Eighty Sermons, Whitsunday · Sermon 33
SERM. XXXIII. Preached upon Whitſunday.
ACTS 10.44.
While Peter yet ſpake theſe words, the Holy Ghoſt fell on all them, which heard the word. Part of the ſecond Leſſon of that day.
THat which ſerved for an argument amongſt the Jews, to diminiſh, and under-value Chriſt, Have any of the Rulers beleeved in him? John 7.48.had no force amongſt the Gentiles, for amongſt them, the firſt perſons that are recorded to have applied themſelves to the profeſſion of the Chriſtian Religion, were Rulers, Perſons of place, and quality: Sunè propter hoc Dignitates poſitae ſunt, ut major pietas oſtendatur, ſayes S. Chryſoſtome, This is the true reaſon why men are Ennobled, why men are raiſed, why men are inriched, that they might glorifie God the more, by that eminency; This is truly to be a good Student, Scrutari Scripturas, To ſearch the Scriptures, in which is eternall life: This is truly to be called to the Barre, to be Crucified with Chriſt Jeſus: And to be called to the Bench, to have part in his Reſurrection, and raigne in glory with him: and to be a Judge, to judge thy ſelfe, that thou beeſt not judged to condemnation, by Chriſt Jeſus: Offices and Titles, and Dignities, make thee, in the eye, and tongue of the world, a better man; be truly a better man, between God and thee, for them, and they are well placed. Thoſe Pyramides and Obeliſces, which were raiſed up on high, in the Aire, but ſupported nothing, were vaine teſtimonies of the frivolouſneſſe, and impertinency of thoſe men that raiſed them; But when we ſee Pillars ſtand, we preſume that ſomething is to be placed upon them. They, who by their rank and place, are pillars of the State, and pillars of the Church, if Chriſt and his glory be not raiſed higher by them, then by other men, put Gods building moſt out of frame, and moſt diſcompoſe Gods purpoſes, of any others. And therefore S. Chryſoſtome hath noted uſefully, That the firſt of the Gentiles, which was converted to Chriſtianity, was that Eunuch,Acts 8.27. which was Treaſurer to the Queen of Aethiopia; And the ſecond was this Centurion, in whoſe houſe S. Peter preached this fruitfull Sermon, at which, While Peter yet ſpake theſe words, the Holy Ghoſt fell upon all them that heard the word.
Our Parts will be two; firſt ſome Circumſtances that preceded this act,Diviſio. this miraculous deſcent and infuſion of the Holy Ghoſt, And then the Act, the Deſcent it ſelfe. In the firſt, we ſhall conſider firſt, the time, it was when Peter was ſpeaking, when Gods Ordinance was then in executing, preaching; And ſecondly, what made way to this deſcent of the Holy Ghoſt, that is, what Peter was ſpeaking, and preaching, Theſe words, true and neceſſary Doctrine; And here alſo we ſhall touch a little, the place, and the Auditory, Cornelius, and his family. When from hence we ſhall deſcend to the ſecond Part, The deſcent of the Holy Ghoſt, we ſhall looke firſt, (ſo as it may become us) upon the Perſon, (the third Perſon in the holy, bleſſed, and glotions Trinity) And then upon his action, as it is expreſſed here, Cecidit, He fell; As of Chriſt it is ſaid, Deliciae ejus cum filiis hominum, His delight is to be with the ſons of men, And, (to ſpeak humanely, a perverſe delight, for it was to be with the worſt men, with Publicans & ſinners) ſo, (to ſpeak humanely) the Holy Ghoſt had an extraordinary, a perverſe ambition, to goe downewards, to inlarge himſelfe, in his working, by falling; He fell: And then, he fell ſo, as a ſhowre of rain falls, that does not lie in thoſe round drops in which it falls, but diffuſes, and ſpreads and inlarges it ſelfe, He fell upon all; But then, it was becauſe all heard, They came not to ſee a new action, preaching, not a new Preacher, Peter, nor to ſee one another at a Sermon, He fell upon all that heard; where alſo, I think, it will not be impertinent, to make this note, That Peter is ſaid to have ſpoke theſe words, but they, on whom the holy Ghoſt fell, are ſaid to have heard The word; It is not Many words, long Sermons, nor good words, witty and eloquent Sermons that induce the holy Ghoſt, for all theſe are words of men; and howſoever the whole Sermon is the Ordinance of God, the whole Sermon is not the word of God: But when all the good gifts of men are modeſtly employ'd, and humbly received, as vehicuia Spiritus, as S. Auguſtine calls them, The chariots of the holy Ghoſt, as meanes afforded by God, to convey the word of life into us, in Thoſe words we heare The word, and there the word and the Spirit goe together, as in our caſe in the Text, While Peter yet ſpake thoſe words, the holy Ghoſt fell upon all them that heard The word.1 Part. Tempus.
When we come then to conſider in the firſt place, the Time of this miracle, we may eaſily ſee that verified in S. Peters proceeding, which S. Ambroſe ſayes, Neſcit tarda molimina Spiritus ſancti gratia, The holy Ghoſt cannot goe a ſlow pace; It is the devill in the ſerpent that creeps, but the holy Ghoſt in the Dove flyes: And then, in the proceeding with the Centurion, we may ſee that verified which Leo ſayes, Vbi Deus Magiſter, quàm citò diſcitur? Where God teaches, how faſt a godly man learnes? Chriſt did almoſt all his miracles in an inſtant, without dilatory circumſtances; Chriſt ſayes to the man ſick of the palſey,Mark 2.11. Tolle grabatum, Take up thy bed and walk, and immediately he did ſo: To the deafe man he ſayes,Mark 7.34. Ephphatha, Be thine eares opened, and inſtantly they were opened: He ſayes to the woman with the iſſue of bloud,Mark 5.34. Eſto ſana à plagatua, and ſhe was not onelyonly well immediately upon that, but ſhe was well before, when ſhe had but touched the hem of his garment. Upon him who had lyen in his infirmity thirty eight yeares, at the poole, Chriſt makes a little ſtop; but it was no longer then to try his diſpoſition with that queſtion,John 5.5. Mark 8. Vis ſanus fieri? Chriſt was ſure what his anſwer would be; and as ſoone as he gives that anſwer, immediately he recovered. Where Chriſt ſeems to have ſtayed longeſt, which was upon the blind man, yet at his firſt touch, that man ſaw men walke, though not diſtinctly, but at the ſecond touch he ſaw perfectly. As Chriſt proceeds in his miracles,Chryſoſt. ſo doth the holy Ghoſt in his powerfull inſtructions. It is true, Scientiae ſunt profectus, There is a growth in knowledge, and we overcome ignorances by degrees, and by ſucceſſion of more and more light: Chriſt himſelfe grew in knowledge, as well as in ſtature: But this is in the way of experimentall knowledge, by ſtudy, by converſation, by other acquiſitions. But when the holy Ghoſt takes a man into his ſchoole, he deales not with him, as a Painter, which makes an eye, and an eare, and a lip, and paſſes his pencill an hundred times over every muſcle, and every haire, and ſo in many ſittings makes up one man, but he deales as a Printer, that in one ſtraine delivers a whole ſtory.
We ſee that in this example of S. Peter, S. Peter had conceived a doubt, whether it were lawfull for him to preach the Goſpell to any of the Gentiles, becauſe they were not within the Covenant; This was the ſanus fieri, This very ſcruple was the voyce and queſtion of God in him: to come to a doubt, and to a debatement in any religious duty, is the voyce of God in our conſcience: Would you know the truth? Doubt, and then you will inquire: And facile ſolutionem accipit anima, quae prius dubitavit, ſayes S. Chryſoſt. As no man reſolves of any thing wiſely, firmely, ſafely, of which he never doubted, never debated, ſo neither doth God withdraw a reſolution from any man, that doubts with an humble purpoſe to ſettle his owne faith, and not with a wrangling purpoſe to ſhake another mans.Ver. 11. God rectifies Peters doubt immediately, and he rectifies it fully; he preſents him a Book, and a Commentary, the Text, and the Expoſition: He lets downe a ſheet from heaven with all kinde of beaſts and fowles, and tels him, that Nothing is uncleane, and he tells him by the ſame ſpirit,Ver. 19. that there were three men below to aske for him, who were ſent by God to apply that viſible Parable, and that God meant, in ſaying Nothing was uncleane, that the Gentiles generally, and in particular, this Centurion Cornelius, were not incapable of the Goſpell, nor unfit for his Miniſtery. And though Peter had beene very hungry; and would faine have eaten, as appeares in the tenth verſe, yet after he received this inſtruction, we heare no more mention of his deſire to eat; but, as his Maſter had ſaid, Cibus meus eſt, My meat is to doe my Fathers will that ſent me, ſo his meat was to doe him good that ſent for him, and ſo he made haſte to goe with thoſe Meſſengers.
The time then was,Cum locutus when Peter thus prepared by the Holy Ghoſt, was to prepare others for the Holy Ghoſt, and therefore it was, Cum locutus, When he ſpoke, that is, preached to them. For, Si adſit palatum fidei, cui ſapiat mel Dei, ſaies S. Auguſtine, To him who hath a ſpirituall taſte, no hony is ſo ſweet, as the word of God preached according to his Ordinance. If a man taſte a little of this honey at his rods end, as Ionathan did,1 Sam. 14.27. though he thinke his eyes enlightned, as Ionathan did, he may be in Ionathans caſe, I did but taſte a little honey with my rod, Et ecce, morior, and behold, I dye. If a man read the Scriptures a little, ſuperficially, perfunctorily, his eyes ſeeme ſtraight-waies enlightned, and he thinks he ſees every thing that he had pre-conceived, and fore-imagined in himſelfe, as cleare as the Sun, in the Scriptures: He can finde fleſh in the Sacrament, without bread, becauſe he findes Hoc eſt Corpus meum, This is my Body, and he will take no more of that hony, no more of thoſe places of Scripture, where Chriſt ſaies, Ego vitis, and Ego porta, that he is a Vine, and that he is a Gate, as literally as he ſeemes to ſay, that that is his Body. So alſo he can finde wormewood in this honey, becauſe he finds in this Scripture, Stipendium peccati mors eſt, that The reward of ſin is death, and he will take no more of that hony, not the Quandocunque, That at what time ſoever a ſinner repents, he ſhall have mercy. As the Eſſentiall word of God, the Son of God, is Light of light, So the written Word of God is light of light too, one place of Scripture takes light of another: and if thou wilt read ſo, and heare ſo, as thine owne affections tranſport, and miſ-lead thee; If when a corrupt confidence in thine owne ſtrength poſſeſſes thee, thou read onelyonly thoſe paſſages, Quare moriemini, domus Iſrael? Why will ye dye, O houſe of Iſrael? and conclude out of that, that thou haſt ſuch a free will of thine owne, as that thou canſt give life to thy ſelfe, when thou wilt; If when a vicious dejection of ſpirit, and a helliſh melancholy, and declination towards deſperation poſſeſſes thee, thou read only thoſe paſſages, Impoſsibile eſt, That it is impoſsible, that he that fals, after he hath beene enlightned, ſhould be renewed againe; And if thou heare Sermons ſo, as that thou art glad, when thoſe ſins are declamed againſt, which thou art free from, but wouldſt heare no more, wouldſt not have thine owne ſin touched upon, though all reading, and all hearing be honey, yet if thou take ſo little of this honey, Ionathans caſe will be thy caſe, Ecce, morieris, thou wilt dye of that hony; for the Scriptures are made to agree with one another, but not to agree to thy particular taſt and humour.
But yet, the counſell is good, on the other ſide too, Haſt thou found honey? Prov. 25.16.eate ſo much thereof as is ſufficient for thee, leſt thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. Content thy ſelfe with reading thoſe parts of Scriptures, which are cleare, and edifie, and perplex not thy ſelfe with Propheſies not yet performed; and content thy ſelfe with hearing thoſe Sermons, which rectifie thee In credendis, and Inagendis, in all thoſe things, which thou art bound to beleeve, and bound to practiſe, and run not after thoſe Men, who pretend to know thoſe things, which God hath not revealed to his Church. Too little, or too much of this honey, of this reading, and of this hearing, may be unwholeſome: God hath choſen waies of mediocrity; He Redeemed us not, by God alone, nor by man alone, but by him, who was both. He inſtructs us not, by the Holy Ghoſt alone, without the Miniſtery of man, nor by the Miniſter alone, without the aſſiſtance of the Holy Ghoſt. An Angel appeared to Cornelius, but that Angel bid him ſend for Peter: The Holy Ghoſt viſits us, and diſpoſes us, but yet the Holy Ghoſt ſends us to the Miniſtery of man: Non dedignatur docere per hominem, qui dignatus eſt eſſe homo, ſayes S. Auguſtine; He that came to us, as Man, is content that we go to men, for our inſtruction. Preaching is the ordinary meanes; that which S. Peter wrought upon them, was, Cum locutus, when he had, and becauſe he had preached unto them.
And it was alſo Dum locutus eſt, Whilſt he yet ſpake thoſe words; Dum locutus.Non permittit Spiritus abſolvi Sermonem, ſaies S. Chryſoſtome; The Holy Ghoſt did not leave them to future meditations, to future conferences, he did not ſtay till they told one another after the Sermon, That it was a learned Sermon, a conſciencious Sermon, a uſefull Sermon, but whilſt the Preacher yet ſpoke, the Holy Ghoſt ſpoke to their particular conſciences. And as a Gardiner takes every bough of a young tree, or of a Vine, and leads them, and places them againſt a wall, where they may have moſt advantage, and ſo produce, moſt, and beſt fruit: So the Holy Ghoſt leads and places the words, and ſentences of the Preacher, one upon an Uſurer, another upon an Adulterer, another upon an ambitious perſon, another upon an active or paſſive Briber, when the Preacher knowes of no Uſurer, no Adulterer, no ambitious perſon, no Briber active or paſſive, in the Congregation. Nay, it is not onelyonly whilſt he was yet ſpeaking, but, as S. Peter himſelfe reports the ſame Story, in the next Chapter,Ver. 15. As I began to ſpeake, the Holy Ghoſt fell upon them.
Perchance in the beginning of a Sermon, the reprehenſion of the Preacher fals not upon me, it is not come to me; But, when as the duties of the Preacher are expreſſed by the Apoſtle,2 Tim. 4.2. to be theſe three, To reprove, or convince by argument, to ſettle truths, to overthrow errors; And to exhort, to rectifie our manners; And to rebuke, to denounce Gods Judgements upon the refractary; whatſoever he ſayes the two firſt wayes, by Convincing, and by Exhorting, all that belongs to all, from the beginning; And for that which he ſhall ſay, the third way, by way of Rebuking, As I know at midnight, that the Sun will breake out upon me to morrow, though I know not how it works upon thoſe places, where it ſhines then, So, though I know not how the rebukes of the Preacher worke upon their conſciences, whoſe ſins he rebukes at the beginning; yet I muſt make account that he wil meet with my ſin too; & if he do not meet with my preſent ſin; that ſin which is my ſecond wife, that ſin which I have married now, (not after a divorce frō my former ſin, ſo, as that I have put away that ſin, but after the death of that ſin, which ſickneſs or poverty hath made me unable to continue in) yet if he bend himſelfe upon that ſin, which hath been my ſin, or may be my ſin, I muſt be ſenſible that the Holy Ghoſt hath offered himſelfe to me, whilſt he yet ſpeaks, and ever ſince he began to ſpeake; And, Cum locutus, Becauſe Preaching is the ordinary meanes, and, Dum locutus, Becauſe the Holy Ghoſt intends all for my edification, I muſt embrace and entertaine the Holy Ghoſt, who exhibits himſelfe to me, from the beginning, and not ſay, This concernes not me; for whatſoever the Preacher can ſay of Gods mercy in Chriſt Jeſus to any man, all that belongs to me, for no man hath received more of that, then I may doe; And whatſoever the Preacher can ſay of ſinne, all the way, all that belongs to me, for no man hath ever done any ſin, which I ſhould not have done, if God had left me to my ſelfe, and to mine own perverſneſſe towards ſin, and to mine own inſatiableneſſe in ſin.
It was then,Hac verba. when he preached, and whilſt he preached, and as ſoone as he preached, but when, and whilſt, and as ſoon as he preached Thus, thus as is expreſſed here, Whileſt hee ſpake theſe words: In which, we ſhall onelyonly touch, but not much inſiſt upon, his manner firſt, and then his matter; And for his manner, we conſider onelyonly here, his preparation,Ver. 29. and no other circumſtance. Though S. Peter ſay to them, when he came, I aske therefore, for what intent you have ſent for me, yet God had intimated to him before, That it was to Preach the Goſpell to the Gentiles; And therefore ſome time of meditation he had; Though in ſuch a perſon as S. Peter, ſo filled with all gifts neceſſary for his function, and to ſuch perſons as Cornelius was, who needed but Catechizing in the rudiments of the Goſpell, much preparation needed not. The caſe was often of the ſame ſort, after, in the Primitive Church; The perſons were very able, and the people very ignorant; and therefore it is eaſie to obſerve a far greater frequency of Preaching amongſt the Ancient Fathers, then ordinarily, men that love eaſe, will apprehend. We ſee evidently in S. Auguſtines hundred forty fourth Sermon De Tempore, And in S. Ambroſes forty fourth Sermon De ſancto Latrone, And in S. Bernards twelve Sermons upon one Pſalme, that all theſe bleſſed and Reverend Fathers, preached more then one day, divers dayes together, without intermiſſion: And we may ſee in S. Baſils ſecond Homilie upon the ſix dayes worke, that he preached in the after-noone; And ſo, by occaſion of his often preaching, it ſeemes by his ſecond Homilie De Baptiſmo, that he preached ſometimes extemporally. But of all this, the reaſon is as evident as the fact, The Preachers were able to ſay much, The people were capable but of little: And where it was not ſo, the Clergy often aſſiſted themſelves with one anothers labours; as S. Cyrils Sermons were ſtudied without book, and preached over againe to their ſeverall Congregations, by almoſt all the Biſhops of the Eaſterne Church. Sometimes we may ſee Texts extended to very many Sermons, and ſometimes Texts taken of that extent and largeneſſe, as onelyonly a paraphraſe upon the Text would make the Sermon; for we may ſee by S. Auguſtines tenth Sermon De verbis Apoſtoli, that they tooke ſometimes the Epiſtle and Goſpell of the day, and the Pſalme before the Sermon for their text.
But in theſe our times, when the curioſity, (allow it a better name, for truly, God be bleſſed for it, it deſerves a better name) when the capacity of the people requires matter of more labour, as there is not the ſame neceſſity, ſo there is not the ſame poſſibility of that aſſiduous, and that ſudden preaching. No man will think that we have abler Preachers then the Primitive Church had; no man will doubt, but that we have learneder, and more capable auditories, and congregations then their were. The Apoſtles were not negligent, when they mended their nets: A preacher is not negligent, if he prepare for another Sermon, after he hath made one; nor a hearer is not negligent, if he meditate upon one Sermon, though he heare not another within three houres after. S. Peters Sermon was not extemporall; neither if it had (his perſon, and the quality of the hearers, being compared with our times) had that been any precedent, or patterne for our times, to do the like. But yet, Beloved, ſince our times are ſuch, as are overtaken with another neceſſity, that our adverſaries dare come, Cum locutus eſt, As ſoon as the Preacher hath done, and meet the people comming out of the Church, and deride the Preacher, and offer an anſwer to any thing that hath been ſaid; ſince they are come to come to Church with us, and Dum locutus eſt, Then when the Preacher is ſpeaking, to ſay to him, that ſits next him, That is falſe, that is heretical; ſince they are come to joyn with us at the Communion, ſo that it is hard to finde out the Iudas, and if you do finde him, he dares anſwer, Your Miniſter is no Prieſt, and ſo your Bread and Wine no Sacrament, and therefore I care not how much of it I take; ſince they are come to boaſt, that with all our aſſiduity of preaching, we cannot keep men from them; ſince it is thus, as we were alwayes bound by Chriſts example, To gather you as a hen gathers her chickens, (to call you often to this aſſembling of your ſelves) ſo are we now much more bound to hide and cover you, as a hen doth her chickens, and becauſe there is a Kite hovering in every corner, (a ſeducer lurking in every company) to defend and arme you, with more and more inſtructions againſt their inſinuations. And if they deride us, for often preaching, and call us fooles for that, as David ſaid, He would be more vile, he would Dance more, So let us be more fooles, in this fooliſhneſſe of preaching, and preach more. If they think us mad, ſince we are mad for our ſoules, (as the Apoſtle ſpeakes) let us be more mad; Let him that hath preached once, do it twice, and him that hath preached twice, do it thrice. But yet, not this, by comming to a negligent, and extemporall manner of preaching, but we will bee content to take ſo many hours from our reſt, that we, with you, may reſt the ſafelyer in Abrahams boſome, and ſo many more houres from our meat, that we, with you, may the more ſurely eat, and drink with the Lamb, in the kingdome of heaven. Chriſt hath undertaken, that his word ſhall not paſſe away, but he hath not undertaken that it ſhall not paſſe from us: There is a Ne exeas munaum ſerved upon the world, The Goſpell cannot goe, nor be driven out of the world, till the end of the world; but there is not a Ne exeas regnum, The Goſpell may go out of this, or any Kingdome, if they flacken in the doing of thoſe things which God hath ordained for the meanes of keeping it, that is, a zealous, and yet a diſcreet; a ſober, and yet a learned aſſiduity in preaching.
Thus far then we have been juſtly carried, in conſideration of this circumſtance in the manner of his preaching, his preparation; In deſcending to the next, which is the matter of his Sermon, we ſee much of that in his Text. S. Peter tooke his Text here,Res. ver. 34. out of Deuteronomy, of a truth I perceive, that God is no reſpecter of perſons. Where,Deut. 10.17. becauſe the words are not preciſely the ſame in Deuteronomy, as they are in this Text, we finde juſt occaſion to note, That neither Chriſt in his preaching, nor the holy Ghoſt in penning the Scriptures of the new Teſtament, were ſo curious as our times, in citing Chapters and Verſes, or ſuch diſtinctions, no nor in citing the very, very words of the places. Heb. 4.4. There is a ſentence cited thus indefinitely, It is written in a certaine place, without more particular note: And, to paſſe over many, conducing to that purpoſe, if we conſider that one place in the Prophet Eſay, (Make the heart of this people fat, Eſay 6.20.make their eyes heavy, and ſhut them, leſt they ſee with their eyes, and heare with their eares, and underſtand with their hearts, and convert, and be healed) and conſider the ſame place, as it is cited ſix ſeverall times in the new Teſtament, we ſhall ſee, that they ſtood not upon ſuch exact quotations, and citing of the very words. But to that purpoſe, for which S. Peter had taken that text, he follows his text. Now, Beloved, I doe not goe about to include S. Peters whole Sermon into one branch, of one part, of one of mine: Only I refreſh to your memories, that which I preſume you have often read in this Story, and this Chapter, that though S. Peter ſay, That God is no ſuch accepter of perſons, Ver. 35.36.but that in every Nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteouſneſſe, is accepted with him, yet it is upon this ground, Chriſt Jeſus is Lord of all; And, (as it is, ver. 42.) He hath commanded us to preach; that is, he hath eſtabliſhed a Church, and therein, viſible meanes of ſalvation; And then, this is our generall text, the ſubject of all our Sermons, That through his name, Ver. 43whoſoever beleeveth in him ſhall have remiſsion of ſins. So that this is all that we dare avow concerning ſalvation, that howſoever God may afford ſalvation to ſome in all nations, yet he hath manifeſted to us no way of conveying ſalvation to them, but by the manifeltation of Chriſt Jeſus in his Ordinance of preaching.
And ſuch a manifeſtation of Chriſt, had God here ordained for this Centurion Cornelius. But why for him? I doe not ask reaſons of Gods mercy to particular men, for if I would do ſo, when ſhould I finde a reaſon, why he hath ſhewed mercy to me? But yet, Audite omnes, Chryſoft.qui in Militia eſtis, & Regibus aſsiſtitis, All that ſerve in Wars, or Courts, may finde ſomething to imitate in this Centurion: He was a devout man; A Souldier, and yet devout; God forbid they were ſo incompatible, as that courage, and devotion might not conſiſt: A man that feared God; A Souldiers profeſſion is fearleſneſſe; And only he that feares God, feares nothing elſe: He and all his houſe; A Souldier, yet kept a houſe, and did not alwayes wander; He kept his houſe in good order, and with good meanes: He gave much almes; Though Armes be an expenſive profeſſion for outward ſplendor, yet hereſerved for almes, much almes: And he prayed to God alwayes; Though Armes require much time for the duties thereof, yet he could pray at thoſe times; In his Trenches, at the Aſſault, or at the defence of a Breach, he could pray: All this the holy Ghoſt teſtifies of him together, ver. 2. And this was his generall diſpoſition; and then, thoſe who came from him to Peter, adde this, That he had a good report amongst all the Nation of the Iews, ver. 22. And this to a ſtranger, (for the Jews loved not ſtrangers) and one that ſerved the State, in ſuch a place, as that he could not chooſe but be heavy to the Jews, was hard to have. And then, himſelf, when Peter comes to him, addes thus much more, That this firſt mercy of God in having ſent his Angel, and that farther mercy, that that Angel named a man, and then that man came, was exhibited to him, then, when he was faſting.Ver. 30 And then, this man, thus humbled and macerated by faſting, thus ſoupled and entendered with the feare of God, thus burnt up and calcined with zeal and devotion, thus united to God by continuall prayer, thus tributary to God by giving almes, thus exemplar in himſelf at home, to lead all his houſe, and thus diffuſive of himſelfe to others abroad, to gain the love of good men, this man proſtrates himſelfe to Peter at his comming, in ſuch an over-reverentiall manner, as Peter durſt not accept, but took him up,Ver. 26. and ſaid, I my ſelfe am alſo a man; Sudden devotion comes quickly neare ſuperſtition.
This is a miſery, which our time hath been well acquainted with, and had much experience of, and which grows upon us ſtill, That when men have been mellowed with the feare of God, and by heavy corrections, and calamities, brought to a greater renderneſſe of conſcience then before, in that diſtemper of melancholy, and inordinate ſadneſſe, they have been eaſilieſt ſeduced and withdrawne to a ſuperſtitious and Idolatrous religion. I ſpeak this, becauſe from the higheſt to the loweſt place, there are Sentinels planted in every corner, to watch all advantages, and if a man loſe his preferment at Court, or loſe his childe at home, or loſe any ſuch thing as affects him much, and imprints a deep ſadneſſe for the loſſe thereof, they work upon that ſadneſſe, to make him a Papiſt. When men have lived long from God, they never think they come neare enough to him, except they go beyond him; becauſe they have never offered to come to him before, now when they would come, they imagine God to be ſo hard of acceſſe, that there is no comming to him, but by the intervention, and interceſſion of Saints; and they thinke that that Church, in which they have lived ill, cannot be a good Church; whereas, if they would accuſtome themſelves in a daily performing of Chriſtian duties, to an ordinary preſence of God, Religion would not be ſuch a ſtranger, nor devotion ſuch an Ague unto them. But when Peter had rectified Cornelius, in this miſtaking, in this over-valuing of any perſon, and then ſaw Cornclius his diſpoſition, who had brought materials to erect a Church in his houſe, by calling his kinſmen, and his friends together to heare Peter, Peter ſpoke thoſe words, Which whileſt he yet ſpake, the holy Ghoſt fell upon all them that heard the word. And ſo we are fallen into our ſecond part.
In this,2. Part. the firſt Conſideration falls upon the perſon that fell: And as the Trinity is the moſt myſterious piece of our Religion, and hardeſt to be comprehended, So in the Trinity, the Holy Ghoſt is the moſt myſterious perſon, and hardeſt to be expreſſed. We are called the houſhold of God, and the family of the faithfull; and therefore out of a contemplation, and ordinary acquaintance with the parts of families, we are apter to conceive any ſuch thing in God himſelf, as we ſee in a family. We ſeeme not to goe ſo farre out of our way of reaſon, to beleeve a father, and a ſon, becauſe father and ſon are pieces of families: nor in beleeving Chriſt and his Church, becauſe husband and wife are pieces of families. We goe not ſo farre in beleeving Gods working upon us, either by miniſtring ſpirits from above, or by his ſpirituall miniſters here upon earth, for maſter and ſervants are pieces of families. But does there ariſe any ſuch thing, out of any of theſe couples, Father and Son, Husband and Wife, Maſter and Servant, as ſhould come from them, and they be no whit before neither? Is there any thing in naturall or civill families, that ſhould aſſiſt our underſtanding to apprehend this, That in heaven there ſhould be a Holy Spirit, ſo, as that the Father, and the Son, being all Spirit, and all Holy, and all Holineſſe, there ſhould be another Holy Spirit, which had all their Eſſentiall holineſſe in him, and another holineſſe too, Sanctitatem Sanctificantem, a holineſſe, that ſhould make us holy?
It was a hard work for the Apoſtles, and their ſucceſſors, at firſt, to draw the Godhead, into one, into an unity: when the Gentiles had been long accuſtomed to make every power and attribute of God, and to make every remarkable creature of God a ſeverall God, and ſo to worſhip God in a multiplicity of Gods, it was a great work to limit, and determine their ſuperſtitious, and ſuperfluous devotion in one God. But when all theſe lines were brought into one center, not to let that center reſt, but to draw lines out of that againe, and bring more perſons into that one centricall God-head, this was hard forreaſon to digeſt: But yet to have extended that from that unity, to a duality, was not ſo much, as to a triplicity. And thereupon, though the Arians would never be brought to confeſſe an equality between the Son and the Father, they were much farther from confeſſing it in the Holy Ghoſt: They made, ſayes S. Auguſtine, Filium creaturam, Haereſ. 49.The Son, they accounted to be but a creature; but they made the Holy Ghoſt Creaturam Creaturae, not onelyonly a Creature, and no God, but not a Creature of Gods, but a Creature, a Meſſenger of the son, who was himſelfe (with them) but a Creature. But theſe myſteries are not to be chawed by reaſon, but to be ſwallowed by faith; we profeſſed three perſons in one God, in the ſimplicity of our infancy, at our baptiſme, and we have ſealed that contract, in the other Sacrament often ſince; and this is eternall life to die in that beliefe. There are three that beare witneſſe in heaven, The Father, the Word, 1 John 5.7.and the Holy Ghoſt, and theſe three are one; And in that teſtimony we reſt, that there is a Holy Ghoſt, and in the teſtimony of this text, that this Holy Ghoſt falls down upon all that heare the word of God.
Now, it is as wonderfull that this Holy Ghoſt ſhould fall down from heaven,Cecidit. Eſay 14.12. as that he ſhould be in heaven. Quomodo cecidiſti? How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, thou ſon of the morning? was a queſtion asked by the Propher, of him, who was ſo fallen, as that he ſhall never returne againe. But the Holy Ghoſt, (as myſterious in his actions, as in his Eſſentiall, or in his Perſonall beeing) fell ſo from heaven, as that he remained in heaven, even then when he was fallen. This Dove ſent from heaven,Gen 8.7. did more then that Dove, which was ſent out of the Arke; That went and came, but was not in both places at once; Noah could not have ſhewed that Dove to his ſons and daughters, in the Arke, then, when the Dove was flowne out: But now, when this Dove, the Holy Ghoſt, fell upon theſe men, at Peters Sermon, Stephen, who was then come up to heaven, ſaw the ſame Dove, the ſame Holy Ghoſt, whom they, whom he had left upon the earth, felt upon the earth then: As if the Holy Ghoſt fall upon any in this Congregation now, now the Saints of God ſee that Holy Ghoſt in heaven, whom they that are here, feele falling upon them here. In all his workings, the Holy Ghoſt deſcends, for there is nothing above him. There is a third heaven; but no ſuch third heaven, as is above the heaven of heavens, above the ſeat and reſidence of the Holy Ghoſt: ſo that whatſoever he doth, is a deſcent, a diminution, a humiliation, and an act of mercy, becauſe it is a Communication of himſelfe, to a perſon inferiour to himſelfe.
But there is more in this Text, then a deſcent. When the Holy Ghoſt came upon Chriſt himſelfe, after his Baptiſme, there it is ſaid, He deſcended: Though Chriſt as the Son of God, were equall to him, and ſo it was no deſcent for the Holy Ghoſt to come to him, yet becauſe Chriſt had a nature upon him, in which he was not equall to the Holy Ghoſt, here was a double deſcent in the Holy Ghoſt, That he who dwells with the Father and the Son, In luce inacceſsibili, In light inacceſſible, and too bright to be ſeene, would deſcend in a viſible form, to be ſeene by men, And that he deſcended and wrought upon a mortall man, though that man were Chriſt. Chriſt alſo had a double deſcending too; He deſcended to be a man, and he deſcended to be no man; He deſcended to live amongſt us, and he deſcended to die amongſt us; He deſcended to the earth, and he deſcended to hell: Every operation of every perſon of the holy, and bleſſed, and glorious Trinity, is a Deſcending; But here the Holy Ghoſt is ſaid to have fallen, which denotes a more earneſt communicating of himſelfe, a throwing, a pouring out of himſelfe, upon thoſe, upon whom he falls: He falls as a fall of waters, that covers that it falls upon; as a Hawk upon a prey, it deſires and it will poſſeſſe that it falls upon; as an Army into a Countrey, it Conquers, and it Governes where it fals. The Holy Ghoſt fals, but farre otherwiſe,Mat. 21.44. upon the ungodly. Whoſoever ſhall fall upon this ſtone, ſhall be broken, but upon whomſocver this ſtone ſhall fall, it will grinde him to powder. Indeed, he fals upon him ſo, as haile fals upon him; he fals upon him ſo, as he fals from him, and leaves him in an obduration, and impenitibleneſſe, and in an irrecoverable ruine of him, that hath formorly deſpiſed, and deſpighted the Holy Ghoſt. But when the Holy Ghoſt fals not thus in the nature of a ſtone, but puts on the nature of a Dove, and a Dove with an Olivebranch, and that in the Ark, that is, teſtimonies of our peace, and reconciliation to God, in his Church, he fals as that kinde of lightning, which melts ſwords, and hurts not ſcabbards; the Holy Ghoſt ſhall melt thy ſoule, and not hurt thy body; he ſhall give thee ſpirituall bleſſings, and ſaving graces, under the temporall ſeales of bodily health, and proſperity in this world: He ſhall let thee ſee, that thou art the childe of God, in the obedience of thy children to thee, And that thou art the ſervant of God, in the faithfulneſſe of thy ſervants to thee, And that thou ſtandeſt in the favour of God, bythe favor of thy ſuperiours to thee; he ſhall fall upon thy ſoul, and not wound thy body, give thee ſpirituall proſperity, and yet not by worldly adverſity, and evermore over-ſhadow and refreſh thy ſoul, & yet evermore keep thee in his Sunſhine, and the light of his countenance.
But there is more then this, in this falling of the Holy Ghoſt, in this Text. For, it was not ſuch a particular inſinuation of the Holy Ghoſt, as that he convaied himſelfe into thoſe particular men, for their particular good, and ſalvation, and determined there; but ſuch a powerfull, and diffuſive falling, as made his preſence, and his power in them, to work upon others alſo. So when he came upon Chriſt, it was not to adde any thing to Chriſt, but to informe others, that that was Chriſt: So when Chriſt breathed his ſpirit into the Apoſtles, it was not meerly to infuſe ſalvation into them, but it was eſpecially to ſeale to them that Patent, that Commiſſion, Quorum remiſeritis, That others might receive remiſſion of ſins, by their power. So the Holy Ghoſt fell upon theſe men here, for the benefit of others, that thereby a great doubt might be removed, a great ſcruple deveſted, a great diſputation extinguiſhed, whether it were lawfull to preach the Goſpel to the Gentiles,Ver. 2. or no; for, as we ſee in the next Chapter, Peter himſelfe was reproved of the Jews, for this that he had done: and therefore, God ratified, and gave teſtimony to this ſervice of his, by this miraculous falling of the Holy Ghoſt, as S. Auguſtine makes the reaſon of this falling, very juſtly to have been; ſo then, this falling of the Holy Ghoſt, was not properly, or not meerly an infuſing of juſtifying grace, but an infuſing of ſuch gifts, as might edifie others: for, S. Peter ſpeaking of this very action, in the next Chapter,Ver. 15. fayes, The Holy Ghoſt fell on them, as on us, in the beginning; Which was, when he fell upon them, as this day. This doth not imply Graduum aequalitatem, an equall meaſure of the ſame gifts, as the Apoſtles had, who were to paſſe over the whole world, and work upon all men, But it implies Doni identitatem, it was the ſame miraculous expreſſing of the preſence, and working of the Holy Ghoſt, for the confirmation of Peter, that the Gentiles might be preached unto, and for the conſolation of the Gentiles, that they might be enabled to preach to one another: for ſo it is expreſly ſaid in this Chapter,Ver. 46. That they heard theſe men ſpeake with divers tongues; they that heard the Preacher, were made partakers of the ſame gifts that the Preacher had; A good hearer becomes a good Preacher, that is, able to edifie others.
It it true, that theſe men were not to be literally Preachers, as the Apoſtles (upon whom the Holy Ghoſt fell, as upon them) were, and therefore the gift of tongues may ſeeme not to have beene ſo neceſſary to them. But it is not onelyonly the Preacher, that hath uſe of the tongue, for the edification of Gods people, but in all our diſcourſes, and conferences with one another, we ſnould preach his glory, his goodneſſe, his power, that every man might ſpeake one anothers language, and preach to one anothers conſcience; that when I accuſe my ſelfe, and confeſſe mine infirmities to another man, that man may underſtand, that there is, in that confeſſion of mine, a Sermon, and a rebuke, and a reprehenſion to him, if he be guilty of the ſame ſin; Nay, if he be guilty of a ſin contrary to mine. For, as in that language in which God ſpoke, the Hebrew, the ſame roote will take in words of a contrary ſignification, (as the word of Iobs wife ſignifies bleſſing and curſing too) ſo the covetous man that heares me confeſſe my prodigality, ſhould argue to himſelf, If prodigality, which howſoever it hurt a particular perſon, yet ſpreads mony abroad, which is the right and naturall uſe of money, be ſo heavy a ſin, how heavy is my covetouſneſſe, which, beſides that it keepes me all the way in as much penuriouſneſſe, as the prodigall man brings himſelfe to at laſt, is alſo a publique ſin, becauſe it empriſons that money which ſhould be at liberty, and employed in a free courſe abroad? And ſo alſo when I declare to another, the ſpirituall and temporall bleſſings which God hath beſtowed upon me, he may be raiſed to a thankfull remembrance, that he hath received all that from God alſo. This is not the uſe of having learnt divers tongues, to be able to talke of the wars with Durch Captains, or of trade with a French Merchant, or of State with a Spaniſh Agent, or of pleaſure with an Italian Epicure; It is not to entertaine diſcourſe with ſtrangers, but to bring ſtrangers to a better knowledge of God, in that way, wherein we, by his Ordinance, do worſhip and ferve him.
Now this place is ill detorted by the Roman Church, for the confirmation of their Sacrament of Confirmation: That becauſe the Holy Ghoſt fell upon men, at another time then at Baptiſme, therefore there is a leſſe perfect giving of the Holy Ghoſt, in Baptiſme. It is too forward a triumph in him, who ſayes of this place,Pamclius Annot. in Cypr. Epiſt. 72. Locus inſignis ad aſſertionem Sacramenti manus impoſitionis: That is an evident place for Confirmation of the Sacrament of Confirmation: It is true, that S. Cyprian ſayes there, That a man is not truly ſanctified, Niſi utroque Sacramento naſcatur, Except he be regenerate by both Sacraments: And he tels us what thoſe two Sacraments are, Aqua & Spiritus, Water and the Spirit, That except a man have both theſe ſeales, inward and outward, he is not ſafe: And S. Cyprian requires (and uſefully truly) an outward declaration of this inward ſeale, of this giving of the Holy Ghoſt: For, he inſtances expreſly in this, which was done in this Text, That there was both Baptiſme, and a giving of the Holy Ghoſt. Neither would S. Cyprian forbeare the uſe of Confirmation, becauſe it was alſo in uſe amongſt ſome Heretiques, Quia Novatianus facere audet, non putabimus nos eſſe faciendum? Cypr. Epiſt. 72.Shall we give over a good cuſtome, becauſe the Novatians doe the like? Quia Novatianus extra Eccleſiam, vendicat ſibi veritatis imaginem, relinquemus Eccleſiae veritatem? Shall the Church forbeare any of thoſe cuſtomes, which were induced to good purpoſes, becauſe ſome Heretiques, in a falſe Church, have counterfaited them, or corrupted them? And therefore, ſayes that Father, It was ſo in the Apoſtles time, Et nunc quoque apud nos geritur, We continue it ſo in our time, That they who are Baptized, Signaculo Dominico conſummentur, That they may have a ratification, a conſummation in this ſeale of the Holy Ghoſt: Which was not in the Primitive Church (as in the later Roman Church) a confirmation of Baptiſme, ſo, as that that Sacrament ſhould be but a halfe-Sacrament, but it was a Confirmation of Chriſtians, with an encreaſe of grace, when they came to ſuch yeares, as they were naturally expoſed to ſome tentations.
Our Church acknowledges the trueuſe of this Confirmation; for, in the firſt Collect in the office of Confirmation, it confeſſes, that that child is already regenerated by water and the holy Ghoſt; and prayes onelyonly for farther ſtrength: And having like a good mother, taught us the right uſe of it, then our Church, like a ſupreme Commander too, enjoyns expreſly, that none be admitted to the Communion, till they have received their Confirmation. And though this injunction be not in rigour and exactneſſe purſued and executed, yet it is very neceſſary that the purpoſe thereof ſhould be maintained; That is, that none ſhould be received to the Communion, till they had given an account of their faith and proficiencie. For, he is but an interpretative, but a preſumptive Chriſtian, who, becauſe he is ſo old, ventures upon the Sacrament. A beard does not make a man fit for the Sacrament, nor a Husband, a woman: a man may be a great officer in the State, and a woman may be a grandmother in the family, and yet not be fit for that Sacrament, if they have never conſidered more in it, but onelyonly to doe as others doe. The Church enjoynes a precedent Confirmation; where that is not, wee require yet a precedent Examination, before any bee admitted, at firſt, to the Sacrament.
This was then the effectuall working of the Holy Ghoſt,Super omnes. Non ſpiravit, He did not only breathe upon them, and try whether they would receive the ſavour of life unto life, or no: Non ſibilavit, He did not onelyonly whiſper unto them, and try whether they had a diſpoſition to heare, and anſwer; Non incubabat, He did not onelyonly hover over them, and ſit upon them, to try what he could hatch, and produce out of them; Non deſcendit, He did not onelyonly deſcend towards them, and try whether they would reach out their hand to receive him; But Cecidit, He fell, ſo, as that he poſſeſſed them, enwrapped them, inveſted them with a penetrating, with a powerfull force; And ſo, he fell upon them All. As we have read of ſome Generals, in ſecular ſtory, that in great Services have knighted their whole Army, So the Holy Ghoſt Sanctifies, and Canonizes whole Congregations.
They are too good husbands, and too thrifty of Gods grace, too ſparing of the Holy Ghoſt; that reſtraine Gods generall propoſitions, Venite omnes, Let all come, and Vult omnes ſalvos, God would have all men ſaved, ſo particularly, as to ſay, that when God layes All, he meanes ſome of all ſorts, ſome Men, ſome Women, ſome Jews, ſome Gentiles, ſome rich, ſome poore, but he does not meane, as he ſeemes to ſay, ſimply All. Yes; God does meane, ſimply All, ſo as that no man can ſay to another, God meanes not thee, no man can ſay to himſelfe, God meanes not me. Nefas eſt dicere, Deum aliquid, niſi bonum praedeſtinare; It is modeſtly ſaid by S. Auguſtine, and more were immodeſty; There is no predeſtination in God, but to good. And therefore it is Durus ſermo, They are hard words, to ſay, That God predeſtinated ſome, not onelyonly Ad damnationem, but Ad cauſas damnationis, Not onelyonly to damnation becauſe they ſinned, but to a neceſſity of ſinning, that they might the more juſtly be damned; And to ſay, That God rejected ſome Odio libero, Out of a hate, that aroſe primarily in himſelfe, againſt thoſe perſons, before thoſe perſons were created, (ſo much as in Gods intention) and not out of any hate of their ſins, which he foreſaw.
Beloved, we are to take in no other knowledge of Gods Decrees, but by the execution thereof; How ſhould we know any Decree in God, of the creation of Man, according to his Image, but by the execution? Becauſe I ſee that Man is created ſo, as I conceive to be intended in this phraſe, After his Image, I beleeve that he Decreed to Create him ſo: becauſe God does nothing extemporally, but according to his owne moſt holy, and eternall preconceptions, and Ideas, and Decrees. So, we know his Decree of Election, and Reprobation, by the execution; And how is that? Does God ever ſay, that any ſhall be ſaved or damned, without relation, without condition, without doing, (in the Old Teſtament) and, in the New Teſtament, without beleeving in Chriſt Jeſus? If faith in Chriſt Jeſus be in the Execution of the Decree, faith in Chriſt Jeſus was in the Decree it ſelfe too. Chriſt wept for the imminent calamities, temporall, and ſpirituall, which hung over Jeruſalem; And Lacrymae Legati doloris, ſaies S. Cyprian, Teares are the Ambaſſadours of ſorrow; And they are Sanguis animi vulnerati, ſaies S. Auguſtine, Teares are the bloud of a wounded ſoule; And would Chriſt bleed out of a wounded ſoule, and weepe out of a ſad heart, for that, which himſelfe, and onelyonly himſelfe, by an abſolute Decree,Luke 7.32. had made neceſſary and inevitable? The Scribes and Phariſees rejected the Counſell of God, ſayes S. Luke: In this new language we muſt ſay, They fulfilled the Counſell of God, if poſitively, and primarily, and abſolutely, Gods determinate Counſell were, that they ſhould do ſo. But this is not Gods Counſaile upon any, to be ſo far the Author of ſin, as to impoſe ſuch a neceſſity of ſinning, as ariſes not out of his owne will. Perditio noſtra ex nobis, Our deſtruction is from our owne ſin, and the Devill that infuſes it; not from God, or any ill purpoſe in him that enforces us. The blood of Chriſt was ſhed for all that will apply it, And the Holy Ghoſt is willing to fall, with the ſprinkling of that blood, upon all that do not reſiſt him; And that is, as follows in our text, Qui audiunt, The Holy Ghoſt fell upon all that heard.
Faith in Chriſt is in the Execution of Gods Decree,Qui audiunt. and Hearing is the meanes of this faith: And the propoſition is not the leſſe generall, if it except them, who will not be included in it, if the Holy Ghoſt fall not on them, who will not come to heare. Let no man thinke that he hath heard enough, and needs no more; why did the Holy Ghoſt furniſh his Church with foure Euangeliſts, if it were enough to reade one? And yet every one of the foure, hath enough for ſalvation, if Gods abundant care had not enriched the Church with more: Thoſe Nations which never heard of Chriſt, or of Euangeliſt, ſhall riſe up in judgement againſt us, and though they periſh themſelves, thus far aggravate our condemnation, as to ſay, you had foure Euangeliſts, and have not beleeved, if we had had any one of them, we would have been ſaved. It is the glory of Gods Word, not that it is come, but that it ſhall remain for ever: It is the glory of a Chriſtian, not that he hath heard, but that he deſires to heare ſtill. Are the Angels weary of looking upon that face of God, which they looked upon yeſterday? Or are Saints weary of ſinging that ſong, which they ſung to Gods glory yeſterday? And is not that Alleluiah, that ſong which is their morning and evening ſacrifice, and which ſhall be their ſong, world without end, called ſtill A new ſong?
Be not you weary of hearing thoſe things which you have heard from others before: Do not ſay, if I had knowne this, I would not have come, for I have heard all this before; ſince thou never thoughteſt of it ſince that former hearing, till thou heardſt it again now, thou didſt not know that thou hadſt heard it before. Gideons Fleece,Iud. 6.35. that had all the dew of heaven in it ſelf alone, and all about it dry, one day, next day was all dry in it ſelf, though all about it had received the dew: He that hath heard, and beleeved, may loſe his knowledge, and his faith too, if he will heare no more. They ſay there is a way of caſtration, in cutting off the eares: There are certain veines behinde the eares, which, if they be cut, diſable a man from generation. The Eares are the Aqueducts of the water of life; and if we cut off thoſe, that is, intermit our ordinary courſe of hearing, this is a caſtration of the ſoul, the ſoul becomes an Eunuch, and we grow to a ruſt, to a moſſe, to a barrenneſſe, without fruit, without propagation. If then God have placed thee under ſuch a Paſtor, as preſents thee variety, bleſſe God, who enlarges himſelfe, to afford thee that ſpirituall delight, in that variety; even for the ſatisfaction of that holy curioſity of thine. If he have placed thee under one, who often repeates, and often remembers thee of the ſame things, bleſſe God even for that, that in that he hath let thee ſee, that the Chriſtian Religion is Verbum abbreviatum, A contracted doctrine, and that they are but a few things which are neceſſary to ſalvation, and therefore be not loath to heare them often.
Our errand hither then, is not to ſee; but much leſſe not to be able to ſee, to ſleep:Verbum. It is not to talk, but much leſſe to ſnort: It is to heare, and to heare all the words of the Preacher, but, to heare in thoſe words, the Word, that Word which is the ſoule of all that is ſaid, and is the true Phyſick of all their ſoules that heare. The Word was made fleſh; that is, aſſumed fleſh; but yet the Godhead was not that fleſh. The Word of God is made a Sermon, that is, a Text is dilated, diffuſed into a Sermon; but that whole Sermon is not the word of God. But yet all the Sermon is the Ordinance of God. Delight thy ſelf in the Lord, and he will give thee thy hearts deſire; Take a delight in Gods Ordinance, in mans preaching, and thou wilt finde Gods Word in that. To end all in that Metaphor which we mentioned at beginning, As the word of God is as hony, ſo ſayes Solomon, Pleaſant words are as the hony combe: Prov. 16.24.And when the pleaſant words of Gods ſervants have conveyed the ſaving word of God himſelfe into thy ſoule, then maiſt thou ſay with Chriſt to the Spouſe, I have caten my hony combe with my hony, Cant. 5.1.mine underſtanding is enlightned with the words of the Preacher, and my faith is ſtrengthned with the word of God; I glorifie God much in the gifts of the man, but I glorifie God much more in the gifts of his grace; I am glad I have heard him, but I am gladder I have heard God in him; I am happy that I have heard thoſe words, but thrice happy, that in thoſe words, I have heard the Word; Bleſſed be thou that cameſt in the name of the Lord, but bleſſed be the Lord, that is come to me in thee; Let me remember how the Preacher ſaid it, but let me remember rather what he ſaid. And beloved, all the beſt of us all, all that all together, all the dayes of our life ſhall be able to ſay unto you, is but this, That if ye will heare the ſame Jeſus, in the ſame Goſpell, by the ſame Ordinance, and not ſeeke an imaginary Jeſus, in an illuſory ſacrifice, in another Church, If you will heare ſo, as you have contracted with God in your Baptiſme, The holy Ghoſt ſhall fall upon you, whileſt you heare, here in the houſe of God, and the holy Ghoſt ſhall accompany you home to your own houſes, and make your domeſtique peace there, a type of your union with God in heaven; and make your eating and drinking there, a type of the abundance, and fulneſſe of heaven; and make every dayes riſing to you there, a type of your joyfull Reſurrection to heaven; and every nights reſt, a type of your eternall Sabbath; and your very dreames, prayers, and meditations, and ſacrifices to Almighty God.