Eighty Sermons, Christmas · Sermon 2
SERMON II. Preached at Pauls, upon Chriſtmas Day, in the Evening. 1624.
ESAIAH. 7.14.
Part of the firſt Leſſon, that Evening.
Therefore the Lord ſhall give you a ſigne; Behold, a Virgin ſhall conceive, and beare a Son, and ſhall call his name Immanuel.
SAint Bernard ſpent his conſideration upon three remarkable conjunctions, this Day. Firſt, a Conjunction of God, and Man in one perſon, Chriſt Jeſus; Then a conjunction of the incompatible Titles, Maid and Mother, in one bleſſed woman, the bleſſed Virgin Mary: And thirdly a conjunction of Faith, and the Reaſon of man, that ſo beleeves, and comprehends thoſe two conjunctions. Let us accompany theſe three with another ſtrange conjunction, in the firſt word of this Text, Propterea, Therefore; for that joynes the anger of God, and his mercy together. God chides and rebukes the King Achaz by the Prophet, he is angry with him, and Therefore, ſayes the Text, becauſe he is angry he will give him a ſigne, a ſeale of mercy, Therefore the Lord ſhall give you a ſigne, Behold, a Virgin, &c. This Therefore, ſhall therefore be a firſt part of this Exerciſe, That God takes any occaſion to ſhew mercy; And a ſecond ſhall be, The particular way of his mercy, declared here,Diviſie. The Lord ſhall give you a ſigne; And then a third and laſt, what this ſigne was, Behold, a Virgin, &c.
In theſe three parts, we ſhall walk by theſe ſteps; Having made our entrance into the firſt, with that generall conſideration, that Gods mercy is alwaies in ſeaſon, upon that ſtation, upon that height we ſhall look into the particular occaſions of Gods mercy here, what this King Achaz had done to alien God, and to avert his mercy, and in thoſe two branches we ſhall determine that part. In the ſecond, we ſhall alſo firſt make this generall entrance, That God perſiſts in his own waies, goes forward with his own purpoſes, And then what his way, and his purpoſe here was, he would give them a ſigne: and farther we ſhall not extend that ſecond part. In the third we have more ſteps to make; Firſt, what this ſign is in generall, it is, that there is a Redeemer given. And then how, thus; Firſt, Virgo concipiet, a Virgin ſhall conceive, ſhe ſhall be a Virgin then; And Virgo pariet, a Virgin ſhall bring forth, ſhe ſhall be a Virgin then; And Pariet filium, ſhe ſhall beare a Son, and therefore he is of her ſubſtance, not only man, but man of her; And this Virgin ſhall call this Son Immanuel, God with us, that is, God and Man in one perſon. Though the Angel at the Conception tell Ioſeph, That he ſhall call his name Jeſus,Mat. 1.21. and tell Mary her ſelfe, that ſhe ſhall call his name Jeſus,Luc. 1.31. yet the bleſſed Virgin her ſelfe ſhall have a further reach, a clearer illuſtration, She ſhall call his name Immanuel, God with us: Others were called Ieſus, Ioſuah was ſo, divers others were ſo; but, in the Scriptures there was never any but Chriſt called Immanuel. Though Ieſus ſignifie a Saviour, Ioſeph was able to call this childe Ieſus, upon a more peculiar reaſon, and way of ſalvation then others who had that name, becauſe they had ſaved the people from preſent calamities, and imminent dangers; for, the Angel told Ioſeph, that he ſhould therefore be called Ieſus, becauſe he ſhould ſave the people from their ſins; and ſo, no Ioſuah, no other Ieſus was a Ieſus. But the bleſſed Virgin ſaw more then this; not only that he ſhould be ſuch a Ieſus as ſhould ſave them from their ſins, but ſhe ſaw the manner how, that he ſhould be Immanuel, God with us, God and man in one perſon; That ſo, being Man, he might ſuffer, and being God, that ſhould give an infinite value to his ſufferings, according to the contract paſſed between the Father and him; and ſo he ſhould be Ieſus, a Saviour, a Saviour from ſin, and this by this way and meanes. And then that all this ſhould be eſtabliſhed, and declared by an infallible ſigne, with this Ecce, Behold; That whoſoever can call upon God by that name Immanuel, that is, confeſſe Chriſt to bee come in the fleſh, that Man ſhall have an Ecce, a light, a ſign, a token, an aſſurance that this Immanuel, this Jeſus, this Saviour belongs unto him, and he ſhall be able to ſay, Ecce, Behold, mine eyes have ſeen thy ſalvation.
We begin with that which is elder then our beginning,1 Part. Pſal. 101.1. and ſhall over-live our end, The mercy of God. I will ſing of thy mercy and judgement, ſayes David; when we fixe our ſelves upon the meditation and modulation of the mercy of God, even his judgements cannot put us out of tune, but we ſhall ſing, and be chearefull, even in them. As God made graſſe for beaſts, before he made beaſts, and beaſts for man, before he made man: As in that firſt generation, the Creation, ſo in the regeneration, our re-creating, he begins with that which was neceſſary for that which followes, Mercy before Judgement. Nay, to ſay that mercy was firſt, is but to poſt-date mercy; to preferre mercy but ſo, is to diminiſh mercy; The names of firſt or laſt derogate from it, for firſt and laſt are but ragges of time, and his mercy hath no relation to time, no limitation in time, it is not firſt, nor laſt, but eternall, everlaſting; Let the Devill make me ſo far deſperate as to conceive a time whē there was no mercy, and he hath made me ſo far an Atheiſt, as to conceive a time when there was no God; if I deſpoile him of his mercy, any one minute, and ſay, now God hath no mercy, for that minute I diſcontinue his very Godhead, and his beeing. Later Grammarians have wrung the name of mercy out of miſery; Miſericordia praeſumit miſeriam, ſay theſe, there could be no ſubſequent mercy, if there were no precedent miſery; But the true roote of the word mercy, through all the Prophets, is Racham, and Racham is diligere, to love; as long as there hath been love (and God is love) there hath been mercy: And mercy conſidered externally, and in the practiſe and in the effect, began not at the helping of man, when man was fallen and become miſerable, but at the making of man, when man was nothing. So then, here we conſider not mercy as it is radically in God, and an eſſentiall attribute of his, but productively in us, as it is an action, a working upon us, and that more eſpecially, as God takes all occaſions to exerciſe that action, and to ſhed that mercy upon us: for particular mercies are feathers of his wings, and that prayer, Lord let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our truſt is in thee, is our birdlime; particular mercies are that cloud of Quailes which hovered over the hoſt of Iſrael, and that prayer, Lord let thy mercy lighten upon us, is our net to catch, our Gomer to fill of thoſe Quailes. The aire is not ſo full of Moats, of Atomes, as the Church is of Mercies; and as we can ſuck in no part of aire, but we take in thoſe Moats, thoſe Atomes; ſo here in the Congregation we cannot ſuck in a word from the preacher, we cannot ſpeak, we cannot ſigh a prayer to God, but that that whole breath and aire is made of mercy. But we call not upon you from this Text, to conſider Gods ordinary mercy, that which he exhibites to all in the miniſtery of his Church; nor his miraculous mercy, his extraordinary deliverances of States and Churches; but we call upon particular Conſciences, by occaſion of this Text, to call to minde Gods occaſionall mercies to them; ſuch mercies as a regenerate man will call mercies, though a naturall man would call them accidents, or occurrences, or contingencies; A man wakes at mid-night full of unclean thoughts, and he heares a paſſing Bell; this is an occaſionall mercy, if he call that his own knell, and conſider how unfit he was to be called out of the world then, how unready to receive that voice, Foole, this night they ſhall fetch away thy ſoule. The adulterer, whoſe eye waites for the twy-light, goes forth, and caſts his eyes upon forbidden houſes, and would enter, and ſees a Lord have mercy upon us upon the doore; this is an occaſionall mercy, if this bring him to know that they who lie ſick of the plague within, paſſe through a furnace, but by Gods grace, to heaven; and hee without, carries his own furnace to hell, his luſtfull loines to everlaſting perdition. What an occaſionall mercy had Balaam, when his Aſſe Catechized him? What an occaſionall mercy had one Theefe, when the other catechized him ſo, Art not thou afraid being under the ſame condemnation? What an occaſionall mercy had all they that ſaw that, when the Devil himſelf fought for the name of Jeſus, and wounded the ſons of Sceva for exorciſing in the name of Jeſus,Act. 19.14. with that indignation, with that increpation, Ieſus we know, and Paul we know, but who are ye? If I ſhould declare what God hath done (done occaſionally) for my ſoule, where he inſtructed me for feare of falling, where he raiſed me when I was fallen, perchance you would rather fixe your thoughts upon my illneſſe, and wonder at that, then at Gods goodneſſe, and glorifie him in that; rather wonder at my ſins, then at his mercies, rather conſider how ill a man I was, then how good a God he is. If I ſhould inquire upon what occaſion God elected me, and writ my name in the book of Life, I ſhould ſooner be afraid that it were not ſo, then finde a reaſon why it ſhould be ſo. God made Sun and Moon to diſtinguiſh ſeaſons, and day, and night, and we cannot have the fruits of the earth but in their ſeaſons: But God hath made no decree to diſtinguiſh the ſeaſons of his mercies; In paradiſe, the fruits were ripe, the firſt minute, and in heaven it is alwaies Autumne, his mercies are ever in their maturity. We ask panem quetidianum, our daily bread, and God never ſayes you ſhould have come yeſterday, he never ſayes you muſt againe to morrow, but to day if you will heare his voice, to day he will heare you. If ſome King of the earth have ſo large an extent of Dominion, in North, and South, as that he hath Winter and Summer together in his Dominions, ſo large an extent Eaſt and Weſt, as that he hath day and night together in his Dominions, much more hath God mercy and judgement together: He brought light out of darkneſſe, not out of a leſſer light; he can bring thy Summer out of Winter, though thou have no Spring; though in the wayes of fortune, or underſtanding, or conſcience, thou have been benighted till now, wintred and frozen, clouded and eclypſed, damped and benummed, ſmothered and ſtupified till now, now God comes to thee, not as in the dawning of the day, not as in the bud of the ſpring, but as the Sun at noon to illuſtrate all ſhadowes, as the ſheaves in harveſt, to fill all penuries, all occaſions invite his mercies, and all times are his ſeaſons.
If it were not thus in generall, it would never have been ſo in this particular, in our caſe,Achaz caſe. in the Text, in King Achaz; If God did not ſeeke occaſion to doe good to all, he would never have found occaſion to doe good to King Achaz. Subjects are to look upon the faults of Princes, with the ſpectacles of obedience, and reverence, to their place, and perſons; little and dark ſpectacles, and ſo their faults, and errors are to appeare little, and excuſable to them; Gods perſpective glaſſe, his ſpectacle is the whole world; he looks not upon the Sun, in his ſpheare onelyonly, but as he works upon the whole earth: And he looks upon Kings, not onelyonly what harme they doe at home, but what harme they occaſion abroad; & through that ſpectacle, the faults of Princes, in Gods eye, are multiplyed, farre above thoſe of private men. Achaz had ſuch faults, and yet God ſought occaſion of Mercy. Iotham, his Father, is called a good King, and yet all Idolatry was not removed in his time, and he was a good King, for all that. Achaz is called ill, both becauſe himſelfe ſacrificed Idolatrouſly, (And the King was a commanding perſon) And becauſe he made the Prieſt Vriah to doe ſo, (And the Prieſt was an exemplar perſon) And becauſe he made his Son commit the abominations of the heathen; (And the actions of the Kings Son pierce far in leading others.) Achaz had theſe faults, and yet God fought occaſion of mercy. If the evening skie be red, Mat. 16.2.you promiſe your ſelves a faire day, ſayes Chriſt; you would not doe ſo if the evening were black and cloudy: when you ſee the fields white with corne, you ſay harveſt is ready; Joh. 4.35. Eſay 1.19.you would not doe ſo if they were white with froſt. If ye conſent, and obey, you ſhall eat the good things of the Land, ſayes God in the Prophet; ſhall ye doe ſo if you refuſe, and rebell? Achaz did, and yet God ſought occaſion of mercy. There ariſe diſeaſes for which there is no probatum eſt, in all the bookes of Phyſitians; There is ſcarce any ſin of which we have not had experiments of Gods mercies; He concludes with no ſin, excludes no occaſion, precludes no perſon: And ſo we have done with our firſt part, Gods generall diſpoſition, for the Rule, declared in Achaz caſe for the example.
Our ſecond part conſiſts of a Rule, and an Example too:2 Part. The Rule, That God goes forward in his own wayes, proceeds, as he begun, in mercy; The Example, what his proceeding, what his ſubſequent mercy to Achaz was. One of the moſt convenient Hieroglyphicks of God, is a Circle; and a Circle is endleſſe; whom God loves, hee loves to the end: and not onelyonly to their own end, to their death, but to his end, and his end is, that he might love them ſtill. His haileſtones, and his thunder-bolts, and his ſhowres of bloud (emblemes and inſtruments of his Judgements) fall downe in a direct line, and affect and ſtrike ſome one perſon, or place: His Sun, and Moone, and Starres, (Emblemes and Inſtruments of his Bleſſings) move circularly, and communicate themſelves to all. His Church is his chariot; in that, he moves more gloriouſly, then in the Sun; as much more, as his begotten Son exceeds his created Sun, and his Son of glory, and of his right hand, the Sun of the firmament; and this Church, his chariot, moves in that communicable motion, circularly; It began in the Eaſt, it came to us, and is paſſing now, ſhining out now, in the fartheſt Weſt. As the Sun does not ſet to any Nation, but withdraw it ſelfe, and returne againe; God, in the exerciſe of his mercy, does not ſet to thy ſoule, though he benight it with an affliction. Remember that our Saviour Chriſt himſelfe, in many actions and paſſions of our humane nature, and infirmities, ſmothered that Divinity, and ſuffered it not to worke, but yet it was alwayes in him, and wrought moſt powerfully in the deepeſt danger; when he was abſolutely dead, it raiſed him again: If Chriſt ſlumbred the God-head in himſelfe, The mercy of God may be ſlumbred, it may be hidden from his ſervants, but it cannot be taken away, and in the greateſt neceſſities, it ſhall break out. The Bleſſed Virgin was overſhadowed, but it was with the Holy Ghoſt that overſhadowed her: Thine underſtanding, thy conſcience may be ſo too, and yet it may be the work of the Holy Ghoſt, who moves in thy darkneſſe, and will bring light even out of that, knowledge out of thine ignorance, clearneſſe out of thy ſcruples, and conſolation out of thy Dejection of Spirit. God is thy portion, ſayes David; David does not ſpeak ſo narrowly, ſo penuriouſly, as to ſay, God hath given thee thy portion, and thou muſt look for no more; but, God is thy portion, and as long as he is God, he hath more to give, and as long as thou art his, thou haſt more to receive. Thou canſt not have ſo good a Title, to a ſubſequent bleſſing, as a former bleſſing; where thou art an ancient tenant, thou wilt look to be preferred before a ſtranger; and that is thy title to Gods future mercies, if thou have been formerly accuſtomed to them. The Sun is not weary with ſixe thouſand yeares ſhining; God cannot be weary of doing good; And therefore never ſay, God hath given me theſe and theſe temporall things, and I have ſcattered them waſtfully, ſurely he will give me no more; Theſe and theſe ſpirituall graces, and I have neglected them, abuſed them, ſurely he will give me no more; For, for things created, we have inſtruments to meaſure them; we know the compaſſe of a Meridian, and the depth of a Diameter of the Earth, and we know this, even of the uppermoſt ſpheare in the heavens: But when we come to the Throne of God himſelfe, the Orbe of the Saints, and Angels that ſee his face, and the vertues, and powers that flow from thence, we have no balance to weigh them, no inſtruments to meaſure them, no hearts to conceive them: So, for temporall things, we know the moſt that man can have; for we know all the world; but for Gods mercy, and his ſpirituall graces, as that language in which God ſpake, the Hebrew, hath no ſuperlative, ſo, that which he promiſes, in all that he hath ſpoken, his mercy hath no ſuperlative; he ſhewes no mercy, which you can call his Greateſt Mercy, his Mercy is never at the higheſt; whatſoever he hath done for thy ſoule, or for any other, in applying himſelfe to it, he can exceed that. OnelyOnly he can raiſe a Tower, whoſe top ſhall reach to heaven: The Baſis of the higheſt building is but the Earth; But though thou be but a Tabernacle of Earth, God ſhall raiſe thee peece by peece, into a ſpirituall building; And after one Story of Creation, and another of Vocation, and another of Sanctification, he ſhall bring thee up, to meet thy ſelfe, in the boſome of thy God, where thou waſt at firſt, in an eternall election: God is a circle himſelfe, and he will make thee one; Goe not thou about to ſquare eyther circle, to bring that which is equall in it ſelfe, to Angles, and Corners, into dark and ſad ſuſpicions of God, or of thy ſelfe, that God can give, or that thou canſt receive no more Mercy, then thou haſt had already.
This then is the courſe of Gods mercy,Signum. He proceeds as he begun, which was the firſt branch of this ſecond part; It is alwayes in motion, and alwayes moving towards All, alwaies perpendicular, right over every one of us, and alwayes circular, alwayes communicable to all; And then the particular beame of this Mercy, ſhed upon Achaz here in our Text, is, Dabit ſignum, The Lord ſhall give you a ſigne. It is a great Degree of Mercy, that he affords us ſignes. A naturall man is not made of Reaſon alone, but of Reaſon, and Senſe: A Regenerate man is not made of Faith alone, but of Faith and Reaſon; and Signes, externall things, aſſiſt us all.
In the Creation, it was part of the office of the Sunne and Moone, to be ſignificative; he created them for ſignes, as well as for ſeaſons: hee directed the Jews to Chriſt, by ſignes, by ſacrifices, and Sacraments, and ceremonies; and he entertaines us with Chriſt, by the ſame meanes to; we know where to finde Chriſt; In his Houſe, in his Church; And we know at what ſigne he dwels; where the Word is rightly Preached, and the Sacraments duly adminiſtred.Calvin. It is truly, and wiſely ſaid, Sic habenda fides verbo Dei, ut ſubſidia minimè contemnamus; We muſt ſo farre ſatisfie our ſelves, with the word of God, as that we deſpiſe not thoſe other ſubſidiary helps, which God in his Church hath afforded us: which is true (as of Sacraments eſpecially) ſo of other Sacramentall, and Rituall, and Ceremoniall things, which aſſiſt the working of the Sacraments, though they infuſe no power into the Sacraments. For, therefore does the Prophet ſay,V. 13. when Achaz refuſed a ſigne, Is it a ſmall thing to weary (or diſobey) men, but that you will weary (diſobey) God himſelfe? He diſobeyes God, in the way of contumacy, who refuſes his ſignes, his outward aſſiſtances, his ceremonies which are induced by his authority, derived from him, upon men, in his Church, and ſo made a part, or a help, of his ordinary ſervice, as Sacraments, and Sacramentall things are.
There are ſignes of another ſort, not fixed by Gods Ordinance, but ſignes which particular men, have ſometimes deſired at Gods hand, for a farther manifeſtation of Gods will, in which, it is not, otherwiſe, already fully manifeſted, and revealed. For, to ſeeke ſuch ſignes, in things which are ſufficiently declared by God, or to ſeeke them, with a reſolution, That I will leave a duty undone, except I receive a ſigne, this is to tempt God, and to ſeeke a way to excuſe my ſelfe, for not doing that, which I was bound to doe, by the ſtrength of an old commandement, and ought not to look for a new ſigne. But the greateſt fault in this kinde, is, that if God, of his abundant goodneſſe, doe give me a ſigne, for my clearer directions, and I reſiſt that ſigne, I diſpute againſt that ſigne, I turne it another way, upon nature, upon fortune, upon miſtaking, that ſo I may goe mine owne way, and not be bound, by beleeving that ſigne to be from God, to goe that way, to which God by that ſigne calls me. And this was Achaz caſe; God ſpoke unto him, and ſaid,V. 11. Aske a ſigne (that he would deliver him, from the enemy, that beſieged Jeruſalem) and he ſaid, I will not aske a ſigne, nor tempt God; For, though St. Auguſtine, and ſome with him, aſcribe this refuſall of Achaz, to a religious modeſty, yet St. Hierome, and with him, the greateſt party, juſtly impute this, for a fault to Achaz: both becauſe the ſigne was offered him from God, and not ſought by himſelfe, (which is the caſe that is moſt ſubject to errour) And becauſe the Prophet, who underſtood Gods minde, and the Kings minde to, takes knowledge of it, as of a great fault, In this, thou haſt contemned, and wearyed, not Man but God. For, though there be but a few caſes, in which we may put God to give a ſigne, (for Chriſt calls the Phariſees an evill, and an adulterous generation, therefore,Mat. 12.39. Exod. 4. becauſe they ſought a ſigne) yet God gave Moſes a ſigne, of a Rod changed into a Serpent, and a ſigne of good fleſh changed into leprous, and leprous into good, unasked: And after, Abraham askes a ſigne, whereby ſhall I know, that I ſhall inherit the land?Gen. 15.8. Jud. 6.36. and God gave him a ſigne. So Gideon, in a modeſt timorouſneſſe askes a ſigne, and preſſes God to a ſecond ſigne: Firſt, he would have all the dew upon the fleece, and then, none of the dew upon the fleece. God does give ſignes, and when he does ſo, he gives alſo irradiations, illuſtrations of the underſtanding, that they may be diſcerned to be his ſignes; and when they are ſo, it is but a pretended modeſty, to ſay, we will not tempt God to ask a ſign, we will not trouble God to tell us whether this be a ſign or no, but againſt all ſignifications from God, goe on, as though all were but naturall accidents.
God gives ſignes rectè petentibus, to them that aske them upon due grounds, (ſo to Abraham, ſo to Gideon) And it is too long for this time, to put caſes, when a man may or may not put God to a ſigne; He gives ſignes alſo Non petentibus, without being asked, to illuſtrate the caſe, and to confirme the perſon, and ſo he did to Moſes. Both theſe are high expreſſions of his mercy; for what binds God, to begin with man, and give him a ſigne before he aske; or to waite upon man, and give it him, when he askes? But the higheſt of all, is, to perſever in his mercy ſo far, as to give a ſigne, though upon the offer thereof, it be refuſed; And that is Achaz caſe: Aske ye, ſays God, And, I will not, ſays Achaz, and then, It is not Quamvis, for all that, though thou refuſe, but it is Propterea, Therefore, becauſe thou refuſeſt, The Lord himſelfe ſhall give thee a ſigne. His fault is carried thus high: Becauſe he had treaſure to pay an army, becauſe he had contracted with the Aſſyrians to aſſiſt him with men, therefore he refuſes the aſſiſtance offerd by the Prophet from God, and would faine goe his owne wayes, and yet would have a religious pretext, He will not tempt God. Nay his fault is carried thus much higher, That which we read, Non tentabo, I will not tempt, is in the Originall, Naſas; and Naſas is non Extollam, non glorificabo, I will not glorifie God ſo much, that is, I will not be beholden to God for this victory, I will not take him into the league for this action, I will do it of my ſelfe: And yet, (and then, who ſhall doubt of the largeneſſe of Gods mercy?) God proceeds in his purpoſe: Aske a ſigne, will ye not? Therefore the Lord ſhall give you a ſigne: Becauſe you will doe nothing for your ſelfe, the Lord ſhall doe all; which is ſo tranſcendent a mercy, as that, howſoever God afforded it to Achaz here, we can promiſe it to no man hereafter.
We are come to our third part,3. Part. which is more peculiar to this Day: It is, firſt, what the ſigne is in generall, And then, ſome more particular circumſtances, Behold a Virgin ſhall conceive, &c. In generall then, the ſigne that God gives Achaz and his company, is, That there ſhall bee a Meſſias, a Redeemer given. Now, how is this future thing, (There ſhall be a Meſſias) a ſigne of their preſent deliverance from that ſiege? Firſt, In the notion of the Prophet, it was not a future thing; for, as in Gods owne ſight, ſo in their ſight,Eſay 3.6. to whom he opens himſelfe, future things are preſent. So this Prophet ſays, Puer datus, filius natus, unto us a child is borne, unto us a Son is given: He was not given, he was not borne in ſix hundred yeares after that; but ſuch is the cleareneſſe of a Prophets ſight, ſuch is the infallibility of Gods declared purpoſe. So then, if the Prophet could have made the King beleeve, with ſuch an aſſuredneſſe, as if he had ſeene it done, that God would give a deliverance, to all mankinde, by a Meſſias, that had beene ſigne enough, evidence enough to have argued thereupon, That God who had done ſo much a greater worke, would alſo give him a deliverance from that enemy, that preſſed him then: If I can fixe my ſelfe, with the ſtrength of faith, upon that which God hath done for man; I cannot doubt of his mercy, in any diſtreſſe: If I lacke a ſigne, I ſeeke no other but this, That God was made man for me; which the Church and Church-writers, have well expreſſed by the word Incarnation, for that acknowledges, and denotes, that God was made my fleſh: It were not ſo ſtrange, that he who is ſpirit, ſhould be made my ſpirit, my ſoule, but he was made my fleſh: Therefore have the Fathers delighted themſelves, in the variation of that word; ſo far, as that Hilarie cals it Corporationem, That God aſſumed my Body; And Damaſcen cals it Inhumanationem, That God became this man, ſoule and body; And Irenaeus cals it Adunationem, and Nyſen Contemperationem, A mingling, ſays one, an uniting, ſaies the other, of two, of God and man, in one perſon. Shall I aske, what needs all this? what needed God to have put himſelfe to this? I may ſay with S. Auguſtine, Alio modo poterat Deus nos liberare, ſed ſi aliter faceret, ſimiliter veſtrae ſtultitiae diſpliceret: What other way ſoever God had taken for our ſalvation, our curioſity would no more have beene ſatisfied in that way, than in this: But God having choſen the way of Redemption, which was the way of Juſtice, God could do no otherwiſe: Si homo non viciſſet inimicum hominis, non juſtè victus eſſet inimicus, ſaies Irenaeus; As, if a man ſhould get a battaile by the power of the Devill, without fighting, this were not a juſt victory; ſo, if God, in mans behalfe, had conquered the devill, without man, without dying, it had not beene a juſt conqueſt. I muſt not aske why God tooke this way, to Incarnate his Son; And ſhall I aske how this was done? I doe not aske how Rheubarb, or how Aloes came by this, or this vertue, to purge this, or this humour in my body: In talibus rebus, tota ratio facti, eſt potentia facientis: Even in naturall things, all the reaſon of all that is done,Auguſt. is the power, and the will of him, who infuſed that vertue into that creature. And therefore much more, when we come to theſe ſupernaturall points, ſuch as this birth of Chriſt, we embrace S. Baſils modeſty, and abſtinence, Nativitas iſta ſilentio honoretur, This myſterie is not ſo well celebrated, with our words, and diſcourſe, as with a holy ſilence, and meditation: Immo potius ne cogitationibus permittatur, Nay, (ſaies that Father) there may be danger in giving our ſelves leave, to thinke or ſtudy too much of it. Ne dixer is quando, ſaies he, praeteri hanc interrogationem: Aske not thy ſelfe overcuriouſly, when this myſtery was accompliſhed; be not over-vehement, over-peremptory, (ſo far, as to the perplexing of thine owne reaſon and underſtanding, or ſo far, as to the deſpiſing of the reaſons of other men) in calculating the time, the day or houre of this nativity: Praeteri hanc interrogationem, paſſe over this queſtion, in good time, and with convenient ſatisfaction, Quando, when Chriſt was borne; But noli inquirere Quomodo, (ſaies S. Baſil ſtill) never come to that queſtion, how it was done, cum ad hoc nihil ſit quod reſponderi poſſit, for God hath given us no faculties to comprehend it, no way to anſwer it. That's enough, which we have in S. Iohn, Every ſpirit, that confeſſes, that Ieſus is come in the fleſh, is of God: 1 Ioh. 4.2.for, ſince it was a comming of Ieſus, Ieſus was before; ſo he was God; and ſince he came in the fleſh, hee is now made man; And, that God and Man, are ſo met, is a ſigne to mee, that God, and I, ſhall never bee parted.
This is the ſigne in generall; That God hath had ſuch a care of all men,Virgo. is a ſigne to me, That he hath a care of me: But then there are ſignes of this ſigne; Divers; All theſe; A Virgin ſhall conceive, A Virgin ſhall bring forth, Bring forth a Son, And (whatſoever have been propheſied before) ſhe ſhall call his name Immanuel.
Firſt, a Virgin ſhall be a mother, which is a very particular ſigne, and was ſeene but once. That which Gellius, and Plinie ſay, that a Virgin had a child, almoſt 200. yeares before Chriſt, that which Genebrard ſaies, that the like fell out in France, in his time, are not within our faith, and they are without our reaſon; our faith ſtoopes not downe to them, and our Reaſon reaches not up to them; of this Virgin in our text, If that be true, which Aquinas cites out of the Roman ſtory, that in the times of Conſtantine and Irene, upon a dead body found in a ſepulchre, there was found this inſcription, in a plate of gold, Chriſtus naſcetur ex Virgine, & ego credo in eum, Chriſt ſhall be borne of a Virgin, and I beleeve in that Chriſt, with this addition, in that inſcription, O Sol, ſub Irenae, & Conſtantini temporibus, iterum me videbis, Though I be now buried from the ſight of the ſun, yet in Conſtantines time, the ſun ſhall ſee me againe; If this be true, yet our ground is not upon ſuch teſtimonie; If God had not ſaid it, I would never have beleeved it. And therefore I muſt have leave to doubt of that which ſome of the Roman Caſuiſts have delivered, That a Virgin may continue a virgin upon earth, and receive the particular dignity of a Virgin in Heaven, and yet have a child, by the inſinuation and practiſe of the Devill; ſo that there ſhall be a father, and a mother, and yet both they Virgins. That this Mother, in our text, was a Virgin, is a peculiar, a ſingular ſigne, given, as ſuch, by God; never done but then; and it is a ſingular teſtimony, how acceptable to God, that ſtate of virginity is; Hee does not diſhonour phyſick, that magnifies health; nor does hee diſhonour marriage, that praiſes Virginity; let them embrace that ſtate, that can; and certainly, many more might doe it, then do, if they would try whether they could, or no; and if they would follow S. Cyprians way, Virgo non tantum eſſe, ſed & intelligi eſſe debet, & credi: It is not enough for a virgin to bee a virgin in her owne knowledge, but ſhe muſt governe her ſelfe ſo, as that others may ſee, that ſhe is one, and ſee, that ſhee hath a deſire, and a diſpoſition, to continue ſo ſtill; Ita, ut nemo, cum virginem viderit, dubitet an ſit virgo, ſaies that Father, She muſt appeare in ſuch garments, in ſuch language, and in ſuch motions, (for, as a wife may weare other clothes, ſo ſhe may ſpeake other words, then a virgin may do) as they that ſee her, may not queſtion, nor diſpute, whether ſhe be a maid or no. The word in the Text, is derived à latendo, from retiring, from privateneſſe: And Tertullian, who makes the note, notes withall, that Ipſa concupiſcentia non latendi, non eſt pudica, The very concupiſcence of converſation, and viſits, is not chaſte: Studium placendi, publicatione ſui, periclitatur, ſaies the ſame Author: Curious dreſſings are for publique eyes; and the Virgin that deſires to publiſh her ſelfe, is weary of that ſtate: It is uſefully added by him, Dum percutitur oculis alienis, frons duratur, & pudor teritur, the eyes of others, that ſtrike upon her, (if ſhe be willing to ſtand out that battery) dry up that blood, that ſhould bluſh, and weare out that chaſtity, which ſhould be preſerved. So precious is virginity in Gods eye, as that hee lookes upon that, with a more jealous eye, than upon other ſtates.
This bleſſed Mother of God, in our text, was a Virgin: when? Virgo concipiet, Contepit.ſaies our Text, A Virgin ſhall conceive, when ſhe conceived, ſhe was a Virgin. There are three Hereſies; all noted by S. Auguſtine that impeach the virginity of this moſt bleſſed Woman: The Cerinthians ſaid ſhe conceived by ordinary generation; Iovinian ſaid, ſhe was delivered by ordinary meanes; And Helvidius ſaid, ſhe had children after: All againſt all the world beſides themſelves, and againſt one another. For the firſt, that is enough which S. Baſil ſayes, that if the word Virgin in our text ſignified no more but adoleſcentulam, a yong woman (as they pretend) it had been an impertinent, an abſurd thing for the Prophet to have made that a ſign, and a wonder, that a yong woman ſhould have a childe. This is enough, but that is abundantly enough, that S. Matthew, who ſpoke with the ſame ſpirit that Eſay did, ſayes in a word, which can admit no miſ-interpretation, That that was fulfilled which Eſay had ſaid, A Virgin ſhall conceive; Mat. 1.23.S. Matthews word without queſtion, is a Virgin, and not a yong woman, and S. Matthew took Eſaies word to be ſo too; and S. Matthew (at leaſt he that ſpake in S. Matthew) did not, could not miſtake, and miſtake himſelf, for it was one and the ſame Holy Ghoſt that ſpake both.Pſ. 21. Chriſt ſayes therefore of himſelf, vermis ſum, I am a worm, but ſayes S. Ambroſe, vermis de Manna, a worm out of a pure ſubſtance, a holy Man, from a bleſſed Virgin; Virgo concepit, ſhe was a Virgin then, then when ſhe had conceived.
She was ſo to,In partu. In partu, then when ſhe was delivered; Iovinian denied that: A better then he (Tertullian) denied it: Virgo quantum à viro, non quantum à partu, ſays he, ſhe was ſuch a Virgin as knew no man, not ſuch a Virgin as needed no midwife: Virgo concepit, ſayes he, in partu nupſit, a Virgin in her conception, but a wife in the deliverance of her Son. Let that be wrapped up amongſt Tertullians errors, he had many; The text cleares it, A virgin ſhall conceive, a virgin ſhall beare a Son: The Apoſtles Creed cleares it, ſayes S. Auguſt: when it ſayes, Born of the Virgin Mary; and S. Ambroſe cleares it, when hee ſays, with ſuch indignation, De via iniquitat is produntur dicere, virgo cōcepit, ſed non virgo generavit, It is ſaid, that there are ſome men ſo impious, as to deny that ſhe remained a Virgin at the birth of her Son: S. Ambroſe wondred there ſhould be, ſcarce beleeved it to be any other then a rumour, or a ſlander, that there could be any ſo impious, as to deny that:Cramerus. And yet there have beene ſome ſo impious, as to charge Calvin, with that impiety, with denying her to be a Virgin then; It is true, he makes it not a matter of faith, to defend her perpetuall virginity; but that's not this caſe, of her Virginity in her Deliverance: And even of that, (of her perpetuall virginity) he ſaies thus, Nemo unquam quaeſtionem movebit, niſi curiofus, nemo pertinaciter inſiſtet, niſi contentioſus rixator; He is over-curious, that will make any doubt of it; but no man will perſiſt in the denyall of it, but a contentious wrangler; And in that very point, S. Baſil ſaies fully as much, as Calvin. But, at his birth, and after his birth, there is evidence enough in this text, A Virgin ſhall conceive, A Virgin ſhall bring forth, A Virgin ſhall call him Immanuel, In all thoſe future, and ſubſequent Acts, ſtill it is the ſame perſon, and in the ſame condition.
Pariet, Filium.& pariet filium, She ſhall bring forth a Son; If a Son, then of the ſubſtance of his Mother; that the Anabaptiſts deny; But had it not beene ſo, Chriſt had not beene true Man, and then, man were yet unredeemed. He is her Son, but not her ward; his Father cannot dye: Her Son, but yet he asked her no leave, to ſtay at Jeruſalem, nor to diſpute with the Doctors, nor to goe about his Fathers worke: His ſetling of Religion, his governing the Church, his diſpenſing of his graces, is not by warrant from her: They that call upon the Biſhop of Rome, in that voyce, Impera Regibus, command Kings and Emperors, admit of that voyce, Imperafilio, to her, that ſhe ſhould command her Sonno. The naturall obedience of children to Parents, holds not in ſuch civill things, as are publique; A woman may be a Queen-Dowager, and yet a ſubject; The bleſſed Virgin Mary may be in a high ranke,Luk. 1.28. and yet no Soveraigne; Bleſſed art thou amongst women, ſaies the Angell to her; Amongſt women, above women; but not above any perſon of the Trinity, that ſhe ſhould command her Son. Luther was awake, and riſen, but he was not readie; Hee had ſeene light, and looked toward it, but yet ſaw not ſo clearely by it, then, when he ſaid, That the bleſſed Virgin was of a middle condition, betweene Chriſt, and man; that man hath his conception, and his quickning (by the infuſion of the ſoule) in originall ſin; that Chriſt had it in neither, no ſin in his conception, none in his inanimation, in the infuſion of his ſoule; But, ſaies Luther, howſoever it were at the conception, certainly at the inanimation, at the quickning, ſhe was preſerved from originall ſin. Now, what needs this? may I not ſay, that I had rather be redeemed by Chriſt Jeſus then bee innocent? rather be beholden to Chriſts death, for my ſalvation, then to Adams ſtanding in his innocencie. Epiphanius ſaid enough, Par detrimentum afferunt religioni, they hurt Religion as much, that aſcribe too little, to the bleſſed Virgin, as they who aſcribe too much; much is due to her, and this amongſt the reſt, That ſhe had ſo cleare notions, above all others, what kind of perſon, her Son was, that as Adam gave names, according to natures, ſo the Prophet here leaves it to her, to name her Son, according to his office, She ſhall call his name Immanuel.
Wee told you at firſt,Immanuel. that both Ioſeph and Mary, were told by the Angel, that his name was to be Jeſus, and we told you alſo, that others, beſides him, had beene called by that name of Jeſus: but, as, though others were called Jeſus, (for Ioſuah is called ſo, Heb. 4.8. If Ieſus had given them reſt; that is, If Ioſuah had &c. And the ſon of Ioſedech is called ſo, throughout the Prophet Aggai) yet there is obſerved a difference in the pointing, and founding of thoſe names, from this our Jeſus: ſo though other women were called Mary, as well as the bleſſed Virgin, yet the Euangeliſts, evermore make a difference, betweene her name, and the other Maries; for Her they call Mariam, and the reſt Maria. Now this Jeſus, in this perſon, is a reall, an actuall Saviour, he that hath already really, and actually accompliſhed our ſalvation; But the bleſſed Virgin had a clearer illuſtration, then all that; for ſhe onelyonly knew, or ſhe knew beſt, the capacity, in which he could be a Saviour, that is, as he is Immanuel, God with us; for ſhe, and ſhe onelyonly knew, that he was the Sonne of God, and not of naturall generation by man. How much is enwrapped in this name Immanuel, and how little time to unfold it? I am afraid none at all; A minute will ſerve to repeate that which S. Bernard ſaies, and a day, a life will not ſerve to comprehend it; (for to comprehend is not to know a thing, as far as I can know it, but to know it as far, as that thing can be knowne; and ſo onelyonly God, can comprehend God.) Immanuel eſt verbuminfans, ſaies the Father; He is the ancient of daies, and yet in minority; he is the Word it ſelfe, and yet ſpeechleſſe; he that is All, that all the Prophets ſpoke of, cannot ſpeake: He addes more, He is Puer ſapiens, but a child, and yet wiſer then the elders, wiſer in the Cradle, then they in the Chaire: Hee is more, Deus lactens, God, at whoſe breaſts all creatures ſuck, ſucking at his Mothers breaſt, and ſuch a Mother, as is a maid. Immanuel is God with us; it is not we with God: God ſeeks us, comes to us, before wee to him: And it is God with us, in that notion, in that termination, El, which is Deus fortis, The powerfull God; not onelyonly i… infirmity, as when hee died in our nature, but as he is Deus fortis, able and ready to aſſiſt, and deliver us, in all encumbrances; ſo he is with us; And with us, uſque ad conſummationem, till the end of the world, in his Word, and in the Sacraments: for, though I may not ſay, as ſome have ſaid, That by the word of Conſecration,Cornelius. in the adminiſtration of the Sacrament, Chriſt is ſo infallibly produced, as that, if Chriſt had never been incarnate before, yet, at the pronouncing of thoſe words of conſecration, he muſt neceſſarily be incarnate then, yet I may ſay, that God is as effectually preſent, with every worthy receiver, as that hee is not more effectually preſent with the Saints in Heaven.
And this is that, which is intimated in that word, which we ſepoſed at firſt,Ecce. for the laſt of all, Ecce, Behold; Behold, a Virgin ſhall conceive &c. God does not furniſh a roome, and leave it darke; he ſets up lights in it; his firſt care was, that his benefits ſhould be ſeene; he made light firſt, and then creatures, to be ſeene by that light: He ſheds himſelfe from my mouth, upon the whole auditory here; he powres himſelfe from my hand, to all the Communicants at the table; I can ſay to you all here, The grace of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt be with you, and remaine with you all; I can ſay to them all there, The Body of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt which was given for you, preſerve you to everlaſting life: I can bring it ſo neare; but onelyonly the worthy hearer, and the worthy receiver, can call this Lord, this Jeſus, this Chriſt, Immanuel, God with us; onelyonly that Virgin ſoule, devirginated in the blood of Adam, but reſtored in the blood of the Lambe, hath this Ecce, this teſtimony, this aſſurance, that God is with him; they that have this Ecce, this teſtimony, in a rectified conſcience, are Godfathers to this child Jeſus, and may call him Immanuel, God with us; for, as no man can deceive God, ſo God can deceive no man; God cannot live in the darke himſelfe, neither can he leave thoſe, who are his, in the darke: If he be with thee, he will make thee ſee, that he is with thee; and never goe out of thy ſight, till he have brought thee, where thou canſt never goe out of his.