Eighty Sermons, St. Paul · Sermon 46
SERM. XLVI. Preached at S. Pauls, The Sunday after the Converſion of S. PAUL. 1624.
ACTS 9.4.
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voyce, ſaying, Saul, Saul, why perſecuteſt thou me?
LEt us now praiſe famous Men, and our Fathers that begat us, Ecclus. 44.1.(ſaies the Wiſeman) that is, that aſſiſted our ſecond generation, our ſpirituall Regeneration; Let us praiſe them, commemorate them. The Lord hath wrought great glory by them, Ver. 2.through his power from the beginning, ſaies he there, that is, It hath alwaies beene the Lords way to glorifie himſelfe in the converſion of Men, by the miniſtery of Men. For he adds,Ver. 4. They were leaders of the people by their counſaile, and by their knowledge and learning meet for the people, wiſe and eloquent men in their inſtructions; and that is, That God who gives theſe gifts for this purpoſe, looks for the employment of theſe gifts, to the edification of others, to his glory. There be of them, that have left a name behinde them. Ver. 8.(as it is alſo added in that place) that is, That though God can amply reward his ſervants in the next world, yet he does it ſometimes in this world; and, though not with temporall happineſſes, in their life, yet with honor, and commemorations, and celebrations of them, after they are gone out of this life, they leave a name behind them. And amongſt them, in a high place, ſhines our bleſſed and glorious Apoſtle S. Paul, whoſe Converſion the Church celebrates now, and for the celebration thereof, hath appointed this part of Scripture from whence this text ariſes, to be the Epiſtle of the Day, And he fell to the earth, and heard a voyce, ſaying, Saul, Saul, why perſccuteſt thou me?
There are words in the text, that will reach to all the Story of S. Pauls Converſion,Diviſio. embrace all, involve and enwrap all; we muſt contract them; into leſſe then three parts, we cannot well; thoſe will be theſe; firſt, The Perſon, Saul, He, He fell to the earth; and then, his humiliation, his exinanition of himſelfe, his deveſting, putting off of himſelfe, He fell to the earth; and laſtly, his inveſting of Chriſt, his putting on of Chriſt, his riſing againe by the power of a new inanimation, a new ſoule breathed into him from Chriſt, He heard a voyce, ſaying, Saul, Saul, why perſecuteſt thou me? Now, a re-diſtribution, a ſub-diviſion of theſe parts, into their branches, we ſhall preſent to you anon, more opportunely, as we ſhall come in due order to the handling of the parts themſelves. In the firſt, the branches will be but theſe; Sauls indiſpoſition when Chriſt tooke him in hand, and Chriſts worke upon him; what he found him, what he left him, will determine our firſt part, The perſon.
Firſt then, what he was at that time,1. Part. Quid ante. the Holy Ghoſt gives evidence enough againſt him, and he gives enough againſt himſelfe. Of that which the Holy Ghoſt gives, you may ſee a great many heavy pieces, a great many appliable circumſtances, if at any time, at home, you do but paraphraſe, and ſpread to your ſelves the former part of this Chapter, to this text. Take a little preparation from me; Adhuc ſpirans, ſaies the firſt verſe, Saul yet breathing threatnings and ſlaughter, Then when he was in the height of his fury, Chriſt laid hold upon him. It was, for the moſt part, Chriſts method of curing. Then when the Sea was in a tempeſtuous rage,Mat. 8.24. when the waters covered the ſhip, and the ſtorme ſhaked even that which could remove mountaines, the faith of the Diſciples, then Chriſt rebukes the winde, and commands a calme. Then when the Sun was gone out to run his race as a Giant, (as David ſpeaks) then God by the mouth of another, of Ioſhuah, bids the Sun ſtand ſtill. Then when that uncleane ſpirit foam'd, and fum'd, and tore, and rent the poſſeſſed perſons, then Chriſt commanded them to go out. Let the fever alone, ſay our Phyſitians, till ſome fits be paſſed, and then we ſhall ſee farther, and diſcerne better. The note is S. Chryſoſtomes, and he applies it to Chriſts proceeding with Saul; Non expectavit ut fatigatus debacchando manſueſceret, ſayes he, Chriſt ſtaid not till Saul being made drunke with blood, were caſt into a ſlumber, as ſatisfied with the blood of Chriſtians; Sed in media inſania ſuperavit, but in the midſt of his fit, he gave him phyſick, in the midſt of his madneſſe, he reclaimes him. So is it alſo part of the evidence that the Holy Ghoſt gives againſt him, Quod petiit Epiſtolas, that he ſued to the State for a Commiſſion to perſecute Chriſtians. When the State will put men to ſome kinde of neceſſity of concurring to the endamaging or endangering of the cauſe of Chriſt, and will be diſpleaſed with them, if they doe not, men make to themſelves, and to their conſciences ſome faint colour of excuſe: But when they themſelves ſet actions on foote, which are not required at their hands, where is their evaſion? Then when Saul ſued out this Commiſſion, That if he found any of that way, (that is, Chriſtians) (for he had ſo ſcattered them before, that he was not ſure to finde any, They did not appeare in any whole body, dangerous, or ſuſpicious to the State) but, If hee found any, Any man or woman, That he might have the Power of the State, ſo as that he need not feare men, That hee might have the impartiality, and the inflexibility of the State, ſo as that he need not pity women, Then when his glory was to bring them bound to Ieruſalem, that he might magnifie his triumph and greatneſſe in the eye of the world, Then, then ſayes Chriſt, to this tempeſt, Be calme, to this uncleane ſpirit, Come out, to this Sun, in his own eſtimation, Go no farther.
Thus much evidence the Holy Ghoſt gives againſt him; and thus much more himſelfe,Act. 22.4. I perſecuted this way unto the death; I bound and delivered into priſon, both men and women; Act. 26.11.And after, more then this, I puniſhed them, and that oft, and, in every Synagogue, and, compelled them to blaſpheme, and, was exceedingly mad againſt them, and perſecuted them even unto ſtrange Cities. What could he ſay more againſt himſelfe? And then, ſayes Chriſt, to this tempeſt, Quieſce, Be ſtill, to this glaring Sunne, Siſte, ſtand ſtill, to this uncleane ſpirit,1 Cor. 15.2. Veni foras, come forth. In this ſenſe eſpecially doth S. Paul call himſelfe Abertivum, a perſon borne out of ſeaſon, That whereas Chriſts other Diſciples and Apoſtles, had a breeding under him, and came firſt ad Diſcipulatum, and then ad Apoſtolatum, firſt to be Diſciples, and after to be Apoſtles; S. Paul was borne a man, an Apoſtle, not carved out, as the reſt in time; but a fuſil Apoſtle, an Apoſtle powred out, and caſt in a Mold; As Adam was a perfect man in an inſtant, ſo was S. Paul an Apoſtle, as ſoone as Chriſt tooke him in hand.
Now, Beloved, wilt thou make this perverſe uſe of this proceeding, God is rich in Mercy, Therefore I cannot miſſe Mercy? Wouldeſt thou ſay, and not be thought mad for ſaying ſo, God hath created a Weſt Indies, therefore I cannot want Gold? Wilt thou be ſo ill a Logician to thy ſelfe, and to thine own damnation, as to conclude ſo, God is alwayes the ſame in himſelfe, therefore he muſt be alwayes the ſame to me? So ill a Muſician as to ſay, God is all Concord, therefore He and I can never diſagree? So ill a Hiſtorian as to ſay, God hath called Saul, a Perſecutor, then when he breathed threatnings and ſlaughter, then when he ſued to the State for a Commiſſion to perſecute Chriſt, God hath called a theife, then when he was at the laſt gaſpe; And therefore if he have a minde to me, he will deale ſo with me too, and, if he have no ſuch minde, no man can imprint, or infuſe a new minde in God? God forbid. It is not ſafe concluding out of ſingle Inſtances. It is true, that if a ſoure, and heavy, and ſevere man, will adde to the diſcomforts of a diſconſolate ſoule, and in that ſouls ſadneſſe, and dejection of ſpirit, will heap up examples, that God hath ſtill ſuffered high-minded ſinners to proceed and to periſh in their irreligious wayes, and tell that poore ſoule, (as Iobs company did him) It is true, you take God aright, God never pardons ſuch as you, in theſe caſes, theſe ſingular, theſe individuall examples, That God hath done otherwiſe once, have their uſe. One inſtance to the contrary deſtroys any peremptory Rule, no man muſt ſay, God never doth it; He did it to Saul here, He did it to the Theife upon the Croſſe. But to that preſumptuous ſinner, who ſins on, becauſe God ſhewed mercy to One at laſt, we muſt ſay, a miſerable Comforter is that Rule, that affords but one example. Nay, is there one example? The Converſion of Saul a Perſecutor, and of the Theife upon the Croſſe, is become Proverbium peccatorum, The ſinners proverb, and ſerves him,Gregor. and ſatisfies him in all caſes. But is there any ſuch thing? Such a ſtory there is, and it is as true as Goſpel, it is the truth of Goſpel it ſelfe; But was this a late Repentance? Anſwer S. Cyril, Rogo te frater, Tell me, Beloved, Thou that deferreſt thy Repentance, doeſt thou do it upon confidence of theſe examples? Non in fine, ſed in principio converſus latro; Thou deludeſt thine own ſoule; The Theife was not converted at laſt, but at firſt; As ſoone as God afforded him any Call, he came; And at how many lights haſt thou winked? And to how many Cals haſt thou ſtopped thine eares, that deferreſt thy repentance? Chriſt ſaid to him, Hodie mecum eris, This day thou ſhalt be with me in paradiſe; when thou canſt finde ſuch another day, looke for ſuch another mercy; A day that cleft the grave-ſtones of dead men; A day that cleft the Temple it ſelfe; A day that the Sunne durſt not ſee; A day that ſaw the ſoule of God (may we not ſay ſo, ſince that Man was God too) depart from Man; There ſhall be no more ſuch dayes; and therefore preſume not of that voyce, Hodie, This day thou ſhalt be with me, if thou make thy laſt minute that day, though Chriſt, to magnifie his mercy, and his glory, and to take away all occaſion of abſolute deſperation, did here, under ſo many diſadvantages call, and draw S. Paul to him.
But we ſay no more of that, of the danger of ſinning by precedent,Quid factus and preſuming of mercy by example; we paſſe from our firſt Conſideration, From what, to the other, To what, Chriſt brought this perſecutor, this Saul. He brought him to that remarkable height, as that the Church celebrates the Converſion of no man but this. Many bloody Executioners were converted to Chriſt, even in the act of that bloody Execution; Then when they tooke a delight in tearing the bowels of Chriſtians, they were received into the bowels of Chriſt Jeſus, and became Chriſtians. Man that road to Market, and ſaw an Execution upon the way; Men that opened a window to take ayre, and ſaw an Execution in the ſtreet; The Eccleſiaſticall Story abounds with examples of occaſionall Convertits, and upon ſtrange occaſions; but yet the Church celebrates no Converſion, but this. The Church doth not conſider the Martyrs as borne till they die; till the world ſee how they perſevered to the end, ſhee takes no knowledge of them; Therefore ſhee cals the dayes of their deaths, Natalitia, their birth-dayes; Then ſhe makes account they are borne, when they die. But of S. Paul the Church makes her ſelfe aſſured the firſt minute; and therefore celebrates his Converſion, and none but his. Here was a true Tranſubſtantiation, and a new Sacrament. Theſe few words, Saul, Saul, why perſecuteſt thou me, are words of Conſecration; After theſe words, Saul was no longer Saul, but he was Chriſt: Vivit in me Chriſtus, ſayes he, It is not I that live, not I that do any thing, but Chriſt in me. It is but a little way that S. Chryſoſtome goes, when he ſpeaks of an inferior Tranſubſtantiation, of a change of affections, and ſayes Agnus ex Lupo, that here is another manner of Lycanthropy, then when a man is made a Wolfe; for here a Wolfe is made a Lambe, Ex lupo Agnus. Ex vepribus racemus, ſayes that Father, A bramble is made a vine; Ex zizaniis frumentum, Cockle and tares become wheat; Ex pirata gubernator, A Pirat becomes a ſafe Pilot; Ex noviſsimo primus, The lees are come to ſwim on the top, and the laſt is growne firſt; and ex abortivo perfectus, He that was borne out of time, hath not onelyonly the perfection, but the excellency of all his lineaments. S. Chryſoſtome goes farther then this, Ex blaſphemo, Os Chriſti, & lyraſpiritus, He that was the mouth of blaſphemy, is become the mouth of Chriſt, He that was the inſtrument of Satan, is now the organ of the Holy Ghoſt. He goes very far, when he ſayes, In Coelis homo, in terris Angelus, Being yet but upon earth, he is an Angel, and being yet but a man, he is already in Heaven. Yet S. Paul was another manner of Sacrament, and had another manner of Tranſubſtantiation, then all this; As he was made Idem ſpiritus cum Domino, Gal. 6.17.The ſame ſpirit with the Lord, ſo in his very body, he had Stigmata, the very marks of the Lord Jeſus. From ſuch a lowneſſe, rayſed to ſuch a height, as that Origen ſayes, many did beleeve, that S. Paul had been that Holy Ghoſt, which Chriſt had promiſed to the world, after his departing from it.
It is but a little way that S. Ierome hath carried his commendation neither, when he cals him Rugitum leonis, The roaring of a Lion, if we conſider in how little a foreſt the roaring of a Lion is determined; but that he calls him Rugitum Leonis noſtri, The roaring of our Lion, of the Lion of the Tribe of Iuda, That as far as Chriſt is heard, S. Paul is heard too; Quem quoties lego, Idem.non verba mihi videor audire, ſed tonitrua, Whereſoever I open S. Pauls Epiſtles, I meet not words, but thunder, and univerſall thunder, thunder that paſſes through all the world.Theoder. For, Ejus excaecatio totius or bis illuminatio, That that was done upon him, wrought upon all the world; he was ſtruck blind, and all the world ſaw the better for that. So univerſall a Prieſt, (ſayes S. Chryſoſtome, who loves to be ſpeaking of S. Paul) as that he ſacrificed, not ſheep and goats, ſed ſeipſum, but himſelfe; and not onelyonly that, ſed totum mundum, He prepared the whole world, as a ſacrifice to God. He built an Arke, that is, eſtabliſhed a Church; and to this day, receives, not eight, but all into that Arke: And whereas in Noahs Ark, Quem corvum recepit, corvum emiſit, If he came in a Raven, he went out a Raven; S. Paul, in his Arke, Ex milvis facit columbas, as himſelf was, ſo he tranſubſtantiates all them, and makes them Doves of Ravens. Nay, ſo overabſolutely did he ſacrifice himſelfe, and his ſtate in this world, for this world, as that he ſacrificed his reverſion, his future ſtate, the glory and joy of heaven, for his brethren, and choſe rather to be Anathema, ſeparated from Chriſt, then they ſhould. I love thee, ſayes S. Chryſoſtome to Rome, for many excellencies, many greatneſſes; But I love thee ſo well, ſayes he, therefore becauſe S. Paul loved thee ſo well. Qualem Roſam Roma Chriſto, (as he purſues this contemplation) What a fragrant roſe ſhall Rome preſent Chriſt with, when he comes to Judgement, in re-delivering to him the body of S. Paul? And though he joyne them both together, Iugati boves Eccleſiae, That S. Peter and S. Paul were that yoak of oxen that ploughed the whole Church, Though he ſay of both, Quot carceres ſanctificaſtis? How many Priſons have you two conſecrated, and made Priſons Churches? Quot catenas illuſtraſtis? How many fetters and chains of iron have you two changed into chaines of gold? Yet we may obſerve a difference in S. Chryſoſtomes expreſſing of perſons ſo equall to one another, Quid Petro majus? ſayes he, But, Quid Paulo par fuit? What can exceed Peter, or what can equall Paul? Still be all this far from occaſioning any man to preſume upon God, becauſe he afforded ſo abundant mercy to a Perſecuter: but ſtill from this, let every faint ſoule eſtabliſh it ſelfe in a confidence in God; God that would find nothing to except, nothing to quarrell at, in S. Paul, will not lie heavy upon thy ſoule, though thou muſt ſay, as he did, Quorum ego maximus, That thou art a greater ſinner then thou knoweſt any other man to be.
We are,2 Part. in our order propoſed at firſt, devolved now to our ſecond Part; from the perſon, and in that, what he was found, A vehement perſecuter, And then, what he was made, A laborious Apoſtle, To the Manner, to his Humiliation, Cecidit ſuper terram, He fell, and he fell to the ground, and he fell blind, as by the hiſtory, and context appeares. We uſe to call every declination, of any kind, and in any ſubject, a falling; for, for our bodies, we ſay a man is falne ſick, And for his ſtate, falne poore, And for his mind, falne mad, And for his conſcience, falne deſperate; we are borne low, and yet we fall every way lower, ſo univerſall is our falling ſickneſſe. Sin it ſelfe is but a falling; The irremediable ſin of the Angels, The undeterminable ſinne of Adam, is called but ſo, The fall of Adam, The fall of Angels. And therefore the effectuall viſitation of the holy Ghoſt to man, is called a falling too; we are fallen ſo low, as that when the holy Ghoſt is pleaſed to fetch us againe, and to infuſe his grace, he is ſtill ſaid to fall upon us. But the fall which we conſider in the Text, is not a figurative falling, not into a decay of eſtate, nor decay of health, nor a ſpirituall falling into ſin, a decay of grace; but it is a medicinall falling, a falling under Gods hand, but ſuch a falling under his hand, as that he takes not off his hand from him that is falne, but throwes him downe therefore that he may raiſe him. To this poſture he brings Paul, now, when he was to re-inanimate him with his ſpirit; rather, to pre-inanimate him; for, indeed, no man hath a ſoule till he have grace.
Chriſt, who in his humane nature hath received from the Father all Judgement, and power, and dominion over this world, hath received all this, upon that condition that he ſhall governe in this manner,Pſal. 2.8. Aske of me, and I ſhall give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance, ſayes the Father; How is he to uſe them, when he hath them? Thus, Thou ſhalt breake them with a rod of iron, and daſh them in pieces like a potters veſſell. Now, God meant well to the Nations, in this bruiſing and breaking of them; God intended not an annihilation of the Nations, but a reformarion; for Chriſt askes the Nations for an Inheritance, not for a triumph; therefore it is intended of his way of governing them; and his way is to bruiſe and beat them; that is, firſt to caſt them downe, before he can raiſe them up, firſt to breake them before he can make them in his faſhion.Auguſt. Novit Dominus vulnerare ad amorem; The Lord, and onelyonly the Lord knowes how to wound us, out of love; more then that, how to wound us into love; more then all that, to wound us into love, not onelyonly with him that wounds us, but into love with the wound it ſelfe, with the very affliction that he inflicts upon us; The Lord knowes how to ſtrike us ſo, as that we ſhall lay hold upon that hand that ſtrikes us, and kiſſe that hand that wounds us. Ad vitam interficit, ad exaltationem proſternit, ſayes the ſame Father; No man kills his enemy therefore, that his enemy might have a better life in heaven; that is not his end in killing him: It is Gods end; Therefore he brings us to death, that by that gate he might lead us into life everlaſting; And he hath not diſcovered, but made that Northerne paſſage, to paſſe by the frozen Sea of calamity, and tribulation, to Paradiſe, to the heavenly Jeruſalem. There are fruits that ripen not, but by froſt; There are natures, (there are ſcarce any other) that diſpoſe not themſelves to God, but by affliction. And as Nature lookes for the ſeaſon for ripening, and does not all before, ſo Grace lookes for the aſſent of the ſoule, and does not perfect the whole worke, till that come. It is Nature that brings the ſeaſon, and it is Grace that brings the aſſent; but till the ſeaſon for the fruit, till the aſſent of the ſoule come, all is not done.
Therefore God begun in this way with Saul, and in this way he led him all his life. Tot pertulit mortes, quot vixit dies, He dyed as many deaths, as he lived dayes;Chryſoſt. for ſo himſelfe ſayes, Quotidie morior, I die daily; God gave him ſucke in blood, and his owne blood was his daily drink; He catechized him with calamities at firſt, and calamities were his daily Sermons, and meditations after; and to authorize the hands of others upon him, and to accuſtome him to ſubmit himſelf to the hands of others without murmuring, Chriſt himſelf ſtrikes the firſt blow, and with that, Cecidit, he fell, (which was our firſt conſideration, in his humiliation) and then, Cecidit in terram, He fell to the ground, which is our next.
I take no farther occaſion from this Circumſtance, but to arme you with conſolation,In terram. how low ſoever God be pleaſed to caſt you, Though it be to the earth, yet he does not ſo much caſt you downe, in doing that, as bring you home. Death is not a baniſhing of you out of this world; but it is a viſitation of your kindred that lie in the earth; neither are any nearer of kin to you, then the earth it ſelfe, and the wormes of the earth. You heap earth upon your ſoules, and encumber them with more and more fleſh, by a ſuperfluous and luxuriant diet; You adde earth to earth in new purchaſes, and meaſure not by Acres, but by Manors, nor by Manors, but by Shires; And there is a little Quillet, a little Cloſe, worth all theſe, A quiet Grave. And therefore, when thou readeſt, That God makes thy bed in thy ſickneſſe, rejoyce in this, not onelyonly that he makes that bed, where thou doſt lie, but that bed where thou ſhalt lie; That that God, that made the whole earth, is now making thy bed in the earth, a quiet grave, where thou ſhalt ſleep in peace, till the Angels Trumpet wake thee at the Reſurrection, to that Judgement where thy peace ſhall be made before thou commeſt, and writ, and ſealed, in the blood of the Lamb.
Saul falls to the earth; So farre; But he falls no lower. God brings his ſervants to a great lowneſſe here; but he brings upon no man a perverſe ſenſe, or a diſtruſtfull ſuſpition of falling lower hereafter; His hand ſtrikes us to the earth, by way of humiliation; But it is not his hand, that ſtrikes us into hell, by way of deſperation. Will you tell me, that you have obſerved and ſtudied Gods way upon you all your life, and out of that can conclude what God meanes to doe with you after this life? That God took away your Parents in your infancy, and left you Orphanes then, That he hath croſſed you in all your labours in your calling, ever ſince, That he hath opened you to diſhonours, and calumnies, and miſ-interpretations, in things well intended by you, That he hath multiplied fickneſſes upon you, and given you thereby an aſſurance of a miſerable, and a ſhort life, of few, and evill dayes, nay, That he hath ſuffered you to fall into ſins, that you your ſelves have hated, To continue in ſins, that you your ſelves have been weary of, To relapſe into ſins, that you your ſelves have repented; And will you conclude out of this, that God had no good purpoſe upon you, that if ever he had meant to doe you good, he would never have gone thus farre, in heaping of evills upon you? Upon what doeſt thou ground this? upon thy ſelfe? Becauſe thou ſhouldeſt not deal thus with any man, whom thou mean'ſt well to? How poore, how narrow, how impious a meaſure of God, is this, that he muſt doe, as thou wouldeſt doe, if thou wert God! God hath not made a week without a Sabbath; no tentation, without an iſſue; God inflicts no calamity, no cloud, no eclipſe, without light, to ſee eaſe in it, if the patient will look upon that which God hath done to him, in other caſes, or to that which God hath done to others, at other times. Saul fell to the ground, but he fell no lower; God brings us to humiliation, but not to deſperation.
He fell; Caecus. Iohn 9.39.he fell to the ground, And he fell blinde; for ſo it is evident in the ſtory. Chriſt had ſaid to the Phariſees, I came into the world, that they which ſee, might be made blinde; And the Phariſees ask him, Have you been able to doe ſo upon us? Are we blinde? Here Chriſt gives them an example; a reall, a literall, an actuall example; Saul, a Phariſee, is made blinde. He that will fill a veſſell with wine, muſt take out the water; He that will fill a covetous mans hand with gold, muſt take out the ſilver that was there before, ſayes S. Chryſoſtome. Chriſt, who is about to infuſe new light into Saul, withdrawes that light that was in him before; That light, by which Saul thought he ſaw all before, and thought himſelfe a competent Judge, which was the onelyonly true Religion, and that all others were to be perſecuted,Ier. 51.17. even to death, that were not of his way. Stultus factus eſt omnis homo à ſcientia, ſayes God in the Prophet, Every man that truſts in his owne wit, is a foole.1 Cor. 3.18. But let him become a foole, that he may be wiſe, ſayes the Apoſtle; Let him be ſo, in his own eyes, and God will give him better eyes, better light, better underſtanding. Saul was ſtruck blinde, but it was a blindneſſe contracted from light; It was a light that ſtruck him blinde, as you ſee in his ſtory. This blindneſſe which we ſpeak of, which is a ſober and temperate abſtinence from the immoderate ſtudy, and curious knowledges of this world, this holy ſimplicity of the ſoule, is not a darkneſſe, a dimneſſe, a ſtupidity in the underſtanding, contracted by living in a corner, it is not an idle retiring into a Monaſtery, or into a Village, or a Country ſolitude, it is not a lazy affectation of ignorance; not darkneſſe, but a greater light, muſt make us blinde.
The ſight, and the Contemplation of God, and our preſent benefits by him, and our future intereſt in him, muſt make us blinde to the world ſo, as that we look upon no face, no pleaſure, no knowledge, with ſuch an Affection, ſuch an Ambition, ſuch a Devotion, as upon God, and the wayes to him. Saul had ſuch a blindneſſe, as came from light; we muſt affect no other ſimplicity, then ariſes from the knowledge of God, and his Religion. And then, Saul had ſuch a blindneſſe, as that he fell with it. There are birds, that when their eyes are cieled, ſtill ſoare up, and up, till they have ſpent all their ſtrength. Men blinded with the lights of this world, ſoare ſtill into higher places, or higher knowledges, or higher opinions; but the light of heaven humbles us, and layes flat that ſoule, which the leaven of this world had puffed and ſwelled up. That powerfull light felled Saul; but after he was fallen, his owne ſight was reſtored to him againe; Ananias ſaies to him, Brother Saul, receive thy ſight. To thoſe men, who imploy their naturall faculties to the glory of God, and their owne, and others edification, God ſhall afford an exaltation of thoſe naturall faculties; In thoſe, who uſe their learning, or their wealth, or their power, well, God ſhall increaſe that power, and that wealth, and that learning, even in this world.
You have ſeene Sauls ſickneſſe,3 Part. and the exaltation of the diſeaſe, Then when he breathed threatnings, and ſlaughter, Then when he went in his triumph; And you have ſeen his death, The death of the righteous, His humiliation, He fell to the earth; And there remaines yet his Reſurrection; The Angel of the great Counſell, Chriſt Jeſus, with the Trumpet of his owne mouth, rayſes him, with that, Saul, Saul, why perſecuteſt thou mee?
Firſt,Vox. he affords him a call, A voyce. Saul could not ſee; Therefore he deales not upon him by viſions. He gives a voyce; and a voyce that he might heare; God ſpeaks often, when we doe not heare; He heard it, and heard it ſaying; Not a voyce only, but a diſtinct, and intelligible voyce; and ſaying unto him, that is, appliable to himſelfe; and then, that that the voyce ſaid to him, was, Saul, Saul, why perſecuteſt thou me? We are unequall enemies, Thou ſeeſt I am too hard for thee, Curtu me? why wilt thou, thou in this weakeneſſe oppoſe me? And then, we might be good friends, Thou ſeeſt I offer parly, I offer treaty, Cur tu me? Why wilt thou oppoſe me, me that declare ſuch a diſpoſition to be reconciled unto thee? In this ſo great a diſadvantage on thy part, why wilt thou ſtirre at all? In this ſo great a peaceableneſſe on my part, why wilt thou ſtirre againſt me? Cur tu me? Why perſecuteſt thou me?
Firſt then, God ſpeakes: For, beloved, we are to conſider God, not as he is in himſelfe, but as he works upon us: The firſt thing that we can conſider in our way to God, is his Word. Our Regeneration is by his Word; that is, by faith, which comes by hearing; The ſeed is the word of God, ſayes Chriſt himſelfe; Even the ſeed of faith.Luke 8.11. Carry it higher, the Creation was by the word of God; Dixit, & facta ſunt, God ſpoke, and all things were made. Carry it to the higheſt of all, to Eternity, the eternall Generation, the eternall Production, the eternall Proceſſion of the ſecond Perſon in the Trinity, was ſo much by the Word, as that he is the Word; Verbum caro, It was that Word, that was made Fleſh. So that God, who cannot enter into bands to us, hath given us ſecurity enough; He hath given us his Word; His written Word, his Scriptures; His Eſſentiall Word, his Son. Our Principall, and Radicall, and Fundamentall ſecurity, is his Eſſentiall Word, his Son Chriſt Jeſus. But how many millions of generations was this Word in heaven, and never ſpoke? The Word, Chriſt himſelf, hath been as long as God hath been: But the uttering of this Word, ſpeaking hath been but ſince the Creation. Peter ſayes to Chriſt, To whom ſhall we goe? Thou haſt the words of eternall life. It is not onelyonly,Iohn 6.68. Thou art the word of eternall life; (Chriſt is ſo) But thou haſt it; Thou haſt it, where we may come to thee for it; In thy Treaſury, in thine Ordinance, in thy Church; Thou haſt it, to derive it, to convey it upon us. Here then is the firſt ſtep of Sauls cure, and of ours, That there was not onelyonly a word, the Word, Chriſt himſelfe, a Son of God in heaven, but a Voyce, the word uttered, and preached; Chriſt manifeſted in his Ordinance: He heard a voyce.
He heard it. How often does God ſpeake, and no body heares the voyce?Audivit. He ſpeaks in his Canon, in Thunder, and he ſpeaks in our Canon, in the rumour of warres. He ſpeaks in his muſique, in the harmonious promiſes of the Goſpel, and in our muſique, in the temporall bleſſings of peace, and plenty; And we heare a noyſe in his Judgements, and wee heare a ſound in his mercies; but we heare no voyce, we doe not diſcern that this noyſe, or this ſound comes from any certain perſon; we do not feele them to be mercies, nor to be judgements uttered from God, but naturall accidents, caſuall occurrencies, emergent contingencies, which as an Atheiſt might think, would fall out though there were no God, or no commerce, no dealing, no ſpeaking between God and Man. Though Saul came not inſtantly to a perfect diſcerning who ſpoke, yet he ſaw inſtantly, it was a Perſon above nature, and therefore ſpeakes to him in that phraſe of ſubmiſſion, Quis es Domine? Lord who art thou? And after, with trembling and aſtoniſhment, (as the Text ſayes) Domine quid me vis facere? Lord what wilt thou have me to do? Then we are trulieſt ſaid to hear, when we know from whence the voyce comes. Princes are Gods Trumpet, and the Church is Gods Organ, but Chriſt Jeſus is his voyce. When he ſpeaks in the Prince, when he ſpeaks in the Church, there we are bound to heare, and happy if we doe hear. Man hath a natural way to come to God, by the eie, by the creature;Rom 2. So Viſible things ſhew the Inviſible God: But then, God hath ſuper-induced a ſupernaturall way, by the eare. For, though hearing be naturall, yet that faith in God ſhould come by hearing a man preach, is ſupernatural. God ſhut up the naturall way, in Saul, Seeing; He ſtruck him blind; But he opened the ſuper-naturall way, he inabled him to heare, and to heare him. God would have us beholden to grace, and not to nature, and to come for our ſalvation, to his Ordinances, to the preaching of his Word, and not to any other meanes. Though hee were blinde, even that blindneſſe, as it was a humiliation, and a diverting of his former glaring lights, was a degree of mercy, of preparative mercy; yet there was a voyce, which was another degree; And a voyce that he heard, which was a degree above that; and ſo farre we are gone; And he heard it, ſaying, that is diſtinctly, and intelligibly, which is our next Circumſtance.
He heares him ſaying, that is, He heares him ſo, as that he knowes what he ſayes, ſo,Dicentem. as that he underſtands him; for, he that heares the word, and underſtands it not, is ſubject to that which Chriſt ſayes, That the wicked one comes, Mat. 13.19.and catches away that that was ſowne. S. Auguſtine puts himſelfe earneſtly upon the contemplation of the Creation, as Moſes hath delivered it; he findes it hard to conceive, and he ſayes, Si eſſet ante me Moſes, Confeſ. l. 1. c. 3.If Moſes who writ this were here, Tenerem eum, & per te obſecrarem, I would hold him faſt, and beg of him, for thy ſake, O my God, that he would declare this worke of the Creation more plainly unto me. But then, ſayes that bleſſed Father, Si Hebraea voce loqueretur, If Moſes ſhould ſpeake Hebrew to mee, mine eares might heare the ſound, but my minde would not heare the voyce; I might heare him, but I ſhould not heare what he ſaid. This was that that diſtinguiſhed betweene S. Paul, and thoſe who were in his company at this time;Ver. 7. Acts 22.9. S. Luke ſayes in this Chapter, That they heard the voyce, and S. Paul relating the ſtory againe, after ſayes, They heard not the voyce of him that ſpoke to me; they heard a confuſed ſound, but they diſtinguiſhed it not to be the voyce of God, nor diſcerned Gods purpoſe in it.Ver. 28. In the twelfth of Iohn, there came a voyce from Heaven, from God himſelfe, and the people ſaid, It thundred. So apt is naturall man to aſcribe even Gods immediate and miraculous actions to naturall cauſes; apt to reſt and determine in Nature, and leave out God. The Poet chides that weakneſſe, (as he cals it) to be afraid of Gods judgements, or to call naturall accidents judgements; Quo morbo mentem concuſſe? timore Deorum, ſayes he; he ſayes The Conſcience may be over-tender, and that ſuch timerous men, are ſick of the feare of God; But it is a bleſſed diſeaſe The feare of God, and the true way to true health. And though there be a morall conſtancy that becomes a Chriſtian well, not to bee eaſily ſhaked with the variations and revolutions of this world, yet it becomes him to eſtabliſh his conſtancy in this, That God hath a good purpoſe in that action, not that God hath no hand in that action; That God will produce good out of it, not that God hath nothing to doe in it. The Magicians themſelves were forced to confeſſe Digitum Dei, Exod. 6.16.The finger of God, in a ſmall matter. Never thinke it a weakeneſſe, to call that a judgement of God, which others determine in Nature; Doe ſo, ſo far as works to thy edification, who ſeeſt that judgement, though not ſo far, as to argue, and conclude the finall condemnation of that man upon whom that judgement is fallen. Certainely, we were better call twenty naturall accidents judgements of God, then fruſtrate Gods purpoſe in any of his powerfull deliverances, by calling it a naturall accident, and ſuffer the thing to vaniſh ſo, and God be left unglorified in it, or his Church unedified by it. Then we heare God, when we underſtand what he ſayes; And therefore, as we are bound to bleſſe God, that he ſpeakes to us, and heares us ſpeake to him, in a language which wee underſtand, and not in ſuch a ſtrange language, as that a ſtranger who ſhould come in and heare it,1 Cor. 14.23. would thinke the Congregation mad; So alſo let us bleſſe him for that holy tenderneſſe, to be apt to feele his hand in every accident, and to diſcerne his preſence in every thing that befals us. Saul heard the voyce, ſaying; He underſtood what it ſaid, and by that, found that it was directed to him, which is alſo another ſtep in this laſt part.
This is an impropriation without ſacriledge,Sibi. and an encloſure of a Common without damage, to make God mine owne, to finde that all that God ſayes is ſpoken to me, and all that Chriſt ſuffered was ſuffered for me. And as Saul found this voyce at firſt, to be directed to him, ſo ever after he bends his eye the ſame way, and obſerves the working of God eſpecially upon himſelfe; As at the beginning, ſo in the way too: particularly there, By the grace of God I am that I am; 1 Cor. 15.and then, His grace was beſtowed on me, And not in vaine; and againe, I have laboured more abundantly then all; And after all, ſtill he conſiders himſelfe, and findes himſelfe to be the greateſt ſinner, Quorum ego maximus. It is called a greatneſſe of ſpirit, or conſtancy, but it is indeed an incorrigible height of pride, when a man will not beleeve that he is meant in a libel, if he be not named in that libel. It is a fearfull obduration, to be Sermon-proofe, or not to take knowledge, that a judgement is denounced againſt him, becauſe he is not named in the denouncing of that judgement. Is not thy name Simon Magus, if thou buy and ſell ſpirituall things thy ſelfe? and is not thy ſervants name Gehazi, if he exact after? Is not thy name Cain, if thou riſe up againſt thy brother? And is not thy name Zacheus, if thou multiply thy wealth by oppreſſion? Is not thy name Dinah, if thou gad abroad, to ſee who will ſolicite thee? And is not the name of Putiphars Wife upon thee, if thou ſtay at home and ſolicite thy ſervants? Poſtdate the whole Bible, and whatſoever thou heareſt ſpoken of ſuch, as thou art, before, beleeve all that to be ſpoken but now, and ſpoken to thee. This was one happineſſe here, that Saul found this voyce to be directed to him; And another (which is our laſt Conſideration) is what this voyce ſaid; it ſaid, Saul, Saul, why perſecuteſt thou me?
Here,Saul. to make ſure of him, God cals him by his name, that hee ſhould not be able to transfer the ſummons upon any other, or ſay it was not he. They ſay that our Noctambulones, men that walke in their ſleepe, will wake if they be called by their names. To wake Saul out of this dreame, (for, to thinke to oppoſe Chriſt and his cauſe, is, in the higheſt perſon of the world, of what power or of what counſel ſoever, but a vertiginous dreame, and a giddy vapour) to wake him, he cals him by his name, to let him know he meanes him; and to wake him throughly, he cals him twice, Saul, and Saul againe.Saul, Saul. Ier. 22.29. The great deſolation which was to fall upon that land, God intimates, God interminates, God intonates with ſuch a vehemency, Terra, terra, terra, Earth, earth, earth heare the word of the Lord. God ſhould be heard at firſt, beleeved at firſt; but ſuch is his abundant goodneſſe, as that he ingeminates, multiplies his warnings; And to this whole land he hath ſaid, Terra, terra, terra, Earth, earth, earth heare the Word of the Lord; Once in an Invaſion, once in a Powder-treaſon; and againe, and againe in peſtilentiall contagions; And to every one of us, he hath ſaid oftner then ſo, Duſt, duſt, duſt why doeſt thou lift up thy ſelf againſt thy Maker? Saul, Saul why perſecuteſt thou mee?
Here Chriſt cals the afflictions of thoſe that are his, in his purpoſe, his afflictions.Me. Chriſt will not abſolutely verifie his owne words, to his owne eaſe; He had ſaid before this, upon the Croſſe, Conſummatum eſt, All is finiſhed; But though all were finiſhed in his Perſon, he hath a daily paſſion in his Saints ſtill. This language which the Apoſtle learnt of Chriſt here, himſelfe practiſed, and ſpake after, Who is weake, and I am not weake? 2 Cor. 11.29.who is offended, and I burne not? Since Chriſt does ſuffer in our ſufferings, be this our conſolation, Till he be weary, we ſhould not be weary, nor faint, nor murmur under our burdens; and this too, That when he is weary, he will deliver us even for his owne ſake; for he, though he cannot ſuffer paine, may ſuffer diſhonour in our ſufferings; therefore attend his leiſure.
We end all in this, Cur tu me? Why doeſt Thou perſecute Me? Why Saul Chriſt?Tume. Put it upon a Nation, (what is any Saul, any one man to a Nation?) Put it upon all the Nations of the World, and you ſhall heare God aske with an indignation, Quare fremuerunt Gentes? Why doe the heathen rage, why do the people imagine a vaine thing? Pſal. 2.1. Ver. 4.why will they doe it? what can they get? He that ſitteth in the Heavens ſhall laugh; The Lord ſhall have them in deriſion. Chriſt came into the Temple and diſputed with the Doctors; but hee did not deſpiſe them, he did not laugh at them. When all the Midianites, and all the Amalekites, and all the Children of the Eaſt, were in a body againſt Iſrael,Iudg. 6.33. God did not laugh at them. Gideon his Generall, muſtered two and thirty thouſand againſt them. God would not imploy ſo many in the day of Battaile, yet he did not laugh at them, hee did not whip them out of the field, he made the face of an Army, though it were but three hundred. But when God can chuſe his way, Hee can call in Nation againſt Nation, he can caſt a dampe upon any Nation, and make them afraid of one another, He can doe an execution upon them by themſelves, (I preſume you remember thoſe ſtories in the Bible, where God did proceed by ſuch wayes) or he can ſit ſtill in a ſcorne, and let them melt away of themſelves; when he can caſt downe Saul to the earth, and never appeare in the cauſe, benight his noone, fruſtrate his purpoſes, evacuate his hopes, annihilate him in the height of his glory, Cur tu me? why will any Saul, any Nation, any World of Sauls perſecute Chriſt, any ſinner tempt him, who is ſo much too hard for him?
Cur me? Why doeſt thou offer this to me, who being thus much too hard for thee, would yet faine be friends with thee? and therefore came to a parley, to a treaty? for, verba haec, non tam arguentis, quam defendentis, ſayes S. Chryſoſtome: Theſe are not ſo much offenſive as defenſive words; He would not confound Saul, but he would not betray his own honour. To many Nations God hath never ſpoken; To the Jews he ſpoke, but ſuffered them to miſtake him; To ſome whole Chriſtian Churches he ſpeaks, but he lets them ſpeake too; he lets them make their word equall to his; To many of us he hath ſpoken, and chidden, but given over before we are cured; As he ſayes of Iſrael, in a manner, That ſhe is not worth his anger, not worth his puniſhing,Eſay 1.4. A people laden with ſinnes, why ſhould they any more be ſmitten? Why ſhould I go about to recover them? But if God ſpeake to thee ſtill, and ſpeake in a mixt voyce, of Correction, and Conſolation too, Saul, Saul, why perſecuteſt thou me? Him that receives ſo little benefit by thee, and yet is ſo loath to loſe thee, Him that can ſo eaſily ſpare thee, and yet makes thy ſoule more precious then his own life, Him that can reſolve thee, ſcatter thee, annihilate thee with a word, and yet afford ſo many words, ſo many houres conferences, ſo many Sermons to reclaime thee, why perſecuteſt Thou Him? Anſwer this queſtion, with Sauls anſwer to this queſtion, by another queſtion, Domine quid me vis facere? Lord what wilt thou have me do? Deliver thy ſelfe over to the will of God, and God ſhall deliver thee over, as he did Saul to Ananias; provide thee by his Miniſtery in his Ordinance, means to rectifie thee, in all dejection of ſpirit, light to cleare thee in all perplexities of conſcience, in the wayes of thy pilgrimage, and more and more effectuall ſeals thereof, at the houre of thy tranſmigration into his joy, and thine eternall reſt.