Eighty Sermons, Christmas · Sermon 4
SERMON IV. Preached at S. Pauls upon Chriſtmas day. 1626.
LUKE. 2.29, & 30.
Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have ſeen thy ſalvation.
THe whole life of Chriſt was a continuall Paſſion; others die Martyrs, but Chriſt was born a Martyr. He found a Golgatha, (where he was crucified) even in Bethlem, where he was born; For, to his tenderneſſe then, the ſtrawes were almoſt as ſharp as the thornes after; and the Manger as uneaſie at firſt, as his Croſſe at laſt. His birth and his death were but one continuall act, and his Chriſtmas-day and his Good Friday, are but the evening and morning of one and the ſame day. And as even his birth, is his death, ſo every action and paſſage that manifeſts Chriſt to us, is his birth; for, Epiphany is manifeſtation; And therefore, though the Church doe now call Twelf-day Epiphany, becauſe upon that day Chriſt was manifeſted to the Gentiles, in thoſe Wiſe men who came then to worſhip him, yet the Ancient Church called this day, (the day of Chriſts birth) the Epiphany, becauſe this day Chriſt was manifeſted to the world, by being born this day. Every manifeſtation of Chriſt to the world, to the Church, to a particular ſoule, is an Epiphany, a Chriſtmas-day. Now there is no where a more evident manifeſtation of Chriſt, then in that which induced this text, Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant, &c.
It had been revealed to Simeon (whoſe words theſe are) that he ſhould ſee Chriſt before he dyed; And actually, and really, ſubſtantially, eſſentially, bodily, preſentially, perſonally he does ſee him; ſo it is Simeons Epiphany, Simeons Chriſtmas-day. So alſo this day, in which we commemorate and celebrate the generall Epiphany, the manifeſtation of Chriſt to the whole world in his birth, all we, we, who beſides our intereſt in the univerſall Epiphany and manifeſtation implyed in the very day, have this day received the Body and Blood of Chriſt in his holy and bleſſed Sacrament, have had another Epiphany, another Chriſtmas-day, another manifeſtation and application of Chriſt to our ſelves; And as the Church prepares our devotion before Chriſtmas-day, with foure Sundayes in Advent, which brings Chriſt nearer and nearer unto us, and remembers us that he is comming, and then continues that remembrance again, with the celebration of other feſtivals with it, and after it, as S. Stephen, S. Iohn, and the reſt that follow; ſo for this birth of Chriſt, in your particular ſoules, for this Epiphany, this Chriſtmas-day, this manifeſtation of Chriſt which you have had in the moſt bleſſed Sacrament this day, as you were prepared before by that which was ſaid before, ſo it belongs to the through celebration of the day, and to the dignity of that myſterious act, and to the bleſſedneſſe of worthy, and the danger of unworthy Receivers, to preſſe that evidence in your behalf, and to enable you by a farther examination of your ſelves, to depart in peace, becauſe your eyes have ſeen his ſalvation.
To be able to conclude to you ſelves, that becauſe you have had a Chriſtmas-day, a manifeſtation of Chriſts birth in your ſoules, by the Sacrament, you ſhall have a whole Good-Friday, a crucifying, and a conſummatum eſt, a meaſure of corrections, and joy in thoſe corrections, tentations, and the iſſue with the tentation; And that you ſhall have a Reſurrection, and an Aſcenſion, an inchoation, and an unremoveable poſſeſſion of heaven it ſelf in this world. Make good your Chriſtmas day, that Chriſt by a worthy receiving of the Sacrament, be born in you, and he that dyed for you, will live with you all the yeare, and all the yeares of your lives, and inſpire into you, and receive from you at the laſt gaſp, this bleſſed acclamation, Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant, &c.
The end of all digeſtions,Diviſio. and concoctions is aſſimilation, that that meate may become our body. The end of all conſideration of all the actions of ſuch leading and exemplar men, as Simeon was, is aſſimilation too; That we may be like that man. Therefore we ſhall make it a firſt part, to take a picture, to give a character of this man, to conſider how Simeon was qualified and prepared, matured and diſpoſed to that confidence, that he could deſire to depart in peace, intimated in that firſt word, Now; now, that all that I look for is accompliſhed; And farther expreſſed in the firſt word of the other clauſe, For, for mine eyes have ſeen thy ſalvation; Now, now the time is fulfilled; For, for mine eyes have ſeen. And then enters the ſecond part, what is the greateſt happineſſe that can be well wiſhed in this world, by a man well prepared, is, that he may depart in peace; Lord now letteſt thou, &c. And all the way, in every ſtep that we make, in his light, (in Simeons light) we ſhall ſee light; we ſhall conſider, that that preparation, and diſpoſition, and acquieſcence, which Simeon had in his Epiphany, in his viſible ſeeing of Chriſt then, is offered to us in this Epiphany, in this manifeſtation and application of Chriſt in the Sacrament; And that therefore every penitent, and devout, and reverent, and worthy receiver, hath had in that holy action his Now, there are all things accompliſhed to him, and his For, for his eyes have ſeen his ſalvation; and ſo may be content, nay glad to depart in peace.
In the firſt part then,1 Part. in which we collect ſome marks, and qualities in Simeon which prepared him to a quiet death, qualities appliable to us in that capacity, as we are …tred for the Sacrament,Praeſentatio. (for in that way only, we ſhall walk throughout this exerciſe) wee conſider firſt, the action it ſelf, what was done at this time. At this time our Saviour Chriſt, according to the Law, by which all the firſt born were to be preſented to God in the Temple, at a certain time after their birth, was preſented to God in the Temple, and there acknowledged to be his; And then, bought of him again by his parents, at a certain price preſcribed in the Law. A Lord could not exhibite his Son to his Tenants, and ſay, this is your Land-lord; nor a King his Son to his Subjects, and ſay, this is your Prince; but firſt he was to be tendred to God; his they were all; He that is not Gods firſt, is not truly his Kings, nor his own. And then God does not ſell him back againe to his parents, at a racked, at an improved price; He ſels a Lord, or a King back againe to the world, as cheap as a Yeoman, he takes one and the ſame price for all; God made all Mankinde of one blood, and with one blood, the blood of his Son, he bought all Mankinde again: At one price, and upon the ſame conditions, he hath delivered over all into this world; Tantummodo crede, and then fac hoc, & vives, is the price of all; Beleeve, and live well: More he asks not, leſſe he takes not for any man, upon any pretence of any unconditioned decree.
At the time of this preſentation, there were to be offered a paire of Turtles, or a paire of Pigeons.Columbae. The Sacrifice was indifferent; Turtles that live ſolitarily, and Pigeons, that live ſociably, were all one to God. God in Chriſt may be had in an active, and ſociable life, denoted in the Pigeon, and in the ſolitary and contemplative life, denoted in the Turtle; Let not Weſtminſter deſpiſe the Church, nor the Church the Exchange, nor the Exchange and trade deſpiſe Armes; God in Chriſt may be had in every lawfull calling. And then, the Pigeon was an embleme of fecundity, and fruitfulneſſe in marriage; And the Turtle may be an Embleme of chaſte widowhood; for, I thinke we finde no Bigamy in the Turtle. But in theſe Sacrifices we finde no Embleme of a naturall, or of a vowed barrenneſſe: Nothing that countenances a vowed virginity, to the diſhonour or undervaluing of marriage. Thus was our Saviour preſented to God; And in this eſpecially was that fulfilled,Agg. 2.9. The glory of the later houſe ſhall be greater then the glory of the former; The later Temple exceeded the former in this, that the Lord, the God of this houſe, was in the houſe bodily, as one of the congregation; And the little body of a ſucking childe, was a Chappell in that Temple, infinitely more glorious then the Temple it ſelfe. How was the joy of Noah at the return of the Dove into the Ark, multiplied upon Simeon at the bringing of this Dove into the Temple? At how cheape a price was Chriſt tumbled up and down in this world? It does almoſt take off our pious ſcorn of the low price, at which Iudas ſold him, to conſider that his Father ſold him to the world for nothing; and then, when he had him again, by this new title of primogeniture and preſentation, he ſold him to the world again, if not for a Turtle, or for a Pigeon, yet at moſt for 5. ſhekels, which at moſt is but 10. ſhillings.
And yet you have had him cheaper then that, to day in the Sacrament: whom hath Chriſt coſt 5. ſhekels there? As Chriſt was preſented to God in the Temple, ſo is hee preſented to God in the Sacrament; not ſucking, but bleeding. And God gives him back again to thee. And at what price? upon this exchange; Take his firſt born, Chriſt Jeſus, and give him thine. Who is thine? Cor primogenitum, ſayes S. Auguſt: The heart is the firſt part of the body that lives; Give him that; And then, as it is in nature, it ſhall be in grace too, the laſt part that dyes; for it ſhall never dye;Joh, 6.50. If a man eat the bread that commeth down from heaven, he ſhall not die, ſayes Chriſt. If a man in exchange of his heart receive Chriſt Jeſus himſelfe, he can no more die then Chriſt Jeſus himſelfe can die. That which Eſchines ſaid to Socrates, admits a faire accommodation here; He ſaw every body give Socrates ſome preſent, and he ſaid, Becauſe I have nothing elſe to give, I will give thee my ſelfe. Do ſo, ſayes Socrates, and I will give thee back again to thy ſelf, better then when I received thee. If thou have truly given thy ſelfe to him in the Sacrament, God hath given thee thy ſelfe back, ſo much mended, as that thou haſt received thy ſelf and him too; Thy ſelfe, in a holy liberty, to walk in the world in a calling, and himſelf, in giving a bleſſing upon all the works of thy calling, and imprinting in thee a holy deſire to do all thoſe works to his glory. And ſo having thus far made this profit of theſe circumſtances in the action it ſelf, appliable to us as receivers of the Sacrament, that as the childe Jeſus was firſt preſented to God in the Temple, ſo for your children, (the children of your bodies, and the children of your mindes, and the children of your hands, all your actions, and intentions) that you direct them firſt upon God, and God in the Temple, that is, God manifeſted in the Church, before you aſſigne them, or determine them upon any other worldly courſes, and then, that as God returned Chriſt as all other children, at a certain price, ſo God delivers man upon certain, and upon the ſame conditions: He comes not into the world, nor he comes not to the Sacrament, as to a Lottery, where perchance he may draw Salvation, but it is ten to one he miſſes, but upon theſe few and eaſie conditions, Beleeve, & Love, he may be ſure: And then alſo, that the Sacrifice, Pigeons, or Turtles was indifferent, ſo it were offered to God, for any honeſt calling, is acceptable to God, if Gods glory be intended in it; That of marriage and of widowhood we have ſome typicall intimations in the Law, in the Pigeon, and in the Turtle, but of a vow of virginity, begun in the parents for their temporall ends, and forced upon their children, for thoſe ends, we have no ſhadow at all; That Chriſt who was ſold after by Iudas for a little money, was ſold in this preſentation by his Father, for leſſe, and yet for leſſe then that to us, this day in the Sacrament. Having made theſe uſes of theſe circumſtances in the action it ſelfe, we paſſeion now, to the conſideration of ſome ſuch qualities, and diſpoſitions of this perſon, Simeon, as may be appliable to us in our having received the Sacrament.
Firſt then, we receive it, though not literally, and expreſly in the ſtory,Senex. yet by convenient implication there, and by generall tradition from all, that Simeon was now come to a great age, a very old Man. For ſo S. Auguſt. argues, That God raiſed up two witneſſes for Chriſt in the Temple; one of each Sex; and both of much reverence for age; Anna, whoſe age is expreſſed, and Simeon, who is recommended in the ſame reſpect, ſaies that Father, for age too. And Nicephorus, and others with him, make him very old; as it is likely he was, if he were, as Pet: Galatinus makes him, the ſon of Rabbi Hillel, Hillel the maſter of Gamaliel, the maſter of S. Paul. So then we accept him; A perſon in a reverend age. Even in nature Age was the center of reverence; the channell, the valley, to which all reverence flowed; temporall juriſdiction, and ſpirituall juriſdiction, the Magiſtracy, and the Prieſthood were appropriated to the eldeſt; almoſt in all vulgar languages, the name of a Lord, or magiſtrate, hath no other derivation then ſo, an Elder; Senior noſter, is a word that paſſes freely, through the authors of the middle age, for our Lord, or our King; and the ſame derivation hath the name of Prieſt, in a holy language, Presbyter an Elder. So evermore in the courſe of the Scripture all counſell, and all government is placed in the Elders; and all the ſervice of God is expreſſed ſo, even in heaven too, by the foure and twenty Elders.Apoc. 4.9. Thy Creator will be remembred in the dayes of thy youth; but God hath had longer experience of that man, and longer converſation with that man, who is come to a holy age. That wiſe King, who could carry nothing to a higher pitch in any compariſon, then to a Crowne, ſaies, Age is a crowne of glory, Prov. 16.31.when it is found in the wayes of the righteous; but in the waies of righteouſneſſe, no bleſſing is a bleſſing; and in the waies of righteouſneſſe, wealth may be a crowne of our labours, and health may be a crowne of our temperance, but age is the crowne of glory, of reverence; …hat crowne, the crowne of reverence, the Lord the righteous Judge hath reſerved to that day, the day of our age, becauſe our age is the ſeale of our conſtancy, and perſeverance. In this bleſſed age, Simeon was thus dignified, admitted to this Epiphany, this manifeſtation of Chriſt. And, to be admitted to thy Epiphany, and manifeſtation of Chriſt in the Sacrament, thou muſt put off the yong man, and put on the old. God, to whoſe Table thou art called, is repreſented as Antiquus Dierum, the ancient of Daies; and his Gueſts muſt be of mortified affections; He muſt be crucified to the world, that will receive him, that was crucified for the world; the luſts of youth, the voluptuouſneſſe of youth, the revengefulneſſe of youth, muſt have a holy damp, and a religious ſtupidity ſhed upon them, that come thither. Nay, it is not enough to bee ſuddenly old, to have ſad, and mortified thoughts then; no, nor to be ſuddenly dead, to renounce the world then, that houre, that morning, but quatriduani ſitis, you ſhould have been dead three daies, as Lazarus; you ſhould have paſſed an Examination, an accuſation, a condemnation of your ſelves, divers daies before ye came to that Table. God was moſt glorified in the raiſing of Lazarus, when he was long dead, and putrified; God is moſt glorified in giving a reſurrection to him, that hath been longeſt dead; that is, longeſt in the Contemplation of his owne ſinfull and ſpirituall putrefaction. For, he that ſtinks moſt in his owne, by true contrition, is the beſt perfume to Gods noſtrils, and a conſcience troubled in it ſelfe, is Odor quietis, as Noahs ſacrifice was, a ſavor of reſt to God.
This aſſiſtance we have to the exaltation of our devotion, from that circumſtance, that Simeon was an old man;Sacerdos. we have another from another, that he was a Prieſt, and in that notion and capacity, the better fitted for this Epiphany, this Chriſtmas, this Manifeſtation of Chriſt. We have not this neither in the letter of the ſtory; no, nor ſo conſtantly in Tradition, that he was a Prieſt, as that he was an old man: But it is rooted in Antiquity too; In Athanaſius, in St. Cyrill, in Epiphanius, in others, who argue, and inferre it fairly and conveniently, out of ſome Prieſtly acts, which Simeon ſeemes to have done in the Temple, (as the taking of Chriſt in his armes, which belongs to the Prieſt, and the bleſſing of God, which is the Thankſ-giving to God, in the behalfe of the congregation, and then the bleſſing of the people, in the behalfe of God, which are acts peculiar to the Prieſt.) Accepting him in that quality, a Prieſt, we conſider, that as the King takes it worſe in his houſhold ſervants, then in his Subjects at large, if they goe not his wayes, ſo they who dwell in Gods houſe, whoſe livelihood growes out of the revenue of his Church, and whoſe ſervice lies within the walls of his Church, are moſt inexcuſable, if they have not a continuall Epiphany, a continuall Manifeſtation of Chriſt: All men ſhould looke towards God, but the Prieſt ſhould never looke off from God. And, at the Sacrament every man is a Prieſt. I had rather that were not ſaid, (which yet a very Reverend Divine ſayes) That this Simeon might be aliquis plebeius homo, Calvin.ſome ordinary common man, that was in the Temple at that time, when Chriſt was brought. He, who is of another ſub-diviſion,Chemnicius. (though in the reformed Church too) collects piouſly, that God choſe extraordinary men, to give teſtimony of his Sonne; Nicodemus a great Magiſtrate, Gamaliel a great Doctor, Iairus a Ruler in the Synagogue, and this Simeon, in probability, pregnant enough, a Prieſt. But was that any great Addition to him, if hee were ſo? For holineſſe, certainly it was; But for outward dignity, and reſpect, it was ſo too,Joſephus. amongſt them. In omni Natione, certum aliquod Nobilitatis argumentum. Every Nation hath ſome particular way of ennobling, and ſome particular evidence, and declaration of Nobility: Armes for a great part, is that in Spaine; and Merchandize in ſome States in Italy; and learning in France, where beſides the very many preferments by the Church, in which, ſome other Nation may be equall to them, there are more preferments, by other wayes of learning, eſpecially of Judicature, then in any other Nation. All Nations, ſayes Ioſephus, had ſome peculiar way, and amongſt the Jews, ſayes he, Prieſthood was that way; A Prieſt was, even for civill priviledges, a Gentleman. Therefore hath the Apoſtle, not knighted, nor ennobled, but crowned every good ſoule, with that ſtyle, Regale Sacerdotium, That they are a Royall Prieſthood; To be Royall without Prieſthood, ſeemed not to him Dignity enough. Conſider then, that to come to the Communion Table, is to take Orders; Every man ſhould come to that Altar, as holy as the Prieſt,Eraſmus. for there he is a Prieſt: And, Sacer dotem nemo agit, qui libenter aliud eſt, quam Sacerdos: No man is truly a Prieſt, which is any thing elſe beſides a Prieſt; that is, that entangles himſelfe in any other buſineſſe, ſo, as that that hinders his function in his Prieſthood. No man comes to the Sacrament well, that is ſorry hee is there; that is, whom the penalty of the law, or obſervation of neighbours, or any collaterall reſpect brings thither. There thou art a Prieſt, though thou beeſt but a lay-man at home; And then, no man that hath taken Orders, can deprive himſelfe, or deveſt his Orders, when he will: Thou art bound to continue in the ſame holineſſe after, in which thou preſenteſt thy ſelfe at that Table. As the ſailes of a ſhip when they are ſpread and ſwolne, and the way that the ſhip makes, ſhewes me the winde, where it is, though the winde it ſelfe be an inviſible thing; ſo thy actions to morrow, and the life that thou leadeſt all the yeare, will ſhew mee, with what minde thou cameſt to the Sacrament, to day, though onelyonly God, and not I, can ſee thy minde. Live in remembrance, that thou waſt a Prieſt to day; (for no man hath received Chriſt, that hath not ſacrificed himſelf.) And live, as though thou wert a Prieſt ſtill; and then I ſay, with Sidonius Apollinaris, Malo Sacerdotalem virum, quam Sacerdotem, I had rather have one man that lives as a Prieſt ſhould doe, then a hundred Prieſts that live not ſo. A worthy Receiver ſhall riſe in Judgement againſt an unworthy Giver: Chriſt ſhall be the Sacrifice ſtill, and thou the Prieſt, that cameſt but to receive, becauſe thou haſt ſacrificed thy ſelfe; and he the Iudas, that pretended to be the Prieſt, becauſe he hath betrald Chriſt to himſelfe, and as much as lay in him, evacuated the Sacrament, and made it of none effect to thee.
It is farther added for his honour, and for his competency, and fitneſſe for this Epiphany,Iuſtus. V 25. to ſee his Saviour, that he was Iuſtus, a juſt, and righteous man. This is a legall Righteouſneſſe; a Righteouſneſſe, in which St. Paul ſayes, he was unreproachable; that is, in the ſight of all the world. And this Righteouſneſſe, even this outward righteouſneſſe, he muſt bring with him that comes to this Epiphany, to this Manifeſtation, and Application of his Saviour, to him, in the Sacrament: It muſt ſtand well betweene him, and all the world. If thou bring thy gift to the Altar, ſayes Chriſt,Mat. 5.23. (if thou bring thy ſelfe to the Altar, ſayes our caſe) and there remembreſt that thy brother hath ought againſt thee, (it was ill done, not to remember it before; but if thou remember it then) Goe thy way, ſayes Chriſt, firſt be reconciled to thy brother, and then come, and offer thy gift; that is, offer thy ſelfe for that ſacrifice: Better come a month after, with a cleare, then kneele it out then with a perplexed conſcience. It is, If thy brother have ought againſt thee; how little ſoever: If thou have but ſcandalized him, though thou have not injured him, yet venture not upon this holy action, till thou have ſatisfied him. Thou maiſt be good; good ſo, as that thou haſt intended no ill to him: He may be good too; good ſo, as that he wiſhes no ill to thee. And yet ſome negligence and remiſneſſe in thee, may have ſtruck upon a weakneſſe and a tenderneſſe in him, ſo as that he may be come, to think uncharitably of thee; and though this uncharitableneſſe be his fault, and not thine, yet the negligence that occaſioned it, was thine: Satisfie him; and that rectifies both; it redeemes thy negligence, it recovers his weakneſſe. Till that be done, neither of you are fit for this holy action; God neither accepts that man, that is negligent of his actions, and cares not what others think, nor him that is over-eaſie to be ſcandalized, and miſ-interpret actions, otherwiſe indifferent: For, to them who ſtudy not this righteouſneſſe, to ſtand upright in the good opinions of good men, as God ſaies, Why takeſt thou my word into thy mouth, ſo Chriſt ſhall ſay, to the ſhaking of that conſcience, why takeſt thou my Body, and Bloud into thy hand?
This muſt be done; He muſt be juſt, righteous in the eyes of men;Timoratus. though more ſeeme to be implyed in his other character, that he was Timoratus, which we tranſlate Devout: In the former, his object was man, though godly men; here it is God himſelfe: Man muſt be reſpected, but God eſpecially. And this devotion is well placed in feare; for Baſis verbi eſt timor ſanctus, ſayes St. Auguſtine; and it is excellently ſaid, if this bee his meaning, That whatſoever I promiſe my ſelfe out of the word of God, yet the Baſis upon which that promiſe ſtands, is my feare of God: If my feare of God fall, the word of God, ſo farre as it is a promiſe to me, falls to. Tertullian intends the ſame thing, when he ſayes, fundamentum ſalutis timor; Though I have a holy confidence of my ſalvation, yet the foundation of this confidence is a modeſt, and a tender, and a reverentiall feare, that I am not diligent enough in the performance of thoſe conditions which are required to the eſtabliſhing of it; for this Eulabeia, which St. Hierome tranſlates Timoratum, and we tranſlate Devout, is a middle diſpoſition betweene a Phariſaicall ſuperſtition, and a negligent irreverence, and profanation of Gods Ordinance. I come not with this Eulabeia, with Simeons diſpoſition, to my Epiphany, to my receiving of my Saviour; if I think that Bread, my God, and ſuperſtitiouſly adore it, for that is Phariſaicall, and carnall; neither doe I bring that diſpoſition thither, if I think God no otherwiſe preſent there, then in his own other Ordinances, and ſo refuſe ſuch poſtures, and actions of reverence, as are required to teſtifie outwardly mine inward devotion; for theſe may well conſiſt together, I am ſure I receive him effectually, when I looke upon his Mercy; I am affraid I doe not receive him worthily, when I look upon mine owne unworthineſſe.
We cannot purſue this Anatomy of good old Simeon, this Juſt, and Devout Prieſt, ſo farre, as to ſhew you all his parts, and the uſe of them all, in particular. His example, and the characters that are upon him, are our Alphabet. I ſhall onelyonly have time to name the reſt of thoſe characters; you muſt ſpell them, and put them into their ſyllables; you muſt forme them, and put them into their words; you muſt compoſe them, and put them into their Syntaxis, and ſentences; that is, you muſt purſue the imitation, that when I have told you what he was, you may preſent your ſelves to God, ſuch as he was. He was one that had the Holy Ghoſt upon him,Spiritus Sancius. ſaies that Story. The teſtimony given before, that he was Iuſtus, & Timoratus, righteous, and fearing God, was evidence enough, that the Holy Ghoſt was upon him. This addition is a teſtimony of a more particular preſence, and operation of the Holy Ghoſt, in ſome certaine way; and the way is agreed by all, to be, In dono Prophetiae, the Holy Ghoſt was upon him, in the ſpirit of Propheſie, ſo, as that he made him, at that time, a Prophet. Thou art a Prophet upon thy ſelfe, when thou commeſt to the Communion; Thou art able to foretell, and to pronounce upon thy ſelfe, what thou ſhalt be for ever; VponUpon thy diſpoſition then, thou maiſt conclude thine eternall ſtate;Rom. 2.9. then thou knoweſt which part of St. Pauls diſtribution falls upon thee; whether that tribulations and anguiſh upon every ſoule of man, that doth evill; Or that, But glory, and honour, and peace to every man, that worketh good. Thou art this Prophet; ſilence not this Prophet; doe not chide thy conſcience for chiding thee; Stone not this Prophet; doe not petrifie, and harden thy conſcience againſt theſe holy ſuggeſtions: Say not with Ahab to the Prophet, Haſt thou found me out, O mine enemy? when an unrepented ſinne comes to thy memory then, be not thou ſorry that thou remembreſt it then, nor doe not ſay, I would this ſin had not troubled me now, I would I had not remembred it till to morrow; For, in that action, firſt, in Theſi, for the Rule, thou art a Preacher to thy ſelfe,1 Cor. 11.20. and thou haſt thy. Text in St. Paul, He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himſelfe; And then in Hypotheſi, for the application to the particular caſe, thou art a Prophet to thy ſelfe; Thou that knoweſt in thy ſelfe, what thou doeſt then, canſt ſay to thy ſelfe, what thou ſhalt ſuffer after, if thou doe ill.
There are more Elements in the making up of this man; many more. He waited, ſaies his ſtory;Expectavit. He gave God his leiſure. Simeon had informed himſelfe, out of Daniel, and the other Prophets, that the time of the Meſſias comming was neare: As Daniel had informed himſelfe out of Ieremy, and the other Prophets, that the time of the Deliverance from Babylon, was neare: Both waited patiently, and yet both prayed for the accelerating of that, which they waited for; Daniel for the Deliverance, Simeon for the Epiphany. Thoſe conſiſt well enough, patiently to attend Gods time, and yet earneſtly to ſolicite the haſtning of that time; for that time is Gods time, to which, our prayers have brought God; as that price was Gods price for Sodome, to which Abrahams ſolicitation brought God,Eſay 45.9. and not the firſt fifty. That Prophet that ſayes, Woe unto him that ſtriveth with his Maker, that is, that preſſes God before his time, ſaies alſo, for all that, Oh that thou wouldeſt rent the heavens, Eſay 64.1.and come downe. When thou commeſt to this ſeale of thy peace, the Sacrament, pray that God will give thee that light, that may direct and eſtabliſh thee, in neceſſary and fundamentall things; that is, the light of faith to ſee, that the Body and Bloud of Chriſt, is applied to thee, in that action; But for the manner, how the Body and Bloud of Chriſt is there, wait his leiſure, if he have not yet manifeſted that to thee: Grieve not at that, wonder not at that, preſſe not for that; for hee hath not manifeſted that, not the way, not the manner of his preſence in the Sacrament, to the Church. A peremptory prejudice upon other mens opinions, that no opinion but thine can be true, in the doctrine of the Sacrament, and an un charitable condemning of other men, or other Churches that may be of another perſwaſion then thou art, in the matter of the Sacrament, may fruſtrate and diſappoint thee of all that benefit, which thou mightſt have, by an humble receiving thereof, if thou wouldeſt excerciſe thy faith onelyonly, here, and leave thy paſſion at home, and referre thy reaſon, and diſputation to the Schoole.
He waited, ſaies the ſtory; And he waited for the conſolation of Iſrael.Iſrael. It is not an appropriating of hopes, or poſſeſſions of thoſe hopes, to himſelfe; but a charitable deſire, of a communication of this conſolation, upon all the Iſrael of God. Therefore is the Sacrament a Communion; Therefore is the Church, which is built of us,1. Pet. 2.5. Gregor. Built of lively ſtones: And in ſuch buildings, as ſtones doe, Vnusquiſque portat alterum, & portatur ab altero: Every ſtone is ſupported by another, and ſupports another. As thou wouldeſt be well interpreted by others, interpret others well; and, as when thou commeſt to heaven, the joy, and the glory of every ſoule, ſhall bee thy glory, and thy joy; ſo when thou commeſt to the porch of the Triumphant Church, the doore of heaven, the Communion table, deſire that that joy, which thou feeleſt in thy ſoule then, may then be communicated to every communicant there.
To this purpoſe, to teſtifie his devotion to the communion of Saints,Templum. Simeon came into the Temple, ſaies the ſtory; to doe a holy worke, in a holy place. When we ſay, that God is no accepter of perſons, we doe not meane, but that they which are within his Covenant, and they that have preſerved the ſeales of his grace, are more acceptable to him, then they which are not, or have not. When we ſay, that God is not tied to places, we muſt not meane, but that God is otherwiſe preſent, and workes otherwiſe, in places conſecrated to his ſervice, then in every prophane place. When I pray in my chamber, I build a Temple there, that houre; And, that minute, when I caſt out a prayer, in the ſtreet, I build a Temple there; And when my ſoule prayes without any voyce, my very body is then a Temple: And God, who knowes what I am doing in theſe actions, erecting theſe Temples, he comes to them and proſpers, and bleſſes my devotions; and ſhall not I come to his Temple, where he is alwaies reſident? My chamber were no Temple, my body were no Temple, except God came to it; but whether I come hither, or no, this will be Gods Temple: I may loſe by my abſence; He gaines nothing by my comming. He that hath a cauſe to be heard, will not goe to Smithfield, nor he that hath cattaile to buy or ſell, to Weſtminſter; He that hath bargaines to make, or newes to tell, ſhould not come to doe that at Church; nor he that hath prayers to make, walke in the fields for his devotions. If I have a great friend, though in caſes of neceſſity, as ſickneſſe, or other reſtraints, hee will vouchſafe to viſit me, yet I muſt make my fuits to him at home, at his owne houſe. In caſes of neceſſity, Chriſt in the Sacrament, vouchſafes to come home to me; And the Court is where the King is; his bleſſings are with his Ordinances, whereſoever: But the place to which he hath invited me, is his houſe. Hee that made the great Supper in the Goſpel, called in new gueſts; but he ſent out no meat to them, who had been invited, and might have come, and came not. Chamber-prayers, ſingle, or with your family, Chamber-Sermons, Sermons read over there, and Chamber-Sacraments, adminiſtred in neceſſity there, are bleſſed aſſiſtants, and ſupplements; they are as the almes at the gate, but the feaſt is within; they are as a cock of water without, but the Ciſtern is within; habenti dabitur; he that hath a handfull of devotion at home, ſhall have his devotion multiplyed to a Gomer here; for when he is become a part of the Congregation, he is joynt-tenant with them, and the devotion of all the Congregation, and the bleſſings upon all the Congregation, are his bleſſings, and his devotions.
He came to a holy place, and he came by a holy motion, by the Spirit,In Spiritu. ſaies his Evidence, without holineſſe, no man ſhall ſee God; not ſo well, without holineſſe of the place; but not there neither, if he truſt onelyonly to the holineſſe of the place, and bring no holineſſe with him. Betweene that fearefull occaſion of comming to Church, which S. Auguſtine confeſſes and laments, That they came to make wanton bargaines with their eyes, and met there, becauſe they could meet no whereelſe; and that more fearfull occaſion of comming, when they came onelyonly to elude the Law, and proceeding in their treacherous and traiterous religion in their heart, and yet communicating with us, draw God himſelfe into their conſpiracies, and to mocke us, make a mocke of God, and his religion too: betweene theſe two, this licencious comming, and this treacherous comming, there are many commings to Church, commings for company, for obſervation, for muſique: And all theſe indiſpoſitions are ill at prayers; there they are unwholeſome, but at the Sacrament, deadly: He that brings any collaterall reſpect to prayers, looſes the benefit of the prayers of the Congregation; and he that brings that to a Sermon, looſes the bleſſing of Gods ordinance in that Sermon; hee heares but the Logique, or the Retorique, or the Ethique, or the poetry of the Sermon, but the Sermon of the Sermon he heares not; but he that brings this diſpoſition to the Sacrament, ends not in the loſſe of a benefit, but he acquires, and procures his owne damnation.
All that we conſider in Simeon, Viderunt oculi.and apply from Simeon, to a worthy receiver of the Sacrament, is how he was fitted to depart in peace. All thoſe peeces, which we have named, conduce to that: but all thoſe are collected into that one, which remaines yet, Viderunt oculi, that his eyes had ſeene that ſalvation; for that was the accompliſhment and fulfilling of Gods Word, According to thy word; All that God had ſaid, ſhould be done, was done; for, as it is ſaid, v. 26. It was revealed unto him, by the holy Ghoſt, that hee ſhould not ſee death, before he had ſeene the Lords Chriſt, and now his eyes had ſeene that Salvation. Abraham ſaw this before; but, but with the eye of faith; and yet rejoyced to ſee it ſo, he was glad even of that. Simeon ſaw it before this time; then, when he was illuſtrated with that Revelation, he ſaw it; but, but with the eye of hope; of ſuch hope Abraham had no ſuch ground; no particular hope, no promiſe, that hee ſhould ſee the Meſſiah in his time; Simeon had, and yet he waited, he attended Gods leaſure; But hope defer'd maketh the heart ſick,Prov. 13.12. (ſaies Solomon) but when the deſire comes, it is a tree of life. His deſire was come; he ſaw his ſalvation. Perchance not ſo, as S. Cyprian ſeemes to take it, That till this time Simeon was blinde, and upon this preſentation of Chriſt in the Temple, came to his ſight againe, and ſo ſaw this Salvation: for, I thinke, no one Author, but S. Cyprian, ſaies ſo, that Simeon was blinde till now, and now reſtored to ſight; And I may eaſe S. Cyprian too, of that ſingularity; for it is enough, and abundantly evident, that that book in which that is ſaid (which is, Altercatio Iaſonis & papiſci de Meſſia) cannot poſſibly be S. Cyprians. But with his bodily eyes, open to other objects before, he ſaw the Lords Salvation, and his Salvation; the Lords, as it came from the Lord, and his, as it was appliable to him. He ſaw it, according to his word; that is, ſo far, as God had promiſed, he ſhould ſee it. He ſaw not, how, that God, which was in this Child, & which was this child, was the Son of God; The manner of that eternall Generation he ſaw not. He ſaw not how this Son of God became man in a Virgins womb, whom no man knew; The manner of this Incarnation he ſaw not: for this eternall Generation, and this miraculous Incarnation, fell not within that Secundùm verbum, according to thy Word; God had promiſed Simeon nothing concerning thoſe myſteries: But Chriſtum Domini, the Lords Salvation, and his Salvation, that is, the perſon who was all that (which was all, that was within the word, and the promiſe) Simeon ſaw, and ſaw with bodily eyes. Beloved, in the bleſſed, and glorious, and myſterious Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Chriſt Jeſus, thou ſeeſt Chriſtum Domini, the Lords Salvation, and thy Salvation, and that, thus far with bodily eyes; That Bread which thou ſeeſt after the Conſecration, is not the ſame bread, which was preſented before; not that it is Tranſubſtantiated to another ſubſtance, for it is bread ſtill, (which is the hereticall Riddle of the Roman Church, and ſatans ſophiſtry, to diſhonour miracles, by the aſſiduity and frequency, and multiplicity of them) but that it is ſevered, and appropriated by God, in that Ordinance to another uſe; It is other Bread, ſo, as a Judge is another man, upon the bench, then he is at home, in his owne houſe. In the Roman Church, they multiply, and extend miracles, til the miracle it ſelfe crack, and become none, but vaniſh into nothing, as boyes bubbles, (which were but bubbles before, at beſt) by an overblowing become nothing: Nay they conſtitute ſuch miracles, as do not onelyonly deſtroy the nature of the miracle, but deſtroy him, that ſhould doe that miracle, even God himſelfe: for, nothing proceeds farther to the deſtroying of God, then to make God do contradictory things; for, contradictions have falſehood, and ſo imply impotency, and infirmity in God. There cannot be a deeper Atheiſme, then to impute contradictions to God; neither doth any one thing ſo overcharge God with contradictions, as the Tranſubſtantiation of the Roman Church. There muſt be a Body there, and yet no where; In no place, and yet in every place, where there is a conſecration. The Bread and the Wine muſt nouriſh the body, nay, the bread and the wine may poyſon a body, and yet there is no bread, nor wine there. They multiply miracles, and they give not over, till they make God unable to doe a miracle, till they make him a contradictory, that is, an impotent God. And therefore Luther inferres well, that ſince miracles are ſo eaſie and cheape, and obvious to them, as they have induced a miraculous tranſubſtantiation, they might have done well to have procured one miracle more, a tranſ-accidentation, that ſince the ſubſtance is changed, the accidents might have beene changed too; and ſince there is no bread, there might be no demenſions, no colour, no nouriſhing, no other qualities of bread neither; for, theſe remaining, there is rather an annihilation of God, in making him no God by being a contradictory God, then an annihilation of the Bread, by making that, which was formerly bread, God himſelfe, by that way of Tranſubſtantiation.
But yet, though this bread be not ſo tranſubſtantiated, we refuſe not the words of the Fathers, in which they have expreſſed themſelves in this Myſtery: Not Irenaeus his eſt corpus, that that bread is his body now; Not Tertullians fecit corpus, that that bread is made his body, which was not ſo before; Not S. Cyprians mutatus, that that bread is changed; Not Damaſcens ſupernaturaliter mutatus, that that bread is not only changed ſo in the uſe, as when at the Kings table certain portions of bread are made bread of Eſſay, to paſſe over every diſh, whether for ſafety or for Majeſty; not only ſo civilly changed, but changed ſupernaturally; no nor Theophylacts transformatus eſt; (which ſeemes to be the word that goes fartheſt of all) for this transforming, cannot be intended of the outward form and faſhion, for that is not changed; but be it of that internall form, which is the very eſſence and nature of the bread, ſo it is transformed, ſo the bread hath received a new form, a new eſſence, a new nature, becauſe whereas the nature of bread is but to nouriſh the body, the nature of this bread now is to nouriſh the ſoule. And therefore, Cum non dubitavit Dominus dicere, hoc eſt corpus meum, Auguſt.cum ſignum daret corporis, Since Chriſt forbore not to ſay, This is my body, when he gave the ſign of his body, why ſhould we forbeare to ſay of that bread, this is Chriſts body, which is the Sacrament of his body. You would have ſaid at noone, this light is the Sun, and you will ſay now, this light is the Candle; That light was not the Sun, this light is not the Candle, but it is that portion of aire which the Sun did then, and which the Candle doth now enlighten. We ſay the Sacramentall bread is the body of Chriſt, becauſe God hath ſhed his Ordinance upon it, and made it of another nature in the uſe, though not in the ſubſtance; Almoſt 600. years agoe, the Romane Church made Berengarius ſweare, ſenſualiter tangitur, frangitur, teritur corpus Chriſts, That the body of Chriſt was ſenſibly handled, and broken, and chewed. They are aſhamed of that now, and have mollified it with many modifications; and God knowes whether 100. yeares hence they will not bee as much aſhamed of their Tranſubſtantiation, and ſee as much unnaturall abſurdity in their Trent Canon, or Lateran Cano…, …s they doe in Berengarius oath. As they that deny the body of Chriſt to be in the Sacrament, loſe their footing in departing from their ground, the expreſſe Scriptures; ſo they that will aſſign a particular manner, how that body is there, have no footing, no ground at all, no Scripture to Anchor upon: And ſo, diving in a bottomleſſe ſea, they poppe ſometimes above water to take breath, to appeare to ſay ſomething, and then ſnatch at a looſe prepoſition, that ſwims upon the face of the waters; and ſo the Roman Church hath catched a Trans, and others a Con, and a Sub, and an In, and varied their poetry into a Tranſubſtantiation, and a Conſubſtantiation, and the reſt, and rymed themſelves beyond reaſon, into abſurdities, and hereſies, and by a young figure of ſimiliter cadens, they are fallen alike into error, though the errors that they are fallen into, be not of a like nature, nor danger. We offer to goe no farther, then according to his Word; In the Sacrament our eyes ſee his ſalvation, according to that, ſo far, as that hath manifeſted unto us, and in that light wee depart in peace, without ſcruple in our owne, without offence to other mens conſciences.
Having thus ſeene Simeon in theſe his Dimenſions, with theſe holy impreſſions,2 Part. theſe bleſſed characters upon him; firſt, 1 A man in a reverend age, & then, 2 In a holy function and calling, and with that, 3 Righteous in the eyes of men, and withall, 4 Devout in the eyes of God, 5 And made a Prophet upon himſelfe by the holy Ghoſt, 6 ſtill wayting Gods time, and his leaſure, 7 And in that, deſiring that his joy might be ſpread upon the whole Iſrael of God, 8 Frequenting holy places, the Temple, 9 And that upon holy motions, and there, 10 ſeeing the ſalvation of the Lord, that is, Diſcerning the application of ſalvation in the Ordinances of the Church, 11 And laſtly, contenting himſelfe with ſo much therein, as was according to his word, and not inquiring farther then God had beene pleaſed to reveale; and having reflected all theſe ſeverall beames upon every worthy Receiver of the Sacrament, the whole Quire of ſuch worthy receivers may joyne with Simeon in this Antiphon, Nunc Dimittis, Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant depart in peace, &c. S. Ambroſe reades not this place as we doe, Nunc dimittis, but Nunc dimitte; not, Lord thou doeſt ſo; but, Lord doe ſo; and ſo he gives it the forme of a prayer; and implyes not only a patience, and a contentedneſſe, but a deſire, and an ambition that he might die; at leaſt ſuch an indifferency, and equanimity as Iſrael had, when he had ſeen Ioſeph, Gen. 46.30.Now let me die, ſince I have ſeen thy face; after he had ſeen his face, the next face that he deſired to ſee, was the face of God. For, howſoever there may bee ſome diſorder, ſome irregularity, in S. Pauls Anathema pro fratribus, that he deſired to be ſeparated from Chriſt, rather then his brethren ſhould, (that may ſcarce be drawen into conſequence, or made a wiſh for us to imitate) yet to S. Pauls Cupio diſſolvi, to an expreſſe, and to a deliberate deſire, to be diſſolved here, and to be united to Chriſt in heaven, (ſtill with a primary relation to the glory of God, and a reſervation of the will of God) a godly, a rectified and a well-diſpoſed man may ſafely come. And ſo, (I know not upon what grounds) Nicephorus fayes, Simeon did wiſh, and had his wiſh; he prayed that he might die, and actually he did die then. Neither can a man at any time be fitter to make and obtain this wiſh, then when his eyes have ſeen his ſalvation in the Sacrament. At leaſt, make this an argument of your having beene worthy receivers thereof, that you are in Aequilibri…o, in an evenneſſe, in an indifferency, in an equanimity, whether ye die this night or no. For, howſoever S. Ambroſe ſeem to make it a direct prayer, that he might die, he intends but ſuch an equanimity, ſuch an indifferency; Quaſi ſervus nonrefugit vitae obſequium, & quaſi ſapiem lucrum mortis amplectitur, ſayes that Father; Simeon is ſo good a ſervant, as that he is content to ſerve his old maſter ſtill, in his old place, in this world, but yet, he is ſo good a husband too, as that hee ſees what a gainer he might be, if he might be made free by death. If thou deſire not death, (that is the caſe of very few, to doe ſo in a rectified conſcience, and without diſtemper) if thou beeſt not equally diſpoſed towards death (that ſhould be the caſe of all; and yet we are far from condemning all that are not come to that equanimity) yet if thou now feare death inordinately, I ſhould feare that thine eyes have not ſeen thy ſalvation to day; who can feare the darkneſſe of death, that hath had the light of this world, and of the next too? who can feare death this night, that hath had the Lord of life in his hand to day? It is a queſtion of conſternation, a queſtion that ſhould ſtrike him, that ſhould anſwer it, dumb (as Chriſts queſtion, Amice, quomodo intraſti? Friend, how cameſt in hither? did him to whom that was ſaid) which Origen askes in this caſe, When wilt thou dare to goe out of this world, if thou dareſt not goe now, when Chriſt Jeſus hath taken thee by the hand to leade thee out?
This then is truly to depart in peace,In pace. by the Goſpell of peace, to the God of peace. My body is my priſon; and I would be ſo obedient to the Law, as not to break priſon; I would not haſten my death by ſtarving, or macerating this body: But if this priſon be burnt down by continuall feavers, or blowen down with continuall vapours, would any man be ſo in love with that ground upon which that priſon ſtood, as to deſire rather to ſtay there, then to go home? Our priſons are fallen, our bodies are dead to many former uſes; Our palate dead in a taſtleſneſſe; Our ſtomach dead in an indigeſtibleneſſe; our feete dead in a lameneſſe, and our invention in a dulneſſe, and our memory in a forgetfulneſſe; and yet, as a man that ſhould love the ground, where his priſon ſtood, we love this clay, that was a body in the dayes of our youth, and but our priſon then, when it was at beſt; wee abhorre the graves of our bodies; and the body, which, in the beſt vigour thereof,Gen. 40. was but the grave of the ſoule, we over-love. Pharaohs Butler, and his Baker went both out of priſon in a day; and in both caſes, Ioſeph, in the interpretation of their dreames, calls that, (their very diſcharge out of priſon) a lifting up of their heads, a kinde of preferment: Death raiſes every man alike, ſo far, as that it delivers every man from his priſon, from the incumbrances of this body: both Baker and Butler were delivered of their priſon; but they paſſed into divers ſtates after, one to the reſtitution of his place, the other to an ignominious execution. Of thy priſon thou ſhalt be delivered whether thou wilt or no; thou muſt die; Foole, this night thy ſoule may be taken from thee; and then, what thou ſhalt be to morrow, prophecy upon thy ſelfe, by that which thou haſt done to day; If thou didſt depart from that Table in peace, thou canſt depart from this world in peace. And the peace of that Table is, to come to it in pace deſiderii, with a contented minde, and with an enjoying of thoſe temporall bleſſings which thou haſt, without macerating thy ſelf, without uſurping upon others, without murmuring at God; And to be at that Table, in pace cogitationum, in the peace of the Church, without the ſpirit of contradiction, or inquiſition, without uncharitableneſſe towards others, without curioſity in thy ſelfe: And then to come from that Table in pace domeſtica, with a boſome peace, in thine own Conſcience, in that ſeale of thy reconciliation, in that Sacrament; that ſo, riding at that Anchor, and in that calme whether God enlarge thy voyage, by enlarging thy life, or put thee into the harbour, by the breath, by the breathleſneſſe of Death, either way, Eaſt or Weſt, thou maiſt depart in peace, according to his word, that is, as he ſhall be pleaſed to manifeſt his pleaſure upon thee.