Eighty Sermons, penitential psalms · Sermon 61
SERM. LXI. Preached upon the Penitentiall Pſalmes.
PSAL. 32.8.
I will Inſtruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou ſhalt goe, I will guide thee with mine eye.
THis verſe, more then any other in the Pſalme, anſwers the Title of the Pſalme. The title is, Davids Inſtruction; and here in the Text it is ſaid, I will inſtruct thee, and teach thee, in the way thou ſhalt goe. There are eleven Pſalmes that have that Title, Pſalmes of Inſtruction; The whole booke is Sepher Tehillim, The booke of prayſes; and it is a good way of prayſing God, to receive Inſtruction, Inſtruction how to praiſe him. Therefore doth the holy Ghoſt returne ſo often to this Catechiſticall way, Inſtruction, Inſtitution, as to propoſe ſo many Pſalmes, expreſly under that Title purpoſely to that uſe. In one of thoſe, The manner how Inſtruction ſhould be given, is expreſſed alſo;Pſal. 45. Bernard. It muſt be in a loving maner, for the Title is Canticum Amorum, A ſong of love for Inſtruction. For Abſque prudentia, & benevolentia, non ſunt perfecta conſilia: True Inſtruction is a making love to the Congregation, and to every ſoule in it; but it is but to the ſoule. And ſo when S. Paul ſaid, He was mad for their ſakes, Inſanivit Amatoriam inſaniam, ſayes Theophylact, S. Paul was mad for love of them, to whom he writ his holy love-letters, his Epiſtles. And thereupon doe the Rabbins call this Pſalme, Leb David, Cor Davidis, The opening and powring out of Davids heart to them, whom he inſtructs. Wee have no way into your hearts, but by ſending our hearts. The Poets counſell is, Vt ameris, ama, If thou wouldſt be truely loved, doe thou love truely; The holy Ghoſts precept upon us is, Vt credaris, crede, That if we would have you beleeve, wee beleeve our ſelves. It is not to our Eloquence that God promiſes a bleſſing, but to our ſincerity, not to our tongue, but to our heart: All our hope of bringing you to love God, is in a loving and hearty maner to propoſe Gods love to you. The height of the Spouſes love to Chriſt, came but to that,Cant. 2.5. I am ſicke of love: The love of Chriſt went farther, To die for love. Love is as ſtrong as death; Cant. 8.6.but nothing elſe is as ſtrong as either; and both, Love and Death, met in Chriſt. How ſtrong and powerfull upon you then ſhould that Inſtruction be, that comes to you from both theſe, The Love and Death of Chriſt Jeſus? and ſuch an Inſtruction doth this text exhibite, I will inſtruct thee, and teach thee in the way in which thou ſhalt goe, I will guide thee with mine eye. God ſo loved the world, as that he ſent his Sonne to die: The Sonne being dead ſo loved the world, as that he returned to that world againe; and being aſcended; ſent the holy Ghoſt to eſtabliſh a Church, and in that Church, Vſque ad conſummationem, till the end of the world, ſhall that holy Spirit execute this Catechiſticall Office, He ſhall inſtruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou ſhalt goe, He ſhall guide thee with his eye.
Though then ſome later Expoſitors have doubted of the perſon, who doth this Office,Diviſio. To Inſtruct, who this I in our Text is, becauſe the Hebrew word Le David, is as well Davidis, as Davidi, An Inſtruction from David, as an Inſtruction to David, and ſo the Catechiſt may ſeeme to be David, and no more; yet ſince this Criticiſme upon the word, Le David, argues but a poſſibility that it may, and not a neceſſity that it muſt be ſo, wee accompany S. Hierome, and indeed the whole body of the Fathers, in accepting this Inſtruction from God himſelfe, it is no other then God himſelfe that ſayes, I will inſtruct thee, &c. No other then God himſelfe can undertake ſo much as is promiſed in this text. For here is firſt, a rectifying of the underſtanding, I will inſtruct thee, and in the Originall there is ſomewhat more then our Tranſlation reaches to; It is there, Intelligere faciam te, I will moke thee underſtand. Man can inſtruct, God onelyonly can make us underſtand. And then it is Faciam te, I will make Thee, Thee underſtand; The worke is the Lords, The underſtanding is the mans: for God does not worke in man, as the Devill did in Idols, and In Pythoniſsis, and In Ventriloquis, in poſſeſt perſons, who had no voluntary concurrence with the action of the Devill, but were meerely Paſſive; God works ſo in man, as that he makes man worke too, Faciam Te, I will make Thee underſtand; That that ſhall be done ſhall be done by mee, but in Thee; the Power that rectifies the act is Gods, the Act is mans; Faciam te, ſayes God, I will make thee, thee, every particular perſon, (for that ariſes out of this ſingular and diſtributive word, Thee, which threatens no exception, no excluſion) I wil make every perſon, to whom I preſent Inſtruction, capable of that Inſtruction, and if he receive it not, it is onelyonly his, and not my fault. And ſo this firſt part is an Inſtruction De credendis, of ſuch things, as by Gods rectifying of our underſtanding, we are bound to beleeve. And then in a ſecond part, there followes a more particular Inſtructing, Docebo, I will teach thee, And that In via, In the way; It is not onelyonly De via, To teach thee, which is the way, that thou maieſt finde it, but In via, How to keepe the way, when thou art in it; He will teach thee, not onelyonly Vt gradiaris, That thou maieſt walke in it, and not ſleepe, but Quo modo gradieris, How thou mayeſt walke in it, and not ſtray; And ſo this ſecond part is an Inſtitution De agendis, of thoſe things, which, thine underſtanding being formerly rectified, and deduced into a beliefe, thou art bound to do. And then in the laſt words of the text, I will guide thee with mine eye, there is a third part, an eſtabliſhment, a confirmation, by an inceſſant watchfulneſſe in God; He will conſider, conſult upon us, (for ſo much the Originall word imports) He will not leave us to Contingencies, to Fortune, no nor to his owne generall Providence, by which all Creatures are univerſally in his protection, and adminiſtration, but he will ponder us, conſider us, ſtudy us; And that with his eye, which is the ſharpeſt, and moſt ſenſible organ and inſtrument, ſooneſt feeles, if any thing be amiſſe, and ſo inclines him quickly to rectifie us; And ſo this third part is an Inſtruction De ſperandis, it hath evermore a relation to the future, to the conſtancy and perſeverance of Gods goodneſſe towards us; to the end, and in the end, he will guide us with his eye: Except the eye of God can be put out, we cannot be put out of his ſight, and his care. So that, both our fraight which we are to take in, that is, what we are to beleeve concerning God; And the voyage which we are to make, how we are to ſteere and governe our courſe, that is, our behaviour and converſation in the houſhold of the faithfull; And then the Haven to which we muſt goe, that is, our aſſurance of arriving at the heavenly Jeruſalem, are expreſſed in this Chart, in this Map, in this Inſtruction, in this Text, I will Inſtruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou ſhalt goe, I will guide thee with mine eye. And when you have done all this, Beleeved aright, and lived according to that beliefe, and died according to that life, in the laſt voyce Surgite, you ſhall finde a Venite, as ſoone as you are called from the duſt of the grave, you ſhall Enter into your Maſters joy, and be no more called ſervants, but friends, no more friends, but ſons, no more ſons but heires, no more heires, but coheires with the only Son of God, no more coheires, but Idem Spiritus, The ſame Spirit with the Lord.
Firſt then,1. Part. Inſtruit. the office which God by his bleſſed Spirit, through us, in his Church, undertakes, is to Inſtruct. And this being done ſo by God himſelfe, God ſending his Spirit, his Spirit working in his Miniſters, his Miniſters labouring in his Church, it is ſtrange that S. Paul ſpeaking ſo, in the name of God, and his Spirit, and his Miniſters, and his Church, ſhould be put to intreat his hearers, To ſuffer a word of exhortation. Yet he is;Heb. 13.22. I beſech yee, brethren, ſuffer a word of Exhortation. And the ſtrangeneſſe of the caſe is exalted in this, that the word there is foreign, Solatii, and ſo the Vulgat reads it, and juſtly, Vt ſufferatis verbum ſolatii, I beſcech yee to ſuffer a word of Comfort. What will yee heare willingly, if yee doe not willingly heare words of Comfort? With what ſhall we exerciſe your holy joy and chearfulneſſe, if even words of Comfort muſt exerciſe your patience? And yet we muſt beſeech you to ſuffer, even our words of comfort; for, we can propoſe no true comfort unto you, but ſuch as carries ſome irkeſomeneſſe, ſome bitterneſſe with it; we can create no true joy, no true acquieſcence in you, without ſome exerciſe of your patience too. We cannot promiſe you peace with God, without a war in your ſelves, nor reconciliation to him, without falling out with your ſelves, nor eternall joy in the next world, without a ſolemne remorſe for the ſinfull abuſes of this. We cannot promiſe you a good to morrow, without ſending ye backe to the conſideration of an ill yeſterday; for your hearing to day, is not enough, except ye repent yeſterday. But yet, though with S. Paul we be put to beſeech you, Vt ſufferatis, That ye would ſuffer Inſtruction, though we muſt ſometimes exerciſe your patience, yet it is but verbum inſtructionis, a word of Inſtruction; and though Inſtruction be Increpation, (for as the word is Solatium, Comfort, (ſo we have told you it is) it is Increpation too, for all true comfort hath Increpation in it) yet it may eaſily be ſuffered, becauſe it is but verbum, but a word, a word and away. We would not dwell upon increpations, and chidings, and bitterneſſes; we would pierce but ſo deepe as might make you ſearch your wounds, when you come home to your Chamber, to bring you to a tenderneſſe there, not to a paleneſſe or bluſhing here. Wee never ſtay ſo long upon denouncing the judgements of God, but that we would, as faine as you, be at an end of that Paragraph, of that period, of that point, that we might come into a calme, and into a Lee-ſhore, and tell you of the mercies of God in Chriſt Jeſus. You may ſuffer Inſtruction, though Inſtruction be increpation, for it is but a word of inſtruction, we have ſoone done; and you may ſuffer, them, becauſe they are but Verba, not Verbera, They are but words, and not blowes. It is not Traditio Satanae, a delivering you up to Satan, it is not the confuſion of face, nor conſternation of ſpirit, nor a jealouſie and ſuſpition of Gods good purpoſe upon you, that we would induce by our Inſtruction, though it be Increpation, but onelyonly a ſenſe of your ſins, and of the Majeſty of God violated by them, and ſo to a better capacity of this Inſtruction, which the Holy Ghoſt here preſents, In credendis, in thoſe things which you are bound to beleeve; of which his firſt degree is, Intelligere te faciam, He will make ye underſtand, he will worke upon your underſtanding, for, ſo much (as we noted to you at firſt) doth that word, which we Tranſlate here, I will Inſtruct thee, comprehend.
Oportet accedentem credere; The Apoſtle ſeemes to make that our firſt ſtep,In intellectu. Heb. 11.6. Hee that comes to God, muſt beleeve. So it is our firſt ſtep to God, To beleeve, but there is a ſtep towards God, before it come to faith, which is, to underſtand; God works firſt upon the underſtanding. God proceeds in our converſion, and regeneration, as he did in our firſt Creation. There man was nothing; but God breathed not a ſoule into that nothing; but of a clod of earth he made a body, and into that body infuſed a ſoule. Man in his Converſion, is nothing, does nothing. His bodie is not verier duſt in the grave, till a Reſurrection, then his ſoule is duſt in his body, till a reſuſcitation by grace. But then this grace does not worke upon this nothingneſſe that is in man, upon this meere privation; but Grace finds out mans naturall faculties, and exalts them to a capacity, and a ſuſciptibleneſſe of the working thereof, and ſo by the underſtanding infuſes faith. Therefore God begins his Inſtruction here at the underſtanding; and he does not ſay at firſt, Faciam te credere, I will make thee to beleeve, but Faciam te intelligere, I will make thee underſtand.
That then being Gods Method, To make us underſtand, certainely thoſe things which belong to our Salvation, are not In-intelligibilia, not In-intelligible, un-underſtandable,Tertul. un-conceiveavable things, but the Articles of faith are diſcernible by Reaſon. For though Reaſon cannot apprehend that a Virgin ſhould have a Son, or that God ſhould be made Man and dye, if we put our Reaſon primarily and immediately upon the Article ſingle, (for ſo it is the object of faith onelyonly) yet if we purſue Gods Method, and ſee what our underſtanding can doe, we ſhall ſee, that out of ratiocination and diſcourſe, and probabilities, and very ſimilitudes, at laſt will ariſe evident and neceſſary concluſions; ſuch as theſe, That as there is a God, that God muſt be worſhiped according to his will, That therefore that will of God muſt be declared and manifeſted ſomewhere, That this is done in ſome permanent way, in ſome Scripture, which is the Word of God, That this booke, which we call the Bible, is, by better reaſons then any others can pretend, that Scripture; And when our Reaſon hath carried us ſo far, as to accept theſe Scriptures for the Word of God, then all the particular Articles, A Virgins Son, and a mortall God, will follow evidently enough. And then thoſe two Propoſitions, Myſteria credenda ut intelligantur, Myſteries of Religion muſt be beleeved before they be underſtood, and Myſteria intelligenda ut credantur, Myſteries of Religion muſt be underſtood before they can be beleeved, will be all one; For God exalts our naturall facultie of underſtanding by Grace to apprehend them, and then to that ſubmiſſion and aſſent, which he by grace produces out of our underſtanding, by a ſucceeding and more powerfull Grace he ſets to the Seale of faith. Waite thou therefore upon God, his way; preſent unto him an humble and a diligent underſtanding; conclude not too deſperately againſt thy ſelfe, if thou have not yet attained to all degrees of faith, but admit that preparation, which God offers to thine underſtanding, by an aſſiduous and a ſedulous hearing; for a narrower faith that proceeds out of a true underſtanding, ſhall carry thee farther then a faith that ſeemes larger, but is wrapped up in an implicite ignorance; no man beleeves profitably, that knows not why he beleeves. The ſubject then, that this worke is wrought in, is that faculty, mans underſtanding; There God begins in the Inſtruction of this text, Thou ſhalt underſtand, Thou ſhalt; The act ſhall be thine, but yet, the power is mine, faciam te, I will make thee underſtand, which is another Conſideration in this part.
God doth not determine his promiſe here,Faciam. in a Faciam ut intelligas, I will caſt an underſtanding upon thee, I will cauſe an underſtanding to fall upon thee, but it is faciam te intelligere, I will make thee to underſtand, Thou ſhalt be an Agent in thine own ſalvation. When God made the Aſſe ſpeake under Balaam, God went not ſo far as this firſt ſtep, (not to the faciam ut intelligas) he imprinted, infuſed no underſtanding in that Beaſt. When God ſuffers the hypocrite to praiſe him, he imprints no underſtanding; Here is a Fruſtra colunt, It is a worſhip that is no worſhip, when it is with the lips onelyonly, and the heart far off. So when a Papiſt cryes Templum domini, Templum domini, Viſibility of a Church, Infallibility in a Church, here is no underſtanding; He pretends to beleeve as the Church beleeves, but he knowes not what the Church beleeves; no, nor he neither upon whom he relies for his Inſtruction, his Prieſt, his Confeſſor. They are deceived that thinke every Prieſt or Jeſuit, that comes hither, knowes the Tenets of that Church; it is a more reſerved, a more perplexed, a more involved matter then ſo. To contract this Conſideration, when a Preacher ſpeaks well, and deſtroys as faſt by his ill life, as he builds by his good doctrine,Pſal. 111.10. here is no underſtanding neither. A good underſtanding have all they that keepe the Commandements; not all they that preach them, but that keepe them: It is all they,1 Joh. 2.3. and onelyonly they. There is no other aſſurance but that; Hereby we are ſure that we know him, if we keepe his Commandements. This is our Criterium, and onelyonly this; hereby we know it,Pro. 18.9. and by nothing els. So that as he that is ſlothfull in his worke, is even the brother of him that is a great waſter; So he that builds not with both hands, life and doctrine,Chryſoſt. is ſlothfull in his worke. He that preaches againſt ſin, and doth it, Inſtruit dominum quomodo eum condemnet, He doth not ſo much teach his Auditory, how to ſcape condemnation, as teach God how to condemne him. In theſe caſes there is no underſtanding at all; In the caſe of the Aſſe, and the hypocrite, and the blind Romaniſt, and the vicious Preacher. In ſome other caſes, there is underſtanding given, but without any concurrence, any cooperation of man, as in thoſe often viſions, and dreames, and manifeſtations of God, to the Prophets, and his other ſervants; There was a faciam ut intelligas, God would make his pleaſure knowne unto them, but yet not as in this Text, where God makes uſe of the man himſelfe for his own ſalvation. But yet it is God, and God alone that does all this, that rectifies our underſtanding, as well as that eſtabliſhes our faith. It is my ſoule that ſayes to mine eye, faciam te videre, I will make thee ſee, and my ſoule that ſayes to mine eare, faciam te audire, I will make thee heare, and without that ſoule, that eye and eare could no more ſee nor heare, then the eyes and eares of an Idol; ſo it is my God that ſayes to my ſoule, faciam te intelligere, I will make thee underſtand. And therefore as thou art bound to infinite thankeſgivings to God, when he hath brought thee to faith, to forget not thy tribute by the way, to bleſſe and magnifie him, if he have enlarged thy deſire of underſtanding, and thy capacity of underſtanding, and thy meanes of underſtanding; for, as howſoever a man may forget the order of the letters, after he is come to reade perfectly, and forget the rules of his Grammar, after he is come to ſpeake perfectly, yet by thoſe letters, and by that Grammar he came to that perfection; ſo, though faith be of an infinite exaltation above underſtanding, yet, as though our underſtanding be above our ſenſes, yet by our ſenſes we come to underſtand, ſo by our underſtanding we come to beleeve. And though the Holy Ghoſt repeat that more then once, Domine quis credidit? Lord who beleeves our report? And that, Shall the ſonne of Man finde faith upon earth when he comes? though he complain of want of faith, yet he multiplies infinitely that complaint for want of underſtanding, and there are ten Non intelligunts for one Non credunt, ten increpations, that his people did not underſtand, for one that they did not beleeve; becauſe, though faith be a nobler operation, God takes it alwayes worſt in us, to neglect thoſe things which are neareſt us, as he doth to neglect the ordinary and neceſſary duties of Religion, and ſearch curiouſly into the unrevealed purpoſes of his ſecret counſails. And this Inſtruction to the underſtanding, he ſeemes in this text to extend to all, for this ſingular word, Te, I will make Thee, Thee to underſtand, includes no excluſion, but is an offer, a promiſe to all, which is our other and laſt Conſideration in this firſt part.
In this conſideration, let us ſtop a little upon this queſtion,Te. why the Scriptures of God more then any other booke, doe ſtill ſpeake in this ſingular perſon, and in this familiar perſon? ſtill Tu, and Tibi, and Te; Thou muſt love God, God ſpeaks to thee, God hath care of thee. Certainly in thoſe paſſages, which are from lower perſons to Princes, no Author is of a more humble, and reverentiall, and ceremoniall phraſe, then the phraſe of the Scripture is. Who could goe lower then David to Saul, that calls himſelfe a flea, 1 Sam. 24.15. 2 Sam. 9.8. Dan. 2.37.and a dead dogge? Who could goe higher, then Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, O King, thou art King of Kings; In all places, the children of men, the beaſts of the field, the fouls of the ayre are given into thy hand; Thy greatneſſe reacheth to heaven, Dan. 4.19.and thy dominions to the ends of the earth. So is it alſo in perſons nearer in nature, and nearer in ranke; Iacob bowes ſeaven times to the ground, in the preſence of his brother Eſau, and My Lord, and My Lord, Gen. 33.3.at every word. The Scripture phraſe is as ceremoniall and as obſervant of diſtances, as any, and yet ſtill full of this familiar word too, Tu and Tuus, Thou and Thine. And we alſo, we who deale moſt with the Scriptures, are more accuſtomed to the ſame phraſe then any other kinde of ſpeakers are. In a Parliament, who is ever heard to ſay, Thou muſt needs grant this, Thou mayeſt be bold to yeeld to this? Or who ever ſpeaks ſo to a Judge in any Court? Nay, the King himſelfe will not ſpeake to the people in that phraſe. And yet in the preſence of the greateſt, we ſay ordinarily, Amend thy life, and God be mercifull to thee, and I abſolve thee of all thy ſinnes. Beloved, in the Scripture. God ſpeaks either to the Church, his Spouſe, and to his children, and ſo he may be bo…d, and would be familiar with them; Or els he ſpeaks ſo, as that he would be thought … thee to ſpeake ſingularly to thy ſoule in particular. Know then, that Chriſt Jeſus ha… done enough for the ſalvation of all; but know too, that if there had been no other name written in the booke of life but thine, he would have dyed for Thee. Of thoſe which were given him, he loſt none; but if there had been none given him, but Thou, rather then have loſt Thee, he would have given the ſame price for Thee, that he gave for the whole world. And therefore when thou heareſt his mercies diſtributed in that particular, and that familiar phraſe, Faciam Te, I will make Thee underſtand, thou knoweſt not whether he ſpeake to any other in the Congregation or no; Be ſure that he ſpeake to Thee; which he does, if thou hearken to him, and anſwer him. If thou canſt not find that he means Thee yet, that he ſpeaks to thee now, if thou thinke he ſpeake rather to ſome other, whoſe faith and good life thou preferreſt before thine own, doe but begin to thinke now of the bleſſedneſſe of that man, to whom thou thinkeſt he ſpeaks, and ſay to God, with thy Saviour, Eli, Eli, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? Why art thou gone to the other ſide, or why to the next on my right, or on my left hand, and left out me? Why ſpeakeſt thou not comfortably to my ſoule? and he will leave the ninety nine for thee, and thou ſhalt finde Onus amoris, ſuch a waight, and burden, and load of his love upon thee, as thou ſhalt be faine almoſt to ſay with S. Peter, Exi à me Domine, O Lord goe farther from me, that is, thou ſhalt ſee ſuch an obligation of mercy laid upon thee, as puts thee beyond all poſſibility of comprehenſion, much more of retribution, or of due and competent thankeſgiving. Miſerere animae tuae, Be but mercifull to thine own ſoule, and God will be mercifull to it too; If God had never meant to be mercifull to thee, he would learne of thee; If thou couldeſt love thy ſelfe before God love thee, God would love thee for loving thy ſelfe; how much more for thy loving his love in thee? Love underſtanding, and, faciet te intelligere, he will make thee underſtand enough for thy pilgrimage, enough for thy tranſmigration, enough for thy eternall habitation. As we count them wiſeſt, who are moſt provident, and foreſee moſt, he will make thee ſee farther then all they, through all generations, beyond children, and childrens children, (which is the proſpect of the world) to all eternity, that hath no termination, and he will allow thee an underſtanding for this world too; He will bid thee Lift up thine eyes to heaven, Eſay 51.6.and bid thee Look downe to the earth too; He will make thy conſiderations of this world acceptable to him, as well as thoſe of the next; He will remember thee, that Angels deſcended as well as aſcended, that to a religious ſoule,Gen. 28. this world is not out of the way to heaven; Faciet te intelligere, He will make thee underſtand enough for both. And ſo we have done with that firſt Part, De credendis, Things which we are bound to beleeve, That even for thoſe, God workes upon the underſtanding, That though God worke all in all, yet it is the man that underſtands; and laſtly, that in the Holy Ghoſts chooſing this word of ſingularity, Te, I will make thee underſtand, there is pregnant intimation of Gods large and diffuſive goodneſſe to all, This word, Thee, excludes none. And ſo we paſſe to our ſecond Part, Inſtruction, De agendis, what we are to doe, I will teach thee in the way thou ſhalt goe.
If any man lack wiſedome, 2 Part. Docebo.let him aske it of God; and Faciet intelligere, God ſhall make him underſtand: God ſhall; I may ſtudy, and then, you may heare me, but God onelyonly makes us all underſtand; for the underſtanding is the doore of faith, and that doore he opens, and he ſhuts: So by underſtanding he brings us to beleeve. But then, he that truly beleeves, finds that he hath ſomething to doe too; And he ſaies to himſelf, Wherewith ſhall a young man cleanſe his wayes? And he cannot tell himſelfe; He askes them whom God hath ſent to tell him, his Miniſters, Viri, fratres, Men and brethren, what ſhall we doe to be ſaved? And by their leading, he goes to the Spirit of God, to God himſelf, and ſayes,Mat. 19.16. Good Maſter, what good thing ſhall I do, that I may have eternall life? And that good Maſter will teach him what to doe, which is the promiſe of this part of Inſtruction in our Text,Gregor. I will teach thee in the way thou ſhalt goe. And Plus eſt docere, quàm inſtruere, God promiſes more in this, that he will Teach thee in the way, then in the former, that he would make thee underſtand. Not that the matter or ſubject in this Part, is the greater, (for the former had relation to faith, and this but to good works) but that it intimates a more frequent recourſe to us, and a more ſtudious care of us, and a more provident vigilancy over us, and a more familiar converſation with us, that God accompanies us in all our way, and directs us in all our particular actions, then that by underſtanding he hath brought us to beleeve. He that horſes a man well for a journey, or he that rewards a man well for a journey, does a greater work, then he that goes along with him as a guide; but yet there is aliquid magis in the guide, there is a more continuall, a more inceſſant courteſie in him. We ſee in the Romane Church, they are not in their Beads, without Credoes, they beleeve enough; and leſt that ſhould not be enough, they have made a new Creed of more Articles then that, in the Councell of Trent, and to teſtifie a ſtrong faith therein, they muſt ſweare they beleeve it: And then they have to every Creed, more Pater noſters, they petition enough, aske enough at Gods hands; They have Credoes enow, Pater noſters enow, and Ave Maries more then enow; But when we conſider them in the Commandements, what we are to doe, (as great Workers as they pretend to be) though they inlarge their Credoes, and multiply their Pater noſters, they contract the Commandements, and put two into one, for feare of meeting one againſt Images.
This then expreſſes Gods daily care of us, that he teaches us the way. But then, even that implies, that we are all out of our way; ſtill all bends, all conduces to that, An humble acknowledgement of our own weakneſſe, a preſent recourſe to the love and power of God; The firſt thing I look for in the Expoſition of any Scripture, and the neareſt way to the literall ſenſe thereof, is, what may moſt deject and vilifie man, what may moſt exalt, and glorifie God. We are all, all out of our way; but God deales not alike with all;Pſal. 35.6. Eſay 26.7. for, for the wicked, Their way is dark and ſlippery, And then, The Angel of the Lord perſecutes them; But for thoſe whom he loves, He will waigh the paths of the juſt, (ſayes our later Tranſlation) And, He will make the paths of the righteous equall and eaven, ſayes our former; It ſhall be a path often beaten by him, for it is not righteouſneſſe, to be righteous once a yeare, at Eaſter, nor once a week, upon Sunday. An Anniverſary righteouſneſſe, an Hebdomadary righteouſneſſe, a Sabbatarian righteouſneſſe is no righteouſneſſe. But it is a path; and ſo made eaven, without occaſions of ſtumbling; that is, he ſhall be able to walk in any profeſſion, and to make good any ſtation, and not be diverted by the power of any tentations incident to that calling. The Angel of the Lord, The evill Angel, diſtruſt and diffidence, ſhall perſecute the wicked, in his darke and ſlippery way; this is no teaching; but becauſe the godly have a teaching, even their direction hath a correction too; God beats his Scholars into their way too. The difference is expreſſed in the Prophet,Eſay 30.21. When the Lord hath given you the bread of adverſity, and the water of affliction, (for in Gods Schoole that is Scholars fare) yet, ſayes God, Thy Teachers ſhall not be removed from thee into a corner; Still in thine affliction thou ſhalt have a Teacher, or even the affliction it ſelfe ſhall be Gods Uſher; and thou ſhalt have evidence of it, Thy Teacher ſhall not be removed into a corner; thou ſhalt ſee it; and (as it follows there) Thine eares ſhall heare a voyce behinde thee; (that is, a voyce ariſing even from that affliction that thou haſt ſuffered) and that voyce ſhall ſay, This is the way, walk ye in it; As dark as affliction is, it ſhall ſhew thee the way, Haec eſt via, This is the way, as much as affliction enfeebles thee, yet it ſhall enable thee to walk in it, Ambulate in ea. God is a Schoole-maſter; not as the Law was, to teach with a ſword in his hand; but yet he teaches with a rod in his hand, though not with a ſword.
Now in teaching us the way, he inſtructs us De via, and In via; which is the way,De via. Pſal. 119.168. and what is to be done in it. He ſees all our wayes; All my wayes are before thee, ſayes David. And he ſees them not ſo as though they belonged not to him, for he conſiders them, Does not he behold all my wayes, and tell all my ſteps? He ſees them,Job 31.4. Eſay 24.17. and ſees our irremediable danger in them; Formido, & fovea, & laqueus, Feare, and a pit, and ſnares are upon thee; Upon whom? There we ſee the generality of this ſingle word, Thee, that it is all; for ſo, it followes there, VponUpon thee, O Inhabitant of the earth. The danger then is generall, and the Lord knowes it; Who then can teach us a better way, but he? But how doth he teach us this way? When God had promiſed Moſes to ſend an Angel to ſhew the people their way, (I will ſend an Angel before thee) Moſes ſayes to God, See, Exod. 33.2, 12.thou ſayeſt, Lead this people forth, and thou haſt not ſhewed me whom thou wilt ſend with me; (ſo thoſe Tranſlators thought good to render it) God had told him of an Angel, but that ſatisfied not Moſes; He muſt have ſomething ſhewed to him, he muſt ſee his guide.Ver. 15. If thy preſence goe not with me, carry me not from hence, ſayes he to God. For, wherein ſhall it be known, that I, and thy people have found favour in thy ſight? ſhall it not be when thou goeſt up with us? And therefore God ſatisfies him, My preſence ſhall goe with thee. Goe? but how? ſayes Moſes; Wilt thou bee pleaſed to ſhew mee thy glory? Ver. 18.Shall we ſee any thing? They did ſee that Pillar in which God was, and that preſence, that Pillar ſhewed the way. To us, the Church is that Pillar; in that, God ſhewes us our way. For ſtrength it is a Pillar, and a Pillar for firmneſſe and fixation: But yet the Church is neither an equall Pillar, alwaies fire, but ſometimes cloud too; The Church is more and leſſe viſible, ſometimes in ſplendor, ſometimes in an eclipſe; neither is it ſo a fixt Pillar, as that it is not in divers places. The Church is not ſo fixed to Rome, as that it is not communicated to other Nations, nor ſo limited in it ſelfe, as that it may not admit changes, in thoſe things that appertain to Order, and Diſcipline. Our way, that God teaches us, is the Church; That is a Pillar; Fixed, for Fundamentall things, but yet a moveable Pillar, for things indifferent, and arbitrary.
Thus he teaches, Quid via, which is the way, It is the Church, the Pillar of Truth.In via. He teaches next, Quid in via, What is to be done in the way; for, that counſell of the Apoſtle, See that ye walk circumſpectly, preſumes a man to be in the way;Eph. 5.15. elſe he would have cried to have ſtopped him, or to have turned him, and not bid him goe on, how circumſpectly ſoever. But, In my path, ſayes David, Pſal. 140.5.(not making any doubt but that he was in a right path) in my path, the proud have laid a ſnare for me, and ſpread a net with cords; Ad manum orbitae, (ſayes the Originall) even at the hand of the path; That path which ſhould (as it were) reach out a hand to lead me, hath a ſnare in it. And therefore, ſayes David, with ſo much vehemence in the entrance of that Pſalme, Deliver me, O Lord, from the evill man, who purpoſeth to overthrow my goings; Though I goe in the right way, the true Church, yet purpoſes to overthrow mee there. This Evill man workes upon us: The man of ſin; in thoſe inſtruments that ſtill caſt that ſnare in our way, in our Church, There is a minority, an inviſibility, and a fallibility in your Church; you begun but yeſterday in Luther, and you are fallen out already in Calvin. So alſo works this Evill man amongſt us, in thoſe Sciſmatiques, who caſt that ſnare in our way, Your way (though it be in part mended) hath yet impreſſions of the ſteps of the Beaſt, and it is a circular, and giddy way, that will bring us back againe to Rome. And therefore, beloved, though you be in the way, ſee ye walk circumſpectly, for the ſnares that both theſe have caſt in the way, the reproaches, and defamations that both theſe have caſt upon our Church. But when thou haſt ſcaped both theſe ſnares, of Papiſt, and Sciſmatique, pray ſtill to be delivered from that Evill man, that is within thee. Non tantùm poteſt hominem decipere, Hieron.quàm per Organum hominis, The Devill hath not ſo powerfull an inſtrument, nor ſo ſubtile an engine upon thee as thy ſelfe.Auguſt. Quis in hoc ſeculo non patitur hominem malum? Who in this world (or if he goe ſo farre out of this world, as never to ſee man but himſelfe) is not troubled with this evill man? When thou prayeſt with David, to be delivered from this evill man, if God aske thee whom thou meaneſt, muſt thou not ſay, thy ſelfe? Canſt thou ſhew God a worſe?Chryſoſt. Qui non eſt malus, nihil à malo mali patitur; If a man were not evill in himſelf, the worſt thing in the world could not hurt him; the Devil would not offer to give fire, if there were no powder in thy heart. What that evill man is, that is in another, I cannot know: I cannot alwayes diſcerne anothers ſnare; for, What man knoweth the things of a man, 1 Cor. 2.11.ſave the ſpirit of a man which is in him? Thy ſpirit knowes what the evill man that is in thee, is. Deliver thy ſelfe of that evill man that enſnares thee in thy way; though thou come to Church; yea even when thou art there. David repeats this word A viro malo, from the evill man, twice in that Pſalme. In one place, A viro malo, is in that name, Meiſh, which is a name of man proper onelyonly to the ſtronger ſexe, and intimates ſnares and tentations of ſtronger power, As when feare, or favour tempts a man to come to a ſuperſtitious, and idolatrous ſervice. In the other it is but Meadam, and that is a name common to men, and women, and children, and intimates, that omiſſions, negligences, infirmities, may encumber us, enſnare us, though we be in the way, even in the true place of Gods ſervice; and the eye may be enſnared as dangerouſly, and as damnably in this place, as the eare, or the tongue in the Chamber. As S. Hierome ſayes, Nugae in ore Sacerdotis ſunt ſacrilegium, An idle word in a Church-mans mouth is ſacriledge; ſo a wanton look in the Church, is an Adultery. Now when God hath thus taught us the way, what it is, that is, brought us to the true Church, (for till then, all is diverſion, all baniſhment) and taught us In via, what to doe in that way, To reſiſt tentations to ſuperſtition from other imaginary Churches, tentations to particular ſins from the evill men of the world, and from the worſt man in the world, our ſelfe, the Inſtruction in our Text is carried a ſtep farther, that is, to proceed and goe forward in that way, Qua gradieris, I will teach thee to walk in that way.
When S. Auguſtine ſaith upon this place,Qua gradieris. It is via qua gradieris, & non cui haerebis, A way to walke in, not to ſticke upon, he doth not meane, That wee ſhould ever change this way, or depart from it, (that any croſſe in this, ſhould make us hearken after another religion) It is not that we ſhould not ſticke to it, but that we ſhould not ſticke in it, nor loyter in the way. Thou haſt beene in this way (in the true Church) ever ſince thy Baptiſme: and yet, if a man that hath lived morally well all his life, and no more then ſo, finde by Gods grace a doore opened into the Chriſtian Church, and a ſhort turning into this right way, at the end of his life, hee by the benefit of thoſe good Morall actions, ſhall be before thee, who haſt lived lazily, though in the right way, at his firſt ſtep; For though thoſe good Morall actions were not good workes, when hee did them, yet then, that grace which he layes hold upon at laſt, ſhall reflect a tincture upon them, and make them good in the eyes of God, ab initio. If thou have not beene lazie in thy way, in thy Chriſtian profeſſion hitherto, yet except thou proceed ſtill, except thou goe from hence now, better then thou cameſt, (better in thy purpoſe) and come hither next day better then thou wenteſt, (better in thy practiſe) thou haſt not learned this leſſon in this Inſtruction, I will teach thee to walke in this way. A Chriſtian hath no Solſtice, no higheſt point, where he may ſtand ſtill, and goe no farther; much leſſe hath hee any Aequator, where dayes and nights are equall, that is, a liberty to ſpend as much time ill, as well, as many houres in ſinfull pleaſures,Auguſt. as in religious exerciſes. Quicquid citra Deum eſt, via eſt, nec immorandum in ea; Hee doth not ſay, praeter Deum, much leſſe contra Deum; For whatſoever is againſt God, nay, whatſoever is beſides God, is altogether out of the way; But citra Deum, on this ſide of God: Till we come to God in heaven, all our beſt is but our way to him. All the zeale of gathering knowledge, all the growth of faith, all the practiſe of ſanctification, is but via, the way; and non immorandum in ea; ſince wee have here a promiſe of Gods aſſiſtance in it, in the way, we are ſure there is an obligation upon it, as upon a duty, in this way, humbly, and patiently, and laboriouſly to walke towards him, without ſtopping upon any thing in this world, either preferments on the right, or diſgraces on the left hand, (for a Cart may ſtop us, as well as a Coach, low things as well as high, with as much trouble, and more anoyance) Which is more eſpecially intended in the laſt words of the Text, Firmabo ſuper te oculos meos, I will ſettle my providence, fixe mine eye upon thee, I will guide thee with mine eye.
Thus farre hath our bleſſed Lord aſſured us, That he will make us underſtand, 3 Part.which is his Inſtruction de credendis, what to Beleeve; And that he will teach us to walke in his way, which is his Inſtruction de agendis, what to Doe, how to avoide tentations; This laſt is, That hee will guide us with his eye, which is his Inſtruction de ſperandis, what wee are to Hope for at his hand, if in this way we doe ſtumble, or fall into ſome ſinnes of infirmities. But it is but de ſperandis, not de praeſumendis; when by infirmity thou art fallen, thy Hope muſt begin then; but if the Hope begun before, ſo as thou felleſt upon hope that God would raiſe thee, then it was preſumption, and there the Lords eye ſhuts in, and guides thee no longer. Otherwiſe he directs thee with his eye, (that is, with his gracious and powerfull looking upon thee) to the meanes of thy recovery. Wee heare of no blowes, wee heare of no chiding from him towards Peter, but all that is ſaid, is,Luke 22.65. The Lord turned back and looked upon Peter, and then he remembred his caſe; The eye of the Lord lightned his darkneſſe; The eye of the Lord thawed thoſe three cruſts of Ice, which were growne over his heart, in his three denials of his Maſter. A Candle wakes ſome men, as well as a noyſe; The eye of the Lord works upon a good ſoule, as much as his hand, and hee is as much affected with this conſideration, The Lord ſees me, as with this, The Lord ſtrikes me.
Wee reade in Naturall ſtory of ſome creatures, Qui ſolo oculorum aſpectu fovent ova, Plin. l. 10. c. 9.which hatch their egges onelyonly by looking upon them; What cannot the eye of God produce and hatch in us? Plus eſt quod probatur aſpectu, quàm quod ſermone. Ambroſe.A man may ſeeme to commend in words, and yet his countenance ſhall diſpraiſe. His word infuſes good purpoſes into us, but if God continue his eye upon us, it is a farther approbation, for He is a God of pure eyes, and will not looke upon the wicked.Deut. 11.12. This land doth the Lord thy God care for, and the eyes of the Lord are alwayes upon it from the beginning of the yeare, even to the end thereof. What a cheerefull ſpring, what a fruitfull Autumne hath that ſoule, that hath the eye of the Lord alwayes upon her? The eye of the Lord upon mee, makes midnight noone, and S. Lucies day S. Barnabies; It makes Capricorne Cancer, and the Winters the Summers Solſtice; The eye of the Lord ſanctifies, nay more then ſanctifies, glorifies all the Eclipſes of diſhonour, makes Melancholy cheerefulneſſe, diffidence aſſurance, and turnes the jealouſie of the ſad ſoule into infallibility. Upon his people his eye ſhined in the wilderneſſe; his eye ſingled them in Egypt, and in Babylon they were ſuſtained by his eye. They were, and we are;Ezra 5.5. Pſal. 33.18. The eye of their God was upon the Elders of Iſrael, And, Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon all them that feare him. The Proverb is not onelyonly as old as Ariſtotle, Oculus domini, and Pes domini, The eye of the Maſter fattens the horſe, and the foot of the Maſter marles the ground, but it is as old as the Creation, God ſaw all that he had made, and ſo, it was very good; It was viſio approbationis, Hieron.and his approbation was the exaltation thereof.
This guiding then with the eye, we conſider to be his particular care, and his perſonall providence upon us, in his Church; For, a man may be in the Kings preſence, and yet not in his eye; and ſo he may in Gods. Gods whole Ordinance in his Church, is Gods face; For, that is the face of God, by which God is manifeſted to us; But then,Auguſt. that eye in that face, by which he promiſes to guide us, in this Text, is that bleſſed Spirit of his, by whoſe operation he makes that grace, which does evermore accompany his Ordinances, effectuall upon us; The whole Congregation ſees God face to face, in the Service, in the Sermon, in the Sacrament; but there is an eye in that face, an eye in that Service, an eye in that Sermon, an eye in that Sacrament, a piercing and an operating Spirit, that lookes upon that ſoule, and foments and cheriſhes that ſoule, who by a good uſe of Gods former grace, is become fitter for his preſent.
And this guiding us with his eye, manifeſts it ſelfe in theſe two great effects;Convertit. converſion to him, and union with him. Firſt, his eye works upon ours; His eye turnes ours to looke upon him. Still it is ſo expreſſed with an Ecce; Behold, Pſal. 33.18.the eye of the Lord is upon all them that feare him; His eye cals ours to behold that; And then our eye cals upon his, to obſerve our cheerefull readineſſe, Behold, Pſal. 123.2.as the eye of a ſervant lookes to the hand of his Maſter, ſo our eyes waite upon the Lord our God, till he have mercy upon us. Where the Donec, Vntill, is an everlaſting Donec, as the bleſſed Virgins was; A Virgin Donec, till ſhe brought forth her firſt Son, and a Virgin ever after; So our eyes waite upon God, till hee have mercy, that is, while he hath it, and that he may continue his mercy; for it was his mercifull eye that turned ours to him, and it is the ſame mercy, that we waite upon him. And then, when, as a well made Picture doth alwaies looke upon him, that lookes upon it, this Image of God in our ſoule, is turned to him, by his turning to it, it is impoſſible we ſhould doe any foule, any uncomely thing in his preſence. Will any man ſolicite a Wife or a Daughter, and call the Father or Husband to looke on? Will any man breake open thy houſe in the night, and firſt wake thee, and call thee up? Can any man give his body to uncleanneſſe, his tongue to prophaneneſſe, his heart to covetouſneſſe, and at the ſame time conſider, that his pure, and his holy, and his bountifull God hath his eye upon him? Can he looke upon God in that line, in that Angle, (upon God looking upon him) and diſhonour him?Pſal. 25.15. Auguſt. Upon thoſe words of David, Mine eyes are ever towards the Lord, Quaſi diceretur, quid agitur depedibus? as though it were objected, Is all thy care of thine eyes? What becomes of thy feete? Non attendis ad eos? Doeſt thou looke to thy ſteps, To thy life, as well as to thy faith, To pleaſe God, as well as to know God? And hee anſwers in the words which follow, Ipſe evellet, As for my feet, God ſhall order, that is, aſſiſt me in ordering them; If his eye be upon me, and mine upon him, (O bleſſed reflexion! O happy reciprocation! O powerfull correſpondence!) Ipſe evellet, He will plucke my feet out of the net, though I be almoſt enſnared, almoſt entangled, he will ſnatch me out of the fire, deliver me from the tentation.
The other great effect of his guiding us with his eye,Vnit. Pſal. 17.8. is, That it unites us to himſelf; when he fixes his his eye upon us, and accepts the returne of ours to him, then he keepes us as the Apple of his eye, Quaſi pupillam filiam oculi, (as S. Hierom reads it) as the Daughter, the iſſue,Zech. 2.8. the off-ſpring of his owne eye. For then, He that toucheth you, toucheth the Apple of his eye. And theſe are the two great effects of his guiding us by his eye, that firſt, his eye turnes us to himſelfe, and then turnes us into himſelfe; firſt, his eye turnes ours to him, and then, that makes us all one with himſelfe, ſo, as that our afflictions ſhall bee put upon his patience, and our diſhonours ſhall be injuries to him; wee cannot be ſafer then by being his; but thus, we are not onelyonly His, but He; To every Perſecutor, in every one of our behalfe, he ſhall ſay, Cur me? Why perſecuteſt thou me? And as hee is all Power, and can defend us, ſo here he makes himſelfe all eye, which is the moſt tender part, and moſt ſenſible of our preſſures.
So have you then this Inſtruction perfected unto you. Firſt, Decredendis, facit te intelligere, God will make you underſtand, you, for he will worke upon your naturall faculties ſupernaturally, and by them, convey faith. And then, De agendis, docebo in via, He will teach you which is the way, and what to doe when you are in it. And after that, De ſperandis, firmabo oculos, he will guide you with his eye, watch, if in that way you ſtumble, and reſtore you. That you may conſtantly hope for; and when you have but thus much more, you have all, That there is In omni ſperando, timendum; In every hope, there is ſomething to be feared.Rom. 5.5. Hope makes us not aſhamed, But yet hope, (as long as it is but hope) may make us afraid; though not with a ſuſpicious feare, reflected upon God, yet with a ſolicitous feare,Rom. 5.2. Heb. 3.6. Phil. 2.12. ariſing from, and returning upon our ſelves. There is a Hope of glory, and there is a Glory in hope; but no ſuch Glory, as exterminates all feare: for we are bid To worke out our Salvation with feare and trembling; It muſt be ſuch a feare, as may ſtill relate to my Salvation; For feare that excludes me from Salvation, is a fearefull feare; but yet a feare it muſt be; for as there is a promiſe of guiding by his eye, there is alſo a poſſibility of taking his eye from thee. God is not in this, like the Sun, that makes no more haſte over a dunghill, then over a Garden; over Babylon, then over Jeruſalem. The eye of God is not infected with thy bleare-eye; but yet he will not ſtay and looke upon it. And when he takes his eye from thee,Pſal. 34.13. Gregor. he ſets his face againſt thee; The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, but the face of the Lord is againſt them that doe evill. And thus, Ab ejus viſione, quem conſpicis, abes; Thou art out of Gods ſight, when thou ſeeſt him onelyonly in his judgements. Nay,Deut. 32.20. thou ſhalt not ſee him in them; I will hide my face from them, ſayes God, (though it were an angry face, yet he would hide it) and I will ſee what their end will be. God ſhall looke upon thy fearfull end from the beginning, but thou thy ſelfe ſhalt not ſee the horror that appertaines to it, till it be too late; for that is it, in which God does eſpecially reproach that people,Verſ. 28. O that they were ſo wiſe, as to conſider their latter end! To that purpoſe hath God continued his Inſtruction to us, in this text, That we might know from him, what to beleeve, and what to doe, and how to returne to God, when we have gone aſtray, I will inſtruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou ſhalt go, and I will guide thee with mine eye.