Eighty Sermons, St. Paul · Sermon 49
SERM. XLIX. Preached on the Converſion of S. PAUL. 1629.
ACTS 23.6, 7.
But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadduces, and the other Phariſees, he cryed out in the Councel, Men and Brethren, I am a Phariſee, and the ſon of a Phariſee; Of the hope and reſurrection of the dead I am called in queſtion.
And when he had ſo ſaid, there aroſe a diſſention between the Phariſees and the Sadduces, and the multitude was divided.
WE conſider ordinarily in the old Teſtament, God the Father; And in the Goſpels, God the Son; And in this Book, the Acts, and in the Epiſtles, and the reſt, God the Holy Ghoſt, that is, God in the Government and Adminiſtration of his Church, as well in the ordinary Miniſtery and conſtant callings therein, as in the extraordinary uſe of generall Councells; of which, we have the Modell, and Platforme, and precedent in the fifteenth Chapter of this Booke. The Book is noted to have above twenty Sermons of the Apoſtles; and yet the Book is not called The Sermons, The Preaching of the Apoſtles, but the Practiſe, the Acts of the Apoſtles. Our actions, if they be good, ſpeak louder then our Sermons; Our preaching is our ſpeech, our good life is our eloquence. Preaching celebrates the Sabbath, but a good life makes the whole week a Sabbath, that is, A ſavor of reſt in the noſtrils of God,Gen. 8. Chryſoſt. Hieron. as it is ſaid of Noahs Sacrifice, when he came out of the Ark. The Book is called The Acts of the Apoſtles; But ſayes S. Chryſoſtome, and S. Hierome too, it might be called the Acts of S. Paul, ſo much more is it converſant about him, then all the reſt. In which reſpect, at this time of the yeare, and in theſe dayes, when the Church commemorates the Converſion of S. Paul, I have, for divers yeares ſucceſſively, in this place, determined my ſelfe upon this Book. Once upon the very act of his Converſion, in thoſe words,Acts 9.4. Acts 20.25. Saul, Saul, why perſecuteſt thou me? Once upon his valediction to his Epheſians at Miletus, in thoſe words, Now I know that all ye ſhall ſee my face no more; And once upon the eſcape from the Vipers teeth, and the viperous tongues of thoſe inconſtant and clamorous beholders,Acts 28.6. who firſt raſhly cried out, He is a murderer, and then changed their mindes, and ſaid, He is a God. And now, for the ſervice of your devotions, and the advancement of your edification, I have laid my meditations upon this his Stratagem, and juſt avoiding of an unjuſt Judgement, When Paul percived that one part were Sadduces, and the other Phariſees, &c.
In handling of which words,Diviſio. becauſe they have occaſioned a Diſputation, and a Probleme, whether this that Paul did, were well done, To raiſe a diſſention amongſt his Judges, we ſhall ſtop firſt upon that Conſideration, That all the actions of holy men, of Apoſtles in the new Teſtament, of Patriarchs in the old, are not to be drawne into example and conſequence for others, no nor alwayes to be excuſed and juſtified in them that did them; All actions of holy men, are not holy; that is firſt. And ſecondly, we ſhall conſider this action of S. Paul, in ſome circumſtances that inveſt it, and in ſome effects that it produced in our Text, as diſſention amongſt his Judges, and ſo a reprieving, or rather a putting off of the triall for that time; and theſe will determine our ſecond Conſideration. And in a third, we ſhall lodge all theſe in our ſelves, and make it our owne caſe, and finde that we have all Sadduces and Phariſees in our own boſomes, (contrary affections in our own hearts) and finde an advantage in putting theſe home-Sadduces, and home-Phariſees, theſe contrary affections in our owne boſomes, in colluctation, and oppoſition againſt one another, that they doe not combine, and unite themſelves to our farther diſadvantage; A Civill warre, is, in this caſe, our way to peace; when one ſinfull affection croſſes another, we ſcape better, then when all joyne, without any reſiſtance. And in theſe three, firſt the Generall, How wee are to eſtimate all actions, And then the Particular, what wee are to thinke of S. Pauls Action, And laſtly, the Individuall, How wee are to direct and regulate our owne Actions, wee ſhall determine all.
Firſt then,1. Part. though it be a ſafer way, to ſuſpect an action to be ſin that is not, then to preſome an action to be no ſin, that is ſo, yet that rule holds better in our ſelves, then in other men; for, in judging the actions of other men, our ſuſpition may ſoone ſtray into an uncharitable miſ-interpretation, and wee may ſin in condemning that in another, which was no ſin in him that did it. But, in truth, Tranſilire lineam, To depart from the direct and ſtraight line, is ſin, as well on the right hand, as on the left; And the Devill makes his advantages upon the over-tender, and ſcrupulous conſcience, as well as upon the over-confident, and obdurate; and many men have erred as much, in juſtifying ſome actions of holy men, as in calumniating, or miſ-condemning of others. If we had not evidence in Scripture, that Abraham received that Commandement from God, who could juſtifie Abrahams proceeding with his ſon Iſaac? And therefore who ſhall be afraid to call Noahs Drunkenneſſe, and his undecent lying in his Tent, Or Lots Drunkenneſſe, and his iterated Inceſt with his Daughters, or his inconſiderate offer to proſtitute his Daughters to the Sodomites, Or to call Davids complicated and multiplied ſin, a ſin? When the Church celebrates Samſons death, though he killed himſelf, it is upon a tender & holy ſuppoſition, that he might do this not without ſome inſtinct and inſpiration from the Spirit of God. But howſoever the Church interprets ſuch actions, it is a dangerous and a fallacious way, for any private man to argue ſo, The Spirit of God directed this man in many actions, therefore in all; And dangerous to conclude an action to be good, either becauſe he that did it, had a good purpoſe in doing it, or becauſe ſome good effects proceeded from it. Bonum bene, are the two horſes that muſt carry us to heaven; To do good things, and to doe them well; To propoſe good ends, and to goe by good waies to thoſe good ends. The Mid-wives lie, in the behalfe of the Iſraelites children, was a lie, and a ſin, howſoever God, out of his own goodneſſe, found ſomething in their piety, to reward. I ſhould not venture to ſay, as he ſaid, nor to ſay that hee ſaid well, when Moſes ſaid, Dele me, Forgive their finne, or blot mee out of thy Booke; Exod. 32.32. Rom. 9 3.Nor when S. Paul ſaid, Anathema pro fratribus, I could wiſh that my ſelfe were ſeparated from Chriſt for my Brethren. I would not, I could not without ſin, be content that my name ſhould be blotted out of the Booke of Life, or that I ſhould bee ſeparated from Chriſt, though all the world beſide were to be blotted out, and ſeparated, if I ſtaid in.
The benefit that we are to make of the errors of holy men, is not that, That man did this, therefore I may doe it: but this, God ſuffered that holy man to fall, and yet loved that good ſoule well, God hath not therefore caſt me away, though he have ſuffered me to fall too. Bread is mans beſt ſuſtenance, yet there may be a dangerous ſurfet of bread: Charity is the bread that the ſoule lives by; yet there may be a ſurfet of charity; I may miſ-lead my ſelfe ſhrewdly, if I ſay, ſurely my Father is a good man, my Maſter a good man, my Paſtor a good man, men that have the teſtimony of Gods love, by his manifold bleſſings upon them; and therefore I may be bold to doe whatſoever I ſee them doe. Be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven, is perfect, Mat. 5.48. 1 Cor. 11.1.is the example that Chriſt gives you. Be yee followers of mee, as I am of Chriſt, is …he example that the Apoſtle gives you. Good Examples are good Aſſiſtances; but no Example of man is ſufficient to conſtitute a certaine and conſtant rule; All the actions of the holieſt man are not holy.
Hence appeares the vanity and impertinency of that calumny, with which our adverſaries of the Roman perſwaſion labour to oppreſſe us, That thoſe points in which we depart from them, cannot be well eſtabliſhed, becauſe therein we depart from the Fathers; As though there were no condemnation to them, that pretended a perpetuall adhering to the Fathers, nor ſalvation to them, who ſuſpected any Father of any miſtaking. And they have thought that one thing enough, to diſcredit, and blaſt, and annihilate that great and uſefull labour, which the Centuriators, the Magdeburgenſes tooke in compiling the Eccleſiaſticall Story, that in every age as they paſſe, thoſe Authors have laid out a particular ſection, a particular Chapter De navis Patrum, to note the miſtakings of the Fathers in every age; This they thinke a criminall and a hainous thing, inough to diſcredit the whole worke; As though there were ever in any age, any Father, that miſtook nothing, or that it were blaſphemy againſt the Holy Ghoſt, to note ſuch a miſtaking. And yet, if thoſe bleſſed Fathers, now in poſſeſſion of heaven, be well affected with our celebrating, or ill, with our neglecting their works, certainly they finde much more cauſe to complaine of our adverſaries, then of us. Never any in the Reformation hath ſpoken ſo lightly, nay, ſo heavily; ſo negligently, nay, ſo diligently, ſo ſtudiouſly in diminution of the Fathers, as they have done. One of the firſt Jeſuits proceeds with modeſty and ingenuity, and yet ſayes, Quaelibet aetas antiquitati detulit, Salmeron.Every age hath been apt to aſcribe much to the Ancient Fathers; Hoc autem aſſerimus, ſayes he, Iuniores Doctores perſpicaciores, This we muſt neceſſarily acknowledge, that our later Men have ſeen farther then the elder Fathers did. His fellow Jeſuit goes farther; Hoc omnes dicunt, Maldon.ſed non probant, ſayes he, ſpeaking of one perſon in the Genealogy of Chriſt, This the Fathers ſay, ſayes he, and later men too; Catholiques, and Heretiques; All: But none of them prove it; He will not take their words, not the whole Churches, though they all agree. But a Biſhop of as much eſtimation and authority in the Council of Trent, as any,Cornel. Muſſu… goes much farther; Being preſſed with S. Auguſtins opinion, he ſayes, Nec nos tantillum moveat Auguſtinus, Let it never trouble us, which way S. Auguſtine goes; Hoc enim illi peculiare, ſayes he, ut alium errorem expugnans, alteri anſam praebeat, for this is inſeparable from S. Auguſtine, That out of an earneſtneſſe to deſtroy one error, he will eſtabliſh another. Nor doth that Biſhop impute that diſtemper onelyonly to S. Auguſtine, but to S. Hierome too; Of him he ſayes, In medio poſitus certamine, ar dore feriendi adverſarios, premit & ſocios, S. Hierome laies about him, and rather then miſſe his enemy, he wounds his friends alſo. But all that might better be borne then this, Turpiter errarunt Patres, The Fathers fell foully into errors; And this, better then that, Eorum opinio, opinio Haereticorum, The Fathers differ not from the Heretiques, concurre with the Heretiques. Who in the Reformation hath charged the Fathers ſo farre? and yet Baronius hath.
If they did not oppreſſe us with this calumny of neglecting, or undervaluing the Fathers, we ſhould not make our recourſe to this way of recrimination; for, God knowes, if it be modeſtly done. and with the reverence, in many reſpects, due to them, it is no fault to ſay the Fathers fell into ſome faults. Yet, it is rather our Adverſaries obſervation then ours, That all the Ancient Fathers were Chiliaſts, Millenarians, and maintained that error of a thouſand yeares temporall happineſſe upon this earth, betweene the Reſurrection, and our actuall and eternall poſſeſſion of Heaven; It is their obſervation rather then ours, That all the Ancient Fathers denied the dead a fruition of the ſight of God, till the day of Judgement; It is theirs rather then ours, That all the Greek Fathers, and ſome of the Latin, aſſigned Gods foreknowledge of mans works, to be the cauſe of his predeſtination. It is their note, That for the firſt ſix hundred yeares, the generall opinion, and generall practiſe of the Church was, To give the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, to Infants newly baptized, as a thing neceſſary to their ſalvation. They have noted, That the opinion of the Ancient Fathers was contrary to the preſent opinion in the Church of Rome, concerning the conception of the bleſſed Virgin without Originall ſin. Theſe notes and imputations ariſe from their Authors, and not from ours, and they have told it us, rather then we them.
Indeed neither we nor they can diſſemble the miſtakings of the Fathers. The Fathers themſelves would not have them diſſembled.Hieron. De me, ſayes S. Hierom, ubicunque de meo ſenſu loquor, arguat me quilibet, Auguſt.For my part, whereſoever I deliver but mine owne opinion, every man hath his liberty to correct me. It is true, S. Auguſtine does call Iulian the Pelagian to the Fathers; but it is to vindicate and redeeme the Fathers from thoſe calumnies which Iulian had laid upon them, that they were Multitudo caecorum, a herd, a ſwarme of blinde guides, and followers of one another, And that they were Conſpiratio perditorum, Damned Conſpirators againſt the truth. To ſet the Fathers in their true light, and to reſtore them to their luſtre and dignity, and to make Iulian confeſſe what reverend perſons they were, S. Aug. cals him to the conſideration of the Fathers, but not to try matters of faith by them alone.Lactant. For, Sapientiam ſibi adimit, qui ſine judicio majorum inventa probat, That man deveſts himſelfe of all diſcretion, who, without examination, captivates his underſtanding to the Fathers.
It is ingenuouſly ſaid by one of their later Writers, (if hee would but give us leave to ſay ſo too) Sequamur Patres, Cajetan.tanquam Duces, non tanquam Dominos, Let us follow the Fathers as Guides, not as Lords over our underſtandings, as Counſellors, not as Commanders.Nicephor. Chryſoſt. It is too much to ſay of any Father that which Nicephorus ſayes of S. Chryſoſtome, In illius perinde at que in Dei verbis quieſco, I am as ſafe in Chryſoſtomes words, as in the Word of God;Sophron. Leo. That is too much. It is too much to ſay of any Father that which Sophronius ſayes of Leo, That his Epiſtles were Divina Scriptura, tanquam ex ore Petri prolata, & fundamentum fidei, That he received the Epiſtles that Leo writ, as holy writ, as written by S. Peter himſelfe, and as the foundation of his faith; that is too much. It is too much to ſay of S. Peter himſelfe that which Chryſologus ſayes,Chryſolog. That he is Immobile fundamentum ſalutis, The immoveable foundation of our ſalvation, & Mediator noſter apud Deum, The Mediator of man to God.Azorius. Their Jeſuit Azorius gives us a good Caution herein; Hee ſayes it is a good and ſafe way, in all emergent doubts, to governe our ſelves Per communem opinionem, by the the common opinion, by that, in which moſt Authors agree; But ſayes he, how ſhall we know which is the common opinion? Since, not onelyonly that is the common opinion in one Age, that is not ſo in another, (The common opinion was in the Primitive Church, that the bleſſed Virgin was conceived in Original ſin, The common opinion now, is that ſhe was not) But if we confider the ſame Age, that is the common opinion in one place, in one countrey, which is not ſo in another place, at the ſame time; That Jeſuit puts his example in the worſhip of the Croſſe of Chriſt, and ſayes, That, at this day, in Germany and in France it is the common opinion, and Catholique Divinity, That foreign, Divine worſhip is not due to the Croſſe of Chriſt; In Italy and in Spain it is the common opinion, and Catholique Divinity, that it is due. Now, how ſhall hee governe himſelfe, that is unlearned, and not able to try, which is the common opinion? Or how ſhall the learnedeſt of all governe himſelfe if he have occaſion to travaile, but to change his Divinity, as often as he changes his Coine, and when he turnes his Dutch Dollers into Piſtolets, to go out of Germany, into Spain, turn his Devotion, and his religious worſhip according to the Clime? To end this Conſideration, The holy Patriarchs in the Old Teſtament, were holy men, though they ſtraid into ſome ſinfull actions; the holy Fathers in the Primitive Church, were holy men, though they ſtraied into ſome erronious opinions; But neither are the holieſt mens actions alwaies holy, nor the ſoundeſt Fathers opinions alwaies ſound. And therefore the queſtion hath beene not impertinently moved, whether this that S. Paul did here, were juſtifiably done, Who, when he perceived that one part were Sadduces, and the other Phariſees, &c. And ſo wee are come to our ſecond part, from the conſideration of Actions in generall, to this particular action of S. Paul.
In this ſecond part we make three ſteps. Firſt we ſhall conſider, what Councell,2 Part. what Court this was, before whom S. Paul was convented, (He cryed out in the Councell, ſayes the text) whether they were his competent Judges, and ſo he bound to a cleare, and direct proceeding with them; And ſecondly, what his end and purpoſe was, that he propoſed to himſelfe; which was to divide the Judges, and ſo to put off his tryall to another day; for, when he had ſaid that, (ſayes the text) that that he had to ſay, there aroſe a Diſſention, and the multitude, All, both Judges, and ſpectators, and witneſſes, were divided; And then laſtly, by what way he went to this end; which was by a double proteſtation; firſt that, Men and brethren, I am a Phariſee; And then that, Of the hope and Reſurrection of the dead, I am called in queſtion.
Firſt then, for the competency of his Judges, Whether a man be examined before a competent Judge or no, he may not lye: we can put no caſe,Iudex Competens. in which it may be lawfull for any man to lye to any man; not to a midnight, nor to a noone thiefe, that breaks my houſe, or aſſaults my perſon, I may not lye. And though many have put names of diſguiſe, as Equivocations, and Reſervations, yet they are all children of the ſame father, the father of lies, the devill, and of the ſame brood of vipers, they are lyes. To an Incompetent Judge, if I be interrogated, I muſt ſpeake truth, if I ſpeake; but to a Competent Judge, I muſt ſpeak: With the Incompetent I may not be falſe, but with the Competent, I may not be ſilent. Certainely, that ſtanding mute at the Bar, which, of late times hath prevailed upon many diſtempered wretches, is, in it ſelfe, ſo particularly a ſin, as that I ſhould not venture to abſolve any ſuch perſon, nor to adminiſter the Sacrament to him, how earneſtly ſoever he deſired it at his death, how penitently ſoever he confeſſed all his other ſins, except he repented in particular, that ſin, of having ſtood mute and refuſed a juſt triall, and would be then content to ſubmit himſelf to it, if that favour might poſſibly at that time be afforded him. To an incompetent Judge I muſt not lie, but I may be ſilent, to a competent I muſt anſwer.
Conſider we then the competency of S. Pauls Judges, what this Councel, this Court was. It was that Councel, which is ſo often in the New Teſtament called foreign, and in our Tranſlation, the Councel. The Jews ſpeake much of their Lex Oralis, their Oral, their Traditionall Law; that is, That Expoſition of the Law, which, ſay they, Moſes received from the mouth of God, without writing, in that forty dayes converſation which he had with God, in the Mount; for, it is not probable, ſay they, that Moſes ſhould ſpend forty dayes in that, which another man would have done in one or two, that is, in receiving onelyonly that Law which is written: But he received an expoſition too, and delivered that to Ioſhuah, and he to the principal men, and according to that expoſition, they proceeded in Judgement, in this Councel, in this their Synedrion. Which Councell having had the firſt inſtitution thereof, Numb. 11.16. where God ſaid to Moſes, Gather me ſeventy men of the Elders of Iſrael, Officers over the people, Numb. 11.16.and I will take of the Spirit that is upon thee, and put it upon them, and they ſhall beare the burden; that is, I will impart to them that expoſition of the Law, which I have imparted to thee, and by that they ſhall proceed in Judgement, in this Councel, this Synedrion of Seventy, had continued (though with ſome variations) to this time, when S. Paul was now called before them. Of this Councel of Seventy, this Synedrion, our bleſſed Saviour ſpeaks, when he ſayes, He that ſaies Raca, (that is, declares his anger by any opprobrious words of defamation,) ſhall be ſubject to the Councel. Of this Councel he ſpeakes, when he ſayes,Mat. 5.22. Iohn 10.17. for my ſake, they will deliver you up to the Councel; And from this Councel it is, not inconveniently, thought, that thoſe meſſengers were ſent, which were ſent to examine Iohn Baptiſt, Iohn 1.19.whether he were the Meſſias or no; for there it is ſaid, That Prieſts and Levites were ſent; and this Councell, ſayes Ioſephus, at firſt, (and for a long time) conſiſted of ſuch perſons, though, after, a third Order was taken in, that is, ſome principall men of the other Tribes. To this Councel belonged the Conuſance of all cauſes, Eccleſiaſticall and Civill, and of all perſons; no Magiſtrate, no Prophet was exempt from this Court. Before this Councel was Herod himſelfe called, for an execution done by his command, which,Ioſeph. l 14. c. 17. though it were done upon a notorious malefactor, yet was done without due proceedings in law, and therefore Herod called before this Councell for it.
But (by the way) this was not done when Herod was King, as Baronius doth miſchievouſly and ſeditiouſly infer and argue, as though this Councel were above the King. Herod at that time, was very far from any imagination of being King; His Father, Antipater, who then was alive, having, at that time, no pretenſe to the Kingdome. But Herod, though young, was then in a great place of Government, and for a miſdemeanor there, was called before this Councel, which had juriſdiction over all but the King. For ſo, in the Talmud it ſelfe, the difference is expreſly put; Sacerdos magnus judicat & judicatur, The High Prieſt, the greateſt Prelate in the Clergy, may have place in this Councel, and may be called in queſtion by this Councel, Iudicat & judicatur; So, Teſtimonium dicit, & de eo dicitur, He may goe from the Bench, and be a witneſſe againſt any man, and he may be put from the Bench, and any mans witneſſe be received againſt him. But then of the King, it is as expreſly ſaid, of this Councel, in that Talmud, Nec judicat, nec judicatur, The King ſits in Judgement upon no man, leſt his preſence ſhould intimidate an accuſed perſon, or draw the other Judges from their own opinion to his; Much leſſe can the King be judged by any; Nec teſtimonium dicit, nec de eo dicitur, The King deſcends not to be a witnes againſt any man, neither can any man be a witnes againſt him. It was therefore miſchievouſly, and ſeditiouſly, and treacherouſly, and trayterouſly, and (in one comprehenſive word) Papiſtically argued by Baronius, That this Councel was above the King.
But above all other perſons it was; In ſome caſes, in the whole body of the Councel; for, Matters of Religion, Innovations in poynts of doctrine, Imputations upon great perſons in the Church, were not to be judged by any ſelected Committee, but by the whole Councel, the intire body, the Seaventy; Pecuniary matters, and matters of defamation, might be determined by a Committee of any three; Matters that induced bodily puniſhments, though it were but flagellation, but a whipping matter, not under a Committee of twenty three. But ſo were all perſons, and all cauſes diſtributed, as that that Court, that Councel had conuſance of all. So that then S. Paul was before a competent and a proper Judge, and therefore bound to anſwer; Did he that? That is our next diſquiſition, and our ſecond Conſideration in this part, His end, his purpoſe in proceeding as he did.
His End was to diſſolve the Councel for the preſent. He ſaw a tumultuary proceeding; for,Finis. as the Text ſayes, he was fain to cry out in the Councel, before he could be heard. He ſaw the Preſident of the Councel,Ver. 2. Ananias the high Prieſt, ſo ill-affected towards him, as that he commanded him extrajudicially to be ſmitten. He ſaw a great part of his Judges, and ſpectators, amongſt whom were the witneſſes, to be his declared enemies. He ſaw that if he proceeded to a tryall then, he periſhed infallibly, irrecoverably, and therefore deſired to put off the tryall for that time. He did not deny nor decline the juriſdiction of that Court; He had no eye to any forraigne Prince, nor Prelate: There are amongſt us that doe ſo; that deny that they can be traytors, though they commit treaſon, becauſe they are ſubjects to a forraine Biſhop, and not to their naturall King; S. Paul did not ſo. He did not calumniate nor traduce the proceedings of that Court, nor put into the people ill opinions of their ſuperiors, by laying aſperſions upon them; There are that doe ſo; S. Paul did not. But his end and purpoſe was onelyonly to put off the tryall for that time, till he might be received to a more ſober, and calme, and equitable hearing. And this certainly was no ill end, ſo his way were good. What was that? That is our next, our third and laſt Conſideration in this part.
His way was by a twofold Proteſtation;Viae. Phariſaei. The firſt this, Men and brethren, I am a Phariſee. The Phariſees were a ſect amongſt the Jews, who are ordinarily conceived to have received their Name from Diviſion, from Separation, from departing from that liberty, which other men did take, to a ſtricter forme of life. Of which, amongſt many others, S. Hierome gives us this evidence, that the Phariſees would fringe their long robes with thornes, that ſo they might cut, and teare, and mangle their heels and legs as they went, in the ſight of the people. Outward mortification and auſterity was a ſpecious thing, and of great eſtimation amongſt the Jews: you may ſee that in Iohn Baptiſt; who was as much followed, and admired for that, as Chriſt for his Miracles, though Iohn Baptiſt did no Miracles. For, extraordinary auſterity is a continuall Miracle. As S. Hierome ſayes of Chaſtity, Habet ſervata pudicitia martyrium ſuum, Chaſtity is a continuall Martyrdome; So to ſurrender a mans ſelfe to a continuall hunger, and thirſt, and cold, and watching, and forbearing all which all others enjoy, a continuall mortification is a continuall Miracle. This made the Phariſees gracious and acceptable to the people:Phil. 3.5. Act. 26.5. Therefore S. Paul doth not make his Proteſtation here onelyonly ſo, That he had been as touching the Law, a Phariſee, nor as he makes it in this book, After the ſtricteſt ſect of our religion, I lived a Phariſee, that is, heretofore I did, but now, after his Converſion, and after his Apoſtolicall Commiſſion, he makes it, Men and brethren, I am a Phariſee.
Beloved, there are ſome things in which all Religions agree; The worſhip of God, The holineſſe of life; And therefore, if when I ſtudy this holineſſe of life, and faſt, and pray, and ſubmit my ſelfe to diſcreet, and medicinall mortifications, for the ſubduing of my body, any man will ſay, this is Papiſticall, Papiſts doe this, it is a bleſſed Proteſtation, and no man is the leſſe a Proteſtant, nor the worſe a Proteſtant for making it, Men and brethren, I am a Papiſt, that is, I will faſt and pray as much as any Papiſt, and enable my ſelfe for the ſervice of my God, as ſeriouſly, as ſedulouſly, as laboriouſly as any Papiſt. So, if when I ſtartle and am affected at a blaſphemous oath, as at a wound upon my Saviour, if when I avoyd the converſation of thoſe men, that prophane the Lords day, any other will ſay to me, This is Puritanicall, Puritans do this, It is a bleſſed Proteſtation, and no man is the leſſe a Proteſtant, nor the worſe a Proteſtant for making it, Men and Brethren, I am a Puritan, that is, I wil endeavour to be pure, as my Father in heaven is pure, as far as any Puritan.
Now of theſe Phariſees, who were by theſe means ſo popular,Sadducaei. the numbers were very great. The Sadduces, who alſo were of an exemplary holineſſe in ſome things, but in many and important things of different opinions, even in matter of Religion, from all other men, were not ſo many in number, but they were men of better quality and place in the State, then, for the moſt part, the Phariſees were. And as they were more potent, and able to do more miſchiefe, ſo had they more declared themſelves to be bent againſt the Apoſtles, then the Phariſees had done. In the fourth Chapter of this Booke,Ver. 1. The Prieſts, and the Sadduces, (no mention of Phariſees) came upon Peter and Iohn, being grieved, that they preached, thorough Ieſus, the reſurrection of the dead. And ſo againe,Act. 5.17. The high Prieſt roſe up, and all they that were with him, which is (ſayes that Text expreſly) the ſect of the Sadduces, and were filled with indignation. And ſome collect out of a place in Euſebius, that this Ananias, who was high Prieſt at this time, and had declared his ill affection to S. Paul, (as you heard before) was a Sadduce: But, I thinke thoſe words of Euſebius will not beare, at leaſt, not enforce that, nor be well applied to this Ananias. Howſoever, S. Paul had juſt cauſe to come to this proteſtation, I am a Phariſee, and in ſo doing he can be obnoxious to nothing; if he be as ſafe in his other proteſtation, all is well, for the hope and reſurrection of the dead, am I called in queſtion; conſider we that.
It is true, that he was not, at this time, called in queſtion,Reſurrectio. Act. 21.23. directly and expreſly for the Reſurrection; you may ſee, where he was apprehended, that it was for teaching againſt that people, and againſt that law, and againſt that Temple. So that, he was endited upon pretenſe of ſedition, and prophanation of the Temple. And therefore, when S. Paul ſayes here, I am called in queſtion for preaching the Reſurrection, he means this, If I had not preached the Reſurrection, I ſhould never have been called in queſtion, nor ſhould be, if I would forbeare preaching the Reſurrection; No man perſecutes me, no man appeares againſt me, but onelyonly they that deny the Reſurrection; The Sadduces did deny it; The Phariſees did beleeve it; and therefore this was a likely and a lawfull way to divide them, and to gaine time, with ſuch a purpoſe, (ſo far) as David had, when he prayed, O Lord, Pſal. 55.9.divide their tongues. For it is not alwayes unlawfull to ſowe diſcord, and to kindle diſſention amongſt men; for men may agree too well, to ill purpoſes. So have yee then ſeen, That though it be not ſafe to conclude, S. Paul, or any holy man did this, therefore I may do it, (which was our firſt part) yet in this which S. Paul did here, there was nothing that may not be juſtified in him, and imitated by us, (which was our ſecond part) Remains onelyonly the third, which is the accommodation of this to our preſent times, and the appropriation thereof to our ſelves, and making it our own caſe.
The world is full of Sadduces, and Phariſees, and the true Church of God arraigned by both. The Sadduces were the greater men, the Phariſees were the greater number;3 Part. Sadducaei. ſo they are ſtill. The Sadduces denied the Reſurrection, and Angels, and Spirits; So they do ſtill. For, thoſe Sadduces, whom we conſider now, in this part, are meere carnall men; men that have not onelyonly no Spirit of God in them, but no ſoule, no ſpirit of their owne; meere Atheiſts. And this Carnality, this Atheiſme, this Sadduciſme is ſeene in ſome Countries to prevaile moſt upon great perſons, (the Sadduces were great perſons) upon perſons that abound in the poſſeſſions, and offices, and honours of this world; for they that have moſt of this world, for the moſt part, think leaſt of the next.
Theſe are our preſent Sadduces;Phariſaei. and then the Phariſee hath his name from Pharas, which is Diviſion, Separation; But Calvin derives the name (not inconveniently) from Pharaſh, which is Expoſition, Explication. We embrace both extractions, and acceptations of the word, both Separation, and Expoſition; for the Phariſee whom we conſider now, in this part, is he that is ſeparated from us, (there it is Pharas, ſeparation) and ſeparated by following private Expoſitions, (there it is Pharaſh, Expoſition) with a contempt of all Antiquity; and not only an undervaluation, but a deteſtation of all opinions but his owne, and his, whom he hath ſet up for his Idol. And as the Sadduce (our great and worldly man) is all carnall, all body, and beleeves no ſpirit: ſo our Phariſee is ſo ſuperſpirituall, as that he beleeves, that is, conſiders no body; He imagines ſuch a Purification, ſuch an Angelification, ſuch a Deification in this life, as though the heavenly Jeruſalem were deſcended already, or that God had given man but that one commandement, Love God above all, and not a ſecond too, Love thy neighbour as thy ſelfe. Our Sadduces will have all body, our Phariſees all ſoule, and God hath made us of both, and given us offices proper to each.
Now of both theſe,Duplex Sadducaus. the preſent Sadduce, the carnall Atheiſt, and the preſent Phariſee, the Separatiſt, that overvalues himſelf, and bids us ſtand farther off, there are two kinds. For, for the Atheiſt, there is Davids Atheiſt, and S. Pauls Atheiſt; Davids, that aſcribes all to nature,Pſal. 14.2. and ſayes in his heart, There is no God; That will call no ſudden death, nor extraordinary puniſhment upon any enormous ſinner, a judgement of God, nor any ſuch deliverance of his ſervants, a miracle from God, but all is Nature, or all is Accident, and would have been ſo, though there had been no God: This is Natures Sadduce, Davids Atheiſt; And then S. Pauls Atheiſt is he, who though he doe beleeve in God, yet doth not beleeve God in Chriſt;Epheſ. 2.12. for ſo S. Paul ſayes to the Epheſians, Abſque Chriſto, abſque Deo, If ye be without Chriſt, ye are without God. For as it is the ſame abſurdity in nature, to ſay, There is no Sun, and to ſay, This that you call the Sun is not the Sun, this that ſhines out upon you, this that produces your fruits, and diſtinguiſhes your ſeaſons is not the Sun: ſo is it the ſame Atheiſme, in theſe dayes of light, to ſay, There is no God, and to ſay, This Chriſt whom you call the Son of God, is not God, That he in whom God hath manifeſted himſelfe, He whom God hath made Head of the Church, and Judge of the world, is not God. This then is our double Sadduce, Davids Atheiſt that beleeves not God, S. Pauls Atheiſt that beleeves not Chriſt. And as our Sadduce is, ſo is our Phariſee twofold alſo.
There is a Phariſee,Duplex Phariſaeus. that by following private expoſitions, ſeparates himſelfe from our Church, principally for matter of Government and Diſcipline, and imagines a Church that ſhall be defective in nothing, and does not onelyonly think himſelf to be of that Church, but ſometimes to be that Church, for none but himſelfe is of that perſwaſion. And there is a Phariſee that dreames of ſuch an union, ſuch an identification with God in this life, as that he underſtands all things, not by benefit of the ſenſes, and impreſſions in the fancy and imagination, or by diſcourſe and ratiocination, as we poore ſoules doe, but by immediate, and continuall infuſions and inſpirations from God himſelfe; That he loves God, not by participation of his ſucceſſive Grace, more and more, as he receives more and more grace, but by a communication of God himſelfe to him, intirely and irrevocably; That he ſhall be without any need, and above all uſe of Scriptures, and that the Scriptures ſhall be no more to him, then a Catechiſme to our greateſt Doctors; That all that God commands him to doe in this world, is but as an eaſie walk downe a hill; That he can doe all that eaſily, and as much more, as ſhall make God beholden to him, and bring God into his debt, and that he may aſſigne any man to whom God ſhall pay the arrerages due to him, that is, appoint God upon-what man he ſhall confer the benefit of his works of Supererogation; For in ſuch Propoſitions as theſe, and in ſuch Paradoxes as theſe, doe the Authors in the Roman Church delight to expreſſe and celebrate their Phariſaicall purity, as we find it frequently, abundantly in them.
In a word, ſome of our home-Phariſees will ſay, That there are ſome, who by benefit of a certaine Election, cannot ſin; That the Adulteries and Blaſphemies of the Elect, are not ſins: But the Rome-Phariſee will ſay, that ſome of them are not onelyonly without ſin in themſelves, but that they can ſave others from ſin, or the puniſhment of ſin, by their works of Supererogation; and that they are ſo united, ſo identified with God already, as that they are in poſſeſſion of the beatificall Viſion of God, and ſee him eſſentially, and as he is, in this life: (for, that Ignatius the father of the Jeſuits did ſo,Sandaeus Theolog. p…r. 1. fo. 760. ſome of his Diſciples ſay, it is, at leaſt probable, if not certaine) And that they have done all that they had to doe for their owne ſalvation, long agoe, and ſtay in the world now, onelyonly to gather treaſure for others, and to worke out their ſalvation. So that theſe men are in better ſtate in this life, then the Saints are in heaven; There, the Saints may pray for others, but they cannot merit for others; Theſe men here can merit for other men, and work out the ſalvation of others. Nay, they may be ſaid in ſome reſpect to exceed Chriſt himſelfe; for Chriſt did ſave no man here, but by dying for him; Theſe men ſave other men, with living well for them, and working out their ſalvation.
Theſe are our double Sadduces, & our double Phariſees; & now, beloved,Diſſentio. if we would goe ſo far in S. Pauls way, as to ſet this two-fold Sadduce, Davids Atheiſt, without God, and S. Pauls Atheiſt, without Chriſt, againſt our twofold Phariſee, our home-Cathariſt, and our Rome-Cathariſt, If we would ſpend all our wit, and all our time, all our Inke, and our gall, in ſhewing them the deformities and iniquities of one another, by our preaching and writing againſt them, The truth, and the true Church might (as S. Paul did in our Text) ſcape the better. But when we (we that differ in no ſuch points) tear, and wound, and mangle one another with opprobrious contumelies, and odious names of ſub-diviſion in Religion, our Home-Phariſee, and our Rome-Phariſee, maligners of our Diſcipline, and maligners of our Doctrine, gaine upon ns, and make their advantages of our contentions, and both the Sadduces, Davids Atheiſt that denies God, and S. Pauls Atheiſt that denies Chriſt, joyne in a ſcornfull asking us, Where is now your God? Are not we as well that deny him abſolutely, as you that profeſſe him with wrangling?
But ſtop we the floodgates of this conſideration; it would melt us into teares.Sadducaei & Phariſaei interni. End we all with this, That we have all, all theſe, Sadduces and Phariſees in our owne boſomes: Sadduces that deny ſpirits; carnall apprehenſions that are apt to ſay, Is your God all Spirit, and hath bodily eyes to ſee ſin? All Spirit, and hath bodily hands to ſtrike for a ſinne? Is your ſoule all ſpirit, and hath a fleſhly heart to feare? All ſpirit, and hath ſenſible ſinews to feele a materiall fire? Was your God, who is all Spirit, wounded when you quarrelled? or did your ſoule, which is all ſpirit, drink when you were drunk? Sins of preſumption, and carnall confidence are our Sadduces; and then our Phariſees are our ſins of ſeparation, of diviſion, of diffidence and diſtruſt in the mercies of our God; when we are apt to ſay, after a ſin, Cares God, who is all Spirit, for my eloquent prayers, or for my paſſionate teares? Is the giving of my goods to the poore, or of my body to the fire, any thing to God who is all Spirit? My ſpirit, and nothing but my ſpirit, my ſoule, and nothing but my ſoule, muſt ſatisfie the juſtice, the anger of God, and be ſeparated from him for ever. My Sadduce, my Preſumption ſuggeſts, that there is no ſpirit, no ſoule to ſuffer for ſin; and my Phariſee, my Deſperation ſuggeſts, That my ſoule muſt periſh irremediably, irrecoverably, for every ſinne that my body commits.
Now if I go S. Pauls way, to put a diſſention between theſe my Sadduces, and my Phariſees, Via Pauli.to put a jealouſie between my preſumption & my deſperation, to make my preſumption ſee, that my deſperation lies in wait for her; and to conſider ſeriouſly, that my preſumption will end in deſperation, I may, as S. Paul did in the Text, ſcape the better for that. But if, without farther troubling theſe Sadduces and theſe Phariſees, I be content to let them agree, and to divide my life between them, ſo as that my preſumption ſhall poſſeſſe all my youth, and deſperation mine age, I have heard my ſentence already, The end of this man will be worſe then his beginning, How much ſoever God be incenſed with me, for my preſumption at firſt, he will be much more inexorable for my deſperation at laſt. And therefore interrupt the preſcription of ſin; break off the correſpondence of ſin; unjoynt the dependency of ſin upon ſin. Bring every ſingle ſin, as ſoon as thou committeſt it, into the preſence of thy God, upon thoſe two legs, Confeſſion, and Deteſtation, and thou ſhalt ſee, that, as, though an intire Iland ſtand firme in the Sea, yet a ſingle clod of earth caſt into the Sea, is quickly waſht into nothing; ſo, howſoever thine habituall, and cuſtomary, and concatenated ſins, ſin enwrapped and complicated in ſin, ſin entrenched and barricadoed in ſin, ſin ſcrewed up, and riveted with ſin, may ſtand out, and wraſtle even with the mercies of God, in the blood of Chriſt Jeſus; yet if thou bring every ſingle ſin into the ſight of God, it will be but as a clod of earth, but as a graine of duſt in the Ocean. Keep thy ſins then from mutuall intelligence; That they doe not ſecond one another, induce occaſion, and then ſupport and diſguiſe one another, and then, neither ſhall the body of ſin ever oppreſſe thee, nor the exhalations, and damps, and vapors of thy ſad ſoule, hang between thee, and the mercies of thy God; But thou ſhalt live in the light and ſerenity of a peaceable conſcience here, and die in a faire poſſibility of a preſent melioration and improvement of that light. All thy life thou ſhalt be preſerved, in an Orientall light, an Eaſterne light, a riſing and a growing light, the light of grace; and at thy death thou ſhalt be ſuper-illuſtrated, with a Meridionall light, a South light, the light of glory. And be this enough for the explication, and application of theſe words, and their complication with the day; for the juſtifying of S. Pauls Stratagem in himſelfe, and the exemplifying, and imitation thereof in us. Amen.
That God that is the God of peace, grant us his peace, and one minde towards one another; That God that is the Lord of Hoſts, maintaine in us that warre, which himſelf hath proclaimed, an enmity between the ſeed of the Woman, and the ſeed of the Serpent, between the truth of God, and the inventions of men; That we may fight his battels againſt his enemies without, and fight his battels againſt our enemies within, our own corrupt affections; That we may be victorious here, in our ſelves, and over our ſelves, and triumph with him hereafter, in eternall glory.