he call it up. The miſery, and poore eſtate that Chriſt ſubmitted himſelfe unto for man,Mat 8.20. was not determined in that, That foxes had holes, but he no where to lay his head, while he lived; but he had no grave that he could claime, when he was dead. It is ſome diſcontinuance of the Communion of Saints, if I may not be buried with the Saints of God. Every man that hath not deveſted Humanity, hath a deſire to have his bones lie at reſt, and we cannot provide for that ſo well, any way, as to bury them in Conſecrated places, which are, in common entendment, ſafeſt from prophane violences. Even that reſpect, that his bones might lye at reſt, ſeems to have mov'd one Prophet,1 King. 13.31. to enjoyne his Sons, to bury him, in the Sepulcher, where the other Prophet was buried. He knew that Ioſiah would burne the bones of all the other graves, upon the Altar of Bethel, as was prophecied; and he preſum'd that he would ſpare the bones of that Prophet, and ſo his bones ſhould be ſafe, if they were mingled with the other.Deut. 34.6. God expreſſed his love to Moſes, in that particular, That he buried him; And, to deliver, and remove him, from the violence of any that lov'd him not, and ſo might diſhonor his memory, and from the ſuperſtition of any that over-lov'd him, and ſo might over-honour his memory, God buried him in ſecret. In more then one place doth David complaine, That there was none to bury Gods Saints; And the Dignity that is promiſed here in the Text, is appropriated to them, who are in the graves, who are buried.
But then, was that generall? Is it ſimply, plainly, literally of them, and them onelyonly, who are in graves, who are buried? Shall none enjoy a Reſurrection, that have not enjoy'd a Grave? Still I ſay, it is a comfort to a dying man, it is an honour to his memory, it is a diſcharge of a duty in his friends, it is a piece of the Communion of Saints, to have a conſecrated grave: But the word here is, In monumentis, All that are in Monuments; that is, in Receptacles of Bodies, of what kind ſoever they be: whereſoever the hand of God layes up a dead Body,Pſal. 34.20. that place is the Receptacle, ſo the monument, ſo the grave of that Body. God keeps all the bones of the righteous, ſo that none of them are broken: Though they be trod to duſt in our ſight, they are intire in his, becauſe he can bid them be whole againe in an inſtant. Some Nations burnt their dead, there the fire is the grave; ſome drowned their dead, there the ſea is the grave; and ſome hung them up upon trees, and there the ayre is their grave: Some Nations eat their dead themſelves, and ſome maintained dogs to eat the dead;Herod. Strabo. and as they called thoſe dogs, Canes Sepulchrales, Sepulchrall dogs, ſo thoſe men were ſepulchrall men, thoſe men and thoſe dogs were graves. Death and hell ſhall deliver up their dead, Ap…c. 20.13.ſayes S. Iohn: That is, the whole ſtate, and manſion of the dead, ſhall be emptied: The ſtate of the dead is their grave, and upon all that are in this ſtate, ſhall the teſtimony of Gods love, to the body of man, fall; And that is the Generality, All that are in the grave, &c.
Our next ſtep is,Audient. The Inſtrument, the Means, by which, this, firſt ſo ſpeedy, and then ſo generall love of God, to man, to man in his loweſt part, his body, is accompliſhed unto him; Theſe, All theſe, All theſe that are in graves, in all theſe kinds of graves, ſhall heare his voice, and that is the Meanes. Firſt, whoſe voice? That is expreſſed immediately before, The Son of man. In the other Reſurrection, in that of the dead ſoule, ver. 25. there it is ſaid, The dead ſhall heare the voyce of the Son of God. In this, which is the Reſurrection to Judgement, it is The Son of man. The former Reſurrection (that of a ſinner to repentance by preaching) is wrought by a plaine, and ordinary meanes here in the Church; where you doe but heare a man in a Pew, read prayers, and pronounce Abſolution, and a man in a Pulpit preach a Sermon, and a man at a Table conſecrate, and adminiſter a Sacrament; And becauſe all this, though it be the power of life, and the meanes of your ſpirituall reſurrection, is wrought by the Miniſtery of man, who might be contemptible in your eye, therefore the whole worke is referred to God, and not the ſon of man, but the Son of God, is ſaid to do it.
In this Reſurrection of the Text, which is a Reſurrection to Judgement, and to an account with God, that God whom we have diſpleaſed, exaſperated, violated, wounded in the whole courſe of our life, leſt we ſhould be terrified, and dejected at the preſence of that God, the whole worke is referred to the Son of Man, which hath himſelfe formerly felt all our infirmities, and hath had as ſad a ſoule at the approach of death, as bitter a Cup in the forme of Death, as heavy a feare of Gods forſaking him in the agony of death, as we can have: And for ſin it ſelf, I would not, I do not extenuate my ſin, but let me have fallen, not ſeven times a day, but ſeventy ſeven times a minute, yet what are my ſins, to all thoſe ſins that were upon Chriſt? The ſins of all men, and all women, and all children, the ſins of all Nations, all the Eaſt and Weſt, and all the North and South, the ſins of all times and ages, of Nature, of Law, of Grace, the ſins of all natures, ſins of the body, and ſins of the mind, the ſins of all growth, and all extentions, thoughts, and words, and acts, and habits, and delight, and glory, and contempt, and the very ſin of boaſting, nay of our belying our ſelves in ſin; All theſe ſins, paſt, preſent and future, were at once upon Chriſt, and in that depth of ſin, mine are but a drop to his Ocean; In that treaſure of ſin, mine are but ſingle money to his Talent; And therefore, that I might come with a holy reverence to his Ordinance, in this place, though it be but in the Miniſtery of man, that firſt Reſurrection is attributed to the Son of God, to give a dignity to that Miniſtery of man, which otherwiſe might have beene under-valued, that thereby we might have a conſolation, and a cheerefulneſſe towards it; It is He, that is, the Son of God, and the Son of man, Chriſt; which remembers us alfo, that all that belongs to the expreſſing of the Law of God to man, muſt be received by us, who profeſſe our ſelves Chriſtians, in, and by, and for, and through Chriſt.
We uſe to aſcribe the Creation to the Father, but the Father created by the Word, and his Word, is his Son, Chriſt; When he prepared the Heavens, I was there, (ſaies Chriſt,Prov. 8.27. of himſelfe in the perſon of Wiſdome) and when he appointed the foundations of the earth, then was I by him, as one brought up with him; It is not, as one brought in to him, or brought in by him, but with him; one as old, that is, as eternall, as much God as he. We uſe to aſcribe Sanctification to the Holy Ghoſt; But the Holy Ghoſt ſanctifies in the Church, And the Church was purchaſed by the blood of Chriſt, and Chriſt remaines Head of the Church, uſque in conſummationem, till the end of the world. I looke upon every bleſſing that God affords me, and I conſider whether it be temporall, or ſpirituall; and that diſtinguiſhes the metall; the temporall is my ſilver, and the ſpirituall is my Gold; but then I looke againe upon the Inſcription, Cujus Imago, whoſe Image, whoſe inſcription it beares, and whoſe Name; and except I have it, in, and for, and by Chriſt Jeſus, Temporall, and Spirituall things too, are but imaginary, but illuſory ſhadows; for God convayes himſelfe to us, no other way, but in Chriſt.
The benefit then in our Text, the Reſurrection, is by him; but it is limited thus,Chriſtum. It is by hearing him, They that are in their Graves ſhall heare, &c. So it is in the other Reſurrection too, the ſpirituall reſurrection. v. 25. There, they muſt heare him, that will live. In both reſurrections, That in the Church, now, by Grace, And that in the Grave hereafter, by Power, it is ſaid, They ſhall heare him. They ſhall, which ſeemes to imply a neceſſity, though not a coaction; But that neceſſity, not of equall force, not equally irreſiſtible in both: In the Grave, They ſhall; Though they be dead, and ſenſleſſe as the duſt, (for they are duſt it ſelfe) though they bring no concurrence, no cooperation, They ſhall heare, that is, They ſhall not chuſe but heare. In the other reſurrection, which is, in the Church, by Grace, in Gods Ordinance, They ſhall heare too, that is, There ſhall be a voice uttered ſo, as that they may heare, if they will, but not whether they will or no, as in the other cafe, in the grave. Therefore when God expreſſes his gathering of his Church, in this world, it is Sibilabo & congregabo, I will hiſſe, or chirpe for them, Zecha. 10.8.and ſo gather them: He whiſpers in the voyce of the Spirit, and he ſpeaks a little louder, in the voice of a man; Let the man be a Boanerges, a Son of thunder, never ſo powerfull a ſpeaker, yet no thunder is heard over all the world.Mat. 24.31. But for the voyce that ſhall be heard at the Reſurrection, He ſhall ſend his Angels, with a great ſound of a Trumpet; A great ſound, ſuch as may be made by a Trumpet, ſuch as an Angell, all his Angels can make in a Trumpet, and more then all that,1 Theſ. 4.16. The Lord himſelfe ſhall deſcend from Heaven, and that, with a ſhout, and with the voice of an Archangel, that is, ſaies S. Ambroſe, of Chriſt himſelfe, And in the Trumpet of God, that is alſo, Chriſt himſelfe.
So then, you have the Perſon, Chriſt; The meanes, A Voyce, And the powerfulneſſe of that voyce, in the Name of an Archangell, which is named but once more in all the Scriptures: And therefore, let no man, that hath an holy anhelation and panting after the Reſurrection, ſuſpect that he ſhall ſleepe in the duſt, for ever; for, this is a voyce, that will be heard, he muſt riſe. Let no man, who becauſe he hath made his courſe of life like a beaſt, would therefore be content his ſtate in death might be like a beaſt too, hope that he ſhall ſleepe in the duſt, for ever, for this is a voice, that muſt be heard, And all that heare ſhall come forth, they that have done good, &c.
He ſhall come forth; Procedent.even he that hath done ill, and would not, ſhall come forth. You may have ſeene morall men, you may have ſeen impious men, go in confidently enough: not afrighted with death, not terrified with a grave; but when you ſhall ſee them come forth againe, you ſhall ſee them in another complexion. That man that dyed ſo, with that confidence, thought death his end; It ends his ſeventy yeares, but it begins his ſeventy millions of generations of torments, even to his body, and he never thought of that: Indeed, Iudicii, niſi qui vitae aeternae praedeſtinatus eſt, non poteſt reminiſci, ſaies S. Ambroſe, No man can, no man dares thinke upon the laſt Judgement, but he that can thinke upon it with comfort, he that is predeſtinated to eternall life. Even the beſt, are ſometimes ſhaked with the conſideration of the Reſurrection, becauſe it is impoſſible to ſeparate the conſideration of the Reſurrection, from the conſideration of the Judgement; and the terrors of that may abate the joy of the other: Sive comedo…ſive bibo, ſaies S. Hierom, Whether I eate, or drink, ſtill me thinks I heare this ſound, Surgite mortui, & venite ad Iudicium, Ariſe you dead, and come to Judgement: When it cals me up from death, I am glad, when it cals me to Judgement, that impaires my joy. Can I thinke that God will not take a ſtrict account; or, can I be without feare, if I thinke he will? Non expaveſcere requiſiturum eſt dicere, non requiret, is excellently ſaid by S. Bernard, If I can put off all feare of that Judgement, I have put off all imagination, that any ſuch Judgement ſhall be. But, when I begin this feare, in this life, here, I end this feare, in my death, and paſſe away cheerefully: But the wicked begin this feare, when the Trumpet ſounds to the Reſurrection, and then ſhall never end it; but, as a man condemned to be halfe hang'd, and then quartered, hath a fearfull addition in his quartering after, and yet had no eaſe in his hanging before; ſo they that have done ill, when they have had their hanging, when they have ſuffered in ſoule, the torments of Hell, from the day of their death, to the day of Judgement, ſhall come to that day with feare, as to an addition to that, which yet, was inſinite before. And therefore the vulgat Edition hath rendred this well, Procedent, They ſhall proceed, they ſhall go farther and farther in torment.
But this is not the object of our ſpeculation,Con…luſio. the ſubject of our meditation, now: we propoſed this Text, for the Contemplation of Gods love to man, and therefore we rather comfort our ſelves with that branch, and refreſh our ſelves with the ſhadow of that, That they who have done good, ſhall come forth unto the Reſurrection of life. Alas, the others ſhall live as long as they; Lucifer is as immortall as Michael, and Iudas as immortall as S. Peter: Auguſt.But Vita damnatorum, mors eſt, That which we call immortality in the damned, is but a continuall dying; howſoever it muſt be called life, it hath all the qualities of death, ſaving the eaſe, and the end, which death hath, and damnation hath not. They muſt come forth; they that have done evill, muſt do ſo too: Neither can ſtay in their houſe, their grave; for, their houſe (though that houſe ſhould be the ſea) ſhall be burnt downe; all the world diſſolv'd with fire. But then, They who have done evill, ſhall paſſe from that fire, into a farther heat, without light, They who have done good, into a farther light, without heat.
But fix upon the Conditions, and performe them; They muſt have done Good; To have knowne Good, to have beleeved it, to have intended it, nay to have preached it to others, will not ſerve, They muſt have done good. They muſt be rooted in faith, and then bring forth fruit, and fruit in ſeaſon; and then is the ſeaſon of doing good, when another needs that good at thy hands. God gives the evening raine, but he gave the morning rain before; A good man gives at his death, but he gives in his life time too. To them belongs this Reſurrection of the body to life; upon which, ſince our Text inclines us to marvell rather then to diſcourſe, I will not venture to ſay with David, Narrabo omnia mirabilia tua, I will ſhew all thy wondrous works, Pſal. 9.2. Pſal. 105.5. Pſal. 119 18.(an Angels tongue could not ſhew them) but I will ſay with him, Mementote mirabilium, Remember the marvellous works he hath done, And by that, God will open your eyes, that you may behold the wondrous things that he will do: Remember with thankfulneſſe the ſeverall reſurrections that he hath given you; from ſuperſtition and ignorance, in which, you, in your Fathers lay dead; from ſin, and a love of ſin, in which, you, in the dayes of your youth, lay dead; from ſadneſſe, and dejection of ſpirit, in which, you, in your worldly croſſes, or ſpirituall tentations, lay dead; And aſſure your ſelf, that that God that loves to perfect his own works, when you ſhall lye dead in your graves, will give you that Reſurrection to life, which he hath promiſed to all them that do good, and will extend to all them, who having done evill, do yet truly repent the evill they have done.