Eighty Sermons, Easter · Sermon 27
SERMON XXVII. Preached to the LL. upon Eaſter-day, at the Communion, The KING being then dangerouſly ſick at New-Market.
PSAL. 89.47.
What man is he that liveth, and ſhall not ſee death?
AT firſt, God gave the judgement of death upon man, when he ſhould tranſgreſſe, abſolutely, Morte morieris, Thou ſhalt ſurely dye: The woman in her Dialogue with the Serpent, ſhe mollifies it, Ne fortè moriamur, perchance, if we eate, we may die; and then the Devill is as peremptory on the other ſide, Nequaquam moriemini, do what you will, ſurely you ſhall not die; And now God in this Text comes to his reply, Quis eſt homo, ſhall they not die? Give me but one inſtance, but one exception to this rule, What man is hee that liveth, and ſhall not ſee death? Let no man, no woman, no devill offer a Ne fortè, (perchance we may dye) much leſſe a Nequaquam, (ſurely we ſhall not dye) except he be provided of an anſwer to this queſtion, except he can give an inſtance againſt this generall, except he can produce that mans name, and hiſtory, that hath lived, and ſhall not ſee death. Wee are all conceived in cloſe Priſon; in our Mothers wombes, we are cloſe Priſoners all; when we are borne, we are borne but to the liberty of the houſe; Priſoners ſtill, though within larger walls; and then all our life is but a going out to the place of Execution, to death. Now was there ever any man ſeen to ſleep in the Cart, between New-gate, and Tyborne? between the Priſon, and the place of Execution, does any man ſleep? And we ſleep all the way; from the womb to the grave we are never throughly awake; but paſſe on with ſuch dreames, and imaginations as theſe, I may live as well, as another, and why ſhould I dye, rather then another? but awake, and tell me, ſayes this Text, Quis homo? who is that other that thou talkeſt of? What man is he that liveth, and ſhall not ſee death?
In theſe words, we ſhall firſt, for our generall humiliation, conſider the unanſwerableneſſe of this queſtion, There is no man that lives, and ſhall not ſee death. Secondly, we ſhall ſee, how that modification of Eve may ſtand, fortè moriemur, how there may be a probable anſwer made to this queſtion, that it is like enough, that there are ſome men that live, and ſhall not ſee death: And thirdly, we ſhall finde that truly ſpoken, which the Devill ſpake deceitfully then, we ſhall finde the Nequaquam verified, we ſhall finde a direct, and full anſwer to this queſtion; we ſhall finde a man that lives, and ſhall not ſee death, our Lord, and Saviour Chriſt Jeſus, of whom both S. Auguſtine, and S. Hierome, doe take this queſtion to be principally asked, and this Text to be principally intended. Aske me this queſtion then, of all the ſons of men, generally guilty of originall ſin, Quis homo, and I am ſpeechleſſe, I can make no anſwer; Aske me this queſtion of thoſe men, which ſhall be alive upon earth at the laſt day, when Chriſt comes to judgement, Quis homo, and I can make a probable anſwer; forte moriemur, perchance they ſhall die; It is a problematicall matter, and we ſay nothing too peremptorily. Aske me this queſtion without relation to originall ſin, Quis homo, and then I will anſwer directly, fully, confidently, Ecce homo, there was a man that lived, and was not ſubject to death by the law, neither did he actually die ſo, but that he fulfilled the reſt of this verſe; Eruit animam de inferno, by his owne power, he delivered his ſoule from the hand of the grave. From the firſt, this leſſon riſes, Generall doctrines muſt be generally delivered, All men muſt die: From the ſecond, this leſſon, Collaterall, an unrevealed doctrines muſt be ſoberly delivered, How we ſhall be changed at the laſt day, we know not ſo clearly: From the third, this leſſon ariſes, Conditionall Doctrines muſt be conditionally delivered, If we be dead with him, we ſhall be raiſed with him.
Firſt then,1. Part. Quis homo? for the generality, Thoſe other degrees of puniſhment, which God inflicted upon Adam, and Eve, and in them upon us, were as abſolutely, and illimitedly pronounced, as this of death, and yet we ſee, they are many wayes extended, or contracted; To man it was ſaid, In ſudore vultus, In the ſweat of thy browes, thou ſhalt eate thy bread, and how many men never ſweat, till they ſweat with eating? To the woman it was ſaid, Thy deſire ſhall be to thy husband, and he ſhall rule over thee: and how many women have no deſire to their husbands, how many over-rule them? Hunger, and thirſt, and wearineſſe, and ſickneſſe are denounced upon all, and yet if you ask me Quis homo? What is that man that hungers and thirſts not, that labours not, that ſickens not? I can tell you of many, that never felt any of theſe; but contract the queſtion to that one of death, Quis homo? What man is he that ſhall not taſte death? And I know none. Whether we conſider the Summer Solſtice, when the day is ſixteen houres, and the night but eight, or the Winter Solſtice, when the night is ſixteen houres, and the day but eight, ſtill all is but twenty foure houres, and ſtill the evening and morning make but a day: The Patriarchs in the old Teſtament had their Summer day, long lives; we are in the Winter, ſhort lived; but Quis homo? Which of them, or us come not to our night in death? If we conſider violent deaths, caſuall deaths, it is almoſt a ſcornfull thing to ſee, with what wantonneſſe, and ſportfulneſſe, death playes with us; We have ſeen a man Canon proofe in the time of War, and ſlain with his own Piſtoll in the time of peace: We have ſeen a man recovered after his drowning, and live to hang himſelfe. But for that one kinde of death, which is generall, (though nothing be in truth more againſt nature then diſſolution, and corruption, which is death) we are come to call that death, naturall death, then which, indeed, nothing is more unnaturall; The generality makes it naturall; Moſes ſayes, that Mans age is ſeventy,Pſal. 90.10. and eighty is labour and pain; and yet himſelfe was more then eighty, and in a good ſtate, and habitude when he ſaid ſo. No length, no ſtrength enables us to anſwer this Quis homo? What man? &c.
Take a flat Map, a Globe in plano, and here is Eaſt, and there is Weſt, as far aſunder as two points can be put: but reduce this flat Map to roundneſſe, which is the true form, and then Eaſt and Weſt touch one another, and are all one: So conſider mans life aright, to be a Circle, Pulvis es, & in pulverem rever…eris, Duſt thou art, and to duſt thou muſt return; Nudus egreſſus, Job 1.Nudus revertar, Naked I came, and naked I muſt go; In this, the circle, the two points meet, the womb and the grave are but one point, they make but one ſtation, there is but a ſtep from that to this. This brought in that cuſtome amongſt the Greek Emperours, that ever at the day of their Coronation, they were preſented with ſeverall ſorts of Marble, that they might then beſpeak their Tombe. And this brought in that Cuſtome into the Primitive Church, that they called the Martyrs dayes, wherein they ſuffered, Natalitia Martyrum, their birth dayes; birth, and death is all one.
Their death was a birth to them into another life, into the glory of God; It ended one Circle, and created another; for immortality, and eternity is a Circle too; not a Circle where two points meet, but a Circle made at once; This life is a Circle, made with a Compaſſe, that paſſes from point to point; That life is a Circle ſtamped with a print, an endleſſe, and perfect Circle, as ſoone as it begins. Of this Circle, the Mathematician is our great and good God; The other Circle we make up our ſelves; we bring the Cradle, and Grave together by a courſe of nature. Every man does; Mi Gheber, ſayes the Originall; It is not Iſhe, which is the firſt name of man, in the Scriptures, and ſignifies nothing but a ſound; a voyce, a word, a Muſicall ayre dyes, and evaporates, what wonder if man, that is but Iſhe, a ſound, dye too? It is not Adam, which is another name of man, and ſignifies nothing but red earth; Let it be earth red with blood, (with that murder which we have done upon our ſelves) let it be earth red with bluſhing, (ſo the word is uſed in the Originall) with a conſcience of our own infirmity, what wonder if man, that is but Adam, guilty of this ſelf-murder in himſelf, guilty of this in-borne frailty in himſelf, dye too? It is not Enos, which is alſo a third name of man, and ſignifies nothing but a wretched and miſerable creature; what wonder if man, that is but earth, that is a burden to his Neighbours, to his friends, to his kindred, to himſelfe, to whom all others, and to whom himſelf deſires death, what wonder if he dye? But this queſtion is framed upon none of theſe names; Not Iſhe, not Adam, not Enos; but it is Mi Gheber, Quis vir; which is the word alwayes ſignifying a man accompliſhed in all excellencies, a man accompanied with all advantages; fame, and good opinion juſtly conceived, keepes him from being Iſhe, a meere ſound, ſtanding onelyonly upon popular acclamation; Innocency and integrity keepes him from being Adam, red earth, from bleeding, or bluſhing at any thing hee hath done; That holy and Religious Art of Arts, which S. Paul profeſſed, That he knew how to want, and how to abound, keepes him from being Enos, miſerable or wretched in any fortune; Hee is Gheber, a great Man, and a good Man, a happy Man, and a holy Man, and yet Mi Gheber, Quis homo, this man muſt ſee death.
And therefore we will carry this queſtion a little higher, from Quis homo, to Quis deorum, Which of the gods have not ſeene death? Aske it of thoſe, who are Gods by participation of Gods power, of thoſe of whom God ſaies, Ego dixi, dii eſt is, and God anſwers for them, and of them, and to them, You ſhall dye like men; Aske it of thoſe gods, who are gods by imputation, whom Creatures have created, whom Men have made gods, the gods of the Heathen, and do we not know, where all theſe gods dyed? Sometimes divers places diſpute, who hath their tombes; but do not they deny their godhead in confeſſing their tombes? doe they not all anſwer, that they cannot anſwer this text, Mi Gheber, Quis homo, What man, Quis deorum, What god of mans making hath not ſeen death? As Iuſtin martyr asks that queſtion, Why ſhould I pray to Apollo or Eſculapius for health, Qui apud Chironem medicinam didicerunt, when I know who taught them all that they knew? ſo why ſhould I looke for Immortality from ſuch or ſuch a god, whoſe grave I finde for a witneſſe, that he himſelfe is dead? Nay, carry this queſtion higher then ſo, from this Quis homo, to quid homo, what is there in the nature and eſſence of Man, free from death? The whole man is not, for the diſſolution of body and ſoule is death. The body is not; I ſhall as ſoone finde an immortall Roſe, an eternall Flower, as an immortall body. And for the Immortality of the Soule, It is ſafelier ſaid to be immortall, by preſervation, then immortall by nature; That God keepes it from dying, then, that it cannot dye. We magnifie God in an humble and faithfull acknowledgment of the immortality of our ſoules, but if we aske, quid homo, what is there in the nature of Man, that ſhould keepe him from death, even in that point, the queſtion is not eaſily anſwered.
It is every mans caſe then; every man dyes;Videbit. and though it may perchance be but a meere Hebraiſme to ſay, that every man ſhall ſee death, perchance it amounts to no more, but to that phraſe, Guſtare mortem, To taſte death, yet thus much may be implied in it too, That as every man muſt dye, ſo every man may ſee, that he muſt dye; as it cannot be avoided, ſo it may be underſtood. A beaſt dyes, but he does not ſee death; S. Baſil ſayes, he ſaw an Oxe weepe for the death of his yoke-fellow;Baſil orat. de Morte. but S. Baſil might miſtake the occaſion of that Oxes teares. Many men dye too, and yet doe not ſee death; The approaches of death amaze them, and ſtupifie them; they feele no colluctation with Powers, and Principalities, upon their death bed; that is true; they feele no terrors in their conſciences, no apprehenſions of Judgement, upon their death bed; that is true; and this we call going away like a Lambe. But the Lambe of God had a ſorrowfull ſenſe of death; His ſoule was heavy unto death, and he had an apprehenſion, that his Father had forſaken him; And in this text, the Chalde Paraphraſe expreſſes it thus, Videbit Angelum mortis, he ſhall ſee a Meſſenger, a forerunner, a power of Death, an executioner of Death, he ſhall ſee ſomething with horror, though not ſuch as ſhall ſhake his morall, or his Chriſtian conſtancy.
So that this Videbunt, They ſhall ſee, implies alſo a Viderunt, they have ſeene, that is, they have uſed to ſee death, to obſerve a death in the decay of themſelves, and of every creature, and of the whole World. Almoſt fourteene hundred yeares agoe,Cyprian ad Demetrianum. S. Cyprian writing againſt Demetrianus, who imputed all the warres, and deaths, and unſeaſonableneſſes of that time, to the contempt, and irreligion of the Chriſtians, that they were the cauſe of all thoſe ils, becauſe they would not worſhip their Gods, Cyprian imputes all thoſe diſtempers to the age of the whole World; Canos videmus in pueris, ſaies hee, Wee ſee Children borne gray-headed; Capilli deficiunt, antequam creſcant, Their haire is changed, before it be growne. Nec aetas in ſenectute deſinit, ſed incipit aſenectute, Wee doe not dye with age, but wee are borne old. Many of us have ſeene Death in our particular ſelves; in many of thoſe ſteps, in which the morall Man expreſſes it;Seneca. Wee have ſeene Mortem infantiae, pueritiam, The death of infancy in youth; and Pueritiae, adoleſcentiam, and the death of youth in our middle age; And at laſt we ſhall ſee Mortem ſenectutis, mortem ipſam, the death of age in death it ſelfe. But yet after that, a ſtep farther then that Morall man went, Mortem mortis in morte Ieſu, We ſhall ſee the death of Death it ſelf in the death of Chriſt. As we could not be cloathed at firſt, in Paradiſe, till ſome Creatures were dead, (for we were cloathed in beaſts skins) ſo we cannot be cloathed in Heaven, but in his garment who dyed for us.
This Videbunt, this future ſight of Death implies a viderunt, they have ſeene, they have ſtudied Death in every Booke, in every Creature; and it implies a Vident, they doe preſently ſee death in every object, They ſee the houre-glaſſe running to the death of the houre; They ſee the death of ſome prophane thoughts in themſelves, by the entrance of ſome Religious thought of compunction, and converſion to God; and then they ſee the death of that Religious thought, by an inundation of new prophane thoughts, that overflow thoſe. As Chriſt ſayes, that as often as wee eate the Sacramentall Bread, we ſhould remember his Death, ſo as often, as we eate ordinary bread, we may remember our death;Bern. Aug. for even hunger and thirſt, are diſeaſes; they are Mors quotidiana, a daily death, and if they laſted long, would kill us. In every object and ſubject, we all have, and doe, and ſhall ſee death; not to our comfort as an end of miſery, not onelyonly as ſuch a miſery in it ſelfe, as the Philoſopher takes it to be, Mors omnium miſeriarum, That Death is the death of all miſerie, becauſe it deſtroyes and diſſolves our beeing;Prov. 16.14. but as it is Stipendium peccati, The reward of ſin; That as Solomon ſayes, Indignatio Regis nuncius mortis, The wrath of the King, is as a meſſenger of Death, ſo Mors nuncius indignationis Regis, We ſee in Death a teſtimony, that our Heavenly King is angry; for, but for his indignation againſt our ſinnes, we ſhould not dye. And this death, as it is Malum, ill, (for if ye weigh it in the Philoſophers balance; it is an annihilation of our preſent beeing, and if ye weigh it in the Divine Balance, it is a ſeale of Gods anger againſt ſin) ſo this death is generall; of this, this queſtion there is no anſwer, Quis homo, What man, &c.
We paſſe then from the Morte moriemini, 2 Part.to the fortè moriemini, from the generality and the uneſcapableneſſe of death, from this queſtion, as it admits no anſwer, to the Fortè moriemini, perchance we ſhall dye; that is, to the queſtion as it may admit a probable anſwer. Of which, we ſaid at firſt, that in ſuch queſtions, nothing becomes a Chriſtian better then ſobriety; to make a true difference betweene problematicall, and dogmaticall points, betweene upper buildings, and foundations, betweene collaterall doctrines, and Doctrines in the right line:Aug. for fundamentall things, Sine haeſitatione credantur, They muſt be beleeved without diſputing; there is no more to be done for them, but beleeving; for things that are not ſo, we are to weigh them in two balances, in the balance of Analogy, and in the balance of ſcandall: we muſt hold them ſo, as may be analogall, proportionable, agreeable to the Articles of our Faith, and we muſt hold them ſo, as our brother be not juſtly offended, nor ſcandalized by them; wee muſt weigh them with faith, for our own ſtrength, and we muſt weigh them with charity, for others weakneſſe. Certainly nothing endangers a Church more, then to draw indifferent things to be neceſſary; I meane of a primary neceſſity, of a neceſſity to be beleeved De fide, not a ſecondary neceſſity, a neceſſity to be performed and practiſed for obedience: Without doubt, the Roman Church repents now, and ſees now that ſhe ſhould better have preſerved her ſelfe, if they had not denied ſo many particular things, which were indifferently and problematically diſputed before, to bee had neceſſarily De fide, in the Councell of Trent.
Taking then this Text for a probleme, Quis homo, What man lives, and ſhall not ſee Death? we anſwer, It may be that thoſe Men, whom Chriſt ſhal find upon the earth alive, at his returne to Judge the World, ſhall dye then, and it may be they ſhall but be changed, and not dye. That Chriſt ſhall judge quick and dead, is a fundamentall thing; we heare it in S. Peters Sermon,Acts 10.42. to Cornelius and his company, and we ſay it every day in the Creed, Hee ſhall judge the quick and the dead. But though we doe not take the quick and the dead,Auguſt. Chryſ. as Auguſtine and Chryſoſtome doe, for the Righteous which lived in faith, and the unrighteous, which were dead in ſinne, Though wee doe not take the quick and the dead, as Ruffinus and others doe, for the ſoule and the body, (He ſhall judge the ſoule, which was alwaies alive, and he ſhall the body, which was dead for a time) though we take the words (as becomes us beſt) literally, yet the letter does not conclude, but that they, whom Chriſt ſhall finde alive upon earth, ſhall have a preſent and ſudden diſſolution, and a preſent and ſudden re-union of body and ſoul again. Saint Paul ſayes, Behold I ſhew you a myſtery; Therefore it is not a cleare caſe, and preſently,1 Cor. 15.51. and peremptorily determined; but what is it? We ſhall not all ſleep, but we ſhall all be changed. But whether this ſleeping be ſpoke of death it ſelf, and exclude that, that we ſhall not die, or whether this ſleep be ſpoke of a reſt in the grave, and exclude that, we ſhall not be buried, and remain in death, that may be a myſtery ſtill. S. Paul ſayes too,1 Theſ. 4.17. The dead in Chriſt ſhall riſe firſt; Then we which are alive, and remain, ſhall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the ayre. But whether that may not ſtill be true, that S. Auguſtine ſayes, that there ſhall be Mors in raptu, Auguſt.An inſtant and ſudden diſ-union, and re-union of body and ſoul, which is death, who can tell? So on the other ſide, when it is ſaid to him, in whom all we were, to Adam, Pulvis es, Duſt thou art, Gen. 3.19. 1 Cor. 15.22. Rom. 5.12.and into duſt thou ſhalt return, when it is ſaid, In Adam all die, when it is ſaid, Death paſſed upon all men, for all have ſinned, Why may not all thoſe ſentences of Scripture, which imply a neceſſity of dying, admit that reſtriction, Niſi dies judicii natur ae curſum immutet, Pet. Mar.We ſhall all die, except thoſe, in whom the comming of Chriſt ſhall change the courſe of Nature.
Conſider the Scriptures then, and we ſhall be abſolutely concluded neither way; Conſider Authority, and we ſhall finde the Fatherrs for the moſt part one way, and the Schoole for the moſt part another; Take later men, and all thoſe in the Romane Church; Then Cajetan thinks, that they ſhall not die, and Catharin is ſo peremptory,Cajetan. Catharinus. that they ſhall, as that he ſayes of the other opinion, Falſam eſſe confidenter aſſerimus, & contra Scripturas ſat is manifeſtas, & omnino ſine ratione; It is falſe, and againſt Scriptures, and reaſon, ſaith he; Take later men, and all thoſe in the reformed Church;Calvin. and Calvin ſayes, Quia aboletur prior natura, cenſetur ſpecies mortis, ſed non migrabit anima à corpore: S. Paul calls it death, becauſe it is a deſtruction of the former Beeing; but it is not truly death, ſaith Calvin; and Luther ſaith,Luther. That S. Pauls purpoſe in that place is only to ſhew the ſuddenneſſe of Chriſts comming to Judgement, Non autem inficiatur omnes morituros; nam dormire, eſt ſepeliri: But S. Paul doth not deny, but that all ſhall die; for that ſleeping which he ſpeaks of, is buriall; and all ſhall die, though all ſhall not be buried, ſaith Luther.
Take then that which is certain; It is certain, a judgement thou muſt paſſe: If thy cloſe and cautelous proceeding have ſaved thee from all informations in the Exchequer, thy clearneſſe of thy title from all Courts at Common Law, thy moderation from the Chancery, and Star-Chamber, If heighth of thy place, and Authority, have ſaved thee, even from the tongues of men, ſo that ill men dare not ſlander thy actions, nor good men dare not diſcover thy actions, no not to thy ſelf, All thoſe judgements, and all the judgements of the world, are but interlocutory judgements; There is a finall judgement, In judicantes & judicatos, againſt Priſoners and Judges too, where all ſhalbe judged again; Datum eſt omne judicium, All judgement is given to the Son of man,John 5. and upon all the ſons of men muſt his judgement paſſe. A judgement is certain, and the uncertainty of this judgement is certain too; perchance God will put off thy judgement; thou ſhalt not die yet; but who knows whether God in his mercy, do put off this judgement, till theſe good motions which his bleſſed Spirit inſpires into thee now, may take roote, and receive growth, and bring forth fruit, or whether he put it off, for a heavier judgement, to let thee ſee, by thy departing from theſe good motions, and returning to thy former ſins, after a remorſe conceived againſt thoſe ſins, that thou art inexcuſable even to thy ſelf, and thy condemnation is juſt, even to thine own conſcience. So perchance God will bring this judgement upon thee now; now thou maiſt die; but whether God will bring that judgement upon thee now, in mercy, whileſt his Graces, in his Ordinance of preaching, work ſome tenderneſſe in thee, and gives thee ſome preparation, ſome fitneſſe, ſome courage to ſay, Veni Domine Ieſu, Come Lord Ieſu, come quickly, come now, or whether he will come now in judgement, becauſe all this can work no tenderneſſe in thee, who can tell?
Thou heareſt the word of God preached, as thou heareſt an Oration, with ſome gladneſſe in thy ſelf, if thou canſt heare him, and never be moved by his Oratory; thou thinkeſt it a degree of wiſdome, to be above perſwaſion; and when thou art told, that he that feares God, feares nothing elſe, thou thinkeſt thy ſelf more valiant then ſo, if thou feare not God neither; Whether or why God defers, or haſtens the judgement, we know not; This is certain, this all S. Pauls places collineate to, this all the Fathers, and all the Schoole, all the Cajetans, and all the Catharins, all the Luthers, and all the Calvins agree in, A judgement muſt be, and it muſt be In ictu oculi, In the twinkling of an eye, and Fur in nocte, A thiefe in the night. Make the queſtion, Quis homo? What man is he that liveth, and ſhall not paſſe this judgement? or, what man is he that liveth, and knowes when this judgement ſhall be? So it is a Nemo ſcit, A queſtion without an anſwer; but ask it, as in the text, Quis homo? Who liveth, and ſhall not die? ſo it is a problematicall matter; and in ſuch things as are problematicall, if thou love the peace of Sion, be not too inquiſitive to know, nor too vehement, when thou thinkeſt thou doeſt know it.
Come then to ask this queſtion,3. Part. not problematically, (as it is contracted to them that ſhall live in the laſt dayes) nor peremptorily of man, (as he is ſubject to originall ſin) but at large, ſo, as the queſtion may include Chriſt himſelf, and then to that Quis homo? What man is he? We anſwer directly, here is the man that ſhall not ſee death; And of him principally,Auguſt. and literally, S. Auguſtine (as we ſaid before) takes this queſtion to be framed; Vt quaeras, dictum, non ut deſperes, ſaith he, this queſtion is moved, to move thee to ſeek out, and to have thy recourſe to that man which is the Lord of Life, not to make thee deſpaire, that there is no ſuch man, in whoſe ſelf, and in whom, for all us, there is Redemption from death: For, ſayes he, this queſtion is an exception to that which was ſaid before the text; which is, Wherefore haſt thou made all men in vain? Conſider it better, ſayes the Holy Ghoſt, here, and it will not prove ſo; Man is not made in vain at firſt, though he do die now; for, Perditio tua ex te, This death proceeds from man himſelf; and Quare moriemini domus Iſrael? Why will ye die, ô houſe of Iſrael? God made not death,…ap. 1.13. neither hath he pleaſure in the deſtruction of the living; The Wiſe man ſayes it, and the true God ſweares it, As I live ſaith the Lord, I would not the death of a ſinner. God did not create man in vain then, though he die; not in vain, for ſince he will needs die, God receives glory even by his death, in the execution of his juſtice; not in vaine neither, becauſe though he be dead, God hath provided him a Redeemer from death, in his mercy; Man is not created in vain at all; nor all men, ſo neare vanity as to die; for here is one man, God and Man Chriſt Jeſus, which liveth, and ſhall not ſee death. And conformable to S. Auguſtines purpoſe,… ſpeakes S. Hierome too, Scio quòd nullus homo carneus evadet, ſed novi Deum ſub velamento carnis latentem; I know there is no man but ſhall die; but I know where there is a God clothed in mans fleſh, and that perſon cannot die.
But did not Chriſt die then? Shall we joyne with any of thoſe Heretiques, which brought Chriſt upon the ſtage to play a part, and ſay he was born, or lived, or dyed, In phantaſmate, In apparance only, and repreſentation; God forbid; ſo all men were created in vain indeed, if we had not a regeneration in his true death. Where is the contract between him, and his Father, that Oportuit pati, All this Chriſt ought to ſuffer, and ſo enter into glory: Is that contract void, and of none effect? Muſt he not die? Where is the ratification of that contract in all the Prophets?… 53.4.9. Where is Eſays Verè languores noſtros tulit, Surely he hath born our ſorrows; and, he made his grave with the wicked in his death; Is the ratification of the Prophets cancelled? Shall he not, muſt he not die? Where is the conſummation, and the teſtification of all this? Where is the Goſpell, Conſummatum eſt? And he bowed his head, and gave up the ghoſt? Is that fabulous? Did he not die? How ſtands the validity of that contract, Chriſt muſt die; the dignity of thoſe Prophecies, Chriſt will die; the truth of the Goſpell, Chriſt did die, with this anſwer to this queſtion, Here is a man that liveth and ſhall not ſee death? Very well; For though Chriſt Jeſus did truly die, ſo as was contracted, ſo as was prophecied, ſo as was related, yet hee did not die ſo, as was intended in this queſtion, ſo as other naturall men do die.
For firſt, Chriſt dyed becauſe he would dye; other men admitted to the dignity of Martyrdome, are willing to dye; but they dye by the torments of the Executioners, they cannot bid their ſoules goe out, and ſay, now I will dye. And this was Chriſts caſe:… 10.15. It was not only, I lay down my life for my ſheep, but he ſayes alſo, No man can take away my ſoule; And, I have power to lay it down; And De facto, he did lay it down, he did dye, before the torments could have extorted his ſoule from him; Many crucified men lived many dayes upon the Croſſe; The thieves were alive, long after Chriſt was dead; and therefore Pilate wondred, that he was already dead. His ſoule did not leave his body by force,… but becauſe he would, and when he would, and how he would; Thus far then firſt, this is an anſwer to this queſtion, Quis homo? Chriſt did not die naturally, nor violently, as all others doe, but only voluntarily.
Again, the penalty of death appertaining only to them, who were derived from Adam by carnall, and ſinfull generation, Chriſt Jeſus being conceived miraculouſly of a Virgin, by the over-ſhadowing of the Holy Ghoſt, was not ſubject to the Law of death; and therefore in his perſon, it is a true anſwer to this Quis homo? Here is a man, that ſhall not ſee death, that is, he need not ſee death, he hath not incurred Gods diſpleaſure, he is not involved in a general rebellion, and therfore is not involved in the generall mortality, not included in the generall penalty. He needed not have dyed by the rigour of any Law, all we muſt; he could not dye by the malice, or force of any Executioner, all we muſt; at leaſt by natures generall Executioners, Age, and Sickneſſe; And then, when out of his own pleaſure, and to advance our ſalvation, he would dye, yet he dyed ſo, as that though there were a diſ-union of body and ſoule, (which is truly death) yet there remained a Nobler, and faſter union, then that of body and ſoule, the Hypoſtaticall Union of the God-head, not onelyonly to his ſoule, but to his body too; ſo that even in his death, both parts were ſtill, not onelyonly inhabited by, but united to the Godhead it ſelfe; and in reſpect of that inſeparable Union, we may anſwer to this queſtion, Quis homo? Here is a man that ſhall not ſee death, that is, he ſhall ſee no ſeparation of that, which is incomparably, and incomprehenſibly, a better ſoul then his ſoule, the God-head ſhall not be ſeparated from his body.
But, that which is indeed the moſt direct, and literall anſwer, to this queſtion, is, That whereas the death in this Text, is intended of ſuch a death, as hath Dominion over us, and from which we have no power to raiſe our ſelves, we may truly, and fully anſwer to his Quis homo? here is a man, that ſhall never ſee death ſo, but that he ſhall even in the jawes, and teeth of death, and in the bowels and wombe of the grave, and in the ſink, and furnace of hell it ſelfe, retaine an Almighty power, and an effectuall purpoſe, to deliver his ſoule from death, by a glorious, a victorious, and a Triumphant Reſurrection: So it is true, Chriſt Joſus dyed, elſe none of us could live; but yet hee dyed not ſo, as is intended in this queſtion; Not by the neceſſity of any Law, not by the violence of any Executioner, not by the ſeparation of his beſt ſoule, (if we may ſo call it) the God-head, nor by ſuch a ſeparation of his naturall, and humane ſoule, as that he would not, or could not, or did not reſume it againe.
If then this queſtion had beene asked of Angels at firſt, Quis Angelus? what Angel is that, that ſtands, and ſhall not fall? though as many of thoſe Angels, as were diſpoſed to that anſwer, Erimus ſimiles Altiſsimo, We will be like God, and ſtand of our ſelves, without any dependance upon him, did fall, yet otherwiſe they might have anſwered the queſtion fairly, All we may ſtand, if we will; If this queſtion had been asked of Adam in Paradiſe, Quis homo? though when he harkned to her, who had harkned to that voyce, Erit is ſicut Dii, You ſhall be as Gods, he fell too, yet otherwiſe, he might have anſwered the queſtion fairly ſo, I may live, and not dye, if I will; ſo, if this queſtion be asked of us now, as the queſtion implies the generall penalty, as it conſiders us onelyonly as the ſons of Adam, we have no other anſwer, but that by Adam ſin entred upon all, and death by ſin upon all; as it implies the ſtate of them onelyonly, whom Chriſt at his ſecond comming ſhall finde upon earth, wee have no other anſwer but a modeſt, non liquet, we are not ſure, whether we ſhall dye then, or no; wee are onelyonly ſure, it ſhall be ſo, as moſt conduces to our good, and Gods glory; but as the queſtion implies us to be members of our Head, Chriſt Jeſus, as it was a true anſwer in him, it is true in every one of us, adopted in him, Here is a man that liveth, and ſhall not ſee death.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, ſayes Solomon, in another ſenſe;Prov. 18.21. and in this ſenſe too, If my tongue, ſuggeſted by my heart, and by my heart rooted in faith, can ſay, Non moriar, non moriar; If I can ſay, (and my conſcience doe not tell me, that I belye mine owne ſtate) if I can ſay, That the blood of my Saviour runs in my veines, That the breath of his Spirit quickens all my purpoſes, that all my deaths have their Reſurrection, all my ſins their remorſes, all my rebellions their reconciliations, I will harken no more after this queſtion, as it is intended de morte naturali, of a naturall death, I know I muſt die that death, what care I? nor de morte ſpirituali, the death of ſin, I know I doe, and ſhall die ſo; why deſpaire I? but I will finde out another death, mortem raptus, 2 Cor. 12.a death of rapture,Acts 9. Greg. and of extaſie, that death which S. Paul died more then once, The death which S. Gregory ſpeaks of, Divina contemplatio quoddam ſepulchrum animae, The contemplation of God, and heaven, is a kinde of buriall, and Sepulchre, and reſt of the ſoule; and in this death of rapture, and extaſie, in this death of the Contemplation of my intereſt in my Saviour, I ſhall finde my ſelf, and all my ſins enterred, and entombed in his wounds, and like a Lily in Paradiſe, out of red earth, I ſhall ſee my ſoule riſe out of his blade, in a candor, and in an innocence, contracted there, acceptable in the ſight of his Father.
Though I have been dead,1 Tim. 5.6. in the delight of ſin, ſo that that of S. Paul, That a Widow that liveth in pleaſure, is dead while ſhe liveth, be true of my ſoule, that ſo, viduatur, gratiâ mortuâ, when Chriſt is dead, not for the ſoule, but in the ſoule, that the ſoule hath no ſenſe of Chriſt, Viduatur anima, the ſoul is a Widow, and no Dowager, ſhe hath loſt her husband, and hath nothing from him;Eſay 28.15. yea though I have made a Covenant with death, and have been at an agreement with hell, and in a vain confidence have ſaid to my ſelf, that when the overflowing ſcourge ſhall paſſe through, it ſhall not come to me, yet God ſhall annull that covenant, he ſhall bring that ſcourge, that is, ſome medicinall correction upon me, and ſo give me a participation of all the ſtripes of his ſon; he ſhall give me a ſweat, that is, ſome horrour, and religious feare, and ſo give me a participation of his Agony; he ſhall give me a diet, perchance want, and penury, and ſo a participation of his faſting; and if he draw blood, if he kill me, all this ſhall be but Mors raptus, a death of rapture towards him, into a heavenly, and aſſured Contemplation, that I have a part in all his paſſion, yea ſuch an intire intereſt in his whole paſſion, as though all that he did, or ſuffered, had been done, and ſuffered for my ſoul alone;2 Cor. 6.9. Quaſi moriens, & ecce vivo: ſome ſhew of death I ſhall have, for I ſhall ſin; and ſome ſhew of death again, for I ſhall have a diſſolution of this Tabernacle; Sed ecce vivo, ſtill the Lord of life will keep me alive, and that with an Ecce, Behold, I live; that is, he will declare, and manifeſt my bleſſed ſtate to me; I ſhall not ſit in the ſhadow of death; no nor I ſhall not ſit in darkneſſe; his gracious purpoſe ſhall evermore be upon me, and I ſhall ever diſcerne that gracious purpoſe of his; I ſhall not die, nor I ſhall not doubt that I ſhall; If I be dead within doores, (If I have ſinned in my heart) why, Suſcitavit in domo, Mar. 9.23.Chriſt gave a Reſurrection to the Rulers daughter within doores, in the houſe; If I be dead in the gate, (If I have ſinned in the gates of my ſoule) in mine Eies,Luke 7.11. or Eares, or Hands, in actuall ſins, why, Suſcitavit in porta, Chriſt gave a Reſurrection to the young man at the gate of Naim. If I be dead in the grave, (in cuſtomary, and habituall ſins) why,John 11. Suſcitavit in Sepulchro, Chriſt gave a Reſurrection to Lazarus in the grave too. If God give me mortem raptus, a death of rapture, of extaſie, of fervent Contemplation of Chriſt Jeſus, a Transfuſion, a Tranſplantation, a Tranſmigration, a Tranſmutation into him, (for good digeſtion brings alwaies aſſimilation, certainly, if I come to a true meditation upon Chriſt, I come to a conformity with Chriſt) this is principally that Pretioſa mors Sanctorum, Pſal. 116.15.Pretious in the ſight of the Lord, is the death of his Saints, by which they are dead and buryed, and riſen again in Chriſt Jeſus: pretious is that death, by which we apply that pretious blood to our ſelves, and grow ſtrong enough by it, to meet Davids queſtion, Quis homo? what man? with Chriſts anſwer, Ego homo, I am the man, in whom whoſoever abideth, ſhall not ſee death.