Eighty Sermons, prebend · Sermon 69
SERM. LXIX. The fifth of my Prebend Sermons upon my five Pſalmes: Preached at S. Pauls.
PSAL. 66.3.
Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Through the greatneſſe of thy Power ſhall thine Enemies ſubmit themſelves unto thee.
IT is well ſaid, (ſo well, as that more then one of the Fathers ſeeme to have delighted themſelves in having ſaid it) Titulus Clavis, The Title of the Pſalme, is the Key of the Pſalme; the Title opens the whole Pſalme. The Church of Rome will needs keepe the Key of heaven, and the key to that Key, the Scriptures, wrapped up in that Tranſlation, which in no caſe muſt be departed from. There, the key of this Pſalm, (the Title thereof) hath one bar wreſted, that is, made otherwiſe, then he that made the Key, (the Holy Ghoſt) intended it; And another bat inſerted, that is, one clauſe added, which the Holy Ghoſt added not. Where we reade, in the Title, Victori, To the chiefe Muſician, they reade, In finem, A Pſalme directed upon the end. I think, they meane upon the later times, becauſe it is in a great part, a Propheticall Pſame, of the calling of the Gentiles. But after this change, they alſo adde, Reſurrectionis, A Pſalme concerning the Reſurrection; and that is not in the Hebrew, nor any thing in the place thereof. And, after one Author in that Church had charged the Jewes, That they had raſed that clauſe out of the Hebrew,Leo Caſtr. and that it was in the Hebrew at firſt, A learned, and a laborious Jeſuit, (for truely,Lorinus. Schooles may confeſſe the Jeſuits to bee learned, for they have aſſiſted there; and States, and Councell-tables may confeſſe the Jeſuits to be laborious, for they have troubled them there) hee, I ſay, after he hath chidden his fellow, for ſaying, That this word had ever been in the Hebrew, or was razed out from thence by the Jewes, concludes roundly, Vndecunque advenerit, Howſoever thoſe Additions, which are not in the Hebrew, came into our Tranſlation, Authoritatem habent, & retineri debent, Their very being there, gives them Authentikeneſſe, and Authority, and there they muſt be. That this, in the Title of this Pſalme, be there, wee are content, as long as you know, that this particular, (That this Pſalme by the Title thereof concerns the Reſurrection) is not in the Originall, but added by ſome Expoſitor of the Pſalmes; you may take knowledge too, That that addition hath beene accepted and followed, by many, and ancient, and reverend Expoſitors, almoſt all of the Eaſterne, and many of the Weſterne Church too; and therefore, for our uſe and accommodation, may well be accepted by us alſo.
We conſider ordinarily three Reſurrections: A ſpirituall Reſurrection, a Reſurrection from ſinne, by Grace in the Church; A temporall Reſurrection, a Reſurrection from trouble, and calamity in the world; And an eternall Reſurrection, a Reſurrection after which no part of man ſhall die, or ſuffer againe, the Reſurrection into Glory. Of the firſt, The Reſurrection from ſinne,Eſay 60.1. is that intended in Eſay, Ariſe, and ſhine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is riſen upon thee. Of the later Reſurrection, is that harmonious ſtraine of all the Apoſtles in their Creed intended, I beleeve the Reſurrection of the body. And of the third Reſurrection, from oppreſſions and calamities which the ſervants of God ſuffer in this life,Calvin. Iob 19.26. Ezek. 37. ſome of our later men underſtand that place of Iob, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that in my fleſh I ſhall ſee God; And that place of Ezekiel all underſtand of that Reſurrection, where God ſaith to the Prophet, Sonne of man, can theſe bones live? Can theſe men thus ruined, thus diſperſed, bee reſtored againe by a reſurrection in this world? And to this reſurrection from the preſſures and tribulations of this life, doe thoſe Interpreters, who interpret this Pſalme, of a Reſurrection, refer this our Text, (Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Through the greatneſſe of thy power ſhall thine enemies ſubmit themſelves unto thee.) Conſider how powerfully God hath, and you cannot doubt, but that God will give them a Reſurrection in this world, who rely upon him, and uſe his meanes, whenſoever any calamity hath dejected them, ruined them, ſcattered them in the eyes of men. Say unto the Lord, That he hath done it, and the Lord will ſay unto thee, that he will doe it againe, and againe for thee.
We call Noah, Diviſio.Ianus, becauſe hee had two faces, in this reſpect, That hee looked into the former, and into the later world, he ſaw the times before, and after the flood. David in this Text, is a Ianus too; He looks two wayes, he hath a Proſpect, and a Retroſpect, he looks backward and forward, what God had done, and what God would doe. For, as we have one great comfort in this, That Prophecies are become Hiſtories, that whatſoever was ſaid by the mouthes of the Prophets, concerning our ſalvation in Chriſt, is effected, (ſo prophecies are made hiſtories) ſo have wee another comfort in this Text, That Hiſtories are made Prophecies; That whatſoever we reade that God had formerly done, in the reliefe of his oppreſſed ſervants, wee are thereby aſſured that he can, that he will doe them againe; and ſo Hiſtories are made Prophecies: And upon theſe two pillars, A thankfull acknowledgement of that which God hath done, And a faithfull aſſurance that God will doe ſo againe, ſhall this preſent Exerciſe of your devotions be rayſed; And theſe are our two parts. Dicite Deo, Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! (that part is Hiſtoricall, of things paſt) In multitudine virtutis, In the greatneſſe of thy power, ſhall thine enemies ſubmit themſelves unto thee, (that part is Propheticall, of things to come.)
In the Hiſtory wee are to turne many leafes, and many in the Prophecy too, to paſſe many ſteps, to put out many branches in each. In the firſt, theſe; Dicite, ſay ye; where we conſider firſt, The Perſon that enjoyns this publike acknowledgement and thankſgiving, It is David, and David as a King; for to Him, to the King, the ordering of publike actions, even in the ſervice of God appertains. David, David the King ſpeaks this, by way of counſell, and perſwaſion, and concurrence to all the world, (for ſo in the beginning, and in ſome other paſſages of the Pſalme, it is Omnis terra, All yee lands, Verſe 1. and All the earth, Verſe 4.) David doth what he can, that all the world might concurre in one manner of ſerving God. By way of Aſſiſtance he extends to all, And by way of Injunction and commandement to all his, to all that are under his government, Dicite, ſay you, that is, you ſhall ſay, you ſhall ſerve God thus. And as he gives counſell to all, and gives lawes to all his ſubjects, ſo he ſubmits himſelfe to the ſame law; For, (as wee ſhall ſee in ſome parts of the Pſalme, to which the Text refers) he profeſſes in his particular, that he will ſay and doe,Ioſh. 24.15. whatſoever hee bids them doe, and ſay; My houſe ſhall ſerve the Lord, ſayes Ioſhua; But it is, Ego, & domus mea, I and my houſe; himſelfe would ſerve God aright too.
From ſuch a conſideration of the perſons, in the Hiſtoricall part, wee ſhall paſſe to the commandement, to the duty it ſelfe; That is, firſt Dicite, ſay. It is more then Cogitate, to Conſider Gods former goodneſſe; more then Admirari, to Admire Gods former goodneſſe; ſpeculations, and extaſies are not ſufficient ſervices of God; Dicite, Say unto God, Declare, manifeſt, publiſh your zeale, is more then Cogitate, Conſider it, thinke of it; but it is leſſe then Facite, To come to action; wee muſt declare our thankfull zeale to Gods cauſe, we muſt not modifie, not diſguiſe that; But, for the particular wayes of promoving, and advancing that cauſe, in matter of action, we muſt refer that to them, to whom God hath referred it. The Duty is a Commemoration of Benefits; Dicite, Speake of it, aſcribe it, attribute it to the right Author; Who is that? That is the next Conſideration, Dicite Deo, Say unto God; Non vobis, Not to your owne Wiſdome, or Power, Non Sanctis, Not to the care and protection of Saints or Angels, Sed nomini ejus da gloriam, OnelyOnly unto his name be all the glory aſcribed. And then, that which fals within this commandement, this Conſideration, is Opera ejus, The works of God, (How terrible art thou in thy works!) It is not Decreta ejus, Arcana ejus, The ſecrets of his State, the wayes of his government, unrevealed Decrees, but thoſe things, in which he hath manifeſted himſelfe to man, Opera, his works. Conſider his works, and conſider them ſo as this commandement enjoynes, that is, How terrible God is in them; Determine not your Conſideration upon the worke it ſelf, for ſo you may think too lightly of it, That it is but ſome naturall Accident, or ſome impoſture and falſe Miracle, or illuſion, Or you may thinke of it with an amazement, with a ſtupidity, with a conſternation, when you conſider not from whom the worke comes, conſider God in the worke; And God ſo, as that though he be terrible in that worke, yet, he is ſo terrible but ſo, as the word of this Text expreſſes this terribleneſſe, which word is Norah, and Norah is but Reverendus, it is a terror of Reverence, not a terror of Confuſion, that the Conſideration of God in his works ſhould poſſeſſe us withall.
And in thoſe plaine and ſmooth paths, wee ſhall walke through the firſt part, The hiſtoricall part, what God hath formerly done, (Say unto God, how terrible art thou in thy works!) from thence we deſcend to the other, The Propheticall part, what, upon our performance of this duty, God will ſurely do in our behalfe; he will ſubdue thoſe enemies, which, becauſe they are ours, are his; In multitudine virtutis, In the greatneſſe of thy power, ſhall thine enemies ſubmit themſelves unto thee. Where we ſhall ſee firſt, That even God himſelfe hath enemies; no man therefore can be free from them; And then we ſhall ſee, whom God cals enemies here, Thoſe who are enemies to his cauſe, and to his friends; All thoſe, if we will ſpeake Davids language, the Holy Ghoſts language, we muſt call Gods enemies. And theſe enemies nothing can mollifie, nothing can reduce, but Power; faire meanes, and perſwaſion will not worke upon them; Preaching, Diſputing will not doe it; It muſt be Power, and greatneſſe of power, and greatneſſe of Gods Power. The Law is Power, and it is Gods Power; All juſt Laws are from God. One Act of this Power (an occaſionall executing of Laws at ſome few times, againſt the enemies of Gods truth) will not ſerve; there muſt be a conſtant continuation of the execution thereof; nor will that ſerve, if that be done onelyonly for worldly reſpects, to raiſe money, and not rather to draw them, who are under thoſe Laws, to the right worſhip of God, in the truth of his Religion. And yet all, that even all this, This power, this great power, his power ſhall worke upon theſe, his, and our enemies, is but this, They ſhall ſubmit themſelves, ſayes the text, but how? Mentientur tibi, (as it is in the Originall, and as you finde it in the Margin) They ſhall diſſemble, they ſhall lie, they ſhall yeeld a fained obedience, they ſhall make as though they were good Subjects, but not be ſo. And yet, even this, Though their ſubmiſſion be but diſſembled, but counterfaited, David puts amongſt Gods bleſſings to a State, and to a Church; It is ſome bleſſing, when Gods enemies dare not appeare, and juſtifie themſelves, and their Cauſe, as it is a heavy diſcouragement, when they dare do that. Though God doe not ſo far conſummate their happineſſe, as that their enemies ſhall be truly reconciled, or throughly rooted out, yet he ſhall afford them ſo much happineſſe, as that they ſhall doe them no harme.
And, Beloved, this diſtribution of the text, which I have given you, is rather a Paraphraſe, then a Diviſion, and therefore the reſt will rather be a Repetition, then a Dilatation; And I ſhall onelyonly give ſome ſuch note, and marke, upon every particular branch, as may returne them, and fix them in your memories, and not enlarge my ſelfe far in any of them, for I know, the time will not admit it.
Firſt then, we remember you, in the firſt branch of the firſt part, that David, 1 Part. Rex gubernat Eccleſiā.in that Capacity, as King, inſtitutes thoſe Orders, which the Church is to obſerve in the publique ſervice of God. For, the King is King of men; not of bodies onelyonly, but of ſoules too; And of Chriſtian men; of us, not onelyonly as we worſhip one God, but as we are to expreſſe that worſhip in the outward acts of Religion in the Church. God hath called himſelfe King; and he hath called Kings Gods. And when we looke upon the actions of Kings, we determine not our ſelves in that perſon, but in God working in that perſon. As it is not I that doe any good, 1 Cor. 15.10.but the grace of God in me, So it is not the King that commands, but the power of God in the King. For, as in a Commiſſion from the King, the King himſelfe workes in his Commiſſioners, and their juſt Act is the Kings Act: So in the Kings lawfull working upon his Subjects, God works, & the Kings acts are Gods acts.
That abſtinence therefore, and that forbearance which the Roman Church hath uſed, from declaring whether the Laws of ſecular Magiſtrates do bind the Conſcience, or no, that is, whether a man ſin in breaking a Temporall Law, or no, (for, though it have beene diſputed in their books, and though the Biſhop of that Church were ſupplicated in the Trent Councell, to declare it, yet he would never be brought to it) that abſtinence, I ſay, of theirs, though it give them one great advantage, yet it gives us another. For, by keeping it ſtill undetermined, and undecided, how far the Laws of temporall Princes doe binde us, they keepe up that power, which is ſo profitable to them, that is, To divide Kings and Subjects, and maintaine jealouſies betweene them, becauſe, if the breach of any Law, conſtitute a ſin, then enters the juriſdiction of Rome; for, that is the ground of their indirect power over Princes, In ordine ad ſpiritualia, that in any action, which may conduce to ſin, they may meddle, and direct, and conſtraine temporall Princes. That is their advantage, in their forbearing to declare this doctrine; And then, our advantage is, That this enervates, and weakens, nay deſtroyes and annibilates that ordinary argument, That there muſt be alwayes a Viſible Church, in which every man may have cleare reſolution, and infallible ſatisfaction, in all ſcruples that ariſe in him, and that the Roman Church is that Seat, and Throne of Infallibility. For, how does the Roman Church give any man infallible ſatisfaction, whether theſe or theſe things, grounded upon the temporall Laws of ſecular Princes, be ſins or no, when as that Church hath not, nor will not come to a determination in that point? How ſhall they come to the Sacrament? how ſhall they go out of the world with a cleare conſcience, when many things lye upon them which they know not, nor can be informed by their Confeſſors, whether they he ſins or no? And thus it is in divers other points beſides this; They pretend to give ſatisfaction and peace in all caſes, and pretend to be the onelyonly true Church for that, and yet leave the conſcience in ignorance, and in diſtemper, and diſtreſſe, and diſtraction in many particulars.
The Law of the Prince is rooted in the power of God. The roote of all is Order, and the orderer of all is the King; And what the good Kings of Judah, and the religious Kings of the Primitive Chriſtian Church did, every King may, nay, ſhould do. For, both the Tables are committed to him; (as well the firſt that concernes our religious duties to God, as the other that concernes our Civill duties to men.) So is the Arke, where thoſe Tables are kept, and ſo is the Temple, where that Arke is kept; all committed to him; and he overſees the manner of the religious ſervice of God. And therefore it is, that in the Schooles we call Sedition and Rebellion, Sacriledge; for, though the treſpaſſe ſeeme to be directed but upon a man, yet in that man, whoſe office (and conſequently his perſon) is ſacred, God is oppoſed, and violated. And it is impiouſly ſaid of a Jeſuit, (I may eaſily be beleeved of that Jeſuit,Gretzer. if any other might be excepted) Non eſt Regum etiam veram doctrinam confirmare, The King hath nothing to doe with Religion, neither doth it belong to him to eſtabliſh any forme of Religion in his Kingdome, though it bee the right Religion, and though it be but by way of Confirmation.
This then David, Omnibus perſuadet.David as a King takes to be in his care, in his office, To rectifie and ſettle Religion, that is, the outward worſhip of God. And this he intimates, this he conveyes by way of counſaile, and perſwaſion to all the world, he would faine have all agree in one ſervice of God.Ver. 1. Therefore he enters the Pſalme ſo, Iubilate omnes terrae, Rejoyce all ye lands; Ver. 4.and, Adoret te omnis terrae, All the earth ſhall worſhip thee; and againe, Venite & audite omnes, Ver. 16.Come and heare all ye that feare God. For, as S. Cyprian ſayes of Biſhops, That every Biſhop is an univerſall Biſhop, That is, muſt take into his care and contemplation, not onelyonly his owne particular Dioces, but the whole Catholique Church: So every Chriſtian King is a King of the whole Chriſtian world, that is, muſt ſtudy, and take into his care, not onelyonly his own kingdome, but all others too. For, it is not onelyonly the municipall law of that kingdome, by which he is bound to ſee his own ſubjects, in all caſes, righted, but in the whole law of Nations every King hath an intereſt. My ſoule may be King, that is, reſide principally in my heart, or in my braine, but it neglects not the remoter parts of my body. David maintains Religion at home; but he aſſiſts, as much as he can, the eſtabliſhing of that Religion abroad too.
David endevours that, perſwades that every where; but he will be ſure of it at home;Suis imperat. There he enjoyns it, there he commands it; Dicite, ſayes he, Say; that is, This you ſhall ſay, you ſhall ſerve God thus. We cannot provide, that there ſhall be no Wolves in the world, but we have provided that there ſhall be no Wolves in this kingdome. Idolatry will be, but there needs be none amongſt us. Idolaters were round about the children of Iſrael in the land of promiſe; They could not make all thoſe Proſelytes; but yet they kept their own ſtation. When the Arian hereſie had ſo ſurrounded the world, as that Vniverſa fere Orientalis Eccleſia, Almoſt all the Eaſtern Church,Nicephor. Vinc. Lyra. And Cuncti pene Latini Epiſcopi, aut vi, aut fraude decepti, Almoſt all the Biſhops of the Weſterne Church, were deceived, or threatned out of their Religion into Arianiſme; Inſomuch,Hilar. that S. Hilarie gives a note of an hundred and five Biſhops of note, noted with that hereſie; When that one Biſhop, who will needs be all alone, the Biſhop of Rome, Liberius, ſo far ſubſcribed to that hereſie,Hieron. De Roma. pont. l. 4. c. 9. (as S. Hieroms expreſſe words are) that Bellarmine himſelfe does not onelyonly not deny it, but finds himſelfe bound, and finds it hard for him to prove, That though Liberius did outwardly profeſſe himſelfe to be an Arian, yet in his heart he was none; yet for all this impetuouſneſſe of this flood of this hereſie, Athanaſius, as Biſhop, excommunicated the Arians in his Dioces, And Conſtantine, as Emperor, baniſhed them out of his Dominions. Athanaſius would have been glad, if no other Church, Conſtantine would have been glad, if no other State would have received them; When they could not prevaile ſo far, yet they did that which was poſſible, and moſt proper to them, they preſerved the true worſhip of the true God in their own Juriſdiction.
David could not have done that, if he had not had a true zeale to Gods truth,Ipſe facit. quod jub…. in his own heart. And therefore, as we have an intimation of his deſire to reduce the whole world, and a teſtimony of his earneſtneſſe towards his own Subjects, ſo we have an aſſurance, that in his own particular, he was conſtantly eſtabliſhed in this truth, He cals to all, (Come and ſee the works of God) And more particularly to all his, (O bleſſe our God yee people) but he propoſes himſelfe to their conſideration too,Ver. 5. Ver. 8. Ver. 16. Pſal. 145.3. (I will declare what he hath done for my ſoule.) Great is the Lord, and greatly to be feared, ſayes this religious King, in another Pſalme; And that is a Proclamation, a Remonſtrance to all the world. He addes, One generation ſhall declare thy works to another; Ver. 4. Ver. 6.And that is a propagation to the ends of the world. But all this is rooted in that which is perſonall, and follows after, I will ſpeake of the glorious honour of thy Majeſly; And that is a proteſtation for his own particular. And to the ſame purpoſe is that which follows in the next verſe, Men ſhall ſpeake of the might of thy terrible acts; They ſhall, that is, They ſhould; and, I would all men would, ſayes David; But, whether they doe, or no, I will declare thy greatneſſe, ſayes he there; I will not be defective in my particular. And David was to be truſted with a pious endevour amongſt his Neighbours, and with a pious care over all his own ſubjects, as long as he nouriſhed, and declared ſo pious a diſpoſition in his own perſon. And truly, it is an injurious, it is a diſloyall ſuſpition, and jealouſie, it is an ungodly faſcination of our own happineſſe, to doubt of good effects abroad, and of a bleſſed aſſurance at home, as long as the zeale of Gods truth remains ſo conſtantly in his heart, and flowes out ſo declaratorily in his actions, in whoſe perſon God aſſures both our temporall ſafety, and our Religion.
We paſſe now from this conſideration of the perſons; which, though it be fixed here,Dicite. in the higheſt, in Kings, extends to all, to whom any power is committed, To Magiſtrates, to Maſters, to Fathers, All are bound to propagate Gods truth to others, but eſpecially to thoſe who are under their charge; And this they ſhall beſt doe, if themſelves be the Example. So far we have proceeded, and we come now to the Duty, as it is here more particularly expreſſed, Dicite, Say unto God, Publiſh, declare, manifeſt your zeale. Chriſt is Verbum, The Word, and that excludes ſilence; but Chriſt is alſo foreign, and that excludes raſhneſſe, and impertinence in our ſpeech. Inter caeteras Dei appellationes, Nazianz.Sermonem veneramur, Amongſt Gods other Names, we honour that, that he is the Word; That implies a Communication, Gods goodneſſe in ſpeaking to us, and an obligation upon us,Joſh. 10.12. to ſpeake to him. For, Beloved, That ſtanding of the Sunne and Moone, which gave occaſion to the drawing of ſo much blood of the Amorites, is, in the Originall, not Siſte Sol, but Sile Sol; He does not bid the Sunne and Moone ſtand ſtill, but he bids them ſay nothing, make no noiſe, no motion ſo. Be the Sunne the Magiſtrate, and be the Moone, the Church, Si ſileant, if they be ſilent, command not, pray not, avow not Gods cauſe,Acts 2.3. Mat. 12.22. Mar. 7.32. the caſe is dangerous. The Holy Ghoſt fell in fiery tongues, he inflamed them, and inflamed them to ſpeake. Divers dumb men were preſented to Chriſt; but if they were dumb, they were deafe too, and ſome of them blinde. Upon men that are dumb, that is, ſpeechleſſe in avowing him, God heaps other miſchievous impediments too; Deafneſſe, They ſhall not heare him in his word, and Blindneſſe, They ſhall not ſee him in his works.
Dicite, Magis quàm cogitare.Say, ſayes David, Delight to ſpeake of God, and with God, and for God; Dicite, ſay ſomething. We told you, this was Magis quàm Cogitare, That there was more required then to thinke of God. Conſideration, Meditation, Speculation, Contemplation upon God, and divine objects, have their place, and their ſeaſon; But this is more then that; And more then Admiration too, for all theſe may determine in extaſies, and in ſtupidities, and in uſeleſſe and frivolous imaginations. Gold may be beat ſo thin, as that it may be blowne away; And Speculations, even of divine things, may be blowne to that thinneſſe, to that ſubtilty, as that all may evaporate, never fixed, never applied to any uſe. God had conceived in himſelfe, from all eternity, certaine Idea's, certaine parterns of all things, which he would create. But theſe Idea's, theſe conceptions produced not a creature, not a worme, not a weed; but then, Dixit, & facta ſunt, God ſpoke, and all things were made. Inward ſpeculations, nay, inward zeale, nay, inward prayers, are not full performances of our Duty. God heares willinglieſt, when men heare too; when we ſpeake alowd in the cares of men, and publiſh, and declare, and manifeſt, and avow our zeale to his glory.
It is a duty,Minùs quam facore. which in every private man, goes beyond the Cogitare, and the Admirari; but yet not ſo far as to a Facite, in the private man. Private men muſt thinke piouſly, and ſeriouſly, and ſpeake zealouſly, and ſeaſonably of the cauſe of God. But this does not authorize, nor juſtifie ſuch a forwardneſſe in any private man, as to come to actions, though he, in a rectified conſcience, apprehend, that Gods cauſe might be advantaged by thoſe actions of his. For, matter of action requires publique warrant, and is not ſafely grounded upon private zeale. When Peter, out of his own zeale, drew his ſword for Chriſt,Origen. Nondum manifeſtè conceperat Euangelium patientie. He was not yet well inſtructed in the patience of the Goſpel; Nay, he was ſubmitted to the ſentence of the law, out of the mouth of the ſupreme Judge,Mat. 26.54. All they that take the ſword (that take it before it be given them by Authority) ſhall periſh by the ſword. The firſt law, that was given to the new world,Gen. 9.4. Gen. 9.6. after the Flood, was againſt the eating of blood. God would not have man ſo familiar with blood. And the ſecond commandement, was againſt the ſhedding of blood, (Who ſo ſheddeth mans blood, by man ſhall his blood be ſhed.) Nay, not onelyonly where Peter was over-forward of himſelf, to defend Chriſt by armes, but where Iohn and Iames were too vehement, and importunate upon Chriſt, to give them leave to revenge the wrong done to him upon the Samaritans,Luk. 9.55. (Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and conſume them?) Chriſt rebukes them, and tells them, They knew not of what ſpirit they were; that is, of what ſpirit they ought to be. They knew, ſayes S. Hierome; they had no power of their own; They goe to him who had; And they doe not ſay, Domine jube, Lord doe thou doe it; but, Thou ſhalt never appeare in it, never be ſeene in it, onelyonly let us alone, and we will revenge thee, and conſume them. Though they went no farther then this, yet this raſh, and precipitate importunity in Iames and Iohn, as well as that haſty comming to action in Peter, was diſpleaſing to Chriſt; Dicite, ſpeake; ſo far goes the duty of this Text; Speake by way of Counſell, you that are Counſellors to Princes, And, by way of Exhortation, you that are Preachers to the people; but leave the Facite, matter of action, to them in whoſe hearts, and by whoſe hands, and thorough whoſe commandments God works.
We are yet in our firſt,Opera. in our Hiſtoricall part, Commemoration, and there we made it, (in our diſtribution and paraphraſe) our next ſtep, what we are to commemorate, to employ this Dicite, this ſpeaking upon; and it is upon Gods works; (Say unto God, how terrible art thou in thy works!) So that the ſubject of our ſpeech, (let it bee in holy Conferences, and Diſcourſes, let it be in Gods Ordinance, Preaching) is not to ſpeake of the unrevealed Decrees of God, of his internall, and eternall purpoſes in himſelfe, but of his works, of thoſe things in which he hath declared, and manifeſted himſelfe to us. God gave not alwayes to his Church, the Manifeſtation of the pillar of Fire, but a pillar of Cloud too; And, though it were a Cloud, yet it was a Pillar; In a holy, and devout, and modeſt ignorance of thoſe things which God hath not revealed to us, we are better ſettled, and ſupported by a better Pillar, then in an over-curious, and impertinent inquiſition of things reſerved to God himſelfe, or ſhut up in their breaſts, of whom God hath ſaid, Ye are gods. God would not ſhew all himſelfe to Moſes, as well as he loved him, and as freely as he converſed with him, He ſhewed him but his hinder parts. Exod. 33.23.Let that be his Decrees then, when in his due time they came to execution; for then, and not till then, they are works. And God would not ſuffer Moſes his body to be ſeene, when it was dead,Deut. 34.6. becauſe then it could not ſpeake to them, it could not inſtruct them, it could not direct them in any duty, if they tranſgreſſed from any. God himſelfe would not be ſpoken to by us, but as hee ſpeaks of himſelfe; and he ſpeaks in his works. And as among men, ſome may Build, and ſome may Write, and wee call both by one name, (wee call his Buildings, and wee call his Books, his Works) ſo if wee will ſpeake of God, this World which he hath built, and theſe Scriptures which he hath written, are his Works, and we ſpeak of God in his Works, (which is the commandement of this Text) when we ſpeak of him ſo, as he hath manifeſted himſelfe in his miracles, and as hee hath declared himſelfe in his Scriptures; for both theſe are his Works. There are Decrees in God, but we can take out no Copies of them, till God himſelfe exemplifie them, in the execution of them; The accompliſhing of the Decree is the beſt publiſhing, the beſt notifying of the Decree. But, of his Works we can take Copies; for, his Scriptures are his Works, and we have them by Tranſlations and Illuſtrations, made appliable to every underſtanding; All the promiſes of his Scriptures belong to all. And, for his Miracles, (his Miracles are alſo his Works) we have an aſſurance, That whatſoever God hath done for any, he will doe againe for us.
It is then his Works upon which we fix this Commemoration,Deutipſe, in operibus illis, conſiderandus. and this glorifying of God; but ſo, as that wee determine not upon the Work it ſelfe, but God in the Work, (Say unto God, (to Him) how terrible art thou, (that God) in thy Works?) It may bee of uſe to you, to receive this note, Then when it is ſaid in this Pſalme, Come, and ſee the Works of God, and after, Come, and heare all yee that feare God, in both places it is not,Pſal. 66.5. Verſe 16. Venite, but Ite, It is Lechu, not Come, but Goe, Goe out, Goe forth, abroad, to conſider God in his Works; Goe as farre as you can, ſtop not in your ſelves, nor ſtop not in any other, till you come to God himſelfe. If you conſider the Scriptures to be his Works, make not Scriptures of your owne; which you doe, if you make them ſubject to your private interpretation. My ſoule ſpeaks in my tongue, elſe I could make no ſound; My tongue ſpeaks in Engliſh, elſe I ſhould not be underſtood by the Congregation. So God ſpeaks by his Sonne, in the Goſpel; but then, the Goſpel ſpeaks in the Church, that every man may heare. Ite, goe forth, ſtay not in your ſelves, if you will heare him. And ſo, for matter of Action, and Protection, come not home to your ſelves, ſtay not in your ſelves, not in a conſidence in your owne power, and wiſedome, but Ite, goe forth, goe forth into Aegypt, goe forth into Babylon, and look who delivered your Predeceſſors, (predeceſſors in Affliction, predeceſſors in Mercy) and that God, who is Yeſterday, Heb. 13.8.and to day, and the ſame for ever, ſhall doe the ſame things, which he did yeſterday, to day, and for ever. Turne alwayes to the Commemoration of Works, but not your owne; Ite, goe forth, goe farther then that, Then your ſelves, farther then the Angels, and Saints in heaven; That when you commemorate your deliverance from an Invaſion, and your deliverance from the Vault, you doe not aſcribe theſe deliverances to thoſe Saints, upon whoſe dayes they were wrought; In all your Commemorations, (and commemorations are prayers, and God receives that which wee offer for a Thankſgiving for former Benefits, as a prayer for future) Ite goe forth, by the river to the ſpring, by the branch to the root, by the worke to God himſelfe, and Dicite, ſay unto him, ſay of him, Quam terribilis Tu in Tuis, which ſets us upon another ſtep in this part, To conſider what this Terribleneſſe is, that God expreſſes in his works.
Though there be a difference between timer, and terror, Terribilis.(feare and terror) yet the difference is not ſo great, but that both may fall upon a good man; Not onelyonly a feare of God muſt, but a terror of God may fall upon the Beſt. When God talked with Abraham, a horror of great darkneſſe fell upon him, Gen. 15.12.ſayes that Text. The Father of lights, and the God of all comfort preſent, and preſent in an action of Mercy, and yet, a horror of great darkneſſe fell upon Abraham. When God talked perſonally, and preſentially with Moſes, Exod. 13.6.Moſes hid his face, for (ſayes that Text) he was afraid to looke upon God. When I look upon God, as I am bid to doe in this Text, in thoſe terrible Judgements, which he hath executed upon ſome men, and ſee that there is nothing between mee and the ſame Judgement, (for I have ſinned the ſame ſinnes, and God is the ſame God) I am not able of my ſelfe to dye that glaſſe, that ſpectacle, thorow which I looke upon this God, in what colour I will; whether this glaſſe ſhall be black, through my deſpaire, and ſo I ſhall ſee God in the cloud of my ſinnes, or red in the blood of Chriſt Jeſus, and I ſhall ſee God in a Bath of the blood of his Sonne, whether I ſhall ſee God as a Dove with an Olive branch, (peace to my ſoule) or as an Eagle, a vulture to prey, and to prey everlaſtingly upon mee, whether in the deepe floods of Tribulation, ſpirituall or temporall, I ſhall ſee God as an Arke to take mee in, or as a Whale to ſwallow mee; and if his Whale doe ſwallow mee, (the Tribulation devour me) whether his purpoſe bee to reſtore mee, or to conſume me, I, I of my ſelfe cannot tell. I cannot look upon God, in what line I will, nor take hold of God, by what handle I will; Hee is a terrible God, I take him ſo; And then I cannot diſcontinue, I cannot breake off this terribleneſſe, and ſay, Hee hath beene terrible to that man, and there is an end of his terror; it reaches not to me. Why not to me? In me there is no merit, nor ſhadow of merit; In God there is no change, nor ſhadow of change. I am the ſame ſinner, he is the ſame God; ſtill the ſame deſperate ſinner, ſtill the ſame terrible God.
But terrible in his works, Reverendus.ſayes our Text; Terrible ſo, as hee hath declared himſelfe to be in his works. His Works are, as we ſaid before, his Actions, and his Scriptures. In his Actions we ſee him Terrible upon diſobedient Reſiſters of his Graces, and Deſpiſers of the meanes thereof, not upon others, wee have no examples of that. In his word, we accept this word in which he hath beene pleaſed to expreſſe himſelfe, Norah, which is rather Reverendus, Mal. 2.5.then Terribilis, as that word is uſed, I gave him life and peace, for the feare wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my Name. So that this Terribleneſſe, which we are called upon to profeſſe of God, is a Reverentiall, a Majeſticall, not a Tyrannicall terribleneſſe. And therefore hee that conceives a God, that hath made man of fleſh and blood, and yet exacts that purity of an Angel in that fleſh, A God that would provide himſelfe no better glory, then to damme man, A God who leſt hee ſhould love man, and be reconciled to man, hath enwrapped him in an inevitable neceſſity of ſinning, A God who hath received enough, and enough for the ſatisfaction of all men, and yet, (not in conſideration of their future ſinnes, but meerely becauſe he hated them before they were ſinners, or before they were any thing) hath made it impoſſible, for the greateſt part of men, to have any benefit of that large ſatisfaction. This is not ſuch a Terribleneſſe as ariſes out of his Works, (his Actions, or his Scriptures) for God hath never ſaid, never done any ſuch thing, as ſhould make us lodge ſuch conceptions of God in our ſelves, or lay ſuch imputations upon him.
The true feare of God is true wiſedome. It is true Joy; Rejoice in trembling, ſaith David; Pſal. 2.11.There is no rejoycing without this feare; there is no Riches without it; Reverentia Ichovae, The feare of the Lord is his treaſure, and that is the beſt treaſure. Thus farre we are to goe;Heb. 12.28. Let us ſerve God with reverence, and godly feare, (godly feare is but a Reverence, it is not a Jealouſie, a ſuſpition of God.) And let us doe it upon the reaſon that followes in the ſame place, For our God is a conſuming fire, There is all his terribleneſſe; he is a conſuming fire to his enemies, but he is our God; and God is love: And therefore to conceive a cruell God, a God that hated us, even to damnation, before we were, (as ſome, who have departed from the ſenſe and modeſty of the Ancients, have adventured to ſay) or to conceive a God ſo cruell, as that at our death, or in our way, he will afford us no aſſurance, that hee is ours, and we his, but let us live and die in anxiety and torture of conſcience, in jealouſie and ſuſpition of his good purpoſe towards us in the ſalvation of our ſoules, (as thoſe of the Romane Hereſie teach) to conceive ſuch a God as from all eternity meant to damne me, or ſuch a God as would never make me know, and be ſure that I ſhould bee ſaved, this is not to profeſſe God to be terrible in his works; For, his Actions are his works, and his Scriptures are his works, and God hath never done, or ſaid any thing to induce ſo terrible an opinion of him.
And ſo we have done with all thoſe pieces, which in our paraphraſticall diſtribution of the text, at beginning, did conſtitute our firſt, our Hiſtoricall part, Davids retroſpect, his commemoration of former bleſſings; In which he propoſes a duty, a declaration of Gods goodneſſe, Dicite, publiſh it, ſpeake of it; He propoſes Religious duties, in that capacity, as he is King; (Religion is the Kings care) He propoſes, by way of Counſaile to all; by way of Commandment to his owne Subjects; And by a more powerfull way, then either counſaile or Commandment, that is, by Example, by doing that himſelfe, which he counſailes, and commands others to doe. Dicite, Say, ſpeake; It is a duty more then thinking, and leſſe then doing; Every man is bound to ſpeake for the advancement of Gods cauſe, but when it comes to action, that is not the private mans office, but belongs to the publique, or him, who is the Publique, David himſelfe, the King. The duty is Commemoration, Dicite, Say, ſpeake; but Dicite Deo, Do this to God; aſcribe not your deliverances to your Armies, and Navies, by Sea, or Land; no, nor to Saints in Heaven, but to God onelyonly. Nor are ye called upon to contemplate God in his Eſſence, or in his Decrees, but in his works; In his Actions, in his Scriptures; In both thoſe you ſhall find him terrible, that is, Reverend, majeſticall, though never tyrannicall, nor cruell. Paſſe we now, according to our order laid downe at firſt, to our ſecond part, the Propheticall part, Davids proſpect for the future; and gather wee ſomething from the particular branches of that, Through the greatneſſe of thy power, thine enemies ſhall ſubmit themſelves unto thee.
In this, our firſt conſideration is, that God himſelfe hath enemies; and then,2 Part. Habet Deus hoſtes. how ſhould we hope to be, nay, why would wee wiſh to be without them? God had good, that is, Glory from his enemies; And we may have good, that is, advantage in the way to glory, by the exerciſe of our patience, from enemies too. Thoſe for whom God had done moſt, the Angels, turned enemies firſt; vex not thou thy ſelfe, if thoſe whom thou haſt loved beſt, hate thee deadlieſt. There is a love, in which it aggravates thy condemnation, that thou art ſo much loved; Does not God recompence that, if there be ſuch a hate, as that thou art the better, and that thy ſalvation is exalted, for having beene hated? And that profit, the righteous have from enemies. God loved us then, when we were his enemies, Rom. 5.10.and we fruſtrate his exemplar love to us, if we love not enemies too. The word Hoſtis, (which is a word of heavy ſignification, and implies devaſtation, and all the miſchiefes of war) is not read in all the New Teſtament: Inimicus, that is, non amicus, unfriendly, is read there often, very very often. There is an enmity which may conſiſt with Euangelicall charity; but a hoſtility, that carries in it a denotation of revenge, of extirpation, of annihilation, that cannot. This gives us ſome light, how far we may, and may not hate enemies. God had enemies to whom he never returned, The Angels that oppoſed him; and that is, becauſe they oppoſe him ſtill, and are, by their owne perverſeneſſe, incapable of reconciliation. We were enemies to God too; but being enemies, Rom. 5.10.we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.
As then actual reconciliation makes us actually friends, ſo in differences which may be reconciled, we ſhould not be too ſevere enemies, but maintaine in our ſelves a diſpoſition of friendſhip; but, in thoſe things, which are in their nature irreconciliable, we muſt be irreconciliable too. There is an enmity which God himſelfe hath made, and made perpetuall: Ponam inimicitias, ſayes God;Gen. 3.15. God puts an enmity betweene the ſeed of the Serpent, and the ſeed of the woman; And, thoſe whom God joynes, let no man ſever, thoſe whom God ſevers, let no man joyne. The Schoole preſents it well; wee are to conſider an enemy formally, or materially; that is, that which makes him an enemy, or that which makes him a man. In that which makes him a man, hee hath the Image of God in him, and by that is capable of grace and glory; and therefore, that wee may not hate, which excludes all perſonall, and all nationall hatred. In that which makes him an enemy he hath the Image of the Devill, infidelity towards God, perfidiouſneſſe towards man, Hereſie towards God, infectious manners towards man; and, that we muſt alwaies hate; for, that is Odium perfectum, A hate that may conſiſt with a perfect man, nay, a hate that conſtitutes love it ſelfe, I do not love a man, except I hate his vices, becauſe thoſe vices are the enemies, and the deſtruction of that friend whom I love.Inimici tui, Dei ſunt inimici.
God himſelfe hath enemies, Thine enemies ſhall ſubmit, ſayes the text, to God; There thou haſt one comfort, though thou have enemies too; but the greater comfort is, That God cals thine enemies his.Pſal. 105.15. Nolite tangere Chriſtos meos, ſayes God of all holy people; you were as good touch me,Pſal. 17.8. as touch any of them, for, they are the apple of mine eye. Our Saviour Chriſt never expoſtulated for himſelfe; never ſaid, why ſcourged you me? why ſpit you upon me? why crucifie you me? as long as their rage determined in his perſon, he opened not his mouth; when Saul extended the violence to the Church, to his ſervants,Acts 9. then Chriſt came to that, Saul, Saul, why perſecuteſt thou me? Cains treſpaſſe againſt God himſelfe was, that he would binde God to an acceptation of his Sacrifice; And for that God comes no farther,Gen. 4.6. Ver. 11. but to Why doeſt thou thus? but in his treſpaſſe upon his brother, God proceeds ſo much farther, as to ſay, Now art thou curſed from the earth. Ieroboam ſuffered Idolatry, and God let him alone; that concerned but God himſelfe. But when Ieroboam ſtretched forth his hand to lay hold on the Prophet,1 King. 13.4. his hand withered. Here is a holy league, Defenſive, and Offenſive; God ſhall not onelyonly protect us from others, but he ſhall fight for us againſt them; our enemies are his enemies.
And beloved,Magnitude potentiae. it is well that it is ſo; for, if we were left to our ſelves, we were remedileſſe. It is his mercy that we are not conſumed, by his indignation, by himſelfe; But it muſt be the exerciſe of his power, if we be not conſumed by his, and our enemies; for, there is but that one way in the text, that can bring theſe enemies to any thing, that is, In multitudine virtutis tuae, In the greatneſſe of thy power. It muſt be power; Intreaty, Appliableneſſe, Conformity, Facility, Patience does not ſerve. It muſt be Power, and His power; To aſſiſt our ſelves by his enemies, by Witches, or by Idolaters, is not his power. It is Power that does all; for, the name that God is manifeſted in, in all the making of the World, in the firſt of Geneſis, is Elohim, and that is Deus fortis, The powerfull God. It is Power, and it is His power; for, his name is Dominus tzebaoth, The Lord of Hoſts. Hoſts and Armies of which he is not the Generall, are but great inſurrections, great rebellions. And then, as it is Power, and His power, ſo it is the greatneſſe of his Power; His Power extended, exalted. It is in the Originall, Berob, In multitudine fortitudinis, in thy manifold power, in thy multiplied power. Moſes conſiders the aſſurance that they might have in God,Deut. 20.4. in this, That God fought their battails (The Lord your God goeth with you, to fight for you againſt your enemies, and ſave you) There was his power declared, and exerciſed one way; and then in this, That he had afforded them particular Laws, for their direction in all their actions, Religious, and Civill; (To what Nation is God come ſo neare? what people have Lawes and Ordinances, ſuch as we have?) So that, where God defends us by Armies, and directs us by juſt Lawes, that is Multitudo fortitudinis, The greatneſſe of his power, his power magnified, his power multiplied upon us.
Now,Mentientur. through this power, and not without this power, this double power, Law and Armes, Thine enemies ſhall ſubmit themſelves unto thee, ſayes our text. And then, is all the danger at an end? ſhall we be ſafe then? Not then. The word is Cacaſh, and Cacaſh is but Mendacem fieri, to be brought to lie, to diſſemble, to equivocate, to modifie, to temporize, to counterfait, to make as though they were our friends, in an outward conformity. And there are enemies of God, whom no power of Armies or Lawes can bring any farther then that, To hold their tongues, and to hold their hands, but to withhold their hearts from us ſtill.Ioſh 9. So the Gibeonites deceived Ioſhua, in the likeneſſe of Ambaſſadors; Ioſhuahs power made them lie unto him. So Pharaoh deceived and deluded Moſes and Aaron; Every Act of power brought Pharaoh to lie unto them. I direct not your thoughts upon publique Conſiderations; It is not my end; It is not my way: My way and end is to bring you home to your ſelves, and to conſider there, That we are full of weakneſſes in our ſelves, full of enemies, ſinfull tentations about us; That onelyonly the power of God, his power multiplied, (that is, The receiving of his word, (that is, the power of Law) The receiving of his corrections (that is, the power of his Hoſts) can make our enemies, our ſinfull tentations ſubmit, and when they do ſo, it is but a lie, They returne to us, and we turne to them againe, In the greatneſſe of thy power ſhall thine enemies ſubmit unto thee.
But then,Conſolatio. (which is our laſt ſtep and Concluſion) even this, That theſe enemies ſhall be forced to ſuch a ſubmiſſion, to any ſubmiſſion, though diſguiſed and counterfait, is, in this Text, preſented for a Conſolation; There is a comfort even in this, That thoſe enemies ſhall be faine to lie, that they ſhall not dare to avow their malice, nor to blaſpheme God in open profeſſions. There is a conditionall bleſſing propoſed to Gods people; (O that my people had hearkned unto me! O that Iſrael had walked in my wayes!) Pſal. 80.15.What had been their recompence? This. The haters of the Lord ſhould have ſubmitted themſelves unto them. Should they in earneſt? No truly; there is the ſame word, They ſhould have lyed unto them, they ſhould have made as though they had ſubmitted themſelves; and that, God preſents for a great degree of his mercy to them. And therefore, as in thy particular Conſcience, though God doe not take away that Stimulum carnis, and that Angelum Satanae, though he doe not extinguiſh all luſts and concupiſcencies in thee, yet if thoſe luſts prevaile not over thee, if they command not, if they divert thee not from the ſenſe, and ſervice of God, thou haſt good reaſon to bleſſe God for this, to reſt in this, and to call it peace of conſcience: So haſt thou reaſon too to call it Peace in the Church, and peace in the State, when Gods enemies, though they be not rooted out, though they be not diſpoſed to a hearty Allegeance, and juſt Obedience, yet they muſt be ſubject, they muſt ſubmit themſelves whether they wil or no, and though they wil wiſh no good, yet they ſhall be able to doe no harme. For, the Holy Ghoſt declares this to be an exerciſe of power, of Gods power, of the greatneſſe of Gods power, that his enemies ſubmit themſelves, though with a fained obedience.