Eighty Sermons, miscellaneous · Sermon 79
SERM. LXXIX. Preached at S. PAULS.
PSAL. 90.14.
O ſatisfie us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoyce and be glad all our dayes.
THey have made a Rule in the Councel of Trent, that no Scripture ſhall be expounded, but according to the unanime conſent of the Fathers: But in this Book of the Pſalms, it would trouble them to give many examples of that Rule, that is, of an unanime conſent of the Fathers, in the interpretation thereof. In this Pſalme, Bellarmine in his Expoſition of the Pſalms, finds himſelfe perplexed; He ſayes (and ſayes truly) Hieronymus conſtanter affirmat, Auguſtinus conſtanter negat, S. Hierome doth confidently and conſtantly affirme, and S. Auguſtine with as much confidence, and conſtancy deny, that this Pſalme, and all that follow to the hundredth Pſalme, are Moſes Pſalms, and written by him. And this diverſe conſtancy in theſe two Fathers, S. Hierome and S. Auguſtine, ſhake the conſtancy of that Canon, which binds to a following of an unanime conſent, for that cannot be found. Bellarmine expedites himſelfe herein, that way, which is indeed their moſt ordinary way amongſt their Expoſitors, which is, where the Fathers differ, to adhere to S. Auguſtine. So he doth in this point; though moſt of the Ancients of the Chriſtian Church, moſt of the Rabbins of the Jews, moſt of the Writers in the Reformation, take it to be Moſes Pſalme, and that way runs the greateſt ſtreame, and neareſt to a concurrence. And thus far I have ſtopped upon this conſideration, Whether this be Moſes Pſalme or no, That when it appeares to be his Pſalme, and that we ſee, that in the tenth verſe of this Pſalm, mans life is limited to ſeventy years, or at moſt to eighty, and then remember, that Moſes himſelfe, then when he ſaid ſo, was above eighty, and in a good habitude long after that, we might hereby take occaſion to conſider, that God does not ſo limit, and meaſure himſelfe in his bleſſings to his ſervants, but that for their good and his glory he enlarges thoſe meaſures. God hath determined a day, from Sun to Sun, yet when God hath uſe of a longer day, for his glory, he commands the Sun to ſtand ſtill, till Ioſhua have purſued his victory. So God hath given the life of man, into the hand of ſickneſſe; and yet for all that deadly ſickneſſe, God enlarges Hezekiah's years: Moſes was more then foureſcore, when he told us, that our longeſt terme was foureſcore.
If we require exactly an unanime conſent, that all agree in the Author of this Pſalme, we can get no farther, then that the holy Ghoſt is the Author. All agree the words to be Canonicall Scripture, and ſo from the holy Ghoſt; and we ſeek no farther. The words are his, and they offer us theſe conſiderations; Firſt, That the whole Pſalme being in the Title thereof called a Prayer, A Prayer of Moſes the man of God, it puts us juſtly, and pertinently upon the conſideration of the many dignities and prerogatives of that part of our worſhip of God, Prayer; for there we ſhall ſee, That though the whole Pſal me be not a Prayer, yet becauſe there is a Prayer in the Pſalme, that denominates the whole Pſalme, the whole Pſalme is a Prayer. When the Pſalm grows formally to be a Prayer, our Text enters, O ſatisfie us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoyce and be glad all our dayes: And in that there will be two Parts more, The Prayer it ſelfe, O ſatiſfie us early with thy mercy, And the effect thereof, That we may rejoyce and be glad all our dayes. So that our Parts are three; Firſt Prayer, Then this Prayer, And laſtly the benefit of all Prayer.
For the firſt, which is Prayer in generall,1 Part. Prayer. I will thruſt no farther then the Text leads me in, that is, That Prayer is ſo eſſentiall a part of Gods worſhip, as that all is called Prayer. S. Hierome upon this Pſalme ſayes, Difficillimum Pſalmum aggredior, I undertake the expoſition of a very hard Pſalme, and yet, ſayes he, I would proceed ſo in the expoſition thereof, ut interpretatio noſtra aliena non egeat interpretatione, That there ſhould not need another Comment upon my Comment, that when I pretend to interpret the Pſalme, they that heare me, ſhould not need another to interpret me: which is a frequent infirmity amongſt Expoſitors of Scriptures, by writing, or preaching, either when men will raiſe doubts in places of Scripture, which are plaine enough in themſelves, (for this creates a jealouſie, that if the Scriptures be every where ſo difficult, they cannot be our evidences, and guides to ſalvation) Or when men will inſiſt too vehemently, and curiouſly, and tediouſly in proving of ſuch things as no man denies; for this alſo induces a ſuſpition, that that is not ſo abſolutely, ſo undeniably true, that needs ſo much art, and curioſity, and vehemence to prove it. I ſhall therefore avoid theſe errors; and becauſe I preſume you are full of an acknowledgment of the duties, and dignities of Prayer, onelyonly remember you of thus much of the method, or elements of Prayer, That whereas the whole Book of Pſalms is called Sepher Tehillim, that is, Liber Laudationum, The Book of Praiſe, yet this Pſalme, and all that follow to the hundredth Pſalme, and divers others beſides theſe, (which make up a faire limme of this body, and a conſiderable part of the Book) are called Prayers; The Book is Praiſe, the parts are Prayer. The name changes not the nature; Prayer and Praiſe is the ſame thing: The name ſcarce changes the name; Prayer and Praiſe is almoſt the ſame word; As the duties agree in the heart and mouth of a man, ſo the names agree in our eares; and not onelyonly in the language of our Tranſlation, but in the language of the holy Ghoſt himſelfe, for that which with us differs but ſo, Prayer, and Praiſe, in the Originall differs no more then ſo, Tehillim, and Tephilloth.
And this concurrence of theſe two parts of our devotion, Prayer and Praiſe, that they accompany one another, nay this co-incidence, that they meet like two waters, and make the ſtreame of devotion the fuller; nay more then that, this identity, that they doe not onelyonly conſiſt together, but conſtitute one another, is happily expreſſed in this part of the Prayer, which is our Text; for that which in the Originall language is expreſſed in the voice of Prayer, O ſatisfie us, &c. in the firſt Tranſlation, that of the Septuagint, is expreſſed in the voice of praiſe, Saturaſti, Thou haſt ſatisfied us; The Original makes it a Prayer, the Tranſlation a Praiſe. And not to compare Original with Tranſlation, but Tranſlation with Tranſlation, and both from one man, we have in S. Hieroms works two Tranſlations of the Pſalmes; one, in which he gives us the Pſalmes alone; another, in which he gives them illuſtrated with his notes and Commentaries. And in one of theſe Tranſlations he reads this as a Prayer, Reple nos, O fill us early with thy merciemercy, and in the other he reads it as a Praiſe, Repleti ſumus, Thou haſt filled us, &c. Nay, not to compare Originall with Tranſlation, nor Tranſlation with Tranſlation, but Originall with Originall, the holy Ghoſt with himſelfe, In the Title of this Pſalme, (and the Titles of the Pſalms are Canonicall Scripture) the holy Ghoſt calls this Pſalme a Prayer, and yet enters the Pſalme, in the very firſt verſe thereof, with praiſe and thankſgiving, Lord, thou haſt been our dwelling place in all generations. And ſuch is the conſtitution and frame of that Prayer of Prayers, That which is the extraction of all prayers, and draws into a ſumme all that is in all others, That which is the infuſion into all others, ſheds and ſhowres whatſoever is acceptable to God, in any other prayer, That Prayer which our Saviour gave us, (for as he meant to give us all for asking, ſo he meant to give us the words by which we ſhould ask) As that Prayer conſiſts of ſeven petitions, and ſeven is infinite, ſo by being at firſt begun with glory and acknowledgement of his raigning in heaven, and then ſhut up in the ſame manner, with acclamations of power and glory, it is made a circle of praiſe, and a circle is infinite too, The Prayer, and the Praiſe is equally infinite. Infinitely poore and needy man, that ever needſt infinite things to pray for; Infinitely rich and abundant man, that ever haſt infinite bleſſings to praiſe God for.
Gods houſe in this world is called the houſe of Prayer; but in heaven it is the houſe of Praiſe: No ſurpriſall with any new neceſſities there, but one even, inceſſant, and everlaſting tenor of thankſgiving; And it is a bleſſed inchoation of that ſtate here, here to be continually exerciſed in the commemoration of Gods former goodneſſe towards us. My voyce ſhalt thou heare in the morning, Pſal. 5.3. Pſal. 55.17.O Lord, ſayes David. What voice? the voice of his prayer; it is true; In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, ſaies David there. And not only then, but at noone and at night he vowes that Sacrifice; Evening and morning, and at noone will I pray, and cry unto thee. But Davids devotion began not, when his prayers began; one part of his devotion was before morning;Pſal. 119.62. At midnight will I riſe, to give thanks unto thee O Lord, ſayes he. Doubtleſſe when he lay downe and cloſed his eyes, he had made up his account with God, and had received his Quietus eſt then: And then the firſt thing that he does when he wakes againe, is not to importune God for more, but to bleſſe God for his former bleſſings. And as this part of his devotion, Praiſe, began all, ſo it paſſes through all, I will bleſſe the Lord at all times, Pſal. 34.11.and his praiſe ſhall be continually in my mouth. He extends it through all times, and all places, and would faine do ſo through all perſons too, as we ſee by that adprecation which is ſo frequent with him, O that men would therefore praiſe the Lord, and declare the wondrous workes that he doth for the children of men!
If we compare theſe two incomparable duties, Prayer, and Praiſe, it will ſtand thus, Our Prayers beſiege God, (as Tertullian ſpeakes, eſpecially of publique Prayer in the Congregation, Agmine facto obſidemus Deum) but our praiſes preſcribe in God, we urge him, and preſſe him with his ancient mercies, his mercies of old: By Prayer we incline him, we bend him, but by Praiſe we bind him; our thanks for former benefits, is a producing of a ſpecialty, by which he hath contracted with us for more. In Prayer we ſue to him, but in our Praiſe we ſue him himſelfe; Prayer is as our petition, but Praiſe is as our Evidence; In that we beg, in this we plead. God hath no law upon himſelfe, but yet God himſelfe proceeds by precedent: And whenſoever we preſent to him with thankſgiving, what he hath done, he does the ſame, and more againe. Neither certainly can the Church inſtitute any prayers, more effectuall for the preſervation of Religion, or of the State, then the Collects for our deliverances, in the like caſes before: And when he heares them, though they have the nature of Praiſe onelyonly, yet he tranſlates them into Prayers, and when we our ſelves know not, how much we ſtand in need of new deliverances, he delivers us from dangers which we never ſuſpected, from Armies and Navies which we never knew were prepared, and from plots and machinations which we never knew were brought into Conſultation, and diverts their forces, and diſſipates their counſels with an untimely abortion. And farther I extend not this firſt part of Prayer in generall, in which, to that which you may have heard often, and uſefully of the duty and dignity of Prayer, I have only added this, of the method and elements thereof, that prayer conſiſts as much of praiſe for the paſt, as of ſupplication for the future.
We paſſe now to our ſecond Part, To this particular Prayer,2 Part. and thoſe limmes that make up this body, thoſe pieces that conſtitute this Part. They are many; as many as words in it: Satisfie, and ſatisfie VsUs, and doe that early, and doe that with that which is thine, and let that be mercy. So that firſt it is a prayer for fulneſſe and ſatisfaction, Satura, ſatisfie; And then it is a prayer not onelyonly of appropriation to our ſelves, Satisfie me, But of a charitable dilatation and extenſion to others, Satisfie us, all us, all thy ſervants, all thy Church; And then thirdly, it is a prayer of diſpatch and expedition, Satura nos mane, Satisfie us early; and after that, it is a prayer of evidence and manifeſtation, Satisfie us with that which is, and which we may diſcerne to be thine; And then laſtly, it is a prayer of limitation even upon God himſelfe, that God will take no other way herein, but the way of mercy, Satisfie us early with thy mercy.
And becauſe theſe are the land-markes that muſt guide you in this voyage, and the places to which you muſt reſort to aſſiſt your memory, be pleaſed to take another ſurvay and impreſſion of them. I may have an apprehenſion of a conditionall promiſe of God, and I may have ſome faire credulity and teſtimony of conſcience, of an endeavour to performe thoſe conditions, and ſo ſome inchoations of thoſes promiſes, but yet this is not a fulneſſe, a ſatisfaction, and this is a prayer for that, Satura, ſatisfie: I may have a full meaſure in my ſelfe, finde no want of temporall conveniencies, or ſpirituall conſolation even in inconveniencies, and ſo hold up a holy alacrity and cheerefulneſſe for all concerning my ſelfe, and yet ſee God abandon greater perſons, and deſert ſome whole Churches, and States, upon whom his glory and Goſpel depends much more then upon me, but this is a prayer of charitable extenſion, Satura nos, not me, but us, all us that profeſſe thee aright: This alſo I may be ſure that God will doe at laſt, he will reſcue his owne honour in reſcuing or eſtabliſhing his Servants, he will bring Iſrael out of Egypt, and out of Babylon, but yet his Iſrael may lye long under the ſcourge and ſcorne of his and their enemies, 300. yeares before they get out of Egypt, ſeventy yeares before they get out of Babylon, and ſo fall into tentations of conceiving a jealouſie, and ſuſpition of Gods good purpoſe towards them, and this is a Prayer of Diſpatch and Expedition, Satura nos mane, Satisfie us early, O God make ſpeed to ſave us, O Lord make haſt to help us: But he may derive help upon us, by meanes that are not his, not avowed by him, He may quicken our Counſels by bringing in an Achitophell, he may ſtrengthen our Armies by calling in the Turke, he may eſtabliſh our peace and friendſhips, by remitting or departing with ſome parts of our Religion; at ſuch a deare price we may be helped, but theſe are not his helps, and this is a prayer of manifeſtation, that all the way to our end hee will bee pleaſed to let us ſee, that the meanes are from him, Satura nos tua, Satisfie us with that, which is thine, and comes from thee, and ſo directs us to thee: All this may be done too, and yet not that done which we pray for here; God may ſend that which is his, and yet without preſent comfort therein; God may multiply corrections, and judgements, and tribulations upon us, and intend to helpe us that way, by whipping and beating us into the way, and this is his way; but this is a Prayer of limitation even upon God himſelfe, That our way may be his, and that his way may be the way of mercy, Satisfie us early with thy mercy.
Firſt then,Saturae. the firſt word Satura, implies a fulneſſe, and it implies a ſatisfaction, A quietneſſe, a contentedneſſe, an acquieſcence in that fulneſſe; Satisfie is, let us bee full, and let us feele it, and reſt in that fulneſſe. Theſe two make up all Heaven, all the joy, and all the glory of Heaven, fulneſſe and ſatisfaction in it. And therefore S. Hierom refers this Prayer of our Text, to the Reſurrection, and to that fulneſſe, and that ſatisfaction which we ſhall have then, and not till then. For though we ſhall have a fulneſſe in Heaven, as ſoone as we come thither, yet that is not fully a ſatisfaction, becauſe we ſhall deſire, and expect a fuller ſatisfaction in the reunion of body and ſoule. And when Heaven it ſelfe cannot give us this full ſatisfaction till then, in what can wee looke for it in this world, where there is no true fulneſſe, nor any ſatisfaction, in that kind of fulneſſe which wee ſeeme to have? Pleaſure and ſenſuality, and the giving to our ſelves all that we deſire,Ezek. 16. cannot give this; you heare God reproaches Iſrael ſo, You have multiplied your fornications, & yet are not ſatisfied. Labor for profit, or for preferment, cannot doe it;Hagg. 1. you ſee God reproaches Iſrael for that too, Ye have ſowne much, and bring in little, ye eat, but have not enough, ye drinke, but are not filled, ye cloath you, but are not warme, and he that earneth wages, putteth it into a broken bag; that is, it runs out as faſt as it comes in, he finds nothing at the yeares end, his Midſommer will ſcarce fetch up Michaelmas, and if he have brought about his yeare, and made up his Circle, yet he hath raiſed up nothing, nothing appeares in his circle. If theſe things could fill us, yet they could not ſatisfie us,Iob 20. becauſe they cannot ſtay with us, or not we with them: He hath devoured ſubſtance, and he ſhall vomit it. He devoured it by bribery, and he ſhall vomit it by a fine; He devoured it by extortion, and he ſhall vomit it by confiſcation; He devoured it in other Courts, and ſhall vomit it in a Star-chamber. If it ſtay ſome time, it ſhall be with an anguiſh and vexation; When he ſhall be filled with abundance, it ſhall be a paine to him, as it is in the ſame place. Still his riches ſhall have the nature of a vomit, hard to get downe, and hard to keep in the ſtomach when it is there; hardly got, hardly kept when they are got.Luke 6. If all theſe could be overcome, yet it is clogged with a heavy curſe, Wo be unto you that are full, for ye ſhall be hungry: Where, if the curſe were onelyonly from them, who are poore by their owne ſloth, or waſtfulneſſe, who for the moſt part delight to curſe and maligne the rich, the curſe might be contemned by us, and would be throwne back by God into their owne boſomes; but Os Domini locutum, The mouth of the Lord hath ſpoken it, Chriſt himſelfe hath denounced this curſe upon worldly men, That they ſhall be hungry, not onelyonly ſuffer impairement and diminution, but be reduced to hunger.
There is a ſpirituall fulneſſe in this life, of which S. Hierom ſpeakes, Ebrietas foelix, ſatietas ſalutaris, A happy exceſſe, and a wholeſome ſurfet; quae quanto copioſiùs ſumitur, majorem donat ſobrietatem, In which the more we eate, the more temperate we are, and the more we drinke, the more ſober. In which, (as S. Bernard alſo expreſſes it, in his mellifluence) Mutuâ, interminabili, inexplicabili generatione, By a mutuall and reciprocall, by an undeterminable and unexpreſſible generation of one another, Deſiderium generat ſatietatem, & ſatietas parit deſiderium, The deſire of ſpirituall graces begets a ſatiety, if I would be, I am full of them, And then this ſatiety begets a farther deſire, ſtill we have a new appetite to thoſe ſpirituall graces: This is a holy ambition, a ſacred covetouſneſſe,Deut. 32.23. and a wholſome Dropſie. Napthalies bleſſing, O Napthali ſatisfied with favour, and full with the bleſsing of the Lord; S. Stephens bleſſing,Act. 6.5. Full of faith and of the Holy Ghoſt; The bleſſed Virgins bleſſing, Full of Grace; Dorcas bleſſing,Act. 9.37. Full of good works, and of Almes-deeds; The bleſſing of him, who is bleſſed above all, and who bleſſeth all, Chriſt Jeſus,aLuk. 2.4. Full of wiſedome, bLuk. 4.1.Full of the Holy Ghoſt, cJoh. 1.14.Full of grace and truth. But ſo far are all temporall things from giving this fulneſſe or ſatisfaction, as that even in ſpirituall things, there may be, there is often an error, or miſtaking.
Even in ſpirituall things, there may be a fulneſſe, and no ſatisfaction, And there may be a ſatisfaction, and no fulneſſe; I may have as much knowledge, as is preſently neceſſary for my ſalvation, and yet have a reſtleſſe and unſatisfied deſire, to ſearch into unprofitable curioſities, unrevealed myſteries, and inextricable perplexities: And, on the other ſide, a man may be ſatisfied, and thinke he knowes all, when, God knowes, he knowes nothing at all; for, I know nothing, if I know not Chriſt crucified, And I know not that, if I know not how to apply him to my ſelfe, Nor doe I know that, if I embrace him not in thoſe meanes, which he hath afforded me in his Church, in his Word, and Sacraments; If I neglect this meanes, this place, theſe exerciſes, howſoever I may ſatisfie my ſelfe, with an over-valuing mine own knowledge at home, I am ſo far from fulneſſe, as that vanity it ſelfe is not more empty. In the Wilderneſſe, every man had one and the ſame meaſure of Manna; The ſame Gomer went through all; for Manna was a Meat, that would melt in their mouths, and of eaſie digeſtion. But then for their Quailes, birds of a higher flight, meat of a ſtronger digeſtion, it is not ſaid, that every man had an equall number: ſome might have more, ſome leſſe, and yet all their fulneſſe. Catechiſticall divinity, and inſtructions in fundamentall things, is our Manna; Every man is bound to take in his Gomer, his explicite knowledge of Articles abſolutely neceſſary to ſalvation; The ſimpleſt man, as well as the greateſt Doctor, is bound to know, that there is one God in three perſons, That the ſecond of thoſe, the Sonne of God, tooke our nature, and dyed for mankinde; And that there is a Holy Ghoſt, which in the Communion of Saints, the Church eſtabliſhed by Chriſt, applies to every particular ſoule the benefit of Chriſts univerſall redemption. But then for our Quails, birds of higher pitch, meat of a ſtronger digeſtion, which is the knowledge how to rectifie every ſtraying conſcience, how to extricate every entangled, and ſcrupulous, and perplexed ſoule, in all emergent doubts, how to defend our Church, and our Religion, from all the mines, and all the batteries of our Adverſaries, and to deliver her from all imputations of Hereſie, and Schiſme, which they impute to us, this knowledge is not equally neceſſary in all; In many caſes a Maſter of ſervants, and a Father of children is bound to know more, then thoſe children and ſervants, and the Paſtor of the pariſh more then pariſhioners: They may have their fulneſſe, though he have more, but he hath not his, except he be able to give them ſatisfaction.
This fulneſſe then is not an equality in the meaſure; our fulneſſe in heaven ſhall not be ſo; Abraham dyed, ſayes the text, Plenus dierum, full of yeares; Gen. 25.8.It is not ſaid ſo in the text of Methuſalem, that he dyed full of yeares, and yet he had another manner of Gomer, another meaſure of life then Abraham, for he lived almoſt eight hundred yeares more then he; But he that is beſt diſpoſed to die, is fulleſt of yeares; One man may be fuller at twenty, then another at ſeaventy. David lived not the tithe of Methuſalems yeares, not ten to his hundred, he lived leſſe then Abraham, and yet David is ſaid to have dyed Plenus dierum, full of yeares; he had made himſelfe agreeable to God,1 Chro. 29.28. and ſo was ripe for him. So David is ſaid there to have dyed full of honor; God knowes David had caſt ſhrowd aſperſions upon his own, and others honor; but, as God ſayes of Iſrael, Becauſe I loved thee, thou waſt honorable in my ſight; ſo becauſe God loved David, and he perſevered in that love to the end, he dyed full of honor. So alſo it is ſaid of David, that he dyed full of Riches; for, though they were very great additions, which Solomon made, yet becauſe David intended that which he left, for Gods ſervice, and for pious uſes, he dyed full of Riches; fulneſſe of riches is in the good purpoſe, and the good employment, not in the poſſeſſion. In a word, the fulneſſe that is inquired after, and required by this prayer, carry it upon temporall, carry it upon ſpirituall things, is ſuch a proportion of either, as is fit for that calling, in which God hath put us; And then, the ſatisfaction in this fulneſſe is not to hunt and pant after more worldly poſſeſſions, by undue meanes, or by macerating labour, as though we could not be good, or could doe no good in the world, except all the goods of the world paſſed our hands, nor to hunt and pant after the knowledge of ſuch things, as God by his Scriptures hath not revealed to his Church, nor to wrangle contentiouſly and uncharitably about ſuch points, as doe rather ſhake others conſciences, then eſtabliſh our own, as though we could not poſſibly come to heaven, except we knew what God meant to doe with us, before he meant to make us. S. Paul expreſſes fully what this fulneſſe is,Coloſ. 4.12. and ſatisfies us in this ſatisfaction, Vt ſitis pleni in omni voluntate Dei, That yee may be filled according to the will of God: What is the will of God? How ſhall I know the will of God upon me? God hath manifeſted his will in my Calling; and a proportion, competent to this Calling, is my fulneſſe, and ſhould be my ſatisfaction,Gen. 8.21. that ſo God may have Odorem quietis, (as it is ſaid in Noahs ſacrifice, after he came out of the Arke, that God ſmelt a ſavour of reſt) a ſacrifice, in which he might reſt himſelfe; for God hath a Sabbath in the Sabbaths of his ſervants, a fulneſſe in their fulneſſe, a ſatisfaction when they are ſatisfied, and is well pleaſed when they are ſo.
So then this Prayer is for fulneſſe,Nos. and fulneſſe is a competency in our calling, And a prayer for ſatisfaction, and ſatisfaction is a contentment in that competency; And then this prayer is not onelyonly a prayer of appropriation to our ſelves, but of a charitable extention to others too, Satura nos, Satisfie us, All us, all thy Church. Charity begins in our ſelves, but it does not end there, but dilates it ſelfe to others; The Saints in heaven are full, as full as they can hold, and yet they pray; Though they want nothing, they pray that God would powre down upon us graces neceſſary for our peregrination here, as he hath done upon them, in their ſtation there. We are full; full of the Goſpel; preſent peace and plenty in the preaching thereof, and faire apparances of a perpetuall ſucceſſion; we are full, and yet we pray; we pray that God would continue the Goſpel where it is, reſtore the Goſpel where it was, and transfer the Goſpel where it hath not yet been preached. Charity deſires not her own, ſayes the Apoſtle; but much leſſe doth charity deſire no more then her own, ſo as not to deſire the good of others too. True love and charity is to doe the moſt that we can, all that we can for the good of others; So God himſelfe proceeds, when he ſayes, What could I doe, that I have not done? And ſo he ſeems to have begun at firſt; when God beſtowed upon man, his firſt and greateſt benefit, his making, it is expreſſed ſo, Faciamus hominem, Let us, All us, make man; God ſeems to ſummon himſelfe, to aſſemble himſelfe, to muſter himſelfe, all himſelfe, all the perſons of the Trinity, to doe what he could in the favour of man. So alſo when he is drawne to a neceſſity of executing judgement, and for his own honor, and conſolidation of his ſervants, puts himſelfe upon a revenge, he proceeds ſo too; when man had rebelled, and began to fortifie in Babel,Gen. 11.7. then God ſayes, Venite, Let us, All us come together, And Deſcendamus, & confundamus, Let us, all us, goe down, and confound their language, and their machinations, and fortifications. God does not give patterns, God does not accept from us acts of half-devotion, and half-charities; God does all that he can for us; And therefore when we ſee others in diſtreſſe, whether nationall, or perſonall calamities, whether Princes be diſpoſſeſt of their naturall patrimony, and inheritance, or private perſons afflicted with ſickneſſe, or penury, or baniſhment, let us goe Gods way, all the way; Firſt, Faciamus hominem ad imaginem noſtram, Let us make that Man according unto our image, let us conſider our ſelves in him, and make our caſe his, and remember how lately he was as well as we, and how ſoone we may be as ill as he, and then Deſcendamus & confundamus, Let us, us, with all the power we have, remove or ſlacken thoſe calamities that lie upon them.
This onelyonly is charity, to doe all, all that we can. And ſomething there is which every man may doe; There are Armies, in the levying whereof, every man is an abſolute Prince, and needs no Commiſſion, there are Forces, in which every man is his owne Muſter-maſter, The force which we ſpoke of before, out of Tertullian, the force of prayer; In publique actions, we obey God, when we obey them to whom God hath committed the publique; In thoſe things which are in our own power, the ſubfidies and contributions of prayer, God looks that we ſhould ſecond his Faciamus, with our Dicamus, That ſince he muſt doe all, we would pray him that he would doe it, And his Deſcendamus, with our Aſcendamus, That if we would have him come down, and fight our battayls, or remove our calamities, we ſhould firſt goe up to him, in humble and fervent prayer, That he would continue the Goſpel where it is, and reſtore it where it was, and transfer it where it was never as yet heard; Charity is to doe all to all; and the pooreſt of us all can doe this to any.
I may then, I muſt pray for this fulneſſe, (and fulneſſe is ſufficiency) And for this ſatisfaction,Mane.(and ſatisfaction is contentment) And that God would extend this, and other his bleſſings, upon others too, And if God doe leave us in an Egypt, in a Babylon, without reliefe, for ſometime I may proceed to this holy importunity, which David intimates here, Satura nos mane, O Lord, make haſte to helpe us, Satisfie us early with thy mercy, and God will doe ſo. Weeping may endure for a night, ſayes David. Pſal. 30.5.David does not ſay, It muſt indure for a night, that God will by no meanes ſhorten the time; perchance God will wipe all teares from thine eyes, at midnight, if thou pray; Try him that way then. If he doe not, If weeping doe indure for a night, all night, yet joy commeth in the morning, faith David; And then he doth not ſay, Joy may come in the morning, but it commeth certainly, infallibly it comes, and comes in the morning. God is an early riſer; In the Marning-watch, God la…ked upon the h…ſt of the Egyptians. Exod. 14.24.Hee looked upon their counſels to ſee what they would doe, and upon their forces to ſee what they could doe. He is not early up, and never the nearer; His going forth is prepared as the Morning, Hoſ. 6.3.(there is his generall Providence, in which he viſits every creature) And hee ſhall come to us, in the former, and later raine upon the earth; Hee makes haſte to us in the former, and ſeconds his former mercies to us, in more mercies. And as he makes haſt to refreſh his ſervants, ſo goes he the ſame pace, to the ruine of his enemies, In matutina interſ…oiam, Pſal. 101.8.I will early deſtroy all the wicked of the land: It is not a weakning of them, It is a deſtruction; It is not of a ſquadron or regiment, It is all; It is not onelyonly upon the Land, but the wicked of any band, he will deſtroy upon the Sea too. This is his promiſe, this is his practiſe, this is his pace. Thus he did in Sennacheri…s Army, When they aroſe early in the Morning, 2 King. 19.35.behold they were all dead carcaſſes; They roſe early that ſaw it, but God had been up earlier, that had done it. And that ſtory, God ſeemes to have had care to have recorded almoſt in all the diviſions of the Bible, for it is in the Hiſtoricall part, and it is in the Propheticall part too; and becauſe God foreſaw, that mens curioſities would carry them upon Apocryphal Books alſo, it is repeated almoſt in every Book of that kinde, in Eccleſiaſticus, in Tobit, in the Maceabees in both Books, That every where our eye might light upon that, and every ſoule might make that Syllogiſme, and produce that concluſion to it ſelfe, If God bee thus forward, thus early in the wayes of Judgement, much more is he ſo in the wayes of mercy; with that he will ſatisfie us Mane, early, and as Tremellius reads this very Text, unoquoque mane, betimes in the morning, and every morning.
Now if we looke for this early mercy from God, we muſt riſe betimes too, and meet God early. God hath promiſed to give Matutinam ſtellam; the Morning-ſtar;Revel. 2 28. but they muſt be up betimes in the morning, that will take the Morning-ſtar. He himſelfe who is it, hath told us who is this Morning ſtar; I Ieſus am the bright and Morning ſtarre. Revel. 2….….God will give us Jeſus; Him, and all his, all his teares, all his blood, all his merits; But to whom, and upon what conditions? That is expreſſed there, Vincenti dabe, To hin… that overcommeth I will give the Morning-ſtar. Our life is a warfare, our whole life; It is not onelyonly with luſts in our youth, and ambitions in our middle yeares, and indevotions in our age, but with agonies in our body, and tentations in our ſpirit upon our death-bed, that we are to fight; and he cannot be ſaid to overcome, that fights not out the whole battell. If he enter not the field in the morning, that is, apply not himſelfe to Gods ſervice in his youth, If hee continue not to the Evening, If hee faint in the way, and grow remiſſe in Gods ſervice, for collaterall reſpects, God will overcome his cauſe, and his glory ſhall ſtand faſt, but that man can ſcarce be ſaid to have overcome.
It is the counſell of the Wiſe man, Prevent the Sunne to give thanks to God, Wiſd. 16.28.and at the day-ſpring pray unto him. You ſee ſtill, how theſe two duties are marſhalled, and diſpoſed; Firſt Praiſe, and then Prayer, but both early: And it is placed in the Lamentations, as though it were a lamentable negligence to have omitted it, It is good for a man, Lament. 3.27.that he beare his yoake in his youth. Riſe as early as you can, you cannot be up before God; no, nor before God raiſe you: Howſoever you prevent this Sunne, the Sunne of the Firmament, yet the Sonne of Heaven hath prevented you, for without his preventing Grace you could not ſtirre. Have any of you ſlept out their Morning, reſiſted his private motions to private Prayer at home, neglected his callings ſo? Though a man doe ſleepe out his forenoone, the Sunne goes on his courſe, and comes to his Meridionall ſplendor, though that man have not looked towards it. That Sonne which hath riſen to you at home, in thoſe private motions, hath gone on his courſe, and hath ſhined out here, in this houſe of God, upon Wedneſday, and upon Friday, and upon every day of holy Convocation; All this, at home, and here, yee have ſlept out and neglected. Now, upon the Sabbath, and in theſe holy Exerciſes, this Sonne ſhines out as at noone, the Grace of God is in the Exaltation, exhibited in the powerfulleſt and effectualleſt way of his Ordinance, and if you will but awake now, riſe now, meet God now, now at noone, God will call even this early. Have any of you ſlept out the whole day, and are come in that drowſineſſe to your evening, to the cloſing of your eyes, to the end of your dayes? Yet riſe now, and God ſhall call even this an early riſing; If you can make ſhift to deceive your owne ſoules and ſay, We never heard God call us; If you neglected your former callings ſo, as that you have forgot that you have been called; yet, is there one amongſt you, that denies that God calls him now? If he neglect this calling now, to morrow he may forget that he was called to day, or remember it with ſuch a terror, as ſhall blow a dampe, and a conſternation upon his ſoule, and a lethargy worſe then his former ſleepe; but if he will wake now, and riſe now, though this be late in his evening, in his age, yet God ſhall call this early.Iſai. 26.9. Bee but able to ſay with Eſay this night, My ſoule hath deſired thee in the night, and thou maiſt be bold to ſay with David to morrow morning, Satura nos mane, Satisfie us early with thy mercy, and he ſhall doe it.
But yet no prayer of ours, howſoever made in the beſt diſpoſition, in the beſt teſtimony of a rectified conſcience, muſt limit God his time, or appoint him, in what morning, or what houre in the morning, God ſhall come to our deliverance. The Sonne of man was not the leſſe the Sonne of God, nor the leſſe a beloved Sonne, though God hid from him the knowledge of the day of the generall Judgement. Thou art not the leſſe the ſervant of God, nor the leſſe rewarded by him, though he keepe from thee the knowledge of thy deliverance from any particular calamity. All Gods deliverances are in the morning, becauſe there is a perpetuall night, and an invincible darkneſſe upon us, till he deliver us. God is the God of that Climate, where the night is ſix Moneths long, as well as of this, where it is but halfe ſo many houres. The higheſt Hill hinders not the roundneſſe of the earth, the earth is round for all that hill; The loweſt vaults, and mines hinder not the ſolidneſſe of the earth, the earth is ſolid for all that; Much leſſe hath a yeare, or ten yeares, or all our threeſcore and ten, any proportion at all to eternity; And therefore God comes early in a ſort to me, though I loſe abundance of my reward by ſo long lingring, if he come not till hee open me the gate of heaven, by the key of death. There are Indies at my right hand, in the Eaſt; but there are Indies at my left hand too, in the Weſt. There are teſtimonies of Gods love to us, in our Eaſt, in our beginnings; but if God continue tribulation upon us to our Weſt, to our ends, and give us the light of his preſence then, if he appeare to us at our tranſmigration, certainly he was favourable to us all our peregrination, and though he ſhew himſelfe late, hee was our friend early. The Prayer is, that he would come early, but it is, if it be rightly formed, upon both theſe conditions; firſt, that I riſe early to meet him, and then that I magnifie his houre as early, whenſoever he ſhall be pleaſed to come.
All this I ſhall doe the better,Tu…. if I limit my prayer, and my practiſe, with the next circumſtance in Davids prayer, Tuâ, Satisfie us early with that which is thine, Thy mercy: For there are mercies, (in a faire extent and accommodation of the word, that is Refreſhings, Eaſes, Deliverances) that are not his mercies, nor his ſatisfactions. How many men are ſatisfied with Riches (I correct my ſelfe, few are ſatisfied; but how many have enough to ſatisfie many?) and yet have never a peny of his mony? Nothing is his, that comes not from him, that comes not by good meanes. How many are there, that are eaſie to admit ſcruples, and jealouſies, and ſuſpitions in matter of Religion: Eaſie to think, that that Religion, and that Church, in which they have lived ill, cannot bee a good Religion, nor a true Church; In a troubled, and diſtempered conſcience, they grow eaſie to admit ſcruples, and then as over-eaſie to admit falſe ſatisfactions, with a word whiſpered on one ſide in a Conventicle, or a word whiſpered on the other ſide in a Confeſſion, and yet have never a dram of ſatisfaction from his word, whoſe word is preached upon the houſe top, and avowed, and not in corners? How many men are anguiſhed with torturing Diſeaſes, racked with the conſcience of ill-ſpent eſtates, oppreſſed with inordinate melancholies, and irreligious dejections of ſpirit, and then repaire, and ſatisfie themſelves with wine, with women, with fooles, with comedies, with mirth, and muſique, and with all Iobs miſerable comforters, and all this while have no beames of his ſatisfaction, it is not Miſericordia ejus, his mercy, his ſatisfaction? In loſſes of worldly goods, in ſickneſſes of children, or ſervants, or cattell, to receive light or eaſe from Witches, this is not his mercy. It is not his mercy, except we goe by good wayes to good ends; except our ſafety be eſtabliſhed by allyance with his friends, except our peace may bee had with the perfect continuance of our Religion, there is no ſafety, there is no peace. But let mee feele the effect of this Prayer, as it is a Prayer of manifeſtation, Let mee diſcerne that, that that is done upon mee, is done by the hand of God, and I care not what it be: I had rather have Gods Vinegar, then mans Oyle, Gods Wormewood, then mans Manna, Gods Juſtice, then any mans Mercy; for, therefore did Gregory Nyſſen call S. Baſil in a holy ſenſe, Ambidextrum, becauſe he tooke every thing that came, by the right handle, and with the right hand, becauſe he ſaw it to come from God. Even afflictions are welcome, when we ſee them to be his: Though the way that he would chuſe, and the way that this Prayer intreats, be only mercy, Satisfie us early with thy mercy.
That rod and that ſtaffe with which we are at any time corrected, is his.Miſ…ricordia Eſay 10.5. So God cals the Aſſyrians, The rod of his anger, and he ſayes, That the ſtaffe that is in their hand, is his Indignation. He comes to a ſharper execution, from the rod, and the ſtaffe to the ſword, and that alſo is his, It is my ſword, that is put into the hands of the King of Babylon, Ezek. 30.24.and he ſhall ſtretch out my ſword upon the whole land; God will beat downe, and cut off, and blow up, and blow out at his pleaſure; which is expreſſed in a phraſe very remarkeable by David, He bringeth the winde out of his Treaſuries; And then follow in that place,Pſal. 135.7. all the Plagues of Egypt: ſtormes and tempeſts, ruines and devaſtations, are not onelyonly in Gods Armories, but they are in his Treaſuries; as hee is the Lord of Hoſts, hee fetches his judgements from his Armories, and caſts confuſion upon his enemies, but as he is the God of mercy, and of plentifull redemption, he fetches theſe judgements, theſe corrections out of his treaſuries, and they are the Money, the Jewels, by which he redeemes and buyes us againe; God does nothing, God can doe nothing, no not in the way of ruine and deſtruction, but there is mercy in it; he cannot open a doore in his Armory, but a window into his Treaſury opens too, and he muſt looke into that.
But then Gods corrections are his Acts, as the Phyſitian is his Creature, God created him for neceſſity. When God made man, his firſt intention was not that man ſhould fall, and ſo need a Meſſias, nor that man ſhould fall ſick, and ſo need a Phyſitian, nor that man ſhould fall into rebellion by ſin, and ſo need his rod, his ſtaffe, his ſcourge of afflictions, to whip him into the way againe. But yet ſayes the Wiſeman,Ecclus. 38.1. Honour the Phyſitian for the uſe you may have of him; ſlight him not, becauſe thou haſt no need of him yet. So though Gods corrections were not from a primary, but a ſecondary intention, yet, when you ſee thoſe corrections fall upon another, give a good interpretation of them, and beleeve Gods purpoſe to be not to deſtroy, but to recover that man: Do not thou make Gods Rheubarbe thy Ratsbane, and poyſon thine owne ſoule with an uncharitable miſinterpretation of that correction, which God hath ſent to cure his. And then, in thine owne afflictions, flie evermore to this Prayer, Satisfie us with thy mercy; firſt, Satisfie us, make it appeare to us that thine intention is mercy, though thou enwrap it in temporall afflictions, in this darke cloud let us diſcerne thy Son, and though in an act of diſpleaſure, ſee that thou art well pleaſed with us; Satisfie us, that there is mercy in thy judgements, and then ſatisfie us, that thy mercy is mercy; for ſuch is the ſtupidity of ſinfull man, That as in temporall bleſſings, we diſcerne them beſt by wanting them, ſo do we the mercies of God too; we call it not a mercy, to have the ſame bleſſings ſtill: but, as every man conceives a greater degree of joy, in recovering from a ſickneſſe, then in his former eſtabliſhed health; ſo without doubt, our Anceſtors who indured many yeares Civill and forraine wars, were more affected with their firſt peace, then we are with our continuall enjoying thereof, And our Fathers more thankfull, for the beginning of Reformation of Religion, then we for ſo long enjoying the continuance thereof. Satisfie us with thy merciemercy, Let us ſtill be able to ſee mercy in thy judgements, leſt they deject us, and confound us; Satisfie us with thy merciemercy, let us be able to ſee, that our deliverance is a mercy, and not a naturall thing that might have hapned ſo, or a neceſſary thing that muſt have hapned ſo, though there had beene no God in Heaven, nor providence upon earth. But eſpecially ſince the way that thou chooſeſt, is to goe all by mercy, and not to be put to this way of correction, ſo diſpoſe, ſo compoſe our minds, and ſo tranſpoſe all our affections, that we may live upon thy food, and not put thee to thy phyſick, that we may embrace thee in the light, and not be put to ſeeke thee in the darke, that wee come to thee in thy Mercy, and not be whipped to thee by thy Corrections. And ſo we have done alſo with our ſecond Part, The pieces and petitions that conſtitute this Prayer, as it is a Prayer for Fulneſſe and Satisfaction, a Prayer of Extent and Dilatation, a Prayer of Diſpatch and Expedition, and then a Prayer of Evidence and Declaration, and laſtly, a Prayer of Limitation even upon God himſelfe, Satisfie, and ſatisfie us, and us early, with that which we may diſcerne to be thine, and let that way be mercy.
There remaines yet a third Part,3 Part. Gaudium. what this Prayer produces, and it is joy, and continual joy, That we may rejoyce and be glad all our dayes. The words are the Parts, and we invert not, we trouble not the Order; the Holy Ghoſt hath laid them fitlieſt for our uſe, in the Text it ſelfe, and ſo we take them. Firſt then, the gaine is joy. Joy is Gods owne Seale, and his keeper is the Holy Ghoſt; wee have many ſudden ejaculations in the forme of Prayer, ſometimes inconſiderately made, and they vaniſh ſo; but if I can reflect upon my prayer, ruminate, and returne againe with joy to the ſame prayer, I have Gods Seale upon it. And therefore it is not ſo very an idle thing, as ſome have miſ-imagined it, to repeat often the ſame prayer in the ſame words; Our Saviour did ſo; he prayed a third time, and in the ſame words; This reflecting upon a former prayer, is that that ſets to this Seale, this joy, and if I have joy in my prayer, it is granted ſo far as concernes my good, and Gods glory. It hath beene diſputed by many, both of the Gentiles, with whom the Fathers diſputed, and of the Schoolemen, who diſpute with one another, An ſit gaudium in Deo, de ſemet, Whether God rejoyce in himſelfe, in contemplation of himſelfe, whether God be glad that he is God: But it is diſputed by them, onelyonly to eſtabliſh it, and to illuſtrate it, for I doe not remember that any one of them denyes it. It is true, that Plato diſlikes, and juſtly, that ſalutation of Dionyſius the Tyran to God, Gaude, & ſervato vitam Tyranni jucundam; that he ſhould ſay to God, Live merrily, as merrily as a King, as merrily as I doe, and then you are God enough; to imagine ſuch a joy in God, as is onelyonly a tranſitory delight in deceivable things, is an impious conceit. But when, as another Platonique ſayes,Plotinus. Deus eſt quod ipſe ſemper voluit, God is that which hee would be, If there be ſomething that God would be, and he be that, If Plato ſhould deny, that God joyed in himſelfe, we muſt ſay of Plato as Lactantius does, Deum potius ſomniaver at, quàm cognoverat, Plato had rather dreamed that there was a God, then underſtood what that God was. Bonum ſimplex, ſayes S. Auguſtine, To be ſincere Goodneſſe, Goodneſſe it ſelfe, Ipſa eſt delectatio Dei, This is the joy that God hath in himſelfe, of himſelfe; And therefore ſayes Philo Iudaeus, Hoc neceſſarium Philoſophiae ſodalibus, This is the tenent of all Philoſophers, (And by that title of Philoſophers, Philo alwaies meanes them that know and ſtudy God) Solum Deum verè feſtum agere, That only God can be truly ſaid to keepe holy day, and to rejoyce.
This joy we ſhall ſee, when we ſee him, who is ſo in it, as that he is this joy it ſelfe. But here in this world, ſo far as I can enter into my Maſters ſight, I can enter into my Maſters joy. I can ſee God in his Creatures, in his Church, in his Word and Sacraments, and Ordinances; Since I am not without this ſight, I am not without this joy. Here a man may Tranſilire mortalitatem, Seneca.ſayes that Divine Morall man; I cannot put off mortality, but I can looke upon immortality; I cannot depart from this earth, but I can looke into Heaven. So I cannot poſſeſſe that finall and accompliſhed joy here, but as my body can lay downe a burden or a heavy garment, and joy in that eaſe, ſo my ſoule can put off my body ſo far, as that the concupiſcencies thereof, and the manifold and miſerable en… cumbrances of this world, cannot extinguiſh this holy joy. And this inchoative joy, David derives into two branches, To rejoyce, and to be glad.
The Holy Ghoſt is an eloquent Author,Exultatio. a vehement, and an abundant Author, but yet not luxuriant; he is far from a penurious, but as far from a ſuperfluous ſtyle too. And therefore we doe not take theſe two words in the Text, To rejoyce, and to be glad, to ſignifie meerely one and the ſame thing, but to be two beames, two branches, two effects, two expreſſings of this joy. We take them therefore, as they offer themſelves in their roots, and firſt naturall propriety of the words. The firſt, which we tranſlate To rejoyce, is Ranan; and Ranan denotes the externall declaration of internall joy; for the word ſignifies Cantare, To ſing, and that with an extended and loud voyce, for it is the word, which is oftneſt uſed for the muſique of the Church, and the ſinging of Pſalmes; which was ſuch a declaration of their zealous alacrity in the primitive Church, as that, when to avoyd diſcovery in the times of perſecution, they were forced to make their meetings in the night, they were alſo forced to put out their Candles, becauſe by that light in the windowes they were diſcovered; After that this meeting in the darke occaſioned a ſcandall and ill report upon thoſe Chriſtians, that their meetings were not upon ſo holy purpoſes, as they pretended, they diſcontinued their vigils, and night-meetings, yet their ſinging of Pſalmes, when they did meet, they never diſcontinued, though that, many times, expoſed them to dangers, and to death it ſelfe, as ſome of the Authors of the ſecular ſtory of the Romans have obſerved and teſtified unto us. And ſome ancient Decrees and Conſtitutions we have, in which ſuch are forbidden to be made Prieſts, as were not perfect in the Pſalmes. And though S. Hierome tell us this, with ſome admiration, and note of ſingularity, That Paula could ſay the whole book of Pſalmes without booke, in Hebrew; yet he preſents it as a thing well known to be their ordinary practiſe; In villula Chriſti Bethlem, extrapſalmos ſilentium eſt, In the village where I dwell, ſayes he, where Chriſt was borne, in Bethlem, if you cannot ſing Pſalmes, you muſt be ſilent, here you ſhall heare nothing but Pſalmes; for, (as he purſues it) Arator ſtivam tenens, The husbandman that follows the plough, he that ſowes, that reapes, that carries home, all begin and proceed in all their labours with ſinging of Pſalmes. Therefore he calls them there, Cantiones amatorias, Thoſe that make or entertaine love, that ſeeke in the holy and honorable way of marriage, to make themſelves acceptable and agreeable to one another, by no other good parts, nor converſation, but by ſinging of Pſalmes. So he calls them, Paſtorum ſibilum, and Arma culturae, Our ſhepheards, ſayes S. Hierome, here, have no other Eclogues, no other Paſtoralls; Our labourers, our children, our ſervants no other ſongs, nor Ballads, to recreate themſelves withall, then the Pſalmes.
And this univerſall uſe of the Pſalmes, that they ſerved all for all, gives occaſion to one Author, in the title of the Booke of Pſalmes, to depart from the ordinary reading, which is, Sepher Tehillim, The booke of Praiſe, and to reade it, Sepher Telim, which is Acervorum, The booke of Heapes, where all aſſiſtances to our ſalvation are heaped and treaſured up. And our Countryman Bede found another Title, in ſome Copies of this booke, Liber Soliloquiorum de Chriſto, The Booke of Meditations upon Chriſt; Becauſe this booke is (as Gregory Nyſſen calls it) Clavis David, that key of David, which lets us in to all the myſteries of our Religion; which gave the ground to that which S. Baſil ſayes, that if all the other Books of Scripture could be loſt, he would aske no more then the Booke of Pſalmes, to catechize children, to edifie Congregations, to convert Gentils, and to convince Heretiques.
But we are launched into too large a Sea, the conſideration of this Booke of Pſalmes. I meane but this, in this, That if we take that way with God, The way of prayer, prayer ſo elemented and conſtituted, as we have ſaid, that conſiſts rather of praiſe and thankeſgiving, then ſupplication for future benefits, God ſhall infuſe into us, a zeale of expreſſing our conſolation in him, by outward actions, to the eſtabliſhing of others; we ſhall not diſavow, nor grow ſlacke in our Religion, nor in any parts thereof; God ſhall neither take from us, The Candle and the Candleſtick, The truth of the Goſpel, which is the light, And the cheerfull, and authorized, and countenanced, and rewarded Preaching of the Goſpel, which is the Candleſtick that exalts the light; nor take from us our zeale to this outward ſervice of God, that we come to an indifferency, whether the ſervice of God be private or publique, ſordid or glorious, allowed and ſuffered, by way of connivency, or commanded and enjoyned by way of authority. God ſhall give us this Ranan, this rejoycing, this extern all joy, we ſhall have the publique preaching of the Goſpel continued to us, and we ſhall ſhew that we rejoyce in it, by frequenting it, and by inſtituting our lives according unto it.
But yet this Ranan, this Rejoycing, this outward expreſſing of our inward zeale,Delectabimur. may admit interruptions, receive interceptions, intermiſſions, and diſcontinuances; for, without doubt, in many places there live many perſons, well affected to the truth of Religion, that dare not avow it, expreſſe it, declare it, eſpecially where that fearfull Vulture, the Inquiſition, hovers over them. And therefore the Holy Ghoſt hath added here another degree of joy, which no law, no ſevere execution of law, can take from us, in another word of leſſe extent, Shamach, which is an inward joy, onelyonly in the heart, which we tranſlate here, to be Glad. How far we are bound to proceed in outward declarations of Religion, requires a ſerious and various conſideration of Circumſtances.Dan. 6.10. You know how far Daniel proceeded; The Lords had extorted a Proclamation from the King, That no man ſhould pray to any other God, then the King, for certaine dayes; Daniel would not onelyonly not be bound by this Proclamation, and ſo continue his ſet and ſtationary houres of private prayer in his chamber, but he would declare it to all the world; He would ſet open his chamber windows, that he might be ſeen to pray; for, though ſome determine that act of Daniel, in ſetting open his windows at prayer, in this, That becauſe the Jewes were bound by their law, whereſoever they were, in war, in captivity, upon the way, or in their ſick beds, to turne towards Jeruſalem, and ſo towards the Temple, whenſoever they prayed, according to that ſtipulation, which had paſſed between God and Solomon, at the Dedication of the Temple, When thy ſervants pray towards this houſe, heare them in it; Therefore as Hezekias, in his ſicke bed, when he turned towards the wall to pray, is juſtly thought, to have done ſo, therefore that he might pray towards the Temple, which ſtood that way; ſo Daniel is thought to have opened his windows to that purpoſe too, that he might have the more free proſpect towards Jeruſalem from Babylon; though ſome, I ſay, determine Daniels act in that, yet it is by more, and more uſefully extended, to an expreſſing of ſuch a zeale, as, in ſo apparant a diſhonor to his God, could not be ſuffocated nor extinguiſhed with a Proclamation.
In which act of his, which was a direct and evident oppoſing and affronting of the State, though I dare not joyne with them, who abſolutely and peremptorily condemne this act of Daniel, becauſe Gods ſubſequent act in a miraculous deliverance of Daniel ſeems to imply ſome former particular revelation from God to Daniel, that he ſhould proceed in that confident manner, yet dare I much leſſe draw this act of Daniels into conſequence, and propoſe it for an Example and precedent to private men, leaſt of all, to animate ſeditious men, who upon pretence of a neceſſity, that God muſt be ſerved in this, and this, and no other manner, provoke and exaſperate the Magiſtrate with their ſchiſmaticall conventicles and ſeparations. But howſoever that may ſtand, and howſoever there may be Circumſtances which may prevaile either upon humane infirmity, or upon a rectified Conſcience, or howſoever God in his Judgements, may caſt a cloud upon his own Sunne, and darken the glory of the Goſpel, in ſome place, for ſome time, yet, though we loſe our Ranan, our publique Rejoycing, we ſhall never loſe our Shamach, our inward gladneſſe, that God is our God, and we his ſervants for all this. God will never leave his ſervants without this internall joy, which ſhall preſerve them from ſuſpicions of Gods power, that he cannot maintaine, or not reſtore his cauſe, and from jealouſies, that he hath abandoned or deſerted them in particular. God ſhall never give them over to an indifferency, nor to a ſtupidity, nor to an abſence of tenderneſſe, and holy affections, that it ſhall become all one to them, how Gods cauſe proſpers, or ſuffers. But if I continue that way, prayer, and prayer ſo qualified, if I loſe my Ranan, my outward declarations of Rejoycing; If I be tyed to a death-bed in a Conſumption, and cannot rejoyce in comming to theſe publique Congregations, to participate of their prayers, and to impart to them my Meditations; If I be ruined in my fortune, and cannot rejoyce in an open diſtribution to the reliefe of the poore, and a preaching to others, in that way, by example of doing good works; If at my laſt minute, I be not able to edifie my friends, nor Catechize my children, with any thing that I can doe or ſay; if I be not able ſo much, as with hand or eye to make a ſigne, though I have loſt my Ranan, all the Eloquence of outward declaration, yet God ſhall never take from me, my Shamach, my internall gladneſſe and conſolation, in his undeceivable and undeceiving Spirit, that he is mine, and I am his; And this joy, this gladneſſe, in my way, and in my end, ſhall eſtabliſh me; for that is that which is intended in the next, and laſt word, Omnibus diebus, we ſhall Rejoyce and be Glad all our dayes.
Nothing but this teſtimony,Omnibus diebus. That the Spirit beares witneſſe with my ſpirit, that upon my prayer, ſo conditioned, of praiſe, and prayer, I ſhall ſtill prevaile with God, could imprint in me, this joy, all my dayes. The ſeales of his favour, in outward bleſſings, fayle me in the dayes of ſhipwracke, in the dayes of fire, in the dayes of diſplacing my potent friends, or rayſing mine adverſaries; In ſuch dayes I cannot rejoyce, and be glad. The ſeales of his favour, in inward bleſſings, and holy cheerfulneſſe, fayle me in a preſent remorſe after a ſinne newly committed. But yet in the ſtrength of a Chriſtian hope, as I can pronounce out of the grounds of Nature, in an Eclipſe of the Sunne, that the Sunne ſhall returne to his ſplendor againe, I can pronounce out of the grounds of Gods Word, (and Gods Word is much better aſſurance, then the grounds of Nature, for God can and does ſhake the grounds of Nature by Miracles, but no Jod of his Word ſhall ever periſh) that I ſhall returne againe on my hearty penitence, if I delay it not, and rejoyce and be glad all my dayes, that is, what kinde of day ſoever overtake me. In the dayes of our youth, when the joyes of this world take up all the roome, there ſhall be roome for this holy Joy, that my recreations were harmeleſſe, and my converſation innocent; and certainly to be able to ſay, that in my recreations, in my converſation, I neither miniſtred occaſion of tentation to another, nor expoſed my ſelfe to tentations from another, is a faire beame of this rejoycing in the dayes of my youth. In the dayes of our Age, when we become incapable, inſenſible of the joyes of this world, yet this holy joy ſhall ſeaſon us, not with a ſinfull delight in the memory of our former ſinnes, but with a re-juveniſcence, a new and a freſh youth, in being come ſo neere to another, to an immortall life. In the dayes of our mirth, and of laughter, this holy joy ſhall enter; And as the Sunne may ſay to the ſtarres at Noone, How frivoulous and impertinent a thing is your light now? So this joy ſhall ſay unto laughter, Thou art mad, and unto mirth, Eccleſ. 2.2.what doſt thou? And in the mid-night of ſadneſſe, and dejection of ſpirit, this joy ſhall ſhine out, and chide away that ſadneſſe, with Davids holy charme, My ſoule, why art thou caſt downe, why art thou diſquieted within me? In thoſe dayes, which Iob ſpeaks of,Iob 30.27. Praevenerunt me dies afflictionis meae, Miſeries are come upon me before their time; My intemperances have haſtned age, my riotouſneſſe hath haſtned poverty, my neglecting of due officiouſneſſe and reſpect towards great perſons hath haſtned contempt upon me, Afflictions which I ſuſpected not, thought not of, have prevented my feares; and then in thoſe dayes, which Iob ſpeaks of againe, Poſsident me dies afflictionis, Verſe 16.Studied and premeditated plots and practiſes ſwallowe mee, poſſeſſe me intirely, In all theſe dayes, I ſhall not onelyonly have a Zoar to flie to, if I can get out of Sodom, joy, if I can overcome my ſorrow; There ſhall not be a Goſhen bordering upon my Egypt, joy, if I can paſſe beyond, or beſides my ſorrow, but I ſhall have a Goſhen in my Egypt, nay my very Egypt ſhall be my Goſhen, I ſhall not onelyonly have joy, though I have ſorrow, but therefore; my very ſorrow ſhall be the occaſion of joy; I ſhall not onelyonly have a Sabbath after my ſix dayes labor, but Omnibus diebus, a Sabbath ſhall enlighten every day, and inanimate every minute of every day: And as my ſoule is as well in my foot, as in my hand, though all the waight and oppreſſion lie upon the foot, and all action upon the hand, ſo theſe beames of joy ſhall appeare as well in my pillar of cloud, as in theirs of fire; in my adverſity, as well as in their proſperity; And when their Sun ſhall ſet at Noone, mine ſhall riſe at midnight; they ſhall have damps in their glory, and I joyfull exaltions in my dejections.
And to end with the end of all, In die mortis, In the day of my death, and that which is beyond the end of all, and without end in it ſelfe, The day of Judgement, If I have the teſtimony of a rectified conſcience, that I have accuſtomed my ſelfe to that acceſſe to God, by prayer, and ſuch prayer, as though it have had a body of ſupplication, and deſire of future things, yet the ſoule and ſpirit of that prayer, that is, my principall intention in that prayer, hath been praiſe and thankſgiving, If I be involved in S. Chryſoſtoms Patent, Orantes, non natura, ſed diſpenſatione Angeli fiunt, That thoſe who pray ſo, that is, pray by way of praiſe, (which is the moſt proper office of Angels) as they ſhall be better then Angels in the next world, (for they ſhall be glorifying ſpirits, as the Angels are, but they ſhall alſo be glorified bodies, which the Angels ſhall never bee) ſo in this world they they ſhall be as Angels, becauſe they are employed in the office of Angels, to pray by way of praiſe, If, as S. Baſil reads thoſe words of that Pſalme, not ſpiritus meus, but reſpiratio mea laudet Dominum, Not onelyonly my ſpirit, but my very breath, not my heart onelyonly, but my tongue, and my hands bee accuſtomed to glorifie God, In die mortis, in the day of my death, when a miſt of ſorrow, and of ſighes ſhall fill my chamber, and a cloude exhaled and condenſed from teares, ſhall bee the curtaines of my bed, when thoſe that love me, ſhall be ſorry to ſee mee die, and the devill himſelfe that hates me, ſorry to ſee me die ſo, in the favour of God; And In die Iudicii, In the day of Judgement, when as all Time ſhall ceaſe, ſo all meaſures ſhall ceaſe; The joy, and the ſorrow that ſhall be then, ſhall be eternall, no end, and infinite, no meaſure, no limitation, when every circumſtance of ſinne ſhall aggravate the condemnation of the unrepentant ſinner, and the very ſubſtance of my ſinne ſhall bee waſhed away, in the blood of my Saviour, when I ſhall ſee them, who ſinned for my ſake, periſh eternally, becauſe they proceeded in that ſinne, and I my ſelfe, who occaſioned their ſin received into glory, becauſe God upon my prayer, and repentance had ſatisfied me early with his mercy, early, that is, before my tranſmigration, In omnibus diebus, In all theſe dayes, the dayes of youth, and the wantonneſſes of that, the dayes of age, and the taſtleſneſſe of that, the dayes of mirth, and the ſportfulneſſe of that, and of inordinate melancholy, and the diſconſolateneſſe of that, the days of ſuch miſeries, as aſtoniſh us with their ſuddenneſſe, and of ſuch as aggravate their owne waight with a heavy expectation; In the day of Death, which pieces up that circle, and in that day which enters another circle that hath no pieces, but is one equall everlaſtingneſſe, the day of Judgement, Either I ſhall rejoyce, be able to declare my faith, and zeale to the aſſiſtance of others, or at leaſt be glad in mine owne heart, in a firme hope of mine owne ſalvation.
And therefore, beloved, as they, whom lighter affections carry to Shewes, and Masks, and Comedies; As you your ſelves, whom better diſpoſitions bring to theſe Exerciſes, conceive ſome contentment, and ſome kinde of Joy, in that you are well and commodiouſly placed, they to ſee the Shew, you to heare the Sermon, when the time comes, though your greater Joy bee reſerved to the comming of that time; So though the fulneſſe of Joy be reſerved to the laſt times in heaven, yet rejoyce and be glad that you are well and commodiouſly placed in the meane time, and that you ſit but in expectation of the fulneſſe of thoſe future Joyes: Returne to God, with a joyfull thankfulneſſe that he hath placed you in a Church, which withholds nothing from you, that is neceſſary to ſalvation, whereas in another Church they lack a great part of the Word, and halfe the Sacrament; And which obtrudes nothing to you, that is not neceſſary to ſalvation, whereas in another Church, the Additionall things exceed the Fundamentall; the Occaſionall, the Originall; the Collaterall, the Direct; And the Traditions of men, the Commandements of God. Maintaine and hold up this holy alacrity, this religious cheerfulneſſe; For inordinate ſadneſſe is a great degree and evidence of unthankfulneſſe, and the departing from Joy in this world, is a departing with one piece of our Evidence, for the Joyes of the world to come.