Eighty Sermons, Christmas · Sermon 1
SERMON I. PREACHED AT St. PAVLS, upon Chriſtmas day. 1622.
Coloſſ. 1.19, 20.
For, it pleaſed the Father, that in him ſhould all fulneſſe dwell; And, having made peace through the bloud of his Croſſe, by Him, to reconcile all things to himſelfe, by Him, whether they be things in Earth, or things in heaven.
THE whole journey of a Chriſtian is in theſe words; and therefore we were better ſet out early, then ride too faſt; better enter preſently into the parts, then be forced to paſſe thorow them too haſtily. Firſt then wee conſider the Collation and Reference of the Text, and then the Illation, and Inference thereof. For, the Text looks back to all that was ſaid from the twelfth verſe. For, the firſt word of the text, [For] which is a particle of connexion, as well as of argumentation, is a ſeale of all that was ſaid from that place. And then, the Text looks forward to the 23 ver. where all theſe bleſſings are ſealed to us, with that Condition, If ye continue ſetled in the Goſpell. This is the Collation, the Reference of the text; for the Illation, and Inference, the firſt clauſe thereof, [For, it pleaſed the Father, that in him ſhould all fulneſſe dwell] preſents a double Inſtruction; Firſt, that we are not bound to accept matters of Religion, meerely without all reaſon, and probable inducements; And ſecondly, with what modeſty we are to proceed, and in what bounds we are to limit that inquiſition, that ſearch of Reaſon in matters of that nature. When the Apoſtle preſents to us here, the great myſtery of our reconciliation to God, he, in whoſe power it was not to infuſe faith into every reader of his Epiſtle, proceeds by reaſon. He tels us,V. 13. That the Father hath tranſlated us into the Kingdome of his deare Son, the Son of his love. That were well, if we were ſure of it; If our conſciences did not accuſe us, and ſuggeſt to us our owne unworthineſſe, and thereby an impoſſibility of being ſo tranſlated. Why no, ſayes the Apoſtle,V. 14. there is no ſuch impoſſibility now, For, Now we have Redemption, and forgiveneſſe of ſinnes. Who ſhould procure us that? If a man ſin againſt God, who ſhall plead for him? What man is able to mediate,1 Sam. 2.25. and ſtand in the gap between God and man? You ſay true, ſayes the Apoſtle, no man is able to doe it; and therefore, He that is the Image of the inviſible God, V. 15.he by whom all things were created, and by whom all things conſiſt, he hath done it. Hath God reconciled me to God; And reconciled me by way of ſatisfaction? (for, that I know his juſtice requires) What could God pay for me? What could God ſuffer? God himſelfe could not;V. 18. and therefore God hath taken a body that could. And as he is the Head of that body, he is paſſible, ſo he may ſuffer; And, as he is the firſt born of the dead, he did ſuffer; ſo that he was defective in nothing; not in Power, as God, not in paſſibility, as man; for, Complacuit; It pleaſed the Father, that in him, All fulneſſe (a full capacity to all purpoſes) ſhould dwell. Thus farre we are to trace the reaſon of our redemption, intimated in that firſt word, For. And then, we are to limit and determine our reaſon in the next, Quia complacuit, becauſe it was his will, his pleaſure to proceed ſo, and no otherwiſe. Chriſt himſelfe goes no farther then ſo,Mat. 11.25. in a caſe of much ſtrangeneſſe, That God had hid his myſteries from the wiſe, and revealed them unto babes; This was a ſtrange courſe, but Ita eſt, quia, Even ſo, Father, for ſo it ſeemed good in thy ſight. I would faine be able to prove to my ſelfe that my redemption is accompliſhed; and therefore I ſearch the Scriptures; and I grow ſure that Chriſt hath redeemed the world; and I ſearch the Scriptures again, to finde what marks are upon them, that are of the participation of that Redemption, and I grow to a religious, and modeſt aſſurance, that thoſe marks are upon me. I finde reaſons to prove to me, that God does love my ſoule; but why God ſhould love men better then his own Son, or why God ſhould love me better then other men, I muſt end in the reaſon of the text, Quia complacuit, and in the reaſon of Chriſt himſelf, Ita eſt, quia, It is ſo, O Father, becauſe thy good pleaſure was it ſhould be ſo.
To paſſe then from the Collation and Reference,Diviſio. by which, the text hath his Cohaerence with the precedent, and ſubſequent paſſages, and the Illation and Inference, by which you have ſeene the generall doctrine, That reaſon is not to be excluded in religion, but yet to be tenderly and modeſtly preſſed, we have here the Perſon that redeemed us, and his Qualification for that great office, (That all fulneſſe ſhould dwell in him.) And then we have the Pacification, and the Meanes thereof, (Peace was made through the bloud of his Croſſe) And then, the Effect, the application of all this, to them, for whom it was wrought, (That all things in earth and heaven, might be reconciled to God by him.) In the qualification of the perſon, we finde plenitudinem, fulneſſe, and omnem plenitudinem, all fulneſſe; and omnem plenitudinem inhabitantem, all fulneſſe dwelling, permanent. And yet, even this dwelling fulneſſe, even in this perſon Chriſt Jeſus, by no title of merit in himſelfe, but onelyonly quia complacuit, becauſe it pleaſed the Father it ſhould be ſo. In the pacification, (which is our ſecond part) (Peace was made, by the bloud of his Croſſe) we ſhall ſee firſt, quod bellum, what the warre was, and then quae pax, what the peace is, and laſtly quis modus, how this peace was made, which was ſtrange; per ſanguinem, by bloud; to ſave bloud, and yet by bloud. And per ſanguinem ejus, by his bloud, his, who was victoriouſly to triumph in this peace; and per ſanguinem Crucis ejus, by the bloud of his Croſſe, that is his death; the bloud of his Circumciſion, the bloud of his Agony, the bloud of his ſcourging was not enough; It muſt be, and ſo it was the bloud of his Croſſe; And theſe peeces conſtitute our ſecond part, the Pacification: And then in the third, the Application, (That all things might be reconciled to God,) we ſhall ſee firſt, what this Reconciliation is, and then how it extends to all things on earth, (which we might thinke were not capable of it;) and all things in heaven, (which we might think ſtood in no need of it.) And in theſe three parts, The perſon and his qualification, The thing it ſelfe, The Pacification, The effect of this, The Reconciliation, the Application, wee ſhall determine all.
Firſt,1. Part. Plenitudo. In the perſon that redeemes us we finde fulneſſe. And there had need be ſo; for, he found our meaſure full of ſin towards God, and Gods meaſure full of anger towards us; for our parts, as when a River ſwels, at firſt it will finde out all the channels, or lower parts of the bank, and enter there, but after a while it covers, and overflowes the whole field, and all is water without diſtinction; ſo, though we be naturally channels of concupiſcencies, (for there ſin begins, and as water runs naturally in the veines and bowels of the earth,Gen. 6.5. ſo run concupiſcencies naturally in our bowels) yet, when every imagination of the thoughts of our heart, is onelyonly evill continually; Then, (as it did there) it induces a flood, a deluge, our concupiſcence ſwells above all channels, and actually overflowes all; It hath found an iſſue at the eare, we delight in the defamation of others; and an iſſue at the eye,Pſal. 50.18. Pſal. 12.4. If we ſee a thiefe, we run with him; we concurre in the plots of ſupplanting and deſtroying other men; It hath found an iſſue in the tongue, Our lips are our owne, who is Lord over us? We ſpeak freely; ſeditious ſpeeches againſt ſuperiours, obſcene and ſcurrile ſpeeches againſt one another, prophane and blaſphemous ſpeeches againſt God himſelfe, are growne to be good jeſts, and marks of wit, and arguments of ſpirit. It findes an iſſue at our hands, they give way to oppreſſion, by giving bribes; and an iſſue at our feet, They are ſwift to ſhed bloud; and ſo by cuſtome, ſin overflowes all, Omnia pontus, all our wayes are ſea, all our works are ſin. This is our fulneſſe, originall ſin filled us, actuall ſin preſſes down the meaſure, and habituall ſins heap it up. And then Gods meaſure of anger was full too; from the beginning he was a jealous God, and that ſhould have made us carefull of our behaviour, that a jealous eye watched over us. But becauſe wee ſee in the world, that jealous perſons are oftneſt deceived, becauſe that diſtemper diſorders them, ſo as that they ſee nothing clearely, and it puts the greater deſire in the other, to deceive, becauſe it is ſome kinde of Victory, and Triumph to deceive a jealous, and watchfull perſon, therefore we have hoped to goe beyond God too, and his jealouſie. But he is jealous of his honour, jealous of his jealouſie, he will not have his jealouſie deſpiſed, nor forgotten, for therefore he viſits upon the children, to the third and fourth generation; when therefore the ſpirit of jealouſie was come upon him,Numb. 5.14. and that he had prepared that water of bitterneſſe, which was to rot our bowels, that is, when God had bent all his bowes, drawne forth, and whetted all his ſwords, when he was juſtly provoked, to execute all the Judgements denounced in all the Prophets, upon all mankinde, when mans meaſure was full of ſin, and Gods meaſure full of wrath, then was the fulneſſe of time, and yet then Complacuit, It pleaſed the Father, that there ſhould be another fulneſſe to overflow all theſe, in Chriſt Jeſus.
But what fulneſſe is that? Omnis plenitudo, all fulneſſe. And this was onelyonly in Chriſt.Omnis plenitudo. 2 Reg. 2.9. Acts 6.5. Acts 9.36. Elias had a great portion of the ſpirit: but, but a portion. Elizaeus ſees that that portion will not ſerve him, and therefore he asks a double portion of that ſpirit; but ſtill but portions. Stephen is full of faith; a bleſſed fulneſſe, where there is no corner for Infidelity, nor for doubt, for ſcruple, nor irreſolution. Dorcas is full of good works; a fulneſſe above faith; for there muſt be faith, before there can be good works; ſo that they are above faith, as the tree is above the roote, and as the fruit is above the tree. The Virgin Mary is full of Grace; and Grace is a fulneſſe above both; above faith and works too, for that is the meanes to preſerve both; That we fall not from our faith,Eccleſ. 10.1. and that dead flyes corrupt not our ointment, that worldly mixtures doe not vitiate our beſt works, and the memory of paſt ſins, dead ſins, doe not beget new ſins in us, is the operation of Grace. The ſeaven Deacons were full of the Holy Ghoſt, and of Wiſedome;Acts 6.3. full of Religion towards God, and full of ſuch wiſedome as might advance it towards men; full of zeale, and full of knowledge; full of truth, and full of diſcretion too. And theſe were plenitudines, fulneſſes, but they were not all, Omnis plenitudo, all fulneſſe. I ſhall bee as full as St. Paul, in heaven; I ſhall have as full a veſſell, but not ſo full a Cellar; I ſhall be as full, but I ſhall not have ſo much to fill. Chriſt onelyonly hath an infinite content, and capacity, an infinite roome and receipt, and then an infinite fulneſſe; omnem capacitatem, and omnem plenitudinem; He would receive as much as could be infuſed, and there was as much infuſed, as he could receive.
But what ſhall we ſay? Deus adimplendus; was Chriſt God before, and are theſe acceſſory, ſupplementary, additionall fulneſſes to be put to him? A fulneſſe to be added to God? To make him a competent perſon to redeeme man, ſomething was to be added to Chriſt, though he were God; wherein we ſee to our inexpreſſible confuſion of face, and conſternation of ſpirit, the incomprehenſibleneſſe of mans ſin, that even to God himſelfe, there was required ſomething elſe then God, before we could be redeemed; there was a fulneſſe to be added to God, for this work, to make it omnem plenitudinem, for Chriſt was God before; there was that fulneſſe; but God was not Chriſt before; there lacked that fulneſſe. Not diſputing therefore, what other wayes God might have taken for our redemption, but giving him all poſſible thanks for that way which his goodneſſe hath choſen, by the way of ſatisfying his juſtice, (for, howſoever I would be glad to be diſcharged of my debts any way, yet certainly, I ſhould think my ſelfe more beholden to that man, who would be content to pay my debt for me, then to him that ſhould entreat my creditor to forgive me my debt) for this work, to make Chriſt able to pay this debt, there was ſomething to be added to him. Firſt, he muſt pay it in ſuch money as was lent; in the nature and fleſh of man; for man had ſinned, and man muſt pay. And then it was lent in ſuch money as was coyned even with the Image of God; man was made according to his Image: That Image being defaced, in a new Mint, in the wombe of the Bleſſed Virgin, there was new money coyned; The Image of the inviſible God, the ſecond perſon in the Trinity, was imprinted into the humane nature. And then, that there might bee omnis plenitudo, all fulneſſe, as God, for the paiment of this debt, ſent downe the Bullion, and the ſtamp, that is, God to be conceived in man, and as he provided the Mint, the womb of the Bleſſed Virgin, ſo hath he provided an Exchequer, where this mony is iſſued; that is his Church, where his merits ſhould be applied to the diſcharge of particular conſciences.Coloſſ. 2.9. So that here is one fulneſſe, that in this perſon dwelleth all the fulneſſe of the Godhead bodily. Here is another fulneſſe, that this perſon fulfilled all righteouſneſſe, and ſatisfied the Juſtice of God by his ſuffering;Thren. 1.12. non eſt dolor ſicut, there was no ſorrow like unto his ſorrow; It was ſo full that it exceeded all others. And then there is a third fulneſſe, the Church,Eph. 1.23. (which is his body, the fulneſſe of him, that filleth all in all) perfit God, there is the fulneſſe of his dignity; perfit man, there is the fulneſſe of his paſſibility; and a perfit Church, there is the fulneſſe of the diſtribution of his mercies, and merits to us. And this is omnis plenitudo, all fulneſſe; which yet is farther extended in the next word, Inhabitavit, It pleaſed the Father, that all fulneſſe ſhould dwell in him.
The Holy Ghoſt appeared in the Dove,Inhabitavit. Remigius. but he did not dwell in it. The Holy Ghoſt hath dwelt in holy men, but not thus; So, as that ancient Biſhop expreſſes it, Habitavit in Salomone per ſapientiam, He dwelt in Salomon, in the ſpirit of wiſedome; in Ioſeph, in the ſpirit of chaſtity; in Moſes, in the ſpirit of meekneſſe; but in Chriſto, in plenitudine, in Chriſt, in all fulneſſe. Now this fulneſſe is not fully expreſſed in the Hypoſtaticall union of the two natures; God and Man in the perſon of Chriſt. For, (concerning the divine Nature) here was not a dram of glory in this union. This was a ſtrange fulneſſe, for it was a fulneſſe of emptineſſe; It was all Humiliation, all exinanition, all evacuation of himſelfe, by his obedience to the death of the Croſſe. But when it was done, Ne evacuaretur Crux Chriſti, 1 Cor. 1.17.(as the Apoſtle ſpeaks in another caſe) leſt the Croſſe of Chriſt ſhould be evacuated, and made of none effect, he came to make this fulneſſe perfit, by inſtituting and eſtabliſhing a Church;Eſay 1. ult. The ſpirit of the Lord ſhall reſt upon him, ſaies the Prophet, of Chriſt. There is a fulneſſe in generall, for his qualification; The Spirit of the Lord; but what kinde of ſpirit? It followes, the ſpirit of wiſedome and underſtanding, the Spirit of Counſell, and Power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the feare of the Lord; we ſee, the ſpirit that muſt reſt upon Chriſt, is the Spirit in thoſe beames, in thoſe functions, in thoſe operations,… as conduce to government, that is, Wiſedome, and Counſell, and Power. So that this is Chriſts fulneſſe, that he is in a continuall adminiſtration of his Church; in which he flowes over upon us his Miniſters;Joh. 1.16. (for, of his fulneſſe have all we received, and grace for grace: that is, power by his grace, to derive grace upon the Congregation;) And ſo, of his fulneſſe, all the Congregation receives too; and receives in that full meaſure, That they are filled with all the fulneſſe of God; Eph. 3.19.that is, all the fulneſſe that was in both his natures, united in one perſon, when the fulneſſe of the Deity dwelt in him bodily, all the merits of that perſon, are derived upon us, in his Word, Sacraments, in his Church; which Church being to continue to the end, it is moſt properly ſaid habitavit, in him, (in him, as head of the Church) all fulneſſe, all meanes of ſalvation, dwell, and are to be had permanently, conſtantly, infallibly.
Now how came Chriſt by all this fulneſſe,Complacuit. this ſuperlative fulneſſe in himſelfe, this derivative fulneſſe upon us? That his merits ſhould be able to build, and furniſh ſuch a houſe, to raiſe and rectifie ſuch a Church, acceptable to God, in which all fulneſſe ſhould dwell to the worlds end? It was onelyonly becauſe complacuit, it pleaſed God (for this perſonall name of the Father (It pleaſed the Father) is but added ſuppletorily by our Tranſlators, and is not in the Originall) It pleaſed God to give him wherewithall, to enable him ſo farre, for, this complacuit, is, (as we ſay in the Schoole,) vox beneplaciti, it expreſſes onelyonly the good will and love of God, without contemplation or foreſight of any goodneſſe in man;Catharin. nam hac poſita plenitudine exorta ſunt merita: Firſt, we are to conſider this fulneſſe to have been in Chriſt, and then, from this fulneſſe aroſe his merits; we can conſider no merit in Chriſt himſelfe before, whereby he ſhould merit this fulneſſe; for, this fulneſſe was in him, before he merited any thing; and but for this fulneſſe, he had not ſo merited.Auguſt. Ille homo, ut in unitatem filii Dei aſſumeretur, unde meruit? How did that man, (ſayes St. Auguſtine ſpeaking of Chriſt, as of the ſon of man) how did that man merit to be united in one perſon, with the eternall Son of God? Quid egit ante? Quid credidit? What had he done? nay, what had he beleeved? Had he eyther faith, or works, before that union of both natures? If then in Chriſt Jeſus himſelfe, there were no praeviſa merita, That Gods fore-ſight, that he would uſe this fulneſſe well, did not work in God, as a cauſe to give him this fulneſſe, but becauſe hee had it of the free gift of God, therefore he did uſe it well, and meritoriouſly, ſhall any of us be ſo frivolous, in ſo important a matter, as to think that God gave us our meaſure of grace, or our meaſure of Sanctification, becauſe he fore-ſaw that we would heap up that meaſure, and employ that talent profitably? What canſt thou imagine, he could fore-ſee in thee? A propenſneſſe, a diſpoſition to goodneſſe, when his grace ſhould come? Eyther there is no ſuch propenſneſſe, no ſuch diſpoſition in thee, or, if there be, even that propenſneſſe and diſpoſition to the good uſe of grace, is grace, it is an effect of former grace, and his grace wrought, before he ſaw any ſuch propenſneſſe, any ſuch diſpoſition; Grace was firſt, and his grace is his, it is none of thine. To end this point, and this part, non eſt diſcipulus ſupra magiſtrum; The fulneſſe of Chriſt himſelfe was rooted in the complacuit, It pleaſed the Father; (nothing elſe wrought in the nature of a Cauſe) and therefore that meaſure of that fulneſſe, which is derived upon us, from him, (our vocation, our juſtification, our ſanctification) are much more ſo; we have them, quia complacuit, becauſe it hath pleaſed him freely to give them; God himſelfe could ſee nothing in us, till he of his owne goodneſſe, put it into us. And ſo we have gone as farre, as our firſt part carries us, in thoſe two branches, and the fruits which we have gathered from thence; Firſt, thoſe generall doctrines, that reaſon is not to be excluded in matters of religion; and then, that reaſon in all thoſe caſes, is to be limited, with the quia complacuit, meerly in the good pleaſure of God. In which firſt part, you have alſo had, the qualification of the perſon, that came this day, to eſtabliſh Redemption for us, that in Him there was fulneſſe, (infinite capacity, and infinite infuſion,) and all fulneſſe, defective in nothing, (impaſſible and yet paſſible, perfit God, and perfit man) and this fulneſſe dwelling in Him, in Him as he is Head of the Church, that is, viſible, ſenſible meanes of ſalvation to every ſoule in his Church; And ſo we paſſe to our ſecond part, from this Qualification of the perſon, (It pleaſed the Father that in him all fulneſſe ſhould dwell) to the Pacification it ſelfe, for which it pleaſed the Father to doe all this, that Peace might be made through the bloud of his Croſſe.
In this Part, St. Chryſoſtome hath made our ſteps, our branches. It is much, ſayes he,2 Part. that God would admit any peace; magis, per ſanguinem, more, that for peace he ſhould require effuſion of bloud; magis, quod per ejus, more, that it muſt be His bloud, his that was injured, his that was to triumph; Et adhuc magis, quod per ſanguinem Crucis ejus; That it muſt be by the bloud of his Croſſe, his heart bloud, his death; and yet this was the caſe; He made Peace through the bloud of his Croſſe. There was then a warre before, and a heavy warre; for, the Lord of hoſts was our enemy; and what can all our muſters come to,Bellum ante. if the Lord of Hoſts, of all Hoſts have raiſed his forces againſt us? There was a heavy war denounced in the Inimicitias ponam, when God raiſed a warre betweene the Devill,Gen. 3.15. and us. For, if we could conſider God to ſtand neutrall in that warre, and meddle with neither ſide, yet we were in a deſperate caſe, to be put to fight againſt Powers and Principalities, againſt the Devill. How much more, when God, the Lord of Hoſts, is the Lord even of that Hoſt too? when God preſſes the Devill, and makes the Devill his Soldier, to fight his battles, and directs his arrowes, and his bullets, and makes his approaches, and his attempts effectuall upon us. That which is fallen upon the Jews now,Baſil. for their ſinne againſt Chriſt, that there is not in all the world, a Soldier of their race, not a Jew in the world that beares armes, is true of all mankinde for their ſin againſt God; there is not a Soldier amongſt them, able to hurt his ſpirituall enemy or defend himſelfe. It is a ſtrange warre, where there are not two ſides; and yet that is our caſe; for, God uſes the Devill againſt us, and the Devill uſes us againſt one another; nay, he uſes every one of us, againſt our ſelves; ſo that God, and the Devill, and we, are all in one Army, and all for our deſtruction; we have a warre, and yet there is but one Army, and we onelyonly are the Countrey that is fed upon, and waſted; From God to the Devill we have not one friend, and yet, as though we lacked enemies, we fight with one another in inhumane Duels; Vbi morimur homicidae, Ad milites Templa: Ser. 1. …(as St. Bernard expreſſes it powerfully and elegantly) that in thoſe Duels and Combats, he that is murdered dyes a murderer, becauſe he would have beene one; Occiſor laethaliter peccat, occiſus aeternaliter perit; He that comes alive out of the field comes a dead man, becauſe he comes a deadly ſinner, and he that remaines dead in the field, is gone into an everlaſting death. So that by this inhumane effuſion of one anothers bloud, we maintaine a warre againſt God himſelfe, and we provoke him to that which he expreſſes in Eſay, My ſword ſhall be bathed in heaven; Inebriabitur ſanguine, Eſay 34.5.The ſword of the Lord ſhall be made drunk with bloud; Their land ſhall be ſoaked with bloud, and their duſt made fat with fatneſſe. The ſame quarrell, which God hath againſt particular men, and particular Nations, for particular ſinnes, God hath againſt all Mankinde, for Adams ſin. And there is the warre. But what is the peace, and how are we included in that? That is our ſecond and next diſquiſition, That peace might be made.
A man muſt not preſently think himſelfe included in this peace,Pax. becauſe he feeles no effects of this warre. If God draw none of his ſwords of warre, or famine, or peſtilence, upon thee, (no outward warre,) If God raiſe not a rebellion in thy ſelfe, nor fight againſt thee with thine owne affections, in colluctations betweene the fleſh, and the ſpirit; The warre may laſt,Gellius. for all this. Induciarum tempore, bellum manet, licet pugna ceſſet; Though there be no blow ſtriken, the warre remaines in the time of Truce. But thy caſe is not ſo good; here is no Truce, no ceſſation, but a continuall preparation to a fiercer warre. All this while that thou enjoyeſt this imaginary ſecurity, the Enemy digges inſenſibly under ground, all this while he undermines thee, and will blow thee up at laſt more irrecoverably, then if he had battered thee with outward calamities all that time. So any State may be abuſed with a falſe peace preſent, or with a fruitleſſe expectation of a future peace. But in this text, there is true peace, and peace already made; preſent peace, and and ſafe peace.Bernard. Pax non promiſſa, ſed miſſa, (ſayes St. Bernard, in his muſicall and harmonious cadences,) not promiſed, but already ſent; non dilata, ſed data, not treated, but concluded; Non prophetata, ſed praeſentata, not propheſied, but actually eſtabliſhed. There is the preſentneſſe thereof; And then, made by him, who lacked nothing for the making of a ſafe peace;Eſay 9.6. For, after his Names of Counſellor, and of the Mighty God; he is called, for the conſummation of all, princeps pacis; A Counſellor, There is his wiſdome, A mighty God, There is his Power: and this Counſellor, This Mighty God, this wiſe, and this powerfull Prince, hath undertaken to make our peace; But how, that is next, per ſanguinem, Peace being made by bloud.
Is effuſion of bloud the way of peace?Per ſanguinem. effuſion of bloud may make them from whom bloud is ſo abundantly drawne, glad of peace, becauſe they are thereby reduced to a weakneſſe. But in our warres, ſuch a weakneſſe puts us farther off from peace, and puts more fierceneſſe in the Enemy. But here, mercy and truth are met together; God would be true to his owne Juſtice, (bloud was forfeited, and he would have bloud) and God would be mercifull to us, he would make us the ſtronger by drawing bloud, and by drawing our beſt bloud,Gen. 34. the bloud of Chriſt Jeſus. Simeon and Levi, when they meditated their revenge for the rape committed upon their ſiſter, when they pretended peace, yet they required a little bloud: They would have the Sichemites circumciſed: but when they had opened a veyne, they made them bleed to death; when they were under the ſoreneſſe of Circumciſion, they ſlew them all. Gods juſtice required bloud, but that bloud is not ſpilt, but poured from that head to our hearts, into the veines, and wounds of our owne ſoules: There was bloud ſhed, but no bloud loſt. Before the Law was thorowly eſtabliſhed, when Moſes came downe from God, and deprehended the people, in that Idolatry to the Calfe, before he would preſent himſelfe as a Mediator betweene God and them,Exod. 32.28. & 32. for that ſinne, he prepares a ſacrifice of bloud, in the execution of three thouſand of thoſe Idolaters, and after that he came to his vehement prayer, in their behalfe. And in the ſtrength of the Law,Heb. 9 22. all things were purged with bloud, and without bloud there is no remiſſion. Whether we place the reaſon of this in Gods Juſtice, which required bloud, or whether we place it in the conveniency, that bloud being ordinarily received to be ſedes animae, the ſeat and reſidence of the ſoule; The ſoule, for which, that expiation was to be, could not be better repreſented, nor purified, then in the ſtate, and ſeat of the ſoule, in bloud; or whether we ſhut up our ſelves in an humble ſobriety, to inquire into the reaſons of Gods actions, thus we ſee it was, no peace, no remiſſion, but in bloud. Nor is that ſo ſtrange, as that which followes in the next place, per ſanguinem ejus, by his bloud.
Before,Per ſanguinem ejus. Pſal. 50.10. under the Law, it was in ſanguine hircorum, & vitulorum; In the bloud of Goats, and Bullocks; here it is in ſanguine ejus, in his bloud. Not his, as he claims all the beaſts of the forreſt, all the cattle upon a thouſand hils, and all the fowles of the mountaines to be his; not his, as he ſayes of Gold and Silver, The Silver is mine, and the Gold is mine;Hag. 2.8. not his, as he is Lord, and proprietary of all, by Creation; ſo all bloud is his; no nor his, as the bloud of all the Martyrs was his bloud, (which is a neare relation and conſanguinity) but his ſo, as it was the precious bloud of his body, the ſeat of his ſoule, the matter of his ſpirits, the knot of his life, This bloud he ſhed for me; and I have bloud to ſhed for him too, though he call me not to the tryall, nor to the glory of Martyrdome. Sanguis animae meae voluntas mea, The bloud of my ſoule is my will;Bern. Scindatur vena ferro compunctionis, open a veine with that knife, remorce, compunction, ut ſi non ſenſus, certe conſenſus peccati effluat, That though thou canſt not bleed out all motions to ſinne, thou maiſt all conſent thereunto. Noli eſſe nimium juſtus; noli ſapere plus quam oportet; St. Bernard makes this uſe of thoſe Counſels, Be not righteous overmuch, nor be not overwiſe, Ecceſ. 7.16.Cui putas venae parcendum, ſi juſtitia & ſapientia egent minutione, what veine maiſt thou ſpare, if thou muſt open thoſe two veines, righteouſneſſe, and wiſedome? If they may be ſuperfluouſly abundant, if thou muſt bleed out ſome of thy Righteouſneſſe, and ſome of thy wiſedome, cui venae parcendum, at what veine muſt thou not bleed?Toſtat. in Levit. fo. 45. D. Now in all ſacrifices, where bloud was to be offerd, the fat was to be offerd to. If thou wilt ſacrifice the bloud of thy ſoule, (as St. Bernard cals the will) ſacrifice the fat too; If thou give over thy purpoſe of continuing in thy ſin, give over the memory of it, and give over all that thou poſſeſſeſt unjuſtly, and corruptly got by that ſinne; elſe thou keepeſt the fat from God, though thou give him the bloud. If God had given over at his ſecond daies work, we had had no ſunne, no ſeaſons; If at his fift, we had had no beeing; If at the ſixt, no Sabbath; but by proceeding to the ſeventh, we are all, and we have all. Naaman, 2 Reg. 5.14.who was out of the covenant, yet, by waſhing in Jordan ſeven times, was cured of his leproſie; ſeaven times did it even in him, but leſſe did not.Toſtat. in Levit. 4. q. 16. The Prieſt in the Law uſed a ſeven-fold ſprinkling of bloud upon the Altar; and we obſerve a ſeven-fold ſhedding of bloud in Chriſt; In his Circumciſion, and in his Agony, in his fulfilling of that Propheſie; gen as vellicantibus, I gave my cheeks to them, that plucked off the haire, and in his ſcourging;Eſay 50.6. in his crowning, and in his nayling, and laſtly, in the piercing of his ſide. Theſe ſeven channels hath the bloud of thy Saviour found. Poure out the bloud of thy ſoule, ſacrifice thy ſtubborne and rebellious will ſeaven times too; ſeaven times, that is, every day; and ſeaven times every day; for ſo often a juſt man falleth; And then,Prov. 24.16. how low muſt that man lie at laſt, if he fall ſo often, and never riſe upon any fall? and therefore raiſe thy ſelf as often, and as ſoone as thou falleſt. Iericho would not fall,Joſ. 6. but by being compaſſed ſeaven dayes, and ſeaven times in one day. Compaſſe thy ſelfe, comprehend thy ſelfe, ſeaven times, many times, and thou ſhalt have thy loſſe of bloud ſupplied with better bloud, with a true ſenſe of that peace, which he hath already made, and made by bloud, and by his owne bloud, and by the bloud of his Croſſe, which is the laſt branch of this ſecond part.
Greater love hath no man, then to lay downe his life for his friend, yet he that ſaid ſo,Crux. Joh. 15.13. did more then ſo, more then lay downe his life, (for he expoſed it to violences, and torments) and all that for his enemies. But doth not the neceſſity diminiſh the love? where a teſtament is, there muſt alſo of neceſſity be the death of the teſtator:Heb. 9.16. was there then a neceſſity in Chriſts dying? ſimply a neceſſity of coaction there was not; ſuch as is in the death of other men, naturall, or violent by the hand of Juſtice. There was nothing more arbitrary, more voluntary, more ſpontaneous then all that Chriſt did for man. And if you could conſider a time, before the contract between the Father, and him, had paſſed, for the redemption of man by his death, we might ſay, that then there was no neceſſity upon Chriſt, that he muſt dye; But becauſe that contract was from all eternity,Luc. 24.26. ſuppoſing that contract, that this peace was to be made by his death, there entred the oportuit pati, That Chriſt ought to ſuffer all theſe things, and to enter into his glory. And ſo, as for his death, ſo for the manner of his death, (by the Croſſe) it was not of abſolute neceſſity, and yet it was not by caſualty neither, not becauſe he was to ſuffer in that Nation, which did ordinarily puniſh ſuch Malefactors, (ſuch as he was accuſed to be) ſeditious perſons, with that manner of death, but all this proceeded ex pacto, thus the contract led it, to this he was obedient, obedient unto death, and unto the death of the Croſſe.Phil. 2.8. By bloud, and not onelyonly by comming into this world, and aſſuming our nature, (which humiliation was an act of infinite value) and not by the bloud of his Circumciſion or Agony, but bloud to death, and by no gentler, nor nobler death, then the death of the Croſſe, was this peace to be made by him. Though then one drop of his bloud had beene enough to have redeemed infinite worlds, if it had beene ſo contracted, and ſo applyed, yet he gave us, a morning ſhowre of his bloud in his Circumciſion, and an evening ſhowre at his paſſion, and a ſhowre after Sunſet, in the piercing of his ſide. And though any death had beene an incomprehenſible ranſome, for the Lord of life to have given, for the children of death, yet he refuſed not the death of the Croſſe; The Croſſe, to which a bitter curſe was nayled by Moſes, Deut. 21 23.from the beginning, he that is hanged, is, (not onelyonly accurſed of God, as our Tranſlation hath it,) but he is the curſe of God, (as it is in the Originall) not accurſed, but a curſe; not a ſimple curſe, but the curſe of God. And by the Croſſe, which beſides the Infamy, was ſo painfull a death, as that many men languiſhed many dayes upon it, before they dyed: And by his bloud of this torture, and this ſhame, this painfull, and this ignominious death, was this peace made. In our great work of crucifying our ſelves to the world too, it is not enough to bleed the drops of a Circumciſion, that is, to cut off ſome exceſſive, and notorious practice of ſin; nor to bleed the drops of an Agony, to enter into a conflict and colluctation of the fleſh and the ſpirit, whether we were not better truſt in Gods mercy, for our continuance in that ſin, then loſe all that pleaſure and profit, which that ſin brings us; nor enough to bleed the drops of ſcourging, to be laſhed with viperous, and venemous tongues by contumelies, and ſlanders; nor to bleed the drops of Thornes, to have Thornes and ſcruples enter into our conſciences, with ſpirituall afflictions; but we muſt be content to bleed the ſtreames of naylings to thoſe Croſſes, to continue in them all our lives, if God ſee that neceſſary for our confirmation; and, if men will pierce and wound us after our deaths in our good name, yea, if they will ſlander our Reſurrection, (as they did Chriſts) if they will ſay, that it is impoſſible God ſhould have mercy upon ſuch a man, impoſſible that a man of ſo bad life, and ſo ſad and comfortleſſe a death, ſhould have a joyfull Reſurrection, here is our comfort, as that piercing of Chriſts ſide was after the Conſummatum eſt, after his paſſion ended, and therefore put him to no paine, as that ſlander of his Reſurrection, was after that glorious triumph; He was riſen and had ſhewed himſelfe before, and therefore it diminiſhed not his power: ſo all theſe poſthume wounds, and ſlanders after my death, after my God and my Soule ſhall have paſſed that Dialogue, Veni Domine Ieſu, and euge bone ſerve, That I ſhall have ſaid upon my death-bed, Come Lord Jeſu, come quickly, and he ſhall have ſaid, Well done good and faithfull ſervant, enter into thy Maſters joy, when I ſhall have ſaid to him, In manus tuas Domine, Into thy hands O Lord I commend my ſpirit, And he to me, Hodie mecum eris in paradiſo, This day, this minute thou ſhalt be, now thou art with me in Paradiſe, when this ſhall be my ſtate, God ſhall heare their ſlanders and maledictions, and write them all downe, but not in my booke, but in theirs, and there they ſhall meet them at Judgement, amongſt their owne ſinnes, to their everlaſting confuſion, and finde me in poſſeſſion of that peace, made by bloud, made by his bloud, made by the bloud of his Croſſe, which were all the peeces laid out for this ſecond part, with which we have done; and paſſe from the qualification of the perſon, (It pleaſed the Father that in him all fulneſſe ſhould dwell) which was our firſt part, and the Pacification, and the way thereof, (by the bloud of his Croſſe to make peace) which was our ſecond, to the Reconciliation it ſelfe, and the Application thereof to all to whom that Reconciliation appertaines, That all things, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven, might be reconciled unto him.
All this was done;3. Part. He, in whom it pleaſed the Father, that this fulneſſe ſhould dwell, had made this peace by the bloud of his Croſſe, and yet, after all this, the Apoſtle comes upon that Ambaſſage,2 Cor. 5.20. We pray ye, in Chriſts ſtead, that ye be reconciled to God; So that this Reconciliation in the Text, is a ſubſequent thing to this peace. The generall peace is made by Chriſts death, as a generall pardon is given at the Kings comming; The Application of this peace is in the Church, as the ſuing out of the pardon, is in the Office. Ioab made Abſaloms peace with his Father; Bring the young man againe, ſayes David to Ioab; 2 Sam. 14.22.2.28.24.16.but yet he was not reconciled to him, ſo as that he ſaw his face in two yeare. God hath ſounded a Retreat to the Battle, As I live, ſaith the Lord, I would not the death of a ſinner; He hath ſaid to the deſtroyer, It is enough, ſtay now thy hand; He is pacified in Chriſt; and he hath bound the enemy in chaines. Now let us labour for our Reconciliation; for all things are reconciled to him, in Chriſt, that is, offered a way of reconciliation. All things in heaven and earth, ſayes the Apoſtle. And that is ſo large, as that Origen needed not to have extended it to Hell too,Origen. and conceive out of this place, a poſſibility, that the Devils themſelves ſhall come to a Reconciliation with God. But to all in Heaven and Earth it appertaines. Conſider we how.
Firſt then, there is a reconciliation of them in heaven to God,In coelis. and then of them on earth to God, and then of them in heaven, and them in earth, to one another, by the blood of his Croſſe. If we conſider them in heaven, to be thoſe who are gone up to heaven from this world by death, they had the ſame reconciliation as we;Animae. either by reaching the hand of faith forward, to lay hold upon Chriſt before he came, (which was the caſe of all under the Law;) or by reaching back that hand, to lay hold upon all that hee had done and ſuffered, when he was come, (which is the caſe of thoſe that are dead before us in the profeſſion of the Goſpell.) All that are in heaven, and were upon earth, are reconciled one way, by application of Chriſt in the Church; ſo that, though they be now in heaven, yet they had their reconciliation here upon earth. But if we conſider thoſe who are in heaven, and have been ſo from the firſt minute of their creation, Angels, why have they, or how have they any reconciliation? How needed they any, and then, how is this of Chriſt applyed unto them? They needed a confirmation; for the Angels were created in bleſſedneſſe, but not in perfect bleſſedneſſe; They might fall, they did fall. To thoſe that fell, can appertaine no reconciliation; no more then to thoſe that die in their ſins; for Quod homini mors, Angelis caſus; Auguſt.The fall of the Angels wrought upon them, as the death of a man does upon him; They are both equally incapable of change to better. But to thoſe Angels that ſtood, their ſtanding being of grace, and their confirmation being not one tranſient act in God done at once, but a continuall ſucceſſion, and emanation of daily grace, belongs this reconciliation by Chriſt, becauſe all matter of grace, and where any deficiency is to be ſupplyed, whether by way of reparation, as in man, or by way of confirmation, as in Angels, proceeds from the Croſſe, from the Merits of Chriſt. They are ſo reconciled then, as that they are extra lapſus periculum, out of the danger of falling; but yet this ſtability, this infallibility is not yet indelibly imprinted in their natures; yet the Angels might fall, if this reconciler did not ſuſtain them; for, if thoſe words reperit in Angelis iniquitatem, that God found folly,Job 4.18.(weakneſſe, infirmity) in his Angels, be to be underſtood of the good Angels, that ſtand confirmed, (as procul dubio de diabolo intelligi non poteſt, Calvin.without all doubt they cannot be underſtood of the ill Angels) the beſt ſervice of the beſt Angels, deveſted of that ſucceſſive grace, that ſupports them, if God ſhould exacta rigorous account of it, could not be acceptable in the ſight of God; So the Angels have a pacification, and a reconciliation, leſt they ſhould fall.
Thus things in heaven are reconciled to God by Chriſt; and things on earth too.In terra. Firſt the creature, as S. Paul ſpeakes; that is, other creatures then men. For, at the generall reſurrection, (which is rooted in the reſurrection of Chriſt, and ſo hath relation to him) the creature ſhall be delivered from the bondage of corruption,Rom. 8.21. into the glorious liberty of the children of God; for which, the whole creation groanes, and travailes in paine yet. This deliverance then from this bondage, the whole creature hath by Chriſt, and that is their reconciliation. And then are we reconciled by the blood of his Croſſe, when having crucified our ſelves by a true repentance, we receive the ſeale of reconciliation, in his blood in the Sacrament. But the moſt proper, and moſt litterall ſenſe of theſe words, is, that all things in heaven and earth, be reconciled to God, (that is, to his glory, to a fitter diſpoſition to glorifie him) by being reconciled to another, in Chriſt; that in him, as head of the Church, they in heaven, and we upon earth, be united together as one body in the Communion of Saints. For, this text hath a conformity, and a harmony with that to the Epheſians, and in ſenſe, as well as in words, is the ſame,Epheſ. 1.10. That God might gather together in one, all things in Chriſt, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him; where the word which we tranſlate (to gather) doth properly ſignifie recapitulare, to bring all things to their firſt head, to Gods firſt purpoſe; which was, that Angels, and men, united in Chriſt Jeſus, might glorifie him eternally in the Kingdome of heaven. Then are things in heaven reſtored and reconciled, (ſayes S. Auguſtine) Cum quod ex Angelis lapſum eſt, ex hominibus redditur, when good men have repaired the ruine of the bad Angels, and filled their places. And then are things on earth reſtored, and reconciled, Cum praedeſtinati à corruptionis vetuſtate renovantur, when Gods elect children are delivered from the corruptions of this world, to which, even they are ſubject here. Gregor.Cum humiliati homines redeunt, unde Apoſtatae ſuperbiendo ceciderunt, when men by humility are exalted, to thoſe places from which Angels fell by pride, then are all things in heaven and earth reconciled in Chriſt.
The blood of the ſacrifices was brought by the high prieſt,Toſtat. in Levit. 16. in ſanctum ſanctorum, into the place of greateſt holineſſe; but it was brought but once, in feſto expiationis, in the feaſt of expiation; but, in the other parts of the Temple, it was ſprinkled every day. The blood of the Croſſe of Chriſt Jeſus hath had his effect in ſancto ſanctorum, even in the higheſt heavens, in ſupplying their places that fell, in confirming them that ſtood, and in uniting us and them, in himſelfe, as Head of all. In the other parts of the Temple it is to be ſprinkled daily. Here, in the militant Church upon earth, there is ſtill a reconciliation to be made; not only toward one another, in the band of charity, but in our ſelves. In our ſelves we may finde things in heaven, and things on earth to reconcile. There is a heavenly zeale, but if it be not reconciled to diſcretion, there is a heavenly purity, but if it be not reconciled to the bearing of one anothers infirmities, there is a heavenly liberty, but if it be not reconciled to a care, for the prevention of ſcandall, All things in our heaven, and our earth are not reconciled in Chriſt. In a word, till the fleſh and the ſpirit be reconciled, this reconciliation is not accompliſhed. For, neither ſpirit, nor fleſh muſt be deſtroyed in us; a ſpirituall man is not all ſpirit, he is a man ſtill. But then is fleſh and ſpirit reconciled in Chriſt, when in all the faculties of the ſoule, and all the organs of the body we glorifie him in this world; for then, in the next world wee ſhall be glorified by him, and with him, in ſoule, and in body too, where we ſhall bee thoroughly reconciled to one another, no ſuits, no controverſies; and thoroughly to the Angels;Mat. 22.30. Luc. 20.36. when we ſhall not only be ſieut Angeli, as the Angels in ſome one property, but aequales Angelis, equall to the Angels in all, for, Non erunt duae ſocietates Angelorum & hominum, Men and Angels ſhall not make two companies, ſed omnium beatitudo erit, uni adhaerere Deo, Auguſt.this ſhall be the bleſſedneſſe of them both, to be united in one head, Chriſt Jeſus.
And theſe reconcilings are reconcilings enow; for theſe are all that are in heaven and earth. If you will reconcile things in heaven, and earth, with things in hell, that is a reconciling out of this Text. If you will mingle the ſervice of God, and the ſervice of this world, there is no reconciling of God and Mammon in this Text. If you will mingle a true religion, and a falſe religion, there is no reconciling of God and Belial in this Text. For the adhering of perſons born within the Church of Rome, to the Church of Rome, our law ſayes nothing to them if they come; But for reconciling to the Church of Rome, by perſons born within the Allegeance of the King, or for perſwading of men to be ſo reconciled, our law hath called by an infamous and Capitall name of Treaſon, and yet every Tavern, and Ordinary is full of ſuch Traitors. Every place from jeſt to earneſt is filled with them; from the very ſtage to the death-bed; At a Comedy they will perſwade you, as you ſit, as you laugh, And in your ſickneſſe they will perſwade you, as you lye, as you dye. And not only in the bed of ſickneſſe, but in the bed of wantonneſſe they perſwade too; and there may be examples of women, that have thought it a fit way to gain a ſoul, by proſtituting themſelves, and by entertaining unlawfull love, with a purpoſe to convert a ſervant, which is ſomewhat a ſtrange Topique, to draw arguments of religion from. Let me ſee a Dominican and a Jeſuit reconciled, in doctrinall papiſtry, for freewill and predeſtination, Let me ſee a French papiſt and an Italian papiſt reconciled in State-papiſtry, for the Popes juriſdiction, Let me ſee the Jeſuits, and the ſecular prieſts reconciled in England, and when they are reconciled to one another, let them preſſe reconciliation to their Church. To end all, Thoſe men have their bodies from the earth, and they have their ſoules from heaven; and ſo all things in earth and heaven are reconciled: but they have their Doctrine from the Devill; and for things in hell, there is no peace made, and with things in hell, there is no reconciliation to be had by the blood of his Croſſe, except we will tread that blood under our feet, and make a mock of Chriſt Jeſus, and crucifie the Lord of Life againe.